For the serious news, the Wall Street Journal notes that this year the US will have the second largest deficit in its history. The Journal asks, in a moment of levity, "Is it rude to mention this?" as the "CBO says that overall outlays rose 4.2% from 2010 (1.8% adjusted for timing shifts), when spending fell slightly from 2009. Defense spending rose only 1.2% on a calendar-adjusted basis, and Medicaid only 0.9%, but Medicare spending rose 3.9% and interest payments by 16.7%."
A chart from the Journal:
In less depressing (at least according to my dark humor) news from the Journal:
Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!: "A rural area near Zanesville, Ohio, was turned into a killing zone Tuesday evening and Wednesday as authorities destroyed 48 exotic animals—including 12 lions, eight bears and 18 endangered Bengal tigers, after their owner released them and apparently took his own life." The last part isn't so funny, but overall, it is an interesting indicator of the world in which we live. To me it sounds almost as if it were from the Onion, not a real newspaper, but it is, in fact, true.
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