Unhappy holidays
Hope you had a happy Mother’s Day. Now imagine, Ezra Klein writes, how happy it might have been if America really cared about its mothers. Check out the Vox map and see how many countries offer mothers paid maternity leave. And then wonder how and why America doesn’t.
Enders game
It wasn’t just an election in Great Britain. It may be the end of “Great” in Britain. The election could mean the eventual withdrawal of Scotland from the United Kingdom. It could mean the eventual withdrawal of Britain, great or otherwise, from the European Union. Ross Douthat writes in The New York Times that the vote is suicide for Britain. E.J. Dionne writes in The Washington Post that the center held and flew apart at the same time.
Rare appearance
In South Dakota, they loved the presidential visit, even if they don’t love the president. That’s what happens apparently when the president rarely shows up in your state. Via The Washington Post.
Cuba libre
Ruben Navarette: Mark Halperin’s interview with Ted Cruz on Bloomberg Politics – in which Halperin kept asking whether Cruz was Cuban enough – was painful to watch. The show is called “With All Due Respect,” but it was respect that seemed to be lacking. Via the San Jose Mercury News.
Sky walker
Scott Walker appears to be the clear early favorite in Iowa. Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains why that’s such a dangerous thing to be — and not just because Rudy Giuliani was the early leader, along with John McCain, eight years ago.
Opposites attract
Two sisters, two views of gay marriage, and somehow it still all works. But it didn’t always look that way. Via The Atlantic.
Florida sun
@_FloridaMan is winning the Internet with tweets like this: “Florida Man Tries to Convince Woman to Buy, Cook, Eat Iguanas Duct-Taped to His Bike.” The thing is, the items are all true, which could happen only in Florida. Via The New York Times.
Warming up
Tired of dry writing about climate change flooded with jargon? The Guardian has launched a new poetry series bringing lyricism to the topic.
Photo credit: David Bleasdale, Creative Commons, Flickr.
