It's time for another istallment of Good News, Bad News!

Because there's just too much of the latter and desperately little of the former...

Good News:
BP might actually get some comeuppance for its negligent drilling practices in the Gulf and many other places. Is it too much to hope?

Bad News:
Dispersants being used to control the spilled oil may be poisoning people who are helping with the clean-up. And presumably the rest of the ecosystem too...
(via Atrios)

Good News:
Legislation repealing the stupid Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is about to be introduced, with support from both White House and House Democrats. No idea what it's fate might be, especially if it's framed as an amendment to something else, but it's a start!

Bad News:
The war is making you poor -- and that's before we look at what we've already spent. Does anybody even think about plans for withdrawel anymore? Are we really learning to live in a perpetual state of conflict, heedless of the price?

Good News:
Mark Twain's autobiography is about to be released this fall, after being held 100 years from his death, as he requested. There's bound to be some fun in there!
(via boing boing)

Pure Silliness:

• Tragically familiar: the sneaky hate spiral

  Eventually, the sum of the small annoyances begins to exceed your capacity for patience and rational thought. All it would take to send you over the edge into a bottomless pit of angry hysteria is just one more tiny, little thing...

  I like to take my misanthropy into solitude, preferably with trees. This is tragically incompatible with my current Life With Toddler...
  
  
• A map of Europe redrawn to reflect the lessons and injustices of history.

  In Britain's place should come Poland, which has suffered quite enough in its location between Russia and Germany and deserves a chance to enjoy the bracing winds of the North Atlantic and the security of sea water between it and any potential invaders.

  (via kottke)

Thought-Provoking:
A recent book ponders some cultural differences between conservative and liberal regions of the country, and notes some striking assumptions that often cause us to talk past each other. They write: In red America, families form adults [early pregnancy and marriage, and teens grow up because of adult demands]; in blue America, adults form families [teens are encouraged to be "smart" about sex and to wait to start families after they finish their educations]. Interesting lens for other conflicts, and the reviewer notes some other implications about our evolving society and how it treats these two paths.