Texas has a higher high school graduation rate than Connecticut

In fact, Texas also has a higher high school graduation rate than Massachusetts. Here's the spreadsheet (PDF file), sourced by the US Department of Education. Congratulations, California. You just squeaked by your cohorts in Mississippi.

Background here. Doubters from Calculated Risk should read that first paragraph carefully.

Digging in further, compare 4th grade math and reading scores for California and Texas. Can't blame the children of illegals here, both states have millions of them. You blue state readers, feel free to tear apart the Department of Education statistics and explain this. These aren't my numbers.

Europeans are deranged psychopaths

It's 2012 and they're sending Nazi psychopaths to the European Parliament.

Say what you will about American politicians, but the last Klan member sent to Congress has passed on. Sure, we have insane congressmen and closeted senators, but nobody in Washington is as wacked out as these Europeans.

I am in favor of raising taxes on the wealthy.

I agree with Barack Obama that it's time for the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share. That's why I think now is the time to end the massive welfare program for wealthy Blue State welfare queens that those of us who rent or live in reasonably priced houses are forced to pay for.

Many home buyers deduct their mortgage interest when assessing their tax bill, a perk that has helped bolster the income of millions of families - and the broader housing market.

That one subsidy alone costs us $86 billion a year. And while they're at it, eliminate the deductions for property and state income taxes. It doesn't seem fair that I have to subsidize a guy in New York because his property taxes are insane and his state government is so inept and corrupt that they have an income tax. It's time for the Blue State welfare queens to quit stealing from the rest of us. They need to give back for once.

Foxconn. It's like getting paid to go to college!

Years ago I posted about what campus life is like now. College a 4-year spring break vacation from reality.

Browsing Foxconn's awesome Website makes me wonder what all of the fuss is regarding working conditions in their Chinese factories. Working at Foxconn is like returning to those halcyon college days, with hot chicks, dorm food and awesome entertainment and athletic facilities. They even call their factories campuses! Plus Foxconn workers get one thing I missed out on (because I was class of 1988): Internet cafes! And these young people get paid to do this!

I don't know what they are rioting about. Sheesh.

I really wish someone would sell Zero Hedge some punctuation

The Tyler Durden's at Zero Hedge really need to buy some periods. Actually, that should be singular. There are supposedly multiple Tyler Durden's, but creating extreme run-on sentences (that are oh-so-sarcastic, tee hee!) is a very specialized art. Some incoherent gems from the past few days:

"With everyone convinced that it is only a matter of time before Larry Fink steps into the office about to be vacated by that walking 1040 disaster, Tim Geithner, thereby allowing the man who many say is the shadow king of Wall Street to define US policy for another 4 years (because Wall Street's complete dominance of US politics since JPMorgan's bailout of the US government is certainly not enough), there is still time to consider alternatives to a position that will make sure the only class to benefit from "four more years" are the uber wealthy (even as entitlement policies keep the uber poor at least content)."

"By now everyone knows how Americans feel about America: one quarter of the population (the half of the less than half that voted) is convinced the US is plunging into a socialist void that would make the USSR proud, another quarter of the population is furious at the wealthy and demands that they be taxed up the wazoo because "they didn't build that" but certainly profited from it, and is demanding wealth and income redistribution, while the silent majority is quietly picking up whatever pieces it can, and batting down the hatches, seeing very well, beyond the fog of bias and subjectivity, the inevitable epic deleveraging disaster, followed by even more epic printing that is coming this way."

"Aside from a one week knee-jerk ramp in refinancings - no doubt driven by every mortgage broker in the country dialing-for-dollars on the basis that Ben's-got-your-back - mortgage applications have fallen for five weeks in a row... We presume this merely means we need another moar unlimited QE - which given the fiscal cliff fiasco, is as likely as not. In fact, the next round of housing weakness, which is due imminently now that Obama has been reelected, will serve as the alibi the Fed needs to continue the unsterilized portion of Operation Twist 2 set to expire at the end of the year, and which as we explained, will mean that starting January 1, the Fed will monetize $85 billion/month in TSYs and MBS instead of just $40 billion in MBS."

(Above picture entitled Zero Hedge's View of the US.)

Freedom of Choice

It just seems appropriate this morning. Only people of a certain age like it.

Devo is on tour with Blondie right now. I missed the show here a few weeks ago. The buzz I heard is Devo is still fantastic, Blondie was a real letdown.

Some San Francisco residents need to get a life

Some San Francisco residents are about to pee in their britches. Why? The possibility Obama might lose.

For the past several weeks, the 60-year-old San Francisco resident has frequently bolted awake in the middle of the night, in "a panic attack," she said. She darts for her computer and checks the latest polls. Some days she's so distraught that she can't exercise.

Every morning, she gets e-mails from friends who've been just as sleepless. Most are so tense, they can croak out only a few words. "Very anxious." "Worried."

If you're this tightly-wound over politics you should probably disconnect from the news cycle.