On three weekends this summer, the National Parks Service is offering free entrance at more than 100 parks that normally charge admission fees. The weekends are: June 20-21 (this weekend, Father’s Day), July 18-19, and August 15-16. Read more here.
Are we just in the early stages of another Great Depression?
In a provocative Swampland post yesterday, my TIME colleague Michael Scherer argued that the economy is still careening downward:
Forget what the CNBC squawkers tells you. We are not out of the woods yet. Economic measures continue to track remarkably closely with the downturn in 1929, the start of the Great Depression. These charts, by
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All-Time Favorite Cheap Foods
There are endless ways to stretch your food budget. With a little planning, one chicken can equal four meals—say dinner one night, chicken salad for lunch the next day, soup for a snack, and finally, leftovers stuffed into quesadillas. Combine a little rice here, some pasta and spices there, and an overall efficient, waste-nothing …
Morning Joe and other self-promotional activities
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That was me on Morning Joe this a.m. It was a vastly more substantive discussion than I expected, thanks mainly to the presence of Dylan Ratigan—although Mike Barnicle, Pat Buchanan and Willie Geist all contributed. I was also on public radio’s Marketplace Tuesday night, and on CBC …
The Obama regulatory revamp: Not the 1930s revisited
Here’s a piece on the regulatory revamp that I wrote for TIME.com this afternoon.
Update: Joe Nocera makes pretty much the same point.
Health Insurance Execs: We’ll Continue Canceling Coverage
File this under another reason we should be taking a close look at a public option for health coverage, and add this to the big debate. Yesterday, three health care executives first claimed that the cancellation of a customer’s policy generally occurred mainly in instances of fraud. But when asked if they would stop canceling policies in …
The Recession Isn’t Dogging the Pet Biz
There are no pets in my home. With three kids born in fairly quick succession, my wife and I are going on six years of regularly having to change somebody’s diaper. Our thinking is: We deal with enough poop already. We also are less than eager to take on the costs of caring for a pet. So no dog or cat, not even a goldfish or a parakeet …
Who Needs a Salary Anyway?
Those brilliant company execs have come up with some innovative solutions to trifling issues that come up from time to time—things like actually having the money to pay employee salaries. One hot trend: just stop paying them. They might still come in to work anyway.
It’s a Deal: Summer Sale at Diapers.com
Savings of 20 percent or more on sun screen, nursery furniture, strollers, formula, toys, and other items. Free shipping too, for orders over $49. Good through July 2 at Diapers.com.
Health Care: The Debate, Boiled Down
So much has been written and debated about health care over the last few days that it’s hard to think straight. Here are ten snippets from columnists, doctors, editorial pages, bloggers, politicians, and everyday people that make important points—ones that very well might get overlooked while the political battle rages on.
The financial regulation plan: Mixing the timid with the not so timid
The WSJ and Washington Post both appear to have gotten their hands on the Administration’s financial regulation “white paper” (the Post even has a pdf of it). I’ll write more on the subject tomorrow, but a couple of thoughts for now.
First, the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency seems like a big deal, and a good idea. It is also, …
Are You Going to Eat That? Probably Not
About 25 percent of the food you bring into your house is never actually eaten, says Wasted Food blogger Jonathan Bloom, via the Star Tribune. Americans throw out $100 billion worth of food annually, according to one conservative estimate. Next time you’re shopping ask yourself honestly, “Are you going to eat that?” If not, put it back, …