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CULTURE / TECH: Lisa Hoover's picks of the week

Health Insurance Crimes by John W. Stiles, Aug. 29
John Stiles points out that "we spend $5,267 per capita on health care every year." Considering what we get in return, that's, well...criminal.

Google endorses open source XMPP with Google Talk by Ken Edward, Aug. 27
Google Talk launched recently amid much hype and fanfare (mostly generated
by everyone but Google). Read Ken Edward's take on the service.

And for a much needed chuckle, check out....
The Call of the Crunch Berry by Psychedelic Pariah, Sept. 2
Psychedelic Pariah sent me running for the pantry with this post. I managed to scarf down my cereal and wipe the milk off my chin moments before my kids found me clutching an empty box.

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POLITICS: Picks of the week

(Politics Editor Lisa I was moving - and the elevator in her building broke down on the way out. Asst. Editor Lisa McKay fills in nicely.)

The monumental disaster that was Hurricane Katrina dominated the Politics section this past week, and the crisis brought out the best and worst in bloggers all over the country. A good deal of the writing (and subsequent commentary) has been viciously partisan, whether coming from the left or the right, so I have chosen to single out those pieces which stand out by virtue of their thoughfulness and the contributions they make to some meaningful analysis and discussion of an event that few of us have begun to comprehend.

New Orleans: A U.S. Atlantis? by Bryce Zabel, Sept. 1
Bryce raises some of the serious questions that will need to be addressed once the immediate needs of Katrina's victims have been met.

Crisis in New Orleans: What Lesson to Learn? by Bill Wallo.
The writer speaks to a need for less finger-pointing and more local accountability with regard to how our tax revenues are spent.

Stop blaming Republicans, Democrats, Fags or God. We only have ourselves to blame... by Silas Kain, Sept. 2
The writer reminds us that we're all in the same boat and ought to start rowing in the same direction.

***(See here for our selection guidelines.)