- The AFL-CIO lays out the what's what on the economic situation for 18-35 year olds. Main takeaways: more of them are unemployed, fewer of them can afford to build savings or get health coverage, they're deferring education or planning for a family because of the expense, and just over a third of them are living with their parents.
- In what's likely the best news coming out of Afghanistan of late, opium profits have declined, so fewer farmers are growing it.
- Obama urges the public to take steps to avoid catching the flu, particularly due to concerns about the new H1N1 swine flu. Seriously, wash your hands.
Note to would-be Farm Bill reformers everywhere: There are no U.S. Congresscritters whose constituencies include West African cotton farmers. There are no U.S. Congresscritters whose constituencies include clothing manufacturers (actually, you could almost put a period right there, they've mostly gone to China by now), garment distributors, or clothing retailers who've got even a passing desire for the price of cotton to go up. There are no U.S. Congresscritters whose constituencies could be characterized as having a broad, favorable public consensus towards furthering the goals of the World Trade Organization. This doesn't mean you can't argue against subsidies, it just means that the foregoing are always going to be weak arguments when your audience is the U.S. Congress.
