By Eric Stoller. It's generally a good thing when a post receives more than 20 comments. Sometimes comments are brought about by a radical idea or question. In other posts, comments have a bit more "troll flavor" to them. And, sometimes comments on a post are a mix of troll drive-bys, appreciation, criticism, and once in a while...wisdom. Last week, after a rather hectic week of work, business travel, and logistics, I sat down and wrote a post about my preference for Starbucks stores. Read more...

By Eric Stoller. In the last two months, I've spent time at Starbucks locations in the United States, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. My usual experience at Starbucks consists of purchasing a beverage and/or something to eat. I've probably spent a ridiculous amount of dollars, pesos, and pounds at Starbuck. Read more...

By Matt Reed. Most of the time, I try to strike a relatively measured and thoughtful tone here.  The report “Redeeming America’s Promise” merits an exception.  Just before the Great Recession, my state -- along with many others -- made a de facto policy decision to shift the lion’s share of the cost for public higher education from the state to the students.  Now that enrollments are in retreat, we’re in serious austerity mode, even as we’re increasingly subjected to “performance” funding on what state funding we do get. Read more...