Sunday Reads...

​An irregular round-up of interesting reads.  Most of these made me go "hmmmmm," none of them imply concurrence:

Quote of the Day:
"People are all alike in their promises. It is only in their deeds that they differ.”
- Moliere

• A fascinating study looking at the daily behaviors of “conservatives” and “liberals” in America.  Conservatives spend more time being social and walking, liberals more time at work and online, as well as on social media (which might explain why other studies indicate more significant depression amongst liberals).
• With all of the conversation regarding historical selective breeding practices in the ancient world, some science-based results indicate minor potential outcomes for all of the hullaballoo.
• Peter Thiel’s address at Harvard covered a variety of liberal topics:

• Fascinating 60-Minutes piece on the Chinese illegal mass migration at the U.S. border.   So many questions.
  
• Sad.  Is charitable giving in the U.S. taking a back seat to political donations?   Add that to the growing list of attributes of a late-stage democracy.
  
• An intriguing study suggests that Western civilization's early rise and formation promoted the stabilizing prominence of the Rule of Law.
  
• Some interesting statistics on immigration employment.
  
• Commercial property in the United States is STRESSED.
  
• Charter Schools continue to outperform their traditional government schools.
  
• Reviewing state-level taxes on those who earn an income:
  
• America forewarned: China seeks MORE control over its tech sector.
  
• According to this research, one person can provide an inspiring example of selfish behavior, whereas it takes a group of people to inspire unselfish behavior.
  
• Social media use/abuse addiction in early teens is correlated with negative brain development.
  
• Entrepreneurship is validated in this study as producing opportunity and reducing recidivism amongst a prior incarcerated population.
  
• Another study found that charter schools increase the performance of schools near them geographically.  Competition is inherently beneficial.
  
• The link between parental occupation and children’s sleep quality was studied.
  
• Another study finding the Universal Basic Income project fails to deliver an increased benefit.
  
• Research suggests that progressive taxes retard worker productivity.