From the Washington Post….

Watch out for cars with bumper stickers.

That’s the surprising conclusion of a recent study by Colorado State University social psychologist William Szlemko. Drivers of cars with bumper stickers, window decals, personalized license plates and other “territorial markers” not only get mad when someone cuts in their lane or is slow to respond to a changed traffic light, but they are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage — by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior.

It does not seem to matter whether the messages on the stickers are about peace and love — “Visualize World Peace,” “My Kid Is an Honor Student” — or angry and in your face — “Don’t Mess With Texas,” “My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student.”

H/T Marginal Revolution

Part one below….

The rest can be found in the sidebar here….

To much feel good fluff. But well worth watching to the end.

The Midwest is getting soaked…..

At 90, Mary McMahon is old enough to remember the record-setting floods of 1929, when the Cedar River crested at 20 feet. Thursday morning, she came downtown with her son to compare the flood of her childhood with the flood of 2008.

“I just can’t believe it,” she said, as she stood in front of U.S. Bank on Second Avenue and watched dirty brown river water flowing up the street in front of her. “It was bad then, but it was nothing like this… This is worse, a lot worse.”

Infrastructure is failing….

Engineers and National Guard teams examined dams across this storm-deluged state Tuesday looking for signs of damage from the high water that led to the major collapse that nearly emptied Lake Delton.

The huge breach in an embankment holding back Lake Delton released a torrent that washed away three houses and a stretch of highway. The weekend’s storm also displaced thousands of Indiana residents and was blamed for 15 deaths in the Midwest and elsewhere.

And cities are being evacuated……

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines River has punched a 100-foot wide hole in a levee, allowing water to gush into an area near the downtown of Iowa’s capital and largest city early this morning.

A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for 270 homes in Des Moines. Many residents have already left the area under a voluntary evacuation request issued yesterday.

From China Daily……

A draft law in Liaoning province makes it an obligation for adult children to contact or visit their parents regularly.

It is the first legislation of its kind in the country.

The province’s standing committee of the people’s congress recently released the draft – Regulation on Protection of Rights and Interests of the Aged – to seek public opinion.

It is expected to become law by the end of the year.

An article says if children do not live with their parents, they should “often send greetings or go home to visit them”.