We support VA chief Shinseki He may be an easy target but he is not the source of current Veterans Affairs problems. As stated by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, “He is determined, focused and wants to factually understand a problem so he can get a sensible solution.” He is a soft-spoken soldier who does not pound the table or raise his voice. In 2003 he stood up to Rumsfeld when he said thousands more troops would be needed to secure postwar Iraq. For that he lost his job but not his integrity. We do not want a competent and honest man to be replaced with a glad-hand politician.

We're shocked that 275 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted by militants. We realize politics there are extremely turbulent, but it's unconscionable for children to be used as bargaining chips. We support the protesting >Nigerians that demand more government and military attention in this matter!

City Council, pass the community board reforms! We strongly support these reforms. Community boards are weak at best. At worst, they are dominated by self-interested or deeply biased individuals who directly, systematically oppose the residential majority of the community. It's time to re-draft the blueprints that permit such corruption to destroy our neighborhoods!

RIP Al Feldstein The activists of the 60’s got their early exposure to satire and inept government from the pages of Mad Magazine. Al cared about humor, kids and country and he made a difference.

We think you can learn a lot about yourself from your dreams. This is good for the mind. "While one might use lucid dreaming to act out all kinds of fantasies, researchers think there are applications for lucid dreaming beyond mere entertainment. Psychologists and other researchers are looking for ways it could improve our waking experience. " Dreams into art -- http://dreame.me/

We’re gonna miss you Dave! You've kept us entertained for years and we wish you the best in your retirement. We agree with Mayor Garcetti and >Los-Angelenos that CBS should create the next iteration of the Late Show in Los Angeles.

Democracy requires both Liberty and Justice. And giving billionaires orders of magnitude greater influence on elections than ordinary citizens is not just. This ruling pushes American society further along a cycle of increasing corporate influence from which it will be difficult to return.

Governor Christie isn't fooling us for a second. Not only was the "investigation" he ordered into the GW Bridge closings a waste of money ($1 million in legal fees fronted by >New-Jerseyans), but it was also a waste of effort! Unsurprisingly, it defends his ignorance, but it then illogically fails to explain why the lane closings occurred in the first place! If Christie really were innocent, that would've been the entire point of the investigation. What a petty bully.

In other neighborhoods, yesterday's 65° weather was an exciting taste of spring. For us >Lower-East-Siders, it was an omen of the out-of-control nightlife violence that summer brings. Two fights broke out outside of the Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side Monday night. One was an old-fashioned broken bottle duel, the other a violent attack of a female by a male. The Hotel's own security guards didn't even intervene--guards from across the street did! And it goes without saying in this neighborhood, the cops didn't show up until everything died down. Yet further examples of how >Lower-East-Siders are being run roughshod by bar operators in collusion with a corrupt Community Board 3 and NYPD Precinct 7, threatening the fragile economic progress made in the previous decade.

Mexico’s Avocado cartels >Americans, particularly >foodies, face another dilemma as conscience shoppers; are we supporting violence against Mexican farmers and workers by snacking on our beloved guacamole? The Knights Templar, one of Mexico’s most violent gangs, extorts nearly every working citizen in many areas of Michoacan. Through kidnapping, assault and intimidation they collect at least 10% of earnings from everyone in the avocado business: from growers, pickers, truckers and exporters to sellers of pesticides and other farm products. We praise brave >Mexicans as they band together in armed citizen defense groups and begin to openly oppose the gang. Their actions have forced the Mexican government, notoriously corrupt at every level, to finally stand up to the cartel and provide additional support to the people of Michoacan. Thanks to KCRW for the broadcast on their Good Food blog: “Jose de Cordoba: Avocado Cartels”