Good week, Bad week
Singles; Comebacks; The face of Obamacare
Good week for:
Singles, after a Chinese website launched a new rent-a-boyfriend service, so young women can take home fake beaus and stop parental nagging about finding a husband.
Comebacks, after Philadelphia voters elected a Whig to public office for the first time in 157 years. Robert Bucholz, who was elected to be a ward election judge, said the nation badly needed a third party that stood for pragmatic compromise.
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Freak shows, after hundreds of people lined up at Toronto’s City Hall to buy a signed, limited edition bobblehead doll of Mayor Rob Ford, who recently admitted to smoking crack cocaine. “We’re living in crazy times,” said one local, who waited three hours to get a Ford doll.
Bad week for:
The face of Obamacare, after the smiling woman whose photo appeared on the home page of HealthCare.gov said she had been subjected to fierce cyberbullying. “I didn’t design the website,” said Adriana, who refused to give her surname, “so I don’t think they should have any reasons to hate me.”
Theology, after Sarah Palin expressed her disapproval of Pope Francis, saying he’s “taken me aback” with his statements, which she described as “kind of liberal.”
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Racists, after a white supremacist who intends to set up an Aryan enclave in North Dakota took a DNA test on a TV show and discovered he’s 14 percent African. The show’s black host gave the horrified Craig Cobb a fist bump and called him “bro.”
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 Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikes Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops 
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 Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICE Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch 
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 Beth Macy’s 6 favorite books about living in a divided nation Beth Macy’s 6 favorite books about living in a divided nationFeature The journalist recommends works by Nicholas Buccola, Matthew Desmond, and more 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Making amends, Justice, Saying ‘cheese’ 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Reptile experience; Painless budget cuts; Driving with kids 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Closing the sale; Calling 911; Going to the circus 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Asking Google anything; Misanthropes; Persistence 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Torture, Irritating the cat, Being cheap 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Strolling in Naples; Infallibility; Mississippi 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature Tesla; Entrepreneurship; Fortune-tellers 
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Good week, Bad weekfeature The miracles of science; Wild times in Wisconsin; Holding hands