Sunday reading

Here are some articles to consider on a Sunday morning.

Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at a headline in the USA Today from earlier this week. The headline, More than 8,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have deserted since the Iraq war began, was factually accurate but misleading. Yes, over the last four years there have been over 8,000 desertions, but without context that number means nothing. The headline would lead one to think people are deserting because of political considerations. Reality is, the number of desertions is actually lower than a similar period of peace time. Crazy Politico noted this earlier in the week. Problem is the people the headline was intended to fool have already been fooled and aren't likely to read the rest of the story. For example, the USA Today headline was passed off as news during Saturday Night Live news segment. For some folks, that's their main source of current events.

This may be a sign that Lynn Swann is gaining on incumbent Ed Rendell in the Pennsylvania governors race.

An angry Gov. Ed Rendell took a tape recorder away from a newspaper reporter during an impromptu interview this week, refusing to give it back for several minutes, according to the paper.

Here is an article that shows how some crooks launder their money thru other political campaigns to exceed maximum contribution limits.

Librarians were asked the question, "Which book should every adult read before they die?" Here are their answers.

Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe addresses the myth of the gender gap in voting.

Of the last seven presidential elections, Republicans have won five -- three times with more women's votes than the Democrats. For all the rhetoric about the mighty gender gap -- Democratic strategist Ann Lewis once called it ''the Grand Canyon of American politics" -- Republicans seem to bridge it without difficulty. That's because women aren't monolithic voters, as O'Beirne emphasizes, and they don't march in lockstep to the beat of liberal drums.