dead on arrival

The newest version of Grand Theft Auto is now in stores. Before you blow this off as one of those things, this videogame was released on Tuesday. It sold over $800 million on Tuesday alone. I don’t play Grand Theft Auto, but maybe I should. Almost a billion in sales in one day. Holy millionaire, Batman.

A few years ago there was a lot of discussion over whether cancer screening is worth it or not. It appears that cancer screening for colon cancer is effective.

Guess what? The GOP has voted to defund the Affordable Care Act again. Congressman John Boehner, standing in front of a sign which reads – #SenateMustAct – stated, “The House has listened to the American people. Now it’s time for the United States Senate to listen to them as well.” Basically, this is a stopgap spending measure that also defunds the Affordable Care Act and sucks oxygen out of the economic recovery. Then again, what’s new? If I’m not mistaken, this is the 43rd time the Republicans have voted to defund the Affordable Care Act. But, hey, what’s in a number? Let’s be clear. The Democrats in the Senate basically have two options. First, they could pass the spending measures and restore funding for the Affordable Care Act. Or, they can simply not bring the bill to the floor and declare it dead on arrival.

Food stamps? We don’t need any food stamps. At least, the House GOP does not believe that we need any food stamps. Once again, Americans need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, according to the GOP. Too many Americans are simply sitting around and enjoying food stamps. From economist Robert Greenstein (Center for Budget and Policy Priorities), “The House’s passage today of the Republican leadership’s bill to cut SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) by almost $40 billion over the next decade marks a new low for an already dysfunctional Congress. It would increase hunger and hardship all across our country. By cutting food assistance for at least 3.8 million low-income people in the coming year — including some of the very poorest Americans, many children and senior citizens, and even veterans — this cruel, if not heartless, legislation could jeopardize a vital stepping stone to many families who are still struggling to find work or who depend on low-wage jobs. As the nation slowly climbs out of the deepest recession in decades — with 22 million people still unemployed or underemployed — millions of families rely on SNAP to help feed their children.”

Although the new iPhone 5 received a very lukewarm reception, the iPhone 5S seems to be something special. ExtremeTech looks at iOS7 and Android 4.3. Guess who is stagnating?