I'm told George Burns once said, "I've been reading so much about the dangers of smoking cigars, that I've finally decided... to give up reading."

Apparently, many in Congress find Burns' perspective compelling. House Republicans recently pushed through mid-year budget cuts that eliminate support for major literacy programs. One...

In a cartoon depicting the evolution of Good Samaritanism in the digital age, a man walks by a homeless person lying on the street and does nothing. In the next frame, he is at his computer -- "What's this?!! Sally needs a bag of fertilizer for her Farmville...