Happy Hour Roundup

That’s it from me, folks, as always, thanks for reading and commenting. I hope you’ll forgive a washed-up Peace Corps volunteer a bit of indulgence on a Friday. Here are some links before Martin Longman takes over for the weekend.

1. Boeing’s demands for a town to host their 777x factory are pretty extensive.

2. Jonathan Cohn has an important story on how Healthcare.gov’s still has backend problems, but has been improved drastically.

3. Did Third Way just own-goal themselves into solidifying support for Social Security expansion?

4. Robert Kelchen argues over at the College Guide that we shouldn’t dismiss performance-based funding research.

5. Matt Steinglass has a really good post about coming to terms with his own racism in Togo.

And a few more South Africa links.

6. Josh Marshall, of all people, defends revolutionary violence through Mandela.

7. Jon Chait has a good post on conservatives and their failure to grapple with the historical legacy of racism.

8. Weigel argues Mandela’s legacy is inherently political.

9. And for a vision of what might have happened with a worse leader, check out Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. She really turned into a monster.

10. My final thoughts right before leaving South Africa. Still fair with regards to my own experience, but I don’t feel quite so bitter anymore. I hope to return someday.

Finally, here’s the Drakensburg boy’s choir singing the classic “Shosholoza:”