links for 2010-07-19

. In a recent paper titled "Predictors and consequences of differentiated practices on social network sites," researchers found that heavy use of sites like Facebook and MySpace doesn't affect college students' grade point averages. In fact, it's the usual suspects such as gender, ethnic background, and parental education that appear to have more of a determining factor in GPA than any kind of Facebook addiction.

So not only did the Founding Generation not harbor a grudge against the religion of the British Crown (which had tried to crush them), they were perfectly willing to give non-Tory Anglicans high official positions in the new Republic. It would be as though the the current chaplain of the Senate were a former al-Qaeda member who had broken with Bin Laden and declared allegiance to the United States.

That is, the September 11 attacks were not the work of a foreign head of state supported by his state religion. No Muslim government supports al-Qaeda. But even if the attacks had been of that sort, the Founding Generation had already made a key distinction between religious practice and political loyalty, and had granted freedom of religion to non-Tory Anglicans.

n rebuking Williams, the federation is doing exactly what the NAACP called on tea party leaders to do — condemn any racist elements within the movement to show the tea party is as inclusive as it claims to be. The federation’s action in expelling Tea Party Express is welcome, but should not stop with Williams, as there are clearly other racist and bigoted elements trying to make inroads into the anti-tax movement.