Smarter than a 5th grader?

Not bloody likely. A young lady pursuing a PhD in neuroscience was doing pretty well. She answered the initial 10 questions correctly, and hit the $500,000 mark. Through the first 10 questions you can stop stop if you don't know the answer, and take all your winnings to that point.

Danger, Will Robinson . . .

The last question has a catch, though. If you decide to see the question, you must answer or you lose everything but $25,000.

You can see where this is going . . .

The final question was American history. She said she was very good at American history, and it was only a 5th grade question. She decided to answer it. She asked her mother and father, and they told her to make her own decision.

There are times when the father of even a PhD candidate should impart some common sense to his daughter . . .

The question was: Who was the first person to break the sound barrier in an airplane?

Do you know? I did. She didn't. Do you? No fair Googling!

Kiss $475,000 goodbye . .

The economic aid plan.

So the government is giving almost everyone a check to stimulate the economy. Well, actually, it's not the government's money. It's money that they took from someone and are giving it back to them - or to someone else.

What many people don't understand is that the government doesn't really spend money . . . they just re-distribute it.

Don't get me wrong - I'll take the check. However, the whole dust-up is a bit like taking a bucket of water from the deep end of the pool and pouring it in the shallow end. Lots of action, but not much effect.

When this guy asks a question, you just have to look him square in the eye and . . . .

. . . well, maybe not.