Kudos to Michael Barbaro and Steve Eder for writing Billionaire Lifts Marco Rubio, Politically and Personally for the New York Times on Sunday. The story they report is too familiar, but the shocking part is the casualness with which Senator Rubio defends conduct which, not so very long ago, ended careers.

Truth be told, politicians have always had benefactors. (For a brief history of the man who really benefitted from Kellogg, Brown & Root, which became Halliburton—no, the man is not Richard Bruce Cheney—read Brown & Root: A Company with a History. For the real deal, immerse yourself in Robert Caro’s Lyndon Johnson series, volumes two and three.) Then, though, they were less open about the situation.

Here’s How Some Baltimore Neighborhoods Reflect Segregation’s Legacy from May 6, with Steve Inskeep interviewing Richard Rothstein from the Economic Policy Institute about how housing segregation explains inner city issues, including police violence against African-American men. Tough stuff to hear/read, but Mr. Rothstein’s theory resonated for me, and if he’s right we’re fooling ourselves if we think we have any solutions at hand.

Bullsh*t. by Jessica Pressler for New York magazine on May 5 carries the subtitle The art of the sell, a half-century after Mad Men. Interesting reading!

Arizonans, wake up! Dry Heat by Eric Holthaus for Slate on May 8 has me thinking I may not return from my graduation trip. Scary, scary stuff!

A 5-Stop Eating Tour of LA’s San Gabriel Valley for Under $40 has me wanting to go to Los Angeles ASAP. Kenji-López-Alt describes the gastronomical tour he put together for his boss. Here’s a picture of the beef roll from 101 Noodle Express;

And, because I have committed myself to focusing on Calvin Trillin more often, here’s Three Chopsticks from the September 3, 2007 issue of the New Yorker. You’ll have to read the piece to get the answer to Mr. Trillin’s question: Does street food make the best cuisine?