P.W. Singer in Foreign Policy writes a nuanced piece about the rapid growth of "militainment" -- the merging of violent civilian video games and their use for military training. The Pentagon now spends $6 billion a year on video training. And in the civilian world?: "Modern Warfare 2" came out Nov. 10 and racked up $310 million in sales by the end of the next day. The first-day take for the blockbuster movie "Avatar" (following an ex-Marine remotely fighting through a video-game-like battle environment), was "a measly $27 million."

Mr. Singer points out that realistic video games can provide excellent training and are used to teach soldiers about battlefield medicine, sexual harassment and other noncombat things. But the big concern is that U.S. troops will come to see combat as a game as they sit at computers firing missiles or operating robots. He quotes Ken Robinson, a Special Forces veteran:

"You lose an avatar; just reboot the game. In real life, you lose your guy; you've lost your guy. And then you've got to bury him, and then you've got to call his wife."

Erin Schneider at emagazine says "airplane exhaust and greenhouse gases go hand-in-hand. But aviation waste of a different kind has also become a serious environmental concern. Air travelers produce an estimated 7.5 million pounds of trash every day from improperly discarding paper, plastic and food waste both while waiting in the terminal and on board.

"The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, reports that 75 percent of the trash produced by air travelers is recyclable, and that only 20 percent of that matter actually reaches a recycling center. Although recycling procedures vary by airline and airport, recycling at airports needs a serious overhaul."

The Infinonymous blog says Adam Ravenstahl's run for state representative may no longer "[rest] solely on his status as the even-younger brother of [Pittsburgh Mayor] Luke Ravenstahl." It notes that Adam Ravenstahl now "complains about politicians who put 'self-interest ahead of the public interest' " and goes on to remark:

"Some might have been too quick to dismiss Adam Ravenstahl as just another unaccomplished, juvenile product of nepotism. His first piece of campaign literature indicates he will conduct a principled reform campaign committed to ridding local politics of the likes of Luke Ravenstahl."

The Heritage Foundation:

"Despite the famed 1996 Welfare Reform Act and the more recent welfare adjustments in 2006, 60.8 million Americans remain dependent on the government for their daily housing, food and health care. The number of taxpayers is shrinking -- and the country may be rapidly approaching the point where more than one-third of Americans do not pay taxes for benefits they receive.

"In February 2009, the Democrat-controlled Congress and the new Obama administration may have driven the final stake into the heart of any semblance of fiscal responsibility when they enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- essentially overturning the fiscal foundation of welfare reform. Starting in 2016, Social Security will not collect enough in taxes to pay all of the promised benefits ... Add in spiraling academic grants, flat-out farm socialism and the swelling ranks of Americans who believe themselves entitled to public-sector benefits for which they pay few or no taxes, and Americans must ask themselves whether they are near a tipping point in the nature of their government."

The local blog Eight Days to Amish takes sides in the talk-show wars:

"In two weeks/two months/two years, it will be like it was before Conan moved to 'The Tonight Show.' Jay will still be on top by margins large enough to madden Letterman and his supporters. Jimmys Fallon and Kimmel will continue to perform to numbers equivalent to large family reunions, and Craig Ferguson will quietly continue to put on the best show of the whole bunch. And people who like third- or fourth-ranked Conan will continue to be furious that the rest of us don't appreciate his apparent genius.

"We live in times of such jaded partisanship we feel forced to take sides in silly talk-show wars. Really, who cares?"

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.