What we as Americans need right now is a real enemy. Not some cult of personality with fanatics scattered all over the place. That's not an enemy we can unite against, they're too hard to pin down and define. The reason the War on Terror is faring so poorly in the eyes of the public isn't because of liberal media bias, or democrats laying blame, or republicans failing to pitch it to the public. Nope, the War on Terror is failing because we can't point to a map and say where it is, we can'...
Since the hurricane hit the other week, there has been a LOT of talk about what the next The rebuilding of NO is both an economic need, and would be a sort of testament to our own determination and strength as human beings... a sort of "Screw you Universe! You can keep wiping us out, but we'll be back!" Now, there's something to say there about the relative intelligence of that attitude, but look at anyone who has ever lived in a disaster-prone area. Shit falls down; they put it all bac...
First off, I’m not a parent. I’m a LONG ways off from having to deal with this situation from that point of view. However, I am a fairly recent college graduate who worked closely with professors and administrators in part time jobs while I attended school so I got to see the system from both student and staff perspectives. This week, many colleges and universities begin classes nation-wide. Freshmen are flooding into dorms and upperclassmen are returning to apartments and houses for ...
Ok, I'm sure a bunch of you read Dr. Guy's posts about the school district in Virginia that was selling off its entire stock of used iBooks to the public at $50.00 a piece. Well, the sale took place finally, and total chaos followed. I'm sure that's not what you expected to hear about a used computer sale. From the CNN.Com article: "People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man ...
The Space Shuttle Discovery successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California this morning, marking the first successful shuttle mission to space since the Columbia disaster two and a half years earlier. Now that we've gotten one back safely, maybe we can step things back up and get us back into space on a regular basis!
Another blogger posted an article this morning asking if we should be in Iraq, deleting all comments that were not a simple Yes/No answer, not allowing explanation or justification of the answer. I'm not linking the article here because I believe it to be a waste. It's a bad question that oversimplifies a complicated situation and an attempt to eliminate any reasoning and reduce it to a black and white issue where it's always been a dozen different shades of gray at best. Is the presense...
Today, the space shuttle Discovery was supposed to take off, marking the return to flight for NASA after nearly 2 and a half years following the Columbia disaster. It was scrubbed however due to a faulty fuel sensor. I can understand the desire to make sure everything is 100% a-ok, but this is a piece of a larger puzzle we've seen NASA put together over the past 20 or so years. A shift from exploration and experimentation to that of safety and reliability. It makes me wonder if we'll ...
Starting on June 17th, the Mainichi Daily News began reprinting an article dating back from World War II that was never printed, that never made it past US Army censors. It was the account of an American journalist who snuck past MacArthur's prohibition against journalists through luck, and a bit of lieing and became the first journalist to enter the remains of Nagasaki after the atomic bomb had been dropped. This reporter was in the fallout zone days before the American science teams first...
Yes, that's right... everyone's favorite Big Brother bill of recent memory is slated to be expanded, not cut back like it was supposed to be as time passed. What started out as a law designed to give law enforcement and intelligence agencies a greater amount of leeway in pursuing terrorist activities, and has faced criticism as overstepping basic liberties and freedoms we've come to expect of America is now set to have a fairly scary addition tacked onto it. Fun powers like the FBI being ...
In Baltimore, MD you can evidently find some of the nations dumbest store clerks AND law enforcement officials. See Link The short summary, man buys car radio at best buy, has it installed, later finds out it doesn't work with his car returns to Best Buy for a replacement. He is told the installation fee is waived because they put the wrong stereo in. He goes home satisfied over the resolution. Later he receives a call from Best Buy demanding payment for the installation, which he wa...