This morning at approximately 10:31 P.M. PDT (2:30 A.M. my time), a team of scientists from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Project successfully landed a rover aptly named “Curiosity” on the surface of the red planet.
Aug 062012
Zero Sum
Political Stuff
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Jul 222012
There once was a time when I bore a fondness in my heart for the National Rifle Association. Back when I was a kid, growing up in the deep south surrounded by friends and family members that hunted for sport, I was introduced to the NRA at an early age. Back then, they promoted the point and purpose of the so-called “sporting life” as equally as they promoted the Constitutional principle of gun ownership as a basic human right, and they backed up both with a comprehensive focus on safety and responsibility that ensured that no gun owner ever underestimated the awesome power of the device he carried. Continue reading »
Base Campers Wanted
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May 132012
Yesterday, I posted a lengthy critique on the views of the conservative wing of American politics, and how their policies of late are more based on exclusion, rather than inclusion. Tonight, it’s the liberal’s turn.
For those unaware of the name Tenzing Norgay, he is the sherpa who accompanied Edmund Hillary to the the top of Mount Everest. By all accounts, Tenzing was an equal to Hillary, in almost every measurable capacity: both men carried the same weight, used the same equipment, and, by Hillary’s account, reached the summit at the exact same time. But, as history treasures individual achievement more than collaborative effort, Sir Edmund got the glory, while Tenzing was[unfairly] relegated to second place. What’s interesting to note is that neither man genuinely cared position of place at the summit; both agreed that the achievement mattered more than whose shoe landed where and when. Continue reading »
Fear and Loathing
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May 122012
To look at the conservative wing of American politics today is to see a group of people obsessed with the concept of denial. In the past year alone, Republicans have argued against the fair and equal distribution of the following: equal rights for people of color, equal access to healthcare and salaries for women, citizenship status for immigrants and children, marriage rights for gays and lesbians, economic safety nets for all but gigantic multi-national corporations, freedom of religion for all but the most fundamental arm of the Christian faith, and voting rights for any group unwilling to kneel before the GOP party line. Continue reading »
Statistical Insignificance: Or, “Where have all the GOP voters gone?
Geek Stuff, Political Stuff
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Feb 232012
Presidential primaries are never pretty – they are, after all, the proverbial “sausage factories” of American politics; wherein groups of sometimes civilized men sling intestinal materials at each other until the mess and overpowering stench becomes too much to bear (for both participant and observer) – but the 2012 GOP Presidential primary appears to be fast-tracking itself into one of the most intensively dislikable races in modern memory. Over the past few weeks we’ve witnessed a freakshow of delusional behavior coming from almost every GOP political camp save one (more on that later). From the usual factually challenged statements common to any political campaign (most, ironically, coming from a man calling himself an historian), we’ve witnessed the devolution of the grand old party into a collection of back-biting yard dogs, attacking not only each other with an increasing venom and hostility, but also the very populace they’re trying to win over to their side. The results, shall we say, are beginning to speak for themselves. Continue reading »