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Richmond Shreve is a former Senior Editor at OEN, a writer, and an author of short stories. His "Lost River Anthology" (amazon.com) was released in March 2009. His "Instructor Candidate Manual" (lulu.com) is widely used by motorsport clubs to train instructors of high performance driving.
"These days [he] calls himself a 'generalist.' He has excelled in several careers and has many areas of expertise. A retired business owner and marketing executive, he is also an electronics technician, a high pressure boiler operator, a published author, a website designer, a strategic planner, a Photo Shop professional, a race track driving instructor, a radio station engineer, a business consultant, and an active volunteer firefighter. He works from his home in Cape May Point, NJ." -- by Marguerite Chandler (his spouse)
Friday, November 18, 2011 Conspiracy Porn
In his review of the Umberto Eco's new book, David Bell does a grand tour of fictional and "real" conspiracy theories. It is a great read, both humorous and scathingly critical of the magical thinking that spawns elaborate plot theories. One can infer a lot about what fuels believers from Bell's perceptive review of 'The Prague Cemetery.'
Doubtless some of OEN's most prolific comment writers will take offense.
Thursday, May 27, 2010 Will Dirty Politics Kill the Internet? | Save the Internet (1 comments)
Congress just sold you out to Comcast, Verizon and AT&T.
Big phone and cable companies are so determined to dismantle consumer protections on the open Internet that they've spent millions to flip Congress against you. Earlier this week, many in Congress delivered.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Rand Paul's Principled Absurdity | The New Republic (1 comments)
"Paul, like many libertarians and Tea Party activists, is so obsessed with the possibility that the state might commit an injustice that he's indifferent to the reality actually existing injustice at the hands of private citizens. As far as these radical Lockeans are concerned, the former is tyranny, pure and simple, while the latter is just life ..."
Monday, May 24, 2010 The Food Movement, Rising | The New York Review of Books (1 comments)
Where many social movements tend to splinter as time goes on, the food movement starts out splintered.But there are indications that these various voices may be Coming together.
Thursday, May 6, 2010 The Reverse Katrina | The New Republic (2 comments)
Rarely has the news of the day run so counter to the spin on the news of the day. It's hard to argue that the difficulties we confront were caused by an excessively powerful "big" government. Rather, most of them arose from the government's failure to do its job in the first place. If this disaster-filled week tells us anything, it's that government works.
--E.J. Dionne Jr.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Concord fires first shot in water battle - The Boston Globe
"All these discarded bottles are damaging our planet, causing clumps of garbage in the oceans that hurt fish, and are creating more pollution on our streets,'' Hill said. "This is a great achievement to be the first in the country to do this. This is about addressing an injustice.'' -- Jean Hill
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Planet Doom | The New Republic
Nine scenarios for imminent apocalypse--only one is global warming.
Friday, April 23, 2010 Goldman Sachs | Galleon Probe Turns to Buffett Deal - WSJ (5 comments)
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director tipped off a hedge-fund billionaire about a $5 billion investment in Goldman by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. before a public announcement of the deal at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, a person close to the situation says.
Friday, April 23, 2010 Daniel Henninger: Democrats at the Edge of the Cliff - WSJ.com (2 comments)
Conservative WSJ columnist gloats over notion that falling confidence in government foretells election disaster for Democrats. But a look at the chart shows that most of the recent decline happened under Republicans. Progressives should not assume that "everybody" knows who brought on the distrust. Worth a read to see what sort of thinking may fuel the GOP spin machine.
Thursday, April 22, 2010 Breaking the Banks | The Nation
Citizens need to direct their anger at weak-kneed lawmakers. Organized people are often outgunned by organized money, but people still have a shot at winning this fight--and terminating political careers if they don't.
Thursday, April 22, 2010 Loose Tea | The Nation
Fed a steady diet of paranoia and emotional appeals to vague concepts like freedom and liberty, they appear uninterested in the details of governing, to which even the Republican Party's elite pay lip service, and unable to espouse a vision, however cramped, of collective interest. Their logo and logic is simply Don't Tread on Me. That might work, for now, in securing enough "haves" to muck up GOP primaries.
Monday, April 19, 2010 The Populism Of The Privileged | The New Republic (1 comments)
In fact, both parties stand to lose if they accept the laughable notion that this media-created protest movement is the voice of true populism. Democrats will spend their time chasing votes they will never win. Republicans will turn their party into an angry and narrow redoubt with no hope of building a durable majority.
Sunday, April 18, 2010 Preoccupations - The Art of 10 Years of Telecommuting - NYTimes.com
It's hard to believe, but some people still don't understand telecommuting. For example, I shop online a lot because it saves time, and some of my relatives know that. I'm constantly online for my job, too, and I think one of them is confused. He once said he thought I didn't really work but spent my days chatting and shopping online.
Friday, April 16, 2010 Climate Change - Building a Green Economy
"Like the debate over climate change itself, the debate over climate economics looks very different from the inside than it often does in popular media. The casual reader might have the impression that there are real doubts about whether emissions can be reduced without inflicting severe damage on the economy." -- Paul Krugman
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Nuclear Fallout | The New Republic (1 comments)
Obama's cool response to the Detroit underwear bomber showed that he doesn't want America overreacting to the threat of conventional terrorism. But nuclear terror--that's another matter. "It would be a catastrophe for the world," Obama explained at the 47-nation nuclear summit he hosted in Washington this week.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Java zero-day flaw under active attack | Zero Day | ZDNet.com
Just days after Google researcher Tavis Ormandy released details on a dangerous new Java vulnerability, malicious hackers have pounced. Visitors to a popular song lyrics site featuring Rihanna, Usher, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus songs get a drive-by virus download that infects their computers. Oracle Sun has thus far declined to issue and emergency patch to cure the vulnerability of their Java product.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Timothy Geithner - Strong Reforms Needed (1 comments)
"It is simply unacceptable to walk away from this recession without fixing the system's basic flaws that helped to create it." --- Geithner
Friday, April 9, 2010 A Change at Apple Causes Trouble for Adobe
Apple moved to further block Adobe from making it easy for software developers to create new applications for the Iphone and Ipad. Adobe Flash multimedia used in many websites won't display, and now Apple's developer agreement bars other applications created using some Adobe tools.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 Is Karzai Addicted to Heroin? (1 comments)
"In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan's most profitable exports." --- former UN envoy Galbraith.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 Europe's worrying gerontocracy | The Economist
Gerontocratic rule certainly poses long-term dangers. But Europe must above all avoid being pulled apart, as some countries tackle ageing better than others. Old age is not the enemy of reform: ignorance, selfishness and timidity are.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Court Sides with Comcast on Net Neutrality (1 comments)
"Companies selling Internet access are free to play favorites with content on their networks, to throttle certain applications or simply to block others. The ability of the FCC to support broadband through universal service is in jeopardy, as is the agency's ability to protect consumer privacy, ensure access to broadband-based emergency communications or promote access to broadband for the disabled. --- Public Knowledge, D.C.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Big Brother is Indeed Watching You | ZDNet.com
" ... let's say you as an employee want to spill the beans on an upcoming product or corporate strategy, go off on a politically incorrect tirade, use Facebook as a vehicle to blow the whistle on perceived or misperceived shady behavior, or start rumors of an impending acquisition or anything that might affect shareholder value. It may be important for the company to know these things,.." --- Brian Sommer.
Monday, April 5, 2010 At Snopes, a Quest to Debunk Misinformation Online - NYTimes.com
After the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Snopes dissected a letter purporting to explain why he was unfit for acclaim. It was the site's most searched subject soon after.
Monday, April 5, 2010 In Britain, a Laboratory for Newsprint's Future - NYTimes.com
The Times, with a storied name and a weekday circulation of 505,000, and The Reporter, which sells about 15,000 papers weekly, occupy very different positions in the newspaper market. But their decisions show how Britain is turning into a laboratory for the future of newspapers in the digital era.
Monday, April 5, 2010 Street Fight | The New Republic
Obama can get everything he wants on financial reform--if only he gets tough
Monday, April 5, 2010 The Perils Of Polarization | The New Republic
Political science research finds a strong inverse relation between the level of combat between the parties and citizens' trust in their governing institution. While a measure of mistrust is functional in a democracy, excessive mistrust hampers democratic self-government. With trust at historic lows, we have reached that point.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Where the rhetoric of rage can lead (1 comments)
"The Hutaree militia and the rising risk of far-right violence ... According to the indictment, the group had been plotting for two years to assassinate federal, state or local police officers." - washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Judge Invalidates Human Gene Patent
"The case could have far-reaching implications. About 20 percent of human genes have been patented, and multibillion-dollar industries have been built atop the intellectual property rights that the patents grant."
Monday, March 29, 2010 Google pwns hackers in Vancouver
With cash prizes as incentive, hackers were successful with all the popular web browser software except for Google Chrome.
Monday, March 29, 2010 Can "No' Revive the Republicans?
Today the Democrats are the party of initiative and the Republicans are the party of reaction, if not outright insurrection. The Opinionator analyzes how this is working for them.
Monday, March 29, 2010 Has Viral Gone Viral?
"These new media have made our world into a single unit. The world is now like a continually sounding tribal drum, where everybody gets the message all the time." -- Marshall McLuhan, the famous media professor and theorist.
Saturday, March 27, 2010 U.S. take = $8 billion - WaPo (1 comments)
[Citi] is about to pay a king's ransom for its federal rescue. The Obama administration is making final preparations to sell its stake in the New York bank, according to industry and federal sources. At today's prices, the sale would net more than $8 billion, by far the largest profit returned from any firm that accepted bailout funds, and the transaction would be the second-largest stock sale in history." -- David Cho, WaPo
Saturday, March 27, 2010 AT&T Plans $1 Billion Charge for Health Care - NYT
AT&T said Friday that the charge reflected changes to how Medicare subsidies are taxed. Companies say the health care overhaul will require them to start paying taxes next year on a subsidy they receive for retiree drug coverage.
Friday, March 26, 2010 Regulators, Mount Up | The New Republic
"With a two week recess coming--notwithstanding the acknowledgment that something's going to happen here by Republicans on the committee--we want to continue to build momentum," says one official. It looks like this bill is headed across the finish line with more than just a nudge.
Friday, March 26, 2010 Oh, The Humanities! | The New Republic
Alarming reports about the condition of the humanities reached epic proportions during the so-called Culture Wars, and now after a relatively quiet few years, it appears that a new wave is upon us. And with good cause: Today, Grafton informs us, only one-third of all undergraduates major in the arts and sciences, and less than one-third of them in the humanities.
Friday, March 26, 2010 Breaking the Race Barrier -- YES! Magazine (1 comments)
"Race limits us--it is a concept designed to divide and conquer us. What really matters is expanding the capacity of communities to experience love." -- Adrienne Maree Brown
Friday, March 26, 2010 Frank Schaeffer: Obama Critics, Admit You Were Wrong (43 comments)
We Obama supporters still trust our initial impression of him as a great, good and uniquely qualified man to lead us.
Obama's steady supporters will be proved right. Obama's Lefty critics will be remembered as easily panicked and prematurely discouraged at best and his critics on the Right will be remembered as nothing but shriveled hate mongers.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 Myths About Health Care Reform Remain - NYTimes.com
Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist, and health policy researcher at the University of Michigan explains why misinformation is so hard to kill. His research explains why unscrupulous and self-serving advocacy groups can do so much damage. Though this article focuses on the disinformation propagated about health care reform, the principles apply to conspiracy cults and other social aberrations.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 House of Anger - [NYTimes]
Having welcomed Tea Party rage into their home, and vowing repeal, the Republicans have made a dangerous bargain. First, they are tying their fate to a fringe, one that includes a small faction of overt racists and unstable people.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 The Mad Tea Party
The Nation exposes Glen Beck's new conspiracy theory: "...'The Left'--which encompasses everyone from the Democratic Leadership Council to Maoist sectarians--is a disciplined and near omnipotent army marching in lockstep to a decades-old master plan for domination called the 'Cloward-Piven strategy' or, as of January 20, 2009, 'Cloward-Piven government.' "
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Adaptation -- Noam Scheiber, TNR
Fortunately, one of the real virtues of this White House is its ability to adapt--the Obama high command rarely makes the same mistake twice. Round two of health care reform proved that it learned the lesson of its misguided bipartisanship, and that it had developed a much keener sense of timing. If the last two months are any indication, health care reform may only be the beginning of a string of big accomplishments.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Truman. Johnson. Obama
"[A]s with Medicare, this bill is every bit as important for the statement it makes. Medicare affirms the principle that the elderly have a right to affordable medical care, even if it requires government help. Medicaid does the same for the poor. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act extends the promise of affordable care to the rest of the country ..."
Monday, March 22, 2010 The Lesson of Health Care Reform.
"[The static Washington insider] model needs to be discarded, and replaced by the kind of political model that would be familiar to Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan: one where the politics of maneuver within Washington was supplemented--or better, transformed--by a politics of vigorous protest and advocacy. That's the real lesson of the health care battle." --John B. Judis, TNR
Monday, March 22, 2010 Last Hurrah -- GOP fails to deliver Obama's Waterloo
-"The GOP went all out to deliver President Obama a legislative Waterloo, and ultimately came up short. For a party that prides itself on being ruthless and efficient and competent, this is a particularly devastating blow ..." -- Michelle Cottle.
Sunday, March 21, 2010 Jihad Jane's adventures in colorblind evil - Leonard Pitts Jr. - MiamiHerald.com
Evil is not a color.
It has no particular religion nor creed, nor style of dress, nor gender nor geographic home. Evil is an equal opportunity employer.
One hopes we learn at least that much from the adventures of Jihad Jane.
Sunday, March 21, 2010 Be Very Afraid - Leonard Pitts Jr. - MiamiHerald
Not hope, nor patriotism, nor progress, nor any of the nobler emotions and impulses by which human beings are driven. Nope. None of those.
Instead, fear. Again.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 Would You Pay $20 for Access to a Breast Cancer Cure? -- NYTimes
The Pink Army Cooperative hopes to build a cheap virus in its labs that could be tweaked on an individual basis to hunt down and kill breast cancer cells and hopes to reduce the cost of such personalized cures to the $5,000 range, possibly in a few years. It was set up to try to make sure the public has access to such cures.
Friday, March 19, 2010 Killer Weed (cartoon) (1 comments)
Cartoonist Signe on the killer weed.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 Fallen | The New Republic
"One of the tragedies of the viciously politicized battle over health care reform is the defection of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops from a cause they have championed for decades.
Indifferent to political fashions, the bishops were the strongest voices in support of universal health coverage, a position rooted in Catholic social thought that calls for a special solicitude toward the poor." (more)
Thursday, March 18, 2010 Preparing for 2014-15 "Oil Crunch" Forecast by UK Industry Group (2 comments)
Peak Oil may have arrived, or it may not arrive for 10 years, but it makes little difference in the larger scheme of things. This quick link, and the links that follow in my comment provide insight into this critical problem. Thanks to Dr. Ross McCluney and William N. Ryerson for these. --- R B Shreve
Thursday, March 11, 2010 Move Over America | Protect Law Enforcement Officers
More than 150 U.S. law enforcement officers have been killed since 1999 after being struck by vehicles along America's highways, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Nearly every state now has a law that requires drivers to move over a lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle. Fines as high as $500 can be levied against those who blow on by at full speed.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 The bogus Republican claim that Obamacare is a government takeover of one-sixth of the economy. - By Daniel Gross - Slat (1 comments)
There have been lots of absurdities in the debate--such as it is--about health care reform. There's the hypocrisy of people dependent on government-run health care complaining about government-run health care. And now comes the Republican canard that the current health care reform proposal constitutes a government takeover of one-sixth of the economy. (more)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Distracted Driving in Ambulances and Police Cruisers - NYTimes.com
They are the most wired vehicles on the road, with dashboard computers, sophisticated radios, navigation systems and cellphones. While such gadgets are widely seen as distractions to be avoided behind the wheel, there are hundreds of thousands of drivers -- police officers and paramedics -- who are required to use them, sometimes at high speeds, while weaving through traffic, sirens blaring. (more)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 A Talk with Charles Thacker, the Turing Winner - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com (1 comments)
"Mr. Thacker, 67, was a member of the storied crew who shaped the future of computing with a series of hardware, software and networking advances at Xerox PARC during the 1970s. He was the lead designer of the Alto, the prototype of the modern PC, with the technology for modern graphics, pick-and-click icons to guide users, multiple on-screen windows and desktop publishing.
Monday, March 8, 2010 Geithner Saved Economy - Lost Public : The New Yorker (8 comments)
"...he was hired not for his critique of contemporary capitalism or for his abilities as a communicator but for his experience as a financial firefighter. From his time as a mid-ranking Treasury Department official, during the nineties, to his presidency of the New York Fed, from 2003 to 2008, he worked on resolving a series of financial crises around the world. ... he appears to have succeeded in putting out another inferno."
Monday, March 8, 2010 ITVS to Offer Short Films to Draw Young Viewers - NYTimes.com
ITVS is best known for its financing of documentaries, many of which appear on PBS's "Independent Lens" series. But beginning on Monday, the organization will present a series of brief, fictional films that cast social issues into the future, in the hopes of drawing a younger audience not necessarily interested in public television. (more)
Monday, March 8, 2010 The Mousavi Mission | The New Republic
"The regime has resisted turning Mousavi into the Nelson Mandela of the movement--a prisoner who would symbolize the regime's horrors, a cause célèbre for world opinion. With his soft voice and modesty, his commitment to non-violence and reason, he's the one martyr that the regime can't afford."
Saturday, March 6, 2010 How Do We Find Our Way?
Wayfinding used to be a topic for highway engineers, and icon designers. But in this series of articles in Slate, it achieves the status it deserves. Wayfinding is crucial to safety, tourism, and the very public personality of our cities, towns, and highways. Here's the first article in a fascinating six part series.
Friday, March 5, 2010 Sink Or Swim | The New Republic
"Republican health care plans reflect the party's increasingly widespread belief that good health, like other forms of prosperity, is a matter of personal responsibility. Democratic plans to help the sick at the expense of the healthy therefore amount to socialism. -- Jonathan Chait
Friday, March 5, 2010 Thermite Evidence?
Scientific discussion of thermite theory which includes video demonstrating thermite in action.
Friday, February 26, 2010 Summited Out | The New Republic
"Now It's Time for Democrats to Pass Health Care Alone. ... The GOP wants capitulation, not compromise." -- Jonathan Cohn, TNR
Thursday, February 25, 2010 Odd-ball Winter Weather a Wake-Up Call
"Global warming is having a seemingly peculiar effect on winter
weather in the northern United States. Winter is becoming milder
and shorter on average; spring arrives 10 to 14 days earlier than it
did just 20 years ago. But most snowbelt areas are still experiencing
extremely heavy snowstorms. Some places are even expected to
have more heavy snowfall events as storm tracks shift northward ... " (more)
Thursday, February 25, 2010 Poll shows concern about American influence waning as China's grows - washingtonpost.com
"Facing high unemployment and a difficult economy, most Americans think the United States will have a smaller role in the world economy in the coming years, and many believe that while the 20th century may have been the "American Century," the 21st century will belong to China.
Saturday, February 20, 2010 Congress is Dysfunctional?
Congress is dysfunctional? ~ Jack Ohman Editorial Cartoon
Friday, February 19, 2010 2 Chinese Schools Said to Be Linked to Online Attacks - NYTimes.com
"A series of online attacks on Google and dozens of other American corporations have been traced to computers at two educational institutions in China, including one with close ties to the Chinese military, say people involved in the investigation." ~ NY Times
Thursday, February 18, 2010 Book Bytes - 72: Smarter Grids, Appliances, and Consumers | EPI
"Existing electricity grids are typically a patchwork of local grids that are simultaneously inefficient, wasteful, and dysfunctional...The lack of transmission capacity in the eastern United States is estimated to cost consumers $16 billion a year in this region alone." ~Lester Brown
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Go Get 'em
Cartoonist Tony Auth foresees the future. (From your pen to God's ears ... er, God's eyes, Tony)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Road to Recovery
At last Obama is going on the attack. Check it out. It about time he started reminding folks where this mess got its start.
Monday, February 8, 2010 China Announces Arrests in Hacking Crackdown - NYTimes.com
"Their crackdown on this apparent hacker group needs to be placed in a broader context," Mr. Deibert said. "I would characterize it as window dressing."
Public security officers in Hubei province also shut down a Web site said to be used to raise more than $1 million in membership fees from 12,000 paying members, according to the Wuhan Evening Post in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei.
Saturday, January 30, 2010 The President's Q&A with House Republicans
President Obama fields hardball questions from Republicans. Each of the questions "asks an answer" and it is revealing how Obama thinks on his feet. His responses are measured, factual, and challenge the implications of questions worded to put him on the spot. It's impressive. But we are left wondering if he is trying to teach pigs to sing (it doesn't work and annoys the pigs.)
Friday, January 29, 2010 A.Word.A.Day --hagiography
Wordsmith.org broadcasts a word a day to add to your vocabulary. Most are a bit too arcane for popular writing, but this one is too good not to share --- especially with the example offered. (grin)
Sunday, January 24, 2010 Op-Ed Columnist - What Could You Live Without? - NYTimes.com
What would make a family sell their home and give half to a charity? A thought provoking question against the background of rescued banks paying bonuses after being at the brink of failure, and other manifestations of shameless avarice and exploitation.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Does He Feel Your Pain? | The New Republic (1 comments)
"While the party loyalists can blame Martha Coakley's defeat on her ignorance of Red Sox baseball, it was clearly a message to the president and his party. Yes, a less inept candidate might have beaten Scott Brown, but if Obama and his program had been more popular in Massachusetts, even Coakley could have won--and by ten points or more." -- John B Judis
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Drew Westen: Obama Finally Gets His Victory For Bipartisanship
"It is a truly remarkable feat, in just one year's time, to turn the fear and anger voters felt in 2006 and 2008 at a Republican Party that had destroyed the economy, redistributed massive amounts of wealth from the middle class to the richest of the rich and the biggest of big businesses, and waged a trillion-dollar war in the wrong country, into populist rage at whatever Democrat voters can cast their ballot against."
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Fewer Cars on the Road? Earth Policy Institute Says 'YES' (2 comments)
We now have more cars in the US than we have drivers. With 80% of us living in urban areas where a car can be more trouble than it's worth, EPI predicts a downturn in automobile ownership.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 A troubling new form of media manipulation | Tom Foremski: IMHO | ZDNet.com
Software engineers have a saying: garbage in, garbage out. If we have a biased media, we will be less able to make good decisions. And we have a lot of important decisions to make: about the economy, energy, education, elders, ethics " and those are just the "e's.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 Multicultural Critical Theory. At Business School? - NYTimes.com
Systems thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking ... whatever you label it, how we think is critical to solving the problems society faces. This article explores how business leaders and business schools are looking to the disciplines of the liberal arts to be more effective.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 The Story of Cap and Trade
The Story of Cap and Trade (video) is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard (Story of Stuff) reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what's really required.
Monday, January 11, 2010 Docudrama | The New Republic
Johnathan Cohn of The New Republic reviews a "secret" report by the famous consulting firm McKinsey & Company which purportedly assesses the impact of Obama-care on the healthcare industry.
Monday, January 11, 2010 Fareed Zakaria - Don't panic. Fear is al-Qaeda's real goal. - washingtonpost.com
Consider how effective each of the terror incidents has been since and including 9/11. How many billions have been spent in direct response? How many more in lost time and inconvenience due to anti-terrorism security? And how about the intangible losses of freedom?
Fareed Zakaria suggests that we are delivering exactly what terror tactics seek.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 5 Myths About a President's First Year
Washington Post writer Cillizza provides an illuminating perspective contrasting Obama's first year with other President's.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 Michael Pollan: Help Protect Our Farmers From Assaults By Monsanto - The True Food Network (1 comments)
Here's an activist group that is taking on Monsanto and agribusiness. I'm not advocating that you give them money; I just am pleased to see an activist organization taking on the big guys (Monsanto, Cargill, others) that so effectively lobby congress and exploit the law and the courts. Maybe you are too.
(Disclaimer: I have no connection with the organization or its principals. I'm not recommending it as a charity.)
Monday, November 16, 2009 Seven salient facts about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine (4 comments)
Hitchens implies that seven salient facts had to be relegated to secondary importance for those around Hasan not to perceive that he was dangerous. Just hindsight?
We should frankly acknowledge our prejudices, and then see how our efforts NOT to seem biased distort our capacity to reach rational conclusions.
In our desire not to "profile" an ethnic group do we inappropriately downplay critical information?
