Archive for History
August 1, 2008 at 5:46 pm
· Filed under Economics, History, Politics
Obama has two great powerhouses working for his team: Greed and Envy. These two guys are the only hope Obama has of winning the election, because sound ideas are not his strong point. Sure, he wants to “change” things. But he wants to “change” things in ways that have already been proven failures here and elsewhere. At most it represents “change” like in the old joke from World War I:
“Goods news men! Today we all get a change of underwear and socks. Johnson, change with Smith, Jones, change with Franklin……”
Yes, Big Oil made something like $80 billion in profits in the last year. And their profit margin was what? Nine percent or so? That is not a great investment considering what you can get out of a decent S&P indexed mutual fund. And if you cannot understand the difference between a profit and a profit margin, and why it means that Big Oil is not unfairly profiting, then you either need to study more, or you are an idiot. If you think that Big Oil is making too much money then invest in Big Oil stock. Otherwise keep your greed to yourself.
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July 25, 2008 at 7:13 pm
· Filed under History, Movies
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July 22, 2008 at 1:32 pm
· Filed under History, Politics
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July 8, 2008 at 8:20 pm
· Filed under Ars Belli, History, Politics
Wow, Iran is really rattling the old sabers now! Mr. Fu is sure President Bush will see another opportunity to tell Israeli to do nothing in response to an increasingly belligerent and soon to be nuclear Iran. Whatever happened to the old Axis of Evil talk? Now that two out of three seem to be out of play, why hold up on number three? Surely President Bush would like to go out with a one, two, three, knockout hat trick, right?
Will is US Air Force B-52s in Qatar and Diego Garcia sit idly by if the US Navy in the Arabian Gulf is attacked? Has Iran forgotten that little lesson about their off shore oil rigs?
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July 8, 2008 at 12:25 pm
· Filed under Funny, History, Life These Days, Politics
So Mr. Fu cranks up the personalized iGoogle page, with the links to Digg. A link to “135 Famous People Who Struggled With Depression” appears, okay interesting. Then the BustedTees ad appears, funny and somehow cruel.
Looking over the list, Colin Farrell, actor in Alexander, well duh, considering that the movie bombed as bad as Hiroshima without going nuclear, who would not be depressed. And Janeane Garofalo? Oh the picture!?!?!? Mr. Fu disagrees with her politics, but she was cute in The Matchmaker and Mystery Men. What the heck happened to her? This is a tremendous warning against modern liberalism! Women, pay attention!
Depression is a serious condition. One problem with this list and one praise though. The problem is the inclusion of mass murders, though perhaps it does point out the depths one can reach while depressed. But on the positive side this list shows many accomplished people who suffer or suffered from depression. Some had tragic endings, but many, many of these individuals made such a positive impact on the world. Depression is serious, but treatable, and it does not have to be the only noteworthy thing in your life.
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July 3, 2008 at 4:02 pm
· Filed under Ars Belli, History, Politics
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June 25, 2008 at 4:53 pm
· Filed under History, Nerdish Geekage, Science
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May 27, 2008 at 1:00 pm
· Filed under History, Life These Days, Quotes
In discussing this quote:
In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.
- Andy Warhol
MISS SERIOUS was wondering if you got that all at once or could spread it around some? She also wondered if that was an average for humanity and that some would not get their fifteen minutes that others might have a bit more fame?
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May 27, 2008 at 12:58 pm
· Filed under History, Politics
In this country when the endorsement of Fidel Castro would mean an automatic loss in a Presidential election. Unfortunately Mr. Fu is sure that is no longer the case, particularly considering the praise for nothing that Barrack Obama gets from the press. But when a man who, with the cooperation of his thugs, brought one of the hottest economies in the Americas to its knees in a fortnight thinks that your policies would be best, you would hope that would ring as a vote of no confidence for an American.
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May 21, 2008 at 2:54 pm
· Filed under History, Politics, Quotes
This from the great novel, The Postman, by David Brin:
[A dream version of Ben Franklin opines] “It’s said that ‘power corrupts,’ but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptable. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. When they do act, they think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is insatiable, implacable.” — David Brin, The Postman, page 267
Mr. Fu presents, the nominees for the President of the United States, 2008.
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May 19, 2008 at 9:30 pm
· Filed under History, Movies, Nerdish Geekage, Science
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May 19, 2008 at 6:33 pm
· Filed under History, Politics
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May 19, 2008 at 6:32 pm
· Filed under History, Life These Days, Politics
The bumper sticker of the day is “The last time we mixed politics and religion people were burned at the stake.”
Was the last time we mixed religion and politics really the Salem Witch Trials? The 1690’s the best example they can come up with? Granted, twenty-five people being executed or dying in prison is something to look into, but how about something a little more recent?
Heck, Iran still mixes politics and religion to deadly result. They are whacking homosexuals (which do not exist in Iran according to Ahmadinejad) right and left over there. Where is the outrage? These are not people killed 315 years ago, this is like yesterday’s news!
Is not government blind to morality and ethics? The government does not care what laws are enacted, only that they are enacted and are enforced, right? Anyone under the authority of the government is by and large going to act in accordance with the dictates of that authority (see Cracked’s great overview of the Milgram experiment, et. al.). So what do you want, influences in the government that say there are absolute morals and it is wrong to murder and steal? Or do you want influences that say “whatever you want to do or believe is right?”
The profession of non-religion does not guarantee its implementation. The Soviet Union was supposedly a godless state, but wasn’t the State really their god? Which would you prefer? The man that says, “God provides for my needs, He wants me to provide for the needs of others out of the bounty with which He has blessed me, He wants me to love my fellow man and deal with Him as I wish to be dealt with.” Or the man who says, “The State provides for my needs, the State will provide for the needs of others out of the work of others, the State wants me to follow the rules, and to treat my fellow man as the State wants him treated.”
UPDATE: As SLAPSHOT pointed out, Jesus did not say, “Pay taxes and let the government feed my sheep.” He said, “You feed my sheep.”
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May 1, 2008 at 8:40 pm
· Filed under Funny, History, Television
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April 25, 2008 at 1:20 pm
· Filed under Ars Belli, History, Life These Days, Quotes
We were discussing the merits of self-defense with CLONE RED last night and this quote was brought up:
“Better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.”
— Booker T. Washington
It should be noted that Mr. Washington is a model American. Mr. Fu wishes we had more like him!
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April 24, 2008 at 4:15 pm
· Filed under Ars Belli, History, Politics
An article at Military.com looks at some planning documents from the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). It looks like they are kicking the U.S. Army Special Forces to the curb. This is an incredibly bad idea. These guys have some very unique skills that no one else in the U.S. military has. To lose that ability will come back to bite us. The Special Forces were created for good reasons, and those factors have only increased in the last 55 years.
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April 23, 2008 at 3:59 pm
· Filed under History, Life These Days, Politics, Quotes, SLAPSHOT Find
As Woody said on Cheers, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. English and math too.”
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April 19, 2008 at 1:45 pm
· Filed under Funny, History, Nerdish Geekage
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