On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in New Delhi.
–
And yet his spirit lives on - nothing good ever dies.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 9:34 PM MST No Comments
January 30th, 2008
Jan 30, 1948 was a bad day too
January 29th, 2008
I Can’t Look
ouch.
Now the sockpuppets will be even more insufferable.
Cry havoc! And let slip the frogs of war!
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Politics at 9:19 PM MST No Comments
January 26th, 2008
Stop, Before you hurt yourself
In light of recent interactions, this is screamingly funny.
Posted by macguiguru as Humor, Musings at 11:53 PM MST No Comments
January 25th, 2008
What Bush Built
Got friends who still think Bush and his GOP cabal are still the cat’s meow? Send them this.
| THE LEGACY OF GEORGE W. BUSH’S PRESIDENCY The Country He Inherited, The Country He Leaves Behind |
||
|---|---|---|
| United States & The World | January 20, 2001 | Today Under Bush |
| Real GDP Growth1 | 4.09% Over Prior 8 Years | 2.65% Over Prior 7 Years |
| National Debt2 | $5.7 Trillion | $9.2 Trillion |
| Budget Deficit/Surplus3 | $431 Billion Surplus over the Previous Three Budget Years | $734 Billion Deficit over the Previous Three Budget Years |
| New Private Sector Jobs Created4 | 1.76 Million Jobs Per Year Over Previous 8 Years | 369,000 Jobs Per Year Over Previous 7 Years |
| Americans in Poverty5 | 31.6 Million | 36.5 Million |
| United States & The World | January 20, 2001 | Today Under Bush |
| Americans Uninsured and Change in Uninsured Level6 | 38 Million Uninsured 4.5 Million Less in 2 Years | 47 Million Uninsured 8.5 Million More in 6 Years |
| Anual Total Premium Cost7 | $6,230 for Family Premium | $12,106 for Family Premium |
| Median Household Income & Change in Household Income8 | $49,163 a $6,000 Increase in 8 Years | $48,023 a $1,100 Decrease in 6 Years |
| Price of Gas9 | $1.39/Gallon | $3.07/Gallon |
| Cost of College10 | $3,164 per year | $5,192 per year |
| Personal Savings Rate11 | +2.3% | -0.5% |
| Consumer Credit Debt12 | $7.65 Trillion | |
| United States & The World | January 20, 2001 | Today Under Bush |
| US Trade Deficit13 | $380 Billion | $759 Billion |
| Strength of US Dollar14 | 1.07 Euros per Dollar | 0.68 Euros per Dollar |
| Combat REadiness15 | All Active Duty Army Divisions Were Rated At The Highest Readiness Levels | Not A Single Active Duty Or Reserve Brigade In The U.S. Considered “Fully Combat Ready.” |
| Foreign Oil Dependency16 | 52.75% of U.S. Liquid Fuel Consumption is Imported | 60.38% of U.S. Liquid Fuel Consumption is Imported |
| View of America Abroad Pew Poll of 10 Nations17 |
58.3% Viewed America Favorably | 39.2% Viewed America Favorably |
| Great Britain’s View of the US | 83% Favorable | 56% Favorable |
| Indonesia’s View of the US | 75% Favorable | 30% Favorable |
| Turkey’s View of the US | 52% Favorable | 12% Favorable |
| Germany’s View of the US | 78% Favorable | 37% Favorable |
1Bureau of Economic Analysis
2Department of Treasury
3Congressional Budget Office
4Bureau of Labor Statistics
5United States Census Bureau
6United States Census Bureau
7Kaiser Study of Employer Health Care Benefits
8United States Census Bureau
9Energy Information Administration
10Higher Education Coordinating Board of Washington State
11Bureau of Economic Analysis
12Insurance Information Institute
13United States Census Bureau
14OANDA.com: The Currency Website
15Speaker of the House Fact Sheet, 11/29/07
16Energy Information Administration
17Testimony of Andrew Kohut; President, Pew Research Center; 3/17/07
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Politics at 10:02 PM MST No Comments
January 24th, 2008
Three Kinds of People
For years I’ve had simple rules for relationships with people:
- Dear Friends
- Dire Enemies
- People I Don’t Know
Recently I was pondering if I should add another:
- People I Don’t Want to Know
but that’s just adding detail to Dire Enemies.
I try not waste too much brainpower thinking about those people and this quote helps me let go of them:
“When you’re angry with someone, you make them a part of your life in a way you don’t need.” — Garrison Keillor
So, folks that in some way diminish my joy in life are simply forgotten. It’s best for all concerned.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 1:25 AM MST No Comments
January 18th, 2008
Fleas
Qui cum canibus concumbunt, cum pulicibus surgent.
They who lie down with dogs will rise up with fleas. (Roman proverb)
After exposure to the denizens of local politics, this proverb means much more to me.
I’ve been working as a campaign volunteer for a city council candidate and have been astounded at the level of buffoonery being displayed on the amateur hit-blogs (fleas, if you will)*. One blog accused me of “getting the cached (deleted) pages” removed from Google. Just that alone is laughable - anyone’s that tried to have something removed from Google knows exactly how difficult it is. What’s jaw-dropping is that these are supposedly pillars of the community, businesspeople with an assumed amount of edumakayshun. Obviously I assumed too much.
It’s not just sad, it’s a symptom of the ongoing malaise in America and the loss of critical thinking skills. Knuckledraggin nitwits get rich, dodge their debts, lie, cheat, steal, rape, kill, etc and working-class folks get labelled terrists. Hard to get really upset about it (kind of like watching the neighbor’s sick pet laying in the yard neglected in it’s own barf) since it’s so pathetic.
Actually I feel sad for people who have so much external wealth, but such internal poverty.
(* Longmont was once a rabidly Republican town, home to the openly-recognized Ku Klux Klan, but is now, decades later, shifting definitely towards the center and left. This has the established, monied interests in a major-league panty-twisting uproar. Mild-mannered moms and elderly businessmen have girded on their keyboards and football-season zeal to demonize anyone and everyone linked to the destruction of their happy grafting-grounds.)
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Politics at 8:14 PM MST No Comments
January 16th, 2008
HERETIC!
A man is walking across a bridge one day when he sees another man standing on the edge, about to jump off. He immediately runs over to him and says,
“Stop!! Don’t do it!!”
“Why shouldn’t I?” the man says, teetering on the brink of jumping.
The first man replies, “Well there’s so much to live for!”
“Oh Yeah? Like what?”
“Well are you religious or are you an atheist?”
“Religious.”
“Me too. Are you Christian or Jewish?”
“Christian.”
“Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”
“As am I! Are you Episcopalian, Lutheran or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”
“Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist-Church of God or Baptist-Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist-Church of God.”
“So am I! Are you Original Baptist-Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist-Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist-Church of God.”
“Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist-Church of God Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist-Church of God Reformation of 1915?”
“Reformed Baptist, Church of God, Reformation of 1915.”
At that, the man rushes towards the fellow still teetering on the edge of the bridge, and shouts, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushes him off.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Religion at 10:16 PM MST No Comments
January 12th, 2008
LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb3THwZjnHY
Guaranteed to cause accidents, but insanely cool. WANT.
Posted by macguiguru as Humor, Musings, Tech at 12:25 AM MST No Comments
January 9th, 2008
The tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth
After many years of living next to a empty socket, this tooth became loose and needed extraction. Sigh. It was a loyal old soldier. May it rest in peace.
(click images for truly grisly closeups)
Posted by macguiguru as ME! ME! ME!, Photos at 2:00 PM MST No Comments
January 8th, 2008
Religion and money
Great post at P6 today:
One day I’m going to post a clip from The Word Network, where all these folks hang out
The gospel of money
Megachurch pastors and broadcast ministries are drawing renewed scrutiny for living lavishly off the faithful’s funds. Fortunately, a divide is emerging in the world of evangelicals: the ‘haves’ and the ‘will have none of it.’
By Mark I. Pinsky
Seems the religious right has several cases of ‘Prosperity Preaching’ going badly wrong. What with Richard Roberts resigning as president of Oral Roberts University amid scandal around misuse of schools funds. List of charges in Oral Roberts Univ scandal
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Politics, Religion at 6:00 PM MST No Comments
January 7th, 2008
Hannity Runs
Funniest bit of video I’ve seen in a decade. Sean Hannity literally running away from angry Ron Paul supporters after FOX blocked Paul from participating in the GOP debate. While the disintegration of the Republican party is sometimes sad and filled with pathos, watching this vicious bully being pursued by his own kind of mad dogs is simply funny beyond words. Karma is such a lovely thing sometimes and oh so poetic.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Humor, Musings, Politics at 7:46 PM MST No Comments
January 6th, 2008
Grasping at straws
Bill O’Reilly in confrontation at Obama event
Secret Service officials separated O’Reilly and Obama aide Marvin Nicholson after the Fox News Channel personality grabbed Nicholson on a post-speech rope line in a high-school gym here. According to a witness, O’Reilly reached with two hands for Nicholson — who at 6-foot-8 had a slight height advantage over O’Reilly — because he stood between O’Reilly’s cameraman and Obama as the newsman called out for the candidate’s attention.
Hm. Must be hard to be marginalized, especially with an ego as big as O’Really’s. I wonder how this would have gone at a GOP event? If a liberal host had grabbed someone from McCain’s campaign? Uh huh. Violent beating, arrest, charges.
Mr. O’Really best behave if he comes to the Democratic National Convention - folks in Denver might give him the surprise of his life.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Politics at 12:41 PM MST No Comments
January 5th, 2008
HOORAY!
Mich. spammer, 10 others indicted in alleged Chinese stock pump-and-dump scam
January 3, 2008
By DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Michigan spam king Alan Ralsky , his son-in-law and nine others have been indicted in Detroit on charges of violating federal anti-spam laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today.
The 41-count indictment said Ralsky, his son-in-law, Scott Bradley, 46, of West Bloomfield, and others used unsolicited e-mail to pump up the price of largely worthless stock in Chinese companies and sold the stock reaping huge profits and leaving Internet subscribers who purchased it holding the bag
Read the rest and LAUGH like a hyena.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc. at 2:23 AM MST No Comments
January 1st, 2008
Red, white and blue screen of death
Computer Glitch throws wrench into New Year’s show.
Yes - Windows strikes again. Well, sloppy preparation and Windows. You’d think anyone that’s ever worked with a PC before would know that you have to test, test, test and test some more if you’re running your project on Windows.
Let’s see - so far we’ve seen the following things brought to crashing halt by crappy Windows software:
- Atomic power plants (nothing to worry about there!)
- Conventional power plants (just another day!)
- Factories (long lunch kids!)
- Any number of businesses (“the Exchange server is down again…” - sound familiar?)
- Airlines (so what, takes forever to fly anywhere anyway)
- Space stations (don’t worry - it will take a year to fall!)
- Fireworks shows
Where do you want to go today? I’d like to suggest the local Apple Store.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Musings, Tech at 3:18 PM MST No Comments