Monday, October 31, 2011

...reflections...


"Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair."
~ Sam Ewing

Saturday, October 29, 2011




"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." 
~ Frank Zappa

Friday, October 28, 2011

Happy 125th B-Day Lady Liberty!

The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus (1883)

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty (Hardcover)

Tea party group to Bachmann:
Quit the presidential race?

Back in July, this blogger wrote:
"IF you want to sell books, land a job on FauX News, go Dancing with the Stars, earn six figures on the talk show circuit, use PAC money to finance a family BUS vacation & STAR in your own Reality TV show, RUN for President."


Evidently, I'm not the only one who reached the political opinion that the Bachmann campaign is about the candidate's own financial, self-promotion.


In a written statement issued by American Majority President Ned Ryun, he questioned the motives of Bachmann's continued run for the White House:


"In Bachmann's case, it is clear that the campaign has become less about reform and more about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books; a harsh commentary, but true," Ryun wrote. "While other campaigns are diving into the substance, the supposed tea party candidate Bachmann is sticking to thin talking points and hanging on for dear life."
Read More...
[ih-lip-sis]

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Power is CRACK? Money buys CRACK?

"Liberal friends think I'm a Fascist; Conservative friends think I'm a Communist." 
~ John Gorelski

‎"There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there—good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea—God bless, keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is [that] you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along." ~ Elizabeth Warren
Flying Lizards (MP3 Download)

...perspective...
Fenghuang, PRC (April 2009).
Click on image to open in a new window.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

This week in American History?

Poor Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. Who actually remembers the Presidential Election of 1936? Alf Landon? Or his running mate Frank Knox? The latter of which went on to serve under FDR as Secretary of the Navy during World War II, but I'll leave this feel good political story for another bipartisanship kind of day.

So, what else happened THIS WEEK? The approval rating for the U.S. Congress, the bedrock of this country's democratic principals and ideals, is now in single digits. According to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, only 9% of the American people think our representatives are actually doing a decent j-o-b. While GOP voters are still searching for a Presidential candidate to support, Congressional incumbents from both parties are wondering if they'll still have a j-o-b after the next election. Read More...

Beyond Lindsay Lohan posing nude for Playboy, the #Occupy Wall Street Movement and the ongoing trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, one story got this Blogger's attention. While it's a story which will never appear as some future newspaper sidebar highlighting this week in American History, it's a story which reminds us all, that during this specific week, the United States is still a country at war:

CBS News
Soldier in Afghanistan killed during
14th deployment

October 25, 2011
Read More...

...reflections...
IUC Nurse at the bedside of Medal of Honor Recipient 
Marine Corporal Jason Dunham 
Ibn Sina Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq
April 2004
Photos by Peter Rimar.

Sometimes 'FAIR' and 'BALANCED'?

Los Angeles Times
Climate skeptic admits he was wrong to doubt global-warming data
October 20, 2011
Read More...

The world is still FLAT? The sun revolves around the EARTH? Why discover a new truth when folks are comfortable wrapping themselves in a warm blanket of rhetorical denial?

Anyhow, what distinguishes a true scientist from a political hack, as in the case of UC Berkeley physicist Richard Muller (see story above), is a REAL scientist is open to changing his views if the hard evidence no longer supports his initial hypothesis. A hack merely appeals to preconceived biases and notions to support a specific, privately funded, political agenda.



Joke of the Week:
“Earlier today, Rick Perry unveiled his new tax plan. He says he wants a flat tax. He believes that the tax should be flat, just like the Earth.” ~ Jay Leno
Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno (Paperback)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

What it is, What it was and What it shall be...

Term limits? Good luck convincing politicians in a bad economy to quit their jobs and stand in an unemployment line with the rest of humanity:

I may very well be losing my mind
but I have not lost my sense of humor
!

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (DVD)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Google+ the NEXT generation of Blogging?

Last month, this blogger posted a comment regarding the need for Google to fully integrate Blogger with it's new + platform. Evidently, the techno-geeks at Google have already been kicking around this idea:

PC World
Users Can Now Replace Blogger Profile With Google+ Profile
October 24, 2011
by Juan Carlos Perez

"In the first integration between the Google+ social networking site and the Blogger blog publishing platform, users will be able to replace their Blogger profiles with their Google+ profiles, the company announced on Monday."
Read More...

...perspective...
Photo by Peter Rimar of an Iraqi Schoolgirl, Baghdad, Iraq (March 2005)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Iraq is a Sovereign State?

Despite Mitt Romney's condemnation of President's Obama decision to remove U.S. troops from Iraq before December 31st (a deadline originally negotiated by the Bush Administration), the fact remains, Iraq's economic and political future rests with it own people. 


What was the original mission in the region? The search for W-M-D? Please. It was to remove Saddam Hussein from power (spelled O-I-L). Period. It's a little late in the geopolitical game to armchair quarterback this country's inevitable withdrawal from Iraq. What part of IRAQ is NOT our country that this candidate doesn't understand?

Read More...
Photo of Iraqi Soldiers training in Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005) by Peter Rimar.

USA Today
Two arrests in hit-and-run death
of Chinese toddler

Read More...

Will this security camera video footage of a toddler left for dead 
actually change China? Doubtful. However, considering the CCP filters and controls the internet, beyond the painfully, gut-wrenching nature of the story itself, it's curious that the leaders in Beijing have allowed this tragedy to be part of a much broader, national debate:

Warning: This video contains extremely graphic images of the girl's injuries:

Friday, October 21, 2011

Wal-Mart goes GREEN?

In January 2003, for various political and economic reasons, this blogger decided to boycott shopping at Wal-Mart. Five years later, in February 2008, I walked back into a store in Beijing.

I believed corporations actually respond to the purchasing power of consumers. For example, if Americans demand more products "Made in the USA", eventually, retailers will respond by stocking more locally manufactured items. It's really not that complicated. It's called "give the people what they want" economics.

CNN Money
Wal-Mart returns to 'Buy American' roots. Really?
May 12, 2011
Read More...

Another case in point is Wal-Mart's recent business decision to install solar panels on 130 of its California stores by 2013:

PC Magazine
Walmart Goes Solar In California
September 23, 2011
Read More...

I've always found that if something is important, people, governments & corporations always find the time, energy & money to pay for IT (whatever it is).
Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution (Hardcover)


Corporation Update: Shortly after I wrote this POST, Wal-Mart announced it would cut health care benefits for some part-time workers. Read More...
*Derivative photograph of marketing montage, Wal-Mart Visitor's Center, Bentonville, Arkansas (May 2010).
*Wal-Mart Store Entrance, Beijing, PRC (February 2008)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Breaking News: Moammar Gadhafi is Dead.

On CNN, the death of the former Libyan leader is the top news story. Wolf Blitzer just interviewed the Libyan Ambassador to the U.S. on his country's political future. On Faux News? Immigration Reform. See previous post for this blogger's military analysis regarding NATO's original No-Fly Zone mission over Libya.
Read More...

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

#Occupy Wall Street ~ Sgt. Shamar Thomas

When the #Occupy protests began in New York City, two things immediately got this blogger's attention. First, I was amazed. Why did it take so long for folks to finally wake up and start voicing their outrage at the political and economic corruption eating away at our country. Second, but more importantly, I was alarmed at the extremely heavy handed response local officials have taken against the protesters:


Whether or not this blogger agrees with any or all of the issues being voiced by #Occupy is not important. When the police employed violence to suppress freedom of speech, I became an active supporter of the movement.

...Americana...
Trinity Site, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico (October 2009)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Anything you WRITE, LINK, LIKE or UPLOAD on Facebook or Twitter CAN & WILL be used against you in a court of law?

While I know it's a bit early, I've been contemplating my New Year's Resolution for 2012. On January 1st, I will ATTEMPT to start speaking out of BOTH sides of my mouth along with releasing volumes of frivolous HOT AIR from the lower UNMENTIONABLE reaches of my body.


The Los Angeles Times
Alabama teacher allegedly mocks
special-ed students on Facebook

(10/17/11)
Read More...

"If at first you don't succeed..."
Jakarta, Indonesian (July 2009)
The Meaning of Life (DVD)

Monday, October 17, 2011

Mission Complete?

It appears the Obama Administration has decided to pull out the last combat brigade from Iraq on or near the original December 31st deadline. IF true, this country is preparing to close another important chapter in its history. It still may take another generation of economists to calculate the final human cost of this 7 plus year war and military occupation. At the end of the day, it will be the Iraqi people themselves who hold the keys to rebuilding their own destiny. Read More...

Farmers at School
Somewhere Near Balad Air Base
April 2005

"No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows." ~ Robert Oppenheimer

Photo by Peter Rimar.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Dancing with the Candidates?

Despite six long weeks on the campaign trail, three mediocre debates, early Koch Brothers support along with raising over 17 million dollars in cash donations, at this point in the "GOP Flavor of the Month" lottery, Chaz Bono has a better chance at being elected President than Governor Rick Perry.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

#Occupy Grand Forks

Pillsbury Park, Grand Forks, North Dakota
October 15th, 2011

Wall Street Journal
Income Slides to 1996 Levels

"The income of a household considered to be at the statistical middle fell 2.3% to an inflation-adjusted $49,445 in 2010, which is 7.1% below its 1999 peak, the Census Bureau said."
Read More...


WDAY News
Grand Forks Residents Create Movement
for "Occupy Wall Street"

Read More...

Friday, October 14, 2011

George Carlin ~ The American Dream


While Bill Gates & Warren Buffet are well-known Billionaire philanthropists, behind the scenes, the Koch Brothers have spent millions upon millions of dollars to change the way Americans think. Is it wrong? Perhaps. It all depends on your flavor of Kool-Aid. READ MORE...
George Carlin: Last Words (Paperback)

...contrasting imagery...
Photo Credit: Peter Rimar, Hong Kong, S.A.R. (May 2008).
Click on image to open in a new window.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

#Occupy North Dakota

First Amendment to the United States Constitution


"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
“The Tea Party is very different. The Tea Party were individuals that were attempting to redress their grievances from the government that they elected. It’s not pitting one part of our country against another.”
~ House Majority Leader Eric Cantor


REALLY?

Bob, the man in the following video, attended a Tea Party Rally in Columbus, Ohio in 2010. He is 60 years old and was first diagnosed with Parkinsons 15 years ago. He has two masters degrees and a Ph.D. from Cornell. He taught at the University of Michigan and worked as a nuclear engineer:


“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.” ~ Sinclair Lewis

Note to Reader: Judging this blogger's political views based on this specific POST is like reading a single page in the middle of a book. For the record, I'm an Independent. I believe the two-party system no longer serves the interests of a vast majority of Americans. Indeed, in my view, a candidate's political affiliation and party should be left off an election ballot.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

"Every religious group, while perhaps a majority somewhere, is also inevitably a minority somewhere else. Thus, religious organizations should and do show tolerance toward members of other religious denominations."
~ Russell M. Nelson


Buddhist Temple, Seoul, R.O.K. (July 2009)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Stimulated Numbers?

Compare: This FY (fiscal year), DoD will receive approximately $126 billion for sustaining military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. How does this dollar amount compare to added domestic spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009?

Contrast: It included $53.6 billion in direct financial aid for local school districts to prevent massive layoffs & cutbacks, with the flexibility to use Stimulus Funds for school modernization and repairs (State Fiscal Stabilization Fund). Basically, it was the Federal Government's 50 State BAIL OUT in order to keep PUBLIC SCHOOLS across this country OPEN for business.
READ MORE...

In 2009, while GOP candidates hammered the Obama administration on the auto industry bail out, ZIP was said regarding the school district BAIL OUT. IF you're a school teacher or auto worker, ask yourself, "does the GOP really care about protecting my job?"
READ MORE...

Economics 101
Until Americans start voting with their wallets, it'll be almost impossible to create new manufacturing jobs in a tight global marketplace.

Toyota BUILT a billion dollar Tundra assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas because market research shows a large segment of the American truck buying public actually values where a product is manufactured.

Corporations like IBM, Microsoft, GE, Apple, GM, BP & Exxon-Mobil ONLY salute one flag: PROFITS!

Americans need to start making informed decisions about the products they buy. IF consumers value products "Made in the USA", corporations like Target & Wal-Mart will respond to the economic benefits of stocking more home grown products. Small changes in individual buying habits will eventually send a loud dollars & cents message to the world's multi-national corporations.
Once again, in case this blogger failed to hit home the central message of this particular post, IF American consumers don't value the country of origin of a product or service, why should a corporation?
Free Market? What Free Market? Read More...
Photo of Portable Toilet by Peter Rimar, Baghdad, Iraq (March 2004).

Monday, October 10, 2011

Karl Rove's Answering Machine?

Rick Perry: Hey Karl. This is Rick again. After our Vail meeting with the Koch Brothers back in June, this whole running for President sounded like a sure thing. Heck, waiting until after the debt ceiling crisis to announce the campaign was outstanding advice.

[PAUSE]

I'm not sure why no one is answering my calls. I've left a dozen messages with the folks over at Faux News, but they keep telling me you're out. Anyhow, it'd be great buddy if you could call me back. The wife's cooked up your favorite brisket and potato salad...

[BEEP]

Hello? Karl? You there? Hello?

[CLICK]


Astroturfing versus Occupy?
Wikipedia: The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. Can you say corporate greed in bed with an unresponsive government?

Bilingual Sign in Burger King Parking Lot, Socorro, New Mexico (September 2009).
Burger King Deluxe Latex Mask

Bloomberg Markets Magazine
Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer
With Secret Iran Sales
By Asjylyn Loder and David Evans - Oct 3, 2011
Read More...

The following comment was posted by an anonymous reader regarding Bloomberg's featured expose on Koch Industries:
"As a Kock employee I know for a fact that if you call their compliance line to report anything that violates their code of coduct that you will end up being fired. I've seen it happen with several former employees, and they are in the process of trying to fire a person who just reported illegal activities.So maybe you should look up the facts first. I live the horror of the Koch brothers everyday. They only believe in liberalism for themselves and their billionaire friends. The rest of us are just ants that need to be squashed."


"The culture of investment banks was conveyed to commercial banks and everyone got involved in the high-risk gambling mentality. That mentality was core to the problem that we're facing now." 
~ Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist (September 19, 2008)


Suggested Reading Links:
Glass-Steagall Act
Astroturfing
Echo Chamber
Nation of Whiners?
Health Care Reform Fact Checker

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Memories are Recycled?

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." ~ Mark Twain