To Facebook or NOT to Facebook?

It's ALL about choice. Up until Google+, Facebook did not have any REAL social nutworking competition. There's a reason why the auto industry produces different vehicles. Consumers should DRIVE the internet marketplace.

Indeed, after the Goldman Sachs backroom investment deal with Mark Zuckerberg, a deal which at first left average Americans standing on the sidelines, I was waiting for a dot-com to challenge the Jolly Green Billionaire. READ MORE...

China forbids Google+ Social Network?
In life, I've learned that most things usually happen for a reason.
READ MORE...

Why, IF Facebook is BLOCKED in the People's Republic of China, did the Chinese Communist Party invest in Facebook?
READ MORE...
READ MORE...

Broken Dragons: Crime and Corruption in Today's China (Paperback)

etc. etc. etc.

Tax Breaks for Job Creators?

Really? Who came up with this talking point? Some K Street lobbyist? According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, on July 2, 2008, Rush Limbaugh signed an eight-year contract with Clear Channel Communications for $400 million. The conservative talk show host "broadcasts his show from a $26 million ocean front home in West Palm Beach, which has 7 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and an elevator".

Between January and May 2009, Clear Channel Communications eliminated 2,440 positions (roughly a 12% drop from its December 2008 workforce). Read More...

Still confused?
Here's what Seattle billionaire Nick Hanauer wrote in Bloomberg's op-eds section in November, "When businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s the other way around." Read More...

At what point will the GOP wake up and finally retire its silly "job creator" talking point?

Every person who spends money is a job creator. Every person with money deposited in a savings account is an investor. At the end of October 2011, one month after the start of #Occupy Wall Street Protests, the Congressional Budget Office published a detailed report on the distribution of household income between 1979 and 2007. The raw numbers are alarming. Read More...

Can you name the first time in American history that the government cut revenue as it marched off to war? Once again, President Obama needs to stop calling his proposal to raise revenue to address the budget deficit the Buffet Rule. It needs to be called the After 9-11 Tax. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Tea Party, can the country do its collective Patriotic Duty and pay for the ongoing Wars? Speaking of which, how many millionaires and billionaires served in Iraq or Afghanistan? 1%?
Read More...

"I Pledge of Allegiance to Grover Norquist"?

In case you missed it, according to the latest Gallup, only 11% of Americans approve of the job U.S. Congress is doing. The 86% disapproval rating for the 112th Congress is the highest since Gallup started asking the question in 1974. Read More...

Public service is NOT about being a Republican or a Democrat. It's not about being a liberal or conservative. It's about doing the right things for the right reasons. It's about being a citizen. And believe it or not, the word Compromise is NOT one of George Carlin's original seven dirty words.

Understanding the latest political games being played out in Washington D.C. is not complicated. Power is crack. Money buys crack. Perhaps it's time for this country to take a serious look at enacting a 28th Amendment to the Constitution which overturns the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case (perhaps the worst decision in America's judicial history since Dred Scott).

"94% of elections in America are won by the candidate with the most money. Is this how we want to pick our leaders?"
~ Buddy Roemer

...life in contrast...

Dirty Blue Jeans in Broken Window, Changsha, PRC (December 2008)

Going, Going, Gone...

[ih-lip-sis]

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." ~ Bill Vaughn

Top "Non-Political" Quote of 2011?

"I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available because if you try it once you will die."
~ Charlie Sheen

Carrizozo, New Mexico (December 2009).

Ron Paul Wins Iowa?

Even though the GOP's establishment is carpet bombing Iowa with millions of dollars in anti-Newt campaign ads, once again, the candidate's worst political enemy appears to be the candidate himself. 
Seriously, Newt's mouth is a "human hand grenade".



Believe it or not, during 2011, at one point or another, SIX different Republicans (to include Sarah Palin) have lead in the polls in Iowa. Since "7" is a lucky number, it just stands to reason that Congressman Ron Paul will narrowly win the Iowa Caucus.

Ron Paul Campaign Update: (12/23/2011)
Despite the latest media frenzy over the candidate's questionable affiliation with a series of racially charged comments printed in newsletters bearing his name, it's still possible for Paul to win the upcoming Iowa Caucus. Ironically, the newsletter controversy itself only reinforces a conspiracy theory held by many of his most ardent supporters. Basically, the so-called mainstream media (which includes Faux News) wants to derail his candidacy and silence his Revolutionary ideas.

Honestly, this blogger has never believed that Ron Paul could, would or should be elected President. Also, despite Ron Paul being upset that his integrity is being questioned, in 2011, it's fair game for reporters to ask questions regarding the comments contained within these newsletters.
Read More...

Political Quote of the Week:
"Trying to negotiate with Speaker Boehner is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall."
~ Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

Election 2012 Update:
Mitt Romney wins Iowa with exactly six less votes than in 2008:

Source: AP

#Occupy Wukan?

Violent political clashes in Egypt? London burning? A nuclear crisis in Japan? Military tanks crushing government protesters in Syria while American troops leave Iraq? The Libyan people rising up against Muammar Gaddafi? #Occupy Wall Street protests in every major American city? Russians marching again on the streets of Moscow?

And the year 2011 is not quite finished...


Analysis: Democracy is like a rice cooker. When too much pressure builds up inside, excess steam is released so the cooker (i.e. society) doesn't EXPLODE. How strong or mature is a government which is afraid of the peaceful words and ideas of one man?
Read More...

Update:
Wukan protesters end action after Chinese government offers concessions
December 21, 2011
Read More...

Favorite Movie Quote of 2011?

"Blogging is not writing. 
It's graffiti with punctuation."
~ Elliott Gould as Dr. Ian Sussman 
Contagion






Photo of H1N1 alert taken in Changsha, PRC (June 2009).
ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income 
(See all Computer & Internet Books)

Top "YouTube" Music Video Quote of 2011?

“It’s sort of like my past is an unfinished painting and as the artist of that painting I must fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again.”
~ Lady GaGa
Marry the Night 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit Myanmar?

FACT: 14 countries physically border the People Republic of China.

Most Americans are unaware of China's unresolved border dispute with India and how this specific issue continues to impact the balance of power in Asia. Read More...

Additionally, in the view of this blogger (shared by an army of journalists and diplomats who actively pay attention to the extremely diverse regional dynamics of Asia), two of those countries, the DPRK (North Korea) and Myanmar are PROXY states of the CCP and the PLA. Any serious discussion or analysis regarding the economic or political future of Burma begins and ends within the gates of power in Beijing.
Read More...

While Clinton's upcoming diplomatic mission to this isolated state is a positive regional development, folks need to remember that in 2000, then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright undertook a similar, unsuccessful journey to Pyongyang. With that said, unlike the DPRK, the people of Burma actually hold a wild card in the geopolitical game.

Her name is Aung San Suu Kyi.

‎"It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."~ Aung San Suu Kyi
Letters from Burma


State Visit Update:
(December 3, 2011)
Clinton allowed to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi
Read More...

...perspective...

Image from interview on CCTV 9 (September 2008).

GOP Flavor of the Month: Newt Gingrich?

Back in June, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann first captured the hearts and minds of the Christian Right. Then, Texas Governor Rick Perry rode onto the national stage only to quickly fall off his unsaddled horse. After drinking a six pack of Lone Star Beer while watching Faux News, hungry GOP voters ordered up a $9.99 pizza from Mr. Herman Cain.

Three political love affairs later (pun intended), the ANYBODY BUT MITT parade continues with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich taking center stage. Seriously? Newt Gingrich? This blogger has two simple questions: who is answering the telephone when one of more than a dozen pollsters call? Do folks actually believe this man could get elected President?

Even the conservative sage George Will is shaking his political head,"Gingrich’s is an amazingly efficient candidacy, in that it embodies almost everything disagreeable about modern Washington. He’s the classic rental politician."
Read More...

At what point will Republican voters sober up, change the channel and take a serious look at Jon Huntsman or Buddy Roemer?

Gingrich Update:
November 27, 2011
Evidently, this blogger is completely out-of-touch with the winds of political change. The New Hampshire Union Leader, the only "Live Free or Die" state-wide newspaper, endorsed NEWT for the top of GOP ticket. NEWT?
Read More...

...Americana...

Cowboy Intersection, Gene Autry, Oklahoma (May 2010).

Pulp Fiction [Blu-ray]

Celebrating "It Only Happens Every 100 Years" Palindrome Day!

11-11-11

Venezia Shop Window, Venice, Italy (Spring 2002).

What will future historians write about this day?
Will the flooding in Bangkok and the recent earthquakes in Turkey be remembered? Will Google and Facebook still be around? Indeed, what will the world look like in another 100 years?

...Americana...

Video recorded by Peter Rimar of Demolition Derby, Hatton, North Dakota (July 4th, 2010).

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...

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.

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...

#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...

analogy [uh-nal-uh-jee]?

War is like smoking. It may feel good when you start but eventually your body pays the price. ~ Peter Rimar

Geiger counter with a pack of Marlboro Cigarettes at

the Manhattan Project's original Ground Zero

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

#Occupy Wall Street ~ Day 18:

"I'd rather be a comma then a full stop."
~ Coldplay (from Every Teardrop is a Waterfall)
V for Vendetta Mask

Should politicians wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers to identify their corporate sponsors?

The following is a man-on-the-street interview about the 
Occupy Wall Street Movement 
that DID NOT make it on Faux News:


Onion News: 
Rumors that Rick Perry invited Dick Cheney to go hunting are untrue?

Bachmann Update: 
Candidate runs out-of-gas in Iowa?
Read More...

Class Warfare Update: 
Buddy Roemer is the first & only GOP Presidential candidate to issue a statement offering his support for the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Read More...

Happy World Teachers' Day!

Photo of Chinese Classroom in Changsha, PRC by Peter Rimar (July 2009).

Dear Congressman Ron Paul (aka Dr. No)

While some of your Libertarian ideas sound great on paper, in practice, it's scares the hell out of this blogger. Every time you talk about your vision of the world, it describes a place I've actually visited. A once peaceful, clean & beautiful city (with modern infrastructure) completely destroyed by a limited government, free market economy.

Image a world with...

No public libraries or city parks, road repairs,
Interstate Highway System, State or National Parks, Federal Income Tax, Health Care for Veterans, functioning police force (except for private citizens with AK-47s), lawyers or judges (replaced with religious street justice), flush toilets or sewage plants, Social Security or Medicare, Fish & Wildlife Service, farm support or subsidies, government mandated auto insurance for drivers, building codes or zoning ordinances, government regulations, factories, collective bargaining, workplace safety, environmental standards, minimum wage, electricity (except for gas power generators), Hoover Dam or NASA, indoor running water (only shared community water pumps), home telephones or broadband internet, universities to train doctors or nurses, Pell Grants or Student Loans, a CDC or medical research facilities, Wal-Marts or K-Marts, food inspectors or FDA, McDonald's or Burger Kings, city streetlights or traffic signals, national bank or currency (Euros, dollars, gold, silver & goats).

A city with limited government in country where the free-market & money is KING. And the best part of this whole Libertarian brew, charity organizations provide the health care. 

The place? Well, it's in the news again.
Mogadishu, Somalia.

The sad truth is a lot of folks actually believe your dog-ma-nomics crap. Is there Fraud, Waste & Abuse in every agency of the Federal Government? Yes. Can the Federal Bureaucracy be streamlined and made more efficient? Yes. Does this country need to wrap up its military operations in Afghanistan & Iraq? Yes. With that said, this whole ideological brew which suggests that limited government is the only solution for every social and economic problem borders on the political absurd. Hell, let's just go ahead and repeal the whole 20th Century.

America is NOT bankrupt. You really could learn something from Medal of Honor Recipient Dakota Meyer (who risked his life to do the right thing for the rights reason). IMHO, you've spent too many years walking around the Washington Beltway and selling SOAP on the Presidential Campaign Trail. You've completely forgotten the things that made this country great.

Update: After spending more than an hour writing this POST, Bill Clinton comes along and capsulizes this blogger's original message in a single sentence:

"There's not a single example on our planet, not one, where an anti-government strategy has produced a vibrant economy with strong and broad-based growth and prosperity."
~ Bill Clinton 
Read More...



Photo taken at the Port of Mogadishu, Somalia by Peter Rimar (January 1994).
Pirate State: Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea

When did the GOP become the Party of NO?

Looking for Ronald Reagan
— and Not Finding Him
By Patti Davis
Time Magazine (Sept. 08, 2011)

"The moment that would have broken my father's heart was the moment when applause broke out at the mention of more than 200 executions ordered by Rick Perry in Texas. It was stunning and brought tears to my eyes. This is what we've come to? That we applaud at executions?"
Read More...


The Long Goodbye (Paperback)

It's official. The very FIRST commercial for the 2011 Holiday Shopping Season just aired on my television?!

Santa Claus (Hardcover)