Baghdad, Iraq (March 2005)

Photo by Peter Rimar

Sometimes 'FAIR' and 'BALANCED'?

People filter information based on their own belief system. For example, people who watch Faux News on a regular basis tend to be more conservative in their political beliefs. No problem (it is what it is).

However, despite it's political flavor (along with the countless number of daily editorial decisions supporting a specific agenda), should a media corporation (radio, television or print) be allowed to make direct campaign contributions? Could this sea of corporate money interfere with the political process? Do unlimited 527 campaign donations to a specific candidate endanger the foundations of a Free Society? Do you ever ask yourself, "why do I believe what I believe?" And yes, Karl Rove is on the payroll of Faux News.

"My choice early in life was either to be a piano-player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference."
~ Harry S. Truman
Fox News Reporting: The Right, All Along. The Rise, Fall & Future of Conservatism (DVD)

A real crisis is when you can't say "let's just forget the whole thing"?

A well-adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.






"Irregardless" is NOT a word?

Swords of Qādisīyah، at Sunset, Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005).
Photo by Peter Rimar

7 Bizarre Monuments of Saddam’s Iraq
Read More...

Lord Voldemort apologizes for phone-hacking scandal?

Fifty years from now, historians may reflect back on this period of media history and compare Rupert Murdoch to William Randolph Hearst and Glenn Beck with Father Charles Coughlin.

Beyond the whole Media Matters campaign targeting Beck's advertisers (READ MORE), I believe there's another reason for the show's dramatic rise and fall in daily viewership.

Before Glenn Beck's final farewell from Faux News, this blogger sat down and watched a rerun of his show.

Instead of focusing on the conservative flavor of the show itself, I stepped backed and evaluated how the various visually manufactured elements were formulated to tell a story. Basically, Beck's television program resembled a poorly constructed, G-rated version of "Swimming to Cambodia" (without all the juicy sex, drugs and rock-n-roll). Monologues, as a dramatic element, should contain some deeper level of "self-discovery". What I witnessed was an extended verbal diatribe of rhetorical self-aggrandizing behavior. In a word: BORING.

Yes, despite his political views, at the end of the day, P.T. Beck lost his SOAP BOX because his show was (dramatic pause) BORING.

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

Jon Huntsman Compares GOP with China's Communist Party?
Read More...

Here Comes the Sun?

‎


"If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever." 
~ David Letterman
Late Show Fun Facts (Hardcover)

Why do a majority of Americans think 'cheap gasoline' is a 'birthright'?

U.S. oil production is up, so why are gas prices so high?
Read More...

Earth Day?

Update: U.S. Acid Rain Regulations: Did They Work?
Read More...

Blue Skies in Beijing, China?
March 2008

What's the cure for Brain Farts?

"You Might Be a Redneck if you think the last line to The Star Spangled Banner is Gentlemen, start your engines!" ~ Jeff Foxworthy

"Romney looks a bit too much like the guy in the expensive suit who comes in to announce layoffs." ~ David Horsey

Heidi Heitkamp for U.S. Senate?

"All politics is local." ~ Tip O'Neill


Back in June 2010, this blogger went to Hillsboro, North Dakota to watch then State Senator Rick Berg address a small gathering of local Republicans. After listening to his speech, I quietly wondered to myself, 'how on earth were the voters in this state going to reward this man with a treasured Golden Ticket to Washington D.C.'?

Then in November 2010, with a passionate wave of anti-incumbency sweeping the country, Rick Berg won a seat in Congress. Today, less than two years after the election itself, with little to show for his time in office, this Congressman now wants the title of Senator.

Hopefully, this time around, North Dakota voters will actually put aside party politics and elect the right person for the job.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." 
~ Bertrand Russell


Man Strips Naked At Oregon Airport To Protest TSA?
Read More...

World History 101?

"Numerous politicians have seized absolute power and muzzled the press. Never in history has the press seized absolute power and muzzled the politicians." 
~ David Brinkley

"Without music, life would be a mistake." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Peterborough, United Kingdom (March 2012)

Actual screenshot image of the GOP's Delegate Count via the Associated Press posted on Google News on April 17th, 2012:

The original content of the image above was NOT digitally manipulated or altered. Maybe it's a sign?
Click on image to open in a new window.

Lessons Learned from 9-11?

Traveling strangers, locked together inside a pressurized cabin at 33,000ft, will collectively take action to stop any and all acts of lunacy or terrorism on an airplane. The days of folks passively sitting back and doing nothing are officially over. Read More...

T-S-A stands for Touching Sensitive Anatomy?

Remember when Baloney had a first name?

Remember when school bus drivers were the only ones worried about No Child Left Behind and it only took 20 kilobytes for NASA to put a man on the moon?
Photo of Dried Pig Heads taken in Fenghuang, PRC (April 2009).

Economics 101?

How did Mitt Romney get Rich?


Is Romney the Wrong Kind of Rich?
Read More...

The Pleasant Resort Community

In February 2008, my wife and I moved to China (PRC). Prior to getting on the airplane, this blogger signed up for a month long TEFL course in Beijing. The goal was to learn something about the country and then find a job teaching English.


While I was attending the first week of class, my wife visited the local Public Security Bureau (PSB) to register our passports. Upon arrival, all foreigners living and working in China are required, by law, to register within 24 hours. Two days after reporting to the PSB, we became the target of government monitoring.

As I walked into the building where the TEFL course was being held, a man was standing in the center of the lobby. More than 100 people were standing in one of the four elevator lines. Everybody except this one lone man.

When I entered the elevator, after making direct eye contact, he brought his cell phone to his ear, smiled, then turned and exited the building. This whole sequence of events happened in a matter of seconds. From the look on his face and body language, it was evident he had been waiting for me to arrive for class.

After this brief encounter, for the next two months, this private American citizen was closely followed each and every day around the city.

Eventually, I developed this observational theory regarding Normal and Abnormal behavior. For anybody that's taken any sort of mass transportation in a developing Asian country, as a westerner, it's impossible not to notice the mad rush of people trying to get to the head of the line. 


Indeed, I cannot count the amount of times my wife and I were completely cut off and crushed by a large wave of humanity. My family knows that I HATE standing in line and places with extremely large crowds. I would rather let two or three subway trains pass, then allow myself to be packed inside a compartment like a human sardine. So, when a local didn't board the 2nd or 3rd train that passed thru a subway station, that individual was displaying abnormal social behavior. It rather easy to spot the people tasked with following this blogger.

One morning, as I stepped into a subway car, I noticed this oddly dressed young couple. He was wearing a poorly tailored black suite and the girl had on a K-Mart special looking evening dress. This pair looked completely out of place for the time of day.

In Beijing, each subway train runs roughly 30 compartments. Since each train has 3 doors, there are exactly 90 different possibilities to enter the train. During regular hours, the trains run approximately 1 min. and 50 sec. to 2 min. apart.


The next day, I boarded the train 30 minutes later than the previous morning. That means at least 13 different trains (with 390 compartments) had passed before I had walked into the station. When I entered the subway train, this same couple, wearing the exact same clothes, quickly moved from a forward compartment and stood next to me...
Coincidence? I remembering thinking to myself "this CCP couple really needs to buy some new clothes".

Short list of words banned on the internet in China: Shawshank Redemption, UA898, CNN, Abing, Dongshigu, U.S. Embassy and pearl. Read More...

...life in contrast...

It's hard to imagine living in today's so-called modern world without a cell phone and the internet (much less an indoor flush toilet).

Before the invention of the pay phone, corner grocery stores once provided small neighborhoods and rural towns with the only telephonic link to the outside world.

Small Chinese grocery shop with neighborhood telephone

Changsha, P.R.C. (June 2009)

Gingrich campaign bounced $500 check in Utah?

Just when late night talk show writers were mourning the departure of Rick Santorum from the GOP's quest for the Holy Grail, Newt 'Quixote' Gingrich once again 'Saves America' from total comedic annihilation. Read More...

Tweet of the Day?

Toilet Maker Flushes Rush?

Whether someone loves or hates Rush Limbaugh, it's clear the $50,000,000 a year radio talk show host is being schooled on the economic fundamentals of the free market. Money will always reign king in the marketplace of ideas. And yes, "Freedom of Speech" has a price tag. Kohler joined Preparation H and pulled its advertisements from Rush's show.
Complete List Here...

War for Oil?

Street Scene Outside of Parliament, London, England (March 2012).
Photo by Peter Rimar.

"Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks." ~ Warren Buffett

Quote of the Week?

"Self-centredness gives rise to fear and insecurity, which in turn creates distrust." ~ Dalai Lama
via Google+

GOP declares 'War' on Women?

In 2012, why is the word 'WAR' being used to describe each and every non-violent political debate, but an actual 'War', with bullets and bombs, is called a 'conflict' or 'military operation'?

posted via thinkprogress.org

Fenghuang, China (April 2009)

Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?
Read More...

Downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota (July 2011)

Where is K Street?

"Power is crack. Money buys crack." ~ Self


Congress approves wide-ranging ethics rule?
Read More...

Mitt is 'Marvelous" after Wisconsin Win?

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism unofficially endorses Mitt Romney for President?
Read More...

Is it just me or does Congressman Paul Ryan resemble a young President Richard Nixon?


Snooki announces Congressional bid to represent the moon colony? Governor Rick Perry declares the 'vulture capitalist' a protected species in Texas? Newt Gingrich's Think Tank Files For Bankruptcy? Read More...

The POTUS doesn’t control the price of gasoline?
Read More...

"Mona Lisa is the only beauty who went through history
and retained her reputation." ~ Will Rogers

Fenghuang, China (April 2009)
Photo by Peter Rimar.