With the media focused on a presidential election that is now five months away, any jobs data is going to be viewed from the standpoint of its possible impact on the campaigns. Today’s dismal report that only 69,000 jobs were created last month, with jobs data for the last two months revised downward and the [...]
Archive for the ‘America’ Category
Bad Weather On The Jobs Front
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Joblessness, Mitt Romney, Politics, President Obama, The Economy, Unemployment on June 1, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Drip, Drip, Drip
Posted in Politics, America, tagged Politics, America, race, Race in America, United States Senate, Massachusetts, Native Americans, Elizabeth Warren, Cherokee, Public Relations on May 31, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Any public relations professional worth her salt will tell you: when you are dealing with an unfavorable news story — one that you know is going to have a negative impact — the best approach is to get ahead of the story, get all of the information out, and at least avoid the possibility that [...]
The Cannibalistic Horror Of “Bath Salts”
Posted in America, crime, tagged "Bath Salts', America, Cannibalism, crime, Drug Use, drugs, LSD, Miami on May 29, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Usually horrific stories are about an atrocity in a faraway land and circumstances that don’t have much resonance with our daily lives. Occasionally, however, such a story strikes closer to home — and thereby becomes even more chilling. The recent gruesome cannibalistic attack in Miami is one such story. What could possibly cause two men [...]
Keep The U.N. Away From The Internet
Posted in America, Technology, World, tagged America, computers, Congress, Democrats, International Telecommunications Union, Internet, News, Republicans, Technology, United Nations, World on May 27, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Some countries are pushing a proposal to give the U.N.International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”) more control over the internet. The proposal will receive a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives next week. Currently the internt is “governed” (if you can call it that) by a a collection of non-profit entities. The result has been a [...]
Enter The Dragon
Posted in America, Science, Technology, tagged America, business, Dragon capsule, International Space Station, Science, Space, SpaceX, Technology on May 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule has successfully rendevoused with the International Space Station and has been snagged by the space station’s robot arm. The Dragon capsule therefore becomes the first privately owned space vehicle to reach the ISS. This morning the astronauts on the space station opened the capsule and entered it, conducted a quick inspection and found no [...]
Happily On The Cusp Of A Three-Day Holiday Weekend
Posted in America, Work, tagged America, Memorial Day, Three-Day Weekends, Work on May 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The work week is done, and the three-day weekend is almost begun. Is there any better feeling than to be on the cusp of a three-day holiday weekend? Particularly when the three-day holiday weekend is Memorial Day, which means that summer is here? Even more particularly when there is almost nothing scheduled for the weekend [...]
In God’s Country
Posted in Travel, America, Photography, tagged America, Travel, Photography, Asheville, North Carolina, Looking Glass Rock on May 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »
My friend the Brown Bear continues to taunt me with beautiful pictures of the North Carolina countryside taken during his regular fishing jaunts to nearby, yet secluded, streams. He says this view, from a vantage point in the mountains near Looking Glass Rock, reminds him of why he and his lovely wife decided to retire [...]
Bidding On Reagan’s Blood
Posted in America, Reflections, World, tagged America, Depravity, modern culture, On-Line Auctions, Reflections, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Blood, World on May 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »
P.T. Barnum, or H.L. Mencken, or somebody else said: “You’ll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” For a while, an anonymous seller and on-line auction house seemed to be trying to prove that you won’t go broke underestimating the decency of people, either. The seller and the auction house were peddling [...]
None Of The Above
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 2012 Election, America, Democratic primaries, Democrats, John Wolfe, Keith Judd, None Of The Above, Politics, President Obama, Protest votes on May 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
What are we to make of the recent Democratic primary results, in which unknown candidates — including a current prison inmate — have managed to secure 40 percent or more of the vote in races against President Obama? In the West Virginia Democratic primary, a Texas convict named Keith Judd won 41 percent of the [...]
The Inventor Who Changed Everything — And His Invention
Posted in America, Family, Humor, Technology, TV, tagged America, Eugene Polley, Family, Humor, Inventions, Patents, Remote Controller, Technology, TV on May 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Eugene Polley, 96, died on Sunday. Few Americans recognize his name, although virtually every American uses his invention on a daily — in some cases, hourly, or even more distressingly frequent — basis. Polley held 18 U.S. patents, but his crown jewel was the wireless TV remote controller. In 1955 he invented the Flash-Matic, a [...]
A Glimpse Of The Future Of Space
Posted in America, Science, Technology, tagged America, Dragon capsule, Falcon 9 rocket, NASA, Science, Space, space exploration, SpaceX, Technology on May 22, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Our governments are running out of money. Programs like space exploration — which don’t pander to particular interest groups and aren’t viewed as “essential” — are easy targets for budget cutters. That means that, if we are to advance in space, commercial entities motivated by profits will have to carry the ball forward. Today saw [...]
My Thoughts On “The Age Of Innocence”
Posted in America, Politics, World, tagged America, David Brooks, Europe, John F. Kennedy, Kennedy Inaugural Address, News media, Newspaper columnists, newspapers, Politics, The Age of Innocence, World on May 20, 2012 | 3 Comments »
David Brooks’ column The Age of Innocence is interesting, both for what it says and for what it means. What it says is that the American political system is broken. What it means is that even a columnist at one of the most powerful newspapers in the world lacks the gumption to make his point [...]
No Surveys, No More
Posted in America, tagged America, Modern Life, Rants, Shopping, Surveys on May 20, 2012 | 1 Comment »
One of the more annoying developments in modern American shopping is this: you can’t buy something anymore without somebody asking you to take a survey. Usually the scenario is as follows. You buy a product, and at the cash register the clerk hands you the ridiculously long receipt and points out the website address that [...]
Hey, Big Brother
Posted in America, Music, Music videos, Travel, tagged America, Big Brother, Music, Music videos, O'Hare Airport, Rare Earth, Travel on May 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
I was sitting in one of the countless terminals at O’Hare yesterday, waiting for my flight back to Columbus, when I heard a series of announcements from the Department of Homeland Security over the PA system. One reminded me of the 3-1-1 rules that apply to carrying liquids (no more than 3 ounces, in 1 [...]
