Brane stuff

Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Battle of Thermopylae - "Kristol & Rove debate Bush in Upper West side Manhattan"

The folks at Power Line have a good post on how History may judge the Bush presidency.

Also, there was a "Oxford style" debate hosted by NPR Intelligence Squared, on the motion "Bush 43 was the worst president in the last 50 years"
The venue was upper west side in Manhattan so you can imagine the ideological leaning and it was reflected in the PRE debate poll of audience sentiment:

Audience supports the motion 65% to 17%, with 18% undecided.
Speaking for the motion: Simon Jenkins and Jacob Weisberg
Speaking against the motion: William Kristol and Karl Rove Moderator: John Donvan

Rove and Kristol are in the Lion's den and their performance was admirable, as were the 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae . The winner is judged by who best moves the undecided. I won't spoil it for you so you will have to check it out yourself.

You can view the transcript or listen/download the podcast here

I use ITunes to synch and download these debates to my IPod. Much better listening when you're stuck in your car than standard radio fare.

The Clinton Factor

Check out this post by Christopher Hitchens.
Quote:
Why are so many oligarchs, royal families, and special-interest groups giving money to the Clinton Foundation?

Another:

And all I can think to ask—as perhaps some senator might think to ask—is why such a big corporate interest doesn't just donate the money directly, rather than distributing it through the offices of an outfit run by a seasoned ex-presidential influence-peddler. What do they and the other donors suppose they are getting for their money? A good feeling?

&%@##%$ - Today's curses

In case you missed the Golden Globes you missed out on some great examples of grace in the acceptance speeches. I was reading some commentary regarding this loss of grace in our everyday discourse and it is hard to deny when you witness what emanates from our esteemed glitterati. One comentator provided some historical perspective which I loved. Here are some refreshing alternatives to the current vogue: (my favorite - "land of Goshen")

Common exclamations and curses include: plague on it, Lord, oh God, the Devil, bless my soul, bless me, by Jove, gracious, goodness, oh my, oh me, in Heaven's name, great Caesar's ghost, the deuce, did you ever; gee*, gee whillikins*, gadzooks*, mercy*, sakes alive*, drat*, good night*, so what*, dang*, land of Goshen*, darn*, hang it all*, bejesus*, blast*, blimy*, by crickey*, Chrisamighty*, Keerist*, damn it*, damn*, double-damn*, goshdamn*, goshdang*, gosh darn*, by golly*, Chrisake*, damn-it-to-hell*, for cripe's sake*, for crying out loud*, Gawd*, Judas Priest*, Jesus H. Christ*, I swan the Deil*, Lord-a-mercy*, I'll be cow-kicked and hornswoggled*, I'll be a lop-eared gazelle*, I'll be damned*, I'll be a son of a gun*, I'll be a monkey's uncle*, God's teeth*, hell's whiskers*, hell's bells*, ye gods, ye gods and little fishes*, holy mackerel*, cheese and crackers*, holy bilge water*, holy smokes*, geez*, jeepers creepers*, ay caramba*, yikes*, shoot*, ach, Gott in Himmel, Gottlob, Donnerwetter (all German)*, sacré bleu*, mon Dieu*, diable*, cochon (all French)*, diablo (Spanish)*

Evesdrop on EVIL, then "SIT DOWN" with it.

Call this what you will but I call this EVIL. Now imagine you are in this hotel on some well deserved vacation; or that someone you love or care about is there. How far away are we from this? What did they need but a few machine guns and grenades. You can't stop it at the gates and you sure as hell aren't going to stop it by "sitting down" with them.

Doncha know? - The Philosophy of Liberty

Here is an interesting video (about 10 mins) that takes you through an animated lecture on Liberty. Regardless of your ideology it is worth a look. The word liberty is tossed around a lot but have you ever concentrated on what it really means and put it in the context of everyday life - what you do, what your neighbors do, what you expect others to do, what others are doing FOR you or AGIN you. Watch this creative video. I hope it will stimulate some new thinking.
Click this link =>Link

Madoff, Skepticism, Gullibility, Personality, Emotion, PT Barnum

It's long but well worth your time. The author himself, a well educated and financially savy investor lost 30% of his savings to the Madoff Ponzi scam. He takes you through a forensic analysis of how we can fall for these things and also includes great history showing this is nothing new.
Why We Keep Falling for Financial Scams
Notable quote (Hint - will be on the final exam!)

Skepticism is generally discussed as protection against beliefs (UFOs) or practices (feng shui) that are irrational but not necessarily harmful. Occasionally, one runs across a situation where skepticism can help you to avoid a disaster as major as losing one's life (being sucked into a crime) or one's life savings (being suckered into a risky investment). Survival in the world requires one to be able to recognize, analyze, and escape from those highly dangerous situations.