Clipmarks | kroqben's clips

atheists challenge nativity scene in washington

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:54:15 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Barker said the display is especially important given that 25 percent of Washington state residents are unaffiliated with religion or do not believe in God. (A recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found 23 percent of Washingtonians said they were unaffiliated with a religion and 7 percent said they didn't believe in God.)

"It's not that we are trying to coerce anyone; in a way our sign is a signal of protest," Barker said. "If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don't bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views."

"Most people think December is for Christians and view our signs as an intrusion, when actually it's the other way around," he said. "People have been celebrating the winter solstice long before Christmas. We see Christianity as the intruder, trying to steal the holiday from all of us humans."

"Why believe in a God?" the advertisement asks. "Just be good for goodness sake."

peter schiff got it right about the economy 2 yrs ago

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:48:59 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: the value of a minority opinion

Clip Source: www.boingboing.net

[Video]

relative cost of bailout

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:28:09 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Clip Source: www.boingboing.net

Bailout costs more than Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, Iraq war, Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget -- combined!

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars.

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

end of iraq war in sight

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:18:17 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Clip Source: www.economist.com

Iraq boots out the Americans

WHEN General David Petraeus, now America’s most celebrated military commander, arrived in Iraq in 2003 at the head of an airborne division, he asked a journalist: “Tell me how this ends?” For years nobody had a good answer. But now, thanks to a military pact between America and Iraq, a conclusion is in sight: America’s war in Iraq will end in three years’ time, with American troops being shown the door and Iraqi politicians competing to claim credit for getting rid of the foreigners.

A “withdrawal agreement” approved by the Iraqi cabinet on November 16th requires American troops to pull out of Iraqi towns and cities by the end of June next year, and to leave Iraq altogether by December 31st 2011. Those deadlines, said Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, in a televised address, would not be extended. The deal was not perfect, but marked “a solid start for Iraq to regain its full sovereignty in three years.”

american heroes you've never heard of

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:11:37 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: i think it's just rotten that our spacemen and spacewomen get zero recognition for their extraordinary skills and lives. check out their bios - these people are amazing.

Clip Source: www.nasa.gov

Image above: These seven astronauts take a break from training to pose for the STS-126 crew portrait. Astronaut Christopher J. Ferguson, commander, is at center; and astronaut Eric A. Boe, pilot, is third from the right. Remaining crew members, pictured from left to right, are astronauts Sandra H. Magnus, Stephen G. Bowen, Donald R. Pettit, Robert S. (Shane) Kimbrough and Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper, all mission specialists. Image credit: NASA

Veteran space flier Navy Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson will command the STS-126 mission aboard Endeavour to deliver equipment to the International Space Station that will enable larger crews to reside aboard the complex. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Navy Capt. Stephen G. Bowen, Army Lt. Col. Robert S. Kimbrough, Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper and NASA astronauts Donald R. Pettit and Sandra H. Magnus.

the ten big issues with iraq

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:18:59 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: succinct

Clip Source: www.worldpoliticsreview.com

Ends, Ways, and Means in Iraq: 10 Issues for the Obama Administration

President-elect Barack Obama will inherit an Iraq that has experienced substantial improvements in security, but remains rife with unresolved internal issues. If not handled carefully, Iraq's fragile progress could dissolve and the country could become a dangerous foreign policy minefield for yet another American president. Here are the top 10 issues the next administration must address:

Determination of Objectives

Approach to Withdrawal

Management of the Security Transition

Development of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)

Sunni Reintegration

Status of Kirkuk

Dealing with Iranian influence

Future of Political Relations with Iraq

Economic Development

Return of Refugees

Obama organizers - keep the steam!

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:07:35 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Clip Source: www.thenation.com

Change That Might Actually Happen

The Obama organization is special, not only because of its size, but also because of the caliber of people in it, their intelligence, their idealism and their enthusiasm. If it is kept together, it will be the power tool he needs to reconstitute his party. Without it, the Obama administration will become the servant of special interest groups whose screw-you conduct has helped make the word "liberal" so disreputable.

Obama's nationwide ground operation is the ideal instrument for making members of Congress vote the national interest, not the special interest, when major legislation needs to be enacted. It can keep the heat on in every Congressional district and every state and convince a wider public to accept unpleasant and difficult measures, such as a serious energy conservation program that might include such things as an end to short-haul airline routes, and a national 55-mph speed limit.

without bush, obama might not have won

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:07:18 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Clip Source: www.236.com

President Bush's legacy: President Obama

American History majors rarely get the chance to experience American History in real time. Last night was like a gigantic episode of 24, but instead of Jack Bauer and a countdown clock, it had Wolf Blitzer and an electoral counter.

Like Bauer, Obama solved big problems all in one day - turning red states into blue states, bringing a huge Democratic majority to both houses, and defusing 232 years of racism. There wasn't this much history on The History Channel.

Speaking of Bush, it is clear now, if it wasn't before, what his legacy is going to be: Obama.

Bush will be known for ushering in the Obama era, the way Herbert Hoover was known for ushering in FDR or Pete Best was known for preceding Ringo.

America is like a novel. It's never finished. It's a draft that's been rewritten over and over. Soon our new author will revise and correct what has been left him by his predecessor. One thing you can be sure of, it hasn't been proofed in eight years.

E-mail error ends up on road sign

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:01:21 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

E-mail error ends up on road sign

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.

Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated".

So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.

mccain's nh hq abandoned

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:26:39 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: it's a sign of the times.

Clip Source: www.236.com

23/6 Photo of the Day

McCain's NH headquarters yesterday...

hero of the day

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:56:38 GMT

clipped by: kroqben

Clip Source: www.lasvegassun.com

Wheelchair athlete’s back flip lands him in record book

Guinness World Records recorded the Northwest Las Vegas resident, in front of a crowd of more than 300 at Doc Romeo Park, as the first to complete a back flip in a wheelchair.

"It feels awesome to get this," said Fotheringham, 16, who performed the flip before the Vegas AmJam skatepark competition.

Aaron Fotheringham, who suffers from spina bifida and has been in a wheelchair since he was 13, came up short in his quest to set a record for most consecutive backflips in 45 seconds. His unofficial record is six back flips in a row, however, he could not get consecutive flips Oct. 25.

america is not #1

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:50:30 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: another delightful chart from wellingtongrey.net

Clip Source: miscellanea.wellingtongrey.net

We’re (not) Number One

Before the yelling starts I’m America-hating Eurotrash, I’d like to clear a few things up: first off I am American — not British as the many emails people send me assume. Secondly, I desperately, desperately want America to actually be the best country in the world. I’ve lived in London for the majority of the Bush presidency and been miserable watching from a distance as the nation crumbles from within.

What is it that prevents America from righting herself? Stupid, blind, unthinking patriotism — willful idiots yelling “We’re number one!” while ignoring all evidence to the contrary.

We can fix this. We must fix this. But before you can fix a problem, you must acknowledge that it exists.

segway monkey

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:58:33 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: way funnier than the last clip

Clip Source: www.whattheasian.com

Segway Monkey

[Video]

Vote right or pay - God

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:04:15 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: i hate this article.

Clip Source: townhall.com

Because the American system is a representative form of government, there is an obvious relationship between an elected leader's actions and the citizens who elected the leader -- or who allowed his election by not voting.

It logically follows that God holds the citizens accountable for immoral governmental policies.

God has established universal standards of justice that He expects all nations to uphold and enforce -- and the United States is not exempt from these standards. If our government refuses to uphold and enforce them, we shouldn't be surprised at the judgment that is certain to follow. But even more sobering is the reality that when the citizens choose their leaders, He holds the citizens corporately accountable for the actions of their leaders.

If we fail to vote for candidates that most closely reflect God's standards -- or if we fail to vote -- we should not expect to escape the consequences.

Emerson on the benefits of finacial crises

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:59:00 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: thoughtful

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Out of Panic, Self-Reliance

The similarities between the crashes of 1837 and 1929 are evident again today. I am not an economist or a political scientist, but having been born in 1930, I retain poignant early memories of the impact of the Great Depression upon my father, a working man who struggled to maintain a family with five children in a very hard time. I am a scholar of literature and religion, and would advise whoever becomes president to turn to Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose influential vision of America was deeply informed by the crisis of 1837:

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The literature of the poor, the feelings of the child, the philosophy of the street, the meaning of the household life, are the topics of the time. It is a great stride. It is a sign — is it not? — of new vigor, when the extremities are made active, when currents of warm life run into the hands and feet ....

Clipmarks | kroqben's clips

atheists challenge nativity scene in washington

peter schiff got it right about the economy 2 yrs ago

relative cost of bailout

Bailout costs more than Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, Iraq war, Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget -- *combined*!

end of iraq war in sight

Iraq boots out the Americans

american heroes you've never heard of

the ten big issues with iraq

Ends, Ways, and Means in Iraq: 10 Issues for the Obama Administration

Obama organizers - keep the steam!

Change That Might Actually Happen

without bush, obama might not have won

President Bush's legacy: President Obama

E-mail error ends up on road sign

E-mail error ends up on road sign

mccain's nh hq abandoned

23/6 Photo of the Day

hero of the day

Wheelchair athlete’s back flip lands him in record book

america is not #1

We’re (not) Number One

segway monkey

Segway Monkey

Vote right or pay - God

Emerson on the benefits of finacial crises

Bailout costs more than Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, Iraq war, Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget -- combined!