Former President George H.W. Bush, on his recent collapse from dehydration: Bush spoke about the incident that sent him to the hospital on Sunday, telling the audience that he became tired after playing golf in high temperatures. "The next thing I remember ... I fainted and I was on the…
Many of you have probably seen maps like these before. The geographic size of each country is adjusted (inflated or deflated) to show the relative size of some non-geographic characteristic. Notice, for example, the map of military spending.
According to this article, Bush's troop surge, which was aimed at reducing violence in Baghdad, already shows signs of failure. While violence has fallen inside Baghdad, as you might expect following an influx of U.S. troops, insurgents have simply moved elsewhere, killing American troops and other people in areas not…
Sometimes I wish I believed in prayer. I wish that I could plead, I wish that I could sacrifice, I wish that I could count beads or light a flame and a great omnipotent being would be coerced or convinced to grant my desire. Some people think that you can pray for anything and that sometimes those prayers are granted. They pray for trivial things, such as a new house, a car, for air in a nearly flat tire, or that they won’t be late for work. My favorite example of this is expressed well in the old Janis Joplin’s song, “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz”. For those of you too young to remember Janis Joplin, her gravelly voice belting out those words was unforgettable. The lyrics are:
“Mercedes Benz”
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town ?
I’m counting on you, Lord, please don’t let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round,
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on …
"Payday" lending has been big in the news lately. Payday lending is where you go to a licensed loan shark to borrow money at interest rates in the hundreds (450% is not unusual), generally give the shark a post dated check, and 2 weeks later, end up having to renew…