Book recommendation

Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John M. Barry My rating: 5 of 5 stars Every now and then, I read a book that changes the way I perceive the world. One such book was The Power Broker, by Robert Caro. Before I read that, a highway…
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The Veterans’ Day Curmudgeon

I hope I’m not alone in saying this, but I think Veterans’ Day is a bunch of bullshit. Not just because we already have Memorial Day, which is like Veterans’ Day with nice weather. No; rather, because I don’t want to thank every person who wears or who wore a uniform.  If you fought in World War 2,…
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Why I’m against Rails to Trails.

Trains. Railroads. No other form of transportation has been so loved and so hated; so fondly remembered and so hotly discarded from memory. But Rails to Trails is not about memories nor transportation: it’s about the great modern god, ENTERTAINMENT. Whether taking the Adirondack Scenic Railroad or riding your bicycle from Saranac Lake to Tupper…
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Romney

Sorry, Mittens. Even though your excuses about when you stopped working at Bain make perfect sense if one consults a ten thousand page manual on corporate law, such delicacies are not readily understood by the people you count as supporters.  Nyah, nyah.

This round of Republican half-wits

Politicians have always stretched the truth, embellished facts with indecorous deceits, and otherwise pushed the boundaries of decency. There is, however,  a new, deeper level of lying in this generation of Republicans. It’s not just Romney, though he is a particularly annoying kind of liar. When Perry speaks of his Christian nation nonsense and suggests…
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How to save Europe in one year

What an idea! Greece can get out of its debt crisis easily. All the PM has to do is to say, “We’re going to leave the Euro!”, then buy up a shitload of stock the next morning. By the next day, retract the statement. Sell those stocks as they jump through the roof. Repeat as…
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