The West is Turning Against Big Government. But ...

What comes next?

Thanks to rr for this one.

"Promiscuous Expansion of Government"

The pundits are correct. "This not an endorsement of the Republican leadership on Washington."

From George Will in the ABC commentary: "Well he should say as Ron says, 'I hear you,' but he also say ~what~ he heard. What he has heard is a very fundamental attack on his, the public seems to feel, promiscuous expansion of government."

Graphene

Wow stuff.

Thanks to jw for this one.

On "The Grand Design"

Some thoughtful considerations on the philosophical and religious propositions in the Hawking and Mlodinow work.

Thanks to jw for this one.

This out to get some attention on environmentalism

Can you say passive-aggressive intolerance?

Thanks to rr for this one.

Imagine a world without consequences

"Politicians often act as if you can create costs without creating consequences. Force insurance companies to cover more things and then act surprised when the premiums go up. Mandate more benefits for employers to provide for their employees and then act surprised when they don't hire as many workers. It is great political theater but lousy economic policy." ---Thomas Sowell

Thanks to jw for this one.

Impertinent Questions: Does the Constitution Matter?

"When the Left sneers at Tea Party enthusiasm for the Constitution, they’re actually looking down their noses at the idea of the monstrous State they have constructed being called to account for violating its charter. "

Thanks to rr for this one.

If your family income is $250K per year, you're rich!

At least according to this.

Fact Check.

How many people make over $250K per year?

Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on those making $250K per year

Solution: Raise the minimum wage!

Expelled for bloodshot eyes

Intolerance takes on new identities.

Parting of the Red Sea

A scientific explanation.

Where good ideas come from.

Connectivity.

Thanks to bb and Steven Johnson for this one.

Well what did you expect?

Big insurers stop selling child only policies.

Like ...

... Not.

This is a hoot.

Thanks to rh for this one.

What do you own?

Do you own yourself?

Thanks to rr for this one.

Use your influence.

Can you do this? You'll be darn cute if you can.

Thanks to jk for this one.

Nifty way for foreign combatants to earn rights of U.S. citizenship: Become a Terrorist

"Because Boyd objects to interrogating terrorists outside the civilian criminal justice system, prosecutors will be forced to use the only tool they have to get intelligence — reduced sentences. To prevent future attacks we will have to cut deals with terrorists."

VIEWPOINT: Trying terrorists disregards realities of war

Geez.

I wonder why he didn't win the nomination.

You've got to be kidding.

Free condoms to protect inmates during consentual sex (and not).

Thanks to rr for this one.

Possibly the best governor ever.

Governor schools the teacher.

Thanks to jw for this one.

My Newest Hero - Alveda King

Dr. Alveda King – the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., – explains why she's speaking at the Glenn Beck 8/28 rally in Washington this Saturday.

You're kidding, right?

Environmental Protection Agency Reviewing Petition to Ban Lead Bullets

In America, young generations can't read or write cursive, and in Asia ...

Wired youth forget how to write in China and Japan

Children abused, killed as witches in Nigeria

"Poverty propels this child witch phenomenon and poverty is a twin sister to ignorance."

Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans

Be sure to wear your clean skivvies.

Minority Report is Now

Pre-Crime Technology to be Used in Washington D.C.

Big Brother .... for Real

The Government's New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS

"Deep in a Do Loop"

Intel CEO: U.S. faces looming tech decline

Predictions of Mob Rule

"... subject all the rights of individuals to the will of the many, and acknowledge no law nor ethics, save the lust of that mob which happens to be the larger."

Thanks to rr for this one.

Martial Arts Myths Debunked

Thanks to Dragon's Door for this one.

Top Priority?

How many top priorities can one man have?

Balloon Animals Anyone?

~Cool~

Thanks to eepybird for this one.

UK: Government Funds ‘Happy Endings’ Program for Sex-Starved Disabled Citizens

Wow.

Thanks to rr for this one.

"Freedom and Illusion"

"Mostly Illusion."

Thanks to rr for this one.

I want a Trunk Monkey!

Check 'em out. :)

Thanks to rc for this one.

Today's word: Racist

One of the best "Uncle Jay Explains" yet. Pay attention, boys and girls.

7 Year Old Sings National Anthem - Wow

Oh0h say can you see ...

Sounds of the "God Particle"

Sounds (simulated) of Higgs Boson (actual data).

Very cool. [In actuality, of course, all particles are God's particles.]

Thanks to osy for this one.

Happy Birthday, George

And thanks for all you've done.

Baby Dos and Don'ts

This from my beloved brothers-in-law. What can I say.

Thanks to bc for this one.

And now, for a little humor.

Ninja say what?

Thanks to jk for this one.

Wow.

"Our borders are quite secure, thank you."

Rent-a-white-guy

Chinese companies rent white foreigners.

Thanks to ap and mg for this one.

Nikola Tesla

Badass of the Week.

Thanks to jn for this one.

And now, for a little "True Blood" humor (for mature audiences only)

Snoop Dog "Oh Sookie"

Thanks to, well, uh, Snoop Dog for this one.

Spill Response Not About Oil, But Snake Oil

"A lawsuit is not going to stop the oil, and creating a distraction can only make people at BP start directing their attention toward covering themselves, instead of covering the oil well."

Thomas Sewell on the subject.

Thanks to jw for this one.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Jimmy Carter on the energy crisis.

Thanks to bb for this one.

Who are you? Oops.

Rep. Bob Etheridge.

Thanks to jw for this one.

And on a similar note

I love these guys.

As for the personal contributions of these great capitalists, those listed at the link above are just for starters.

And this, my friends, illustrates why I love capitalism!

The $600 Billion Dollar Challenge

Thanks to Drudge for this one.

Be Prepared for Things to Come

As China's Wages Rise, Export Prices Could Follow


Cameron Warns Britons of Austerity

Thanks to bc for these links.

Huh?

Can someone explain to me why this sort of political statement was deemed appropriate as a commencement speech?

Yeesh. It's no wonder she got booed, if for no other reason then for poor judgment.

Real Time

U.S. Debt Clock.

Thanks to bb for this one.

A Wise and Frugal Government

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."
- Thomas Jefferson

Thanks to Andrew Connors for sharing this quote in his blog entry "Sunday Reflections - Thoughts from Thomas Jefferson."

The Problem of Oil Production

The Intractability of the Built Environment



Thanks to rr for this one.

E Pluribus Unum

Could Tom McClintock be any clearer on these subjects?

Thanks to jw for this one.

On Motivation and Drive

And now, for something different. Drive.

Thanks to ap for this one.

Barbarians at the Gate

Please tell me that this report of the American Academy of Pediatricians is some kind of sick joke.

Thanks to rr for this one.

No Comment

No comments. No followers. What does it all mean? Well, at least I am still able to amuse my own self.

Letting Life Unfold

"Human beings tend to focus on the fulfillment of expectations rather than the simple joys of being."

Thanks to today's Daily Om for this one.

Insomnia

Interesting discussion on potential links between light emitted from electronic gadgetry and difficulty sleeping.

Gov. Chris Christie ...

... clarifies the meaning of "confrontational tone" for reporter.

Thanks to rr for this one.

A Slow-Burn

Bonfire of Liberties. It's not just in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Thanks to rr for this one.

John Voight ...

... tells it as he sees it.

John Voight on the present assault.

Thanks to mb for this one.

Monocoptor

A man made, remote controlled maple leaf.

Thanks to bb for this one.

"Thank God that could never happen here."

"Greece has overspent on large social programs, with a national debt so large that they can never pay it back. Thank God that could never happen here." - Jay Leno

Thanks to jw for this one.

It could happen to you.

Eminent domain in Auburn, New York.

Southerners Explained by Sookie's Author

"If they hate it, they're saying it behind my back so I won't get upset, which is the Southern way. "

How to Photograph a Redwood

Magnificent.

The definition of accuracy

The Silent Assassin

Thanks to bg for this one.

Hm.

A Handy Facebook-to-English Translator.

Thanks to ap for this one.

More to be happy about

Matthew 5:

25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
²⁷Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
²⁸"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹"Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' ³²For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Reframing Bad Days

Reframing bad days through prayer and meditation.

From the Daily OM.

Crayola Thanks Tea Partiers

These colors don't run.

Thanks to mg for this bit of humor.

The Intoxication of Power

"There will be no distinction between beauty and ugliness. There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing
pleasures will be destroyed. But always—do not forget this Winston—always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly
increasing and constantly growing subtler." - George Orwell, 1984

Thanks to bb for this one.

Dug Out Dick

Death of a legend.

Thanks to bb for this one.

Self-delusion

"Our capacity for self-delusion is boundless"
--John Steinbeck

Thanks to mn for this one.

George Carlin on "Earth Day"

A classic.

A Refreshing Perspective on Earth Day

Celebrate nature's greatest gift.

Thanks to jw for this one.

School Lunches a Terroist Threat

Is Cafeteria Food Making Teens Too Fat to Fight?

Thanks to ap for this one.

Psychic Fraud

James Randi's Fiery Takedown of Psychic Fraud

Thanks to rc for this one.

We are so driven by our differences, and yet ...

"We are all the same on the banks of the Ganges"

Thanks to kw and CBS Sunday Morning for this one.

The Philosophy of Liberty

Liberty Explained

TED

Just do it.

Never too Late for a Bucket List

First Taste of Coke ...

... what next?

Thanks to bz for this one.

The Constitution ...

... explained.

Thanks to bb for this one.

Stop Race Baiting

"Democrats, Republicans, Independents, we're out here to save our country ... we love our country, we love our children, and we need for everyone in the whole United States of America to understand why we're doing what we're doing."

"Race baiting. Trying to pit us against each other."

"It's about freedom."

Thanks to rr for this one.

Rule that Potato Chip Bag

You need these ...

... Chip Bag Life Hacker Skills

Thanks to bb for this one.

I Could Have Been a Statistic

Fortunately I was given the opportunity to become more than just that.

"What Was I Supposed to Be?"

Thanks to jw for this one.

Best Friends

Real love is more than skin deep.

Bella and Tara

Thanks to my dear friend df for this one.

This man is my newest hero.

"These are my people. Americans."

How to Build a "Gypsy Junker"

This one is for all you independent types, do-it-yourselfers, green movement aficionados, Mother Earth News readers, or homeless ones.

A Recycled Portable Cabin-Shack-Fort-Bunkhouse

Thanks to bb for this one.

Welcome to My Collected Treasures

Welcome to My Collected Treasures. Attic storage, if you will, for interesting things, provocative ideas, and other bits and pieces collected from family, friends and around the internet.