Alan Taylor, in the Boston Globe, has assembled a collection of photos from the Vietnam War that’s well worth seeing, and contemplating.
Category: Politics, Religion & Money
Political party time in England
With so many disasters of various sorts, natural and man-made, in the news, the general election in the UK isn’t getting much coverage in America. Here’s what’s going on over there.
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Is Colbert’s desk like Snoopy’s doghouse?
Everybody’s favorite diskinetic Parkie, Michael J. Fox, dropped in on Stephen Colbert last night. I’ve always loved the fantasy aspect of Snoopy’s doghouse, with its pool table and Van Gogh original, and I enjoy it when Colbert has the same sort of fun with his desk.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word – Flight Risk | ||||
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Census censorious
Bismo asked,
Ever hear of the American Community Survey? Separate form from the Census Bureau, sent to smaller sampling of homes than the full census. Just got one.
No, I never had heard of the American Community Survey, and my initial reaction was that it must be a fake census form sent by a marketing outfit. But no, it’s for real, from the United States government, and you’ll find it at this link.
The questions get a bit particular. Click here to see a PDF sample of the form that Bismo received. Here are a couple of examples.
I can understand where the Census Bureau is coming from. For example, they want to know not only if grandma is living at home, but how impaired she may be. Does grandma have unofficial custody of her grandkids? How many people work off-hours shifts, or have flex time? But considering that the American Community Survey is mandatory for those who receive it, with a maximum fine of $5000, I can also see where the Tea Baggers would say, “they’re steppin’ on our freedoms.”
Three live in Apollo, four dead in Ohio
Spring, 1970 saw yet another crazy time in American history, at the end of an impossibly eventful decade that was full of so much change in every aspect of life, from music and culture, to politics and technology. I remember it well. First, there was the drama of Apollo 13.
It sure seemed as though Lovell, Swigert, and Haise had only a 1% chance of making it back safely; but, incredibly, they did.
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The following week there was the first Earth Day, which to me seemed to have a feeling of desperation about it, because air and water pollution really were bad back then.
Then there were the Kent State killings, 40 years ago today. Hoo boy, did that leave an impression. Two years after Walter Cronkite had declared Johnson’s Vietnam War to not be winnable, Kissinger and Nixon decided that escalating the conflict into Cambodia would be a great idea.
I don’t think I’m supposed to hotlink to BBC “Witness” podcasts, but I’m going to do it anyway for their piece on Kent State. Listen to how many gunshots there were. The Guard opened fire on unarmed students. There’s no other way to describe it.
[audio:http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/witness/witness_20100504-1030a.mp3]What galls me is how, in the Sixties, conservatives told student radicals to love America or leave it. Now the conservatives are the ones who are protesting — with some of them armed — because they don’t like the ways things are. I don’t hear anybody telling them to love it or leave it.
Colbert Battles Minotaur!
After Eric and I watched Tuesday night’s Colbert Report, Carol wanted to know what we were laughing at so loudly. (Note: I had to explain to Eric who Steve Guttenberg is.)
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Current Events – Taser-Armed Robots & Meth Sheep | ||||
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