Contending with the Culture » redhatrob

This is austerity?

redhatrob — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:21:19 +0000

The Revenge of Wen Jiabao

redhatrob — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:48:44 +0000

“The father’s a hero, the son’s a brave lad; the father’s a reactionary, the son’s a bastard.”

You cannot begin to grasp current events in China unless you know at least some of the history of the last 65 years. From the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, through the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the Gang of Four, the One Child Policy, Deng Xiao Ping (and his cat), to Tienanmen Square there has been a never-ending conflict within the ruling class in China.

The world is catching a few glimpses right now of one of the more interesting episodes.

Anyone interested in China and foreign policy should read John Garnaut’s thoughtful and well-researched report below:

The Revenge of Wen Jiabao – By John Garnaut | Foreign Policy.

Incidentally, the opening quote is one of the slogans from the Cultural Revolution. One’s status in China was highly dependent (if not completely determined) by one’s ancestry - in a perverse, marxist way. If your parents were middle class, you were evil. If your parents were peasants, you were good.

A small group of people who weren’t even elected

redhatrob — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:59:26 +0000

Hat tip to: Hope n’ Change Cartoons: Supreme Irony.

How many men died in the Civil War?

redhatrob — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:36:40 +0000

“For 110 years, the numbers stood as gospel: 618,222 men died in the Civil War, 360,222 from the North and 258,000 from the South — by far the greatest toll of any war in American history.

But new research shows that the numbers were far too low.”

The new number, fairly well reasoned, is 750,000.

an article from the NY Times worth reading:

Civil War Toll Up by 20 Percent in New Estimate – NYTimes.com.

Would Jesus support Obamacare?

redhatrob — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:48:28 +0000

A response to the tired and tortured canards of the religious left.

a sample:

“Jesus’ values” had nothing to do with what the state was supposed to do for the poor or disadvantaged. They were about what you and your religious community were to do for the poor. “Jesus’ values” were the ethics of the Kingdom, and had to do, not with generalized principles for good conduct, but for the way His disciples were to live their lives in obedience to God. Getting the government to “perform the corporal works of mercy” is a way of shifting the burden from one’s own shoulders to those of the state, and to the polity as a whole, but Jesus never expected that non-disciples would follow His commands or do His works.

Very much worth your while to read…

David Fischler dissects Anthony Stevens-Arroyo’s distortions of the Bible and Theology in the Washington Post.

a hat tip to StandFirmInFaith.com

Best – warming – headline – evah

redhatrob — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:00:34 +0000

Best – warming – headline – evah | Watts Up With That?

They’ve revised the story at this link by now, but the beauty of the Internet is that it never forgets.

How good is your pattern recognition?

redhatrob — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:01:37 +0000

or, “Shouldn’t any competent climatologist be able to answer this question?”

Science Quiz | Daily Pundit:

(read it all!)

Interview with Senator Rick Santorum | Home Educating Family Association Blog

redhatrob — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:40:26 +0000

My interview with Senator Santorum (conducted week before last) has been published in Home Educating Family Magazine, and online!

Click below to read the full text:

Eavesdrop on a Chat with Senator Rick Santorum | Home Educating Family Association Blog.

Brilliant!

redhatrob — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:05:50 +0000

Joke of the week

*The Abbott and Costello Routine on Unemployment*

COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good subject. Terrible times. It’s about 9%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right: 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 16% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 9%.
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE! Is it 9% or 16%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 16% are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you’re out of work you’re unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed. You have
to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: But … they’re out of work!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who
look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To whom?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they’re ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work… Those who are
out of work stopped looking. They gave up. If you give up, you’re no
longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roles, that would count as
less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment goes down just because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how you get to 9%. Otherwise it
would be 16%. You don’t want to read about 16% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to
bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier
of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what I just said!

And now you know why President Obama’s unemployment figures are improving.

h/t to Camp4u: Joke of the week.

High School Hi-Tech Announcement

redhatrob — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:50:32 +0000

They only do one word a month?

And that one not very well.

For the record, this is a photo of a TV screen displaying the word of the
month at a HIGH SCHOOL in New York State.

And people wonder why we homeschool.