The whole Jeremiah Wright story actually has some interesting side effects, because it’s killing two birds with one (crazy, possibly racist) stone.  First, it’s hurting the campaign of Barack Obama, who, off the top of my head, is one of the purest, most tax-happy liberals I can think of.
I used to think that Hillary as President would mean the end of civilization as we know it.  Now, even she argues for less taxes than this guy.  I’m not going to say that Hillary is more palatable to me, since I …

This weekend, my brothers and I will pack up and head to Fredonia, Wisconsin. What’s drawing us there? Some sort of concert? The world’s largest meatball? Are we trying to be extras in a movie being shot there?
Nope – the answer is that this weekend is the Mecca AND Medina of the NFL’s off-season, the Draft, and we take it quite seriously. You might remember my brother’s Draft Diary from last year, in which he recorded thoughts on a tape recorder throughout the day.
Why Fredonia? …

It’s really easy to get into national news – all you need is some fishing line, some helium balloons, road flares, and a good imagination.
That’s what the mysterious lights over Phoenix a few days ago turned out to be: nothing more than a clever hoax, a guy claims. A clever, clever hoax. In fact, it’s so clever I’m kicking myself now: why didn’t I think of that?
The UFOs were just flares tied to balloons, launched one at a time a minute apart each from the guy’s backyard. …

A company called Aqua Sciences, based out of Miami Beach, can now harvest water from atmospheric moisture – essentially getting “water from thin air.”
Interestingly, although Aqua Sciences wasn’t directly funded through military contracting, it will find early uses in hydrating our troops in Iraq – where it will bring water transportation costs from $30 a gallon to $.30 a gallon.
Darpa gave millions to research companies like LexCarb and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in the Mesopotamian desert.
But it was another company, Aqua Sciences, that developed a …

All of the current economic craziness boggles my mind.  Ever hear the phrase “much ado about nothing”?  And I’m not talking about your typical Today Show segment.
It’s much ado about nothing because there is no economy.  I’m not trying to go Matrix on you here: the economy is just an abstract idea that describes commerce and trade.  Just like there is no actual “internet” that you can see or visit.  We humans just like having words to describe ideas.
The people who oversimplify the economy into “good” and “bad” don’t understand …

This post is a follow-up to Wednesday’s post, in which I talked about the possible effects of global warming.
One obvious effect already occurring that I didn’t mention was the growth of ethanol as a popular fuel additive.  Since ethanol is made from crops like corn, it’s driving up food prices all over the world, stirring up food riots, and causing many poor people to starve.
It sounds like I’m over-simplifying it, but I’m really not.  From the New Statesman (I added the bold font):
What biofuels do is undeniable: they take food …

Recently, I got to thinking about global warming, and then thinking “well, if global warming is something we’re going to have to live with, what are the actual effects it will have?”
We all know about the doomsday prophecies of frequent high-category hurricanes, desertification, erosion, and all that stuff, but what exactly can we anticipate, and is it as pressing an issue as it’s made out to be? Here are some potential effects I found:
-Glaciers retreating. As far as I can tell, glaciers retreating is bad for salmon and …

A while ago I posted about the qualities and policies I look for in a candidate. I never, however, asked what you, the good people of BipolarNation, value most in your Presidential candidates.
So I put together a list of current issues and policies. Go to this thread on the BipolarNation Forums and vote for which one is most important to you.
Note: These categories indicate issues, not positions. For example, if a politician being a low military spender is very important to you, you’d still rank “Military spending” highly …

Last night on the “Faith and Politics” forum on CNN, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama separately answered questions on how they view religion’s role in politics.  Watching Democrats talk politics is like watching Bill Lumbergh talk business.  Many words are spoken, but little is said.
Here’s how one question might go down in a Democratic debate:
Chris Matthews:  Senator Obama, what do you think of X?
Barack Obama:  Well, first, we have to be very careful when we’re talking about X.  To many people, X is a sensitive issue, and I only think …

Update: I’m not the only one who recognizes Favre’s selfishness. Pro Football Weekly weighs in:
Now, we’ll hear about how Favre is one phone call away every time Rodgers throws a bad pick or loses a game with a so-so fourth quarter.
Enough of this B.S.  The endurance of Favre as a story is part of the reason I wasn’t jumping for joy when he retired.
If you know Brett Favre and his many manipulations, you aren’t surprised by this: Favre said there are conditions under which he’d possibly return …