More 9/11 Reminders

Some more 9/11 links that are worth remembering,

- The late Vin Scully on 9/11's meaning.

- The Patriots Joe Andruzzi the first game back after 9/11

- The world did hear from us.

- Reminder of the cost some paid

- Donald Trump on 9/11

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Why do people buy into mythology of the Confederacy? Because our understanding of history is wrong!

- Dangerous animals. Holy crap - hippos are killers!

- Average cost of beer in cities around the world.

- I agree that George Bush should do the Daily Show before Jon Stewart departs. I think people would be surprised by how well Bush presents himself. Watch the Rumsfeld episode to see how Rummy owned the room because he was right and had the facts. Bush would do the same.

- Heh Heh

Cool Videos

Some cool videos I wanted to share.

- President George Bush's interview with the Golf Channel is well worth the 16 minutes of your time. President Bush is classy as always.  I've played a few times at the Cape Arundel course he mentioned a couple of times.

- Jimmy Kimmel vs Kanye West. Actually two videos but both funny.

- Jaguar hunts and kills a crocodile. Joe Rogan was also talking about this video.

- Lost "hit" Wunderbar by Tenpole Tudors. The video is not that great but the chorus really sticks in your head. Great drinking song.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

10 Best Vacation Cities for Beer Lovers - remember July is National Beer Month.

Heh heh - You Farted in Trader Joe's

George and Laura Bush painting a clinic in Zambia

Very insightful look into how the Romney's spend their summer vacation

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Mark Twain was born 176 years ago today. Here are 10 things he didn't really say

- Obama Legalizes Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption. I know that's a bit misleading but I didn't write it and it is ironic on so many levels. The PETA supporters can't claim Bush did this. Is Obama admitting the economy under him is so bad that people will have to eat horse? What's next - dog?

- World's Largest Marine Reserve Announced. Excellent photos. What's not mentioned is that George W created the second largest Marine Reserve around Hawaii.

- Must-Watch Music Video Featuring Stanley From The Office (aka Leslie David Baker)

- Alan Cumming Will Perform a One-Man Macbeth. I'd like to see that (although I'd probably picture him as Fegan Floop the whole time).

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- The Strange and Twisted History of Ramen Noodles. For the record - I love Ramen Noodles. I could eat them seven days a week.

- Very cool looking motorcycle (though it doesn't look very comfortable)

- Wounded Warriors and President Bush (July 4th, 2011). Very cool video. History will be kind to Bush - Obama not so much

- Funniest newspaper layout ever (HT SI's Jimmy Traina)

- Maybe Colby Rasmus was traded because LaRussa didn't like his politics?

- Is there anything more manly than catching a shark from a kayak?

Heh Heh - Old Joke Worth a Re-telling

George W. Bush and John Kerry somehow ended up at the same barbershop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken.

The barbers were even afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics. As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Kerry in his chair reached for the aftershave. Kerry was quick to stop him saying, "No thanks, my wife Theresa will smell that and think I've been in a whorehouse."

The second barber turned to Bush and said, "How about you?"

Bush replied, "Go ahead, my wife doesn't know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like."

Martha's Vineyard and the Garden of Eden

Yesterday the Boston Globe had an article about the death of 500 acres of oak forest on Martha's Vineyard and how it is related to climate change. I couldn't stop thinking about the article all day.

To me the key quote from the story was the following:

“It’s what makes the story interesting,’’ Oswald said. “The same two types of trees are dying at the same time’’ today, just as they did 5,000 years ago.

That's right - 5,000 years ago almost the exact same thing happened in almost the exact same place. I immediately thought that this fact makes blaming man-made carbon emissions for what is happening a bit of a stretch. I mean it's not like what happened 5,000 years ago was because of slash and burn farming practices or driving SUV's. It occurred to me that the author of the article was careful to use the term "climate change" instead of "global warming" all through the article.

I also started thinking about what was happening 5,000 years ago and then it clicked. About 5,000 years ago civilization was taking root in the fertile crescent around the meeting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This is the area that many have identified as the most likely setting for the Biblical Garden of Eden. Today this area is part of modern day Iraq.

That area today is home to the so-called Marsh Arabs. This is worthy of note because Saddam Hussein tried to punish the Marsh Arabs in 1991 by draining the marshland and destroying both the ecology of the area and the way of life of the Shia Marsh Arabs. We are talking about one of the most ecologically diverse areas on the planet which encompasses roughly 8,000 square miles. That area is just about exactly equal to the size of the entire state of Massachusetts. We are talking about the setting of the Biblical Garden of Eden.

You don't hear much about the restoration of the ecology of this area - do you? You would think that restoring the area that is the metaphorical Garden of Eden in an area roughly equal to the entire state of Massachusetts would rate as high as the problems of 500 acres of forest in Massachusetts. You would be wrong. The reason, I'm convinced, is that George W. Bush was the main cause for this ecological recovery in Iraq and no main stream media wants to give Bush credit for anything. I'm amused by that.

I'm also amused by the fact that 3,000 years ago in this same fertile crescent - man started fermenting beer. Glorious beer! Yet in this modern day there are towns on Martha's Vineyard that are dry. They don't allow alcohol. You can't blame George Bush for that. You can only hope that these towns will eventually become civilized.

History's View of George W. Bush

Charles Krauthammer has an interesting article this morning on how history will view President Bush. Not to steal his thunder but here's how Krauthammer finishes the piece:

In this respect, Bush is much like Truman, who developed the sinews of war for a new era (the Department of Defense, the CIA, the NSA), expanded the powers of the presidency, established a new doctrine for active intervention abroad, and ultimately engaged in a war (Korea) -- also absent an attack on the U.S. -- that proved highly unpopular.

So unpopular that Truman left office disparaged and highly out of favor. History has revised that verdict. I have little doubt that Bush will be the subject of a similar reconsideration.

If you've read this space for any period of time - you'll know that I've been saying that exact same thing for over 2 years now.

George Bush - the Original Zionist

George Bush - no not that one - the other one - no not that one either - was perhaps the original Zionist. The George Bush I'm talking about was born in 1796 and was the first cousin of George W. Bush's great- great- great- grandfather.

This George Bush was also perhaps the first person to advocate a new state for Jews in Palestine. Bush's 1844 work, The Valley of Vision or The Dry Bones of Israel Revived called for a new state of Israel. I guess you could say that support for the state of Israel runs in the blood of the Bush family.