The Manichean Paranoia Patch

Downfall is a 2004 German film depicting the last days of Hitler’s life, and therefore the Third Reich.  It focuses primarily on Hitler and his closest companions and officers as they attempt to hold off the invading Russians from conquering Berlin.  Bruno Ganz portrayal of Hitler is amazing - a fine piece of acting!  The […]

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Well, I’m in another public office that should probably limit the extent to which I use this to express political views. This is a big reason I have stopped updating this regularly, unfortunately.
Which, of course, leads me to my favorite television show at the moment, Battlestar Galactica. The fourth season isn’t as good […]

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A nice little history lesson here. I liked their selection and the commentary.
From an actual Theodore Roosevelt eulogy given at the time of his passing: “Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight.”
If I could change one thing, I would have added some […]

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Well, here we are in 2008. Instead of doing a New Year’s Resolution for myself, this year I think I am going to make resolutions for the planet as a whole. Since I never keep my personal resolutions, despite my best intentions, I might as well throw my support to broader issues. […]

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This post was inspired by this Newsweek article.
Why are we obsessed with the 1960’s? Well, there are plenty of easy answers: the social conflict, the violence, generational divide, the Vietnam War and the clash of values. And yes, we probably romanticize the period a little bit. Ultimately though, I think the real reason we […]

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If you are in a good mood and want to stay that way, than I suggest you don’t watch this video. For the rest of us grumpy cynics, prepare to be blown away by the ignorance of today’s youth. No, it’s not “who was America’s first President?” or “what century was the Civil […]

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So, when we left off Reuben Sturman had made the valuable discovery that adult magazines and books lead to higher profits. Thus, he increasingly emphasized that aspect of his business, investing all his revenue into expanding his operations throughout Ohio, and then the United States. By the late 1960s, Sturman was the biggest […]

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Chances are you’ve never heard of Reuben Sturman but for a time he was one of the richest, most powerful men in America. What Rockefeller was to oil, Sturman was to porno magazines and erotic novels. What Carnegie was to the steel industry, Sturman was to snuff films and peeping shows. By […]

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Just a quick note here.  Paul MacCready, the inventor of the first practical flying machine powered by a human being, passed away on Wednesday.  This modern day Da Vinci was the first American pilot to become World Gliding Champion and founded AeroVironment, a technology company that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, […]

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In the spirit of education, I have decided to start a weekly post about little-known heroes of the past. You won’t see these people lauded in textbooks, but in their own way they were courageous and ahead of their time.
Today’s unsung hero is Henry Taylor Blow. Mr. Blow was born in 1817 in […]

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