Articles of interest April 27, 2010

I think we will try this one again as a means of getting back into writing online. 

Survey: 72% of Millennials 'more spiritual than religious'
This articles presents findings from a recent survey indicating the 18-29 yr old crowd tends to find themselves more spiritual than religious.  To me, reading this would be further proof of the ending of the latest religious revival in America.  Of note is that spirituality, the non-praxis based faith, still pervades. 

How Our Brains Make Memories
An article about how our mind creates memory, selecting events to create stories.  This is an old problem with narrative descriptions of events by people who lived through the event.

Obama isn't radical. His party is.
Pundit Michael Medved makes an interesting case for the problem, not with the president himself, but the Democratic party.  I think one of the difficulties with our current political culture is the parties.  Both parties, Democrat and Republican, tend to play political games with each other instead of working for the greater good.  Medved's piece is more about the blame game.  Those opposed to Obama need to look more carefully at the fact that the rest of his party is almost as far left as he appears to be.

articles of interest - Dec 2

Here are some articles from Today's news sources.

"An Empire at Risk" in Newsweek - by Niall Ferguson

Is our real challenge economic decline? Should we be more focused on the economic challenges this country faces than the current new upsurge of troops to Afghanistan? A very fascinating article, looking at how our debt is rising to percentages too high to be sustained with our current GDP.


"Freedom’s Martyr" in NY Times by David Reynolds

The 9/11 of 1859 in NY Times by Tony Horwitz

Two opinion pieces on the significance of the raid on Harper's Ferry led by John Brown in 1859.


Men's genes 'may limit lifespan'

Recent research has suggested that men have shorter life spans because of our genetic makeup, which tends towards greater growth and use of energy. Could it be that each of us in our DNA is preprogrammed for a certain life span and then depending on how we use it could determine whether we cut our life short?

Mix-Up Denied Officials Info About Fort Hood Suspect by Dina Temple-Raston

So, its the FBI's fault. Hmm. Also, I find it rather bothersome that we are now going to distinguish Hassan's killings such that he only tried to kill soldiers, not civilians. In other words, we should feel sorry for him because when he snapped, he was trying to merely defend his Muslim brethren against those who would have gone off to war with the potential for killing his fellow Muslims. He snapped and was calculating. Seems to me like one big contradiction, leading me to assume this was premeditated.


President's Afghan drawdown plan called risky, 'unrealistic' By Matt Smith, CNN

Let's see. Not enough troops and a timetable that is designed for quick in and quick out. All across the board the timetable is being questioned as completely unrealistic. The troop amount is also a point of concern.

Obama’s Afghan Hedge Undercuts Clinton’s NATO Ask

Will Obama's decision to increase the troops, though not to the extent of McCrystal's recommendation, cause our NATO allies to think twice about also committing more troops to Afghanistan?

Five Unanswered Questions about U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan

The title speaks for itself.

Obama Mirrors LBJ's Vietnam Exit Speech by Theodore Kettle

There is a feeling, becoming more prominent, that all we are doing in Afghanistan is repeating the mistakes of Vietnam. It seems people from all corners of the political spectrum are finding the new strategy to be lacking.