The economic news since before the election last year has been mostly bad. Numerous well-known companies have shuttered permanently or come close to it. Auto companies are teetering on the edge. Yet one previously little-known company has captured the imagination and the ire of the nation: AIG. The big story is the bonuses, but the sideshow is noteworthy on its own.
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67 comments (Latest Comment: 03/19/2009 02:06:05 by TriSec)

In psychology, psychological projection (or projection bias) is a defense mechanism where a person's personal attributes, unacceptable or unwanted thoughts, and/or emotions are ascribed onto another person or people. In politics, it's called GOP tactics. It's been around for a while, but it is starting to become tiresome in it's psychopathy.
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98 comments (Latest Comment: 03/17/2009 02:49:59 by Mondobubba)

Morning, folks! Going to be a 'homer' today. (like that's new. )

I might be overly proud of my city's role in the birth of this nation, and it's ongoing role in the sciences and liberal politics, but there's a part of Boston that often gets overlooked. We're not called the "Athens of America" for nothing, and our art and cultural institutions stand second to none. (waits for clamour to die down).

One of the more quirkier museums in the city is the Isabella Stuart Gardner museum. In order to understand the museum, you should probably know a little more about Ms. Gardner.

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18 comments (Latest Comment: 03/15/2009 13:18:24 by trojanrabbit)

I have no problems with earmarks. There I said it. I actually like them. And yes, that would mean I that I may actually disagree with the President on this issue. I am getting very sick and tired of the Republicans whining about earmarks like they are some sort of cancer on our democracy. Like everything else, they have turned earmarks into the extreme.

I am all for fiscal responsibility and I am for responsible spending. I am, however, even more in favor of our representatives securing money for their constituents. For the most part, this is what earmarks do. It's simply a provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects in the States.
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86 comments (Latest Comment: 03/13/2009 01:45:31 by livingonli)

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,183rd day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4256
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4117
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3795
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3398
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 27

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 661
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 434
Journalists - Iraq: 136
Contractor Deaths - Iraq: 1264

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 603, 540, 900, 000.00


Here at "Ask a Vet", we tend to focus almost exclusively on the War in Iraq. Often, even we overlook what's happening in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world, as the magnitude of what we have done in the Middle East tends to dwarf everything else.

Today, I want to take a brief look at a group of persons that has been under-reported by everyone...the Iraqi civilian.

In every war since the beginning of time, there's two casualty lists; the soldiers that fight, and the civilians that suffer. Often, the non-military person simply 'gets in the way' and pays the ultimate price. Modern militaries are quite adept at something called "battlefield recovery", and the United States Marine Corps and the Israeli Army famously have a policy of leaving no one behind in times of war.

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50 comments (Latest Comment: 03/11/2009 06:34:27 by livingonli)