NotionsCapital

White House Soup

Mike Licht — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:46:39 +0000

The White House Soup of the Day for January 27, 2012 via MSNBC and FishbowlDC:

_________________

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Newt Skywalker, Space Cadet!

Mike Licht — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:21:27 +0000

Newt Gingrich, disgraced ex-Speaker of the House, addressed GOP voters on Florida’s Space Coast this week, so of course he spoke of reviving the area’s aerospace industry by colonizing the Moon. Perhaps he’ll campaign in Nevada in support of gambling and whorehouses.

But Mr. Gingrich has soared through the deep void of space since 1984, when he, along with David Drake and 2nd ex-wife Marianne, published Window of Opportunity: A Blueprint for the Future. Today, copies of that volume sell for as much as 66 cents.

Actually, Mr. Gingrich had written science fiction before, for the U.S. Congress. As a young congressman he sponsored the National Space and Aeronautics Policy Act of 1981 which seeks to “achieve the peaceful expansion of space and atmospheric environments for the benefit of mankind and the nation.” It also contains “provisions for the government of space territories, including constitutional protections, the right to self- government, and admission to statehood.” Perhaps he yearned to be Moonbase Governor.

“I first became interested in space during the Sputnik era and began reading Missiles and Rockets Magazine when I was in the eighth grade,” Newt Gingrich told Gregory Anderson, a fellow member of the L-5 Society. “The human race has a destiny to spread across the solar system and then across the stars. I prefer that destiny be led by free people.”

More:

“Is Newt Gingrich’s space plan science fiction?” Joel Achenbach, Washington Post

“Newt Gingrich: 8 of the GOP idea man’s more unusual ideas — Using space mirrors to light up the night sky, “Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor

__________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ckz

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Occupy Davos

Mike Licht — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:17:56 +0000

Every year since 1971 the World Economic Forum, a meeting of billionaires and their pet statemen and economists, has convened in the Swiss Alps at Davos. This year they have been joined by the 99%. “OccupyWEF” protesters can’t afford the town’s luxury hotels, so they’re using the famed ski resort’s snow as lodging, building a community of igloos.

But the real voice of protest isn’t in an igloo. It belongs to the Forum’s Chairman and founder, Professor Klaus Schwab:

“Capitalism, in its current form, no longer fits the world around us. We have failed to learn the lessons from the financial crisis of 2009. A global transformation is urgently needed and it must start with reinstating a global sense of social responsibility.”
– “WEF seeks to rewire global leadership,” Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch

Lost your Forum program on the slopes? Borrow our copy here.

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ck7

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Aye, Bobbie Burns and the Library of Congress

Mike Licht — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:25:57 +0000

By now, no doubt, you’ve finished your haggis and neeps and drained a wee dram to toast the 253th Birthday of poet Robert Burns. The Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division has an online celebration of Scottish links for your post-Burns Supper perusal:

“Robert Burns Day: Haggis, Anyone?” Kristi Finefield, Picture This

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-cjR

Image (“Robert Burns at the Library of Congress”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Twitter McNuggets

Mike Licht — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:44:22 +0000

The McDonald’s Corporation started 2012 with TV ads personalizing the multinational fast food giant through first-person “McDonald Stories” narrated by its rural, agricultural suppliers. A few days back McDonald’s took the human element a step further, inviting consumers to add their own 140-character #McDStories on Twitter, a recipe for disaster. McDonald’s found the results not to their taste, and 86ed the Twitter campaign.

More:

“#McDStories: When A Hashtag Becomes A Bashtag,” Kashmir Hill, Forbes

“‘McDialysis? I’m Loving it!’: McDonald’s Twitter Promo Fail,” Colleen Curry, ABC News

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-cjz

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Dragons

Mike Licht — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:30:57 +0000

Happy New Year (新年快乐). This Lunar New Year is the Year of the Dragon in much of Asia. In China, where the dragon is considered a national symbol, this year is considered especially auspicious, and many couples will attempt to have lucky children in the next twelve months. To Chinese moms, that’s not an unmixed blessing.

In other dragon-related news:

“Bill Would Create School Holiday for Lunar New Year,” Maria Newman, New York Times blog

“SpaceX plans to mark ‘Year of the Dragon’ with a big blast,” MSNBC

“How world’s search engines celebrate the Year of the Dragon,” Michael Cavna, Washington Post blog

“Where Did Dragons Come From?” Joseph Stromberg, Smithsonian blog

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ciL

Image: “Chinese Dragon” by Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, 1919.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Thoughts of Women Stupify Male Brains

Mike Licht — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:27:54 +0000

“Casually mentioning a female instead of a male name was sufficient to impair men’s cognitive performance,” according to a research team from Radboud University in the Netherlands. “Moreover, these effects occur even if men do not get information about the woman’s attractiveness.”

When heterosexual males interact with attractive women, they put so much effort into trying to make a good impression that they don’t have the resources left to think clearly. Caveat: by “males” the scientists mean their usual research animals, university students.

More:

“Sex on the Brain Proves Costly for Men,” Tom Jacobs, Miller-McCune

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-cil

Image (“American Male Mind”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

South Carolina GOP: Adulterer 1, Mormon 0

Mike Licht — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:12:47 +0000

In today’s South Carolina Republican primary, the state’s pious values voters have spoken. Better a disgraced career politician and thrice-married admitted adulterer than a member of the Latter Day Saints. GOP voters understand adultery just fine, but not Mormon theology (who does?).

Attacking the media helped, too.

Q: “Will Angry White Man Performance Win Gingrich GOP Nomination?”

A: Yup.

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-chN

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Newt Gingrich Woos South Carolina GOP Voters

Mike Licht — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:29:27 +0000

Disgraced former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich leads in the last opinion polls before today’s South Carolina Republican primary elections. His platform: “Blame the media for reporting the facts about me.” The facts? Serial, long-term adultery.

The rotund Republican romeo is chatting up GOP values voters with the line “My last ex-wife doesn’t understand me.” Will Palmetto State voters be seduced? Probably. Their other choices are an elderly pro-pot gynecologist, a K Street lobbyist, and a Mormon.

Related:

“Ex-Mrs. Gingrich Reacts to Newt: ‘My Story Is the Truth,’” Brian Ross, ABC News

“Newt Gingrich – Marital Affairs,” ThePoliticalGuide.com (esp. the chart)

“Ex-wife: Newt creates a political illusion,” UPI

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-chk

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Ron Paul Trial Balloon Shot Down Over I-85

Mike Licht — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:15:49 +0000

Ron Paul has yet to deploy the mighty airships of the Paulista Air Force, but a Ron Paul hot air balloon flew a sortie over I-85 in South Carolina on Thursday. It hovered outside Greenville during morning rush hour, and may have been tethered in the frontage road, since the Highway Patrol issued a citation. As Dr. Paul might say, there’s entirely too much law.

___________________

Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-ch6

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.