Friday, November 30, 2012

Kebangkitan Cina: Redux


Halaman dalam pasport baru RRC
Sumber: The Guardian
Saya sebelumnya sudah bilang, kebangkitan Cina itu BUKAN berita baik buat negara² tetangganya. Di saat yg sama, dominasi Amerika Serikat atas dunia ternyata tak terlalu jelek!

Dan Cina baru saja membuktikkan lagi mereka berniat mendominasi semua orang.

Mereka baru saja mengubah pasport mereka. Masalahnya, di SETIAP halaman pasport tsb, mereka menggambarkan wilayah RRC meliputi daerah India yang mereka klaim, dan segenap Laut Cina Selatan, yang sedang disengketakan dengan Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, dan Filipina. (Lihat gambar di kanan.)

Huh? Buat apa cari gara² seperti ini? Saya punya sebuah tebakan ...

Ingat² fakta bahwa setiap kali kita memasuki negara asing, pasport kita dicap.

Sekarang, bayangkan, seorang warganegara Cina, memasuki Vietnam yg sedang bersengketa dg Cina mengenai batas wilayah di laut Cina Selatan. Cap pemerintah Vietnam di sebuah pasport RRC bisa dijadikan bukti "LIHAT, pemerintah Vietnam MENERIMA klaim wilayah Cina!" Begitu pula kalau ada warganegara Cina yang memasuki India, Filipina, dll.

Tentu saja negara² tsb tidak diam saja. Vietnam memutuskan untuk memberikan SEMUA capnya di lembar terpisah. India malah memberikan peta VERSI INDIA di visa kepada warganegara Cina dst.

Dan sekali lagi Cina mengingatkan kita semua: setidaknya Amerika Serikat tak punya ambisi territorial. Gak heran kalau negara² yang berdekatan dg Cina ramai² akan menawarkan tanahnya untuk menjadi pangkalan angkatan bersenjata Amerika Serikat.



Sumber:


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Russian Jokes



Here are some of the best Russian jokes I managed to find in the internet:



A Mercedes stops, and an old Zaporozhets crashes into it. Two goons in suits get out, approach an old man in his old car and ask him: "Hi, now you owe us so-o much... you're going to pay or we'll talk ...differently?"
Old dude replies "Ah, I haven't much money with me, perhaps you need to talk with my son."
"And who's your son?"
"Chief of the poultry farm."
"Well, call him!"
Five minutes later an armored carrier stops nearby and several big, armed troopers jumps out. "Dad, how many times must I tell you? My job's NOT called Chief of the Poultry Farm, but Commander of the Falcon Special Detachment!"

++++++++++++++++++++++

A Frenchman, a German, and a Russian go on a safari and are captured by cannibals. They are brought to the chief, who says, "We are going to eat you right now. But I am a civilized man, I studied human rights at the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, so I'll grant each of you a last request."
The German asks for a mug of beer and a bratwurst. He gets it and the cannibals eat him.
The Frenchman asks for three girls. He has crazy sex with them, and then follows the German.
The Russian asks: "Hit me hard, right on my nose." The chief is surprised, but hits him. The Russian pulls out a Kalashnikov and shoots all the cannibals. The mortally wounded chief asks him: "Why didn't you do this before we ate the German?", the Russian proudly replies:
"Russians are not aggressors! Russians only defend themselves!"

++++++++++++++++++++++

A Frenchman, a Japanese and a Russian were trapped by Tzar. He locked them in a closed chamber and asked to surprise him using three steel balls – the winner will be released, the others will be executed.
In a week the Frenchman demonstrates a juggle with the balls.
The Japanese has created a rock garden.
The Russian sits sad in his chamber with only one ball in his hands. The Tzar asks him: "Why are you so sad and where are the other balls?". The Russian answers: "One broken, one lost".

++++++++++++++++++++++

In the zoo, two girls are discussing a gorilla with a huge penis: "THAT's what a real man must have!" A Georgian passer-by sarcastically remarks: "You are badly mistaken. THIS is what a real man must have!", and produces a thick wallet.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Chinese hackers cracked Pentagon's server. Each of them tried to login with the password "Mao Tse-Tung". On the 2,934,568th attempt the server agreed.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Let me close this list with this anecdote:

Tell a joke to a German, and he will not understand it.
Tell a joke to an Englishman, and he will understand it, but won't show it.
Tell a joke to a Japanese, and he will understand it his own way.
Tell a joke to a Russian, and he will tell you that he knows three more versions of that joke that are much better.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Amazing Quotes 21: Samuel P. Huntington


From: wikipedia
We have tons of intellectuals during the 2nd half of 20th century. One of the most influential one is Samuel P. Huntington (1927 - 2008). Everyone, even laymen, know him thanks to his book "The Clash of Civilization." That is a pity, because that book is weak in comparison with his other book like "The Soldier and the State" or "Political Order in Changing Societies." Nevertheless, we can get tons of powerful quotes from him. Here are some of his most remembered quotes:

"Graduate students, are more reluctant to challenge this or that professor and have been captured by jargon and orthodoxy of the discipline."

If a scholar has nothing new to say he should keep quiet.”

"The quest for truths is synonymous with intellectual controversy."

The architects of power in the US must create a force that can be felt but not seen. Power remains strong when it remains in the dark; exposed to the sunlight, it begins to evaporate.
-- In “American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony” (1983) p. 75.

A world without U.S. primacy will be a world with more violence and disorder and less democracy and economic growth than a world where the United States continues to have more influence than any other country in shaping global affairs. The sustained international primacy of the United States is central to the welfare and security of Americans and to the future of freedom, democracy, open economies, and international order in the world.
-- "Why International Primacy Matters," International Security (Spring 1993):83.

The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.
-- “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order“ (1996) p. 51.

The Economist identified 32 major conflicts going on in the world in the year 2000, and if you look at those 32 conflicts more than two-thirds involve Muslims fighting other Muslims or Muslims fighting non-Muslims
--In the conversation with Anthony Giddens, Fall 2003, published by “New Perspectives Quarterly”



Saturday, November 24, 2012

Review of "Amos and Andrew"

After watching all the "circus" around 2012 US presidential election, where both sides threw "racist" accusation left and right, I was reminded of this vastly underrated comedy of error from the 1993: "Amos and Andrew."

Seriously, if you want to have basic knowledge about racism in USA, just watch this movie.


The movie is about a famous African-american professor and playwright, Andrew Sterling, who just moved to an island in New England. Very unfortunate of him, his white neighbor mistook him for a thief when they saw him set his stereo-set. They called the police, and a trigger-happy officer shot him. Repeatedly. The police realized their mistake later, but it was too late. So, they tried to cover it up. They made a deal with a petty criminal named Amos O'Dell, forced him to take Sterling's hostage. Meanwhile, the neighbors who started all this mess were pissed since they felt that they deserved MORE attention from the media, so they contact all major medias and started a national crisis. When a black-reverend friend of Sterling saw this, he lead an angry-black mob to the scene. Of course we all know this couldn't end well for anybody ...

First, the main casts & characters. Both Nicholas Cage who played Amos O'Dell and Samuel L. Jackson who played Andrew Sterling, put beautiful performances. Cage really used his "lazy bum" persona to maximum effect here, while Samuel L. Jackson showed that he can acts in role other than "a tough mothafucka" that become his image in all his well-known movies.

Second, the supporting casts and characters. The inept policemen really cracked me up whenever they were on screen. One of them even painted his face BLACK before "kicking some shit." So does the racist neighbors. And their dog. Aaaah, their adorable WHITE dog is so CUTE!!

Third, let's talk about racism. Unlike other movie that used racism as its theme, "Amos and Andrew" escaped the "all blacks are victims and many whites are racists" cliché.  It depicted racism from BOTH the whites and the blacks, and showed how racism imploded BOTH sides. Oh yeah, despite being a criminal, Amos O'Dell is actually THE LEAST racist important character in this movie, while on the other hand, Andrew Sterling is arguably one of the most racist. And that reverend friend of Sterling was a certified bigot-idiot who ALWAYS feels victimized. This is what I dislike from "racism" discourse in the US: many blacks react against racism from the whites with their own racism. Sometimes, whites even feel compelled to reverse their racism by doing "positive" racism. Just ask any blacks or whites who voted for Obama ONLY because of his skin color. This movie eloquently pointed out that both sides can be racist, and both sides would end in fire, sooner or later, if they keep it up.

Oh, one last thing. Ironically Samuel L. Jackson actually gave his vote for Obama ONLY because of the similarity of their skin color. Looks like he really forget this movie.

In the end, this movie never lost steam. It cracked one smart joke after another, from the beginning until the end. Kudos for that. A solid 95 out of 100. Watch it, especially if you want to know about racism in USA.


Friday, November 23, 2012

Resensi Buku "23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism"


Saya sudah pernah menulis beberapa mitos yang dipercayai orang² kanan. Buku karangan Chang Ha-Joon ini menjelaskan BANYAK mitos mengenai ekonomi yang dipercayai orang² kanan. Berikut adalah 23 hal yang anda harus ketahui mengenai kapitalisme:

1) Tidak ada itu yang namanya pasar bebas.
2) Perusahaan sebaiknya tidak selalu dioperasikan demi kepentingan pemiliknya.
3) Kebanyakan orang di negara maju gajinya terlalu tinggi.
4) Mesin cuci itu lebih hebat pengaruhnya daripada internet.
5) Asumsikan yang terburuk dari orang lain, kau akan mendapatkan yang terburuk.
6) Stabilitas ekonomi makro tidak membuat ekonomi dunia stabil.

7) Kebijakan pro pasar bebas jarang menolong negara miskin.
8) Modal/kapital itu punya kewarganegaraan juga.
9) Kita masih hidup di era industri.
10) Standard hidup di Amerika Serikat bukan yang tertinggi di dunia.
11) Afrika tidak ditakdirkan untuk miskin.
12) Pemerintah bisa memilih pemenang.
13) "Trickle down effect" tidak bekerja.
14) Manager² di AS digaji terlalu tinggi.
15) Jiwa kewiraswastaan di negara miskin lebih tinggi daripada di negara kaya.
16) Kita tak cukup pintar untuk menyerahkan segalanya pada pasar bebas.
17) Pendidikan saja tidak cukup.
18) Apa yang baik untuk General Motors belum tentu baik untuk Amerika Serikat.
19) Kita masih hidup di era "Ekonomi terpimpin"
20) Persamaan kesempatan belum tentu adil.
21) Pemerintah yang besar membuat masyarakat lebih terbuka.
22) Pasar Finansial harus mengurangi efisiensinya.
23) Kebijakan ekonomi yang baik tidak membutuhkan ekonom.

Ini adalah buku yang baik untuk memperkenalkan ide² dasar ekonomi "non-kanan." Buku ini ideal untuk menjadi buku text "bagaimana cara mendebat ekonomi neo-liberal." Chang menjelaskan setiap point dengan detil, dengan contoh² kongkrit. 

Misalnya, ketika dia membahas #1 "Tidak ada itu yang namanya pasar bebas," dia menjelaskan bahwa semua yang kita sebut "pasar bebas" itu sebetulnya terbatas juga, masalahnya batasan²nya sudah begitu mengakar sampai² luput dari pandangan kita. Misalnya, pasar tenaga kerja kita dibatasi oleh UMUR. Semua negara maju sudah melarang "child labor," dan ekonom, politikus, dan usahawan paling kanan sekalipun takkan mengajukan argumen untuk "membebaskan pasar" dari "kekangan" batasan umur. 

Di #7, #12, #19, dan #21 Chang menunjuk bahwa kemajuan ekonomi Amerika Serikat, Jepang, Korea, Perancis, dan banyak negara lainnya bermula dari campur tangan pemerintah yang melindungi industri lokal dg subsidi, tarif, dan kredit murah. Sebaliknya, di #7 dan #11, Chang menunjuk banyak negara Afrika menjadi miskin karena mereka menggunakan kebijakan laissez-faire/neo-liberal. Hal serupa, to a lesser degree, terjadi di Amerika Latin.

Dst.

Bahasa yang digunakan buku ini juga tidak ber-belit², dan jargon² yg digunakan juga relatif mudah. Richard Feynman pernah bilang "Kamu tak bisa disebut mengerti sampai kamu bisa menjelaskannya pada seorang mahasiswa semester 1." Amin. Tidak seperti banyak buku yang ditulis untuk menunjukkan "kepintaran" penulisnya, buku ini mudah dibaca dan dimengerti. 


Buku ini amat disarankan untuk semua orang yang tertarik untuk memplajari ekonomi dan politik, baik dari spektrum kiri maupun kanan. Terutama untuk yang berada di kanan. Buku ini bisa membangunkan mereka dari mitos² mereka sendiri.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Homage to "Katyusha"

I already mentioned before, I have soft spot for Russian culture. That's why yesterday I was curious to find out about their folk song. I found the song called Катюша , or "Katyusha". 

Holy hell ... that is one of the most beautiful song I have ever heard.

But that is not all. I noticed that "Katyusha" is also the name of rocket artillery employed by the Russians during 2nd World War. I thought the name of this song was inspired by the artillery. Turned out it was the other way around. The artillery's name was inspired by this song, since this song was used during the "Great Patriotic War" firstly as a farewell song to the soldiers.

... I literally shed my tears of joy when I read that. That is simply the most beautiful facts about ANY song I have ever heard.

So, here is the song: 



And here is the lyrics:




Saturday, November 17, 2012

Homage to the Best Guerilla General

From Bundesarchiv
Let's start this article with a pop quiz: who do you think deserved to be called "the best guerilla leader"? I bet most of you answer with Mao Zedong from China, Vo Nguyen Giap from Vietnam, or the more romantic Che Guevara from Argentina.

Nope. They can't hold the candle to my choice: Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964). I am sure most of you are baffled by that name, since most history curriculum sucks. So, let me inform you about the awesomeness of this badass.


Conventional War
He was born in Saarland, Germany, 20th of March 1870. He became an Imperial Germany officers and was send to German's East Africa colony, today's Tanzania. Then the first World War begun. He knew his position sucks, since the British, France, Belgium, and Portuguese colonies surrounded his territory. The governor tried to appease the Allies by trying to be neutral. Wimp. Lettow-Vorbeck had none of this and prepared his troops.

When the British forces attacked the busy port of Tanga, he kicked their ass so hard that local bees even supported him! This happened despite the fact that British forces outnumbered the Germans 8 to 1, and they also out-gunned the Germans, since only after this battle Lettow-Vorbeck managed to arm his African troops with modern rifles.

After Tanga, Lettow-Vorbeck kicked the British' arse again in Jassin. But he was aware that his inferior number would make conventional warfare unsustainable.


The Guerrilla
He switched gear and started recruiting more African soldiers, and surprise, surprise, African officers! He even proclaimed that "We are all Africans here"! As we shall see decades later, this act of egalitarianism was not based only on pragmatism.

Back to the military aspect. His plan was simple: tied up as many Allied soldiers as possible. He made sure that the Allied couldn't ignore him ... by raiding the Allies' forts, railways, and anything that matters. The Allies upped the ante, sending their badass, J.C. Smuts to lead the counter-guerrilla operation. Important note here: Smuts was also a master guerrilla too. Previously, he had lead Boer Commandos against the British in the Boer War. Lettow-Vorbeck was up to the challenge. 

Even after Smuts takeover the British command, Lettow-Vorbeck kept alluded their forces ... and kicked their ass everytime they met. Seriously, this bad-ass turned his entire army into nomadic brigands, and started a strategic withdrawal, while humiliating the Allies in every encounter. 

There is a military adage: "Amateurs speak about strategy, masters speak about logistics." The worst obstacle for Lettow-Vorbeck was exactly that: logistic. His solution: kicked the enemies' ass, and take their ammos, medicines, and foods. 

There is also another apocryphal story about Frederick the great, I believe. When one general praised him as "the best general of all time," he shot him down by saying "not exactly. I have never been tested by a strategic withdrawal." Amen. Being attacked, harassed, and surrounded by overwhelming enemy is indeed a litmus test for the quality of a general. In Lettow-Vorbeck case, maybe it was similar to Rorschach situation in the jail. Even though outnumbered and outgunned, he was the one who truly harassed the Allies, not vice versa.

In the end, Lettow-Vorbeck surrendered at 28.09.1918 because of the armistice in Europe. He was still undefeated at that time. If the war were continued, it is believed that he could manage to reach friendly territories, achieving strategic victory. Damn, he can easily get the title "The Best German General" too!


Post 1st World War
But WAIT! His bad-assery was not over yet!

He was so badass that Jan Smuts befriended him once the war is over.

He also refused to participate in politics, and heavily distrusted Hitler and his Nazi party. Remember when I said that he is an egalitarian? Looks like that was one of his reason. 

Amazingly, Hitler offered him an ambassadorial position. Lettow-Vorbeck reaction? He said "Go fuck yourself" to der Führer. Oh sorry, according to his nephew, he was NOT that polite. Yes, he insulted der Führer with the worst words imaginable and still alive! The Führer put his house under surveillance and throw other b.s. to him, but he is so badass that Hitler didn't dare to jail or kill him. If that is not an example of bad-assery, I don't know what is.


Friday, November 16, 2012

Hell


I already mentioned that Christianity has a weird idea about incest, a nasty idea about responsibility, about its tendency to praise sycophants,  and about its incoherent God, now let's talk about one of the most fundamental tenet of Christianity: its belief in hell.

Not only hell is the most terrible place where the most horrible tortures were done, those torture also last forever. Wow ... really wow. 

I think I need to inform Christians that this kind of punishment is too much. Really. Who is cruel enough to torture someone forever? Who is cruel enough to give such un-proportionally un-thinkable, infinite punishment to anyone?

Seriously, NOBODY deserved infinite torture. Not Hitler, not Stalin, not Solano Lopez, NO ONE deserved infinite cruelty and agony. Because all of their cruelty is still far from infinite. No human being with their limited life-span and power can commit infinite crime.

That's why "Hell" become my second most favorite response to the argument "you can't be moral without religion"! Ha! Without religion, no one will think that infinite pain as just! You call that moral? I call that sadism.

Heck, one of the most prominent Christian theologian even cherished eternal torture! Do you remember this quote:

"The greatest joy of Heaven is in watching the torments of the damned in Hell--a spectacle far more pleasing than any upon Earth."
-- Tertullian in De Spectaculis

Q.E.D. Sadism is a logical consequence of ANY doctrine that involves eternal torture.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Bible and Incest


Now, let's take one step further about one thing that I am pretty sure that everybody think as immoral: INCEST. No that is still not clear enough. FORCING PEOPLE TO DO INCEST! Yeah, I am sure everyone agree that is morally wrong.

Here is the problem with the Bible regarding incest: if we take the Bible for granted, that means God at least forced every single ancestors of ours to commit it ... TWICE!

1) Hey, how do you think Adam and Eve populated earth? With whom do you think they and their descendants copulated? 
2) But that is not enough, NO! God wiped out the whole earth's population with the great flood and finally asked not only the homo sapiens, but also the entire freakin earth to repopulate it using incest!

Now, what do you think about a king who ordered a couple to populate an area with incest? Hmm? Nice king? Just king? Wise king? Yeah right ...

That's why my favorite counter argument for a holier-than-thou-religious argument "Religion makes you moral! Without religion, there is no moral!" Just give them a big laugh, than pointed that their God actually think incest is an excellent method to populate earth! TWICE! That drives them mad as hell, and you can have a schadenfreude by watching them crumble inside-out!

I am sure finally they have to admit that "God has different moral standard." Basically, that means they already agree that forcing people to do incest is disgusting, but they still want to defend their imaginary friend. Like I said before, I agree that God has different standard. His standard is FAR HIGHER than ours. Hey, He is the one who His follower described as "infallible" and "omni-benevolent," He ought to live up to that label! And yeah, by the way, after saying "Different moral standard," you still want to argue that "without religion, there is no moral"? What next, you want to argue that God loves us so much that He slaughtered millions to prove that? Oh wait ... you already did that too. Silly me ...


Bonus: Here is a very good Youtube Video which explain why the Great flood is one big baloney. It already touched the incest argument near its end:


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Review of "The Lady"

If you have read anything about Burma/Myanmar from the media and hope that this movie will provide more information, keep your expectation low. Very low. Bottom-of-the-barrel low.

Let me summarized the movie in one sentence: innocent-pure-kind hearted-one dimensional Suu Kyi fight against power hungry-cruel-demonic-one dimensional military generals. Yes, this is a typical Hollywood flick. Pure "entertainment" complete with oversimplification and cheesiness.

The filmmakers did EVERY SINGLE TRICK to make Suu Kyi looks angelic, and the generals looks devilish. They showed how Suu Kyi's father singing Kumbaya with the minorities leaders, and Suu Kyi herself said "Democracy without the minorities is meaningless." Another example, when Suu Kyi waited the acceptance speech of her Noble peace prize, the evil military cut-off power to her house at the last minute to make sure she can't used her radio! When that scene started, I already sighed and muttered "please, oh please don't use this trick. Please ..."

Thanks to the film one-dimension portrayals, no wonder after the first 20 minutes, I started to see a halo on top of Michelle Yeoh's head, and some fire & brimstone when the generals gathered. I even convinced that the generals headquarter is located at Mount Doom.

Hey, why don't they mention the Panglong agreement? In that agreement, basically some minorities have the right to secede  from the Burmese state. Why they don't incorporate this important detail in Suu Kyi's struggle? Maybe because ... it will make the conflict not one-dimensional? Ah the horror of the higher dimensions ...

What else bothered me? Let's see ... other than the "love for her country," this movie is also focusing on the love story of Suu Kyi and her families. It could be interesting but since this is a one-dimension film, it became so cheesy that no cheese-based snacks was allowed in the theater. Add to the facts that I am aware of how it would end because I follow the development of Burma to some degree, there is no surprise at all. Zzzz ...


Final verdict: 50/100
It could be lower, but I am aware that for so many people who has no clue about Burma, this film could be very moving.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Amazing Quotes 20: Ingersoll pt. 3

Atheists are wrong. There is a God. Ingersoll is the God of quotation. He is so good that I decided to put this 3rd list of his superb quotations. Yes this is my third list, here are the first and the second:

As long as every question is answered by the word "God," scientific inquiry is simply impossible.
-- "The Gods" (1872)

"Heresy is a cradle; orthodoxy a coffin."
-- "Heretics and Herecies" (1874)

I do not believe there is any being in this universe who gives rain for praise, who gives sunshine for prayer, or who blesses a man simply because he kneels.
-- "Some Reasons Why" (1881)

In all ages hypocrites, called priests, have put crowns on the heads of thieves, called kings.
--Robert Green Ingersoll (1884), quoted from Herman E Kittredge, A Biographical Appreciation of Robert Green Ingersoll, Chapter XII

The clergy know that I know that they know that they do not know.
--Robert Green Ingersoll, "Orthodoxy" (1884)

It seems to me impossible for a civilized man to love or worship, or respect the God of the Old Testament. A really civilized man, a really civilized woman, must hold such a God in abhorrence and contempt.
-- "Why I am an Agnostic" (1896)

It is told that the great Angelo, in decorating a church, painted some angels wearing sandals. A cardinal looking at the picture said to the artist: "Whoever saw angels with sandals?" Angelo answered with another question: "Whoever saw an angel barefooted?"
-- "Superstition" (1898)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Sandy, Obama, Romney, FEMA

The hurricane Sandy is a big catastrophe. Even the "Big Apple" couldn't prevent it. What the US and state government can do is minimizing the damage, and maximizing the preparation for the relief effort after the storm.

The department responsible for such thing, FEMA, until now do an excellent job. Here is one big pattern that everyone notice: FEMA SUCKS ASS everytime the POTUS is a Republican! Yes, not only during the Bush Jr., FEMA also sucks during his father's time, Clinton fixed it, Jr. ruined it again, now Obama had fixed it again.

How so? Simple, because Republicans think that Government IS the problem, and dismantle FEMA everytime they got a chance.

They hated Obama and government so much that their hate override the fact that government CAN do good like coordinating disaster relief. When governor Christie praised Obama, the GOP was enraged. ENRAGED!! How dare you saying that Obama and/or government can do good! HOW DARE YOU! People even start talking that Christie practically made a political hara-kiri with that praise. YES, they are that nuts! Fortunately, in my observation, in every comment section of such news, people just shaked their heads in their disbelief that a governor was criticized when he praised his president. There is hope indeed. If Christie is a genuine moderate Republican, there is hope that we can get our old GOP back, the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Eisenhower, etc., not the party of Bachmann, Gingrich, Akin, etc.

Back to FEMA, I remember Paul Krugman once said something like:
"There is a saying that there is no atheist in foxhole. Many dispute that. Actually, there is one more accurate statement: there is no libertarian in a crisis."

Amen. Sandy just prove that prof. Krugman. Time for the libertarian to suck up their myth and return to the real world. Time to make sure they STAY AWAY from the POTUS office at least for another 4 years.