The recently ended US Presidential Election spelled the end of two political dynasties, and the political parties respective primaries while normally serving an important purpose ended up positing the two least likable candidates in recent history. The result was largely a side-show, yet it proved positively elemental in how it pit order vs chaos.
Category: Current events
Tact vs Honesty
In a recent speech by Donald Trump he claimed that he takes flak for too much honesty, while complaining that Hillary Clinton was too deceptive. Unfortunately things have gotten to a point where bluntness and getting into people's faces has become equated with honesty while manners and thoughtfulness get associated with deception. This has mainly…
Removing the Barnacles
Several weeks ago I graduated from infantry school and at it a Sergeant (actually a Sergeant First Class or SFC) Black mentioned an ancient quote: "Of ever hundred men ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are doughty fighters and we're lucky to have them for they make the battle, but one is the warrior…
Insanity over an Insane Character
There's a bunch of moronic drivel about the Harley-Joker relationship thanks to the release of Suicide Squad and its beyond ridiculous, especially considering she's possibly the most popular comics character to come out of the 90's (the only rival is Deadpool). Her merchandise usually outsells even many of the characters considered iconic to the genre.…
The Internet Matures
I love South Park for its humor and its evolution. Its easily the best of these animated social satires which form a uniquely American art form, but it goes further and serves as an excellent document of the last nineteen years of history. Particularly it covers, and skewers, opinion as they actually occurred and shows…
Historian’s Method for Current Events
A couple years ago my class was gathering up shortly after news of a disaster and the teacher put it to us of how we can use our skills as historians to analyze the news. I posited that it helped teach me not to follow the news too closely. Instead of pouring over details as…