Newmark's Door

Any one of them could ruin your whole day.

A charming six minutes. (Link via Instapundit.)

Apparently, government-is-the-name-we-give-to-the-things-we-do-together included, for more than three decades, "Ramming an icepick through someone’s eyelid . . ."

Funny or sad--you decide.

I think the space program was probably taxpayer money wisely spent. And that piece only gives part of the story: here's more.

UPDATE: Second link fixed now.

I thought what the heck, but it sounds real.

I agree with Victor Davis Hanson's conclusion that young people should know more about military history. But they should know more about all other kinds of history, too. (Toward the end, Prof. Hanson recommends some books on military history to start with.)

Related: Coyote Blog, "The Case For Studying History".

I'm a few days late, but Kyle Smith's ringing defense of the United States of America will be worth reading for a very long time to come.

But to think of slavery first when you think of American history is like thinking of Charles Manson first when you think of men.

One of the astonishing measures of human progress.

What is striking about the historical estimates is how similar the mortality rates for children were across this very wide range of 43 historical cultures. . . . Every fourth newborn died in the first year of life. One out of two died in childhood. . . . 

On the very right of the chart you see the statistics on child health in the world today: The global infant mortality rate is now is 2.9%. And 4.6% die before reaching the age of 15.

With the 50th anniversary just a month and a half away I'm quite surprised that we're not besieged by a whole lot more Woodstock nostalgia. But Michael Lang has a new book out tomorrow and here are a few of his memories.