11/15/2004
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the founding fathers of the modern Indian state and an influential advocate of satyagraha (non-violent protest) as a means of revolution. He helped bring about India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own independence and ultimately dismantle the British Empire and replace it with the Commonwealth. Gandhi's principle of satyagraha ('"truth force"), often roughly translated as "way of truth" or "pursuit of truth," has inspired generations of democratic and anti-racist activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He often stated his values were simple, drawn from traditional Hindu beliefs: truth (satya), and non-violence (ahimsa).

Source: Wikipedia

6/17/04
Ultra-conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is delivered daily to millions of uniformed U.S. servicemen and -women overseas via the taxpayer-funded American Forces Network with no liberal voice to provide balance.

Source: Salon.com

6/16/04
Ultra-conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh justified the torture of Iraqi prisoners occurring at Abu Ghraib by stating that U.S. guards were "blowing off steam," and "having a good time." He also likened the abuse to a fraternity prank.

Source: MediaMatters.org, Listen to the Clip (Right click, Save Target As...)

3/30/2004
Eating your boogers is a great way to strengthen your immune system. "Medically it [eating boogers] makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine. Modern medicine is constantly trying to do the same thing through far more complicated methods, people who pick their nose and eat it get a natural boost to their immune system for free."

Source: Ananova.com

1/16/2004
Research has shown that daily changes in stock market averages are very largely random. Singling out one or two events as the cause of some change in the market is an example of the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" (or "after this, therefore because of this") fallacy.

Source: Principles of Macroeconomics: Seventh Edition textbook

1/15/2004
75% of the world's population lives in "less-developed" countries and receives less than 20% of the world's income. In dozens of countries, per capita income is only a few hundred dollars a year.

Source: Principles of Macroeconomics: Seventh Edition textbook

1/14/2004
Cuts of meat with bone, such as a T-bone steak, are stripped directly from a cow's vertebrae and may contain portions of its spinal cord. Some meat packing plants use high-pressure water and air or scraping methods to remove bits of meat off a cow carcass. The recovered bits are added to hotdogs and low-quality hamburger. A USDA survey last year found more than one-third of products that contained this type of meat also contained some central-nervous-system tissue.

Source: Mindfully.org

1/10/2004
Cattle are fed the recycled remains of sheep and other cows. The FDA banned this feeding practice, but there are loopholes that those in the cattle industry have found and use. Because of this, mad cow disease has spread (by feeding dead, infected cows to other cows).

Source: Mindfully.org

12/31/2003
On February 2, 1848, the United States forced Mexico to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty ceded (sold) over half of Mexico's territory (55% to be exact) to the US for only $15 million and compensation for war-related damages. Territories gained by the US include present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, and parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah.

Sources: loc.gov, http://home.sandiego.edu/~villegas/, elbelaro.gob

12/30/2003
Attorney General John Ashcroft lost the 2000 Missouri Senate race to Mel Carnahan who was killed in a plane crash three weeks before the election took place. He is the first and only senator to ever be defeated by a dead man.

Sources: Missouri Digital News, BradyCampaign.org, Third World Traveler

12/26/2003
The age restrictions on things such as purchasing alcohol are what they are due to being "good numbers," meaning they appear in the Bible a great number of times.

Source: Dr. Thoman, political science teacher

12/26/2003
Back when the government decided it would define (and make illegal) pornography, it was criticized when senators set up a projector in the basement of the capital building to view X-rated movies.

Source: Dr. Thoman, political science teacher

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