Bits of News site syndication http://www.bitsofnews.com Sat, 17 May 2008 16:38:07 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.bitsofnews.com/img/logo.png http://www.bitsofnews.com Bits of News site syndication http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8283/ The history of African Americans in the U.S. Civil War is marked by 186,097 (7,122 officers, 178,975 enlisted) African Americans comprising 163 units served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and many more African Americans served in the Union Navy. Culture - Culture Cartoon Thu, 15 May 2008 04:13:28 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8256/ My wife read today’s strip, and after she stopped rolling on the floor laughing, she wiped away the tears and alerted me, “you are gonna get so much hate mail!” Culture - Culture Cartoon Mon, 12 May 2008 20:06:05 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8255/ I did part of my growing up in West Virginia where my father mined coal out of the hills - so did my uncles and my grandfather. It is where many of them died due to mining, sometimes by black lung and sometimes by accident. My uncle Dewey died when a kettle bottom fell on him and crushed him below the ribcage. Culture - Culture Cartoon Mon, 12 May 2008 20:06:02 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8190/ Today’s commentary is light because it is my birthday and I am relaxing today! w00t! Culture - Culture Cartoon Tue, 06 May 2008 15:50:57 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8183/ The Emancipation Proclamation was widely attacked at the time as freeing only the slaves over which the Union had no power, but in practice, it committed the Union to ending slavery, which was controversial in the North. Culture - Culture Cartoon Mon, 05 May 2008 22:41:20 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8179/ Hillary’s nuclear umbrella bothers me. What are we protecting besides oil with her umbrella? Dictatorial societies and cultures that are repressive to women, unfriendly towards the west and loves to kill Jews. Culture - Culture Cartoon Mon, 05 May 2008 22:41:18 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8172/ At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln made Grant commander of all Union armies. Grant made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, and put Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in command of most of the western armies. Culture - Culture Cartoon Thu, 01 May 2008 20:52:27 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8171/ SPECIAL REQUEST FOR TCD FANS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). Culture - Culture Cartoon Thu, 01 May 2008 20:52:24 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8162/ At the beginning of the war some Union commanders thought they were supposed to return escaped slaves to their masters. By 1862, when it became clear that this would be a long war, the question of what to do about slavery became more general. The Southern economy and military effort depended on slave labor. Culture - Culture Cartoon Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:05:29 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8119/ Under the cover of darkness on December 26, 1860, Anderson spiked the cannons at Fort Moultrie and moved his command to Fort Sumter. South Carolina authorities considered this a breach of faith and demanded that the fort be evacuated. Culture - Culture Cartoon Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:39:29 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8115/ SPECIAL REQUEST FOR TCD FANS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). Culture - Culture Cartoon Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:11:10 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8114/ "...Just like the Bank of England, the US Fed seems to have Britney-sized 'issues' with its core stock-in-trade – money itself..." Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Currency Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:03:23 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8111/ There are lots of reasons why a small company share can go up in price quickly. Usually it's an innovative new product, a new market, or, in some cases, a sudden change in the market value of a good, product, or service. Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Finance Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:56:50 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8110/ "Does the US matter any more?" The question comes to us from the head of research at Societe Generale. Looking at the data from the International Energy Agency in Paris, reported in this space yesterday, he noticed that now China, Russia, India and the Mideast use more oil than the USA. Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Finance Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:56:49 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8109/ Rome did melt into the Tiber. The place was invaded by barbarians...the population sank from over a million to under 100,000. And when the city was "rediscovered" by tourists with a sense of history in the 17th century...there were goats grazing amid the ruins of the ancient city. Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Finance Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:56:47 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8108/ We aren't fighting rebels, nationalists, or patriots in Iraq. We are fighting criminals and bandits in Iraq. "Bandit" is a very interesting term. It implies that we aren't actually fighting a war against a legitimate military foe, but are instead just hunting a group of outlaws. Culture - Culture History Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:55:07 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8107/ The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). Culture - Culture Cartoon Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:13:48 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8106/ SPECIAL REQUEST FOR TCD FANS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). Culture - Culture Cartoon Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:13:46 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8105/ According to the press, the world's prettiest face, Gisele Bundchen, wants to be paid in euros for U.S. modeling gigs, and in his new video, the rapper Jay-Z triumphantly holds euros - not dollars - in his upraised fist. Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Finance Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:57:26 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8103/ "Pity poor Zimbabwe...." writes Byron King, referring to a story in the Times of London. Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Diplomacy Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:57:23 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8099/ Campaigns run on money. Staff has to be paid, venues rented, ads bought, transportation gassed and ticketed. Most candidates for their party’s nomination don’t drop out as a direct consequence of losing one too many contests, they drop out because after they start losing, their campaign contributions drop off and they run out of money. Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Government Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:11:28 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8089/ The only fun that will be had is when gold, silver and oil go to the freaking moon that you get so rich that can you Super-Size those fries at every meal! Whee! Pol/Econ - Pol/Econ Finance Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:39:59 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8088/ SPECIAL REQUEST FOR BAY AREA READERS: The San Francisco Chronicle is pondering the addition of new cartoons for their paper - a process that seems to be initiated by Darren Bell, creator of Candorville (one of my daily reads - highly recommended). You can read the Chronicle article here and please add your thoughts to the comments if you wish. Culture - Culture Cartoon Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:39:38 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8087/ Many people associated with the Underground Railroad only knew their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. Though this may seem like an unreliable route for slaves to gain their freedom, hundreds of slaves obtained freedom to the North every year. Culture - Culture Cartoon Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:39:36 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8086/ The main explanation for the origins of the American Civil War was slavery, especially the issue of the expansion of slavery into the territories. States’ rights and the tariff became entangled in the slavery issue, and were intensified by it. Culture - Culture Cartoon Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:39:34 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8058/ I watched last night’s “debate” with horror. As you probably know by now, nearly the entire first hour was taken up by bullshit questions about lapel pins, bitterness, Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers nonsense. Culture - Culture Cartoon Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:32:20 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8057/ I watched last night’s “debate” with horror. As you probably know by now, nearly the entire first hour was taken up by bullshit questions about lapel pins, bitterness, Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers nonsense. Culture - Culture Cartoon Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:32:18 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8056/ I watched last night’s “debate” with horror. As you probably know by now, nearly the entire first hour was taken up by bullshit questions about lapel pins, bitterness, Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers nonsense. Culture - Culture Cartoon Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:32:15 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8055/ I watched last night’s “debate” with horror. As you probably know by now, nearly the entire first hour was taken up by bullshit questions about lapel pins, bitterness, Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers nonsense. Culture - Culture Cartoon Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:32:13 +0100 http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/8054/ The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states (or as far north as Canada) with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. Culture - Culture Cartoon Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:32:11 +0100