Stalin? -- REALLY?

Visiting the political blog Zombie's latest photographic coverage and commentary of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests in OWS-Oakland and similar demonstrations across the nation, I'm struck by the myriad t-shirts sporting images of Communist icons -- of course, there is the ubiquitous Che Guevera, but these days even Stalin, Lenin and Ho Chi Minh are making quite the comeback. That kids would find such figures worth emulating and adoring is a testimony to their historical ignorance.

Capture most wanted terrorist -- Rewarded with a court martial?

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist FoxNews November 25, 2009:

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called a captain's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Not the wisest name-change in the book.

We consulted at length with a brilliant friend of mine, one of the nation’s leading experts on branding. Her advice was direct and powerful: ”Nobody knows what the ‘next majority’ will look like. Maybe President Obama will be re-elected and your hopes of building a new modernized Republican majority will go unrealized for a long time to come.” In any event, she continued, whether Republicans return to majority or remain in minority status, the world of internet political commentary is a world built around individual personalities. Think DrudgeReport, HuffingtonPost, AndrewSullivan.com, Breitbart.TV. Her advice: Put my name on the thing.

- David Frum, on changing the name of his blog to 'FrumForum'.

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Frum (Yiddish: פֿרום; [frum | frim]), from the German fromm, meaning "devout" or "pious", is a Yiddish word meaning committed to be observant of the 613 Mitzvot, or Jewish commandments, specifically of Orthodox Judaism. This appellative is used especially in reference to haredim (i.e. the "Ultra-Orthodox"), and to a lesser extent among the Modern Orthodox.

The Argument from Silence

An argument from silence is an informal logical fallacy, where a positive conclusion is drawn from someone's silence.

This fallacy is demonstrated, to comical effect, here.