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Selected News For Nov 29 – Dec 5

This thread is for the busy bees of S&L to post news items themselves.

In order to make the articles as readable as possible, please try to stick to the format described in the first of these weekly editions here.

Of course articles that fit under the topic of a recent thread should be posted there. As always, remember to excerpt heavily and to provide a link to the original source.

Related Articles:

 

This article was posted by Steve Gilbert on Saturday, November 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am. You can leave a response.

53 Responses to “Selected News For Nov 29 – Dec 5”

  1. brad
    November 29, 2008 at 2:08 am

    You know what really grinds my gears? This article of the U.N. WARNING the United States taxpayer about cutting AIDS funding for Africa: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081128/hl_nm/us_aids

    ***The world must maintain current assistance levels, he told a briefing before World AIDS Day on Monday.

    “(Or) what we’ll find in the next four or five years is a resurgence in new incident infections and we won’t be able to scale up the treatment that is clearly going to be needed as more and more people become symptomatic and need access to drugs,” he said.***

    Why do we care? Conservatives don’t want to waste their money on a WELFARE CONTINENT, and liberals know and support DARWINISM! So what we have here is feeding people who have no means to feed themselves, and they grow to reproduce more people that need our assistance. The only way to keep Africa within the reasonable range of humanitarian assistance is to LET THEM DIE OFF NATURALLY. It is harsh, but the uneducated who spread disease or belong to some civil war faction deserve to be weeded out of the gene pool. Yet, we do everything possible to keep them all humming along begging for more money, support, food.

    Ironically, if you look at the cycle of genocide in Africa, it is because the world has fed their children to become armies 15-20 years later in life. There are too many people with too many competing tribes with jealousies, and too few resources. OF COURSE they are going to wipe each other out, they have been doing that for 1000s of years.

    Yet the U.N. wags it’s finger in our face! Work harder you taxpaying slaves! There are dumb people counting on your money! Why not issue warnings to Africa, “Hey, listen, the tits run dry, if you don’t curb your own behavior, then you reap what you sow. The safety net is gone!”

  2. brad
    November 29, 2008 at 6:18 am

    Ok, I have nothing to do today, here is another link.

    BLACK GUY kills white ANCHORWOMAN, and rapes another, media yawns. (too busy with Mumbai thing I guess)
    http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/u.....p;src=news

    I guess if you were oppressed for 400 years, this is the LEAST you would do. Stop being racist white folks, or this is what you can expect….poor guy. : (

  3. BillK
    November 29, 2008 at 8:14 am

    No, not reduced raises in higher education!

    From a disappointed AP:

    Reilly cuts by half recommended University of Wisconsin System raises

    University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly has halved his recommendation for faculty pay raises because of the growing financial strains on the state government.

    Reilly said he is recommending annual raises of 2.5 percent for faculty and staff rather than 5.2 percent to help address what could be the worst budget deficit in the state’s history.

    Reilly said Gov. Jim Doyle’s warning of two-year, $5.4 billion budget deficit made it unrealistic to push for the higher annual raises in the statewide university system. The deficit’s impact on the System will become more apparent when Doyle submits his two-year budget proposal to the Legislature in February.

    “For now, we must demonstrate that our public university is sensitive to the public’s dire financial situation,” Reilly said in a statement.

    The UW Board of Regents recommended annual raises of 5.2 percent in 2006, after competing universities began luring faculty away with better pay.

    The Legislature and Doyle approved raises of 2 percent and 3 percent in the current two-year budget. …

    http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/316407

    Uh, “we must demonstrate that our public university is sensitive to the public’s dire financial situation” and “annual raise of 2.5 percent” don’t exactly mesh.

    This shows how out of touch higher education really is.

    Given no staff will be losing their jobs, and most employers in the private sector (other than “living wage” jobs that require an increase) will not be giving raises at all, I’d say for most people a 2.5% raise would be cause to uncork the champagne.

    But not for UW staff…

  4. BillK
    November 29, 2008 at 8:33 am

    From the Los Angeles Times:

    Cyber-attack on Defense Department computers raises concerns

    The ‘malware’ strike, thought to be from inside Russia, hit combat zone computers and the U.S. Central Command overseeing Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack underscores concerns about computer warfare.

    By Julian E. Barnes

    Senior military leaders took the exceptional step of briefing President Bush this week on a severe and widespread electronic attack on Defense Department computers that may have originated in Russia — an incursion that posed unusual concern among commanders and raised potential implications for national security.

    Defense officials would not describe the extent of damage inflicted on military networks. But they said that the attack struck hard at networks within U.S. Central Command, the headquarters that oversees U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, and affected computers in combat zones. The attack also penetrated at least one highly protected classified network.

    Military computers are regularly beset by outside hackers, computer viruses and worms. But defense officials said the most recent attack involved an intrusive piece of malicious software, or “malware,” apparently designed specifically to target military networks.

    “This one was significant; this one got our attention,” said one defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing internal assessments.

    Although officials are withholding many details, the attack underscores the increasing danger and potential significance of computer warfare, which defense experts say could one day be used by combatants to undermine even a militarily superior adversary.

    Bush was briefed on the threat by Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mullen also briefed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

    Military electronics experts have not pinpointed the source or motive of the attack and could not say whether the destructive program was created by an individual hacker or whether the Russian government may have had some involvement. Defense experts may never be able to answer such questions, officials said.

    The defense official said the military also had not learned whether the software’s designers may have been specifically targeting computers used by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    However, suspicions of Russian involvement come at an especially delicate time because of sagging relations between Washington and Moscow and growing tension over U.S. plans to develop a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. The two governments also have traded charges of regional meddling after U.S. support for democratic elections in former Soviet states and recent Russian overtures in Latin America.

    U.S. officials have worried in recent years about the possibility of cyber-attacks from other countries, especially China and Russia, whether sponsored by governments of those countries or launched by individual computer experts. …

    http://www.latimes.com/news/na.....0046.story

    This of course is just sad, simply because “malware,” unlike virii or worms, must be downloaded and installed by an end user.

    This means too many military computers are connected to the Internet, and too many users are clicking on attachments in email or on offers to install new “video codecs.”

    But more to the point – this is because too many Government computers run Windows.

    There is literally no reason why the federal Government needs to run Windows or use Microsoft Office, especially those in sensitive areas.

    There are far fewer reasons why those same computers should have Internet browsers at all – oh yeah, that’s right, Microsoft makes it impossible for you to uninstall IE.

    OK, apparently no one in the DoD has ever heard of a firewall?

  5. BillK
    November 29, 2008 at 8:38 am

    From the Los Angeles Times:

    No sympathy for Detroit at a Kia plant in Georgia

    The residents of this town are learning to enjoy Korean barbecue, and are wary of bailing out American automakers. ‘The foreign cars took the lead, and they deserve it,’ says one.

    By Richard Fausset

    West Point, Ga. — This attractive old mill town along the Chattahoochee River, with its brick downtown and streets of cozy, unpretentious homes, could be the backdrop for a patriotic American car commercial — lacking only the plaintive croak of a Bob Seger or John Mellencamp.

    But America’s Big Three automakers, which are teetering at a financial abyss, shouldn’t expect much sympathy here.

    Kia Motors, the South Korean automaker, is building a plant in town, promising 2,500 jobs to help replace a textile industry that has all but vanished. The locals are excited to have nonunion work that will start at about $14 per hour. They are discovering the joys of bulgogi — a different kind of barbecue — at the Korean restaurants popping up.

    And many are wondering why Detroit still thinks it’s so special that it can ask taxpayers for a $25-billion bailout.

    “The foreign cars took the lead, and they deserve it,” said Emile Earles, owner of Sweet Georgia Brown, a gift shop on a quiet downtown thoroughfare.

    Earles, 60, said she is fed up with Detroit — fed up with its fat labor contracts, its arrogant CEOs and even her Cadillac, which gets only 15 miles per gallon and cost her dearly when gas spiked to $4.

    Buying American, she added, “is still a big deal. But you can only be patriotic until you can’t afford it anymore.”

    Such sentiments represent more than a marketing problem for the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, who will return to Congress next week to argue that a federal cash infusion will help them avoid bankruptcy.

    A number of the bailout opponents are lawmakers representing Southern states that have lured foreign auto plants in recent years with generous tax incentives and right-to-work laws that guarantee abundant cheap labor.

    Like many residents of West Point, these lawmakers are wary of helping the domestic auto companies. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), whose district includes West Point, said the bailout would actually harm the companies by shielding them from the vigorous competition presented by auto plants in the South.

    “Competition makes people do a better job,” he said.

    Westmoreland argues that fairness is another issue. Why, he wonders, should his constituents subsidize auto workers who, thanks to generous union contracts, often earn higher wages and better benefits than nonunion workers in the South? And didn’t those contracts help get the Big Three into this mess?

    “The benefits a lot of these union members are offered is much better than what the average guy gets out there, whether he’s working in an auto plant or not,” he said. …

    http://www.latimes.com/news/na.....3459.story

    Of course once Obama passes card check legislation and the local Union officials can strong arm interview employees in person as to whether they want to join the Union, all this likely will change.

    It’s of course the left’s typical mode of operation – rather than study why foreign car makers are successful in the US, they should be forced to deal with the same encumberances as the Big Three.

    Don’t make the Big Three more competitive; make everyone else just as uncompetitive. That’s the UAW way.

  6. BillK
    November 29, 2008 at 8:46 am

    Please don’t read this if you’ve eaten recently, lest you have a mess to clean up.

    From the Los Angeles Times:

    Liberal groups feel welcome again in Washington

    Environmentalists, labor unions, civil rights advocates and others place their hopes on Obama.

    By Mike Dorning and Jim Tankersle

    Washington — For years, progressive groups and their causes have been in the political wilderness. Now, with Barack Obama preparing to take the White House and Democrats tightening their hold on Congress, the party’s liberal constituencies can see their way to a promised land.

    Their vision includes federal laws banning job discrimination against gays; expanded hate-crime laws; public land protections from logging and oil drilling; and easier union organizing of workers.

    Labor unions, environmentalists and other liberal groups are eagerly preparing for new confrontations with business and conservative interests. They feel secure in having allies in Washington’s power centers, 14 years after Democrats last controlled Congress and the White House. (And some consider the exile even longer, dating from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 election, because President Clinton’s course was largely centrist and he had only two years with a Democratic majority in Congress.)

    “Everybody is seeing the energy that has been unleashed in this election cycle,” said Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org, a liberal activist group.

    Obama, who will have the largest Democratic congressional majority since the 1970s, won election on a platform that embraced causes dear to the party’s liberal wing: withdrawal of troops from Iraq, a national healthcare plan and a big investment in clean energy.

    “Every interest group, every group in the party, has a list,” said Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf.

    Some wish lists may be relatively easy to fulfill. An expanded federal hate-crimes law — a priority of civil rights and gay rights groups — cleared Congress but was vetoed by President Bush. The Fair Pay Act — a priority for women’s groups that removes obstacles to pay-discrimination lawsuits — came within four votes of overcoming a filibuster.

    Other challenges are bigger: a pathway to citizenship for illegal workers, for example; or the union-backed Employee Free Choice Act legislation, vigorously opposed by business groups, that would make labor organizing easier.

    And liberal groups already have an eye on the economic stimulus plan that the Obama administration and Congress will take up.

    Unions want the stimulus to include a large infrastructure building program to create jobs for construction workers. Some want to include renovation of dilapidated schools.

    Civil rights groups and advocates for low-income families want the legislation to allow bankruptcy judges to alter repayment terms for mortgages.

    Gay and lesbian activists want equal job access and protection for homosexuals.

    Environmentalists want the stimulus to include “green jobs” through alternative-energy development.

    In fact, environmental groups — which tangled with the Bush administration over policies minor and major, including protections for air, water, wildlife, and forests and other public lands — expect swift and sweeping action from Obama on nearly every issue that matters to them.

    Environmentalists expect Obama to “hit the reset button,” as the Sierra Club’s Josh Dorner put it, on a host of regulations that Bush weakened. They expect more input from scientists in framing environmental policy and more action from the Environmental Protection Agency in limiting greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, in keeping with a Supreme Court ruling from last year.

    On the campaign trail, Obama pledged to regulate carbon emissions through a “cap and trade” system and to spend $150 billion over 10 years to boost alternative fuels.

    Goodwill on the left has largely prevented activists from publicly complaining when Obama has distanced himself from campaign commitments. Labor’s response was muted, for example, when he said that before acting on a campaign promise to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, he’d order a study of NAFTA. And there was little outcry when he signaled in September that he would delay delivering on a promise to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays in the military.

    “People are willing to wait a little while,” said Elmendorf, the Democratic strategist. …

    http://www.latimes.com/la-na-w.....5379.story

    What will be entertaining is to see just how long “a little while” is for most of these groups.

    The fact that card check will be a knife through the heart of employers in the middle of an economic slowdown matters not to those demanding “payback” for their support.

    Same for massive increases in energy pricing due to carbon caps. Job destruction? Who cares, don’t you feel good?

  7. BigOil
    November 29, 2008 at 6:29 pm

    From the AP and their cadre of perpetually shocked experts:

    Early data shows strong Black Friday shopping

    By ASHLEY M. HEHER

    CHICAGO (AP) – The holiday shopping season got off to a surprisingly solid start, according to data released Saturday by a research firm. But the sales boost during the post-Thanksgiving shopathon came at the expense of profits as the nation’s retailers had to slash prices to attract the crowds in a season that is expected to be the weakest in decades.

    Note there is no data presented to back up this assertion that evil profits will decrease.

    Sales during the day after Thanksgiving rose 3 percent to $10.6 billion, according to preliminary figures released Saturday by ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a Chicago-based research firm that tracks sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets. Last year, shoppers spent about $10.3 billion on the day after Thanksgiving, dubbed Black Friday because it was historically the sales-packed day when retailers would become profitable for the year.

    But this year, many observers were expecting consumers to spend more time browsing than buying, amid contractions in consumer spending and growing fears about economic uncertainty and trouble in the global financial markets.

    “Under these circumstances, it’s truly amazing when you think about all the news that led into the holiday season, it certainly appears that consumers are willing to spend more than most expected,”said ShopperTrak co-founder Bill Martin. “Everybody wants value for their dollar, so we saw a tremendous response to the discounts.”

    http://www.breitbart.com/artic.....p;catnum=0

    How long until The One takes credit for inspiring consumer confidence?

  8. brad
    November 30, 2008 at 1:30 am

    RACIST MUMBAI ATTACK
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....5-000.html

    He described how its mastermind briefed the group to ‘TARGET WHITES, preferably Americans and British’.

    I wonder if the liberal media will go into great lengths explaining how racist and bad the arab terrorists are to single out white people in this huge HATE CRIME. When are the 1 hour re-education programs about diversity going to happen? Complete with man-on-the-street interviews, news magazine follow-ups. Are disappointed puppy-dog-eyed Hollywood stars going to go on Larry King hand-wringing and demanding these racists to be brought to justice?

    IT’S NOT JUST A CULTURE WAR ANYMORE FOLKS, IT’S A RACE WAR!

    Think it will happen?

  9. wardmama4
    November 30, 2008 at 8:05 am

    brad –

    the U.N. WARNING the United States taxpayer about cutting AIDS funding for Africa

    unless they have radically changed things – a majority of Africa ‘healthcare’ do not test for AIDS – if you have the symptoms you are ‘diagnosed’ – yes, like so much of the financial ‘aid’ that goes to Africa – it is just more down a black hole of graft, corruption and uselessness. (my data is under 15 but over 8 years old – a lifetime in true medical info, I know – I did preface my ‘fact’ with a qualifier – wish that the msm would too).

    I have to ask – what does sending and wasting all this money do to help Michelle’s girls? Wouldn’t it be better served to help all those in America who don’t have healthcare? Or a house? Or gas for their cars? Or a college education?

  10. BillK
    December 1, 2008 at 2:07 am

    From the (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal:

    Democrats hope to target funding behind ‘issue ads’

    By Mark Pitsch

    Several times over the last decade, Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced legislation to change the rules for statewide election campaigns. Each time the proposals failed.

    Now, however, with Democrats slated in January to control the Legislature and the governor’s office for the first time in two decades, chances are better than ever for new campaign finance laws.

    At his first news conference after being elected Assembly speaker for the 2009-11 session, Rep. Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, said other than closing the state’s projected $5.4 billion budget shortfall, the campaign finance issue would be the Assembly Democrats’ top priority. In particular, he cited requiring the advocacy groups that pay for thinly veiled campaign ads, known as “issue ads,” to disclose where they get their money.

    “Campaign finance reform is very critical,” Sheridan said at the time. “I think the citizens in this state are sick and tired not only of the bashing that people take on our television networks and on our radio stations but at their doors. It’s time to look at how those rules are set up, whether it’s creating transparency so we know where those issue ads are coming from.”

    But significant obstacles remain.

    “I think the issue becomes more of a front-burner issue with Democrats controlling both chambers, but whether we’ll have meaningful campaign finance reform remains to be seen,” said Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, a leading proponent of changing campaign laws.

    Among the challenges are disagreements between Democrats about how extensive the changes should be and the state’s projected $5.4 billion budget shortfall, which makes one proposal — public financing of state Supreme Court, legislative and statewide races — less likely.

    “If anyone is able to get public financing through this Legislature I would call them Moses,” said Mike Wittenwyler, a Madison lawyer who specializes in elections and politics. “Think about it. Where would the state get the money?”

    Recent and current U.S. Supreme Court cases also could affect whether or to what degree lawmakers are able to require the backers of issue ads to disclose who funds them, said Wittenwyler, who represents advocacy groups that buy the ads.

    Variations of campaign finance reform legislation have a long history at the Capitol, but each idea has hit snags under political leadership of both parties.

    Most recently, Gov. Jim Doyle called a special session on campaign finance reform in December 2007.

    The Democratic-controlled Senate passed bills to create a public financing system for state Supreme Court campaigns and to force advocacy groups to disclose who pays for their issue ads. Those measures failed in the Republican-controlled Assembly.

    Neither chamber passed a comprehensive reform bill that called for taxpayer funding of campaigns sponsored by Erpenbach and Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah. The two say they’ll reintroduce their bill next year.

    But the issue gained renewed momentum this month after Democrats won control of the Assembly and elected Sheridan as speaker. …

    http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/316544

    Of course the left’s ads will just say “Paid for by moveon.org,” not “Paid for by George Soros.”

  11. BillK
    December 1, 2008 at 3:54 am

    The world’s most obvious headline, from the San Francisco Chronicle:

    Obama looks to FDR as pacesetter

    By Zachary Coile

    In his first 100 days in office, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt reorganized the nation’s banking system, created the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Civilian Conservation Corps, raised farm incomes, ended the gold standard and helped millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure.

    President-elect Barack Obama has been studying Roosevelt’s quick start – widely viewed as the most productive first days of any U.S. president – as he sets his agenda to tackle the worst financial crisis since the one Roosevelt inherited during the Great Depression.

    “What you see in FDR that I hope my team can emulate, is not always getting it right, but projecting a sense of confidence, and a willingness to try things, and experiment in order to get people working again,” Obama said recently.

    The 47-year-old Democrat already is running his transition at a breakneck pace, having held four news conferences, picked most of his senior White House staff and named a new economic team, all before Thanksgiving. He is expected to unveil his national security team and other Cabinet picks this week.

    “It’s one of the fastest transitions I’ve ever seen,” said Stephen Hess, who worked in the Eisenhower, Nixon, Carter and Ford administrations and has written a new guide to presidential transitions.

    Obama could set a new milestone by signing his first major piece of legislation within hours or days of taking office. Democrats in Congress have been working with the president-elect on an economic stimulus package of as much as $500 billion that would invest in infrastructure projects and cut taxes for the middle class. The 111th Congress could pass the bill in early January and have it to his desk by his Jan. 20 inauguration.

    “Whether it’s the first day or the first week or the first month, it’s going to be very speedy,” Hess said. “It’s going to be a huge package. … He’s trying to fold in all sorts of things under the rubric of ‘infrastructure’ which have to do with his agenda on health care and energy and the environment.”

    Obama has made clear that he sees the fiscal meltdown as a once-in-a-generation chance to reset the nation’s priorities. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said recently, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

    Some of Obama’s first actions will probably include using his executive powers to undo several Bush administration decisions, including loosening the current restrictions on federal spending on stem cell research and blocking the Bureau of Land Management from opening 360,000 acres of sensitive public lands in Utah to oil and gas drilling. …

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....14CKVQ.DTL

    So, in summary, time to throw federal money at problems and hope it helps, time to spend federal money investigating a technology that has never had a successful medical trial, and making energy more expensive.

    Perhaps the headline should read “Economic destruction to rival FDRs eyed…
    “

  12. BillK
    December 1, 2008 at 3:57 am

    From the San Francisco Chronicle:

    KGO DJ Karel loses his job

    By Ben Fong-Torres

    KGO (810 AM) weekend talk host Charles Karel Bouley, known as Karel, lost his job earlier this month after spouting a string of obscenities about Joe the Plumber on the air during a newscast, unaware that his microphone was hot. Karel, who worked from a studio in his home in Long Beach, said that his show on Nov. 1 had gone to the ABC network newscast and that his engineer at KGO’s studios told him that he was going to the bathroom and that his microphone was off.

    When the newscast aired a sound bite from Sen. John McCain talking about Joe the Plumber, Karel began shouting obscenities and wishing the plumber dead. Listeners could clearly hear Karel (pronounced Ka-REL), along with the newscaster.

    Karel’s mike was finally cut off, and his producer told him his remarks had aired. When he returned, he apologized for his language, but the damage was done. He was placed on suspension three days later, and on Nov. 11, KGO management notified him that he was fired. Jack Swanson, program director, had no comment. The station Web site carried a short news item, adding that “the board operator on duty at the time has also been fired.” KGO did not identify the engineer.

    “They silence the most prominent gay voice in the bay,” said Karel, who had also been doing fill-in work weeknights in the time slot vacated by Bernie Ward. In an article on the Huffington Post, where he blogs, he acknowledged that because of his “obscenity-laden, Tourette’s-like outburst” being aired, “two people lost their jobs and the station may be fined” by the Federal Communications Commission.

    “I blame all of this on Janet Jackson’s breasts,” he told me. “Ever since she showed her boob, there’s been this uber-sensitivity about everything. (KGO owner) Citadel wouldn’t have cared 10 years ago.”

    Karel, who said he often talks with people in an online chat room during station breaks, blamed the engineer at the control board for the error.

    “They’re called ‘engineers’ for a reason,” he said. “Granted, the host is one of the wheels on the train. I do take responsibility. I had a blowout. But at the same time, the driver was not at the wheel, so of course we crashed.” …

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....147PF1.DTL

    So he’s silenced because he’s gay, not because he spouted an obscentity-laden rant at and wished a man dead whose only action was to dare ask Obama a question.

    Note he spouted off at the mouth and wished Joe dead, yet he blames the station owners, the engineer and Janet Jackson’s breasts.

    Not once does he admit he’s to blame and his own actions caused not only him to lose his job but also an audio board operator, likely making around $30,000/year, tops.

    Nice.

  13. OneAmericanCitizen
    December 1, 2008 at 7:05 am

    Here is a golden oldie exchange between Hillary and BHO: Priceless & appropriate for Hillary being named SoS.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhPxSm9Es0w

    [Moved to its own thread.]

  14. BillK
    December 1, 2008 at 7:42 am

    From WENN:

    Fey: ‘I Wasn’t Mean To Palin’

    Comedienne Tina Fey doesn’t regret her infamous impersonations of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live – because she dealt the same treatment to President George W. Bush.

    The 30 Rock star began mimicking Palin in the run-up to the American presidential elections last month and was blamed for the Republican party’s slip in popularity.

    Palin then appeared on SNL and jokingly confronted the comedienne about her treatment – but Fey is adamant she was right to make fun of the Alaskan governor.

    She tells Barbara Walters on The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008, “I never did feel that we were mean to her.

    “We stuck to a lot of things that she herself had said, and I think there is a very strange double standard because it’s a woman portraying another woman… The jokes we used to do about George W. Bush were that he was an idiot. The jokes were aggressive. No one would ever stop and say, ‘Oh, that seems kind of mean’.”

    http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0617440/

    Because, you know, mercilessly lying about one Republican is as good as doing it to another.

  15. sheehanjihad
    December 1, 2008 at 8:50 am

    Barak Obama’s motorcade came to a halt on the beltway….the secret service had noticed that one of Obama’s limousine’s tires had become flat. Immediately, four tall men with suitcases jumped from another vehicle, ran up to the car, opened the suitcases and began furiously throwing stack after stack of hundred dollar bills at the tire. A reporter who happened on the scene asked Obama what the hell they were doing. “They work for the United States Government” Obama told the astonished reporter…”they’re fixing the problem”.

  16. Gila Monster
    December 1, 2008 at 10:49 am

    The BBC is still cheering Chavez on to be President-for-life of Venezuela.

    Chavez announces re-election plan
    By Will Grant
    BBC News, Caracas

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a plan to seek a constitutional amendment to allow him to stand for re-election.

    Mr Chavez said he hoped to remain in power until 2021.

    His announcement comes after the president lost a constitutional referendum last year.

    And it follows a regional election in which his United Socialist party ceded key ground to the opposition, including the capital city of Caracas.

    ‘2019 or 2021′

    President Chavez told thousands of supporters that he would be seeking the constitutional changes necessary to allow the president to stand for indefinite re-election.

    The president narrowly lost a referendum on exactly that issue last December and under the present rules, he must stand down in 2012.

    But now the debate must start around the country, he said.

    “I am ready, and if I am healthy, God willing, I will be with you until 2019, until 2021,” he said.

    The opposition say that the same issue cannot be voted on twice. But President Chavez may well be able to get around that.

    When he lost the referendum last year, people were voting on a whole series of constitutional reforms – one of which was the question of indefinite re-election.

    This would be a proposal for a single amendment to the constitution, and as such could send Venezuelans back to the polls some time next year.

    It is far from clear whether President Chavez would win another vote on the matter. Although the president’s personal support is still over 50%, the opposition has been buoyed by its recent performances at the ballot box.

    Any vote on this question is likely to be as close as the last, in which a few thousand votes separated the two sides.

    http://tinyurl.com/5zf4hc

    Chavez is nothing, if not hard headed. He’s following the liberal-socialist playbook to the letter, if you don’t like the rules, cheat anyway you can.

    If I recall correctly, Chavez’ December 2007 referendums were defeated by significantly more than a “few thousand” votes that the BBC claims here.

  17. BillK
    December 1, 2008 at 11:22 am

    From the Chicago Tribune:

    Uh-oh. Even Oprah’s thrifty in this economy

    By Phil Rosenthal

    When one of the nation’s richest and most influential women declares the economy such a mess that she’s not comfortable this year with her tradition of giving a few hundred people lavish gifts that she probably doesn’t have to pay for, well, let’s just say it doesn’t exactly send this consumer’s confidence soaring.

    Oprah Winfrey’s almost-annual “favorite things” episode of her daytime talk show is usually a frenzied orgy of creature comforts and indulgences. It’s always a favorite for viewers at home, and even more so for the few hundred audience members who leave the studio with quite a haul.

    But this year, citing hard times, Winfrey replaced it on Wednesday’s show with “How to Have the Thriftiest Holiday Ever!” Her Web site said: “It’s Oprah’s favorite things … but there’s a twist! They cost next to nothing.”

    Not exactly the kind of “twist” that really deserves an exclamation point, is it?

    Homemade gratitude boxes in which you can stick notes telling loved ones how much you care are lovely, meaningful, emotion-packed, pragmatic and cost very little to put together—probably perfect for this winter of our financial discontent.

    But for those who as kids pored over dog-eared copies of the Sears Wish Book fantasizing about all the toys and stuff they knew they would never get, it isn’t exactly the stuff of daydreams the way a $3,799 LG HDTV Refrigerator With a Weather and Info Center was last year.

    “We felt that this is not the time to be introducing you to a lot of things that cost money,” Winfrey said, acknowledging people are “feeling the pinch” and scaling back.

    Let’s give Winfrey the benefit of the doubt and not interpret that remark to mean she thinks it’s inappropriate for advertisers to buy time on her show to sell travel, jewelry, electronics or anything else that might not be an absolute necessity. Besides, her fans are not so blindly loyal as to go out and buy whatever she talks about, no matter how impractical or beyond their means.

    That’s why Detroit automakers are asking Congress for their bailout, not her. Winfrey gave the Pontiac G6 as much publicity as any single person could with her “You get a car! You get a car! You get a car!” season opener four years ago; it didn’t make the G6 a best seller.

    If Winfrey thinks it useful to give away holiday song downloads on her Web site for a limited time, introduce viewers to a way to store their treasured memorabilia and encourage fans to make her latest book club selection an inexpensive gift selection, OK. That doesn’t preclude her from also sharing what her new favorite things are.

    It’s still entertaining to hear her gush about pajamas, cookie dough, a scarf, a sweater, popcorn.

    And there no doubt still are would-be studio audience members—like the teachers she rewarded in 2004 or Hurricane Katrina volunteers she showered with a taste of her good life in 2005—who would appreciate a little luxury in their lives, courtesy of Oprah and marketers looking for promotional consideration.

    They don’t need the refrigerator with a TV. No one does. That was the point, wasn’t it? Winfrey didn’t think viewers were refinancing their homes to afford them, did she?

    Winfrey’s 2007 list, which priced out at north of $7,500, included items much cheaper than the TV fridge, such as a $5 pint of Ciao Bella Blood Orange Sorbetto. Five years earlier, when her items added up to less than $2,500, you could find $3 Pillsbury frozen biscuits, $11 key lime pie from Little Pie Co. along with the big-ticket items. …

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....765.column

    Yet I’m sure none of her devoted fans will feel she, the richest woman in America (who says that thanks to Obama, African Americans can now “finally succeed”) is just, well, being cheap.

    Well you know, supply-side doesn’t work anyway, so why should she give up some of her estimated $2.7 billion to the little people who watch her show?

    After all, she might need to rebuild one of her homes, depending if it was damaged in the recent Santa Barbara-area fires.

  18. Gila Monster
    December 1, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    It’s Monday so let’s play “guess the party affiliation”. From the DNC enablers at the AP.

    FBI: Birmingham Mayor arrested on federal charges
    Dec 1, 10:48 AM (ET)
    By JAY REEVES

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The mayor of Alabama’s largest city, a player in a multibillion dollar sewer bond deal that drove the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy, was arrested on Monday on federal criminal charges, an FBI spokesman said.

    Larry Langford was taken into custody around 7 a.m. on Monday, FBI Spokesman Paul Daymond said. It wasn’t immediately clear what charges he faces.

    Authorities are planning to say more at a morning news conference.

    Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission before he was elected mayor last year. Birmingham is in Jefferson County.

    He was accused in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit of taking more than $156,000 from a friend whose firm made millions on risky bond transactions with the county for a new sewer system.

    Those bonds went sour as the housing market plunged this year and credit costs skyrocketed and have pushed the state’s largest county to the brink of bankruptcy.

    The SEC accused Langford of taking the undisclosed payments and benefits from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount, whose firm collected more than $6.7 million in fees on county bond transactions. The money was allegedly routed through Al LaPierre, a lobbyist who is a friend of Langford.

    Langford, Blount and LaPierre have denied any wrongdoing and asked that the lawsuit be thrown out.

    An attorney for LaPierre, Tommy Spina, told The Birmingham News that LaPierre would be surrender1ng later Monday. Spina did not immediately return a call for comment.

    Associates at Blount’s Montgomery firm said Blount was on his way to Birmingham.

    http://tinyurl.com/6elpx5

    Langford is, of course, a Dhimmicrat, and it appears he graduated with honors from the “William Jefferson School of Corruption and Graft”.

  19. BannedbytheTaliban
    December 1, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    From the AP, Via Yahoo:

    Obama still looks for Iraq pullout in 16 months

    CHICAGO – Barack Obama says the U.S.-Iraq security agreement approved by Iraq’s parliament puts the U.S. on a “glide path” toward reducing forces there.

    As he named Robert Gates to continue on as defense chief, with a new mission to reduce U.S. involvement in Iraq, the president-elect said he’ll listen to Gates, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commanders on the ground in determining how to proceed with a troop withdrawal.

    Obama told reporters in Chicago that he still thinks 16 months is the “right time frame” for removing U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....obama_iraq

    Stupid is as stupid does.

  20. BannedbytheTaliban
    December 1, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    Media outlets everywhere are celebrating:

    It’s official: Recession since Dec. ‘07

    NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007, making official what most Americans have already believed about the state of the economy .

    The NBER is a private group of leading economists charged with dating the start and end of economic downturns. It typically takes a long time after the start of a recession to declare its start because of the need to look at final readings of various economic measures.

    The NBER said that the deterioration in the labor market throughout 2008 was one key reason why it decided to state that the recession began last year.

    …..The current recession is one of the longest downturns since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

    …..President-elect Obama’s transition team did not have an immediate comment on the recession announcement. But other top Democrats said this is further proof of the need for another economic stimulus package, which Obama has advocated.

    http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/0.....2008120112

    At least the USAtoday article mentions the “accepted” while “not official” definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth, which still hasn’t happened. Meanwhile the CNN article is accompanied by a picture of people queued as if in a depression era soup line. This report is based completely on politics and personal agendas. The “year long” recession we are currently in has seen only two, non-consecutive quarters of negative growth with two, consecutive quarters of positive growth. Positive growth that was far greater than the contraction. However, don’t let that get in the way of good propaganda. This was all do the housing crash and the Democrats, oops, I mean Bush, who sold these people houses they couldn’t afford. Now Obama is riding in on his mighty stead to save the day with more government spending. Spending which will surely depress the dollar and make peoples’ houses worth even less.

  21. spiffyw
    December 1, 2008 at 11:44 pm

    Somebody get the net , this guy is on the loose and He’s going to indict my Ham Sandwich.
    Obame should put him in Justice
    Those Texans

    Indictments against Cheney, Gonzales dismissed

    RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) – A judge dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday and told the south Texas prosecutor who brought the case to exercise caution as his term in office ends.
    Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra had accused Cheney and the other defendants of responsibility for prisoner abuse. The judge’s order ended two weeks of sometimes-bizarre court proceedings.

    Guerra is leaving office at the end of the month after soundly losing in his March primary election.

    “I suggest on behalf of the law that you not present any cases to the grand jury involving these defendants,” Administrative Judge Manuel Banales said in court while ruling that eight indictments against Cheney, Gonzales and others were invalid.

    He also set a Dec. 10 hearing on whether to disqualify Guerra from those cases.

    Even in thorough defeat, Guerra saw the outcome as confirmation of the very conspiracy he had pursued. “I expected it,” he said. “The system is going to protect itself.”

    Banales withheld judgment on whether probable cause existed for the Cheney and Gonzales indictments because they were not represented in court and did not present any argument. For the other defendants, he found no probable cause to support the charges.

    Three of the eight indictments returned Nov. 17 targeted private prison operator The GEO Group, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., Cheney and Gonzales, as part of an investigation into prisoner abuse at privately run federal prisons in the county.

    Guerra ran the investigation into alleged prisoner abuse with a siege mentality. He worked it from his home, dubbed it “Operation Goliath” and kept it secret from his staff, he said. He gave all the witnesses biblical pseudonyms—his was “David.”

    Banales dismissed all eight indictments because GEO Group attorney Tony Canales showed that two alternate jurors were part of the panel that day but had not been properly substituted.

    Five of the indictments—against two district judges, two special prosecutors and the district clerk—were dismissed because Guerra was the alleged victim, witness and prosecutor. The indictments accused the five of abusing their power by being involved in a previous investigation of Guerra.

    The indictment against Cheney alleged that his personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, made him culpable in alleged prisoner abuse at privately run federal detention centers.

    Gonzales was accused of using his position to stop an investigation into abuses at a federal detention center.

    Lucio was alleged to have used his Senate position to profit as a prison consultant, but Banales ruled that the indictment failed to address whether Lucio knew he was only being hired to consult because he was a state senator.

  22. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 1:21 am

    Enhanced election theft tactics, from Al Franken.

    The new tack: ask the Senate to intervene.

    From The Hill:

    Franken may seek Senate’s help to win race

    By Michael O’Brien

    l Franken’s (D) campaign may ask the Democratic-led Senate to intervene on his behalf to allow some disqualified absentee ballots to be counted in his quest to unseat Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).

    Franken attorney Marc Elias made the case to reporters Monday that as many as 1,000 absentee ballots were improperly disqualified and that the Senate or the courts may need to step in to resolve the issue.

    “No recount can be considered accurate or complete until all the ballots cast by lawful voters are counted,” Elias said of the recount that became necessary when only about 200 votes separated the two candidates on Nov. 4.
    Minnesota’s Board of Canvassers ruled last Wednesday that it would not revisit the improperly disqualified ballots. The bipartisan board ruled unanimously that it did not have the authority to order that the ballots be reviewed and counted.

    Elias said that of the 12,000 disqualified absentee ballots in the race, “as many as 1,000” ballots were improperly excluded, and should be counted. He added that the campaign would appeal to the Board of Canvassers, courts or the U.S. Senate to ensure those ballots are counted. Last week, Elias had indicated that the campaign would not directly appeal the board’s ruling.

    The U.S. Constitution allows each congressional chamber to be the “Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.”

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the Board of Canvassers’ decision to not count the absentee ballots “a cause for great concern” last week, fueling speculation that the Senate would explore the legality of the Minnesota recount’s results.

    “The Franken campaign has made it clear that the recounted votes and will of Minnesotans matter little to them, and that they intend to take their campaign to change the outcome of this election on to the United States Senate,” said Coleman campaign spokesman Mark Drake. “Al Franken should personally reject this strategy outright, and honor the right of Minnesotans to choose who their senator should be — and not allow lawsuits and the strong-arm tactics of the majority leader of the United States Senate to intervene in this process.”

    According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s recount tally, Coleman leads Franken by 282 votes with 86 percent of the recount complete. In total, 5,623 ballots have been challenged, with the Franken campaign having challenged 67 more votes than Coleman’s campaign. The Franken campaign said it would announce withdrawn challenges later this week.

    The Franken campaign maintained that Coleman only led by 73 votes, citing its tally, which includes determinations of a voter’s intent made by neutral observers. Those determinations are not final until certified by the Board of Canvassers, and are not included in the Secretary of State’s official tally.

    “If ultimately there is no remedy before the canvassing board or before the courts, then that is certainly an option,” Elias said of the Senate’s potential intervention in the election results.

    http://thehill.com/campaign-20.....12-01.html

    So now candidates themselves have “internal tallys” of secret votes and what they actually say is no concern, it’s some imaginary “voter intent.”

    Really, why vote any more? The Democrats will take power regardless of what the ballots actually say…

  23. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 1:28 am

    From the UK Telegraph, a glimpse of our near future:

    Lawyers call for international court for the environment

    A former chairman of the Bar Council is calling for an international court for the environment to punish states that fail to protect wildlife and prevent climate change.

    By Louise Gray

    Stephen Hockman QC is proposing a body similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to be the supreme legal authority on issues regarding the environment.

    The first role of the new body would be to enforce international agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions set to be agreed next year.

    But the court would also fine countries or companies that fail to protect endangered species or degrade the natural environment and enforce the “right to a healthy environment”.

    The innovative idea is being presented to an audience of politicians, scientists and public figures for the first time at a symposium at the British Library.

    Mr Hockman, a deputy High Court judge, said that the threat of climate change means it is more important than ever for the law to protect the environment.

    The UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland this month is set to begin negotiations that will lead to a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen next year. Developed countries are expected to commit to cutting emissions drastically, while developing countries agree to halt deforestation.

    Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has agreed the concept of an international court will be taken into account when considering how to make these international agreements on climate change binding. The court is also backed by a number of MPs, climate change experts and public figures including the actress Judi Dench.

    Mr Hockman said an international court will be needed to enforce and regulate any agreement.

    “The time is now ripe to set this up and get it going,” he said. “Its remit will be overall climate change and the need for better regulation of carbon emissions but at the same time the implementation and enforcement of international environmental agreements and instruments.”

    As well as providing resolution between states, the court will also be useful for multinational businesses in ensuring environmental laws are kept to in every country.

    The court would include a convention on the right to a healthy environment and provide a higher body for individuals or non-governmental organisations to protest against an environmental injustice.

    Mr Hockman said the court may be able to fine businesses or states but its main role will be in making “declaratory rulings” that influence and embarrass countries into upholding the law.

    He said: “Of course regulations and sanctions alone cannot deliver a global solution to problems of climate change, but without such components the incentive for individual countries to address those problems – and to achieve solutions that are politically acceptable within their own jurisdictions – will be much reduced.” …

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ear.....nment.html

    Of course Obama will likely be one of the first to sign on to this.

    China? Somehow I don’t think so.

  24. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 1:32 am

    Posse what?

    From the Washington Post:

    Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security

    By Spencer S. Hsu and Ann Scott Tyson

    The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

    The long-planned shift in the Defense Department’s role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.

    There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military’s role in domestic law enforcement.

    But the Bush administration and some in Congress have pushed for a heightened homeland military role since the middle of this decade, saying the greatest domestic threat is terrorists exploiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

    Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, dedicating 20,000 troops to domestic response — a nearly sevenfold increase in five years — “would have been extraordinary to the point of unbelievable,” Paul McHale, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense, said in remarks last month at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But the realization that civilian authorities may be overwhelmed in a catastrophe prompted “a fundamental change in military culture,” he said.

    The Pentagon’s plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011. The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of Oct. 1, said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of the U.S. Northern Command.

    If funding continues, two additional teams will join nearly 80 smaller National Guard and reserve units made up of about 6,000 troops in supporting local and state officials nationwide. All would be trained to respond to a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive attack, or CBRNE event, as the military calls it.

    Military preparations for a domestic weapon-of-mass-destruction attack have been underway since at least 1996, when the Marine Corps activated a 350-member chemical and biological incident response force and later based it in Indian Head, Md., a Washington suburb. Such efforts accelerated after the Sept. 11 attacks, and at the time Iraq was invaded in 2003, a Pentagon joint task force drew on 3,000 civil support personnel across the United States.

    In 2005, a new Pentagon homeland defense strategy emphasized “preparing for multiple, simultaneous mass casualty incidents.” National security threats were not limited to adversaries who seek to grind down U.S. combat forces abroad, McHale said, but also include those who “want to inflict such brutality on our society that we give up the fight,” such as by detonating a nuclear bomb in a U.S. city.

    In late 2007, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed a directive approving more than $556 million over five years to set up the three response teams, known as CBRNE Consequence Management Response Forces. Planners assume an incident could lead to thousands of casualties, more than 1 million evacuees and contamination of as many as 3,000 square miles, about the scope of damage Hurricane Katrina caused in 2005.

    Last month, McHale said, authorities agreed to begin a $1.8 million pilot project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through which civilian authorities in five states could tap military planners to develop disaster response plans. Hawaii, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Washington and West Virginia will each focus on a particular threat — pandemic flu, a terrorist attack, hurricane, earthquake and catastrophic chemical release, respectively — speeding up federal and state emergency planning begun in 2003.

    Last Monday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ordered defense officials to review whether the military, Guard and reserves can respond adequately to domestic disasters.

    Gates gave commanders 25 days to propose changes and cost estimates. He cited the work of a congressionally chartered commission, which concluded in January that the Guard and reserve forces are not ready and that they lack equipment and training.

    Bert B. Tussing, director of homeland defense and security issues at the U.S. Army War College’s Center for Strategic Leadership, said the new Pentagon approach “breaks the mold” by assigning an active-duty combat brigade to the Northern Command for the first time. Until now, the military required the command to rely on troops requested from other sources.

    “This is a genuine recognition that this [job] isn’t something that you want to have a pickup team responsible for,” said Tussing, who has assessed the military’s homeland security strategies. …

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....17_pf.html

    Troops in the streets?

    Nothing to worry about, move along…

    Just remember Bush is responsible, even though the plans started being drafted in 1996.

    Who was President in 1996 again?

    Of course one wonders where those troops would be staying in the case of a terrorist attack.

    Would it be too paranoid to wonder aloud whether the Third Amendment is the next to come under expanded SCOTUS review?

  25. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 3:11 am

    I know it’s meant to be empathy, but I’ve heard any number of people state “He apologized – that means he admits he’s at fault“:

    From a blameful AP:

    Bush sorry economic crisis has cut jobs, 401 (k)s

    By Deb Riechmann

    President George W. Bush expressed remorse that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts and said he’ll back more government intervention if needed to ease the recession.

    “I’m sorry it’s happening, of course,” Bush said in a wide-ranging interview with ABC’s “World News,” which was airing Monday.

    “Obviously I don’t like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we’re in. And if we need to be in more, we will.”

    The U.S. economy fell into a recession in December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research reported on Monday. Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009 and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

    On the war in Iraq, Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was the “intelligence failure” regarding the extent of the Saddam Hussein threat to the United States. With the support of Congress, Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 – a decision largely justified on grounds – later proved false – that Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction.

    Asked if he would have ordered the U.S.-led invasion if intelligence reports had accurately indicated that Saddam did not have the weapons, Bush replied: “You know, that’s an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can’t do. It’s hard for me to speculate.”

    During a discussion about what Americans should know about what it is like to be president, Bush was asked what he was most unprepared for going into the office.

    “I think I was unprepared for war,” he said. “In other words, I didn’t campaign and say, `Please vote for me, I’ll be able to handle an attack.’ In other words, I didn’t anticipate war. Presidents – one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen.”

    On the presidential election, Bush called Barack Obama’s victory a “repudiation of Republicans.”

    “I’m sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me,” said Bush, who leaves office with low approval ratings. “I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as president.” …

    http://customwire.ap.org/dynam....._INTERVIEW

    Every time I feel I need to defend Bush, he does something like this, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why.

  26. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 3:17 am

    From a joyful AP:

    Recession declared; Wall Street tanks

    By Jeannine Aversa and Martin Crutsinger

    Put it in the history books: The country was officially diagnosed with a job-killing recession Monday, and woeful new evidence showed it’s getting worse. Wall Street convulsed at the news, tanking 680 points, and Washington pledged even more help to try to ease the pain.

    With the economic pain likely to stretch well into 2009, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday he stands ready to lower interest rates yet again and to explore other rescue or revival measures.

    Rushing in reinforcements, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who along with Bernanke has been leading the government’s efforts to stem the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, pledged to take all the steps he can in the waning days of the Bush administration to provide relief. Specifically, Paulson is eyeing more ways to tap into a $700 billion financial bailout pool.

    On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., vowed to have a massive economic stimulus package ready on Inauguration Day for President-elect Barack Obama’s signature.

    That measure — which could total a whopping $500 billion — would bankroll big public works projects to generate jobs, provide aid to states to help with Medicaid costs and provide money toward renewable energy development. Crafting such a colossal recovery package would mark a Herculean feat: Congress convenes Jan. 6, giving lawmakers just two weeks to complete their work if it is to be signed on Jan. 20.

    President George W. Bush, in an interview with ABC’s “World News,” expressed remorse about lost jobs, cracked nest eggs and other damage wrought by the financial crisis. “I’m sorry it’s happening, of course,” said Bush. The president said he’d back more government intervention.

    None of the pledges for more action could comfort Wall Street investors. The Dow Jones industrials plunged 679.95 points, or 7.70 percent, to close at 8,149.09.

    It was another white-knuckle day, punctuated by grim economic reports. An index of manufacturing activity sank to a reading of 36.2 in November, a 26-year low, the Institute for Supply Management reported. Construction spending fell by a larger than expected 1.2 percent in October, the Commerce Department said.

    Adding to the gloom, the National Bureau of Economic Research, a group of academic economists, concluded Monday that the country has been suffering through a recession since December 2007.

    With NBER’s decision, the United States has fallen into two recessions during Bush’s eight years in office. The first one started in March 2001 and ended in November of that year. …

    http://www.madison.com/tct/business/316699

    Of course, we still haven’t met the definition of recession – two consecutive quarters of negative GDP.

    NBER is simply a group of academic economists – sort of like if the local Kiwanis club decided we’re in a recession.

    But the AP hasn’t let facts intrude on their stories for years now.

    BTW, that also means we could not officially be declared to be in a recession until January, 2009.

    Couldn’t have that news sharing front page space with the Messiah’s inaugural now, could we?

    Meanwhile the press is acting like this group’s declaration is the confirmation they need to run with “Officially in Recession” headlines, when in fact they have no more of a say on anything than another of the press’ favorite go-to agitprop groups, the CPSR.

  27. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 3:26 am

    Isn’t it great to read of uh, advances in public school education?

    From the far-left Madison, WI Capital Times:

    Shabazz students use feng shui to create a better math classroom

    By Jane Burns

    For many people, clutter causes frustration. For others, math causes anxiety. Combine the two and it creates a double whammy of stress. Fix them, and a world of possibilities can open.

    That’s a lesson learned at Shabazz City High School this fall, when a group of students helped make a math room one of the most inviting places in the building.

    For the first quarter of this school year, art students learned concepts of feng shui and applied them to a cluttered classroom. The result, finished in November, has been a room that has created enthusiasm throughout the school and has had a noticeable effect on learning.

    “It really helped with our school spirit,” art teacher Martha Vasquez said. “Some schools have athletic teams. We get feng shui.”

    Indeed, they approach things a little differently at Shabazz, the city’s alternative high school on North Sherman Avenue that has an emphasis on service learning. The math room overhaul was a service learning project tied to the school’s art curriculum.
    From what the students and teachers are hearing, it’s a service that has been appreciated.

    “It feels good, especially the positive comments we get,” said Tyler Sakrison, an art student who also has a math class in the redecorated room. “I’m glad we’re able to help people do math better.”

    It wasn’t just the students who needed the change. Math teacher Steve Young was feeling overwhelmed by the clutter in the classroom he shares with math and science teacher Peter Fee. Posters lined the walls, stickers were stuck onto cabinets and there were things left over from when it had been used by other teachers. Unnecessary objects took up space. The furniture was so close that students couldn’t get up out of their seats without knocking into somebody else.

    “It was just a disgusting mess and I never had the energy to clean it up,” Young said.

    He takes a yoga class with feng shui practitioner Linda Mundt of Madison, and he mentioned his classroom frustration to her. It wasn’t so much that it was messy as it seemed to be full of distractions for the students. He wondered if she could teach feng shui to the art students, who then in turn could help the math students by redecorating his room. …

    http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/topstories/316643

    I’m glad to see the instructor never had the “energy” to clean up his – it might interfere with his personal yoga class time.

    Remember, teachers are professionals, and that’s why they can’t be held to standards.

  28. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 3:52 am

    From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    College students not getting enough financial aid forced to drop out

    By Erica Perez

    Rheannon Gustafson could be a harbinger of things to come.

    Even after receiving federal loans, the 19-year-old freshman from Salem still owes about $3,200 for tuition and expenses at Winona State University in Minnesota this semester. Her parents can’t afford to fill the gap – they filed for bankruptcy this year.

    Neither Gustafson nor her parents can get private loans, because lenders have tightened standards during the credit crunch. Gustafson couldn’t find a job near school that could cover the bill.

    This perfect storm of economic circumstances has caused Gustafson and her parents to decide she’s dropping out after her first semester. She’ll come home, work two jobs and attend a local technical college when she can afford it.

    While enrollment at many colleges appears to be holding steady, some administrators are preparing for a coming wave of students like Gustafson.

    “Colleges are in fact bracing for the certainty that the worst of the economy will manifest itself in a huge increase in need,” said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. “This is not a possibility. This is a near-certainty. The issue is when it is going to register a significant enough scale where you can point at it and say it is a reality.”

    Several colleges report increases in students requesting adjustments to their financial aid offers this semester because their family’s financial health has changed. Parents or students have lost jobs, watched their savings drop, had their homes foreclosed on or filed for bankruptcy.

    When some of these students look to private loans, they are hard-pressed to get approved without a creditworthy co-signer because of the credit market.

    “We’ll probably see some students coming by who might have to talk about sitting out a semester,” said Dawn Scott, Carroll University director of financial aid. “It will be hard to know who we’ve lost until mid-December.

    “We’ve started reaching out to those students already. Unfortunately, we know we can’t save all of those students.”

    Nassirian said: “We are very concerned about the coming semester. I think the next big test is whether enrollment numbers in the . . . spring will take a huge dip.” …

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/e.....66854.html

    Notice how it’s never the fault of higher education for charging confiscatory prices, it’s the fault of the government for not handing out enough money.

    Why hasn’t anyone figured out that much of higher education today is simply a way for the government to transfer huge amounts of taxpayer money to their friends in higher education – the way the left has always accused the right of funding defense contractors?

    Higher education is completely immune to market forces and one can’t even begin to imagine the criticism that would be heaped upon anyone who dared suggest it should be otherwise.

    Winona State University could of course give her a discount on tuition.

    Nah, that would never work.

  29. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 4:02 am

    Try to adopt a foster child and you may be investigated as psychologically disturbed.

    Really.

    From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    Bureau rebukes foster couple

    License on hold for pair who tried to adopt slain boy

    By Crocker Stephenson

    The West Allis foster parents who tried to adopt Christopher L. Thomas Jr. months before he was slain were told Monday that their foster home license has been placed on hold while officials investigate the woman’s mental health and the couple’s contact with the news media.

    Darlene M. Logan’s mental condition was called into question by her caseworker because of her persistent attempts to adopt Christopher, according to documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

    “I think we are being persecuted for sticking up for Christopher,” said Darlene Logan, a 63-year-old retired schoolteacher, who has six children, including one who is adopted.

    Police say 13-month-old Christopher was beaten to death by his aunt and foster mother, Crystal Keith, in early November. They say the 24-year-old woman also tortured his 2-year-old sister for months. The girl’s injuries, which include burns from her head to her toes and multiple broken bones, apparently went unnoticed by Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare caseworkers during repeated visits to Keith’s home.

    Darlene and Robert J. Logan became Christopher’s foster parents in March, when he was initially removed from his biological mother’s home. He remained in their care until he joined his sister at another temporary foster home in May. They were placed with Keith and her husband in June.

    The Logans repeatedly asked their caseworker if they could adopt Christopher. Darlene Logan said her refusal to accept no for an answer irritated her caseworker, who ordered Darlene Logan to undergo a psychological evaluation.

    An Aug. 18 evaluation signed by the caseworker states: “This worker explained the reasons why they were not able to adopt that child several times, and it seemed that Ms. Logan was not able to grasp the concepts explained to her. This worker and her supervisor became concerned because Ms. Logan would ask the same questions repeatedly. Ms. Logan’s mental health came into question, as she did not seem to understand what was being explained to her.”

    Logan met with a psychologist four times. In his Oct. 23 report, the psychologist wrote, “This evaluation does not indicate that Darlene should not have a foster care license.”

    The Logans were contacted by the Journal Sentinel on Nov. 13, the day Keith was charged in Christopher’s death. Darlene Logan was quoted expressing her grief for his loss.

    A subsequent newspaper story described the Logans’ frustration as they attempted to find out from the child welfare bureau how they could help pay for Christopher’s burial. They said no one from the bureau returned their calls.

    “All I wanted was for Christopher to be honored, to have a decent funeral,” Darlene Logan said Monday.

    The Logans’ situation grew more complicated this weekend, when they received a letter from the bureau stating the couple had been overpaid while caring for a foster child placed in their home from late June to early September. The letter demanded repayment of $2,474.38.

    The Logans said Monday that they believe they were paid the correct amount for taking care of the infant girl. Calls to the bureau to straighten out the matter have not been returned, Bob Logan said.

    Early Monday, Bob Logan said he did not want to believe the bill was in retribution for speaking to the newspaper about Christopher.

    But Monday afternoon, as the Logans were trying to talk to somebody about the alleged overpayment, their caseworker’s supervisor called to say their license remained on hold while the bureau reviewed the psychologist’s 4 1/2 -page report and while bureau lawyers reviewed the Logans’ contact with the news media.

    “They are so vindictive,” Darlene Logan said.

    “I think they should be more concerned about the care they provide than what people say about them,” she said. …

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/m.....50254.html

    This poor couple should have learned from Joe the Plumber; only liberals are allowed to speak to the news media, and only when critical of the right.

    Thou shalt not question thy liberal lawmakers or agencies, lest thou be cast into a pit of eternal fire and brimstone.

  30. BillK
    December 2, 2008 at 4:18 am

    This will likely be the lead item on the morning news, but just in case, from the AP:

    Nuclear or Bioterror Attack on U.S. Likely by 2013, Panel Warns

    The United States can expect a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study being briefed Tuesday to Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

    It suggests the Obama administration bolster efforts to counter and prepare for germ warfare by terrorists.

    “Our margin of safety is shrinking, not growing,” states the report, obtained by The Associated Press. It is scheduled to be publicly released Wednesday.

    The commission is also encouraging the new White House to appoint one official on the National Security Council to exclusively coordinate U.S. intelligence and foreign policy on combatting the spread of nuclear and biological weapons.

    The report of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, led by former Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and Jim Talent of Tennessee, acknowledges that terrorist groups still lack the needed scientific and technical ability to make weapons out of pathogens or nuclear bombs. But it warns that gap can be easily overcome, if terrorists find scientists willing to share or sell their know-how.

    “The United States should be less concerned that terrorists will become biologists and far more concerned that biologists will become terrorists,” the report states.

    The commission believes biological weapons are more likely to be obtained and used before nuclear or radioactive weapons because nuclear facilities are more carefully guarded. Civilian laboratories with potentially dangerous pathogens abound, however, and could easily be compromised.

    “The biological threat is greater than the nuclear; the acquisition of deadly pathogens, and their weaponization and dissemination in aerosol form, would entail fewer technical hurdles than the theft or production of weapons-grade uranium or plutonium and its assembly into an improvised nuclear device,” states the report.

    It notes that the U.S. government’s counterproliferation activities have been geared toward preventing nuclear terrorism. The commission recommends the prevention of biological terrorism be made a higher priority.

    Study chairman Graham said anthrax remains the most likely biological weapon. However, he told the AP that contagious diseases — like the flu strain that killed 40 million at the beginning of the 20th century — are looming threats. That virus has been recreated in scientific labs, and there remains no inoculation to protect against it if is stolen and released.

    Graham said the threat of a terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons is growing “not because we have not done positive things but because adversaries are moving at an even faster pace to increase their access” to those materials.

    He noted last week’s rampage by a small group of gunmen in Mumbai.

    “If those people had had access to a biological or nuclear weapon they would have multiplied by orders of magnitude the deaths they could have inflicted,” he said. …

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,459927,00.html

    Thankfully Obama will sit down and simply talk it out with these folks.

  31. Icarus
    December 2, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Canada’s conservative minority government (a few seats short of a majority) voted into power by a supposed free populace in a western democracy; has been usurped… by a coalition of the NDP, Liberals & Bloc-Q

    Without a shot being fired; these political left wing ideologues have stolen the seat of power from its rightful owners… the majority of voters and their elected representatives, together with the PM’s office! Claiming precedent (supposedly nearly 100 years ago since this last occurred) the three parties forming this coalition government, feel no sense of obligation to the voters of Canada. This being made obvious through this action; confirms that they prescribe to a humanist philosophy. Moral relativism seems to be ubiquitous in our society, these men have shown that indeed (in there world) ethics is a movable target.

    Keep in mind that that so-called precedent of a century ago was at a time when a liberal government could be (in many respects) compared to a conservative ideology of today.
    Also bear in mind that the socio-political atmosphere was totally different than today.
    The only thing that makes that precedent comparable… is procedural!
    The similarities end there!

    Goodbye “Pursuit of happiness”
    Goodbye “Liberty”
    And finally…. Goodbye “Life”!

  32. Steve
    December 2, 2008 at 10:23 am

    Icarus, please try to post news articles here with a link to the original source. Thanks.

  33. Icarus
    December 2, 2008 at 11:22 am

    Sorry…

    http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/6645

    http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story.....eturn.html

  34. BannedbytheTaliban
    December 2, 2008 at 12:18 pm

    From the USAtoday:

    Report: Mass media harms kids

    By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

    Parents and policymakers need to take action to protect children from being harmed by TV, the Internet and other types of media, a report says.

    Researchers have done individual studies for years to learn how media affect children. A review released today, which analyzed 173 of the strongest papers over 28 years, finds that 80% agree that heavy media exposure increases the risk of harm, including obesity, smoking, sex, drug and alcohol use, attention problems and poor grades.
    Some of the links are particularly strong. For example, 93% of studies found that children with greater media exposure have sex earlier. Authors say the soundest studies are those linking media use with obesity, while the evidence linking media exposure to hyperactivity is weaker.

    The study provides overwhelming evidence of the importance of limiting children’s use of media and teaching them to critically evaluate the ever-growing volume of text, images and sounds with which they are bombarded, says co-author Ezekiel Emanuel of the National Institutes of Health. He says the report also urges Hollywood and technology makers to create entertainment that is less toxic and more family-friendly.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/h.....edia_N.htm

    Gee I wonder why?

  35. BannedbytheTaliban
    December 2, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    For those left doubting the influence of the Obama effect:

    Poll: Americans feel good about Obama, Cabinet choices

    WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama is riding a wave of good feeling toward him and his key Cabinet appointments, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds — positive attitudes that may give him some breathing room for tough decisions ahead.
    Soaring ratings for the way he has handled the presidential transition so far — more than three of four Americans express approval — contrast with a downbeat national mood over the economy.

    By 69%-25%, those surveyed approve of Obama’s choice of former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State.

    By an even wider margin, 80%-14%, they support his decision to have President Bush’s Defense secretary, Robert Gates, stay on the job.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/p.....poll_N.htm

    So why the sudden change in approval of Gates? We all remember the bitter conformation battle. And the skeptics, namely Obama, saying the Surge is a failure and Gates should be removed. But incase you have for gotten, from April 2007:

    Bush Approval Rating Falls to 28%, Lowest Level So Far, in Harris Poll

    President Bush’s approval rating slipped to new lows in the most recent Harris Interactive survey, but he’s not alone: For the first time since the series began, all of the political figures and institutions included in the survey have negative performance ratings.

    Of the 1,001 American adults polled online April 20-23, only 28% had a positive view of Mr. Bush’s job performance, down from 32% in February and from a high of 88% in the aftermath of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The current rating is his weakest showing since his inauguration.

    Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice garnered the approval of 45% of those surveyed, down from 46% in February, and approval of Defense Secretary Robert Gates slid to 29% in the latest poll, from 32% in February.

    Base: All adults

    Excellent Pretty Good Only Fair Poor Not Sure Positive* Negative**
    % % % % % % %
    Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 12 33 29 21 6 45 50
    President George W. Bush 7 22 22 48 2 28 70
    Democrats in Congress 5 29 34 24 7 35 58
    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 5 25 33 23 14 30 56
    Vice President Dick Cheney 5 20 25 44 7 25 68
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates 4 25 36 19 16 29 55
    Congress 3 24 43 27 4 27 69
    Republicans in Congress 3 20 41 33 4 22 74
    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid 2 19 35 17 26 22 52

    *Positive = excellent or pretty good
    **Negative = only fair or poor

    http://online.wsj.com/article/.....primary_hs

    Why the sudden change. It is scary that people are so quick to approve of anything Obama does.

  36. U NO HOO
    December 2, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    “TACA passengers in a fog after 9-hour flight diversion

    Flight from San Salvador to L.A. should’ve taken 41/2hours but winds up being more like 14 after an unplanned overnight in Ontario.
    By James Wagner
    December 2, 2008
    Normally, a flight from San Salvador to Los Angeles takes 4 1/2 hours…After a normal servicing Monday morning, Flight 670 finally departed Ontario just before 9 a.m. and landed safely at LAX nearly 30 minutes later.”

    http://www.latimes.com/news/lo.....1086.story

    They could have put the passengers onto school buses and driven them to LA.

    The plane trip to LA took 30 minutes.

    Remember the lack of common sense in Katrina/NOLA?

  37. Kev
    December 2, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    Chambliss WINS GA 60 out of reach.

    All Georgians shoud be proud. We have the only speed bump the Dems will face for at least 2 years. Palin came in and made the rounds but Obama never showed. Scared his horse would lose and he didn’t want to be seen with him. Have to protect that image.

  38. Kev
    December 2, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    Sorry was so excited I forgot the link
    http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/20.....al/#mapSGA

  39. GuppyNblue
    December 2, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    Congrats Kev
    “Palin came in and made the rounds but Obama never showed.”
    I understand that two foul-mouthed rappers showed to rally the other side though.
    Seriously, good for Georgia.

  40. BillK
    December 3, 2008 at 3:45 am

    From a disturbed AP:

    St. Louis City Leader Says Police Ineffective, Tells Residents to Get Armed

    ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis city leader frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.

    Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don’t care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.

    “The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it’s clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold,” Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.

    Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told “there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community … that he didn’t have the manpower.”

    Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he understands Troupe’s frustration but doesn’t support citizens arming themselves.

    Carrying guns, he said, is not a “recipe for a less violent community.”

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460725,00.html

    However it often is a recipe for defending one’s life and loved ones.

  41. BillK
    December 3, 2008 at 3:53 am

    Poor Obama discovers that economies are markets.

    From a depressed AP:

    Obama Ditches Oil Company Tax After Price Crash

    President-elect Barack Obama is not planning to implement a windfall profit tax on oil companies because prices have dropped below $80 a barrel, an aide said on Tuesday.

    “President-elect Obama announced the policy during the campaign because oil prices were above $80 per barrel,” an aide on Obama’s transition team said. “They are currently below that now and expected to stay below that.”

    Oil prices have fallen from a record $147 a barrel in July to under $50 this week.

    Obama, who signaled early in his campaign for the White House that he would take an active approach to oil markets as president, had planned to use the revenue from a windfall profits tax to fund a tax rebate for low- and middle-income families struggling with high energy prices.

    But the aide said Obama’s presidential campaign had already taken the price drop into account six weeks ago. When Obama laid out his economic plan for the middle class in mid-October, revenue from a windfall profit tax was not included because of the price change, he said.

    Oil companies steadfastly opposed a tax, saying it would stifle exploration and innovation.

    The switch drew applause from industry.

    “The judgment to withdraw the concept of a windfall profits tax is an important recognition that developing America’s oil and natural gas would be seriously damaged by such a tax policy,” said Lee Fuller, vice president of government relations for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, which represents independent oil and gas producers.

    “A windfall profits tax is bad policy at any price,” said Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, calling the move “a heartening development — both for consumers and an economy struggling to claw its way out of recession.”

    Many energy experts warned that imposing a windfall profits tax would discourage energy companies from drilling for oil in the United States, which would exacerbate U.S. reliance on foreign suppliers.

    But environmentalists support a tax and want oil companies to invest more in renewable fuels.

    Obama has made revamping U.S. energy policy a key priority of his upcoming presidency, promising to increase production of renewable energy sources and start a carbon trading system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    He said recently that the fall in gasoline prices was not an excuse to put off tackling U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

    Oil Tycoon T. Boone Pickens, who met with Obama during the campaign to discuss energy policy, said he was against a windfall profits tax but did not believe the decision not to implement one would affect domestic oil production.

    “The windfall profits tax won’t have anything to do with killing any oil projects,” Pickens told reporters in Washington.

    http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....ice-crash/

    Has Pickens lost it that badly, or is it just he sank way too much into Natural Gas to see the value of his investment fall because oil is less expensive?

  42. BillK
    December 3, 2008 at 3:58 am

    From an amused AP:

    Rastafarian Can Bring Religious Discrimination Suit Against Jiffy Lube for Grooming Policy

    BOSTON — The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that a Rastafarian man who refused to shave his beard or cut his hair to comply with Jiffy Lube’s employee grooming policy can take his religious discrimination case to trial.

    The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday reversed a decision by a Superior Court judge who had dismissed Bobby Brown’s lawsuit against Jiffy Lube.

    Brown worked as a technician at a Jiffy Lube in Hadley. After the company began a new grooming policy in 2002, Brown told management that his religion does not permit him to shave or cut his hair.

    Jiffy Lube then told Brown he could work only in lower bays where he did not have contact with customers.

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460765,00.html

    Granted, I think he has a case as the policy was implemented after he was hired.

    Unfortunately, I don’t think that matters at all to the courts.

  43. BillK
    December 3, 2008 at 4:02 am

    From the New York Daily News:

    It took 90 minutes for Daily News to ’steal’ the Empire State Building

    By William Sherman

    In one of the biggest heists in American history, the Daily News “stole” the $2 billion Empire State Building.

    And it wasn’t that hard.

    The News swiped the 102-story Art Deco skyscraper by drawing up a batch of bogus documents, making a fake notary stamp and filing paperwork with the city to transfer the deed to the property.

    Some of the information was laughable: Original “King Kong” star Fay Wray is listed as a witness and the notary shared a name with bank robber Willie Sutton.

    The massive ripoff illustrates a gaping loophole in the city’s system for recording deeds, mortgages and other transactions.

    The loophole: The system – run by the office of the city register – doesn’t require clerks to verify the information.

    Less than 90 minutes after the bogus documents were submitted on Monday, the agency rubber-stamped the transfer from Empire State Land Associates to Nelots Properties LLC. Nelots is “stolen” spelled backward. (The News returned the property Tuesday.)

    “Crooks go where the money is. That’s why Willie Sutton robbed banks, and this is the new bank robbery,” said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, who is prosecuting several deed fraud cases.

    Of course, stealing the Empire State Building wouldn’t go unnoticed for long, but it shows how easy it is for con artists to swipe more modest buildings right out from under their owners. Armed with a fraudulent deed, they can take out big mortgages and disappear, leaving a mess for property owners, banks and bureaucrats.

    “Once you have the deed, it’s easy to obtain a mortgage,” Farrell said. …

    http://www.nydailynews.com/mon.....o_ste.html

    You’ve got to love Big Government.

  44. BillK
    December 3, 2008 at 7:51 am

    The future of the American health care system, from the Treason Times:

    British Balance Gain Against the Cost of the Latest Drugs

    By Gardiner Harris

    RUISLIP, England — When Bruce Hardy’s kidney cancer spread to his lung, his doctor recommended an expensive new pill from Pfizer. But Mr. Hardy is British, and the British health authorities refused to buy the medicine. His wife has been distraught.

    “Everybody should be allowed to have as much life as they can,” Joy Hardy said in the couple’s modest home outside London.

    If the Hardys lived in the United States or just about any European country other than Britain, Mr. Hardy would most likely get the drug, although he might have to pay part of the cost. A clinical trial showed that the pill, called Sutent, delays cancer progression for six months at an estimated treatment cost of $54,000.

    But at that price, Mr. Hardy’s life is not worth prolonging, according to a British government agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The institute, known as NICE, has decided that Britain, except in rare cases, can afford only £15,000, or about $22,750, to save six months of a citizen’s life.

    British authorities, after a storm of protest, are reconsidering their decision on the cancer drug and others.

    For years, Britain was almost alone in using evidence of cost-effectiveness to decide what to pay for. But skyrocketing prices for drugs and medical devices have led a growing number of countries to ask the hardest of questions: How much is life worth? For many, NICE has the answer.

    Top health officials in Austria, Brazil, Colombia and Thailand said in interviews that NICE now strongly influences their policies.

    “All the middle-income countries — in Eastern Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and all over Asia — are aware of NICE and are thinking about setting up something similar,” said Dr. Andreas Seiter, a senior health specialist at the World Bank.

    Even in the United States, rising costs have led some in Congress to propose an institute that would compare the effectiveness of new medical technologies, although the proposals so far would not allow for price considerations. At the present rate of growth, medical costs will increase to 25 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2025 from 16 percent, with half of the increase coming from new drugs and devices, according to the Congressional Budget Office. …

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12.....3nice.html

    Where will those who complain about evil, greedy HMOs go when the Government is the one that decides that your life just isn’t worth the cost?

  45. 12 Gauge Rage
    December 3, 2008 at 8:16 am

    When the government decides that you’re no longer productive to society they’ll simply have you euthanized, like they do in the Netherlands. Of course this is all based upon the person’s quality of life. At what point does an oppressive government decide the boundaries and use them as a pretext to silence it’s critics by lethal means?

  46. Steve
    December 3, 2008 at 8:18 am

    “It took 90 minutes for Daily News to ’steal’ the Empire State Building”

    Man, with the deed to the Brooklyn Bridge, you could really clean up on eBay.

  47. spiffyw
    December 3, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    Excuse me,
    I just saw Tommy Lasorda on Fox,that triggered old memories .
    Tommy Lasorda has the smelliest farts in baseball or anywhere. Is it coincidence, Tommy comes on the same night Dirty Harry talks about the most smelly people ……ever, and according to someone who ‘Was on the bus with Tommy’ Tommy has the smelliest farts ever ! Anyone he was emphatic !
    This was back when my friend was pitching baseball .
    And …. sorry for the dots …
    Girls I knew, and were good friends of mine, Told me back in the 80’s . That Dirty Harry chased one of them around his office table …..looking for fun…
    They actually called him ‘Dirty Harry’ and laughed ,
    I can’t believe I have dirt on dirty Harry !
    The ‘girls’ lived in Tonopah Nv., at the time , and She worked for dirty harrry back when the he was first elected as a Rep from Nevada .
    Damn I’ve been waiting to say that ! And when you see the movie,’Dirty Harry” look for me in the crowd at the demostration where the cops contain a bunch people, I’m the guy light brown suede jacket at the demonstration for Dick Nixon’s trip to San Francisco in 69’.Gheese
    When it rains it pours !

  48. BillK
    December 5, 2008 at 2:57 am

    Yes, let’s complain about the toy instead of the actual terrorists.

    From Fox News:

    Lego-Style Islamic Terrorist Figurine Sparks Outrage

    A Lego-style figurine resembling an Islamic terrorist strapped with explosives and made by a small American company has caused an uproar among Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

    The controversial miniature figure, created by Seattle-based Will Chapman as part of his BrickArms military fighters line, is a bearded militant with a face-covering hood, a tiny toy assault rifle, a little grenade launcher and plastic bombs that can be attached to an explosives belt.

    The character is called “Bandit — Mr. White” and sells for $14.

    The jarring toy has outraged the British Muslim organization known as the Ramadhan Foundation, which called the figurine “absolutely disgusting,” according to Sky News.

    The foundation’s chief executive, Mohammed Shafiq, complained that the toy is “glorifying terrorism.”

    “I don’t think there’s any difference between someone that shouts hatred through a megaphone and someone that creates a doll that glorifies terrorists,” he told Sky.

    “As a parent myself, I’m going to teach my children respect for the law and respect for each and every community. These are the lessons parents should be giving to their children — not lessons about weapons and violence.”

    Chapman, a father of three who operates the company from the Seattle suburb of Redmond, Wash., bristles at the notion that he is celebrating terrorism.

    “We do not sell an ‘Osama bin Laden’ miniature figure,” he wrote in an e-mail to FOXNews.com. “We sell a generic bad guy minifigure with a Ninja scarf head wrap, the same minifigure that we have been selling for over a year now, with no associated ‘outrage.’

    “It does not represent anything; it is simply a bandit — a bad guy for the good guys to battle. Attempt to assign it a ‘personality’ only serves to create controversy that does not exist.”

    On his Web site, he explains that his 9-year-old son gave him the idea for the toy line, which includes 31 different Lego-style weapons and a variety of military figurines.

    He told FOXNews.com that BrickArms is a “family-owned and family-run business.”

    “We started in 2006, when one of our sons expressed an interest in military history and weaponry of the WW2 era,” he wrote. “He wanted to recreate scenes from history, with his LEGO bricks and figures, so he and I designed the first of many of our BrickArms miniature toy weapon replicas.”

    Other figurines in the line are World War II fighters, U.S. Marines and even a Nazi SS officer. …

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,461647,00.html

  49. BillK
    December 5, 2008 at 3:08 am

    As long as there’s an explanation.

    From New York Newsday:

    Cops: Crowd confrontation sparked Black Friday stampede

    By Keith Herbert

    A no-cutting-in-line conflict between two large groups of shoppers helped to spark the Black Friday stampede in which a Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death, Nassau police said yesterday.

    Shoppers who remained inside their vehicles in the parking lot until the Valley Stream store’s special 5 a.m. opening apparently clashed with people who had stood in line for hours outside Wal-Mart, police said.

    When the store’s doors opened, the conflict between the two groups – with “a considerable amount of people” who had stayed in their vehicles rushing to enter the store without waiting in line – fostered “mob mentality,” Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith said.

    “A whole lot of people started getting out of their cars and made a beeline for that door,” Smith said, referring to the one set of doors open to shoppers.

    “It’s definitely a contributing factor – the mentality of ‘They’re not going to cut in front of me.’”

    In the crush of an estimated 2,000 people, the set of doors was broken and Jdimytai Damour, 34, of Jamaica, a temporary security worker, was trampled, dying of asphyxiation, police said. No one has been charged in connection with the death, though police are investigating possible criminal charges.

    Meanwhile, an attorney for Damour’s family yesterday filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Wal-Mart in state Supreme Court in the Bronx, The Associated Press reported. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Elsie Damour Phillipe, the victim’s sister.

    In a written statement, Hank Mullany, president of Wal-Mart’s Eastern Division, said the company is working to implement stronger safety measures.

    “We consider Mr. Damour part of the Wal-Mart family, and are saddened by his death,” Mullany said. “We have been in communication with members of his family to do what we can to help them through this difficult time. Our associates know that when incidents like this occur, we take care of our own.”

    The statement did not address the family’s lawsuit.

    Police reports on the Black Friday disturbance showed a total of five cases requiring medical attention, with people suffering injuries ranging from a broken ankle to complaints of pain, along with three reports of harassment and Damour’s death, Smith said. …

    http://www.newsday.com/news/lo.....3434.story

    Yes, it wouldn’t be the shoppers, it’s Wal-Mart.

    The fact that shoppers entered every other Wal-Mart in the country without killing anyone notwithstanding.

  50. BannedbytheTaliban
    December 5, 2008 at 7:14 am

    The Justice Department is continuing its struggle to bring down America from the inside:

    U.S. mulls using 1988 drug law on Blackwater

    By Matt Apuzzo and Lara Jakes Jordan – The Associated Press
    Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 20:45:29 EST

    WASHINGTON — Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said.

    Charges could be announced as early as Monday for the shooting, which left 17 civilians dead and strained U.S. relations with the fledgling Iraqi government. Prosecutors have been reviewing a draft indictment and considering manslaughter and assault charges for weeks. A team of prosecutors returned to the grand jury room Thursday and called no witnesses.

    Though drugs were not involved in the Blackwater shooting, the Justice Department is pondering the use of a law, passed at the height of the nation’s crack epidemic, to prosecute the guards. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 law calls for 30-year prison terms for using machine guns to commit violent crimes of any kind, whether drug-related or not.

    http://www.marinecorpstimes.co.....on_120408/

    Given the new administration, expect more of the same. And don’t even think about defending yourself. Either way, if someone wants to attack you, you’re dead. But the Justice department and Obama understand that the perp is just a victim of society, which will make your actions even more heinous.

  51. sheehanjihad
    December 5, 2008 at 8:28 am

    For all of the lurkers who think that condemnation of Islamic Fundamentalism is getting old:

    http://www.americanthinker.com.....after.html

    This is happening now. Our new “government” is silent on it’s approval and ratification. Somebody better pay attention, or posting anything negative about Islam could land you in jail. Legally.

    The “camel” is almost completely in the tent…..

  52. sheehanjihad
    December 5, 2008 at 8:53 am

    Just another nail in the UK’s coffin…..
    http://www.americanthinker.com....._lego.html

  53. BannedbytheTaliban
    December 5, 2008 at 9:57 am

    Tis the season to target Christmas:

    UNC-Chapel Hill library drops Christmas trees

    CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — There will be no Christmas trees this year at the two main libraries at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

    The News & Observer of Raleigh reports trees have been in the lobby of the Wilson and Davis libraries for years.

    Associate provost Sarah Michalak decided against them this year.

    Michalak said she eliminated the displays after getting questions and complaints from employees and library users about the Christian display.

    Michalak says she acted after finding there are no Christmas trees in the libraries at Duke and North Carolina State University.

    She says it doesn’t seem right to celebrate one particular set of customs. She says libraries contain information from around the world about all belief systems and offer it without judgment.

    Student Derek Belcher complained the decision is just political correctness

    http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/4082345/

    This from the same “university’ (we State alumni use that term loosely when talking about UNC) that had soom doofus try to run down the ‘white devils’ in the name of Islam.

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