All Posts Tagged With: "news"

Well, we finally found a story that the mainstream media can sink it’s teeth into: John Edwards’ infidelity. Honestly, if some of the real issues facing this nation received this kind of scrutiny, we might inspire the American people to help solve them. Instead, the mainstream media is indulging the public in the most unbelievable case of voyeurism I’ve seen in a long while. And, really, let’s get off the soapbox: This isn’t about John Edwards’ character or how he would serve as president. It isn’t even about the election, except in the minds of the Clinton supporters, who are now making the absurd claim that it cost her the primary. How you ask? Well, if Edwards had confessed sooner, Hillary would have gotten his supporters. The fact is that Edwards is a private citizen. He isn’t serving in Congress and he isn’t a candidate for president.

This is about someone with name recognition cheating on his spouse and lying about it. I dare say that is something we’d probably all do should we be caught in the same situation. And, lest I be accused of being a feminist pig, I’m talking about cheating women as well as men. I was struck by the absurdity of all of this as I sat in a hospital waiting room the other day watching CNN. I needed comic relief and I got it. The Larry King Live show was featuring that cute little waif, Nancy Pelosi, fresh off her book tour. I think the name of the book is Know Your Power : A Message to America’s Daughters. I’d have to say that she’s not the shining beacon on that front. She, however, is a different post for a different day. Anyway, back to the issue at hand. If Pelosi wasn’t enough to entice you, there was going to be a follow up on the John Edwards affair! Riveting, critical news. Critical in what context?

The mainstream media is now declaring Edwards’ political career over. Done. Finished. Kaput. That’s absurd also. There are other folks in office right now whose transgressions are literally heinous. They are still running the country. The mainstream media is barely exposing these issues, however. The corporate media machine simply receives the news from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and parrots it to an unsuspecting public. We’re all too busy getting the lowdown on the Edwards affair anyway. We don’t have time for the real issues. I have groundbreaking news as well: The American public has a very short memory. By the time they buried Richard Nixon, he was being hailed as a great American. This too shall pass. Just ask John McCain how that works.

John McCain, a current Senator and a presidential contender, is a known cheater and has even confessed to multiple infidelities in his books. It’s a fact that he was still married and living with wife number one when he started courting 25-year-old beautiful and rich Cindy, his present wife. He basically divorced his first wife and then launched his political career using Cindy’s money. He’s front and center in this race and the media hasn’t touched it. Nobody talks about that anymore because that was 1979. If the media wanted fresh blood, they had it earlier this year when an alleged tryst was uncovered between McCain and lobbyist Vicki Iseman, but the maverick told the media it’s “not true” and they took him at his word and let it pass.

Of course, nobody talks about serial cheater Newt Gingrich either. Newt had an affair and divorced his first wife while she was recovering from uterine cancer. Then in 1999, he was caught in yet another affair with a 33-year-old congressional aide. And here’s the kicker on that one: He was caught in this scandal as he was spearheading the impeachment of Bill Clinton for a consensual extra-marital liaison. So, I find it hard to understand why Edwards’ career should be over. All things being equal, by the time Edwards chooses to run again (if he ever does), this will be mere beauty salon chat.

Newspapers across the nation are cutting back on staff, including reporters and editors. Covering these stories is giving these folks some practice in case they ever get laid off. They’ll need portfolio tear sheets anyway for their interviews with People and Us magazines.

These days it seems as if it’s a good time to invest in bicycles (to save gas money) and mattresses (to store your savings). At least, we can drown our sorrows in “hopsicles” and if we forget where we hid our money we can rely on our daily cuppa to refresh our memory. We may be a nation of whiners, but wouldn’t life be a lot simpler if the economy (and certain world leaders and/or those seeking the position) didn’t give us anything to whine about?

1. It’s true, you can’t please all the people all of the time. But, is it possible to abuse the privilege?

23/6 - News: Poll: Who’s Obama gonna piss off next?
With polls showing Obama losing his “glow,” every couple of days we’re finding out about another group who is getting a little pissed off at Barack.

2. Let it never be said that GWB didn’t leave behind a well-remembered presidency (not well-thought of but, definitely well-remembered).

Alternate Brain: Legacy of a Lunatic
From the beginning, Bush surrounded himself with incompetent cronies, yes-men, and sycophants with a lust for influence, and handed out positions of power to people whose blind loyalty was the only measure of their suitability. Qualities like honesty and strength of character were never assessed, and were in fact an obvious hindrance for those who aspired to the inner circle.

3. In other words, there is no end in sight for our already overburdened troops, regardless of who’s elected.

CommonDreams.org: Obama Promises 10,000 More Troops for Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama yesterday pledged to increase US troops in Afghanistan by a third if he becomes president, sending 10,000 more to reinforce the 33,000 already there.

Thanks to Phil Gramm for reminding me of something I forgot, being a member of a “nation of whiners”, I took some time to do just that (thanks to those wonderful people who took the time to listen). Truthfully, though, I prefer to do my whining via blogging, so what better place to do that than through today’s Ten Post Round-Up (cue the “wah-mbulance”).

1. “The answer to speech you don’t like is always more speech.”

AlterNet: Why Obscenity Laws Must Be Fought
What’s defined as healthy sexuality in this country is narrowly defined and schizophrenic — and the government should not have final say.

2. Just imagine the sales in munchies, alone!

duckplops - Bottles ‘N Boo

“Relax It And Tax It

That’s the motto behind a new cannabis initiative that would allow Oregon’s state-controlled liquor stores to legally sell marijuana to adults.Initiative backers said their plan would send 90 percent of the proceeds from the state’s sale of marijuana to Oregon’s General Fund, which could lower Oregonians’ state tax burden.

3. Not. Holding. My. Breath.

The Huffington Post: Pelosi: House Judiciary Committee May Hold Impeachment Hearings
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this morning that the House Judiciary Committee may hold hearings on an impeachment resolution offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).

Since 1977 Voyager 1 and 1980 Voyager 2 the two U. S. spacecrafts have been rushing away from the sun at 35,000 and 39,000 MPH respectively and are about 8,000,000,000 miles distant approaching the heliosheath where the solar winds abruptly slow - it is the edge of our solar system. Voyager 1 and 2 on divergent courses seems to have found the solar system isn’t symetrically round but dented.

Leonard Burlaga, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “It’s literally like a hand pushing.” That push is from the magnetic field that lies between star systems in the Milky Way. The magnetic field hits the solar system at a different angle on the south than on the north, probably because of interstellar turbulence from star explosions, said Voyager project scientist Ed Stone. Both spacecraft still have several more years before they completely exit the solar system and continue deeper into the vast space between our Sun and the nearest stars, said Stone, former director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.

Voyager 1, in 40,000 years, will float by within 1.6 light years (9.3 trillion miles) of a star known as AC+79 3888 in the constellation Camelopardalis. Voyager 2, in 296,000 years, will sail within 4.3 light years (25 trillion miles) of Sirius, which today is the brightest star in Earth’s sky.

Both are destined to wander the universe for eternity or until they crash into something. Should they be discovered each carries a gold plated disk described where they came from and the sort of beings who sent them. They are already the most distant manmade objects ever to leave the Earth. Both have radioisotope electric generators making it possible for them to continue sending radio signals back to us. They are so far away it takes radio wave traveling at 186,000 MPH (the speed of light) almost half a day to arrive.

NASA has 10 missions remaining for the shuttle fleet, and has announced the final flight will be May 31, 2010. Once the shuttles retire, work will focus on the Ares rocket and Orion capsule that will be used to return astronauts to the moon. Enterprise, the first space shuttle, rolled out of Rockwell’s facility in the Mohave desert on Sept. 17, 1976 but was not space capable but only for research. Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour have been built for space flights. Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch in 1986, and Endeavour was built as a replacement. Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003.

China is planning a manned Moon landing in 2020, and NASA is planning its next visit in 2018. The INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION will be complete and interest will turn to a permanent international base on the moon.

Hey, hey, it’s Independence Day and I just happen to be feeling a bit of that independence since this is actually the second regular work day that I have off from work. This is abnormal as I work weekends. I am at a loss for what to do with myself, so I decided to blog. It’s not fireworks, but it will have to do, folks!

Without further ado, here is today’s Ten Post Round-Up !

1. The Carpetbagger Report: Bush vows more troops for Afghanistan, but Mullen doesn’t have them

For the second consecutive month, more U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq. Nearly seven years after the war in Afghanistan began, June was the deadliest month for U.S. troops, and our force levels in the country are now at their highest since the war began. All of this, tragically, comes a few years after the president assured Americans that the Taliban “no longer is in existence.”

**No end in sight in Iraq, more troops desperately needed in Afghanistan, and the administration eye-ballin’ Iran. Somebody get my jacket, it’s feeling a might drafty in here…

2. Electronic Frontier Foundation: Court Ruling Will Expose Viewing Habits of YouTube Users

The court’s order grants Viacom’s request and erroneously ignores the protections of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), and threatens to expose deeply private information about what videos are watched by YouTube users. The VPPA passed after a newspaper disclosed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental records. As Congress recognized, your selection of videos to watch is deeply personal and deserves the strongest protection.

**Hey, the government’s been invading your privacy since 9/11/2001, what’s one more?

3. Friendly Atheist: I Used to be Christian Before I Kissed a Girl

Here’s the fun twist: Katy Perry used to be Katy Hudson — a Christian singer and daughter of two preachers.

And Christians aren’t too pleased with her recent transition:

**(evil grin) Now I like the song even more now…Sassy!

4. Joanne Jacobs: Rich and rejected in Manhattan

Not a single student at Dalton, an elite Manhattan private school, was accepted at Harvard this year. For $31,200 in tuition a year, parents are peeved, reports the New York Post. Marymount, a private girls school also struck out on Harvard admissions.

**What’s that sound? Oh, excuse me. It’s me playing cry me a &%$@ river on the world’s smallest violin…

5. Just a Girl in short shorts talking about whatever: Shame of the Shrinking Dollar

I don’t mean to be professorial, but for those who do not know how this works, I will give a real oversimplified explanation. When you go to a bank to buy a house, they do not actually have that $200,000 in their vault. By regulation they have to have a small percentage of it, but not the whole thing. So when they cut the borrower a check, they have effectively created or printed money. And that is the way that most money is “printed.”

**It’s about to get ugly up in here…

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, so long as you got your sunblock, along comes bad news about sunscreen. On the upside, apparently, one of summer’s favorite, fruity, treats; the watermelon, turns out it’s got some very positive qualities most people never think about. Oh, yeah…there’s some other stuff in today’s Ten Post Round-Up , but it’s not nearly as interesting…

1. Clusterf**k Nation: Not Your Grandma’s Depression

The banks have been doing their death dance for an entire year now, pretending that their problems are those of mere “liquidity” (i.e. cash-on-hand) rather than insolvency (no cash either on hand or in the vault and nothing else to sell to raise cash except worthless “creative” securities that nobody would ever buy). But the destruction of money (resulting from loans not paid back) is now so intense that the game of pretend has reached its terminal point. The question for the moment is exactly who and what will be crushed as these institutions roll over and die.

In other words, it’s just about coming on time for the rest of us to bend over and kiss our…umm…assets, good-bye.

2. Free Market News Network: Iran War Resolution May Be Passed

Introduced less than a month ago, Resolution 362, also known as the Iran War Resolution, could be passed by the House as early as next week.

Umm…haven’t we seen this movie already?

3. Friendly Atheist: Barack Obama on Faith Based Initiatives

There are stories making the rounds about how Barack Obama is set to expand George W. Bush’s faith-based programs — and allow groups to hire/fire based on religion:

Personally, I think the program needs to go the way of the dinosaur…

4. The Huffington Post: Is Your Sunscreen Really Working?

ABC News is reporting a new study suggesting that many sunscreens are not actually doing that much screening of the sun.

Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise…

It’s going to be a wild partying week, with Independence Day coming up on Friday. That means it’s going to be a slow news week. Unfortunately, that does NOT mean that the world will forgo having it’s usual daily nervous breakdown. So, pull up your morning cuppa. It’s time for your Ten Post Round-Up !

1. AMERICAblog: OPEC President–Oil at $150-$170 in near term
The good news is that he doesn’t think $200 oil is coming soon. The cheap dollar position by Bush is coming home to roost.

Well, that’s a relief!

2. BlackListed News: As Bill Evolves, Mortgage Debt Is Snowballing
When Congress started fashioning a sweeping rescue package for struggling homeowners earlier this year, 2.6 million loans were in trouble. But the problem has grown considerably in just six months and is continuing to worsen.

If only they had been on the ball before loan “sharks” had taken advantage of potential homebuyers, in the first place.

3. The Democratic Daily: Increased Covert Regime Change OP’s Approved In Iran
While none of us know the details, there has been a significant approval of funding for increased covert ops in Iran, according to Seymour Hersh in a story published online last Sundy at the The New Yorker Magazine. The news of the article was reported by MSNBC , outlines Hersh’s article and gets reactions from insiders.

The more things change…

4. The Huffington Post: Bush the Pot calls Mugabe the Kettle, “Undemocratic”
As a former advisor to Morgan Tsvangirai, I am compelled to offer the following observations on the recent attempt by President George W. Bush to appear less despotic than the reviled president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe.

Hypocrisy, thy initials are GWB…

5. Hypocrisy: California Split on Homosexual Marriage
San Francisco’s gay pride paraders celebrated their newfound freedom to marry as the city’s 38th annual march got under way with a matrimonial touch.

Not everyone believes that homosexuals should have equal rights.

You might want to make sure you have the aloe gel handy because in today’s Ten Post Round-Up there is far too much of the stupid (and you know what they say about the stupid? It burns!)…

1: Jus’ sayin’: If Israel is so anxious to go to war with Iran, they should go for it and leave the US out of it…

Israel Prodding U.S. To Attack Iran–CBS News

2: Unfriggin’ believable: Keeping the grocery tab secret until you get to the check-out line?…

Consumer groups worry that item pricing could go away at supermarkets–The Enterprise

3: GWB actually “winning” at game of Limbo…

Bush’s Approval Rate Reaches 23%–Free Market News Network

4: Hey, I’m all for grounding Congress, with no lobbyists’ goodies, and no trips out of town until they clean up the mess they helped make of this country…

Why Congress Treats The Constitution Like A Toy–The Huffington Post

5: Well, when people say that the GWB is full of ^%$#, it wouldn’t be any further from the truth than it is right now…

A Sewage Treatment Plant Possibly to be Named After Dubya: The Ultimate Redundancy?–Pam’s House Blend

I realize that this may come as a surprise, but today’s Ten Post Round-Up has very few of them…

1: Frozen dinners gone wild?…

$30 TV Dinner–BuzzFeed

2: Most Americans are religious. They just don’t think their religion is the only way to God…

U.S. Religious Landscape Survey–Friendly Atheist

3: It’s all the rage this summer: Flip-flops!…

Master List of McCain Flip-Flop and Gaffes–Mugsy’s Rap Sheet

4: That’s like working at McDonald’s and refusing to wear your tricked out name-tag!…

Republican Candidates Avoiding Party Brand–News Hounds

5: And, then some people wonder why other people aren’t so keen on helping their cause…

‘Lost’ Amazon tribe a hoax to raise awareness on logging–PerthNow

My apologies that today’s Ten Post Round-Up is not as hot as the weather, these days. But, I can almost guarantee that some of today’s links will burn you up!

1: Government working to make things easier on itself…

Cashless Society: Social Security debit cards debut–BlackListedNews.com

2: Wouldn’t impeachment hearings be a great dessert to go with a generous serving of Scotty McC?…

McClellan To Testify About CIA Leak–CommonDreams.org

3: To protect speech or protect children…

Right To Free Speech Does Not Make The Speech Right.–Hypocrisy

4: Proving that you can’t win ‘em all…

Taser International loses first liability lawsuit–Pam’s House Blend

5: Apparently, McCain sucks at being clever…

He’s History’s Greatest Monster!–Reason Magazine