Archive for April, 2006

« Previous Entries
 

Beady–I’m mean–Mama!

Sunday, April 30th, 2006

*

Bush challenges hundreds of laws
President cites powers of his office
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006
WASHINGTON — President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it […]

Posted in Congress, Bush |

The buffet must be impressive.

Saturday, April 29th, 2006

World’s largest cruise ship docks

By Luke MacGregor Sat Apr 29, 8:42 AM ET
SOUTHAMPTON (Reuters) - The world’s largest cruise ship docked in England on Saturday ahead of its inaugural trip — a floating behemoth four times the size of the Titanic, with facilities never imagined at the dawn of the liner age.
Please find […]

Posted in Great Britain, Transportation, Travel |

QUESTION: Why do movie stars have publicists speak for them?

Saturday, April 29th, 2006

ANSWER…
04/29/06 10:30:00
Jake Gyllenhaal Offends Gulf War Veterans
Movie star Jake Gyllenhaal has shocked American Gulf War veterans by joking they did nothing but masturbate during their time in the desert in 1991. The cheeky 25-year-old starred in Jarhead, a movie exposing the U.S. soldiers’ lack of combat in the Middle Eastern conflict.
He said, “The U.S. […]

Posted in Movies |

The ‘Decider’ knows what’s best. He seems to make these ridiculous moves because he believes he is the Alpha-Male. Sadly, the reality is far different.

Friday, April 28th, 2006

April 28, 2006
Bush Set to Approve Takeover of 9 Military Plants by Dubai
By JIM RUTENBERG and DAVID E. SANGER
WASHINGTON, April 27 — President Bush is expected on Friday to announce his approval of a deal under which a Dubai-owned company would take control of nine plants in the United States that manufacture parts for […]

Posted in Business, Military, Bush, Dubai |

…as should be his statements. Not everyone speaks DrIrwinCoreyPrime.

Friday, April 28th, 2006

Bush Says Anthem Should Be in English

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Friday, April 28, 2006 41 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The national anthem should be sung in English — not Spanish —President Bush declared Friday, amid growing restlessness over the millions of immigrants here illegally.
Please find the riveting story here.
*

Posted in Bush, Immigration |

Are they trying to tell us that elected officials are liars and hypocrites?

Friday, April 28th, 2006

*

As On Deadline mentioned earlier today, a photo of House Speaker Dennis Hastert switching cars leads Yahoo’s most-sent photo list this morning. The Republican lawmaker had attended an event to promote hydrogen-powered vehicles, appeared to head back to the Capitol in one, and then switched to a regular SUV, the Associated Press caption reported.
Please find […]

Posted in Congress, Energy, Automobiles |

Wait a cotton-pickin’ second!! I am happy Abraham Lincoln had decided not to hang the leadership of the Confederacy, but I don’t think he wanted citizens to wax their cars. The U.S. placed a military cemetery on Robert E. Lee’s family property. That was gesture worthy of 14th century Florence and reverberates today. Let a private group rebuild Davis’ home. Would taxpayers be expected to place vinyl siding on Timothy McVeigh’s house? Just because one wore levis and a windbreaker and the other dressed as a Kentucky colonel doesn’t mean the country is responsible for the latter’s Home Depot bills. There must be plenty of rich, crypto-confederates willing to restore old Jeff’s crib. While I fully support the preservation of history in thought and material, I would think African-Americans have a real beef on this one.

Thursday, April 27th, 2006

April 25, 2006

Jefferson Davis home rebuild draws criticism
*

Rick Guy/The Clarion-Ledger
Jefferson Davis’ home, Beauvoir, on Beach Boulevard in Biloxi,
sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29.
Civil rights groups, budget hawk decry congressional plans to appropriate money for restoration
By Ana Radelat
Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, heavily damaged by Hurricane […]

Posted in Congress, Katrina, Mississippi |

While working outside this week-end, I listened to a bird’s monotonously repetitive song and growled toward the tree branch, “Buy a @#%^*! fake book!” Then I wondered why birds could not learn new songs. I wasn’t joking. Now I read this!

Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 · Last updated 10:02 a.m. PT
Songbirds may be able to learn grammar
By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP SCIENCE WRITER
WASHINGTON — The simplest grammar, long thought to be one of the skills that separate man from beast, can be taught to a common songbird, new research suggests.
Starlings learned to differentiate between a regular birdsong “sentence” […]

Posted in Nature, Entertainment |

Years ago, when American air travel was not inconvenienced by D.B. Cooper, side trips to Havana, and Middle East terrorists; when airline passengers dressed well; when the government’s oversight kept the industry relatively stable and when airlines pampered their customers with meals, drinks, pillows, blankets, cigarettes and kindness; traveling was comfortable to the point of boredom. It was in the late 1960s that I had proposed something called PORTHOLE HORROR. Each window seat passenger had the option of pressing a button to begin a steady stream of air combat action which would fill the inside of the plane’s window. Obviously, those days are past and Airbus floated an idea for which the only other standee passengers kept parachutes on their backs and carbines in their hands. I had assumed that the thousands of lives and millions of frightened passengers would have kept the airline industry from attempting to squeeze more money from its flying public. Not so. Good taste and business? The bus left the station.

Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

—
–
*
–
*
—— ——-
April 25, 2006

One Day, That Economy Ticket May Buy You a Place to Stand

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class?
A lot more, it turns out, especially if an idea still in the early stage should catch on: […]

Posted in Business, Travel |

Hey, Bill. You were about 17 when we left, but we’ve already outsourced more than 50,000 young men and women in Vietnam and they never came back. That’s overtime pay even you could not afford.

Monday, April 24th, 2006

Microsoft’s Gates Sees Vietnam Outsourcing Potential (Update2)
April 22 (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Vietnam has the potential to develop as an outsourcing center similar to India, during the first visit by the world’s richest person to the Southeast Asian nation.
Gates, 50, met Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van […]

Posted in Business |

The church continues its retreat into an orthodoxy shared by some strange bed partners.

Monday, April 24th, 2006

Jesus loves me.
This I know
For the Bible
Tells me so.
-

Beware always
Of His gaze
Same sex marriage
Leads to Hades.
-

All world’s problems,
Have been solved
We’ve got reason
To be involved.
-

Not our bus’ness
They may say
They know nothin’
They are gay.
-

We are righteous
And will win.
We can smell out
Mortal sin.
-

What does Christ know
Anyway
Long hair, caftan
He looked gay.
-

DBp

April 24, 2006
A Religious Push Against Gay Unions
By […]

Posted in Congress, Bill of Rights, Religion, Gay Issues |

It doesn’t end here. Next week: Eagle Scouts.

Monday, April 24th, 2006

Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at the 2004 graduation ceremony of the United States Military Academy.(Mr. Rumsfeld has just informed the graduate that he will make him a major if he can guess what he is holding in his hand.)*

April 23, 2006
Young Officers Join the Debate Over Rumsfeld
By THOM SHANKER […]

Posted in Military, Rumsfeld |

What!? Oil company executives say the fault lies with poor families which would rather eat than drive.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2006

Business Week Online
The Associated Press/
By BRAD FOSS
AP Business Writer

Rising gas prices hurt poor Americans most
You may read the entire article here. 
Dick ‘n W want to ease the poor’s new burden by seeking legislation which will confiscate all internal combustion vehicles from families living under the poverty line.  This will force them to buy hydrogen-powered […]

Posted in Energy, The Poor |

Frankly, I think Osama is losing his edge. His handlers should have told him the U.S. is probably sick of hearing about Tom Cruise’s child and ther alleged persecution of Barry Bonds whose reality show is Osama’s favorite.

Sunday, April 23rd, 2006

TEXT-Audio statement from bin Laden aired on Al Jazeera
23 Apr 2006 15:58:27 GMT
Source: Reuters
April 23 - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged his followers to prepare for a long war against Western would-be occupiers in Sudan’s Darfur region, according to an audiotape attributed to him and aired on Sunday.
The speaker, who sounded like bin […]

Posted in Osama bin Laden |

Hopefully this will stick to the hypocrite W leakers like white on rice.

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

Lawyer: Rice Allegedly Leaked Defense Info
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 22, 2006; 12:59 AM

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaked national defense information to a pro-Israel lobbyist in the same manner that landed a lower-level Pentagon official a 12-year prison sentence, the lobbyist’s lawyer said Friday.
Prosecutors disputed the claim.
The allegations against […]

Posted in administration, Bush |

Give him a fez and we have a post-modern Sydney Greenstreet–which is fine by me. This guy obviously is courageous.

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

A Spy Speaks Out

April 21, 2006

(CBS) A CIA official who had a top role during the run-up to the Iraqi war charges the White House with ignoring intelligence that said there were no weapons of mass destruction or an active nuclear program in Iraq.

Tyler Drumheller (CBS)

Quote

“The policy was set. The war in Iraq was […]

Posted in administration, Iraq, CIA, Cheney |

Rove’s idea of political debate reminds me of the man who went on early 1960s late-night programs to push for the clothing of farm animals for the sake of modesty. That funny man wanted to see how gullible Americans could be and gave back the money after having proved his point. Rove is serious–which in itself is hilarious, but he won’t give back the country without a fight.

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

WINNING AT ANY COST
Karl Rove’s ‘demotion’ simply means he’ll have more time to focus on keeping the Congress in GOP hands. Will the win-at-any-cost tactics backfire?
By Eleanor Clift
NEWSWEEK
Updated: 3:46 p.m. ET April 21, 2006
April 21, 2006 - The White House makeover team got the headline they wanted: that Karl Rove was demoted and taken out […]

Posted in Republicans, Rove, Elections |

Hold on there, Ted! Coverage of Paris Hilton counts as foreign, no? What about Kate Moss in London re-hab? Golden Globe Awards certainly should count for something.

Saturday, April 22nd, 2006

Editor & Publisher

Ted Koppel, Receiving Award, Says News Outlets Avoiding ‘Civic Responsibility’
By Joe Strupp
Published: April 21, 2006 10:30 AM ET

New York-Ted Koppel, honored with the President’s Award from the Overseas Press Club Thursday night, used his time as keynote speaker to urge that foreign reporting […]

Posted in News Media |

John Dean is a reason why I believe that capital punishment is wrong. While he certainly never committed a capital crime, he does stand as a testament for striving toward the perfectability of man. His rehabilitation from the Nixon White House years has shown him to be one of the more astute political and legal thinkers of the period. ‘Where there’s life, there’s hope’ is more than an empty concept.

Friday, April 21st, 2006

If Past Is Prologue, George Bush Is Becoming An Increasingly Dangerous President
By John W. Dean

Friday, Apr. 21, 2006
President George W. Bush’s presidency is a disaster - one that’s still unfolding. In a mid-2004 column, I argued that, at that point, Bush had already demonstrated that he possessed the least attractive and most troubling traits among […]

Posted in Bush |

I only worry that W is picking up pointers to deal with questions.

Friday, April 21st, 2006

Friday, April 21, 2006; Posted: 2:25 p.m. EDT (18:25 GMT)
Hu caps U.S. tour with Yale visit
Protesters greet Chinese president with grievances
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) — Chinese President Hu Jintao ended his four-day U.S. tour Friday with a visit to Yale University, where he sought to quell fears about the international effects of his country’s booming […]

Posted in News Media, administration, Bush, Religion, China |

Sorry, folks. The happiness that one respected Cardinal is loosening the grip means almost nothing. How many were to die before the church said something about the salutary effect of protection? Maybe the Church can begin selling its own brand of prophylactics. How about Cardinal MintSensis or Bishop Queen 4-X?

Friday, April 21st, 2006

BBC News
Friday, 21 April 2006, 11:15 GMT 12:15 UK
Cardinal backs limited condom use
One of the Roman Catholic Church’s most distinguished cardinals has publicly backed the use of condoms among married couples to prevent Aids transmission. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini said that in couples where one had HIV/Aids, which could pass to the partner, the […]

Posted in Religion, Health |

“You and Hu’s army!”

Friday, April 21st, 2006

*

It’s amazing that The Post didn’t drop in a picture a Chinese man
wearing braids and pajamas from heyday of Yellow Journalism.
*

‘RESPECTFUL’ W. HEARS A HU

By DEBORAH ORIN and IAN BISHOP Post Correspondents

April 21, 2006 — WASHINGTON - President Bush said yesterday that he and Chinese President Hu Jintao are now able to openly discuss […]

Posted in administration, China |

It’s time to lay off the caffeine in that light air environment.

Friday, April 21st, 2006

*

Photo credits: AFP, The Jerk, ytmnd.com, truthout.com

A Nepalese policeman fires into a Coca Cola vending machine
out the K-Mart in Gongabu on Monday. The action causes gas
station attendant Navin Johnson to question the safety of
remaining in the riot zone during the demonstrations against the
king and his ’shoot to spill’ curfew order.
The king’s family owns […]

Posted in Nepal |

Thanks to Forbes Magazine, I can present this public service for those basebll fans who tire of listening to their local owner crying about having no money.

Friday, April 21st, 2006

April 21, 2006, 10:44 AM ET
Forbes.com: The Business Of Baseball

By Michael K. Ozanian
Forbes.com

Baseball owners continue to slam the ball out of the park. Team values increased an average of 15 percent for the second consecutive year, to $376 […]

Posted in Business, Baseball |

W was in the bottom tier when he took office. Despite his megaphone moment which–like everything else–turned out to be a sham, he has basically done nothing right.

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

*

The Worst President in History?
Rolling Stone
Friday 21 April 2006
One of America’s leading historians assesses George W. Bush.
George W. Bush’s presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace. Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around the White House once again, there seems to […]

Posted in administration, Bush |

The infamous rainy New York line, “Who do you have to ____ to get a cab around here?” won’t travel well.

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

Police in Tehran ordered to arrest women in ‘un-Islamic’ dress
· Taxi drivers responsible for clothes of passengers
· Purge allied with effort to cut viewing of western TV
Robert Tait in Tehran
Thursday April 20, 2006
The Guardian
Iran’s Islamic authorities are preparing a crackdown on women flouting the stringent dress code in the clearest sign yet of social and […]

Posted in Religion, Transportation, Iran |

Who could this be?

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

*

Posted in Fashion, Middle East, Music, Entertainment |

As a child who attended grammar school during the period when sonic booms were hailed as progress, Scott Crossfield was my champion.

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Famed aviator Scott Crossfield dies in plane crash
Thursday, April 20, 2006
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
Scott Crossfield, the University of Washington graduate who was the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound, was found dead Thursday in the wreckage of his single-engine plane in Georgia.
Crossfield, 84, dueled with Chuck Yeager a half […]

Posted in Transportation, Science |

Some reader responses to this article called for more orthodoxy to save the archdiocese. No one listened to my suggestion when the financial ramifications reared up four years ago. The Church has to re-ignite its indulgence marketing boiler. It worked before and it will work again. The Vatican didn’t acquire those treasures by only raffling off Buicks. Turn on the television at any hour and some non-Catholic evangelist is hustling sacred water, holy pebbles and the like. The beauty of indulgences is the profit margin. Except for minimal marketing expense, there are no manufacturing costs. Its better than Arm & Hammer telling consumers to buy their product, open the box and toss the contents down the drain. Indulgence sales are a guaranteed method of erasing the $46 million defcit and insuring an eternally positive cash-flow. If sales flag, just increase the stakes of not buying into the program. All of us sin and no one wants to hear about spending the next zillion years having their ulna bone gnawed by L’il Demons with insatiable appetites. Soon, instead of selling parishes, the Church will be a player in New York real estate and even lowly monsignors will be luxury box guests of corporate CEOs and other gangsters. The classic “…make chicken salad” aphorism works here, and for the Church hierarchy; it’ll be ‘Surf ‘n Turf’ all the way.

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

Catholic World NewsBoston archdiocese opens books, showing $46 million deficitBoston, Apr. 19 (CWNews.com) - The Archdiocese of Boston has released a full audit of its financial accounts, showing a $46.3 million deficit for the fiscal years 2005-2005.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley had promised a full public accounting of archdiocesan financial affairs, as he argued against a proposed […]

Posted in Business, Religion, Massachusetts |

Who can we blame for this? Mexicans? Let’s get serious; it’s Bill Clinton.

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

Mumps Hits Midwest, More Vaccine Promised
By MIKE WILSON and MIKE STOBBE
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; 9:17 PM
*

This 1957 photpgraph has a surrealistic quality about it. The actual circumstances and caption are found below. At first sight I thought it represented the humiliating placards which accompanied the Chinese Cultural Revolution a decade later. […]

Posted in Health, Iowa, Illinois |

« Previous Entries