The Republican National Committee will report Thursday that it spent about another $30,000 on clothes and accessories for Sarah Palin during her vice presidential bid, a GOP source tells Politico.It must be great to be a liberal. You can spout off about women's rights and when a capable woman comes along who threatens your perceived position you can demean her in the most ridiculous terms possible to the applause of "women's rights groups". You can spend your entire career debasing women, motherhood and the rights of the unborn under the guise of "choice" while really what you are doing is ensuring that men can be as irresponsible as they want to be at the expense of women also to the applause of "women's rights groups". Nice work that.
“I’ve been old-school. There’s been an understanding for years that the amateur market in Japan has really been off limits. We’ve not scouted Tazawa because we haven’t scouted the amateur market. I couldn’t tell you how good he is.”—Yankees GM Brian Cashman, discussing why his team didn’t scout or pursue RHP Junichi Tazawa, who is reportedly headed to the Red Sox.
The North Sea, off the coast of Norway, was angry that day, my friends. Hurricane-strong winds were blowing and twelve meter waves crashed on the Draupner oil rig. The rig’s workers were not worried, because the rig was designed to withstand hurricanes. At roughly 3 p.m. that afternoon, the order was given that all personnel must enter the rig’s structure- no one volunteered to stay outside and watch the ocean.
For this reason, no one saw the monstrous wave that hit the Draupner oil rig at 3:20 pm. The wave did not harm the rig itself (the platform was high above the water), but was recorded by a special laser-based wave-height detector. The rig’s engineers were shocked when they went over the detector's logs. The wave was almost 20 meters high. It was practically impossible- this kind of wave should only occur once every ten thousand years. Yet the laser detector was accurate to within an inch and worked
flawlessly. The wave’s existence was undeniable.
In 1899, a new lighthouse was built on a remote group of islands off the coast of Scotland, some 20 miles from the mainland. Three light house keepers were stationed at the lighthouse, and cared for the structure.
A year after the light house was erected, a supply ship came to the islands- as it did every week- to replenish the keepers' food supply. The ship's crew found the light house was empty. Its three keepers had vanished almost without a trace. Upon examining the scene, the ship's crew found that coats had been left behind, and a chair had fallen in the kitchen. These were considered as clues that hinted to a sudden catastrophe.
An examination of the lighthouse itself revealed damage to a metal box some thirty meters above the water's surface, a railing that was bent beyond repair, and a huge rock that was somehow moved from its place.
The official examiner speculated that a giant wave had hit the lighthouse- but since it was considered impossible that a wave this size might exist, alternative theories were invented to explain the men's sudden disappearance. Some speculated a fight had broken out between the keepers, others suggested murder, suicide, abduction by foreign agents, and even abduction by aliens- everything was possible.
Tina Fey’s husband Jeff Richmond talks about Fey’s scar in the new Vanity Fair. Tina Fey’s scar has never been explained until now.Richmond tells the
publication of the event at age 5 that resulted in Fey’s facial scar: “It was
in, like, the front yard of her house, and some body just came up, and she just thought somebody marked her with a pen”
and thisRoger England of Health Systems Workshop, a think tank based in the Caribbean island of Grenada, goes further. He argues that UNAIDS, the U.N. agency leading the fight against the disease, has outlived its purpose and should be disbanded.
"The global HIV industry is too big and out of control. We have created a monster with too many vested interests and reputations at stake, ... too many relatively well paid HIV staff in affected countries, and too many rock stars with AIDS support as a fashion accessory," he wrote in the British Medical Journal in May.
England argues that closing UNAIDS would free up its $200 million annual budget for other health problems such as pneumonia, which kills more children every year than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.Time to short red ribbon and go long on some other colors for a change.
Meet Peter Orszag President Elect Obama's new Director of Office of Management and Budget, I'm not sure what he calls his fuzzy little friend. He's not a bad looking man, it's a shame he opened himself to childish ridicule with such a poor rug. To Whit:In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away." To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."Read the whole thing, it's well worth your time.
This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense. The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep. It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street. Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody. And until we know what the reason was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable. It is extremely probable that we have overlooked some whole aspect of the question, if something set up by human beings like ourselves seems to be entirely meaningless and mysterious. There are reformers who get over this difficulty by assuming that all their fathers were fools; but if that be so, we can only say that folly appears to be a hereditary disease. But the truth is that nobody has any business to destroy a social institution until he has really seen it as an historical institution. If he knows how it arose, and what purposes it was supposed to serve, he may really be able to say that they were bad purposes, that they have since become bad purposes, or that they are purposes which are no longer served. But if he simply stares at the thing as a senseless monstrosity that has somehow sprung up in his path, it is he and not the traditionalist who is suffering from an illusion.
excerpt 2, excerpt 3, excerpt 4
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Connecticut's regulations, which took effect Nov. 5, adopt a "standard of identity" for olive oil sold in the state that mirrors the standards developed by International Olive Oil Council. The regulations define virgin olive oil as "those oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means ... which have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decanting, centrifuging and filtration."
excerpt oneThis audio book is currently out of print. If you enjoy this audio book please send $5 to the publisher:
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees last week told the White House to preserve all records produced by the Bush administration and expressed "particular concerns" whether Vice President Dick Cheney's office will comply with the law.I weep for the future.
Although I have not always been the most outspoken advocate of President-Elect Barack Obama, today I would like to congratulate him and add my voice to the millions of fellow citizens who are celebrating his historic and frightening election victory. I don't care whether you are a conservative or a liberal -- when you saw this inspiring young African-American rise to our nation's highest office I hope you felt the same sense of patriotic pride that I experienced, no matter how hard you were hyperventilating with deep existential dread.(link)
Yes, I know there are probably other African-Americans much better qualified and prepared for the presidency. Much, much better qualified. Hundreds, easily, if not thousands, and without any troubling ties to radical lunatics and Chicago mobsters. Gary Coleman comes to mind. But let's not let that distract us from the fact that Mr. Obama's election represents a profound, positive milestone in our country's struggle to overcome its long legacy of racial divisions and bigotry. It reminds us of how far we've come, and it's something everyone in our nation should celebrate in whatever little time we now have left....
Considering how vociferous the MSM has been in their advocacy of Obama, this parody doesn't seem too far over the top.
Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.
Hawaii ending universal child health care:
HONOLULU – Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched.
Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families
were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.
"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."
by Robert Georgelink (via The American Spectator)
Oct 14, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama's views on life issues ranging from abortion to embryonic stem cell research mark him as not merely a pro-choice politician, but rather as the most extreme pro-abortion candidate to have ever run on a major party ticket.
Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States. He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress.
Yet there are Catholics and Evangelicals-even self-identified pro-life Catholics and Evangelicals - who aggressively promote Obama's candidacy and even declare him the preferred candidate from the pro-life point of view.
What is going on here? ...
"...What is my praise before You? I have not heard the song of the cherubim, that is reserved for the souls of the righteous. But I know the praises that nature sings to You. In winter, I have beheld how silently in the moonlight the whole earth offers You prayer, clad in its white mantle of snow, sparkling like diamonds. I have seen how the rising sun rejoices in You, how the song of the birds is a chorus of praise to You. I have heard the mysterious murmurings of the forests about You, and the winds singing Your praise as they stir the waters. I have understood how the choirs of stars proclaim Your glory as they move forever in the depths of infinite space. What is my poor worship? All nature obeys You, I do not. Yet while I live, I see Your love, I long to thank You, pray to You, and call upon Your Name...."
-- Fr. Gregory Petrov
Gardner W Ruggles Sr, of Vernon, departed this life peacefully on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 with his family at his side. He was born in Portsmouth, RI and grew up in Rockville eventually leaving to serve in the Air Force in 1950. A few years after leaving the Air Force he began his own restaurant - the Igloo Drive-In in Vernon in 1963. The restaurant was a success. He expanded into catering, forming Mr. G's Catering a few years later. In 1979 he sold the businesses and moved with his family to Deland, Florida where he embarked on a new career in real estate. He worked for Watson Realty first as a sales associate and finally as a vice president. He managed Watson's Deland office until he retired in 1999. His first wife, Shirley (nee Schaefer), died in 1998. He married a second time to Irene Suchecki of Vernon and came back to Vernon in 2000.
He is predeceased by Shirley and is survived by his wife, Irene.
He is also survived by his four children, Gardner Jr of New Hartford, Elizabeth Woods of Savannah, GA, Gregory, also of Savannah, and Russell of East Longmeadow, MA, son-in-law Timothy Woods of Savannah, daughter-in-law Robyn Ruggles of East Longmeadow, grandsons William Woods of Tulsa, OK, and Walter Woods of Savannah and granddaughters, Stephanie, Sarah and Emily Ruggles of East Longmeadow.
He is also survived by a stepdaughter Laurie Mecca of Avon, her husband Len, their four children, Lauren, Allyson, Brian and Kim, stepson Steve Suchecki of Tolland, his wife, Holly, their three sons, Alex, Evan and Cole and stepson Michael Suchecki of Coventry, his wife Darlene and their three children, Daniel, Laura and Aubrey.
He is also survived by two brothers, Clarence Ruggles of New Britain and Michael Ruggles of Vernon, a sister, Barbara Bossidy of Manchester and a brother-in-law Russell Schaefer of Rochester, NY and his wife, Joan. And finally, by his rescue dog, Babe.
Update: A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, October 11 at 9 a.m. in St. Bernard's Church, Rockville, followed by Military Honors after the mass. Burial will be private. Calling hours will be held Friday Oct. 10, from 6-8 p.m. at the Newkirk & Whitney Funeral Home, 318 Burnside Ave., East Hartford. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Assoc.
BOSTON -- OK, so the guy who is here because Julio Lugo got hurt drove in the guy who is here because Manny Ramirez pretended he was hurt and the Red Sox celebrated after a win started by the guy who filled in when Josh Beckett got hurt...link
A federal judge is considering whether to order a group of detainees held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay released into the United States, in what would instantly become a landmark legal decision in the years-long battle over the rights of terrorism suspects there.
The men, a small band of Chinese Muslims who have been held for nearly seven years, are no longer considered enemy combatants by the U.S. government, but they are caught in a well-documented diplomatic bind. Unlike other captives, they cannot be sent to their home country because Beijing considers them terrorists, and they might be tortured. The government released five of the detainees, known as Uighurs
(pronounced "WEE-gurz"), to Albania in 2006, but no other country wants to risk
offending China by accepting the others.
Hours before Ike made landfall, Ettenger knew she had made the wrong choice. She called Burks and described the water pushing up under her feet, the propane tanks and other household items drifting by her windows, and wondered which would float better: her Jeep or her house.When the pencil necks in your state's capital suggest you evacuate, you ought to think about leaving. If those same pencil necks use terms like "mandatory" and suggest you write your social security number on your limbs with permanent marker to make identifying your corpse easier for them, that's pencil neck for "get your dumb ass out". If only everyone spoke pencil neck, particularly people with 4 year old children who decided not to evacuate.
LAS VEGAS -- Thirteen years to the day after being acquitted of killing his wife and her friend in Los Angeles, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room.
“We never have quit,” Youkilis said. “We are used to it and immune from it. We’re not going to play a game in 2½ hours. You know, the games in the playoffs, I never even look at the time. It’s not like I’ve got something else to do. I know when the ninth inning is coming and the last out is recorded.”
We reached a transit camp in Italy about a fortnight after capture and received ¼ of a Red Cross food parcel each a week later. At once exchanges, already established, multiplied in volume. Starting with simple direct barter, such as a non-smoker giving a smoker friend his cigarette issue in exchange for a chocolate ration, more complex exchanges soon became an accepted custom. Stories circulated of a padre who started off round the camp with a tin of cheese and five cigarettes and returned to his bed with a complete parcel in addition to his original cheese and cigarettes; the market was not yet perfect. Within a week or two, as the volume of trade grew, rough scales of exchange values came into existence. Sikhs, who had at first exchanged tinned beef for practically any other foodstuff, began to insist on jam and margarine. It was realized that a tin of jam was worth l/2 lb. of margarine plus something else; that a cigarette issue was worth several chocolate issues, and a tin of diced carrots was worth practically nothing.Read the whole thing, it's fascinating.
October 2, 2008 Joe Biden: Can I clarify this? This is simply not true about Barack Obama. He did not say sit down with Ahmadinejad.
July 23, 2007 Anderson Cooper: Would you be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries? OBAMA: I would. And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them — which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration — is ridiculous.
October 3, 2008 10:57 a.m. Obama Biden Website: Obama supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.
Afterward, other candidates echoed Clinton’s criticism. Sen. Joseph Biden, who has emerged as the clear-eyed antiwar realist in the Democratic race, told National Review Online that the idea of a president meeting with Ahmadinejad, Chavez, and others was “naïve.” “World leaders should not meet with other world leaders unless they know what the agenda is, so you don’t end up being used,” Biden said. “When I went to meet with Milosevic before the war, the condition I met with him was that no press would be available, I’d only meet him in his office late at night, and I wouldn’t dignify being seen with him.”
BOSTON - A women's shelter on Wednesday cut headliner Sandra Bernhard from its annual benefit after she said Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be gang-raped if she ever visited New York.
Many guests at Rosie's Place, a Boston shelter, have been victims of violence, public relations director Leemarie Mosca said. "In light of our mission, we don't think violence against women is a laughing matter," she said.
As I write late on Thursday evening, some conservative Republican senators and representatives are opposing the Paulson bailout plan because they think that the government should not intervene in the market—that it is better to let financial institutions that took risks that turned out badly for them bear the consequences of their actions. As one of the freest of free marketeers, I want to explain why that thinking is wrong-headed.
I challenge you to listen to the whole thing. My gag reflex kicked in right about the time she started with the whole air guitar thing - those legs, those gangly, school marm legs clad in white polyester. I may need therapy to recover from this.
