Elephants painted as panda bears

Elephants painted as panda bears in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Man fights off mountain lion with chain saw

Dustin Britton, an ex-Marine from Windsor, Colorado, fought off a starving mountain lion that attacked him while he was camping in the Shoshone National Forest 27 miles west of Cody. Wyoming.

When the lion pounced, the ex-Marine raised the chainsaw he’d been using to cut brush and inflicted a six- to eight-inch gash on the 100 pound lion’s shoulder.

Britton received a small puncture wound on his forearm.

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John Daly dazzles ‘em at the British Open

John Daly waits to tee off during the second round of the British Open Golf Championship at the Turnberry Golf Club in Scotland.


Daly, never one to wear ordinary duds while playing his favorite sport, is shown below at other golf courses.

Coldest July day since 1900 predicted for Wisconsin

The Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times reports:

Record low high temperatures are forecast for southern Wisconsin on Friday as a very cool Canadian air mass covers the region.

The high on Friday is only expected to be in the low 60s, which would be under the record coldest high temperature in Madison for July 17 of 67 degrees, set in 1900.

Saturday's high is expected to be in the upper 60s, which could challenge the record coldest high temperature for July 18 of 68, set in 1924.

Al Gore will probably say the cause is global warming.

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Suspected swine flu outbreaks close camps

From a report by AP datelined Loveland, Colorado:

Swine flu isn't taking a vacation.

Summer camps are contending with more than bug bites and poison ivy this year: They're on the lookout for swine flu.

While regular flu all but disappears in the summer, swine flu is spreading, and more than 50 summer camps in 20 states have sent kids home early or canceled sessions after suspected outbreaks.

The swine flu outbreaks are not limited to summer camps. Cases have been reported at office buildings, jails and on church choir trips. Schools have been hit, too, including the Air Force Academy, where at least 68 students have confirmed cases of swine flu.

More here.

Swine flu by any other name...

OK you guys, for the last time, it’s not Swine Flu. Didn’t ya hear Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack say it’s the H1N1 flu?

Do I hafta come out from behind this fence and ...

Dakota farmer gives invite to Al Gore

Orlan Dreyer, a Willow City, North Dakota Farmer says:

“I think Al Gore and his group should be out here and tell us about this global warming stuff. I think he might have a change of mind. We’ve had a cool July.

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ObamaCare will be poison pill in New York

The New York Post reports that the Democrat health care plan would impose a “terrifying tax” on highest wage earners in the state of New York.

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Congressional plans to fund a massive health-care overhaul could have a job-killing effect on New York, creating a tax rate of nearly 60 percent for the state's top earners and possibly pressuring small-business owners to shed workers.

In order to pay for the massive health coverage proposed by House Democrats this week, New York's top income bracket could reach as high as 57 percent!

The top rate in New York City, home to many of the state's wealthiest people, would be 58.68 percent, the Washington-based Tax Foundation said in a report yesterday.

That means New York's top earners, small-business owners and most dynamic entrepreneurs will be facing new fees and penalties.

It’s the small business owners and “dynamic entrepreneurs” that hire a large percent of the work force in most areas.

This will force many to lay off workers as they scale back their businesses.

Without huge new taxes the government could not possibly give uninsured Americans cheap or free healthcare.

A large number of the uninsured are illegal aliens. Another large group without health insurance are those age 20 to 40 who choose to buy expensive cars, plasma TV’s, boats and other toys rather than pay for health insurance.

And, lets not forget the tens of thousands of gang members in all but the smallest towns in America who would also be covered by ObamaCare.

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Darth Vader Lives!

A man dressed as Darth Vader arrives for the launch of an exhibition in Melbourne recently that showcased an array of costumes and props from the Star Wars movies.

Hillary back to foreign policy center stage?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured) is back at work after she was sidelined with a broken arm.

Excerpts from the article at the link below:

Her role so far has been more in the field of public relations than in policy formation.

It is not at all clear that she has an in-depth influence on foreign policy.

And this insult:

She needs to decide if she wants to be the administration's mascot or have an impact on actual policy.

The administration's mascot indeed.

That may sound like a low blow, but there may be more truth than poetry to that statement because the sad part (for her) is that is what she has probably become.

Wasn’t she warned that she'd have little power and influence as a member of the Obama administration?

Up until now Hillary’s cabinet post has been made largely irrelevant by Obama’s world tours and the appointment of three special envoys - Richard Holbrooke, George Mitchell and Dennis Ross - who have been given large portfolios that some believe have detracted from Clinton's clout.

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Hillary Clinton back in action

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Sotomayer: muddled confusing backtracking

Byron York wrote a brief report for the Washington Examiner based on Senator Jeff Sessions appraisal of Tuesday mornings Sotomayor confirmation hearings. A portion follows:

During a break in the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings, Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was asked whether Sotomayor has been "forthcoming" in her testimony, particularly in her explanations of several controversial speeches she has given.

"How forthcoming is she being," a reporter asked, "and is it any different from what Justices Roberts and Alito did during their hearings?"

"I don't think her testimony is close to the clarity and consistency of Judges Roberts and Alito," Sessions answered. "I just don't think it is. It's muddled, confusing, backtracking on issue after issue -- and these are things that many of us have spoken of on the floor over the past several weeks, so it's not as if they are surprise issues. So I frankly am a bit disappointed in the lack of clarity and consistency in her answers."

The good news (for left-wing Democrats): the “wise Latina woman” will probably be confirmed.

The bad news (for America): the “wise Latina woman” will probably be confirmed.

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Dog day afternoon

Fans dressed as cartoon dogs wait as a rain delay stops the first cricket Test match between England and Australia, which was in its third day in Cardiff, Wales. (AP Photo / July 10, 2009)

Bernie Madoff sent to country club prison

Notorious Ponzi scammer Bernie Madoff arrived yesterday at his new home in North Carolina - Butner prison (shown below).


An ABC report says Madoff “hit the inmate lottery” when he was sent to Butner prison to serve out his sentence. Butner's medium security lockup is said to be "one of the crown jewels of the federal prison system."

"It looks and feels like a college campus," said federal sentencing attorney Alan Ellis, who has clients currently serving time there and says it's a popular assignment request for many white collar criminals.

Madoff's former life of luxury will quickly turn into a life of routine at Butner.

Inmates start their day at 6 a.m. and are required to work 7.5 hours a day, as long as they're found medically fit, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Madoff will make between 12 cents and 40 cents an hour to be a groundskeeper, a food service employee or a commissary worker.

Dinner is at 5 p.m., with free time afterwards until 9 p.m., during which time he can partake in recreational, religious or educational programs.

Link

Madoff reveals his secret

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Yogi Berra: no it wasn’t and error!

An interviewer started to ask Yogi Berra (pictured) about his two hits from the previous night when Berra corrected him and said he had three hits.

The interviewer apologized. "I checked the paper and the box score said you had two hits. The third must have been a typographical error."

"Heck no," Berra replied. "It was clean single to left field."

Stimulus waste: $3.4 million turtle crossing

Before approving a second stimulus plan, Mr. Obama needs to make sure the first $787 billion has been spent responsibly - not on a $3.4 million turtle crossing.

"I don't think we need to have another stimulus bill. I think we need to change this one so that we spend the money right now," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has been critical of the plan.”

Then there are the questionable projects:

For instance, the Florida Department of Transportation wants to spend $3.4 million in stimulus money for a turtle tunnel. That's right, $3.4 million to help turtles cross under a highway. Each year, 1,035 turtles are killed on a half-mile stretch of highway north of Tallahassee, according to The Lake Jackson Ecopassage Alliance, a group advocating for the tunnel. They are hoping to use the stimulus dough to save the turtles.

Another example:

Across the country in Montana, a border crossing that averages fewer than two passenger cars a day and two to three trucks a month is slated to get $15 million in stimulus funds for upgrades.

And then there is the Utah sheriff asking for $25,000 in stimulus money for a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

It gets worse. A report at the link below says:

To keep track of all the spending, the government has created a Web site. But nothing in life is free.
The independent General Services Administration quietly put out a release Wednesday night saying the site would be redesigned -- for $9.5 million and, perhaps, as much as $18 million in the next five years!

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So sayeth a Wise Latina woman

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

Famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign vandalized

The world famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip has been defaced by graffiti vandals.

The graffiti, which appeared to be written with a marker rather than spray paint, was spotted Monday.

Several letters were written on the sign, but no profanities.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman (shown standing in front of the sign above) issued a statement saying, “off with their head!”

Even in permissive Las Vegas we doubt the punishment will be anywhere near that severe.

Built in 1959, the Las Vegas sign has become a symbol of the city, appearing in ad campaigns, films and even board games.

In May, the sign was officially welcomed onto the National Register of Historic Places.

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Bad hair day at Wimbledon

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus serves to Sorana Cirstea of Romania during their third round singles match on center court at Wimbledon.

Hearings day one: Sotomayor called prejudiced

Republicans took the gloves off Monday morning during confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor (pictured).

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, accused Sotomayor of being prejudiced.

Citing a controversial racial bias case in which a fire department discarded the results of a qualifying test when black firefighters scored too low, Sessions said Sotomayor was biased in favor of the minority employees.

"It seems to me that in [Ricci v. DeStefano], Judge Sotomayor's empathy for one group of firefighters turned out to be prejudice against the others," Sessions said.

Ricci v. DeStefano was just one of Judge Sotomayor's cases to be overturned by a higher court - in this case the Supreme Court of the United States.

Sotomayor's controversial attitudes towards race were first aired when it became clear that her comments about "wise Latinas" were a common refrain in her public speeches:

I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.

Link here and here.

Hearings to begin second day for the ‘wise Latina’

Barack Obama’s candidate for the Supreme Court is shown Monday prior to her confirmation hearing.

The self proclaimed 'wise Latina' appears to be showing us her best side.

Nancy Pelosi’s $16 million mouse fund

A tiny mouse has became a hotly disputed symbol of wasteful spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

The Obama administration revealed last week that as much as $16.1 million from the stimulus program is going to save the San Francisco Bay Area habitat of, among other things, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.

The salt marsh harvest mouse in question happens to be in the San Francisco Bay Area backyard of House Speakers Nancy Pelosi (pictured).

That has revived Republican criticism that the pet project was an "invisible earmark" in the massive spending bill for Mrs. Pelosi, whose San Francisco district abuts the Bay, and epitomizes what Republicans say is the failure of stimulus spending so far to help an economy still shedding jobs.

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner said, “Lo and behold, the government has announced that the mouse is getting its money after all,” standing beside a poster of the furry varmint adding, “Pelosi must be so proud.”

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Going in for the kill.

Spanish bullfighter David Fandila going after his bull with a pair of banderillas during a bullfight in Madrid.

Total ban on smoking for soldiers recommended

CNN reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs recommends a complete ban on tobacco, which would end tobacco sales on military bases and prohibit smoking by anyone in uniform.


That would force everyone in the military to either quit smoking or smoke on the sly like their commander in chief does.

More on the possible military smoking ban here.

Are French tourists the most obnoxious?

Does Time Magazine disparage French tourists because they hate them or are they simply voicing what nearly everyone else already knows: French tourists are the most obnoxious.

It may be because the French are simply mirroring the haughty attitude of their former president Jacques Chirac (pictured) who is said to be the only man in Europe to need suntan lotion on the underside of his nose.

At the first link below, Time Magazine wastes no time going after the French:

Given their nation's long reign as the world's most visited country, you'd expect the French to know a thing or two about insufferable tourists.

It turns out they do — and are proving it to the rest of the world.

In a poll carried out by online travel site Expedia and released on Thursday, July 9, French tourists were viewed as the orneriest for the third year running.

Then Time Magazine really pours it on with this:

Affirmation-starved France usually loves global titles of any kind (one big reason French competitors tend to outnumber foreign rivals in quixotic contests like reverse round-the-world solo yachting races and France's annual international plumb-spitting tournaments).

Reverse round-the-world solo yachting races indeed.

Link here and here.

The Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination

Barack Hussein Obama is determined to push through the Supreme Court appointment of Sonia Sotomayor (pictured), a candidate who, in her own words, considers a 'wise Latina woman' smarter than white males, and who thinks the courts are supposed to make policy and law rather than interpret the law.

Conservatives should not worry about losing the Latino vote if they vigorously challenge the Sotomayor appointment. They don’t have the Latino vote now, at least not from Latinos with limited education (which is the majority of Latino voters) so why worry about losing votes they don’t have in the first place.

However, if the Republicans are successful in blocking her appointment in committee, Mr. Obama could appoint her during a congressional recess (a recess appointment) and put her on the Supreme Court without congressional approval.

A recess appointment, however, would be a limited victory for Obama because it would only be good until the end of the term rather than a lifetime appointment.

More here.

Geometry: finding x the easy way

This is a great cheat sheet short shirt for blondes.

Hmmm... saying that five times real fast would be good practice for Peter Piper picked a peck of... oh, never mind.

Michael Jackson sculpture in a Denver park

People in the Denver suburb of Lakewood have been walking past Michael Jackson and his pals for 15 years without knowing it.

The sculpture was commissioned by Michael Jackson 17 years ago and executed by Loveland Colorado artist Jane DeDecker and resides in Addenbrooke Park in Lakewood.



From left, the sculpture shows Gary Coleman, a friend of the sculptor's, Brandi Jackson, Janet Jackson, Macaulay Culkin, Michael Jackson and Brett Ratner.

Denver Post photo by Bill Husted.

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