69th anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor

"A day that will live in infamy" - F.D.R.
One survivor of the devastating Pearl Harbor attack 69 years ago said, “Remember the people who gave their lives. They say we are heroes, but we are not. We are survivors. The heroes are still out there.”

The photo above was widely publicized in the United States during World War II and was used to help sell War Bonds. It shows the sinking of the battleship USS West Virginia.

Sailors in the motor launch in the foreground are looking for survivors in the water near the USS West Virginia.

This photo shows the battleship USS California sinking.

Charlie Rangel has a new ethics charge

The ethics challenged Charlie Rangel (pictured) is in deep yogurt - again.

The Federal Election Commission is investigating a complaint that Rep. Charles Rangel improperly used his National Leadership PAC (Political Action Committee) to fund his legal defense on ethics charges for which he was censured last Thursday

The FEC is acting on a complaint by the National Legal and Policy Center filed after The Post reported last month that Rangel paid nearly $400,000 from his PAC.

Lawmakers are only allowed to use money in their individual campaign funds for legal fees, or they can set up legal defense funds for such costs.

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The Fed has a $110 Billion problem with new $100 bills

From a CNBC report:

A significant production problem with new high-tech $100 bills has caused government printers to shut down production of the new notes and to quarantine more than one billion of the bills in huge vaults in Fort Worth, Texas and Washington, DC.

The new bills were initially scheduled for release in April.

With great fanfare officials announced the new bills would incorporate sophisticated high-tech security features designed to foil counterfeiters.

They were to have a 3-D security strip and a color-shifting image of a bell.

But the production process is so complex, it has foiled the government printers before getting the chance to foil counterfeiters.

1.1 billion of the new bills have been printed, but they are unusable.

The total face value of the unusable bills, $110 billion, represents more than ten percent of the entire supply of US currency on the planet.

According to a person familiar with the matter, the bills are the most costly ever produced, with a per-note cost of about 12 cents—twice the cost of a conventional bill. That means the government spent about $120 million to produce bills it can’t use and will need to burn the 110 billion dollars!

Perhaps it is significant that this administration fiasco involves the very first bills to have Timothy Geithner's signature.

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Santa's organized by a teddy bear

Santa Clauses receive instructions from a teddy bear and pose for pictures after a general meeting to launch the annual Student Union charitable Santa Claus rental campaign in Berlin, Germany.

Jay Leno quote…

"Obama received 12 stitches in his lip after being elbowed in the mouth during a basketball game. Out of habit, he blamed Bush" -- Jay Leno

Obama administration orders federal workers not to read WikiLeaks

The administration's reaction to WikiLeaks - try harder to prevent future leaks and tell everyone not to look at the current leaks.

Unbelievable is the understandable reaction.

What will the administration try to censor next?

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Denver Broncos fire head coach Josh McDaniels

The hoards of Denver Bronco fans who have been calling for the firing of head coach McDaniels can now take the "Fire McDaniels" signs out of their car windows. Bronco owner Pat Bowlen finally did it. He fired his young hot shot coach. McDaniels was the youngest head coach in the NFL.

Photo shows Josh McDaniels (left) with owner Pat Bowlen in January, 2009. Today the smiles are gone.

Under McDaniels the Broncos lost 9 of their last 12 games this year and lost 17 of their last 22 games. A terrible record for a once proud team that had been on the verge of the playoffs in recent years and had back to back Super Bowl wins a decade ago.

An entry in the ESPN NFL blog asks:

Can you blame the Denver Broncos for firing Josh McDaniels?

Perhaps no NFL coach in recent memory has torn down a team as quickly as McDaniels, who was hired as a 32-year-old hot shot in January 2009 and fired less than 23 months later.

When McDaniels took over, the Broncos were on the doorstep of the playoffs and were a team that just needed some tinkering and refreshing after the 14-year Mike Shanahan era grew stale. McDaniels leaves Denver after 28 games with the franchise in terrible shape and without a true identity.

McDaniels gaffes include:

1. Parting ways with Mike Nolan, a very successful defensive coordinator.

2. Alienated Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler who demanded a trade and now is likely on his way to the playoffs with the Chicago Bears.

3. Sending successful running back Peyton Hillis off to Cleveland for third-string quarterback Brady Quinn.

4. Trading Denver’s No.1 draft pick in 2010 for cornerback Alphonso Smith in the second round in 2009. Smith didn't work out and is gone.

5. The videotape incident when Bronco video director filmed a San Francisco 49er walk-through and planned to film a 49er practice. It was determined that McDaniels was aware of the plan.

The ESPN report ends by saying, "The timing of his firing may have been a surprise, but in the end it was deserved."

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PayPal has cut WikiLeaks online donation account

From a CNN report at the link below:

WikiLeaks, beset by technical problems regarding its website and under fire from governments worldwide, has now lost a major revenue source.

Payment service provider PayPal cut WikiLeaks' online donation account Friday.
WikiLeaks violated its acceptable use policy, "which states that our payment service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity," PayPal said in a statement.

WikiLeaks posted on its Twitter page that the action was based on U.S. pressure and sends readers to a donation page, where supporters can pay by credit card, bank transfer or through the mail.

The Twitter page also solicits for a defense fund for founder Julian Assange.

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Remains of US balloonists discovered in nets of Italian fishing boat

The bodies of two American balloonists and their gondola were discovered in the net of an Italian fishing boat on Monday, two months after they disappeared while competing in a race over the Adriatic Sea during a fierce storm.

The boat hauled in the balloon and its gondola with the bodies of the Americans still inside while fishing 11 miles (17 kilometers) north of Vieste, said Port Cmdr. Guido Limongelli in Vieste, a town on the spur of boot-shaped Italy jutting into the Adriatic sea.

Reporters stand beside the Italian fishing boat.

Documents found in the gondola (pictured above) confirmed the identities of Richard Abruzzo, 47, of Albuquerque, and Carol Rymer Davis, 65, of Denver.

Davis (left) and Abruzzo (right) are pictured above
The balloonists were taking part in the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race when they lost contact with their support team on Sept 29.

A large search operation was called off a week after authorities concluded that the pair had probably died on impact after their balloon plunged into the sea at an estimated 50mph.

The Italian fishermen made the discovery about 12 miles from shore and six miles from the balloon's last known location.

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The Obama Federal pay freeze that won't stop raises

Obama spoke of the need for sacrifice last week when he announced a two-year pay freeze for federal employees.

But feds won't be too terribly deprived in 2011 and 2012. It's a pay freeze that fed workers won't mind at all.

Despite the freeze, some 1.1 million employees will receive more than $2.5 billion in raises during that period.

Congress is expected to approve Obama's proposal, which cancels only cost-of-living adjustments for two years.

Regularly scheduled step increases for the 1.4 million General Schedule employees — who make up two-thirds of the civilian work force — will continue.

The size of those increases ranges from 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent and by law kick in every one, two or three years, depending on an employee's time in grade.

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Hot air at the Cancún climate summit

A Greenpeace activist checks a hot air balloon in Yucatan, Mexico, prior to the Cancún climate summit.

There will be no lack of hot air at the climate summit - a place where environmental activists go to blow off steam.

Unemployment at its worst since 1948 despite stimulus

From a Daily Mail report (see link below):

As unemployment in the U.S. nears the dreaded 10 per cent mark, it is a chart to chill the bones of any job hunter.

Comparing previous recoveries from all 10 American recessions since 1948 to the current financial crisis, the stark figures show almost no improvement in employment figures in the past year.

Billions of dollars in stimulus was intended to create jobs. It didn't.

Some commentators have described the comparison as 'the scariest jobs chart ever', pointing to the fact that only the 2001 recession took longer to bring employment back to pre-crisis levels.

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Toyota Prius: a green car with a red light problem

A report at GreenAutoBlog.com says Toyota will repair 650,000 Prius models globally to keep the cooling system from red-lighting.

Toyota will voluntarily repair 650,000 Prius models for a fault in the hybrid cooling system. According to Reuters, a glitch in the vehicle's coolant pump could cause the vehicle to overheat and lose power, though no accidents or injuries have been reported in association with the problem to date. It's worth noting that this isn't an official recall in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it's a service action.

More here.

Big brother considers disabling cell phones in your car

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (pictured) is looking into technology that can disable cell phones in vehicles.

What about Ford SYNC, Chrysler Uconnect and GM OnStar? Will LaHood take aim at these after he successfully disables our handheld phones?

Who will be the first fatality because a driver couldn't call 911 while trapped in his car after a collision?

We could get run over by a big Mac truck while crossing a street. Maybe LaHood should request legislation banning street crossings.

There are other driver distractions that are potentially dangerous such as applying make-up or nail polish while driving. I even saw one girl driving with a bare foot on the steering wheel applying polish to her toenails!

We have all seen drivers with their heads turned around so they could talk to back seat passengers face-to-face.

And what about reading while driving? We passed more than one person reading a book propped up on the steering wheel while driving on the Interstate.

The auto cell phone ban report is here.

Reid pushes online gambling bill in lame duck session

From an Associated Press report:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing behind the scenes for lame-duck legislation that would allow poker games over the Internet.

Some of the biggest casino operators in Reid's home state of Nevada are eager to get a piece of the online gambling industry, which generates an estimated $5 billion a year for offshore operators.

Four years ago, Congress effectively banned online gambling, passing legislation that prohibits banks and credit card companies from making payments to gambling websites.

Now, however, Reid wants to allow online gambling.

Possibly Senator Reid is trying to repay his casino backers for their help in his re-election last month.

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Iranian Foreign Minister snubs Hillary

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured) tried to speak with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki twice on Friday, pursuing him both inside and outside the gala dinner here at the Ritz Carlton in Manama. But Mottaki deliberately avoided contact with her both times.

Clinton and Mottaki were seated only five seats apart at the dinner.

Clinton went out on a limb twice to try to make it happen, but the end result was only an unintelligible mutter from the Iranian leader in the general direction of the secretary.

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Jewish Star of David Revealed atop Airport in Iran

A satellite photo taken by Google Earth shows the Jewish Star of David on the roof of the headquarters of Iran's national airline.

Government officials in Iran are calling for its immediate removal.


The Star of David is circled in red on the second photo.

Local reports say the building was "built by Israeli engineers" who worked in the country before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"It's interesting that even 32 years after the victory of the revolution, this Zionist star symbol has yet to be removed from the building," a local Iranian website wrote, according to Ynetnews.com.

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Union to NFL players: save pay - lockout is coming

From an Associated Press report at the link below:

The pro football players’ union has advised its members to save their last three game checks this year in case next season is canceled. In a letter to the players that was viewed by The Associated Press, NFLPA (National Football League Players Association) executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union’s “internal deadline” for agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement has passed.

The NFL has not missed games due to labor strife since 1987, when the players went on strike and the owners continued the season with replacement players.

But the prospect of a lost season in 2011 intensified when owners opted out of the collective bargaining agreement in 2008, saying they could not make a profit if required to give almost 60 cents of every $1 in revenue to the players.

More here.

Found on the Internet: the definition of Political Correctness

The irreverent , if not crude, definition of political correctness by one internet poster:

''Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a pile of feces without soiling ones hands.''

Hillary says Secretary of State will be her last public position

From a CBS News Political Hotsheet report:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured) has once more reiterated that she will not run for president in 2012, going so far as to refer to her current role in government as "my last public position."

Clinton has repeatedly laughed off rumors that she may seek the highest office in the country, and she was notably out of the country during the midterm elections when Democrats lost control of the House.

She chose her words carefully when she said, "I think I will serve as secretary of state as my last public position."

Don't be surprised if she makes another White House run in 2012. She can't wait until 2016 when she would be age 70 before taking office if elected.

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Sooners edge Nebraska Huskers in Big 12 Championship game

Nebraska played in their last Big 12 game before moving to the Big 10 next season.

The Huskers lost to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game in Arlington Texas.

Photo shows Nebraska freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez.

The No. 13 Cornhuskers (10-3) self-destructed, squandering a 17-0 lead with four turnovers and getting shut out in the second half for the first time all season.

The final score was Oklahoma 23 Nebraska 20.

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Cardinal framed by tree branches

This photo was uploaded to a Weather Underground gallery.

Cherub moves hourglass on astronomical clock

Every hour a cherub moves the hourglass part of this astronomical clock in the Strasbourg cathedral in eastern France.

It's the week end - you can come outside and play now

New York Godfather movie house for sale for $2.9 Million

The New York mansion (pictured) used in the 1972 mobster epic, "The Godfather," is for sale.

The owners of the Staten Island home are asking $2.9 million. Maybe someone will make them an offer they can't refuse.

The movie starred Marlon Brando as the fictitious mobster Vito Corleone and turned actors Al Pacino and Robert Duall into household names.

The owner says his mother kept many artifacts from the movie, including Brando's cue cards.

The house features eight bedrooms, two fireplaces, a basement pub, a four-car garage and an in-ground pool.

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Giant football player Antrel Rolle rips fans for booing

Antrel Rolle (pictured) admits he is a "bigmouth" and is unapologetic about it.

Thursday, however, the Giants' safety went over the top when he criticized fans by comparing the booing of football players to booing soldiers coming home from Iraq.

For Mr. Rolle's information, hard-working fans who pay 60 bucks and up to watch multi-millionaires hit each other on a football field, have every right to boo all they want.

We have two words for Antrel Rolle:

HISS BOO!

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YouTube launches skippable ad feature

YouTube has launched its new TrueView ad format, allowing site visitors to avoid watching ads they're not interested in.

Users will now be able to look for a countdown button that will let them skip an ad after it plays for five seconds. In some cases, viewers will be able to select which ad to watch out of three pre-roll options.

TrueView by YouTube has a notice along the top of video clips telling you about the nifty ad-skipping feature.

More here.

Mary Poppins was right - a spoonful of sugar…

A spoonful of sugar can not only help the medicine go down, according to a report in the London Daily Mail:

High sugar levels can help control aggression and prevent loss of temper, researchers have found.

Their study compared the behavior of sugar-starved volunteers with those who had been given a sweet drink, and concluded the latter were less inclined to snap.

The simple sugar glucose is thought to stem aggressive behavior by providing more self-control.

More here.

Pelosi's climate panel died on election day November 2

Congressman James Sensenbrenner (pictured), top Republican on the climate panel, said Republicans will eliminate the House committee created by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to highlight the threat of climate change.

In one of her first acts as speaker in 2007, Pelosi, a California Democrat, created the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming to draw attention to climate-change science and showcase how a cap on carbon dioxide needn’t be a threat to economic growth.

Republicans, who took control of the House in the Nov. 2 election, have opposed legislative efforts to regulate carbon emissions as a thinly disguised tax on energy.

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Rangel censured by overwhelming House vote

The photo shows Congressman Rangel making is way to the House floor on Thursday.

An Associated Press report at the link below describes the censure of Democrat Congressman Charlie Rangel.

Veteran Rep. Charles Rangel, the raspy-voiced, backslapping former chairman of one of Congress' most powerful committees, was censured by his House colleagues for financial misconduct Thursday in a solemn moment of humiliation in the sunset of his career.

After the 333-79 vote, the Democrat from New York's Harlem stood at the front of the House and faced Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she read him the formal resolution of censure.

It was only the 23rd time in the nation's history that a House member received the most severe punishment short of expulsion.

Rangel committed ethical and fundraising violations of House rules, including submitting misleading financial statements and failing to pay all his taxes, the chamber's ethics committee determined last month.

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What does Rhode Island DOT have against Cranston?

The mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island is conducting a preliminary investigation into how nearly 700 stop signs, not approved by the city, were installed.

Most if not all of the 692 stop signs on city roads intersecting state roads were placed by the state Department of Transportation.

City officials revealed the questionable signs last week after a months-long investigation that had three city employees driving around the city armed with color-coded maps that indicated the location of the 1,903 stop signs approved by the city.

The employees logged 692 stop signs on city streets that were not approved by the city for posting.

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Report: Reid and Pelosi are sitting ducks and GOP taking aim

From a report at the link below:

Congress might be in what's technically referred to as a lame-duck session, but it's looking more like a game of political chicken.

In this lame duck session, Reid and Pelosi (pictured) are sitting ducks and Republicans are taking aim.

In perhaps the brashest legislative strong-arming Republicans have mustered in months, all 42 current members of the GOP Senate conference signed a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid threatening to block his last-minute leftist agenda if it doesn't stick to issues that include tackling taxes and spending.

The letter to Reid calls for a filibuster of any legislation not directly related to time-sensitive votes that would prevent taxes from going up for all Americans.

This includes extending the Bush tax cuts and the passage of a budget, things that Democrats have long delayed doing.

By asking Democrats to focus not on their favorite social causes but the one issue Americans care about most — the one in their wallets — this letter serves as a dose of tough love for the left.

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Which carrier should you trust to ship your Christmas packages?

At the link below Popular Mechanics tested USPS, UPS and FedEX to see which would be kindest to your packages.

PM mailed packages containing sensors to find out which shipping company is the most careful with packages.

Click here for the tests and results.

Report: Andy Griffith misleading ads cost taxpayers $3Million

From a CNS News report:

The federal government spent $3.1 million on TV ads featuring actor Andy Griffith (pictured) touting the new health care law that a non-partisan watchdog group says are misleading.

The first ad, entitled “1965,” featured Griffith saying, “This year, as always, we’ll have our guaranteed benefits. And with the new health care law, more good things are coming.”

But the non-partisan FactCheck.org says some 10 million Medicare Advantage recipients will see their benefits cut by about $43 a month.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch said “Even Barney Fife would see that these ObamaCare ads are bogus,” referring to the bungling Mayberry deputy sheriff character in the Andy Griffith show.

The Obama administration spent a total of $3,184,000 on three ads, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

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50,000 inmates with no wages received tax refunds

Nearly 50,000 prison inmates claimed more than $130 million in tax refunds this year without providing any wage information to the IRS.

A report by the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration stops short of saying the refunds were fraudulently claimed.
It does, however, say the Internal Revenue Service should investigate further.

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Obama and his forced unionization agenda

Despite having its forced unionization agenda rejected just a few weeks ago, the Obama Administration refuses to take no for an answer.

It is continuing its push to unionize whatever industry it can, wherever it can, whenever it can get away with it. The most recent target is the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Despite bipartisan warnings from elected officials and industry experts, the White House appears more interested in rewarding union bosses than advancing the security of hardworking, everyday Americans.

The effort to “payback” Big Labor at the expense of travelers doesn’t stop with the TSA.

Just last week, Big Labor continued its efforts to unionize Delta Airlines, something they’ve been salivating over since its merger with unionized Northwest Airlines.

The workers at Delta Airlines have voted against forming a union eight separate times yet Obama is determined to force them into unionizing.

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State Department on damage control after WikiLeaks

Hillary trying to clean up after WikiLeaks embarrasses State Department.

Glowing trees may replace street lamps

A Discovery News report says that biologically based LEDs could be used to make trees illuminate sidewalks.

The golden glow of street lights could soon be replaced by the green fluorescence of tree leaves. Scientists from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei and Tainan have implanted glowing, sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles, known as bio light emitting diodes, or bio LEDs, inside the leaves of a plant.

The new nanoparticles could replace the electricity powered street light with biologically powered light that removes CO2 from the atmosphere 24 hours a day.

As with many other green pipedreams, this one is, as the article says, "a long way away."

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Bill Clinton dinner has few takers

Former President Bill Clinton is auctioning off a private dinner with the proceeds going to the Clinton Foundation.

The menu might be somewhat boring now that he is on a more healthful diet.

The opening bid is $25,000.00. The auction ends tomorrow Dec. 2.

Included in the price of the dinner is a tour of the Clinton Library.

The advertisement says you will also get a view of the Arkansas River and won't that be exciting!

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Alcoholic whipped cream

Called Whipped Lightening, this is a booze-infused product whipping up serious interest from public-health experts.

With Four Loko making its way off shelves, regulators have a new favorite college binge drinking tool to look out for: alcoholic whipped cream.

A source told the Boston Herald that the Massachusetts Alcohol Beverages Commission will be closely monitoring the alcoholic treat, which has been on shelves since April and is becoming increasingly popular.

More here.

Democrat state lawmakers defecting to GOP after elections

From an Associated Press report at the link below:

Staggering Election Day losses are not the Democratic Party's final indignity this year.

At least 13 state lawmakers in five states have defected to Republican ranks since the Nov. 2 election, adding to already huge GOP gains in state legislatures. And that number could grow as next year's legislative sessions draw near.

The defections underscore dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party — particularly in the South — and will give Republicans a stronger hand in everything from pushing a conservative fiscal and social agenda to redrawing political maps.

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VZ Navigator vs Sprint Navigation

We have used VZ Navigator (pictured) for a few years and have found it to be reliable.

One of the few complaints from users is the inability for VZ Navigator to interact with Google Maps. In fact, it won't allow the use of any third-party software.

We considered switching to Sprint several months ago for sentimental reasons because I was an auditor for Centel and Sprint purchased Centel in the early 1990's.

Sprint Navigation failed a live comparison test. We entered the same address using voice commands.

Both VZ Navigator and Sprint Navigation got us to our destination. However, Sprint Navigation took us off arterial streets and onto side streets for part of the route. VZ Navigator kept us on main streets.

Avalanche of 1099's from a hidden tax change in ObamaCare bill

A Time Magazine blog entry at the link below reports on ObamaCare and the resulting 1099 logjam.

A current rule exists requiring businesses to file 1099s for cumulative annual purchases over $600, but the rule only applied to services – not goods – and excluded purchases from corporate entities. The ObamaCare bill has eliminated these two exceptions.

Section 9006 of the health care bill - just a few lines buried in the 2,409-page document - mandates that beginning in 2012 all companies will have to issue 1099 tax forms not just to contract workers but to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in goods or services in a tax year.

The additional 1099's are intended to generate huge amounts of additional revenue to help pay for ObamaCare.

One can only imagine how much this will cost businesses.

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