Jan 1, 2011
Lights at the Denver City-County building
The lights at the Denver City-County building are turned on from December 1 though January 1. They are turned on again for the National Western Stock Show in mid January.
Dec 31, 2010
Warming skeptic predicts brutal winter
From a report at the link below:
British meteorologist Piers Corbyn appeared on Fox and Friends to not only celebrate his accurate prediction of a bone-chillingly cold winter, but to also share his disgust with what he believes to be the “failed science” behind global warming.
Despite it often being mentioned that the consensus in the scientific community is that global warming is undisputedly occurring, Corbyn proudly goes against the grain and advocates for his hypothesis of the coming global cooling.
From one commenter:
This is why they have stopped calling it Global Warming and started calling it Global Climate Change.
Global Climate Change is a much more flexible scam than Global Warming or Global Cooling.Is it hotter than average today? It is caused by Global Climate Change.
Is it colder than average today? It is caused by Global Climate Change.
Wetter? Dryer? Windier? Less Windy? It doesn't matter! No matter what the weather happens to be, it is caused by Global Climate Change.And besides, it's all Bush's fault. Look at all those SUV's they cranked out while he was in the White House.
When they talk about consensus, I'm reminded of the consensus many years ago of the best medical knowledge that had patients treated with leeches, bleeding, and even arsenic.
Link
University protester in Rome
A student wears a mask during a march on the ring road during a demonstration in Rome.Thousands of students gathered in Rome to protest a new university law.
The new education law, which the government says will strengthen Italy's crumbling university system but which critics say will merely cut funding.
PGA producer dings Obama for excessive golfing
Most do not seem to begrudge Barack Obama the occasional golf outing.
John Kim, however, a producer for PGA.com (the PGA Tour runs the primary men's professional golf tours in North America), went on Twitter to ding Mr. Obama for excessive golfing.
John Kim, however, a producer for PGA.com (the PGA Tour runs the primary men's professional golf tours in North America), went on Twitter to ding Mr. Obama for excessive golfing.In response to learning of Obama's 50-plus rounds of golf since taking office, Kim wrote, "that's more than me! But then again, my job is ... golf. Wait, that doesn't seem right."
And later: "the old adage is: those who work in golf never get to play. Guess I need to run for president to hit the links!"
Dec 30, 2010
Prince William and Kate to have no servants
Prince William and Kate Middleton will have no servants after they get married.
The pair - who will marry in London's Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 - have decided to continue to live a simple lifestyle at William's rented cottage in Wales for the next three years while he finishes his Royal Air Force (RAF) rescue pilot training.
A senior royal source told the Daily Telegraph: "It's very much their instinct to manage on their own.
By contrast Prince Charles, father of Prince William, has 149 servants, 25 of them are personal attention servants!
The future king and queen already do their own cooking, cleaning and shopping at their Welsh cottage where they spend weekends together.
The couple are said to believe a lack of staff at their home will allow them to enjoy a closer, more intimate relationship.
However they will have round-the-clock bodyguards protecting their isolated home.
Multi-million dollar Christmas vacation in Hawaii for Obama family
The following are estimates on part of the costs of the latest Obama Hawaii trip during a recession:
* Mrs. Obama’s early flight to Hawaii: $63,000 (White House Dossier)
* Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii: $1 million (GAO estimates)
* Housing in beachfront homes for Secret Service and Seals in Kailua ($1,200 a day for 14 days): $16,800
* Costs for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel: $134,400 ($400 per day for 24 staff) – excluding meals and other room costs
* Police overtime: $250,000 (2009 costs reported by Honolulu Police Department)
* Ambulance: $10,000 (City Spokesperson)
TOTAL COST: $1,474,200
But that $1.47 million figure leaves out a number of significant costs that simply could not be calculated by the Hawaii Reporter newspaper:
* Rental of office building in Kailua on canal
* Security upgrades and additional phone lines.
* Costs for car rentals and fuel for White House staff staying at Moana Hotel (Secret Service imports most of the cars used here to escort the president).
* Surveillance before the president arrives.
* Travel costs for Secret Service and White House staff traveling ahead of the President.
While WH spokesmen say Obama's vacation expenses are not out of line, but the government refuses to disclose many important details about any presidential journey, nobody can know for sure.
There appear to be reasons to suspect the Obamas' trip could have been done for less, according to the Hawaii Reporter newspaper. And now the multi-million dollar vacation has been extended (see third link below).
Link here, here and here.
NY union workers selfishly slowed down snow removal
From a New York Post report:
Selfish Sanitation Department bosses from the snow-slammed outer boroughs ordered their drivers to snarl the blizzard cleanup to protest budget cuts -- a disastrous move that turned streets into a minefield for emergency-services vehicles.
Miles of roads stretching from as north as Whitestone, Queens, to the south shore of Staten Island still remained treacherously unplowed last night because of the shameless job action, several sources and a city lawmaker said, which was over a raft of demotions, attrition and budget cuts.Center photo shows a snowplow operator taking a 'plower nap.'
"They sent a message to the rest of the city that these particular labor issues are more important," said City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens), who was visited yesterday by a group of guilt-ridden sanitation workers who confessed the shameless plot.
Report: Liberals give till it hurts (you)
Ann Coulter has never been one of our favorite pundits, however, she hit the nail squarely on the head concerning the lack of generosity by liberal politicians in her report at the link below.
Liberals never tire of discussing their own generosity, particularly when demanding that the government take your money by force to fund shiftless government employees overseeing counterproductive government programs.
Coulter takes a look at the charitable giving of a few liberals:
In 2009, the Obamas gave 5.9 percent of their income to charity, about the same as they gave in 2006 and 2007. In the eight years before he became president, Obama gave an average of 3.5 percent of his income to charity, upping that to 6.5 percent in 2008.
How generous. But then, Jeremiah Wright, his radical Chicago pastor, preached hating America rather then tithing.
Others with underwhelming charitable contributions:
In the decade before Joe Biden became vice president, the Bidens gave a total – all 10 years combined – of $3,690 to charity, or 0.2 percent of their income. They gave in a decade what most Americans in their tax bracket give in an average year.
That's a whopping two tenths of one percent for the Bidens. We wonder how they could spare it.
John Kerry hasn't been mentioned yet. In 1994, Kerry gave a stunning $175.
In 1998, Al Gore gave $353 to charity – about a day's take for a lemonade stand in his neighborhood.
And what about the late Sen. Ted Kennedy? When Kennedy released his tax returns to run for president in the '70s, they showed that he gave a bare 1 percent of his income to charity. That's right, only one percent. As the report reminds us, cash tips to bartenders and cocktail waitresses are not considered charitable donations.
Link
Republicans name top 2012 Senate targets
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has its eye on five key races it hopes will pave the way for the GOP to take the majority in the upper chamber in 2012.
The committee believes there is "fertile ground" for Republican gains in Montana, Virginia, Nebraska, Florida and North Dakota.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson is in "serious trouble and kind of in a league of his own," and that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) also "is in a lot of trouble."
The report also says Republicans appear eager to challenge Democrat Sen. Jim Webb in Virginia.
Link
The committee believes there is "fertile ground" for Republican gains in Montana, Virginia, Nebraska, Florida and North Dakota.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson is in "serious trouble and kind of in a league of his own," and that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) also "is in a lot of trouble."
The report also says Republicans appear eager to challenge Democrat Sen. Jim Webb in Virginia.
Link
Dec 29, 2010
Darth Vader floats over Leon, Mexico
A Star Wars Darth Vader hot air balloon hovers next to another participant during the Hot Air Balloons Festival in Leon, Mexico last November.
United States geography test
Click here for a United States geography test. Drag the state names to the correct state outline on the map.
Gore: snow and ice around world vanishing quickly
Flashback to December, 2009 Climate Summit in Copenhagen:
Snow and ice across the planet are melting much faster than anticipated, and the cryosphere - the Earth's ice and snow cover - is very vulnerable to climate change, finds a new report presented today at the United Nations Climate Summit by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Snow cover is diminishing, and glaciers from the Himalayas to the Alps are melting rapidly, with the greatest reductions in the Andes and the Rockies, the report shows.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Gore didn't even bother to attend the Climate Summit in Cancún this year.
Was he afraid to answer embarrassing questions about his predictions made in Copenhagen last year? Or maybe he was afraid of embarrassing questions about the sexual assault charges filed against him in 2010.
Link here and here.
No income tax States lure New Yorkers
A New York Post report is titled, Taxes trigger a texodus in New York:
The Lone Star State is scooping up more than just our congressional seats -- some $846 million in personal income shifted from New York to Texas in an eight-year period during the last decade, according to an analysis of IRS tax returns.
Texas, which has no state or local income taxes and an enviably low cost of living, has been steadily poaching New Yorkers since the '90s, according to data from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research organization based in Washington.
From 2000 to 2008, more than $846 million in personal income moved from New York to Texas -- with more than $212 million leaving in 2006 and '07.
New Jersey and California are also states that have been rapidly raising taxes on their productive citizens in order to spread the wealth to those who choose not to work.
Right-to-work states with no income taxes are becoming more attractive all the time for both businesses and wage earners.
Link
Man passed out in taxi possessed $450K in drugs
A Chicago taxi driver had a passenger pass out in his cab. When the man couldn't be aroused, the driver took him to a police station.
Police searched the passenger bag and found bottles of a "clear, crystalline substance" connected by wires to a "power source," which together apparently amounted to a miniature methamphetamine lab
The street value of the drugs in the man's bag was nearly $450,000
Report: 111th Congress added more debt than 1st 100 Congresses combined!
The federal government has accumulated more new debt--$3.22 trillion ($3,220,103,625,307.29) -- during the tenure of the 111th Congress than it did during the first 100 Congresses combined, according to official debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury.
That equals $10,429.64 in new debt for each and every one of the 308,745,538 people counted in the United States by the 2010 census.
Elections have consequences. Americans will long regret and forever pay for the national elections in 2008.Link
Dec 28, 2010
Panic at Miami airport as bullets explode in luggage
What officials originally said was an exploding can of hairspray was actually 500 to 700 bullet primers in a 37-year-old mans luggage.
Primers are considered the "spark plugs" of a bullet and ignites the metal, projecting it toward the intended target.
The situation turned out to be much more serious and could have been even more dangerous if the plane were to get airborne with the combustible elements in its undercarriage.
The man who owned the luggage arrested.
FBI and TSA officials said his luggage contained volatile gun parts, which caused his bag to explode Tuesday just before it was about to be loaded on a plane.
Link
More on the whistle blowing pilot targeted by TSA
The airline pilot who was harassed by federal agents and lost his federally-issued gun and badge for posting video on YouTube critical of airport security has chosen to go public with his identity.
Liu's cell phone video tour of security at San Francisco International Airport led to a team of six federal agents and sheriff's deputies coming to his home on Dec. 2 to take his handgun and Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) credentials.
Did the pilot steal state secrets? No. So what did the pilot do to warrant the show of force by federal agents and sheriff's deputies at his house?
He took cell phone videos of the inconsistent way airport security is handled with ground crew getting a pass by only needing to swipe a card.
The pilot harassed by federal agents, backed up by local sheriff's deputies, because he embarrassed TSA by pointing out a serious airport security flaw.
One commenter wondered if Janet Napolitano learned her heavy-handed tactics by watching old KGB spy movies.
Link
CityVille tops FarmVille on Facebook
There must be a lot of bored FB users.
First it was the FarmVille game that captivated Facebook users. There are other FB games but the first really big one was FarmVille.
Instead of reading what our FB friends were doing, it was more like reading about how many bricks they needed friends to send them to build a barn, etc.
Thankfully it is easy to block out Facebook games. Some members are only on Facebook to play the games.
A report at the link below says that there is as new FB game that is bigger than FarmVille. It is CityVille. Another game on FB to block.
Link
First it was the FarmVille game that captivated Facebook users. There are other FB games but the first really big one was FarmVille.
Instead of reading what our FB friends were doing, it was more like reading about how many bricks they needed friends to send them to build a barn, etc.
Thankfully it is easy to block out Facebook games. Some members are only on Facebook to play the games.
A report at the link below says that there is as new FB game that is bigger than FarmVille. It is CityVille. Another game on FB to block.
Link
Mercury filled CFL bulbs hazard for babies and pregnant women
Energy-saving light bulbs are the center of a fresh health scare after researchers claimed they can release potentially harmful amounts of mercury when the bulbs break.
Levels of toxic vapor around smashed eco-bulbs were up to 20 times higher than the safe guideline limit for an indoor area, the study said.
It added that broken bulbs posed a potential health risk to pregnant women, babies and small children.
CFL's use much less energy but is the hazard worth it?
More here.
Who needs Congress? Obama admin to move on greenhouse gasses unilaterally
From an Associated Press report at the link below:
Stymied in Congress, the Obama administration is moving unilaterally to clamp down on greenhouse emissions, announcing plans for new power plants and oil refinery emission standards over the next year.
In an announcement posted on the agency's website late Thursday, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson said the aim was to better cope with pollution contributing to climate change.
Barack Obama said two days after the midterm elections that he was disappointed Congress hadn't acted on legislation achieving the same end, saying that other options were under consideration.
Now he is doing it without Congress. Who needs Congress anyway - Obama doesn't.
Link
Dec 27, 2010
'Astonishing' sales numbers for book by George W. Bush
The book by George W. Bush has as many sales in one month as the Bill Clinton book did in six years.
Photo shows Bill Clinton holding his book.
From a report at the link below:
Photo shows Bill Clinton holding his book.From a report at the link below:
Former U.S. President George W Bush’s memoir has sold an astonishing two million copies since it was released in early November – and it’s not even in paperback yet.
‘Decision Points’, published both in hardcover and e-book form, is flying off the shelves, the Crown Publishing Group says.
By contrast, former president Bill Clinton’s memoir, ‘My Life’, has logged sales of 2.2million copies since it was first published in 2004.
A spokesman for the publisher called the performance remarkable and said he could not think of any other hardcover nonfiction books in 2010 that had sold even one million copies, much less two!
Link
Requests increase for Obama birth proof
After two years in the White House preceded by two years campaigning, we have yet to seed proof of Mr. Obama's natural born citizenship.
The report below wonders if the new Governor of Hawaii will provide the document for all to see.
By now it is evident that he was not born in the United States or that something very strange is on the document or it would have been released long ago.
Barack Obama's father was never a U.S. citizen. Was his mother not of legal age when he was born? Is this why the document has not been revealed?
It is interesting to note that the media raised questions about the birthplace of John McCain saying he was ineligible to be president. However, the media is largely silent about Obama's birthplace.
Sen. McCain was born in the Canal Zone. However, his father was in the military stationed in the Canal Zone at the time which made Mr. McCain a natural born citizen.
The birth cloud over Obama will linger until his birth certificate becomes public.
Something is being hidden that needs to be uncovered.
Link
The report below wonders if the new Governor of Hawaii will provide the document for all to see.
By now it is evident that he was not born in the United States or that something very strange is on the document or it would have been released long ago.
Barack Obama's father was never a U.S. citizen. Was his mother not of legal age when he was born? Is this why the document has not been revealed?
It is interesting to note that the media raised questions about the birthplace of John McCain saying he was ineligible to be president. However, the media is largely silent about Obama's birthplace.
Sen. McCain was born in the Canal Zone. However, his father was in the military stationed in the Canal Zone at the time which made Mr. McCain a natural born citizen.
The birth cloud over Obama will linger until his birth certificate becomes public.
Something is being hidden that needs to be uncovered.
Link
Dec 26, 2010
Transformed in Loveland Colorado
The second year of Art in Public Places in Loveland, Colorado is now complete.
The upper photo shows an artist working on a transformer box.
Artists from Loveland, Longmont an up through Northern Colorado have painted electrical transformer boxes throughout the city.
Link
The upper photo shows an artist working on a transformer box.
Artists from Loveland, Longmont an up through Northern Colorado have painted electrical transformer boxes throughout the city.Link
Breakthrough in fight to save honeybees worldwide
A report from the UK is welcome news not only to beekeepers but to the human race.
Conservation groups are welcoming a breakthrough in the battle against a deadly mite responsible for decimating the honeybee population.
The Varroa mite is the biggest killer of honeybees worldwide and has developed a resistance to medication developed to destroy it.
But now scientists from Aberdeen University and the government's National Bee Unit have developed a genetic technique that could stop the mite in its tracks.
Honeybee populations have fallen by 23 per cent since 1992. They are the main crop pollinators and without bees our food supply would be limited to mostly meat and grain.
When bee populations first started to diminish ill-informed environmental activists blamed it on global warming. Where are the "warming alarmists" now that it wasn't warming after all? Besides the planet has been cooling for more than ten years.
More here.
Sewage spill in bay where Obama is spending Hawaii vacation
What? Again? It was just last summer when the Obama's were land-bound by contaminated water while vacationing at Martha's Vineyard.
This time it is in Hawaii where sewage is impeding their recreation.
This time it is in Hawaii where sewage is impeding their recreation.
The City & County of Honolulu reports there were an estimated 14 sewage spills during the heavy rainstorm last weekend, at least four of which the state says happened in the windward community of Kailua where President Obama and his family are staying this holiday season.
Those sewage overflows rose from waterlogged manholes and went into the Kaelepulu Stream, which is one of two major waterways in the Kailua district.
One wonders if contamination is following the Obama's or are the Obama's the pursuers?
Perhaps this will be a fitting end to the 111th Congress.
Link
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