Joe Biden rewrites history

In a CBS “Behind the scenes with Joe Biden” article at the link below, Katie Couric interviews democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Biden (pictured) complained to Couric, “I know the Republicans are going to take anything I say, no matter what it would be or anybody, and take it out of context.”

About the rocky week on Wall Street, Biden had this to say:

“Part of what being a leader does is to instill confidence is to demonstrate what he or she knows what they are talking about and to communicating to people ... this is how we can fix this,” Biden said. “When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed.”

Fact checking Biden’s comments we find:

Franklin Roosevelt was not president during the 1929 stock market crash.

Herbert Hoover was president when the stock market crashed.

Franklin Roosevelt was Governor of New York in 1929. He was elected president in November, 1932 and took office on March 4, 1933.

Commercial television was not generally available until the late 1930’s and television sets were not found in the average household until the late 1940’s.

Will he complain that these comments will be taken out of context?

It’s no wonder there is talk of replacing Biden and putting someone else on the Obama ticket (possibly Hillary - if she will accept).

Link

Lighten up! Your child’s backpack may be too heavy

Heavy Backpacks can be a weighty problem for many children.

Are you sending your child off to school with a backpack that is too heavy?

When buying one, make sure it is the right size for a child. Keep in mind, proportion.

Look for padded shoulders and different pockets to separate the weight.

The American Physical Therapy Association recommends a backpack should be 10 to 15 percent of a child's weight.

A backpack that is too heavy can injure a child.

The most common injuries occur in the shoulder because heavy straps can tear the tendons in the area.

If the child is leaning forward, that's a sign the backpack is too heavy.

More of the story here.

Palin draws crowd of 60,000 in Florida

A wildly cheering crowd of 60,000 greeted Sarah Palin (pictured) in the Villages (near Orlando).

That’s only about 15,000 less than Obama drew in Denver for his acceptance speech - and she didn’t need a band or an elaborate “Barackapolis” to do it.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin told wildly cheering, flag-waving, chanting supporters that John McCain is "the only great man in this race"

“He won't say this, so I'll say it for him," the Alaska governor said in an almost confidential tone at the close of her first Florida stump speech.

"There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you. John McCain wore the uniform of his country for 22 years -- talk about tough."

Recent polls have given the McCain-Palin ticket a single-digit edge but Florida is clearly up for grabs.

McCain, who led the Jan. 29 state primary with a big boost from popular Gov. Charlie Crist, has strong support in the vital I-4 corridor and across North Florida, where conservative southerners tend to register as Democrats but vote Republican in statewide races.

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- - - - - - - - - - U P D A T E - - - - - - - - - -

The Associated Press report said the crows was “tens of thousands” and downplayed the event by saying, “Palin's first Florida campaign stop a safe one.” Safe one indeed. Obama drew a much smaller crowd at the same location.

The AP report went on to make a very revealing Palin - Biden comparison:

Some people [attending the Palin rally] had to wait in line about 90 minutes just to park their cars. Biden's largest crowd during a visit earlier this month was about 2,000.

Not surprising since Biden has regularly been holding rally’s at High School gymnasiums attracting modest crowds.

Link

Poll: race may cost Obama 6% points on election day

A report at the link below gives the results of a poll showing that Barack Obama (pictured) could lose six percentage points on election day for being black.

That disturbing calculation was found in a groundbreaking new Associated Press-Yahoo News poll conducted with Stanford University which probes the effect of the Democratic presidential candidate's race on his historic campaign.

The percentage could easily be higher when election day finally arrives.

Many people responding to a poll would not want to seem racist. However, in the privacy of the voting booth, any fear of appearing racist would be gone.

More here.

Gen. Chuck Yeager at Sarah Palin rally

Gen. Chuck Yeager at a recent Sarah Palin rally in Nevada. Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947.

Bacon wins Idaho hog-calling title

Jolee Bacon, a northern Idaho woman took first place in the hog-calling competition at the Nez Perce County Fair in Lewiston.

Her hog call began with a few loud snorts and a long, drawn-out "sooey." Must have been music to the ears!

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The Charlie Rangel tax scandal

Republicans are all over the latest Charlie Rangel tax scandal.

Democratic congressman Charles Rangel (pictured) is trying to make things right with his constituents and the IRS.

He is also claiming that he was being targeted as part of a "guerrilla war" waged by the GOP.

Republicans defend their charges and their call for Rangel to be stripped of his chairmanship of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

They say that a tax cheat should not be the chairman of the committee that writes American tax policy.

Link

The AP wonders how Obama will do in debates

An Associated Press writer wonders Which Obama will show up for presidential debates?

It could be the tone-deaf debater who condescendingly told Hillary Rodham Clinton during a Democratic debate that she was "likable enough."



Or perhaps the confident candidate who absorbed a jab from Clinton about using her husband's former advisers and responded with a devastating one-liner of his own: "Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well."

For a man known as a powerful speaker, Obama has rarely wowed people in political debates. He can come across as lifeless, aloof and windy.

It make a big difference when Obama can’t use a teleprompter.

One thing we do know is that the media will print positive reports on the performance of Obama and the same negative reports on McCain as they did for Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary campaign.

Link

California bans cell use by train operators

California state regulators issued an emergency order Thursday banning train operators from using cell phones on duty.

The Public Utilities Commission's unanimous decision to pass the temporary order came a day after investigators confirmed that the engineer of the Metrolink commuter train was text-messaging while on duty on the day the train ran a red light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train.



Last week's wreck in Los Angeles killed 25 people, including the engineer, and injured more than 130.

Metrolink prohibits operators from using cell phones on the job, but the rules are widely ignored.

Under the new order the board approved in San Francisco, violators could be fined up to $20,000 per violation or have their operations shut down.

Link

Now it’s Couric’s turn to ‘Gibson’ Sarah Palin

CBS News has announced that Katie Couric (pictured) will get a shot at interviewing Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

Katie Couric will spend two days traveling on the campaign trail with Governor Sarah Palin on Sunday, September 28 and Monday, September 29.

The interviews may not be completely fair and balanced. After all, CBS is the network that allowed Dan Rather to keep his job for several months after his infamous attempt to smear George W. Bush with his “fake but accurate” National Guard fiasco in 2004.

However, don’t expect Couric to attempt a “gotcha” Charlie Gibson style interview.

The Sara Palin appearances with Katie Couric should be very interesting and should high viewer ratings.

Link

This little piggy went to prison

A Wisconsin man was convicted of sneaking into a 2-year-old girl's bedroom and stealing $20 from a piggy bank while she slept.

Four-time convicted burglar Ryan Mueller, 31, was convicted Thursday after a two-day jury trial of felony burglary as a repeat offender.

He was sentenced to six years in prison.

Link

Obama: racial problem with white Democrats

There is an AP-Yahoo News poll conducted with Stanford University showing that one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks—many calling them "lazy," "violent" or responsible for their own troubles.

These deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close.

The poll suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004—about 2.5 percentage points.

More than a third of all white Democrats and independents—voters Obama can't win the White House without—agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don't have such views.

Link

ABC with vendetta against Sarah Palin?

You’d think Sarah Palin was the only one running for office this fall. She isn’t of course but you’d never know it by searching the Internet for ABC postings.

Evidently ABC views her as the greatest threat to prevent Barack Obama from moving into the White House in January.

As an ardent Obama supporter, it is no wonder then that Palin appears in more ABC negative stories than any of the others. Obama has had no negative stories. The tally is shown below:

Palin: 24
McCain: 2
Biden: 1
Obama: 0

One can only conclude that ABC is indeed trying to destroy Sarah Palin.

Link

Microsoft kills Seinfeld - Gates advertisements

The uninspiring Microsoft ads with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld will end about as fast as they began.

The ads have been largely panned as a strained effort on the software giant's part to not only promote Windows but also portray Microsoft as cool and in touch with regular consumers -- basically, to counter the stodgy image painted in Apple's “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads.

Link

Change we can believe in

Lieberman tweaks the donkey’s nose - again

Senator Joe Lieberman's latest provocation is a resolution declaring the recently completed troop surge in Iraq a "strategic success."

The white flag waving “cut and run” Democrats in the Senate can’t admit the surge in Iraq has been a success.

And this is just two weeks after he angered Senate Democrats with his speech at the Republican National Convention.

But with their party's razor-thin majority in the Senate, and because Lieberman (pictured) caucuses with the Democrats, they are unlikely to do much to punish the senator from Connecticut.

More of the story here.

Palin smear losing traction in Alaska

There is a report at the link below titled, Troopergate probe appears to be unraveling.

Maybe it's unraveling because the chief witch-hunter announced proudly that "there will be an October surprise!" revealing him to be very partisan.

Or, maybe it’s unraveling because it wasn’t raveled in the first place and the probe is really just a witch-hunt.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist ferret out the real story here.

Without left-wing media spin, it’s about the firing of a trooper who was never fired.

It’s also about the firing of a commissioner who served at the will of the governor but preferred to serve his former boss instead, hoping to engineer an October surprise to help put Barack Obama in the White House.

Democratic Senator Hollis French (pictured), who started all this, has suddenly gone quiet as the probe loses traction.

There will undoubtedly be an open seat in the next election or there will be an easy victory for almost any Republican running against Senator Hollis French.

A Lucianne comment:

Troopergate was a Bill Clinton scandal. It was when he had Arkansas state troopers bringing women to him while he was Governor.

This is tasergate. A trooper who should have been jailed for tasering a 10 year old child, drinking alcohol in his patrol car and threatening bodily harm to his ex-wife's parents.

Only in the liberal media is a State Trooper who tasered his son and threatened the life of the father of a Governor treated as a victim while Obama's Pastor of 20 years (who just happens to be a vicious anti-semitic and anti-American racist) is celebrated as a hero.

Link

Cable News Race: Viewership 9-18-08

Number of viewers September 18, 2008

FOX News - Sean Hannity 4,921,000
FOX News - O'Reilly 3,839,000
FOX News - Greta Van Susteren 3,561,000
FOX News - Shepard Smith 2,184,000
FOX News - Brit Hume 2,108,000
MSNBC - Keith Olbermann 1,854,000
CNN - Anderson Cooper 1,719,000
MSNBC - Rachel Maddow 1,716,000
CNN - Larry King 1,646,000
MSNBC - Chris Matthews 1,145,000

Link

Judge throws out baggy pants ban

A judge in south Florida reigns in actions of “fashion police.”

A Florida judge has deemed unconstitutional a law banning baggy pants that show off the wearer's underwear, local media reported Tuesday.

The law banning so-called "saggy pants" was approved by city voters in March after supporters of the bill collected nearly 5,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

A 17-year-old spent a night in jail last week after police arrested him for wearing low pants in Riviera Beach, southeast Florida.

The teen would have received a 150 dollars fine or community service.

Your honor, we now have the fashion police," added public defender Carol Bickerstaff, who asked the law be declared "unconstitutional."

The judge agreed with Bickerstaff.

Link

Tennessee politician son contacted about hacking Palin e-mails

Democratic State Representative Mike Kernell said that he was aware that his son David is under investigation for hacking into the personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

David Kernell is a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

More of the story here. Photo of David Kernell here.

One trip grip grocery bag holder

Paper or plastic? Your answer will be plastic every time if you spring for this grocery bag holder.

For only four bucks you can throw your shoulder out of joint lugging your groceries home all in one trip.

The web site says:

With a 50 lb. capacity, you'll be able to carry your groceries in with ease.

Surely they are using the term ‘with ease’ rather loosly.

Link

Second childhood: mom uses daughters ID to be cheerleader

A 33-year-old Green Bay, Wisconsin woman was charged with stealing her daughter's identity to attend high school and join the cheerleading team.

Wendy Brown faces a felony identity theft charge after enrolling in Ashwaubenon High School as her 15-year-old daughter, who lives in Nevada with Brown's mother.

Ms Brown wanted to get her high school degree and be a cheerleader because she had no childhood and was trying to regain a part of her life she missed.

In addition to the identity theft charge, Brown is facing a bad check charge. The $134.50 check she gave to the cheerleading coach for her uniform bounced.

Link

Guinness record: the long and the short of it

This year's version of "Guinness World Records 2009" is due out Wednesday.

To publicize the release, the world’s shortest man and the world’s leggiest woman met in London’s Trafalgar Square for a promotional appearance.

He Pingping of China stands precisely 2 feet 5.37 inches tall.

The 20-year-old was born with a type of dwarfism. He called Svetlana Pankratova's legs "very beautiful."

Pankratova, 36, who is Russian but lives in Spain, has legs that are nearly 52 inches long, or more than 4 feet long. Her upper body has nearly typical proportions, giving her a giraffe-like appearance.

She isn't the tallest woman on record but has the longest legs of any woman.

Link

Report: technology can be ‘berry’ addictive

A study of 6,500 traveling executives, done by Sheraton hotels, found that 35 percent of them would choose their PDA over their spouse.

Of all the possible things that can come between spouses, you can now add BlackBerrys -- or more precisely -- BlackBerry addiction to the list.

The study reveals BlackBerry's are becoming -- among other things -- the 800-pound gorilla in the bedroom.

"It can actually ruin relationships," said Dr. Susan Bartell, a psychologist and relationship expert. Bartell said couples should be interfacing more, but with each other.

"People are so focused on their PDAs, they're not focusing on what might be going wrong in their relationships," Bartell said.

Link

The “living in a garbage truck” hoax - revisited

Have you seen this hoax on the Internet, or maybe received it by e-mail?

The story of a garbage truck converted to a motor home has been posted several places on the Internet.

It is still making the rounds. It was incorrect when it stated and is still incorrect.



It’s a TerraCross Home on Wheels made by UNICAT. The TerraCross web site is here. The UNICAT home page is here.

The myth buster web site is here.

Obama sets up teleprompter in rodeo ring!

Barack Obama (pictured) doesn’t go anywhere without his teleprompter.

That was never more evident than when he made his usual pronouncements in Colorado.

CNN reports:

The Illinois senator used a teleprompter at both his Colorado events Monday — making for a particularly peculiar scene in Pueblo, where the prompter was set up in the middle of what is normally a rodeo ring.

He won’t be able to use the prompter during the debates but maybe his aides can figure out a way to give him the answers electronically.

Can’t have him saying he “campaigned in 57 states” during the debates, now can we?

Link

John Stewart mocks Obama DNC speech

John Stewart from the Daily Show made his own version of the Barack acceptance speech at the Denver Democratic National Convention.

(click on picture to see video)

Old Farmer's Almanac predicts global cooling for next half century

That sound you hear is Al Gore slamming his phone against the wall after canceling his subscription to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

A report at the link below says:

For the near future, the Almanac predicts most of the country will be colder than normal in the coming winter, with heavy snow from the Ozarks into southern New England. Snow also is forecast for northern Texas, with a warmer than usual winter in the northern Plains.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is going further out on a limb than usual this year, not only forecasting a cooler winter, but looking ahead decades to suggest we are in for global cooling, not warming.

Based on the same time-honored, complex calculations it uses to predict weather, the Almanac hits the newsstands on Tuesday saying a study of solar activity and corresponding records on ocean temperatures and climate point to a cooler, not warmer, climate, for perhaps the next half century.

The Old Farmer's Almanac was Established in 1792 and is North America's oldest continuously published periodical.

It still comes with that little hole in the corner so it can hang in outhouses.

The Old Farmer's Almanac is not to be confused with the Maine-based Farmer's Almanac, published "only" since 1818.

The 217th edition also predicts social trends such as sofas that measure body temperature, shopping carts that sound an alarm when filled with too much junk food and closet shelves and hangers that talk to give advice on matching shirts and ties.

Color blind people should find the talking closet shelves helpful.

Link

… more from the 2009 Old Farmer’s Almanac…

After 154 pages of words of wisdom from scientists and other experts, the 2009 edition of the Old Farmer’s Almanac closes with words from children.

I shows letters to God from first- and second-graders.

One, signed Joyce, shows little kids know not to be ungrateful, even when faced with a big disappointment. It reads:

"Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy."

Gibson’s gift to the faltering Obama campaign

I still maintain that the reason Charlie Gibson looked to ill at ease during the Palin interview is because he really didn’t want to be rude and disrespectful but was ordered to by ABC.





My first thought was:

Gibson should be out in front of the ABC Headquarters Building wearing a doorman’s uniform.

My second thought was:

Gibson may have been afraid he would end up in a doorman’s uniform if he didn’t try to destroy Sarah Palin.

Anyway, one can’t act the way he did to Palin during that interview without having at least a couple of flawed character traits.

There is already a backlash. It may continue until November.

Gibson tarnished his reputation to help Obama’s faltering campaign.

Link

P.S.
The Charlie Gibson friendly, touchy-feely interview of Obama can be found here.

Gibson waiting for Palin to iron his shirts and make his coffee

23,000 since 1972 - now that’s a Big Mac attack!

A Fond du Lac, Wisconsin man has eaten 23,000 Big Macs since 1972.

Was he taken in by those “two all-beef patties special sauce” commercials?

He says it was his obsessive-compulsive disorder that made him do it.

Fifty-four-year-old Don Gorske says he hit the milestone last month, continuing a pleasurable obsession that began May 17, 1972 when he got his first car.

Gorske has kept every burger receipt in a box. He says he was always fascinated with numbers, and watching McDonald's track its number of customers motivated him to track his own consumption.

The only day he skipped a Big Mac was the day his mother died, to respect her request.

Link

Obama mocks McCain for war injury limitation

With falling poll numbers and worried backers, Obama has vowed sharper attacks on McCain and Palin.

In doing so, a new Obama ad mocks McCain for being computer illiterate.

The ad says

It's extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn't know how to send an e-mail.

A report at the link below tells why McCain doesn’t do e-mail.

Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by "extraordinary."

The reason he doesn't send email is that he can't use a keyboard because of the relentless beatings he received from the Viet Cong in service to our country. From the Boston Globe (March 4, 2000):

McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes.

The report continues:

In a similar vein I guess it's an outrage that the blind governor of New York David Patterson doesn't know how to drive a car. After all, transportation issues are pretty important. How dare he serve as governor while being ignorant of what it's like to navigate New York's highways.

Some say, So what if he was handicapped? He could still learn how to send email.

Sure, but why would he? Bill Clinton sent two emails during his entire presidency and often admitted he didn't know squat about the Internet.

Link

New 63 mpg Ford Fiesta will not be sold in US - for now

Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic (pictured) gets 63 miles per gallon on diesel fuel.

This cool looking Ford goes on sale in November but there is a catch.



It won’t be sold in the United States. This super-economy car will only be sold in Europe.

Half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly diesel fuel.

Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline.

Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel.

"Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old-tech."

Link

PA Inquirer: Don’t cry racism if Obama loses

No matter how incredible it may seem, there will be cries of racism if Barack Obama (pictured) is not elected president in November!

A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer at the link below addresses the inevitable racism accusations if Barack Obama loses the election.

Last month, one of our two major political parties nominated an African American as its candidate for president of the United States.

Historic progress to be celebrated?

Apparently not. A few weeks and polls later, and some are already bemoaning the rampant racism that might keep a black man from ascending to the presidency.

One thing that has been obvious in most situations -- the ‘affirmative action’ candidate, for whatever position, is often unqualified.

Did the Democrats select Barack Obama as the ‘affirmative action’ presidential candidate in 2008? If not were are his real qualifications?

Back to the Inquirer article:

Don't assume racism if people question Obama on the company he keeps: a 20-year membership in a church where anti-American rhetoric was spewed and then sold in the gift shop; boosting his political career from the home of an unrepentant domestic terrorist from the '60s.

Don't assume racism because voters don't think a junior senator with great potential but no major accomplishments is ready to be leader of the Free World and a wartime commander in chief.

Don't assume racism if voters question his military acumen. Yes, a 16-month drawdown of forces looks doable - now. But to get to the point where winning seemed possible, others had to make tough decisions on troop levels and strategy. In the meantime, Obama glibly sang the same tune for years, even when his plan would have meant certain victory for al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Yes, it's a strange country, but Americans have shown they will vote for the person they believe is ready for the job, the one who will best represent their interests, regardless of race.

Don't blame them if Obama loses. Blame his poor judgment and lack of experience.

Link

Palin’s eyeglasses causing quite a stir

The first question many ask: does she really need glasses or are they fake? Does she wear glasses just to look glamorous?

Are they designer glasses or just cheap knock-off’s?

First of all, Sarah Palin didn’t get her glasses at Wal-Mart nor did she buy them on eBay.

She wears glasses by Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki made by italee. The frames are made from titanium and mounted via a screwless tension system.

Are they fake? No, she is nearsighted and has slight astigmatism but does not wear bifocal lenses.

Needless to say the optical business is thrilled.

The Palin frame — minus the lenses — starts at a suggested $375. Depending on the type of lenses, the total package can run to $700.

It's been awhile since the optical business has been as charged by celebrity specs as it has by the rimless pair the vice presidential nominee wears most of the time.

If she wins, it could rock the vision-care market, which totals $26.6 billion a year, says tracker Jobson Optical Research.

"She's what's new, and consumers want what's new," says Dr. Joyce Brothers, the consumer psychologist. "But if she loses, you won't see many people in those glasses."

That still gives the eyeglass maker through Nov. 4 to cash in.

If Palin becomes vice-president, whatever glasses she wears will be in high demand.

Link

Thoughts on the Gibson-Palin interviews

Charlie Gibson treated Sarah Palin with a condescending attitude. His non verbal rudeness was glaring as he sat back looking down at her through glasses perched low on his nose like a middle school principal ready to scold an errant student.



Intended as an obvious "gotcha"€ question, Mr. Gibson asked her to describe the Bush doctrine. Only problem was - Gibson was wrong. The Bush doctrine had changed three times as the fluidity of the situation in the Middle East changed after 9/11.

The most recent National Security Strategy compiled by the National Security Council (Bush doctrine) can be found here.



Mr. Gibson did not do his homework because he obviously thought the first National Security Strategy after 9/11 was '€˜cast in stone'€™ and was never altered. He did no€™t know it had been changed to match the ever-changing situation in the Middle East.

The Gibson interview probably wasn't the first time Sarah Palin had been talked down to by a condescending man trying to intimidate her while showing his superiority.



As the interview progressed, Mr. Gibson looked more uneasy than Sarah Palin. One reason may have been his annoyance at the way Palin kept calling him Charlie - almost as if she were scolding a child for not cleaning his room.

Another reason for Gibson appearing ill as ease may have been the pressure on him by ABC to make Palin look like a naïve moose hunter and his inability to get the job done.

Anyway, Palin's intelligence and grace-under-fire during a "gotcha"€ interview won over many that were angered by her treatment.

More on how Charlie Gibson "got it wrong"€ is here in a report by Dr. Charles Krauthammer from the Washington Post.

Indiana city can’t find time capsule buried 50 years ago

A city committee voted recently to open a time capsule buried in 1958, when the city was celebrating its centennial. The plan was to display the items, then add modern ones and rebury it until 2058.

Trouble is, no one seems to know exactly where the capsule is.

One resident who remembers the celebration 50 years ago and said the capsule may be buried on the corner of Main and High streets.

If it's there, it may not be dug up any time soon because that stretch of sidewalk was recently replaced as part of a streetscaping project.

They are planning another time capsule which. It’s a good bet the location of this one will be well documented.

Link

Democrat SWAT team rushed to Alaska

A Wall Street Journal report at the link below outlines plans by the Democrats to discredit Sarah Palin (pictured).

They know that Sarah Palin is a formidable political force who is rapidly derailing the Obama victory train.

‘Palin Power’ has rapidly lifted the McCain ticket above Obama and what’s-his-name ... oh, yes ... Joe Biden. I had nearly forgotten.

Palin has put Biden so far in the background people forget who the Democrat vice-presidential candidate is.

Two weeks ago the McCain campaign lacked life. It was about as exciting as leftover oatmeal.

Sarah Palin has changed all that.

The latest Washington Post/ABC Poll shows John McCain taking a 12-point lead over Barack Obama among white women, a reversal of Mr. Obama's eight-point lead last month.

A Gallup poll (at the second link below) shows McCain is up by 15 points among white women.

It's no surprise, then, that Democrats have airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage, the state capital Juneau and Mrs. Palin's hometown of Wasilla to dig into her record and background.

The witch hunt is on. The Democrats must discredit Palin before she has a chance to destroy Obama in the polls and possibly the election.

Link here and here.

RIM just flipped the BlackBerry Pearl smart phone

The Blackberry Pearl smart phone just got a makeover.

PIM (Research In Motion) unveiled their new Blackberry Pearl 8220 (pictured).

According to Blackberry, "one quick flip of the handset opens up a world of possibilities with the industry's leading mobile messaging solution and a wide range of impressive Internet and multimedia capabilities, all in one powerful yet approachable smart phone."

More information here.

Democrats worried that Obama is ‘blowing it’

Democratic Party leaders are beginning to worry about losing the presidential election.

After the Democratic National Convention, they though Obama (pictured) could order monogrammed sheets for the White House most any time.

Polls showing John McCain tied or even ahead of Barack Obama are stirring angst and second-guessing among some of the Democratic Party’s most experienced operatives, who worry that Obama squandered opportunities over the summer and may still be underestimating his challenges this fall.

It’s more than an increased anxiety … it’s a palpable frustration. Deep-seated unease in the sense that the message has gotten away from them.

Another worried that the Obama campaign was slow to recognize how the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate would change the dynamic of the race.

They were slow to adjust from Hillary Clinton to John McCain and Sarah Palin.

A major Democratic fundraiser described it a good bit more starkly after digesting the polls of recent days: “I’m so depressed. It’s happening again. It’s a nightmare.”

More or the story here.

ABC and CNN plan Palin TV specials

While Senator Obama is issuing playground insults about lipstick on a pig, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (pictured) is becoming a hot TV commodity.

The Fox News Channel documentary, "Governor Palin: An American Woman" last Saturday was the highest-rated prime-time documentary in the network's history, with 2.7 million viewers.

Gibson is traveling to Fairbanks and Wasilla, Alaska, for the first TV interviews with Palin since she was selected as John McCain's running mate. The first excerpts of the talks will be shown on "World News" Thursday.

Gibson is having three separate interviews with Palin, ABC said. Parts of the interviews will be spread around other ABC news programs, including "Nightline" and "Good Morning America."

The Charles Gibson's interviews with Sarah Palin will form the basis of a special prime-time edition of "20/20" Friday.

The prime-time special, at 10 p.m. EDT, will also include a bio of Palin by ABC's Kate Snow and a round-table discussion on the presidential race moderated by George Stephanopoulos.

The Alaska Republican has proven to be a ratings-grabber during her short time on the national political scene. Her speech to the GOP national convention last week was seen by more than 40 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Link here and here.

Remembering 9/11

This is the seven-year anniversary of the attacks that killed almost 3,000 of our fellow Americans.

A time to remember the heroes as well as the victims and their families.

Obama and his allies intensify personal attacks on Palin

Barack Obama and his Democrat allies are intensifying their attacks on Sarah Palin, as her sustained and surprising central role in this race is upending Obama’s strategy.

Joe Biden ripped into Palin’s record and punctuated it with this snarky jab. “There’s no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick.”

Barack Obama and Joe Biden

Obama used a variation of the lipstick line, though he was clearly talking about the McCain-Palin reform rhetoric. "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said. "It's still a pig."

Obama hit Palin in nearly a dozen different press releases — one day after drawing laughs at a campaign stop by calling her a “moose shooter.”

And this from the same Senator Obama who promised no personal attacks during the campaign.

From the Lucianne comment section about these personal attacks by the Obama campaign:

Everyone in the Obama campaign is angry about the Palin effect.

They are angry because so many women can relate to her.

They are angry because the conservative base is energized for the first time in a long while.

They are angry because she and her daughter chose life instead of abortion.

They are angry because she is a strong, successful conservative woman.

They are angry because Barack chose Biden instead of Clinton.

They are angry because she is much more of a phenomenon that Barack Hussein Obama.

They are angry because they shouldn’t scoff at Palin’s religion because of the monster pastor Obama was associated with for over 20 years. Oh, wait a minute - they will scoff at Palin’s religion anyway.

They are angry because they don't know how to be happy in this once great world they claim George W. Bush destroyed.

But most of all they are angry because they fear Sarah Palin will be as much of a charismatic vote getter as Ronald Reagan was and if she is successful, could lock up the next three or four presidential elections.

The more angry they get the more they lash out.

Link to personal attack story here.

Obama ‘lipstick on pig’ comment came home to roost

Michael Ramirez cartoon from Investors Business Daily

Mexicans fleeing bloody drug war move to El Paso

Drug wars in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico have caused a near complete collapse in law and order.

There have been 12 homicides in El Paso, Texas this year. Compare that to some 900 murders in Ciudad Juarez which is just a short walk across the border.

Ciudad Juarez is where Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, the most wanted man in Mexico, is battling local drug baron Vicente Carrillo Fuentes for U.S. smuggling routes.

As a result, hundreds of middle class Mexicans are fleeing across the border into El Paso and buying homes helping keep the Texan city's property market afloat despite the worst U.S. housing crisis in decades.

More of the story here.

Cops kick in door when bird cries help

This strange story comes from Trenton, New Jersey:

Cries for help inside a home turned out to be for the birds.

Neighbors called police after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house.

Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue.

But instead of a damsel in distress, officers found a caged cockatoo with a convincing call.

The 10-year-old bird named Luna learned much of her ever-growing vocabulary from watching television, in both English and Spanish.

Link

Reason for selecting Sarah palin

(click on picture to enlarge)

McCain collected $5M Monday in Obama’s back yard

Republican John McCain raised about $5 million in Chicago at a Monday night fundraiser.

It worked out to be about $1 million for each hour he spent in Democrat Barack Obama's hometown.

Like every Republican presidential nominee since 1984, McCain appears to regard campaigning in heavily Democratic Illinois a waste of time.

This time it was different as McCain took away an astounding $5 million.

Several dozen of the biggest contributors who had dinner with him told CBS 2 McCain's elated by new voter opinion surveys showing that, for the first time, he's ahead of Obama.

Illinois Republicans at Monday night's fundraiser were more energized than ever about this presidential contest.

Link

Boston cabbies crabby about green taxi rule

A new Boston ‘green taxi’ rule decrees that all cab drivers and operators must convert their fleets to hybrids by 2015.

Boston's cabbies are a crabby crew even on the best of days, but they're especially ticked off lately.


Taxi drivers are hacked about the financial ramifications of the rule. Most drive Crown Vics that can be had used for $6,000 to $7,500, while a new Prius [shown above] from Boston auto dealer giant Herb Chambers goes for $24,585

That's a lot of scratch for a cab driver who, thanks to out-of-control gas prices, is already having trouble making ends meet.

It doesn't help that the eco-friendlier cars cost more to insure, have tiny trunks and, in the cabbies' opinions, aren't tough enough to do the job.

Raising cab fares would seem to be the simple solution except that Boston's cab rates are already higher than those in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago or Miami.

More of the story here.

MSNBC removes Olbermann and Matthews from live political events

MSNBC dropped Chris Matthews (upper picture) and Keith Olbermann (lower picture) from anchoring future live political events on the network.

The action was the result of growing criticism that Olbermann and Matthews are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of a presidential campaign.

Chris Matthews described how he was inspired by Obama's speeches and made disparaging remarks about Hillary Clinton.

After a speech by Obama, Matthews said he experienced a thrill going up his leg. Wait a minute, did I get that right? Yup, checked it again. He really did say Obama gave him a thrill up his leg!

By removing Olbermann and Matthews, MSNBC is trying to improve their image in an effort to gain ground on the other cable news networks. MSNBC ranks a solid third behind FOX and CNN in the cable news viewership race.

Link

Your volume of spam may depend on your name

A report at the link below says refers to a recent study showing the the volume of span received could depend on the first letter of your e-mail address.

Those of us with unusual [e-mail] names tend to draw more chuckles and raised eyebrows than our more commonly named counterparts.

But it turns out that there is at least one thing that the Johns and Janes of the world seem to attract more of than we do.

Spam.

A recent study shows that the amount of spam you receive could depend not only how common your first name is but how common the first letter of your e-mail address is.

The study found that e-mail addresses starting with heavily used letters like J, M, R and P, 40 percent of the e-mail received was spam.

Addresses beginning with less frequently used letters, such as Q, X and Z, only 20 percent of the e-mails were spam.

The discrepancies have to do with the way that spammers compile their lists of e-mail addresses.

One common method is called the dictionary attack. Spammers go through the alphabet and if, for example, they know that a john@example.com exists, they'll try sending an e-mail to john@another.com.

Does this mean if we don’t have real names like Phinneas or Ebenezer, we should use e-mail addresses like goofynoofy or smartypants? Goofynoofy indeed!

How many of us would rather tolerate a little more spam than use e-mail addresses like goofynoofy or smartypants?

Link

Rare genetic condition - no fingerprints

Think how hard it would be to get a security clearance without fingerprints.

Imagine touching glass and not leaving a mark -- virtually no trace of the complex lines and ridges that make up each individual fingerprint.

Most of us take these identifying traits for granted. After all, everyone has fingerprints, right?

Wrong.

People with DPR, or dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis, do not have fingerprints. They are also unable to sweat.

This condition may not seem life-threatening, but it can actually be extremely hazardous.

The inability to sweat turns every hot day or active play into a potential for heatstroke.

More of the story here.

Sarah Palin and the New York Times

At the link below is a New York Times article called, Drawing a Bead on the Press.

The best line in the article:

Ms. Palin (pictured), a woman who clearly understands the power of words, had a way of pronouncing media — “MEE-de-ah” — that made it sound like something legless and slithering.

The second best line:

She’s not an alien to modern media. She’s one of its archetypes: a Rachael Ray with a 4x4, who can not only make a meal in under 30 minutes but hunt and kill the main course.

Repeating Sarah Palin’s comment to him at the Republican National Convention, Mr. Carr writes: “Conservatives have a bad history with The New York Times,” she said, looking at my press ID, still smiling and still very friendly. “How can I be sure that you won’t take my words and twist them to suit some agenda that you already have?”

The article is a bit condescending - well, OK, the article is a whole lot condescending. But how else could a liberal writer, penning an article for a liberal publication, treat Sarah Palin with any amount of civility without incurring the wrath of his editor as well as his peers in the liberal MEE-de-ah?

Another notable quote from the article:

In the press galleries at the convention, journalists wrinkled their noses in disgust when Piper, Ms. Palin’s youngest daughter, was filmed kitty-licking her baby brother’s hair into place. But to many Americans — including some I talked to in the convention hall — that looked like a family in church, evidence of good breeding and sibling regard.

I think Mr. Carr really does get it. I get it. Middle America gets it.

More on Piper Palin ‘kitty-licking’ her baby brother’s hair into place can be found in the next posting.

Link

Endearing video of Sara Palin’s daughter Piper

(click on picture to see video)

This is the most precious and endearing video we have seen in a long time!

How long before we see “Vote for Piper Palin’s mom” signs?

Now that’s a heavy beard

A news announcement read:

“Authorities said the robber was a 6 foot tall white male with a beard weighing about 220 pounds."

Obama said “my Muslim faith” - but was it really a slip?

Barack Hussein Obama (pictured) was talking to ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" yesterday trying to criticize the quiet smear campaign suggesting he is a Muslim.

Adding fuel to suggestions that he is a Muslim, Obama said, "my Muslim faith."

But was it really a verbal slip? It probably was but Obama detractors will be hard to convince.

It's no wonder his advisors tremble when he talks without a teleprompter.

Link

Bloody summer in Chicago

Twice as many people were shot dead in Chicago during the summer as there were US troop deaths in Iraq.

An estimated 125 people were shot and killed in Chicago over the summer which is nearly double the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.

In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps.

Information compiled from reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 125 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 U.S. soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

In the same time period, an estimated 247 people were shot and wounded in the city.

Link

About that faked Sarah Palin pic with rifle and bikini

The link below shows a photo of an unknown girl wearing a bikini and holding a rifle.

Also shown is the same photo after Sarah Palin’s face was ‘photoshopped’ onto the original picture.

Link here to the fake photo and how it was made.

The Governator wearing a speedo

Speaking of poltics - here is a look at the Governor of California.

Makes you want to grab grandma and the kids and head for home early.