Bernard Madoff: stripped of stolen riches and given life in prison

An article at the link below reports:

Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff (pictured) was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant.

The judge said a conservative estimate of the amount Madoff cost his victims is more than $13 billion.


Bernard Madoff owned several homes including a $6.5 million penthouse in a building on Manhattan’s Upper Eastside shown above.


Now he resides in this cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center prison in New York awaiting transfer to a prison where he will spend the rest of his life.

Before sentencing, one victim said, “Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can't wake from.”

Another said, “He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He has no values. He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief,”

Link

Most think they are not old regardless of age

A survey by Pew Research Center found that most people say they feel younger than their calendar age.

The average age considered "old" by respondents was 68 -- but there were real differences in perception driven by the respondents' own ages:

More than half of those under 30 say the average person becomes old before 60.

Middle-aged respondents say it's closer to 70.

Those aged 65 and older say "old" is not until 75.

"What you find is the older people are, the more people push back the age that is old," says Russell Ward, a sociologist who focuses on aging at the University at Albany, State University of New York, and who was not involved in the survey. "It's more in your future. You're not there yet."

But isn’t it how a person feels that determines when a person thinks they are old?

We all know people who look and act much younger than their biological age.

I have often said (with tongue-in-cheek) that sometimes I feel much younger than my calendar years. Other times, however, I get the urge to ship a case of prune juice to the nearest nursing home along with a signed note saying, “hold for arrival.”

Seriously, the secret of aging is to stay young at heart no matter how old the rest of your body is.

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Countless Russians jobless as Putin closes casino’s

Vladimir Putin has decreed that every legal casino and slot-machine parlor in Russia will be shut down.

It will be one of the largest mass layoffs in recent Russian history.

Putin’s anti-vice plan will put hundreds of thousands of people out of work in the midst of a global economic crisis.

The Kremlin has offered the gambling industry only one option for survival: relocate to four regions in remote areas of Russia, as many as 4,000 miles from the capital.


The potential marketing slogans -- Come to the Las Vegas of Siberia! Have a Ball near the North Korean Border! -- may not sound inviting, but that is in part what the government envisions.

None of the four regions are prepared for the transfer, and no casino is expected to reopen for several years leaving the industry’s workers out on the street indefinitely.

Link

Climate Change Bill could haunt Democrats in future elections

As liberal Democrats struggled to win a narrow, party-line approval of climate change legislation, they had to be haunted by a critical question: has the political climate changed since 1993?

Under pressure from the Clinton administration, many House Democrats reluctantly backed a proposed B.T.U. tax pushed by a young inexperienced president.

The ill-fated B.T.U. bill was intended to tax each unit of energy consumed.

When the bill later went down in flames in the Senate, many Democrats in the House got burned when it was seized upon as a campaign issue by Republicans, who took control of the House the next year.

Now that another equally absurd bill, promoted by another young inexperienced president, has squeaked by the House, how many Democrats who voted for it are looking over their shoulders thinking déjà vu?

Whether Democrats realize it or not, the 2010 election campaign officially began with the narrow passage of this climate change bill in the House.

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TV pitchman Billy Mays dead at age 50

Fox News reported this morning:

Television pitchman Billy Mays (pictured), who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets, died Sunday.

Mays, 50, was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Mays reportedly had a very pleasant personality and was very approachable.

However, if you ever watched late-night TV, you knew a different Billy Mays. He would pop up every few minutes in yet another commercial, bellowing as if he thought the whole world has gone a little deaf. That’s probably I why never could get myself to buy OxiClean.

No matter how nice Billy Mays was off camera, he had me reaching for the mute button on the remote more than any other single person.

Link

House narrowly passes climate energy bill

An article at the link below reports:

Sadly, the House passed the 1,200-page climate bill that congress was not allowed to read.


Despite heated objections by some Republicans, the unread 1,200-page Waxman-Markey climate bill ( pictured) was passed 219-212 in the House on Friday.

300 pages were added to the bill at 3 a.m. making it impossible for congressmen to read the entire bill before the vote.

Minority leader John Boehner (upper photo) was criticized for beginning a short filibuster to give time for his colleagues and aides to scan the unread extra passages and present certain excerpts on the floor.

That’s the Obama way - present a bill containing over 1,000 pages with several hundred pages added just a few hours before the vote.

Shockingly, co-sponsor Henry Waxman (lower photo) objected to Boehner’s reading the bill on the House floor, and tried to prevent it on procedural grounds so that is contents would remain unknown and no one would shift support or delay the bill’s passage.

Ed Markey, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, rose to report that a copy was only available at the speaker’s desk or online, which would require members "to leave the floor to access."

It is possible that the Democrats can see the tides turning in the last couple of weeks and they're rushing things through.

Conservatives and most moderates are hoping the Senate will stop the insanity by defeating this bill.

Link

Obama promotes climate change bill in face of conflicting data

Obama promotes climate change bill in face of conflicting data
Barack Obama (pictured) defends his assertion that a climate-change measure making its way through Congress would greatly reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil even though government figures raised questions about whether he was overstating its effect.

Washington liberals do not want us seek new oil production here at home. In fact they want us to shut down our domestic production while they whine about our dependence on foreign oil. We can’t have it both ways.


Nancy Pelosi is expressing the basic liberal view

Mr. Obama is intent on forcing this bill through congress even though the governments’ own figures show the data behind the bill is flawed.

Why does Obama and the left-wing liberals want this flawed bill pushed through? It’s mostly about power and control over people and businesses.

Mr. Obama warned that it would take a long time for us to see results from this bill.

He even said that ten years from now it won’t even look like much change has taken place. He said it would take twenty to thirty years so see the change he promised.

It will take twenty or thirty years to force U.S. automakers and foreign auto importers to supply electric and/or diesel-electric cars as the only autos available to the general public.


This model could be ordered with teleprompters instead of the solar panels shown above

It is interesting to note that Al Gore has been asked to stay away from Washington during the voting on this bill. He is, however, making telephone calls today from his home in Tennessee to help sway undecided congressmen.

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Siberian tiger and cubs

Siberian tiger looks after her six newborn cubs in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

Rahm it through with Emanuel’s help

Not your average port-a-potty

A woman examines a decorated toilet during an art show in Kiev, Ukraine.

The event marked the 100th anniversary of the lavatory.

The Ukrainian-Russian art union that organized the show asked pedestrians to sit on the toilets and think about problems produced by the economic crisis.

No, really - that’s what they said - sit on the toilets and think about problems produced by the economic crisis.

You just can’t make up stuff like this!

Massachusetts housing homeless in motels

The state of Massachusetts is renting motel rooms for a record number of families at a cost to taxpayers of $2 million per month.

The state gives high unemployment and the rising number of home foreclosures as the reason the state is taking this action.

It costs an average of $85 per night to have families, including nearly 1000 children, stay in motels.

That’s not good enough for homeless advocates because they say families are not getting the support of shelters with living rooms, kitchens, and play areas.

How long before the homeless will be better off than families living in their own homes?

Link

The Obama media love affair upstaged by Gov. Mark Sanford

Always room for one more

(click on picture to enlarge)
This Time Magazine photo was taken on the outskirts of Abeche in western Chad.

The New York Times and CBS conduct another “push poll”

A New York Times/CBS News poll released over the weekend showed broad bipartisan support for President Obama’s health care reform.

Only problem is, the New York Times/CBS poll over-sampled Obama voters compared to McCain voters. It was another “push poll” designed to get the pro-Obama results they wanted.

The poll showed 72% support for Obama's Health Care Plan but only because it was stacked with Obama supporters.

Link

Rain check? Who needs a rain check?

A girl runs into water pouring down from a stadium's upper balcony during a rain delay before the start of a Major League baseball game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays in Arlington, Texas, on June 10.

Even Obama supporters say the honeymoon is over

There is a report at the link below titled: “The presidency at five months.”

The Congressional Budget Office's preliminary cost and deficit calculations of the president's overall budget and specific health proposals have sent tremors through the Democratic Party establishment - and the White House is feeling the vibrations.

Last week, both David Broder, The Washington Post's venerable and authoritative political voice, and Chuck Todd, NBC's new important political voice, declared President Obama's honeymoon over.

The previous paragraph is revealing barometer of the political climate in Washington because both Broder and Todd have been “in the tank” for Mr. Obama from the start of the presidential campaign.

The report says it is a commonplace of Washington politics that it is not news when the other party attacks, but it is noteworthy when there is opposition within a president's own party.

Last week, on two of his three major domestic legislative initiatives - health policy and financial re-regulation - strong Democratic Party congressional doubts (and, on some important details, opposition) emerged.

Obama’s early predictions of unemployment rates have turned out to be well under the actual numbers.

Interest rates on Treasury notes needed to finance Obama’s proposed deficits are steadily climbing which is driving up mortgage rates and driving down housing recovery.

His foreign policy hasn’t been any better.

How many foreign leaders has Barack Obama scraped and bowed to on his apology tours?

The media may soon begin to tire of making excuses for him. In that event, the honeymoon will definitely be over.

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Cliff hangers

Death defying South Korean climbers look diminutive as they go rock-climbing on Buckhan mountain near Seoul, South Korea.

Obama says he is an almost cured smoker

The question of his smoking came one day after Mr. Obama signed a sweeping new law that regulates tobacco companies and their marketing to children. By the way, Obama said he doesn’t smoke in front of his children.

After plenty of huffing about puffing, Obama admitted Tuesday that he still sometimes smokes cigarettes, declaring his habit "95 percent cured."

Mr. Obama acknowledged before taking office that he knew smoking is not allowed on White House grounds, telling NBC, "You will not see any violations of these rules in the White House."

Link

Signing anti-smoking bill with a cigarette

Cross-country bus travel may be on the rise

An article at the link below reports the following story:

Boarding a Greyhound bus in Washington, D.C., on a recent evening, luggage in hand and collar undone, David Martinez grabs a seat and pops open his laptop. "This is definitely a step up," says the 26-year-old Harvard graduate, who was headed for New York after interviewing for a job with the U.S. State Department.

It's the new face of bus travel. After years as the ugly stepchild of intercity transportation -- thanks to its long-held reputation as unfriendly, uncomfortable and tawdry -- bus travel is bouncing back.

I rode cross-country busses several years ago when I was in the military.


Above is a new luxury bus. Below is an old Greyhound Silversides much like the busses I rode many years ago.


Unfriendly, uncomfortable and tawdry was a good description of the bus travel I experienced.

The amenities consisted of heavily worn seat cushions and that’s about it. No lavatories. No air-conditioning. It’s a good thing they supplied ashtrays because the vast majority of passengers smoked. The blue tobacco haze made it nearly impossible to see passengers boarding the bus unless you were in the first three or four seats.

From Chicago on down to Fort Bragg, North Carolina required a transfer to Trailways, which made me wish I was back on the grubby Greyhound bus I boarded in Omaha.

To make matters worse, this was prior to the end of segregation in the South. If there were no seats in the “whites only” section in the front of the bus, I had to stand even if there were vacant seats in the “colored only” section in the back.

JFK and MLK took care of the “whites only” and “colored only” situation but not until after my bus riding days were over.

I’m not sure about bus riding today. No matter how cushy the buses are with amenities like wireless internet service, most of them will still stop at slummy bus depots. Even if some of the depots have been renovated, they will still be located in undesirable areas.

Link

Before rushing out to buy that hybrid car...

Unlike conventional vehicles, the highest-mileage hybrids tend to be a bit sluggish when it comes to acceleration.

If you think the hybrid will drive like any other car - think again! Some hybrids exhibit peculiar driving behaviors.

The brakes on some hybrids feel unusual because when the brake pedal is pressed, traditional brakes aren't actually slowing the car, a regenerative motor is recapturing the vehicle's kinetic energy, turning it into electricity to store in on-board batteries.

Hybrids also use electrically-driven power steering. These steering systems often have a less direct feeling that's closer to a video game than a sports car.

These dynamic differences mean that hybrids can feel odd to drive compared to a more traditional vehicle, plus they highlight the complexity that is systemic with hybrid vehicles. The special sub-systems, components, integration, and programming necessary to make hybrids run are nothing short of rocket science.

This complexity is not without cost.

Compare a hybrid vehicle to an otherwise comparable non-hybrid car and the hybrid will cost anywhere from $1750-$5,000 more for small vehicles and up to $15,000 more for larger hybrid vehicles.

There are two negative attributes often associated with hybrids in the minds of potential hybrid buyers:

1. With over inflated fuel-economy claims when the Prius was introduced, how accurate are the new lower mileage estimates? Are the new mileage claims still over inflated?

2. Will fire rescue or police department EMT’s be afraid to use the jaws of live on a hybrid car for fear of electrocution?

Anyone considering the purchase of a hybrid should also know that there are added registration fees in some states.

Buying a hybrid for the savings may not make sense. However, if being environmentally responsible is worth the extra cost, then rush right out and buy that hybrid.

Anti NATO clown

An anti-NATO activist dressed as a clown faces riot police blocking the access to a bridge in downtown Strasbourg, France, during NATO's 60th-anniversary summit last April.

Carson sidekick Ed McMahon dies at 86

Ed McMahon (pictured), the affable sidekick on "The Tonight Show" who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a booming "H-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!" for 30 years, died Tuesday morning at age 86.

McMahon (shown below with Johnny Carson) had been battling pneumonia and other illnesses.

Outgoing, affable and possessing a robust, baritone voice, McMahon began his career with stints as a bingo caller, carnival barker and boardwalk pitchman before becoming a broadcast announcer and TV host.

Trained as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot during World War II, he flew missions in Korea in the 1950s.

Link

Cool sealion

This is a 21-year-old male sealion named Rook at the Sunshine International Aquarium in Tokyo.

Rook is practicing wearing sunglasses for the solar eclipse next month.

(AFP/Getty Images / June 18, 2009)

Car drives among the gondolas in Venice

Bernd Weise of the Amphicar Club Berlin pilots his 1961 Amphicar down the Grand Canal in Venice.

The German-built amphibious car uses a Triumph Herald engine and is capable of over 70 mph by road and 8 knots on water. The driver needs a regular driving license and a boat license.

New federal climate change report twists data

Dr. Roger Pielke, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, says the new federal report on climate change is not only wrong, it misrepresents his own research and that it wrongly concludes that climate change is already responsible for an increase in damages from natural disasters.

Dr. Pielke says they are relying on “non-peer reviewed, unsupportable studies rather than the relevant peer-reviewed literature” and for “featuring non-peer-reviewed work conducted by the authors.”

Evidently that’s the only way they can put their data in front of the public with any hope of acceptance.


The Democrats, led by Al Gore in the climate change debate, are determined to promote “man-made global warming” even when the true data no longer supports their claim!

They twist data from scientists like Dr. Pielke to make their “case” and the main stream media is reluctant to print anything that opposes the left viewpoint. Consequently, much of the public actually believes there is such a thing as man-made global warming.

Liberals in Washington are using “junk science,” or in this case “twisted science” to get their cap and trade scheme through congress.

Cap and trade, and the resultant carbon trading, will bankrupt many corporations and make billionaires of a lot of liberal politicians.

More of the story here.

NBC not in panic over Conan ratings crash

A New York Post report says Conan O'Brien seems to be losing viewers faster than DavidLetterman is losing his hair.

NBC is shrugging off the Conan crash saying its too early to tell.

When was it too early to tell that the Titanic was sinking after it hit the iceberg?

Jack Paar, the second host of the Tonight Show, was a snob but could be humorous at times.

Johnny Carson was funny. Carson also was the Tonight Show.

Jay Leno was funny util he turned stale.

Will Conan O'Brien last the year?

Depends on how far NBC will allow the Tonight Show to sink in ratings.

Link

He has eaten a Twinkie every day for 64 years

Lewis Browning, a retired milk-truck driver, has been eating one or two Twinkies a day for 64 years. "Had one for breakfast this morning with a banana and a glass of milk," he says in a phone interview from his home south of Indianapolis.

The 22,000 he's eaten have earned him an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and a lifetime supply of Twinkies from Hostess.

President Bill Clinton and the White House Millennium Council selected the Twinkie to be preserved in the nation's millennium time capsule in 1999, calling it an enduring American icon.

How about you? Do you eat Twinkie’s? It’s OK, go ahead and admit it. You won’t be alone.

A report at the link below says that Americans spent $47 million on them in the past 12 months.

There could be a downside to eating too many Twinkies.

Dan White was convicted of shooting to death San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978. White’s attorney claimed the shooter was “high” on sugar snack food at the time of the murders. It was dubbed the “Twinkie defense” by the media.

How many sugar snack foods can claim to have a defense in the trial of a double-murderer named after them?

When I first started receiving an allowance as a kid, one thing on my “had to have” list was a package of Twinkies and I have eaten them off and on ever since. It never did make me murder anybody - especially the mayor of a major city.

Link

Hillary met with eight of her predecessors

How often does a Secretary of State have a chance to consult with eight predecessors at one time?

All but one living former secretary of state attended the event. Those present were:

Henry Kissinger

George Shultz

James Baker

Lawrence Eagleburger

Warren Christopher

Madeline Albright

Colin Powell

Condoleezza Rice.

The only one missing was Alexander Haig.

No details about the conversation or menu were immediately available.

Link

Swine flu reported at NBC headquarters

Will the Peacock building 30 Rockefeller Plaza get slapped with a quarantine?

From a New York Observer report:

The human resource department at NBC in New York sent out a bulk email to staffers warning them that a couple of employees at 30 Rockefeller Plaza have come down with the flu.

From the email:

"Recently, like many other companies, we had a few NBC New York employees diagnosed with independent cases of the flu. In these cases, the employees quickly sought medical attention and went home immediately after diagnosis, thereby limiting any possible exposure. They are all recovering well."

A commenter to the Observer report wondered if Chris Matthews (upper picture) or Keith Olbermann (lower picture) had the swine flu - then went on to say “Probably not. Even a virus has its standards.”

Link

Seeing red

A Chinese paramilitary soldier stands during a welcoming ceremony for visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last May.

Iran unable to shut down Internet

In an attempt to stop stories and images of the riots following a disputed election, Iran has tried to follow the lead of North Korea, China and Cuba to control the Internet as the article at the link below reports:

Iran clamped down Tuesday on independent media in an attempt to control images of election protests, but pictures and videos leaked out anyway — showing how difficult it is to shut off the flow of information in the Internet age.

Restrictions imposed by the Iranian government made social-networking sites such as Twitter and Flickr more prominent and were used to send photos to the outside world of the “robust election debate” that Obama admired.




U.S. State Department even asked Twitter to put off a scheduled maintenance shutdown.

Some foreign journalists were forced to leave Iran because the government wouldn't extend the visas they received to cover Friday's election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner.

CNN turned in part to the social-networking sites, broadcasting images posted on Facebook and Twitter, and explaining on-air that it was using "creativity" to cover a big event under government restrictions.

More of the story here.

New York takes road rage title from Miami

A recent study shows that New York has overtaken Miami as the U.S. city with the angriest and most aggressive drivers.

Miami was the winner for the last four years but the latest study gave New Yorkers the prize for angriest, most aggressive drivers who tailgate, speed, honk their horns, overreact and lose their tempers.


We wonder how scientific this study was.

Did they go to Miami and count the dents in cars licensed in Miami and then go to New York and do the same for a comparison?

Link

Like raw fish? You may get a 9-ft tapeworm

A Chicago man joins the ranks of those who’ve been infested from eating raw fish in recent years.

One summer day in August 2006, Anthony Franz went to a Chicago area hospital carrying a 9-foot worm.

He did not find it in his garden.

Franz is one of the few, but growing number of tapeworm victims in cities across the world who are discovering (or rediscovering) that some of the most popular fish can host parasites.

With more people eating sushi and undercooked fish diets around the world so too has the incidence of worms increased.

The variety of tapeworm that infested Mr. Franz was caused from uncooked seafood, particularly salmon.

Mr. Franz was not available for comment and is suing an Illinois seafood restaurant for $100,000.

More of the story here.

ABC turns programming over to Obama

How to force national healthcare on the backs of Americans in three easy steps.

1. Invite ABC News do a national healthcare infomercial in the White House.

2. Invite questions from call-in viewers - screened by ABC of course.

3. Do not allow equal time for any opposing point of view.

Media watchdogs doubted the show would be balanced.

Media credibility and fairness are at issue with some renaming ABC the "All Barack Channel."

With this ABC infomercial, to be filmed from the White House with no opposing viewpoint allowed, ABC has finally “come out of the closet” proving to America that the network is in bed with the Democrat’s and especially with Barack Obama.

Relations between ABC News and Mr. Obama could not be more intimate as ABC has now dropped any pretense of objectivity in their programming and reporting.

How long before ABC will be renamed Pravda?

Link

Denver Broncos adjust to life without Jay Cutler

The Denver Broncos, trying to adjust to life without Jay Cutler, has named Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback.

Orton was chosen as the starter over Chris Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.

Kyle Orton, is the undistinguished quarterback that came to the Broncos from the Chicago Bears in that blockbuster deal that sent Jay Cutler to the Bears.

(click on picture to enlarge)
Denver cartoonist Drew Litton expresses the sentiments of many Bronco fans in the cartoon shown above.

Sadly, the “good news - bad news” story could be used the other way around as well based on the fact that Chris Simms hasn't played since Week 3 of the 2006 season due to complications from a ruptured spleen while playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Chris Simms came to Kyle Orton’s defense noting that he was underrated in college and underrated with the Chicago Bears.

Orton will probably be underrated with the Broncos as well.

Link

Hit by the pitch

Rickie weeks of the Milwaukee Brewers may need to look up the phone number of his dentist after being hit in the face by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez during a baseball game last April.

AP photo via MSNBC

Blade runner in training

He has been called the fastest man on no legs. But Oscar 'Blade Runner' Pistorius got a run for his money when five-year-old Ellie Challis challenged him to a race on their bionic feet.

The British youngster, from Little Clacton, Essex, lost her hands and lower legs after contracting meningitis at 16 months.

Judge von Brunn in no condition for court

James von Brunn (pictured), the 88-year-old who shot and killed a guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, is expected to recover from his wounds.

Mr. von Brunn has been charged with murder, however, a federal judge has ruled that von Brunn is in no condition to appear in court at this time.

Von Brunn's son has come out publicly against him, saying the shooting was unforgivable and he wished his father had died instead.

Erik von Brunn told ABC's Good Morning America that he and his father didn't like each other. The interview followed ABC's release Sunday of comments by the son that his father had long burdened their family with his white supremacist views.

“I loved my father. But what he did was unforgivable,” Erik von Brunn, 32, said.

Link

No-win situation in Iran will haunt Obama

A Yahoo News report says the Obama administration is facing a dilemma over how to respond to Iran's disputed election.

Strong criticism could backfire but a muted response leaves an impression of weakness.

So far senior U.S. officials have given a guarded response to the disputed vote.

Several analysts said on Monday the White House was in a no-win situation but the best option was to stand back rather than inject U.S. views into the Iranian political debate.

The U.S. ability to do harm in Iranian politics is much greater than doing good.

Obama showed his inexperience, or maybe lack of judgement, when he said he was excited by Iran's robust election debate.


The photo above is from Andrew Sullivan’s blog The Daily Dish.

Was Obama naïve enough to think there would be a fair and uncontested election in Iran? Maybe there wasn’t a chapter about that in his Community Organizing handbook.

The “robust election debate” that Obama admired has killed and injured debaters.

Link

Pointing the way for Rachel Alexandra

(click on picture to enlarge)
Jockey Calvin Borel appears to be pointing the way for his horse Rachel Alexandra near the finish line just ahead of Mine That Bird at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore last month.

Harry Reid wants healthcare like the US Postal Service

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) compared his proposed healthcare reform to the relationship between the US Postal Service and private delivery companies.

Apparently, this was supposed to be a positive analogy:

“The Postal Service may not be perfect, but the public option is there, and the private companies, FedEx, UPS, know they cannot rip you off or [be] slacking on their service,” said Reid.

Okay, the first part is correct: the Postal Service isn’t perfect. But why does he think that FedEx or UPS would rip us off if it didn’t exist? If FedEx decided to jack up prices or cut back on its service, consumers would just go to UPS or DHL. New companies would open if they thought they could undercut the current ones or serve customers better.

As we all know, if the government lifted its legal monopoly on paper mail, private companies would rush in to do a better job! The mail would be faster, and cheaper.

Government stewardship usually means: no innovation. The Postal Service now offers overnight delivery (sometimes), but for years they said it wasn’t possible. Only when FedEx arrived did the impossible become possible.

Do we really want a healthcare system that’s run like the U.S. Post Office? Everyone waiting in line for service that is provided basically the same way it was a decade ago? If I get to choose, I’d prefer my healthcare to be provided by FedEx.

Link

Some rural Michigan roads go back to gravel

An Associated Press article in the Chicago Tribune is titled: Rural Mich. counties turn failing roads to gravel.

As Michigan’s crumbling economy, so go some once-paved rural roads now being turned back into gravel.


About a quarter of the state's county road agencies largely left out of the federal stimulus package, which focuses on highways and other major thoroughfares, say they can't afford some costly repaving projects and have crushed up deteriorating roads.

Montcalm County alone estimates it saved nearly $900,000 by converting almost 10 miles of pothole-plagued pavement into gravel this spring.

As one official said, we were throwing good money into bad roads - it had to stop.”

Another said the new gravel road was “smoother than it was before, but wondered how they will maintain it - especially in the winter."

Many politicians doubt motorists would support higher taxes to fund road projects during tough economic times. But without new money, small agencies are left with few choices.

"We don't want to go backward, and I view this as going backward," said Tim Hammill, managing director of the Dickinson County Road Commission in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where 2.5 miles of paved road was converted to gravel last year. "It's depressing."

More of the story here.

U.S. family Christmas photo turns up in Czech advertisement

It's an international mystery: how did a Missouri family's Christmas card photo end up in the Czech Republic, splashed across a huge storefront advertisement?

Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children.


One of Smith's college friends was driving through Prague when he spotted their life-size faces in the window of a store specializing in European food.

The friend snapped a few pictures and sent them to the Smith family back in Missouri with a note saying it was it's a life-size picture in a grocery store window in Prague!

Mario Bertuccio, who owns the Grazie store in Prague, said the photo was computer generated from a picture found on the Internet.

Bertuccio said he would be happy to write an e-mail with an apology. He also said he would send the Smiths a bottle of good wine if they lived in his eastern European country.

Link

Does the new GM need a different name?

A report at the link below wonders if the new GM should start with a new name.

ValuJet was reborn as AirTran. Philip Morris rechristened itself Altria. Blackwater became Xe.

Would a name change work for beleaguered General Motors?

It would mean casting aside a brand that stood for almost a century as a symbol of American industrial might, but some marketing experts say it might be just the thing to help the once-mighty automaker make a fresh start.

A University of Chicago marketing professor thinks the brand isn’t in good shape so they have little to lose by changing to a different name.

With GM tarnished by its bankruptcy and its reputation for building cars no one wants, wiseacres have had no trouble coming up with new names.

There’s Groveling Motors, after GM’s appetite for federal bailouts. And General Moneypit. And, perhaps most popular, Government Motors, after the taxpayers’ major ownership stake.

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Hiker falls to his death from Yosemite’s Half Dome

Yosemite National Park officials say a male hiker has fallen to his death while climbing Half Dome.

Park Ranger Scott Gediman says the man fell Saturday afternoon, and that officials believe he was using the cable handrails that help hikers make it up and down the landmark.

Park Ranger Gediman said conditions on Half Dome's granite face were slippery because of rain and hail.

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Several climbers can be seen negotiating the last leg of the Half Dome climb can be seen on the left of the photo above.

Thirty other Half Dome climbers were being escorted down by rangers for their safety Saturday evening.

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Kicking back in the sun

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Getting some rays in front of beach huts in Blyth, northeast England.

Newsweek editor says Obama is God

On Hardball, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas (pictured) said, “I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God!

Contrast that with Evan Thomas on the TV talk show Inside Washington, responding to a question on whether the media was unfair to Bush. Thomas said, “Well, our job is to bash the president, that's what we do."

Trash Bush and slobber over Obama calling him a God!

If Newsweek continues these unapologetic liberal promoting practices, The National Enquirer will be a more serious - and accurate - newsmagazine than Newsweek!

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John Hinderaker talks about MSNBC

Speaking of irresponsible media...

Attorney John Hinderaker recently had this to say about MSNBC on Power Line:

MSNBC occupies a curious niche in the media landscape.

It is the first network that has ample financial resources but at the same time, production values are on a par with the average home movie and intellectual standards below those of the typical ninth grader.

It would be interesting to know who comprises their audience.

Don’t hold back John, tell us what you really thing about MSNBC.

Denver Broncos consider selling ads on practice jerseys

The Denver Broncos football team is considering selling advertising space on their practice jerseys.


The NFL says there will be no jersey advertisements on game day. The ads would only be on jerseys worn on the practice field.

We wonder how much that will help. The practices are often closed to the public. Prior to critical games the practices are even closed to the media.

Maybe the Broncos feel they need every dollar they can get because of future ticket sale loss because they let star quarterback Jay Cutler slip through their fingers.

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Loser in Iran election arrested - that didn’t take long!

The Israeli news reported (at the first link below) that the defeated Ahmadinejad rival has been arrested in Iran.

Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was reportedly arrested Saturday following the reformist's defeat at the polls by hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Supporters of Mousavi, the main challenger to Ahmadinejad, have responded to the election with the most serious unrest in Tehran in a decade and claim that the result was the work of a dictatorship.

Will Jimmy Carter go to Iran and certify the election of Ahmadinejad like he did the election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela?

Meanwhile, in the United States, Barack Obama was "excited" by Iran's robust election debate as reported by Reuters news (at the second link below).

"We are excited to see what appears to be a robust debate taking place in Iran," Obama told reporters when asked about the Iranian election during an event at the White House.

Link here and here.