Jimmy Carter’s talents put to good use

Monkeying around

Baboons at Knowsley Safari Park have learned how to open roof boxes on top of visiting cars.

Park staff are shown demonstrating how chaos can ensue as the baboons run amok and steal their possessions in Merseyside, UK.

Endless 8-month Obama infomercial

A report at the link below says:

During his first eight months in office, President Obama has sat down for three times as many television interviews as his most recent two predecessors combined.

It’s all Obama all the time - ad nauseam

The media blitz has given Barack Obama unprecedented wall-to-wall coverage in the mainstream media no matter what he does.

"He's turning the presidency into an infomercial," warned former White House speechwriter Matt Latimer. "It's not just damaging to the White House. It will also ultimately hurt President Obama's image as a fresh, non-Washington leader."

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In the New York Times alone, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, 405 stories on the Obama administration have appeared on the front page through mid-August of this year totaling 119,678 column inches. That's 9,973 column feet of Obama coverage on the Times front page alone.

It’s television, however, that has been the most powerful draw for Mr. Obama.

In his five - that’s right, five - major appearances Sunday, Obama talked against adding troops to Afghanistan, denied he was making a deal with Russia that would cut missile defenses in Europe, and continued to push his government-run health-insurance program.

As of mid-August, Obama submitted to a total of 66 television interviews, dramatically outstripping his two predecessors.

During the same period of their own presidencies, President George W. Bush gave 16 television interviews and President Bill Clinton gave just six.

Link

Amateur built submarine

Amateur inventor Tao Xiangli tests his homemade submarine in a lake near Beijing. He made the craft, which has a periscope, depth control tanks, electric motors, manometer and two propellers, from old oil barrels and items bought at a scrap dealer

Obama says no but Gov Paterson says yes

David Paterson (upper photo) was elevated to governor from lieutenant governor in March 2008 after governor Eliot Spitzer resigned because of a prostitution scandal.

After Paterson moved into the New York governor’s mansion, he has alienated Washington Democrats by not choosing Carolyn Kennedy (center photo) to occupy the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton after her appointment to Secretary of State. Instead, Paterson chose Kirsten Gillibrand (lower photo), a moderate Democrat from the northern part of the state.

Paterson announced in October that he would seek a full term.

Now Mr. Obama has asked Mr. Paterson to step aside to allow a stronger candidate to run.

The general election is more than a year away, but Mr. Obama and his political team are moving now in part because of signals from Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, that he may run for governor, according to Democrats who have spoken with White House officials.

Mr. Paterson, however, appeared at a parade in Harlem on Sunday, and told a crowd of reporters that he would not abandon his campaign to seek a full term.

Paterson, who is black, as well as blind, said at the 40th annual African-American Day Parade, “I have said time and time again that I am running for governor next year.”

Obama critics are wondering why the White House is meddling in New York state politics. But then, if Obama can fire the CEO of General Motors, who’s to stop him from choosing who will run for governor of New York?

Link

Giants spoil new Texas Stadium debut

The $1.5 billion Texas Stadium debut was spoiled by a last second New York Giant field goal for a 33 - 31 win.

Photos below show the swank new Texas Stadium.




Link

Taxpayers fund lavish airport to nowhere - revisited

There is a state-of-the-art airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (population 23,000) that has few travelers but gets a lot of federal funding.

Inside the terminal on a recent weekday, four passengers lined up to board a flight, outnumbered by seven security staff members and supervisors, all suited up in gloves and uniforms to screen six pieces of luggage.

For three hours that day, no commercial or private planes took off or landed. Three commercial flights leave the airport on weekdays, all bound for Dulles International Airport.

The photo above shows the security check-in area at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pa., where the security staff members sometimes outnumber the passengers.

What keeps this pristine, little used facility going is $200 million in federal funds in the past decade. And all thanks John Murtha (pictured) who is a powerful and corrupt Washington Congressman.

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) is credited with securing at least $150 million for the airport.

It was among the first in the country to win funding from this year's stimulus package: $800,000 to repave a backup runway.

Murtha, dubbed the King of Pork by critics, consistently directs more federal money to his district than any other congressman -- $192 million in the 2008 budget.

The lawmaker, who uses the airport frequently during his campaigns, has steadily steered millions of taxpayer dollars to it to build a new terminal with a restaurant; a long, concrete runway sturdy enough to handle large jets; and a high-tech radar system usually reserved for international airports.

A video of this little-used state-of-the-art airport can be found here. More of this story is here.

Amish farmer cutting hay

An Amish farmer uses horsepower and gasoline power as he cuts alfafa. He is using four horses to pull a gas-powered haybine in Middlebury, Indiana.

JFK used the motto of his high school in his inauguration speech

Thurston Clarke wrote a book called, “Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America.”


Mr. Clarke wrote later that "important and heretofore overlooked documentary evidence" proves that Kennedy was "the author of the most immortal and poetic passages of his inaugural address," including the famous line that gives the book its title, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."


The photo above shows President John F. Kennedy delivering his inaugural address in 1961, whose memorable phrases are still the subject of conjecture.

John F. Kennedy graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall, a private high school in Wallingford, Connecticut.

From the second paragraph at the first link below:

John F. Kennedy was a 1935 graduate of the Choate school (who, incidentally, graduated 64th in a class of 112), was so inspired by Choate's motto, "Ask not what your school can do for you-- but what you can do for your school." that he paraphrased it in his eloquent inaugural address as: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- but what you can do for your country.”

Did Kennedy write the inauguration speech? Many think he had input into a speech that was prepared by Ted Sorensen.

The “Ask Not” part of the speech would have been added by Kennedy because Sorensen, who was from Lincoln Nebraska, likely would not have been aware of the Choate school motto.

Mr. Clarke insists that Kennedy was the main architect of the speech and the “ask not” words were his even though Ted Sorensen was not only Kennedy’s legal aid but was his chief speechwriter.

Does Mr. Clarke’s book have the definitive answer or, as reported above, are the memorable phrases still the subject of conjecture?

Link here and here.

Unusual First Lady fashion at healthcare speech

Photo shows Michelle Obama making her “women crushed by healthcare” speech wearing a nondescript something along with what Matt Drudge called a bondage belt.

One of her tank tops would have had more class.

Link

Enjoying the Colorado high country

Health Secretary Sebelius shows reporter how to sneeze

At a briefing yesterday, NBC's Chuck Todd sneezed into his hand prompting Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to teach him how to sneeze. She demonstrated how to sneeze-in-your-arm-not-your-hand.

Evidently Mr. Obama didn’t get the word as the video below shows him sneezing on a reporter.

(click on picture to see video)
Link

Cemetery lots: buy one get on free

Memorial Park Cemetery advertises a buy-one-get-one-free sale on cemetery plots in Indianapolis. Photo taken last summer.

Wolf Blitzer bombs on Jeopardy

Wolf Blitzer, newscastings answer to cold oatmeal, just bombed.

Yes, yes, I know, but he also bombed on Celebrity Jeopardy.


He ended up with a minus $4,600.00 (-$4,600.00)

Link

Fake cop busts wrong driver - the mayor

A man impersonating a police officer with a flashing red light in his car has been arrested after he pulled over the wrong driver — the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana.

Police think the suspect was using the in-dash light to maneuver through traffic Monday night in northwest Louisiana.

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover said he pulled over when the driver pulled up behind him, but that the man turned around and left as soon as he saw it was the mayor.

Link

Democrats race from the Carter race accusations

From a report at the link below:

Jimmy Carter (pictured) is 84 years old and three decades removed from the White House, but he still has the power to make Democrats run.

Away from him, that is.

From the White House to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Democrats raced to distance themselves from the former president’s claim that racism was behind Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie” outburst and other attacks on President Barack Obama.

From the Obama presidential campaign until now it’s been all about race. The left has used race so much that it isn’t working for them anymore and they are realizing that racism is becoming counter-productive.

Then along comes Jimmy Carter shouting racism.

Congressional Democrats have no interest in starting a racial argument that could turn off swing district voters whose support the party will need if it plans on keeping its grip on Congress in 2010.

And the current occupants of the White House made it clear Wednesday that they have no interest in bringing race back to the fore of any discussion about Obama.

Does anyone really listen to Jimmy Carter anymore? No, he is irrelevant.

That thud you hear is Carter being tossed under the Obama bus.

Link

The time to fix healthcare

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Painted face of Bosnian bride

A Kosovar Bosnian bride has her face painted on her wedding day for a traditional ceremony in the village of Donje Ljubinje, Kosovo.

The tradition, whose origins date from beyond living memory, is virtually viewed by almost all residents with universal pride as it has come to symbolize a special identity for this location.

Protesting Belgian farmers dump 1 million gallons of milk

Farmers with 400 tractors dump more than 1 million gallons of milk into a field in Ciney, Belgium yesterday as anger mounted over falling prices.

European Union farm ministers recently failed to agree on an aid package for the sector during a recent meeting.

ObamaCare opposition hits new high of 55%

One week after President Obama’s speech to Congress, opposition to his healthcare plan has reached a new high of 55%.

The latest Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll shows that just 42% now support the plan, matching the low first reached in August.

Link

Sign of desperation? Obama on 5 TV shows Sunday

Jake Tapper of ABC News reports:

Fans of President Obama are in for a treat this weekend. The president is going on a massive publicity blitz as he steps up his push for health care overhaul.

Obama will be interviewed Sunday on five shows -- ABC News' "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," CNN's "State of the Nation," CBS's "Face the Nation", NBC's "Meet the Press" and Univision's "Al Punto with Jorge Ramos" -- in what is called a "full Ginsburg."

In modern media lore, the first time someone pulled the five-show feat was 11 years ago, in 1998, when Monica Lewinsky's attorney, William Ginsburg, made the rounds to defend his client.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., did a full Ginsburg in 2007 after launching her presidential bid.

For both Ginsburg and Clinton, Fox News Sunday was on the list but not Univision.

Such is not the case for Obama: Democrats said the Fox News Sunday audience is largely entrenched in its opposition to the president, essentially beyond persuasion, and so submitting to an interview might not be the best use of Obama's time.

But isn’t the real reason Obama is avoiding Fox is the fear that he may be asked tough questions instead of receiving a back-slapping endorsement of ObamaCare?

CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC will be working hard Sunday trying to sell ObamaCare. However, if ObamaCare was a good product he wouldn’t need to have the media try to sell it.

Many think this media overload can only mean he is acting in desperation. Mark McKinnon doesn’t think so, however.

"I don't think he's overexposed at all," said public strategist Mark McKinnon, media consultant to former President Bush and presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "In fact, I think, in some ways, he's underexposed.

With McKinnon as a consultant, it’s no wonder George W. Bush and John McCain had media problems!

With all this overexposure, one wonders what could be next - a new reality show called Obama Dancing with the Czars?

From a Lucianne commenter:

The people pulling Obama’s strings - the people who write his teleprompter scripts - must be exasperated with him for proving to be such a bad salesman.

After spending all that time and money grooming him to become the William Jennings Bryan of the Third Millennium, all they got was a one-trick campaign pony. And now that campaign mojo is gone.

Link

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Face scanner test

This lady is testing the three-dimensional (3D) face scanner used to register individual details of passengers at the SAC Siemens airport centre in Fuerth near Nuremberg, Germany.

The scanner represents the latest technology available from Siemens for all airports and official areas where interior security is required.

Serena Williams picks up pieces after her outburst uproar

Serena Williams, the hot-tempered 27-year-old tennis star, said she was "in the moment" and doesn't really remember her now-famous outburst at a line judge who had called a foot fault.

It was a 12-second verbal attack that has played over and over for three days.

"It was a really tough point in the match and it was really close and got a really tough call that wasn't the correct call, and, you know, things got a little heated and I had a conversation with the line judge that didn't go so well," Williams said.

Williams, ranked No. 2 in the world by the World Tennis Association, said she does not recall moments of Saturday's incident but believes she apologized for her actions promptly and completely.

Link

Report: if you had summer flu it was probably swine flu

A report at the link below says, “despite fears, many have had – and recovered from – the new strain (H1N1).”

If you're wondering whether your sniffling co-worker's bout of flu is indeed the swine flu, then wonder no more.

Doctors across the nation are saying people who came down with the flu this summer probably had the new swine flu (H1N1) strain.

"In the U.S., all the flu that is circulating now is the H1N1 virus," said ABC News Senior Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser on "Good Morning America" Wednesday. "If you've had the flu; you've had the swine flu."

The report gives two main reasons why the public should not worry more about swine flu than the typical seasonal flu.

Reason one:

The CDC estimates that 1 million people in the U.S. have had swine flu so far, and of those infected, the government has documented 593 deaths.

This is a relatively low death rate when compared with seasonal flu. The public is still edgy about swine flu because of the appropriate precautions taken in May before we fully understood the level of danger.

The swine flu strain has also shown it does not often cause serious symptoms.

Reason two:

Swine flu survivors may be immune to reinfection.

With a few months of investigation under their belt, immunologists are saying that the swine flu comes with more good news: it appears people who get sick with swine flu may not become sick from the same strain again.

What's more, even people who were sick in the past with a slightly different virus may have some protection against the current strain.

So why all the effort to spread fear of swine flu?

A swine flu scare will make most Americans take precautions even if no more than washing hands more often and cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing.

Also, the media is not blind to the realization that perpetuating the swine flu scare may help Americans become a little more inclined to embrace ObamaCare.

Link

He doesn’t like it when they call it swine flu

Why would they name a disease after an innocent lil’ guy like me?

Targeting the Czars - hunting for the next Van Jones

Emboldened by the ouster of presidential adviser Van Jones (upper photo), conservative and business groups are launching fresh challenges aimed at derailing more of Barack Obama's nominees.

David Michaels, Mr. Obama's pick to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a new target.

Michaels published a book attacking corporate executives for the tactics they used to fight class-action lawsuits.

Republican critics said they considered Mr. Michaels to be too close to trial lawyers because of his aggressive advocacy on their behalf.

Selecting a tort lawyer as head of OSHA is part of Obama’s plan to assist labor unions.

It will be very easy for Mr. Michaels to find enough nit-pick faults to literally shut down a business that is even thinking about blocking or ousting a labor union.

The last paragraph of the report linked to below says:

"We're going to fight back against it," AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale said. "If Obama is picking nominees that are going to be friendly to workers, we're not going to sit back and let big business go after his nominees."

The criticism aimed at Mr. Michaels follows a pattern that began with the case of Cass Sunstein (lower photo), who last week was confirmed by the Senate as the White House's top regulator.

We reported (second link below) about Cass Sunstein and how he has advocated organ harvest without consent.

To look through the long list of Czars, seems more like looking through a list of radicals.

More of the Czar targeting here. More on Cass Sunstein here.

New mom leaves North Dakota hospital with wrong baby

A new mother was discharged from Williston’s Mercy Medical Center last Saturday.

There was only one problem. The hospital sent her home with the wrong baby.

Mercy Medical Center released this statement:

“We want to assure the community that within approximately one hour of our discovery, baby and mother were reunited.” The statement added Mercy officials are thoroughly investigating the facts associated with the incident “and are reviewing our obstetric unit’s polices and procedures to ensure that we are able to maintain patient security and confidence.”

The statement concluded with, “As quickly as we can conclude our investigation, you can be assured the appropriate action will be taken.”

Williston, located in the northwestern corner of North Dakota, has a population of about 12,500.

There may have been one or more former employees of Mercy Medical Center logged on to Monster.com looking for a job on Monday morning.

Link

Discipline

Chinese soldiers practice marching on a military base outside Beijing in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the Communist Revolution.

White student brutally beaten by blacks on bus while others cheered

A 17-year-old Belleville West High School student was attacked on his school bus, twice within minutes and the bus's surveillance camera videotaped both violent incidents.

Belleville Police called the beatings brutal.


The center of the photo appears to have been purposely blurred in an attempt to protect the identity of the thugs who carried out the beatings.

Belleville is located in southwestern Illinois.

Police Captain Don Sax said the boy boarded his school bus Monday morning, began looking for a seat and was told by several students he could not sit next to them.

The driver instructed all the students to sit, so the boy moved a classmate's backpack and took a seat.

"Pretty soon the kid he sat next to is pushing him, trying to push him out of the seat and the next thing you know he starts punching him and choking him and punching him some more," says Sax. "It's ridiculous."

The victim took at least 15 blows in about 15 seconds. The surveillance video shows the kids on board kept laughing; one even used his cell phone to take a photo of the victim's bloodied face.

"There was a lot of egging on," says Sax.

Four minutes after the first attack, came a second one at the hands of another classmate. This time the victim was punched and slapped at least eight more times, until one boy broke them apart.

Sax says the two suspects are 14 and 15. They are African American. The victim is white.

"There's a strong suspicion that it was race related," says Sax.

There is a graphic video of the assault at the link below.

The bus driver apparently did nothing to stop the beating.

More of the story here.

The Super Ferry that sank in Philippine waters

The upper photo shows the MV Super Ferry docked in Philippine waters prior to September 6 when it sank off the coast of Zamboanga Peninsula, southern Philippines, with 968 people on board. Nine were reported dead in the incident.

The lower photos show the ferry sinking.

Poll: News media’s credibility hits new low

A Pew Research survey shows that the public assessment of the accuracy of news stories and Americans’ views of media bias is now at its lowest level in more than two decades!


The graph above shows public evaluations of the news media from 1985-2009.

The report at the link below says:

Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate.

In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate.

An example of media bias:

In 1985 we had a popular and effective president that the media hated. His popularity rose during his presidency causing the media to hate him all the more.

In 2009 we have an ineffective president sagging in unpopularity that the media loves. His popularity is sinking during his presidency causing the media to love him all the more.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Just wondering: is Dan Rather still suing CBS for firing him? CBS didn’t mind Dan Rather’s left wing bias. What CBS couldn’t tolerate was the embarrassment caused by the now famous “fake but accurate” George W. Bush National Guard story on a 60 Minutes Wednesday program that aired on September 8, 2004.

More of the media credibility story here.

Warning: high unemployment for years

Barack Obama has been trying to convince Americans that he’s beating back the recession. However, Obama’s chief economic adviser Larry Summers (pictured) is singing another tune.

The president’s chief economic adviser warned Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate could stay “unacceptably high” for years to come.

“The level of unemployment is unacceptably high,” National Economic Council Director Larry Summers said Friday. “And will, by all forecasts, remain unacceptably high for a number of years.”

Link

Cheerleader held up by strong hands

The photo shows a cheerleaders shoes as she is held up by another cheerleader during the BCS National Championship Game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators at Dolphin Stadium on January 8, 2009 in Miami, Florida.

Ukraine says no to Elton John adoption plans

Singer/songwriter Elton John wanted to adopt a 14-month-old HIV-positive child from Ukraine.

Ukraine’s minister for family affairs cites singer's age, marital status. Sir Elton John is 62 and lives with his “spouse” David Furnish.

Photo above shows David Furnish (on left) with Elton John

Adoption and gay rights advocates expressed regret about the determination by Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko, while a children’s charity had reservations about John’s weekend announcement that he and his male partner, David Furnish, wanted to adopt the boy.

John announced his desire after meeting the boy, named Lev, while touring an orphanage Saturday as part of an anti-AIDS charity project.

Link

German farmers protest anti-nuclear energy

Farmers on tractors drive past a CDU (Christian Democratic Union) election poster showing its leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during an anti-nuclear energy demonstration in Berlin.

Brett Favre’s new football contract

Brett Favre (pictured), the well-traveled 39-year-old NFL quarterback (he will be 40 in a few weeks), is back in the game again. This time he signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

He knew the risks: age, injury, December fatigue. The critics, the pressure, the severed ties with Packers fans.

But his instinct to play muffled the alarms in his head.

Now he is back in the NFL for a reported 10 to 12 million dollars.

As Letterman said: “that’s gotta be a record for a ‘cash for clunker’ deal!”

Link

Swine flu stigma gives hog farmers a bailout

Hog farmers have identified themselves as the forgotten casualties of the swine-flu epidemic and asked Washington for financial help.

As a result, the Obama administration has stepped in and purchased $30 million of surplus pork.

That brings the federal total of pork purchases for fiscal 2009 to about $150 million, or close to $100 million more than last year's figure for the same period.


During a Sept. 10 morning press conference, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack also said he would work with fellow Cabinet secretaries in the Defense, Justice and Education departments to encourage pork purchases on military bases, in prisons and in schools.

If you're in prison, now might be a good time to develop a taste for pork. The same is probably true if you're in the military or in a public school.

What else can the administration do with all of the newly acquired surplus pork besides foist it on schools, the military and prisons?

Link

Stop the lies and distortion on healthcare