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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Saturday, July 4, 2009

Soldier who fought in pink boxers home for 4th

The soldier who was photographed fighting the Taliban in his boxer shorts says he's glad to be back home in Texas after his yearlong deployment to Afghanistan - especially on the Fourth of July.

Full Story

Memphis Police Alert: Beware of Strange Ice Cream Vendor

Memphis Police are asking parents to be extra vigilant when the ice cream man drives through your neighborhood.

Beware of Strange Ice Cream Vendor

Honeymoon's Over After Bride Spends Too Much Time in Restroom

Divorce is in the offing as an unnamed husband decided he'd had enough in terms of waiting for his bride of one week at the airport. While waiting for their plane back from their honeymoon trip, she'd gone into the restroom for an undisclosed period of time, and rather than miss the plane, he left without her.

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Virtual Embezzlement Used to Pay for Real World Debts

Virtual goods are big business nowadays, in online worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft, so much so there is discussion over taxing profits made from such goods. Real as the virtual reality is, someone in the online game EVE Online stole virtual money from the virtual bank he ran and exchanged it for real cash.

Full Story

Couple condemned to live together

Breaking up is hard to do - especially for Joanne and Paul Basset, who are divorcing but condemned by the credit crunch to lead separate lives in the same house because they can't sell it.

Couple condemned to live together

New dinosaur species found in Australia

3 new dinosaur species found in Australia

Researchers find "Banjo," "Matilda," and "Clancy" in a 98 million-year-old geological deposit.

3 new dinosaur species found in Australia

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Why people are getting taller

Why people are getting taller

A century ago, citizens of the Netherlands were among the shortest in the world.

Why people are getting taller

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Sarah Palin's puzzling resignation

Sarah Palin's puzzling resignation

Sarah Palin's decision to resign as Alaska governor raises more questions than it answers.

Sarah Palin's puzzling resignation

Ex-NFL star Steve McNair dead at 36

Ex-NFL star Steve McNair dead at 36

Long-time quarterback Steve McNair is found fatally shot in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ex-NFL star Steve McNair dead at 36

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North Korea launches 7 more missiles

North Korea launches 7 more missiles

In an apparent slap at the U.S. on Independence Day, North Korea fires a salvo of ballistic missiles off its east coast.

North Korea launches 7 more missiles

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And I Quote

Not only is there no God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday.

~ Woody Allen

Ginger for nausea

It's something most of us have felt from time to time -- getting sick to your stomach can ruin your day.

Ginger for nausea

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Besides being the Fourth of July or Independence Day today is also
the International Day of Cooperatives.

Saturday Jam

Today's Saturday jam includes:

Stars and Stripes Forever

What's Up
Four Non Blondes

Holly Roller
Mother Love Bone

Daily Alamnac

Today In History July 4

Today is Saturday, July 4, the 185th day of 2009. There are 180 days left in the year.

Today's Birthdays July 4

Today's Birthdays: Actress Gloria Stuart is 99. Conductor Mitch Miller is 98. Advice columnist Pauline Phillips is 91.

The United States is 233

President Obama's Weekly Address


Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
July 4, 2009

Hello and Happy Fourth of July, everybody. This weekend is a time to get together with family and friends, kick back, and enjoy a little time off. And I hope that’s exactly what all of you do. But I also want to take a moment today to reflect on what I believe is the meaning of this distinctly American holiday.
Today, we are called to remember not only the day our country was born – we are also called to remember the indomitable spirit of the first American citizens who made that day possible.
We are called to remember how unlikely it was that our American experiment would succeed at all; that a small band of patriots would declare independence from a powerful empire; and that they would form, in the new world, what the old world had never known – a government of, by, and for the people.
That unyielding spirit is what defines us as Americans. It is what led generations of pioneers to blaze a westward trail.
It is what led my grandparents’ generation to persevere in the face of a Depression and triumph in the face of tyranny.
It is what led generations of American workers to build an industrial economy unrivalled around the world.
It is what has always led us, as a people, not to wilt or cower at a difficult moment, but to face down any trial and rise to any challenge, understanding that each of us has a hand in writing America’s destiny.
That is the spirit we are called to show once more. We are facing an array of challenges on a scale unseen in our time. We are waging two wars. We are battling a deep recession. And our economy – and our nation itself – are endangered by festering problems we have kicked down the road for far too long: spiraling health care costs; inadequate schools; and a dependence on foreign oil.
Meeting these extraordinary challenges will require an extraordinary effort on the part of every American. And that is an effort we cannot defer any longer.
Now is the time to lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity. Now is the time to revamp our education system, demand more from teachers, parents, and students alike, and build schools that prepare every child in America to outcompete any worker in the world.
Now is the time to reform an unsustainable health care system that is imposing crushing costs on families, businesses, large and small, and state and federal budgets. We need to protect what works, fix what’s broken, and bring down costs for all Americans. No more talk. No more delay. Health care reform must happen this year.
And now is the time to meet our energy challenge – one of the greatest challenges we have ever confronted as a people or as a planet. For the sake of our economy and our children, we must build on the historic bill passed by the House of Representatives, and make clean energy the profitable kind of energy so that we can end our dependence on foreign oil and reclaim America’s future.
These are some of the challenges that our generation has been called to meet. And yet, there are those who would have us try what has already failed; who would defend the status quo. They argue that our health care system is fine the way it is and that a clean energy economy can wait. They say we are trying to do too much, that we are moving too quickly, and that we all ought to just take a deep breath and scale back our goals.
These naysayers have short memories. They forget that we, as a people, did not get here by standing pat in a time of change. We did not get here by doing what was easy. That is not how a cluster of 13 colonies became the United States of America.
We are not a people who fear the future. We are a people who make it. And on this July 4th, we need to summon that spirit once more. We need to summon the same spirit that inhabited Independence Hall two hundred and thirty-three years ago today.
That is how this generation of Americans will make its mark on history. That is how we will make the most of this extraordinary moment. And that is how we will write the next chapter in the great American story. Thank you, and Happy Fourth of July.

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Pelotas, Rio Grande Du Sol, Brazil
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Drammen, Buskerud, Norway
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Graz, Steiermark, Austria
Sofia, Grad Sofiya, Bulgaria
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
London, England, United Kingdom
Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Delta, British Columbia, Canada

as well as the Philippines, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

When you're put into a situation that involves delicate egos today, trust your judgment and play to fairness.
You have the strength of your ideals supporting your actions, so do not try to anticipate what the 'right' answer is.
If you think something is a bad idea, say so.
Playing favorites won't get you far today, when it's all about setting an example of honest and fair behavior.
Impressionable eyes will be watching you.

Will do.