Welcome to ...

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, October 31, 2009

Driver's awful parking lot maneuver

Driver's awful parking lot maneuver

Watch this exit attempt and count all the ways you would have done this differently.

Science News

A spider web encased in amber which was discovered on an East Sussex beach is confirmed as being the world's oldest on record.

By visiting our war dead, Obama passes Dover test

Mark Shields writes a moving column about how President Obama passes the Dover Test that the shrub failed:
President Obama, during his winning campaign, promised to make Washington more "transparent" and more "accountable." At 4 a.m. on Oct. 29, as he stood silently by as six soldiers carried the remains of Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Ind., back to American soil and to those who mourned him, President Obama made both himself, and the national government he leads, more responsible and made the reality of war more transparent.

At Dover, he personally met with and consoled — in their time of profound sorrow — the families of 18 fallen Americans. No form letter or phone call. Just human being to human being.

As John Glenn said: "It's easy to see the flags flying and the people go off to war, and the bands play and the flags fly. And it's not quite so easy when the flag is draped over a coffin coming back through Dover, Delaware." Barack Obama, by choosing the "not quite so easy" path, has earned his nation's thanks.

A wingnut rapper raps about teabagging. It's bad.

Okay, first, this video isn't a joke. It isn't a parody. You'll just think it is. It's a wingnut rapper. Yes, wingnut rapper. He's bad. And, I mean bad in the traditional sense, not the hip, cool sense. And, of course, he throws in the requisite gay-bashing. It's just bad:

These are the people who rule the repugican party now.

And I Quote

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

~ Confucius

More Than 2,000 Children to Trick-or-Treat at the White House

It's the ultimate trick-or-treating treasure, that one house on the block that offers the coolest candy and surprises galore.

Full Story

Chemical alert as six passengers faint on transatlantic flight to Heathrow

The Boeing 777 was ordered to a remote part of the airfield after landing early this morning, where it was met by 11 fire appliances and six ambulances.

Full Story

Creepy, Crazy, and Strange Japanese Toys

While Asia has its share of weird and unusual toys, Japan takes the lead in inventing the truly bizarre items.

Full Story

More swine flu vaccine on the way

More swine flu vaccine on the way

Drug makers scramble to produce and ship 10 million doses next week.

Dog's online shopping spree

Dog's online shopping spree

While one couple sleeps, their pooch Oscar spends more than $60 on their Xbox 360.

How to keep pillows and comforters fluffy

How to keep pillows and comforters fluffy

Prolong the life of your bedding with these easy tips and care instructions.

Bad habits you should break now

5 bad habits you should break now

Every day that you don't reverse these behaviors puts you further away from a healthy life.

Financial horrors everyone should avoid

Financial horrors everyone should avoid

These money missteps can lead to housing woes, job losses, and lost savings.

Intriguing teas are easy to brew

Intriguing teas are easy to brew

A rich variety of teas is now available, and one expert shares tips for making a perfect cup.

Nine more banks, closed

And those that caused the worst depression since 1929 still insist they are doing it right?!

115 banks this year.
The most ever!

Beware Demonic Candy

More on the lunacy that candy is demonic ...
A pastor puts the perverts on cBN in their place.

Don't you just hate it when that happens ...

I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.

~ An English Professor

And I Quote

Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age.

~ Christopher Morley

Motorized La-Z-Boy used in DUI now on eBay

A motorized La-Z-Boy that was used in a drunk driving accident in Minnesota has been put up for auction.

Witch Hunter in Rob Black Case Calling it Quits

Running for Congress?
She's Perfect! LOL

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan will leave her job on Nov. 16.

The announcement was made late Thursday afternoon in a news release from Buchanan's office.

The move had been expected for some time after President Barack Obama's election.

Buchanan was appointed the shrub in September 2001 and has served as western Pennsylvania's top federal prosecutor for the past eight years.

During that time, she was known for high-profile cases including the prosecution of comedian Tommy Chong for drug paraphernalia and a company that made so-called "horror porn" movies. [Rob Black.]

Buchanan's tenure has been full of controversy. She was behind the lengthy but failed prosecution of Dr. Cyril Wecht, the former medical examiner for Allegheny County.

Mayo spoke with Wecht who said he feels public corruption cases like the one brought against him were politically motivated. Wecht said he's still hurting financially from the attempts to convict him.

"This is a track record of an abominable, professionally despicable nature, one that she should be ashamed of," said Wecht. "Ask yourself, 'Aren't there 92 other U.S. attorneys in America?' Nobody else was excited about Tommy Chong? Only Mary Beth Buchanan?"

Former assistant U.S. attorney Steve Stallings prosecuted Wecht under Buchanan.

Allegheny County repugican chairman Jim Roddey said he views Buchanan as a solid political candidate.

"I know she's given it consideration. We've talked to her several times in the past about whether or not she'd be interested in running for either attorney general, whether or not she'd like to run for county executive, whether or not she'd like to run for congress," said Roddey.

Wecht had a different view of Buchanan's future.

"I predict she will not run against Congressman Jason Altmire. She would get clobbered. I think she just wanted her name out there," said Wecht.

Teabaggers have forced moderate candidate to quit race in NY-23

The teabaggers now own the repugican party. The moderate candidate for Congress in New York's 23rd CD, Dede Scozzafava, has suspended her campaign. Scozzofava was under assault from the hard-core wingnuts because she was pro-choice and supported LGBT equality. The local paper has the story and an excerpt from Scozzofava's letter to her supporters announcing the decision.

The hard-core right wingnuts rallied around the wingnut candidate, Doug Hoffman. A poll released today showed Scozzofava had dropped to a distant third place:
Today's hotly anticipated Siena poll confirms the race for the seat vacated by former Rep. John McHugh in NY-23 has become a too-close-to-call fight between Democratic nominee Bill Owens and wingnut Doug Hoffman, who are tied at 36-35.

The repugicans' pick, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who started out as the frontrunner, is now at 20 percent. Nine percent of voters remain undecided.
There is no room for different ideas in the modern day repugican party. The teabaggers rule their world.

Were you born a bad driver?

Were you born a bad driver?

Some poor drivers might be able to claim their driving habits are in their genes.

Saturday Jam

Today's Saturday Jam includes:

Spooky
Dusty Springfield

La De Da
Ringo Starr

Monster Mash
Mannheim Steamroller

Hey it's Halloween - get over it!

President Obama's Weekly Address


Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
Saturday, October 31, 2009

Each week, I’ve spoken with you about the challenges we face as a nation and the path we must take to meet them. And the truth is, over the past ten months, I’ve often had to report distressing news during what has been a difficult time for our country. But today, I am pleased to offer some better news that – while not cause for celebration – is certainly reason to believe that we are moving in the right direction.

On Thursday, we received a report on our Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. This is an important measure of our economy as a whole, one that tells us how much we are producing and how much businesses and families are earning. We learned that the economy grew for the first time in more than a year and faster than at any point in the previous two years. So while we have a long way to go before we return to prosperity, and there will undoubtedly be ups and downs along the road, it’s also true that we’ve come a long way. It is easy to forget that it was only several months ago that the economy was shrinking rapidly and many economists feared another Great Depression.

Now, economic growth is no substitute for job growth. And we will likely see further job losses in the coming days, a fact that is both troubling for our economy and heartbreaking for the men and women who suddenly find themselves out of work. But we will not create the jobs we need unless the economy is growing; that’s why this GDP report is a good sign. And we can see clearly now that the steps my administration is taking are making a difference, blunting the worst of this recession and helping to bring about its conclusion.

We’ve acted aggressively to jumpstart credit for families and businesses, including small businesses, which have seen an increase in lending of 73 percent. We’ve taken steps to stem the tide of foreclosures, modifying mortgages to help hundreds of thousands of responsible homeowners keep their homes and help millions more sustain the value in their homes. And the Recovery Act is spurring demand through a tax cut for 95 percent of working families, and through assistance for seniors and those who have lost jobs – which not only helps folks hardest hit by the downturn, but also encourages the consumer spending that will help turn the economy around.

Finally, the Recovery Act is saving and creating jobs all across the country. Just this week, we reached an important milestone. Based on reports coming in from across America – as shovels break ground, as needed public servants are rehired, and as factories whir to life – it is clear that the Recovery Act has now created and saved more than one million jobs. That’s more than a million people who might otherwise be out of work today – folks who can wake up each day knowing that they’ll be able to provide for themselves and their families.

We’ve saved jobs by closing state budget shortfalls to prevent the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of police officers, firefighters, and teachers who are today on the beat, on call, and in the classroom because of the Recovery Act. And we’ve also created hundreds of thousands of jobs through the largest investment in our roads since the building of the interstate highways, and through the largest investments in education, medical research, and clean energy in history.

These investments aren’t just helping us recover in the short term, they’re helping to lay a new foundation for lasting prosperity in the long term – and they’re giving hardworking, middle-class Americans the chance to succeed and raise a family. Because of the investments we’ve made and the steps we’ve taken, it’s easier for middle-class families to send their kids to college and get the training and skills they need to compete in a global economy. We’re making it easier for these families to save for retirement. And in areas like clean energy, we’re creating the jobs of the future – jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced.

In fact, just this week, I traveled to Arcadia, Florida to announce the largest set of clean energy projects through the Recovery Act so far: one hundred grants for businesses, utilities, manufacturers, cities and other partners across the country to put thousands of people to work modernizing our electric grid – the system that provides power to our homes and businesses – so that it wastes less energy, helps integrate renewables like wind and solar, and saves consumers money. And that’s just one example.

So, we have made progress. At the same time, I want to emphasize that there’s still plenty of progress to be made. For we know that positive news for the economy as a whole means little if you’ve lost your job and can’t find another, if you can’t afford health care or the mortgage, if you do not see in your own life the improvement we are seeing in these economic statistics. And positive news today does not mean there won’t be difficult days ahead. As I’ve said many times, it took years to dig our way into the crisis we’ve faced. It will take more than a few months to dig our way out. But make no mistake: that’s exactly what we will do.

For the economy we seek is one where folks who need a job can find one and incomes are rising again. The economy we seek is one where small businesses can flourish and entrepreneurs can get the capital they need to plant new seeds of growth. The economy we seek is one that’s no longer based on maxed out credits cards, wild speculation, and the old cycles of boom or bust – but rather one that’s built on a solid foundation, supporting growth that is strong, sustained, and broadly shared by middle class families across America. That is what we are working toward every single day. And we will not stop until we get there.

Thank you. And Happy Halloween.

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is
Souwen (Samhain)

It also happens to be:
National Carmel Apple Day,
National Knock Knock Jokes Day
and
National Magic Day

Daily Almanac

Today is Saturday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2009.

There are 61 days left in the year.

Today In History October 31

This is Halloween.

A reminder: Daylight-saving time ends Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. Clocks go back one hour.

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Feel like someone in your family is running hot and cold?
It might be as simple as a clash between impetuous youth and wise elders, or a similar circumstance that looks black-and-white from the outside.
Whatever side of the argument you happen to fall on, it's key to remember how things looked when you had a much different stance.
That alone could give you some common ground to fall back on as you discuss the matter at hand.

Oh!

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in;

Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon
London, England, United Kingdom
Dar Es Salaam, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Athens, Attiki, Greece
Kuwait, Al Kuwayt, Kuwait
Nurenburg, Bayern, Germany
Palma De Mallorca, Islas Baleares, Spain
Saint Catherines, Ontario, Canada
Ulaanbaatar, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Almaty, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Logrono, La Rioja, Spain
Bolton, England, United Kingdom
Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Kiev, Kyyiv, Ukraine
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
Slagelse, Vests Jalland, Denmark