The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Look around today, and you'll find some inspiration.
There are people in your life who have a lot of valuable things to teach you, and they're eager to move into a mentorship position.
In fact, the timing may be perfect to reach out and ask for guidance.
These folks exemplify what you want to be, and they're where you want to be.
So why not ask them how to get there?
You'll add your own spice to things today, so don't worry about becoming a carbon copy of anyone.
Your identity will not suffer.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
London, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Kuala, Kedah, Malaysia
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei and Muara, Brunei Darussalam
Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Minden, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Munich, Bayern, Germany
Lille, Nord-Pas-De-Calais, France
Doha, Ad Dawhah, Qatar
Gengenbach, Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany

as well as Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland

and in cities across the United States such as Manning, Hayward, Waterbury, Kailua and more.

Today is:

Today is Tuesday, April 5, the 96th day of 2011.

There are 269 days left in the year.

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

One Day Without Shoes Day.

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

A thought from the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered, "Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."

Getting to Know Americans

New York University has advice for international students in dealing with US Americans. A handy guide is posted on their website.

Americans generally believe the ideal person is self-reliant. Most Americans see themselves as separate individuals, not as representatives of a family, community or other group. They dislike being dependent on other people, or having others depend on them. Some people define this trait as selfishness. Others see it as a healthy freedom from the constraints of family or social class.
How is this value manifested into behavior? In individualist cultures, such as the U.S., it is assumed that people need to be alone some of the time and prefer to take care of problems by themselves. Another expectation is that people are ready to “do business” very soon after meeting, without much time spent on preliminary conversation. Also people act competitively, are proud of their accomplishments and expect others to be proud of their own accomplishments.

Reading this makes the USA seem like a strange, exotic culture. Which I suppose it is if you weren’t born and raised here.

Full Story

April is Poetry Month

Non Sequitur

The repugican's 'brazen assault on the EPA'

Who really needs clean air, clean water and an environment that doesn't make anyone sick?
Oh yeah, right, everyone needs that.
Well, everyone except the repugicans.

CNNMoney:

"Never in four decades has there ever been this brazen assault on the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect our health," said Krupp. "In the House they've already passed an amendment that would mean the EPA couldn't enforce its effort to clean mercury from the air."

The EPA has been ordered by the courts to regulate greenhouse gases after the agency ruled that they are a danger to public health.

Some lawmakers are scrambling to strip the EPA of this power, and even roll back some of its other regulatory responsibilities. They are concerned that regulating greenhouse gases will be too costly.

Meanwhile in Wisconsin

Wisconsin recall organizers got 145% of the votes needed in 50% of the time allotted to recall repugican Dan Kapanke.

Maine Must Pay For Mural

Ha-ha!

After Maine’s governor removes labor mural, feds demand their money back.

The governor of Maine's decision to remove a pro-labor mural from the state's Department of Labor may cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars, all because he wanted to "send a message."
Apparently unknown to Maine's recently elected Republican governor, the mural targeted by his ire was initially paid for by a federal grant -- the terms of which he violated by having it removed.
And now, according to the Associated Press, the U.S. Department of Labor has officially demanded reimbursement.
The grant, awarded in 2008 to pay for the 37-foot-long mural, fulfilled 63 percent of the $60,000 historical art project.
If the state decides against putting it back up, they'll be forced to repay 63 percent of the mural's fair market value, which has likely gone up since it became a centerpiece in Republicans' battle against workers.

Outrageous perks of execs

Eight outrageous executive perks

One firm let its CEO’s daughter commute to school on the corporate jet.  

A $2 million party with chariots 

Also: 

• World's top billionaires
• Goldman CEO's $5M bonus  
• How to get a raise

Isn't it obvious

Guy Gets A Job

In Wisconsin: No degree, little experience pay off big.

Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions.
Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Even though Walker says the state is broke and public employees are overpaid, Deschane already has earned a promotion and a 26% pay raise in just two months with the state.
How did Deschane score his plum assignment with the Walker team? It's all in the family. His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race.
The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Even more impressive, members of the trade group funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years.
Total donations: $121,652.

Probably just a coincidence. You can't just give money to a politician and then expect him to give your son a job.

The Shrub's Recession

You know the Shrub's Recession has fucked up the economy so bad that even this type of business couldn't make it in Texas!

IRS ramps up mail audits

Tax audit may come in your mailbox

The IRS has overhauled the way it challenges taxpayers' returns.  

Many are confused by the letters 

Also: 

• Yahoo! tax center
• File a clean return  
• Track down your refund

Five rules for credit scores

What can make—or break—a credit score

You can boost your creditworthiness by paying off a certain type of debt right away.  

The biggest misconception 

Also: 

• Good debt vs. bad debt
• 0% financing and scores 
• Find lowest loan rates

Ways to nail great deals

Five ways to nail great deals

You can earn discounts of 10% or more just by asking these questions.  

One strategy to get free products 

Also: 

• Foods that save money
• Lower your pet costs 
• Six cash discounts

United jet's blind landing

How United jet's blind landing unfolded

Pilots are safely directed to a closed runway after smoke is detected and their instruments go dark.

Cockpit audio 

Also: 

• Expert on plane cracks 
• AirTran ranked No. 1
• Plane lands in surf

Libyan woman fears for her life

Libyan woman: 'No safe place for me'

The woman whose outburst touched a nerve around the world defies Gadhafi's regime again. 

 'Threats 24 hours a day' 

Also: 

• Latest on Libya clashes
• Gadhafi son: Defector 'old'
• FBI questions U.S. Libyans

When dealing with the police

Bad Cops

Missouri deputy resigns after shooting pet Chihuahua, again and again

Colorado police officer is arrested for inappropriately touching 19-year-old woman during pat-down search

Off-duty Tennessee police officer is charged with assault on deputies

Former Pittsburgh detective charged in prostitution sting

Nevada police officer is charged with domestic battery and burglary

West Virginia police officer is charged with domestic battery

Alabama corrections officer charged with selling drugs at jail

Two former New Orleans police officers receive stiff sentences in Katrina killing

Chowchilla Revisited

In 1976, three young men kidnapped a school bus full of children in Chowchillla, California. The 26 children and the driver were forced at gunpoint into a truck that was buried at a rock quarry. The bus driver, Ed Ray, and some of the older boys dug back through the hole through which they entered the underground chamber. It took them 16 hours to escape. Meanwhile, the kidnappers planned to demand $5 million in ransom, but the police phone lines were busy. Before the plan could be carried out, the victims had escaped. Richard Schoenfeld, James Schoenfeld, and Fred Woods received life sentences for the crime. They have served 35 years in prison. Some people believe that’s enough, including their prosecutor David Minier.

Since then, each has been denied parole dozens of times. Supporters say their continued imprisonment makes a mockery of the idea of rehabilitation. Minier, now a retired judge, favors parole for all three kidnappers.
“Quite frankly, I am simply amazed that Richard Schoenfeld, given his record as a model prisoner, was not paroled years ago,” Minier wrote the parole board in 2006.
At the Feb. 23 news conference in San Francisco, Dale Fore, one of the lead investigators in the case, said: “They were just dumb rich kids, and they paid a hell of a price for what they did.”
After retiring from the Madera County Sheriff’s Department, Fore worked as a private investigator for the Woods family’s attorneys, tracking down kidnapping victims to see if any would write letters of support for parole. None has.
“I might not be the most popular guy when I get back home,” Fore said. “But right is right. How much time do you want out of these guys?”

If you ask the people of Chowchilla, the answer is life without parole. On one hand, the crime as planned was horrific. On the other hand, no one was seriously hurt in the end. Many people convicted of murder receive lighter sentences. On the other hand, this crime could have ended as a mass murder. What do you think?

Full Story