The Liar and the Numbers.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Planned Parenthood is suddenly a lot richer because of Sarah Palin.
Planned Parenthood is suddenly a lot richer because of Sarah Palin.
And the Republican vice presidential nominee will soon be receiving tens of thousands of thank-you notes.
A three-week-old Internet campaign is asking abortion-rights activists to send donations to Planned Parenthood in honor of the Alaska governor.
The origin of the campaign is unknown and Planned Parenthood officials insist it is not their doing.
Palin is a staunch abortion- rights opponent. The campaign is meant to translate anger at her position into money for an agency that provides sex education, women's health care and abortion services.
One e-mail making the rounds on the Internet says: "Instead of (actually, in addition to) all of us all sending more e-mails about how absolutely horrible she is, let's all make a donation to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name."
Katie Groke Ellis, field manager for the Planned Parenthood of the Rockies Action Fund, predicts that the five-state chapter of the group alone could draw $100,000 in donations.
Error-prone Detroit police crime lab shut down
The Detroit police crime lab was shut down by the city's new mayor and police chief after an outside audit found errors in some evidence used to prosecute cases involving murder and other crimes, officials said Thursday.
An audit by Michigan State Police found erroneous or false findings in 10 percent of 200 random cases and subpar quality control compliance at the lab, said Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy.
The report revealed a "shocking level of incompetence" in the lab and constitutes a systemic problem, she said at a news conference. When it came to recognized work standards, the lab met only 42 percent of a required 100 percent, Worthy said.
Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. and Police Chief James Barren made the decision to shut down the Detroit lab and use the state police lab for all Detroit criminal investigations. The lab commander was also relieved of duty, Barren said.
Officials have also started what will probably be an expensive and time-consuming analysis of past cases going back years in which lab findings were used or admitted into evidence, Worthy said.
"This may be only the tip of the iceberg," Cockrel said. A more detailed audit report is due next month.
Firearms work at the city police lab, housed in a former school outside downtown, first was halted in the spring after a firearms expert hired by defense attorney Marvin Barnett told Worthy about findings in his client's double-murder case.
The lab had determined that 42 shell casings from a May 2007 shooting were from the same weapon. State police later determined two different weapons were used. Worthy then ordered the audit.
Jarrhod Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree premeditated murder before the audit results, Barnett said. Williams hasn't been sentenced, and Worthy said he should be given the option of withdrawing his plea and getting a new trial, or continuing the plea.
But his attorney wants the case dismissed.
"I anticipated there would be some problems," Barnett told The Associated Press. "I never anticipated an audited error rate of 10 percent. It's not the tip of the iceberg. It's the iceberg itself. The question is, how big is the glacier?"
Criminals may have gone uncharged because of the lab's shortcomings, Worthy said.
"We have no idea how many people are walking around that have committed crimes that we don't know about," said Worthy, who also blamed the problems on human error, as well as a lack of funding, resources and training.
Barren has reassigned the lab as an evidence collection point and will move its 33 police officers to other positions. The lab's 35 civilian employees will get more training.
"As prosecutors, we completely rely on the findings of police crime lab experts every day in court, and we present this information to our juries," Worthy said. "And when there are failures of this magnitude, there is a complete betrayal of trust. We feel betrayed, as prosecutors."
The problems at the lab follow a sex scandal involving former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a former top aide that resulted in Kilpatrick's resignation. He will be sentenced to four months in prison and five years probation on Oct. 28.
Are you a Leaf Looker?
North Carolina's Masterpiece
Before long the leaves will flutter away from their summer branches and become a colorful carpet that covers the ground. Before they fall, however, many people, often known as "leaf lookers," make pilgrimages to the mountains and countrysides to view Mother Nature's glorious explosions of color. North Carolina leads the pack for leaf lookers, and depending upon the season, the species of trees involved, and the relative proportion of the three major pigments that are contained in leaves, just about every imaginable color combination may be seen.
No matter where you live, the panorama of autumn leaves is surely not too far away to enjoy. Some areas, like the Northeast, lose their color all too quickly. Others, such as the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains of America's Southeast, seem to retain their color much longer, but the displays in and around the United States are among the finest in the world.
The U.S. Forest Service has a special toll-free number specifically for leaf-lookers. The toll-free 'Fall Color Hotline' can be reached at (800) 354-4595. The automated voice system is updated weekly with information about peak fall foliage colors in various regions throughout the country. This is the 16th year this service has been provided and last year there were more than 29,000 callers. The Hotline will continue to operate through the middle of November, or as long as there is significant fall color in our national forests.
It's Not Easy Being Green
Many people might say that old Jack Frost is responsible for the color change in the leaves, but we now know that the change in coloring is the result of chemical processes which take place in the tree as the season changes from summer to winter.
Through spring and summer leaves serve as factories where most of the foods necessary for a tree's growth are manufactured. This food-making process takes place in the leaf in numerous cells containing chlorophyll, which gives the leaf its green color. Along with the green, leaves also contain yellow or orange carotenoids which, for example, give the carrot its familiar color. Most of the year … these yellowish or orange colors are masked by the greater amount of green coloring. But in the fall, partly because of changes in the period of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop their food-making process; the chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellowish colors become visible and give the leaves their fall splendor.
The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are actually caused by a chemical breakdown of glucose. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves to turn this glucose into a red color. The brown coloring in the leaves of trees like oaks is made from waste products remaining in the leaves.
It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful colors we enjoy in the fall season.
A Quick Guide to Fall Colors
Ash:
Green ash leaves turn yellow, but white ash leaves have a purplish cast. The leaves fall after those of walnut trees, but earlier than those of oaks and maples.
Bur Oak:
Buff to yellow colors predominates in bur oaks. The leaves remain on the tree and turn brown before falling.
Elms:
Elm leaves turn various shades of yellow with some turning brown before falling, others falling while still yellow.
Hickory:
Leaves turn yellow on hickory trees, then brown before falling.
Maple (Soft):
The leaves of soft (silver) maples turn yellow but do not turn brown before falling.
Maple (Hard):
Brilliant flame-red hues are the signature of hard maple leaves. The red pigmentation of some leaves breaks down before falling.
Oak (Red):
Red oaks have brilliant red leaves in fall, though the color is probably not as intense as that of some hard maples.
Oak (White):
White oaks have a more subdued purple color. The leaves then turn brown and often stay on the tree until new leaves begin to grow in the spring.
Here's a few takes on the 'Bailout'
"This is eerily similar to the rush to war in Iraq. We have been told repeatedly by Bush that the economy is fundamentally sound, and then all of the sudden they say the economy is going to collapse."
-- Rep Mike McNulty,
"Tony Soprano would be very proud."
-- Steve Forbes, Republican, on Bush's A.I.G. bailout
"Mr. President, you gave Wall Street the keys to the liquor cabinet, by failing to enforce our laws. And now you're demanding that Americans, who didn't get invited to the party, must pay for everything destroyed in the drunken brawl."
-- Rep Lyle Doggett of Texas,
And I Quote
"The Democratic Convention felt like America, it looked like America.
But the Republican Convention was like watching a meeting in Dr. Evil's lair.
It was like all of the evil people got together, and they were having an evil board meeting..."
~ Wanda Sykes
Biker gang masquerades as Christian ministry
In more than 25 years at the helm of his biker-inspired Christian ministry, Phillip Aguilar has counseled Hells Angels, married Mongols and provided a place to crash for just about every hog-riding gangster and drug addict he's ever met.
But police say after years of bringing God to outlaws, Aguilar's chopper-riding Christians may have morphed into just the kind of gang they claim to save people from.
Aguilar and four other members of the Set Free Soldiers pleaded not guilty at their arraignments Thursday on weapons and gang felonies after a bar brawl that ended with two Hells Angels stabbed. One member of Aguilar's group is charged with attempted murder.
The case threatens to unravel Aguilar's counterculture Christian empire, a domain already well-known among bikers that's recently gained some traction in the mainstream.
His church, which runs several Southern California rehab homes, recently inspired an A&E reality show pilot, has close ties to a Christian rap group and has an urban-influenced clothing line called Soldier Made.
Some of those in the close-knit and largely under-the-radar Christian biker community, however, now wonder if Aguilar is converting sinners - or if they're converting him.
"I'm in seedy places, I'm in bad places, I meet with bad people and some of the outlaws, you bet. The key question is, are you participating or are you their minister?" said Tom Longbrake, a twice-ordained minister with Bikers for Christ who's often crossed paths with Set Free Soldiers at biker charities.
Aguilar, 61, who declined repeated interview requests, is free on bail. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for Dec. 4.
An attorney for Aguilar's son, who was also arrested, said those charged were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Set Free Soldiers were attacked by the Hells Angels while they ate hamburgers and shot pool at Blackie's by the Sea after watching a member's son in a surfing contest, said Lloyd Freberg, an attorney for Matthew Aguilar, 29.
Phillip Aguilar's attorney, Doug Myers, added that he has seen nothing in the prosecution's case to support the gang charges.
"Supporters talk about how Phil has helped them when they're down and out and that's what he's done for 20-plus years," Myers said. "They've even helped minimize the gangs in the area."
But search warrant affidavits and police reports - portions of which are sealed - indicate the fight may have begun because the Hells Angels felt the Set Free Soldiers were on their turf. A Set Free pastor caught fleeing the fight with a bloody knife in his car told police the brawl began when a Hells Angels leader confronted Aguilar and told him his group was not authorized to take the Hells Angels' business.
The pastor, Glenn Schoeman, who also pleaded not guilty in Orange County Superior Court, told police he was terrified of retaliation now that Set Free members had drawn Hells Angels blood.
A pre-dawn raid at the Set Free compound of four suburban homes just miles from Disneyland yielded gang paraphernalia, thousands of rounds of ammunition and dozens of guns and knives, said Sgt. Evan Sailor of the Newport Beach police.
Sailor said detectives also were alarmed by YouTube and MySpace videos that show members posing with guns and knives and riding their bikes with their faces covered with black handkerchiefs and, in one case, a skull mask.
"To me, it's indicative of more than just a Christian group. It's indicative of an outlaw motorcycle gang," Sailor said. "It's not like they're showing Bible study classes."
Yet Aguilar's son said the Set Free Soldiers are hardworking Christians who act and dress the way they do so their gospel resonates with hard-to-reach sinners: the drug addicts, the outlaw bikers and the prostitutes.
The elder Aguilar's own checkered past, including a stint in state prison for child abuse and a former heroin addiction, gives him even more credibility with his ragtag flock. Many call him "Pastor Phil" or "The Chief" and don't seem to mind the sometimes iron-fisted control he exerts over those in his rehab homes.
Kevin Knuth, 29, showed up on Aguilar's doorstep in 2004 just out of jail, homeless and addicted to drugs. He's been there ever since, living in the rehab center or sleeping on Aguilar's couch and helping with errands, household chores and the clothing line for free.
"The only place I find any sort of sanity, the only place where I feel like I have any kind of family, is here with Pastor Phil," said Knuth, who now wears a silver cross necklace and is drug-free and off probation.
Chinese banks told to stop loaning money to American banks
For the "Yeah we're screwed" file:
"Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday."
"Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday."
Fast Food Hits Mediterranean and a Diet Succumbs
Small towns like this one in western Crete, considered the birthplace of the famously healthful Mediterranean diet — emphasizing olive oil, fresh produce and fish — are now overflowing with chocolate shops, pizza places, ice cream parlors, soda machines and fast-food joints.
The fact is that the Mediterranean diet, which has been associated with longer life spans and lower rates of heart disease and cancer, is in retreat in its home region. Today it is more likely to be found in the upscale restaurants of London and New York than among the young generation in places like Greece, where two-thirds of children are now overweight and the health effects are mounting, health officials say.
McPain bails on Letterman
Talk about disrespect!
But never fear, Dave skewers the old fart cleanly and neatly.
But never fear, Dave skewers the old fart cleanly and neatly.
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