Man Bites Dog; Dog Maces Family

Actually, no one bit a dog, but a dog sure maced a family, according to a press release by the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.

Full Story

Travel destinations most likely to vanish

These popular vacation spots could melt, sink, or otherwise disappear from the face of the Earth thanks to tourist activity and global warming.

Travel destinations most likely to vanish

Fossil seal had the feet of an otter

A fossil found in the Canadian Arctic could be the link between a primitive animal with webbed feet and the modern seal.

Fossil seal

Science News

From BBC-Science:

Gray whales granted rare reprieve Oil firms shelve plans to carry out undersea seismic work to ensure the gray whales' breeding season is undisturbed.

And I Quote

"When the subject has anything to do with sex, the right in America is the party of moral absolutes.
We know what's right, we know what's wrong, and even if there's a price to pay we can't shirk our responsibility to set a proper example and do the right thing.

But when the subject is torture, suddenly it's all about carefully weighing the costs and benefits.
Having an honest debate about how far we should go to protect ourselves.
Understanding the context of what happened.
It's just not possible to flatly say that waterboarding and sleep deprivation and stress positions are barbarisms unfit for use by a civilized country.
It's much more complex than that.

Funny how that works, isn't it?"

~ Kevin Drum

He's correct for repugicans sex is always a no-no ... kidnapping, rape, murder not so much.

Nobody Told Me

John Lennon

Women Indicted for Embezzlement

Two women from Bowie have been indicted on charges that they embezzled more than $280,000 from a D.C. program geared toward employing blind vendors.

Full Story

Pair of 5th graders arrested in school drug bust

Police have made a drug bust involving two grade school students.

One is 10 and the other is 11 years old.

Full Story

Bull caught on tape charging through supermarket

Talk about fresh beef at the market ...

A runaway bull was captured on security cameras doing some "on the hoof" shopping in an Irish supermarket.

The animal had been at the local mart in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, when it escaped and made off through the town, paying a visit to Cummins' SuperValu, where it made its way through the store, sending a few customers on the run.

Full Story

A high school senior in Michigan made perfect scores on the SAT, PSAT and ACT standardized tests.

The Detroit News reported Saturday that the 17-year-old senior at southeast Michigan's Canton High School got perfect scores on the ACT — and the SAT — and the PSAT.

ACT Inc. spokeswoman Mary Owens says it's "quite an accomplishment."

Full Story

Surfing Facebook While Ill Earns Employee a Pink Slip

If there's a question as to whether Big Brother exists, in one form or another, this story should answer it.
At the very least, it should show you that if you use social networking sites, and you think you have any measure of privacy, you are sadly mistaken.

Full Story

'Health emergency' declared over swine flu

A new flu virus combining human, pig, and bird strains causes worldwide concern after dozens of people die in Mexico.

'Health emergency'

Also:

• Swine flu Q&A
• New cases in Kansas

Luka

Suzanne Vega

And I Quote

The repugicans are divorced from reality:

If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments.

~ Bill Maher

Read the rest here.

No More Excessive Sweating

If you suffer from excessive sweating there is some hopeful news for you. It's a new solution that may offer a cure without surgery! It's called the Vaser Ultrasound and it's a minimally invasive procedure, where a probe is inserted through a small incision in the skin.

Full Story

Why small cars won't keep you safe

Minicars are affordable, use less gas, and are easier to park — but they don't have physics on their side.

Small cars won't keep you safe

Also:

• Who is to blame for Chrysler's woes
• Minicar crash-test results

Have your fries and reduce your salt, too

One burger chain's French fries have twice the amount of sodium than of its competitor.

Reduce your salt

Also:

• Potato's nutritional value strong

Four foods kids should avoid

Play Video

See which "adult" foods may harm children's health.

Foods kids should avoid

Also:

• Vegging out with the kids
• Help your teen make better choices

Conficker virus on slow, sophisticated attack

A malicious software program many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 has infected tens of thousands of computers in recent weeks.

Conficker virus

Also:

• Macintosh botnet on the march

Bird strikes double at big airports

Collisions with birds have destroyed more than two dozen aircraft since 2000, according to newly released data.

Bird strikes

Also:

• Hawks protect Air Force planes

Saturday Jam

This Saturday's Jam Includes:

Total Eclipse Of The Heart

Bonnie Tyler

No More Words

Berlin

Alone

Heart

Nothing Compares To You

Sinead O'Conner

We Belong

Pat Benatar

President Obama's Weekly Address

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
April 25, 2009

Good morning. Over the last three months, my Administration has taken aggressive action to confront an historic economic crisis. As we do everything that we can to create jobs and get our economy moving, we’re also building a new foundation for lasting prosperity – a foundation that invests in quality education, lowers health care costs, and develops new sources of energy powered by new jobs and industries.

One of the pillars of that foundation must be fiscal discipline. We came into office facing a budget deficit of $1.3 trillion for this year alone, and the cost of confronting our economic crisis is high. But we cannot settle for a future of rising deficits and debts that our children cannot pay.

All across America, families are tightening their belts and making hard choices. Now, Washington must show that same sense of responsibility. That is why we have identified two trillion dollars in deficit-reductions over the next decade, while taking on the special interest spending that doesn’t advance the peoples’ interests.

But we must also recognize that we cannot meet the challenges of today with old habits and stale thinking. So much of our government was built to deal with different challenges from a different era. Too often, the result is wasteful spending, bloated programs, and inefficient results.

It’s time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.

Earlier this week, I held my first Cabinet meeting and sent a clear message: cut what doesn’t work. Already, we’ve identified substantial savings. And in the days and weeks ahead, we will continue going through the budget line by line, and we’ll identify more than 100 programs that will be cut or eliminated.

But we can’t stop there. We need to go further, and we need an all-hands-on-deck approach to reforming government. That’s why I’m announcing several steps that my Administration will take in the weeks ahead to restore fiscal discipline while making our government work better.

First, we need to adhere to the basic principle that new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for. This principle – known as PAYGO – helped transform large deficits into surpluses in the 1990s. Now, we must restore that sense of fiscal discipline. That’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass PAYGO legislation like a bill that will be introduced by Congressman Baron Hill, so that government acts the same way any responsible family does in setting its budget.

Second, we’ll create new incentives to reduce wasteful spending and to invest in what works. We don’t want agencies to protect bloated budgets – we want them to promote effective programs. So the idea is simple: agencies that identify savings will get to keep a portion of those savings to invest in programs that work. The result will be a smaller budget, and a more effective government.

Third, we’ll look for ideas from the bottom up. After all, Americans across the country know that the best ideas often come from workers – not just management. That’s why we’ll establish a process through which every government worker can submit their ideas for how their agency can save money and perform better. We’ll put the suggestions that work into practice. And later this year, I will meet with those who come up with the best ideas to hear firsthand about how they would make your government more efficient and effective.

And finally, we will reach beyond the halls of government. Many businesses have innovative ways of using technology to save money, and many experts have new ideas to make government work more efficiently. Government can – and must – learn from them. So later this year, we will host a forum on reforming government for the 21st century, so that we’re also guided by voices that come from outside of Washington.

We cannot sustain deficits that mortgage our children’s future, nor tolerate wasteful inefficiency. Government has a responsibility to spend the peoples’ money wisely, and to serve the people effectively. I will work every single day that I am President to live up to that responsibility, and to transform our government so that is held to a higher standard of performance on behalf of the American people.

Thank you.

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Izmir, Izmir, Turkey
Mexico City, Dristrito Federal, Mexico
Doncaster, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
Kuwait, Al Kuwayt, Kuwait
Lancaster, England, United Kingdom
Roubaix, Nord-Pas-De-Calais, France
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium
London, England, United Kingdom
Rennes, Bretagne, France
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Veenendaal, Utrecht, Netherlands
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

as well as Singapore, Scotland, Mauritius and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

A faithful friend needs your support today, and you should do whatever it takes to give it to them.
If you have to blow off a social engagement, do it -- you can reschedule something later.
If you have to skip lunch, do it -- when someone you care about is in need, food isn't that important.
All that matters is you showing another person how much they matter to you.
They have been there for you so very often in the past, and you need to pay them back.

You got it!