"Alaska Women Reject Palin" Rally

The rally was held on September 13th and the piece below was posted on the 14th over on Kos.
I have waited to post anything about the rally until I saw the knee-jerking from the repugicans ... didn't need to wait this long as they jerked convulsively immediately - but give'em enough rope and all that.

Today I saw where one knot-head was saying there was only eight people at the rally so it is 'hardly a movement' ... he must have one of the 'faith-based calculators' mentioned in the piece below to come up with that bullshit.

So I post the photos and you can count the number of people attending for yourself.
(If you are using one of those 'faith-based calculators,' don't bother you have already been supplied with the number of people attending,)

From Kos:

"We begin in Anchorage, Alaska, where a group of average women decided to hold a small rally to let it be known that their Governor, Sarah Palin, does not represent their views on many of the issues that are important in their lives.

They put together a press release and sent it to the Anchorage media outlets. A local right-wing talk show host broadcast the names and phone numbers of the two organizers over the air. They began receiving a series of harassing phone calls for the remainder of that afternoon. The leading TV station picked up the story on Thursday. Alaska Public Radio Network put up some audio.

An anonymous caller contacted the local media on Friday afternoon and told them they were one of the organizers, and the rally had been cancelled. Someone even faxed forged a document saying the Secret Service had cancelled the permit for the rally, even though no permit is required. Some people were putting an awful lot of effort in to making sure no dissent would be heard from Alaska.

Well, it didn't work. Despite overcast skies and a forecast for rain, there was a rally here today. Oh man, was there! In fact, it was by most accounts the largest protest rally in the history of Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News wrote that the rally drew an "estimated" 1500 people. Let me be clear: the organizers used a hand-clicker and counted at least 1,483 Alaskans, mostly women, who showed up to say that Sarah Palin does not speak for them. They also counted 93 McCain/Palin supporters. The national media loves to say that Sarah Palin enjoys an "80% popularity rating" in Alaska. Do the math on todays rally, and you'd need a faith-based calculator to get 80%. This was grassroots activism at its best - Alaskans coming out to speak their minds on a host of issues."

The site of the rally.

At 10:30 AM, the sidewalk was empty.

So was the lawn.

Would anyone show up?

It started out small.

Then a few more showed up.

Was this it?

Nope - the rally gets bigger.

Holy cow!

Seriously. Wow.

Probably the biggest protest rally in Alaska history. I can believe that.

The Theme of the Day

This woman wasn't buying it.

And neither was this this one.

Or this whole family.

Oh, snap!

No shortage of Pitbulls and Lipstick.

A smart young girl.

Two of my favorites.

Another good one.

These two women weren't buying the hype, either.

An excellent question. Governor?

Lots of other folks here support her choice, too.

I sense a pattern developing here...

Folks weren't wild about her ideas on war, either.

Here's a hockey mom with a different opinion.

Less gas, more frustration

Dealing with Ike ...

Gasoline-starved motorists hoping that the start of the week would bring good news faced a disappointing reality this morning -- there was little improvement over the weekend.

The second week of the region's gas shortage began just like the first week ended -- with promises that more gas is coming, but little fuel available.

Motorists reported most stations closed again Monday morning, with long lines forming at the few spots were gasoline was available.

When is relief coming?

Nobody seems to know.

Officials from local government, the AAA and gas suppliers told motorists Friday to use the gasoline they had and wait for the supply situation to improve over the weekend. But the improvement never came.

Woman, 79, dies in home invasion

Gastonia police: Mary Parnell had a heart attack when a suspect fleeing officers entered her house.

David Hains spent Sunday night writing the eulogy for his 79-year-old mother-in-law, who died from a heart attack when a man invaded her Gaston County home, police said.

“It's bad enough to lose someone. But to lose someone in an unjust way like this – it's a very difficult thing to deal with.”

Mary Parnell was reading a novel in her home office Friday afternoon when police say a man burst into her home while police were hunting for two credit union robbery suspects.

Larry Whitfield, 20, and Quanterrious McCoy, 20, both of Charlotte, were being pursued by officers after the two men attempted to rob the Fort Financial Credit Union on New Hope Road in Gastonia.

Whitfield and McCoy wrecked their car on Interstate 85 at the Belmont/Mount Holly exit, and ran into the woods.

Gastonia police, working with sheriff's deputies, state troopers and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, found McCoy hiding under a car. Witnesses told police that a man identified as Whitfield first broke into one house and confronted the owner with a knife before running to Parnell's house.

An autopsy showed she died of a heart attack. Witnesses told police they saw Whitfield running away. A sheriff's deputy found him a short time later under a brier bush nearby.

Whitfield was charged with first-degree murder under the state's felony murder rule, which applies when someone dies in the commission of a felony, said Gastonia Police Capt. C.L. Shaw.

Whitfield also faces kidnapping charges, stemming from circumstances that occurred inside at least one of the homes he entered, Shaw said, declining to elaborate. In addition, Whitfield was charged with attempted robbery and felony breaking and entering, Shaw said. Whitfield was being held in the Gaston County Jail without bond Sunday night.

McCoy was charged with attempted armed robbery and was also being held in jail. His bond amount was not available.

Both men are expected in court today.

Parnell's family said she was in good health and didn't suffer any other injuries besides the heart attack.

Relatives remembered her Sunday as a “sparkling” woman who was devoted to her five grandchildren and her husband of nearly 50 years, Herman. He was attending a funeral Friday when the death occurred, said Hains, communications director for the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.

Parnell grew up in the New Hope area of Gaston County and married her high school sweetheart. She worked at a bank while raising her four children and spent her retired years reading novels and mysteries and playing solitaire on her computer.

“When you spoke with her on the telephone or in person she literally was smiling all the time,” Hains said. “She seemed to always be delighted in your presence.”

Painter takes on North Carolina Battle

An influential Carolinas Revolutionary War battle may soon have a fresh perspective on canvas.

Kentucky painter Richard Luce has joined re-enactors on the Overmountain Victory Trail as they recreate the 1780 march that led to the Battle of Kings Mountain.

A militia of mountain frontiersmen worked their way from Virginia to North Carolina to defeat British troops and help set up the final American victory at Yorktown.

Luce intends to do a series of battle paintings and is taking photos and making notes of the re-enactment as part of his research.

He told the Kingsport (Tennessee) Times-News during a stop in Bluff City, Tennessee, last week that the re-enactors help him gather “magic moments” of action and emotion.

He hopes his trip with the Overmountain Men will lead to a series of paintings about the battle.

“I hope to make this a national campaign to spread the story,” he said. “It's a great story that needs to be told.”

British Gen. Henry Clinton called the campaign “the first chain of evils that … ended in the loss of America.” Thomas Jefferson described it as “the turn of the tide of success.”

Hot Tub in a Dumpster

Hey, he may not have been the first to think of it. But, he is the first to do it - we think.

Michel de Broin built a hot tub in a dumpster: "The dumpster is used to frame its contents - 1649 litres of filtered, chlorinated water. Its interior is lined with waterproof blue material while a pump and filter system ensures the purity of its contents. "

Read all about it @ Blue Monochrom | 2003

Just in case you're interested ...

If it wasn't for the Jaguars last week I would still be at 100% for predicting the outcomes of the NFL games.

So far that is the only one I have missed - including the games today!

Celebrity Chef

Paul McCartney making Mashed Potatoes.

And you thought he could only write the world's greatest songs, didn't you!

From the people that matter

The results are in from the people that matter - the people actually voting:

Obama wins the first debate hands down

In every poll Obama is the winner of the first debate "in the opinion of actual voters" with a average of 50% saying he won and all McPain could do was an average of 24%.

24% - hardly a winning percentage as the repugicans are still vainly trying to claim.

Also, if you factor in the inherent racial bias cited at 6% - that would be 56% for Obama and 18% for McPain ... should the bigots vote for the candidate rather than the 'race'.

No matter how you slice it Obama won.

Bo Diddley

Damn, this is good!

The campaign theme song

The McPalin campaign announced it's new theme song more in keeping with it's true tone and nature:

Lies - The Knickerbockers

Stem cell breakthrough: Scientists Find Way to Regress Adult Cells to Embryonic State

Scientists are reporting today that they have overcome a major obstacle to using a promising alternative to embryonic stem cells, bolstering the prospects for bypassing the political and ethical tempest that has embroiled hopes for a new generation of medical treatments.

The researchers said they found a safe way to coax adult cells to regress into an embryonic state, alleviating what had been the most worrisome uncertainty about developing the cells into potential cures.

Full Story: Washington Post

Daily Funny

A LITTLE BRITISH HUMOR

The train was quite crowded, so a U. S. Marine walked the entire length looking for a seat, but the only seat left was taken by a well dressed, middle-aged, French woman's poodle.

The war-weary Marine asked, 'Ma'am, may I have that seat?'

The French woman just sniffed and said to no one in particular 'Americans are so rude. My little Fifi is using that seat.'

The Marine walked the entire train again, but the only seat left was under that dog.

'Please, ma'am. May I sit down? I'm very tired.'

She snorted, 'Not only are you Americans rude, you are also arrogant!'

This time the Marine didn't say a word; he just picked up the little dog, tossed it out the train window, and sat down.

The woman shrieked, 'Someone must defend my honor! This American should be put in his place!'

An English gentleman sitting nearby spoke up, 'Sir, you Americans often seem to have a penchant for doing the wrong thing. You hold the fork in the wrong hand. You drive your autos on the wrong side of the road. And now, sir, you seem to have thrown the wrong bitch out the window.'

North Carolina to buy Grandfather Mountain

This is great news ...

North Carolina is buying the nearly 6,000-foot Grandfather Mountain peak and about 2,600 surrounding acres of wilderness, preserving an iconic natural treasure enjoyed by generations.

The $12 million deal also gives the state a conservation easement on the 600-acre park area, popular with visitors for its Mile High Swinging Bridge, nature museum and animal habitat that includes the mountain's beloved bears. The deal, to be announced Monday, is intended to protect the land and its abundant wildlife and vegetation from development.

Read the Full Story here.

Obama in North Carolina

Fresh from winning the first presidential debate, Democrat Barack Obama said Saturday that his Repugican rival, John McPain, is not clued into the economic struggles of average Americans.

“Through 90 minutes of debate, John McPain had a lot to say about me, but he didn't have anything to say about you,” Obama told a sprawling crowd in downtown Greensboro that police estimated at 20,000.

“He didn't even say the words, ‘middle class,'” Obama said. “He didn't even say the words ‘working people.'”

Obama, the Illinois senator, along with his vice presidential running mate, Joe Biden, sought repeatedly to tie McPain to the policies of the shrub on both the economy and the war in Iraq.

The post-debate trip to North Carolina – followed by a stop later in the day in Virginia – underscored the importance that Obama is placing on two traditionally red-leaning Southern states.

This was the fourth general election appearance by Obama in North Carolina, where he continues to draw immense crowds not seen here since 1980. It was Biden's second visit.

By comparison, McPain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, have yet to campaign here, and McPain officials could not say when they might.

Buzz Jacobs, McCain's Southeastern regional director, said McCain would do well in North Carolina in part because rural conservatives trusted his foreign policy experience and because they liked McCain's ideas of tax cuts, trimming back government and eliminating waste. He said that while Obama talked about the current financial crisis, McCain suspended his campaign this week and returned to Washington to address it.

Some in the crowd had traveled distances to see Obama.

Among them was Joan McNamara, an elderly retired school teacher from New Bern, who left her house at 4 a.m. to attend the noon-time rally.

“I don't think he (Mcpain) would raise his finger if I was sick,” McNamara said. “He (Obama) is a people person. He wants to do things for people.”

Biden, the Delaware senator, questioned McPain's wisdom on foreign affairs, leading the crowd on a “John McPain is wrong” mantra. He said McPain was wrong about the people of Iraq viewing Americans as liberators, wrong about the presence of weapons of mass destruction, and wrong that Afghanistan had been pacified.

“At this point we need more than a brave soldier,” Biden said referring to McPain. “We need a wise leader.”

Obama spent most of his time talking about the financial crisis, which he said was caused by “greed and irresponsibility” on both Wall Street and in Washington.

He tied McPain to the sort of deregulation that contributed to Wall Street's problems. And he derided McPain's claim that he would take on special interests.

“He says he'll take on the corporate lobbyists, but he put seven of the biggest lobbyists in Washington in charge of his campaign,” Obama said. “And if you think those lobbyists are working day and night to elect my opponent just to put themselves out of business, well, I've got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska.”

Obama said he would support the $700 billion bailout plan only if it met several conditions:

1. An independent board, selected by Democrats and Republicans, must oversee how the money is spent.

2. The $700 billion must eventually be returned to taxpayers.

3. The bailout must also help homeowners struggling to stay in their homes.

4. The CEOs who wrecked their companies cannot be financially rewarded.

“I will not allow this program to become a welfare program for Wall Street speculators,” Obama said.

Obama made his speech in front of the J. Douglas Galyon Depot, an old Southern Railway train station, amid tight security, including rooftop sharpshooters. The crowd spread out for several city blocks, and large sections of downtown Greensboro were barricaded. Obama and Biden walked on stage to the strains of rocker Bruce Springsteen's “The Rising.”

The highest-ranking Democratic candidate to appear with Obama was Ronnie Ansley, the Democratic candidate for state agriculture commissioner. But several Democratic leaders are scheduled to hold a news conference for Obama on Monday at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh.

Waterfall Wonderland

Need a waterfall to soup up your autumn getaway? That splashing sound is closer than you think. And better than ever.

For the past several years, DuPont State Forest – two hours west of Charlotte – has offered a triple treat: three tumbling cascades that can be viewed in one morning's hike. Since February, waterfall-watchers have been able to add a fourth by stretching their walk another couple of miles.

At the 10,400-acre forest between Hendersonville and Brevard, three spots – Hooker, Triple and High falls – have been where visitors gathered to watch the Little River take succeeding plunges down a mountainside on its way to Cascade Lake.

Now, with a 35-acre gift from E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., you can walk from High Falls to the spot higher up the river where famous Bridal Veil Falls sends a spray of sparkling drops down a long, sloping incline of rock. Previously, Bridal Veil was accessed only by a two-mile hike from another section of the forest.

“Hike” is the operative word at DuPont. Though there are several parking lots on its edges, the only way into the forest is on foot or horseback unless you rent one of the forest's picnic shelters (or if you're disabled – you'll get a special drive-in permit).

Start at the Hooker Falls parking lot, by the Little River bridge on DuPont Road-Staton Road. (The road's name changes at the Henderson-Transylvania county line.) A quarter-mile trail leads to a handicapped-accessible viewing area and a small beach beside the 12-foot falls.

The scene might look familiar: It figured in the movie “Last of the Mohicans.” When his enemies were closing in, hero Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis, although a stuntman performs in this particular scene) soared off Hooker in a canoe and escaped.

Across the road, and a half-mile up the mountain, you'll reach three-tiered, 150-foot- high Triple Falls. A half-mile farther up is 120-foot High Falls. Go another 1.5 to 2 miles, and you're at Bridal Veil. The entire round trip is more than five miles, David Brown estimates. He supervises DuPont for the N.C. Forest Service.

Trails and roads are detailed and rated as easy, moderate or difficult in $8 waterproof maps available through www.dupontforest.com. You can also download a free maps from the Internet.

Vehicles are generally prohibited because there's not enough parking space to accommodate many cars, Brown says. They end up being parked roadside, destroying the vegetation the forest service strives to protect.

Not to mention wrecking the peace and quiet that distinguishes the forest from a public park, says a member of the auxiliary organization Friends of DuPont Forest. Chris McDonnell practically shudders as he utters the term “boom boxes.” The 400-member group helps build trails and sponsor events. It compiles information, offers information at kiosks and runs the forest's Web site.

DuPont's hardwoods and pines serve as a teaching forest for the state, illustrating good forest-management practices.

For most of the 120,000 visitors a year, however, the forest is primarily a beautiful spot – sometimes as backdrop for weddings, often the scene of family reunions. The head count, by the way, rivals the count at N.C. state parks, where average annual attendance varies from 70,000 to 1 million.

Though there's an impressive stone chimney at one shelter – a relic of an old mountain lodge – no open fires are permitted. Neither is camping. Swimming and wading are permitted in five forest lakes and in pools below the falls, but not at the top of the falls or the middle section of Triple Falls. Climbing on rocks beside the falls is prohibited.

Hikers, mountain bikers, marathoners and equestrians share the 80 miles of trails, which are largely maintained by volunteers, many of them from the Pisgah region of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association and the Pisgah Trailblazers, an equestrian club. Guided horseback rides are arranged through nearby Ultimate Ride Campground.

Anglers cast into the river and the lakes, the largest of which, Lake Julia, is 99 acres. Trout fishing around the falls is subject to a delayed-harvest rule: Whatever's caught October-May has to be released. Hunting is permitted in season in the forest, but the area around the falls is off-limits.

Track teams train in DuPont, and Hendersonville has its annual 26.2-mile DuPont Marathon here. The run, which attracts up to 500 entrants, will be Oct. 12.

“About one-quarter of our entire users are mountain bikers,” Brown says. That's about 25,000 cyclists annually, coming from a wide area.

“If you're in DuPont State Forest in March or April, you will see a bunch of Canadians,” says Woody Keen, a cyclist and Friends of DuPont Forest member. It's still snowing in Canada when wildflowers, including yellow and pink lady slippers, are getting ready to bloom at DuPont, he says. “The scenic beauty of the area, the climate, the weather, the waterfalls, those are big draws.”

There was a time all of this was largely unknown. The forest was the site of a DuPont X-ray plant, and only company employees enjoyed the falls and the recreation they provided.

In 1996, DuPont sold the plant and offered the state more than 7,000 acres, including Hooker Falls, on favorable terms. In 2000, after the Triple and High falls area came within a hair's-breadth of becoming a gated housing development, the state exercised its right of eminent domain and bought those falls and surrounding acreage for $24.5 million. In February, DuPont gave the state the 35 acres that gives new access to Bridal Veil Falls.

A wide assortment of the forest's fans pitches in on a continuing basis. Building construction technology classes led by Eric Hurley at Western Piedmont Community College, in Morganton, are responsible for many of the physical improvements. They include stairs that wind down steep rocks to Triple Falls, sturdy picnic tables at several locations and a pier at Lake Julia. “I love that place,” says Hurley, who played a British soldier in “Mohicans.”

Even non-hikers get a chance to “love that place” two weekends each year, when the Friends sponsor their Tour de Falls. They rent small school buses and operate a shuttle to Triple, High and Bridal Veil falls and Lake Julia. The $10 tours are on Mother's Day weekend and, this year, Oct. 18-19. The tickets go fast. Last fall, several hundred people had to be turned away.

Once on the buses, sightseers can get off at any stop and eat whatever picnic lunch they've brought, then hop on the next shuttle. “Every 20 minutes there's something going by,” McDonnell says.

Or, if they're mesmerized by the sight of a falls, they can do like Hurley: “I love just going down there and sitting on a rock.”

Taliban assassins kill ranking Afghan policewoman

Two Taliban assassins on a motorbike shot and killed a senior policewoman as she left for work in Afghanistan's largest southern city Sunday and gravely wounded her son.

Malalai Kakar, 41, who led Kandahar city's department of crimes against women, was leaving home Sunday when she was killed, said Zalmai Ayubi, spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor. Her 18-year-old son was wounded, he said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Militants frequently attack projects, schools and businesses run by women. The hard-line Taliban regime, which was ousted in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, did not allow women outside the home without a male escort.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the assassination, as did the European Union, which said it was "appalled by the brutal targeting" of Kakar.

"Any murder of a police officer is to be condemned, but the killing of a female officer whose service was not only to her country, but to Afghan women, to whom Ms. Kakar served as an example, is particularly abhorrent," the EU said in a statement.

Elsewhere in Kandahar province, a suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a border police convoy in Spin Boldak district, killing three policemen and three civilians, said the regional border police chief, Abdul Razzaq.

The blast wounded 17 others, including 15 civilians and two officers, Razzaq said.

Taliban militants use suicide attacks in their campaign against Afghan and foreign troops in the country. The majority of the victims in such bombings are civilians.

As of this moment ...

4174 Men and women are dead in Iraq due to the cabal's greed.

UCLA group discovers humongous prime number

Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13 million-digit prime number, a long-sought milestone that makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.

The group found the 46th known Mersenne prime last month on a network of 75 computers running Windows XP. The number was verified by a different computer system running a different algorithm.

"We're delighted," said UCLA's Edson Smith, the leader of the effort. "Now we're looking for the next one, despite the odds."

It's the eighth Mersenne prime discovered at UCLA.

Primes are numbers like three, seven and 11 that are divisible by only two whole positive numbers: themselves and one.

Mersenne primes - named for their discoverer, 17th century French mathematician Marin Mersenne - are expressed as 2P-1, or two to the power of "P" minus one. P is itself a prime number. For the new prime, P is 43,112,609.

Thousands of people around the world have been participating in the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS, a cooperative system in which underused computing power is harnessed to perform the calculations needed to find and verify Mersenne primes.

The $100,000 prize is being offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for finding the first Mersenne prime with more than 10 million digits. The foundation supports individual rights on the Internet and set up the prime number prize to promote cooperative computing using the Web.

The prize could be awarded when the new prime is published, probably next year.

Paul Newman dies at 83

Paul Newman, the legendary actor whose steely blue eyes, good-humored charm and advocacy of worthy causes made him one of the most renowned figures in American arts, has died of cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 83.

He died Friday, according to spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic.

Teen wanted mom dead to pay for breast work

A Colorado teenager hired men to kill his mother so he could use her money to get breast implants for his girlfriend, police said.

Nikita Lee Weis, 18, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, said Fountain Deputy Police Chief Mike Barnett.

His girlfriend, Sophia Nicole Alsept, and two men police said he hired, Juan Antonio Velez Gonzalez, 18, and Brandon Michael Soroka, 19, were arrested on the same charge.

Weis' mother, Hyun Weis, was attacked Thursday with a small wooden baseball bat at her home but escaped, authorities said. She was released Friday from a hospital.

Barnett said Weis wanted to sell his mother's car and use money in her bank accounts to pay for breast implants for Alsept, 21.

Barnett also said the suspects discussed wrapping Hyun Weis' body in plastic and dumping it in the desert in New Mexico or Arizona.

All were being held on $50,000 bail. Officials did not know whether they had attorneys and said they couldn't get messages to them.

Fountain is about 10 miles south of Colorado Springs.

Freight brakeman in deadly LA train collision sues

The brakeman on the freight train in a deadly collision near Los Angeles is suing the other railroad and the companies that provide its engineers.

Dominick Fravola and his wife sued Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. They say the Sept. 12 crash happened because the defendants allowed dangerous conditions to persist.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages, medical and psychological expenses and loss of income. His wife also seeks damages for loss of consortium.

The lawsuit names the Metrolink service, as well as Veolia Transportation and a subsidiary. Metrolink and Veolia declined to comment.

In the accident, a Metrolink train ran a red signal and collided with the Union Pacific freight. Twenty-five people died.

It's much clearer now?

Found this on several websites and it rings true

*****

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a onstitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local sports reporter, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left
your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including
the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with
no other option in sex 20 education in your state's school system while
your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in
a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values
don't represent America's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote
until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

Serbia probes Nazi charges against US man

Serbia's war crimes court is investigating genocide allegations against a man accused of serving as a Nazi officer before emigrating to the United States and retiring outside Seattle.

The court said Friday that 86-year-old Peter Egner, who lives in a suburban retirement community, is suspected of committing genocide and other war crimes against civilians in Belgrade while serving as a Nazi officer during the occupation of Serbia in 1941-44.

The court offered no more details about Egner's alleged role in the atrocities. The opening of an investigation is a key step toward formal indictment and a trial.

Serbia has said it would seek Egner's extradition from the United States. The head of the Israeli branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center this month encouraged Serbia to try Egner and two more alleged Nazis here.

The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal court in July to revoke Egner's American citizenship because he had not disclosed details about his past when he applied for the citizenship.

Egner immigrated to the U.S. in 1960 and applied for citizenship, the complaint said. Officials say he falsely claimed that he served as a rank-and-file infantry sergeant in the German army, and he was granted U.S. citizenship in 1966.

Egner's lawyer Robert Gibbs this month asked a federal judge to reject the demand. He said Egner denies any involvement in wartime mistreatment and is being accused of atrocities committed by others.

Revoking Egner's U.S. citizenship would pave the way for his extradition to Serbia.

Egner is accused of being a guard and interpreter for a Nazi squad that killed thousand of Jews, Gypsies and political dissidents in Belgrade.

The Justice Department, citing Nazi documents, said that in the fall of 1941, Egner's unit executed 11,164 people - mostly Serbian Jewish men, suspected communists and Gypsies - and that in early 1942, it killed 6,280 Serbian Jewish women and children who were held as prisoners. In two months, those women and children allegedly were taken from the camp and forced into an especially designed van, in which they were gassed with carbon monoxide.

Serbian war crimes prosecutor's office has said it was working closely with American officials on Egner's case.

The war crimes court noted in its statement Friday that "any delay could prevent efficient conduct of this investigation" because of the advanced age of Egner and any possible witnesses.

As of this moment ...

4173 Brave men and women are dead in Iraq due to the cabal's greed!

And I Quote

"Palin is mediocre, again, regurgitating talking points mechanically, not thinking.
Palin's just babbling. I am truly embarrassed for her. I can't watch this train wreck."

~ Rod Dreher, Conservative handjob

You know it's bad when one of the most blatant apologists for the repugicans loses the hardon they have for all things neo-con.

And I Quote

"Sarah Palin's performance in the tiny vignettes of unscripted dialogue
in which we've been allowed to see her has been frightening and pity-inducing."

~ Glenn Greenwald

Man flies personal jet wing across English Channel

Yves Rossy jumped out of a plane over Calais, France today and flew his jet-propelled wing across the English Channel. After crossing the water, he released his parachute and floated safely to the ground. From the Associated Press:

Backed by a gentle breeze, Rossy crossed the Channel in 13 minutes, averaging 125 miles per hour. In a final flourish, he did a figure eight as he came over England, although the wind blew him away from his planned landing spot next to the lighthouse.

"It was perfect. Blue sky, sunny, no clouds, perfect conditions," the Swiss pilot said after touching down in an adjacent field. He said he wanted to show, "it is possible to fly, a little bit, like a bird."

"Swiss man flies over Channel on jet wing"
Rossy's FusionMan site

Jack Cafferty, what do really think?

Jack Cafferty thinks Palin is a laughingstock and calls her pathetic.

No-name storm lands with rain, gusts in Carolinas

We don't even get a name ... phooey!

A storm that never quite gained tropical strength or a name over the Atlantic blew ashore with drenching rain Friday in the Carolinas, knocking out power and sending rain, gusty winds and high surf far up the Atlantic seaboard.

Although the center of the storm was well to the south, forecasters said it was so large that rain and some wind would be felt in the Northeast. Small craft advisories, meaning strong winds or gusts and choppy seas, were issued from Savannah, Ga., to Maine.

"Much of the winds have diminished," said meteorologist Dave Loewenthal at the National Weather Service in Wilmington. "It's a very large system. It goes all up and down the eastern seaboard."

Loewenthal said the system's center would "continue west throughout the day and then make a more northerly track along the Appalachians. You can have a lot of rain on the east side of the mountains, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

The storm was expected to continue bringing coastal flooding, rip currents and high surf to the mid-Atlantic shore over the weekend.

Forecasters turned their attention to Tropical Storm Kyle in the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda. The National Hurricane Center said Kyle could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moved north.

At 8 a.m., Kyle was located about 500 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northwest near 13 mph with top sustained winds near 60 mph. Tropical storm force winds extended out from the center up to 160 miles, mainly east of the center.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda.

In the Carolinas, the storm knocked out power to about 3,400 utility customers but few serious problems were reported.

A dozen houses were condemned in the Outer Banks town of Nags Head when waves exposed septic tanks, WRAL-TV reported. Officials said wind-driven tides flooded NC Highway 12 at times on Hatteras Island.

Forecasters said the storm lacked the ingredients of a tropical system, but had looked enough like one that the National Hurricane Center sent aircraft into it several times to explore.

"This was very close to a tropical system," said Brandon Vincent of the National Weather Service office in Raleigh. "Before it came inland, it had a pretty impressive radar impression that was reminiscent of a tropical storm."

By 9 a.m. Friday, the storm center was about 70 miles inland from Myrtle Beach, S.C., near the North Carolina border and had weakened, said Brandon Vincent of the National Weather Service office in Raleigh.

Vincent said the storm would bring up to 2 inches of rain to some parts of the Carolinas after setting a daily record of 4.16 inches in Wilmington on Thursday. Winds would gust up to 30 mph in the western Piedmont area before dying out in the afternoon.

"We'll see some breezy conditions," he said. "No big deal, just a little breezy."

Paul McCartney performs for thousands in Tel Aviv

After a 43-year wait, Paul McCartney performed his first concert in Israel on Thursday, kicking it off with the familiar Beatles' song "Hello, Goodbye" to the joy of tens of thousands of cheering fans. McCartney billed the concert "Friendship First," saying he's on a mission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.

Singing "Give Peace a Chance," he stopped and let the audience sing the chorus alone. "Here tonight you sang it, you want it," the 66-year-old rocker said. He dedicated the song to his fellow Beatle, John Lennon, who was killed in New York in 1980.

Fireworks lit the sky as McCartney sang "Live and Let Die."

A crowd made up of Israelis of all ages, estimated at 40,000, cheered as McCartney performed outdoors in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park on a warm late summer night. Some wore T-shirts with the slogan, "I love Paul."

He greeted the crowd with a mixture of English and Hebrew, wishing them "shana tova," happy new year, ahead of next week's Jewish new year holiday. He added "Ramadan kareem" in Arabic, a greeting to Muslims, who are marking their holy month.

His repertoire included many Beatles hits, as well as songs from his post-Beatles group, Wings. The songs included "Yesterday," "Back in the USSR," "Hey Jude" and "Jet." He added two encores.

Nadav Erez, 31, from the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, danced enthusiastically throughout the concert.

"He should have come here long ago, he should have come again and again, he should come again and again and again," Erez said.

The Beatles had been scheduled to perform in 1965. But in one of the country's most widely repeated tales, an Israeli official supposedly called off the concert for fear it would corrupt the nation's youth. Only in recent weeks, it turns out the story may not have been true.

So pervasive is this story that Israel's ambassador in London, Ron Prosor, sent a letter to McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles, to express regret over the matter.

"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," he wrote. He invited them to play during this year's celebrations marking Israel's 60th anniversary.

When McCartney announced plans for Thursday's concert, he acknowledged the brouhaha, saying he was finally coming "43 years after being banned by the Israeli government." He promised to give fans "the night they have been waiting decades for."

Ahead of the concert, newspaper columnist Yossi Sarid, son of the Israeli official who allegedly banned the Beatles, went on a campaign to clear his father's name. Sarid claimed his father had nothing to do with the decision, and that it involved a more mundane feud between two Israeli concert promoters.

Sarid, reached ahead of the concert, said he hadn't heard from McCartney's people and had no plans to attend. "The tickets are too expensive," he said.

A small group of Palestinians had urged McCartney to call off the show, saying it was supporting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. A radical Muslim preacher in Lebanon also called on McCartney to cancel the show.

During a visit to the biblical town of Bethlehem on Wednesday, McCartney brushed off the criticism.

"I get criticized everywhere I go, but I don't listen to them," McCartney said. "I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."

October Surprise

This financial raping of the world was planned
This IS the "October Surprise" we have been talking about, folks.
It has been planned for years - ever since Prescott Bush fell in love with Mussolini and Hitler.
And yes, my friends ... they plan to rob us blind.

The proof is call-girl Ashley Alexander Dupre.

Ashley, or "Kristin" has no particular connection to the government plan to dump over a trillion dollars of taxpayer debt notes on Wall Street in order to reward Wall Street for it's irresponsible behaviour.
She just happened to be the pawn sacrificed to take down New York governor Eliot Spitzer, who as governor, and previously as Attorney General of New York was one of the only mature adults in government willing to take on the corporate criminals on Wall Street during a time when the 'Federal government' (read cabal), had abdicated its responsibilities and partnered with the crooks to rape us.

Spitzer was unraveling the bailout plot, so he had to be silenced.
Only a moron would believe that random bank audits led to his exposure as a serial "John" as they claim.
Alan Dershowitz shows the overwhelming doubt in The Entrapment of Eliot.
He was under intense surveillance - the sort that the shrub won't allow to be reviewed by the courts.
There are no criminal charges against Spitzer as of yet (and there won't be) ... the evidence could not be presented in court as it was a result of surveillance without a warrant.

A month before he was taken down, Eliot Spitzer wrote a Feb. 14, 2008 Op-Ed for the New York Times titled Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime How the Bush Administration Stopped the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers in which he detailed the cabal's efforts to prevent the States from taking any steps to forestall the current crisis.

As Spitzer was being taken down, in March 2008, the first $200 Billion dollar installment of the plan was being made.
Didn't know the bailout started back in March, did you?
That's when the Fed's Bernanke loaned 1/5th of a trillion dollars to the very thieves we are now promising another $700 billion to.
Greg Palast connected those dots back on March 14: Eliot's Mess The $200 billion bail-out for predator banks and Spitzer charges are intimately linked.
Add to that the $300 Billion spent on the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and Bear Stearns tea parties.
That's $1.2 Trillion in less than 8 months. Someone is cashing out fast ... and there is that ninety odd acres in Paraguay, you know.

Sixteen Hundred

Even the world's 'wildlife' are taking note of Carolina Naturally.

Democracy First

You tell'em Craig!

The Liar and the Numbers

The Liar and the Numbers.

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.

Planned Parenthood gains from Palin e-mail campaign

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,

Read the rest here

"Tony Soprano would be very proud."
-- Steve Forbes, Republican, on Bush's A.I.G. bailout

Read the rest here

"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,

Read the rest here

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."

China banks told to halt lending to US banks, South China Morning Post via Reuters.

FAIL,

The Splurge

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.

Fast Food Hits Mediterranean and a Diet Succumbs

Clear Enough?

Clear enough, for ya?

McPain bails on Letterman

Talk about disrespect!

But never fear, Dave skewers the old fart cleanly and neatly.

A Gallon Of Gas

Especially appropriate around these here parts this past few days ...

Nights In White Satin

1967 was a great year for music!

SE coast storm could become tropical

The National Hurricane Center said a low-pressure system off the Southeast coast could still turn into a named tropical storm, but it isn't there yet.

A hurricane hunter aircraft sent to examine the storm Wednesday found the low pressure system centered about 250 miles southeast of Wilmington "has not acquired tropical characteristics."

The hurricane center in Miami said the system has the potential to turn into a named storm on Thursday as it drifts westward toward the U.S. coast.

Either way, the system will bring strong winds, coastal flooding, high surf, and dangerous rip currents to big chunks of the East Coast over the next couple of days.

Meteorologist Robert Digiorgi at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Wilmington said winds will strengthen as the day goes on Thursday.

Oh, joy ...

Just a Question

Are you one of those wankers who voted for Bush ‘cuz he’d be more fun to drink a beer with?

How’s that workin’ out for ya?

And I Quote

Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.

~ Yoda.

Man farts at officer, charged with battery

From the 'You have got to be kidding' Department:

After being pulled over for driving with his car's headlights off, the gentleman pictured here failed a sobriety test and was arrested for drunk driving.

While being booked at the police station "[Jose] Cruz then allegedly moved closer to one of the officers and passed gas, the station reported. In the complaint, the investigating officer wrote that police noticed a 'very strong' odor."

As a result, Mr. Cruz was charged with battery.

West Virginia Man Charged with Assaulting an Officer

Hold on there ... if a fart is battery, then a kiss is, oh, let's not go there shall we ...

Planned explosion goes awry at Vermont airport

Officials at a Vermont airport say a planned explosion at a rock quarry went awry and showered planes and cars with large rocks.

Burlington International Airport Manager Brian Searles says rocks hit four small airplanes, several vehicles and some buildings Wednesday.

No one was hurt, but there was damage costing several hundred thousand dollars.

Some of the rocks were the size of microwave ovens.

The quarry is part of an area being readied for airport expansion. Searles says the airport will investigate how the explosion got out of hand.

*****

I am surprised DHS isn't on this like white in rice. Explosion ... Airport - I mean come on, do I have to spell it out for you? Wait there will be some 'official' saying 'terrorists' could be involved shortly and it will most likely turn out to either be a error in placement of the charge, an error in prepping the charge - to wit: too much powder, wrong type powder, etc, or just some bone-head that doesn't know a blasting cap from a bottle cap being put in charge of the explosives by lazy co-workers.

Monkey Business

They might be calling it monkey business in Mesa, Arizona, but police are interested in the outcome.

In that city, the police department has landed a $100,000.00 Grant to test how a Capuchin might perform as a one-critter SWAT team.

A Capuchin, with its human-like hands and problem solving ability, is considered the most intelligent monkey - Right behind the Chimpanzee in terms of brain power. (Which means far ahead of repugicans ... Oops, was that my outside voice? Sorry,. Please continue.)

Police there have purchased one and outfitted it with a Kevlar vest, camera and two-way radio and send it into spots where neither a man nor a robot can go.

"Everyone laughs until they start thinking about it," says Officer Sean Truelove.

*****

Where is Lancelot Link when you need him?!

Satanists move to control GOP

For decades, Republicans have had all the fun, eroding the barrier between personal beliefs and public policy and legislating their own faith-based morality as a means of consolidating power. But now another politically active religious group is coming forward and asking for their turn to team up with the GOP to dictate how other people will live their lives- Devil worshipers. That's right. As it happens, followers of Satan have become a formidable voting bloc in this country since the late 90's and could soon rise up to challenge evangelical Christians for their place in the GOP hierarchy.

Read the rest here.

Funny? I all ready thought there were in control of the GOP! Oh, well ...

Arctic sea "foaming" with methane?

An article in The Independent reports on a new scientific discovery that massive amounts of a greenhouse gas are spewing into the atmosphere from beneath the Arctic sea. WorldChanging puts it into context, opening with the line that this discovery, if confirmed, "is really, really, really bad news."

"An Arctic Sea 'Foaming' with Methane: What Now?"

The Methane Timebomb

Axiom

If a man alone in the woods opens his mouth and speaks and a woman isn't there to hear him, is he still wrong?