CAROLINA NATURALLY

Friday, October 23, 2009

Baby boy gets free flights for life

A midflight emergency turns into a cause for celebration as a baby is born 2,000 feet in the air.

Surprise

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Cop News

In Cop News:

Girlfriend-beating and Wal-Mart greeter shoving Tennessee cop loses his job

SC man drives 80 miles to give explosives to cops

Authorities say a South Carolina man's good intentions almost caused an explosive situation.

SC man drives 80 miles to give explosives to cops

NC gov says 20 violent criminals won't be freed

North Carolina's governor is saying that the Department of Correction wrongly gave inmates credit for good behavior and is refusing to release 20 of the state's violent offenders next week.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said in a news release that she questions whether the prisons agency had the authority to apply the credits to inmates serving life.

NC gov says 20 violent criminals won't be freed

It's not the White House War on Fox, stupid.

A month by month account of Fox's war on the White House

Here is an amazing video by Media Matters, taking a month by month look at the hate and lies pouring out of the GOP propaganda organ known as FOX News.

Only a moron would call it the "White House's war of Fox" (Oh, wait, they are, never mind).
Stating facts is not a 'war' and being called for what you are isn't one either.
Give it up FauxNews - you're a fake 'news' (How I hate sullying the word to use it in the same sentence as Faux) network and a thoroughly integrated part of the repugican party ... deal with it!

Senator Al Franken (D-MN) humbles Hudson Institute dilettante over health care bankruptcies

You've been owned!

In what is quite possibly the best headline for this story ... the prize goes to Boing Boing:

Al Franken kicks eleventy-million kinds of ass in health-care hearing

And I Quote

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

~ Douglas Adams

Science News

From BBC-Science:

Epic humpback whale battle filmed

The greatest of all animal battles, "the humpback whale heat run", is filmed in its entirety for the first time by a BBC crew.

Tiger skin trade in China exposed

An undercover investigation by an environmental campaign group reveals the continuing trade in tiger skins in China.

The Pie is now in the Sky

Soupy Sales Dies

Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, has died. He was 83.

Sales died Thursday night at Calvary Hospice in the Bronx, New York, said his former manager and longtime friend, Dave Usher. Sales had many health problems and entered the hospice last week, Usher said.

At the peak of his fame in the 1950s and '60s, Sales was one of the best-known faces in the nation, Usher said.

"If President Eisenhower would have walked down the street, no one would have recognized him as much as Soupy," Usher said.

At the same time, Sales retained an openness to fans that turned every restaurant meal into an endless autograph-signing session, Usher said.

"He was just good to people," said Usher, a former jazz music producer who managed Sales in the 1950s and now owns Detroit-based Marine Pollution Control.

Sales began his TV career in Cincinnati and Cleveland, then moved to Detroit, where he drew a large audience on WXYZ-TV. He moved to Los Angeles in 1961.

The comic's pie-throwing schtick became his trademark, and celebrities lined up to take one on the chin alongside Sales. During the early 1960s, stars such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Shirley MacLaine received their just desserts side-by-side with the comedian on his television show.

"I'll probably be remembered for the pies, and that's all right," Sales said in a 1985 interview.

Sales was born Milton Supman on Jan. 8, 1926, in Franklinton, North Carolina, where his was the only Jewish family in town. His parents, owners of a dry-goods store, sold sheets to the Ku Klux Klan. The family later moved to Huntington, West Viriginia.

His greatest success came in New York with "The Soupy Sales Show" — an ostensible children's show that had little to do with Captain Kangaroo and other kiddie fare. Sales' manic, improvisational style also attracted an older audience that responded to his envelope-pushing antics.

Sales, who was typically clad in a black sweater and oversized bow-tie, was once suspended for a week after telling his legion of tiny listeners to empty their mothers' purse and mail him all the pieces of green paper bearing pictures of the presidents.

The cast of "Saturday Night Live" later paid homage by asking their audience to send in their joints. His influence was also obvious in the Pee-Wee Herman character created by Paul Reubens.

Sales returned from the Navy after World War II and became a $20-a-week reporter at a West Virginia radio station. He jumped to a DJ gig, changed his name to Soupy Heinz and headed for Ohio.

His first pie to the face came in 1951, when the newly christened Soupy Sales was hosting a children's show in Cleveland. In Detroit, Sales' show garnered a national reputation as he honed his act — a barrage of sketches, gags and bad puns that played in the Motor City for seven years.

After moving to Los Angeles, he eventually became a fill-in host on "The Tonight Show."

He moved to New York in 1964 and debuted "The Soupy Sales Show," with co-star puppets White Fang (the meanest dog in the United States) and Black Tooth (the nicest dog in the United States). By the time his Big Apple run ended two years later, Sales had appeared on 5,370 live television programs — the most in the medium's history, he boasted. He had a pair of albums that hit the Billboard Top 10 in 1965; "Do the Mouse" sold 250,000 copies in New York alone.

Sales remained a familiar television face, first as a regular from 1968-75 on the game show "What's My Line?" and later appearing on everything from "The Mike Douglas Show" to "The Love Boat." He played himself in the 1998 movie "Holy Man," which starred Eddie Murphy.

He joined WNBC-AM as a disc jockey in 1985, a stint best remembered because Sales filled the hours between shock jocks Don Imus and Howard Stern.

Sales is survived by his wife, Trudy, and two sons, Hunt and Tony, a pair of musicians who backed David Bowie in the band Tin Machine.

Songs used at prison cause outrage

Bands lead a charge to uncover how songs were used in Guantanamo Bay interrogations.

Pearl Jam, others

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is IPod Day.

Daily Almanac

Today is Friday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2009.

There are 69 days left in the year.

Today In History October 23

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Voiron, Rhone-Alpes, France
Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

What are you worrying about?
Set your concerns aside today, because this cloud you've been floating on isn't about to disappear anytime soon.
You can feel free to make plans based on what will surely be success -- speaking of the future, today will give you a clear glimpse of what your path will be.
It's not quite time to go down that road, but you will enjoy the sense of confirmation.
Today will be worry-free, offering a strong sense of relief.

Now, that's a relief.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rape Called a Pre-Existing Condition

This is an outrage of unprecedented proportions!

This is a disturbing story.
It's the story of a woman who made the choice, after being raped, of taking anti-AIDS medication for a month, as a precautionary step.
Little did she know it would scar her for life, in the minds of insurance underwriters.

Full Story

FDA Warns of Online Swine Flu Scams

Many seem to be ready to toss aside swine flu as something to worry about.
Many seem ready to skip the swine flu shot.
At the same time, many are ready to fall for Internet H1N1 scams, as the Food and Drug Administration warned today.

Full Story

After Election Results Announced, McCain Voters Saw Testosterone Drop

A study published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS One) examined the results of the 2008 Presidential Election.
In this case, however, the results were examined using a different metric than most: testosterone level.

Full Story

Found: first 'skylight' on the moon

A hole in the lunar surface has been found that could lead to a vast underground tunnel – it could one day provide shelter for human settlers.

Found: first 'skylight' on the moon

The poll is out

A new Gallup poll shows that 44% of Americans favor legalization of pot.

Student advertises for a personal assistant

A busy sophomore wants someone to schedule haircuts, do laundry, and gas up his car.

Pay

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Homebuyer tax credit under scrutiny

Allegations of massive fraud may jeopardize efforts to extend the popular program.

19,000 suspect cases

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Exercise may make you smarter

Workouts that raise your heart rate may boost your brainpower, a study shows.

Immediate improvement

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Ways to jazz up plain hot cocoa

5 ways to jazz up plain hot cocoa

A few extra ingredients can transform ordinary chocolate into a fiery drink.

You brave enough for chili pepper?

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Natural ways to avoid colds and flu

Try these simple solutions to help strengthen your immune system.

Chestnuts, herbs, and royal jelly

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When to start receiving Social Security

Sometimes delaying your retirement benefits can pay off significantly.

Questions to ask and how to decide

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4-day workweek brings unexpected bonus

Utah's experiment with a shorter week has paid off in ways the state didn't even anticipate.

Savings in first year

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Secret weapon in climate war

A slimy, fast-growing "nuisance" may hold the key to easing climate change.

Race for a breakthrough

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Food giveaway whets appetites

A chain restaurant's second free promotion is creating another frenzy.

First attempt didn't go very well

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Controversial moon theory rewrites history

New evidence refutes the long-held theory that a huge collision formed Earth's moon.

Story

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Most impoverished cities in the U.S.

"The Great Recession" has brought 2.6 million more Americans into poverty.

The hardest-hit cities

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Products that are booming now

10 products that are booming now

These consumer items have managed to outpace the competition during the severe downturn.

Growing brands

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Navy's new warships built for speed

Two new combat ships topping out at "unheard-of" speeds could transform the war on piracy.

But they're not cheap

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How a mistake felled the Berlin Wall

Crucial questions at a news conference led to one of the biggest fumbles in history.

Reporters' battle

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Jet misses airport by 150 miles

Northwest Airlines pilots overshoot their destination and don't make radio contact for over an hour.

FAA investigating

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Player's good deed backfires badly

Caroline Wozniacki's gesture of sportsmanship in tennis leads to an investigation.

Faces stiff penalty

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Jobless Americans losing their lifeline

Every day in the U.S., 7,000 jobless workers lose their unemployment benefits.

Why Congress is stalling

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What do you get ...

What do you get when you cross poison ivy with a 4-leaf clover?

A rash of good luck.

And I Quote

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

~ T.S. Eliot

NTSA says check for Apena

The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that commercial truck and bus drivers and merchant ship pilots should be screened for sleep apnea.

Safety board issues wake-up call on sleep disorder

Who owns our debt

We went from being the largest lender nation to the largest debtor nation under ronnie raygun and things haven't gotten better. Except with the 8 years under Clinton the debt was reduced, but with the shrub's 'fiscal conservative' handling of the debt it ballooned out of all sense.

Of course those that caused the debt are lying about it and blaming everyone else (as they always do about everything) only this time no one is believing them - and as usual they are clueless about it.

who owns america

Financial Services Technology: Federal deficit: who owns what?

Go get'em Al

Senator Al Franken is kicking booty and taking names ...

In a hearing on health care:

One of the highlights of the hearing was when sen. Al Franken (D-Mn) questioned Hudson Institute senior fellow Diana Furchtgott-Roth about medical bankruptcies. Franken asked Furchtgott-Roth — who claimed that moving towards a European-style system of universal health care would increase bankruptcies — about how many medical bankruptcies there were in countries that have universal health care, like Switzerland and France. Furchtgott-Rott repeatedly told franken that she didn’t “have that number,” and Franken informed her that the number was actually zero.
Think Progress