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POLL
QUESTION
Do
you view Sarah Palin as "Presidential
Material" in 2012?
YES
NO
NOT
SURE
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Before
We Begin this
week, a few closing thoughts about the weekend.
I've
heard some negatives on the WHO performance at
the Super Bowl. If you don't like the WHO, you
don't like the WHO. Frankly, I thought it
was one of the better of all these stupid
half-time shows.
Music
was tight, light show was great, and absent were
the stupid phony adoring crowds of the past at
the feet of the artists, usually too young to
even know who the group on stage performing
was.
The
game itself was a good one, though not quite the
scorefest some had anticipated.
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It
must have been a great weekend for anyone
selling food. The game, the buildup to
"Death Watch Two: The Return of The
Snowman." (I just looked
outside at 8:30am, thought we had dodged this
thing. OOOOOPS! What happened to
know snow until this afternoon?)
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Now
comes the next Hallmark Holiday,
"Valentine's Day." I don't think
there's one of these non-holiday-holidays that I
like less, unless it's New Year's
Eve. Seldom do either one live up to
the immense expectations that are put on them.
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Obama:
Healthcare dead, not dead. Terror trials
moving, may not move. He really is
beginning to show himself as inept and
politically stupid. He's still dangerous,
because he has the power and a large majority
(for now) in Congress. By this time next
year, he should be rendered impotent.
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You
didn't win the POWERBALL, but some guy did in
North Carolina. One ticket, 141 million
dollars. Too bad it wasn't me,
I'd be taking a lot of people on a free Alaskan
Cruise with me this summer, ON MY OWN SHIP.
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What
the heck is going on at the MEDICAL EXAMINER'S
OFFICE? I'm studying it with some people
who seem to know, but am still somewhat
confused?
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ALASKAN
CRUISE - AUGUST 13 - COME ON ALONG
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August 13th to 20th, I hope as many of you as can
swing it will join me for a First Class Luxury cruise
of Alaska and British Columbia.
 5
ports 7 days. Suite rooms with veranda and
ocean view. All inclusive. NO
charges for drinks, tips, food, only any excursions
you schedule while in port.
Spend
a day along the glaciers. Do a little whale
watching. See something unique. (The
Rockies on STEROIDS!)
Leave
from Seward, return to Vancouver, British
Columbia. Lots of time for us to escape
(or plan an overthrow of the bums in D.C.)
Hope
you'll join me.
Click
here for details! Deadline end
of this month. Don't wait to at least inquire.
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RANDOM
THOUGHTS
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-
Check out the COMMENTARY near the bottom of the
page. Really nails
LIBERALISM/ELITES/PROGRESSIVE thinking.
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IT
HAPPENED ON THIS DAY
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 During
World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt
instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time,
called "War Time," from February 9,
1942 to September 30, 1945.
From
1945 to 1966, there was no federal law
regarding Daylight Saving Time, so states and
localities were free to choose whether or not
to observe Daylight Saving Time and could
choose when it began and ended. This
understandably caused confusion, especially
for the broadcasting industry, as well as for
railways, airlines, and bus companies. Because
of the different local customs and laws, radio
and TV stations and the transportation
companies had to publish new schedules every
time a state or town began or ended Daylight
Saving Time.
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W
H O A
M I ?
|
 FIRST
ID.
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Know who this is? Send your answer to MyGuess4WhoAmI@aol.com
- Put answer- your name and location in SUBJECT LINE.
When the first correct ID is made, the answer will appear on
the ANSWERS page
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As
D.C. continued to dig out from
Snowmageddon and is keeping an
eye on another storm system, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration was busy making a
climate change announcement.
NOAA,
part of the Department of
Commerce, is going to be
providing information to
individuals and decision-makers
through a new NOAA Climate
Service office. “More and more,
Americans are witnessing the
impacts of climate change in
their own backyards, including
sea-level rise, longer growing
seasons, changes in river flows,
increases in heavy downpours,
earlier snowmelt and extended
ice-free seasons in our waters.
People are searching for relevant
and timely information about
these changes to inform
decision-making about virtually
all aspects of their lives,”
the release says.
Earlier
snowmelt? That would be nice.
Turns
out the release was planned
prepared ahead of the snowstorm,
which shut federal agencies today
and forced its senders to hold a
press conference by telephone
instead of at the National Press
Club.
It’s
not the first time inclement
weather has put a chill on
official efforts to tackle
climate change. House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi had to leave the
Copenhagen summit early in
December to get back to D.C.
before the blizzard known as
Snowpocalypse grounded all
flights.
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A
new report by the International
Planned Parenthood Federation is
advocating that children as young
as 10 be given extensive sex
education, including an awareness
of sex's pleasures.
The
report, "Stand and
Deliver," charges that
religious groups, specifically
Catholics and Muslims, deny their
young access to comprehensive
sexual programs and education.
"Young
people's sexuality is still
contentious for many religious
institutions. Fundamentalist and
other religious groups — the
Catholic Church and madrasas
(Islamic Schools) for example —
have imposed tremendous barriers
that prevent young people,
particularly, from obtaining
information and services related
to sex and reproduction.
Currently, many religious
teachings deny the pleasurable
and positive aspects of
sex." the report states.
The
report demands that children 10
and older be given a
"comprehensive sexuality
education" by governments,
aid organizations and other
groups, and that young people
should be seen as "sexual
beings."
"Young
people have the right to be
informed about sexuality and to
have access to contraceptives and
other services," Bert
Koenders, the Netherlands
Minister for Development
Cooperation, wrote in the
foreword to the report. It was
his organization that helped fund
the report.
The
report argues that sex education
should be "recast" to
show sexuality as a
"positive force for change
and development, as a source of
pleasure, an embodiment of human
rights and an expression of
self."
Much
like a U.N. report released last
August that advocated teaching
masturbation to children as young
as 5, "Stand and
Deliver" has set off a wave
of protest among religious and
conservative groups.
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New
York Gov. David Paterson's office
made the rounds to major news
outlets Monday to shoot down
rumors the governor is planning
to step down in the wake of a
"bombshell" New York
Times story about to be published
that is so scandalous he can't
politically survive it.
The
governor is reportedly expected
to do an interview with the Times
on Tuesday, but his staff insists
there's no there there.
"This
is a new low even by the
standards of Planet Albany,"
Paterson spokesman Peter
Kauffmann told The Associated
Press late Sunday. "The
circus of the past week entirely
fabricated out of thin air and
innuendo is an embarrassment for
all who have played a role in
fueling it."
Spokeswoman
Marissa Shorenstein used almost
identical language in a statement
to Fox News.
She
did add in the statement that,
"Governor Paterson is the
governor today, he will be the
governor tomorrow and he will win
re-election this fall."
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American
Airlines quietly announced last
week that it would eliminate free
blankets in coach and sell an $8
packet that includes a pillow and
blanket starting May 1.
According
to Joesentme.com, a subscription
travel site that reported the
move last Friday, the airline
based its decision on consumer
surveys. Joe Brancatelli, the
site’s publisher, raised a
skeptical brow. “American
executives run focus groups on
blankets?,” he said. “You
think they’d look for customer
focus group data on what fliers
think about American’s
worst-in-the-nation on-time
performance, its atrocious
baggage-handling ability or the
hideous condition of its planes.”
The
change is for flights over two
hours in length to and from
Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the
Caribbean and Central America.
The airline will join JetBlue and
US Airways, which began charging
$7 for a pillow-and-blanket set
in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
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Independent
voters see Pres. Obama in a
negative light by a nearly 2-1
margin, according to a new Marist
College survey, while almost half
of voters say he has failed to
meet their expectations.
The
poll, conducted Feb. 1-3, showed
just 44% of registered voters
approving of Obama's job as
president. 47% disapprove. But
among indie voters, Obama's
approval rating sits at a
terrible 29%, while his
disapproval rating is at 57%.
Obama's
44% job approval rating is the
lowest he has scored in any
non-internet poll since moving
into the WH, according to a
review of data compiled by
Pollster.com.
And
while GOPers strive to avoid
attacking Obama personally, for
fear of offending voters who see
him in a favorable light
personally, even that aura of
invincibility is wearing off.
Independent voters view Obama
negatively, too, by a 39%
favorable to 52% unfavorable
margin. All registered voters
still see Obama favorably by a
50%-44% margin, but that's down 5
points in just 2 months.
Voters
are disappointed in what they got
with Obama's first year. The poll
shows 47% believe Obama has
failed to meet their expectations
-- including a quarter of Dems,
65% of GOPers and 53% of indie
voters -- while just 42% say he
has met their expectations. 38%
say Obama's policies are moving
the country in the wrong
direction, while 37% say they're
making the country better.
Meanwhile,
members of Congress should brace
for a difficult election year.
42% of registered voters said
they would back their current
member of Congress, while 44%
said they would support someone
else -- a drop of 9 points in
support of the incumbent in just
2 months.
The
Marist College poll surveyed 910
registered voters for a margin of
error of +/- 3.2%.
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Supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
said on Monday that Iran is set
to deliver a "punch"
that will stun world powers
during this week's 31st
anniversary of the Islamic
revolution. "The Iranian
nation, with its unity and God's
grace, will punch the arrogance
(Western powers) on the 22nd of
Bahman (February 11) in a way
that will leave them
stunned," Khamenei, who is
also Iran's commander-in-chief,
told a gathering of air force
personnel.
The
country's top cleric was marking
the occasion when Iran's air
force gave its support to
revolutionary leader Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event
which led to the toppling of the
US-backed shah on February 11,
1979.
His
comments came as Iran said it
would begin to produce higher
enriched uranium from Tuesday, in
defiance of Western powers trying
to ensure the country's nuclear
drive is peaceful.
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 Congressman
John Murtha DEAD at 77
One
down, 434 to go.
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Authorities
lifted a curfew and alcohol
restrictions in King, North
Carolina on Sunday, but said a
state of emergency declaration
remained in effect until Monday.
Authorities
said the state of emergency
declaration would continue until
Monday 9 a.m., barring any
unforeseen circumstances or
severe changes.
Effective
Sunday afternoon, alcohol
restrictions and a curfew were
lifted. All other remaining
restrictions would continue until
Monday, said Paula May, King
police chief.
Other
restrictions include a ban on the
sale or purchase of any type of
firearm, ammunition, explosive or
any possession of such items off
a person's own premises.
Also
on Sunday, the emergency shelter
established by the American red
Cross at West Stokes High School
was closed.
"We
appreciate the support and
cooperation of everyone with our
efforts to keep the citizens of
King safe," May said.
The
state of emergency was declared
Friday due to severe weather.
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In
the first major step to revive
his health care agenda after his
party's loss of a
filibuster-proof Senate majority,
President Barack Obama on Sunday
invited Republican and Democratic
leaders to discuss possible
compromises in a televised
gathering later this month.
Obama's
move came amid widespread
complaints that efforts so far by
him and his Democratic allies in
Congress have been too partisan
and secretive.
The
Feb. 25 meeting's prospects for
success are far from clear. GOP
leaders demanded Sunday that
Democrats start from scratch, and
White House aides said Obama had
no plans to do so.
"If
we are to reach a bipartisan
consensus, the White House can
start by shelving the current
health spending bill," said
Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky.
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Bummer
for Dubai's "world's tallest
building" visitors.
The
Burj Khalifa's owner said Monday
the observation deck of the
world's tallest tower has been
unexpectedly shut down,
potentially disappointing
thousands of tourists and marring
the spire's image just a month
after it opened.
The
precise cause of the Dubai
skyscraper's closure remained
murky. In a brief statement
responding to questions, building
owner Emaar Properties blamed the
closure on "unexpected high
traffic," but then suggested
that electrical problems were
also at fault.
"Technical
issues with the power supply are
being worked on by the main and
subcontractors and the public
will be informed upon
completion," the company
said.
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The
Democratic nominee for Illinois'
lieutenant governor dropped out
of the race Sunday night, less
than a week after winning the
nomination, amid a political
uproar about his past.
Announcing
his decision at a Chicago bar
packed with patrons watching the
Super Bowl, a tearful Scott Lee
Cohen said the Democrats were not
certain they could win with him
on the ticket. He said he was
stepping down because he did not
want to jeopardize the Democratic
Party ticket.
"This
is the hardest thing that I ever
had to do in my life," he
said before choking up with sobs.
Since
Cohen won the Democratic
nomination on Tuesday, it has
become widely known that he was
accused of abusing his ex-wife
and holding a knife to the throat
of an ex-girlfriend -- a woman
who was herself charged with
prostitution. He also admits
using steroids in the past.
"For
the good of the people of the
state of Illinois and the
Democratic Party, I will
resign," Cohen said in a
rambling remarks made as the
Super Bowl halftime entertainment
blared in the background.
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