Monday, March 31, 2008

USA 2008: The Great Depression - Americas, World - The Independent

USA 2008: The Great Depression - Americas, World - The Independent: "Michigan has been in its own mini-recession for years as its collapsing industrial base, particularly in the car industry, has cast more and more out of work. Now, one in eight residents of the state is on food stamps, double the level in 2000. 'We have seen a dramatic increase in recent years, but we have also seen it climbing more in recent months,' Maureen Sorbet, a spokeswoman for Michigan's programme, said. 'It's been increasing steadily. Without the programme, some families and kids would be going without.'"

USA 2008: The Great Depression

USA 2008: The Great Depression
: "The programme is available to people whose earnings are just above the official poverty line. For Hubert Liepnieks, the card is a lifeline he could never afford to lose. Just out of prison, he sleeps in overnight shelters in Manhattan and uses the card at a Morgan Williams supermarket on East 23rd Street. Yesterday, he and his fiancée, Christine Schultz, who is in a wheelchair, shared one banana and a cup of coffee bought with the 82 cents left on it."

CREDIBILITY QUESTIONS MOUNT FOR OBAMA

CREDIBILITY QUESTIONS MOUNT FOR OBAMA
"Hillary's Bosnia lie may have opened the floodgates. The media now seem to be aggressively fact-checking the tall-tales and fabrications of all the candidates -- and Obama is having a tough week."

Big plane model to honor Ike Kepford, Muskegon's WWII air ace

Big plane model to honor Ike Kepford, Muskegon's WWII air ace
"A nearly full-size replica of the Navy warplane flown by the late Muskegon air ace Ira 'Ike' Kepford during World War II will be on display on Muskegon's waterfront this summer."

Amazon Game Room's Blog: "Hilary Clinton’s 3AM Call of Duty Mission Bosnia" Permalink

Amazon Game Room's Blog: "Hilary Clinton’s 3AM Call of Duty Mission Bosnia" Permalink

Doctors support universal health care: survey

Doctors support universal health care: survey
"More than half of U.S. doctors now favor switching to a national health care plan and fewer than a third oppose the idea, according to a survey published on Monday."

The Real Obama::By Ken Blackwell

The Real Obama::By Ken Blackwell:
"Start with national security, since the president’s most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists — something no president has ever taken off the table"

Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide

Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide
.. "the conclusions were not what she expected. 'I hoped that these findings would help me conclude that despite the high degree of identification with whites as a result of the educational and occupational path that black Princeton alumni follow, the alumni would still maintain a certain level of identification with the black community. However, these findings do not support this possibility.'"

Sunday, March 30, 2008

HILLARY V. BARACK II |

HILLARY V. BARACK II

Road agencies turn crumbling roads back to gravel

Road agencies turn crumbling roads back to gravel
"Because of shrinking budgets and a bumper crop of potholes, unpaved sections are cropping up in populated areas, on roads that had been covered with blacktop for decades.
A growing number of county road agencies -- including Kent, Montcalm, and Ionia -- are choosing to grind deteriorating asphalt back to gravel, at least temporarily, until they can do resurfacing this summer. Oceana, Muskegon and other counties are considering it."

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills
"Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months — freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles.

A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community — and anyone else who will listen — to get their cash upfront when doing business with her"

Ballot shortages a continuing problem - Yahoo! News

Ballot shortages a continuing problem - Yahoo! News: "It's a simple question with no simple answer: Why do polling places across America keep running out of ballots when it's no secret that this contentious primary season keeps breaking voter turnout records?"

Best of the Web Today - WSJ.com

Best of the Web Today - WSJ.com: "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community,' Barack Obama said last week about his 'spiritual mentor,' the Rev. Jeremiah 'God Damn America' Wright. But now, CNN reports, Obama is changing his tune. Well, sort of:
In an interview scheduled to air Friday on ABC's 'The View'--excerpts of which aired on CNN on Thursday night--Obama talks about Wright's reaction to the controversy.
'Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were [sic] inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church,' the senator said.
Does this mean he would have left? Or does it mean he would have stayed but felt uncomfortable? And when did Wright apologize? Blogger Tom Maguire undertakes an extensive investigation, and the answer appears to be: Never"

5 Things the Web Can Find for Your Next Trip | Popular Science

5 Things the Web Can Find for Your Next Trip Popular Science

Toronto Chinese Rally Turns Ugly

Epoch Times Toronto Chinese Rally Turns Ugly: "'Dalai Lama die there!' some Chinese shouted at a group of Tibetans who had gathered across the street from the square to protest. 'Leave Canada!' others urged."

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily » ‘21′ Holds Winning Hand At Box Office; ‘Superhero’ Is Superflop; ‘Stop-Loss’ DOA

Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily » ‘21′ Holds Winning Hand At Box Office; ‘Superhero’ Is Superflop; ‘Stop-Loss’ DOA: "I'm told #7 Stop-Loss opened to only $1.6 million Friday from just 1,291 plays and should eke out $4+M."

"It's not looking good," a studio source told me before the weekend. "No one wants to see Iraq war movies. No matter what we put out there in terms of great cast or trailers, people were completely turned off. It's a function of the marketplace not being ready to address this conflict in a dramatic way because the war itself is something that's unresolved yet. It's a shame because it's a good movie that's just ahead of its time."

Friday, March 28, 2008

Terminal disgrace: Poor training and computer failings to blame for T5 chaos as flights fiasco to last into the weekend| News | This is London

Terminal disgrace: Poor training and computer failings to blame for T5 chaos as flights fiasco to last into the weekend News This is London: "Major blunders so far include:
• A lack of car parking space for baggage handlers arriving for the morning shift yesterday. Many were still driving round the airport looking for somewhere to park as the first passengers were checking in their bags
• A shortage of BAA security staff to let baggage handlers into the terminal"

Potomac Watch - WSJ.com

Potomac Watch - WSJ.com: "Her Bosnia misspeak is now serving as proxy for all the truths about the Clintons' non-truths, allowing even liberals to break free from their Clinton dependence."

Hillary's Last Hope - WSJ.com

Hillary's Last Hope - WSJ.com: "In other words, Florida Democrats acted as if their primary mattered just as much as other Democrats. By contrast, turnout in Michigan was only 23.7% of Kerry's 2004 vote, and it is an open primary. Michigan Democrats did not act like their primary mattered."

The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid#3380340530600110005

The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid#3380340530600110005: "the Democrats appear to be a party of lawyers. Only lawyers could have invented delegate selection rules as complicated and opaque as the ones the Democrats are struggling under. It also looks like only lawyers have a chance at the Democratic nomination. Harvard Law (Obama) and Yale Law (Clinton) candidates have survived, while University of North Carolina Law (Edwards), Syracuse Law (Biden), and the University of Louisville Law (Dodd) have been eliminated. And lawyers at the DNC Rules Committee will decide what happens next."

Foul Balls: Subway, Eat Fresh

Foul Balls: Subway, Eat Fresh

Limbaugh safe from voter-fraud charges

Thank God!

This could have been the end of Operation Chaos!


Limbaugh safe from voter-fraud charges: "Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has been telling his audience for days now that he could be indicted for encouraging Ohio Republicans to take a Democratic ballot in the March 4 primary in what he calls 'Operation Chaos.'
Could that actually happen?
Not likely, Ohio officials say."

SCORCHED EARTH

SCORCHED EARTH Charlie Sykes: "If you had a shred of doubt that Hillary wouldn't wage a dead-ender campaign to derail Obama... watch this: questioning Obama's electability; his 'legitimacy' as nominee; and talking about a convention floor fight over delegates."

click link to see the video

Monday forum to focus on $25 million school bond election - mlive.com

Monday forum to focus on $25 million school bond election - mlive.com: "If voters approve it in the May 6 election, the school district's taxpayers, who are currently paying off a 2001 bond issue, would continue to pay the current tax rate of 7.27 mills until 2037, 17 years later than the expiration of the current tax.
The additional money generated by the tax extension would pay for improvements to the district's facilities, alleviating some of the strain on the district's finances.
Among the items included in the proposed project are construction of a 48,450-square-foot early childhood center and a new transportation building, renovations to the three school buildings and installation of synthetic turf and additional bleachers at the football stadium"

NAA Reveals Biggest Ad Revenue Plunge in More Than 50 Years

NAA Reveals Biggest Ad Revenue Plunge in More Than 50 Years: "The newspaper industry has experienced the worst drop in advertising revenue in more than 50 years."

Michael Calderone's Blog - Politico.com

Michael Calderone's Blog - Politico.com: "While I'm all for transparency on blogs, and have made mistakes corrected by readers, it's remarkable that Think Progress would allege that the Republican nominee for president plagiarized a speech without putting the two speeches before the campaign for comment. Or, apparently, checking the candidate's website first"

Personal income rises, inflation moderates

Personal income rises, inflation moderates
"U.S. personal income rose more than expected in February as the economy teetered on the brink of a recession, while both personal spending and a key price measure increased only slightly, a government report showed on Friday."

Death Penalty


Troubled neighborhood store to change hands

Troubled neighborhood store to change hands
"The market at 1149 Wood was the scene of 106 police calls during 2007, Kleibecker said, and if allowed to remain open, 'will only continue to drain police resources.'"

Poll: Nearly half of Detroiters say mayor should resign

Poll: Nearly half of Detroiters say mayor should resign: "A new poll shows nearly half of Detroit residents surveyed say Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick should resign because of perjury and other charges he faces after the release of sexually charged text messages between Kilpatrick and a top aide."