George W. Bush has made the world a more hopeful place.
This from Vice President Dick Cheney, who spoke to a crowd of Oklahoma Republicans Friday evening.
[From The Raw Story | Cheney: History will show Bush created a 'more hopeful world']
I, for one, am hoping he can get through his term without starting another war, and then I'm hoping he gets indicted and tried and convicted of war crimes and locked up for a long, long time.
You too, Trickshot.
Or is that more hopeful than you had in mind?
At least Bush and his co-conspirators have made one contribution to international relations: I've been noticing nobody turns up their noses at Canadian coins any more.
The State Department has lost track of as many as 400 laptop computers, an internal audit ordered by the Inspector General has found....
The State Department is not keeping good records of its inventory, official John Streufert told a panel at a February 6 meeting....
[From The Raw Story | Audit: Up to 400 State Department laptops missing]
Gotta hand it to that official John Streufert. He sure knows his stuff.
"Bellows Falls is hurting, and here's this little group trying to get people to come here - just begging someone to turn right instead of left - and Big Brother is bouncing down on top of them and telling them they can't do it," said Frank Hawkins, the local sign painter who created the 7-by-30-foot scene on a clapboard barn next to the Exit 6 ramp. "The state is right, it is illegal, but just because the law is there it doesn't make the law right."
[From A sign of civilization- or the end of it - The Boston Globe]
Driving through Vermont just feels good. I keep getting lost, on the interstate, because I enjoy the view so much I miss my turn. It's a beautiful state to begin with, Vermont is, sort of like Wisconsin but vertical. But the best part of driving in Vermont is something you don't notice: billboards. Vermont is one of only four states that ban them (the others: Maine, Alaska, Hawaii). Alas, Bellows Falls.
And it's a pretty nice sign, too.
As Gas Costs Soar, Buyers Are Flocking to Small Cars
[From As Gas Costs Soar, Buyers Are Flocking to Small Cars - New York Times]
OK, not just Detroit, but wherever autos are made.
See, this is the way to deal with high fuel costs, not some dippy "tax holiday" scheme. This is the way, before the law of supply and demand was repealed, things were supposed to work. If gasoline prices go up (for whatever reason), consumers respond by using less of it. How obvious is that?
And anyway, there ain't nothing like a good flock to make your day.
We like to get sick with fear when we board airplanes or strap into roller coasters. But the real villains in our national tragedy are our precious automobiles. Over 40,000 people die a year on the road. That’s almost fifteen 9/11s every single year.
[From The Worrier’s Almanac Guide--Things You Should Actually Worry About — Ten Car Train]
Dolores sends this yummy news:
Senomyx has contracted with Kraft, Nestle, Coca Cola, and Campbell Soup to put a chemical in foods that masks bitter flavors by turning off bitter flavor receptors on your tongue. The companies can then reduce sugar and sodium levels by approximately half without affecting the flavor.
[From
New Stealth Chemicals Hidden in Your Food - Articles
]
EDITORIAL
[From The Court Fumbles on Voting Rights - New York Times]
The Court Fumbles on Voting Rights
It's no fumble. It's a touchdown with this court.
A central reason that oil supplies are not rising much is that major producers outside the OPEC cartel, like Russia, Mexico and Norway, are showing troubling signs of sluggishness.
[From Oil Price Rise Fails to Open Tap - New York Times]
And we, woohoo, want to go on vacation. So Clinton has jumped in bed with McCain, calling for a holiday from federal gasoline taxes this summer. She wants to link the pump-price cut to a windfall profits tax on oil companies - can you spell "fat chance"? Obama correctly calls bullshit.
All of which proves that while you might, in some alternate universe, get a little tax break for the summer, never in your wildest, most bizarre fantasies will you ever get a break from politics.
A contractor died when a DynCorp manager used an employee’s armored car to transport prostitutes, according to Barry Halley, a Worldwide Network Services employee working under a DynCorp subcontract.
[From Muckraked » Blog Archive » DynCorp Manager Used Armored Car To Transport Hookers in Iraq]
And get rid of that wallpaper you're using. Yes, you. Try one of these instead.
"We will never do anything to interfere with anyone's First Amendment rights," Jackson said. "But we do ask people to be on the lookout for that individual who comes into the group and talks a little bit radical."
[From Tourist or Terrorist? :: The Memphis Flyer :: City Reporter :: The Fly-By]
"Jackson" is Eric Jackson, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which will give you a clue as to where talking a little bit radical might lead. Jackson spoke at an anti-terrorism meeting in Memphis where, apparently, taking photographs, getting a traffic ticket, or "looking at a building" gets you investigated for terrorist ties.
Bush stepped up onto a chair to pose with the kid, to make himself taller than the kid, get it? It was a goofball thing to do but there he was, the president of the U.S. being a goofball.
This got a lot of laughs and applause. More proof that Bush may be one of the best comedians to ever become president.
[From The Swamp: Bush on a chair, Ferguson on DC]
And dude, you oughta see him when he puts that lampshade on his head. And starts pouring water in people's faces. You'll die laughing.
