Amendment 4301 to HR 4213, which would have extended the time for unemployed Americans to file for additional benefits, was shot down in the Senate today, 45-52.  Despite the unquestionable need for the unemployment extension, Senators thought differently and voted against the spirit of the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010.

The Senate motion on 4301 to concur with House Amendment, which required a 3/5 majority, was rejected at 10:45 AM today, June 16, 2010.  What this means for many Americans nearing the end of their tier is that there will be no extension beyond the end date for benefits which they are currently receiving.  For many, June 12, 2010 will be the last benefit week.

Despite the horrendous unemployment rates across the country, the Senators deemed it OK to vote against the only lifeline that many Americans have.  Those same Americans are questioning why it is acceptable to send money to assist countries such as Haiti, to spend billions of their own money to bail out wall street, and to waste trillions on foreign wars when the citizens of this country are on the brink.

Other Americans are beginning to question the necessity of foreign workers in this country.  The spirit of the H1 and other temporary foreign worker visas goes against the realities of today.  We have a glut of fully qualified employees, and anyone arguing that we have a shortage cannot factually support that position. A tech employee from California suggests that the country shut down all such visa bureaus, thereby paving the way for citizens to compete for jobs that heretofore have been enjoyed exclusively by foreign work visa workers. Is it too much to ask employers to employ their own citizens?

Regretfully, our own government seems unwilling to watch out for their own brothers and sisters.  Here, sadly, is the Roll Call Votes for the failed 4301 amendment that would have extended unemployment benefits for Americans:

YEAs —45 (The Good Guys)

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs —52 (The Disappointments)

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (R-MA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Risch (R-ID)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Webb (D-VA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Not Voting ??? 3 (The Do Your Job and Vote Already List)

Byrd (D-WV)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)

Tags: 4213, 4301, senate, unemployment

How would you like to have been a good, honest traveler who declared their iPad upon arriving at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, only to have it confiscated.  On top of that, the officials will charge you approximately $12 per day for storing it, and you can pay the ransom and get your iPad back when you leave Israel.  Oh let’s see now.  If I visited the Jewish State for two weeks, I would be paying 14 days x 12 dollars per day = $168 dollars for the privilege of having my iPad confiscated.  So, I pay all that amount to ensure that I don’t have a computing device of any sort (assuming I left the notebook at home, as I most likely will when travelling with the iPad).  So how does this make any sense at all?

The official explanation by the Ministry of Communication, which handed down the ban, is that the iPad is transmitting at a higher power level when using wireless frequency, and that it may affect other devices that use the same frequency.  Prominent Israeli experts refute this “official” explanation, and note that they cannot discern any credible angle regarding the ministry’s draconian actions.  Dor Zakai, a self professed technology freak working in Israel’s OS and Hardware industry notes that he cannot understand “why they are banning the iPad,” and adds “What’s next?”  Israeli business leaders are concerned about the fallout from the ministry’s actions, noting that it really does not help Israel’s reputation as being policed, Big Brother style.

Conspiracy theory fans are coming out of the woodwork and putting their own twist on the matter.  Given that Apple’s sole distributor in Israel is iDigital, which is owned Chemi Peres, son of the Israeli president, conspiracy fans theorize that the ministry is acting to benefit iDigital; that is, it is preventing iPads from sneaking into the Jewish State so that Israelis have no option but to buy the iPad from iDigital when Apple releases the iPad internationally.  For now, it is only available for purchase in the United States.

Believe what you will, but one thing is for certain.  This latest fiasco is not going to help Israel.  As Harel Shattenstein, analyst and prominent tech blogger noted, “Poor old Israel.”

Tags: Apple, iPad

In what was billed as The Fight that would test Manny Pacquiao, Ghana born boxer Joshua Clottey did anything but.  For twelve full rounds, the bigger Clottey kept his guard up, giving Pacquiao nothing to hit, but at the same time, depriving himself of a chance at a real fight.

So, while Manny peppered away at Clottey, throwing at times over a hundred punches per round (Manny ended up averaging a little over a hundred punches thrown per round, which is unheard of in the welterweight division), Clottey steadfastly maintained his defensive posture, breaking it only from time to time to throw a little bit here and there.  The world hasn’t seen such deliberate inaction since a washed up Ali fought a prime Larry Holmes.

At some point past the midway of the fight, a seemingly bored Jim Lampley tried to inject some excitement into the broadcast by yelling “bang, bang, bang” every time Pacquiao threw a punch.  It didn’t matter that the punches were blocked; evidently, Lampley was trying anything to stir up excitement.

Emmanuel Stewart thought Pacquiao fought a good fight in that he did what he had to do to win the fight against a fighter determined to cover up for the entire twelve rounds.  In the end, though Manny won all twelve rounds (how two judges gave Clottey one round each is beyond me), many felt that the fight was a massive let down, given Pacquiao’s prolific knock out performances leading to this fight.  And perhaps that was on Clottey’s mind throughout the fight.  Perhaps he didn’t want to take a premature nap, courtesy of a Pacquiao left.  Or right.

When asked of his tactics, Clottey responded to Kellerman that he thought Manny was too fast, so he didn’t want to risk anything.  Perhaps Clottey trainer DeJesus put it best when he said that he believes his fighter felt Pacquiao’s punching power and was determined not to end up crashing on the canvas as did Pacquiao’s previous opponents.

Unfortunately for fight fans, Clottey’s concern over Pacquiao’s speed and power resulted in a fight that in Clottey’s own words, was “the only fight he lost,” alluding to the fact that he still feels that his three losses on record are questionable.  Well, when you lose all twelve rounds, what else can you say?

Well folks, for those clamoring for a Pacquiao Mayweather showdown, as evidenced by the roaring crowd when Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach called out Floyd, you might want to think about that again.  Floyd may not cover up in Frankenstein fashion as Clottey did, but Floyd will run.  And run, and run and run.  It will end up just like this fight.  A boring twelve rounds of one guy trying to fight another.  And that other guy has nothing but self preservation in their mind.  Bottom line: Mayweather is just like Clottey except he has faster feet.  And unlike Clottey who moved forward from time to time, Mayweather will always move backward.  Is that really a fight anyone wants to see?

Those are the words that exemplifies retiring Republican Senator Jim Bunning’s indifference to the plight of thousands upon thousands of Americans whose sole means of survival is the government’s unemployment benefits.

For nearly all unemployed Americans, unemployment benefits represent their last line of defense against being destitute.  Many are wondering where they are going to turn to when the checks stop coming in.

Critics argue that by supporting any measure of unemployment benefits extension, the government will in fact be creating a nation of hobos, citing parallels in history, where most of those out of the workforce for over two years failed to successfully reintegrate into the working class, and ended up as traveling hobos, seeking mini jobs here and there, wherever they could find it.

But proponents argue that these are special times.  They are putting forth a simple proposition: show us the jobs, and we will gladly take them.  Unfortunately for critics, the proponents of unemployment benefits extension are correct.  The numbers don’t lie: there simply are not enough jobs for everyone that needs one.  One can argue principle all day long, but when the numbers show that the principle is moot, then what can you say about those that still push for its adherence?

Thanks to Bunning’s foolish stand, the Senate is now not in a position to vote on the extensions.  The soonest that they Senate can revisit this is Tuesday, several days after the expiration of the previous unemployment extension provision.  It appears that senators and staff members are milling about to ascertain the implications of letting the programs lapse for a few days.

Once again, out of touch officials have put their personal conviction, however misplaced, ahead of that which is good for the people of the United States.  If they do this often enough, it won’t take long before people take matters into their own hands.  History is replete with stories of what happens to leaders who ignore their constituents.

I can’t remember the last time a refrigerator got my attention, but, at a recent get-together, I was awestruck by the hosts’ outdoor space.  In particular, I was marveling at their outdoor kitchen.  And, if you must know, not all outdoor kitchens are made alike.  This one had everything, including the kitchen sink, plus, fully functioning, stainless steel, glass door outdoor refrigerators.  Yep, not one but two of those beauties.

So what’s the big deal, you may ask?  Well, a kitchen really can’t function stand-alone without some refrigeration unit in there, and what’s more, a party supported by an outdoor kitchen will soon expose said kitchen’s deficiency if cold items, and in particular, cold drinks are nowhere to be found.  Yes, one could scoot into the indoor kitchen to grab a beverage, but then the outdoor kitchen wouldn’t be the stand-alone ironman of the party that it should be, right?

You can forget about those cheesy coolers full of ice and your drinks of choice.  That’s so tailgating, so very frat party.  No sir, we’re talking upscale domestic here, and no ghetto styrofoam or plastic coolers here.

If you really want to impress, and if you go through the trouble of setting up your own outdoor space for a kitchen, then do it right.  There are numerous manufacturers of outdoor refrigerators, and Kalamazoo is one such manufacturer.

Tags: outdoor kitchen, outdoor refigerators

Marketing your internet properties shouldn’t be the bane of your existence.  We all agree that gaining traffic is a necessary ingredient for success, however you define that term.  Bottom line, no traffic, no potential for success.  So how does one steer people to one’s sites?  Internet marketing, of course.  But who has the time to write so many unique content that needs to be submitted to many article directories and blog sites?  M1Links Link Building Services can help!

M1Links is a subscription service that promises to allow you to “set you link building on auto pilot.”  But how does it accomplish that?  What’s the process?  In a nutshell, you provide a unique seed article to M1Links, and the site will help you make more unique instances of your article by turning it into spin format.  Anyone who tells you that machine-spun content is good to go is lying.  M1Links hints at this by noting that they will help you get started, and that you will still need to touch up before you can go.  Fair enough.  A free spin conversion?  I’ll take it.

Beyond the spin, however, is where M1Links shines.  You are able to set up ten active campaigns, which each campaign able to hold ten channels.  On a daily basis, those channels are “broadcasted” to article directories, blogs, social bookmarks and rss aggregators.  Two of the ten channels are reserved for bookmark and rss.  The other eight may be set up as either article submission or blog submission.  Here’s the beauty: you may request that the article or blogs be “layered” – which, in M1Links parlance is called link layering.  Link layering for those of you wondering is simply serializing your links to an aggregator, so that all the juice, if you wish to call it that, is collected at one page before said page is then made to point to your site.  One quality link is better than a bunch of lowly links pointing to your site.  At least that’s the theory, and it makes good sense.  No need to worry about a wayward dirty link pointing to your money site and potentially damaging your reputation in the eyes of the search engine.

Anyway, this commendable service is open to private invitation at the moment, but will open to the public on February 2010.  Look for it, sign up, and free up some time, knowing that with M1Links, your internet marketing is in good hands.

Horny Tiger’s mistress count keeps going up.  That’s right, folks, this guy can’t seem to keep his putter in his pants.  His off-the-course conquests are now rivaling his accomplishments on the green, if you choose to see it that way.  He puts all other adulterers to shame with his mounting mistress count.  Now, we have hardcore porn actress Veronica Siwik-Daniels, who performs under the name Joslyn James as the latest Tiger pussy cat identified.

Those pussy cats have the potential to cash in, as porn king Steven Hirsch of Vivid Entertainment has offered $1 million to any of Woods’ little hoochie mammas to star in a porn flick.  One such pussy cat, Los Angeles porn star Holly Sampson, already has scenes in two upcoming Vivid movies.  It appears Tiger was dipping his driver into Sampson around the time he started seeing Nordegren in 2001.

While the pussy cats’ economic possibilities might be on the rise, Tiger’s penchant for busty sluts could turn into a marketing disaster.  He hasn’t been seen in a prime-time ad since November 29.  Pepsi has confirmed that it has dropped its Gatorade Tiger Focus drink.  Despite these events, it appears that fans are unfazed and don’t care that his clubs have been visiting holes other than that of his wife Elin.  A Marist poll shows that over 90% don’t care about his infidelity when deciding whether or not to buy products he has endorsed.

Accenture, the consulting company whose ads are shamelessly nearly 100% Tiger branded, is probably scrambling to figure out an approach to mitigate the Tiger fiasco.  As a consulting company, Accenture is adept at spinning the truth, so no doubt they’ll find their way out of this Tiger mess by doing what they do best, and that is, BS their way out of it.

More drama coming out of the Tiger Woods saga.  It appears that sources are coming out of the woodwork to claim that Tiger Woods overdosed on Ambien and Vicodin the day he was admitted to the hospital.  Reports are that Tiger was admitted to the hospital under an alias, William Smith.

Tiger’s admission records seem to list “OD” as the cause of admission.  Upon his arrival and admission, Tiger was located in the fifth floor of the hospital.  That floor was promptly locked down.  All this time, Elin Nordegren, his wife, was at his side.

Perhaps reporters can corroborate reports of Tiger’s pill use by asking the many cocktail waitresses out there if Tiger ever popped a pill before, during or after doing the wild thing with them.  Maybe a blue pill was also used?

As if all this ruckus wasn’t enough, Elin had to make yet another trip to the hospital, this time to follow her mother as she was admitted.  Visiting from Sweden, the elder Barbro Holmberg became ambulatory and Elin followed the transport using a black Escalade.  Or maybe that was her twin sister Josefin?  Hmmm, twin sister.  I wonder if Tiger… Anyway, how many SUVs do the Woods family have?  And why isn’t it a Buick, which Tiger promotes?

While all of this is going on, several women who claim to be one of Tiger’s many hoochie mammas have been parading around town, visiting swanky places in the hopes that the papparazzi would take notice and give them coverage.  Of course they obliged, but really, if those cocktail waitresses are parading up and down swanky avenue, they really shouldn’t be seen getting into their banged up econoboxes.  Heck, if they’re gonna play the part, they need to look the part.

During a White House jobs forum this afternoon, President Barack Obama promised to take "every responsible step to accelerate job creation."  He also noted that some ideas could be rolled out immediately, such as a program to help make more US homes energy-efficient.

He also hinted at trade measures and new tax incentives as approaches to stem job losses that regretfully are the worst since the 1930s.  "This has been a tough year, with a lot of uncertainty," the President said as he wrapped up the brainstorming session with over one hundred CEOs, small business and union leaders, as well as local officials. "There’s no question that it’s difficult out there right now,"

The president explained that there were some ideas that could be put to work almost immediately and other ideas that will funnel through as part of legislation for Congress to work on. He gave "moving forward on an aggressive agenda for energy efficiency and weatherization" as an example for something that could be acted on immediately.

Recognizing the disaster that is unemployment levels above 10 percent, Obama simply retorts "We cannot hang back and hope for the best."  Duh.  Who the heck is hanging back and hoping for the best?  Everyone affected by job loss is scraping each and every day, watching while they lose their homes and other valuable possession.  In the end, many have only their pride and the shirts on their backs to count as their possessions.  Everything else has been taken and auctioned.

President Obama tempered his usual upbeat bullcaca with an acknowledgment that government resources could only go so far and that it is up to the private sector to generate large numbers of new jobs.  Uh Oh.  Is this Obama setting the stage to pass the buck?  Should job creation not materialize, will he then say, Oh well, the private sector failed?  This is a rather disturbing MO of his administration: when electric speeches don’t work, find someone else to blame!  The President and his administration have been blaming previous administrations, stating that “we inherited this” bla bla, and lately, he wrongly blamed Rumsfeld for the situation in Afghanistan, prompting a retort from the former Secretary of Defense.

This outrageous behavior by the White House is downright unacceptable.  By flagging others and throwing them under the bus, they’re basically exuding zero leadership.  As disaffected as many of us were with the Bush years, at least he always took responsibility and never, as a way of doing business, did Bush ever blame previous administrations.  It was always, ok, we’re in this mess, now how do we get out of it.  Then the Bush administration put their heads down, and forward they went.  Sometimes the direction was questionable, but there was always direction and there was always action, rather than empty speeches.

With Obama, there are only promises.  And when those promises and speeches fail to deliver anything meaningful as invariably they won’t, they blame previous the administration, including staff members such as Rumsfeld.  Now, it appears they are fattening up the private sector for the blame, should jobs creation fall flat on its face.

Hey Obama and Company!  Who cares about the past?  The ONLY thing that matters here is what you guys are going to do about the future.  You’re at the helm now, show us some measure of leadership and competence!  So far, you all are batting a big, fat, ugly zero.  That’s right.  Zero!  Even your own party is starting to raise the pitchforks.

It is Cyber Monday, and though the American Girl website rarely offers discounts, today, it’s a whole new ball game. Shoppers are in full swing today, with toys and electronics being the most sought after items. And those furry Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters have been in high demand this season, virtually impossible to find at online retailers like Toys R Us and Target.

Perhaps there’s another toy option on this Cyber Monday, particularly for girls. American Girl, the Chicago based doll company, is offering discounted prices on some of their most popular items. The company rarely offers deep discounts, but today their website shows pages of items listed at reduced prices.

Some of the best deals include Chrissa’s Snow Gear, which is slashed from $32 down to $20 for a savings of nearly 38%. Also on sale is Chrissa’s Snow Outfit, which is down to $20 from an original price of $30. For those who don’t know, Chrissa is the American Girl of the Year Doll for 2009 and is a limited run.  The Chrissa doll will only be available until December 31st or while supplies last. Historically, American Girl of the Year dolls typically sell out before the end of the year.

It appears that former first daughter Chelsea Clinton is now engaged to longtime boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky.  Chelsea, now 29, practically grew up in public, as her father had two terms in office during her youth.  Ultimately, she attended Stanford, much to the dismay of her mom, and current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.  Hillary would have preferred Chelsea to stay in DC and attend Georgetown.

So who is this dude Mezvinsky?  He’s an investment banker and the son of Ed Mezvinsky, D-Iowa and Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, D-Pa.  Chelsea and Marc both attended Stanford University where presumably they began dating.  Chelsea is the sole child of former president Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was rumored that the couple were to tie the knot last summer in Martha’s Vineyard but that obviously was premature.  They are planning to wed next summer, according to emails sent to family and friends.

This Mezvinsky guy works at Goldman Sachs, you know, that company that’s sucking the blood out of this country right now.  It appears that although his parents are both former members of Congress, they didn’t leave gracefully. In 2002, his father pleaded guilty to swindling dozens of investors out of $10 million after getting caught up in a Nigerian scam.  Hmmm, so the pedigree to screw others is in the blood.  I guess Marc works in the right place, so that he can do the same thing in theory, but with the protection of his firm.

Marc’s mother lost her seat in a conservative congressional district after one term in part because she chose to vote for President Clinton’s health care reform.  She’s probably not feeling too good right now.  Wrong place and wrong time to have voted for that health care reform.  It’s all the rage now.

Anyway, back to the two love birds.  They became friends as teenagers in Washington and both attended Stanford University. Both now live in New York, where Mezvinsky works at Goldman Sucks and Clinton is attending graduate school at Columbia University’s School of Public Health.

Facing the onslaught of a foreclosure wave that never seems to relent, President Obama’s administration plans to increase pressure on mortgage companies to do more to assist people in trouble and help them keep their homes.  This according to administration officials.

On Monday, the administration plans to announce details of its expanded program, notes Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly.  "We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability," Reilly asserts. Moreover, she hinted that the objective is to increase the rate that troubled home loans are being converted into new loans with lower monthly payments.  Evidently, Reilly believes this will help stem the tide.

The new effort appears to include increased pressure on mortgage companies to accelerate loan modifications.  To do so, the administration plans to highlight firms that are dragging their feet.  If humiliation doesn’t do the trick, the Treasury is plans to wait until the loan modifications are permanent before paying cash incentives to mortgage companies that lower loan payments.  So, the mortgage companies have a couple of options: get called out, or collect incentives.  Some might just prefer to get humiliated, rather than take incentives in exchange for taking huge risks with borrowers.

Under the $75 billion Treasury program, companies that agree to lower payments for troubled borrowers collect $1,000 initially from the government for each loan, followed by $1,000 annually for up to three years.  So, that’s $4,000 in incentives.  Absolutely insignificant, if downright insulting.  Relative to the risk, $4,000 is ridiculous.

The government support is being funded through the $700 billion financial bailout program.  It is designed to provide cash incentives for mortgage providers to accept smaller mortgage payments, in lieu of foreclosing.  We’ll see how that goes.

With 54 seconds left and in possession of the ball, USC could have run out the clock leading 21-7.  But it chose not to.  Instead of the customary kneel down, USC went all out, catching UCLA by surprise, to score yet another touchdown, making the score 28-7 following the point after.

How does a team not take a kneel down with 54 seconds left, and leading by two touchdowns?  In an era when sportsmanship is declining, and ghetto play is on the rise, USC proved that it is king of the ghettos.  It’s one thing when a team is trying to impress for BCS consideration; however, lowly USC is not in contention for any BCS bowl, yet they act like they are.  Absolute classless act.  Absolute Ghetto.

But wait, there’s more!  Following the ghetto act, USC then celebrates wildly on their sidelines, and then take their theatrics to the field, taunting the Bruins of UCLA.  So let me get this straight.  Acting like stupid idiotic morons isn’t enough.  They then have to taunt?

And what exactly are they celebrating?  That they beat a .500 team that was just a touchdown behind with more than five and a half minutes left in the game?  Heck, for a team that prides itself on its running game, for a team that likes to call itself Tailback U, the Trojans were more than pathetic on this night, rushing for only 130 yards, as opposed to UCLA’s 134.  They were sloppy as well, playing like a bunch of morons and penalized twelve times for 107 yards in the process.  Heck, if the game lasted any longer, with the penalty they would have received for their idiotic thuggery, they would have ended the night with more penalty yards than rushing yards.  Now, is that something to celebrate?

Ultimately, this is Pete Carroll at his lowest.  So pathetic and ghetto.  So classless.  Total loser.  Carroll the self-anointed prince of Los Angeles feels so entitled that he can’t face the fact that his classless Trojans are not going to play in the BCS at the end of the season.  So what does he do?  He shows his true colors and behaves like a pond scum in encouraging that last touchdown with 54 seconds remaining, and doesn’t prevent his trashy team from celebrating like dickless monkeys, particularly when they rushed the field after the final classless touchdown.

Rivalry game or not, USC’s actions on the field are beyond comprehension.  It’s easy to act classy and sportsmanlike when everything is going well for you, I guess.  But one thing is clear.  When facing adversity, Pete Carroll and his Trojans show their true colors.  And tonight, their true character was in full display: despicable and pathetic.

Storkcraft crib recall is fully underway and is potentially the biggest crib recall november 2009.  Fisher-Price put into play the Storkcraft crib recall after four infants died.  The culprit stems from hardware that broke which allowed the children to become trapped.  This is what the Storkcraft crib recall statement said.

More than two million cribs are affected by the Storkcraft crib recall, mostly in the United States and Canada.  The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Canadian government agency Health Canada coordinated the Storkcraft crib recall on Monday.  They worked alongside Stork Craft, which is based in Canada.

The Storkcraft crib recall involves approximately 1.2 million cribs in the United States and just under 1 million cribs in Canada.  Of those crib recall november 2009, about 147,000 were branded with the Fisher-Price logo.  Only the drop-side cribs are affected by the Storkcraft crib recall.

Owners are being asked to terminate the use of their Storkcraft crib immediately.  Stork Craft will be making a free repair kit available.  The crib recall november 2009 isn’t the first one this year, as a recall was also conducted by Simplicity Inc back in July.  A total of 400,000 drop-side cribs were recalled then.

The Storkcraft crib recall affects cribs built from January 1993 to October 2009.  Those branded by Fisher Price were manufactured sometime between October 1997 and December 2004. The Storkcraft crib recall units sold for between $100 and $400, and were manufactured either in Canada, Indonesia or China.

Owners affected by the Storkcraft crib recall can visit Storkcraft.com or contact Stork Craft directly at (877) 274-0277.

DJ Matthew Roberts discovered after searching for his biological father that in fact, serial killer Charles Manson is daddy.  DJ Matthew Roberts no doubt is reeling from the discovery, and Charles Manson probably has no idea that he fathered a relatively successful child in DJ Matthew Roberts.

DJ Matthew Roberts was aghast and intimated to The Sun that he “was frightened and angry.  It’s like finding out that Adolf Hitler is your father.”  Despite the revelation, however, it appears that DJ Matthew Roberts has been communicating with the serial killer Charles Manson, whose killing spree in the 1960s captivated the nation.  It appears Manson is still enamored with the swastika, as DJ Matthew Roberts noted that communication he receives from Manson is always signed with it.

It appears that DJ Matthew Roberts had been searching for his biological parents for over ten years, and that once he had found in biological mother in Wisconsin, the truth about his paternal parent was revealed.  DJ Matthew Roberts’ mother confided that she didn’t do the wild thing with Charles Manson willingly; in fact, she claims that Manson had raped her in 1967.  So there you go.  DJ Matthew Roberts finds out that his father is the notorious Charles Manson and that he was a product of rape. 

Now a man in his forties, DJ Matthew Roberts claims he is a person at peace, having reconciled his origins.  He also stated that, with respect to his serial killer father, “I don’t want to love him, but I don’t want to hate him either.”

Democrats, with the help of two independents moved their healthcare bill to the Senate floor tonight, despite the efforts of Republicans to defeat the effort.  Now, the floodgates are open and we can expect a protracted debate in the Senate on the overhaul of the healthcare system.

All 58 Democrats and the two independents aligned with them backed cloture on a motion to proceed, thus moving the Democratic-backed healthcare bill to the floor for open formal debate. Thirty-nine Republicans, as expected, opposed the motion.

Tonight’s vote paves the way for debate after the Thanksgiving recess. Opening the floor for debate is one thing; producing an outcome amenable to all is quite another thing.  Centrist Democrats said that while they voted to allow debate, they will be proposing amendments.  They’re not the only ones; the Republicans are gearing up for this one too.

Republicans have been arguing against the measure noting that the $848 billion over 10 years cost was too expensive and would be funded by a variety of taxes and hocus-pocus. In addition, they decried the growing government control and marginal focus on preventing an ailing economy from slipping further.

Democrats countered that fixing healthcare financing was crucial to any economic improvement.  Arrogantly, Democrat Harry Reid stated "I again invite my colleagues, my Republican colleagues, to join on the right side of history. I invite them to join us in at the very least in a debate on our future."  With that statement, Reid preposterously claims that somehow history has already been written and that he is correct.  Perhaps the Senator should just worry about the here and now and leave history to future scholars.

The healthcare argument will consume the Senate in the forthcoming weeks as senators try to pass a bill in time to meet President Obama’s deadline of signing a healthcare law this year.

Then there is the matter of synchronizing their version of healthcare reform with the one passed by the House.  Differences on the public funding options, taxes and fees, among others, will need to be resolved before a final bill can be sent to President Obama.

President Obama has made it clear that healthcare reform is his top domestic priority for this year. Republicans have been hard at work in trying to block any victory, while they eye the midterm election next year. Polls have been consistently showing that people genuinely dislike Congress, and in the past week, even President Obama’s popularity has dipped below 50% by several counts, including the highly regarded Gallup Poll.

As the trial nears its end, prosecutors closed by stating that they want American Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Rafael Sollecito to spend the rest of their lives in jail for their crime.  Knox and Sollecito are accused of killing British national Meredith Kercher, who was Knox’s roommate in Perugia, Italy.  Both women were in Italy for school.

A third defendant, Rudy Guede of the Ivory Coast, has already been found guilt and is serving a 30 year sentence.  Guede is appealing that decision.

The primary evidence against Knox is a knife found in boyfriend Sollecito’s home, which had Knox’s DNA on the handle and Kercher’s DNA on the blade.  Kercher was killed when her throat was slit.  Foxy Knoxy and boyfriend are facing charges of homicide, sexual violence and attempting to cover up the crime.

Knox maintains that on the night of the murder, she was at Sollecito’s home, where they were watching a movie, smoking pot all night long and having wild sex over and over.

The prosecution is still wrapping up its case, and following that, the defense will have its say, potentially next week.  The jury is scheduled to get their hands on the case sometime around December 4.

Foxy’s stepfather spoke on behalf of her daughter, claiming “she’s and innocent girl looking at having to spend a lifetime in prison.”  He was trying to explain away Foxy’s emotional breakdown in court.  Foxy Knoxy’s parents are looking on the bright side and have admitted that they have bought one way tickets from Italy to Washington state, in anticipation of Amanda’s return, sometime before Christmas.

High unemployment has been pushing more people out of their homes, and the foreclosure mess will likely drag on well into 2010 and perhaps even beyond.  With the broader economic recovery nowhere in sight, it is easy to see why this disaster will persist for a while longer.

A recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that an increasing proportion of fixed-rate home loans, those seen as “responsible” loans unlike their adjustable rate mortgage brethren, are landing in foreclosure.  It used to be that only the riskier subprime loans were a cause for concern, but this report paints a very different picture.

The report also describes that 14 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. To put this into context, 14% is a record-high figure for nine straight quarters.  The highest in over two years!

If one is seeking salvation from an economic recovery, the factors just simply don’t add up.  Unemployment is at record highs and keeps rising, which then puts pressure on the housing market as homeowners default, which in turn ensures that a broader recovery cannot be realized in the near future.

Some in the housing market have lauded the recent rebound in home prices, particularly after suffering through three years of plunging prices. That lifted hopes for the overall economy. Unfortunately, the reality is there is this new force that will keep any recovery derailed.  That force takes the form of too many foreclosed homes that have yet to be dumped on the market.  Prediction: expect a protracted period of never-ending declines in home prices.

The following states, beneficiaries during the housing boom, will be the last to come out of it: Florida, Nevada, California and Arizona. Collectively, they account for 43 percent of new foreclosures.  That’s right.  Four states account for nearly half of all new foreclosures in the United States.  Greed does have a way to come back and bite you.

In Florida, 25% of the mortgages are either past due or in foreclosure.  That’s one in every four!  Nevada is second only to Florida at 23%.  With the continued downward pressure on home prices, and the absence of a real recovery in the economy, it appears that nationwide, home prices are set to fall again, to the tune of up to 10%, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at economy.com.

Haven’t we seen this before? Once again, an Osmond has shamelessly been propped up and given another lease on life at the expense of someone more deserving.  Last night, despite being easily outclassed by his competitors, despite ranking dead last by quite a margin in the judges’ card, Donny Osmond was rescued by the audience and awarded with a spot in the finals.  By any objective measure, that is a travesty on a scale just as great as that of his sister’s, whom viewers also rescued two seasons ago, time and again at the expense of others.

Frankly, why bother having judges?

The victim of this latest atrocious event is model Joanna Krupa, who scored an impressive 81 out of a possible 90.  Krupa was genuinely beautiful that night, was perfect in practically all technical aspects and was truly the better dancer, second only to the coy but smug Mya.  Judge Bruno Tonioli compared her to a “butterfly gently gliding over a pine meadow.”

In contrast, Donny was a stiff rock who managed to destroy his partner’s gown.  He has no grace, was technically flawed in every respect, arrogantly relies on his smile and charm as well as some not-so-funny moments like when he blamed his performance on the fact that he saw his sister in the audience.  Yes, that same woman who also made a mockery of the system when she advanced way beyond her time and incompetently tried to compete against dancers light years ahead of her skill, if you could call what she demonstrated skill.  Arrogance also manifests itself when Donny interrupts the judges, speaks over them, thinking somewhat that the show was beholden unto him and that he was the master showman who pauses for no one.

Facts are facts.  Yes, Maya led all contestants, averaging 26.3 points in 13 dances to date, but Joanna Krupa is practically in a dead heat with her, averaging 25.5 over the same amount of dances.  She and her partner have also come in first place, four times this season.  Regretfully, she doesn’t have the same legion of maniacal, stuck-in-the-70s fan base living in trailer homes that the Osmonds do.

How can someone who is dead last displace another who has been solidly as close to first as you can get, all season long? So once again I ask, why bother having judges?  The whole show is becoming a joke once again. But hey, who cares about what’s right and what’s wrong so long as ABC is making a buck, right?

Over 14,700 US taxpayers relented and disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service billions of dollars in offshore bank accounts. Under a voluntary Internal Revenue Service program, the sneaky taxpayers were allowed to avoid criminal prosecution so long as they pay what they owe in taxes, penalties and the like.

The amnesty program expired October 15, and IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman noted that a ton of people came forward as the deadline approached. The IRS has been pushing hard amid a broad US crackdown on tax evasion at Swiss bank UBS AG and other institutions as well. "This is a historic milestone for the nation’s hardworking taxpayers," a pleased Shulman said.

Shulman notes that the aggregate amount he expects to collect will be in the billions of dollars. Taxpayers accepted the amnesty program after the US came to an agreement in August with the Swiss government and UBS to obtain names of US taxpayers believed to be hiding assets in secret bank accounts. UBS earlier paid a $780 million penalty along with the disclosure of 150 names. Several of those people have faced criminal charges; a couple are set to receive prison time.

The UBS disclosures and the amnesty program have finally turned the tide on what was once a tough nut to crack.  The offshore tax landscape is no longer out of reach of Uncle Sam, particularly in Switzerland where bank secrecy dates back many centuries.  "The whole game has changed," a happy Shulman notes.

The IRS and Swiss have also unveiled the criteria being used to determine which accounts are going to be revealed.  Evidently, accounts containing at least 1 million Swiss francs from 2001 to 2008 will be revealed as well as accounts that earned 100,000 francs on average for the past three years.  And of course, where fraudulent action can be established, poof goes the secrecy veil.

US Senator Carl Levin is not satisfied with the criteria as it still provides a way for Switzerland’s bank secrecy to remain.  The Swiss said the first 400 names will be chosen before the week is up, followed by 100 more before month’s end.

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, famed sister of Jessica Simpson, yes that same girl who waltzed off (more like chicken-danced her way off) the SNL stage after her lip-sync performance went the way of Milli Vanilli, yes that lass who got booed at a Superbowl halftime performance, and yes that same lady who got unceremoniously tossed off of “Melrose Place” is now doing a new gig… on Broadway?  Huh?

Simpson reportedly will be the newest Roxie Hart on Broadway’s long-running ”Chicago.”  The singer-turned actress, whole role on Melrose was recently axed, will sport a new address after Thanksgiving.  She’s moving to Broadway.  Yes, you heard that right, and stop scratching your head.

The 25 year old Ashlee is ready to star as Roxie Hart in the long-running revival of "Chicago" beginning Nov. 30.  She is going to have to quickly re-familiarize herself with the role of the Depression-era husband-killer who becomes a media darling.  That shouldn’t be too bad, as she played the part in London.

"I’m honored to be reprising my role as Chicago’s Roxie Hart, returning to the stage and joining this amazing cast," explained Simpson-Wentz.  She further confides that "Being on Broadway is a childhood dream come true."

Simpson-Wentz’s surprise axing from "Melrose," didn’t sit well with big sister Jessica Simpson who responded by blasting the show’s producers.  In many ways, perhaps this all worked out for the best, as Simpson-Wentz appears to be headed to the fulfillment of a long time dream.  Jess could only wish she were that fortunate.

In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Janet Jackson points the finger at Dr. Conrad Murray, claiming that “he was the one that was administering… I think he is responsible [for Michael’s death].”  That interview will air on Wednesday.

Murray does not dispute administering Propofol to the late King of Pop, but insists he did not cause Michael’s death.  Despite that, Janet still claims that Murray should be stripped of his license to practice medicine.  “A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about him [Michael],” laments Janet.

On that fateful day, on June 25, Janet recounts that she was at her house in New York when she got a call and her assistant said that Michael was in the hospital, noting that the whole event was unfolding in front of CNN’s cameras.

Janet added that she spoke with the family, asking them to call her back with news when they got to the hospital.  Unfortunately, no one bothered calling her back, so she tried contacting family members again, and that was when she found out that Michael didn’t make it.

“It just didn’t ring true to me.  It felt like a dream,” recounts Janet.  She is still finding it hard to believe, but concedes that she has to accept the reality, knowing that it will be very difficult to move on with her life.

When times were good, migrant workers from Mexico who have found employment in the United States would send home hundreds of dollars a month to support their family back home.  Unfortunately, economic conditions have made jobs scarce in the United States, and many are finding it hard to stay employed, let alone send money back home.

In an unprecedented move, families from Mexico are now sending money north to help support their relatives who have not been employed in a while and are in danger of ending up on the streets.  Even down-and-out Mexican families are scraping together what they can to send money north to prop up their unemployed loved ones in the US.

Sadly, some Mexican workers who find themselves unable to secure employment are so depleted that they do not even have enough money to head back home to Mexico.  Without the periodic reverse remittances, the Mexican workers would not even have enough to buy food.

Understandably, with about half of its population living at or below the poverty line, Mexico is not exactly able to afford to send money to help its troubled loved ones in the US.  Yet, they manage to scrape what they can and send it on north.  Often, they sell what they have or what they can produce in order to generate the additional income that they send up north to their downtrodden relatives.

Some Mexican migrant workers are tempted to return to Mexico, but because they have sunk enormous amounts of money to pay for the trip to get them to the US, they are reluctant to do so.  An estimated 5.9 percent of Mexican households, some 1.8 million families, receive remittances from abroad.  When those remittances stop, a major source of their total income, estimated at anywhere from 19 to 27 percent, is lost.  When a reverse remittance has to be made, then that adds to an already difficult situation.

The fight started with Cotto landing a cracking jab that caught Pacquiao’s attention, but ended with referee Kenny Bayless stopping the fight in the 12th round, as Pacquiao landed a barrage of punches on the Puerto Rican who was so badly torn up and trailing big time in the score cards that it didn’t make sense to have him endure any more punishment.

Throughout the fight, Cotto showed his big champion’s heart, as he continued fighting despite getting ripped apart and bloodied as badly as he had been against Margarito.  Only this time, there was no plaster used.  It was pure Pacquiao power.

Despite being knocked down in the third and fourth rounds, a game Cotto tried to make a fight out of it, but no sooner than he started getting into a rhythm in each round did Manny begin his patented furious multiple angle attacks.  Cotto could not mount a sustained attack.  “I didn’t know from where the punches were coming,” an exasperated Cotto said after the fight.

So badly ripped up was Cotto’s face, and so devastating was Pacquiao’s attack that Cotto’s wife shuttled her son out of the arena after the ninth round.  She knew it was over and did not want her son to witness a potential devastating knockout like the one Hatton suffered.  Though Cotto didn’t crash to the canvas as did Hatton, he was reduced to a shell of himself, consistently backpedaling to survive, and having to reassess at the end of each round if he should continue fighting.

Cotto’s team wanted to stop it after the tenth, and they decided to go one more round.  After a decent showing, i.e. he didn’t get knocked out, in the 11th round, team Cotto decided to come out for the 12th and final round.  The inevitable happened.  Pacquiao unleashed a barrage of punches and referee Kenny Bayless had no choice but to step in and end Cotto’s futile last stand.  No one has ever dominated Cotto in the manner in which Manny did.  In his win, Margarito no doubt used plaster; but Manny, he simply used pure, raw, explosive power.  For most of the night, Cotto looked like an overmatched amateur. 

In the end, Cotto was a swollen mass, cut everywhere and bleeding as profusely as he had when he fought Margarito.  The little fighter from the flyweight division who had risen up the ranks all the way to the welterweight division had accomplished what the critics said couldn’t be done, but what fight fans knew was a given: Manny by knockout. Naysayers are now running away, tails tucked between their legs.  Even Emmanuel Stewart, who doesn’t give Manny much credit, couldn’t help but be impressed.  He should be.  Given the opportunity, Manny might just knock out his beloved Tommy.  And Angelo Dundee is wrong.  Again.  He’s been always wrong, batting a big fat zero, in his predictions of Pacquiao’s fights.

With the win, Manny Pacquiao now stands in a class of his own, being the only boxer in history to have won seven championships in seven different weight divisions.  History has been made, and there can be no more doubt that Manny Pacquiao deserves his place in the annals of boxing history.  He is arguably one of the top boxers, if not the best to have ever laced on a pair of gloves.  His body of work speaks for itself, and Cotto himself concedes that “Manny Pacquiao is one of the best boxers I ever fought.”  And Cotto has fought the best.

It wasn’t that long ago in US history when men and women returning home after risking life and limb in Vietnam would find themselves confronting misguided hatred and anger, as hippies and hypocritical pacifists took every opportunity to antagonize, harass and assault our men and women in uniform.  Today, a consensus has been formed in US society where the burden of blame is shifted to our policy makers, rather than our soldiers who are simply doing their best to follow their commander in chief.  That’s great for soldiers today, but for soldiers of the previous era, the assault on their very being by the people they supposedly protected is still an open sore that perhaps will never heal.  Sadly, we as a nation have done nothing to hold accountable all those hypocritical hippie pacifists who have wronged our soldiers, nay, our nation so badly.  Ask any of them today and they will sheepishly turn away, insisting that all that was in the past.  Rather convenient for them, but still at some point those people should get their day of reckoning.

It is tragic then, to witness the same phenomenon occurring in Germany, where men and women who serve in Afghanistan are treated to the same evil that the American soldiers saw back during the Vietnam war.  Unlike in the US, where people go out of their way to thank the troops, buying them beer when they can, in Germany, the troops are explicitly being told by their own populace to make themselves scarce or face assault.

At best, German troops mixing in with the general populace are ignored, with people pretending they aren’t there, or, should an encounter be unavoidable, they get treated with contempt.  At worse, there are elements of the general population who actively harass and assault them, akin to what the militant pacifists, yes those hypocrites, would do in the US back in the 60s and 70s.

Heike Groos, a German military doctor in Afghanistan explains that “this sense of appreciation, you don’t get that” and she writes that “young people are badly wounded and one feels out of place and lonely when one thinks, ‘no one in Germany understands and no one in Germany is even interested.’”  Sadly, the disgrace of the Nazi regime has completely castrated the German populace, to the point where they begin fighting the wrong fight: instead of channeling their anger towards those who might challenge the German way of life, they instead channel their anger towards those who are fighting to ensure that their way of life remains unmolested.

The Germans have experienced peace for quiet for some time now, with the umbrella of NATO guaranteeing its survival, so it’s not hard to imagine how a common brain would fail to see that peace and prosperity is not the norm, and that it takes a lot of work and sacrifice to keep it that way.  Including a just, armed conflict.  The common German would argue that the military is an unnecessary evil, and so it treats it that way.  Regretfully, these common Germans fail to learn from history; that is, no peace  is sustainable unless you have a force to actively ensure it.

Hard as it is to imagine now, conflict is rather a constant threat, and a nation needs to manage that conflict to ensure that it does not end up inside its borders, where it could become a threat to that nation’s way of life.  The German soldiers in Afghanistan are fighting to establish peace in that region, and in so doing, keep the conflict from reaching its population.  This is a matter of policy which the German leaders have adopted.  Why then should the common German take it out on the soldier who is simply fighting for his country and its people?

In about twenty four hours, Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico will face off in Las Vegas for a Welterweight championship fight.  At stake is Cotto’s Welterweight Title and Pacquiao’s Pound-for-Pound honorary title.  Should Pacquiao prevail, the Welterweight belt will be his.  Should Cotto prevail, the boxing community will probably not hand him the mythical Pound-for-Pound title.  So Cotto pretty much is fighting simply to defend his title.  Few in boxing are as adept as the Pilipino prodigy is in taking away titles from champions, having won six world titles in six different weight classes.  Aside from Pacquiao, only Oscar Dela Hoya has the same claim.  Pacquiao incidentally, gave Dela Hoya a grand beating when the two met, forcing the "Golden Boy" to retire, literally, on his stool at the end of the eighth round.  Oscar would never fight again.

It wasn’t that long ago that Pacquiao promoter, Bob Arum, when asked how far Pacquiao could move up in weight, stated "and when you start thinking about Miguel Cotto [as a potential Pacquiao opponent] it gets really ridiculous."  Well, Bob Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, isn’t singing that tune now.  After Pacquiao’s last fight, upon witnessing the destruction of Ricky Hatton, Arum was ecstatic on the post-fight podium exclaiming that he’s never seen anyone with such "explosive power," not even from Muhammad Ali, whom he promoted way back when.

Indeed, this will be Pacquiao’s greatest challenge.  Having moved all the way up from flyweight, the current Jr Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will find in Cotto the heart of a champion, whose only loss is a controversial knockout to Antonio Margarito.  It was later found that Margarito and his trainer were tampering with hand wraps, and employing some sort of plaster to help Margarito inflict massive damage with his fists.  One can only look back at the damage to Cotto’s face following his loss to Margarito, and it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to see that perhaps Margarito used plaster to cheat his way to a win against Cotto.

Critics have pointed out the Cotto hasn’t been the same since that fateful loss.  Indeed, in his last fight, he was lackluster against a dull Joshua Clottey.  It wasn’t so much that Cotto won as much as Clottey lost.  Clottey failed to capitalize on his early success, and his lazy ways allowed the Puerto Rican to keep chopping away to a decision win.  Critics claim that should Cotto show up against Pacquiao the same way he did against Clottey, at the very least he would lose his title to a decision; at worse, he would get knocked out.

Many maintain, however, that Cotto has been taking this fight much more seriously and indeed, if stories are correct, he practically out-prepared Pacquiao, who got caught up in the Philippines with two typhoons and a plethora of eager politicians anxious to align themselves with the champion.  Pacquiao has indicated that he will pursue politics in the very near future.  As many Pilipinos would say, in the Philippines, success is achieved in one of three ways: boxing, acting, and politics.  Manny has no doubt conquered boxing, and evidently has made waves with acting, starring in his own super-hero movie, and singing his way around the talk shows.  Politics awaits, but has it been a distraction for Manny?

In approximately twenty four hours, it will become plenty clear.  Has Pacquiao done enough to prepare for the biggest test of his life?  Does Cotto have what it takes to deal with the speed and the sting of Pacquiao’s punches?  In what promises to be the fight of the year, Pacquiao will face Cotto for the ultimate in boxing, a feat that has never been done: become world champion in seven different weight classes.  In the words of the venerable Mills Lane, "Let’s Get It On!"

The former governor of Alaska is set to release her new book "Going Rogue" which promises to air more dirty laundry than even trashy talking heads from MSNBC can handle.  Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate who made a big splash onto the political scene abruptly resigned her position as governor of Alaska ahead of the publication of her book.  Critics are still wondering what precipitated such an abrupt move, and no such revelation is expected in the book.

Instead, we can expect the 400 plus pages to have several themes, not more interesting than that of Palin’s discomfort with the conduct of John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.  Central to that campaign is Steve Schmidt, who, when asked about how he expects to be portrayed in Palin’s book replied, "not well."  Indeed he’s right.

In "Going Rogue." Schmidt is painted as a character cast as out of touch, overly cautious to the point of being paranoid, and vindictive.  The book will show that the relationship between the vice presidential candidate and the campaign manager was smooth at first, but ultimately deteriorated into an unprofessional f-bomb pit so detestable that Palin commanded Schmidt: "no more f-bombs around Piper, please?"  Piper, of course, is Palin’s youngest daughter.  Palin also noted that Schmidt was uncomfortable with discussing God and that she "will forever question the campaign for prohibiting discussion of such association."

In addition to less than flattering descriptions of Schmidt, Palin also takes aim at others of the "professional political caste." Palin, together with daughter Piper, also found comedy in the political pack and observed that "[the political handlers] were tumbling out of the bus in a pack, lighting cigarettes as they went so it looked like a walking smoke cloud with legs."

That’s what South Africa’s deputy police minister, Fikile Mbalula advised and he has stood by his department’s tough, shoot-to-kill policy.  Yes, a three-year-old boy was shot dead by the officers, but, Mbalula explains that it was inevitable that innocent people would get caught in the crossfire.  He stands by his “shoot the bastards” directive, calling the targets “hard nut to crack, incorrigible criminals.”

In all fairness, South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime.  The statistics say it all: on average, there are 50 killing tied to violent crime each day.  What has happened to this state that just a couple of decades ago was a leading industrialized country?

In response to their plight, the government is pushing through changes to its Criminal Procedure Act to enable police to use deadly force more easily, despite the potential for a spike in the loss of innocent lives.  President Jacob Zuma defended his government, stating that the sheer level of violent crime in South Africa makes it very different from other countries, and thus the approach has to be different.  He continues on to say that criminals take out guns when confronted and without warning, they kill, and this has resulted in many lives lost on the part of the police.

He concludes by arguing that officers should be supported, and that a good policeman should not have to keep his weapon holstered at the expense of his very own life.  “…because I’m a very good policeman I am here…[but when confronted with a gun] I’m not going to shoot you?” Zuma said.