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14 Sep 2011 21:13

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Culture: Pat Robertson: It’s OK to divorce someone with severe Alzheimer’s

  • I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her.
  • Pat Robertson • Telling a man looking for advice that it’s OK to divorce someone — if they’re suffering from Alzheimer’s, which he refers to as “a kind of death.” Um … we really have no clue what to say about this other than that we wouldn’t do this ourselves. Sometimes, our boy drops some whoppers.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2011 20:57

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Politics: The three craziest claims from Joe McGinniss’ Sarah Palin book

  • one According to a recap of the book by the National Enquirer, Sarah Palin was a former cocaine user, most notably during a snowmobiling trip.
  • two The book also repeats the claim the Palin had an affair in the mid-90s with one of her husband’s friends. She’s already denied this.
  • three Most shockingly, the book claims that Palin had a one-night stand — prior to her marriage — with former NBA star Glen Rice. WTF?! source
  • » Wait, is this stuff actually true?! Well, that depends on if you believe Joe McGinniss, the best-selling author of “The Selling of the President 1968.” McGinniss is no stranger to controversy, and he certainly wasn’t when writing this book — see, he moved to Alaska, within shouting distance of the former vice-presidential candidate, leading to rebukes from Palin’s staff. It will be interesting to see what happens when people besides Garry Trudeau get the book.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2011 20:34

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World: Underwear bomber shouts “Osama’s Alive!” in courtroom

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, made the outburst while potential jurors were filling out questionnaires. Guess the trial on this one’s gonna be fairly painless. source
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14 Sep 2011 11:26

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Politics: Chicago Tribune cartoonist torn on paper’s decision to pass on “Doonesbury”

  • As you might guess I am torn. On the one hand I understand their reasoning. They did the same thing to my comic strip Prickly City a few years back in a series on Ted Kennedy. This was before I was on staff here. So this is not a new policy aimed squarely at liberal comic strips as has been suggested. On the other hand, it ticked me off when it happened to me. As a creator you never want your work stiflied. You know that.
  • Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis • Discussing his paper’s decision to pass on running a week of Doonesbury strips that openly cite passages from a biography on Sarah Palin — “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” an unauthorized tome written by Joe McGinniss. The Tribune’s reasoning for skipping out on the strip this week is reasonable — the book isn’t on the market yet, so they can’t check it on their own — but nonetheless has ruffled a few feathers. Stantis’ take, of course, is interesting. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2011 11:02

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Politics: AttackWatch: Obama campaign makes its own GOP watchdog site

  • So this is what we’ve come to. The Obama administration has created its own version of NewsBusters — except, instead of attacking the media for liberal bias, the site’s attacking Republicans for saying false things. It’s actually a sequel to Fight the Smears, a site he ran during the 2008 campaign, but with one major difference — it looks like the site’s going for a more ruthless approach. It feels like, with this move, Obama is starting to use tactics we’d be more likely to see from Fox News commentary shows. Do we want Obama to run an attack dog ahead of the election, or be above the fray? Which one would work better? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2011 10:39

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U.S.: A win for transparency: Chicago throws its crime records online

  • OK, this isn’t nearly as sexy as, say, EveryBlock or the Sunlight Foundation. But throwing records of the past decade of crimes online represents a new era of transparency for a famously-guarded city. Or as Brett Goldstein, the city’s chief data officer and former police officer, puts it: “It’s a whole new era of openness and transparency. You determine your own analysis.” And on top of that, EveryBlock could totally plug into this database if they wanted to. Some have been a bit critical of what isn’t in the data — race, for example — but many analysts note that this is more than a lot of cities offer. You done good, Rahm! source
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14 Sep 2011 10:14

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World: Iran contradicts Ahmadinejad on fate of jailed American hikers

  • The two Americans are going to stay in prison for a bit longer. Reports of their imminent release are wrong.
  • An Iranian judiciary official • Basically contradicting what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said about the fates of American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who have been held by Iran for two years for what effectively amounts to trespassing. Was Ahmadinejad simply making nice with Ann Curry? Or sounding nice for the United Nations? If so, that’s really lame. source
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14 Sep 2011 00:58

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Biz: After dodging a Supreme Court bullet, Walmart focuses on women

  • june In what would’ve been the largest class-action suit ever, over a million female employees tried to sue Walmart for discrimination. The Supreme Court, however, said it stretched the definition of a class-action suit way too far, blocking the suit from moving forward.
  • september Looking to improve its image after avoiding what could’ve been a hugely damaging lawsuit, the company says it plans to double its investment in businesses run by women, and show in other ways that they’ve changed their ways. Have they? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Sep 2011 00:15

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World: China’s Wen Jiabao: Developed countries need to show fiscal responsibility

  • Countries must first put their own houses in order. Developed countries must take responsible fiscal and monetary policies. What is most important now is to prevent the further spread of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
  • Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao • Telling all the deadbeat European nations to bump up their national credit scores before looking for a bailout from China. Wen previously said the country would lend a helping hand to Europe, which is suffering a crippling debt crisis. So, in case you were thinking of going to China for a little cash, you’re out of luck … unless you’ve proven yourself fiscally responsible (or China has a huge vested interest in seeing you succeed). Then China would be happy to let you into its deep coffers. source
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