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21 Sep 2010 12:43

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Politics, U.S.: Sen. Susan Collins votes her conscience. Just kidding!

  • then Susan Collins, the moderate Republican Senator from Maine, previously voted to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell when the bill was in committee.
  • now Collins still opposes the policy, but because Sen. Harry Reid, the Majority leader, won’t allow unlimited amendments on the bill, she’ll be filibustering the repeal effort.
  • “I think it’s the right thing to do.” That’s how Collins feels about repealing DADT, the controversial policy that prohibits openly gay citizens from serving in the military; ending it is “only fair,” she said today. But Reid is limiting the number of amendments that can be added to the bill containing the repeal, and so she’s voting against it. Funny; if you think the bill does “the right thing,” shouldn’t the procedural stuff be a secondary consideration? After all, you came to the Senate to enact effective policy, not uphold Senate procedure. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 2 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2010 21:22

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U.S.: Obvious study: Cell phones a deadly distraction for drivers

  • goodDeaths in car accidents are down in general – around 22 percent in the last four years alone.
  • bad Around 18 percent of all distracting-driving deaths are due to cell phone usage. Yikes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2010 18:38

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U.S.: People don’t like it when you prevent a second depression

  • TARP is probably the most effective large-scale government program that the public has vehemently decided was a bad idea.
  • Douglas Elliot of the Brookings Institute • Lamenting the public and political hatred for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (58% say it was unneeded). Economists estimate that without the bailout, GDP would have fallen 11% in the last two years, resulting in “a 1930’s-like depression.”  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2010 12:39

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U.S.: Next up for carnivores: genetically-engineered salmon

Who wants genetically engineered salmon? If approved by the FDA, it would be the first genetically modified animal given a thumbs-up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2010 12:29

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U.S.: Recession officially over, and it was a really long one, guys

  • 18 number of months the last recession, which officially ended in June 2009 according to this group, lasted
  • 16 number of months two previous postwar recessions, in the 1970s and 1980s, lasted source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2010 20:20

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U.S.: Cultlike group found before anything bad happened; leader held

Reyna Marisol Chicas is currently being held, even though everyone was found alive, out of fears that there was a suicide pact at play. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2010 19:09

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U.S.: BP finally plugs the damn hole

  • 153 days it took BP to kill the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
  • 206m gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico
  • 2% drop in Obama’s approval since the spill source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Sep 2010 10:35

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U.S.: In Missouri, judges can factor in a prison sentence’s price tag

  • Well, that’s one way to help shore up the budget. In Missouri, judges are now being given price tags for various types of sentences. And the main lesson to learn from this? Putting people in jail for a long time is way more expensive than simply giving them probation. No other state does it, and it’s created a bit of debate for the way that it seems to encourage weaker sentences. Our thought? If it means having safer streets, we’d rather have the added deficit. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2010 10:16

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U.S.: Cultlike group’s disappearance has Southern California on edge

  • We do not think this is a hoax. We don’t know that this is a potential suicide, but we know that it’s real and we’re going to find them.
  • Palmdale, Calif. sheriff’s spokesperson Steve Whitmore • On the fate of at least 13 alleged cult members who disappeared last night. Evidence, including letters, seems to suggest that they planned a mass suicide. Police are still looking for those involved, including eight children. The alleged cult leader, Reyna Marisol Chicas, 32, used to spend hours at at time at a local church, but her group had broken off. Fingers crossed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Sep 2010 20:05

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Offbeat, U.S.: Strained acronym alert: US Air Force instates BATMAN program

  • Supposedly, it stands for “Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided (k)Nowledge,” but we all know they really just wanted to name the initiative after Batman. Why? The program aims to reduce the weight and burden of soldier’s equipment without reducing their efficiency and ability in the field. In other words, the Air Force wants their soldiers to have Bat Belts, so they’re trying to make their gear lighter. Hence, BATMAN. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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