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16 Apr 2010 11:32

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U.S.: Charlie Crist plays Russian Roulette with teacher pay law veto

  • The people spoke, and they spoke loudly, and boy, did I hear from them this week.
  • Florida Gov. Charlie Crist • On his move to veto a Republican-backed education bill which would tie teachers’ pay to their performance. The move was controversial on all sides of the aisle – the GOP strongly stood behind the bill, while teachers werelargely against it. Even some bizarro hippies didn’t like it. The decision is raising speculation that our boy Charlie will run as an independent in the gubernatorial election, where he has a genuine shot of winning against bizarro hippie-endorsed Marco Rubio (who’s leading Crist handily in the Republican primary) and Democrat Kendrick Meek. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Apr 2010 11:20

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U.S.: Some random federal judge nicks the National Day of Prayer

  • She calls it unconstitutional, but Obama’s still proclaiming it anyway. Wisconsin-based U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb brought down a decision that should have atheists cheering and religious types hoppin’ mad, after she sided in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation on the National Day of Prayer. The plaintiffs have sued often about this issue, by the way, in an attempt to block the prayer. Despite the decision, it won’t work, at least this year. They should get the “Under God” guy involved. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

15 Apr 2010 20:50

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U.S.: Obama orders added hospital visitation rights for gays, lesbians

  • He says they’re “uniquely affected” by relatives-only policies at hospitals. The Obama administration today asked the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a rule to make sure that gays and lesbian partners have the same rights of visitation as straight partners do. “There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital,” he said on the memo, “Yet every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

15 Apr 2010 19:56

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U.S.: See, everyone, Obama really cares about space exploration!

  • The bottom line is, nobody is more committed to manned spaceflight, to human exploration of space than I am. But we’ve got to do it in a smart way and we can’t just keep on doing the same old things we’ve been doing and thinking that’s going to get us where we want to go.
  • President Barack Obama • Pointedly emphasizing that yes, he does have a space plan and yes, it is different from George W. Bush’s plan. It’s more long-term than the Bush’s reignited moon mission – one that sends us to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars by the mid-2030s. One major concession he made, however – the Orion crew capsule, which he planned to cancel, is coming back in a different form. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2010 21:45

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U.S.: Hey, America, you got a tax cut last year. Thanks for noticing

  • 12% of all Americans
    think taxes went
    down last year
  • 2% of bizarro hippies
    think people’s taxes
    went down
  • 95% of workers had their taxes go down
    last year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2010 20:23

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U.S.: Blago beat: The dude apparently liked kickbacks or something

  • The prosecution in his corruption trial says so. What’s their case? Well, according to a court document released today, they argue that Rod Blagojevich and his staff had been involved in extortion and kickbacks since Blago first got elected Illinois governor in 2002. The Obama seat thang (Roland Burris has sure been quiet lately, eh?) was just the most blatant example. Blago (of course) denies the claims, calling them “the same old false allegations and lies.” His lawyers had been fighting the document’s release. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2010 11:00

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U.S.: Most building materials don’t have homecomings. This steel is different.

  • 1969 Large amounts of steel leave a Pennsylvania factory, to be used in a massive New York City building.
  • 2010 Those chunks of steel, remnants of the World Trade Center, return to the factory today. Sigh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 Apr 2010 11:17

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U.S.: Rich folks in Texas, Virginia got a little lovin’ from Obama’s tax cuts

  • $1,595 amount the richest
    1 percent of Virginians got refunded from Obama’s tax cuts in 2009
  • $1,534 amount the richest
    1 percent in Texas got due to the economic stimulus plan
  • $1,158 amount the richest
    1 percent got on average across the country
    (that’s rich) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Apr 2010 10:21

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U.S.: This year’s federal deficit could be less than expected

  • 8% decrease in the federal deficit
    so far this year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Apr 2010 11:13

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U.S.: In Manhattan, a huge blaze leaves a neighborhood reeling

  • seven alarms on the massive Lower East Side fire
  • 250 firefighters were needed to put the blaze out
  • 60 families no longer have a home this morning source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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