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24 May 2009 10:08

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U.S.: Diplomats will get benefits for their same-sex partners

  • The department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex partners because it is the right thing to do.
  • Secretary of State Hilary Clinton • In a memo to her State Department staff on giving equal rights to diplomats with same-sex partners. A senior State Department official confirmed the note but not the timeframe. Either way, Clinton did a nice thing. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2009 19:10

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Biz, U.S.: GM keeps needing money and the U.S. Treasury keeps giving it

  • $4 billion more in another bandage prior to bankruptcy source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2009 19:04

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Politics, U.S.: The Republicans finally have a wedge issue: Guantanamo Bay

  • Where are we going to send them? That decision I would have made before I’d announced the closure.
  • Sen. John McCain • Who may have lost the election but was 100% correct on the Guantanamo Bay closure when he said this during a Fox news interview back in January, days before the inauguration. Four months later, Barack Obama’s facing dissent on Guantanamo Bay from his own party. Now, if only the Republicans can translate winning on this one issue to all of their other problems, they may have a chance of being relevant again. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 May 2009 11:51

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Biz, U.S.: Obama thinks GM will come back strong after reorganization

  • Ultimately, I think that GM is going to be a strong company and we are going to be pulling out as soon as the economy recovers and they’ve completed their restructuring.
  • President Barack Obama • Who did not refer to the likely bankruptcy the company faced to complete that restructuring in his comments on the automaker. *Sigh* he wouldn’t care so much if the company hadn’t been so essential to the last 100 years of our country’s growth. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 May 2009 15:46

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U.S.: Was Prop. 8 legal in California? The state supreme court weighs in

  • The backstory After the California Supreme Court overturned a law that made gay marriage illegal because it was discriminatory, those who opposed the law quickly put a ballot measure in place that would amend the constitution to define gay marriage as between a man and woman. Despite the gay rights movement’s best efforts, the law passed with 52% of the vote. source
  • The backstory After the California Supreme Court overturned a law that made gay marriage illegal because it was discriminatory, those who opposed the law quickly put a ballot measure in place that would amend the constitution to define gay marriage as between a man and woman. Despite the gay rights movement’s best efforts, the law passed with 52% of the vote.
  • A second act? However, all may not be lost for gay marriage supporters. Immediately after Proposition 8 passed, it was challenged in court. The court heard summary judgments from both sides in March, and will decide whether the amendment was legal in the first place. The court will announce its decision Tuesday; rallies are planned no matter what happens. Get your popcorn ready. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 May 2009 12:32

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Biz, U.S.: Warranty expired: A massive telemarketing scam, uprooted

  • In case you’ve ever gotten an automated call from a telemarketer telling you that your vehicle warranty is about to expire (even when it wasn’t), it’s a scam, one that the Federal Trade Commission shut down last week. source
  • This was a big one. 30,000 complaints were received by the FTC. The Florida companies apparently called tens of millions of people a week. And it was completely an attempt to bilk customers out of money. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 May 2009 11:30

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U.S.: Brains tend to falter to dementia in old age

  • ≈40% of men who live to 95 suffer from dementia in their old age source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

22 May 2009 11:10

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Offbeat, U.S.: Obama can’t get Robert Gates’ name right, by the way

  • He introduced Gates as “William” during yesterday’s speech. Obama sees Robert Gates just about every day, but despite this, he still got the defense secretary’s name wrong during yesterday’s speech, which in our opinion is hilarious. It’s possible that he just had Will on his mind too much, seeing as that was his most-used word. Or he might’ve been talking about Bill Gates. Whatever. Just don’t do it again, dude. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 May 2009 11:04

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Politics, U.S.: Robert Gates weighs in on the Guantanamo debate

  • The truth is, it’s probably one of the finest prisons in the world today. But it has a taint.
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates • Who says that, due to a reputation that precedes it, Guantanamo is no longer worth keeping. “The name itself is a condemnation,” he told NBC’s “Today” show. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 May 2009 23:48

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Offbeat, U.S., World: And now, the lighter side of the war on terror: Pink boxers

  • Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink boxers and flip-flops has a special kind of courage.
  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates • On a soldier who leapt to his post in Afghanistan wearing pink boxers, leading to a hilariously awesome photo of our boys unashamed to fight in any condition. Normally, we’d be wary of putting this post next to a post like the previous one. But we admit it. The quote is just too awesome. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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