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15 Sep 2010 10:47

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Politics: Meg Whitman somehow spending more than Michael Bloomberg

  • $109 million the amount Bloomberg spent on his high-spending 2009 NYC mayoral campaign
  • $119 million the amount Whitman, the ex-eBay CEO, is spending on her California gubernatorial campaign source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Sep 2010 23:46

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Politics: Max Headroom: Bill Gates brings up death panels for no good reason


  • Bad move, Bill GatesTip to anyone, anywhere, anytime: Don’t have a discussion using the phrase “death panels” in reference to health care. Because if you do, you’re going to show up on Glenn Beck’s news site, The Blaze. The size of this particular hornet’s next is freaking huge, dude.
  • judges ≠ scientistsThe legal decision that decided in favor of a family whose child was linked to her autism is gonna give hope to folks like Jenny McCarthy. The truth is, the science doesn’t support it. Neither does the case, which was found under grounds very specific to the situation.
  • Touré tokes up The Rolling Stone writer and MSNBC contributor had a pretty hilarious rant about California’s pot proposition, ending it with this clever one-liner: “The people who are railing the hardest against decriminalization are those who are most in need of a smoke!” Win.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2010 20:15

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U.S.: San Bruno’s gas explosion: A shocking event, preventible?

  • harbinger A bunch of people smelled gas in a residential neighborhood for weeks. Investigators looked into it but found nothing.
  • result A natural gas pipeline exploded, leveling numerous homes and killing four. Now, people are wondering WTF happened. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Sep 2010 00:07

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U.S.: California federal judge: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unconstitutional

  • In order to justify the encroachment on these rights, defendants faced the burden at trial of showing the don’t ask, don’t tell act was necessary to significantly further the government’s important interests in military readiness and unit cohesion. Defendants failed to meet that burden.
  • Judge Virginia A. Phillips • In a decision by a California federal judge that does for “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” what Judge Vaughn Walker did for Prop 8 earlier this summer. The suit was brought by the gay conservative group the Log Cabin Republicans, who are thrilled about the decision. The Family Research Council, however, isn’t so thrilled. “It is hard to believe that a District Court-level judge in California knows more about what impacts military readiness than the service chiefs who are all on record saying the law on homosexuality in the military should not be changed,” said FRC president Tony Perkins. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Sep 2010 23:21

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Offbeat: Dude climbs giant tower in San Francisco just ‘cuz

  • How’d you spend your Labor Day? Just hanging out? If so, you did the same thing that this guy did. Kinda. You also probably didn’t get arrested. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Sep 2010 15:05

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Politics: Protip: California’s Prop. 23 designed by big oil to block regulation

  • Live in California? You should read this. One of the propositions currently on the ballot for November is Proposition 23, an oil-company pushed piece of legislation that would prevent a landmark environmental bill from getting passed unless California had four straight quarters below 5.5 percent unemployment. This is a marker that the state has rarely hit over the last 35 years, and likely won’t for a long while due to the current unemployment levels, hovering above 12 percent. And big energy is backing it. Check it out:
  • bad The bill is backed by two of the biggest polluters in the state, oil-hawkers Valero and Tesoro.
  • worse The Koch brothers (remember them?) are pushing it financially with $1 million in help. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 22:20

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Politics: Smokin’: California gets its first medical marijuana TV ad

  • Wonder what they’re smoking. Wanna know the proof that cannabis is about to become legal in California? Because now medical marijuana shops are blatantly advertising their wares. It’s official: The tide has turned in their favor. Cheech and Chong are winning. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Sep 2010 23:54

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U.S.: Discovery Building gunman James Lee spent time in jail

  • 18 monthsthe amount of time he was sentenced in 2003 for smuggling an illegal immigrant in California
  • 11 monthsthe amount of time James Jae Lee, a self-described “loner,” actually spent in jail for the incident source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Sep 2010 09:35

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U.S.: California’s legislature takes a pass on banning plastic bags

D.C. is OK with the idea of taxing plastic bags, but California’s Senate simply didn’t have the votes to ban them entirely. The bill failed last night. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Aug 2010 20:47

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U.S.: Furlough funday: 150,000 state workers in California are screwed

  • They’re caught in the middle of California’s never-ending budget fight. After a lengthy court battle as part of the seemingly-yearly budget deadlock that comes up in California, the California Supreme Court allowed governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to force a three-day-a-month furlough on state government employees. By the way, Schwarzenegger and the legislature have yet to decide on how to solve the state’s $19.1 billion budget deficit. Nice to see the people in the middle get screwed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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