It’s only a guess, but I’m pretty sure Chicken Little was an economist. — Will Durst
 

The-World-Will-Be-A-Safer-Place-Without George W. Bush

• US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,257 AP

• Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish rebels in Iraq International Herald Tribune

• No release for CBS tapes of Marine in Iraqi deaths The Associated Press

• UK officials were worried about Iraq dossier The Associated Press

• Iraq pledges to buy more Australian wheat ABC Online

• Officials: Obama close to stating new Afghan goals AP

Chinese Chess

The U.S. Navy has dispatched a guided-missile destroyer to the South China Sea after Chinese ships allegedly harassed an American ship operating there last weekend, a Pentagon official said yesterday.

The USS Chung-Hoon, armed with torpedoes and missiles, is stationed in protection of the USNS Impeccable, an ocean surveillance ship.
 

"Well, earlier this week, President Obama took on the teachers union by saying he wants merit pay for teachers and to fire the ones who do not perform well. That is pretty bold. A Democrat taking on the unions? That's like Rush Limbaugh going after the donut manufacturers." -- Jay Leno
 

Disturbing News

• Ocean Expected to Rise 5 Feet Along Coastlines

• Oil-soaked Australian beaches named disaster zones AP

• Group: Cancer-Causing Chemicals Found in Baby Bath Products Washington Post

Cramer versus Stewart Update

After a week of pointed verbal barbs, host Jon Stewart sat face-to-face with financial analyst Jim Cramer on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and continued the assault Thursday. Stewart blamed Cramer and cable network CNBC for being irresponsible cheerleaders in the lead-up to the stock market meltdown.

Gabriel Cardona, shows his tattooed eyelids, worked as a hit man for a Mexican cartel.

"And the Republican Party says they want a big tent. They want to be all-inclusive, they want the big tent, and they're going to make it out of Rush Limbaugh's pants." -- David Letterman

Republican-Shenanigans News

• Steele’s abortion comments anger fellow Republicans Reuters

• Pay teenagers not to get pregnant, Republican says Raw Story

• Palin plans 2 events in Indiana Chicago Tribune

• "Rush to failure" ads to appear in Limbaugh's Florida hometown CNN International

• SC Gov. Sanford set to reject stimulus millions The Associated Press

FBI Tells FOIA TO GFY

The FBI tells two out of every three Freedom of Information Act requesters that it can't find the records they asked for — a failure rate five times higher than other major federal agencies, a private study has found.
 

Did Sarah Palin forget to load the shotgun, or was there never going to be a wedding? Zing!

Rock-The-Voter News

• Cohen withdraws from Treasury consideration-sources

• President Obama: Economic crisis not as dire as it seems  New York Daily News

"You know, we could all use a little pick-me-up these days. Our economy is in tough shape. But while it's hard to be poor, right now it's even harder to have a lot of money. The Obama administration is planning to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans! Now, if you wear a monocle, it probably just popped out of your eye in shock. But don't worry, some of us aren't taking this lying down [on screen: Fox News reports that Obama is 'declaring a war on success']. Exactly! Why should the productive members of society be forced to bail out the deadbeats? If this were an actual boat, they're the ones we'd be eating." --Stephen Colbert

Email

Subject: more and more

Every day this past week, COMMON DREAMS has featured stories like this one

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/12-2

 - yesterday it was western American water hunt. Getting harder and harder to ignore. Still see plenty of HUGE trucks with bumperstickers "McCain-Palin" and "Nobama." Need a new bumpersticker: "A big fat idiot drives this truck." "Clean coal." "We can bury the nuclear waste and no problemo!" Of course, it is leaking into the water table, but not to worry, not much water left anyway. People get yer heads outta yer armpits! It's too late to stop this, and well past the time to ignore it, it's here now, and the only thing we can do is jump on the brakes and jam them to the floor as long and as hard as it takes to slow this freight train down. That's the cliff up ahead, not the light at the end of the tunnel.

Cheers? j

I hear ya.

Well, now that the smart people are back in the White House and the ditto heads are out, maybe, just maybe the environment will be back on the front burner.

Ads by Google

Biz-Tech News

• Oil slips below $47 as investors eye OPEC meeting AP

• World stocks jump on Asia stimulus hopes, US rally The Associated Press

• China appeals to Washington to safeguard assets AP

• GM says it doesn't need $2B right now Detroit Free Press

• Household net worth plunges by record amount AP

• Bernie Madoff and the circus come to town New York Daily News

• Google Executive Takes Over AOL Washington Post

• Can marijuana help rescue California's economy? Time.com

Here’s a sign that the times are a-changin’. The governor of Virginia has signed a new law banning smoking in bars and restaurants. In Virginia. See, that’s significant because Virginia is, like, the tobacco state. That would be like the governor of California banning breast implants. “Yeah, you can’t have dee boobs here. No more boobs here if dare not real.”- Jay Leno
 

At The Buffet

Warren Buffett said he was approached twice to help American International Group Inc in the final days before the U.S. government rescued the insurer last September, Bloomberg said.
 

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Obama undecided on where to put Guantánamo detainees MiamiHerald.com

• Guantanamo detainee says Brits aided his torture International Herald Tribune

Rush Limbaugh is "Republican Salmonella!" - Grant "Bud" Gerver

“I am so close to flying wherever he is and just punching the hell out of him. He is driving me nuts! There’s a lot of idiots out there and Rush Limbaugh has a lot of influence on people.”- Charles Barkley

www.internetweekly.org

Will Ferrell: HBO Trailer Clip

VOCABULARY WORD FOR THE DAY: LIQUIDITY

Definition: Liquidity is when you look at your retirement funds and wet your pants

All Hat No Cattle weekend commentary

No need for gun laws, financial oversight or family planning

What an exciting week this has been, chock full of news about human misery, further financial chaos and lifestyle choices of the young and dumb.
Right here in southeast Alabama – the back yard of All Hat No Cattle – an enraged nutcase with an assault rifle went on a rampage through three small towns that left 10 victims dead and a couple of cops wounded.

Gun rights advocacy groups reportedly are preparing a series of public service announcements pointing out that if all the victims had been carrying concealed weapons they could have defended themselves. And that there is no need for a federal ban on military-style assault rifles. Or for a waiting period on gun purchases to allow time for background checks of criminal records and histories of mental illness. And that the gunman was a socialist, pro-choice atheist.

On the financial carnage front, we witnessed three major events: mega-swindler Bernie Madoff pled guilty, unemployment increased, and CNBC’s Jim Cramer got schooled by comedian Jon Stewart.
The judge immediately sent Madoff packing off to jail while he awaits a prison sentence that could and should leave him behind bars for the rest of his natural days. Still pending, however, are answers to where did all the billions of dollars go that Madoff stole from his victims. His charming blond trophy wife wants to keep about $70 million that she says did not come from fraudulent activity. Some of Madoff’s victims say that money should be included in any restitution fund, and that maybe Mrs. Madoff deserves a permanent conjugal visit with Bernie in a federal slammer.

Thousands of more jobs were lost, with South Carolina ranking second behind Michigan in unemployment. But what’s interesting about the South Carolina case is that Gov. Mark Sanborn wants to reject part of the federal stimulus money due to his state for unemployment benefits. This is for ideological reasons, he says, not idiotic reasons. But less idiotic governors already have indicated their willingness to accept any federal funds that South Carolina or other Deep South Republican states reject.

The highlight of business news, however, came Thursday night when Cramer, a former hedge fund manager and star of the CNBC show “Fast Money,” appeared on Stewart’s “The Daily Show” on the Comedy Central channel. The two had been sniping back and forth all week after Stewart pointed out that Cramer and other media financial gurus had failed miserably to warn the public in recent years of the impending Wall Street debacle.

Cramer agreed to meet face-to-face with Stewart for an interview, and many predicted it would be a spirited debate between two very bright people. Instead, the audience saw Cramer show up like a contrite school boy for his paddling. Stewart eviscerated him with old video clips of Cramer detailing stock manipulation techniques and other financial wisdom worthy of Gordon “Greed is Good” Gecko.

It was, in the humble opinion of AHNC, one of Stewart’s finest moments. Another being when he tore into the conservative commentator twit Tucker Carlson several years ago. Carlson left CNN a short time later, and his bow tie has been noticeably absent from televised political discussion for most of the time since then. Thank you, Jon Stewart.

But some of the most entertaining news last week was on the family values front. And we’re not talking about the husbandless Octo-mom and her 14 children.

Nope, we’re talking about Bristol Palin, teenage daughter of the woman governor who very possibly could be the Republican Party’s next candidate for president. Bristol just gave birth to a child (sans marriage), and now she and the teenage father, Levi Johnson, have broken off their engagement. But here’s hoping that they have a bunch more illegitimate children together. This is, after all, a family from the party of family values.

Snack Food Vendors for Legalizing Marijuana  - Grant "Bud" Gerver, Bumper Sticker Division
 

Offline Donation - Lisa Casey - PO Box 88 - Ashford, AL 36312

Odd News

• Dad Gets Married As Haleigh Search Resumes MSNBC

• Chris Brown and Rihanna record duet CNN

• Stern faces charges in Anna Nicole Smith case CNN

• Chicago's Sears Tower to get new tenant, new name The Associated Press

• Mystery repairman fixes broken W.Va. traffic light AP

• "Vampire" unearthed in Venice plague grave Reuters

• Fight in car over $3 leads to fish tank attack AP

To Help You Deflate Photo

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger congratulates Iris Kyle after she won the Miss International body building competition during the Arnold Sports Festival Friday, March 6, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio.
Photo/Jay LaPrete

TGIF Peace.

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