Just one day after leaders of the House of Representatives announced a ban on earmarks to profit-making companies, Victoria Kurtz, the vice president for marketing of a small Ohio defense contracting firm, hit on a creative way around it.
Authorities in Iceland have exhumed the body of American chess champion Bobby Fischer to determine whether he is the father of a 9-year-old girl from the Philippines.
Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 07/04/2010 01:27:17 AM PDT
Wouldn't it be nice to see all our elected officials as loyal to us as pug dogs are to their owners? Pugs were bred to be cheerful and friendly companions. Pugs don't lie. They're great watchdogs and clowns.
The men and women we vote into office are supposed to be watchdogs we can trust to promote our interests. They're always supposed to tell us the truth. We like it when they're friendly and cheerful and sometimes that's enough to make us vote for them. However, we often end up with career politicians who are devoid of pug-like attributes, with one exception; being clowns.
Don't be alarmed if I'm not writing about one of the major disasters going on in our world. I know they're happening. You know where to go if you want to read, see, or hear about them. This week I've decided to defiantly write about all things pug.
You're now in the pug zone. Pull up a chair, sit back and relax while I tell you some interesting things about these wonderful canines.
Latin scholars thought a pug's head looked like a clenched fist, thus the word “pugnus,” and one possible origin of the name. The other is the marmoset “pug” monkeys kept as pets. The dogs looked somewhat like them. They're one of the oldest breeds of dogs, originating somewhere in Asia prior to 400 B.C.
My pug, Millie, can expect to live 12-15 years. She's 5 years old now and we take walks every day to help her keep her “girlish” figure. She's our second pug.
READ THE REST HERE. PHOTO: Millie relaxing in my Laker room/Den.
UPDATE:
Here’s a cool site called netvibes that picked up todays column. Look under Prince Google News on right.
From Colorado Springs we have this blog that picked up today’s piece on pugs (July 4th).
Another site called WoPular picked up the column Monday morning.
In an upcoming As It Stands column (July 11th) readers are asked to channel their inner Ian Flemings…
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
As if there aren’t already enough ways to contact germs, I found another “hot zone” that could ruin your day.
Stomach sicknesses caught from computer equipment have been dubbed "qwerty tummy" after the "Q-W-E-R-T-Y" keys on a keyboard.
“The major culprits for this grodiness are people not washing their hands after using the restroom and eating food at their desks. In the latter case, sticky fingers transfer sauces and edible particles onto and between the keys.”
As the Fourth of July holiday shifts barbecue season into high gear, doctors and fire officials warn that grilling accidents can have serious, even deadly, consequences.
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I can’t believe how stupid Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele is.
This guy is setting a standard for moronic remarks that eerily reminds me of George Bush. What world does he live in? Afghanistan is Bush and Cheney’s other war. Obama inherited the hot potato and is having problems dealing with it.
But to say this is “Obama’s war,” that’s just downright moronic. Just think, this clown is the head of the Republican Party. I don’t see the Republicans going anywhere in 2012 with such uninspired leadership. Maybe that’s a good thing when you look at some of the people the GOP are considering as presidential candidates. Mike Huckabee anyone?
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
You seldom see people swimming in the beach here in Humboldt County.
However, people do surf these coastal waters. Are the surfers at risk then?
A new study by Florida scientists trying to account for pollution suggests that staying out of the water might keep you healthier than going for a dip.
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A renowned expert – and former Elisabeth Kübler-Ross co-author – offers a new book on death and grief and shares visions reported by loved ones before their final breaths.
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This report just in:
“Reportedly some 100 agents were dispatched to raid all of the medical marijuana dispensaries in Butte County today.
Although labeled an "investigation," agents acted more like pirates, seizing medicine, cash and computers.
The Butte Co Sheriff's Department and District Attorney owe an apology for their atrocious misuse of law enforcement resources.”
- from Dale Gieringer, Cal NORML
Go here for the story by Channel 7 News.
The new Pee-wee picture will reportedly take him on the road in "a gigantic adventure."
If you ever saw his first movie, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure”then you know this guy is a crack-up.
Weird? Yes. Bizarre? Yes. Funny? Yes. Stay tuned for the latest antics of Pee-wee Herman.
Humboldt Mediation Services Presents Conflict Management Training One Day Workshop To Be Offered July 17 June 29, 2010, Eureka, CA - Humboldt Mediation Services, a local non-profit known for resolving community disputes since 1983, will once again be offering their popular conflict management workshop from 8:30am to 4pm on July 17.
(PHOTO: Three trained volunteers (facing camera) mediate a dispute between two individuals.
"Anyone can benefit from this class," said HMS Case Manager Jessica Adkisson. "You will learn proven techniques for good communication, effective listening skills and practice collaborative strategies for creating workable solutions to all kinds of problems.”
The training will be held in Eureka, and requires advance registration. Discounts are available for people signing up in pairs, but space is limited. To reserve your spot, call (707) 445-2505 or visit www.humboldtmediationservices.org.
The giant 3-meter (10-foot) skull of what's been dubbed Leviathan melvillei (in honor of the author of "Moby Dick") was found with teeth in its top and bottom jaws up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) long. The discovery is reported in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature.
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An Austrian university is on the hunt for girls who recoil at the sight of spiders for research into how fear affects the processes of the brain.
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Locals wait outside their homes in Mexico City, Mexico, on Wednesday after an earthquake rattled buildings at 2:22 a.m. local time (7:22 GMT).
Larry King, who has interviewed statesmen and stars from a prime-time perch at CNN for 25 years but has seen his ratings sag recently, said Tuesday that he will step down this fall from his nightly show.
A man who uses medical marijuana to treat symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor and cancer claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday he was wrongfully fired from a Walmart store in Michigan after testing positive for the drug.
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Bloodsucking humans in medieval times
This 16th-century woman, whose remains were excavated during an archaeological dig near Venice, apparently had a brick shoved into her trap because she was thought to have a thirst for human blood.
Scholars trace the myth that humans rise from the dead and suck the blood of others to medieval ignorance about how diseases spread and bodies decompose.
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Here we go again. When Putin and Trump met in Helsinki in 2018 it turned out to a propaganda victory for Putin as he played Trump like an o...
