As far as I’m concerned, traveling by airplane has never been a pleasurable experience.
It’ll never rate as high as watching the LA Lakers play the Boston Celtics, or eating peanut butter fudge ice cream.
When I look at what happens at airports today, with security problems and extremist Muslim terrorists trying to bring down American passenger planes with bombs, I assure you I’ll grow wings and fly before I get back on an airplane. Go here to read the rest at RememMe.
Google chief Eric Schmidt, second from left, and executives Kai-Fu Lee, center, and Johnny Chou, right, at the 2006 launch of the company's Chinese-language brand name, Gu Ge. (Doug Kanter / Bloomberg News)
It looks like Google is going to stand up against the economic giant China. It’s about time. Human rights are non-existent in China and the rest of the world turns it head and ignores the situation because they’re a superpower now. I say bravo to the Google gang for getting rid of those thieves!
Excerpt:
“The company said it believed that a key goal of the attackers was to access the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists, raising the possibility that China's government not only may have hacked in to Google but also may have been using the company's network to conduct political espionage.”
By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 01/12/2010 01:30:22 AM PST
I hate getting up early in the morning. Not an uncommon complaint. I recall when my three sons were little, waking them with music. Now, you might be think, “How sweet. He gently woke his children with the soothing sounds of music.”
You'd be wrong. I had a vinyl record of Snoopy and the Red Baron that featured the sounds of World War I planes in combat! At full volume, it never failed to bring them out of their beds in record (pardon the pun) time. I quit using this method when they hit their teens and loud music had no effect upon them.
Go here to read the rest.
SACRAMENTO - The California Assembly Public Safety Committee will be voting on Tom Ammiano's landmark bill to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana (AB390) Tuesday, Jan 12th. The bill is expected to be heard when the committee convenes at 9 am.
The bill, based on legislation proposed by Cal NORML and originally drafted for former State Sen. Vasonconellos, would legalize the use of marijuana by adults over 21 and regulate its production and sale in a manner similar to alcohol through the Alcoholic Beverages Commission.
AB 390 would raise an estimated $1.4 billion in revenues by imposing a $50/ounce excise tax on commercial marijuana, according to an economic analysis by the Board of Equalization. Existing medical marijuana laws would not be affected. The bill would also allow adult personal use cultivation of up to six plants.
"With the state's budget broken, prisons bursting at the seams, and illicit marijuana smugglers fueling violence in Mexico, it makes no sense for taxpayers to be paying the costs of arresting, criminalizing and imprisoning marijuana offenders when they could be collecting tax revenues from a legally regulated market," said California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer, who authored an economic analysis of the bill: http://www.canorml.org/background/CA_legalization2.html.
Marijuana has been illegal in California since 1913. Only after being made illegal did it become popular, spreading to millions of Californians. The state has recorded over 2.5 million marijuana arrests, half of them felonies. Arrests declined after the state partly decriminalized marijuana in 1976, but have recently resurged, reaching 78,514 in 2008. There are some 1,500 inmates in state prison for marijuana felonies, over 15 times as many as in 1980, when the war on marijuana was escalated.
Current (amended) text of AB 390 may be found at: http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_390_bill_20100104_amended_asm_v98.html
There will be a press conference after the bill's hearing in the State Capitol around 10 am.
Supporters are urged to contact the legislature in support of AB 390; for info see http://www.canorml.org/news/2010blitz.html
Nothing is more sad that to buy a puppy from a puppy mill and find out it has serious health problems.
Perhaps the new Pennsylvania law aimed at ending inhumane treatment of dogs will set a national standard. We can only hope so.
Excerpt:
“Lacking a bone or toy to occupy their time, some dogs go into a frenzy every time they see a human. Other dogs circle endlessly. Still others just sit there, staring, like a "warm statue," says Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary of dog law enforcement at the state Department of Agriculture.”
Go here to read the whole story.
Is James Faulk the heir apparent to the Great Karnac?
Quote from article written by James Faulk on Jan.5th titled
Little temblors just don't add up
“Honestly, it doesn't have to be the megathrust millennial quake in order to shut off contact with the outside world, or to damage the area's drinking water and ruin refrigeration systems. Nope, a small quake can wreak the same kind of havoc. And judging by the peaceful pattern of years we've had recently, it's only a matter of time before it comes back to bite us.
The trick is to be ready.”
I’m just saying…
Introduction
The year 2009 was one that few of us will soon forget. But the tough times we’ve been through illuminate the human ability to weather challenges that might at first seem overwhelming. As so many millions have painfully learned, we can’t fully control our circumstances. Surprisingly often, though, we can control their effects on our well-being.
Experts attribute about 50% of a person’s happiness to genetic endowments and another 10% to circumstances — where we live, how much money we make, how healthy we are. That leaves 40% of our happiness in our control. Fortunately, science has much to say about how we can make the most of that 40%. Even small improvements in mood can have cascading effects. The trick is to pay attention to what strategies work best for you. Click here for 10 ways to be happier.
10 quick questions to tell if you're a 21st Century right-winger.
Anyone who has a list of 10 questions to tell if you’re a 21st Century Liberal is invited to share it here. Fair’s fair!
Since almost no one is willing to identify with the GOP these days, it can be difficult to diagnose conservatism. Here are some tips to help determine if you are a conservative:
10) You refused to share your toys in kindergarten, saying it would put you on a dangerous path to socialism.
9) You get angry when there are choices for languages on an automated call because you still don't have a good grasp on English.
8) You hate those "elite Hollywood liberals" but refuse to cancel your Netflix account.
7) You go to tea bagger rallies because you have no job thanks to the recession that "started under Obama."
6) You watch Fox News, but unlike most people actually take it seriously.
5) You become absolutely livid about imaginary tax increases.
4) You are against wasteful programs like Medicare, but also against cutting waste from programs like Medicare.
3) You criticize Michael Moore for his weight, without being able to refute a single claim that he makes in his documentaries.
2) You can enter any collective noun into the following sentence "The ______ are screwing everything up" except for the correct ones.
1) You find yourself saying "no" even to things that you actually want, like ice cream, and health care.
American College students have a long history of protesting societal grievances. From riots over butter to protests against tuition i...
