AS IT STANDS
My name is Dave Stancliff. I'm a retired newspaper editor/publisher; husband/father, Vietnam vet, Laker fan for 63 years. All opinions are mine unless otherwise noted. I also share original short stories.
The news that New York Democratic Rep.Charlie Rangel violated House ethics rules and could be subject to a Congressional trial -- likely in September -- has party strategists panicked at what such a spectacle might do to an already difficult election climate for their side.
"A disaster," said one New York Democratic operative when asked about the prospect of a trial detailing the charges against Rangel in the midst of the fall election campaign.
Another New York strategist described the ethical cloud surrounding Rangel as a "two-year albatross that we all wish would go away."
One House Democrat granted anonymity to speak candidly about a colleague called the potential trial timing "terrible," adding: "If it comes to a vote, Charlie will not win."
Until recently, the van Kleef-Boltons merely seemed to be the tallest married couple in their Essex, England, hometown — or anywhere else, for that matter.
Now, it’s official: The Guinness Book of World Records has declared the towering twosome the tallest married couple in the world.
They were not without competition. Internet searches turn up other couples who would seem to be taller, including an Indian couple, Sharad and Sanjot Kulkarni, who claimed heights of 7-foot-2 and 6-foot-4, respectively. But after a worldwide search that included an Internet appeal, Guinness has certified the heights of the British pair, as well as the validity of their marriage. At a combined 13 feet, 5 inches, they are in the famous book’s 2010 edition as the tallest in the world.
PHOTO - Keisha and Wilco van Kleef-Bolton with their children Lucas, 4, and Eva, 2, in Dagenham, Essex, England. Keisha, 31, is 6-foot-5; Wilco, 29, is 7 feet tall. Their children are already the tallest in their classes
Put Down That Plate and Step Away From the Sink, Ma'am
Forget about using a dish towel in the state of Oregon or in Minneapolis. Letting china air-dry is the only allowable way. In Florida, you're in trouble if you shatter more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers. If you get your kicks tossing plates, don't try it from any window above the ground floor of a house or apartment in Freeport, Illinois.
A laid off paramedic who turned to delivering pizzas to make ends meet is credited with saving the life of a man who went into cardiac arrest just as a pizza was delivered to his door.
“Christopher Wuebben, 22, was delivering a pizza late last week to the suburban Denver home of George Linn, when he heard the man's wife screaming for help, according to Wuebben's boss, John Keiley.”
AND TO GIVE THIS STORY AN EVEN HAPPIER ENDING…
“Keiley said Wuebben is a military veteran who recently moved to Colorado after he was laid off from his paramedic job in Illinois. He said Wuebben is not scheduled to work at the pizza restaurant until later in the week, but Keiley may not have his new employee for long. At least one local hospital and a fire department have called to offer Wuebben a job in his chosen field after hearing of his heroics.”
Sherrod will likely turn down USDA job offer. She said she would like to have a talk with Obama, but not an apology. I can understand why she wouldn’t want to go back. This is an embarrassing situation all the way around. People reacted to an extreme conservative blogger’s post (Andrew Breitbart) showing her speaking (out of context). It worked better than expected for him and caused all of the ensuing chaos.
Obama’s broken promise: As for Obama, it is clear that his hope of creating “a more perfect union” on the subject of race -- the title of his famous 2008 speech in Philly -- has so far been a broken promise. As Ben Smith observed yesterday, “The election of Barack Obama, America’s first black president, was supposed to be a sign of our national maturity, a chance to transform the charged, stilted ‘national conversation’ about race into a smarter and more authentic dialogue, led by a president who was also one of the nation's subtlest thinkers and writers on the topic. Instead, the conversation just got dumber.” It is clear that Obama -- perhaps correctly -- has decided that it is more important to govern than it is to tackle the issue of race. Still, it is a broken promise, and Robert Gibbs implied yesterday we won't see a so-called "national conversation" on race anytime soon. In truth, it's probably a topic the president can't tackle until he's, well, an ex-president.
Are we mature enough to have a conversation about race? But even if Obama tries to tackle race during his presidency, is Washington mature enough to listen? Probably not when there are so many questioning whether the president was born in this country, when the NAACP is accusing the Tea Party of being racist, when a handful of "new" Black Panthers are on the prowl (who, btw, aren't really members of the actual Black Panthers AND who are about as relevant on the left as the John Birch Society is on the right), and when someone like Andrew Breitbart is so fixated on proving via a concerted campaign that somehow there is racial bias being practiced by this president or members of his administration (whether it’s ACORN, Sherrod, etc.).
Federal authorities in Virginia have arrested the man who allegedly wrote online posts threatening the creators of South Park after the show ran an episode that included the Prophet Muhammad.
The Justice Department announced the arrest of 20-year-old Zachary Chesser Wednesday, saying authorities had stopped him at a New York airport on July 10 before he made a planned trip to Somalia to allegedly try to join an Islamic militant group.
Crude pours out after pipeline blast; at least 1 firefighter dead
Anyone who says drilling for oil offshore is a safe and reliable process is just plain stupid, or has a stake in the operation.
China’s latest oil spill is shaping up to be their worst one. So far, the oil slick covers 165 miles of ocean. While the leak has been contained, the damage has been done to miles of coast line and marine life in the area.
This is just another compelling reason to stop off shore drilling for oil. How many disasters like this do we need to experience before it’s too late to save the ocean and the creatures in it?
Are we getting to a tipping point? If not yet, then we’re getting close. American isn’t the only country to use fossil fuels. China has recently surpassed our economy’s thirst for oil. It won’t take too many more accidents like this to destroy China’s beaches and waters. Until Big Oil loses it’s death grip on the countries of the world, we can all expect more catastrophes to further blight our environment.
The online poster who reportedly 
