Sen. Hillary Clinton Secretary of State

We should hear more about this later today.

Sunday Funnies

Republicans who are NOT running in 2012 ...

At least that's what they are saying as they head for Iowa. The truly scary part about all the non-candidates is that they are, well, scary!

Last weekend, 18 days after Barack Obama decisively defeated their candidate for president, a mostly Republican crowd of self-described conservatives received their first introduction to someone many prominent members of the GOP think could be the party's own version of Obama.

Like the president-elect, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is young (37), accomplished (a Rhodes scholar) and, as the son of Indian immigrants, someone familiar with breaking racial and cultural barriers. He came to Iowa to deliver a pair of speeches, and his mere presence ignited talk that the 2012 presidential campaign has begun here, if coyly. Already, a fierce fight is looming between him and other Republicans -- former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who arrived in Iowa a couple of days before him, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is said to be coming at some point -- for the hearts of social conservatives. [...]

"The Republicans really have no choice except to look at some people more youthful if they want to have a better chance of winning," said Betty E. Johnson, an independent and the wife of a Cedar Rapids pastor, who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 but who went for Obama over 72-year-old John McCain. "I liked Obama's energy and hope. I don't know, but maybe a younger person would give Republicans a feeling of more energy, openness."

Jindal insists he is ignoring all the speculation. In Cedar Rapids, at a breakfast event devoted to addressing this beleaguered city's efforts to rebound from its disastrous flood last summer, he avoided any reference to 2012, staying focused on explaining Louisiana's methods for coping with hurricane floods in emergencies on his watch.

Meanwhile, others around the country were talking him up. No less an aspiring kingmaker than Steve Schmidt, the chief strategist of McCain's failed presidential bid, sees Jindal as the Republican Party's destiny. "The question is not whether he'll be president, but when he'll be president, because he will be elected someday." The anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist believes, too, that Jindal is a certainty to occupy the White House, and conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh has described him as "the next Ronald Reagan."

Is Jindal the Republican Obama?

Jindal is, above all else, a political meteor, sharing Obama's precocious skills for reaching the firmament in a hurry. It was just four years ago, after losing a gubernatorial election, that he won election to Congress, and only this year that he became Louisiana's governor, the first nonwhite to hold the office since Reconstruction. And now, 10 months into his first term, the talk of a presidential bid is getting louder among his boosters.

Youth, Norquist notes, has never been at a greater premium for Republicans in search of a new path. And the generally positive reaction to Jindal's handling of Louisiana's mass evacuation in August before Hurricane Gustav, and his response in the storm's aftermath, bolstered the image of the new governor's vigor.

"If anything, McCain's candidacy suggests that age is not always a positive -- and sometimes is a negative," Norquist says. "As Republicans, you have a real problem now with younger voters and immigrants. If you were going to central casting for a candidate to deal with all that, who do you have? Jindal. He is young, and he looks young. . . . He's a great communicator. And his record is that he's sharp and quick with policy."

Religious Right Republicans like Jindal because of his steadfast opposition to abortion without exceptions; his disapproval of embryonic stem cell research; and his support for teaching intelligent design (creationism) in public school science classes.

Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin share these views.

If these candidates represent the next-wave Republican generation, the country could be in big trouble. Let's hope the corporate wing of the party breaks away to form an alternative party.

BLACK FRIDAY Employee Trampled to Death

Desperate times and an overzealous crowd has cost a temp employee his life. Where was security? Why did management have only one employee on the door, facing a crowd of thousands? This is simply a terrible story:

A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday when "out-of-control" shoppers desperate for bargains broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale. Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.

At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store. When told to leave, they complained that they had been in line since Thursday morning.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour of Queens, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," said Nassau police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming. He described the scene as "utter chaos."

Is a big screen TV worth a man's life?

Items on sale at the store included a Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV for $798, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69 and DVDs such as "The Incredible Hulk" for $9. [...]

Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

If you must shop, shop online.

Happy Thanksgiving

No Turkey for Babs

Former first lady Barbara Bush is recovering from surgery for a perforated ulcer. Some people will do ANYTHING to keep from having to sit down for dinner with George W. Bush!

Former first lady Barbara Bush was resting and in good spirits in a Houston hospital Wednesday morning following surgery for a perforated ulcer, a family spokesman said.

Bush, who was visiting with family members, probably will remain in Methodist Hospital until next week, family spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement. [...]

Bush went to the hospital as a precaution Tuesday night after experiencing some abdominal pains. Former President George H.W. Bush was with her.

"She's feeling great, and he is feeling very good," said Jim Appleby, a spokesman for the Office of George Bush. "The surgery went just fine and she is recovering nicely."

Current first lady Laura Bush, Barbara Bush's daughter-in-law, said Wednesday: "She's doing great. George and I talked to both President Bush and Barbara Bush last night while they were in the hospital and they were both doing very well then."

She had the surgery, so why is everyone commenting about the health of George senior?

Could the horrible mess her son is leaving us with have caused this? It must be tough on a mom to have a son with the lowest approval rating in history.

Thanking the bird

Turkey photo shamelessly stolen from Lynne's Hasty Brook

Tomorrow is an interesting day for a birder. Many birders are meat-eaters, and thus will eat the Thanksgiving turkey as is traditionally done in this country. However, some of us (like me) are vegetarians -- for all kinds of reasons, personal to each of us.

Some of the biggest reasons I'm a vegetarian are ecopolitical, but some are just personal preference and my own emotions. Here are a couple of my reasons for going veg:

1. the mass production of meat and meat products strains our environment in many ways. Perhaps you've heard of CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. These are your factory farms like Tyson Chicken or your large beef producers. You can find out more about them from the EPA, the CDC, or a more politically minded organization like this one. In short, it is my belief that CAFOs are bad news. Others may disagree, and they're free to do so.

2. I love farm animals. They're furry and cute, and their little lives are just as precious to me as those of birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, and other animals. I know that I couldn't slaughter an animal for food, so why would I ask someone else to do it for me and then package it in a nice little plastic tray to assuage my conscience?

3. I don't buy that whole predator/prey thing. I realize it's the law of nature, and raptors have to kill songbirds to survive, etc. But I have free will. I choose not to kill anything with a face just so I can eat, especially when there are plenty of plant-based foods I can eat instead.

Anyway, those are my own personal reasons; I don't try to convince others to believe as I do, because eating is a personal decision. Still, I must confess that I think it's weird that birders would eat chickens, turkeys, or other fowl. Once again, as is common on the bloggy, my naivete is gonna show here, but when I was growing up, I guess I never connected the "duck" in a dish like Peking Duck with the little mallards, wood ducks, and canvasbacks that I love to watch through my binocs. And the geese! Poor brants and Canadas, their lonesome honks silenced, end up on people's dinner plates? How could a birder watch a songbird or a wild turkey, noting field marks and marking the bird on the lifelist, but then go eat one for dinner?

Sheesh. That's just weird to me. Still, I guess my hope is that tomorrow, when you're being thankful for life, love, family, and other such things, you'll remember to thank the little guy (or gal) on your table too. Do it for me, okay?

Feel the Love

h/t to Tengrain at Mock,Paper,Scissors

Florida Judge Lifts Gay Adoption Ban - file this under "It's About Time!"

The Associated Press reports:

A judge on Tuesday ruled that a strict Florida law that blocks gay people from adopting children is unconstitutional, declaring there was no legal or scientific reason for sexual orientation alone to prohibit anyone from adopting.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman said the 31-year-old law violates equal protection rights for the children and their prospective gay parents, rejecting the state's arguments that there is "a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children."

She noted that gay people are allowed to be foster parents in Florida. "There is no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting," she wrote in a 53-page ruling.

Florida is the only state with an outright ban on gay adoption. Arkansas voters last month approved a measure similar to a law in Utah that bans any unmarried straight or gay couples from adopting or fostering children. Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting.

There is no compelling reason why lesbians and gay men should not be allowed to adopt -- just as there is no compelling reason why loving couples shouldn't be allowed to marry.

The decision will likely be appealed, but hopefully the Florida Supreme Court will reach the same decision.

Gay singles and couples have been providing loving homes for children who need them for a very long time. Sometimes taking in children that no one else wants.

Personally, I think it should be very hard for ANYONE to adopt a child -- it's a huge responsibility -- but the sexual orientation of the parent should not be a deciding factor.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, who represent Gill, said the case was the first in the nation in which numerous experts in child psychology, social work and other fields testified that there is no science to justify a gay adoption ban. [...]

Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association all support permitting same-sex couples to adopt. [...]

"It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent," the judge wrote. "A child in need of love, safety and stability does not first consider the sexual orientation of his parent. The exclusion causes some children to be deprived of a permanent placement with a family that is best suited to their needs."

Good work Judge Lederman!

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My favorite bird songs and calls

1. Wood thrush
2. Spotted sandpiper
3. American widgeon
4. Wild turkey
5. Virginia rail

Brought to you by the grippingly exciting Magical Typing Fingers.

Study Suggests Some Cancers May Go Away

But who has the nerve to wait it out to see?

If you have ever lost someone to cancer, both my parents died from it, you know that it's a horrible way to die. Hearing the word "cancer" strikes fear in everyone, and I would think anyone who heard that word would want to do all they could to rid themselves of it as quickly as possible.

There are, however, some cancer researchers who are having a change of heart.

Cancer researchers have known for years that it was possible in rare cases for some cancers to go away on their own. There were occasional instances of melanomas and kidney cancers that just vanished. And neuroblastoma, a very rare childhood tumor, can go away without treatment.

But these were mostly seen as oddities — an unusual pediatric cancer that might not bear on common cancers of adults, a smattering of case reports of spontaneous cures. And since almost every cancer that is detected is treated, it seemed impossible even to ask what would happen if cancers were left alone.

Now, though, researchers say they have found a situation in Norway that has let them ask that question about breast cancer. And their new study, to be published Tuesday in The Archives of Internal Medicine, suggests that even invasive cancers may sometimes go away without treatment and in larger numbers than anyone ever believed.

At the moment, the finding has no practical applications because no one knows whether a detected cancer will disappear or continue to spread or kill.

And some experts remain unconvinced.

“Their simplification of a complicated issue is both overreaching and alarming,” said Robert A. Smith, director of breast cancer screening at the American Cancer Society.

There is certainly a lot to take in with this report, and I'd be curious to know what others think.

Donald A. Berry, chairman of the department of biostatistics at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said the study increased his worries about screenings that find cancers earlier and earlier. Unless there is some understanding of the natural history of the cancers that are found — which are dangerous and which are not — the result can easily be more treatment of cancers that would not cause harm if left untreated, he said.

“There may be some benefit to very early detection, but the costs will be huge — and I don’t mean monetary costs,” Dr. Berry said. “It’s possible that we all have cells that are cancerous and that grow a bit before being dumped by the body. ‘Hell bent for leather’ early detection research will lead to finding some of them. What will be the consequence? Prophylactic removal of organs in the masses? It’s really scary.”

But Dr. Laura Esserman, professor of surgery and radiology at the University of California, San Francisco, sees a real opportunity to figure out why some cancers go away.

“I am a breast cancer surgeon; I run a breast cancer program,” she said. “I treat women every day, and I promise you it’s a problem. Every time you tell a person they have cancer, their whole life runs before their eyes.

“What if I could say, ‘It’s not a real cancer, it will go away, don’t worry about it,’ ” she added. “That’s such a different message. Imagine how you would feel.”

So what do you think?

Change still needed

The buzz is that Sen. Hillary Clinton will be offered, and will accept, the position of Secretary of State in the Obama administration. She certainly earned it.

What is still missing, however, is a national discussion on sexism.

"This is the most underwritten story of this campaign ... by the press ... by the media. [...] Nobody understood the agony that women, particularly of my generation, were undergoing about this ... issue ... and to this day, it has been swept under the rug and been forgotten because she didn’t win. [...] We did not examine the fact that we didn’t get, we haven’t gotten nearly as far ahead as we thought we were about equality between the sexes. And that ought to be revisited as a result of what happened ... and it happened to Sarah Palin too." -- Howard Dean

Dean is right. We haven't yet address the issue of sexism, and until we do we will continue to see women abused by the media, corporate America, and certain religions.

A good start would be to never again have an all-male panel discussing issues of the day.


h/t to egalia at Tennessee Guerilla Women

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There's No Doubt ... I'm just a girl

Okay, it's Sunday night and I was just surfing around the internets, when I came upon this at Jesus' General.

GenderAnalyzer
Man or woman -- who is writing that blog?

Okay, I'll bite! Here's what the Gender Analyzer had to say:

We think Yikes! is written by a woman (81%).

I'd say my cover had been blown ... if I ever thought I had one! ha

It looks like Jesus' General isn't as happy with the results, and has decided to fight back against a mere 72% "manly" rating.

Guns, war, NASCAR, football, slug you in the shoulder, Coors, taciturnity, balls, package, spit, John Wayne, Engelbert Humperdinck, pork rinds, frito pie, oh fuck it Engelbert Humperdinck, camo, hunting, fighting, combat, ear hair, little soldier, Gene Simmons, 24, Freebird, Doom, 357 magnum, Ann Coulter, beef jerky, Chuck Norris, Doug Giles, cowboy, Dodge Ram truck, hair club, viagra, spartan wrestling.

Hey JC, I've met you and can attest that you are definitely an 11 on the manly scale!

I'm fine with my results because in the words of Gwen Stefani "I'm just a girl" ...



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Sunday Funnies

Vatican forgives John Lennon for Jesus quip

WHO CARES? I certainly don't.

John Lennon made a valid point when he compared the popularity of religion versus the popularity of The Beatles at the peak of their musical career. It seems a safe bet to say that The Beatles were more popular than religion with kids in England, and around the world.

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. ... I don't know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. We're more popular than Jesus now. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

He later said:

"I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have got away with it, but I just happened to be talking to a journalist friend (Maureen Cleave), and I used the words "Beatles" as a remote thing, not as what I think — as Beatles, as those other Beatles like other people see us. I just said "they" are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus. But I said it in that way which is the wrong way."

Reporter: Some teenagers have repeated your statements — "I like The Beatles more than Jesus Christ." What do you think about that?

Lennon: "Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England. That we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."

The comment caused a stir among some religious leaders in the United States. Albums were burned, and some parents refused to let their kids attend a Beatles concert. I was 13 at the time and it didn't seem like such a big deal to me.

It actually seems like a bigger deal that the Vatican has decided to make a statement about it today! Is it a moved designed to try and bring Baby Boomers back into the fold? Is the Vatican simply trying to get attention, and if so why? I'd be curious to know what my good friend Fran at Fran I Am thinks.

What do you think is the motivation behind this? Inquiring minds want to know.

JFK remembered

It's hard to believe that it's been 45 years since that fateful day in Dallas. So let's instead focus on a more hopeful time.

On Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy delivered an inaugural address filled with optimism and patriotism. He declared, "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans." Listen to some of what the new president had to say ... and remember.

New York Weighs Options to Fill Clinton's Senate Seat

The New York Times reports:

Nine months ago, when he was the lieutenant governor, David A. Paterson dreamed that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would head to the White House and he would be tapped to fill her Senate seat. [...]

On Friday night, just before delivering a speech to the N.A.A.C.P. in San Francisco, Mr. Paterson told reporters that 10 to 20 people had already contacted him about their interest in taking Mrs. Clinton’s place. “I would say it’s not a shy and retiring group of people who would like to serve in the Senate,” he said, declining to name them.

I have one suggestion for the Governor -- fill the seat with another woman.

Women are just 17% of Congress, and we simply cannot afford to lose ground.

And there are excellent candidates in NY that have more than paid their dues for the opportunity to move up. My first choice would be Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, a 10-term member of Congress. Lowey had intended to run for the seat currently head by Sen. Clinton, until Clinton threw her hat in the ring. Recognizing that Hillary Clinton would have a better chance of winning, Lowey stepped aside and support her.

My second choice would be Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, who is currently serving her eighth term as Representative for New York’s 12th Congressional District. Both women are strong women's rights supporters.

It's looking more and more like Sen. Clinton will be our next Secretary of State. Once that is announced, let's urge Gov. Patterson to do the right thing and fill Hillary's Senate seat with another woman!

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Whose on First?

Is it just me, or does it seem like the whole country has already turned over the reins of power to President-Elect Obama?

President-Elect Pledges To Create 2.5M Jobs
Obama says plan will amass jobs over next 2 years, suggesting he may push a more costly stimulus package than he has so far proposed.

Obama Eyeing Clinton, Jones for Key Posts
Obama Taps N.Y. Fed Chief to Lead Treasury
Editorial: Obama's Cabinet Picks -- So Far

Like most of you, I'd had my fill of George W. Bush by January 21, 2001!

And maybe under an Obama administration it will be easier for doctors like Lesley Wojick to decide what career path to follow:

Medical Student Weighs Issue
Young woman deciding if she has what it takes to join the diminishing ranks of abortion providers.

Hurry up January 20, 2009!

I'm not worthy ...

Yikes, I've just been honored with a Superior Scribber Award by none other than the fabulous Dr. Zaius! How great is that!! Check out the rules for this award.

I now get to bestow this award on the following bloggers: DCup, FranIAm, SueJ, MWB, and Alicia.

George W. Bush: How'd He Do?

Music Break

"Mercy" by Duffy from her CD "Rockferry"

I bought this a few months ago because of DCup at Politits. She posted the video and I fell in love with this song. The entire CD is great!

CNN on Bush - Where's the Love?

Name That Keyboard Player!

Hint: She has just authored a new book on the religious right.

Days of Our Transition

Hillary Clinton Update:

Lolzing the dayz awayz

Baldies abound!

I saw another bald eagle last night near work, but I didn't have my camera with me. That's twice lately that I've seen a baldie on Rt 220 near work. Cool! Here's the first time, in case you don't recall.

"Life forward" update: Matty has an interview on December 5 at Sonoma State! He's one of five candidates being interviewed. They've asked him to stay the weekend as well so he can look around--which means they really want him! He's very excited, and so am I! I'm not out buying a field guide for western birds just yet, but this could really happen!

I was checking the weather there this morning, after coming into work in 22-degree cold:
Not bad, not bad at all! I could certainly deal with such mild winter temperatures. (Actually, I really don't mind the cold as long as it's snowing. If it's gonna be wintry and cold, bring on teh snow!) It's probably not very humid out there either. Wonder how hot it gets in the summer--any West Coasters out there?

Meanwhile, a friend of mine is suffering a bird-related problem: a mockingbird has taken up a perch right outside his bedroom window. And the mocker sings all night. Poor David looks sleepy all the time now, and he's threatened to buy a gun. When I looked aghast, he claimed it was "just to scare him!" Uh-huh. Any suggestions?

I just got invited to a winter birding trip with my atlassing friend Roana and her birding parents as well as some other people in the State College Birding Club. We'll be going to Ocean City, MD, and the Delaware area. It's not until February, so I'll be able to take some vacation days (mine for this year are all used up!) and relax, leaving Friday and returning sometime late Monday. Maybe I'll even be able to hook up with my friends Liz and Jeff Gordon in Delaware! However, I don't think I'll be driving, so it'll be a matter of where we are and when. More about this trip as it gets closer.

Meanwhile, not a lot of bird action, but we've definitely been having the cold. Here's a snowcloud snowing at sundown onto downtown State College, as seen from near my workplace in Pleasant Gap:
I took this with my phone camera from my moving car, so pardon the quality. Right at the base of the snow, you can see the lights of Beaver Stadium.

I tried to pull over for a better photo, but a bunch of cars were behind me and they didn't seem to get that flashers mean "go on by!" I didn't want someone to stop behind me and come to my window and say, "are ya broke down there, little lady?" (I HATE being called "little lady"--that's the fastest way to a swift kick in the crotch from me), so I slowed down a little, opened my window, and shot a couple of photos. Still it was a cool scene, watching the snow in the sunset. It almost looks like a huge tornado, doesn't it?

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid

This is GREAT NEWS! Ted Stevens is a truly obnoxious individual, and his arrogance finally caught up with him.

Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re-election bid Tuesday, marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who couldn't survive a conviction on federal corruption charges. His defeat by Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats within two seats of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.

Stevens' ouster on his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realignment in Alaska politics and will alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the days of the Johnson administration while holding seats on some of the most influential committees in Congress.

Happy Birthday ... ha!

Stevens' future was murky at a time when newly elected members of both the House and Senate were on Capitol Hill for heady receptions, picture-taking sessions and orientation this week. Stevens, speaking earlier Tuesday in Washington, said he had no idea what his life would be like in January, when the 111th Congress convenes.

"I wouldn't wish what I'm going through on anyone, my worst enemy," he lamented to reporters. "I haven't had a night's sleep for almost four months."

Don't worry, Ted -- hopefully you'll have plenty of time to sleep in prison.

Layoffs at Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family is cutting an estimated 20 percent of its staff, as critics question the groups priorities.

Critics are holding up the layoffs, which come just two months after the organization’s last round of dismissals, as a sad commentary on the true priorities of the ministry.

“If I were their membership I would be appalled,” said Mark Lewis, a longtime Colorado Springs activist who helped organize a Proposition 8 protest in Colorado Springs on Saturday. “That [Focus on the Family] would spend any money on anything that’s obviously going to get blocked in the courts is just sad. [Prop. 8] is guaranteed to lose, in the long run it doesn’t have a chance — it’s just a waste of money.”

Layoffs before the holidays? Looks like someone forgot to focus on their OWN family!

Focus on the Family spent more than $500,000 to write discrimination into the California Constitution. And one of their board members contributed an additional $450,000 in cash.

This is the third year that Focus has laid off employees due to budget cuts. In its heyday, the ministry, which relocated to Colorado Springs from Arcadia, Calif., in 1991, employed more than 1,500 people. Many of those employees worked in mailroom and line assembly jobs, processing so much incoming and outgoing correspondences that the U.S. Postal Service gave Focus its own ZIP code.

Things might be tough for them right now, but it would be dangerous to write off groups like Focus on the Family. An Obama administration will (sadly) boost their fundraising ability.

But for now we can simply say: "Hey Dobson, focus on your OWN damn family!"

Big Three Bailout: Let Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP Do It

The big three auto makers are in trouble, and they want the government to bail them out. There are millions of jobs on the line, and the trickle down from a total collaps could be devastating to an already shaky economy.

Personally, I vote for a bailout -- but not by the government.

GM, Ford and Chrysler ... meet Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP!


Exxon Mobil earned a net profit of $14.3 billion in the third quarter alone, so why shouldn't they bail out the auto industry? One would think those gas guzzling cars would be critical to keeping profits high. Exxon Mobil should consider it an investment!

So should Shell and BP. Shell earned a cool $10.9 billion in the third quarter, while BP pocketed a record $10 billion.

Come on guys, so you give back a little in the third quarter ... there is still one more quarter to go -- and then you get to start gouging us again NEXT year!! This is a no-brainer!

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Helen Thomas Returns to White House

WELCOME BACK!


Helen Thomas has been part of the White House Press Corp for seven presidents. President Elect Barack Obama will be her eighth. I know I feel more comfortable knowing she is there asking the tough questions. Good to see you back!

Wanda Sykes: "I'm proud to be gay."

Comedian Wanda Sykes made a surprise appearance at a rally hosted by the LGBT Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas and had this to say:

"You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.

"Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be able to live their lives," she said.

Sykes, who is known for her feisty and blunt style, said the passage of California's Proposition 8 made her feel like she was "attacked."

"Now, I gotta get in their face," she said. "I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay."

In a recent comedy special Sykes had this to say about same-sex marriage:



Go Wanda!!

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Sunday Funnies