Posts Tagged “Mars”
- John McCain and Barack Obama took to the debate stage for the second time Tuesday night in Nashville, and more or less took turns taking shots at one another. Basically, we learned that each of them plan to do exactly what all of us want them to do, and the other guy is responsible for everything that’s messed up in the country now…
- Wall Street continued its worry about America’s economy with a sell-off that sank the Dow another 500 points and set off a chain reaction around the world, including a nearly ten percent decline of Japan’s Nikkei Index–the largest drop there in a decade. I’m tellin’ ya, that Mattress Stuffing Fund is looking like a smarter investment every day…
 Officials of AIG Insurance–who averted a collapse thanks to an $85 billion federal loan–testified before a Congressional committee Tuesday, where they were asked about a corporate retreat held at an exclusive California retreat just a week after their federal bailout–at a cost of nearly a half-million dollars. Those executives testifying claimed they had no idea it had occured–and are probably ticked off that they weren’t invited…- Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin surprised reporters on her campaign plane Tuesday when she joined them to answer a few questions, explaining her comments about Barack Obama’s relationship with one-time anti-war radical (and now respected university professor) Bill Ayers as a question of Obama’s judgement, then claiming "nobody has anything to hide" regarding her and huband Todd’s Troopergate controversy (see below) in Alaska–despite the fact that both refused to talk to investigators about it. So were the heels off and the gloves on, or the other way around?
 Officials at NASA are worried that the Mars Science Labratory mission is in jeopardy, as total costs for the program are expected to run over budget by at least 30 percent, which would permit Congress to intervene and shut down the entire project on its own. It could be that the future of the whole effort will not literally but definitely figuratively end up on another planet…- Scientists from the US and Japan have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery and development of a jellyfish protein. This breakthrough has wide-reaching possibilities–not only has it helped other scientists understand how cancer spreads, it’s provided sushi chefs with a really cool new ingredient…
Tags: AIG, Bill Ayers, Congress, debate, Financial meltdown, John McCain, Mars, NASA, Nobel Prize, Sarah Palin
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- Top Congressional and administration officials are scrambling to craft a new financial rescue proposal after the House soundly defeated the first Capitol Hill/White House effort–largely due to the response from thousands of constituents opposed to using $700 billion of their money to bail out the private sector. Most of them have a different kind of bailout plan in mind–one with those greedy CEO’s all in a leaky boat somewhere far from shore…
- The stock market reacted to the bailout failure in historic fashion, with a sell-off resulting in the worst drop in Wall Street history–falling 777 points at the close. It’s distressing to say the least–I was sure my 401K couldn’t possibly be a negative number…
- Political experts say that John McCain, who made a great deal of suspending his campaign so he could inject himself into the work of rescuing the nation’s financial industry, has painted himself into a corner now that the bill he essentially married himself to has gone down to defeat. I guess he could blame Obama for making him go to the debate…
 Time for an OJ Update: the prosecution has rested its case against Simpson, who they say kidnapped and robbed some Las Vegas memorabilia dealers. The defense has begun its case but has not yet decided if Simpson will testify–I mean, would you believe anything he said?- It appears that the honeymoon may be over for Sarah Palin, as an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows a dramatic downturn of positive feedback from a month ago and an AP survey found 61 percent of Americans believe she does not have the right experience to be president. The McCain campaign is at a crossroads–do they run or do they pull Palin’s cover story on Maxim…
- NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft has made more dramatic discoveries–including evidence of past water at its Mars landing site and the the lander’s first look at snow on the Red Planet. There are only a couple of possible explanations–there may be or have been life there, or we’re gonna need a plow guy up there…
Tags: financial bailout, John McCain, Mars, NASA, OJ Simpson, Sarah Palin, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal
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- Today appears to be the end of Hillary Clinton’s bid to become the nation’s first female president, as campaign officials say she will concede the delegate race to Obama. It will also mark the end of Bill Clinton’s coast-to-coast Mile High Club…
- Doctors at Duke University who completed a delicate three-and-a-half hour brain surgery on Senator Ted Kennedy yesterday called it a success and added that "it accomplished our goals". Not only did they remove much of the tumor, but Teddy no longer remembers ever drinking…
- The Mars Phoenix lander was able to pick up its first scoop of soil from the planet in a test run before more thorough digging and analysis begins later this week. NASA scientists say they could see some white particles in the sample, which they believe suggests Martians have a serious dandruff problem…
- A Texas judge yesterday ordered the immediate return of over 400 children taken from a polygamist sect’s ranch by the state. In response, sect leaders have clarified their policy on marriage, saying women will only be allowed to wed when they are legally old enough to give consent–or 13, whichever comes first…
- UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon will ask world leaders today to help bring down soaring food prices by suspending price controls and trade restrictions. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has promised to do his part and make nuclear weapons more affordable for struggling nations…
- Vice president Dick Cheney’s remark yesterday that there are Cheneys on his wife’s side of the family, quote, "And we don’t even live in West Virginia", brought a hailstorm of condemnations from the state’s governor and Congressional delegation. Poor guy–so many to offend, and so little time to get to them all…
Tags: Dick Cheney, Duke University, Hillary Clinton, Mars, NASA, polygamist, Ted Kennedy, Texas, United Nations
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- Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s book What Happened? has launched a political and media firestorm as it details shocking revelations from the administration’s inner circle. Among the many critical of his book are those who ask why McClellan stayed so long if he was so unhappy–I suppose he didn’t have enough material for his book yet…
- Barack Obama’s campaign seems willing to compromise on efforts this week to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida–who are practically all committed to Hillary Clinton–likely because they believe it will not stop Obama’s ascent to the Democratic nomination. I think the new Indiana Jones movie has less twists and turns than this drama…
- An online ad by Dunkin’ Donuts featuring celebrity spokesperson Rachel Ray was pulled after a wave of criticism that the scarf worn by Ray offered symbolic support for terrorism. Why stop there–I’m sure those donut sprinkles must be an al-Qaeda code…
- NASA reports that its Phoenix lander is back on track to deploy its robotic arm, after radio problems threatening to hamper its mission to collect icy soil from the surface of Mars turned into nothing more than a minor glitch. What a relief–it would have been so disappointing to not have learned that Martian Martini recipe…
- President Bush said in a commencement speech at the US Air Force Academy that we are "learning as we go" in building democracy in Iraq. It seems as though his former press secretary’s new book is helping the rest of us do the same thing…
- A political rival of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the overwhelming choice of the nation’s lawmakers for parliment speaker, another strong signal of discontent with Ahmadinejad’s leadership. That’s encouraging–unless they’re unhappy with him that he hasn’t been more loony…
Tags: Barack Obama, Florida, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Mahamoud Ahmadinejad, Mars, Michigan, NASA, President Bush, Scott McClellan, terrorism, White House
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- Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain has defended his opposition to a bill providing additional financial aid for veterans serving as little as 3 years, saying it will discourage soldiers from becoming non-comissioned officers. McCain makes a valid argument, only I’m guessing that 3 years in Iraq or Afghanistan is probably worth 20 anyplace else…
- NASA’s Phoenix Lander successfully completed America’s first-ever landing of a probe on the north pole of Mars Sunday, and has begun sending photos of the planet’s surface to help scientists determine if and when there might have been life on the planet. How long do you think it will be before we get some nice shots of Bugs Bunny’s Marvin The Martian?
- With diesel fuel prices rising faster than gasoline, trucking firms are adapting with lighter, more aerodynamic vehicles, using computer programs to map out the most efficient routes–and encouraging drivers to drive slower to increase fuel efficiency. But truckers’ biggest speed problem could be the kind that goes in their nose instead of the tank…
- Canada’s foreign minister, the US equivalent of Secretary Of State, has resigned after leaving classified documents in a non-secure location. This breach of security has led to revealing the nation’s most closely-guarded secret–it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil…
- Researchers are at work on the next generation of mosquito repellants that could work several times longer than the current standard. However, they’re having a few problems finding a safe setting for the Porto-Flame Thrower…
- Hollywood is mourning the passing yesterday of Sydney Pollack, who not only produced and acted in Oscar-winner Michael Clayton last year, but directed The Way We Were, Absence Of Malice, Tootsie, The Firm and Out Of Africa, where he won Best Director and Best Movie Oscars. Having worked with Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and countless others, Pollack’s funeral may have more stars than the Oscars…
Tags: Canada, Gas prices, Hollywood, Iraq, John McCain, Mars, NASA, Oscars, veterans
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