Posts Tagged “Sarah Palin”
- The stock market continued one of its worst months ever as the Dow fell 679 points Thursday, the sixth straight day of triple-digit losses–adding up to 2252 points, or a 20.8% drop. Friday’s trading appears to be continuing that trend–making my 401K about as valuable as my 10,000 shares of Enron…
- And once again, Wall Street’s troubles spread throughout the globe: European markets took substantial hits early Friday; trading was suspended in Austria and Russia; and Japan’s Nikkei Index fell nearly 10% to its lowest level in 5 years. It is ironic–for all the world’s disdain for us, they sure can’t seem to survive without us…
 The Alaska legislature has sworn itself to secrecy in reviewing an investigation of their governor, vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, into charges that she fired a state commissioner in order to settle a family dispute. The report, which will be made public Friday, could prove to be embarassing to Palin–which, frankly, would just be another day on the campaign trail for her…- Election officials in six states–Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina–have all defended their registration procedures after a New York Times report suggested tens of thousands of eligible voters in those states were either removed from voting rolls or blocked from registering as voters. The Times report does say that it appears to have been done by mistake, and not part of intentional violations by officials or coordinated efforts by any party–much to Howard Dean’s chagrin…
 US officials are saying that the Bush administration is close to removing North Korea from a terrorism blacklist in order to restart nuclear disarmament talks with them. It seems like a smart move–the longer you look at leader Kim Jong-il, the less seriously you take everything he says…- Former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari will receive the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve lasting peace in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Ahitisaari will receive his honor in Oslo, Norway December 10, where he will likely be considered as a fellow Scandinavian–which is kinda like calling somebody from Ireland a Brit…
Tags: Alaska, Election Day, Financial meltdown, Kim Jong Il, Nobel Prize, North Korea, Sarah Palin, Wall Street
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 Looks like Britney Spears will go on trial for driving without a valid license, as her attorney rejected an offer from prosecutors that would have put Brit on a year’s probation and pay a $150 fine–a pretty good deal, but one that would have left her with a criminal record which her side does not want. I just hope Brit won’t be rethinking her legal strategy from inside a cell…- Rapper T.I. not only put his new CD Paper Trail at #1 on the album sales chart, but he actually was able to replace himself at the top of the singles chart as well, with Live Your Life taking over from Whatever You Like. Enjoy that while it lasts, since it happens about as often as a humble reality show contestant…
- Travis Barker told Us Weekly that he’s happy to be alive after the September 19 plane crash that left Barker and DJ AM seriously injured. He’s also lucky that none of his tattoos melted off…
 British singer Leona Lewis has said "no" to an offer from upscale London department store Harrods to pay her nearly $2 million to just show up and have a few photos taken–all because Harrod’s sells furs and Lewis is opposed to that. I can certainly respect that, but boy are those some expensive principles…- Tuesday’s second presidential debate was seen by some 63 million viewers–huge, but still fewer than the 70 million who saw Sarah Palin and Joe Biden last week, which was the most-watched VP debate ever. I imagine about half of them watched to see what Palin was going to say, and the other half watched to see if she whether she would sing or tap dance for the talent competition…
- Paris Hilton is continuing her "fake" run for the presidency with another video posted on Funny Or Die, where she and The West Wing star Martin Sheen discuss campaign issues, with Paris calling the current economic crisis, "the worst depression since The Notebook". It’s close, but the movie definitely has better actors…
Tags: Britney Spears, DJ A.M., Joe Biden, Leona Lewis, Paris Hilton, Sarah Palin, T.I., Travis Barker
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- 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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- It appears the Republicans are ready to play hardball in the final month of the presidential campaign, as vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin defended a claim Sunday that Barack Obama "pals around with terrorists"–a reference to his one-time association with a former leader of the radical anti-war group Weather Underground, who is now a University Of Illinois professor. As Palin put it, "the heels are on and the gloves are off"–they must give her better traction, since she’s obviously used to stepping into moose doo before…
 Jurors who convicted OJ Simpson Saturday of all 12 armed robbery and kidnapping charges he faced say secret audio tapes and surveillance video were what convinved them, and not the testimony of witnesses who were given plea deals. I’d say The Juice was smart not to take the stand–they might have decided to find him guilty of stuff he wasn’t even charged with…- The Supreme Court will open its new term Monday with a case concerning whether federal regulation of cigarettes can prevent smokers from suing tobacco companies under a state law for deceptive advertising of "light" cigarettes. The case boils down to whether federal laws covering labeling and advertising trumps any state law on cigarette advertising– and whether the tobacco company’s lawyers’ suits are more expensive than the plaintiff’s entire legal team…
 The American Academy Of Pediatrics is warning parents that children younger than 5 should not keep pets like hamsters, baby chicks, lizards, turtles or hedgehogs due to risks that these animals might pose from disease–and that they may be more prone to bite or claw than cats or dogs. Of course, ER physicians have been cautioning against the same thing for years–only it’s to adults who keep shoving them inside their rectums…- An Associated Press investigation has revealed that Hurricane Ike’s winds and waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines, and the environmental damage from it is only now becoming apparent: at least a half-million barrels of crude oil have spilled into the Gulf Of Mexico and the marshes and bayous of Louisiana and Texas. At least there’s a good reason for why gas stations in the South keep running out…
- A new Rhode Island law will require all public middle and high schools to teach students about dating violence in health classes–the result of an intitiative by the parents of a young daughter who died due to an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. It becomes the first state to inisist that schools teach about it–and likely the first step in helping to put a stop to it…
Tags: American Academy of Pediatrics, Associated Press, Barack Obama, Hurricane Ike, OJ Simpson, Rhode Island, Sarah Palin, smoking, Supreme Court
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 The jury in the OJ Simpson trial returned its verdict Saturday, and it was guilty–both Simpson and co-defendent Clarence Stawart were found guilty on all 12 armed robbery and kidnapping charges. Simpson’s attorneys say they’ll appeal, implying it wasn’t possible for him to get an impartial jury–I’d just say he’s lucky Nevada doesn’t impose the death sentence for those crimes…- The House Friday passed the Senate’s "sweetened" version of the financial rescue bill it defeated Monday, with leaders and negotiators convincing some 58 members who voted "no" to change their minds and support the measure. It’s tough to say what changed more minds–those Senate "sweetners", or the continuing sour economic news…
 Thursday night’s vice-presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden was called "spirited" and "folksy" by many, and the consensus seemed to be that Palin scored some points on being taken seriously as a candidate. I’m sure that Joe Six Pack would agree…- In a surprising turn of events, Wachovia announced Friday that it would be acquired by California-based Wells Fargo in a $15.1 billion all-cash deal–suprising because of an earlier FDIC-brokered takeover of Wachovia’s banking operations by Citigroup, who is claiming their agreement precludes them from negotiating with anyone else. Wachovia favors the Wells Fargo deal because they are buying the whole package, while Citi is pressing because of the larger national footprint Wachovia’s retail banking locations would provide–I gotta stop watching CNBC…
- A hiker’s discovery of some ID in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains earlier in the week has ended the search for millionaire-thrill seeker Steve Fossett, who disappeared over a year ago in a single-engine plane–which apparently crashed at the site, scattering debris as well as some possible evidence of Fossett’s remains. For a guy who spent the last years of his life chasing just about every kind of air and sea record in existence, it seems like he died just the way he lived–out on the edge, looking for a way to keep going…
 The EPA has reclassified Houston’s smog problem as severe at the request of Texas governor Rick Perry, which will give the city additional time to meet federal health standards set in 1997–standards the EPA no longer considers safe for public health. Just imagine how bad things would be if the government managed the environment the way they’ve handled Wall Street–oh, wait…never mind…
Tags: Citigroup, debate, environment, EPA, Joe Biden, OJ Simpson, Sarah Palin, Steve Fossett, Wachovia, Wells Fargo
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