Posts Tagged “smoking”
- 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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- Democratic Congressional leaders say they will pressure uncommitted superdelegates to make their candidate choice public by next week, so campaigning can focus now on who the nominee will be. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has her advisors working on how to postpone the general election until next spring…
- The Texas Supreme Court ruled yessterday that the state’s Department Of Family and Protective Services had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist compound, which should reunite most of them with their families. It’s a lesson we learned from Richard Simmons–just because someone is freakishly bizarre, it doesn’t mean they’re bad…
- Federal commodities regulators say they have been investigating crude-oil trading the past six months with a focus on possible "futures market manipulation". Who wants to bet it will lead to finding Ross Perot in a room on a telephone, saying, "Listen buddy–I’m sellin’ premium in a regular world here…how much you want?"…
- Former US attorneys from both parties have told a federal judge in a friend-of-the-court brief that they agree that Congress can demand documents and testimony from President Bush’s aides in their investigation of claims that US attorneys were fired for political reasons. Unfortunately, Vice President Cheney has warned them that anyone who talks will go hunting with him…
- Bahrain’s king has named a woman believed to be the Arab world’s first Jewish ambassador to the US. I have no doubt she is eminently qualified and it really is a forward-thinking move–but perhaps it was the only way he could get Michael Jackson to leave the country…
- Documents just released by Britain’s National Archives reveals that their Cabinet knew of the link between smoking and cancer over 50 years ago but considered it a minor threat and did little out of fear of losing tax revenue. It’s too bad they didn’t realize then what we know now–there seems to be no relationship between our vices and their prices…
Tags: Britain, Congress, crude oil, Democrat, Hillary Clinton, smoking, superdelegates, Texas
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- The Senate is moving to pass bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing the housing and mortgage crisis, although economists don’t think it will be enough to stop the current wave of foreclosures. One way to deal with those "upside down" mortgages is to put the banks holding them upside down too–in a toilet bowl…
- United Airlines temporarily grounded dozens of aircraft yesterday to complete an overlooked test on their fire-supression systems, canceling 38 flights and delaying dozens of others. it was a wise decision–I imagine they’ll have some seriously overheated passengers to deal with…
- Scientists have found genetic variations that can make some people more likely to become hooked on smoking and more prone to getting lung cancer. Why do I get the sick feeling that the tobacco industry will try and use this to their advantage?
- Barack Obama says that he would offer Al Gore a place in his administration to address global warming. Since leaving politics, Gore has won an Emmy, an Oscar, the Nobel peace prize and has become incredibly wealthy–maybe Obama should hope that Gore will give him a job…
- Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling is appealing his 2006 conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges, claiming that the risks he took when running the company were always for its benefit. It was just a coincidence that he got rich beyond imagination while employees saw their 401K’s evaporate…
- The husband of a US senator from Michigan admitted to police that he paid a woman $150 for sex after he was caught during an investigation into prostitution at an area hotel. The guy has a great defense–he can just blame it on Eliot Spitzer…
Tags: Al Gore, Barack Obama, cancer, global warming, prostitution ring, Senate, smoking, subprime mortgage
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- As the Democratic nomination race tightens up, attention has turned to the rejected primaries from Michigan and Florida. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton want the delegates seated at this summer’s convention, but can’t agree on how it should happen–at least as long as Hillary insists they go to the candidate with the nicer pants…
- A private watchdog group claims that the White House made conflicting statements about its email controversy, both in congressional hearings last week and to a federal court in January–suggesting that some of what they said was false. These West Wing folks have gotta learn that "terrorism", "9/11" and "freedom" don’t work like wild cards in a bad poker game…
- A congressional report finds that banking industry executives were earning hundreds of millions of dollars in salary and other benefits while their companies were imploding in the mortgage market meltdown. What’s the chance that any of these guys are named Ken Lay?
- Los Angeles city officials have filed criminal charges against an importer they accuse of distributing toothpase containing a poisonous antifreeze additive. However, I don’t think you can buy it on the cheap and put it in your radiator…
- The Pentagon has banned Google Earth from making detailed street-level video maps of US bases, saying it could provide sensitive information to advesaries and endanger base personnel. For example, they could show a secret all-night party that could endanger the marriages of many officers…
- A Minnesota ban on smoking in night spots has a loophole permitting actors on stage to smoke, which has led several bars to call their customers "actors" so they can puff away. How nice–a little play about the world’s least clever people…
Tags: Barack Obama, Democrat, email, Florida, Hillary Clinton, Michigan, Minnesota, Pentagon, primary, smoking, subprime mortgage, White House
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