An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Morning Coffee 10/10/07
State has extra $1.5 billion left over from last year
When Texas accountants closed the books on the 2007 budget period, the state had an unexpected $1.5 billion in unspent money, Comptroller Susan Combs told lawmakers Tuesday.
Odds are, the state of Texas won’t even consider giving that money back to those they ’stole’ it from. sigh…
Youth STD cases going unreported
New cases of sexually transmitted diseases among young people in California are occurring at 10 times the reported rate, according to a new analysis by the Public Health Institute, an Oakland health care think tank.
I don’t suppose it has occurred to the yahoos in California that STD’s are caused by…..SEX! Unprotected sex. Abstinence works real well to prevent all kinds of things, yet the left coast types don’t think it’s a good idea to push it. Go figure.
Private security guards from an Australian-run firm opened fire on a white sedan in downtown Baghdad on Tuesday afternoon, killing two Iraqi Christian women who were driving home from work.
Why is all this type of news starting to sound like a ’set up’? Was the fact the women were Christian relevant? Are they pointing out that the private security companies are ‘targeting’ everyone? Hmmm….
Cheney, Rice divided over Israeli intel
US Vice President Dick Cheney and other conservatives in the administration are portraying the Israeli intelligence as credible and argue that it should cause the US to reconsider its diplomatic overtures to Syria and North Korea.
By contrast, the Times reports, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her allies in the White House said they do not believe that the intelligence presented so far merits any change in the American diplomatic approach.
(…)
Cheney and National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley also attended the meeting but expressed unease at the decision last week by Bush and Rice to proceed with an agreement to supply the North Koreans with economic aid in return for disabling its nuclear reactor. They argued that the Israeli intelligence demonstrates that North Korea cannot be trusted. They also argue that the US should be prepared to scuttle the agreement unless North Korea admits to its dealing with the Syrians.
I’d like to know where the logic is in providing NK with ANY kind of aid. I’m sorry the chia DICtator is starving his people while he lives in the lap of luxury, but wouldn’t having him ‘gone’ a much better idea? Just wondering. I’m also wondering if perhaps we have the wrong ‘cowboy’ in the top slot.
Craig’s ‘wide stance’ enters lexicon
Among the most famous excuses ever given for questionable behavior, “I have a wide stance” must fall somewhere between the schoolchild’s favorite “the dog ate my homework” and President Clinton’s “I didn’t inhale.”
Criminy.
John Ford fails to block secret recordings
Former state senator John Ford lost a round Tuesday in Nashville where he’s fighting federal corruption charges.
A judge rejected Ford’s motion to suppress wiretap evidence, giving a green light to prosecutors to use secret recordings of the Memphis Democrat’s phone calls at his trial next month.
Guess some just don’t want the folks to know how much a of scuzzball they really are. 
Italy: Northern city ignores outcry and lifts burqa ban
An Italian politician has provoked a national controversy by permitting women to wear the Islamic burqa in public despite laws opposing it.
The prefect of Treviso, Vittorio Capocelli, who represents the interior ministry in the city, says women should be allowed to wear the garment for religious motives as long as they can be identified if requested, reported the Italian daily, Corriere della Sera.
Since it’s not a ‘religious’ thing, but a rule put in place by a male dominated society, for the purpose of control, the prefect of said town is kowtowing to the ‘culture’ of oppression. Interesting.
From Washington to war in Waziristan
A dramatic sequence of events in Pakistan has grabbed global attention, but few have so far connected the dots between the hurried issuance of a National Reconciliation Ordinance on October 5 and the savage fighting that is currently raging in the North Waziristan tribal area.
The National Reconciliation Ordinance, issued by President-elect General Pervez Musharraf, grants immunity to current and former lawmakers who have been accused of corruption. It paves the way for a political settlement between Musharraf and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which is expected to result in a civilian-based consensus government after parliamentary elections in about three months’ time.
With corruption so wide spread in the area, who can tell the difference?
Test for teachers uses thumbprint to deter cheaters
Last year, five teachers sent substitutes to take the tests for them, under their names, said Heidi Guarino, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. The ringers aroused suspicion when they provided identification with blurry photographs.
The state has caught 15 people in the last four years who cheated by having someone take the test for them. The total is a tiny fraction of the 35,000 people each year who take the tests. But the state has grown more concerned about the authenticity of identification amid anonymous calls tipping state officials off to possible cheaters, Guarino said. Thumbprints, she said, have become necessary for test security.
I can understand the teachers point of view, it does seem like an invasion. On the other hand, if there hadn’t been teachers cheating, then there wouldn’t be a problem. They need to look to themselves before getting on a high horse.
Supreme Leader predicts bright future for universities
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said here Tuesday that continued, logical and wise pursuance of students requests and demands would guarantee a bright future for universities.
Addressing a large group of elites and noble students as well as those students who have obtained the highest scores in the university entrance exams, the Supreme Leader said if the committed and responsible students had not played active roles in the society over the past years, a justice-seeking government would not have been established in the Islamic Republic.
I wonder if the future will be so bright for the students who protest the oppression of the “Islamic Revolution”?
Vehicle carrying Michelle Obama in Iowa crash
The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama escaped injury Tuesday when the vehicle that was carrying her to a campaign event in north-central Iowa collided with a motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist was injured and taken to the hospital, said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.
None of the campaign staff in the vehicle with Mrs. Obama were hurt.
Hope the ‘cycle person will be ok. Glad no one else was hurt.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
