An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Morning Coffee 07/02/08
Bulldozer driver shot dead after going on rampage in capital
Three people were killed and 57 were wounded - one seriously, one moderately and the rest lightly - on Wednesday afternoon when a bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem.
(…)
A car was dragged several meters by the bulldozer before being crushed under the vehicle. The parents of a baby being treated in Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital have yet to be tracked down, and it is believed that the baby was thrown out of the car by one of his parents before the vehicle was crushed.
Life means nothing to these pigs. Nothing.
Zimbabwe opposition leader rejects unity government
“The resolution does not recognise the illegitimacy of the June 27 election and the fact that most African leaders refused to recognise Mugabe as head of state,” he said.
“The resolution endorses the concept of a government of national unity without acknowledging that the MDC, as the winner of the last credible election, on March 29 should be recognised as legitimate government of Zimbabwe.”
Smart guy. Even if he was able to take an office of any sort, there is no guarantee of his safety.
Tennessee felons want voting rights back
Tennessee is on track this year to double the number of felons who saw their voting rights restored, a sign some experts and ex-offenders say demonstrates an eagerness to vote in November’s historic presidential election.
And, if a pending voting rights lawsuit succeeds, the number of people banned from voting after serving their sentences could shrink even further. The suit challenges the constitutionality of Tennessee’s felon voting rights law, which bars ex-offenders from voting if they owe child support or court-ordered restitution.
If they aren’t responsible enough to take care of their own children, what makes them think they are grown up enough to vote? I would say it all depends on what the offense was whether or not they should be able to regain the privilege of voting.
Obama Got Discount on Home Loan
“The real question is: Were congressmen getting unique treatment that others weren’t getting?” associate law professor Adam J. Levitin, a credit specialist at Georgetown University Law Center, said about the Countrywide loans. “Do they do business like that for people who are not congressmen? If they don’t, that’s a problem.”
I beginning to think that there should be a major audit of every single person sitting in that building. I find the idea of those sucking on the public teat getting preferential treatment over those who pay their salaries more than just annoying.
Housing Plan Deal Promising, Bush Says
President Bush expressed confidence yesterday he will reach a deal with Congress on a housing-rescue plan but prodded lawmakers to show “less politics.”
Asking Congress to show “less politics” is like asking them to stop breathing. Ain’t gonna happen.
The president’s comments came as many homeowners are saddled with mortgage payments they can no longer afford and facing foreclosure. The Senate is considering a $300 billion plan to back cheaper loans for people who risk losing their home, but that measure has stalled for now.
It’s called reality. And the gubmint has got to stop hiding from it.
Healthy San Francisco still working out kinks
When the Healthy San Francisco program began at two Chinatown clinics July 2, 2007, public health officials said they would swing open the doors to all of the city’s 73,000 uninsured residents on Jan. 1, 2008. They anticipated that people would enroll gradually at a pace of about 600 a week, and full coverage would be attained by the end of this year.
But Healthy San Francisco remains open only to individuals earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or roughly $31,000 a year, while the city awaits the outcome of a case regarding the legality of making employers contribute to the plan. The city lost the first round of the case, which now is before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Glen Beck is right. The People’s Socialist Society of San Francisco should secede. The sooner, the better!
EU plans cross-border healthcare
The European Commission has unveiled a healthcare package designed to make it easier for patients to get medical treatment elsewhere in the EU.
Under the proposals, patients would not have to get their doctor’s approval for non-hospital care abroad.
You mean to tell me that if I lived over there, went on vacation, and got sick, I’d have to get my doctor’s permission to see another doctor? I don’t bloody well think so! They are taxing their citizens into oblivion and wonder why we are fighting so hard to prevent turning into them?
Iran says may consider opening US interest section, direct flights
Iran may consider suggestion of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on opening US interest section in Tehran, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.
Iranian interest section is operating in Washington and Iran had put forward a proposal to resume direct flights between Tehran and New York for facilitating visit to Iran of the Iranian nationals living in the United States.
Y’know, at this point in time, I’m real curious why any Iranian nationals are even in this country. Giving direct flight access? Hmmm…. Condi is losing a lot of credibility with me.
Female U.S. Casualties More Common in Iraq War
More American servicewomen have been killed serving in Iraq than were killed serving in either Operation Desert Storm or in the Vietnam War, according to a Cybercast News Service database.
So far, 97 American women, including seven single mothers, have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The average age of these female casualties is 27.
Call me old fashioned, and scoff if you will, but I do not believe, for one minute, that women should be in a combat zone!
Energy Experts Puzzled Over Record Oil Prices
As crude soared to another record, the head of the International Energy Agency declared the world is in the grip of “oil shock,” and the president of OPEC acknowledged he could not say if prices would flatten out or continue to soar.
There’s a lot of finger pointing going on, but in the long run, it doesn’t matter because we’ll all be majorly screwed over by the time Congress gets around to doing anything!
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All those dead single mothers signed up for the military voluntarily. It’ll be interesting to see how their children feel about their mothers’ sacrifice (on their behalf and on ours) after they’ve marinated in the public schools for awhile, eh?
But women are just as capable as men of choosing how and where to live their lives; I don’t see a need to infantilize them by limiting their choices. As long as a specific woman is physically and mentally capable of the job, let her go if she wants.
Now, if your point is that most women aren’t physically and mentally capable of being in heavy combat, I’d agree. But judging an individual by a group average is dumb. Trust me, I’ve been an outlier since I was 7.
@HeatherRadish:
Like I said….I’m old fashioned.
Actually, I think some women could do a better job at a LOT of things, and probably should. But combat?? I have issues.