An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Archive for General News
Prayers With The Reid Family
Reid’s Wife and Daughter Injured in Car Accident
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s wife and daughter were hospitalized Thursday — the wife with a broken back and neck — after their minivan was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck on an interstate highway in suburban Virginia, authorities said.
Reid’s wife, Landra, 69, and the couple’s daughter, Lana Barringer, 49, were taken by ambulance to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. Neither woman’s injuries appeared to be life-threatening, and the daughter was expected to be released from the hospital Thursday night, Reid aides said. Mrs. Reid was listed in serious condition, an aide said, but she was not expected to require surgery.
”Mrs. Reid has a broken nose, broken back and broken neck,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley said in a statement. ”Lana has a neck injury and facial lacerations. Both Mrs. Reid and Lana are conscious, can feel their extremities, and according to doctors their injuries are non-life threatening.”
I sincerely hope for a speedy recovery for both Sen. Reid’s wife and his daughter.
Not That I Care…..
….cuz I rarely go to the movies.
‘The Hurt Locker’ Wins Oscar for Best Picture
The Iraq War drama “The Hurt Locker” has won best picture and five other prizes at the Academy Awards, its haul including best director for Kathryn Bigelow.
Bigelow is the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to earn Hollywood’s top prize for filmmakers.
Among those Bigelow and “The Hurt Locker” beat are ex-husband James Cameron and his sci-fi spectacle “Avatar.” Bigelow and Cameron were married from 1989-91.
First-time winners took all four acting prizes: Sandra Bullock as best actress for “The Blind Side”; Jeff Bridges as best actor for “Crazy Heart”; Mo’Nique as supporting actress for “Precious”; and Christoph Waltz as supporting actor for “Inglourious Basterds.”
I dunno. Maybe it’s just me. I’m rather glad Avatar didn’t do as well as was expected. Why? Well, I suppose, that I, like a whole slew of other folks are getting pretty sick of the Hollyweird hypocrites preaching to us? Just a thought.
But I do like Sandra Bullock. Just thought I’d toss that out there. For the heck of it. Good ol’ Texas gal that she is! 
Earth Shaking
It’s nearly two in the morning, and I’m awake. This does not make me happy. When I gave up, and crawled out of bed, I noticed that the moon is really bright! I stumbled into the living room, peaked out the window, and I’ll be darned if the thing isn’t bright enough to make the brown grass look like snow. Thankfully, it’s not….just brown grass, but in my state of semi sleep and not going full time with it, it kind of shook me there for a minute. Or, was that the earthquake?
Massive Magnitude 8.5 Quake Hits Chile
A massive magnitude-8.5 earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile, early on Saturday, the USGS reported, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital of Santiago.
A Reuters witness reported shaking buildings and loss of electricity in Santiago, which is north of the epicenter.
The earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 34 miles at 3:34 a.m./1:34 EST/0643 GMT. The quake was initially reported at a magnitude of 8.3.
The Reuters witness reported a very strong shaking lasted for 10 to 30 seconds.
A tsunami warning was issued early on Saturday for Chile and Peru and a tsunami watch was issued for Ecuador, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported.
The center said: “An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours.
Naw, probably not. Had an ex that worked out of Concepcion, out on a rig. He said it was a real interesting place. I wouldn’t know, because he refused to let me go down there, even when there was an offer from the company to fly me down to visit. Hmm…. Notice, I said EX. But that’s neither here, nor there.
This report doesn’t mention any injuries, and I pray it stays that way, but… Buildings can be rebuilt, electricity can be restored, aid can be rendered, wounds can be healed and broken bones set, but lives cannot be replaced. Keep the folks down there in your prayers.
Just An FYI For Our Little Patch of Tennessee
Darryl Worley Cancer Center Becoming a Reality
After years of ironing out the details, Darryl Worley’s vision and dream of one day opening a cancer treatment facility in his hometown is finally coming to fruition. On Wednesday (Mar. 3), the groundbreaking ceremony of the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center is set to take place in Savannah, Tenn.
(…)
“It’s been our dream to build this cancer treatment center here in Hardin County for several years now, and the people at West Tennessee Healthcare have done a lot to help make this dream a reality,” says Darryl. “We have a really high cancer rate in our general area and all of our lives have been affected by the dreaded disease so there is a lot of passion in this for everyone.”
(…)
The treatment center hopes to open its doors by early 2011. Donations to the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center can be sent to Hardin Medical Center, 935 Wayne Road, Savannah, Tenn. 38372.
Kind of curious they don’t tell ya exactly where this ground breaking is taking place. Granted, Savannah isn’t a huge metropolis, but still…… Perhaps it’s next to the hospital? Although, for the life of me, I can’t imagine where. I sure hope, where ever it will be built, they’ll have more parking than the hospital offers. 
Just in case you aren’t a country fan, and have no idea who Darryl Worley is…
Census
Publias/Hudlah is a brilliant woman. While I am not a Constitutional scholar, I think SHE IS! Since the 2010 census is coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to share her thought on the issue that she posted on Smart Girl Politics.
The CENSUS & the “Rule of Law”
Article I, Sec. 2, clause 3, U.S. Constitution, provides that the census shall be taken every 10 years for the purposes of apportionment of (1) direct Taxes and (2) Representatives to the House.
It also says the census shall be taken in such manner as Congress may direct. So, while the Constitution establishes the TWO purposes of the census; Congress decides the manner in which it shall be taken (e.g., by the U.S. marshals in the federal judicial districts, questionnaires mailed by the executive branch of the federal government).
In Federalist No. 54, last para, James Madison, Father of the Constitution, explains why it is a good idea to have a “common measure” [i.e., the number of people] for determining both the number of Representatives for each State and the amount of the direct Taxes each State is to pay: As the accuracy of the census depends on the cooperation of the States, the “common measure” discourages the States from overstating or understating the numbers of their population.
The Constitution is clear, and Madison confirms it: The purpose of the census is ONLY (1) to determine the number of Representatives each State is to get, and (2) to determine each State’s share of the “direct Taxes”.
R.I.P.
Former Presidential Adviser Haig Dies
Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who served Republican presidents and ran for the office himself, has died.
The Haig family says he died Saturday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore from complications associated with an infection. He was 85.
The four-star general served as a top adviser to three presidents and had presidential ambitions of his own. President Richard Nixon appointed him White House chief of staff in 1973. In that role, Haig helped the president prepare his impeachment defense and handled many of the day-to-day decisions normally made by the chief executive.
Haig later served as secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan.
In the chaotic hours following the attempted assassination of Reagan in March 1981, Haig uttered what became his most famous statement.
“As of now, I am in control here, in the White House,” Haig said.
The remark misrepresented the line of presidential succession and it made it easier for critics to portray Haig as a usurper of power.
In 2001, Haig defended his remark.
“Everybody in that room was very familiar with the fact that this was not a discussion about transition, but rather authority within the executive branch,” he said.
Haig quit the Reagan Cabinet after a year-and-a-half — disgusted, he said, with bureaucratic infighting.
“You can’t have the State Department putting out one line and the Defense Department another line and the White House yet another line,” he told Fox News in 2002.
Nothing has changed! Rest in peace, sir. Thank you for serving our country. Prayers with the family
BO, Going On Tour…..Again
Obama to announce Georgia nuke loan guarantees today
President Barack Obama today will announce the loan guarantees for the construction and operation of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first new nuclear power plant to break ground in the United States for nearly three decades.
An administration official said late Monday that the loan guarantees will apply to work at the Southern Co. plant in Burke, where Georgia Power is planning the new reactors at its Plant Vogtle facility.Southern Co. estimates the project will create 3,000 onsite construction jobs and about 850 permanent positions.
That’s nice. I’m glad there will be some work for the folks down there in Georgia. But I have a question: Since when does the POTUS, any POTUS, have the right to guarantee loans?
The Obama administration is pushing for utilities to build more nuclear power plants as part of a nationwide effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The president mentioned nuclear power and clean coal, along with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, in his State of the Union address.
Since it seems that debunking the flawed science isn’t having an effect on Obama’s policies, I’ll just add that a good deal of those “green” energy sources appear to be a major flop. Make you wonder if this is the future for Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
To fund the project, they will pay 9 percent more on their electric bills. That increase will be phased in over seven years, starting in 2011. It will last the life of the plant, but is expected to gradually decline over that time, the company said.
My question here is, if Obama is guaranteeing these loans (his own money?), loans I’m guessing are for the purpose of building these plants, why are the rates for consumers going up? 9% is a pretty good chunk of change if you are just scraping by. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for nuclear power plants. I do have a major problem when the federal government gets involved. Yes, safety is an issue, but we’ve got these regulating bodies telling companies, you can’t do this, you can’t do that, ya can’t built here cuz there is an annoying mosquito that lives in the area, or something to that affect. Give me a break!
For its part, Georgia Power suffered from huge cost overruns when it built the first two nuclear plants at Vogtle in the late 1980s. The original estimate was $975 million for four reactors. The final price tag was $9 billion for two reactors.
How much ya wanna bet the major cost overruns were, in part, due to oppressive regulations? Were unions involved? Just wondering.
Seriously, if we are to ever become energy independent, see our economy bounce back, and have some chance at a future, the federal government needs to get the hell out of the way. Private industry ALWAYS works better than the government, at EVERYTHING! Get rid of the unions, start producing real products, and watch the jobs come back!
Nature’s Alarm Clock
Magnitude 3.8 Quake Wakes Up Chicago Area
A small pre-dawn earthquake has hit northern Illinois, startling residents as far away as Michigan and Iowa, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the 3.8-magnitude earthquake hit about 45 miles northwest of Chicago at 4 a.m. Wednesday. Scientists say the epicenter was southwest of the village of Gilberts in Kane County.
The USGS initially reported the magnitude as 4.3 but later downgraded it. USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan says such quakes are rare in northern Illinois.
Ya know, if I was of the Pat Robertson mindset, I’d say God was sending a wake up call to the area. Hmmm… Nah…..not a big enough quake.
Explosion
Fatalities Reported After Massive Explosion at Connecticut Power Plant
Mass casualties and multiple injuries were reported Sunday after a massive explosion at a Connecticut power plant, police confirmed to Fox News.
The explosion occurred just before 11:30 a.m. local time at the Kleen Energy plany on River Road in Middletown, Conn., according to authorities.
About 100 people were working at the plant during the time of the explosion.
Dozens of ambulances and fire trucks were on the scene and witnesses said black smoke could be seen for miles.
Many prayers for the folks up there in Middleton, those who lost their lives, the injured, and all families and friends.
More Uproar
Use of word Negro on 2010 census forms raises memories of Jim Crow
The census form for 2010 features a word more often heard in 1966: Negro.
For many New York blacks, the word conjures visions of Jim Crow and segregation – even if the Census Bureau says it’s included to ensure an accurate count of the nation’s minority residents.
“It’s a bad vibe word,” said Kevin Bishop, 45, a Brooklyn salesman. “It doesn’t agree with me, doesn’t agree with my heart.”
Pamela Reese Smith, visiting the city yesterday from Rochester, said the term was outdated.
“I don’t think my ancestors would appreciate it in 2010,” said Smith, 56. “I don’t want my grandchildren being called Negroes.”
Here’s a REAL serious question: When are the ‘powers that be’ going to STOP dividing us? When are we going to stop letting them divide us?? The question should be – “Are you a legal resident of the United States?“, not what color is your skin.
BTW, I’m not ‘white’ either! I’m kind of a pinkish/beige. I don’t see that listed up there. Nor is there ‘redneck’, ‘cracker’, or even ‘Caucasian’. A large chunk of my ancestry were here waiting when the first colonists stepped off the boats. The others came later, from Ireland and France. Is there a category for all that? Am I a ‘hyphen’? NO! I’m an American, just like those legal folks of a variety of skin tones. Now, as far as I’m concerned the whole shebang needs to be dropped, from applications of any sort and all future census.
H/T: Fairly Conservative
Woods In Serious Condition
UPDATE: Reports of Woods being in serious condition were seriously exaggerated. The patrol initially reported that Woods sustained serious injuries, but the hospital said that the golfer was treated and released Friday in good condition. (source)
Tiger Woods, 33, was seriously injured after being involved in car accident in Central Florida, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers said his 2009 Escalade smashed into a tree on Deacon Circle in Isleworth at about 2:20 a.m. Friday.
Reports say Woods had just pulled out of the driveway at his residence, located at 6348 Deacon Circle. As Woods began to drive on Deacon Circle he struck a fire hydrant and then a tree, reports say.
Woods is listed in serious condition at Health Central Hospital in Ocoee.
Troopers said the crash remains under investigation and charges are pending.
Prayers for a complete recovery.
I have to ask, how in the world did he manage all this at 33mpg?
PROOF….Sanity No Longer Required
With an approval rating of just 13% and 27%, is it really such a good idea to intrude further into peoples lives? I mean seriously.
When no one is watching you on the idjit box, you can say the most ridiculous, and offensive, things possible, but it does get out.
After the story of the little boy came out, we’ve all heard about another school district that has gone off the deep end. It’s quite obvious that sanity is no longer needed to go into public education.
Once more, someone is taking the word of an alarmist as fact, even if there are no real facts to back them up. What would be so wrong with a warmer planet? Longer growing seasons come to mind.
Even most of the Nobel committee thought this year’s recipient was a joke!
The left can make up crap, and the REAL racists will run with it.
And of course, now there is this:
Republicans Fail to Bock Transfer of Gitmo Detainees
Republicans in the House have lost a bid to block the transfer of any detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay prison to the United States.
Instead, the House stood by a Democratic plan to allow suspected enemy combatants held at Guantanamo to be shipped to U.S. soil only to be prosecuted for their suspected crimes. President Obama has ordered the facility closed in January but has yet to offer a plan to accomplish that.
Democratic leaders had to push hard to win the 193-24 vote because many lawmakers see political danger in voting to move detainees from Guantanamo.
The Guantanamo restrictions were attached by House-Senate negotiators on a $42.8 billion homeland security appropriations bill.
There are 435 members of the House. Where were the other 218???
*snicker*
Obamas Fail in Personal Pitch to Bring 2016 Olympics to Chicago
Olympic officials eliminated Chicago in the first round of voting from its bid to host the 2016 Summer Games, a surprise failure for President Obama who put his capital behind an enormous campaign.
Obama’s visit to Copenhagen to make a pitch for Chicago’s Olympic bid was the first time a U.S. president made such an in-person appeal.
“I urge you to choose Chicago for the same reasons I chose Chicago nearly 25 years ago — the reasons I fell in love with the city I still call home,” Obama told members of the International Olympic Committee, many of whom he later mingled with as some snapped photos of him on their cell phones.
Aw shucks! And after Michelle ‘sacrificed‘ so much! ROFLMAO I didn’t think that man could make a bigger fool of himself, but he surely has. We have pressing matters, like American soldiers dying, that SHOULD have been occupying his time, but no….his ego knows no bounds. I’m wondering what kind of temper tantrum the child will have this time?
Poor Valerie Jarrett will just have to figure out another way to screw the folks of Chicago.
Just A Few Thoughts For Monday
I seriously think that the federal gubmint needs to be featured on the new SoapNet show, Bank of Mom and Dad. It’s obvious they no more know how to live within a budget than a spoiled rotten 3 year old.
Everything this administration, and Congress, does, points more and more in the direction of tyranny. The arrogance of politicians, and the feckless eco-nazis really believe they have any control over this planet, and what it does? Give me a freakin’ break!
Looks like the state of New York is learning the hard way! You shaft the wealthy, they’re going to shaft you right back. Hint: Lower taxes, more business. More business, more in tax revenue. If I figured this out in my teens, you’d think that folks with big time college degrees could figure it out too.
Not all Chicagoans are all hyped up about having the Olympics invade their home town. But that won’t stop the Obamas from heading over to Copenhagen, on the taxpayers dime….naturally, to push to put that city into debt.
Link: 
Guess some folks don’t believe in freedom of speech, or the press anymore though.
And, hey! Let’s not forget about a so called health care bill that is being shoved down our throats that will put people in jail for NOT buying their BS!
Criminy! How could I have forgotten about this little tidbit about one of Obama’s czars? Just who the hell is in charge? If this is the kind of people he associates with, praises, and puts in a position of power, I’d like to know just how in the world could he have ever been thought good POTUS material?!? Is this the hopey/changey you were expecting?
Not One Single Dime!
This past weekend, I attended a couple of very informative events held in Nashville. Out of complete curiosity, when I got home, I decided to snoop The Tennessean to see what they had to say about the events. Imagine my shock and surprise (insert massive sarcasm here) when I couldn’t find one single word about either the Smart Girl Politics Summit 2009, that brought to town 3 fairly big names, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Liz Cheney, and Michelle Malkin, or RootsHQ 2009/American Liberty Tour that had names like Joe the Plumber, Lloyd Marcus, Eric Odom, and our very own Ken Marrero, among others. If you can find ANYTHING in that rag that refers to these events, I’d sure like to see ‘em.
Newspapers no longer report the news, so why would anyone want to help them financially? With OUR money! Let them die a painful death!
