Sounds like they are backing off the original statement. And in fairness, technically a dog is property not a person (and I say this as a die hard dog person so don’t call me a dog hater).

One of my favorite places on the web has been the Google News Archive, a wonderful storehouse of digitized newspapers, some of them stretching back 150 years or more. It was fascinating to just pick a year and go back and see what life was like. In May Google announced they would no longer be updating the site with new resources but that the search feature would remain for the papers they had stored. Today however the google news archive search seems to have vanished. You can still try to access...

Thirty four years ago today my parents took my sister and I on our first trip to Disneyland. When we arrived at the hotel there were the banner headlines.. Elvis Dead. At the time, I didn’t really realize what it meant, but my Mom sure did. If anything demonstrates the tragedy of drug addiction, this was it. A once in a generation talent lost in his 40′s. Here is a little of his magic

I am sure we’re all enjoying our weekends and there is no reason not to continue to do so. It is worth remembering that 50 years ago today was the start of the Berlin Wall. It is also worth celebrating that the wall no longer exists. I just finished reading an excellent book on the topic and suggest it to anyone interested in the topic. In Berlin 1961 we see how the wall was just one part of a much more complex geopolitical game. We also learn how missed signals and perhaps some mistakes by...

In the continuing back and forth rulings on the Affordable Care Act, the 11th Circuit Court Of Appeals has struck down the portion requiring everyone to purchase health care coverage. However the Atlanta based court also ruled that the remaining provisions of the law could remain in effect. The health care madate is the most controversial part of the law as it requires people to purchase something or face penalties. The question being what gives the government the authority to make such a requirement....

Here in California we’ve been hearing a series of radio ads talking about how it is terrible to sign any ballot petition because many of those who do the gathering are crooks and will use the info to steal your identity. When the ads first began I wondered what the story was and it turns out that the ads are sponsored by labor unions who oppose several initiatives that are out for signature now. Now personally I generally don’t sign petitions but it seems you do have to question the politcal...

There were six Senators facing recall tonight in Wisconsin, all of them Republicans. For the Democrats to take back the chamber they needed to win 3 and it appears they fell one short. State Senator Dan Kapanke lost as expected (his district is strongly Democratic). Margin looks to be 56-44. Senate Senator Randy Hopper also lost and this was also expected due to the Democratic lean of the district and a bit of a personal scandal. Margin there is 51-49 Senators Cowles, Harsdorf and Olson beat the...

I do understand the logic that they are not as needed in a modern era but it is a shame to see the 200 year old program end.

The Dow Jones Average is down about 635 points at closing, finishing at right around 10,810. This of course is hardly news as the market has been on a steady downslope for about a week now. Just to give perspective, on July 21st the market closed at 12,724 so the DJIA has lost almost 2,000 points in about two weeks or 15% down. However just to look at things in full perspective, one year ago the market closed at 10,698 so we are about where we were a year ago. Not good but not that catastrophic...

Business Week has an intriguing article on how many of our current problems stem from the 1971 Gold Shock (which in turn stems from Bretton Woods) I’ve long been arguing that it is wrong to blame our current woes on any one party or President because global economics is a decades long process. This article examines how BW contributes to the current mess in Europe which in turn contributes to our own messes.

As Joe G has alread reported Standards & Poors has officially downgraded the US Treasury bond rating from AAA to AA+. However reports are coming out of Washington that this action may be based upon math errors. Being interviewed on MSNBC Congressman Barney Frank has pointed out that S&P was among the worst agencies in miscalculating the value of junk bonds during the time leading up to the financial crisis. They also have a long history of underrating the value of public bonds. He also...

Not sure if we will learn the whole story but it is the end of an era. Say what you will, I know he’s not the nicest person around, but he raised billions of dollars for research

Following up on the prior post about the stock market is this sobering article from Atlantic magazine.

Depending on what happens in the next couple days we could be seeing a very undesirable record set. Yesterday the stock market DJIA was down for the eighth day in a row which matched a record from 2008. If it is down again today (at this point it is down about 90 points) then it will match a record from 1978. If it is down again on Thursday then we will be at a ten day slump, that last happened in November 1974 when the market was down 11 days in a row.

Assuming the story is true, this guy is a slimeball, pure and simple.

The US House has just passed the Boehner bill by a 218-210 margin. The odds of it going any further are about the same as my odds of playing power forward in the NBA.

Given the mess that all sides are making of the Debt Ceiling debate I thought a look back at how another White House handled things would be fun. Liberal or conservative you gotta love good writing Watch em in order, though you’ll probably have to go to YT to do it. But it’s well worth it. As always fair use with no copyright infringment intended

Nice to see the incumbents doing so well.

Congressman David Wu (D-OR) has announced his resignation from Congress. Wu’s announcement came moments after both of the states Democratic US Senators called for him to step down. Wu has been a controversial figure for some time now, during the 2010 election season his conduct was so odd that his staff kept him from the campaign trail to avoid possible outbursts. This means there will be a special election, most likely sometime this fall, to fill the seat. The 1st District of Oregon covers Northwest...

I cannot imagine anyone not smiling at something as sweet as this

For many of us Sunday is supposed to be a day of humility. Well this story certainly humbles me, for here is a truly great human being.

Looks like the latest accusations (this time of rape) may finally force quasi insane Congressman David Wu (D-OR) to resign. If he does step down it is unlikely the seat would change parties.

Another step to allowing those who fight for our freedom to enjoy some of it. I think the key word there is OPENLY because anybody who thinks there have not been gay and lesbian troops serving since the start of this country is a fool. Some of them have died for us.

After 30 years and 135 missions the Space Shuttle program is at an end. The shuttle Atlantis made a picture perfect landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 5:56am (EST) ending its final mission and the final mission of the shuttle program. For the time being the United States will step out of the manned space launch program, though we will continue to send people to the International Space Station aboard Russian rockets. Certainly the decision to step out of the program is one worth discussion but...

Stuart Rothenberg is a well respected analyst and far from a conservative hack and he says that House is probably not in play in 2012. He bases this on a review of redistricting changes that he says probably give the GOP a slight edge. I tend to agree with his review although I certainly can see where people could dispute one part or another. Also worth remembering is that in many cases where the GOP has controlled the process they have not so much moved to give themselves more seats but to solidify...