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Bush holds press conference

After yesterday’s statement, I wonder what the Prez (President Bush) had to say. Well, don’t hold your breath waiting on the President to show any willingness to work with Congress.

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From CNN.com:

Bush said House and Senate Democrats “need to work out their differences before they come to the White House,” and he threatened to veto any bill laden with “wasteful spending.”

Shortly afterward, House Democratic caucus chairman Rep. Rahm Emanuel called Bush’s news conference the “19th press conference where he was pointing fingers at Congress. I think if we did a little more cooperation, a little more compromise, and a lot less confrontation, a lot less complaining, you’ll see a lot more things get done for the American people.”

The Illinois lawmaker congratulated U.S. troops for their service in Iraq, but said what’s missing is a U.S. strategy for allowing Iraq to “stop relying on our troops to do for them what they need to do for themselves.” (more…)

 
icon for podpress  Portion of Press Conferenence and Dem response [2:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Flooding in the NW

A whole town in Oregon had to be evacuated because of flooding.

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From AP:

National Guard troops evacuated residents in a flooded town Tuesday and tens of thousands of residents remained without power after back-to-back storms pounded the Pacific Northwest, killing five people.

Troops with the Oregon Air National Guard used inflatable rafts to evacuate flooded residents in Vernonia, a mountain timber town on the Nehalem River, about 35 miles northwest of Portland.  (more…)

 
icon for podpress  Flooding in Northeast [1:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

MTP - Senator Webb; Is the surge working?

Senator Jim Webb takes his time on Meet the Press and does a great job in answering the question - Is the Surge Working?

 
icon for podpress  Webb - Is the Surge working? [3:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

President uses a blow torch to light fire under Congress

President Bush took the opportunity to wear out Congress yesterday morning. There was no sign that there should be any compromise. It should be his way. If you aren’t doing it his way, he will veto it. He named a number of things that Congress isn’t doing - Alternative minimum tax (which the Republican’s had 6 years to do something on but didn’t), His War Funding request and other spending bills.

I find it odd that this man was labeled as the compassionate conservative. I hadn’t seen one bit of compassion for the American people. I haven’t seen the president compromise on any major piece of legislation. He has pushed, prodded, punched and run over anyone in his way.

From WaPo:

With his approval ratings stubbornly low, President Bush is trying to gain political traction by spoiling for fights with an institution the public appears to hold in even lower esteem: Congress.

Bush held his 18th event of the year yesterday focused on his disputes with Capitol Hill, blasting Democratic lawmakers for not completing annual spending bills, or sending him war funding legislation, or finalizing a measure that would permanently legalize his administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. The 19th event is to come this morning in a presidential news conference at the White House.

Thankfully, Harry Reid, Democratic Senate Majority Leader, countered. “The surge hasn’t accomplished its goals,” Reid said. “… We’re involved, still, in an intractable civil war.” In a wishy-washy piece in Politico.com, the author paints the Democrats has waffling on the Surge. Stating that some Democrats are saying that the Surge is in fact working. Any Democrats who have said that the Surge is working are either being quoted out of context (John Murtha) or have their heads in the sand. Right wing bloggers like Hot Air have missed the point. The point of the Surge was to decrease violence so that there could be political reconciliation. This is what President Bush said back in January. As I mentioned before, our military if given the right resources can control any space in the world. This is clear. No Democrat or Republican would argue this point. Our military has been proving that they can clear and hold territory ever since the war began. The problem was that our military would then have to leave that area and move to somewhere else that was out of control. When they left a power vacuum was filled with para-military Sunni’s and Shiite’s. Again, I would point out that the goal that President Bush set, not Congressional Democrats or Belt Way pundits. The President set the goal. The goal was to decrease the violence so that there can be a political power sharing agreement.

 
icon for podpress  Bush Scolds Congress [7:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 
icon for podpress  Countdown - My way or the highway [7:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Sean Taylor’s funeral

Whether you like football or not.  Whether you like the Washington Redskins or not.  Whether you like Sean Taylor or not, you have to feel sad when someone with potential is killed before they were able to reach their potential.

For more information on the funeral and the arrest of 3 suspects click here.

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From WaPo:

The entire Washington Redskins organization and more than two dozen NFL players and officials joined thousands of other mourners to pay their final respects to slain safety Sean Taylor on Monday in an emotional three-hour funeral service at a collegiate basketball arena.

Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and many of Taylor’s NFL, college and high school teammates were among the 18 speakers who offered condolences or personal recollections, many raw and tearful, others funny and touching, in front of about 3,000 mourners on the Florida International University campus.  (more…)

 
icon for podpress  Sean Taylor's Funeral [2:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Marine Life In The News

There has been much marine life in the news in recent weeks.

Japan is undertaking a new whale hunt for “research.” It will be the first so-called legal hunt of Humpback Whales since 1963. Theoretically, the number of Humpbacks is now high enough to sustain a hunt.

It seems a restored population is in fact bad news for these whales. It is indeed hard to get ahead sometimes.

Here is a link to information on the Humpback Whale.

The photo is a Greenpeace file picture of previous Japanese research on whales.

whale-fishing Marine Life In The News

Here is a story about a firm in Tokyo that offers “whale curry” as something for you to eat. Another product of the research no doubt.

A Minke Whale found its way far into the Amazon River. Local people tried to save it by splashing water on its back when it swam into shallow waters, and by attempting to use boats to push it back to the ocean. These efforts were not successful.

[Read more →]

National Handwashing Week

Why can’t we wash our hands more often?

National Handwashing Awareness Week, which runs from December 2 through December 8, 2007, is a chance to renew our commitment to handwashing.

Here are some tips on good handwashing—

There’s a right way to wash your hands. A splash of water and a drop or two of soap won’t do the trick. Follow these simple steps to keep your hands clean:

  • Use warm water (not cold or hot).
  • Use whatever soap you like. Antibacterial soaps are popular but regular soap works fine. If you suspect that your hands have come into contact with someone with an infection, think about using an alcohol hand sanitizer.
  • Rub your hands together vigorously and scrub all surfaces: Lather up on both sides of your hands, your wrists, between your fingers, and around your nails. Wash for 15 seconds - about how long it takes to sing “Happy Birthday.”
  • Rinse well under warm running water and pat dry with a clean towel.
  • In public restrooms, consider using a paper towel to flush the toilet and open the door because toilet and door handles harbor germs. Throw the towel away after you leave.

[Read more →]

No wonder

the kiss

Ever wonder why you can’t get a second date? Nope it isn’t the bad breath although Scope should help that. It is because you can’t smooch worth a darn. New study shows that bad kissers don’t get second dates. So, how do they improve????