Holy shit, while I wasn’t looking, it turned into June. That means we only have another three weeks or so ’til we start losing daylight. That sucks. Before you know it, it’ll be the fourth of July, and this year, President Obama is inviting the Iranians to the party. Maybe grill ’em up some Hebrew National franks, and toss back a few Genesis Ales (or maybe a couple Messiah Bolds). I hope they explain to them about the fireworks (they might be a little jumpy over there when things start exploding in the sky).
Now that we own 60% of GM, I really wish we’d force them to get the Chevy Volt into mass production as soon as possible, and perhaps encourage consumers to buy them by offering a tax credit or something. A fully electric car (as opposed to a plug-in hybrid) that goes 40 miles on a charge (and then a gasoline powered generator kicks in if you need it) would be perfect for my situation. I could go about a typical day just by plugging the thing in over night. Unfortunately, the Japanese or Koreans will probably do it better (and sooner).
Oh well, maybe Obama and GM will take Michael Moore’s advice, and retool their factories to produce “light rail and bullet trains and cleaner buses.” You betcha. I think we’ll go with a super-sized Hummer instead, Mike.
In an interview at this year’s World Economic Forum, Burger King CEO John Chidsey said that climate change is “an overriding issue of importance for the global community, business community and people in general.” Somebody forgot to pass the sentiments along to BK’s Tennessee franchises, who posted “Global Warming is Baloney” on their signs (once again, Al Gore fails to carry his home state). Maybe they should switch to “Meat is Murder” or something.
I don’t know who Miranda Kerr is, but she’s a fan of the environment and Koalas, and, damnit, I respect the hell out of her for that.
Oh well, time to get ready to seize the day.
It’s early, so I’m probably still sleepy but Chaney says the intelligence about Iraq-Al Qaeda was wrong…but he still believes it’s true:
Former Vice President Dick Cheney disavowed intelligence he once cited to suggest that then-Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein collaborated with al-Qaeda to stage the Sept. 11 attacks.
Cheney said today that information by the Central Intelligence Agency of collaboration between Iraq and al-Qaeda on Sept. 11 “turned out not to be true.†Still, Cheney said a longstanding relationship existed between Hussein and terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, that justified the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“I thought it was strong at the time and I still feel so today,†Cheney said at a National Press Club lunch in Washington. “There was a relationship between al-Qaeda and Iraq that stretched back 10 years. That’s not something I made up.†Citing 2002 Senate testimony by George Tenet, then the CIA director, he said, “We know for a fact that Saddam Hussein was a state sponsor of terrorism.â€
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=axlb0i.OaFxY&refer=us
Words come out of Cheney’s mouth and they don’t mean a thing. He could probably just growl and grimace for a few minutes and reporters would still stick a microphone in front of him.
Women’s Health Care Services, the clinic that has been bombed, blockaded and vandalized for more than 20 years because late-term abortions are performed there, will be closed this week to mourn the slaying Sunday of founder George Tiller.
But the clinic will resume normal operations next Monday, said LeRoy Carhart, a Nebraska physician who has been coming to Tiller’s clinic on a rotating basis for more than 10 years now.
“What people need to know is… the women’s services that we provided for 30 years are not going to change,” Carhart said. “The same abortion services will remain available in Wichita.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/69212.html
Worldwide, there are 19 million unsafe abortions a year, and they kill 70,000 women (accounting for 13 percent of maternal deaths), mostly in poor countries like Tanzania where abortion is illegal, according to the World Health Organization. More than two million women a year suffer serious complications. According to Unicef, unsafe abortions cause 4 percent of deaths among pregnant women in Africa, 6 percent in Asia and 12 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/health/02abort.html?ref=todayspaper
Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced that the City Health Department has recommended closing two more schools – P.S. 15, which is co-located with the PAVE Academy Charter School in Red Hook, Brooklyn – after documenting an unusually high amount of influenza-like illness over a number of days. The schools will be closed as of Wednesday, June 3. The schools will reopen on Monday, June 8.
That’s the local school, 3 blocks away. But, do I care? Nope. My last day of school was today. I have cute cards the kids made and lovely thank you notes from the teachers and a summer ahead of me. :yippee: