'Shania Twain' defence works in drunk driver's favour

CBC News: 'Shania Twain' defence works in drunk driver's favour: "One of the most notorious drunk drivers in the Ottawa area has been found not criminally responsible on his latest impaired driving charges because of a mental disorder that makes him believe female celebrities are controlling his actions."

This is great. Maybe I don't have to hire a bankruptcy attorney after all. Rene Zellwegger made me run up all of those credit card bills. She was controlling my spending from her home in Hollywood. And Sandra Bullock made me go out and buy that SUV. She even told me that the car dealer would pay off my existing loan! But she forgot to tell me that the new SUV dealer would add the existing loan on to the new loan. So what if I still had 4 years left to pay on the old loan? Now I can have a new car and it'll only take me 9 years to pay it off. Gas is almost $3.00 a gallon and the SUV only gets 8 MPG? That's okay, Britney Spears made me get a gas company credit card. She says President Bush told her it's okay. He's the president, after all. So now I'm nice and safe in my new SUV riding high above everybody else. I deserve it. Demi Moore said so.

Adult children living at home longer

CBC News: Adult children living at home longer: "They're called 'boomerang' offspring, meaning they left home once, but have since moved back in. Perhaps surprisingly, most parents say they like living with their grownup children."

Isn't that what basements are for? When your grown children lose their jobs they live in your basement? What if you don't have a basement? Well then it's their childhood room, which you left intact. Besides, converting it into a den or a media room costs too much. Who has money for big screen plasma TVs? Then when you're old and have no health insurance, you can move in with your grown children and their spouses. Oh? They already live with you? You should have bought a duplex.

Radio still uneasy with Dixie Chicks

CNN.com - Radio still uneasy with Dixie Chicks - Mar 27, 2006: "'I think a lot of people are in a wait-and-see mode,' said Wade Jessen, director of Billboard's country charts. 'The next couple of weeks are really going to tell the tale.'"

The fact that there's a de facto boycott against an entertainer simply because of her opinion, smacks of McCarthyism to me. The hardliners are going to say that it's because Natalie Maines made her comment in England. As if it would have made a difference if she said she was ashamed of Bush in the U.S. It's not like they don't have modern technology in England. They would have found discovered her comments anyway. Bush's disapproval ratings are at 66% so the Dixie Chicks are now in good company.

Camels of mass destruction

Via the Telegraph

Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but it appears he did have camels of mass destruction.

Read more....

Right to starve state

I've lived in a "right to work starve" state for 25 years. There are certain advantages of living in one of the Southern States. For instance, it's easier to be poor here than in New York or California, because the low wages keep the cost of housing down. Right to work states are great if you have a business that requires a low wage workforce and no union benefits. The problem for wage earners is that there's no incentive for businesses to think twice about firing their employees at the drop of a hat, unless that employee has a separate contract with the company.

I'm still amazed at the amount of people that I work with and run into who believe that all unions are evil and corrupt and who are happy that there are very few unions around. I was only a member of a union once, about 30 years ago. And while it's true that we didn't make more money than the non union shop, we did make more than non union places outside of our area. Plus the other non-union shop in town did benefit from our union since every time we received a raise or benefit, the non-union shop got a similar one, just to keep their employees from trying to organize a union. And certainly, unions are all good and perfect. I remember when I was a kid, going with my father to the meatcutters union hall every week. He'd pay his $10 dues and get a little stamp for his book. I don't think he ever collected a ton in benefits and I don't believed they helped him that much when he was out of work, but it did prevent his employers from firing him for frivolous reasons. So in that respect, his union did act as a sort of safety valve against managers who wanted to fire people because they had a crony or relative they wanted to help. No question, that if an employer wants to fire an employee, for whatever reason, they can do so, but having a union in place makes them think twice and puts a check on impetuous managers.

One more thing....do you think for one second that without a union, GM would be offering their employees $144,000 to leave? I didn't think so. The company that I've worked for for 15 years has been bought by another company. I'd consider myself lucky if they offered me 1/10th that amount to leave, because they're under no obligation or pressure to do that. Other than "doing what's right."

With us or with the terrorists

President Bush says he doesn't pay attention to polls, but with his popularity at around 37%, he's on a week long public relations tour to try to re-sell the war in Iraq. Most people, even his diehard Republican supporters are disillusioned with the the war and the administration knows it. After ignoring veteran UPI reporter Helen Thomas for three years, Bush finally called on her this week. He must have known she was going to ask real questions, but Rove probably knew that there was nothing to lose and everything to gain by calling on a real reporter. Thomas didn't disappoint and went right to the question of the reason for the war in Iraq. After that press conference, they made sure that further Bush appearances were before pre-selected supporters, with the propaganda-like theme banners in the background. This "town hall" concept was used very effectively during the presidential campaign to carefully screen out any unpleasant questions. And they continue to link 911 to Iraq, when there's no truth to that assertion. As a matter of fact, since the invasion of Iraq, more terrorists have made Iraq their home than when Saddam Hussein was in control.

Bill Beutel, longtime ABC news anchor, dies at 75

He was a great reporter and anchor in the old school mode. Bill Beutel was about getting the story right and presenting the facts in a concise manner. He didn't take the easy way out by re-digesting a company or politican talking points. When historians study the golden age of journalism, they'll learn from Bill Beutel.

CNN.com - Bill Beutel, longtime ABC news anchor, dies at 75 - Mar 19, 2006 NEW YORK (AP) -- Bill Beutel, the longtime television news anchor and host of the show that became ABC's 'Good Morning America,' has died, the network announced. He was 75.