Tuesday Morning Quick Hits

This just makes me want to break down and sob: KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wracked by plummeting home prices and swelling foreclosures, the nation's housing market has buyers racing to foreclosure auctions to snag deals on homes. Hudson & Marshall will auction over 100 bank-owned foreclosures in Kansas City, Missouri on July 12th at 1:00pm at the Kansas City Sports Complex and another 100 plus homes in St. Louis on July 13th at 1:00pm at the Hilton St. Louis Airport. The wire service feed goes on to tell prospective buyers that the homes are sold "as-is" and urges them to "know what they are bidding on" and that they need to bring $2500 in the form of cash or certified funds to take advantage of one of these steals should they be the winning bidder.


Carter was right, Reagan was wrong...and America got screwed In 1977, in what was perhaps the last act of actual, bona fide, certified, genuine, USDA Grade A political courage, Jimmy Carter offered a cold, hard, realistic assessment of the worlds oil supplies and determined that it was a national security threat. As he was wont to do, he gave us details, mistakenly thinking he was talking to grownups. I remember the so-called "malaise" speech - I was 13 when he delivered it - and it sounded about right to me, having just been introduced to the concept of peak oil by a Jr. High science teacher. In fact, I can trace my liberal politics to the reaction I saw from the so-called "adults" that followed the prescription of bitter pills. I even tried to argue with a neighbor at the time who ended the argument by telling me he didn't give a damn, he would be dead by then. I think the next time I'm in 5that part of the country I need to find out where he is buried and visit his graveside with a six pack...The entire text of the amazingly prescient speech is at the link - go read it. The word malaise doesn't appear once, by the way - that was a fabrication of the so-called liberal media that was already in the corporate tank.



Enough already with "DADT" It served it's purpose, it bridged the gap and opened the door just a crack...Now it is time to accept that sexual preference is not an indicator of ones ability to serve nor of ones patriotism, and fifty-two retired flag ranks and a former Secretary of the Army have sent a letter to Congress calling for an end to the policy. We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish. As General Colin Powell, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said when the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was enacted, it is not the place of the military or those in senior leadership to make moral judgments...Scholarly data shows there are approximately one million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States today, as well as 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in our armed forces. They have served our nation honorably...We support the recent comments of another former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General John Shalikashvili, who has concluded that repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would not harm, and would indeed help our armed forces.


Good for Riki Ellison! LOS ANGELES, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Riki Ellison, a three-time Super Bowl Champion and a 10-year veteran of the NFL, announced today that his alma mater, the University of Southern California (USC) will be home to the "Youth Impact Program" (YIP) a program designed to put disadvantaged inner city youth into a university setting for the summer. Boys aged 9-12 are enrolled in a rigorous program focusing on academics, life skills and athletics. This is the third year that the Youth Impact Program will take place at USC in Los Angeles.

Because sneering is the only arrow left in their quiver "Not surprisingly, Senator Obama and his fellow Democrats are more focused on stagecraft and theatrics than providing real solutions to the challenges facing our nation. A change of venue for a speech isn't the kind of change the American people deserve or expect - and that's why we're confident the next President of the United States will be nominated at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul." Of course, if their candidate was able to pack a stadium and fire up a crowd, they would likely see it differently.

We're almost there...I want to close this roundup by reminding you that I am trying to raise a few more bucks for my trip to Texas that is fast approaching. If you like what we do here, and are still managing to stay afloat in this effed up bu$h-world economy, a couple of bucks in the tip-jar will be much appreciated. Thanks!

~BG