Associated Press: Files suggest elder Obama forced to leave Harvard

BOSTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's father was forced to leave Harvard University before completing his Ph.D. in economics because the school was concerned about his personal life and finances, according to newly public immigration records.

Harvard had asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service to delay a request by Barack Hussein Obama Sr. to extend his stay in the U.S., "until they decided what action they could take in order to get rid of him," immigration official M.F. McKeon wrote in a June 1964 memo.

Harvard administrators, the memo stated, "were having difficulty with his financial arrangements and couldn't seem to figure out how many wives he had."

Much more here: News from The Associated Press

What A Martyr Looks Like ::: (21-Year Old Somali) New Christian Convert from Islam Murdered in Somalia

Hell on earth. My heart really breaks for these people.

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 20 (CDN) — Two Muslim extremists in Somalia on Monday (April 18) murdered a member of a secret Christian community in Lower Shabele region as part of a campaign to rid the country of Christianity, sources said.

An area source told Compass two al Shabaab militants shot 21-year-old Hassan Adawe Adan in Shalambod town after entering his house at 7:30 p.m.


“Two al Shabaab members dragged him out of his house, and after 10 minutes they fired several shots on him,” said an area source who requested anonymity. “He then died immediately.”

The militants then shouted “Allahu Akbar [God is greater]” before fleeing, he said.

Adan, single and living with his Muslim family, was said to have converted to Christianity several months ago. Area Christians said they suspected someone had informed the Islamic militants of his conversion. One source said that a relative who belonged to al Shabaab had told Adan’s mother that he suspected her son was a Christian.

“This incident is making other converts live in extreme fear, as the militants always keep an open eye to anyone professing the Christian faith,” the source said.

...

On Jan. 7, a mother of four was killed for her Christian faith on the outskirts of Mogadishu by al Shabaab militia, according to a relative. The relative, who requested anonymity, said Asha Mberwa, 36, was killed in Warbhigly village when the Islamic extremists cut her throat in front of villagers who came out of their homes as witnesses.

She is survived by her children – ages 12, 8, 6 and 4 – and her husband, who was not home at the time she was apprehended. Her husband and children have fled to an undisclosed location.

Read the rest here, includes some background on current religious/political happenings in Somalia: New Christian Convert from Islam Murdered in Somalia

OMG... Obama Even Has Me Feeling Badly For The Saudis! ::: Riyadh Freezes Huge US Arms Deal; US special forces and CIA operations suspended in Yemen

Super interesting, unsettling stuff here. These are excerpts:

The sixty-year old US-Saudi alliance has had its ups and downs but the differences were never allowed to sink to the icy level which marks them today and is seriously hurting America’s strategic standing in the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf.

. . .

Gates hurried over to Riyadh after a secret Saudi message was received in Washington announcing a freeze on arms purchases from the United States, a first in Saudi-US military relations. The message explained that Riyadh needed spare funds to finance military operations against Iran in view of the deteriorating security situation.

. . . Underlying the words was a hint that Riyadh intended to go shopping for cheaper weapons systems outside the United States, which was unheard of until now. New ground was also broken by Riyadh’s explanation that it needs to address the military and nuclear threat coming from Iran. For decades, America was accepted without question by all parts of the Gulf region as their trusty security shield.

. . .

. . . other officials admitted that the Saudi Arabian monarchy was “so unhappy with the Obama administration for the way it pushed out President Mubarak of Egypt” that it had sent senior officials to the People’s Republic of China and Russia in search of expanded business and defense procurement opportunities.

. . .

In a blistering denunciation, the king told Gates he found it hard to excuse the Obama administration’s obdurate disregard of Saudi intelligence updates to the CIA on the complicity of Tehran and Hizballah in destabilizing Lebanon and Bahrain.

Even less excusable in the Saudi view was Washington’s refusal to take seriously the testimony offered after Saudi troops entered Manama to defend the Bahraini throne that Iran was stepping up its preparations for military intervention after fomenting riots among the 2 million Shiites living in the eastern Saudi oil regions. The Saudi ruler had concluded that no matter what evidence was put before President Barack Obama, he would never be deflected from his policy of engagement with Tehran.

Abdullah warned that American indulgence of Iran’s nuclear aspirations was placing the very survival of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states in grave jeopardy.

Read the whole thing here: Riyadh Freezes Huge US Arms Deal; US special forces and CIA operations suspended in Yemen � GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CENTER | NorAm Intelligence

Memory Lane ::: "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe"

How does one get a job in the Obama administration? Oh yeah, just promise to help make the lives of Americans miserable... but miserably equally, of course.

From the WSJ back in December '08:

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama and his energy team could face the most inauspicious climate in years for pushing ahead with their plans to remake U.S. energy strategy.

Mr. Obama plans soon to introduce his energy and environment team, which will include Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu as energy secretary and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner as White House energy adviser.

The team's makeup shows that Mr. Obama plans to put a heavy emphasis on combating climate change and promoting technologies to wean the U.S. off imported oil. He is packaging such priorities as a way to boost employment and help the economy by pouring money into efficiency projects.


But the next administration will face a range of obstacles on the energy front, from plummeting oil prices and a declining economy to potential rifts among Mr. Obama's own advisers.

In a sign of one major internal difference, Mr. Chu has called for gradually ramping up gasoline taxes over 15 years to coax consumers into buying more-efficient cars and living in neighborhoods closer to work.

"Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.

But Mr. Obama has dismissed the idea of boosting the federal gasoline tax, a move energy experts say could be the single most effective step to promote alternative energies and temper demand. Mr. Obama said Sunday that a heightened gas tax would be a "mistake" because it would put "additional burdens on American families right now."

No U.S. president has made significant headway altering America's energy habits during a period of falling oil prices. After hitting an all-time peak this summer, U.S. gasoline prices have sunk to their lowest level in years. Experts predict prices will remain weak until the world economy begins to revive.

Dontcha just love experts?

Times Tough for Energy Overhaul - WSJ.com

Excellent Read! ::: American Thinker Blog: President Obama Is Wrong About America

President Obama is wrong. In his highly anticipated deficit speech at George Washington University recently, Obama spoke of Social Security and Medicare and stated, "We would not be a great country without these commitments."

Really? According to Obama then, America wasn't a great nation prior to 1935 and 1965, the years in which Social Security and Medicare were enacted.

So, for nearly 200 years (1776-1965), America was not a great nation in the eyes of the 44^th President of the United States. Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln were among those who led a good nation, perhaps, but not a great one in Obama's eyes. Despite our growth from an infant republic in 1776 to the dominant nation of the world by mid-20^th century, a period which included victories in two world wars, along with massive technological, industrial, and medical advances, still we were not a great nation according to Obama.

Attempting to calculate the impact America has had upon the rest of the world and to the betterment of the human race would be an exercise in futility, even prior to Social Security and Medicare. Countless lives have been saved through American medical advancements and breakthroughs. Production methods have been created and enhanced by American ingenuity and technological innovations, largely from Americans, have transformed the methods and speed by which we communicate around the world.

These are but a few accomplishments and defining qualities that have made America great.

It is these advancements and the potential for increased quality of life that has attracted and continues to entice so many to the United States. From 1850-1950, for example, 37 million individuals emigrated to the United States of America. They did not come to America seeking government programs. America provided opportunity to seek "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Therein is the greatness of America-opportunity. It is opportunity to accomplish more than in any other country.

Read the rest here: American Thinker Blog: President Obama Is Wrong About America

TSUCMU ::: Obama: I don’t have time for ’silliness’ – I’m late for Oprah (+ Fundraisers... lol)

Oh, the hilarity. Can it really be unintentional?

In a press conference announcing the release of his long form birth certificate, Obama denounced the “silliness,” the “sideshows and carnival barkers” that forced him to release a completely unremarkable document after years of speculation on the issue had metastasized into a political phenomenon he could no longer ignore.

“We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We’ve got better stuff to do. I’ve got better stuff to do. We’ve got big problems to solve,” the president said.

Minutes later, he boarded a helicopter, bound for Chicago where he will interview with Oprah, the queen of daytime TV talk shows who recently launched her own network.

...

Afterward, he’s headed to New York for three fundraising events, returning to Washington, D.C. after midnight.

Obama Birth Certificate | Oprah | Silliness | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

My English Breakfast Menu Is Shaping Up... Bring On The Royal Wedding!

Yes... I do plan on watching it live, with the whole family, and a huge English breakfast.

So far it'll be eggs, bacon, bangers (lol), tomatoes, strawberries, cream, crumpets and jam, coffee and tea.

I wonder if this will be one of the last Royal Weddings™... it does seem rather overwrought and anachronistic. Then again, I did watch the wedding of Prince William's parents, and every chica loves the idea of the handsome prince marrying the pretty commoner. They're both absolutely adorable.


And, just in time, in today's Daily Mail...

How to... cook a full English breakfast

By COSMO SOAVE-SMITH

No meal has quite the same power as the full English breakfast with all the trimmings. After an evening of over-indulgence, it can bring you back from the darkest depths. But if cooked in a substandard fashion, it can do the opposite.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1380301/How--cook-English-breakfast.html#ixzz1KZUnbcqZ

Not Sure Why I Didn't Post This Last Week... Martin Bashir Embarrasses Himself While Interviewing Andrew Breitbart

Pretty amazing stuff here. Andrew Breitbart is just awesome... and Martin puts the Bash in Bashir. What a total tool.

YouTube - Martin Bashir Embarasses Himself While Interviewing Andrew Breitbart

Lols... Real Title -> Ex-governor 'Gay American' Jim McGreevey denied Episcopal priesthood... because he's a 'jackass'

He tried marriage and fatherhood, flirted with being a governor, he accepted being gay and then he finally announced he would be a priest.

But it isn't time to call ex-New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey 'father' just yet - for his bid to join the Episcopal Church has been rejected.

Church sources have said that McGreevey's sexuality has nothing to do with the rebuttal and everything to do with him being a 'jackass'.

McGreevey shocked the nation when it was discovered that only 34 days after he came into office the then-married governor embarked on a homosexual affair with an Israeli - who would later become his security adviser.

When he resigned he made a poignant and landmark speech about being a 'gay American' - the first openly gay state governor in U.S. history.

He joined the Episcopal Church - who have long embraced gay parishioners and clergy - in 2007, embarking on a life of good deeds and charity work with former prisoners and drug addicts.

But according to the New York Post, the church was reluctant to let him join due to his bitter divorce to his second wife Dina Matos.

A source with the Episcopal Diocese of Newark told the Post: 'It was not being gay but for being a jackass -- McGreevey didn't come out of the whole divorce looking good.'

Ex-governor 'Gay American' Jim McGreevey denied Episcopal priesthood | Mail Online

Hilarious Headline Brought To You By MSNBC ::: Earth Day leader killed, composted girlfriend

Ahhh... The S(tuff) You Can't Make Up.

Ira Einhorn was on stage hosting the first Earth Day event at the Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on April 22, 1970. Seven years later, police raided his closet and found the "composted" body of his ex-girlfriend inside a trunk.

A self-proclaimed environmental activist, Einhorn made a name for himself among ecological groups during the 1960s and '70s by taking on the role of a tie-dye-wearing ecological guru and Philadelphia’s head hippie. With his long beard and gap-toothed smile, Einhorn — who nicknamed himself "Unicorn" because his German-Jewish last name translates to "one horn" —advocated flower power, peace and free love to his fellow students at the University of Pennsylvania. He also claimed to have helped found Earth Day.

But the charismatic spokesman who helped bring awareness to environmental issues and preached against the Vietnam War — and any violence — had a secret dark side. When his girlfriend of five years, Helen "Holly" Maddux, moved to New York and broke up with him, Einhorn threatened that he would throw her left-behind personal belongings onto the street if she didn't come back to pick them up.

And so on Sept. 9, 1977, Maddux went back to the apartment that she and Einhorn had shared in Philadelphia to collect her things, and was never seen again. When Philadelphia police questioned Einhorn about her mysterious disappearance several weeks later, he claimed that she had gone out to the neighborhood co-op to buy some tofu and sprouts and never returned.

Earth Day leader killed, composted girlfriend - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com

YAY! ::: Gary Johnson announces presidential run - CBS News

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson announced today that he's running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

"I'm ready for a different America," Johnson said in a statement today. "I'm ready for the day when a person can build a good life on a decent income, and we can take our government at its word."

Johnson announced his candidacy Thursday morning on the steps of the New Hampshire State House and plans to spend three days in the early-nominating state meeting with supporters and visiting local businesses.

Other presumed Republican presidential candidates, including former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have so far only formed "exploratory committees." That means they can raise funds for parts of their 2012 campaign, though the Federal Election Commission considers such a committee different from an official campaign committee.

Johnson served as governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, where he made a name for himself as a staunch libertarian. His anti-interventionist foreign policy, his support for gay rights (he has said he supports gay unions, suggesting the government shouldn't be involved in marriage at all), and his support for marijuana legalization have drawn comparisons to Republican Rep. Ron Paul, another possible 2012 presidential contender.

[snip]

Gary Johnson announces presidential run - Political Hotsheet - CBS News

Gosh, I Hope Not! ::: Report: Restrepo Director Tim Hetherington Killed in Libya | Movieline

UPDATE: His death has been confirmed. May he rest in peace... his work will be missed. He did a great job with his time here. My condolences to all who knew and loved him.

___________________________

This would be super terrible if true. I really adored the film Restrepo (blogged about it in February here)... Tim Hetherington is a great filmmaker.

This just in, and just devastating; Tim Hetherington, the acclaimed war photographer who this year shared an Oscar nomination with Sebastian Junger for their documentaryRestrepo, has been reported killed with a colleague while covering the ongoing conflict in Libya.

Word broke this morning via André Liohn, a fellow combat photographer who posted the news to his Facebook page: “Sad news Tim Hetherington died in Misrata now when covering the front line. Chris Hondros is in a serious status. Michel Brown and Guy are wounded but fine.” Liohn noted Hondros’s own death minutes later. Asked by a commenter if this was confirmed, Liohn immediately replied, “Yes.”

Hetherington tweeted less than 36 hours ago about the status of the region he was covering: “In besieged Libyan city of Misrata. Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO.”

(And what's the media to do with this info... they might have to briefly go back to talking about Obama's War.)

Report: Restrepo Director Tim Hetherington Killed in Libya | Movieline

Memory Lane ::: L.A. Times Suppresses Video of Obama Praising Rashid Khalidi

In light of the revelation that CBS is refusing to release more of Obama's "hot mic" statements... Just a reminder that the "mainstream" media has been covering The One's tail for a long time. Guess they're all in campaign mode again.

obama los angeles times speech video khalidi - Google Search

"Slugs"? ::: CONFIRMED: CBS Editors Refuse To Release Full Audio Of Obama Hot Mic Recording! - Big Government

They totally would not release hot mic utterances of a Pubbie, right? Right?

Just in time for the new campaign, SeeBS reminds us who they're supporting in 2012.

Maybe CBS’s motive has nothing to do with protecting His Presidency from potential embarrassment. Perhaps, like Nixon before them, CBS accidentally erased the portions of the recording that they have not released. Anything is possible, right?

Alas, no. John Romano, Publisher of the blog “Yes, But, However!” has confirmed with CBS’s Mark Knoller (via Twitter) that CBS has decided that they are not going to release the complete recording.

@markknoller Why haven’t you released all of the audio of President Obama’s “donor meeting”? If you have please link?

@markknoller This is my third request. Why will you not release the full audio of Obama’s donor conversation?

@yesbuthowever My editors decided against it.

People can speculate as to what their motive is, but we suspect that they do not want to jeopardize their White House access leading into campaign season by being the ones to release the audio of His Presidency referring to Americans as “slugs.”

� CONFIRMED: CBS Editors Refuse To Release Full Audio Of Obama Hot Mic Recording! - Big Government

P.J. O’Rourke Does A Film Review ::: Atlas Shrugged. And So Did I. - WSJ

I love him.

This is an excerpt:

But I will not pan “Atlas Shrugged.” I don’t have the guts. If you associate with Randians—and I do—saying anything critical about Ayn Rand is almost as scary as saying anything critical to Ayn Rand. What’s more, given how protective Randians are of Rand, I’m not sure she’s dead.

The woman is a force. But, let us not forget, she’s a force for good. Millions of people have read “Atlas Shrugged” and been brought around to common sense, never mind that the author and her characters don’t exhibit much of it. Ayn Rand, perhaps better than anyone in the 20th century, understood that the individual self-seeking we call an evil actually stands in noble contrast to the real evil of self-seeking collectives. (A rather Randian sentence.) It’s easy to make fun of Rand for being a simplistic philosopher, bombastic writer and—I’m just saying—crazy old bat. But the 20th century was no joke. A hundred years, from Bolsheviks to Al Qaeda, were spent proving Ayn Rand right.

Read the whole piece here: P.J. O’Rourke: Atlas Shrugged. And So Did I. - Ideas Market - WSJ

Scarlett Johansson... From Hubba Hubba to Chubba Chubba ::: Scarlett Johansson hits the pavement with new love Sean Penn | Mail Online

Then there's the issue of her boyfriend... Yikes! all around.

Poor thing can't even keep up with some pretty shabby looking competition...

And meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Sean Penn's ex Robin Wright was looking mighty fine...

Scarlett Johansson hits the pavement with new love Sean Penn | Mail Online

The Only Guy Who Could Make Me Love CCR ::: Casey Abrams - American Idol - Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

I've never been a real fan of this song, and I've never really liked CCR... and so I was so disappointed when Casey chose to sing this over his first choice - and one of my all-time favorites - The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.

But then he sang.




YouTube - Casey Abrams - American Idol - Have you ever seen the rain

Take That, Whiners ::: Pia Toscano 'had no chance of winning'

I knew it!

Pia Toscano never had a shot at winning American Idol, according to show sources.

The talent show hopeful, who was voted off last week, ‘was never going to win’, a production insider revealed after saying: ‘It was only a matter of time before Pia was kicked off.’

Toscano was apparently nowhere near the top of the voting pile, whereas four of the other eight remaining contestants are said to be ‘fairly consistently placing in the top four.’

I couldn't believe the post-toss tears all over the internets (even the WSJ!)... I cried, too, but our only commonality being that Pia bored me to tears.

Somewhere, Celine Dion is nervous...

American Idol 2011: Pia Toscano 'had no chance of winning' | Mail Online

My Hero ::: Muslim Student Attacks UN Rights Council for Anti-Israel Bias - Israel National News

Muslim student Amran Hussain, speaking on behalf of the European Union of Jewish Students, recently spoke out for Israel a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, where he castigated the Council for anti-Israel bias.

“Why is Israel consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation on the grounds of human rights violations, yet the world turns a blind eye to the human rights situations in the Arab countries …or the Far East...or Africa?” he asked

Hussain told the Council he came to the session “to remind you of the moral obligation we all have here today to protect the only country in the world whose very existence is constantly under attack.

"The world was very quick to condemn Israel for defending itself from unrelenting rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. I ask you, what about the human rights of Israeli Jews, Israeli Muslims [and] Israeli Christians living constantly in fear of attacks from Hamas."

He added, ”There are members of the international community present today who do not even accept the existence of Israel….

Hussain says that he is “an active campaigner for human rights and justice all over the world [but] has always remained disheartened by the disproportionate and unfair focus of the Human Rights Council on Israel, the disregard to human dignity for Israelis and the ignorance shown to some of the worst human rights violators around the world.”

Muslim Student Attacks UN Rights Council for Anti-Israel Bias - A7 Exclusive Features - Israel News - Israel National News

Police State Pediatrics ::: Couple outraged after hospital takes newborn baby away - KTNV ABC

Terrible behavior by the hospital staff, and completely unsurprising. My last birth in a hospital made me swear I'd do it at home next time. (But of course there will be no next time, dear Lord almighty.)

Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) – A group of protestors want answers after a couple had their baby taken away by social services at Summerlin Hospital. The decision was made by hospital staff regarding the care of the baby.

The couple says their baby was kept at the hospital against their will after a nurse contacted social services for what they describe as an "unjustified reason."

Lincoln and Cecilia Rogers say their dreams came true when baby Lilia was born healthy just a week ago. But they describe a nightmare in getting her home from Summerlin Hospital.

"They said, ‘Well, if you leave the hospital I'll have to arrest you and your husband.'"

Cecilia is referring to the police officer who was sent to her room just hours after giving birth, all because she and her husband told the nurse they didn't want to keep Lilia overnight in the NICU to be treated for jaundice.

"We just really wanted to take the natural approach if we could," Cecilia explains.

The couple says it got a second opinion and spoke with a pediatrician at Summerlin Hospital, who agreed that it would be okay if the couple took the baby home with minor jaundice as long as they signed a medical release form.

But the nurse they originally worked with called Child Protective Services to report these new parents for not agreeing with the recommended hospital care.

"And then Child Protective Services walked in and started interrogating my wife," Lincoln recalls. "Basically, they were going to take the baby and put her in that incubator no matter what. I thought we had no option."

That lack of option is what prompted a protest outside of Summerlin Hospital. Dozens of people stood up in support of the Rogers family, many of whom are new parents themselves.

"I feel that – especially new parents – we need to know what our rights are and when they're being overstepped," says Wyndee Forrest.

Couple outraged after hospital takes newborn baby away - KTNV ABC,Channel 13,Las Vegas,Nevada,News,Weather,Sports,Entertainment,KTNV.com,Action News .:.

Okay... Someone Has Had Some Serious Work Done ::: Christie Brinkley gives a lesson in how to be fabulous at 57 in a red hot dress

Serious work, done seriously well.

Christie Brinkley gives a lesson in how to be fabulous at 57 in a red hot dress | Mail Online

In Case You Missed It... The Donald on the Today Show ::: msnbc video: Trump: ‘This country is going to hell’

Lolz aplenty.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

msnbc video: Trump: ‘This country is going to hell’

A Headline I Couldn't Resist ::: Swedish flamingoes massacred in frenzied anteater attack

It's Friday.

A flock of ten flamingoes have met a brutal end at a zoo in Eskilstuna in eastern Sweden after a curious anteater broke into their compound and clawed them to death, leaving a further five birds nursing injuries.

"It is not as dramatic as it sounds. The anteater panicked when the birds cackled and flapped their wings and it struck back," Helena Olsson at the Parken Zoo told The Local on Tuesday.

"The anteater is not a meat-eater, unless you consider ants meat, but when it feels threatened, it will defend itself," she said.

Olsson said that the South American animal, whose claws she said are strong enough to damage concrete, became curious and managed to pull apart the fence separating their pens and enter the enclosure holding the long-legged birds.

"The birds are very frail and the anteater is very strong," she said.

If necessary... more here: Swedish flamingoes massacred in frenzied anteater attack - The Local

Love it! ::: A cheer-ful tale: How abandoned wife became the NFL's oldest cheerleader... and inspired a Hollywood movie

When Laura Vikmanis' husband ran off with a younger woman, the 39-year-old knew she needed something to cheer herself up.

Her two teenage daughters were growing up fast and she needed something to fill her new-found free time.

Then as she sat during the interval of a Cincinnati Bengals American football game watching the leaps and twirls of the young cheerleaders, her sister came up with an idea.

Three years on, Laura is a bona fide Ben Gal, and - at 42 - the oldest cheerleader in American sport.

Poached: New Line Cinema, who made films such as the Hobbit and the Sex and the City films, heard about her story and immediately signed her up to a movie deal

You go, girl!

A cheer-ful tale: How abandoned wife became the NFL's oldest cheerleader... and inspired a Hollywood movie | Mail Online

Gosh, Government Healthcare Even Sucks For The Kommissars ::: NHS director dies after operation is cancelled four times at her own hospital

Sad.

A former NHS director died after waiting for nine months for an operation - at her own hospital.

Margaret Hutchon, a former mayor, had been waiting since last June for a follow-up stomach operation at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex.

But her appointments to go under the knife were cancelled four times and she barely regained consciousness after finally having surgery.

Her devastated husband, Jim, is now demanding answers from Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust - the organisation where his wife had served as a non-executive member of the board of directors.

He said: 'I don't really know why she died. I did not get a reason from the hospital. We all want to know for closure. She got weaker and weaker as she waited and operations were put off.'

Mr Hutchon, of Great Baddow, Essex, said his wife, 72, had initially undergone major stomach surgery last June but the follow up procedures were repeatedly abandoned.

The former mayor remained at the hospital for months but her family feared she was becoming institutionalised and decided to bring her home until an operation was a certainty.

Read the rest here: NHS director dies after operation is cancelled four times at her own hospital | Mail Online

Can't Believe I Never Knew This ::: Purple Haze, Jesus Saves: Jimi Hendrix's Original Title

They flashed a shot of Jimi Hendrix's original Purple Haze lyrics on American Idol last night:

Which led to some googling:

PURPLE HAZE - JESUS SAVES
The working title of the Jimi Hendrix guitar classic" Purple Haze" was "Purple Haze - Jesus Saves" and was based on a long manuscript, according to the late Monika Dannemann ("The Inner Life of Jimi Hendrix"), "Hendrix's lover at the time of his death." In the manuscript Hendrix stated that the entire meaning of the song came from a dream he had. Ms. Dannemann said, "...he looked down on earth and saw an unborn fetus waiting for its birth. At the same time he saw spirits of the dead leaving earth. Screams from the children were reaching into the heavens. The earth became engulfed in a great flood, and later in the dream he was walking under the sea. Part of the song was about the purple haze which surrounded him, engulfed him, and in which he got lost. He told me later what a traumatic experience this had been, but that in the dream his faith in Jesus had saved him. Jesus was in the purple haze." Hendrix corroborated Dannemann's claim in a January 1967 interview with John King for "Music Express."

Apparently "Purple Haze, Jesus Saves" was the original chorus, which was changed when it was recorded in 1967.

David Samuel blogs and podcast abou hist music business recording gear guitars and more

Great Video ::: Bill Whittle Takes Michael Moore's Advice: EAT THE RICH!

YouTube - EAT THE RICH!

Even Funnier Than The Parody? Obama's REAL Re-Election Ad (OMG) ::: Barack Obama 2012 Campaign Launch Video - "It Begins With Us"

I seriously can't believe it... but this ad seems more like a parody than the NRSC's, if that's possible.

All of these people look terrified!

(Also, I love how it opens with a farm, a church, and a flag... they should've had someone oiling his rifle, too. [I really sometimes regret not allowing myself to use profanity on this blog.])

Anyway... have a chuckle:

YouTube - Barack Obama 2012 Campaign Launch Video - "It Begins With Us"

Lenin Cat!

MemeCats: Introducing Lenin Cat - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?

Dear God ::: Police pepper-spray 8 year old during a temper tantrum at school (It Gets Worse...)

Not sure this even needs a comment... just one of the all-around most terrible things I've read in a while.

LAKEWOOD, Colorado - A police spokesman said officers made “not only the right choice, they made a great choice” in pepper-spraying an 8-year-old boy because of a temper tantrum.

The police were called to Glennon Heights Elementary on Feb. 22 because of the second grader’s violent temper.

The police report says 8-year-old Aiden was “climbing the cart and spitting at teachers. He also broke wood trim off the walls and was trying to stab teachers with it.”

The report continues, saying Aiden was holding something that looked like a sharpened stick and he screamed, “Get away from me you f---ers.”

Police officers told the boy to drop the stick, and when he refused, they sprayed him in the face with pepper-spray twice until he dropped the object.

Police had been called to the school twice before because of the boy, but Aiden’s mother, Mandy, thinks the police should have handled the situation differently.

Lakewood Police spokesperson Steve Davis believes the officers made the right decision, calling it the safest option considering the circumstance.

Aiden has since been transferred to a school for children with behavioral issues, and his mother says he is seeing a doctor.

The boy even admits he has a problem controlling his anger, saying “just kind of like whenever anybody upsets me, I just kind of want to tear them apart.”

Here's an interview!

It's part of who he is! He doesn't see it changing! Awesome! A sociopath who feels good about himself.

And Lakewood, Colorado clearly needs new cops. They should've thrown a net over him.

Police pepper-spray 8 year old during a temper tantrum at school - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

LOLs Aplenty ::: President Barack Obama's First Ad of 2012 / NRSC

Can't believe the National Republican Senatorial Committee came up with this one... it's that good.

;^)



YouTube - President Barack Obama's First Ad of 2012