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Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)
vs. 
Kindle iPad
Since I do not have an iPad, I questioned my friends who purchased the iPad and also have a Kindle.
The four friends who fit that category reported unanimously that:
1. they love their iPad
2. they love their Kindle
3. they love the iPad because it is a great portable computer
4. they love the Kindle because it is a great eReader
5. and as an eReader the Kindle tops the iPad.
It seems as as though all four are happy to have their Kindle for digital reading, but love their nifty new iPads for portable computing and all that entails.
I suspect one could question the size of the sample.
Apparently the health benefits of red wine are not what we thought.
For years we were told that the French, in spite of their diet, were free of heart disease because of their consumption of antioxidant-laden red wine. Now we learn, it's not the antioxidants, it is the alcohol itself!
Alcohol raises levels of protective high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or good cholesterol). HDLs prevent plaque buildup and reduce clotting factors. (Eric Rimm, ScD, School of Public Health at Harvard University as reported by Cooking Light, April, 2010)
The bottom line: any drink that contains alcohol, when consumed in moderation (2 drinks a day), helps reduce heart disease risk. Beer, wine, and liquors all have the same health benefit! A glass of red wine is no healthier than a martini.
"
The Independent and Sovereign Nation of Arizona!"
That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
What about, " The Sovereign White Nation of Arizona"? A little too truthful? Might be too reminiscent of John McCain's "Straight Talk Express" before it crashed.
But to be fair; if Arizona is going to become an independent nation, it is up to them to name it. They may prefer something like: "The Hallowed Nation of Fundamental Christian Arizona." But that doesn't lend itself to a catchy acronym; HNFCA sounds like an infectious disease spread by foreigners. That will never do.
And they may choose to drop the word, "arizona" altogether since no one knows what it means; and, God forbid, it may have a Spanish or Indian source. They may like: "The Soveriegn State of Documented Americans" --SSDA.
I got it. What about: "Sovereign Nation of Biological Supremacy" -- SNOBS. No, that will not work. One has to be much more subtle.
In a bow to history, they might call it "The Sovereign Sate of Guadalupe Hildago" in acknowledgement of the treaty by which the United Sates forced Mexico to turn it over. I guess that is a little much; no one wants to admit that much of their state was stolen from Mexico.
But that's Arizona's problem. First we must expel Arizona from the Union and let them create a sovereign state. It would be nice if they seceded, but they obviously are too attached to all the goodies that come their way from detested Washington. Given that situation, we will have to expel them from the Union.
Once that is accomplished, they can build that "danged" wall all around the state. A wall on the Mexican Border is not enough. One has to be careful. Who knows? Undocumented Mexicans might slip in from places like Utah. If they could build one in Berlin, China and Jerusalem, the sovereign nation of Arizona can do it too. Then they can truly say,"What happens in Arizona stays in Arizona." And that might be a good thing.
But, before they seal off the wall completely, they should first allow their fellow travelers like Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin inside. Now Sarah is from Alaska, but she obviously doesn't like it there as she spends all of her time in the "lower 48" collecting money for her book and speeches. And Alaskans, based on the polls, would be happy to get rid of her. As for Rush, they would have to promise him tons of money and give him a title such as "The Sovereign Voice of Right Wing Wisdom" --oops an oxymoron. Not to worry, he will think of something.
The problem is the millions of Hispanics, both documented and undocumented, living in Arizona. Even if one is "documented," she or he will not want to live as a second class citizen. The Mexicans and other Latinos will have to leave. The problem is: where can they go? I suggest the Midwest, an area which has benefited from hard-working migrants who have become an integral part of the community, starting their own businesses, and completing advanced degrees. Arizona then may find, albeit too late, that those "criminal and lawless Mexicans" were an important piece in the puzzle.
Of course, the people of Arizona or whatever name they choose to call themselves will no longer receive the benefits they received being a part of the United States of America, but they will have Sarah and a shithouse full of firearms.Also they will not have to deal with the EPA and those crazy tree-huggers like Teddy Roosevelt trying to preserve the Grand Canyon
The only problem with this perfect scenario is that I find nothing in the Constitution that provides for expelling or excommunicating a state. In spite of all its anti-government diatribe, Arizona will not secede because they know in their bones that the government they vilify is the best thing they have going for them. They have a tough choice.
You gotta love democracy.
Canaan's Gate by Kathryn R. Wall is the tenth book in her Bay Tanner series, and continues where Covenant Hall left off. Bay is an independent, determined, spirited, and compassionate private investigator on Hilton Head Island, who along with her business partner, Erik Whiteside, frequently accepts what appear to be mundane cases which turn into complicated and violent mysteries.
At the end of Covenant Hall, Bay discovers that she has half-sister, her beloved father, Judge Simpson, passes away, and she somewhat reluctantly marries Red Tanner, her murdered husband's brother and ex-deputy sheriff.
At the beginning of Canaan's Gate, Bay, contemplating her new status as an orphan and a new bride, agrees to help Cecilia Dobbs, who as an employee of a local bank suspects a fellow employee and a live-in nurse are embezzling a wealthy couple of millions of dollars. Shortly thereafter, Cecila's body is found in a lagoon off of Pope Ave. -- possibly a suicide or murder. Bay, shaken by Cecilia's death, is determined to discover, against her husband's advice, the truth of the matter.
As with the other mysteries in the series, the vicissitudes of Bay's personal life are as interesting as the mystery itself. In this book, it is her awkward relationship with her new husband, Red, especially since after leaving the sheriff's department, he is now working for her agency. Although they frequently clash, they try to make it work.
Although originally from Ohio, Kathryn Wall has assimilated the atmosphere and local color of the South Carolina Lowcountry so well that one would mistake her for a native. She surrounds Bay with an interesting cast of characters quite at home in the local islands and marshes.
This series will be of special interest to those have visited and vacationed in Hilton Head in that Ms. Wall uses familiar locations and restaurants readers will recognize.
At the end of the novel, a hurricane is approaching Hilton Head, and Bay's marriage is still questionable.
Today we learn, thanks to the New York Times, that the federal government was allowing big oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without obtaining the required permits. If you recall, one of the first things the Bush/Cheney administration did was to convene a secret energy summit at the White House to set new energy policy for the country. The participants were not environmentalists, but representatives of the big oil companies. When the press and public wanted records of what happened at this secret meeting, the Bush/Cheney administration fought to keep it secret by claiming "executive privilege," which many observers considered an admission on their part that our energy policy was written by the large energy companies.
And now the citizens and the environment are suffering the consequences of the Bush/Cheney "energy policy."
The following from today's NYT:
U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf."
"Those approvals, federal records show, include one for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and resulting in thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the gulf each day."
But, why are we surprised? This is the same Bush administration that believed in deregulating Wall Street and the Big Banks.
???????
Teachers' Pension
Funds
My friends and I who are retired school teachers have been receiving
disturbing news for the last several years. It appears teacher
retirement pension plans are grossly under-funded. Researchers
(USA Today) owe pensioners about $600 billion more than the
funds have. About $160 billion is due to recent developments in the
stock market, but much the discrepancy is due to "funds lowballing
the cost of future benefits."
Every public pension fund in this country is either bankrupt or on the
brink of it. Fortunately, Ohio's teachers' fund, STRS, is better off than
most, but it requires immediate attention to make up the lost funds.
It did not help that in 1999, the STRS Board instituted the
35 year/88.5% retirement benefit. That short-sighted decision, plus
the down turn in the market, has allowed the fund to fall into the
present situation.
A number of Ohio's retired teachers began teaching for less than
$5,000 a year with the consolation that they would have a good
retirement with their health care provided. They have seen the health
care benefits decrease and now have to worry about value of
their pension.
Cardinal Roger Mahoney
Arizona's new immigration law (S.B.1070) allows local police to question and detain any person about whom they have a "reasonable suspicion" of being in Arizona without proper documentation. But, rest assured, they will not interrogate a white, blue-eyed Caucasian tourist from Helsinki; they will be stopping and harassing Spanish-speaking Mexicans with dark skin.
Many Americans, from President Obama to Meghan McCain, have expressed their opposition to such a law; and, although the Catholic hierarchy is awkwardly trying to defend its behavior in its handling of pedophile priests, the U.S. bishops have stepped up to the plate in opposing Arizona's misguided legislation.
Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles did not mince words on his blog writing that S.B. 1070 "is the country's most retrogressive, mean-spirited, and useless anti-immigrant law." He called it a product of "totally flawed reasoning: that immigrants come to our country to rob, plunder, and consume public resources." He even compared it to "incipient Nazism." (Newsweek, 5/10/2010).
Although many religious groups like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, including the bishops of Arizona, have taken a clear stand against such dehumanizing legislation, it appears many Americans are willing to tolerate this infringement on their rights because of xenophobia. Fear is a dangerous emotion when it overrides reason.
Bill Maher Reacting to Rush Limbaugh's comments on the BP Oil Spill:
"Here's his quote about the oil spill 'The ocean will take care of this. It's as natural [the oil] as the ocean water is.' That's right, a petrochemical stew is very natural to wetlands. You know what, you dipshit? Mercury's natural too -- you don't put it in your Cheerios."
vs. 
