War

I've been very nervous watching the news about Syria the last few days. I wouldn't want to be the president right now, because it appears like there are literally zero good options. George Packer sums up the options beautifully in this internal dialog.

I think I agree with his not-exactly-perfect conclusion.

Governor In Trouble

Because of our track record of electing governors in Illinois that eventually wind up in jail, I get a lot of grief from friends and relatives who live out of state. Some of my friends and relatives live in Virginia.

I'm guessing they will no longer be among those giving me grief.

Their governor is about to go down too. From the Washington Post article...

Over a roughly 18-month span in 2011 and 2012, Williams gave $15,000 in clothing to Maureen McDonnell, a $6,500 Rolex watch he intended for the governor, $15,000 for catering at the wedding of one of McDonnell’s daughters and $10,000 as an engagement gift to another daughter. Two people confirmed over the weekend that there were additional gifts, including golf clubs for each of the governor’s college-age twin sons and an iPhone for the first lady.

As Yakov Smirnov used to say: "What a country!"

Asiana Airlines Considers Legal Action Against KTVU, NTSB

The full story is here, but the gist of it is that a television station in San Francisco broadcast the names of the pilots...but it wasn't their real names. The names were obviously jokes provided by pranksters.

It is not clear how KTVU originally got the names. The NTSB admitted Friday night to confirming the false names, saying a summer intern “acted outside the scope of his authority.”

What were the names? "Sum Ting Wong” and “Wi Tu Lo.”

I know it's supposed to be tragedy plus time equals comedy, and perhaps the time portion of that equation hadn't yet been fulfilled, but I have to admit I laughed out loud when I read the names. I have suitably punished myself for that inappropriate reaction.

Powerball is at $550 million

Details at nwi.com

The New $100 Bill

The new $100 was unveiled today. It will go into circulation later this year. This is only the fourth design for the $100 bill, but three of those redesigns have happened in the past 20 years as counterfeiters have gotten more technologically advanced. I kind of like it. It looks a bit European.

Now if only I was wealthy enough to actually carry a few of these around with me...

Pet Sematary

One of the most terrifying books I've ever read is Stephen King's "Pet Sematary". I don't know what it was about that book (the movie wasn't scary at all), but it really got to me when I read it about twenty years ago.

This story in this morning's New York Daily News is a real-life Pet Sematary story. A cat was presumed dead and was buried. When they went to plant a flower next to her grave, they heard her meow.

Cue the scary music.

I don't care that the cat's name was Muffin. That doesn't soften the creepiness for me--it heightens it.

A Statement From Chaz Ebert

The Sun-Times has this today. Here's the full statement.

Here's a small taste of it...

"I am devastated by the loss of my love, Roger -- my husband, my friend, my confidante and oh-so-brilliant partner of over 20 years. He fought a courageous fight. I've lost the love of my life and the world has lost a visionary and a creative and generous spirit who touched so many people all over the world. We had a lovely, lovely life together, more beautiful and epic than a movie. It had its highs and the lows, but was always experienced with good humor, grace and a deep abiding love for each other."

Woman Being Considered for Top FBI Job

FBI Director Robert Mueller is stepping down after twelve years on the job. One of the top candidates to replace him is a woman: Lisa Monaco. (Details in the Washington Post)

It's about time they got someone else who could use the wardrobe J. Edgar Hoover left behind.

RIP Herbert Streicher

Don't recognize that name?

You may have known him by his stage name: Harry Reems.

The star of Deep Throat is dead at the age of 65.

As Stocks Rise, So Does Number of Millionaires

From this morning's Washington Post...



"The stock market has roared back to record-high territory — and the number of U.S. millionaires is not far behind, according to a new report. The number of U.S. households worth $1 million or more, excluding the value of their homes, surged to nearly 9 million in 2012."

Wait a minute! I haven't checked my account in awhile. Hold on for a second...let me look...let's see, carry the one, and...Um, no.

That list still does not include me.

Korea Threatens to Nuke U.S.

Here's the headline: Furious Over Sanctions, North Korea Vows To Nuke U.S.



Rodman! What did you say to these guys?

A Real Filibuster

Rand Paul actually did it yesterday. He filibustered the nomination of CIA chief John Brennan for almost 13 hours. I flipped around the cable news networks last night to see how this was playing, and it was getting universal praise from the left and right, although not necessarily on the substance of the debate.

It was just nice to see someone doing a filibuster the way it was intended to be done.

I still don't understand why they don't change the rules back to make it necessary to do it this way.

Valerie Harper

This is sad news. Valerie Harper announced she has terminal brain cancer. Doctors are telling her she only has three months to live.

I've met Valerie several times over the years. In person she's about as friendly and down to earth as any celebrity I've met. There's even a story about her in the upcoming "Records Truly Is My Middle Name". She helped us carry out a practical joke against her good buddy Mary Tyler Moore.

My prayers are with her. Brain cancer is a nasty, nasty disease. I've seen it too many times.

Big Pope Question Answered

Thank God the AP is on this story...



"While he will no longer wear his trademark red shoes, Benedict has taken a liking to a pair of hand-crafted brown loafers made for him by artisans in Leon, Mexico and presented to him during his 2012 visit. He will wear them in retirement."

The Pope

The Pope announced he is resigning. This is the first Pope to resign since 1415! What is the world coming to? The first one to quit in 600 years is a...German? "German Quitter" is supposed to be an oxymoron.

Watch the sky. This could be one of those signs of the Apocalypse.

No More Saturday Mail

It's been rumored for awhile now, but it looks like it's actually going to happen now. Saturday Mail Delivery by the U.S. Postal Service is going away. Prepare yourselves for even longer lines on weekdays. I'm trying to look on the bright side, though. For me this means one less spastic dog freakout per weekend.

The N.R.A's Enemy List

I just stumbled onto this today. The NRA actually keeps a list of organizations, celebrities, journalists, and media outlets that they consider anti-gun, and publishes it on their website.

What could possibly go wrong with a list like that? My takeaway from that list is that I'm happy it's so long. There may be 4 million members of the NRA, but let's not forget there are 309 million people in America that are not members. We're just not as loud or obnoxious.

Well, Golllll-eee

This is a nice story, but sad that he had to wait until he was 82 years old...

The actor best known for playing the TV character Gomer Pyle in the 1960s has married his male partner of 38 years. Hawaii News Now reports Jim Nabors and his partner, Stan Cadwallader, traveled from their Honolulu home to Seattle to be married Jan. 15…The 82-year-old Nabors says you’ve got to solidify something when you’ve been together as long as they have. They couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter. Cadwallader is 64. Nabors says he’s been open about his homosexuality to co-workers and friends but never acknowledged it to the media before…

PEDs

The Miami Herald has a piece today that names names in the Performance Enhancing Drugs controversy in Miami. There are some big athletes listed, including some that have never been linked to PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) before.

These players are on the list of clients of a Miami clinic that is famous for dispensing PEDs. They have been under investigation ever since Manny Ramirez was caught cheating. Here are the names from the article...

San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera
Oakland A's hurler Bartolo Colón
pro tennis player Wayne Odesnik
budding Cuban superstar boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa
Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz
New York Yankees' $275 million man Alex Rodriguez
Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal
Washington Nationals star Gio Gonzalez

Of course, the big name there is A-Rod, who claimed he stopped using PEDs ten years ago. Mmmm Hmmm.

I know that baseball gets all the pub on this PED story, but I'm waiting for the big reveal on the NFL. There is no way those unnaturally large, fast, and powerful beasts aren't using something.

John Kerry

I have a sneaking suspicion that John Kerry will be easily confirmed as the next Secretary of State. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is going to be taking that subject up this week.

That committee is chaired by...John Kerry.