Category: News

Presidentially “Pardoned” Turkeys

cbs2.com – Pardoned Turkeys To Their New Home: Disneyland:

(CBS) ANAHEIM, Calif. A pair of turkeys that got a presidential pardon Wednesday at the White House will soon be the main attraction of Disneyland’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

In a White House Rose Garden ceremony, President Bush patted the red, fleshy head and feathered neck and back of “Flyer,” a 20-week-old, 36-pound tom, and said, “I am granting a full presidential pardon.”

This would be cute if not for Bush’s past as the executingest governor in recent American history… And his history of pre-emptive pardoning of Americans for war crimes abroad…

As it is, it’s just creepy.

UPDATE: It’s not a Bush thing, it dates from Harry Truman. Which, I dunno, you start thinking about what he did in Japan, maybe it’s still creepy. Presidents can be a creepy bunch.

Gray Goo Problem in the Absence of Nanotech?

The Gray Ooze That Ate the Indonesian Villages – Los Angeles Times

SIDOARJO, Indonesia — Nothing, it seems, can stop the mud.

For more than three months, the hot, noxious goop has spewed up through a crack in the earth at a natural-gas exploration site, swamping everything in its path.

The expanding, surreal gray lake with the stench of rotten eggs has enveloped more than 10 square miles of land in eastern Java, Indonesia’s most densely populated island. The flow has forced 8,000 to 10,000 people from their homes, engulfed about a dozen factories, contaminated fish farms and intermittently closed a major highway.

“Granholm watches DeVos define race — and define her”

Granholm watches DeVos define race — and define her

As DeVos has bombarded the airwaves with effective messages emphasizing his business acumen, presenting him as a regular guy who drives his own car and subtly impugning the governor’s leadership, the Granholm campaign has observed an electronic blackout.

You know, the irony here, to me, is that the one time I met Dick DeVos, when he was visiting my workplace, he flew in in his private helicopter. Kid you not. [Update: Joel in comments points out that I have no idea what I’m talking about here.  Not too uncommon a situation.]
Don’t get me started on his business, Amway (aka Alticor). There’s enough dirt on them a google search away; I’m not going to repeat any of it here. I am grateful for the philanthropy DeVos has engaged in here in West Michigan, which is considerable. Children’s hospital and everything. That’s awesome. I just have a hard time feeling comfortable about the source of those millions.

Keeping Up With “Reality”

Iraq => the old 9/11: Old and Busted

Iran => a new 9/11: The New Hotness

 (The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on Wednesday compared the threat from Iran’s nuclear programs to the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.

“Just like September 11, only with nuclear weapons this time, that’s the threat. I think that is the threat,” Bolton told ABC News’ Nightline program.

“I think it’s just facing reality. It’s not a happy reality, but it’s reality and if you don’t deal with it, it will become even more unpleasant.”)