The End

Since starting this blog, I have changed.  The world of blogging has changed.  I grab news headlines and I give you my opinion--and then I would like others to comment back to me.  I find that it will be easier to post and comment using friendfeed.com versus this blog here.  It is with a heavy heart  that I end my blogging with blogger.

You may continue following my journey through cyberspace here:

http://friendfeed.com/jamesgrimes

Ballon Boy Parents to Start Paying Up

They are now going to pay $36T to Larimer County? How about the other counties? NORAD? FAA? various airports?

clipped from www.usatoday.com The parents who pleaded guilty in the balloon boy hoax have agreed to pay about $36,000 in restitution to authorities who responded to the incident. Larimer County Chief Judge Stephen Schapanski Tuesday accepted the agreement that prosecutors reached with Richard and Mayumi Heene, who weren't at the hearing. The Larimer County sheriff's office and other agencies had sought $48,000 for responding to the Oct. 15 incident. The Heenes reported their 6-year-old son had floated away in a homemade UFO-shaped helium balloon, touching off a scramble of emergency responders. The boy wasn't on the balloon. The Heenes' attorneys had argued the couple should pay only a small amount in compensation. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Who Would Have Thought She Was Right?

Wow! I did not think, not even under Obama, would this be true; but as our federal government moves futher from the constitution, the more it seems like this woman, for all intentions and purposes, is correct!

clipped from wrdu.com

Waxman Realizes Blunder; Canceles Meeting With CEOs

Wow Waxman; you don't even know the rules that you put into place? I wonder what you would do if you had to actually follow all of the rules you put into place for the rest of us to follow? I do believe you would go as mad as the rest of us have become. I do find it interesting that you, and the rest of Congress, have made yourselves exempt from this legislation. Why?

clipped from www.wral.com The cancellation came after they realized what everyone already knew - that the companies were required to do what they did because of accounting rules. Waxman and others had reacted with outrage and accused the companies of doing it - in essence, to make health care reform look bad. The Democratic memo cancelling the hearing notes, "These one-time charges were required by applicable accounting rules. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as determined by the FASB, companies are required to take a noncash charge against current earnings to recognize a tax liability for the estimated future tax effects of a new law." The Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee apparently knows less about the health care bill that he helped author than the executives who are now faced with tax penalties built into the legislation.  Waxman's ignorance, coupled with Pelosi's arrogance and Obama's corrupting influence, suggests more surprises are ahead for taxpayers as Obamacare is phased into law.

50-cent Gay?

Very interesting thought.

clipped from entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com Canadian singing sensation Rufus Wainwright has a bombshell confession to make. In an interview with Details, the openly gay singer says he just “knows” that rapper 50 Cent is gay. When asked what makes him so sure, he said, “that cute little voice of his.” We aren’t sure “cute” is the most fitting adjective for 50, but hey, to each his own. Wainwright continued to gush about 50, whom he calls “just the sexiest and a brilliant writer.” “It’s okay, 50 Cent,” he said. “Feel free to call me anytime. My boyfriend and I are experts. You can come over for dinner. And maybe dessert.” As for the “Hallelujah” singer’s other addictions? “I’m addicted to ‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ and ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians.’ I get sideswiped by the boobs, the hair, the butts, the jewels, the cars, the bad boys …”

Gas Tank Blast Kills Teens

Amazing--something as simple as a 10ft. tall fence and/or some flammable gas warning signs could have prevented death.

clipped from www.cnn.com Devon Byrd, 16, and Wade White, 18, were killed when a natural gas tank at a well production site exploded last fall in Carnes, in southern Mississippi. Local teenagers said the site is a popular hangout because it's quiet and secluded. But the dead teens' parents say the explosion could have been prevented if some warning signs had been posted -- "something simple as fences, gates and signs, probably very inexpensive, and certainly a lot less expensive that what a child's life is worth," said White's father, Phillip. Police say they don't know exactly what ignited flammable vapors inside the tank. When it exploded, the teenagers were killed instantly. Their bodies were found about 40 yards from the tank's base; the tank landed another 20 yards from them. Investigators say they found a lighter, but don't know whether it was involved. "He may be in compliance," Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee told CNN. "But there's nothing in the rules for him to be in compliance with."

Assemblymen Guilty of Distributing Child Porn

And our lawmakers wonder why the people do not trust them.

clipped from www.foxnews.com TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A former New Jersey assemblyman has pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child by distributing child pornography. Neil Cohen was accused of using computers in hi Neil Cohen was accused of using computers in his northern New Jersey legislative office to view, print and duplicate images of underage girls simulating or engaged in sexual acts. Under terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will seek a five-year prison term at Cohen's July 12 sentencing. The 59-year-old also would have to register under Megan's law and has agreed never to seek public office again. Cohen checked himself into a psychiatric hospital after giving up his Assembly seat in 2008. As an assemblyman, the Democrat championed bills aimed at fighting child pornography. Cohen left court without commenting.

Qatari Diplomate Attempts to Smoke on Plane

Attempting to smoke on a plane is bad enough; but to then envoke Richard Reid as a joke is over the top! This guy needs is diplomatic immunity revoked, and then we need to charge him with everything we can. To put it mildly, this guy is an idiot and I, for one, hope that the Qatar Embassy in Washington does not allow this guy to use is diplomatic status to get away with something as stupid as smoking on a plane.

clipped from www.wral.com A Qatari diplomat trying to sneak a smoke in an airplane bathroom sparked a bomb scare Wednesday night on a flight from Washington to Denver, with fighter jets scrambled and law enforcement put on high alert, officials said. No explosives were found on the man, and officials do not believe he was trying to harm anyone, according to a senior law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Two law enforcement officials said investigators were told the man was asked about the smell of smoke in the bathroom and he made a joke that he had been trying to light his shoes - an apparent reference to the 2001 so-called "shoe bomber" Richard Reid. The sources asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials said air marshals aboard the flight restrained the man and he was questioned. The plane landed safely as military jets were scrambled.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Not Good for Humans

I love those commercials on TV where they say that, "...high fructose corn syrup is fine in moderation...". BS! The following story clearly shows that.

clipped from www.wral.com It's hard to find a pantry without high fructose corn syrup. It's in cereals, salad dressings, baked goods, fruit juices, crackers and even baby formula. The sweetener has been linked to obesity and diabetes. Now researchers at Duke Medicine say it may not be good for the liver as well. You may have heard about the study last week on WRAL-TV. Read the story and watch the video by clicking here. The researchers found only 19 percent of adults with the liver disease reported no intake of fructose-containing beverages, while 52 percent consumed between one and six servings a week and 29 percent consumed fructose-containing beverages on a daily basis. The study evaluated any beverage with fructose (and 100 percent fruit juices contain fructose). But Abdelmalek told me that more than 90 percent of all the beverages contained high fructose corn syrup.

Duke Fight Song

Winners of the NCAA; and hopefully the ACC as well.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Discovery Leaves for ISS

An early-morning take-off with three women on board and one woman already on the International Space Station. Very interesting--women in space.

clipped from www.foxnews.com Space Shuttle Discovery lifts-off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Monday April 5, 2010. Discovery's seven member crew are on a mission to deliver science racks, the last of the crew quarters and supplies to the International Space Station.

Duke Student Discovers Haiti's Declaration of Independence

Wow! Its amazing that such a document has lasted this long.

clipped from news.duke.edu DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke University graduate student has discovered what is believed to be the only known printed copy of Haiti's Declaration of Independence. While researching the early independence of Haiti in February, Julia Gaffield found the document, an eight-page pamphlet dated Jan. 1, 1804, in the British National Archives in London. It is only the second declaration of its kind in the world, the first being the U.S. Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson and others. Gaffield, who is researching early 19th century Haiti for her doctoral dissertation in history, said the document had been overlooked in the British archives, even as researchers spent decades searching for it in Haiti. "I wasn't specifically looking for it, but I had an eye out for it because I knew it was missing," Gaffield said. "We figured there was an original somewhere, but didn't know if it still existed."

Idiot Pirates Captured

Who fires upon a vessel owned by the US Navy? Idiots!!

clipped from www.cnn.com The Nicholas, which sunk a suspected pirate skiff Thursday after taking fire, is part of the U.S. military's Africa Command. The USS Nicholas reported taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff shortly after midnight local time west of the Seychelles, the statement said. The Nicholas quickly returned fire and began pursuing the skiff, which was eventually disabled. A boarding team from the Nicholas subsequently captured and detained three people, the statement said. Two more suspected pirates were captured on a confiscated "mother ship," the statement said. The detainees will "remain in U.S. custody on board Nicholas until a determination is made regarding their disposition," it said. The Pentagon is determining its next steps, and the suspects may be sent to Kenya to be tried in a piracy court there, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday The Nicholas, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is part of the U.S. military's Africa Command.