Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Excellant choice. A former Comptroller. Now bad. Nice.


This March 4, 2002 file photo shows Roland Burris, then a Democratic candidate for Illinois governor, speaking at a news conference in Chicago. The Illinois Senate president said Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to name Burris, a former Illinois attorney general and state comptroller, to fill the vacant Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) (click here)
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS – 2 hours ago
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich plans to name former state attorney general Roland Burris to Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, setting up a challenge with congressional leaders who have already said they plan to reject anyone the governor picks.
The Democratic governor planned a Tuesday afternoon press conference, but his aides would not say what Blagojevich planned to say.
State Senate President Emil Jones said Burris told him about the appointment. Burris did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.,,,




Link to pictures (click here)




I am confident a successful Illiniois attorney has made many donations to political choices over the years. I don't see any of that should be considered anything except what it is, donations.
I am sure the media is going to try to trash a perfectly qualified candidate for US Senate. Those in the legislature that continue to treat this issue in vengence or political ambition should be brought before Illinois ethics committees for consideration of sanctions, discipline or impeachment.
This choise by the Illinois Governor makes complete sense for the times we are facing. I am confident Senator-Select Burris will be an asset to the Senate and open for advise to the President-Elect if the need arises.
Congratulations to the Governor and his choice for Senate. Well done.

Antarctica is a disaster, the world just hasn't gotten their minds around it yet.



Vostok has a temperature of -15 Fahrenheit with winds are 8 mph. There is no frigid air over Antarctica and the ice at all levels including the terrances that support the 'Blue Ice' is subliming.

Palmer Station is 36 Fahrenheit (above 0). The winds are 2 mph. The barometric pressure across the entire continent is below 29.49, as low as 28.28. The continent is shrouded in fog or clouds with some ice crystal mist and snow grains at the higher elevations.



CSU team takes worm-herder skills to Antarctica (click title to entry - thank you)
By Erin Frustaci

efrustaci@fortcollinsnow.com
...They certainly aren’t your average researchers, donning white lab coats and oversized goggles. That’s not their style. No, they are more extreme than that. After all, it takes a special kind of researcher to travel to the bottom of the earth to study nematodes — which are commonly known as roundworms. It takes a researcher who will proudly wear the name “worm herder.”...
...One might wonder why someone would have an intense desire to study nematodes, but Wall knows just how important the work of a worm herder is. Her lab conducts a series of long-term experiments that measure the effects of climate on the highest level of animals found in the Dry Valleys. They measure and assess where the different species of nematodes are distributed and track declining populations. “We talk about losing endangered species above ground all the time,” Wall said. “We want to know if we lose soil species, does it matter?” Her answer thus far is yes, particularly when it comes to the decomposition of organic matter and the processing of carbon. She said nematodes account for less than 1 percent of the carbon in the ecosystem but turnover 5-7 percent from one useful form to another. The research has shown a 65 percent decrease in Scottnema, a bacterial feeder, which Wall said has a sizable effect on soil carbon.“It’s like measuring the metabolism of the earth,” Wall said...

21 Days until Inauguration - Call for Essayists


Obama inauguration committee seeks essayists, donors (click title to entry - thank you)

By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The hottest ticket in town — a chance to witness President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration — will be the jackpot in an essay contest being announced today by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
In exchange, participants will be encouraged to donate to the inauguration, though organizers say that is not required.
Linda Douglass, an inaugural committee spokeswoman, said fundraising is "going well" and the committee's move is not an effort to raise cash but to give more Americans a chance to participate.
"This is a way of continuing to move toward our goal of involving as many people as possible," she said.
Ten winners will get tickets to the Jan. 20 swearing-in, the Inaugural Parade and one of the "official" inaugural balls. Each winner will be able to bring one guest. An added perk: Winners will receive airline tickets and two-nights' hotel accommodations — a precious commodity in Washington, where hotel rooms have been booked for weeks.

Shotgun Wedding No More

Alaska needs to start over with it's political choices. Alaska has high incidence of nearly every social issue the USA has, including alcoholism among Native Americans due to lack of employment/quality of life.


From a Flicker photo stated to be Levi Johnson and Bristol Palin before Sarah Palin's Vice Presidential run. Before conception.


Shotgun Wedding No More (click title to entry - thank you)
Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, gave birth on Saturday to a healthy 7 lb., 7 oz., baby boy in Palmer, Alaska.
“We think it’s wonderful,” said Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol’s grandmother Sally Heath, who confirmed the news. “The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited.”

No statement regarding Mr. Johnson's Mother's reaction.

Virginity Pledge Doesn’t Stop Teen Sex (click here)
Teenagers Who Take Virginity Pledges No Less Sexually Active, More Likely to Forgo Birth Control, Condoms
...Virginity Pledge May Lead to Risky Sex
Researchers say the federal government spends about $200 million annually on abstinence promotion programs, which include virginity pledges. Two previous studies have suggested that virginity pledges can delay sex, but researchers say those studies did not account for pre-existing differences between pledgers and non-pledgers.
In this study, researchers compared the sexual behavior of 289 teenagers who reported taking a virginity pledge in a 1996 national survey to 645 non-pledgers who were matched on more than 100 factors, such as religious beliefs and attitudes toward sex and birth control.
The results showed that five years after taking the virginity pledge:
82% of pledgers denied ever having taken the pledge.


Pledgers and matched non-pledgers did not differ in rates of premarital sex, sexually transmitted disease, and oral and anal sex behaviors.

Pledgers had 0.1 fewer sexual partners in the past year but did not differ from non-pledgers in the number of lifetime sexual partners and the age of first sex.

The biggest difference between the two groups came in the area of condom and birth control use. The study showed that fewer pledgers used birth control or condoms in the past year or any form of birth control the last time they had sex.

Researcher Janet Elise Rosenbaum, PHD, of Harvard University, says the findings suggest that health care providers should provide birth control information to all teenagers, especially virginity pledgers.

Oxycontin named as new drug of choice in Wasilla Alaska (click here)
The mystery drug behind the arrest of Sherry Johnston, the mother-in-law to be of Alaska’s favorite pregnant teen Bristol Palin has been named, and it’s not Meth, the drug Wasilla is usually famous for.
No, this time round it’s Oxycontin....


Bristol Palin's Future Mother-in-Law Busted (click here - video)

Alaska State Troopers have arrested the mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend on drug charges.
Sherry L. Johnston was arrested after troopers served a search warrant on a home in the town of Wasilla. The 42-year-old Johnston has been charged with six felony drug counts in connection with the drug OxyContin, a strong prescription painkiller.
Johnston is the mother of 18-year-old Levi Johnston. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP nominee for vice president, announced in September that her 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant and Johnston was the father.
Sherry Johnston was later released from jail on $5,000 bail.