Holy Smokes, Bubba, the only thing the nation hasn't learned about is the dimple in your butt.

There is no way a political action committee could have paid for the national exposure of the New Jersey Governor today.

I don't know of any living person that has received this much attention.


AUG. 8, 2013, 5:46 PM
Josh Barro

...He's successfully (click here) executing one part of a strategy to do this: Convincing liberal commentators that he's an unreconstructed conservative given too much credit for moderation. When he draws their fire, he convinces conservatives that he's one of them.

For example, in the New York Magazine cover story on Christie this week, Benjamin Wallace-Wells wrote that Christie holds "conventionally conservative positions on many issues," such as being "opposed to government programs for the poor."...

The nation will know if you are stronger than this storm. According to Fox's Hume he has a 'man crush' on you.

Bob Jordan, Asbury Park Press, and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY7:54 p.m. EST January 13, 2014

Federal auditors are investigating (click here) whether New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie improperly used $25 million in Superstorm Sandy relief funds for a tourism ad starring the governor and his family, according to U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J.

The marketing campaign and ads were rolled out as Christie was gearing up for his 2013 re-election bid....

There was no mention of his election campaign in the ad. It was promotion of a family based love of the New Jersey Shore. Sorry, but, it was. Christi was a very popular figure when that ad was made and it served to draw attention to the message. It is difficult to accuse him of any impropriety when it was approved by HUD.

I thought the accusations of 'abuse of power' was interesting. Maybe, but, if Bush and Cheney can get away with killing thousands of American troops in an immoral and illegal war, how is this called abuse of power?

The petroleum industry is given subsidies to burn up a planet and that isn't abuse of power either.

I am not so sure I appreciate the priorities of the press.

This is gossip for ratings compared to the sincere crimes of the previous DC administration.

January 2, 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - The Securities and Exchange Commission (click here) said last Friday it would adopt amendments to remove references to credit ratings in calculating the regulatory capital financial firms need to put behind commercial paper, debt and preferred stock, pushing forward one of the major tenets of the 2010 Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The change appears targeted at mitigating some of the risks uncovered in the collapse of commodity trading firm MF Global in October 2011.

The amendments will remove references to credit ratings in the broker-dealer financial responsibility and confirmations of transactions rules. New regulations will also prohibit broker-dealers from using customer securities and cash to finance their own trading, and will force them to maintain more than a dollar of highly liquid assets for each dollar of liabilities....

Do you know what President came from New Jersey? 

The 28th, Woodrow Wilson.

It is a little disappointing Corzine hasn't shown up somewhere in the Democrat Party. I would think his experience would be valuable to the party.

The 'thing' about the bridge scandal is that it might work out to be just that, a scandal.

3 o'clock tomorrow, huh? I don't know of many State of the State addresses that have become this popular. I betcha Obama won't get the ratings Christi will get tomorrow.

Someone said the world stopped spinning today. It could be that time has stopped.

"Ground Hog Day"

Drone conducting friendly fire along Pakistan border. Troops Out Now!

Oops, wrong guy. When is 'oops' going to be enough to end this drone practice?

Waziristan is the mountainous region of Pakistan frequently referred to as "The Tribal Areas." At one time this region of Pakistan was a tourist mecca for the beauty found there. The people in this region are not all jihadists seeking to over throw governments and kill innocent people.

I might mention, The Tribal Areas were of great concern of the Late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. She frequently believed the presence of 'hostiles' were causing hardship with the people.

The USA needs to leave and let the people solve their own problems

Published time: January 13, 2014 17:12 
Edited time: January 13, 2014 17:49

...However, (click here) it is only now that details have begun to emerge. The man in question has been identified as Patrick K., from Hesse, central Germany, according to the German paper, Süddeutsche Zeitung and the NDR broadcaster.

An entry at a jihadist forum, which also produced video evidence of his death, stated the man's full name was Patrick Klaus. Two separate German-language video messages (Part one; Part two) posted by German Islamists show Klaus smiling at the camera as he calls on his compatriots with the same beliefs to: "Follow me".

The German national apparently switched to Islam at the age of 14, reports Die Welt. In 2011, he moved to Waziristan, a mountainous region near Afghanistan’s border back in 2011 to live with his wife, who is thought to be a Pakistani national.

The reports state that at the time of the strike Patrick K. had been travelling in a pick-up truck alongside several Uzbek fighters. They were heading in the direction of South Waziristan when a MQ-1 Predator drone missile hit the vehicle. Nine others died alongside Patrick K., and the vehicle itself was left completely burnt out....

South Pacific Typhoons started 2014 with a Category 4 storm.

Tonga's Ha'apai island group, home to 8000 people, was severely damaged by Cyclone Ian on Saturday. Photo / AP

By AP
5:30 AM Tuesday Jan 14, 2014

As many as 400 families (click here) had their homes severely damaged or destroyed in a powerful storm which struck Tonga, but officials are relieved the death toll hasn't risen beyond one.

Director of Emergencies Leveni Aho said it was "almost unbelievable" there weren't more fatalities in the devastation caused by Cyclone Ian, which pummeled the South Pacific archipelago with gusts up to 287km/h on Saturday.

Worst hit was the Ha'apai island group, home to 8000 people. Authorities said one elderly woman on Lifuka Island was killed. Mr Aho said several people suffered moderate injuries but none were life-threatening....

Published: Jan 12, 2014, 8:14 AM EST
Associated Press

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga -- Authorities (click here) were searching Tonga's remote islands for cyclone victims Sunday after a powerful storm cut a swath of destruction through this South Pacific archipelago, killing one person and destroying most of the homes in some areas.

Relief efforts following Saturday's cyclone were concentrating on the Ha'apai islands - one of Tonga's three island groups between the main island of Tongatapu in the south and the Vava'u islands to the north, Tonga's Director of Emergencies Leveni Aho said.

Cyclone Ian hit Tonga with gusts of up to 178 miles per hour. The storm was later downgraded from Category 5 - the most destructive level - to Category 4, with gusts of up to 155 mph. On Sunday, the cyclone was tracking southeast away from Tonga....

January 14, 2014
Peter Hannum

Sydney (click here) will be the envy of much of south-eastern Australia this week as a heatwave sends temperatures soaring elsewhere in the region.

Sea breezes will keep temperatures in a daily range between 21C (69.8 F) and 29C (84.2 F) until Saturday, when the tail end of the heat pushes maximums in the CBD up to 31C (87.8 F).

In western Sydney, temperatures are expected reach 34C (93.2 F) on Tuesday and between 36C (96.8 F) and 39C (102.2 F) until Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Victoria, southern NSW and South Australia can expect even more scorching conditions. The prolonged hot spell will be the most intense since conditions in the days leading up to the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009, forecasters say.

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The second day of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park should coincide with the first of four days of temperatures reaching about 40C (104 F) , possibly 43C (109.4 F) on Tuesday.

Adelaide, where the mercury shot up to 42.1C (107.8 F) on Monday, is forecast to have four more similar days in a row. Each could reach 42C (107.6 F) or higher, making it the longest such run for the city, Weatherzone meteorologist Rob Sharpe said....

Heat in Australia equates to fire.

By Greg Ansley

January 14, 2014

Health and high fire danger alerts (click here) are coming into force as the heatwave that scorched Perth and ignited huge fires close to the city moves up the east coast from South Australia. The toll from the weekend's Western Australia fires yesterday rose to 44 homes destroyed, large areas of bush incinerated, one man dead and two others taken to hospital.

Temperatures soared into the 40s in South Australia and Victoria is now braced for the most severe conditions it has faced since the 2009 heatwave that sparked the Black Saturday fires....

...In Melbourne, which will endure a series of days in the high 40s, on-court temperatures at the Australian Tennis Open could reach as high as 50C (122 F) ....

Morning Papers - It's Origins (click here - thank you)

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

There is an election in South Carolina for Lieutenant Governor (click here)

BY ANDREW SHAIN

January 12, 2014

Sellers, a 29-year-old Democratic state representative from Denmark, said he was worried only about his own campaign, not McConnell’s plans....

...Sellers said that if elected, he wants to improve schools, roads and preventative health care.

McKinney, however, holds a 6-1 edge in cash on hand – helped by a $245,000 loan that he has made to his campaign....

...The race is also a curio for voters.

This November will be the last time a lieutenant governor will run alone in the state. Starting in 2018, candidates for governor will choose their lieutenant governor-running mates, and voters will cast ballots on a combined governor-lieutenant governor ticket, just as they do now with president and vice president.

“There’s not a lot of love for the lieutenant governor,” Buchanan said....

...Dream with eyes open

Sellers spoke last week to seniors at Irmo High School at the request of students who had heard the son of S.C. civil-rights icon Cleveland Sellers speak at Boy’s and Girl’s State last year.

The Denmark attorney suggested to about 150 seniors in the cafeteria that they “dream with their eyes open.”

“That’s my favorite saying in the entire world,” he said. “[Y]ou’ll be able to have moments where you can sit back and say, ‘Look, I took one step along this journey and maybe at the end of this journey, I can change the world.’ ”

Sellers dropped a few pop-culture names in his speech to the high-schoolers. He talked about his first phone call with then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama before the 2008 election and when he met singer Usher, actress Kerry Washington and actor Chris Tucker at an Obama rally.

He also said he turned down an appointment to become an advisor to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture after Obama was elected.

Sellers, a state representative since 2007, said he ran for political office to give people a chance at better lives. “I can’t make you succeed, but I can, at least, give you the opportunity.”

He also gave many of the seniors a glimpse of their future, saying he has $106,000 in college debt.

After his speech, Sellers said he hopes his appeal to younger audiences will help create a new voting base for him. But he understands most South Carolinians are worried about jobs, which he said he has worked to win.

“For me it’s not just saying, ‘I’m a businessman, and I create businesses,’ ” he said. “For me, it’s about toiling.”...

The question for any election is, "Who carries the vision of tomorrow in a meaningful way?" 

"Good Night, Moon"

The greatest gift of the Apollo Space Program was the realization that Earth is small, blue and unique planet in a void of space that is hostile and foreign. The least we as citizens of the USA can do is appreciate the reality our space program brought to us. Astronauts sacrificed their lives to bring us home again.