Murdock Editor Will Be Arrested!

Former-News of the World Editor Andy Coulson will be arrested on Friday morning, according to The Guardian, over suspicions that he played a direct role in the phone hacking scandal that has brought down the paper. Phone hacking by the paper included a cell phone of a murdered girl and deleting messages left for her and her parents.  Amazing!

This scandal is growing by the moment and Murdock's closing the paper is a shabby attempt to distance himself and his media empire from the crimes.

Murdock's "News of the World" Folds!

Plagued with scandal and pending legal actions for hacking into the cell phones of celebrities and crime victims, Rupert Murdock's tabloid, News of the World is closing.  The best selling London daily will cease publication this Sunday.

From the LA Times:

Earlier this week, Britain was rocked by reports that a private investigator hired by the tabloid had illegally accessed – and deleted – voice mail messages on the phone of a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped and later found murdered.

That incident and many others including alleged hacking into military and government phones has brought a boycott of Murdock's papers in the UK. 

Murdock also owns Fox News as part of his News Corporation empire.

Political Fundraising. Obama Raking It In - GOP Trickling Down.

From the number of fundraising calls I get, I can tell you that President  Obama has his reelection campaign in full swing. Hardly a week goes by that I don't receive a letter or call from the campaign. Add to that the regular fundraising for the DNC and it's pretty easy to tell that the Democrats are cranking the cash machine at full speed.

Meanwhile, over at the GOP/Tea Party things are not so smooth. With a field of a dozen or so candidates it's hard for any one person to raise the massive amounts of cash needed to mount a campaign against an incumbent. The Republican front runner, Mitt Romney pulled in a cool $18 million in the first quarter, but the GOP itself is bogged down in $18.5 million in debt.

Add to that a recent poll that showed 60% of probable voters said they were entirely or somewhat comfortable with a Mormon candidate.  And that kind of information can only be disheartening to both Romney and Huntsman (the other Mormon presidential candidate).

I know it will be a tough election cycle and I am somewhat confident that President Obama will win reelection but I have to wonder what the GOP will pull from its bag of tricks to level the playing field?  One thing is certain, it won't be Sarah Palin!

Connecticut Adds Transgender Protections

From Raw Story:

Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed legislation Wednesday that is designed to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

The new law adds the phrase "gender identity or expression" to all existing state sex discrimination laws, making Connecticut the 15th state to specifically protect transgender people.

Video - Massive Haboob Engulfs Phoenix, AZ

Haboob is Arabic for Dust Storm. Amazing video.

More Crap from the Christian Right? Dangerous Gays!

This was too good to miss.  Found this on Joe.My.God.  Enjoy or fume.  Me, I did the latter.

Fireworks at Fair Park - July 4, 2011

Had a great time last night except for the heat, but that comes with living in Texas.

Tried out my new iPhone and shot fireworks, enjoy!

Have a Bang Up 4th!

Fred Astaire with some 4th of July Fireworks as only he could do it!


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The Fabulous Step Brothers with Foot Fireworks

ON sorry about the alliterate headline, but on July 4 back in 2001 the last surviving member of the tap dance sensation known as the Step Brothers passed away.  Luckily for us their magic has remained on film and now on the web.  OK the images are stereotypical,but get beynd that and enjoy their artistry and amazing energy.

Why Fireworks on 4th of July?

OK burn bans aside, which I understand very well since it is dry as a tinderbox here in Texas this summer, fireworks on Independence Day  are as American as Apple Pie.  Mentioned by our founding fathers, specifically John Adams in a letter to his wife (got the date wrong):

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

So there City of Dallas!  Time to follow our founding father's advice and legalize fireworks in Dallas.  I used them as a child, and was taught how to fire them safely and with care.  Kids nowadays have no such instruction and because they are illegal most often shoot them covertly and in most cases, dangerously.

With common sense and care, fireworks can be fun and reasonably safe and should once again be part of the 4th of July!

Pro Sports RIP? Season of Discontent in Pro Sports

The NBA may lock out players making next season in doubt.  Now from my perspective this isn't a big deal.  I pretty much don't give a rats ass about pro sports except baseball, and that only applies to going to the games.  On TV baseball is as exciting as watching paint dry, pitcher/batter is not the game, the real game is in the outfield and can only be seen from the stands.

But I digress.  The NBA is embroiled in a labor dispute that is simply put, a bunch of billionaires trying to negotiate with a bunch of millionaires how much to pay them.  For all it's street popularity, basketball at the pro level is all about being rich.  Season tickets are well beyond the price range of the common man and much of the game is about sky-boxes and sponsorship bucks.  Not very interesting to me.

Meanwhile the NFL is doing the same thing.  Owners (billionaires) vs Players (millionaires) in a game of brinksmanship.  All so the fans can pay big bucks to watch in air-conditioned comfort from new domed stadiums.  Doak Walker would spin in his grave!

So will there be a season this fall?  Frankly I don't care, I'd much rather watch minor league baseball or college football anyway and that would be on rare occasions when I had absolutely nothing better to do.

Scientists use Diamond to Create Quantum Memory - Quantum Physics Friday!

Remember in the movie Superman, when Christopher Reevesuses a crystal shard to retrieve images and data from Krypton?  Well that may not be that for from some future computing tool. 

Scientists working with nitrogen electrons and diamond have managed to store information at the subatomic level and perhaps open the door to quantum computing.

A story in Science News gives details:

The physicists were able to coax the fragile quantum information contained within a single electron in diamond to move into an adjacent single nitrogen nucleus, and then back again using on-chip wiring.

 More here for you science geeks!