…Alberto. It’s time you either stepped down or convinced your bullshit buddy the prez to impeach then pardon you. But either way, we’re done with you. If you think you’ve had it hard so far, I think Congress has much more in store. Get out while the getting is good.

Dems Seek Gonzales Impeachment

By JASON RYAN and THERESA COOK July 31, 2007 Days before Congress is set to adjourn for its August recess, a group of Democrats on Capitol Hill is seeking an impeachment resolution against embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. On Tuesday, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., sought to introduce the legislation urging the House Judiciary Committee to "investigate fully whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to impeach Alberto R. Gonzales, attorney general of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors." Six other Democrats joined Inslee, a former prosecutor from Washington State. Reps. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., Michael A. Arcuri, D-N.Y., Tom Udall, D-N.M., Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, Ben Chandler, D-Ky., and Dennis Moore, D-Kan., co-sponsored the legislation. The House and Senate Judiciary Committees have been investigating the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, and the role Gonzales and senior Justice Department officials played in the dismissals. [Thanks, ABC News]

Twice as many Atlantic hurricanes formed each year from 1995 to 2005, on average, than formed during parallel years a century ago finds a new statistical analysis of hurricanes and tropical storms in the north Atlantic. The researchers conclude that warmer sea surface temperatures and altered wind patterns associated with global climate change are responsible for the increase. [Link]

If I had to sum up the latest game announcement from the Lucas Arts world in three words they would have to be ‘pure, unadulterated, awesome.’ Basically, the principle, in my mind, runs that Lego is fantastic, Lego Star Wars I and II were brilliant and the Indiana Jones films were astoundingly good. Therefore a combination of the two should amount to nothing short of perfection. [Link]

"DeLorean Motor Company, a suburban Houston company that rebuilds DeLoreans, is laying plans to bring the car back into limited production. The last DeLorean rolled off the assembly line in Northern Ireland in 1982. But like Duran Duran, the Rubik’s Cube and other Reagan-era icons, the car retains a following. Of the 9,000 built in 1981 and 1982, about 6,500 are still on the road, according to James Espey, vice president of DeLorean Motor." [Link]

Belfast – After 38 years of conflict and the loss of more than 3,500 lives, a further milestone will be marked in Northern Ireland’s history this week with the official end of British army operations in the province. [Link] (p.s. Listen up BUSH – Peace is possible even in the worst of religious battle-zones {more on this later})

Alberto Gonzales’s apparent willingness to dissemble in order to protect himself or President Bush stretches back to at least 1996, when he intervened to prevent then-Gov. Bush from serving jury duty in Texas, the Post notes. Not until its second-to-last paragraph, however, does the Post article remind readers that by not serving jury duty in the drunken driving case Bush was able to keep his own drunken driving conviction a secret for several more years. [Link]

A total of 925,986 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 573,397 properties nationwide during the first six months of the year, up more than 30 percent from the previous six-month period and up more than 55 percent from the first six months of 2006, according to figures compiled by
RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine-based foreclosure information company. [Link]

Time Magazine, Why Ingmar Bergman Mattered. The Colbert Report has an occasional segment called "Cheating Death," which is introduced by the image of Stephen facing the hooded figure of Death over a chessboard. That’s a reference to the 1957 film The Seventh Seal, a medieval morality play written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Colbert, who switches chess pieces while Death is distracted, parodies the role of a knight (Max von Sydow) who puts his soul on the line to save a few lives during a season of plague. [Link]

Just last week I’ve posted an article in which I opined that the TSA was releasing information regarding suspected terrorist plots in an effort to bolster their shitty reputation and garner a little bit of support from the average American. Now they have gone ahead and determined that cigarette lighters actually pose no threat to the safety of an aircraft in flight.

On one hand we’ve got a bunch of Chicken Littles running around screaming the terrorists are coming, the terrorists are coming, and on the other hand we’ve got a bunch of level-headed realists who’ve correctly determined that a butane lighter is no threat to my safety. What’s going on here? Why is the TSA sending me so many mixed messages?

I guess it could be an evil plot. Lull me into a sense of security and then determine that butane and breast milk are actually the only two ingredients known to man that can construct a binary bomb capable of taking down an aircraft with quantities of less than 3 ounces.

Read more here:

Air ban lifted for cigarette lighters

By Steve Schmidt
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

July 30, 2007

SAN DIEGO – At Lindbergh Field, common cigarette lighters are being cleared for takeoff. Starting Saturday, airline passengers across the country will again be able to bring lighters, two years after the United States became the only nation to ban them as carry-on items.

A spokeswoman with the Transportation Security Administration said authorities determined that the lighters pose no significant threat in the air.

Plus, she said, they are a nuisance to police.

“They are a huge distraction to our security officers,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Peppin.

TSA screeners collect more than 22,000 lighters a day in the nation’s airports. Torch lighters, which create a thin, needle-like flame that is hotter than those found on common lighters, remain prohibited as carry-on items.

The agency’s 2005 ban on lighters grew out of concerns in Congress over aviation safety following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, along with a December 2001 incident in which a passenger tried to use matches to set off an improvised explosive.

The TSA is also modifying restrictions on bottled breast milk.

Mothers flying with children have been able to carry more than 3.4 ounces of breast milk, exceeding federal limits on the amount of liquid normally allowed. But starting Aug. 4, mothers traveling without children can also exceed the limit.

[Thanks, Union-Tribune]

The collapse in confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is all but total among both Democrats and Republicans. Still, President Bush is standing by his longtime friend from Texas. Bush is known for his loyalty, but his reluctance to act this time is baffling Washington. [Link]

Three workers were killed and three others were badly hurt Thursday afternoon in an explosion on the edge of Kern County’s Mojave airport during the test of a propellant system for a pioneering private spaceship. [Link]

Athletic apparel maker Reebok said on Friday it is suspending sales of jerseys of National Football League star Michael Vick, who has been accused of sponsoring a dog-fighting operation. [Link]

Sounds like a sci-fi movie; cans of food bursting because of something deadly growing in them. But it’s not something alien, it’s home-grown botulism. [Link]

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted late on Thursday tough regulations to curb emissions from off-road diesel vehicles such as bulldozers, forklifts, airport service trucks, and other vehicles. [Link] (p.s. Note that it was CARB that killed the Electric Car in California)

Joe Nacchio, the former CEO of Qwest Communications International Inc., was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to surrender $52 million in funds that he earned through insider trading. He must also pay a $19 million fine. [Link]

Pepsi-Cola announced Friday that the labels of its Aquafina brand bottled water will be changed to make it clear the product is tap water. The new bottles will say, "The Aquafina in this bottle is purified water that originates from a public water source," or something similar, Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman Nicole Bradley told CNN. [Link]

I recently posted a link from the NY Times that indicated ALL of the toys recalled this year were manufactured in China. I guess I wasn’t the only person struck by this news. It has affected two of Michigan’s state lawmakers so much that they have introduced a law that would ban the sale of ’Toxic Toys’. The following is a story from the Saginaw News site:

Two county lawmakers target ’toxic toys’

Friday, July 27, 2007

BARRIE BARBER

THE SAGINAW NEWS

Andy Coulouris, the father, says he reacts differently these days when he sees toys belonging to his 1-year-old daughter, Alexandra.

Coulouris, the Democratic state representative from Saginaw, said the recall of so-called "toxic toys" in recent weeks shows why he and state Sen. Roger N. Kahn, a Saginaw Township Republican, have introduced bills to ban the sale of toys contaminated with toxic substances such as lead.

"That’s a very scary thing for parents," Coulouris said. "This process has rearranged the way I look at the toys that are in my daughter’s room."

Said Kahn, "They should be viewed as just that, toxic toys, toys imported into our country to damage our children. It’s a callous disregard for the safety of the products they sell."

The U.S. Consumer Protection Agency has recalled 1.5 million Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys imported from China, saying they pose a lead poisoning hazard, the agency said. Those with "WJ" or AZ" codes are not included in the recall.

Chinese-made products have made headlines in recent months as regulators issued recalls or warnings about toothpaste, tires, cribs, notebook computer batteries, seafood and lead-tainted jewelry. Those are among thousands of products China manufactures and exports to the United States and other countries.

[Thanks, Saginaw News]

Best Male Vocalist

1. Freddie Mercury
2. Marvin Gaye
3. Robert Cray

Charges by four Democratic senators that Gonzales repeatedly lied under oath, plus the latest subpoena, raised the stakes in the congressional fight with Bush over his refusal to allow aides to testify about the firing of nine prosecutors last year. [Link]

A man who had missed his flight to Memphis said there was a bomb aboard the plane Wednesday, prompting it to be recalled to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport even though authorities did not believe the threat was legitimate. [Link]

There is fresh concern over the fate of Fidel Castro after the Cuban leader missed the country’s Revolution Day celebrations. The news was hardly a surprise to most Cubans as he has failed to appear in public since undergoing stomach surgery a year ago. [Link]

“For the first couple of weeks, there was pent-up demand, but now they will be slugging it out in the marketplace for wireless phones,” said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecom analyst. With iTunes and the iPod, Apple founder Steve Jobs created a new category. But the iPhone soon will be facing “competition from a lot of phones that look like the iPhone, and sound like the iPhone.” [Link]

A recall of canned meat products and dog food made at a Georgia plant due to botulism fears could involve tens of millions of cans that pose an urgent public health threat, U.S. officials said on Monday. [Link]

The social networking site MySpace claims to offer a virtual replica of the real world. It provides a forum to meet old friends, catch up on news, listen to music and chat with strangers. But like the real world, it also has its share of undesirables. The online site has found more than 29,000 registered sex offenders among its 180 million members, it was revealed on Tuesday. [Link]

NASA allowed at least two astronauts to fly into space even though they were so drunk that flight surgeons considered them a safety risk, according to a report published Thursday by Aviation Week and Space Technology. [Link]

Lightning strikes while, in the background, Space Shuttle Endeavour sits on Launch Pad 39A. Afternoon thunderstorms at Kennedy Space Center in Florida commonly occur at this time of year. Lightning strikes the two shuttle launch pads about five times each year, according to NASA records. [Link to Photo]

While those plucky Mars rovers continue to brave a dust storm on the Red Planet, Space.com has unveiled a top 10 list of their greatest moments. [Link]

Modern mapping technology has pinpointed a new wrinkle in Canada’s dispute with Denmark over tiny Hans Island. Each country claims the barren patch of rock as its own, leading to a much-publicized war of words. [Link]

I was a bit too weary to take on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday, but I’ve had a good nights sleep and I feel renewed and ready to take on the lying presidential puppet that is our ’chief law enforcement officer’. (I’m NOT making that up, it’s cribbed from the USDOJ website!)

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the Office of the Attorney General which evolved over the years into the head of the Department of Justice and chief law enforcement officer of the Federal Government.

With a history of underhanded tactics, selective memory and an overall sleazy attitude towards our laws and the people who uphold them, Alberto Gonzales climbed up off his knees on Tuesday long enough to lengthen his tail of lies and deceit. As I quoted yesterday, Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat has uncategorically stated that Gonzalez is not trusted. In today’s newest twist on the story it appears that there’s finally proof of the web of lies we’ve been presented with.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Documents indicate eight congressional leaders were briefed about the Bush administration’s terrorist surveillance program on the eve of its expiration in 2004, contradicting sworn Senate testimony this week by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

The documents underscore questions about Gonzales’ credibility as senators consider whether a perjury investigation should be opened into conflicting accounts about the program and a dramatic March 2004 confrontation leading up to its potentially illegal reauthorization.

A Gonzales spokesman maintained Wednesday that the attorney general stands by his testimony.

At a heated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Gonzales repeatedly testified that the issue at hand was not about the terrorist surveillance program, which allowed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on suspects in the United States without receiving court approval.

Instead, Gonzales said, the emergency meetings on March 10, 2004, focused on an intelligence program that he would not describe.

Gonzales, who was then serving as counsel to Bush, testified that the White House Situation Room briefing sought to inform congressional leaders about the pending expiration of the unidentified program and Justice Department objections to renew it. Those objections were led by then-Deputy Attorney General Jim Comey, who questioned the program’s legality.

"The dissent related to other intelligence activities," Gonzales testified at Tuesday’s hearing. "The dissent was not about the terrorist surveillance program."

"Not the TSP?" responded Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "Come on. If you say it’s about other, that implies not. Now say it or not."

"It was not," Gonzales answered. "It was about other intelligence activities."

A four-page memo from the national intelligence director’s office says the White House briefing with the eight lawmakers on March 10, 2004, was about the terror surveillance program, or TSP.

[Thanks, AP]

“The attorney general’s lost the confidence of the Congress and the American people,” said Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat. He described the department as “shrouded in scandal,” and told Gonzales: “I don’t trust you.” [Link]

LA Times kills editorial on how to revitalize both music and newspaper industries to avoid pissing off either. [Link]

“Resolution recommending that the House of Representatives find Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with subpoenas duly issued by the committee on the judiciary.” [Link]

Two suicide car bombings struck soccer fans in Baghdad as they were celebrating Iraq’s victory in the Asian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 136, officials said. [Link]

Apple has applied for a patent on what’s basically DRM for gadget chargers, detailing a system that would ensure gadgets can only be charged by certain approved chargers. [Link]

News that another Tour de France cyclist failed a doping test, this time for testosterone, came on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement that a star rider had an illegal blood transfusion and was expelled from the race. [Link]

The TSA would definitely love to convince us that they are an important piece in the anti-terrorist machine here in the US. After the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport blemish on their oh-so-impecable record (of delaying legitimate passengers for having bottles of explosive breast milk for their infants) the TSA needs either some good publicity or they need to lay on the fear. Seems like the Gestapo fear tactic is the choice of the day.

Reuters reports that recent TSA bulletins raise concerns….. I’m not even going to dignify this with anymore typing. Here’s a cut and paste report:

Dry run on terror?

Jul. 25 – TSA issues bulletin raising concerns that people may be testing US airport security by traveling with items resembling bomb components.

The intelligence bulletin, obtained by NBC News, warns that: "Recent suspicious incidents at U.S. airports may indicate terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and dry runs."

Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

[Thanks, Reuters]

I wonder how NBC News ’obtained’ the report? Email from Kip Hawley?

I swear to god, I can’t wait until November for these. Anyone know how I can get on the Beta Testers list?

Well, we got back from our mini vacation in Vegas and boy, am I beat! I’ve got to admit that we had a really great time, but things are so much different there than they were just 7 years ago when I was there last.

I remember Las Vegas in July as being hot and kind of dead. That is to say there were not that many people out and about. The heat there in July is debilitating and that seemed to keep many people away. Families took to cooler pursuits and headed to beach or mountain retreats.

Boy, has that changed! I saw so many families there this past weekend I thought I was in a Disney attraction. The strip was packed day and night with people cruising from one casino to the next.

(Dang – Time for me to go to work. I’ll finish this post later in the day)

It’s not even the same day I started, but what the heck.

The question remains, why were there so many families in Vegas?  Well, the answer has much to do with image.  Las Vegas and the casinos have tried very hard over the last few years to change their image.   They want to lose the Rat-Pack/Mafia/Grungy image that they had changed slightly ever since Howard Hughes landed his airplane there and spent 4 years living on the entire Penthouse Floor of the Desert Inn.  Now, those days of gritty mobsters taking losers out for a ride in the desert are over.

Instead we have casinos with SpongeBob 4D Special FX Ride located on the Fantasy Faire level of the Excalibur Hotel and Casino.  The Fantasy Faire level is a whole arcade for kids.  The MGM Grand has the lions on display in the Lion Habitat, Circus Circus has a 5 acre Adventure Dome and Mandalay Bay has a wave pool and river ride.  These are not things most high rollers will want to take advantage of, but it sure will salve the conscience of Mommy and Daddy as they lose the rent later that night.

I saw this article on the English web site for the Daily Mail regarding the horrible explosion that rocked New York City today, caused apparently by a steam pipe. Just why are there steam pipes running underneath the streets of the city? Why could they possibly need to pipe steam anywhere?

Regardless, the first picture in the article has a picture of a woman being helped away from the site by a man. To me, that woman looks remarkably like Shirley MacLaine!

 [Thanks, Daily Mail]

Brooke had a gratuitous sighting of John Schneider this week while on assignment in Vegas!

There is a small shoe company that is out to make a difference. What they’ve done is to create on of the most innovative Buy One, Get One Free offers I’ve ever heard of. If you buy one pair of Tom’s Shoes the company will give one pair to a child in a third world country. I’ve searched around the web site and I can’t find any small print.

So, I think you should do yourself a favor and head over to the site and treat yourself to a new pair of shoes.

My all-time favorite female vocalists:

1.  Judy Garland
2. Stevie Nicks
3. Janis Joplin

Gizmodo links to a USA Today article that talks about a survey conducted by a Santa Monica firm, Interpret, LLC. The survey polled 200 owners of the iPhone and asked how satisfied they were with their phone; 90% indicated they were “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their phone. Although, this is a number that I am not surprised at considering the market and the demographic of the initial adopters. More below.

survey says

Vast Majority of iPhone Owners Deliriously Happy, Cured of All Ailments

Despite our verdict of “wait,” a survey by the market research firm Interpret says 90 percent of iPhone owners are “extremely” or “very” satisfied with it, which the firm’s chief strategy officer interprets as ” pretty much off the charts.” (See what I did there?) Some of the other numbers are kind of interesting, if unsurprising.

Miserly coveters-but-not-owners who were surveyed grumbled they’d only pay an average of $180 for an iPhone, for instance. One shocking number is that over a third (35 percent) paid an average $167 to break their contract with another carrier, adding at least another $100 to the iPhone cost-of-ownership calculus. Impatience much?

Also slightly unexpected is that of those surveyed, almost 30 percent were total Apple noobs, while 40 percent had never owned an iPod before. If you bought an iPhone on launch day and you’re one of the 10 percent of defective humans not totally enraptured with it, just a reminder that today’s your last day to make the worst mistake of your life and return it.

[Thanks, Gizmodo]

I found an interesting site out in the ether called "TheBlogNut.Net". It is a site dedicated to the donut. Yes, you read that correctly, the humble donut. And right now they are running a contest through the 24th of July with the first prize being the soundtrack for "The Simpsons Movie" that comes packed in a donut that’s packed in a donut box. See the pic below. Anyway, all you need to do to win is fill out a form and submit the dream Doughnut flavor you’ve always wanted but couldn’t find or were too afraid to ask for. Limit three entries per person.

Man, this is creepy as hell.  I’ve tried to put the clip here in the page but I’m not able to.  Here is a link to the video of the transformation of Michael Jackson over the years.