Just who ARE these people that sleep on railroad tracks?

It has happened again last night, here in Texas - more idiots dead after falling asleep on some train tracks!  Really?  C'mon, people everyone KNOWS that the most relaxing rest comes from sleeping in the street with your head on the curb, right?

Last September, out in Mission Viejo, California a young couple, after a "heavy night of partying" in a nearby park simply fell asleep on the tracks.  Oops, as Governor Perry would say.  Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators said it appears a young man and teenage girl simply fell asleep on the tracks early Thursday before a Los Angeles-bound Metrolink train killed them, scattering body parts for hundreds of feet.  Talk about how that must have looked if you were out walking the dog and Fido comes running up with a foot or something for you to play catch with!  Here, boy - bring me the arm also!  What fun!

This happens a lot, it seems.  Last year in New Orleans two more men were hit on the tracks.  I'm sure it all starts in fun, "HEY, LADY!! Show us those hooters and we will throw ya some beads!"  Then a couple of dozen frozen drinks later it is time to take a nap on some nearby rail, I guess.  Investigators said they received a 911 call from the conductor of an Amtrak train at about 8:20 a.m. Saturday, who said the train had just hit two men who were lying across the tracks near the 8-mile marker on Interstate 59.
One of the victims, described as a 22-year-old man, was found dead at the scene. The other victim, described as a 28-year-old man, was flown to a nearby hospital. 

Such a fun way to go.  I'll have to remember to tell Betty in Cozumel that after we knock down our usual six or eight margaritas, that we should take our nap in the street or somewhere safe.

Hey, 2012! Seriously?

On this, the 34th day of 2012 I have to say that I am not impressed with you so far.

I even remember a friend of mine posting how he stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve - just to be sure that 2011 would actually end.  Yes, it was that bad of a year.  Dad died last year, along with my favorite uncle, Jim.  Work continued along as it had all  year - less than what I would like it to be as far as "job satisfaction" ratings go.  Maybe that category is over rated.

Anyhow, my blog title reflects what used to be - my flying every week for work - and since about the summer of 2010 that is no longer the case.  So, maybe I will change the title; maybe not - but for now let's just say that I have missed my writing about the travel I used to do for work, missing the Betty and the dogs at home, when I was working in a job that used to be so rewarding.  Now, I work from home and all that implies.  So, as I now sit at this computer and create content for work, my day mostly consists of watching my dogs look out of the window and fight for the prime spot resting on my feet under the keyboard.  Therefore, I will get back to writing this blog and posting about Thoughts from three feet up.

Vascular dementia.  This is 2012's gift to our family thus far along with the death of my favorite Uncle Jim's wife, my Aunt Jo, all in just 34 days.  My sweet mother-in-law, who loves me because I love her daughter now has been officially diagnosed with vascular dementia.  She started "slowing down" and not remembering the usual things last year and it has only continued to get worse.  My Betty is trying her best - and has been trying her best to figure out what is wrong with Mom for months now. 

Trips back and forth to the country to drag her Mom to one doctor after another, worrying all the time, and finally taking over the family's finances now fills her days.  Well, that and also putting up with my BS, which used to be her full time job!  Those of you who know someone with dementia understand how truly heartbreaking this is - watching someone who used to be so happy, and full of life to slowly stop talking at all.  This isn't alzheimer's - she knows who I am and what is going on around her.  But, she just can't talk about it any longer and it can't be fixed, as we say in Texas.  We met the in-laws for dinner last week, and as soon as Mae saw me a BIG smile came over her face, and we hugged a long time.  I know that she is still in there - but dammit, I won't get to hear her tell me about it again.  I have been hesitant to open that last jar of corn chowder that she made just for me because I know that no more jars will be coming.

So, 2012 - listen up!  You had better get your act together and deliver us something good in the next 10 months or we are going to be showing you the door like we did to your older brother, 2011 - and we may not wait for the ball to drop to move on down the road.





 

What is really going on with the latest Health Care ruling?

By RANDY E. BARNETT
AND ELIZABETH PRICE FOLEY

For months, progressives smugly labeled the legal challenges to ObamaCare as "silly" or even "frivolous." Today their confidence must be severely shaken.

Late Monday afternoon in Pensacola, Fla., U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson delivered the second major judgment that the centerpiece of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—the "individual mandate" that forces Americans to buy health insurance whether or not they want it—is unconstitutional.

In December, District Court Judge Henry Hudson ruled against the mandate in a separate lawsuit brought by the state of Virginia. But Judge Vinson's sweeping and powerfully reasoned decision this week went much further, striking down the entire health-reform law on the grounds that the individual mandate was not severable from the rest of the statute. And the plaintiffs in Judge Vinson's courtroom included the attorneys general of 26 states, not just one. His opinion thus casts a dark shadow over ObamaCare until the Supreme Court issues a final ruling on the matter.

Consider the problems posed by the insurance mandate. The Obama administration argued that it was supported by the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. True enough, insurance is commerce, but not buying insurance is the antithesis of commerce. Commerce has always been understood as requiring economic activity. This was the rationale Judge Hudson adopted in striking down the individual mandate in the Virginia case.

The government's lawyers in the Florida case insisted that not buying health insurance was somehow different from a failure to buy other products like clothes or food. They said health insurance was "unique" because, eventually, everyone will seek and obtain health care. And if they aren't insured, the costs will be shifted onto others, thus substantially affecting commerce.

Judge Vinson rejected this argument, recognizing that "not consuming" other products, such as food, is also unavoidable and can have substantial effects on other commercial markets. "There is quite literally no decision that, in the natural course of events, does not have an economic impact of some sort," he wrote. "The decisions of whether and when (or not) to buy a house, a car, a television, a dinner, or even a morning cup of coffee also have a financial impact that—when aggregated with similar economic decisions—affect the price of that particular product or service and have a substantial effect on interstate commerce."

Recognizing the vulnerability of relying on the Commerce Clause alone, the Obama administration in the Florida case shifted its emphasis to the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution. That clause empowers Congress to enact "all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution" its enumerated powers. As the Supreme Court has repeatedly explained, the Necessary and Proper Clause does not expand the scope of Congress's enumerated powers. Instead, it gives Congress the ability to select among various means of exercising them—for example, the enumerated power to "establish post offices" necessarily and properly includes a power to print stamps.

The Obama administration claimed that the individual mandate is a necessary and proper means of carrying out its reforms in the health-insurance market. These reforms include requiring insurers to offer coverage to those with pre- existing conditions, to extend coverage to dependents up to age 26, and to eliminate lifetime coverage caps. Because these reforms make health insurance more expensive, the government's lawyers claim that unless everyone is forced to buy health insurance, too many healthy people will sit on the market sidelines as "free riders" until they become ill. So in order to make the "reformed" health-insurance market work, it's necessary and proper to force everyone to buy insurance.

Judge Vinson flatly rejected the administration's attempt to escape the restrictions of the Commerce Clause by appealing to the Necessary and Proper Clause. His decision acknowledges that, while reforming an insurance market is a regulation of commerce, Congress cannot artificially create its own "free rider" crisis in the insurance market and then use that crisis to justify an otherwise unconstitutional mandate as "necessary and proper" to save the market from collapse.

This novel use of the Necessary and Proper Clause, if allowed to stand, would fundamentally transform our constitutional scheme from limited to unlimited federal power, narrowing the scope of individual liberty. In Judge Vinson's words, "the more harm the statute does, the more power Congress could assume for itself under the Necessary and Proper Clause. This result would, of course, expand the Necessary and Proper Clause far beyond its original meaning, and allow Congress to exceed the powers specifically enumerated in Article I."

Rep. Marsha Blackburn on the health-care ruling.

One crucial difference between the Florida and Virginia decisions relates to the breadth of the remedy. While both courts agreed that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, the Virginia decision merely declared the mandate alone to be unconstitutional—the rest of ObamaCare was unaffected. But Judge Vinson concluded that the individual mandate could not be "severed" from the rest of the law, and so the entire law must be struck down.

The judge had little choice: The Obama administration itself argued that the individual mandate was inextricably intertwined with the rest of ObamaCare. So if the mandate fell, the whole scheme was doomed to collapse as a legal matter. "There are simply too many moving parts in the Act and too many provisions dependent (directly and indirectly) on the individual mandate and other health insurance provisions," he held, "for me to try and dissect out the proper from the improper, and the able-to-stand-alone from the unable-to-stand-alone."

The Obama administration attempted to cloak an unprecedented and unsupportable exercise of federal power in the guise of a run-of-the-mill Commerce Clause regulation. When the weakness of that theory was exposed, it retreated to the Necessary and Proper Clause and the taxing power. Judge Vinson's decisive rejection of all these theories is another significant victory for individual liberty—the ultimate purpose of federalism—and it lays the intellectual groundwork for every decision on the mandate yet to come.

Mr. Barnett is a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Foley is a professor of constitutional and health care law at Florida International University College of Law.

More consequences of the New Health Care laws

By SARAH KLIFF & J. LESTER FEDER | 1/27/11 1:29 PM EST

Health insurers in 34 states have stopped selling child-only insurance policies as a result of the health reform law, and the market continues to destablize.

According to a survey of state insurance departments by Republican Senate committee staff and obtained by POLITICO, states that have seen carriers exit the market include those that have been ardent supporters of the health reform law, like California and Oregon. Twenty states now have no insurers offering child-only policies.

Since September, the health reform law has barred insurers from withholding policies to children under 19 who have a pre-existing condition. Rather than take on the burdensome cost of writing policies for potentially-pricey medical conditions, many carriers decided to leave the market altogether.

The Department of Health and Human Services responded by changing the rule to allow states to institute an open enrollment period for child-only health insurance plans. The move was meant to stop subscribers from jumping on plans only when they were diagnosed with a medical condition.

But the regulation seems to have done little to stop carriers from leaving the market.

“We only know of one company [a local affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield] offering child-only health insurance,” Dan Honey, Deputy Commissioner for Life and Health in the Arkansas Department of Insurance, said Thursday. “The actual law federal law requires no underwriting for pre-existing conditions, which means guaranteed issue. Of course once HHS came out with that directive, that’s when a lot of companies started balking.”

One of the largest insurance markets in the country, Texas, has seen all their carriers drop child-only health insurance, as have other large states including Florida and Illinois.

Other states that no longer have carriers selling child-only plans include Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming, according to the investigation by GOP staff on the Senate Health, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on the issue at a Thursday morning hearing.

“It’s absolutely devastating,” Enzi said. “The outcome is predictable as a result of the drafting that would allow people to buy a policy on the way to the emergency room.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48299.html#ixzz1CXc3iux1

Please! Put a sock in it for a bit, Sarah!

Why America is growing tired of Palin

SARAH PALIN

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January 20, 2011|By Gloria Borger, CNN Senior Political Analyst

• 

OK, you've got Palin fatigue. Not to worry. So does much of the country: The latest CNN poll shows that 56 percent of Americans view her unfavorably.

More damaging, though, is this: Sarah Palin's unfavorable rating among women has gone up 10 points. And 59 percent of those all-important independent voters don't like her -- and that's up a stunning 14 points in just a few months.

You might argue it's because of the debate surrounding the Tucson shootings -- specifically, Palin's tone-deaf response to the unfair charges that she was somehow responsible for a deranged shooter's state of mind. And that could well be part of it. But there's more: She's completely overstayed her welcome.

We've watched her morph from the hockey mom into a multi-media extravaganza that knocks on our door every day to sell something, without any invitation.

When Sarah Palin was air-dropped onto the national scene, she was just what the GOP ordered. Republicans were looking for something new to cheer about. In Palin, they found it -- along with a reason to support John McCain. McCain's views on certain issues were, well, complex. Palin's were not. She was a burst of energy, a breath of fresh air, a new flame (pick your cliché) that attracted new supporters for a troubled campaign.

McCain lost, but Palin won.

Now, something is changing. Her staunch supporters are still there, to be sure, but Republicans are getting antsy, even nervous. In GOP circles, she's beginning to be seen as toxic in any presidential race. The whispers (which have always been there among the establishment) are starting to become public.

The editorial page editor of The Washington Examiner -- which defended Palin in the 2008 campaign -- opines about the "public exhaustion" with Palin. Mark Tapscott notes how Palin "has been here, there and everywhere for several months" and how "too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing when there is no escaping the good thing." Exactly.

Even the politicians, ever the lagging indicator, are starting see some benefit in chipping away at the Palin veneer. After all, there's now a sense that she's maxed out. There's nothing she can say anymore to woo new people who are not already in her corner.

So why not try and get the rest? How else to explain presidential wannabe Newt Gingrich's admonition the other day that Palin "should be more careful and think through what she's saying and how she's saying it?" This coming, of course, from a man who once compared himself to Napoleon. Or likely GOP contender Tim Pawlenty's admission that Palin's move to put cross hairs on a map of the districts of vulnerable Democrats "wouldn't have been my style"?

These men read the polls. They understand that any unfavorable rating above 50 percent is almost impossible to undo. And while they don't want to alienate Palin's supporters -- they have to win in GOP primaries, after all -- they clearly believe that criticizing Palin, even meekly, is no longer a fool's errand. "She's an enormous problem for us," says one GOP strategist. "She has a loyal following, and any time you criticize her, it convinces her followers she is more right. And you get demonized."

All of which explains the GOP tiptoeing. GOP presidential contenders may be trying to wait and see if she runs. (Why alienate her followers for no reason?) Or, they would love to see someone take her on -- like a Mike Huckabee, for instance -- with the understanding that the candidacy could become sacrificial. So who is going to sign up for that?

Not many. The hope for some Republicans is that Palin will literally tweet her way out of our hearts. The books, the reality TV, the family psycho-dramas, the never-ending internet "thought bubbles" could just be enough to drive even those who like her over the edge. And, sure, we in the press are part of this uber-coverage, behaving as if every 140-character thought is worth some conversation. It isn't. As Erick Erickson, the editor of the conservative RedState.com and a CNN contributor, told me, it's not really about what Palin has achieved. "By 2012," he says, "people are going to be so tired of her they're going to want to avoid eye contact. It's not fair, but it's reality."

And there's one more thing we can't forget: Voters actually like positive leaders who inspire them. Relentless negativity can work, to be sure. Yet in the end, Americans gravitate to those who make us feel good about who we are capable of becoming.

Successful candidacies and presidencies are not just about the foibles of the opposition. They're about our own ability -- as John McCain was fond of saying -- to become a part of something greater than ourselves. Palin, alas, is still stuck on the "me" part.

Today is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural address. Its idealistic calls for national service and civility -- combined with a dedication to human rights and commitment to the control of arms -- remain an eloquent definition of our national aspirations.

It was short, but no tweet.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gloria Borger.

No toys - but enjoy your pot little guy.

San Francisco bans Happy Meals with toys

November 09, 2010|By Michael Martinez, CNN

• 

The San Francisco, California, Board of Supervisors on Tuesday banned most McDonald's Happy Meals with toys, as they're now served.

The ordinance, which requires McDonald's and other fast-food servings with toys to meet new nutritional standards, now goes to Mayor Gavin Newsom, who indicated before his election last week to California lieutenant governor that he would veto the law.

That veto would be meaningless because the board approved the ordinance 8-3, a veto-proof margin. With eight votes, the board could override the veto.

The new law, which San Francisco officials hope other cities will adopt in battling a child obesity epidemic, was a defeat for McDonald's, which led the fight against the measure.

"As previously stated, we are extremely disappointed with this decision. It's not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for," said McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud.

Proud said public opinion is against such government intervention.

"Any fair and objective review of our menu and the actions we've taken will demonstrate we've added multiple options for parents to choose. This includes Apple Dippers (bagged, sliced, pre-peeled apples), low-fat one percent milk, 100 percent apple juice and Chicken McNuggets made with white meat," Proud said in a statement. "And, as we have stated all along, we are committed to doing even more."

The new law addresses how toys and other marketing freebies entice kids to buy fast-food meals that are high in fat and calories, said Supervisor Eric Mar. He initiated the proposal because his fifth-grade daughter is in the 6-to-11 age group that has seen obesity rates quadruple over the past 30 years, the same time that the Happy Meal has been on the market.

"This is a simple and modest policy that holds fast food accountable," Mar said.

Before Tuesday's vote, Mar cited a study released this week by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, which examined 12 popular restaurant chains and found only 12 out of more than 3,000 kids' meal combinations met the nutritional guidelines for preschool-aged kids.

The study said the fast food industry spent $4.2 billion on advertising in 2009 and found that 40 percent of preschool-aged children ask to go to McDonald's on a weekly basis, and 15 percent ask on a daily basis. Also, 84 percent of parents say they've taken their children to eat fast food at least once in the past week.

Under the law, McDonald's and other restaurants will have until December 2011 to improve their meals' nutrition by adding fruits and vegetables -- if the chains want to keep offering toys, including those promoting the latest films.

The food and beverages will have to contain fewer than 600 calories, and less than 35 percent of total calories will come from fat. The meal must contain half a cup of fruit and three-fourths cup of vegetables, and offer less than 640 milligrams of sodium and less than 0.5 milligrams of trans fat. Breakfast will have the option of offering half cups of fruit or vegetables.

City officials said they expect a legal challenge from McDonald's, which declined to comment on possible legal action.

Mack Brown chats with Jerry Jones about football

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7436693

Texas Rangers enjoy the moment. Finally!

Rangers enjoy Texas-sized moment

Unique blend delivers club's first American League pennant

By Peter Gammons / MLB.com

It took 50 years -- from the first hit in franchise history by Coot Veal, to the exile from Washington, to some of those Rangers moments in that old hothouse ballpark with rats the size of Freddie Patek -- for the Rangers to get here.

Moments like when Willie Davis sat down in center field for two outs because Steve Hargan wouldn't retaliate for his being hit, or when the helicopter drying the field before the 1975 opener crashed in the outfield.

Standing there in center field on Friday night, looking around at the Zion Canyon of a ballpark, it was good to see Tom Schieffer and appreciate what he and George W. Bush did to legitimize baseball in the Metroplex. This celebration was theirs. It was good to see the Rangers celebrating with their fans to the strains of "Deep in the Heart of Texas," which they've played every night, as if it were "Take Me Out to the Ballpark." The Rangers moved into this park and eventually built one of the best organizations in the business with the promise of a $3 billion local television deal and never lost part of their culture.

Tom Hicks, be damned.

The Rangers will always be poor Rogelio Moret in his catatonic state, and Mickey Rivers going up to hit in sneakers, and Randy Galloway writing "Bobby Bonds played right field like it's mined." I always thought the Dallas/Fort Worth media was not only among the best in the country, but the least pretentious and true to the culture.

Of course, Jon Daniels and his scouts built this, and there's nothing wrong with the notion that what they were doing wasn't fully appreciated until Nolan Ryan came on board; Nolan is one of them, and a really good man, as well.

The team that beat the Yankees is a unique blend. Texas manager Ron Washington is the self-proclaimed "baseball lifer" who loves every part of the game. When he failed a drug test last season, Ryan and Daniels did not fire him. "Management showed us that they have our backs," Josh Hamilton said. "The way they stood behind Wash was something that pulled us together as people."

Hamilton, of course, is the marquee example of a management that understands that amidst all our layers, we are all, in some way, flawed. Standing there in center field on Friday night, players sprayed one another with ginger ale, not champagne or beer, a ritual initiated by C.J. Wilson after they won the American League Division Series out of respect for Hamilton's proud battle to overcome his addictive demons.

"Josh is a very special person, and it's our way of showing him that we are all in a circle with him," said Wilson, who also does not drink, as all of us who get his tweets appreciate. "What makes us all different makes us one."

Hamilton is going to be the 2010 American League MVP. He is the ALCS MVP. In the Yankee Stadium clubhouse after his astounding Home Run Derby performance in 2008, he stepped away from the media circle around his locker to ask: "Could you get me Jeff Allison's number? I need to call him."

Allison is a one-time Marlins first-round Draft pick who, like Hamilton, stumbled because of addiction demons. Hamilton was Allison's inspiration to make it back, and the day of the All-Star Game, Hamilton called Allison to remind him of their bond.

The night after the All-Star Game, President Bush held a state dinner to celebrate baseball. During dinner, the President asked, "Is Josh Hamilton real?"

The answer was yes, with the Allison call as an example. "That makes me very happy," said the President. "We need to focus on how forgiveness can rebuild lives."

"Management showed us that they have our backs. The way they stood behind Wash was something that pulled us together as people."

-- Josh Hamilton

On Friday, Josh Hamilton admitted he had tears in his eyes as the game wore down, and more than 50,000 people chanted their forgiveness. "But this is not about me," he said. "This is about everyone here. One moment I'll never forget was when they walked me [for the second of three times] in the fourth inning and Vladdy [Guerrero] smoked that ball."

It was the moment that brought the pennant to Texas. The Yankees had decided that Hamilton was not going to beat Phil Hughes, or anyone else. They walked him five times in the series and Guerrero made it a 3-1 game. Understand that the venerable Guerrero has never been to the World Series. He played for one of the best teams in the modern era, the 1994 Expos, whose season ended with the strike. He played for Angels teams that never quite made it.

In fact, he reminded us that in the 2009 ALDS, the Red Sox had Jonathan Papelbon walk Kendry Morales to pitch to Vladdy. Guerrero singled off Papelbon, the Angels advanced, but, as he reminded us, lost to the Yankees.

Colby Lewis was a one-time high Draft choice with a power arm that never found it, got hurt, kicked around, found himself in Japan the two previous years and Friday night, pitched the game of his life to win the pennant.

Nelson Cruz kicked from the Mets to the A's to the Brewers to the Rangers, passed through irrevocable waivers in spring training of 2009, and is now an All-Star who hit two homers in the ALCS.

Michael Young has been a Ranger since he was acquired from Toronto for Esteban Loiaza, and was an All-Star at second and short and, when asked if he would move to third base for a 20-year old kid named Elvis Andrus, did so for the team, a move Washington believes "set the tone for who and what we are."

Ian Kinsler came out of the organization. Andrus and Neftali Feliz were stolen from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira deal, David Murphy came from Boston for Eric Gagne. Derek Holland became the left-handed power gunner of the bullpen against New York, the deciding force in Game 4.

And, of course, there is Cliff Lee and his brilliance. One of his former teammates pointed out that part of that brilliance stems from Lee's capacity to figure out the strike zone of whoever is umpiring home plate and pitching to that strike zone, not what Lee thinks it should be.

Standing there in center field on Friday night looking around at the 50-something thousand people singing "This is Texas," there was no thought of World Series television ratings or the impact of the Fox/Cablevision war. Willie Tasby was the first player in franchise history to get an extra-base hit, long before Gene Orza and Mike Barnicle were members of the Willie Tasby Fan Club. Ted Williams, Billy Martin and Bobby Valentine managed this team; Eddie Stanky did, too -- for one game before quitting. Jose Canseco had a ball bounce off his head and over the fence for a game-losing home run error.

Now they're Hamilton and Lee, Elvis and Neftali, Young and Kinsler and Cruz, C.J. and Colby Lewis. Standing there taking it all in, a text showed up on my phone, from a very smart man who played on this team for a time this season.

"That," wrote Alex Cora, "is a great team."

Peter Gammons is a columnist for MLB.com and an analys

Hurricane heading towards Democrats on Election Day

Tight Races Could Lead to Uncertainty After Election

A 'Hurricane' Is Heading Toward Democrats on Election Day, Pollster Says

By GERALD F. SEIB

Democrats face damage from hurricane-force winds that can't be stopped now, a leading Democratic pollster said, while a top Republican cautioned that the full extent of the damage may not be known for days or even weeks.

In an interview with WSJ's Jerry Seib, pollsters Peter Hart and Bill McInturff declare that a hurricane will hit Washington on election day, and there is little Democrats can do to get out of the way. However both Hart and McInturff believe President Obama is the Democrats' greatest strength in the home stretch. But according to McInturff, the Senate elections in Nevada, California and Washington will be too close to call, keeping the Senate in play for weeks after polls close.

"We knew there was a hurricane that was going to hit Washington," said Democrat Peter Hart, co-director of The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. "All we're doing is getting closer and closer and at this stage of the game it's going to be a huge hurricane."

Bill McInturff, Mr. Hart's partner in directing the Journal/NBC News poll, said key Senate elections in Nevada, California and Washington now look so close that it may not be possible to declare winners in all three on Nov. 2, the date of the mid-term elections. The need to tally absentee ballots, and possible recounts, could delay the final results for one or more of those races, Mr. McInturff said.

The two spoke on WSJ.com's "The Big Interview" show.

Given how close the fight for control of the Senate will be, a delay in calling one or more of the three tight Western races could leave the question of which party is in charge there hanging unanswered. Republicans would have to make a net gain of 10 seats in the Senate to win control, a number that they could reach only by winning most of the closest races where Democratic incumbents are fighting for re-election. In all three of the big Western states Mr. McInturff cited, Democratic incumbents—Patty Murray in Washington, Barbara Boxer in California and Harry Reid in Nevada—are in tough fights.

For his part, Mr. Hart predicted Democrats will keep control of the Senate. But he also warned that, in general, a "hurricane" is heading toward Democrats on Election Day, and that there is little they can do to avert it at this stage of the campaign.

The two pollsters agreed, though, that President Barack Obama, who is traversing the country to raise money and stump for Democrats in the campaign's closing days, remains the Democrats' best weapon in the stretch run.

The president's job-approval rating stands at 47% in the latest Journal/NBC News poll. That's up a bit from its low point last summer, and roughly comparable to where other recent presidents have been at this point in their first term. More important, Mr. McInturff noted, President Obama has a particular ability to fire up the Democratic base in those key Senate battleground states of Washington, California and Nevada, which is why he is hitting all three this week.

Write to Gerald F. Seib at jerry.seib@wsj.com

Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Well, DUH!

Feds probing possible criminal violations in home foreclosure crisis

By Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Department Producer

October 19, 2010 5:34 p.m. EDT

A government task force dealing with foreclosure issues has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A federal task force is investigating potential fraud in the foreclosure crisis
• The task force will meet Wednesday, and a White House briefing is likely afterwards

RELATED TOPICS

• Foreclosures
• Federal Housing Administration

Washington (CNN) -- Federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday the probe of potential fraud by financial firms in the foreclosure crisis includes an investigation into possible criminal violations of federal laws.

Two sources familiar with the federal Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force indicated the multi-agency effort by investigators in the Justice, Treasury and Housing departments would determine whether prosecutors would ultimately pursue criminal or civil penalties -- or both.

The task force has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Upon conclusion, a briefing is likely at the White House, officials said.

"The administration's Federal Housing Administration and Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force have undertaken their own regulatory and enforcement investigation into the foreclosure process," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed Tuesday. "We remain committed to holding accountable any bank that has violated the law," he said.

Growing concern over flawed paperwork by banks and other lenders in foreclosure proceedings has prompted growing anger and confusion in the housing market. Some banks temporarily froze foreclosures, but are now indicating plans to resume seizing homes after reviewing new paperwork.

Fall Classes For Women

Fall Classes for Women at
THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
By Sat., October 23, 2010

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Class 1
Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat
Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM..

Class 2
Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Bitching About It for 3 Hours?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?--Group Debate.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between a Purse ! and a Suitcase--Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
Curling Irons--Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Bathroom Cabinet?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning
At 7:00 PM

Class 6
How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos?
Open Forum.
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch--They Make Medicine for PMS - USE IT!
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesd! ays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10
How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim.
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield .
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12
How to Shop by Yourself.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Upon completion of ANY of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

REID: When all else fails; throw someone off welfare | St. Louis Globe-Democrat

REID: When all else fails; throw someone off welfare | St. Louis Globe-Democrat

Finally it's "official." This is now Obama's economy.

News! The recession is over and HAS BEEN for 15 months.

The president has been claiming that he inherited this mess as the Republicans "drove the car into the ditch." Well, Mr. President the Republicans in fact did help to push the car back on the road well more than a year ago - according to a panel of prominent economists who have delivered a verdict that the Great Recession ended in June, 2009.

So, will this news change Mr. Obama's fall strategy of still blaming this country's problems on GW Bush? Absolutely not! His only option is to continue on the "blame Bush for everything" path. To not do that is to admit that he and his policies are now the problem this country is going through with high unemployment and a still sputtering economy.

As a husband of a woman who IS her own business and files a schedule C tax return each year I know the economy has slowed and that her sales of real estate are down the last couple of years. But, the real estate problems right now, TODAY are due to the expiration of the Obama gimme's for first time buyers which ended this summer. Who is going to buy now when IF they could qualify in the spring they would have already purchased a new home? The problem with programs that mortgage the future is that one day the future comes calling.

This announcement from the National Bureau of Economic Research's Business Cycle Dating Committee means one thing: Any new down-turn would mark the beginning of a new recession and not the continuation of the old one.

So, Mr. President - the ball is in your court. Play ball!

Obama Isn't Bill Clinton, That's For Sure.

Remember, "I feel your pain?" Those were the days, folks. No one was better at empathy than our "first black president," Bill Clinton. What we have now is a Par-TAY!

Six vacations in 18 months - yep, great gig if you can get it. Nearly 10 percent unemployment during this "recovery summer" and Joe Biden is practically giddy with the "opportunity to do something great." I sure hope so because we are all dying out here down in the real world, outside of the beltway.

He relentlessly plugs the $5 billion for weatherization as "one of our signature programs," never mentioning, as the Associated Press puts it, that the program "has experienced spending delays, inefficiencies and mismanagement. In Biden's home state of Delaware, the entire program has been suspended since May, and last month federal auditors identified possible fraud." Oops, sorry. Forgot that little detail about how it isn't even working where he lives.

Bill Clinton could look into the camera and you could imagine what he was thinking, and then he would do what he said he would do. You could feel it. Now, when Mr. Obama looks into the camera - you imagine what he is thinking and you can smell it.

Last night as he took the credit for "ending combat in Iraq" his ego wouldn't even allow him to give credit to those who actually DID make the tough decision - to have a "surge." Without Mr. Bush's plan - the one that this president opposed, Iraq wouldn't be in a position today to even visualize American troops withdrawing, much less actually sending some home. "Look at me, ma!" is what I saw last night and almost daily on television from this president.

Where is the empathy now? As the boy who cried wolf was eventually ignored, so is the case here. I see him talking but I don't hear anything. I see neighbors losing jobs, cars, homes and moving out. I see their pain. I don't want change for America - I want what we had in America again.

Battery operated cars? No thanks!

Hey, I'm all for helping our planet Earth but this nonsense about driving around in battery powered cars is just another of President Obama's dreams of spending my money.

Gov'Mint Motors is all excited about their Chevy Volt which will go all of 40 MILES on a single charge! Big whoop! That won't even get me to the Cowboys game AND back. So after I go watch Romo toss another game losing INT - I get stuck on the way home when my battery runs out of juice. Yeah, that will really get the wife all excited and ready to jump my bones when we get home for sure. I can hear her now, "TOLD YOU that the Volt won't get us to the game and back..." and I'll once again have to say, "you are right, dear." Puleeze!

So, what we really have here is nothing more than PAY-BACK to the UNIONS from Obama for helping get him elected, pure and simple. Last Thursday, the Chosen One was once again AWOL from the White House and back on the campaign trail - to Holland, Michigan to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new lithium-ion battery plant from Compact Power, Inc. Yes Sir, this was advertised as another great example of the White House's Federal Stimulus Grants in action - and creating 300 new jobs.

But, here is what cuts my cheese: Compact Power, Inc. isn't even an American Company! WTF! "We The People" give them $151 Million and neither the plant OR the technology isn't from the good 'ol USA! Oops. That might be a problem, Mr. President! CPI is part of a South Korean company, LG Chemical.

Oh, yeah, these cool, new batteries cost $16,000 each, too! SIXTEEN LARGE! So, I'm driving my four year old Volt in 2014 and the car will only stay charged now for about 16 miles and I figure it must be the battery. I guess I'll walk down to Auto Zone and pick me up a new one. The pimple faced kid looks me straight in the eyes and says, "That will be $16,000.00 for the battery, $1,320.00 sales tax and $800.00 VAT tax, please. Oh, yeah - no problem. Can you at least throw in an oil change too?

Estimated retail price for a new Volt is expected to be in the $30K- $40K range later this fall. If you think it will be hard to get that baby financed - wait until you call your banker and ask for a loan for a replacement battery!

Gasoline is a wonderful product. It is cheap and will make my car go FAST with the A/C cranking, power the windows, seats and all 12 speakers at the same time. I just can't imagine how the Chevy Volt will make the air blow cold in July in Texas when we are rocking over 100 degrees for weeks at a time. No thanks. I think I will stick to just using batteries in my golf cart. At least when it dies I can hang around for the beer girl who is coming right around the corner.

Random thoughts from today.

• Had an interesting dinner today with two people in their late 40's who are "retired." Turns out both guys are ex-baseball players. Both seem to be in a good place and have done the right things with their money. Now, they play for "fun" in a league that the minimum age is 33. BIG egos still in play and of course they get paid appearance fees for each game in the ball park (no pun intended) of about $4k-$5K per game. Seems to be a nice amount for old ball players who can still play - just not with the 20 years olds anymore. Funny how the 45 year old pitcher was complaining about how it isn't "fair" to play against the 33 year old "kids."
• Brinks Security ads still piss me off. NEVER is the criminal non-white. Find one on TV and let me know. Like, NO homes are broken into by a black dude or a Mexican?
  
• "Jobs Saved" isn't measurable. Why does this POTUS still talk with us on TV like we are all morons? How come unemployment is over 10% if he has saved even ONE fricken job? Incompetent or just lying to me?
  
• Why do people in parking lots walk in the middle of the lot like moving cars don't exist? Get TF outta my way and be damn glad I saw you and you can give me that "look" like you are supposed to be where cars drive.
• Making work pay? Please! Now, I owe the IRS money back from my "refund" from this spring as promised from the POTUS? Screw that. Keep your hand outta my family's wallet, thank you.
  

And the WINNER is...

And the winner is….

I am watching the CMA awards tonight while in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wow, what a flood of memories about wonderful times I have been blessed with over the last 20+ years, with the love of my life.

I just watched Reba McIntire sing a song live….about “if I’m not the “one” or the “magical moment” etc of your life, then you can consider me “gone.”

As I listened, my heart swelled, tears came to my eyes and I watched Reba again sing about what I have in my life. Isn’t what you want is what songs are made of – what “other” couples have, or what you think “love” is? How does this happen and why did it happen to me?

Lunch time in the spring of 1990 was short. I was a salesman and if I didn’t get the order, money didn’t come home. About this time I knew a woman who was looking for happiness and… wasn’t. The love in my heart was going to change that woman. The love in my heart wanted so much and had so much to offer – if only “she” would look for the offer.

This woman had her lunch break about 12:45 and could be at her home at 1:00 every day. My schedule was crazy but I made a point to meet her for a sandwich, soup, crackers, or whatever we could put together for that one, special hour of the day at her house as often as I could. ABC at 1:00 was “One life to live” and we watched it together that spring – imaging a life together just like on TV. Two people going through life every day, yet missing so much.

Funny how having some tomato soup and crackers while watching a soap can make you feel like one of the characters on TV. I would watch the show while this woman next to me would melt into one of the women on the show; longing for the love they “have” and so wishing that she could feel “it, “ too. How much it hurt to watch her want “that” and knowing that I HAD what she wanted and so desperately needed! Life gets in the way of living - I found out those couple of years prior to this cup of soup on her couch. I was going to change that. I did.

Those lunches gave us time to get away from work, but more importantly gave two people time together to figure out what we needed. Not only what we needed from that day, or that month, but ultimately from each other. When the grind of “going to work” seemed like such a drag at 7:30 or 8:00, I could already imagine the joy when turning down her street, hoping to see her car for lunch – I can still feel my pulse race when she would be there before me. And, I can still remember the disappointment I felt if she didn’t or couldn’t show up that day to meet me.

Well, those lunches went way too fast and that spring dragged along with both of us living the wrong life – for each of us. As our precious time together seemed to be…ever so more important it became clear that I would have to DO something. I did.

I bought two tickets to see Reba McIntire in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1^st, 1990.

Keep in mind that I was married at the time to the best ex-wife I have ever had. Going on a week-end trip with a woman, not your wife was going to be tricky. I knew that me and this woman would spend THE most wonderful week-end that two people have ever had in the history of the world that first week-end in June. So, I put together a “hunting trip” with a buddy of mine who also thought he might enjoy seeing Reba in the company of another woman and join us for a road trip to Tulsa. So, four tickets were purchased to see Garth Brooks and Reba McIntire for that Saturday and we were off to the rodeo.

The whole week leading up to the “hunting trip” was incredible. You think it was hard waiting for Santa to show up on Christmas when you were six years old? This was worse. I bought the tickets about six weeks in advance to go hunting and when that special week came around I was just waiting for something, anything, to go wrong and ruin the most wonderful trip ever planned by anyone, ever. Ever try to explain a “hunting trip” for June? Well, try it. I told you I was a salesman, so trust me it was the second best sale I ever made – that week-end pass.

The four of us made the trip Friday after work, and had a two room suite at some “swanky” Tulsa hotel like the Residence Inn or something. Friday night was magical. I had fallen in love with this woman and for the first time EVER I was able to fall asleep with her in my arms. I woke up on Saturday morning and felt like I was the king of the world and had everything I had ever dreamed of! As I watched her sleep in the early morning sunshine I couldn’t believe that I really was awake.

That morning changed my life. I knew that when I drove back from Oklahoma that my life was changed forever.

How strange that here I am back in Tulsa, Oklahoma after 19 years – that once again Reba is singing my life story?

The story of one very lucky man - and one incredible woman. I am truly blessed, indeed to have found such love in just one woman, my Betty. So, as far as I am concerned tonight’s winner - and every night’s winner, is the one guy who misses his wife tonight, again.