Because I'm A KISS Fan

GOP budget could mean firefighter layoff in Hburg

State Senate Republicans have proposed a budget that would involve $1.2 million in cuts for the capital's fire department budget. The city is currently suffering a shortage of firefighters with an additional 30 eligible to retire by 2012. State legislators are currently battling over the budget, which is quickly approaching a month past due. State Democrats posit that the Republican budget, which cuts millions in state spending rather than raise any taxes, will lead to cuts in vital services such as fire departments.

How to fix California, 101

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

BREAKING: Proof Obama Born in Kenya

From the '[T]imes:

. . .[T]his morning,Americans for Freedom of Information released the following photograph, which shows the the newborn Barack Obama being held by his mother, Ann Dunham, with Sarah Hussein Obama, at the Obama Commune, in front of a road sign which clearly reads, “Nairobi”. The last time I checked, there was no city of Nairobi in Hawaii!

Yes yes, Fidel vacations in Kenya, don't worry about it.

World likes U.S. more because of Obama

New polling data indicates that the world's view of America has drastically improved since President Obama took office. Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan organization, conducted the poll.

"Positive opinions about the United States have returned to higher levels not seen since before President George W. Bush took office in 2001. The Bush presidency marked a steep decline in U.S. popularity overseas, notably after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, because of a perception that the post-9/11 war on terrorism was targeted at Muslims."

How much more evidence do we need?

Palin to resign amid ethics inquiries; possible 2012 run?

Alaska Governor and one-time vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin announced that she will resign her office July 25 and will not seek re-election in 2010. While the governor did not cite a specific reason, there is speculation that she is setting herself up for a 2012 bid for president. The resignation will also allow her to travel the country more freely without facing the repeated ethics inquiries that have mired her post-November political career.

The Mark Sanford Affair: immortalized in a poem

One poet was moved to pen a poem capturing and commemorating Mark Sanford's salacious seductions. Oh, what beauty! Enjoy.

On the Appalachian trail
hangs an Argentinian tale.
a trail-rhyme romance of which Chaucer
might well have been a rude endorser.
Alibis in Appalachia,
more consistent with males' nature
than the nature you may find
on the nature trail remind
the people who're in Carolina
that their Governor's a finer
lover than they thought when they
elected him. Now let us pray
for him, and nature of the male,
trailing in pursuit of tail,
and all the best of Argentina's
Ninas friendly to the penis.

Colbert Report: Cynthia Davis & Fox News

In which Stephen Colbert commends Cynthia Davis for coming out against subsidizing school lunches for low-income children in summer months because "Hunger can be a positive motivator" and then chastises Fox News for calling Mark Sanford a Democrat.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Tip/Wag - Cynthia Davis & Fox News
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

Coleman concedes; Franken next MN Senator

After a long and protracted legal contest, former Republican Senator Norm Coleman conceded and Al Franken is the next Senator from Minnesota. The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Norm Coleman's petition in a decision released earlier today. The Democrats now expect to have a 60 member supermajority, including Franken, of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party and two independents who normally caucus with the Dems.

Google under scrutiny by DOJ

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

"'Competition is a click away,' says Dana Wagner of Google, who has been on a public relations mission for the company."

As with many successful companies, Google finds itself falling under the watchful eye of the U.S. Department of Justice and regulators concerned about potential monopolistic practices. The company has around two-thirds of the Internet search market, YouTube is 10 times the size of the next biggest competitor, and it sold $22 billion in advertising in 2008. Dana Wagner, Google's Senior Competition Council and a former D.O.J. trustbuster, is tasked with explaining how Google is a relatively small company that has had success because its constant innovation has lead to superior products, but that it could fall to its competitors should that trend ever change.

Big Brother Moves to Lancaster

Little old Lancaster City just got creepier. No, Lancastrians, this doesn't count as social networking or reality tv.

From the LA Times:

Reporting from Lancaster, Pa. -- This historic town, where America's founding fathers plotted during the Revolution and Milton Hershey later crafted his first chocolates, now boasts another distinction.

It may become the nation's most closely watched small city.
Some 165 closed-circuit TV cameras soon will provide live, round-the-clock scrutiny of nearly every street, park and other public space used by the 55,000 residents and the town's many tourists. That's more outdoor cameras than are used by many major cities, including San Francisco and Boston.

Well. At least WGAL won't have to waste so much money on stock footage. . .

Iran on fire

For those of you not in the know - The Huffington Post has an excellent liveblog of all the events transpiring in the "Land of the Aryans." The reporter, Nico Pitney, is in contact with several citizen journalists in Iran and posts videos, emails, and other documents translated with the help of volunteers.

Sorry about that whole slavery thing...

But no reparations!

The U.S. House and Senate are both working on bills that would officially apologize for slavery. The wording of the Senate bill specifically prohibits the use of the apology in the search for reparations.

"Cohen said he and Harkin worked closely with the NAACP and other civil rights groups on language that would not endorse or preclude any future claims to reparations. "It will not harm reparations but won't give any standing to it," Cohen said."

Republicans were generally supportive, though one political science professor who spent time lobbying Bush to make the apology said it will be virtually meaningless coming from the Democrats because they are generally supported by African Americans and currently have a partially African American president.

Next up: Apologies for American Indians, Japanese Americans, most of Latin America, Iran...

WRESTLING ANNOUNCER FACE-OFF

This is truly one of the best rants I've ever heard. Do yourself a favor... take 10 minutes and listen to this

PA GOP, Furries, and Sexual Predators

Pennsylvania GOP Senate Whip Jane Orie recently fired one of her top aides for being a furry, or maybe just for being a sexual predator. Apparently the guy, a member of that scurge of the internets - Furries, was trying to make arrangements with a 15 year-old for some "yiffing." What is yiffing? you might ask. With any luck, this video will help you.

Coup in New York Senate

At 3pm yesterday, the New York Senate Republican caucus and two Democrats staged a coup in an effort to change the chamber's leadership. This comes amid controversial pending legislation, including a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage and another involving tax increases that would balance the state's budget. The Democratic leadership asserts that the vote was illegal as the Senate had already ajourned and intends to fight the coup in court.

Commission: poor oversight for war contracts

An independent commission has concluded that oversight for wartime contracts has been abysmal. There is no central database for keeping track of contracts - who they've been awarded to, for how much, and what they're doing. The new Wartime Contracting Commission reported to Congress that, since 2001, there has been "poor management, weak oversight, and a failure to learn from past mistakes as recurring themes in wartime contracting."

Of great concern is the poor quality resulting from some of these contracts - brand new buildings that went way over budget with cracks in the foundation and generally shoddy workmanship. KBR alone billed the US $100 million for private security in spite of the fact that the contract specifically prohibited for-hire guards.

This article is just a small part of a laundry list of wasted taxpayer money and abuses.

The end is near for Minnesota senate race

The Minnesota senate race has been dragging out for months as appeal after appeal is filed. The Supreme Court of Minnesota is now reviewing the case and legal experts more or less agree: it's not looking good for Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

Oops - Republicans "accidentally" reveal state secrets

After a closed-door Intelligence Committee hearing on the interrogation of terror suspects, Republicans revealed some of what had been discussed - a big no-no for a closed hearing about classified information.  The Republicans are touting that information presented at the hearing indicated that waterboarding yielded valuable information, but Democrats won't comment because it was a closed hearing.