Tom Faranda's Folly

Rugby: Four Nations Championship - Australia vs. South Africa

Played in Australia -

 

Investor Jim Rogers on the stock rally

This is an interview on the Kudlow Report. Rogers is a former hedge fund manager - quite well-known.Forty years ago he co-founded a fund with George Soros.

HIs point:

The Federal Reserve is pumping huge amounts of money into the market,” he explained. “This is a Federal Reserve rally. The money has to go somewhere and its going into the stock market and the commodity market.”

Rogers added that if you bought into the market last October, then, what the Fed is doing is good. However, he added for most Americans, ”It’s going to end terribly.”

J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. diplomat

Unlike many ambassadorships (Ireland, Malta, the U.K., etc, etc) which are frequently political payoffs, an assignment to a place like Libya would go to a top-notch diplomat.

This from the Washington Post - hit the link for the entire article, which is not very long.

The improbable journey was fitting for Mr. Stevens, a former Peace Corps volunteer who was fluent in Arabic and who had traveled throughout the Middle East. An easygoing but determined career diplomat, he had made the region the focus of his two-decade career.

Arash Babaoff, a friend of Mr. Stevens’s since the 1990s, described him as an intensely committed diplomat.

“It was his life,” Babaoff said. “He was just someone who really had his heart in this, and he really felt like he was making relationships and headway.”

Babaoff called the killing “a blow to idealism.”

Evidently a very brilliant man.

Conan looks at the (modestly priced) Amazon "Wendell"

Full Disclosure: We have 2 kindle fires -

 

Reporters caught on open mike coordinating questions to catch Romney

Over his comments on the Libya disaster.

No surprises that the press is out to get him; only surprise is they're careless enough to be caught.

CBS REPORTER: I’m just trying to make sure that we’re just talking about, no matter who he calls on we’re covered on the one question.

A "feckless" foreign policy?

I don't know if I agree with all of James Taranto's column, but some of it's right on.

In his weekly address Saturday, President Obama observed yesterday's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and declared that "our country is stronger, safer and more respected in the world." In our Friday column, after the president's Democratic National Convention speech, we observed: "Conservatives tend to argue that the Obama foreign policy has been feckless and will lead to disaster. They may turn out to be right, but it's no easier an argument to make than the Democratic economic case that Obama's policies will produce prosperity real soon now."

After the events of Sept. 11, 2012, the argument is easier to make.

At the U.S. Embassy in Cairo yesterday, what "appeared to be a genuinely
spontaneous unarmed mob angered by an anti-Islam video said to have been
produced in the United States," according to the New York Times, gathered to protest. According to a timeline
prepared by Slate's Dave Weigel, the embassy responded by issuing an apologetic
statement:

The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing
efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims--as
we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th
anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States,
Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the
fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a
cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who
abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of
others.

The embassy reiterated the message in a series of tweets, some of which, TalkingPointsMemo.com reports, have since been deleted. The
mob was not appeased. "Despite that overture," as Weigel puts it--one might
wonder if it was because of it--the mob stormed the embassy, an act "culminating
in the raising of a black-and-white flag that resembles the icon of
al-Qaida."

Last week John Kerry said: "Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than
he was four years ago." According to the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram,
the Cairo mob answered that taunt with the chant: "Obama, Obama there are still
a billion Osamas."

That's no doubt a gross exaggeration, but there were enough "Osamas" to
launch a fatal attack today on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. It killed
four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. "It appeared the attackers
in Benghazi were armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades," the Times
reports. "Intelligence reports are inconclusive at this point, officials said,
but indications suggest the possibility that an organized group had either been
waiting for an opportunity to exploit like the protests over the video or
perhaps even generated the protests as a cover for their attack."

Then there's this -

The Obama administration quickly apologized for the Cairo apology: "The
statement by Embassy Cairo was not cleared by Washington and does not reflect
the views of the United States government," an unnamed official told Politico. Mitt Romney also denounced the embassy's apology and
criticized the administration for sending "mixed messages." The Hill quotes him at a press conference today: "It's never too
early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and
defend our values."

Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also both made statements today, and both did
an inadequate job of defending American values.

Hit the link for the rest of the story.

Rugby: Four Nations Championship - New Zealand vs. Argentina

Played in New Zealand in driving rain and wind.

Democratic delegates interviewed on banning/capping corporate profits

Peter Schiff, a libertarian investor and wannabe politician. I don't agree with his economics or politics, but this video is a pip.

 

Healthcare regulations: It takes 18 pages to define "full-time" employee

In the latest indication of how complicated putting the Affordable Care Act into action will be, the Department of Health and Human Services and Internal Revenue Service issued 18-pages of regulations just to describe what a "full-time employee" is. Of note, to the Feds a full-time employee works an average of just 30 hours a week, not the normally accepted 40 hours.

Well, 18 pages is dopey and typical of the government. But this article also goes to show how little the pundits know about healthcare in the U.S. In both New Jersey and New York, you only need 25 hours of employment to qualify for health insurance with your company.

The lengthy 18-page definition caught some in the business world by surprise. "It's scary," said Randy Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce senior vice president for labor, immigration, and employee benefits. "It's just a small example of two words under our healthcare law of 2,700-pages," he said, adding: "It says to me things are awfully complicated."

A 9/11 note. Touching story of a victim

On CNN.

 

The news blackout of the #2 documentary of all time - "2016"

Now in thousands of theatres and actually a commercial success. No I haven't seen it, and have no plans to.

But when will D'Souza be interviewed by Wold Blitzer on CNN?

’2016 Obama’s America’ Filmmaker Reacts To President’s Slam; Looking For Network To Air Before Election; Says Mainstream Media Refusing Coverage

DEADLINE: What do you think of the criticism the film has received?
D’SOUZA: The criticism of the film actually bothers me less than the neglect of the film. If I were Michael Moore and I were to make a film that was the No. 2 political documentary of all time, I would be on every network. I would be on Meet The Press, and I would be profiled in The New York Times, and I would be all over MSNBC. Instead large sectors of the press are refusing to cover the film. They are just pretending it doesn’t exist.

DEADLINE: What is your response to charges that you are simply an anti-Obama propagandist?
D’SOUZA: I tried very hard with this film to make an intelligent film with credible sources and new information. I’m a college president [D’Souza in 2010 was named the president of The King’s  College, a Christian college located in New York  City], I’ve been a fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the American Enterprise Institute, so what is kind of funny is in a guy like Michael Moore we have a true propagandist and a true conspiracy theorist. A guy who is fast and loose with the facts. My film was to some degree inspired by Fahrenheit 9/11. In the sense that I remember that Michael Moore dropped that film in the middle of the 2004 campaign and it had a big impact. But nevertheless, I set out to make very different type of film than Michael Moore. One that is, first of all, not just preaching to the converted. And second, one that doesn’t insult the intelligence of the audience. And I really think that is actually a large part also of the film’s appeal. That even though the left says it’s propaganda, it’s a risky attack on the film because when people go to see it, they actually see whether they agree or disagree that it is not propaganda. Whatever your politics, you are going to come away from this film saying at least, “Hey, I do know a whole bunch of things about Obama I didn’t know 90 minutes ago.”

Eleven years ago

My friend, Tom Knox. 

Read about him here. Ten years ago. My friend, Tom Knox

And another reminder, from Kieran Michael Lawlor, who is running for NY State Assembly.

 

 

Chevrolet losing $49,000 on each Volt it builds

You know, the Volt hybrid car.

Nearly two years after the introduction of the path-breaking plug-in hybrid, GM is still losing as much as $49,000 on each Volt it builds, according to estimates provided to Reuters by industry analysts and manufacturing experts. GM on Monday issued a statement disputing the estimates.

Cheap Volt lease offers meant to drive more customers to Chevy showrooms this summer may have pushed that loss even higher. There are some Americans paying just $5,050 to drive around for two years in a vehicle that cost as much as $89,000 to produce.

Don't we (the taxpayers) still own a huge chuk of GM? Which means that we (the taxpayers) are eating these costs.

Obama website advertising piece: "Catholics for Obama"

Pablum. Go here to watch -

Catholics for Obama

 

 

The Chicago teachers strike: some interesting links, courtesy of Drudge

I suppose, if they are able to negotiate these deals - Good for them! Paid by the Illinois or Chicago taxpayer?

Turn Down 16% Pay Raise...

Have Highest Average Salary In Nation...

Average $76,000 per year before benefits...

Tim returns to football

Well, he hadn't played since his fluke sideline knee injury in his second game as a freshman. And the surgical repair, And the comeback in the spring, throwing the discuss, shot put, and javelin, etc., etc.

BUT, now he's back. He played defensive end, as well as punting and doing the kicking chores. His JV team won Friday night, 23-12 against Monroe-Woodbury (who are also called the "Crusaders") on Monroe's home field.

BIAS ALERT - I think Tim's best position is linebacker and possibly running back (he's 5'8" and weighs 190 - and very little of that is wasted weight) but he's such a good athlete he can play lots of places. Evidently they need him at defensive end. He had a solid game there, without doing anything spectacular.

His kicking game went OK. he was one for one on conversions - not a pretty kick but it went through the posts. His full length kick-off made it into the end zone, which in high school football is an automatic touchback. Both of those kicks are below. His other three kick-offs were all squibb kicks. His two punts were a little below par - 23 and 24 yards net. 

Good thing the JV won, because the varsity lost on Saturday evening, 7-35.

Here are the two kicks - first the extra point (Dad & Mom providing commentary).

And here's the ensuing kick off (Dad delighted!).

Bonus! Here's a goalline tackle on an extra point attempt by Monroe. Tim is in the highlighted "spotlight" on the end of the defensive line.

Wow. Teenage boy rescued an hour after being sucked into a sewer

What a horrendous experience.

Jeffrey LaPorta traveled more than a quarter of a mile Tuesday through multiple storm sewer pipes, at times completely submerged in water, before finding enough breathing room to await rescue. He was eventually pulled out of the sewer in less than an hour, with only scrapes and bruises.

The teen was riding his bike with a friend through puddles created by the rising creek, which flows near a strip mall parking lot in Parma. He fell into the overflowing water just off the edge of the parking lot and was forced into a drain pipe — roughly 2 feet in diameter, authorities said.

"The water was moving so quickly it sucked him into the drain," said Doug Turner, a spokesman for the Parma Fire Department. "It sucked him in and pulled him probably 100 yards, full of water, where he couldn't take his breath."

Jeffrey said he held his breath for what felt like two minutes, as his body flipped around in the pipe.

"I was face first, then I was feet first, and then I was side first," he said.

The pipe carried Jeffrey underneath the parking lot and into the suburb's storm sewer. He was then shifted into pipes that grew increasingly larger, Turner said. "Now the same amount of water is flowing through there with a little bit bigger of an opening, so his head actually bobs above water a couple times."

There's more if you hit the link.

Obama ahead by 4% in polls? Here's some history -

Off Drudge, to put in perspective.

POLL: O 49% R 45%...
FLASHBACK: CARTER +4 OVER REAGAN IN SEPT 1980 [+8 IN OCT]...
FLASHBACK: DUKAKIS +17 OVER BUSH AFTER DNC 1988...

Moose attack!

There's a moose on the loose. Reminds me of my "senior week" camping trip prior to college grduation ...

 

Men's 110 M hurdles - new world record

Set in Belgium in the final Diamond League (the elite professional circuit) meet. Fun to watch.

The WSJ's fine weekend editorial on the Obama Plan

Yeah, the heart of the matter.

Obama was honest when he said he wanted to remake America.

(In 2008) Candidate Obama was eloquent and likable. His personal story echoed of America's history as a land of opportunity. Voters put aside any worry about his ideology and took a chance on his promise of a better tomorrow.

Four years later the shooting liberal star, as we called him then, has come down to earth. What should have been a buoyant recovery coming out of a deep recession was lackluster to start and has grown weaker. The partisanship he claimed to want to dampen has become more fierce. The middle-class incomes he sought to lift have fallen. These results aren't bad luck or the lingering effects of a crash four years ago. They flow directly from his "transforming" purposes.

Hit the link and read the whole thing.

Clint Eastwood speaks about his Repub. Convention appearance

In his local newspaper in Carmel, California. Hit the link, it's quite interesting.

AFTER A week as topic No. 1 in American politics, former Carmel Mayor Clint Eastwood said the outpouring of criticism from left-wing reporters and liberal politicians after his appearance at the Republican National Convention last Thursday night, followed by an avalanche of support on Twitter and in the blogosphere, is all the proof anybody needs that his 12-minute discourse achieved exactly what he intended it to.

“President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” Eastwood told The Pine Cone this week. “Romney and Ryan would do a much better job running the country, and that’s what everybody needs to know. I may have irritated a lot of the lefties, but I was aiming for people in the middle.”

For five days after he thrilled or horrified the nation by talking to an empty chair representing Obama on the night Mitt Romney accepted the Republican nomination for president, Eastwood remained silent while pundits and critics debated whether his remarks, and the rambling way he made them, had helped or hurt Romney’s chances of winning in November.

But in a wide-ranging interview with The Pine Cone Tuesday from his home in Pebble Beach, he said he had conveyed the messages he wanted to convey, and that the spontaneous nature of his presentation was intentional, too.

“I had three points I wanted to make,” Eastwood said. “That not everybody in Hollywood is on the left, that Obama has broken a lot of the promises he made when he took office, and that the people should feel free to get rid of any politician who’s not doing a good job. But I didn’t make up my mind exactly what I was going to say until I said it.”

******

But even then, with just an hour before he appeared on stage, it still hadn’t occurred to Eastwood to use an empty chair as a stand-in for the president.

******

“There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down,” Eastwood said. “When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I’ll just put the stool out there and I’ll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn’t keep all of the promises he made to everybody.”

He asked a stagehand to take it out to the lectern while he was being announced.

“The guy said, ‘You mean you want it at the podium?’ and I said, ‘No, just put it right there next to it.’”

HA! I think he's right though - I think he got just the response he wanted ...

Caroline Kennedy makes it clear that "As a Catholic woman" she is a big supporter of Obama's pro-abortion position

All the code words - starts at minute 2:20.

 

Croton Tigers get shout-out from Mark Bell of the Power Project

Mark Bell owns the Supertraining Gym in Sacramento"The Strongest Gym in the West" and is a well-known powerlifter and trainer. He's the main presenter on the youtube Power Project program, or supertraining06.

Michigan Governor Jenn Granholm cheerleading for the Prez - Preach it sister!

Gabby Giffords leads the pledge of allegiance at the Dem Convention

 

And here's a CNN interview with her husband

Carville and Krauthammer give quick reviews of Obama speech

These were the only two I could quickly find up on youtube.

Carville "not the best speech"

Krauthammer "I was stunned"

At the Dem Convention - will this be their response to Clint Eastwood?

Ha! Ann Althouse suggested this (It's from Bananas"). Go here and here for some bits from Clint's appearance at the Repub. Convention.

Make My Day.

Comprehensive study on CPR in hospitals

The study indicates that there are benefits to prolonging/not giving up on resuscitation efforts.

When a hospital patient goes into cardiac arrest, one of the most difficult questions facing the medical team is how long to continue cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Now a new study involving hundreds of hospitals suggests that many doctors may be giving up too soon.

The study found that patients have a better chance of surviving in
hospitals that persist with CPR for just nine minutes longer, on
average, than hospitals where efforts are halted earlier.       

There are no clear, evidence-based guidelines for how long to continue CPR efforts.       

The findings challenge conventional medical thinking, which holds that
prolonged resuscitation for hospitalized patients is usually futile
because when patients do survive, they often suffer permanent
neurological damage. To the contrary, the researchers found that
patients who survived prolonged CPR and left the hospital fared as well
as those who were quickly resuscitated.    

    The study, published online Tuesday in The Lancet,
is one of the largest of its kind and one of the first to link the
duration of CPR efforts with survival rates. It should prompt hospitals
to review their practices and consider changes if their resuscitation
efforts fall short, several experts said. 

Hit the link for the whole article.      

 

 

Democrat Conventioners oppose putting "God" and "Jerusalem" in their platform

A big hulabaloo about leaving them out of the platform in the first place; you decide if there was a 2/3 vote from the floor to put them in (was the main contention affirming that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel?) -

“I think it failed,” said Don Kershner, a delegate from Boise who said it sounded to him — sitting in the opposite end of the arena from the speaker’s platform — that at least 50% of delegates opposed the changes. Kershner was one of the only delegates from Idaho in the arena when the changes were made — itself a problem, he said. But he said he thought the party should have left well enough alone.

       Terri Holland was one of the people who voted against the amendments introduced Wednesday       night. The New Mexico delegate from Albuquerque said she thought that Democrats had made the changes “to kow-tow to the religious right,” something the party should never do.

“I don’t think it has a business in anybody’s platform,” she said, about the part of the amendment that referred to giving “everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

These people are nuts. My opinion.

 

In Arizona: ER visit for scorpion sting costs 83K

Ridiculous.

The paper reports that the medication is sold for $100 per dose in Mexican pharmacies.

Two injections. And her insurance actually paid $57,000!

A deceased SEAL's mother speaks out; goes after Obama & Clinton

Here's the commercial she's objecting to.

Some funny lines attacking Romney at the Dem Convention

Also funny that Strickland quotes a Gospel, after the Dems deleted all reference to God in their Platform.

"If Mitt were Santa Claus" line pretty clever ...

 

NY Giant lineman Shaun O'Hara retires

Good player who got everything he could out of himself. A Rutgers graduate who was not drafted, but went to the Pro Bowl three times.

'I’ve been dreading this day my entire career,' O’Hara said. 'Admitting to myself as well as publicly that my body can no longer keep up with the demands of being a professional athlete. I wasn’t the most gifted athlete, but I learned early on in my life that perseverance is more valuable than talent. I can honestly say that I squeezed every ounce of ability out of my body and I have no regrets.'

ABC interview with a funny guy - Romney surrogate John Sununu

Pretty good.

 

CNN special on Clint Eastwood's empty chair

2 and a half minutes. It's dawned on me that Eastwood should have brought out an empty suit. And someone else thought of it ...

 

More fun from the campaign trail

Having posted Biden Joe Biden on how we are "better off today" and Obama The President gets in some zingers against the repubs ... , here's Ryan.

 

Cardinal Dolan's prayer closing the Republican Convention

The Cardinal will also be closing the Democratic Convention, with presumably a similar prayer.

Perhaps it would have been better if he perfomed exorcisms?

With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray:

With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray:

Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom, and on all of those who proudly call America home.  We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life.  Bless those families whose ancestors arrived on these shores generations ago, as well as those families that have come recently, to build a better future while weaving their lives into the rich tapestry of America.

 

We lift up to your loving care those afflicted by the recent storms and drought and fire.  We ask for the grace to stand in solidarity with all those who suffer.  May we strive to include your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, in the production and prosperity of a people so richly blessed.

Oh God of wisdom, justice, and might, we ask your guidance for those who govern us, and on those who would govern us:  the president and vice-president, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and on all those who seek to serve the common good by seeking public office, especially Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan.  Make them all worthy to serve you by serving our country.  Help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself.

 

Almighty God, who gives us the sacred and inalienable gift of life, we thank you as well for the singular gift of liberty.  Renew in all of our people a respect for religious freedom in full, that first most cherished freedom. Make us truly free, by tethering freedom to truth and ordering freedom to goodness.  Help us live our freedom in faith, hope, and love; prudently, and with justice; courageously, and in a spirit of moderation.  Enkindle in our hearts a new sense of responsibility for freedom’s cause.  And make us ever-grateful for all those who, for more than two centuries, have given their lives in freedom’s defense; we commend their noble souls to your eternal care, as even now we beg your mighty hand upon our beloved men and women in uniform.

 

May we know the truth of your creation, respecting the laws of nature and nature’s God, and not seek to replace it with idols of our own making.  Give us the good sense not to cast aside the boundaries of righteous living you first inscribed in our hearts even before inscribing them on tablets of stone.  May you mend our every flaw, confirming our soul in self-control, our liberty in law.

 

We pray for all those who seek honest labor, as we thank you for the spirit of generosity to those in need with which you so richly blessed this nation.

We beseech your blessing on all who depart from here this evening, and on all those, in every land, who seek to conduct their lives in freedom.

 

Most of all, Almighty God, we thank you for the great gift of our beloved country.

For we are indeed “one nation under God.”

And “in God we trust.”

Dear God bless America. You who live and reign, forever and ever,

Amen!

From France: The easy and fun way to burn calories

Brigid's occasional contributor niece June sent this from Australia -

 

Joe Biden on how we are "better off today"

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini

A Jesuit. 

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, who has died aged 85, was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002; regarded as being on the liberal wing of the Roman Catholic Church, he was once seen as a leading candidate for the Papacy itself.

The article's take on his views on contraception are incomplete; here's a more comprehensive take from Martini's wikipedia entry.

In April 2006, in response to a very specific question from physician and politician Ignazio Marino, director of the transplant centre of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Martini opined that in certain cases, the usage of condoms might be allowable stating, "The use of condoms can, in certain situations, be a lesser evil".^[7] He stressed the particular case of married couples where one has HIV or AIDS.^[8] But he quickly noted that it's one thing the principle of the lesser evil in such cases, and quite another the subject who has to convey those things publicly, thus it is not up to the Church authorities to support condom use publicly, because of "the risk of promoting an irresponsible attitude". The Church is more likely to support other morally sustainable means, such as abstinence.^[9] On another occasion the Cardinal stated that "I believe the Church's teaching has not been expressed so well... I am confident we will find some formula to state things better, so that the problem is better understood and more adapted to reality," earning him a reputation for having a more liberal stance toward contraception.^[10]

The President gets in some zingers against the repubs ...

Amusing.

Facebook (FB) closed Friday at $18.06

UPDATE: I never received as many calls from clients about an IPO, as I did Back in May, about Facebook.

Soooo... down from it's IPO price on May 17th of $38. And with more downside?

Here's why I think the price has dropped (& will continue down).

1. The analysts don't see how Facebook can make money just off their advertising (People don't go onto facebook thinking they are going to shop)
2. there's little confidence in the Company managment.

 

NY Times fascinating review of the new SEAL book, "No Easy Day"

UPDATE: Another NYT column aboutthe ebook No Easy Op, which discusses this book and it's author.

The reviewer is long-time NYT critic and reviewer, Janet Maslin (Who is married to Benjamin Cheever, sone of the very acclaimed fction writer and Ossining resident, the late John Cheever). I didn't know this, but Maslin lives in Pleasantville, and "serves as president of the board of the Jacob Burns Film Center."

Anyway, a very interesting review of what is evidently a more then interesting book. the author, was on the raid that killed bin Laden.

A SEAL’s Own Story, Bin Laden and All

The Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, learned from ABC News that they had “gazelle legs, no waist, and a huge upper body configuration,” not to mention calloused hands and gigantic egos. They learned from other American news sources that they had taken part in a 45-minute firefight and that an armed bin Laden, once cornered, had tried to defend himself in his final moments, staring straight at the fighters who would shoot him. Their raid was being turned into a bad action movie.

These distortions seemed funny at first. But “Mark Owen” (the pseudonym of one gutsy, transgressive member of the SEALs, who served 13 consecutive combat deployments) began to want to set the record straight. He hoped to deliver firsthand a visceral and often surprising version of the bin Laden raid and other SEAL stories. The emphasis of his “No Easy Day,” written with Kevin Maurer, is not on spilling secrets. It is on explaining a SEAL’s rigorous mind-set and showing how that toughness is created.

Maslin goes on to give the book an excellent review; I may have to get the kindle edition.

NY Times: "Romney Draws Huge Crowds in Cincinnati"

Ohio. A crucial swing state.

A line of people that stretched for five city blocks awaited Mr. Romney as his motorcade pulled into the Union Terminal. Inside there were so many people that the campaign had to redirect a few hundred of them into a small overflow room, where they crammed in shoulder to shoulder.

Women's steeplechase race; a fall and then more weird stuff

This is very odd. In the last track meet of the season in the professional International Diamond League, there's a big fall and then a lane vioaltion. Result - the women who fell ends up winning the overall season title based on all the Diamond League meets.

 

Clint Eastwood explains Joe Biden

"I never thought that it was a good idea for attorney's to be President anyway."

 

MSNBC's Chris Matthews gets into confrontation with republican conventioneers

The Democrat syncophant.

Chris Matthews gets into confrontation with GOP delegates

Matthews said he told the rowdy group, “What’s this, a douchebag convention?”
 
The Republicans became angry and retorted back.

“I told him that’s next week," said New York delegate Anthony Nunziato, referring to the Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., that will start on Tuesday.