Seven Weeks: That’s how long it took to discover that a woman had died, of natural causes, in her YWCA room.
The Santa Claus Burglar: A man gets stuck in a Seward Park home’s chimney for three hours; he intended to burglarize the home.
Poisoned Meatballs: Three dogs in Spokane are dead after eating them.
Coup d’état in Niger: (Former) President Mamadou Tandja was arrested on Thursday; and a military junta now has ruling authority over the country.
Bacillus Anthracis: The FBI finally concludes their investigation into the anthrax letter attacks from 2001.
The Dutch Government: It collapsed after failing to reach an agreement on their military’s presence in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile in Ukraine: Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko has dropped her legal challenge to the presidential election, thus clearing the way for the opposition leader, Viktor F. Yanukovich, to be inaugurated Thursday.
Not Even a Slap On the Wrist: Bush Administration lawyers, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, the two men who justified a policy of torture, will not face disciplinary action of any kind.
Alexander Haig: Former Secretary of State under Reagan dead at 85.
But Can You Smoke in Them? A new federal law will allow one to carry a firearm into National Parks (so long as it does not conflict with state law).
Not Just Ourselves, But Our Trees, Too! Scientists have gauged climate change on trees’ trunks getting fatter.
This is making its rounds on teh internets (NSFW):
More in NEWS
Local (and not-so-local) news from your favorite writers.
hahahhahaha awesome
For the record (and for Matt in Denver), I haven’t been in Spokane recently, nor do I actually believe in poisoning dogs. I just advocate it here, for the yucks. I love dogs. Sometimes.
Well, I don’t know about dogs, but if you poisoned Haig, somebody ought to pin a medal on you.
And that video is a little worrying, since that’s what I say when I’m floating on a bottle or two of wine — “I’m a little high”. That’s usually right before I fall into the fire or start peeling off my clothes — wait, I AM that woman, aren’t I? Shit.
Isn’t this the third or so time a Balkenende coalition has broken down? It’s amazing the CDA is still in power. It would be so interesting to see an election that could produce a PVDA-SP-GL-PVDD type progressive coalition for once.
@ 2, problem is, you condemn other people for similar attitudes, such as the other day when you took 5280 to task for his comments about the IRS. There’s no difference.
I’m guessing the “unknown substance” the meatballs were soaked in was antifreeze. it’s the favorite poison of assholes.
Oh, that’s just Fnarf, Matt. He figures if he calls everyone else an asshole loudly enough, nobody will notice how much of an asshole he can be at times.
I prefer the term “squiffy” myself.
My favorite part of that video was how hard the cameraman was laughing and how he kept panning back for more despite himself.
A woman died in her room at the downtown Seattle YWCA and her body went undiscovered for seven weeks before it was found.
Seattle, where neighbors look out for neighbors….
@11, I loved that about it too!
Video is a set up for a good day …. didn’t she work at the Bon in the old days?
I bet she got picked up by some street savy horn dog in the next five minutes … as the world turns.
( and she fucked him near to death)
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
February 20, 2010
The other week, men and women across California opened up their mailboxes to find a letter from Anthem Blue Cross. The news inside was jaw-dropping. Anthem was alerting almost a million of its customers that it would be raising premiums by an average of 25 percent, with about a quarter of folks likely to see their rates go up by anywhere from 35 to 39 percent.
Now, after their announcement stirred public outcry, Anthem agreed to delay their rate hike until May 1st while the situation is reviewed by the state of California. But it’s not just Californians who are being hit by rate hikes. In Kansas, one insurance company raised premiums by 10 to 20 percent only after asking to raise them by 20 to 30 percent. Last year, Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield raised rates by 22 percent after asking to raise them by up to 56 percent. And in Maine, Anthem is asking to raise rates for some folks by about 23 percent.
The bottom line is that the status quo is good for the insurance industry and bad for America. Over the past year, as families and small business owners have struggled to pay soaring health care costs, and as millions of Americans lost their coverage, the five largest insurers made record profits of over $12 billion.
And as bad as things are today, they’ll only get worse if we fail to act. We’ll see more and more Americans go without the coverage they need. We’ll see exploding premiums and out-of-pocket costs burn through more and more family budgets. We’ll see more and more small businesses scale back benefits, drop coverage, or close down because they can’t keep up with rising rates. And in time, we’ll see these skyrocketing health care costs become the single largest driver of our federal deficits.
That’s what the future is on track to look like. But it’s not what the future has to look like. The question, then, is whether we will do what it takes, all of us – Democrats and Republicans – to build a better future for ourselves, our children, and our country.
That’s why, next week, I am inviting members of both parties to take part in a bipartisan health care meeting, and I hope they come in a spirit of good faith. I don’t want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points. Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that’s been with us for generations.
It’s in that spirit that I have sought out and supported Republican ideas on reform from the very beginning. Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs. Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas – so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people. I hope Democrats and Republicans can come together next week around these and other ideas.
To members of Congress, I would simply say this. We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system. We know where the broad areas of agreement are. And we know where the sources of disagreement lie. After debating this issue exhaustively for a year, let’s move forward together. Next week is our chance to finally reform our health insurance system so it works for families and small businesses. It’s our chance to finally give Americans the peace of mind of knowing that they’ll be able to have affordable coverage when they need it most.
What’s being tested here is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem. Right now, Americans are understandably despairing about whether partisanship and the undue influence of special interests in Washington will make it impossible for us to deal with the big challenges that face our country. They want to see us focus not on scoring points, but on solving problems; not on the next election but on the next generation. That is what we can do, and that is what we must do when we come together for this bipartisan health care meeting next week. Thank you, and have a great weekend.
##########
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Totally vague. Totally complimentary to the GOP. If insurers are profiteers, why keep them btw? He doesn’t say what he is FOR, he doesn’t tell a story, he doesn’t even explain too well what this alleged reform is. It’s one year out and he’s still taking in ideas? WTF??????????
How’s this mess going to stop these rate increases?
What’s he fucking FOR, a process? A process to reform a market, woo hoo, we’ll all march to the barricades for that. “Hope, change, unity and let’s listen to those really good ideas of the republicans!!!”
@12 I really appreciate that my neighbors mind their own business. If I were dead, I would care even less.
Note to 5280 – one office drone was burned to death in that aerial attack. Two others were transported in critical condition.
A real-life Venus of Willendorf.
Why does it take Mardi Gras for attractive women to take their clothes off on the street? Oh, thats right, even at Mardi Gras they usuall still keep their bottoms on.
Was that Mrs. Crabtree from South Park?
@9, anybody who doesn’t notice how much of an asshole I am is either not paying attention at all, or simply starstruck by my spectacular good looks and gutbusting witticisms.
Matt, either you are unfamiliar with the use of hyperbole for comic effect, or I am just plain terrible at it. Seriously, I’ll scratch any dog behind the ears and he’ll love me for it, just as all babies automatically start to coo and giggle when they see me — even the ones who should be roasted on a spit.
Fnarf, I believe you. Really. I know you don’t hate dogs and would never hurt one. There’s hyperbole, then there’s saying dogs should be poisoned for being annoying. I’m sure some find it comic, but it’s not exactly A Modest Proposal.
Anyway, just my two cents. I’ll leave it alone in the future.
I think I amended my remarks to say “poison dog OWNERS”, Matt. Not you. You know the ones I mean.
Hot guy, Chekov’s son, is missing.
wonderwall.msn.com/tv/growing-pains-acto…;
For the record, more extensive reports I’ve read (no primary sources, sadly) say that firearms are already allowed in national parks. What’s changing is that loaded firearms, if surrounding state law allows, may now be brought in.