Recent Articles

The financial crisis illustrated

The financial crisis illustrated

| December 8, 2008 | Reply

“Because Secretary Paulson had struggled in previous attempts to explain what the big banks and brokerage houses had done to the U.S. economy, his staff prepared a visual aid that told the story in clear and graphic terms.” Winner of Dave Barry’s caption contest for the above photo.  ..bruce w..

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Supreme Court Declines Natural Born Citizen Case

Supreme Court Declines Natural Born Citizen Case

| December 8, 2008 | Reply

As expected the US Supreme court has declined to further entertain the “Donofrio v. Wells” case, which sought to have the court better define the portion of Article 1 of the US Constitution that defines the requirement for the President to be a “Natural Born Citizen”. From Legal Line News: Although Donofrio concedes Obama was […]

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Remembering Pearl Harbor

Remembering Pearl Harbor

| December 7, 2008 | 2 Replies

My dad, John  A. Webster, was a seaman aboard the USS San Francisco (CA-38) at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Fortunately, the San Francisco was docked some distance from Battleship Row (look down to the lower right corner) and so was not subjected to the heavy bombing that damaged or sank so many other […]

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Christmas recommendation: “Scrooge” (1970)

Christmas recommendation: “Scrooge” (1970)

| December 6, 2008 | 1 Reply

This remains my favorite Christmas movie (yes, even over “A Christmas Story”). It is a musical version of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”, starring Albert Finney in the title role. I am not alone in my praise for this movie; note that of the 406(!) customer reviews for it at Amazon, 366 (90%) give it 5 […]

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Speaking of football…

Speaking of football…

| December 6, 2008 | Reply

…”After determining the Big-12 championship game participants the BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS declared Germany to be the winner of World War II.” The article continues: Questioned about the #4 ranking of the United States the BCS commissioner stated “The US only had two major victories– […]

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Raider nation

Raider nation

| December 6, 2008 | Reply

The Oakland Raiders came to San Diego this past Thursday to play the Chargers. Raider fans are, of course, noted for being a bit…ah…intense, and (according to my sister Deirdre), the local newspaper gave appropriate warning to San Diego fans and citizens. Then the local TV station broadcasting the game ran the following ad after […]

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From the sublime…

From the sublime…

| December 5, 2008 | 1 Reply

…to the ridiculous. Orin Kerr, over at the Volokh Conspiracy, is attempting to find (and I quote) “the single cheesiest Lawrence Welk clip on YouTube.” Here’s his current nominee: Let’s see:  ridiculous outfits — check. Ridiculous dance moves — check. A bland orchestra rendition of a Captain & Tennille song that manages to remove whatever […]

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Who Is A Natural Born Citizen? – Supreme Court To Discuss Tomorrow

Who Is A Natural Born Citizen? – Supreme Court To Discuss Tomorrow

| December 4, 2008 | Reply

Word is that tomorrow, the US Supreme Court will discuss in private a suit brought by Leo Donofrio, that asks a very interesting and possibly explosive question. What does it mean to be a “Natural Born Citizen”? This is of crucial importance, because the US Constitution clearly states that in order to run for President, […]

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Global warming update

Global warming update

| December 3, 2008 | Reply

Accuweather delivers the bad news: In the AccuWeather.com Winter Forecast released in early October, Chief Long-range Forecaster Joe Bastardi said the overall colder and snowier winter will be off to a cold start in December, which could be the roughest winter month for much of the nation. Calling the winter of 2008-2009 one of the […]

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Lost At Sea – Inflatable Breasts

Lost At Sea – Inflatable Breasts

| December 2, 2008 | Reply

There are some events that just defy the mashup engine: Men’s magazine loses 130,000 inflatable breasts A men’s magazine has lost a shipment of 130,000 inflatable breasts en route to Australia. The breasts, worth £100,000, were planned to be a free gift in Ralph magazine – but vanished before arriving at their destination. A spokeswoman […]

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