Online headline: "Joe The Plumber Turned Away From White House " -- Guess the facilities are too backed up to let a Republican in to clean it out. That, or potUS Arpege is going to outdo XpotUS Clinton in trashing the White House as he leaves. --- L-E story: "An Atlanta woman convicted in January of defrauding Aflac out of $27,000 cried out Tuesday as a federal judge sentenced her to nine months in prison." -- Hey, Judge... Look what a tough sentence will do at getting a criminal's attention. Think she'll be back in front of you? Now, the next time you give a death sentence, tack on an addendum that the criminal has only a 2 or 3 year window to appeal, then carry it out. this is a teaching moment! for all potential criminals. --- Online quote service: "A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman politician and philosopher" -- The DIM&DUMBERats abide by the antithesis of this bit of wisdom. When D&Ds 'gift' a program, their 'intent' is only to buy votes. Obviously the Roman Empire failed when it ran out of other people's money. --- The local Chamber of Commerce's "Legislative Express 2012" is set for May 17th. It's sponsored by AFLAC, AT&T, Flint Energies, GA Power Co, and the Columbus Water Works. I understand when companies such as AFLAC and AT&T do so to get their names recognized over their competition, but why are monopolies such as electric and water companies allowed to spend money like this then turn to their regulators and complain they need higher rates because their expenses are higher? --- One other thought on how schools prepare students of today for the SATs. I don't want my child to be taught how to take the test, I want her to be taught to have the knowledge that she's going to be tested on. --- L-E story: "Muscogee Superior Court Judge John Allen released to a group home Tuesday the developmentally disabled man charged with murder for fatally stabbing his caregiver in 2010. * While ordering a psychological evaluation to gauge 19-year-old Brokeel Ransom's potential for violence and competency to stand trial, Allen allowed him to return to the home where he has been living since he thrust a steak knife into Julius Rogers * Rogers died Feb. 1, 2011. Police arrested ( 19 year old) Ransom after summoning him Tuesday to Columbus Recorder's Court, where Judge Michael Cielinski ordered him held without bond. * That created a stir because the Muscogee County Jail typically does not have inmates in Ransom's condition. He has acute autism and severe mental retardation, said Steve Craft of the public defender's office, who represented Ransom in Allen's court on Wednesday. * In a telephone interview before Wednesday's hearing, Sheriff's Commander Dane Collins, who's in charge of the jail, said his facility is not suitable for Ransom. * "Typically people who are severely developmentally disabled, this is just not the place for them, because they can't really respond to our requests," said Collins * The state's West Central Georgia Regional Hospital, where Ransom is to be evaluated, also would not take him on a long-term basis, Collins said: "He's not mentally ill. The state institutions have already said, 'We can't do anything for him." -- Can you follow (or for that matter detect) any cohesive logic in what's going on? I hope I'm having a dream of a plot to make a sequel to Joseph Heller's book/movie, "Catch 22". Maybe a new title such as "Government 101 - It's not my job - The ultimate SNAFU" --- A Newark, NJ mother has been charged with all sorts of child abuse/neglect charges because school officials saw the mother's daughter with a sunburn, and when the school officials talked to the girl, the girl mentioned she had gone to a tanning salon with her mother. In true liberal panic, the teacher reported it as a crime, the mother was arrested, and the lib media couldn't wait on the facts before crucifying (that's becoming a popular word recently) the mother. When the light of truth was shown, the little girl had gotten sunburned playing outside on an unseasonably nice day, BUT had also gone to a tanning salon and waited while her mom had a tanning session. Evidence and eye-witnesses confirm that the child never entered a tanning booth at the salon. Of course the liberals will forgive the school officials because they had 'good intentions' regardless of not bothering to check out the truth first. --- Media reports of Cate Edwards leaving the courtroom in tears... is this real or just a John Edwards' sympathy act for the jury? It's a shame that such skepticism has to be aired, but John Edwards undoubtedly is in the top 1% of the 99% of lawyers who give the other 1% a bad reputation.