Blue Mondays, November 1st

Hey, where did October go?

Sen. Barbara Boxer is facing new ethics complaints over asking teachers to send their students to work for her campaign. In an Oct. 27 letter to California education authorities, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association said, “In abject ignorance of California state law, the political campaign of Senator Barbara Boxer has openly solicited teachers employed by [Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)] to urge their students to volunteer for her campaign.”The HJTA letter refers to a letter obtained by the Flash Report, an influential California political blog, from the Boxer campaign that urges teachers to recruit their students to work for Boxer’s campaign. “As you may know, Senator Boxer is facing her toughest race yet,” the letter from Boxer says, “please let us know if your students are able to help.” HJTA’s letter cites a portion of California law governing teachers’ conduct which makes it illegal for teachers to solicit political support of students, including donations and volunteer work

I don’t think we pay nearly enough attention to what our “friends” in Saudi Arabia are up to:
"Iran is not the enemy, Israel is the enemy," the head of the Center for Strategic Studies in Saudi Arabia declared in an interview with Al Jazeera. This was his response to a question on whether the $60 billion arms deal between Riyadh and Washington was meant to deter Iran. The American efforts to portray the deal as aimed against Tehran doesn't fit with the Saudi point of view, and it seems this isn't the only subject over which these two countries fail to see eye to eye. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia twice last week, and Iran reported that a senior Iranian official would visit Riyadh soon. It's not clear if it will be Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki or the head of the National Security Council, Saeed Jalili. But the frequent contacts between Iran and Saudi Arabia are not over the big arms deal or Iran's nuclear plans. The two countries have concluded that they need to reach an agreement on two other issues regarding their sphere of influence in the region: Iraq and Lebanon. 

Two suspects face multiple charges after North Carolina police said they left a note thanking the homeowners for the $5,000 worth of electronics gear and food they stole. Fayetteville police spokesman Dan Grubb said Friday the pair left one note on a white paper napkin saying simply, "Thanks." Grubb said a second message etched into a wall Wednesday morning said the same thing, and added: "We love the stuff we got." Police charged Dajuan Marquis Avant and Darrell Sturdivant Jr. with breaking and entering, larceny, and other charges. Both 19-year-olds are from Fayetteville. It was not known if either had an attorney.
The homeowners said the stolen loot included a box of corn dogs, frozen chicken and beer.


And Here's one from Granddad that Margaret can tell Darryl sometime:


One Wish

Two Irishmen were adrift in a life boat following a dramatic escape from
a burning freighter. While rummaging through the boat's provisions, one
of the men stumbled across an old lamp. Secretly hoping that a genie
would appear, he rubbed the lamp vigorously. To the amazement of the
castaways, a genie came forth. This particular genie, however, stated
that he could only deliver one wish, not the standard three.

Without giving much thought to the matter the man blurted out, "Make the
entire ocean into beer!"

The genie clapped his hands with a deafening crash, and immediately the
entire sea turned into the finest brew ever sampled by mortals.

Simultaneously, the genie vanished. Only the gentle lapping of beer on
the hull broke the stillness as the men considered their circumstances.

One man looked disgustedly at the other whose wish had been granted.
After a long, tension filled moment, he spoke: "Nice going idiot! Now
we're going to have to piss in the boat."



On this day in history in 79 Pompei was buried by Mt Vesuvius; in 1932 Wernher von Braun named head of German liquid-fuel rocket program; and in 1952 the 1st hydrogen device exploded at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific 



Live Long and Prosper....