Orange County Man Rises in Al Qaeda Ranks - Los Angeles Times

Orange County Man Rises in Al Qaeda Ranks - Los Angeles Times

Nothing like having a big shot in the Al Qaeda be from your own neighborhood...

Especially when your neighborhood is kind of a silly sunny place of surfers, hockey Ducks, baseball Angels, Mickey Mouse, Little Saigon, "The O.C.", The Crystal Cathedral... We have an airport we simply call "John Wayne"; Tiger Woods, as well as Steve Martin, is from here; celebrities/movie stars live in Newport and Laguna. A giant orange drops at midnight on our New Year's Eve. Our kids hang at "Knotts" and Disneyland. Or at the beach. We have a disportionate number of Olympic athletes, BTW.

Why turn to Al Qaeda?

Yeah, O.C. is about haves and have-nots. Yes, arguably, it's capitalism, as well as California, run amok. Yes, it leans to the right and is rather conservative. It's quite Christian - in both the best and worst ways. Home of the infamous "Minutemen." It's chock-full of illegal immigrants, BTW.

Orange County's a goofy, sunny (albeit smoggy) place.

But, I still don't get it. Not at all.

And, yes, the man's an American, which, considering his activity in Al Qaeda, makes him a traitor, I agree. He's an American who, sadly and unfortunately, has become an enemy of America.

Chavez says Bush 'alcoholic' and 'sick man'

Chavez says Bush 'alcoholic' and 'sick man' - Yahoo! News (AFP)

I'm no Bush fan, but what's with this guy?

Yesterday, Chavez referred to Bush as the "diablo" (devil) in front of the whole U.N. Now this crap today.

Has the man ever heard of diplomacy? Obviously not.

He's even dissing the man right in his own country.

I have to wonder what would happen if the shoe were on the other foot and Bush talked like this about Chavez while visiting his country, Venezuela...

Reminds me of long ago when the angry Soviet Premier Khrushchev, while at the U.N., actually took his shoe off and started banging it on his desk for emphasis.

All very strange. All remarkably not diplomatic. These are not "class" acts, and not what you expect from world leaders.

U.S. Health-Care System Gets a "D"

U.S. Health-Care System Gets a "D" - Yahoo! News (BusinessWeek online)

Nothing surprising in this article, but it does confirm what I'vd suspected from my own experiences and observations.

We've got some good doctors and some good medicine, but our (the U.S.'s) health delivery system is pretty bad.

Worst of all, perhaps, are the many uninsured who can't afford health care, so they do without what they really need.

Our country can do better!

House passes bill to make voters show ID

House passes bill to make voters show ID - Yahoo! News

Good!

Why not?

From the article:

But Democrats assailed the legislation, saying it could hurt minorities,
the poor and the elderly — groups that tend to vote Democratic — who might have
trouble producing a photo identification.

Nonsense! My fellow Democrats embarrass me (they do a lot in recent years...). If one doesn't have a driver's license, one needs to get a photo I.D. It's not that hard to get, and it's needed for all kinds of things.

This article also discusses the border fence. Perhaps a good idea. Probably.

But, how to pay for it? Seriously - where will the money come from?

Something to consider also - what about our other border? This border-fencing is about homeland security, isn't it?

Tainted spinach traced to California

Tainted spinach traced to California - Yahoo! News (AP)

Bummer.

But, seriously, though - time to toss your bagged raw spinach into the trash. E Coli...!

This is not a California thing really - we just grow a heckuva lot of food and drink here.