Please hammer, don't hurt 'em!

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_14454828

Executive Summary:

A Salt Lake City woman attacked her husband with a hammer after blindfolding him, leading him into a basement, and promising him a "surprise".

Her husband was able to escape with minor injuries. His wife (they are still married, but separated) pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, although she claims to have no memory of the attack.

Opinion:

Please have a good laugh over this story. And then laugh even more over Senator Harry Reid's claim that "women aren't abusive most of the time".

Ronulans (sigh)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/02/21/2010-02-21_ron_paul_for_prez_say_rightwingers.html

Executive Summary:

Ron Paul won the straw poll for 2012 presidential nominee at CPAC, one of the big political events of the year for conservatives.

Mitt Romney was second with 22% of the vote and all other candidates (including Sarah Palin) were 7% or less. Most voters also said they were dissatisfied with the current slate of candidates.

Opinion:
It is an unoffical poll, and it looks like Ron Paul won because he made sure his supporters attended CPAC, not because he's who conservatives actually want. His supporters are what worry me a bit. I saw them at our state's GOP convention in '08 where they tried to throw our nomination to Paul. When they failed, they focused on trying to ram as much antiwar rhetoric into our platform as possible. They showed the same kind of slavish, unquestioning devotion to Rep. Paul (or "Dr. Paul," as they are careful to say) that many Obama voters showed for Obama. They seem to believe that all we need to do is elect a "smart," well-educated man, and he will fix everything that is wrong with the country. The cult of personality that surrounds him (and that he doesn't seem to mind it) mixed with his unrealistic foreign policy positions means that this conservative does not support him.

I keep telling my husband we need to move to that little corner of Idaho...

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

The hanging pork project of Portland

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Gardening/2010/0121/New-green-wonder-the-Hanging-Gardens-of-Portland

Executive Summary:

The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal building in Portland is going to get a $135 million "green" makeover with federal stimulus funds. This is the largest stimulus project announced thus far for Oregon.

The plans call for one side of the 18-story building to be covered in 250-foot tall trellises, a giant "green roof" on top of the existing one for the purpose of collecting rainwater, etc., and other "green" improvements.

The architect currently has no idea how the trellises will actually be constructed, and gardening experts worry that it will be hard to keep the plants alive in Portland's warm "Mediterranean" summers.

Construction is to take 3 to 4 years, and federal employees will be working elsewhere while the work is done.

Opinion:

Not only is this one of the ugliest proposed remodeling projects I have ever seen (people say that the original building is ugly, but the remodel makes it worse), but is this a good use of stimulus dollars? To build a "plant wall" on the side of an office building that will likely be dead 6 months after it reopens? Hell no. And why is this project planned to take so long? And who is footing the bill to put the employees in temporary work space? Oh, that's right, I am.

The dog ate my papers proving global warming

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250872/Climategate-U-turn-Astonishment-scientist-centre-global-warming-email-row-admits-data-organised.html
Executive Summary:

Phil Jones, the former head of the climate research unit at East Anglia University in the UK, was one of the most respected sources for data on climate change. His university kept one of the data sets that this theory is based upon. He also helped write much of the information put out by the IPCC, a UN organization that governments look to for advice on climate change policy.

Phil Jones is now under investigation for failing to respond to freedom of information act requests for his climate change data. He now claims that he "lost" the data in his messy office. He now admits that there has been no increase in global temperatures for the last 15 years, but still insists that the earth is still on a warming trend.

Opinion:

What else are we going to find in Phil Jones' office? Jimmy Hoffa? This would be funny if the things that Phil Jones and others who support the global warming panic are saying weren't so dangerous. No self-respecting researcher should ask anyone to believe them about anything if they don't have the data to back it up. Fire Phil Jones now and throw out any science on climate change that depended on the East Anglia data set. Oh, all of it does? I guess we need to start over, then.

Debt limit goes from ridiculous to insane

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/02/president-obama-signs-law-raising-public-debt-limit-from-124-trillion-to-143-trillion.html

rai

Executive summary:

President Obama signed the bill raising the debt limit to $14.294 trillion.

The law also requires any new, non-emergency spending to be "covered" by new taxes or spending cuts.

Opinion:

President Obama and the democrats are not serious about reducing the deficit. The deficit was bad before, but we are entering new territory where it might be mathematically impossible for future generations to pay it back.

Get out the torches and pitchforks.

Drop that light bulb and keep your hands where I can see them!

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6171F420100208

Executive Summary:

Philips, which makes 1 in 4 of the world's lighting fixtures, is banking a large part of its financial future on the production and sales of LED lights. LED lights currently make up less than 10% of lighting sales in Europe.

The LED is more expensive than the incandescent light bulb, but is expected to be less expensive than the compact fluorescent by 2013.

LEDs have a long life, are energy efficient, and do not contain mercury like the compact fluorescent. However, the quality of light produced by a less expensive LED is described as "cold", while "warm" LED light is twice as costly.

Phillips will not realize its LED sales goals unless the EU and other governing bodies continue with their plans to ban the incandescent light bulb. Europe is on track to ban it in 2012.

Opinion:

The incandescent light bulb is going to be banned by our government. Stop laughing. Seriously. I think the US ban takes effect in 2014. I do think Congress will have no choice but to delay it. And then delay it again. And again. (Like the DTV transition.) But like DTV, it probably will get implemented someday. When it does, I hope I have a closetful of incandescent light bulbs. I hate those compact fluorescent bulbs---they make everything look jaundiced. I challenge anyone to tell me how this is a necessary function of government. And if LEDs are that great, the market will ensure they will be implemented eventually, so why does the government need to step in at all?

Because you are the CEO of you

It will be interesting to see if this works as a blog, but if nothing else, I hope it will be therapeutic for me. I often have things to say about the news of the day, but not many people to say it to. Many of my friends that might discuss the news with me claim they have no time to read it, and they are right. But on the other hand, a lot of the things that are happening are going to affect them in significant (and possibly horrible) ways. Partially as a "public service" and partially because I enjoy a good political debate, I am planning to blog on news stories that are 1) really interesting or 2) really relevant. I am calling it "executive summary news" because everyone is in a sense the "CEO" of their life, their family, their home, etc., and they need executive summaries of the important news of the day to make the best executive decisions. I will write the summaries and some short analysis. What you do with that is up to you---read it and get on with your life, or argue with me. Either is fine.