The Nightowl Newswrap

by: Blue Girl

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 23:45:00 PM CDT

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And it isn't okay to Google the case you are deciding, either!  A federal judge in Florida declared the first "google mistrial" last week after non just one, but nine of the jurors were discovered to have researched the case on line.  It is definitely time to update the jury instructions - but it might be time to think about professional jurors, too.  

He may be a prick and I may hate him vehemently and give thanks every day that he is gone from office, but at least he knows how to act Former President G.W. Bush made his first post-presidency speech in Calgary, Alberta today, and I have to give the devil his due - he showed a little bit of class.  When he was asked about his successor, he didn't follow Darth Cheney's lead.  He instead said that President Obama "deserves my silence" and declined to offer any criticism.  Unlike Cheney and Limbaugh, Bush said he wants Obama to succeed and said it's important that he has that support.  "I love my country a lot more than I love politics," Bush said. "I think it is essential that he be helped in office."  

Cutting emissions is only a start  It is wishful thinking that we just need the political will to implement the changes we are already capable of making.  We need transformational scientific breakthroughs in the energy field.  

USAF Nurse faces court-martial for hastening the exit of terminally ill patients by administering lethal doses of medication.  Captain Michael Fontana was removed from duty at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland, AFB Texas as soon as the allegations were made and has been formally charged with deliberately administering lethal doses of medication to three patients and one count of conduct unbecoming for altering a medical record.  Wilford Hall is the Air Force's largest medical center, but it is set to be scaled back to an outpatient surgery center in 2011, and Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft. Sam Houston will expand to accommodate Wilford Hall's inpatients.  

Vivek Kundra reinstated  The White House computer chief was reinstated today, five days after being placed on leave after an FBI raid on the office he formally oversaw.  An employee and a tech consultant were arrested on corruption charges, but Mr. Kundra has been informed that he is neither a subject nor a target of the investigation and has been reinstated to his post.  

Over half of us agree with Grassley  MSNBC has a poll up asking if we think Senator Grassley crossed the line when he said that AIG executives should apologize and either resign or kill themselves.  A few people of delicate sensibilities (18.6%) think he was out of line - 52.8% say no, he was spot on and they should have the decency to throw themselves off the tallest ledge on Wall Street.  Y'all know how I feel...I think we should be allowed to buy tags, like we do during deer season, and hunt them for sport.  

New Jersey sues to recover Lehman losses  The state New Jersey filed a court action today against the failed financial giant, contending fraud and misrepresentation caused the state's public pension fund to lose $118 million.  The action contends that a "thirst for profit" and just plain greed on the part of Lehman executives caused the firm to misrepresent it's financial position when the state bought $182 million in Lehman shares in April and June 2008 - a time when Lehman was having trouble raising capital and attracting investors.  The company was bankrupt by September.  

One way or another, we are getting our money back from AIG  If the jackals who ought to be in jail rather than cashing million dollar checks don't give the money back voluntarily and post haste, it will be taken off the top in the next bailout dispersal.

German manufacturing output tumbles  For the first time since reunification, the manufacturing sector of the German economy fell 7.5% in a single month.  That drop in output is much larger than the 3% predicted by analysts and raises fears about German growth.  Germany has predicted that its economy will shrink by 2.25% in 2009, which would be its worst performance in the post-World War II era.

Legalize already  Now Peru is getting back into the Cocaine game, and caught between the Shining Path rebels who profit from the drug trade and the thuggish military are the peasants - who can count on one thing...nobody gives a damn about them, they get murdered by both sides.  Legalization is the only way to get a handle on it, and everyone who isn't deep in denial knows it.  

At least his victims won't get doubly screwed over  The IRS announced today (Tuesday) that there is a plan in the works to allow the victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme to file a deduction related to the bulk of their losses.  The plan would apply to all victims of Ponzi schemes, not just those defrauded by Madoff, but is expected to provide major relief to his 13,000 victims - as well as provide clarity for their tax preparers.   The plan was announced in testimony by IRS commissioner Doug Shulman before the Senate Finance Committee.  No determination yet if the victims of Allan "small potatoes" Stanford, the Texas piker who only managed to defraud his investors of $8 billion.  

Sending White Light to Natasha Richardson and her family  after the award-winning actress suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident in Montreal on Monday.  She was transported to a hospital in New York on Tuesday, but word of her condition has not been We don't do a lot of celebrity stuff here, being a "serious news blog" and all that - but I have always had a soft spot for her entire family.  Ms. Richardson is the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and has been married to Liam Neeson for 15 years.  The couple has two sons, 13 and 11, who need their Mum, so I am hoping against hope her outlook is not as grim as my professional training makes me think it probably is.

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Tomorrow the blog will be, for the most part, in the hands of others.  It is yet another day chock-full of pre-op stuff.  Speaking of which...all the pre-op stuff is bleeding me dry, and I have a couple of unpaid bills hanging over my head, and any spare change in the open laptop case is greatly appreciated.