California Population 33,871,648 : Already Majority Minority, Latinos to Outnumber Whites By 2020

SACRAMENTO — Researchers said Tuesday that aging infrastructure is not the only growing pain the governor and his successors face — by 2020, the state is projected to gain
10 million people who will strain services ranging from education to social programs.

The California Budget Project, an independent think tank that concentrates on concerns of the poor and middle class, released a demographic report that also indicates as the state grows by a third, diversity will increase to the point where Latinos outnumber whites.

In addition, a much greater percentage of the population will be elderly.

He Pulled a Truck With His Penis

I guess The Oakland Tribune has a slow news day. And no way am I posting a photo with this story.

Bay Area grandmaster of Qigong pulls truck with penis
By Grace Rauh, STAFF WRITER

FREMONT — The ancient Greeks worshipped it. Freud said women envy it. And Tuesday, a man pulled a truck with it.
Yes, you read that right.

He pulled a truck with his penis.

Grandmaster Tu Jin-Sheng, best known for his "Iron Crotch," attached himself not once but twice to a rental moving truck and pulled it several yards across a parking lot in Fremont. In lace-up leather boots and a black tank top, the 50-year-old tied a strip of blue fabric around the base of his penis and testicles and tugged to make sure it was on tight. An assistant kicked him hard between the legs before he lashedhimself to the vehicle.

He groaned, grunted and pressed against two men for resistance.

Then, slowly, the truck began to roll forward.

About 20 people, most of whom study Qigong, the ancient Chinese art of movement and breathing to increase energy, gathered for the truck pull in an unassuming office park just off Interstate 880.

________________________________________________________

His website doesn't really explain how he excercises at all. Oh well.

Irag Leaders Want US Timetable to Get Out! - Bush Administration Backed Into Corner

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Leaders of Iraq's sharply divided Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis called Monday for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces in the country and said Iraq's opposition had a ``legitimate right'' of resistance.

The final communique, hammered out at the end of three days of negotiations at a preparatory reconciliation conference under the auspices of the Arab League, condemned terrorism, but was a clear acknowledgment of the Sunni position that insurgents should not be labeled as terrorists if their operations do not target innocent civilians or institutions designed to provide for the welfare of Iraqi citizens.

The participants in Cairo agreed on ``calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, through putting in place an immediate national program to rebuild the armed forces ... control the borders and the security situation'' and end terror attacks.

The conference was attended by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers, as well as leading Sunni politicians.

_____________________________________________________

This is the first clear signal that the US should get out. Between calls to get out here, and this one from Iraq itself, the Bush Administration has no real excuse.

Not Just Debra Lafave: Other Teacher / Student Sex Scandals From 1990 to Present (2005)

Someone asked if male teachers have ever been changed with sex with a student / minor.

Ringo at the "Straight Dope Message Board" googled around an extensive list of teachers involved in sex scandals.
But not one of the 40 names listed -- not one -- is a man. Moreover, only four of the cases listed were before the year 2000. So, in five years we have had an average of seven cases a year.

1990 Pamela Smart
1996 Mary Kay Letourneau
1998 Denise McBryde
1998 Julie Feil
2000 Judith Christensen (attempt turned around by the student to blackmail}
2001 Beth Friedman
2001 Amber Williams
2003 Adrianne Hockett
2003 Kelly Lynn Dalecki
2004 Nicole Pomerleau
2004 Sheryl Jean Graham (PTA President)
2004 Debra LaFave
2004 Carol Flannigan
2004 Lisa Suitter
2004 Amber Jennings
2004 Melissa Michelle Deel
2005 Sarah Suzanne Bench-Salorio
2005 Rebecca Boicelli
2005 Katherine Tew
2005 Toni Lynn Woods
2005 Janay Jill Willson
2005 LaDonna Rangel
2005 Sylvia Johnson (not a teacher - "Cool Mom")
2005 Melissa Daw Green
2005 Kimberly Merson
2005 Margaret De Barraicua
2005 Susanne Eble
2005 Kathy Denise White
2005 Morgan Lee Brown (camp counselor)
2005 Donna Carr Galloway
2005 Angela Stellwag
2005 Pamela Turner
2005 Rachelle Vantucci
2005 Tammy Lee Huggins
2005 Bethany Sherill
2005 Lakina Stutts (school bus driver)
2005 Tracie Mokry
2005 Denise Bongers (not a teacher)
2005 Stephanie Bissell (not a teacher)
2005 Debra Lafave

Debra Lafave Pleads Guilty to Sex With 14-Year Old (But Man Look At The Shot of Her On The Bike!)

One can't wonder but what was going through her mind as she was doing this. Debra Lafave pleads guilty to sex with one of her students. She's not going to receive any jail time at all.

Wow. She's blessed. In America, considering her looks -- and that she's blond -- someone will approach her with a book or movie deal. Well, she can't take advantage of it because of her plea bargain deal, but what about the victim? And where did this photo come from? And she's married. But what's interesting is that the husband is totally silent. The real story is whatever pain he may be going through -- assuming they're not separated or he's not in some affair himself. Geez.

This kind of news -- she was a teacher -- is all too common today. Why? Or is it that it's always been part of our society, but in an internet age, we learn more about our culture, faster. Or is it that 14-year olds are more curious about sex and 25-year old women feel more liberated to do someting like this? Maybe's it's both. (Photo from Google)

President Bush Seeks Quick Exit From Press - Doors Locked - Is This The Shape Of Things To Come?

If you've not seen this video, click on the title post link. President Bush was trying to walk -- just walk away -- from questions being thrown at him at a news conference in Beijing, China on Sunday. He stopped talking, walked over to a large door, pulled on it, and it didn't open. So, he kept pulling on it; it didn't open. Embarassed, he suddenly realized how he looked and stood almost motionless for a full second. Then, he searched for another way out -- saying "I'm trying to escape and I can't."

This may be a preview of future legal problems the Administration may not be able to escape from.

(Photo from BBC.)

The Head- Scratching Success Of The Harry Potter Movies

They're not all that good. They don't contain massively important social commentary. They don't feature big established stars. But with all this, the Harry Potter Movie Series continues to rake in the dough. This third installment -- "The Goblet of Fire" -- took in over $100 million since it's open on Friday.

What's the deal? What kind of hold does this series have on us, and why?

More soon.