Christine O'Donell: Can You Remember Recent Supreme Court Decisions?

There’s an old saying ‘Don’t get too smug that you wind up being the smartest person in the room-In the end that won’t win you very many friends‘. In other words be wary of trying to make others feel or seem stupid. Be humble. Walk and talk WITH people. Don’t preach or talk AT them.

Thats a word of caution to those of us on the left leaning side of the room. Acting smug leads to us underestimating and alienating folks

It was hard not to think these thoughts when watching the Christine O’Donnell vs Chris Coons US Senate debate in Delaware that aired on CNN last night. Here O’Donnell was asked what recent Supreme Court decision has she disagreed with and she was stumped. O’Donnell couldn’t name one.

Now, a lot of my colleagues who are in the media or part of the pundit’s brigade took glee in her misstep. Many were quick to tweet about ‘how dumb she was’ and compared her to Sarah Palin who was similarly stumped when she was running for Vice President.Many are quick to say since she’s running for office she should know. ideally yes, I agree, but many look to see themselves in the folks they elect.

We saw this with George Bush and his ‘aaaw shucks lets have a beer’ mannerisms. Many accused an un-infiormed public of voting for President Obama without fully knowing what he was about other then skin color and our collective reaction to racial attacks directed at him.

If we believe what has been reported in the past we certainly know that many of the bills passed are not fully read by those in office. I caution folks who took glee in O’Donnell’s flub to slow down and not get too full of themselves. Her not knowing is not to far removed from the reality of the average ordinary person who works 9-5 and likes to think they stay fairly abreast of current events. Many folks look to see themselves in politicians and while O’Donnell is likely to lose in Delaware, what about other places?

Tea Party Candidate Sharon Angle is leading Harry Reid in spite saying a lot of 'dumb' things.  Where are all the smart people?

We’re gleefully calling people dumb but may wind up losing all sorts of seats to ‘dumb’ Tea Party types. How is that happening if we’re so damn smart? Why is Harry Reid trailing in polls to one of those ‘dumb’ tea party types-Sharon Angle? Where’s all the smart people in the room ?I’ll await your answer.

To those who wanna sit back and smirk, I caution and challenge you to ask your neighbor or family member the same question. Heck ask yourself. What recent Supreme Court decisions over the past couple of years do you disagree with? Cite 3 without looking them up. I’ll wait.

Most folks are likely to cite the Supreme Court decision that came down earlier this year that allows corporations the right to pump unlimited funds into campaign ads. However, most including myself are likely to have to Google to get the exact name and even then we better have some inkling because simply typing in ‘Supreme Court decisions’ wont get you very far.

Quick, is it People vs Citizens United? or the FEC vs Citizens United? Does anyone know who or what is Citizens United without looking it up?

Thank God for Wikipedia. I’d venture to say that very few of us and that includes many folks in the media knew that Citizens United was a conservative non profit. Even fewer knew who Citizen United intended to attack, but was prohibited, which in turn prompted the lawsuit and the eventual Supreme Court’s landmark decision.

For those who don’t know, it was Hillary Clinton. You can brush up on the case here.. FEC vs Citizens United.

There are many who are in media or political junkies who are up on such things or at the very least have enough info on hand that they can start a reasonable search. A lot of folks simply would not know where to begin, even with the internet at their finger tips. For example, type in the term Supreme Court decision and see what you get.. If it’s on Google you get the following sites:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinions.aspx

Christine O'Donnell not knowing the most recent Supreme Court decisions is not too far removed from the reality of most people

Try reading your way through those pages and come up with reasonable conclusions. The average Joe or Jane is probably gonna call it a wrap and move on. Maybe our esteemed media outlets should spend less time telling me about Lindsey Lohan going to jail or Courtney Cox breaking up and more about important decisions made by the nine justices on the Supreme Court.

Again only the smug, smartest kid in the room is gonna clown O’Donnell for not knowing Supreme Court decisions. Everyone else is going to see themselves in her especially after she noted she didn’t know.

In addition I think most folks watching probably appreciated the fact that she noted howRoe vs Wade wouldn’t make abortions illegal, but would leave it up to states to decide. A lot of folks did not know that.

Here’s a brief breakdown

NANCY KARIBJANIAN: What opinions, of late, that have come from our high court, do you most object to?

O’DONNELL: Oh, gosh. Um, give me a specific one. I’m sorry.

KARIBJANIAN: Actually, I can’t, because I need you to tell me which ones you object to.

O’DONNELL: Um, I’m very sorry, right off the top of my head, I know that there are a lot, but I’ll put it up on my website, I promise you.

WOLF BLITZER: We know that you disagree with Roe v. Wade.

O’DONNELL: Yeah, but she said a recent one.

BLITZER: That’s relatively recent.

O’DONNELL: She said “of late.” But yeah. Well, Roe v. Wade would not put the power — It’s not recent, it’s 30-something years old –

BLITZER: But since then, have there been any other Supreme Court decisions?

O’DONNELL: Well, let me say about Roe v. Wade — If that were overturned, would not make abortion illegal in the United States, it would put the power back to the states.

BLITZER: But besides that decision, anything else you disagree with?

O’DONNELL: Oh, there are several when it comes to pornography, when it comes to court decisions — not to Supreme Court, but federal court decisions to give terroristsMirandize rights. There are a lot of things I believe — This California decision to overturn Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I believe there are a lot of federal judges legislating from the bench.

BLITZER: That wasn’t the Supreme Court. That was a lower –

You can peep the exchange below

O’DONNELL: That was a federal judge. That’s what I said. In California.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQZbxm7ntf4

Now will last night’s stumble hurt Christine O’Donnell? Probably not. She was already hurt because of her infamous witchcraft remarks which were made known to us via HBO TV host Bill Maher who pulled out the 10 year old clips.

To the degree that’s made her the butt of jokes and has wiped away her shine and momentum is very different then her not knowing the most recent Supreme Court decisions. Trust me I was one of those folks that had a field day because of her remarks.

But I gotta be honest, I was riding that pony with the hopes it would gain traction and slow her roll. I don’t want Ms O’Donnell in the US senate. I disagree with her political Tea Party inspired views. The witchcraft flub is fair game. She can explain it away as being youthful indiscretion the same way President Barack Obama explained away his use of cocaine or the way former President Bill Clinton explained away his marijuana puff or lack of a puff. (He said he didn’t inhale-yeah right Bill)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iWRw3oZdg4

We all know Christine O'Donnell, but who is Chris Coons? What do we know about him?

Lastly I cant say what’s what in Delaware but most folks outside its borders know Christine O’Donnell but most would be hard pressed to name her opponent Chris Coons without looking him up. Most of us would do so by googling her name and then reading whatever article popped up in hopes of seeing his name. While I can see folks not wanting O’Donnell in the senate what about her opponent? What’s he about? What’s his stance on issues? Is he progressive or another Ben Nelson/ Joe Liberman type? Has he excited voters so that we wanna vote for him or are folks riled up and wanna vote against O’Donnell? I’ll await your answers…

Something to Ponder

Written by
Davey D 

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Oakland Children's Hospital's Own Head Nurse Attacks Nurses Union

Oakland Children's Hospital is being plagued by a nurses strike as this is written. As a fan of Children's Hospital and its staff, the current situation does not reflect how hard they've worked to keep the establishment a going concern in a tough economy.

This blogger is not anti-union, but some unions need to be called out when they're not playing to work with administration, but against it. Such is the California Nurses Association.

Someone's paying attention. Namely, Nancy Shibata, RN, MSN, Chief Nursing Officer, Children’s Hospital Oakland, who sent this opinion piece to be ran in this space:

CNA Nurses Union Out of Touch With Current Economic Realities At Children's Hospital Oakland

By Nancy Shibata, RN, MSN

Chief Nursing Officer, Children’s Hospital Oakland

Ironically, the high cost of health insurance is a difficult problem for hospitals today. Over the past 5 years, health insurance benefit costs have risen for Children's by 80 percent or over $17 million dollars. That's a hefty increase for any institution, especially one that is the primary provider of children's healthcare services for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

Children's Hospital Oakland is now facing a three-day strike by members of the California Nurses Association (CNA), the union that represents 700 of our nurses at our 190-bed hospital, over our health insurance benefit and pay proposals for the next three-year contract that we are attempting to negotiate with them.

Despite the fact that we are offering our nurses pay increases during the life of the contract and two healthcare plans that are 100-percent paid for by the hospital (and a third "premium" plan that they can chose with a monthly contribution), they are demanding higher pay and no benefit changes as part of a new three-year contract.

We value our nurses. They are vital and essential to our hospital and every patient. They provide the expertise and care, which combined with their personal skills and nurturing abilities, help make our young patients' experience a better one in every way.

The CNA union, which represents the nurses, unfortunately is out of step with both the economic realities facing Children's Hospital Oakland, but also with the broader economic climate nationally.

The three-day strike, which started today, is reflective of the CNA's inability to acknowledge and accept the changes that are occurring throughout the country related to wages and healthcare. A full-time nurse at Children’s earns, on average, $136,000 per year. A new graduate nurse on the day shift earns $95,000 per year. And this is without including what Children’s pays in addition for benefits.

At this time when our region, our nation and our people are struggling with the economic challenges of this difficult economy, this union is demanding no changes in its benefits (negotiated during a different economic climate) and increases in pay when they are not supported by the market or by Children’s ability to pay for them.

In our negotiations, Children's is proposing a wage freeze in 2010 with modest pay increases in the following years. We are asking the union to accept one health plan where members contribute a small percentage of the premium cost, while still offering two 100 percent employer-paid HMO and PPO health benefit plans for nurses and their families. The third, cost-share option, is a premium PPO that requires a pre-tax employee contribution ranging from $111 - $311 a month, depending on individual or family coverage.

A mix of employer-paid and contributory plans have been rolled out to other Hospital employees already. Currently, more than half of our employees have this type of healthcare benefit program and this bargaining session is our first opportunity to negotiate the change with the CNA.

The last CNA union contract, negotiated in better economic times in 2007, provided raises of 6% in 2007, 5% in 2008, and an additional 5% in 2009. These large increases are the basis for the Hospital's wage freeze proposal for the first year of the contract.

Earlier this year, Children's Hospital announced that it has lost more than $69 million over the past four years, of which $22 million was lost in 2009 alone. Since that time, the hospital has been restructuring its services, developing new business opportunities, and actively renegotiating private insurance and government reimbursements to cover patient care costs. As a not-for-profit regional pediatric medical center, our financial challenges stem from the poor economy, low reimbursement rates, increasing healthcare costs and a lack of public hospitals with pediatric inpatient beds.

Children's Hospital is on the road to financial stability, and we hope to reach it in 2012. We have made many changes to help secure our future and our ability to provide healthcare to the most vulnerable of patients, babies and children. Other industries have been crushed by the burden of labor contracts that were negotiated during prosperous times but could not be sustained during an economic downturn. We cannot let this happen to our vital hospital for children. We need the leadership of the CNA to step up and recognize that their members are highly valued, well-compensated and that 100-percent paid by employer healthcare benefits are a good package for everyone. Our children and our community deserve nothing less.

Written by
Zennie Abraham

South Park goes Jersey

South Park's episode, It's a Jersey Thing, aired on Wednesday, October 13 at 10 p.m. EST was all about the Jersey trend on television including Jersey Shore and Real Housewives of Jersey. Watching the episode showed how ridiculous the reality tv shows truly are.

Although exaggerated the impersonations of certain stars, such as Snooki and The Situation from Jersey Shore, were realistic to the way they are perceived.

The part of the show that may be offensive is that in the end the hero who saves the day and saves South Park (and the rest of the country) from Jersey domination was Osama Bin Laden.

There is sure to be some interesting reactions from the reality stars depicted - but hopefully they will take it with a grain of salt and feel lucky that they are special enough to appear on the show (like the way the Kardashian's reacted).

By Nikky Raney
Journalist & Blogger

Internet Explorer User? Dump It For FireFox Or Opera Browsers

If you're reading this and are an Internet Explorer user, please immediately click on this link, where you will be taken to the FireFox website. Download FireFox and use it instead of Internet Explorer.

Or to get the Opera Browser, here.

Why?

Because if you use Internet Explorer, chances are it's an older version and not Internet Explorer 8, which still has some problems with "rich media" applications. A "rich media" application is this blog, for example, that has a video player installed to show YouTube videos. Chances are that player's barely loading or not at all.

Moreover, YouTube stopped playing nice - supporting - older versions of Internet Explorer, specifically Internet Explorer 6, last year. You can download the Adobe Flash player and hope it works, but just use FireFox or Opera for that matter.

So, if you're having trouble seeing YouTube videos, it's not YouTube, it's your browser. Stop using Internet Explorer.

In fact, there's been a quiet war against Internet Explorer in much of the Tech Community, and that's the problem: the war's both quiet and confined to the Tech Community, when it needs to be loud and outside of it.

If you're computer's over three years old, and you're using the same version of Internet Explorer on it, time to switch.  You're missing a lot of good stuff on the Internet.

Written by
Zennie Abraham

Muff Cabbage And Ashley Anderson Are New Urban Terms

Now that the last rescuer of the Chilean Miners has been brought back to the surface , we can turn to silly issues like Muff Cabbage and Ashley Anderson, the new urban terms.

What?

"Muff Cabbage" refers to a term used in the South Park episode that aired Wednesday, and is also called "pink cabbage." According to forum postings, the reference to "Vagina, pussy, and cockpit" came from fans of the TV show, who then went to Urbandictionary and installed the term:

Vagina, pussy, cockpit.
"I really want to stuff her cabbage."
"His douglas fits my cabbage nicely."
"We're going out looking for cabbage."
"She wanted me to go down on her, so I slapped her in the face with my douglas and said, '*****, I'm not eating your rotten cabbage!'"
"I smashed her cabbage so hard there was cabbage juice on the ceiling. And my douglas."

Okay!

As for "Ashley Anderson" that's not a woman but an Internet virus.  It's sent via email as an attachment that, when downloaded, can damage your computer.  Just don't download any strange files from emails that come from people you don't know, or are something you don't need.

Just where the "Ashley Anderson" virus came from is not known, but it's spreading.  It's even a MySpace page, complete with a fake music download.  Whatever you do, don't go there and touch it!

Stay tuned.

Written by
Zennie Abraham

Chilean Miners Rescue Live Update: All 33 Miners Rescued

"33" That's the answer to the Internet question that's become a search term "how many miners have been rescued." All 33 Chilean Miners have been brought from what was a 68-day ordeal 2,700 feet below the surface of the Earth in Chile. And after watching one by one, until the number was 8, then 13, then 21, and now 33.

The project called Operation San Antonio is an unqualified success. None of the miners have any major illnesses. Just one major task remains: getting the five rescue workers who went down to help the miners out of the San Jose Mine in Chile. A mine that collapsed August 5th.

54 Year old Luis Urzua was the last of the Chilean Miners to have been rescued. He was essentially, the "captain" of the ship, and was the last person to go up. CNN has a great webpage on all of the miners that you can see with a click here.

As said here before, this is a victory not just for Chile and Latin America, but for the World, and for The United States, which played such a key role in the rescue effort. American President Barack Obama called it a "tremendously inspirational story." It is for all who saw it, and even for those who didn't. It's good news about a massive rescue effort that went without a hitch.

When someone asks "how many miners have been rescued," answer "33."

More soon.

Jasmine Waltz Enters Courtney Cox David Arquette Split

Waltz and Arquette - NY Daily News

This week, Courtney Cox and David Arquette announced they were legally separated, but not divorced. While Cox, the star of CourgarTown said little about the split, Scream star Arquette decided to go on The Howard Stern Show and essentially paint himself as an immature guy who's wife, Cox, got tired of him over their 11 year marriage.

Oh, and then he let it slip that he slept with a woman named Jasmine Waltz "maybe twice."

Now, there's a problem thanks to David Arquette's mouth. According to TMZ.com, Jasmine Waltz is saying "Two times, my ass!" The two met via a friend and started dating shortly thereafter. Reportedly, Courtney Cox and David Arquette had an agreement they could see other people. That's where Jasmine Waltz came in.

Who's Jasmine Waltz?

She's described as a "career cocktail waitress" with a "drug arrest record" according to Fox News and Pop Eater, respectively.  But a closer look reveals that's not the real Waltz.  Why the smear?

On The Howard Stern Show, David said he dated Waltz because she "looked like" Courtney Cox. But in fairness, Jasmine Waltz is a struggling actress, like so many in Los Angeles, looking for a break in the business. IMDB reports she was born August 22nd, 1982 in Las Vegas, and is currently playing "Meg" in City of Jerks, which is reported to be "filming."

Courtney Cox Approved of Arquette On Stern Show

TMZ reports that Courtney Cox knew David was going to be on Howard Stern's show, and what he was going to say, but it seems he went a little too far in talking about his desires and her issues.

Dancing with the Stars eliminates The Situation

The Situation (Mike Sorrentino) and his partner Karina Smirnoff have been the fourth dancing duo voted off of Dancing with the Stars. 

Photo courtesy of ABC

The two received the lowest score and were at the bottom with Brisol Palin and Kurt Warner. The Situation's tango with Smirnoff was not enough to keep him in the competition; the two received mostly fours.

Popeater reports that in the Situation's farewell he shrugged and said:

"I try to give what's needed in the situation," Sorrentino shrugged. "I'm not a dancer and this is definitely hard. On 'Jersey Shore,' you get a little keyhole of who I am. On 'Dancing With the Stars,' you really get the whole Situation."

He also told Us Magazine:

"I was upset. I actually stormed off upset because I tried so hard. I really did. I changed my haircut; I don't know."


The Situation made it to week four, which is surprising to some. Those who would still like to watch the Situation on their television screen can tune into Jersey Shore this Thursday at 10 pm EST.

Written by Nikky Raney
Journalist & Blogger

21st Miner Rescued - CNN Chilean Miner Live Stream

Exciting.

The CNN Chilean Miner Live Stream has the 21st Chilean Miner rescued and now there are more above ground than below ground. There are just 12 miners below ground at 1:02 PM PDT, and at this rate, the process of rescuing all of the Chilean Miners trapped below ground for 68 days will be successfully complete by this evening.

The 21st Miner is 50 year old Yonni Barrios (photo by CNN), who, according to CNN, assumed the role of medical contact for the Chilean Miners. 43 year old Samuel Avalos will be the 22nd miner raised from 2,700 feet below the surface of the earth in Chile.

The process started Tuesday night, almost 18 hours ago as of this writing, as Florencio Avalos, the miner in the best condition, went up first. He was followed by the colorful Mario Sepulveda, who handed rocks from down below to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, and hugged everyone in sight.




CNN's Finest Hour

It must be said this was CNN's best coverage of an event by far. Everyone from the floor producers to the anchors on all of CNN's programs is to be congratulated for providing excellent coverage.

Stay tuned.

Oklahoma Earthquake 5.1 - On Day Of Chilean Miner Rescue

On the very day of the Chilean Miner Rescue, a 5.1 Richter Scale earthquake was felt in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to the USGA, the quake hit 5 hours ago.

According to The Dallas Morning News, the aftershocks were felt as far away as Dallas itself and the "Metroplex" including Irving, Lewisville, and Fort Worth, Texas.

The epicenter of the Oklahoma Earthquake was six miles north of Norman, Oklahoma. It was first reported at 9 AM CST. It's the second most powerful quake in Oklahoma history.

Reports of the magnitude of the Oklahoma Earthquake vary. The official report is 5.1 on the Richter Scale, although some organizations are reporting it as 4.3 in size.

Quake Related To Drilling?

Some publications are pointing to the quake being the cause of natural gas drilling, though that has yet to be confirmed.

What Can We Learn from the Chilean Miners?

News of the rescue currently underway in Chile of the 33 Chilean Miners who were entombed for 69 days has brought tears to many people’s eyes. On the surface it appears that all of us like a good story and thus far this has all the makings.

We have heroism on the highest levels, both amongst the miners and the teams of people who came together to rescue them. Thus far a horrific tragedy seems headed to a happy ending and while I’m sure there are complications that one could pull out and focus on, most of us are really in need of hero or heroes hence we aren’t gonna go there.

It’s all about sticking to the narrative encompassing the themes of heroism, teamwork and problem solved that we need to stick with.

When watching the nonstop coverage, I cant help but look the story from a variety angles starting with asking why so much coverage? Aside from the devastating 8.8 earthquake that tilted the planet off its axis this past February many of us here in the US never gave a damn about anything going on in this country. Even with the quake, very few of us sought out or paid attention to any of the heroism going on then. Over the years there’s been lots of tragedy with successful outcomes but for whatever reason this one was inserted into our news cycles and subsequently our consciousness.

I’ll be cynical and say most news outlets covered this story because it netted them high ratings. It fit all the criteria and whatever way this turned out, successful or tragic, the end result would be the same all of us would be glued to our TV sets sharing this experience.

What I find most interesting is how we’re sticking to the script no matter what. No one is questioning anyone’s ulterior motives for the rescue, including the President Sebastian Pinera who pushed pretty hard for this. Was he doing it for political points or because he cared? We’ve heard the stories about the mistresses and wives meeting for the first time while they anxiously await their loved one to surface. The running joke is miners like Yonni Barrios are going from one tight situation into another.

But that’s neither here nor there.. Like I said its all about the heroism and problem solved themes that we’re keeping front and center. But on a deeper level why are we touched and more importantly what lessons should be learned and applied to the Chilean miners rescue?

The first thing that came to mind was teamwork and people coming together. I think deep down in side all of us yearn for the days when we can all truly come together with the attitude that together we rise as individuals we perish. Being each others proverbial keeper is the order of the day.

It’s what made this rescue after 69 days possible. How many of us picked up on this Chilean Miners lesson and will apply it to everyday life?

Shift foreman Luis Urzua... We need more Urzualian leadership in our world where we have shared sacrifice in times of need

The other thing that stood out was shared sacrifice. I was struck my the leadership that of the shift foreman Luis Urzua who is credited with saving everyone by rationing out supplies and laying out early plans of action for the first 17 days when the miners weren’t in contact with anyone. Hearing how he encouraged everyone to pull together is more than heart warming.

The reason Urzua is going last is because the miners finally decided on a system where the strong and more experienced would go first to help pave the way and correct any unforeseen problems. The weakest would go next so they could be helped and rescued by those behind them and those ahead. In other words there would be a human safety net for those who were weakest.

Urzua would go last not because its pride thing, but because he demonstrated a type of strength that reminded us that those who have the most may also give of themselves the most. They have the experience and strength and thus can afford to..I wonder if we picked up on that lesson?

It wasn’t lost on me these types of heroic attributes were taking place as many of us are experiencing the worse economic downturn since the recession of the 1930s. It also wasn’t lost on me that this was playing out while we’re hearing stories that banks who we bailed are now garnering record-breaking profits for the second year in a row with little if any intention of sharing the resources. we keep hearing about those who have the most are hoarding and hoarding. It makes me wonder where’s the Luis Urzua for Wall Street?

These Chilean miners stayed underground for 69 days. Most of us can’t sit still for 5 minutes. They sat in this hole and decided with the help of strong experienced leadership that they were gonna pull together and see to it all 33 miners leave. If you was weak they were gonna help. If your freaked out someone would comfort you. But seeing how these miners sitting in that hole for such long time gel together as a team was a lesson for the ages.

Meanwhile back at home in what is deemed the most powerful nation on earth, many of us are going on a second or third year of sitting in an economic hole and instead of encountering Urzualian type leadership, we’re running across people who got out the ‘economic hole’ (bailouts) thanks to our shared sacrifice who once reaching the surface have pulled up the ladder and left the shaft.

Chilean Miners came together as a team and made sure the weakest among them was accounted for

As I’m writing this more Chilean miners are being rescued. No one is leaving that shaft till the last one is up and accounted for. No one is running around suggesting that the miners were at fault and thus deserved to wallow in the shaft and die. It’s all about making sure everyone is alive and well.

Could you imagine with all this showing of support and donation of resources if one of those miners who was rescued a year found himself facing a similar situation where he was making decisions and he decided to NOT rescue those in need? Could you imagine if one of those rescued miners a year down the road faced with similar circumstances decided to tell a new crew of miners stuck in the shaft to pull their own selves up?

Think it can’t and won’t happen? Look at our friends on Wall Street, look at our pompous friends in congress who wanna cut your unemployment while not cutting their salaries. Take a look at those folks who were actually whining on TV that there was a temporary hold on foreclosures to make sure all the paperwork was legal. Hence it meant that thjose crying wouldn’t be able to immediately benefit from the misfortune of others.

Think it can’t and won’t happen? Take a look at the million dollar a year pundits who come on TV every night crying about shared sacrifice, calling evil and socialistic and that its unfair that they have to pay a few extra dollars in taxes and how they’re sick and tired of helping out those in need.

Think it can’t and won’t happen? See if your sneering and rolling your eyes when you hear stories about the poor and downtrodden among us and you entertain the thought that perhaps they deserve to be there because they didn’t make ‘wise choices’. See if your thinking these thoughts and somehow forgotten the day that a Luis Urzua came into your life and helped you out of a hole.  

Something to ponder

Dave D

Anna Nicole Smith case continues

Anna Nicole Smith died in February of 2007, but the court case surrounding her death still continues.

The case of her death involves an alleged drug conspiracy in which Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, and ex-boyfriend/lawyer Howard K. Stern have pleaded not guilty to according to ThirdAge.com. The three also plead not guilty to prescribing the drugs to Smith under fake names.

The Associated Press reports:

Image Courtesy of ASKMEN.com

"Jurors must decide whether the defendants provided excessive opiates and sedatives to the former Playboy model knowing she was an addict. Defense lawyers have said she was not an addict and the medications were for pain."

CNN reports:

"The defense argued her drug dependency was legal since it was for legitimate medical purposes, including for treatment of her pain and anxiety."


The jury began their deliberations Tuesday, October 12.




Written by Nikky Raney