Tropical Storm Noel: Rips Children from Mother's Arms

Tropical storm Noel visited the Caribbean and is expected in the U.S. very soon. Noel's visit so far has damaged the landscape wherever the storm has touched down. Dozens were killed in the Dominican Republic alone.

More Noel weather news from CNN:

Churning in the warm waters of the Caribbean, deadly Tropical Storm Noel approached Andros Island in the Bahamas early Thursday, bringing a torrential downpour of rain and tropical-storm force winds.

The National Hurricane Center said it expects Noel -- which has killed dozens of people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba -- to pick up steam, prompting tropical storm watches to be issued for an area including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

The human cost was disastrous for a village and particularly tragic for one mother.

A swollen river washed away the village of Piedra Blanca in the central Dominican Republic, The Associated Press reported.

Pointing to a deluged area, one resident told CNN: "All that area ... was a town that disappeared."
"Absolutely nothing was left here because God took everything," another resident said.

Mary De Leon held on to her infant twins while water carried away an older daughter, the AP reported.
"The river tore her from my hands as I held her," she told the AP through tears.

For the citizens of Florida and elsewhere in the storm's path: forewarned is forearmed.

by Mondoreb
[image:AP]



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Catholic Group Slams Latest Britney Spears Pix As "Bottom of the Barrel"

Pictures from Britney Spears' latest album have some Catholics in an uproar and it's easy to see why. The publicity campaign goes back in time and borrows a page from Madonna's use of religious symbols to drum up business.

More from the New York Daily News:

At least one said the saucy snapshots, which grace the singer's thumping new dance album, "Blackout," are a "bottom of the barrel" stunt from a girl who really could use some quality time spent repenting sins in a wooden cubicle.

"This is all the puzzle pieces coming together. This girl is crashing," said Bill Donohue, president of the New York-based Catholic League. "She's not even allowed to bring up her own kids because she's not responsible enough. Now we see she can't even entertain."

Britney should say "Bless Me Father for I have sinned". Not necessarily for the cheap publicity photos or for the unimaginative PR campaign of her latest musical offering.

For the lack of good music.

by Mondoreb
& Little Baby Ginn
[image:NY Daily News]



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The More Things Change

Red Planet Cartoons reminds us that the more things change, the more they stay the same. With some distributors predicting $4 gallon gasoline prices on the near horizon, this cartoon from March 2007 might prove instructive. And with every cent increase in gas prices, another Congressman will join in the chorus to hold hearings on the price increase "cause".

A short trip to a Charley Rangel tax strategy meeting, an Economics 101 course or both would further their understanding and quiet their alarm. Some hearings on China's increased oil consumption may help give those concerned in Congress something better to do with their time.

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Rudy Has a Problem with Values--And Fashion--Voters

The latest polling news is grim for Rudy and the Republicans: they get crushed by the Clinton fashion juggernaut.

Polls say that in a match-up between Rudy in drag and Hillary Clinton in a peach pants suit with navy blue scarf, voters prefer Hillary by almost 20%. If Giuliani changed his outfit to a more presidential Brooks Brother suit, likely voters indicate that the gap is more than cut in half to 9%--if the suit is a dark blue.

This according to the latest Zogby Poll.

Of course, that's Fred Zogby, the guy down at the Limestone General Store who said he'd check this out for us. Fred completed his research and dropped it off while on his way to town. When told that there was no hurry, Zogby responded "People have a right to know."

Fred was partly motivated by the latest news from Pew Research and the analysis from Politico

One year before voters go to the polls to select the next president, the Republican Party is as weak as it has been in a generation, a detailed new poll suggests.

In a hypothetical match-up between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, bloc after bloc of traditionally Republican voters break for Clinton:

She wins the South. She polls evenly with voters who attend church at least once a week. She splits families with a household income above $100,000. She loses rural voters and men — but only by a narrow margin.

The findings from The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press remain preliminary, considering even the primaries are still two months off.

Dire news indeed for early November--in 2007.

Back to our Zogby. He indicates the poll has a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 14%, depending on time of day asked and number of beers consumed by the respondents. He was quick to point out that these results might not reflect the moods of Americans on Election Day 2008, seeing as how that's over a year away.

But they're probably as accurate as their more-scientific brethren at this point.

by Mondoreb
[image:newsamericanow]



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'Dog The Bounty Hunter' Cancelled Over "N-Word"

Looks like Daune Chapman who stars in the show as the colorful Dog, the Bounty Hunter wasn't so keen on one color. Dog was treated the way many of the people he stalked were: handcuffed. Only it was public condemnation at tapes of voice mails he sent his son, liberally laced with the "N-word".

****UPDATE:
Listen to Duane Chapman Audio Tapes and UPDATE Here.

More from Penny Parker, at the Rocky Mountain News:

Looks like Denver-born bounty hunter Duane Dog Chapman is in deep doo-doo after the National Enquirer obtained a racist rant the reality star unleashed against his son, Tucker, who is dating an African-American woman.

In a vicious voicemail, Chapman's tirade is liberally laced with the "N" word along with expletive deleteds not fit to print in this newspaper. In the rants (the Enquirer says it has obtained two undated tapes), Chapman berates his son for his relationship with Monique Shinnery out of concern that Shinnery, who is black, will set him up because of the language the Dog uses.

In a story posted on TMZ.com Wednesday, part of the eight-minute tape demands that Tucker break up with Shinnery or be fired from the family bail bondsmen biz. Chapman, who spends most of his time in his Hawaii home, maintains a bail bonds business in Denver.

Centennial State newspapers are a-buzz over the scandal. More from the Denver Post:

Television bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman apologized Wednesday for repeatedly using a racial slur in a profanity-laced tirade during a private phone conversation with his son that was recorded and posted online.

In a statement, the 54-year-old Chapman said he has "utmost respect and aloha for black people who have suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred.

"I did not mean to add yet another slap in the face to an entire race of people who have brought so many gifts to this world," he said. "I am ashamed of myself and I pledge to do whatever I can to repair this damage I have caused."

Chapman also said in the tapes he didn't care if his son's girlfriend was black. The Honolulu-based bounty hunter first grabbed the media spotlight for apprehending serial rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003. Those were happier days.

His A&E show "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" was cancelled after news of the tapes surfaced.
Its just as well: it's hardcuffing a perp with your foot in your mouth.

by Mondoreb
& Little Baby Ginn



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Abizaid: Middle East Conflict Will Take Another 25-50 Years

Former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, Army General John Abizaid, says the U.S. conflict in the Middle East could take up to 25-50 years to resolve and that America's been lucky not to have had another 9/11 incident.

The AP quotes Abizaid, speaking to students at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh:

"It's going to be hard, it's going to be long, it's going to be arduous, dangerous, bloody and expensive," Abizaid said Wednesday. "But, on the other hand, I do believe it's workable, provided that we have conversations like this and understand the dynamics that are at play out there.

"And it's not so one-dimensional as to be all-Iraq all the time," he said.

Abizaid also spoke about U.S. interests--and the number one U.S. interest in the Persian Gulf area is oil.

"I'm not saying this is a war for oil, but I am saying that oil fuels an awful lot of geopolitical moves that political powers may have there," Abizaid said. "And it is absolutely essential that we in the United States of America figure out how, in the long run, to lessen our dependency on foreign energy."

It's not hard to see that this story will be another brick in the wall by the owners of Trendy Left shops selling "No Blood for Oil" T-shirts. John Abisaid is a general; the general said "oil". The lightbulb will go off and another T-shirt, bearing the likeness of the general and a slogan such as, "I need a fill-up--Kill another kid", will be born.

The fact remains that unless Americans wants to park their cars or spend $15 for a gallon of gasoline, oil is an important component of the U.S. economy and to its way of life. And the Middle East does have plenty of oil. It may be their only exportable commodity--outside of hate and extremists bent on avenging the ills of the 12th Century.

by Mondoreb
& Little Baby Ginn



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The Death of Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense. Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled it in her lap, and was awarded a huge financial settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepsisters; My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

By arctromba on 10/31/2007 at 7:36 a.m.
[spotted at Drudge by & graphic:RidesAPaleHorse]




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