The Perfect Present

This story actually brought tears to my eyes. Little Gabriel Hurles from Nevada was celebrating his 6th birthday with his friends at school. The gooey cupcakes his mother brought were so enticing, he didn't even see the six foot package addressed to him. It wasn't until his friend told him to open his present that he noticed.

Carefully he unwrapped his present, and to his surprise it was the gift he had been hoping for...his dad! Army Spc. Casey Hurles had been serving in Iraq since June. Casey blinked his eyes and stated "it's my dad!" Hurles is seven months into his second tour in Iraq which should be over sometime between June and September.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090130/ap_on_fe_st/odd_birthday_surprise

Keeping the Streets Safe

In an effort to keep thier city streets safe, citizens across the United States have taken on the role of super hero. Donning homemade costumes, these do gooders actually patrol the streets at night in the name of all that is decent and lawful.

At last count, there were approximately 200 crime fighters listed in the World Super Hero Registry. Among those the Green Scorpion (Phoenix, AZ), Terrifica (New York), Master Ledgend (Orlando, FL) and Mr. Silent (Indianapolis, IN).

While I'm not sure I feel safer today, I would like to get a glimpse of their spandex get-ups just for the photo op!

Don't Eat the Blowfish

Despite the fact that they are poisonous and require a special license and training to prepare, seven people in Japan have learned what not to order from the "special" menu. After eating a rare Japanese delicacy, blowfish testicles, they were all sickened and hospitalized. There is no word on their condition.

Aw man...I hoping to have this for lunch. I guess I should stick with the PB&J today.

Chicago's Finest?

Unbeknown to the other members of the police force, a fourteen-year-old Chicago boy got to live his dream of becoming a police officer (before he grew up!). Dressed in a police uniform the boy entered a precinct house. He was partnered with another officer and hit the streets.

The young officer was "on the job" for five hours, before his illegal infiltration was discovered. Only after one of the observant members of the force noticed that he did not have the Chicago Police Department's official badge was he asked to retire from official duty.

I wonder how long he would have lasted as a fireman.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01272009/news/weirdbuttrue/weirdbuttrue.htm

Girl Scouts Getting Stingy?

Does it seem like your Thin Mints just vanished into thin air this year? While you may overindulge in this perennial Girl Scout Cookie favorite, the shrinking number of cookies in the box, might also have something to do with their rapid disappearance.

In an effort to cut costs while keeping prices the same, the Girl Scouts have decreased the number of cookies per box in some of their most popular varieties. Among those minimized is the ever popular Thin Mint.

So, like most of us, you are probably still eating too many cookies, you might not be eating as many as you did last year!

http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou090122_tnt_girl-scout-cookies.1c905c55.html

Do You Swear to Tell the Truth...the Whole Truth....

Liar beware, there is a new way to determine who is telling the truth. Aiden Gregg, a psychologist at England's University of Southhampton, has created a test (timed antagonistic response alethiometer - TARA) to determine when a lie is being told.

Gregg's test showed it takes 30 percent longer to tell a lie. This means if it takes 1.2 seconds to tell the truth, lying about the same subject matter will take 1.8 seconds. He hopes that this method might provide an alternative to the traditional polygraph test, which pinpoints lying based on physiological changes such as sweating and increased pulse. Research has shown that many habitual liars are finding ways to combat these methods and are outsmarting the test. By contrast, during laboratory testing, the TARA method was able to determine 85 percent of lies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090126/sc_livescience/liestakelongerthantruths

Do 6th Graders Really Know What They Want?

As the mother of a sixth grader, I am appalled at the latest action by the Milwaukee Public School District (MPS). In what is said to be a way to prevent bullying, the district will open the first "gay-friendly" middle school in the 2009-10 school year. While this public charter school will be open to all children, the primary focus is to provide a place for sixth, seventh and eighth graders who would otherwise leave the school setting, because they are harassed because of their sexual orientation.

Because my child is not in an urban setting, like the children of MPS, I do not pretend to understand the mindset of a the kids who will attend this school. However, I do not believe that a child as young as 11 has a clear understanding of their sexuality. In addition, I contend that school is not the place to address such a matter.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2008/12/17/milwaukee-to-form-gay-friendly-middle-school.html

Is the Ice Age Coming Again?

Today is a very cold day where I live. It is enough to make me think that global warming is simply a term scientists came up with when their air conditioners weren't working. With all the fear of melting polar ice caps because of the depleting atmosphere, one might think we are destined to live in a tropical paradise soon.

Hold on people! It wasn't too long ago that scientists were predicting just the opposite. In the mid-1970's after several record cold winters, climatologists felt certain we were heading for another ice age. The signs were imminent. From the persistent ice pack around Iceland, to the downward trend in temperatures. The scientists were so certain that we would soon be frozen that they were wondering what the government was going to do to help the situation. Funny how quickly we forget!

See the 1970's articles from Time and Newsweek:

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/newsweeks-1975-article-about-the-coming-ice-agehttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,944914,00.html

Obama Recinds Abortion Policy

With a powerful pen in hand, President Obama reversed a ban providing federal funds to international abortion groups. This long standing policy of the Bush administration was one that the new President took little time to abolish. According to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the new Secretary of State, the policy blocked women throughout the world from receiving information and health care regarding reproductive health.

I think Ms. Clinton is forgetting that the United States provides millions of dollars towards family planning assistance and information throughout the world. In addition, the fact that taxpayer dollars are used for this measure does not bode well with those who are opposed on the grounds of immorality.

It is no surprise that Obama reversed the Bush policy, however, I question why it was done late on Friday afternoon, without the huge press coverage given to his work on Tuesday of closing GITMO. Perhaps he was concerned about the public outcry on this emotionally fueled policy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_abortion_ban

England Joins the Party

As if they needed an official report, today the British press announced that their country is "officially" in a recession. It seems our friends across the pond are in even worse shape than the United States. According to the report, the value of the pound is at a 23-year low, unemployment is at 6.1 percent and the government is bailing out banks left and right. In fact the British Government now has a 70 percent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is controlling interest in the financial giant. It seems the United States is not alone in its financial woes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090123/wl_mcclatchy/3152148

They Arrested a Goat?

Okay, this has to be the weirdest article I have ever seen. According to a Nigerian newspaper, a suspect that police were trying to arrest for theft transformed himself into a goat. Yes, you read correct....a G-O-A-T.

According to the police chief, Tunde Mohammed, the Um...er....goat and another individual were seen two days earlier trying to steal a car. According to Mohammed, one suspect escaped while the other, turned into a goat as they were trying to arrest him. A photograph of the suspect can be seen to the right of this blog. He looks guilty to me!

the entire story as run on the AP wire can be found at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_fe_st/odd_goat_thief.