robert bales

Upset Central

The ongoing struggle in Wisconsin politics has taken an unexpected turn. As you know, Wisconsin is currently in the midst of trying to recall their governor, Scott Walker. Several Senate legislators are also part of the recall effort. Pam Galloway, Republican, has resigned. The Republican control of the Senate has now been lost.

Osama bin Laden tried to focus on, attack and assassinate General David Petraeus and President Barack Obama. I guess this news is not really surprising. Yet, we found information in his stash of notes that he thought that this was extremely important.

The real reason oil prices are rising. Speculators. Wall Street.

There appears to be new information that Margaret Thatcher actually met with Rupert Murdoch back in 1981 to discuss Murdoch’s purchase of the Times in the Sunday Times. Details here.

There are literally hundreds of questions surrounding Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. His name has just been released. He is the American soldier who allegedly killed 16 Afghanis. This is an enormous tragedy. There is no good outcome. The soldier’s wife and kids have been moved onto a military base for their own protection.

A Rutgers University student used a web cam to spy on his roommate who was having sex with another man. Yesterday, the student was convicted of hate crimes.

This American Life is one of the best news and informational programs in the United States. For more than a decade I have enjoyed listening to Ira Glass discuss and explain various topics. Yesterday, This American Life retracted a report on Apple Computer’s suppliers in China. It appears that the reporter, Mike Daisey, embellished and enhanced some of the aspects of the story.

Upset Central, Baby: (I hate all the commercials on ESPN.com.) Norfolk State (#15) defeated Missouri (#2). The much beloved and sometimes hated Duke Blue Devils went down to the Lehigh. And that’s why they play the game. 🙂

Update: Who’s a freeloader? Currently, the GOP and the Tea Party have been focused on cutting out the freeloaders. Those are the folks who are sucking America dry. James Kwak does a wonderful job pointing out that Medicare and Social Security are insurance programs. For the most part, lower and middle income Americans who have to use Medicare or Social Security do not pay in enough money to pay for the services that they (we) are using. It is insurance.