What's Going On: News RoundUp

Here’s my spin around today’s news:

  • Scott McClellan was everywhere today. I’ve already posted a clip of him on the Today show. I will have several clips of him on Keith Olbermann’s Countdown.
  • The person who may be the last veteran of two world wars died today at the age of 107
  • The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is looking into crude oil trading over the last six months. I suspect that they won’t find anything meaningful, but it’s interesting to note that they thought it was important to let everybody know that they were investigating these “unprecedented market conditions.”
  • I’ve specifically avoided talking about the problems that Texas is having with FLDS. Whether you support polygamy or not, whether you believe that Mormonism is a sect, a cult or a prominent, viable religion, the events in Texas do deserve some scrutiny. Basically, 400 children were removed from their parents based on the fact that this group is secretive and reportedly lied to investigators.  In addition, there is a report of the men marrying or sexually abusing young teenagers. Earlier, a court ruled that the state of Texas had no authority to take all 400 children. Texas appealed the decision. The Texas Supreme Court upheld that earlier decision. I think this is critically important. The state of Texas should have made 1000% sure that they were on firm legal ground before removing over 400 children from their families. There is no excuse for being this wrong.
  • Britain dropped their long-standing objection and will sign a treaty along with 111 nations to support the ban of cluster bombs. A cluster bomb, where one bomb breaks up into dozens if not hundreds of bomblets is great for eliminating a large force. Unfortunately, many of the bomblets do not explode and lay around. Innocent civilians end up getting hurt in the days, months, and even years later by these unexploded bomblets. The United States joined China, Russia, Israel, India, Pakistan and Brazil in their opposition to this Treaty. It sure doesn’t seem that we’re on the right side on this issue.
  • The Great Harvey Korman died at age 81. He was a staple in the very funny Carol Burnett show. His performances in Blazing Saddles and History of the World, Part 1 were pure comic genius. C&L have posted some video. (Note: Blazing Saddles may be the funniest movie that I have ever seen).
  • Finally, Senator Barack Obama is in excellent health. Although the doctor’s letter to the press was short, it was to-the-point and covered everything necessary. What are the health risks for a black man in his late forties? Major risk factors include cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer and hypertension. Dr. Scheiner covers them.