Did Sarah Palin Actually Give Birth To Down’s Syndrome Baby?

Yesterday, with the news of Sarah Louise Heath Palin inexplicably being chosen as a Vice-Presidential nominee, the attentive American public was also introduced to her character. Unfortunately for all of us, it was filled with multiple instances of backtracking and outright lies. While Alaskans had been giving her an 80% approval rating, recently 87% of Alaskans polled on the subject of TrooperGate believed she was lying.

Now, I've known liars in my life. Their single core problem is not with themselves, but those around them. If they're never called out on their twisting of truths and fabrications, they simply continue to make larger lies.

Well, Sarah, I'm calling you a liar. And not even a good one. Trig Paxson Van Palin is not your son. He is your grandson. The sooner you come forward with this revelation to the public, the better.

WOW!

Did McCain pick this woman by throwing darts at a map???

Jodi Rell, LIEberman, or Romney all would have been formidable in some way.

This pick is laughable...

P.S. I'm now back from vacation!

One injection 'vaccine' cure for arthritis within five years

The treatment works like a vaccine and could be available within five years. Cells would be taken from the body, altered, and injected back into the affected joint.

A team at Newcastle University will now test the vaccine on volunteers with the disease.

Scientists in the field are extremely excited about the development.

There are 350,000 people in the UK with rheumatoid arthritis, which is a condition where the body's immune system attacks the joints, unlike oestoarthritis which is more like wear and tear of the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is difficult to treat because it is caused by a malfunctioning immune system, causing inflammation in the wrong places.

I hope this is the real deal...

Cindy fabricates Mother Theresa story

The latest embellishments come from the McCain camp. Cindy McCain has repeatedly referred to herself as an “only child.” This week came news that she actually has two half sisters, although apparently she had very little contact with them.

The McCain campaign had also put out the story that Mother Teresa “convinced” Cindy to bring home two orphans from Bangladesh in 1991.

Mrs. McCain, it turns out, never met Mother Teresa on that trip. (Once contacted by the Monitor, the campaign revised the story on its website.)

Good grief!

McCain Spokesman's Retort: Obama Lives in "a Frickin' Mansion"

"We're delighted to have a real estate debate with Barack Obama," said spokesman Brian Rogers, adding that the press should focus on Obama's house. "It's a frickin' mansion. He doesn't tell people that. You have a mansion you bought in a shady deal with a convicted felon."

The felon reference was to Tony Rezko, a former Obama friend and financial backer who was convicted on fraud and bribery charges this year. Rogers vowed to intensify efforts to link Obama to Rezko in the coming days.

"That's fair game now," he said. "You are going to see more of that now that this issue has been joined. You'll see more of the Rezko matter from us."

The McCain campaign was in full damage-control mode as the housing story took off today. Rogers tried to play down the story, saying that reports of the many McCain houses were overstated.

What a pathetic retort!

Homes McCain doesn't remember having worth nearly $14 million

Even though John McCain can't remember how many houses he and his wife own, his political opponents have been keeping track of the multi-millionares' holdings.

All told, the seven properties at which the McCains can rest their weary heads after long days on the campaign trail are valued at nearly $14 million, according to two separate research documents obtained by RAW STORY.

Perhaps we should cut the Republican presidential candidate some slack, though, for his fuzzy memory when it comes to counting his houses. With so many ranches, condos and beachfront properties spread across the country, keeping track could prove a little tricky.

"I think -- I'll have my staff get back to you," McCain told two curious Politico reporters Wednesday.

The gaffe has set Democrats on a new populist offensive trying to paint McCain as an out-of-touch elitist. Democratic candidate Barack Obama quickly released a Web ad hitting McCain over the home controversy, and he and his surrogates were on the offensive throughout the day Thursday.

Too old? Or just out of touch???

Truth About Wal-Mart Back to School Lists

My daughter is about to start kindergarten, so naturally we did some back to school shopping. Our state sales tax break weekend happened recently. When we noticed the local Wal-Mart had shopping lists not only specific to school and grade level, but to teacher, we were thrilled. We started tossing items in the cart to spend, spend, spend.

Weren’t we a little surprised to learn afterwards that Wal-Mart invented those lists. Not only were we a bit surprised to learn they did not, in fact, base the lists on anything remotely suggested by the school. Wal-Mart, in fact, put items on the list that are BANNED from being brought to school.

Our daughter’s school said Wal-Mart makes up those lists on their own, and a number of items (such as crayons) are on a list from the school. A list of items parents are specifically told not to have their child bring to school. Seriously?

Another reason NOT to shop at walmart...

Baseball Hall of Famer Yastrzemski hospitalized

Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, the last player to hit for the Triple Crown, was hospitalized for tests Tuesday after experiencing chest pains. The Boston Red Sox confirmed the 68-year-old Yastrzemski was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital and was undergoing evaluation and testing.

The team said no further information was immediately available on its longtime great.

Asked whether it was serious, Yastrzemski spokesman Dick Gordon said: "Any time you are in the hospital, it's got to be pretty serious."

I hope he's okay!

Millions eat food grown with untreated waste water, contaminated with raw sewage

At least 200 million people around the world risk their health daily by eating food grown using untreated waste water, some of which may be contaminated with heavy metals and raw sewage, according to major study of 53 world cities.

Urban farmers in 80% of the cities surveyed were found to be using untreated waste water, but the study said they also provided vital food for burgeoning cities at a time of unprecedented water scarcity and the worst food crisis in 30 years.

The study from the UN-backed International Water Management Institute (IMWI), said the practice of using waste water to grow food in urban areas was not confined to the poorest countries.

"It's a widespread phenomenon, occurring on 20m hectares across the developing world, especially in Asian countries like China, India and Vietnam, but also around nearly every city of sub-Saharan Africa and in many Latin American cities as well," said IWMI researcher Liqa Raschid-Sally.

I could have told you this...

Obama VP speculation centering on Biden

Joe Biden seems to be emerging as the most likely candidate to become Barack Obama's running mate, according to the DC Conventional Wisdom crowd.

The Delaware Senator and former presidential candidate also is receiving considerable favorable press among progressive bloggers and liberal activists, although this is partly because of what those same people see as the utterly dismal alternatives Obama's team is floating.

While an announcement is expected no sooner than Wednesday, political journalists and bloggers were left with little aside from Obama veep speculation to keep themselves busy Tuesday morning.

Biden's lengthy resume and encyclopedic knowledge of foreign affairs occupied much of the day's speculation, but a recent vote in Biden's more than three-decade career could help Obama mend some fences with a perturbed piece of his progressive base.

I'm not making any predictions...But I am curious who it will be...

Byrne & Eno back

Brian Eno and I recently finished our first collaboration in about 30 years. The name of the new record is Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. For the most part, Brian did the music and I wrote some tunes, words and sang. It's familiar but completely new as well. We're pretty excited.

The album is available exclusively from this Web site. You can stream all of the songs for free and purchase it in a variety of digital and physical formats, including a limited edition Deluxe Package designed by Sagmeister Inc. All formats can be downloaded immediately and physical CDs will be shipped in the Fall.
David Byrne
Midtown

The full album can be streamed in the player below. Also, a free mp3 is available for download from the link above.

Awesome!

McCain Web Ad Is Accused Of Linking Obama to Antichrist

An Internet ad launched last week by the McCain presidential campaign has attracted more than one million hits by appearing to mock Barack Obama for presenting himself as a kind of prophetic figure.

The ad has also generated criticism from Democrats and religious scholars who see a hidden message linking Sen. Obama to the apocalyptic Biblical figure of the antichrist.

The spot, called "The One," opens with the line: "It shall be known that in 2008 the world will be blessed." Images follow of Moses parting the Red Sea and Sen. Obama telling a crowd, "We are the change we've been waiting for."

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for John McCain's campaign, said the spot reflects only that Sen. Obama sometimes "gets carried away" when he speaks, and points out "his many audacious statements."

"It's a light-hearted ad that pokes fun at him," Mr. Rogers said.

Disgusting. Childish.

Where's the straight talk? What about running a clean campaign?

McCain should be ashamed...

He wasn’t driving drunk, he didn’t hit anyone, but he might still go to jail

Two drivers stopped at a red light one night in April 2007.

One driver was drunk — and not just a little drunk. Jonathan Hernandez was a convicted felon on probation, with enough alcohol in his blood to qualify for an extreme DUI.

The other driver, 19-year-old Jacob Ritter-Clark, had never gotten so much as a speeding ticket. He was sober.

I know you think you know where this is going. Two drivers collided, and their lives will never been the same. Blah blah blah.

But the two drivers didn't collide.

This is insane!

GOP's Pawlenty praises Obama's positive message

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, often mentioned as a possible running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said Wednesday GOP candidates would do well to adopt a positive tone like that of McCain's Democratic rival Barack Obama.

"Say what you will about Barack Obama," the Minnesota Republican told a conservative group, "people gravitate when you have something positive to say." He added that McCain has been positive as well.

"People want to follow hopeful, optimistic, civil, decent leaders," Pawlenty said in a speech to GOPAC, which helps recruit Republican candidates. "They don't want to follow some negative, scornful person."

Ouch!

Obama-Bayh Event Sparks More Buzz

As Senator Evan Bayh introduced Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, at a town hall style meeting here today, there was more scrutiny than usual of the interaction of the two men. That’s because Mr. Bayh’s name is said to be on the short list of candidates Mr. Obama is considering as his running mate.
Audio The Times’s Larry Rohter Reports from Indiana (mp3)

But for those who parse such things, the pickings may have been slim. Mr. Bayh made the only introductory speech at the event at Concord High School here, referring to Mr. Obama as “my friend, our neighbor” and noting that this was Mr. Obama’s 42nd visit to the state.

Mr. Bayh, however, focused his remarks on the political battle that lay ahead and marveled at the effort Mr. Obama is making to win the state, calling it “a very unusual thing.”

I'd be happy with Bayh...

A White House Forgery Scandal?

Investigative reporter Ron Suskind's new book charges that the White House, seeking to justify its invasion of Iraq, ordered the CIA in late 2003 to forge evidence of a link between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Suskind, a Pulitzer-winning reporter and relentless chronicler of this administration's secrets, depicts a White House with a simpleminded bully in the Oval Office taking direction from a paranoid vice president -- and caps off his latest expose with what he acknowledges sounds a lot like an impeachable offense.

Mike Allen writes for Politico: "A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.

I have nothing to say...

Paris Hilton releases campaign ad in response to McCain 'Celebrity' spot

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Responding to Senator McCain's recent campaign ad, featuring images of celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears while calling Senator Obama the "biggest celebrity in the world," Hilton herself spoke out in an ad released by FunnyOrDie.com.

"He's the oldest celebrity in the world," the video opens. "Like, super old. Old enough to remember when dancing was a sin, and beer was served in a bucket."

This was funny...

Sun-Times political columnist Robert Novak retires

Robert Novak has announced his immediate retirement following the diagnosis of a brain tumor, a prognosis the Sun-Times' political columnist describes as "dire."

"The details are being worked out with the doctors this week, but the tentative plan is for radiation and chemotherapy," Novak said.

'God Hates Fags' church burns

Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, known for its vocal condemnations of homosexuality, website GodHatesFags.com and picketing of gay pride parades and funerals, has sustained thousands of dollars in damage after a fire early Saturday morning. Impromptu protest followed as firefighters carried out their response.

The irony is delicious...

Bush proposal threatens access to the pill

The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing a draft regulation that would deny federal funding to any hospital, clinic, health plan or other entity that does not accommodate employees who want to opt out of participating in care that runs counter to their personal convictions, including providing birth-control pills, IUDs and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.

Conservative groups, abortion opponents and some members of Congress are welcoming the initiative as necessary to safeguard doctors, nurses and other health workers who, they say, are increasingly facing discrimination because of their beliefs or are being coerced into delivering services they find repugnant.

I'm spelling it out this time: WHAT THE FUCK???

Obama slams McCain over oil company tax breaks, negative ads

McCain is part of a Washington establishment that "has failed the American people on energy and that failure has led directly to our current crisis."

"Is that the best you can do?" asks Obama of McCain on attack ads.

Perfect response.