A Plethora of Items Today:

There is so much to talk about today – let's just make a chart (which blogger will destroy, but – hey- I tried at least)

Drew Peterson	Arrested for murder of 3rd wife, Kathleen Savio … they will be using the new 'hearsay' law in IL to convict him – statements from the missing 4th wife that he killed the 3rd wife to her priest. Interestingly Geraldo Rivera is pissed off at Matt Lauer because Matt allowed Peterson to go on air (apparently during the interview Peterson went after Rivera and Lauer didn't stop it). How did he get away with this for so long? The autopsy performed at the time was performed and a Coroner's Jury which certified the findings had no medical training (they were just everyday people who went by what the coroner said) – there is even a biased juror (a friend of his) which pressured the others to vote with him. They have found letters where Peterson was saying that he was going to kill his 3rd wife and make it look like an accident … those will be entered in as evidence this time. Then there's the confessional testimony she gave that her husband admitted to the 3rd wife's death. So what was he doing in his life at the time he was arrested? Well he was engaged – wife #5, who is this nut case? He also had a job lined up as a security guard at a 'brothel' reality show (I'm thinking it sounds like Cat House on HBO)
Perez Hilton taken to task	So you might not know Perez Hilton – I know I didn't before all the flack started over Miss America … he advocates tolerance but interesting thing is, when Miss CA didn't answer the question the way he wanted he wasn't very tolerant at all! So why is this story still alive?? Because he is the reason that so many issues like this go by the wayside – no one wants to listen to radicals. Even other Gay Marriage advocates are distancing themselves from him. Hopefully this story will close soon.
Miss California	She is in her own stew of trouble over some photos which have shown up …. Namely photos of herself in lack of clothing. She had to sign a statement claiming she didn't have any such photos of her taken…oops, either these were taken without her knowledge or she forgot == but really either way you have to question the move to strip her of her crown. After all – Miss Teen America was caught on tape under-age drinking and taking some really risqué photos and she was allowed to keep her crown for the longest time (I do think she was finally stripped of it, but only after a huge public outcry). So why would they hold 'dirty' pictures against Miss California? And with the way the clothing clause is made (something about being in any various stage of lack of clothing) just being photographed in a bikini could count against her even though it's part of the contest itself.
Unemployment	Okay better than expected numbers … I will give Obama cudos for the upswing in joblessness (or is that downswing), he did something right … but then I'm wondering too if part of it isn't because people are already starting to get out there for those Summer Jobs. So what does it look like? 539,000 (Unemployment at 8.9%) new job losses last month. This is supposed to be an indication that the 'economic free fall' is slowing for our country – of course it could also mean that all the non-essential workers have already been let go, and now job cuts will really start hurting. But this is still the highest unemployment rate since the 80's and it still means that there are 13.7 million people out of work (that doesn't sound right, that sounds too high) … so where did the losses come from last month? 110,000 construction 135,000 factory jobs Although the President has come out to say that the unemployment issue is going to get worse before it gets better (wonder what he knows) Increased jobs? 72,000 government jobs – temporary census taker jobs.   COLLEGE AID: because people w/o jobs can't afford college (hey get the GSLs at 1% and you won't have the issue) … "Obama" wants to put money aside for people to go if they want. Don't expect a lot of money though – a year at our local state college is $20,000/freshmen & $30,000/upperclassmen … at the Community Colleges? About $3000 as semester (about $6000/yr)!   RETRAINING: Some states allow you to be retrained on the state's dime, but only in the same field as you were before – under the new plan, they would train you in other fields as well because if you are an assembly line worker it's pretty obvious that the chances of you getting another assembly line job in your area are going to be awfully slim – especially if you are in a small community where there seemed to be only one plant employing the whole town.
CA Wildfires	This happens every year in fact at least twice a year – so why is this still such a big story? Local story yes, but national news? Do you see a story every time there's a tornado in MN or along "Tornado Alley"? no.
Statue of Liberty	Tourists will be able to get up into the head of the Lady on the 4th of July … it had been closed to regular traffic since the 9/11 attacks – so for 8 years? Interesting … does anyone else wonder what was going on up there during that time? Can't wait to hear the latest "black helicopter" theories.
Pregnancy rights	There is a movement to allow bosses to fire you if you get pregnant – because some women feel that they have a hard time getting a job because an employer won't hire women because these days any one of them could get pregnant. Now there are certain jobs where you just cannot keep doing your regular job because of risk to fetus – chemists, cop, firefighter, etc – but there are more jobs where it doesn't matter …. It all comes down to non-parents thinking that parents have it so good – trust me I heard it all … they think that when we are staying home because of a sick child we are getting extra vacation time, they think that we are getting a bigger benefit package than they do if we get a childcare package from employers … this is just another form of that.
CA budget fight goes Federal	Okay, here is a good indication of what we've got coming. To balance the budget in CA one of the things they did was give an across the board wage cut to state workers and made them take one weekend furlough every month … it saved them a ton of money and kept them from going broke. Well the union workers who were effected went crying to Obama about how they aren't getting paid union-wages anymore …. So now 'obama' (probably the administration, not he) said if CA doesn't pay these people the Fed gov will withhold $6.8 MILLION of the stimulus money – which will bankrupt the state. This means that because Obama put the UNIONS IN CHARGE OF THINGS that they will be running the government the way they see fit. EVERY governor should be afraid of this – it means that if they have union workers (and they all do by federal law [roll eyes]) they can dictate their own terms of employment. So what does CA's financial numbers look like? $42 BILLION deficit $17.4 BILLION proposed spending cuts $14.3 BILLION proposed Tax increases (yikes) So why are they spending so much? Well – the majority of the money is being spent in LA … for 'services', that is welfare/ADC/state healthcare costs … and because they passed certain laws in LA, even illegals can get these benefits … this means that people who aren't paying into the system are drawing out of it. Now I get pissed when US citizens play the system – yeah, I'm going to get pissed when people who didn't go thru proper channels do it too.
Victoria Principle	Okay let's get this out on the table to begin with – I can't stand VP … I liked her before she started dating Andy Gibb, but the fact that he died so close to their relationship and all the stories I heard of her involvement with his downward spiral has totally turned me off to her for life. I know – grow up. Well she is having a bit of legal issues with her maid…VP is being accused of holding a gun on her. Apparently the way the story goes, the maid took the little dog (shih Tzu) on a walk the day after Christmas (is that Boxing day?) and when she got back VP fired her, refused to pay her, and drew a gun - ? wow, what would Bobby Ewing say? VP claims that the gun was drawn in 'self defense' … VP says that the maid was from a temp agency, that she didn't like the work being done so she called for another maid instead but the first maid came back and began to abuse the dog – well if the injuries to the dog were as extensive as VP claims there would be a vet's report. Apparently the maid was 6ft tall, 165lbs. – worse statement I heard about this story? "You know that if this woman abused this little puppy – she's 6ft tall, 160lbs – you know that puppy wouldn't even be alive right now" = why do I hate it? Because it's the same statement that domestic abusers use … "judge if I had beaten her, you would know it".
Waterboarding	Well, Pelosi – the big talker about how cruel Bush was to waterboard people out to attack our country (is that showing bias?) – is being called to task as it becomes apparent that all along she knew about it and did nothing to try to stop/lessen it. On April 23rd, Pelosi said in a news conference that she or any other member of congress was informed of any of the interrogation techniques. The CIA has produced a memo of a Sept 2002 meeting where Pelosi was at in which they discussed these methods – "Briefing on EITs including use of EITs on [terrorist name here], background on authorities, and description of particular EITs that had been employed" EITs are interrogation methods [enhanced interrogation techniques].
Unemployment & education	Sounds like the President will allow people to keep getting their unemployment benefits while attending community colleges (didn't hear anything about universities) and to make those receiving unemployment eligible for PELL grants. By 2020, US will have highest portion of higher education in his vision. Great idea – but it will only help the younger workers who are displaced …. What about the 50 yr old who worked 30 yrs for the same company? Or the retiree who had to go back to work to pay for taxes who had a heck of a time finding a job to begin with? Those are the workers who are going to be hurt by something like this … who is going to hire someone over 55 yrs old if they know that they are just going to have to retire In a few years – that's the big flaw.
Debt consolidation programs	If you spend more than 20% of your net/after-tax income on debt, and there are more than 10 different creditors you are paying – then it's a good idea …. But be aware of scams. Now that is 'bad' debt – credit cards, loans (not mortgages unless they are outrageous, then you should try to refinance).

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