Head of Young Republicans pleads guilty to rape and swiftboating his accuser

Michael Flory, a 32-year-old attorney from Jackson, Mich., pleaded guilty to sexual battery on the day he was to stand trial for rape. Flory gained some notoriety at age 18 when he gave a televised speech to the Republican National Convention in the Houston Astrodome in 1992.

The former head of the Michigan Federation of Young Republicans admitted today that he sexually abused a colleague during a national convention here last summer.

The victim, who is 22, declined to speak after Flory's guilty plea.

She and some supporters lamented when the incident became public last winter that Flory and his followers within the Republican organization had been smearing her reputation in retaliation for accusing Flory of rape. Skutnik said she found that to be true.

"People were using every opportunity to try to trash her, on Web sites or whatever," the prosecutor said. "He's been running around telling everybody what a piece of trash she is, so she was very happy to see him plead guilty."

Read more via The Plains Dealer

Pepsi labels Aquafina as Tap Water

NEW YORK (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina bottled water is made with tap water, a concession to the growing environmental and political opposition to the bottled water industry.

According to Corporate Accountability International, a U.S. watchdog group, the world's No. 2 beverage company will include the words "Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels.
Yahoo News

"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman.

Bush appointee politicizes endangered species list

U.S. could reverse suspect endangered species rulings
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, accused of letting a political appointee meddle in the science of endangered species, said on Friday it could reverse eight decisions if it finds they were inappropriately influenced by political concerns.

The decisions under review affected species as varied as the Hawaiian picture-wing fly and the white-tailed prairie dog. All involved input from Julie MacDonald, a former deputy assistant secretary who resigned in May after government scientists complained of political interference.

Dale Hall, head of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said hundreds of endangered species decisions from MacDonald's five-year tenure were reviewed after her resignation, and eight were singled out for further evaluation and possible reversal.

"These are important because it's a blemish, I believe, on the scientific integrity of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior, so we're going to place a pretty high priority on trying to get these done," Hall said in a telephone briefing.

Without being definitive, Hall indicated reversals were likely: "We wouldn't be doing them (the re-evaluations) if we didn't at least suspect that the decision will be different."
Read more Via Reuters

Vodka snobs: Cheaper is Better

Are you a vodka snob? Do you routinely buy a pricey brand over a less expensive one? If so, you're part of a growing trend. "20/20" wanted to see what all the fuss was about … so we conducted a little test.
Read the rest - Via 20/20

Connoisseurs award prize to $2 wine

The connoisseurs may cringe, the snobs may even sob, but the judges have spoken: California's best chardonnay costs less than $3.

Charles Shaw Chardonnay, better known as "Two Buck Chuck," beat hundreds of other wines and was named the top prize in a prestigious tasting competition in California.

"The characteristics that we look for in our gold medal winner & a nice creamy butter, fruity & it was a delight to taste," said 2007 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition judge Michael Williams.

The affordable wine beat out 350 other California chardonnays to win the double gold. Second place went to an $18 bottle, and the most expensive wines at the event, at the price of $55, didn't even medal.
Read more Via 6ABC (Philadelphia)

MS patient misdiagnosed as insane

A Quebec woman is looking for redress after her husband was misdiagnosed as being insane.
Turns out, he actually had multiple sclerosis.
Anatole Otis was 50-years-old when his health began to deteriorate 14 years ago.
A neurologist told him he was insane.
A T-Q-S news report says it wasn't until 2004, 14 years after his initial diagnosis, that a second neurologist discovered the truth.
His wife, Carmen Plourde, believes appropriate medication would have slowed the disease's progression.
Otis has been confined to a bed for several years.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada says the disease was difficult to diagnose as recent as the early 1990's.
Still, the group is stunned a neurologist confused multiple sclerosis with a mental illness.
Via 940AM (Montreal)

Philly tap water beats out bottled water in taste test.

Can people really tell the difference?

So I packed a cooler for a taste test, with New Jersey tap chilled in an empty seltzer bottle; Philly tap, given the same treatment; a bottle of Poland Spring that cost less than $2; and a bottle of 10 Thousand BC "100 percent natural Canadian glacier water," which sells at the Water Works restaurant for - brace yourself - $22 a bottle.
Read more Via: Phila Daily News

This woman's identity used by this man when he was arrested for prostitution

One of these people is Brittany Ossenfort the other is a guy named Richard Phillips.
I'm not entirely sure who is who. They were roommates, Brittany thought she was living with another woman named Michelle. Michelle slowly started look more and more like Brittany. Michelle was arrested for prostitution, he gave Brittany's stolen ID, and still insists he's Brittany.
Story and video here

One photo the GOP does not want anyone to see...

The NAACP invited all 9 Republican candidates to the NAACP GOP Presidential Candidate Forum, but only one showed up: Tom Tancredo. All the Democratic Presidential hopefuls showed up for their forum.
Read more here and here

Samoa butterflies quickly evolve and avoid extinction

CHICAGO (Reuters) - When faced with extinction, butterflies on two South Pacific islands quickly developed genetic defences that helped them fight back, a team of international researchers said on Tuesday.

They said the butterflies' tale is the fastest example of natural selection observed to date and shows evolution can happen quickly when the stakes are high.
Read more via Yahoo News
No idea what this means for the religious fundamentalists who refuse to believe in evolution

Another Republican Sex Offender caught in the act

Hey Johnny Cakes ....

A tearful Florida Rep. Bob Allen said Thursday that he is not guilty of soliciting an undercover male officer for sex and had no intention of resigning his House seat.

Police arrested Allen Wednesday afternoon at a Titusville park bathroom after officials said he offered to perform oral sex on an undercover officer and to pay the officer $20 for the opportunity. He faces one charge of solicitation, a second-degree misdemeanor, and posted $500 bond later Wednesday and was released from the Brevard County jail.

Personally I wouldn't care a whit but here's Bathroom Bob's Legislation

The representative sponsored HR 597 - Sexual Solicitation and Abuse-last legislative session. The bill-adopted 4/27/2007- encourages the education of parents and children regarding the dangers of sexual solicitation and the abuse of youth.

[...]

HOUSE BILL 1475 Sponsor: Rep. Bob Allen (R-Merritt Island). This bill broadens the scope of Section 800.04 of the Florida Statutes. That section specifically addresses "lewd or lascivious exhibition," including public masturbation. HB 1475 broadens the scope of 800.04 to include lewd acts committed in the presence of those of any age, not just those under the age of 16, as the existing law specifies. HB 1475 does not mention 800.03 at all, but it increases the penalty for lewd acts under 800.04.

Read more here

Worlds tallest dog 7ft

Michael Clark Duncan (6.5 ft) with Gibson (7 ft)

Visit Gibson's website

Bush admits to treason

President Bush Acknowledges Leak in Libby Case, Wants to 'Move On'
The president had initially said he would fire anyone in his administration found to have publicly disclosed the identity of Valerie Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and a CIA operative.

"I'm aware of the fact that perhaps somebody in the administration did disclose the name of that person," Bush said. "I've often thought about what would have happened if that person had come forth and said, 'I did it.' Would we have had this endless hours of investigation and a lot of money being spent on this matter? But, so, it's been a tough issue for a lot of people in the White House. It's run its course and now we're going to move on."
Via Fox News

Yawn ... Gonzales Lied - Knew about FBI Law Breaking

The Gonzo-deathclock resumed ticking last night after the Electronic Frontier Foundation revealed that months before embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told Congress in 2005 that "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse" regarding the use of National Security Letters, he had been informed of several civil liberties abuses committed by the FBI using NSLs.
Via Wired

Poll: Bush approval drops to low of 29%

WASHINGTON — Opposition to the Iraq war has reached a record high, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a development likely to complicate President Bush's efforts to hold together Republican support as the Senate begins debate this week on Pentagon priorities.

Bush's approval rating has reached a new low: 29%.

In the survey, taken Friday through Sunday, one in five Americans say the increase in U.S. forces in Iraq since January has made the situation there better. Half say it hasn't made a difference.

More than seven in 10 favor removing nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by April.
Read the Poll - Via USA Today

Hypocritical GOP Senator caught with hooker - Wife promised castration

Another Republican hypocrite gets caught with his pants down

As Washington is abuzz with the news that GOP Sen. David Vitter once used the “DC Madam’s” escort service, the ears of his wife, Wendy Vitter, must be ringing. In 2000, you see, Ms. Wendy was quoted in a news article focused on Bill Clinton’s marital infidelities.
“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary,” she told a reporter regarding whether she could forgive her husband if she learned he’d cheated as Hillary Clinton had done after Monica Lewinsky became a household name. “I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”

Vitter, a "family values" guy, has been a strong proponent of abstinence for everyone but himself.

Via Big Head DC

Ex Surgeon General testifies: Bush Muzzled Me.

President Bush's most recent surgeon general accused the administration Tuesday of muzzling him for political reasons on hot-button health issues such as emergency contraception and abstinence-only education.

Dr. Richard Carmona, the nation's 17th surgeon general, told lawmakers that all surgeons general have had to deal with politics but none more so than he.

For example, he said he wasn't allowed to make a speech at the Special Olympics because it was viewed as benefiting a political opponent. However, he said was asked to speak at events designed to benefit Republican lawmakers.

"The reality is that the nation's doctor has been marginalized and relegated to a position with no independent budget, and with supervisors who are political appointees with partisan agendas," said Carmona, who served from 2002 to 2006.

read more on Fox News

Big Wendy the muscular whippet

People mistake her for a pitbull with a pinhead, but Wendy the whippet is one rare breed.

So rare that the Central Saanich dog recently graced the New York Times. She also had several of her photos shown on The Today Show, all because of a rare genetic mutation that has led to her being the Incredible Hulk of dogs.

Wendy is a 27-kilogram rippling mass of muscle. Forget the so-called six-pack stomach: Wendy has a 24-pack. And the muscles around her neck are so thick, they look like a lion's ruff.

This is what a normal Whippet looks like


read more

Actor Charles Lane Dies at 102

The old man on the left was famous for playing the old man on the right.

Charles Lane, the prolific character actor whose name was little known but whose crotchety persona and roles in hundreds of films made him instantly recognizable to generations of moviegoers, has died. He was 102.
Read about him on IMDB

The Impossible Knot

How to tie an impossible knot that can't be untied.

Do this to your shoes, but don't tell you that you're doing it so you're all pissed off at you, when you find out.

One woman's plans to corner the iPhone market goes bust

She shows up with $100k spends $800 to buy a guy's place in line.
Things don't work out like she planned.
Watch it

msnbc anchor refuses to cover Paris Hilton

Mika Brzezinski kinda loses it here .. but you can't fault her for it.