Category: News

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Snowball fight takes dangerous turn when police officer draws gun

Snowball fight takes dangerous turn when police officer draws gun – washingtonpost.com.
This is just a pretty stupid move by the Washington, D.C., detective. You don’t pull your gun if you get snowballs thrown at you during a neighborhood snowball fight.

Watch the video:

http://specials.washingtonpost.com/mv/embed/?title=D.C.%20detective%20admits%20to%20pulling%20gun%20at%20snowball%20fight&stillURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Fphoto%2F2009%2F12%2F20%2FPH2009122001374.jpg&flvURL=%2Fmedia%2F2009%2F12202009-1v&width=480&height=270&autoStart=false&clickThru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Fvideo%2F2009%2F12%2F20%2FVI2009122001310.html

A police officer should only pull their gun on someone when they fell their life is threatened. I don’t think getting snowballs thrown at you equals a life threatening moment.

It is just a bunch of neighbors out there enjoying the snow.

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Newsweek Report on Top 1500 High Schools is Flawed

Newsweek just released their annual report on the 1500 Top High Schools. However, the report is flawed.
The reason it is flawed is that it doesn’t include private and/or religious schools.  The title of the report, as quoted, is: “The Top of the Class, the complete list of the 1,500 top U.S. high schools.

It is not till you get to the body of the story that you learn it is public high schools, including charter schools.

I think Newsweek should get on the ball and correct this error and better identify it as a Public High Schools or begin to include private or religious schools.

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Colorado Congressional Delegation shouldn’t take Army for granted over Piñon Canyon

In today’s edition of the Denver Post Representative Mike Coffman nailed it when he said that Democrats in the Colorado delegation are taking the U.S. Army for granted.
In the article, GOP lawmaker raises stakes in Piñon battle, Coffman states that “the legislation being prepared by Colorado Democrats to permanently prohibit the expansion of the Army’s Piñon Canyon training area would severely undermine the future of Fort Carson, setting off a devastating economic ripple effect in the southern part of the state.”

What people, especially Congress, doesn’t fully understand is that U.S. Army and the military is a tremendous economic force and driver in southern Colorado and throughout the state. Do people really believe that if Fort Carson is no longer, will Peterson Air Force Base remain? The two are dependent on each other.

If you don’t think so, look what happened to the miliary in the San Francisco-Bay Area. Continue reading “Colorado Congressional Delegation shouldn’t take Army for granted over Piñon Canyon”

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Malawi makes strides and now is exporting food

After suffering through a deadly drought, the government of Malawi took the bold step, and ignored the United States and European Union, and developed a seed giveaway program.
Well guess what happened, they have had two bumper crops and are now exporting food to their neighboring countries.  Quite a success story.

I found this story on NBC Nightly News and it caught my attention.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/27932835#27932835

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New York Times Explores the Secrecy of Apple and the Health of Steve Jobs

Talking Business – Apple’s Culture of Secrecy – NYTimes.com
This is a deceiving headline from the New York Times.  The story is more on the health of Steve Jobs and when should a company disclose information about the health of their CEO.

It is quite a dilema.  When should a company disclose that there CEO is sick?

A public company has the duty to disclose things that could provide information to its shareholers so they can make the right decision about their investment.

The article quotes a spokesman for the Securities and Exchange Commission who said that the law defined materiality as information that “the reasonable investor needs to know in order to make an informed decision about his investment.”

The issue of Jobs health came up in Apple’s Third Quarter Conference Call and an analyst asked the question.  But Apple just kinda blew it off saying it was a private matter.

Other companies have dealt with the issue, each in different ways.  Intel’s CEO was stricken with cancer.  He informed the board and management, but not the shareholders.  A McDonald’s CEO found out he had cancer and it was announced pretty quick.

Luckily for Intel’s CEO he survived, but the McDonald’s CEO resigned shortly thereafter and passed quickly after that.

To me, if Steve Jobs was sick and it would effect how he would do his job, then it would need to be disclosed.  But Apple blowing it off and saying nothing but that it is a private matter does no exude confidence in the shareholders of Apple.

The secrecy veil that Apple has cast over its company creates more problems than they should be having, but it adds to the mystique and allure of Apple.  It is the culture of Apple that everyone loves.

I just wish they and other companies would be more open about the health of their CEO’s so investors and shareholders would have more information to make the right investment decisions.

Someone just told me that you need to research and like the direction of the product, management, and marketing of a company. If you don’t, then don’t invest in it.

Right now, there are questions about management, especially Steve Jobs. Without Jobs, is there an Apple?  I would be interested in your thoughts.

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ExpressToll in Colorado will charge $7 to verify account holders

ExpressToll will charge $7 to verify account holders : Traffic : The Rocky Mountain News
I just want to say that this is the worst thing that I have ever heard of.  Charging people to verify that their license plate & vehicle is in the system.

I am paying to use the road and they keep an amount of cash in my account.  When I go through the toll booth, they deduct the toll.

Now if their (emphasis added) system does not pick up the transponder in my vehicle, they look at my license plate and see if it is registered in the system.  If it is, they deduct the amount from my account.  If not, they send out a ticket.

There have been several times where I have seen a VToll on my account. That means that my transponder failed to trigger the sensor and they had to verify it with my license plate.

If I get charged $7 for that, I will definitely be fighting it.  I think it is ridiculous to charge that additional fee.  Now if you don’t keep your account updated, that is another thing.

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On Day Care, Google Makes a Rare Fumble

Talking Business – On Day Care, Google Makes a Rare Fumble – NYTimes.com
Google gets positioned as the company that everyone wants to work for because of all they do for their employees.  But in the case of day care, they are falling through the cracks.

By raising the cost of day care, they are creating an elitist atmosphere and a division within their employee ranks.  In creating this division, employees are not happy and many of the brightest are now leaving for other companies.

I am hoping that this shows other companies how not to treat their employees.

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I’ll miss Tim Russert

I just want to say that I’ll miss Tim Russert.
I enjoyed watching “Meet the Press” and listening to his thoughts and insight into political activities on NBC News and MSNBC.  It was quite entertaining and he made it fun because he enjoyed it.

For those of you who don’t know, he passed away today at the age of 58.

I remember back to the Bush-Gore election and Russert was on the news speculating on the electoral college and who was going to win.  It was back-and-forth and he kept erasing his white board.  I was up late that night and Tim was still there with his white board.

I had the opportunity to see Tim speak in person at the PRSA International Conference last fall in Philadelphia.  It was quite a speech and most of it spoke of the upcoming Presidential election.  But he was most proud when he was talking about his book and his dad.

Tim Russert will be missed, especially as we go through this upcoming election.  He made politics fun while educating us and providing a look into the campaigns.

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University of Idaho President Leaves for UC Riverside, why?

University of Idaho President Tim White has announced that he is leaving to take over as Chancellor of the University of California Riverside.  My question is why?
There is no way that UC Riverside is better than the University of Idaho.  UC Riverside has more students (17,000 to about 12,000), but that is about it.  They will be getting a medical school soon, but that is about it. The one negative at Idaho is that you are under much more of a microscope than other schools.

The quality of life and a residential community is so much better at the University of Idaho.  There is a lot more to do, the weather is better, the traffic is non-existent in Moscow compared to Riverside.

At least I can breathe in Moscow, Idaho.  At Riverside you breathe nothing but 100% pure California smog.

President White did a great job at Idaho and I guess he thought it was time to move on. I hope that the Idaho State Board of Education moves quickly, but deliberately in getting someone who will take the University of Idaho to the next level.