This is absolutely overdue, and should be matched by every state in the union.

I’m curious to see, though, what their delegation to Congress had to say about this.

Hat tip to The Political Inquirer.

Even if it is only for women, I’ll raise my glass to that:

Women consuming two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease during the follow-up period (which lasted from 1980 to 2004 and involved 84,214 women) as compared with non-consumers, and an 18 percent lower risk of death caused by something other than cancer or heart disease as compared with non-consumers during follow-up. For men, this level of consumption was associated with neither a higher nor a lower risk of death during the follow-up period (which lasted from 1986 to 2004 and involved 41,736 men).

This was a good idea. From the Advocate

A bill that would initially cut state income taxes by $359 million per year won final legislative approval Tuesday.

The measure, Senate Bill 87, cleared its last legislative hurdle when the Senate passed it 38-0.

The same measure breezed through the House last week 102-0 and now goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who earlier endorsed the proposal and called the Senate action “terrific news.”

Also Jindal supports the idea of making lemonade out of lemons, if by lemons one means “destroyed interstate bridges” and lemonade is “coastal reef barriers.” From the Times Picayune:

Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday threw his support behind plans for using concrete from the demolition of the Interstate 10 twin spans to create fishing reefs in Lake Pontchartrain and help shore up New Orleans’ storm defenses.

The reef plans call for sinking the rubble of two 500-foot bridge sections at two locations between I-10 and the U.S. 11 bridge. The reefs, proposed by the Coastal Conservation Association, a nonprofit group, are intended to boost recreational fishing in the area.

A team from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, with help from other agencies, is still reviewing separate proposals for using the concrete, which Jindal said will save the state upward of $15 million. Parts of the bridge will likely go toward reinforcing levees and strengthening breakwaters off the coast to help reduce storm surge in the lake.

As usual, Jindal is applying a little known skill in politics, that is making priorities. That means some programs get cut, and some projects that have higher priorities get funded. When the benefit of the state takes the top priorities, NGOs and teachers unions tend to lose. I still don’t think he’ll get picked to be VP simply because McCain wants someone to tow his line, and Sarah Palin definitely fits that role and can help garner the coveted white housewife vote.

The Irish voted to reject the recent EU treaty, despite support from all political parties and important unions.  Sounds a lot like the immigration issue here in the US.  I love this quote:

Fourteen countries have already ratified the treaty in their national parliaments.

The lesson is it is much easier to buy off politicians than citizens.  Sadly, it seems that only Ireland actually has a referendum on EU policy…wonder why that is?

I’ve been wondering this myself as milk we buy at Kroger goes bad in a week whereas milk from Whole Foods lasts a month. Turns out the pasteurization process is different for the two types of milk.

The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.

Compare that to pasteurization, the standard preservation process. There are two types of pasteurization: “low temperature, long time,” in which milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes*, or the more common “high temperature, short time,” in which milk is heated to roughly 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds.

There’s a lot of buzz about Carly Fiorina being part of John McCain’s inner circle and how she might be a candidate for Veep. Now, being that she hasn’t been elected to any office I doubt she’ll start at the top, most likely she’ll be in a support role much like Condoleeza Rice is currently. Still, that is pretty important since McCain himself has said he’s not adept at financial matters. The first time I heard about Carly Fiorina was in a report from Jay Nordlinger’s Davos Journal in 2004. Here’s what he said:

On to Carly Fiorina: She is CEO of Hewlett Packard, and she speaks in crisp, clear English. It is almost completely devoid of international-conference-speak, which is refreshing. She is like a cool glass of verbal water.

But what is the content of that water? She says that “the fundamental objective” of her company — the fundamental objective, mind you! — is not “to make money” but “to do good,” “to be a good international citizen.” When she says “make money,” she makes it sound so dirty. She borrows the old Quaker business about not just doing well but doing good.

Fine and dandy, of course, but I find myself wishing — not for the first time — that businessmen would be a little less defensive and more self-confident. They have nothing to apologize for. Does Hewlett Packard want to do good? Then let it invent and manufacture products that people need — or want, or that make their lives better — and sell them at affordable prices. That is doing good.

I hate to be more pro-Hewlett Packard than the CEO of Hewlett Packard, but . . . I tell you, I would wet my pants with joy if one of these people, at one of these conferences, said, “You know? People like Henry Ford and Bill Gates have done more for humanity than any thousand soi-disant benefactors-of-humanity put together.”

Except for the wetting of the pants I would agree with Jay.

Here’s a couple of snippets from wikipedia on Fiorina’s performance at Hewlett Packard.

HP’s services continued to lose market share to IBM, and HP continued to rely on its lucrative printer division to remain profitable

…

As HP’s performance slowed, the Board of Directors became increasingly concerned. In early January 2005, the HP Board of Directors presented Fiorina with a four-page list of issues the board had with Fiorina’s performance.^[22] A week after the meeting, the plan was leaked to the Wall Street Journal.^[23] The board proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted.^[24]

On 9 February 2005, Carly Fiorina was dismissed as chairman and chief executive officer of HP.

…

After her departure from Hewlett-Packard in 2005, the company prospered, overtaking Dell as the biggest computer maker in the world. Her defenders, as well as some critics, credit her with laying foundations for that prosperity.

All in all I’d say lukewarm CEO at best. Ladies and Gentleman our next Secretary of Commerce!

The Chicago Tribune informs us that “Whitey” is not really a slur. Why? Because it’s just not offensive enough. The entire rather short article is below. Not only does the Tribune staff inform us that it’s really not offensive, they tell us that anyone who finds it offensive is simply ignorant and stupid.

Now all you deep-down-inside institutional racists dig down and think of a couple of racial slurs that you consider simply “more of a taunt” and insert it for the word “whitey” above. You see? We’re all free to make whatever slurs we deem appropriate as long as we feel that it involves simply “prejudice” and not REAL “racism;” as long as it lacks an “ominous context.” We’re all free to be prejudiced, as long as we’re not racist.

I can’t find anything in this article to disagree with, but find it hard to believe that this is setting an equal standard for whites and non-whites when it comes to racial slurs. The article could have been even shorter. Something like:

“Only white people can be racist.”

Well, it’s deja vu all over again. This time the levees are breaking in an Illinois town. Could this be racism as was the case in NO? No, this town is 99% white and only white people are racist.

With the recent flooding and forecasts for rain, I expect more levee failures and unthinkable flooding. Will the next president protect us from natural disasters? I mean, the government already protects us from everything else including ourselves.

The best way I could put my feelings about Tim Russert is this:

First, he is the only one of his kind where it was very hard to tell what his political leanings were.

Second, he was the only one left that I could regularly listen to and not want to drill a hole in my head.

Third, from every available source, he personified a man who was a TRUE journalist, and a REAL family man.

He will be truly, sorely missed.

Tim Russert…1950-2008.