BUYING THE WHITE HOUSE: One Nation, Under A Billionaire, With Liberty And Justice For Newt

SALON: Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino owner, is now the poster boy for what’s terribly wrong with our campaign-finance system. Adelson, you may recall, had, before the South Carolina Republican primary, donated $5 million to the pro-Gingrich Super Pac “Winning Our Future” – giving Newt a pile of money for negative advertising against Mitt Romney in South Carolina. Adelson has done it again. He and his wife Marian have cut another $5 million check for Gingrich to go negative on Romney in Florida. The money won’t go as far as it did in South Carolina – TV ads cost a […]

SLOW CLUB: Two Cousins

They play Johnny Brendas Feb. 15th with Air Waves and locals Hurry. THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT: Could they be the UKs answer to The White Stripes? Charles And Rebecca Are Slow Club. They hail from Sheffield and are a sort of one man band. Only with two people. He strums guitar and sings and she plays drums and all sorts of weird instruments, like water-filled glass bottles, spoons and the back of a wooden chair. And sometimes an organ called MIles. Not something you get to see and hear every day. The effect is rockabilly and somewhat folksy but thankfully their […]

TECH: Microsoft’s ‘Avoid Ghetto’ App Raises Hackles

CBS SEATTLE: Microsoft has been granted a patent for its “avoid ghetto” feature for GPS devices. A GPS device is used to find shortcuts and avoid traffic, but states that a route can be plotted for pedestrians to avoid an “unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures.” Created for mobile phones, the technology uses the latest crime statistics and weather data and includes them when calculating a route.The patent, written in a combination of tech-speak and legalese, was awarded to Microsoft earlier this week. It also described other uses for the new GPS technology. […]

Navy Seals Rescue American From Somali Pirates

MSNBC: In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.American Jessica Buchanan, 32, [pictured, above] and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group. According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held.  As the SEALS approached […]

Chester Teacher Working Without Pay & Warren Buffet’s Sec. To Join FLOTUS At State Of The Union

[via THE WHITE HOUSE] Sara Ferguson teaches literacy and math at Columbus Elementary, and has worked for the Chester Upland School District for 20 years.  She is a third generation educator in Chester Upland, and a proud product of that district.  When the Chester Upland School District faced bankruptcy earlier this year in light of severe state budget cuts, Ms. Ferguson vowed to continue teaching even without being paid, saying “we are adults; we will make a way. The students don’t have any contingency plan. They need to be educated, so we intend to be on the job.” […] Debbie […]

LISTEN LIKE THIEVES: Dr. Dog “Lonesome”

PASTE: The band has said that the upcoming release is more a rough-around-the-edges rock album that’s more in tune with their earlier material, and many of the members found that to be pretty liberating. “It was reminiscent of when we were starting out and were these fearless weirdoes in a basement, so confident and reckless and bold,” guitarist-vocalist Scott McMicken said. MORE Dr. Dog – Lonesome by antirecords

MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE: In 2005, 8 Marines Slaughtered 24 Unarmed Iraqi Civilians (Including Women, Toddlers & A 76-Year-Old Man In A Wheelchair) In Haditha & Nobody Will Ever Answer For It; Meanwhile Bradley Manning (Body Count=0) Will Likely Spend The Rest Of His Life In Prison

ASSOCIATED PRESS: A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children pleaded guilty Monday to dereliction of duty in a deal that will mean a maximum of three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., led the Marine squad in 2005 that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha after a roadside bomb exploded near a Marine convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others. It was a stunning and muted end to a case once described as the […]

‘The Path Of The Righteous Man Is Beset By The Inequities Of The Selfish & The Tyranny Of Evil Men’

[Artwork by BOLBAK] DAILY BEAST: This time, [Obama will] have to contend with some disappointment in his record among African-Americans, including grumbling from leaders such as Cornel West and Tavis Smiley about what they see as Obama’s lack of attention to the needs of minorities and the poor. Actor Samuel L. Jackson, an early supporter of the president, freely admits his ambivalence. “Some days I agree with Dr. West and what he says about the president not dealing enough with the plight of the poor,” says Jackson. “Then I think about how they won’t give him credit for anything… The […]