A blog about News.
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Whatever happened to the decorum and civility at graduation ceremonies? Reporter transported back to Mesozoic Era in fun dinosaur show at Rabobank Arena Latest Charles Manson prison photo The navel fluff phenomenon explained Today's youth more into music than sex Cancel Christmas: The date's all wrong, say scientists Smile, it's good for me You know the economy sucks when ... GM boss pleads poverty, eats at Quiznos Depressing Christmas cards June 06 July 06 August 06 September 06 October 06 November 06 December 06 January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 June 06 May 06 April 06 March 06 February 06 January 06 December 05 November 05 October 05 September 05 August 05 July 05 June 05 May 05 April 05 Blog RollAsk The Californian Editorials Entertainment Eye of Bakersfield Faith Forum Fired Up! Inside Sports Neighbors Right Thinking Sound Off Talk of the Town 
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One wonders what qualifications it takes to get on the Texas Ethics Commission.
Not sure that being ethical is one of them.
For example, the commission just ruled that if a Texas legislator gets a gift of cash, he has to fill out a form saying he received currency from so and so.
Not how much. Just who it was from.
So, if I gave a Texas legislator a boat load of money, the public would know I gave the elected representative some currency.
You think I'm making this up,...
A story below says United States airlines are thinking of modeling their charges after Ireland-based Ryanair, which has cheap fares but charges for many things that come with a normal airline ticket.
That includes $3.40 for a coffee, $4 for priority boarding and $7 for checking a bag. In addition, Ryanair has incorporated online shopping and gambling at 30,000 feet.
People are buying the idea because Ryanair is increasing its passengers and profits.
The question is would you mind...
The above phrase from the Church Lady character by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live is one of 100 listed below for the 100 catchiest TV quotes.
Are your favorites in here? Any you think ought to be added?
posted by Steve E. Swenson
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Sometimes it takes only a word, or just a few, to become immortalized in television history.
The TV Land cable network has compiled a list of the 100 greatest catchphrases in TV, from the serious — Walter...
I don't know if I begrudge the state assembly and senate folks who accepted a 2 percent raise, on top of a 12 percent raise they received last year, but I applaud Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, for not taking it.
She said the new raise, ordered last summer by the independent California Citizens Compensation Commission, comes too soon after the last one.
Nicole's position is certainly more in line with what the general populace has seen in raises.
The raise increases state...
Forgive me for this diversion.
Seems that when Kid Rock saw the Borat movie — which is in part about Borat crossing the country to marry Pamela Anderson — Kid Rock flew into a rage about his wife playing up to a guy hitting on her.
It was the last straw and caused Ms. Anderson to file for divorce from her husband of three months, a friend of Anderson said.
At a private screening, Kid Rock, whose real name is Bob Richie, called Pamela a whore and said he couldn't...
Well it looks like one of the town's biggest commercial eyesores*** -- the empty buildings that used to house Ralphs and Krispy Kreme at Stockdale and California -- is getting some new tenants.
Circle K is planning to move into the space once occupied by Krispy Kreme and Sports Chalet is going to take over the Ralphs.
When the Circle K news was announced in our morning news meeting there was a groan. I think we were hoping for something more special. Something more interesting....
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is a mad rush shopping day for people who actually go to stores.
Today, the first Monday after Thanksgiving, is being billed as Cyber Monday, the day when people shop online.
That may be a myth, according to a story at CNET News.com.
The theory behind Cyber Monday is that the bulk of online shoppers, young people, return to work and place their orders.
The reality is that other days rack up more sales.
Since all of you reading this are...
Police and police supporters are fighting against what they call unfair videotapes of beatings.
They complain the videotapes often don't show what led up to the police action and adverse public reaction to the videotapes could actually put an officer in jeopardy.
Some recent examples cited in an Associated Press story by Andrew Glazer:
— Recent images of an Iranian-American student at the University of California, Los Angeles being repeatedly shocked with a Taser by...
I love cute, adorable nurses.
Except when I'm sick in the hospital or am having a delicate procedure done below my belt. Then I prefer less cute, less adorable, but still helpful nurses.
It turns out some restaurant guy in Tempe, Ariz. thinks cute waitresses in sexy nurse outfits is a draw for customers.
The place is called the Heart Attack Grill which features the quadruple bypass burger (way too much meat and cheese) and Flatliner Fries cooked in lard.
So sexy nurses and...
This is about the time of year where we have to think about buying gifts for our loved ones.
Maybe even people we don't love so much.
What my family does is create lists to be shared on Thanksgiving or the day after.
My list is always long, with lots of options of things in all price ranges. I consider my list an act of love.
I don't like to receive short lists with only expensive items . Or no lists.
A story by Rebecca Boone says there is no such thing as "the perfect...
There are people I love to get close too; my wife as a prime example.
But I'm not so keen on some people getting too close to me.
Reporter Stephanie Rosenbloom of the New York Times wrote a story about personal space — that invisible force field around your body.
Researchers have found that even in virtual worlds — pixels on a computer screen that represent humans — personal space behavior mirrors our own.
Virtually everyone I've met keeps his or her distance....
Sometimes you read words in news reports that defy belief.
I'm talking about legislators in Pakistan who threatened to resign if their government went ahead and actually made rape a crime that could be effectively prosecuted.
It so amazes me that any where in the world, this is actually a talking point.
What the government did was to remove the requirement that four men must witness a rape before the women can prove it.
In the old law, she would be punished severely for...
Have you ever been called a Neanderthal? Well, I have, and therefore, I feel uniquely qualified to talk about his.
New DNA evidence shows that Neanderthals walked the earth the same time as human beings (who in many cases are a different type of creature) for thousands of years in Europe and the Middle East before Neanderthals disappeared 30,000 years ago.
Before then, Neanderthals hung around the globe dating back to about 400,000 years ago — long before, I suspect, the Bush...
O.J. Simpson has written a book called "If I did it" explaining that if he killed his wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, this is how he would do it.
Plus he's going on Fox TV Nov. 27 and 29 to tell all.
My favorite reaction to this is from CW Nevius who wrote, "It could be said that the national reaction was split 50-50. Half the country thought it was the dumbest idea they'd ever heard, and the other half thought Simpson was out of his mind."...
The Toys for Tots charity has turned down an offer for 4,000 talking Jesus dolls.
“We can’t take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family,” said Bill Grein of Toys for Tots, which gives poor kids of all faiths gifts for Christmas and other winter holidays.
I'm not sure how many Muslims or Jews open Christmas presents, but Toys for Tots has banned other toys such as guns on the theory they promote violence.
Some religious groups...
Consumer Reports is launching its first ever public education ad campaign, warning people to just say no to warranties pushed by the nation's retailers.
"We think warranties are a lousy deal for consumers in almost every case," said Jim Guest, president and chief executive of Consumers Union.
The exceptions are rear-projection microdisplay TVs and Apple computers, the magazine said. But for most other televisions, appliances, cameras and other electronics, the extended...
There is some evidence that manners and etiquette are making a comeback.
A story by Greg Morago of The Hartford Courant says new books on this subject are becoming popular.
This subject intrigues me because while I am a big fan of courtesy, I think etiquette is a bit snooty.
Not that I entirely lack etiquette. I learned to type back in the 60s on a book about etiquette so I know which fork to use in formal dining.
But I'm pretty sure I can faux pas with the best of them....
As you may have heard by now, many women do not like sleazy come-ons.
Things like, "Hi, Sexy" or "Hey, hot mama" or an infinite variety of other comments or whistles some men actually believe will endear them to their target.
Some tech savvy women are fighting back.
They are using their cellphones to snap photos of the offending men and then posting what they really think in blogs or websites. Some of the comments aren't that nice.
The process is called HOLLA...
Two fraternity students are suing the studio that produced Borat, alleging misrepresentation over their role in the highly profitable film.
A third student who was with the others is not part of the lawsuit, but said in a television interview that the producers paid him $200 to look like drunk college students and make racist and women-hating comments.
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," which opened on Nov. 3, was No. 1 at...
Kern County, a conservative outpost of strong Second Amendment beliefs, is first in the state for handing out concealed weapons permits.
In 2005, law enforcement agencies in Kern County approved 4,077 concealed weapon permits, far above number two Fresno County with 2,694. Los Angeles County issued 1,358 and San Francisco County only 10.
"You have to remember that this is Kern County. It's always had more gun permits than in any other county in the state and it probably always will...
Just a couple days after winning a spot on the city council, Ken Weir has announced he's gonna be stepping down from the Bakersfield City School District to focus on his new position.
So, just a few days after BCSD held an election for its board, they have a vacancy. Seems awful wasteful.
This raises the question: Should politicians have to quit their current positions to run for another office?
— Davin McHenry, web editor
Saddam Hussein was convicted of executing 148 people in 1982, for which a court ruled Sunday that he should be executed by hanging.
Associated press reported ecstasy swept Iraq’s Shiite and Kurdish regions Sunday after Saddam Hussein was sentenced to hang, while in the Sunni heartland policemen wept and ordinary townspeople vowed revenge.
It will take months, if not longer, for any execution to be carried out as Hussein vowed to appeal.
I don't know that the execution of...
The first inclination when a nationally prominent Evangelical falls from grace in a sex scandal is to laugh.
Preachers who don't do what they preach is always good for a chuckle.
Ted Haggard himself admitted he was "a deceiver and a liar."
Haggard was forced last week to resign as president of the National Association of Evangelicals - which represents some 30 million American Christians - over claims that he paid a male escort for sex and bought drugs off him.
This is a...
What inspires company loyalty?
Is it money? Regular cost of living raises are important.
But more important are things that don't cost a dime.
Common sense, courtesy and respect outweigh a bag of money in keeping employees at a company, according to a story by John Ketzenberger of the Indianapolis Star.
This comes from two Indianapolis companies, Celadon and Steak n Shake, which drastically reduced their turnover when they put these freebies into practice.
They learned...
I have a sense of fairness that is royally violated by these scenarios.
It is the unlicensed contractor or his family who sues a homeowner when something goes wrong on the job.
Thus the unlicensed contractor benefits from his own injury and the homeowner who hired him, maybe out of trying to do a guy a favor, is the one who pays.
The moral is don't hire unlicensed contractors.
Here's an example of what I mean: Thomas and Vivian Nelson of Ventura hired Luis Flores, 23, an...
I'm not going to try to make this relevant.
I'm going to post what others are saying about the company which manufactured the things that stopped production today.
Page Wiser of the Chicago Sun Times:
And in the interest of full disclosure, I have one looming over my desk as I write this.
The Arizona Daily Republic wrote:
You may have read recently that the plastic pink flamingo has gone the way of the dodo bird.The Buffalo News:
"It could become the town...
A new study says married people have sex more often than single people.
Almost makes you disbelieve the beer commercials.
The British study published Wednesday in the British medical journal The Lancet
also says people are losing their virginity at younger ages, promiscuity has no firm link to sexually transmitted diseases.
Researchers also found that married people have the most sex, reporting engaging in sexual activity in the previous four weeks more frequently than single...
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