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NANGAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, July 9, 2009 – The eastern Afghanistan terrain is demanding, not only on soldiers, but also on their equipment. Keeping vehicles running is essential to mission success. Army Pfc. Jonathan M. Hall works on a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle at Forward Operating Base Fenty in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, July 2, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Elizabeth Raney   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That’s the job of Army Pfc. Jonathan M. Hall, a native of Elizabethtown, Ky., and a light-wheeled vehicle mechanic who serves with Task Force Mountain Warrior here with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th...

A new book published by Al Qaeda shows that the terrorist group is under intense pressure and in "deathly fear" of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Pakistan, terror experts say. The 150-page book, titled "Guide to the Laws Regarding Muslim Spies," was recently posted on jihadist Web sites. It was written by a senior Al Qaeda commander, Abu Yahya Al-Libi, and features an introduction by Ayman Al-Zawahri, the No. 2 man in Al Qaeda. The book accuses some in Al Qaeda's ranks of being spies who provide intelligence, including information about Al Qaeda camps and safehouses, to U.S. forces. According to...

This nasty administration spent much time going after Gerald Walpin, who until a few weeks ago was the inspector general for AmeriCorps. Walpin's claim was that he was fired because he made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Obama (FOB), Kevin Johnson former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of AmeriCorps funds. Because he was investigating the president's friends, Walpin, whose position as an inspector general is supposed to be protected from political appointees and the White House, was fired. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration said the IG seemed...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – The fifth Army Reserve soldier to earn the Silver Star since the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 spoke about his experience in a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable July 6. Army Spc. David Hutchinson receives the Silver Star medal from Army Col. James Doty on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, June 6, 2009. Hutchinson earned the award for valor during and following an ambush in Afghanistan on May 21, 2008. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Spc. David Hutchinson of the 420th Engineer Brigade discussed...

Helping small businesses.

1960s History and the music. A depiction of old black and white TV shows of the 1950's and 1960's

I like this Rep. Fleming.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roland Burris, appointed by Illinois' since-ousted governor to fill President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat, has decided not to run for a full six-year term in 2010, a Democratic Party aide said on Thursday. The senator's office declined comment other than to say Burris planned to hold a news conference and issue a statement on Friday. Burris's decision was based on his inability to raise campaign funds, the Chicago Sun-Times said in first reporting the latest twist in his brief Senate career.

The dream of self-sufficiency popularised in the 1970s comedy is not beyond the reach of people living in Britain's five million flats, the organisation says. Lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot and a variety of herbs can all thrive on windox sills – allowing those without gardens and allotments to join the "grow your own" trend. Kingston Lacy, a country mansion in Dorset, is one of the Trust properties where windox boxes have been installed. At other properties, hanging baskets have been converted to grow vegetables. The National Trust has calculated that the nation's windowsills could provide the equivalent of 600 acres of...

NEW YORK — A Manhattan skyscraper in one of the most security-conscious parts of New York City has become the scene of an unlikely missing persons mystery. Police are trying to figure out what happened to a cleaning woman who vanished midway through her shift Tuesday evening at an office tower a few hundred feet from the World Trade Center reconstruction site. Eridania Rodriguez, 46, punched in for work at 2 Rector Street around 5 p.m. She donned her blue uniform, chatted with other after-hours employees and was last seen on security cameras around 7 p.m., according to a lawyer...

A federal judge overreached when he sided with religious-freedom arguments to block Washington state’s rules mandating the sale of “morning-after” birth control, appeals judges said Wednesday. The unanimous ruling, from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sends the politically thorny case back to U.S. District Court for further review. The case revolves around the drug Plan B, a contraceptive that can greatly reduce the chances of pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Some pharmacists and drugstore owners, however, say they can’t sell the pills in good conscience because they consider Plan B’s...

U.S. Postal Service officials are considering closing 33 post office branches in the Columbus area in an effort to control costs. Nationwide, more than 3,000 branches in 396 cities -- including Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland -- are on the list. The Postal Service is bleeding $20 million a day. "That's unprecedented; that's almost unheard of," said Kathy Lucas, spokeswoman for the Postal Service's Columbus district. "We have not had to do any layoffs, and that's why we are taking every possible step we can." Postal Service officials say nothing is etched in stone. "Everything is preliminary now," Lucas said. In...

Most Republicans have just finished what might be called the spring of their discontent. Not much went right in the first half of the year; not much to cheer about. Let us count the ways that the world has conspired to help Mr. Romney. At a time when the Republican Party is straining to find new leaders, other prominent party members who aspire to that role -- Govs. Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Mark Sanford, and Sen. John Ensign -- have stumbled or, in the case of Gov. Sanford, flamed out in spectacular fashion. Mitt Romney now looks by comparison...

An earthquake rocked China tonight, causing at least 10,000 homes to collapse and injuring more than 300 people. The quake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, hit Yunnan province's Yao'an county in the south west of the country. It was was followed by eight aftershocks. So far there have been no reports of deaths. But Chinese official state media said that at least 336 people were injured, with 30 cases serious. More than 40,000 houses were damaged by the tremor – of which a quarter collapsed. State officials said they were sending 4,500 tents, 3,000 quilts and other relief materials...

First it was the Senate derailing Barack Obama’s big legislative priority, cap-and-trade, until after the summer recess. Later in the day, the House joined in what looks to be a mini-retreat from the President with the declining poll numbers. The Blue Dog Coalition has demanded a delay in producing a health-care reform bill, with a specific eye towards avoiding taxes and apparent opposition to the “public plan” Obama has demanded: The drive to remake the nation’s health care system suffered yet another setback in Congress on Thursday when a pivotal group of House Democrats rebelled against leadership-backed legislation taking shape...

t is none of my business if the president of the United States was giving his seal of approval to a nice example of the fairer sex. Frankly, while the photograph looks fairly self-explanatory, we don't even know if that's indeed what he was doing -- for all we know, the King of Saud could have been close by, but out of camera shot, and President Obama was just getting in a quick bow. Regardless of what the president's excuse may be, one thing is for certain: the First Lady is gonna kick his scrawny butt later. Actually, the only...

Minneapolis terrorism suspect Mohammed Abdullah Warsame was sentenced today to seven and a half years for conspiring to aid Al-Qaida, with credit for the years he has already spent in prison. In U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Judge John Tunheim gave Warsame credit for his five-and-a-half years behind bars and gave him additional credit for "good time," because he has been kept in solitary confinement. That means he will probably be released and deported in about 10 months. Warsame, 35, served one of the longest pretrial detentions for a terrorism-related case since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He pleaded...

Car Audio Thug -- You'll find this guy in the car audio department. He's got a big plug earring in each ear, some form of facial hair out of a late-90's R&B video and tattoos on his forearms. He tears into the parking lot every day, tires squealing, bass blasting, in a late-model Civic that he's dumped thousands of dollars into. You suspect that if he didn't have a job selling car stereos, he'd be stealing them. Marginally Cute Customer Service Girl -- This girl works at the customer service desk or as a cashier. She's maybe 17 years old...