2007 letter from Giffords found in Loughner’s safe

From NBC affiliate KPNX-12 in Arizona: Letter from Giffords found in safe of murder suspect A letter from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords found in the safe of the home of accused gunman Jared Loughner thanks him for attending a 2007 “Congress on your Corner” event. Handwriting on an envelope said, “I planned ahead” and “My assassination.” [...]

Sunday News

Good Day Conflucians!! Time for some late morning, early afternoon news. Obviously the big news story is still the tragedy in AZ. Here are a few links of interest. Here is a brief on the victims of the shooting from MSNBC. They mostly talk about the judge, but mention the others. And the authorities are [...]

Crazy don’t make sense

A few years back here in Merced this guy took off all his clothes and broke into the house of some people he didn’t know. Then he started stabbing the children that lived there with a pitchfork. He killed two children and injured a third before the cops showed up and shot him dead. We [...]

The NFL playoffs start today!

I know what some of you are thinking (Oh gawd, not football!) but some of us actually enjoy watching highly paid athletes sacrifice their bodies for our amusement. There are a total of 12 playoff teams, 4 division winners and 2 wild-card teams from each of 2 conferences. Of those 12 teams, 11 will lose [...]

Representative Gabrielle Giffords Shot

Update 4: Federal judge among victims in Arizona shooting A federal law enforcement official says that a federal judge was fatally shot in the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. UPDATE 3: CNN is showing a Hospital News Conference. Speaker says Congresswoman Giffords is out of surgery – in critical condition – and he [...]

Saturday: Chutzpah, pyramids and connections

I’m baaaaack!  It’s been a very busy week here in the surburban jungle of New Jersey as well as being snowy and gloomy and cold.  But next week, I’m in Sandy Eggo for a conference.  The extended forecast looks good.  Temps in the 60′s seem positively balmy.  I might even ditch my jacket. But first, [...]

What kind of jobs are we talking about, anyway?

So I see this headline at Memeorandum: Harvard Economist Estimates Health Repeal Would Destroy Up To 400,000 Jobs Per Year Over Decade Just as House Republicans gear up to repeal the “job killing” Affordable Care Act, the Department of Labor is reporting that the U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs last month, pushing the jobless rate [...]

Friday Hitzenmisses

It’s another one of those sloooow news days with no big stories but a few little ones. Here we go: He’s baa-ack! Rudy gearing up for DC run Confident that he’d have a chance to win, Rudy Giuliani is rounding up his top political advisers for a possible 2012 presidential run, sources tell Page Six. [...]

Freaky Friday News

Shitzen Giggles Department: Republican lawmakers miss oath, vote on floor anyway Two Republicans, including a member of the GOP leadership, voted on the House floor several times despite not having been sworn in, throwing the House into parliamentary turmoil Thursday — the same day the Constitution was read aloud on the floor. Rep. Pete Sessions [...]

Hmong leader Vang Pao dies

From the Merced Sun-Star: Gen. Vang Pao, an iconic figure in the Hmong community and a key U.S. ally during the Vietnam War, died today in Clovis. Vang, 81, was admitted to Clovis Community Medical Center on Dec. 26. Vang apparently was admitted shortly after making his annual appearance at the Hmong International New Year [...]