My age doesn't really bother me, but when I turned 50, I jokingly said I was celebrating the 20th anniversary of my 30th birthday, and that method has kind of stuck - although at some point, I may have to rethink that, since even the "anniversaries" are adding up, lol.  This year, it's the 28th anniversary of birthday no. 30.

I'll know the whole age thing is getting to me if I have to start lying about how old my kids are - 28 and almost-25.

In Schneiderman we have at least one honest investigator who doesn't agree, which is to his great credit. But everyone else is on Wylde's side now. The Times story claims that HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and various Justice Department officials have been leaning on the New York AG to cave, which tells you that reining in this last rogue cop is now an urgent priority for Barack Obama.

Why? My theory is that the Obama administration is trying to secure its 2012 campaign war chest with this settlement deal. If Barry can make this foreclosure thing go away for the banks, you can bet he'll win the contributions battle against the Republicans next summer.

Which is good for him, I guess. But it seems to me that it might be time to wonder if is this the most disappointing president we've ever had.

Some of thier complaints with the Johson administration:

This Administration has adopted the policies of news management and unjustifiable secrecy, in the guise of guarding the nation's security; it has shown a contempt of the right of the people to know the truth.

This Administration, while claiming major defense savings, has in fact raised defense spending by billions of dollars a year, and yet has short-changed critical areas.

SNIP

This Administration has failed to honor its pledges to assure good jobs, full prosperity and a rapidly growing economy for all the American people:

--failing to reduce unemployment to four percent, falling far short of its announced goal every single month of its tenure in office; and

--despite glowing promises, allowing a disheartening increase in long-term and youth unemployment.

SNIP

This Administration has impeded investigations of suspected wrongdoing which might implicate public officials in the highest offices in the land. It has thus aroused justifiable resentment against those who use the high road of public service as the low road to illicitly acquired wealth.

And then - some of the things they pledged to do:

--tax credits and other methods of assistance to help needy senior citizens meet the costs of medical and hospital insurance;

--a strong, sound system of Social Security, with improved benefits to our people;

--continued Federal support for a sound research program aimed at both the prevention and cure of diseases, and intensified efforts to secure prompt and effective application of the results of research. This will include emphasis on mental illness, drug addiction, alcoholism, cancer, heart disease and other diseases of increasing incidence;

--revision of the Social Security laws to allow higher earnings, without loss of benefits, by our elderly people;

--full coverage of all medical and hospital costs for the needy elderly people, financed by general revenues through broader implementation of Federal-State plans, rather than the compulsory Democratic scheme covering only a small percentage of such costs, for everyone regardless of need;

--tax credits for those burdened by the expenses of college education;

--vocational rehabilitation, through cooperation between government--Federal and State--and industry, for the mentally and physically handicapped, the chronically unemployed and the poverty-stricken;

--incentives for employers to hire teenagers, including broadening of temporary exemptions under the minimum wage law.

http://susiemadrak.com/

Suicide is a desperate act, committed by desperate people who have come to the conclusion that they have no other viable options. That is the tragedy, that people come to a point where suicide is, in their mind,  the reasonable action.

People in the Baltimore area, the people who knew him, worked with him, played with him, are, as you might expect, having a really hard time with this.  He always had time for the fans, never acted irritated when people would come up to talk to him.  This speaks to what kind of person he was, and that he took his own life doesn't change that.

I don't think it's up to us to judge what he did or why he did it; for one thing, we're coming from - at least I hope we are - a place of functional, rational thought, and those who choose to end their lives are not.

I, too, feel terrible for his wife and children, who will be wracked with guilt for years to come.  Everyone who called him their friend will be doing the same thing.

Selfish?  I guess he didn't think so, but then, I'm pretty sure he wasn't thinking rationally.

1. Arthur is smart
   
2. Arthur is a good writer
   
3. Arthur is uncompromisingly, incisively, cogently leftist
   
4. Arthur doesn't allow comments

http://www.projo.com/news/content/Google_Settlement_08-25-11_J8PUALL_v88.4a86a.html

Makes me wonder how many of the "dangerous" foreign Rx drug suppliers we were being warned about several years ago when folks were travleing to Canada for Rx drugs were in fact fronts, "phony drug selling websites" of the sort created in this sting operations. Got to alos love the use by the Feds of a guy who had been involved "in an unrelated multimillion-dollar Internet fraud."

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/25/rick-perry-texas-life-insurance-scheme_n_935666.html?page=2