What Caught My Eye Today - 2012 In Review

Fred's Note:  My, my but it has been a busy year.  It's hard to believe we started off the year with more GOP presidential candidates than you could count on both hands and that "Gangnam Style" wasn't even a figment of someone's imagination yet. As we bring 2012 to a close, let's take a short trip down memory lane...


January - Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wins the New Hampshire primary and becomes the front runner for the GOP nomination for President of the United States. Romney's momentum is short-lived as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich crushes him by 12 points in the South Carolina primary. And so begins a ratings bonanza for late night comedians and a financial windfall for anyone owning a television or radio station in any one of many so-called battleground states. The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground near an island off the west coast of Italy and at least 30 passengers drown after a bungled rescue and evacuation of more than 4,200 passengers and crew. Modern technology aside, how hard is it to avoid a freaking island in broad daylight? It's not like these guys were in the middle of the ocean in the dead of night surrounded by hard to see icebergs (more on this in a couple of months).

February - I don't know about you, but for me the biggest headline of this month was that a certain blogger with a wicked smart sense of humor turned 40. Singer Whitney Houston, 48, drowns in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles after suffering a "cardiac event" caused by long cocaine abuse. No one ever -- or probably ever will -- sing the Star-Spangled Banner as well as she did at the Super Bowl after 9/11. A 17-year old black teenager, Trayvon Martin, is shot and killed in a gated community in Orlando, Florida by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator. Zimmerman alleged that he suspected the hoodie-wearing Martin of "being up to no good". The case sparked a national debate over racial profiling and hoodies. Yeah, hoodies are the problem here.

March - In Kandahar, Afghanistan, a U.S. soldier slips out of his base and, in a two-hour rampage, allegedly murders 16 Afghan civilians in their homes, setting fire to some of the bodies. And in that one moment, a  almost destroys the goodwill that the U.S. had been building with the Afghan people for the better part of a decade.  Mitt Romney continues to lead Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in the GOP primaries but fails to connect with more-conservative voters. Boyfriend is just getting warmed up. Failing to connect with a lot of people will become a pretty familiar theme for the Romney campaign.

April - Rick Santorum suspends his presidential campaign, having run out of money. Don't you just hate when that happens? George Zimmerman is charged with the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin. North Korea test-fires a long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but the missile disintegrates shortly after takeoff, dealing a blow to new leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to fill the platform shoes of his father, the late Kim Jong Il. You know what they say--if at first you don't succeed, collaborate with another pariah state (Iran) until you do. During the centenary commemoration of the sinking of the Titanic, young Twitter users express their shock that the film of the same name was based on a real event. You'd think by know, we'd all be used to fact that technology as contributed to the dumbing down of humanity in ways we never thought possible. Nope, not yet.

May - Newt Gingrich suspends his presidential campaign and Mitt Romney official clinches the GOP presidential nomination by winning the Texas primary. Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. president to state his support of same-sex marriage.  Lest you forgot, this announcement came shortly after Joe Biden became the first Vice President to publicly announce his support of same-sex marriage. I'm sure this is just another happy coincidence. In France, voters weary of unemployment and austerity measures brought on by the euro crisis, replace Nicolas Sarkozy with the Socialist Party's Francois Holland, who vows to raise France's top tax rate to 75%. By comparison, letting those tax cuts expire for the wealthiest folks in the United States, doesn't sound so bad, does it?

June - In Britain, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years on the throne. Atta girl, Lizzie. Three more years and you will be number one all time. In Egypt, Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood is elected president in the nation's first democratic elections since the fall of dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Yup, just as the CIA drew it up, I'm sure.  The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding votes ruling that the law's "individual mandate" is in effect a simple tax on the uninsured, and thus constitutional under Congress's broad taxing power.  Oh sure, hindsight makes this sound totally understandable, given Roberts desire to keep his legacy intact, but who had this guy casting the swing vote before the decision was released? Anyone?

July - The Summer Olympics are held in London. American swimmer, Michael Phelps wins his 19th career gold medal, becoming the most decorated Olympian in history. Show off. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland announce the discovery of a new sub-atomic particle that is consistent with the legendary Higgs boson that scientists have been trying to prove for more than 50 years. Okay, it exists. Now what? In Aurora, Colorado a loner with a history of psychiatric problems, goes on a shooting rampage in a movie theater killing 12 and wounding 58. Sadly, this becomes a recurring headline throughout the rest of the year. A South Korean rapper, Psy, releases a video of his latest single "Gangnam Style" highlighted by the artist performing a horse-riding dance at various locations around Seoul. When you take into consideration that the geniuses who didn't know Titanic was an actual ship that actual sank with actual people trapped inside are the same rocket scientists responsible for making this video a viral sensation, this doesn't seem that surprising. Tragic, definitely. Surprising, not so much.

August - In the giant scheme of things, August was sort of a slow news month. If it wasn't for an increasingly bloody civil war in the Middle East, a wicked fast sprinter from the Caribbean, and a guy who ran out of excuses in Texas, we wouldn't have much to talk about. In Syria, where a civil war has been raging all year between government forces and opponents of dictator Bashar al-Assad, the army massacres hundreds of civilians in the Damascus and Hama. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt wins his second consecutive gold medals in both the 100 and 200 meters at the Summer Olympics, an unprecedented feat in Olympic history. U.S. cyclist and 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announces he will not contest charges by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that he used banned substances throughout his career. Oh yeah. There is also that upcoming presidential election. Mitt Romney chooses Wisconsin Senator Paul Ryan to be his running mate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

September - Violent demonstrations are held throughout the Arab world protesting an anti-Islamic YouTube video posted by a Christian Egyptian immigrant in California. In Benghazi, Libya, a local terrorist group attacks the U.S. Consulate killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 others. We'll come to find out in the weeks and months ahead that these two events had nothing to do with the other. The Mitt Romney campaign suffers a setback with the release of a video secretly recorded at a fundraising dinner in which he tells donors no matter how hard he campaigns, "there are 47% of people who will vote for the President no matter what" because they rely on government handouts. Romney added, "My job is not to worry about those people." As it turns out there were 51% of people who ended up voted for the President, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

October - Entering the first presidential debate, Romney is in desperate need of a game changing performance and delivers one while Barack Obama gave what was widely considered one of the worst debate performances in presidential history. I still say that the television and cable networks paid Obama to tank this, so that they would have something to report on. Up to this point, this election was a snoozefest. A massive superstorm, Hurricane Sandy, makes a direct hit on the New York metropolitan area, killing 110 and devastating coastal areas of New York and New Jersey.

November - Americans re-elect Barack Obama to a second term. Obama won 332 electoral votes and 51% of the popular vote. You would have thought that political scandal would have taken a breather after the election, and you would have not been more wrong if you tried. CIA Director David Petraeus resigns after admitting to an extra-marital affair with his biographer. I'm thinking if the chief spook can't keep his private affairs private, maybe he shouldn't be running the U.S. spy agency. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, who is under consideration to replace Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State, comes under fire by Republicans for initially describing the Benghazi attack as a "spontaneous" response by extremists to an anti-Islam video. Not that it matters now, but why was the Ambassador to the United Nations giving embassy attack briefings (which were prepared by the CIA incidentally, but I guess they had their hands full with other stuff) Sunday news programs in the first place? You'd think someone at the State Department would have been point on something like this.

December - Prince William and Kate Middleton confirm they are expecting their first child. In Oregon, a 22-year old man charges into a shopping mall and opens fire on Christmas shoppers with an AR-15 assault rifle, killing two and gravely injuring another, before killing himself. It gets worse.  "Gangnam Style" hits one billion views. When you read something like this, it sort of makes you wonder if that end of the world thing might have some merit.  President Obama and House Republicans enter tense negotiations on a plan to avoid a series of tax hikes and spending cuts due to take affect on January 1. How fortunate for us lowly citizens that our elected representative have a proven track record of coming together to work for the collective good of the people that put them into office. In Newtown, Connecticut, a troubled loner uses his mother's semiautomatic assault rifle to massacre 20 elementary school students and 6 adults.

No offense, 2012, but here's hoping for a happier, healthier and more peaceful 2013. 

What Caught My Eye Today - Reflection, China, Cayman Islands, Debt, Bad Neighbors, Wine

Reflection - In addition to all the traditions and trappings of the holiday season, it seems to me the end of the year is as good a time as any to take a few moments to reflect on the year that was.  Truth be told, I think a bit of reflection on a daily basis wouldn't be such a bad idea, but we'll just roll with things as they are. There is much to be thankful for this year, not least of which is the fact that we still exist. Those Mayans so totally got that end of the world thing wrong. By now, hopefully most of us who use our brains as God intended, we get that the end of the Mayan calendar was not an indication that the world was ending, but just the end of a 2,760 years cycle and the start of another (so if you are bummed out that the world is still here, maybe you will have better luck on October 13, 4772). And let us not forget to pay homage to Korean pop sensation Psy for achieving 1 billion YouTube hits for his "Gangnam Style" video (sigh). Unfortunately, we live in a day and age, where doomsday event and "bad news" tend to dominate the headlines. It seems folks are far more interested in reading about how their financial well-being will be affected by a "fiscal cliff" (which incidentally is a "marketing term" made up by the Federal Reserve to highlight the importance of Congress enacting some meaningful legislation to avert potentially much more damaging austerity measures like some of our European friends are enduring) than about an act of kindness performed by one person on behalf of another.  We've all been touched in some way by the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut earlier this month. Maybe, just maybe, if we all try to focus on the good in people instead of dwelling upon the bad, we won't as many bad headlines in 2013 as we did in 2012.

Okay then. Let's put that soapbox back into storage, shall we?

China - China's wealth gap has widened so much that the country is now one of the most unequal outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Interesting. I didn't think there was any wealth in sub-Saharan Africa. China's Gini coefficient (click here), a number that represents income inequality, has sorted from 0.41 in 2002 to 0.61 today. Anything over 0.5 is considered to be destabilizing. Depending on how you apply the Gini coefficient, the United States measures somewhere between 0.36 and 0.46. Not surprisingly, those rat bastards in Scandinavia have the most stable coefficients coming in at between 0.24 and 0.27. Nearly half a billion Chinese live on $2 a day or less. Chinese economists are urging tax reform and increased spending on social services. Correct me if I'm mistaken but China is a communist regime. Isn't social spending supposed to be a cornerstone of communism?

Cayman Islands - You have to appreciate the irony of this next item. The leader of the Caribbean's biggest tax haven has been arrested on suspicion of corruption. The Prime Minister, who is also finance minister and the longest serving member of the legislature, is being investigated for alleged theft, abuse of office and conflict of interest involving import of explosives. I'm guessing the separation of powers is an unfamiliar concept in this neck of the woods. The Cayman Islands as $1.6 trillion  in officially booked international assets. Numerous private equity and hedge funds have their nominal headquarters there in order to avoid U.S. taxes and financial disclosure regulations. You can't really begrudge the guy from trying. Sure he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but them be some pretty nice cookies.

Debt - As is the case with most issues involving government, it item is so crazy it must be true (and sadly...is). Soon after the new year begins, the U.S. Treasury Department will hit its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit, and unless Congress raises the ceiling, the government will default on its debts. It's like giving more drugs to a drug addict to avoid having to go through withdrawal. Enter the "platinum coin option." Current federal laws authorizes the Treasury Department to mint platinum coins and assign then any value it wants. Well that's convenient. Legally, the President could direct The U.S. Mint to product two shiny coins worth $1 trillion each and deposit them in the Treasury, giving the government about two years' worth of reserve capital. There's a funny money joke in there someplace, but I'm going to just shake my head in disgust and move on.


Bad Neighbors - In Amsterdam, Netherlands families that persistently behave badly and harass their neighbors are to be evicted from city-run housing projects and moved into trailer parks that have minimal services are are under constant police supervision. Before you poo-poo this story, be honest with yourselves. We all have a neighbor (perhaps several) that we would like nothing more than to ship off to destinations unknown. The new housing camps have been dubbed "scum villages" by Dutch media. Yeah, the marketing guys might need to work on a slightly more appealing moniker. City officials deny that the plan will create ghettos of uncontrollable troublemakers on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Of course they do. Besides, what could possibly go wrong by gathering up a bunch of malcontents and having them all live together? You know where they can talk and bond and plan... 


Wine - Consumption of wine in France has slumped to a record low, with the average French adult now consuming barely one glass a day. I believe the phase you are looking for is dire que ce n'est pas si (say it isn't so) or perhaps l'enfer que vous dites (the hell you say). Thirty-eight percent of people in France now abstain from drinking altogether, while just 17% drink wine on a daily basis. It has been suggested that the decline in wine drinking is the result of the sluggish economy and public awareness campaigns over the dangers of "le binge drinking". I just don't get French people at all. Speaking strictly for myself, whenever I read about the economy, drinking is one of the few things that makes me feel better (or numb).

And on that "sobering note," Happy Holidays, one and all!

Did You Know? #15

What nation does the United States import the most oil from?

The United State import almost 2.8 million barrels of oil from Canada per day. Next is Mexico (1.206 million), followed by Saudi Arabia (1.195 million), Venezuela (951,000), Nigeria (818,000), Russia (624,000), Colombia (433,000), Algeria (358,000) and Angola (346,000). Oil makes up 23% of the United States energy diet, followed closely by natural gas (22%) and coal (21%).  The U.S. get 8% of its energy from nuclear power and 9% from renewable energy sources.

What Caught My Eye Today - Health, Education, Coffee

Health - America’s Health Rankings 2012 Edition shows Vermont at the top of the list of healthiest states  for the fourth consecutive year. Interesting. I would have bet on Colorado myself, which as it turns out was ranked 11th. Vermont’s strengths a high rate of high school graduation, a low violent crime rate, a low incidence of infectious disease, a low prevalence of low birth weight infants, high per capita public health funding, a low rate of uninsured population, and ready availability of primary care physicians. Vermont’s challenges are a high prevalence of binge drinking of the adult population, a moderate occupational fatalities rate, and a moderately high cancer death rate. Not to be a kill joy or anything, but this suggests to me that the general population is probably more affluent than average and therefore able to afford better health care. That and they have some pretty good hootch. Hawaii is ranked second and has ranked in the top 6 states every year of the index. This on the other hand is no surprise. I did some checking and it turns out mai tais are very low in fat and have only 77 calories per fluid ounce. New Hampshire is third, followed by Massachusetts and Minnesota. Who would have though that New England would have been a bastion of healthy living? Mississippi and Louisiana tie for 49th as the least healthy states. I'm stunned. Arkansas, West Virginia, and South Carolina complete the bottom 5 states.  Mississippi ranks in the bottom 5 states on 12 of the 24 measures including a high prevalence of obesity, a high prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle, a low high school graduation rate, limited availability of primary care physicians, a high prevalence of low birth weight infants, and a high prevalence of diabetes. Again, I think wealth plays a factor here.  If  you don't have enough of it, you tend to focus more on how you are going to get your next meal, rather than how nutritious that meal might be. My home state of California ranks 22nd.

Education - Just so you know, I have nothing against the South. The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate what it calls "unlawful" single-sex education programs in a Birmingham, Alabama middle school. Single-sex education programs? This should be good. The ACLU filed complaints with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, saying the programs appear to violate federal law by forcing students into a single-sex environment with little or no alternative options, rely on harmful gender stereotypes and deprive students of equal educational opportunities merely because of their sex. Remind me again what year this is? The single-sex program at the middle school has been in place since 2010 and students who wish to be in coeducational classes must transfer to another school. Students are separated by sex for all classes, even during lunch. This wasn't really an issue for me, not a lunch anyway.  I couldn't get a girl to sit next to me in the cafeteria if my life depended on it. According to the complaint, instructions for teaching boys call for stressing heroic behavior that shows what it means to "be a man." In addition, the ACLU claims that the school relied on a book that teaches that boys are better than girls in math because their bodies receive daily surges of testosterone, while girls have similar skills only a few days per month when they experience increased estrogen during the menstrual cycle. There are some many things wrong with this, I don't know where to begin, so I'll just go with the first thing that came to mind. In an area of the nation where same-sex relationships are frowned upon (I'm sugar-coating it a bit here), it seems a bit ironic that a school finds it to be a good idea to not only segregate the sexes, but strongly suggests that males are superior to females. If I'm a lad in my formative years, I might be thinking to myself, why was time pining after Cindy Lou when Bobby Joe is sitting right next to me.

Coffee (Part I) - When a 22-year-old tech entrepreneur and student landed a coupon for a free drink at Starbucks, of any size with any additional add-ons, for his birthday, he took it as a personal challenge. Of course he did. That's what entrepreneurial types do. What's the biggest, priciest Starbucks drink money can buy? It all starts with a Trenta, the 31 ounce super-sized coffee cup introduced by the company last May. I hear the folks at Starbucks tried to get Big Gulp, but it was already taken and Big Ass Cup 'o Joe lacked a certain panache. Then came the add-ons: 1 Java Chip Frappucino ($4.75), 16 shots of espresso ($12.00), a shot of soy milk ($.60), a drop of caramel flavoring ($.50), a scoop of banana puree ($1.00), a scoop of strawberry puree (.60), a few vanilla beans ($.50), a dash of Matcha powder ($.75), some protein powder ($.50) and a caramel and mocha drizzle to cap it off ($.60). Total cost: $23.60. What, only 16 shots of espresso? What a wimp! The student claimed the taste was tolerable, but not good, and he definitely did not drink the whole thing. With 1,400 mg of caffeine and a seemingly incalculable amount of sugar, it's literally a recipe for disaster. Yeah those diabetic comas can be real downers.

Coffee (Part II) - Starbucks has a secret menu. Here are some of the offerings:

• Samoa Frappuccino: Mocha Coconut Frappuccino with caramel drizzle. It's a dead ringer for the Girl Scout Cookie. Wouldn't it be easier just to eat the cookie?
• Thin Mint Frappuccino: Tazo Green Tea Crème Frappuccino with chocolate syrup and java chips. Another drink that borrows its name and flavor from the Girl Scout Cookie repertoire. Seriously, you can buy a whole box for $5 and support a good cause at the same time.
• Snickers Frappuccino: Java Chip Frappuccino with two pumps of toffee nut and a caramel drizzle on top. I'm sensing a trend here. Take your favorite sweet snack, add some coffee, toss it in a blender, then enjoy.
• Banana Cream Pie Frappuccino: Vanilla Bean [Creme Frappuccino] with vanilla [and] hazelnut [syrups], whipped cream, and a whole banana. Pureed pie. Yummy.
• Apple Juice Orange Blossom: Tazo Orange Blossom Tea steeped in steamed apple juice (with no water). Finally, something that I might order.
• Grasshopper Frappuccino: Mocha Frappuccino blended with java chips and peppermint syrup. I'm more of a Shamrock shake (McDonald's) guy myself.
• Dirty Hippy: Dirty Chai Tea Latte with soy milk instead of regular milk. With a name like that, you'd think there would be some booze it this rather than plain old soy milk.
• Marble Mocha Macchiato: A twist on the signature Caramel Macchiato. White mocha on the bottom with no whip, shot on the top and mocha drizzle. Just in case you were worried that you weren't getting enough sugar in the regular version of the Caramel Macchiato.
• Cookies & Cream Frappuccino: White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino blended with java chips and a dash of peppermint syrup. Or, you could just have yourself a piece of peppermint bark.
• Cinnamon Roll Frappuccino: Combination of Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino and cinnamon dolce syrup. I think I got a cavity just reading this description.
• Bootleg Brulée: Add two shots to a white mocha, then add toffee nut [syrup] and caramel drizzle. Okay, this should definitely be something that you get at a bar.

What Caught My Eye Today - Space, Petitions

Space - Not much commentary on this one. I just think it's really cool that something man-made has managed to get to the far reaches of the solar system. NASA's long-lived Voyager 1 spacecraft, which is heading out of the solar system, has reached a "magnetic highway" leading to interstellar space. Scientists believe Voyager 1 is in an area where the magnetic field lines from the sun are connecting with magnetic field lines from interstellar space. Voyager 1 hit the outer sphere of the solar system, a region called the heliosphere, in 2004. That phase of the journey lasted for 5.5 years. Then the solar wind stopped moving and the magnetic field strengthened. Voyager 1 and a sister spacecraft, Voyager 2, were launched in 1977 for the first flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 is now about 11 billion miles  from Earth and will be the first man-made object to leave the solar system. Voyager 2, traveling on a different path out of the solar system, is about 9 billion miles from Earth and thought to not yet have reached the magnetic highway. Seriously folks, we're talking 1970s technology here. 11 billion miles and counting, and we are still getting data from a thing that has a fraction of the computing power of an iPhone. You cannot help but be impressed by this.

Petitions - One final mention of an item I covered in my Nov 13 and Nov 16 postings on state petitions to secede from the United States after President Barack Obama won re-election. Turns out these petitions are just the tip of the iceberg. The White House's "We the People..." website (click here) allows Americans to petition the Obama administration on a variety of issues citizens believe need addressing. Requests range from serious to self-interested to completely absurd. Most are angry with the administration, with roughly 70% of current petitions asking that individual states — like Texas — be allowed to peacefully secede. What's more: Anyone can create a petition, with the caveat that each request must garner 25,000 signatures in order to be considered for an official White House response. Here are some of the most ridiculous White House petitions awaiting signatures. As is often the case with such content, I wish I could claim creative credit for these, but alas, they are all legitimate. Kind of makes you wonder what sort of person has enough time in their day to go through the effort to 1) create one of these petitions, and more disturbingly, 2) who takes the time to read through these petitions and add their signatures to them.

• Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016
  By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.
  Total signatures: 1,428
  As absurd as this sounds, the Pentagon already has a program that covers this. You may recognize the Strategic Defense Initiative by its more popular nickname--"Star Wars". SDI was created by the Reagan administration in 1983 and is still going strong.
• Allow United States military service members to place their hands in their pockets
  The service members of the United States military respectfully request the President of the United States to restore our sacred right to place our hands in our pockets — on or off duty.
  Total signatures: 3,730
  How about a petition to provide something a little bit more useful to service members? Maybe something along the lines of functional body armor.
• Deport everyone that signed a petition to withdraw their state from the USA
  Deport Everyone That Signed A Petition To Withdraw Their State From The United States Of America.
  Total signatures: 25,879
  You might laugh, but the White House will have to respond to this at some point, what with the minimum threshold of signatures having been met. I can't wait to see that press release.
• Nationalize the Twinkie industry
  We the undersigned, hereby request Barack Obama to immediately Nationalize the Twinkie industry and prevent our nation from losing her sweet creamy center.
  Total signatures: 3,998
  Is it just me, or does the description of this particular petition conjure up some rather disturbing mental images?  I don't know about you, but I'm completely cool with our nation keeping her sweet creamy center to herself.
• Establish new legal system of motorcycle riding "judges" who serve as police, judge, jury, and executioner all in one.
  This is a petition to dissolve the current legal system and replace it with a single Hall of Justice, run by Judges; motorcycle-riding law officers who act as police, judge, jury, and executioner.
  Total signatures: 2,972
  It just so happens that 2,972 is the same number of people who admit to have seeing both Judge Dredd movies (yup, some idiot thought it was a good idea to make a sequel to the original bomb). Coincidence?
• Give us back our incandescent light bulbs!
  The federal government is phasing out incandescent light bulbs by law and the last incandescent light bulb factory in America has closed. The free market should decide which light bulbs succeed, not the government. Total signatures: 1,358
  To be honest, I would have thought this would have garnered way more signatures. Petty? Of course. But compared to the other items on this list, this one almost seems rational.
• Provide university graduates ability to trade their diplomas back for 100% tuition refunds
  College graduates should have the ability to return the diploma and not make any reference to receiving education from the college in exchange for a 100% refund of college tuition.
  Total signatures: 1,193
  I'm pretty sure this is related to the difficult job market that college graduates have confronted in recent years. But here's the thing. Do you really think the job market for individuals with no college education is any better?  Sure, you'll have your tuition money back, but how long do you think that will last?
• Shut down White House petitions, since they never get a sincere response, few read them and they are ultimately worthless.
  Since the White House never actually responds to any petitions in sincerity we should immediately de-fund and dismantle the White House petition website. In recent days it has become a mockery with petitions for secession from almost every state, and cities wishing to de-secede in such events. We ask Barack Obama to admit that this is a mockery of democratic process and immediately dissolve this joke of a website.
  Total signatures: 852
  The First Amendment might make this particular petition a bit difficult to act upon.  Freedom of speech is a bitch, ain't it? 

Did You Know? #14

What is the top selling car in the United States?

From 2002 up to and including 2012, the Toyota Camry has been America's top selling car.  In 2001, the top seller was the Honda Accord.  The Toyota Camry took top honors again from 1997 through 2000. The Ford Taurus led sales from 1992 to 1996. The Honda Accord topped the list in 1991, and the Ford Taurus from 1989 to 1990.

What Caught My Eye Today - End of Days, Fiscal Cliff, Potpourri

End of Days - The U.S. government wrote a helpful blog post titled, "Scary Rumors About the World Ending in 2012 Are Just Rumors" (click here). Revelation #1: The US has a blog? Revelation #2: Seriously, is this the best we can do for blog post? The post on USA.gov says NASA scientists have received thousands of letters from people convinced that the world will end on December 21, based on a misunderstanding of the ancient Mayan calendar that's been promulgated in doomsday message boards online. "Misunderstanding"? That's exactly what you would expect from a non-believer. The end is coming! The end is coming! Run for your lives! If the the weak and infirm cannot keep up, leave them behind! Some people think a giant comet will strike Earth that day, others that we are about to collide with another planet. A NASA scientist said he's received several letters from young people contemplating suicide because they believe the apocalypse is coming. "The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012," the post says. Well now. If the government says the world is not going to end in 2012, that's good enough for me. I'm glad I didn't overreact or do anything rash. America is not alone in trying to placate nervous doomsayers. The Russian government has made similar assurances to its people that the end of the world is not nigh, and authorities in France are planning to block access to a southern mountain which believers think could serve as a mystical place of refuge on December 21. Did you notice how the U.S. government specifically limited its guarantee that the world won't end in 2012, but says nothing about 2013? It's like they know we at the edge of the precipice but won't say anything. I wonder what that might be. Perhaps this next item?

Fiscal Cliff - South Carolina Republican Senator. Jim DeMint slammed House Republican leaders for the fiscal cliff proposal they offered earlier this week. You've come to expect vehement disagreement across party lines, but rumblings of dissension within the ranks, especially a close-knit family such as the GOP--well, this is new.  "Speaker [John] Boehner's $800 billion tax hike will destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more, while not reducing our $16 trillion debt by a single penny.... Everyone knows that when you take money out of the economy, it destroys jobs, and everyone knows that when you give politicians more money, they spend it. This is why Republicans must oppose tax increases and insist on real spending reductions that shrink the size of government and allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money." I don't disagree that we shouldn't be spending money we don't have, but here's the thing, Senator. That money you claim politicians will spend with abandon, is mostly entitlements, that citizens have contributed to their whole lives and the right to expect to collect on, when the time comes. With a 10-year price tag of about $2.2 trillion, the Republican proposal would raise federal revenue by closing loopholes and capping deductions within the tax code and making changes to entitlement programs. Of course, the proposal doesn't specific which loopholes will close, but rather leaves that enviable task for Congress to figure out. Seems like we've been down that road once or twice before, and is why we find ourselves facing this fiscal cliff in the first place. The letter was signed by seven House leaders, including Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan. Democrats dismissed it quickly, calling for a bill that would increase taxes on households earning more than $250,000 per year and more federal spending on infrastructure, which were not included in the Republican plan. So there you have it. Don't sweat  the end of the world rumors surrounding December 21.  Pure poppy-gook. If you really want to lose some sleep, focus on January 1, 2013.

Potpourri

• Weight - American men are weighing in at an average of 196 pounds, 16 pounds heavier than in 1990. The average weight for women has increased by 14 pounds to 156 pounds over the same time span.   62% of Americans are estimated to be either overweight or obese. As a matter of curiosity, I checked out some online weight calculators to see how I stack up. I'm a 40 year old, 73 inch tall male of medium build which means my ideal weight is somewhere between 165 and 180 pounds. For once, being in the minority appears to be a good thing.
• Old Age - The four members of the Rolling Stones, who are recently launched their 50th anniversary concert tour, are now older on average than the nine members of the Supreme Court. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood have an average age of almost 69 years, while the Supreme Court justices' average age is 67 years. I imagine tour organizers have had to make some accommodations: Earlier start times (you don't want folks dozing off or missing the early bird special at Denny's), frequent intermissions (those bladders don't have the capacity that they used to), more portable defibrillators (no explanation needed). And that's just for the band. 
• State Governments - One political party now controls the state legislature of 47 states. Half of these legislatures have veto-proof super majorities, meaning that either Republicans or Democrats can pass legislation without any compromise. I'm of two minds on this one. On one hand, one might view this as  a desire by the electorate to eliminate gridlock in the state houses by entrusting the reigns of power to one party or the other in hopes that the party will do something positive. On the other hand, and on a slightly more pessimistic note, this could be indicative of the deepening political divisions across the country and reflective of how demographics are shifting to reflect how liberals and conservatives are starting to congregate in larger numbers.  Seeing as the end of the world may or may not be upon us, I'm going to go with the glass half full option.