Category: In the News

Burris is adamant about being transparent

I was watching the news on TV for a few minutes yesterday, and I saw part of a press conference with Senator Roland Burris of Illinois (D), where he was answering questions about his controversial appointment to fill Obama’s vacant Senate seat.  He was appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is in some deep trouble right now.  Burris has repeatedly said he’s innocent and he’s been transparent, but it’s not looking too good for him, either.   We’ll find out when the taped phone calls are released.

Anyway, I found this video online so you can laugh at it, too.  I wouldn’t ask you to watch it all, so here’s what to skip forward to.  At certain times, Burris has a friend / lawyer / bodyguard / somebody answering questions for him.  Around 10:42 in the video, his friend is explaining how they’ve been “transparent”, and Burris keeps repeating that word after him.  To me, it was funny, because it looks like he’s trying way too hard.   Reminds me of a Shakespeare line, “Me thinkest thou protests too much.”

Also in the video, at around 11:20, his friend says, “We cannot speak to that.”  A reporter asks, “Why not?”  And the guy responds with, “Because I said we can’t!”  I was surprised by that.   When you’re a parent telling your children what they can’t do, you might be able to get away with that line.  But facing a group of professional reporters, that line just doesn’t work the same way.

Here’s the link to the video: Burris defends remarks to committee.

While searching for this, I also found when Roland Burris had said this a while back: “We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained.”  Someone should tell him if the Lord ordains something to happen, it will happen.  But he should be careful that he’s not just saying that.  God doesn’t like it when folks falsely speak on His behalf…

woman has failed the driving test 771 times

Today I heard about a South Korean woman who has failed the written exam of the driving test 771 times.  She’s 68 years old, and she’s been taking the test almost every day since April 2005.  The minimum passing score is a 60, and she’s gotten as high as 50.  There is a cost for each test, and she has spent over $3,000 so far on fees.   She’s hoping that attempt number 772 will be it.

I will say this — she’s determined!  But perhaps she should study some before taking it again.  You figure she would’ve gotten that message by now.   I have to wonder, though — does she speak the proper language?  Or can she read and write?  It seems like just marking random answers would eventually score high enough in 771 tries.

But through all this failure, she now has fame.  She has set the world record for number of times to fail the driving test.  And now she’s being talked about in the news all around the world.  She has received her 15 minutes of fame, and she now holds a world record.

Groundhog Day turns violent, meaning uncertain

Well, we just had Groundhog Day.  It’s too bad the holiday isn’t anything like the movie.  That would be great if we got to live the same day in a row a few times.  🙂  Anyway, supposedly the groundhog saw his shadow, so we have more winter.  Whatever…

The news on this day should be what it means that a groundhog bit New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during their ceremony.  Yes, their little festival had violence.  I’ve wondered why groundhogs participate in this stupid tradition, when they should be hibernating.  Well, “Staten Island Chuck” decided to take matters into his own hand… er, mouth.

But now the bigger question remains unanswered — what does this physical violence mean for the rest of the winter?  Does it signal the worst winter ever?  Does it foreshadow our ultimate doom?  What exactly is going to happen now?  I guess time will tell (unless there happens to be a groundhog prediction expert in the crowd)…

farting lowers your blood pressure

There’s a new article in science research that you won’t believe.  According to LiveScience, the stink in farts helps control blood pressure.  I know, you think I’m making this up, that it’s some crazy hypothesis that I pulled out of my butt.  But this is actual science.  Here’s the link, so you can verify for yourself: The Stink in Farts Controls Blood Pressure.

The stink they’re referring to is the “smelly rotten-egg” smell, which is hydrogen sulfide (H2S).  They’ve found that cells lining mice’s blood vessels make the gas and the purpose is to keep their blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure).  Then the researchers said the gas is “no doubt” in human blood vessels, too.

So the conclusion here is obvious — passing gas lowers your blood pressure.  It also seems obvious that the inverse would be true — refraining from farting could increase your blood pressure.  So you could say farting is good for you.

On a side note, I found this link on the K-Love website, and it said “Warning: Mature Content”.  That’s not true at all!  There’s nothing vulgar or obscene in that news article, and it didn’t even make any crude jokes involving potty humor.  Why is this “mature content”?  Is farting vulgar?  I’ll answer that for you: NO!   Let me make something clear: EVERYONE PASSES GAS!  It shouldn’t be a societal taboo.  Why do some people think it’s rude?   Of course, there are some situations where you should temporarily hold it or go outside, but most of the time those exceptions don’t apply.

So my conclusion from all this is that you should let ‘er rip, because it’s good for your health.  If people get all discombobulated about it, explain that it lowers your blood pressure, and if they don’t believe you (which is likely), refer them to this article so they may be enlightened.