Tea Party classic

“You” is looking good! (Mark Wilson - GETTY IMAGES)

When I heard that Christine “Not a Witch” O’Donnell had walked off Piers “Not Larry King” Morgan’s interview show, I wasn’t at all surprised.
Most of Christine O’Donnell’s life in the public eye can be best summarized by the phrase, “Christine O’Donnell does something that causes people to Google Christine O’Donnell.” She’s always been the extreme case (right after Abercrombie and Fitch and the Situation) that people cite after someone says “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
“But what if the only publicity you are getting for your Senate campaign is because they found video of you saying you once dabbled in witchcraft?” people ask.
“Nope, still better than nothing,” they say. “Maybe make an ad about it.”
Christine O’Donnell has had the opposite of most people’s life goals — to go from being a Fun Person saying Kooky Things on Bill Maher to a Real Person with Game-Changing Ideas. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be taken seriously!” she insists. This is the opposite of what has happened.
It’s almost as though someone placed a curse on her: all the attention you could ever hope to have but none of the respect. Most people just have awkward phases in high school that they find difficult to live down. She has an entire career commenting on Bill Maher. No matter where she goes and what she does, or how many books she writes, she will always be that lady who Isn’t A Witch. The book she wrote is called “Troublemaker.” If it were called, “Still Not A Witch,” I’m afraid it would sell twice as many copies.
I have to say, I’ve missed having Christine O’Donnell in the public eye. Even a shoddy interview with Piers Morgan in which he seemed to think that she was Michele Bachmann (which makes me worry that all conservative women look identical to him, something that must be awkward at parties when he asks Sarah Palin if she’s “still in touch with all 23 of those kids”) is better than nothing.
Ostensibly, she was promoting her book. It contains a lot of ideas for the Tea Party classic movement, she told Morgan. Admittedly, the only idea that has made its way into the public eye is the idea that “if you want people to listen to you, don’t make an ad in which you specifically state that you are not a witch.” But I’m sure there are other, better ideas in there too! And she was going to tell us all about them if Piers Morgan hadn’t kept asking her questions about Topical Social Issues in the hope that some controversy might emerge.
People are down on Morgan as well, what with all the phone-hacking swarming about in his native land (O’Donnell jocularly tweeted about it afterward), and it’s probably accurate to say that the only way to get publicity from being interviewed on his show is to walk off halfway through. No wonder he was asking all those questions. “Say something!" he seemed to be begging. “Say something controversial that people will Google later! Hex me!”
O’Donnell did even better than that. She invoked the law of Vastly Disproportionate Responses and hit the road. Free publicity for all involved! Now we can spend the next day trying to decide whether he crossed some invisible line or not, and whether the walkout was silly. Good idea? Bad idea?

Pet stores banned

Orange County mega-developer the Irvine Co. has decided to stop renting space to all pet stores that sell cats and dogs. Other animals, such as birds, fish and reptiles, weren't included in the decision.
"Effective immediately, the Irvine Co. will not lease space in any of its centers to tenants that intend to sell dogs or cats," spokeswoman Erin Freeman said in an email. "The Irvine Co. will honor its existing contractual commitments with Russo's until the expiration of current lease terms."
The new policy means Russo's Pet stores banned Experience, which has sold purebred puppies and fancy cats for more than three decades at Fashion Island, is likely to close.
The Irvine Co. does not plan to renew Russo's leases at Fashion Island or at the Irvine Spectrum, a company spokeswoman told the Daily Pilot.

Election 2012 Super PAC

The treasurer of Stephen Colbert's Super PAC has quit to work for Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign, drawing attention to these organizations that raise unlimited amounts of money from unions and corporations.
Colbert's Super PAC had been using real money as part of a joke, encouraging people to support fictitious candidate "Rick Parry" at the Iowa Straw Poll, even as Gov. Perry was flirting with a run for the presidency.
Salvatore Pupura was treasurer of the Colbert Super PAC but will now work for the real-life Perry campaign.
Colbert's high-concept mockery of the political process might qualify as a joke for the comedian's TV audience but the rise of Super PACs is not. They are raising real money and are likely to affect the 2012 election 2012, experts say.
There is a Super PAC (political action committee), for instance, that really does back the interests of Gov. Perry, but is not affiliated with his campaign. It is called "Make Us Great Again." A similar Super PAC, "Restore Our Future," is expected to back former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A former consultant for Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who is also running for president, has broken off to form a Super PAC, Citizens for a Working America.

 

Similarly, Super PACs are springing up to promote liberal interests, too. The AFL-CIO, for instance, plans to launch its own Super PAC.
Disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election 2012 Commission in August show an early buildup of money collected by newly formed political groups, also known as Super PACs, that can accept unlimited contributions from corporations, unions and other groups.
Both liberal and conservative groups raked in millions of dollars, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Democrats are playing catch-up after Republican Super PACs swooped into key House races in the final days of the 2010 midterm election 2012 and, with organizing and advertising, helped Republicans take control of the House of Representatives.
The top three liberal-oriented Super PACs, all of which were formed after that 2010 shellacking, are House Majority PAC, Priorities USA Action, a group started by two former Obama White House staffers, and Majority PAC. They raised a total of $5.2 million for 2012.
The largest conservative Super PACs -- American Crossroads, started by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove and played a pivotal role in the 2010 midterms, and Club for Growth Action, associated with the anti-tax Club for Growth -- raised a total of $4.3 million this fundraising cycle.
The influx of limitless money is possible thanks in part to a ruling in 2010 that struck down major portions of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court overturned provisions that prevented corporations and unions from contributing without limit to political campaigns.
Eight of the nine justices voted to uphold the disclosure provisions in the 2002 law but political groups have so far avoided compliance by funnelling anonymous money through nonprofit organizations that are recorded on the Super PACs' disclosure forms.
"On the one hand, the justices were affirming the value of disclosure but they were also giving a free pass to nonprofit groups to take unlimited amounts of money," said Michael Beckel, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics.
PAC donations were limited before the court ruling last year.

The Daily Show

(Image via Comedy Central) After Texas Gov. Rick Perry spoke earlier this week of a “big black cloud that hangs over America,” referring to the nation's enormous debt, MSNBC host Ed Schultz called racism. Schultz was sure the big black cloud Perry spoke of was none other than President Obama.
Wait, rewind.
Schultz later apologized for his interpretation, but “The Daily Show” couldn’t resist pointing out how ludicrous it was. Jon Stewart started out the ribbing with a montage of clearly innocuous statements featuring names of colors before declaring: “The real bigot here is Ed Schultz.”
Stewart also noted that, to be fair, “debt” was only two words after “cloud” in Perry’s comments.
“That’s the thing about clouds,” Stewart joked, “some people see a racist dog whistle, while some people see George Washington wrestling a leprechaun.”
Earlier this week, Stewart stuck up for Rep. Ron Paul, spurring Mediate to write, “Stewart seems to be making a lot more friends in the Republican Party that he has for himself in a while.”
Watch the clip below:

World War Z

Fans of the post-apocalyptic zombie book World War Z are already calling the movie a failure. The novel was released by Mac Brooks in 2006 with the subtitle of “An Oral History of the Zombie War.” It takes place after a war that wiped out most of the world’s population and recounts characters’ opinions and stories from the war with the notion that they have seen how it all unfolds and what comes after it.
When the film was announced to be produced by Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, casual fans of the book and of the actor were enthused, but fanboys seemed skeptical. Once photos of the Marc Forster-directed adaptation surfaced, worries began to ease. The rest did not last long, however, because as plot details of the movie became known, it was clear that this was a very loose adaptation.
The official synopsis reads:

The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karen Lane; Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.

Because the story has been adapted to take place during the war, message boards have lit up with complaints that the film will take the most intriguing part of the story away. Gone is the characters angst and sense of survivalist living. Instead it has been replaced with what many fans are calling just another zombie movie.
The film will be released on Dec. 21, 2012 by Meteor Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

Madonna BirthDay

If you don’t have at least a few Madonna tracks on your iPod, you must have something against good music. Believe it or not, her first release was “Everybody” in October 1982. After nearly 30 years on the charts, she’s rumored to be working on a brand-new album of material, with a new single expected at the beginning of next year.
At 53 today (August 16), she’s one of the most prolific women in music with an influence on the industry like no other. Even Glee noted her impact with a special tribute episode dedicated to the “Material Girl” called The Power of Madonna.
Through it all, she has become known as the master of reinvention by constantly changing her image. To celebrate her special day, Celebuzz presents some of her most iconic looks!
Madonna has also made a name (and created various looks) for herself in movies and received a Golden Globe nomination as the titular character in the movie musical Evita. She has now stepped behind the lens and is currently directing her second film, W.E. in London.
Madonna has another child, called Rocco, from her marriage to Guy Richie. She has two other children, David and Mercy, whom she adopted from Mawali, a region of the world close to her heart. She has not only made the plight of the people a subject of a documentary but also started a charity to help the children living in the impoverished nation. 
Beyond that, she has a successful clothing line sold at H&M, as well as a fashion collaboration with her daughter Lola.

United Health Care

It's bad enough that her son has a chronic disease that can send him to the emergency room when the pain becomes unbearable. But Susan Kenyon is also grappling with wildly inflated medical prices that have become a mainstay of our healthcare system.

Her son's medicine runs the hospital about $6,300 per dose. But the bill that patients are hit with is a whopping $38,000. Discounts and insurance cover most of that, but the system makes it virtually impossible to know the true cost of a treatment.
"We need to stop the price gouging," Kenyon said. "That's the only way we can start getting costs under control."
It's a problem that affects all of us. As hospitals jack up prices to get more money from insurance companies, insurers in turn hike premiums for all members to cover their rising expenses. It's a vicious cycle that exacerbates the unaffordability and inaccessibility of treatment in the United States.

Kenyon, 56, of Lakewood, has been frustrated by this since her son, Scott, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease five years ago. Crohn's is a disorder affecting the digestive tract. It can cause severe abdominal pain, among other symptoms.

"It's like getting stabbed in the stomach," Scott, 26, said of the flare ups that would send him to the emergency room about once a month. "They'd have to give me morphine to control the pain."

That changed in 2007 when he started receiving a drug called Remicade. "Now things are a lot more manageable," Scott said. "I haven't been to the emergency room once this year."

However, Remicade is expensive. The maker of the drug, Janssen Biotech, a division of Johnson & Johnson, says Remicade is sold to hospitals and pharmacies for nearly $700 per 100-miligram vial. Scott requires an intravenous drip of nine vials every other month — a wholesale cost per dose of about $6,300.

But according to his most recent bill from Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, the hospital charged $38,064.95 for the treatment. It then discounted that amount by almost $25,000.

Why the sky-high charge and steep discount? Government-run insurance programs demanded reduced prices from healthcare providers decades ago. Private insurers insisted on equal treatment, and soon it became standard practice for medical bills to be heavily inflated to accommodate the contractual discounts.

In other words, with mandated discounts baked into the system, hospitals routinely overstate medical fees — often by tens of thousands of dollars — so their final reimbursement is closer to actual costs.

"The charges do confuse things," acknowledged John Cascell, vice president of managed care for Long Beach Memorial. "It would probably be better if the charges weren't even on the bill and you just see how much is being covered by the insurer."

In Scott's case, the roller-coaster of charges resulted in a claim of $13,123.32 being submitted to his insurer, UnitedHealthcare. Of that amount, the insurance company covered $10,498.65 of the cost, leaving Kenyon's family with an out-of-pocket expense of $2,624.67.

Scott recently graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in geology. He's now doing an internship with the U.S. Geological Survey. When that's done, he plans to pursue a graduate degree — if he can.

His parents pay his medical bills, and are prepared to keep doing so. However, Scott's school-provided policy with UnitedHealthcare caps coverage at $100,000 per illness. He's already run up more than $50,000 in claims.

At this rate, his coverage will hit the limit at some point next year. That means, to stay insured, Scott may have to forgo an advanced degree and try to get a job — any job — that comes with health insurance.

He won't be eligible for individual coverage until a provision of the healthcare reform law takes effect in 2014. It will prevent insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Susan Kenyon, who holds a clerical job with the Los Alamitos Unified School District, said "it's getting to be a challenge" to cover her son's more than $15,000 in annual medical costs. But she said she and her husband, an engineer, will do whatever it takes to support him.

What bothers Kenyon most is the lunacy of a healthcare system under which pricing bears no relation to actual costs. Is it any wonder that Americans on average pay about twice per person for healthcare than people in such countries as Germany, France, Denmark and Britain?

"Consumers are left in the dark about the true value of services they receive," said Jerry Flanagan, a staff attorney at Consumer Watchdog, the Santa Monica advocacy group. "They're unable to shop around among different hospitals because they don't know what things really cost."

He added that the inflated bills can also devastate the uninsured, who can be stuck with charges many times higher than what other patients pay.

How do we fix things? A first step would be to establish a panel of medical experts who can determine fair prices for most treatments — a sort of Kelley Blue Book for healthcare.

Then healthcare providers and insurers (both public and private) need to agree on new terms for claims and reimbursement that ensure fair and reasonable payments without relying on accounting gimmickry.

Finally, all costs need to be clearly presented to patients so they can understand what they're paying for and be better-informed medical consumers. There also needs to be easier ways for people to challenge being charged, say, $10 for an aspirin tablet.

Supporters of our healthcare system like to say it's the best in the world. But there's no way to justify $6,300 worth of medicine resulting in a bill for $38,000.

That's not just bad math. It's bad medicine.

Man U storms back to win Shield

Nani scored in injury time Sunday to give Manchester United a 3-2 win over Manchester City in English football's season-opening Community Shield, completing his team's comeback from 2-0 down.
The Premier League champion trailed to goals by Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko despite dominating chances and possession but got back in the game when Chris Smalling tapped in Ashley Young's 52nd-minute free kick. Seven minutes later, Nani lifted the ball over goalkeeper Joe Hart to round off a sparkling team move.
The Portugal winger then took the ball from Vincent Kompany, ran unchallenged into the area and rounded Hart to score.
Lescott was arguably City's best player at Wembley, blocking a close-range effort by Smalling on the line and deflecting a free kick by Nani past the post before he headed in David Silva's 38th-minute free kick.
While City's attacking players were overshadowed by Nani, Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, central defender Lescott also made a crucial challenge on Rooney in the 69th when United had worked a three-on-two opening.
Argentina forward Sergio Aguero was an unused substitute for City, which had seemed happy to settle for a penalty shootout until Nani's second goal.
United cleared a corner kick up to halfway and Kompany, the City captain, was beaten by Nani. With the United fans roaring, the winger outpaced his opponent, dodged to the left around Hart and hit the winner.
The game was littered with yellow cards and rash tackles, with Mario Balotelli squaring up to Nemanja Vidic and rolling on the ground claiming injury when he fell attempting to get out of a tackle by Nani.
Dzeko and Anderson were both booked in the first half when they went chest to chest following the striker's tackle from behind, while City fullback Micah Richards was lucky not to get a red card for a high two-footed lunge on Young on the left corner of the area.
Referee Phil Dowd only booked the defender.
But the 77,169 fans at Wembley were also treated to plenty of entertaining football, most of it from United.
Young, Nani, Rooney and Welbeck, the latter picked to play up front instead of Dimitar Berbatov, combined well without carving open clear openings.
Lescott beat Rio Ferdinand to the ball to make it 1-0 before new United goalkeeper David de Gea was at fault for Dzeko's goal, allowing the Bosnia striker's speculative shot from long range to slip over his outstretched hand.
It was only at 2-0 down that United really hurt City.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson revamped his central defence for the second half, introducing Phil Jones and Jonny Evans for Vidic and Ferdinand, and brought on young midfielder Tom Cleverley for Michael Carrick.
Cleverley was key to the move that was started and finished by Nani, taking a pass from Rooney and slipping it to the Portugal winger to finish from about six yards.
De Gea atoned for his error late on when he punched away a goal-bound effort by substitute Adam Johnson, keeping the score at 2-2 and setting the scene for Nani's winner.

Monks at The Abbey of the Genesee bake bread

In between services at The Abbey of the Genesee, lights are off in the church, requiring time for a visitor's eyes to adjust to the darkness, even in daytime.
Unlike the soaring spaces of today's Catholic edifices, which are often brilliantly lit by natural light, this modest church is cave-like and medieval, finished in boulders and hand-hewn lumber interrupted by only a few nearly hidden windows.
The ancient and timeless effect at the abbey is reinforced by the sight of an elderly Trappist monk — one of only two left from the group that founded the abbey 60 years ago — dressed in a black, hooded scapular draped over a full-length white habit as he slowly walks through the fields surrounding the monastery or of a visiting Carmelite nun, covered head to toe in a flowing brown habit as she makes her way to the abbey's church.
And then there's Brother Paul Richards, dressed in worn jeans, short-sleeved shirt and a baseball cap. In charge of the monastery's online bread shop, he whizzes by in a red Jeep Cherokee from the busy Monks' Bread bakery behind the church to the newly repurposed storeroom a quarter mile away that is home to monksbread.com.
It's the online store's slow time, but you'd never know it by the speed of Brother Paul's movements. He nearly jumps from nut butter to honey to jam to flavored vinegars to show visitors specialty foods from local producers and products made by other Trappist orders that monksbread.com sells, along with its bread.
Some customers don't even request bread. Brother Paul explains that monksbread.com fills individual jar orders for the nut butter company in Nunda, which sells only cases through its online store.
Still clinging to medieval traditions, the cloistered monks in Livingston County are using 21st-century methods to make and market the bread that supports their religious order.
In the past few years, they've adopted British baking production standards, spending more than $100,000 on equipment and process upgrades so their goods can keep pace with the growing rigors required by Homeland Security and large-scale retail outlets.

Brittany Murphy Movies

Brittany Murphy movies were never predictable because she chose diverse roles. Her early death in 2009 was a shock, and mournful time for many, but she will live on through her movies. Whether it was in a drama or comedic role, Brittany Murphy brought a spark to each character she played. Her movies showed how versatile of an actress she really was, and even though her career was up and down she still managed to be a part of some movie classics.

1. "Clueless" The first popular Brittany Murphy movie was "Clueless," which was released in 1995. Brittany Murphy stars as Tai Fraiser, the unpopular new girl at a rich high school. A popular girl named Cher takes it upon herself to make over the ugly duckling Tai, and with the help of her best friend Dionne they turn Tai into a hot commodity. This Brittany Murphy movie revolves mainly around the dynamics of high school popularity, friendship, and love.
2. "Little Black Book" This 2004 romantic comedy stars Brittany Murphy as lead character Stacy, a girl who works as an associate producer for a daytime talk show. Her boyfriend Derek goes on a business trip and leaves his digital organizer at home. Even though Stacy trusts him, she takes it upon herself to snoop through it. She gets the names and numbers of Derek's ex-girlfriends and meets them under false pretenses. The rest of the story revolves around Stacy meeting up with her boyfriend's ex's, and the awkward situations she gets into. This Brittany Murphy movie is cute, and fun to watch alone or with someone.
3. "8 Mile" In 2002 Brittany Murphy stars as Alex, a girl who has a thing for hooking up with musicians. The movie "8 Mile" is about aspiring hip-hop artist Jimmy Smith Jr. (Eminem) and his up and coming career. While working at a factory he meets Alex, and the two become romantically involved. The plot primarily revolves around Jimmy and his ability to overcome stage fright and the odds of breaking into mainstream hip-hop. This Brittany Murphy movie was commercially and critically successful.
4. "Uptown Girls" This 2003 family comedy movie stars Brittany Murphy as Molly Gunn, the daughter of a deceased famous musician. She had been living large, and throughout her entire life she never had to work. Suddenly, a trusted employee steals her money and she is left to fend for herself. This Brittany Murphy movie focuses on her character Molly Gunn taking a nanny job, and the dynamics between her and the little girl she is in charge of.
5. "Deadline" This Brittany Murphy movie was the last one released before her death in 2009. The movie is a horror-thiriller starring Brittany Murphy as the main character. She portrays Alice, a writer who becomes emotionally fragile due to her ex-boyfriend attempting to kill her. She is a writer, and in order to try and cure writers block she stays at a cabin alone. The movie revolves around Alice slowly becoming unraveled as she watches home video tapes of a destructive couple who previously occupied the cabin. This Britney Murphy movie has a great twist ending.

Joel Osteen brings message of hope to Chicago

Joel and Victoria Osteen (left) open “ANight of Hope” Saturday night. “You need to get ready, because jubilee is on the way,” he told the crowd estimated at 37,000. | Scott Stewart~Sun-Times

Daniel Wang, a 13-year-old from Gurnee who is battling a brain tumor, wrote a letter to televangelist Joel Osteen last month after hearing an inspiring sermon on his weekly broadcast.

Osteen told the story of a painted vase that went through fire and trials but came out more beautiful than before. The message touched the teenager, who was dealing with trials of his own, as he went through treatment.

On Saturday evening, Wang sat in front of the White Sox dugout at Cellular One Field, a Bible in his hand and a smile on his face, as Osteen hugged him briefly before striding to the center of the field for “A Night of Hope,” an event filled with messages from Osteen and his wife, Victoria, brimming with positive energy.

“God can breathe new life, God is a resurrection God,” Osteen told the crowd estimated at 37,000.

“You wouldn’t be alive unless God had another victory in store for you. You need to get ready, because jubilee is on the way,” he told them.

It’s a message that rang true for many in the crowd — which erupted in applause and cheers throughout the event — as well as for Wang.

“Every time I go [to treatment], I say no more, but he makes it easier,” Wang said. “I’m glad I had to go through this, because it was God’s plan for me to meet Joel.”

Osteen’s message has inspired millions around the country and in Houston, where his multimillion-dollar ministry has its headquarters.

“He’s got such a warm, positive message. It’s infectious,” said Mike Jasinski, 29, of Ingleside. “You can’t help smiling when he starts talking.”

He said he rediscovered his faith during Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He has been watching Osteen’s television program for years, and seeing the minister Saturday was a reminder of how faith changed his life, he said.

Osteen kicked off the event by welcoming the crowd and touching on his religious philosophy, followed by a message from his wife, also a minister at their Lakewood Church. “This world, this economy would like us to believe ‘I can’t,’ that we’re hopeless, we’re helpless and our hands are tied,” she said. “But we’re going to celebrate the ‘I can.’ ”

Some critics say Osteen’s preaching focuses too much on personal profit through prayer and lacks any hint of God’s wrath or punishment for sin. But members of Saturday’s crowd believed in Osteen wholeheartedly.

“You feel his compassion, his honesty,” said Evette Cager, 45, of Maywood, who was there with her daughter Jessica. “He doesn’t push, ‘Give give give.’ ”

Million-Dollar Powerball Winner

Wednesday night's Powerball drawing produced the only $1 Million winning ticket in America--sold to Randy Wagner of Grubbs. He bought the ticket in Tuckerman (Jackson County) at EZ Mart 429.

The winning numbers were 13 - 19 - 21 - 28 - 49, PB 11, x2 PowerPlay.

Wagner drove to Little Rock with his father Buck Wagner today to cash his big ticket at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery claim center in downtown.

Wagner paid an extra dollar for the PowerPlay option, which bumped his prize from $200,000 to $1 million when he matched all five white ball numbers.

Wagner told lottery officials he went to work this morning unaware he had the winning ticket. After his co-workers told him about the Tuckerman winning ticket, he immediately called his daughter at home and caught her before she left for work. She gave him the numbers on his ticket and then he called the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery I WON hotline.

Wagner said he knew by the second number that he was the big winner. He had planned to claim the prize Friday, but his co-workers pushed him out the door and sent him to Little Rock to cash in today.

When asked what he planned to do with his winnings, he said that he thought he saw a new truck on the horizon. But he made clear that his wife is an officer at Merchants and Planters Bank in Jackson County and that they are looking to multiply his winnings through wise investment. He has two children, ages 21 and 9.

Wagner's prize is the 10th time an Arkansas player has won $1 million or more since September 28, 2009, when the first ticket was sold.

The EZ Mart in Tuckerman will receive a selling bonus of $10,000 for the sale of the $1 million ticket.

Saturday night's Powerball jackpot will reach or exceed $180 Million.

Kings of Leon

We've been down this rocky road before. The history of rock 'n' roll is littered with "creative differences," often massaged with phrases that are employed to throw fans off the scent that something, to rip off that well known front-man William Shakespeare, is rotten in the state of Denmark (or in this case, a group).
The latest to be affected by "heat exhaustion and dehydration" is the Kings of Leon. Those words were spoken by lead singer Caleb Followill, who left the stage during a show in Dallas, Texas a few days ago. Sure enough, it's led to the cancellation of their U.S. tour and has the media and fans speculating that the end is nigh for the hugely popular, Grammy Award-winning group.
(LIST: Top 10 Grammy Moments)
Indeed, Followill's brother Jared, who is the band's bassist, tweeted that they have "internal sicknesses & problems" that go beyond dehydration. "I can't lie," he wrote. "There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade." In a separate tweet, the drummer Nathan Followill (he's the other brother) said, "Not so good morning 4 me today. Ashamed & embarrassed by last night's fiasco."
The official statement from the group said that they were "devastated, but in order to give their fans the shows they deserve, they need to take this break." As things stand, Kings of Leon are due to return in Vancouver, Canada, on September 28 but there are no plans to reschedule the canceled shows.
The band hail from Tennessee and are all related to one another. They've released five albums, of which Only by the Night, with monster singles "Sex On Fire" and "Use Somebody" truly put them on the world stage. Most recent effort, Come Around Sundown, wasn't perceived to have eclipsed what had come before. And it's been remarked that their recent live shows and the documentary Talihina Sky portrayed a band struggling to deal with their popularity (to say nothing of an alleged drinking problem.)
Perhaps most telling is the inevitability of internal issues that often arises when brothers are in bands. Going back many years, and The Kinks (Davies brothers) and Creedence Clearwater Revival (the Fogertys) showed how fractious relations can literally be.
More recently, Noel and Liam Gallagher's prolonged and intense dislike for each other eventually brought a nasty end to Oasis. Their paean to brotherly "love" came via arguably their career highlight, "Acquiesce," which told us, "I hope that I can say / The things I wish I'd said."
But if the Kings of Leon do split up, don't be shocked by a reunion tour at some point. After all, going back to "Acquiesce," that chorus may just ring true: "Because we need each other / We believe in one another." (via BBC)

Consumers get scant relief from debt deal

Just like their government, consumers and individual investors will avert immediate disaster if the debt ceiling agreement wins congressional approval by Tuesday. The stock market shouldn't crash and interest rates won't start skyrocketing.But even before a vote took place, it was clear the deal carries implications for Americans' borrowing, spending and investments.
By slashing government spending more than $2 trillion, state and local governments may face greater pressure to raise taxes and cut jobs. That would only make it tougher for struggling individuals to make ends meet and find work.
And because the compromise stopped short of immediately implementing the more sweeping changes that had been sought, ratings agencies could still downgrade the U.S. credit rating in the coming months. That could jolt investor confidence, prompt markets to drop and make loans more expensive and harder to get.
For consumers, the accord provides no relief from economic reality, said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer for Harris Private Bank in Chicago.
Although the immediate consequences of the agreement may be limited, the deal puts the pressure back on a stagnant economy with little prospect for significant improvement any time soon.
"We're back to the same things we've been worrying about for the past couple of years," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "Job growth is anemic, economic growth is uninspiring, and people have a lot of hesitation when it comes to things like job security and taking the plunge into homeownership."
The outlook for various areas of personal finance:
STOCKS
The short-lived nature of Monday's rally after a tentative agreement was announced underscores just how skeptical investors are in the face of weak economic data. After surging nearly 140 points at the opening, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled on a surprisingly weak manufacturing report. It was down as much as 145 points before finishing the day down 11.
A "relief rally" of 2 to 3 percent, or roughly 200 points in the Dow, could still occur once a deal is formally passed, according to market pundits. But few foresee the market rising sharply beyond that until signs emerge of stronger economic growth.
"What happens from here is hugely problematic," said Michael Farr, chief investment officer of Farr, Miller & Washington, an investment firm in Washington, D.C. "If you look beyond this particular (debt-ceiling) issue, all of the rest of the news is bad -- GDP, unemployment and housing numbers."
The bright spot is corporate earnings. Even if many corporations are keeping large amounts of cash on the sidelines, awaiting a recovery, their strength gives investors some reassurance that the market won't collapse again like it did during the 2008 financial crisis.
BONDS
If Congress raises the debt ceiling no later than Tuesday, a potential default will be avoided but a downgrade could remove the nation's gilt-edged AAA debt rating. Credit rating agencies Standard and Poor's and Moody's declined to comment Monday about the bill's possible impact on their decision-making process.
If it does come to pass, a downgrade could send Treasury yields modestly higher, with corporate, municipal and other bond issues doing the same. A downgrade means the government would have to pay investors more to take on the additional risk of buying its bonds.
Municipal bonds also could face pressure from the government spending cutbacks, which will increase the crunch for cities and local governments.
LOANS
A downgrade would nudge interest rates higher on a variety of consumer loans. Not only would Uncle Sam have to pay higher borrowing rates, so would everyone else. That's because many interest rates are pegged to U.S. Treasurys. So if a downgrade pushes up Treasury rates, mortgage, corporate and other loans would rise too.
— Home loans: Already-tight restrictions on lending could get tighter. Some borrowers could find it even more difficult to get approved for a mortgage.
Home-loan borrowers have been feeling the squeeze. For example, an Ohio woman with a portfolio of $2 million had to go to 10 banks before finding one that would approve her request for a simple mortgage refinancing, according to financial planner John Ritter of Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory in Cincinnati. A routine issue can negate the value of a large portfolio in the eyes of a lender.
"I don't think it's going to get any easier any time soon," Ritter said. "The creditworthiness that wasn't even looked at before is now really stringent."
The upside for prospective homebuyers: Any increase in interest rates could be partially offset by a drop in home prices. When mortgage rates rise, buyers are willing to pay less for a house.
The rates on home equity lines of credit could also climb.
— Student loans: The debt deal increases funding for Pell Grants, which provide up to $5,550 for low-income students. But the amount will still fall short of what's needed, leaving the program at risk of future cuts, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the FastWeb and FinAid websites about college aid.
If the U.S. credit rating is downgraded, interest rates would likely rise by 0.25 percent to 1 percent on existing private student loans and more on new private student loans, according to Kantrowitz. That would push up monthly loan payments anywhere from 5 percent to 12 percent depending on the duration of the loan.
For example, someone paying off $25,000 in student loan debt at 10 percent interest over 10 years could see payments rise from about $330 a month to $344, with an extra $1,680 in interest costs over the life of the loan.
— Credit cards: Higher costs on credit cards are not imminent, but rates could creep higher if there is a downgrade.
The federal credit-card act prevents rate hikes on existing balances. But interest rates would go up for most people on new charges if a downgrade leads to higher borrowing costs for banks.
The collective impact of higher loan costs goes beyond the individual loans, as McBride noted. "The more money that individuals are devoting to interest charges on credit cards and home equity loans and student loans, the less available to be spent elsewhere."
However, almost none of the spending cuts in the compromise plan would occur before 2014.
MONEY MARKET FUNDS, CDs
A downgrade would not force money-market funds to sell their Treasurys, so they should remain stable. Although these funds are required to own only high-quality securities, a downgrade wouldn't force an immediate sell-off.
The problem for retirees and others who depend on fixed income from these investments is that their returns continue to be meager. Even the best rates available nationally barely top 1 percent for a money-market fund or a one-year CD and are only 1.8 percent for a three-CD, according to Bankrate. That scenario isn't likely to change much in the near future, even if higher interest rates ultimately are coming.
"Retirees would love to have CDs that pay 3 percent or more," said Rob Russell, president of Dayton, Ohio-based investment firm Russell & Co. But the other side of that, he said, is that consumer loans will be considerably costlier once that happens.
TAXES
The legislation that congressional leaders agreed on does not include automatic federal tax increases. But the Bush tax cuts, extended once already, expire in 2013. Unless extended again, taxes would rise.
State and local taxes, as noted, also could be bumped higher as governments cope with the reality of less money available from Washington.
UNEMPLOYMENT
The deficit deal leaves out extended unemployment benefits for victims of the recession. President Barack Obama had pushed to extend them beyond their scheduled expiration next January.
With spending restricted, the government also would have less available to pump into programs directly aimed at creating jobs to stimulate the economy.

The Godfather

You know you want to live like a member of the Godfather clan -- sleeping in a fancy estate on Long Island or Lake Tahoe, flying to Vegas to stay in a hotel you own, having your driver pick you up wherever you go, and basically doing whatever you want, when you want, the law be damned. Sounds like the life. So how do you live like a Godfather? These five tips will help you fit right in with the Corleone family.
1. Throw a Big Fat Italian Wedding
Forgot all those other movies and Broadway shows. A wedding like that of Connie Corleone (Talia Shire) and Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo) is the only way to get hitched, if you want to live like a Godfather. Worst-case scenario? You make a big chunk of change, since your guests are sure to generous. As Paulie (John Martino) says when he sees the bundle of gifts lavished on the bride, "20, 30 grand -- cash, in small bills!" And that's 1945 money, which works out to roughly $40 billion today.
2. Give All Your Relatives Jobs
Just putting one of your sons on track to replace you isn't enough for a real Godfather. You've got to get all of your relatives jobs. Vito (Marlon Brando) makes his adopted son, Tom (Robert Duvall), his lawyer (and consigliere); gives all three sons big-time pieces of the family business; gets his godson (Al Martino) a job as a crooner; and even makes sure a son-in-law he doesn't trust, Paulie, gets a piece of the action.
3. Stuff Your Face on Italian Food
A Godfather acts like a bigwig and eats like a bigwig, gouging himself on loads of Italian food. Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano) is The Godfather's resident rotund expert in the culinary arts. After the murder of Paulie, his famous directive is, "Leave the gun; take the cannoli." You don't leave that kind of deliciousness behind. While the family is at war, he even takes time to teach Michael (Al Pacino) his special recipe for making tomato sauce because there's never a bad time for homemade sauce.
4. Get Your Daughter Her Own Teen Idol
Is your daughter a big fan of Justin Bieber or another heartthrob du jour? She'll probably want to hear several of his songs at that storybook wedding you've thrown her. Don't get a D.J. or an iPod; just get him to come sing. That's just what Vito does at his daughter's wedding: he gets Johnny Fontane -- think the Frank Sinatra of the Godfather universe -- to join in.
5. Buy Your Way Into the Movies
When the aforementioned Fontane, Vito's godson, wants to be in a new movie, he just calls the trusty Godfather, who -- after slapping him around a bit -- makes sure he gets in that movie. How? Oh, just by cutting off the producer's prize horse's head and putting it in his bed.

iCloud

(WIRED) -- Apple's iCloud.com website has gone live, allowing developers to test out the online version of MobileMe's replacement.
At the same time, beta versions of the iWork suite for iOS and iPhoto have also been made available. And inevitably, many details have already leaked to the web.
iCloud is Apple's new "sync" service. When you create or edit a photo or document on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Windows PC, it is automatically pushed to any other device you have chosen.
Thus, you can snap photos on your iPhone and have them ready to edit on your iPad in seconds, along with a safe backup on your home Mac.
The iCloud.com site is the online home for your data. There's a calendar, an address book, a mail web app, access to the Find My iPhone service and a new section called "iWork." These all look a lot like their iOS counterparts, right down to the icons.
WIRED: Apple announces iCloud, Steve Jobs WWDC keynote
This is no surprise, as even the awful MobileMe used a very iPad-like interface for its Mail web app.
Most interesting are the online versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Posted screenshots show that there is no editing or even viewing functionality yet. Visitors are told instead to launch the apps on their iOS device and switch on iCloud.
Perhaps there will never be a way to view your documents on the web, or maybe it will be added before the official launch.
Right now there doesn't seem to be any way to view your photos at iCloud.com.
WIRED: iCloud -- data in forefront, devices in background
Windows users needn't feel left out, either. Also available is the iCloud Control Panel for Windows (beta 3), which lets you configure iCloud on the PC. Photo Stream, contacts and calendars are supported, and presumably iWork documents might somehow be wrangled to open on the PC, too.
Cloud backup is also working in devices running the latest iOS 5 beta. You can choose to back up your camera roll (photos actually taken with the device), accounts, documents and settings to iCloud automatically whenever the iDevice is plugged in to power.
This is essential for anyone using an iPad as their main machine, and not tied to a computer with iTunes.
iCloud is free, and comes with 5GB storage. You can also pay for more. $20 per year will buy you 10GB storage, $40 will get you 50GB and for $100 you will get 50GB.
WIRED: iCloud's the limit -- how iOS 5, Lion push Apple's strategy
But before you rush out and spend the extra, remember that iCloud's storage quota doesn't include your photos, your iTunes music, you apps or your purchased books. In fact, 5GB looks like more than enough for most people. Extra storage can be purchased from within the iCloud settings app on your iOS device.

The iCloud service will launch to the public along with iOS 5, some time in September.

Honeywell Closing

New York, August 2nd (TradersHuddle.com) - Shares of Honeywell International, Inc. (NYSE:HON) are trading very close to calculated support at $51.99 with current price action closing at just $53.06 places the stock price near levels where traders will start paying attention.
Honeywell?s (NYSE:HON) principal activity is that of a diversified technology and manufacturing company. It serves customers worldwide with aerospace products and services, control, sensing and security technologies for buildings, homes and industry, turbochargers, automotive products, specialty chemicals, electronic and advanced materials and process technology for refining and petrochemicals etc. It also manufactures engine boosting systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
Honeywell's current stock range is defined by current calculated support defined at $51.99 and by the resistance level at $60.65, which should be used by traders planning their trades.
Traders wanting to establish a position should place close attention to Honeywell's price action, and establish a position as close to support as possible, but only after buying materializes. Traders should understand that the resistance point at $60.65 might limit their upside, however if the stock breaks resistance, it could be a good point to add to the position.