Kloppenburg Concedes WI Supreme Court Election to Incumbent Prosser

After a lengthy and costly recount for a judicial election that was widely viewed by many as a refernedum on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's recently passed bill limiting public employee unions ability to collectively bargain, challenger Joanne Kloppenburg conceded the election on Tuesday after a lengthy and costly recount.

MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin Supreme Court challenger Kloppenburg has conceded defeat to conservative Justice David Prosser.

“The threshold for a court to overturn an election is appropriately high. David Prosser has won this election, and I have congratulated him,” Kloppenburg said.

Kloppenburg made the announcement at 11 a.m. during a news conference in Madison.

Kloppenburg's decision comes after a statewide recount reaffirmed Prosser's victory over her in the April 5 election.

Prosser originally won the election by 7,316 votes, out of 1.5 million cast. She picked up only 312 votes in the recount.

Back in April, Kloppenburg declared herself the winner before votes from Waukesha County- erroniously overlooked by the county registrar earlier- were tallied. Incumbent David Prosser went from being behind by 200 votes to winning by a margin of more than 7000 votes.

However, the total still fell within the margin for Kloppenburg's campaign to request a recount in late April. Neither side would be required to pay for the recount if the margin was 0.5% or less.

Borderline Psychosis- The Often Overlooked Northern Border Edition: GAO- Only 32 miles of Canadian Border 'Secure'; Smugglers Pipeline in Northern NY

Looking north from the Whitetail, MT border crossing- Mike Stebelton/ Daniels County Leader

A study released in February indicates that just over 32 miles of the nearly 4,000 mile US/Canadian border is considered 'secure' according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states the threat of terrorism from the northern border is higher than from the southern Mexico border, given the large expanse of area with limited law enforcement coverage. DHS reports networks of illicit criminal activity and smuggling of drugs, currency, people, and weapons across the northern border.

The report focuses on whether federal agencies are working together to secure the vast stretches of the border owned by the federal government.

The study points out critical gaps in security along the U.S.-Canadian border that limit the ability of Customs and Border Protection to fully secure the border—gaps including a lack of interoperable communications systems and limited sharing of intelligence and information between local and federal officials.

U.S. Customs head Alan Bersin told a US Senate Subcommittee earlier this month that even though the Canadian border sees far fewer arrests than the US/Mexican border, the Canadian border is considered a 'more significant threat' by Customs and DHS.

Although certainly not marred by the bloody narco-violence like Mexico, there are concerns that radical Islamists would attempt to enter the USA through Canada to carry out attacks. In December 1999, an Algerian national was arrested at Port Angeles, WA after entering the country from Victoria, BC when a search of his vehicle turned up plastic bags filled with explosives and some homemade timing devices.

MICHIGAN: Drug traffickers flying in private aircraft have taken to making their drops at small, rural and sometimes unstaffed airports along some border states.

The bust by federal agents didn't happen on the southwestern border. It was in Michigan's rural Thumb region next to a soybean field. The remote airport here in Sandusky offers a smooth runway at any hour to anyone who needs it, a perfect landing spot for brazen drug smugglers who can cross the Great Lakes from Canada in minutes.

Beefed-up enforcement along the Mexican border has made smuggling more challenging for criminal cartels using the major southern routes, but drugs continue to flow across the porous northern border through airstrips like this one as officials look for new ways to fight back.

Tracking rogue planes at low altitude with their transponders off is “like trying to pick a needle out of a haystack,” said John Beutlich of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who oversees air and marine operations from Washington state to Maine.

“Shoot, we're just a big cherry to pick and didn't realize it,” said Joe Allen, manager of the Sandusky airport, 145 kilometres northeast of Detroit.

He installed a fence to keep cars from meeting planes at the runway, but the property is not staffed at night. Border agents could offer just two signs asking people to call an 800 number if they see something unusual.

Canada is a significant source of high-quality marijuana and the amphetamine Ecstasy. More than 2 million doses of Ecstasy were seized on the northern border in 2009 compared to just 312,000 in 2004, the Drug Enforcement Administration said, offering a snapshot of what's popular and what gets confiscated.

Most shipments come by road. But the 2009 flight from Ontario to Michigan, the subject of a recent federal trial, provided insight into drug operations that use small planes. Officials don't know how frequent such flights are but consider the vulnerability alarming.

Matthew Moody and nephew Jesse Rusenstrom, both from Amherstburg, Ontario, were the couriers captured that night in Sandusky. Their job was to enter the country through Detroit, meet the Canadian plane and deliver the drugs to others in the U.S. They also put 27 kilograms of cocaine worth more than $500,000 on the return flight to Guelph, Ontario.

Matthew Moody and nephew Jesse Rusenstrom, both from Amherstburg, Ontario, were the couriers captured that night in Sandusky. Their job was to enter the country through Detroit, meet the Canadian plane and deliver the drugs to others in the U.S. [In addition to the 79kg of pot and 400,000 ecstacy pills they had flown in and were apprehended with] they also put 27 kilograms of cocaine worth more than $500,000 on the return flight to Guelph, Ontario.

It was just one in a series of shipments. Mr. Rusenstrom said he met the drug plane at least 10 times at other tiny airports in the Thumb region — Marlette, Ray, Lapeer — as well as in Greenville in western Michigan and an airport in Pennsylvania. The pilot activated runway lights from the cockpit, a standard practice in aviation.

Mr. Rusenstrom, testifying at the trial of an accomplice, Robert “Romeo” D'Leone, said hundreds of airports were studied on Google Maps.

“We would go around looking for airports, seeing if there was fences or cameras,” the 21-year-old told jurors.

Mr. D'Leone, who lives in the Toronto area, stopped his trial and pleaded guilty on April 14. Mr. Rusenstrom and Mr. Moody co-operated, pleaded guilty and were recently sentenced to time served in custody. The U.S. still wants to extradite four others in Ontario who are accused of major roles, including the pilot.

Some jurors were alarmed by the revelations during the D'Leone trial.

“You always hear Homeland Security has an eye on everything. It's surprising that airfields aren't manned 24 hours,” Robert Simpson, 47, told The Associated Press.

The Sandusky airport has spent $2,000 on cameras and hopes to install more.
“We're outside radar,” Mr. Allen, the manager, said, running his finger over a map of Michigan's Thumb. “You can come and go as you please. You don't even have to file a flight plan.”

The minimal help he received from border authorities — warning signs — had to be fixed before he posted them: They referred to suspicious boats, not planes.

[What is it with Homeland Security and thinking signs are the answer!?- NANESB!]

NEW YORK: Another locale popular with smugglers and organized crime on both sides of the border is the Akwesasne Indian Reservation just outside of , which straddles the borders between New York State, Quebec and Ontario along the St Lawrence River.

The area's unique geography and patchwork of jurisdictions on both sides of the border has had the attention of smugglers and bootleggers since Prohibition. In more recent years, local residents will either run contraband across the border themselves- either in snowmobiles during wintertime or motorboats when the St Lawrence is navigable- or charge landing fees to smugglers for using their property.

Illegal immigrants, hydroponic marijuana and Ecstasy are usually smuggled into the USA from the Canadian side while illegal firearms, cocaine and untaxed tobacco or alcohol make their way north. Some estimates say that 20% of Canadian grown marijuana smuggled into the USA moves through the Akwesasne/St Regis reservation.

While there are some cigarette factories on the US side of the reservation, the sale of tax free cigarettes on reservation stores has caught the attention of groups like the 'Ndrangheta, Hells Angels and Bulgarian Mafia who will often purchase cigarettes in bulk then turn around and sell the untaxed cigarettes in high tax municipalities like New York City, Montreal or Toronto.

Terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and the Real IRA have also raised funds through trafficking untaxed cigarettes in the last decade.

Giants Bat's Heat Up In St. Louis

After a rough Memorial Day weekend in Milwaukee, in which the Giants really struggled, losing 2 of 3 and looking really bad in the process, their bats actually showed some signs of life Monday in St. Louis.

First off, as has been the trend all year long, they got a terrific start out of Madison Bumgarner, who even was a threat at the plate, hitting his 2nd double of the season and scoring 2 runs to raise his batting average to .211! He's swinging it better then some of their everyday players, and is probably the best pitcher in baseball with 6 losses, so he probably felt like he had to get it done himself! But on this day, they got all the runs they would need on just one swing of the bat by Andres Torres, who hit a high, deep fly ball that looked like a deep fly out, but carried over the wall for a fourth-inning grand-slam. Before Torres did that though, the Giants already gave MadBum the lead, thanks to a Cody Ross solo homer, and RBI singles by Miguel Tejada and Brandon Crawford. The 24 year-old Crawford had yet another strong showing, reaching base 2 times, putting up good at-bats in all 4 plate appearances and stealing a base, while providing the rock-solid defense up the middle. In some ways, his UCLA background and his patient plate approach remind me a bit of a less-powerful version of Chase Utley, not saying he's going to be the next Utley, just that there are similarities! But Monday's game really was all about Bumgarner, who just got stronger and stronger as the game went on. Madison left after 7 strong innings, allowing 6 hits and and 2 runs while striking out 5 vs. the tough, right-handed dominant Cardinal offense.

After Bumgarner departed, the game kind of went quietly into the afternoon. The Giants got the big hit from Torres and they made it stand! Only and Albert Pujols solo homer would mark up the scoreboard for both teams after the 7th, and the Giants held on to win 7-3. Sergio Romo, the bullpen's most consistent arm since opening day threw another scoreless inning in the ninth to shut the door in the non-save situation, lowering his season WHIP to a ridiculous 0.55, which has to one of the best WHIP's, if not the best, of any reliever in baseball right now. So now they'll likely go back to the hotels and do some watching of their own as the Diamondbacks play host to the Marlins this evening. In the midst of their offensive breakdown and the loss of Buster Posey, they also lost their place atop the NL West, when they had a 4 game lead on the D-Backs before Posey went down. Monday's win was the first victory since Buster went down in which the Giants controlled from the beginning. They had that comeback win Friday night behind Timmy, but even in that game, they were playing from behind for most of the game, so it was a nice change of pace to get out to an early lead for a change. It just goes to show you what will happen when this team scores a couple early runs, with their starting pitching.

MLB Draft: It's not as significant this year as it's been for the Giants over the last 4-5 seasons when the team has had a top-10 pick, but June's MLB amateur draft is set to take place just 1 week from today on June 6th. We'll do a draft preview post between now and then discussing some of the players that could fall to the Giants, who have the 28th pick. And we'll also get in touch with our draft and college baseball expert, Brian Foley who runs College Baseball Daily, the best NCAA baseball blog around, hands down! Just wanted to remind Giants fans that we will have a whole new batch of prospects joining the organization here in a few days!

Not Another New England Sports Blog! Wishes You a Happy Memorial Day Weekend

(Steve Breen- San Diego Union-Tribune)

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everybody a good and safe Memorial Day weekend from Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Some of the more astute observers of this blog might recognize the above image as the same one I had up for Memorial Day weekend last year. Although I'll cop to being a fairly lazy individual, it wasn't laziness that prompted me to post the same image for a 2nd year in a row. I thought it was a well done piece by editorial cartoonist Steve Breen of the San Diego Union-Tribune and I figured I'd like to share it with some of the newer visitors to this blog who may not have had a chance to see it before.

If you're a veteran such as myself or just a big supporter of the troops in general, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of links to some veterans and supports organizations for your perusal.

Wounded Warrior Project

Operation Homefront

Home Base Program

Semper Fi Fund

SUDS- Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba

Project Healing Waters

Today's Train of Though- Mr Sandman; May 29, 2011

Today's train of thought comes to us from the capital of the Bluegrass State [which is NOT Louisville as some people might think- NANESB!] and features a stretch of track that's seemingly seen it all over the past decade.

Since acquiring the former Louisville & Nashville Old Road subdivision from CSX in 2003, RJ Corman's 115 mile Central Kentucky lines have played host to an operational Chinese class QJ steam locomotive, Genset locomotives from RJ Corman's Railpower subsidiary and special VIP passenger trains to and from the Kentucky Derby.

Aside from the meanderings of a new genset, Chinese made steam engine or a VIP-packed Derby special, the line plays hosts to freight trains laden with limestone, corn syrup, alcohol, plastic, limestone, peanuts and fertilizer. This is on top of dedicated unit trains of aluminum ingots (made from recycled beer cans, according to the RJ Corman homepage) and sand. The sand is dredged from the Ohio River near Louisville and separated by grade before making the 80+ mile trek to Lexington, KY on the Old Road subdivision. From there, it's used locally in the construction of cement and asphalt.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Mike Mautner caught a pair of SD40T-2s RJ Corman's sharp red and silver paint scheme in charge of a loaded sand train. Here, RJCC SD40T-2 #5361 is on the point as it trundles down the middle of West Broadway St in Frankfort, KY with a loaded eastbound sand train on May 5, 2009.

Friday's Win Preceds Tough Losses

After a huge comeback win Friday night, a game in which the offense finally stepped up for their ace when he needed them too, the Giants offense went right back into hibernation on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

The hero of Friday night's game, Brandon Crawford, surprisingly, wasn't even in Saturday's lineup after going 1-3 with a walk and the game winning grand-slam. Not to mention the outstanding range and incredible arm we've all been told about, and finally got to witness in action. The starting pitcher, Timmy Lincecum, was probably his best friend after the game, as not only did Crawford's blast give Lincecum the W, his defense saved at least 3-4 extra hits for the Brewers, balls Tejada or Fontenot don't turn into outs. Lincecum himself didn't have his best stuff, as he gave up a few more hits than he's accustomed to and hung a ball to Rickie Weeks that Weeks absolutely crushed for a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning. That put the Giants behind the 8-ball early and now with the Posey-less, struggling offense, a 2-run deficit seems like a 5-run deficit. I myself thought the Giants would probably go quietly into the Wisconsin night, letting yet another quality Tim Lincecum start go to waste, but they showed some of that magic they've had at AT&T Park all year on the road for once and turned a late 3-1 Brewer lead into a 5-4 victory. Freddy Sanchez, Nate Schierholtz and Aubrey Huff each had 2-hit's in the win.

The Giants came up with another late-inning comeback tie Saturday, but went down in the bottom of the ninth. I have to give it to Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, for the suicide squeeze to win the game, that was a heckuva call. Once again, the Giants got a very good start from starter Jonathan Sanchez who walked a few guys, but allowed just 2 hits and K'd 8 through 7 strong innings of work. The Giants starting lineup, again which was without Friday night's hero Brandon Crawford, was held without a hit until the 5th inning. They collected just 5 hits and 1 extra-base hit all day long. They were making Randy Wolf look like Cliff Lee until finally getting him out in the 8th inning and getting to Kameron Lowe, thanks mostly to Casey McGee's error. Pat Burrell came up with a big, game-tying single after that, making it a brand new ballgame. If it weren't for that error by McGee, they likely don't even score a run Saturday, cause it would have changed everything. Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff are supposed to be the 4-5 hitters but are hitting a combined .229, and we're almost into June! I'm also already tired of Whiteside (that throw was horrible) behind the plate, and it's just been 2 or 3 games.

I have a thought in mind that came up when the Giants announced that Santiago Cassilla, which is huge shot in the arm for this bullpen, was activated. That, along with Brandon Crawford's big game last night, had me thinking about the minor leagues and the guys they have playing third base down there, and Connor Gillaspie came to mind. Gillaspie was in the draft, matter fact taken within 30 or so picks, as Buster Posey, but didn't tear through the minors like the catcher did. Still, Gillaspie's playing solid ball down in Fresno, hitting .277 with 3 homers and 28 RBI. The 28 RBI is good for 2nd on the club and that's run production, exactly what this team needs. Why not give Connor a look at third base? He can't be any worse than what Tejada's done in Sandoval's absence! Not saying Gillaspie would be a cure-all for the offense, but he reminds me a lot of Billy Mueller and the Giants could use a guy at 3rd who can drive the ball and hit with runners in scoring position.

Warren Moon Houston Oilers Throwback Jersey, Vintage Retro

Warren Moon Houston Oilers Throwback Jerseys

Vintage NFL Retro Uniforms

Just imagine the numbers that Warren Moon would have put up if he spent his entire career in the NFL. They would be off the charts. Between 1978 and 1982 he led the CFL Edmonton Eskimos to five consecutive Grey Cup Championships! He was a professional superstar before he even played in the NFL. He was elected to the Pro Bowl 7 time and went on to become a Hall of Fame NFL football player as well.

If you are a fan of Warren Moon, and love that classic throwback look of Houston Oilers NFL retro jersey, then this vintage uniform is for you! These are replica jerseys, which means they are made of high quality materials, but they don't cost nearly as much as their authentic counterparts.

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(Youth and Adult Sizes)

Throwback Warren Moon Houston Oilers Jersey

Related :

• Houston Oilers Throwback Retro Jerseys

• Earl Campbell Vintage Throwback Jerseys

• Warren Moon Collectibles

Sports Chowdah W/a Shot of 7 And 7: BRUINS WIN GAME 7, ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP FINAL FOR FIRST TIME IN 21 YEARS; Oh Yea- The Red Sox Played Today, Too

Prince of Wales Trophy Presentation- Boston Bruins Photo

NHL: WOW! Remember when Game 7s DIDN'T live up to the hype? Didn't seem that long ago, did it?

This was such a hard series to call, with the B's shutting out the Lightning one game and allowing five unanswered goals in the next. As much as I wanted to be an insufferable douchenozzle and boldly predict a Boston win, I was genuinely uncertain about the possible outcome of the series. Both teams had eerily similar circumstances heading into the Eastern conference finals as well; finishing the regular season with 103 points, playing 7 games in the first round and then sweeping their next opponent in 4.

Credit where credit is due, Philly blogger Wyatt Earp totally called it earlier this week in the comments section. I was in denial due to Boston's fairly recent (and painful) history of Game 7 choke-itude that looked set to repeat itself as the Tampa Bay Lightning held off the Bruins to win by a 5-4 final and force a decisive Game 7 at the Garden in Boston on Friday night.

With that said, Game 7 got underway at the Garden on Friday night with the Vancouver Canucks awaiting the winner.

It seemed as though the Bruins had been peppering Lightning netminder Dwayne Roloson with shots on goal almost immediately. In fact, Roloson turned aside all 29 shots he faced in the first two periods while Tim Thomas stopped 17 shots on goal in the same timeframe to make it a scoreless game in the 3rd. After the way the first two periods had gone, it was hard to believe after the Bruins gave away a 3-0 lead in Game 4, but one was left with the feeling that whoever scored first would win Game 7.


Enter Nathan Horton, who tallied the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens. And thanks to some superb defense and Tim Thomas between the pipes, Horton's tally would be the only goal of the evening. Thomas stopped all 24 shots he faced on Friday night while Roloson very much kept the Lightning in the contest, turning aside 37 of 38 shots faced.

Total penalty minutes in Game 7? Zero.

The shutout is Tim Thomas' second of the series (and third career postseason shutout) while Nathan Horton's game-winner was his 8th goal of the 2011 playoffs.

The Eastern Conference champions will next take on the Vancouver Canucks for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC at 8PM ET, 5PM PT on Wednesday, June 1st. The game will be broadcast on NBC.

MLB: After scoring 14 runs in back to back games (a 14-2 win to close out the series in Cleveland and a 14-1 thrashing of the Tigers to start the 4-game series at Detroit's Comerica Park), the Red Sox were held to a mere 6 runs on Friday night, with Boston getting on the board thanks to Jacoby Ellsbury coming home on a wild pitch from Tigers starter Rick Porcello in the 1st. Although Detroit would get out to a 2-1 lead, Boston would take the lead right back thanks to a huge 3rd inning that saw a solo homer from Ellsbury, a Kevin Youkilis 2-RBI double and a 2-run homer from Carl Crawford.

Venerable knuckleballer Tim Wakefield got the start for Boston and went 7 full innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. Papelbon would give up a leadoff single to Victor Martinez in the bottom of the 9th followed by an RBI double off the bat of Jhonny Peralta, but would get the next 3 outs to close out the 6-3 Boston win.

Clay Buchholz (4-3; 3.30 ERA) will get the start for Saturday night's game while the Tigers have called up pitching prospect Andy Oliver (4-3; 3.31 ERA with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens this season) after starter Phil Coke went on the DL with an ankle injury earlier this week.

Granted it's not even Memorial Day, but the Red Sox have made their way into first place in the AL East with Friday night's win, one game ahead of the Yankees and a game and a half up on the Rays. Not bad after that horrendous 0-6 start that had Red Sox haters and fans alike getting ready to bury the 2011 Red Sox.

Bruins Stanley Cup Finals T-Shirts, Men's, Women's, Youth

Bruins Stanley Cup Finals T-Shirts

Men's, Women's, Youth

Alert! - The Boston Bruins are the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions! Get Their Championship T-Shirts Here!

Boston Bruins fans are the 2011 Eastern Conference Champs and will now face off against the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Bruins fans know how to celebrate and they love to show their team pride at all their games. When it's hockey time, fans are out in full force rooting on their team with officially licensed apparel. Be sure to check out the Stanley Cup Finals Bruins Hats as well.

Vancouver Versus Boston Dueling Hockey Tees

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Throwback Hockey Dueling Canucks vs. Bruins Stanley Cup Champions T-Shirt

Women's Eastern Conference Champs Tee

Women love hockey just as much as the guys. These tee's celebrate the Bruins playoff success and was designed with the ladies in mind.
 

Youth Boston Bruins Conference Champs T-shirt

Check out all of the Youth Stanley Cup Finals T-Shirts Available

Youth Sizes : S, M, L, XL

2011 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Finals Hat

 2011 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Finals Hat

The Boston Bruins are the Eastern Conference NHL Champions and are moving on to play in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks! Fans are going crazy and they have a lot to be excited about. This is the first Stanley Cup appearance for the Bruins since 1990!

Check out this officially licensed Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Finals Hat. It proudly displays the Bruins and Canucks team logo. Show your Bruins pride everywhere you go. Only one more series to go until you can call the Boston Bruins as Stanley Cup Champions!

2011 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Finals Hat

Features :

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Conference Champions Cap

Eastern Conference Champs Cap

Related :

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Boston Bruins Conference Champions T-Shirt, NHL Finals

Boston Bruins Eastern Conference Champions T-Shirt

2011 Boston Bruins Conference Champions T-Shirt

The Boston Bruins have won the NHL Eastern Conference Finals and will be playing in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1990. Bruins fans may have the most passionate hockey fans in the NHL and wanting nothing more than to hoist the Stanley Cup trophy once again!

Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was a nail-biter from beginning to finish. The Bruins scored the first and only goal midway through the 3rd period. Both goalies made amazing saves throughout the game. Game 7 was Playoffs Hockey at its best!

If you are a big fan of the Boston Bruins (or know somebody who is), check out this officially licensed Eastern Conference champs tee. Officially licensed by the NHL. Screen printed Bruins logo and graphics.  These t-shirts will make a great gift for die hard fans and will capture the memories of a magical season.

Check out MORE Boston Bruins Champions T-Shirts!

Black Finals Champs Tee

Bruins Versus Canucks Stanley Cup Finals T-Shirts

Long Sleeve Champs Shirt

Key Jewish Donors, Unions Keeping Money on Sidelines During Obama's 2012 Bid?

I have to say that it takes a very special kind of incompetence to quash your own 'I had Osama Bin Laden killed' bounce in the polls after all of 3 weeks.

A pivotal donor for the Democrat party who's previous donations include the financing of the DNC's Washington DC's headquarters has hinted that he will be sitting on the sidelines for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Billionaire financier Haim Saban told CNBC last night that Obama hasn’t done enough to show support for Israel. He also said that he has no plans to contribute to the president’s campaign.

“President Obama has raised so much money and will raise so much money through the Internet, more than anybody before him. And he frankly doesn’t, I believe, need any of my donations,” said Saban.

“I’m very perplexed as to why the president, who’s been to Cairo, to Saudi Arabia, to Turkey, has not made a stop in Israel and spoken to the Israeli people,” he continued. “I believe that the president can clarify to the Israeli people what his positions are on Israel and calm them down. Because they are not calm right now.”

There have been reports that Obama is losing Jewish support after his clash with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week, but this development is the most significant so far. If a key donor like Saban has decided to break with the president, then there are likely others who will follow suit.

Steve Rosen, director of the Washington office of the Middle East Forum, and a former AIPAC official, said that this is part of a trend of Democrats rejecting Obama’s policy toward Israel.

“It’s not happening in isolation. It’s happening in a context in which Harry Reid broke with the president in the last two days,” Rosen told me. “I think that Saban is another step in that direction.”

And here I am with my world's smallest violin in the shop for it's 25,000 sad sad song tune-up.


And wouldn't you know it- it's a union shop!

Some of the nation’s largest labor unions are cutting back dramatically on their financial support to the Democratic Party, saying they are highly frustrated with the failure of Democrats to put up stronger resistance to Republican proposals opposed by labor.

The unions have cited what they see as Democrats’ tepid response to Republican efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, cut Medicare funding and require voters to show identification at the polls.

2011 Miami Heat NBA Finals T-Shirt and Hat

 Miami Heat Eastern Conference Champions T-Shirt, and Hats

The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls to become the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Champions. When it became time for the "Big Three" to step up big in the playoffs, they didn't disappoint. They went on a 16-2 run in Game 5 to eliminate the Bulls from the playoffs. The Heat will advance to the Conference Finals to play the Dallas Mavericks, a repeat from the 2006 NBA Finals.

2011 Miami Heat Eastern Conference Finals T-Shirt

Celebrate the Miami Heat's return trip to the NBA Finals with one of these cool cotton officially licensed NBA tees.

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2011 Miami Heat NBA Finals Flex Fit Hat

Rear View of Cap

Giants Busted: Posey Out for Season

Well, one of the Giants worst nightmares came to fruition last night, and if you saw the play that snapped Posey's shin bone, I think every Giants fan in America felt that one a little bit!

There just isn't much to say but when Scott Cousins collided with Buster, it was a "WOW, the Giants' best player's leg just practically snapped!", reaction from me. Then the severity of the injury started to sink in as he lie there (you know it's bad when the opposing player sticks around). I mean, look at it, I didn't want to post the picture at first, but this is the last of Posey we'll likely see in 2011, going out like a champ and putting his body on the line in effort to save the game for his team. It was a clean play by baseball standards though, and Cousins feels horrible about it, tearing up in an interview. It seemed too surreal to be happening, such a weird baseball injury and it happens to the last guy in the world it can, if your a Giants fan. He was the last guy on that roster they could afford to lose and they've lost him. Even a Tim Lincecum season-ender wouldn't bring the daily impact that losing Posey will, so if you think losing Lincecum for the season would be worse, your wrong (everyone knock on wood). The Giants clear strength is their pitching, so much so that they have a guy getting paid $18M on the DL because they're simply too deep with starters. They needed every single bat they could afford to get, and some. Pablo Sandoval's injury was a big set-back, but he's coming back in a few weeks, Posey's done for the year. The great game-caller with the stellar arm, the leader, the captain, the all-around best ball-player on that team is no longer in use for the 2011 season, barring a medical miracle, but the Giants still have to play on, and hope Sabean has something up his sleeve like he did last year!

I don't think it's settled in quite yet, still. Reading the words on the Yahoo Sports page this morning saying: "Season Over?" over the picture of Buster Posey, it was like being punched in the stomach. I knew last night it wasn't good, but I was hoping for a sprain or a 2-month thing, back by the All-Star break, maybe, but with the leg broken, a return this year is about 99% unlikely. So in the short-term, it looks like it will be Eli Whiteside playing daily, as they don't really have any other options that are major league ready. They could go out and try and woo Bengie Molina back out of retirement, as Giants pitchers raved about throwing to Bengie over the years, and he's more of a threat with the stick than Whiteside or Chris Stewart (Posey's call-up replacement). Brandon Belt is also back in attempt to help out the offense, as he and Brandon Crawford (replacing Mike Fontenot) also took the bus to San Fran with Stewart. However, I highly doubt they stick with the Stewart/Whiteside combo all year. They'll have to deal for one, which everyone now knows they need and can make them pay in trade accordingly, or hope Bengie hasn't added on an additional 20 pounds in retirement, cause it wasn't too long ago that he was playing in the World Series and playing well. Another name mentioned by some writer was Pittsburgh's Ryan Doumit, who I'd be all for, but Pitt. probably would want too much for in return.

Then there's the shortstop situation still waiting to be resolved, although I think that will take a back seat for a week or two while the Giants figure out their catching situation. Young Hector Sanchez is tearing it up in San Jose right now, who's got 8 homers and 38 RBI hitting .313. Problem wth that, is that it would be literally throwing the 21 year-old into the fire, as he's never been above A ball and has caught only 150 games total in the minor leagues. That leaves the likes of Ivan Rodriguez, Chris Snyder and Miguel Olivo (my #2 choice behind Doumit) as the most likely targets for Sabean.

Again, I think Doumit would be choice if they can get him, then you could do a 3-way rotation with him, Posey and Brandon Belt at 1st base next season (doubt Posey catches full-time right away when he does return). However, the Pirates will want somebody in return of value like Nate Schierholtz or a prospect or two for him. Doumit does also have experience in the outfield, though not sure how good he is out there... This is just a sucky situation, and in every article I'm reading about it, you can see the sympathy in even the national writer's work, mentioning that no baseball fan wants to see that kind of stuff happen to a player like that or any player, even if your in the same division. It was very similar to the situation with Stephen Strasburgh last year, where all of baseball kind of felt for the guy after all the hype the such success early on.

Anyway, all I can say Giants fans, is keep your heads up, and lets hope this brings the team closer together and everybody steps up and fills Buster's shoes! We know this team never will quit, and there's still a long ways to go. The Giants are a first place team, reigning champs, so even with a solider down, they'll focus on baseball, and settle back in after a day or 2.

More Tornadoes, Deadly Storms Continue to Hammer Midwest

NOAA Map Showing Tracks of Tornadoes Across Oklahoma earlier this week

Just days after a massive F5 tornado ripped through downtown Joplin, MO at least a half dozen tornadoes carved a swath of destruction throughout northern and central Oklahoma.

While not as severe or deadly as Sunday's Joplin F5 twister or the outbreak of storms that hit the South last month, at least 10 people were killed making it the deadliest in the state since an F5 struck suburban Oklahoma City in May 1999, killing 50.

Side by side satellite images of Joplin, MO before and after F5 tornado- AP

There were concerns that a storm system moving through the area could spawn additional tornadoes as rescuers were still searching wreckage throughout Newton County, but as of Thursday night, there were no additional tornadoes reported in the area.

However, rescue workers are still searching for at least 232 people still unaccounted for since Sunday's disaster and the death toll had been revised up to 125. Nearly half of the missing are said to be seniors.

For those interested in making any kind of donation towards disaster relief in Southwestern Missouri, more information can be found at the Heart of Missouri United Way, Ozark Food Harvest or Convoy of Hope. The Springfield, MO News-Leader also has a directory of regional and national relief organizations listed on their website.

Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions T-Shirt, NBA Finals

2011 Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions T-Shirt

Mavericks NBA Champions T-Shirt!

The Dallas Mavericks have made it back to the NBA Finals in 2011! Dirk Nowitzky, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler,  and the rest of the Mavericks appear to be on a mission to make amends for their heartbreaking 2006 Finals loss to the Miami Heat.

If you love the Mavs (or knows someone who does), these officially licensed t-shirts (made by Reebok) would make a great gift to yourself, a friend, or family member.

Conference Final Mavs Tee

Distressed Look Sky Blue 2011 Western Conference Finals Dallas Mavericks T-Shirt

 

Features :

• Made by Adidas
• Distressed Look
• Ribbed Knit Collar
• Officially Licensed by the NBA

Mav's Western Conference Champions Women's Tee

Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions T-Shirt

Also be sure to check out the Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions Hats that are available as well.

Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions Hats, Caps

Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions Hats and Caps

The Dallas Mavericks have made it to the NBA Finals for the second time in 6.  The Mavs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Conference Finals to become the Western Conference NBA Champions.

NBA Finals Championship Hat

Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions Hat

• Flex Fit Hat that will fit most head sizes

• Officially licensed by the National Basketball Association

• Structured Fit

Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Champions Hat

Fitted, adjustable, and flexfit hats to fit any head size. These caps are officially licensed by the NBA. Celebrate the Mavs fantastic season as they go on to the NBA Finals!

2011 Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions Hat

2011 Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions Hat

It was a long hard fought season for the Vancouver Canucks. Through it all their fans believed that this team has what it takes to win it all. They beat the San Jose Sharks in double overtime to win the 2011 Western Conference Finals. Celebrate their season with an officially licensed Western Conference Finals NHL Hat.

 2011 Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions Hat

These are the hats that the players wore in the locker room as they celebrated winning the Western Conference Finals against the San Jose Sharks. This cap is made by New Era.

This hat is 54% polyester, 43% cotton, and 3% spandex. This is a flexfit hat, which means that it will stretch to fit nearly any size head. These caps make great gifts for hockey fans.

Related :

• Vancouver Canucks Western Conference Finals T-Shirts

Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions T-Shirt, Mens, Womens

Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions T-Shirt

Congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks in winning the Western Conference NHL Hockey Finals. This will be the first time the Canucks have been to the Finals in 17 years!

Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions T-Shirt

Fans of the Canucks have been celebrating since that exciting double overtime victory over the San Jose Sharks to become the Western Conference Champions and give them the opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup Championship!

Check out this officially licensed NHL hockey t-shirt, made by Reebok. This cool tee features screen printed Vancouver Canucks graphics and a rib knit collar for stretch resistance comfort.

Women's Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions T-shirt

Vancouver Canucks Conference Champions T-Shirt

Ladies who love hockey, and love the Canucks must have this jersey in their wardrobe! Soft and comfortable. Sporty and fashionable. Made by Reebok.

2011 Vancouver Canucks Conference Champs T-Shirt

• Screen printed graphics

• Vibrant team colors

• Officially licensed by the National Hockey League

• Made by Majestic Athletic Sports Apparel

Faustian Cuppa Chowdah, May 24th 2010: Sox Get Some 'Tek Support in Cleveland; Lightning Rod- Thomas Gives Up Early Goal, Shuts Out TB for 58 Min.

NHL: Just when you think you might have things figured out, guess again!

Unable to hold onto a pretty commanding 3-0 lead over the weekend, the Bruins went down 1-0 early against the Lightning on Monday night. Simon Gagne would get one past Tim Thomas just 1 minute and 9 seconds into the first to give Tampa the early lead. But unlike Saturday, that would be it.


Playing to a full house that included the C's Rajon Rondo and Pats head coach Bill Belichick, the Bruins would rally in the second, pulling even on Nathan Horton's even strength goal four and a half minutes into the period and taking the lead on a Brad Marchand tally around the 16 minute mark.

Tampa would furiously try and get one past Thomas in the 3rd to get the equalizer, but Thomas managed to turn aside all of them, even when starter Mike Smith was pulled for the extra attacker late in the 3rd. Rich Peverly would give the B's the breathing room they needed with all of 13 seconds remaining in regulation after scoring an empty-netter.

Dwayne Roloson did not get the start in net Monday- Lighting head coach Guy Boucher went with Mike Smith between the pipes. Over the weekend, Smith did not allow a goal after Roloson had given up three in the 1st period. However, on Monday Smith allowed two goals on 19 shots while Tim Thomas turned aside all but one of the 34 shots he faced.

The Bruins win Monday night by a 3-1 final and lead the series 3 games to 2. The Eastern Conference finals shifts back to Florida for Wednesday night, with a 8PM ET puck drop- the game will be televised on VS and the CBC.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: The Bruins or Lightning now know who they'll be going up against once the Eastern Conference finals are wrapped up.

It might've taken double OT on Tuesday night to secure the series win against the San Jose Sharks, but the Vancouver Canucks needed all of five games to advance to the Stanley Cup finals after winning the Western Conference finals 3 games to 1.

Kevin Bieksa scored a wobbly knuckler 10 minutes into the second OT in Vancouver Tuesday night to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1994.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL: The Hennepin County Medical examiner's office released a report that NY Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died from an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone. Boogaard was a few months shy of his 29th birthday at the time of his May 13th death and had his season ended b a concussion earlier this year.

MLB: After getting 7 and ⅓ innings from Clay Buccholz Monday night, the Red Sox bullpen could not manage to hold onto a 2-1 lead, giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th. Although JD Drew and Jed Lowrie would get 1-out singles in the top of the 9th, the game ended when OF Carl Crawford grounded into a double-play.

Tuesday night featured a matchup between Josh Beckett and Fausto Carmona that was a little more reminiscent of the 2007 ALCS.

Although the Tribe would get on the board first with an RBI single from OF Ezequiel Carrera in the bottom of the 2nd, the Red Sox would take the lead in the top of the 3rd and then add to it in the top of the 7th after Big Papi led off the inning with a double and Jason Varitek hit a 1-out homer to right field to make it 4-1.

Cleveland would get a run back in the bottom of the 9th thanks to a 1-out Travis Buck solo homer off of Papelbon. 1B Matt LaPorta belted another Papelbon offering pretty deep to left, but that ended up being out #3 and the Red Sox hang on to win by a final of 4-2.

Tomorrow's day game will wrap up the 3-game series before the Sox move on to Detroit. Jon Lester (6-1; 3.68 ERA) will get the start against Mitch Talbot (1-0; 1.46 ERA). The game gets under way from Jacobs Field (I consider 'Progressive' a slur) at 12:05 PM ET.

Today's Train of Thought- Meanwhile in Valley City; May 24, 2010

Today's train of thought brings us to an impressive span in a state that is synonymous with 'flat'. About 60 miles west of Fargo, the town of Valley City, ND also goes by the moniker 'city of bridges'.

In addition to the smaller vehicle and footbridges closer to the town center that span the winding Sheyenne River, there's the soaring former Northern Pacific Hi-Line bridge north of town. The 103 year old structure is more than 3800 feet long and 162 feet high and was built by the Northern Pacific to bypass the steep grades in and out of the valley on it's Twin Cities-Seattle mainline. In the course of traversing the valley, the bridge (now BNSF's) crosses a county highway, the Sheyenne River and the Carrington Subdivision on Canadian Pacific's former Soo Line route between the Twin Cities and the Canadian border at Portal, ND.

Above, railpictures.net contributor Bryant Kaden caught BNSF SD40-2 #6885 leading an eastbound Jamestown, ND to Fargo, ND local freight as the 2nd generation EMD locomotives come off the eastern end of the trestle on June 10, 2010. The CP Rail's Carrington Subdivision is just visible in the bottom left of the image.


As a bonus, railpictures.net contributor Jerimiah Rindahl caught the same train at the same time from a slightly different location, offering an even more panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.

I'll let you compare and contrast the two images and see which one you find more appealing.

US Supreme Court Orders California to Release up to 38,0000 Convicts From State Prisons

The United States Supreme Court ordered that the state of California must release anywhere from 38,000 to 46,000 inmates in a 5-4 decision on Monday.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to release tens of thousands of its prisoners to relieve overcrowding, saying that "needless suffering and death" had resulted from putting too many inmates into facilities that cannot hold them in decent conditions.

It is one of the largest prison release orders in the nation's history, and it sharply split the high court.

Justices upheld an order from a three-judge panel in California that called for releasing 38,000 to 46,000 prisoners. Since then, the state has transferred about 9,000 state inmates to county jails. As a result, the total prison population is now about 32,000 more than the capacity limit set by the panel.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, speaking for the majority, said California's prisons had "fallen short of minimum constitutional requirements" because of overcrowding. As many as 200 prisoners may live in gymnasium, he said, and as many as 54 prisoners share a single toilet.

Kennedy insisted that the state had no choice but to release more prisoners. The justices, however, agreed that California officials should be given more time to make the needed reductions.

In dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia called the ruling "staggering" and "absurd."

He said the high court had repeatedly overruled the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for ordering the release of individual prisoners. Now, he said, the majority were ordering the release of "46,000 happy-go-lucky felons." He added that "terrible things are sure to happen as a consequence of this outrageous order." Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with him.

In a separate dissent, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the ruling conflicted with a federal law intended to limit the power of federal judges to order a release of prisoners.

I'm sorry- I was just thinking that if some of these convicts that the court is so willing to spring should have to bunk at Justice Sotomayor or Kagan's place, then some of the Supremes probably wouldn't be as eager to let them walk.

Even if I was to assume that all 38,000+ inmates wanted to go on the striaght and narrow, there's still the fact that they're being released into a state with 12% unemployment and an already scarce job market, which would mean that it would only be a matter of time before the newly-released cons would turn back to whatever criminal enterprise landed them in the clink to begin with. Couple that with budget and personnel cuts in police departments throughout California and you are almost begging for something bad to happen.....often.

As far back as 2009, Michigan's then-Gov Granholm had proposed in a letter to California's then-Gov. Schwarzenegger that California inmates could be housed in two Michigan prisons that were slated for closure that year. Although the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would take Granholm up on a similar offer, the deal with California ultimately fell through.

In advance of the Supreme Court Ruling, Gov. Brown had proposed transferring some 40,000 'low level' offenders to local or county jails as part an effort to meet an estimated $9.6 budget shortfall. [I can almost garuntee that most state and local politicians will stand firm on refusing to allow law-abiding Californians to obtain conceal-carry permits- NANESB!]

Exit question- what are the odds some Democrat-allied 'community organizers' are going to attempt to register as many of the newly released convicts to vote as possible?

116 Killed as Massive Tornado Strikes Southwestern Missouri

UPDATE 5/24: A badly injured 8 year old boy was pulled alive from wreckage by rescue workers nearly two days after the massive tornado ripped through the area.

However, as many as 1500 people in and around Joplin are still unaccounted for.


At least 116 people were killed and an unknown number injured Sunday evening when a massive tornado tore through the southwestern Missouri city of Joplin. Missouri governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard in the aftermath of the tornado.

The tornado touched down at about 5:30 PM CT on Sunday and made its way east through the city, narrowly missing downtown Joplin but heavily damaging St. John's Regional Medical Center and destroying many houses and businesses on the south side of Joplin as well (St. John's had to be evacuated an hour and a half later).

It was the deadliest single twister in the U.S. in nearly 60 years and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month.

Authorities feared the toll could rise as the full scope of the destruction comes into view: house after house reduced to slabs, cars crushed like soda cans, shaken residents roaming streets in search of missing family members. And the danger was by no means over. Fires from gas leaks burned across town, and more violent weather loomed, including the threat of hail, high winds and even more tornadoes.

At daybreak, the city's south side emerged from darkness as a barren, smoky wasteland.

"I've never seen such devastation -- just block upon block upon block of homes just completely gone," said former state legislator Gary Burton who showed up to help at a volunteer center at Missouri Southern State University.

Some of the most startling damage was at St. John's Regional Medical Center, where staff had only moments to hustle their patients into the hallway. Six people died there, five of them patients, plus one visitor.

The storm blew out hundreds of windows and caused damage so extensive that doctors had to abandon the hospital soon after the twister passed. A crumpled helicopter lay on its side in the parking lot near a single twisted mass of metal that used to be cars.

Dr. Jim Riscoe said some members of his emergency room staff showed up after the tornado with injuries of their own, but they worked through the night anyway.

"I spent most of my life at that hospital," Riscoe said at a triage center at Joplin's Memorial Hall entertainment venue. "It's awful. I had two pregnant nurses who dove under gurneys ... It's a testimony to the human spirit."

While many residents had up to 17 minutes of warning, rain and hail may have drowned out the sirens.

As rescuers toiled in the debris, a strong thunderstorm lashed the crippled city. Rescue crews had to move gingerly around downed power lines and jagged chunks of debris as they hunted for victims and hoped for survivors. Fires, gas fumes and unstable buildings posed constant threats.

Teams of searchers fanned out in waves across several square miles (kilometers). The groups went door to door, making quick checks of property that in many places had been stripped to their foundations or had walls collapse.

National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes said the storm was given a preliminary label as an EF4 -- the second-highest rating assigned to twisters based on the damage they cause.

Unlike last months deadly outbreak of tornadoes in the South, the devastation in Joplin was wrought by a single, massive tornado thought the be at least a three quarters of a mile wide according to some witnesses.


Unfortunately, many officials are expecting the death toll to rise as rescuers in the area will have to deal with more storms throughout the week as forecasters are warning of more severe weather in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Once a key zinc mining center, Joplin currently is a transportation crossroads with the Kansas City Southern, BNSF and Rail America's Missouri & North Arkansas each serving the city of 50,000 via railroad. For much of the 20th Century, the famed Route 66 passed through Joplin on its way between Chicago and California. Presently, I-44 passes through the city between St. Louis and Tulsa (and onto Oklahoma City and Texas) while US 71, which runs north-south through Joplin on its way between the Ozarks and Kansas City is close to being brought up to interstate standards.