| Viewing all entries for: January 2008
LAST night after her uncontested "victory" in Florida, Hillary Clinton was introduced by... Alcee Hastings, removed from by the Senate in 1998 after impeachment from* in the House, under a heavy cloud of suspicion of bribery when he was a federal judge. (A bit of the colourful background here.) Bill Clinton pardoned Mr Hastings' alleged co-conspirator on his last day in office. Doesn't Ms Clinton have any slightly less dodgy-looking Floridian backers? Or if slightly suspect they must be, ones whose former associates had not been pardoned from federal prison by her husband? *[Correction: Mr Metcalph is correct. The text has been changed accordingly.] Permalink .
A Great Big Bucket of Fail
So, your friends invited you over to watch some playoff baseball, but you don't know Albert Pujols from Albert Schweitzer? Not to worry: We've got all the information you'll need to fake your way through the first round of the baseball playoffs. Just tape this sheet inside your mitt and get ready to be mistaken for Tim McCarver. American League Division Series: Oakland A's vs. Minnesota Twins
A's talking points: Odds are you've heard of Michael Lewis' Moneyball, which documented GM Billy Beane's strategies for winning with a low payroll: Draft college players and emphasize on-base percentage. Old-school baseball analyst Joe Morgan will send you flowers if you note that Beane's 2002 draft has produced a mere two major leaguers, and only four A's regulars have OBPs over .360.
That $500,000 rambler
It shouldn't come as news to anyone that home prices in the Seattle region have soared. Theo Eicher, founding director of the University of Washington's Economic Policy Research Center, offers a thoughtful analysis of how zoning laws and other land-use regulations have driven home prices up by an estimated $200,000. Illuminating, but nothing that ought to spur changes in at least one key land-use regulation, the state's Growth Management Act. Residents in the Puget Sound region are getting a tremendous return on their investment. Restrictions on development have preserved the character and environmental appeal of our area. Policies sometimes work at cross-purposes. Yes, state and local growth-management laws restrict where homes can be built, affecting supply that contributes to rising prices.
LANGFORD: How to 'uninvite' tiny visitors
Unwanted visitors may have entered your home with this season's gift plants. It's also common to find abundant "live-ins" on your own houseplants brought in from outside in the fall. Pesky bugs can come in through open doors or windows, too, so there's no reason to believe your plants are pure. The most common of these pests can be controlled with the steps listed below, or you can apply insecticidal soaps. This soap spray has been approved by the EPA for use on both edible and nonedible plants. These soaps contain fatty acids that penetrate the bugs and kiss them goodbye. Insecticidal soaps have no bad effects on birds, pets or people, so they're safe to use indoors and out. The soap must be sprayed directly on the insect, so be sure to get the undersides of the leaves.
Villanueva's journey has him back at Roosevelt
There are spider webs not nearly as entangled or twisted as the strange odyssey involving left-handed pitcher Martin Villanueva of Los Angeles Roosevelt.
In January, Villanueva, a two-time All-City selection, dropped out of school and left for Mexico after being told a contract he had signed with the Mexico City Red Devils made him ineligible for high school sports. The Red Devils play in the Mexican summer league and are under the jurisdiction of minor league baseball.
.
|
