Came across this interesting article in the Washington Post recently. I guess I can understand that there needs to be regulation of gas pumps so that there can be no trickeration. . . but it still seems like overkill to crack down on a mom-and-pop gas station in the middle of nowhere. It’s probably one of the few places where it isn’t just a cliche that people meet at the local gas station to chat amicably. Everywhere else the only thing the person behind the counter at the gas station wants to talk about is which pump you filled up at.

And seriously, why is it seemingly so difficult for any company to manufacture an upgrade for these pumps? Seems odd to me. I bet it’s some ridiculous complication due to the nine-tenths pricing. I’ve never really understood that, and my half-arsed internet research hasn’t turned up any kind of sensible explanation. Anyone know anything about why we’re not paying $4 per gallon, we’re really paying 3 dollars and 99.9 cents per gallon?

So, I was reading this the other day: Petraeus picked to lead Central Command, which basically says that the current head of central command, Adm. William Fallon, was resigning due to widespread (but supposedly false) reports that he was at odds with the Bush administration over Iran that had made his job impossible.

So this morning as I’m “getting ready for work”, I’m reading Esquire (yes I have a subscription to Esquire… it was a gift… screw you!)… and I read this: Meet Fox Fallon

Sure… sure they were *false* rumors… riiiight… if you are too lazy to read all of this, the short version is “expect a war with Iran before January 2009″.

If you are a newsie (kind of like a foodie, but with news) like me, you’ve definitely seen and heard the “not guilty on all counts” verdict in the trial of NYPD officers who shot and killed a groom-to-be the day of his wedding.

If you aren’t familiar with the case, it echoes the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo; a quick and concise summary of the case can be found on CNN.
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A really good three part series (one,
two, and
three) in the Strib on the rash of foreclosures have affected Wright County, but it’s all quite applicable across the state and the country.
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As reported by Glenn Greenwald, and followed up on by Keith Olbermann (video embedded at the end of this post):

Either Attorney General Mukasey is lying about 9/11 in order to fear monger (yes, I’m using that as a verb) up a stronger FISA/Telecom Immunity/Protect America Act. Or the Administration was completely inept in the run-up to 9/11.

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