| Barack Obama and Me
This is before Obama Girl, before the secret service detail, before he becomes a best-selling author. His book Dreams From My Father has been out of print for years. I often see Obama smoking cigarettes on brisk Chicago mornings in front of his condominium high-rise along Lake Michigan, or getting his hair buzzed at the corner barbershop on 53rd and Harper in his Hyde Park neighborhood. This is before he becomes a U.S. senator, before Oprah starts stumping for him, before he positions himself to become the country's first black president. He is just a rank-and-file state senator in Illinois and I work for a string of small, scrappy newspapers there.
_____________________ The other day, while stuck in traffic on Houston's Southwest Freeway, I was flipping through right-wing rants on AM radio.
Bad blends: biofuel labeling often inaccurate
Biofuel blends may not always be what the label claims. A study at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that many smaller distributors could be "splash blending." While sampling blended biodiesel fuels purchased from small-scale retailers, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that many of the blends do not contain the advertised amount of biofuel. Marine chemist Chris Reddy and colleagues sampled pure biodiesel and blends from more than a dozen distributors across the United States. When testing fuels listed as 20 percent biodiesel (commonly known as B20), they found that the actual percentage of biofuel ranged from as little as 10 percent to as much as 74 percent. Only 10 percent of samples met the specifications for biofuel blends required for vehicles of the U.S.
No cash, no sweat as firms swop goods online
Barter, that age-old form of trade, is heating up here, with the Internet as a modern-day matchmaker. A multimillion-dollar business has mushroomed online for mainly small businesses to exchange goods and services. Two online brokerages here raked in close to $4 million in transactions this year and membership is booming. One member is beauty salon owner Daisy Leng, who this year saved $2,800 on advertising and computer software, which she paid for with her beauty products instead of cash. 'The savings are very important to a small setup like mine,' said Ms Leng, now a regular barter trader. Another local set-up, accounting software company A2000 Solutions, saved $10,000 on printing by redeeming credits earned from selling accounting software in a barter trade.
Rain can't wash out tennis tourney
The Nature Coast Tennis Foundation held its third annual Junior Singles Championship at Delta Woods Park in Spring Hill this past weekend. Weather trouble caused a move from Saturday to Sunday, but the rains held off long enough for the foundation to finish the tournament. With 42 entries, tournament director Louise Downey characterized the turnout as "highly successful." In the High School Girls final, Tamara Bustard defeated Alexa Burns in straight sets for the title, 7-5, 7-5. The High School Boys title was arguably the match of the tournament. Lasting more than two hours, Anthony Carter ousted P.J. Waterson in a final set tiebreaker, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. In the Middle School divisions, the girls champion was Mallorie Pickersgill, who dominated Kayla Papp in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
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The Republican Party has long been suckering the "average Joe and Jane", the "little guy", into thinking they are the "party of the people". MEANWHILE, the base of support that helps them now, and helps their children in the future, has been eroded. Both Clinton and Obama are trying to reverse these losses. The Republican Party has invested a huge amount of money, time and effort into portraying it, and its members, as the champions of the "little guy" and the "average person." But, this has been little more than a huge advertising campaign dating back for well over a decade. Here are the basics of the game. It boils down to "I am like you, and my opponent is not." Sadly, Democrats keep trying to show "What I will do for you, and my opponent will not", which doesn't seem to be as effective.
More on a Hillary Comeback
With the help of thegreenpapers.com the invaluable Green Papers, I made some calculations in a best-case scenario for Hillary Clinton in the Wisconsin, Ohio, and Texas primaries. I assumed that Clinton won statewide in each case, and that Obama carried only congressional districts (or in Texas, state Senate districts) dominated by upscale white voters and/or black voters. This is an especially optimistic assumption in Wisconsin, where Clinton currently trails Obama by 4 or 5 percent in public polls. The results are as follows: a 44-30 delegate edge in Wisconsin, an 83-58 delegate edge in Ohio, and an 82-41 delegate edge in Texas. Overall this is an 80-delegate advantage, based (again I emphasize) on optimistic assumptions. This would be enough to erase the current 58-delegate edge Obama has in total delegates according to Real Clear Politics.
Winter Storm Pounds Miami Valley, Driving Dangerous!
Roads in the metro-Dayton area appear to be wet, but a lot of highways and interstates have been the scene of numerous crashes because of slick road conditions. Travel remains very hazardous. There are many counties that have issued snow emergencies, which means that motorists should travel only if necessary. 2 p.m. Update:
Roads continue to be slick across the region. The best thing to do is to drive carefully if you have to go out on the roadways. News Center 7's Gabrielle Enright said that a lot of people are still packing the stores in Xenia getting some last minute groceries. Storm Center 7 Chief Meteorologist Jamie Simpson said road crews are going to be hampered by the strong winds and is going to make clearing the roads tough. Simpson said the best thing to do is to stay home and wait the storm out for the next 24 hours.
Pharmasset Announces Clevudine and R7128 Presentations at HEP-DART
Clevudine 30 mg administered once daily demonstrated early viral suppression and significant biochemical improvement in patients with liver cirrhosis. Clevudine monotherapy showed rapid viral and biochemical response in chronic hepatitis B patients with cirrhosis. CH Lee, et al. Abstract Summary: This analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy of clevudine in chronic hepatitis B patients with cirrhosis. Data from 23 patients with chronic hepatitis B and cirrhosis were collected. Among them, 5 patients were diagnosed with decompensated liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). For patients who received clevudine for at least 12 weeks, preliminary data indicated that 20 patients (87%) had HBV DNA less than 1,000 copies/mL and 17 patients (74%) had normal alanine transferase (ALT).
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