Free Republic

This somewhat resembles the set of a bad science fiction movie, but it's actually a lava flow on the Big Island (probably in the Kilauea vicinity) that went through a forest. Second pic is a close-up.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Free drinks, tickets to pro basketball games or to rock concerts are passed out to lawmakers and their staff members regularly by companies with a financial stake in the operations of state government. The gifts are legal as long as the givers report them every three months. The California Chamber of Commerce has spent the most so far this year, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The chamber spent $129,500 between January and September, according to the newspaper's review of 50 companies and groups that reported gifts to the secretary of state's office. Telephone...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The California Pollution Control Financing Authority voted Tuesday to temporarily halt funding dairy projects and to adopt standards to ensure that future funds improve air and water quality. The 90-day moratorium puts applications for $25.6 million on hold for five San Joaquin Valley dairies as the authority looks into how $65.9 million in low-interest loans were issued for 18 dairy projects that may have led to expansions and created more pollution. "We want to be improving the environment, not harming it," said Treasurer Phil Angelides, chairman of the authority. "It's very clear that there are air quality...

George Bush's real political enemy now isn't so much John Kerry as it is the flow of the news. Not long ago, Kerry's decision to attack the president as commander in chief (remember all those Swift Boat vets in Boston?) was dismissed by analysts (including me) as naive at best, folly at worst. Well, it may turn out to have been the move that wins this race.

Article link above shows many nice pictures, but site is slow, so I only chose the two below. My suggested caption is underneath it. Feel free to suggest your own for the sake of levity. I've reduced the size for display; click for the full-size pic. "If you take one step back and slide to the right just a little, dear, the picture will be perfect." "I'm glad Georgia O'Keefe didn't see this."

The monthlong bill-signing period is upon us, and the question for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger remains: How much and from whom will he accept campaign cash while considering hundreds of bills left on his desk by the Legislature? Spokesman Rob Stutzman said the governor will not accept money into his re-election pot (which has a $21,200-per-donor limit) during September. Political adviser Marty Wilson said the governor will accept checks in unlimited amounts in his ballot measure committees, which will fuel his involvement in Nov. 2 election matters. Indeed, Univision Chairman Jerry Perenchio dropped a quarter-million-dollar check into Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team...

<p>I'm thinking the Salvation Army is going about this whole fund-raising thing all wrong.</p> <p>Those fine folks are still tied to antiquated ways, depending on red kettles and warm hearts to get them what they need. They still cling to the hope that the ringing of their bells will result in the ringing of spare change outside shopping centers and grocery stores across the Valley.</p>

The Herbert Hoover Dike, which is holding back high water in Lake Okeechobee, sprung a leak. This wasn’t the gusher type that normally comes to mind, but rather more seepage than normal, says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Last week’s seepage and one in June were considered minor and have been fixed. But with a tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico and already heavy inflow to the lake, Okeechobee’s water will keep rising — increasing the chances of more leaks, damage to the lake’s health and greater releases of water to the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie...

Magnetic effect of ocean flow revealed 19:00 09 January 03 NewScientist.com news service Tiny magnetic fields created by ocean tides have been mapped globally for the first time, after researchers filtered out the signal from satellite data. Improving the technique so that the magnetic fields created by all the ocean's motions can be picked out would provide a valuable new way to track global ocean circulation and climate change. It would be especially useful for monitoring deep water currents, as these cannot be seen by the current measurements of water colour or wave height. This is possible - at least...

<p>WASHINGTON (SH) - Shortly after the end of World War II, a friend I admire immensely borrowed $25,000 to begin his own engineering business. As a Seabee, he had survived the earliest hours of Iwo Jima, landing with his Marine colleagues in the bloodiest fight of that defining battle. He was anxious to get started with his life.</p>