George McGovern 1922 - 2012

George McGovern, who served as an Army Air Corps pilot in World War II and later as a U.S. Representative and Senator from South Dakota, before running for president as the Democrat Party's nominee in 1972, died early this morning at a hospice in Sioux Falls.  During his political career, McGovern embraced the term "liberal", even as some of his fellow Democrats shied away from it and some Republicans used it as an insult.

In 1956, McGovern successfully ran for a seat in the House of Representatives, and was re-elected two years later.  In 1960, he ran for Senator and lost, but ran again and won in 1962, ousting incumbent Joe Bottums by only 597 votes.  He was also appointed by President John Kennedy to lead the Food for Peace program.  During his unsuccessful presidential campaign, his running mate was Kennedy brother-in-law R. Sargent Shriver.  In Arkansas, their campaign staff included some young volunteers such as Bill Clinton and his girlfriend Hillary Rodham.

Read more at ABC News, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, US News and the Washington Post.

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Fall Foliage

Now that fall has arrived, the trees here in Maryland are undergoing their annual change of color.  These are a few that I've seen in the general vicinity.  This one has turned bright red-orange:

Here are a few that are changing at different times - the green one on the left, the reddish one on the right, and the yellow-green one in the background.

This one has partially changed, with some leaves having turned orange and the rest still green.

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He Said "Allahu Akbar"

Via the Tea Party Command Center:

Was the Fort Hood Massacre a terrorist attack, or merely workplace violence, as it has been classified?  Listen to the people who were there.

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Friday Links

A few stories out there in the news:

From NBC News, a New York man has allegedly been stranded in Europe since October 1st, because his name appears on a no-fly list.  This, of course, begs the following question.  Why was he allowed to fly over there in the first place?

From Life News, Bruce Springsteen campaigns for Obama and abortion.

From the LA Times, Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old education rights campaigner recently shot by the Taliban and taken to Britain for treatment, has recovered the abilities to stand and to write.

From CBC News, the Catholic Church will declare Kateri Tekakwitha a saint.  A member of the Mohawk tribe, she will become the first native North American woman to receive this honor.  (Full disclosure:  I have visited her shrine in Fonda, NY.)

From the NY Post, alleged would-be bomber Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis may have had an accomplice who was busted on kiddie porn charges.

From Yahoo News, a car-bomb explodes in Beirut, killing an anti-Syrian intelligence official.

From Reuters, the Curiosity rover eats Martian dirt.

From Breitbart's Big Journalism, the magazine Us headlines the cost Ann Romney's dress, even though it cost about half of what Michelle Obama was wearing, as the two ladies watched their husbands debate.

From Iconic Surrealism, watch Mitt Romney's speech at the Alfred E. Smith dinner.

Form Human Events, Romney gets the endorsement of lifelong Democrat Lee Iacocca.

And last but not east, from Pinterest, some of Obama's favorite golf courses.

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ER Physician: Death Panels Are Here

From The Grouch at Right Truth via Monkey In The Middle:

The Grouch is a practicing emergency room doctor who is starting to deal with the onset of Obamacare as it starts to affect Medicare.  Under the new rules, if someone who has been discharged from a hospital is readmitted after less than 30 days, Medicare will not pay for the treatment after readmission.  At first, this only applied only if the readmission was for the same diagnosis, but was then extended to any reason for readmission.  As the Grouch puts it:

Today while working my shift in the emergency room, an old lady was brought in very sick and in fact near death. I did my usual workup and evaluation and attempted to administer life saving treatment. It was my plan to admit this woman to the hospital. I found out a little later that this same woman had been a patient here just slightly more than 2 weeks ago with a DIFFERENT DIAGNOSIS. I was told that if this woman was admitted, the hospital would not be paid.

As the Grouch further explains, going to a different hospital won't change anything. 

A little later a man was brought in by ambulance, very sick, in pain, and near death. I did my usual evaluation and treatment, doing my best to ease pain and stabilize this man's illness. He needed to be admitted. To my chagrin I found out that he had been treated for the SAME problem at a DIFFERENT HOSPITAL about 10 days prior. If I admitted this man, our hospital would be paid nothing. I admitted the man.

Read more about the predicament the Grouch and his fellow docs are in at the above links, or at Right Truth.

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Up To 140 Spitfires Buried In Myanmar

As many as 140 Spitfire fighter airplanes, left over from World War II, are believed to be buried in Myanmar, and are believed to be in "near-pristine condition", according to an article by Boston.com.  They were brought in crates from Britain to what was then the British colony of Burma, but too late during the war to be used against the Japanese.

Read the full story, and watch this video of a restored Spitfire in action:

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Punt Reverses Direction

This punter in a Texas high school football game found out how difficult it can be kicking into the wind.  I don't think he tried to fool Mother Nature, but she certainly changed the trajectory of his punt.  His teammates would recover the ball, in their own end zone.

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