Scoop’s Views

Hurricane Gustav is going to hit the United States unless there’s an act of divine intervention. Short of a miracle from Heaven, all computer predictions are showing Hurricane Gustav will hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast, anywhere from Pensacola, Florida on the Eastern side to Houston, Texas on the West.

Unless Hurricane Gustav’s path is suddenly diverted, or unless Hurricane Gustav falls apart and becomes little more than a tropical storm or depression, it’s more than likely at least one of the many oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico will receive some damage, but likely all of the platforms will be closed down in advance of the storm.

Tags: computer predictions, crude oil, divine intervention, Florida, gas prices, gasoline, gasoline prices, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Houston, Hurricane Gustav, Louisiana, New Orleans, Northeast Philadelphia, oil, oil barrels, oil companies, oil platforms, oil prices, Pensacola, Philadelphia, price per gallon, shale, Texas, Tropical Storm Hannah

Beloit College’s Class of 2012 Mindset List has been released. It’s a list of things that incoming freshmen – most of whom were born in 1990 – are familiar with, but things they also don’t know or comprehend. For example, Harry Potter could very well be one of their classmates, the Class of 2012 Mindset List notes.

The list was started by Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, providing insight into the life and realities — as they exist — for incoming freshmen. It provides cultural touchstones that shape the lives of the incoming students, sometimes making it easier for a professor to understand why some students don’t grasp course content. one such example, for which I must be an exception, is this year’s item #20.

Tags: American Gladiators, Balsamic vinegar, Beloit, Big Macs, Burger King, caller ID, cappucino, charter schools, Clarence Thomas, Class of 2012, Club Med, Coca-Cola, Coke, college grads, color umber, conditioner, Crayola, crayons, credit checks, diapers, eavesdropping, electronic filing, family, fashion scene, films, flat tires, french fries, gas stations, gay rabbis, George Bush, George H.W. Bush, girls, Goosebumps, GPS, Grandma, Green Bay Packers, Haagen-Dazs, Harry Potter, head scarves, Home Alone, hospice, Hubble space telescope, IBM, IBM PC, ice cream, iced tea, IRS, Jay Leno, just don't get it, karaoke, kindergarten, League of Nations, Lenin, Leningrad, living wills, Macaulay Culkin, Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living, McDonald's, Mexican border, Mexico, Michael Millkin, Mickey, Mickey Mouse, Microsoft, Mindset List, multi-culturalism, multiculturalism, Muscovites, mustache, national anthem, NC-17, Nintendo Game Boy, off-shore drilling, off-shore oil drilling, oil drilling, Orlando, parties, PCs, Pearl Jam, Pee-Wee Herman, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Pepsi, Pepsi-Cola, personal privacy, philanthropist, philanthropy, prostate cancer, prostate cancer research, quarterbacks, quidditch, radio stations, recycled plastic bottles, research, resorts, Rock the Vote, Roseanne Barr, Royal New Zealand Navy, rum, Russia, satellite navigation systems, schools, SCotUS, Seinfeld, shampoo, soft drink refills, style, Supreme Court, tax returns, tax revenue increases, Teach for America, The Tonight Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, TV, typewriters, Universal Studios, vegetable oil, walkers, Walt Disney, Warsaw Pact, Wayne Newton, whatever, Windows, Windows 3.0, World Wide Wrestling, www, XXX

It’s no surprise I hold utter contempt for politicians who have been in office for more than two terms. In fact, I despise most politicians who are serving their second term in office, as these people are generally on the road to a lifelong career as a politician.

In a perfect society, this probably wouldn’t be a problem, but in our less-than-perfect society, a first-term politician learns many of the “tricks” of the political trade, and in their second term, if they wait that long, they begin practicing and honing those tricks to their benefit. Things that typically benefit politicians generally do not benefit the American public (a.k.a. voters or constituents).

Tags: 2008 Presidential election, election 2008, Internet crowd, News, presidential candidates, presidential election

Earlier today, around 2:10 p.m., miscommunication between a Congressional staffer, as well as workers at Cleveland’s City Hall, led to news reports from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Associated Press, and CNN, among other news outlets, to prematurely report the death of U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, 57, who was serving her fifth term in Congress.

This evening, at 6:12 p.m., however, the Congresswoman was pronounced dead about 24 hours after being taken to the hospital by ambulance. She would have celebrated her 59th birthday in 21 days, on September 10.

Tags: aneurysm, aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, Barack Obama, Bethany Baptist Church, brain aneurysm, Carib News Multi-National Business Conference, Case Western Reserve University, Central State University, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Heights Ohio, Cleveland Heights Police Department, Cleveland Ohio, Cleveland Public Schools, Cleveland State University, Delta Sigma Theta, Democratic National Convention, Dr. Gus Kious, East Cleveland Ohio, Flora Stone Mather College, forum on electoral reform, hematoma, Hillary Clinton, Human Rights Campaign of Cleveland Equality Award, Huron Hospital, Huron Road Hospital, Marcus Garvey Award, Mervyn Jones, National Bible Association Capitol Hill Distinguished L, Notre Dame College, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, subarachnoid hemorrhage, superdelegate, U.S. Congress, U.S. House of Representatives

Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, remains alive – despite several news reports around 2 p.m. today to the contrary, as well as information in Congress around 1 p.m., saying she had passed away.

Jones has been hospitalized for about a day now, as a result of a brain aneurysm in what doctors describe as an “inaccessible” part of the brain. Many news outlets had reported she had died from a brain aneurysm she suffered Tuesday evening while driving, according to the Cleveland Plains Dealer and CNN. She will celebrate her 59th birthday in 21 days, on September 10.

Tags: Barack Obama, brain aneurysm, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Heights, Cleveland State University, critcal condition, Democratic National Convention, Democrats, East Cleveland, forum on electoral reform, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Huron Hospital, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, super delegate, superdelegate, very limited brain function

It’s always nice when someone with means (you know, the people called “the haves”) reaches out and helps others in society with less (those people called “the have-nots”), but sometimes things that are done for supposed “have nots” is ridiculous. A classic example is in the news today.

It seems Donald “The Donald” Trump is doing something with his money to help another American couple deal with their personal woes as a result of defaulting on their mortgage. That’s nice, right?

Tags: ads, broken neck, CNN, combover, commercials, Donald Trump, Ed and Pamela McMahon, Ed McMahon, employment, entertainer, financial irresponsibility, fiscal irresponsibility, fiscal responsibility, frontman, Howard Bragman, Johnny Carson, Larry King, Larry King Show, lawsuits, mold, mold growth, mortgage crisis, mortgages, News, Pamela McMahon, Publishers Clearinghouse, sidekick, Society, televison, The Donald, the have-nots, the haves, The Simpsons Movie, The Tonight Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, work