Sarah Palin to Deliver Keynote Speech

Of all of the speakers at the first Tea Party convention, it is unlikely that any will garner us much mainstream media attention. Sarah Palin is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech of the convention Saturday night to a crowd that is sure to adore just about anything that comes out of her mouth, as her appeal to fly-over-state indignation seems to know no bounds. While much of the mainstream media, news commentators and general public seems seriously befuddle by Sarah Palin's continued appeal to a certain segment of the population every since she was nominated to the GOP Vice Presidential ticket in 2008, there is no arguing is no getting around the fact that there are people out there who want to hear what she has to say. As far as having a clue as to what she just said, that's another story.

Other than self-righteous indignation and a call to "take this country back," few outside of the Tea Party have a clear understanding of what exactly it is that the movement wants other than furthering the partisan divide to the point of caricature. As such, Palin seems to be the ideal representative of the Tea Party movement. To Tea Partiers, she seems to represent a much needed voice to a public that must feel left behind by a society that is, well, trying to leave the behind. To the rest of us, Palin's rhetoric seems to contain neither form nor content, much like the Tea Party movement itself.

Mass Retailer Exodus of Detroit, Michigan?

It's no secret that motor city has fallen on hard times, but it appears that the next shoe is dropping hard for the beleaguered city as major retailers are packing up and leaving Detroit, Michigan in droves. According to the Wall Street Journal, the last Borders in the city has finally closed its doors and there only four remaining Starbucks outlets in the entire city of Detroit.

The city's unemployment rate is well over 20%, with nearly a third of the city's citizens relying on a state sponsored food program.

Full Story:

Wall Street Journal

Today's Buzz - North Korea, Carrie Prefean and Holocaust Museum Shooting

North Korea Keeps Pushing It, International Sanctions

Following the sentencing of the two US journalists by North Korea and concrete threats against South Korean ships nearing North Korean coastline, the international community has finally stepped up sanctions against the rogue nation, part of a long line of attempts to settle the North Korean nuclear threat diplomatically. Dear Leader's appointment of his apparent heir is yet another cause of instability in the region. Full Story

Carrie Pretean Fired from Miss California

Carrie Pretean, the center of the much hyped media storm over some controversial comments, has officially lost her crown as Miss California. The questionable decision will no doubt thrust her back into the talk radio spotlight for the conservative media desperately seeking representatives less polarizing than figures like Cheney and Limbaugh. Here we go again... Full Story

Shooting at Holocaust Museum

An elderly white supremacist opened fire on visitors to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC today, killing a security guard and wounding others. The gunman, James W. von Brunn, had a reputation for being a conspiracy theorist and having issues with the federal government. Full Story

North Korea Bans Ships off Coast, Sentences Journalists to 12 Years

Following last weeks hostile weapons test, North Korea has continued to defy global standards for peace and common decency.

Two American journalists have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering the country, which the state-run media of North Korea refers to as a "grave crime." The journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, have been held since their arrest some three months ago and will be transferred to their prison within the next 10 days. Ling's sister, Lisa Ling, is known for her television journalism on the National Geographic's Explorer program. Although a handful of NGO's are exercising every possible route to secure the journalists release or a less sever sentence, North Korea does not have a court of appeals and the United States does not have diplomatic relations with the country's government.

According to Dongguk University's professor Kim Yong-hyun's statements to the Mercury News, it is likely that both of the journalists will eventually be released due to diplomatic pressures.

Further exacerbating tensions, the North Korean government has ordered all fishing and shipping vessels to avoid their coastline, a sign that suggests that they plan on testing further missiles some time in the near future.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12544711?source=rss

Journalist Roxana Saberi Continues Hunger Strike

Roxana Saberi is now on the fifth day of her hunger strike, according to her American-Iranian father. Saberi is a journalist who had been working for quite some time in Iran when she was arrested by the Iranian government for working without press credential, but this charge was later elevated to espionage. Although she was sentanced to eight years in prison, the sentence has become a major source of contention between the United States and Iran, and her family's lawyer has stated that he is optimistic that the sentence will be overturned or greatly reduced. She plans to continue her hunger strike until freedom.

Swine Flu Symptoms

The Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico that has been making headlines the past couple of days has given the media cause to start up the perenial pandemic flu fear mongering again. Although it seems that every year we are all supposed to freak out due to a new bug that kills a small number of people and brings out flu like symptoms in a handful more, Swine Flu, along with Avian Flu, West Nile Virus, and all the rest, represent a real threat if they mutate and spread, so being aware of the symptoms of Swine Flu certainly can't hurt.

Swine Flu Symptoms include:

*Feever
*Nausea
*Diarreha
*Feeling Weak
*Vomiting
*Runny Nose
*Sore Throat

Yep, symptoms about as pleasant as the name Swine Flu itself.

Gospel Singer Timothy Wright Deceased

Gospel singer Reverend Timothy Wright died yesterday at the age of 61 due to complications of injuries that he sustained during a three car accident in New York City last year. The lives of both his wife and his grandson were claimed by the accident, and Rev. Wright had been surviving with the aid of a respirator since that time. Reverend Timothy Wright's career spanned over four decades of gospel ministry and he was once nominated for Grammy award.