The Pegasus Daily Bulletin

[Flying Horse]

Good morning my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 209th day of 2011 with 156 days left in the year.

8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 7:26 a.m. it's light rain , temp 75ºF (feels like 78ºF), winds SSW @ 7 mph, humidity 89% and pressure 29.90 in and steady. Today - scattered tunderstorms becoming more widespread in the afternoon , high 83ºF. winds SW @ 5-10 mph, chance of rain 80%. I won't complain - we need the rain.

Today's Headlines of Interest.

1. US Economy slows to snails pace.
GDP comes in at 1.3% pace, much slower than expected as spending stalled amid high gasoline prices. This undrescores what's at stake as lawmakers and the administration go down to the wire on negotiations to increase the nation's borrowing limit so the government can pay its bills and avoid a downgrade of its pristine creadit rating. And it's time the idiots in Washington got down to business and stop all their stupid posturizing. Even Joe Scarborough, old-time conservative, and his fellow panelists feel that the Tea Partiers are waging a form of economic terrorism on our country. Shame on them!! Do these people realize or even care that they are playing with the lives of millions of Americans?

2. Soldier arrested in 'terror plot' targeting Fort Hood.
Sometime Thursday, an AWOL private, facing a court martial, planned to set off bombs outside the base where a gunman killed 13 people in 2009. What is it about Fort Hood that's drawing these crazies?

3. What to do with a $100 billion space station...
NASA and partner agencies weigh new options for now-completed structure. Under discussion are innovative ways to use the orbiting laboratory as a testing ground for technologies to help future deep space exploration.

Today's Flower: Dahlia 'Marble Ball'


;)TGIF everyone

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[Flying Horse]

Good morning my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 209th day of 2011 with 156 days left in the year.

8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 6:46 a.m. it's sunny , temp 67ºF (feels like 67ºF), winds variable @ 3 mph, humidity 73% and pressure 30.02 in and rising, dew point 57ºF. Today - sunny , Warm. High 85ºF. winds NW 5-10 mph, chance of rain 0%. Another typical summer day, warm & muggy.

Today's Headlines of Interest.

1. Cops bust huge pot farm in Calif. national forest.
Officials seize 1,500 pounds of marijuana, 27 guns and arrest more than 100. A two-week operation to purge the Mendocino National Forest of illicit pot gardens uprooted 260,000 pot plants and led to more than 100 arrests. About 1,500 pounds of processed marijuana, 27 guns and 11 vehicles were also seized.

2. Congressmen want to roll back new Cuba travel rules.
Cuban-American congressmen don't want Castro regime to benefit from travel, instead they want to reinstate strict limits on how often they can visit relatives and how much money can be sent to loved ones on the island. Also under way is an effort to restore stricter limits on the kinds of education and cultural exchanges now permitted. Supporters say new restrictions would stop a lucrative travel business and money flow that props up a communist dictatorship. Oh, yes, let's keep this final remnant of the Cold War alive, but ailing. After all, what would we do without our favorite bogeyman - Fidel or now Raul Castro.

3. Poachers nabbed with world's rarest turtles.
Police in Madagascar have arrested two men attempting to smuggle out nearly 200 threatened tortoises, including two dozen of the rarest species. The 26 specimens of Ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) seized comprise about 5% of the estimated surviving wild population of the critically endangered animal, native to northern Madagascar. The live tortoises were found in a box and three bags on the tarmac at Antananrivo's Ivato Airport, according to TRAFFIC, which monitors illegal trade in wildlife.

Today's flower: Trumpet lily Lilium 'Copper King'


Have a super Saturday everyone.

[susala]

I think that we've let a relatively small group of Cuban immigrants and their sons and daughters control our relationship with Cuba for too long. We should be looking at what's best for the whole country.

I'm very glad that the investigators found the turtles. My friend's rich boss went on a three week birding trip there a few years ago. He's the only person I've ever met who's actually been there. Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to go, it's the kind of adventure traveling that's out of my price range.

[Flying Horse]

UK police add computer probe to phone-hacking inquiry.
Investigation is tackling new allegations of electronic privacy breaches. A new investigative team is being set up to tackle the new allegations, reporting to Sue Akers, the officer in charge of the phone hackng probe, the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) said. And ao the circle keeps widening around the Murdochs. I wonder what will be next.

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[Flying Horse]

Good morning my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 210th day of 2011 with 155 days left in the year.
8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 10:05 a.m. it's partly cloudy , temp 81ºF (feels like 83ºF), winds SSW @ 7 mph, humidity 66% and pressure 30.11 in and rising. Today - sunshine with a few clouds, high 88ºF. winds W @ 5-10 mph, chance of rain 20%. Another typical summer day, warm and dry.

Since it's Sunday, there is no news bulletin today. It's my day of rest. I refuse to see what disaster is looming before us today.

Today's flower: Lilium 'Red Ace'


I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[Flying Horse]

Good morning my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 211th day of 2011 with 154 days left in the year.
8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 8:10 a.m. it's partly cloudy, temp 72ºF (feels like 73ºF), winds SSW @ 7 mph, humidity 76% and pressure 29.95 in and steady, dew point 64ºF. Today - a mix of clouds and sun , high 87ºF. winds W @ 10-15 mph, chance of rain 20%. A typical summer day, warm and dry. Still no rain.

Today's Headlines of Interest:
1. UPDATE: $2 trillion in cuts: Key vote looms after debt deal.
Senate expected to consider measrue Monday; agreement could mean 'the lowest level of domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was president,' Obama says.

2. Russia to Syria: 'Use of force against civilians...must cease.'
80 people were killed Sunday in Hama, rights activists say; US alleges 'full armed warfare' targeting citizens. Russia said it was concerned by reports of bloodshed in Hama and called for an end to the violence. No kidding, this from a country that has led the world in violence against its own people.

3. Deadly journey: 25 bodies found as mirgrant boart reaches Italy.
Victims died after inhaling motor fumes, news agency reports, after setting sail from Libya and arriving on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. The nationalities of the dead, who were hiding in the boat's engine room, have not been confirmed. Those poor people so desperate to escape their old life and each a new geginning. It also reminds us that we are not the only country with an illegal immigration problem.

4. Smallest med school in U.S. to open with 8 students.
University of Kansas' satellite school aims to help fill need for rural doctors. The hope is that young doctors will be more willing to practice in small towns if they go to a medical school in a rural area. "By training physicians in a nonmetropolitan area, we are showing young medical students that ife can be good, and practice can be stimulating, outside of the big city," said Dr. William Cathcaret Rake, the physician who directs the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Salina. Good idad. Good luck.

5. Another royal wedding, Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The next eagerly awaited Royal Weding took place this weekend, when Zara Phillips, Princess Anne's daughter and Queen Elizabeth II's eldest granddaughter, married England rugby captain Mike Tindall. And reportedly, a good time was held by all in what turned out to be one heck of a party. And the groom certainly looks rugged enough to be any kind of player he wants to be!

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[susala]

I like the idea of training doctors in rural areas. I hope it works.

Yes, he does look rugged, doesn't he? He's certainly going to infuse some red blood into the blue.

[Flying Horse]

sus- - I'm sure he must have qualities that the pics don't reveal. He looks like a thug, but then rugby requires that thuggish attitude. Zara's a competitive horsewoman like her mother the Princess Anne was (she competed in an Olympics years ago), so they have that sporting life in common.

[Flying Horse]

Senate fails to end costly FAA shutdown.
Stalemate could cost government an estimated $1.2 billion in uncollected ticket taxes. Not to mention that in the last 10 days 241 airport modernization projects have been shut down and 70,000 construction workers laid off.
And the partisan stalemate that has partially shutdown the FAA will continue into September, after congressional attempts to reach a deal fell through. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was willing to accept a House Republican bill to restore the FAA's operating authority but the House left Washington yesterday.
The FAA's operating authority expired on 23 July as did the authority of airlines to collect about $30 million a day in ticket taxes. Nearly 4,000 FAA employees have been laid off and work stopped on all construction projects. Fortunately for air travelers, air traffic controllers remain on duty.
Would you believe that the FAA's long-term operating authority expired in 2007!! At Congress hasn't been able to agree on a long-term funding planc, so it has operated under a series of 20 short-term extensions.
What is the matter with these people? Is this any way to run a government? I wish we had a parliamentary system and could fource the leading party out of office and to a country-wide election whenever they lost the confidence of the people. But we have to wait for the next election year!!

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[Flying Horse]

us.social.s-msn.com/s/images/emoticons/coffee.gif [/img]Good morning my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 215th day of 2011 with 150 days left in the year.
8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 11:03 a.m. it's light rain , temp 74ºF (feels like 875F), calm, humidity 76% and pressure 29.72 in and falling. Today - showers and thunderstorms, high 75ºF. winds SE @ 5-10 mph, chance of rain 80%. A warm, gentle rain which after all the dry heat, can feel very nice.

Today's Headlines of Interest:
1. UPDATE: Pres. Obama signs debt bill after final Senate vote.
The Senate emphatically passed 74-26 the emergency legislation to avoid government default, rushing it to the president for his signature just hours before the deadline. Much of the measure, which the House passed Monday night, was negotiated on terms set by House Speaker Boehner, including a demand that any increase in the nation's borrowing cap be matched by spending cuts. But the legislation also meets demands made by Obama, including debt-limit increases large enough to keep the government funded into 2013 and curbs on growth of the Pentagon budget. So that much is finally over, finally.

2. Skydiving quadriplegic plunges to death in Montana.
Jack Fogle, age 27, plunged 18,000 feet to his death because he was unable to manually deploy his parachute and his emergency chute was not set to automatically release. An examination of his equipment showed no malfunctions, suggesting that he failed to properly set a device that would have caused the reserve chute to open on its own. His death has been ruled accidental and not suicide as rumors would have it. How much do you want to bet that the next thing will be his family suing the skydiving club? We just recently had an ex-serviceman without legs die in a fall from a roller coaster at a local 6-Flags amusement part. At the time, the family said no one but the man himself was to blame. Now they're suing the owners of the amusement park. Got to cash in on that chance at the almighty dollar. The fact that the man made a stupid decision to go on the ride without the necessary restraints means nothing.

3. Ukraine to save bears from forced vodka drinking.
Ukraine's Environment Minister Mykola Zlochevsky vowed to free all bears kept in restaurants for entertainment purposes and often forced to drink alcohol. "On television they keep showing bears suffering in restaurants and roadside hotels," he said. "How long can we tolerate animal torture ...where drunken guests make bears drink vodka for laughs?" Ah, yes, another instance of man's love for his fellow planet inhabitants. Have you seen the trailers for the new Planet of the Apes movie? When I read a story like this, I can understand perfectly why the apes would be so savage in their fight with man.

4. Republicans seeking election remain unsure about embracing Tea Party.
Linking arms with movement may help candidates tap into reservoir of energy but it also threatens to alienate independent voters who grimaced at the bickering in Washington and preferred greater compromise on issues like tax increases. "The process didn't please anyone," said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, "but it was very clear that the new congressmen elected in 2010 dramatically shifted the debate from how much more shall we spend to how much shall we cut." But their all-or-nothing approach almost caused our government to default in its financial obligations. There comes a time when ideology must bow to practicality. I'm a fairly independent voter and this crisis has turned me more firmly toward the Democrats. I don't trust ideologues. It's fine if an individual wants to be a martyr for a cause but not when that martyrdom will take down everyone else with him.
Today's flower: Dahlia 'Kelvin Floodlight'


Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone from Tuxy & me.

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[Flying Horse]

Good morning my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 215th day of 2011 with 150 days left in the year.
8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 10:27 a.m. it's cloudy , temp 70ºF (feels like 71ºF), WNW @ 6 mph, humidity 83% and pressure 29.94 in and steady, dew point 64ºF. Today - a mix of clouds and sun, high 83ºF. winds NE @ 5-10 mph, chance of rain 10%. Warm and muggy again.

Today's Headlines of Interest:
1. Syria steps up violent crackdown against opponents.
As UN condemns Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad, resident says at least 45 more killed in bsieged city of Hama, a sharp excalation of a mlitary campaign aimed at ending an uprising against his rule. UN protests don't seem to be having any affect, but I don't really see what we can do.

2. US judge allows American to sue Rumsfeld over torture.
Translator contracted to US Marines allegedly was 'put on ice,' abused by military in Iraq. An Army veteran who says he was imprisoned unjustly and totured by the US military in Iraq will be alowed to sue former Defense Secretary Dnald Rumsfeld personally for damages. Heworked for an American contracting company as a translator for the Marines in the volatile Anhar province and was detained for nine months at Camp Cropper, a US military facility dedicated to holding "high-value" detainees. Later he filed suit in US District Court in Washington arguing that Rumsfeld personally approved torturous interrogation techniques on a case-by-case basis and controlled his detention without access to courts in violation of his constitutional rights. Frankly, I'm not surprised Rumsfeld did this and I hope he pays.

3. Jerry Lewis onpermanent holiday from MDA telethon.
Veteran supporter of Muscular Dystrophy Association will not host annual fundraiser or serve as organization's chairman. There was no immediate explanation for the moves, and calls to the non-profit agency weren't returned. Well, this is certainly strange. Lewis had announced that he was retiring and that this year's telethon would be his last. Now MDA says he won't be on the telethon and his time is over as nattional chairman and won't be replaced. Sounds like a falling out occurred somewhere.

4. Virginia Tech locked down after report of man with a gun.
The site of the worst campus shooting in US history is onlockdown with reports of a gunman on campus. "Person with a gun reported near Dietrick. Stay inside. Secure doors. Emergency personnel responding. Call 911 for help," the alert warned. Hopefully it's a false alarm.

Today's flower: Liatris ligulistylis 'Monarch'


Have a tremendous Thursday everyone.

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!

[Flying Horse]

Good afternoon my friends from Tuxy and me
Today is the 215th day of 2011 with 150 days left in the year.
8-)Today in NY's Finger Lakes at 12:17 a.m. it's partly cloudy , temp 82ºF (feels like 84ºF), winds S @ 6 mph, humidity 66% and pressure 30.09 in and steady, dew point 65ºF. Today - partly cloudy with chance of thunderstorms, high 86ºF. winds light and variable, chance of rain 30%. Still warm and muggy.

Today's Headlines of Interest:
1. Analysis: No double dip recession...for now.
Jobs data better than expected, but government has few options to do more to rev up economy stuck in first gear. This month's job numbers showed a surprising uptick in hiring in July. Payrolls expanded by 117,000 as private employers added 154,000 workers, offsetting the continuing shrinkage of federal, state and local government positions (37,000 cut in July for a 9th straight month of government job losses). The gains helped the unemployment rate to edge down to 9.1%. So all the prognosticators last week were wrong. Now ain't that sumpin'?

2. NASA probe blasts off for Jupiter after launch-pad snags.
Mission managers cope with minor issues, then send Juno toward a 2016 rendezvous with our system's largest planet to study its origin and evolution.
An artist's rendering shows the solar-powered NASA's Juno spacecraft with Jupiter in the background. Each of the solar panels is as big as a tractor-trailer truck. "What we're really going after is some of the most fundamental questions about our solar system -- how Jupiter formed, how it evolved, what really happened early in the solar system that eventually led to all of us," said Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute. Jupiter holds about twice as much mass as the rest of the solar system combined, excepting the sun. It was the first planet to coalesce after the sun formed, gobbling up most of the dust and gas "leftovers" in the early solar system. Fascinating. I hope I'm still around when scientists began assessing the data sent back by Juno.

3. Honda recalling 2.49 million cars, small SUVs & minivans.
Transmission software glitch affects late-model Accords, CR-Vs, Elements. Without updating the software, the automatic transmissions could be damage if the driver quickly shifts between gears. That might cause the engine to stall or make it difficult to put the car into park. For years we've heard how much more reliable the Japanese cars were vs. American. Well, it seems like success has spoiled that reputation. Buy American.

4. Disapproval rate for Congress at record 82% after debt talks.
Americans want job creation to take priority over cutting spending, according to new poll. A record disapproval rate of Congress among Americans concerning handling of its job (the lowest since The Times first began asking the question in 1977). More than 4 out of 5 surveyed said that the recent debt-ceiling debate was more about gaining political advantage than about doing what was best for the country. Nearly 3/4s said that the debate had harmed the image of the US abroad. What's more, Republicans are blamed more for the difficulties than the president and congressional Democrats, according to the poll. The public's opinion of the Tea Party movement has soured in the wake of the debt ceiling debate It is now viewed unfavorably by 40% of the public and favorably by just 20% and 43% feel that the Tea Party has too much influence on the Republican Party. And why are these numbers important? Because it reflects the attitude of disillusioned independent voters who will be crucial in the coming presidential election year.

Today's flower: Gladiolus 'Priscilla'


TGIF everyone!!

[a]

Good morning Peg and Tuxy!