Found this display of Independence Day decorations at Lowes in Cincinnati. 
From Knight Rider Online: Mio Knight Rider GPS has voice of KITT Inside
It might be fun to have KITT give you turn by turn directions, but I could do without the picture of David Hasselhoff appearing every time you turn it on.
From ESPN.com: Hammon’s Olympic dream puts her in Russian uniform
“The jersey that I wear has never made me who I was. It has nothing to do with what’s written on my heart,” Hammon told ESPN.com Tuesday. “Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I’m absolutely 100 percent still an American. I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is an opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics.”
What might make Hammon’s decision an eye-opener in this country is that — in addition to her scrappy point-guard play — her popularity stems partly from the perception that she is the ultimate small-town all-American girl: blond hair, ponytail and near perfect smile. And now the all-American girl will suit up for Russia, which could knock a dent into that image.
Becky Hammon, a popular WNBA player, is U.S. born with no Russian ancestors. Hammon became a naturalized Russian citizen last year to be able to play on the Russian team.
I have no problem with naturalized citizens joining a country’s Olympic team- there are a number of them that have been on the U.S. Olympic team. However, I think if you become a citizen of a country you should show some allegiance to the country.
When Hammon says that she’s 100% American, that should be a slap in the face to every member of the Russian Olympic team. I’m surprised that the Russians would allow her to stay on the team with statements like that. Imagine an U.S. Olympic team member saying that he/she had 100% allegiance to another country.
From NYTimes.com: China Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo
The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay in December 2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including “sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exposure.”
What the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them false, from American prisoners.
Come on! Do we have to import everything from China? What happened to old fashioned American torture?
Seriously, this is a disturbing article about how torture was used to gain confessions of captured American soldiers, often false.
From Dayton Daily News: Telling it as (like) it is
Ken Griffey Jr. was not in Monday’s lineup and he saw 9-year-old Darren Baker standing in the clubhouse.
“Why am I not playing tonight, Darren?” asked Griffey.
“Because you can’t hit lefthanders,” said Darren, son of manager Dusty Baker. “And you’re old.”
Ha ha. At least one Baker isn’t afraid of saying how it is.
From NYTimes.com: No Babies?
In Germany, where the births-to-deaths ratio now results in an annual population loss of roughly 100,000, Ursula von der Leyen, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s family minister (and a mother of seven), declared two years ago that if her country didn’t reverse its plummeting birthrate, “We will have to turn out the light.”
Incredibly fascinating story. I always tend to think of the planet is getting overcrowded, but in Europe, a shrinking population is a real problem.
From NYTimes.com: EBay to Pay Damages in Sale of Fakes
A French court on Monday ordered the online auction giant eBay to pay 38.6 million euros, or $61 million, in damages to the French luxury goods company LVMH, in the latest round in a long-running legal battle over the sale of counterfeit goods on the Internet.
LVMH, a maker of high-end leather goods, perfumes and other fashion and luxury products, successfully challenged eBay for a second time in the French court, arguing that 90 percent of the Louis Vuitton bags and Dior perfumes sold on eBay are fakes.
The court ruled that eBay, which earns a commission on the sales, was not doing enough to stamp out counterfeit sales.
How can EBay as a marketplace be responsible for the products that its vendor sell? It seems like LVMH is trying to take the easy way out and pin the responsibility on eBay when they should be the ones going after the vendors.
From WBZtv.com: Manny Shoves Traveling Secretary
Just weeks after getting into a scuffle with Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez shoved the team’s traveling secretary to the ground in Houston over the weekend, according to a published report.
McCormick told Ramirez that he might not be able to get all 16, and according to McAdam, Ramirez responded by shouting: “Just do your job!” They started arguing and Ramirez pushed McCormick.
If doing your job means getting thrown to the ground by Manny Ramierz, then it’s time for a new job. What an ass.
From NYTimes.com: Solution, or Mess? A Milk Jug for a Green Earth
I never understand why it’s so hard for people to change habits or preferences when there’s tremendous benefits in doing so. The milk jug above is much friendlier to the environment because it can be stacked for cheaper and more efficient transportation saving 20 to 30 cents/gallon. But, people complain that it’s harder to pour if you don’t know how.
From NYTimes.com: ‘It’s Over, Lady!’
The woman in this article has to be the head nut job of Hillary Clinton’s “cult of personality”.
“But I have a gut feeling,” she said with macabre faith, “that something’s going to happen so that she becomes the nominee.”