Often I browse the internet at night with my laptop looking for news stories that I find interesting. After the terrible earthquakes in Haiti, millions of dollars of aid money has been raised. But it will take more than that. It is estimated that $3 billion is needed to rebuild the country. Will it help? According to USA Today:

During the 1990s, the U.S. government spent $100 million trying to improve Haiti’s police and justice systems, and had little to show for it.

After a decade of such aid, the nation’s law enforcement and courts remained corrupt and ineffectual, a 2000 Government Accountability Office report said.

From 2005 to 2007, the USA tried again, paying a contractor nearly $4 million to improve Haiti’s judicial system. There was “no measurable improvement,” a government audit found.

Cultural trends and attitudes will not change with money. It will be an uphill battle to get true change to Haiti.

The city of Camden was taken over by the State of New Jersey years ago because of corruption and mismanagement. Recently, a new mayor was elected and there was hope that there wouldn’t be gifts for her from people looking for a handout in return. But, this just in. It seems that her aide is not paid enough:

Newly elected Democratic Mayor Dana Redd wants to make sure her cronies get paid. In order to get “qualified and experienced staff,” Redd needs to increase her aides’ salaries from $71,000 to $150,000. Apparently, no one in Redd’s inner circle has heard that there’s a major recession going on. Apparently, Redd doesn’t understand that when a municipality has to beg the state for $67 million to balance the budget as it exists, boosting salaries for political appointees is more than a little cynical and self-serving. Oh yeah, and Redd was just elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the New Jersey Democrats. This, apparently, is what New Jersey Democrats think of when they think “leadership.”

I guess there are a few people in New Jersey that haven’t heard there is a recession going on and that the unemployment rate is at 10 percent. This clip from Thurman Hart at NJ.com explains it all:

Then word comes that the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission has hired lobbyists to ask the Governor not to tell everyone how many tax dollars they waste. You remember the PSVC – they hired Democratic Boss Joe Ferriero as General Counsel, then paid him for an additional 13,000 work hours. The PVSC is patronage heaven – the chairman is Anthony Luna, the city manager and former mayor of Lodi; the vice-chairman is Carl Czaplicki. And the PVSC just raised its fees because – get this – there is not enough sewage from industrial sources. They attempt to say that rising employee costs are also to blame – but then take credit for cutting $7 million in employee costs since 2005. What they don’t say is that the Chairman of the PVSC made $290K in 2008 and will make over $313K in 2010. Hey, I understand you need to keep up with inflation…but $23K in two years? And the Chair’s Chief of Staff makes $225K? The freaking clerk makes $190K?

If newly elected Governor Christie doesn’t do something about the waste and corruption in New Jersey the state is certainly doomed.

Airmen from the Kentucky National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group help to offload wounded Haitian refugees and medics from Puerto Rico National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at the air hub Jan. 25, 2010, in Barahona, Dominican Republic.

Photo Courtesy U.S Air Force Taken By Tech. Sgt. Dennis Flora

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Now that the Senate does not have a fillibuster proof majority, is health care dead? According to the Baltimore Sun, the idea is still be talked about, but a little more quietly. While it is easy to get a free life insurance quote, health care coverage and policies are a little trickier. Pre-existing conditions and other health factors may determine what kind of policy you can get, and how much you will pay. Still, the American people are not in line with the health care reform that President Obama is proposing.

Many have concluded that the only hope for resuscitating the health care legislation is to push the issue off the front page and give lawmakers time to work out a new compromise and shift public perception of the bill.

Changing public perception may be harder than they think. The bill was way to big and cumbersome to appeal to the average citizen. How about taking small steps instead of trying to overhaul the entire system at one time?

Received this email the other day. I wonder how many times these things circulated around the internet:

“YOU MAY BE A TALIBAN IF….”

1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to liquor.

2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can’t afford shoes.

3. You have more wives than teeth.

4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand, but consider bacon “unclean.”

5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.

6. You can’t think of anyone you haven’t declared Jihad against.

7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.

8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.

9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least four.

10. You’ve always had a crush on your neighbor’s goat.

The economic downturn has caused many of us to rethink our career goals and maybe try a new direction. A good way to get into a new field is to take classes and get your degree. While this is difficult for most individuals, an online university is a good alternative.

Western Governors University (WGU) is an university that offers online courses. The university currently serves over 17,000 in 50 states. WGU was founded by 19 governors of U.S. States and if fully accredidated. Because WGU is a non-profit university it is an affordable university. Tuition is charged every six months at a flat rate – the faster you are able to progress, the more money you can save.

WGU offers online degree programs in teaching, business, information technology and health professions. Both Bachelor and Master degree programs are offered. MSNBC recently reviewed WGU:

If you are looking to increase your education or look for a new career path, an online university such as WGU offers you flexibility to fulfill your dreams.

You might wonder why there are so many obese kids that grow up having to fight weight lose with CLA or other weight loss products:

From CBS News

Two students have started a petition to try to push their school to reverse a decision that bans balls in the schoolyard until winter is over.

Dana Slater, the principal of D. Roy Kennedy Public School in Ottawa, said balls are banned during the winter for safety reasons. Students are still allowed to run and play, but they can’t kick a ball around or play a game of catch.

“They’ve got snow stuck to them, they’re frozen, often there’s pebbles on them and they’re flying through the air,” Slater said. “One student fell backwards on their head and ended up with a concussion. We had a student with a ball in the eye area, which was very serious.”

But Miles Lawlor and Owen Moore argue that the ban has taken all the fun out of recess. The two elementary school students have collected more than 250 signatures on their petition calling for the ban to be reversed.

“It’s really fun with the balls, and right now people are just standing around talking and not getting any exercise, and that’s the whole point of recess,” Moore said.

Moore and Lawlor have given the principal a copy of the petition. Slater said she’ll talk with the students and their parents, but she said balls are still off limits for now.

Enough said:

At a recent dinner in Washington, Sarah Palin joked about Joe Biden’s hair loss. While some have said that Biden has undergone hair transplants and may have used shampoo for hair loss, Biden hair loss is typically for a man of 67 years of age. Palin joked that she was Vice President now: “I could be overseeing the signing of bailout checks and Vice President Biden could be on the road selling his book ‘Going Rogaine’.”

Palin was also able to make fun of herself by joking about the supposed $150,000 she spent on a new wardrobe during the campaign. She said she should have titled her book ‘How To Look Like a Million Bucks, For Only $150,000’.