Jeuck and Sallemi plan to reroute their eight guests to a new location two hours away in Sedona. While the new site is free, they don't know if they will be able to recoup their $250 permit fee and the hundreds of dollars in hotel deposits everyone attending the wedding has made.

Since individual parks issue their own permits, it's unclear exactly how many weddings are expected to take place in the upcoming weeks at the country's hundreds of national parks.

At Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which features sweeping views of San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate bridge, 11 wedding permits have been issued for the first two weeks of October. And this weekend alone, Yosemite National Park has eight weddings scheduled.

Meanwhile, nine weddings are scheduled on the National Mall in Washington D.C. for this coming week, according to Carol Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Mall and Monuments. The couples were all notified that if the shutdown continued, their permit would be canceled, she said. She was not sure whether affected couples would receive a refund.

One bride who spent more than a year planning this weekend's wedding in Joshua Tree National Park told CNNMoney she's hopeful that her guests will know where to show up on the big day. She has a backup plan, but is still holding out ho

I have been a bride and this would suck!!

The Government Shutdown Canceled Our Wedding

When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.
Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. But she couldn't see his private profile. She turned back and asked him to hand over his login information.
Bassett refused and withdrew his application, saying he didn't want to work for a company that would seek such personal information. But as the job market steadily improves, other job candidates are confronting the same question from prospective employers, and some of them cannot afford to say no.

Job seekers getting asked for Facebook passwords

An article by Caroline Kennedy

Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

I have a problem with this article. It is meant to play to the baby boomers warm fuzzy feelings about JFK. My outrage about this article is also tied to another headline I saw this weekend entitled "Barack Obama is the next MLK". I have nothing against Obama but these are ridiculous comparisions. They are not the same. While Obama is a great guy he is not MLK or JFK. This is notnessisarily a bad things. I am not trying to put him down. I wouldn't want him to be either of those people because I don't think it would make him a good presidential candidate in 2008. I am not going to go into my rant about this but I think both of these article are way off base.

A President Like My Father

On Sunday, February 3, television viewers will be checking their volume controls when PepsiCo airs a 60-second commercial filmed in American Sign Language (ASL), with open-captioned text for the benefit of all viewers. The spot was created by and features PepsiCo employees who are members of EnAble, an employee network whose mission is to promote a more inclusive environment for people with disabilities. Slated to air on the pre-game show on FOX, the commercial features Pepsi-Cola and Lay's Potato Chips, but its real mission is to bring awareness of the American deaf community to a wider audience. PepsiCo also will sponsor the closed captioning of FOX's entire Super Bowl broadcast.
"The outpouring of support for this ad, both internally and externally, has been overwhelming," said Clay Broussard, PepsiCo employee and project lead on Bob's House. "This is one way we can give back through what we call Performance with Purpose. It's part of a larger effort to make PepsiCo the defining corporation of the 21st century. By bringing the world an ad performed by deaf employees in ASL, we feel like we've already scored the upset on Super Bowl Sunday."

PepsiCo Brings Silent Ad to Super Bowl

Yay!!! I mean ARRRRRRRR!!!!

Most days are like all of the others,
Go to work, come back home, watch TV,
But, brother, if I had me druthers,
I'd chuck it and head out to sea,

For I dream of the skull and the crossbones,
I dream of the great day to come,
When I dump the mundane for the Old Spanish Main
And trade my computer for rum! ARRR!

T' me,
Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho,
It's "Talk Like A Pirate" Day!
When laptops are benches God gave us for wenches,
And a sail ain't a low price to pay!
When timbers are shivered and lillies are livered
And every last buckle is swashed,
We'll abandon our cars for a shipfull of ARRRs
And pound back the grog till we're sloshed. Yo ho ....

- Anyone see my keys?
- Just off the coast o' Florida, matey! ARRR!

Don't pick up yer phone and say "Hello,
Your ten-o-clock meeting's delayed",
Ye scrunch up yer face and ye bellow,
"AVAST! Ye've been bleedin' BELAYED!"

Ye can't keep this fun to yourself, I bet,
So sing "Aye", "ARRR", and "Ayy", every man!
We ain't got much grasp of the alphabet,
But a damn good retirement plan! (raucous laughter)

T' me,
Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho,
It's "Talk Like A Pirate" Day!
Whatever's in fashion is in for a thrashin'
And bein' polite is passe!
When it's ev'ry man's duty to grab his proud beauty
And let out a hearty YO HO!
And if this offends you, hold your breath as we sends
you
Ta Davy Jones' Locker ya go!

- Where IS Davy Jones' Locker, anyway?
- Right near Monkee Island! Arr, aye, arr....

We'll tell every banker "Heave to and weigh anchor!"
Buy latte with pieces of eight
We'll fight to be chosen as cap'n or bosun
The loser, o' course, is worst mate!

When we hoist Jolly Roger the landlubbers dodge 'er,
We fill 'em with loathing and fear,
We'll plunder and pillage each city and village,
Or at least clean out Wal-Mart of beer!

- Ahoy, mateys! And Welcome ta "Iron Chef Pirate!"
Let's see the secret ingredient!
GONNNG It's Barnacles!
- Oh ho! There'll be some cutting-edge cuisine!

- "AWK! AWK!" bzzzzzz
- Hold still, Polly! I need this for me salad!
- Avast there, me bucko! Ye need CARROT shavings! CARROT!
- But Captain, I be on Atkins!
- Moron...

- And you! WHAT are ye doin' with that salmon?
- I'm grillin' it on a hunk o' cedar, what d'y'think?
- Ye CAN'T do that in a JAPANESE STIR-FRY, ye bilge rat!
- Oh HO! Ye never heard o' "wokkin' the plank"?

There ain't no computin' or morning commutin',
No "Parking Lot Full" signs for me,
No lawns ta be mowin' or bills to be owin',
I'm knowin' the pull of the sea.

The fresh salty brace of the wind on my face
Through hurricane, sunshine or squalls,... [ Read More (0.1k in body) ]

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

The sudden heat wave has brought something more menacing than sunburns and higher electric bills. The latest sign of summer just might be spontaneous combustion.

Arlington schools Superintendent Mac Bernd announced Monday that he would replace all the "engineered wood fiber" material on the district's playgrounds after one burst into flames last week. A review of footage from a surveillance camera determined that no one was around to start the fire – either accidentally or intentionally.

"It was like a perfect storm," said Deputy Fire Marshal Keith Ebel.
Also Online

He said the fire Thursday at Anderson Elementary apparently started from heat generated by decomposition of the wood chips and high temperatures from the recent heat wave. Marshal Ebel said this might not have happened without the rainy first half of the summer followed by high heat.

This is pure craziness

School Playground Spontaneously Combusts

The United Kingdom raised its terrorism threat level to critical, the highest level possible, Saturday after a vehicle plowed into the terminal building at Scotland's busiest airport and burst into flames.

Police at the highest levels are assuming the fiery incident in Glasgow was a terrorist attack, CNN has learned.

Authorities assume the incident is linked to the discovery Friday in London of two explosives-filled cars. They could not yet say whether the same people were involved or whether the Glasgow incident was the work of copycats.

Police and witnesses in Glasgow described an SUV-style vehicle in flames being driven at full speed toward the building.

Two people were arrested at the scene, police said.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any injuries, although unconfirmed witness reports described a man on fire at the scene.

Witness Jackie Kennedy said a man got out of the car, went to the back and pulled out a can of fuel, which he poured on himself and ignited.

"The guy was in flames and seemed to be enjoying himself," Kennedy said.

I really do wonder sometimes how they pick the people to interview

Blazing car rammed into Glasgow Airport

Americans overwhelmingly approve of legislation to prevent hate violence. In fact, three in four (or 68%) support expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity and giving local law enforcement the tools and resources they need to investigate and prosecute these tragic acts of bigotry.

I am confident that you will champion the will of voters in your community and the majority of Americans, and bring our federal hate crime laws into the 21st Century, by ensuring that all of our citizens are protected against senseless hate violence.

While a random act of violence against any individual is always a tragic event, we know that violent crimes based on prejudice are meant to terrorize an entire community.

As Americans, we must defend our neighbors from becoming victims of bias-motivated violence.

So get out there and send a message.
I am not gay or part of any alternative lifestyle but there is no place for violence in our country even if you think what someone else is doing is wrong. There are other ways to express your views and violence is not the way.

More info here... http://www.hrc.org/

Pass the Matthew Shepard Act...

Billy got married on Sunday. The wedding was wonderful and several of us had the honor of witnessing the beautiful event.

Billy and Jill tie the knot

The parliamentary report featured a handful of cases of mistaken identity, the most prominent of which was the ordeal of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen suspected of terrorist ties and packed off to his native Syria in 2002.

“But the Canadians say there’s absolutely no evidence,” countered Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.

“I would certainly not apologize to him, sir.”

The CIA, he added, is not “in the business of cleaning up afterwards. We’re in the business of pre-emption.”

But, Delahunt persisted, “What about those who are clearly eventually determined to be innocent?”

“Mistakes are made, sir.”

“Mistakes are made.”

“That’s right,” Scheuer said. “They’re not Americans, and I really don’t care.” He spread his arms, smiling. “It’s just a mistake.”

Wow!! That is amazing....I wonder if the mistake was that they found out the people were Americans would he care then?

CQ Homeland Security - A CIA Man Speaks His Mind on Secret Abductions