Seven Surviving Candidates Await Iowa Caucuses

A recent poll shows that former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is leading in Iowa, followed by Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, in that order. At this time the situation is extremely volatile; many Iowans are still undecided. This state could make or break Rep. Michele Bachmann, as she is the closest thing to a "favorite daughter" candidate, and if she can't even make it in Iowa, she's unlikely to succeed anywhere else. Holding up the rear are: Gov. Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum. Dr. Paul bears watching: he is one of the few candidates capable of running on a third-party ticket, and both he and Rep. Bachmann could be the recipients of protest votes from citizens dissatisfied with the competition.

Cain Suspends Campaign

Embattled Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has suspended his campaign in the face of extreme pressure surrounding allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity, according to FOX News.

His wife Gloria standing by his side in a rare public appearance, Cain decried the sustained accusations as false and declared he is "at peace" with his wife and with himself. But he said the claims have "sidetracked and distracted" from his ability to present a new vision for the country, to the point that he must call off the campaign.... In addition, these accusations have caused his poll numbers to plummet.

The True Worth of a Chevy Volt

It is a sure sign of desperation that Government Motors has offered to buy back every Chevy Volt, after concerns about its safety, i.e., the possibility that the battery may cause the car to catch fire in a collision. The Associated Press has more details.

Releasing Unemployment Statistic on a Friday Is No Accident

Count on John Lott at FOX News to break the truth to us: the 8.6% unemployment rate being touted by the Obama regime is misleading in that it fails to take into account the 487,000 people who gave up looking for work.

Only conservative news sources have bothered to look into this announcement, as the news cycle reaches a stopping point on Fridays, a well-known fact to politicians. Rush Limbaugh had a few choice words to say about this fudged statistic earlier today, which frankly is still embarrassingly high.

World's Largest Insect Found in New Zealand

Some readers may find this story a bit gross, but the Daily Mail (U.K.) ran it anyway.

Mark Moffett, a former park ranger from Colorado, traveled all the way to Little Barrier Island in New Zealand to find the largest living insect. Weighing 71 grams, it is heavier than a sparrow and about 3 times as heavy as a mouse. Mark found that this insect likes to eat carrots, but was careful not to feed it too much.

Giant wetas used to live on North and South Islands, but were wiped out by rats accidentally introduced by colonists.

Retired Sheriff Arrested, Detained in Jail Named After Him!

This has got to be one of the most ironic stories in recent memory. The Denver Post has this story:

Authorities began investigating former Araphoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan after a Centennial man called police in September and said "an old guy" was trying to get his roommates back into drugs and had been smoking methamphetamine with them, according to a police report. The article also mentions that during the incident that led to his arrest, he was attempting to trade meth for sex.

When the Centennial man asked Sullivan to leave and said he was going to call 911, Sullivan told the man "If you want the police I am the police," the man told officers.

Sullivan later told detectives he is on a meth drug task force and helps recovering addicts get clean, according to another report. He also said he worked for the state health department's drug treatment office.... [Terms of use for this newspaper require that we refer the reader to the original article for more details.]

McDonald's Outsmarts City of San Francisco

"The Snitch" at SF Weekly describes an unintended consequence of San Francisco's attempt to ban Happy Meals claiming that the enclosed toy provides an incentive for children to make an unhealthy food choice.

In order to include a toy with a meal, restaurants must now comply with city-generated nutritional standards. Those are standards that even the "healthier" Happy Meals McDonald's introduced earlier this year don't come close to meeting....

And yet it seems McDonald's has turned lemons into lemonade -- and is selling the sugary drink to San Francisco's children. Local McDonald's employees tell SF Weekly the company has devised a solution that appears to comply with San Francisco's "Healthy Meal Incentive Ordinance" that could actually make the company more money -- and necessitate toy-happy youngsters to buy more Happy Meals.

It turns out San Francisco has not entirely vanquished the Happy Meal as we know it. Come Dec. 1, you can still buy the Happy Meal. But it doesn't come with a toy. For that, you'll have to pay an extra 10 cents.

Huh. That hardly seems to have solved the problem (though adults and children purchasing unhealthy food can at least take solace that the 10 cents is going to Ronald McDonald House charities). But it actually gets worse from here. Thanks to Supervisor Eric Mar's much-ballyhooed new law, parents browbeaten into supplementing their preteens' Happy Meal toy collections are now mandated to buy the Happy Meals....

American Airlines Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

FOX News reports that the parent company of American Airlines has filed for bankruptcy, citing high fuel costs and labor struggles.

The third largest U.S. airline also said its CEO Gerard Arpey will step down. He's being replaced by Thomas Horton, currently the company's president.

Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp., along with its regional affiliate AMR Eagle Holding Corp. said Tuesday that they filed voluntary petitions to reorganize.
American says it sought protection to reduce its costs and debt to remain competitive.

The airline says it will continue normal flight operations during the reorganization.

American was the only major U.S. airline that didn't file for bankruptcy protection after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The last major airline to file for bankruptcy protection was Delta in 2005.

American says labor-contract rules force it to spend at least $600 million more than other airlines.

Besides higher labor costs, American also struggled with rising jet fuel costs. Jet fuel cost an average of $3 per gallon so far this year -- a record according to government data that goes back to 1990. Jet fuel is more expensive now than the average of $2.96 per gallon in 2008, when oil rose above $147 per barrel for the first time. It's risen 56.4 percent in the past five years. The average price of jet fuel was $1.92 per gallon in 2006....

Singer George Michael Fighting Pneumonia on £100,000 Bed

George Michael, one-half of the popular duo Wham! that enjoyed its heyday during the 1980s, has not been making the news lately, but the Daily Mail (U.K.) says he is fighting for his life in a Vienna hospital [click on original article to see enlarged illustration].

He was rushed to the AKH hospital in Vienna a week ago after falling ill during his European tour.

On Saturday, Professor Dr Christoph Zielinski and Professor Dr Thomas Staudinger, who are looking after the singer around the clock, said: ‘George Michael has severe community acquired pneumonia and is being treated as an in-patient.

‘His condition has stabilised and he is responding to treatment.'

However, this morning The Sun claimed Mr Michael had developed acute respiratory distress - a dangerous new complication that stops oxygen getting into the blood and can often prove fatal.

The Wham! star is now being treated on a Triadyne Proventa bed, which is for people with pneumonia who are unable to move.

Dr Carol Cooper, told the paper: 'The bed has probably saved his life so far. But he is far from out of the woods yet.'

The futuristic bed, which measures 7ft 6in by 3ft 5in, mimics the body’s natural movements to improve blood and lymph flow. It is also equipped with sophisticated technology to reduce pressure on the patient's lungs.

The bed holds them securely in place using moulded foam, while special Gore medical fabric creates a barrier against bacteria....

Needless to say, this critical illness has forced the cancellation of all of the concerts in his current tour.

Three Face Prison Time for Toilet Paper Scam in South Florida

Glenn Beck's The Blaze reports that 3 con artists bilked seniors out of $1 million by talking them into buying a 70-year supply of toilet paper and other products.

...Federal prosecutors say the trio duped elderly customers into buying unnecessary septic products, in some cases more than 70 years worth of toilet paper, the Miami Herald reported.

Salespeople for FBK Products allegedly told more than a dozen victims they needed to buy the company’s special toilet paper to avoid ruining their septic tanks, claiming the federal government had changed regulations on toilet paper.

They said the company was affiliated with the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Herald reported, and even claimed one product — the $199 Septic Remedy treatment — would eliminate the need to have tanks pumped.

Victims were also told that they needed special soap, detergent and toilet paper or their septic tanks would not pass federal inspection, prosecutors say. The federal government does not regulate septic tank products.

The three pleaded guilty in federal court last week to conspiring to commit wire fraud and will be sentenced in February. Three other employees are awaiting trial.

Simple Movie Test

This is a test that's been making the rounds of the Internet, and it really works!

Scroll down and do the quiz as it instructs and find out what your favorite movie is! This amazing math quiz can predict which of the 18 films below you would enjoy the most.

- Pick a number from 1 - 9.
- Multiply by 3.
- Add 3.
- Multiply by 3 again.

Now add the two digits together to find your favorite predicted movie in the list of 18 below.

1. Gone with the Wind
2. E.T.
3. Beverly Hills Cop
4. Star Wars
5. Forrest Gump
6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
7. Jaws
8. Grease
9. The Obama Abdication Speech of 2012
10. Casablanca
11. Jurassic Park
12. Shrek
13. Pirates of the Caribbean
14. Titanic
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Home Alone
17. Mrs. Doubtfire
18. Toy Story

"The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale and Performance Improve"

Count on the Daily Mail (U.K.) to illustrate how the Russia of today hasn't progressed very far from the Soviet regime or even the tsarist era when it comes to motivational techniques.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has raised the prospect of criminal prosecutions for space mishaps following a series of failed launches that have embarrassed his country.

Speaking on television Medvedev said: 'Recent failures are a strong blow to our competitiveness.

'It does not mean that something fatal has happened, it means that we need to carry out a detailed review and punish those guilty.'

'I am not suggesting putting them up against the wall like under Stalin, but seriously punish either financially or, if the fault is obvious, it could be a disciplinary or even criminal punishment,.'

Medvedev's comments come after a number of failures in recent space missions.

Newt Offers Obama Handicap in Future Debate

Real Clear Politics quoted former Speaker of the House and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich:

"I already said that if he wants to use a teleprompter, then it would be fine with me. It has to be fair. If you [were] to defend ObamaCare, wouldn't you want a teleprompter?" Gingrich asked.

"Now, just for a second I'm going to go in the detour and I'll try to explain why I've been and he'll say yes. There are two reasons. The first, is ego. Can you imagine him looking in the mirror? Graduate from Columbia, Harvard Law, editor of the Law Review journal. [Against] the greatest articulator in a Democratic book?"

"How is he going to say that he's afraid to be on the same podium as a West Georgia College student?"

O How the Mighty Have Fallen!

The Hot Air blog comments on a NewsBusters article referencing GQ Magazine's latest list of "25 Least Influential People Alive."

"...Sad but true, the president is number 25 on the magazine’s '25 Least Influential People Alive.' He is down sharing the dregs with MSNBC host Ed Schultz, Newsweek editor Tina Brown, deposed Egyptian 'President' Hosni Mubarak, disgraced C&W singer Hank Williams, Jr., and (GOP take notice!) House Majority Leader John Boehner.

"If the fact of being included in a list of do-nothings and failures is not already a bitter enough pill for a man of Obama’s towering ego, the irony that he was GQ’s 'Man of the Year' in 2008 and 'Leader of the Year' in 2009 is surely not lost on him...."

Québec Rolls Out the Language Police

Despite their denials, we consider the attempt of a school board in Montréal to regulate what language children speak on the playground an infringement on their rights to privacy and free choice. The Ottawa Citizen describes how Québec, which made the rest of Canada accept French as a second official language, will not tolerate the speaking of any other language (especially English) in their own province.

"If they are automatically switching to another language, (the monitor) will gently tap them on the shoulder - not on the head - to tell them, 'Remember, we speak French. It's good for you.'

"It will be enough to deliver a clear message that French must be spoken, and when we speak it often, we become very good at it...."

Obama Signs Bill That We Approve Of

Military.com has a brief report on the new veterans' job bill signed by President Obama that offers tax credits to businesses that hire veterans.

"Obama said the federal government has already hired 120,000 veterans and that companies across the country have pledged to hire 135,000 veterans and their spouses in an attempt to reduce the unemployment rate of Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

"'While we added more than 350,000 private sector jobs over the last three months, we've got 850,000 veterans who can't find work,' Obama said. Though unemployment came down slightly last month, unemployment among Iraq and Afghan vets continues to climb, he said."

Occupy Indianapolis Puts Homeless People to Work

You knew there would be a catch to this headline, didn't you? FOX News Insider has an amazing story about how Occupy Indianapolis has attempted to make up for their dwindling numbers by hiring homeless people to maintain their presence in the city while the original protesters are at home sleeping in their beds.

And Gateway Pundit reports that the Occupy protests around the United States has cost cities over $20 million, not $13 million, as previously reported by other news outlets.

The Intelligentsia's Love Affair with Alien Ideologies, Explained

Roger Kimball at PJ Media brings up this intriguing point:

How many people still remember The Opium of the Intellectuals, the French philosopher Raymond Aron’s masterpiece? First published in France in 1955, at the height of the Cold War, L’Opium des intellectuels was an immediate sensation. It caused something of a sensation in the United States, too, when an English translation was published in 1957. Writing in The New York Times, the historian Crane Brinton spoke for many when he said that the book was “a kind of running commentary on the Western world today....”

Aron’s subject is the bewitchment — the moral and intellectual disordering — that comes with adherence to certain ideologies. Why is it, he wondered, that certain intellectuals are “merciless toward the failings of the democracies but ready to tolerate the worst crimes as long as they are committed in the name of the proper doctrines”?...

The OWS Protests, Summed Up in One Sign

"Occupy Wall Street" is the gift that keeps on giving. For that we can be grateful this Thanksgiving day.

Jack Daniel's Puts Up $101,000 to Help Soldiers Get Home for Christmas

Every now and then we receive a heart-warming story of munificent benevolence, such as this story in the Army Times. The famous Tennessee distiller has started a fund to help financially-strapped Soldiers and their families travel back home to see their families and friends. It is also calling on the public to donate money to the Operation Ride Home campaign online at www.jdoperationridehome.com. The neediest Soldiers may be eligible for plane ticket vouchers up to $300 for each family member and debit cards up to $100 for each family member for gas and lodging.