VP Pick   Over the next two weeks we'll find out who the VP nominees are for McCain and Obama.

Obama's might make a difference on the electoral map, but nothing makes up for the top of the ticket having NO EXPERIENCE in running anything, let alone a government.   He's a "community organizer," a street pimp like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, nothing more.   I really don't believe the American people, in the end, will turn their fate over to this rookie.   It can happen, it likely will not.

In McCain's case, the wrong pick of a VP could be devastating.   I'm not crazy, for his sake especially, with any of the names that have floated to the top.

Romney?  OK, but didn't do much in the primaries despite spending millions and millions of dollars.   His Mormonism WOULD hurt McCain with some but how many is the question.

Lieberman?  Bill Kristol talks like it's possible.  I think it's idiotic.   I get the point of the "reaching across the aisles," but the guys lost once as a VP, and is there anyone LESS dynamic or more liberal he could pick?  Nice guy, but he almost makes McCain look exciting.

Huckabee?  Maybe.   He at least is a fairly "fresh" face, but might not generate all that much excitement.

Pawlenty of Minnesota?   Might help make sure that the Republicans hold on to their Senate there (Coleman vs. Stuart Smalley,) but other than that, he's pretty much an unknown to most of the country and therefore won't generate much excitement.

Other names have been mentioned, but those people have taken themselves out of the running.

For some unexplained reason, JC Watts just popped into my head.   Maybe.   It would at least be a surprise, counter any RACIST charges that you know are coming from the Obama campaign, (since they have nothing else to whine about.)

My preference?  Doesn't matter, except for Lieberman.  Just have no excitement about a ticket with his name on it.

-  How valid are the Olympics when the women gymnastics have been so tainted by obvious cheating in the age category?  How many other athletes and countries are cheating and in what sports?

- Obama's most "gut-wrenching" decision?  Voting against the Iraq War, or so he said.  Funny.  He wasn't in the Senate, and didn't vote against it.   He's also voted to support the war most times he had a chance.   Phony.   Obama's performance was clearly a mess.

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY

T H E      B R I E F

KEY WEST, Fla.  —  The National Hurricane Center says the center of Tropical Storm Fay has passed over Key West.

Hurricane forecasters say the center made landfall over the island at 3 p.m. EDT. The storm is expected to strengthen into possibly a Category 1 hurricane before hitting Florida's Gulf Coast sometime Tuesday. Category 1 storms have winds of at least 74 mph.

There are no immediate reports of damage in the Keys. Authorities say there is some localized flooding and power lines are down in some areas. No serious injuries have been reported.

Roughly 25,000 tourists had evacuated, Monroe County Mayor Mario Di Gennaro said, but some bars and restaurants were doing business, even if crowds were considerably thinner. Despite warnings the storm could strengthen, some hurricane-hardened residents refused to leave.

_______________

Russia has placed short range SS-21 missiles in South Ossetia, that could pose a threat to most major Georgian cities," including the capital, Tbilisi, a U.S.Defense official confirmed to FOX News on Monday.

"Anything such as that, or any other military equipment that was moved in would be in violation of this cease-fire and should be removed immediately," Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "The only forces that are permitted to remain under the cease fire agreement are the forces that were in there at the Aug. 6 time frame."

This news came as Russia's deputy chief of staff insists that Russian troops were pulling out of the breakaway region. However, there have been no confirmed signs of a withdrawal.

_______________

MILFORD, Conn. —  A Connecticut school superintendent wants his district to be able to test students with a Breathaylzer at school events, NewHavenRegister.com reported Monday.

Milford Superintendent of Schools Harvey Polanksy said the proposed policy would be used when there is "reasonable suspicion" that a student had been drinking prior to school-sanctioned social events like high school dances and athletic events, NewHavenRegister.com reported.

"You read in the papers on a regular basis (about) teens not making good judgments with alcohol," Polansky told the New Haven Register. "We just want to promote a safer environment … underage drinking is an epidemic."

Any student who is determined to be intoxicated by the Breathalyzer would not be allowed into the school event. If the offending student were to become belligerent, police would then be notified, the New Have Register reported.

Milford's Board of Education will reportedly vote on the proposal Monday. If approved, the policy could take affect as early as this fall.

"It’s really clear most teens are drinking and we need to provide a deterrence,” Polansky told the New Haven Register.

_______________

SYDNEY, Australia —  The mayor of a male-heavy mining town in Australia created uproar among local women over the weekend by inviting "beauty-disadvantaged" women to join the population of lonely men.

Mayor John Molony found himself under attack Monday over comments he made to a local newspaper that read: "May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa."

The mayor added that many women who already live in the remote Queensland state town seem quite happy.

"Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face," he continued. "Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness."

The quotes, published Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin, sparked outrage among the town's female population, led to furious online debates and drew criticism from the local chamber of commerce.

"There's a lot of anger circulating among the community at the moment — a lot of passionate anger," Mount Isa Chamber of Commerce manager Patricia O'Callaghan said Monday. "There's a lot of women voicing their opinions."

_______________

Fewer Americans are reading newspapers and are instead getting their news online, but television remains the leading source of news in the country, according to a survey released Sunday.

Not surprisingly, younger people tend to get more of their news on the Internet, while older folks use traditional media such as television and newspapers, the Pew Research Center's biannual survey on news consumption habits said.

Pew said the results show an increasing shift toward online news consumption, but that there is now a sizable group of a more engaged, sophisticated and well-off people that use both traditional and online sources to get their news.

The Pew researchers referred to these people as "integrators," and says they account for 23 percent of those surveyed, spending the most time with the news on a typical day.

Pew found that the largest group of news consumers — 46 percent of those polled — have a "heavy reliance" on television for their news at all times of the day. This group is the oldest, with a median age of 52, and least affluent, with 43 percent unemployed. They are unlikely to own a computer or go online for news.

Overall, among those who get some of their news from TV, fewer are watching the 6:30 broadcast network newscasts, and instead opting for cable news sources such as CNN or Fox News Channel. CNN's audience is now majority Democratic, while 39 percent of Fox News viewers are Republicans, 33 percent Democrats, with the remainder independent or didn't specify.

About one-third of those younger than 25 said they get no news on a typical day, up from about 25 percent in 1998. 

_______________

Nearly a quarter of all lobbyist donations to members of Congress in the New York City area landed in the coffers of Charles Rangel.

The powerful committee chairman from Harlem accepted a whopping $732,735 in the first half of this year from lobbyists, according to a Post analysis of House campaign contribution reports.

None of his House colleagues even came close.

_______________  

A group of American Christians who had more than 300 Bibles confiscated by Chinese officials when they arrived in China is refusing to leave the airport until they get the books back, their leader said Monday.

Pat Klein said he and three others from his Vision Beyond Borders group spent Sunday night at the airport in the southwestern city of Kunming after customs officers took the Bibles from their checked luggage.

"I heard that there's freedom of religion in China, so why is there a problem for us to bring Bibles?" said Klein, whose Sheridan, Wyoming-based group distributes Bibles and Christian teaching materials around the world.

The Bibles were printed in Chinese, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

_______________

McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis asked Sunday for a meeting with Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, to protest what the campaign called signs that the network is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the Presidential race."

Davis made the request Sunday in a letter that is part of an aggressive effort by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to counter news coverage he considers critical.

Politico has asked NBC for a response and will post that here when it arrives.

In this case, the campaign is objecting to a statement by NBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Meet the Press" questioning whether McCain might have gotten a heads-up on some of the questions that were asked of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who was the first candidate to be interviewed Saturday night by Pastor Rick Warren at a presidential forum on faith.

Warren told the audience that McCain was being held in "a cone of silence" so he wouldn't hear the questions, which were similar for both candidates.

Warren referred again to "the cone of silence" when McCain came onstage, and the senator joked: "I was trying to hear through the wall."

Mitchell reported that some "Obama people" were suggesting "that McCain may not have been in the cone of silence and may have had some ability to overhear what the questions were to Obama. He seemed so well prepared."

A McCain aide said that is not the case: "Senator McCain was in a motorcade led by the United States Secret Service and held in a green room with no broadcast feed."

_______________

Rep. Loretta Sanchez says she’s happy for the chance to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention — and she predicts that as many as half of the Democrats in the House could join her.

Just how many former Clinton supporters will vote for the former first lady during the symbolic first ballot is anybody’s guess, but each of them will be called upon to do so — whether they want to or not.

On Friday, the Obama campaign confirmed that the floor vote in Denver, intended to assuage Clinton supporters still stewing over her narrow loss, will be conducted as a state-by-state roll call. Under proposed convention bylaws, delegates would be forced to register their votes on a tally sheet with the convention secretary — the rules could be altered or suspended before the start of the convention.

PAGE CONSTANTLY UPDATED 

What's  On  DRUDGE?

E - B R I E F

• Michael Jackson hasn't spoken to his brothers since he was acquitted of child molestation charges three years ago - even though they've been trying to reach him about money he owes them. Sources say Wacko Jacko owes Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Jackie Jackson $840,000 in royalties from their Jackson 5 hits. Since Michael won't talk to them, and is said to be in a wheelchair, it's unlikely he'll join his siblings on Sept. 4 when they pick up their lifetime achievement salutes at the BMI Urban Awards. 

• What are TV's most memorable moments? You decide.
  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The most memorable moments in television history will be revealed during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards next month, and it's up to voters to decide which bits should take top honors....

• Role of a lifetime: Iraq vet sought for soap opera
  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An open casting call for "All My Children" is far from business as usual: The soap opera is seeking an Iraq war veteran to play an injured veteran....  

• Malaysia's Islamists want Lavigne concert canceled
  KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia's Islamic opposition party has urged the government to cancel a concert by Avril Lavigne, saying the Canadian singer's on-stage moves are "too sexy," an official said Monday....

• Harry Potter film pulls vanishing act on EW cover
  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Maybe Harry Potter should have brought a note from his parents saying he would be missing school....

• 'Thunder' rumbles past 'Dark Knight' with $26M
  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It took four of Hollywood's biggest stars to take down Batman. The DreamWorks-Paramount comedy "Tropic Thunder" - with Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise - debuted at No. 1 with $26 million, bumping "The Dark Knight" to second place after four weekends on top, according to studio estimates Sunday....

• America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty" win ALMA Awards
  PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- "Ugly Betty" and its star, America Ferrera, took top honors at the 2008 ALMA Awards, which recognize achievements by Hispanic artists....

• Shearer mines gold with off-air video clips
  NEW YORK (AP) -- As the red light switched off and her program went into a commercial, Laura Ingraham's face dissolved from a smile into a frown - then, a look of pure disgust....

• Thousands pay respects to comedy king Bernie Mac
  CHICAGO (AP) -- As Cedric the Entertainer scanned the crowd of more than 6,000 gathered on Chicago's South Side to remember Bernie Mac on Saturday, he cracked that the comedy king was "still the hottest ticket in town."...

• NBC's likely hit its peak with Phelps leaving
  NEW YORK (AP) -- Can't Michael Phelps stay? Please? No amount of begging by NBC will make it happen. The Olympics swim meet ends soon after Phelps' bid for his eighth gold medal on NBC Saturday night, with another week of competition remaining....

P A R T I N G     S H O T

Beads

(Click on picture for larger copy)

Just before the Sun blacks out, something strange occurs. As the Moon moves to completely cover the Sun in a total solar eclipse, beads of bright sunlight stream around the edge of the Moon. This effect, known as Baily's beads, is named after Francis Baily who called attention to the phenomenon in 1836. Although, the number and brightness of Baily's beads used to be unpredictable, today the Moon is so well mapped that general features regarding Baily's beads are expected. When a single bead dominates, it is called the diamond ring effect, and is typically seen just before totality. Pictured above, a series of images recorded Baily's beads at times surrounding the recent total solar eclipse visible from Novosibirsk, Russia. The complete series can be seen by scrolling right. At the end of totality, as the Sun again emerges from behind the moon, Baily's beads may again be visible -- but now on the other side of the Moon.

Email:   MarkShannon @aol.com       Copyright  2008  Tickertape Productions

MarkShannon.com is solely owned and operated by Tickertape LLC.   The opinions expressed are solely those of the owner and operator.