National News: President Bush still clings to his claim that the economy is doing well and said, “It’s a good time to buy a house.” Yeah, and an airline, and Circuit City, Chrysler, General Motors , Bear Sterns..

Political News: Barack Obama’s former pastor is getting more and more bizarre. He now says that the high price of gas is due to Dick Cheney and his friends. OK, he’s right on that.

Environmental News: To show that he cares about the environment, President Bush announced his plan to limit greenhouse gases. The president said he will ban all greenhouses beginning next month.

Connecticutt News: Police officials are saying they found a pipe bomb planted inside a dead chicken along the freeway. So, it sounds like al-Qaida is starting to have some serious budget problems.

Florida News: Pundits are saying that by Florida delegates only getting ½ a vote at the Democratic National Convention, Democracy is being diminished. Actually, compared to Florida and the 2000 election, it is a step in the right direction.

New Hamphire News: A man who tried to haggle over the price of a used $15 bread maker was later charged with theft when police found him with the machine (I couldn’t resist this), loafing at the beach.

San Francisco News: The city wants to name the city’s sewage treatment plant after President Bush. Inside the plant will be an exhibit showing visitors the difference between weapons of mass destruction and Shinola.

Texas News: The Texas Supreme Court has ruled church exorcisms are constitutional. Such a religious ritual is a very complicated procedure. You might say,The devil is in the details.

Political News: People are still talking about a Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton ticket this November. It would be the first combination of an African American man and a white woman since, well… Michael Jackson

McClellan Update: Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s new book “What Happened” is full of inside information about how the public was mislead prior to the invasion of Iraq. A better name for the book might have been, “Stuff That Would Have Been Really Helpful To Know 5 Years Ago.”

Obama Update: When speaking in Montana, Barack Obama got a standing ovation when he said, “It is time to take back the country.” The bad news was he was on an Indian reservation at the time.

Passport News: American passports are now being outsourced for manufacturing in foreign countries. This is how a global economy works. When an illegal alien from Mexico living in California and working in a Japanese-owned company wants to go home, he uses a passport made in Thailand that he gets by calling a customer service number in India. This could be the thing that finally makes Lou Dobbs head explode!

Social News: Scientists say they have come up with a pill that makes you less shy. It makes you more outgoing and gives you more personality. And I am thinking, “Great” now I have to bring two pills on a date.

Television News: The Music Man aired again last week. The movie is set in the horse-and-buggy era. Viewers today think it’s charming that folks still had enough money to buy band uniforms after they filled up the horse.

Squib Notes:

1.      Outrigger Canoe Veterans for Truth start running ads.

2.      Breakthrough: Scientists produce corn from ethanol. 

Quote of the Week: The worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades

Election News: For the Democrats it looks like a battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. So, it is a black man or a white woman. It is the same decision Michael Jackson has to make every morning of his life.
GOP News: Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee are both asking their staffs to work without pay. They want them to work without pay to help them get across their message; “I’m the best one to fix the economy.”
California News: In his budget speech, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that California should be more like Arkansas. And today, Britney Spears’ pregnant 16-year-old sister said, “Hey, I’m doing my part!”
Nevada News: Hookers in Nevada are supporting Ron Paul. He is a gynecologist who wants to abolish the IRS. That makes him the second-best friend a hooker ever had, just behind the Shriners’ Convention.
Auction News: A copy of the Magna Carte was sold at auction for $21.3 million. In a related story, a copy of King John’s accompanying “signing statement” sold for $5-million.

Kucinich Update: Dennis Kucinich dropped out of the presidential race. In a related story, thousands of comedy writers cried out as if in one voice: “Noooooooooooooooo”
NASA News: An image from NASA taken on the surface of Mars was purported to me that of a man. In a related story, NASA also reported the image of a woman spotted on Venus.
Thompson Update: After dropping out of the presidential race, Fred Thompson announced that he would return to acting, joining “E.R.” in the role of a coma patient.Iran News: Iran continues to claim its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. If history is any guide, Iran will use its nuclear power for peaceful purposes unless, of course, somebody draws a cartoon they don’t like.
Iraq News: U.S. officials say they are worried that Iraq will be overrun by religious fundamentalists. Hey, I say if it’s good enough for the Republican Party, it’s good enough for Iraq!
Pakistan News: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf now says Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was her own fault, because she came back to Pakistan, stood up outside her car, and was born without a bulletproof head.
National News: President Bush gave his final State of the Union Address this week. Every major television network covered the speech, which was also simulcast in English.

Celebrity News: Dr. Phil is under attack for talking publicly about Britney Spears need for psychiatric care. It was a shocking breech of privacy to the three or four people in the world who were not aware of that.
Baseball News: Roger Clemens continues to deny he used steroids. And what could be more credible than a massive 45-year-old, pitching 100 mph and flying into a blind furious rage while denying he is on steroids?

Pentagon News: Officials backed off claims that an Iranian speedboat threatened to ram a U.S. Navy ship. The first clue that they were not suicide bombers might have been that they were wearing those life vests?
State Depart. News: Karen Hughes resigned after trying to improve America’s image in the Arab world. So “Mission Accomplished”! We are now slightly less popular than editorial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Florida News: The Florida presidential primaries will be held next week, so be sure to get out and vote for the least reprehensible candidate of your choice.

North Dakota News: A farmer is predicting a normal winter based on the size of pig spleens. He tried to get federal funding to prove his prediction, but the government said they are trying to cut back on pork.

Texas Thought: Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how people in Texas are very quick to point out that George W. Bush was born in Connecticut?

National News: President Bush’s speechwriter, William McGurn, retired. He is going to have a big hole in his resume. “So, what exactly did you do from 2000 to 2007? It says here you did “some of this and a little of that”.

Middle East News: Osama bin Laden’s son, Omar, says he want to be a peace activist. Omar’s star is definitely on the rise. He is already in talks with television to appear in “Growing Up Bin Laden.”

Question of the Week: How were you able to so accurately predict Mitt Romney winning Michigan?

Answer: It was quite simple really. I noticed that Michigan is kind of shaped like a mitten. And then I remembered that Romney’s name is Mitt. And the first rule of primary politics is voters always vote for the candidate whose name is the shape of their state. … Tip O’Neill said it … “All politics is local shapes.”
Comic Book News: In the latest Marvel Comic Book edition Spiderman’s twenty-year-old marriage has fallen apart. Apparently he has been ignoring his wife and spending too much time on the web.
Huckabee Update: To appeal to his base constituency, Mike Huckabee said he will gain back 100 Pounds.

Internet News: According to Google trends, the people in the world most likely to look up homosexual activity on the Internet are in Saudi Arabia. Now that is the ultimate dilemma for Republicans–Gays with oil.

Linguistic News: “Subprime” was named the word of the year for 2007, barely beating out “Predatory.”

Media News: After paying five billion dollars for The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch announced this week that he will reduce the size of the paper by removing all the facts.

Oprah Update: Oprah Winfrey now owns her own cable network. It is a perfect fit. She now owns her own cable network, talk show, magazine, book club, girls school and presidential candidate.

Smurf News: The Smurfs turn 50 this year. You can tell the cute little creatures are aging. They still eat smurfberries from smilax leaves, but now it is to keep them regular.

Sports News: Terrell Owens cried at his press conference after his team lost to the New York Giants. Hillary Clinton called him in the locker room and told him the trick to winning is to cry before the game.

This Just In

All-knowing, all-seeing deity writing tell-all.

CIA News: Officials say they destroyed interrogation tapes to protect the identities of the interrogators. This administration is gung-ho about protecting the identity of CIA agents. Just ask Valerie Plame.

 Health News: A new study confirms that exercise increases the production of neurons in the brain making people smarter. Can you imagine if President Bush didn’t work out every day?

 Philatelic News: A rare “Inverted Jenny” stamp sold for $825,000. Coincidently, “Inverted Jenny” was also the Secret Service code name for Gennifer Flowers during the Clinton administration.

Business News: Bank of America is buying troubled mortgage giant Countrywide Financial. To make the deal, B. of A. is borrowing $4 billion at 4.25% for the first three years, but then it adjusts higher every year after that.

Sports News: Former Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka’s charity fund for injured and retired NFL players collected more than a million dollars, but only handed out fifty thousand. No one knows the whereabouts of the rest of the cash. They don’t call Mike Ditka the honorary mayor of Chicago for nothing.

 Israel News: President Bush visited Israel last week. There was one awkward moment. When President Bush arrived at the airport he was wearing a 10-gallon yarmulke.

CAMPAIGN NEWS

Clinton Update: Hillary Clinton shocked the pollsters and won the New Hampshire primary. It still is not clear what Satan is getting in return.

Huckabee Update: Mike Huckabee would not say if he agrees with Southern Baptists that women should not serve as pastors, but his presidency would have the first inaugural ball where no one is allowed to dance.

Kucinich Update: Dennis Kucinich protested ABC’s unfair requirements, which stipulate that for a presidential candidate to participate in a televised debate supporters must outnumber the candidate’s family and staff.

McCain Update: John McCain won the New Hampshire primary. He is a fascinating story. He spent 5 1/2 years in prison and then went into politics. Usually it is the other way around.

Romney Update: Mitt Romney insists his religion would never affect his policies. He compared himself to Jack Kennedy. The difference between Jack Kennedy and Mitt Romney is Mitt Romney would never support the idea of polygamy.

Reminder: If you have to ask, you can’t afford to vote.

This just in:

U.S. only nation to sign Flat Earth Protocol

Cosy Sheridan, along with TR Ritchie will be here October 24th.

KJZA is now broadcasting on 90.1FM on the Weekends. All you Prescott listeners can now turn to 90.1fm if you are having trouble receiving 89.5.

The Supersilliest Band will be performing at the Family Enrichment Center on the Prescott Campus of Yavapai College on Saturday, August 30, 2008.  From 10:00 – 11:00 am.  Everyone is welcome - bring your kids, if you don’t have kids bring your grandkids, nieces or nephews.

8/23  Tom’s “Musical Olympics Special”

8/30  Lily Swan

9/6  “Best of” Folk Sessions Show

9/13  “Angel’s Serenity”, a new Folk Club in Phoenix

If you’d like to appear on The Folk Sessions, Live! Radio Show or would like us to play your music on the air, please send us a CD or let us know how we can hear your music. contact usMail to: The Folk Sessions, c/o KJZA 89.5, 923 East Gurley Street, Prescott, AZ 86301

And two, as Don Charles would say, why the hell not. Got a site, why not have a blog. Heck, on D Squared’s home page there’s poetry for heaven’s sake! Gypsy Soul does live blogging, and Chuck Pyle has “Chuck’s Thoughts on Religion and Spirituality” for crying out loud.So occasional musings, rants, sharings, and interesting, to me at least, tidbits will find there way here from time to time…As I believe an informed electorate is essential to throwin’ the bums out here’s a good political website, and also the funniest political podcast around.www.truthdig.com digging beneath the headlinesThe Bugle An audio newspaper for a video world w/ John Oliver from The Daily Show and Andy Zaltzman, a Brit’s eye view of the world.Happy Birthday Dr. King.