FurriLand

A doctor in Pakistan has been sentenced to 33 years in jail on charges of treason for assisting the U.S. CIA in finding Osama bin Laden, according to a recent report coming out of Peshawar. The arrest threatens to further strain relations between the U.S. and Pakistan, two countries that are already on uneasy ground with one another. Shakil Afridi, the doctor in question, was accused to spearheading a fake vaccination service. The campaign was designed to allow him to collect DNA samples that American intelligence agencies may have eventually used in tracking down Osama bin Laden.

A government official in Peshawar released a statement that read simply, “Dr. Shakil has been sentenced to 33 years imprisonment and a fine of 320,000 Pakistani rupees (roughly $ 3,477).” The sentence for Shakil was delivered under tribal law rather than national law, with the former not carrying the death penalty. A Pentagon spokesman, George Little, noted when asked, “Without commenting on specific individuals, anyone who helped the United States find bin Laden was working against al Qaeda and not against Pakistan.”

Little’s comments can leave scant doubts about the position the U.S. is taking on the matter, even if the full details of that position are only clear behind closed doors. Relations were first strained between the U.S. and Pakistan when the U.S. raid to kill bin Laden occurred just a few hours from the capital of Islamabad, a humiliation of Pakistan’s military, which officially denounced the raid as a violation of its sovereignty.

In every modern presidential election, certain key states have played a major role in who was ultimately elected. States like Florida, Ohio and Virginia, which could swing in either direction on the political scale, often determine ultimate outcomes. 2012 proves to be no different, and President Obama currently enjoys a lead in the polls in all of those battleground states. In Florid and Virginia, the president leads GOP challenger Mitt Romney by a tally of 48% to 44%. In Ohio, the different is six points, with Obama leading 48% to 42%.

Despite the leads in those states, not all is rosy for the president. Just a few months ago, his lead in those states was much larger – 12 points in Ohio and 17 points in Virginia. His lead in Florida was also a few points higher, at 8. And despite signs to the contrary (despite what the media may say), a majority of voters in all three key states have been deluded into thinking that the “worst is behind us.” These are, clearly, people who do not understand the dynamics of debt to revenue and debt to GDP ratios.

Regarding the question of which man would best handle the U.S. economy, voters are split in all three states, and that may be the silver lining for Romney. A plurality of voters in the states feel that Romney is the best candidate to take on the national debt, so this really comes down to how important voters think that issue is. For those gluttonously feeding from the trough of government largesse, the debt is a non-issue. After all, the roughly 50% of Americans who don’t pay taxes certainly do not care how much spending occurs – it doesn’t adversely affect them. For Romney, that may be where the problem lies – he does not have a built-in base of government-supported voters to trumpet his cause. When election time rolls around, that will probably play big for Obama.

This week, Ask Me Another welcomes meme-mixing masters The Gregory Brothers, comprised of actual brothers Evan, Andrew and Michael Gregory, and Evan’s wife Sarah Fullen-Gregory. The group behind “Auto-Tune The News” and the “Bed Intruder Song” talk about their unexpected YouTube fame, their sincere musical backgrounds, and who among today’s politicians and pundits makes the best unintentional singers. Then, it’s brother against brother, against brother, against brother’s wife, in a viral video trivia showdown so intense, we had to call in Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat as judges. Plus, Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg gets the auto-tune treatment, and one lucky winner receives a classic NPR quiz show prize with a twist: a personalized voice mail tag sung by the Gregory Brothers in the style of a barbershop quartet.

About The Gregory Brothers

The Gregory Brothers‘ unique musical stylings and comic rapport were largely formed when the brothers began making zany mix-tapes in their living room in Radford, Virginia as tiny babies. Thought sadly lost, these seminal works of musical comedy gently gestated for a few years until 2007, when the brothers joined forces with a bright-eyed lass from Texas. This musical collaboration with Evan’s wife, Sarah, was forged in the fiery crucible of a 50-show summer tour stuck in an van without air-conditioning. These sweaty bonds shall never be broken.

After the tour, they began making their wildly viral YouTube series, “Auto-Tune the News” in 2008. Their meager hope was that several dozen more people would bump their rumps to C-Span if it thumped with a bass line and a beat. Their hit “The Bed Intruder Song” was the first YouTube video to cross over onto the Billboard Hot 100.

They have spoken at Google ZeitGeist, MacWorld, GEL and VidCon about how they combine music, technical savvy, and humor to reach millions. They’ve collaborated with T-Pain, Weezer, Joel Madden, Adidas, and yes — even NPR. They are also the proud winners of two Webby Awards and were recipients of one of the inaugural Comedy Awards.

While they continue to work on making their YouTube jams, The Gregory Brothers now tour the country speaking at colleges, playing at rock and comedy clubs, and are in the process of making a pilot for Comedy Central.

Watch a behind-the-scenes video of The Gregory Brothers talking about their process for the series, “Auto-Tune the News.”

If you are one of those people who grew up not sure if you’d ever want kids, and now you find yourself married to the perfect spouse and thinking children might be in your not-so-distant future, you are not alone. If you are worried that having these kids will ruin your marriage, you are not alone, either. While it will take some work, and while it will certainly change your life, having a baby doesn’t have to ruin your marriage. You just have to get a little creative about how you think of spending time together, and you have to make the most of the time you have.

After Bedtime

Remember when you were a little kid and you used to complain about having to go to bed earlier than all of the adults? There was a reason your mom and dad made you go to sleep earlier than they did. They use the after-bedtime hours as adult time. This is the time for moms and dads to watch what they want on television, or to watch a movie not suitable for children. You might be exhausted when you put your kids to sleep, but enforcing a strict bedtime is good for the child and the parents. It gives the child a sense of routine, and a good night’s sleep, while it gives the parents some quality time together in the comfort of their own home.

Hire a Babysitter

Some parents may be wary of hiring a babysitter who is not a family member, but sometimes it is necessary if you ever want to get out of the house with just the two of you. Find someone you trust by asking a trusted neighbor or by consulting online babysitting and nanny searches. These internet babysitting profiles often run background checks and allow you to interview people before hiring them, which can put your mind at ease. Hiring a babysitter can really add up, though, from a cost standpoint. If hiring a babysitter is too expensive, see if you can trade off nights with the parents of your child’s friends. You take all the kids for a night one week, and then the next week, the other parents take their turn. This can be beneficial for everyone involved, because it allows you to spend less money while still being able to have someone you trust watch your kids, and your kids get to play with their friends every week.

Schedule Date Night

Those mommy calendars are no joke. When you have little kids running around, you need to schedule every minute of every day. Before kids, you probably had spontaneous date nights all of the time, but after kids, this can be much harder than it used to be. There is no shame in scheduling a date night. Put it on the calendar, and make sure everyone knows that you and your spouse are going out of town for a night, or maybe just dinner. It doesn’t matter what you do; what matters is that you do it alone.

Family Cuddle Time

While it’s definitely not the same as spending time alone, having quality family time every night is important for everyone. When you spend time with your kids, talking to them and sharing stories about your days and being excited about each others projects, this can foster a sense of companionship among the family. Even if you don’t feel like talking one day, pick a favorite movie or television show and cuddle up each other with a great blanket. You’ll feel great having spent quality time together with your family.

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, born in Brazil and living in Singapore for years, is hearing an earful from two U.S. senators who appear to be on the warpath. Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, are fighting mad over Saverin’s decision to renounce his U.S. citizenship. The pair claim that Saverin’s move is little more than a “tax dodge” and that the only reason he’s proceeding with the renunciation is the roughly $ 4 billion he stands to make as Facebook is going public.

Noted Schumer in a statement, “Mr. Saverin has decided to ‘defriend’ the United States of America just to avoid paying his taxes. We aren’t going to let him get away with it so easily. It’s infuriating to see someone sell out the country that welcomed him and kept him safe, educated him and helped him become a billionaire. This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong. We plan to put a stop to this tax avoidance scheme. There should be no financial gain from renouncing your country.”

The blather from the pair of nitwits is sure to catch fire amongst the ignorant masses that make up the U.S. electorate, but the more discerning members of the U.S. public will recognize this for what it is. For one, Saverin filed to expatriate and renounce his citizenship back in September, 2011, well before the announcement of the Facebook IPO. Secondly, Saverin made it in business despite – and certainly not because of – the unfriendly business climate in the U.S. There are already laws on the books that force wealthy Americans to mark their investments to market and pay a 30% capital gains tax on UNREALIZED gains when they leave the country. It certainly doesn’t sound like “land of the free” still applies here in the U.S.

For those who don’t quite see the light yet – this is a financial wall that is being built and it’s no less cumbersome or anti-freedom in nature than the Berlin Wall was during the Cold War. With the onerous regulations placed on U.S. citizens, it’s no wonder that those with money want to leave and renounce. The U.S. is the ONLY country in the world that collects taxes from citizens living and working overseas – even while they’re taxed in that country (legitimately) – and it is increasingly difficult to open a bank account outside the U.S. as an American citizen even if you do live overseas.

Add it all up and the U.S. appears to be a country that one would wish to flea FROM rather than TO. Of course, the move by the dimwitted duo of Schumer and Casey will do nothing to put the minds of wealthy Americans at ease. It seems just a matter of time before those with money in this country that aren’t specifically connected to the government (i.e. – cronies of Schumer, Casey and their ilk) start leaving en masse. Who, then, will spur the economy? You Senator Schumer? You Senator Casey? Doubtful…pigs at a trough are good at feeding, but not so good at producing anything of value…until it is time to eat, that is.

May 20, 2012

On-Air Challenge: This week’s challenge is a twist on “Characteristic Initials.” We will gives clues for some famous people, past and present. The initial letters of the clues are also the initials of the answers. For example “Wrote Sonnets” would be “William Shakespeare.”

Last Week’s Challenge: Name a state capital. Change one of the vowels to another vowel and say the result phonetically. You will name a revered profession. What is it?

Answer: Madison and medicine

Winner: Allan Richardson of Marietta, Ga.

Next Week’s Challenge From Listener Peter Persoff of Piedmont, Calif.: Think of a common three-letter word and five-letter word that together consist of eight different letters of the alphabet. Put the same pair of letters in front of each of these words, and you will have the present and past tense forms of the same verb. What words are these?

Submit Your Answer

If you know the answer to next week’s challenge, submit it here. Listeners who submit correct answers win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: Include a phone number where we can reach you Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern.

One day after House Speaker John Boehner appeared to be taking a hard-line stance against a debt limit increase that did not include spending cuts, he clarified his position: “What I’m trying to do is encourage people on both sides of the aisle on both sides of the Capitol and on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to be honest with the American people and to be honest with ourselves to begin to tackle this problem in an adult-like fashion.” Boehner met with President Barack Obama and other congressional leaders for an informal lunch that included some discussion about the upcoming need for a debt limit increase.

In the recorded remarks from the lunch, Boehner and the President briefly touched on their positions on the matter, and they are diametrically opposed, as expected. The President will submit a proposal to Congress for a debt limit increase that does not enumerate any new spending cuts, while Speaker Boehner is insisting that such spending cuts and reforms are included to offset the amount of the debt limit increase.

In an election-charged environment, the debt limit debate is certain to be a display of Washington-style gridlock and posturing on a level that may have never been seen before. Interestingly, the Senate rejected President Barack Obama’s budget proposal by a vote of 99-0 on Wednesday, which means that not a single member of Congress voted in favor of the President’s budget proposals following a 414-0 vote in the House in March.

If the GOP stands firm against a debt limit increase without significant spending cuts, and the White House believes that it has the support of the American electorate in wanting an increase without cuts, it’s going to be an interesting end to the summer. Perhaps the most intriguing element of the upcoming debate will be exactly how Mitt Romney’s team crafts his narrative around the debate. A mistake in messaging around the debt limit increase could actually be catastrophic for Romney so close to the November election.

Food is necessary to fuel our bodies, but sometimes we buy too much of it at the grocery store. When your produce starts to go bad, or when you’ve kept those spices around for just a bit too long, or when you thought you’d make a recipe out of all of those ingredients but just didn’t get around to it, there are many other ways you can still use your food instead of throwing it away. Surprisingly, it doesn’t involve eating it either.

Fruits

Before throwing away old banana peels, use them to shine up metals and leathers that you have. Rub the peel against the surface and then polish it with an old cloth. Banana meat is also good for reducing wrinkles. Dab a bit on those trouble spots, let it sit for a while, and then wash it off, and your wrinkles will disappear. Lemons are great to lighten skin and hair. If you have troublesome acne scars, dab a bit of fresh lemon juice on them and leave it overnight. You’ll notice a difference in the morning. Apple slices will help ripen tomatoes quickly when the two fruits are placed together in a paper bag, and orange peels are great fire starters for your next backyard fire pit party.

Vegetables

A slice of cold potato over your eyes can reduce puffiness and redness on your eyelids. Sit with the potato over your eyes as you would with slices of cucumber in a spa. Garlic removes splinters with ease. If you rub garlic over a splinter, it will come right out.

Oils and Condiments

Mustard can make you feel a lot better if you are suffering from a cold. If you use it like a vapor rub and apply it to your chest under a wet towel, you’ll feel better in no time at all. Butter can help you untangle all of those knotted necklaces that are in the back of your jewelry drawer. Just slather some on, watch the necklaces slip apart, and rinse them off. That high-calorie mayonnaise in your fridge that you are trying not to eat because it will ruin your diet is great for getting crayon off of the walls. The next time your kids draw all over, don’t worry. Slather some mayo on there and wipe it all away. Olive oil is a great product for your skin, as well as to quieten creaky hinges. If your dog or cat brings home fleas, using salt is a great way to get rid of them around the house. Just pour salt into the vacuum cleaner and around the baseboards. Let it sit, then vacuum the salt up. The salt dehydrates the fleas and kills them. Be sure to throw away the vacuum bag or empty the vacuum bin immediately, or some of the fleas can crawl back out.

Beverages

Everyone knows the trick of using club soda to get dark stains out of the carpet. But did you know it also works to get pet urine out of the carpet too! Beer is a great hair lightener. If you are out of lemons, try soaking your hair in beer before going outside. Just don’t forget to wash it out afterwards. That old 2-liter bottle of pop will work wonders if you need to clear out a clogged drain. Just pour it down the drain and watch the fizzes do their job of breaking up the gunk. Milk is great for stain removal, especially if your stain is some type of ink. Just soak some into the stain and watch it loosen up.

As you can see, there are so many other uses everyday foods have around the house. So next time, before tossing any food away thinking it is of no use, stop for a moment and think about all their uses mentioned here.