Thanks to the folks over in Cleveland, we have a new term to go with carpel tunnel syndrome. I wonder if BlackBerry elbow will be different than iPhone elbow. Is there a case of Pre elbow yet?

If we’re to believe Sen. Carl Levin’s claims that Dick Cheney is wrong  about how waterboarding was effective, the former vice president is bound to lose the little bit of traction he’s gotten regarding the closure of Gitmo. It also further dents his claim that President Obama is making this country less safe but closing the controversial prison.

Unfortunately, we’re unlikely to see any smoking gun that either discredits Cheney. Instead, we’re probably in store for more back and forth he said, she said banter until those two CIA documents that Cheney claims will prove his point are released.

Fans of the Phil Collins-lead era of the classic British band really should consider delving a little deeping into their catalog. Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway represent the last two albums with Peter Gabriel as lead singer and lyricist. While not for everyone, these albums represent the best mix of complex yet acessible music and Gabriel’s innate ability to create whole worlds within the window of a 6-to-12 minute song. Fans of Peter Gabriel’s solo work, especially his newer stuff, will probably be pleasantly surprised to listen to these albums.

Click this link to download  perhaps my favorite track on Selling England by the Pound. It’ about a lawnmower.

You can buy the albums here and here.

Those who consider conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh not more than a mere entertainer has new ammunition this morning as he took a totally expected pot shot at Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on his Tuesday program. So, now she’s a reverse racist? I’ve read the story three times and I still don’t get what he’s trying to say. At least when Mitt Romney criticized Obama’s choice to fill the slot of retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, he had some substance behind his argument. Limbaugh’s comments are nothing short of inflammatory incitement.

So, will Americans take the bait? Those who follow Limbaugh like he’s a conservative John Lennon surely will. But for the majority of Americans, his latest comments only bolster their opinions that he’s out of ideas and frankly, out of touch.

Former Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney issued a press release earlier today saying he was troubled by President Obama’s choice of Sonia Sotormayor to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

Many of my friends and family will not like reading this but I don’t have a problem with Mitt. Sure, he and I don’t see eye to eye much on policy but I got a real kick  interviewing him a few years ago. I even got a chance to share a story about his father and my grandfather. And most importantly, he seemed genuinely interested.

All that being said, why would Romney assume that anyone really cares what he thinks about Sotomayor?  It’s probably his way of keeping himself in the public eye as he mulls whether to run again for president in 2012. But for many who already think he’s a tool, his release looks pretty foolish.  The only thing that would have been sillier, his detractors would say, is if Sarah Palin had issued a release offering her opinion.

Edward Luce of Britian’s Financial Times argues that former Vice President Dick Cheney is actually helping the Obama administration by his recent rantings and ravings regarding the prospects of closing Guantanamo. Cheney, he argues, is softening any disillusion some of the more liberal Democrats may be feeling toward Obama. The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn argues the exact opposite saying Cheney has put Obama on the defensive.

 Luce writes that Cheney’s actual target could be his former boss, George W. Bush. it was the Bush Administration, not Obama, who stopped the practice of waterboarding and sought to close the unpopular prison. Those moves infuriated Cheney who is now in a position to rail about them. But why go after his former boss when it would (in his mind) serve as bombshells he can hurl toward Democrats.  It’s a point that former Secretary of State Colin Powell made during his appearance on “Face the Nation” over the weekend.

It’s hard to make sense of all the different views offered by the U.S. media. But when the opinions are coming from another country, albeit a staunch ally of the United States, it’s refreshing and leaves you coming back for more.

Here’s two more photos including one from an Ace Frehley Web site worth checking out. Not sure how current it is since  it seems like it’s been about a month since he last updated it.

I voted for Obama and I am very glad I did. But there’s a small part of me who wishes that it was former Secretary of State Colin Powell who challenged him instead of John McCain. Where McCain lost all his maverick mojo when he took the mantle of defacto spokesman of the GOP, I seriously doubt Powell would have compromised his beliefs. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t run for president. He knew that he’d be under tremendous pressure from neocons to espouse the more radical policies of the right.  Im sure there are detractors out there, but his appearance on Face the Nation this morning, only strengenthed my belief in his moral superiority over Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and other conservative loudmouths. Had Powell run for president, it would have been difficult for me to choose one over the other. Either way, the United States would have been in good hands.

In recent weeks there’s been stories in the Boston area about MBTA employees reading newspapers while driving a bus and texting their girlfriend while driving a subway train. The second incident lead to a collision that injured nearly 50 people and shut down a section of the T’s Green Line for more than a day. 

Across the pond in London, airport authorities recently stopped an American Airlines pilot from flying to Chicago after he failed a breath test.

It appears that if conditons are right, you can receive a static electricity shock in your ears while listening to your iPod or iPhone. I wonder if you turn off the all the lights you can see sparks, you know, the kind that happens when you bite down real hard into a wintergreen Lifesaver.