The Cody News (June 23,2006)

Drilling Firm Seeks Favor as Expatriate

By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
Published: June 23, 2006

WASHINGTON, June 22 — The language in the House measure seems innocuous enough. Tucked into the Coast Guard budget bill, it says merely that Section 608 ( c ) (1) "is amended by striking the second sentence."

Okay, here we go AGAIN. So let me try to get this straight. Nabors moves its "tax headquarters" and "legal headquarters" so they don't have to pay taxes into our system. But they've greaseed enough Republican and Democrat pockets that they seriously think they can get a permanent exception to another law that some other crony had put in place to keep non-American companies from competing for US business. Please, please, please -- enough of the cronyism of the two mainstream parties.

9/11 Suit Tests New York Stand on Immunity

By ANTHONY DePALMA
Published: June 23, 2006

A federal judge heard oral arguments yesterday on the city's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought on behalf of more than 8,000 firefighters, police officers and construction workers who say they were harmed by exposure to toxic substances while working at ground zero.

I spent too much time down on Ground zero in the days right after 9/11, and I am worried about my exposure to those toxic substances. I should do something about that. Guess I'll have to spend some of my own money to do so, since I don't use public assistance (except for those unavoidable roads and schools and etc etc) and I don't have but "disaster" health insurance with a $5k deductible. Regardless of the finances, this toxic substance stuff scares me, because I remember how strange and bad it smelled down there after the towers collapsed.

For Dealer, Stolen Maps Point Way to Jail

By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
Published: June 23, 2006

NEW HAVEN, June 22 — A map dealer who specialized in finding elusive treasures for rich collectors admitted in federal court on Thursday to having stolen 97 antique maps worth more than $3 million from more than a half-dozen universities and libraries over the last seven and a half years.

The b*lls on that guy, eh? Simply stunning. You can't make that type of stuff up.

Knicks End Year of Disharmony

By HOWARD BECK
Published: June 23, 2006

Larry Brown was cast as a savior when he came home to coach the Knicks last July. In the months that followed, he came to be viewed instead as an enigma, an agitator, a failure and, finally, a pariah.

I've long argued that Isiah Thomas, as great as he was, is the single most over-rated basketball player in the history of the NBA. I'm not going to bother arguing that anymore. It's too easy to just point out how he screwed over everyone in the CBA and how badly he and Dolan have messed up the Knicks. Larry Brown or Isiah Thomas? And Dolan goes with Isiah? Wonder how many trades for dudes from his era Isiah will put on the sheets this year. Wonder if Isiah will be able to convince Dolan not to fire him when he misses the playoffs by 20 games next year? Isiah disgusts me at this point. I think I'll move on.