today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “Rumsfeld is a co-conspirator in Cheney’s successful attempt to sell American servicemen’s lives for Halliburton profits. They are both traitors, and deserve a slow public execution following a fully revelatory public trial. To prevent recurrences of this kind of treason, it would be wise to sterilize their descendants, as well.” – Commenter, saepreaudeprime, at this New York Times opinion piece on the master of obfuscation (at least at the national level), Donald Rumsfeld.

• “Problem loading page” – That’s the screen message that citizens, visitors, guests and anyone who’s been trying to read more about one of America’s Best Towns to Visit has been seeing from early last evening until now (5:25 am) when they try to access the Columbia Borough Website. www.columbiapa.net. Let’s hope the borough’s working on a new Website! 10:27am – still offline. 12:25 pm – still offline.
  

• Meanwhile, the www.columbiapa.com Website is live – but, you recall, that’s the site that directs viewers to Wrightsville! The disclaimer at the bottom of the page: “This is a private website, and has no connection to the official Borough website. No public funds were used in the creation of the site.”Th

• Rumsfeld’s line: ” … because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

• Four kinds of persons: zeal without knowledge; knowledge without zeal; neither knowledge nor zeal; both zeal and knowledge. – Blaise Pascal, Pensées

• Once upon a time, in a military environment, we reasoned that there were four types of troops. Little did we know then that we were using Pascal’s model in a much less refined manner.

• and the really bad news is: “And the drift toward oligarchy continues.” – The New York Times editorial

• Curiosities abound: Another Columbia promotional/development/”rah-rah” entity, the Columbia Economic Development Authority’s Website, too, makes no note of Columbia’s mention as a best place to visit. It does, though, list one success. It also lists its contributors on the “sponsorship” page.

• Don’t you wonder why only so few businesses, and no real estate firms, are represented?

• Wonder also why there’s only one bank listed as a contributor? And it’s tied in with Donegal Insurance. Curious that there’s a link from the Union National Bank Website to Donegal Insurance but there’s no reciprocation link at Donegal Insurance’s?

• May be time for another Roberts/CEDC production coup?

• LancasterOnLine had an article about the states that benefit from federal government largess; here’s the link to the resource that shows all the states and all the funding.

• In addition to the higher gas prices, here are Pennsylvania’s added licensing charges. Commercial and non-commercial trucks will really get blasted. Motor homes, too.

• But state salaries continue to climb: Six figure salaries in PA boom – Harrisburg Patriot-News