- EverVigilant.net - "The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." - John Philpot Curran
Will Big Bird join the dodo on the list of extinct flightless birds? Probably not, but look for people to start crying "Fowl!" when they learn that PBS may lose some of its federal funding:
WASHINGTON - Public television stations and National Public Radio would lose 25 percent of their funding next year under a bill cleared by a House committee Thursday night, although some of their funding for future years would be restored.
The moves came as the House Appropriations panel approved a tightly drawn spending bill for labor, health and education programs. For the first time since the early days of GOP control of Congress 10 years ago, the measure, taken as a whole, makes actual cuts to the programs funded by the bill.
The bill is perhaps the most controversial spending bill that passes Congress each year, and Senate GOP moderates have traditionally forced more money into it. Tight budget times, however, promise to make that difficult this time around.
It's about time someone decided to start trimming the fat from the sacred cow that is public television. Let them compete in the free market with every other purveyor of putrefied programming. If there really is a demand for shows like Sesame Street and Eastenders, then people will be willing to pay for them--or at least be willing to sit through a few commercials.
LONDON - A British husband and wife revealed the secrets of the longest marriage of any living couple on Wednesday as they celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary--don't sleep on an argument, always share a kiss and hold hands before going to bed.
Percy Arrowsmith, 105, and his 100-year-old wife Florence, were married on June 1, 1925, after meeting at their local church in Hereford, western England, where he sang in the choir and she was a Sunday school teacher.
Queen Elizabeth II sent her congratulations to the Arrowsmiths, who celebrated their anniversary Wednesday with coffee and nibbles at home with family and friends.
"What a splendid achievement. I send you my warm congratulations and best wishes for your 80th wedding anniversary," the Queen wrote in a card to the couple.
The Arrowsmiths, who have three children, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, claim the key to their long marriage is not to go to sleep on an argument. They say they always kiss each other and hold hands each night before going to bed.
"He can't settle down if I'm not holding his hand," Mrs. Arrowsmith was quoted as saying last month.
The couple's daughter Jane Woolley said her parents were both "very perky."
"She (Mrs. Arrowsmith) says she can't dance any longer but it feels good to have been married for 80 years. She says she can still have a drink," Woolley said.
Guinness World Records said the pair held records for the longest marriage for a living couple and the oldest aggregate age of a married couple.
It seems to me a generation that's obsessed with the romantic exploits of Hollywood celebrities could stand to learn a thing or two from this couple.
