| Let truth, common sense reign in Iowa
It can make Mike Huckabee a phenomenon and not a flash, John McCain the future and not the past. Moments like this happen in history. They're the reason we get up in the morning: "What happened?" "Who won?" This is my 2008 slogan: Reasonable Person for President. That is my hope, what I ask Iowa to produce, and I claim here to speak for thousands, millions. We are grown-ups, we know our country needs greatness, but we do not expect it and will settle at the moment for good. We just want a reasonable person. We would like a candidate who does not appear to be obviously insane. We'd like knowledge, judgment, a prudent understanding of the world and of the ways and histories of the men and women in it. Here are two reasonables: Joe Biden and Chris Dodd. They have been US senators for a combined 62 years.
'Roids to ruin
Hollywood singer Mario Lanza would crash-diet to prepare himself for film roles after big weight gains, and it finally caught up with him when he died at 38 in 1959. Then there's the case of Karen Carpenter, who was 32 when she died in 1983 due to complications of anorexia. We're surprised a steroid scandal hasn't hit Hollywood already. Former movie star and current California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is an admitted steroid user, and Sylvester Stallone pleaded guilty in Australia last year to bringing human growth hormone and testosterone into the country, yet their careers seem to go on unaffected. Them steroids are getting to this country. Share your thoughts on steroids in the entertainment industry or let us know who you think is on steroids. Visit www.thnt.com and click on forums@thnt.com.
Tummy tucks, nose jobs jump
Nancy Fox, who considered plastic surgery in her 50s but declined, had eyelid surgery and liposuction on her neck at age 73. Michelle Anderson, a 35-year-old mother of two, had a tummy tuck because "I wanted to look like I did before I had kids." Greg Nehls, who grew tired of his droopy eyes and double chin, had work done on both. "Men don't want to look old either," said Nehls, 52, a dairy farmer. .
J.T. tossed out of J.R. picture
Reports last week said John Travolta had decided to drop out of the long-awaited Dallas movie. Now the N.Y. Post has a juicier version: He was dumped. This thing has been hanging fire forever - the TV series ended in 1991 - and Travolta has been the attached big name for years. No doubt he would have been super as the scheming rotten oil baron at the heart of the story. But the Post has "insiders" saying that "about two weeks ago" Travolta "had the role of J.R. Ewing taken from him and given to Ben Stiller." .
CME casts its eye in Nymex’s direction
As a mature exchange with a strong brand, NYMEX represents a good opportunity. “The CME's best bet to continue to grow is to acquire entry into pools of liquidity that don't take time and money to develop," says John Lothian, editor of The John Lothian Newsletter, a derivatives markets daily briefing. Nymex gives the CME the opportunity to tap into energy trading, a fast-growing area of the derivatives market, and a share of over-the-counter derivatives trading, something it has long coveted. Getting into energy enables the CME to square up to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which has built up a strong position in energy and OTC trading. The CME and ICE have a fractious relationship: as the CME was moving ahead with its friendly takeover of the CBOT, ICE upset the cosy cross-town arrangement by making a surprise bid.
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