After 43 years of representing the GOP, Senator Arlen Specter has switched sides. The newly minted Democrat advised reporters he had become increasingly uncomfortable as a moderate in a party dominated by conservatives and bluntly admitted his decision was based on his assessment he could not win reelection as a Republican next year. President Obama stated he would lend Specter his full support throughout that upcoming campaign. Reaction from fellow Republicans has been, to put it bluntly, harsh. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine called the defection “devastating news” and a wake-up call for the GOP to treat its moderate members better or face becoming a marginalized, mostly Southern party. Sen. Jim Inhofe felt outrage at the news, and delivered the following salvo: “From what I understand, Senator Specter and his left-leaning positions would lose by 15 points in an upcoming Republican primary challenge. Therefore, switching parties seems to have been done out of desperation and finding a way – any way – to stay in Washington longer. The big question now will be whether Democrats in Pennsylvania will embrace Specter or defeat him in the upcoming Democratic primary. I believe the fact that a little known conservative Republican could gain Read More …

Leona Helmsley’s wishes are going to the dogs. Two years before her death, the infamously wealthy hotelier and real estate mogul attempted to have the proceeds from her $5 billion charitable trust primarily go to “purposes related to the provision of care for dogs.” Her grandchildren have asserted that Helmsley was not mentally competent when she signed her will; a judge ruled in February that trustees could give the money as they saw fit. These facts were a factor in the doggie disbursements being lowered to a mere $1 million split among 10 charities, including some that train seeing-eye dogs, dogs for the deaf, and another that trains inmates to raise puppies to become bomb-sniffers. The remaining funds have been awarded to a variety of other charities.