Google Latitude: Share Your Location On Google Maps

Google Latitude is now live, a new service from Google that allows you to send your location to Google Maps and share it with friends via many mobile phones (not the iPhone yet, but that’s coming). Greg Sterling will have our own review of the service posted later today.

For now, you can explore it directly yourself now (or here via your moble phone). You can also use the service from your computer, though the instructions from Google on how to locate the iGoogle Latitude gadget don’t currently seem to bring it up. Instead, use this link, login, and then you’ll be prompted to install the gadget. I found so far that it wasn’t able to automatically detect my location using my computer, as promised — but you can set it manually.

The Wall Street Journal has a long review here (or see the same review here on AllThingsD). There’s also discussion on Techmeme here.

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Nizar to meet Sultan of Perak

The MB of Perak has been granted an audience by the Sultan of Perak at 5pm. Mohd Nizar is likely to request that the state assembly be dissolved and fresh elections be held but with three PKR and one DAP assemblymen now joining BN, the game is as good as over. Perak BN leaders would probably seek an audience with the Sultan and asked that they be given the right to take over the state government.

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Obama performance chief Killefer out, citing taxes - Yahoo! News

Killifer's issue was actually pretty minor. I don't really think she should have to back out. But all the other nominees with problems were dealing with significant amounts of money and pretty clear culpability.

Tom Daschle is out as Secretary of Health and Human Services, because he didn't pay his taxes.

Tim Geithner didn't pay his taxes, and he even bilked his employer, but he is Secretary of the Treasury anyway.

There is something especially hypocritical about liberal Democrats not paying their taxes. They are constantly criticizing Republicans for giving "tax breaks to the rich," while they themselves are (a) rich, and (b) creating nonexistent tax breaks for themselves. They even lecture us about how patriotic it is to pay taxes (VP Joe Biden, during the campaign). When they cheat on their taxes, as somebody said, it is like an evangelical preacher getting caught with a prostitute.

Bill Richardson was to be Commerce Secretary, but unfortunately he happens to be under investigation by a grand jury in connection with issuing state contracts to political donors. Maybe he and Rod Blagojevich can cut some government waste by sharing a cell.

Several questions come to mind. What was that stuff about "reform" and "change" again? And what kind of half-baked vetting are these nominees getting by the Obamelot brain trust--all these smartest people in the world who have graced us with their presence? How hard is it to ask "Did you pay your taxes?" I hope they do a little more homework before Obama sits down to parlay with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

And finally...tell me again why we little people have to pay our taxes?

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Fayette schools reopen today

After a week of snow days, Fayette County and Madison County school officials say they're ready to get children back into school on Monday.

But other Central Kentucky school districts will remain closed.

Woodford County schools canceled classes for the sixth straight day because the high school lost power Sunday, and some roads still have dangling branches hanging over them or debris blocking at least a lane, said Superintendent D. Scott Hawkins.
"We just didn't feel it was going to be safe to put our buses out there," he said. "We've been in contact with the county judge and emergency management and they feel like it's going to be cleared up tomorrow. We're still hopeful about having school Tuesday."

Scott and Clark counties also canceled school on Monday. Franklin County was operating on a one-hour delay; Jessamine County on a two-hour delay.

Conditions have improved considerably in Fayette County, though.

"The roads look good, we have power in all our schools, the heat is working everywhere, and the sidewalks and parking lots are clear," Lisa Deffendall, a spokeswoman for the school district, said on Sunday.

Deffendall said school will be in session Monday, barring any changes overnight in the weather.

Earlier in the week, some forecasts had predicted another round of possibly heavy snow on Monday. But more recent forecasts have toned that down.

Schools were closed all last week in Fayette and many other Kentucky counties because of the ice storm that swept through the state and cut off power to thousands.

Fayette County Superintendent Stu Silberman said Friday he hadn't decided yet whether to ask the state Department of Education to waive the need for make-up days for the time lost.

With Woodford County schools closed Monday, that marks the eighth day students have missed there this year. Schools now will be open on primary election day; beyond that, no other decisions have been made, Hawkins said.

"Including (Monday) we would be going until the end of the first week of June. We're not sure what options are out there," he said.

Madison County Superintendent Thomas G. Floyd said power was back to all schools as of Sunday evening and, unless a problem develops overnight, classes are back on.

With schools closed all of last week, the calendar has been bumped back, with graduation now scheduled for June 2 assuming no more closings, Floyd said.

Bus workers in Madison County checked routes Sunday and will be making some pickup schedule changes, which will be posted on the Web at www.madison.kyschools.us.

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Judd Gregg Out, Bonnie Newman In, Werewolf Cautiously Optimistic

Judd Gregg to Commerce, with Democratic governor John Lynch nominating Bonnie Newman:


By yesterday, speculation centered on Bonnie Newman, a North Hampton Republican who has high-profile ties to Gregg and Lynch. The former University of New Hampshire and Harvard dean worked for Gregg when he was a congressman before going on to work for Presidents Reagan and Bush. In 2004, Newman crossed party lines to become an early Republican backer of Lynch.

Newman, 63, did not return calls for comment to her home and office yesterday, but Republicans across the spectrum cheered the idea yesterday.

"I am a fan. She has impeccable Republican credentials," said former Republican Party chairman Fergus Cullen, citing her ties to Gregg, Reagan and Bush. "She's thoughtful. She's pragmatic. She's not an ideologue."

Peterson called Newman a "centrist Republican of the old school, with an appreciation for some of the issues that they are more tolerant on."

No one, however, claimed to know exactly where Newman stands on political issues such as abortion and taxes.

I'm not upset that Lynch nominated a Republican -- Gregg wouldn't have departed without a pledge to do so. While it might've been nice to raise the profile of some bright young Democrat by putting him/her in the cabinet, Commerce is sort of a backwater. And it's good to get Gregg out of the way. As Nick said: "In the 110th Congress, Gregg was the 15th most conservative Senator, which is impressive except that he 10th in the 108th, 9th in the 107th, and 2nd (!) in the 109th."

Now, at this point in the day and year, we have only fuzzy probabilities to work from regarding Bonnie Newman. But compared to Gregg, I'm willing to accept the whole set of coin flips she represents, in terms of her political views, willingness to run again, and electability if she does.

Digression: In the Politico article on Gregg, Trent Lott eats his foot again, though fortunately in a non-racist way. Says Lott, "There’s that old joke when a House member goes to the Senate, the intellect of both bodies goes up. Well when Judd Gregg leaves, the Senate’s intellect will go down." Read that first sentence again -- the only way it makes sense is if average intelligence in the House is greater than in the Senate. You lose one of your dumber House guys and send him to the Senate, where he's smarter than most people there. I don't think the former Senate Republican Leader wanted to say that.

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