So, according to The Associated Press story, 'Jon and Kate Plus Eight' will soon be called 'Kate Plus Eight' when it returns to air with new episodes, now minus whiney hubbie.

Wonder how this works. Does she keep the kids because her name rhymes with 'eight?' What she were Donna and had married Nate??? Would the producers and agent convinced her to give 'em up to keep the show going? 

Remember, the key to any show or successful entertainment bit is a snappy title and we love the rhymes almost as much as TV news loves the alliteration. 

OK, it didn't happen here but it happened.

Oxford and Auburn Hills were cities where gun-rights advocates hosts picnics to promote the carrying of guns in public.

Both parties went off without a hitch, though readers here at www.theoaklandpress.com intensely debated the issue. One concern expressed was the misuse of a firearm at such an event (coming after some readers suggested to one another that they meet at once of these events to discuss differences of opinion.) Didn't happen, thank goodness, as I've seen it's easy to debate on a keyboard but too timeconsuming to do so in person (until I came across the Tea Party crowd and their counterparts).

But it did happen in the Grand Rapids area. 

Read the story here, but essentially, someone apparently accidently discharged their weapon at the party.

Too bad, because I'm betting this guy is embarrassed. He made his group look foolish, giving ammunition to the opposition. So the anti-gun people won't like him and his own crowd will disdain him for being an amateur. 

At least no one was hurt.

They ain't the Ain'ts no more. Last year was the year of the Arizona
Cardinals to get their chance at the big dance, the Super Bowl,
making one more team that at least has made it to the game -- where
the Lions still are waiting to go.
This year, with a strong win over the Philly Eagles and a passing
game to die for, it looks like the New Orleans Saints, who
historically have been a work in progress, may have a shot at a post-
season run.
Could be another team to leap-frog over the Lions.

I would normally think that President Obama would fare better in the
PR reaction to the You Lie outburst than he has done.
It's quite a step away from the normal D.C. discourse and generally
such changes end up hurting the one who crosses the line.
However, the "YOU LIE" directed at the president from the angry
congressman from South Carolina is treated as being representative of
the national anger felt over this proposed change. I suspect the
anger is less about the change than the general direction of the
country, as in we are all poorer and more likely to lose everything
with this economic downturn.
So the crazed congressman gets a pass, as any ruffled feathers
actually only helps him with his base.
But George W. Bush really benefited from the shoe thrower, because he
kept his composure by smiling through the aerial assault and he
successfully ducked the projectile, twice even. It was cute,
brilliant and quite a nice little news story on a Sunday, as I
recall, as weekend's need stories with legs, and this had legs, video
and flying footware. The hated lame duck still had some moves and a
little grace to laugh it off.
Meanwhile, with You Lie, the strongest image was of the Pelosi head
snap. Ouch.
We'll see if this is the beginning of a new era of truly cutthroat
politics, or if this was an aberration of the normal civility.
But I think the 'outburst' was more planned and staged, unless the
congressman could only assume the chief executive was a liar because
he comes from a state where that is absolutely true as the governor's
South American affair and subsequent exposures has proven that
honesty in that top office is long long gone.

Here's a comment from a reader who noticed something about the striking professors from Oakland University, who this week settled with the school's administration:

"I thought that when an institution goes on strike that they would carry picket lines 24 hours," wondered one reader. "I pass OU at 4:30 a.m. and no one is picketing then. Go by at 8:30 a.m. and they are all out there then. Strange!"

I noticed that, too.

I drove past the university, generally on Walton Boulevard and sometimes on Adams Road, and I noticed that the professors were striking generally on their professor schedules.

There were only a few protesters, also, at each entrance — when they were there.

Now, I appreciate their position, having the president take a 40 percent pay raise -- on top of generally living for free with home and car expenses covered -- while tuition goes way up for students. Not  much leadership on top, when they can't refuse the raise and then take a symbolic pay cut to help push others to sacrifice as well. 

But the anger of the professors really diminished when they couldn't make it out to strike in the evening or during the weekend. At least they stuck with their cushy schedules, appearing completely oblivious to the anger from the general community directed toward them.

They love it when fans love the league by spending money and they hate to give anything up without a cash-in-hand payment or marketing tie in.

Today, a story crossed the Associated Press wires, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell explaining the challenge of avoiding blackouts as the season starts off shortly with Americans still stuck in this economic downturn.

All he could muster was that teams are trying to work hard to address the challenges.

Total BS.

How about the league give up the blackout policy, the one thing that makes me hate the NFL. I like football and I like watching football, but the NFL is one league where I will watch and root for injuries and chaos (like the Broncos/Charges game ruined by a bad call, ahhh that was fun to watch.)

The league makes billions off their TV deal and I can't watch a game on TV because the Lions are blacked out. Now, I understand that they want fans to spend $200 for a trip to the stadium if you want to see your local team.

But why black out the other games if you prefer not to spend money you don't have on a team that you have learned to despise?

Why punish us for simply liking football?

What a joke. I think I'll spend my Sundays raking my leaves this fall and watching my DVR'd Monk shows.

All I thought when I first heard reports of possible misdeeds within in the University of Michigan football program was that this could not be a bad thing for the team.

I mean a tradition of not breaking rules and winning was being challenged by a report that the coaches were making the team work too hard.

In the court of public opinion, that will never be a bad thing, even if it is a violation of rules. Hard work is a strong American ethic. Whining with unattributed allegations is not.

But then the reaction to the allegations and subsequent investigation may have turned the public opinion. 

I mean, crying, come on, as I watched the press conference and saw the crying, I was shocked. I could hear the laughs all the way from Lansing. Oh my.

That will get played again, over and over. Infractions and a wimp factor.

Oh well. They better get to winning.