Democrat Wins Solid Republican District in New York

How's that killin' medicare thingy workin' out for ya?

[Excerpt]

Democrat Kathy Hochul Wins NY Special Election For House Seat

In a victory certain to be read by many as a positive omen for House Democrats looking forward to the 2012 general elections and a warning for Republicans, Democrat Kathy Hochul won the closely watched special election to fill a vacant seat in a congressional district that until now has been reliably Republican. . .

Read more at: WVIZ

ABC's V Returns January 4

At the risk of invoking The Greenlee Curse yet again, here's a reminder to anyone who enjoyed V on ABC last season (there are dozens of you after all). I was a huge fan of the original two mini-series, and even of the short-lived NBC series that followed. Were it not for that series, we likely wouldn't have gotten to see Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in all of those Nightmare on Elm Street movies. So take that for what you will.

As for the new season of V, we may not have a reprise of Englund's "good guy" alien visitor, but there are some returning favorites. Jane Badler, the original alien baddie, returns as the new baddie's momma, and she retains the name Diana. Also, later in the season (or at the end of the series, take your pick), Marc Singer returns, in a different character from his original good guy, Mike Donovan. It may be futile, but I'll be watching every episode.

Iran Drops the US Dollar

Photo from source, AFP

From the "that can't be good" department, further signs of bad news for our economy. I'm not even close to an expert on the subject, so let's just get right to the story. . .

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Iran drops dollar from oil deals: report

Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency.

"At the moment, selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies," Nozari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. . .

Read more at: AFP