Blog Heap of Links for the day 21 August 2011

"Let me say this as plainly as I can. If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired just like always," Obama said in a speech. "Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it has ever been. Because starting today, the United States will stand behind your warranty."

General Motors Co (GM.N) is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over a suspension problem on more than 400,000 Chevrolet Impalas from the 2007 and 2008 model years, saying it should not be responsible for repairs because the flaw predated its bankruptcy.

So much for dialing back the rhetoric, right? On Saturday in Inglewood, Calif., Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters had some harsh words for the tea party. "I'm not afraid of anybody. This is a tough game. You can't be intimidated. You can't be frightened. And as far as I'm concerned — the tea party can go straight to hell." [video]

told the officer she had been using methamphetamine and had last used it four days prior. She, however, claimed the meth lab was not hers and that she was only transporting it to a friend's house. [What friend? Who? Uh, no, I didn't mean a friend. I meant... uh.. I found it, yeah.. that's it....]

a 22-year-old woman, her mother and grandmother were killed when the family's SUV blew a tire on northbound I-95 in Wilson County, the driver lost control and the vehicle overturned.

Facebook said Friday it mistakenly removed a post in which Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer criticized a controversial policy decision by President Barack Obama's administration to limit deportations of illegal immigrants. ... Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes responded to a query by The Associated Press by saying in a brief email that Brewer's post was removed in error and that Facebook was sorry. ... Brewer reposted the item Friday, saying the original post was ``censored'' by Facebook. Both versions included a statement in which she criticized the Obama policy decision and the illustration, a color drawing of Brewer in a Rosie the Riveter pose. Brewer used the drawing in her 2010 election campaign. Its headline of ``doing the job the feds won't do'' refers to Brewer's clashes with Obama's administration on immigration and border issues. "Something that's been posted on there a lot of times....''

Earlier this month, Kazuma Obara became the first photojournalist to gain unauthorised access to the power plant and produced an exclusive glimpse of life inside the facility

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is paying $112 million in tax money to farmers and ranchers in 11 Western states to restore the habitat of the Sage Grouse, a bird that has not been listed as either threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species law because the government says there are too many of them.

On the Constitutional rights front, one has to wonder why no one in the Denver news media has explored the subjects of whether it's lawful for law enforcement agents to (1) step foot on someone's property without a warrant and (2) seize someone's private property (livestock) based solely upon an anonymous phone call to a hotline that pays up to $2,000 for tips.

hounded and threatened with massive fines by agents from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Bell had to go face to face with her hare-brained local sheriff. ... hounded and threatened with massive fines by agents from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Bell had to go face to face with her hare-brained local sheriff. ...