Over at the Daily Caller Myra Adams proposes that the Republican Party should rename itself The Conservative Party. Or, specifically, the Conservative Young Party:

Let’s face it: Politics is all about marketing and message spinning (just ask our current president). A name change from the Republican Party to the Conservative Party offers a perfect rebranding opportunity from toxic Republican to welcoming Conservative.

It’s an interesting idea, but a name change would need to come with a real set of principles. Part of the problem with the GOP is that we can’t exactly explain what we stand for. The eight years of drunken spending during the Bush administration didn’t help. (Where does a prescription drug benefit for Medicare fit into the party principles?)

I used to be one of those “conservative first, Republican second” people, but then I realized how stupid that position is. I understand that people are frustrated with Republicans, but you’re not going to change the party from the outside. You need to get involved and make the party in your image.

Standing on the sidelines and shouting about how politicians aren’t “conservative enough” will get you nothing, save maybe a sore throat.
Conservative Party? I’m all for it. A good step in the right direction to define what the party should be and what it should stand for. In the meantime, I’ll say it: I’m a Republican.

A Russian awarded $1million (£666,000) for solving one of the most intractable problems in mathematics said yesterday that he does not want the money.

Said to be the world’s cleverest man, Dr Grigory Perelman, 44, lives as a recluse in a bare cockroach-infested flat in St Petersburg. He said through the closed door: ‘I have all I want.’

Doctors at the Kang Tai Bee Clinic, a traditional Chinese medical facility in northeast Beijing, say the therapy has proved effective in curing diseases such as rheumatism and arthritis, as well as a list of other ailments.

“The bee therapy has an obvious effect on patients with bone and joint diseases,” said Wang Jing, a doctor at the clinic

A 62-year-old man was rushed to hospital after he attempted to take his own life the ancient way.

Animals would first need to be shown to have a well-developed sense of self before we could even consider the idea that they might decide to voluntarily end their lives. There is some evidence in a few animals for this, notably great apes, dolphins and elephants. Some corvids – birds in the family that includes crows and rooks – might be able to “know themselves” too.

…attendees at the April 7 event in Minneapolis are asked to spend $500 per person for attendance at the General Reception and Dinner; $5,000 for a table of ten; and $10,000 per couple for a “Private Reception with Photo Opportunity

Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann Photo Op Priced At $10,000.

A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Larders were commonplace in houses before the widespread use of the refrigerator.

via Larder – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Most bank managers fret about bad loans or a run on deposits. Luzia Moraes has to worry about a leak in the hull, bandits and rainstorms that keep clients away for weeks.

Ms. Moraes, a 43-year-old former housewife, is at the helm of a swashbuckling new venture in Brazil—as manager of the first floating bank branch on the Amazon river system. From a riverboat, she peddles banking services in a frontier where people don’t have much money—let alone experience with ATMs, savings accounts or personal loans.

“We didn’t know in the past that strawberry Pop-Tarts increase in sales, like seven times their normal sales rate, ahead of a hurricane,”

The New York Times > Business > Your Money > What Wal-Mart Knows About Customers’ Habits.