I just got back from getting a oil and filter change for my car, putting me back $40.

Granted, service was quick and friendly - as always - but I don't remember the service costing that much before.

No wonder I'm stretching out the time between visits.

It's been a while since I've changed my own oil and filter, but I might have to start looking into it - or shopping around for a better deal.

I know vehicle sales are tough, and that dealerships make their money via the service department, but today's experience was a bit of a surprise.

Delta Air Lines has confirmed that it wants to cut two of the three flights out of Tupelo to Memphis while adding a flight to Atlanta.

The proposed changes would go into affect July 1, but the plan needs federal approval.

Tupelo Regional Airport Executive Director Terry Anderson said it's a "positive step" for the airport, because the two flights being cut were connected to Muscle Shoals, Ala., which has been a sore point for Tupelo anyway.

Reopening a route to Atlanta, which ironically would go through Muscle Shoals, has been something Tupelo has wanted since Delta ended its service here in January of 2008 after a brief and bumpy stint here.

Look for more details in tomorrow's Daily Journal.

Somebody among all the great thinkers at Apple didn't think about this one. From the Associated Press:

Apple Inc. pulled a 99-cent iPhone game called “Baby Shaker” from its iTunes store Wednesday after its premise — quiet a crying baby with a vigorous shake — prompted outrage.

According to screen shots posted on several Web sites, “Baby Shaker” displayed black-and-white line drawings of a baby. The iTunes description included the line, “See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!” Once the iPhone owner finishes shaking the device, the on-screen baby is depicted with large red X’s over its eyes.

Public outcry ensued, with organizations including the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation condemning Apple for approving the game’s sale.

The application was designed by Sikalosoft, which also makes a 99-cent “Dice Mosaic” iPhone program that converts digital photos into black and white mosaics made from dice. Sikalosoft did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment, but “Baby Shaker” was deleted from its Web site Wednesday afternoon.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said “Baby Shaker” went on sale Monday, and confirmed that Apple removed it Wednesday. She would not comment on why the program was initially approved for sale nor about how many people downloaded the game. Apple itself screens each iPhone application, a process some prospective iPhone application developers have complained can take weeks or months. Others have said Apple gives little feedback when it accepts or rejects a program.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has rejected apps that let iPhone users throw virtual shoes at President George W. Bush or watch clips from the “South Park” cartoon. It has accepted numerous programs that simulate flatulence.

And it doesn't have anything to do with a Stanford company exec - rather, this story involves an SEC prosecutor in the Stanford case.

Read it to believe it:

Police in Fort Worth say a top SEC official prosecuting Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford’s fraud case has been accused of assaulting an officer.

Police Sgt. Pedro Criado says 46-year-old J. Kevin Edmundson was arrested downtown Saturday after he resisted officers who intended to arrest him for public intoxication.

He says Edmundson tried to free an arm as he was being handcuffed and hit a female officer in the eye.

Edmundson is the associate director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s office in Fort Worth and is one of the attorneys prosecuting the $8 billion fraud case against Stanford.

He was released Sunday. A jail official said no bond information was listed.

Neither Edmundson nor his attorney returned calls Tuesday.

Here's an announcement from the University of Mississippi Young Americans for Liberty and the UM Constitutionalists:

The University of Mississippi Young Americans for Liberty have teamed up with the UM Constitutionalists to attract Thomas Woods to speak on the Ole Miss campus. Woods, author of the New York Times Bestseller Meltdown: A Free Market Look at why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse, will be offering explanations on what caused our current recession and free market approaches to fixing the problem.

The two on-campus organizations hope to stir up some discussion among the student body and in the local community on the costs and consequences of what the US government is currently doing to combat the ailing economy. His book has already gained popular recognition with his harsh criticism of government bailouts and the Federal Reserve’s monetary expansion policies. Woods will be explaining how these government bailouts will make things worse and the effect they may have on the state of Mississippi.

The meeting is Thursday from 7:30 p.m to 9 p.m. at Bishop Hall, Room 209.

For further information, please visit www.umfreedom.com, or call Justin Head at (601) 209-8475

In an effort to say competitive with Honda's new and cheaper Insight Hybrid, Toyota is keeping the base price of its third-generation Prius hybrid the same as last year, at $22,000.

From the AP:

Toyota says the 2010 Prius hybrid will cost the same as the current model when it goes on sale in the U.S. in late May, and will release an even cheaper version later in the year.

The Japanese automaker says the third-generation Prius will start at $22,000, the same as the 2009 model. It says a more basic model will be released starting at $21,000 later this year, but did not say what features it will or won’t contain.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s much-anticipated 2010 Prius is expected to compete head-on with the Honda Insight hybrid. Honda recently reintroduced the Insight and has priced it in the U.S. under $20,000 as it aims to reach economy-minded buyers.

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And maybe eventually we'll get to build those Prius here in Northeast Mississippi....

R. Allen Stanford, accused of putting together a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme with the help of Baldwyn natives James M. Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt, needs access to some of his assets to pay his defense team.

From the AP:

Attorneys for Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford has asked a judge to release $10 million of his seized assets so he can pay for a defense against accusations of running a massive Ponzi scheme.

The Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil charges against Stanford and the top officers of the Stanford Financial Group in February, saying they were involved in an $8 billion fraud where investors were lied to about the safety of investments sold by the bank as certificates of deposit and promised unrealistically high rates of return.

Texas attorney Ralph Janvey was appointed receiver by the court to take over companies owned by Stanford.

“All of Allen Stanford’s money, all of his records, and most of his clothing and personal possessions were seized by the Receiver ... the same orders left him with no assets to retain counsel to represent him,” according to a court filing Sunday on behalf of Stanford.

Attorneys are asking the court for $10 million to be placed into an account in the name of famed Texas attorney Dick DeGuerin to pay for legal fees, expert witnesses, travel and other expenses to defend Stanford.

“The cost of Allen Stanford’s representation in this Court and many others through the years it will take to conclude this litigation will almost certainly exceed $20 million,” according to documents filed with a federal court in Dallas.

Stanford previously filed a response denying the SEC’s allegations without a lawyer and blamed Janvey for not being able to hire an attorney.

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Davis, if you'll recall, was Stanford's roommate at Baylor University, and was SFG's chief financial officer. Pendergest-Holt is SFG's chief investment officer.

Davis recently said he was working with authorities to find the missing assets and said he had nothing to do with the Ponzi scheme. Earlier, he had pleaded the Fifth.

Pendergest-Holt is the only one charged with a criminal complaint – so far – accused of lying to authorities.

Big Oil beats ol' Sam in business, at least according to the latest Fortune 500 list. ExxonMobile takes over the top spot from Walmart on the 2009 list.

An excerpt from the AP:

Exxon Mobil Corp. unseated Walmart Stores Inc. in the 2009 Fortune 500 list, shrugging off the oil price bubble and weathering what the magazine called the worst year ever for the country’s largest publicly traded companies.

Fortune’s closely watched list, released Sunday, ranked companies by their revenue in 2008. Irving, Texas-based Exxon took in $442.85 billion in revenue last year, up almost 19 percent from 2007. The company also raked in the biggest annual profit, earning $45.2 billion.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart had held the top spot for six of the last seven years but fell to No. 2 this year. Still, the retail giant’s 2008 revenue climbed 7 percent to $405.6 billion, as the battered economy sent more consumers searching for bargains. The world’s largest retailer took in $13.4 billion in annual profit, an increase of about 5 percent.

Although it may have been a good year for Exxon and Walmart, 2008 was far from rosy for most of remaining companies on the list. Overall earnings plunged 85 percent to $98.9 billion from $645 billion in 2007, the biggest one-year decline in the 55-year history of the Fortune 500 list.

“America is getting used to the sound of bubbles bursting,” Fortune said.

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Yep, that's for sure - I've been hearing my 401(k) bursting for the past year, enough to make ME want to burst. Good news is, I'm only down 10 percent for the first quarter, compared to 30 percent for all of 2008. Hey - I'm cutting my losses. Woo hoo!!

I just got back from the TEA party in front of City Hall in Tupelo, and it was well-attended. A couple of policemen I spoke to estimated the crowd to be between 850 - 1,000 people.

Organizer Grant Sowell said he was very pleased with the turnout that drew supporters from across North Mississippi, and even visitors from Tennessee, Alabama and even Texas.

I asked several attendees about critics' claims that the event was staged by FOX News and other conservative talk show hosts.

They didn't think much of it.

"If the liberals can get organized by MoveOn.org and other organizations, why can't conservatives?" one person responded.

There were no acts of violence or calls for acts of violence. The main message was that people are being taxed too much and government is spending too much and something needs to be done.

If you went today, what did you think of the event and the message?

Across the country, TEA (Taxed Enough Already) parties are being thrown to protest what supporters say are unfair taxes and unwise use of taxpayer money by the federal government.

In Tupelo, the festivities begin at noon in front of City Hall in the Fairpark District. Organizers expect a large turnout.

And while conservative talk shows and FOX News have been pushing the event, not much, if any, has been mentioned on the other news channels, save MSNBC, which has been trashing the event.

Interesting...