The company would have used the name "Rachel Lazer," it claimed, but "for reasons related to the practice of numerology, there was a decision to switch to 'Rachel Ray.'" The arbitration panel quickly dismissed this explanation, noting that the squatter could not show any evidence that it ever manufactured or sold lasers.
Veterinary scientists, who tend to favor the coastal-pollution explanation, note that the otters dine on many types of shellfish and invertebrates that are prone to accumulating contaminants.
For the moment, though, we prefer the parsimonious explanation noted above, that RYE is not part of the homeostat, but immediately downstream of it.
But independent experts scoff at that explanation, noting that judges were long ago subject to a rigorous process designed to weed out those guided by politics, not the law.
Mr. DeMint has doubted this explanation, noting that Mr. Graham, for one, had secured financing for other earmarks that only he requested.
Democrats have been blasting Metcalf for using that explanation, noting that Gov. John Kasich (R) turned over resumes gathered by his transition team during the same period after being advised that they were public records.
But the USDA has dismissed the state's explanation, noting in a January letter that many other states complied with the federal health care law "without the dramatic impacts" on food stamp processing that occurred in North Carolina.
The terse one-paragraph explanation noted that the White House had asked for the article to be killed.
Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Andrews was suspicious of the warm weather explanation, noting that "last autumn was also notably warm," and that the company has previously stated that the number one reason people don't buy soup is that they don't think of it.
