SUNDAY NIGHT POETRY

 I am pleased to post a prize-winning poem by my 9-year old granddaughter.  I withhold her name for privacy reasons.  This poem was selected by Poetry.org for its Poet-to-Poet competition. 

My granddaughter's poem was the only one selected by Poetry.org from her New York school district, and it will be published online and in their poetry journal.

I've been involved with writing poetry and submitting poetry to various journals and publications for many years.  I am so pleased that my granddaughter is following in a family tradition. 

Congratulations to her and to all the young people who are writing poetry.

Here is her winning poem that will be posted on Poetry.org's webpage:


Poems

Poems hide in your shoes
Poems creep around the corners
of your dad's old newspapers
Poems can be anything
 anything at all.
They can be the rusty nail
 on your blue locker
or how you feel right after
your soccer team
won the championship
Poems can hide in the screen
of your video games
They jump into your backpack
and come with you to school.
Poems are like the beginning of a new day.
You can't see a poem unless you feel it.







Poet-to-poet projectOur Educational Project for National Poetry Month 2014For National Poetry Month 2014, we introduce Poet-to-Poet, a multimedia educational project that invites young people in grades 3-12 to write poems in response to those shared by some of the award-winning poets who serve on the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors: Poet Laureate of California Juan Felipe Herrera, National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Edward Hirsch, NEA and Guggenheim Fellow Jane Hirshfield, Lannan Foundation Fellow Naomi Shihab Nye, Pulitzer Prize-nominee Ron Padgett, Jackson Poetry Prize-winner Arthur Sze, and cofounder (with Allen Ginsberg) of the Naropa Institute Anne Waldman. Students—to participate in Poet-to-Poet, watch the videos below of Chancellors reading and discussing one of their poems. Then, write your own poem in response and email it to us at poet2poet@poets.org by April 30, 2014. Please include your name and the name of the poet below who has inspired your poem. We will consider all student poems for publication on Poets.org in May 2014. Teachers—if you are interested in using Poet-to-Poet in the classroom, we worked with a curriculum specialist to design a series of activities, aligned with the Common Core, especially for you. Go to the Lesson Plans & Happy writing!

"...craven irresponsible politicians and the NRA."

SALON:  At a press conference earlier today, a self-identified father of one of the victims in last night’s mass shooting near the University of California, Santa Barbara, named his son, Chris Martinez, as one of the victims.

In a heart-wrenching statement the father, Richard Martinez, expressed his profound sadness. His 20-year-old son was on his way to a market when he was killed. “Why did Chris die?” Richard Martinez said at a press conference.

“Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights, what about Chris’ right to live? When will this insanity stop?”

Two other victims have been identified, according to NBC Los Angeles, as Veronika Weiss, a first-year student at UCSB, and her Delta Delta Delta sorority sister, Katie Cooper.




CNN:  Richard Martinez, says his son Christopher Martinez was one of those killed in the shooting that claimed seven in the Isla Vista area near UCSB on Friday night.

The father went on to say "When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say, 'Stop this madness!' Too many have died. We should say to ourselves, 'Not one more!'"

According to the Associated Press, "Martinez says he talked to his son just 45 minutes before he was shot and killed inside a deli. Martinez says his son's roommate tried to revive him, but he died at the scene."


The video can be seen HERE.

Marriage Equality! Unstoppable!

14 wins in a row!

Pennsylvania (Federal), John Jones, 5/20/14, George W. Bush appointee, Full Marriage Rights 

Oregon (Federal), Michael McShane, 5/19/14, Obama appointee, Full Marriage Rights, No Stay/No Appeal 

 Idaho (Federal), Candy Dale, 5/13/14, Panel appointment, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed 

Arkansas (State), Chris Piazza, 5/9/14, Direct Election, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed, but over 200 Marriages in the 7-day legal interim before the Stay 

 Ohio (Federal), Timothy Black, 4/14/14, Obama appointee, Out of State Marriages, Stayed/Appealed (except for the original plaintiffs) 

 Indiana (Federal), Richard Young, 4/10/14, Clinton appointee, One Out of State Marriage, the Plaintiffs 

 Michigan (Federal), Bernard Friedman, 3/21/14, Reagan appointee, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed, but 323 Marriages in the 1-day interim before the Stay 

 Tennessee (Federal), Aleta Trauger, 3/20/14, Clinton appointee, Out of State Marriages, Stayed/Appealed, only applies to the three plaintiffs 

 Texas (Federal), Orlando Luis Garcia, 2/26/14, Clinton appointee, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed 

 Virginia (Federal), Arenda Wright Allen, 2/13/14, Obama appointee, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed, had 3 judge appeal hearing in the fourth circuit on 5/13/14 

 Kentucky (Federal), John Heyburn II, 2/12/14, George H.W. Bush appointee, Out of State Marriages, Stayed/Appealed 

 Oklahoma (Federal), Terence Kern, 1/14/14, Clinton appointee, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed 

 Utah (Federal), Robert Shelby, 12/20/13, Obama appointee, Full Marriage Rights, Stayed/Appealed, 1360 Marriages in the 17-day interim before the Stay 

 New Mexico (State Supreme Court), Unanimous Decision by Court, 12/19/13, Direct Election (3) or Gubernatorial appointment (2, Bill Richardson), Full Marriage Rights, No Appeal/No Stay

h/t HuffPost

A Representative Climate Change Debate

A "debate" on whether or not climate change is man-made does not mean one person says it is and another person says it isn't.




“...among climate scientists actively publishing [peer-reviewed] climate research, 97% agree that humans humans are causing global warming...the 97% finding was based on over 12,000 papers from 1991-2011 mentioning “global climate change’ or ‘global warming."



 Or let John Oliver explain:





 




 The Daily Caller reported that a new survey of meteorologists contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change. But a simple opinion survey does not debunk that 97 percent of climate science papers found that human activities contribute to global warming -- rather, it only shows the stark differences between climate science research and meteorologists' beliefs. 

A recent study conducted by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) surveyed its "professional members" to test how political ideologies and climate expertise influence opinions on manmade global warming. The study found that only 52 percent of its members believe global warming is happening and is caused mostly by humans. 

However, this study merely shows that the average opinions of meteorologists are at odds with the majority of scientific research on climate change, and does not, as the Daily Caller claimed, show that "there is much more disagreement among climate scientists than previously thought"  h/t M.M.

NASA REPORTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE CONSENSUS


MORE HERE from Skeptical Science. 


 97% global warming consensus meets resistance from scientific denialismThe robust climate consensus faces resistance from conspiracy theories, cherry picking, and misrepresentations.

Suit and Tie in the 217

"A Counter-Narrative on Black Male Students: 

At Central High School's Black History Month Celebration, the Central and Centennial High School African-American Clubs released a joint video countering the negative images of young African-American males in the media. 

The students affirmed the following in a video highlighting the successes of young black males within the District: 
• We are not gangsters and thugs. 
• We are employees and volunteers. 
• We are scholars. 
• We are athletes. 

"The negative stories told daily in the media and in our culture about our young African-American men tend to ignore their successes and don't tell the full story about how young Black men are becoming leaders within our community schools," said Central School Social Worker and African-American Club Sponsors Tiffany Gholson and Barbara Cook, who worked with the students on this effort. 

"In this video, our students reclaim the narrative of who they are and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps." In our assembly, we addressed the State of the Youth and highlighted what Black students have overcome from a historical perspective. 

The assembly also highlighted how overcoming those obstacles has helped make America stronger and urged students of all backgrounds to carry the torch for future generations."


 

Sunday Science Blog

Caught in the act: Study probes evolution of California insect


West Antarctic glacier loss appears unstoppable


 How octopuses don't tie themselves in knots

Caturday is for Tara!

By now you've probably seen the video of the 4-year old boy in Bakersfield, California, who was viciously attacked by a neighbor's dog and who was saved by the family cat, Tara.

According to reports, the cat was a foundling who was accepted into the family before the boy was born.

I've had cats as companions all my adult life, and as wonderful as they've all been, I could not imagine either of them doing what Tara did.  Dogs?  Yes.  But a cat that went after a dog attacking a child? Never heard of that.

My two beloved marmalade cats, Miss Pettipaw and King Yellow Man (named for a Jamaican Reggae singer),  lived long and happy lives (both lived 21 years) and were remarkable in their own particular ways.  Miss Pettipaw was the cat we had when my children were little; and no matter how they picked the poor thing up or disturbed her frequent cat naps to either dress her in doll clothes or put her in a little red wagon for a ride, she never once scratched or hissed at them. Such patience!  Such a gentle, sweet-natured cat.  

Our second cat, King Yellow Man, was also a good-sport, a tolerant cat who enjoyed being petted even by strangers, but was also an indescriminate hunter who dragged into the house all sorts of prizes for us to admire: garter snakes, rabbits, toads, and something that was an indistinguishable combination of fur, vegetation, and possibly intestines.  

One night my sleep was interrupted by a loud crash I heard coming from the kitchen.  Too sleepy to find out what it was, I decided it was only Yellow Man, doing his usual racing around the house at that time of night or jumping on the counters, knocking over a pan or its lid.  The next morning as I was doing some vacuuming, I noticed what looked like an large gray "dust bunny" under my Queen Anne chair in the living room.  As I bent down to examine it, to my horror I discovered it was a decapitated squirrel, with its head neatly placed beside the body!  So THAT was the ruckus I heard during the night. Somehow the poor squirrel had gotten into the house (it was not unusual during the day for someone to forget to shut the door off the kitchen that went out into the yard). Yellow Man apparently took off after the squirrel when it emerged from wherever it had been hiding during the day, caught it, and bit off the poor thing's head and, of course, left the gory mess for his mistress to clean up.  Men!


No matter.  Here's to cats and the wondrously inscrutable things they do (like leaving hairballs on pillows or knocking spice bottles off the kitchen counter just for the hell of it) and best of all, for being loyal and loving friends.  

And to you, Tara, for your amazing heroism in protecting your little boy.

Patridiots get their coup d'etat on!

UPDATE RIGHT HERE

Operation American Spring Fizzles, Twitter Trolls Hold Major Mockfest 

Go HERE for live streaming on Operation American Spring.

Suppose they started a revolution and nobody came?

Nothing like a good old fashioned constitutional coup d'etat (does that phrase make me look French?) to give a patridiot a thrill running down his leg, is there?

Tomorrow, if Colonel Klink retired army Colonel Harry Riley gets his way, 10 to 30 million 'merikans will march on Washington D.C., surround its government buildings, and DEMAND! that President Obama (as well as other federal officials) give himself up for committing the treasonous act of being elected twice by a majority of American citizens.  Colonel Riley and his band of brave Strict Constitutionalists will put Obummer on trial; and after testimony by Louie Gohmert, Ted Cruz, and Sarah Palin, the Marxist Commie Kenyan Usurper will be found guilty and frog-marched off to the firing squad.

At last!  Constitutional FREEDOM!  and LIBERTY!  and JUSTICE! restored and rescued from Obummer The Bloody Marxist Tyrant!!!!!111!!!


Go read Infidel753's, Squatlo-Rant's, and Green Eagle's posts on what promises to be an astoundingly massive Second American Revolution!  Or something.


Here's a sampling of the brilliant minds who support this grandiose and patridiot idea:

Sharon HeyMay 09, 22:03

PLEASE NO BLOOD BATH, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT OBUMMER WANTS!!! SO HE CAN DECLARE MARTIAL LAW AND PUT EVERYONE THAT OPPOSES HIM IN INTERRMENT CAMPS THAT HE HAS ALREADY SET UP!!!!

Jeff JeffersMay 09, 23:10

I hope it will do something to restore this nation back to having some sense in a place of leadership.

And my favorite comes from a fine fellow, John Brickhead, who, in his best patridiot fervor trumpets, "...LET THERE BE JUSTICE ON THOSE WHO PERPERTRATED OUR LIBERTIES!"



Yes, John!  You said a mouthful!  Now go defend liberty and get your coup d'etat on!!!!!!1!1!!!!!!!!!

John BirckheadMay 10, 03:35

I am not opposed to this Tea Party, a move our colonists perpertrated on the Crown, King George III, fed up Americans with a failed lying President and corrupt politicians that led to the similar Ukraine uprising as well. . I would support them and they would gain collaboration as well from our citizens. Will foreign nations support us as well. The voice of the people may not always come as votes but brute force. The U S Constitution cannot depend upon the judicial system, to defend her. The people have an obligation to our founding fathers and GOD as well. For GOD blessed America as we could have easliy lost to King George. Then we would be under the United Kingdom today. How far are u willing to go to maintain a way of life and ideas that have policed the world, stopped tyranny and mass murder, led the world as exceptional people and allowed u to sleep in peace. Obama and his cronies need to go. If this be so, let there be justice on those who perpertrated our liberties.

"It's Time For Republicans To Get Over Benghazi." Chuck Todd

As TeaPublicans howl, stamp their feet and demand that America join them in their many failed attempts at turning a terrible tragedy into a scandal, the Benghazi political circus leaves town. 

Buh-Bye!


"I’ll hear from Republicans that say, ‘But there are unanswered questions!’ Well, no, all the questions have been answered," he said. "There’s just some people that don’t like the answers, that wish the answers were somehow more conspiratorial, I guess." 

Todd said that there were a number of issues, like policy or the United States' response to Arab Spring, worth discussing. "But to sit here and investigate talking points seems to be totally missing the larger point here," he added. "It’s like investigating who cut down one tree in a forest that’s been burned down."

Hey Ann! Why the long face?

Depend on Ann Coulter to set herself up for major blow-back and humiliation when she mocked people who held signs saying "Bring Back Our Girls" in response to the kidnapping of 200+ Nigerian young women.

Good for the people who took her predictably nasty reaction and turned it around to bite her in her repulsive, bony ass.   

The results?

Hilarity!

This is her original mockery on the kidnapped young women:

The blow-back fun begins!

This one is pretty damn good for its truth telling:

More truth-telling:

Ding! Ding! Ding!  And the winnah is...

Not nice?  No it isn't, but it's a natural reaction to a woman who wasted her top-shelf education and intellect and decided to make money pandering to the lowliest of the lowly, feeding them bile and inanity for profit and notoriety.  

You made your bed, Ann, now sleaze in it.


More HERE from Gawker.  NSFW.

Get Your Benghazi Shower Curtain! Right Here!

Benghazi - We will Not Forget Shower Curtain

4.00 (3692 reviews)

$57.99

 

$64.50

No, this isn't a joke.  Someone really thought this was a great way to honor the 4 men who died in that terrible tragedy:

A shower curtain!

Keep it classy, America.

Happy Mothers Day with a song for Mamma.

America's First Lady, Michelle Obama

On this Saturday before Mothers' Day, America's First Lady, Michelle Obama, gave a touching speech honoring mothers everywhere and addressing the tragedy in Nigeria, where 200+ young women were kidnapped and have yet to be returned to their families.

No doubt the bile-filled, bitter and corrosively angry malcontents out there who soil their pants each time the FLOTUS breaths will flop around in the gutter, like demented swine, trying to outdo each other in insulting and slandering this gracious woman.  What they never understand is that their malignity and venom toward Mrs. Obama is a reflection of the rot eating away at them and has nothing to do with her.  

Hating someone is like drinking poison and hoping the person you hate dies.  

Mrs. Obama is an intelligent, charming, and elegant First Lady.  

Brava! 

We're lucky to have her living in the White House.

For okjimm

Everything IS going to work out fine!

We're here for you, buddy. Never forget that. 

BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BEN-FUNDRAISING!

Would the button-popping proud patriotic Gee-Oh--Pee-ers  use a heart-breaking tragedy to fill their political coffers and demean the lives of the men who died in BENGHAZI!?


Would those flag-waving, Kenyan-President-hating Goopers stoop to gutter politics and use the deaths of four Americans to squeeze money out of their gullible base and prolong the investigation of what Charlie Pierce calls "a banquet of nothing burgers?"  Would they continue to Darrell Issalize this terrible misfortune and use it as a grubby tool to raise filthy lucre for the upcoming 2014 elections?  And is Trey Gowdy just another preening hemorrhoid who's emerged from the deep dark fissures of Teabaggistan?

Is it true that the very same people, who condemned the Obambi administration for being tyrannically callous and deceitful over what happened on September 11, 2012, in Libya, would callously and deceitfully exploit that tragedy?

The Gee--Oh--Pee-ers' only goal is to get out their fat cat donors' money bags  the factlings and find out what really happened that night.  Their motives are noble and pure. They seek only the truth--a truth which they've been trying to get their unbiased factlets to conform to for almost two years and which has cost American tax payers millions of minimum wage dollars.  We can be sure that they will report their fair and balanced flying monkey poop, (with absolutely no Hitlery Klintoon or Obummer bias, to the American people, and those factoids will have nothing whatsoever to do with how much cash the they can get the TeaPublicans to stuff into those pure white envelopes and send to the RNCC.

Oh what difference does it make! This is America, and we all love really good scandalesque diversions. 

John Boehner dodges on Benghazi fundraising


"Asked again if it is proper for the National Republican Congressional Committee to use this committee money, Boehner said, “Our focus is getting the truth for these four families and for the American people.”  

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), whom Boehner tapped to chair the committee, has already said it’s inappropriate to try to raise political money off the investigation. Visitors to the NRCC web site who clicked on a Benghazi-related post this week were then asked to donate money to “stop Democrats from controlling all of Washington.” 


Morning Joe Slams GOP For ‘Undermining the Credibility of Benghazi Committee’ with Fundraising

Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House select committee on Benghazi, said Republicans should not fundraise off “the backs of four murdered Americans.” 


House Republican Candidate Fundraising Off Of Benghazi Investigation

$$$$$$$$$$ BENGHAZI! $$$$$$$$$$

How Dwarf Clairvoyants Unleashed the Zombie Apocalypse by (O)CT(O)PUS of The Swash Zone

In December 2008, weeks before our newly elected president took the oath of office, Rush Limbaugh said, ”I hope he fails.” These words gave the GOP their master plan to nullify a landslide election and kill off what little remained of democracy in America.  Destroy a newly elected president by saying ‘NO’ to everything.  Demonize him with ‘Birtherism” and color him the illegitimate Manchurian candidate from Kenya.  Portray him as having accomplished nothing in life with nothing to say and nothing to contribute.  Start with this predetermination:  Every thought, word, and deed you denounce and pronounce them devoid of any merit.  If you defame and discredit the president-elect in advance before his presidency even begins, then only one of two hypotheses must be true:

One:  You have secret access to his mind, know all there is to know, possess full foreknowledge of all possible future outcomes, and have a crystal ball that portends the destruction of a once great and powerful nation, the nadir of civilization, and the dreaded End Time.  You report your findings to the Guardians of Party Purity and Absurdity.

OR …

Two.  You just can’t get beyond the fact that president #44 is biracial – meaning he’s black.  Some will show open contempt by forwarding emails of racist cartoons.  Others will disguise their contempt under coded messages of snicker-n-wink: “He’s the President of Moochers and Takers,” mock the Makers and Job Creators with derision and scorn.  You will be fixated day and night on ways to block his legislative agenda for any reason you can muster with bluster and filibuster, or find ways to impeach him outright.  The Libtard-Socialist anti-Christ must be stopped, says every freedom-loving, God-fearing Christian whack-job fixated on Hellfire and Perdition.

Either way, you unleash the Eumenides of legislative gridlock and deadlock to make sure he fails (and thereby punish the 69 million voters who voted for him, plus the 60 million voters who didn’t). Collateral damage notwithstanding, all libtards and their ilk must be taught a lesson and turned from the Dark Side of the Farce, they vow with reckless abandon.

In due course, corporations morph into people, and money becomes the currency of free speech. You slash funds for education; aid and abet joblessness by declaring war on reproductive rights; let our national infrastructure crumble; allow polluters to poison our air and water; and shut down the government. In due course, all GOP Congress critters anoint themselves as authoritative experts in science - claiming to be even smarter than the best scientific minds in the known Universe.

Will we ever find respite from the Dwarf Clairvoyant Escapees of the insane asylum who unleashed this madness?  Hardly!  The small-minded mediums are still at large.

"Liberal Nazis don't want you to know this." by Capt. Fogg of The Swash Zone

Lots of things are happening in the world that Cable News disciples don't seem to notice or know about.  Lots of crazy stuff is swept under the racist team owner, missing airplane, sunken ferry rug every day.  It's a revelation.

I read today about another one of those wonderful preachers who seem to have a handle on our real problems -- the kind of stuff we need to read more of.  I'm talking about Brother Dean Samuel who showed up a a screening of  a film about 1998 Miss World Pageant winner and rape survivor Linor Abargil last month, wearing a T-shirt saying "You Whore."  It's her fault for being raped, he says, she should have stayed home.

He's right.  That neighbor across the street who leaves his garage door open is just inviting me to steal his Ferrari  and it's his own damned fault if I do. Don't you just love Christianity?  Do what thou wilt is the law - for men of course.  Hey, don't argue, God's a man, or two men and a bird, but don't ask.  The answer gets kind of weird.

And then there's that moral and righteous Newt Gingrich who got all Puritan on us when Bill Clinton got caught with his pants down, cheating on his wife while Newt was doing the same thing?  I'm glad I didn't get distracted by the Missing Plane and got to read how "Liberal Nazis" forced Condoleeza to cancel her commencement speech at Rutgers. He blamed an "elite Media" for this horror:  "an elite media that would have been screaming if right-wing groups had done this to a Somali woman and an African-American woman."  'This' meaning calling her to task for helping to falsify information about Iraq,  ignore information about al Qaeda and justify a war that killed hundreds of thousands, helped punish critics, destroyed a country that had nothing whatever to do with 9/11 and bankrupted our economy.   Thanks Newt, you're a real piece of Patriot.  Who else could conflate opposites and accuse others of your own sins with a straight face?

There's so much going on with those damned Liberal Nazis elsewhere we need to know about.  Take the outrage perpetrated on a California school district superintendent, Mohammad Z. Islam who wanted 8th graders to research the Holocaust to see it if ever happened or the Jews actually made the whole thing up for money.  Those Liberals didn't want us to know about this so we couldn't offer Mr. Islam our support for his freedom of speech!

If you only watched commercial, for-profit news (other than Fox) you'd probably never know that the people of Oklahoma have no blood on their hands for the grizzly execution that took 43 minutes to kill Clayton Lockett, bound to a table and zapped with a cattle prod so they could continue to pump agonizing chemicals into his groin. It's true - he didn't bleed.  Damn bleeding heart liberals anyway -- too busy telling us we're not a Christian Nation to help hold the guy down.

And again, are the Liberals trying to keep you from hearing Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court tell us we need a new constitution to protect us from "gays and Ruth Bader-Ginsberg?"  The same judge who bravely asserted that "Buddha didn't create us so the first amendment only applies to Christians?"  Liberals don't want you to know the truth.  Not like Fox News who aren't afraid to tell you that people who want to take prayer out of state supported schools are like Hitler.

No all this stuff that makes me proud to be an American and I had to find it on the web because the liberals don't want us to know!

Capt. Fogg of the Swash Zone

BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI!

Ermergerd!  Remember how the House Republicans demanded a select committee be formed to look into all the false statements the Republican Bush administration made in the run-up to the Iraq debacle?

No, neither do I.

But...BENGHAZI!  


It's always a horse of a different color when the shoe is on the other foot.  Or something.  Especially when it involves polyticks:



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush and his top aides publicly made 935 false statements about the security risk posed by Iraq in the two years following September 11, 2001, according to a study released Tuesday by two nonprofit journalism groups.

"In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003," reads an overview of the examination, conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and its affiliated group, the Fund for Independence in Journalism. 

 According to the study, Bush and seven top officials -- including Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice -- made 935 false statements about Iraq during those two years. 

 The study was based on a searchable database compiled of primary sources, such as official government transcripts and speeches, and secondary sources -- mainly quotes from major media organizations.

Darrell "Benghazi" Issa

"We’re going to establish a very different policy. One, that we have a president who will respect the Constitution, not try to convert it to some South African Constitution."  --Darrell Issa (Jerk-CA, 49th District)


Oh FFS! Darrell, Obummer is KENYAN, not South African! Get your stupid right!  


Oh...wait.

Sunday Science Blog

via Left Action:

"It's no surprise that Neil deGrasse Tyson has become one of today's most popular scientists, with his combination of brilliance, humor, and passion for knowledge making even the driest subjects come to life in a wonderfully engaging way. But what makes especially important is his willingness to boldly take on and debunk anti-scientific nonsense, even in controversial areas others would be afraid to touch. He has taken on those who claim the Earth is only a few thousand years old, refuting the claim by pointing out that it would necessitate ignoring the vast majority of the known universe (given the time it takes light to travel). He has taken on the anti-evolution crowd, and the climate-change skeptics as well, each time using the power of the scientific method to politely but firmly make his point. 

 Speaking out for the truth has led to a backlash against Tyson, with opponents demanding that his show, Cosmos, be cancelled. But he has continued to speak out for the truth. And in a time when anti-scientific nonsense is accepted as truth by a frighteningly high percentage of the population, Tyson deserves to be thanked for this."





INFIDEL753's LINK ROUND-UP

About the racist slurs tweeted after the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens game...

It was disgraceful.  But every city has stupid, ignorant elements, and Boston is no exception.

The difference is that the Bruins' coach, president and players condemned the racist fans and what they tweeted, as did Boston's mayor Marty Walsh.


Huge kudos to Bruins' president Cam Neeley for doing the exact right thing: 

Bruins President Cam Neely issued a statement concerning the racist tweets Friday afternoon. 

 “The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursday’s game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization,” Neely said. 


And there's the difference.  Our city's mayor and the Boston Bruins leadership all swiftly distanced themselves from the jerks who sullied a great Boston rivalry between the Bruins and the Habs.  It's over, and the racist jerks and their sick stupidity were told they do not represent the majority of Boston fans.

Good going Broonz!




BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins and Mayor Marty Walsh condemned racist slurs about P.K. Subban that hit social media after the Montreal defenseman scored in the second overtime of their playoff game Thursday night. Bruins President Cam Neely issued a statement Friday calling the tweets "racist" and "classless." He said they came from an "ignorant group of individuals" who do not reflect the organization. Walsh said in a statement that the tweets were "a disgrace. These racist comments are not reflective of Boston, and are not reflective of Bruins fans. I've said before that the best hockey in the world happens when the Bruins and Canadiens play each other, and there is no room for this kind of ignorance here."

 Subban, who is black, scored twice and the Canadiens won 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals. Boston coach Claude Julien and several Bruins also condemned the tweets. "It's just poor judgment, poor taste, and we don't associate ourselves with people like that," Julien said Friday, "and people who think that way are not what we call our fans. They may think they are, but we certainly don't support that at all. It's a shame that this is still going around in this day and age."

 He noted that one of the Bruins players is Jarome Iginla, who is black. AOL Ad Subban's brother, Malcolm, is a goalie with the Bruins' minor league a affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island. "Let's be realistic here about this," Julien said about the tweets. "It's something we don't support." Left wing Milan Lucic, who plays on the same line as Iginla, said, "he's been treated with nothing but respect in Boston since he's been here." 

 Iginla joined the Bruins as a free agent after last season and shared the team lead with Patrice Bergeron with 30 goals. Begeron also criticized the tweets, saying, "there is no room for this in 2014."

Random Act of Culture

Opera Company of Philadelphia performs a flash random act of culture:









Check out the "Teaching Artists" of Opera Philadelphia. Scroll down to read about my nephew, Max Vasapoli.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

UPDATE BELOW


the militia goonies who came to the rescue of Cliven Bundy (you remember him, he's the conservative hero who likes to talk about "the Negro") are acting like our own little home-grown Gestapo:






"Concerns are growing about members of the militia surrounding rancher Cliven Bundy. 

 Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford, sent a letter to Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie about the safety of residents in the Bunkerville area. Horsford says his constituents have "expressed concern" over the presence of armed militia groups from out of state. 

 According to Horsford, his constituents say the militia have set up checkpoints where residents must prove they live in the area before they are allowed to pass and have set up a "persistent presence" along federal highways, and state and county roads. 

They also claim some have established an armed presence in the community. Horsford told the sheriff that the militia are making people feel unsafe.'


Cliven Bundy’s Militias Now Terrorizing Small Town With Armed Checkpoints 

Citizen militias or armed thugs? What are they protecting? Their right to act out their sick fantasies of starting a new civil war or their right to show America and the world what a fascistic mob looks like?


These are the sort of folks who bellow about their "FREEDOMS" being taken away by the evil government and the "blah" who lives in their White House. And here they are, the protectors of our freedoms, stopping American citizens from freely moving about their own town.  It's interesting, though, isn't it.  Give these armed yahoos the opportunity to "protect" a right, and see how quickly it turns into 1939.

Did I miss something or is Bunkerville the newest location for a Coen Brothers' film?

h/t Ducky's Here


UPDATE:

The Swash Zone's (O)CT(O)PUS left this comment on the thread below. It is relevant to this post , and I'm posting it here. Thank you, (O)CT(O)PUS for bring this to our attention: 

THIS STORY did not receive the media attention it deserved, and almost no mention within our respective blogging communities. I mention it here because this incident is becoming all too commonplace – with very dark and disturbing implications. Briefly: 

 “A gun control activist group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, or MDA for short, held a membership meeting at the Blue Mesa Grill in Dallas, Texas on Saturday. Not a protest or a public rally, just a meeting over some Tex-Mex and beverages. Harmless enough. A group of moms, activated by last year’s gun massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, gathered to discuss ways to boost membership and popular support for gun control legislation. 

 (Skip) 

 Oh, and did I mention there were only four MDA members in the meeting? Yes, four moms who were gathered at a luncheon were confronted by 40 gunmen brandishing AR-style assault rifles." 

 Here is an ANOTHER ACCOUNT of the same story: 

 “The sudden appearance of about 40 armed men outside a Dallas-area restaurant this weekend was the latest confrontation between an open-carry gun-rights group and a mothers group advocating gun control that was meeting inside. Chris Barton, the CFO of Blue Mesa Grill, said that the manager called 911 at 11:35 a.m., shortly after the armed group arrived. "When the manager called, he told them (the police dispatcher) what was going on," Barton said. "They said that if they are having a peaceful demonstration, they are within their legal rights." 

Now consider the actions of Oathkeepers and other lawless militias terrorizing a ranching community in Nevada. Same tactic, different controversy. 

 Is this the dystopian future of America wrought by new Open Carry laws? Any controversy in any village or town across the land settled by armed hoodlums and thugs? 

Democracy via bullying and intimidation, democracy by brinksmanship at the barrel of a gun, democracy via insurgency and insurrection? This not democracy but a form of neo-fascism wrought by extremists and sanctioned by the NRA. 

This is not the kind of future I want for my family and future generations.