Hey Sarah! Watcha think about them oil rigs now?

Image source - Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner / Politicalcartoons.com

Tea party groups battle racism claims

Movement fears loss of moderates if ‘worst elements’ take over

Excerpt:

"I think there is an element of fear that 'our white country' is now being run by a black man. There is a sense that 1950s America is gone," said Herb Neumann, a white Democrat from Tulsa. "There's a sense of loss. I grew up in the 1950s, and I don't think that moving on is a bad thing."

Here’s another fine mess in the pursuit of greed

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com
Daryl is MSNBC's own cartoonist.

L.A. city attorney's office warning 439 marijuana shops that they must close by June 7

Just in case anyone wants to know, the Feds are still playing the demonization game with marijuana. This is just further proof that the Feds are not going to go quietly in the night and respect state laws until the voters back them up against a wall with solid legislation legalizing the healing herb, and tells them to stop.

Excerpt:

“Los Angeles city prosecutors are sending letters to 439 medical marijuana dispensaries warning them that they must shut down by June 7, when an ordinance to control pot shops will finally take effect after years of debate and delay.”

Image source

We have a glut of major news stories this morning

There sure is a lot of big stories going on right now. From the Times Square bomb suspect nabbed at airport (photo on right)to the massive oil spill off the Mexican Gulf Coast - Gulf Coast watches path of oil spill, it seems disasters are the order of the day.

Ash is disrupting flights in Ireland, Britain, and Homeless people are feared killed in Nashville flooding (photo below).

 

Everywhere I look, the news seems pretty grim today. More examples: Mass. lifts boil water order for 2 million; Va. lacrosse player’s killing shocks classmates; How United-Continental merger impacts fliers; and an Out-of-control satellite threatens spacecraft!

Wal-Mart to pay millions in waste case

This is only the tip of the iceberg for those bad boys at WalMart. They’re facing a huge gender bias case that’s going to make this settlement look like small potatoes.

Look out consumers! You’re going to ultimately pay the price. 

Payment will settle handling, dumping claims at Calif. stores

“Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $27.6 million to settle allegations that it improperly handled and dumped hazardous waste at stores across California in a case that led to changes in the retailer's practices nationwide, prosecutors said Monday.

The settlement ends a five-year investigation involving more than 20 prosecutors and 32 environmental agencies that found violations at 236 of Wal-Mart's stores and distribution centers across California, including Sam's Club warehouse stores, said San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.”

Officials increasingly see international link in Times Square bomb attempt

The failed car bombing in Times Square increasingly appears to have been coordinated by more than one person in a plot with international links, Obama administration officials said Today.

The disclosure, while tentative, came as the White House intensified its focus on the incident Saturday in New York City, in which explosives inside a Nissan Pathfinder were set ablaze but failed to detonate at the tourist-crowded corner of Broadway and 45th Street.

The New York City Police Department has released surveillance video of a man leaving the scene near where a car bomb was found in Times Square. The man is seen taking off his shirt as he walks down the street.

» LAUNCH VIDEO PLAYER                                                            Photo source

RIP Pamela Murphy: wife of war hero Audie, and Supulveda VA’s angel for 35 years

When I was growing up in the 1950s, Audie Murphy was every little boy’s hero. We were taught to glorify war back then and spent countless hours engaged in mock combat with metal and plastic guns.

Everyone wanted to “be” Audie Murphy. When I got out of the Army in 1971 (when Audie died) I can recall my mixed feelings.

I learned that war wasn’t something glorious. Instead it was a dirty, ugly result of sanity breaking down among countries. War is a last resort. I knew that after coming back from Vietnam. I never met anyone in Vietnam who worshiped Audie Murphy (or at least admitted it out loud). The survivors there always cautioned the newbies not to play John Wayne, or act like Audie Murphy.

We knew war was wrong. I also finally knew what it was like to be in combat. Words defy the experience. Fear. Terror. Savage glee. Vomit. Body parts. Bloody rag dolls that were once men. Flies, maggots, and leeches. Children with bombs beneath their loose fitting tops selling coke to G.I.s. The empty eyes of villagers watching their homes burn and their livestock slaughtered. Madness. Intensity. Coal black nights with red and green tracers sending death into the jungle like deadly fireflies.

When a friend sent me this information this morning I couldn’t help look at the irony of how Audie ended up. Broke. The idol of millions that cheated on his wife and had a gambling problem. In his defense, I’d like to think he had PTSD, and because it was never treated he went the route he did.

As It Stands, I didn’t mourn Audie’s death when I heard the news, but I did mourn the loss of my innocence. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pamela Murphy, widow of WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, died peacefully at her home on April 8, 2010. She is survived by sons, Terry and James. Pam established her own distinctive 30 year career working as a patient liaison at the Sepulveda VA Hospital, where she was much beloved.

Sepulveda VA's angel for the last 35 years died peacefully in her sleep at age 90.

"She was in bed watching the Laker game, took one last breath, and that was it," said Diane Ruiz, who also worked at the VA and cared for Pam in the last years of her life in her Canoga Park apartment.

 It was the same apartment Pam moved into soon after Audie died in a plane crash on Memorial Day weekend in 1971.

Audie Murphy died broke, squandering million of dollars on gambling, bad investments, and yes, other women.

"Even with the adultery and desertion at the end, he always remained my hero," Pam told the press.

Guest Opinion: No on Proposition 17

The ballot measure wouldn't promote competition in auto insurance and should be defeated

Excerpt:

“Mercury Insurance is leading efforts to remove that prohibition on the grounds that it reduces competition. The ballot initiative it funded, Proposition 17, would let insurers offer discounts to new customers who'd maintained uninterrupted insurance coverage for at least five years with other companies. Customers who had no previous coverage or who'd let their policies lapse for more than 90 days would face higher premiums. This would be a step back toward a rating system that charges people based on the category they fit into, not how well they drive, and its supporters haven't offered a persuasive reason for such a departure from the spirit of Proposition 103.”

Photo source

'The Family': Politicians who violate separation of church and state

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 05/02/2010 01:27:13 AM PDT

America's forefathers recognized the inherent danger of letting a particular religion dictate a Republic's politics. Everyone should be treated equally. That's why they built the safeguard of separation between church and state into our Constitution.

Under the Constitution, we are free to follow the religion of our choice, or not to worship any divinity. The Supreme Court has affirmed this numerous times. It's called freedom. Unfortunately, it seems not everyone agrees with that premise.

Religion does play a major part in American politics, whether we like it or not. Major issues like the economy and the wars we're mired in are influenced by the religious values of one group called “The Family,” in both branches of Congress.

”The Family” impudently violates the separation of church and state and is entrenched in our entire political process from top to bottom, in both political parties.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be religious. Don't get the two topics confused. I'm concerned about matters documented by journalist Jeff Sharlet, after he went undercover in the underground evangelical organization known as “The Family.” He discovered that congressmen, members of the executive branch and other D.C. powerbrokers are members of this secretive organization that has been called by many names since its inception during the Cold War.

READ THE REST HERE.                                   Image source