‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, When All Through the Shelter…

                                       Good Day World!

(With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore’s 'Twas the Night Before Christmas)

‘Twas the Night before Christmas, when all through the shelter

not a dog or cat was awake.

Hopeful adoption papers in stockings were hung with care

outside each little space,

in hopes that someone soon would be there.

 

The animals were nestled all snug in their little beds

while visions of adoption danced in their heads.

The shelter employees had just settled down for a long winter’s nap

When out on the shelter roof there arose such a clatter

They sprang from their beds to see what was the matter.

 

Away to the windows they flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

gave the lustre of midday to objects below,

when, to their wondering eyes should appear,

but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

 

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

they knew in a moment it must be St.Nick.

More rapid than eagles, his courses they came,

and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

 

“Now Dasher! Now Dancer!

Now, Prancer and Vixen!

On Comet, On, Cupid!

On Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the shelter!

To the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away!

Dash away all!”

 

When the employees opened the door (there was no chimney)

a chubby and plump, right jolly old elf,

made them laugh in spite of themselves.

He spoke not a word, but when straight to work,

filling out each adoption paper like a saintly clerk.

 

The employees watched him spring to his sleigh

and give his team a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

They heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to ALL a good night!”

                                    The end

Please think about all those beautiful animals that need adopted from shelters throughout the nation during these holidays – and if it’s in your heart, make a friend for life, by saving one.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Seven of the Best Christmas Stories Ever Told!

Good Day World!

With Christmas just two days away, I have some stories that will make your day:

BIRDS’ CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE by Kate Douglas Wiggin
[read online] or [view printable version]

• BURGLAR’S CHRISTMAS, THE by Willa Cather
[read online] or [view printable version]

• CHRISTMAS CAROL, A by Charles Dickens
[read online] or [view printable version]

• CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE MORNING by Pearl S. Buck
[read online] or [view printable version]

• CHRISTMAS TREE, A from “Some Christmas Stories” by Charles Dickens
[read online] or [view printable version]

• DULCE DOMUM from “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame
[read online] or [view printable version]

• GIFT OF THE MAGI by O. Henry
[read online] or [view printable version]

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Monday Inspiration: ‘What A Wonderful World’

Good Day World!

Today’s inspiration comes from the lyrics of Louis Armstrong’s classic song, “What A Wonderful World.”

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and for you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do

But what they're really saying is I love you.

I hear baby's crying and I watched them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Oh yeah.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Caution: Be Careful Who You Martyrize

Good Day World!

Martyrs can take a long time to make. The Roman Catholic Church is a good example.

Then, there are instant martyrs.

Canonized in the heat of passion.

They don’t need an organized religion to become martyrs. They represent a segment of society that holds them aloft for whatever reasons.

These newly-minted saints are often randomly selected, names in the midst of impassioned social protests. But for every Martin Luther King, there is a Michael Brown.

One has paid his dues, and helped further freedoms for African-Americans. The other, a thug who thought nothing of robbing a convenience store to stock up on cigars.

Instead of holding Brown up as this innocent “gentle giant,” protest organizers would have been better served to hold up Eric Garner as an innocent black man unjustly murdered by an overzealous white cop.

If you compare the two incidents – you’ll see that the protests in Ferguson went “south” with looting and death threats against authorities. Partly because official information was slow getting to the public, lies from some of the witnesses became truth in many peoples minds.

The whole situation ended up causing a greater divide between black and white Americans.

Michael Brown was a poor pick to make a martyr out of.

In the case of Eric Garner there was no doubt about what happened. It was all on film. In most people’s eyes it was murder. Both black and white Americans believed an injustice had occurred when the officer wasn’t indicted.

Eric Garner makes a better martyr, if one has to be made, to further the call of justice.

And speaking of justice…who will call to martyrize the two New York cops -Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos – who were assassinated by a black man who declared he was going to “put wings on pigs?”

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

  

Partisanship Has a Way of Short-Circuiting Intelligence

Good Day World!

In April and May of 2013, Yale Law professor Dan Kahan — working with coauthors Ellen Peters, Erica Cantrell Dawson, and Paul Slovic — set out to test a question that continuously puzzles scientists: why isn’t good evidence more effective in resolving political debates?

For instance, why doesn’t the mounting proof that climate change is a real threat persuade more skeptics?

The leading theory, Kahan and his coauthors wrote, is the Science Comprehension Thesis, which says the problem is that the public doesn’t know enough about science to judge the debate.

According to author Ezra Klein (How Politics make Us Stupid)

“Perhaps people aren’t held back by a lack of knowledge. After all, they don’t typically doubt the findings of oceanographers or the existence of other galaxies.

Perhaps there are some kinds of debates where people don’t want to find the right answer so much as they want to win the argument. Perhaps humans reason for purposes other than finding the truth — purposes like increasing their standing in their community, or ensuring they don’t piss off the leaders of their tribe.

If this hypothesis proved true, then a smarter, better-educated citizenry wouldn’t put an end to these disagreements. It would just mean the participants are better equipped to argue for their own side.

Partisanship has a way of short-circuiting intelligence.

In another experiment Kahan and his coauthors gave out sample biographies of highly accomplished scientists alongside a summary of the results of their research. Then they asked whether the scientist was indeed an expert on the issue. It turned out that people’s actual definition of "expert" is "a credentialed person who agrees with me."

Imagine what would happen to, say, Sean Hannity if he decided tomorrow that climate change was the central threat facing the planet. Initially, his viewers would think he was joking. But soon, they’d begin calling in furiously.

Some would organize boycotts of his program. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of professional climate skeptics would begin angrily refuting Hannity’s new crusade. Many of Hannity’s friends in the conservative media world would back away from him, and some would seek advantage by denouncing him.

Some of the politicians he respects would be furious at his betrayal of the cause. He would lose friendships, viewers, and money. He could ultimately lose his job. And along the way he would cause himself immense personal pain as he systematically alienated his closest political and professional allies.

The world would have to update its understanding of who Sean Hannity is and what he believes, and so too would Sean Hannity. And changing your identity is a psychologically brutal process.

Kahan has another theory: Identity-Protective Cognition:

"As a way of avoiding dissonance and estrangement from valued groups, individuals subconsciously resist factual information that threatens their defining values."

Elsewhere, he puts it even more pithily: "What we believe about the facts," he writes, "tells us who we are." And the most important psychological imperative most of us have in a given day is protecting our idea of who we are, and our relationships with the people we trust and love.

Anyone who has ever found themselves in an angry argument with their political or social circle will know how threatening it feels. For a lot of people, being "right" just isn’t worth picking a bitter fight with the people they care about.

Today, our political parties have sorted by ideology, and now neither the House nor the Senate has any Democrats who are more conservative than any Republicans, or vice versa. This sorting has made the tribal pull of the two parties much more powerful because the other party now exists as a clear enemy.”

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Heaven and Hell: World Wide Web Offers Both

                                   Good Day World!

We live in the Age of the Internet.

It’s one of the biggest advancements/achievements in human history, allowing common people instant access to information that was once difficult to obtain.

The internet is the Mother of all Libraries. The source of answers for all things in our world. A source of entertainment without end. A way to stay connected with friends, family, and news.

Most people stay on the surface of the internet. But there are layers and dark places just beneath that surface that most of us use.

It’s estimated that 96% of the internet’s vast world wide web lies hidden to most users. Some call it the “Wild West” of the internet. A place where dark things thrive. Where sales of  illegal drugs, guns and stolen credit cards are common.

Often called the “Dark Web”  it’s populated with sites with names like Evolution, Agora and Nucleus, where criminals can buy and sell all manner of illegal goods and services. The sites can attract hundreds of thousands of users, and pull in millions in monthly sales.

So, what's the future of this dark industry?

“Analysts say it will only get darker—and bigger. Despite the government's best efforts to destroy this market, analysts say it remains to be seen what kind of long-term impact Uncle Sam is really having.” (Source)

How ironic that technology that provides such valuable information to mankind, has such a dark side. Much like man himself.

Heaven and hell. It’s the same old story.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Colorado Funds Groundbreaking Research on Medical Marijuana

In this April 29, 2014 file photo, Moriah Barnhart, a mother of a child with severe cancer, sits with her three year old daughter Dahlia, who receives legal medical marijuana extracts for treatment, at their home in Colorado Springs, Colo. Colorado is poised to award more than $8 million for medical marijuana research, a step toward addressing complaints that little is known about pot's medical potential. Photo by Brennan Linsley.

                                        Good Day World!

Good news!

Colorado will spend more than $8 million researching marijuana's medical potential — a new frontier because government-funded marijuana research traditionally focuses on the drug's negative health effects.

The grants awarded by the Colorado Board of Health will go to studies on whether marijuana helps treat epilepsy, brain tumors, Parkinson's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of the studies still need federal approval.

Though the awards are relatively small, researchers say they're a big step forward. While several other federal studies currently in the works look at marijuana's health effects, all the Colorado studies are focused on whether marijuana actually helps.

"This is the first time we've had government money to look at the efficacy of marijuana, not the harms of marijuana," said Dr. Suzanne Sisley, a Scottsdale, Arizona, psychiatrist who will help run a study on marijuana for veterans with PTSD. Sisley plans to do her research in private practice after previously working for the University of Arizona.

Dr. Larry Wolk, Colorado's Chief Medical Officer, says the lack of research on marijuana's medical value leaves sick people guessing about how pot may help them and what doses to take.

"There's nowhere else in medicine where we give a patient some seeds and say, 'Go grow this and process it and then figure out how much you need,'" Wolk said.

"We need research dollars so we can answer more questions."

Three of the eight research projects, including the veterans study, will still need federal clearance and access to the Ole Miss marijuana. The other five are "observational studies," meaning the subjects will be providing their own weed.

Among the projects poised for approval:

— Two separate studies on using marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder ($3.1 million)

— Whether adolescents and young adults with irritable bowel syndrome benefit from marijuana ($1.2 million)

— Using marijuana to relieve pain in children with brain tumors ($1 million)

— How an oil derived from marijuana plants affects pediatric epilepsy patients ($524,000)

— Comparing marijuana and oxycodone for pain relief ($472,000)

The money is coming from Colorado's medical marijuana patient fees, not Colorado's new taxes on recreational pot.

Last year, lawmakers authorized $10 million from reserves for "objective scientific research regarding the efficacy of marijuana and its component parts as part of medical treatment."

A group of medical marijuana patients announced a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Colorado's marijuana research. They say Colorado's medical marijuana law requires excess cash to be refunded to patients who paid the fees, not diverted to other research.

(Source: Kristen Wyatt can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Remember When Movie Theaters Were a Safe Place to Go?

                                        Good Day World!

Remember when movie theaters were a sanctuary? A place to escape reality and to be entertained?

Millions of Americans – for over a century – counted on going into movie theaters for a good time. They were safe places to go to watch adventures, comedies, and dramas. A treat for the whole family.

That, sadly enough, is changing for the worse. 

It was a year ago this week that the sickening sound of gunfire rang out at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo. The mass shooting reverberated painfully in Hollywood, and how could it not? It happened at the movies.

More recently…

Leading movie theater chains have pulled Sony's film "The Interview" from their lineups in the face of the threat of a Sept. 11-style attack against theaters who screen the upcoming movie.

Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, Cineplex and AMC Theatres will not show "The Interview" after Sony Pictures Entertainment hackers posted a message threatening movie theaters and moviegoers who attend screenings of the satire.

They join Bow Tie Cinemas and Carmike in deciding not to show the picture. More theater circuits are expected to follow suit.

Hackers who go by the name Guardians of Peace - backed by North Korea perpetrated an unprecedented act of cyberwarfare against Sony Pictures that exposed tens of thousands of sensitive documents and escalated to threats of terrorist attacks that ultimately drove the studio to cancel all release plans for "The Interview," the film at the heart of the attack.

I never thought I’d see the day movie houses would lose their magic and become targets for the insane. Targets for groups – and countries like North Korea -threatening action against movies they don’t want released.

Movie theaters becoming death traps, not escapes from the harsh realities of the world.

I can’t help wondering if this recent threat is going to become a common way to censor movies in America in the future. It’s a troubling thought.

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

Brace Yourself! Bush Clan Seeks Return to Power

                                      Good Day World!

I had an uneasy feeling that after George Bush left office it wasn’t going to be long before another Bush clan member sought it. Now Jeb is seeking to restore the family’s dynasty.

I guess he was waiting until Americans memories got dim over the lousy job his brother did.

Memories can be short. I’m sure Jeb is counting on that. But it’s going to take more than eight years to forget the crap “Dubya” pulled. Even though the members of the United Nations want to try him (and Cheney) for war crimes, brother Jeb is still talking about running for president.

I’ll go so far to say that both Bush regimes thus far have hurt this country. Especially Dubya’s administration.

His time in office plunged us into a phony war and took away more of our personal freedom and rights than any president in history.

Remember, it’s a family affair, which means Jeb fell from the same tree as Dubya and we can expect a repeat of those dark years when he took the country to the brink of economic collapse.

I’m reminded of the family affair in North Korea.  Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un formed a dynasty that shows no signs of letting up. Take a look at life in that country. It’s not pretty.

The last thing our country needs is another Bush in the White House. With his family connections and wealth he’ll probably be the leading poster boy for the Republican Party in 2016.

The only way I see Jeb failing in his bid, is if there’s a great voter turnout among minorities. That’s the only hope against the vast political machine and major donors Jeb has access to.

So, it’s really going to be up to the voters who don’t believe the Republican lies that will be told in the purchased mass media.

If the Democratic Party wants to a chance to succeed in 2016, it better start reaching out to minorities right now. Today. Because the Republicans are already working at restraining voting access for minorities.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Congressmen proves he’s a sell-out by slipping Wall Street bailout into last-minute spending bill

Good Day World!

I thought I’d give a shout-out to second-term Congressman Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) today. That’s his smiling face in the photo.

Yo Kevie boy!

How come your constituents are having a hard time reaching you lately? Could it be that sneaky little bill you introduced?

You know the one I mean. The one you introduced last summer. Don’t be shy now, everyone knows your largest contributors are in the finance industry. Are you going to make me spell this out?

Okay then. That piece of crap you introduced was literally written by Citigroup executives. Your thinly-veiled attempt to pretend it was your wording was laughable, but good enough to get it rolled into an amendment to a spending bill in a House subcommittee meeting.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Here’s what happened:

“The provision, which prompted a fiery speech by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), undoes a rule that prevents big banks from relying on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to bail them out if things go sour when they trade risky assets.

The rule was put into place as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which overhauled the financial regulatory system after the 2007-2008 financial crisis stemming from banks making extremely risky bets and losing. The government had to bail them out with taxpayer money, and Yoder's provision paves the way for another possible bailout.” (source)

So, my question now, Kevie boy, is why have you’ve been so quiet about about your deed? I haven’t heard a peep out of you about the spending package since it passed the House.

Like the media, and your constituents, I haven’t been able to reach you.

Your office hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment on why you slipped the Citigroup language into it. That’s odd, don’t you think? Those press statements on your website say nothing about the provision or the spending bill.

There are no posts about it on your Facebook page.

Nor was there anything on your Twitter feed. But, I did notice some of the comments on your Facebook page. You’ve got some explaining to do boyo! It seems Kansas voters have been getting wind of your sneaky little maneuver and they’re not happy campers! 

They’re joining the rest of the nation’s voters in universal condemnation of your underhanded action. Got a hunch your not going to have a long career wise guy!

Meanwhile, those good old boys at Citibank maintain the rule change is good for everyone. Everyone on Wall Street that is.

Time for me to walk on down the road…