Saturday, July 19, 2014

Tough times ahead for Energy drink, White House staffer & a Romanian princess

Good Day World!

It’s taken two years of investigations, but authorities have finally come to a decision about 5-Hour Energy drinks – they’re a rip-off! 

Oregon, Washington and Vermont have sued the makers of 5-Hour Energy, Living Essentials of Farmington Hills, Michigan, over claims, such as "hours of energy, no crash later" promoted in commercials.

Other states are expected to file suits in the coming weeks. 

EXERCISING HIS RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS?

A staffer for Rep Tom Marino (R-PA) was arrested for allegedly carrying a pistol into the Cannon House Office Building, Capitol Police told NBC News.

Ryan Shucard, who has been a press secretary for Marino since May 2014, was arrested and charged with a felony count of Carrying a Pistol Without a License when he entered the south east door of the Cannon building at around 9:15am and it was discovered he was carrying a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun and magazine.

ROMANIAN PRINCESS PAYS FOR STAGING COCKFIGHTS

A Romanian princess and her husband pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one charge of running an illegal gambling operation for their involvement in a cockfighting ring in rural Oregon.

Irina Walker, 61, daughter of exiled former Romanian King Michael, and her husband John Walker, 68, appeared in federal court in Portland in connection with cockfights they held in Irrigon, Oregon, in 2012 and 2013.

They had originally denied any wrongdoing, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer said that, under the agreement to change their plea, the couple will sell their ranch and forfeit $200,000 to the government in lieu of incarceration.

Cockfighting is illegal under federal law, and under the laws of every state.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Friday, July 18, 2014

Marvelous times with comic books as new heroes emerge

Image: The Falcon and The Falcon as Captain America.

Good Day World!

The universe is being recreated.

The Marvel Universe that is.

I’ve been immersed in Marvel lore since I started reading comics in 1962.

I got to witness the birth of Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, The Hulk, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange, The Invincible Ironman, The Mighty Thor, The Sub-Mariner, The X-Men, Giant Man, and The Wasp.

Those were heady times.

Later on, I followed Marvel’s NAM Comics that ran from December of 1986 through September of 1993. I still have every issue.

The 'Nam was a war comic book series detailing the U.S. War in Vietnam from the perspective of active-duty soldiers involved in the conflict.

The comic is structured as the narrative of a fictional soldier, Private First Class Edward Marks (but sometimes following other characters), as he experiences real events that occurred during the conflict

It was written by Doug Murray, initially illustrated by Michael Golden, edited by Larry Hama and published by Marvel Comics for seven years beginning in 1986, which was originally intended to roughly parallel the analogous events of the period of major American military involvement in Vietnam from 1966 to 1972.

MARVEL UNIVERSE TODAY

The latest news comes from Marvel's chief creative officer, Joe Quesada, when he revealed on "The Colbert Report" that there will be a NEW Captain America.

He is Cap's friend Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon. (See illustration at the top left corner of the page)

thor.woman.mjolnir

The Captain America announcement comes the same week as other big changes for major Marvel characters.

Tuesday on "The View," it was revealed that Cap's fellow Avenger Thor is now a Goddess of Thunder.

Gee…does that mean Thor has always been a woman and was in drag? What a surprise!

Seriously, taking one of the gods from Norse legends and feminizing him?

I think that’s going too far just to be politically correct. What’s wrong with the current goddesses in cultures around the world? There’s a lot who never got their due. One of them would be a better candidate for a new female superhero.

Marvel has been doing a lot to pump up its female superheroes in the comics, recently re-introducing excellent standalone titles for Captain Marvel (aka Carol Danvers) and Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan, also its first Muslim hero).

Marvel also announced that their colleague Iron Man is getting sleek new silver armor (instead of the gold and red that Robert Downey Jr. has sported in a successful film series) and is moving to San Francisco.

The Marvel Universe continues to turn. Characters die (or go into oblivion) and new ones replace them. In that way, Marvel comics continue to evolve with the real world... reflecting our values.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Patrick Kennedy & cohorts attack pot legalization while in bed with Purdue Pharma

Good Day World!

Today we’re going to look at the hypocrisy facing the marijuana industry.

Chief hypocrite, and de facto leader against pot in America, Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, wants pot prohibition to continue forever.

“Last year Kennedy helped found an advocacy group, Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), which has been barnstorming the country opposing the growing state and federal efforts to legalize pot.”

You remember Patrick Kennedy don’t you?

“He did several stints in rehab after crashing his car into a barricade on Capitol Hill in 2006, a headline-making event that revealed the then–US congressman for Rhode Island had been abusing prescription drugs, including the painkiller OxyContin.”

Sound familiar now? Nothing worse than he reformed drug addict eh? Especially one who gets financial support from drug companies.

“It’s odd that CADCA and the other groups leading the fight against relaxing marijuana laws, including the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids (formerly the Partnership for a Drug-Free America), derive a significant portion of their budget from opioid manufacturers and other pharmaceutical companies.”

There’s been embarrassing moments along the way. 

“After Project SAM began organizing opposition to Alaska's legalization initiative this year, demonstrators in Anchorage paraded a giant check with the figure $9,015—the amount in campaign money that Kennedy received from the liquor and beer lobby while in office.

Critics have also pointed out that Project SAM's board and partners represent many of the interest groups that stand to profit from marijuana's continued prohibition.”

Well, imagine that. There’s financial incentive to demonize weed. Who would of guessed? 

Can’t talk about Kennedy without mentioning the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA). The group thinks painkillers/opiates are just fine, but cannabis will ruin your life. Hypocrites of a feather stick together.

“CADCA's website makes it clear that the organization—dedicated to a "world of safe, healthy and drug-free communities"—has adopted marijuana as its primary concern. The group's stated policy priorities are to preserve and expand two federal drug-prevention grant programs and to oppose marijuana-law reform.

CADCA has hosted training seminars to instruct community organizations in the best tactics for opposing efforts to legalize even medical marijuana. The group also offers template letters to the editor, sample opinion columns, talking points and other tips for pushing back against reform efforts.”

One more thing about Patrick Kennedy:

“Though the former congressman received many second chances in his struggle with alcohol and prescription drugs, he has opposed any move toward marijuana decriminalization that would afford similar leniency to others.”

FACTS TO REFLECT ON

“Prescription opioids, a line of pain-relieving medications derived from the opium poppy or produced synthetically, are the most dangerous drugs abused in America.

Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxy-Contin, the highly addictive painkiller that nearly ruined Kennedy's congressional career and has been linked to thousands of overdose deaths nationwide.

Prescription opioids, a line of pain-relieving medications derived from the opium poppy or produced synthetically, are the most dangerous drugs abused in America, with more than 16,000 deaths annually linked to opioid addiction and overdose. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more Americans now die from painkillers than from heroin and cocaine combined.”

Snippets from, The Real Reason Pot Is Still Illegal Originally appeared July1st in The Nation

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Tooth Fairy Hack: My granddaughter’s tooth fetched a fair fee

Good Day World!

The Tooth Fairy stopped by last night and took my granddaughter’s front tooth, leaving a five dollar bill behind in it’s place.

That was one generous tooth fairy because researchers at Visa recently found that the tooth fairy is now leaving an average of $3.70 USD per tooth. Not bad.

As you may know, the tooth fairy is a fantasy figure of early childhood. The folklore states that when a child loses a baby tooth, if he or she places it beneath the bed pillow, the tooth fairy will visit while the child sleeps, replacing the lost tooth with a small payment.

Rosemary Wells a professor at Northwestern University Dental School during the 1970s was probably the first person to wonder what the tooth fairy looked like, and where the legend started.

Unlike Santa Claus and, to a lesser extent, the Easter Bunny, there are few details of the tooth fairy's appearance that are consistent in various versions of the myth.

A 1984 study conducted by Rosemary Wells revealed that most, 74 percent of those surveyed, believed the tooth fairy to be female, while 12 percent believed the tooth fairy to be neither male nor female and 8 percent believed the tooth fairy could be either male or female.

THE ORIGIN OF THE TOOTH FAIRY

“Wells wrote a series of magazine articles in which she laid out the first substantive overview of the tooth fairy myth.

Then there was her survey, again the first of its kind, conducted among some 2,000 parents in the United States. A decade later, Wells remained so engrossed in her subject that she opened an entire museum dedicated to it, run out of her home in Deerfield, Ill.

By then she had become the world’s expert on the tooth fairy, giving countless interviews and talks, and even appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Wells’s name became so synonymous with the dental sprite that she had to clarify things to the Chicago Tribune: “I’m not the Tooth Fairy,” she said. “I’m the Tooth Fairy consultant.” It said so on her business card.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Dental Society added, “We have no position on the Tooth Fairy. I refer all inquiries to Ms. Wells.” (source)

The backround behind exchanging teeth for a small payment began in early Europe. It was a tradition to bury baby teeth that fell out. Among the reasons this was done was the fear witches would get ahold of the teeth and ruin the child’s life.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Watch the 'Dawn of the Planet of the Pugs' parody preview

My pug, Molly, wants to keep watching a parody of pugs that went viral on the internet. I don’t blame her. Talk about funny!

Imagine a place where pugnacious pugs rule the world.

The latest big-screen installment of "Planet of the Apes" has garnered good reviews .

But it's also spawned a short blockbuster on the Web from the Pet Collective, the same group that brought us furry and fashionable memes, a "World Pup" series, as well as various four-legged friends chilling to pop rhythms.

In the YouTube video imitating "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," the human race may fall because of pug cuteness overload.

Finding a new, genetically evolved man's best friend leads to all the pugs in the forest coming out to play, or pounce.

(Well, maybe not at first; check out the outtakes.) (source /video)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Fowl Warning: I’m ready to pass on poultry and here’s why

Image: Chicken eating from a person's hand

Good Day World!

 I’m not ready to become a vegetarian just yet, but there’s one meat I’m seriously considering crossing off my meal list.

Chicken.

Why you ask?

Because I don’t feel safe consuming it anymore. I’ve gathered some information on chickens that may help you understand my concerns. Over the years, recalls of chickens have doubled – even tripled – and there doesn’t seem to be an answer for this alarming trend.

Ironically, the price of poultry continues to climb – keeping step with other meats like pork and beef. Find out why in the following snippets:

SALMONELLA AND FOSTER FARMS CHICKENS

Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations conducted by local, state, and federal officials indicate that consumption of Foster Farms brand chicken is the likely source of the outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg infections.

On July 4, 2014, the CDC reported a total of 621 individuals infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg from 29 states and Puerto Rico. Most of the ill persons (76%) have been reported from California.  36% of ill persons have been hospitalized, an

d no deaths have been reported.  The outbreak began in February 2013 with the last reported illness June 25, 2014. (source)

5 Things You Should Know About The Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Chicken

DON”T KISS THE CHICKENS

Keeping backyard chickens in urban settings may be a growing trend, but federal health officials are warning about a surprising downside: salmonella infections tied to kissing and other close contact with live poultry.

Health officials have warned for years about the popular practice of giving children pet chicks or ducklings at Easter. But home-grown chickens have become far more popular, according to Rob Ludlow, owner of BackYardChickens.com, who says 1 million people a month visit his site and that membership has boomed since he started in 2007.

That’s about when the salmonella outbreaks tied to live poultry started to take off, too, CDC officials noted.

Live poultry may have salmonella germs in their droppings and on their feathers, feet and beaks, even when they look healthy and clean. The germs also get on cages, coops and the environment where the birds live and roam. Salmonella infections can be dangerous to the very young, the very old and those with compromised immune systems. (source)

FAT ROOSTERS NOT GOOD AT MAKING CHICKS

Apparently, fat roosters aren't very good at making chicks. The world's largest chicken breeder has discovered that a key breed of rooster has a genetic issue that is reducing its fertility, and that's raising prices for poultry even as beef and pork prices hit record highs.

The breed, Aviagen Group's standard Ross male, is sire through its offspring to as much as 25 percent of the nation's chickens raised for slaughter, said Aviagen spokeswoman Marla Robinson. Sanderson Farms, the third-largest U.S. poultry producer and one of Aviagen's largest customers, said it and Aviagen systematically ruled out other possible causes for a decline in fertility before determining a genetic issue was at the root of the problem.

The issue is hitting an industry that is already suffering from a short supply of breeder birds. A team of scientists from Aviagen studied the issue and found that the breed's genetics made it sensitive to being overfed, and when the bird got big, he didn't breed as much. (source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

 

Monday, July 14, 2014

About Ted Nugent: The GOP’s Minstrel of Hate

Good Day World!

Most entertainers stay away from politics.

Most, not all.

When they do, they generally take a liberal view of things. The exception – in anyone’s book – is Ted Nugent.

I think the man hates peace and order. I know he loves guns. He claims he isn’t racist, but his actions prove otherwise on a regular basis.

FOR EXAMPLE:

“Nugent was interviewed by Guns.com at the almost-aptly-named SHOT Show 2014 about a variety of topics, and had a few more choice words for President Obama, whom Nugent once said (from a distance) should “suck on my machine gun.” Ted Nugent Taunts Rahm Emanuel in Unhinged Twitter Rant

Toward the end of the interview, Nugent referred to the President as a “subhuman mongrel,” while also asserting that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has “spare scrotums.”

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Republican nominee Mitt Romney sought, and received, an endorsement from from Nugent. Nugent was also a Republican Congressman’s guest at the 2013 State of the Union Address.”  HERES THE CLIP

Sexual Predator Ted Nugent Hits the GOP Campaign Trail

EVER HEAR THIS INTERVIEW?

Ted Nugent In 1977. A look inside the mind of a man that proclaims himself to be a patriot, but here he tells how he got a 4F.... Nugent is a self admitted draft dodger. He even shit his pants to get out of serving his country!

Quote: “Then a week before the induction center, I stopped going to the bathroom. I did it in my pants. poop, piss the whole shot. My pants got crusted up.”

TYPICAL CRAZY TED STRIKES AGAIN

Ted Nugent Taunts Rahm Emanuel in Unhinged Twitter Rant

DOES TED NUGENT SPEAK FOR YOU?

In case you missed it, Nugent's most recent rant raised all kinds of red flags when he called President Barack Obama "a subhuman mongrel."

But even as the self-proclaimed "Motor City Madman" was called mad by critics, Nugent didn't appear to lose any support among fans or politicians.

Some say Nugent amplifies Americans' anger at Washington. But is he the voice of America? The torchbearer for the disaffected?

"There are reasons ... people listen to him," Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite, said.

This time, critics said Nugent's statements went an insult too far.

For the record, here's what he said in an interview with Guns.com:

"I have obviously failed to galvanize and prod, if not shame, enough Americans to be ever-vigilant not to let a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel like the ACORN community organizer gangster Barack Hussein Obama to weasel his way into the top office of authority in the United States of America." (source)

HOW DID NUGENT BECOME A STAR FOR THE GOP?

Republican strategist and former Romney adviser Kevin Madden said politicians "assume this star power will help them identify with voters and help them get some headlines they might not get if it was just another boring political rally or public event."

That star power is built in large part on Nugent's music career, which peaked in the late 1970s when his signature single "Cat Scratch Fever" cracked the Top 40 and he was selling out arena-sized venues. The self-proclaimed "Motor City Madman" released his greatest hits album in 1981 but that was followed by dwindling record sales.

He emerged on the national political scene with the rise of the tea party in 2010. His politically incorrect comments on the music scene, once telling VH1 he had affairs with underaged girls, transferred to the political stage, where he became an outspoken opponent of Obama and the Democratic Party.

The risks include the increased chance for negative headlines that could turn off a more mainstream audience. On the other hand, an appearance with Nugent might increase the candidate's appeal to the rocker's active supporters.

Take for example the rocker's appearance with Abbott at campaign events. The Times Record reported that attendance at Abbott's event in Wichita Falls in northern Texas near the Oklahoma border "increased significantly" with Nugent's appearance. (source)

Perry: Nugent's comments ‘shouldn't surprise anybody'

Time for me to walk on down the road...

 

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Potpourri of Pot: Stoner gets his job back, Americans for legalization & Why there’s progress

Image: Mike Boyer turns to the crowd outside, showing off the 4 grams of marijuana he bought as the first in line to legally purchase marijuana at Spokane Green Leaf

Good Day World!

It’s all good.

A Washington state man who was the first person in Spokane to buy legal recreational marijuana this week, and then said he was fired over the resulting media coverage, got his job back and the company in question called the whole affair a misunderstanding.

Michael Boyer story went viral after the tie-dyed-shirt-wearing cannabis connoisseur posted his resume to Craigslist, claiming he was fired after being seen on TV buying pot — where he added that he was "still #1 tho!" referring to his status as the first recreational marijuana customer in Spokane. (source)

SHOULD MARIJUANA BE LEGAL? Watch this video and you decide.

Gallup reported that in its latest poll, support for legalization of marijuana has for the first time cracked 50 percent:

“Why has this happened? I'd point to a few reasons.

First, we've had a fairly active debate about medical use of marijuana for some time, and that debate has been soundly won by the pro-legalization side, with as much as three-quarters of the public favoring legalization for medical purposes.

It may well be that when poll respondents get asked "Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal?", many are thinking of medical marijuana.

Second, the decline in crime rates may make cracking down on anybody who thinks about lighting up seem like a waste of time.

But the most important factor, I'd be willing to bet, is the aging of the population. As Gallup shows, support for legalization is at 62 percent among adults under 30, 56 percent among those aged 30 to 49, 49 percent among those aged 50 to 64, but only 31 percent among those over 65.

People who grew up before the 1960s not only have far less experience with marijuana themselves, they are much less likely to know anyone who did it, and so they are more likely to perceive it as a dangerous drug that ruins the lives of all who come in contact with it.

That does mean that the prospects for legalization will go up as time passes.

But it's still going to be a long while before significant numbers of politicians are willing to come out and advocate it.” (Read the rest here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Universal Music Power

In a delightful description of the power of music William Congreve wrote "Music hath charms to sooth a savage beast..." in his 16...