The Circus (our Senate) grinds to a halt as each party attempts to out-stupid the other. Democrats, GOP clowns continue to wrangle over amendments
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Today’s Odd Byte: ‘Octomom’ paid $5K to tout pet birth control!
Really? To what depths will this woman go? For a mere $5,000. this time, she a strange, weird, and odd connection between humans and pets getting spayed or neutered! Remember that old phrase “Truth is stranger than fiction?”
Above: this sign will be in the front yard of octuplet mom’s home and it says, ‘Always spay or neuter’
Read more here.This image provided by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals shows a copy of a sign designed to be placed in Nadya Suleman's yard for a fee.
Reason 101 on why I’m glad to live in Humboldt
See this clown on the right? He, and like-minded Muslim wackaloons think New York City is the home of the Great Satan. So they gather in dirty little camps in places like Pakistan, where they plan to annihilate NYC. Why NYC?
Why not? It was the place of their greatest success; the cowardly 9/11 attack. These guys are hoping to duplicate (or outdo) 9/11. It’s old news, and these nut cases want to show the world they can committee mass murder in the name of Allah too.
Well, here’s the thing. I think people living in NYC are crazy. They must know by now that their home is a recruitment poster for every Muslim terrorist in the world. You notice this bonehead, Faisal Shahzad, only considered locations around New York City?
I guess New Yorkers like living on the edge. Me? I’m damn glad to be living behind the Redwood Curtain in Northern California, the last place in America a terrorist would attack. Right? They don’t have problems with Redwood trees. Right?
Official: Bomb suspect looked at other targets
Rockefeller Center, World Financial Center and Grand Central among sites
Lakers vs Suns tonight: Pau sports a black eye from Game 1
The Lakers clobbered the Suns (metaphorically) 128-107, but Pau Gasol of the Lakers was the one with a black eye. It was a rough game. Wait till tonight. The Suns know their season will set in the western playoff picture if they can’t win Game 2. I look for a competitive game. The Lakers have the edge in my opinion.
Texas plans on rewriting history books to promote extreme conservative bias
There’s no legitimate excuse to change history to suit a political agenda. All the Republican school board members in Texas are pushing for this agenda. They are hypocrites and racists.
When someone rewrites our history to suit an ideology, for any reason, we’re in trouble. Look at what the Nazi’s did. They rewrote they’re history to suit the new patriotic nationalism Hitler was preaching. I see no difference here.
What’s happening in the Texas school system can lead to a generation of children with warped world views. They’ll be able to spew all kinds of jingoistic lies without a second thought. Nationalism can be dangerous when it leads people down the path to blind hatred of others and any other ideology.
I’ll be following this situation closely, hoping sense will prevail in the end. If it doesn’t, then the next generation of children from Texas will be spoon fed propaganda until the day they graduate. I really don’t want to think about what a person schooled in lies by the state will do when they grow up. It’s scary. And history (WWII) shows the results. Photo source
Texas ready for textbook showdown
Board to vote on curriculum changes some call ‘backward’
“Among the recommendations facing a final vote: adding language saying the country's Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles and including positive references to the Moral Majority, the National Rifle Association
Other amendments to the state's curriculum standards for kindergarten through 12th grade would minimize Thomas Jefferson's role in world and U.S. history because he advocated the separation of church and state; require that students learn about "the unintended consequences" of affirmative action; assert that "the right to keep and bear arms" is an important element of a democratic society; and rename the slave trade to the "Atlantic triangular trade.”
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Denial: A memoir of Terror’
I seldom do book reviews. This one is only my third in 18 months.
I’m not being paid to write it. My only reason is personal; the author Jessica Stern rang my bell. The subject of her new book - Denial: A Memoir of Terror -is one close to my heart.
I’m a Vietnam veteran who’s service-connected for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Stern is one of the world’s foremost experts on terrorists and PTSD. So this was a natural read for me:
By Dave Stancliff
Imagine writing down the most traumatic thing that ever happened to you in your life and sharing it with the world. Imagine that this thing that happened to you was so horrific that you somehow blotted it out of your mind. Then you locked it up in a secret room in your brain far from the light of conscious thought.
But your traumatic event throbs in it’s confinement, and you have to learn how to numb that throbbing. Then one day your traumatic event leaks out, unbidden, and your world tilts crazily.
What can you do? If, you’re brave enough, like Jessica Stern has been, then you can confront the issues regarding that event. You can wash them out and hang them up on a clothesline for the world to see. The result is a personal healing that translates to hope for others with PTSD.
Stern shares the most intimate of all traumas; rape at gunpoint. She was fifteen and her sister (who was also raped by the same man the same day) was only fourteen. What happened afterward, in the suburban town of Concord, Massachusetts, was almost as shocking as the rape.
The police thought she, and her sister, we’re lying about what happened. Her only answer to that terrible situation was to stuff it in. She moved on to overachieve in her life and has gathered many degrees and honors for her knowledge on subjects like terrorism and PTSD. It seemed Jessica had overcome her trauma.
That changed 30 years after the crime when a request from a police lieutenant re-opened the festering sore of the rape, and motivated her to investigate what happened. The result is stunning as she discovers who her rapist was, secrets about her own family, and how tricky the mind can be.
Be prepared to immerse yourself in a true life mystery that no fiction could surpass. You’ll learn about the human spirit, and the capacity for denial when terrible things happen in a person’s life. “Numbness and hyper vigilance can keep you alive,” Jessica tells us, “and it can “get in the way of normal life and of human relationships.”
I won’t giveaway who the rapist was, but I bet you’ll be surprised. There’s nothing predictable in this book, which makes it an absorbing read. The underlining message of Jessica’s story is how seductive denial can be.
I picked the book up one evening and read the entire thing. I didn’t mind staying up past my normal bedtime to. It was worth it.
I recommend this book as an easy and exciting read on a complex subject. Look for it in June 2010.
Political Scum Report: another ‘cheater’ slinks off into the shadows
___________________________
Rep. Souder says he'll resign over affair
The Indiana lawmaker won a bruising Republican primary on May 4
__________________________________
A case of distortion? Or stolen valor? You decide…
Report: Conn. Dem misstated military record
Early favorite in Senate race never served in Vietnam, newspaper says
Richard Blumenthal (photo right)the early favorite to win retiring fellow Democrat Christopher Dodd's Senate seat from Connecticut, never served in the military in Vietnam despite his public comments indicating he had done so, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Monday, May 17, 2010
People are happier, less stressed after age 50
Those in their 50s are more satisfied than those in 20s, large study says
Life looks a little rosier after 50, a new study finds. Older people in their mid- to late-50s are generally happier, and experience less stress and worry than young adults in their 20s, the researchers say.
Photo: here’s “As It Stand’s” Dave at 59, and clowning around at the Dollar Store. My sense of humor has improved in the last decade. What do you think about this study? Is it true?
Motivated Lakers out for playoff vengeance
It’s that time again when the Lakers meet someone in the Western Conference. This year, it’s the Suns.
Nothing would make Kobe happier than beating old foes Suns, Celtics
Today’s photo: ‘A bad day in suburbia’ – see more below
A tow truck operator looks to tow a Jeep Liberty after the driver, who claims the accelerator stuck, drove it through the back wall of his garage on Monday, May 17, in Lancaster, Pa. The driver was not hurt. (Dan Marschka/Lancaster Newspapers via AP
For more interesting photos go here
Pesticides in kids linked to ADHD
I always suspected that the crap we spray on fruits and vegetables was dangerous to more than just insects.
This research confirms one of my fears: young children with developing nerve systems are at risk, and the connection between the pesticides and ADHD now prove that.
There’s one answer. Eat organic and locally grown products. I know that real organic food is more expensive but the trade-off is a no-brainer.
Researcher advises parents to buy organic, wash produce
Excerpt:
“Exposure to pesticides used on common kid-friendly foods — including frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries and celery — appears to boost the chances that children will be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, new research shows.”
Sunday, May 16, 2010
As It Stands: How to get in trouble for telling the truth -- be a Whistleblower
By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
They're average folk, but when they decide to step up and tell the truth about what's wrong in their work place, they become targets. Their lives are often ruined because they are honest.
They're Whistleblowers, who reveal wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority. In my opinion, they're heroes in an age when heroes are all too rare.
Remember Karen Silkwood? She was an American labor union activist and a chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plant near Crescent, Okla., in 1974. A movie was based on her story.
Police suspicions about her mysterious death led to a federal investigation into nuclear plant security and safety. Silkwood exposed the hazards of nuclear energy and raised questions about corporate accountability and responsibility. She paid the ultimate price for revealing Kerr-McGee's dangerous practices.
More recently, Wendell Potter, a former vice president of Corporate Communications at CIGNA, one of the biggest health insurance organizations in the country, testified against the HMO industry in the U.S. Senate.
What motivated Potter to expose his employers? You might say he an epiphany when he saw a touring free clinic run by Remote Area Medical in rural Virginia. He was horrified by the hundreds of desperate people, most without medical insurance, who came from the hills for basic medical help.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Pill-Popping Pitbull Needs Viagra to Live
A veterinarian suggested Viagra as a solution to keep the small pooch up and running.
And it appears to be working.
Read all about Ingrid’s (photo right) harrowing life and why Viagra is saving it.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Stupid is, stupid does: Palin still says ‘drill,baby,drill’
Sarah Palin will say anything such as Obama would ban guns if he could just to please her audience.
In this case, for the National Rifle Association members who’ve been waiting with baited breath for someone to dare introduce ANY anti-gun legislation.
It’s been 18 months since Obama took office and they’re still waiting. They’re still cleaning their semi-automatic weapons every night, dreaming of parading down streets with them on their backs in a “patriotic” protest. I kinda feel sorry for the fools, but if they want to live their lives fearing someone is going to take away their weapons…so be it. One of these days their parade will come. So don’t worry loyal NRA members, you’ll get your dues worth someday when CNN shows you trying to shoot skeet on the White House Lawn!
In her usual clever way, Palin is encouraging “mama grizzlies” to vote all Democrats out of public offices in November. Her desire to see Alaska “drill, baby, drill” is still strong, and it makes you wonder about those articles regarding her and her Big Oil buddies while she was in office. You have to hand it to her though, at the end of the day she got PAID for(and folks that’s why she decided not to finish her term as governor, because it paid peanuts compared to what she could get for public speaking and writing -more like dictating to someone who could write- right-wing rhetoric.
High on pot initiative passing? Intrade has investment for you
Somehow I just knew Wall Street vultures would figure out a way to make money BEFORE marijuana became legal.
I call it the Goldman-Sachs effect.
The Intrade prediction market, an on-line trading network that enables investors to buy and sell shares based on forecasting events, is trying to cash in on curiosity over the outcome of California's November vote on legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
Friday Trivia Corner: World’s strangest vending machines
The world’s first vending machine apparently dates back to the first century, when Hero of Alexandria, a Greek mathematician, devised a coin-operated mechanism that would dispense holy water.
Perhaps because that was such a tough act to follow, vending machines didn’t really evolve again until the 19th century, when Industrial Age machines started selling postcards or gum.
From pizza to a bar of gold, the oddest items — instantly
PHOTO: ‘Let’s Pizza” machines, found in a few shopping malls and airports in Italy will make an individual pizza from scratch in just under three minutes for $5-$8.
Family sues teacher in taped beating of student
I have never heard of a woman teacher beating up a teenage boy in school. Maybe I’ve led a sheltered life. I don’t know.
The odd thing about this situation is there’s no explanation why she beat the boy up. I have to think he really pushed her button damn hard to have her react like this.
Not knowing these details makes it hard to understand how this could happen. The boy might have attacked her and she just got the better of him. Who knows?
Attack at Houston, Texas, school was caught by classmate on a cell phone
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