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

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…

 

It’s Supermoon Saturday and ‘Manhattanhenge’ Too

Good Day World!

Are you ready for The full Moons of Summer 2014?

TODAY, August 10th, and Sept. 9th-will all be Supermoons.

“Generally speaking, full Moons occur near perigee every 13 months and 18 days, so it's not all that unusual,The ‘Moon Illusion’  is probably what will make people remember this coming set of Full Moons, more than the actual view of the Moon itself.

The illusion occurs when the Moon is near the horizon.  For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. When the Moon illusion amplifies a perigee Moon, the swollen orb rising in the east at sunset can seem super indeed.” Source/NASA

“Manhattanhenge”

The full moon is bigger and brighter than average this weekend, all over the world, but there's a special treat in store for New Yorkers: the combination of a Supermoon with the sunset phenomenon known as “Manhattanhenge.” The full moon is due to rise at 8:27 p.m. and become visible in the gap between the skyscrapers at 9:16 p.m. tonight.

Related stories:

A STONEHENGE SUNRISE VS. A MANHATTANHENGE SUNSET

Manhattanhenge Is Back, Here’s What You Need to Know

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Friday Follies Report: Bouncing Boehner, Grandma gets tough, Old draft notices & Artist arrested while cleaning up dog poop

Good Day World!

Welcome to the Friday follies:

On deck:

Follow the bouncing Boehner.

Boehner blubbers and accuses Obama of dodging immigration crisis – then puts up a roadblock when Obama asks for money to take action.

“I’ll tell you this, we’re not giving the president a blank check,” he said of Obama’s request for a $3.7 billion emergency fund for the humanitarian crisis. (source)

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Don’t even mess with this grandmother.

When Lillie McClendon, 83, came face-to-face with a robber in her Houston house recently, she threw boiling hot water on him, beat him with a broomstick, and gave him a piece of her mind. (source)

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Draft notice over 100 years too late!

The Selective Service System says a data glitch prompted it to send notices to several deceased men in Pennsylvania, ordering them to register for the nation's military draft. At least two of the letters went to families of men born in the 1800s.

Chuck Huey of Kingston, outside Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, says a Selective Service notice for his late grandfather recently arrived in the mail. Bert Huey is a World War I veteran who died in 1995 at age 100.

In northwestern Pennsylvania, a similar notice was sent to the late Fred Minnick, who was born in 1894 and died in 1992.

Selective Service spokesman Pat Schuback tells the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre that the error originated with the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles. He says the error was caught after several of the notices went out. (source)

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Talk about a load of crap!

A well-known American Indian artist said police in New Mexico pulled a rifle on him after his dog pooped in his SUV and a woman mistook his cleanup efforts for a burglary.

Pueblo painter Mateo Romero parked into the private driveway after Han Solo, his Shih Tzu, relieved himself inside the SUV during a drive to his studio. Romero said he only wanted to clean the mess.

However, Romero said when Markus spotted him in her driveway, she boxed him in with her vehicle and called 911. "I tried to talk to her to explain that I was cleaning up dog" poop, he said. "But she got all hysterical and I just backed away. I couldn't leave. It was crazy." (source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Fame train is slowing down for ‘Bieber Boy’ because of his antics

Good Day World!

The fame train is slowing down for Justin Bieber.

Fans are leaving the station because the popular punk, who became a star at 15 years-old, has been showing his true colors the last couple of years.

(AP FILE Photo-2013)

Do you think it’s unfair to call him a punk? If so, let’s review what he’s been doing the last couple of years.

 After pelting his neighbor’s house with eggs – I don’t know what he hit but the damage came to $20,000 – last year, he was finally held to account yesterday.

Prosecutors from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged Bieber with one count of misdemeanor vandalism on Wednesday.

Bieb’s pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years probation, five days of community labor and has to pay $80,900 in restitution.

The bad boy also has to completing an anger management program.

But that doesn’t mean the law is done with him. Bieber faces two other cases in Florida and Toronto.

A Miami court has set a trial date this month for his DUI case, which also includes charges that he resisted arrest without violence and was driving with an expired license.

Yes, he’ll probably get top-notch lawyers again and come away with another minimal sentence for this incident. I wonder if the court will have him go to another anger management program for hassling a police officer?

But wait! There’s more. A trial date hasn’t been set yet for Bieber’s assault on a limousine driver in Toronto.  He turned himself into the Toronto Police Services, who have charged him with the assault. He’s out on bail.

The cases are adding up. These stupid pranks may not be draining his bank account, but fans are becoming increasingly tired of his childish antics.

With a global fan base, termed as "Beliebers," and over 40 million followers on Twitter, he was named by Forbes magazine in 2012 as the third-most powerful celebrity in the world.

However, Bieber fell to number 9 on the list in 2013. Meanwhile, Bieber Boy is on the fast track to Loserville. Let’s see where he ranks at the end of this year.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

A modern tale of three little pigs helping people

Good Day World!

I’d like to introduce you to three little pigs – two named Wilber and one named Twinkie.

The Wilber’s are fighting for their right to live outside a farm, and Twinkie who won his battle to stay with his people in the city.

I’m sure you’ve heard of therapy dogs. In case you haven’t heard, there’s also therapy pigs (and a host of other animals that shall go unnamed here for brevities sake).

(Photo: Wilber #1 and his owner Nadine Darsanlal)

Wilber #1 lives in New York City (Queens) with his owner Nadine Darsanlal, a disabled Navy veteran . He’s a certified therapy pig but the city’s health department doesn’t care. They issued a $500 fine to Darsanlal for keeping a prohibited animal in the city limits.

A local judge said Wilber’s status as legally certified therapy pig was legitimate, but he still ruled against him and Darsanlal has to pay the fine, CBS 2 reports.

Queens State Senator Joins Fight For Pet Pig Therapy

AS FOR WILBER #2

In Palm Beach, Florida, a completely different Wilbur is getting heat from a homeowners association none-too-happy with the pig's presence, WPTV reports.

Wilbur No. 2's owner, Rori Halpern, told WPTV that the pig helps with her two kids, both of whom have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. One has reportedly been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

Potbellied Pigs: The New Therapy Animals

ANOTHER THERAPY PIG STORY - TWINKIE

A South Florida family won the battle to keep a pet pig for a young boy with special needs.

Kason Ray has Down syndrome, but getting a therapy dog was out of the question because his dad has severe allergies. Miniature pigs, on the other hand, are hypoallergenic. (story)

I hope you enjoyed, and learned something about, these three smart little pigs who help people lead happy lives.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The State of Pot: Washington rolls out legal bud today & how other states are responding

Good Day World!

I’ve got marijuana on my mind today as the state of Washington rolls out recreational sales of pot.

At least three retail shops opened today: Cannabis City Seattle, Top Shelf Cannabis in Bellingham and The Freedom Market" in Kelso.

People started buying pot at 8 a.m.at Bellingham’s Top Shelve Cannabis, one of two stores in the city north of Seattle. (Customers on the left and sales clerks on the right pass "sniff jars" back and forth on a glass countertop as they discuss different strains of recreational marijuana at Top Shelf Cannabis,A.P. photo – Ted S.Warren) 

PROBLEMS IN PARADISE

Washington faces a huge backlog for licenses. There are only 18 license reviewers sifting through thousands of applications. The first approvals for growers didn’t go out until March, which left at most two growing cycles to stock the shelves.

That's created an inescapable shortage of product, and a growing population of desperate, irate business people. Some have already gone under as opening day was delayed again and again. Others are trying to sell or hold on long enough to break even.

MIXED REACTIONS

Everyone is not on board the pot train however. At least 10 cities, counties, and municipalities have banned marijuana business out right. Dozens more have declared a moratorium on new businesses, beyond the state's hazily regulated medical marijuana shops.

THE BIG PICTURE

There are 22 Medical Marijuana states and DC. Here’s a summary of their laws,fees, and possession limits.

More than two dozen states are considering new or expanded marijuana reform legislation, including complete legalization for adults, medical marijuana, hemp use and decriminalization.

THE IRONY IS THICK AS A BRICK

Did you know that the U.S. government has been looking to fill its shopping cart with marijuana? And its dealer, by law, is the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. No kidding.

At the same time that it's responsible for enforcing federal laws against marijuana, the DEA is also responsible for procuring it for federal research. And with two months left in the fiscal year, its customers have fallen short. (source)

NEWS ITEMS IN POT STATES

NEVADA

A Nevada-based startup that plans on selling medical and recreational marijuana products named former New Mexico governor and U.S. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson as its CEO and president, the company announced Tuesday.

The announcement came as Cannabis Sativa Inc. said it had acquired marijuana research business Kush while company officials work to navigate changing state laws on marijuana and potential challenges from the federal government, which still views marijuana as a controlled substance. (source)

COLORADO

A Colorado man loses custody of his children after getting a medical marijuana card. The daughter of a Michigan couple growing legal medicinal pot is taken by child-protection authorities after an ex-husband says their plants endangered kids.

And police officers in New Jersey visit a home after a 9-year-old mentions his mother's hemp advocacy at school.

While the cases were eventually decided in favor of the parents, the incidents underscore a growing dilemma: While a pot plant in the basement may not bring criminal charges in many states, the same plant can become a piece of evidence in child custody or abuse cases. (source)

KENTUCKY

The 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll shows that 78 percent of those individuals that participated in the polling support legalizing marijuana for medicinal dedications and 40 percent of those polled are in support of legalizing the plant for any purpose adults see fit.

The poll in question validates a previous polling released back in May which was conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati which revealed that approximately 80 percent of those Kentuckians that participated supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.

Furthermore, May's polling View Post results share similarities with the most recent survey due to the fact that 38 percent of those polled stated that they favor the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes. (source)

FLORIDA

The Space Coast's boomer-and-older residents say they will vote yes this November on the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative.

Widely known as Amendment 2, it would legalize the medical use of marijuana in the Sunshine State. To be added to the state constitution, the amendment needs to be approved by 60 percent of voters.

A Quinnipiac University poll this spring charted support in those older than 65 at a whopping 84 percent and 88 percent among all voters. While support of recreational usage drops dramatically in that older age group, in that same poll, among voters 50 to 64 years old, 62 percent admitted smoking pot, more than any other demographic. (source)

MICHIGAN

The top lawmaker in the state Senate says he’s now on board with legislation to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, is now also embracing a bill that would allow state-certified patients to use edible and other non-smokable forms of marijuana.

Richardville was not a fan of the legislation when the state House approved it late last year. But he says that has changed as he’s heard more from supporters of the bills.

“This is for well-meaning people and it’s all for medical purposes. And [patients and caregivers] came and gave some moving testimony,” said Richardville.

“There’s so much to learn about that topic, and I didn’t know a lot about it. And I didn’t realize how difficult smoking is for some people and the different ingestion techniques that are important to them.”

Supporters of House Bill 4271 say dispensaries allow people to get treatment right away, instead of having to wait for a caregiver to grow and cultivate marijuana. They say that process can take months. Patients with certain diseases, such as cancer, sometimes don’t live long enough to get the benefits of medical marijuana. (source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Monday Tales: It’s a dog, dog, dog, world

Good Day World!

It’s time for some Monday tales.

I’ve got a few stories for you that are amusing and kinda crazy too.

Let’s start with a dog that threw up a diamond ring.

This story begins with a Wisconsin woman who thought her lost wedding ring was long gone five years ago. To her utter surprise she was recently reunited with it in a very surprising way.

Meet Tucker (photo above) who is also known as the family “food burglar.” Two weeks ago, Lois Matykowski of Stevens Point, and her granddaughter were out in the yard enjoying Popsicles on a hot day. That was until Tucker, the family dog, suddenly helped himself to the granddaughter’s popsicle.

After wolfing down the frozen treat, stick and all, Tucker didn’t feel so good and later yakked it up. Two days passed and he was yakking again – this time in the family living room – and low and behold, Mrs. Matykowski’s long lost wedding ring lay in the puke!

The good news is no one is mad at Tucker. As a matter of fact, he’s being treated as a hero!

FAT CAMPS OFFER PUDGY PETS ‘PAWLATES’ TO SLIM DOWN

Staff worker Kelli Quinones walks golden retriever Ceili on a treadmill for dogs at the Morris Animal Inn Thursday, June 19, 2014, in Morristown, N.J. Female goldens are supposed to weigh 55 to 70 pounds but overweight Ceili weighs 126 pounds. The facility says she is very active but when they do stair climbing drills, she has to take a pause. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

It’s not just a people problem: Growing rates of obesity in pets have led to the emergence of fat farms offering “pawlates,” “doga” and “Barko Polo,” doggie versions of Pilates, yoga and Marco Polo to help slim down man’s best friend.

In the U.S., 53 percent of dogs are overweight or obese, up from 45 percent four years ago. In cats, the figure is almost 58 percent, said Dr. Ernie Ward, a veterinarian and founder of the Association of Pet Obesity Prevention in Calabash, North Carolina. Overweight pets can suffer diabetes, joint problems, heart disease and decreased life expectancy, just like obese people, he said. (source)

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PUP FINDS ITSELF IN A TIGHT SPOT

A pit bull puppy in Bakersfield, California managed to get his head stuck in the middle of a wheel rim and luckily received help from local firefighters. As reported by the Associated Press, the puppy’s owner brought “Junior” into the Kern County fire station, with the wheel around his neck, hoping to get some help.

After taking photos of the poor little guy, Brandon Hill, the fire department spokesman said two firefighters used vegetable oil to slide the puppy through the hole and free him from the wheel’s grip. Junior is now back home with his owner and seven siblings.

Junior, a pit bull puppy, got his head stuck in a wheel. (James C. Dowell/Associated Press/Kern County Fire Department) (source)

That’s all for now folks!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Did a special forces legend go ‘Colonel Kurtz’ in Afghanistan?

 Good Day World!

Today I’m going to share the story of a man who may have done his job too well.

His name is Jim Gant.

Once a Special Forces Major, he’s a civilian now. Not by choice, however.

Gant’s been called the “Lawrence of Afghanistan,” because like the real Lawrence of Arabia he went totally native adopting local customs and exchanging his Army uniform for traditional Afghan garb, along with a full beard.

Gant (photo above with Ann Scott Tyson) , who won a Silver Star for valor in Iraq in 2006, had achieved notice for detailing his thinking on how the U.S. could prevail in Afghanistan in a 2009 paper, One Tribe at a Time. It was a brilliant plan and the Army loved it.

But Gant broke too many rules and was removed after he was accused of - and admitted to - violating a ban on drinking alcohol and for using prescription painkillers, as well as giving out fuel to tribal police. He also admitted to living with his war correspondent lover Ann Scott Tyson in Kunar province.

You can read the story of Gant and former Washington Post reporter Ann Scott Tyson in her book American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant.

Still others feared that Gant had become like “Colonel Walter E. Kurtz,” a rogue Green Beret officer played by Marlon Brando in 1979’s Apocalypse Now.

“There is a belief [in the Army] that you went COL Kurtz and went totally native,” an Army comrade wrote to Gant after he returned to Fort Bragg, N.C., according to Tyson’s book.

HOW EFFECTIVE WAS GANT’S PLAN?

Let’s put it this way, a copy of it was found in Osama bin Laden’s quarters following his killing by U.S. forces in 2011. There were notes in the margins about the difficulties al Qaeda was having in Kunar province, believed written by bin Laden.

A second document, from bin Laden to his intelligence chief, named Gant, and said he “needed to be removed from the battlefield,” according to Tyson. (source)

When the U.S. military relieved Special Forces legend Jim Gant from command in March 2012, he saw it as the final blow in a clash within his own chain of command over his public push for American special operators to “go native” with Afghan tribes - to dress like, live like and, if necessary, die like the locals.

Though Gant admitted to offenses, he and Tyson told ABC News they believe Gant’s critics in the military were using any excuse they could to force him out. Gant's Special Forces brethren had done what local Taliban commanders had only dreamt of - they took him out of the fight and out of Afghanistan.

BACK STORY

“Dozens of highly experienced military sources, however, said Gant was right when he said the Army had failed to fully embraced the concept of living with the tribes in “village stability operations,” a strategy with roots in the Vietnam War that has historically been a specialty of U.S. Army Special Forces. Some believe Gant's success at fighting the Taliban with such a controversial strategy was a factor in the military's decision to force him out.” (source)

Did Gant go COL Kurtz? His medical records showed that he has PTSD, and traumatic head injury. Was he too far over the top? Or, could it be that some people in the military were envious of Gant’s success?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Immigration: A case of national amnesia divides America

Good Day World!

There are so many ironic things about our society I could write a book on them. But today I want to focus on a current issue that has this country divided: illegal immigrants. Tempers are flaring up. Some people think that we are being invaded.

BACKROUND

More than 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border since October. Most in just the last few months. Since October, more than 52,000 children traveling without an adult were caught entering the United States through Mexico — double the number of the previous year and triple the number in 2011.

About three-fourths of the children are from Central America: Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador. The rest are from Mexico.

Families are sending their children to the U.S. to escape crime, gangs and poverty and to reunite with relatives who may already be on American soil.

The surge appears to be rooted in rumors that a change in U.S. immigration policies means any child who crosses the border can stay. (source)

CONTRASTING CURRENT EVENTS WITH A CLASSIC POEM ABOUT IMMIGRATION

Federal immigration authorities have set up a processing center at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport to cope with the surge in unaccompanied children coming to the U.S. from Central America

“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightening, and her name
Mother of Exiles.

On Tuesday, three buses full of about 140 migrants were forced to turn around after protesters blocked the road to Murietta, a town of about 103,000 people between Los Angeles and San Diego, and shouted slogans like, “Go Back to Mexico!”

From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twice cities frame.

"They're illegal aliens and they should not come here illegally. We have our own children to worry about,” Patrice Lynes told NBC News before a town meeting on the issue Wednesday night. "We want the illegal aliens repatriated to their own country."

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp1” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breath free,

Angry locals in Murrieta, Calif., packed a 750-seat high school gym for a town hall meeting Wednesday night, a day after protesters blocked the streets to prevent the arrival of 140 immigrants from overcrowded Texas facilities.

"Send them back! Send them back!" the crowd shouted at Murrieta officials and federal Border Patrol agents trying to address the meeting, as hundreds of residents stood outside unable to enter the crowded assembly.

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

POEM-The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

If you’re like me, there’s no escaping the irony. What happened to the “Great Melting Pot?” Was there ever one? We’re a nation of immigrants with amnesia. We’ve forgotten our roots and have grown into a country full of fear, prejudice, and hate. 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

4th of July trivia: Prime day to die, lying hackers, & the biggest gift ever!

Good Day World!

and

Happy Birthday America!

Did you know July 4th was a prime day for American presidents to die?

Three presidents have already died on Independence Day ( John Adams,Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe) and last year hackers tried to trick Twitter users into thinking President Obama had become the fourth.

Hackers broke into Fox News' Twitter account and fired off six tweets declaring Obama had been shot and killed in Iowa. In reality, the president was barbequing at the White House.The Secret Service investigated the tweets and Fox, after regaining control of its Twitter password, promptly declared them "malicious" and "false."

BIGGEST BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR A COUNTRY

The United States got what may be the country's largest physical birthday present on July 4, 1884, when the French presented it with the Statue of Liberty. It took four months to assemble the 151-foot-tall statue, which was shipped from Paris in hundreds of pieces. (source)

CONGRESS MAKES IT OFFICIAL

It took nearly 100 years for Congress to make the Fourth of July an official holiday, despite the widespread celebrations that had been ringing in America's birthday since the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

Boston was ahead of the national curve, becoming the first city to designate the Fourth a city-wide holiday in 1783. That's the same year Gov. Alexander Martin issued a state order making North Carolina the first state to officially celebrate U.S. independence on July 4. (source)

PAID HOLIDAY

Congress officially declared July 4th a federal holiday back in 1870, but it took them nearly 70 years to give federal employees a paid day off.

July 4, 1938, was the first Independence Day that federal employees picnicked, barbequed and enjoyed fireworks without denting their paychecks. (source)

I hope you, and your loved ones, have a GREAT 4th of July!

FINAL 4th OF JULY TREAT:

This link takes you to a really cool retro 4th of July slideshow. I remember these days (picture below from 1960s) when the holiday was a lot simpler. Be safe! 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Monster samples bogus but cryptozoologists don’t despair, there’s a possible Yeti hair!

Good Day World!

There’s good news, and there’s bad news, for cryptozoologists.

If you’re one of those folks who has been hunting Bigfoot or other legendary monsters most of your life, your enthusiasm may be dampened by the latest study.

Among other things the study looked at every known sample of so-called monsters and found instead DNA belonging to animals we’re already familiar with like bears, cows, dogs, and even raccoons.

On the other hand, the researchers, led by Oxford geneticist Bryan Sykes, did find an intriguing Abominable Snowman sample that has inspired further research.

I don’t know how you feel about cryptozoologists, but in my experience most are really ignorant about animals in general, and have a lot of time on their hands, like a couple of cousins of mine that live in upstate Michigan who have been “professional” Bigfoot hunters for decades.

I probably shouldn’t be such a cynic, but I can’t help it. I use to live right next to “Bigfoot Country” aka Willow Creek, California, and saw and heard some really interesting stories.

Like how the media was fooled by years by one local old boy who made plaster casts that baffled the “experts” for years.

It seems Sykes thinks that cryptozoologists are on the right track however, and if they keep looking they’ll find something.

“In a report published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Academy B, a follow up on a yearlong effort to bring in and analyze samples collected by monster-hunters and fringe-science researchers known as cryptozoologists was released.

One of his key findings was revealed last year, when Sykes reported that two hair samples attributed to the mysterious Himalayan monster known as the Yeti (or "Abominable Snowman") were a genetic match for a 40,000-year-old jawbone from a polar bear that lived in the Norwegian Arctic.

Sykes is writing a book about that case, titled "The Yeti Enigma," and he's organizing an expedition to the Himalayas next year to look for a live specimen of the anomalous bear. "That's the next logical step," he said. "We need a live 'Yeti.'"

Sykes received dozens of samples of hair and tissues purportedly linked to such creatures, including the Yeti as well as the Almasty "wild man" from Russia and the orang pendek from Sumatra.

More than half of the 30 samples that underwent DNA analysis were linked to sightings of Bigfoot (aka Sasquatch) in the United States, ranging from Texas and Minnesota to Arizona and Washington state.” (Full story)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Supreme Jesters Recognize Corporate Religion: What’s Next?

Good Day World!

Our slap happy Supreme Court once again ruled in the favor of corporations - Burwell v. Hobby Lobby – confirming the weird belief that corporations have as many (if not more) rights than human beings in America.

It’s the ultimate 21st Century reality, and it makes me sick to see it. We can thank this Supreme Court for promoting big business to the God-like level that it has achieved.

Corporations never had it so good. This victory comes with a caveat however:

OBAMACARE STAYS THE SAME

“Let’s be clear about one thing. In the Hobby Lobby decision, the Supreme Court overturned a single regulation issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It didn’t overturn a single provision of the Congressional statute enacted in 2010 called the Affordable Care Act.

You wouldn’t have that impression based on the media coverage of this case. You’d think instead that by overturning HHS’s contraception mandate, the Supreme Court had overturned a huge chunk of the new health law. Nope.

Pro-life activists—and Obamacare opponents—are cheering today. But when they sit down and reflect, they’ll realize that they haven’t won a thing.” (Via Forbes)

The corporations, on the other hand, have reason to celebrate.

The next step, on this road to ruin, is to have corporations run for political office. Can’t you just see the national policies under a Wal Mart president?

I leave you with the words of Adam Fell, a poet with dark visions of America’s future:

Microreview of ‘Dear Corporation’ by Adam Fell

“Say the senator meets you in the lobby of your building.”

About this senator there is “something midwestern vampiric...a glow of suspirian blood in his / sockets, an oil spill of Nick Cave hair.”

This character, deceptive in a way that should surprise no one familiar with the religion of capitalism, is the classic corporate snake: cocky and cynical, “the shade of a new false father.”

And this snake dutifully plays a number of his scenes as the bully. In such poems there is a relentless, confrontational quality that feels good in the way a well-deserved “fuck you” can.

But when Fell speaks to the “Dear Corporation” as if in search of decency, the book leaps in startling ways.

American Microreviews

Vouched Books: “Best Thing I’ve Read All Week” Feature

Former People: “The Heaviness of a Corporate Being”

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

GM Celebrates 100th Anniversary with Another Vehicle Recall

Good Day World!

It’s really kind of sad.

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of General Motors. It should have been a time of celebration for the company.

General Motors long history dates back to carriage maker William "Billy" Durant, who bet big on the fledgling auto industry in the early 1900s, creating General Motors Corp.

Riding America's rise as a superpower, GM went on to dominate the automobile industry for decades, producing some iconic cars and trucks, as well as numerous safety, marketing and technological advances.

Those hallowed days are over. The current state of GM is shaky – at best – and it’s future promises more lawsuits draining profits for years to come. What happened to this great American vehicle manufacturer?

BREAKING NEWS

General Motors announced six new recalls on Monday affecting 7.6 million vehicles in North America and 800,000 more overseas.

Older model full-size sedans being recalled for inadvertent ignition key rotation.

The vehicles recalled are 1997 to 2005 Chevrolet Malibu sedans, 1998 to 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue sedans, 1999 to 2004 Oldsmobile Aleros, 1999 to 2005 Pontiac Grand Ams, 2000 to 2005 Chevrolet Impalas and Monte Carlos, and 2004 to 2008 Pontiac Grand Prixs.

• GM to Offer At Least $1M to Families for Each Ignition Death
• Report: Engineer Approved 'Switch From Hell' Even Though It Didn't Meet Specs
• GM to Pay Feds Record $35 Million Fine Over Deadly Ignition Fails

FACT

The number of vehicles involved in the latest recall is greater than the automaker’s annual sales in the United States in 2013.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

GM is under intense scrutiny from a series of investigations stemming from the deadly ignition-switch flaw that led to the recall of 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars.

The company has launched 44 recalls this year covering 17.7 million vehicles in the United States and 20 million across North America.

About 28 million vehicles have been recalled in the United States this year, approaching the 30 million record set in 2004.GM is under investigation by federal prosecutors, Congress and law enforcement officials in several states in connection with the ignition-switch flaw in its small cars.

The company is also facing dozens of lawsuits and has hired compensation specialist Kenneth R. Feinberg to establish a fund to compensate victims injured in connection with the defect.The automaker also announced recalls for 165,000 other vehicles to deal with five separate issues, including potentially faulty power-steering hoses and transmission cables. (Full story)

Time for me to walk on down the road… (I certainly wouldn’t ride a GM product down it!)

 

Boehner’s next act, too much Hillary, Rove rants, & a stupid headline

Good Day World!

It’s another manic Monday.

Buckle up your seatbelt and jump into the fast lane with me for some news and views:

Between promoting her new book and exploring the possibility of running for the presidency in 2016, Hillary Clinton has been dominating the mainstream media for a long time.

Her followers, and detractors, make her the most famous female politician in America.

Some polls say a good percentage (55%) of average Americans can relate to her, but other news stories point out gaffes she’s made that can potentially be used against her if she runs for the Oval Office.

My take on all of this: I’m sick and tired of seeing Hillary everywhere I look! I feel like I’m being stalked when I turn on the TV or got to an online news source and see her crooked smile directed at me! 

Speaking of crooked smiles…

One of my favorite crazies from the last Bush presidency, Karl Rove, has crawled out from beneath the stone he’s been hiding under since Dubya left office.

With that twisted smile (more like a leer) Rove was back to his crazy old self comparing President Obama to King George during a recent Fox News broadcast.

Poor Rove. I’m convinced dementia has permanently set in at the tender age of 63. King George (oft referred to as Duyba) was the president before Obama. Rove, of course, was the court jester/fool.

Anyway….he managed to excite some Hillary Clinton haters by suggesting her health is bad and she’s viewed by many as being "old and stale." Forget about the polls that say otherwise. Rove seldom worries about reality.

Let’s face it, Rove’s driving mission in life is to lob rhetorical bombs at Hillary. Earlier this month, Rove questioned Clinton's health by suggesting that she had a "traumatic brain injury."

From traumatic to dramatic, we have one of my favorite political actors (his eyes can well up and burst into crocodile tears at the drop of a vote) House Speaker, John Boehner, who plans to sue the Obama administration over its use of executive actions on issues like the federal minimum wage, federal pay discrimination and new EPA regulations.

As far as I can tell, he wants to sue Obama for doing his job. Let it never be said that Boehner the Blubberer doesn’t have a good imagination, or lots of partisan gall. A career in acting looms whenever he decides to step down from politics.

It’s time to call Chicago “Murder City” once again. A weekend doesn’t go by without shootings that result in death or serious wounds. Most recent: 27 shots in Chicago Over Weekend The days when Al Capone and his henchmen terrorized Chicago never looked worse.

Stupid Headline for the day:

Jailed Benghazi Suspect 'Not Cooperative', Says Congressman

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

To Frack or not to Frack? More money & energy, vs environmental disasters

I’m BACK and as feisty as ever!

Thanks for stopping by. Here’s today’s food for thought:

Good Day World!

Call me old fashioned, but I think nature comes up with enough earthquakes without man’s help.

Hydraulic fracturing, better known as “fracking” is profitable, and it’s the reason the earth is shaking in places it never has before.

That’s just for starters. There’s a whole bunch of concerns, like air emissions, methane leaks and protecting aquifers from wastewater.

DID YOU KNOW?

The United States has become the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

How did we reach this goal? Two simple words, which were excluded from the Department of Energy press release and the single U.S. News report on it. What were they?

Hydraulic fracturing. 

The mainstream media has really downplayed this energy revelation.

Why? We’re making money. Jobs are popping up with the wells and parts of the economy are thriving thanks to fracking.

So why no glowing reports?

Could it be that fracking is not popular with most Americans?

It sure appears so:

Fracking Opposition On The Rise In New York

California Fracking Poll Finds Most Voters Either Want To Ban It Or Regulate It

 Oklahoma is a much shakier place than it used to be and fracking is probably to blame, according to the United States Geological Survey, which warns that the central part of the state is now at increased risk of a damaging quake.

The agency says that there were 183 quakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in the six months since October alone, compared to an average of just two that size per year between 1978 and 2008, NPR reports. A major factor, it says, is probably the injection of waste water from fracking into deep geological formations, causing quakes in a process known as injection-induced seismicity.

BACKLASH:

A Texas family suing a gas-drilling firm over alleged contamination of their ranch has won $3 million in what their lawyer calls Texas' first fracking verdict the Dallas Morning News reported.

Locals in Texas, and their elected leaders, are convinced the quakes are due to the nationwide drilling boom sparked by fracking.

At a public forum last Wednesday, residents made their feelings clear about fracking.

"Fracking came so quickly, much more quickly than we could figure out how to do it right," says Russell Gold, author of "The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World."

In January of 2014, Environment America Research & Policy Center joined residents living on the frontlines of fracking who recounted their stories of illness, water contamination and damage to their livelihoods due to dirty drilling operations in a new booklet, Shalefield Stories.

The new booklet was released even as President Obama touted natural gas development in his State of the Union speech and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz asserted last week that the impacts of fracking are “challenging but manageable.”

It’s clear to me that Americans need to make a choice soon: put massive safety regulations in place (drilling in seismic areas is plain stupid but it happens), or stop fracking entirely. Money or environment? What do you think? 

Related stories:

Is Fracking Safe? The Top 10 Controversial Claims About Natural Gas Drilling

Report: Fracking raising water supply worries

Time for me to walk on down the road…

I’m taking a blog break but will be back soon

Good Day World!

As always, I appreciate it when you stop by.

Readers like yourself make my day.

I’ve always been more comfortable sharing my thoughts via the written word. I never was much for public speaking, although I certainly did my share back in the day.

But, every now and then, I need to step away from my computer to recharge my creative batteries. I usually travel somewhere when I do. This time is no exception.

I’m heading to Southern California to visit my father (it’ll be his 86th birthday on June 28th), and my sister who just retired from working as the pediatric oncology liaison for Loma Linda University and Hospital for 25 years.

My wife and I are flying because my chronic back pain gets worse on such a long drive. I hate flying, but in my old age I’m setting that aside in favor of comfort. Aawwwww the sacrifices we have to make when our hair grows gray/white, and our skin shrivels up like ancient papyrus scrolls!

While I’m gone, don’t hesitate to check out the links on the right side of the page.

You’ll find blog posts going back five years, and opinion columns I wrote for the Times-Standard newspaper up until last July. There’s also a link to one of my learning boards at LEARNIST (top right corner).

Thanks for stopping by, and I sure hope you do again when I return on Sunday, June 29th, refreshed and inspired to share more news and views with you!  

Time for me to walk on down the road…