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…

High! High! High! Merry Marijuana Trees and the Holidays

(Plastic marijuana leaves light a Christmas tree as part of holiday display in a recreational marijuana shop in northwest Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Editor’s Note: I’m taking a blog break and will be back on Monday, Dec. 15th

Good Day World!

‘Tis the season…

for merry marijuana and the holidays!

It’s a trippy thing to see

a marijuana tree

at a party!

With the increasing acceptance of pot among the general public, it’s a good idea to start thinking about what you want to get those special stoners in your life for the holidays.

(Photo: Bud tenders from left John Satterfield, Maxwell Bradford and Emma Attolini decorate a Christmas tree in holiday display at a recreational marijuana shop in northwest Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

From new marijuana strains for the holidays to gift sets and pot-and-pumpkin pies, the burgeoning marijuana industry in Colorado is scrambling to get a piece of the holiday shopping dollar.

Dispensaries in many states have been offering holiday specials for medical customers for years — but this first season of open-to-all-adults marijuana sales in some states means pot shops are using more of the tricks used by traditional retailers to attract holiday shoppers, according to a recent AP story.

Thinking about traveling for the holidays and want to know where you can get high without a big hassle? Go here for a list of pot-friendly countries.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

A Poem: ‘We Brag That We’re Free’

America has it’s own royalty.

the reality

lies with presidential last names like Bush, Clinton, and Kennedy.

the fact that Americans embraced family dynasties is a mystery to me.

but “bundlers and donors” are changing that you see…

presidential candidates are growing on every tree.

our new election reality…

decided by a few billionaires, not by you and me.

nevertheless, when election times arrives, we brag that we’re free

voting for liberty.

Just repeat after me…

All hail democracy!

-Dave Stancliff

 

Dick Cheney should be tried for war crimes – not interviewed on Meet the Press

Good Day World!

Former vice president, Dick Cheney, should be tried for war crimes, not interviewed by the press ( he’s due to appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday).

Thousands of American soldiers, and innocent civilians blood are upon Cheney hands for leading the country into a bogus war, based upon lies.

Cheney is a liar, and as long as someone gives him a platform, he’ll continue to spread lies.

Most recently, he’s lying about the CIA’s methods of torture. He claims a Senate report faulting the CIA for brutal interrogation tactics is "full of crap." In Cheney’s perverse universe, waterboarding is not a torture – despite the fact that United Nations officials have classified it as a torture.

Amazingly, Cheney told Fox News that torture "was something that we very carefully avoided." Say what?

How does he justify making a public statement like that when it’s obviously a lie?

Because he lives in a different America – one that you and I would reject. He called the report “crap.”

I beg to differ. Cheney is full of crap. The real bottom line is the CIA’s torture program didn’t work. The intelligence gathered from torture techniques was minimal at best, according to the report.

Cheney's name crops up 41 times in the report on the CIA's use of "enhanced interrogation." Here are some of his noteworthy appearances:

1) Cheney personally worked to quash press coverage of the CIA's secret prison network.

2) Cheney attended a CIA briefing focused on justifying torture techniques.

3) Cheney reportedly did not know the specific location of a CIA black site. (He was reportedly lined up to help lobby the government of an unnamed country, but as with President Bush, the CIA aimed to keep Cheney in the dark so that he couldn't refer to the location of "a more permanent and unilateral CIA detention facility" in that country.)

4) After leaving office, Cheney declassified a CIA report arguing that torture worked.

5) Cheney blew off Senate leaders investigating the CIA interrogation program as early as 2005.

I’d like to see Chuck Todd expose Cheney’s many lies during the upcoming segment of Meet the Press, but I know that’s unlikely. I suspect that the program’s producers aren’t interested in holding Cheney to account…at least not at this time.

Cheney represents viewership via controversy. Which means money. Something Cheney himself appreciates.

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

Boneheads from both sides in congress blocking marijuana legalization in Washington DC

Good Day World!

Both Republican and Democratic congressional leaders managed to agree on something recently. A Christmas miracle?

Not really.

It’s the same old shit according to the DC Cannabis Campaign and Drug Policy Alliance. Congress is playing the Grinch and blocking marijuana legalization in Washington DC.

BACKROUND

DC's legalization initiative got more than 69 percent of the vote in November. But ballot initiatives, like all DC laws, must get congressional approval to become law, and they can be blocked through congressional budgetary requirements.

DC's marijuana legalization measure would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, grow up to six plants, and give marijuana to other adults 21 and older.

The measure wouldn't legalize, regulate, or tax sales, because voter initiatives in DC can't have a direct impact on the local budget.

Marijuana legalization will remain in place in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, since Congress doesn't have the authority to terminate those states' laws.

HOW CONGRESS IS GETTING AWAY WITH IT

Through the Home Rule Act of 1973, Washington, DC, can elect a sitting local government composed of a council, mayor, and other local agencies. But the Home Rule Act also made it so each law passed by the local government requires congressional approval — and Congress can still block DC's laws through budgetary requirements, as they are doing with the legalization measure.

Congress previously used this authority to block DC from implementing a medical marijuana law for nearly 12 years. Federal lawmakers have also prevented DC from using local tax dollars to fund abortion services and life-saving clean needle exchange programs.

Read more: 6 questions about Washington, DC, statehood you were too disenfranchised to ask.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Study says male rats like tiny jackets on their girls – equates findings to men turned on by lingerie

Good Day World!

Who pays researchers to study human sex habits by using rats as examples? 

Really? Rats…

(Photo by Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino)

Male rats that are turned on by female rats wearing tiny jackets, no less! Guess what? These brilliant researchers have concluded – based upon those tiny jackets – men associate sex with lingerie.

Apparently the researchers weren’t aware of Victoria’s Secret, but I digress.

In what can be generously called an unusual study, intrepid researchers allowed virgin male rats to have sex with females wearing special rodent "jackets."

Later, when scientists gave the males a chance to mate again, they preferred to mate with jacket-wearing female rats rather than with the unclad ones. (Go figure)

These earth-shaking findings suggest that male animals can learn to associate the sight and feel of clothing with sex. [51 Sultry Facts About Sex] Who would of guessed?

In other words, male rats learn that "each time my partner wears lingerie [a jacket], I'm going to have sex," said study co-author Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino, a psychologist working in the lab of psychologist Jim Pfaus at Concordia University in Montreal. 

The findings were presented Nov. 17 at the 44th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

‘Made to feel uncomfortable…Alive!’ Senior scares off thieves with walker gun, Chimps lose legal battle for ‘personhood’

Good Day World!

Life is full of disappointments, but we still have to soldier on.

(Conservationist Paul Rosolie holds one of the many anacondas he encountered in the amazon.-Discovery Channel photo)

For example:

On Sunday night, Discovery aired the highly anticipated "Eaten Alive" special, in which conservationist and filmmaker Paul Rosolie went head first into the jaws of a 20-foot anaconda — or at least that's what viewers were led to believe would happen.

Maybe the show should have been called "Rolling Around in the Mud Alive," "Constricted Alive" or "Made to Feel Really Uncomfortable … Alive!"

By the end of the two-hour event, one thing was clear: Rosolie, outfitted in a compression suit covered in a generous coating of pig blood, did convince the anaconda to go after him — but he was by no means eaten, alive or otherwise.

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

Just imagine the disappointment some thieves felt when they tried to break into the home of a A 68-year-old Gastonia man.

Joseph Sapienza told The Gaston Gazette (http://bit.ly/1vx3JpO ) that he scared off two men in ski masks trying to break in his home with his gun that he keep on his walker. He flipped on a light, yelled he was armed and threw open the door.

Afterwards he taped a note to his door saying if they try to break in his house again, he will be waiting on them!

His message was loud and clear. You rock Mr. Sapienza!

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

What a disappointment for Chimps worldwide!

In the first case of its kind, a New York appeals court rejected on Thursday an animal rights advocate's bid to extend "legal personhood" to chimpanzees, saying the primates are incapable of bearing the responsibilities that come with having legal rights.

The case is Nonhuman Rights Project v. Lavery, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, No. 518336.

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Parting shot: Today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Happy Weird Holiday Ideas That’ll Thrill or Nauseate

Good Day World!

I’ve found my gift guide for the season!

The sheer wackiness of it suits me to a tee.

Find the perfect oddities to finish up your holiday shopping with the official Cult of Weird 2014 holiday gift guide, full of weird stocking stuffers, quirky novelties and macabre confectioneries.

Whether you are looking to fill a cabinet of curiosities, or feed the insatiable human appetite for the unknown, there is sure to be something on this list to make someone happy (or nauseous) this holiday season.

• Realistic Chocolate Skulls
• Monsters in America Map
• Mummified Heart Pendants
• Octopus Coffee Table
• Goatman: Flesh or Folklore?
• Planchette Necklaces
• Squid Beak Wet Specimen
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
• Stacking Skeleton Coffee Cups
• Mini Female Anatomical Head
• Roadkill Collector Bumper Stickers
• Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps
• Bone Ornaments
• Skull Flower Sweater
• Victorian Skull Frame
• Morbid Anatomy 2015 Wall Calendar
• Shrunken Rabbit Head
• Human Skull Suture Ring

Thanks to Cult of the Weird for this nuttiness!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Seasons Greetings from the Satanic Church, Festivus followers, Christians & more on display

Good Day World!

Are you getting that holiday feeling yet?

The folks at Florida's Capitol in Tallahassee sure are.

A Satanic Temple is set to accompany nativity scenes and other holiday decorations on the first-floor rotunda of the Capitol. The Florida Department of Management Services approved The Satanic Temple display (they rejected it last year) the Florida News Service reported.

Two other displays, including one that celebrates Festivus, the fictional holiday from the sitcom "Seinfeld," are pending final approval.

What a change a year makes.

The temple was rejected a year ago after the department called it "grossly offensive." It features a banner reading "Happy holidays from the Satanic Temple" atop a diorama of an angel falling into hell.

Although I’m not really comfortable with Satanism in the 21st century, I think it’s only fair to let people worship what they want as long as they don’t hurt others. I’m glad I can freely admit to not belonging to any organized religions.

I’ve found that Festivus best suits me for the holiday season. My only concern, after being approved for a big public display in Tallahassee this year, is that Festivus goes mainstream!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Shop till you drop in public toilets!

Good Day World!

The last frontier of advertising has been breeched, and it’s not pretty!

You’re no longer safe from being bombarded by ads in public restrooms. Proctor & Gamble and Amazon have partnered up to launch "Stall Malls" inside public toilets.

That’s right. When you enter a stall to take care of business, you can take care of even more business like buying toothpaste and toilet paper.

Once you sit down in one of the stalls, an ad wrapping the back of the door invites you to download the Amazon App and displays the barcodes for coupons for several bathroom-appropriate Proctor & Gamble products. Use the app to scan the barcodes and place your order. 

So while you finish using the bathroom, you'll also be scratching an item off your to-do list.To encourage users to take the plunge, the coupons are on the high side for what the brands offer.

You can find them in New York at Paramus Park, Staten Island, Willowbrook, and Woodbridge Malls, in Los Angeles, at the Glendale Galleria, in Philadelphia at the Christiana and Neshaminy malls, and in Seattle at the Alderwod, Bellis Fair and Westlake malls.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

‘Say it ain’t so Bill’– Fan laments comedian’s plunge from popularity

Good Day World!

My world has been turned upside down in the last month.

One of my all-time favorite comedians – Bill Cosby – has become a bigger villain than Darth Vader. Adolf Hitler. Putin. His career and legacy suddenly called into question. His character assaulted.

Last month numerous women, including journalist Joan Tarshis, model Janice Dickinson, actress Louisa Moritz, actor Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla Ferrigno, Florida nurse Therese Serignese, Playboy playmates Victoria Valentino and Sarita Butterfield, actress Michelle Hurd, and eleven other women alleged that Cosby drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped them between 1965 and 2004.

This can’t be the same man who made the comedy albums that I loved In the 60’s, that left me breathless with laughter with such gems as:

• Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow...Right! (1963)
• I Started Out as a Child (1964)
• Why Is There Air? (1965)
• Wonderfulness (1966)
• Revenge (1967)
• To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With (1968)

The accusers can’t be talking about the Bill Cosby who starred with Robert Culp in the I Spy espionage adventure series. He was cool. A good guy.

How could this same man be a rapist? How could the creator of Fat Albert and the Gang have drugged women and taken advantage of them? How could Cliff Huxtable from the Cosby Show do such nasty things?

Cosby Strikes Back: Claims in Court Docs That Accuser Extorted Him

It’s like watching Rome burn. A great artist has been exposed as a cad. A man who takes advantage of women sexually.

No colleges want him on their board anymore. His shows are being cancelled. Proposed series projects have been dropped like hot potatoes.

• Navy Revokes Cosby's Honorary Title
• Bill Cosby Faces New Sexual Assault Allegations
• Cosby Sued For Sexually Assault of Teenager in 1970s

Despite all of these terrible accusations, I’m not going to take any of those laughs he gave me back. I can’t forget how many times I laughed watching him perform stand-up, or in sitcoms.

In my memories he’ll remain a great comedian and performer. No one can take that away. My disappointment with his actions is deep. I wish all those women were lying, but I doubt it. My hero has feet of clay.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Compare white cops killing black men vs black on black violence – no contest

Good Day World!

It’s time everyone looks at the overall picture when it comes to violence being perpetrated against African-Americans in America.

The shooting of a black teen, Michael Brown, by a white police officer has been surrounded with misinformation from the start.

One look at the grand jury report from 51 “eye-witnesses” attests to that fact.

Half of the testimonies given involved outright lies (Brown’s buddy is at the top of the list after giving testimony that physically couldn’t have happened. When confronted with that fact he said he “felt uncomfortable” and didn’t have anything else to say).

Some so-called witnesses weren’t even present at the crime scene (under oath they had to tell the truth and admit that).

As for other witness testimonies, "Some of the witness accounts of the shooting differed so much they didn't seem like the same scene," reported the AP.

"It's difficult for people under the best of circumstances to accurately report what happened," Elizabeth Brondolo, a psychology professor specializing in the effects of race on mental and physical health at St. John's University in New York, told the AP.

That's because witnesses' backgrounds and life experience color what they see.

"The truth always really matters, but it's important to recognize that past experience to stereotypes also influences the perception of hands being raised," Brondolo said.

Ultimately, however, for some, it doesn't matter whether Brown's hands were raised or not.

"Even if you don't find that it's true, it's a valid rallying cry," Ferguson protester Taylor Gruenloh told the AP. "It's just a metaphor."

Out of the chaos that ensued from these testimonies a movement to canonize Brown sprung up. Suddenly a thug who had just robbed a convenience store moments before physically confronting a cop, became a martyr. (Photo-Michael Brown, soon-to-be a saint)

FACT:

Racial exclusivity is apparent in the majority of violent crimes. Around 91 percent of Black victims are murdered by Black offenders while 83 percent of white victims are killed by another white person, based on the most recent FBI homicide statistics.

FERGUSON BLACK ON BLACK VIOLENCE

Why no protest when another Black man was murdered near Ferguson?

On Oct. 18, Jermaine Jones, 29, stood with a few friends on a street in Berkeley, Mo., adjacent to Ferguson.

Police say an unknown black male opened fire, killing Jones and wounding three other black men near him. (Strangely, Jones’ sister, Margaree Dixson, was shot fatally a half-mile away, just three hours earlier. Police suspect yet another unidentified black man.)

Why has Jones’ death not unleashed riots and looting?

Simple: Jones was killed by a fellow black man. Thus, his death and his loved ones’ agony generate silence.

No one wants to talk about reality when it comes to black youths being killed in this country.

The national outrage still is at full boil over this white cop shooting an unarmed black man who acted very aggressively after robbing cigars from a convenience store. But one can hear birds chirp while listening for public outcry over the deaths of black citizens killed by black perpetrators.

Why doesn’t Jesse Jackson, and/or Al Sharpton talk about Blacks killing each other? I can’t remember these two activists leading any marches on Washington over this sad truth. 

Is there racism in law enforcement? Are blacks and whites treated equally when they commit crimes? No. Not always.There are bad policemen, just as there are bad priests.

But the majority of them protect the public everyday – putting their lives on the line. Standing between civilization and chaos. Take them away and see what happens. 

Using Michael Brown as an example of an innocent black youth killed by a racist cop is foolish and misrepresentative of the whole situation. Everyone needs to take a step back and look – who is killing more black youths? Bad cops, or other Blacks?

We already know the answer to that question. Now we need to have a national dialogue that deals with Blacks killing one another in record numbers.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

My wife would kill me if she knew I told this story!

Good Day World!

I’m feeling mischievous today.

In a funny way.

Here’s a funny story that my wife would kill me for telling you:

Once, years ago when we lived in Humboldt County, we were traveling to Redding via Highway 299. The rainy weather had caused several slides on the torturous twisting road and work crews were stopping traffic because one of the two lanes was buried beneath part of the mountain.

All traffic was funneled into one lane, which meant a line of cars built up as traffic slowly (I mean real slowly) went by until the signal people switched their signs and allowed the built-up traffic on the other side to go.

Small rocks were still slipping onto the roadway. It took about 20 minutes before we could go. Minutes later we hit another line of cars waiting to go. It was at this point that my dear wife became frantic because she couldn’t wait any longer to pee.

The only alternative was to go outside. It was dark. She didn’t want to go in the back of the truck because the people parked behind us would have had a good view.

With mountain on one side, and a ravine on the other, that left her with no choice but to pee in the front of our pick-up truck. She got out quickly (trying to be stealthy but it was hard when the cab light came on and I started laughing helplessly!)

In a final act of desperation, she went to the front of the truck, dropped her drawers and squatted down. At that point the Devil grabbed me…

and I turned the truck’s headlights on!

Her wail of despair carried through the ravines beyond and down the road for miles. The startled couple in front of us looked back in surprise.

Needless to say, that moment of insanity didn’t go unpunished.

But that’s another story.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Reasons why the new Republican Congress won’t be able to repeal the Affordable Care Act

Good Day World!

The new Republican Congress has an old mission.

Repeal the Affordable Care Act.

It’ll be the 51st time the House tried. As most people are aware, the very definition of stupid is when someone keeps doing the same thing and expects a different result each time.

It isn’t going to happen. President Barack Obama still has veto power.

Republicans may have a majority in the Senate, but they don’t have the 60 seats needed to override a Democratic-led filibuster or a presidential veto. And Obama’s not going to allow his signature piece of legislation to be gutted.

Another reason is Republicans are not going to try to repeal a law that has been such a boon to insurers. The five major national health insurers have all seen their stock price at least double — one has almost tripled — since the ACA was enacted.

People like laws that prevent insurance companies from pulling their insurance just as they become really sick and need it. They like provisions that allow young adults to stay on their parents’ plans. And they really like government subsidies.

As many as 10 million people already have health insurance on the exchanges The Congressional Budget Office projects that 26 million people will buy health insurance on the exchanges by 2022 and that 12 million people will become newly eligible for Medicaid in the states that choose to expand their offerings by 2022.

It would be difficult – and really stupid - to take insurance away from that many people.

Despite good reasons why the ACA will largely remain intact, the lemming-like Republicans are still going to try to repeal it.

“At some point next year we’ll move to replace Obamacare,” House Speaker John Boehner promised in an interview last week.

The bottom line: “Stupid is, as stupid does!” – Forest Gump

Time for me to walk on down the road…