Gun-toting student(s) couldn’t do anything about Oregon mass killing

Let’s get one thing straight right now;

…the ability to carry guns on a college campus doesn’t equate to stopping mass murderers.

John Parker, a student on the campus of Oregon's Umpqua Community College admitted to carrying a concealed gun on Oct. 1st when another student opened up with his gun killing nine other students.

But Parker wasn’t in a position to use it — he was locked down in the school's veterans center several hundred yards away from the science hall where the shooting took place.

Parker wasn’t the only armed student on campus that day. The reason I know this is Oregon is one of just eight states that allow the carrying of concealed weapons on campus, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Despite Umpqua Community College’s claim to be a Gun Free Zone, state law trumps that claim. It’s anyone’s guess how many students were packing that day, but the law of averages suggest that out of 3,300 students there was more than one, or two.

It’s safe to say there’s a certain amount of confusion regarding gun laws in Oregon.

Here’s the main point:

Debate over the ins and outs of concealed carry policy misses the broader point: that putting more guns on campus is not an effective way to prevent or limit violence.

The NRA and other gun lobbies like to raise this argument (arm everyone and that’ll solve our mass killing problem) to feel good about themselves.

In the end, it’s about confusing what we really need to talk about, which is how guns are completely out of control.

Related: ‘Good Guy With A Gun’ Was On UCC Campus At Time Of Massacre

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The Daily Hack Report: See If Your Identity Has Been Stolen

Good Day World!

Welcome to my latest news feature; The Daily Hack Report.

Are you wondering if your identity has been stolen recently? The following links will provide the most recent retail data hacks that may have affected you:

Scottrade Says Hack Could Have Affected 4.6M Customers

Experian Says Info from 15 Million T-Mobile Records Hacked

Hilton Hotels Looking Into Possible Data Breach

Older links with new information:

OPM Hack: Government Finally Starts Notifying 21.5 Million Victims

OPM Hack: 5.6 Million Fingerprints (Not 1.1 Million) Were Stolen

Trump Hotels Confirm Hack Exposed Customer Credit Card Info

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, a collaborative effort by government and industry to inform Americans about ways to stay safe and secure online.

Here’s a good resource to check on daily updates about cyber attacks out to steal your identity.

Related: A Quick Guide to the Worst Corporate Hack Attacks

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

In America there’s a mass killing every 2 weeks – what can change that?

Another mass shooting in the USA. This time in Oregon at a small community college.

They’re becoming more common every day.

Statistics show that we can expect a mass shooting about every two weeks.

Headlines like this are becoming routine:

Obama Condemns ‘Routine’ of Mass Shootings, Says U.S. Has Become Numb

Why are Americans 20 times more likely to die from gun violence than other citizens in civilized countries? Simple. We live in a gun culture nurtured by the NRA and the gun and ammo industries.

Rather than come up with more accountability in the gun sales system, the NRA has chosen to feed misinformation to the public to further their ultimate goal of no gun control.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

A single mass shooting changed everything in Australia.

In 1996, Martin Bryant entered a café at the site of a historic penal colony at Port Arthur, Tasmania.

The 28-year-old ate lunch before pulling a semi-automatic rifle from his bag and embarking on a killing spree. By the time he was apprehended the next morning, 35 people were dead and 23 had been wounded.

THE RESPONSE WAS SWIFT

The government introduced the National Firearms Agreement — legislation that outlawed automatic and semi-automatic rifles, as well as pump-action shotguns. A nationwide gun buyback scheme also saw more than 640,000 weapons turned in to authorities.

NRA LIES CAN’T CHANGE HISTORY

An article published online in July by the NRA claimed there was "growing consensus" that the laws hadn't made Australians safer.

Provocatively titled "Australia: There Will Be Blood," it also stated that Obama's portrayal of Australia's gun laws was "disingenuous."

Research, however, suggests otherwise. Gun-related homicides decreased 7.5 percent per year following the reforms, while firearm-related suicides have also fallen, according to one Australian study.

And although there have been calls to revisit the laws, most Australians haven't looked back. One news and pop culture website recently wrote: "The NRA reckons Australia's anti-gun laws are 'a mistake'; Australia tells NRA to go f*** itself."

I second that motion.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Waiting to Make Contact With Extra-Terrestial Life Forms

                                   Good Day World!

I’m one of those visionaries that believe intelligent life exists somewhere in the vastness of space.

At one time, I would have been locked up in a loony bin for admitting that. But this is the 21st century and we’re still expanding our horizons through science.

The question of meeting extra-terrestrial life forms should be “When will it happen?” Not if it’ll ever happen. 

For the first time in human history, scientists have a plan and the means to answer the question of whether we're alone.

"The fact that science can actually apply itself to the question instead of it being purely philosophical is very exciting," says Jason Wright, an astronomer also at Penn State. "It might be a long shot that we can do this, but the question is so compelling."

Scientists at NASA say the best shot at finding extra-terrestrial life forms is on Europa, a moon of the planet Jupiter. Right now, there is no other body in the solar system that attracts as much scientific attention as this bright strange-looking moon, the smallest of Jupiter's four large satellites.

There’s always naysayers.

According to a recent study, “Nearby galaxies in our universe show no signs of advanced alien civilizations — at least for now.”

I say it’s only a matter of time. Then there’s the real possibility we aren’t going to like them, or they us.

In his famous lecture on Life in the Universe, Stephen Hawking asks: "What are the chances that we will encounter some alien form of life, as we explore the galaxy?"

More to the point, Hawking’s has suggested that “…alien contact is not a good idea.”

Who knows? Chances are they’re more intelligent and don’t want anything to do with us until we learn how to live without war and to live peacefully.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Benghazi Committee Busted: McCarthy Gloats Over Clinton’s Dropping Numbers

Oops! The cat’s out of the bag.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is campaigning to be the next Speaker of the House, let it slip that the whole Benghazi investigation by a special committee was aimed at hurting Hillary Clinton’s chances of being elected president.

“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” McCarthy told Fox News. “But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping."

McCarthy's words were widely considered a major gaffe, among some of the first public remarks he made after jumping in the race to replace John Boehner as speaker.

Democrats said McCarthy's comments revealed the truth about the committee and countered longstanding Republican claims that the panel was set up to find out what happened in the attacks on American facilities in Benghazi, Libya that left four people dead.

The Benghazi committee, set up last year, may have violated ethics laws that ban using taxpayers' dollars for political purposes. Hurting Clinton’s electability definitely falls under the politics category.

Violating ethics laws is nothing new to Republicans who will do anything to get into the White House. You can bet the Select Benghazi Committee will continue to operate right up until election day next November.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

The Versatile Glider: From WW II to Modern Space Exploration

The Perlan 2 experimental glider reached an altitude of 5,000 feet in a proof-of-concept test ahead of next year’s planned record-breaking journey to the stratosphere. perlanproject.org

                                    Good Day World!

Look up in the sky! It’s a jet…err no…it’s a glider!

Oregonians like myself had the opportunity to see a truly wondrous advancement in flight history the other day. That is if we happened to look up at the right time.

An experimental glider that could eventually reach the edge of space without the power of an engine had a successful first test flight over Oregon this week, winning applause on Thursday from Airbus, a major backer of the project.

The manned glider, dubbed Perlan 2, reached an altitude of 5,000 feet, in a proof-of-concept test ahead of next year's planned record-breaking journey to the stratosphere.

To start its flight, the Perlan 2 is towed behind a motorized aircraft but once airborne it is able to harness the energy of the wind to gain speed and altitude, said Ed Warnock, CEO of the Perlan Project, a nonprofit organization run by a volunteers.

Next year, the Perlan Project plans to launch the glider near from the Andes mountains in Argentina, which should allow the craft to ride atmospheric waves to heights that researchers are only beginning to understand.

Gliders have come a long way folks.

I use to live in 29 Palms, California (I worked there as the editor of the local newspaper - The Desert Trail), next to the massive Marine Corps base.

At one time that base was called Condor Field and served as a training base for U.S. Army Air Force glider pilots during World War II.

Fun Factoid: Actor and Army Air Force pilot Jimmy Stewart also spent time at Condor Field.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Pope Meets With Homophobic Clerk to Reassure Her She’s Doing the Right Thing!

                                                       Wow!

Talk about good will disappearing like smoke.

When the Pope decided to secretly meet with homophobe Kim Davis he sent the wrong message…or did he? Was the meeting proof that the Pope still doesn’t think homosexuals should get marriage licenses?

Given all the people and groups in America the Pope could have embraced, he embraces this symbol of the hate-filled and self-proclaimed “Christian-right.”

What a clear statement about theology of the church of Rome.  In my mind he has demonstrated that he is a politician and has no moral or Christian integrity.

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

On the Twitter wire: “If there were a nuclear war today, the only things living tomorrow would be Kim Davis, and cockroaches.”

________________________________

By meeting with Kim Davis, especially if he did say "Thank you for your courage" and "Stay strong", the Pope has completely undone everything conciliatory that he did on the US visit and indeed, undone all his statements since he became Pope that appeared to show he had an open attitude to views of morality different from his own.

He now shows clearly that he remains firmly on the side of religious bigots. If the pope was stupid enough to waste his time on her then that's his problem.

By the way, Davis’s apostolic church believes Catholicism is a false religion that gives it's power to the beast in Revelation. But to a hypocrite like her, certain things can be ignored.

She's changed her mind on other things and went against the teachings of her "Bible" (church), by selling licenses to divorced couples, so I suppose constantly changing her religious beliefs is just another step in her life time of convenient decision making.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Solve Homeless Problem: Put Them Down With Lethal Injections!

Good Day World!

A Mexican politician, Olga Gutierrez Machorro (photo) thinks the best way to solve the city’s homeless population is to put them down with lethal injections.

I’m not kidding. This woman thinks it would be an act of kindness to kill them.

TRUE IRONY

Machorro is a member of the local government in Tecamachalco, Mexico. She’s also the councilor responsible for the Vulnerable Groups Commission - who try to find ways to help the homeless and disadvantaged. 

If you’re homeless in Tecamachalco your life is on the line daily. Killing beggars has been going on unofficially for some time, according to Machorro.

HOMELESS “LIVES DON’T MATTER”

Machorro claims the local psychiatric hospital, El Batan, often just deposits patients deemed “un-aggressive” in the middle of the motorways at night, where they are killed by cars but also cause accidents that put others at risk.

At least some locals were outraged by her murderous suggestion, so she said she’d come up with another plan to get rid of homeless people.

No telling what the new plan will endorse...but I suspect it won’t be good news for the homeless population. 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Really? After failing 50 times House GOP Tries To Gut Obamacare Again!

Republican members of the House are once again caught in a Ground Hog Day cycle trying to destroy the Affordable Health Care Act.

This time, Republicans are using a special process that prevents Senate Democrats from blocking the legislation.

Under this special process, called reconciliation, the Senate can pass legislation with just 51 votes.

Isn’t that convenient? There’s 54 Republicans in the House.

Under Senate rules, minority Democrats have blocked most legislation because it requires 60 votes to advance a bill.

Here’s the kicker, even taking their devious route through this special process won’t achieve anything. President Obama can veto it.

The Republicans all know this is a wasted exercise. It’s about playing politics just to tell their extreme fan base they tried to overturn the evil health care law...again (apparently they need a lot of reassuring).

Is this what most of their constituents really want? A group of politicians who pander to ideology rather than reality? To continue attacking America’s health care system takes a certain blindness that’s polarizing our country.

For the record; official congressional estimates say that gutting the law will result in 15 million fewer people with health insurance by 2025. How can that be touted as a victory for the GOP?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Why Are Americans Pissed OFF?

Good Day World!

Americans are pissed off.

Their not just a little bit mad about the direction the country is going…oh no...they’re furious!

According to a recent NBC/WSJ Poll, the difference between the “Haves” and “Have Nots” has become untenable.

There's a stark divide by income: 69 percent of Americans making $75,000 or more per year say they're confident and optimistic about their financial situation, compared with just 30 percent of those making less than $30,000.

No surprise then, that 62 percent of the respondents in the poll believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

A plurality of adults feel angry because the American political system seems to be working for those with money and power.

There’s no doubt in my mind our political system is corrupt and owned by corporate America. So what else is behind the feeling that our country is sinking into a quagmire?

If you’re a Republican here’s the issues your fighting over:

"Stop Abortion"; "Enforce Immigration Laws"; "Defund Planned Parenthood"; and "Impeach Obama."

If you’re a Democrat here’s your issues:

"Fund Planned Parenthood"; "Equality/Human Rights"; "All Lives Matter"; "Get Big Money Out of Politics"; "Black Lives Matter."

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Invisibility Cloaks in Fiction and Fact

                                Good Day World!

Have you ever read the novel, The Invisible Man?

The reason I ask is because what was once science fiction is now fact.

Did you know that physicists have figured out the optical parameters for a magic trick they characterize as a kind of "invisibility cloak?"

Invisibility cloaks have been getting a lot of press over the years.

That's not only because Harry Potter put his fictional cloak to such good use, but also because researchers have been using high-tech metamaterials to create structures capable of bending light around an object to keep it hidden.

Physics professor John Howell and graduate student Joseph Choi are co-authors of a paper about the "Rochester Cloak" that has been submitted to the journal Optics Express.

Oh, yeah.

And there’s a lot of other invisible applications currently in use by our military. Like this one for instance. Here’s another one you should check out – invisibility camo uniforms for our soldiers!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

A Potpourri of Pope Stories for Sunday

Good Day World!

The Pope is welcome everywhere he visits.

I’m not a Catholic, or a particularly religious person, but I think he’s a nice guy.

I respect a lot of things he stands for – especially when it comes to helping the poor in this world.

In my humble estimation, Pope Francis is a “real” person. His compassion for all is a lesson for the leaders of the world. Here are seven examples of what I mean:

* Pope Francis in Philadelphia Mass Calls for Church to Place Greater Value on Women

* Pope Francis, in New York, Takes On Extremism and Inequality

* The Pope asks Who Am I To Judge?

* Pope Francis, in Congress, Pleads for Unity on World’s Woes

* Pope Francis to Congress: We’re All Immigrants

* Pope Francis on the True Meaning of Poverty

* Pope Francis Reminds the World To Care About Poverty

You don’t have to be Catholic to respect Pope Francis. His actions speak for themselves.

I agree with him – the man – because he’s not afraid to talk about global warming or capitalistic greed in one breath, and caring for the poor in the next.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Hack! Hack! Whose there?

                                       Good Day World!

One thing should be clear to everyone. Anything can be hacked.

Cars/Jeeps; houses; PC’s; iPads; iPhones; Androids; banks; major retail stores; the U.S. The Pentagon; federal employees; The Stock Market, museums; Wall Street firms; adult cheating sites; 3-D printed TSA Master Keys for people’s luggage; schools, products; and FaceBook memberships.

That’s only a small sample of things that are hackable in your life.

In our high tech society we are vulnerable to hacking anywhere and at any time. Our lives are hacked. It’s all of our reality in the 21st century.

Hack! Hack! Whose there?

Take your choice:

Who hacks us?

Criminals, foreign countries; or pranksters who like to play politics and make ideological statements.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Fiorina lied about Planned Parenthood tape during debate - her backers make up new one for her

Liar, liar, pants on fire, Fiorina!

In the last GOP debate conservative pundits applauded Carly Fiorina for her tough talk about Planned Parenthood. Too bad the film she described never existed!

Almost immediately after the debate, journalists, including those at Yahoo Health, called attention to the fact that the video Fiorina described during her debate performance does not exist.

Can that be any clearer? She lied. Her rant was dramatic enough, but bullshit.

So what’s her campaign supporters response? They make up a damning Planned Parenthood video out of thin air.

The video contains spliced-together video and audio from five separate places — all in the name of creating the footage Fiorina insisted existed during the past debate.

The video was made to prove Fiorina correct in the debate, but in reality, it resorts to the same methods as the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), the antiabortion activist group that used deceptive editing to create its now-discredited videos attacking Planned Parenthood. 

Fiorina’s super-PAC manufactured its own version of the alleged tape and posted it on the Fiorina campaign’s official YouTube channel.

It’s obvious, Fiorina has no shame, and no compunctions about twisting facts to fit her reality.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Not Quite ‘Back To The Future’ But New Hoverboard is Close

Good Day World!

The new recreational sensation this season is hoverboards that are reminiscent of the one used in the movie Back To The Future. 

For those of you who haven’t yet seen one, a self balancing scooter is sort of like a skateboard that requires absolutely no energy from you to get going.

They are similar to that hoverboard that you dreamt of having as a kid. Now, who wouldn’t like to own one of these? They’re becoming extremely popular now especially that a lot of celebrities are seen around and are posting videos of them using these scooters.

Like the hoverboard from Back To the Future, these scooters operate based on your body movements.

The "self-balancing scooters" will go on sale at Wal-Mart starting around November 1, according to Sapna Maheshwari at Buzzfeed.

The electric scooters have been described as a "hands-free Segway." Executives at Wal-Mart anticipate this will be the hot new holiday item. The hoverboards will only be for sale on the website at first.

FOR THE RECORD

Segway filed a lawsuit against major self balancing scooter producing companies for infringement of its patents. That lawsuit was filed against Inventist for creating a scooter with the same idea of the Segway.

Segway will probably chase down some of the other major producing companies in the upcoming days.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The Catholic Church and Cash: Would Jesus Buy a Pontiff Doll?

(Pope Francis dolls are displayed at the World Meeting of Families souvenir store on Sept. 22 ahead of the Pope's visit to Philadelphia. Matt Rourke / AP)

                                        Good Day World!

Warning: if you’re a thin-skinned devout Catholic with no sense of humor or history don’t read this post!

As far as I can tell Jesus was poor.

Yet Roman Catholicism, which claims to be His church, is the richest of the rich, the wealthiest institution on earth.

Money flows in from individual donations from Catholics, government grants, the church's own investments and corporate donors.

Oh yeah…and from souvenirs of Pope Francis. The time-honored tradition of shilling for the church has been passed down from Pope to Pope for hundreds of years.

As you probably know, Pope Francis is doing the America gig right now. There’s been sightings in Philadelphia and Washington DC.

Really popular at the venues where Pope Francis is visiting are bobbleheads, life-size cutouts, rosaries, scarves, and ties with his likeness on it. Kind of like a superstar. Or, a professional athlete.

Bleacher Creatures is selling the papal "plushy" on their website, in case you can't get to one of the many venues in person. The site has sold over 50,000 pontiff dolls in five months, outstripping every other doll on the site.

All this pomp and business seems out of touch with Christ’s teaching. Can you imagine if he walked into one of the many palatial Catholic churches today? Or, the Vatican?

Better yet, what if Jesus returned today and asked for a dozen pontiff dolls for his disciples! NOT going to happen.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

I Was So Clueless That I Didn’t Know What ‘Yellow Face’ Was!

Good Day World!

Do you know how clueless I was?

I wasn’t aware of “yellow face” until I read this story and watched the video.

I’ve heard of “Black Face” and understand it’s now politically incorrect in the 21st century. Basically humor from the last 100 years ago, or so, is politically incorrect in today’s culture.

I find it sad that The Mikado, a Gilbert and Sullivan opera set in feudal Japan, won’t continue to be available to another generation of opera-goers because of racism charges.

Political correctness is going too far.

Chris Rock and Larry the Cable Guy won't book college gigs because, in their view, young people have been so indoctrinated in the PC mindset that it's not worth the agitation.

The "PC Police" patrol the world - mainly through social media these days - clamping down on anyone who makes comments they view as offensive or disparaging.

Author and filmmaker Jon Ronson wrote a whole book about it, called "So You've Been Publicly Shamed."

I may be publicly shamed for admitting I didn’t know anything about “yellow face,” but that’s the least of my worries…I need to know…are there “brown face” taboos too?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Douche Bag Walking: Drug Company CEO Was Too Greedy and the Public Responded

The smiling man in this photo is one of the biggest douche bags you’ll ever meet!

Let me introduce you to former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli – fraud, cyber hacker, stalker, and all-around liar. 

Before reading his brief backround bio I want to point out why he’s in the news, and why a presidential hopeful is calling for legislation against people like him.

Shkreli made headlines this week when it was revealed that his current company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, boosted the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill (!) after buying the drug from Impax Laboratories in August.

Shkreli jacked up the price of Daraprim 5,500 percent overnight, claiming he had to in order to make money. The reaction was immediate;

Presidential wannabe, Hillary Clinton, responded to the move by calling Shkreli’s action "outrageous." Clinton's comment, and her vow to introduce a plan to control drug prices overall, sent biotech stocks plummeting Monday.

In response to the indignant public outcry, Shkreli changed course:

Drug CEO Will Lower Price of Daraprim After Hike Sparked Outrage

For the record; the average cost of brand-name medications rose 13 percent in 2013, according to a report from the Prime Institute at the University of Minnesota. New cancer drugs now cost over $100,000 a year.

In addition:

Read the affidavit claiming harassment by Martin Shkreli and see the related documents here.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

GOP Senators Fail to Infringe on Women’s Rights Today

I’m sick and tired of Republicans playing politics with women’s health.

They tried to pull a fast one in the Senate today but failed. The senate Republicans couldn’t get enough votes to pass their draconian ‘protection act” that would have implemented a federal 20-week abortion ban with incredibly limited exceptions.

When is the GOP going to learn that families, workers, and the economy should come before their silly ass politics that are plump with partisanship?

Right now we’re forced to watch a long line of show votes on an unconstitutional, dangerous bill to restrict women’s health and rights, and on defunding Planned Parenthood while taking away critical health care services millions of people rely on each year.

If a new budget is not approved by midnight on September 30, the government will shutdown, just as it did in the fall of 2013 when Republican leadership refused to initially negotiate on a budget deal that did not include defunding the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

We can thank the original idiot boy Ted Cruz (2013 shutdown instigator) for being the leading voice, of the Tea Party faction of the Republican party which has said they will not agree to any budget that does not include ending all federal funding to Planned Parenthood.

Two things Cruz and other Republicans fail to talk about:

1) The majority of funding Planned Parenthood received from the government goes towards Medicaid reimbursement. 

2) By law, no federal funding may be used towards abortion care. So what’s the problem? Hint: irresponsible ideology boosted by lies seeking to take away more women’s rights.

The entire Republican party should be ashamed of themselves if they hurt our economy again with another senseless shutdown where everyone looses except the rich pundits!

Time for me to walk on down the road… 

How Do You Get To Your Happy Place and Stay There?

Good Day World!

Today, I’m asking what makes you happy and how do you stay that way?

First, here’s a quick test to see what floats your boat!

Positive psychology guru, Martin Seligman studied happiness and found these characteristics of happy people.

Part of the reason happiness often feels so elusive is that we don’t spend time really focusing on what we need in order to cultivate that happiness.

When we’re bogged down at work or flustered with unsuccessful attempts, more often than not we mostly just wallow in those feelings of frustration and hopelessness, rather than taking a moment to question what needs to change.

Change that. Take the time to explore what you really need to make yourself happy.

Here’s another helpful article:

How to Find Out What Makes You Happy

Life’s too short to be unhappy. Don’t you agree?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

What do you look for in a news story?

                                Good Day World!

When I was a newspaper editor back in the late 1970s the already old adage; “If a dog bites man – no story. But, if man bites dog – then you have a story,” was used to teach journalism students the basics in news gathering.

That 20th century advise has been given steroids in the 21st century.

Journalism students today must compete with other extreme (man not only bites dog, but eats dog and wears it skin over his face) stories that need gotcha headlines.

What does it take to get your attention? Perhaps some of the examples listed below may apply:

Meth Lab Found in Taco Bell

Newly Released Dashcam Video Shows Police Shooting of Jonathan Ferrell

Man Accused Of Masturbating In Driveway 3 Times In A Week

Woman Tries Eating Crack Cocaine In Front Of Cops, Police Say

Florida Man Chews Off Fingerprints In Hopes Of Not Being ID'd

Headline writing has always been an art. Reading the evolution of headlines is a fascinating study into our culture. Try reading headlines from newspapers in the 1960s, or the 1880s, to see what I mean.

We are being bombarded from more news sources than ever before thanks to the internet and social media. The competition for your attention has never been greater.

If headlines today don’t instantly shock, disgust or amaze, they might as well be written in invisible ink!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Oh baby, baby! You’re looking good!

                               Good Day World!

How about a few pounds of cute? These babies are guaranteed to make you smile. Enjoy:

 

Left: this smiling Hedgehog baby has a grin that won’t end! The sleeping porker on the right is happily night night! Pics via Brain Jet

 

Left: baby Panda Bear saying hi! And this little owl on the right has eyes that are out-of-sight! Pics via Amazist

 

Left: wild kittens defy gravity, while this frog mom takes her offspring for a ride in the pond. Pics via Baby Animals

 

Left: a curious fox cub checks out his world and it’s bottle time for this long-necked baby giraffe. Pics via Amy Top

 

Left: friends of a feather – duckling and owl pals. This worried looking little kitten seems to be standing guard over the puppy. Pics via Shine On

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Misstatements, Stumbles, and Exaggerations: Where Was The Beef?

Good Day World!

Wednesday’s GOP debate was a meaningless function full of misstatements, stumbles, and exaggerations.

The format gave 11 presidential hopefuls a chance to tell Americans what they would do if they got elected.

That’s not exactly happened. It was more like Romper Room.

Viewers found out that:

* Donald Trump is so anti-vaccine (and clueless on the issue) that he was caught bullshitting about a two-year old boy who supposedly got a vaccine shot which gave him autism.

Study after study has shown no possible way that vaccines could cause autism, even in supposedly vulnerable children. You can read more about that body of medical research here.

* Some pundits say Carly Fiorina won the debate. I’m not sure how they arrived at that conclusion. All I know is she really exaggerated when she said she grew jobs while CEO of Hewlett Packard after a merger.

* Chris Christie flat out lied when he said: "I was named U.S. attorney by President Bush on September 10th, 2001," as a way of proving his 9/11 credentials. He was actually appointed U.S. attorney by George W. Bush on December 8, 2001.

Then there was the dull, plodding Ben Carson looking bored most of the time. Compared to his old job of shilling snake oil it was a dull gig. 

In case you didn’t know, Dr. Carson has shilled for a modern snake oil nutritional supplement company Mannatech (yes, manna-tech, they wanted the religious overtones of naming it after the miraculous God-bread that fell from the sky in the Old Testament, combined with, y’know, modern science and technology).

What’s wrong with Mannatech? That’s a good question, one that the folks over at the National Review have answered.

Viewers were left wondering what any of those clowns would really do in the Oval Office. They were all in lock-step about defunding Planned Parenthood, but what about our countries crumbling bridges and roads?

What about a foreign policy? They made the mandatory threats about Iran as pabulum for the clueless on world affairs, and assured us they were all conservatives (like that was something to brag about).

Sigh.

Timer for me to walk on down the road…

Back by Popular Demand! Meet the Booger Family

Good Day World!

The Booger family is back by popular demand!

It seems thousands of readers couldn’t get enough of this reality show when it appeared last June. So, in case you missed it here’s your chance to weigh in on this popular new reality show:

MEET THE BOOGERS

Travel through Texas with the Booger family as they gross out restaurant patrons throughout the Lone Star state.

Watch as Pa Booger, Ma Booger, daughters Mandy and Randy, and son Jim Bob blow diners minds with well-timed Booger battles. Listen to Booger family members as they explain their existence. Their mission in life.

Pa, a retired preacher and classic Booger collector, wants the world to know that there’s a place in the world for Boogers. He’s best known for his long stringy boogers.

Ma constantly catches her kids off-guard and blows a booger at them when they least expect it.

Twins Mandy and Randy have an ongoing argument over which has the better booger blower and which is the most accurate.

Jim Bob likes to eat boogers. And he’s not too particular.

Viewers will get to follow their adventures weekly as they travel about in their custom Bogermobile bus. At the end of every episode, viewers are asked to send in the names of restaurants they’d like to see them appear at.

Related video:

See the world’s biggest booger!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

I’m taking a blog break but there’s still stuff to view for you

                                       Good Day World!

Once a year I take a one-week blog break. It helps charge my creative batteries. I’ll be gone from September 9th through the 16th.

I would like to point out that the right side of this page offers viewers a number of options to explore.

I have articles from when I was a columnist for The Times-Standard newspapers in Eureka California, prior blog posts going back to 2008, links to my book Rafter’s Redemption, a fiction book in progress, and social media links.

 

Taxpayers are Paying for Kim Davis’ Hypocritical Run for Sainthood!

I sure would hate to be a taxpayer in Kentucky – especially lately – with a county clerk (Kim Davis) that refuses to do her job, but expects to get paid while she square-dances with religious zealots like Mike Huckabee and Mat Staver (representing the well-documented hate group Liberty Counsel).

After the judge released her today – taking some wind out of the Release Kim Davis Day, she promptly lumbered up some steps of a hastily-erected grandstand and told her fans she wasn’t done yet.

Translation for taxpayers: she is NOT going to do her job and she expects you to pay for her 15-minutes of fame. The judge warned her to not hinder the five deputy clerks now issuing everyone marriage licenses.

Mind you, Davis doesn’t have her name on these newly issued marriage licenses, but that doesn’t matter. She now feels emboldened to further defy the laws of the land (of which she took an oath to obey) and says she doesn’t even want any marriage licenses to gays being issued out of “her office.”

Apparently Davis feels pretty safe to flaunt the Supreme Court decision in a county where being country clerk is a family affair. As a matter of fact Davis has visions of more airtime (extending her 15 minutes of fame to 30 minutes).

As long as there are other hypocrites (Davis whose been married to four men, basically violating the tenants of the very church she goes to) and religious zealots jumping up and down waving posters depicting her as a crucified Christian woman, she’s going to ride that wave of intolerance for everything it’s worth.

Meanwhile, the taxpayers in her district have to continue paying her salary while she seeks sainthood.

Time for me to walk on down the road…  

A Buddhist Fraternity and Sorority? Why Not?

                                 Good Day World!

Most people associate Greek college fraternity's with wild parties, and not much else.

You can’t blame them. When was the last time you heard a story about a college fraternity doing something really positive?

But that could be changing soon.

Imagine having a Buddhist fraternity as an alternative to Greek? Guess what?

Planning is underway for a Buddhist fraternity and sorority at a school known for its partying reputation; San Diego State University.

Credit Jeff Zlotnik, founder of the Dharma Bum Temple in downtown San Diego with this idea. Instead of learning how to guzzle beer in prodigious quantities, members of this new frat could be learning how to focus better and get good grades!

I like the way he thinks.

His vision is a marked contrast to what’s currently available. He plans on offering classes in Buddhism and meditation to help college students cope with stress, anxiety and depression.

But don’t worry. This isn’t a sneaky backdoor attempt to recruit Buddhists disguised as a fraternity.

"We're not looking to start this heavy religious organization," Zlotnik told The San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1NbV83R). "This is a cultural organization. We're not trying to create ordained Buddhists."

But why stop with just a Buddhist frat?

This is the 21st century. How about an Italian fraternity (can’t you just see hand gestures becoming a trend)? I bet you could probably come up with a few yourself.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Stoner Network Looks Like A Cool Place To Hang Out

Good Day World!

It was only a matter of time.

Finally, a social network for stoners.

As an old hippie, I never thought I’d see the day when the majority of Americans were for marijuana legalization.

With 23 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC and Oregon becoming the fourth state to legalize recreational marijuana, the writing is on the wall: Legal marijuana is finally having it’s day in the sun.

Sometimes I feel like pinching myself when I read stories like this stoner network article:

“MassRoots (^MSRT), which launched in 2013 and went public on the over-the-counter market in April of this year, has filed an application to have its shares listed on the Nasdaq.

The company bills itself as one of the "largest and most active communities of cannabis consumers," a place where people can find smoking buddies, share experiences and connect with local dispensaries.

MassRoots hopes a move to the Nasdaq will help it garner more interest from institutional investors and help bring legitimacy to a burgeoning legal American marijuana industry that’s still operating in the shadows even as public sentiment toward the drug is changing.

But MassRoots still has to win the Nasdaq's approval, a process that can take weeks and requires the company's share price to rise above $3, among other requirements. MassRoots shares were trading at around $1.38 a share on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of around $60 million.”

FOR THE RECORD

There’s two other cannabis-related companies, GW Pharmaceuticals (^GWPH) and Insys Therapeautics (^INSY) — both medical marijuana companies — that already trade on the Nasdaq.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Babies and dogs that will leave you smiling

(These best buds were born on the same day and share a strong bond. Photo source)

                                             Good Day World!

It’s time for a massive overload of cuteness!

We love out pets in America. Taking care of them is a billion dollar industry. Taking pictures of dogs and babies is guaranteed to be popular. Enjoy:

 

                               (Google common images)

At sleep, or playing, these adorable pals set the bar on cuteness.

 

                                (Google common images)

Left – Ready to party! Right – A room with a view

                              (Google common images)

First encounter: these two already see eye-to-eye!

 

                              (Google common images)

Left – Surprised Pug meets new member of the family. Right – Hoodie pals forever!

 

                           (Google common images)

Left – These buddies are ready to fly. Right – these two cuties show how to share at mealtime.

Time for me to walk on down the road…