Willie the Parrot is honored for saving a little girl's life!

Here's a good one from the Associated Press this morning....

A parrot whose cries of alarm alerted his owner when a little girl choked on her breakfast has been honored as a hero.

Willie, a Quaker parrot, has been given the local Red Cross chapter's Animal Lifesaver Award.

In November, Willie's owner, Megan Howard, was baby-sitting for a toddler. Howard left the room and the little girl, Hannah, started to choke on her breakfast.

Willie repeatedly yelled "Mama, baby" and flapped his wings, and Howard returned in time to find the girl already turning blue.

Howard saved Hannah by performing the Heimlich maneuver but said Willie "is the real hero."

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Ft. Leonard Wood in 1969: a viewer from my old AIT in Missouri checks in today and I get all nostalgic...

  I was checking out where readers were coming from this morning when I ran across one from Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri who read my post "Liars! Liars! Liars! Sen. Chris Dodd caught lying about AIG bonus backing." Memories came back like ghosts in the night, as I recalled my past association with this old Army fort. Don't get me wrong. Those days don't bring a lot of smiles. I hated the place and thought it's nickname "Fort Lost In The Woods" was appropriate.    

  

  I did my Army Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. The photos are via photobucket.com  (also thanks to Veterans of Military Service at rallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums.yuku.com... )

I'd like to point out that this link is about someone (the only name I could find was Gschwertly which I presume is his last name) who was also in Ft. Leonard Wood while I was there in 1969. He was in a different company, and had a different MOS. But, when I read his piece about revisiting that fort and his memories there, it shook some cobwebs loose and I reluctantly went down memory lane too.

As you can see there wasn't much privacy in those days(left). The building on the right is a mess hall.

Our wooden barracks were also leftovers from WW II. They were heated with wood-burning stoves, and being on "Fire Watch" was a serious duty then. I was in Bravo Company, 31 AIT. I went to a two-week leadership course prior to joining B Company (some DI thought I looked big enough at six-foot-two, 200 pounds, to lead the training cycle). The only reason I did it was the promise of eating with the NCO's (food meant a lot to me as I was a growing boy) who got the best food. I wore a blue pull-over arm patch with a Star and Master Sgt.'s rank on it, and was expected to call the company to attention from everything from morning roll call, to the time they were dismissed for the day.

I had to lead the company marching, running, and everything else that was done. My sense of cadence was lousy and pretty soon our training NCO pulled out one of the trainees with a big mouth (and sense of rhythm), and let him call out the cadence. It worked for me because by then I was reduced to croaking.

My worst memories were those days we tromped through the snow in the Big Piney Woods on training exercises, like reading maps and using a compass. We had to slog through the frozen land at night while learning how to read the stars to navigate.

Perhaps the greatest irony (at least to me) was all of this training in the snow when I would be going to a tropical land. Most of us knew we were "Nam bait." During my basic at Ft. Ord, California, I training with the M-14 rifle. By the time I went to AIT all combat troops had to qualify with an M-16. Memories of shooting from the prone, and sitting position, in a pile of frozen snow while trying to pick out white camouflaged targets, leave me cold today!

I went from the snow into the frying pan, to the place our DI's called "The Nam" in 1970. I was a Combat Engineer (31st Eng.Bn) and spent most of my time there sweeping for mines on lonely roads wondering how I could have thought my training was so hard. I would have gladly gone back and tromped through that snow again, if it were possible. But, as usual, reality trumped my dreams.

As It Stands, this little trip down memory lane was good for me, because I realize how lucky I am to be here now.

March Madness: Let's just pay the players and declare college sports a business that can pay taxes, like other corporate businesses in America!

    I was in the March Madness mood until two things happened; UCLA (my favorite college basketball team) got clobbered Saturday in the tournament, and LA Times columnist, Kurt Streeter’s recent assertion that college basketball is a charade “steeped in double-talk about amateurism and academics.”
     Streeter feels the players are pawns in the NCAA system. He reminds us that it’s the school and the coaches who are really cashing in on “amateur sports.” In fact, he comes right out and calls the whole athletic system in colleges a business.
      According to Streeter, the NCAA will get about $6 billion from CBS for the current TV deal, which ends in 2013. If you throw in corporate sponsorships, it gets harder to pass the smell test. How is it that a non-profit, tax-exempt entity claiming “educational mission” makes millions for coaches and the school?
      If the players are pawns in this money-making, tax-dodging scheme, perhaps they should be let in on the gravy train. Oh yeah. There’s that sticky amateur thing. Apparently it only applies to students who have no part in the money-making process, other than to perform like trained chimps under their ringmaster, aka coach.
       Let’s face it. This whole sham is a circus on tour. What some people may not realize is that the players may be pawns in this stinking system, but they have pride in their performance when they go out to play. They’re young men, full of testosterone, and always sure to give their best efforts.
       What a deal for the schools and the coaches. Nothing like a real show of passion to pump TV ratings. Meanwhile, most of these hard-working athletes don’t even graduate.
       That’s a fact that Richard Lapchick, director of University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, confirmed to the press when he admitted “we still have a ways to go,” regarding student-athletes graduation rates.
       Perhaps the most ironic part of Streeter’s column was the part about honest student-athletes having to lean on their families for help. This suggestion that there are some athletes who are not honest, is troubling. I think we all have seen examples of exceptional student-athletes that got a lot of expensive goodies, or “jobs” that involved doing nothing.
        Do you remember Chris Webber? I’m probably dating myself here. He’s one of the poster pro basketball players that was pampered by a college system that demanded wins in order to get better TV ratings.
         My point, after all of this rambling, is why not pay all the players up front and take another look at college’s tax exempt status? Make them pay taxes on this unethically earned money in the name of amateurism. Open capitalism is surely more ethical than “behind the door profits” earned while masquerading as a non-profit educational institute!
         As It Stands, in a time when transparency is called for from corporate America, we need to put colleges on that list.

Sunday, March 22: As It Stands shares some interesting results on who Americans respect and who they loath!

   There were some surprises as I read over the results of the latest Gallup Poll on Most and Least respected professions in America today. I think you'll find the results interesting, at the very least. Click here to read As It Stands in today's Times-Standard.

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Good grief Charlie Brown! The Great Pumpkin has gone crazy!

image via www.davesdaily.com

Welwitschia Mirabilis: This plant is really a one-of-a-kind...

  

It's not pretty to look at, but Namibia's plant Welwitschia Mirabilis can truly claim to be one of a kind. There really is nothing like it. Welwitschia plant consists of only two leaves and a sturdy stem with roots. That's all! Two leaves continue to grow until they resemble the shaggy mane of some sci-fi alien. The stem thickens, rather than gains in height , and can grow to be almost 2 meters high and 8 meters wide. Their estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years.

(image on left thanks to: via)

(Image on right thanks to: Botanik-Fotos.de, photo by Karlheinz Knoch)

Pat Buchanan says President Obama is 'too familiar' with 'common citizens'

   I took a few minutes and was watching Hardball on MSNBC (around 4:10 p.m.) and wasn't surprised by Buchanan's take on the president's familiarity with the general public.

   He thinks Obama should act more dignified (can you say aloof?) and not do such shocking things as taking his coat off in the White House!

Conservative guru Buchanan, tried running for the presidency twice; in 1992, 1996, and 2000 and lost every time. Now he thinks he's an expert on presidential demeanor. Just look at his hang-dog face and tell me that Pat is an inspiration to anyone!

   I know there are still some desperate conservatives crawling around in the political wasteland of the Republican Party trying to find someone to rally around.

  If GOP adherents plan to get out of their quagmire they better stop listening to elitists like Buchanan who secretly wishes we had a King and not a president for the people.

I suppose I should be questioning MSNBC for having him as a mainstay and calling him the nation's leading conservative voice. Don't MSNBC executives understand that Buchanan is a dinosaur who thinks women's place is in the home (barefoot and pregnant by the only accepted sex position - the missionary position!)?

The idea that we now have a president who doesn't claim to be doing the will of God, but instead that of the people, is unnerving to Republican acolytes. After all, they enjoy wielding power from an ivory tower! Perhaps I shouldn't be concerned that Buchanan is still influencing ideological blank minds.

He can serve as another splinter of the fractured GOP. That, in itself, is probably the best thing I can think about Buchanan being called a "leading conservative." As long as the Elephant heads want to argue among themselves, they won't be a challenge to the Democrats in 2012. So bring on more demigods and liven up the GOP Party!

As It Stands, Obama is doing all the right things, and it's pissing off his detractors (the majority of the Republican Party), but is playing well with the American people.

photo via Wikipedia

Public Outrage: The Latest Revelation about AIG and Some History

Thanks to Talking Points Memo, here are some great links to understand what's happening with this whole AIG scandal.

The Rise and Costly Fall of AIG's Cowboy Division

Is Former AIGFP Chief Cassano Vulnerable To Fraud Charges? ... Cassano's Lawyer Is White Collar Crime Expert ... AIG Gives Names Of Bonus Recipients To Cuomo ... AIG Suing Gov't For Return Of Taxes

Zack Roth (TPM) takes us through a brief history of AIGFP, the financial products division that brought AIG to its knees.

--David Kurtz/  image via TPM - via solo/ozuma Press

Lakers continue winning even though it was an ugly game to watch!

 The Lakers had to infuse some suspense in their game with Golden State last night against a team they haven't lost to this season (three prior match ups)! They let an 18 point lead shrink down to 3 points in the 4th quarter last night, before pulling out the Epson Salt and taking deep whiffs. They awoke enough to regain control of the game with a final score of 114 to 106. The Laker Bench Mob at least looked better than they have in the last couple of weeks. Sasha Vujacic found his shooting touch at just the right time. Josh Powell continues to impress. Luke Walton even had a good game.  THERE'S LAKER FANS EVERYWHERE...

Kobe Bryant sat through a jury selection process Thursday, and was part of the group that were cut by lawyers on both sides. No duty for Kobe, but... 

According to the celebrity-driven website TMZ.com, the judge asked Bryant what he does for a living:

"I play professional basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers," was his response.

Said the judge: "Go Lakers!"

Blind justice. A wonderful thing.

Having clinched the Pacific Division title and a playoff spot so early the Lakers have little incentive to play hard now.

I have to admit that the Lakers seem to be lacking motivation, or the killer instinct that will be needed to win it all in the Playoffs.

SOME GOOD NEWS...depending on how you look at it:

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, recently said  Bynum's not likely to be available to play until the Playoffs start. There was a hope that he would get in a few regular season games to hone his skills. I suspect that he will be a little rusty against the Mavs (most likely opponent in the first round.

Photo by Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times)

Growing Trend: Michigan joins California & Other States in making medical marijuana legal

FROM THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE THIS MORNING...

As Michigan's medical marijuana law takes full effect next month, sufferers of chronic pain and other ailments cheer while police predict problems

By Tim Jones | Tribune correspondent

March 20, 2009

PAW PAW, Mich.—At first glance they look like old pals, maybe a bunch from the Rotary Club leisurely gabbing away over the hamburger special, making the waitress work overtime for her tip.
But these guys are different. Their eyes, their fidgeting and their restlessness betray a shared bond of chronic pain, sleepless nights, depression and a reliance on heavy-duty prescription drugs. Around this lunchtime table, they talk about the only thing that gives them a measure of peace, the only thing that, for perhaps a few hours, sets them free: marijuana.
They've been smoking or eating marijuana for years—privately and illegally. And now, because Michigan voters approved marijuana use for the treatment of certain serious maladies, Bob White soon will be able to get himself together in his Three Rivers home "without having to draw the shades."Ron Stephens, who has a chronic neck disorder and depression, built his own marijuana "grow room" with high-powered lights and reflective paper on the walls. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Tribune photo / March 12, 2009) Read the whole article here.

World's Heaviest Insect: Giant Beetles weigh up to a quarter pound!

 

Goliath Beetles weigh almost a quarter pound (think about a burger), and are the heaviest insects in the world. Being a species of a scarab beetle (which plays a major part in Ancient Egypt mythology), these creatures live mostly in Africa - but a beetle on the lower right image - Megasoma acteon (caleóptero) - lives in Equador and can easily crawl up the map to North America, if it so desires. Center photos: Scarab beetles in Ancient Egypt apparently were as big as a dog... which is a scary thought.

(images via) at darkroastedblend.com