Dinosaurs - Making a Comeback!

In a potentially terrifying case of life imitating art, the renowned paleontologist who served as the inspiration for Jurassic Park protagonist Dr. Alan Grant is spearheading genetic research that could engineer dinosaurs back into existence within the next five to 10 years, he says. 

While Dr. Jack Horner, who has consulted on all four Jurassic films, initially believed the key to recreating the prehistoric creatures lied in working with ancient DNA strands, further study about DNA degradation over time has since ruled out that possibility. 

Instead, a group of scientists at Harvard and Yale have turned their eye to -- wait for it -- the modern-day chicken. “Of course, birds are dinosaurs," Horner told People magazine. "So we just need to fix them so they look a little more like a dinosaur."

--The above is from Geoff Weiss, a writer at Entrepreneur.com.


Well, I've got to pour a little water on this particular fire!  We don't need any more dinosaurs.  They supposedly went extinct eons ago.  What good would they be?

Furthermore, if you've not been stranded on a desert island for the past 50 years, you know we have a political party that is comprised almost entirely of human dinosaurs.

The halls of Congress are riddled with them.  Many state governors are parodies of them.  Dinosaur manure needs to be cleaned daily from our state legislatures!

These dinosaurs are stubbornly stuck in the past, unwilling to see the light, incapable of intelligent discussion or legislation, and fervently worship an ancient god of sacrifice at the altar of mammon - money!

To put it another way, they have, for the past 60-70 years, fought every progressive, humane, humanitarian, decent, worthwhile piece of legislation that has been proposed!  Fortunately, another party consisting primarily of non-dinosaurs, was able at times to pass laws that worked for the benefit of the common people in this country, and not the oligarchs.

These contemporary dinosaurs, as you know, are called Republicans.  To get a sense of their spurious beliefs and their deadly ideas as to how to run the country, listen to any of the 16 wannabees running for president as they rise from the darkness and flay us with their threats.

One example should suffice:  T'he dinosaur governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has just recently cut $200,000 of the state's budget which was supposed to go to the university system, and gave it to the owners of a Milwaukee sports team to build a stadium.

Walker has said that if he's elected president, he will repeal Obamacare on his first day.  He can't do that, of course, but it plays well with the base still stuck in the tar sands.  He also said one of his first actions would be to nuke the deal with Iran.


A final thought:  Perhaps dinosaurs recreated from chickens isn't such a bad idea.  They'd certainly have more common sense and discernment than the group of dinosaurs which currently defines the Repugnican Party!

Sam Harris simply destroys Christianity

Jesus: the cover-up

RWW News: Robertson to Obama: Listen To 'Fellow Africans,' Ban Homosexau...

A "Christian" Flag Flew Over An Alabama Police Station

The town is Glencoe, Alabama.

The city fathers thought it a good thing to fly, not just the U.S. flag and the Alabama state flag, but also the Christian flag over the town's police station.

Well, yeah, there might be a few non-Christians in town, but who cares.  They have to understand this here's a Christian nation, and if they don't like it, they can move elsewhere!

Except that is bullshit.  The U.S. is not a "Christian" nation and never was, in spite of the fact that a lot of so-called Christians live within its borders.

Furthermore, the so-called "Christian" flag is a relatively recent invention.  It was first conceived on Long Island, New York, in 1897 and spread out from there.  Now, while many denominations use the flag, it really has very little meaning.   I'll bet that 99% of Christians could not even describe it correctly.

Today, many churches have both the U.S. flag and the Christian flag placed usually in the front of the building or on the chancel/altar area.  I can understand the Christian flag but why the U.S. flag?  Their message is that God loves all people equally; that Jesus went to the cross so that ALL people all over the world could be saved through faith in him.  God's love is not limited to people in the United States.  That's the message they preach.

Of course they don't believe that.  They just mouth the words.  We see that hypocrisy every day in every way in every community in this country.  And because they don't believe their own mission is precisely the reason they put the US flag in their churches; it's as if their lack of faith can be covered up by flying the country's flag.

But the US flag has no place in a Christian church.  The only flag that should be flying in the chancel of a Christian church is the Christian flag and even that makes very little sense.

I've always thought the Christian flag was kind of a joke.  Why do Christians need their own flag?  Are they marching to Pretoria, or to Jerusalem, or to Chicago?  Do they need a banner of their own to which they can pledge their allegiance.  Isn't their pledge of allegiance to their Christ enough?


What happened in Glencoe, is that the atheist organization, Freedom from Religion, threatened to file suit arguing that the Christian flag does not belong on a city police station.  The town fathers caved rather quickly because, they said, they didn't have the money to defend themselves in a lawsuit.

In that regard they were smart.  They doubtless realized they would lose.  The law is against them, the Constitution is against them.  And even if the good Christians of Glencoe came out in droves to protest this attack against their religion, their protests are to no avail.  Sorry, Charlie, but you can put the Christian flag in your homes, in your churches, in your vehicles, in your bathrooms, but it is not to wave over your city police station!

And why do Christians do these stupid things?  Are they so unsure of their faith they have to fly a flag to prove they really believe?  Do they think God's gonna get 'em if they don't have the Christian flag flying over their police station?  Do they want to offend non-believers, the people they are supposed to be loving in order to win them for Jesus?

None of it makes much sense to me.

You can read more about the origins and development of the Christian flag here.

Zach Johnson thanks Jesus for his Open victory

I thought he was going to make it.  I really did.  He was humble, and polite and said all the things expected of the Open champ as he stood in front of the officials and the gallery at St. Andrews last Monday.

It went down hill when he started thanking people.  And he thanked everybody.  He thanked his wife,  his caddie, all the folks at St. Andrews who worked so hard to pull off the tournament.  He thanked everyone who turned out to watch him win in a playoff and to all the people who ever had anything to do with golf since it was invented in Scotland.

In other words, he went on and on and it was very nice.  But then as he wound down his remarks, he bowed his head meekly and said something to the effect that he wanted also to thank his Lord Jesus who gave him the strength to carry on to victory.


Zach Johnson seems like a nice guy.  He certainly is a good golfer.  But he blew it for me when he pretended that God gave him the victory at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, a few years back and he blew it again with this paean to the legendary Jesus after his win at St. Andrews.

Zach is a fundamentalist Christian and has been written up in the extreme Pentecostal Charisma magazine.  He has the right to believe anything he wants and I will defend his right to express his religious notions.  But, please, if the man really thinks there's some sort of deity, the god responsible for creating and running the universe, who gives a rat's ass as to who wins a golf tournament, even if it is the (British) Open, he's delusional.

So, go ahead and keep playing golf, Zach, but please ask your Lord to keep you the hell away from political office!  We've got enough asshats in Congress and in other political offices who live under the delusion they have received the Word from their "god" to remake our country into some kind of fundamentalistic Christian theocracy!

One final note:  There are a number of fundamentalist Christians on the PGA Tour.  I would think that if they agreed with Zach's notion that his Lord Jesus helped him win the tournament they'd be pretty pissed off.  Why didn't God help them win?  Is Zach so special?  Is he more pious than the rest of the Bible-thumpers?

[Photo from http://www.thesandtrap.com]

Quiz Show (Bible Contradictions)

Flags and Treasonous Fathers

The following is part of a longer essay which appeared on Daily Kos.  It was written by Joan Jacobsen who is a Civil War historian.


Because of hurt feelings in the South, because of the “Lost Cause”-myth and because of the general American adulation of anything or anyone wearing a uniform … a cultural trait which honestly confounds and bewilders many non-Americans … the Confederate soldiers and leaders are considered heroes to this day. Great men who fought valiantly for a “Lost Cause”.

But it is a lie.

They were traitors to their nation. There is no other term that applies. I realize that they felt differently, and that for example Robert E. Lee felt saddened by the rebellion, while at the same time feeling that Virginia was his "country" and that he couldn't take up arms against it. But Virginia was not an independent country, nor was any other state. I find it difficult to believe that highly educated men like the Confederate leaders generally were, did not know the difference between a confederation of independent nations and a federation of states. The issue of "states rights" did not make each state an independent, autonomous nation. States rights simply gave each state a certain level of autonomy on some issues. Today, we'd call that kind of thing "home rule" and it is still in use in various parts of the world. It gives certain areas or territories, such as Greenland, which is formally a part of Denmark, the right to self-determination on certain internal affairs, although they are still subject to being overruled by the parliaments of the "mother country". The same thing went for the rebel states in 1861. They could make decisions on internal affairs, subject to being overruled by the federal government.

This included the issue of slavery. While ostensibly an internal affair, a federal emancipation of the slaves would have overruled the legislation of the individual states.

This was not only known to the state assemblies in the rebel states. It was precisely the reason why they seceded. Ergo, they acknowledged that states rights were superceded by federal legislation. It was never, as later Confederate apologists would have us believe, a matter of the federal government overreaching. The precise and exact reason why the rebel states seceded was because they knew they were subordinate to the federal government, and they wouldn't accept it.

That makes their act of secession treason by definition.


Please read the entire article here.

Gun Nuts Guarding the Military - The Downside

I suppose there are rare occasions when handguns might be useful.  Maybe your gun would be effective if an intruder were in your home and you got the drop on him/her.  But it's my understanding that in such situations people can freeze, or shoot wildly, so there's always the chance you'd shoot your spouse or one of your children, or miss the intruder, in which he or she shoots you dead.

There are very few situations when a gun is going to help you defend yourself if you are a normal, law-abiding citizen going about minding your own business.  If you get into a verbal fight, it could escalate to the point your opponent might draw a gun and shoot you.  But you probably wouldn't have a chance to respond because you'd be dead.

If you were in a road-rage situation and your antagonist stops his car, pulls a gun and shoots you, it's lights out.  Same goes if he slows down and you try to pass him.  Bang, you're dead!

Or let's say you're in a movie theater watching a movie when some crackpot sneaks in the back and, standing in the shadows, opens fire with an AK47.  That wee little gun in a holster on your hip will probably do you no good at all because your first reaction is going to be to dive under a seat.  And if you lift your head to get a shot at the perpetrator dressed in black standing in the dark you're likely to get your brains blown into the next county.

It is a rare situation where you will be able to perceive a mortal threat via a handgun or any kind of gun in time to react accordingly.


I've already commented on the fact that the Second Amendment does not authorize every man, woman and child in the U.S. to be armed with any number or kind of weapon available.  In fact, it has very little to do with individuals at all.  It has to do with a "well-regulated" militia such as a state's National Guard.  Members of such a "militia" shall have the right to arm themselves.

Additionally, I've noted that in the real Wild West, contrary to the Hollywood version, people were generally disallowed from carrying weapons in the towns cropping up in the hinterland.  The leaders of these towns were adults who understood the danger of having armed citizens wandering around carrying Colts on their belts, especially after they had a few belts at the local saloon.

Unfortunately, we have an awful lot of non-grownups in this country who have been fed a line of bullshit by the NRA and who have come to believe they should not only be able to own whatever weapon their miserable little hearts desire, but should also be able to carry them openly into any venue they so please, no matter if it scares the crap out of normal people; no matter if they're angry, no matter if they're drunk, no matter if they're crazy!

It is estimated that there are 283 million guns loose in the United States.  Approximately 30,000 people are killed by guns in this country every year.  That record is worse than most every other industrialized nation.


Doubtless you have heard of the recent shooting at a military recruitment center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  All told, five people were killed, including four marines.  A similar shooting took place in Little Rock in 2009.

This has led the gun nuts to cry for, naturally, more guns.  Politicians and other crazy people are yelping that we must arm the military personnel in the recruitment centers.  Give them all guns and all will be well.

But, the military authorities have been slow to act.  They know a little bit about guns and the dangers involved and are making no rash decisions.  They might even be trying to determine if the outcome would have been different had the military personnel in the recruitment center been armed.

Then there are the wackos and rednecks who have decided to defend the military who defend us.  It's only right, they say.  These military people who fight for our freedom should be spared from attack, they say.  So, civilians, armed with a variety of weapons, are now taking turns guarding the military in Chattanooga.

Let that seep into your consciousness for a few minutes.
 

I have a message for all you civilian guards with guns:

First:  If you are so enthralled with guns and military action and the possibility of dying, then join the Army.  Give it your all, not just an hour or two.  If this is so important to you, become one with those "defending our freedoms."  Put yourself in the ring of fire!

Secondly:  A word of advice and a word of warning:  Be very, very careful and be very vigilant.  And be prepared to die.

Here's why:  As I understand it, the situation in Chattanooga was a drive-by shooting involving automatic weapons.  If you're standing in front of that recruiting center and a car drives by and sprays hundreds of bullets in a few seconds, you will most certainly expire on the spot.

And sadly, I'd guess you are not a Muslim and therefore will not have 72 virgins awaiting your arrival in Paradise.  Damn!

Depends on whose ox is gored

First of all, I do not think John McCain is a hero.  He even says he's not a hero.  His record as a Naval aviator is less than heroic.  He graduated at the bottom of his class from the Naval Academy.  His poor flying skills cost the Navy several planes. He was shot down over North Vietnam because he disobeyed orders not to fly that day.  To be shot down doth not a hero make.

Nevertheless, he spent five years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese.  No matter what happened in those five years, he suffered through them as a military officer of the United States Navy.

It is, therefore, less than stupid to cast aspersions on the man for getting captured as The Donald has done recently.  Does Mr. Trump have any military record whatsoever?  Does Mr. Trump have the wherewithall to give up five years of his life, to be treated harshly, beaten on numerous occasions, with no hope on the horizon?  My god, what would happen to his hair?

Republicans, especially those other 15 running for president, don't seem to hold much affection for Mr. Trump.  Why, they've been literally falling all ass over heels to suggest that Mr. Trump should never say such nasty things about Mr. McCain.  One should never castigate a veteran of the US military.  It's just terrible, what Mr. Trump has done!


Ho, ho.  What a crock!  What a flock of hypocrites!  When little Buski the 2nd was running for a 2nd term, his opponent, Mr. John Kerry, was vilified by the Republicans as a phony, as a faux hero, as one who had doctored records, one who was using his military service as a means of gaining votes.

And the president's brother, the guv of Florida supported them!

On January 1, 2005, Governor Jeb Bush wrote a letter to Colonel Day of the Swift Boaters on his official stationary.  It said, in part:

"Colonel Day, I know you'll be joining other Swifties--POWs in Orlando soon.  Please let them know that I am personally appreciative of their service to our nation.  As someone who truly understands the risk of standing up for something, I simply cannot express in words how much I value their willingness to stand up against John Kerry.  Their efforts, like their service to our country, speak volumes about what matters most."

[An aside:  I don't know what the hell ol' Jeb risked to stand up for except the chance of going to jail for doing everything legal and illegal in his power to get his brother elected four years earlier!  Other than that, he led a charmed life with more money than he knew what to do with.]

If you were around in 2004-2005 you may remember "the vicious campaign Republicans waged against John Kerry for his service in Vietnam ... Secretary of State Kerry received not one, not two, but three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star during his combat time in Vietnam.  [I'd add he served in a particularly difficult situation in that war.]  Nevertheless, Republicans mocked and belittled his military service throughout the campaign.  It was a key feature of the 2004 Republican National Convention, when delegates and supporters wore cutesy purple bandages in an effort to degrade the Purple Hearts Kerry was awarded."


None of this should surprise anyone.  Lies, deceit, gaming the system - this characterizes the Republican Party as a whole.


Thanks for Daily Kos for some of the above material.

Fracking the Poor

From early on I realized that Christianity in all its myriad forms was not about the legendary Jesus, but mostly had to do with the establishment and perpetuation of a religious institution which quite quickly became a method for controlling a population, which was formalized when the emperor Constantine came to power in the 4th century.

Today, with some exceptions, Christianity continues on that course set so long ago.  In the United States, it is, for most adherents, the basis for their capitalistic economic policy and the basis for the laws they wish to enact to bend all citizens to their will.

The result of this has been a growing "wealth gap."  In the past 40-50 years, the rich have become much richer and the rest of us much poorer.  The middle-class has shriveled and the poor have been left out of the conversation, often because they are considered to be lay-abouts and shirkers.  If you listen to Republican presidential wannabees you'll hear about their concern for the middle-class, which, when you consider the sources of their finances, is very suspect, but you hear little or nothing of concern for the poor.  It was Jeb Bush, the scion of the very wealthy Bush dynasty, who said recently that the poor need to work harder and longer hours.

Kai Wright, in an article titled, "What Recovery?", [Harper's Magazine, August 2015], clarifies the economic situation:

"Not counting the elderly, among whom Social Security has driven a sharp and lasting decline in poverty, a greater share of Americans are poor today than at any time since the 1960s.  In the United States in 2013, 45.3 million people lived below the official poverty line, with incomes of less than $12,000 a year for a two adult, two-child family.  A third of them were children.  Twenty million people live in what economists call deep poverty, with incomes of less than half the official poverty line.  That's almost three times the number of people who lived in deep poverty in 1976."

President Lyndon Johnson introduced legislation that declared a "war on poverty" in his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964.  The national poverty rate at that time was about 19 percent.  The "war" worked for awhile, but by the end of the 60s few people cared anymore.

Today, our millionaires in Congress and in our state legislatures, don't give a damn about the poor as they are funded by and beholden to the very rich.  Thus, they worry about projecting their beliefs upon the people and they pass legislation to control the lives of their constituents, such as the recent abortion bill signed by the wacko governor of Wisconsin.  They worry about drilling for oil in such places as Florida's Everglades.  They worry about oil pipelines which would profit very few but put millions in danger.  They protect practices such as fracking which are a clear and present danger to the citizens.  They get involved in privatizing our prisons and our schools which has no benefit except to their friends who pocket the public monies involved.  They worry about pleasing an ancient deity who they, in their delusions, believe will protect our country if we just put up signs and monuments in his name.

And they're very, very good.  They've conned so many people with their smooth talking ways that they continue to be voted into office in spite of the fact that their actions are constantly detrimental to the needs of those same people.

God help us!  (That's a satirical comment!)

Repent of Your Unbelief

Lordy, lordy!  I love this.  Found it on YborCityStogie.

It's a sign for all Republicans and DINOs and other political and religious neanderthals. 

Trust Jesus!  Yes!

And here's what that means (according to what the New Testament Jesus taught): 

1.  Give away your money as rich people are going to hell.
2.  Tend to the sick.
3.  Feed the hungry.
4.  Visit those in prison.
5.  Don't judge other people.
6.  Understand that we are all related.
7.  Pay your taxes.
8.  Forgive others.
9.  Know that God loves all people equally.

It does not mean:

1.  Go to church.
2.  Believe your pastor.
3.  Take the Bible literally.
4.  Oppose all abortions.
5.  Be a political conservative.
6.  Oppose gay marriage.
7.  Insist on going to war in the Middle East.
8.  Worry about the "End Times."
9.  Believe that the U.S. of A. is special in God's eyes.


I would further suggest that to trust the Jesus of the New Testament means to promote an economic system that is fair to all people, a health system that provides health care for all people, and a tax system that ensures the rich pay their fair share!

The Continued Confusion of Delusional Christian Crackpots

[Photo of Franklin Graham pretending to speak for his god.]


You may remember the goofy Christian televangelist, Jim Bakker, who got into a lot of trouble a few years back when caught putting it to a woman other than his wife, Tammy Faye, she of the overblown hair and overdone makeup.

But that was not the worst of it.  He was tried for a couple versions of fraud and convicted.  He went to prison and Tammy Faye divorced him.

Well, believe it or not, Jimmy is back with a new wife and a new TeeVee program called, "The Jim Bakker Show," which features all kinds of screwballs - preachers and "Christian" rabbis who can predict the future based upon their interpretation of obscure biblical passages.

The latest message from Jimmy is that the agreement designed to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon is the cause of the drought in California.  Not only so, but is also a sign of the 2nd Coming of Christ (who, of course, never came the first time!)

The "End Times" is a favorite theme of these Christian TV crooks, and one recent guest, an Alabama pastor by name of John Kilpatrick, informed the viewers of the show that God is punishing America because of "abortions, idolatry, homosexuality and fornication."

You'd think his pissant little god would have better and bigger things to worry about.


Now to Scott Walker, the ethically-challenged governor of Wisconsin.  It seems every election season we get delusional candidates who claim their god wants them to be prezident!  Palin was one and Rick Perry another during the last go-round.

Walker has the same notion.  He sent out an email to his supporters which claimed he was running for president as that was God's plan for him.

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.  Sure wish this god would make up her mind!  And if this god wants Walker to be prez, she's the dumbest god I've ever heard about.


The right-wing Christianists are especially upset in these "End Times" with the Supreme Court ruling which gave homosexuals the right to marry.  They pontificate as to how marriage has never changed, and how God commanded marriage to involve one man and one woman;  even from those, like The Donald, who believe in serial marriage.

You'd think people who claim to be Bible believers would know something about the Bible.  The old Hebrew patriarchs all had multiple wives and mistresses and of course, wise ol' King Solomon had the most of all.  A thousand.

Not only so, but their savior, Jesus, was born out-of-wedlock.  His parents were never married so far as the Bible story goes! 


You may have heard about David Barton.  Barton claims to be an historian but he's nothing more than a Christian right-wing nutcase who enjoys rewriting American history to suit his narrative that the US of A is a "Christian" country.

Barton, who, unfortunately, has a lot of clout with the so-called "evangelicals," has
commented on his "WallBuilders Live" radio program that in the GOP primary, Christians must not vote for any candidate who "will not pledge to nominate Supreme Court justices who will overturn the court's recent gay marriage ruling."

Then there's Tom DeLay, the crooked former Majority Leader in the House of Representatives.  When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the ruling by the Supremes relative to gay marriage was the "law of the land," DeLay called on members of Congress to ignore McConnell "and start punishing the entire federal court system for the gay marriage decision by cutting courts' budgets, limiting their jurisdictions and impeaching judge (sic)."

So much for the Constitution, heh, Mr. DeLay?


On a more humorous note:  One of the more extreme Christian crackpots is Janet Porter.  She is full of conspiracy tales and has put together an anti-gay film called, "Light Wins."  She also is more delusional than most and has an ego the size of California.

She has let us in on a little secret.  It was her prayers that got George W. Bushki elected prez, and thus it will be her prayers which will reverse the gay marriage ruling of the Supremes!


Franklin Graham is a disgrace, a disgusting and perverse man who gives his religion a black eye every time he opens his mouth.  He, like other Christian nutcases, believes it is President Obama's support for gay marriage that will usher in the "End Times."  I would think for someone who is so ill-equipped to deal with reality, this would be a good thing, but evidently not.

He also noted on his Facebook page that the decision by the White House to celebrate LGBT Pride month and the Supremes' "decision with Rainbow Colors may incite a lightning strike from an angry God."

My thought we would be so lucky if such a strike hit him in the ass!


And finally, I thought you'd like to know I ran into Jesus on the street the other day.  He was in central Florida because he was concerned about all the racism and hatred which continues to prevail in the area.  He thought it disturbing, especially when we have over 200 Baptist churches alone in our community.  

Actually, I didn't "run into" him.  I was walking by our downtown square when I noticed someone tending to one of our many homeless persons.  It was the Lord.  Jesus pulled out his iPhone and called 911 as the man was very ill.  Then he wiped the man's face and put his jacket around the man for he was shivering with the chills.  As the EMTs drove up, Jesus gave the man some money and blessed him by touching his head and chanting a few words which I didn't understand.

As the EMTs drove away, I asked Jesus about the coming election and about those who claim that God wants them to be president.  He looked puzzled and asked "Who are these people?"  I gave him some names.  He said, "I've never heard of them," and then went to tend to another homeless person sleeping on a bench. 

It's Just Fracking Flooding!

 [Image from thecontributors.com]

If you listen to most Republican politicians these days you would think fracking is one of the deity's greatest gifts to mankind.  This, in spite of the fact, that some folks in fracking areas find their water on fire!  

The politicians and their friends in the energy business to whom they are beholden continue to pressure states and communities to allow fracking.  The State of Texas recently forbade a Texas town from disallowing fracking within its borders.  Texas is crazy, of course, but still.

The following is part of an message by Ken Kimmel, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a message designed to garner public support for banning the practice of fracking:

It wasn't raining when the streets flooded around Arlington, Texas on a recent Saturday.

Dozens of families were evacuated from their homes as thousands of gallons of toxic fluid surged up from deep inside a fracking well through the city's storm drains and sewers and leaked into surrounding streams.¹

Yet when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally released a report on fracking after a five-year wait, they led with the headline that fracking doesn't represent a "systemic" risk to groundwater—despite noting numerous incidents of spills and leaks of fracking fluid at drilling sites like the one in Arlington within the report.

Unfortunately, the headline didn't capture the body of the report, but that's what the news outlets picked up on.²

Fracking companies and politicians will use the EPA's report for years to come to influence public policy. We need to make sure the final report provides a truly balanced look at the fracking risks we know about. The agency is accepting public input on it now, and we have just over a month to demand a more balanced statement from the EPA. One that takes into account the noted adverse effects and potential future contamination of drinking water resources through known pathways, spills, leaks, faulty well construction, subsurface migration, and wastewater disposal.


You can read more about the Union of Concerned Scientists and its work here.

Preventing a war with Iran

Alan Grayson Announces for U.S. Senate

Confederate Flag flying in Ocala, Florida

Florida is the deep south.  People sometimes forget that.  We've probably got more out-and-out racists, KuKluxers, and other crazies than most other southern states.

Marion County is in the north central part of the state.  It's a beautiful place with rolling hills, tons of horse farms, huge forests and a gazillion lakes.

It is also a hotbed of ultra-conservative racists who vote ultra-conservative racists into public office.  The city of Ocala is the county seat of Marion County.  Ocala, by reputation, attracts ultra-conservative racists from the north.  Ocala teems with such nut-cases.  The political leaders in this area hold unconstitutional public prayer events in the public squares and they're not praying to Allah or Zeus, but to their own particular version of the old Hebrew god, Yahweh, aka Jesus.

Following the recent shooting in a North Carolina church, the racist commissioners of Marion County decided it might be wise, politically speaking, to remove the Confederate flag flying at the Veteran's Memorial in Ocala.  So they did.

A few local rabid racists became all excited.  Y'all are desecrating our heritage, they cried.

The racist commissioners of Marion County were so moved by such an emotional challenge that they changed their collective minds and ordered that the Confederate flag be flown once agin at thet thar Veteran's memorial jest to honor the good ol' heritage of the south, ya know.

Oh, and they're gonna put a plaque there 'splaining that this flag ain't about slavery or racism but the other southern heritage - ya know - states' rights.  After all, wasn't that what the south was fighting for - states' rights?  Didn't have hardly nuttin' to do with slavery.


Well, no!  Actually, the Civil War was NOT about states' rights.  It was about the right of white people to enslave black people, to work black people to death, to beat black people to within an inch of their lives, to rape black people whenever they got so inclined, to sell black people, breaking up families if they wanted, whenever they wanted, to lynch black people who got too "uppity" or took umbrage at their horrible treatment.

And if you want to stress states' rights, well, OK, the Civil War was about "states' rights" to the extent the southern states didn't want the federal government to interfere with their right to engage in the practice of enslaving other human beings for their own benefit!

That's the heritage of the Confederate flag! 

And that's the shame of Marion County and Ocala, Florida!

Kick Koch Off The Smithsonian Board

More than 100 demonstrators braved a Washington D.C. heat wave at high noon on a workday to join us outside the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s board meeting on June 15th. Together we delivered a whopping 552,545 petition signatures calling on the museum to kick David Koch—a climate denier who has spent tens of millions to fund lobby groups that spread climate science disinformation—off its board.

The event was organized by The Natural History Museum and Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, a network of faith leaders calling for bold action on climate change. Reverend Lennox Yearwood, President of the Hip Hop Caucus, delivered a speech called “Fossil Free at Last,” and climate scientist Joe Romm offered a critique of the Smithsonian’s Koch-funded Hall of Human Origins exhibit, which has come under fire for making misleading statements on climate change.

Read about the demonstration  here.

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Field Expedition: Toxic Risk, Climate Change, and Human Health

 

On this recent field expedition, The Natural History Museum staff, scientists, and local community members explored the coastal community of Sunset Park, Brooklyn—an environmentally overburdened area within New York City’s storm surge zone. The neighborhood is a designated Significant Maritime Industrial Area (SMIA) with a clustering of heavy industrial and polluting infrastructure along the waterfront.

Scientist Linda S. Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), joined the expedition with an interest in assessing contamination exposure risks to human health and threats from extreme weather events such as Hurricane Sandy.

The expedition was led by Elizabeth Yeampierre, Director of local community group UPROSE, and Eddie Bautista, Director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. In addition to mapping environmental threats, these organizations are advocating for an overhaul of NYC’s coastal zone management plan in light of climate change impacts.

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Exhibit and Video: This Changes Everything

At the end of May, The Natural History Museum developed an exhibition inspired by author Naomi Klein’s bestseller This Changes Everything: Climate Vs. Capitalism, as a backdrop for a programming series of the same name, organized by The Foundry Theatre.

The series featured an international group of thinkers, activists, journalists, policy-makers, and artists who examined the impacts of climate change at the scale of the body, the community, the country, and the planet.

The Natural History Museum’s Beka Economopoulos moderated a fascinating conversation with scholar, journalist and author Vijay Prashad and Paulina Helm-Hernandez, activist and director of the movement-building organization Southerners on New Ground (SONG). The panel explored the role of nation-states in both mitigating and propelling the climate crisis. How should we transform our relationship to our countries in order to safeguard a sustainable and equitable future?

Check out  video from the panel discussion here!

------------------------------------ The Natural History Museum is a new, mobile museum that highlights the socio-political forces that shape nature. The museum made headlines this Spring when it released a letter signed by dozens of top scientists, including several Nobel laureates, calling on science museums to cut all ties to the fossil fuel industry. The Natural History Museum is an independent museum that does not take money from the fossil fuel industry or corporate polluters. We rely on individual donations from people just like you. Please consider making a donation to support our work: http://thenaturalhistorymuseum.org/donate.

Political satire

 

 

Rampage Of The Overblown Ego

This is an essay by my friend, William Kendall, a fine writer and very smart man who blogs at Ottawa Daily Photo and at Speak of the Devil.

 

Rampage Of The Overblown Ego

“And lo, in that day, when the third member of a clan of trees will seek the office of highest lord of his land (clan of trees? I really need to stop drinking) and the mother bear and her demented partner will be seeking that office, there will come out of the darkness yet another contender. A demon of the Trumpius clan, the Donaldus... a repugnance with false hair and an inflated ego. He will crow and he will scream at the heavens and he will sneer in those days, for lo, it will always have been for him that he is, in a manner of speaking, the hindquarters of a horse. Not literally, mind you, just figuratively.” ~ from The Book Of Arcane Prophecies, Chapter 62

World’s Biggest Ego Announces He’s Running For President; World Laughs At Him

New York (AP) Real estate and casino mogul, television personality, and narcissistic ass Donald Trump announced his bid for the Republican nomination as President of the United States, taking the opportunity to lash out at the President and fellow Republicans, not to mention numerous world countries and America as a whole, all while stroking his own ego and boasting of his accomplishments and self delusionary glory. 

Trump, who has absolutely no chances in hell of winning the nomination, joins a crowded field of GOP candidates trying to pass themselves off as the Second Coming of Ronald Reagan. Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, and the tag team of Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are among the candidates trying desperately to evoke a back to the past Father Knows Best mentality. Trump, with his massive ego, rampant xenophobia, and embarrassingly bad hairpiece, joins the fray as the biggest clown yet. He has occasionally mused in the past about running for office, and has regularly used Fox News as his venue to complain about whatever annoyed him on any given day. The multitude of comments have often been fodder to point out his supremely overinflated ego, narcissism, and general stupidity.

“It’s not as if he’s actually going to see this through,” Evan Acheson, a public relations expert remarked after the fact. “We’re talking about a man who craves nothing but attention, the spotlight... he’s addicted to it, and announcing a run at the nomination, even though it’ll go nowhere, it feeds his addiction. Frankly, if everyone just stopped paying attention to the hairline challenged toupee wearing blowhard, he’d curl up into a ball and die of neglect. Granted, that would be a good thing.”

Trump made his announcement at his Fifth Avenue Trump Tower, coming down an escalator to the sounds of ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, oblivious to the irony of the situation and the song and looking like an old, angry man coming down the mall escalator. The Tower is also home base to his Apprentice reality show, lending yet more credence to the suggestion that this announcement was a circus act yet to be followed by more circus acts. He has billed himself as “the most successful person ever to run for the presidency, by far”- yet another example of his rampaging ego.

In a long, rambling speech of rhetorical nonsense and blowhard stupidity, Trump blabbered on about how rich he is, listing off his assets and how great a mogul he thinks he is. He lashed out at Mexicans, the Chinese, Japan, and immigrants, claiming he would make America great again. He spoke about currency manipulation, terrorism in the Middle East, his false boasts of job creation, his excessive wealth, even claiming “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” He sneered as he noted that his attitude is needed after “losers” running the country.

Trump suggested a massive wall must be built at the Mexican border- and paid for by the Mexicans, and spoke of himself in the third person regarding ISIS. “No one would be tougher on ISIS than Trump.” His supporters applauded. Real reporters rolled their eyes and sighed, imagining that at the very least, late night comedians would be pleased by this, regardless of how long it would last. No doubt until the blowhard got bored and decided he’d had enough.

“We need a truly great leader,” Trump boasted, his every remark self centered, clearly believing himself to be that great leader- after all, the center of the world according to Donald Trump is Donald Trump. Those of us who live in reality know better. And yet for the mogul, there is no such thing as modesty or humility.

“Sadly the American dream is dead,” Trump said with his customary sneer as he finally finished up. “But if I get elected President I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before.” A typical Trump boast- the man has often spoken of his real estate ventures in such terms, as well as his own self belief that he’s the greatest human being on the planet. He seems oblivious to the disregard many, even Republican voters, have for him, let alone his complete failure as a human being to be able to empathize with others. He also seems oblivious to how truly ridiculous he looks with that toupee.

And so the campaign has yet another Republican in the mix, at least until he decides he’s had enough. Gambling houses are taking bets on how long before Trump quits the campaign, or how many gaffes he can make in a single day.

Psychologist Eleanor Warren had her own opinions on the campaign. “You know, I could go into detail about megalomania, his inability to feel empathy, his supremely over developed ego and overwhelming narcissism, his lack of manners and tact, his inability to understand humility and grace, his profound overcompensation for certain shortcomings as a man... but really, in the end, what it all comes down to is that the man is a complete jackass.”

Polls of Republican voters show that over half have a negative view of the mogul. Democrats view him as even worse. White House staff noted that since Trump has been one of the main voices fanning the flames of the “birther” movement that called into question the legitimacy of the President, they look forward to seeing him make a fool of himself repeatedly.

The last word must go to the Almighty, since Trump claimed he’d be the greatest jobs president God ever created. This reporter had a sit-down with God, who as it turns out actually looks a lot like Morgan Freeman. “You know, I have no idea what he’s talking about,” the Almighty remarked. “To be perfectly honest, I think Trump’s an asshole.”

My Fellow Americans, You Betcha!

[This is a guest post by my friend William Kendall.  Mr. Kendall is not only an excellent writer, but is on top of all things political (in Canada and the U.S.) and has a great sense of humor.  He has graciously consented to allow me to use this essay.  You can find more of what Mr. Kendall is up to on his blogs, Ottawa Daily Photo, and Speak of the Devil.]

Today I have something entirely different. Dick Cheney might want to have me come over for a hunting weekend after this. And we all know how hunting weekends turn up at Chez Cheney.

Insane Candidates Join The Fray; Comedians Everywhere Rejoice

St. Louis (AP) A crowded Republican list of candidates for the 2016 Presidential election just got more crowded. With frontline candidates such as Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, and Rick Perry, and a slew of fringe candidates that include the egomaniacal bankruptcy prone casino developer Donald Trump already announcing their run at the Oval Office or expected to announce soon, two other Tea Party favourites have announced their joint run at the Presidency in this Mid-Western city yesterday.

Tea Party faithful were gathered at the America’s Center complex, along with media and staffers for the announcement. A flurry of faded politicians, hard right commentators, and washed up musicians were in attendance. Donald Rumsfeld, Pat Buchanan, John Ashcroft, Karl Rove, Herman Cain, Ari Fleischer, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and the urn containing the ashes of the late and not lamented right wing blogger Andrew Breitbart were among the most notable. Rocker and deranged lunatic Ted Nugent and country singer Toby Keith provided the entertainment and made veiled threats about anyone prying their guns from their cold dead hands. Nugent went on to repeat his oft mentioned question about why he wasn’t dead or in jail all this time after the previous election, given his remarks about the President, and rambled on and on, leaving one to wonder if he was drunk.

Then it was time for the big announcement. That announcement, of course, would come after Limbaugh, Coulter, Rumsfeld, Cain, Gingrich, and forty seven people from the lives and backgrounds of the two candidates made rambling and glowing tributes to both of them. As to which of the two would be the actual candidate was another matter. Finally after Keith finished performing ‘Courtesy of the Red, White, And Blue’, the singer made the announcement the Tea Party faithful and the Fox News reporters had been dying to hear. Those of us who are actual reporters had been rolling our eyes for at least two hours, wondering why the Republican party couldn’t field candidates who weren’t clinically insane or viewing the world with a mindset sixty years behind the times.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Hard workin’ Americans!” Keith bellowed, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. “Here they are, your next President and Vice President... and they’ll explain how they’re going to get around that all by themselves, they’re going to take the country back and put the boot in the ass to all those liberal commie haters who can’t stand eatin’ good ol’ American style steak, ladies and gentlemen.... Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann!”

Palin and Bachmann came out on stage, flashing the same vacant, slightly demented smiles they’re known for, accompanied by husbands and children, all of whom stood behind them on the stage. “Hello, America!” Palin called out, waving.

“Thanks for coming to our coming out!” Bachmann added. “Not that kind of coming out, mind you, the good kind!”

“You betcha!” Palin said with a grin confirming she wasn’t playing with more than a pair of twos, a three of spades, a ten of clubs, and one jack. The rest of the proverbial deck of cards that constituted her brain was long gone. “Gosh, golly, there are a lot of candidates out there for the Republican nomination in 2016, but when it comes down to it, the only way we’re goin’ to get those Dumbocrats outta the White House and Congress and every state house is if the two of us lead the way!”

Bachmann nodded. “So we’re gonna be President and Vice President! Or Co-Presidents to be more exact. Palin and Bachmann! Bachmann and Palin!”

Palin smiled again. “And we’re a team! So we’re gonna do things as a team. For instance, one day I’ll be the one in the Oval Office makin’ the big decisions and the next day Michele’s gonna be President for the day, and so on and so on. Presidents in turn!”

Aside from Tea Party faithful and Fox reporters, who broke out into gleeful applause, real reporters rolled their eyes and groaned. Did neither of these halfwits understand the basic concepts of the Constitution and division of executive powers? A Reuters correspondent spoke up. “You do realize the Constitution might have something to say about that kind of arrangement.”

Palin shrugged. “The Constitution? Who cares about the Constitution?”

Bachmann nodded. “Yeah, we’re goin’ to have it burned after we impose martial law and name ourselves Presidents For Life anyway.”

Palin looked confused. “Did we just think that, or say that out loud?”

“I don’t know,” Bachmann replied. She laughed in her typically demented way. “Look, what’s important is takin’ this country back from those godless latte slurpin’ commie liberals gettin’ in our way. And we gotta set this country back to the way things oughtta be, isn’t that right, Rush?” Limbaugh nodded enthusiastically. “That means Republicans in charge of everything, opposition destroyed, liberals caged up in super prisons if they so much as look at us funny....”

“You do realize you just said that out loud, right?” this reporter called out.

Bachmann frowned. “What’s your name? You’re goin’ on the enemy list!”

Palin smiled, shrugged, and remarked, “what do you expect from the lamestream media? You know, you don’t like America, Mr. Fancy Pants Reporter, why don’t you go to Russia?  You can see it from my house, if you squint real hard. America’s ours, a God fearin’, butt kickin’, beer drinkin’ steak and eggs apple pie gosh golly country that’s the greatest country on Earth! Everybody else eats our dust!”

Bachmann carried on. “This is our vision for America: a country full of freedom and fire and brimstone preachin’ and Mom’s apple pie, and the right to bear arms bein’ the only part of the Constitution we’ll keep, and Ronald Reagan statues in every town, and marriage being only between a man and a woman, and sex only being after marriage for the purpose of havin’ babies, with all the lights turned off. And Alan Jackson and Toby Keith and Ted Nugent tourin’ the country performin’ and keepin’ the dream alive. And no more Obamacare and lots of tax cuts for our corporate buddies and beer all around. And the Dixie Chicks in a concentration camp for ever darin' to insult a Republican president, am I right, Toby?”

Toby Keith stood up and applauded. “You sure are! I hate those Dixie Chicks!”

Bachmann laughed. “And while we’re at it, we gotta bring the rest of the world to heel, right, Sarah?”

Palin nodded. “Absolutely. That means takin’ down that Putin guy once and for all, and droppin’ some nukes on South Korea, and while we’re at it, a few nukes all over the Middle East. Get rid of those Iraqi Anwar Sadat fans once and for all.” This reporter shook his head- did this woman even know when she was making factual errors?

Bachmann continued. “What the world needs to know is that we’re in charge. That means respectin’ us and doin’ what we say or pay the price.” The fact that she said that with her usual vacant smile made the expression all the more disturbing. “That also includes gettin’ even with that Mountie who came down here a few months ago and beat up a few thousand of Rush’s supporters.” Limbaugh was nodding enthusiastically at this point. “No one makes Dittoheads bleed and cry and gets away with it! Canada, either you give us that Metallica drummin’ Mountie so we can have him drawn and quartered, or we drop nukes on you!”

Palin nodded. “Gosh golly, when we’re through, those godless liberal commie fascists won’t recognize the land of the red, white, and blue!” This reporter sighed in dismay, expecting that the difference between communism and fascism was too complicated for the mind of Sarah Palin. “Michele and me, we’re gonna take this country in the right direction, and we’re gonna be the most benevolent overlord rulers of any country everywhere! We’re gonna get back to the basics, and that means steppin’ up and doin’ what we say, and that means you, Levi Johnston! Time to man up and marry Bristol, you punk! And sure enough, give those commie liberals enough time and they’ll come around to see things our way. Or we can just toss ‘em all into some concentration camp with the Dixie Chicks and the gays and the peace activists and the Supreme Court and the holdout Dumbocrats."

Michele smiled in that delirious way of hers. “God help America.... I mean, God bless America! Remember, in 2016, vote Palin and Bachmann!”

“Or Bachmann and Palin!” Palin added.  “Vote for us! You can trust us! I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?”

The two left the stage to the sound of Toby Keith and Ted Nugent jamming in a strange rendition of God Bless America. As to the question of what was the worst that could happen, this reporter was envisioning nuclear holocaust. Granted, what were the chances? Who in their right minds would even vote for this pair of dolts?

GOP party bosses were horrified at the prospect of Palin and Bachmann running for the nomination. The Koch brothers were busy hedging their bets, wondering how much bribe money would be needed to control them. This reporter wondered if the Koch brothers ever thought they’d be spending less money just paying taxes than blowing it on political manipulation. And up in Canada, RCMP Inspector Lars Ulrich was cautiously approached by other reporters, who informed him of the demand by the Palin/ Bachmann team. “Drawn and quartered?” he asked, smiling in a strange way. “Well, they’re welcome to try.”

Late night comedians were ecstatic at the thought of a Palin/Bachmann run at the nomination and the sheer possibility of ways they could work this into monologues. “However long this campaign lasts,” Conan O’Brien told reporters, “we’ll have plenty of material to use for years.”

Stephen Colbert, due to take over David Letterman’s old spot on the Late Show in September, mused on getting an early start to take advantage of the full comic possibilities that a Palin/ Bachmann ticket presented. And Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, soon to move on, was stunned to hear the news. He told reporters, “They choose now to run for the nomination? This is a dream come true. I wonder if it’s too late to change my mind.”

Marco Rubio - things to know

Thanks to Ybor City Stogie!