heeheeheehee...the Lions...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Scientists Find Skeleton Of Nature's First Sexual Predator
Not for young children, or the puritanical of heart. I personally crapped my pants on this one. Just kidding; they're still clean.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Burn Me Up!
OK, so my friend Marc just put a crapload of work into creating a video that exposes the extortionism of the payday lending industry here in Wyoming. Check it out. (If you don't have Vimeo, register; it's easy and free. The video is also on Facebook.)
Payday Lending Reform in Wyominghttp://vimeo.com/3854240About this video:"A ten minute movie advocating for the reform of the payday lending industry in Wyoming. Produced by Marc Homer, Kids Count Director for The Wyoming Children's Action Alliance."
I watch the video on Facebook, then I go to Vimeo to see if I can download it to my blog. Blogspot isn't an option, so you don't get the whole picture here.
So, I log on to Vimeo and search for the video, and it pops up, no problem, surrounded by ads for payday lending slimeball sharks. I say that's a load of crap. People, don't ever enslave yourselves to those jerks. In fact, if you get a chance, make some noise to make that all change.
Payday Lending Reform in Wyominghttp://vimeo.com/3854240About this video:"A ten minute movie advocating for the reform of the payday lending industry in Wyoming. Produced by Marc Homer, Kids Count Director for The Wyoming Children's Action Alliance."
I watch the video on Facebook, then I go to Vimeo to see if I can download it to my blog. Blogspot isn't an option, so you don't get the whole picture here.
So, I log on to Vimeo and search for the video, and it pops up, no problem, surrounded by ads for payday lending slimeball sharks. I say that's a load of crap. People, don't ever enslave yourselves to those jerks. In fact, if you get a chance, make some noise to make that all change.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
She Did It AGAIN!
It is my sincere hope that no one from the States of Wyoming, Texas, South Carolina, Kansas or Georgia gets the opportunity to build skills and volunteer for good causes, and that no one from those states benefits from the work of those who would volunteer. It will cost each taxpayer 3 entire dollars in the year 2010 to fund GIVE (Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education), according to govtrack.us, and apparently the constituents from the abovenamed states have neither the money or the desire to spend the money on volunteerism, nor the wish to benefit from volunteer programs. Ask Cynthia Lummis, for one. She voted NO.
The bill passed the House and is heading to the Senate. Here's what it looks like:
I know; you'd hate to have to pony up a couple bucks for that, huh? I have a better idea: let's send our pocket change to the guys at AIG who elected to return their bonuses. They're probably flat broke by now.
Labels:
cynthia lummis,
government,
Links,
socioeconomics
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dolphin Bubbles: An Amazing Behavior
How about something pretty nice for today? I for one can appreciate that.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday Morning TV News
People, we OWN AIG. And as of this morning, we OWN three more financial institutions- unfortunately, also two credit unions, but that doesn't matter right this second. We can tax the guys (notice how they are all guys, but this country is all about equality and we don't really have any schism between the opportunities and earnings of women vs. men?) who got giant bonuses as much as we want. We can fire the bastards if we want to do that. And what is this crap about some guy in Denver tries to give his bonus up and isn't allowed to do so? We can take it away for him. WE OWN THESE PEOPLE'S JOBS.
Also, Bernie Madoff's victims are not vicitms; they are idots.
Finally, how sad is it that there are people out there forking over cash to get their faces cut up and redone so they will have a better chance at getting a job? Crap; if I lost my job, which I will soon, I would not spend what money I had left to get plastic surgery, even if I were 60 years old. I'd go back to the desert while I had a little spare time. How hard is that to figure out?
Also, Bernie Madoff's victims are not vicitms; they are idots.
Finally, how sad is it that there are people out there forking over cash to get their faces cut up and redone so they will have a better chance at getting a job? Crap; if I lost my job, which I will soon, I would not spend what money I had left to get plastic surgery, even if I were 60 years old. I'd go back to the desert while I had a little spare time. How hard is that to figure out?
Labels:
government,
jobs,
Trips,
ugly politics
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Why Am I Here?
We are in Yuma. I just read my weekly MegaVote report. Cynthia Lummis, our Wyoming US House Representative, voted NO on the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009, designed to authorize funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps states build water treatment facilities. That's right; she said NO. I asked her why, in an e-mail, but also let her know that I didn't expect an answer, since this concerned constituent has never yet received one from her. And I have written several times since she took office. Several.
But Wyoming was not the only state to vote NO. Also voting NO were: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
Utah... I would like to wax rude on Utah for a while because I have been itching to do so since we entered that state sometime like early evening on Saturday and those brahims in their giant 4WD pickup trucks started acting all rude at us. I would like to begin by acknowleding that I know I am generalizing, though it was the predominance of our experience in Utah, and that there likely are some nice people in Utah, just like there are some nice folks who are locked up in prison for absolutely no reason except for human error or manipulation.
Utah is home to the Wise Use Movement. You know, wise use, meaning the use of your dirt bike and old Jeep with the big tires, and your ATV (ATV meaning "All Terrain Vehicle," which you should drive on ALL TERRAIN, especially delicate arid desert soil because that is everywhere in Utah and it's your public lands all over the place, so use them, dammit, because you do pay your taxes)... Well, that's that.
These people won't actually be able to pay their taxes pretty soon because they have all, every single one of them, lost their jobs, thanks to Ken Salazar. I know this because I saw one of those signs people set up outside restaurants and change the big black letters on to tell you what is the special of the day and how much percentage you receive off your bill if you are over 55. And the one I saw, and the FFM also saw this so you know it's true, said, "Thanks, Salazar, for taking away our jobs." Or something that means exactly the same thing. That could just be a paraphrase.
I am done busting on Utah. I am in Yuma and would like to take a shower and go outside and enjoy the sun and the warmth.
Labels:
ecology,
public health,
Trips,
ugly politics
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
What the hell happened to responsibility, people?
Police focus on gunman's father in German shootings
By Nicola Leske
WINNENDEN, Germany, March 12 (Reuters) - German authorities are looking into whether to press charges against the gun-collecting father of the teenager who went on a shooting rampage at his former school on Wednesday, killing 15 people.
The motive for the attack by 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer remained unclear a day after the massacre in the southwestern town of Winnenden.The teenager, who neighbours described as a loner with a fondness for violent videos, appears to have taken his own life after police engaged him in a shootout hours after he fled the school and hijacked a car.
Kretschmer had taken a legally-registered 9-millimetre Beretta pistol owned by his father, a member of a shooting club.Police said the father's other 14 guns were locked in a gun-closet as required by German law, but that he kept the Beretta in his bedroom.
"Everything here points to negligence on the part of the father as far as the storage of this weapon is concerned," said police spokesman Ralf Michelfelder.
For more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLC151837
When this one gets milled over, like all the other kiddie shooting cases, I wonder if the real negligence on the part of the parents that comes to light is having kids and then not paying attention to them? That hasn't been the case yet, so I doubt it.
Besides, who's really responsible here? When I was a kid my parents spent more time fighting with each other and bowling than hanging out with us kids, but not one of the four of us ever picked up and used any of the guns my own dad kept around the house, in an unlocked gun cabinet and later when he had to sell the cabinet- probably to buy more Christmas presents because that was the way my mom thought best to say "I love you"- just around, and went on a shooting rampage.
What the hell, people? It's like not only are we not willing to take responsibility for our own actions any more, but we don't want the next generation of adults to have to either. Crap, I saw some guy yesterday at Albertson's with a tattooed number on his ankle, you know like you might get in prison, except that this one was in faded red ink so was obviously a fake and a statement against Authoritay. I once worked with a girl who did the same thing- fake teardrops on her cheek to show the number of gang members she'd murdered... that kind of stuff all the time. What do you think that kind of shite says? Same thing it always did: kids want attention, and not to have to wait until they do something dastardly to get it heavy-handed. Think about it; we all wanted that when we were kids, didn't we?
So, yeah, neglect on the part of the parents, all right, but a kid makes a choice to try to look badass, and then a kid makes a choice to disrespect the lives of others by roughing them up or killing them dead, to get attention. There's responsibility all around that we'd rather shut our eyes to than confront because we're a bunch of dumbasses who don't want to take it on.
By Nicola Leske
WINNENDEN, Germany, March 12 (Reuters) - German authorities are looking into whether to press charges against the gun-collecting father of the teenager who went on a shooting rampage at his former school on Wednesday, killing 15 people.
The motive for the attack by 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer remained unclear a day after the massacre in the southwestern town of Winnenden.The teenager, who neighbours described as a loner with a fondness for violent videos, appears to have taken his own life after police engaged him in a shootout hours after he fled the school and hijacked a car.
Kretschmer had taken a legally-registered 9-millimetre Beretta pistol owned by his father, a member of a shooting club.Police said the father's other 14 guns were locked in a gun-closet as required by German law, but that he kept the Beretta in his bedroom.
"Everything here points to negligence on the part of the father as far as the storage of this weapon is concerned," said police spokesman Ralf Michelfelder.
For more: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLC151837
When this one gets milled over, like all the other kiddie shooting cases, I wonder if the real negligence on the part of the parents that comes to light is having kids and then not paying attention to them? That hasn't been the case yet, so I doubt it.
Besides, who's really responsible here? When I was a kid my parents spent more time fighting with each other and bowling than hanging out with us kids, but not one of the four of us ever picked up and used any of the guns my own dad kept around the house, in an unlocked gun cabinet and later when he had to sell the cabinet- probably to buy more Christmas presents because that was the way my mom thought best to say "I love you"- just around, and went on a shooting rampage.
What the hell, people? It's like not only are we not willing to take responsibility for our own actions any more, but we don't want the next generation of adults to have to either. Crap, I saw some guy yesterday at Albertson's with a tattooed number on his ankle, you know like you might get in prison, except that this one was in faded red ink so was obviously a fake and a statement against Authoritay. I once worked with a girl who did the same thing- fake teardrops on her cheek to show the number of gang members she'd murdered... that kind of stuff all the time. What do you think that kind of shite says? Same thing it always did: kids want attention, and not to have to wait until they do something dastardly to get it heavy-handed. Think about it; we all wanted that when we were kids, didn't we?
So, yeah, neglect on the part of the parents, all right, but a kid makes a choice to try to look badass, and then a kid makes a choice to disrespect the lives of others by roughing them up or killing them dead, to get attention. There's responsibility all around that we'd rather shut our eyes to than confront because we're a bunch of dumbasses who don't want to take it on.
Labels:
mad world,
rights and responsibility,
war
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
OMG! People are losing jobs and downsizing!
I had no idea! I mean, when NPR is playing all day at work, I don't hear the stories of the people who have lost their jobs, the people who have to lay their workers off, the people who are scaling back and only eating out once a week, the people who don't have jobs because people can't afford to buy RVs like they used to, all that. I never hear these stories? Where are these stories? Shouldn't these Americans be featured on Talk of the Nation and the little features that NPR does on a really regular- I mean all the time- basis on Morning Edition and whatever the hell comes on after Terry Gross spares me more torture and finally goes away?
Then again, I suppose there aren't that many of us who have lost jobs or feel severe discomfort that we could at any moment lose our jobs, or that really have cut back on things like eating out. That's just a few suckers here and there, right? The rest of us shouldn't have to hear about their problems all the time when we can afford RVs (if we want them) and college educations and eating out every night if we feel like it. What is this, some kind of economic downturn or something they're trying to paint?
Crap, people, at least I get a spell with the BBC. You know, those guys actually know and talk about that cops and soldiers are being killed in northern Ireland; yeah, it's true, that all didn't end with The Wind That Shakes the Barley; that the Chinese government calls the Dalai Lama a liar- everyone knows that dude is "at his wits' end" a "marginalised old monk" with a grudge against the popular politicians; that Sarkozy went to Mexico and offered President Calderon police aid, in a visit in which the two also unveiled a helicopter factory plan- some have claimed Sarkozy is scoping out export diversity, when 80% now go to the US, but I don't know why they would want to send less to us, when we all have so much money and are buying like crazy these days.
Could a country be any more collectively narcissistic?
Labels:
mad world,
media,
socioeconomics,
ugly politics
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Don Siegelman Says:
Our hard work has paid off: Karl Rove will soon testify before the House Judiciary Committee!
Your calls and emails made a difference. The White House nudged Rove toward an agreement with House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers.
As a result of your work, I have been asked to appear on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight, March 5th. Her segment on MSNBC-TV comes on at 9 p.m. Eastern and is re-broadcast on MSNBC at 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. I hope you will tune in to watch.
Also, I hope you'll please call and thank Chairman John Conyers at (202) 225-5126. Congressman Conyers has worked boldly and courageously to break the impasse between Congress and Karl Rove's claim of Executive Privilege.
I congratulate John Conyers in securing this crucial step toward the truth and commend the House Judiciary Committee and its staff for its tireless work. We must also encourage the Committee to muster the strength to hold Karl Rove's feet to the fire to the fullest extent of the law until he is finally forthcoming.
And please remember, that as much as this is an important breakthrough toward the truth, there are others -- for example, the husband of the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted me who has been identified as a co-conspirator -- who must also be called before Congress to answer for their part in my prosecution.
Thanks so much for all your help.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
I STILL Can't Stop Laughing!
From Craig, via a whole bunch of other people with excellent senses of humor:
Because Everyone In Canada Lives In An Igloo.
Now that Vancouver has won the chance to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, these are some questions people from all over the world are asking. Believe it or not these questions about Canada were posted on an International Tourism Website. Obviously the answers are a joke; but the questions were really asked!
Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow?( England) A. We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die.
Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? ( USA )A: Depends on how much you've been drinking.
Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto -can I follow the Railroad tracks? (Sweden ) A: Sure, it's only Four thousand miles, take lots of water.
Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada ? ( Sweden ) A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.
Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada ? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax ? ( England ) A: What, did your last slave die?
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada ? ( USA ) A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .. Ca-na-da is that big country to your North...oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary. Come naked.
Q: Which direction is North in Canada ? ( USA ) A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Canada ?( England )A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do .
Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA ) A : Aus-t ri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Vancouver and in Calgary, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
Q: Do you have perfume in Canada ? ( Germany ) A: No, WE don't stink.
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Where can I sell it in Canada ? ( USA ) A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
Q: Can you tell me the regions in British Columbia where the female population is smaller than the male population? ( Italy ) A: Yes, gay nightclubs.
Q: Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada ? ( USA ) A: Only at Thanksgiving.
Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round?( Germany) A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada, but I forget its name. It's a kind of big horse with horns. ( USA ) A: It's called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA ) A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first.
Because Everyone In Canada Lives In An Igloo.
Now that Vancouver has won the chance to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, these are some questions people from all over the world are asking. Believe it or not these questions about Canada were posted on an International Tourism Website. Obviously the answers are a joke; but the questions were really asked!
Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow?( England) A. We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die.
Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? ( USA )A: Depends on how much you've been drinking.
Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto -can I follow the Railroad tracks? (Sweden ) A: Sure, it's only Four thousand miles, take lots of water.
Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada ? ( Sweden ) A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.
Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada ? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax ? ( England ) A: What, did your last slave die?
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada ? ( USA ) A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .. Ca-na-da is that big country to your North...oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary. Come naked.
Q: Which direction is North in Canada ? ( USA ) A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Canada ?( England )A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do .
Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA ) A : Aus-t ri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Vancouver and in Calgary, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
Q: Do you have perfume in Canada ? ( Germany ) A: No, WE don't stink.
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Where can I sell it in Canada ? ( USA ) A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
Q: Can you tell me the regions in British Columbia where the female population is smaller than the male population? ( Italy ) A: Yes, gay nightclubs.
Q: Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada ? ( USA ) A: Only at Thanksgiving.
Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round?( Germany) A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada, but I forget its name. It's a kind of big horse with horns. ( USA ) A: It's called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA ) A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Privacy is WAY Overrated.
OK, so you go to a doctor appointment. You don't like going to the doctor anyway (I think most people don't, unless they are hypochondriacs and dig the attention), but today you are going to a clinic that is under construction to meet a doctor you have never seen before. Thankfully, you know your condition; this isn't an emergency or something that's got you completely skeezed out like you're sure you're on your death bed.
So, you go in the entrance you always used in the past, several years ago, since there are no construction signs telling you not to. But you find yourself facing sheetrock walls and a door that won't open into the hall inside. So, you exit the building, go around to the front and find a way in that isn't locked out by chainlink fence and those big white and black and red signs that say, "KEEP OUT." No big deal, but you want to be on time and honestly are a little nervous and don't have insurance, like so many people. So, it's a pain in the ass and throws you off a little now to enter the building to face construction everywhere and no signs telling you where the hell the doctor and the nurses and all that are- until you get in the elevator (because you can't even see any stairs.)
Now you know you are to go to the second floor, or risk being shot on the spot by a combined team of medics and construction workers- with lethal injections and nail guns. You get off the elevator and see the Nurses' Station, but just as you get there, you see on the wall a sign that points in the opposite direction and tells you to go that way to the "Check-in Kiosks." So, you do a 180 and walk toward voices, but there are the Pharmacy on one side and the Check-Out Station on the other. Some lady in there looks up at you as though you are a pain in her ass and asks if she can help you?
"I doubt it," you reply, and turn around and see a closet full of computer terminals, with card swipe machines and writing pads attached. These are the "Check-in Kiosks." So, now you get to complete a check-in process with a friggin' computer, as T Rex would complain, and swipe your card and write on the pad and THEN go back to the Nurses' Station, where you can talk to a person in the flesh.
What do you do, immediately? Yell at the poor nurses who are just there to do their nursing jobs. You ask them if there is some reason you can't check in with a person anymore, and they say, "Yes; for your privacy." (Because some person sitting next to you who obviously would want to know your entire medical history- or at least where you live so he- or she- could stalk you later- wouldn't be able to look three inches in either direction at the screen next-door to his own screen while checking in.)
You tell the nurses you don't like it; that you don't like coming to the doctor anyway, and then to not be able to find where you are supposed to go, or ask a question of a real person while checking in when you are going to be talking to that real person in a couple minutes anyway. "OK," says a nurse.
You tell her, "No, it's NOT OK!" And you let the nurses know that the whole privacy crap is just that- a load of crap.
And thankfully the nurses remember to keep their polite and patient bedside manners, and the doctor ends up being a pretty cool guy.
Labels:
public health,
public v. private
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