Drinking blood isn't what Hollywood makes it out to be, according to real-life vampires. First of all, there's no biting – that's neither safe nor sanitary – and with too many vital arteries, the neck isn't the favored spot. Transactions aren't carnages leaving the victim lifeless behind in a dark alley, and nor do vampires sleep… … [Read more...] about Real-Life Vampires: Hollywood Has How We Drink Blood All Wrong
Trump to NBC’s Chuck Todd: Undocumented Immigrants ‘Have to Go’
So much for even the idea of "self-deportion." The GOP's front runner -- who continues to gain stem and defy the predictions made by and political obituaries written by pundits -- is saying the U.S. must be cleared of all undocumented immigrants. Donald Trump made the blunt statement to Chuck Todd's in a "Meet the Press interview": Donald Trump would reverse President … [Read more...] about Trump to NBC’s Chuck Todd: Undocumented Immigrants ‘Have to Go’
Final Honors for Chattanooga Fallen
The Department of the Navy and the City of Chattanooga held a ceremony today at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga's, McKenzie Arena in memory of the Sailor and four Marines killed in the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) shooting on July 16: Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, and Lance … [Read more...] about Final Honors for Chattanooga Fallen
I want us to be brave
Sara Barellie's song Brave inspired me to write this post. I want us to be brave enough to speak up and speak out. I want us to be brave enough to believe that we can make a difference if we stand together. I want us to be brave enough to say to the wealthy: "Your money may buy political ads filled with distortions. lies and negativity, but your money cannot cast a single … [Read more...] about I want us to be brave
Trump a Moderate?
Ezra Klein distinguishes between theoretical and actual moderates on vox.com. Moderates often aren't moderate at all. They're just inconsistent. And that lets them be more extreme. This makes them different than loyal Democrats and Republicans. Partisans tend to adopt the positions held by their parties, and parties tend to adopt positions that are popular, … [Read more...] about Trump a Moderate?
Trump to the Defense of Planned Parenthood?
Trump to the Defense of Planned Parenthood? By Dick Polman OK, maybe this is the incident that will reverse Donald Trump's meteoric rise. On CNN the other day, Trump refused to mouth the right-wing mantra about defunding Planned Parenthood. He apparently believes (at least this week) that the defunding stance is too extreme. Worse yet, he even suggested that Planned … [Read more...] about Trump to the Defense of Planned Parenthood?
Cartoon: Hillary Panic Button
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Hillary Panic Button
Navajo ‘Code Talkers’ Day 2015
Today is “National Navajo Code Talkers Day.” The bravery, skills and accomplishments of these Americans have always fascinated me. In a piece in June 2010, I wrote about the Code Talkers using the 2002 movie “Windtalkers” as background. A year later, in “A Code Talker's 'Journey to War and Back'” I expanded upon the discussion. The following is the 2011 … [Read more...] about Navajo ‘Code Talkers’ Day 2015
GOP’s Phony War on Planned Parenthood
Mary Sanchez provides the ugly details in The Baltimore Sun. Oppose it or not -- and I do -- abortion is a medical procedure that ends an unwanted or health-threatening pregnancy. If we want to encourage the trend toward decreasing numbers of abortions in this country -- and no one in their right mind wants to see more of them -- we need to bolster women's reproductive … [Read more...] about GOP’s Phony War on Planned Parenthood
Is The Age Of Fossil Fuel Over?
I have already written a couple of posts on this subject here and here. As Owen Gray reports below Conservative Canadian Prime minster Stephen Harper is in trouble because of the collapse of oil prices. We have apparently reached peak demand before we reached peak oil. Michael Klare writes that Double-Dip Oil Rout: Why an Oil Glut May Lead to a New World of … [Read more...] about Is The Age Of Fossil Fuel Over?
Closing The Canadian Mind
Stephen Marche is a Canadian journalist who writes for American publications. In this morning's New York Times, he provides Americans with some background information on Canada's ongoing federal election and current prime minister: THE prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has called an election for Oct. 19, but he doesn’t want anyone to talk about it. … [Read more...] about Closing The Canadian Mind
Sleep
I can certainly identify with this article on sleep. The 8-hour sleep myth: How I learned that everything I knew about sleep was wrong. Now unlike the author I have rarely slept more than six hours a night for decades. Pursuing the truth about sleep means winding your way through a labyrinth of science, consumerism and myth. Researchers have had barely a clue about what … [Read more...] about Sleep
Fox News Blasts Trump for suggesting Megyn Kelly’s vacation was due to him
Fox News has put out one of its classic, biting official statements -- this one mercilessly denying Republican 2016 Presidential nominee wannabe Donald Trump's suggestion that star anchor Megyn Kelly's vacation was due to him. Implication: that Fox News had put her on vacation to punish her for the sin of asking tough questions of him during the recent Republican debate. … [Read more...] about Fox News Blasts Trump for suggesting Megyn Kelly’s vacation was due to him
Report: ISIS Leader Raped American Hostage
Kayla Mueller, the American woman who died earlier this year after being held hostage by Islamic State militants, was raped repeatedly while held captive by the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ABC News reported on Friday, citing unnamed U.S. counter-terrorism officials. ABC News reported that Mueller's family confirmed that U.S. government officials had told them that… … [Read more...] about Report: ISIS Leader Raped American Hostage
Bernie Sanders Is Not Howard Dean, Or Any Other Previous Candidate
It is always tempting to draw comparisons to something we know, and in politics we often see comparisons to past elections. Sometimes there is some truth to this, but we must consider how few contested nomination battles and elections we have actually had in modern times. Events of one election do not dictate what will happen in the current election. Today many Clinton … [Read more...] about Bernie Sanders Is Not Howard Dean, Or Any Other Previous Candidate
The Real Terrorist Threat – Militias
These people are only more dangerous because they are so stupid. Arizona 'Patriot' Militia Busted By Feds In Plot To Steal Drugs From Bogus Cartel: Parris Frazier allegedly thought he was going to make $15,000 per kilogram of cocaine he ripped from a drug cartel’s load vehicle last month at an Arizona warehouse. Unfortunately for him, according to court records, the man who … [Read more...] about The Real Terrorist Threat – Militias
Run, Joe, Run!
Can Democrats explain why Vice-President Joe Biden shouldn't be the Democratic Party's 2016 presidential nominee? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sure, Vice-President Biden is a gaffe machine. He has put his foot in his mouth … [Read more...] about Run, Joe, Run!
Military Weekend: Helping Out on Both Sides of the Pacific
This week our troops and Defense personnel continued to fight the wildfires in California and, on the other side of the Pacific, they sprang into action to help those struck hard by devastating Typhoon Soudelor. Will Hock, left, 9th Civil Engineer Squadron fire captain, assists Justin Devorss, Linda Fire Protection District engineer, with extinguishing a fire, Aug. 6, … [Read more...] about Military Weekend: Helping Out on Both Sides of the Pacific
After 54 Years, the Stars and Stripes Fly over U.S. Embassy in Cuba Once Again
On July 1, President Obama announced that the United States had agreed to formally re-establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba and re-open embassies in our respective countries. Today, more than 54 years after the flag came down, “[w]atched over by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Marines raised the American flag at the embassy in Cuba… symbolically … [Read more...] about After 54 Years, the Stars and Stripes Fly over U.S. Embassy in Cuba Once Again
Book Review: Thomas Kunkel’s ‘Man in Profile: Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker’
WHEN THE NEW JOURNALISTS CAME ASHORE, JOE MITCHELL WAS THERE TO GREET THEM. ~ JOHN McPHEE Sadly, upon his death in 1996 at age 87, Joseph Quincy Mitchell was less known for his extraordinarily elegant writing in The New Yorker than his decades-long case of writers block. Mitchell, who died in 1996 at age 87 after a 48-year career at The New Yorker, is arguably … [Read more...] about Book Review: Thomas Kunkel’s ‘Man in Profile: Joseph Mitchell of The New Yorker’