[icopyright one button toolbar] (Scroll down for "update") It probably is my imagination, but it seems to me that the North American Aerospace Defense Command's NORAD begins preparations to track the "Santa Threat" earlier and earlier each year. Not only that, but each year our air and space defenders develop and use increasingly sophisticated sensors, tracking … [Read more...] about (Updated) NORAD Goes Hi-Tech to Track Santa
Can you help 3 year old Killy Sardelis (and his loving mother) have a very special Christmas?
[icopyright one button toolbar] On the newspapers on which I worked as a reporter, they called these "plight stories." A story about someone in trouble, someone in need, and yes, there are many out there, and, yes, you can't cover them all (that would be a full-time job). But once in a while there is one so compelling that you must get to it ASASP. And so it is with the … [Read more...] about Can you help 3 year old Killy Sardelis (and his loving mother) have a very special Christmas?
Sullivan on the Schumer Consensus
Andrew Sullivan comments on the (Senator Chuck) Schumer (D-NY) take that Obama and the Democrats should have put the economy before health care on The Daily Dish. I’ve heard this a million times now and I simply don’t understand it. In terms of chronology, Obama did put the economy first. With TARP and the stimulus and the auto-bailout, the key measures to shore up a … [Read more...] about Sullivan on the Schumer Consensus
More than 100 jars of human brains are missing from the University of Texas
[icopyright one button toolbar] I don't understand, how is this really news? One hundred jars of human brains taken from the late patients of a mental hospital in Austin, have disappeared from the University of Texas. The Atlantic reports that the brains, submerged in formalin, were kept in the campus' Animal Resources Center. The specimens date to the 1950s, when … [Read more...] about More than 100 jars of human brains are missing from the University of Texas
Once Our Human Ancestors Stopped Living In Trees, They Got Drunk
We didn’t start living on the forest floor because of the alcohol, but it didn’t hurt. A new study suggests the previous estimates that stated human ancestors began consuming alcohol 9,000 years ago is a few orders of magnitude off. The real timeline, researchers claim, traces back as far as 10 million years. The science relies… … [Read more...] about Once Our Human Ancestors Stopped Living In Trees, They Got Drunk
Gallup Poll: More Americans now identify themselves as Republicans
Gallup reports another political shift: more Americans now identify themselves as Republicans than Democrats: Since the Republican Party's strong showing on Election Day last month, Americans' political allegiances have shifted toward the GOP. Prior to the elections, 43% of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party, while 39% identified as … [Read more...] about Gallup Poll: More Americans now identify themselves as Republicans
St. Louis Police Oppose Non Violent Protest By Football Players
The controversy over the decision not to indict Darren Wilson extended to football this weekend when five of the St. Louis Rams plays entered the stadium with their hands raised. This was in reference to the eye witnesses who testified before the grand jury that Michael Brown had his hands raised, attempting to surrender, when he was shot to death. These players were engaging … [Read more...] about St. Louis Police Oppose Non Violent Protest By Football Players
Notes on Ferguson
Two notes on Ferguson, one statistical and one comedic. Andrew Sullivan offers statistics on numbers of civilians killed by police officers in a year in other western industrialized nations on The Daily Dish (USA--409, Japan--0, Great Britain--0, Germany--8). Various reports suggest that this number in the US may actually be low. Jon Stewart brilliantly skewers Fox News for … [Read more...] about Notes on Ferguson
The question we can’t answer
WASHINGTON -- Michael Brown's death was part of a tragic and unacceptable pattern: Police officers in the United States shoot and kill civilians in shockingly high numbers. How many killings are there each year? No one can say for sure, because police departments don't want us to know. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, in 2013 there were 461 "justifiable … [Read more...] about The question we can’t answer
Police group wants Rams players disciplined for “hands-up” gesture; NFL says they won’t be punished
Five St. Louis Rams players took the field for Sunday's game against the Raiders in St. Louis with their hands raised. It was to show their support for protesters in Ferguson, Mo., and around the country who are angered that former police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted by a grand jury for the killing of… … [Read more...] about Police group wants Rams players disciplined for “hands-up” gesture; NFL says they won’t be punished
Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Black Friday in Ferguson
Black Friday in Ferguson by Mike Peters OF RELATED INTEREST: --Ferguson won't heal --Obama resists demands to curtail police militarisation calling instead for improved officer training --Ferguson, Racism and Higher Education --Ferguson Decision Shows the Brutality of Racism Mike Peters is recognized as one of our nation’s most prominent cartoon artists for his … [Read more...] about Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Black Friday in Ferguson
Immigration Action is Opportunity to ‘Get Right with the Law’ (Guest Voice)
Immigration Action an Opportunity to ‘Get Right with the Law’ By Everard Meade After months of speculation, President Obama finally announced a sweeping executive action on immigration, which could potentially protect nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. In order to qualify, undocumented immigrants must have been here for more than five years, have … [Read more...] about Immigration Action is Opportunity to ‘Get Right with the Law’ (Guest Voice)
FBI to American military: social media could set up you up for ISIS attack
[icopyright one button toolbar] Beware of social media. Be careful when communicating online. That's part of the warning the FBI has issued to the American military which fears ISIS could inspire or order attacks on the U.S military: The FBI on Sunday issued the strongest warning to date about possible attacks by the ISIS terrorist group against the U.S. military … [Read more...] about FBI to American military: social media could set up you up for ISIS attack
GOP Staffer Elizabeth Lauten Resigns Over Sasha & Malia Obama Facebook Attack
[icopyright one button toolbar] ELIZABETH LAUTEN RESIGNS: GOP staffer Elizabeth Lauten says she is 'resigning today' following her controversial comments about Sasha and Malia Obama -- CNN reports. In case you forgot, here's a screenshot of Elizabeth Lauten's Facebook rant attacking the teenagers: Now let's see if Elizabeth Lauten's boss, Rep. Stephen Fincher, … [Read more...] about GOP Staffer Elizabeth Lauten Resigns Over Sasha & Malia Obama Facebook Attack
Gorbachev: West ‘Resigned’ to Crimea’s Return to Russia (Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia)
[icopyright one button toolbar] Upon his return from celebrations in Germany for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev gave this somewhat testy interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, in which he is defensive over accusations that he 'lost' the Soviet Union. He discusses where it all went wrong with the United States, … [Read more...] about Gorbachev: West ‘Resigned’ to Crimea’s Return to Russia (Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia)
Note for Steven Moffat on How to Improve ‘Doctor Who’
[icopyright one button toolbar] To Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat As arrogant as it might be for me (who's never created anything as amazing as the work you've done with Doctor Who) to say, most fans I've talked to have agreed wholeheartedly that although Peter Capaldi has been brilliant as the Doctor since his debut in series eight, the episodes this series have … [Read more...] about Note for Steven Moffat on How to Improve ‘Doctor Who’
15 new films you’ll want to see this December
Nazis! Ghouls! Orcs! Kim Jong-un! Creepy hunters with sexist leers! What would the holiday movie season be without them? It's the rush to the finish line, and the start of serious campaigning for awards season kudos, as 15-odd titles make their way to movie screens — and more than 15-odd if you happen to live in… … [Read more...] about 15 new films you’ll want to see this December
‘The imperial Congress’
WASHINGTON -- President Obama issued a veto threat last week against a corporate tax-cutting orgy that promised the world to many powerful interests but did little for the middle class and nothing for low-income Americans. The president's move was singularly useful. It should be a sign of things to come. The widespread pessimism about the next two years in Washington is … [Read more...] about ‘The imperial Congress’
JOURNAL: THE SAD BAD NEWS FOR THE IMMIGRANT BASHERS FROM THE GOP
[icopyright one button toolbar] I think back about the sunset to the west, the red sun dropping down into the forest across the road. I'm a child on the cement stoop in the boon docks of N'orthn Indianer. I am en-wondered by seeing this beauty of light going down into the dark fingers of the trees... a forest that cannot hold the sun forever. It will rise. Again and again. … [Read more...] about JOURNAL: THE SAD BAD NEWS FOR THE IMMIGRANT BASHERS FROM THE GOP
Did GOP Staffer Elizabeth Lauten Criticize These Females for Their ‘Dress’ & Demeanor
[icopyright one button toolbar] ...or is it just the young teen daughters of First Lady and current President of the United States, Sasha and Malia? Who I think are lovely and composed and dressed like many a young woman today. FIRST VOLLEY Elizabeth Lauten, communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN), had written this attacking the two girls who actually … [Read more...] about Did GOP Staffer Elizabeth Lauten Criticize These Females for Their ‘Dress’ & Demeanor