Happy Mother’s Day to all of our mothers and to the mothers of our regulars! I think it is no exaggeration to say that we could not have this blog without them and our blog mothers are widely viewed as the smartest, cleverest, and beautiful mothers in all of motherdom.
Continue reading “Happy Mother’s Day!!!”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Naomi Schaefer Riley, left, wrote a piece for The Chronicle of Higher Education’s (CHE) blog entitled The Most Persuasive Case for Eliminating Black Studies? Just Read the Dissertations. The trouble is: she didn’t read the dissertations, she read the titles and a synopsis of the unfinished documents, and then blogged about her speculations.
Continue reading “The Chronicle of Higher Education Gets Taken To School”
by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
In these days of ever eroding civil rights, it is important to recognize those in Congress willing to stand up for your rights. This is especially true given the ever increasing domestic surveillance of citizens without warrant by government agencies in cooperation with the telecommunications industry; a clear abuse of citizen’s 4th Amendment rights “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Love him or loathe him, this week the Congressman willing to fight the good fight for your rights is Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.).
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
I LOVE champagne mangoes. When they’re in season, I keep them on hand to eat as a snack or for breakfast with some strawberries. A few weeks ago, I puréed some champagne mangoes and fed them to my granddaughter for lunch. She loves them too!
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is concerned with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and the Scouts’ “possible problematic relationships with other organizations.” Rhoades is also concerned about various “problematic” program materials, although specifics details are being withheld.
The GSUSA is “a secular organization that refrains from teaching religious or spiritual beliefs or practices” that tries “to further girls’ leadership.” Therein lies the problem.
Continue reading “Bishops To Hold “Official Inquiry” Of Girl Scouts”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Click to enlarge. Solution below the fold.
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Angela Corey has become a minor legal celebrity for her tough-minded prosecution of the Trayvon Martin murder case. Her toughness has also drawn the ire of U.S. House member Corrine Brown in a racially charged case in Jacksonville. The case involves Marissa Alexander who was charged under Florida’s “10-20-life” law which mandates progressively tough penalties for violent felonies when firearms are involved.
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Staff sergeant Jeremy Cooney has seen his share of courage while serving in Afghanistan, but he found the epitome when he returned home. Surprising his six-year-old son, Michael, at his school, the U.S. Marine got a surprise himself. The boy walked twenty five steps towards his father before falling into the warrior’s anxious arms. Michael has cerebral palsy, a cruel disease that affects brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. Told by doctors her son would never walk, Michael’s mom, Melissa, and his siblings have worked tirelessly with him for weeks to master the miracle. And it was all hush-hush from SSgt. Cooney who made the thousands of miles journey to surprise his son. Here’s the life affirming video:
Source: CBS News
Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
CEO Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase (shown left) went public with a whale of tale today about how one of its investors, Bruno Michel Iksil, known as the “London Whale” lost $2 billion in bad bets on volatile synthetic credit securities. What is most striking about the story is that Dimon was the executive who led efforts to limit reforms by the Federal Reserve after the last financial scandal. Now he says “There were many errors, sloppiness and bad judgment . . . grievous mistakes, they were self-inflicted.” Sound familiar?
Continue reading “Ahab Finds His Whale: JPMorgan CEO Says “London Whale” Swallowed $2 Billion”
If you go to celebrity trials just to watch the cars crash, former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield will not disappoint you. Mayfield has been hit with a $1 million damage award in favor of postal worker Mary E. Bolton who was attacked by Mayfield’s five dog, pit bull/Labrador mixes. It is an interesting case and one more problem for Mayfield who is facing a major drug prosecution.
Iran has long been flog-happy in its imposition of medieval Sharia laws. Now, it has sentenced cartoonist Mahmoud Shokraye to receive 25 lashes for drawing a caricature of Iranian MP, Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, that the MP found insulting. As you can see, it is a pretty mild cartoon but Iranian officials stand by the punishment.
Continue reading “Iran Sentences Cartoonist To Be Flogged For Insulting Politician”
For the ten percent of the world population who believes the world end end according to the Mayan calendar, you may want to make plans for 2013. For months, experts have been saying that this is simply hogwash. Now the oldest-known version of the ancient Maya calendar has been discovered in ruins of a city deep in the Guatemalan rainforest and it shows, as previously said, that the Mayans not only believes life would go on past 2012 but would continue for centuries and centuries.
I am in Omaha, Nebraska today to speak at the Hilton Omaha where Mitt Romney will be raising cash in a private fundraiser for his campaign. It will be interesting if he is pressed on this story picking up steam this week. Romney has been accused of former school chums from his elite all-boy boarding school of attacking a presumed gay student and cutting off his hair. Since in many states the attack on the now-deceased John Lauber would be a hate crime, it is a serious charge even if it was so many years ago. The witness turns out to be a former prosecutor who says that he has been haunted by the act. This week Romney reaffirmed that he opposed same-sex marriage as a personal matter. Update: Romney has apologized for incidents in his youth.
Continue reading “Romney Accused Of Attack On Presumed Gay Student As Teen”
Our Lady of Sorrows Academy, a conservative Catholic school, has forfeited its team rather than compete in the state championships because the second baseman for Mesa Preparatory Academy is no man at all. Second baseman Paige Sultzbach is a girl and, according to this report, Our Lady of Sorrows has religious objections to its boys playing with a girl.
We previously discussed the rather shocking treatment Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner gave an ACLU lawyer over the right of citizens to videotape police in public. As discussed in prior columns and blogs, police across the country have been arresting citizens who film them — a clear abuse of their rights and an effort to prevent citizens from creating incriminating videotapes increasingly used against police. The Seventh Circuit has now barred the use of the law to prosecute citizens for videotaping. Posner dissented and showed, again, a dismissive view of the rights of the citizens vis-a-vis police. The court majority slams State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez for her extreme views expressed in the case and effort to strip videotaping of constitutional protections.