I am sitting here with everyone still asleep listening to the light rain over of the fields and a red squirrel rocking in the hammock. The fields are a perfect Monet with fog playing through the lines of the vineyard. Yesterday was another glorious day in Gascony.
Continue reading “Day 3-4: Heux, France”
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
Last Thursday, July 21, the Texas Board of Education in an 8-0 unanimous vote opted to keep teaching evolution in high school biology classes using approved scientifically accurate textbook supplements from established mainstream publishers. They did not approve of the creationist-backed supplements from International Databases, LLC. Four times as many people showed up to testify in favor of the scientifically accurate texts as showed up to oppose them.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Their shrinking ice floe habitat under constant assault by climate change, polar bears are taking to the water to preserve their species. One female swam the equivalent distance between Boston and Washington D.C. in an effort to find more suitable habitat. The migration has caused a sad side-effect, as according to study author, George Durner, a USGS research zoologist, “Bears that engaged in long-distance swimming were more likely to experience cub loss.” Five of eleven polar bears that made these swims lost their cubs in the process.
Continue reading “Coming To A Beach Near You: Polar Bear Swims 426 Miles”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
The new toy is Automatic License Plate Reader/Recognition (ALPR), and a cool toy it is. It basically reads every license plate its cameras see and compares that data to a list. That list might contain the license plates of stolen vehicles, the license plates of drivers with suspended licenses or no insurance, and “Amber Alerts.” This all happens automatically, in real-time.
The systems also stores the date and time of every license plate and the corresponding GPS coordinates, even for law-abiding citizens. Therein lies the potential for abuse.
Continue reading “New Toy For The National Surveillance State”
Continue reading “Day 3-4: Heux, France (The Arrival of the Plague Doctors)”
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
A startling thought occurred to me recently and that is while I’m only approaching the age of sixty-seven, I have lived in eight decades on this planet. Every one of those eight decades has had an American involvement in a foreign war. To be sure there is a massive degree of difference in magnitude let’s say between World War II and Grenada, but both were wars nonetheless. There is a common thread in all of these involvements that goes beyond the immediate causes and that is the quest for Empire. A persistent undertone in American thought has been expansive since Jefferson made The Louisiana Purchase. While this need to expand hasn’t always been present in the public political debate as a motivation, those whose thoughts held sway over the political and intellectual backbone of our country openly discussed it. While America, which initially remained primarily an agrarian nation, was expanding into the vast frontier of this continent, our dreams of empire focused on taming the country and overwhelming its Native American population. By the mid Nineteenth Century, the industrial revolution influenced American thought and the need to expand to acquire natural resources, replaced agrarian needs, while making the taming of the frontier more urgent.
Given our constitutional underpinnings and the magnificent sentiments of the Declaration of Independence, many felt qualms about our displacement of Native Americans in our expansion westward. Darwin’s Origin of The Species, published in 1859 became an instant sensation for intellectuals worldwide and for those with the power to shape a nation’s thought processes. Social Darwinism, survival of the fittest, was the new model for developing rationales and mythologies, which absolved the country of residual guilt in our struggle with the native population and allowed opinion shapers and ideologues to frame the issue in terms of the struggle of civilization against savagery.
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Is much of America really in the midst of a brutal heat wave? Nah! It’s really not as hot as you may think—or feel. So says radio talk show host and weather meister Rush Limbaugh. Ignore those news reports warning that the temperatures are soaring into the stratosphere. According to Rush, the mercury isn’t really rising as high
inside thermometers as reports claim.
Here’s what Rush had to say recently about what’s really going on weatherwise:
They’re playing games with us on this heat wave, again. Even Drudge. Drudge getting sucked in here. Going to be 116 in Washington. No, it’s not. It’s gonna be like 100, maybe 99. A heat index, manufactured by the government to tell you what it feels like when you add the humidity in there.
116. When’s the last time the heat index was reported as an actual temperature? It hasn’t been, but it looks like they’re trying to get away with doing that now. 116. Drudge is just linking to other people reporting. He’s not saying it, I don’t want to misunderstand, but he’s linking to stories which say 116 degrees in Washington. No!
It’s going to top out as 102, 103. It does this every year. We have this every year. There’s a heat dome over half the country, midwest is moving east. And it happens every summer. Every summer.
Continue reading “Rush Limbaugh Runs Hot and Cold on Weather Indices”
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
There is a trend today on television that is disturbing and I think harmful to our Country, yet we are powerless to halt its’ progress. This occurred to me as I watched an edition of ABC’s Primetime-Nightline entitled “Battle With the Devil”, which was advertised as a show that “investigates the belief in satanic will or possession by a demon”. I’d DVR’ed it because from the description, it was supposed to present various people who purport to have had demonic possession and or experiences of Satan. It also promised to include exorcists, psychologists and various other experts. The beliefs and actions of people always interest me. The more bizarre the belief system the more interesting I find the person. I’m fascinated by human extremes and as a therapist I’m always trying to puzzle out what makes someone tick. When the show ended though, I found myself angry at it and feeling somehow abused emotionally. That feeling began my train of thought that led to this post.
Continue reading “Fundamentalist Religion and TV Documentaries, A Problem?”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Norwegian television has identified a suspect in the shooting spree on the island Utoya as Anders Behring Breivik, 32, describing him as a member of “right-wing extremist groups in eastern Norway.” The shooting at the youth camp has reportedly resulted in more than 80 deaths.
In his Facebook account, now deleted, he describes himself as having Christian, conservative views. He also has a Twitter account with only one tweet, a quote from philosopher John Stuart Mills: “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100 000 who have only interests.”
If the reports are accurate, don’t expect denunciations of right-wing extremism from Fox News. If the event in Norway had been caused by a Muslim, would Fox News classify it as a terrorist attack instead of a massacre by a madman?
What a day! We began with our wonderful Gascon breakfast with fresh pastries and fruits. We then went for a lunch of escargot and local delights in the little town of Montreal. After a visit to Roman ruins and the Medieval town of Larressingle, our hostess surprised Madie and I with a joint birthday with local families and huge fireworks.
Continue reading “Day 3-4: Heux, France”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Rarely do I disagree with our host, but on the Brown polygamy case we do. And not so much on the merits of the case as on the timing of it. I’ve said before I would decriminalize the practice of polygamy and regulate it much as we do other human relationships where there exists real risk of overreaching or exploitation. I think this approach serves the interests of the important right of privacy and protects the vulnerable.
Continue reading “Lessons from Roe in the Brown Polygamy Case”
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
In Atlanta, Georgia, Tiffany Denise Allen is charged with simple battery, simple assault and disorderly conduct. While these charges may not be unusual in themselves, the circumstances surrounding them are. Allen was a manger of a local McDonald’s restaurant. She was off duty but on the premises when Jennifer Schwenker entered the McDonald’s in suburban Marietta with her autistic twins and service dog on July 12. Apparently upset that Mrs. Schwenker brought her service dog into the restaurant, surveillance tapes show Allen proceeded to follow her around the store and out into the parking lot where Allen punched the woman in the face. The recordings show other McDonald’s employees trying to restrain Allen. The operators of the local franchise, J.M. and Jan Owens, are cooperating with police. They told the Associated Press that “At our McDonald’s restaurant, we respect and value our customers. Their safety and well-being is always a top priority [. . .] We strive to comply with all applicable laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is our policy to make our restaurants accessible to all customers, including those with disabilities and special needs, whether or not they need the assistance of service animals.” McDonald’s says Allen is no longer in their employ. Clearly McDonald’s and the Owens’ have done the right thing in response so far, but the scenario does raise some questions.
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
More potential bad news for Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. as Thursday’s Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing subpoenas relating to alleged foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims. This is in addition to a separate FBI probe into the alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims and a possible FCPA-related (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) investigation by the SEC related to allegations of bribing police in Great Britain. There are also a substantial number of civil suits springing up related to the activities of News Corp.’s now shuttered News of the World operation. While Murdoch and News Corp. have attempted to contain the damage done by the News of the World U.K. phone hacking scandal, it seems like their efforts are failing as the investigation into their operations expands across the Atlantic. The real question lies with A.G. Eric Holder’s Department of Justice willingness to act.
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Yesterday, a group of “gay barbarians” entered Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling center in Minnesota and demanded to be disciplined by Marcus himself.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
When the severed head of a wolf, wrapped in women’s lingerie, turned up near the northern Saudi Arabian city of Tabouk, the Anti-Witchcraft Unit swung into action to break the spell that used the wolf’s head. Superstitious belief in magic and witchcraft is widespread in the kingdom. The Saudis have banned the Harry Potter series of books because of its tales of magic and sorcery.
The superstition that is Islam can provide no logical relief from belief in other superstitions.