Monday Reads
Posted: December 30, 2013 Filed under: morning reads | Tags: 2013, Bob Filner, Comet Ison 71 Comments
Good Morning!
Well, the year 2014–if that’s how you count years–is upon us. More than anything else, I’m hoping this year goes down as the year the Tea Party goes into the correct bag and we dispose of it. It’s time to look back with regrets and hope that things change for the better. Let’s start with the Sleaziest Pols of 2013. Here’s my pick of the list for ickiest pol this year.
BOB FILNER
Bob Filner is not the first politician to commit sexual harassment. In fact, he’s not even the first politician to serially harass and grope women. But he’s almost certainly the first one to count a former admiral in the U.S. Navy among his victims. Filner spent 20 years in Congress as a relatively obscure Democrat representing much of San Diego. Then, he became mayor of San Diego and the scandal floodgates opened. At least 18 women came forward and Filner was eventually forced to resign as mayor, pleading guilty to one felony and two misdemeanors related to his serial harassment.
Some times things need an explanation. The Economist always does this with something in its weekly issues. Here’s The Explainer article in 2013 that I found most compelling. What makes a language difficult?
Ranking languages on a universal scale of difficulty is itself difficult and controversial. Some languages proliferate endings on verbs and nouns, like Latin and Russian. Such inflection can be hard for learners who are not used to it. Several years ago, two scholars found that smaller languages (those with less contact with other languages) tended to have more inflection than big ones. By contrast, creole languages—which arise between groups that do not share a common language—are thought by scholars to be systematically simpler than other languages, even after they become “normal” languages with native speakers. They typically lack heavy inflection.
But inflection is only one element of “hardness”. Some languages have simple sound systems (such as the Polynesian languages). Others have a wide variety of sounds, including rare ones that outsiders find hard to learn (like the languages of the Caucasus). Some languages (like English) lack or mostly lack grammatical gender. Some have dozens of genders (also known as “noun classes”) that must be learned for each noun. Languages can have rigidly fixed or flexible word order. They can put verbs before objects or even objects before subjects. Yet it is not clear how to rank the relative difficulty of exotic consonants, dozens of genders or heavy inflection. Another recent approach sought to go around the problem by finding languages that had the most unusual features, skirting the question of whether those features were “hard”. Comparing 21 feature parameters across hundreds of languages, they ranked 239 languages. Chalcatongo Mixtec, spoken in Mexico, was the weirdest. English came in place number 33. Basque, Hungarian, Hindi and Cantonese ranked as among the most “normal”. The researchers did not find any larger similarities between “weird” and “normal” languages.
As you know, I’m obsessed with digging up ancient stuff. So, no list of 2013 outliers of mine would be complete without looking at the top archaeological 
finds of 2013 and picking one that fascinated me. One of the most disturbing events in history on my list was the destruction of the Great Library and the absolute purging of all kinds of ancient wisdom during the Crusades and the onset of the spread of dogma by the “Holy Roman Empire”. I love it whenever we recover something that these self-righteous destroyers ruined. So, in that spirit, I’m glad some of the ancient writing mediums were reused. We know have the technology to recover the good stuff that’s buried under the propaganda.
Ancient Philosophical Writings Found Hidden Beneath Medieval Text A group of scientists and historians made an incredible discovery relating to some writings made on parchments that were produced in medieval times. Using cutting-edge technology, the researchers found that the parchment had once contained ancient philosophical writings that had later been washed off and over-written. Using multispectral imaging, scientists were able to recover the original text, shedding new light on the history of philosophical education in the late antiquity. The uppermost layer of text dates to the thirteenth century and comprises the Prophetic Books of the Greek Old Testament. However, through an amazing stroke of luck, it was discovered that beneath this text there had originally been some writing by the well-known ancient Greek writer, Euripides, and an unknown ancient commentary on Aristotle, which dated back to the fifth century. “The discovery of this work is of inestimable value for the history of philosophical education in the late antiquity”, said the discoverer of the manuscript, Dr. Chiara Faraggiana di Sarzana from Bologna University. The research being undertaken, named the Palamedes Project, aims to create a critical edition of the two important manuscripts featuring the newly discovered and unexplored Greek texts, made readable using the latest forms of technology.
My choice for best beat down of an urban myth this year–other than the NYT’s article that should shut the Republicans up on Benghazi— is this one about coffee stunting your growth. It turns out that there’s no evidence that coffee is bad for a kid’s growth. That idea was put in our heads by the makers of POSTUM because they didn’t want to lose customers.
Modern concerns about coffee’ health effects in the U.S. can be traced to C.W. Post, an 1800s-era food manufacturer most well known for pioneering the field of breakfast cereal. He also invented a grain-based breakfast beverage called Postum, advertised as a caffeine-free coffee alternative, that was popular through the 1960s (and is still in production).
“Postum made C.W. Post a fortune, and he became a millionaire from vilifying coffee, and saying how horrible it was for you,” Pendergrast says. “The Postum advertisers had all kinds of pseudoscientific reasons that you should stay away from coffee.” Among the “evil effects” of coffee for adults, according to Post: it depressed kidney and heart function, it was a “nerve poison,” it caused nervousness and indigestion, it led to sallow skin.
Even after Post died in 1914, his company’s ads continued their attack on coffee, highlighting its effects on youth in particular and marketing Postum as a kid-friendly hot beverage. Postum’s ads claimed that that coffee should never, under any circumstances, be served to children, for a number of reasons—it made them sluggish, irritable and sleepless, it robbed them of “rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes,” it led to failing grades and, as the 1933 ad above claims, “it hampers proper development and growth.”
Over time, it seems, the belief that coffee is unfit for children—and, specifically, that it stops them from growing—slipped into the country’s cultural consciousness and took root, despite a total lack of scientific evidence.
Happily, Postum is now mostly forgotten, and coffee reigns. Virtually all of coffee’s supposed ills have been debunked—including the idea that coffee stunts growth. On the whole, scientists now believe that the health benefits of drinking two to three cups of coffee per day (a reduced risk of developing dementia, diabetes and heart disease) outweigh the costs (a slight increase incholesterol levels, for instance).
Of course, you might have your own very legitimate reasons for not letting kids drink coffee that have nothing to do with growth. A big concern is sleep, and how crucial it is for developing children—they need more of it than adults, and there’s evidence that sleep disturbances could be linked with childhood obesity—so the fact that coffee packs more caffeine than tea or soda is an issue.
Then there are the more prosaic problems that could result from giving kids coffee. “My biggest concern is that caffeine is addictive,” Pendergrast says. “And there is a lot of evidence that if you’re addicted, and you don’t get your caffeine, you suffer quite exquisite headaches, among other symptoms.”
Fox says the NYT’s research on Benghazi is wrong. They’d probably be fighting a faux war on coffee for kids if the ad dollars from Coffee aren’t 
so huge these days compared to POST cereal and POSTUM. It’s just really dismaying to see how a media outlet that basically exists to lie to people gets to pass itself off as news.
There were a lot of kewl science events this year. Some of the Best Space Photos include my one of my favorite science stories this year. The compelling voyage of Comet ISON that started some where around the time our ancestors were learning to walk upright ended this year in a battle with our Sun. Comets cemented the Law of Gravity and have contributed to knowing our timing and place in our universe for some time. ISON may have disappointed some. But, I really got hung up in the last days of ISON.
After Comet ISON made its spectacular hairpin turn around the Sun on Thanksgiving, as seen in online images taken by the SOHO and STEREO spacecraft, it was unclear if enough of the comet had survived for it to become widely visible in the night sky. By the time it exited SOHO’s field of view a few days later, ISON had faded dramatically, even as it became larger and diffuse. Many astronomers believed the comet had disintegrated, melted by the fierce heat of our star and/or ripped apart by tidal forces. Unfortunately, it seems they were right.
ISON was to have been at its best in early December, had it lived up to its more optimistic projections: A beautiful sight with a long tail extending up into the predawn sky. But nothing of substance emerged from the solar glare. Several of the world’s most skilled comet observers reported sightings of a large, faint smudge at the comet’s approximate position around December 8, but no photographs were able to confirm this, and such sightings have ceased. Last week, both the Arecibo giant radiotelescope dish and the Hubble Space Telescope attempted to find remnants of ISON, but they were unable detect anything near the comet’s expected position. All that’s left of ISON is a ghost: an expanding dust cloud, faded into invisibility.
As it is with ISON, so it is with 2013. There was a lot of gas, speculation, and hooplah that ended.
What’s on your reading and blogging list today? And, any thing that stands out in my lists our any others that you’ve found that grab your fancy?
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
It’s time for the FCC to step in and demand a disclaimer precede every Fox broadcast: “This is a propaganda site devoted chiefly to big corporations and slanted “news” and funded by the GOP without regard to the truth”.
At least this way those “faithful” who choose to believe they are getting accurate coverage know in advance that what they are watching is fantasy disguised as fact. The poison they spew has an effect on its audience that is far reaching while it serves only those whose quest for power knows no boundaries.
Darrell Issa anyone?
Issa is a crook and a psychopath
Those may be his good points 😉
lol
I have to offset the crap Fox News feeds my dad every time I talk to him. It drives me nuts. I tell him that I can easily debunk most of the stuff they say about the health care plan and the economy without much effort and that the stuff I know a lot about makes me question if they ever tell the truth about anything. He thinks I spew democratic talking points and take Obama’s side on things. I keep telling him it’s my job to know about all these finance and econ things and you don’t get any kind of credibility in your field that way. It’s like those damns stories about the deficit and government spending. PURE propaganda. I tell him I can show him the numbers straight from the CBO and I don’t have to go through any politician or news outlet to see what’s true. Drives me nuts.
There’s no way to get through to some people with reason, evidence, logic, or anything remotely close to facts. Drives me nuts too.
Mark Ames has a new post on the Snowden leaks and our lack of a political ideology for dealing with them.
Snowden’s biggest revelation: We don’t know what power is anymore, nor do we care
That is a great story! Thanks so much for the link,
You’re welcome.
Check this out: Duck Dynasty toy clock appears to say `Heil Hitler`
I’ve been reading what this guy (Phil Robertson) has to say about women and marriage and he’s a guy right out of the he-man-woman-hater club. He began dating his wife when she was 14 and he was 18 (that’s illegal in most states and was illegal even when he was dating her in the 60’s) he married her when she was 16 (poor woman) and he is on video advising men not to marry 20 year old women because all they’re after is money, according to Phil they will pick your pocket. This guy may have issues with TEH gay and TEH Black but he has an even more serious issues concering the role of women in society. A&E may have saved his bacon for the time being but I’ll bet these videos of Phil saying totally sexist comments about women will begin coming to light and will eventually erode his base of support.
Fuck the duck!
It’s not enough that he’s a disgusting bigot, he’s gotta be a pervert to! I wish I was sure this would lose him support but I don’t know how far the right-wing will go now.
Gay student on Phil Robertson’s comments: ‘He made me feel unsafe in my own home’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/30/gay-student-on-phil-robertsons-comments-he-made-me-feel-unsafe-in-my-own-home/
I completely understand what is happening with this young man. Here I am, and old gay woman who’s been out to my family for over 30 years, with my partner of 30 years at my side eating a Christmas dinner when one of my family members chastised my 6yr old great grandson for “acting gay”. I heard him say, “stop doing that, it makes me sick” and when I turned around to see what was happening the baby was standing with his right hand on his right hip and his right knee bent and his left hand on his left hip. I said “what’s wrong with how he’s standing?” and the step-father said he looks like a sissy and he’s been told not to stand that way. He’s acting gay”. I was so stunned I asked my granddaughter, the child’s mother, why they were scolding him for that and she said “he kissed a boy at school and it’s embarrassing”. I said “do you realize who you’re saying this too?” then she said, “if he’s gay then he’s gay but he doesn’t have to act that way in public”. That was basically the end of Christmas dinner for me and my partner. We made a quick exit and vowed to each other to spend no more holidays with family. It seems like we can’t get through a holiday or family gathering without being insulted. One of my granddaughters got married recently and when the grandparents were escorted down the aisle my daughter (her mother) came to me and told me my partner wasn’t going to be escorted down the aisle with the grandparents. My partner and I were together before any of my grandchildren were born so they know no other grandparents than the two of us as a couple. We were both devastated by the decision because we knew it was made because they’re ashamed of us. Of course I refused to be escorted down the aisle and my partner and I sat at the back of the church. A similar situation happened at the baptism of one of my great grandchildren. We’re so tired of the disrespect and there seems to be no end to it.
Here’s how it is…..We’re here and we’re not going away!!!!! JUST ASK ROBIN ROBERTS WHO CAME OUT TODAY!!!!!!! The duck people, the homophobes, the religious nuts and the bigots, even those who are in our families, are not shoving us back into the closet.
That poor kid. Someone needs to give him a hug and tell him he’s OK just as he is. I hate the thought that he’s going to keep being treated like that. It’s horrible.
The way they treated you and your partner is disgusting, but you can deal with it, despite the hurt. I’m really worried about that little boy.
I cried my eyes out over it BB. I held him before I left and told him how special he is. He is the most loving and gentle of all of my grandchildren and great grandchildren. I asked him if he kissed a boy at school and he said “yes, but I kissed a girl too”. I told him it was ok to love people and it is ok to want to kiss people, but he shouldn’t kiss people at school because there is a rule against kissing at school, I asked his mother not to belittle him and to let him be who he is. She told me she didn’t mean it toward my partner and I and I said “this isn’t about us, it’s about your baby. Please don’t make him think you’re ashamed of him”. She said she wouldn’t but I have no reason to believe it.
Mouse,
I’m so glad you did that! That’s something he can hang onto.
He and his mother lived with us for about 2 1/2 years after he was born so he’s very special to us. I’m so disappointed in his mother I don’t know what to do. I thought she was stronger than to give into the sort of social pressures that cause people to scold their children for not following some “Normal” behavior script. Unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about it .
People are so damned ignorant and cruel sometimes and it’s always about them, not about who they treat badly.
I understand that a former lover just outted Arron Rodgers. I wonder how that’s going to play out. He’s obviously in a career where it can’t be easy on him and he’s damn good at what he does. I have no idea why some folks just can’t move on. It’s like why is some one else’s sexual preference about you?
If true it won’t go over well. The NFL is hyper-macho and for better or for worse the stereotype of gay men is that all gay men are effeminate, which isn’t true by a long shot anymore than all lesbians are butch. My experience over nearly 70 years is that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.
I’ve been a longtime proponent of people coming out at their own pace, but I think high profile people have a bigger burden to come out than ordinary people like myself because the way you change hearts and minds is for people to know you and to see for themselves that ‘except for who you love” you are no different.
Dak, you wondered aloud why the LGBT community gets more play on the social issues than women. It isn’t because gay groups have more men, it’s because both lesbians and gay men basically live the same social experience. For many years L/G’s socialized separately, in fact we still do in many settings, but during the AIDS/HIV epidemic we joined forces to demand that society and our government not ignore the epidemic and label it as the “gay sickness”. Few lesbians were affected by the epidemic, but we did join, en masse, with our gay brothers, helping them with their legal, medical and health issues and working on projects to bring attention to the problem of AIDS/HIV. The earliest was the Names Project, better known as the AIDS Quilt.
The issue for women is, IMHO…..Not enough women believe or even see the sexist attitudes and road blocks erected before them. They have socialized subservience or second class as acceptable and even desirable especially if there is a sexual component associated with it. It reminds me of the phenomena I witnessed during the civil rights movement when many black people made a conscious decision to remain silent and on the sidelines. If the civil rights movement failed silence would insure their safety and their position within the status quo. The fact is very few people have the courage required to be the standard bearer or to be among the people who challenge the status quo. That is just how it is. What you see in the world of L/G’s is a joint effort to right the wrong because we all experience the wrong. There are very few L/G’s who are clinging to the status quo. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all lived it, it sucks
Thank you Fannie & Ralph. I don’t know why I’m spilling my guts today. Sometimes I just have to let it out and I know all of y’all are compassionate, caring people who care about the same things I care about. Thank Goodness for the Sky Dancers.
“What you see in the world of L/G’s is a joint effort to right the wrong because we all experience the wrong. There are very few L/G’s who are clinging to the status quo. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all lived it, it sucks”
I didn’t state that very well so I hope no one misunderstands my meaning. I heard it explained once that the struggle for gay rights differs from the struggle for civil rights in that Black American’s had the support of their families and friends throughout their long struggle, L/G’s, for the most part, have not. In the absence of family support we’ve learned that if we want to live our lives truthfully and openly the status quo does not work for us. Of course all black Americans experienced the injustices of racism but they also had their family to give them comfort and support, most L/G’s until they come out and defy the social “norms” have no support system, Consequentially we’ve created our own support systems where we have become family, friend and advocate to and for each other.
http://bobmannblog.com/2013/12/30/some-thanks-for-the-kinder-people-of-louisiana-we-are-not-all-phil-robertson/
about the part of Lousiana south of the I-12
I love your great big heart Mouse! Never lose who you are, never let someone define you and your self worth, I love that.
I’m proud of you Mouse and damn glad to know you. Hang tough for the little ones!
I never get the nesting right, so I’m copying and pasting from my comment to Fannie & Ralph above
“Thank you Fannie & Ralph. I don’t know why I’m spilling my guts today. Sometimes I just have to let it out and I know all of y’all are compassionate, caring people who care about the same things I care about. Thank Goodness for the Sky Dancers.”
Mouse, you only need remember that when some bigot spouts off, you’re worth 10 of them.
People can be so cruel. And it doesn’t matter who that jerk said his hateful comment to or in front of — it was hateful. Why do some people kick their kicks by insulting others? I always think they must be very insecure in themselves.
Mouse, that was so wonderful of you to talk with that little kid in the way you did.
And I think there is absolutely no point in spending time with family members who are mean.
And thank you for “spilling your guts”! I found your discussion about lesbian support for gays during the AIDs crisis early years very informative. And I definitely agree with you that too many women have bought into, or been brainwashed into, the idea that sexism is OK. Big reason, among many reasons, why women still lack equal rights.
I know Mouse the more I find out about that dude the more disgusted I get…he gives me the creeps.
We’re having some frank discussions about a lot of things here in Louisiana since it appears to be the year of Louisiana rednecks. I wanted to share some things with you written by friends and acquaintances down here associated with social justice issues: racism, feminism, and GLBT rights.
Theres a lot of stuff in this including a wonderful Youtube interview with Dr. Eakins–a great aunt and historian of this young blogger who write eloquently on “plantation nostalgia” among other things. This is going to link to a latter link too.
So juxtapose that on top of this:
http://jezebel.com/ani-difranco-cancels-songwriting-retreat-at-former-slav-1491525368?utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_facebook&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/ani-difranco-nottoway-plantation-facebook/
You really have to read ani’s cancellation notice. I really dub it whitesplainin’
I highly doubt Ani DiFranco has any desire to dress up and pretend to be southern nobility, or whatever. This rage-gasm may be a poor idea.
It seems quite clueless to not notice the venue beyond thinking “whoa.”
Indeed, but I’ve been known to lose the plot from time to time. That doesn’t make me an enemy to people I support. It’s far too easy for a fairly small misjudgement to snowball in the age of instant twitter rages. People should give a little more thought before they assume ill will and attack their allies. That’s just a matter of respect.
Then, Bob Mann has been writing some absolutely righteous things about the Duck Dicks including finding a young gay man in that part of the state to tell his story:
http://bobmannblog.com/2013/12/28/i-cant-be-gay-in-northeast-louisiana-a-ulm-students-powerful-message-to-phil-robertson/
Then, finally after the world sees Robertson’s homophobia … then discovers the racist parts … folks finally figure out the asshat also is ragining sexist … we discussed all three of these aspects from the get-go so we were way ahead of the curve. But I’m tired that there still seems to be a priority placed on civil rights and I have no idea wtf to do about it … the only explanation I have is that GLBT rights activists are the only group that currently has white men in it and therefore, it gets more ink and money to get things straight. I’m happy there’s movement forward, but I freaking cry for every one else left behind because there are no white males in their number ….
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/12/30/phil_robertson_on_marriage_duck_dynasty_star_advised_men_to_find_15_year.html
I may try to wrap all of this up in its on post but right now, it’s just swirling around in my head so I thought those of you that are actually paying attention to the blog and things right now might want to read them.
Thank you!
Wow….The plantations homes are truly monuments in the south. My small town has it’s share and many of them host weddings and luncheons for the affluent, and are maintained like monuments. In some places in the south these mansions have been turned into club houses of exclusive Country Clubs. It’s disgusting
I worked with a guy (he didn’t really work, he was just a figurehead) who was raised on one of these old plantations that was the home place of his great-great-grandparents. One year he took everyone from work to his home and it was, quite literally, a museum, right down to the rock slave walls that surrounded the mansion. There are many miles of slave walls all over the south and this mansion probably had at least 5-10 miles of slave walls surrounding it. This home is set so far off the main road you couldn’t see the house or the slave quarters from the entrance. We were told that is how it escaped looting and destruction by the Union Army.
The first floor of his mansion was all original Civil war era furniture and paintings. The second & third floors were renovated living quarters and that’s where he lived. The slave quarters had been remodeled and turned into guest houses and the black woman, mammy, who raised him and his mother, still lived on the premises in a renovated cabin. She was in her 90’s at the time and had never lived anywhere else. He was proud of his “heritage” and I don’t think it ever occurred to him that his wealth and the wealth of his family came at the exploitation of blacks. The entire place gave me the creeps.
For some reason most places built by vast wealth tend to make me feel uneasy. A plantation would really give me the creeps, too.
I like the emphasis on “concentration camps” as I was thinking about Wounded Knee and the resulting “concentration camps” we call Indian reservations, or Res.
On the bright side …
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/04/papa-johns-applebees-and-others-pay-huge-price-for-anti-obamacare-politicking/
Oh, Obamacare doesn’t affect businesses for another year. He’s another CEO rich person who wants to stay rich, and hell with the rest of you people who need full time jobs, good wages, and health care. Something is wrong with this picture.
I know. I just don’t understand why you would set up businesses and treat your workers so badly. There is so much to be gained from having loyal and happy workers on all kinds of levels that you would think it would make more sense than having the immediate gratification of mo money. I guess some people just can’t fill up their empty existences with enough junk and distractions. The papa john jerk seems to live back in the world of plantations.
Coddling the hyperwealthy like they’re endangered pandas hasn’t been such a successful economic strategy either. They should be treated like pariahs when they deserve it.
The Papa John’s guy has a home that looks like a Resort Hotel, with a pool that looks like it belongs at a resort hotel and his own personal golf course, tennis courts and aircraft landing area. He’s the King of “Jerks”. He’s scared he might have to give up one of his many luxuries.
Probably has a small skinny penis
Probably, but even if I had the chance I wouldn’t look. 🙂
He probably has to take Viagra to get his small, skinny penis to do anything too.
And this is just inhumane!!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/30/us-fukushima-workers-idUSBRE9BT00520131230
Special Report: Japan’s homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up
I hear one of the reactors is in the process of melting down now. I’m not sure it’s true.
It looks like we’re getting another big winter storm in Gulf and it’s going to result in snow across the Midwest and then crash into a front from Alaska giving us in the NE a big ol’ ugly N’oreaster!
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/12/30/very-signifcant-snow-storm-coming-thursday-friday/
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/first-snowstorm-2014-target-midwest-northeast-20131229
How does it look to you, Dak?
Doesn’t look good. There are two arctic highs that are going to push against a really wet low. I think it looks really bad but I’ll go check the various models and check the probabilities for the various components. If I were you, I’d stock up on things and prepare to stay home. The worst thing looks like the Low is being fed by moisture from the Gulf which means the snow will be heavy and wet and that usually contributes to downed powerlines.
Thanks. It’s supposed to be extremely cold here, so I don’t think the snow will be wet. I hope not.
The isobars look really tight too … that means some wicked winds and drifts
Y’all have been pounded this year. I hope you keep power.
I haven’t lost it so far. We’ve just had two storms and a total of 14 inches. This sounds like it could be worse, but I’ll just have to wait and see.
I suppose living in the south for so long has spoiled me. We had temps in the teens a few days ago and I hurt so badly from the cold I had to layer on 3 long sleeve shirts and heating blanket to get relief.
I have family in Michigan and a few of them have been without power due to ice.
It has been much worse in the midwest than here. I really feel for those folks in MI.
It’s 39 with a north wind howling here and that’s frigid for us. Forecast doesn’t look bad but could change at any time now. Hope everyone has a warm NYE.
Bloomberg: Russia Bombings Raise Prospect of Olympics as Terrorist Target
It’s a good thing Snowden isn’t bothered by FSB spying! Maybe they can identify the bad guys.
This is an epidemic. Death like this from another cause would be reason to do something about it but we accept fatal auto crashes without a blink. Maybe we should get serious about building safer cars or, heaven forbid, good public transit to avoid such heavy use?
KVUE: TxDOT: It’s been 13 years since Texas had days without traffic fatalities
Safer vehicles are possible. Something has to make that happen and it’s not the auto corporations. This is (one of the reasons) why we need governments.
One of the reasons I drive a German car. They’re better engineered to protect the passenger compartments in a crash.
Gen Lyons article is wonderful…
This needs a photo of a young woman labeled “incubator.”
President Obama Just Nominated the Very First Native American Woman For Federal Judge
http://www.policymic.com/articles/65911/president-obama-just-nominated-the-very-first-native-american-woman-for-federal-judge
She’s got a big supporter in John McCain. That may help with confirmation.
Actually this many people have left the GOP since 2009 🙂
I just put up a thread about that Ralph. Crazy…