H/T Mediaite

Seems the perp may have had a few too many, but that's too be expected when going to a gun show and carrying your own weapon.

“The Evansville Courier & Press says 30-year-old Joshua Wilkinson of Boonville is charged with criminal recklessness.

Police say he removed a round from the gun and applied a flex tie before entering. Show organizer Tom Allman says despite a sign banning loaded weapons, Wilkinson cut off the band and inserted a clip.

Police say Wilkinson had a 0.05 percent blood alcohol level. Indiana sets the level for drunkenness at 0.08 percent.”

Now here’s a story that gun-control advocates will love. It also may rile some alcohol-control advocates. And it probably should get the attention of the country’s dumbass-control advocates. In Indiana, a man at the Tri-State Gun and Knife Show decided to break the rules and load a gun. Shockingly, it then accidentally went off and injured two people. Even more shockingly, the guy was drunk.

The West has been misled by both foreign and domestic enemies to believe Islam is compatible with democratic thought, but in truth it is not. It is a political ideology that seeks submission and control, and given that ideology it is the antithesis of free thought and free will, which are the underpinnings of our Western way of life. Moreover, Islamists seek the conquest of the world under the black Islamic flag. In short, they seek either our submission or demise, not peaceful co-existence.

In Europe, Islamists are becoming increasingly vocal about their intentions and less inclined to hide their vitriol toward the European countries that have fostered Muslim immigration. Americans should be paying attention to what is going on in Europe, because the Islamists are honing their message and sharpening their skills there, preparing for what they hope will be their world domination.

My federal website clients have begun notifying us to prepare for the potential shutdown of their sites and the correct text to post on the home pages. Billing will most likely cease for the time offline.

This is called trickle down economics.

While the Grand Old Pricks work on a world record for stupid sound bites*, the rest of us are about to experience the full brunt of their follishness.  This entire episode is about Republicans trying to create new or re-designed frames for 2012.  They, as usual, do not care one bit about the 99.9999% of the rest of us.

* Stupid sound bites with editorial license

Democrats are unwilling to support the troops

Democrats insist on supporting abortion (although the government has not paid for abortions in years)

Democrats don't care about the deficit

Prediction - Obama will cave and give them everything

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This is on a ledge outside the President's office on the top floor of the NYU Bobst Library.  Red-tailed hawks sitting on their eggs.

Don't say the U - word in public because it's offensive.  Children should not hear a word like this.  WTF?

  TALLAHASSEE -- A little thing happened in the Florida House two weeks ago. A Democrat from Orlando, Rep. Scott Randolph,  said “uterus” during a floor debate.

No one much noticed, or cared, until word leaked that Republicans told Democrats they couldn’t say the word.

Now people can’t stop saying it.

<snip>

Randolph, 37, got the idea from his wife.

 

If she would incorporate her uterus, she said one night over dinner, maybe Republicans would drop 18 anti-abortion measures they are considering during the legislative session.

 

Republicans, after all, are against regulations for businesses.

 

So March 25, during a debate about union dues collections, Randolph used his time on the floor to make her point.

 

“It’s easy to practice an ideology of convenience,” he said. “If my wife incorporated her uterus, you all would say hands off. If my friends incorporated their bedroom, you’d say hands off. But now we’re standing here and we’re saying we’re going to increase regulation on a specific type of membership organization. And that’s unions.”

 

Watching, Susannah Randolph said: “Oh my God, I can’t believe he used that.”

 

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Every website I normally visit has an O 2012 ad today.  And freekin' Huffpo has a full screen thingy before they let you on the site.

It's gonna be a long year and a half.  Here's where those ads belong.

Photo taken by my daughter on her way into school this morning.

Someone, it may have been Hamp, was asking for a picture of this after I had mentioned it in a diary.  Hard to tell as they are so intermingled, but there are 5 large hens here, sifting sand through their feathers in total bliss.  This not only rids them of any pests like lice that may have come during the long winter months, but it also cleans their feathers.

Other times, they maintain a pecking order, keeping the "lesser" or smaller chickens in their place, but in the dirt bath, all seem to be equal.  There are plenty of other areas all around the yard that are sandy and sunny but seldom do the birds bath alone.  In the forefront of this picture, one can see plenty of loose sand - space enough for spreading out, but they seem to prefer togetherness as they scratch their bodies deep into the sandy soil, kicking sand up over themselves and the others.

Just when a sense of hope for the awakening of the Islamic world from hundreds of years of religious induced hatred of the freedom of humankind. Just now, religious induced hatred of the freedom of humankind rears its ugly persona in the form of a backward, ignorant preacher from the USA.

One wonders if the flames of freedom spreading across Africa and the Middle East might somehow threaten the power of the literal churches of America. Just as the new generation of Egyptians finally understand that the "Great Satan" is not the real enemy, our own backward religious leaders find a need to fan the flames of hatred for the Great Satan of Islam.

The pessimisti­c side of me knows that instabilit­y in the world, hatred and distrust between Islam and Christians­, benefits the same group every time. The ones who get wealthier as our price of fuel rises. Peace, long lasting peace, would bring lower oil prices therefore I have to assume that unknown and powerful forces are behind the Reverend's foul deeds.

Think about it.

Terry Jones, that wrong wing lover of everything red, white and blue.  Terry Jones is the worst sort of enemy this country has ever faced.

cartoon by Nick Anderson:  http://www.dnj.com/article/B2/20110328/OPINION03/303280020/Nick-Anderson-Yuck

Yucca, Yucca, Yucca!

On this last day of Women's History Month, I will belatedly add one more somewhat unknown woman to the list of important women who did great work but did not get the recognition she should have.

Her name was Lise Meitner and she was a physicist, not an easy career path for a woman born in Austria, in 1878. Meitner was a pioneering nuclear physicist who co-discovered nuclear fission with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman.  Hahn was later awarded the Nobel Prize for their work on nuclear fission, but Meitner's contribution was ignored.

A book published in 1997 about Meitner's life and work -- "Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics" -- rec'd excellent reviews, and I think the easiest thing to do is quote from Kirkus Reviews on Amazon.com.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
On the eve of WW II the physicist Lise Meitner, then living in Sweden, realized that the puzzling results reported to her by her colleagues in Berlin meant they had split the atom.

Big storm heading our way and it's reportedly not an April Fool's joke.  Here's a little something for the Yanks and others to try to relieve the boredom of shoveling.  Cannot seem to embed anything these days - the pages also seem a bit off - just like the world, but here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XtX74pB-3k

Geraldine Ferraro gone at the age of 75

 "Hers was a life of firsts: First woman to chair the Democratic Platform Committee. First female vice-presidential nominee. First major-league Italian-American on a presidential ticket.

As unflinching as she was as a crimefighting assistant district attorney, as indomitable as she was while representing New York in Congress, Ferraro was also -- unapologetically -- a dedicated mother of two daughters and a son.

For her, parenting and politics were both vital parts of her existence-- and through her actions, she proved to America's women that they did not have to choose a life consisting solely of one or the other."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/03/26/2011-03-26_geraldine...

For the life of this great woman, I suggest everyone read her home town papers.  The Daily News and the Times.

Rest in Peace

5 weeks since hip surgery and she was doing so great.  Then tonight, out of the blue she popped the sucker right out of it's socket.

We spent the entire evening in the ER where her doc popped it right back into place.  It seems like just a minor bump in the road to recovery but what a pain.  Now she has to take it extra easy for an extra couple of months.
 

1932 - 2011

RIP Liz.  I will always remember the young woman in National Velvet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Taylor

We decided it was time to take the new Lexus on a little trip and get some R&R at the beach. Wow, what a spectacular car! The ride was like a dream. Smooth, quiet and when there's someone ahead of you going too slow, zoom! Just effortless speed. Gas mileage was great! Much better than the V6 in my old car.

Tomorrow, the Super Moon will rise over the ocean. I got some pictures tonight and it was almost full and bigger than usual. This full moon, known as the Worm Moon, is much closer to the Earth because it coincides with its closest approach, perigee. That's something that happens about every 18 years. This clip from NASA explains it:

We're staying in a suite with a fireplace and extra-large whirlpool tub at a luxury spa. Breakfast and afternoon tea are included. Our suite is on the concierge floor so complimentary beverages and snacks are always available in the library. The room also has a refrigerator and wet bar plus high speed Internet. I set up my own wireless network for my iPhone and MacBook Pro.

I'm trying out a new Nikon superzoom camera this trip, the new P500, and it seems to be performing really well. The pictures I'm getting in less than ideal circumstances are better than expected. This one was taken from my seat inside a restaurant by the ocean:

After dinner, I set up the camera on the tripod and took this: