Palin, Ducks & Free Speech
OK, so I guess I’m writing this. I tried really hard not to, but if one more person screamed, “First Amendment!” in defense of this self proclaimed hillbilly, I think I’d cry. [Sidenote: Can I say that if you get a paycheck from the Arts and Entertainment Network, you immediately lose your ‘hillbilly’ creds.] The Half Hearted Governor Sarah Palin dressed in camo, that she claims she wears ‘all’ the time went on Fox News to bloviate: “This is all about freedom, free speech, you know, so many American families have spilled blood and treasure to guarantee Phil Robertson and…
Tea Party X-Mas Gifts
We’ve all got one in our family. A teabagger. Outside of the John Water’s reference that makes me giggle everytime I hear the word, we all know what that means… Arguments over Obamacare, Obamaphones, Obama birth certificates and other Obama related tragedies. Unfortunately it’s the Holidays, so you’ll need to buy this lovely human being that is somehow related to you a gift. The latest Chomsky book isn’t going to work, and neither is a t-shirt from TheMudflats.net [wink]. That’s why I’ve complied a list of some sure fire gifts for that angry at the world for making him white in…
Broken Trust: Victims of Pipeline Spills Tell Their Stories – from Julie Dermansky
Broken Trust: Victims of Pipeline Spills Tell Their Stories (via Desmogblog) Evaluating pipeline safety is the business of engineers and scientists, but evaluating the human cost of transporting hazardous materials near people’s homes is best left to those who’ve experienced the fallout. Homeowners shared their experiences…
The Enemies of Mandela
You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies – Gustave Flaubert Usually I would let a couple days go by before writing something like this. But I wanted to get this on the record before Sunday when so often history is rewritten on the talk shows, and behind the pulpit. Mandela will be remembered as a hero, as one of the great leaders of any race, or from any country – and rightly so. Many people more well-informed and personally attached to this great man will write his obituaries. In this place, I want to…
Ask A Slave: Thanksgiving Edition
In the latest episode of the awesome and awkward (can I laugh at this?) funny web series Ask A Slave the ‘plucky Lizzie Mae’ takes on questions about Thanksgiving. But this time she’s got a guest – Red Jacket. He’s a Native American, Seneca leader Otetiani Sagoyewatha, who seems somewhat confused by the questions that the good white people that come to visit the show ask him. Rightfully so. [Red Jacket, by the way, was an actual person.] The greatest moment in my opinion is when he drops the name that his people have bestowed upon our founding father and the owner of…
Bird of the Week – Light-mantled Sooty Albatross
If there is a family of birds that, to WC, epitomizes the ocean, it’s the Albatrosses. Coming ashore only to breed, this is a family of birds that lives on the wind and waves. And surely the most handsome of the albatrosses is the Light-mantled Sooty. It’s one of the smaller albatross species, but it isn’t a small bird. An adult is about three feet long and has a wingspan of more than seven feet. For a big bird, it is elegant and grateful in flight, its wingtips just fractions of an inch above the waves. Like far too many…
KXL Pipeline Fight Setback – From Steve Horn
US Court Denies Halt on Pipeline Set to Replace Keystone XL Northern Half (via Desmogblog) The ever-wise Yogi Berra once quipped “It’s like déjà vu all over again,” a truism applicable to a recent huge decision handed down by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. A story covered only by McClatchy News’ Michael…
JFK and My Grandmother
For as long as I can remember, there was an oil painting hanging at the top of the stairs at my Grandmothers house. It was of John F. Kennedy walking on the beach. We were an Irish Catholic family, my grandmother the matriarch. We weren’t conservative Christians, in fact my grandmother never liked them – she felt uncomfortable when, in her 80’s, our small local church started to take a turn for the evangelical. The change started when our priest, Father Guckert started to fall ill. He would take a Sunday off, and one of the local up-and-coming priests would…
Palin’s MayorMobile For Sale
Are you looking for a new ride? Don’t want to go through a car dealer? Need something that will fit the whole family… and even your kids’ kids? Looking for something that has an official seal of approval? Well then I’ve got the auto for you. A 1999 Ford Expedition with 74,188 miles needs new brakes and some other minor repairs. It’s tan and has got Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Power Locks, Power Windows. Wow! I know? Right? I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of you clamoring for this vehicle based on that alone, but what if I told you…
UPDATE: “We are journalists, and we will continue to do what we do.”
Update [Wednesday 11pm AK Time]: A suspect placed in custody on Wednesday night has been identified as Abdelhakim Dekhar, and a DNA sample collected after the arrest matched with that collected on a crime scene. The shooter, currently hospitalized after being “in a semi-conscious state” – apparently due to medication- would have been suicidal, according to early reports. Dekhar is known to police for having been arrested in 1998 in connection to the Rey-Maupin case, and charged with criminal organization. However his arrest predated the DNA database, which didn’t allow for an immediate match. The photographer wounded during the shooting has resurfaced…