Listen and Learn

One of the few intelligent Senators from my home state of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren. Listen and learn

Sweet Home.......

a lovely piece about why coastal Southeast Louisiana is my home: Great tourist info at this link.

excerpt:
Written by Kimberly Lovato



All week I’ve been trying to pinpoint what it is about this place that intrigues me. I finally recognize it’s not one single thing. It’s the harmony and counterbalance of all of it — the history, tradition, culture and wetlands — that are by turns resilient and endangered, and held together by deep yet fragile roots.

It’s difficult to see, even harder to explain, but I feel it everywhere.

It’s a little lagniappe I’ll take with me when I go, one I hope still exists when I return.

Katrina's aftermath - Gulf Coast

With the ten year anniversary of Katrina coming up on later this month, I'll be sharing videos of her destruction.

Thanks to Alex North, Mississippi Gulf Coast photographer for this beautiful picture

Katrina hit the Gulf Coast head on. Here's a look at the aftermath

Monday Morning Smile

Mesmerizing

People who know less always ask why we're spending "so much money" in Space exploration.

Let the money go to homeless, etc.

While I agree in spending more money in domestic issues, I think the system has to change wherein the money GOES to the less fortunate instead of "administrative costs".

But I digress.

Check out this video presented my my ex-employer, NASA (actually, I worked for a NASA subcontractor).

From Youtube user MadHatter: We've all seen images of extreme weather from space. But none of those could prepare us for this video just released by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio. Using real data, this simulation's volume-rendered clouds depict seven days in 2005 when a category-4 typhoon developed off the coast of China.

Enjoy:

The Lion Killer

By now, most of social media is aware of the actions of rich American dentist Dr. Walter "Cecil killer" Palmer.

This bastard is a "sports hunter". That is, he kills wild animals for the fun of it.

On July first of this year, Dr. Palmer hired some Zimbabwe locals to find and murder a lion. Little did he know - so he says - his guides pointed him to Cecil, a thirteen year old head of a pride and a local animal celebrity in Zimbabwe.

Now, Cecil lived in a sanctuary and was collared, i.e. should not have been bait for this son of a bitch sports hunting celebrity.

They lured Cecil out of the sanctuary, hit him with a bow and waited 1/2 of a day to finally shoot, skin and behead the cat. I am sickend.

All persons implicated in this case are due to appear in court facing poaching charges.

Both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt.


I am sickened
Lions are either hunted but hanging a animal carcass from a tree as bait and then laying in wait or by stalking and luring out of the park. Bow hunting is on the rise because of it's silence. Those hunting illegally (or as the Telegraph puts it "unethically') can go undetected because of the silence.

Because of the actions of these men, Zimbabwe (and lions) lost an ambassador.Cecil was the most popular and seemed to have no problem with human contact, never bothering anybody. Zimbabwe lost a tourist attraction, conservationists lost another tagged lion in their study,

According to figures published by National Geographic, 34 of their 62 tagged lions died during the study period – 24 were shot by sport hunters. - The Telegraph

.....and several cubs will lose if they haven't already, lost their lives as the new male lion takes over the pride.

Dr. Walter "Cecil killer" Palmer, is a dentist up in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before his company's (River Bluff Dental) website was taken down (probably due to the controversy and now his international infamy) it told where to find him when he wasn't in the office.
May he and other "sports hunters" get their due payback.

Police Brutality

With the availibility of new technology changing every day, we are seeing more and more cases of police brutality. I'm going to be sharing the videos when I can


From Slate.com: Recently released video from police body cameras shows how an officer in Fredericksburg, Virginia used a Taser and pepper-sprayed a man who was suffering from a medical emergency on May 4. Fredericksburg police officer Shaun Jergens resigned on May 14 although he insists he did nothing wrong. Jergens was one of three officers who responded to calls of a hit and run driver going the wrong way down a street. David Washington, 34, was driving a Hyundai that hit a jeep before stopping in the middle of an intersection, reports WTOP. When the officers arrive they demand Washington put his hands up but the driver is nearly motionless and does not say anything. “Get out of the car or I’m going to fucking smoke you,” Jurgens says at one point. Jurgens then draws his Taser before using a huge amount of pepper spray on Washington’s face. The way in which Washington barely reacted to such a large amount of pepper spray should have maybe been a hint that something was wrong. But another officer proceeds to yank Washington to the pavement and at that point he can be heard moaning. “I can’t breathe,” he says before telling the officers he has been sick for days and doesn’t know what’s wrong. He was later taken to the hospital and sources tell the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star that Washington “had a massive stroke and was treated in the intensive care unit.” Charges have been filed against Washington for hit and run, reckless driving and driving on a revoked license.

Monday Morning Smile

Been there, done that!!!

Harry Houk: A-hole

What an asshole

Crazy Quotes

Some of these quotes make me open my mouth and stare into space, saying What??? Where is the full moon~~


Pat Robertson (he ain't dead yet???) Pat Robertson: Quit your job if you work with Buddhists so you don’t ‘get infected by it


Shannon Grove (California state representative) California's-drought caused by abortion

Donald Trump Donald Trump says officer who arrested Sandra Bland was ‘overly aggressive’ adding it’s ‘sad’ African-Americans have to deal with such treatment more"> frequently

Senator Tom Cotton (from Arkansas) “Iran Deal Is Like The Crucifixion Of Jesus”

PTSD and Vietnam Veterans

From Smithsonian.com Iver 250,000 Veterans of the Vietnam War STILL have PTSD 40 years later


According to the article, PTSD may be a relatively recent psychological concept, but historians are exploring its impact on soldiers from the American Civil War and even back to ancient Assyria circa 1300 B.C. Clinical symptoms include reliving events through nightmares or flashbacks, avoiding people or situations that might be reminders of traumatic events, negative changes in feelings toward oneself and others and a state of hyperarousal that makes it hard to concentrate or sleep and includes a common feeling of imminent danger.


These veterans, who are now in their mid- to late-60s and still really want to tell their story,” says Marmar (study author Charles Marmar, director of The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center at the NYU Langone Medical Center.

“There is something very powerful in the social fabric of the American experience about Vietnam and how controversial Vietnam was, and maybe for these veterans the fact that many of them were unwelcome when they returned. For them it's very important to be able to tell their story now.”

To read some Vietnam Veterans' experiences, go to this website.
Thank a Veteran every day.