Yo, Brian Williams “Raps”

 

In Closing: Ok, we got us a whole bunch of NSA stuff, including some items courtesy of Comrade Misfit; college graduation season is a nice time for life lessons, such as “it’s a bad idea to hide the fact that you’ve dropped out, and a worse idea to hide that fact by calling in a bomb threat to graduation”; the American worker is still screwed, more so if they are of color, and that’s partly because certain people in government thought it was more important to bail out the banks and businesses; I don’t even know what to make of this (EDIT!!); read the labels, people; oops, maybe appealing to science was a bad idea; I clearly don’t link Dave Johnson enough; the real reason for the War on Teachers?; introducing Naia; and Godzilla is growing.

Double Feature

I don’t normally talk about the so-called “rape culture”.

However, if what I am reading about what happens on our college campuses is even halfway true, we should all be outraged. All students — regardless of their gender — have a right to attend school without fear of assault, sexual or otherwise. The idea that some colleges want to cover up these assaults rather than make sure that criminals are prosecuted is absolutely outrageous. It is a travesty that some students feel that the only thing they can do is take matters into their own hands.

Of course, not all rapes happen on campus. It is a sad fact that all too many women have to deal with these issues, and sometimes little is actually done to help them.

More on the freaking NSA.

Glenn Greenwald has been been making the interview circuit, both bringing attention to how little has changed when it comes to the NSA and hyping his new book on the topic. Let’s not forget that he wouldn’t have the story without this guy. In the meantime, remember how we were told that it would be harder to catch terrorists with this information out there? That might not be quite true.

In Closing: on Net Neutrality; what a 10′ sea level rise means to the United States; on nutrition information; Oktoberfest was originally a wedding festival; and you are a great leader.

Shorties Academy

One last thing on Microbiology: We have perfectly good vaccines that prevent deadly diseases. Use them!

Freakin NSA: please, help yourself to the links.

Can you feel the love tonight: A wolf falls in love.

This is apparently a thing: Maybe I should have waited until Caturday, but heck, enjoy some Catios.

TIL: Anderson Cooper is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt — which means he is of Old Money. And that’s not even the most interesting thing about him. He was a model as a boy, and a CIA intern for a couple summers.

Radley is Back: And he reminds us that cops (and others) have no expectation of privacy in a public place.

Politics as Usual: Words of wisdom for Republicans and Democrats.

Study proves fruits and vegetables are good for you: duh.

Let’s end happy: A nice news story with a happy ending and a pretty picture.

Yet More Things I Learned This Semester

Yes, the semester is almost over and that means it’s time to share a few choice thoughts.

In General:

  • There are people who are willing to wait for a spot 100 feet closer to the building, even in nice weather. In the meantime, I’ve parked in the next lot over, locked my car, walked to the building, and made it to the 3rd floor while That Guy is still waiting for an ever-so-slightly closer parking spot.
  • You’d be surprised how many people don’t show up to class regularly and still expect to do well in that class.
  • Sorry, I already knew that time management is important.
  • Cleaning staff never notice graffiti on the back of a bathroom stall door.

In Spanish:

  • Spanish has two verbs that translate “to be.” Use one to ask “What kind of person is Juan” and the other to ask “How is Juan”. Use one to ask “Where is Maria” and the other to ask “Where is Maria from”. Use the wrong one, and you may well say “Teresa is boring” instead of “Teresa is bored.” Teresa would be understandably upset.
  • It’s alarmingly easy to mix up the verbs “to go” and “to see“.
  • You can do a lot with cognates. The one thing you can’t do is be sure you understand the correct thing.

In Microbiology:

  • Not only can viruses infect bacteria, they can accidentally take bacterial genetic material to the next bacterium when they leave.
  • The entire family of Penicillin related drugs works by pulling out the “molecular nails” that bacteria use to build cell walls. Resistant bacteria have an enzyme that breaks up the “nail-puller.” Viruses don’t have cell walls, and that’s why these drugs don’t effect them.
  • Look, you’re never ever going to wash every single germ off your hands. What’s more, you wouldn’t want to. The germs that normally live there help keep “opportunists” — that’s bad-guy germs — from setting up shop. So for pity sake, stop using that damned anti-bacterial soap.

In Anatomy:

  • If you are trying to remember a whole bunch of acronyms (say, hormone names), you are better off memorizing the long version. Otherwise the “alphabet soup” will drive you mad. Besides, often the long version tells you what the darn thing does!
  • How much carbon dioxide you have in your body determines a lot more things than the amount of oxygen. It effects your respiration rate, the pH of your blood, and more.
  • The first thing your body does with any carbohydrate you eat is turn it into a simple sugar. So, should a diabetic be eating a lot of pasta?

There you go. Now let’s have some In Closing: GOP is upset that their Nevada organization doesn’t want to keep fighting a lost battle; on debt; it does at least put a roof over head; I wish I could refute this; even Mitt “Rmoney” thinks that the minimum wage is too low!; death penalty follow up; Subway CEO tosses owner operators under the bus; the ACLU on NSA reform and letting cops hack your computer.

Red Oleander

IMG_20140508_185729

 

In Closing: Slippery slope; Empire in decline; ok sure, have some NSA, Snowden, spying, and bonus Homeland Security links; Yellen at nothin; deny it all you like; yeah right, it might result in a very nasty bit of commentary but populist revolt??; it’s almost like math teachers get bored and try inventing new ways to add and subtract (and places like Kumon and Sylvan make more money….); and better figure it out, Eric.

Not Really Much Music Monday: May 5th

In addition to being Cinco De Mayo…..

 

It’s the birthday of Karl Marx.

 

 

In Closing: It’s good to be the CEO; a couple items on sexual assaults on campus (and not just college campuses, of course maybe if kids didn’t have to go to school in the dark….); turns out it’s not illegal to give away books; vaccination works; somebody’s gonna have to do something real soon now; and the job creation numbers aren’t as rosy as they first seem. Maybe that’s why all those armed guys have time to defend the Bundy Ranch?

It’s all in the Execution

Some things never change, I suppose. We’re still trying to find a “humane” way to kill another human being, and not doing so well.

There are really two valid arguments against the death penalty that most sensible people should agree have merit: first, it’s more expensive than life in prison (stick that in your conservative pipe and smoke it); second, mistakes happen. The spectre of racism is just icing on the unjust cake.

In Closing: alternate headlines; science fact; cause of death; creepy; the freakin NSA; Joe and Jane Average are getting the shaft, and some want to make it worse; and transitions.

5 Things Happening that are More Important than Cliven Bundy

tweet1

tweet2

 

Ok, the Bundy thing is still going on, and I do appreciate that it’s a local news story with national coverage. Not sure why anybody cares who says what about him on Facebook. However, while all of us are watching the circus, here’s 5 things we’re not paying attention to:

The President is in the Far East trying to get the TPP rammed through. Never mind the fact that it’s bad for most people.

Did you know that Afghanistan had a presidential election? Abdullah Abdullah faces a run-off, but he may well be the next Afghan head of state.

Iraq is having an election too. It’s this coming week. They also have some unrest ahead of the event.

Issues are not resolved in the Ukraine. Yeah.

Meanwhile in the United States, severe weather blows. Yeah, ok, bad pun.

And a bonus: The FCC wants to “save” Net Neutrality by destroying it.

All this and two new Saints in the realm of Catholicism. Even elections in far-flung lands probably have more bearing on you than the actions of one Southern Nevada rancher. But no, we prefer to hear about some guy who wants to let his cows wander his neighbor’s property without paying for the privilege.

Ok, Fine. Bundy.

I thought this was going to blow over fast, turns out I was wrong. So here is a brief summary of my thoughts. It is a local issue to me, actually in Clark County Nevada same as Las Vegas, and so Las Vegas Metro Police Department does actually have [some] jurisdiction. Still, it’s kinda a hike from town.

  • The Bundy Ranch issue was originally brought to my attention when the “standoff” started and a so-called “Free Speech Zone” was in place. Now, I am on the record as saying that Free Speech Zones are an affront to the First Amendment. Thankfully, somebody came to their senses and stopped that nonsense and they did it pretty quick.
  • Half of “the West” and 81% of Nevada is owned by the Federal government and has been for over a century. This includes lands ceded to the Feds as part of our incorporation as a state. This is a fact, sure as “the sky is blue.”
  • Bundy claims to have “ancestral rights” to graze his cattle despite the fact that a) his family hasn’t even owned it that long and b) people whose “ancestral rights” were guaranteed by freaking treaty don’t have them.
  • Contrary to what The Governor of Texas thinks, Bundy does not own the land in question. He owns the land across the Interstate Highway. The issue is that Bundy is using resources that don’t belong to him, just as surely as if I started watering my lawn from the neighbor’s spigot. If I pulled that stunt, my neighbor would be justified in disconnecting my hose.
  • There was a period of some years where Bundy did actually pay the Feds the required fees. I’m not sure anybody understands why he decided to stop.
  • The desert tortoise is a red herring. Ok it’s a tortoise, but it’s irrelevant.
  • The solar farm is just bad timing. Perhaps it made Bundy mad, but it certainly didn’t change BLM plans.
  • Bundy has been in and out of court over this matter for years and lost every single time.  If that’s not “due process of law,” I am unclear on the concept.
  • If anybody else decided they weren’t going to pay the feds money they owed, they would be in deep doo-doo.
  • If anybody else aimed weapons at the feds, there would be deeper doo-doo.
  • Ok, sure, the “militia” is “well regulated.” Well done, thanks much. Now maybe you guys can go home to your jobs and families? Oh right, if you had a job you wouldn’t be able to go to Bundyfest.
  • No, our local sheriff doesn’t have the authority to take guns away from the feds as Bundy wants. Otherwise, Commandant Arpaio would already have tried.
  • I hope nobody is surprised that a nutcase who thinks the feds have no authority over federally owned land is also a racist.
  • At this point, the thing is a full on Vegas festival of silliness, complete with a wedding.

I think the authorities are angling for a way to end this thing without causing an even bigger problem (and hey, glad the anniversaries of the Koresh incident and Oklahoma City bombing are past). And perhaps that’s why Bundy keeps letting this thing get more outlandish: more cameras means less odds of black helicopters or whatever he’s afraid of. Still, the best way to end this is to stop the media coverage.

In Closing: speaking of solar farms; easter [rotten] egg; like a Virgin; a competitor?; if you need a co-signer, you can’t afford it; and a bunch of items on the middle class, typical Americans.