Blog Heap of Links for the day 5 March 2015

“They have a small, vocal, right-wing, somewhat strange minority they have over there [and it] shouldn’t be running the House of Representatives.”

[Video, 1:00, Roll Call on YouTube]

"The Islamic State jihadist group began bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq on Thursday, the tourism and antiquities ministry said.…"

…Police officers representing local, state and Federal agencies rounded up everyone in attendance, confiscated their cell phones, laptops or other recording devices and then fingerprinted each person. All this was done with a search warrant signed by a judge for an alleged misdemeanor committed by two of the attendees who were present at the meeting.

Tell me it isn’t just me… that this entire event come across as bizarre… to the point of making your blood pressure elevate? …

For some reason I found myself checking a map of Texas. Bryan is not too far from Waco…remembering a different show of force wherein the Federal government decided to overplay their hand. …

"GALENA, Ill. — At least eight railcars derailed this afternoon south of Galena, sparking a massive fire and smoke that can be seen for miles. … No injuries have been reported…."

"The U.S. government yesterday denied ever having had contact with alien lifeforms. The White House insisted there was no evidence extra-terrestrials have visited Earth or made any manner of contact. …"

[Oklahoma] HB1125 would accomplish two things.

First, it would render void the edicts of federal judges that have overturned state laws defining marriage. The founding generation never envisioned unelected judges issuing ex cathedra pronouncements regarding the definition of social institutions like marriage and the Constitution delegates the federal judiciary no authority to meddle in the issue. Marriage is a realm clearly left to the state and the people..

Second, the bill would get the state government out of defining marriage entirely as well, ending the squabble between factions that seek to harness the power of the state, thereby taking the burden off government officials who may be torn between what is legally required of them and their religious convictions.

The intent or motives behind this bill are a moot point. By removing the state from the equation, no one can force another to accept their marriage, nor can they force another to reject that person’s own beliefs regarding an institution older than government.

…“My heart goes out to the people of Boston,” Levin, who is also president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, told the Washington Examiner Thursday. “It’s obvious their political leaders don’t care that they have been suffering so much this winter. They want to make energy more expensive and keep people freezing and miserable. I am hoping to start this movement in the coldest areas, the bluest areas. I want to encourage people to drive their cars more often, keep their lights on, and use more energy, which is what gives us life.”…

Cushing, Oklahoma, 70 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, is a sleepy town with a population just under 8,000. It's also the intense focus of every major player in the American oil market right now.

North American crude oil is pouring into Cushing, where dozens of steel storage tanks fan out from the outskirts of town, tank farms that march on for miles and connect to every major oil patch in North America through an maze of pipelines. Cushing's nickname is "The Pipeline Crossroads of the World." …

But with WTI prices plunging by half since last summer, more crude has been coming into Cushing since late 2014 than has been flowing out. And storage capacity has been filling up—fast.

"Ten sheriffs from three different states sued Colorado Thursday for legalizing marijuana. The sheriffs from Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska say that Colorado's 2012 marijuana legalization vote violates federal law and shouldn't be permitted. …"

[They've certainly got a point there!]

…new insights into the life of the world's oldest and most primitive primate. …Purgatorius… tiny and agile animal spent much of its time eating fruit and climbing trees 66 million years ago… first known below-the-head bones for Purgatorius… previously only teeth… 'The ankle bones show that it had a mobile ankle joint like primates today that live in trees…. This mobility would have allowed for rotating the foot in different directions as it adjusted to different angles presented by tree trunks and branches. It also shows that the first primates did not have elongate ankles that you see in many living primates today that are thought to be related to leaping behaviours….'

"… So now… while you are sitting in solitary confinement, (awaiting the verdict on your life), I will be actually ENJOYING everything this beautiful world has to offer. And guess what else? I will do so without fear… of YOU. Because now to me you’re a nobody, and it is official that you have lost…."

"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday offered the latest in a series of Republican ObamaCare alternatives… Health Care Choices Act would allow people to buy health insurance across state lines… would also repeal Title I of ObamaCare, which would undo much of the law, including the mandate to buy insurance, the insurance marketplaces and subsidies to help people afford coverage. … "

Pete's collection for today of graphics, videos, links, and wit.

Vic covers the world and then tells it how to behave, starting here.

"On this day in 1770 the Boston Massacre occurred. Five Americans were shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War."

"… Now, as for the ‘clintonemail.com’ domain — DomainTools.com tells me quite a few things about it, but tells a different story. … it’s the hosting/IP information that’s curious. … on Dec 22, 2011 — the hosting IP address changes to 208.91.197.27, which is hosted by Confluence Networks — and this is where we start down the rabbit hole. …"