Blog Heap o'Links for October 2015

Links in this view: 118
2

History - still with us

Underwater archaeologists have discovered 22 shipwrecks around a small Greek archipelago, revealing what may be the ancient shipwreck capital of the world.…

12:10pm CDT Fri 2015 Oct 30 :MW
3

US Military

A college student, inspired by his Iraq War vet father's struggles with night terrors, is being recognized for an invention to help those suffering from the condition. Macalester College senior Tyler Skluzacek said he was in sixth grade when his dad, Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Skluzacek, spent a year in Iraq.…

3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1618 the English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded for conspiring against James I of England in the "Main Plot". He had already been placed in the Tower of London for that but was released so it must not have much of a conspiracy. The actual reason for his execution was to appease the Spanish because his soldiers had ransacked a Spanish settlement in the new world while looking for El Dorado.…

Vic reviews the news and adds his views for youse.
7:55am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 29 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1919 the U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January. This was one of the worst laws ever passed in the United States. …

Vic's headline news links and views, for those wise enough to read them, start here today.
7:40am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 28 :MW
1

Humans can be Dangerous

…woman was trying to repair her gas-fueled hot water heater and inadvertently removed the gas shut-off valve. This allowed gas to pour into the basement, where it ignited. The blaze destroyed the single-family home…

8:55am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW
2

World Without Borders

Drone Finds Thousands Of EU-Bound Muslim “Refugees” Pouring Across Slovenia Border…

[Video, 1:44, FRANCE 24 English, YouTube]

9:10am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW
Biohazard

German doctor sounds off about the flood of muzzie migrants who are overwhelming the hospitals with exotic diseases long abolished in the west. She says they refuse to be treated by female doctors and they abandon their children at pharmacies when the find out they have to pay for their drugs. That flood of exotic diseases is also happening here, you just don't hear about it.…

Link

Quoting Vic directly for a change, rather than just the h/t, because of his excellent summation.
8:59am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW

Animal Companions

Penguin

…When João Pereira de Souza found an oil-soaked bird on the beach near his southeast Brazilian home in 2011, he cleaned off the penguin, fed him some sardines, and when it was strong enough, took the bird to the beach, expecting it to swim away. But the black and white Magellanic penguin, now known as Jingjing, refused to leave.…

10:27am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW
Dog

…hit by a school minibus, Audrey Stone… who is legally blind, spent months in a rehabilitation hospital. …guide dog… had jumped in front of a bus to save her. … had surgery himself and went back to his trainers to make sure he would be able to work again. … at last, there was Figo striding up the driveway to greet her… “Oh, my good boy,” she exclaimed as she petted him, his tail wagging full-force. “You’re home — finally!”…

9:05am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW

A Florida woman was fatally struck by a big rig truck Friday and for hours afterward her dog remained at the scene, lying down in the road where the accident happened.… The family said the pair were inseparable.…

8:30am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1964 Ronald Reagan gave his famous "Time For Choosing" speech in support of Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was the start of the conservative movement in the United States for the Republican Party.…

Vic's news links start with a bang today.
8:29am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 27 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1881 the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone, Arizona.…

Sometimes the blog-heaper can't get anything in during the day but Vic, but at least there's Vic.
8:48am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 26 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1854 the Light Brigade charged at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. Those of you who had English literature in school should remember this from the poem by Tennyson.…

Vic's personal daily war on public ignorance unfolds here today.
8:13am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 25 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1932 the George Washington Bridge opened to public traffic.…

Vic's the early bird, the news is a pile of dirty worms.
6:26am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 24 :MW
1

Wars and Rumors

…It is unclear how effective the floating condom bombs have been. It is also unclear where the unexploded floating condom bombs will land, in what countries they will be found, and how many victims will die as a result of their careless use of condom bombs.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest accused Russia of “indiscriminate military operations against the Syrian opposition.” The White House has not yet commented on ISIS’s use of indiscriminate condom bombs.…

10:10am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Police Riot

…As the officer approached the house, he saw the family dog… pulled his gun and fired… missed the dog but hit… 4-year-old… in the leg… officer then ran back to his car and drove away.…

Police can be the greatest, but sometimes, a policeman is the biggest danger in an emergency.
10:32am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Alcohol Was Involved

…Witnesses told authorities the mother was driving the pickup east when she fell out of the vehicle. One of two 3-year-old twin boys who were in the truck took the wheel and drove the vehicle about three blocks. The boy ran off the road to the right, then crossed all lanes of traffic before crashing onto a curb, which stopped the vehicle.…

h/t: NewsOK
10:20am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW
2

Pareidolia

Another fine collection of "faces" by the bluebird.
10:39am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Oh! The Irony!

Another fine collection of humorous pix from the bluebird of bitterness.
10:28am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Prehistory - still with us

…a man in Norway… recently stumbled across a 1,200-year-old Viking sword while walking an ancient route. …dates from approximately 750 A.D. and is in exceptionally good condition…

10:23am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Evolution Isn't Easy

…However, in a 2003 study the same team from the University of Illinois showed that the polyphosphate storage structure in bacteria was physically, chemically and functionally the same as an organelle called an acidocalcisome, which is found in many single-celled eukaryotes.

This meant that the acidocalcisomes arose before the bacterial and eukaryotic lineages of the tree of life split, making the organelle even more ancient than realised. …

10:18am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Belief and State

Oklahoma's constitution begins with these words: "Invoking the guidance of Almighty God ..."

Since the Ten Commandments monument was ruled by the courts to be unacceptable on government property.
10:14am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW
3

Oklahoma Law

Okla Flag

There are more than 240 laws that go into effect on November 1 in Oklahoma… …

And how many were repealed? I'd guess zero. Legislatures gotta legislate.
10:37am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1850 the first National Women's Rights Convention began in Worcester, Massachusetts.…

Vic's schedule of posting of the news may be erratic, but when he does post never misses the target.
7:10am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 23 :MW
1

Theory of Education

…7th grader was given as an assignment. It asks the child to explain the Five Pillars of Islam. The mother’s response is priceless.…

7:25pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW

Hang Those Who Betray Public Trust

Judicial Watch: Defense, State Department Documents Reveal Obama Administration Knew that al Qaeda Terrorists Had Planned Benghazi Attack 10 Days in Advance

6:59pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW

End of the World As We Know It

At a press conference Tuesday morning outside the U.S. Capitol Building, Ahmed ”Clock Boy” Mohamed’s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed…

Oh, who cares?
7:05pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW
2

Spiritual Matters

…At Sidney Sussex College, where there are several papers of Dr. Samuel Ward, he found a 70-page notebook belonging to the scholar that had Biblical verse-by-verse comments and also notes on Greek and Hebrew. He took photographs of the pages, and only a month later did he realize that what he had been looking at was Ward's draft of the King James Version, with 1 Esdras in full and the Wisdom of Solomon partially complete. There are no full drafts of the King James Version because it was the effort of several translators, whose works came together to form the KJV.…

8:26am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW

Animal Culture

Dog
Photo montager bluebird of bitterness scores again - warning: high "d'awww" content
7:30pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW

Solar System

Saturn

…taken on October 14, 2015 and received on Earth October 15, 2015.…

Strange terrain on Saturn's moon Cassini.
6:56pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW
3

US Military

…Carr published the video, called "Hawg" (above), on his blog's YouTube page, and it hit more than 935,000 views since it went live on September 4. Its popularity is related to how much the A-10 is beloved by airmen who work and fly the airframe, as well as troops on the ground who need it for close air support. It's also a really good documentary about the A-10's combat role. So why would the Air Force not release it?…

7:08pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW

US Election 2016

…the exchange between Mrs. Clinton and Senator Sanders at last night’s debate, when she lectured him that the United States isn’t Denmark and he responded with a rousing defense of the Danish model. …neither of these batty old geezers has the foggiest idea of what’s going on in Denmark, or in the other Nordic countries. … Denmark has been marching in the direction exactly opposite socialism for some time. …

7:23pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW

The Secret Service will give agent protection to Ben Carson and Donald Trump… primarily triggered by a significant number of threats to Carson, including death threats and terrorist chatter…

7:11pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW
Hillary Guzzling

…There are no apparent references to any other religion in the Clinton campaign video except for Islam.…

6:53pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 21 :MW
1

Humans can be Dangerous

A Norwegian hunting party must have been amazed at their luck when they found and shot dead two large moose. But moments later, a horrible realization dawned on them: They'd shot through a fence and killed two zoo animals.…

9:36am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 20 :MW
2

Star Trek - less with us

Star Trek Enterprise

Bruce Hyde, who played Enterprise crew member Lt. Kevin Riley on two episodes of the original "Star Trek" TV series, has died after battling throat cancer, his widow said. He was 74. …

"Take me home again, Kathleeeeen"
7:53am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 19 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, representatives of British commander Lord Cornwallis handed over Cornwallis' sword and formally surrendered to George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau.…

Vic grabs the news, wrestles it into shape, and lays it out for you.
5:51am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 19 :MW
1

Theory of Education

…The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. …Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family… Instruction should be by persons who are licensed… and a curriculum approved by the state… [and] home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools. …

The independent education threat to the Communist indoctrination program must be getting serious!
9:04pm CDT Sun 2015 Oct 18 :MW

Disinformation Propaganda and Spin

Here’s Dan Rather, insisting to this day that the Rathergate story was true: “Our story was true…They couldn’t attack the truth of the story, so they attacked the process by which we arrived at the truth — was it flawed? Yes, it was flawed. Was it more flawed than it should have been? Yes. Am I responsible for some of that? Yes. This is the point: The story was true. It was true then, it was true now.” …

The man who never get over having shot himself in the foot is aiming for the other one.
7:59am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 18 :MW
2

Policing Ourselves

On October 10, Breitbart News reported that a concealed carry permit holder witnessed an armed robbery in progress at a Charleston, South Carolina, Waffle House and intervened by shooting and fatally wounding the suspect. … An officer responding to the scene praised the actions… a Waffle House employee commented… “He saved us, that’s what he did.” Then came October 12, and Waffle House released a statement in which they reaffirmed their gun-free policies…

Waffling on security is not sweet.
7:53am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 18 :MW

On October 11 an Olive Garden restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri refused service to a uniformed police officer who walked into the business with his gun holstered on his hip. …

7:50am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 18 :MW
3

Defending Ourselves

A former Army vet is recovering from stab wounds after putting himself between 16 terrified children and a knife-wielding teen determined to kill at an Illinois public library this week. “He actually ran into the room yelling, ‘I’m going to kill some people!’” James Vernon told the Pekin Daily Times Thursday.… After all the children fled, the knife-fight training Vernon learned in the Army five decades ago kicked in.…

4:37pm CDT Sun 2015 Oct 18 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

… On this day in 1954 Texas Instruments announced the first Transistor radio.…

Vic's news and nostalgia (heh) begin here today.
6:43am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 18 :MW
1

Prison Sucks

Pig

The federal government put pork roast back on the menu at federal prisons without explanation after… Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) penned a letter to Bureau of Prisons Director Charles E. Samuels, Jr, inquiring about the government’s decision to ban bacon, pork chops, ham, and all other pork products from the menus at its 122 federal prisons. …

But they'll find a way to take it back off again quietly somehow. Because, Islam.
8:01am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 17 :MW

Disinformation Propaganda and Spin

Israel Flag

…A Palestinian terrorist impersonates a journalist by wearing an official "Press" vest, then takes out a knife and starts stabbing Jews. Soldiers luckily shoot the P dead.

But how does the SF Chronicle headline this incident?

Palestinian with 'press' logo on shirt shot dead in stabbing …

9:41am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 17 :MW
2

Spiritual Matters

The group of religious sisters founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta is shutting down its thirty orphanages in India as a protest, rather than comply with new state regulations requiring that they place children with single parents. …

7:55am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 17 :MW
3

Defending Ourselves

…The system, which is described as 'the first portable, accurate, rapid-to-use counter-weapon to stop suspicious or hostile drones in flight, providing critical security protection at home and abroad,' could be used by the US military as soon as next year.…

9:55am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 17 :MW

Citizenship

…It’s call “refugee resettlement” which is code for transplanting entire communities from hellholes in the Middle East to once beautiful towns and neighborhoods across America.…

10:01am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 17 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…ON this day in 1933 Albert Einstein left Nazi Germany and moved to the United States.…

Vic's take on the news, headline links and assorted opinion.
7:41am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 17 :MW
2

Headline of the Day

UFO

Did parallel universe open up?

Short answer: No.

…Hundreds see 'floating city' filmed in skies above China…

9:37pm CDT Fri 2015 Oct 16 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 2015 Vic slept like a baby all night and did not collect news links.…

9:03am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 16 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1917 dancer Mata Hari was executed by a French firing squad for spying for the German Empire after a kangaroo court convicted her. The French had no evidence of her spying and her lawyer was not allowed to put up a defense. …

Vic's Discount Headline Links and Commentary, special sale today.
9:16am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 15 :MW
2

Oh! The Irony!

Israel Flag

Several Arab Gulf states are engaged in negotiations to purchase the Israeli-developed Iron Dome missile defense system in an attempt to ward off possible threats from Iran’s “growing arsenal of missiles…” Bahrain was the only state explicitly named in the report… [but] other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council would acquire the defense system…

9:07am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW

Order and Disorder

Bluebird's quality humorous-poster collecting turns its sights on human foibles, skewering stupidity.
4:39pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW

Housing Ourselves

So I'm really, really not one for reading self help books, but I have to say that I just tried the whole KonMari thing for my clothes, and it has literally changed my life. If you are overrun with clutter, which with 5 kids, I obviously was in spades, check out the crazy Japanese lady and her crazypants system.…

Passing this along; not exactly a recommendation.
8:27am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW

History - still with us

…The team believes the city they have discovered must be Sodom because evidence suggests it thrives on the banks of the river Jordan and was an important trade route, as described in the Bible.
Further evidence to support the claims is that Tall el-Hamaam was suddenly deserted at some point time towards the end of the middle Bronze Age. …

9:20am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

As we get closer to the actual primary voting which begins in February… Screen Shot 2015-10-11 at 7.26.53 PMthe GOPe (GOP establishment) and their partners in the media are becoming more and more shrill…. and more and more desperate. …

Joe Dan's latest installment in the War Against Tyranny
4:28pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW
Posters amusing, infuriating, and animated.
4:25pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW
Geezer

…On this day in 1656 Massachusetts enacted the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The marriage of church-and-state in Puritanism made them regard the Quakers as spiritually apostate and politically subversive. …

Vic's collection of headline links starts here today.
8:26am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 14 :MW
1

Theory of Education

…Standardization is one thing – but is there yet another deeper concern about Common Core? No doubt some readers will find this difficult to fathom, but could it be that Common Core has as one of its goals the “Islamasization” of the United States?…

8:38am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 13 :MW

Untied States

On Sunday, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have effectively nullified in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent terminally-ill patients from accessing experimental treatments. … “This is a baffling veto,” Tenth Amendment Center national communications director Mike Maharrey said. “Why in the world would you wait to see if the FDA program works? Of course it won’t work. Gov. Brown is basically putting people’s lives in the hands of the equivalent of the DMV.”

8:42am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 13 :MW
2

Wild Oklahoma

It was 1905 when Herbert Tyler and his son Donald rode the train to the Indian territory of northeastern Oklahoma looking for a site where they could build a cement plant. At the time, they needed a source of natural gas for their plant was well as large amounts of limestone and shale or clay. All of these things were plentiful in Washington County and they found just what they needed a mile north of the small community of Dewey. …

h/t: Cuz BD
8:46am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 13 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Gates of Vienna Newsfeed

United States military aircraft dropped fifty tons of ammunition to the Syrian “rebels” today. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia sent 500 TOW anti-tank missiles to the Free Syrian Army to help them in their fight against the Russians and the Assad regime.

In other news, twenty “asylum-seekers” filed a lawsuit against Berlin’s main refugee registration center for taking too long to register them. The plaintiffs asserted that they waited more than a week without being registered, and were therefore unable to collect essential social benefits.…

News headline links and summaries
10:18pm CDT Tue 2015 Oct 13 :MW
Geezer

…On this day in 1307 hundreds of Knights Templar in France were simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into a confession of heresy. This is said to be the origin of Friday 13th bad luck.…

The Return of the Vicmeister's News Reports is a lousy movie title, but good news.
7:36am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 13 :MW
1

Wars and Rumors

Memphis, Tennessee, police officer has been shot and killed. The latest victim, Officer Terence Olridge, was killed on Sunday just outside his home.…

8:13pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

MIRACULOUS! U.S. MEDIA MADE THE REFUGEE CRISIS GO AWAY!…The overflowing camps and the extremely large numbers of migrants continue to flow, along with chaos and disorder. All news of it has disappeared from the news.…

10:02am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

Turkish Police Tear Gas Mourners Laying Carnations At The Site Of Bombings In Ankara That Killed 97

9:55am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

WW2 - still with us

Pretty amazing footage. Having been to the Brandenburg Gate during the height of the Cold War, it is jarring to see someone driving easily from the British to the Soviet sector (the wall ran right by the Gate, with it just in the Soviet sector).…

[Video, 7:04, Berlin Channel, YouTube]
7:36pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

Civilization vs Gangsterism

Maps of Islamic activity, mosques and refugees paint a disturbing picture… Maps of Islamic activity, mosques and refugees paint a disturbing picture…

7:45pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

Transport Disaster

“Worst car ever built,” is a phrase that gets flung around with the careless impunity of a toddler with a bag of superballs. Whatever you’ve once called the “worst car” is wrong. …

[Video, 4:06, Jalopnik, YouTube]
8:10pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW
2

Animal Culture

Claudia collects some amazing pix of colorful critters.
9:57am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

Headline of the Day

…“Yesterday, we had our Bearded Villains photo shoot,” member Andreas Fransson and founder of ratemybeard.se wrote on Facebook. “In the middle of the shoot, two cops showed up, telling us they got a call from someone saying they drove past and saw about 30 terrorists waving an ISIS flag.”…

8:17pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Newsboy

The “refugee” crisis boosted the vote tally for the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) in today’s local elections. The party received 31% of the vote in the Viennese election, which was more than five points ahead of its previous showing, but still less than the 39% the Socialists scored.

In other news, a would-be car bomber detonated her vehicle at a checkpoint near Jerusalem when police demanded that she get out of her car. A policeman was badly burned by the explosion.…

News headline links and summaries (retro'd 10/13)
10:35pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW
Political Hat
News headline summaries and links
11:00am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW

US Election 2016

Red Star Hammer & Sickle

…Chuck Todd asked Democrat presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) where he stands on allowing shooting victims to sue gun manufacturers. Sanders made it clear that he is opposed to holding gun store owners liable, but he believes there is room to hold manufacturers liable to some degree.…

8:20pm CDT Mon 2015 Oct 12 :MW
1

Wars and Rumors

Biohazard

…“the next generation of genetically engineered life will more than likely possess a novel trait known as ‘gene drive’ that literally spreads gene alterations like a virus within the host population, whether it is a plant or an animal.” While genetic engineers may be enthusiastic about its potential for good, some scientists are concerned about it getting into the wrong hands. The self-replicating technology could eventually turn genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) into covert bio-weapons and these weapons would be able to destroy crops, livestock…and humans. …

10:55am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

…Admiral Bill Gortney, commander of US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said he agreed with US intelligence assessments that North Korea had nuclear weapons, as well as the ability to miniaturise them and put them on a rocket that could reach the United States. …

10:48am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

Below are certain facts about our involvement in Syria that shed much light on the realities of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.…
1. Syria has committed no act of war against the United States.
2. We have no business interfering in Syria.
3. Neither Obama nor any American politician has made a case for why it should be our business.
4. Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, is not a war criminal.
5. Allegations that he used poisonous gas against Syrian civilians are highly suspect. …

Thirty-three important points by Col. B. Bunny
10:35am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

As if there weren’t already enough problems to worry about in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia might be headed for trouble. From plummeting oil prices to foreign-policy missteps to growing tensions with Iran, a confluence of recent events is mounting to pose some serious challenges for the Saudi regime. If not properly managed, these events could eventually coalesce into a perfect storm that significantly increases the risk of instability within the kingdom, with untold consequences for global oil markets and security in the Middle East.…

10:30am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

Prison Sucks

Pig

The nation’s pork producers are in an uproar after the federal government abruptly removed bacon, pork chops, pork links, ham and all other pig products from the national menu for 206,000 federal inmates. … The Bureau of Prisons, which is responsible for running 122 federal penitentiaries and feeding their inmates three meals a day, said the decision was based on a survey of prisoners’ food preferences: They just don’t like the taste of pork. …

Riiiight. And has nothing to do with… anything else.
11:04am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

Humans can be Dangerous

Elephant

The African / Chinese Co-Prosperity Sphere Should Depopulate The Entire Continent Of Wildlife In No-Time… As China’s investment in Africa boomed in recent years, rumors swirled about the relationship between the country’s development projects on the continent and the illegal ivory trade. But Chinese smugglers were rarely arrested. They were too well-connected to the government, many suspected. Many said they believe that’is how Yang managed to operate with impunity for so many years. …

10:27am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW
2

It's All in Your Mind

Engrish to the psycho deli for funny again
11:08am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

Animal Culture

Dog
The maestro of critter pix has put together another collection - heavy "D'awww!" warning
10:41am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

Belief and State

Okla Flag

…Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said that discussion could lead to… changes to the Oklahoma State Constitution.

“When you look at other states that have put Ten Commandments monuments on capitol grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken very clearly, that that is very constitutional… [the] taking of our own constitution by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying it (monument) is unconstitutional, is inconsistent with our First Amendment protections we have under the U.S. Constitution. … I’m hopeful there can be a remedy to that… [Regarding Article II, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution,] I believe if it is going to be interpreted like that, then I believe it needs to be repealed…”

Article II, Section 5 states, “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.” …

9:50am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW
3

Defending Ourselves

The Waffle House crew was busily going about its typical early-morning ritual… when a robber jolted them out of their routine. … A customer … opened fire in the North Charleston eatery, thwarting the holdup Saturday by fatally shooting the suspect.…

Just ate at a Waffle House in Missouri when we were on the road last week. Really nice folks there. I'd hate to think of this happening to them. But then, I can easily see some of their grizzled customers reacting just the same as this customer.
8:13am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Panels and posters just as funny as they were on Friday, even if this is Sunday.
10:52am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW
Nice Deb candle

Nice Deb's Saturday Movie Matinee: Obama’s “Kindergarten Version of Warfare”

Nice Deb's weekly collection of blood-pressure-raising videos
10:22am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW
Graphics political, amusing, and even animated with kitteh!
10:00am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW
Newsboy

…A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up in downtown Ankara today, killing almost a hundred people and wounding more than two hundred more. The explosions occurred in the midst of a pro-Kurdish demonstration. Angry crowds, suspecting state involvement with the attacks, clashed with police afterwards.

In other news, as temperatures dropped below freezing in Finland, donated winter clothes were distributed to “refugees” in major cities and towns.…

News headline links and summaries. [Retro'd Oct 12]
9:53am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 11 :MW
2

Spacecraft

…more than eight thousand awesome, never-before seen pictures of the Apollo missions to the moon.…

8:09pm CDT Sat 2015 Oct 10 :MW
2

Animal Companions

Cat, Excited

…Three people were inside – a couple and their 14 year-old daughter. The girl’s cat woke her up, which was a life-saver, officials say, because there are no smoke detectors in the home. The teen woke up her parents and the family was able to get out of the home without any injuries.…

7:33am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 9 :MW

People Die

Gail Zappa, wife of Frank Zappa and executrix of the Zappa Family Trust, has died. She was 70. A cause of death has not been revealed… "departed this earth peacefully at her home ... surrounded by her children…"

7:39am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 9 :MW

Actor Kevin Corcoran, who helped move audiences to tears as a child star in "Old Yeller," died at age 66.…

7:35am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 9 :MW
3

Cartoons Count

Reports now confirm that political cartoonist Akram Raslan died at the hands of Syrian police after vanishing in October 2012… had not been heard of since he was abducted from his office. "[Raslan's] works were known for being very direct in opposing the Syrian regime," Palestinian cartoonist Fadi Abou Hassan wrote on Cartoon Movement. "Raslan drew more than 300 cartoons that accompanied the early developments of the Syrian revolution."…

7:41am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 9 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Gates of Vienna Newsfeed

…Spencer Stone, one of the American heroes who foiled a jihad attack on a French train in August, was attacked by several assailants outside a liquor store after leaving a gay bar in Sacramento. He was stabbed four times and sustained serious injuries, but is expected to survive. Mr. Spencer was reportedly protecting a female companion when he was stabbed.

In other news, four cruise missiles launched by Russia and aimed at targets in the Islamic State reportedly went off course and landed in Iran instead.…

News headline links and summaries
9:28am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 9 :MW
1

Animals can be Dangerous

Bear

Montana bow hunter is recovering after he survived a grizzly bear mauling by remembering a tip from his grandmother and shoving his arm down the animal's throat.…

Thanks, Gramma!
10:52am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW

Political Theater

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the felony blackmail conviction for Sooner Tea Party co-founder Al Gerhart, saying that an email he sent to a state lawmaker was protected speech under the First Amendment.

In a 3-2 ruling Wednesday, the court also reversed a $1,000 fine that a jury ordered Gerhart to pay after he was convicted of sending an email to a former state senator who said he felt threatened by its tone.…

9:44am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW
2

Wild Oklahoma

Bear

…Endicott said Oklahoma's bear population started growing years ago after a restocking effort by the state. They're coming in from Arkansas. The largest population is in southeastern Oklahoma, but the number up north is growing. … As bears look for a place to settle in, they're also looking for food - and what better place to find it than a deer feeder?…

Um, didn't we just spend the last hundred-plus years trying to make ourselves safe from large predators? Restocking? Whut?
11:03am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW

Science and Justice

A Columbus attorney has announced that a 12-year-old Amish girl is cancer-free, despite courtroom testimony last year from doctors that she would be dead in six months without chemotherapy treatments. Maurice Thompson, the executive director for the libertarian nonprofit 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, said the girl, Sarah Hershberger, shows no signs of cancer and appears to be healthy.… In the wake of Sarah’s case, Thompson called on lawmakers to reform Ohio’s laws that grant judges the power to overrule parental decisions regarding their children’s health and well-being.…

10:49am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW
3

Cartoons Count

Spider-Man
This story is best described by a commenter:

After you chop off your finger in a lawnmower, and your pregnant wife has to drive you to the hospital, and then your car catches fire, I think getting saved by someone in a Spider-Man costume probably seemed like the obvious next step...

10:59am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW

Breitbart is Here

More posters political and humorous - for certain definitions of humor - and politics.
10:37am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW
Posters political and humorous. Some of a graphic nature, be warned. Last Sunday's, but still entertaining.
10:33am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 8 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

One senator out of 100 stood against funding Obama’s Marxist Wish List… just one. And our Republican Majority has struck yet once again…

Latest entry in the Froglegs Film Fest.
1:30pm CDT Wed 2015 Oct 7 :MW
Geezer

…On this day in 1996 the Fox News Channel began broadcasting.…

More proof that the world is going completely out of order, Vic's morning newscast starts here, on an early-morning thread by Ace!
10:34am CDT Wed 2015 Oct 7 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1889 Thomas Edison showed his first motion picture.…

Vic's morning news, cleverly hidden in the Overnight Thread, but we tracked it down for you.
8:37am CDT Tue 2015 Oct 6 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1921 the World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time.…

Vic's news starts here, but the ripples go on infinitely. Or something.
9:10am CDT Mon 2015 Oct 5 :MW
1

Disinformation Propaganda and Spin

…Why did CNN need to change the complexion (color) of their broadcast? Why is no-one showing pictures of mom, Laurel Margaret Harper. Why change to hyphenated name?…

Sundance at Conservative Treehouse/Last Refuge (whatever it is) asks the intriguing questions about the media's (mass and social) cover-ups, and digs for answers.

Note (Oct 5): That CNN doctored the photo is in question. CNN has said they've never run a picture of the shooter. There's no source link for the changed photo that I've found so far.

9:16am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 4 :MW
3

Breitbart is Here

Panels political, depressing, humorous, and animated.
11:51am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 4 :MW
Geezer

…On this day in 1957 Leave It To Beaver premiered on CBS.…

Leave it to Vic... to deliver the news first thing in the day.
7:48am CDT Sun 2015 Oct 4 :MW
3

America the Beautiful

'He wasn't going to stand and watch something horrific happen': The hero Army veteran who was shot seven times as he 'charged at Oregon college shooter'
• Chris Mintz, 30, was taken to hospital following the college shooting
• Started the day by wishing his son, six, 'Happy Birthday' on Facebook
• He then headed to classes at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg
• His cousin Derek Bourgeois told DailyMail.com he charged at the shooter…

8:03am CDT Sat 2015 Oct 3 :MW
1

Constitutional Threat

…Yesterday, Loretta Lynch announced before the United Nations that the Attorney General’s office, in collaboration with several US cities, will form a global law enforcement initiative called the Strong Cities Network. This is the implementation of UN rules and laws on US soil, bypassing Congress and circumventing the Constitution. …

1:37pm CDT Fri 2015 Oct 2 :MW

Nature vs Transport

Funny selection of arbor attacks on vehicles.
1:41pm CDT Fri 2015 Oct 2 :MW
2

Spiritual Matters

…The Republican Party of Oklahoma has offered a home to a Ten Commandments monument soon to be removed from Capitol grounds by court order, saying the teachings etched in stone are espoused by the party, officials said on Thursday. ... "It really defines us as a nation," said [interim GOP-OK chairwoman] Estela Hernandez "We really are a moral nation and, when we look at those laws that are enshrined in that monument, that's what we follow today."…

Well, I think even the GOP of OK is too RINO, but at least they are doing this.
10:34am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 2 :MW
3

Animals and Transport

Bear

Video: Woman thanks Alaska bear for not eating kayak; bear promptly eats kayak

12:28pm CDT Fri 2015 Oct 2 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Geezer

…On this day in 1950 the syndicated comic strip Peanuts was first published. It ran daily until 2000 when Charles Shultz died from complications from colon cancer. …

Vic delivers the news to get your head on straight for the day.
9:07am CDT Fri 2015 Oct 2 :MW
3

Animals and Transport

Bee

…A Garvin County sheriff deputy's vehicle was nearly swallowed by a swarm of bees from an overturned rig Tuesday afternoon. Deputy Carl Zink suffered only one bee sting during the incident…

Amazing photo
5:07pm CDT Thu 2015 Oct 1 :MW

Breitbart is Here

Panels political, ranging from depressing to amusing as usual.
5:01pm CDT Thu 2015 Oct 1 :MW
Geezer

…On this day in 1890 Yosemite National Park was established by the U.S. Congress. …

If you don't find much news on the Blog-Heap these days, at least you can get a sense of the (senseless) world from Vic's news & views dispatches!
8:03am CDT Thu 2015 Oct 1 :MW