In case you were not noticing, a few items have come up on the X Blog for your attention. I made a few observations from Bill Clinton’s amazing speech last night and have a suggestion for my Republican friends. There’s a wonderful bit of video in which Mitt Romney sits down with a plaid flannel jacket wearing Vet to hob-nob with the masses, and accidentally ends up in a conversation about gay marriage with a guy who would really like to share is veteran’s benefits with his significant other. Be sure to watch it through to the end! And, there’s been several special editions of the Sunday Funnies. And more, you can dig around.

A few items of interest over on my other blog:

An interesting graph for gardners and info on a new book including a free chapter.

An overview of the Marc Hauser Maneno (updated)

Don’t miss the critical discussion of Bill Nye’s famous video.

Minda Berbeco is a biologist who is an expert on the carbon cycle, climate change, and science education. She’ll be joining the NCSE staff’s new initiative on climate change related education.

“I have long respected NCSE’s defense of evolution education and I am thrilled that the organization has taken up climate change” says Berbeco. “I’m even more thrilled to be part of NCSE’s new climate change team.”

From droughts to rising sea levels, climate change will have global effects. “Ignoring the science won’t change the realities of climate change”, says Berbeco. “We need a fully informed public—especially students, teachers, journalists, politicians—who have a solid grounding in climate science basics”.

More details here.

NCSE’s executive director Eugenie C. Scott received the Atheist Alliance of America’s Richard Dawkins Award at the group’s annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, on September 1, 2012. Unable to attend the ceremony in person, the namesake of the award began his video introduction by saying, “Eugenie Scott is one of my very favorite people, although we have our civilized disagreements, as I shall tell,” and adding, “it’s impossible to meet Genie without loving her, whether you agree with her or not.” Scott began her acceptance speech by joking, “I now possess awards in the names of both Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins. This demonstrates that I can get along with everyone. Regardless of my historic amiability, however, I do not anticipate ever being presented with the Ken Ham award, if such exists.”

Details here.

You may remember that several months ago, a Twin Cities fellow named Andrew Wagner went missing. I did not know Andrew, but we have a number of mutual friends. The circumstances of his disappearance indicated that he may have been intent on committing suicide, though this was not perfectly certain. He disappeared along with a very unique looking red Volvo, so it was thought that if enough people knew he was out there somewhere potentially with self-harm on his mind, and if people knew about his Volvo, it wouldn’t be that hard to find him. A search effort was launched by his friends. I’m not sure how much the “authorities” helped out with this (it seemed to me at the time like not much but I may have that wrong). Eventually the search wound down and stopped.

Yesterday, Andrew’s body was found, in the old Volvo, on the side of a remote logging road in St. Louis County, which is up in the “arrowhead” region in northeastern Minnesota where pretty much everything is remote. Authorities say they do not suspect foul play, so we may guess that Andrew did take his own life.

Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak speaking in support of President Obama at the DNC:

Say no more…

It seems to me that Navy Seals who are openly talking about operational details of a special op are acting in a treasonous manner, should lose their rank, and be court marshaled. Amiright?

This is a video of Kill-Me Kare Bare’s “Hot Hot.” Today, in the Twin Cities, we will have one of the hotter days of the summer, out of season, and thus one of the relatively hotter days of the year. And so…

Yesterday I was driving Julia down to Frog Town Midway where she had an exciting evening of political Phone Banking planned. We drove down Route 10 and merged onto God’s Highway southbound where we encountered, in the center lane, a line of white Ford Econoline vans. They were in convoy all going in the same direction. I’m pretty sure I could see about fifty of them. Fifty white Ford Econoline vans. Not brand new but all in good condition. Most of the vans had a driver and passenger, a few had more people than that. there were no markings. We fell in behind them and followed them south to Route 694 where they headed west.

What the hell was that?

… But then he wasn’t. For me, anyway, this is one of those cases of hearing that someone died and being rather surprised they had not done that before. Anyway he did that. Die, that is.

He was 92

Today is Mike Haubrich’s birthday. Have you checked out his blog lately? A sampling:

• On Race and The Republican Party
• The Moon Landing
• On Original Sin
• Matt Young Gets Inside the Ark Park’s Sales Pitch