I live near a highway. All winter, I almost never went west on that road, only east, but a couple of times I did go west. And, in a tree off to the right in that direction, I noticed a mass of stuff that resembled a Bald Eagle’s nest as much as any mass of stuff ever could, but of course, it was not a bald eagle nest.

… or was it?

… Huffington, by Shawn Otto:

Dear Arianna,

Congratulations on the Huffington Post’s Pulitzer prize. That is an important feather in the paper’s cap.

I want you to know how much I value your publication, and how I think the dust up over the antiscience HuffPost article “NASA Global Warming Stance Blasted By 49 Astronauts, Scientists Who Once Worked At Agency” is an opportunity for a broader discussion, which you could lead. The story has garnered wide attention in both science and journalism circles. Why is an important discussion.

It is a discussion that I think is critical to our democracy….

Read More

I think it is so funny when I get a death threat (or two or three) from some guy, then later, I get invited to join his network on Linked In.

I suppose my email must have been in his gmail account or something and Linked In sent out a bunch of automatic invitations.

And now, it gets funnier: There is a new thing called “WAYN” for “Where are you now,” which must be a little like Linked In. And, once again, Death Threat Guy is inviting me to be part of his network on WAYN.

Which reminds me of a funny thing that happened the other day. Someone sent me an email he had received, asking for my address (never mind why that email was sent to him, if you knew the details it would make sense). So, after getting the forwarded email, I sent the original sender a note that said “why do you want to know my address?” and the response was a breathless rant about how I must think he’s going to do something bad to me if he has my address, and why am I so paranoid about being contacted by an anonymous stranger who wants my address but won’t say why, who indicates he wants to “send me something” but can’t name the “thing” and on and on.

So, just so everyone knows, I’m heavily armed, I collect automatic weapons, I have four trained attack dogs, and I live across the street from the police station. Oh, and the booby traps. I’m not even going to mention them.

Dick Clark’s American Bandstand ran from 1957 to 1987, and Clark hosted ABC’s version of New Years Eve from 1972 until 2003 or 4. Clark died of a heart attack. He was born in 1929.

Just do this:

Hat Tip: Charlotte VWA.

Animated:

This is an outrage!

I’m talking about the Jim Jefferies fiasco, of course.

What’s wrong with this picture? (hint)

Yesterday, at the Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) Convention in Minnesota’s United States Congressional District 3, my candidate, Sharon Sund, did not gain the endorsement of our party; the endorsement went to the Gentleman from Edina, Brian Barnes. Brian won fair and square, and it was a good campaign.

This morning, my car sits in the garage crammed full of seat cushions and Sun(d) chips, campaign posters and stickers, and other sundry items hastily gathered from our convention field headquarters and the lobby of the Valley View Middle School where the convention happened.

I’ll be straight and honest with you, as always: It was not a pretty picture.
Continue reading We lost, but we won →

Here.

This is a good starting point:

“Successful organizing is based on the recognition that people get organized because they, too, have a vision.”

-Paul Wellstone

One hundred years ago today, the Titanic, the largest boat in the water at the time, and unsinkable by design, ran into an iceberg and sank. Many died on board because of insufficient safety equipment.

A majority of first and second class children survived the sinking, but only 34% of the third class children lived. Almost all of the first class women and 86% of the second class women lived, but under half of the third class women survived. For men, 33% of the first class, 8% of the second calass, and 16% of the third class survived. Among crew, 87% of the women survived, but only 22% of the men.

Perhaps the Titanic can be worked into the themes of this year’s #Occupy movement?

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is an animated reconstruction of the Titanic sinking:
Continue reading Titanic Sinks! →

“How to eat a taco”