May 30, 2013

Illinois illegally seizes Bees Resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup; Kills remaining Queens

http://www.globalresearch.ca/illinois-illegally-seizes-bees-resistant-to-monsantos-roundup-kills-remaining-queens/5336210

The Illinois Ag Dept. illegally seized privately owned bees from renowned naturalist, Terrence Ingram, without providing him with a search warrant and before the court hearing on the matter, reports Prairie Advocate News.

Behind the obvious violations of his Constitutional rights is Monsanto. Ingram was researching Roundup’s effects on bees, which he’s raised for 58 years. “They ruined 15 years of my research,” he told Prairie Advocate, by stealing most of his stock.

<snip>
Ingram can prove his bees did not have foulbrood, and planned to do so at a hearing set in April, but the state seized his bees at the end of March. They have not returned them and no one at the Ag Dept. seems to know where his bees are.

The bees could have been destroyed, or they could have been turned over to Monsanto to ascertain why some of his bees are resistant to Roundup. Without the bees as evidence, Ingram simply cannot defend against the phony charges of foulbrood.

<snip>

#t=0s

May 28, 2013

NY high court eyes who can tap Starbucks' tip jars

Source: Houston Chronicle

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press | May 28, 2013 | Updated: May 28, 2013 4:08pm

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Starbucks is defending its tip-sharing policy with its attorney telling New York's top court that baristas and shift supervisors divide up the cash jar weekly because they essentially provide the same customer service.

Attorney Rex Heinke (HYN'-kee) says assistant store managers are excluded because they have an essentially different role and "real power" over the others.

He says Tuesday that the employer's role is to come up with "a reasonable, fair system" and the company does have authority to exclude from tip-sharing even those employees deemed eligible under state law.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/NY-high-court-eyes-who-can-tap-Starbucks-tip-jars-4552087.php

May 21, 2013

Jeffrey Nugent says his brother Ted Nugent is wrong on background checks

Jeffrey Nugent says his brother Ted Nugent is wrong on background checks
By Jeffrey Nugent,May 17, 2013




Jeffrey Nugent is the former president and chief executive of Revlon.

I’m a member of the National Rifle Association and a former Army officer with assignments in the military police, artillery, and operations research and intelligence at the Pentagon.

<snip>

And I agree with Ted that our constitutional right to bear arms should not be undermined. I want all those who are qualified to purchase a gun to be able to do so. But — and here is where I part ways with my brother — not everyone is qualified to own a gun, so expanded background checks should be a legislative priority.

I believe strongly that expanding and improving mandatory background checks will keep a lot of people who aren’t entitled to Second Amendment rights from having easy access to guns. As of today, a convicted felon can find a gun show or a private seller and buy a firearm without a background check. That loophole should be closed. Every gun transaction must include a thorough background check. Why would responsible gun owners want to protect people who threaten not only our safety but our gun rights?

The NRA has it wrong: Irresponsible gun owners are bad for everyone. If you shouldn’t have access to a gun, then there should be no way for you to access a gun! Can anyone argue with that?

<snip>

The tragedy in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, and the gun violence that claims on average eight children per day in the United States, require us to think differently about what the Second Amendment really means.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-05-17/opinions/39329064_1_gun-violence-gun-rights-gun-show

May 21, 2013

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, dies at 74 from cancer

Ray Manzarek, a founding member of The Doors whose versatile and often haunting keyboards complimented Jim Morrison’s gloomy baritone and helped set the mood for some of rock’s most enduring songs, has died. He was 74.

Manzarek died Monday in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family, said publicist Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald. Robinson-Fitzgerald said his manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed Manzarek died after being stricken by bile duct cancer.

The Doors’ original lineup, which also included drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robbie Krieger, was only together for a few years. But the band has retained a large and obsessive following decades after Morrison’s death, in 1971.

The Doors have sold more than 100 million records and songs such as “Light My Fire” and “Riders On the Storm” are still “classic” rock standards. For Doors admirers, the band symbolized the darker side of the Los Angeles lifestyle, what happened to the city after the sun went down and the Beach Boys fans headed home.

<snip>


Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/publicist-ray-manzarek-founding-member-of-the-doors-dies-at-74-from-cancer/2013/05/20/2dec0d86-c193-11e2-9aa6-fc21ae807a8a_story.html

May 7, 2013

Rate Of U.S. Gun Violence Has Fallen Since 1993, Study Says

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/07/181998015/rate-of-u-s-gun-violence-has-fallen-since-1993-study-says



<snip>

"Firearm-related homicides dropped from 18,253 homicides in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011," according to a report by the federal , "and nonfatal firearm crimes dropped from 1.5 million victimizations in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011.

There were seven gun homicides per 100,000 people in 1993, the says, which dropped to 3.6 gun deaths in 2010. The study relied in part on data from the .

"Compared with 1993, the peak of U.S. gun homicides, the firearm homicide rate was 49 percent lower in 2010, and there were fewer deaths, even though the nation's population grew," according to the Pew study. "The victimization rate for other violent crimes with a firearm—assaults, robberies and sex crimes—was 75 percent lower in 2011 than in 1993."


<snip>

The U.S. gun crime rate peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Pew study says, ending years of growth in gun violence that began in the 1960s. But the rate of suicides committed using a firearm hasn't fallen as fast, they add, noting that 6 out of every 10 gun deaths in America stems from suicide.

March 29, 2013

California Chick-Fil-A Offers Free Meals To Gay Marriage Supporters

A California Chick-fil-A did something shocking for same-sex marriage supporters this week: Supported them.

<snip>

The move came months after Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy revealed his anti-gay stance in a July interview, saying he is "guilty as charged" when it comes to his franchise's "support of the traditional family."

"There were a lot of things said over the past year," Braun told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. "I wanted to show that Chick-fil-A doesn't discriminate against anybody. We serve everyone. We're happy to serve the community and this was an opportunity to have this group come in and show them our hospitality regardless of their beliefs, sexual orientation, or whatever. Chick-fil-A has never been about hate"

<snip>

Meanwhile, same-sex marriage advocates Wednesday posted signs in defense of equality on the front of a Chick-fil-A in San Antonio, Texas, according to Houston station KHOU. The signs were scrawled with messages like "Government can not dictate love," "Support love note hate" and "Your son is gay and everything will be okay."

The demonstrations come as the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Proposition 8. DOMA defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman; Prop. 8 is a same-sex marriage ban passed in California in 2008.

<snip>

A small, but significant starting point.

March 27, 2013

Recycled Houses (Texas Country Reporter)

Really hopefull stuff. This could be a chance to house even a good portion of the homeless and the occasionally homeless , folks who work but just don't make enough.

March 18, 2013

It was not my intention to insult the transgendered. I apologize.

Again, it was not my intention to insult the transgendered, an issue about which I have some personal insight. I apologize.

I did mean to ridicule Ann Coulter. I will find more suitable subject to so with in the future. I am mortified with what happened. I am sorry and I apologize to anyone offended.

Herb Morehead

March 7, 2013

Tea Party Congressman Introduces A Hilarious Amendment To Stop Obama From Golfing

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-golf-amendment-white-house-tour-canceled-end-louie-gohmert-2013-3

Tea Party Congressman Introduces A Hilarious Amendment To Stop Obama From Golfing
Brett LoGiurato | Mar. 5, 2013, 5:19 PM | 6,878 | 35


Conservative Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) introduced legislation that would, in effect, prevent President Barack Obama from playing golf unless the White House reinstates public tours.

The amendment, part of the House's stopgap measure to fund the government, comes in response to the White House's decision Saturday to cancel public tours as a result of the sequester — a move that has caused backlash from Republican lawmakers.

"Canceling all self-guided White House tours is the latest shameless political stunt by the president, who is twisting basic government efficiency into an extreme consequence," Republican Rep. Tom Graves said in a statement.

<snip>

"None of the funds made available by a division of this Act may be used to transport the President to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume," Gohmert's amendment reads.

<snip>.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-golf-amendment-white-house-tour-canceled-end-louie-gohmert-2013-3#ixzz2MtfjRtOY


Louis Gomert - one more thing to explain away when people find out I live in Texas.

March 7, 2013

Very Not-Dumb Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert Introduces Bill To Place Obama Under House Arrest

Source: Wonkette.com

<snip>

In a House floor speech, Gohmert said he filed the amendment with the House Rules Committee.

“None of the funds made available by a division of this act may be used to transport the president to or from a golf course until public tours of the White House resume,” the amendment reads.

“That way we will both work together so the president will not able to take a golf outing that causes 341 more federal officials to be furloughed and lose their job at least temporarily,” Gohmert said.

<snip>

Read more: http://wonkette.com/504601/very-not-dumb-texas-rep-louie-gohmert-introduces-bill-to-place-obama-under-house-arrest

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Louis Gomert is another thing to apologize for when I tell people I'm from Texas. The little tweek.