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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Saturday, May 21, 2016

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of Carolina Naturally.
Away the horses ...! 
 
Carolina Naturally is read in 208 countries around the world daily.   
  
And they're off ... !
Today is - The 141st running of the Preakness

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Today in History

996
Sixteen year old Otto III is crowned the Roman Emperor.
1471
King Henry VI is killed in the Tower of London. Edward IV takes the throne.
1506
Christopher Columbus dies.
1536
The Reformation is officially adopted in Geneva, Switzerland.
1620
Present-day Martha’s Vineyard is first sighted by Captain Bartholomew Gosnold.
1790
Paris is divided into 48 zones.
1832
The Democratic party holds its first national convention.
1856
Lawrence, Kansas is captured and sacked by pro-slavery forces.
1863
The siege of the Confederate Port Hudson, Louisiana, begins.
1881
The American Red Cross is founded by Clara Barton.
1927
Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris completing the first solo air crossing of the Atlantic.
1940
British forces attack German General Erwin Rommel‘s 7th Panzer Division at Arras, slowing his blitzkrieg of France.
1941
The first U.S. ship, the S.S. Robin Moor, is sunk by a U-boat.
1951
The U.S. Eighth Army counterattacks to drive the Communist Chinese and North Koreans out of South Korea.
1961
Governor John Patterson declares martial law in Montgomery, Alabama.
1970
The U.S. National Guard mobilizes to quell disturbances at Ohio State University.
1991
In Madras, India, a suicide bomber kills the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

London theater where Shakespeare acted and debuted 'Henry V' unearthed

London theater where Shakespeare acted and debuted 'Henry V' unearthed

Google has patented 'sticky' layer to protect pedestrians that may be hit by self-driving cars

Google has patented a new “sticky” technology to protect pedestrians if, or when, they get struck by the company’s self-driving cars. The patent, which was granted on 17 May, is for a sticky adhesive layer on the front end of a vehicle, which would aim to reduce the damage caused when a pedestrian hit by a car is flung into other vehicles or scenery.
“Ideally, the adhesive coating on the front portion of the vehicle may be activated on contact and will be able to adhere to the pedestrian nearly instantaneously,” according to the patent description. “This instantaneous or nearly-instantaneous action may help to constrain the movement of the pedestrian, who may be carried on the front end of the vehicle until the driver of the vehicle (or the vehicle itself in the case of an autonomous vehicle) reacts to the incident and applies the brakes.
“As such,” it continues, “both the vehicle and pedestrian may come to a more gradual stop than if the pedestrian bounces off the vehicle.” The patent describes itself as specifically aimed at self-driving cars but notes that it can be used on any vehicle. Car companies have already taken steps to protect pedestrians from impact. Citroen and Jaguar use a device that raises the car’s bonnet 6.5cm on impact to provide a cushion for impact between the crumpling surface and the solid engine block beneath.
Others, such as Land Rover and Volvo, have developed outside airbags that deploy on impact to protect a pedestrian from injury. However, the patent observes, “existing technology found in production vehicles does little to mitigate the secondary impact a pedestrian may experience”. It is not known whether Google has active plans to install the new technology on their self-driving cars in the future. A spokesperson said: “We hold patents on a variety of ideas. Some of those ideas later mature into real products and services, some don’t.”

Man rescued from lake after trying to 'walk on water'

A man was pulled from Lady Bird Lake in Austin Texas, early on Wednesday morning after he reportedly attempted to walk on water.
Austin-Travis County EMS and Austin Police responded to a call at 2:28am about a person in the water. Fire crews, along with EMS and APD, launched a fire department boat to look for the person.
STARFlight also responded and, shortly after they arrived on scene, was able to locate the person, a male in his 30s, and crews in the boat were able to retrieve him.
He was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge with non-life threatening injuries. Police say the man tried to "walk on water." APD says the man will be charged with public intoxication.

New Jersey city defends Sikh official after Dumbass Trump-loving Twitter troll calls him a 'terrorist'

New Jersey city defends Sikh official after Dumbass Trump-loving Twitter troll calls him a 'terrorist'

Here’s why people don’t take religio-wingnut evangelicals seriously

The evangelical brand has gone from being a liability to a severe liability.

Smackdown of the week

Louisiana Republican state Rep. Julie Stokes (screen grab)
Smackdown of the week: Louisiana rep. scolds cackling colleagues for wanting stripper weight limits

Oklahoma wingnuts just approved a shockingly ‘insane’ abortion ban that would make doctors felons

Sad woman (Shutterstock)
Oklahoma wingnuts just approved a shockingly ‘insane’ abortion ban that would make doctors felons
The governor vetoed the billed ...

Oklahoma wingnuts call ‘state of emergency’ to stop trans kids from using the restroom

Bride-of-Frankenstein-Bride-Screaming
The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Brian Bingman and state House Speaker Jeff Hickman, restricts students around the state from using restrooms according to their gender identity.

Being Transgender Could Soon Mean You’re A Sex Offender In Arkansas If Lunatic Wingnut Gets Her Way

DURHAM, NC - MAY 10:  A private women's bathroom is offered at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina.  Debate over transgender bathroom access spreads nationwide as the U.S. Department of Justice countersues North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory from enforcing the provisions of House Bill 2 that dictate what bathrooms transgender individuals can use.  (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)Being Transgender Could Soon Mean You’re A Sex Offender In Arkansas If Lunatic Wingnut Gets Her Way
Republicans are doubling down on hate and it’s even uglier than before.

Arpaio: It’s not my fault that my racial profiling program cost taxpayers $40 million

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Screenshot/12News)Arpaio: It’s not my fault that my racial profiling program cost taxpayers $40 million
Yes. It is.

San Francisco police chief quits after officer shoots and kills black woman

Then-San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr is interviewed on Sept. 8, 2014. (KPIX-TV)
The police department and Greg Suhr have faced mounting criticism and protests for months in the wake of several high-profile police killings and a racist text scandal.

Mercury Rising

Mercury passed between Earth and the sun last week, a rare celestial event scientists say happens about a dozen times per century — the next one won’t happen until 2019.  But luckily for us, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (better known as NASA) captured some amazing time-lapse footage of Mercury’s May 9 transit.

Naked man rescued after getting stuck in chimney says he was playing hide-and-seek

A 29-year-old man claims he was playing a game of hide-and-seek when he climbed the roof of Carroll Redemption Center in downtown Carroll, Iowa, and shimmied 20 feet down its chimney, where he got stuck. At 10:50am on Wednesday, when firefighters broke a hole through the chimney and pulled Jordan Kajewski out, the man was naked and covered in soot. It’s unclear when or why he disrobed. His clothes were with him inside the chimney.
Kajewski, who recently moved to Carroll, was arrested for trespassing. Nine hours earlier, Brad Sapp, an owner of the business was working late sorting aluminum cans when he heard someone whisper: “Get out of here.” It spooked him, but when he told his wife Carrie, she mocked him for being scared of ghosts. Eight hours later, she was working near the chimney when the man yelled for help. He asked her not to call the police.
“I’m in your chimney,” she said he yelled to her. “I was playing hide-and-seek with my cousin. ... Don’t call the cops, I just need some help getting out.” They called the police at about 10:15am. More than a dozen firefighters worked for about 30 minutes to free Kajewski. “This was definitely a first for the Carroll Fire Department,” Fire Chief Greg Schreck said after. The firefighters had intended to use a truck with a long ladder and bucket to drop a rope to the man, but they opted to hammer a hole in the side of the brick chimney and pull Kajewski out the bottom.
Paramedics evaluated the man before he was taken to jail. Kajewski had asked Brad Sapp for a job three times in recent weeks, Sapp said, and on the last denial Kajewski grew upset and shouted: “Just give me some hours.” Sapp assumes the man wanted a few hours of work so he could figure out a way to break into the place. “Why would I steal cans?” Kajewski had told Carrie Sapp. “I make $800 a week.” It’s unclear whether Kajewski won the game of hide and seek. He is currently in the Carroll County Jail.
There's a news video here.

Man asked to use neighbor's phone before allegedly stripping naked and stealing her canes

A 43-year-old man from Cleveland, Ohio, asked to use his 72-year-old neighbor's phone, then stripped naked, sat on her couch and stole two of her walking canes, according to court records.
A grand jury on Monday charged Ramel Thomas with burglary, robbery and public indecency in connection with the May 8 incident in Cleveland's Corlett neighborhood.
Thomas knocked on the apartment door of a 72-year-old woman who lives in the same building and asked to use her phone, police said. The woman let him in. But instead of using the phone, Thomas took off all of his clothes and sat on her couch, records say.
The woman eventually got Thomas to put his clothes back on, and he walked out of the apartment. She followed him to the door, where Thomas grabbed two of her walking canes, pushed her against a wall and walked away, police said. Thomas was arrested that day and charged with robbery in Cleveland Municipal Court. His bond was set at $50,000. Thomas is scheduled to be arraigned on May 27.

Naked Florida man sends 5 dogs to viciously kill poodle because owner is a Muslim ‘terrorist prick’

Azard Baksh holds his injured dog, Myra (WFLA/screen grab)Naked Florida man sends 5 dogs to viciously kill poodle because owner is a Muslim ‘terrorist prick’
***
Well, we know who the "prick' is ...

Man arrested with a gun, marijuana and box of baby squirrels

A man has been arrested in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, for illegally having a gun and marijuana, while also being in possession of a box of baby squirrels. A week ago Ian Lee-Scott Breiholz, 32, of Kimball, was seen going through a dumpster.

Woman fighting ticket for unrestrained chicken took the animal to court

A woman from Spirit Lake, Idaho, who is fighting a ticket she received for failing to restrain a chicken, took the animal to court on Monday. Cindy Tefft says her pet chicken, Grace, apparently escaped her pen, and jumped the fence into her neighbor's yard.
“My neighbor said that my chicken trespassed onto her property,” Tefft said. It just so happened to be the yard of a neighbor she says she's had problems with for a number of years. Police cited Tefft for failing to restrain her chicken, so she decided to fight that ticket in court.
"I'm confused as to why my chicken didn't get any kind of warnings before I got a ticket," Tefft said. When Tefft decided to fight the ticket in court, she decided to take Grace the chicken along with her. Her only hurdle was getting it past security, so she registered her chicken as a service animal. With Grace security in a pet carrier she made it through security without a problem.

There was no clucking in court as Tefft waited to speak to the judge. She didn't get to argue her case just yet, but pleaded not guilty to the ticket against her. Tefft says she plans to take it to court, and will seek legal counsel. She had not decided on Monday whether she would seek her own legal team, or take a public defender. There's no word as to whether Grace will testify in court.

Animal Pictures