And Now They Will Know ... Because of the Internet

Michael Jackson dies and it’s 24/7 news coverage.

A Real American hero dies and not a mention of it in the news.

*****

You’re a 19-year-old kid. You’re critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the Medi-Vac helicopters to stop coming in.

You’re lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you’re not getting out.. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away and you’ll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.

Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter and you look up to see an unarmed Huey, but it doesn’t seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.

Ed Freeman is coming for you. He’s not Medi-Vac, so it’s not his job, but he’s flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come.

He’s coming anyway.

And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire as they load 2 or 3 of you on board.

Then he flies you up and out, through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.

And he kept coming back, 13 more times, and took about 30 of you and your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.

Medal of Honor Recipient Ed Freeman died on Wednesday, June 25th, 2009, at the age of 80, in Boise , ID.

*****

Thanks to Acerbic Politics and Chuck's Fun Page2 for bringing this to our attention here at Carolina Naturally.

Thank you, Ed.

Missouri jail to host 'bed and breakfast' event

Want to spend a night in jail? And how about paying for the privilege? The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department in eastern Missouri has come up with a novel way to pay for mattresses at a new jail addition.

Officials are offering the public a chance to stay overnight on July 31 at the recently finished addition. For $50 a person or $90 a couple, people can tour the new facility, learn more about jail, and stay overnight. They'll receive Jefferson County "bed and breakfast" T-shirts, snacks - and souvenir mug shots.

Also included is a "get out of jail free" card. Those who want to leave early have to give another $10. Proceeds benefit the county's jail maintenance fund.

New Words

We are always adding new words to our language ...

Arachnoleptic Fit (n.) The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.

Beelzebug (n.) Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at 3 in the morning and cannot be cast out.

Bozone (n.) The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Cashtration (n.) The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

Caterpallor (n.) The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you’re eating.

Decaflon (n.) The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

Dopelar effect (n.) The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when you come at them rapidly.

Extraterrestaurant (n.) An eating place where you feel you’ve been abducted and experimented on. Also known as ETry.

Faunacated (adj.) How wildlife ends up when its environment is destroyed. Hence faunacatering (n.), which has made a meal of many species.

Foreploy (n.) Any misrepresentation or outright lie about yourself that leads to sex.

Grantartica (n.) The cold, isolated place where arts companies without funding dwell.

Hemaglobe (n.) The bloody state of the world.

Intaxication (n.) Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

Kinstirpation (n.) A painful inability to move relatives who come to visit.

Eight Signs you are too old to be Trick or Treating

8. You get winded from knocking on the door.

7. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.

6. You ask for high fiber candy only.

5. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance
and fall over.

4. People say, “Great Keith Richards mask!” and you’re not wearing a
mask.

3. When the door opens you yell, “Trick or…” and can’t remember the
rest.

2. You have to carefully choose a costume that won’t dislodge your
hairpiece.

1. You’re the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.

Astronomical Daily Photo

Moons and Jupiter
Credit & Copyright: Anne Riou

Astro-Geology

Martian 'egg cups' could trace past climate

Thousands of Martian craters that are elevated on pedestals like giant egg cups could hide ice from past eras, when the planet's tilt was different

Probe hints Venus once had oceans and plate tectonics

Europe's Venus Express orbiter suggests that some of the planet's surface is made of granite, which on Earth needs water and plate tectonics to form

Health News

Parasitic worms: Just what the doctor ordered?

Hookworms, whipworms, and flukes are generally bad news, but if you suffer from allergies or asthma they could be a blessing in disguise.

The enemy within: 10 human parasites

Some of the most common human parasites and the damaging effects they can have.

Science News

From BBC-Science:

Longest insect migration revealed

Millions of dragonflies cross the Indian Ocean each year, in a previously unknown epic migration.

Pot-Bellied Dinosaur Skeleton Found in Utah

The most complete skeleton of a type of pot-bellied dinosaur, a therizinosaur, has been discovered in southern Utah.

Such remains shed light on the evolution of leafy and meaty diets back in paleo times, suggesting that iconic predators like Velociraptor may have evolved from less fearsome plant-eating ancestors.

The newly discovered dinosaur, dubbed Nothronychus graffami, lived some 93 million years ago.

Read the rest here.

Madoff arrives at North Carolina prison

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff arrived Tuesday at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin serving a 150-year sentence for what is believed to be the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Full Story

Fall most deadly driving

Icy winter roads and vacation-clogged summer highways might seem the most dangerous for motorists, but new research says fall is when driving is at its deadliest.

Surprise

Parents' late-night fast-food run goes to pot

Police have arrested a couple allegedly caught smoking marijuana while waiting in the drive-through line at an Arby's restaurant with their 1-year-old in the back seat.

Late-night fast-food run goes to pot

Fired worker accused of trashing fast food eatery

Gainesville police are seeking an employee who tore up the fast-food restaurant, damaging cash registers and ruining some meals after he was fired.

Fired worker trashes fast food eatery

Wells Fargo sues itself

Well you knew it had to happen ...

Wells Fargo is suing itself to clear title on a property in order to foreclose on it; as the first mortgage holder, it must sue all subsequent mortgage holders, including the second mortgage holder...Wells Fargo!

The condo owner's attorney, Dan McKillop, suggested that the reason had to do with paperwork. While a lender could avoid suing itself as a lienholder by just releasing the lien after the foreclosure, that apparently involves an extra step or steps, which end up making it easier and faster for the bank to sue itself. That may be -- I don't pretend to understand this area of law -- but generally it is against the rules to file a complaint that you know cannot succeed (for example, because you can't recover against yourself), even if it may come in handy for some reason. Maybe this is in fact a clever strategy, or maybe, as a professor quoted by FAUX Business suggested, "[t]his is just folks cranking out paperwork without conscious thought."

Financial Crisis Comes Full Circle As Bank Sues Itself

Visa claims teen spent $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 on prepaid credit card

All I can say is she is grounded for life at the very least!

Visa recorded a $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 purchase on Consumerist reader Dale's kid's prepaid Visa Buxx card: "My lectures about financial responsibility appear to have failed: yesterday she charged $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 at the drug store.
That's 2,000 times more than the national debt, which is a paltry 11 trillion.
The ever-vigilant folks at VISA added a $20 'negative balance fee,' and have suspended the card."

Unruly Teen Charges $23 Quadrillion At Drugstore

Wing Nut Yammering and Flap Doodle

Wing Nuts just keep on yammering!

Jeb Bush: 'I don't know' if Obama is a socialist
Not surprising he IS the Shrub's brother after all ... stupidity runs in the family.

DeMint (retard-South Carolina) says America is 'where Germany was before World War II'
Nope, we're moving past that era after the last eight years of Nazi occupation.

Faux's O'Really Factor guest host Ingrate runs graphic with crosshairs over Planned Parenthood logo
Just a Nazi being a Nazi - promoting murder and calling it 'pro-life' however it is correctly called anti-choice.

Faux's Handjob says Palin faced a double standard: 'Obama never got asked tough questions about his radical friends'
Now, I know this idiot is completely insane, but this is beyond the pale.

"We're conservative," she said. "We don't spend money we don't have."
Yeah, and I'm a interstellar explorer from the planet wango-tango, too.

Wingnuts claim evil liberals shut down station
Oh, the boogie man, Oh the boogie man coming to get me ... this is just too stupid.

Broun (retard-Georgia) says public option in health care would kill Americans
Already commented on this sick joke in an earlier post

Former shrub 'domestic policy czar' Karl Rove now rips czars as a 'giant expansion of presidential power'
This is just too funny

Airline checks planes after hole forces landing

Play Video

Southwest Airlines inspects 200 jets after a football-size hole opened up in a plane cabin mid-flight.

Hole forces landing

Also:

• Find airline safety records
• Airline just for pets

Girl's heart heals itself after radical procedure

For 10 years Hannah Clark had two hearts beating inside of her but then a "miracle" happened.

Heart heals itself

Also:

• Search for rare transplants
• Technician causes major hepatitis scare

Cats do control their owners

This is why we here at Carolina Naturally are dog people ...

Household cats may exercise control over their owners by subtly mimicking human babies, new findings suggest.

Cats control their owners

Also:

• Search: Cat body language
• Top 3 pet-owner mistakes

Chicago Cubs to file for bankruptcy?

A possible Chapter 11 filing is just the latest twist involving the star-crossed team that hasn't won the World Series since 1908.

Bankruptcy?

Also:

• HR Derby winner crowned
• NL seeks first All-Star win since '90s

Teen among suspects in Florida couple's murders

Seven people have been arrested in the deaths of wealthy couple Byrd and Melanie Billings, parents to 17 children.

Teen among suspects

Also:

• Photos: Suspects, victims
• Sheriff's statement

Ways to save on your water bill

These simple changes to your routine can add up to big savings on your bill.

10 ways to save on your water bill

Also:

• Search for water quality standards
• Tips to save $500 a month

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today has been International Town Criers Day.

And for our readers in France - Hope it has been a great Bastille Day.

Daily Almanac

Today is Tuesday, July 14, the 195th day of 2009.

There are 170 days left in the year.

Today In History July 14

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Subury, Ontario, Canada
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal
Antwerp, Antwwerpen, Belgium
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Nottingham, England, United Kingdom
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Rome, Lazio, Italy


as well as Scotland, Serbia and Montenegro, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope said:

Your mantra, should you choose to repeat it, is this: 'Yesterday never happened. Today will be wonderful.'
Keep it up until you absolutely believe it -- although after a certain person makes contact with you this morning, it shouldn't be too hard to talk you into it.
Those arguments never happened and if they did, they certainly didn't involve anything that was worth ruining your day over.

I prefer - 'Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong' actually.