What a whopper!

Record 741-pound gator caught in Mississippi

by Dylan Stableford

 

An alligator hunting record in Mississippi was broken for the third time in a week, wildlife officials there say, after the state's heaviest gator was caught.

A 13-foot, 6.5-inch gator weighing 741.5 pounds was taken by Dalco Turner of Gluckstadt, Miss., on Sunday morning on the Mississippi River near Port Gibson. It took Turner and two other hunters an hour to finally snare him.

"He broke three lines, and I had the only hook that stayed in him the whole time," Turner told the Clarion-Ledger.

It almost didn't happen. "We passed it by the first time," he said. "We really didn’t think he was big enough to go after."

Turner's record catch came a week after the state record for heaviest gator was broken twice within hours.

On Sept. 1, a 723.5-pound gator was caught by Beth Trammell in a canal near Redwood, Miss., according to MSNewsNow.com, breaking the previous state record of 697.5 pounds.

But Trammell's record was short-lived. An hour after the record was certified, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’ Alligator Program coordinator Ricky Flynt processed a record 727-pound gator that was snared by Dustin Bockman, a UPS driver from Vickburg, Miss., who took the 13-foot, 4.5-inch gator in the Mississippi River near Big Black River.

"He broke all the lines we could put in him," Bockman told "Gulf Live." "Finally put a snare on him and got him up high enough and put a shot on him. All in all probably took us four and a half hours to catch him from the first time we saw him.

"We're going to cook it for sure," Bockman added. "There's plenty for me and everybody else."

Both Trammell and Bockman's catches fell short of the state record for length. In 2008, a 13-foot, 6.5-inch gator was caught on the Pascagoula River.

That record stood until Turner's massive catch, which tied the mark.

"Having a state record for an alligator in Mississippi is a lot like living in a glass house," Brian Albert Broom wrote in the Clarion-Ledger. "It’s going to get broken."

Mississippi, though, has nothing on Texas. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a record 800-pound alligator was caught during a public hunt in May. The 14-foot, 3-inch gator was estimated to be between 30 to 50 years old.

Whales Get Sunburned, Too

Whales Get Sunburned, Too

Turns out whales like to spend time under the sun, too. But just like some people, some whales are getting way too much sun, and it's causing them serious problems. Anthony discusses what's going on and what, if anything, can be done.

Moose caught on camera vandalizing school

A moose, probably upset by its own reflection, smashed through the glass doors of a Norwegian school at the weekend.
When students at the Risil secondary school in Vestby, southeast of Oslo, found broken glass on Monday morning, security cameras showed the perpetrator was not a delinquent teenager.

"The janitor looked through the surveillance tape, hoping to identify the thug who did this, but was shocked when he saw that the damage was done by a moose and her two calves," school principal Solveig Eid said.

Eid believes the elk must have seen her own reflection in the glass door and charged towards it. A Norwegian moose can be as tall as two meters (6 ft) and weigh as much as 400 kg (880 lb).

Video.

The Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs

Home to millions of puffins, guillemots, razorbills and gannets, Látrabjarg is the westernmost point in Iceland and the largest bird cliff in Europe. Birds are lured here by the infinite rocky outcrops, protected from the northern winds and perfect for nesting... and humans come for the sheer spectacle of so many birds in one place.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

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Today in History

1297		Scots under William Wallace defeat the English at Stirling Bridge.
1695		Imperial troops under Eugene of Savoy defeat the Turks at the Battle of Zenta.
1709		John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, wins the bloodiest battle of the 18th century at great cost, against the French at Malplaquet.
1740		The first mention of an African American doctor or dentist in the colonies is made in the Pennsylvania Gazette.
1777		General George Washington and his troops are defeated by the British under General Sir William Howe at the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania.
1786		The Convention of Annapolis opens with the aim of revising the articles of confederation.
1802		Piedmont, Italy, is annexed by France.
1814		U.S. forces led by Thomas Macdonough route the British fleet on Lake Champlain.
1847		Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna" is first performed in a saloon in Pittsburgh.
1850		Soprano opera singer Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," makes her American debut at New York's Castle Garden Theater.
1864		A 10-day truce is declared between generals Sherman and Hood so civilians may leave Atlanta, Georgia.
1857		Indians incited by Mormon John D. Lee kill 120 California-bound settlers in the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
1904		The battleship Connecticut, launched in New York, introduces a new era in naval construction.
1916		The "Star Spangled Banner" is sung at the beginning of a baseball game for the first time in Cooperstown, New York.
1944		American troops enter Luxembourg.
1962		Thurgood Marshall is appointed a judge of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
1965		The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) arrives in South Vietnam and is stationed at An Khe.
1974		Haile Selassie I is deposed from the Ethiopian throne.
2001		In an unprecedented, highly coordinated attack, terrorists hijack four U.S. passenger airliners, flying two into the World Trade Center towers in New York and one into the Pentagon, killing thousands. The fourth airliner, headed toward Washington likely to strike the White House or Capitol, is crashed just over 100 miles away in Pennsylvania after passengers storm the cockpit and overtake the hijackers.
2005		Israel completes its unilateral disengagement of all Israeli civilians and military from the Gaza Strip.
2007		Russia detonates a nano-bomb; dubbed the "Father of All Bombs," it is the largest non-nuclear weapon developed to date.
2012		US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, attacked and burned down; 4 Americans were killed including the US ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens.

Non Sequitur

Autumn Colors

Autumn Colors

The end of summer and the start of autumn has arrived in the northern hemisphere.

Did you know ...

5 things you may not know about rainbows

About the history of scary clowns

About the innocent people killed in the war on drugs

With One Speech Elizabeth Warren Terrifies the Koch Brothers and The Supreme Court

In a brief speech at the AFL-CIO convention, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) rocked the crowd by taking on the Koch brothers, and the corporate owned and operated wingnut Supreme Court majority. Here is the close of Warren’s speech:

Sen. Warren called the Supreme Court wingnut majority among the top ten pro-corporate justices of the last half century, and said, “You follow this pro-corporate trend to its logical conclusion, and sooner or later you’ll end up with a Supreme Court that functions as a wholly owned subsidiary of Big Business.”
Warren roused the crowd by vowing to take on the powerful interests, “From tax policy to retirement security, the voices of hard-working people get drowned out by powerful industries and well-financed front groups The fight continues to rage, and the powerful interests continue to be guided by their age-old principle: ‘I’ve got mine, the rest of you are on your own. However steep our climb, I am proud to stand with you, to march with you, and to fight side-by-side with you.”
She also talked about the history of powerful interests standing against changes that benefit the many, “In every fight to build opportunity in this country … in every fight for working families, we have been on the front lines because our agenda is America’s agenda… But let’s be clear, we have always had to run uphill. Powerful interests have done everything they can to block reform. They attacked Social Security and Medicare. They attacked pensions and public employees. They attacked bank regulation and consumer protection.”
This is why Wall Street, corporate America, and the Koch brothers all fear Elizabeth Warren. She is saying the things that they don’t want people hear. Warren is mobilizing the masses by calling out the political front groups for corporate America and connecting the dots all the way up to the wingnut Supreme Court majority.
The wingnut billionaires may have the money, but they are afraid of Elizabeth Warren. They fear her because she brings message to the American people that they matter. They fear her because she vows to fight for them, and she urges those who the powerful conservatives in this country try to silence to join the fight. Warren’s words carry extra weight because she not placing herself above those she is advocating for. The Massachusetts senator is standing with them.
At a time when the left has been divided over the question of military action in Syria, Sen. Warren’s speech reminds us of our common values and our shared cause.

The truth hurts

Russia Urges Syria to Put Its Chemical Weapons Under International Authority

 

Last week, Russia and China were refusing to get on board with a United Nations condemnation of Syria’s use of chemical weapons against its own people. Monday morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Russia has urged Syria to put its chemical weapons under international authority.
“We are calling on the Syrian authorities not only agree on putting chemical weapons storages under international control, but also for its further destruction and then joining the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. We have passed our offer to [Syrian Foreign Minister] Muallem and hope to receive a fast and positive answer,” Lavrov said, according to RT.com.
Russia will urge Syria to move their chemical weapons to areas under international inspection in order to dismantle them.
This is a huge and important shift, both in possible U.N. support for Obama’s call to action against Syria and in unlikely aversion of a need for military strikes. Russia is basically offering to persuade Syria to give up its chemical weapons in exchange for the possible aversion of the U. S. strike on Syria.
Secretary of State John Kerry  made a case for Assad averting the possible strike by turning over all of his chemical weapons, however his remarks were later clarified to express that he does not believe that Assad will ever turn his chemical weapons over to international control. Kerry made the case that doing nothing was unacceptable, “If you want to send Iran and Hezbollah and Assad a congratulatory message: ‘You guys can do what you want,’ you’d say: ‘Don’t do anything.’”
Even if Russia’s urging doesn’t stop a possible strike, it could signal support for a U.N. resolution since according to USA Today, Lavrov said that U.N. should present the results of their lab tests to the U.N. Security Council. “We have agreed to push for the soonest return of inspectors,” Lavrov said.

Long-lost Van Gogh Painting Unveiled in Amsterdam

Long-lost Van Gogh Painting Unveiled in Amsterdam

Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum on Monday unveiled a newly discovered landscape painting from the height of the Dutch master's career.

Severity of sleep apnea predicts aggressiveness of melanoma

The severity of sleep apnea can independently predict the aggressiveness of malignant skin melanoma, according to a new study. The research, presented today (9 September 2013) at the European

More

Re-Examining The 'Elephant Man'

Nadja Durbach, Professor of history at the University of Utah, questions the extent to which Joseph Merrick, known as the Elephant Man, was exploited during his time in a Victorian freakshow, and asks if it wasn't perhaps the medical establishment, often seen as his saviour, who really took advantage of Merrick and his condition.

Controversy over 'bound woman' truck tailgate decal

A tailgate decal suggesting that a woman is bound and tied in the back of a truck is raising some eyebrows in Waco, Texas. At first glance, the decal is extremely convincing and acts as an optical illusion to make someone think there is an actual woman tied up in the bed of a truck.

But a closer look reveals that the optical illusion is simply a decal, and there is no woman in distress. The decal is the handy work of Hornet Signs, a marketing and advertising company in Waco.

According to Brad Kolb, the owner of the company, the sticker was put on an employee’s truck to gauge how realistic their decals are. "I wasn't expecting the reactions we got, nor do we condone this by any means,” Kolb said. “It was more or less something we put out there to see who noticed it." Kolb said an employee volunteered to be tied up and was photographed so the decal could be made.

YouTube link.

It was put on the employees truck about a month ago, Kolb says, and has been catching many eyes throughout the Waco community. However, reactions have been pretty one sided. Some people say they called police when they saw the decal, but Kolb says he hasn’t been approached by a police department yet.

Man Walked 870 Miles Home After Being Robbed Because He Didn't Want to Make a Fuss

A 25-year-old man who has been reported missing by his family surprised his mom when he showed up at home, 11 days later after walking some 870 miles home, as reported by Rocket News 24.
The man, who was attending a playing card convention in the city of Kitakyushu, Japan, claimed that he missed his return flight to his hometown of Sendai. When he was looking for an Internet cafe, he was robbed of his phone and wallet.
Luckily, the man had hidden 2,000 yen (US$20) in his shoe. Now, you and I would use this money to call home, but not this man! He decided to buy bread and water and set off to walk home instead.
Eleven days and 870 miles later, the deeply tanned man arrived at his home to find his distraught mother, who said, "I was shocked and thought I was seeing a ghost when he arrived. I'm just thrilled that he is back and I'm very sorry to everyone who was worried about him."
When asked why he didn't call the police, the man replied, "I never wanted to make a fuss. I'm sorry to everyone I inconvenienced."
Now, naturally, a lot of people are skeptical (you can't cover 870 miles completely on foot in 11 days - not even the world's top ultra-marathon runners could do that - so there's plenty of speculation that there's a lot more to the story), but don't let that get in the way of the important thing about this story: the man reported that the trip wasn't a complete disaster. He was able to find a rare card to add to his collection, which the muggers didn't steal.
Walking 870 miles for that rare card? Totally worth it for this hardcore fan!

Ziggy

Young adults reminisce about music from before their time

Music has an uncanny way of bringing us back to a specific point in time, and each generation seems to have its own opinions about which tunes will live on

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Football Uniforms Throughout History

Football Uniforms Throughout History

Uniforms have come a long way from wool jerseys, knee-high socks and leather helmets.

The Musical Drainage Pipes Of Dresden, Germany

The only house that sings in the rain stands in the quirky neighborhood of Äußere Neustadt in Dresden, Germany. It's called the Hof der Elemente of the 'Courtyard of Elements,' designed to turn the ordinary pitter-patter of a rainy weather to a wonderfully unique symphony that rings throughout town.

The Hof der Elemente is part of the Kunsthofpassage series of courtyards that displays artistic talent from young locals who are also residents in its surrounding apartments. Sculptor Annette Paul and designers Christoph Rossner and André Tempel decided to create a musical spectacle out of their own abode to contribute in this art experiment.

Daily Comic Relief

Wine Tour for Pot Lovers

Napa has wine tours, Scotland has single malt whiskies tours, but Jamaica? It has ganja tours. That's right - according to David McFadden of the AP's The Big Story, Jamaican "farmers" have added tourism to the pot trade:

The tours pass through places like Nine Mile, the tiny hometown of reggae legend, and famous pot-lover, Bob Marley. Here, in Jamaica's verdant central mountains, dreadlocked men escort curious visitors to a farm where deep-green marijuana plants grow out of the reddish soil. Similar tours are offered just outside the western resort town of Negril, where a marijuana mystique has drawn weed-smoking vacationers for decades.
"This one here is the original sinsemilla, Bob Marley's favorite. And this one here is the chocolate skunk. It's special for the ladies," a pot farmer nicknamed "Breezy" told a reporter as he showed off several varieties on his plot one recent morning.

Read more over at AP's The Big Story.

Spuds May Get Bugs Out of Food Coloring

Spuds May Get Bugs Out of Food Coloring

Purple sweet potatoes hold particular promise as pigments. Chemists recently reported on advances they made in producing red dye from the purple spuds.

Florida seaweed good for what ails you?

A new defense against prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men in the United States, may come from a seaweed found off the coast of Florida. University of Florida

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The Woods Have Eyes

The Doll's Eyes Plant

Have you ever taken a stroll through a wood and felt that you were being watched? Yet when you turn around, no-one is there. You carry on with your walk but that feeling of disquiet lingers.

Perhaps you were being watched by something almost as disquieting as that galloping, mad axe murderer you were dreading. The Doll's Eyes plant could be eyeing you up as you innocently ramble. In North America, even the woods have eyes.

Awesome Pictures

China's Hua Shan Will Make You Scared of Heights

The views from China's mountain Hua Shan are amazing. On the downside, getting the most out of that view means climbing along the cliffside planks that make up the park's "path."

See those boards with metal pieces jabbed into them? Yeah, those are the path. And that chain? That's the handrail. If you have vertigo or bad balance, you're probably best off just enjoying the view through the great pictures collected by Twisted Sifter.

Comet ISON Offers Doomsday Deja Vu

Comet ISON Offers Doomsday Deja Vu

Like the comets that have come before it, Comet ISON is seeing its fair share of crackpot doomsday theories.

Pirate Vessel Wanted for Illegal Fishing

Pirate Vessel Wanted for Illegal Fishing

A pirate vessel wanted for illegal fishing is on the run from INTERPOL.

Sheep Teaches Young Bull To Head Butt

This sheep is determined to teach the young bull how head butting is done. Well, not really. This is just the way these animals are trying to make contact.

YouTube link

Bass Slapped

Seafood That's Not So Scary to Eat

Seafood That's Not So Scary to Eat

Aggressive management measures have many U.S. fish populations on the road to recovery.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Yes, how many times...!   

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 193 countries around the world daily.
 

 To the swap meet ... !

Today is Swap Ideas Day  
 

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Today in History

1419		John the Fearless is murdered at Montereau, France, by supporters of the dauphine.
1547		The Duke of Somerset leads the English to a resounding victory over the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh.
1588		Thomas Cavendish returns to England, becoming the third man to circumnavigate the globe.
1623		Lumber and furs are the first cargo to leave New Plymouth in North America for England.
1813		The nine-ship American flotilla under Oliver Hazard Perry wrests naval supremacy from the British on Lake Erie by capturing or destroying a force of six English vessels.
1846		Elias Howe patents the first practical sewing machine in the United States.
1855		Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, capitulates to the Allies during the Crimean War.
1861		Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, Virginia, fall back after being attacked by Union troops. The action is instrumental in helping preserve western Virginia for the Union.
1912		J. Vedrines becomes the first pilot to break the 100 m.p.h. barrier.
1914		The six-day Battle of the Marne ends, halting the German advance into France.
1923		In response to a dispute with Yugoslavia, Mussolini mobilizes Italian troops on Serb front.
1961		Jomo Kenyatta returns to Kenya from exile, during which he had been elected president of the Kenya National African Union.
1963		President John F. Kennedy federalizes Alabama's National Guard to prevent Governor George C. Wallace from using guardsmen to stop public-school desegregation.
1967		Gibraltar votes to remain a British dependency instead of becoming part of Spain.
1974		Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese Guinea) gains independence from Portugal.
1981		Pablo Picasso's painting Guernica is returned to Spain and installed in Madrid's Prado Museum. Picasso stated in his will that the painting was not to return to Spain until the Fascists lost power and democracy was restored.
2001		Contestant Charles Ingram cheats on the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, wins 1 million pounds.
2003		Sweden's foreign minister, Anna Lindh, is stabbed while shopping and dies the next day.
2007		Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister of Pakistan, returns after 7 years in exile, following a military coup in October 1999.
2008		The Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator—described as the biggest scientific experiment in history—is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland.

Non Sequitur

Morning routine

Do these in the AM to feel happy the rest of the day.

Try to add one to your routine every week!

1. Stretch

   

After laying for eight hours, it’s a good way to wake up your body.

2. Write.

Take five minutes to write down everything on your mind — maybe a dream you had, nervousness about the day coming up, or a gratitude list.

3. Drink Something Hot.

Sit and enjoy a cup of something: coffee, chai, or tea.

4. Eat Something Healthy &Yummy.

… Because it can be both.

5. Read.

Five minutes of something uplifting.

6. Meditate.

You don’t have to be a monk in Tibet to do this. Just set your timer for five minutes, sit, close your eyes and focus on your breath. If your thoughts wander, bring the awareness back to your breath.

7. Dance.

Put on some music that makes you happy and dance while getting ready.

8. Dress to Impress — Yourself!

Put on a colorful outfit that makes you feel great!

In The News

Man tried to enter US via red chile shipment 
Authorities say an immigrant suspected of entering the country illegally attempted to make his journey in an unusual but hot place — a shipment of red chile.U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at a New Mexico border checkpoint said the man was discovered Thursday face down among a commercial load of the spicy stuff.
Columbus Port Director Robert Reza says next to the "highly intoxicated" 35-year-old was a bottle of tequila.
The man, who authorities described as a Mexican national, told agents that he climbed into the commercial hopper while it was being staged in Mexico hoping to catch a ride to Chicago. But agents said he got less than 100 yards into New Mexico before he was discovered.
The red chile shipment was later released.

Strange tunnel opens under Lubbock yard

A strange tunnel has been found under the yard of a West Texas home and Texas Tech historians will try to figure out the function of the space.

KCBD-TV  reports the homeowner wasn't sure what happened Sept. 2 when his sprinkler disappeared as the lawn was being watered.
Lee Smithwick says a hole about 3-feet across formed in the lawn. The sprinkler ended up in the tunnel that collapsed.
Officials with the National Ranching Heritage Center as Texas Tech University were summoned.
Curator Scott White says the tunnel is an "interesting mystery." Officials believe the tunnel was built after 1909 because railroad ties were used in the construction. That's also when a railroad line arrived in Lubbock from Plainview.

Chinese police detain 16 accused of running fake Internet news sites to blackmail companies 
Chinese police have arrested 16 people accused of blackmailing companies by pretending to be Communist Party or government officials and threatening to post damaging information about them online, a state news agency reported Sunday.
The four groups were accused of operating 11 websites that said falsely that they were run by the ruling Communist Party or government, according to the Xinhua News Agency. It said they were involved in more than 120 cases and collected a total of more than 3 million yuan ($500,000).
One suspect had help from a local official in the eastern province of Jiangsu who tipped him off when violations by companies were found by regulators, Xinhua said, citing an announcement by the police ministry. The man would pretend to be a ruling party discipline official and demand money not to publicize the problem.
"I just wanted to make some money through reporting stories with negative issues and attracting online visitors," the suspect, identified as Zhong Wei, was quoted as telling police.
Zhong used fake business cards and documents to masquerade as a ruling party discipline official, Xinhua said.
Other companies paid hush money even though they knew the reports about them were false due to fear their reputations might be hurt, it said.
"We've been working so hard to establish a good image of our enterprise, so we'd rather spend money on 'peace' even though their stories were purely fabricated," a real estate company manager was quoted as telling Xinhua.
Other suspects include a schoolteacher who wrote the phoney news items and an engineer who managed websites.

Did you know ...

Can fast food strikes revive unions?

Swedish scientists confirm new element discovered

Look for some new works by J.D. Salinger in the next few years

A 10-year-old boy finds a mummy in his grandmother's attic

The Mainstream Media Continues to Ignore Rampant repugican Fueled Racism

Instead of a public outcry against blatant racism, main stream media failed to report the story on every evening newscast across the country.…

It should not be difficult to quantify or define racism, but curiously, scholars have not come to a consensus on what does and does not constitute discrimination based on race. However, in general terms racism is views, practices and actions reflecting the belief that human beings are divided into distinct races that share attributes which make that group less desirable, more desirable, inferior, or superior. America is a racist nation despite the people elected an African American man as President twice and civil rights groups’ diligence to give people of color equality. The concept that the white race is superior has plagued this nation since its inception, but over the past four years it has increased in part because of repugican pandering to race-based opposition to President Obama, and in part by the media and Democrat’s reticence to address the racial animus toward people of color. Recently, there were two reports of blatant racism in so-called christian cults that demonstrate the efficacy of teaching that the white race is superior, and belies their namesake’s commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
Last week a pastor in a North Carolina cult, Freedom House, sent an email to cult members who act as greeters for Sunday morning service asking that only white people stand at the front door to greet the congregation. The pastor’s email was a reminder to volunteers that since fall is one of their busiest times of the year, first impressions matter and that the cult wanted the cream of the crop manning the front doors to “bring the racial demographic pendulum of the cult back to the mid-line.” The email also acknowledged the sensitive nature of the request, but contended that quality trumps quantity and it was more important to have fewer greeters at the door if it meant those welcoming visitors represented the congregation’s best.  The revealing part of the story is that the pastor is African American. Her intent was to reflect the cult’s racial diversity, and because African American congregants were not the “moneymakers” the cult needed the pastor was trying to attract a more affluent (read whiter) membership.
The idea that an African American preacher felt the need to signal Black members they were inferior and that the “best of the best” of the congregation is defined by the white race is blatantly racist and informs the preacher’s acceptance of generations of white supremacists inculcating the population to believe the white race is inherently superior to people of color. That it is being advanced in christian cults is despicable to say the least, but it is a recurring theme evidenced by another report that white cults in the South are teaching people that voting anything other than repugican is a one-way ticket straight to the proverbial Hell and white Southern christians are buying the propaganda in large numbers.
An Alabama legislator described a call from a white repugican cult member who shared an experience in cult related to a local school district applying to be an independent segregated school. The caller explained that during the Sunday service cultists were “bullied into supporting the school district” separating itself from the county to “minimize the number of blacks that are in our school district.” The repugican was disheartened because as a longtime educator supporting integrated schools, she had never considered that the repugican perspective included white supremacy or that is was propagated by so-called christians. The Alabama legislator confessed it is a regular occurrence in many local baptist cults.  Obviously, the repugican woman has not been paying attention to the rise of racial animus and white supremacy permeating the party since the election of Barack Obama as President.
Slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King once noted that the most segregated hour in America is at 11:00 on Sunday during church services that provides a perfect opportunity for white supremacists to indoctrinate and incite fear of the “the other” that conservative talking heads and repugicans parrot in their assaults on the President and people of color in general. The failing of the media, and Democrats, to cite dog whistle and blatant racism inherent in repugican ranks contributes to the problem and it is an important aspect of repugican tactics to promote white supremacy with impunity. Americans who are not infected with racial animus have bought into the idea that calling out racism makes them a racist and it contributes to repugican success at spreading their blatantly racist messages unopposed.
Wingnut media and repugicans are not reticent to inject racism into every news story, political campaign, and opposition to social programs affectin all Americans, and they proceed with confidence knowing full well their racist machinations will never be challenged. President Obama has adhered to Dr. King’s policy of connecting the plight of people of color with America’s economic opportunity inequities, and it is a valid approach. However, it does nothing to identify repugican’s advancing the cause of poverty on the back of racial animus and fear that people of color are robbing them, even poor white Americans, of their “hard-earned success” and the American Dream.
That the white race is superior to people of color is the social contract wingnuts have made with their supporters, and libertarians, repugicans, and teabaggers expand the supremacists reach by opposing issues such as healthcare for all, food assistance, social programs, and immigration reform because they tie them to rewarding people of color at the expense of the white race. It explains why poor white Americans who support repugican policies consistently vote against their own self-interests, and reveals the depth of hatred many white people harbor for people of color. In fact, despite his success and rise to the highest office in the land, President Obama has become the face of “the other” that besides being reviled as un-American is often accused of hating white people.
White supremacists labored in society’s shadows after the limited success of the Civil Rights movement, but that changed with the election of Barack Obama. The Southern Poverty Law Center has documented the alarming rise of racially motivated hate groups since 2008, and few Americans have spoken out against the sheer brazenness of groups calling for race war or blatant racism targeting African Americans. Two weeks ago in South Carolina, 25 African Americans were evicted from a restaurant after waiting two hours to be seated because one white bigot felt threatened by a group of paying Black customers. Instead of a public outcry against blatant racism, main stream media failed to report the story on every evening newscast across the country because if there is one thing repugicans and wingnut-biased media will not allow, it is citing the racism and white supremacy plaguing America and it is why it continues to grow unabated.

The truth hurts

The repugicans’s ‘Handguns in Yellowstone’ Amendment Claims a 3-Year Old Victim

Had guns not been allowed in Yellowstone, a three year-old girl might not have been able to shoot herself in the park this weekend.…

 

When Senator Tom Coburn (r-OK) attached an amendment permitting tourists to carry loaded handguns in the nation’s national parks onto the 2009 Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights, it was an accident waiting to happen. On the morning of Saturday September 7th, in Yellowstone National Park’s Grant Village Campground that accident happened with tragic results for a young girl who fatally shot herself with a loaded handgun. The girl was just three years old.
The national parks had been virtually gun free zones for decades until Coburn, with heavy NRA backing, attached an amendment to the 2009 Credit Card Holders’ bill to have the prohibition on loaded firearms lifted. His poisoned pill amendment was approved by Congress and signed by President Obama into law. Had Obama not signed the bill, credit card reform would have been scuttled and the big banks would have emerged the victor. However, by signing the bill, the NRA benefited from the provision that permitted loaded guns to be carried into the national parks.
Although Coburn touts the bill as having reducing violent crime, once falsely boasting on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that “rapes, murders, robberies and assaults are down about 85 percent since we did that“, the reality is that allowing loaded guns in the parks has not made them safer and it has increased the risk of fatal accidents like the one that claimed the little girl’s life on Saturday. While violent crimes have never been a serious problem inside the national parks, the first year loaded handguns were allowed (beginning in February of 2010) the number of violent crimes rose from 307 to 369 violent crimes or a twenty percent increase. In 2011, the number declined back down to 323 violent crimes, a total that still exceeded the 2009 total.
Perhaps more importantly, the number of homicides rose from just three in 2009 to fifteen in 2010, a five fold increase. Clearly the claim that loaded guns in the parks has made them safer does not stand up to the evidence which suggests otherwise. Rapes and aggravated assaults also rose from 2009 and 2010 after loaded guns were permitted. Of the four types of violent crime, only robberies decreased and they declined only slightly.
Adding guns to the national parks has not reduced violent crime but it has put more young children at risk from irresponsible gun owners that do not secure their weapons in the presence of children. Tom Coburn and the NRA continue to promote loaded guns as essential for public safety, but as is so often the case, the latest incident in Yellowstone reveals that they are more a threat to kill children than they are a deterrence to killing children. Admittedly, Coburn’s culpability for the death of the girl is far less than that of the individuals who left a loaded gun unattended in her presence. The case is being investigated and at this point we do not know exactly what took place, but due to the Coburn amendment, packing heat in the national parks in now legal and the consequences of that law may have proved lethal for this little girl.
Until gun advocates like Tom Coburn value our children’s lives as much as they value the right of gun owners to carry loaded guns anywhere they please, these type of tragedies will be repeated over and over again. The three year-old Idaho girl can now apparently be added to the long list of children killed this year by self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the United States. In our gun obsessed culture where firearms are revered as forms of self-protection while their owners carelessly handle them, adding guns to the national parks was a recipe for disaster. On Saturday, September 7th, 2013 that disaster struck an Idaho family who now mourns the death of a three year old girl, who became yet another child victim of gun violence in America. While this perhaps could have happened with or without Tom Coburn’s amendment, the fact that it occurred in a national park where guns were once prohibited merely underscores our nation’s warped priorities when it comes to firearms and children. Tom Coburn’s twisting of park statistics to justify his ideological position cannot cover the blood stains on his hands. Had guns not been allowed in Yellowstone, a three year-old girl might not have been able to shoot herself in the park this weekend.

The tea party Tells ‘Commie’ to Get off the ‘Private Property’ of the Capitol

 

Arizona tea partiers think the Arizona Capitol is “private property”. So when they get a permit to hold an event, they think they can keep out people they don’t like by screaming “Commie!” and other old school insults not fit to print. It’s not as if there wasn’t room for one more…
This anti amnesty event was sparsely attended at best.
Videographer Dennis Gilman uploaded this video to Youtube on Sunday, shot on the public lawn of the Arizona State Capitol on September 7, 2013. Watch here:

Gilman described the video as such:

“This was filmed on the public lawn of the Arizona State Capitol on September 7, 2013 where the “We Are America Tour” added Arizona racist, former State Senate President President Russell Pearce. Pearce is famous for SB1070 and his association and endorsement of neo-Nazi JT Ready, who killed an entire family before killing himself in 2012. The local racists have worked closely with FAIR for years. I was there to film the speakers. It’s a safe guess that if Minute Man Founder Chris Simcox wasn’t sitting in jail for multiple counts of child molestation that he would’ve been a speaker at this event also. Is it any wonder why they didn’t want the “liberal Media” filming them? For my own safety, I refused to leave without a police escort. It took over 7 minutes for any law enforcement to arrive. The video is edited only for length.”

Lots of tough talk from old white men, including “Motherfucker! Get the fuck outta here motherfucker!” and “Commie!” (Apparently if you scream Commie three times and click your heels, liberals are supposed to turn to dust like it’s 1950.)
They tell Gilman to get out of thre because they have a permit and Gilman is not welcome on this “private property.” Gilman asks the tea partier if the Capitol is private property, and the tea partier says, “Yes, it is.” But of course, private property is the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities and the State Capitol is a governmental entity.
A better argument could have been that he was disrupting their rally, but then, that would mean that scores of tea partiers who whined about their First Amendment rights being stepped on as they disrupted townhalls across America in 2010 were wrong. In the end, the tea party stands for whatever they want right then and there, and there is no consistency on “values”.
Sadly the tea partiers carried signs for American jobs as part of their anti-amnesty push, even as they support tea party repugicans who have killed the job bills President Obama put forward. These poor puppets for the 1% still don’t realize how easily they were used.
But what do you expect from people who are calling a citizen journalist a “commie” and ordering him off “private property” that actually belongs to the state, which they are using in a socialist manner to rage against commies.