What goes through my my mind when I read the news with my morning coffee. …Or for the Simon's Rockers in the group, this is my response journal.
Apparently hungry and thirsty vandals have trashed a fairgrounds booth in Maine, stealing 120 whoopie pies and drinking half a gallon of iced tea.
John Youney, a director of the Skowhegan Lions Club, tells the Portland Press Herald that a refrigerator full of cookies was also emptied.
…Youney says whoever is involved can confess and work off their crime by assisting the club with its volunteer work.
lololololol
Throwback: David Ortiz tells Boston, ‘I love this city’
One last Papi video for the evening.
What a mensch!
A team of surgeons, led by Dr. Abel Gonzalez, operated on Ortiz for six hours and repaired damage done by the bullet to both intestines and his liver. They also had to remove Ortiz’s gallbladder to work on the liver, though the gallbladder itself was not damaged.
Gonzalez said during a Monday news conference that he anticipates Ortiz making a full recovery with no restrictions. Asked about Ortiz’s qualify of life going forward, Gonzalez replied, “When he overcomes this, the same as before.”
Doctors approved Ortiz’s transfer to Boston on a plane sent to the Dominican Republic by the Red Sox.
Ortiz back in Boston, taken to local hospital
So grateful the Red Sox moved so quickly and flew Big Papi home to Boston. They will literally get him the best medical care in the world. It is an immense relief to know that.
So grateful for how quickly Eliezer Salvador got Papi to the hospital. It put a smile on my face to hear that he he apologized for hitting some cars along the way. Boston fans are also Boston drivers. It seemed fitting.
So grateful for the work of Dr. Gonzalez and his entire medical team for saving his life.
…And, the peanut gallery is sure it speaks for all of Red Sox nation in saying:
So appreciative of the folks who caught, beat, and ultimately spared the suspect so he could talk.
Eliezer Salvador, who was at the scene, said the gunman said nothing, just fired once. Salvador then drove a wounded Ortiz to the hospital, telling reporters they had a brief conversation in the car as he urged the baseball great to stay calm and breathe.
“Do you have any problems with anyone?” Salvador recalled asking him, to which Ortiz replied: “No, my brother, I’ve never wronged anyone.”
Salvador held up Ortiz’s bloody belongings for reporters, along with some of his jewelry. He also apologized for hitting several cars while rushing to the hospital: “That wrongdoing was justified.”
…“He is resting,” the elder Ortiz said. “Big Papi will be around for a long time.”
He added that he is pleased with the medical attention Ortiz has received but that he will be transferred to Boston so he can be with his wife and the Red Sox medical team.
…“In 2013, when we needed David Ortiz the most, he was there for us,” Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said Monday. “Our focus is on his health and on getting him back here for treatment.”
David Ortiz flown to Boston after being shot in a bar | fox8.com
Yes, Mr Salvador, I think you are right. It was.
#papistrong
“We hit a few cars on the way but we got there.”
‘He Was Very Grateful’: Man Rushed David Ortiz To Hospital After Shooting – CBS Boston
that actually made me smile.
The 2018 report comes nearly five years after protesters in Ferguson drew national attention to longstanding concerns about police treatment of black communities following the 2014 police shooting death of Michael Brown, a black, unarmed 18-year-old who lived in the St. Louis suburb.
Data released by Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt show that since then, reports of black drivers being pulled over at a disproportionately high rate compared to their white counterparts have only increased. Last year’s statewide disparity rate between white and black drivers is the highest recorded in the almost two decades since the state first began compiling data.
…In 2015, data show black drivers were roughly 70 percent more likely to be stopped by police compared to white motorists statewide. That disparity climbed to 75 percent in 2016 and up to 85 percent in 2017.
…“If you don’t have any teeth in that law that bans racial profiling, then you won’t get compliance,” said Republican state Rep. Shamed Dogan, of the St. Louis suburb of Ballwin. “We need to get Republicans on board to recognize that it’s a crisis. We have data to prove this has been going on for two decades.”
Missouri law allows the governor to strip state funding from police agencies that don’t comply with the state’s racial profiling law . State Budget Director Dan Haug said at least as far back as 2015, that has not occurred.
Black Missouri drivers 91% more likely to be stopped, state attorney general finds | PBS NewsHour
hmmmmmmm
“Our findings buttress a growing body of scientific evidence pointing to the waters and animals of the deep sea, Earth’s largest habitat, as the biggest repository of small plastic debris,” Anela Choy, an oceanographer, researcher at MBARI and the lead author of the paper, said in a press release about the study.
The two types of microplastics that were the most prevalent in the study of the bay were polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide. Polyethylene terephthalate is used in single-use drink bottles and packaging and polyamide is used in textiles and the automotive industry.
As a contrast, researchers found very few plastic particles that are typically found in fishing gear, and found more plastics offshore than near the shore of the bay.
Monterey Bay has more microplastics than Great Pacific Garbage Patch, researchers say – SFGate
““It may be virtually impossible to remove existing microplastic from the deep sea,” he said. “But when we slow the flow of plastic from land, we can help prevent the increasing accumulation of plastic in our global ocean.”
Virtually impossible? Like cars, planes, and wifi? You know, like technology that seemed unreal until it existed?
There’s always some namby pamby nay-sayer in these articles who acts surprised when they “learn” ocean currents distribute plastic particle and plastic sinks to the bottom when it breaks up. If this is the level of awareness of these “experts,” why are they quoted as such? These are not new concepts for anyone who has taken a look at this issue while their head was outside of their own ass…
And the article never even mention how much human plastic consumption has increased over the last two decades. If you truly thought the only way to solve this problem was the reduction of the use of plastic, why wouldn’t you bring up where all of it is coming from? Why bring up stemming the tide without acknowledging that every day that goes by corporations make this problem worse for the entire planet by increasing the amount of plastic packaging they use?
It’s almost as it they have no desire to actually have an impact on the problem.
#nestlebuysscientists
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who are handling the president’s business affairs while he’s in office, as well as Tiffany Trump, showed up at the state banquet and for other parts of the president’s visit, with no explanation for their presence from the White House.
…Asked why the president’s three adult children who aren’t in the administration were on the state visit, and who paid for their travel and related expenses, a White House official didn’t address why they were there. “They are personally paying,” the White House official responded.
Why were Trump’s adult children on his state visit to the U.K.? – CBS News
hmmmm
We made measurements at quite a few cruise lines, and it proves that nearly all of them, their attitude to the environment is still poor.
A cruise ship’s emissions are the same as 1 million cars: report | CBC Rad
sigh….
Long-running frustration about Amtrak’s willingness to keep a rail passenger line running through remote parts of the country has politicians threatening to block new directors to the agency.
…In February, Congress gave $50 million for upkeep of the route to Amtrak to keep the line working through September. Last year, Amtrak proposed replacing service from Dodge City to Albuquerque with buses, but the federal budget prohibits the use of buses to replace long-distance train service along the route.
In early April, a group of 11 senators sent Amtrak a letter demanding more detail about its plans for the Southwest Chief and how, more broadly, it decides which long-distance routes are worth operating.
…Over the last year, Amtrak has removed ticket agents from many stations. But Assistant City Manager for Dodge City Melissa Mccoy said the city employs staff at its train depot.
“We have few options in terms of public transportation,” McCoy said. She said ridership jumps with tourists in the summer.
Without the Southwest Chief route, McCoy says some Dodge City residents wouldn’t be able to travel long distances.
“We have a lot of working class folks, and they have limited income,” she said. “Amtrak provides them a way to visit family and go on vacation and without that they might not have it all.”
Senate to Amtrak: Explain What You’re Doing To Rail Passenger Service In Kansas | KCUR
hmmmm
The Trump administration announced plans to further restrict travel to Cuba in April, when White House national security adviser John Bolton said the Treasury Department would “implement further regulatory changes to restrict non-family travel to Cuba.”
…The State Department announced that “going forward, the United States will prohibit US travelers from going to Cuba under the previous ‘group people-to-people educational’ travel authorization. In addition, the United States will no longer permit visits to Cuba via passenger and recreational vessels, including cruise ships and yachts, and private and corporate aircraft.”
…Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who reopened the Cuban embassy in Washington in 2015, called the new restrictions “an attack on international law.”
US announces new travel restrictions on Cuba, banning cruise ships – CNNPolitics
The Republican member of Congress, who is accused of misusing campaign funds, has rallied to the support of Special Warfare Operator Chief Gallagher, who is accused of stabbing a teenage prisoner to death and then conducting a re-enlistment ceremony next to his body. Gallagher, who has pleaded guilty to all charges in the high profile trial, is also accused of gunning down innocent civilians with a sniper rifle.
…Hunter, a Marine Corps vet who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has repeatedly rushed to Gallagher’s defense, in some cases admitting to troubling actions from his own time in uniform. Last week, for instance, the former Marine major confessed to posing with a dead combatant.
Rep. Duncan Hunter admits to questionable acts to defend Navy SEAL – Business Insider
hmmm
Why is it so effective when gaslighters/narcissists continue their lie, even when there is easily accessed evidence to the contrary? Because it tends to work. First, [people can] get confused as to why someone would blatantly lie. It goes against what you know as normal human behavior. Most people, when caught in a lie, will admit to it and apologize. (Most people also tend to not blatantly lie in the first place.) The more confusion [a person] feel[s] upon hearing the gaslighter/narcissist’s blatant lie, the more [they] start to remember the gaslighter’s defense or continued lying, not the actual truth that [the gaslighter] is lying about.
…Do gaslighters/narcissists believe what they are saying? It’s hard to tell. Is it possible that a lie has been told so much that the gaslighter/narcissist no longer knows the truth? It’s possible. …They act as if they really don’t care what you think about them. But at the same time, they are deeply concerned about being criticized.
…A simple “You are lying,” and then stating the facts is sufficient. Expect the gaslighter/narcissist to retaliate by calling you names, or another of their other personal favorites, ignoring you all together.
Why Narcissists And Gaslighters Blatantly Lie — And Get Away With It
hmmmm
Videos show shocking abuse at Ohio jail
Horrible? Yes.
Shocking? No.
Louisiana Deputy Fired, Arrested for Forcing Mother to Perform Oral Sex on Infant Son
Fucking Louisiana law enforcment… This guy was a cop?!!!! Plus they release the woman’s name? Jeezus….
Comments From The Peanut Gallery 