Monday, February 20, 2012

Free Pre-Natal Testing. Hm. I wonder why that is necessary?

I mean for real, it has to be EXPLAINED to people?


Maybe in order know you are pregnant to avoid alcohol, smoking, drugs and all kinds of nasty stuff ladies like to keep away from their baby bump, it just might be an excellent idea.  There is also a time constraint on deciding if a woman wants to seek an abortion.  So, knowing FOR SURE by a physicians office testing sounds like reasonable to me.


There is the planning for the baby that Dad needs to know about rather than wonder why Mom is painting the second bedroom when the 'nesting urge' kicks in.


Don't take my word for it as to how stupid the concept of NOT allowing Free Pre-Natal Testing is, click the title to entry and see what the American Pregnancy Association has to say.


And if Presidential hopefuls want to do away with FREE ultrasounds for Mothers, then I am all for it, BUT, they'll have to remove it from Abortion Clinics as well.


Vigin-ia's Legalized Goverment Forcible Rape Law.  I want to know if the women receiving this treatment are automatically entered into treatment for PTSD, the most common disorder affiliated with Rape.  Seriously.  Free PTSD treatment after Legalized Government Forcible Rape.


Virgin-ia's Governor

Bob McDonald


The man with a mission.




Protest of Trans-Vaginal Ultrasound Bill in Virginia Leads to Delay (click here)
By: David Dayen
Monday February 20, 2012 11:38 am


The Virginia abortion bill, which would mandate that the women seeking an abortion get a trans-vaginal ultrasound – a forcible assault at the very least – before having the procedure, has received entirely too much notoriety for the tastes of conservative lawmakers in the state. I’m sure they were hoping to fly under the radar with this bill, one of the most offensive of the anti-abortion bills we’ve seen since the conservative takeover of many state legislatures in 2010.

The clumsy way in which conservatives have attempted to defend the legislation hasn’t helped. Economics professor Tyler Cowen’s tweet (“All of a sudden requiring consumers to be informed is extremely unpopular on ‘the pro-regulation side.’”) generated richly deserved outrage. And tea party favorite Dana Loesch took the position that once a women loses her virginity, she gives up the right to determine what should penetrate her vagina for the rest of her life....


Dana says, "If the Cherry is popped, anything goes."


The Republicans are carrying out legislation as a 'shoot from the hip, hurry let's get it through' to beat any change in majority without the benefit of STUDIES or testimony. They stand on their State House floors and lecture at the bully pulpit without a clue as to what nightmares await the people of the USA.


The Governor sips his tea while on speaker phone to his legislators stating, "Go, Team, Go."  Does he demand 'qualification' of the authority that accompanies the legislation?  No, that would be political suicide for a Tea Party darling.


This is moralizing legislation and has no basic in legal authority.  There is absolutely no sound basis for ANY of it, except perhaps, from the preachers that might be standing by to receive the 'faith based funding' in how to minister to the suffers of PTSD and women deprived of self-determination.  Maybe it is just as simple at a 'dunk in the baptism tub.'  You know, now that I think about it, that probably should be in the legislation, too.

I understand Sports has a new Cinderella story.


I also understand he is not without his faults, but, is able to rise above them to be a very valuable player.  
The sport should enjoy his abilities and he should enjoy his new found fame and the life that comes with it.  
The racism surrounding him is not his to deal with.  Pro basketball is for him to deal with.  Evidently, he over came any racist issues a long time ago.  I congratulate him on both and look forward to more great moments.  I am confident he rather just be seen as 'one of the guys.'  He will probably fall into line with Michael Jordan in his fame and fortune.  Both were basically humble people with ability.  
NEW YORK—Dirk Nowitzki (click title to entry - thank you) used the word crafty multiple times to describe Jeremy Lin. So maybe Lin’s ability to fight through both the Dallas Mavericks’ double teams and his own mistakes while leading the New York Knicks to a 104-97 victory Sunday was youthful craftiness: exuberant youth combined with savvy generated by wisdom beyond his years.
Lin was not able to eliminate all his mistakes — he had seven turnovers — but it did not matter. One game after his rough first half helped end the Knicks’ seven-game winning streak (they fell to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday), Lin had learned lessons. Against a tougher opponent, the defending NBA champion Mavericks, he had 28 points and 14 assists.
“He is very humble and plays extremely hard no matter if he makes a mistake or makes a fantastic play,” Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd said....

No more hydro-fracking either!


Both Hydro-fracking and the Oil Sands were Cheney's babies.  He and Bush demolished any idea that The Clean Water Act should actually be in effect to protect human health.

The views and policies of the Bush Administration are EXTREMIST positions that showed absolutely no reason why these technologies should be trusted.

No research, no nothing, simply 'Go Ahead, profits first, people never.'

But is an active fault line the real cause?
To get some answers we traveled to a state that's also had a swarm of earthquakes, Arkansas. 

In the early '80s there were a number of quakes near Enola, Ark., about 60 miles north of Little Rock.  Then they stopped. 

Fast forward almost 30 years to 2009 and there are more earthquakes, but this time the quakes were 10 miles away. According to Scott Ausbrooks with the Arkansas Geological Survey, that makes a big difference, especially considering the history of seismic activity in the "newly active" area. 

"In this particular area there were no historic earthquakes located," said Ausbrooks. 

But he said there were now injection wells, that hadn't been there before....



...In 2010, two more injection wells were added to the area in Arkansas that had seen a number of quakes and then hundreds of earthquakes followed over a four-month span including a 4.0 magnitude earthquake. 

"That really got people's attention. They wondered what's going on and so that's when the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission said, 'OK, is there something going on?', that's when we began to look more closely at it," said Ausbrooks. 

Soon after the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission issued a moratorium on four wells in the area and the quakes stopped. 

"It would be an extraordinary coincidence if there wasn't some kind of causal relationship. Between the wells and the earthquakes," said Ausbrooks. 

Oklahoma's expert geologist was scheduled, at one time, to speak against a tie between injection wells and the Arkansas quakes. 

"There's no reason that these earthquakes look any different than the ones that occurred prior," said Austin Holland with the Oklahoma Geological Survey. 

Still, looking at other states U.S. Army geologists have linked injection wells to quakes in Colorado. In Texas, university geologists have made the same link. 

Just last month Ohio's governor issued a moratorium on five wells suspected of causing earthquakes there. 

There are almost 200 injection wells in Lincoln County alone, that's the county where the record-breaking earthquake happened in November....




EXTREMIST TECHNOLOGIES.  Not Conservative Principles, but, extremist technologies by desperate people in high office.


The Conservationists.  The Human Health Advocates.  The Environmentalists were all CORRECT.  The power of wealth and greed nullified the voices of reason.  People have died from these technologies and still others were injured and suffered personal loss with damaged properties and interrupted lives.  None of that mattered and I strongly suggest the people of the USA start LISTENING to people of reason AGAIN.


The folks that came up with "Earth Day" aren't just tree huggers and they DON'T put a planet ahead of the well being of citizens.  They don't and they never have.  Those that deem and victimize sincerely devoted persons are willing to allow harm to people, children and this country.  


Conservation, environmentalism and practices of human health such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act are NOT religious or superstitious, they are mired in profoundly solid principles of science that is measurable and correct.


Anyone that wants to sell out the principles of 'good practice' in providing safe employment for the nation's economy and the benefit of Wall Street don't understand what it takes to create a job, stabilize an economy and provide a sustainable future for the USA.  Vote on that in November.



Expert: Wastewater well in Ohio triggered quakes (click here)

Posted: 01/02/2012
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A northeast Ohio well used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling almost certainly caused a series of 11 minor quakes in the Youngstown area since last spring, a seismologist investigating the quakes said Monday.
Research is continuing on the now-shuttered injection well at Youngstown and seismic activity, but it might take a year for the wastewater-related rumblings in the earth to dissipate, said John Armbruster of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.
Brine wastewater dumped in wells comes from drilling operations, including the so-called fracking process to extract gas from underground shale that has been a source of concern among environmental groups and some property owners. Injection wells have also been suspected in quakes in Arkansas, Colorado and Oklahoma, Armbruster said...

I've mentioned it once before how a single explosion along the Keystone Crud Oil Pipeline or spill would cause dire damage to USA agriculture.


Also mentioned how it would effect the sources for biofuels in the USA.  I wrote about how our three coast are already under threat from oil spills and gas explosions as witnessed by the BP Deepwater Horizon.  I also stated before how the Gulf Coast is still suffering from oil under the sea surface, tainted wetlands and fisheries.
I mean it.  Placing an oil sands pipeline through the middle of the USA would be disasterous.  I want to ENFORCE that in the reality our military is using biofuels in their operations to protect the sovereignty of the USA.  Insuring the safety of our farmlands has never been more important as a National Security Issue including a safe food source.


There are no assurances the petroleum industry can provide that will dilute the promise we have to the priorities of our national sovereignty.  The petroleum industry's safety record is absymal and I fully expect that will never change.
Published: Dec. 6, 2011 at 6:28 AM
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) --The U.S. Department of Defense (click title to entry - thank you) is buying 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in bio-fuel for use by the Navy, the government's largest single purchase of the fuel.
The Department of the Navy and Department of Agriculture said the Defense Department will buy biofuel made from a blend of non-food waste (used cooking oil) from the Dynamic Fuels LLC, a Louisiana joint-venture of Tyson Foods, Inc., and Syntroleum Corp. It will also buy algae from Solazyme.
The fuel will be used in next summer's Green Strike Group demonstration by the Navy during a Pacific Rim exercise.
The biofuel will be mixed with aviation gas or marine diesel fuel for use in the Green Strike Group demonstration. Since it is a drop-in fuel, there will be no engine modifications for its use.
The Navy said aircraft, such as the F/A-18 and V-22 Osprey, and various other vessels have all undergone gas turbine testing in preparation for the exercise next summer using biofuel....

"Black History Month" is being celebrated in a variety of ways at the local level.

Multiple events Black History Month in Danville (click here)

By: TIFFANY HOLLAND 


GoDanRiver.com 
In the 1940s, Langston High School teacher Charles Coleman fought for teacher salary equalization for blacks.
He eventually ran for City Council in Danville.
Before the 24th Amendment was ratified, people had to pay a poll tax in order to vote. Coleman kept a ledger recording money people had given him and when they got enough to pay the poll tax he would help them register to vote. He got enough people registered that he ran for a position on the all-white City Council, but lost by less than 100 votes.
He never made it to City Council, but Coleman set a precedent for black people in Danville. In 1968, Charles Harried became the first black man to sit on the city council since Reconstruction....



'Ebony Embers' honors Harlem Renaissance giants (click here)

10:41 PM, Feb. 19, 2012

Langston Hughes stands by his father’s grave, talking to the man with whom he had a contentious relationship. He tries to make peace and amends as he recites lines from his poems “Songs of the Genius Child,” “Mother to Son” and “When Sue Wears Red.”Countee Cullen, looking dapper in an overcoat and hat, stands on a New York City street on his way to sample the nightlife of Harlem.And when we encounter Claude McKay, he’s on hard times, wearing a shabby old sweater, trying to discover what the next chapter in his life and career will be....



Profile America for the 20th day of Black History Month.  In his 38-year career in the Navy,Samuel Gravely Jr. accomplished many things — all under the floodlight of publicity.  In World War II, he was among the first black naval officers. In 1962, he became the first African-American to command a combat ship in the Navy — a destroyer escort.  Gravely went on to become the first black admiral, retiring as a three-star vice admiral.  His assignments included commanding the 3rd Fleet, and the Defense Communications Agency.  In 2009, a new destroyer was named after Samuel Gravely.  Today, there are just over 1 million ready reservists in the military, 148,000 of them African-American.  This special edition of Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. 


Black History Month: MC’s 1st valedictorian caused a stir (click here)

February 20, 2012
By Sam Shawver - The Marietta Times (sshawver@mariettatimes.comThe Marietta Times

Marietta College's first valedictorian played a key role in Washington County's anti-slavery movement and caused quite a stir in the local pro-slavery population during the 1830s.
"There were four students in the first graduating class of 1838 and one of those was Samuel Hall from Norwich, Mass., who graduated as our first valedictorian," said Linda Showalter, special collections associate for the Marietta College Library.
Hall had come to Marietta around 1832 and became involved with the abolitionist and anti-slavery efforts locally.
"A well-known abolitionist at the time, Theodore Weld, came to town during the 1830s to hold a series of lectures," Showalter said. "He wanted to speak at the college, but there was concern for possible damage to the college buildings if the local pro-slave community would get stirred up. So he spoke at another area location, but many students attended the lectures, including Samuel Hall."
Weld later edited a book, published in 1839, entitled "American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses," which included some letters from Hall, describing atrocities that had been committed against slaves....





Black History Month Tribute Part 2: Horatio Strother’s Pioneering Work — 'The Underground Railroad In Connecticut' (click here)

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first comprehensive study of Connecticut’s role in the Underground Railroad.
Last week’s column dealt principally with the life of scholar, athlete, and author Horatio Strother. Though born in New York City, Strother spent most of his adolescence and adult life living in Middletown and Higganum, CT.
It was in Middletown that young Horatio began to distinguish himself both as an athlete and as a student. A star football player for Woodrow Wilson High School and a state champion in track and field, Strother also developed a keen interest in American history in general and in the Underground Railroad in particular. He pursued his interest in history at UConn and became a social studies teacher at Hale-Ray High School in the Moodus section of East Haddam. Later, he became a professor of history at a community college in New Haven.
Though discouraged to do so, Strother persisted in writing his master’s essay on the Underground Railroad in Connecticut. His pioneering study of this subject was first published 50 years ago in 1962 by Wesleyan University Press and was reprinted several months ago, perhaps in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of its publication....
The list continues for as many cities and towns as there exists in the USA.  Our minorities have contributed to the fabric of this country in ways everyone of us can be proud.  We are the luckiest nation on Earth to have citizens from every walk of life, every creed, every race, every gender with cultural diversity enriching our daily lives.  That diversity is free.  It doesn't cost us a darn thing and we should all embrace it at every turn.

Strict Constructionist at any level are lousy judges.

Everyone can play that game without thinking.  


Strict Constructionists like Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts are too lazy to actually realize the law is suppose to serve the people and not simply this law review.

"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

The Rooster


"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

Sunday, February 19, 2012


The waning crescent


27.8 day old moon


3.4% lit