GunFail - 29 shootings this past week. A slow week.

A relatively calm week in GunFAIL, finally with equally quiet numbers among the child victims. I found just five last week, ages 4, 12, 14, 14 and 16. That may be a record low!
No such slowdown in the number of people who accidentally shot themselves, though. There were still 21 of those, and the estimate of about 75 per month seems well on track for the month of March, where we're already up to 72. That brings the current running total for the year to 219. Of course, those are just the victims for whom I've been able to produce links.

Also, one dudebro visiting the neighborhood tattoo and piercing parlor who took his gun out to show his buds, and ended up with a free piercing.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/27/1285030/-Love-means-never-having-to-say-I-m-sorry-I-accidentally-shot-you-Or-myself-GunFAIL-LXII?detail=facebook

Hobby Lobby - The slippery Slope

Lawyers will love this law, lots of money to be made sorting it out.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/27/1287716/-The-Hobby-Lobby-Slippery-Slope?detail=email

Staunch Republican says OBAMACARE WORKS!! Cheaper and better than what he ever had before.

Obamacare is working!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/29/1288174/--Staunch-Republican-ObamaCare-Works?detail=email

New Rules - Bill Maher

Advice to Democrats

http://rackjite.com/new-rules-bill-maher-democrats-man-march-28-2014/

Fracking - A discussion on The Daily Show: The Benefits of Fracking

The "Daily Show" ran a segment on hydraulic fracturing on Thursday night that featured its "correspondent" Asif Mandvi interviewing people on the controversial oil and gas extraction process known as "fracking."
Mandvi talked to Marita Noon, a former Christian speaker and the executive director of New Mexico-based Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy, a non-profit lobbying organization that also operates a group called Energy Makes America Great.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/28/daily-show-fracking_n_5051382.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&ir=Politics

Tax Cuts for the Rich DO NOT INCREASE JOBS! This wealthy man explains.

Meet Nick Hanauer. He’s a very wealthy man, his family owns a lot of things, and he’s invested in some big companies that started out small (ahem ... Amazon...). He’s got a few things to say about who the job creators really are in our country, and it goes totally against the standard trope you usually hear from politicians and talking heads. Delightfully so.

http://www.upworthy.com/when-they-say-cutting-taxes-on-the-rich-means-job-creation-theyre-lying-just-ask-this-rich-guy?c=ufb2

What a great little house. I want to build this.

My hideaway from the world.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/8866530490977177/

Half of American Citizens are at or near Poverty. Is this the America you want?

The costs of food and housing and education and health care and transportation and child care and taxes have been well-defined by organizations such as the  Economic Policy Institute, which calculated that a U.S. family of three would require an average of about $48,000 a year to meet basic needs; and by the  Working Poor Families Project, which estimates the income required for basic needs for a family of four at about $45,000. The  median household income is $51,000.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/overwhelming-evidence-half-america-or-near-poverty

Fermented Vegetables are good for your health

I need these.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29135.cfm

It is past time for women to speak up against Men who make laws against their body and reproduction.

Men Can Say Stupid Things On TV. When They Do, Women Have A Way Of Shutting That Down.

http://www.upworthy.com/men-can-say-stupid-things-on-tv-when-they-do-women-have-a-way-of-shutting-that-down-6

Gererational War on Social Security - Taking Social Security away from our elders. The war is on.

RAISE THE LIMIT to keep Social Security solid for the next 75 years!  Presently, SS is taken out on the first 110,000 of income.  So Billionaires and Millionaires are not paying any more than you and I.  The wealthiest are making a killing as we can see with income inequality.  The least they can do is pay Social Security Tax on income up to 300,000 and it will keep the system solvent for many years to come.

...generational warfare cheerleaders are proclaiming that America is heading toward an epic and immoral conflict as better-off seniors are robbing millennials of shrinking federal dollars because retirement programs cost too much. That’s simply false, as Social Security is solvent through 2033, and spending on all mandatory programs as a percentage of GDP is close to where it’s been since 1975, at 21 percent.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/how-deficit-hawks-are-trying-pit-millennials-against-seniors-attack-social-security-and?akid=11656.294211.-DzRZz&rd=1&src=newsletter976247&t=6

Piers Morgan - Gun Control, His final comment

After reminding his viewers of the sobering statistics of gun violence in the U.S., Morgan let it rip;

“…I assumed that after 70 people were shot in a movie theater, and then just a few months later, 20 first-graders were murdered with an assault rifle in an elementary school, that the absurd gun laws in this country would change – but nothing has happened. The gun lobby… lead by the NRA, has bullied this countries’ politicians into cowardly supine silence. Even when 20 young children are blown away in their classrooms. This is a shameful situation…”

http://www.theeverlastinggopstoppers.com/2014/03/piers-morgan-destroys-u-s-gun-lobby-politicians-final-sign-off-video/

Hobby Lobby case - Corporate America will be hurt big if Hobby Lobby gets religious designation. Interesting

All of this is a sideshow to the ensuing carnival of unintended consequences that will be unleashed should our venerated SCOTUS, inc.--or more precisely, Justice Kennedy, inc.--decide to grant supernatural powers to every corporation in America.
So says trial lawyer extraordinaire and Ring of Fire radio host Mike Papantonio (appearing yesterday on the Ed Schultz radio show) who says such a ruling would be good news for anyone damaged by corporate malfeasance.  For Hobby Lobby's super Jesus Powers would not only mark the end of Corporate Personhood.  It would end Corporate Indemnity.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/28/1287909/-Papantonio-Hobby-Lobby-Is-DOA?detail=email#

Missouri - Billionaire is set on making money off Public School! (Great Teachers will leave teaching!)

A billionaire is just trying to cheapen teaching so he can privatize Public Education and his company could make a few more millions or billions.

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/03/teachers-under-attack-billionaire-steps

Winter 2014 - a recap, 90 second video

It goes over major storms and records set this past winter.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/cold-warm-much-snow-dry-see-winter-fared/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=newshour

400 Sq Ft Cabin for $2000.00

Nice little cabin

http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/how-to-build-a-400-square-foot-solar-powered-cabin-for-2000/

STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE NATIONAL DEBT! 2 minute video

Interesting. 

http://www.vox.com/us-public-debt/

4 Ways giving Religious Rights to Businesses can hurt average citizens

- The right to discriminate will be in law.  -Employers can determine health care  - Women's rights will be limited. 

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/4-ways-hobby-lobby-ruling-could-be-disastrous-americans

10 Republican Lies - DEBUNKED

I hasten to note that this list obviously doesn't cover everything and I'm sure you'll have some additional examples for the comments below. But the following are definitely the 10 most mendacious things the GOP has attempted to foist upon the American public.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/debunking-top-10-most-egregious-republican-lies?akid=11644.294211.ORU_Lz&rd=1&src=newsletter974694&t=9

Sugar Substitute that kills bacteria on teeth, xylitol

Xylitol - Using it instead of sugar is like brushing your teeth according to this dentist.

http://www.therealfoodchannel.com/videos/sugar-and-sweeteners/xylitol---a-healthy-sugar-substitute.html

We are losing another teacher. - Teacher Shortage looming

I too am quitting teaching.  I find the grind much too difficult and draining.  I see constant poverty and need of children and parents but less and less help available.  From my position as teacher I see homelessness, lack of food, mental illness, lack of medical care and imprisonment of a parent.  The above issues are daily and they trump the childs need to develop their reading, writing and math skills.  I am moving away from teaching because the heart ache and frustration of teaching is just too much to bare.  I am also away from my family so I am moving back to be a grandfather and father as well.  I DID NOT renew my teaching certificate in OR because I am done with teaching as my profession of choice.  TESTING, TESTING, TESTING instead of putting the needs of the child first is also a major consideration for leaving.  I just do not see us getting back to doing what is best for the child.

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2014/03/we-lose-yet-another-teacher.html

I am writing today to let you know that I am resigning my position as PreK and Kindergarten teacher in the Cambridge Public Schools. It is with deep sadness that I have reached this decision, as I have loved my job, my school community, and the families and amazing and dedicated faculty I have been connected with throughout the district for the past eighteen years. I have always seen myself as a public school teacher, and fully intended to work until retirement in the public school system. Further, I am the product of public schools, and my son attended Cambridge Public Schools from PreK through Grade 12. I am and always have been a firm believer in quality public education.

Women in poverty and on Welfare - The real story.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/03/kathryn-edin-poverty-research-fatherhood

"People were embracing higher and higher standards for marriage," Edin explains. From a financial standpoint alone, "the men that would have been marriageable [in the 1950s] are no longer marriageable now. That's a cultural change." The low-income women in Edin's study reported that decent, trustworthy, available men were in short supply in their communities, where there were often major sex imbalances thanks to high incarceration rates. This, Edin found, was why low-income women were willing to decouple childbearing from marriage: They believed if they waited until everything was perfect, they might never have children. And children, says Edin, are "the thing in life you can't live without." As one subject explained, "I don't wanna have a big trail of divorce, you know. I'd rather say, 'Yes, I had my kids out of wedlock' than say, 'I married this idiot.' It's like a pride thing."

Paul Ryan's latest Culture comments about the poor is just another excuse not to do anything.

Blaming poverty on the mysterious influence of “culture” is a convenient excuse for doing nothing to address the problem.
That’s the real issue with what Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said about distressed inner-city communities. Critics who accuse him of racism are missing the point. What he’s really guilty of is providing a reason for government to throw up its hands in mock helplessness.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-paul-ryans-culture-attack-is-an-excuse-to-do-nothing-about-poverty/2014/03/24/f650fc0e-b397-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html?hpid=z2

Jon Stewart mocks the crazy news coverage regarding the missing airplane

Comedian Jon Stewart had a lot of catching up to do on Monday night's "The Daily Show."
He returned from a week's break the same day the Malaysian government announced that new satellite data showed the missing Malaysia Airlines plane plunged into the southern Indian Ocean, putting an end to wild speculation about what made it disappear two weeks ago.

Stewart said that CNN had one minute of good, accurate coverage of the plane's disappearance before he figured the network realized "Oh, sh*t, we got 23 hours and 59 seconds left to fill. F*ck it, let's go nuts."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/stewart-mocks-malaysia-jet-coverage

It's Gone: Mudslide and a community disappears

OSO, Wash. (AP) — First there was a "whoosh." Elaine Young said she thought it might be a chimney fire, a rush of air that lasted about 45 seconds. But when she stepped outside there was ominous silence. Something felt very, very wrong.

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And then she saw it. Behind the house, a suffocating wall of heavy mud had crashed through the neighborhood.

http://news.yahoo.com/gone-community-copes-deadly-mudslide-073331408.html

The meaning of life - an explanation

The meaning of life with or without religion as your leading guide through life.

http://www.upworthy.com/what-the-hell-do-people-believe-in-if-they-dont-believe-in-god-this-guy-has-one-heck-of-an-answer?c=ufb1

Fred Phelp's son Nathan gives a very sincere and worthwhile message about his Dad's passing. Good Stuff

On behalf of Nathan Phelps, son of former Westboro Baptist Church leader Fred Phelps, Recovering From Religion issues the following official statement: “Fred Phelps is now the past. The present and the future are for the living. Unfortunately, Fred’s ideas have not died with him, but live on, not just among the members of Westboro Baptist Church, but among the many communities and small minds that refuse to recognize the equality and humanity of our brothers and sisters on this small planet we share. I will mourn his passing, not for the man he was, but for the man he could have been.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/23/1286866/-Nathan-Phelps-issues-statement-on-the-death-of-his-father?detail=email

New Rules - Bill Maher Great

Bill Maher on Dems taking back the semantics of Political discussions.

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2014/03/bill-mahers-new-rules-from-friday.html

Orange - Cinnamon cleaning agent - make it yourself

http://gardentherapy.ca/natural-orange-cinnamon-purpose-cleaner-recipe/
http://gardentherapy.ca/natural-orange-cinnamon-purpose-cleaner-recipe/

http://healthandnaturalliving.com/all-natural-orange-cinnamon-all-purpose-cleaner-recipe/

Sore Throat Medicines: Honey and stuff

http://www.theyummylife.com/Honey_Citrus_Syrups

Climate Scientists are very concerned - You should be concerned too.

Average global temperature has increased by about 1.4˚F over the last 100 years. Sea level is rising, and some types of extreme events — such as heat waves and heavy precipitation events -– are happening more frequently. Recent scientific findings indicate that climate change is likely responsible for the increase in the intensity of many of these events in recent years.

http://www.nationofchange.org/climate-scientists-we-re-alarmed-here-s-why-you-should-be-too-1395584864

4 Years of Obamacare - IT IS WORKING!!! A 4 minute video

The numbers are staggering about the good things created by Obamacare.

http://www.demonews.org/watch-4-years-of-obamacare-working-in-4-minutes/

10 Lunacies from the Right Wing this past week.

Women want malls and Not Equal Pay - OK.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/10-lunacies-right-wing-fringe-week-women-want-malls-not-equal-pay-edition?akid=11635.294211.iIcO5H&rd=1&src=newsletter973618&t=7

10 Insane History Lessons taught in Voucher Schools - You and I are paying for this.

1. The Great Depression: Made Up to Spread Socialism

In a section titled "More Rumors," America: Land I Love In Christian Perspective takes on the origins of the Great Depression. The book explains that,

"Some people wanted to create an imaginary crisis in order to move the country toward socialism. They spread rumors of bank mortgage foreclosures and mass evictions from farms, homes and apartments.
http://www.alternet.org/education/10-insane-history-lessons-private-religious-voucher-schools-are-teaching-americas-kids?akid=11635.294211.iIcO5H&rd=1&src=newsletter973618&t=3

Toothache or sensitive teeth? Coconut oil

This says Coconut oil brushing (pulling) will cure tooth aches, cavities and sore gums. 

http://trinaholden.com/healing-cavities-a-true-weve-done-it-story/