Flannel Shirt

Beamed into Las Vegas!

An idea whose time never came

Someone got the idea of using coal to power his truck. Not much support for him by pedestrians and bicyclists.

Dying signpost

The theologian speaks

The great theologian Rush Limbaugh has spoken on The Bible and Global Warming.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh advised his religious listeners on Monday that “intellectually you cannot believe in manmade global warming” and also believe in God.

At an event on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry had said that climate change was “a challenge to our responsibilities as the guardians–safe guarders of God’s creation.”

“What about God’s creation called a fetus?” Limbaugh asked on Monday. “See, in my humble opinion, folks, if you believe in God, then intellectually you cannot believe in manmade global warming.”

“You must be either agnostic or atheistic to believe that man controls something that he can’t create,” he continued. “The vanity! These people — on the one hand, ‘We’re no different than a mouse or a rat.’ If you listen to the animal rights activists, we are the pollutants of this planet. If it weren’t for humanity — the military environmentalist wackos — the Earth would be pristine and wonderful and beautiful, and nobody would see it. According to them we are not as entitled to life on this planet as other creatures because we destroy it. But how can we destroy it when we’re no different from the lowest life forms?”

“And then on the other end, ‘We are so powerful. And we are so impotent — omnipotent that we can destroy — we can’t even stop a rain shower, but we can destroy the climate.’ And how? With barbecue pits and automobiles, particularly SUVs. It’s absurd.”

What is it?

It's kind of weird, the current crop of Republican leadership. 

You have Rick Santorum, again running for President, who claims that liberals who support abortion make it uncomfortable to shower in the YMCA.

Then there's Ken Cucchinelli, the Attorney General of Virginia and candidate for governor, who has a weird obsession about sodomy (oral or anal sex).

Then there's the survey that says Paula Deen is more popular with the Georgia GOP than Martin Luther King.

Then there's the Southern Senator who says people in his state don't like Obama because he's "too exotic".

Then there's the people protesting Obama's visit to Arizona by singing "Bye Bye Black Sheep". In case there was any doubt that the crowd was racist another carried a sign saying "Impeach The Half-White Muslim!"

Maybe the South should be allowed to secede. The degree of hate and ignorance is appalling.

Hmmm

As Paul Harvey used to say, and now for the rest of the story.

During the height of the George Zimmerman trial, when media attention was focused heavily on Stand Your Ground Laws and the question of whether or not a white man would be found not guilty of killing an unarmed African-American teenager, the shooting death of 13 month old Georgia infant Antonio Santigio, also made national media headlines. After the mother, Sherry West, told police that her baby was killed by two black teenagers, the right-wing went crazy with this story. Meme’s about the killing could be found on every social media web-site, public page and in every group where the Trayvon Martin story was discussed. Most of these meme’s showed photos of the infant side by side with one of two accused African-American teenagers.

For months, right wingers have levelled accusations of reverse racism against the President, the DOJ and even the media. There have been outcries of disparity against white people because no prominent politicians spoke out about the case, no protests were held, it was not declared a hate crime, the teens weren’t sent to Gitmo to face terrorism charges and especially because the two were not immediately sentenced to execution. To Republicans and racists, the case appeared to be anecdotal proof of everything they believe about black people; that they are scary, they are dangerous -they are baby murdering monsters. The case was repeatedly cited to “prove” that people like George Zimmerman have every right to gun them down black kids, like Trayvon Martin, at will.

In spite of the social media “outrage” and the right-wing media narrative, however, the Baby Santiago case only illustrates just how prevalent racism really is in the United States. Just days after Sherry West told police her 13 month old was shot and killed by two black teens, West’s 21 year old daughter went to police to tell them that she suspected her mother may have killed her infant brother. Ashley Glassey told CBS News in March, that her mother has serious mental health issues. These include a diagnosis of bi-polar with accompanying schizophrenic tendencies. West also talked with the media about how she was removed from her mother’s care at the age of 8, because of abuse and neglect in the home. Immediately after the shooting, Glassey said West began asking questions about how long it would take her to collect the insurance money. West’s daughter also told both media and police that her mother made conflicting statements to her, regarding the child’s death - including different stories about who was shot first. West’s inconsistencies and suspicious behavior caused her own daughter to tell police and reporters that she suspected her mother was not telling the truth about how the infant was killed. CBS News reported several days later that police had not followed up with Glassey, nor had they taken her statement. A follow-up call by the press to the police, was never returned.

On July 16^th further evidence was released to the public that implicates the parents involvement in the child’s death. Police tests immediately following the shooting revealed gun powder on the hands of both Sherry West and the baby’s father, Louis Santiago. Santiago claimed that he was nowhere near the scene of the shooting. This evidence too, was withheld for months, until the defense attorney in the case demanded that it be released in mid July.

When we look at the Zimmerman case and the Baby Santiago case side by side, what we see is how racism plays out in the United States. When a white man openly admitted to shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager, the public immediately jumped to his defense. On the other hand, when two black teenagers were accused of shooting and killing a white child, the public immediately cried out for their executions. Zimmerman was guilty, the two teens may very well be innocent, but public perceptions about these two cases shows that what matters most is the skin color of the accused killers.

Evidence in the Baby Santiago case seems to point more and more toward the fact that the two black youth accused of this shooting are innocent of the crime they’ve been blamed for. Yet their pictures have been plastered all over social media, and they’ve been labelled  as “baby killers” – a favorite phrase of the right-wing since the day of the shooting. Can we hope that there will be a fair trial for these youth? Can we hope that our justice system will not continue to convict the innocent, while allowing the guilty to go free? Can we hope that the media will report fairly and accurately on this case? Can we hope that the Georgia court system will be fairer and more just than the one in Florida?

And what of Sherry West? If it turns out that a southern white women did in fact kill her own infant in order to collect some insurance money, will American’s show the same level of vehemence they did when they believed it was two black teens who killed Antonio Santiago? Will they still cry out for execution, or will they see the case differently, if the killer turns out to be middle-aged, white and female, rather than young, black and male?

And then there is the question of the jurors. Will there be another jury of all white women, women who have to choose between two scenarios; Did a soft-spoken white, southern woman (whom they surely can identify with) actually shoot her own infant – or the alternative, did two black hoodlum gangsters try to rob her, killing her baby in the process? Can such a jury be found in Georgia that is able to set aside their underlying stereotypes about women, about blacks, about society and of course, about themselves, to listen to facts, examine evidence and come to a just decision?

As the long-standing tradition of racism in the United States is challenged by minorities and non-minorities across the country, the question of whether or not these two young men can hope for justice is a lingering one. There is overt racism, which we see hear every day from politicians, public figures and members of the general population. There is also an undercurrent of racism, one which convicted these two teens without question, from the moment Sherry West first levelled her accusations. It’s the same undercurrent that caused the public to view Trayvon Martin as a threat, even though he was an unarmed teenager, walking home from the candy store. The question is, will racism lead to the conviction of two innocent teens, arrested and tried for a crime they did not commit? Will people finally be able to step back and ask themselves how and why they “knew” those teens were guilty, from the moment they set eyes on them? And then will they finally be able to also ask how and why they just “knew”George Zimmerman wasn’t guilty of murder? Both these cases were tried in the minds of the American public, long before the evidence was heard, before the trials had even begun.

Racism is a threat to every American. The Baby Santiago case may prove that it’s not just the African-American population or the Latino population or the Muslim population, that suffers the consequences. If something does not change, murderers will continue to go free, while innocent people’s lives are destroyed. If our underlying belief system continues to reinforce the idea that the black person is always the guilty party, there’s little to stop people like Sherry West and George Zimmerman, from staging murders of white people or black people, of teenagers and even toddlers of any color, having full confidence that as long as they implicate a black person, no-one will even question their innocence.

Next time go to the Smithsonian

And leave the drinking for after you get home.

A shirtless man apprehended near the White House told officers he was “only going to fire a couple of shots if no one confronted me,” NBC Washington reported.

Secret Service police arrested Christopher Wade Briggs on Tuesday for carrying a pistol and two knives in Lafayette Park, which just north of the White House. He was also carrying an open container of alcohol.

According to court documents, his pistol was loaded with 13 rounds. He was also carrying two more full magazines and 171 rounds of ammo.

Briggs was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, two counts of possession of prohibited weapons, possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of an unopened alcohol container.

However, I didn't know that having an unopened container of alcohol was a crime.

Next time order more chicken, less alcohol

Perhaps the worst wedding reception of all time.

A wedding reception ended in disaster when a family brawl over a piece of chicken saw the bride's sister punched unconscious - by her own uncle.

Krystel Coleman, 29, was left with a broken nose and two black eyes after Curt Hughes, 53,  allegedly punched her at her sister Karyssa's wedding

The fight erupted when the best man pushed into the buffet queue to get food for his son, which is said to have upset uncle-of-the-bride Hughes.

The 53 year old lorry driver is said to have then hit best man, and brother-of-the-groom, Danny Smethurst, 30, and the bride's father Kevin Coleman, 52.

Ten police vehicles had to be sent to Caldecott Hall hotel in Fritton near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, as angry wedding guests fought in the car park outside the reception.

Even the bride's mother Liza Coleman, 47, was knocked to the ground during the scuffle last Friday.

Bride Karyssa Smethurst, 28, of Gorleston, Norfolk, who is eight months pregnant, then had to drive her sister Krystel to hospital after an ambulance failed to turn up.

The groom, Ben Smethurst, 26, said the brawl started at the buffet table after his brother reached over to get a piece of chicken for his 11-year-old son.

He said: ‘Curt thought he was pushing in the queue, and called him "a fat c***". My brother just told him there was no need to use that sort of language.

Mother-of-three Krystel, also of Gorleston, Norfolk, said: ‘My mum went up to Curt to push him out into the car park and told him, 'Don't you ruin my daughter's wedding'.

‘Then Curt's wife Elaine who is my mum's sister got involved. They were both shouting at my mum.

‘I went over to Curt and said, "What are you playing at? Leave my mum alone". Then he punched me.

‘I was out cold for about 20 minutes and was taken to the toilet where I was laid out on the floor until I came round.

‘My dad went up to Curt and they were pushing each other. Then my dad got hit and was left with a big lump on his head.

‘Another five or six people got involved. One bloke jumped on Curt's back to try and stop him because he was going crazy.

'My mum also ended up on the floor and was knocked out for a little while.

‘My sister tried to come rushing out but everyone was holding her back as she was just three weeks away from giving birth.

‘Curt was about to get in a taxi, but Karyssa bravely told the driver not to take him until police arrived.’

Mr Hughes, a former bouncer of Bradwell near Great Yarmouth was arrested on suspicion of assault and later released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Beauty therapist Krystel said she came round to hear her younger son Diego, five, saying 'Mummy's dead' after he saw her lying on the floor.

Krystel added: ‘It was supposed to be my sister's special day and it was ruined at the end.

‘It had been so special up until then, honestly a perfect day. Kurt was arrested and is now out on bail. 

'The worst bit is, he hasn't apologised. It's just dreadful.’

A Norfolk Police spokesperson said: ‘Police were called to Caldecott Hall Hotel in Fritton, near Great Yarmouth, shortly before midnight on Friday 5 July following reports of a disturbance.

‘Officers arrived on scene to find a number of people involved in an altercation and a woman in her 20s suffered facial injuries during the incident.

‘A 53-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault and released on bail while the investigation continues.’

Elaine Hughes, 48, said: ‘My husband does not wish to comment.’

 

The stupidest man in Washington, DC

Louis Gohmert.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) knows that Republicans may lose some votes at first after the party kills immigration reform, but he is predicting that Hispanics will then wake up and realize that “Republicans really like me.”

In an effort to block all efforts at comprehensive immigration reform, Gohmert joined with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) to explain to the conservative website World Net Daily why so-called “amnesty” would be bad for the country.

Gohmert said that Republicans needed to make it clear to immigrants that comprehensive reform was being stopped to “preserve a country that Hispanics will want to come to.”

“If we are not willing to follow the law, we’re going to lose that, and I’m afraid that people do not realize how serious things have gotten,” the Texas congressman said. “But, yeah, we could possibly pay in the polls in the short term. But just as you’ve had more and more African-Americans realizing, ‘Wow, we have one party that’s pandered to us, doled out government benefits, kept us from reaching our God-given potential.’”

Republicans, however, Gohmert said, wanted Hispanics to learn English “because we want you not to be a ditch digger because you can’t communicate. We know you are smart enough to be president of this company and to be president of this country if you’re born here.”

“And if we don’t communicate that message we could pay for it,” he warned. “We could in the short term, but in the long term, I think you will see people start waking up and go, ‘Wow, I’m Hispanic, these Republicans really like me.’”

Gangs not good for mental health

There is an interesting study that says people in gangs have more mental illness. What isn't addressed in the article is if people with these types of mental illness are attracted to gangs and gangs reinforce it or if gangs are the source. I'd guess the former.

Young men in gangs are significantly more likely to suffer from a mental disorder and need psychiatric help than other young men, says a UK study.

It surveyed 108 gang members and found that half had an anxiety disorder, more than 85% a personality disorder and 25% screened positive for psychosis.

Exposure to violence was the likely cause of their mental health problems, it said.

Experts said opportunities to help young people were often missed.

The research team from Queen Mary, University of London, started by surveying 4,664 men aged between 18 and 34 in Britain.

Researchers included significant numbers of men from areas of the country with high gang memberships, such as Hackney and Glasgow East, from areas with high ethnic minority populations and areas of social deprivation.

From the total sample, 3,284 said they had not been violent in the past five years, 1,272 said they had assaulted another person or been involved in a fight and 108 said they were currently in a gang.

Cycle of violence

The gang members and the violent men were found to be particularly prone to mental disorders and more likely to access psychiatric services.

Prof Jeremy Coid, lead study author and director of the forensic psychiatry research unit at Queen Mary, University of London, explained the likely cause.

"It is probable that, among gang members, high levels of anxiety disorder and psychosis were explained by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the most frequent psychiatric outcome of exposure to violence."

He said the fear of future violence and victimisation led young men to experience extreme anxiety.

The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, said: "Readiness to retaliate violently if disrespected, excitement from violence, and short-term benefits from instrumental violence lead to further cycles of violence and risk of violent victimisation."

The study also found that, of the 108 gang members surveyed, around a third had attempted suicide.

The authors said this could be linked "to the notion that impulsive violence may be directed both outward and inward".

However depression was significantly less common among gang members and violent men, the study found.

Andy Bell, deputy chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said they had carried out their own research in this area and found very high rates of multiple health and social issues in both boys and girls in gangs.

"It is very clear they have numerous problems throughout their lives, often related to drug, alcohol problems and maltreatment at home - and they all contribute to poor mental health.

"One vulnerability leads to another. The earlier they are dealt with the better - but sadly opportunities are often missed."

Street therapy

Prof Coid agrees that healthcare professionals should be aware of gang membership when assessing young men with psychiatric illnesses in urban areas.

The study reports that although just 1% of 18- to-34 year-old men in Britain are gang members, in areas such as Hackney this rises to around 8.6%. Yet the average age of gang membership can be as low as 15, it adds.

MAC-UK, a charity based in Camden and Southwark, in London, targets the mental health needs of young people aged 16 to 25 involved in gangs and antisocial behaviour in a novel way.

Dr Charlie Alcock, chief executive officer of the charity and a clinical psychologist, says youth offending is a public mental health issue which requires a different approach.

"We support young people by taking mental health on to the streets and working with them in a place which is convenient and comfortable for them.

"We believe one in three young people has an unmet mental health need," she says.

These can range from stress and anxiety to hearing voices and more serious forms of psychosis.