Oz Mudflats

Follow this link – for more info and a way to help.

By now I’m sure everyone knows about the people who were arrested for peacefully protesting by singing in the Capitol Rotunda in Wisconsin… but I’m betting this is still going to make you shake your head and look out the window to see if you still live in America.

Another day, another Scott Walker travesty:

This from the youtube bio:

Published on Jul 26, 2013

On Friday July 26 a group of people gathered in the Capitol rotunda to exercise their First Amendment right to petition their government and consult for the common good and so on in song. The Capitol Police brought out an LRAD1000x and announced that the group of people were “unlawfully assembled” and warned that if the they did not disperse the entire group was subject to arrest, but the police took it further than that.

Groups of officers would march into the rotunda and seemingly randomly select 3-5 people and cuff them and bring them downstairs. They did this every 8-12 minutes.

But above the singers were dozens of people watching, bearing witness to the gross police and political misconduct, just checking what was going on, touring the capitol with their family, along with a contingent of Republican staffers getting off watching the real life police porn.

Police started warning random groups of onlookers that if they didn’t immediately disperse they to would be arrested. Many of those warned were tourists visiting from out of town.

Scott Walker is to the US what the Taliban is to Afghanistan. Only difference – the Taliban doesn’t hide in a governor’s mansion – OzMud

=== UPDATE ===

In case you missed the original story, follow it from the beginning here:
My Parents Were Arrested…

and here is the best comment on that blog:
Bobbi Rongstad · Gurney, Wisconsin
Sent to my daughter who responded: This whole thing reminds me of The Hunger Games. There are parts in the books where they talk about the military changing laws and creating new ones to arrest people for whatever reason they see fit. It makes me sick.

I remember when I was a little girl talking to you about what it means to be an American and how lucky I was to have been born one. One example I remember you giving me was that it was ok for me to say Reagan is an idiot and not fear persecution. It appears those times have changed, at least if you live in WI and are vocal about what a douchebag (sorry, but the name just fits) Walker is.

I am still wrapping my head around the hypocrisy of bringing charges against the LCO Harvest camp because of the damage they may do to the forest. As my kids would say….REALLY?

Happy Days!

New voter Board Game

Click link for story.

Click image to enlarge

UPDATE

This just came my way and I felt immediately compelled to add it here…

Another stroke of gun-nuttery from The Daily Kos…

In  a gun-nutshell, this family is on a canoe trip when one of the men (aged 24)  needs to pee. They pull onto the bank (this particular stretch of riverbank is referred to as a gravel bar)  and get out of the canoe.  The young man who needs to pee goes off to do so and another man appears waving a gun at the remaining couple (a young man and his wife) on the river’s edge. He screams at them to get off his land. Confusion reigns.

The salient details of this story are confusing and – I’m guessing – not all in as yet. (Click on gun-nuttery above for full story.) But for me those details shouldn’t even be a part of the discussion. For me, the only details that matter are these:\

Vacationers, American citizens on a day excursion in their own country, in their own home state, boating on a river for which they pay taxes to maintain, are threatened at gun point and ultimately shot at – with the end result of one death – all for the crime of exiting their canoe long enough to pee in the bushes.

Tell me again how it’s a constitutional right to bear arms. Go ahead. I dare you.

…

…

…

…

‘Responsible gun Owner’ Opens fire on Car Full of Kids Because Dad Tried to Turn Around in Her Driveway

I don’t know how true this story is but I did find it also at The Gawker, whose article included a link to the newspaper originally covering the story, the Kingsport Times News so I’m feeling pretty confidant about repeating it here.

You, of course, are free to read whichever post you choose – I found I needed to read them all just to wrap my head around the fact that this actually happened.

A grown woman, supposedly a responsible gun owner to boot, who lives at the top of a road that ends further down from her house, turning into a logging road, sits on her porch cradling a rifle.

A family of 7 on an outing o Bays Mountain Park – well here… I’ll let the driver, Oscar Scott tell it. This is from the Times Nesws:

Oscar Scott of Rose Hill, Va. told the Times-News that he and his family decided to explore a scenic way back into Virginia through Hawkins and Hancock counties.

Almost immediately after crossing the Hawkins County line, however, they came upon Bays Mt. Road which runs adjacent to the Sullivan County line.

“We came around the side of the mountain and saw a road that turned to the right that said Bays Mt. Road,” Scott said. “We figured we’d take it and see if it came out at Bays Mountain Park. We got pretty far down that road and you could see where it turned into an old log road, so I put the vehicle in reverse to turn around.”

Scott added, “Just as I got it into reverse she started shooting at us.”

Scott said a woman setting on her porch about 150 feet from the road fired two shots at the 1999 Chevy Tahoe he was driving. One shot actually hit the running board on the passenger side just a few feet from where his five children, ages 4-12, were seated.

The alleged shooter was identified as Margie Rhea Ramey, 72, 652 Bays Mt. Road, Rogersville.

Scott reported the shooting to the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, and Sgt. Michael Allen responded to the scene.

“During a field interview Mrs. Ramey openly admitted to shooting her rifle towards the vehicle because she has had a continuous problem with people tearing up her driveway,” Allen said.

…

He said he had no choice but to use her driveway to turn around because the road is so narrow.

Scott said there were several people setting on the porch beside her when she fired.

“I hadn’t even begun to turn my wheels to pull in her driveway,” Scott said. “I just put my vehicle in reverse, and just as quickly as I put it in reverse I heard her hollering and my little boy said, ‘does she got a gun’. About that time she started shooting.”

Scott said the house was on the right side of the road and the bullet hit the passenger side of the vehicle, which he said shows he wasn’t even in her driveway when she fired.

“She fired one shot and my wife hollered and told her we’re just turning around, and then she shot again,”

She was charged with 7 counts of felony reckless endangerment but I’m sure some slick lawyer from the NRA will get her off – and then throw her a nice party and buy her a bigger gun. Just like Zimmerman.

…

…

From Barack Obama’s FB page…

This was on my feed this morning and it just made my heart do a little dance so I had to share 🙂

From around the net:
…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

🙂

This made me laugh…

…and this just pissed me off. Even though – by definition – these men are also just a joke.

Sad but true these days…

Help make a difference: VOTE.

UPDATE

(thatcrowoman – this is for you -)

This fell into my lap today. It’s a website called We Are Not Travon Martin. It’s all about healing and not making any more George Zimmermans. It’s not by one person – many people are stepping up to share their thoughts. Go have  a read. I promise you’ll feel better about the humans with whom you share this planet 🙂

What an incredibly sad day for humanity…

How could Florida have gotten this so wrong???

You’re not off the hook yet Mr. Zimmerman… I hear Karma’s a bitch.

According to Salon:

KTVU in Oakland Calif. fell for a Bart Simpson-esque racist joke when they reported four “confirmed” pilot names of Asiana Flight 214, which crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. The newscaster read the names aloud during a broadcast, but the station has since apologized:

How on earth could they have been that stupid!!! hahahahahaha

Michael Shepperd has actually written an argument for Sarah Palin to be on the 2016 ticket for the White House.

While his argument(s) appear, on the surface, to be well written and thought out,  they unfortunately (for him, not us) are based on total whack-job lies and not one iota of reality. The tin-hat wearers will eat it up. We, on the other hand, need to stay on top of this line of thinking so none of it ever actually leaks onto the voting ballots of 2016.

A must read – even though it’s a bit painful. I promise, if you read it, I’ll post something cute and silly next time to help wash away the Wasilla mud.

I found this bit of video here – over at the website Liberals Unite – and it’s a good read – including the comments. Especially this one:

[Click image to enlarge]

Funny how Republicans are forever stifling and censoring free speech – unless, of course, it’s misinformation coming from Fox or Palin…

Full transcript of the Texas woman’s statement is in the article of the first link above.

“In high schools across America
Christian girls are saving themselves for marriage.

Many of these ‘Virgins’ are having anal sex
because the bible does not specifically forbid it.”

For decades, this has also been the justification for teenagers having oral sex as well. Doeds no one get that teenagers will naturally rebel against whatever ‘rules’ are fed them by adults? Hello – it’s what being a teenager is all about:

Not trusting everything you’re told and learning to make your own choices and decisions.

So the more information – good, intelligent, factual information – we can give them, the better the decisions and choices our kids make.

*UPDATE

My favourite comment so far on youtube:
And yes, these two young ladies have both appeared on The Big Bang Theory. Look them up on wikipedia (Garfunkle & Oates) for the other songs/projects they’ve done so far – and yes they wrote this song.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

UPDATE

HAHAHA

This is the face of the man who personally made abortions – any abortion for any reason – illegal in the country of Chile, South America.

Dictator General Augusto Pinochet assumed power of Chile in 1973 and immediately put an end to a woman’s right to choose her health over a pregnancy, even if that pregnancy meant she would lose her life – of if it was the result of rape or incest. Because that what dictators do. They like to ensure they will have lots of little hayseeds who will fo their bidding and make lots more little hayseeds of their own.

But no matter how conservative the good citizens of Chile remain, years after the General is long gone, the world is changing and people are waking up. And change, albeit traditionally slow, is on the horizon.

Today, in Chile, there is a little girl whose life is at stake, threatened by the fetus she carries, placed in her 11 year old body by the middle-aged boyfriend of her mother. Both she and the fetus are at risk and her doctors have said the only chance for the little girl to survive is to have an abortion. But authorities, while no longer ruled by the hand of a dictator, still remain cemented by the beliefs of the Catholic church and unwilling to budge on the issue of abortion, have denied the request.

But this is not 1973 anymore and the women of Chile have been stirred to action. There is an online petition to save this little girl’s life and a growing public outcry for reform. The current government may not be moved to change, but the public no longer feels that a blanket ruling making all abortions illegal is still acceptable.

Full Story Here at USA Today – please, please read and share this story. And then remember to register and vote in the 2014 congressional elections.

GREAT NEWS!!

Occupy Oakland victims of police brutality just awarded compensation!!!

Click above link for full story.

They were peaceful here…

and here too…

Just trying to get across an important message…

Until a handful of  rogue officers forgot who they were – and certainly forgot who we are.  I am more than jazzed about this court decision today 🙂

HAPPY FOURTH AMERICA!!

PS – and how ironic that I got this bit of news 48 hours after the fact and from a BRITISH newspaper! ROFL

Well this is a must read if I ever saw one!

According to his Google + page, Charles Clymer is “…a white kid from Texas” who sees first-hand how bigoted and racist his male counterparts behave in his home state and he’s out to help the women there regain their rights.

He’s written a bill to make male masturbation illegal because… well you need to read it yourself! Here’s an excerpt to get you going:

Did you know that we have no actual study that proves sperm can’t feel pain when unnecessarily ejaculated? It’s true! For all we know, these are living organisms that endure excruciating nerve stimulation when exposed outside of the male reproductive system.

There are those who would argue that we are regulating men’s bodies and taking away their freedom to make their own healthcare choices, but as our conservative brethren have pointed out in many a debate on rape culture, men simply can’t control their sexual urges on their own as per the landmark legal reasoning of “boys will be boys.” Therefore, they need help and incentives.

To that end, I am proposing a bill in the Texas Legislature that does the following:

1. Ejaculation of semen outside of an active effort to procreate is banned. Some would make the case that we should allow exemptions for cases of rape, incest, or if the man’s life is in danger, but this is all nonsense and doesn’t correspond with our strong, Texas values. A life is a life. Just consider if our great governor Rick Perry had been ejaculated by his father during a self-pleasuring act.

In the event Section 1 isn’t passed, we should include further restrictions that make it incredibly difficult for men to masturbate without facing criminal prosecution:

Read full article on Clymer’s blog here.

Gryphen’s Post this morning over at tIM inspired me to come clean about a little incident that happened a few months back. I’d awakened to the kind of quiet that only alerts a mother/wife – that quiet that shouldn’t be quiet at all – the absence of the person you love snoring in your ear.

The clock read 3:30am and sure enough, spouse’s side of the bed was empty. I got up and followed the light down the hall to his office and poked my head in the room. There was my grey-haired hero, sound asleep in his chair in front of a computer streaming porn images. I stifled a laugh and gently shook his shoulder. “Honey”, I whispered, “you know you’re getting old when you can’t stay awake watching naked ladies, huh?”

He stirred in his chair, looked up at me and smiled, took off his glasses, wiped his eyes and said “Oh it wasn’t really porn. It was Palin.”

Full Story Here

The special second session called by Gov. Perry to plough through SB5 was killed after only 30 minutes of pressure building from the throng of protesters gathering in Austin – I don’t see how the Texas Senate can continue to refer to the protesters as a handful of trouble-makers, can you?

Full story here:

Pierce Brosnan has lost his daughter Charlotte to ovarian cancer just  twelve years after losing his first wife to the same ugly disease.

I cannot imagine the grief he must be shouldering.

I wish our politicians would focus more on funding things like stem cell and cancer research than giving themselves pay hikes and spending tonnes of money on fighting things like abortion awnd a woman’s right to choose her own destiny. It all seems so ridiculous on a day like today.

Australia has made some progress. Here is the fact sheet on the HPV Vaccine available in Oz.

NO MORE NAMES is an Organization for Reducing Gun Violence.
Add your name, and/or follow their tour across the US here.

THIS VIDEO CLIP at Upworthy pretty much says it all.