May 24, 2018

Nick Kristof: 10 Modest Steps to Cut Gun Violence

How many of these would the gun humpers go along with? These are considered modest steps.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/opinion/texas-shooting-guns.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region

May 22, 2018

Corn Bread made with Honey

Yes or No?

May 22, 2018

The GOP War on Families

Cross Posted in Parenting.

Republicans like Paul Ryan bemoan the low birth rate in the United States. He needs to read this piece and then do some explaining.

"A few months ago, Paul Ryan asked Americans to have more children and said he had “done his part” by fathering three. I would argue that “his part’ is creating an America that’s truly family-friendly and he hasn’t done it at all."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/21/hat-looks-good-slug-birth-rates-us-falling-reasons-why-family-policies

May 22, 2018

The GOP War on Families

Republicans like Paul Ryan bemoan the low birth rate in the United States. He needs to read this piece and then do some explaining.

"A few months ago, Paul Ryan asked Americans to have more children and said he had “done his part” by fathering three. I would argue that “his part’ is creating an America that’s truly family-friendly and he hasn’t done it at all."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/21/hat-looks-good-slug-birth-rates-us-falling-reasons-why-family-policies

May 22, 2018

Any "Watership Down" fans out there?

Great article in the NYT about the allure of this enduring epic.

I read it a long, long, time ago, but recently put it back on my reading list to enjoy again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/t-magazine/watership-down-hampshire-england.html?em_pos=large&emc=edit_bk_20180521&nl=book-review&nlid=74838209edit_bk_20180521&ref=img&te=1

May 22, 2018

See and Spray Robots Fight Weeds

‘SEE AND SPRAY’

"ecoRobotix www.ecorobotix.com/en, developer of the Swiss weeder, believes its design could reduce the amount of herbicide farmers use by 20 times. The company said it is close to signing a financing round with investors and is due to go on the market by early 2019.

Blue River, a Silicon Valley startup bought by U.S. tractor company Deere & Co. for $305 million last year, has also developed a machine using on-board cameras to distinguish weeds from crops and only squirt herbicides where necessary.

Its “See and Spray” weed control machine, which has been tested in U.S. cotton fields, is towed by a tractor and the developers estimate it could cut herbicide use by 90 percent once crops have started growing."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-farming-tech-chemicals-insight/robots-fight-weeds-in-challenge-to-agrochemical-giants-idUSKCN1IN0IK

May 22, 2018

The Banana States of America

From WaPo's Dana Milbank.

Hillary Clinton warns of a “full-fledged crisis in our democracy.” Rex Tillerson, the former secretary of state fired by President Trump, now warns that “American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom.” (Too bad he didn’t say so when he was on the job.)

They are both correct, in a sense, but right now the fear of the United States going totalitarian doesn’t feel quite right. This crowd is too clownish to be Stalinist. Rather, the United States is turning into a banana republic......."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-banana-states-of-america/2018/05/21/6ebee614-5d36-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.d72b0a5f4fdb

May 21, 2018

This is the toughest gun law in America

"Each applicant must complete a four-hour gun safety course, get character references from two people, and show up at the local police department for fingerprinting and a one-on-one interview with a specially designated officer. Police must also do some work on their own, searching department records for information that wouldn’t show up on the official background check.

If the police come to believe an applicant is a possible threat to public safety, they can refuse to grant the permit."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-is-the-toughest-gun-law-in-america/ar-AAwPfaZ

May 20, 2018

It's bad enough

That television shows bombard us with glitzy ads for prescription drugs ...... (raising the cost of what we have to pay, for sure) ....

Now they're advertising drugs for our dogs! Just saw an ad today for a pill for allergic dermatitis for your dog.

May 19, 2018

I'm baking today

Cookies for a friend's daughter's wedding. I'm not the only one contributing cookies, there will be quite a few others.

The Cookie Table is a MUST for an Italian wedding around here. (and, no I'm not Italian) ... but in this area, the custom is pervasive at most all weddings. You will likely see 1000 or more cookies on the cookie table at most larger weddings around here.

I was wondering if this custom is popular anywhere else?