June 28, 2019

Mom paid $200 for her daughters to ride unicorns, disappointed

A British mom who paid $200 so her daughters could ride unicorns was disappointed when the excited trio showed up to find an empty field where they were expecting a world of wonder.

"My girls were naturally distraught their dream experience had been shattered and we’d driven for an hour-and-three-quarters for nothing,” Kate Howell told the Kent Messenger.

The event, organized by Unicorn Dream, was to have taken place in Reading, England, on June 2. According to Kent Online, its organizer Darren Rocket said customers received an email two weeks in advance saying the festivities had been cancelled, which was followed by a phone call on June 1. Rocket also said Howell was nevertheless instantly refunded for the event and compensated with complimentary VIP tickets to a different function.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-mom-unicorn-kids-sad-disappointed-20190628-ssekhy3rrzbcjple4mz2gdxqpu-story.html

June 28, 2019

The brutal psychological toll of erratic work schedules

Stacey, a single mother, was getting 30 hours a week when she first started working at a big-box store in the Bay Area, in early 2015. But her hours had grown erratic by the time we interviewed her, a few months later: 20 hours one week, 12 the next, then 12 again, and then only eight. The following week was even worse: just four hours, and on a Saturday - meaning she'd need to pay for child care for her 8-year-old son.

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Unpredictable schedules make sense from the employer's point of view, from a purely economic perspective: The point is to precisely align staffing with demand, and thereby transfer risk from company payrolls to employees' household balance sheets. But this approach has big costs in terms of employee welfare.

Our survey affirmed the scope of the problem. Only about one in five of the people we surveyed work a regular daytime shift. About two-thirds of workers receive their weekly work schedule with less than two weeks' notice, and one third get less than one week's notice. Sixteen percent get less than 72 hours' notice - a scenario that makes it basically impossible to plan child care, family meals or homework time.

A particular onerous task demanded of retail and food-service workers is to work a closing shift and then, immediately afterward, the opening shift (say, closing the store at 11 p.m. then returning to open a few hours later). That's called a "clopening," and half of our respondents said they'd worked one.

More than a quarter reported they'd been asked to be on call - meaning they set aside a block of time for the company but might not end up working or getting paid.

This kind of work exerts a toll. Forty-six percent of the people in our sample at least some psychological distress (defined in the survey as nervousness, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, and a sense of being overwhelmed). That appears to be significantly higher than for the typical low-income worker, though precise comparisons are difficult. And our analysis of the data showed that the distress increased as notices of scheduled hours grew shorter, when workers had shifts canceled with little notice, and when they worked "clopenings." Sixty-four percent of workers who had had shifts canceled reported psychological distress, for example, compared with 43 percent of those who did not.
https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/The-brutal-psychological-toll-of-erratic-work-14055122.php

June 27, 2019

Trump "Sorry, I'm on Air Force One, off to save the Free World!"

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For tonight’s #DemDebate, be sure to follow @TeamTrump, @TrumpWarRoom, @Parscale, @KayleighMcEnany, @TimMurtaugh, and @Marc_Lotter for RAPID RESPONSE, FACT CHECKING, and the TRUTH! #MAGA #KAG Sorry, I’m on Air Force One, off to save the Free World!

June 27, 2019

Woman taunts McDonald's employee for sleeping at work; turns out there's more to story

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/fayette-county/woman-taunts-mcdonald-s-worker-for-sleeping-at-work-turns-out-there-s-more-to-story/961166073

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. - A woman took a picture of a man sleeping in a Fayette County McDonald’s and posted a negative Facebook rant about him.

https://twitter.com/MattWSB/status/1143306769613111296/

It turns out he is a homeless father who was resting between his shifts at the fast-food restaurant.

The community saw the woman’s post and is now helping this man by donating hotel rooms and clothing for him and his child.

Channel 2's Matt Johnson found the father, Simon Childs, and spoke to him Monday.

"I've been going through a hard time with my mom passing," he said.

The 21-year-old recently lost his mother and is raising his young son.

"Everything I do, I want to work for it," he said.

When he heard about the photo posted on Facebook, he was hurt.

"It kind of hurt to see my picture up there, you know? I thought it was something negative and nobody would care about it."

But he was positively shocked when he came back to work and saw piles of donated diapers for his son, supplies and clothes.

"They changed my life in a couple of days," he said.

Chefs Xavier and Theo Thomas own the Fusion Chefs Eatery right down Glynn Street South.

"It just touched our heart," Xavier Thomas said.

The Thomases' new restaurant afforded them an opportunity to reach out to Childs to let him borrow a car for job interviews.

June 27, 2019

neighbor from hell

https://nypost.com/video/think-you-live-next-door-to-a-neighbor-from-hell/

Think you live next door to a 'neighbor from hell'?
June 26, 2019
This woman’s own security camera captured the moment she allegedly firebombed her neighbor’s house in Del City, Oklahoma. Video from the June 17 incident appears to show arson suspect Annie Dunham tossing a lit towel over the fence and firing two gunshots at the house.

June 26, 2019

Florida man charged in Pinky the Flamingo's death is fatally struck by truck

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A Florida man who sparked worldwide outrage after being accused of causing the death of Pinky, a popular dancing flamingo at Busch Gardens, has been fatally struck by a truck two months before he was set to go on trial.

Joseph Corrao, 48, was killed June 5 as he crossed a busy road near his home in Orlando, the Tampa Bay Times reported, citing the Florida Highway Patrol.

He gained notoriety during a visit to the amusement park in Tampa with his mother and daughters in August 2016, when he reached into the Jambo Junction animal viewing area and picked up the 15-year-old Chilean flamingo.

Officials said he violently threw Pinky, one of the theme park’s animal ambassadors, to the ground, badly injuring her and causing one of her legs to be nearly severed.

Corrao later told authorities he was just trying to show off to his daughter, claiming he didn’t mean to injure the bird, and apologized when he learned she had to be euthanized.

He was charged with animal cruelty, jailed for five days and released on bail.

https://nypost.com/2019/06/26/florida-man-charged-in-pinky-the-flamingos-death-is-fatally-struck-by-truck/

June 26, 2019

Trump can't let any slight pass by

June 26, 2019

Caged Obama, Hillary on parade float causes stir in South Dakota

Highmore’s 50th annual Settler’s Day is “just a wonderful time to get together and come back home,” Mayor Vikki Day said, but an interesting float at this year’s parade is giving some folks palpitations.

“I had to think about it with the mask of Obama, coming out as racist,” Jeff Damer, creator of the controversial float, told KSFY. “I just wanted to put it out there, it was just my view that they should be charged, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.”

The float featured a trailer with two people inside a cage wearing Obama and Clinton masks, the word “Guantanamo” spray-painted on a sign above. Another man wearing a President Trump mask stood outside the cell next to a makeshift wall with the words “Build the Wall.”

The trailer was ringed with numerous American flags, and featured Trump Make America Great Again flags flying from the rear gate.

Day told the news site the city received a lot of calls and messages from people complaining about the float, but officials don’t regret allowing Damer to participate in the parade.

http://www.theamericanmirror.com/mayor-defends-free-speech-after-obama-hillary-locked-up-on-south-dakota-parade-float/

June 25, 2019

'He should be hospitalized': Internet stunned after Trump goes off on completely incoherent Mt Rushm

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/he-should-be-hospitalized-internet-stunned-after-trump-goes-off-on-completely-incoherent-mt-rushmore-rant/
resident Donald Trump was asked on Tuesday whether his face should appear on Mount Rushmore along with other major American presidents.

“If I answer that question yes, I will end up with such bad publicity,” Trump told The Hill, before pivoting to an incoherent rant about fireworks.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/06/trump-delivers-utterly-bizarre-and-nonsensical-answer-when-asked-if-he-should-be-on-mt-rushmore/


“Well , look, I have a lot of respect; even Mount Rushmore; so for many, many years they got, they had fireworks, right?” Trump said. “Many, many years. And [Gov. Kristi Noem], your new governor, she’s a great person. She called, she said, sir, for many years we had tremendous fireworks on the 4th of July. We don’t have it anymore. Can you do something? And I got it approved. Starting , next season, it was not easy, starting next season , Mount Rushmore will have tremendous fireworks like they had for many years. But they ended it a long time ago, but they didn’t want, but they didn’t have fireworks because of, I don’t know, I think they thought, thought the stone was gonna catch on fire.”

June 25, 2019

Trump today "USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world"

People know that. He doesn't have to rub it in everyone's face. sheesh!!!! He gets off on that. Weak man landed in powerful job with no skills, talents or intelligence. Don't have pissing contests with countries.


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Iran leadership doesn’t understand the words “nice” or “compassion,” they never have. Sadly, the thing they do understand is Strength and Power, and the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world, with 1.5 Trillion Dollars invested over the last two years alone..

7:42 AM - 25 Jun 2019
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....The wonderful Iranian people are suffering, and for no reason at all. Their leadership spends all of its money on Terror, and little on anything else. The U.S. has not forgotten Iran’s use of IED’s & EFP’s (bombs), which killed 2000 Americans, and wounded many more...

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....Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality. Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!

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