rpannier
rpannier's JournalSimon Cowell walks off stage with scared puppy on 'Britain's Got More Talent'
In London, talent judge Simon Cowell walked off the stage during a recent episode of "Britain's Got More Talent" with a trembling Dalmatian puppy which had been part of a quiz game offering the four judges a puppy every time they answered a question correctly, reports the Mirror.
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Then the puppies began to appear on stage; their owners looking on from the sidelines, but Cowell didn't find the game amusing nor did he wish to further participate. When handled the adorable little cuddly ball of cuteness, the puppy was shivering in fear.
“She’s frightened, this one. They shouldn’t be doing this," Cowell told the crew and the owners watching. "Are they your puppies? Are they being looked after? They’re trembling. You should take them home.”
link:
http://www.examiner.com/article/simon-cowell-walks-off-stage-with-scared-puppy-on-britain-s-got-more-talent
Not a fan of Simon, but good on him for looking after the dog
The Fall of the “Welfare Queen” in California
After years of debate, California Governor Jerry Brown has finally given in to liberal legislators and advocates of the poor by eliminating a California welfare rule that many believe inordinately targets poor mothers of color. The rule goes by many names–the “Welfare Queen” rule, the family cap, and formally in California as the Maximum Family Grant Policy–and prevents families from receiving more benefits if they have additional children while receiving benefits.
California’s revocation of the policy is projected to cost the state a projected $220 million each year, and will eventually be funded by an account for inflationary increases to welfare benefits. With Brown’s decision, California joins a list of seven other states to repeal the rule, which once existed in some form or another in nearly half of U.S. states.
snip
Reagan ran a campaign largely based on the anecdotal evidence of a few criminals who defrauded the U.S. welfare system, with the conclusion that welfare fraud was a pervasive plague in the U.S. that could only be eliminated by cracking down on the “welfare stat
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“Welfare queen” rules emerged in the early 1990’s as a solution, with the belief that if women were to not receive additional benefits for additional children, that they would stop having additional children. Not only have studies found that the rules have no distinguishable impact on birth rates among mothers who receive benefits and are subject to a family cap, but the rules have been criticized as degrading and dehumanizing to poor mothers.
link:
http://lawstreetmedia.com/news/fall-welfare-queen-california/
One more Reagan-era piece of crap that is falling by the way side
Roo The ‘Kangaroo Kitten’ Doesn’t Let Physical Challenges Slow Her Down
Roo got her name because she looks a bit like the kitten version of a kangaroo. “Her legs are the right size,” says Marnie Russ, co-founder of the National Kitten Coalition who helped rescue her, “they just don’t have balls in the elbow joints.” Because of Roo’s birth defect, she is unable to walk like other kittens and instead spends more time sitting on her haunches.
Roo was delivered to the National Kitten Coalition by Animal Control along with two siblings. Judging from the size of her siblings, who have reached the two-pound mark and have been adopted, Roo is estimated to be about two months old even though she’s only about half that size, herself. Marnie believes Roo’s physical disabilities gave her a slow start since she would have had a harder time accessing the resources that helped her siblings grow at a healthy pace.
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For now, the first priority is helping her gain weight, then watching how she distributes the new weight on her legs. Once her weight is stable, they’ll begin developing a plan for physical therapy. They’re also looking at splints in case she needs some extra support. “If we can straighten it out, she may be able to walk better on it,” says Marnie
link: (complete with a couple of short, cute vids)
http://iheartcats.com/roo-the-kangaroo-kitten-doesnt-let-physical-challenges-slow-her-down/
and from youtube
4 people who make this world a little better
I decided to look for something the large majority of us would probably feel good about
Here are three, really four, one is a couple, the famous, one famous to some and one not-so-famous who make the world better
The Famous are Jon and Tracey Stewart. Though this is from 2015, some may have missed it. And it doesn't devalue what Jon and Tracey are doing. Jon and Tracey Stewart have purchased a farm in New Jersey that will be turned into an animal sanctuary for rescued animals
The second is also from 2015, it's almost exactly one year old. Jeremy Wagner guitarist, founding member of metal band Broken Hope and horror writer donated his entire rural Illinois farm to an animal rescue and rehabilitation group. The group got the land, the buildings, the equipment and everything else that was on the farm free.
Wagner wrote in his announcement:
My generosity and goodwill for the benefit of animals will never stop. Giving my farm away for free was a super-huge sacrifice, but it was an awesome one, and it won't be the last time I do it. In this life, money doesn't mean shit if you don't do good with it. So I do as much good as I can before I leave this rock. Cheers!
The last is my favorite. It is about Dorothy 'Dot' lee and Trouper the raccoon. Dorothy saved Trouper after a golfer clubbed the raccon several times leaving Trouper blind and brain damaged. A licensed wildlife rehabilitator, she carried him home, where he didn't move or respond. North Carolina laws prohibit veterinarians from treating wildlife, so she was on her own. North Carolina requires that after six months she return him to the wild or euthanize him. The problem for Dorothy, and more importantly for Trouper was being blind, unable to walm or climb, he'd have never survived.
Dorothy opted to move back to Florida and register him as an ambassador animal..Dorothy taught Trouper to walk and swim again. She feeds him, trims his nails and bathes him. She takes Trouper around to various schools and community centers to teach people to respect wildlife.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2016/05/31/blind-raccoon-gets-second-shot-life-thanks-caregiver/84977110/
Idiot Smashes 120+ Year Old Statue
According to Reuters, some dimbulb decided it would be a good idea to climb up the pedestal of the statue of King Dom Sebastiao at the railway station in Lisbon to take a selfie.
The dingus knocked the statue over, smashing it in the process
The loser ran away, but fortunately was arrested later
He will appear before a judge on a later date
No word yet on what punishment the prosecution will ask for if convicted, though there are many suggestions out there; one would have the selfie taker forced to wear armor and stand on the pedestal in place of the statue until it's fixed.
http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/selfie-gone-wrong-fells-126-year-old-sta?articleId=USKCN0XV28Z&slideId=1135771273
Unusual Friendship Between Wolf and Bear
These two were spotted by Finnish photographer Lassi Rautiainen
He photographed them for 10 days straight
Theory as to why they're friends is that they were probably orphaned very young and needed each other to survive
http://lifestyledesignmag.com/unusual-friendship-between-wolf-and-bear-documented-by-finnish-photographer/
Some of the best Trump slams come from Republicans
There are about 8 of us who were having drinks in Itaewon (foreign section of Seoul, South Korea). None of us are in the military, but a few of us (like me) were. 5 of the group are Republicans, though not really in the modern Republican sense. They're more Rockefeller, Ford, Dewey, Kassebaum kinds of Republicans
We got talking about Trump and none of them are happy with him, though one or two said they might consider voting for him.
There were some really great lines, but these were my three favorite comments about Trump the nominee
1. Using movie metaphor
I really like the movies House of 1,000 Corpses and the Devil's Rejects. The movies are really well made and House is really creepy. Captain Spaulding is a great character and so are the Fireflies. But, damn, I really don't want Capt Spaulding, Mother Firefly, Grampa Hugo, Skunk Ape Wife, Tiny and Baby as President, Vice-President and in the frickin cabinet.
I agree about both movies and his using those characters as similes for Trump, Palin and the rest of the clowns that have lined up behind him
2. Also a movie metaphor
Change the white face to orange and his hair to orange-red instead of red and I wouldn't be surprised to hear, "Oh Yes they float Georgie. They float. And when you're down here with me, you float too!"
His Tim Curry as Pennywise impersonation was quite good.
If you don't know the reference: Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Stephen King's It
3. And the best
If the Republicans planned on f*cking throwing this election, they should'a just said so and we could have just voted for Clinton, Sanders or O' Malley and saved us this bullsh*t, time and money.
Barnet polling station 'shambles' as London mayoral election voters turned away in lists blunder
The London mayoral election started with an “absolute shambles” in one borough as voters were turned away from polling stations given incomplete electoral lists.
Hundreds of residents in Barnet said they were told they could not vote without their polling card, while some carrying the document said they were also refused.
Arjun Mittra, a Labour councillor for East Finchley ward, said the “logistical nightmare” affected every one of the borough’s 90 polling stations.
“Out of the seven people who came to my polling station in the first 10 minutes, only one was able to vote,” he told The Independent.
link:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/elections-2016-absolute-shambles-in-barnet-as-voters-turned-away-from-polling-stations-with-wrong-a7014411.html
Why I'll Vote for HRC in the GE
I will admit I am not thrilled with HRC as the nominee, ask anyone in the HRC Group; I support Sanders
But it would be rather hypocritical for me, a Corbyn and a Sanders supporter if I didn't
For months I have railed against the Blairites in the UK and their undermining of the guy who won the Labour Party leadership race
They can't seem to accept that Corbyn won and that it is their responsibility to rally around their leader
Instead, there are many of the Labour Parliamentarians who have actively worked to undermine his leadership
The Independent published a poll a few months back that showed almost 1 in 4 Labour supporters were unhappy with what they perceived as chaos within Labour; ie they weren't unhappy with Corbyn per se, they were unhappy with the sniping from the whiny losers within the party
I am an American and I vote. I will vote for Clinton, not because she is my first choice, but because I respect the decision of my friends within the party (about 40% of my friends supported HRC, about 45% supported Sanders, the rest didn't vote for either) who voted for her should/when she is the nominee.
I have read some of the idiocracy posted on DU that have attacked the campaign/character of Sanders, of Clinton and even O' Malley -- my first choice (when he was still in the race) and I do not allow the postings of a few ignorant, hyper-partisans to affect my decision, those are irrelevant in my decision
I expected the Blairites to rally around Corbyn when he won and have been frustrated that they haven't.
I think it's fair to expect the same of myself when my candidate doesn't win in the US elections - Democrats Abroad voted Sanders
Yes, I will continue to send money to the Sanders campaign, just like I would have O' Malley had he not left the race. It's not money wasted because I believe in his message and in him more than Clinton
But. I will respect the decision of my fellow Democrats
A thread for DUers that are MIA
I got an e-mail requesting aid for 'torchthewitch' tonight and it got me thinking about those members of DU that haven't been seen or heard from in such a long while
I am fortunate to be able to help a bit
But, it got me thinking about Bobolink who I haven't seen in several years
So this thread is for those DUers who have disappeared, gone away, whatever, without letting us know they were gone (i.e. no I'm leaving thread)
I hope that Bobolink is okay.
I hope torch is as well, but at least I know she is still around
Please feel free to share a DUers who has gone away and you're uncertain what happened to them maybe there is someone who has kept in touch
I think about Bobolink from time-to-time.
as a request, if you feel the need to say something nasty or mean spirited about people that disappeared -- save it for your own post
Profile Information
Gender: MaleCurrent location: Boseong
Member since: Fri Jan 30, 2004, 05:44 AM
Number of posts: 24,337