December 28, 2016

If you're a climate change denier, and you're up to your neck in coastal flooding,

What you should do first of all,

is double down.

Literally, and figuratively.

And please, don't come up for air; the rest of us can put it to better use.

December 26, 2016

The Poinsettia - How a flower from Mexico became a world-wide symbol of Christmas

The poinsettia (/pɔɪnˈsɛtiə/ or /pɔɪnˈsɛtə/) (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family. The species is indigenous to Mexico. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant to the US in 1825.

The poinsettia is native to Mexico. It is found in the wild in deciduous tropical forests at moderate elevations from southern Sinaloa down the entire Pacific coast of Mexico to Chiapas and Guatemala. It is also found in the interior in the hot, seasonally dry forests of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. Reports of E. pulcherrima growing in the wild in Nicaragua and Costa Rica have yet to be confirmed by botanists.

The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil" Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as Flor de Noche Buena, meaning Christmas Eve Flower. In Spain it is known as Flor de Pascua or Pascua, meaning Easter flower. In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as Crown of the Andes. In Turkey, it is called Atatürk's flower because Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, liked this flower and made a significant contribution to its cultivation in Turkey. In Hungarian, it is called Santa Claus' Flower, and it's widely used as a Christmas decoration.

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where legend tells of a girl, commonly called Pepita or Maria, who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday and was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia

December 23, 2016

On Lawrence O'Donell - Michael Moore wants Democrats to save Trump voters from Trump

....


NO!

December 15, 2016

Fidel Castro survived 11 US Presidents

Eisenhower,
Kennedy,
Johnson,
Nixon,
Ford,
Carter,
Reagan,
Bush,
Clinton,
GWBush,
Obama.

But he did not survive 15 days of Trump.

He died of a fulminating Trumpbosis.


(Lifted w/o attribution from FB)

December 13, 2016

December 12th - Blessed Our Lady of Guadalupe Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

December 9, 2016

One Day I'll Fly Away

December 8, 2016

The M$M has discovered Twitter

And in the process, they have become the echo chamber for Trump's Twitter feed.

Wagging the Dog, anyone?

December 6, 2016

The Great LaRouche Toad-Frog Massacre

COMMUNISTS AT U.S. DOORSTEP

by Milo Bloom, Investigative Reporter

Today it was discovered that after years of aggressive expansion, the Soviet Union has stretched its borders to within a mere 12 miles of American soil. The State Department has no immediate comment.

...which wasn't particularly surprising since the State Department had been aware for some time that the easternmost tip of Siberia comes within a polar bear's whisker of Alaska, but who cares since it's too damned cold to worry about. But the vast bulk of the Beacon's readership had no such knowledge and a subdued rumble of patriotic consternation coursed through the local population like some frightening new flu virus. The consensus was that something ought to be done.

"SOMETHING," bellowed Steve Dallas at a hastily called town meeting, "SHOULD BE DONE!" He pounded the table, looking properly drunk with nationalistic fervor. Eunice Annanburg suggested CIA assassinations of most of the Kremlin, but she was soundly overruled in favor of a more moderate response. A letter would be dispatched to the President informing him of the crisis. (Years later, Caspar Weinberger would write in his memoirs that he had been sent to the White House to reassure Mr. Reagan that it wasn't necessary to send the Sixth Fleet to investigate this new business. We were pleased our letter had attracted the attention it deserved. The President was a fave-rave in Bloom County.)

http://www.highwaygirl.com/archive/000007.html

For those who think post-truth is a recent phenomenon, here is a blast from the past. The only difference is how virulent the problem has become in the age of social media.

December 3, 2016

SNL Mute Marine - Back when SNL was still funny.

December 1, 2016

It's not a fourth estate, it's a fifth column. Remember that. eom.