The lawyer for the accuser in the Winston case is supposed to have a press conference today at 10am.

This should be interesting considerring how badly the press conference was that announced no charges would be filed. The state's attorney Meggs went for laughs at some points. Then Winston's lawyer took shot after shot at the accuser.

Winston was not declared innocent. Meggs just felt there wasn't enough evidence to file charges.

Watch this little girl who has deaf parents sing Christmas songs with her kindergarten class:

11-Year-Old Boy Stops Traffic To Rescue Dog Hit By Car

You don't need to be big to be a big hero.

For example, 11-year-old Jean Fernandes, a brave boy from Brazil, recently risked his life to save a dog that had been hit by a car in Itajaí, according to Brazilian news site Guarda-Sol.

The injured dog remained in the roadway after the driver who allegedly struck it drove off. Jean then ran between oncoming vehicles to pick up the helpless animal and bring it to safety, Brazilian outlet Globo Rural reports.


Jean's mother, Rubia Liliana Rose, told BioBioChile that her son loves animals and will rescue ones he finds abandoned or abused.

"This little boy is already larger than many men," commented Aline Ropelli.
The dog -- identified as Honey, or Mel in Portuguese -- is still in the care of vets at a local animal control center but is doing just fine, according to BioBioChile.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/10/jean-fernandes-puppy_n_4420435.html

Kudos to you Jean Fernandes!

Krispy Kreme alert for 12/12:

Elvis left the building and apparently he moved to Canada:

How can ANY cut of help for the unemployed and others in need even be considered much less

in a budget deal???

Many of the unemployed were dumped when the big banks played screw your neighbor. In addition, businesses took this opportunity to cut jobs, cut wages and benefits. They then held on to their money rather than invest it in the US economy again to help speed the recovery.

The 1% got infinitely richer. They along with many corporations have enough money to pay for legal advice and take advantage of every loophole to avoid taxes. Congress has continued to pass subsidies and who knows what else to give these people more and more help.

However, when it comes to people, the little bit of help they are still getting is constantly in danger. SS and Medicare that is there for all of us is also never off the target list. People have paid taxes for years to help sustain these programs. However, they are painted as handouts and nooooobody better get those.

The least, the last and the lost need our help! Hell, a lot of us are probably in that number in some way. The people in this nation who are making it on some level need to wake the fuck up. A lot are just lucky they aren't having massive problems. It could just as easily be their eggs that got broken. They need to get out of their damn cocoons of judgement and censure and go meet the people who need help. It's not just some stranger they think is gaming the system. It's probably a friend or relative.

This country is no more morally superior than most others. We have kids living on the streets, people going hungry, and too many locked up for nothing. It's time we tried to prove we have any morality at all. I don't want to hear any political bullshit with the temperatures below zero and Christmas coming.

I'm looking at you Christian hypocrites. Jesus is your hype man who fronts for you so people think you have a conscience. You are really Leviticans who wouldn't know Jesus if he came down to you sliding on a rainbow with St.Peter leading the way. Jesus basically said, "Help them." He didn't ask who they voted for, what job they had, or what church they attended. He just helped people and that was what he said too.

So all of you with your creches and "Silent Nights" need to STFU and get a clue about what this season is really all about. NEWSFLASH: It ain't you.

That is my holiday rant. It's the one tradition I have. Have a Happy Holiday!

Hey Bama fans! You gonna let this Auburn fan get all the attention? Tide needs to roll....

The Salvation Army's History of Anti-LGBT Discrimination

In recent years, the Salvation Army has come under fire for its lengthy history of anti-LGBT political maneuvering and other incidents. The church has publicly articulated its belief that homosexuality is unacceptable, stating:

Scripture opposes homosexual practices by direct comment and also by clearly implied disapproval. The Bible treats such practices as self-evidently abnormal. ... Attempts to establish or promote such relationships as viable alternatives to heterosexually-based family life do not conform to God's will for society.

While such statements were recently removed from the Salvation Army's website, the church has yet to repudiate any of its explicitly anti-gay beliefs. And though these positions may seem to be limited to the group's internal doctrines, they've become a persistent element of the church's overtly political activities -- activities which have negatively impacted the Salvation Army's ability to provide charitable services, and have aimed to limit the rights and benefits of LGBT citizens in multiple nations.
<snip>
These statements completely ignore the reality that the Salvation Army continues to maintain anti-gay theological stances, and continues to discriminate against its own employees and their partners. They also neglect to mention that the organization historically "abides" by anti-discrimination laws by way of shutting down services in areas where such laws apply. The Salvation Army has given no indication that it intends to change any of these anti-LGBT policies.
<snip>
Much more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zinnia-jones/the-salvation-armys-histo_b_4422938.html

But hey, it's still a-ok to give to them according to some here because???
A little discrimination is no biggie???

Rachel Maddow will be a monthly columnist for The Washington Post

We are delighted to announce that Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” will be joining The Washington Post’s Opinion section as a monthly columnist. We expect that she will bring to Post readers the strong arguments, sharp wit and thoughtful analysis of political and social issues that have made her show an Emmy Award winner.

Rachel, who has written previously for The Post, is the author of “DRIFT: The Unmooring of American Military Power.” The 2012 book was a national best-seller.

“The Rachel Maddow Show” has been nominated by the Television Critics Association for “Outstanding Achievement in News and Information” four times. Rachel received the 2012 John Steinbeck Award from the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose University. Before becoming an MSNBC political analyst in 2008, she was a host on Air America Radio.

Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Stanford University and a doctorate in political science at Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She lives in New York and Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula.

Her first column will be published this week.
http://washpostpr.tumblr.com/post/69691912661/rachel-maddow-joins-post-opinions-section

Good!

Graca Machel bids farewell to late husband Nelson Mandela