Newtown First Responders Speak

Brace yourself:

But nothing, no amount of training, could prepare them for what they found next, inside those two classrooms.

Related

Cutest Version of "Waltzing Matilda" That Ever Happened

This (by young friend Sawyer!) should be given a shrine in Canberra. Aussie children should be made to sing along with it every school day.

Phil Mickelson is a Horrible Human Being, III

Oh, dear, someone's trying to clean up a mess.

''Finances and taxes are a personal matter, and I should not have made my opinions on them public,'' Mickelson said in a statement released Monday night. ''I apologize to those I have upset or insulted, and assure you I intend not to let it happen again.'

Translation: "People smarter than me pointed out that allowing people to know how much of an asshole I really am could cost me money. And I love money more than the smiles on the faces of children. Please don't hurt me."

Fellow PGA golfer:

''He definitely showed a lack of sympathy for the plight of a lot of people, unemployed and all that sort of stuff,'' Geoff Ogilvy said. 

Yep.

Part I here. Part II here.

Thom's note to anyone who cares

More than 58,000 Americans, most of them young, died in the Vietnam War. The overwhelming majority of them died violent deaths.

Rocker and professional tough guy Ted Nugent was not one of them. He was lucky, I guess.

When I think of Ted Nugent, I can't help thinking about those 58,000 Americans killed in Vietnam.

P.S. Here are the names of several American women who died in the Vietnam War.

Golfer Phil Mickelson Is a Horrible Human Being, II

I wrote yesterday about PGA golfer Phil Mickelson threatening to stop playing golf, leave California, and/or maybe even leave the U.S. because he feels he pays too much in taxes.

Excerpt:

Phil Mickelson has a net worth of about $180 million.

Phil Mickelson owns a $60 million gulfstream jet.

That's all you really need, isn't it?

The Christian Science Monitor has the story today.

I just wanted to add one more thing to this:

“The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that more than 50 million Americans struggle against hunger. Of those, more than 17 million are children,” Aiken said.

Phil Mickelson - you are a horrible human being. You really are.

Golfer Phil Mickelson Is a Horrible Human Being

PGA star golfer Phil Mickelson is bitching about taxes. I mean really bitching. (More here.)

Phil Mickelson has a net worth of about $180 million. (Update, May 2016: That link now gives his worth as about $295 million. Update, August 2018: $365 million.)

Phil Mickelson owns a $60 million gulfstream jet.

If Phil Mickelson were taxed 95% on his $180 million dollars, he would still have $9 million.

Or $225,000 every year for the next 40 years. More than 97% of all Americans right now. And mountains more than the tens of millions who work their asses of and still worry about feeding the kids - or getting them health insurance. That's if he were taxed 95% on all his money.

Phil Mickelson - you suck. My God, you suck.

P.S. I love the end of that interview: "[no response]". Yeah, I bet not.

[pic]

Update: Read the exciting Part II of how Phil Mickelson is a horrible human being right over here. And Part III!

Update II, May 20, 2016: Yow, Mickelson's greed knows no bounds. Why he's not being charged with criminal offenses for making $931,000 on an insider trading scheme is anyone's guess. More here.

If You Think the Sandy Hook Killings Were a Hoax You're Mentally Ill

Seriously. You need help.

 

5 Dead, 3 of Them Kids, in New Mexico Shooting

A horrible followup to "Gun Appreciation Day":

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A 15-year-old boy fatally shot two adults and three children at a home near Albuquerque, authorities said Sunday.

The teenager was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with the shootings Saturday night at the home in a rural area 10 miles southwest of downtown Albuquerque, Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman Aaron Williamson said.

[...]

Investigators also were trying to determine who owned several guns that were found at the home, one of which was a semi-automatic military-style rifle.

More

UPDATE VI: 5 people shot at 3 different gun shows on Gun Appreciation Day

Looks like the final tally is 5 people shot at gun shows today. I sincerely hope they're all okay. (4 more non-gun-show reportedly accidental shootings occurred today; 2 dead.)

Sorry again for my errors. I was moving way too fast.

* * * * *

Raleigh, North Carolina:

At least two people were injured Saturday afternoon in an apparent accidental shooting at the gun show being held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. 

Emergency crews responded to the scene shortly after 1 p.m., and two people were loaded into ambulances. 

A witness told WRAL that a gun went off after being checked by an official at a safety check-in location, hitting a man in the hand and a woman in the side.

• Update: This has been updated to 3 people injured.

• And it was a cop.

Medina, Ohio:

The Medina Police Department said one man was shot at the Medina County gun show in Medina Saturday afternoon.

The man was transported by EMS to a nearby hospital and his condition is unknown at this time. 

Update II: Holy crap - another one:

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A person who was loading a gun outside of the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show at the State Fairgrounds was accidentally shot when his gun discharged Saturday afternoon.

The incident was reported shortly after 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show PIO Ashley Varner says the man had been inside at the gun show before the incident.

He was walking back to his car, was loading his semi-automatic pistol and accidentally shot himself in the hand, Varner says.

Update VI: 4 more non-gun-show reported accidental shootings today:

• Just horrible.

• Another

• Another

• Ugh

•••••••••

Updates III, IV, and V not from today.  Too sloppy. I am very sorry. 

Update III: NOT TODAY. FROM JANUARY 9. 1 more, in Ohio again:

Update IV: ALSO NOT FROM TODAY! FROM OCTOBER.! Two more:

Update V, from yesterday 2009 - Oh, Christ:

A man who thought there was an intruder in his house shot and killed his fiancee the day before they were to be married, police said Friday. (Related: From October, 2 retired cops shoot and kill own sons thinking they're intruders.)

Found: Actual Bucket List

Holy cow! You won't believe what I just found in the laundry room!

Close up:

Someone call the Smithsonian!

It's 114.8° in Collaroy Right Now

Holy crap. My sweat is sweating.

Deeper Thoughts

Space is so big it can be seen from Earth.

This has been "Deeper Thoughts."

Twitter Account Records Every Gun Death in U.S., Canada

Link:

Tweeting every gun death in North America regardless of cause and without comment. Help us tell the story behind the statistics.

Sample:

That's less than half - considerably less - of just today's entries.

Via Piers Morgan.

P.S. Yes, it says "North America" - but in comments they say it's just U.S. and Canada.

Former Aussie PM John Howard in the NY Times on Gun Law

Excerpt:

I was elected prime minister in early 1996, leading a center-right coalition. Virtually every nonurban electoral district in the country — where gun ownership was higher than elsewhere — sent a member of my coalition to Parliament.

Six weeks later, on April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant, a psychologically disturbed man, used a semiautomatic Armalite rifle and a semiautomatic SKS assault weapon to kill 35 people in a murderous rampage in Port Arthur, Tasmania.

After this wanton slaughter, I knew that I had to use the authority of my office to curb the possession and use of the type of weapons that killed 35 innocent people. I also knew it wouldn’t be easy.

Stephen Colbert on Guns

Thank you, Colbert:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Waterkeepers: Protecting Waterways Around the World

Edward J. Olmos narrates video highlighting waterway protectors:

 

 Waterkeeper Alliance

Wiki

Follow them on FaceBook

Via George Takei

Deaf Twins Going Blind 'Commit Euthanasia'

Suicide news:

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Deaf Belgian identical twins used a decade-old euthanasia law in a mercy-killing pact after they began to go blind, Flemish media has reported.

In what was presented as a unique case, the 45-year-old men from the Antwerp area who shared a bedroom all their lives began to encounter problems with their sight several years ago, Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper said according to French-language reports.

Brussels doctors backed the twins' demand to be allowed to die on December 14 last year, even though neither man was suffering from any terminal illness.

The doctor who presided over the euthanasia, David Dufour, told RTL television news: "They were very happy. It was a relief to see the end of their suffering.

"They had a cup of coffee in the hall, it went well and a rich conversation. The the separation from their parents and brother was very serene and beautiful. "At the last there was a little wave of their hands and then they were gone."

More

White House Knocks Back "Death Star" Petition

Funny:

The White House says building a Death Star would be an out-of-this-galaxy waste of money — not only because it's against government policy to blow up planets, but also because the United States already has access to a space station as well as a laser-wielding space robot. 

Today's official statement on the Death Star issue, titled "This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For," was written by Paul Shawcross, chief of the science and space branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget. It comes in response to a "We the People" petition that called on the federal government to start building a Death Star by 2016.

Background on "John D's" petition here.

Tennessee Revokes Internet Gun-Rage Guy's Handgun Permit

Too damn funny:

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has suspended the handgun carry permit of a local man who threatened to "start killing people" to protect his Second Amendment right.

In a statement released Friday officials said they had suspended the handgun carry permit of James Yeager, CEO of Tactical Response based on "material likelihood of risk of harm to the public".

On Thursday, a video of Yeager angrily claiming he would "start killing people" if President Barack Obama moved forward with gun control measures began to go viral on the internet.

Via (with videos)

"...we got complete props from the right wing"

Unintended take away in this story:

Fulton said the editor arrest actually helped boost his cover. "I mean, we got complete props from the right wing," he said.

• William Fulton

• Joe Miller

Thom's Everyday Tips For Smoother Living

When wearing a snorkel mouthpiece and tube (without mask) at your work desk for long periods of time, be sure to put a towel over your shoulder and down your back, making sure that the towel is positioned under the end of the snorkel tube, so that it might catch the surprising amount of drool that will come out of the end of the tube.

Here is a helpful illustration of what this might look like at home. (Note striped towel over right shoulder.)

Artist at desk, with snorkel mouthpiece and tube (no mask), and towel.

This has been "Thom's Everyday Tips For Smoother Living"

Most welcome!

Fresh Hot Joke: English Grammar Edition

If you're afraid of werewolves, you need to brush up on your tenses.

• This has been "Fresh Hot Joke: English Grammar Edition." Thanks for playing.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES IS PEOPLE!

Eat your heart out Charlton Heston.

 - Oh - "Eat your heart out" - I made a double funny.

New South Wales Fires

Just got a very good fire map.

This one is not exactly close - but the closest to us right now:

Berowra Electrical Fire (Sensitive Incident)
ALERT LEVEL: Not Applicable
LOCATION: (Note: location on map is approximate to centre of local government area)
COUNCIL AREA: Hornsby
STATUS: Out of Control
TYPE: Structure fire (A fire involving a residential, commercial or industrial building)
FIRE: Yes
SIZE: 0 ha
RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: Rural Fire Service
UPDATED: 8 Jan 2013 16:08

From here.