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.