I’m stealing this from my friend Leighton. I’m not sure where he stole it from. But, knowing Leighton, I’m sure he stole it from somewhere. (He’s from Florida.)
I like it because it reminds me of this old thread of ours about pterodactyls carrying olive branches.
I’ve been looking all over the web to see if Sarah “Drill Baby Drill” Palin has mentioned the catastrophic crude oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, but I haven’t been able to find anything. Word is, the oil, which is pouring into the Gulf at a rate of 210,000 gallons a day, will reach the Louisiana coast by tomorrow. That stretch of coast, it’s worth noting, contains 40% of our country’s wetlands, and is home to innumerable species… One would hope that between this spill, and the recent mining disasters, that people might begin to comprehend the fact that coal and oil come at a cost, both environmental and societal. We need to do better as a nation, and Obama should take the lead here by reneging on the promise to open up more of the nation’s coastal areas to off-shore drilling. Furthermore, he should demand that already existing rigs be retrofitted with remote shut-off valves. It might be nice if he insisted that BP pay for the clean up, instead of us U.S. taxpayers.
Oh, and one wonders if Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana, who so hates “big government,” will turn away federal assistance.
According to police, they’re ready to make an arrest in relation to the September 23, 2009 fire which gutted Ypsilanti’s historic Thompson Block. The individual, a 21 year old man by the name of Jacob Robert-Andrew Popiolek, is thought to have fled the area. According to the Ypsi Citizen, Popiolek is a “160-pound white male standing at 6 feet, 3 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes.” Individuals with knowledge of Popiolek and his whereabouts are asked to contact Detective Jason Cyrbok at the Ypsi Police Department (734-482-9872).
As the better part of a year had passed, I was doubtful that we’d ever have a resolution, but it would seem as though investigators have considered Popiolek a suspect from the beginning… The following clip comes from AnnArbor.com:
…Ypsilanti Police Chief Amy Walker said investigators are still trying to determine who else was with Popiolek that night. She said it appears the fire was caused by alcohol possibly sparked by a cigarette, and police have no evidence any other accelerant was used. But authorities said it was not an accident and was intentionally set.
“This has been a lengthy investigation to determine how this fire started,” Walker said today. “We believe they were trespassing, a fire started, and it got out of control.”
Washtenaw County Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Steve Hiller declined to discuss the case this morning. But he said for someone to be charged with felony arson, he or she must “willfully and maliciously” set a fire…
I should probably wait until all of the evidence is made public before weighing in, but it sounds odd to me. To begin with, given the condition of the building after the fire, I can’t imagine arson investigators were able to determine that the fire was started by a cigarette. It may well be true, but how it the world could they know, based on the surviving evidence? The only explanation I can think of is that they’ve got an eye witness who saw Popiolek set the fire. But, if that were the case, it seems as though charges would have been filed much earlier. I suppose it’s possible that it took them this long to put together a deal with the witness, etc, but it still seems odd to me. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
WVEW, in Brattlesvboro, Vermont, is playing a Monkey Power Trio song right now. It’s called Winifred, and it’s on our most recent record, which is entitled Tearing Down the Parthenon… Anyway, it’s cool to flip on the radio and hear yourself trying to sing. If you haven’t tried it, you should.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Monkey Power Trio, another radio station, KFJC, which is right outside of San Francisco, did a four hour retrospective on us in 2008, which you can check out here.
Sometimes I like to post stuff here just because I want someone else to be as infuriated as I am… The following video, shot at Kentucky’s Creationism Museum, falls into that category. It was given to me today by a fellow named Chris Collins. He likened it to child abuse, and I can’t see anything in it that would make me disagree… Check it out and let me know what you think.
I know it’s wrong, and it makes me sick to see people lying to children, but, as much as I hate to say it, all I can think of when I watch footage like this is what an opportunity there is to be had down the road, in Irish Hills, Michigan, at the now abandoned Prehistoric Forest. Slap a fresh coat of paint on few of the musty, old, shag carpet and cement dinosaurs, put saddles on a couple of them, strap in some smiling human mannequins with fig leafs covering their naughty bits, paint a few Bible verses on the sidewalk, and you’re in business. Stupid people would stand in line to hand over their money.
