April 7, 2011

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) cuts through the rhetoric and makes the case for his Path to Prosperity

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) "It's time to pick a fight!"


Rep. Mike Pence, sounding more presidential than any of the names being bandied about as presidential contenders, gave a lively speech to a group from Americans for Prosperity yesterday:

 "And if liberals in the Senate would rather play political games and force a government shutdown instead of accepting a modest down payment on fiscal discipline and reform, I say, ‘Shut it down.’ [crowd: 'Shut it down! Shut it down!...]...

...Republicans must show that we’re worthy of this moment, that we’re equal to this crisis, that we’re willing to face this sea of red ink, to stop and turn and square down on behalf of the American people the liberal establishment in Washington, D.C.

...So let’s put the political establishment on notice on this historic hill: Your days of dominance in our nation’s capital are coming to an end. The American people are back in charge. With their help and with God's help we will face this crisis with courage and determination. We will take a small step toward fiscal responsibility and reform and we will cut spending now to preserve this last, best hope on earth for future generations."

Pence has said that he will not run for president.  All the more reason I wish he would.  He has an 'above-the-fray' way of attacking issues and not people that sets him apart from others in the race.  He is also well known for sticking to his principals even if that means voting against his party.  All indications are that he will run for governor of Indiana.  Ah, well...maybe 2016...

~~~~~

More state bills are targeting abortion - USATODAY.com: 

"Legislatures in more than 30 states are weighing — and in some cases passing — many fast-moving bills to restrict abortion rights in a blitz that could prompt the Supreme Court to revisit the issue...

...NARAL Pro-Choice America is monitoring 362 abortion bills in this legislative session; in 2010, 174 bills were tracked. Some bills would block public or private insurance coverage for abortions, others would ban most abortions 20 weeks after conception, and others would require pregnant women to have ultrasounds before having abortions."

~~~~~

If you're prone to worrying or obsessing about all the terrible things happening in the world, don't click on the links to these "incident" maps:


GlobalIncidentMap.com Amber-Alert Map HAZMAT Situations Map Forest Fires Map Disease Outbreaks

Gang Activity Map Border Security Issues Presidential Threat Map Terrorism Event Predictions Quakes Map

Drug Interdictions Map Non-Terror Aviation Incidents NEW - Food/Medicine Incidents NEW - Human Trafficking




You need to have a paid subscription for some of the data, but you can learn plenty without subscribing. 

Things I learned from these maps:  The plague is alive and well and living in Indonesia.  Alaska experiences more than its fair share of earthquakes - and Japan is still quaking. There is a spot in the middle of the U.S. that either has almost no drug activity or drug laws aren't enforced.  I no longer believe those people who tell me how safe air travel is.  Every day there are dozens of "incidents" involving aircraft of various sizes.  

~~~~~

Today was a harrowing day in the eagle's nest in Decorah, Iowa.  For much of the day, one parent was absent from the nest and food was in short supply.  I was concerned that something had happened to the missing parent.  When I got home tonight I was happy to see that not only had the missing parent returned with a fish for dinner, but the third eaglet had hatched (see video below).  I'm not all that optimistic about #3's survival.  It's siblings have several days on him it's not unheard of for siblings to kill the weaker nestlings.  

Wired Science has some interesting facts about the tech side of the eagle cam:

"The eagle family is filmed from two cameras positioned near their nest 80 feet up a tree near the Decorah Fish Hatchery. [Bob] Anderson, [director of the Raptor Resource Center], remotely points, zooms and pans one camera from a nearby shed.

The other camera runs automatically 24/7 and switches to infrared at night, picking up the eagles’ body heat and converting it to a black-and-white image. The view can look like there’s a spotlight shining on the nest, but the eagles are completely in the dark.

“We would never put a spotlight on an eagle nest,” Anderson said, and added that he’s been getting angry phone calls in the middle of the night demanding that he turn off the lights.

“It’s kind of an insult to my research and my conservation work. People don’t understand,” he said. “I wish they would trust me for my life’s work with conservation, and do a little bit of research. We have many infrared cameras out there in wildlife, and we would never put a spotlight on an eagle.”

Still, he said, “for every crank I get we have 2,000 thank yous. I’m really happy we have such great video and audio going out to the internet.”

I love the indignant tone when defending his "life's work."  Having done a lot of public animal education programs I completely understand.  People sometimes ask really insulting questions (i.e. 'Does that owl live in the verikennel all the time?'....'Is that snake going to suffocate in that pillow case?').  It's never the children who ask these questions, always the adults.  Just read the comments from the article above.  At least two people are squawking because they didn't actually read the article and they think they're putting spotlights on the eagles at night.  Maddening, really!