Open Blog - Weekend

Have a great weekend!

Lies

Mahatma Gandhi

A Spork's Dilemma

Same old, same old

Anyone who reads the online alternative news sources and blogs knows that Racine Uncovered has featured lost and found animals, as well as animals looking for their "forever home," for years.

Recently, Racine County Eye adopted the practice of featuring animals looking for their forever homes.

Today, I check out the Journal Times website and what do I see?  "Slideshow: Animals looking for forever homes"

The Journal Times is always the last to jump on a bandwagon, letting others vet stories and concepts for them, then they put up a splashy story on their website.

Four for Fridays!

Today Drew starts his vacation and that means birding for a full week. I hope everyone has been enjoying the nice weather we are having. Sorry this is being posted later than usual. Here are your questions.

1) When you leave the house to go out and you are on the road do you have to turn around because you have forgotten something?

2) After you have gone grocery shopping and you have put all the groceries away to you have a hard time figuring out what to make for dinner?

3) Have you ever found out something really bad about a family member and you really have a hard time believing that about them?

4) Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that you don't know which way you are going?

I hope everyone enjoys there weekend!

"Clinton, Sanders debate gets testy"

From JSOnline:

Democratic Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) debate during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Debate at the Duggal Greenhouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Credit: Getty Images

By Julie Pace And Catherine Lucey Associated Press, Associated Press

"New York— Deepening their increasingly bitter feud, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders aggressively challenged each other's judgment to be president in Thursday night's Democratic debate, sparring over qualifications, Wall Street banks and gun control.

"The showdown in Brooklyn came at a pivotal moment in the party's primary campaign, with Clinton leading in the delegate count but Sanders generating huge enthusiasm for his surprising candidacy. The debate also left no doubt that a rivalry that once centered on wonkish policy disagreements has turned strikingly personal.

"Clinton is eyeing a victory in Tuesday's primary in her adopted home state of New York. That win would blunt Sanders' recent momentum, which included his victory in Wisconsin's April 5 primary, and would put his pursuit of the nomination further out of reach. However, a Sanders upset of Clinton would shake up the race, raising fresh concerns about her candidacy and breathing new life into the Vermont senator's campaign.

"With the stakes so high, Sanders took a biting and often sarcastic tone as he sought to chip away at Clinton's credibility on issue after issue. He went as far as to suggest that her labeling of certain criminals as 'superpredators' when she was first lady was 'a racist term and everybody knew it was a racist term.'

"Sanders also cited Clinton's support for the unpopular Iraq War and for free trade agreements, as well as her willingness to accept money through a super PAC, as evidence that she lacks the needed judgment to lead the nation. Still, he backed away from previous statements questioning Clinton's qualifications, saying the former secretary of state does have the 'experience and intelligence' to be president.

"Clinton made little effort to hide her irritation with Sanders' implication that she is unqualified, saying that while she has been "called a lot of things in my life, that was a first." She repeatedly linked herself to President Barack Obama, who remains popular among Democrats, suggesting that Sanders' criticism of her amounted to condemnation of the president.

"Clinton also cast Sanders as a policy lightweight who is unprepared to implement even his signature proposals, including breaking up big banks. And she chided Sanders for chuckling during an exchange on gun control, an area where she has painted him as cozy with gun dealers and manufacturers.

"'It's not a laughing matter,' she said. 'I take it really seriously because I have spent more time than I care to remember being with people who have lost their loved ones.'

"The debate was the first for the Democratic candidates in five weeks. It came days before the New York primary, with a huge cache of delegates at stake.

"The raucous crowd loudly cheered their candidates and occasionally booed their foes. In response, at one point Clinton said with a smile, "I love Brooklyn."

"The Democratic primary has been fought for months on familiar terrain. Clinton has cast Sanders' proposals for breaking up banks and offering free tuition at public colleges and universities as unrealistic. Sanders has accused Clinton of being part of a rigged economic and political system, hammering her repeatedly for giving paid speeches to Wall Street banks and refusing to release the transcripts.

"Clinton continued to struggle to explain why she has not released the transcripts, saying only that she will do so when other candidates are required to do the same. She tried to raise questions about Sanders' own openness for not releasing his income taxes.

"The senator pledged to release his most recent tax returns on Friday and said there would be 'no big money from speeches, no major investments' in the disclosures."

Read more: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/clinton-sanders-debate-gets-testy-b99707152z1-375801771.html


I haven't checked lately.  Does Bernie still look like he's on the edge of a stroke?

Open Blog - Friday

Uh, yeah, food, food it is.

"Jaguar diving into river to catch a Caiman"

Submitted by OKIE:



Now that's what I call fishing.

Top 10 Media Thursdays

Open Blog - Thursday

Don't tread on me.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my left and right, hello to all!  How are you?  "They" are saying it will warm up this weekend, but we know how the forecasters' game goes: spin the wheel, throw a dart, and make a prediction.  When it doesn't pan out, blame it on "computer models."  I don't need computer models.  I saw someone cutting their grass this afternoon.  That's all the "model" I need.  Soil temperatures have to reach a certain level for grass to germinate.  It may be slow, but it's warming up out there.  OK, "they?"

Well, it finally happened.  Junior crashed Señor Zanza's car.  And not in a small way, either.  Thank God that both of them are OK.  Junior managed to take out a traffic light pole.  That punched a big "vee" into the front of  Señor Zanza's Honda.  Everything's insured, but I don't know if Señor Zanza will ever get into an automobile with Junior again, whether he's licensed or not.  My poor dear.  He looked so shocked.  Junior, on the other hand, just appears sheepish.  He's said, "I'm sorry," to Señor Zanza about five thousand times.  I don't think it's made a dent yet.

I know this would never happen to my car, because Junior would never get near driving it.  If he even thinks about it, I'd know.  That's one of the drawbacks to having a psychic for a mother.  I wanted to send Junior to a driving school, but, nooo, Señor Zanza said he'd do it.  I asked him to reconsider.  He insisted that he was up to the job.  Now he's so sedated, he's snoozing it off in bed.  I think when he wakes up, he may be more inclined to agree with me about a driving school.  Let Junior put them out of business rather than risk our lives.

Thank God that Mr. Cruz won the Republican primary for Wisconsin.  If Mr. Trump had won, I'd have to consider moving out of state.  And I'm not even a Republican.   http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=rimshot&play=true

Years ago, I gave some thought to entering politics.  Thank God I recovered.  I have a tendency to speak the truth and that is the last thing wanted in politics.  Truth is like antimatter to politics.  Two lies that collide in the political arena spawn more lies.  Two truths that collide in the political arena can cause a meltdown.

Because we're in a presidential election year, we're going to see and hear a mass of political ads and appearances.  Try to take them in your stride.  Many of them will be lies or distortions or comments taken out of context.  It's going to get dirtier and dirtier.  And that's just leading up to the conventions.  Once we have two candidates, I predict it will be like a sewer.  I don't like voting for people who spout lying crap, but I guess I have little choice.

Still, I believe that we live in the greatest nation on earth.  And I think my readers are the greatest readers in the universe.  I love you all.  Thank you for reading my blog today.

Who has the most campaign money?  Ask madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

There's more birds out there, and more things poking out of the ground and from trees.  Spring is nature's rebirth.  Bask in whatever pieces of it that you can

Open Blog - Wednesday

I love the wigs.

One of my secrets...

I like the company of elderly black women.  There were some here, but Clara, my favorite, appears to have moved out, or died.

I also like the lavish dress-up that some black women do for Sunday.  I met one getting out of her car in the basement parking garage on a Sunday night.  I asked her if she knew why the fire alarm had gone off that morning.  (There was a kitchen fire directly below me, and I didn't even know it.)  She said, "No, I was in church."  Suddenly, I felt very small, like why wasn't I in church on Sunday morning?

I have no idea why I like such women.  When I talk with them, it's like I'm talking with the salt of the earth.  Maybe I should seek one out as a roommate to half costs.  Better yet, marry a widow "rich" from her deceased husband's life insurance and pension.  Wait.  A "black widow."  Mebbe not.

"Father Martin's Chalk Talk on Alcohol"

He's right about alcoholics drinking because they are alcoholics. There's no hidden reason or trauma. We do it because it's who we are.

As for his statement that the further away an alcoholic is from his last drink, the closer he is to his next drink, he can kiss my ass. I heard that line in AA many times. Then how does he explain people who die with twenty, thirty, or more years sober?

Such self-defeatism permeates present day "AA" in Racine. Early editions of the "Big Book" (book entitled Alcoholics Anonymous) talked about recovered alcoholics. not "recovering" alcoholics. By "recovered" alcoholics, the early Big Book didn't mean that it was OK to go back to drinking. What it meant was that the craving for alcohol would be removed from you.

But there's no money for the treatment industry in recovered anything. Thus the mess that AA is today.

Open Blog - Tuesday

Is that the yellow bird of happiness?

"Wisconsin's first 'cat cafe' opens in Madison"

By Savanna Tomei Connect

"MADISON (WKOW) -- Madison is host to a new business that's the first of its kind in Wisconsin – a cat cafe.

"When Cheryl Glover visited her daughter in Korea, the first place they went was a cat cafe. 'We were so excited there,' Glover said.

"Glover, her daughter, and her son knew they had to have one of their own. So the wheels started turning for Cat Cafe Mad.

"'Madison has welcomed us with such open arms,' said Glover. 'Everybody has just come forward and said this is fabulous.'

"You can grab a coffee and some cuddles from cats like Max. 'He's only a year old, but he's like... he basically is in charge of everything,' Glover said.

"'I've been a corporate executive, a commercial realtor, all these things, and every time I walked into the job it was like eh, okay, I'm here,' said Glover. 'Well I walk in here, I am like so excited! I'm like hey! I get to hold these animals that make me happy.'

"Glover and her staff are now welcoming their new residents, and most of them are from shelters. 'Sebastian is our special needs cat,' said Glover. Sebastian has a funny walk because of a neurological condition.

"When it came time to find staff, Glover said she got hundreds of applications. 'I'm inundated on my email,' Glover said. 'If I haven't gotten back to you on email it's because we do have full staff right now!'

"Now the cafe is ready to welcome visitors. 'I'm thrilled, this is like so great,' said Glover. 'It's like giving birth.'

"Here's how it works: There's a $10 cover charge that includes a drink and playtime with the cats. Per the health department, the drinks are stored separately from the rest of the cafe, but Glover said the department was on board with making it happen."

Read more: http://www.wkow.com/story/31534721/2016/03/22/wisconsins-first-cat-cafe-opens-in-madison

Also see: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/cat-cafe-opens-you-ve-cat-to-be-kitten-me/article_eb88ac84-cb9b-59f3-9c6d-497f26e5a9f1.html


Quick, who's going to be the first in Racine to open one of these?  That is, after months of Common Council haggling over a license.  If I had the money, I'd try, but that's because I love cats.  And coffee, too. 

Birds

I thought I would let everyone know what we have been seeing so far with the migration of the birds coming in. I know Drew usually post this up for everyone to enjoy but with him working and then going out birding I hardly see him right now and next month is going to be even worse with the Warblers coming in. April and May are the two real bad months with the migration. I hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

This is a Killdeer and the picture was taken at the Coast Guard Impoundment in Milwaukee Wi.. If you look the Killdeer is sitting on the eggs already.

This is a Common Loon and the picture was taken at Petroleum Pier in Milwaukee Wi.. We went back to get more pictures and they were gone.

This is a Wilson's Snipe and the picture was taken on Cty Hwy V in Caledonia Wi.. There was so many of them in this pond I think Drew counted 12 with the binoculars.

This is just some of what we seen on Saturday while driving around Milwaukee and at the ponds on the way home.

Open Blog - Monday

It's also the longest.