“I have to sell weed to get money for school because I can’t get federal aid since I’m a felon. I’m trying to do right.”
– Trenton Kyles, explaining to a Dallas police officer why his home contained nearly a pound of marijuana and a Glock 22 firearm, as quoted in a police report.
Translation: he’s a victim and needs to your tax dollars to help him out.
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Every year around this time in the U.S. we honor and celebrate the Office of the President by giving government employees the day off, having a garden hose sale at Wal-Mart and slinging insults at the President of the United States. Have a nice holiday!
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Gold today commands a staggering $1,700 an ounce, more than six times the price of a decade ago. The surge is attributable to demand by individual and institutional investors seeking a hedge against losses and also the insatiable appetite for luxury goods made from the precious metal. But, while a great deal of international attention has focused on diamond mining in Africa and its bloody consequences, gold mining in the Amazon River Basin is wreaking havoc on both the Peruvian rainforest and the people who have occupied the region for thousands of years.
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Okay, enough with the Whitney Houston crap. It’s sad she died the way she did. But, let’s give our military heroes the same attention and fly the flag at half-mast when they die.
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A U.S. Marine drinks cobra blood during a jungle survival exercise with the Thai Navy as part of the “Cobra Gold 2011” joint military exercise, at a military base in Chon Buri Province, February 13, 2011. More than 13,000 armed forces personnel representing Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and United States are taking part in the exercises, which occur every year in Thailand. © Sukree Sukplang (Reuters)
Thank you, but I’ll stick with Bacardi and Coke for now.
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“I was a severely conservative governor.”
– Mitt Romney responding to criticism of his health care plan while governor of the severely blue state of Massachusetts
You can always grab people’s attention by using the word “severe” in a sentence. It shows you really, really, really mean it!
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Former tribal chairwoman Bonita Cleveland is a leader in the Quileute Tribe. | Tony Overman/The Olympian/MCT
Congress has signed off on a plan that will transfer 785 acres of federal parkland along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Washington state to the tiny Quileute Indian tribe, a move aimed at protecting the tribe’s safety in case a tsunami strikes.
The tribe is perhaps best known for its role in Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” novels, which resulted in subsequent films. According to the tribe’s legend, a wandering transformer changed the Quileutes from wolves. The story inspired Meyer’s writings and one of her characters, Jacob Black, and draws many “Twilight” fans to visit the reservation.
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Damage from the May 22 Joplin tornado
An unprecedented number of tornadoes, fires, storms, hurricanes and floods contributed to a record 14 weather and climate disasters in 2011, making it a year with the most number of natural calamities exceeding $1 billion: 14. The previous record had been 9 in 2008. The costliest year on record is 2005, which incurred $160 billion. Most of that was due to Hurricane Katrina with $143.9 billion. Actual dollar estimates of some 2011 disasters are still being tabulated, so the numbers could change. But so far, total damage estimates put the figure at $55 billion. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, half of the year’s billion-dollar events were tornadoes; 6 of those at the EF5 level, the highest on the Enhanced Fujita scale. The tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22, for example, cost $2.8 billion and killed 161 people. It was the deadliest single tornado strike in the U.S. since modern record-keeping began. But, that was just 1 of more than 850 confirmed tornadoes in 2011 with a total cost of $28.7 billion and 551 fatalities.
Texas, Arizona and New México saw the worst wildfires in 2011, with 3 million+; 500,000 and 150,000 acres burned, respectively. The year ended with 84% of the Southern plains in some stage of drought.
The U.S. escaped the wrath of several tropical storms and hurricanes (usually the deadliest and most expensive disasters) that formed in the Atlantic. But, Hurricane Irene pounded the Northeast with heavy rains; while Tropical Storm Lee did the same to the Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle.
Last year may have just been a fluke from a climatological standpoint, so scientists can’t be certain if this is a new trend. Instruments used to track weather systems have become more refined in recent years. Regardless, it’s still fascinating – and frightening – not knowing what to expect in years to come.
Damage from Hurricane Irene on Route 100 in Killington, VT.
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