tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179679122024-03-13T19:32:11.306-07:00the birdhaus---posts from the aviary<br>
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<br>A forum for posts that are of a musical, artistic, political, or personal nature. Some may be rants, some may be reviews, some may be ramblings of my disjointed mind. And I have two (formerly five) cockatiels, and a conure, hence the name "birdhaus". R.I.P. Boomer, Sunny Lou and Woody Jean.Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.comBlogger1581125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-84712196663900946742017-02-13T22:13:00.001-08:002017-02-13T22:16:15.762-08:00Back from the shadows again . . . .It has been a long dry spell for the birdhaus---I have felt very unmotivated to write for some time. The intellectual atmosphere in our country has been bleak, to say the least. Now we face life with a President who has no empathy or compassion (those are for LOSERS), and I feel compelled to try again to express my feelings and thoughts in what appears to be a time with the potential to be a new Dark Ages. Well, I hope not, but what else can one think as we see reality given a disrespect usually reserved for untruths?<br />
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President Donald J. Trump (God, the saying of it sticks in my craw), whose biggest qualification for being our leader is being awful at playing a terrible boss on reality (or UN-reality) television, is now the erstwhile head of our country. I can't call him the "Leader of the Free World", because the world already feels a lot least free than it was scant weeks ago.<br />
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Are we surprised that he is doing his best to implement the restrictive and fear-based policies he promised to put in place? Are we shocked that a man supremely unqualified to be the Commander-In-Chief is nominating idiots for positions in his administration who are supremely unqualified and downright corrupt? Are we disappointed that this con artist who has a record in the business world of failure and untrustworthiness is now doing exactly the opposite of his many campaign promises? Is it strange that a man of no intellectual curiosity is not interested in scientific information about our world?<br />
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It seems very predictable to me. We shall see how this plays out, but I'm so sick of President Pussy Grabber's face on my TV and computer screens that I almost find Steve Bannon a refreshing change of pace. ALMOST---but these guys are the evil bookends of the cascading avalanche of the twilight of America. They look as ugly as they sound.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Credit: </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrumpShutUp/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf">Donald Trump SHUT UP</a></td></tr>
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Yeah, I'm back from the shadows again, ready to resist and fight for the light.</div>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-84667157619164047092016-07-28T09:26:00.000-07:002016-07-28T09:29:44.977-07:00The new American business model<div class="tr_bq">
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(Via <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/photographer-sues-getty-images-for-selling-photos-she-donated-to-public/">arstechnica</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "opensans"; font-size: 15px;">A well-known American photographer </span><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2999596-Gov-Uscourts-Nysd-460787-1-0.html" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; font-family: opensans; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">has now sued Getty Images</a><span style="font-family: "opensans"; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "opensans"; font-size: 15px;">and other related companies—she claims they have been wrongly been selling copyright license for over 18,000 of her photos that she had already donated to the public for free, via the Library of Congress.</span>The photographer, Carol Highsmith, is widely considered to be a modern-day successor to her photographic idols, Frances Benjamin Johnston and Dorothea Lange, who were famous for capturing images of American life in the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively.<br />
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Inspired by the fact that Johnston donated her life’s work to the Library of Congress for public use in the 1930s, <a href="https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/highsm/" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; -webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">Highsmith wanted to follow suit</a> and began donating her work "to the public, including copyrights throughout the world," <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2999595-Gov-Uscourts-Nysd-460787-1-2.html" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; -webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">as early as 1988</a>.<br />
According to the lawsuit, Highsmith's gift continues “to the present” as she continues to take new photographs.<br />
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According to the suit, Getty and its affiliates have not only sold unauthorized licenses of Highsmith’s photos, but they have sent threatening letters to people that they believe have infringed the copyright. </blockquote>
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One of those recipients was Highsmith’s own non-profit group, the <a href="http://www.thisisamericafoundation.org/" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; -webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">This is America! Foundation</a>. The copyright enforcement entity, <a href="http://www.lcs.global/" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; -webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">License Compliance Services</a>, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2999596-Gov-Uscourts-Nysd-460787-1-0.html#document/p19/a310713" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; -webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">demanded $120 in payment</a>. LCS is believed to be connected to Getty Images, which has developed a <a href="http://artlawjournal.com/respond-getty-images-demand-letter/" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; -webkit-transition: all 0.17s; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ff4e00; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.17s;">reputation</a> for aggressively pursuing claimed license fees over alleged afoul publication.</blockquote>
So this is how it works in our "Free Market" system. Basically, it's not wrong to rip people of as long as no one catches you. This is the same shit the "patent trolls" try to pull. They create nothing and then charge people for it.<br />
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I hope Getty gets destroyed by this. It couldn't happen to a nicer thief!Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-64664927838563830842016-06-11T21:51:00.001-07:002016-06-11T21:52:31.090-07:00The creepiest thing I've seen in quite some time . . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Oubb8QnxLVA/V1zpwPCbV6I/AAAAAAAAGP8/cSLBdHA3NlE3tq6qrCarNwWc-Xq9Qf2zgCLcB/s1600/sdqwfvfbz59qt3nq716b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Oubb8QnxLVA/V1zpwPCbV6I/AAAAAAAAGP8/cSLBdHA3NlE3tq6qrCarNwWc-Xq9Qf2zgCLcB/s640/sdqwfvfbz59qt3nq716b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">This picture made me throw up in my mouth a little. This is really what is meant by "defacing the flag." Ugh!</span></div>
<br />Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-27902765605093259462016-06-06T16:06:00.001-07:002016-06-06T16:06:17.380-07:00Quote for the Day (Get Used to It Division)<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RVaz9EiKFao/V1YBR37h8TI/AAAAAAAAGPs/F6AAzQAEWe8yei05fkS6Utqa2QGp2W7wACLcB/s1600/muhammad-ali-the-greatest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #444444; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RVaz9EiKFao/V1YBR37h8TI/AAAAAAAAGPs/F6AAzQAEWe8yei05fkS6Utqa2QGp2W7wACLcB/s400/muhammad-ali-the-greatest.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #e06666;">“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky, my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.” - Muhammad Ali</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666;">Rest in peace, Muhammad.</span></div>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-22253657794472487612016-05-12T23:47:00.002-07:002016-05-14T00:12:08.340-07:00Distracted by nature's beauty . . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When the world seems to be going bat shit loco and the political bullshit gets too deep, a walk around the backyard with my camera always seems to flush the crap out: </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GbT92oIuPDI/VzVzFOyajeI/AAAAAAAAGNU/TYFmRQVdgUYNv_VXsyI3KocEutOvS58tQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GbT92oIuPDI/VzVzFOyajeI/AAAAAAAAGNU/TYFmRQVdgUYNv_VXsyI3KocEutOvS58tQCLcB/s400/IMG_1896.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some strawberries are coming this summer!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweetpeas looking for a net to latch onto . . . .</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bees are active this year, though the hive we had in an old trash can on our property seems to have not survived the winter.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I worked at corralling this rose bush to keep the deer from decimating it . . .</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HcPgHkMUGpE/VzV0SrAN_dI/AAAAAAAAGO0/adX1705s0xgRAQmd89y6ztlQlvaYQbUQgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HcPgHkMUGpE/VzV0SrAN_dI/AAAAAAAAGO0/adX1705s0xgRAQmd89y6ztlQlvaYQbUQgCLcB/s400/IMG_1933.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">. . . and here's one of it's new blossoms.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our pond is full to capacity in contrast to last year's muddy bog.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aFs_EzJCyv0/VzV0gsdgSTI/AAAAAAAAGPA/9liwxmN82BwneQYq8yxDgbWETE7REQGnwCLcB/s1600/IMG_1935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aFs_EzJCyv0/VzV0gsdgSTI/AAAAAAAAGPA/9liwxmN82BwneQYq8yxDgbWETE7REQGnwCLcB/s400/IMG_1935.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The face of future blackberries.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9vJH9d3DC8/VzV0scWlxYI/AAAAAAAAGPU/EgFlVB-NJ0MAC3YuhDvl8t2k5srV6bGvwCLcB/s1600/IMG_1941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9vJH9d3DC8/VzV0scWlxYI/AAAAAAAAGPU/EgFlVB-NJ0MAC3YuhDvl8t2k5srV6bGvwCLcB/s400/IMG_1941.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The face of future blueberries.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-2117739103685627132016-05-12T08:51:00.001-07:002016-05-12T08:52:33.146-07:00Quote for the Day (Comic Relief Division)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FaPJXL2e5bs/VzSmVicBN6I/AAAAAAAAGNA/POX-6feUXwofokPhnw3JrtZ3qLqsHhiHgCLcB/s1600/lily-tomlin-xlarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FaPJXL2e5bs/VzSmVicBN6I/AAAAAAAAGNA/POX-6feUXwofokPhnw3JrtZ3qLqsHhiHgCLcB/s640/lily-tomlin-xlarge.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The best mind-altering drug is truth. -</span></strong><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Lilly Tomlin</span></strong></h2>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-30355027485991794562016-04-21T21:46:00.000-07:002016-04-21T21:46:04.393-07:00Sign of the times<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H7JEtpdBNIU" width="480"></iframe><br />
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Prince Nelson Rogers; R. I. P.Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-47660265554917132782016-04-21T14:04:00.001-07:002016-04-21T14:04:15.175-07:00Quote for the day (Secular Royalty Division)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aazj0juB_JU/Vxk_oth9ubI/AAAAAAAAGMk/hhgKOYf4Ydk5BeVsyuu0go5CX9xKS4qCgCLcB/s1600/86103158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Aazj0juB_JU/Vxk_oth9ubI/AAAAAAAAGMk/hhgKOYf4Ydk5BeVsyuu0go5CX9xKS4qCgCLcB/s400/86103158.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">There are people who are unhappy with everything. - Prince</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The Prince is dead---long live the Prince . . . .</span>Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-82086246611025625832016-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:002016-04-08T06:00:13.757-07:00I spied a spider . . . <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am really semi-phobic about spiders, but for some reason I look them as subjects for my photos. This is a specimen of a common breed around our yard who loves to hang out on a patch of calla lilies.</div>
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"What're you looking' at?"</div>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-77654531921182410122016-04-07T17:41:00.000-07:002016-04-07T17:41:05.219-07:00Getting ready to grow sumpin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u9_LaDbXshw/Vwb7j1b2VzI/AAAAAAAAGL0/X2DOa3OvYTYa7br_GdSk-gjsNrNfOFB-w/s1600/IMG_1770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u9_LaDbXshw/Vwb7j1b2VzI/AAAAAAAAGL0/X2DOa3OvYTYa7br_GdSk-gjsNrNfOFB-w/s400/IMG_1770.jpg" width="266" /></a>The posts lately on my little piece of the blogosphere have been few and far between, but here's one that shows what happens when the beast come out of winter hibernation.</div>
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My wife and I constructed a new garden bed, using some scrap wood from our refurbished back deck. We are planning to expand our food growing this year, and this is the first stab at it. The black plastic is to slow the redwood and other roots from invading the bed, and the mesh underneath the box is to shut out the voles and gophers. We filled the bottom with some goat manure from one of our neighbors, then soil from a local nursery, then compost from our compost pile, and then more soil. My wife has already transferred scallions from a large pot into the new space, as you can see.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb52u163Evc/Vwb7fMiDRLI/AAAAAAAAGLw/n-0y2CgkNKc63qSLdMBWsOZ5nND90p41A/s1600/IMG_1771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mb52u163Evc/Vwb7fMiDRLI/AAAAAAAAGLw/n-0y2CgkNKc63qSLdMBWsOZ5nND90p41A/s400/IMG_1771.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
The endeavor took us most of the afternoon, but it is so satisfying to begin a project that will yield edible rewards. And my wife and I do make a pretty good team, if I do say so myself.<br />
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<br />Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-24868085205501371792016-03-22T09:43:00.000-07:002016-03-22T09:43:11.996-07:00Quote for the Day (Ahead of His Time Division)<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TfIjTtfJaS8/VvF1xXB9usI/AAAAAAAAGLM/k4ehIbe6FIUpXhrhLR6VKhZvFXNIMjNng/s1600/bal-mencken-young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TfIjTtfJaS8/VvF1xXB9usI/AAAAAAAAGLM/k4ehIbe6FIUpXhrhLR6VKhZvFXNIMjNng/s400/bal-mencken-young.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." - H. L. Mencken</span></span></h2>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-60777459819662787392016-02-10T11:01:00.000-08:002016-02-10T11:01:14.724-08:00Quote for the day (Stuff that still applies EVEN MORE Division)(Via <a href="https://twitter.com/BetteMidler">Bette Midler</a>)<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y4JCadj-0Mc/VruIG0SnXGI/AAAAAAAAGKM/TPgjAaWWMIY/s1600/CX5WDMdWYAAZzkw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y4JCadj-0Mc/VruIG0SnXGI/AAAAAAAAGKM/TPgjAaWWMIY/s400/CX5WDMdWYAAZzkw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-16025525829143454562016-01-11T11:08:00.000-08:002016-01-11T11:08:13.501-08:00We could be heroes, just for one day . . . . .David Bowie was something both of and beyond pop culture. Boundaries seemed to mean nothing to him. R.I.P. to the Thin White Duke.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h9hHnAMdfK8/VpP9MWDTlLI/AAAAAAAAGJo/cMv4xPIN3mY/s1600/david-bowie-success-anxiety.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h9hHnAMdfK8/VpP9MWDTlLI/AAAAAAAAGJo/cMv4xPIN3mY/s400/david-bowie-success-anxiety.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-39085074727628323752015-12-30T07:26:00.000-08:002015-12-31T10:50:48.270-08:00Open carry for me, but not for thee<span style="background-color: blue;"><span></span></span>The decision not to indict the Officer who shot down a 12-year-old in Ohio is a horrible way to wrap up 2015. Charles Pierce (via <a href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a40818/tamir-rice-shooting-open-carry/">Esquire</a>)says what needs saying:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Is there any real point in being angry any more? Is thre any real point even to be surprised? There certainly is no point in emphasizing the damn irony that Ohio is an "open carry" state so, even if the cops assumed Rice was 18, and they also assumed his gun was real, they had no cause even to stop him, let alone open fire. Listen to the spiel that Wayne LaPierre unspools every time he's in a room with more than four people listening: arm yourselves, because the world is a hellscape of violent Others who are coming for you and your children. At its heart, </span><a class="body-el-link standard-body-el-link" href="http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a38867/open-carry-texas/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s ease-in-out; box-sizing: inherit; color: #00a3da; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.3s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">open carry</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> is about open season on the people who scare you. It's certainly not about an absolute Second Amendment right that applies to black people as well as white. Open carry is about You and the Others, and so is the training of our modern, militarized police forces. If only Tamir Rice had not been born with that congenital ability to become huge and threatening the way he did in the mind of Timothy Loehmann. If only…</span></blockquote>
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These guys are okay to carry anything, but a child who is darker can't have a toy gun without being shot down like a dog.</h3>
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Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-41285223800103604742015-12-29T23:18:00.000-08:002015-12-29T23:20:01.866-08:00Quote for the Day (Recently Deceased Rocker Division)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7dABSA_rZ0k/VoOEs6z3ynI/AAAAAAAAGJA/AwCRBZniq9s/s1600/Ian-Fraser-Lemmy-Kilmister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7dABSA_rZ0k/VoOEs6z3ynI/AAAAAAAAGJA/AwCRBZniq9s/s400/Ian-Fraser-Lemmy-Kilmister.jpg" width="325" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: cyan; color: blue;">Death is an inevitability, isn't it? You become more aware of that when you get to my age. I don't worry about it. I'm ready for it. When I go, I want to go doing what I do best. If I died tomorrow, I couldn't complain. It's been good. - Lemmy Kilmister</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: cyan; color: #cc0000;">R. I. P. Lemmy. </span>Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-64190192546811009002015-12-17T23:13:00.000-08:002015-12-17T23:13:52.589-08:00Stevie Ray blows me away!!!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OEJh2FFUUoU" width="459"></iframe>Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-8053555392900026742015-12-16T22:54:00.000-08:002015-12-16T22:54:58.957-08:00Close Encounter of the Deer Kind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Usually the deer around here don't linger too close to our house, so imagine my surprise when I entered our bedroom and found this one outside the bedroom's sliding glass doors</div>
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It seemed to want to avoid acknowledging me . . . .</div>
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. . . until I made a bit of noise . . .</div>
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. . . then it decided to mosey off.</div>
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The deer are a major source of poop which I scoop up with a shovel and put in our compost. It seems to decompose quicker than the horse or goat shit we have used. I don't know if that is merely anecdotal, or a scientific fact.</div>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-27954804359876266252015-11-30T22:34:00.002-08:002015-11-30T22:35:57.633-08:00If the world made sense, this would happen:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://macsarcule.tumblr.com/post/130654214693">Via benediction</a></div>
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It is truly crazy to incite violence against abortion providers with lies about "baby parts", and then to become self-righteously offended when the connection between your words and someone's violent actions are pointed out. The right-wingnuts own the Planned Parenthood murders. They have cried fire in a crowded theater until some bastard started a blaze, and then they act surprised? Please . . . . .</div>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-91882224557261650982015-11-26T09:01:00.000-08:002015-11-26T09:21:02.809-08:00Happy Day of Stuffing (Your Face)<a href="http://www.dailyfunnies.us/">(VIA Daily Funnies)</a><br />
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<br />Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-26092974289158833862015-10-04T16:31:00.002-07:002015-10-06T12:13:28.983-07:00The 2nd Amendment is More Powerful Than the 7th Commandment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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People's right to bear arms always seems to be more important than people's right to expect not to be killed. Or that their kids not get killed in school. Andy Borowitz sums it up, as usual.
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WASHINGTON (<a data-smart-underline-link-always="" data-smart-underline-link-background-position="67" data-smart-underline-link-color="rgb(0, 0, 0)" href="http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report" style="-webkit-background-size: 0.05em 1px, 0.05em 1px, 1px; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(255, 255, 255), rgb(255, 255, 255)), linear-gradient(rgb(255, 255, 255), rgb(255, 255, 255)), linear-gradient(rgb(0, 0, 0), rgb(0, 0, 0)); background-position: 0% 67%, 100% 67%, 0% 67%; background-size: 0.05em 1px, 0.05em 1px, 1px; border: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none !important; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.03em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px -0.03em, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.06em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.09em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.12em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) 0.15em 0px, rgb(255, 255, 255) -0.15em 0px; text-transform: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">The Borowitz Report</a>) – Americans who are opposed to being shot, a constituency that has historically failed to find representation in Washington, are making a new effort to make its controversial ideas heard in the nation’s capital.</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“When you bring up the idea of not wanting to be shot with members of Congress, there’s always been pushback,” Carol Foyler, founder of the lobbying group Americans Opposed to Being Shot, said. “Their reaction has been, basically, ‘Not being shot: who’s going to support something like that?’”</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Foyler, however, believes that the right to not be shot, much like women’s right to vote, the right to same-sex marriage, and other rights that were deemed controversial in their day, may be an idea whose time has finally come.</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“For years, we’ve been talking about the right to not be shot and people have been looking at us like we’re out of our minds,” she said. “But recent polls show that a vast majority of Americans, in fact, do not want to be shot.”</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While Foyler and other anti-being-shot activists believe that Washington may finally be receptive to their radical ideas, Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice-president of the National Rifle Association, is doubtful. “People who don’t want to be shot are a very narrow interest group,” he said.</span></span></blockquote>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-64226712093217688922015-08-02T05:00:00.000-07:002015-08-02T05:00:06.456-07:00Repurposing an old trash can into a hive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A few days ago I noticed some activity around the handle of an old trash can we have in our yard. We use it for small items we will eventually take to the dump, but some bees had another idea:</div>
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The hole in the handle is big enough for them to get in, and apparently them are now calling this can home. We have a neighbor who keeps bees, and my theory is that these are refugees from her hive. Whatever the case, the are doing their thing now in our can. </div>
Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-19609418130118896172015-08-01T15:05:00.000-07:002015-08-01T15:05:58.804-07:00Quote for the Day (Real Pro-Life Division)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">"I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">pro-life is."</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B.</span></span>Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-18785776302701578222015-07-26T09:45:00.001-07:002015-07-26T09:47:09.203-07:00Good Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://kpdailyfunnies.blogspot.com/2015/07/far-left-side-july-26-2015.html?spref=bl">Keystone Progress Daily Funnies .: Far Left Side, July 26, 2015</a>Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-71656868124721622512015-07-23T08:22:00.000-07:002015-07-23T08:23:46.565-07:00Quote for the Day (Rocker Speaking Truth to Power Division)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1VZaHTiSYdI/VbEGFL4qM2I/AAAAAAAAGDI/-NqjBejSa8g/s1600/07892193-photo-neil-young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1VZaHTiSYdI/VbEGFL4qM2I/AAAAAAAAGDI/-NqjBejSa8g/s400/07892193-photo-neil-young.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #3d85c6;"><span style="font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 32px;">. . . [C]orporations don’t have children. They don’t have feelings or soul. </span><span style="font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 32px;">They don’t depend on uncontaminated water, clean air, or healthy food to survive. They are beholden to one thing — the bottom line. I choose to speak truth to this economic power. - Neil Young (via Jim Hightower on <a href="http://www.alternet.org/culture/neil-young-skewers-monsanto-his-latest-album?akid=13322.93909.HWXbhZ&rd=1&src=newsletter1039757&t=19">Alternet</a>)</span></span>Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17967912.post-31581856321195325512015-07-19T10:32:00.001-07:002015-07-19T10:32:08.063-07:00Trump's the rump of the GOP field Ah, Donald Trump consistently shows what a hypocritical dumb-ass he is (via <a href="http://www.alternet.org/unhinged-trump-rips-mccaini-only-people-who-werent-captured">Alternet</a>):<br />
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The Donald's going to have a hard time doubling down on this one. </blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317.html" style="color: #f1602c; text-decoration: none;">Politico is reporting</a> that Trump, while speaking at a Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa Saturday, told the crowd, "[Sen John McCain] was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured." The two men had been engaged in a media war over the past few days. </blockquote>
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Trump's slight was reportedly met with a scattering of boos from the crowd. </blockquote>
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McCain was held captive in a North Vietnamese prison camp for five-and-a-half years, while Trump received four military deferments between 1964 to 1968.</blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ya big baby!"</td></tr>
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I have no trouble that Trump avoided Viet Nam---I won the draft lottery myself, and avoided that awful and illegal conflict, but for someone who utilized his wealth and connections to stay out of the fight to then critcise someone who did wind up in the fray (many of whom had no choice in the matter because they weren't as fortunate as The Donald) is inexcusable.
Trump never seems to have any trouble finding a lower pit to bark his bilious statements from. He is a worthless waste of the air he breathes, and that he is taken seriously says more about the quality of our corporate-loving media and the depths the GOP has sunk to that it does about his sorry ass.<br />
<br />Ken Krausshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02491594637864389125noreply@blogger.com0