Please Put That Pink Can of Soup Down and Put Your Bra Back On

What a fucking life this black bear has huh? Probably wakes up whenever he wants to, probably does the 3 S’s, minus the shaving part. Downs some deer or fish or whatever black bears eat? Humans? Then goes out and plays tetherball for the next 3 hours like a boss. I would kill to have that life.

Also how about his tethering skills? I’ll be completely honest and say that 10/10 ties this bear would absolutely crush me if we played against each other and by crush, I mean eat me. I’d go as far and say this bear is an Olympian. Yup Olympian, that’s right. His hand-eye coordination and overall balance is on point and that’s what makes a good Olympian tetherball’er.

-Gonzo

The research I undertook for “The Watch: The Secret War for the Soul of Germany” was designed to flesh out a fictional approach to the many questions about the occult influences at work in the decades of German history prior to World War II. The work led me into many dark corners, not places I would have chosen to go, not places I would have chosen to linger. One of the questions I sought to explore was the idea that hidden deep behind the politics of the NDSAP was a formalized magical ‘master plan’ designed to empower the Nazi regime.

This was proposed in the 1960s by authors Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier (The Morning of the Magicians, Destiny Books). Further research over the years led to the origins of occult thinking in Germany from the 19th into the early 20th century. Until the advent of the Internet…

Recently, the word “macaroni” was brought to my attention.  I don’t mean macaroni the pasta, I mean macaroni the insult.  In eighteenth century England, it was used to describe men who care excessively about their appearance.  (Synonyms: dandy and fop.)

When I heard this definition of macaroni, I immediately thought: Ah, so THAT’S what they’re talking about in Yankee Doodle.

I’ve heard Yankee Doodle countless times, sang it, played the hand game, but never really thought about the lyrics.  “Stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni” seems pretty nonsensical.

Pure style. (Yes this image contains American Indians fleeing in fear and I don’t know why.)

So when I knew what was meant by macaroni in the song, I was still confused.  As Americans, why would we happily sing a song that makes fun of us?  After all, Yankee Doodle thinks putting a feather in his hat…

When you think of the “center” in American politics, whom do you think of? Well, if you’re as old as I am, you probably think of President Dwight David Eisenhower, familiarly known by his nickname of “Ike,” who held that office from 1953 to 1961. There was a man so politically moderate that both parties tried to draft him to run for President.

So it’s startling to read his January 31, 1955 message to Congress on health care. In that message, Eisenhower stated his belief that the health of Americans was a proper political concern, because without healthy Americans the nation could not be strong. But he worried that we were not doing enough, that millions of Americans could not afford medical care and were not able to purchase affordable health insurance. And he noted that our facilities were often obsolete and that we lacked sufficient health care personnel to…

Salon

1. Justice Antonin Scalia: “The 14th Amendment protects all races, not only the blacks.”

No friend of affirmative action, voting rights protections, or anything he deems “racial entitlements,” the high court’s least inhibited conservative was at it again this week during oral arguments in a case in which advocates for minorities are challenging Michigan’s voter-approved ban on affirmative action in college admissions. The case reached the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court held the ban violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee, in that it prevents minorities from lobbying for racial preferences, when other groups can lobby for their favored programs, Huffpo explained.

A lawyer challenging the ban argued that the original goal of the 14th Amendment was to protect minority rights against a white majority.

Scalia begged to differ. “My goodness,” he said. “I thought we’ve held that the 14th Amendment protects all races. I mean, that…