Fish for Friday

Edited by Morris Dean

[Anonymous selections from recent correspondence]

In December, more than 500 people from across Colorado and surrounding states packed into a small theatre in Salida, Colo., to deliver a message to President Obama – keep our spectacular Browns Canyon forever wild for bobcats, bighorn sheep and elk by making it a national monument.
    Now it's your turn. Bobcats need your voice today.
    Help President Obama say YES to Browns Canyon National Monument. Add your name to our petition right now calling for permanent protection for this natural treasure and it’s spectacular wildlife habitat.

The U.S. Senate believes the scientists are wrong. Human activity isn’t causing global warming.
    Despite overwhelming evidence, the U.S. Senate refused to pass a resolution simply reaffirming the basic science—that global warming is real and caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
    Among those voting against the science? The new chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, who calls global warming "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”2
    Also voting against science were the two new chairmen of the subcommittees that oversee the agencies responsible for monitoring climate change.3
    This is what we’re up against – a rabid group of science deniers who are now in charge of U.S. science policy.

Charles Darwin's 206th birthday was yesterday. Enjoy this musical video meditation on his life and achievement. [14:20]


They are true-blue Libertarians. While there are a lot more beliefs I share with them than I do with Republicans, their core belief that government has no place in our lives is insane. They believe that government should only fight wars and negotiate trade agreements with other countries, that the market place will take care of everybody's needs, and that there should be no laws that stop people from doing whatever they want as long as it hurts no one but themselves. They believe all social programs are bad.
    The Libertarians pull a lot of young people to their side with their support for drugs, prostitution, gun rights, and any number of other things that are controlled by the government. The youth always want freedom even though they have no idea what it means. I remember reading Animal Farm for the first time – such a small book, with such a strong message. I believe it was then I realized it was not our government that was bad, it was the people we put in charge. The sad thing now is, I believe it's going to get a lot worse.

Last night I attended a memorial on the UNC campus a few miles from my home, for the three students tragically murdered on Tuesday ["Thousands Gather at Vigil for Three Slain in Chapel Hill" (Phil Helsel, NBC News)].
    It was a moving ceremony that revealed just how remarkably loving, beloved, mature, and self-aware these three young people were. I am heart-broken that such a tragedy can occur in my home town, a mile from where my son lives, and heart-broken that we live in a time where such hatred can come about solely due to the superficial distinctions of belief and ethnicity that mask our common humanity.
   My prayer is that people clearly see the senseless murder of these young Syrian-Americans as the mirror image of last week's senseless murder in Syria of a young American aid worker by ISIS. I pray that it will begin to dawn on us all how little our divisions matter in the light of our common humanity, and our shared desire to live out our love and our dreams in this often-difficult world. May the brief lives of Deah, Yusor, and Razan inspire us all.

Excerpt from NBC story:

More than 2,000 people attended a vigil at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Wednesday to mourn a dentistry student, his wife, and her 19-year-old sister, who authorities said were fatally shot by a neighbor motivated by an ongoing dispute over parking spaces [emphasis ours].
    But the stories and remembrances were told amid a cloud of doubt from the families of those slain, who believe all three may have been killed because they are Muslim. Authorities have said they have no evidence that the killings were motivated by any bias other than rage [emphasis ours].

This toilet paper thing isn't over yet. In Hong Kong, "China seizes 8,000 rolls of toilet paper printed with image of Hong Kong chief" [AP in Beijing, The Guardian]. Excerpt:

An official of the Hong Kong Democratic party says Chinese authorities have seized about 8,000 rolls of toilet paper printed with the image of the territory’s pro-Beijing chief executive, Leung Chun-ying.
    Lo Kin-hei, a vice-chairman of the liberal party, said on Saturday that police seized the toilet paper and another 20,000 packages of tissue paper from a factory in the Chinese city of Shenzhen where a friend of the party placed the order to obscure the party as the true buyer.

    And after my wife told me this morning that she was going to the bathroom so would I please let her have a section of the newspaper, and she saw my alarmed reaction, she added, "I'm going to read it, not use it to wipe."

An "ultimate take-off" [of Downton Abbey]:


Having a bad day:

Teachers can always be learning also:

The first city to reach a population of one million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent.

The morning after the Christmas party at the zoo:

​The Crystal Bridges pics are incredible!! I really enjoyed the pics of the artwork you took!! My favorite is ​the ocean wave.

William Trost Richards​'s painting​, "Along the Shore", 1903, ​oil on canvas

Nanosecond photo:

Thanks for the offer of your guest room for the reunion. I may take you up on it.
    I am intrigued by the Wild Women's Club's Singles Table. Who's in the club? And how can I join?

After a meeting several days ago, I couldn't find my keys. I quickly gave myself a personal "TSA Pat Down." They weren't in my pockets.
    Suddenly I realized I must have left them in the car. Frantically, I headed for the parking lot. My husband has scolded me many times for leaving my keys in the ignition. He's afraid the car will be stolen.
   As I looked around the parking lot, I realized he was right. The parking lot was empty. I immediately called the police, gave them my location, and confessed that I had left my keys in the ignition.
    Then I made the most difficult call of all, to my husband: "I left my keys in the car and it's been stolen."
    There was a moment of silence. I thought the call had been disconnected, but then I heard his voice, "Are you kidding me?" he barked, "I dropped you off!"
    Now it was my turn to be silent. Embarrassed, I said, "Well, come and get me."
    "I will," he said, "as soon as I convince this cop that I didn't steal your damn car!"
   Welcome to the golden years.

Millions of fans were devastated to learn that Jon Stewart is retiring after anchoring The Daily Show for 16 years. We were big fans of Jon here at Daily Kos, so we wanted to commemorate his incredible run with some of our favorite Jon monologues:

• Must-see: Hannity attacks Jon Stewart. Stewart responds with epic smackdown
• Jon Stewart DESTROYS what's left of Peggy Noonan's credibility
• Sign the petition: Jon Stewart should replace Brian Williams at NBC Nightly News
• Jon Stewart exposes GOP lies about Reagan's response to downed airliner
• Jon Stewart explains Fox "News"
• Jon Stewart shows how INSANE the Tea Party has become
• MUST-SEE: Jon Stewart TEARS apart GOP whining about Obama being divisive, exposes REAL GOP id
• Jon Stewart has 3 history professors rip apart Fox's Andrew Napolitano's slavery revisionism
• MUST-SEE: Jon Stewart's epic takedown of Ted Cruz's non-filibuster!
• Jon Stewart makes mistake; points out Fox News does it all the time
• Jon Stewart goes after Iraq War cheerleaders
• Jon Stewart's brilliant takedown of right-wing's hypocritical Benghazi "outrage"
• Jon Stewart blasts Republicans over gun hypocrisy and the Constitution
• Jon Stewart makes fun of the shallow GOP responses to State of the Union Address
• Jon Stewart exposes fake bluster behind impeachment push (and why there will not be one)

"They’ll Just Hate to See Jon Stewart Go (So They Say)." [Jeremy W. Peters, NY Times] Excerpt:

Like much of his audience, Mr. Stewart’s subjects seem to view him not as a comedian but as a legitimate newsman — without the usual qualifiers like “faux” or “entertainment.”
    Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said that when he wanted to promote the Democrats’ plan to offer lower-cost student loans last summer, there was one television show he wanted to do.
    “It’s top two or three in terms of influence on public opinion — and with young people, he’s probably No. 1,” Mr. Schumer said....
    Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, who was a guest when he ran the Democratic National Committee, identified another aspect of “The Daily Show” that politicians appreciate: its subtle seriousness.
    Even as he cracked jokes, Mr. Kaine said, “ultimately he was making a serious point. And sometimes it’s easier for people to grab serious points if it’s wrapped in a little bit of humor.” Mr. Kaine also said that politicians didn’t mind, too much, the egos deflated along the way. “He punctured our tendencies to take ourselves too seriously.”

Albert Einstein:

• Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.
• You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat.
• One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year.

Jaggedy road. Trollstigen, Rauma, Norway:

    Trollstigen (English: Trolls’ Ladder) is a serpentine mountain road in Rauma, Norway, part of Norwegian National Road 63 connecting Åndalsnes in Rauma and Valldal in Norddal. It is a popular tourist attraction due to its steep incline of 9% and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountain side. Trollstigen was opened on July 31, 1936, by King Haakon VII after 8 years of construction. During the top tourist season about 2,500 vehicles pass daily.
    The road is narrow with many sharp bends, and although several bends have been widened during the years 2005 to 2012, vehicles over 12.4 metres long are prohibited from driving the road. At the 700 metres plateau there is a car park and several viewing balconies overlooking the bends and the Stigfossen waterfall. Trollstigen is closed during autumn and winter. A normal opening season stretches from mid-May to October, but may sometimes be shorter or longer due to changes in the weather conditions.

10 cuts to make a wooden pair of pliers:

Be honest with yourself about everything. Be honest about what’s right, as well as what needs to be changed. Be honest about what you want to achieve and who you want to become. Be honest with every aspect of your life, always. Because you are the one person you can forever count on. Search your soul, for the truth, so that you truly know who you are. Once you do, you’ll have a better understanding of where you are now and how you got here, and you’ll be better equipped to identify where you want to go and how to get there. Read The Road Less Traveled[, by M. Scott Peck].

I found, years ago, if I set my phone to the max vibration, sat on it, then used a land line to call my cell phone, it was extremely erotic. Had to close my office door, in fact.

Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

Ship staterooms: Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named after states. To this day cabins on ships are called staterooms.

The Awkward Spoon: The goal here is not so much for intimacy, as it is the socially uncomfortable sharing of your physical space with someone. Bonus points if your arm falls asleep and you're too scared to move it.

Limerick of the week:

Ed says he tells people, It's fine to frown,
but it's good to grin. Frowns can knock you down,
    but a grin can pull you up,
    make you playful as a pup,
and leave you smiling silly like a clown.

Copyright © 2015 by Morris Dean