William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – It’ll blow your face off

Why blogging is better than spitting fire: My face almost never bursts into flames.

Census Bureau Returns Cash: Counting people isn’t as expensive as first anticipated.

Pentagon Cuts: Robert Gates wants some heavy cuts to the Pentagon budget. This could be war.

Alaska Crash: A plane goes down in Alaska, leaving 8 dead and friends worried that Ted Stevens was on the plane.

Damned Hippy Bloggers!: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the “Professional Left” won’t be happy until the Obama Administration institutes “Canadian healthcare” and “eliminated the Pentagon.” When asked, Gibbs can’t name anyone actually involved in the “Professional Left.”

People

Levi Johnston: The wacky neighbor of the Palin Show sitcom will be running for mayor of Wasilla in his new reality show. I don’t see the big deal. They’ve had worse candidates.

Dick Cheney: The Man Without a Pulse is now freely roaming the streets, hungrily devouring brains.

Blogs

Broadsheet: Jodie Fisher made soft-core porn more than a decade before accusing HP ex-boss Mark Hurd of sexual harassment. Let the slut-shaming begin.

Glenn Greenwald: Marriage and the role of the State.

NewsHoggers: Steven Slater says take this job and slide it.

Today’s Drum: 50 Cent joins the bone marrow donor list and is encouraging other African-Americans to follow in his steps.

Joy!

I went to an “Eco Resort” in Manaus a while back, and we got to see a sloth that had been taken in by a poor family that used him as a way to make money from tourists. They are almost too sweet and cute for their own good.

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – All Coked-Up Monkey Edition

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – August 6, 2010

Weekend Forecast: Partly cloudy with sporadic outbursts of Coked-up Stimulus Monkeys.

Wolfrum’s Word

Energy outages have created several work stoppages and have helped embolden an overall feeling of pre-weekend lethargy. Plus, the monkeys. Dear God, the monkeys.

News/Politics

Down with Prop. 8: A Judge rules Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. That’s the good news. The bad news – this is all far from over.

Elena Kagan Confirmed: After her confirmation by the Senate yesterday, Elena Kagan will be sworn in as the next Supreme Court Justice on Saturday.

People

Naomi Campbell: I’ve said all along that supermodels and war criminals go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Wycleaf Jean: This blog is not in the habit of endorsing candidates, and will not change that philosophy in regard to Wycleaf Jean running for President of Haiti. It’s interesting, though.

Blogs

Macleanes.ca: Did Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia give away the game on Prop. 8?

Crooks & Liars: Mike links to us and others.

Joe Klein: The Democrats are going to die. Come back next week when I tell you how they can save themselves by being more Republican.

Doctor Cleveland: Undermining Traditional Marriage (Amen!)

Bro Bible: Finally, everything you need to know about South Park.

And Remember

Coked-up Stimulus Monkeys are funny.

–WKW

Louie Psihoyos: From “The Cove” to the Gulf and beyond

Director and photographer Louie Psihoyos captures images from the Gulf of Mexico.
(image, Gina Papabeis, OPS)

After the unprecedented success of his first film, the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove,” director and photographer Louie Psihoyos has turned his attention from the the wholesale slaughter of Dolphins in Taiji, Japan to the plight of humanity. Of course, that’s been his focus all along.

“The path that we’re on is so destructive for the future and humanity,” said Psihoyos in a telephone interview. “It’s like a perfect storm going on in the ocean right now.”

[Read more]

Thank you, Nicolau

Every visit to my In-Law’s home began with a spectacular greeting from their beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Nicolau. His excitement at seeing my wife and I always set the stage for a wonderful visit.

Nicolau passed away recently, leaving a hole in my In-Law’s home far larger than his tiny, 7-pound body. But the little dog gave and accepted more love than many humans will in a lifetime. He was full of energy and personality. He is and will continue to be missed by our entire family.

Thank you for all that you gave us, Nica. Wherever you are, I’m sure you’re chasing little cheeseburgers and not giving female dogs (or flirty stuffed rhinos) a moment of rest.

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – July 19, 2010

Breaking News, American Style. Via Prosebeforehos.

News/Politics

Gulf Oil Disaster: The cap remains on British Petroleum’s oil geyser, but an apparent leak and “undetermined anomalies” mean the happy ending is still a long way off.

U.S. Intelligence: It’s a complete mess, according to the Washington Post.

Right-Wing Terrorism?: You’ll never hear the word “terrorism” mentioned by the media on this one, but it looks like the Oakland CHP saved a lot of lives.

Refudiate This: Sarah Palin demands that “peace-loving” Muslims “refudiate” plans for building a Mosque near Ground Zero.

Mark Williams Out: The Tea Party has kicked out race-baiter Mark Williams. That should take care of their whole racism problem.

HIV and Poverty: A new study showcases the link between HIV/AIDS and poverty.

Odd News

Feminism Alive and Well in Czech Republic: This May, the Czech Republic voted in more female members of Parliament than ever before, and to celebrate that fact they have got together to create a sexy calendar to sell to the public.

Five-Second Rule: Five seconds or not, if you drop food on the floor, it should be trashed.

Bible Verse of the Day

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 53:1)

Blogs

Digby: A way to make Tim Geithner cry.

Science-Based Medicine: Peter Lipson rips apart the Huffington Post’s latest pseudoscientific “story.”

Emptywheel: Why Not Nominate God to Be Director of National Intelligence?

Say It Ain’t So Already: The Black Panther “Scandal” — a GOP Ploy to Bring Down Eric Holder and Barack Obama

Dog Fun

If you own a dog, here’s one reason why you should take care of it, and not leave a mischievous roommate handle things.

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – July 16, 2010

Satellite imagery of today’s 3.6 earthquake in Washington D.C.

News/Politics

Capping the Well: Yes, British Petroleum’s oil geyser is currently capped. But this is all far from over.

Finance Reform Passes: Obama gets his financial reform. But will voters care?

Reid and Angle: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opens up a seven-point lead over former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle in Nevada. If you’ve heard Angle, this is still WAY too close.

Middle (out)classed: A bunch of stats to help you see how the U.S. middle class has been getting wiped out.

Headline of the Day

“Buzz from kombucha health drink is probably the alcohol, say US inspectors”

Blogs

Left Brain, Right Brain: The latest in anti-vaxxing.

Bob Cesca: It’s quite possible that Tea Party leader Mark Williams has issues with race. Just saying it’s a possibility.

Jamison Foser: What exactly is the value of a publication that calls itself “Politico” if it is blind to such obvious realities about politics?

Inverse Candlelight: Just let it flow.

Bible Verse of the Day

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (Timothy 6:10)

Tweet of the Day

“All I’m saying is that it’s POSSIBLE that Gangs of Lesbian Black Panther Jihadist Monkeys will overthrow the U.S.”

Finally

It’s Friday, let’s all just be friends.

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – July 12, 2010

Spain celebrates it’s first World Cup triumph (AFP)

World Cup

Spain Takes First World Cup: In a game that featured two beautiful teams playing rough-and-tumble soccer, Andre Iniesta hit an overtime goal to give Spain it’s first World Cup title as it beat Netherlands 1-0, and concluded a successful World Cup in South Africa.

Nothing New for Iniesta: The Barcelona man is used to scoring timely goals.

Webb’s World: Yes, Howard Webb clearly missed what should have been a corner for Holland. But in such a tightly played game, only one player was shown a red card and the referee kept the game under control.

Paul the Octopus to Retire & Other Notes: Will Paul the Octopus be able to retire with a perfect record of prediction? Yeah, probably.

News

BP’s Big Cap: Right now, oil is free-flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, but with a better-fitting cap being placed on the geyser, British Petroleum hopes to get its oil disaster better contained.

Uganda Bombing: As the World Cup ends on a high note for South Africa, murderous suicide bombings in Uganda show there’s still plenty of chaos on the continent.

Sports

There’s Just One Diana: In women’s basketball, it’s Diana Taurasi and everyone else.

Tour de France: Lance Armstrong isn’t going to win, so feel free to ignore the rest of the tour if you wish.

Blogs

Oliver Willis: Why Didn’t Obama’s DOJ Go After The New Black Panther Party For Voter Intimidation?

Broadway Carl: Some Must-reads from a master linker.

Osborne Ink: Remember, the rich are just different.

Gary Weiss: How to Lie in Plain Sight, Overstock.com Edition.

Phydeaux Speaks: Ah, the difference a year makes.

Something Interesting

Oh black water, keeps on flowing (HT FreakOutNation)

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – July 8, 2010

Only one thing can stop Paul the Psychic Octopus’ reign of terror – yes, I speak of Mega-Shark.

News/Politics

Mama Grizzlies: Sarah Palin touts a “Mom Awakening.” In other news, we’re all going to die. Painfully. And deserve it.

Let the Courts Decide: Millions of gallons of oil free-spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening, perhaps, the entire planet. And we have to go to court to stop deep-sea drilling. See above note for predictions of horrible death.

More Death in Iraq: Seems like it’s pretty tough to run two (or more) concurrent wars.

Sports

LeBron James!: Will play basketball again soon. Somewhere. Of this you can be certain. But in other news.

Spain topples Germany: Spain just plain outplayed Germany to earn the 1-0 victory and move on to the World Cup Finals. A Carles Puyol header did the trick for the Spaniards who move to their first final. With neither team having won a World Cup title, and starts littering the pitch, the finale between Holland and Spain on Sunday has lots of promise.

NBA Socialism: The super-economically healthy NBA set its team salary cap at $58 million. Sounds like socialism to me.

Entertainment

OMG!: Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green’s Wedding Photo Revealed! (Always try to get something for everyone is my motto)

Blogs

Doctor Cleveland: How to lose a counterinsurgency, Part II.

Gawker: It’s official, Paul the Octopus is psychic.

Nukes of Hazard: Kingtson unloads on Romeny’s ignorance of nukes. A quote:

“Romney’s screed is political posturing at its worst, almost certainly designed to get a leg up in the early stages of the race to the bottom that is the battle for the Republican nomination for President in 2012. Much like Inhofe and DeMint’s ranting, Romney’s raving would actually be funny if it weren’t for the fact that our national security is at stake.”

Tweet of the Day

“(Bill) O’Reilly has a body language expert on and reminds me that I am now a “Licensed Tweet Language Expert.” Just $1 a character.

Something interesting

The Wind in Dog’s Hair

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 23, 2010

If you aren’t with us, you’re against us.

Wolfrum’s Word

While I hate to put extra pressure on the U.S. National Soccer Game before their must-win game against Algeria, hopefully they are aware of one important thing – a win means Jesus is better than Mohammad, pure and simple.

News

McChrystal’s Mess: Should Pres. Barack Obama let Gen. Stanley McChrystal resign? Some say yes, some say no. Here’s the Rolling Stone article that started this latest mess.

Taking Care of His Own: Judge Martin Feldman overturned Obama’s Gulf drilling moratorium. Also, Judge Martin Feldman has extensive investments in the energy industry. Well, at least he didn’t invest in Halliburto … oh, wait, he did.

Screw the Whales: It’s official, the entire “Save the Whales” movement is now in the hands of whale hunters.

A Mexican-Free Nebraska: The town of Fremont, Neb., has made it illegal to be an illegal immigrant. In other news, four Mexican families announce they are moving from Fremont to Omaha.

Hurricanes and Oil Spills: What if a hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico? Don’t worry, British Petroleum doesn’t really have a plan for that, either.

Floods Ravage Northeast Brazil: Dozens are dead and almost 1,000 people are missing after heavy rains triggered flooding in Brazil’s northeast. Video below.

Also: Nikki Haley survives a S.C. runoff, Obama warns health insurance companies to not gouge its customers.

Sports

USA! USA! USA!: A win for the U.S. and they advance to the knockout round of the World Cup. No pressure guys, but we could all REALLY use another 1980 Olympic Hockey Team performance right about now.

Wimbledon: This is solely for one Mr. McBride. Everyone else can feel free to move on to the next entry.

Next Entry: Mighty France arrived in South Africa on First Class. They leave in economy. They should just be happy they weren’t forced to take a bus home.

Odd News

Seinfeld v. Gaga: I think we all realized that this planet wasn’t big enough to hold a Jerry Seinfeld AND a Lady Gaga.

I Masturbate, Therefore I Am: Why are humans special? Because we engage in self-love like no other species. Also, our socks are way more disgusting.

Blogs

Alan Colmes’ Liberaland: Sharon Angle thinks the unemployed are spoiled. But don’t ask her to bring any jobs to Nevada.

Joe.My.God.: The anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) has finally passed in the New York Senate after nine consecutive years of shooting the bill down.

Human Events: Liberals hate Sarah Palin because she’s beautiful. Just like we all hated Marilyn Monroe.

DagBlog: McChrystal’s failures.

Tweet of the Day

“I am a hardcore skeptical non-believer. Until it comes to sports. Then I’ll believe whatever it takes USA! USA! USA!”

–WKW

Oiled Glory

This is your America on Oil:

A researcher captured this image. A discarded flag (or one that has fallen from one of the many vessels in the area) rests on the ocean floor amid the oil and the bodies of dead crabs.
A two-inch layer of submerged oil is coating portions of the Gulf seafloor off the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge: a week after a smothering layer of floating crude washed ashore there. This scenario is being played out all along the Gulf shoreline.

Collecting in pockets and troughs in waist-deep water, the underwater oil is looser and stickier than the tarballs that cover the beach. The consistency is more like a thick liquid, albeit one made up of thousands of small globs. Unlike tarballs, which can often be picked up out of the water without staining the fingers, the submerged oil stains everything that it touches. If you passed your hand through the material it would emerge covered in oily smears.

There are a number of patches of submerged oil 40 to 100 feet off the beach, apparently collecting along rip currents and sandbars. The carcasses of sand fleas, speckled crabs, ghost crabs, and leopard crabs are spread throughout the oil, a thick layer of the material caking the bodies of the larger crabs – their claws looking as if they been turned into clubs made of oil.

(Via Naked Capitalism)

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 21, 2010

BP CEO Tony Hayward, relaxing at home with the small people now that he has his life back.

News

Burn it all: Burning of oil in the Gulf of Mexico means death to wildlife. Also, there’s a lot more oil gushing than previously reported.

Politicizing the Oil Spill: It was all bi-partisan teamwork on the oil disaster until Democrats started mocking Joe Barton.

Let Them Drill: There’s no evidence that Deep Water drilling is risky, say plaintiffs.

Israel Eases Gaza blockade: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that easing the Gaza blockade will weaken Hamas. Maybe they could have figured that out pre-flotilla massacre.

Also: Rapper “The Game” shot and killed, humanitarian and former NBA fan-favorite Manute Bol dies.

Odd News

A Heady Day: Finally, we can answer the age-old question – how many human heads can you fit into three boxes?

Catholic Priorities: Remember, it’s much worse for a comedian like Louis CK to make jokes about pedophile priests than it is to defend pedophile priests.

Today in Tasering: Not wearing a seat belt? Tase him!

Put the camera away: If you happen to be being beaten by a Maryland cop, for God’s sake, don’t film it.

Sports

Brazil Handily Wins: Luis Fabiano scored twice (albeit once illegally), as Brazil continued South American domination of the World Cup with a surprisingly easy 3-1 victory over Ivory Coast. Brazil’s only complaint? Kaká being tossed from the game for allowing an Ivory Coast player to run into him.

Anarchy in France: At the 2010, the French can’t win a game and is in the midst of a player revolt. Couldn’t happen to a nicer group.

U.S. Open to McDowell: Graeme McDowell survived a tough Pebble Beach to win golf’s U.S. Open, leaving big names like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els in his wake.

Blogs

Tomfoolery: My Day with Karl Rove.

EZKool: If you watch only Fox News, you know for a fact that the British Petroleum Oil Spill is all the Federal Government’s fault.

Political Carnival: Blackwater forced to pay the price for their sins – by getting a new $120-million government contract.

Pam’s House Blend: What you missed this weekend.

Tweet of the Day

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes Mark Kirk’s resume.”

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 17, 2010

The Good news? You can live forever. The Bad News? You’ll have to be a jellyfish to pull it off.

News

BP Shares Go Up: One right-wing talking point will have to take a break – despite destroying the Gulf and having President Barack Obama speak sternly and take $20 billion from them, shares of BP went up.

BP Controls the Media: While his separation is what is on people’s minds, Al Gore stands up against BP’s censuring of Gulf news.

Prop. 8: The closing argument for Proposition 8 supporters? Marriage is for having children. Luckily, my child-less marriage still stands.

Forever Young: Say what you will about jellyfish, but the turritopsis nutricula may just be immortal.

Sports

Argentina Scores Big: Despite having its defense pressed by a scrappy South Korean squard, the magic of Leo Messi and goal-scoring of Gonzalo Higuaín led Argentina to a 4-1 World Cup triumph.

Swiss Stun Spain: After being unbeatable the past few years (except for a Confederation Cup loss to the U.S.), Spain was flat and unable to stop a focused Switzerland, losing 1-0 in the biggest upset of the World Cup, thus far.

Blogs

ScienceBlogs: The worst-case scenario for the British Petroleum oil disaster? It’s not pretty.

Alternet: The Tea Party movement is faux-conservative.

Towleroad: When Eminem comes out in favor for Gay Marriage, you know the tide has turned.

Daily Beast: BP boss Tony Heyward to apologize, spread the blame around in front of Congress today.

Tweet of the Day

“Breaking: After meeting Thatcher, Sarah Palin to dig up Ronald Reagan for discussion on Conservative issues.”

–WKW

Afonso and the Demon

At some point, Afonso (right) picked up a small demon that now follows him everywhere.

–WKW

“The Cove” wins Oscar – Louie Psihoyos doesn’t get to talk dolphins

Last month, I got to speak with director Louie Psihoyos about his Oscar-nominated documentary “The Cove.” When asked about the possibility of winning an Academy Award, here’s what Psihoyos had to say:

“A billion people will see the Academy Awards,” said Psihoyos in a telephone interview. “That’s why I’d like to win. Because for 45 seconds you can talk directly to all the key people who are involved in these policies.”

Unfortunately, Producer Fisher Stevens – missing the point and a huge opportunity – gave the acceptance speech and never actually said the word “Dolphin.”

If you’re interested in helping to stop the horrifying murder of dolphins in Japan, here are some helpful links:

• What can you do to help?
• “The Cove” Official Web Site
• The Oceanic Preservation Society
• Save Japan Dolphins

Update: Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, here is what Psihoyos had planned on saying:

The Long version of the world’s Shortest Oscar acceptance speech

By Louie Psihoyos, director of The Cove

- We made this film to give the oceans a voice.

- We told the story of The Cove because we witnessed a crime. Not just a
crime against nature, but a crime against humanity.

- We made this movie because through plundering, pollution and acidification from burning fossil fuels, ALL ocean life is in peril, from the great whales to plankton which, incidentally, is responsible for half the oxygen in this theater.

- Thank you, Black OPS Team for risking your lives in Japan — and thank you Academy for shining the brightest lights in the world on THE COVE……

- Japan, please see this movie! Domo Aragato!

–WKW

Monday Morning Mothra

One of the interesting things about living in Brazil is the fact that you’re surrounded by critters you’d never see in the U.S. This morning I woke up to see this moth outside. It’s wingspan was close to six inches.

–WKW

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