Fracking Runs Texas Towns Out of Water

Image from AmericaBlog

Here's the thing: I can understand that we need new sources of energy, or at least new ways to get at energy. The stuff we have is finite, and before it is tapped out, we've got to figure out what to do. And we're torn between new technology that is still working out the kinks and expensive; or fossil fuels that are harder to get at than the stuff we're using. Short term, it makes sense to try to extract the stuff we already know how to use. But long-term, renewable energy makes a lot more sense, and doesn't damage the environment.

It's a tough question, and there's no denying that. But what floors me is the absolute rejection of science by conservatives. Or rather, the complete denial of any science contrary to their ideas. Global warming can't be real, because man couldn't possibly affect the climate. Really? Not even after pumping pollution into the air for 130 years, at ever increasing amounts? Fracking can't cause any damage to water sources, or cause earthquakes. Why the hell not? It seems to be happening! I don't understand how the conservative brain works.

[Excerpt]

Texas towns run out of water due to fracking

Put simply, there are towns in Texas where you turn on the tap, and nothing comes out for days. Why? Fracking. You knew this was going to happen, and you knew it was going to happen in the desert-like South and Southwest. And whether the God-fearing folks in rural Texas knew it or not, when they voted for all those Drill-Baby-Drill Republicans (and Democrats who seek power by imitating them), they voted themselves out of water. . .

Read more at: AmericaBlog

Ohio Attorney General: No Legal Pot in Ohio

Image from source, Raw Story

That does it! Ohio keeps adding to the reasons that I shouldn't move back, and now they've clinched it!

[Excerpt]

Ohio Attorney General rejects ballot measure to legalize marijuana

A ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in Ohio was rejected on Monday by the state’s attorney general, who said the petition was not “fair and truthful.” The group Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis collected enough signatures to submit the ballot measure to Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine’s office for approval. The ballot measure would have allowed voters in Ohio to approve or reject the End Ohio Cannabis Prohibition Act in the next election. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Church & State: Woman Forced by Court to Change Son's Name

"Where's your Messiah now?"

There are a lot of unusual baby names. There are a lot of dumb parents with names like Pigg, Ball or Cox who really ought to be more careful with names like Ima, Harry or Sharon. And I'm of the personal opinion that if you want to give your child an unusual name, use it as a nickname, and give him or her a legal name that is more standard. Example, if you want to name your kid "Cloud," maybe give him a legal name like "Chloe." If you want a boy called "Steeple," maybe call him "Steve" on his birth certificate? Gives him an out if he outgrows the nickname. Just a helpful hint.

But that's just it, it's a hint. A suggestion. I'd never demand or insist that a mother name her kid something. That would be. . .oh, I don't know. . .insane? And when the court does it, and uses religion as its reasoning? I'd say that's pretty clearly un-Constitutional.

[Excerpt]

Judge Declares Baby’s Name Unchristian; Orders Parents To Change It

Tennessee child support magistrate Lu Ann Ballew unilaterally decided to rename a seven-month-old boy “Martin” because she objected to the parents’ selection of “Messiah.” Her reasoning, she explained, was that, “The word Messiah is a title and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person and that one person is Jesus Christ. . .”

Read more at: ThinkProgress 

Broken Record: Computer Woes Continue (And I know it's Boring!)

Arrrggghhh!!! I know that Greenlee Gazette has been sparse and a bit boring, but those computer problems I keep boring you with? They continue.

Today, I decided I'd had enough with my portable cloud drive, and decided to replace it. I suspect that much of the problem has that as its root. But getting all of that data off of there, with a computer that I suspect is hobbled by that device. . .oy.

So, I won't go into any more detail unless I solve my problems and can help others with the information. Instead, I'm going to try to get a few things up on the blog while I attempt CPR on my business computer! Wish me luck!

Blast from the Past: Star Trekkin', After the Original Series

Back in May, I ran a Blast from the Past that chronicled each movie or television version of Star Trek: The Original Series crew, through the animated series and all of the main cast films. At the time, I promised that the next week's edition would include each non-original cast version of Trek. And I forgot!

My fuzzy shot of LeVar Burton, before I was stopped by
the "no photos!" lady. Who knew?

But today, I did something I seldom do: I took advantage of the fact that I live in Las Vegas. Unbeknownst to me, at some point in the past Vegas has become a huge Star Trek convention site. It used to be Pasadena back in the day when I used to go to these things. But I found out--via Facebook, as it happens--that the big, big show was this weekend. Problem was, I found out on day three of the four-day event. Oh, well. I called up my good friend Dona, my old Trek convention buddy, and we decided to hit it this Sunday, closing day.

It was a good day to go. This year was the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, so almost the entire cast was in attendance, as it happens, today. We got to see their panel, got to see many Next Generation and Voyager stars, up close and personal. And we got to hear George Takei tell stories and field questions! It was really a Blast from the Past. So here, better late than never, is the rest of my Star Trek post.

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) - Though the original crew is of course the basis for the entire franchise, it was TNG that solidified Trek as an ongoing, viable television franchise. Initially it was shaky, with season 1 feeling a bit on the Original Series season 3 level. But it quickly firmed up into an astonishing success.

2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) - This was Trek at its grittiest, and possibly has its richest storylines and highest caliber of acting. It required more than casual viewing, with deep story arcs, spanning years. But it was worth it. My favorite of the Trek series, easily.



3. Star Trek: Generations (1994) - Bridging the gap between Original Series and Next Generation, this movie managed to tell a pretty good story, and kill of Captain Kirk. Oh, sorry. Spoiler alert?

4. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) - When you're on your third live-action TV spinoff, you need to do something to set yourself apart (particularly when one of the others is still running). So Voyager was sort of sent off "lost in space." Much maligned by the fandom (even though they watched every damned episode), still classic writing and acting. And hey (straight) guys, Seven of Nine, am I right?



5. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) - Possibly the best Trek movie until the reboot, this movie gets virtually everything right. And that Borg Queen? Terrifying.

6. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) - How quickly they fall. Not a bad story by any stretch, but plays like an extended TV episode. It just feels small by modern day sci-fi standards. Forgettable, and frankly, often forgotten.



7. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) - More maligned than even Voyager, this attempt to go back to the pre-Original Series time was a mixed bag. The acting is still great, the writing too, sometimes. It just didn't always click. And what was with the horrid theme song? But it was still Trek to me, and is--after the rebooted new movie timeline--the only thing on this list that is still in continuity!

8. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) - The death-knell for the original timeline. The movie wasn't bad, in fact I quite liked it. If the bad guy--supposedly a clone of Captain Picard--had looked more like him, I might have liked it better. But it flopped at the box office, possibly a victim of Star Trek burnout. I mean, look at the length of this list and the time overlaps. I had to have Google up on a second monitor just to keep it straight!



And that takes us back around to the new Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, which are Original Series reboot movies. And since they barely qualify as "past," we'll save them for a future edition!

Happy Monday. Engage!

National Organization for Marrige Under Investigation in Iowa

This story makes me happy for a number of reasons, chief among them that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) might be in hot water. But there are many other reasons, among them:

- My husband is from Iowa
- We're legally married in the state of California, no thanks to NOM's efforts to undo that
- A sanctimonious Iowa preacher who is a former classmate, and his friend, a sanctimonious Iowa radio show host would hate for NOM to get into trouble or for them to have to disclose their donors

NOM's Brian Brown crying from a different loss. Let's
hope he does a whole lot more of this.
Image from ThinkProgress.

NOM is one of the leading anti-gay groups in the country, and is allied with most of the rest. It is curious why and how they are so powerful, when their actual following is so small. For instance, they are trying to get up to 10,000 followers on Twitter, and are only 3/4 of the way there. Consider that *I* follow them on Twitter, as do many other gay rights activists, and you can safely bet they're not even half-way to their goal, with actual supporters. That's a very, very small pool of people. On Facebook, they fare slightly better with about 36,000 followers. But the situation there is similar: many of the followers are actually just keeping tabs on them, again, like I do.

This is a tiny organization, that has had some major successes, mostly in the past. Their last big victory that wasn't already a forgone conclusion (as in North Carolina) was when they managed to recall three Iowa Supreme Court judges for acknowledging the right to same-sex marriage in the state. They were not successful on their next try, and have been steadily losing their mojo. But it would be interesting, nonetheless to see exactly who is funding these guys.

[Excerpt]

NOM slapped with ethics investigation in Iowa

The National Organization for Marriage is being investigated by an Iowa ethics committee, amid allegations that the group violated state law when it did not disclose its donors in a campaign to oust state Supreme Court justices. . .

Read more at: Salon

Computer Woes Continue

Tired. So very tired of computer issues! I've always been the computer susser-outter, and I can usually suss pretty well. This new set of problems is driving just about to the breaking point. As in breaking my new computer. It would be okay if I knew the source of the problem, and whether or not it is truly fixable. If I found out I had a faulty component, at least I'd know if it was a replace or repair situation.

My problems consist of:

- AOL Mail won't display headers. I can live with this one, but I'm apparently the only one it happens to. In the world.
- PDF reDirect program sluggish and problematic. Again, only me. In the world. But I can live with this too.
- Wireless adapter keeps losing  the ability to "see" networks. ANY networks.
- Portable hard drive loses the ability to BE "seen" when wireless adapter drops out.
- Restoring the computer seems to work until it actually opens, then tells me it failed. With no solutions.

All of these problems have been annoyingly, exasperatingly without answers, and seemingly unique to me. I might be able to save myself some trouble by taking this computer back, and starting over with a replacement. Except that I can't be sure that some or all of these issues evolve out of the software combination I use, along with my quirky hard drive.

So, again, I have little blogging going on, because my brain is fried.

Please Help Skeeter (Rocky Mountain Mike)

Ha! Poor Skeeter!

Could Sean Hannity Be Replaced on FOX "News?"

Image from source,
NewsCorpse

Oh, I know they'd just shift him somewhere else, most likely. He's still their second-most watched show, though I really can't believe it is out of anything other than viewer habit. But Sean Hannity has had a berth at 9 pm (6 pm Pacific) on the FOX "News" Channel since its debut. Unless Bill-O the Clown is departing, and Sideshow Sean is getting his plum spot, there would be no way to look at such a move as anything but a demotion.

[Excerpt]

Megyn Kelly Nabs Sean Hannity’s Timeslot On Fox News – Per Drudge

daytime anchor Megyn Kelly is set to move to primetime when she returns from maternity leave in September. At the time of the announcement there was no indication of which current primetime host would be ousted. . .

Read more at: News Corpse

In Case You Missed It: Daily Show Examines "The R Word" (Racism)

Good job, to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart John Oliver. Very good bit!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

President Obama on The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno

I've never been much of a Jay Leno fan, having probably seen his version of The Tonight Show maybe a dozen times in the two-plus decades it's been on the air. But this was a pretty good interview, and I think the president came off very well too.

[Excerpt]

President Obama chats with Jay Leno -- and middle America


For the past few months, Jay Leno’s decided President Barack Obama makes for a good joke.
That’s a problem for the White House — one that the president came here Tuesday trying to fix. . .

Read more: Politico

Did Ron Paul Buy Endorsement in Iowa, 2012?

Image from source, Raw Story

Whoa. Ron Paul's quixotic attempts to become president were always kind of a sideshow. He's a tiny, little old man in an ill-fitting suit. He makes perfect sense about 25% of the time, with the other three quarters being batshit crazy. And his followers are bananas. But could the whole enterprise have been crooked?

[Excerpt]

Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign allegedly bought Iowa endorsement

Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign allegedly offered financial compensation to a Republican Iowa state senator in exchange for his endorsement and support. Documents obtained by TheIowaRepublican.com and OpenSecrets.org showed a representative of state Sen. Kent Sorenson told the Paul campaign the senator would ditch Rep. Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign if they provided him with $8,000 per month in salary, $5,000 per month in salary to his Senate clerk Chris Dorr, and $100,000 in contributions his newly created PAC. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Rep. Steve King: Climate Change is Religion, Not Science

Image from source, Think Progress

This is weird for several loopy reasons. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is seemingly knocking religion with this statement, which is odd, especially for him. It's also literally climate science he's talking about being a religion. Seemingly, this would be the reverse of claiming that "intelligent design," which is religion, is actually science, which it's not. King though, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and I would expect nothing less than for him to be confused by the difference between religion and science.

[Excerpt]

Steve King: Belief In Climate Change Is A ‘Religion,’ ‘Not Science’

Despite the fact that 97 percent of scientists agree that climate change is real, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is insistent that it is “not science” and that environmentalists are missing the potential upsides. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Right Wing World: Hillary Clinton Will Win in 2016

While there is much to disagree with in the article excerpted below, it is nonetheless interesting to read a right wing take on something once in a while, particularly when said right winger thinks that Hillary Clinton is virtually unstoppable, and has in fact basically already won the 2016 presidency. All without even declaring!

As I said there is much to disagree with, starting with the repeated insistence that Clinton has the media wrapped around her finger. I don't see evidence for that, particularly when the slightest mention of a political sex scandal (such as Anthony Weiner's) has them dredging up Monica Lewinsky at the drop of a hat. There are lots of deeply right-wing "accepted as fact" assumptions like that in the article (Obama as "savior," ugh). But again, it's interesting to see the right's take on this, and to see an admission that they don't think they have a very deep bench, and virtually no one who could beat Hillary. Of course, the article says the same for the Democrats should she decide not to run, and I'm not so sure that's true. I'll vote for Hillary in a heartbeat, but I'd have no trouble checking the box for Elizabeth Warren either!


Madame President? Image from Daily Beast

[Excerpt]

16 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Will Win 2016 by Myra Adams

By the standards of “political time,” where in one day a candidate can go from frontrunner to underdog, the 2016 presidential election is decades away. But from this vantage point, all signs point to Hillary Clinton coasting to the Democrat Party nomination and winning the White House. . .

Read more at: The Daily Beast

Benghazi "Scandal" Flogged by Secretive Conservative Group?

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife Ginni.
Apparently, it's cool for her to work in shadowy
conservative lobbying/think tank groups.
Image from Talking Points Memo.

Have you noticed that if FOX "News" doesn't have some fresh faux outrage to squawk about, they go back to barking "Benghazi!!!"? Well, there may be a simpler reason for that than actual outrage, because the typical FOX viewer couldn't find Benghazi on a globe. At least part of the reason is likely because there is a secretive conservative group that wants to flog Benghazi (and other scandals). It would seem their job is to keep these "scandals" front and center, even if they would ordinarily have petered out.

Hillary Clinton's "vast rightwing conspiracy" was always a real deal, but they're still out there, and have a Supreme Court Justice's wife as a leading member.
 
[Excerpt]

Audio Emerges Proving Secret Conservative Organization Behind Benghazi “Scandal”

Groundswell, the conservative behind-the-scenes organization that forms a coalition between prominent Republicans, right wing media, and conservative activists to wage a “30-front war against Obama and progressives” has been revealed to have played a role in the hype and false scandalization of the Benghazi “controversy.” A secret tape released by Crooks And Liars (audio below) has detailed the cooperation between House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ginni Thomas (the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas), former Rep. Allen West, as well as high-ranking members of Judicial Watch and Breitbart. The meeting was presided over by Catherine Engelbrecht, one of the founders of the voter suppression group, True The Vote. . .

Read more at: Young Progressive Voices

Four Shot Dead at Town Hall Meeting in Pennsylvania

Image from source, Raw Story

There's been a little bit of buzz about the potential for rowdy and disruptive town hall meetings this month, but I don't think anybody expected this.

[Excerpt]

Four dead, two injured as gunman opens fire on town hall meeting in Pennsylvania

A shooting during a town hall meeting in northeastern Pennsylvania has left four people dead and two others are in critical condition, according to local media reports.

“All I saw was the holes go through the hall,” said Pocono Record reporter Chris Reber, who was at the meeting in the Ross Township municipal building. “I saw smoke and plaster flying out, blowing out through the walls. . .”

Read more at: Raw Story

Reince Priebus Scared of Hillary Clinton

I love that Think Progress used this image of Sigourney
Weaver from Political Animals for this story. It's an
excellent way to see how the RNC must see Hillary.

Hillary Clinton has not even announced whether or not she intends to run for President in 2016. But the threat of it apparently needs an early defense, or why else would ReiNCe PRieBuS be worried about her getting some kind of boost out a couple of documentaries? Frankly, it's just as possible for Clinton to come off poorly in the films, who knows? But it's hilarious that a right-winger would be upset about a Clinton documentary, since it was a Clinton documentary from the right that was the basis of the Citizens United Supreme Court case.

[Excerpt]

Why RNC Chairman Reince Priebus Is Freaking Out Over Pop Culture’s Hillary Rodham Clinton Obsession

Who’s afraid of Hillary Clinton? Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, apparently. Now that Hillary Clinton’s become a hot pop culture subject, with USA’s miniseries Political Animals in the rearview mirror, a feature-length biopic, Rodham in the works, Diane Lane starring in an NBC miniseries about the former First Lady and Secretary of State, and CNN working on a documentary about her, Priebus has told NBC and CNN that if they don’t suspend their projects, he will ask his members to agree not to hold debates on the networks or condone debates set up outside the RNC system that appear on NBC and CNN. The Hollywood Reporter explains. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Billboard's Hot 100 Turns 55: Top Chart Acts of All Time

Still the reigning champions! Image from source, Billboard

This is a really interesting list (and there are several others on Billboard's site), compiling the top 100 acts of Billboard Hot 100, of all time. What's cool to me is seeing where modern acts, acts from my youth (1970s and 80s) and all-time greats stack up. The Beatles, no surprise, are still number one. But looky there, Madonna is number 2! And there are some real surprises in there. Would you have thought that Paula Abdul would make such a short list? Or Tony Orlando and Dawn? The Captain & Tenille? Yup!

Check it out: Billboard

 

Blast from the Past: Remade in the 80s

I have a friend who first heard the song Ticket to Ride as The Carpenters' version, and to him it's the "real" version of the song. The Beatles' original version is to him the lesser of the two. That's crazy, I know, but it really does seem to be the one you heard first that sticks and feels "real" to you. As a consequence, lots of people alive in the 1980s are far more familiar with remakes made of earlier songs, and think it is the 80s cheese that reigns supreme.

1. & 2. You Keep Me Hangin' On - Kim Wilde vs. Diana Ross & The Supremes
 

3. & 4. Venus - Bananarama vs. Shocking Blue
 

5. & 6. Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles vs. Simon & Garfunkel
 

7. & 8. Lean on Me - Club Nouveau vs. Bill Withers
 

9. & 10. Take a Chance on Me - Erasure vs. ABBA
 

I really saved the best for last there, didn't I? I could watch those two over and over!

Happy Monday, everybody.

Atkins Diet/Low Carb Recipe: Cajun Faux Rice

Click to embiggen.

If you are on a low-carb diet, you know that you get carb cravings. Specific ones too, like not just rice, but fried rice. Well, if you haven't tried using cauliflower as a rice substitute yet, get cracking! Here are two recipes I've posted in the past, one for beef fried rice, and one for curry rice.

The last time I did the curry dish, I got it in my head that the next time I do this, I'm going to figure out how to do a Cajun rice dish out of cauliflower, something like red beans & rice (without the beans). How hard could it be? Well, depending upon your aptitude and desire to really cook, it's not too bad. It's not fast, and it's a bit messy. But it is really, really good! This is my first try, very loosly based upon a couple of different recipes I found online for different Cajun rice recipes, and my own intuition.

One medium-large head of cauliflower
One medium onion
One red bell pepper
One green bell pepper
Two tablespoons diced garlic (I used prepared from a jar)
Liberal splash of olive oil
One pound of low-carb sausage, browned ground beef, or other meat*
Two Bay Leaves
1/2 tp Cayenne Pepper, 1 tp Thyme, 1/4 tp Sage, 1 tp Cajun Seasoning
1/2-can Chicken Broth

Chop the onion, bell pepper and garlic (if it is not prepared), as well as the meat you are using (*Casual Gourmet Chicken Sausage pre-cooked Roasted Red Pepper & Spinach is what I used). In a large skillet, sauté meat, onion, bell peppers and garlic, med-high heat, duration: 15 minutes more or less. (I sprinkled some chili powder & cajun seasoning over entire mixture before sautéing, on a whim).

While the skillet is going, prepare your cauliflower. Make it rice-like in your preferred way (this is the messy part), whether that is chopping, a food processor, or a cheese grater.

Add spices and bay leaves to the skillet. Add 1/2-can Chicken Broth (otherwise, it's a bit dry). Pour "rice" into skillet, stir, cover, keep heat med-high. Duration: About 20-25 minutes, let your intuition be your guide. Stir occasionally, to make sure all the spices and ingredients get thoroughly mixed, and that the "rice" gets evenly cooked. If it's too soupy to your taste, uncover and simmer for a while.

Carb Count: Sausage: 5 g (1 per link), Cauliflower: 20ish, entire batch, Peppers: 8ish for both, Onion: 6ish. Entire skillet-full of food: 29 grams. Serves at least 8 servings, so a generous serving size is about 4 g of carbohydrates, max! 

In a word: it's delicious. The consistency of the rice won't fool anyone, and I wonder if the cauliflower should be cooked "dry" and added to the rest later in the process. In my previous "rice" dishes, there was no broth, but this dish seems to require it. But what this dish does, is satisfy a craving. There is virtually no trade-off, you don't feel deprived at all that it isn't the real thing. And you don't have to like cauliflower, either, you'd never know that's what it's made of unless you were told.