Friday Fun: “Mother of the Year Award” Goes to …

 Posted by at 9:11 am  Politics
Jul 272018
 

By unanimous acclamation we can now declare the “Mother of The Year Award” goes to … a Common Merganser Duck on Lake Bemidji in Minnesota – who takes care of SEVENTY-SIX ducklings!

Brent Cizek, a wildlife photographer, was blown away when he snapped his first photo on June 27 on Lake Bemidji in Minnesota showing a Momma taking care of 56 ducklings.  It shows how a truly successful family daycare center can be run.

Here’s his story:

Then, as he motored toward the boat slip, Cizek saw something remarkable: a female Common Merganser surrounded by more than 50 little ducklings. While Cizek watched, the little mergansers formed a long, orderly line behind their mom and began swimming away. The scene was too good to pass up.

“I probably shot 50 pictures, and I was just praying that one was going to turn out sharp because the waves were so strong it was nearly impossible to even keep them in the frame,” Cizek says. To further complicate things, he had to alternate between maneuvering his little trolling motor and quickly snapping pictures. “Luckily enough, just one picture turned out.”

Cizek says he has been photographing wildlife in his spare time for about two years and only recently became interested in birds. Last year, he saw a Common Goldeneye with 20 ducklings in tow and thought that was extraordinary. He had no idea ducks could care for so many ducklings—much less 50.

https://www.audubon.org/news/heres-why-mama-merganser-has-more-50-ducklings

Actually, she’s more likely to be “Grandmother of the Year” or even “Great-Grandmother” as this species of ducks, the Common Merganser, frequently have an older, more experienced mom take care of their duckling in what is called a crèche.

But a week or so later he went back and spotted her caring for 76 ducklings!  And Cizek’s Tweet of July 16th showing a photo of the 76 has been retweeted over three-thousand times.

You can see them in the above Tweet, but you have to scroll down to spot the actual photo of the 76 – maybe 77 ducklings:

 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources area supervisor David Rave believes the leading duck is probably the oldest female duck on the lake.  And that most of the ducks on the lake are likely related.

Rave says that crèches of 20 to 30 are not uncommon (and he’s seen 30-40), and the first photo by Cizek of a crèche of 50 was mind-blowing.  But when Cizek went back a week or so later and found Super Mom increasing her crèche to 76 … well, that’s one for the record books!

The common merganser typically lays up to a dozen eggs at a time, but will often spread them out by laying them in other birds’ nests so as to increase the offsprings’ chances of survival – quite literally following the sage advice of “not putting all your eggs in one basket”.

That way if a racoon invaded her nest and ate the entire brood, their genes would still have a good chance of surviving from her eggs in other nests.

While a good number of the ducklings might be her own, they can’t all be hers.  That’s because it’s physically impossible for her to incubate more than 20 eggs as a max, according to Kenn Kaufman, Field Editor for Audubon.

Truly an amazing sight!  And I think it’s true – he really does love those birds!

But since it’s always good to leave your audience chuckling, I thought you might get a kick out of one of the wise-ass Comments to Cizek’s Tweet:

 

75 other mama ducks are laughing their tail feathers off while drinking cocktails and watching Real Housewives….

Here’s a post from Cizek’s website featuring a number of photos of the ducklings:

https://www.brentcizekphoto.com/Wildlife/716-Lake-Bemidji/

RESOURCES

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/science/merganser-ducklings-photo.html

https://www.audubon.org/news/heres-why-mama-merganser-has-more-50-ducklings

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/26/photo-shows-female-duck-followed-dozens-ducklings/839553002/

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.4761081/mom-of-the-year-photographer-captures-images-of-mama-duck-with-76-babies-1.4761093

~  BONUS – LONGEST LUNAR ECLIPSE RESOURCES  ~

Since most of us will not have a chance to see the Longest Lunar Eclipse of this century, here are a couple of useful Links:

Countdown Clock for Total Lunar Eclipse

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2018-july-27

Site for Live Streaming the Total Lunar Eclipse

https://www.timeanddate.com/live/

 

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Samantha Bee from 7/25

 Posted by at 2:34 pm  Politics
Jul 262018
 

It’s that time of week again, so here are three excellent video clips from Sam’s show last night.  Enjoy!

The Spy Who Loved the NRA

 

When you look at the Republicans she was doinking, she has to be one VERY dedicated spy!

Wait, What Was Watergate Again?

 

Nixon:Trump::Jaywalking:Murder

Comedians in Cars with Dissidents Getting Coffee

 

LOL!! I like Masha.

Thanks and kudos to Sam!

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

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Open Thread – 7/26/2018

 Posted by at 2:33 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 262018
 

I’ll be getting this up way late, because I slept poorly last night.  Then  I took a nap this morning and overslept.  Next, I just spent an hour on the phone with a nurse form my Medical Advantage Plan for my annual prescription meds review.  The heat wave goes on and on and on.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:59 (average 5:20).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Soccer Ball From Vladimir Putin Had An Electronic Chip

 

One has to wonder if Russia has Nano-circuitry tiny enough for Putin to have chipped Trump’s other balls. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From The New Yorker: Calling it “an exciting new chapter in my amazing life,” Ivanka Trump has been named dean of the business school at the newly reconstituted Trump University.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed with stratospheric success as a businessperson,” Dean Trump said on Wednesday. “This is my chance to give something back, for only fifty thousand dollars in tuition and other fees.”

Trump said that students enrolling at the Trump University School of Business can look forward to gleaning wisdom not only from her but from another star faculty member, Jared Kushner.

“When it comes to business, Jared has been almost as incredible I have,” she said.

I’m calling BS, Andy! There’s no way she can turn out graduates as incompetent and perverted as her father. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From Daily Kos: In classic con man fashion, the candidate and president who has sworn to bring manufacturing back to the United States isn’t making any attempt to start with his own campaign. In fact, as evidenced by these photos, the Trump campaign is actively getting their gear made in China.

0726Flags2020

Hey Shit for Brains! How about a tariff on flags for assholes? RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

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Republican Propaganda Time!

 Posted by at 1:40 pm  Politics
Jul 252018
 

Yes, I know.  You don’t have to tell me that Republican propaganda began, in earnest, with Nixon and has been growing ever since.  But the last couple weeks have been very bad for the Tangerine Tovarisch.  Twelve of his allies in Russia were indicted.  The Helsinki blowjob and his subsequent lame excuse humiliated him.  The Mueller probe is closing in.  Cohen taped him bribing a mistress.  Worst of all, people all over the world are laughing at him.  I think the current barrage of disinformation is borne of desperation, and his minions keep goose-stepping behind him.

0725GOPRussianNazi

It was perhaps the most explosive exchange in an incendiary press conference: Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing to frankly admit to a motive for, and maybe even to the act of, meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, despite repeatedly denying Russian interference in American politics during the rest of his appearance with Donald Trump in Finland on Monday.

But the exchange doesn’t appear in full in the White House’s live-stream or transcript of the press conference, and it’s missing entirely from the Kremlin’s transcript of the event. The White House did not immediately provide an explanation for the discrepancy.

Understanding what Putin said depends on what you watch or where you look. If you watch the video of the news conference provided by the Russian government, or by news outlets such as PBS and the Associated Press, you will hear the Reuters reporter Jeff Mason ask a bombshell of a question: “President Putin, did you want President Trump to win the election and did you direct any of your officials to help him do that?”

Putin then responds with a bombshell of an answer, according to the English translation of his remarks that was broadcast during the press conference: “Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the U.S.-Russia relationship back to normal.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Atlantic>

The real video exists in thousands of places and you’re about to see it.  He can’t change the reality, but his base will never see it, and would not believe it, if they did.  In addition, Trump and his allies are now claiming that Russia plans to interfere in the 2018 election on the side of the Democrats. 

Rachel Maddow covers these and several more Republican propaganda incidents.  I advise you to let the video keep running past it’s end, as in subsequent segments, her panel of experts covers these issues in depth.

It’s important for you to understand these things, so you can debunk and explain these Republican lies.

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

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Open Thread – 7/25/2018

 Posted by at 1:37 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 252018
 

As the heat wave enters it’s worst day, I’m running a bit late.  Store to Door was late delivering my groceries, and I just finished putting them away and eating lunch.  WWWendy is spending a couple days at the beach, and her niece, Katie, is filling in again.  She’s a sweetheart.  My lone complaint is that she lacks the sadism needed to scrub a back properly.  Happy Hump Day!

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:23 (average 5:14).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Why Is The Right So Scared Of A Democratic Socialist?

 

How terrible she is for luring people to spend their tax dollars on what people need, at the expense of the people, who Republicans say need welfare dollars most: billionaires! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From YouTube (Remember this?): P!nk – Dear Mr. President (from Live from Wembley Arena, London, England

 

When Pink first sang this song about GW Bush in December, 2006, I thought he was the worst White House resident in my memory. At his worst, he could not hold a candle to the evil that Trump is today. But remember, as bad as Trump is, he only reflects his Republican Reich. Trump is just the symptom. The Republican Party is the disease. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From The New Yorker: Donald J. Trump’s crusade to revoke security clearances from perceived critics was on display again on Tuesday as he threatened to yank credentials from a man he had previously praised, Frederick Douglass.

It was unclear why Trump had turned on Douglass, because, unlike other targets of Trump’s security-clearance rampage, Douglass had not made disparaging comments about him on cable news in recent weeks.

Trump offered few clues as to the source of his unhappiness with Douglass, but he broadcast his disapproval of the abolitionist in a tweet that read, “HE IS NO LONGER DOING AN AMAZING JOB.”

Dang Andy! Trump is just pissed because he realized that Douglas was black. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

0725Cartoon

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No Security for You!

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Politics
Jul 242018
 

Little Donnie Diaper Dump is not happy.  He does not think his poo stinks.  Some terrible meanies were so evil, that they actually told the truth that it does.  Little Donnie owns the national security sandbox (very temporarily we hope).  Until then, little Donnie says he won’t let those meanies play with the toys there.

0724Security

President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of former intelligence officials who have criticized him and have been the targets of some of his relentless attacks.

The officials include former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA and National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden, former national security adviser Susan Rice and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday.

Sanders was initially asked about Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) calls for Trump to remove Brennan’s security clearance. Paul claimed on Twitter that Brennan has been “monetizing his security clearance” by criticizing Trump.

“The president doesn’t like the fact that people are politicizing agencies and departments,” Sanders added later, despite the fact that Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the work of U.S. intelligence agencies and officials and denigrated them.

She also claimed that the former officials have been “making baseless accusations of improper contact and accusing the president of the United States of treasonous activity,” appearing to refer to the investigation into the Trump presidential campaign’s ties to Russia…

Inserted from <Huffington Post>

Is is any surprise that Diaper Dump lies that claims about the treason he committed baseless?

Here’s a video report.

The bottom line is that Trump is being incompetent and petty for threatening to take away what these people either no longer have or don’t need.  None of them would be read into anything requiring a clearance as long as Trump is Fuhrer.  Afterwards, any of them would be qualified for jobs  where they would need it, and it would be granted in a hot minute.

RESIST!!

VOTE BLUE!!

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Open Thread – 7/24/2018

 Posted by at 12:59 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 242018
 

Welcome to the hot CatBox with 90°s weather and an air quality alert (smog) all week long.  Yesterday’s CAT-Scan (both chest and abdomen) was pretty grim.  The injected dye made me sweat all over, but the worst was the the great big bottle of dye I had to drink for the abdominal portion of the scan.  I had a bad taste in my mouth, and chemical smelling burps and farts for the rest of the day.  I had red-hot burritos for breakfast to overpower the dye.  I’ll get the results next Thursday, but there’s no reason to suspect anything problematic.  I hope you are enjoying your day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:41 (average 5:14).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From YouTube (Robert Reich Channel): Robert Reich: We’re Living a Constitutional Crisis

 

Of course the Reich on the Left, Robert Reich, is right, except for one detail. Donald Trump, Fuhrer of the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich,is a Resident. He is not and never will be a President. RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Representative Adam Schiff: Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy Lied About The F.B.I.

 

Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy won’t be expelled from the House until and unless Democrats take control of the HR. Even then, it might be a bad idea, as the Fuhrer could put them on SCROTUS (Republican Unconstitutional VD). RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

From YouTube (Remember This?): Dixie Chicks – Not Ready To Make Nice

 

Fifteen years ago, when they said they were ashamed of GW Bush performed this song, he was the worst occupant of the White House I can remember. Republicans tried to destroy them. Now, Trump is far worse that Bush ever thought of being.  But remember, Trump is just a very blatant form of what the Republican Party has been for decades.  Trump is the tumor.  The Republican Reich is the cancer.  RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

Cartoon:

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Personal Update – 7/23/2018

 Posted by at 11:28 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 232018
 

I’m up early to write this before I leave for my CAT-Scan, so I don’t have to do it when I’m queasy from the dye they inject.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:31 (average 4:29).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Take:

From The New Yorker: In a series of early-morning tweets on Sunday, Donald J. Trump demanded that the Russian national anthem be played before every National Football League game and that all N.F.L. players stand during the performance.

Trump asserted that playing the Russian anthem was a “necessary gesture of good will from the USA to our No. 1 ally,” and that “any player who refuses to stand for the Russian antem [sic] hates America!”

Seeming to double down on his demand, Trump tweeted that all N.F.L. players must remain standing while the color guard unfurls the flag of the Russian Federation.

Andy, I can believe that! RESIST!! VOTE BLUE!!

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