July 12, 2018

This should make your blood boil!

https://www.courthousenews.com/traveler-slams-seizure-of-dogs-by-ohio-authorities/

Traveler Slams Seizure of Dogs by Ohio Authorities

CLEVELAND (CN) – A California man who was traveling through Ohio with his two adult dogs and 10 puppies claims in court that authorities seized the dogs, one of which is his registered service animal, because he did not have local dog tags.

John D’Angelo, represented by attorneys Michela Huth of Ohio and Richard Rosenthal of New York, sued the city of Middleburg Heights, two animal control officers, a police officer and Cuyahoga County in Cleveland federal court. The complaint was filed Tuesday night but was not made available by the court until Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit, Middleburg Heights police showed up at the Motel 6 where D’Angelo was staying with his two adult dogs – Sasquatch and Dazey, his registered service animal – and 10 puppies on July 4 of this year because friends who were visiting with D’Angelo had removed the smoke alarm in his room so they could smoke cigarettes.

Nothing further occurred with the police during that visit, but the following morning two Middleburg Heights animal control officers allegedly knocked on the door of D’Angelo’s motel room and claimed they could take his dogs because D’Angelo did not have Cuyahoga County dog tags.

Full story at link. The Cuyahoga authorities ended up taking his dogs, refusing to tell him where the dogs were taken or what process he needed to go through to get them back. They kept the dogs for a full week and finally returned them. D'Angelo and his attorney have filed suit in Federal Court seeking attorney fees and $100,000 in damages.

What the HELL is going on in this country? We have taken our dogs all over the country and have never had to 'register' them in the location we were visiting. Somebody just decided to fuck with this guy. Granted they probably could have cited him for disabling the smoke detector at the motel, but taking his dogs???

July 12, 2018

Forest preserve cop resigns after failing to help woman in Puerto Rico shirt.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-forest-preserve-video-cop-20180711-story.html

Forest preserve cop resigns after apparently failing to help woman being harassed over Puerto Rico shirt

The Cook County Forest Preserve District police officer who was caught on video seemingly ignoring a woman’s call for help has resigned, the district announced late Wednesday.

Officer Patrick Connor’s resignation is effective immediately, and as of Wednesday he “no longer serves in the police department,” a district spokeswoman said in a written statement.

The announcement came amid a growing chorus of calls for the officer to lose his job over the encounter, which happened in mid-June but became an international scandal this week when video footage of the incident went viral and drew millions of views.

In the video, shot at Caldwell Woods in Chicago, a man confronts and berates a woman for wearing a Puerto Rico shirt. The woman appeals to the officer for help but the officer, seen in the background just yards away, appears not to respond.

Full story and video of incident at link.

July 12, 2018

Lawyers for Ohio State contradict Jim Jordan's claim he's not been contacted.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180703/lawyers-for-ohio-state-contradict-jim-jordans-claim-hes-not-been-contacted

Posted Jul 3, 2018 at 11:30 AM
Updated Jul 3, 2018 at 8:13 PM

Lawyers for Ohio State contradict Jim Jordan’s claim he’s not been contacted

Congressman Jim Jordan denied hearing about Dr. Richard Strauss’ alleged sexual abuse while Jordan was assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan never witnessed abuse by the Ohio State University wrestling team’s doctor and he hasn’t been contacted by anyone investigating possible incidents that occurred while he was an assistant coach two decades ago, the Urbana Republican’s spokesman said Tuesday.

However, lawyers hired by OSU to probe the allegations said Jordan was contacted — both by phone and email — to request an interview, but he never responded.

Ian Fury, a spokesman for Jordan, said in a written statement that Jordan “never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State. He has not been contacted by investigators about the matter but will assist them in any way they ask, because if what is alleged is true, the victims deserve a full investigation and justice.”

A written statement from Porter Wright Morris & Arthur attorney Kathleen Trafford, provided by the university, said investigators had previously contacted Jordan’s office by email and phone to request an interview.

There must be a few Republicans (probably in the wild) willing to tell the truth. Looks like the wheels might be coming off of Jimmy's ride to Speakership.

This appeared in the Columbus Dispatch, a pretty decent paper.

July 12, 2018

Merkel Asks Mueller If There's Anything She Can Do to Help (Borowitz)

https://bit.ly/2N7GU80

Merkel Asks Mueller If There’s Anything She Can Do to Help

BRUSSELS (The Borowitz Report)—The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, took a break from the nato summit in Brussels on Wednesday to ask the independent counsel, Robert Mueller, if there is anything she can do to help.

According to those familiar with the phone conversation, Merkel told Mueller that she would take a leave of absence as leader of the German government and move to Washington to work full-time for Mueller “if that would be of assistance.”

Touting her credentials, Merkel told Mueller that she was fluent in Russian and could be helpful in translating the thousands of Russian-language documents that the special counsel has in his collection of evidence.

“I will work for free and pay my for my own food,” Merkel said. “I just want to make this stop.”
Mueller reportedly thanked Merkel for her offer but told her he had to wrap up their conversation because he had “Emmanuel Macron on the other line.”

July 10, 2018

Pub Owner's Response To A Dad Asking If His Disabled Son Can Enter Is Incredibly Heartwarming

https://bit.ly/2N0rAKv

Pub Owner’s Response To A Dad Asking If His Disabled Son Can Enter Is Incredibly Heartwarming

A pub landlord has proven that good people do exist when she took to Facebook to send a truly heartwarming message to the family of a disabled customer.

When a father looking to go out with his family felt the need to ask permission to bring his son with disabilities to the pub, the pub’s owner was incredulous. Steph Tate, who owns The Barrel Chapeltown pub in Sheffield, England, reached out to the man saying: “Everyone is welcome in my pub”. What she wrote in response is going viral for its heartwarming message:

“Yesterday a parent came in and asked me if his wheelchair bound child was ok to be in the pub, I was confused why he felt he needed to ask. This man went on to explain that his child sometimes makes loud noises and waves his arms about, people have made comments in the past when he has taken him out. “It broke my heart that a parent felt they needed to ask if it was ok for his child to be here just like anyone else.”

“My intention is not to embarrass the parent who I spoke to yesterday, it has played on my mind all night about how this man must have felt asking me if his child would be accepted in here. It then got me thinking about how many other people must be in the same position. Whether you need us to get you extension leads to plug specialist equipment in, help moving tables/chairs for wheelchairs or any other help you may need, everyone is welcome in my pub and help will always be offered by all of my staff. If you’re sat at home with a disabled child, partner or friend and feel on edge about taking them anywhere due to fear of someone making comments please feel free to bring them here. If I find anyone making negative comments or being disrespectful they will be asked to leave not you.

“Steph”

This is the kind of place I want to live!

July 9, 2018

China Slaps Two-Thousand-Per-Cent Tariff on Tanning Beds (Borowitz)

https://bit.ly/2KXriXj

China Slaps Two-Thousand-Per-Cent Tariff on Tanning Beds

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In the latest salvo in its escalating trade war with the United States, China has slapped all tanning beds slated for export to the U.S. with a two-thousand-per-cent tariff. By artificially hiking up the cost of its tanning beds, China succeeded in sending the price of tanning beds worldwide soaring in overnight markets.

In what some experts regarded as a related move, China also placed a four-thousand-per-cent tariff on all spray-tan products headed for the U.S., as well as instant-tanning lotions, makeup foundation, and several popular hues of orange paint, including butter rum and burnt sienna.

The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, blasted China’s tariffs on its full range of tanning products, calling the move an “act of war.” “What China doesn’t understand is that it is far from the only player in the tanning game,” Sanders said. “The United States stands ready and willing to import tanning beds from our friends in Canada.”

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to reporters’ questions about the prospect of Canada shipping tanning beds to the United States. “It doesn’t look good,” he said.

July 9, 2018

Save money on your Pet Meds.

We have discovered a way to save significant amounts of money on some Pet Meds. It doesn't work on meds that are unique to animals, but often the meds that the vet prescribes for you Cat or Dog are the same as those for humans. If your pet is going to be in the meds for more than a month do the following:

Check out the web page goodrx.com. You can plug in your medication and dosage and your location and it will pop up a page with pharmacies in your area and how much they charge for the meds. Usually at prices MUCH less than buying them from the Vet.

We have an old dog with CHF. The vet prescribed Hydralizine. The first 30-day supply from the vet cost $50. I checked GoodRX and found that Kroger sold it for about $20. I had my Vet call in a prescription for Kroger. He called in a prescription with 2 refills available. Kroger just batched it all together in a 90-day supply and charged us about $40 with our GoodRX coupon. (They will mail you a card and a thingy to go on your keychain.)

Worth checking out.

July 9, 2018

Saving some money on prescriptions.

On July 1 our health insurance decided to move one of the prescriptions that the Mrs will be taking for as long as she lives from one tier to another, changing the price from $2.00/mo to $12.00/mo. On top of that, when I checked online to see if the prescription was ready, it showed a price of $22.00. Needless to say, we were not thrilled.

There is a web page/discount drug thingy called GoodRX (goodrx.com) that will show you comparative prices on drugs at various pharmacies in your local area. So, I pulled up the page and found that Wal-Mart is selling the same medication for $4.00 OTC (with prescription). I called our pharmacy to see if I could get the price down to the $12.00 price (because I hate Wal-Mart). Without my even asking, they did a price compare and immediately offered a 'price match' and gave us the prescription for the Wal-Mart price of $4.00.

So, a lesson learned. 1) compare prices with GoodRX and 2) see if your pharmacy will 'price match' a lower price in your area. Not a bad deal for a 5 minute phone call.

July 8, 2018

25 Brutally Hilarious Memes Proving Trump Is A Moron

http://politicalpunchline.com/trump-moron/

Check it out. It is WELL worth a click.

For example: Forget about releasing his taxes. I want to see a list of his meds.
And the pictures that go along with the jokes are priceless.

July 7, 2018

Facebook thought Declaration of Independence quotes were hate speech (Not a Joke or Snark)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-thought-declaration-of-independence-quotes-were-hate-speech/

Facebook thought Declaration of Independence quotes were hate speech

It seems all content is not created equal. A Facebook algorithm categorized parts of the Declaration of Independence as hate speech and took down excerpts of it ahead of the Fourth of July.

An editor for the Liberty County Vindicator, a community newspaper in Texas, said Facebook took action after the paper started posting the text of the historic document.

The Vindicator posted the Declaration of Independence in 12 parts on its Facebook page leading up the nation's birthday. Facebook sent a notice that one of those parts "goes against our standards on hate speech."

According to the Vindicator, Facebook flagged a passage that included the phrase "merciless Indian savages" at the end of a long rebuke of King George III. After the Declaration's famous opening lines about all men being created equal and having an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it goes on to list 27 specific grievances against the king's rule. The last of those reads: "He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions."

The paper suspected that this quote is the reason Facebook blocked the post, although the social media company did not cite a specific reason.

"It is a very great irony that the words of Thomas Jefferson should now be censored in America," editor Casey Stinnett wrote on the Vindicator website Monday.

Note: Facebook did restore the deleted content the next day and issued an apology.