rustle

When the juices are flowing, it's not always needed.

Right there with ya, buddy. I was thinking of Andy Griffith, but couldn't own up to watching it 'til you broke the ice. I got rid of cable when it started feeling like running on a treadmill. Now I'm wearing out Netflix.

Entertaining doesn't always mean groundbreaking. Hey, James, how about doing a series of these on classic TV shows? Gilligan's Island I Love Lucy Leave It To Beaver ... Think we could turn it into a challenge for the site?

I'm sorry for your loss, KC. It's so easy to grow apart, and so easy to regret it later. Mark said fate, and I agree. It sounds as if your grandmother was glad to see you, and I know you must've been glad, too, nervous as you both must have been. How many years had it been? Over 30? We can only guess how she felt when your dad severed a branch of her family, walking out on you. Is it too much to hope you can bridge that divide? At 94, your grandmother must have many tales to tell, and often, older people delight in the telling. I'm glad you made that turn into the drive.

"...and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors..." From time to time, it's healthy to reset the scales, but those who hold the note rarely do so willingly.

So can not killing the animal, and donating the $54,000 to a sanctuary, instead of poaching an individual in a declining species to get your name in a record book. I don't disagree with you, Tim, but this wasn't a legal or regulated hunt, and my passions are getting the better of me. Trophy hunting is difficult to accept.

Tim made a good point, but this individual animal was rather unique. As a black-maned lion, his genetic markers are a little unusual. His habit of lying in the road within the preserve and his appearance made him a fairly reliable and remarkable photo opportunity. That translates into increased tourist draw. Because it's commonplace for male African lions to kill the cubs of the alpha male, in order to have more of their own descendants, it's quite likely an entire generation of black-maned lions will be eliminated. Trophy hunting isn't just about the pleasure of the kill, it's about the glory of killing the biggest, the fiercest, and sometimes, the rarest of a species. It's a competition for bragging rights. Palmer made a reputation for himself for never taking a gun to back up his bowhunting before Cecil was killed (not taken). I guess he screwed up this time. He and his guides pursued the animal for 40 hours in order to finish it off with a gun. Considering they skinned the lion, the men involved cannot possibly argue that they didn't know the animal was special. They would have seen the collar right off. Even if Palmer knew nothing before, he'd have known something about the animal then, and should have brought the incident to the attention of authorities, instead of running back to America.

Outside: A toned butt. Inside: A keen and curious mind. good questions - keep 'em rolling

Master Scalia is long overdue to be reassigned to a farming district of Canton (Ohio). The article's author is most astute in his mention of the sneer, which never fails to be the backbone of Scalia's dissenting opinions when defending his ideology.

Seein' as how I work in municipal gov'mint, I resemble that remark. Welcome back, Eric.

Ummm, you're a nurse, right? You didn't bring your work home with you, did you, you little fomate, you? :-)

Perhaps Scalia is a good scholar of the Constitution, but he still has not convinced me. He appears to begin with an agenda, and looks for backup.

Recent events and debate inspired me to read up on the confederate flags. There were three. The flag so many call the confederate flag was actually the banner of the Army of Northern Virginia, and was originally square. It was never the official flag of the Confederate States of America. It's the way of oral histories to stray from the truth, and for symbols to come to represent other things. Whatever that battle flag may have once represented, through association, it has come to represent something altogether different. Actions can be symbols, too. When Bree Newsome climbed the flagpole in Charleston to take down the battle flag, it sent a powerful message. If governments do not do the same thing, and take down what has become a symbol of hatred, they support and embolden the haters. Fold it up and put it away. It's a small price for a powerful symbol of the government's intent to heal old wounds. It's an act of good faith.

Most importantly, I love the title, Blue Rose. It's absolutely beautiful. Of less aesthetic interest, but more political, in this state, there will be legal challenges to the Supreme Court ruling for same-sex marriage. The governor of Texas has notified state agencies that any state employee refusing to honor same-sex marriage on religious grounds should be supported, not censured. He also made it clear that state agencies do not have to offer benefits to same-sex married partners that they offer to opposite-sex married partners. Since the governor appoints the heads of the agencies, this carries some weight, real and implied. The state attorney general also opposes same-sex marriage, and is not requiring that county clerks issue marriage licenses. A number of counties are doing so anyway. These two don't represent attitudes statewide, but they and their kind will continue to impede, obfuscate, and delay implementation of the actual and implied meaning of the Supreme Court decision. The arc of civil rights is long, and continues today. Of course, once an employer finds out a worker is gay in any right-to-work state, the worker can be fired, even after benefits for gay spouses are settled in the courts. Lodging can still be denied. Loans and leases are still sensitive. Although there will be some excluded venue issues (meaning some churches), some other churches are opening their doors wide, and outdoor ceremonies should be popular, since so many gays have turned away from churches, due to homophobia. But today, we celebrate a major victory.

Maybe we can get KC there too, and he can teach us all. One of his fantasies is teaching ballroom dancing.

Y'all don't know whatcher talkin' about.

I'm too old for you, too. James and I may have to dance together, but dance we will.

Hopefully, o green one.

I hope this doesn't fly in the face of site rules. If so, I humbly ask forgiveness, and ask that if members have strong feelings they wish to express, that they do so in a blog. In a 5-4 decision, The US Supreme Court has stricken down bans against same-sex marriage in all 50 states. That means that same-sex marriages in any state must also be recognized in every other state. **Site Staff Message Added by Cia** Celebration of this wonderful decision is just fine here on the forums--all mention of the political ramifications, parties, person, etc... is not. Those can be discussed via a personal blog. Thank you for adhering to our rules regarding politics, and enjoy the fact for once, everyone in the US has equal rights in regards to marriage!

There are certainly comparisons that can be made. In Britain, though, abolition was an internal decision. In the South, it was the result of a war. The North fought the war for good reason - preservation of the union and abolition. Without the war, abolition would have taken longer, because the South's economy was cruelly linked to slavery. Many folks don't realize that the Battle Flag was not the official flag of the Confederacy. The official flag was banned following the war, but the Battle Flag was permitted as a memorial to those who had died on the Southern side. Some who have rallied under the Battle Flag are ignorant of most of the history and heritage surrounding the Confederacy, but yearn for some romanticized past that never was, but in which the best of blacks was still less than the least of whites. It's this association that makes me want to see the Stars and Bars resigned to museums. Government association with this symbol perpetuates the idea that the state supports white supremacist ideology. Racism is alive and well in lots of places. No denial, and it's gotten virulent again. But it's not just one place, and it's not everybody in any one place. Like in the 60s, government is going to have to act to reign this in again. Starting with symbols.

I will add to James' comment. The South did not enslave an entire race all by itself. Slavery existed in the North, too. It was abolished in New York in 1827. About 20 years ago, a slave cemetery was excavated in New York City, in the Bronx. Hunts Point Slave Burial Ground National Monument. Please take a look, http://hpsbg.weebly.com/. Wikipedia isn't always reliable, but... 1802: Ohio writes a state constitution that abolishes slavery. 1804: New Jersey begins a gradual abolition of slavery, freeing future children of slaves.[35] Those born prior to the Act remain enslaved for life. The process later becomes complete with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865. 1817: New York State sets a date of 4 July 1827 to free all its ex-slaves from indenture 1820: Compromise of 1820 in US prohibits slavery north of a line (36°30′). 1820: In Polly v. Lasselle, Indiana supreme court orders almost all slaves in the state to be freed. 1827: New York State abolishes slavery. Children born between 1799 and 1827 are indentured until age 25 (females) or age 28 (males). (That means there were still slaves permitted under New York law until 1855.) 1847: Slavery is abolished in Pennsylvania, thus freeing the last remaining slaves, those born before 1780 (fewer than 100 in 1840 Census). 1863: In the United States, Abraham Lincoln issues the presidential order the Emancipation Proclamation declaring slaves in Confederate-controlled areas to be freed. Most slaves in "border states" are freed by state action; separate law freed the slaves in Washington, D.C. 1865, December: US abolishes slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; about 40,000 remaining slaves are affected. (Note that this was after the Emancipation Proclamation freed those slaves in Confederate-controlled areas, meaning those 40,000 slaves had to have been in Northern states.) Because the North became more industrialized more quickly, unskilled manual labor became less profitable than machinery. Had the economics been otherwise, would slavery have been abolished in the North at all, or would greed have won out? I don't condone slavery. I think it's abhorrent, and a blemish on all of humanity that it ever existed in any form or at any time. I'm not apologizing for it, 'cause I never bought, sold, or owned a slave, nor knew anyone who did. But I think we have to look at our past unflinchingly, all of us. Many countries around the world practiced slavery, even before the African slave trade. England, for example, in medieval times, practiced slavery, and their slaves were white. According to the Domesday Book census, over 10% of England's population in 1086 were slaves. And I repeat, I didn't lose that war. You didn't win that war. It was over before your granddad was born. Back to the original post, South Carolina may be moving to take down the Confederate Battle Flag.

I used to support the Stars and Bars simply as being part of a heritage, and still believe it has its place in museums and such, but I wish South Carolina would take it down from the capitol building now. Brave individuals fought and died under that flag, as their only knowledge of politics was local or regional, and Southern states were being invaded, as they saw it. Their allegiance belonged to their homes, and they served honorably. Many were conscripted. All throughout history, soldiers have served honorably in ignoble causes. The Confederate Battle Flag has been adopted by hate groups, and is now a rallying point, and that's why I want to see it pulled down from State buildings. The State should distance itself from hatred, and that's what the flag has come to represent. The Supreme Court, just this month, heard a case in which the Sons of Confederate Veterans sought to force the state of Texas to issue a license plate with the Stars and Bars on it. They argued it was freedom of speech. The state refused, and the Court supported the state, stating that the state should not be forced to be seen as supporting the statement. I think that's the way it should be. Did the South lose the war? Absolutely. Did the North then enforce nearly a generation of occupation and abuse of the vanquished? Dead right. The abolition of slavery was a crippling economic blow to the South, a rural agrarian society founded on cheap labor. Occupation by corrupt and demeaning reconstructionists was salt in the wound. Northerners wonder at Southern willfulness, but think nothing of saying, "You lost," as if that matters any more. Lemme just say this to all the Northerners out there. I didn't lose the Civil War. You didn't win the Civil War. That was before our grandfathers were born. We supposedly are one nation now, after over 600,000 American lives were lost. I'll support pulling down the Confederate Battle Flag. Will the North ever abandon its regionalism?

Non-hetero, non-cis is now closer to mainstream than ever before. That normalization minimizes gay ghettos, gay bars, and honestly, gay fiction. If a teenager can go hang out with friends irl and be himself, that's going to be more of an attraction.

Great Work! That's a great systematic approach, working outside and in at the same time. Please keep us posted.

Hiya Newbies. Welcome.