Potshots from the sidelines

Thanks to an old friend from high school for the headline.  This may or may not become a regular feature, and is mostly forced by the continuing torrent of crazy news, and my need to maintain a life outside of this blog - so - 

Women -

I've not dealt with the whole Akin/legitimate rape/war against women/Paul Ryan/Mitt Romney thing here because I know you are all intelligent, and will figure out how you feel about all of that.  It does raise a few questions in my mind however -

a.  Don't any of these people actually know any women?

b.  Isn't the new official campaign photo for Romney and Ryan in bad taste? (and did you notice they look almost as much like Spanky and Alfalfa as the Munsters?)

c.  Is the video below a preview of the upcoming convention?

Guns - 

It's a little disturbing that we have again had another mass shooting this morning.  What's even more disturbing is that 19 people were shot in Chicago overnight, and somehow that is nowhere near as newsworthy as the act of one pathetic human being. 

Sand Mines - 

It has been a point of concern that western Wisconsin is being overrun by sand mines and land speculators that seem to be building infrastructure completely out of whack with the demand for frac sand.  Our local mine in Menomonie is looking for diverse markets because very little of their sand is going to fracking.  Another area mine seems to be suddenly not producing, and we are hearing rumors that this may be permanent.   Why do we need to follow rumors rather than getting a straight story? Who is going to hold the bag for permanently destroyed environment when the companies involved go out of business and leave local governments to deal with their mess?  Maybe the townships need to ask this before granting permits?  Some have, some haven't.

Twitter -

I feel something of a need to keep up on what the more extreme folks on the right are talking about on Twitter.  But that may have to stop.  I love a good satirical take on things as much as the next guy, and even if it's at my own expense.   But here's a hint for all social media folks on all sides of all debates - just saying moron and idiot over and over is not satire --

Neo-Birtherism

Is it really okay for a presidential candidate to joke about the place of birth of the President of the US and to make a not-so-subtle racist jibe in the process? Mitt, trust me, nobody is gonna forget you're the white guy in the --um -- race.

More soon - Or maybe not.