Wierd Politics

Congressional candidate Tim Murray handily lost June's primary election (82 percent to 5 percent) in Oklahoma's 3rd District to incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, but he did not give up. In a rambling letter to KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, Murray accused "Lucas" of being a body-double for Lucas, since it is "widely known" that the "real" Frank Lucas was executed by order of the World Court in southern Ukraine in January 2011. Lucas, asked for a comment, told the station, "It does come as kind of a shock to read that (I'm) not (me)."

Ahh, the "City By-the-Bay": San Francisco's activist Board of Supervisors, among the boldest in the country to rid their cities of obnoxious goods and services, added disposable plastic water bottles to the list in March (to join circumcision, plastic shopping bags and nutrition- challenged "Happy Meals" that contain toys). The water bottle vote was unanimous (covering distribution on city-controlled property), compared to the cliff-hanging 2012 vote (6-5), in which the board finally decided to ban un-clothed people from the streets, where until then some freely wandered downtown sidewalks stark naked.


Jordan Haskins, 24, is Michigan Republicans' best hope for the open state House seat in Saginaw in November, but he is burdened by a teenage past of being "young and stupid," he said in June. Haskins has been in prisons in two states (and is still on parole) stemming from trespassing and breaking-and-entering charges yearly from 2006 to 2011 -- most involving vehicles he used for sex (by himself). (He admits to "cranking," in which he would remove spark plug wires and try to start the car, pleasuring himself while watching the sparks and listening to the noise.) "I was in a messed-up state of mind, mentally and emotionally," he said, but now is proud of the man he has become. "You may not respect my policies (or) my ideas, but you at least have to respect me as a person." (And the GOP wonders why it can't get more candidates elected...).
I liked this story: The county Association of Governments in Phoenix notified Diane "DD" Barker recently that she could continue to address association meetings as a community activist, but was to cease introducing her remarks by performing cartwheels, as she apparently has done several times in the past. Barker, a 65-year-old former Ohio State University cheerleader, said she seeks to demonstrate the value of exercise and public transportation, but agreed to hold off on the cartwheels.

Today's Reflection:

When they come out with a new dog food that is "new and improved and with a better taste" -just who tested it?

Live Long and Prosper...