News Blogs (3,095)

I saw a headline today about the Koch brothers and thought... didn't one of them die? Yes, David passed away in 2019 with his cause of death listed as cancer. Charles is alive and I believe there is/was a 3rd brother. Anyway, the story goes on to say they are the most powerful machine in conservative politics and currently switched gears and not supporting Trump with a NeverTrump effort to deny him the republican party nomination for 2024 presidential election.
Knowing this, would Trump launch his own political party for the upcoming presidential election and if so, would he have a chance against Ron DeSantis who appears to be focused on the White House as his next stop?

After a review of this body cam, Preston Hemphill gets fired from the Memphis Police Force having violated multiple department policies. Quick read: He was one of the first cops to confront Tyre Nichols and allegedly deployed his Taser during the confrontation.
The investigation is ongoing and I'm sure we will see updates as details are released.

Links:

It's sad to read about this. I know Hulk Hogan has had a bad problem with his health over the years. I was a huge fan of his and Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Hulk Hogan is reportedly paralysed from the waist down after undergoing the 11th back surgery of his career.

The wrestler, 69, has been candid in the past about the amount his body has been put through during the course of his illustrious 35-year wrestling career.

Now, his friend Kurt Angle, has claimed in a podcast that the star – real name Terry Bollea – has lost feeling in his lower body and is forced to walk with a cane.

According to Angle, Hogan underwent an unknown procedure in which nerves from his back were removed. No further details were shared of the operation and it remains to be seen whether he will ever recover the feelings in his legs, or if it is permanent.

He said: “He had the nerves cut from his lower body, he can’t feel his lower body. So, he has to use his cane to walk around.

“I thought he was using the cane because he has pain in his back. He doesn’t have any pain, he has nothing at all. He can’t feel anything.”

He continued: “So now he can’t feel his legs. So he has to walk with a cane which is, you know, that’s pretty serious, man.”

In 2021, Hogan admitted to having required a lot of medical attention over the years, saying: “My knees are fake, hips are fake, back is full of metal and part of my face is full of metal.”

The Standard has contacted a representative for Hulk Hogan for comment.

I'm not sure how the 2nd amendment plays out for dogs, but owner negligence definitely comes to mind. Two men on a weekend hunting trip in Kansas when the fatality occurred.
Joseph Austin Smith was the passenger in a truck. in the backseat was the driver's rifle, hunting gear and his dog. The dog steps on the rifle and it discharges striking Smith in the back.
Sheriff's arrived, start CPR but it was too late. Smith died at the scene.

I read 2 stories about this tragedy, but neither gave the name of the driver. Probably a good thing as I'd wager when the gun safety advocates catch hold of this story, he'll be wishing he was dead.

All sorts of reasons why, but the owner/driver didn't follow the most basic rule of owning a gun.

Dog fires rifle and kills man. While it may sound funny... it's far from it.

In February 2023, a robot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) will provide arguments for the defendant in a traffic infringement matter in US court. Details of the defendant and court have not been disclosed. Joshua Browder, CEO of the US-based legal services firm DoNotPay, said that the “robot lawyer” runs on a smartphone. It does not address the court directly but rather listens to the arguments, collates data from legislation and legal precedent and then formulates legal advice for the defendant. The robot then tells the defendant what to say in real time via headphones.

DoNotPay has agreed to cover the defendant’s fines if the robot lawyer loses this traffic infringement case. To date, the company has used AI technology to assist more than two million people in customer service disputes such as securing refunds and lowering their bills. The technology has also been used to successfully dispute more than 190,000 parking tickets for clients. This is the first time it will be used to advise a client in court.

“In the past year, AI tech has really developed and allowed us to go back and forth in real time with corporations and governments,” said Browder. “We spoke live [with companies and customer service reps] to lower bills with companies; and what we’re doing next month is trying to use the tech in a courtroom for the first time,” he said.

Browder asserts that his company’s mission is to make the justice system a “more level playing field”. He wants to empower consumers with the legal information required to “solve their problems like beating parking tickets, appealing bank fees, and suing robocallers”.

This is not something that I had even envisioned, but it seems that AIs are really making inroads into man's crucial governing systems.
Should we be afraid/concerned (The Terminator movies come to mind)?

Some of you may remember the guy who propped his feet up on Nancy Pelosi's desk on the January 6th insurrection. He had his day in court yesterday and was found guilty on all eight counts in his indictment, including felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.
The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before unanimously convicting Richard “Bigo” Barnett of the charges.

Sentencing for Barnett is scheduled on May 3rd.

Outside the courthouse after the verdict, Barnett vowed to appeal his conviction, calling it an "injustice.” He noted that the judge had rejected his request to move his trial from Washington to Arkansas.

“This is not a jury of my peers,” he told reporters.
Yes Richard... it wasn't your peers because they were all arrested too!

Tiny Alabama Town Shocked to Learn Farmer had Secretly Paid People’s Pharmacy Bills for a Decade

Upon the occasion of the funeral for one Hody Childress from Geraldine, Alabama, it was revealed that for a decade this quiet and humble gentleman was a sort of guardian angel for the town’s poor and sick. A farmer and U.S. Air Force veteran, Childress began his covert charity campaign when he visited the local Geraldine drugstore and learned that all too many of the town’s 900 residents couldn’t afford to pay for their prescriptions.

Life up until that point had been difficult from a health standpoint. Childress lost a son in 1973, and his first wife in 1999—whom he used to carry into the stands for local football games due to her multiple sclerosis. Upon hearing of his neighbors’ inability to always afford their medications, he handed Brooke Walker, owner of Geraldine Drugs, a $100 bill.

“Here, this $100 is for anyone who can’t afford their prescription,” Walker recalled in an interview with local news. “Do not tell a soul that the money came from me, tell them it’s a blessing from God.”

A month later, Walker saw Childress again walking into her store to hand over another $100 bill, with the exact same instructions—’do not tell a soul that the money came from me, tell them it’s a blessing from God.’ He would return on the 1st of every month for the same motivation for years, until in late 2022, because he wasn’t able to walk due a pulmonary disease and other health conditions, he decided he needed to enlist someone for help. He entrusted the task to his daughter, Tania Nix.

“I was shocked – I had no idea that he was helping people at the drugstore.” At his funeral on January 5th, 2023, Nix told the story of Childress’ decade of giving, and how it was able to cover the cost of expensive medications for 2 Geraldine residents per month. The word got out that they had an angel in their midst, and WVTM reports that the townspeople have agreed to carry on his legacy.

“There are so many people in Geraldine who have lived longer because of Hody,” pharmacist Heather Walker said. “Hody was a true humble servant who will always be loved.”

AWESOME!!!

The three caught suspects were released without being charged. Democrat run cities don't care about justice.

A Fox News meteorologist was pummeled by a group of teens when he tried to stop them from harassing another straphanger on a Manhattan subway early Sunday, cops and the prognosticator said.

Weatherman Adam Klotz, 37, recounted the vicious attack in an Instagram video, appearing bruised and battered as he described how he was coming home on a train after watching the New York Giants NFL playoff game at a bar when he saw “this older gentleman was being hassled by this group of seven or eight teens.

“I was like, ‘Yo, guys, cut that out.’ And they decided, ‘Alright, if he’s not going to get it, you’re going to get it.’ And boy did they give it to me,” Klotz said. “They had me on the ground. My ribs are all bruised up, too. They got their hits in.”

Police sources said the meteorologist was on a No. 1 train around 1:15 a.m. when he confronted the teens, who may have been smoking weed at the time, too.

The young suspects fled the train at the 18th Street station after the assault, but three of them — two 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old — were soon nabbed by cops, sources said.

Police eventually cut the trio loose.

“Juvenile reports were prepared, and their parents were called to pick them up,” a rep for the NYPD said Sunday.

It’s unclear why the three nabbed suspects were released without facing charges.

Klotz was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Bellevue Hospital.

Read more"

Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin turned 93 on Friday. He's the only survivor of the 3 astronauts who went on the Apollo 11 mission. To top things off, he married his long-time girlfriend Anca Faur at a private ceremony in Los Angeles.
Congrats to the two of them.
I wonder who be taking who to the moon!

Getting a buzz with Buzz...

For years, I followed music, documentary and YouTube videos about Crosby, Stills, Nash... and yes Young. They are and were in the recent death of David Crosby, fantastic song writers. And over 50 plus years one emerged to be the moody bastard of the group.

Maybe you heard that Neil Young walked out minutes before a performance, killing a tour. Yeah, the sun and the moon weren't in alignment and it was time to go... forget about contracts, forget about loss of millions, forget about the fans who paid for records and concert tickets to support their careers. That's the way he was wired and always felt it justified his actions.

At times, there was a rift between Young and the world. Today my blog is about him, David Crosby and the feud that carried on for more than a decade.

Today in the news, Neil Young came around enough to give praise to the work and talent of Crosby and hailed him as the soul of CSNY.

That generation of song writers, musicians and entertainers are all in the passing stage of life... there aren't many more who can achieve their success. When they are gone... they are gone.