Amelia Grace was "...always ready to hug..."

Amelia Grace Young
is someone I never met; I am very fortunate, however, to know some of her family members.

There is an amazing playground in her name, the Amelia Grace Place.

The Providence Public Library Is Returning The Branches To The People

Finally!

I am enormously grateful to Patricia Raub and many other community members for persistent advocacy...

There remain the important logistics, legalities and now concerns over how many workers will be sacrificed by the PPL in order to maintain their administrative budget.

The current Providence Phoenix' Phillipe and Jorge have some fabulous comments on the matter, but I can't find the link...Stay tuned.

Thank You, Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal class action lawsuit to stop the inhumane treatment of children at a juvenile detention center in Mississippi and to force officials to provide sanitary facilities and mental health treatment to young people confined there.

Help us send a message to officials in Harrison County, Mississippi:


http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=374

Sadly, according to their Hate Map, Rhode Island is now home to two hate groups.

Thank You, Jackie Robinson!

I have only 10 minutes to type, so please do not consider this little post a fair representation of my respect for Mr. Robinson and his family.

I found a local blog, Monkey Mind, with a youtube video...

And here's a link to The Official Site of Jackie Robinson.

I wish I had seen Jackie Robinson play...I've heard Rachel Robinson on the radio several times and she is truly remarkable.

Teabagging the Independent Man

Yes, those rumors you've heard are true -- conservatives are planning to teabag the Statehouse on Wednesday, April 15. The teabagging is due to take place between three and six in the afternoon, when conservative protestors will put their mouths where their money is and teabag state legislators, passers-by, and if possible the entire city of Providence.

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin worries that "ACORN may try to send in ringers and saboteurs to usurp the anti-tax, anti-reckless spending, anti-bailout message." We certainly wouldn't want anyone to think that Michelle Malkin was being paranoid, so we'd better do what she says and send in some ringers and saboteurs. If you'd like to usurp the message at the Statehouse on Wednesday afternoon, dress warmly: forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temps in the mid-50s. To let the teabaggers know that you are, in fact, a ringer and/or saboteur from ACORN, be sure to decorate yourself with some acorns. If you're carrying a sign, decorate it with some acorn drawings. A few suggested sign ideas are TEABAG A LIBERAL TODAY, TEABAG THEM BEFORE THEY TEABAG YOU, and BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE (always useful advice when teabagging).

The teabaggers have been making a lot of noise about how if they don't get any media coverage that just proves that the media has a liberal bias, so there's sure to be one or two news cameras there. Try to look your best, and avoid throwing acorns at the teabaggers, because that's probably illegal.

UPDATE: Some more sign ideas -- TEABAGGING IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE, ASK NOT WHETHER YOUR COUNTRY CAN TEABAG YOU, THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO TEABAG IS TEABAGGING ITSELF. Also, every protest needs a good chant. I suggest "Read my hips, no new taxes".

"Planet of No Return" by Howard Browne

"Planet of No Return", a 30,000-word novella, appeared in the May 1951 issue of the venerable Amazing Stories. The novella was written by the magazine's editor, Howard Browne, and appeared under the Amazing house name Lawrence Chandler.

Imagine, if you will, that Edgar Rice Burroughs had decided to write a prequel to his John Carter of Mars stories, telling the tale of a Barsoomian expedition to Earth in the year 20,000 B.C. Imagine that the Barsoomians meet tribes of primitive cavemen, including one caveman who swings effortlessly from tree to tree a la Tarzan. That's "Planet of No Return".

Backstory: Had-Sudol is a dashing young aeronautical engineer from the Empire of Helium Andara on the planet Barsoom Tarvius. Smitten with love for Had-Sudol, Princess Dejah Thoris Ana-Bet secretly aids him as he builds a one-man spaceship. After crash-landing on Earth, Had-Sudol is captured by cavemen and imprisoned. His only human contact is with the aged mother-in-law of the tribe's chief, Ulgo, who brings him his food each day.

Three years go by.

With no word from Had-Sudol, Ana-Bet (now Empress of Andara following the death of her father) orders an expedition organized to travel to Earth and search for him. The expedition is led by Commander Rhon-Dee, chief of the Andaran military and Had-Sudol's main rival for Ana-Bet's hand. Ana-Bet herself accompanies the expedition in order to boss Rhon-Dee around.

As our story opens, the fleet of seven Andaran spaceships lands in a tropical valley that was known to be Had-Sudol's destination. The landing is noticed by Tarzan Valar, Lord of the Jungle, paramount warrior of the tribe of Polex. Valar tries to sneak aboard one of the ships, but is captured by the Andarans. When a mind-probe reveals that Valar knows nothing of Had-Sudol's whereabouts, Rhon-Dee orders him killed, but Ana-Bet intervenes to spare his life. The young empress has taken a shine to the big bruiser, and orders him hooked up to a teaching machine so he can learn to speak Andaran.

Meanwhile, following the death of Chief Ulgo's mother-in-law, Had-Sudol is placed in the care of his beautiful blonde daughter Duleen, and the two fall for each other like a ton of meteorites. Word reaches Ulgo of the arrival of the flying machines of the sky-gods, and he decides that killing Had-Sudol and dumping his body in their midst will teach them to mind their P's and Q's.

The love-struck Duleen helps Had-Sudol escape, and Ulgo sends a huge war party to attack the sky-gods. The attack occurs just as Valar has finished his speed-learning course in conversational Andaran. He grabs Ana-Bet and fights his way through the attacking cavemen and out into the jungle. He comes across Had-Sudol in the jungle, and the two fight, but Ana-Bet persuades him not to kill the Andaran flyboy. When Had-Sudol recovers, he and Duleen follow Valar and Ana-Bet to the Polex encampment. Had-Sudol rescues Ana-Bet, but he and Duleen are killed helping her escape.

Rhon-Dee has driven off the attacking cavemen and led a force of Andaran troops to track down Ana-Bet. He finds her in the jungle and they return to the spaceships. With confirmation of Had-Sudol's death, there is nothing further to keep the Andarans on Earth, and they prepare to leave. Just before take-off, Ana-Bet sees Valar, and rushes out to throw herself into his arms. A jealous and disgusted Rhon-Dee orders the fleet to take off, and Ana-Bet is left behind with her caveman.

Burroughs-style sword-and-planet stories were popular during the World War I-era pulp magazines, but by the time Browne became editor of Amazing Stories in 1949 the Campbell Revolution had relegated such stories to the more action-oriented pulps such as Amazing, Planet Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories. (In fact, the last three John Carter stories appeared in Amazing in the early 1940s.) By the time Browne's Burroughs pastiche appeared in Amazing in 1951, mainstream science fiction had moved beyond such unsophisticated fare, and "Planet of No Return" would never have appeared in the leading magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction and Galaxy Magazine.

Although Burroughsian sword-and-planet underwent a revival in the 1960s and 1970s, with reprints of the stories of Burroughs and his imitators Otis Adelbert Kline and Ralph Milne Farley, Browne's story did not make the cut, and it has never appeared anywhere but its original issue of Amazing.

No Giant Pandas Awarded At The Shooting Gallery

Nomi:

Per your request (Sorry I didn't see your note sooner):

______________________________________________________________

No giant panda winners at the shooting gallery.


Good morning:

I think I like to type that because, that way, I can at least SEEM to be starting on a positive note, before descending into the stygian depths of inchoate rage that are stored in the cellar hole 'neath my hindbrain.

So, okay, we've tried reason, we've tried accomodation, we've tried balance. Howsabout we try this:

"Fucking moron with guns and an inability to deal with, or even articulate, his problems decides to be a coward and kill other folks so we'll all feel bad for him."

I am getting pretty worn out reading about folks with histories of abusing others or mental problems, killing folks with easily obtained (legal or otherwise) weaponry that is, to "hunting", what dynamite is to sportsfishing. I don't HATE guns. I like guns. I like the way they look, I like the way they sound and I like the way they operate. They are great, as machines, or implements or whatever you want to call them. What they are not great at, in fact they are quite horrible at, is "getting even" with one's own demons.

I know how touchy some folks are about their second amendment rights. I'm that way about the other nine items in the BoR and the rest of the U.S. Constitution, come to think of it. However, when some shithead's "right" to bear arms causes the cessation (with extreme prejudice) of another's "right" to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--well, for me it's a no-brainer. I'm gonna side with the poor, unarmed schlub, every time.

I'm not suggesting confiscating anyone's guns. I am suggesting that current rules for gun ownership need to be reviewed. Current firearms ownership laws, particularly in some states like GA and FL are so fucking lax that people who have histories of violent, irrational behavior are able to easily obtain weapons that are equal to, or better, than those used by law enforcement agencies.

Some folks have suggested that an armed populace would cut down on such incidents as; the three policemen murdered in Pittsburgh, the thirteen people murdered in Binghamton or the four police officers killed in Oakland--all within the last two weeks. In those three particular cases, it appears that the shooters were in two cases, duly licensed--the parolee in CA, obviously not. Weapons differed--not to the victims, of course; dead is dead; but, they all had in common, that they were wielded by people who thought that "might makes right".

Re: the argument for arming the populace, if carried to its logical conclusion. During the Binghamton incident the police placed a number of individuals in custody while trying to sort out who were innocents and who might have been perps. Had those "suspicious" characters been armed they might have been mistaken for the shooter and been shot by the police.

This idiocy needs to stop. Now.

Henry Shelton: “I’m not saying you hit people over the head. But you have to get people involved.”

The Providence Journal has a wonderful profile of Henry.

People like Henry give Christianity a good name.

Jason Ng's "Guardian Angel" Has Been Released

This is something else to celebrate.

A Non Sequitur:

The NinjaNurse has another excellent post at Kmareka, "Teabags for Freedom".

Wishing everyone a weekend free of violence and bigotry.

Democommie has written a wonderful statement about guns.

Passover For Peace And Justice ( Grace Paley)

For Passover, why not visit the powerful blog, GRACE PALEY: Pressing the Limits of Action

Check out Jewish Voice For Peace,

Tikun Olam


Johnny Pez is throwing a Carnival.

Thank You, Vermont Legislature!

More reason to celebrate!

BOSTON (Reuters) - Vermont lawmakers on Tuesday overrode a veto from the governor in passing a bill that would allow same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the state to become the fourth in the nation where gay marriage is legal.

The Vermont House of Representatives passed the bill by a 100-49 vote after it cleared the state Senate 23-5 earlier in the day. In Vermont, a bill needs two-thirds support in each chamber to override a veto.

Can Rhode Island be far behind?

Celebrating with Iowa !

The Iowa Supreme Court has done the right thing.

Rich has a hockey and music filled post at Everybody.

And Dave has a Friday Celebratory Interlude, too.

Rites And Reason: Black Lavender, April 2- 5, '09

I can see George Houston Bass, Rhett Jones and Marsha Z. smiling somewhere.

This looks wonderful.

FUD University (J. Pratt Vulpes)

My General, J.C. Christian, has brought an important resource to my attention.

Here's the link to FUD University

We Want The Videotape ( No April Fooling)

The Wyatt Detention Center and ICE are refusing to share a videotape with the family of Jason (Hui Liu) Ng.

Thank you, W. Zachary Malinowski and Providence Journal for covering this story.

Thank you, John J. McConnell, Jr. and Team.