Eat up

Via Megan McArdle, a lengthy look at the truth about how our ancestors ate.
It wasn't pretty, unless they were royalty.
That food should be fresh and natural has become an article of faith. It comes as something of a shock to realize that this is a latter-day creed. For our ancestors, natural was something quite nasty. Natural often tasted bad.
Fresh meat was rank and tough; fresh milk warm and unmistakably a bodily excretion; fresh fruits (dates and grapes being rare exceptions outside the tropics) were inedibly sour, fresh vegetables bitter. Even today, natural can be a shock when we actually encounter it. When Jacques Pepin offered free-­range chickens to friends, they found “the flesh tough and the flavor too strong,” prompting him to wonder whether they would really like things the way they naturally used to be. Natural was unreliable. Fresh fish began to stink. Fresh milk soured, eggs went rotten.

Protecting her house

Through the years, killdeer have decided to start their families in our backyard.
Unlike most birds, they put their eggs on the ground.

While I mowed the lawn around her, she kept her babies safe.

Getting to the real story

After a great headline "Hastert La Vista, Baby," Mark Steyn finds the true beneficiary of the story.
So far, The New York Times has five reporters on the Hastert story, The Washington Post nine ...so there's no one left in the newsroom to look into Hillary - even though Bill's been flying around with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on a plane called the Lolita Express. Couldn't that just sort of get mentioned in paragraph 37 of the Hastert stories, maybe with Josh Duggar, as part of a general pedophile trend among the powerful?
Let's talk about former Republican leaders instead of potential Democratic leaders.

Learning too much from teacher

A Newport News teacher might have done too much showing and telling in the classroom.

How does the garden grow

Fans of Ace of Spades enjoy a weekly gardening thread.
Now the weekly posts can be found in one place.
Plant yourself in front of the computer and learn.

Honeysuckle season

It's a great time to be outside in Fishersville.
The scent of honeysuckle fills the air.

Wise word during graduation season

Powerline reprints Justice Clarence Thomas' commencement address from several years ago, as an example of a speech that provides inspiration and provokes thought.
Take a few minutes today to say thank you to anyone who helped you get here. Then try to live your lives as if you really appreciate their help and the good it has done in your lives. Earn the right to have been helped by the way you live your lives.
Next, remember that life is not easy for any of us. It will probably not be fair, and it certainly is not all about you. The gray hair and wrinkles you see on older people have been earned the hard way, by living and dealing with the challenges of life. When I was a young adult and labored under the delusion of my own omniscience, I thought I knew more than I actually did. That is a function of youth.

Saturday song

For traditional Memorial Day, Trace Adkins.

Facebook quote of the week

Under Bush we fought the Axis of Evil.
Under Hillary, the Clinton Foundation will offer the Access of Evil

Rowe of honors

Back in my days as a young newspaper reporter, the lifestyles editor and I would go driving around town looking for feature photos.
Often, we'd catch the Recreation Department crew doing something around town.
So often that the editor fussed at us to fine some other subjects.
One of the employees we often found - Ricky Rowe - will have a road named after him following his years of service in Georgetown County.
At least there's plenty of pictures of him working through the years.

From doctor to data recorder

Charles Krauthammer catches up with some old classmates - who tell tales of woe about the state of medicine today.
In general, my classmates felt fulfilled by family, friends and the considerable achievements of their professional lives. But there was an undercurrent of deep disappointment, almost demoralization, with what medical practice had become.
The complaint was not financial but vocational — an incessant interference with their work, a deep erosion of their autonomy and authority, a transformation from physician to “provider.”

Illusion of control

A Facebook friend found this defense of abortion.
An interesting read, and the author saves her story for last - she had a child right after she decided to abort a child that appeared to be unhealthy.
Most of her points focus on control - you can't always depend on birth control, prosperity comes from having control of pregnancy timing, and you need to be healthy before becoming pregnant.
People like to think they have control.
Do they really?
You can plan and prepare, and still bad things happen.
You can also overprepare, if you remember the opening scenes of Idiocracy.
In trying to maintain control, you can miss out on the unexpected surprises in life.

Weekend watchdog

Game 7.
One of the most anticipated nights in sports.
The NHL has a pair of them this weekend. The Stanley Cup matchup will be decided in "win or go home" fashion.
First in the East, the Rangers host Tampa Bay Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports network. Then the Ducks and Blackhawks battle in their Game 7 Saturday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
The winners start the Stanley Cup Final Wednesday at 8 p.m.
In the NBA, the Cavaliers and Warriors didn't get the memo. They finished off their foes quickly, and have seven days to rest before the NBA Finals start next Thursday on ABC.
The Orioles host Tampa Bay for the weekend on MASN, while the Nationals visit Cincinnati on MASN2.
The Saturday slate on Fox includes Royals visiting the Cubs, Red Sox-Rangers and Dodgers taking on the Cardinals. FoxSports1 offers the Diamondbacks and Brewers at 4 p.m., and ESPN2 closes the weekend with Tigers against the Angels at 8 p.m.
ESPN2 carries baseball regional action Saturday at noon and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The four winners of Thursday's opening games play Friday in the softball College World Series on ESPN2 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ESPN carries four games Saturday starting at noon. There's two more games scheduled Sunday at 1 and 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Arsenal and Aston Villa battle for the FA Cup Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Fox, and ESPN2 has the Copa del Rey between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona at 3:25 p.m.
D.C. United hosts Philadelphia on Comcast Saturday at 7 p.m. Seattle visits the Red Bulls Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 and the Galaxy play New England at 7 p.m. on FoxSports1.
NASCAR heads to the Monster Mile this weekend. The Sprint Cup racers hit the track Sunday at 1 p.m. on FoxSports1. The Xfinity series will be on Fox Saturday at 2 p.m. and the truck series goes Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The IndyCar circuit races in Detroit Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
CBS offers the Byron Nelson Classic Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Arizona battles Spokane in Arena Football Saturday at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.
Play at the French Open continues Friday at 5 a.m. on ESPN2.
The College Rugby championships are on NBC Saturday at 2 p.m. and NBC Sports network Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Track and field's Prefontaine Classic will be on NBC Sports network Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

If a bear pees in the woods...

Would the Obama administration try to regulate it as a wetland?

Check the ads

Pamela Gellar strikes again.
No political ads on the Metro - because Gellar wanted to buy one.
Question: How on earth is this "neutral"? Philadelphia did the exact same thing. The decision to accept issue ads at all is Not a neutral one when they accept issue ads so long as no one wants to run an anti-Sharia ad.
This doesn't even have the superficial look of a "viewpoint-neutral" decision. They have decided against issue ads, all of them, based on their disagreement with the viewpoint of Pam Geller's ad.
Who's the radical?
Isn't it the people who change the rules to fit their own needs?

Joining the fray

George Pataki has announced plans to run for the Republican presidential nomination.
Why?
Somebody has to be the first to withdraw from the field.

Raising a stink

Grandpa John has a idea for Senator Bernie Sanders, who think we have too much choice in deodorants.

Politicians in the neighborhood

Teaverton in Fishersville had a political feel Wednesday.
Two guys were walking in one part, passing out info for Marshall Pattie in his bid for the state senate.
A question - if he loses in the primary, will he be a crabby Pattie?
Tim Martin was at the other end, meeting people in his quest to become Commonwealth's Attorney for Augusta County.
Two weeks until the primary, and then five more months until the General Election.

If I could turn back time

Guess who's not a fan of President Obama's strategy on ISIS?
Cher.
Also wary?
France.
Maybe if American troops had stayed in Iraq, these problems wouldn't be so big.
If we could turn back time....

Can you hear me now?

Want better cell service?
Help is on the way.
Talko, for instance, focuses on group calls that can be recorded, tagged, and bookmarked (see “An App That Actually Wants You to Talk on Your Phone”). Another app, Yallo, can record calls and search for words and phrases, annotate a call with a note to let the recipient know why you want to talk, and automatically reconnect calls that drop.
“One thing that drove us to it is the realization that every application on our phone has been touched—has been modernized—except for the core of the phone, which is the phone call,” says Tal Elyashiv, Yallo’s founder and CEO.

Risky business

It is safe for the youth of today to mow the lawn?
The Federalist features a neighborhood list-serv where the fears of mowing the lawn loom.
Those old playgrounds had a progressive danger to them that taught kids how to assess risk. When you grow up thinking that every fall will be cushioned by safety mulch or fall height-rated rubber flooring, turns out you have trouble when it comes to real world rock-climbing.

One citizen, one vote

Instapundit notes the Supreme Court will review a Texas apportionment plan - creating district based on total population instead of total citizen population.
One man, one vote should mean one voter, one vote.

Catching up on the weekend

Instapundit puts together the best of the weekend stories for those who may have missed something.

Can you hear the thunder

The motorcyclists of Rolling Thunder hit the road home Monday.
I saw several on I-66 westbound as I headed to Baltimore for the Orioles' game.
Several riders made a pit stop in Staunton.
Safe travels.

Grab a bucket of chicken

KFC has brought back Colonel Sanders for some new commercials.
They hope it makes you want to grab a bucket of chicken.
In a world of health-food hype, the chain is doubling down on its fried-chicken bucket, which Hochman called a "shareable innovative package" that still gets about three-quarters of its sales from parents with kids at the table.
"Many families see our bucket meals as home-meal replacements," Hochman said. "They may want to cut corners, but they want to know the people who are making their meals aren't cutting corners."

We bugged out, not them

Max Boot questions whether the Iraqis are to blame for current setbacks against ISIS.
We need to work with Iraqis to advance our interests, but if we feel that there is insufficient effort on the part of the Iraqis, we can’t simply throw up our hands in despair and walk out—that would be a serious blow to American interests in the region. Instead, we need to figure out how to better motivate the Iraqis to fight hard.

Worried about pods

Do you use laundry pods?
Do your children think they look like candy?
It's the newest worry out there - even though the risk is extremely slight.
With laundry pods, as with every other household product, there will be some marginal level of risk involved. But the rules for dealing with laundry detergent, of any kind, shouldn't be different from the rules for any other product: Keep out of reach of children, especially small ones. And understand that the overall risk of injury or something terrible happening is vanishingly small.

No respect for vets

Bearing Drift doesn't approve of an L.A. Times piece - trying to say our military personnel have a privileged life and get to live in "gated communities."
Today’s military enjoys a lifestyle that in many ways exceeds that of much of the rest of the country: regular pay raises and lavish reenlistment bonuses, free healthcare, subsidized housing and, after 20 years of service, generous retirement benefits unavailable to many other Americans.
Most Americans aren't being shot at on the job, either.

No Tomorrow

Tomorrowland didn't draw audiences to the theater this weekend.
It's not for lack of trying.
There was a Super Bowl 30-second spot, a Google teaser experience, a TakeMeToTomorrowland.com launch featuring exclusive and explorable looks at the world of the film, seven-minute sneak peek on Imax showings of Avengers: Age of Ultron, a Disneyland world premiere and a globe-trotting filmmaker cast tour in San Francisco, London, Valencia Spain and Tokyo, Japan.
Maybe George Clooney doesn't have the appeal Disney thought.

What have you done for me lately?

Over at DaTech Guy, thoughts on why have accomplishments matters.
We’ve all worked with an office know-it-all, the person who can’t hack his own job but has plenty of ideas on how he can do a better job than his boss. All he–or she of course–needs is a promotion and the power to shine. On the rare occasion I’ve seen that complainer move up the ladder, the result was predictable, failure.
Because having great ideas and vision is only part of what is needed to be successful. You need to have skills to convince others that your course of action is the best–and to have patience to maintain alliances if initially confronted with failure. The concept of the philosopher-king is a myth.

Messing with maps

Democrats are unhappy with the district maps drawn up by Republicans recently.
Why?
The rules said to create majority-minority districts.
They did.
Maybe too much majority, but now Democrats are unhappy that too many Republicans hold the other districts.
Let the districts change, and bring more competition - and discussion - to the majority-minority districts.

Hillary broke it

Powerline looks at the Hillary emails - including those who praise her leadership in 2011 in changing the government.
The Benghazi murders are of course important. But it is critical to recognize that they resulted not just from a lack of adequate security or other misjudgments that may have been made at the time. Rather, the fact that terrorists were largely in control of Benghazi by September 2012 was the direct result of Hillary’s bad judgment in leading the overthrow of Qaddafi while having no plan for what would come after, and no ability to influence events on the ground. It is that poor judgment that disqualifies her as a candidate for the presidency.

For when I'm sorry

Powerline likes that Chris Pratt wants to get ahead of the crowd - in case someone gets offended.
I am fully aware that the subject matter of my imminent forthcoming mistake, a blunder (possibly to be) dubbed “JurassicGate” is (most likely) in no way a laughing matter. To those I (will likely have had) offended rest assured I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn’t happen (again).

Saturday song

It may be a three-day weekend, but Frankie Valli is working his way back to you.

Why the Clintons were broke

Hillary Clinton was mocked for saying she and Bill left the White House broke.
Why did they have money troubles during that time?
Paying $850,000 to settle Paula Jones sexual harassment in 1999 took a big bite from the budget.
Bad decisions led to bad finances.
It's likely a pattern they haven't fixed now that the money is pouring in.

Facebook quote of the week

Post prom report - everything went well and no charges have been filed

Didn't work for George Allen

Does one loss doom a politicians' career?
George Allen lost in 2006, and couldn't bounce back in 2012.
Democrats have lots of 2010 losers trying to get back into the Senate.
Not many former Senators have returned to the job since the 1950s.
As political analyst Stu Rothenberg put it, they're asking "voters to rehire them for a job from which they were fired." Senate Democrats are relying on these repeat candidates for the exact same reason that Democrats are comfortable with anointing Hillary Clinton for their presidential nomination: There aren't any better alternatives.
Hopefully for Republicans, the trend will continue in 2016.

Won by Bush; Lost by Obama

Charles Krauthammer doesn't focus on the 2003 decision about Iraq.
What happened in 2011 and since catches his attention.
Bush bequeathed to Obama a success. By whose measure? By Obama’s. As he told the troops at Fort Bragg on Dec. 14, 2011, “We are leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people.” This was, said the President, a “moment of success.”
Which Obama proceeded to fully squander. With the 2012 election approaching, he chose to liquidate our military presence in Iraq. We didn’t just withdraw our forces. We abandoned, destroyed or turned over our equipment, stores, installations and bases.
We surrendered our most valuable strategic assets, such as control of Iraqi airspace, soon to become the indispensable conduit for Iran to supply and sustain the Assad regime in Syria and cement its influence all the way to the Mediterranean.

Weekend reading

Waiting for 5 p.m. before the three-day weekend.
How nice of the Clinton team to help fill the hours with emails to enjoy.

Weekend watchdog

Memorial Day weekend can mean beach trips or picnics.
Remembering our veterans.
And lots of auto racing.
There's speed from Europe to North Carolina Sunday, from early morning to late into the night.
NBC gets the action going at 7:30 a.m. with the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco. The flag drops at the 99th Indianapolis 500 at noon on ABC. Then the NASCAR crews go deep into the night at Charlotte, with coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 starting at 6 p.m. on Fox.
Before the big day, it's Carb Day from Indianapolis Friday at 11 a.m. on NBC Sports network, with the Indy Lights race at noon.
The Infinity Series hits the track in Charlotte Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on Fox.
NBC Sports network has qualifying from Monaco Saturday at 8 a.m.
The NBA and NHL are in the midst of their conference finals.
TNT has the Eastern finals, with Game 2 from Atlanta Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Game 3 in Cleveland Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The Warriors lead their series 2-0, and visit Houston Saturday at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
On ice, the Blackhawks host Game 4 against the Ducks Saturday on NBC at 8 p.m. Tampa Bay faces the Rangers Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC Sports network with Game 5 Sunday at 8 p.m.
The Orioles head to Miami for the weekend. Games Friday and Sunday are on MASN2, with Saturday's game on Fox at 7:15 p.m. Other parts of the country will see either the Angels-Red Sox or the battle of Missouri between the Royals and Cardinals.
The Nationals take on the Phillies on MASN for the weekend. The Braves battle the Brewers Saturday at 4 p.m. on FoxSports1 and ESPN has the Yankees and Rangers Sunday at 8 p.m.
Comcast carries the ACC baseball tournament, continuing Friday at 11 a.m. with Virginia-Notre Dame, followed by Clemson against North Carolina and Miami meeting North Carolina State. Florida State faces Louisville Saturday at 11 a.m. and it's Miami-Notre Dame at 3 p.m.
ESPN2 has the ACC championship Sunday at 1 p.m. and the SEC title tilt at 4:30 p.m. The Big 12 championship will be on FoxSports1 Sunday at 1 p.m.
NCAA crowns its lacrosse champion this weekend. Denver meets top-seeded Notre Dame Saturday at 1 p.m., followed Johns Hopkins-Maryland. The winners meet Monday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
It's Super Regional weekend for NCAA softball. ESPN has a pair of contests if necessary Friday at 7 and 9 p.m. while ESPN2 offers Oklahoma against Alabama Friday at 7 p.m.
Saturday's play starts at noon on ESPN with Auburn facing Louisiana-Lafayette, then it's North Carolina State meeting Oregon before the second contest between Oklahoma and Alabama. There's a third game, if necessary, on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. before Arizona battles LSU at 10 p.m.
The second game between top-seeded Florida and Kentucky will be Sunday at noon on ESPN, with a deciding game if necessary at 3 p.m. and LSU against Arizona at 5 p.m. ESPN2 carries a deciding game if necessary at 8 p.m.
D.C. United tangles with New England Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. FoxSports1 has a pair of contests Sunday, with Philadelphia facing the Red Bulls at 5 p.m. before Orlando City travels to San Jose.
There's 10 Premier League matches on 10 networks at 10 a.m. Sunday. NBC carries Hull City against Manchester United, while NBC Sports network has Chelsea-Sunderland and USA offers Newcastle United meeting West Ham.
Arsenal battles West Bromwich on Bravo, Aston Villa and Burnley meet on Esquire and Crystal Palace try to entertain on E! CNBC brings Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, with last-place Queens Park Rangers meeting Leicester on Oxygen, Manchester City taking on Southampton on MSNBC and Stoke City playing Liverpool on SyFy.
The PGA tour spends the weekend in Texas, with coverage on CBS Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. NBC carries the Senior PGA Championship Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Rochester meets Toronto in indoor lacrosse Saturday at 7 p.m. on MASN2.
Play begins at the French Open Sunday at 5 a.m. on ESPN2.
NBC Sports network has motorcycle racing from Glen Helen Saturday at 7 p.m.

Worse than expected

Maybe Hillary Clinton is so inevitable, people don't think they need to donate to her Super PAC.
Or maybe her chances are much, much worse than expected.

Code case

Graduates, do you have a job?
Want one?
Maybe you should have gone to Coding School instead of wherever you partied for four or more years.
Code-camp students don’t get a diploma they can hang next to an Ivy League one, but they come away with projects they can show off in interviews, typically apps. Six months after finishing, 59 percent report a salary increase, averaging $23,000 annually, according to SwitchUp, another rating site. “They do seem to be effective at helping their candidates win entry-level tech jobs,” says Tyler Willis, a spokesman for tech headhunter Hired.

Coasting to the exit

Ace doesn't shed too many tears for the final show by David Letterman.
Now I don't want to say that Letterman was never funny. He was -- at least I thought so. He was hugely funny.
But the thing is, all this media praise being directed at Letterman...? All the bits people are talking about -- the Top Ten, Stupid Human Tricks, Throwing Objects Off a Five Story Building, the Velcro Suit, the monstrously funny bits with Chris Elliot --
All of these were from the show's first five or six years of existence.
He's been coasting on his past glories ever since.

10 games, 10 networks, 10 a.m.

If you like Premier League soccer, then Sunday is your day.
There's 10 games on 10 networks under the NBC umbrella.
But it does mean the end of the season for fans.
It's one time where Washington, D.C. is hardest hit.

Going to the mattress

Reason tries to find a reason why a student carried a mattress across the stage at Columbia's graduation.
This isn't quite the end of the story: Nungesser is suing Columbia, university president Lee Bollinger, and Sulkowicz's thesis supervisor for allowing him to be subjected to "gender-based harassment" which severely damaged his educational experience and future prospects, even though a campus panel found him not culpable on the sexual assault charge.
The accused may own Columbia before this is over.

Changed minds? Never mind

Politico shares the news that a positive study on attitudes toward gay marriage was fake.
The retraction this week of the popular article published in a December issue of the Science academic journal follows revelations that his co-author allegedly faked data for the study, “When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support of gay marriage.”
It sounded too good to many people.
Because it was.

I'm sorry I said he would say he's sorry

The University of Michigan jumped the gun before a meeting between football coach Jim Harbaugh and some unhappy students.
Would Harbaugh apologize for getting behind a showing of "American Sniper."
Not quite.
“Vice President Royster has met this request and scheduled a meeting in which Coach Jim Harbaugh will be issuing a private apology,” student Lamees Mekkaoui, a leader of the campus organization Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, stated in the email. “I would really love to have anyone falling into these identities who felt impacted by Coach Harbaugh’s tweets present for support, especially because this meeting was requested by students.”
A few hours after Mekkaoui sent the email, it was retracted and replaced with a different message.
“I would like to make a correction in my email,” her second email stated. “I made the mistake of assuming that an apology would be issued. However, Coach Jim Harbaugh was simply invited to a private meeting with us in order to talk about the screening of American Sniper and get a dialogue going about how a university leader’s social media can impact campus climate. I take full responsibility for this assumption and I am very sorry for any confusion I may have caused.”
Sorry for assuming an apology.
They should be sorry for assuming that would happen.

Don't believe her and don't trust her

Ron Fournier doesn't believe Hillary Clinton's responses on her emails.
Or conflicts of interest.
The Clinton team seems to think talking about interests of the people will carry them.
Drip, drip, drip goes the bad news.

Going through the motions

Roger L. Simon wonders why Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton are even running for president.
Both Jeb and Hillary think they want to be president, have had it in their dreams for umpteen years, but now, faced with the reality, they don’t know why they’re doing it.  At least they don’t act that way. They are lost people, running not on fumes, but on habit.  They’re supposed to run.  They were bred to run.  But they don’t have a clue where they want to lead the country, not in any passionate sense.

What does Fay say

Fay Vincent led baseball in the aftermath of the Pete Rose banishment in 1989.
His perspective ought to get a hearing about the Tom Brady episode.
There are some important teaching moments in this case. One is the need to do future investigations much faster. This one took too long, and the vapid conclusion it reached was a whimper when a bang was needed.
Second: In Deflategate the cheating was done by low-level employees, one of whom refused to even talk to the investigating lawyers. As a result, the investigation could not determine whether someone higher up directed their tampering. It should be clear in the future that any employee who fails to cooperate with a league inquiry does so at the cost of his job.

Deranged parenting

George Will looks at the overreaction to parents who let their children walk home alone.
Increased knowledge of early-childhood development has produced increased belief in a “science” of child rearing. This has increased intolerance of parenting that deviates from norms that are as changeable as most intellectual fads.
“Intensive parenting” is becoming a government-enforced norm. Read “The day I left my son in the car” (Salon), Kim Brooks’s essay on her ordeal after leaving her four-year-old in the car as she darted into a store for about five minutes.

You have bias - I don't

You can boil down the George Stephanopoulos fuss to one line.
You have bias. But I don't.
In the interview with author Peter Schweizer of "Clinton Cash," Stephanopoulos accused him of bias due to prior work with the Bush administration.
But the ties Stephanopoulos has with the Clinton team - including donations to the foundation - don't seem like bias to him. Not even worth mentioning.
It's a simple problem for Stephanopoulos.
But there's no easy way out.

Fifty shades of mistakes

Not everyone know about "Fifty Shades of Gray."
A West Virginia teacher didn't know what the movie was about.
Was 10 minutes enough to figure it out?
The filmography request was made by a group of Hampshire County students who asked their teacher, who was ignorant of the film’s content, if they could watch it as a reward for good work.
“Fortunately, an assistant principal walked by and saw what they were doing,” said school principal Jeff Woofter. “They got there 10 minutes after it started and shut it down.”

Too rich to be influenced

Don Surber looks at the George Stephanopoulos donation to the Clinton Foundation.
The apology by George Stephanopoulos for donating to the Clinton Foundation did what no amount of complaints by moderates, conservatives and anti-Clinton liberals could do. It made the Clinton Foundation dirty money in the public eye. He would not have to apologize for donating to the Red Cross or any real charity.
Real charities do real work.
Fake ones talk and take in money.
Like $30 million since the beginning of 2014.

Saturday song

Start your morning with "Oh What a night."

Coffee talk

Powerline's weekly collection of cartoons includes a conversation between Hillary Clinton and Tom Brady.

Facebook quote of the week

You know you have too much laundry when you lose an iPod a couple months back and find it once you clean clothing at the bottom of the pile.

Not egg-cellent

Buy your eggs while you can - a massive run of bird flu has hit flocks in Iowa.
And it might be heading east.
It's not a pretty sight.

Mounds and mounds of carcasses have piled up in vast barns here in the northwestern corner of Iowa, where farmers and officials have been appealing for help to deal with disposal of such a vast number of flocks. Workers wearing masks and protective gear have scrambled to clear the barns, but it is a painstaking process. In these close-knit towns that include many descendants of the area’s original Dutch settlers, some farmers have resorted to burying dead birds in hurriedly dug trenches on their own land, while officials weighed using landfills and mobile incinerators.

Iowa, where one in every five eggs consumed in the country is laid, has been the hardest hit: More than 40 percent of its egg-laying hens are dead or dying. Many are in this region, where barns house up to half a million birds in cages stacked to the rafters. The high density of these egg farms helps to explain why the flu, which can kill 90 percent or more of a flock within 48 hours, is decimating more birds in Iowa than in other states.

The quarterback must go down hard

It's the battle of the NFL off-season - Tom Brady against the commissioner.
It's nice that the Patriots defended their star.
Don't you think the NFL needed strong enough evidence to deliver the four-game suspension.
Goodell will be ready.

Weekend watchdog

American Pharoah can become an American legend - by winning two more races.
The colt continues his quest for the Triple Crown Saturday in the Preakness Stakes. NBC has coverage starting at 4:30 p.m.
The years continue to roll by since the last Triple Crown - Affirmed in 1978. By nightfall Saturday, the dream could remain alive - or be dashed yet again.
The fillies race in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes Friday at 3 p.m. on NBC Sports network. Preliminary races before the Preakness will be featured Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
There's a pair of Game 6s Friday on ESPN, as the Wizards host the Hawks Friday at 7 p.m. followed by the Warriors and Grizzlies at 9:30 p.m.
The Rockets and Clippers have their Game 7 Sunday.
The NHL conference finals start Saturday at 1 p.m. on NBC, with the Rangers hosting the Lightning. The action starts out west Sunday at 3 p.m., when the Ducks take on the Blackhawks.
The gold medal game in the World Ice Hockey Championships will be Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
NASCAR's stars sprint for the cash in Charlotte Saturday night, with coverage on FoxSports1 at 7 p.m. The Truck Series goes Friday at 8:30 p.m. and the Xfinity Series visits Iowa Sunday at 2 p.m.
The pole for the Indianapolis 500 is up for grabs Saturday at 4 p.m. on ABC. There's more qualifying Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Orioles host the Angels this weekend on MASN, while the Nationals continue their west coast swing in San Diego on MASN2.
FoxSports1 offers Marlins-Braves Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by the Pirates battling the Cubs. ESPN has the Tigers' trip to St. Louis Sunday at 8 p.m.
On the college diamond, Virginia visits North Carolina Friday at 11 a.m. on Comcast. Louisville takes on North Carolina State Saturday at 1 p.m. MASN2 has Florida International against Rice Saturday at 1 p.m.
Johns Hopkins takes on Syracuse in the NCAA lacrosse quarterfinals Sunday at noon on ESPN2, followed by Maryland-North Carolina.
CBS has the PGA tour Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Orlando City meets the Galaxy Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 and D.C. United goes to Philadelphia at 7 p.m. on FoxSports1.
The Premier League season winds down on NBC Sports network, with Southampton against Aston Villa Saturday at 7:45 a.m. and Liverpool battling Crystal Palace at 12:30 p.m. Swansea City meets Manchester City at 8:30 a.m., followed by Manchester United facing Arsenal.
There's a women's friendly between the United States and Mexico on FoxSports1 Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
ESPN2 brings LSU against Texas Southern in NCAA softball regionals Friday at 7 p.m. Action moves to ESPN Saturday, starting at noon with a pair of games on ESPN2 at 4 and 6:30 p.m. There's final games at one site on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (if necessary) and ESPN2 has a contest at 7 p.m.
NBC Sports network carries the Tour of California, continuing Thursday at 5 p.m. There's Stage 6 at Big Bear Lake Friday at 5 p.m.
There's motorcycle racing on NBC Sports network Saturday at 7 p.m.

We dream it - now build it

The public has learned much about Positive Train Control in the past two days.
I just learned this.
"Due to PTC's complexity and the enormity of the implementation task," the an association statement said, "and the fact that much of the technology PTC requires simply did not exist when the PTC mandate was passed and has had to be developed from scratch, much work remains to be done. Despite railroads' best efforts, various technical and non-technical challenges make full development and deployment of PTC by 2015 impossible."
Someone had an idea.
How to implement it?
Don't ask the idea people.
They want it.
Now make it happen.

Seventy years of Sodor

Thomas the Tank Engine and friends celebrated their 70th anniversary this week.
Thomas celebrated.
Lefties fumed.
Left-wing critics have said the series – now called Thomas & Friends – gives liberal parents “the creeps” and teaches children to conform to society’s expectations and discourages them from expressing independent thought.
Christopher Awdry, who went on to write numerous Thomas books himself after his father retired in 1972, disagrees, arguing that the engines are punished for displaying “arrogance” or “naughtiness”, not initiative.
Left-wingers major in arrogance and naughtiness.
No wonder they don't like the show.

Buy a "no speeding" sign

The Amtrak accident brought out calls for more infrastructure.
Then came the news the train was going 100 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone.
Why spend millions to make the tracks stop speeding when you just need to remind the engineer to slow down.

Probable cause

Peter King wants some answers from Tom Brady.
Will he get them?
With media filled with stories of "more probable than not" instead of smoking gun evidence, does it make people more suspicious of the world around them?
Hillary Clinton ought to take note of the action.

Ready to walk the lawn

It's graduation weekend in Charlottesville.
Stay away from town if you can.
There will be two graduation ceremonies due to construction at the Rotunda.
Time for my favorite time-lapse photography.

Passing the blame

Patriots fans are upset with Tom Brady's four-game suspension.
Patriot-haters feel joy that he got caught.
A football coach during my high school tenure notes the obvious - it's hard to believe no one on the coaching staff knew what was going on.
You can't blame rogue equipment managers - and be believed.

Telling the story of success

Don Surber explains the reasoning behind his new book "Exceptional Americans."
Yes, American history isn't perfect. I get that. But American history was more than slavery and Indian Wars. When it comes to race, our nation has tried to overcome prejudices, biases and fears that have haunted man since the dawn of civilization. American history is the story of success. I wanted to write a book that was positive about our country. I think I succeeded.

Thick - like your head

Ready to head to Antarctica?
Be prepared to break some ice.

Happy ReOpening Day

The birds are back in Baltimore tonight.
After playing one game in front of an empty stadium, postponing two and moving three to Tampa Bay, the home team will be home.
Fans are excited.
Time to start a nice winning streak.

Picture of the day

Instapundit received a great picture from a reader.

Recycling update

Started Monday by recycling aluminum cans - getting 55 cents per pound in Fishersville.
Good to see the price edging up again.

Better than fancy vacations

PJ Media gives space for a stay-at-home mom - with no regrets.
Sure, I could have had an epic career of my own and our family could have had new cars and fancy vacations. But I would have missed out on the privilege of spending those 17 year raising a pair of snotty-nosed babies into amazing, godly men. Nothing I could have achieved in my career could rival what I accomplished — with God’s help — in those 17 years and I have not one regret for the sacrifices that accompanied the decision my husband and I made all those years ago. I don’t feel like I missed anything — although if you ask my husband, he’ll probably tell you that he still misses that ’68 Cougar.

Trust the international community

When Republicans complain about the potential Iran deal, we're told to trust the international community.
Shouldn't progressives trust the international community when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
There's no need to check the details.
Trust the Obama team and the international community will follow along.
Get with the program, Elizabeth Warren.

Anything good on TV?

Don Surber tells the tale of woe for network TV - fewer people are watching.
I mostly watch sports and the Big Bang Theory.
I may not be the prime demographic for TV ad buyers, but there are plenty of people like me out there.

Saturday song

Frankie Valli has today's word.

Facebook quote of the week

Maybe, just maybe, I will learn to keep my thoughts & opinions to myself someday.....but I doubt it.

Otter be ashamed of yourself

Dustbury has a great commenter - who like the story about an otter destroying a phone supposedly protected by an OtterBox case.

They rode the wave. The other side got cocky

Via Instapundit, a look at how the British elections turned out differently than expected.
In a sign of his turn of phrase, Labour got cocky - and then stunned when the results rolled in.
On economic matters at least, Britain – with the obvious exception of Scotland – remains a small-c conservative nation; conservatives just don’t like to shout about it. Leftists, on the other hand, wear their hearts on their sleeves, and their domination of the arts, academia and the media gives them influence out of all proportion to their numbers, and creates the illusion of a vast popular movement. And they believe their own hype – no wonder the left was in denial as events unfolded last night, with such luminaries as former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock suggesting the British public were too stupid to know what’s good for them.

Weekend watchdog

The PGA tour hits one of its most famous golf holes this weekend - the island green at the 17th at TPC-Sawgrass.
NBC has coverage of the Players Championship starting at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Why is the hole surrounded by water?
During construction, they found sand needed for other areas of the course around the proposed 17th green. The course architects decided to expand the water hazards to completely surround the hole - except for the walkway.
The NBA and NHL postseasons continue their second rounds this week. There's a pair of Game 3s Friday with the Cavaliers clashing with Chicago at 8 p.m. and Rockets-Clippers on ESPN.
The Wizards host Atlanta Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN, with Golden State visiting Memphis at 8 p.m. on ABC. LeBron and the Cavaliers have Game 4 against the Bulls Sunday at 3:30 p.m., and it's Rockets-Clippers on TNT at 8:30 p.m.
On ice, the Capitals and Rangers return to New York Friday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports network followed by the Ducks at Calgary. Montreal tries to stay alive Saturday at 7 p.m., facing Tampa Bay on NBC Sports network.
If the Rangers or Flames win on Friday, there will be ice hockey Sunday.
The Orioles have a weekend set against the Yankees on MASN, while the Nationals host the Braves on MASN2. Saturday's game at 4 p.m. will also be on FoxSports1.
The Tigers meet the Royals Saturday at 1 p.m on FoxSports1, and they close the weekend on ESPN Sunday at 8 p.m.
On the college diamond, Pittsburgh faces Georgia Tech on Comcast Saturday at 1 p.m. Coastal Carolina clashes with Liberty Sunday at 1 p.m.
NASCAR visits Kansas this week, with the Sprint Cup race on FoxSports1 Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The truck series races goes Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FoxSports1.
NBC Sports network has the Spanish Grand Prix Sunday at 7:30 a.m. There's qualifying Saturday at 3:30 p.m. after practice Friday at 8 a.m.
Everton faces Sunderland Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network, with Newcastle United-West Bromwich Albion at 10 and Crystal Palace against Manchester United at 12:30 p.m. It's Chelsea-Liverpool Sunday at 11 a.m.
D.C. United battles Kansas City Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. Toronto takes on Houston Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 and it's a battle for New York on FoxSports1 at 7 p.m.
FoxSports1 offers an international friendly between the United States women and Ireland Sunday at 3 p.m.
Comcast carries the ACC softball tournament semifinals Friday at 1 and 3:30 p.m. ESPN has the final Saturday at 1 p.m., and the SEC championship Saturday at 8 p.m.
The American Athletic Conference title matchup will be Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN2, then Oklahoma State faces Oklahoma at 3 p.m.
The United States faces Denmark in the hockey championships Friday at 2 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
The Tour of California cycling race starts Sunday at 5 p.m. on NBC Sports network.

Fighting the good fight

Pamela Gellar stands strong after a week of criticism over her group's "Draw Mohammed" gathering.
Islamic law as it’s interpreted by extremists forbids criticism of Islam, the Quran, and Muhammad. If they cannot be criticized in the United States, we are in effect accepting Islamic law as overriding the freedom of speech. This would establish Muslims as a protected class and prevent honest discussion of how Islamic jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence.

Tar Heel money

Over at DaTech Guy, Liberty Lady lances Democratic complaints about North Carolina's budget surplus.
On Wednesday, the news broke that some of the budget and tax policies put into place by the Republican held legislature and Governor Pat McCrory have yielded a $400 million dollar surplus.
A lot of heads, like that of the ‘Moral Monday’ crowd, must be exploding.
‘Moral Monday’s’ main shtick has been to whose mission has been to call the Republican held Legislature “regressive”. That same crowd, along with Democrat legislators warned of gloom and doom befalling North Carolina. Gloom and doom like a predicted shortfall of $270 million did not come to pass.
Makes me want to visit North Carolina soon.

Walker vs. poverty pimps

Don Surber likes how Scott Walker irritates liberals.
Liberals are alarmed. Scott Walker decried poverty pimps and wants -- Holy Cow -- government to protect individual civil liberties, instead of steamrolling our right in the name of some boutique special interest group.
“I think government needs to do more to give people freedom back, and I think that’s true across the board, but particularly on this topic in that I think for too long — and I’ll say this, this is a fairly aggressive term — but I think there are too many poverty pimps in our society. Too many government officials who rely on poverty as a way, a means of political control, too many community-based organizations who rely on their existence by perpetuating the cycle of dependency,” Scott Walker said.If there's not poverty pimps, they would be happy to be working their ways out of a job.

Incompetent at best

The experts have found much to question about the indictments of six Baltimore police officers.
The Baltimore Sun lets someone the state's attorneys office in the city take a whack.
In the long run, Ms. Mosby may be undermining the cause of justice rather than promoting it. She has created an expectation of guilt and conviction. If that does not happen, many will blame the system as unfair or unjust, when it may have been Ms. Mosby's own lack of competence and/or arrogance in bringing charges so quickly.
And she has created a new expectation in the city: that police officers who arrest without what she considers to be probable cause (a subjective standard) are subject not just to civil action (the current norm) but criminal action. Mere mistakes, or judgments exercised under duress, can land them in the pokey.

What is hate speech?

Anything said by Chris Cuomo is hate speech in my book.
If First Amendment activity depends on not offending anyone, then I'm offended by Cuomo.
He needs to be quiet.

Birth is a beautiful and gory thing

Ace of Spades co-blogger CAC tells the finish of his wife's amazing pregnancy tale.
And shares some tips he learned.
Freebies are something to keep an eye out for. Those coffee vending machines, for example. When it says “staff only”, remember that you are going to be paying out the nose for this little adventure and dammit it feels good to break the rules and avoid paying 75 cents for cheap coffee. Fight the power. Also, as far as I can tell, the diapers, pads, covers, pillows, IV machine, sofa pillows, and bathroom shampoo are all under the “hotel” policy: take everything that fits into your bag. You never know what you'll find useful (if a nurse fits in the trunk, take one of them too- you can't walk two feet without running into one).

You call that a knife

Reason tries to sort out the type of knife that is legal and the type that's illegal.
If police and prosecutors cannot agree on whether Gray's knife was legal, of course, it is hardly fair to expect the average citizen to know, let alone subject him to criminal penalties (a fine up to $500 and up to a year in jail under Baltimore's ordinance) for guessing wrong. Furthermore, the fuzziness of this ban, like the fuzziness of offenses such as loitering and disorderly conduct, invites arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. The Christian Science Monitor's Patrik Jonsson makes that point in a story that asks, "Should it really be illegal to carry a knife in the city?"

The picture from Garland

DaTech Guy offers the winning picture from Garland - what provoked the two gunmen to attack.
This is the drawing that won the contest in Garland, it is a perfect representation of what free speech is all about.
Not a single one of the networks have shown this image and asked the obvious question:

“Would a reasonable person be offended by this image?“

Promote equality - ignore your kids

Powerline comments on something burning up the internet - an Australian reporter wondering if reading to your children promotes inequality.
The evidence shows that the difference between those who get bedtime stories and those who don’t—the difference in their life chances—is bigger than the difference between those who get elite private schooling and those that don’t,’ he says.
This devilish twist of evidence surely leads to a further conclusion—that perhaps in the interests of levelling the playing field, bedtime stories should also be restricted.
Never knew those times reading "Goodnight Moon" would be hurting civilization.

On and on

Dustbury has problems with reincarnation.
I do not, generally, endorse the notion of reincarnation. (Nor did I when I was here last time.) 
But the reason is obvious.
One of the problems I find with the concept is that its most fervent believers tend to assert that they were someone notable in a previous life; scarcely anyone claims to have been a serf who perished at twenty-two of some hitherto unnoticed disease.
I followed his link to Slate, which culls Wikipedia for famous people you can claim to be.
Hey, I got General Pulaski from the Revolutionary War.

Hillary doesn't listen to me anyway

Does money given to the Clinton Foundation influence Hillary Clinton's decisions?
Depends if Hillary listens to Bill.
She's ignored plenty of what he's done through the years.
Time to read "Clinton Cash."
And read between the lines.

No sizzle there

MSNBC asked three of its hosts to put together a collection of their best stories.
They are still searching.

How they draw in Texas.

A gathering to show drawings of Mohammed drew two guys intending to do harm.
And they learned other people in Texas can draw - their guns - pretty quickly.
No more drawing for those two.

Cinco de Meow

If there were no Facebook, how would I know this cat was being tortured with a sombrero?

Billions served the word of God

The Gideons surpassed a milestone last week - two billion Bibles or testaments distributed since its founding in 1909.
They has given 1 billion scripture portions since 2001, and 84 million last year - 12 million in India alone.
The word spreads.

What's the carbon footprint?

Lot of private planes clogged the Las Vegas airport before the big fight Saturday night.
How many people who flew in fuss about global warming?

Passing the blame

The Baltimore Sun's media critic takes a shot at people criticizing the coverage of the Baltimore riots.
The terrible images of cars and buildings burning through the night, as looters crawl through the shattered windows and doors of businesses, are indelibly etched into my mind along with those of millions of viewers worldwide.
But don't blame the media. They didn't light the fires and loot the stores. They just showed what was happening in Baltimore to the world. That's what we do.

Saturday Derby song

It's Derby Day, time for Dan Fogelberg.

Facebook quote of the week

Facebook strikes again! As of today, I've been unable to add my thoughts to things that I share. Grrrrr.

Reality says

Ace wonders about CBS news.
It's the "Critics Say" headline.
On the internet, you're not space-limited with your headline.
Hix
Pix
Flix
On the internet, your headline can be long.
And meaningless.
And contradicted by the first paragraph.

Looking at the indictment

Legal Insurrection's Andrew Branca gives his opinion on the indictment of six police officers in Baltimore.
But he saves the best line for the end.
Frankly, it strikes me as even less of a foundation for the charges brought here than was the evidentiary foundation for the second degree murder charge brought by Florida Prosecutor Angela Corey against George Zimmerman in the self-defense shooting of Trayvon Martin.
And we all remember how that ended.

Weekend watchdog

It's the weekend for young horses to race for immortality.
And NFL teams to stock their rosters with young talent for next season.
Churchill Downs hosts the 141st Kentucky Derby, with coverage starting Saturday at 4 p.m. on NBC.
After two minutes around the track, one horse will have a chance to win the Triple Crown.
NBC Sports network has coverage of the Kentucky Oaks Friday starting at 12:30 p.m.
ESPN and NFL Network told you the first round of picks Thursday. The second round starts Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 and the final day kicks off Saturday at noon on ESPN.
Enjoy your weekend of Mel Kiper Jr. insights from Chicago and sleeper picks later Saturday afternoon.
After three series sweeps, the NBA postseason will move into its second round Sunday when Golden State hosts Memphis on ABC at 3:30 p.m.
A few series remain to complete the first round. The Nets and Hawks meet in Game 6 Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN, with a Game 7 Sunday at 1 p.m. on ABC if necessary.
The Clippers and Spurs have their deciding game Saturday at 8 p.m. on TNT.
The Nationals visit the Mets for the weekend, starting on MASN. The Orioles take their show on the road, playing in Tampa Bay against the Rays on MASN2.
FoxSports1 has the Angels and Giants Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by Reds-Braves. The Yankees and Red Sox battle on ESPN Sunday at 8 p.m.
On the college diamond, Louisville meets Clemson Saturday at 1 p.m. on Comcast.
Montreal hosts Tampa Bay to start their second round series Friday at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports network, followed by Wild at Blackhawks at 9:30 p.m.
NBC has Game 2 between the Rangers and Capitals Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
NBC Sports network brings the Canadiens against Lightning Sunday at 6 p.m., and the Wild-Blackhawks at 8:30 p.m., and CNBC has the Ducks and Flames at 10 p.m.
On the international stage, the United States faces Finland Friday at 10 a.m. in the world championships on NBC Sports network. The Sledge Hockey gold medal game will be Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
NASCAR hopes to avoid raindrops in this weekend's trip to Talladega. Fox has the Spring Cup race Sunday at 1 p.m., after the Xfinity Series goes Saturday at 3 p.m.
NBC offers the WGC Match Play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
D.C. United hosts Columbus Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. Sporting Kansas City takes on Chicago on ESPN2 Sunday at 5 p.m. and Seattle faces New York City at 7 p.m. on FoxSports1.
Leicester City meets Newcastle United Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network. Chelsea clashes with Crystal Palace Sunday at 8:30 a.m., followed by Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City at 11 a.m.
Comcast has a semifinal of the Ivy League women's college lacrosse tournament Friday at 7 p.m. The final is Sunday at 11 a.m., and the CAA tournament final will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
ESPN has a pair of SEC softball games Sunday - Kentucky against Tennessee at 1 p.m. followed by Auburn meeting LSU at 3 p.m.
The college rugby Varsity Cup championship will be on NBC Sports network Saturday at 4 p.m.