October 8, 2014

The ‘super PAC to end all super PACs’ to spend $1M for Dem. Rick Weiland in South Dakota

The "super PAC to end all super PACs" is headed to South Dakota.

Mayday PAC, a group that is trying to curb the influence of money in politics, is launching a $1 million effort to support underdog Democrat Rick Weiland in the South Dakota Senate race with four weeks to go until the midterm elections, the group announced Tuesday morning.

It's a sizable investment in an inexpensive state which is considered to be among Senate Republicans' three best pickup opportunities. Polls show former governor Mike Rounds (R) leading the open seat contest comfortably. Larry Pressler, a former Republican senator running as an independent, is also in the race.

Mayday PAC is kicking off its effort with a new ad touting Weiland as crusader against "big money."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/10/07/the-super-pac-to-end-all-super-pacs-to-spend-1m-for-rick-weiland-in-south-dakota/

October 7, 2014

Virginia county clerk signs marriage certificate for plaintiffs who sued him

One of the marriage equality appeals that was declined by SCOTUS was brought by the American Foundation for Equal Rights in Bostic v Schaefer. In the appeal, Plaintiffs Tim Bostic and Tony London sued Virginia County Clerk George Schaefer after being denied a marriage license. During the process, Schaefer was strongly backed by the frothingly anti-gay group, Alliance Defending Freedom.

When Virginia's appeal was refused by the high court, Bostic and London rushed to the Norfolk County Clerk's office to fill out their marriage certificate. Patrick Wilson, a reporter for the The Virginian-Pilot was there to capture and tweet the moment as George Schaefer found himself in the position of having to abide by the law and sign the document permitting these two gentlemen to wed.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/06/1334748/-Virginia-anti-gay-county-clerk-signs-marriage-certificate-by-plaintiffs-who-sued-him

October 7, 2014

Nothing says 'San Francisco' like.....

the sight of a lovely lady in a black dress, riding the sideboard of the cable car on a windswept evening.

October 6, 2014

Marvel Comics to cancel Fantastic Four

It was a story that Bleeding Cool first only offered as a possibility, but as more and more evidence came in, it became more and more likely.

That, as a result of Disney’s highest single shareholder and Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter’s anger with Fox Studios over negotiations regarding the film-and-related rights to The Fantastic Four, that Marvel would cancel the Fantastic Four comic rather than provide any promotion, however small it might be, towards the Fox Studios film. Merchandise and licenses were scrapped and even Fantastic Four posters in the offices were pulled down lest Perlmutter see one and have his ire raised. It may not have been logical, but it was a decision born of personal emotion. It was steadied by sense. X-Men wasn’t cancelled, for example as the Xbooks sell so well. But Fantastic Four? It may have been the first book of the Marvel Universe, but its sales have continued to drag, even after multiple relaunches with high profile creators. There would be less of a hit to the bottom line if this comic was dropped.

Our story was pooh-poohed by all and sundry, save for CBR who independently confirmed that it was intended for the Fantastic Four to be cancelled. Then the letter about sketch card artists being forbidden to use Fantastic Four characters was made public, Mondo talked about being forbidden to use Fantastic Four characters and today, we we were already planning to run another story about Diamond Select Toys confirming that they are unable to make any Fantastic Four toys.

Right now we are not able to make characters from the FF, but as soon as that changes we will consider them.

But events moved on too quickly. Now the catalogues of Hachette, Marvel’s bookstore distributor, seems to confirm the cancellation at least. With June’s solicitation for James Robinson and Leonard Kirk‘s Fantastic Four: The End Is Fourever.

THE END IS FOUREVER! Witness the closing act on the First Family of the Marvel Universe! THE INVADERS meet the FANTASTIC FOUR as the hunt for REED RICHARDS and the missing kids of the FUTURE FOUNDATION continues. Meanwhile the mastermind behind everything unveils his ultimate plan. But how does FRANKLIN RICHARDS factor in? And how does this all lead to…The END?! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR #642-644 and the Triple Sized Final Issue 645!

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/05/confirmed-fantastic-four-to-be-cancelled-in-2015-with-a-triple-sized-issue-645-as-january-kicks-off-fantastic-fourever/

October 6, 2014

Cowboy Junkies - This Street, This Man, This Life (VIDEO)

"That house there is haunted. That door's a portal to Hell. This street holds its secrets very well."

October 6, 2014

It sucks being a control freak while my mom is slipping away.

I'm used to solving problems and there's nothing I can do.

October 5, 2014

Hong Kong police deny using triads to disrupt protests

Hong Kong's assistant police commissioner denies allegations that criminal gangs were called in to disrupt protests in the city. Thugs punched and kicked pro-democracy protesters on Friday night, drawing blood as they tore down their tents and attempted to force them out. Meanwhile, tensions remain high on Saturday between pro-government and Occupy groups

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/oct/04/hong-kong-police-deny-triads-protests-video

October 5, 2014

Can we take consolation if we lose the Senate but win key governorships?

In the past few years all of our progressive gains from marriage equity to higher minimum wages have come from the states. If things hold up, we stand poised to take seat in Maine, Pennsylvania, Florida, Kansas and things are tight in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan. If we can take them as well some state legislative chambers, we might yet be able to advance our agenda on the state levels, even if we lose the Senate.

October 5, 2014

California Faces A Record-Breaking October Heat Wave

California finds itself in yet another heat wave, with record-breaking temperatures reported in several cities and hotter-than-usual temperatures across the state. The National Weather Service has put the San Francisco Bay area and San Diego under a heat advisory and has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Los Angeles area.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles Unified School District cancelled outside activities and sports for the rest of the week due to the heat. This is the second time this school year that LAUSD has had to cancel activities because of high temperatures. All schools in the Long Beach School District had shortened days on Thursday and today because of the hot weather; about 70 percent of schools in the district do not have air conditioning.

On Thursday, downtown Los Angeles reached 92 degrees by noon. The average October temperature for Los Angeles is 79 degrees. Several cities in Southern California broke record temperatures. Oxnard reached 98 degrees on Thursday, breaking an almost 70 year old record, while Santa Barbara saw a new high of 94 degrees. Inland temperatures are expected to be as high as 106 over the weekend. The record high temperature for the Los Angeles area is 108 degrees, which occurred in 1987.

And it’s not just high temperatures that Californians are facing. Fire warnings have been put place throughout the Los Angeles area, thanks to the high heat and winds that could reach 50 miles an hour. The Los Angeles Fire Department has pre-deployed firefighters in high risk areas, including the University of California Los Angeles campus. The Los Angeles county fire inspector Randy Wright said that people should be prepared to evacuate. Earlier in the fall, the King fire in Eldorado National Forest in Northern California burned over 97,000 acres and required over 8,000 firefighters to combat it.


http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/03/3575725/california-october-heat-wave/

October 5, 2014

Eric Burden and the Animals - San Franciscan Nights (VIDEO)