Being Human

…2012 federal transportation bill designated Broadway and 7th Avenue [Times Square NYC] as federal highways… subject to the billboard limits… Federal officials say they are working with the city to try to find some way to keep they signs from having to be removed.

On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill withdrawing the state from the Common Core education standards…

Oklahoma City …Milot loves music, and loves playing the mandolin — and that came in handy during his surgery. Dr. Sughrue had Milot play the mandoline as part of a process to determine how his brain was functioning.

Dr. Sughrue was able to remove 99% of the tumor — and because of the aggressive attack, Milot is hopeful that his chemotherapy will knock out the rest of the mass.…

With the state facing a $611 million budget hole, more than 90 Oklahoma businesses, foundations and nonprofit agencies are asking the governor and Republican legislative leaders to halt a scheduled income tax cut. … from 5.25 percent to 5 percent, beginning Jan. 1 … The governor and legislative leaders have consistently said they have no plans to stop the tax cut from taking effect. …

[The budget should be balanced, but what would be best is to cut the income tax altogether and let the resultant influx of business boost the economy.

[They're only dri

“Keeping meat consumption to levels recommended by health authorities would lower emissions and reduce heart disease, cancer, and other diseases,” Annan told The Guardian Sunday.

“And of course there are alternative sources of protein. For example, raising insects as an animal protein source,” Annan said. “Insects have a very good conversion rate from feed to meat. They make up part of the diet of two billion people and are commonly eaten in many parts of the world.”

“Eating insects is good for the environment and balanced diets,” Annan said.

[Daily Caller c/o WZ]

…served to students in some Hawkins County, Tennessee schools last week. … 6-year-old meat had been frozen and then was thawed for meal preparation… at Joseph Rogers Primary School… the staff decided not to serve the meat. However, it was served at other schools. …the meat smelled so bad they made gravy to put over it…

SEATTLE -- Not a single 11th grade students showed up to take the SBAC test at Nathan Hale High School this week, a Seattle Public Schools spokesperson confirmed. … Earlier this year, teachers at Nathan Hale passed a resolution against the Common Core Standards test, but SPS Superintendent Larry Nyland threatened teachers with the loss of their teaching licenses if they didn't administer the test

A bill that would nullify in practice certain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that prevent terminally ill patients from accessing treatments was signed into law by Gov. Fallin today. Oklahoma is now the 15th state to pass such a bill into law.…

…David Horowitz reportedly said during a recent speech at the University of North Carolina that members of Muslim students associations have been linked with terrorism, prompting a massive backlash among Muslim students, who say his assertion is not only false but made them feel unsafe. [Imagine that!] …throughout the week the hashtag #NotSafeUNC gained ground and a “Not Safe UNC” Tumblr page was created to chronicle alleged bias against Muslims at UNC and the region. The UNC College Republicans are also taking heat for inviting Horowitz to speak. In an email, College Republican Chairman Frank Pray said he is receiving a lot of hate mail. …

One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul, and yet no one ever comes to sit by it.
—Vincent van Gogh, painter (30 Mar 1853-1890)

Many noble human impulses die because there is no one to hear their expression. Truly, it is not good for man to be alone. Some degree of recognition and a certain amount of appreciation are essential to the development of human character.
—Urantia Paper 160:2.6

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a bill into law that creates significant roadblocks for implementation of the Affordable Care Act, leaving the federal program without an enforcement mechanism in the state.

When identity politics intersect with liberal judicial activism, expect bizarre results.… Punishing criminals is a basic state function, and deciding how (and at what expense) to run prisons is a quintessential legislative judgment. As long as prisoners are adequately fed and housed and are not arbitrarily abused, it should be of no concern to a judge—and especially a federal judge—whether prisoners have access to color TV, air-conditioning, recreational facilities, or elective medical procedures. Serving a prison sentence is a punishment; it is not supposed to be enjoyable.

It is nonsensical to grant imprisoned convicted felons health-care “entitlements” that many law-abiding, hardworking taxpayers don’t enjoy. One hopes that the state appeals Judge Tigar’s unprecedented ruling. Unless resisted, jurismania will destroy popular sovereignty. …

Barack Obama, at the annual White House Easter Prayer Breakfast:

“On Easter I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian I am supposed to love. And, I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less than loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned. But that’s a topic for another day. (laughter) Where there is injustice, I was about to veer off.”

PHOENIX (Apr. 2, 2015) – Today, new Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed a bill that would have allowed gold and silver to be used as “legal tender” in the state, as required by the Constitution. …