Blog Heap of Links for the day 15 April 2015

The bluebird of bitterness collects some cartoons for IRS pay day.

The Oklahoma National Guard Office of Public Affairs produced a mini-documentary titled, “Remembering the 168”. The video contains past and recent interviews from Guardsmen and civil authorities who answered the call on April 19, 1995, and the days following the Alfred P. Murrah building bombing. …

On April 19, 1995, Susan Walton walked into the Credit Union in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. Those would be the last steps she would take on her own for more than five years. … The triage doctor never expected Susan to live. … “After 20 years, things are starting to fall apart again. So, they’re having to start rebuilding me all over again,” Susan said. …

Out of the rubble, they emerged: six minimiracles. Rescuers pulled out their tiny bodies — bloodied, battered and some gashed beyond recognition… Some grappled with debilitating injuries that persist today. Others battled deep emotional traumas that have long since been overcome. …

…Joe Wallace is an EMSA paramedic. …he'd only been on the job two years. On April 19, 1995, Wallace happened to be sitting inside an ambulance near the Murrah Building. …he felt a "thunderous boom", and the truck shook. And when he looked around the corner, he saw a large cloud of black smoke. …

…A very persuasive case was made against the Castro brothers by Armando Valladares in the early 1980s, when he published his prison memoirs, “Against All Hope.” In that book he chronicled almost unbelievable cruelty during 22 years of imprisonment for philosophically opposing communism. He was arrested at 23 and suffered through torture, solitary confinement and witnessing friends dragged before firing squads. He ate putrid food, suffered squalid conditions, illness and forced labor until the protests of world leaders such as Franois Mitterrand led to his release. Through it all, I can find no hint of our Hollywoodians or of the members of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee speaking up on behalf of Mr. Valladares or any other imprisoned Cuban.…

…Many on the political right solidly oppose federal mandates applied to a wide variety of issues, including education, the environment, the economy, monetary policy, and so on. However, when it comes to drugs, their logic flips on its head. Suddenly, conservatives become the strongest advocates of heavy-handed, unconstitutional federal power. What is going on here? … The drug war is undeniably rooted in a collectivist mindset. It is progressive to the core and follows the same reasoning as other big-government policies, from federal health care to gun control. …

…Would it really be possible to bring back mammoths, or at least creatures resembling and behaving as them, using the synthetic life technology of molecular genetics and cloning? …

Liquor stores could sell refrigerated, high-point beer under legislation approved Wednesday by the Oklahoma House… House members voted 68-21 for the Senate-passed measure, which now goes to a joint House-Senate conference committee where it may undergo major changes before lawmakers seek final passage, said its author, Rep. Glen Mulready, a Tulsa Republican. "There's great demands coming for changes in our liquor laws," Mulready said. He said lawmakers should engage the consumer-driven appetite for convenient access to beer and wine.

When they criticized the Rolling Stones for playing in Israel… [graphic]

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

The Italian coast guard rescued almost 8,500 migrants off the coast of Italy between Friday April 10 and Monday April 13. Most of the would-be refugees were from Syria or sub-Saharan Africa.

In other news, Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province in Iraq, is currently besieged by the Islamic State and may soon fall. …

[Added a day late]

Pete puts the pedal to the metal as events in the world race on.

"…As has been the case all week,and probably for some time to come the news is being smothered by She Who Will Not Be Denied.…"

Gather 'round, children, and let ol' Vic tell you about the state of the world today… and days past:

"…On this day in 1912 HMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sunk 2 hours later. 710 passengers out of 2,227 were saved. …"

…So this idiotic video [Hillary's campaign] released Sunday used a carefully check-boxed group of people under the pretense she’s got support from all ethnic/gender/sex groups, but somehow along the way they didn’t get around to telling people they were appearing in a campaign ad until it was released. …