Deadbeat dad of 23 gets a hand slap

 

Meet Howard Veal. Now, Mr. Veal apparently vehemently follows Darwin in that he has fathered 23 children with 12 different women. Yes, spread the seed. Someone should get with this man and document his pick-up lines because they seem to work rather well.

Of all those children, 23 and counting, Veal has paid a grand total of $90 in child support. Nothing more. Ever. To date, he owes $533,000 in back child support with 14 additional child support cases pending. He is currently unemployed in Michigan, a state bursting with a 13% unemployment rate.

The punishment doled out by the courts: 23 to 48 months in jail with a price tag to taxpayers of roughly $30,000 a year.

You are the poster child for irresponsibility," Kent County Judge Dennis Leiber told Veal at a court hearing, according to The Grand Rapids Press. "You're an insult to every responsible father who sacrifices to provide for their children."

I’d say that this makes a darned good case for male birth control.

Middle East peace talks progress summed up

Palestinians are threatening to withdraw from talks and Israel is refusing to extend a moratorium on settlement building. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton can’t seem to break the deadlock, though she did put her foot down and told both sides not to wreck the peace talks.

As always, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the Associated Free Press captured the sentiments exactly. This is progress.

Internet propaganda raises US terrorist threat

ABC News (and only ABC News) reports today that the threat of terrorism is now the highest since 9/11, with readily available al Qaeda propaganda on the Internet driving like-minded individuals in the US to terroristic acts.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter spoke during a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee September 22, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to present the facts behind the evolving threat level.

"A blend of al Qaeda inspiration, perceived victimization, and glorification of past plotting, has become increasingly accessible through the Internet, and English-language websites are tailored to address the unique concerns of US-based extremists," said Leiter, who stated that more complex and frequent attacks have happened in the last year.

"The attack threats are now more complex, and the diverse array of threats tests our ability to respond, and makes it difficult to predict where the next attack may come.”

Elevated risk of fire in Arkansas

The National Weather Service has issued a state-wide warning that has prompted burn bans across Arkansas:

...ELEVATED FIRE DANGER CONTINUES TODAY...

 

HIGH PRESSURE BROUGHT DRIER AIR TO THE NATURAL STATE FOR THE WEEKEND...AND THIS DRY AIR WILL ALLOW FOR AN INCREASED FIRE DANGER TODAY. THE COMBINATION OF LOW MOISTURE LEVELS IN THE FINE FUELS SUCH AS GRASS...AND LOW AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL RESULT IN INCREASED FIRE DANGER ACROSS MUCH OF THE STATE TODAY. ALSO...AS THE HIGH PRESSURE MOVES EAST...WINDS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS WESTERN ARKANSAS...WILL INCREASE AND BECOME GUSTY THIS AFTERNOON.

 

DUE TO THIS INCREASED FIRE DANGER...NUMEROUS COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE HAVE ISSUED BURN BANS. PLEASE CONTACT LOCAL OFFICIALS BEFORE BURNING TO SEE IF YOUR COUNTY IS UNDER A BURN BAN.

 

IN ADDITION TO THE BURN BANS...ALL OF ARKANSAS IS IN A MODERATE WILDFIRE DANGER RISK...WITH WESTERN ARKANSAS IN A HIGH WILDFIRE DANGER. REMEMBER...ANY FIRES THAT START WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD QUICKLY AND GET OUT OF CONTROL. EVEN SOMETHING AS SMALL AS A DISCARDED CIGARETTE...EMBERS FROM A CAMPFIRE OR EVEN SPARKS FROM FARM MACHINERY CAN START A FIRE.

 

MOISTURE VALUES WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY TUESDAY...AS MOISTURE STREAMS NORTH FROM GULF. RAIN CHANCES WILL ENTER THE FORECAST TUESDAY...AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK...AS THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM HERMINE MOVE INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

The proper way to defecate

Since 1591 when the flush toilet was invented and common by the 60s and 70s, we have been BM-ing in a position non conducive to getting the job done in a way our bodies were intended.

You see, our bodies have something called an anorectal angle, a bend in the pipes between where waste is held and where it comes out. This bend is at 90 degrees when we stand, and about straightened out when we squat. Sitting down while inviting movement is working against the way our bodies work, increasing abdominal pressure that cause the veins in our anuses to swell, painfully. When those veins stay swollen, they may bleed. Welcome to Hemorrhoid City.

If you don’t believe it, try it yourself as Slate’s Daniel Lametti did. He said he gained an hour of time each week, saved some effort along the way, and his knees stopped hurting after about the third day.