Hilarious, but not always.
AND FINALLY…
Week-ends (11/10/18)
A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…
HEROES OF THE WEEK
Terry Lauerman (we missed this one recently)
VILLAINS OF THE WEEK
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“We have every confidence in the results last night and we’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm about the race and the win that we had last night and the excitement about what’s coming to Wisconsin.”
Tony Evers after defeating WI Governor Scott Walker
“Thanks to Tony Evers for his gracious comments on our call today. I offered the full support of my staff and our cabinet as he begins the transition process.”
Gov. Walker in a statement after he called Evers to concede
“I’m eager to begin work with them (Republican legislative leaders, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau) in the near future on (finding) ways to solve the problems that are facing the state of Wisconsin and finding long-term bipartisan solutions on things that people care about like roads and ensuring we have a good public education system and health care.”
Gov-elect Evers
“I would like to assure the citizens of Wisconsin that we will do our best to find common ground when possible.”
Robin Vos
“CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person.”
President Trump speaking to CNN’s Jim Acosta at a news conference at the White House
“Jim Acosta, not just yesterday but for two years now, has been making it about his own narcissistic purposes. Jim Acosta is not a serious White House correspondent; he is a 40-something member of a high school debate system who goes in there, takes a policy position, usually obviously against the administration, and debates the president, or debates Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and that’s not the role of a White House correspondent. He should be either going forward, a campaign strategist, a campaign spokesperson on the Democratic side, or perhaps an opinion host in CNN prime time, or a pundit, because that is what Jim Acosta really is.”
Joe Concha who writes for The Hill
“The whole thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed. But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts and kooks…What if someone with an unstable mind loaded a gun and drove to Washington? What if that person went looking for our girls? Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family’s safety at risk. And for this I’d never forgive him.”
Michelle Obama denouncing President Trump’s “birther” campaign questioning her husband’s citizenship. In her memoir “Becoming,” set to come out Tuesday, Obama writes openly about everything from growing up in Chicago to confronting racism in public life to her amazement at becoming the country’s first black first lady.
“I guess she wrote a book. She got paid a lot of money to write a book. And they always insist you come up with controversial. Well, I’ll give you a little controversy back. I’ll never forgive [Barack Obama] for what he did to our United States military. By not funding properly, it was depleted. Everything was old and tired. And I came in and I had to fix it.”
President Trump’s reaction to Michelle Obama
“At your request, I am submitting my resignation.”
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a one-page letter to President Donald Trump, making clear his resignation was not voluntary
“Good rule in life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl [Saturday Night Live] recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.”
U.S. House Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw, after Saturday Night Live poked fun at his war injury. Crenshaw lost his right eye to an IED but returned to Afghanistan to serve two more tours.
“I swear Florida could be voting between ice cream and a kick to the head and the results would be 50.5%-49.5%.“
Benjamin Park, a professor at Sam Houston State, on the close races in Florida for the U.S. Senate and governor
OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK
MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK
MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK
Inflated mass shooting numbers
MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK
Mom, daughter give birth hours apart in same hospital
No GOP upset, Jim Acosta, Kristallnacht, and Veterans Day
The Barking Lot – America’s Finest Dog Blog (11/10/18)
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me. It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: Mostly sunny. High of 31. “D”
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. High of 38. “D”
Now, here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer, with this week’s main blog.
Kevin’s workplace is in the final weeks of its annual year-end fundraiser for charities with options to give to from all around the world. It’s an amazing endeavor that is extremely successful.
My husband looks over the corresponding booklet each year to see the various choices. But in the end his mind doesn’t change. The check’s been made out for many years in a row to a special place.
Our annual contribution is a tribute to Kevin’s mom who donated regularly to St. Jude’s.
Oh, and by the way (BTW) this guy donated to St. Jude’s, too.
OK, I digress.
Want to join us and make a charitable donation before the end of 2018, but you have dogs in mind?
Here are some worthwhile charities pertaining to dogs you might wish to consider:
Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind
For 70 years, the Guide Dog Foundation has trained and placed guide and service dogs to provide increased independence and enhanced mobility to people who are blind, have low vision or have other disabilities.
It costs over $50,000 to breed, raise, train, and place one assistance dog; however, all of the Foundations’ services are provided at no charge to the individual. Funding comes from the generosity of individuals, corporations, foundations, businesses, and service and fraternal clubs.
Their mission is to provide guide dogs and instruction in their use, free of charge, to blind and visually impaired men and women from the United States and Canada. There’s no government funding, so they must depend on donations and fundraising to provide guide dogs and instruction in their use.
Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans
Trains and places shelter rescue dogs for assistance to disabled veterans, autistic children, and people who are physically disabled so they can live independently.
Professionally trains dogs rescued from shelters to assist people with deafness, hearing loss, and other challenges. Dogs provide safety, companionship, self-confidence, and independence.
Rescues dogs facing imminent execution if they do not get interim financial sponsors, foster parents, or medical treatment required to become adoptable.
They provide service dogs to wounded warriors with physical and psychological disabilities. Your gift gives love, friendship, and independence to those who have sacrificed so much.
Canines for Disabled Kids, Inc.
Provides canine companions for disabled children. Your support helps through scholarships to offset the cost of the dogs for the children they help, counseling services for families looking for information about service dogs, or education offered around the country to interested businesses and schools. CDK relies solely on private donations and grants.
Fido and many others thank you!
—Jennifer Fischer
Thanks, Jennifer.
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
Vietnam veteran dies before being reunited with stolen service dog.
COLUMN: The worst part of being poor: watching your dog die when you can’t afford to help.
Passenger Says Delta Made Him Sit In Dog Poop Or Miss Flight.
Mayor takes terminally ill dog on trip of a lifetime.
Talk to your baby like you talk to your dog.
COLUMN: My Dog Didn’t Forget Me When I Went to Prison.
COLUMN: We might not want to admit it, but our pets often call the shots at home.
How to make your dog Instagram-famous, according to a manager for “pet influencers.”
Janesville Fire Dept. to Receive Life-Saving Pet Oxygen Masks for Holiday Preparedness
The holiday season sees a rise in the number of residential fires with more time spent cooking, decorating and heating, also claiming the top three days for home candle fires (Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day), according to the National Fire Protection Association. While fire departments are equipped to battle these blazes and rescue victims, not every unit has the equipment needed to assist pets affected by smoke inhalation. To reduce the number of resulting pet fatalities this winter, Invisible Fence® Brand is donating 15 life-saving pet oxygen masks on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018 to the Janesville Fire Department in Janesville, Wisc. The donation is being made by Invisible Fence of Southern Wisconsin in support of the company’s Project Breathe™ Program.
Each year, it’s estimated more than 40,000 pets die in fires, most succumbing to smoke inhalation. The reality in most cases is that first responders lack the equipment to resuscitate and save these animals. Programs like Project Breathe are addressing this issue. Since Project Breathe’s inception in 2006, 24,000 masks have been donated to first responders.
When: Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, 11:00-11:30 a.m.
Where: Janesville Fire Dept. Fire Station #1, 303 Milton Ave., Janesville, WI
THAT’S IT FOR DOGS IN THE NEWS.
HERE’S OUR DOG PHOTO(s) OF THE WEEK.
In Kathmandu, Nepal, armed police officers work with dogs, as part of Diwali. During the festival people worship crows, cows, and dogs. Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA
Steve Payne of Stone Bank and his dog Geordi finished up their morning walk Friday at the dog run in Nashotah Park near Nashotah in Waukesha County.
Were it not for the red sweater, 2 year-old Teddy would blend in with the newly fallen snow while taking his daily walk with owner, Jim Pingitore along Menomonee Parkway in Wauwatosa Friday.
We close as we always do with our closing video.
First, it’s a miracle in St. Louis.
And here’s an old Barking Lot favorite, surf dog Ricochet!
RICOCHET GOES “BEYOND THE BOARD” TO HELP VETERANS WITH PTSD RECOVER MORE QUICKLY THROUGH HER EXTRAORDINARY HEALING POWER.
The connection she makes with people defies present-day scientific understanding. “Superman has x-ray vision, but Ricochet can see right into your soul”, said retired Marine Staff Sergeant Persons B. Griffith IV (Griff), who suffers from combat related post-traumatic stress.
Ricochet is extremely sensitive, empathic and intuitive. She mirrors the emotions of those she works with through her subtle and not so subtle behaviors. “Somehow she knows their triggers,” said Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s guardian. “She assumes responsibility for their well-being and alerts them to potential triggers in the environment. She will stop and plant (refusing to move), or she’ll redirect them to a less anxiety provoking area”, said Fridono.
“The last time I worked with Ricochet, she alerted to a mall security guard by leading me away from the area we were in. She took it a step further by guiding me behind a bench where we were able to ‘take cover’ like I did when we took fire on the battlefield”, Griff said.
Ricochet’s behavior helps Griff (and others she works with) identify deep seated emotional trauma which can then be addressed with therapists. As a result, the healing process often advances more quickly.
Both Fridono and Griff’s objective with these videos and IMAX film is that they can be a catalyst that gives hope to anyone with emotional trauma who is suffering in silence or contemplating suicide. The statistics are staggering… 22 veterans with PTSD die by suicide every day!
Fridono believes all dogs have these healing powers. Unfortunately, we often misinterpret their cues as bad behavior. In doing so, we miss the magic every dog is capable of. Her wish is that others will gain a better understanding of the sentience of dogs, and how they are always communicating with us… we just have to listen.
If you’d like to learn how to better interpret your dog’s behavior, or if you’d like to unleash their healing power, please visit here.
If you have PTSD, please visit here to discover how a pet dog, emotional support dog or service dog can help you.
Note: For more information, please contact Judy Fridono at 707-228-0679, or pawinspired@aol.com.
PLEASE NOTE:
The behaviors in the video are NOT what you want a service dog to do. A service dog should make it easier for you to go into social situations. Ricochet fulfills a very specific niche with her healing power. She’s most effective at the beginning of a service member’s treatment, when they are still uncovering their issues. She helps them go very deep into their soul, which can provide additional insights during the discovery and recognition phases of recovery.
That’s it for this week.
Thanks for stopping by.
Please consider passing this along to other dog lovers you know.
See ya, BARK, next Saturday morning!
The Best Cartoons of the Week (11/10/18)
THOUSAND OAKS
THE DEMS
POST-ELECTION
THE MEDIA
AND FINALLY,
Goodnight everyone, and have a wonderland weekend!
Every Friday night we smooth our way into the weekend with music, the universal language. These selections demonstrate that despite what is being passed off as art today, there is plenty of really good music available. Come along and enjoy.
Surprise, surprise, surprise this morning.
Above photos: jsonline.com
Well, not exactly a surprise. All the forecasters got their snowy predictions correct. Advisories were issued, and it’s still fall. We know it’s early (too early), but we’ve dug out appropriate music as our theme this week.
Let’s get started.
We open with Karen and Richard.
The Carpenters released two Christmas albums, and they’ve also been put together for a single compilation. In my view they are the BEST, better than anyone else.
OK. What was your first reaction when you peered out the window this morning?
OMG!
What a mess!
Wet, nasty crap.
STOP!!!!!!!
Or…look, how pretty.
There are plenty of folks who really, really like this white stuff.
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Next up, a jazz standard written by pianist and bandleader Claude Thornhill way back in 1941. This song quite possibly best describes the atmosphere earlier today, sung beautifully by the original members of the Manhattan Transfer.
We Midwesterners are a hardy bunch that handle an early November blast of snow. Hardy just like the holly and the ivy. The prickly leaves of the holly represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus from the thorns. In Germany, it is traditional that a piece of ivy is tied to the outside of a Church to protect it from lightning.
Here’s a different take on a popular British carol by one of the best contemporary jazz groups.
That’s it for this week.
Goodnight.
Sleep well.
Have a great weekend.
Don’t forget.
We close with The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force that was established in 1950 to carry on the tradition of Glenn Miller’s dance band.
This piece is a combination of a holiday classic and “The Four Brothers,” recorded in the late 40’s by Milwaukee native, the late Woody Herman. The tune was named for and featured Herman’s saxophone section.
Friday Night Forgotten Oldie: John Henry Ramistella
Hard to believe this week’s artist isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This singer/guitarist had nine Top 10 hits, 17 other songs in the Top 40, and has sold more than 30 million records.
Legendary rock and roll disc jockey Alan Freed recommended John Henry Ramistella change his last name to Rivers, and stardom marked by a string of hits was just around the corner.
“Memphis”
“Maybelline”
“Midnight Special”
“Seventh Son”
“Poor Side of Town”
“Secret Agent Man”
“Baby I Need Your Lovin'”
“The Tracks of My Tears”
“Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”
“Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancin’)”
His 1964 album “Johnny Rivers Live at the Whisky-a-Go-Go” is considered a rock and roll classic. Here’s a track from the famous Sunset Strip nightclub recording by Rivers who turned 76 this week. Get ready for a vintage 60’s go-go sound.
Today’s highly interesting read (11/09/18): Kristallnacht – What’s Changed in 80 Years
November 9, 1938
Today’s read is from Jonathan Feldstein who was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six.
On the night of November 9, 1938, Germans egged on by five years of increased rabid anti-Semitism, sanctioned and inspired by the ruling Nazis, destroyed more than 1000 synagogues, burned and looted more than 7500 Jewish businesses, and desecrated many Jewish cemeteries. Observing and understanding this anniversary is all the more critical in the wake of the anti-Semitic Pittsburgh massacre. While hatred of Jews is sadly not new, one thing new today is the solidarity among Jews and Christians standing united against anti-Semitism.
Read the entire column here.
Here it comes, Ladies and Gentlemen
The refrain that we all must now somehow work … together.
We know exactly what that means. That one particular side needs to move over to the other side and compromise with them.
Where was that same expression the last several years?
Today’s highly interesting read (11/08/18): Jim Acosta violated one of the oldest rules of journalism
Michael Goodwin is a columnist for the NY Post. He writes:
Naturally, the boorish Jim Acosta of CNN was the instigator. As is his habit, Acosta doesn’t ask questions — he makes accusations and argues. Almost daily, he does it with the press secretary; Wednesday, he did it with the president.
Read Goodwin’s entire column here.
