Earliest human footprints outside Africa found in England

That was a real giant step.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26025763

“The footprints have been described as ‘one of the most important discoveries, if not the most important discovery that has been made on [Britain's] shores,’ by Dr Nick Ashton of the British Museum.”

However: “The hollows were washed away not long after they were identified. The team were, however, able to capture the footprints on video that will be shown at an exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum later this month.”

My amateurishness in such matters, but: The footprints were made 800,000 years ago but then washed away after discovery.

I (Heart) Waffle House

As we were leaving Waffle House in Texarkana a few days ago, my wife said, “They have a sign that says you should reserve a table now for Valentine’s Day dinner.” Not really, said I. “Oh, yes,” she said. “A candlelight dinner for that special sweetheart.” At Waffle House. She said, “That’s what the sign said.”

Nothing says "I love you" like a patty melt on Texas toast.

Valencian?

OK, OK. Got it. By race, I am a “La Raza,” because I am of the human race.

Also under “Race” is “Carolinian,” but not “North” or “South.” News to me that someone from a particular part of the South has a separate race.

Iwo Jimian?

http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/02/you-cannot-just-say-no-to-the-obamacare-race-questionnaire/

At www.ace.mu.nu

Earth from Mars

The big blue marble is a light in the Martian sky.

http://www.space.com/24593-mars-rover-curiosity-sees-earth-photos.html

At www.ace.mu.nu

All they want to do is transform military culture. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Progress on women in combat criticized

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/01/31/militarys-progress-on-women-in-combat-criticized.html?ESRC=army-a.nl

Not surprising. All military branches are between ye rock and ye hard place, going too fast, not going fast enough.

The story quotes Greg Jacob, “a former Marine and policy director of the Service Women’s Action Network.”

OK, so SWAN wants women carrying rifles and machine guns, driving and commanding tanks, pulling lanyards and all those other combat-related jobs, right?

Well, maybe a little more than that.

“SWAN's mission is to transform military culture by securing equal opportunity and freedom to serve without discrimination, harassment or assault; and to reform veterans' services to ensure high quality health care and benefits for women veterans and their families.”

http://www.idealist.org/view/org/D9ffHWbTd6np/

Forget everything that follows “SWAN’s mission is to transform military culture.” That “equal opportunity” and “freedom to serve” is lipstick and mascara. All you need to know is, SWAN has hooked up with the Yale Law Center and the ACLU and that idealist.org group.

“Transform military culture” means get the boys out of sight and let the girls run things, just as girls now run public education.

Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic “represents the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) in its campaign to persuade the Department of Defense more forcefully to address military sexual trauma (MST) within the ranks. The representation has included researching and writing a forthcoming policy paper, drafting federal legislation to improve compensation for victims of MST, drafting and submitting a petition for rule-making to VA, and representation of SWAN, the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, and the ACLU of Connecticut in two Freedom of Information Act lawsuits in U.S. District Court seeking DoD and VA records related to MST.”

http://www.law.yale.edu/academics/vlsc_swan.htm


More here: http://servicewomen.org/about/staff/


If a woman meets the physical and emotional requirements for a job and successfully completes standard training, then there is no reason to keep her from that job. What the military services do not need is a bunch of pissed off liberals saying, “This is how you must do things.”

Vladimir Putin -- conservative

“The Moral Code of the Builder of Communism, if you read it, is just a pathetic copy of the Bible: Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. The Code of the Builder of Communism has the same commandments, just that they are written in a simple language shortened drastically. This code has passed on, it does not exist any more. A new generation of Russian citizens, young people don't even know what it is. But the only thing that can replace it is those traditional values that you mentioned. Society falls apart without these values. Clearly, we must come back to them, understand their importance and move forward on the basis of these values. I want to reiterate something I said in the Address to the Federal Assembly: yes, this is a conservative approach, but let me remind you of Berdyaev's words that the point of conservatism is not that it obstructs movement forward and upward, but that it prevents the movement backward and downward. That, in my opinion, is a very good formula, and it is the formula that I propose. There's nothing unusual for us here. Russia is a country with a very profound ancient culture, and if we want to feel strong and grow with confidence, we must draw on this culture and these traditions, and not just focus on the future.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/02/the_state_of_the_static_union_and_universalist_claptrap.html#ixzz2sBUEPUQm

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KndjFXRLmJk

In today's mail

Michael got a 2014 Arkansas Republican Party membership card. He lives in Texas.

Kathleen got an Arkansas voter registration form. She lives in Florida.

My mother-in-law got a 100% Cotton card from the Tom Cotton for Senator campaign. She has not been a resident of Arkansas since around 1951.

My wife and I didn’t get any of that. Priscilla has been a resident here since 2005, and I’ve been here since 2007.