Dunn as a Species

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Albert Einstein

Curing disease - one bleach cocktail at a time.

A group calling itself Genesis II Church of Health and Healing plans to convene at a hotel resort in Washington state on Saturday to promote a “miracle cure” that claims to cure 95% of all diseases in the world by making adults and children, including infants, drink industrial bleach.
For a modest donation of $450 per person ($800 per couple) new members of the church will receive a package of the 'Miracle Mineral Solution'. The solution is made of chlorine dioxide, and industrial strength bleach that has been banned in several countries.
The FDA has issued several warnings to people with more money than sense to stop using the so called sacramental cleansing water, At present, no charges are pending.

Don't mess with my porn

A Michigan man is reportedly suing his parents for destroying his porn collection, valued at almost $30,000. The man moved back into his parents home after divorcing his wife, bringing his collection of smut with him. After getting his life together, the man moved to Indiana where his parents forwarded his belongings, minus the porn, which was destroyed by the parents. Police have refused to press charges, and so the man is turning to civil prosecution, apparently seeking $86,000 in damages from his parents.

Polish priest burns Harry Potter books

An evangelical group calling itself the SMS from Heaven Foundation posted an online video burning “Harry Potter” books. The group’s Facebook page shows a priest and two young boys standing over a fire pit filled with books, a fictional series that follows the adventures of a boy wizard with special powers who tries to do the right thing. In the United States there are several organizations that have opposed stocking library shelves with the immensely popular books, claiming that the work violates God's word.
The book burnings are reminiscent of a line from a German play that would be wise to remember: Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn human beings.

Beware the homophobe

A movie theater in Alabama banned Beauty and the Beast over reports that one of the characters in the film is briefly revealed to be gay. The owner defended this stance by saying "If I can't sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting me, then we have no business showing it."

Lessons for teachers

An elementary school principal in New Mexico instructed teachers that they were not to call their students "boys and girls", under the schools new Gender Identity Procedural Directive. Instead she insisted that the teachers use gender neutral terms like "students" in an effort to eliminate gender in the classrooms.

Common sense is not so common

A prank caller convinced employees of a Coon Rapids, MN Burger King to smash all of the windows of the restaurant to keep the building from exploding, police say.
According to police, employees received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Coon Rapids Fire Department. The caller said the restaurant was pressurized and could explode, so the employees needed to break the windows to relieve the pressure. The employees believed the caller and broke multiple windows. An investigation is underway to determine who made the phone call. KFOR-TV reports the same thing happened at an Oklahoma Burger King the same night, costing the restaurant thousands of dollars' worth of damage.

Foiled by Facebook

An employee at Subway sandwich store in New Brunswick was threatened at knifepoint, and handed over $750 to a masked bandit. The victim became suspicious after he was unfriended on Facebook shortly after the crime. DNA from a bandana found by police in the Subway parking lot confirmed that the robber was the same person, and later arrested Ryley Smith, 20, in Calgary. Smith received a three-and-a-half year sentence for the robbery.

How much is too much?

In 2017, Bentley rolled out the world's first Luxury SUV, taking pride in its obnoxious opulence. The Bentayga , with an estimated price tag of over $220,000, has an array of options including a $160,000 diamond crusted dashboard clock.

Russia's Public Enemy: Santa Claus

Not even Santa is allowed neutrality. In 2008, the Kremlin declared Santa Claus an "illegal immigrant" in Russia. Then Speaker of Russia's parliament Boris Gyzlov suggested that the fat American icon was a subversive being used to propagate Western values at the expense of Russian ones. The Speaker insisted that the Russian gift-giver, a leaner and tougher version called Ded Moroz, is far superior to the cookie gobbler American's have grown accustomed to seeing during the holidays. Gryzlov urged Santa to "get out of the profession" and further stated that "No one will ever be able to take away Ded Moroz from Russia. Not Santa Claus nor any other impostors."

Mixed Marriage

Today, 49% of Republicans and 33% of Democrats say that they would be upset if their son or daughter married someone affiliated with the other party. 50 years ago, only about 5% of parents from either party expressed their disapproval for a politically mixed marriage.

Texas lawmaker attacks vaccines as sorcery

Texas state Rep. Jonathan Stickland began a Twitter spat with Peter Hotez, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine, on Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Hotez, lamenting the increase in vaccine exemptions, said that not having children vaccinated put children “in harm's way for the financial gain of special and outside interest groups.”

Stickland responded, saying “Make the case for your sorcery to consumers on your own dime,” he replied. “Like every other business. Quit using the heavy hand of government to make your business profitable through mandates and immunity. It's disgusting.”

Hotez dismissed the attack. “I don't take a dime from the vaccine industry,” he wrote. “I develop neglected disease vaccines for the world's poorest people. And as a Texas pediatrician-scientist it is most certainly my business.”

Twitter users rallied to support Hoetz, who thanked them for their support. “Never thought I would see a Texas legislator launch an unfounded personal attack. Time for some House ethics rules (and some adult supervision),” he wrote.

Jail is bad...for some

A Florida man was arrested Thursday morning by the Port St. Lucie Police Department for grand theft and booked into the St. Lucie County Jail. After making bond he was released, but soon after was seen by deputies pulling car door handles in the jail's parking lot. Finding one that was open, the man proceeded to steal the car.
The man was re-booked into the jail on charges of grand theft.

How does that work?

A Milwaukee man is finding it difficult to register to vote under Wisconsin's new voting law. After casting a ballot for the last 40 years, Leroy Switlick, 67, was told that he needed to show a photo ID to obtain a photo ID. Partially blind, Switlick does not have a driver's license. "If I'm coming to get a photo ID," he said, "how can I already have a photo ID?"

Think before you cross the boss

A study of over 250 senior executives in US companies revealed a startling truth; 1 in 5 of them fit the psychological profile of a psychopath. The study author, Nathan Brooks, summed up his findings: "Typical psychopaths create a lot of chaos and tend to play people off each other."

Probably should have read the manual

A Georgia man lost his leg shooting a semiautomatic rifle at a lawn mower packed with several pounds of deadly explosives.
The Walton County Sheriff's Office released the home made video of the incident as a warning about the use of such materials. David Pressley, 32, can be seen moving closer and closer to the explosive target as he peppers it with bullets. Moments later, the lawn mower suddenly explodes, unleashing a plume of smoke and shrapnel. Authorities said one piece of shrapnel struck Pressley, severing his leg from below the knee.
Pressley’s friends fashioned a tourniquet around his leg and drove him closer to the road, where he was picked up by authorities. He was eventually airlifted to a local hospital and is expected to recover, police said.

The dangers of distracted walking

An Ohio State University study found an alarming increase in the number of injuries, even deaths, caused by distracted walking. Statistics warn that handheld gadgets cause a preoccupation that leads to walking into the path of cars, trains, buses, poles or even falling down stairs. As devices such as tablets and smartphones become more prevalent, the numbers will only increase. The solution? "Look in front of you," says a New York City orthopedic surgeon, "not down at your phone."

Hey, what's in that?

A British study recently found that many young people do not have any idea where food comes from. 15% of respondents did not know that pork comes from pigs or lamb comes from sheep. Most disturbingly, one fifth believed that fish fingers are made from the fingers of fish.

The Power of Prayer

Officials in Blount County, TN, have considered a resolution that would apologize to God for gay marriage and ask for Him to "pass us by in His coming wrath."

A Revolution in Self-esteem

Orange County schools have implemented a district wide policy that kids who do no work will still receive 50% for a grade. While district officials see the measure as a means to keep kids in school, teachers, parents and even students see the new rules as something much different.

"I think every so often you have to have a reality check," said one high school senior. "It just encourages them to be lazy."

"Life is always going to be stranger than fiction, because fiction has to be convincing, and life doesn't."
Author Neil Gaiman

Then again...

"Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
Mark Twain

I mean, these teen drivers...right?

An Alabama teen is being hailed a hero after steering a school bus packed with kids to safety. High school senior Jesse Frank was riding the bus home when the driver collapsed behind the wheel. Frank leaped to action, steering the bus and using his hands to pump the breaks. He managed to get the vehicle off the road, saving all 38 students on board.

Thanks for the lift

Jourdan Duncan, a California teen, has been making a two and a half hour walk to work at a packaging line each day. Police Officer Kirk Keffer recently spotted Duncan walking home after a shift and stopped to talk with him. Keffer subsequently gave the teen a ride home and, impressed by the kid's work ethic, took up a collection to buy him a mountain bike. "There's not a lot of 18 year olds out there than have this dedication," said Keffer.

Feeding the hungry with leftovers

A popular restaurant in Kochi, India, is urging customers and the community to put their leftover food in a refrigerator located outside of the eatery for the hungry to take. People in need of a meal are encouraged to take from the fridge at any time, for any reason. No questions asked.
Minu Pauline, the manager, has nicknamed the fridge “nanma madam” or “tree of goodness.” The fridge is open 24-hours a day, seven days a week and stays unlocked. Pauline asks that people write the date they left the food on whatever its wrapped in, so those who take know how long it’s been there. However, most food doesn’t stay in the fridge for long.
The idea to put a fridge on the street came to Pauline late one night when she saw a lady searching the trash for food. Disturbed by the thought that the woman had been woken up by her hunger, and saddened because that particular night her restaurant had made a ton of food that they could’ve easily given the woman, Pauline decided to do something.

The children shall lead

For the past three winters a 12-year-old Arizona girl has gone door-to-door in her community looking for donations of spare jackets and blankets for the homeless. To date she has single-handedly collected more than a thousand cold weather items for people in need.

"Everyone should feel cared for."
Makenna Breading-Goodrich, age 12

An Unlooked for Opportunity

A Manhattan business woman was walking near her downtown home when she noticed that the neighborhood toy store had recently closed its doors for good. It saddened her to see so many unopened boxes sitting on the shelves, So she bought them all, and donated the entire inventory to children living in the city's homeless shelters.

The spirit of the games

Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin did not win medals at the Rio Olympics, but they did demonstrate the spirit of the games more poignantly than anyone. After colliding during a qualifying heat of the 5,000-meter race, the two racers were left sprawled on the track. D'Agostino, representing the United States, got to her feet, but instead of continuing the race she helped the dazed Hamblin stand. The pair continued the race, but D'Agostino had injured her knee in the collision and collapsed once more. Hamblin, of New Zealand, helped her up and together they crossed the finish line.

A good week for clean clothes

Samuel Van De Cruze, who recently opened Mr. Bubbles in Queens, New York, spent 60 hours washing, drying and folding clothes for homeless families.
By his own estimate, Van De Cruze did roughly 5,000 pounds of laundry after hours between March 28 and 31 for 75 shelter residents living in The Landing — a nearby family homeless shelter. He said the act was “in the spirit of Easter” and this is the first time he has done something like it.
“We had to save as much money as we could for food, travel, diapers and other necessities,” Amber, a resident of The Landing, said in a statement. “I was washing our clothes in the bathtub.”
“I am so grateful for the burden that this lifted — you feel like you are a little bit more of a ‘somebody’ when you are wearing clean clothes,” she said.

The hidden strength

When a 19-year-old Air Force Academy cadet found her father pinned under a truck he had been working on, she had to do something. The fact that the vehicle was leaking gasoline and on fire limited her options. The 5-foot-6, 120 pound cadet not only lifted the burning truck off of her father, but had the courage and presence of mind to drive it away from the home in case it exploded. Humble to the last, she said only "I just did what I had to do. I don't feel like a big hero."

All in it together

A coalition of American Muslim groups has raised over $215,000 for families of the victims of the San Bernardino shootings in December 2015. Muslims United for San Bernardino began the initiative to alleviate, even in whatever ways possible, the hardships of those effected.

Dunn as a species