Today's Quote

Almost Forgot

Ben Carson dropped out of the GOP race 4 or 5 days ago and, in keeping with how most people regard his general demeanor, I didn't even notice.

So I guess we're kinda into the quarter-finals now.

Today's Poem

Medicine Woman --Cheryl Savageau

medicine woman they call me
as if I should like it
like the kids in school
who called me little white dove
from some stupid song
about one more Indian woman
jumping to her death
how come you have an animal name?
they asked me, how come?
and I went home to ask my father
how come, Dad, how come
I have an animal name?

now white women come into my shop
and ask me to bless their houses
(what's wrong with them, I want to ask)
name their grandchildren
(do I know your daughters?)
blow some smoke around
say some words, do
whatever it is you do
we want someone spiritual -
you're Indian, right?

right. my tongue is held
by their grey hair
they are grandmothers
deserving of respect
and so I speak
as gently as I can
you'd let me, a stranger
come into your home, I ask
let me touch
your new grandchild
let me name
the baby
anything
that comes into my head?
I am not believing this
but they are smiling
and tell me again
we want someone spiritual
to do it

I write to my father
how come you never
told me who we are, where
we came from?

Women keep coming into my shop
putting stones in my hands
Can you feel that? they ask
Of course I can feel it
I'm not dead, but that
is not the right answer

My father writes back
the garden is doing good
the corn is up
there's lots of butterflies
all I know is
we come from the stars

Today's Day

International Women's Day

My mom. From the typeset plate for the front page of the Arvada Citizen-Sentinel Jan'77#InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/digTj9lYNS

— Mike Roberts (@EvilleMike) March 8, 2016

Samantha Bee

I like Trevor Noah and I want him to do well, and I want the suits to stay with him until he can get his feet under himself, but seriously, Comedy Central's got the wrong guy hosting The Daily Show.

Colbert And The Dongald

I wanna stop being part of the problem, but I can't helping thinking that part of the solution is to make sure more and more people have to look at what a 3rd rate burlesque show the GOP has become.  And to remind the Repub voters that this is what they've been asking for all along.  Trump, Cruz, Rubio - these are their guys.

And then this from College Humor:

Today's GIF

What We Really Need

"... are fewer people who think there's one single thing that will solve all of our problems ..."

Lily Eskelsen, NEA President:

Gimme what we'll spend the next several years on a coupla fully-loaded Ford class aircraft carriers, and I'll turn every public school in this joint into a fucking palace.  Not by painting the walls and landscaping the parking lots, but by helping the people who struggle sometimes just to survive in the neighborhoods where those schools are. 

You can't fix the schools if you don't fix the neighborhoods.  And you can't fix the neighborhoods without giving people solid reasons to believe we're not gonna turn our backs on them and allow their kids to be mangled and pulverized by the cycle of poverty ignorance and crime. 

Oddly Not Godly

The Sedlec Ossuary located in the suburbs of the medieval town of Kutná Hora in Czech Republic is one of the most unusual chapels. Decorated with more than 40.000 human skeletons, the medieval gothic church is also known as the Church of Bones.

Not to be overly generalize-y, but you're not gonna convince me that most of this churchy shit isn't really just a death cult rebranded.

Monday Pix