20 Years Ago Today: Oklahoma City Bombing

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Sunday April 19, 2015 · 1:59 PM PDT

2015/04/19 · 13:59

The following is a transcript of today's episode of the "It Was 20 Years Ago Today" podcast. You can download the audio here: It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Episode #182 -- Oklahoma City Bombing

Twenty years ago today, a seven thousand pound truck bomb was detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. One hundred sixty eight people were killed and nearly seven hundred injured as a result of the blast and the collapse of the Murrah Building. Many of the dead and injured were children -- a day care center for the Federal workers was located in the building. The Oklahoma City bombing was the worst terrorist incident in the United States to that date, and remains the worst domestic terrorism incident in US history. Read More

We've Spilled It All Before -- Proposal

Sailbourne

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Wednesday August 04, 2010 · 1:18 PM PDT

2010/08/04 · 13:18

(Crossposted on my personal blog and should appear on Facebook as well.)

As I write this, it looks like the BP - Deepwater Horizon oil spill may actually be coming to an end. The actual spillage, anyway. Despite the White House's claim that three quarters of the oil spilled is now gone, the effects of this spill will last a very long time, and affect a countless number of lives in and around the Gulf of Mexico, and the whole world beyond. The ecology of the sea and the land around it has been changed, possibly forever, definitely not for the better.

I've been thinking for a few weeks that it would be worthwhile to put this incident into a greater context by telling the stories of other cases in our history of industrial disasters, toxic spills and mass pollutions. The truth is that nothing that's happened in the Deepwater Horizon case is really new.

We've spilled it all before.

Poll

5 votes Show Results

Should I write some short diaries about past toxic spills, for some historical perspective on the Deepwater Horizon disaster?

5 votes Vote Now!

Should I write some short diaries about past toxic spills, for some historical perspective on the Deepwater Horizon disaster?

Sure, sounds like a good idea.

1 vote

No, don't waste your time.

4 votes

An Audio Horror Story In Support of NAFC

Sailbourne

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Wednesday October 14, 2009 · 11:17 PM PDT

2009/10/14 · 23:17

When my husband Joe Medina and I were watching Keith Olbermann's latest Special Comment on health care, one topic that Keith mentioned was very familiar to us -- COLI, also known as "dead peasant" insurance. We first heard about it in 2005, in Jim Hightower's book Thieves In High Places.

My husband Joe and I produce a horror/dark fantasy audio drama series called Afterhell. After reading about "dead peasant" insurance, Joe was inspired to write an Afterhell story about it. "Dead Peasants" appeared on our second disc, released in 2006.

Sailbourne

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Friday November 14, 2008 · 11:42 AM PST

2008/11/14 · 11:42

[crossposted on my personal blog, Sailbourne]

Despite having moved out of California over a decade ago, I still have strong ties to the SF Bay Area and one of my main sources of online news is the SFGate website. Today I spotted an article which seems to have generated a lot of controversy and really got me thinking.

The article, Troubled students produce rap CD, begins thus:

San Francisco school officials spent $50,000 over the past several months to produce a hip-hop CD, one with so much profanity it requires a parental advisory label slapped on the front.

And they couldn't be more proud.

Poll

67 votes Show Results

Is spending $50K on a rap CD ...

67 votes Vote Now!

Is spending $50K on a rap CD ...

a good investment to keep kids out of prison

37 votes

a waste of taxpayer money

14 votes

I Like Pie

16 votes

Coming Out As a Straight Supporter

Sailbourne

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Saturday October 11, 2008 · 12:45 PM PDT

2008/10/11 · 12:45

Yesterday I made a promise to rserven that I would be one of 100 diaries speaking out for equality on National Coming Out Day. So here I am. I am a straight person who has believed in equal rights for GLBT folks my entire adult life. I've come out and stepped up a few times to support those equal rights, and I hope in some small way this diary will show I do mean it.

I'd like to do it with a story about two of my best friends, who have been married at least three times. The first time was in March of 2004 in Portland, Oregon. They even made the CNN website.

Then that got taken away.

Sailbourne

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Wednesday October 08, 2008 · 4:21 PM PDT

2008/10/08 · 16:21

Last night my husband and I watched the second Obama/McCain debate. I think I did pretty well -- I only threw something (a cloth napkin) at the TV set once, and only started shrieking in outrage a couple of times ("Meg Whitman? Meg Whitman?! MEG WHITMAN??!!!!")

Afterward we treated ourselves to dinner at the local Red Robin. Usually it's a very full and noisy place, but by 8 pm, when we arrived, it had started to clear out and quiet down. So we could hear the conversation at the table across from us pretty clearly. It was a father and his three daughters -- early teen and pre-teen, I'm guessing.

He was giving them a civics quiz. How does the Electoral College work; how is it determined how many electoral votes a state gets; how is it determined how many congressional representatives a state gets; what are the opening words of the Declaration of Independence. Good, solid stuff.

RSS

20 Years Ago Today: Oklahoma City Bombing

We've Spilled It All Before -- Proposal

An Audio Horror Story In Support of NAFC

A Rap CD vs. 2 years of Prison -- what's the better investment?

Coming Out As a Straight Supporter

Overheard at a restaurant, post-debate