Bob West – Voice Actor

Characters, Narration, Comedy Dialog – Barney, Jasper, Pasqually

Real American Journalism: Tiny Paper Takes Pulitzer

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Art Cullen, center, editor and co-owner of the Storm Lake Times newspaper, poses for a photo with his son, Tom, left, and brother, John, outside the paper in Storm Lake, Iowa, after Art won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. (Dolores Cullen/Storm Lake Times via Associated Press)
Art Cullen, center, editor and co-owner of the Storm Lake Times newspaper, poses for a photo with his son, Tom, left, and brother, John, outside the paper in Storm Lake, Iowa, after Art won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. (Dolores Cullen/Storm Lake Times via Associated Press)

This is thrilling. This classic story is what American journalism is all about: a tiny newspaper — circulation 3,000, printed on actual paper — cranks out fact-based, well-written editorials that stand up to big business, like the Koch Brothers.They’re in a red state, represented by the horrific Steve King, and according to other articles, Art Cullen’s editorials have also helped the immigrant community to feel somewhat safer.

If Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra were still making movies, they’d make this one.

Take a moment to visit the Pulitzer site, where you can read all of Cullen’s submitted editorials. They’re hard-hitting, with a lightly conversational wit. I’ll be working my way through all of them soon.

Read the story at the Washington Post.

Rhino Hunter Sues Airline So He Can Bring His Animal Trophy Home

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This trophy hunter and his lobbyist pals are now referring to the killing of a critically endangered black rhino as “species enhancement.” They will push any rationalization, and pay any amount, to boost their non-existent self-esteem — or stroke their pathological narcissism.

Hunting groups claim Delta’s ban on big game hunting trophies is ‘discriminatory.’

Source: Rhino Hunter Sues Airline So He Can Bring His Animal Trophy Home

Offshore Wind Farms – Why is Infrasound Damage Not Studied?

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There’s a TakePart article that came out a while back that deals with offshore wind farms. But there’s something they fail to touch on — as do many articles on wind farms in general: the potential ongoing damage done by infrasound.

I’m certainly no expert on the subject, but for those less familiar with it… One of the problems with large wind turbines is the infrasound they generate during operation (in addition to the sound impact during the construction phase).

I’m a strong proponent of renewable energy, including wind, but all factors of impact need to be studied before any installation is implemented. What effect will the infrasound generated by multiple wind turbines have on cetaceans, and other marine life? I Googled a bit and found that one study — by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — is taking place now: http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/cape-wind

Land-based animals — including humans — are affected by infrasound from wind farms. The ocean carries low frequency sounds much more efficiently, and much father than the atmosphere. Some kinds of marine life use low-frequency sound to communicate, so their hearing is acute in that range. The ongoing use of active sonar technologies by the US Navy has been shown to injure and even cause the death of cetaceans. Die-offs and beachings of whales and bottlenose dolphins have been increasing.

Will we start to see a more rapid die-off rate once wind farms are installed offshore? Do we have to wait until that starts happening — after the damage is being done, and after countless millions of dollars are committed — to find alternatives? Or will we perform the due diligence needed in every instance of large-scale construction of facilities like these?

The article on TakePart:

Can Offshore Wind Farms Help Seals Rather Than Harm Them? | TakePart.