Lefties Losing It, Beyonce; 'Listen, Liberal'

Lefties Losing It: Leftism 'destroys everything'

(Sky News Australia) Mean spirited right winger Rita Panahi mocks. Today on Lefties Losing It, Panahi assesses some of the biggest leftie meltdowns seen across the planet involving "outraged Karens," democracy denying hysterics, and athletes who just can't stand DJ Trump as the bumbling president keeps on winning now that he's gone all Muslim as a money-making mogul in oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

• Help, Jimmy Dore, help!

Listen, Liberal

From the best-selling author of What's the Matter with Kansas comes a scathing look at the standard-bearers of liberal politics. It's a book that asks, What's the matter with Democrats?

It is a widespread belief among liberals that if only Democrats can continue to dominate national elections, if only those awful Republicans are beaten into submission, the country will be on the right course.

But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the modern Democratic Party. Drawing on years of research and first-hand reporting, Frank points out that the Democrats have done little to advance traditional liberal goals:

• expanding opportunity,
• fighting for social justice, and
• ensuring that workers get a fair deal.

Just keep playing! We got the Dems on our side.

Indeed, they have scarcely dented the free-market consensus at all. This is not for lack of opportunity: Democrats have occupied the White House for 16 of the last 24 years, yet the decline of the middle class has only accelerated.

Wall Street gets its bailouts, wages keep falling [in real terms as the dollar is devalued by bad policies], and free-trade deals keep coming.

With his trademark sardonic wit and lacerating logic, Frank lays bare the essence of the Democratic Party's philosophy and how it has changed over the years. A form of corporate and cultural elitism has largely eclipsed the party's old working-class commitment, he finds.

For certain favored groups, this has meant prosperity. But for the nation as a whole, it is a one-way ticket into the abyss of inequality. In this critical election year, Frank recalls the Democrats to their historic goals -- the only way to reverse the ever-deepening rift between the rich and the poor in America. More (Audible)

• Sky News Australia, May 1, 2025; Thomas Frank; Seth Auberson, Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Road trip to see superbloom flowers (4/14)

Poppy Bloom in Antelope Valley. Hockney, Llano, Devil's Punchbowl , Sun, Apr 14, 2024, 8 am

• FREE GARDENING EVENT: Fire-Resilient Gardens: A Maintenance Walk and Talk with Erik Blank, Friday, April 26, 2024 at 1:00 pm (Theodore Payne Foundation) | Eventbrite

If anyone has never been to a super bloom, it's worth seeing. If anyone has been before, it's time to revisit. We're going to journey to a few famous spots in a large group.

When? California's state flower, the golden poppy, blooms anytime between February and May. Sunday, April 14th, 2024, is a good day for a visit, according to wildflower watchers at KTLA and desertusa.com.

• Disclosure (LA): Road Trip to see Super Bloom: Poppy Reserve. Hockney, Llano, Devil's Punchbowl, Sun, Apr 14, 2024, 8:00 AM | Meetup
• Foothills (Pasadena): Road Trip to see Super Bloom: Poppy Reserve. Hockney, Llano, Devil's Punchbowl
• Nature Center (Valley): Road Trip to see Super Bloom: Poppy Reserve. Hockney, Llano, Devil's Punchbowl
• Want to see a California ‘superbloom’? Fly out of LAX

Flowers rise out of the mud and muck.

We'll walk some and probably most of the eight miles of trails. Each spring, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve comes alive with seasonal surprises. Rainy years produce and effusive explosion of natural beauty. This is Mojave Desert grassland habitat.

The duration and intensity of floral scents and colors varies from year to year. The wildflower season generally lasts from as early as mid-February through late-May, "April showers mean May flowers." And March storms can bring rosy thorns.

Parking Fees

• $10 per vehicle
• $9 per vehicle with a senior onboard (62 and over)
• $5 per vehicle with DPR (Disabled Discount Card)

Bring sunblock and be prepared for wicked strong winds. Desert temperatures can vary widely and change suddenly, so dress in layers for unpredictable weather changes. Dogs are NOT allowed on trails or in the visitor center (as is true of every California State Park).

To enjoy expansive fields or a close-up study of single flowers, this is the place to visit.

Location and directions

The Reserve is located 15 miles west of Lancaster, California, at 15101 Lancaster Road.

From Highway 14: Take the Avenue I exit and head west 15 miles. Avenue I becomes Lancaster Road.

From Interstate-5: Take Hwy 138 east and turn right on 170th Street West. Make a left at the end, onto Lancaster Road. Follow the road two miles.

• Poppy Bloom in Antelope Valley. AND Hockney, Llano and Devil's Punchbowl , Sun, Apr 14, 2024, 8:00 AM | Meetup

Carpool?

Yes. We will congregate at the meeting time and address. That location is a designated Park & Ride. It is a free parking lot that has roving security in the area. So it's safe to leave a car for the day.

We meet, reshuffle, then carpool and caravan to the poppy fields. Why this location as the meeting point? It's central and just off the I-5, the main freeway to get there.

Carpool to the meeting point? Yes. Post in the comments on the main group posting.

This is a FREE road trip and hiking event that takes a little more work to organize than a quickie local visit. This is neither local nor in-town. As such we will drive to and meet there. Or use the carpool information sent a week before to work on setting up a carpool.

• Meeting point to carpool/caravan
• Sunday, April 14, 2024, 8:00 am
• 201 South Front Street
• Burbank, California
• We will be down at the SOUTH end of
• the lot SOUTH of Olive Avenue bridge

To attend this event

RSVP to this event then CLICK HERE and fill out our Attendees Google Form.

The form is for safety. If it is not filled out, attendees will not be hiking with this group. Fill out the form even if only interested and want to stay in the loop.

• CLICK HERE for carpool info

Questions?

CLICK HERE to send a Direct Message to Meetup Organizer Marc (screen name "Oddie").

Other notable hikes planned: After the poppy fields, the plan is to go to the location where Hockney shot his photo. It is 45 minutes away at 126th and Pearblossom, standing on 126th looking south. getty.edu/art/collection/object/103QT4.

Then we will go 200 feet farther to Llano Del Rio and poke in the ruins (again). 

• Socialist Utopia Los Angeles Llano Del Rio (la.curbed.com)
• Cooperative Colony Llano Del Rio (lancastermoah.org)

Then we drive up to Devils Punchbowl to hike or just view this part of the Angeles National Forest. It's up to the vibe of the group. Devils Punchbowl Nature Area (onlyinyourstate.com)

• April 14: Poppy Bloom in Antelope Valley. Hockney, Llano, and Devil's Punchbowl, Sunday, April 14, 2024, 8:00 am (in Burbank meeting point) | Meetup
• May 18 Hike to Bridge to Nowhere, San Gabriel Mountains, above Azusa
• May 25 Yosemite National Park hiking on Memorial Day Weekend! (Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, Yosemite Falls, upper or lower
• Nov 16 The Great LA Walk 2024

California has more indigenous flora and fauna
than all the rest of the United States combined.

NOTICE OF INCLUSIVITY: For all of our events, we do not discriminate by age, gender, sexual preference, ethnicity, national origin, race, color, religion, or even belly button lint.

• ONLINE Q&A: Camping for newbies, first timers, and the seasoned, Thursday, April 18, 2024, 7:30 pm | Meetup
• Native Plant Garden Tour | April 15-16 (Theodore Payne Foundation)
• CCCCC=C (Meetup); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Danielle John (Eagle Network)

Wild Flower Hotline: super bloom info

TheodorePayne.org; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

What to wear to steal the attention back to where it belongs? On me. I'm a bird and bee feeder!

Wild Flower Hotline | TP Foundation

Before visiting the blooming deserts around Los Angeles and Orange County from the crowded city centers into the rural dirt road in places like

• Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
• Lake Elsinore
• The Mojave Desert
• Leo Carillo State Park
• the wonders in Southern and Central California

Free to everyone: (818) 768-1802, Extension 7

It's a good idea to call and hear the Super Bloom Report, handled by the Theodore Payne Foundation, experts in native plants. They host local garden tours, provide seeds and plants, and do a lot to keep the wisdom of the land that Native Americans used to be responsible for holding on to.

Call the hotline before visiting: (818) 768-1802, Extension 7, daily 24 hours, 7 days a week, or read the reports.

• 

  The wonders of Lake Elsinore

  Spring Home Gardening Meditation Workshop (March 16, 2024)

Weekly recorded wild flower reports are narrated by the voice of Emmy Award-winning actor Joey Spano or read reports.

• WILD FLOWER HOTLINE
• Report on Spotify
• Report on Apple Podcasts
• Theodore Payne Foundation (theodorepayne.org)

What an attention huur she is. Look at us! Look at us! We're viral on Instagram and TikTok!

Educating Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of native plants

California's Super Bloom gets a HOTLINE

Jo Kwon, Sun Valley, 3/3/23; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Flower fans get filled in via wildflower hotline voiced by star

LOS ANGELES, California — Wildflowers are popping up on the hills, canyons, and trails in Southern California. Unsure of where to go to see the blooms? There’s a phone number to call to get the scoop. The Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wildflower Hotline kicks off March 3rd with the voice of actor Joe Spano. He has starred in many movies and TV shows, including NCIS and Hill Street Blues. Every Friday through May, the nonprofit’s hotline is updated with the latest information on where to see the wildflowers while respecting Mother Nature. The number for the hotline is (818) 768-1802, Extension 7. Hotline is also available as a podcast. can also access Spano’s voice and the hotline as a podcast.  

The sky is falling: snow in Los Angeles

• Massive winter storm that brought rare snow to parts of sunny California now moving east to torment the rest of the country
• Discovered! 1,200-year-old mansion in the desert with secret vaults
• The mystical origins of Indigo Children (and why the movement is riddled with controversy)

(Forbes) What is this strange substance falling from the cold desert sky?

It's not a desert! Well, do Mediterranean climates freeze over like this?

• VIDEO: Ancient bones discovered (msn.com)

Ancient bones were discovered recently in the Americas and Europe. Henry Sadler, an American middle school science teacher, found the humerus bone of a massive Columbian mammoth while diving in a river in Florida. In 2021, Italian archeologists found the 100,000-year-old remains of nine Neanderthals in a cave near Rome. In 2020, workers in Mexico digging the foundations for a new airport made a startling discovery: several woolly mammoth bones. Inside Edition Digital’s Andrea Swindall has more.

Cali super bloom about to be destroyed (video)

VICE News; Kelly Ani, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

If the cold doesn't wipe them out, the pounding rains and terrible winds will de-petal them, then the snow will squash them. Wildflowers currently in bloom do not stand a chance.

• Powerful winter storm to bring low elevation snow, heavy rain, [wind,] and frigid temps to Southern California
  

California, which is named after fictional Mexican Queen Calafia, is the most beautiful state in the nation, except perhaps for somewhere full of redwood trees in the Pacific Northwest.

Spring was in the air, the sun was out, temperatures were warming, then the chemtrails started and an arctic blast was reported. Overnight we'll go from balmy Hollywood tourist weather to Frost Belt normal. What is this, Chi Town, Nome, Buffalo?

• A huge winter storm is sweeping across the U.S., with 22 states under alerts (NPR)

Plants 'n flowers are alive and talking (Dr. Bose)

The flowers are brilliantly in bloom, particularly the gorgeous California poppy, that entheogenic poppy seed pusher used in heroin production, like our military milked in Afghanistan with their G.I.'s (government issues, human hamsters, cannon fodder, expendable assets).

The snow, falling as low as 500 feet, and pounding rain forecast for this week and the next ten days bodes ill for the flower community, other than Leo/Miley Cyrus' hit.

Our Mexican queen on Earth, Queen Calafia commemorated in Los Angeles.

Instagrammers are killing this field of wild poppies (HBO)

The California poppy is the Golden State's official flower, which makes morphine and heroin.

.

Golden Mexican Queen Calafia

(VICE News) LANCASTER, Los Angeles, California - The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve has a few rules: Don’t bring your dog to the park, don’t eat food along the trail, and don’t fly drones overhead.

The most important? Stay on the trail. But during this season’s super bloom [of wild desert flowers, mostly the California poppy state flower], a semi-rare outbreak of golden poppies in spring, staff at the reserve have had a difficult time making sure swarms of kids, families, and sexy models posing for Instagram follow along without trampling the delicate wildflowers.

On a typical day, the park sees about 60 visitors. During super bloom season that number skyrockets to around 2,000 per day.

Jean Rhyne, who has been an interpreter at the reserve for 13 years, has been vocal about the long-term impact this can have on the park’s natural wildlife.

“This park was created specifically because of the poppies that are here,” Rhyne told Vice News, “and if they get stepped on or sat on to take a picture in...it compacts the soil and then the roots from the seeds of the next year can't get in. So we'll have scars in the habitat for many years to come.”

Super blooms in California tend to occur about once a decade on average, depending on how heavy the rainfall and whether temperatures are favorable afterward, but this season is the second the reserve has seen in three years.

In 2017, there was what Rhyne calls the “Apopalypse,” when park staff first saw a significant and unexpected rise in visitors, most of whom were drawn there to promote their social media accounts.

Since then the reserve has tried to adapt, hiring staff from other California State Parks, providing numerous trails and walkways, and even using their hashtag #DontDoomTheBloom to inform people about the potential harm before they visit.

But this hasn’t deterred people from getting their perfect shot. Fewer than 300 Instagram posts have the #DontDoomTheBloom tag, while more than 147,000 are tagged #superbloom. And 45,000 have the hashtag #CaliforniaPoppies.

This year (2019) has also brought some unique problems. In March, a pair landed a helicopter in the middle of a field of poppies. When a park ranger approached the couple, they ran back to the helicopter and flew away.

The reserve responded to the incident in a since-deleted post on Facebook: “We never thought it would be explicitly necessary to state that it is illegal to land a helicopter in the middle of the fields and begin hiking off trail. We were wrong.”

Rhyne, on the other hand, was not surprised. “You just never know what's going to happen out here,” she said. “People do weird things.”

Subscribe to VICE News: bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News. Check out VICE News for more: vicenews.com. Follow VICE News: facebook.com/vicenews, twitter.com/vicenews, vicenews.tumblr.com, instagram.com/vicenews. More videos from the VICE network: fb.com/vicevideo.

When will I become enlightened? (video)

Urban Gardening; Ajahn Chah; Ven. Sujato, Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

“If it isn't good, let it die away. If it doesn't die, make it good.”

―Ajahn Chah

Let it be. Purify the mind. It will happen.

If we realize enlightenment (awakening from illusion) in this lifetime, that’s fine. If we have to wait until our next life, no matter. We have confidence (faith) and unfaltering conviction in the Dharma.

Whether we progress quickly or slowly is up to our innate capabilities, spiritual aptitude, and the merit we’ve accumulated so far.

Practicing like this puts the heart at ease. It’s like we’re riding in a horse cart. We don’t put the cart before the horse.

Or it’s like trying to plough a rice paddy while walking in front of our water buffalo rather than behind it.

What I’m saying here is that the mind is getting ahead of itself. It’s impatient to get quick results.

That’s not the way to do it. Don’t walk in front of the water buffalo. We have to walk behind the water buffalo.

It’s just like that chili plant we are nurturing. Give it water and fertilizer, and it will do the job of absorbing the nutrients. When ants or termites come to infest it, we chase them away. Doing just this much is enough for the chili to grow beautifully on its own.

When I let it, iIt suddenly bloomed all by itself.

And once it is growing beautifully, we don’t try to force it to flower when we think it should flower. It’s none of our business. Trying will just create useless suffering. Allow it to bloom on its own. And once flowers bloom, don’t demand that it immediately produce chili peppers. Don’t resort to coercion. That really causes suffering!

Once we figure this out, we understand what our responsibilities are and what they are not. Each has their specific duty to fulfil. The mind knows its role in the work to be done. If the mind doesn’t understand its role, it will try to force the chili plant to produce peppers on the very day we plant it.

The mind will insist that it grow, flower, and come to fruition (produce peppers) all in one day.

Trump's Megachurch cures coronavirus (video)

Dave Plotkin (Orlando Weekly, 3/29/20); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

It is better to live in faith (saddha) than to cower in fear of bad spirits and germs.

Trump's Central Florida megachurch makes headlines again for packed Sunday services

Might be better to go Holy Roman Catholic and worship St. Corona Patron Saint of Epidemics

.

Expert: lockdowns won't halt this virus

Pres. Trump's pastors have a cure for coronavirus. One of them is holding curative services every Sunday.

Tampa megachurch held a packed service this Sunday, despite dire warnings by the CDC and other health officials to promote social physical distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• Trump-friendly megachurch pastors push coronavirus "cures" (The Daily Beast)

The "Main Event" service, hosted by pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, was broadcast live on YouTube for more safety-minded congregants to watch from home, but the church was clearly packed in person.

"Of course we've got the, what they call 'social distancing' in here in this room, and [toxic hand sanitizer at the entrance] there's people in other places and whatever," said Holy man Howard-Browne, to a room full of people standing much closer than six feet apart.

"Corona" is the cell expelling toxins - Steiner

"We believe in laying our hands on the sick and they shall recover."

"I know they're trying to beat me up for having the church operational, but we are not a non-essential service," said Howard-Browne to applause. "And, just so you know, we are totally covered by the law. And people say, 'what law are you covered by?' And I say the First Amendment to the Constitution."

Howard-Browne recently claimed that he will cure Florida of coronavirus, and that he was also able to cure Zika virus.

On Friday, Right Wing Watch posted a video of Howard-Browne with his wife and fellow pastor Adonica Howard-Browne, claiming he will continue to hold services because his church is the most sterile building in America, as it contains 13 machines that can instantaneously kill any virus, adding, "If they sneeze, it shoots it down at like 100 mph. It'll neutralize it in split seconds." More

• Video shows cell phones on Florida beach during spring break, and where they've travelled during coronavirus outbreak
• Here’s the petition calling for Publix employees to receive hazard pay
• Florida pastor says he'll keep church open during coronavirus outbreak, claims to have most sterile building in America
• The founder of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa is not pleased with Netflix's "Tiger King"
• Better Than Sex offers takeout desserts good enough to munch in the buff

Flowers: California super bloom (photos)

Gina Pollack in LAist News, March 12, 2019; Crystal Q., CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Influencers in LA photograph wildflowers this weekend

Despite some initial doubt, the super bloom is back. That means everyone in Los Angeles is driving approximately two hours to enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds us all snap the perfect pic for Instagram. There's nothing quite like the crisp spring air, rolling hills, and epic views of at least ten influencer photoshoots to achieve true inner peace. And in case anyone didn't know, wildflowers also make a perfect natural backdrop for [meditation], so don't forget your [mindfulness, which means radical acceptance and awareness of what is]. More

• LAist: awesome events happening in SoCal 
• PHOTOS: Travelerography on Instagram
• The Blush Journal in Lake Elsinore, CA

Swarm of Butterflies

• Butterflies Swarming in Southern California (NBC) From the Inland Empire to the beach to the valley: If you've been outside, chances are you've seen swarms of butterflies... 
• "So magical": 1 billion butterflies flutter into... (CBS) The Southland is experiencing a rare sighting this week: about 1 billion butterflies swarming the skies during... 
• A swarm of a "billion" painted lady butterflies is migrating through... (lataco.com) A massive swarm of at least 1 billion butterflies is traveling across L.A. and neighboring counties at a breathtaking speed of almost 20 MPH... 
• Southern California sees swarms of painted lady butterflies... (foxnews.com) The butterflies are currently on their migration route from wintering ... namely Oregon and Washington, the LA Times reported. 
• Eyewitness This: 1 billion butterflies swarm SoCal...