“Snake in a box.” Not exactly a child’s toy, is it?

I hate snakes. I think if this had been me, it probably would have marked my last day as a mailman. (And I was raised in a place called Rattlesnake Ridge!)

Postman bitten by snake in a box

BREAN COVE, England, April 29 (UPI) — A British letter carrier got an unpleasant surprise when a venomous snake lurking in a post box bit him on the hand.

Alan Wakley told the Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News he is sure the snake, small and olive-green in color, was an adder. But he said his hand did not become swollen so the snake may not have actually injected him with venom, although he could see the mark of its fangs.

The collection box in Brean Cove in Somerset, set into a wall, has now been sealed off with a sign: Out of use. Caution — Snake (Adder).

The times they are a-changin’… however slowly.

Maine panel approves same-sex measure

AUGUSTA, Maine, April 29 (UPI) — A Maine House of Representatives committee has approved a measure to repeal the state’s ban on same-sex marriages, observers said.

The Judiciary Committee voted 11-2-1 Tuesday in favor of a bill striking down the law, a move that would also change state statutes to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states, the Bangor (Maine) Daily News reported.

The vote came after an hourlong hearing at the state capitol in Augusta, during which residents argued for and against allowing gays and lesbians to marry. At one point, the hearing was interrupted by a woman protester shouting there was “only one true marriage” and accusing legislators of immorality, the newspaper said.

“I think the Senate will reverse this,” Rev. Bob Emrich of the Maine Marriage Initiative told the panel. “I’m extremely and gravely disappointed but I’m not very surprised.”

( John Mcdonnell-The Washington Post. More photos here.)

Congratulations to the Washington Capitals for winning their first series and advancing to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s their first series win since ‘the 97-’98 season. They came back from 0-2 and then 1-3 in the series to tie it up with the New York Rangers, and then beat them in game seven, 2-1. Rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov and wily veteran Sergei Fedorov played key roles in this game, Varlamov with fourteen saves (and “allowing just seven goals in his six games”) and Fedorov scoring the game-winning and series-winning goal. Yeah, the Caps were seeded 2nd and the Rangers were 7th, but that doesn’t matter much when you’re down in the series.

Next up is the Caps’ perennial nemesis, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Matching up the two young stars of the NHL, the Caps’ Alexander Ovechkin versus the Pens’ Sidney Crosby, should make for a good show. Here’s hoping.

If you’ve missed the human highlight reel that is Alexander Ovechkin, here’s one of his best goals, from game five of the series. You’ll see that the Rangers had just been pressing hard on the other end:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen moves like that from a hockey player. It’s like he’s dribbling through defenders in basketball or soccer, but doing it on skates. Three of his other best goals can be seen here.

It’s also nice to see the Chicago Blackhawks back in the playoffs, and winning their first series, too.

The Penguins are dangerous, and the Caps are still a young team overall, but we’ll see how far they can go this playoff season.

(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)

Today is Equal Pay Day, and the National Women’s Law Center is encouraging blogging and other activity in support of the cause. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 helps a great deal, and corrects an atrocious Supreme Court decision, as well as congressional opposition to the same bill in 2008. If you’re not familiar with Lilly Ledbetter’s story or have forgotten some of the details, Dahlia Lithwick wrote a great piece on the case and the congressional opposition almost exactly a year ago. And this video is the first of a series on Ledbetter from 2007:

I thought Lilly Ledbetter was one of the more inspiring speakers at the Democratic National Convention, although since it was early and short many people missed it. But this should not be a partisan issue. And it’s admirable that Ledbetter has been working to ensure that others receive the fair treatment she was denied.

Equal pay should be a no-brainer. Pay should be based on merit, not gender, sex, race, sexuality, religion or anything similar. Jobs that are sometimes deemed “women’s work” – teaching, social work, nursing – also tend to be undervalued and under-compensated. There’s more that’s needed to improve the American workplace, and some of them are society-wide measures. Card check for unions would help. So would decent, affordable child care, parental leave and universal health care (as one of my married-with-kids friends has often pointed out). It’s no coincidence that countries with more women in government have enacted those before the U.S. has. There are many things we can do to make a more equitable, more pleasant, less distressful society, and equal pay is one of them.

(Cross-posted at Vagabond Scholar)

None too soon…….

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in Tuesday night as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Kathleen Sebelius dives into discussing the swine flu at the White House after being sworn in.

Kathleen Sebelius dives into discussing the swine flu at the White House after being sworn in.

She was sworn after she was confirmed by the Senate in a 65-31 vote.

The timely vote puts Sebelius in office as the Obama administration is up against its first public health outbreak.

She steps into the role as swine flu numbers climb worldwide. As of Tuesday morning, at least 90 cases had been confirmed, including 50 in the United States.

Jeff Beck & Tal Wilkenfeld – Cause We Ended As Lovers

This woman gets crazier by the day. Today in an interview with Pajamas TV, Michelle Bachmann said she found it “interesting” that last time we saw Swine Flu was under another Democrat, Jimmy Carter. But she’s not blaming Obama, she just finds it interesting. This woman is one sandwich short of a picnic. Or maybe two. Gee Psychobitch….. Gerald Ford was the president. I guess there is no fact checking when you’re crazy.

President Obama at FBI headquarters today. Sounds like they like him.

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

In this video, Dr. Joe Bresee, with the CDC Influenza Division, describes swine flu – its signs and symptoms, how it’s transmitted, medicines to treat it, steps people can take to protect themselves from it, and what people should do if they become ill.
You can track the Swine Flu through the CDC website. You can also use Google maps to track it, or Healthmap.

The world was coming to an end with Swine Flu on MSNBC this morning…….until Arlen Specter switched parties!

Is he sincere or is he afraid he’ll lose an election as a Republican?

Veteran Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, intends to switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party on Tuesday, multiple sources said.

A Specter party switch would give Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.

Specter, a five-term Senate veteran, was expected to face a very tough primary challenge in 2010 from former Rep. Pat Toomey, who nearly defeated Specter in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary in 2004.

Numerous Republicans are angry with Specter over his recent vote in support of President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan.

Specter was one of only three GOP senators who voted for the measure.

THE AFPAK SIDESHOW

AVERAGE BRO: ARE YOU ACTUALLY A BLACK REPUBLICAN?

HOLDER HAILS PROGRESS ON EXTRADITION TREATY

SOME KIND OF CRAZY: PEOPLE COMMITTING SUICIDE AT RENT-A-GUN BUSINESS

WHO FLUNKED THE STRESS TEST? APPARENTLY BofA and Citi

U.S. REACTION TO SWINE FLU MUTED

AIG PROBE FOCUSES ON THREE EXECUTIVES

DID BYBEE SAY NO TO WATERBOARDING ON JULY 24, 2002?

TORTURE-MANUFACTURING REALITY-THANKS MEDIA!

AMERICA’S SCHIZOID POT CULTURE: 4 IN 10 HAVE SMOKED IT, MILLIONS STILL GETTING BUSTED

FLORIDA REFUSES TO EXPAND UNEMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY

THE BANALITY OF BUSH WHITE HOUSE EVIL

Anyone else getting a little worried?