Protect America's best idea

Beware creeping corporate influence on national parks

Sunday funnies

How women have to navigate the world.  Being called Beyonce voters.  Misconceptions about the Hobby Lobby ruling.

All the tornadoes that have happened so far this year.  The weather next week.

World War I explained in 40 maps

Reporting the scientific news does not mean including 'opinions'.

The conservative mindset.  Paul Krugman explains their difficulties with the success of Obamacare.

Torches and pitchforks in the future.

Poisonous newts in your coffee?  Crickets singing hymns?

Putin has hurt Russia by attacking the Ukraine.

National parks feel climate change.

Censorship or protection?

But are they as scary as sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads?

Um... and notice the thing about climbing the ladder...

(CNN) -- An Indonesian fisherman has been killed by Komodo dragons after he was attacked while trespassing on a remote island in search of fruit, officials said Tuesday.

[snip]

Komodo dragons, the world's heaviest lizards, can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length and have a toxic bite that they use to kill prey such as buffalo, returning to feast when the animal succumbs to the poison.

Despite their ungainly appearance, the carnivorous reptiles can run as fast as a dog in short bursts, jump up on their hind legs, and kill animals with a blow of their powerful tails.

Attacks on humans are rare, but Monday's incident is the latest in a series in which the monster lizards -- which have forked tongues and fearsome claws --have killed or injured people.

Last month a park ranger survived after a Komodo dragon climbed the ladder into his hut and savaged his hand and foot. In 2007 an eight-year-old boy died after being mauled.

In June last year, a group of divers who were stranded on an island in the national park -- the dragons' only natural habitat -- had to fend off several attacks from the reptiles before they were rescued.

Park rangers also tell the cautionary tale of a Swiss tourist who vanished leaving nothing but a pair of spectacles and a camera after an encounter with the dragons several years ago.

And these lizards have a whole national park for them to play in? There isn't a Mr. John Hammond in charge anywhere, is there?

Update 5/20/09: Their bite is not only filled with horrible bacteria, but venom.

When you have nothing to lose

You apparently show the nation you don't give a shit:

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on new clean air rules that would allow coal-fired power plants to be built closer to national parks.

It's part of an effort by the Bush administration to put looser environmental regulations in place before leaving office.

*cough* Thanks, Georgie. We'll *cough* be thinking of you after you're gone.