Hoping you all had a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend. And I hope you toasted the union men and women who died to bring it to you, along with weekends, the 40-hour work week, overtime pay, vacations, sick leave, and a living wage, among other things. They deserve our admiration.
Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis, Released from Jail
The same federal judge who had Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses–because of her religious objection to same-sex marriages–ordered her release today. U. S. District Judge David Bunning, who tossed Davis in the county clink last week for contempt of court, ordered her release because the assistant Rowan County clerks have been issuing marriage licenses in Davis’ absence, including several to same-sex partners. But Bunning ordered Davis not to “interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples” Bunning also asked for a status report from Davis’ office every two weeks to assure him that licenses continue to be signed.
China Rails Against the Dalai Lama on Anniversary of Autonomous Region
A Chinese authority railed against the Dalai Lama on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region today, calling him a “violent separatist.” The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after an unsuccessful attempt to liberate Tibet from Chinese domination, was condemned by China’s fourth in command, Yu Zhengsheng, who is in charge of religious groups and ethnic minorities, according to The Huffington Post. Despite being called an Autonomous Region, Tibet still suffers from Chinese control, which includes trying to wipe out it’s rich cultural history.
Texas Teacher Murdered in Nepal
Dahlia Yehia, a 25-year-old high school art teacher from Austin who had traveled to Nepal as a volunteer to help with the aftermath of the massive April 25 earthquake there, was brutally murdered by a local teacher who was acting as her host. Narayan Paudel admitted to beating Yehia to death with a hammer before throwing her body into the Seti river after police found bloody clothes in his possession. Police are now searching the river for her body. Memorial services are being planned. Condolences go out to her family and former students.
Laugh-In Star Judy Carne, Dead at 76
The famous “Sock it to me, baby!” star of the television show, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In died from complications from pneumonia in a British hospital on Monday night, Sept. 7. Carne, who turned the phrase “sock it to me, baby!” into a sometimes hilarious, often sexy comedic device during the wildly popular show’s 1967-1973 run, was a wonderful comic actress.
