June 22nd Update

Happy beautiful June weekend!

Some feelgood news first- I am no longer boycotting Starbucks, which I've done since my first year in NYC when I wanted to find a cute little coffee shop and walked 30 blocks, passing 7 of them.  But, I have been told they have good practices, and their new plan to pay for college tuition for employees really takes the cake!

And in case you need something to pass the time-- 56.1% of the "Christina's" out there are democrats.  Want to check out your name?  All your friends?  Go for it. 

In World Cup news -- some pushback is given around enjoying the World Cup amid other global disasters, or because of the Brazilians relocated as a result,  though these guys say it is ok...  What do you think?

This commercial which was aired during the World Cup is pretty powerful regarding the use of the name "Redskins".  And, it seems like it is working, as the US Patent Office canceled trademark registration for the name Redskins on Wed..  But some people think it is "baloney" and in fact will threaten appreciation for Native Americans if we wipe out references like this from our pop culture.  Hmm.  

And still more movement in regards to the instability in Iraq, the ISIS has captured a Syrian border post and 300 troops were sent there to "assess the situation."

Speaking of Obama- he is trying to take drastic measures to truly fight climate change (some amazing visuals in this link, as well as information about New York floods that could happen as early as 2050!)  A group of republican scientists tried to convince their party buddies at a hearing about EPA standards that climate change is real, but some will not be convinced. 

And we haven't heard about Sarah Palin in a while- she actually feels so strongly about immigration that she said she could renounce her republican ties!

Stepping away from gun control and towards the question of mental health and support for would-be-criminals-- this NY Times article about how to help families who know their sons are or may be violent is quite discouraging.

Finally- did you see this guy's mug shot when he went viral this week?  Sometimes I think anything that ends up viral is silly business, but for real, check him out!!!