Got lots of free stuff at the fair

And one woman was very eager to encourage us to sign a petition asking NYS to push for a Convention of States. "It's a non-partisan action." Well, a convention could be non-partisan, but realistically, will it be? Lets look at the text of the flyer she handed us:

Unelected bureaucrats have stripped states of their rightful decision-making authority. Consequently, the national debt is out of control, regulations crush free enterprise, and our freedoms have been compromised. Article V of the Constitution empowers the states to hold a Convention of States to propose constitutional amendments to limit federal power, spending, and regulations. Amendments can also create better checks on the judiciary so that the courts apply the Constitution as written rather than the Constitution as interpreted as activist judges.

Regulations are bad, states rights rule, and judges are just stomping all over the Constitution? Yeah. That doesn't sound so non-partisan to me. But nice try.

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The Lost Film Footage of 1904 London (Video)

A Rare Yellow Lobster Joins a Boston Aquarium’s Lobster Rainbow

Our Small World Through The Lens Of Russian Photographer Sergey Maximishin

Albino Trees

How Not To Sort By Average Rating

Cathay Williams went from slavery to a place in the U.S. Army (The link says she is the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Army, this of course should be amended: She is the first one known to have done so. If there were others, they kept it secret.)

Football Among the Old Believers, in Alaska (There is another article here)

Odd inheritance: 1889 landmark courthouse with clock tower

What's Creepier Than a Creepy Doll?

First World Solutions

How modernity is creeping into India's remote tribal communities

Abandoned States: Places In Idyllic 1960s Postcards Have Transformed Into Scenes Of Abandonment

The Incarcerated Women Who Fight California’s Wildfires (The comments are refreshingly low on the blame game.)

When Less is More: How putting fewer people on probation and parole can reduce prison populations, save money and keep us safer.

I was a neo-Nazi. Then I fell in love with a black woman (I wanted to scoff, but it's actually interesting.)

NYC tries fencing in often-violent Caribbean celebration

You're not imagining it: the rich really are hoarding economic growth

Hunters, government, industry at odds over deer urine

Making Sense of the Violence in Charlottesville

In Lebanon, Syrian Refugees Met With Harassment And Hostility

Wildfires surge amid scorching heat across US West

Mattis: North Korea threat would bring massive military response

South Korea, U.S. plan more drills after North Korea nuclear test rattles globe

North Korea missile fear sets pre-emptive strike debate in Japan

The 2016 election may have indeed been hacked: report

Wells Fargo: Actually, We Were 70 Percent More Corrupt Than Initially Revealed

Trump to end DACA, give Congress six months to act

As Harvey finally fizzles, a look at what made it so nasty

Texas governor says Harvey damage could climb to $180 billion

'Your eyes start itching': pollution soars in Houston after chemical industry leaks (Including from several Superfund sites)

Harvey reveals corporate hubris regarding safety

Houston mosques open doors to Harvey victims on Muslim holiday

Houston's homeless shrug off riding out Harvey on streets

Life After ISIS Slavery for Yazidi Women and Children