JAN 12 FAQ'S ABOUT ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

JAN 12  FAQ'S ABOUT ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ

The most talked-about person on Capitol Hill this year must be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Outspoken, brash and overly confident, the 29-year old representative stole headlines in the first week of the new Congressional session. Not surprisingly, our mailbox is jammed full of questions about the youngest woman EVER to serve in Congress. Let's get started:

What's her background? Cindy, Phoenix. Alexandria is a Libra, so she's intellectual and principled, but also extremely argumentative. (Curiously, she shares a birthday (Oct. 13) with Margaret Thatcher.) Both of her parents are Puerto Rican: Her mother (Blanca Cortez) was born there, father Sergio Ocasio is second-generation. Born in the Bronx, she was raised in suburban Westchester County. An excellent student, she graduated cum laude from Boston University. Like many today, she found few job opportunities after college so Alexandria worked as a bartender at Flats Fix in Union Square. In fact, she was working there less than a year ago!

Is she a Socialist or a Democrat? Justin, Boston. She's both! AOC is a card-carrying member of the Dem. Socialist Party, the current incarnation of the political party made famous by Eugene V. Debs a century ago. However, it's impossible to get into Congress today unless you're part of the two-party stranglehold, so she became a Democrat and boldly challenged ten-time incumbent Joe Crowley for his Bronx/Queens district. Despite endorsements from Gov. Cuomo, Sen. Schumer and Mayor de Blassio, he lost the primary to AOC. "You can't beat big money with more money," she quipped. Less than 1% of Crowley's $34 million were from small, individual contributors. Over 75% of AOC's $1 million came from this group.

Why do so many people hate her? Sophy, Seattle. It's true...she doesn't have many friends on Capitol Hill. Crowley was popular. With the 4th longest tenure among Dems, he was being tabbed to become a future Speaker. His replacement is the opposite, and the hallowed walls of the 212 year-old building aren't exactly ready for a boisterous 29 year-old Bronx babe. "Sit still and learn the job," instructed Whoopi Goldberg. Republicans hate her proposal of a 70% income tax on the ultra-wealthy ($10+ million annual salaries). Here, she has the Duner Blog's backing. Next year, the net worth of the world's 1% top earners will surpass that of the combined wealth of the remaining 99%. That's wrong, and AOC is only one brave enough to admit it.

Is she married? Tom, San Diego. Just look at that smile! Believe it or not, Alexandria is both stunning and single. But don't get too hopeful, gents. She is in a serious relationship. Riley Roberts met her at a symposium at Boston U. Since then, the two have been a serious item. He's a redhead from Arizona who works as a web designer. Yawn. They've lived together in the Bronx for years and he has relocated to DC with her. However, don't ask Alexandria about her boyfriend. She keeps her private life private. The two are rarely photographed together and she never talks about him on social media.

Do you think she'll be a force in the future? Rahul, Mumbai. With only five days on the job, it's way too early to tell. While Alexandria has a great vision of America's future (no tuition for college, universal health care) she does need to listen to Whoopi. Like Trump, she likes to govern via Twitter. Her two million followers loved it when she posted "Who dat?" yesterday. Just remember, dear, you won the primary by doing the most low-tech thing ever: Showing up to the debate and having your opponent, Over-Confident Crowley, send an intern.

JAN 5 THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORTS

JAN 5  THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORTS

Happy New Year from the Duner Blog! If you're like us, you likely spent some time during the holidays on a plane. And...no matter how many times you fly...landings always cause anxiety. It always looks like the plane is going into the bay at Oakland Airport. It always feels like the plane is landing in the harbor at Boston's Logan International. But guess what? On Simple Flying's latest rankings of scary airports, you won't find any in America! Here are five entries we suggest avoiding:

Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal. Most world travelers have Mount Everest on their bucket list. They would think twice about visiting the legendary peak after learning about the nearest airport. With an altitude of 9,334 feet, it's one of the highest passenger airports on earth. With one runway at 1,729 feet, it's one of the shortest on earth. It's only open during the day to tiny aircraft and helicopters. It has no lights and little electricity. Despite these dreary stats, 119,000 people took the short flight here from Kathmandu last year.

Princess Juliana Airport, St. Maarten. Like England and France, Holland still owns a couple islands in the Caribbean Sea.  Seven and half islands to be exact. Where is the half? The island of St. Maarten. See, the French own the northern half, and the Dutch rule the remaining 14 square miles to the South. It's hard to squeeze in an airport among the hotels, resorts, casinos and the golf course...so it's nestled in precariously close to the main beach. We're talking one block away. This entry is more scary for the beach goers than the airline passengers!

Gibraltar International Airport. Even smaller than St. Maarten, this famous British colony clocks in with a mere three square miles. The solution to finding room for an airport in cramped Gibraltar is to use the city streets as runways. Numerous times daily, auto traffic on Churchill Avenue is suspended whenever a plane arrives. The lights used are similar to those blinking railway crossing barriers. Expect more interruptions: EasyJet is now offering daily direct flights from the U.K.

Damascus Airport, Syria. This entry has nothing to do with geographic issues. There are no steep cliffs, treacherous mountains or any ocean near Damascus. Nope, the problem here is the Civil War that has engulfed the Mideastern nation. For most of the six years of conflict, the airport has been shuttered. However, after the most recent ceasefire, it's open again. Seven daring airlines are providing service to the Syrian capital. The pilots are hoping that ISIS is running out of rocket launchers.

Tegucigalpa Airport, Honduras. Our final destination suffers from both issues. First, the approach to the ravine where the airport sits involves a dangerous 45-degree bank turn. We're not sure what that entails, but it has caused numerous crashes. The most recent, in 2008, saw an Airbus A320 sputter off the runway and on to a street. If you do manage to land safely, you'll find yourself in the heart of Honduras...one of the most lawless nations on earth. The highway to the airport is notorious for daring hit and run robberies, especially at night.

 

DEC 14 WHY DO WE KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?

DEC 14  WHY DO WE KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It's the time of year when tradition makes us do things we would never do in any other month than December. We place trees inside the house. We hang socks near the fire. We wait for a magic man to slide down the chimney. Sure, we all do these activities, but have you ever wondered HOW these traditions started? Of course you do! That's why you read the DUNER BLOG. So let's tackle one of yuletide's quirkiest rituals: Kissing under the mistletoe.

First, let's examine the plant itself. Mistletoe is a parasitic species, meaning it depends on another plant for survival. Botanists have identified around 1,500 different types of mistletoe, found on six continents. What makes mistletoe unique is its ability to stay green year round. That's because it's not dependent on rainfall or good soil like other plants. It just steals nutrients and water from the host tree. In fact, its scientific name is Phoradendron, which is Greek for "thief of the tree." It's toxic to humans, but birds love it. They are the ones who spread the seeds from tree to tree.

However, it's Norse Mythology...not the Greeks...who gave mistletoe its notoriety. See, the goddess Frigg was a helicopter parent. She was sooo worried her son Baldur would harm himself in the cruel world outside, she cast a magic spell: Nothing that grew out of the earth could do him harm. Loki, the scheming evil deity, knew that mistletoe grew on trees, not in the ground. So he made an arrow from its sap and shot Baldur dead. When Frigg came upon him, her tears became the white berries on the mistletoe. Since she is the goddess of love, the plant gained an amorous reputation.

It wasn't until Victorian times when the tradition of kissing began. Bored servants are responsible for this. They decorated doorways with mistletoe for Christmas. Knowing the plant's romantic background, they came up with the game that a man must kiss whichever female was next to him when standing underneath. (Also, it's bad luck for a lass to refuse the gesture.) A print from 1795 showing "Saucy Joe" stealing a smooch from "Bridget the Cook" is the earliest known reference to the notion. Naturally, Charles Dickens is credited for the tradition's mass popularity. A couple ceremoniously kiss in The Pickwick Papers, written in 1837.

So there you have it! A Norse legend mixed in with a bit of Victorian nuttery equals a worldwide holiday tradition. Yet one has to wonder: In today's current, hyper-sensitive gender-equity world...how much longer will this sexist holiday tradition last? Let's face it: You can no longer pinch people for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. Valentine's Day card sales are plummeting. However, there is still some hope for sentimentalists: The current counter-outrage to radio stations banning the suggestive Christmas carol "Baby, It's Cold Outside."  So this holiday season, go ahead and try to steal a kiss under the old mistletoe. It could be your last chance!

DEC 8 PETA: NO MORE ANTI-ANIMAL IDIOMS

DEC 8  PETA: NO MORE ANTI-ANIMAL IDIOMS

Guess what? This week's most offensive tweet did NOT come from Donald Trump! Nope, this time the Internet is a flutter over a ridiculous tweet from the well-intended...yet often misguided...activists at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). To explain: People support them when they lobby Congress for tighter regulation of poultry production plants. People ridicule them when they suggest outlandish ideas like this one. PETA wants to start using new, more humane, versions of common idioms: "Phrases that trivialize cruelty to animals must soon vanish." Let's begin by examining some examples of anti-animal language.

OLD: "Kill two birds with one stone."
NEW: "Feed two birds with one scone."
See how this works? One small group of people are telling the world's two billion English speakers to change how they speak. The problem is that people...in every language...prefer to use idioms for exclamation. It's boring to say. "Let's achieve two things at the same time." Instead, you use a lively phrase that dates back to Daedalus. Imprisoned in Crete, he would kill birds with a stone for their feathers. Quirky idioms just make a bolder point. And...finally...should be birds be eating scones? Baked sugar? That sounds unhealthy..

OLD: "Beat a dead horse."
NEW: "Feed a fed horse."
Here, the main idea is to stop wasting time by trying to accomplish something that is impossible. But, rather than using ten long words, we use four small ones to more graphically convey the point. That's just how language works. This idiom dates back to the 1800's when everyone got around town in a horse and buggy. It never got updated in the 1900's ('Start a broken car'?) probably because of the imagery it shows. Anyhow...again...PETA has a logic problem. Is feeding a horse that has already eaten a good idea? That sounds unhealthy..

OLD: 'Bring home the bacon."
NEW: "Bring home the bagels."
This phrase dates back to the 1100's, when the church would annually give bacon to married couples who 'demonstrated wedding bliss.' Over time, it evolved into more specific meaning. Not only can one earn enough to feed a family...but one can bring home a gourmet item like bacon. Yum. Most Americans remember the idiom from the Peggy Lee Song "I'm A Woman" and the corresponding Enjoli Perfume television commercial. At least this time, PETA doesn't have a conflicting message about anti-animal language.

As we mentioned, online reaction to the tweet has been enormous and irate. So much so, the folks at PETA felt the need to clarify matters. "This is not our primary focus by any means.." Ashley Byrne told the Washington Post. She reminded us not to take this too seriously; PETA, as always, is just "encouraging people to be kind." The lesson learned here is simple: It's always a big mistake to mess with something as sacred as English idioms. For whatever reason, people cherish them. Looks to us like PETA is 'eating crow' on this one. Oops. we mean PETA is 'eating snow' on this one.

NOV 30 AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) GIVES AWAY $100 BILLS

NOV 30  AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) GIVES AWAY $100 BILLS

Bank of America customers in a North Houston suburb got an early holiday gift earlier this week. An ATM (Automated Teller Machine) mistakenly began to dispense one hundred dollar bills instead of tens. Anyhow, word spread quickly over social media and dozens of folks hurried to the rogue bank machine. Soon, Harris County Sheriff's deputies stepped in to guard from any more use until it could be fixed. Although BofA hasn't stated how much money was lost, they did announce yesterday that all those who received extra cash can keep it.

We know what question you must be asking: What kind of ATM gives ten dollar bills? Only recently have American ATM's dispersed anything other than twenties. Interestingly enough, although the coveted twenty is the most used bill in the US, it comes in third place as the most dispersed currency note worldwide. Atop that list is the 50 Euro note, followed by the 100 Yuan bill. The first ever note taken from an ATM was ten pounds from Barclay's in London in 1967.

As you might have guessed...there are a gazillion ATM's worldwide. Okay, actually, it's estimated there are three million such devices on the planet. If you do the math, that means there is one ATM for every three thousand people. (The highest density is in the gambler's paradise of Macao.) They're found in stores, bars and on street corners. Somewhere on earth's seven continents, a new ATM opens up every three minutes!

Seven continents? Yep...there are two ATM's in Antarctica. They're found at the McMurdo Station, the largest science base in the South Pole. It's operated by Well's Fargo and only dispenses American money. At any given time, there are around 1,000 people there conducting research. And they need cold, hard cash! Fortunately, it's located indoors...unlike the highest-altitude ATM on earth. It's found in a roadside stop near the Khunjerab Pass in Pakistan. It's at 15,397 feet and can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees Celsius.

Back to the ATM in Houston. While the employee responsible for loading the wrong cassette into the machine must feel horrible, at least it wasn't as bad as a similar snafu last year in nearby Corpus Christi. A bank employee inadvertently locked himself inside the machine while servicing. And...here's the terrifying part...he left his cellphone in the truck. However, he did have a low tech item that saved him: A pen. He scribbled a note on a receipt. When a customer read it, he was saved. ATMs are wacky indeed!

NOV 24 NOAH'S ARK FOUND IN IRAN

NOV 24  NOAH'S ARK FOUND IN IRAN

Big news out of the Islamic Republic of Iran this week. Bob Cornuke, president of the Bible Archeology, Search & Exploration (BASE) team, announced that there is "strong evidence" his unit has discovered the remains of the legendary Noah's Ark. It's located on the tip of Takht-e-Suleiman, a 13,120 foot high peak in Northern Iran. Although historians and scientists alike call quests to find items like the Holy Grail, the Tower of Babel and Noah's Ark 'pseudoarcheology,' Conrnake is confident he's proven the doubters wrong.

Let's review the specifics. BASE has unearthed an enormous artifact. They've found 400 foot long beam-like pieces of petrified wood. This fits the descriptions of the Ark's dimensions in the Bible. Genesis 6:14 states the Ark was constructed with "gofer wood planks, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high." Since a cubit (an ancient unit of measurement) is about 19 inches, this means it's clearly the correct length. It also follows that it's located high on a mountain peak: The first dry land to appear near Babylon after the flood.

While these findings are impressive, BASE is hardly the first expedition to claim they've discovered the legendary Noah's Ark. The Roman Empire, under the direction of Biblical scholar Eusebius, tried in vain to locate it. A thousand years later, around 1208, Marco Polo mentions its location as parts of his journeys. On his Ark expedition, Czar Nicholas II claimed to have found "a large object as long as a city block." In the 1900's evangelical groups like BASE have taken up the cause. Yet, as James Irwin explains, "the Ark continues to elude us."

There is one place where everyone believes this new Ark discovery is complete nonsense: Armenia. According to Genesis 8:4, the Ark "came to rest on the mountains of Ararat." This 16,854 high peak is simply enormous, with parts falling into four separate nations: Armenia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. But it's most visible in Armenia, where it dominates the capital city of Yerevan. Its summit is a permanent ice cap, and the Ark is frozen inside. At least that's what the Armenian Church says, and they forbid anyone to go to the top of their sacred mountain. It's even on the national seal!

All this matters little to Bob and the BASE findings. They hope to dispel the myths surrounding Christianity and prove science wrong. See, there is no geological evidence for a gigantic flood. Nor could the earth ever produce enough water to flood itself. But a finding like this will show that Biblical events are historical events that actually occurred. While we here at the DUNER BLOG are skeptical, we salute people who chase their dreams. Bravo, BASE!

NOV 9 WHO ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES?

NOV 9  WHO ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES?

The final results from Tuesday's midterm elections are in. While the Senate remained mostly the same, the House of Representatives saw a host of changes. It was a banner election for women, minorities and Muslims, who smashed through stereotypes and stigmas to claim new seats. However, there was one group who was completely shut out of the House once again: Third Party candidates. Of the 435 seats in the House, absolutely zero are from political parties other than Democrat or Republican! This got us here at the DUNER BLOG wondering: What are the most successful third parties in US History?

WHIG. By far the most accomplished party, the Whigs dominated US politics from 1840 to 1860. They won two presidential elections in 1840 and 1848. Although the portraits of William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor aren't found on any US bills, they succeeded in forwarding important legislation. With compromise legend Henry Clay in Congress, they passed numerous Anti-Slavery laws. Also noteworthy for the Whigs was a young Representative from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln. He, like most other Whigs, joined the new Republican party when the party disbanded in 1860.

SOCIALIST. Although the slightest mention of the word 'Socialist' is political suicide today, in the early 1900's Socialism was a respected movement. They flourished on the mayoral level. Milwaukee alone had four Socialist mayors between 1910 and 1956. On the national front...however...Socialist candidates sputtered. Eugene V. Debs ran for president four times, peaking with 6% of the popular vote in 1912. Sadly, the unpopular rise of Soviet Socialism proved fatal for the party. Insane notions like equitable wealth distribution would disappear from the American political landscape forever.

GREEN. Another party with a brief moment in the spotlight was the 'earth-first' Greens. Founded by Petra Kelly in Germany in the 1980's, they championed the idea of a politician with the environment as their top priority. The movement quickly spread to the US. It peaked in the year 2000 when Ralph Nader received 3% of the vote in his second run for president. Dems blamed the Greens for Al Gore's defeat, further complicating the purpose of a third party.

PROGRESSIVE. In 1910, once close buddies Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft got in a nasty spat. The result was Teddy left the Republicans and formed a new political party called the Progressives. (or the 'Bull Moose.') The two parties had similar platforms, but Progressives were adamant about getting lobbyists out of Congress. (What an outrageous idea!) Although they garnered a handful of Congressmen, the Progressive movement fizzled out after Roosevelt retired from politics in 1920.

LIBERTARIAN. This party began in 1971 in the living room of David Nolan. The Coloradan was sick and tired of big government spending his money. Soon, his grumblings gained momentum and the Libertarian Party was born. Their platform is to shrink government, broaden civil rights and to stop fighting expensive wars in countries most Americans have never heard of. It's currently the largest third party in the country, with half a million registered voters. But...as we said... none of them are in Congress.