Tag Archives: republicans

~ Culture & History

World’s Oldest Shoe Discovered, Dates Back 5,500 Years


world's oldest shoe brown sheep dung lace-up stuffedYou won’t find this style on Zappos! The world’s oldest shoe dates back 5,500 years. Photo: AP Photo/Department of Archaeology University College Cork
Looks like our ancestors had a little trouble watching their step.

Researchers excavating an Armenian cave have discovered the world’s oldest shoe — a cowhide lace-up encased in a pile of sheep dung, The New York Times reports.

(Ew. We suspect even Imelda Marcos might give this one a pass.)

Tanned in oils from a plant or vegetable and bearing leather eyelets for its laces, the right shoe reportedly pre-dates Stonehenge, the Egyptian pyramids and Joan Rivers.

“These were probably quite expensive shoes, made of leather, very high quality,” Gregory Areshian of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, a lead scientist on the project, told the paper.

The shoe is estimated to date back to the Copper Age, around 3653 to 3627 B.C., and would fit a woman (or petite man) with a size 7 foot, according to The New York Times.

Scientists told the source that the shoe appears to have been deliberately preserved, with grass stuffing and yellow clay lining keeping its shape intact. (Nice to know ancient gals were as shoe-obsessed as we are.)

“You can see the imprints of the big toe,” another team leader, Ron Pinhasi of Ireland’s University College Cork, told the paper.

“As the person was wearing and lacing it, some of the eyelets had been torn and repaired.”

The discovery was reportedly made after the National Geographic Society-funded researchers found other artifacts, including horns, pottery, and something doctoral student Diana Zardaryan thought felt like “an ear of a cow.”

“But when I took it out, I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s a shoe,'” she told the paper. “To find a shoe has always been my dream.”

Ah — a woman after our own hearts!

So who was this Copper Age Carrie Bradshaw? We may never know… but it makes for one heck of a good, old-school Cinderella story.

In other shoe news, read about this government-funded “Sexy Heels in the City” college course.

by Erin Donnelly

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help break the silence


National Women's Law Center
“My supervisor told me not to tell my commanding officer. … When a report was made, they tried to keep it as quiet as possible.”    — Jimmy Coats, who served in the Navy for eight years
The accounts by survivors of sexual assault recently detailed in The New York Times are exactly why real reform is needed in the military justice system. There were an estimated 26,000 cases of sexual assault last year, but only 3,000 were reported.
And when a survivor does file a complaint, the commander in charge has the ability to set aside guilty verdicts, return the attacker into the ranks, and in some cases even promote the attacker.
We need your help to change the system right now. Tell your Senators you won’t accept anything less than a strong solution for military survivors of sexual assault.
While your Senators are home and looking to hear from their constituents, they need to hear that you support legislation, introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, which takes the decision to prosecute these cases out of the chain of command and puts it where it belongs — in the hands of trained independent military prosecutors. We’re almost there, and you can help push this through.
Help us stand up for service members everywhere by writing your Senators and telling them you support the Military Justice Improvement Act.
This legislation transcends party politics — with Republicans and Democrats signing on to support the bill. They understand that our service members deserve better, and they’re willing to work together to make it happen.
We need to keep up the pressure on our Senators to support this legislation. And we need your help to do it.
Tell your Senators you won’t accept anything less than a strong solution for military survivors of sexual assault.
Sincerely,
Nancy Duff Campbell Nancy Duff Campbell  Co-President  National Women’s Law Center     
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Gov.Jay Inslee


wash_state_ferry_generic020

In just 12 hours, we’re closing the books on our first major fundraising deadline since the end of the legislative session — and I’d love to hear from you to make sure we reach our $10,000 goal.

Our work doesn’t stop when the campaign is over. The grassroots community and momentum we built during my campaign for governor were critical components in our successful efforts to expand Medicaid, increase education funding, and defend against the attacks on critical services for our most vulnerable neighbors.

Our opponents will not give up and we have to be ready.

Click here to contribute $5, $10, or more before tonight’s midnight deadline — and help us reach our $10,000 goal and keep our movement fighting strong!

Thank you so much for everything that you do to help us build a working Washington.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee Governor

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

the Other Washington


JayInslee

It’s clear from the Republican-controlled State Senate budget proposals they expected my grassroots supporters, like you, to just stop working as soon as the campaign was over.

But together, we proved they were wrong — by standing up, speaking out, and holding the line when they tried to drag our state backward.

Now we’re facing another challenge. July 31 at midnight is our first fundraising deadline since the legislative session ended. We need to reach our $10,000 July fundraising goal to make sure we can keep fighting to close unnecessary tax loopholes, create jobs, and fully fund public education.

Will you contribute $5, $10, or more before the deadline to keep our grassroots movement strong?

Our opponents are watching to see if you and I have what it takes to keep standing up and fighting on the critical issues facing our state.

And make no mistake about it: We have work to do.

This year, Senate Republicans failed to close unnecessary tax loopholes and create a long-term funding solution for our public schools. They stopped efforts to bring forth bipartisan legislation like the Dream Act and the Reproductive Parity Act.

And they failed to bring to a vote and pass a transportation package to keep people and goods flowing across our state.

That just means we have to keep fighting — harder than ever — to deliver on the promise I made to wake up every morning laser-focused on creating jobs and strengthening the economy.

Together we can keep up the fight, and together we can win it, but I need you to stand with me now.

Will you contribute $5, $10, or more before the midnight deadline July 31 and keep our grassroots movement strong?

Thank you so much for your continued support. Together we can do hard things.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee