Wildlife officials in Florida are now offering free T-shirts

and raffle prizes for anyone who catches a Burmese python.

You never want to hear: 'Just hold still, and we'll pry the jaws off'

The new "Python Pickup" program may be viewed either as whimsical desperation, or state government merely trying to make the best of a hopeless situation.

Any serious snake expert will tell you the big constrictors are in the area to stay. At the current pace of infestation, it probably won't be long before a python shows up on the croquet lawn at Mar-a-Lago. The Secret Service should scope out the instructional video provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

This is no joke. The title is "Safe Capture of Burmese Pythons." https://vimeo.com/150195833
Consider this gem of low-key advice in Step Two, which describes the proper way to pin and secure a large snake's head: "You have to be quick to do this. Try not to hesitate."

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/carl-hiaasen-you-never-want-to-hear-just-hold-still-and-well-pry-the-jaws/2322574

biodegradable burial pod that turns your body into a tree

(CNN)Your carbon footprint doesn't end in the grave.

While you rest in peace, the wood, the synthetic cushioning and the metals generally used in traditional coffins -- as well as the concrete around reinforced graves -- continue to litter the earth.

"A lot of energy also goes into producing these materials, which are used for a very short time and then buried. They're not going to break down very fast," says Jennifer DeBruyen, an Associate Professor of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science at the University of Tennessee.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html?sr=twCNN050317eco-solutions-capsula-mundi1242PMN/ALink&linkId=37142636

In response to the Trump campaigns accusations of ad censorship:

CNN requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that says the mainstream media is "fake news." The mainstream media is not fake news, and therefore the ad is false. Per our policy, it will be accepted only if that graphic is deleted. Those are the facts.

https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/859425426556542976

Trump Army secretary pick is a Creationist

gave a lecture arguing against the theory of evolution

(CNN)President Donald Trump's pick to be secretary of the Army, former army doctor Mark Green, is a self-identified "creationist" who delivered a lecture arguing against the theory of evolution.

Green's views and past statements are facing scrutiny ahead of his confirmation hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. If confirmed, Green wouldn't be the only prominent doctor and member of the Trump administration to reject evolution. HUD Secretary Ben Carson has also made similar arguments and once said the theory of evolution was encouraged by Satan.

Green, a Tennessee state senator, has faced opposition from Democrats and LGBT groups over his past anti-LGBT comments. In one comment, from September, Green said, "If you poll the psychiatrists, they're going to tell you that transgender is a disease."

The National Academy of Sciences says that the theory of evolution "is supported by so many observations and confirming experiments that scientists are confident that the basic components of the theory will not be overturned by new evidence."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/01/politics/kfile-trump-army-secretary-pick-theory-of-evolution/index.html

What really went down at Faux News

We hear there are many more shoes to drop at Fox News (both revelations and replacements), even after yesterday's departure of co-president Bill Shine, the longtime Roger Ailes consigliere. (Press release here, with all the changes.)

A Fox source emails me (all fascinating):

"Simple fact is James and Lachlan have been looking to turn the page since last summer. They convinced the board and their father that new leadership is required. They were willing to give Bill a chance to bring the place around. It wasn't clear that he was going to be able to be the change agent that was required.
https://www.axios.com/axios-am-2388682641.html

Sean Hannity Eyes Fox News Exit, Insiders Say


Initially, insiders said, Hannity’s army of lawyers had hoped to discuss with Fox ways of protecting his 8-year-old primetime show, amid fears that Lachlan and James Murdoch—fresh off the ousting of Bill O’Reilly—were looking to push the network away from hard-right politics.

However, with Shine’s departure on Monday, one source told The Daily Beast, there’s no reason for Hannity to stay.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/01/sean-hannity-eyes-fox-news-exit-insiders-say

Trump and Republicans can't get it up

House Republicans shy of votes to pass healthcare reform: lawmaker

The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Freedom Caucus said on Tuesday that Republicans still lack the votes to pass a reform bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.

Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who heads the conservative caucus that helped block passage of the previous Republican healthcare bill, said Republicans were still "a handful of votes away" from being able to pass a reform bill.

Top aides to President Donald Trump have predicted the House would move this week to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-meadows-idUSKBN17Y1OM?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social

Rump calls for changing rules and government shutdown this morning

New Stonekettle: Antipodes

You notice things.

I spend an hour each morning on my bike.

I ride quiet low-traffic roads, mostly through residential neighborhoods.

My daily route varies, but always includes both city and rural areas.

I’m riding for exercise, fitness, and mostly just because I enjoy it. It helps me write. It gives me time to think.

I ride a minimum of 60 minutes each morning, more if conditions are good. I typically cover 12-20 miles (further on the ultra-lightweight racer, less on the heavier hybrid). If I ride in the evening too, I might cover 25 to 30 miles in a day.

You notice things.

http://www.stonekettle.com/2017/05/antipodes.html

Karma is rough on idiots

Pro-Trump farmers now worry he was serious about NAFTA repeal

Washington (CNN)Bob Hemseath, whose corn-farming business hinges on the whims of mother nature, is comfortable with uncertainty.

But as the fourth-generation farmer heads onto his northeast Iowa farm for the 2017 planting season, it's the uncertainty coming from the White House that has Hemseath increasingly worried.
The farmer listened during the 2016 campaign as Donald Trump, the real estate magnate turned politician, promised to end the North American Free Trade Agreement. Hemseath, a Republican whose industry relies heavily on exports to Mexico, chalked it up to political bluster, noted Hillary Clinton's anti-trade rhetoric and voted for Trump in November.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/02/politics/trump-nafta-farmers/index.html

Word is, Bill Shine is out at Faux News