Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Best Wishes and Happy New Year
















Since I will be cooking all day, I'm going ahead and wishing all of you a Happy New Year. Be careful and in the immortal words of the Beastie's: If you're driving, don't drink. And if you do, don't drive.



Me...my New Years will consist of the items from these three pics. We will be ringing in the New Year at the 30th Annual Wukela Croation Liberation Barbecue. Oh yeah...Go 'COCKS!

Oops...I did it again










Lesson #1 for readers of this blog:



I'm an idiot.



Lesson #2:



I have no patience.



Perhaps it was those two factors that lead me to incorrectly attribute the Johnsonville/Kingsburg proposed Coal Plant to Progress Energy instead of the correct company, Santee Cooper.



You would think someone who was actually quoting a post from two months ago would notice the company in the quote. You would be wrong. Anyway, thanks to reader Scott, who corrected me. Scott, who works for Progress, also notified me that Progress Energy also has a self-imposed moratorium on proposing new coal plants. Which means Progress Energy is ahead of the curve. Let's hope the other power companies in our area follow suit.



Finally, my apologies to Progress Energy and its employees.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Santee Cooper* wants to bring this "clean" technology to the Pee Dee






I posted about the proposed Pee Dee Coal Plant back in November, asking if we had to accept the premise that poverty or health had to be the choice.


See the pic on the left? If you live in the Johnsonville area, perhaps you should get used to the "sludge slide" look. It seems a retention wall holding back 80 acres of "sludge" from a coal plant in Kingston, TN failed, flooding the surrounding area.



See the pic on the right? It's the water on the east bank of the Clinch River in Kingston, TN 4 days after the breach.
What the hell is sludge? It's an ash byproduct of burning coal, you know, the "clean" power source Santee Cooper is so eager to drop in our backyards. And guess what the Johnsonville/Kingsburg plant would have? If you guessed sludge ponds, you're right.


But our local politicians, all except Florence Mayor Stephen Wukela, think the coal plant is a good idea. Back in the November post, I included a quote from Pamplico Mayor Gene Gainey:



“I don’t believe Santee Cooper would do anything to harm the community.”


The naivete of that remark is blatantly obvious. But perhaps Mayor Gainey would like to take a look at this article to see how electric companies that operate coal power plants respond to catastrophic environmental accidents. Specifically, how about this gem from TVA spokesperson Gil Francis:



Although video from the scene shows dead fish on the banks of the tributary, he
said that "in terms of toxicity, until an analysis comes in, you can't call it
toxic."


That's right, Mayor Gainey...when faced with the site of dead fish on the banks of local waterways, those good old folks at the energy company did not want to call it toxic. Move along...there's nothing to see here. Oh...by the way, they understated the size of the spill, it's triple the size they originally stated.


Energy companies...stewards of our environment. (Although you've got to love the PR folks at the TVA. It's not called a coal plant, it's a "fossil plant." You know...dinosaurs and such...). The idea that Santee Cooper would not do anything to harm the community, when they want to put a damn coal plant there is ridiculous. Hasn't Mayor Gainey and other pro-plant people seen "The Last Temptation of Homer" (The Simpsons)? It's like the banner in front of Lisa, "Fossil Fuels - Use us and nobody gets hurt."

Ask Hans Moleman whether or not the fossil fuel folks are good guys. I think not.

*This post has been corrected. I originally attributed the coal plant to Progress Energy, which was an incredibly stupid mistake considering the damn thing contains a quote referring to the actual plant proposer: Santee Cooper, not to mention the quote was pulled from a post I did in November. Thanks to Scott for slapping some accuracy into me. In fact, Scott informs me that Progress Energy has a self-imposed moratorium on proposing new coal burning facilities, which is awesome. My apologies to all the folks at Progress Energy.

Television Best lists



Alan Sepinwall, of "What's Alan Watching," has his best of 2008 lists up. Instead of blatantly stealing from him, just click this link and check out his lists.

I agree with a lot of his choices. Without a doubt, The Shield and The Wire are #s 1 and 2 respectively. And I agree with why he has The Shield above The Wire for this year.

I also understand why he left 30 Rock off the Tops list, but included it in his "Best of the Rest." The lack of episodes may justify it, but that show consistently has some of the smartest comedy lines on tv. (The "I bought a black apartment" he mentions being one of them).

Check out his lists, as each entry has embedded video so you can check out some of the shows. By the way, AMC, can we please have a Mad Men marathon over the Holidays so those of us who have not been with it can catch up. Thanks.

The Naked Man





Hands down, one of the best TV moments of 2008.

From Worst to First








Yo...Fireman Ed, how'd you like to have Chad Pennington back now, huh?


That's right, my Dolphins completed the best turnaround in NFL history, going from 1-15 last year, to AFC East Champs this year.


How'd they do it? Some creative ass coaching. Lets face it, they still don't have the best talent in the world. Dan Henning who was thought dead when he left Charlotte turned in an awesome year, even if you don't count the Wildcat, which QB coach David Lee brought from Arkansas. The Phins ran so many different plays out and shifts out of the same formations and personnel, that they really confused the hell out of defenses all year.

But mainly, the turnaround can be attributed to finally getting a QB1. Pennington proved the best leader at the QB position the team has had since number 13 hung them up and start losing weight with Nutrasystem. Now, I don't blame the Jets for looking to replace Pennington. Seems like he was almost stuck in one of those "had-to-go" situations. But rule #1 is always replace your QB with a better QB before pulling the plug. Favre has been surviving on his name and anyone who paid attention would have realized maybe he wasn't the best choice for a team that plays in the Meadowlands, unless that team had no reason to want to win games in December.

Images courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel.

By all accounts, Pennington was headed into the season in the best shape of his life. He says he worked with a trainer all summer to increase his core strength, thinking a stronger core would help with his shoulder and arm issues. Looks like he was right, as he wound up being the better deep passer than Lord Legend this year.

Way to go 'Phins. Now you better bring it to beat Ray-Ray and Company.

BTPC recommends: Garden and Gun Magazine



It is no big news that print is dying. But right before Christmas, I caught a NPR spot on Garden & Gun magazine (with President and Publisher Rebecca Darwin) and was intrigued. So I went to their website and liked what I saw, which led to 2 of the 3 women in my life (my mom and my assistant) getting Garden & Gun subscriptions for Christmas.

They have an online spot, "100 Southern Foods You Absolutely. Positively Must Try Before You Die," that left me starving. Think I'll defrost some shrimp for some Buffalo Shrimp skewers tonight.

Conroy, Bragg, Groome and other well-known writers are contributors and they put out the mag from Charleston, SC. So check out the mag that is the "soul of the New South."

Friday, December 26, 2008

Winning the war, one boner at a time


Seems like US ingenuity is making some headway in Afghanistan. Apparently, Americans have been making a little headway thanks to a little blue pill.

Check it here.

I'm betting this generates way better leads than torture.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Decider decides he made a crappy decision






Don't cry, Georgie. Maybe you can get a do-over.

Meet the Toussies. The younger one is Isaac, a real estate scammer from Brooklyn. To his left is dear old dad Robert. One might call Isaac President Bush's Marc Rich. What's the problem? Well...apparently, all the PR folks at the White House are already on vacation (If there ever were any to begin with). You see, President Bush issued 19 pardons yesterday and Isaac Toussie got one. And it just so happens his dad had contributed almost $30K to the RNC. So Bush is pardoning a man who defrauded homeowners in the midst of the greatest home crisis we've ever seen. Oops.

For an example of the bad press Bush started getting (isn't "bad press" really kind of redundant with this yahoo?), check here.

Well...anyway, the Decider is a little upset he's taking such heat for this decision, so he's decided to change his mind. The problem is, can he? Josh Marshall has a good rundown on the question of whether or not Bush can rescind his pardon. Surprise, turns out it is a constitutional question. Someone get Cheney on the phone...we need a way around the Constitution, STAT!

Muppets for Christmas





My Christmas present to you.

Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas to all. I hope everyone gets what they want from Santa. Me...I'm partial to a leg lamp from Italy, or some freedom. Ask that fat man if he's got any freedom in that bag.


Von and I have done the family thing. Now its time for me to enjoy my Christmas tradition of watching Officer John McClain take on robbers acting like terrorists, who have seized Nakatomi Plaza. Hey...you can have "It's a Wonderful Life" if you like. Me...I'll take Al Powell and his friend Roy Rogers, eatin' twinkies and bustin' glass.

Bert and Ernie go gangsta





Reino surfed the web and pulled some pretty funny video clips. Check his post over at SC6 for all of them. However, I enjoyed the one above so much, I had to post it.

Dick Cheney is a d*ckhead



Seriously...our outgoing Vice President has done more to harm the United States of America than any politician I can think of. And in classic crumdgeon-style, he's leaving office and "to hell with all of you!"

Slate has an article up showing just how full of shit Cheney is. The most telling passage I think is:

"On the question of so-called torture, we don't do torture. We never have. It's
not something that this administration subscribes to. Again, we proceeded very
cautiously. We checked. We had the Justice Department issue the requisite
opinions in order to know where the bright lines were that you could not cross."
Yet just a few moments later, when asked whether water-boarding a prisoner was
appropriate, he said yes, adding that he was even involved in clearing the
technique as part of the interrogation program.

Cheney says water-boarding is not torture. That question has been resolved as a legal matter for centuries and is not actually open to relitigation on ABC News. Water-boarding has been deemed torture and prosecuted as a war crime in this country. It violates, among other things, the Convention Against Torture, the War Crimes Act, and the U.S. anti-torture statute. Its illegality is neither an open question nor a close one. Yet again, the handful of people—including Dick Cheney—who maintain that torture is completely legal corresponds almost perfectly to the number of people who could be prosecuted for war crimes because it is not.

There you have it. A man that never served, who avoided actual combat, therefore never had to worry about falling into enemy hands and being mistreated, is so self-righteous as to to brag about how "we don't torture" when every rational human knows the techniques he is admitting to using is in fact torture. And by the way...THAT SHIT DOES NOT WORK!

Cheney's true harm to the country won't be known for years. But I fear that one day, in the not too distant future, our country will suffer a fatal attack, carried out by people who were filled with a hatred for our country by the suffering they underwent at the direction of this "patriot," Dick Cheney. Kudos...Angler. I hope you are proud of yourself.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

How about a little Christmas Duck




Since it was actually a winter morning this am, I rolled out of bed and met Chris and Sadie (she's the one pictured with the fur) in Darlington for a little mud-crawl/duck shoot.


3 Mallards and 4 Woodies later, not a bad morning. Almost makes up for me missing out on any money in the fantasy league by 1 FREAKING POINT! Thanks a lot Devin Hester.


Anyway, we'll be slicing up some duck breast and wrapping the pieces in bacon along with some cream cheese and jalapeno peppers for some Duck Bombs ala Florence. Beat that Top Chef.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Boyd is back...like cooked crack.

One of my favorite Gamecocks of all time appears to be headed back to the active roster of an NFL team. With yet more injuries to RBs, Denver Broncos Head Coach Mike Shannahan has announced that the team will resign RB Cory Boyd and Alex Haynes to the active roster. The move was needed after Selvin Young and PJ Pope became the sixth and seventh Denver RBs to hit the IR. That has got to be some kind of record.

But Boyd is a favorite. Lou Holtz once said Cory came from the worst circumstances he had ever seen. The kid had a few slip-ups at Carolina, but he also played his ass off. He was tough as nails and never quit. And he gave us this memorable clip:


Sunday, December 21, 2008

Andrew Sullivan's Man of the Year



Andrew Sullivan has a post up nominating Captain Ian Fishback of the 82nd Airborne. Fishback was one of the first to call attention to the abuses going on in the war on terror. As an actively serving member of the Army, this West Point graduate had everything to lose. However, Fishback was more worried about losing his ideals, so he started a campaign to find out just what his orders were. After being unable to ever get an answer through the regular chain of command, Fishback went outside that chain, writing to Sen. McCain.

Sullivan has posted Fishback's entire letter. I recommend you read it. This man truly is an American hero. He is truly a patriot and staunch servant of the Constitution. One point he makes that stands out:

Do we sacrifice our ideals in order to preserve security? Terrorism inspires
fear and suppresses ideals like freedom and individual rights. Overcoming the
fear posed by terrorist threats is a tremendous test of our courage. Will we
confront danger and adversity in order to preserve our ideals, or will our
courage and commitment to individual rights wither at the prospect of sacrifice?
My response is simple. If we abandon our ideals in the face of adversity and
aggression, then those ideals were never really in our possession. I would
rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is
"America."


That's right, Dick Cheney. People who are against your "advanced interrogation techniques" are not pansy-assed liberals. They are not cowards. You are. And it's not just me saying it. It's someone like Capt. Fishback, a man who answered the call while you and your president were avoiding combat by any means necessary.

The Price is...fixed???



In case you missed it, a first happened on The Price is Right recently: someone hit the showcase right on the nose. The internet is awash with rumors about the fix being in. Conspiracy theorists point to Carey's subdued reaction to such a historic event. You be the judge. Check out the video above.

Trainreck rocks it out



One-half of Tenacious D rocks it out in his Z-28

Friday, December 19, 2008

Man of the Year


The latest issue of The Community Times is out.
Check out the cover.

I could not find an internet link to them, so I don't know if they are online. However, if you don't read The Community Times, maybe you should. It was CT editor-in-chief Larry Smith that broke the story about the Juneteenth scandal and Councilman Robinson. The rest of the media played catch up. Competition is a good thing, especially when it comes to voices for news. So check out the other paper here in Florence.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The 'D Squeezin' the Box


I saw this Sunday on PaladiumHD and have not been able to get the damn thing out of my head all week.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Blowhard of the Day Award



Meet Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee and apparently National Socialist (just kidding...I think).

Why is Tom winning today's blowhard award? Because of his comments about one of the two stories the media seems to be transfixed with now. The first is of course some little thing going on in Chicago. The second, is the talk of dynasty politics by the Dems.

A quick comment on the Blagojevich scandal. Say what you want about the scandal itself, but is it not nice to have a President-elect who sends his top people out and they actually face and answer questions from the media? I watched Morning Joe this morning and watched Scarborough and Axelrod go at it for a good 3 minutes. It was fascinating. I had forgotten what it looked like to actually watch the media ask questions that matter and see the interviewee actually attempt to answer the questions asked, not just jabber unrelated talking points.

But back to Tom. Lets forget the fact that he's a member of the party of George W. Bush and he's opening his piehole to condemn dynastic politics. Here's the actual nonsense he let out into the public:

"Democrats seem to lack a common man who can just win a good, old-fashioned
election," Reynolds said.


Tom, really? That's an argument you want to propose? After a mixed-race, foreign-named upstart whupped your lily-white war hero's ass, you want to make that argument? What...was he part of that Kenyan-Hawaiian cabal that has ruled American politics for so long? I must have missed that.

In fact, it seems to me, Democrats did a pretty good job of winning a great many good, old-fashioned elections just over a month ago. So shut up, Tom. You look like a jag-off.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

There's a new Wolf Buddy in town


















You can't really blame Drew Brees for getting sacked by Teen Wolf's right-hand man, can you?


Tampa Bay Buc DE Greg White has changed his name to Stylez G. White. Why?


White said he picked his new name from a character in the 1985 movie “Teen
Wolf,’’ starring Michael J. Fox.
“That was his best friend’s name,’’ White
said. “I always liked that name. It’s not that I don’t like Greg White.’’
In
the movie, Fox’s friend is named Rupert “Stiles’’ Stilinski. White changed the
spelling and adopted the name as his own.an, now can you?


That's right folks, the #1 Wolf Buddy is back.


Of course, Stiles best line, when asked by the Wolf if he knows about a rash going around: "No, but I heard Mr. Murphy, you know the shop teacher? Got his dick caught in a vaccum cleaner."

Stylez G. White, we salute you.



Hattip, Lonnie Wise.

The B.G. Ramone, "Well said, well spoken, B.G." Award of the Day




Meet Bill Baroni, State Senator of New Jersey (R-Mercer).

Baroni was John McCain's man in New Jersey. After reading this quote, one has to wonder why the McCain-Palin did not have him out in front of cameras more.


"The people who are asking us to do this today, these are people who can't play piggyback with their 3-year-old. These are people who get up every day and
battle HIV/AIDS. They are people who wonder if their chemotherapy is going to
work. I can't look at those folks and let them be perhaps the only ones who
don't have the ability to have less pain," - New Jersey state senator, on why he voted for a medical marijuana bill.


For those who are wondering who B.G. Ramone is, well he's not the guy out back eating chicken, if that's what you mean.

BTW, is that a hog-leg or what that Granny is puffing on?

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The ineptness that refuses to die


You would have thought that losing the election would have spelled the end of our ability to enjoy kicking the dogshit out of the McCain-Palin campaign's ability to be a walking clusterf*ck. You'd be wrong.

Check this out. Apparently no one thought it would be important to wipe clean some of the computers and phones the campaign decided to sell to the public.

Brilliant.

The Holy Grail of Band Riders discovered


The Smoking Gun has finally tracked down a copy of the most infamous band rider of all time: Van Halen's "No Brown M&Ms" rider.
While the underlined rider entry has often been described as an example of rock
excess, the outlandish demand of multimillionaires, the group has said the
M&M provision was included to make sure that promoters had actually read its
lengthy rider. If brown M&M's were in the backstage candy bowl, Van Halen
surmised that more important aspects of a performance--lighting, staging,
security, ticketing--may have been botched by an inattentive promoter.
I knew those guys from Van Halen were brilliant.
Hat tip Sullivan.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Constitution rears its head...




Just like religious yahoo Sarah Palin predicted about that pesky little Putin head, The Constitution has reared it's head in little old South Carolina and put a halt to our own religious fanatics' attempt to create a jihad here in South Cackilacky.



Yesterday, US District Judge Cam Currie ordered South Carolina to freeze plans to produce a special “I Believe” license plate, refund motorists who have prepaid for the plates and direct them to make a different selection. Judge Currie ruled the plates amount to state-sponsored religious preference.


Of course, the Judge is right. These plates are ridiculous. The state should in no way be producing something declaring anyone's religious preferences.


But here's the fun part...we will now be subject to any number of religious persons here in SC complaining that this is an attack on their religion. That it is political correctness run amuck. That Currie is an "activist" judge and any other load of horseshit.


Folks...if you want to pimp your God, go ahead. I know you're going to do it anyway. But you don't get to use the State to do it, no matter how many legislators and people believe in the same things you do. Why? Because it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL! The fact that Henry "Have you heard, I'm running for Guv'ner" McMaster thinks it is constitutional, just shows you what a great steward of the constitution we have representing the people of South Carolina.


So when all these politicians and community leaders walk out in front of microphones to offer up their support for this righteous cause, remember this: they all took an oath to uphold the Constitution and they are all ignoring the hell out of that document for their own selfish reasons.




If you're offended because I put up a picture of a religious fanatic carrying a RPG in his quest to convert the world to his particular religion, good. Because that means you're the same type of person who thinks everyone should share the same religious beliefs as you, which is the very same train of thought that leads to that kind of violence.

And what the hell is the state doing hiring Nelson Mullins to rep the DMV? In a time where we appear to be cutting the budget every two weeks, we're spending taxpayer money to defend this blatantly unconstitutional crap? Where is "less government is what we need" Governor Sanford in all this? I mean, after all, he could have stopped this colossal waste of taxpayer money by vetoing it. I mean, we all know he has no problems vetoing stuff. But no...Marky Mark took the cowards way out and did not veto or sign the damn thing. Of course, by vetoing it, he would have offended all the god-fearing christians in the State, and we all know reelection comes before principles. But he could not have signed it and ran for President, because even he knows its blatantly unconstitutional. Hence the do-nothing move. Way to roll strong, Guv.

The very best religion of all time is still summed up in the words of Abraham Lincoln: "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."

Word, Abe.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Super Karate Monkey Death Car!



Alan Sepinwall points out that one of the best Newsradio episodes of all time is now on Hulu.

Check it.

"Jimmy has fear? A thousand times no."

Blowhard of the Day



Our own Senator Jim DeMint. See, the good Senator has come out to warn us that not only will passing a bailout lead to riots, but that there are already riots going on! Who knew? Guess its that left-wing media not covering the tear-gas infused protests from Mauldin.

So congrats, Sen. DeMint. Thanks for representing us so well and improving our image to the rest of the world.

"I'm the Decider..."



"...and I've decided to let the other guy decide. Now, Don't mess with Texas."

From a NY Times article yesterday about possible help for homeowners facing foreclosures:

“It’s become clear that if you stick your head up, it’ll get cut off,” said one White House official. “We’re done in two months. The next administration can try to find a way out of that maze.”

As Josh Marshall opined, quite the "profiles in courage" these folks are.

Continuing my Deadwood kick

Biggest idiot in Top Chef history???



So one of my favorite shows is Top Chef. If you watched last night's episode, you probably thought what I did: "Geez...Danny is a moron."

I mean...I've known he was a moron from day one, just look at his facial hair. What the hell is that about?

But last night, this guy proved he is as dumb as a bag of hammers. First off, he decided it would be a "nice surprise" if the diners found some mushrooms at the bottom of the salad Carla had prepared for their team dish, so he put them in. Of course, he did this without asking Carla, nor his other team member, Gene. That was not only incredibly rude, but it was plain stupid. Now, he's married to Carla's dish. If it sucks, he contributed to it.

However, where he really showed his lack of brains, was at the judge's table. I always love it when the judges clearly think something sucked and they ask the chef about it. These idiots always seem to think "standing behind their dish" is the most important thing. Look, Einstein...when the judges have just spent that last 5 minutes talking about how bland your "surprise mushrooms" were, maybe you should "admit" you could have seasoned them more. And when they have spent the whole time talking about what a disaster your team's plate was, you certainly do not say you thought it was great and you stand behind it.

But his stupidity did not stop there. When explaining his exit, he commented that the judges made a bad call, but bad calls happen all the time. Like in football, when Barry Sanders is running the ball, someone grabs his jersey and everyone sees it, but the refs don't call it.

Great analogy there, Danny. BTW, someone grabbing a running backs jersey is not a penalty, it would be an attempted tackle. You apparently know as much about football as you do about cooking.

What a moron.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I miss Deadwood

Studs wieghs in...


In light of the Blago scandal, lets go to Studs Terkel:

"Chicago is not the most corrupt American city, it’s the most theatrically corrupt.”—Dick Cavett Show, June 9, 1978

Hattip Sullivan.

For more Studs, click here.

Is this Ed's house???




So the first city council meeting featuring our newly elected officials took place this past Monday. In a constant running saga, I am amazed that our local daily media failed to pick up on the most interesting item that surfaced.

In full disclosure, I did not make it for the start of the meeting, and I left before it was fully over. But what I did get to see was great, in the classic unintentional comedy sense.

I am of course referring to our esteemed city councilman, Mr. Ed Robinson, who really met his potential during the course of the discussion of abandoned houses.

The discussion kicked off with Dr. Dawson's wife talking about the burned out building on Palmetto street that housed that sandwich place. She explained how the thing has been burned out for ever (a year I think) and how the city has been no help. How she had made calls and basically been told the city really could not do anything because the owner lived out of town. At some point, I think some official for the city explained there was a problem getting service on the owner in Columbia.

Trust me...that is laughable. The idea that the city can't get someone served in Cola is ridiculous and is a BS excuse.

Kelvin Mitchell then got up and complained about abandoned houses and lots in East Florence. He had pictures of several houses in the area.

At this point, Council Robinson for some reason decided to ask Mr. Mitchell if he was for taking people's property. To illustrate his point, Councilman Robinson explained that he owned a piece of property he had inherited and if he could not afford to fix it up, would Mr. Mitchell be for taking it from him.

Let's ignore the fact that it was ridiculous to ask Mitchell this. He's coming to council complaining about a specific problem. It's up to council to address it, not Mitchell. Secondly, it was stupid because Mitchell had not mentioned any such action. It's obvious Ed is worried about this. But why question a citizen about it?

Robinson continued to ridiculously complain saying he only hears talk about "destruction" in these neighborhoods and nothing about "building them up." Of course, this shows how foolish Ed is. These are not homes that can be rebuilt. They are blights on the community. And most of the pictures were on Ed's street. Ed is trying to play it like these are "homes" inhabited by folks who just can't afford to keep them up, when that is clearly not the case. NO ONE lives in these dilapidated buildings. They are blights on the community and are dragging down the neighborhoods.

Now...it as this discussion went on, all I could think of, was what is Ed doing? These were his constituents complaining and he was picking a fight with them. When Powers and Octavia called him on the fact that condemning property was a last resort, someone asked him if his property looked as bad as those in the pictures. Now immediately, I thought...no, Ed was doing a hypothetical there...but then he answered. Disclaimer, I am not exactly sure of what was said, but I think he said something to the effect that his property probably looked worse.

What!

So is Councilman Robinson taking a contrary position to the majority of his constituents, against what was a very big issue in the election, because it would hurt his personal finances????

Seriously...how does that not make it into the paper? Come on, Chuck...buckle down.

BTW...the building pic'd above is not from Florence. Our abandoned buildings aren't high-class enought to be brick.

Sorry...



For the lack of posts this week. It's been a really busy week with work. Two interesting General Sessions cases this week that took up a shitload of my time. Not to mention Von has been out of town, which means I've had the burden of entertaining two Jack Russells solely on my shoulders and that is no small task.

Anyway, I hope to catch up some by Sunday. I do want to post on Wukela's first council meeting. I got to sit in on some of it. Not surprisingly, our local media coverage missed some pretty interesting (and hilarious) details. More to come...

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Now I'm driving the bus...

A Date that lives in Infamy


Today is the 67th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

There were basically two attack waves. We now know that there was internal debate among the Japanese about a third attack wave. The first two waves had focused on planes on the ground (to protect the bombers) and capital ships. This debated third wave would have gone after facilities: oil yard, dry docks, sub base and admin buildings (which held the codebreakers that would prove vital to later US victories).

Had the Japanese held a third wave, they would have really achieved the crippling blow they sought. But they chose to protect their forces and withdraw, thinking that blow had been landed. History tells us it was not the crippling blow they thought. By leaving the subs and the carriers intact, the US was forced into a new kind of naval warfare. So while the Japanese were waiting on the ultimate battleship faceoff, our planes and subs were able to keep them in check until the fleet had been remade.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Blowhard of the Day



Meet Kentucy State Representative Tom Riner. Rep. Riner is also Rev. Riner, which would explain his gamewinning plan to win today's "Blowjob" (so named for outstanding work in being a ridiculous blowhard).

How did Rep/Rev Riner reach this summit? For raising hell (irony intended) about Kentucky's state Department of Homeland not crediting God for keeping the state safe.

Now, for those of us who live in reality, we know the only things that would possibly blow up in Kentucky are meth labs. In fact, the single object of any strategic value in the entire state is Ashley Judd. But the Rep/Rev has God and the law (a ridiculously unconstitutional one) on his side.

Seems the Rep/Rev was instrumental in getting a law passed that actually made this nonsense a statutory requirement. The law was signed by former Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who prominently credited God in annual reports to state leaders. Apparently, new Gov. Steve Beshear's administration is a little too concerned with reality and failed to credit God in its 2008 Homeland Security report issued last month. And those that want to have their cake and make you sit through their stupid party then act like your enjoying eating their cake too are pissed. I mean what did they go through all the trouble of passing that unconstitutional piece of crap for anyway. You know, the law that:

...organized the Homeland Security office first lists Homeland
Security's duty to recognize that government itself can't secure the state
without God, even before mentioning other duties, which include distributing
millions of dollars in federal grants and analyzing possible threats.
The
religious language was tucked into a floor amendment by Riner and passed the
General Assembly overwhelmingly. It lists the office's initial duty as
"stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the
Commonwealth."
Included in the law is a requirement that the office must post
a plaque at the entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an
88-word statement that begins, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth
cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."


By the way, this douche-bag is a Democrat too. So don't just think this nonsense is limited to those who think the elephant is the king of the jungle.

Tis' the season, folks. You will see plenty of this crap in the news. Our favorite blowhard, Bill O'Reilly is currently busy blasting officials in Olympia, WA, for of all things, respecting the Constitution and laws of the United States (things I'm pretty sure they took an oath to do).

You ever notice how people who are concerned with religion and want to know what religion you are, always want to hear that you believe the same thing as them or they get upset/think less of you?

As my man Abe Lincoln said, Abe Lincoln--that's my man:

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."

Well, said Abe. Well said.

Not hard to see this coming



It really was not too farfetched to think that Francis Buxton would move to Chicago, start killing people and burying them under his house. I mean, he did steal Pee Wee's bike.

Interesting fact I did not know, Gacy received Secret Service clearance. Check out this photo of Gacy and first lady Rosalynn Carter.





Surprisingly, this photo caused quite a bit of embarrassment for the Service. Apparently it shows Gacy wearing a special "S" pin which means Gacy received special clearance. Gacy most likely received special clearance because he was a precinct captain with the Democratic party. Come on...what do you expect? This is Chicago afterall. I'm sure his ability to walk in with approximately 30 votes to his poll carried a lot of weight with the Machine.

In all candor, the SS clearance doesn't surprise me. In my former life, I dealt with them on a counterfeit case. We had video not only showing someone use a counterfeit bill, but with our card system, we could follow them all over the park, getting multiple video angles and shots on them. To my surprise, when the agent went to leave, he wanted to know if they could "borrow" my VCR. Seems they didn't have a time lapse VCR. What the f*ck? I've got to think that's pretty standard equipment for a field office. Seems SS ain't all what we think it is.

BTW, how about the tag line for Pee Wee's Big Adventure's movie posters? "You will believe a man can ride a bike." And Phil Hartman helped write it. IMDB is full of fun facts.

Friday, December 5, 2008

BTPC's stimulus package


So I believe I have solved our economic woes. That's right, the BTPC has a plan to get America back on the right track.

No...the plan is not asking Lil' Wayne to make it rain on the economy, although that's not a bad idea.

Instead, after reading this article, I figured all we have to do is ask Obama to keep campaigning full time and donating the money to the economy. Could we do this? Yes we can.

There is something inherently wrong...




With people dying because they cannot get clean water.


In this century.


It is shameful.


Zimbabwe is facing a serious cholera outbreak. In case you did not know, cholera is basically nonexistent if even the most rudimentary sanitation is practiced. Hell...we've had it whipped here in the good old USA for almost 100 years (last major outbreak in 1911).

That's a sh*tload of lipstick



With new expenditure reports in, we now know McCain's campaign dropped $68,400 on Palin's make-up artist. (Which is a little high for the heavy, tranny-volume she was having applied in my opinion. Guess they charged her by the quantity, not quality).

Another $42,225 for her hairstylist.

Of course, this is on top of the $150k the RNC dropped on her wardrobe.

Just your average, everday hockeymom...

Heat: Thirteen years old??




So I'm watching Heat on BravoHD. This movie gave us two things.

1) the greatest modern gun scene in film. Saving Private Ryan wins for military scene. And Costner's last shootout in Open Range wins the western category.

2) the last acting Pacino and DeNiro did. Seriously...too bad those guys died and stopped acting. They were pretty good, no?

Great Conan moments

See more funny videos at Funny or Die



Conan's reaction at the end to the RRS kiss is awesome

An According to Jim personality...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die



In case you didn't notice, it's been a while since I hit Funny or Die. I had forgotten they had some good stuff.

Will and Dave, a little Leather and Lace

See more Judd Apatow videos at Funny or Die

If Shawshank were made in the '80s

See more funny videos at Funny or Die


Funny video. Hattip, Sportsguy.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Now hear this...


We interrupt this prodigious posting session to enjoy Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Live: Pulse on PBS...RIGHT NOW!


Grab your tabs of LSD or dried mushrooms and turn on the tube now! Bonus points if you've got the Wizard of Oz on DVD and can get it synched.


I saw this tour at Death Valley in '94. Memories...


ps. Matt Pinfield was just on giving some Dark Side history. It was on the Billboard Top 100 Album list for 741 weeks. That's over 14 years! It is the 3rd best selling album in the history of the world. DAMN.

Glad she's not getting the 3am calls


Meet US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).

Unless you've ignored the news the last two days, you probably know that this blowhard from Florida hung up the phone twice when President-elect Obama tried to contact her. First, on the man himself, then on his Chief-of-Staff (and her congressional college) Rahm Emanuel. In her defense, apparently Ileana learned her lesson when Palin got pranked by those tricky Canucks. What really shows her lack of savvy is the fact that she has been on umpteen news shows since, seemingly proud of what an idiot she was, bragging that "that one" won't be forgetting her anytime soon.


But, if you know Ileana, all this is no big surprise. She's been a regular on Maher's show for quite some time and I've always been shocked at how little she has to add to any conversation. She is, afterall, a United States Congressperson, so you would think she would have somewhat informed opinions and be at least moderately adept at expressing them. You would, of course, be mistaken.


It ain't just in front of the cameras that Ileana drops the ball. I heard a news item yesterday about Obama and Cuba and right away I figured this is what he was reaching out to Ileana for. If you've ever seen her on the tube, you know that she routinely sits there saying nothing, until Israel or Cuba come up, at which point she starts adamantly saying nothing (in blatant attempts to pander to her constituents). But as Miami - Riptide 2.0 reports:
And, here is the actual important thing! She passed up the chance to work with a
powerful incoming President on policy she and her constituents feel passionate
about. Obama had called her to discuss Cuba and Israel policy, and when he
finally got her on the phone, instead of making sure that her personal views or
those of Miamians were known to the man who will soon be the most powerful in
the world, she "asked Obama to please consult with Senator Bob Menendez and
Congressman Albio Sires on Cuba policy and to rely on Secretary of State
designate Clinton on Israel, two issues about which Ros-Lehtinen feels
passionately." Don't we elect her to make sure things get done and make sure we
have a voice in Washignton? Then when the President-elect calls her to
provide the chance to do that, she defers him to two Democratic Reps in
New Jersey.

What the f*ck? The President-elect reaches out to get your ideas on your main concerns and you tell him to check with someone else? Way to step up there, Ileana.


Plus, how creepy is this pic? Is Jeb enjoying that embrace a little too much?