Dear MO Lt. Governor Peter Kinder...

perhaps...just maybe...you ain't exactly living a Christian lifestyle if you're frequenting the strip clubs. Just sayin'...

However, you are right...they are FANTASTIC charges and allegations...

Republicans have a new savior. Thou art Rick Perry...

The Republicans got themselves a new savior yesterday when Texas governor, Ricky Perry, announced he was throwing his hat into the ring to be the 2012 Republican nominee for President. Benen has a good post up about the poor track record of "savior candidates." If we had to guess, though, we think Perry actually comes out of this one on top. The GOP race was between Romney and Bachmann. Bachmann cemented her status at the top with her Ames Straw Poll win yesterday. Romney is at the top simply by virtue of his campaign coffers, which are swole-up compared to anyone else in the field.

In walks Perry and all of a sudden, the record scratches and everyone turns. Hell, Perry had more write in votes than Romney had votes (he was on the ballot, although he tried to alleviate what he would be a loss by not "competing") in Ames.

We've seen Perry before. He's W 2.0. On second thought, no...he's worse. Personally, we thought W's problem was that he was incredibly naive and gullible. Rick Perry is a zealot POS who ain't above getting his hands dirty to cover his ass.

Seriously, on the zealot thing, take a look at who this nutjob hangs out with. The Texas Observer did a good piece on the "prophets" Perry hangs, titled Rick Perry's Army of God. That title kind of sums this fella up. No shit...he hangs with people who believe they have a direct line of communication with God. Perry's idea of solving our economic problems? Big get togethers to pray, fast and repent.

However, most troubling to us, is Perry's willingness to cover up his own mistakes. We've done a few posts about the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, very likely an innocent man Texas put to death on Perry's watch (here, here and here).

Three expert reports have concluded that the fire in which Willingham's children died was not arson. One of those reports landed on Perry's desk 88 minutes before Willingham's execution. What do you think a guy who believes in prophecy did? If you guessed nothing, you'd be wrong. First, he did nothing, letting Willingham be executed. Then, right before his state's Forensic Science Commission was to hear testimony from experts on the Willingham case, Perry sprung into action replacing the head of the commission and two other members. Perry's new head canceled the hearing.

There is nothing as troubling to us as someone who not only refuses to admit their fallibility, but who actively tries to cover it up. Perry is one of those guys. And he now looks poised to capture the Republican nomination. Seriously, when you look at this yahoo, he's the perfect compromise for voters between Romney and Bachmann. He appeals to the nutjobs like Bachmann, while giving the corporate community the comfort of being W 2.0. The only good thing to come from Perry's entry is that it probably signals the death of any Palin presidential talk. As TPM noted, Perry is a red-meat hurler who ain't a quitter. And if the GOPers want to oggle a female, they've got Batshit Bachmann to look at.

Just what we need...another religious cowboy. How'd that work out last time?

BTPC welcomes Michele Bachman to the Magic City...

2012 Republican Presidential candidate and batshit crazy congresswoman Michele Bachman is bringing her special kind of looniness through Florence via a bus tour stop on August 18, 2011.

BTPC novelist-in-residence Melvin Udall has recorded a video welcome message for her...

London Calling...send some rubber bullets...

In case you haven't been watching the news, London is BLOWING UP the last several days. Youths in revolt showed up outside a north London police station to protest the shooting of a local man by the coppers.

As one of the rioters stated: I came to get my penny's worth.

Shit is gettin' so bad, our civilized mother country is talking about busting out the rubber bullets and water cannons. That may not seem like a big deal to a red-blooded American, but for a country where the coppers only carry firearms in exceptional circumstances, busting out the Bull Connor gear is at least akin to Defcon 2.

When we were looking at a slideshow of the riots this morning, we couldn't help but think of the Sex Pistol's "Anarchy in the UK."

Since we like a little soundtrack to our civil disobediance, we thought we'd offer some up. Enjoy...

Florence City Council makes an offer somebody can't refuse...

New York, 1920. A young Vito Coreleone had just begun pulling off a few capers with his partners, Clemenza and Tessio. As he drives a truck filled with boosted dresses down the street, the neighborhood rep of the Black Hand, Don Fanucci, hops into the truck.

Young man, I hear you and your friends are stealing goods. But you don't even send a dress to my house. No respect! You know I've got three daughters. This is my neighborhood. You and your friends should show me some respect. You should let me wet my beak a little. I hear you and your friends cleared $600 each. Give me $200 each, for your own protection. And I'll forget the insult. You young punks have to learn to respect a man like me! Otherwise the cops will come to your house. And your family will be ruined. Of course, if I'm wrong about how much you stole, I'll take a little less. And by less, I only mean - a hundred bucks less. Now don't refuse me. Understand, paisan? Understand, paisan?... Tell your friends I don't want a lot. Just enough to wet my beak. Don't be afraid to tell them!

What's this got to do with Florence City Council? Well, read the article in today's SCNOW and tell me it doesn't sound like this city council just made it an offer someone couldn't refuse...

Happy Anniversary One-Vote Victory...

1,469 to 1,468. One vote. That was the margin of victory by which City of Florence Mayor Stephen Wukela defeated then-incumbent Frank Willis for the Democratic primary on June 10, 2008.

Three years ago, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a ruling which proved that in the state of South Carolina, every vote does actually matter. In affirming the 12th Circuit Common Pleas ruling, the Court affirmed an order from the Honorable Michael G. Nettles which proclaimed:

The factors of this controversy and the applicable law will not allow this court to circumvent the will of the people. The voters have spoken ...

One of our favorite quotes after Judge Nettles ruling at trial?

We thought that once we got into a court of law that the law would take over and we would be successful. That didn’t happen. -- Frank Willis

But, of course, the legal battle did not end there. Frank Willis appealed Judge Nettles decision to the South Carolina Supreme Court and on August 6, 2008 the Supremes told Frank, in the words of the Budweiser commercial, to "let it go, Louie."

A ton of work went into that legal fight and it would be a bit of an understatement to say getting that call while down at trial lawyers was memorable. One of our fondest memories of that whole saga was running into a comp seminar in Hilton Head, drink in one hand, phone in the other, flip-flopping down the aisle to grab the Mayor and pull him out so he could get the news.

Upon that ruling, Frank Willis was quoted as saying, "Once the court rules, that's it -- it's over."

Oh...would that it were, Frank...would that it were. We all know it was far from over at that point. It took three more months of campaigning against a write-in candidate who magically appeared during that election protest period, who spent $300,000 over that time (no...that's not a typo, folks. $300k in 3 months), before it was actually over.

But when it was over, the idea that every vote matters had survived. Wukela handedly won the general and was soon sworn in as Mayor.

Happy Anniversary to one-vote victories.

For a great archive of articles about that whole race, check out the news section at wukela.us.

FOXNews: The Soft bigotry of Overt Racism...

Stay classy, FOXNews.

So glad Obama's race has nothing to do with their coverage of him...

Can someone remind us how many jobs clearing brush in Crawford, Texas gave us the previous 8 years? Oh...that's right, not so many.