We just got finished watching Team Canada take down Team USA in OT of the gold medal game. Really...it would have been devastating to our northern neighbors for us to walk on up there and take the gold medal away from them in their own backyard in what is not only their national past time, but what could be more aptly called their "life." So congrats to Team Canada.
It only stings even more to know that they can enjoy those gold medals along with universal healthcare and cheaper prescription drugs than us. Oh...and really, really good weed. And super thick bacon. And strong beer. But...they'll have to enjoy it in our acid rain and while worry about our second-hand firearms. So take that, hosers.
That one's easy: Ronald Reagan defeated the Soviet Union. Huh? It was actually geography? Rivers? That's just stupid. Actually, it's kind of a interesting theory. Hope Evan and Jaime enjoy it. And just for them, we'll drop a homage to our old geography professor, Dr. Gaddy.
'Pine, you ask, how can you say Sen. Dick Shelby (R-AL) hates America. He's a Republican. That means he puts country first. Well...that's where you would be wrong. Shelby doesn't care about America. No, this is true. This month, Shelby put a blanket hold on about 70 of President Obama's appointments. Shelby had the chutzpah to claim the holds were related to his "unaddressed national security concerns." Apparently, "national security concerns" for Dick Shelby equals federal contracts that come to Alabama.
Quick...anyone think Sen. McCain will be asked about this tomorrow on MTP and that if asked Mr. Straight Talk will condemn his fellow Republican Senator? Anyone? Bueller?
The held-up appointments included the top intelligence officers at the State Department and at DHS. Shelby has been shamed into releasing most of the holds, except for 3 Air Force positions. It is sheer happenstance that the three holds still in place target United States Air Force appointments and one of Shelby's biggest "national security concerns" is the $40 billion dollar federal contract Northrop/EADS wants to bring through Mobile, AL to build air-to-air tankers. And we are sure that the USAF's refusal to allow changes to a draft request for proposals, changes that Northrop/EADS says they need or they will pull out of the bidding have absolutely nothing to do with Shelby's holds. No, we are sure that a freedom loving, god-fearing true American like Dick Shelby is only holding these nominees up because he has legitimate concerns that these nominees are not adequately qualified to fill these important, high-ranking positions and thus their appointment would jeopardize the safety of every single American citizen.
BASH: I spoke with Geoff Morrell over at the Pentagon and just asked him what the impact is of not having these three people in place -- one of whom, as you know, is the number two at the Air Force. He said, "Without these people, we're not firing on all cylinders." And he also said, "It does adversely affect the organization."
Are you worried about that? This is a time of war --
SHELBY: The Pentagon is a big place. I don't think one or two will affect anything except on the margins.
BASH: Do you think that the nominees you have holds on are qualified?
SHELBY: Oh, I don't have any idea.
Ruh-roh. So let us get this straight: A Republican Senator has held up appointments that are keeping three high positions vacant, vacancies that the USAF claims are hindering the military's effectiveness, at a time when we have troops on the ground in two foreign countries and we're waging a global war on terror and the Senator readily admits it has absolutely nothing to do with qualifications? Could you imagine that absolute shit fit the right would be having if this was happening with a Democratic Senator say in 2003? This is supposed to be the party that "loves" America, is the military's great champion and is the only thing standing between us and the brink of destruction at the hands of hordes of crazed muslims. Oh, we forgot, that's just the narrative. They really don't care about that stuff. Opps...our bad.
'cause a Canadian Womens Hockey team party don't stop.
So...the world was in a tither about the Canadian Womens Hockey team's celebration after capturing the gold. Give it a rest. Those girls won the gold and deserve to cut loose a little.
Did they take liberties with the no-smoking policy of the arena? Perhaps.
Did they take some liberties with the Zamboni machine? Perhaps.
But here at the BTPC, we only have one complaint with these northern lasses: Why didn't you invite the Curglar?
NBC has announced their line-up for Sunday's Meet the Press and...shocker...it is going to be John McCain. As Benen points out, Sunday's appearance will mark the 20th time McCain has appeared on a Sunday morning talk show since President Obama's inauguration. McCain has averaged 1.5 appearances a month, every month for over a year.
Why?
Seriously...who is John McCain? Obviously, anyone who knows about his history knows he is a bitter, spoiled man. But he has always been that. We're asking who he is now, other than the guy who lost to Obama? He holds absolutely no sway in the national Republican party. He is hanging on for dear life right now in his re-election bid for Senate. He is in trouble in that race for good reason: McCain is full of shit. Seriously, he has spent his post Presidential-nominee time being wrong (See here & here), palling around with terrorists, and being a snarky ass (see here & here) to the man who whipped him fair and square.
So the question is, why does he get rewarded and put on tv? Gosh...NBC even went so far to tout his upcoming appearance as such in their release, "This Sunday: Exclusive! Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)." Wow. An "exclusive!" with an exclamation point and everything. Maybe they like putting McCain on because of his "straight talk." You know, like the straight talk he gave David Gregory back in July when he was explaining how Sarah Palin did not "quit" when she quit as Governor of Alaska.
The truth is, we have no idea why McCain keeps getting put on. Seriously, if you are a Republican, do you want this guy getting national air time? If so, WHY? Does McCain really have anything to do with the future of your party? Anyone?
But here is our prediction. You will see McCain continue to spout the current line of GOP bullshit about HCR, which is how reconciliation is wrong, bad and should not be used to pass something as big as HCR. He will do so and probably throw in the same misstatement about President Obama opposing its use on Judges, probably using the term "nuclear option." That's crap, because it was not being threatened to be used to appoint the Judges, the Republicans were threatening to use it to change the Senate rules to get rid of the filibuster (which would have been fine with us), after which they would have moved to appoint the Judges.
McCain will do this without batting an eye at the disingenuous nature of his remarks. Why will they be disingenuous you ask? Because the truth is, and John McCain along with every single Republican in Congress and Republican pundit knows this, HEALTH CARE REFORM HAS ALREADY BEEN PASSSED!
What's that you ask? 'Pine, how can this be? If HCR has passed, what's all the hubbub about? No...it's true, little one. HCR was passed way back on Christmas Eve of ought nine. It was a historic night. You see, there was a very long debate in the United States Senate over the HCR bill. After that very long debate, being the party of NO such as they were and having no plan of their own to try to reform our skyrocketing health care costs, the Republicans in the Senate mounted an effort to filibuster the HCR bill. But, undaunted, Senate Democrats overcame that filibuster attempt with the help of 60 YAY votes. The bill passed 60-39. It was a joyous occasion. Many of the 30 million Americans who have no insurance felt as though they had gotten one of the greatest Christmas gifts of all: healthcare. There had been plenty of debate. There were no tricks. There was not abuse of any rules. Our Democracy worked just as it should.
But 'Pine, you ask...what is all this talk about "reconciliation"? Well, little one, reconciliation is simply a process by which budget fixes can be implemented on legislation. In other words, reconciliation was created for just this kind of thing. It's not a trick, little one, it's actually part of the process. Little one, you know what, Ronnie Reagan was actually the great-grandaddy of reconciliation. Really. He loved it. Used it to effect all kinds of massive changes. Reconciliation is how we got the CHIPs program which helps give you health care. Or COBRA, which we had to use when your dad got laid off from the plant. Truth is, all the smack about reconciliation is really just much ado about nothing.
And that is how health care reform was passed and saved Christmas.
Hell...if Chris Matthews and Chuck Todd (see video) can understand that, we feel pretty confident intellectual heavyweights and good stewards of the public trust such as McCain, Eric Cantor and John Boehner can too. But that is not what you will see Sunday. Or any other day next week, next month or next year, from John McCain or any other Republican figure.
Why? Because they are completely full of shit and willing to say anything.
Why? Because it does not matter. They are not talking to rational, logical and reasonable people. Because the rational, logical and reasonable people know this already.
Instead, this Sunday and every other day for the foreseeable future, John McCain and his Republican colleagues are going to be talking into the void of irrationality that exists in the FoxNews universe, where Obama is a Kenyan Manchurian candidate who is turning the good ole U. S of A into the CCCP. Doing so while taking away your guns. And killing unborn babies. That you will have to eat. While you are plugged into his energy pods. That will power Ipods worn by the black Muslims who will rule the world. And win American Idol while sweeping the CMTs. And we can't have that, now can we?
Here at the BTPC, we believe marijuana should be legalized. As our friend Ben Harper once sang: herb the gift from the earth and what's from the earth is of the greatest worth so before you knock it try it first you'll see it's a blessingand its not a curse.
Having said that, our friends in California have moved the ball quite a way towards the goal line of actually legalizing mary jane.
Here's an interesting video discussing the prevalence of medical marijuana in Cali, as well as some of the problems.
Sometimes you wonder how some people actually keep their jobs. Like the idiot parking supervisor for Oakland who decided he would issue a memo telling parking enforcement officers they were not to enforce parking violations in two of the wealthier neighborhoods. This nonsense came to light after the San Francisco Chronicle got a hold of a memo issued by Senior Parking Enforcement supervisor Ronald Abernathy, which directed parking enforcement officers to only issue "courtesy notices" in two wealthy neighborhoods in the city.
The July order is corroborated by interviews with three parking officers, who said they and their colleagues had complained about what they deemed a discriminatory practice since it began last summer - to no avail.
"It's not fair," said Shirnell Smith, 44, a parking officer for 22 years who has lived in Oakland for 24 years. Smith and the union representing parking officers said the policy has resulted in tickets being issued disproportionately to poor, black and Latino people.
When reached on his phone for comment, Abernathy would only say "I don't answer any media questions." That's probably a smart move there Ronald.
We were out sick today and had hoped to rest and recuperate. Unfortunately, we got caught up watching the President's Healthcare Summit and that pretty much ate up the day. What can we say, we're suckers for political theater. So after meeting and talking for approximately 6 hours today, what did we learn?
It's amazing that anything ever gets done in Washington. However, we thought the President did a strong job of repeatedly pointing out the agreement on all the major issue while framing the big difference between the Democratic bills and Republican ideas is health care coverage for 27 million Americans. It was really just a vehicle for the President to show America that the bills contain major issues that both sides agree on. The Republicans simply oppose the bills on two fronts:
1) On some kind of weak, we-don't-do-comprehensive-well argument, where they want to argue we should just do this a piece at a time because we can't afford this big plan. Hence the retarded references over and over to the size of the bill. Hey, Republicans, we're dealing with the medical field and insurance field. You ever gone in for a simply surgical procedure? Hell...you get two reams of paper just on your billing and EOBs alone. We actually heard one Republican tell Sheppard Smith it's not fair to expect the American people OR any Senator to really understand a 2700 page bill. This whole idea ignores the fact that you can't do it piecemeal. These issues are so interwoven into the financial structure of healthcare, that you can't do one without the other. You can't take out the prohibitions on pre-existing injuries or the higher rates for women (things Republicans say that agree need to go), without drastically increasing the size of the pool of people covered? Why? Because the way insurance works, is that you have to spread the risk. That means you have to increase the coverage pool to open up coverage in these other issues. This shit ain't simple. It's complex. Try looking at your next hospital bill. Is that crap easy to comprehend? No; and,
2) the very real fact that it is not good for the Republican party for the Democrats to get healthcare reform passed (despite Lamar Alexander's limp-dick comments to the contrary). President Obama made it quite clear in his opening remarks that it was probably in Republicans' political interest to oppose reform. But he said that after pointing out all the issues they agree that need fixing. We don't think Obama is politically naive enough to think these guys are going to cross the aisle because something is "right." This was about showing the country that the plan really is not some crazy ass liberal socialist takeover and providing some political cover for Democrats to go ahead and push it through. If he wins a vote or two over, that's just gravy.
We thought the most telling exchange was between the President and Sen. Jon Barrasso (R-WY). We find it telling, because it highlights the fundamental flaw with the GOP's approach to health care.
"Would you be satisfied if every member of Congress just had catastrophic care--you think we'd be better health care purchasers?" Obama asked Barrasso. "I mean, is that a change you think we should make?"
"I think actually we would," Barrasso responded. "We'd really focus on it. We'd have more, as you say, skin in the game. And especially if they had a savings account--a health savings account--they could put their money into that, and they'd be spending the money out of that."
"Would you feel the same way if you were making $40,000. Or if that was your income. Because that's the reality for a lot of folks," Obama said
The GOP seems to be find with health care insurance being treated the same as automobile insurance. You know...the same industry that has carriers who advertise that they "get you legal for less." Anyone that has ever been involved in a motor vehicle accident and been unfortunate enough to have to pursue underinsured coverage from their own carrier know just how terrible relying on your insurance carrier to do the right thing can be (especially if your carrier is Allstate).
Some additional thoughts from today, along with some comments we had during the summit:
-Trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits are why your healthcare costs are so expensive. Uh...that's just dumb. The problem is not med mal lawsuits, the problem is an increase in med mal injuries. Listen, this isn't us just pulling shit out of our ass. These are facts. In a Harvard study released TWO decades ago, they showed that doctors were injuring 1 out of 25 patients, but only 4% of those injured patients ever sued. Another later Harvard study showed that 90% of medmal cases studied showed evidence of medical injury, ie., they weren't frivolous. That same study showed the majority of frivolous lawsuits were thrown out. The truth is, med mal cases are expensive to bring. It makes no sense for any atty to bring a BS med mal case. They'll wind up losing money.
This myth that defensive medicine is borne from lawsuits is BS. The use of all these "unnecessary" test have skyrocketed at the same time that jury awards and suits have stayed at basically the same levels, while actual INJURIES have increased. The reality is that at the end of the day, the insurance industry benefits from all these unnecessary tests. The more expensive healthcare is, the more necessary health insurance is, thus the more health insurance providers can charge.
If you want to actually curb costs related to medical injuries, you have to fix the actual problem: the medical malpractice itself. Studies have shown medical professions (like anesthesiologists) or particular hospitals that actually look at the claims against them, then use that info to correct bad practices, have been able to reduce the actual claims against them and in turn reduce their rates.
But at the end of the day, it's easier to blame the lawyers than actually your own problems.
-John McCain is still a bitter, petty, small man.
Okay...this was common knowledge before McCain's campaign against Obama, but was highlighted during that campaign. But McCain being McCain, he can't let that hatred go. There was a sure-to-be-replayed-over-&-over exchange between the President and McCain today. McCain wanted to bitch and whine about "broken campaign" promises (something he's had his panties in a wad about ever since he said Obama went back on his word about having joint town hall meetings). The President cut him off and reminded McCain that the campaign was over. Obama remarked that "we can have a debate about process" or about how to agree and pass health care reform. "The latter debate is the one [the American people] care about more."
Later, Kelly O'Donnell said on MSNBC that McCain's staffers were very upset. Apparently, McCain's "job" at the summit had been to attack the "process" by which the Democratic bills were made, because McCain is suffering a very serious challenge at home and he needed to score some points with voters in Arizona. That's just a fine example of Mr. Country First, is it not? Americans need & want health care reform? Well...I need to get my soundbites for my reelection, Mr. President, so let me get off topic.
-Republicans new catchword is "Reconciliation." Why?
McCain later came after President Obama about reconciliation, saying Obama had opposed reconciliation back during Bush about the judges. First off, McCain completely mischaracterized history. The Republican majority at the time was not trying to get judicial appointments through via reconciliation. Instead, they were threatening to change the rules of the Senate to do away with the filibuster. Shit...we wish they would have. But be that as it may, the harping on reconciliation is a tactic to try to convince the public that the Democrats are pulling some underhanded tricks to pass this bill. That's complete horseshit. Reconciliation was made for exactly this. You've got two bills. Reconciliation allows you to do just that, take two bills that have been passed and reconcile their differences. BTW, its a process we've had to use to pass all kinds of healthcare stuff (COBRA, CHIPs, Emergency Family Medical Act, etc). Why? Because the healthcare/insurance lobby is so strong you have to use reconciliation to get anything passed in those fields. Another BTW is that the GOP has used reconciliation the most over the passed twenty years including the Bush Tax Cuts.
-If Republicans were comedians, they'd be Carrot Top.
This isn't a knock on John Boehner's love of bronzer. Rather, it's an indictment of his and Eric Cantor's see-through attempts to use the actual bill itself as a prop. Cantor was first and it was pretty clear what the President thought of it. He pointed out the use of props is the kind of political gamesmanship that would not serve anyone there. We particularly loved how Cantor had his open to certain pages, like he was actually going through it and reading stuff during the summit. Whatever. Same with the very-bronzed John Boehner. Boehner made sure we all saw his tabbed, highlighted copy.
-Republicans are for state's rights! Except when they are not.
The President pointed this out to them at the end. You guys want to take up the banner of letting states decide some issues and not others. Hey...why not take that approach to gay marriage? Because it is not politically convenient.
-Republicans forget that the Presidency is an equal branch of government.
This was actually brought up during the event by Boehner and has been a favorite topic of the spinsters after the fact. But as of 3:02, the time breakdown was this: Republicans = 56 mins; Democrats = 50 mins; POTUS = 57 mins. As Obama reminded them, hey...I'm the President. This brings up an important notion. Say whatever you will about the uselessness of this event, but it was nice to see a CINC who was knowledgeable and engaged enough to not only call this summit, but to basically moderate it and have a strong enough grasp of the issues that he had no problem diving into the depths of nuance and policy as it came up.
Anyway...some quick thoughts we had during the day as this circus was going on:
-Note to GOP: if you're concerned about the "optics" of President Obama coming off as "in command" maybe you should have won that election. -someone should tell Lamar Alexander that having a tkt to a bus that only runs half the time is better than never having a ride at all. -hey Lamar, reconciliation is not a little used process: it's how we got COBRA, CHIP and the Emergency Medical Treatment act. So eff off -Benen sums up GOP opening by Lamar Alexander: 17 minutes of "NO" w/ a bizarre metaphor about a car show & an Alexis de Tocqueville quote. -is Max Baucus trying to sound like Wayne and Garth pretending the drive-thru speaker is broke? If so, that's a damn good impersonation. -Therein lies the rub. GOP thinks Safe Auto-like "legal for less" health insurance is ok. That's great until you actually get rear-ended. -American families have not rejected the current HC bills. When informed about what is really in bills, not rhetoric, the majority approves. -So, McCain whines about the campaign. Shocker. Enjoyed Obama's Andrew Sheppard-to-Bob Runson bitchslap: Your 15 mins are up, John -says Megan Kelly, let me answer that for you: You're damn right the President will sign a bill that comes to him through reconciliation. -Dear Andrea Mitchell: Rank has its privileges. It's why Barry gets to call him John & John has to call him Mr. President. aka scoreboard -is impressed with Tyra's producers. On the same day as Healthapalooza, Tyra has a show devoted to freakish medical conditions. You go girl -thinks that most Americans don't reject reconciliation. In fact, I suspect most can't understand why 51 votes IS NOT ENOUGH in the Senate. -agrees w/ Atrios: if they really care @ GOP votes, why not threaten to put in all kinds of crazy liberal hippie shit through reconciliation? -is wondering if the Dems include coverage for bronzer and hair dye, what are the odds Boehner and Cantor swing their vote?
They call Alzheimer's "the long goodbye." In the last 48 hours, John McCain has made public comments that make us wonder whether or not Johnny-boy is beginning to show the early signs of this disease. Yesterday, McCain tried to rewrite history in an interview with the Arizona Republic with a lame attempt to "excuse" his vote for TARP by trying to say that Bernanke and Paulson "misled" him into thinking the bailout was for the housing market and not Wall Street. That's just complete bullshit and McCain's comments at the time of TARP show he knew exactly what the money was for.
Today, in trying to correct other comments from the Republic interview (that he suspended his campaign and came back to Washington at the beckoning of President Bush--comments the Republic later admitted they got wrong), McCain explained:
"[Bush] didn't ask me to suspend my campaign," said McCain. "I suspended my campaign -- as did Senator Obama -- to come back to Washington because the President had told me that we were in a world financial collapse. That's why I did what I did. I always said that consistently.
But that's still false. McCain should remember, President Obama didn't "suspend" his campaign. In fact, they made it quite clear that they disagreed with McCain's desire to cancel a debate that Friday and that they would be there, basically saying that a President ought to be able to do two things at once. In fact, they quite enjoyed pointing out that it seemed Sen. McCain had difficulty doing two things at once.
Seriously, McCain is starting to remind us more and more of an absent-minded, mean old man.
We love Great Britain's Parliament. We've said it before, our Congress shows its immaturity with its inability to have real back and forth debate actually on the floor. Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) did his part to bring a little House of Commons flair to CSPAN.
"You gotta love these Republicans," Weiner said. "I mean, you guys have chutzpah. The Republican Party is a wholly owned subsidiary of insurance companies."
One of Weiner's Republican colleagues asked that the Democrat's words be stricken from the record because they were inappropriate for debate. Weiner's comeback: I'd be glad to -- I'll just substitute other words.
Those other words?
Make no mistake about it, every single Republican I have ever met in my entire life is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the insurance industry.
The ability to test biological evidence for DNA has been the greatest innovation in scientific evidence in the criminal justice system over the last three decades. How important is it? Just ask someone like Ronald Cotton who did over 10 years for a rape he did not commit. Better yet, ask Jennifer Thompson, the victim of that rape what she thinks of DNA. Thompson actually ID'd Cotton TWICE during trials. At his original trial and then, several years later when he got a new trial. Both times, Cotton was convicted and Thompson was sure he was the man who had raped her. It was not until DNA testing came about later, that Thompson had to face the fact that at that second trial, she had looked right at the man who had actually raped her, Bobby Poole, and never had any recognition that he was the guy. Folks like Cotton and Thompson can tell you first hand the power of DNA to save innocent people.
But a new article by Michael Bobelian for The Washington Monthly, DNA's Dirty Little Secret, points out that all is not kosher in the use of DNA to solve "cold case" files. Specifically, the article focuses on a 1972 rape/murder case from San Francisco which resulted in the 2008 conviction of a man named John Puckett. The article is is well worth a read.
The article basically points out one of major problems with DNA being used in courtrooms: the statistical probabilities that are thrown around by the State to show just how sure they are that this particular person committed the crime. In Puckett's case, the jury was told that a random person's DNA would match the DNA found at the scene just one in 1.1 million times. But that was not accurate. You see, in Puckett's case, the actual chance of a false match was a staggering one in three. Unfortunately for Puckett, his lawyers were specifically barred from even bringing this fact out to the jury. Why? Well...that's the question now, is it not?
Bascially, the FBI's own DNA advisory board and the National Research Council, a body created by Congress to advise the government and the public on scientific issues, came up with the formula Puckett's attorneys used to come up with that one in three figure. In fact, those bodies have specifically recommended that law enforcement and prosecutors calculate the probability of a coincidental match differently in cold-hit cases like Puckett's (ie., use the formula that those same boards came up with and that Puckett's attorneys used).
But here's where it gets interesting, not only do most law enforcement agencies not utilize the recommended formula, but the FBI specifically is attempting to bar states from going into their national database and performing tests to see just how accurate those probabilities are. That is bullshit.
We once attended a seminar where Brent Turvey, MS spoke about the problems in the Forensic Science community. If there was one thing we took away from Turvey's presentation it was this: you can't have science without the scientific method. And you can't have the scientific method if you don't put your hypothesis up and attack the ever living hell out of it. Only if it is left standing after all those attacks, can you call it good science. A scientist, by nature, seeks to disprove things. It is only through the inability to disprove, do we ever actually prove something. If the FBI's probabilities are "good science," then they will stand up to attack. If the FBI is afraid to let people test and attack those probabilities, what does that tell us? And if they can't stand up those attacks, why are they being allowed into the courtroom?
where school officials are f*#ked. Why? Because it seems school officials did not think it was important to notify students and parents that school officials could remotely access the webcams of the school district issued laptops that every student received. Think that "security system" has been kept on the R. Kelly? Uh...no. In fact, federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas to get to the bottom of this fiasco in an upscale suburban school district near Philly.
School district officials say the system that allows them to remotely turn on the webcams and view images is used only when a laptop is reported stolen or missing. Most of its 2,300 high school students have been issued these laptops and are allowed to take them home. A lawsuit by a district student helped bring this matter to light.
The suit alleges that in November, the Harriton assistant principal confronted sophomore Blake Robbins with a photo of what school officials saw as the boy's "improper activity" - taken by the webcam of his school-issued laptop in his home.
Robbins told TV crews outside his home yesterday that a school laptop'swebcam had photographed him eating Mike & Ike candy in his home, but that school officials thought it showed him using drugs.
Young continued to assert yesterday that the only time such photos were taken was when a computer was reported lost or taken. The Robbins family, in a court filing yesterday, said Blake Robbins had been using a school laptop "that was neither reported lost or stolen."
School District spokesman Douglas Young had this to say:
"There was no specific notification given that described the security feature," Young said. "That notice should have been given, and we regret not giving it. That . . . was a significant mistake."
Uh...You think? This is just stupid. You want to be able to track a laptop, put a lowjack in it. Allowing the webcam to be remotely accessed is just plain stupid. We're guessing the district tech guy who came up with this "security feature" spends a good deal of his time in internet chat rooms.
No...this is not a solicitation for Cialis or Viagra. Instead, we are hoping to help locate one of the all-time sitcom son's wingmen: Richard Milhous "Boner" Stabone (aka Josh Andrew Koening). Boner, who was Mike Seaver's buddy, has been missing since Valentine's Day. In real life, he was last seen February 14, 2010 in Vancouver, then missed a flight out of the Olympic hosting city two days later.
On Growing Pains, he was last seen when he joined up for the Marines. Mike always said he knew Boner was nuts the day he showed up for 1st Grade with no pants. Boner always argued he didn't forget those pants, his mom dressed him.
Anyway...here's to hoping Boner shows up and there is not a bad ending to this story. After we find Boner, perhaps we can investigate what the hell happened to Kirk Cameron. I still say he was abducted Pat Robertson and replaced by a Cyberdyne Genetics Cyborg.
You may recall over a year ago, Florence City Mayor Stephen Wukela held a press conference, where he signed nine Rule to Show Cause petitions against abandoned/derelict properties within the city of Florence. It was February 6, 2009 to be exact. The photo to the left was taken at that event and as you can see, the Mayor's action was supported by 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements III; the head of the City of Florence Codes Enforcement, Scotty Davis; City of Florence Police Chief Anson Shells and the City of Florence Fire Department Chief Randall Ostermann.
In today's Sunday edition of the Florence Morning News, Mayor Wukela has written an Op-Ed to inform city residents about what has been and what still needs to be done. As Mayor Wukela notes, there is good news and bad news in the campaign to rid the City of Florence of this problem. The good news is that since last February, the City has demolished 35 buildings and cleared 240 lots. (Remember, under the previous mayor, no buildings were demolished, because the city did not believe it had the authority to do so). The bad news, is there are still a ton of properties out there to address. As Scotty Davis remarked at that press conference a year ago, the City had already identified 2,426 properties. Addressing 275 of those properties is impressive, especially when you consider the utter inaction on this issue over the previous two decades. But in reality, it is a drop in the proverbial bucket.
In his Op-Ed, Mayor Wukela explains just how serious the problem is by pointing out that just a few weeks ago, city workers discovered the body of a Florence woman missing since 2006. The workers discovered the decomposing body while demolishing the abandoned home. Is there a better example of how serious this problem is?
And this is a problem that hits all areas of Florence. Sure, if you ride through north or east Florence, you are going to see that those areas are the most afflicted with this blight.
Abandoned homes like the one to the right litter those neighborhoods and provide clubhouses and havens for gangs and hoodlums. Hiding places for drugs and guns. Makeshift graves for victims of violence.
But it's not just those neighborhoods that deal with this issue. Ask the folks of Windemere what they think of this issue. Recognize the house to the left? How long did that behemoth sit on the curve of Meredith Drive in a state of perpetual "rebuilding?" As one friend of ours who has parents who live on Meredith Dr. have told me, the Windemere Mafia is 100% behind this issue.
In his Op-Ed, Mayor Wukela points out that after council has held ten (10) meetings on this issue, on Monday, City Council will finally release the new ordinances prepared by staff in a public hearing. You can actually view the proposed ordinances here. It would seem like a no-brainer, right? But while Mayor Wukela has sponsored these ordinances and some on council, through their public comments, seem to support the general purpose behind them, there is likely to be a movement to do what council so often seems to want to do with issues: defer. That would be lame. The issue has been discussed at least 10 times at meetings. Council members and some interested members of the public (such as developers and such) have had these proposed ordinances for over a month. Listen, it is time to fish or cut bait. Either you support tackling this issue or you do not. But the City can't keep waiting. The city's codes enforcement is out there everyday taking this issue on and they need to know what tools they are going to have at their disposal in this fight. There should be no one who is interested in this matter that does not have enough information to take a public stance on these ordinances. In our opinion, a vote to defer this is simply wanting a way out to not have to vote. And that's just weak.
Whichever way you feel on the issue, read those ordinances, then come up the City-County Complex tomorrow afternoon at 6pm and make your stance known.
We have long held the belief that Mad Men's Christina Hendricks is the eigth wonder of the world. Who could forget when Ms. Hendricks showed off her...uh, we mean...appeared at the Golden Globes? But Ms. Hendricks' most recent photo shoot that landed on the cover of The New York Magazine is something sure to cement her place as one of the modern marvels of our time.
A friend sent us an interesting link to a New York Times piece titled "How Christian Were the Founders?" Obviously, it deals with religion, specifically, with the efforts by christian conservatives to influence the Texas school curriculum. However, we'd be willing to bet that many people don't understand the way textbook curriculum is arrived at and the unbelievable influence Texas has on the rest of the country.
As the article explains, California may be the largest textbook market, but being California, its got pretty specific requirements that the rest of the nation does not want. Texas is basically the biggest customer left and they have pretty broad standards, which means all the textbook publishers want to make a book Texas will purchase and in turn it will be accepted by 46 or 47 other states.
In short, odds are the curriculum in your kids textbook is being decided by the Texas school board. Now, if that doesn't scare the shit out of you, it should. Texas is crazy. My god...have you seen the side of their toast? Not to mention that right now, they're probably killing someone. No, really. It's led some to wonder, "Can We Please Mess with Texas?"
We think it is impossible to teach an accurate history of our country without teaching about the religious history of our country. But that means all the warts associated with that history. Here at the BTPC, we support teaching the following two text books to all children in middle school:
And yes...in case you were wondering, the book to the right will knock your socks off.
Even our buddy Will thinks so. And he's wicked smart.
Hattip, Russ.
Time and time again, the one question we always hear residents of Florence ask is: When are we going to get rid of Ed Robinson? That question reaches across lines of race, class, age, sex, religion and politics. Well...this is the year Florence.
Monday morning, February 15th, Pat Gibson-Hye (shown to the left talking along with Florence County Solicitor Ed Clements and Steve Wukela) will be formally announcing her candidacy for Florence City Council's District 2 seat. The announcement will take place at the Horne's Restaurant located at 820 S. Irby Street in Florence and is hosted by the First Monday Breakfast Club. Admission is $8 per person, which includes a buffet breakfast.
So stop all the wondering. Come out and show your support to a quality candidate who is willing to throw her hat in the ring and challenge the guy you all complain about.
BTW, in case you were wondering, District 2 of the City of Florence runs all the way from Wilson Road, down Oakland Avenue, to Irby, then to Pamplico Hwy by way of National Cemetary and Irby, down through Pine Forest and over to Howe Springs Road. That's a large swath that touches all those groups named above. If you really want to replace Ed Robinson, it's going to take Blacks, Whites, Men, Women, Rich and Poor. The election will be closed to one party voting. Meaning, voters will only be allowed to vote in one of the two party's primaries. In other words, if you vote in the Republicanparty primary for Federal, State and County, you cannot cross over to vote in the Democratic primary for City offices. One or the other, folks.
When it comes to Congress, we would argue that hypocrisy is the norm. Odds are, if someone has held public office for any length of time, they've probably been on both sides of any one position at one time or another. But the systematic hypocrisy that the Republican party is engaging in right now should be downright shameful. We say "should," because it is obvious that none of them have shame at this point. (And let us assure our Republican friends, this ain't about you. This is about your national party as a whole and the individual politicians who are engaging in this behavior.)
The picture above is of Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA). Rep. Gingrey is just one example of how today's national Republican party has absolutely no shame in being outright liars and hypocrites. See that big check he's holding? That check is $625,000 dollars worth of stimulus money that came into Rep. Gingrey's district. He's so proud of that money, he went out and got a big check printed up, so he could roll into Cedartown, GA and brag to all his constituents about all he was doing to help them. Trouble is, Gingrey voted against that money. That's right, he opposed the bill. Called it a "trillion dollar debt" bill. See for yourself, here's his own website touting his opposition. And Gingrey is not the exception in the Republican congress. Oh, no...he's the rule. Seriously, watch the video at the end of this post. Look at the number of Republicans that have been caught trashing the stimulus, while bragging to their own constituents about how good the money is and what all it can do for their district. The brazenness is alarming.
And it ain't just our Federal Government Republicans that are pulling this crap. State Republicans are getting in on the duplicity too. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is the lamest one. Why? Because he had the audacity to pen an op-ed for Politico where he claimed the Economic Recovery Act a failure, calling it "a nearly trillion dollar stimulus that has not stimulated." However, Jindal was lying. Why? Because it's obvious the act HAD stimulated something: Jindal's hypocrisy. Less than 24 hours before his op-ed was published, Jindal traveled to Anacoco, LA to deliver his own sweepstakes check (which contained approximately $300k of stimulus money). But Jindal should get extra chutzpah points. He actually put HIS OWN NAME on the check. That's right, like here you go good people of Anacoco...I, Bobby Jindal, am have written you this check. Me. Your governor. Enjoy...don't mention, I love you. What's mine is yours, you know.
We are sure we could hear lame excuses like, "Well...the stimulus is a terrible idea and it's going to bankrupt our country, but I've a duty to my constituents that if they're going to be saddled with crippling debt because of these evil Democrats, they should at least have something to show for it," but we don't think so. Why?
First, such excuses would simply open them up to further attack. Because if they believe the stimulus is bad, it means all the BS they are telling people when they brag about those checks is wrong. And they know that it is not. For instance, Rep. Gingrey told the folks of Cedartown this:
The money comes from federal stimulus funds and will fund the second phase of Cedartown’s Streetscape project, with new sidewalks, landscaping and other improvements to the downtown area. [...]
Believing that the project qualified for federal stimulus funds as a “shovel-ready” project, Gingrey presented the proposal at the federal level, his spokesperson, Linda Liles, explained. [..]
“These federal dollars will allow us to work both phases together and complete Streetscape by mid-2010,” [City Commissioner Scott] Tillery said. “This will be a big boost for the historic downtown area and for the whole city.
Secondly, these Republicans don't won't to bother with explaining their actions. Why, because it is obvious that honestly dealing with voters is not a plank in the Republican party platform right now. Plank...hell, it ain't even a splinter.
Just look at their lame attempts to portray President Obama's administration as soft on terrorism over the whole Abdulmutallab (the Christmas bomber) situation. Newt Gingrich was on the Daily Show the other night and Stewart asked why the Obama administration was wrong to make Abdulmutallab aware of his rights, but Bush's administration was right to make Richard Reid aware of his rights. "Richard Reid was an American citizen," insisted Gingrich.
Problem for Newt was, Reid wasn't an American citizen. So Newt being Newt, had to come out yesterday and try to dig himself out of his hole. But...Newt being Newt, he only dug the hole deeper. Newt "explained" that he had meant to say Jose Padilla, not Reid. Newt further explained "treating terrorists like criminals [is] wrong no matter who" is president.
Well...that's not what you were saying? You were defending the Bush administrations actions, but now in trying to cover your own mistake, you're throwing them under the bus. Because if treating terrorists like criminals is wrong, then the last administration was wrong. We don't think Newt made a mistake about who Reid was. Stewart specifically asked, "Didn't they do the same with Richard Reid, who was the shoe bomber?" Either Newt is lying about the mistake, or he's not the "expert" he's supposed to be. Hell...who doesn't know Reid was the shoe bomber?
But a bigger point is this, even if Newt meant to say Padilla, then it blows their argument about mirandizing a suspect out of the water. How? Because as Marc Ambinderpoints out:
Padilla was captured and not Mirandized. He was subject to harsh interrogation techniques. That, ostensibly, was Gingrich's point. But -- and this is a very simple rejoinder -- Padilla DID NOT talk when he was held incommunicado.
Mirandizing him either would not have made a difference -- OR perhaps a more hospitable interrogation might have helped to loosen his lips early on.
So Gingrich's reference -- his proof that the Bush administration used a different practice and that it worked -- is so far removed from the point that he is trying to make that it is, to quote Wolfgang Pauli, not even wrong.
It ain't just Newt. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, got PWNED! by Savannah Guthrie on MSNBC the other day. Bond's position as ranking member on intelligence means it is his job to know what the hell he's talking about when it comes to intelligence matters like...we don't know...maybe how terror suspects are interrogated, handled and prosecuted. Look at this video. It would be embarassing if only the man was capable of being embarassed. Apparently he is not. He get's called on Reid being treated the same way and no one in the GOP cried out. His answer is, "it's a lot different time." Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot, Senator? What's different, besides the fact that your party is no longer in power? When asked that, Bond argued that we now have military commissions. When it was pointed out that we had those back during the handling of Reid, Bond simply ignores that point, saying "It turns out that mirandizing Richard Reid and trying him in the civilian courts was a bad idea." Savannah Guthrie, one of the interviewers then shot back with: "He is serving a life sentence right now, he will never get out. How is that a failure?"
See...this is yet another example of Republicans just flailing away, throwing every single bit of shit they can think of against the wall and hoping that at the end of the day, even if nothing sticks, then at least they can run by saying, "look...4 years of Obama and the wall is covered in shit."
Rachel Maddow had a great segment the other night where she absolutely eviscerated the Republicans. How? By simply stating facts. Seriously, you should watch it. We don't care what party you identify with, you need to watch the video. But we'll post her conclusion, simply because we think it identifies the current state of politics in this country "balls on dead accurately." That's an industry term.
"What Republicans are doing on policy is no longer interesting," Rachelexplained. "It is so thoroughly, unrelentingly, consistently predictable, that anyone who thinks it's an open question as to what Republicans are going to do about the next legislation that's proposed just is not paying attention."
Rachel ended the segment explaining exactly why all of this matters: "Republicans, right now, do not care about policy -- by which I mean, they will not vote for things that even they admit are good policies. On policy terms they have been caught bragging on the stimulus as good policy. I have no doubt that some of them think that health reform is good policy. We know they think that things like a deficit commission or cap-and-trade or PAYGO are good policy, because they're on the record supporting them.
"But they're not going to vote for them because ... screw Policy. Screw what even they believe is good for the country. Screw what even they believe is good for their own districts. They are not voting 'yes,' for even things they agree with. For anything substantive. They are not going to vote 'yes' for anything substantive that this president supports. It's not going to happen.
"You're not going to earn Republican votes for a second stimulus, for example, by pointing out that it's good policy that creates jobs. We know they already know that. They concede that in their home districts. And they're still not voting for it.
"And they are unembarrassed about this fact. They are not embarrassed. Charging them with hypocrisy, appealing to their better, more practical, more 'what's best for the country' patriotic angels is like trying to teach your dog to drive. It wastes a lot of time, it won't work, and ultimately the dog comes out of the exercise less embarrassed for failing then you do for trying."
The BTPC would like to pay our respects to the late Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) who passed away this afternoon. Murtha was the very first Vietnam Veteran elected to Congress. Murtha had his detractors, most notably for his tenacity in going after earmarks for his district. This led to him being investigated in the ABSCAM scandal when tapes showed Murtha wanting to know what money would come into his district. To these detractors, Murtha responded:
“If I’m corrupt, it’s because I take care of my district,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in March 2009. “My job as a member of Congress is to make sure that we take care of what we see is necessary.”
Murtha played a pivotal role in swaying public opinion against the war in Iraq when he publicly acknowledged that his support for the war had been a mistake and he called for an end to the conflict. For that act, Murtha, a decorated war-veteran and former Marine Drill Instructor, was accused by Republicans like Tom Delay and Michael Burgess of basically giving comfort to the enemy.
The nation lost a brave man and a dedicated servant. SemperFi, Congressman.
Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for a great win last night. How amazing was their win? They managed to defy the BTPC's rock solid .500 game picking. (Sorry, Lee). Who dat, indeed. Who knew the Saints would overcome the odds and in the process, as Simmon's tweeted last night:
I've never been happier to lose money. Welcome back to my life, the Peyton Manning Face. Welcome back. It's been too long.
In honor of the Sportsguy having the best tweet about the game, Breaking down Super Bowl 44, Bill Simmon's style.
4:17 = CBS runs a commercial for CSI: Miami in Outer Space. No...we did not make that shit up. Horatio is gonna quip his cheesy one-liners in zero gravity. You know what would be cooler? CSI: Miami in Inner Space. Wouldn't you love to see Martin Short's reactions to hearing David Caruso in his head? Better yet...Emily Procter in zero gravity. Yowzah!
4:26 = During the pre-game show, Shannon Sharpe sings The Who's Reign O'er Me. The first official sign that these guys are loopy. Seriously, does everyone remember when Dan Rather got all stupid during elections night coverage in 2000? When will television executives realize that at some point you will reach the point of diminishing returns. For football pregame, this is true not just of length of show, but also of number of personalities. Just sayin'
4:33 = Ok...note to all parents with college-attending kids. If you call your college student and offer to send them money and they say, "No thanks...get yourself something nice," be concerned. Little Bobby and/or Susie are either selling drugs, tricking, making book, turning tricks, allowing a web cam to record their every move or they're on the pole. Word to the wise.
4:48 = Don't want to get political, but that answer by Obama about mirandizing terros suspects was just plain weak. How about dropping some Lincoln on Katie: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Bush mirandized people too, is lame. We elected you to be better than the Bush administration. Act it. Not with those lame answers on miranda/interrogation, President Obama. How about some tough love to the simple-minded, huh? You ain't winning them over anyway. They actually think a Palin Presidency is a good thing.
5:00 = Start of the 4TH! and final hour of pregame. We think this is why the terrorists hate us.
5:15 = The first doubt we have about our pick creeps in thanks to the Phil Mickelson Callaway Diablo Driver prognostication challenge. The Saint's ball went further. Ruh...roh.
5:16 = When asked by Steve Tasker how Dwight Freeny was able to make such a miraculous recovery to the point that he is going to start, Coach Jim Caldwell cited his "running on the beach." Duh...beach running has a long history of spurring comebacks. In fact, the BTPC has obtained exclusive coverage of Dwight and his Philadelphia-based trainer working out on the beach.
5:25 = During his interview with the greatest QB of all-time, the wanting-to-be-the-greatest QB of all time (that would be Marino, then Manning respectively) tells Dan about the decision not to go for 19-0 "I didn't defend it, I dealt with it." Ruh...Roh. That's bad vibe two.
5:48 = Okay...no matter how much this angle has been played out, that interview with Brees and his wife by Couric was good. Goosebump, quality good. Ruh...roh. Bad vibe three.
6:01 = We really cannot figure out who CBS and the NFL are gearing their telecast to. You got P-Diddy (since when did Miami become "his" town?), then Jay-Z and Rhianna doing your promo music/videos, then you've got The Who playing at halftime. Cheesy.
6:10 = The team intros were weak. Really...it's going to be hard for any Superbowl to ever top the team intros from the Rams-Patriots Superbowl. The Rams were introduced singularly, then the Patriorts were introduced as a team. We remember telling our bold boss who called us right after intros to lay heavy on the Pats. Easiest betting decision in recent memory. But...while the Saints intro to the old Chicago Bulls music, the Colts enter to the theme for CSI: Miami. CBS is obviously pulling for the Colts. This is the same network that brings you Two and Half Men. Ruh...roh. Bad vibe four.
6:19 = As Queen Latiffa sings America the Beautiful and several Saints' players mistakenly hold their hands over their hearts (We say mistakenly...but maybe some of them plan to run for President one day and they don't want FoxNews to use this footage to tar them as unpatriotic falsely), we are shown the most soulful sign language interpreter we have ever seen. Sista is FEELING the song. Word.
6:28 = Coin toss and we are hit with the urge to look up Emmit Smith's lifetime passing stats, because his toss sucks.
6:35 = After the Saints go 3 and out, the Colts take the field. Someone has a tambourine in the Stadium and it stands out on the audio. We don't know that we've heard a noise maker at a pro game. Saints fans are loud. And then Manning to Clark for a big play. We can personally attest to the fact that the Manning-Clark connection is deadly in this stadium. Trust us.
6:44 = Focus on the Family's Tebow commercial. Let us just say this: very tastefully done. If the pro-life movement conducted itself like this all the time, it would go a long way to making this extremely tough and dividing issue not such a wedge issue in this country. Pro-choice people should take note. By the way, we're thinking there's very good odds that this is Tebow's only Superbowl appearance ever.
6:51 = Colston blows a big 3rd and 7 pass. Nice hands, face. After which, Courtney Roby downs the punt at the 4. This is after Roby lit up the guy on the last punt. Halfway through the first quarter and Courtney Roby is the leader for MVP. We're thinking that won't hold up.
6:58 = TV analysts often start talking before knowing where they are going. Case in point, Phil Simms on Reggie Wayne: "after what Pierre Garcon did last week, Wayne may see a lot of more single coverage." "A lot of more single coverage." Is our children learning? We don't think so.
7:01 = Whoa...what was that glitch? Like the feed started skipping or something, then correcting itself right before Manning hooks up with Garcon for the score. 96-yard td drive ties the SB record.
7:18 = Dwight Freeny says the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Wicked one-armed take down of Brees.
7:46 = After stopping the Saints on 4th and goal, the Colts uncharacteristically go conservative. Ruh...roh. Bad vibe five.
8:17 = As Jeff Ross tweeted: "The Who's Left!" Out of tune, but that stage and lighting was cool. But man...Pete Townsend sure has come a long way for a guy caught with kiddie porn. You think he had to register with the Miami-Dade police?
8:23 = Sean Payton shows off his big, hairy ones with the onsides kick. I thought the reverse and the run over the right side at the goal line he called near the end of the first half were examples of him getting too cute. This one was ballsy. By the way, it was Hank Baskett who had a chance to recover that for the Colts. Opps. But Hank has show the ability to catch big plays. He caught Hugh's lady afterall. Kendra Williamson demonstrates how her husband should have recovered that onsides kick. By the way...that play is called Ambush by the Saints. Appropriate.
8:30 = After the Saints take a 13-10 lead, VW hits us with the best commercial of the night, the updated version of spud. This settles a long, running debate we've had about the rules of spud in the present day. While actual VW Beatles are not that common, VWs as a whole are quite proliferate. Glad VW came out formally and addressed the situation.
8:36 = Huge 3rd and 4 pass to Dallas Clark. Peyton dropped that pass over three Saint defenders while on the run and with two more Saints defenders in the vicinity. We're gonna go out on a limb and say the Saints may want to pay attention to Clark.
8:39 = Me. Thod. Ical. Colts 17-13.
8:39 = Hartley adds a FG for the Saints. That kid is nailing them, no? Nice to see a kicker actually show up in the playoffs. 17-16 Colts.
8:51 = Okay...the Google France commercial was nice. Not only is that action heating up on the field, but Madison Avenue is showing up in the second half. Somebody wisened up and let the boys from Sterling Cooper into the game during the second half.
9:14 = Shockey TD followed by a hell of a play on the two-point conversion by Lance Moore. Saints 24-17 and it is now apparent that Aunt Mo slipped on some beads after that onsides kick and has continued to show her tits to every balcony in the quarter.
9:32 = Tracy Porter does his best Irvin Neal Thomas impersonation: INT! Pick 6. Saints 31-17.
9:44 = After a ridiculous run call that is stuffed, it all comes down to a 4th and goal from the 6 and it's incomplete. Saints win! Drew Brees wins the MVP. He went 29 for his last 32, with two of those three incompletions being a drop and an intentional spike. That. Is. Money.
The lasting images of this superbowl will be the return of the Peyton Manning face
And the party on Bourbon Street.
For me, the lasting impression will be of Kim Kardashian leeching some of Reggie's spotlight, while wearing shoulder pads larger than his.
I am a bold figure, often seen powerwalking and crushing cans. I have been known to rock a microphone. I translate American Idol for enemy noncombatants. I routinely manage to infurriate DC Metro service personel. I woo women with my impressive name-dropping and my astounding ability at butterbean shelling.
When I'm bored, I take a case of wine over to my friend's house and get introduced to all the Puerto Rican girls who are dying to meet me.
I am a logical negativist who has propounded a set of laws that the world ignores, to its detriment.
I am an expert in Post-Civil War Reconstruction, a veteran of Greenwood Baseball, and an outlaw in Murrell's Inlet.
I once built a perpetual motion machine with Steve Roberts. I make homemade Sprite. I have been and remain on double secret probation.
The Russians call me "Vilnius Nastavic," because I require but one ping. I used to handle black ops for the United States Postal Service. I helped open Dog One and have doctored flight logs for rising 5-star colonels.
I have driven from Texarkana to Atlanta in 28 hours. I had no fatalities during my brief career on the safety patrol.
We just got finished watching Team Canada take down Team USA in OT of the gold medal game. Really...it would have been devastating to our northern neighbors for us to walk on up there and take the gold medal away from them in their own backyard in what is not only their national past time, but what could be more aptly called their "life." So congrats to Team Canada. 
