Saturday, October 12, 2002You tell me that people drink at this game?
I thought they went there for the spectacle of the game.
I always thought that is they changed to green uniforms, they would not have as much trouble cleaning the grass stains off them after the opposing team has beat them into the ground. Of course since the home games are on astroturf, I guess it doesn't matter.
comment [] Friday, October 11, 2002Outgoing State School Superintendent Linda Schrenko is a little bitter
After requesting an interview to discuss topics including her skirting state regulations, WSB-TV reporter Bill Nigut received a profanity laced email from Schrenko. This state official sent an email with some interesting word choices:
Bull [expletive deleted]!!!
Gee, it's so hard for me to think that any of you could possibly be real [expletive deleted], but I am forced to that opinion.
Now I am leaving office and I ain't coming back so all of you unbiased media types just go f... yourselves and make my day.
I hate to think a school official is using words like "ain't!" Probably not a good example for our kids.
The ellipses following the "f" are hers. I don't think she knows how to spell "expletive deleted."
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If a picture paints a thousand words.
As most of you have read State Senator Mike Taylor pulled out of Montana's election for U. S. Senator after his opponent ran a commercial featuring a 20-year-old excerpt from a training film. Taylor claimed the Democrats were trying to incorrectly convince the voters he was gay. The Democrats said they were trying to point out his problem with student loans when he ran his beauty school, and perhaps poor choice in clothing. And that if he was gay, it was okay. How bad could Taylor look in this commercial?
Okay, it is pretty bad. "Night fever, night fever....."
How does Taylor look now?
That looks like a Freddie Mercury mustache, doesn't it? Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Basically, Taylor was behind in the poles and was not going to win. He makes a bigger splash by pulling out- although George Carlin said in a routine many years ago that pulling out doesn't seem quite manly. Taylor didn't realize that everybody was now going to see that photo or he might have thought about pulling out a little bit longer. So to speak.
There exists a photo of me in a green leisure suit, brown "stacks," and Peter Frampton hair. At 16, I look like a green pencil with a yarn puffball on the eraser. If I ever run for office, and shoot me if I do, that photo will be placed in a hermetically sealed mason jar in a safe on Funk and Wagnall's port- or however that old line goes.
Talking Points Memo has a link to the full commercial. Also read TPM if you never have before. A very good political blog.
For those of you familiar with the Atlanta radio scene, longtime country morning show titan Moby was canned from country station Kicks 101.5 for having a single bad ratings period. They also did mention his accent as being too country for their new station image. Perenial ratings loser Z93 has offered up their morning show to the mamouth radio personality. Can he exert the ratings pull on a classic rock format that he did on a country station?
Moby is the one on the right.
comment [] Thursday, October 10, 2002Representative Pete Stark does not mince words about Bush and the coming war
Who is going to pay for this war?
"I am troubled by who pays for his capricious adventure into world domination. The administration admits to a cost of around $200 billion!
"Now, wealthy individuals won't pay. They've got big tax cuts already. Corporations won't pay. They'll cook the books and move overseas and then send their contributions to the Republicans. Rich kids won't pay. Their daddies will get them deferments as Big George did for George W.
"Well then, who will pay?
"School kids will pay. There'll be no money to keep them from being left behind -- way behind. Seniors will pay. They'll pay big time as the Republicans privatize Social Security and rob the Trust Fund to pay for the capricious war. Medicare will be curtailed and drugs will be more unaffordable. And there won't be any money for a drug benefit because Bush will spend it all on the war.
"Working folks will pay through loss of job security and bargaining rights. Our grandchildren will pay through the degradation of our air and water quality. And the entire nation will pay as Bush continues to destroy civil rights, women's rights and religious freedom in a rush to phony patriotism and to courting the messianic Pharisees of the religious right."
Uhh, Pete, what are you saying? What's the bottom line?
"The bottom line is I don't trust this president and his advisors."
This is a must read.
comment [] Is the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships becoming a triathlon version of the Ten Little Indians?
First Steve Larsen pulls out a month before the race due to nagging leg injuries.
Next Craig Walton withdraws due to fatigue from a short course season extended too long.
Now two-time champion Luc Van Lierde has removed himself from the race due to an inflammed disk.
Larsen was the unknown super cyclist who could alter the race with his bike. Craig Walton is the short course specialist who has been very successful at other Ironman races. Van Liedre is probably the most talented, but also most fragile, long distance triathlete in the world.
We will see who is left a week from Saturday.
comment [] Students tell Confederate flag waving rednecks to leave them alone.
The student advisory committee that was formed to look at the Confederate flag banning issue at Cherokee High School, in Cherokee County Georgia, has asked people from outside the school to let them settle the matter internally.
"There was such an uproar because of the protesters," committee member Bubbah Abernathy said. "But we've learned that racism is not an issue at this school and that our school is not as bad as we thought it was. There aren't fights here because of racism. And we're learning that students can change things."
Seems much of the uproar surrounding the ban has been brought by adults from other counties and the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. Many people travel all over the state trying to ignite a rallying cry behind their beloved, if not racist, flag. The students hope to come up with their own resolution on the matter. Principle Bill Sebring is not bound by the students resolution, and may or may not rescind the ban
The students seem to be benefiting from the controversy, and a dialogue on the issue has opened. The students seem to want to take charge of the situation themselves and work through it.
"There is going to be a gray area, and the chance of making everybody happy is not high," said senior Chris Selden. "But this has brought the school together. There is a new respect for one another. We found out that we do all get along, and we don't fight much."
I swear, I did not make up the name Bubbah Abernathy. It is in the paper as "Bubbah", although that spelling is new to me. His parents may have spelled it that way intentionally, thinking it was French or something.
What the hell were they thinking? College students spending a lot of money?
When Georgia State University wanted to tear down historic office buildings they talked about how the new student buildings and dorms would help revitalize the restaurant and retail industries downtown. They carried on about the infusion of student's money into the area. Atlanta's downtown would be jumping and hopping with students, and it would spur more development.
Perhaps they overstated. None of these predictions came true. Turns out these college students, like college students everywhere else in the country, have about $5 a week in discretionary income. They like cheap food and cheap beer. When not inside their dorm rooms drinking cheap beer and eating cheap food, they do dumb things like study and write papers.
I hope it was not Georgia State's business school that churned out all these studies predicting the influx of money into the downtown area.
My prediction for a busy restaurant with students lined up out the door would be one with a sign that said, "Ramen Noodles! 50 cents!" That should spur some big growth.
comment [] Wednesday, October 09, 2002Imagine... ..you could get your ass out of jail....
Mark David Chapman will not be allowed to leave prison. The parole board wanted to take no chances in him being responsible for a Beatles reunion. His 20-years to-life will now be at least 24 years. I am hoping he meets an inmate named Maxwell while there.
He has three "incidents" on his prison record. Jailers have said that any more "incidents" and he will be forced to listen to the Yoko Ono box set 100 times.
comment [] A very cool story on kids reading to dogs.
From Dog News a link to a story about how children reading to dogs helps increase their reading comprehension, improve their confidence level, and helps get them involved in school activities. The dogs seem to like it also. A very cool read
comment [] Intolerance for Everyone!
Christian groups allege anti-bullying program promotes gay agenda.
The West Virginian Family Foundation has accused The Civil Rights Team Project of using its anti-bullying program to promote the gay agenda and to promote homosexuality as a normal lifestyle in state schools. They believe that the program is an attempt to help give gays and lesbians special status as a protected class under state hate-crimes laws.
The project was organized by the states attorney general's office and modeled after a program started in 1996. It uses peers to help stop name calling and bullying and improve the climate of the schools for all.
Project organizers say they deal with intolerance of all kinds - racial, ethnic, sexual, religious and homophobic. However, schools participating in the program may choose to deal with issues that are most affecting their students. One school may use the program to focus on primarily racial intolerance and not gay intolerance.
While the Family Foundation does not want the project to teach tolerance for homosexuals, it does accuse the anti-bullying program of not doing enough to promote tolerance for Christianity.
[T]he Family and Culture Institute has received a growing number of harassment complaints from Christians who say they are being bullied because of their traditional beliefs and values.
"Why can't we have something in the manual that says don't pick on Christians?"
Because if we try to educate people about your lifestyle, and discourage them from picking on you, aren't we just promoting your agenda?
Ignorant racists backwater students from Lowndes County insist on being,..... ignorant and racist.
Mock lynchings using a black-painted Barbie and racist graffiti are littering Lowndes County High School. The letters "KKK" have been found scrawled in a boy's bathroom. Educators believe that the students were just being immature and that these incidents do not reflect the true nature of the school.
Lowndes County High School is 25 percent black. It is located in Valdosta, Georgia, which was not known for being a hotbed of civil right activities at any time.
Couldn't they just buy a black Barbie? Or do the discount stores down there not sell the black Barbies? I bet they sell white sheets!
comment [] Tuesday, October 08, 2002Mother of child left in car had been denied child care by DFCS.
Aten also said Monday that Burgess went to the DeKalb County Department of Family and Children Services in August seeking help finding child care, but was turned away.
Aten said her client was told no money was left to help pay for child care during that three-month period and that the agency had run out of application forms for the next quarter.
Agency spokeswoman Renee Huie said that scenario was impossible, but acknowledged that Burgess may have been turned away for other reasons.
Revising an earlier statement that Burgess would have been guaranteed day care for a Down syndrome child, Huie said the agency would have turned her away if she wasn't on welfare or didn't have a job. Mothers who are looking for work aren't eligible for the state's assistance even if their children are classified as "special needs'' kids.
Those mothers are typically referred to Quality Care for Children, a nonprofit clearinghouse for child care, which specialized in finding day care for special needs kids. Even had that referral happened, Burgess may have had trouble because of her employment status, agency director Donna Overcash said. With persistence, Burgess could have had Asan'te tested and enrolled in an early intervention program through the DeKalb County schools, she said. But Quality Care for Children would have a difficult time finding any other day care for the girl, she said. Because of the economic downturn, agencies that subsidize child care no longer do so for women looking for work, she said.
True compassionate conservatives would be working to find a way to help find childcare for children with special needs for parents who are trying to work and make a life for themselves and their kids. Anti-abortionists should be helping to insure that children already here have a decent quality of life rather than killing doctors and clinic workers. Our priorities are all screwed up.
comment [] Looking for Info on Shep Slater and the "Girlfriend Wanted" sign?
Click here, and scoll down to the bottom.
Shep Slater searches are turning many hits my way. Not at the pace The Raven and Michel V. got for some interesting search terms, but still a nice number of people. Maybe I could put Brittany Spears, Cindy Crawford, mud wrestling and naked all in the same post and see if I get a great number of hits. I would never do that however!
comment [] Creative Loafing runs a story analyzing Republican Senate candidate Saxby Chambliss.
What type of conservative is Saxby Chambliss? He seems to change from radical right wing to more moderate based upon the group he is speaking to. A nice word for his shifting stances would be strategic positioning. His voting record does not shift. As a member of the House of Representatives for eight years, he has been consistently positioned himself at the extreme right. He has made Bob Barr appear moderate.
Is it common sense to vote against just about every major piece of environmental legislation presented to Congress in the last eight years when children in your state's largest metropolitan area are being told they can't play outside because the air pollution is so bad?
Does voting against birth control pills in health insurance plans exemplify down-home logic when you also stridently oppose abortion rights?
And if you side with your party almost without exception, is that reflective of the deep thinking and political independence Georgians should expect from a representative who wants a job in the country's most deliberative and powerful legislative body?
Most media in Atlanta has refused to cover Saxby's record and stand on issues. Only the AJC has even mentioned his abortion flip flop until this Creative Loafing in depth profile. Saxby is not talking up his record either. His campaign is based upon calling Max Cleland a liberal. In reality, Cleland is a moderate.
The profile of Saxby is in-depth, but it is an honest look at stated positions versus actual voting record.
While researching a little on Saxby Chambliss, I ran across an interesting quote. Howard Green, a retired army veteran told the AJC:
"I believe the whole Democratic Party is too weak and too liberal. The Democrats don't have any standards. They would give the whole country away."
Who is giving the whole country away? Republicans who want to give airlines billions upon billions of dollars when they continue to run their companies with business models that have historically failed? Or Democrats who would like to give educational and childcare funds to low income people so that they may one day support themselves?
Which party is giving billions of dollars a year in farm subsidies to major agricultural concerns while the small farmer is driven out of business? Which party wants to shift the burden of superfund cleanups to the taxpayers, while the corporations that profited from the contamination will be released from their responsibilities?
Georgia is the home to a large population of the " bitter white males with no education and no prospects." They think welfare is for minorities, and that all Democrats want to give the country away to "these people." They vote Republican out of racist tendencies, not realizing that with their meager incomes Republican policies do not help them at all. Republicans will give the country away to big business, and break the backs of all middle to low income people, but their eyes are too clouded to see it.
Many of these BWMs now drive around in trucks as couriers or as landscapers. They are mad about not having a cushy job and a nice income. Immigrants have lowered the wage scale and they feel betrayed. However, the policies they so hate could benefit them greatly. Education will increase their income and make their lives better. Work programs can teach them marketable skills. Affordable childcare can allow them and their spouses to work or seek education. It is easier to stay part of the problem instead of finding a solution.
It is a shame they are not smart enough to see beyond their hate and jealousy to see which party can actually help with the quality of their lives.
comment [] Monday, October 07, 2002The Raging Russell Adventure Race.
I did my first adventure race on Saturday. It was 7 hours and 40 minutes of running, paddling, biking, bee stings, face plants, mudholes, and flat tires. The story is long, but you can read it here.
comment [] Media Whores Online talks about Jeb!
This is just a sweet little story about good old Jeb Bush, brother of our President and Governor of Florida. Turns out that Jeb is planning to do some devious stuff to sink education reforms he promised to the taxpayers who voted for him. He wants to kill the reforms so that it looks like it was not his choice or fault. He would rather hold taxes down for his wealthy buddies. Fortunately, he did not realize that he was being recorded when he discussed these matters with north Florida legislators. He is now trying to back off the statements saying he was being sarcastic, but it did not sound like that on the tape.
Story, a good link to more information, and a link to the audio file are at Media Whores Online.
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It seems the Republican nominee, Douglas Forrester, was allowed to take the position of James Treffinger on the primary ballot 40 days before the primary election. Another candidate tried unsuccessfully to keep him off the ballot because of the same law under review now. Only that time Forrester and the Republicans were arguing the exact same argument as the Democrats now.
This perfectly illustrates the hypocrisy in the Republican Party. In one election they are arguing two sides of the very same law.
More information can be found at the New York Times article that first reported the Republicans troubling flip flop on election law.
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Turner South will start televising the country style Birmingham radio duo "Rick & Bubba." A made for radio pair, they describe themselves as:
"[T]he two sexiest fat men alive."
Rick still sports what looks like a small mullet, so that assessment will have to be left up to the viewers.
"Rick & Bubba" is actually the top rated show in many of their 23 syndicated markets across the southeast, although none in Atlanta. They have an easygoing, non-edgy country style to their humor. Many people thought their heavy accents would hold them back in radio, but they seem to have worked around that. Will their show work on TV? We will see.
The crematory operator that didn't cremate bodies feels persecuted.
Tri-State Crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh, currently out on bond for failing to cremate 339 bodies, had shots fired outside his home Saturday night. Needless to say, many people are very bitter about Marsh's crimes, and there have been many death threats.
Marsh's attorney has now asked for police protection whenever his client has to leave his home. A judge has previously turned down requests for police protection. Many families who paid to have their loved ones cremated by Marsh would prefer that he did not get police protection.
I have to wonder if Marsh has requested to be cremated after his death?
Deer population surges at local park.
While I am not a hunter, and could only shoot a deer if all the Krogers closed down and I had no other way to get food, I do realize that some hunting is good. With the deer population getting near 70-90 deer a square mile at Red Top Mountain State Park- the ideal being 10-20- the forest has been stripped bare. Many other animals that should be living there, no longer are. The deer are hungry, and if the population continues to increase there could be some starvation issues. They have no place to migrate.
While there will be protest from animal rights activist should hunting become allowed at the park, there are some other problems that need to be looked at. The surrounding area is heavily developed, perhaps too much to allow hunting with firearms. They may need to allow only bow hunting, or bring in skilled sharpshooters.
The bottom line is that this will be a sensitive issue. I do not like the idea of the deer being hunted, but I like the idea of them starving to death even less.
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Copyright 2002 Tim
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