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Page 1 of 11 pages 1 2 3 > Last »
Jul 2006
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I Think I See Your Problem
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Mon 31 Jul 2006 10:27
by Kevin McGehee
81° and fair
0 comments
[Wackadoodle]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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Been wondering what Democrats think are the BIG issues facing voters in this year’s elections?
Democrats will spend August stumping on issues they say matter most to voters—such as raising the minimum wage and funding stem-cell research—as they scramble to try to regain control of the House or the Senate.
Some optimistic members of the minority party say a focus on middle-class matters could lead to Democrats’ recapturing both chambers.
By contrast, Republicans next month plan to highlight a need to strengthen the porous borders and to keep the conversation either on local issues or security matters, such as terrorism.» Washington Times: Democrats see minimum wage, stem cells as hot issues
They’ve been telling us for years that Bush and the Republicans are losing popularity because of the war. So, why aren’t they campaigning on that issue?
Yes, we know why.
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A Tribute
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Sun 30 Jul 2006 19:54
by Kevin McGehee
82° and sunny
in Coweta County, GA
8 comments
[Humor?]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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For CBS it was quite a gamble
But they didn’t appreciate what they had
With Buck Owens, Roy Clark and Archie Campbell
Twenty years in syndication is more than a fad
Where, oh where are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the world over and I thought I found true love
You met another and <pffft!> you was gone!
CMT is showing several episodes of “Hee Haw” this weekend, and it sounds like the series may be on the regular schedule after this. It was “Hee Haw” that really first exposed me to bluegrass music, which I enjoy, and I think it was on “Hee Haw” I first heard Hank Williams, Jr.
After Buck Owens left the show in 1986 things went downhill, and by the time the show tried to be more “hip” to bring in a younger demographic I had already stopped watching. One of yesterday’s episodes was from 1989, with Reba McEntire guest-hosting with Roy Clark. It should have been a good show, and I probably saw it in first-run—but when I screened it (courtesy of TiVo) this afternoon it was painful to watch. By contrast, the earlier episodes are still fun. The jokes are timeless, every bit as corny as they were when first told (which would have been slightly less than an hour and a half before the dawn of time), and I suspect I’ll be keeping the TiVo season pass. The post-Buck shows I’ll probably just delete without watching, though.
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That’s Just Precious
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Sun 30 Jul 2006 11:40
by Kevin McGehee
75° and cloudy
1 comment
[War]
[Wackadoodle]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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Lebanese protesters broke into the United Nations headquarters in Beirut on Sunday, smashing windows and ransacking offices, after an Israeli air strike killed at least 40 people in south Lebanon.
Several thousand people massed outside the building in downtown Beirut chanting “Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon.“
By early afternoon, most protesters had drifted away leaving a few hundred people milling in a car park opposite the building, which was being protected by a line of Lebanese soldiers.» Reuters: Beirut Mob Ransacks UN HQ
Don’t these idiots realize the UN is on their side, and doesn’t genuinely respect Israel’s right to exist either? Hell, if it weren’t for the billions of dollars we’re worth to the UN budget, they wouldn’t recognize the United States’ right to exist.
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For the Record
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Sun 30 Jul 2006 0:36
by Kevin McGehee
70° and light rain
in Coweta County, GA
1 comment
[Media Ochre]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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Nobody’s asked me, so it’s entirely possible nobody wonders. But just in case somebody does, and is too shy and cowardly lacking in self-confidence to ask, here’s the answer:
To the best of my knowledge there’s only one newspaper called the News-Miner, and it’s in Fairbanks. And although there are three newspapers I know of called The Bee—in Sacramento, Modesto, and Fresno—they’re all McClatchy newspapers and of course the one in Sacramento is the flagship of the McClatchy chain.
In contrast, the Casper Star-Tribune is a lot less widely known than the Minneapolis Star-Tribune—which became an Internet verb (to “strib”) after they tangled with the bloggers at Power Line—therefore when I post articles from the Casper paper I use the whole name.
(Which also means that if I post something from the Minneapolis paper I’ll have to use its full name, to avoid confusing regulars who know I sometimes post from the Casper one…)
Odds are, if I post something from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I’ll only use the local epithet, “Startlegram,“ if it’s an opinion piece or a blatant example of media-ocrity.
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Still a Western Thang
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Sat 29 Jul 2006 11:14
by Kevin McGehee
81° and light rain
in Coweta County, GA
1 comment
[Nature]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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For California, sporadic blasts of withering heat are as typical as earthquakes. Not new. Not unexpected. But able to dominate our days, our nights and our conversations with an oppressive drumbeat of discomfort.
So those who study weather and climate weren’t surprised to be asked repeatedly if the recent stretch of killing heat was yet another effect of global warming.
Their short answer is, if so, global climate change would be just one factor stirred into a confounding brew of other effects, including the routine variability of weather.
“There certainly is global warming, but … it’s not like every summer is going to be like this one,“ said Jan Null, a Bay Area meteorologist. The changes are likelier to come in fractions of a degree each decade.
“Back in ‘97 and ‘98, everything was El Niño,“ said Null, who teaches meteorology at San Francisco State University and runs his own consulting firm. “The media likes easy labels to put on events. They don’t like to hear, ‘Well, this is just a normal cycle.‘ “
Null leans toward blaming the normal cycle for Sacramento’s record-breaking string of 100-degrees-or more days, noting that as recently as spring, the capital region was much cooler than usual instead of warmer.» Bee: Some not warming to theory
Having lived over 30 years in the Sacramento Valley, I can attest to the fact it was never possible to predict a hot summer based on previous weather. And quite often a summer that included a record heat wave would turn out to be otherwise normal, if not even slightly cooler than normal.
Out-of-the-ordinary weather happens normally, especially there. In all the years I lived there I only remember one hailstorm so severe it left hailstones in drifts on the ground. I remember only a handful of reports of tornadoes actually touching the ground. I remember only two winters where it snowed and stuck. I remember only one occasion where a dust storm deposited a coating of the San Joaquin Valley on Sacramento. And I remember only a couple of thunderstorms where the frequency of lightning flashes was anywhere near what we have regularly here in west Georgia.
So it’s only natural, I suppose, that my attitude toward unusual weather is a little more “been there, done that” than you’ll find among people who’ve lived in relatively less volatile, if also less generally mild, climates.
Normal cycles of weather. Imagine that.
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We Support Popeye’s
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Fri 28 Jul 2006 9:01
by Kevin McGehee
75° and partly cloudy
2 comments
[War]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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And we just wish there were a Popeye’s somewhere in Coweta County.
Two years ago, Church’s Chicken and Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits were friendly competitors owned by the same company, Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises.
Today they are friendly no more.
On Thursday, Church’s threw down the gauntlet against its former “brother,“ launching an aggressive campaign to persuade fans of Popeyes’ spicy chicken to switch to Church’s offering.
After a short ceremony at Underground Atlanta, Church’s President and Chief Executive Officer Harsha Agadi and agents of “Church’s Bureau of Investigation” — employees dressed in white lab coats and dark glasses and armed with free spicy-chicken coupons — headed to Popeyes restaurants in black SUVs to persuade the chain’s customers to make the switch.
And last Monday, Church’s began running television ads, including one that features a “Popeyes employee” saying, “Church’s spicy beats Popeyes.“
Church’s — sold in 2004 for $390 million to a subsidiary of First Islamic Bank of Bahrain because the chain supposedly had less growth potential than Popeyes — wants to double its spicy-chicken sales to $200 million in 2006, Agadi said.» AJC: Church’s takes on former mate Popeyes
The government of Bahrain is supposedly an ally in the war against Islamist extremism, but as far as I know all Persian Gulf nations are sources of funding to terrorist groups and the madrassas that spawn their “martyrs.“ Popeye’s is still American-owned.
Chris loves Popeye’s food, but unfortunately the chain has never even come close to establishing a presence in Coweta County. Yes, that’s a hint.
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Embracing the Albatross
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Fri 28 Jul 2006 8:51
by Kevin McGehee
75° and partly cloudy
in Coweta County, GA
0 comments
[Get Offa My Lawn!]
[Wackadoodle]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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Former Atlanta Mayor—and Carter-era UN ambassador—Andrew Young, thinks Cop-Slappin’ Cynthia McKinney being in Congress is a good thing.
The day a poll showed her trailing in a 4th Congressional District runoff race, U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney rallied Atlanta ministers, including former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, to her cause.
Young’s endorsement Thursday could help in McKinney’s uphill battle to keep her office. A close aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and an ordained minister, Young also endorsed Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor earlier this year, helping him win the Democratic nomination for governor by appealing to black voters.
“Congress needs controversy,“ Young said in his endorsement, a recording of which was played at the news conference. “The last thing we need in a democracy is people who don’t think for themselves. ... I don’t always agree with Cynthia McKinney, but I always agree with her right to express her opinions because that creates a dialogue that makes democracy work.“ » AJC: Young backs McKinney
Congress does not need insanity. And as for Cop-Slapper’s right to express her opinion, that doesn’t mean she has a right to be on the taxpayers’ dime to do it.
But if Andy wants to keep McKinney as a face of the Democratic Party in the South, he’s more than welcome to promote that idea in front of Georgia voters. There’s one or two Democrat-held congressional seats in other parts of the state that Republicans would like to win. And it would be nice for Republicans to gain a few more statewide constitutional offices.
Sure, Andy. Don’t let go of the stone.
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The Wolf Who Cried ‘TRUCK!‘
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Thu 27 Jul 2006 7:33
by Kevin McGehee
68° and partly cloudy
in Coweta County, GA
0 comments
[Alaska]
[Our Times]
[Yippee-Ki-Yay!]
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A wolf chasing a bicyclist was struck and killed by a trucker along the Dalton Highway at Mile 79 last week, but it wasn’t the same wolf that chased down and bit an Anchorage woman near the Arctic Circle 35 miles to the north a week earlier, according to state wildlife officials.
“It was two totally different deals,” said state wildlife biologist and wolf expert Mark McNay with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks. “This was not the same wolf that bit the woman.”
The wolf, a yearling female, was killed on July 20 about 150 miles north of Fairbanks. It was one of the smallest McNay has ever seen, weighing only 46 pounds.
“It was in very poor condition,” he said. “It was basically starving.”
The wolf tested negative for rabies, according to Fish and Game veterinarian Kimberlee Beckmen.» News-Miner: Wolf chases cyclist before getting hit by truck on the Dalton
(Link added.)
According to the article, the driver of the truck took the wolf out on purpose, presumably because he could see that it was chasing the bike rider. I say “presumably” because the driver didn’t stop afterward to explain himself.
Hit-and-run truck drivers are not well-liked here in Coweta County these days—but I for one am prepared to give the one in Alaska the benefit of the doubt.
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