I'm with B16 on this one..

After Kennedy's Death: Silence from the Pope.

Redneck World

I spent the weekend with my big brother (AKA the Chief) and his family at the Kingsley Lake campgrounds at the Florida National Guard's Camp Blanding.

On Saturday we visited the Waldo Flea Market. There were many things that you would expect to see at a country flea market, from farm equipment to vegetables "only from the USA" as the sign says.

And then there was a little tent in the back called Redneck World. Being raised in New Jersey, I must confessed that I don't get the obsession with the Confederacy 134 years after its downfall. I'll tell you of some of the questionable things I saw and let you decide whether it's over the top.

A bumper sticker that says "Lee surrendered. I didn't."

Another bumper sticker. "Gone Coon Hunting". To be fair, there is a picture of some sort of animal on the sticker.

A T-shirt with the Stars and Bars and the words, "Fighting Terrorism Since 1861".

A T-shirt with Dr King's words, "I Have a Dream" and a picture of the US Capitol Building with the Stars and Bars flying over it.

On an earlier visit my brother claims to have seen a T-shirt with Klansmen in full dress and the words, "The Original Boys in the Hood" though I did not see this.

That's about as it. No "Dueling Banjoes" stuff.

Burn her!

So, continuing the iPod's shuffle, back-to-back it gives me:

"I Hear a Symphony," the Supremes
"Romeo and Juliet," Dire Straits

Maybe it's true after all?

This doesn't surprise me

MSNBC talking about the gun-toting racists out to get our beloved president.

Watching this video, you will notice the extreme close up of the AR-15. That is because the racist gun-toter is black.

I know that the only folks watching MSNBC are the hard-core Obama Kool-aid drinkers, so they are probably lapping this up.

I'd rather have a daughter on a pole an the Mons Venus than work for any NBC network or affiliate.

The Bucs secondary was thin anyway...(Update)

.....before safety Tanard Jackson got suspended by the NFL for getting high.

Jackson will miss the first four games of the regular season without pay after an unspecified violation of the league's substances of abuse policy, leaving the Bucs without a two-year starter and one of the defense's most feared hitters. The penalty will cost Jackson $108,235 in salary.

Also. this doesn't help either.

A Tampa Bay Buccaneers player is accused of resisting arrest without violence and simple battery.

Cornerback Aqib Talib, 23, posted $300 bail this morning and was released from the Pinellas County jail after he was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol. Both charges are misdemeanors.

The police report said that there was " an indication of alcohol influence". Really?

My big brother, the Chief, is a Jaguar season tix holder. I will be joining him Saturday night in Jacksonville to watch those Buccaneers who aren't getting high or beating on cabbies.

Update: Local sports talk is presenting the theory that the cabbie may be trying to cash in on this - that he may be trying to take advantage of a rich, sobriety-deprived athlete.

Memey, memey, nice and dreamy

It's an iPod shuffly sort of thing, probably gone round before, but why not. I like rediscovering things, especially when it means cheap, easy content.

The rules, as described by SarahK:

1. Put your iTunes, iPod, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN, NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag whoever you want including me.
5. Have fun - you will be surprised at how it works sometimes.

Background: the ol’ Pod has 4150 songs on it, and many of them are quite odd, since it holds all of my show soundtracks (and a CD compilation of TV themes). Luckily I haven’t put all my Christmas music on it yet. As for tags... hey, go for it if you like it.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
“What Is and What Should Never Be,” Led Zeppelin. Heheheheh.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
“All I Need,” the Temptations. Two for two, iPod.

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
“Tuesday Afternoon,” the Moody Blues. OK, this is getting eerie. Bonus - the track from "Days of Future Passed" includes "Evening (Time to Get Away)." Sing it, iPod.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
“As Long as I’m Singing,” Brian Setzer Orchestra. The word processor wants to call him Brian Seltzer. Poor guy. (Be advised - I have a poor singing voice, but I know of know song called As Long as I'm Writing.)

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO
“The Simpsons End Credits.” Did I mention the odd stuff on the ol’ Pod?

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
“Some Things You Never Get Used To,” the Supremes. Hahahahahahaha...

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
“Black Dog,” Led Zeppelin. Whoa, this meme went sideways pretty quickly.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
“Boom Boom,” the Yardbirds. I don’t know what this means. 50’s singer Freddy Cannon? Former boxer Ray Mancini? Artillery barrages? Maybe it’s shooting at the walls of heartache. No, that’s Bang Bang (that awful sound). Stop confoozalin’ me, iPod.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR FIRST KISS?
“Promises, Promises” by Naked Eyes. Oh, ouch. Moral - never mock the iPod; it hits back hard. Probably a design feature.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
“Night Court.” Wha?

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
“Still Alive and Well,” Rick Derringer. Interesting. I’d have picked differently for myself, but that’s kind of the whole point of this exercise, isn’t it? Besides killing time and finally putting up a post.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
“Hot Fun in the Summertime,” Sly and the Family Stone. LOVE this song.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE/LOVE?
“Velveteen,” Yoko Kanno/Ilaria Graziano. Ladybug and I first bonded by discovering that we both enjoyed Kanno’s music.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
“Luck Will Turn Someday,” L/R soundtrack. We didn’t – and it’s hardly a dance number, though it’s a good song. If any of the songs we DID dance to had turned up, I think I would have burned my iPod as a witch.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
“You’ve Made Me So Very Happy,” Blood Sweat & Tears. Holy cow, my iPod made me tear up.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
“Advice,” the Pillows. Ah… Sadly, I am full of help for others.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
“Pulling Mussels,” Squeeze. Hahahahaha! That would be pretty bad for a goalie.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
“Bad Case of Loving You,” Robert Palmer. Sorry, all… the secret’s out! I love my wife. (Gasp!)

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
“Weather with You,” Crowded House.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
“Route 101,” Herb Alpert. Hm. This is on the Traveling Cosmic Yurt soundtrack (coming soon!) so, again, I think my iPod may be a witch. Build a church out of her!

BONUS TRACK: “Five-Eighths,” again from the L/R soundtrack. It’s the instrumental version, so there’s no heavily-accented English. Very pretty song. I know practically none of the words.

Clicking does the strangest things

I came across an article online regarding Randy Wolf, the former Phillies pitcher who now works for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pride of Pepperdine University is a decent middle-of-the-rotation guy at this point, but his most recent start (vs. Arizona) was a thing of beauty. Through seven innings he had allowed only one single, striking out ten, and had gone 2-3 with a home run.

They let him hit for himself in the top of the eighth - why not, it was 7-0 - and he smacked an RBI double, and came around to score, and Joe Torre let him keep going. I mean, again, why not? The guy was cruising. He'd retired 20 consecutive Diamondbacks. He'd struck out the side in the fifth, two more in the seventh, and had a shot at actually hitting for the cycle.

On his second pitch of the eighth, Wolf gave up a dinger, and two singles and a triple later, Torre had to come get him. His final line was 7 2/3 IP, three runs on five hits with ten strikeouts, plus a 3-4, 3 rbi day at the plate.

The article (which I can't find now) posited that Wolf's day was one of the greatest ever enjoyed by a pitcher, and while it's a fine day indeed, I can't help but think that there have been enough truly amazing days to consider this a slight step below.

That's not the Mets fan in me talking, either. To prove it, I will cite as possibly the top of the list a warm June in Cincinnati, where the visiting Phillies send Rick Wise to the mound. He threw a no-hitter that day... and hit two home runs of his own. Not many pitchers can say that they've done that, and to my knowledge no other pitcher can say that he did it TWICE - but Wise can, and what's more, he did it in the same season.

But this is where clicking comes in. Wise can also add some odd-duck trivia. Most famously, he was traded straight-up for Steve Carlton, who went on to win 27 games for the dreadful '72 Phils, with the Cy Young and the Hall of Fame and (for a very little while) the all-time strikeout title.

Wise's first-ever start in 1964 came against the Giants, and he surrendered his first major league home run in the first inning - to Willie Mays. On August 28th, 1971, they became the second team in a single year to give up two homers TO Wise; one was a grand slam to break a tie.

The Phillies lost 7 of Wise's next 8 starts following the June no-hitter... they also lost his next three starts after that August 28th game.

Wise wound up hitting 15 career homers, and one week shy of the two-year anniversary of his first grand slam, he hit another for the Cardinals against the Braves. It would be his last career homer.

But wait! There's more! The Baseball Reference guys ran a list of all the relievers who've hit homers and found two who've hit two in a game themselves. The first guy on that list, Millard "Dixie" Howell, is a very interesting guy: broke in with the Cleveland Indians in 1940, had arm troubles, went to WW2, was made a prisoner of war, but made it briefly back to the bigs at age 29. And when the game seemed to have passed him by, he popped back up at age 35 for the White Sox, presaging Jim Morris by over forty years, and he went 8-3 with a 2.93 ERA. His two-tater game came two years later. Sadly, he died very young, via heart attack at age 40, while working out for an independent league team in spring training.

By the way, be sure when you investigate these things. You have to wind up with the correct Millard "Dixie" Howell, or things could get wierd.

Thanks Brad!

For ruining this song for me.

Before singing his song "Welcome to the Future," Paisley reflected on Election Day, telling the audience in the East Room that it felt "unbelievable" to be in N.Y.C.'s Times Square, before turning to the President and quipping, "I'm sure you were busy." "I stood there and watched the world turn on a dime," Paisley said to President Obama. "I'm a two-time father…I thought about [my children]...you are the first president they will remember, which is something."

You need to watch the video to get the full gushing over. I know a lot of college students like Brad Paisley, and he can support whomever he wants.

But remember the Dixie Chicks - getting seen with this guy might not be healthy for the career.

I think I'll go for a walk

See, he says he's not dead.

You're not foolin' anyone, y'know...

No, I want to post something! I feel happy! I feel happyyyyyy...

Don't give Corzine any ideas

Apparently, the state of California has been issuing IOUs to contractors that they do business with because Ahnold has no cash. They are worthless; no bank will honor them.

Small businesses that received $682 million in IOUs from the state say California expects them to pay taxes on the worthless scraps of paper, but refuses to accept its own IOUs to pay debts or taxes. The vendors' federal class action claims the state is trying to balance its budget on their backs.

Lead plaintiff Nancy Baird filled her contract with California to provide embroidered polo shirts to a youth camp run by the National Guard, but never was paid the $27,000 she was owed. She says California "paid" her with an IOU that two banks refused to accept - yet she had to pay California sales tax on the so-called "sale" of the uniforms.

But here's the prize in the Cracker Jack box. California is treating the IOUs as income and is demanding IOU holders to pax state income tax on them. And the state won't take its own IOUs back as payment.

I hope for the sake of you folks in Jersey that your governor isn't reading this blog.

This is creative

Some Dem congresscritters are looking for ways to avoid their own voters this August break. Some load up their town halls with union goons, but that can lead to some bad video. Some will only meet one on one with voters. Some will do telephone town halls. One guy had his at a children's hospital.

But Congresscritter Sanchez tops them all. Disguise your town hall as a prayer vigil. Notice this gutless coward taking only written questions.

These people would have no problems from dissenters if they showed up with a draft of the House bill in their hands, and instead of droning on with lib Pferdkaese, start right out with, "Where is your concern? Show me what page it's on?" None of them can do that. And we all know why.

The video edited out the prayer. As with all interfaith meetings, I wonder to which local goat diety these people bow the knee.

By the way, if you want to rat me out to the White House, the email address is flag@whitehouse.gov

Fighting the Power in Tampa

My congresscritter had a town hall.

It looks like more than just the Sisko is angry. The first video has her talking. I would have yelled at her, too. She was spewing Pferdkaese.

Predominently Dem district. Kathy Castor would have to be caught naked with Rush Limbaugh to lose her seat.

Castor didn't get the latest memo. Big Pharma cut a deal with Obama. The new boogieman is the insurance companies and Glenn Beck.

Pretty good coverage from the local FOX station.

My Left Foot

At the podiatry clinic in the VA hospital yesterday. The doctor treating me looked like she was 15 years old.

The wound on my left foot (on top, right where the big toe meets the foot) is slow to heal. The tendon is exposed, which is an infection concern. The doc took blood from me and used it to make a plasma plug over the wound.

I am wearing something that looks like a ski boot to keep the foot immobile. I go back next week.

It's a nice foot. Daniel Day-Lewis starred in a movie about it. Hopefully I get to keep it.

With apologies to Rod Stewart..

..Every picture tells a story, don't it?

Thanks to Lucianne.com.

Here she is....

...the future Mrs. Barking Spider.

The good news is that since Obama got smacked down for channelling his inner Sharpton (or Jeremiah Wright), could the Era of the Mau-Mau be over? Sharpton and Jesse piped up, but no one paid attention. Obama had to backtrack because he was getting killed in the polls over this.

To actually see the end of the Era of Mau-Mau in my lifetime! It would be the best thing to happen to black people in 40 years. To finally be liberated from victimhood.

City of Brotherly Love

Maybe this guy was a Mets fan.

Police say a group from the bachelor party got into a fight with other patrons at a sports bar and restaurant in the Citizens Bank Park complex Saturday night. The trouble started during the closing innings of a game between the Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals.

The groups were told to leave McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon, and the dispute moved outside to a parking lot.

Police say 22-year-old Lansdale resident David Sale was assaulted there and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The World Series champion Phillies say they won't comment until arrests are announced.

Man the bails!

The tank is springing leaks...


I'm not sure if the screen cap is legible, so let me quote the subhead: President strong-arms educators by linking $4-billion package to reform.

Yeah, MSNBC actually went there with His Presidency. Those leg-thrills don't last very long once the election's done and the guy has to actually start doing some governing.

The story is interesting to me beyond the "bloom off the rose" angle, for two reasons.

First: the government can rightly be said to already own all these schools, since they are public. This seems almost as if the President is trying to re-buy them. The difficulty is, if you own something it's usually a bad idea to decide not to pay for its proper function. I can see the local school districts gearing up and suing the Feds for their funding.

(That is of course the exact opposite of everything Obama wants to do. His impulse seems to be to buy, on credit, everything he sees: banks, car companies, the entire insurance industry... That's the whole reason our economy pinwheeled off a cliff to begin with, so it seems akin to digging one's way out of a swamp ditch - but I hain't no expurt or nuthin'.)

Second: the guy is bleeding supporters and approval points faster than a celebrity on a quack diet sheds pounds. Can he really afford to start jacking around with the NEA?

Almost like he was pitching against the Rays..

...except my nephew allowed a walk and a cheap single.

Bethlehem High graduate Randy Bowers tossed a sparkling one-hitter and first baseman Steve Anderson crushed a two-run home run in the fourth to propel South Troy to a 2-0 victory over Brooklyn Youth Service in the North Atlantic Regional at Geer Field.

The Dodgers return to action tonight at Geer Field versus Washington Township. Game time is 6.

The Dodgers missed out at an earlier chance this month to secure a berth in the World Series after finishing tied for third in the 20-team World Series qualifier hosted by South Troy.
Unlike in that event when the Dodgers performed sluggishly, Bowers made sure South Troy started strong and remained strong.

The right-hander, who is headed to Canisius, allowed a walk in the first inning and took his no-hitter into the top of the seventh. He had BYS No. 3 hitter Tommy Cardona at 0-2 in the count before the first baseman squibbed a single just past South Troy second baseman Jose Ramirez.

"The first inning was a little shaky, but I calmed down and starting throwing first-pitch strikes," Bowers said. "In the qualifier, we played under par. I hope this game sets a tone in a much better way."

Randy Bowers, Jr. is the son of my youngest brother. I hope he remembers his old uncle if he makes the bigs.

From the State House to the Big House

Come on down! You're the next contestants on the Bribe is Right!

Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria's home and office were raided this morning by federal officials as part of the sweeping FBI and IRS probe that has resulted in the arrests of 30 people, including Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt and two mayors.

Contestants' Row now features the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus, and the former mayor of Bayonne. According to the news, the investigation involved money laundering from Brooklyn to the Jersey Shore, including several rabbis at the Deal Yeshiva.

Not surprisingly, they mention first Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean), who is also the mayor of Ocean Township. (What, double-dipping isn't enough, you also have to steal?) But to the credit of the Star-Ledger, they don't shy away from the party affiliations when it's the Dems' turn.

Waiting for their turn at the showcase are Jersey City's own Mariano Vega and Leona Beldini, but since one is a Council President and the other a Deputy Mayor, they have to wait until Van Pelt and the other heavy-hitters see the next item up for bids. And if you get within fifty cigarettes without going over, you win BOTH showcases!

UPDATED, 1:11 PM - holy smokes...

In separate money-laundering complaints, several individuals from Brooklyn and New Jersey were charged with offenses ranging from the trafficking of kidneys from Israeli donors to laundering proceeds from selling fake Gucci and Prada bags. It was not immediately clear how the money-laundering arrests were connected to the corruption arrests.

NBC affiliate WNBC reported that the kidney trafficking involved patients paying middlemen to find willing donors in Israel. Investigators allege that the suspects had donors and patients lie to hospitals by saying that they were related. Hospitals would do the operation unaware that cash payments were part of the deal.

The common thread seems to be that the actual money transfers caught the eye of the investigators, especially in the international cases.

There's a news conference going on right now in Newark trying to explain the whole shebang.

Big Ben & the Billy Graham Rule

Rich athletes might want to consider an idea from the old evangelist.

A woman has filed a lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping her last summer in his penthouse hotel room at a casino in Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golf tournament.

Roethlisberger's lawyer adamantly denied the allegations Tuesday, and was quick to point out that the woman never went to authorities.

According to the woman, a hotel employee, she went up to Ben's room to fix his TV and that's where the alleged crime took place.

As a young man, Reverend Graham resolved to never be alone with a woman he wasn't married to or related to by blood. This wasn't because he was a lech, but to avoid being accused of any impropriety. Prudish, yeah. But it potentially saved him aggravation a few times.

Ben, you need to think about going Graham. I bet Kobe's doing it.

Once you go Graham, you'll never be damned.