civil war, shmivil war
When will anyone ever listen? I’m just sayin’, is all…
Well, now others, including the news, have finally caught onto the idea.
flu-sie
Holy majolee… Just in case you haven’t had your dose, the flu really, REALLY sucks. Until this morning, I’ve been miserable on the couch since Sunday morning. It’s not a good feeling, let me tell you. Apparently, Alabama is set to get ready for a flu pandemic. I’d say we’re already there… there are way too many people with it. Want to know the real proof? I haven’t had the flu in 15 years… now, I’m a proud victim.
If you didn’t know it, then you should hear it now. The Senate Ethics Committe has passed a resolution/bill calling for a Constitutional Convention for the state of Alabama. It will now go to the Rules Committee to get to the floor of the Senate. It passed unanimously… this could be a fabulous thing, especially considering it couldn’t get out of House Committees.
The latest news to come out of the woodworks is the sale of the ports to the UAE. While I haven’t fully understood what is going on, I’m hoping that someone does… that, and hopefully I can blame my confusion on the illness. If it is as bad as it seems to me, the world might get really interesting. Thanks to buddy Marcus, it may possibly make sense. Hey, at least there’s another Birmingham blog that is interesting to read.
Also, last night… fabulous author Sarah Vowell appeared on The Daily Show. Great show, Sarah… and I love your books.
I feel this has been too personal. And, way too uninformative. I’m out to shake off the flu, and waste my last day of sickness in front of the television… I can’t do that any other time…. Until then, enjoy a great article on Stephen Colbert’s Truthiness.
shrewdness wins out
Sometimes you just need a little explanation, because some things you hear are just beyond belief. Take a few of today’s news items, for example:
A new musical is being developed to lighten up the dreaded economic/financial news of the downfall of a former corporation. Look for Enron: The Musical in a town near you!
News reports say that Michael Jackson wins back sole custody of his kids. But, hey… no matter about the court case of child molestation on his record… They’ll be glad to be back with dad for sure!
The Washington Post reports today that a Spotlsylvania Sherriff has condoned the activity of his officers in order to bust a prostitution ring. You’ll never guess how they did it.
Bolivia is searching for ways to reharvest/reinvent the coca wheel. Now, research says that it can be used in sweets and syrups… or in other words, cereal! Load up kids, those Frosted Flakes are GGRRREEEEEAAAAAAAAT!
In other sherriff-related and drug-related matters, Jefferson County sherriff’s deputies had a record-breaking find of more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana.
And, in to some of the latest Cheney-bashing, reports say that gunshot victim Whittington was ’sorry’ for getting in the way (if you ask me, he looks like he suffered a minor stroke the way the right side of his face is sagging). NOTE (of somewhat related measure): The show Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me features blues harmonica-ist (?) Corkey Siegel singing a song about Cheney’s shooting. It’s absolutely priceless.
Back to the Mill…
wrestling randomness
So, I’m fighting a battle from within… post or not post? I mean, I haven’t since Tuesday… but, come on, it’s a Friday night. I should be out having a blast… But, oh wait. I forgot, I’m in grad school, and have no time for it. Alas, maybe one day.
Possibly the greatest link I could have ever found was from buddy Marcus, who shared photos from Krewe du Vieux 2006. Or at least, I hope that’s correct… My favorite pic? The float… It’s gotta make you giggle no matter how you feel about it.
If you weren’t quite sure, John Stuart Mill is a political mastermind of the 19th Century.
If mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person.
-John Stuart Mill
Austin City Limits has a great lineup tonight: Death Cab for Cutie and My Morning Jacket. This one is a keeper… I hope my TiVo doesn’t mind.
bigger than my body
Why, news is getting more and more interesting as the days go by. Of course, VP Dick Cheney has brought tons of press to himself… And boy, has every funny man on TV tried to pull some laughs off of his humiliation. I still giggle about that.
Last night, ‘The Daily Show’ had a fantastic show about the Cheney ‘incident.’ If you missed it, check it out here. I bet you never knew that Alexander Hamilton was shot, huh? This is yet another reason why ‘The Daily Show’ is absolutely addictive. I, for one, can’t live without its poignant satire and grandiloquent nonsense.
In other ‘Cheney shot a man in the face’ news, the Daily Kos has offered a great metaphor to fully understand why this story isn’t just about a veep shooting another man accidentally, and why the story will be around for a while. It may be a little leading, but it’s still an interesting concept.
Other news/blogs to note today:
That’s all for now. I’ve got to reinstall my computer at work now.
showdown
In reference to VP Dick Cheney’s headlines, I’m in absolute hysteria. Never could I imagine a greater story to emerge from the complexities that are the Bush administration. But, thanks Cheney… you finally gave us something to laugh at besides President Bush.
Cheney’s got a gun, and he’s not afraid to use it. And, apparently, he’s been known to misfire on more than one occasion… I could start you a list, but do you really need the help?
In other presidential office faux pas: will people finally start listening to what the references to history? For months, I’ve been saying that Bush is going completely Nixon on us, and people have laughed it off. Come on people, get with the program! It’s like we’re back in the 70s. Maybe I’ve said enough…
three-peat
Chuck at Imitatio Christi received a letter from a friend who is a chaplain in Iraq. He posted it for reading, and it was really intense, especially in the chaplain’s poignant analysis:
It occurs to me how much help we could offer to the world if we really cared, but we spend our time fighting and securing our stability; staying on top, loaning money to poor countries and then entrapping them, invading countries with an overwhelming military without a moral reason, toppling governments and their leaders when they no longer serve the purposes for which we established them. When do we get our hands into things that are not in our lane? When do we come to the place where we have our noses into other people’s lives and ways?
I think the key to the defeat of Islamic militancy is to be different; show it for what it is and be different. Right now, we are raising the stakes, strike for strike, and escalation is the inevitable result.
Wow.
You can read the rest of the letter here.
double doozie
Today I’m a blogging fool! 
For the reader in you…
In ‘Holy Crap!’ news: Roy Moore has the possibility of ousting Gov. Bob Riley
In the ‘I Saw It Coming’ news: President Bush gets political criticism from former presidents at a funeral. Speaking of it, there’s a great review of it here; also, more GOPs found inline with Abramoff scandal.
In the ‘If Only Alabama Could Get the Hint’ news: Moore isn’t so liked in the Mid-Atlantic
In other ‘You Just Had to Be There’ news: Seeming academic really has no idea
…and the temptation of eve.
Not that it is of any importance… But, whenever I hear Spanish (as I am at this moment of morning Latin live music in the Highland Coffee Co. enjoying lunch before I head to the library), I want to include the words I know into everyday lanugage. It’s probably increasintly annoying to any native tongues. But, what can you do?
OK… that’s enough of the top of my head today.
I’m thrilled to see a very distinguished professor of history at the University of Georgia blogging. Dr. James Cobb has begun ‘Cobbloviate’. It’s fascinating to read… especially his post from February 9, on the disappearance of NBC’s ‘Book of Daniel’ after only 3 weeks (I totally agree!!!). Seeing this blog makes it really hard to not want to sell my soul to go to UGA. Eh, we’ll see. Either way, it’s great reading… it’s got politics, history, and everything in between. And, for the redneck banner, he’s resolved to make the ‘possum the state marsupial. How’s that for a history professor?
I’m reading ‘Dixiecrats & Democrats: Alabama Politics, 1942-1950′ by William D. Barnard for my Alabama history seminar class; actually a more accurate description would entail that this book is for a review. Nonetheless, the book is intriguing… I didn’t think it would speak so much of former governor ‘Big Jim’ Folsom. But, it so far has established Folsom as one of the determining factors in the Dixiecrat revolt of 1948, and the Nullifiers of 1956.
In the book, it mentions ‘John Barleycorn.’ Now, I would have had to ask about what this figure in history represents… But, I had heard the name in the song, ‘Let It Out’ by ‘The Hombres’ on the ‘Elizabethtown’ movie soundtrack. It’s this great song that has a beat and sound similar to that of ‘Southern Culture on the Skids’. When I read the in the book, I was a little surprised and eve more confused. So, I look it up (you should too)… Now it totally makes sense as to why it was in relation to the prohibitionist movement. Did you learn something new? Well, even if you didn’t, I did. And, that’s what grad school is all about…
I leave you with precious words to the song…
‘A preachment, dear friends, you are about to receive on John Barleycorn, nicotine, and the temptations of Eve.’
must watch tv
If you haven’t been keeping up with the world of ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report’, you’ve been missing out. Here are a few vids that are an absolute must-see:
This Week in God: Voodoo
Talk the Line
The Word: Metaphorically
The Word: Jesi
Bush v. Bush (this is just an all-time favorite from 2004)
I really do think that ‘The Word’ is my favorite part of ‘The Colbert Report.’ And, it’s been really funny this week.
And on movies, have you seen the trailer for ‘Brokeback to the Future‘? It’s totally great stuff.
Other than these small bits of information, I’m all out. All I’ve got are remnants of the Post-War America, Alabama and the 19th Century European world. And, those just don’t make sense together.
