PETA Decrys Penguin Abortion

This afternoon PETA spokesperson, Jane Fondla, announced that a lawsuit will be initiated, on Georgia Aquarium's penguin commonly known as Bat. The lawsuit alleges that pet handles became impatient with penguin's gestation period, attempted to induce, impacted the bird and then had to abort the shell to save the mother's life.

Penquin wrangler, Howie Scheimmer, said...

We tried everything we could think of, feeding her ice chips, working on patterned breathing, everything, the egg just could not be saved.

Seriously, The Atlanta Urinal-Constipation had the following as a lead story today, written by Leon Stafford.

A penguin at the Georgia Aquarium is recovering after last-minute surgery to remove an egg that was threatening its life. Officials at the world’s largest fish tank said Bat, an African penguin, fell earlier this month. An X-ray determined the female was carrying an unfertilized egg.
Greg Bossart, the head of veterinary medicine, decided to induce labor late Thursday after the animal’s condition worsened. The egg, however, got stuck, and Bossart was forced to use “a 14-gauge needle to puncture the egg.” It was then crushed and extracted.

“Bat is doing much better,” said Dave Santucci, an aquarium spokesman.

We have some friends that work as divers at the aquarium, it really is an impressive place.

Look at his hand... r1

As far as I know Monica is still dark headed...IN JEST ONLY…here may be some input...or out put depending on the side you’re on…Whoever……BO got it going on…MSNBC...Who ever...THIS IS JUST A JOKE!

Medal of Honor Snub

An article offered in the Cleveland Ledger titled "American Legion Acknowledges That Obama Failed to Attend the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball" we can deduce where the new President's priorities lay. Since 1953 a Presidential Inaugural Ball has been held to recognize our countries Medal of Honor awardees. In that time every President has attended, until 2009, covering 14 inaugurations.
Craig Roberts, of the American Legion, issued the statement:

The American Legion, as it has on every inauguration evening since 1953, hosted the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Banquet & Ball on January 20th. The quadrennial event is co-sponsored with fourteen veterans service and military service organizations and honors recipients of the Medal of Honor. Forty-seven of these heroes attended this year's event which was held in the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel. President Obama was invited but did not attend. Vice-President Joe Biden did appear, however, and was very warmly received.

The new President's absence was understandable considering the unprecedented logistical challenges presented by the vastly increased number of visitors to this inauguration and the necessary attendant security measures. The American Legion, as an organization, does not feel offended or "snubbed."

The American Legion took the high road, good for them. The President of change did attend 10 other official balls, preferring the company of entertainment's stars like Kanye West, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kid Rock, Stevie Wonder, Mary. J. Blige, Usher, Faith Hill, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Shakira, Samuel L. Jackson, Sting, Mariah Carey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sheryl Crow and Marc Anthony.
Some of those folks are well past their prime, others aren't even citizens. Be sure that this was no mistake.

BO vs Rush...MY money is on RushLimbaugh Cracks the Whip, and Republicans Get in Line

The minority whip appears to be someone who has never won an election.

Republican lawmakers who were having a difficult time becoming the "loyal opposition" in the first week of the Obama administration got a swift kick in the pants earlier this week from the "voice" of their constituents: Rush Limbaugh.

The conservative talk show host was one of many across the country who took to the airwaves to cajole congressional Republicans to line up against President Obama's $819 billion stimulus package.

The result was unanimity. Though the stimulus bill passed handily Wednesday in the heavily Democratic House, every Republican in the chamber voted against it.

Their unity won praise from Limbaugh himself, who said Democrats sought bipartisan support only because they know the stimulus plan will fail and don't want to be solely responsible.

"[Democrats] want the Republicans to not have cover," Limbaugh told FOX News on Thursday. "There's nothing about the economy in this bill."

With Wednesday's vote, House Republicans have effectively disowned the package. But lawmakers are not off the conservative hook. With Democrats determined to pass the bill, right-leaning hosts have signaled that the stimulus will be their rallying cry in the early months of the Obama administration. It will be Kryptonite to those who embrace it and a lightning rod for conservative audiences.

"This economic stimulus package is bad for the country, but it sure is good for the Republican Party," talk show host Mike Gallagher told FOXNews.com. He said hosts like himself will play the "loyal opposition" on this defining issue. "And the battle is just beginning for us."

Leslie Marshall, who's on the liberal end of nationally syndicated radio hosts, said Limbaugh will not derail the stimulus but will have fuel for as long as the package is being executed. She suggested the conservative talk giants are in a good spot right now.

"Rush Limbaugh came to glory during the Clinton years because he had somebody he could bash, in a sense, and liberal hosts have been having a field day for the last eight years," she told FOXNews.com, explaining that nitpicking the opposition party is "part of why people listen to us."

It also didn't hurt ratings when Obama mentioned Limbaugh by name at a White House meeting last week, telling GOP lawmakers not to let people like Limbaugh derail the package.

"[Obama is] obviously more frightened of me than he is of (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell," Limbaugh told his listeners. "He is more frightened of me than he is of, say, (House Minority Leader) John Boehner, which doesn't say much about our party,"

Given the vote breakdown in the House, Obama's remark may have been a blunder. The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday called it Obama's "first tactical error" because it elevated Limbaugh.

And Republicans apparently still fear the host. Just ask Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey, whom Politico.com quoted Tuesday defending his party's leaders in light of Limbaugh's comments.

"It's easy if you're Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks," Gingrey said. "But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn't be or wouldn't be good leaders, they're not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

The next day, after apparently hearing an earful from constituents, Gingrey issued a mea culpa on his government Web site.

"I have actively opposed every bailout ... I see eye-to-eye with Rush Limbaugh. Regardless of what yesterday's headline may have read, I never told Rush to back off," Gingrey wrote.

"Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and other conservative giants are the voices of the conservative movement's conscience."

Limbaugh, who offered his own stimulus proposal in a Wall Street Journal editorial on Thursday, accepted Gingrey's apology. He added that despite multiple efforts, he can't be marginalized.

"They know that I am the direct route to conservative-based voters and if they can discredit me, if they can marginalize me, they think that they've got Republicans out of the way," he said.

Democratic dominance in Washington virtually ensures that conservative talk hosts will not enjoy the level of influence they had when they successfully mobilized their audiences in 2007 to push lawmakers to kill immigration reform. But it does give them the opportunity to hound Republican officials to fall back into the conservative line.

"I think Republican senators who vote against this thing are really, really going to do so at their own peril," Gallagher said.

"The Republicans need to decide do we believe in small government, do we believe in fiscal responsibility," said conservative commentator and FOX News host Glenn Beck.

Beck, in an interview with FOXNews.com minutes after the House voted for the stimulus, said he's by no means banking on the failure of the stimulus program if it passes.

"If it succeeds, God bless us," he said. "It's not a game for me. It's not a game for most Republicans. It's real."

He said it's difficult to cast the bailout trend as a purely Democratic initiative since the Bush administration backed the first stimulus package last year, as well as the financial rescue package.

He continues to criticize Republicans and left open the question of whether GOP leadership really follows his advice.

But conservative talk is on night watch as the package heads to the Senate. After Boehner challenged Beck in an interview Wednesday to watch him rein in spending, Beck responded, "Believe me, sir. I will be."

FOXNews.com's Judson Berger contributed to this report.


BO...Bit off more then he can chew!!!

Rush' Bipartisan Stimulus Plan

Today's Wall Street Journal editorial page carries an offering from the revered talk show host Rush Limbaugh. His suggestion being to combine the facets of the President's stimulus plan with supply side facets of the conservative right. As Rush hopes to amend the stimulus package....

As a way to bring the country together and at the same time determine the most effective way to deal with recessions, under the Obama-Limbaugh Stimulus Plan of 2009: 54% of the $900 billion -- $486 billion -- will be spent on infrastructure and pork as defined by Mr. Obama and the Democrats; 46% -- $414 billion -- will be directed toward tax cuts, as determined by me.

I say, cut the U.S. corporate tax rate -- at 35%, among the highest of all industrialized nations -- in half. Suspend the capital gains tax for a year to incentivize new investment, after which it would be reimposed at 10%. Then get out of the way! Once Wall Street starts ticking up 500 points a day, the rest of the private sector will follow. There's no reason to tell the American people their future is bleak. There's no reason, as the administration is doing, to depress their hopes. There's no reason to insist that recovery can't happen quickly, because it can.

I like the idea but doubt that the dimocrats would even consider anything resembling Republican dogma. Tax increases have more to do with answering to the class warfare promises made during campaigns. There is no reasonable hope that any tax decrease could happen after the dimocrats have railed for eight years about how Bush coddled the rich with tax relief. No, the dimocrats have no choice but to raise (remove temporary reductions) taxes, fulfilling their promises to inflict taxation punishment on those that have won life's lottery.
Therein lies reasoning for why the FairTax or FlatTax will not become law. Politicians use government revenue to redistribute wealth, with purpose of maintaining voter tendencies. Dimocrats are are the simpler side of the issue. They purport to be protectors of the little man, this places them in position to bribe large sections of lower income with trivial rebates and refunds. The lower income folks are never magically transported to a higher caste, they are poor, financial assistance becomes only a delaying tool. People actualize when they accept opportunities presented, some couldn't see it if you smashed them in the face with it, other grow and ascend. Opportunities come from economic and productivity growth. Tax structures don't change because of what the politicians want, not citizens.
The idea about suspending capital gains taxes and restarting at 10% would initiate increased investment, stabilizing the stock market, and take some of the cheap money out of the system that will soon be there, fueling inflation.

Look at his hand...

Brought to you by dgj_ga

100 Years Ago Today

January 28, 1909, United States armed forces left Cuba with the exception of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Cuba had been ceded to the United States after winning the Spanish-American War.
You know, the sinking of the Maine, Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders and all that stuff?
A hundred years later, our newly installed President will be closing the prison at this Naval Base. A high priority of no consequence to the dimocrats, watching the teeth gnashing of the elitist MSNBC led national media, over where the prisoners will be housed has been amusing. Placement at the base was pragmatic and cost efficient. Stories about torture were a pile of bullshit, aimed by the media at the executive branch, as a means of separating the Republican base from its party leadership. Viola, we get McCaina weak candidate, he looses the election, the dimocrats make a change of location, all continues as already initiated, the main purpose achieved, get a dimocrat in the White House.

Gone Baby Gone

This movie was released in 2007, is rated R, and lasts 2 hours. A successful directorial debut by Ben Affleck. The screenplay was adapted by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard, from a book written by Dennis Lehane.
The plot is.....
Amanda McCready is a 4 year old girl, mysteriously abducted. The mother is doped out and not helping with the search. The child's aunt, played by Amy Madigan, hires Patrick and Angie to find the girl. The PI's discover that the girl was abducted because of a drug deal gone bad, an this an attempt by the dealer to recover his stolen money. An exchange is arranged, during which the girl drowns in a quarry lake. Later another child abduction leads to Patrick killing the pedophile and clues about Amanda's abduction. Patrick figures out that Remy and Jack were the abductors working in cahoots with Amanda's uncle, purpose in part to be removing the kid from the unsafe home. Patrick is posed with a moral choice of revealing the truth and having the child returned to the nut-job doper mother, or leaving well enough alone, where the girl is clearly well cared for. Patrick chooses the former, Angie leaves him, Jack goes to jail, the uncle goes to jail and Remy dies. The movie ends with Patrick visiting Helene and Amanda, Helene is already up to her old tricks, drinking and running. Patrick feels responsible and volunteers to watch the little girl.
Actors are....

• Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie, the Boston streetwise private investigator with specialization in missing persons. Affleck, native to Boston does a great job.
• Michelle Monaghan as Angie Gennaro, Patrick's partner in PI work as well as love interest. This actress is unknown to me, but plays well the part of a woman with a past of childhood abuse.
• Ed Harris as Remy Bressant, detective and N'orlins transplant. Harris is always good, and no exception here, plays this man of conflicting morals.
• Morgan Freeman as Jack Doyle, the crusading policeman protector of children. A different role to this 71 year old actor, but well done.
• Amy Ryan playing the part of the doper whore mother, Helene McCready, was nominated for an Oscar as Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. A role well crafted to be despicable person.
  

This movie gets a score of 38 of 50, a high score. I think you should watch this movie.

• Character development 9 of 10. Interesting progression of choices for all the main characters.
• Screenplay 7 of 10. Fits Boston wicked.
• Acting 8 of 10. Good ensemble cast, good work.
• Cinematography 6 of 10. Since the movie was cast in my brother's old stomping grounds, loved seeing the old sights and the capture of neighborhoods. Similar to what you see in Mystic River.
• Concept 8 of 10. Child abuse and taking consequences for moral beliefs, top notch.

Michael Clayton

I put off watching this DVD for a couple of weeks because the wife intended to watch it with me. That never happened and in the end she didn't miss much.
Michael Clayton is a movie about a lawyer whose position in a big New York law firm is as a fixer, a functional manipulator that helps partners and clients alike avoid entanglements. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, this two hour long movie was released in the fall of 2007. This movie was Tony Gilroy's movie directorial debut, but he has worked extensively as a writer for movies such as The Cutting Edge, The Devil's Advocate. Deloris Claiborne and the Bourne series.
Amongst the actors were.......

• Tom Wilkinson as Arthur Edens, lead lawyer for the firm defending the weed killer manufacturer from a class action lawsuit.
• Michael O'Keefe as Barry Grissom, CFO partner in the firm and by his own admission, an asshole. O'Keefe has been around for years, but my favorite role for him was as the teen-aged golfer, Danny Noonan, in the the hilarious movie Caddyshack.
• Sydney Pollack as Marty Bach, the most senior partner in the firm, and comfortable with the firms defense of morally guilty client. This had to have been one of the Sydney's like times in front of the camera, before his recent passing.
• George Clooney as Michael Clayton, the man on the ground for the firm, getting lawyers out of trouble, getting clients out of trouble, by sometimes unethical. Clooney is well known, a fair enough actor and dick for thinking his political opinions are public consumption.

Here's the movie. The firm is defending a corporation in a class action suit that has lasted a decade. The firm has proof that the client was aware its product cause cancer and hid that fact from the complainants. This drives the lead lawyer mad to the point that he is about to reveal truth to the customer complainants. The firm has Arthur murdered to prevent this and aims the same for Michael. Michael, being the resourceful man that he is, escapes death and kills the pending settlement with exposure for all involved. The end.

This movie gets a score of 27 of 50, this one didn't do it for me. What do I know though, it did win one Oscar.

• Character development 5 of 10. Morally grey, Michael develops a conscience at the end.
• Screenplay 5 of 10. Sparing and clean.
• Acting 7 of 10. Good cast.
• Cinematography 5 of 10.
• Concept 5of 10.

Anti-war protesters throw shoes at White House

Today's Atlanta Urinal & Constipation carried the above title AP press release. The intent seemingly was to make sure that President Bush was aware that a bunch of irrational dumb asses weren't happy with the war.

About 500 people marched to the White House and threw about 40 pairs of shoes at the gate while tourists looked on and took photos.
Supporters say they acted in solidarity with Muntadhar Al-Zeidi (MOON'-tuh-dahr ahl-zay-EE'-dee), the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad in December.
The event was sponsored by several peace groups. Organizer Jamilla El-Shafei of Kennebunk, Maine, says the event allowed protesters to express their anger over Bush. She says he is "leaving with no accountability for eviscerating our Constitution."

No accountability, my ass, these liberal dip-shits think that on any issue where the President's position is contrary to the left is evidence high crimes. If you think Bush eviscerated the Constitution, wait till you see what jug ears plans to do. The left has aims to obliterate the 2nd ammendment, via taxation remove the personal property of citizens, and cede national sovereignty to global governance. The Constitution charges elected officials to guaranty these rights are maintained. Do you think the left gives a rat's ass about the intent of, or even the plain words of, the Constitutional framers?
Hell no!
On a lighter note, it seems that Jamilla's shoes went threw the gate, when she asked a guard for their return, she was informed that she might start walking home barefoot.
I hope the snow is really deep in Kennebunk.

Frank Advise for Liberals in Power

Encourage your liberal friends to visit this site for solid advice.
My favorite is...

If you bomb enough of a country’s infrastructure, including fossil fuel burning power plants and factories, war can actually be carbon neutral.

Classic.

Inauguration Day Programming

The CMT cable television station annouced a change in programming for Tuesday 20-January-09, the day of inauguration for President Elect Barack Obama.
Programming director, Jo-Bob, explained the decision.....

Well, errr, you see, we don't want to show political favoritism. Much like Oprah's refusal to have McCain as a guest, it would be unfair to our customers to display our bias towards dimocrats. So, we will not be showing any portions of the inaugural events. As a compromise, CMT will air 24 solid hours of the situation comedy Martin. We figure if the customers can stand that crap for a whole day, they will have proved themselves strong enough for anything the upcoming deuge may deliver.

Sheneneh Jenkins could not be reached for comment.

Toby

This was a neighbor's dog last month.

If you shoot at him with your finger and say "bang" he rolls over and plays dead.

It's Cold Outside

Georgia has sapped my resistance to cold.
This morning the temperature at the local bank said 9 defrees F.
A yankee in my past used to say....

It's as cold as a witch's tit.

Advertisements

Today I see that there is a David Beckham advertisement in the Google Ads strip on the right margin of the site.
Freaking Beckham, that over the hill soccer player that married the anorexic Spice girl!
Get that shit off my field.
The advertisements tend to run in line with the active posts, somewhere I must have mentioned football because there is no f- - - - - - chance that that I would ever make a reference to soccer. Now that I've repeated it, the darned thing will probably last even longer.
Not that anybody ever clicks on those things.
I think I've said it before, radio sports jocks opine that soccer needs to sped up so that it can be as entertaining as American football, baseball or basketball. Possibly make scores worth more points.
Right, let's make each goal worth 6 points and each accidental blow to the nuts worth 12.
Bloody noses could be worth 1 point each.
In the end, there is no to make soccer appealing enough to watch. Why bother, don't we have enough options already?

I Want One Too

Maybe I want two....

In an article "In Our Opinion" titled "Buying Guns Just in Time?" posted at Center for Individual Freedom , the offers the opinion that gun sales have increased since the election of Barack Obama.

Pick up the morning newspaper or turn on the evening newscast and the story that you’re bound to see is that America is facing an economic recession of historic proportions. Consumer spending is down and unemployment is up, but there is one item that Americans are rushing to buy -- guns.

That would include me, the bride an I both came an agreement that a handgun purchase might be in order. An opportunity presented itself and I purchased a Smith & Wesson MPP40. Already the proud owner of a pair of 12 gauge shotguns, the purchase was not a great departure from my beliefs. I have always been wary of handguns, but faced with almost certain increased restrictions that the new Dimocratic juggernaut will attempt to impose, the timing seems appropriate. The handgun will remain in the box with no ammunition till take some time to use at a firing range. For the government, I will continue my limited NRA membership.

The opinion article goes on to identify the reasoning behind the source of increased sales.

Why? Well, as NRA-certified instructor Joel Rosenberg told the Minneapolis
Star Tribune, “It’s the Obama effect.” Gun sales have skyrocketed ever since it became clear that Barack was going to win the White House and be able to govern with Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. The FBI reported that, during election week, background checks used to approve gun purchases soared 49 percent compared to the same week in the previous year. And ever since the election, both empirical data and anecdotal accounts show that Americans’ interest in buying firearms has continued.

A 49% increase,it seems a significant segments of the constituency believes that the only constitutional right the ACLU does not defend, will be under attack.

As Stephen Lyons, who attended the Florida State Fairgrounds gun show, told the Tampa Tribune: “People are hedging their bets against the possibility that law-abiding citizens won’t be able to buy guns or ammunition to protect themselves.” These concerns are not without some historic basis. Americans remember what happened the last time the Democrats controlled both the White House and the Congress -- namely, the enactment of major gun-control legislation, including both the so-called federalassault weapons ban and the Brady Bill. The same could happen again because Obama’s words and actions haven’t instilled confidence that he respects gun rights.

The dimocrats live for this stuff, take away the ability to forcibly defend, take away the imposition of strict adherence to law, undermine punishment and then bemoan the chaos which it fosters .....

While the President-elect has continued to insist that he believes in the Second Amendment, he tellingly made infamous off-the-cuff remarks during his campaign that denigrated “small towns” as being filled with “bitter” Americans who “cling to their guns.” That slip in saying what he apparently really believes combined with Obama’s one-sided voting record against gun rights -- not to mention his now-disowned answer to a 1996 candidate questionnaire stating his support for a handgun ban -- has Americans wondering how long it will be before the new administration goes after guns. What’s worse, the gun- control lobby is just waiting for January 20 so that they can push restrictions, if not outright bans, on firearms.

The remarks that the President Elect made reflect an attitude the public believes is an element at the core of this Chicago politician's psyche. This is a opinion that parallels divisions between red and blue states. Urban centers are generally blue in nature, and have higher concentrations of poverty, poverty breeds crime, crime breeds gangs and violence. The reaction from these citified citizens is predictable, take away the guns and less people will die. Probably right, but you could make the same argument about the drug trade, take away the drugs, less people will die from drugs, and less people will die because of violent crime. Supporters of the second amendment should stand strong and join the NRA to consolidate resistance.

On the other side of the coin....

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence, talked up the President-elect in The Hill this week, stating “we’ve been very impressed with Obama’s record in the past on the gun issue.” The story went on to report that “Helmke told The Hill that Obama has been ‘consistent’ in his beliefs on gun control, specifically in approval of an assault weapons ban and improved background checks, including closing the so-called gun show loophole.”

Not much doubt were Mr. Helmke stands. If opponents to gun ownership are hopeful, supporters should be doubly wary.

Indeed, news reports like the one in The Hill have made it clear that the gun-control lobby thinks it is not whether, but when the new administration will attempt to enact gun restrictions. All of this has, and should, worry Americans, especially since their future ability to fully and freely exercise their constitutional right “to keep and bear Arms” faces greater uncertainty than it has for more than a decade. Luckily, Americans aren’t stupid, and they have realized that, regardless of the impending political changes in the weeks ahead, they can still go out and buy a gun now -- before inauguration day. The fact that they are doing so in droves should inform our new President and Congress just how important it is not to use their new political power to impose an old anti-gun agenda. Only time will tell whether many Americans bought their guns just in time.

Good article, I need to get some ammo and train with the pistol, no sense in it collecting dust. And don't worry anything these folks impose can be undone, the Constitution says what it says.

BHOF

Yesterday it was announced that two retired baseball players had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jim Rice, a lifetime Red Sox player, 0.296 career batting average and 1978 American League Most Valuable Player. I'll never forget the SI Cover where he posed with Dave Parker, Rice was a big muscular man, dwarfed by the Pirates right fielder. Never a great fielder, Rice's strength was at the plate as a trustworthy RBI man. The Red Sox offense led the American League for much of the seventies and the eighties, but never won a World Series during the quiet left fielder's tenure. I took 15 years for Rice to be elected in the the Hall, probably because of no Word Series wins and career batting average under 0.300. Considering his election, you should soon elect Dale Murphy, twice the National League Most Valuable Player, perennially a leader in RBI's, home runs and assists. Murphy was every bit as good as Jim Rice at the plate and a far superior outfielder. When you get down to it, I don't think the either should be in the Hall, but if Rice is good enough Murphy is too. Rice's election was the result of a Northeast coast baseball writers over-focus on the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox.

Ricky Henderson, the all-time stolen base record holder and arguably best lead-off hitter of all time. The outfielder came into the majors as a protege of Billy Martin in the late 1970's. With the Bronx Bombers Henderson was a reliable lead off man with decent outfield skills and decent power numbers. Ricky Henderson had a unique low crouch batting style and early in his career it was fun to watch his demonically aggressive, yet successful, play. Later as stardom took hold, Henderson became a selfish mercenary prick. The man deserves to be in the Hall of Fame because he was better than Lou Brock and Maury Wills. Just do not like the man.

MLBN

After watching for parts of three nights, I know that this is a channel
that's going to be played, and hard.
Bruce would have loved this channel.

Urinal News

Yesterday's Atlanta Urinal and Constipation carried a story about the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is having to reduce costs. MARTA spokeswoman Andrea Coleman said....

MARTA started the renovations last year, but now it is in the process of making budget cuts because of falling sales tax revenue. Closing bathrooms is one measure being considered. The agency could save about $945,000 annually if it closed all the system’s restrooms.

Isn't it just like a government agency to spend up to the limit, giving raises to overpaid employees and building unnecessary staff. Then when revenue drops, they want to drop facilities needed for basic human requirements. Like with City of Atlanta employees, over staffing in this agency is obvious, a means to maintaining the political base in the county. You can bet that with closing of lavatories, the janitors who are supposed to clean them will be kept on the dole. Gotdamned govmint.

Decades ago, when at the North Avenue Trade School, our fraternity was so cash strapped, that toilet paper was a precious commodity. We had a resolution to encourage "out of house dumps". For today's suffering students, it looks like there is going to be one less place to sit.

A poll on the AJC site showed 65% of voters want those toilets available.

Personally, I don't really give a crap either way. Who wants to use the same bathroom as a bunch of vagrants?

Smotzy

First we loose Skip Carey, then Ernie Johnson and now John Smoltz.
Yesterday it was announced that John Smoltz had signed a one year contract with the Boston Red Sox, this after a 21 year partnership with the Atlanta Braves.
During that period the pitcher won 210 games and saved another 154.
The issue was money, last year Smoltz was paid $14,000,000.00, played in 6 games, missing most of the season with arm ailments that led to surgery. That amounts to over 2.3 million dollars per appearance. Nearing the end of his career, the Braves offered 3 million dollars guaranteed, the Red Sox offered 5.5 million dollars guaranteed.
There is much sadness around Atlanta, and I am sure that includes the Smoltz household. Chipper Jones was interviewed and suggested that the Braves had somehow disrespected John Smoltz, I am not so sure about that, BOTH parties made judgements based on their financial priorities. The Red Sox have more money offer and have made clear a willingness to use it. Also, 2.5 million dollars was the amount Smoltz accepted to ignore his personal feelings and abandon adoration from many long term fans. Since 1997 the Atlanta Braves have paid John Smoltz $52,833,667.00.
For my part, I have already said before, for the contributions and dedication that John Smoltz, Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine have shown the Atlanta Braves, team officials should have matched any offer to let them finish out their careers at home. Our home.
Good bye John, and thank you.

Classic

Today's Atlanta Urinal and Constipation carries an article published in the LA Daily News about how Larry Flynt is about to send a letter to Representative Barney Frank Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, requesting $5,000,000,000.00 in bailout money for the porn industry. Figures suggest that business in that sector is off over 25%.
Larry Flynt sees himself as a crusader for freedom of speech and generally loves to irritate government officials. Notice that President Bush is not among the addressees, we all know how far that would get. Knowing the manner of man that Barney Frank is, Flynt must be laughing his ass off. Frank, Reid and Pelosi in wanting to bring every straggler with a complaint under the covers of the dimocratic realm will be gnashing teeth over how to seriously consider the request.
The producer of "Girls Gone Wild", Joe Francis with hat in hand said .....

“The government’s handing out money to the auto industry. Why shouldn’t it hand some to an industry the nation could not live without?”

Why? How about the fact that aid should go to people with essential needs, that's why. The need for masturbatory aids is not essential, you big dick.
Earlier in the article reporter Kevin Modesti writes...

"porn business is suffering from the soft economy"

A weakly implied pun I am sure, but then I realized the his surname may have been created to sound like the word modesty. Any man who would change his name to something as metro-sexual as that probably has a strong bias towards the porn industry.
Further into the article, Larry is quoted....

"People are too depressed to be sexually active, this is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such, but they cannot do without sex.”

Flynt cracks me up.

An American Carol

Great movie...I will pass it on to the I.E....but then he recommended Borat...LOL...BTY...I want it back!!!

Thank You For Smoking

This movie released in 2005, is rated R, and lasts 1 hours 31 minutes.

The director wrote the screenplay, a youngster named Jason Reitman, who has been involved in little work as a director, see Juno, Consent and a few episode of The Office.

The story is about an effective over the top tobacco lobbyist. His intent is to promote his product by getting Hollywood to write roles that have cool and sexy leads with a nicotine jones. In the aftermath of his dam the torpedoes attitude, his son becomes a protege in is manipulative debating skills and is exposed as a schill for bug tobacco by a sexy manipulative reporter. All is brought to light in the end during a enjoyable rendition of a worthless congressional hearing (sound familiar?).

The actors are....

• Joan Lunden play herself at the start of the movie in a satirical look at talk shows.
• Aaron Eckhart in the lead role play Nick Naylor, the lobbyist with a name and attitude like a porn star.
• J.K. Simmons plays BR, Nick's boss at the Consolidated Tobacco Company. Simmons played Dr. Emil Skoda on Law & Order and is a current regular in The Closer.
• Maria Bello plays Nick's ex-wife Polly Baily. A woman with some anger to express.
• Robert Duvall plays the Captain, owner of the Consolidated Tobacco Company.
• Katie Holmes plays Heather Holloway, the reporter that gets Nick to tell all by using her personal skill. If she is using those skills on her gay husband the kids might be his.
• Rob Lowe plays Jeff Megall a self absorbed Hollywood mogul.
• Sam Elliot plays Lorne Lutch the original Marlboro Man who has contracted lung cancer and is pissed about it.
• Dennis Miller plays himself. See Joan Lunden.
• William H. Macy plays Senator Ortolan Finistirr, the congressman from Vermont with a green purpose. There was a great Georgia artist named Howard Finster who lived up in Summerville, his art was used in some Coke commercials and REM album covers in the eighties and the nineties. He passed in 2001, but when I was going to Summerville regularly, that art was easily purchased.

This movie gets a score of 23 of 50, a low score. I did enjoy the movie for is thorough sense of sarcasm.

• Character development 4 of 10. The central character does show that he has a heart by the end of the movie but continues to insist on the right to personal choice. Nice but not really development.
• Screenplay 5 of 10. Funny in a sarcastic manner, owing to the original writer of the book.
• Acting 4 of 10. Eckhart does a good job in the alpha male role, Duvall should be prouder than to accept such roles of obvious caricature.
• Cinematography 3 of 10. Nothing special.
• Concept 7 of 10. A snip of life in the body of a lobbyist pumping a product with obvious negatives.

The Prince

Only 98 pages long and the second time that I read this famous paper and it still took me a month. Too many distractions in the month of December. This particular translation of Niccolo Machiavelli was published in 1950 by the The Modern Library and with an introduction by Max Lerner who was a professor of American Civilization at Brandeis University.
Written in the early 16th century after Machiavelli had been cast out of government by the resurgence of the Medici's. The author had written this and the Discourses as complicated sales pitch, he enjoyed being an advisor to the powerful and wished to obtain a position.
This book is the subject of many collegiate courses and instruction by more able liberal arts trained students so I will limit the review to the sections I enjoyed.
In speaking of leaders having a love-fear relationship...

"men have less scruple in offending one who makes himself loved than one who make himself feared; for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by dread of punishment which never fails."

As with most of the paper, direct and to the point.
When speaking of disarmament of the populace.....

"when you disarm them, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred against you."

A little different than today in the sense that in our Republic, there is a movement, albeit a minority, that is applying disarmament pressure via litigation. The politicians involved are only in it for the votes.
When speaking of flatterers (suck-ups) Machiavelli advised care when choosing aides.....

"by choosing for his council wise men, and giving these alone full liberty to speak the truth to him, but only those things that he asks and of nothing else"

and..

"It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well advised,"

I would have to say that the mainstream press and many Democrats believe this to be true of current President, they may however be confusing their opinion with what is ultimately right.

In Chaper 16 Machiavelli writes about "Of Liberality and Niggardliness", and I won't explain the latter, look it up in the dictionary. Specifically when the prince wishes to do everything to obtain money (taxes)...

"This will make the subjects begin to hate him, and he will be little esteemed being poor, so by having this liberality injured may and benefited but few, he will feel the first little disturbance and be endangered by every peril."

And for the miserly prince.....

"In course of time he will be thought to be more liberal, when it is seen that by his parsimony his revenue is sufficient, he can defend himself against those who make war against him, or undertake enterprises without burdening his people, so that he is really liberal to all those from whom he does not take, who are infinite, who are few in number, and niggardly to all to whom he does not give, who are few."

Still digesting that, do you think that a parallel would be the Soviet Union? The state operated on a shoestring but developed a nation of dependent citizens. Is this socialism?
This should be a short book to read and the advice that he generates reveals that human nature is unchanged.

Diplomatic Health

An article in the recent National Review written by Jay Nordlinger was a summary of the diplomatic health of the country heading into the new administration. Included were some undated quotes by the current President Bush.
In considering his popularity the President said...

"I'd rather be respected than liked"

Not an uncommon sentiment, though I am not sure mainstream media is capable of any form of respect. I say that for either party, they are en-masse the conductors of a high brow bandwagon.

More telling is what came after....

"You can get short-term popularity in the middle east if you want, by blaming all problems on Israel. That'll make you popular. You can be popular in certain salons of Europe if you say, 'Okay, we'll join the International Criminal Court.' I could have been popular if I'd said, 'Oh, Kyoto is the way to deal with the environmental problem.' That would have made me liked. It would have made me wrong, however. And, ultimately you earn people's respect by articulating a set of principles and standing by them.

and ending with....

"popularity comes and goes. It just does. It comes and goes for an individual or a nation - but principles are enduring."

This is a man that I respect for putting our nation's position before his own popularity. President Bush stood for a number of principles that went against conservative dogma. Namely in the realm of domestic spending and amnesty for Mexican illegal aliens. You have to remember that that was how he ran in 2000 against Gore, the Compassionate Republican. This is a man who said what he was and did what said. A trust in the consistency national policy was sorely missing with President Clinton and we'll see about President Obama. The advisers are the same and they love to court popularity.