The War on Christmas: The Battle of Montgomery Reaches Third Intense Year

Once again, it's time for that special season when we get to fight a war involving a "religious" holiday with purely pagan roots.

Yes, the "War on Christmas," that fictitious war being fought by right-wingers who seem content on blaming "secular progressives" and the ACLU (cue the scary organ music) for taking Christ out of that pagan holiday we've come to know as Christmas. (Read the history of the "Saturnalia" if this pagan thing is news to you.)

It's very telling that the only people who seem to be making money off the "War on Christmas" are the same ones getting upset about it - see Bill O'Reilly and World Net Daily for examples.

Well, in honor of this ridiculous, fictitious war, my third annual fictitious news article on this fictitious war, and more locally the fictitious 'Battle of Montgomery', is now online at the very real Capital City Free Press.

Here is an excerpt:

"Just days after fighting in World Net Daily's newest fabrication of the War on Thanksgiving–which cost the lives of thousands upon thousands of turkeys according to well-respected columnist Chuck Norris–three-star general Bill O’Reilly is once again leading the third year of the Battle of Montgomery, part of the larger War on Christmas."

Read the entire article here.

Million Dolla' Bill, Ya'll

A guy goes into a bank and tries to open an account with a $1 million bill.

If you're waiting on me to finish the joke and get to the punchline, I apologize. I'm not joking.

Here's the story at MSNBC: Anyone have change for a $1 million bill?

I feel sorry for his relatives, and I hope the stupidity gene doesn't run in the family.

Join the Sex Toys for Troy King drive!

You might already know about Alabama Attorney General Troy King's insatiable hunger for shutting down "adult" novelty stores. Of course! Why focus on crimes like rape or murder when there might be women (or men) out there...um...having "fun" in the privacy of their own homes!

Well not in Alabama! We just won't stand for that!

Loretta Nall, former gubernatorial candidate for the Libertarian Party, has started a "Sex Toys for Troy" drive, encouraging Alabamians to mail sex toys to the AG....at this address:

Alabama Attorney General
c/o Troy King
11 South Union St., 3rd floor
Montgomery, AL 36130

She began talking about this on her blog, but the story has been picked up by the Mobile Press-Register.

Preview of the Republican Presidential Candidates

Last month, the Capital City Free Press ran a preview of the Democratic presidential candidates, so this month, it's the Republicans' turn.

If you're wondering what they stand for....or even who's running....check out the story here.

A true life case of dumb and dumber...

Look at this Associated Press headline: "Klan group opposes Cullman KKK rally"

A local klan group is opposing a national klan group's rally because, as KKK member Ken Meir says, "We are opposed to the ignorance and stupidity as displayed by the individuals that thumbed their nose at the area churches by continuing to use racial slurs, threats and avoided Christian deportment."

Um.....if Mr. Meir was truly "opposed to ignorance and stupidity," he wouldn't be a klan member.

Oh, but Cullman, Alabama makes national news for ignorance. Any surprises there?

Congrats to Al Gore

The winner of the popular vote in 2000 is not only an Academy Award winner, but is also now the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

The prize is shared with the UN's climate change panel for spreading awareness of man-made climate change.

If only the person with the most votes had actually become president in 2000.....

'08 Democratic presidential preview

If you're wondering about the candidates on the Democratic presidential candidates and what they stand for, I've got a brief preview of the main ones (at least the ones who have participated in debates.)

It's at the Capital City Free Press. Click here to read it.

An oil deal, in Iraq, with no national oil law, during a war....surely you jest!

Iraq + War + Oil + Texas oil company + "W" fundraiser = "war for oil" / (Greenspan comments + JC Watts comments)

Well there's a quaint little equation. Uh oh, it must be one of those conspiracy theories, huh?

Here's a headline from CBS News: "Texas Co. Signs Iraq Oil Deal With Kurds" and directly underneath it: "With No National Iraq Oil Law Passed, Kurdistan Region Makes Its Own Rules."

Hunt Oil Company, from Texas, is hunting for Oil in Iraq's Kurdish region, despite the fact that most "major international companies have sat on the sidelines, not only for security reasons but because of the absence of legislation governing the industry and offering protection for investments."

Oh, and look at this paragraph:

"Hunt, who is also on the board of Halliburton, has been a key fundraiser
for President George W. Bush, who named him to the President's Foreign
Intelligence Advisory Board."

But what's been going on with the national oil law in Iraq? Oh, this paragraph explains it:

"A draft oil law for all of Iraq has been bogged down for months, in part
because of disputes over who will control the proceeds."

So what does the central government in Baghdad think of this oil exploration? Let's see:

"In August, however, the Kurdish self-governing region in northern Iraq
enacted its own law governing foreign oil investments. The move angered the
central government in Baghdad, but the Kurds are determined to push ahead with
oil exploration."

Angry? Iraq's central government? Say it ain't so.

Of course, they could all just take another month off work, I suppose.

Look who just jumped in the race for president...

He's back.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
If you've been wanting to return to the theocracy that we never had, you now have a candidate to vote for:

Alan Keyes is running for president.

What? I thought the whole "War for Oil" thing was supposed to be a left-wing talking point?

So you still think that the whole "War for Oil" is some left-wing slogan or just some anti-war rhetoric? You think it's a talking point of moveon.org or alternet?

Well let's see what conservative Republican J.C. Watts thinks. He often appears as the conservative voice on various news shows, and he just happened to be on CNN's "The Situation Room" yesterday, September 17, 2007.

They were discussing former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's new book, in which Greenspan says, "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

And what did J.C. Watts have to say about that statement? This:

"Well, and I read today where the chairman was trying to explain himself,
and he said that he said to the White House that this would affect the global
economy because the price of oil obviously would go up, and people at home would
be paying $5, $6 a gallon for fuel, and, Wolf, I think we're kidding ourselves
and naive to think that oil didn't have, didn't play a role in it. I don't think
the President made a decision to say we're going to go fight for oil, but I
think, you know, that was kind of a subtext or kind of something that you had to
factor into it because of what it would do to the world economy."

So can other conservatives finally join with Mr. Watts and admit what Greenspan says "everyone knows"? Please?
----------------------------------

Also, I found the link at NewsBusters.org (click here), a site that claims to be "exposing and combating liberal media bias." What's ironic about them talking about this is that instead of being shocked that these conservatives were basically saying that the Iraq war has been about oil, the headline is "CNN's Begala: Michael Moore & MoveOn 'In the Center,' Bush 'Betrayal'."

They seem more concerned that someone would actually say that Micheal Moore and Moveon.org were in the center, rather than far-left, on this issue, than the fact that conservatives were basically backing up what the "far left" (or "center") has been saying.

If you don't like the facts, just change them. Isn't that right, Mr. President?

FactCheck.org has a new article on Bush's recent speech to the nation, in which he tried to convince us all that the surge was working, and that Iraq was more stable.

Of course, cherry-picking intelligence seems to be the M.O. of the Bush Administration, so the fact that Mr. Bush "played loose with the facts" should come as no surprise.

Click here to read the FactCheck.org article, "Operation Iraqi Gloss-Over."

If you haven't seen this, you should.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be0uIjz68KA

Post-election coverage at the Capital City Free Press

With the election being over, Editor and Publisher Joseph Patton and I combined our post-election coverage into a new rendition of "All over but the shoutin'" - 2007 municipal edition.

Click here for the article.

The bathroom antics of Sen. Larry Craig (R- Ida'HO')

Well looky what we've got here - another "family-values" Republican caught in a men's bathroom scandal.

Dubbed by the Stephanie Miller Show as "Senator Tappy McWide-Stance," Craig was caught in a police operation in an airport bathroom. Some say it's a case of "he said / he said."

Craig says that he is a "wide" guy and has a "wide stance," justifying why his foot touched the undercover police officer's foot in the next stall. And he claims the reason his hand was under the wall of the stall was because there was a piece of (imaginary) paper on the floor.

Now, what some seem to be overlooking is this: when your pants are down, how wide can your stance possibly be? Hhhmmmmm..............

Capital City Free Press mentioned on WSFA.com

Here's a link to a story on WSFA.com about election endorsements: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6976052&nav=menu33_3_6

The Capital City Free Press is mentioned when they are talking about endorsements for Mayor Bobby Bright.

"Two newspapers also endorsed Bright, The Montgomery Independent and the Capital City Free Press. "

Limbaugh makes Darfur into a race issue....

Knowing that Rush Limbaugh says stupid things should make this no surprise at all.

While talking to a caller, he actually said that Democrats want to leave Iraq and get into Darfur because Darfur's population is black.

Nothing about genocide. Nothing about the fact that Iraq was mostly stable, you know, before we invaded. Oh, but there's black people there, and black people are known to vote for Democrats, right? Huh? Strange that people in Darfur can't vote in American elections, huh?

Oh, but don't let logic or facts get in the way of your opinion, Rush. Wouldn't want to mess up your fantasy world.

You can read the exchange between Limbaugh and his indoctrinated caller here.

Dick Cheney says going into Iraq would be a quagmire....

This is just amazing.

Dick Cheney gave an interview with the American Interprise Institute on April 15, 1994, defending the US decision not to go into Baghdad in 1991 during the first Gulf War.

Here is what he had to say [I added the bold parts]:

"Because if we'd gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There
wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq.

"Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's
government, then what are you going to put in its place?

"That's a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central
government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off:
part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it - eastern
Iraq - the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years.

"In the north you've got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join
with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of
Turkey.

"It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq.

"The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact we
were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But for the 146
Americans killed in action, and for their families - it wasn't a cheap war.

"And the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on
to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein, was
how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth?

"Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right.”

So what happened to this guy? He became Vice President and completely....oh, what's the word?.....flip-flopped on Iraq. Everything that is happening in Iraq - that's wrong - was predicted by the man himself in 1994.

If only someone told the Vice President that he was right the first time.

Oh, by the way, here is a link to the YouTube video of the Cheney interview, in case you have your doubts, and here is a link to the extremely conservative Newsmax.com article that talks about it.

Interesting quote from a convicted war criminal

Hermann Goering, a Nazi who was convicted of war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity, said something privately to Gustave Gilbert, a psychologist and German-speaking intelligence officer. The quote was published in the book Nuremberg Diary, and even though it was said on April 18, 1946, it is very relevant to what is currently occurring in this country.

Here is the exchange between Goering and Gilbert:

Goering: "Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

Gilbert: "There is one difference. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

Goering: "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Are Montgomerians getting what we pay for?

New article for August - "Is the City of Montgomery getting what it pays for?" - now up at the Capital City Free Press.

The article covers subjects such as crime, police recruitment, taxes and education, and includes a breakdown of Montgomery's 10% sales tax rate, as explained to me in an email from County Commissioner Todd Strange soon after the 2006 election. (That election, if you remember, also included an amendment to raise property taxes.)

Excerpt:

"Mayor Bright recently said that murder was on the decline, and cited the
numbers from homicide statistics going back to 1977 to prove his point. However,
murder is not the only crime that concerns citizens of Montgomery. "

The race for mayor has begun in Montgomery

The four candidates vying for the opportunity to be Montgomery's newest mayor participated in a mayoral forum on July 24. Sponsored by the East Montgomery Neighborhood Alliance and held at Heritage Baptist Church in front of a standing-room only crowd, Scott Simmons, William Boyd, incumbent Mayor Bobby Bright and Jonathan Dow talked about their platforms and took questions from the audience.

I was in attendance and my reporting on the event can be found at the Capital City Free Press. Here is the link.

Further proof that ignorance isn't exclusively Southern....

Look at this headline from Yahoo! Sports:

"Fiesta Bowl star Ian Johnson says he's hired wedding security because of racist threats."

Boise State running back Ian Johnson, who is black, proposed to his girlfriend Chrissy Popadics, who is white, and now they have hired security for their wedding because they've been receiving phone calls, letters and personal threats by some backwoods, racist pieces of sh*t.

It's a shame that there are still people in this world who are so fixated on skin color. Cue the "Deliverance" music.

Is this even a real poll question?

WSFA currently has a poll on their web site.

The question they are asking is: "To date there have been 22 murders in the Capital City this year. Do you think the media is blowing the crime problem in Montgomery out of proportion?"

And your answer choices are:

1. Yes, the reports are out of proportion
2. No, the reports are not out of proportion
3. Neutral

So, let me get this straight - a medium is asking whether the media is blowing a crime problem out of proportion.....by what? - reporting the news!?!?!?

Blaming the media for Montgomery's crime problem is kind of like blaming The Weather Channel for Hurricane Katrina.

At least, as of 8:54 am today, 87% of respondents have voted "No."

Is justice blind....or blind, deaf and dumb?

"Scooter" was never really the wisest nickname for someone who was headed for prison, but now, because of an unpopular decision by an unpopular president, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, formerly an employee of Vice President Darth Vader...I mean Dick Cheney's office, will see no jail time.

That's right. Bush has continued to live up to the cronyism allegations that have been status quo in his administration by commuting Scooter's prison sentence. He wouldn't give an official 'pardon,' so Scooter still has to pay the fines, but when a person convicted of obstructing justice spends less time in jail that Paris Hilton, there's a problem.

And of course, like clockwork, I've already heard the name "Marc Rich" come up - the unpopular pardon that was given by Bill Clinton. I guess the difference is that I haven't heard any prominent democrats defend the Marc Rich pardon, while Republican presidential candidates (Rudy Giuliani) and potential presidential candidates (Fred Thompson) have defended what Bush did for Scooter. Even Paul Begala, a former Clinton advisor, said that Clinton was wrong in giving Marc Rich a pardon.

And this is just another example to add to the list - which already includes Alberto Gonzales and the U.S. attorney firing scandal - that shows this president putting politics and cronyism above justice and competence.

The outrage over the Scooter situation is growing, and the internet is helping. Presidential candidate (and current Senator) Joe Biden has put a picture of Scooter on his campaign web site with the text, "No one's above the law. Call the White House. 202-456-1414."

Someone called in The Stephanie Miller Show this morning saying that the White House main switchboard was either jammed or shut off because of the influx of phone calls. Many bloggers, however, have gotten phone numbers from the White House Phone Directory, and posted multiple numbers online, in case the main number is still jammed. CorrenteWire.com has a list of numbers if you need them.

So what's the lesson here? Cronyism, money and power can make you above the law....and apparently being Vice President can also, if you actually disregard the Constitution by claiming that your office is not part of the Executive Branch.

Where is bin Laden, you ask?

The July issue of the Capital City Free Press is online, and my new column is titled, "Where is Osama bin Laden."

The conservative organization Judial Watch filed a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act, if you were wondering) to get some FBI documents. Those documents state that a plane flew out of the U.S. on 9/19/01, just a few days after 9/11, and might possibly have been chartered by bin Laden himself.

And another interesting fact is that, according to the information from the FBI's most-wanted list, bin Laden is not wanted for anything having to do with 9/11......why is that?

You can read the article here.

There's irony in the Axis of Evil, and by 'Axis of Evil', I mean O'Reilly, Coulter and Fox "News"

Well, here's some quick irony for the day.

This is from a transcript of the Bill O'Reilly interview with Ann Coulter on Fox "News" The O'Reilly Factor on 6/28/07.

Irony #1: How many times has O'Reilly claimed that he doesn't participate in personal attacks? Usually, it's just before he calls someone esle a "bomb-thrower" or some such nonsense. Anyway, here's Bil-O talking about Al Franken:

"Right. They called in advance. We're going to do this because we're
getting a little — look, it's just like me and Stuart Smalley, Franken, that idiot. I played right into his hands when he had his book
out. You know, they want to get in a fight with you."

So Bil-O calls Franked an idiot, but is not a "bomb-thrower."

Irony #2: Ann's adam's apple gets mentioned often, and then she had to go and say this:

"...But still I am more of a man than any liberal is. So you know, I don't
care."

There's just something funny about a woman sporting a huge adam's apple saying she's more of a man than someone.

Update on this morning's story....

Here are the new headlines on the Montgomery Advertiser's web site as of 3:50 pm:

"Police seek suspect in store holdup"

"Prominent civil rights figure Inez J. Baskin dies"

And in the "Latest News Updates" section:

"Troy's Robinson named ABCA All-American"

"Judge Increases Siegelman's sentencing range"

"Performers at 2007 Alabama National Fair announced"

"AU football adds home and home series with Clemson for 2010, 2011"

"Today's Gas Guage Report"

"A church pays tribute, now time to move forward"

"Riley asks citizens to pray for rain"

"Man charged in shootings"

"School facilities plan facing year-long delay"

.......and still no report on home invasions by five masked men with guns, no helicoptors, man hunts, or other home robberies.........hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm.....................

Why isn't this story in the Montgomery Advertiser?

WSFA has reported on three home invasions/robberies in East Montgomery (also known as "the good side of town") that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In one instance, five armed men forced their way into a house demanding to know where the safe deposit was. They taped the man's ankles with duct tape as they held him down on the ground.

It was enough for the Montgomery Police Department to call in helicoptors, and enough to be a big story on WSFA's newscast, but not enough to be reported in the Montgomery Advertiser newspaper.

As of 10:27 am today, the top headlines are (in order):

"State swaps old high court building for parking"

"Audits allege sloppy records, corruption"

"Jackson Hospital defends low rank in heart attack study"

In the "Latest News Updates section, the headlines are (in order):

"State Farmers Market Day set for July 14"

"ASF to announce Young Southern Writers' Project finalists on
Saturday"

"Eve's Circle summer camp accepting teenage girls"

"Five places to go! today"

"Pump Patrol: Today's Gas Prices"

"Good Morning Central Alabama"

When a story happens in your town that seems like it was taken from a scene in Lethal Weapon 2, and helicopters are called in, the people tend to be more concerned with this than State Farmers Market Day. Details, please.

Ann Coulter's hate knows no bounds...not even her adam's apple can stop it

Yes, that was a cheap shot by mentioning Ann's adam's apple, but she should be used to cheap shots, and cheapness in general. After all, she's made a career out of it.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife if presidential candidate John Edwards, called in to MSNBC while Ann Coutler was being interviewd by Chris Matthews, and she politely asked Coulter to stop using personal attacks (you know, like when Ann called John Edwards a 'fag'.....stuff like that). While a noble endeavor, it's similar to asking a crackhead not to smoke crack - it's probably not going to happen.

If there was any doubt that Ann Coulter was a vile, hateful woman (some may speculate on my use of the word "woman" as the adam's apple has already been mentioned), it should disappear. Notice, in the transcript below, the hatred and lies that spew forth from Coulter. Just to be clear, "M" is for Matthews, "E" is for Edwards and "C" could be a four-letter word, but we'll stick with 'Coulter' to keep it somewhat nice:

M: You know who’s on the line? Someone to respond to what you said about
Edwards yesterday morning. Elizabeth Edwards. She wanted to call in today, we
said she could. Elizabeth Edwards, go on the line. You’re on the line with Ann
Coulter.

E: Hello Chris.

M: Do you want to say something directly to the person who’s with me?

E: I’m calling — you know, in the south, when someone does something
that displeases us, we want to ask them politely to stop doing it. I would like
to ask Ann Coulter to — if she wants to debate on issues, on positions — we
certainly disagree with nearly everything she said on your show today — but it
is quite another matter for these personal attacks. The things that she has said
over the years, not just about John but about other candidates, lowers our
political dialogue precisely at the time that we need to raise it. So I want to
use the opportunity, which I don’t get much because Ann and I don’t hang out
with the same people…

C: I don’t have enough money.

E: …to ask her politely stop the personal attacks.

C: Okay, so I made a joke, let’s see, six months ago, and as you point
out, they have been raising money off of it for six months since then.

M: But this is yesterday morning, what you said about him.

C: I didn’t say anything about him, actually, either time.

E: But that — Ann, Ann, you know that’s not true, and once more, this
has been going on for some time.

C: And I don’t mind you trying to raise money. It’s better this than
giving $50,000 speeches to the poor just to use my name on the webpages. But as
for a debate with me, yeah, sure. Yeah, we’ll have a debate.

E: I’m asking you politely to stop, to stop personal attacks –

C: How about you stop raising money on your web page then? No, you
don’t have to because I don’t mind.

E: I did not start with that. You had a column a number of years ago
where you suggested — wait till I finish talking please…

C: Okay, the wife of a presidential candidate is calling in asking me
to stop speaking.

M: Let her finish the point. Let her finish the point.

C: You’re asking me to stop speaking? “Stop writing your columns. Stop
writing your books.”

M: Ann, please.

E: You had a column several years ago which made fun of the moment of
Charlie Dean’s death and suggested that my husband had a bumper sticker on the
back of his car saying, “Ask me about my dead son.” This is not legitimate
political dialogue.

C: This is now three years ago.

E: It debases political dialogue. It drives people away from the
process. We can’t have a debate about the issues.

C: Yeah, why isn’t John Edwards making this call?

M: Well, do you want to respond? We’ll end the conversation.

E: I haven’t talked to John about this call. I’m making the call as a
mother. I’m the mother of that boy who died. My children participate — these
young people behind you are the age of my children. You’re asking them to
participate in a dialogue that is based on hatefulness and ugliness instead of
on the issues, and I don’t think that’s serving them or this country very well.
[Applause]

M: Thank you very much Elizabeth. You wanna respond? You have all the
time in the world to respond.

C: I think we heard all we need to hear. The wife of a presidential
candidate is asking me to stop speaking. No.

M: No, she asked you to stop being so negative to people
individually.

C: Right, as opposed to bankrupting doctors by giving a schyster Las
Vegas routine in front of juries based on science — wait, you said I’d have as
long as I would have, then you instantly interrupt me.

M: Go ahead, go ahead.

C: As I was saying, doing these psychic routines in front of illiterate
juries to bankrupt doctors who now can’t deliver babies, and to charge a poverty
group $50,000 for a speech. Don’t talk to me about how to use language.

M: Elizabeth?

E: …the language of hate, and I’m going to ask you again to politely
stop using personal attacks as part of your dialogue.

C: Okay, I’ll stop writing books.

E: If you can’t write them without them, that is fine.

M: Why do you call out Hillary’s chubby legs in your book? Why do you —
this may fall under the category of personal attacks, I don’t know, but why do
you do that? Why do you talkabout Monica Lewinsky’s chubbiness? If she were
skinny, would it have been okay?

C: Um, I don’t know, read the sentence.

E: I read the whole sentence. I couldn’t feel the context.

C: Well you have to give it to me and I could explain.

E: Why do you make fun of Hillary’s chubby legs?

C: I don’t know, you’re going to have to give me the sentence.

M: It’s in the afterword of your book, I just read it this morning.

C: Then read the sentence.

M: We’ll be back and read the entire sentence. We’ll come right back. I
don’t know why we’re reading — the full intellectual context will be coming in
just a moment.

Think Progress has the above transcript and a video of the exchange.

Time's Joe Klein talks about Glenn Beck....and it's great

CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck will be the guest host for CNN's Paula Zahn Now for the week starting on July 2, and Time Magazine's Joe Klein posted some comments on his blog about the choice of host.

Klein said:

The world is a bit of a mess right now and CNN gives us Glenn Beck? Please, Mr.
Parsons, sir, is this any way to show respect for your--our--viewers? Can't we,
like, try a week of smart? See how that works? Just asking. Your Devoted
Employee, Joe Klein.

Quick note about Charles Bishop being raised in the woods....

I found a source, besides the highly reliable friend who sent me the original email about Alabama Senator Charles Bishop being raised in the woods.

This is from an opinion piece that appeared in The Dothan Eagle titled, "The Pugilist":

"Alabama would be better off if [Bishop] simply stayed [in Walker
County] and resigned his senate seat. Bishop explained his action saying
that was how he learned to act as a child 'raised in the woods of
Arkansas.'

'People don’t say that about your mom,' he said.

Bishop has apparently never shed his backwoods Arkansas ruffian nature.
At 69 years old, it’s likely he never will.

Fisticuffs have no place in Alabama’s legislative chambers.

Neither does Charles Bishop, the pugilist."

Further proof that you can take the redneck out of the woods, but you can't take the woods out of the redneck. (And apparently, you can then put the redneck's antics on national TV and make his new home state the laughing stock of the rest of the country.)

Pat Robertson.....(sigh).....again.....

Pat Robertson, one of the Christian right's biggest fearmongerers, is attacking other religions again, not that it should surprise anyone, but really, if you're going to make an argument against another religion, at least use some reason, common sense, or maybe, just maybe, some facts.

This is from the June 12 edition of The 700 Club, as documented by Media Matters. I'll put my statements in bold and in [brackets] just for clarification. Now, he is talking about some Muslims in Minneapolis who are asking for religious accomodations at work and/or school.

Said Robertson, "The question would be, ladies and gentlemen, if a million Christians want to go to Saudi Arabia and say, 'We want to pray,' you can't pray in Saudi Arabia. You can't have religious literature in Saudi Arabia. You can't get together in Bible study groups in Saudi Arabia. As far as having special places for foot-washing and all that, no way. You will abide by Sharia law because they're in control."

[This is an easy one, Pat. Saudi Arabia doesn't have a First Amendment. There, that wasn't so hard, now was it? Luckily, here in America, we have a First Amendment which protects our freedom of religion.... and note that is says, "religion" and not "Christianity" as you and your friends like to argue about this being a "Christian nation" and all.]

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have to recognize that Islam is not a religion. It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination of the world. And it is meant to subjugate all people under Islamic law."

[Well thanks for clearing that one up. I'm sure all of the non-violent Muslims in the world who don't appreciate being grouped with the fringe minority (equal to Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph being the representative for all Christians) will be glad to know that.]

"In the Quran, it says it very clearly. There are two spheres. One is the Dar al-Harb, which is the realm of war. The other is Dar al-Islam, which is that part that's under submission to Islam."

[Thanks for providing chapter and verse on your Qur'an quote, Pat. Now I can look that up for myself, huh? And wouldn't the opposite of war be peace? And doesn't Islam actually mean "peace"? Kind of like the translation of the word "Allah" is "God." Hmmmm...interesting.]

"There is no middle ground. You're either at war or you're under submission. Now, that's the way they think."

[Really? Thanks for your in-depth mental analysis of millions of people. ]

"Now, sure, over here, you've got Islam light and you've got all these various things, but the idea is we don't want just accommodation, we want to take over and we want to impose Sharia on you."

[Islam light? So in one sitting, Islam has gone from a religion to a political movement to a beer? And which version of Sharia law do they want to impose, Pat? The Sunni version? The Shia version? If you don't know that there is a difference, you're not alone - just ask the "planners" (if you could use that term) of the Iraq war.]

"And before long, ladies are going to be dressed in burqas and whatever garments they would put on them, and next thing you know, men are going to be allowed to have wife-beating and you'll be beheading adulterers and so on and so forth."

[Oh, like you wouldn't want to see a beheaded adulterer, Pat.]

"That's Saudi Arabia. We don't want that here in America. If they don't like it here in America, then let them go to Saudi Arabia, to Kuwait, to Yemen, to all those wonderful nations around the Middle East."

[Hope you all learned something today, folks, besides the fact that Pat Robertson is nuts.]

What's the purpose of a headline?

Really, what's the purpose of a headline? Shouldn't it give the main part of the story, almost like a one-sentence overview? That's what one would think, anyway.

I got an email telling me about Alabama Senator Charles Bishop apologizing for the fight that took place on the floor of the Alabama Senate last week. The email said that Bishop was on the radio, and in true Alabama fashion, started his apology with something to the effect of, "Well, being raised in the woods...."

So, I go to Google to try to find some information on it, maybe a story about it, maybe a direct quote.

I searched for "Charles Bishop" under the "news" category. Couldn't find anything in regards to the email I received. So I searched for "Charles Bishop woods," and these are some of the headlines from the first page of the Google "news" category:

"Session ends with a bang" (Times Daily)
"Fili-busted: Senate comes to blows" (Tuscaloosa News)
"Bishop punches Barron in Senate Scuffle" (Tuscaloosa News)
"Ala. Lawmaker Punches Senate Colleague" (Philadelphia Daily News and Forbes)

...and what headline does Fox "News" choose to run?
The Associated Press one that simply says, "Republican Punches Democrat in Alabama." Of course, once you click on the story, the full headlines reads, "Republican Punches Democrat in Alabama Senate Chamber."

So while most news organizations are focusing on the fact that two Senators got in an actual fist fight on the Senate floor, Fox "News" picks the AP headline that basically says that a Republican punched a Democrat, which really, could happen just as easily in a bar on a late Friday night after Redneck Billy Bob's 3rd Keystone Light (not including the ones he drank in his truck on the way to the bar).

So just when you thought a story couldn't get more sensationalized, leave it to Fox "News" (with a little help from the AP).

But really, congrats to Alabama's legislature for making national news. We had been out of the spotlight for awhile anyway, and Jay Leno needed a few more jokes.

Have you punched your state senator today?

Are you sick and tired of the person who was elected to represent you? Are you tired of your elected representative not standing up to someone else's elected representative? If this is you, then it's time to take action and punch your state senator.

Alabama made national news again - although this time it wasn't for a natural disaster......well, considering that it has to do with one Alabama State Senator punching another Alabama State Senator, that might still be considered a 'natural disaster' by some.

Senator Charles Bishop (R, Jasper....but formerly D, Jasper, some years ago, from what I understand), got called a S.O.B. - most likely prounounced something like "SumBitch" - by Senator Lowell Barron (D, Fyffe).

The words resulted in Bishop punching Barron in the head, and aside from the 62% pay raise the senate gave themselves this year, this has been the only action seen during this legislative session.

The fight marked the end of the legislative session, and each senator involved went home with their now-$50,000 salary for their part-time job, proving that here in Alabama, we truly don't get what we pay for.

Flack for McCain.....or is it Flak?

Presidential candidate John McCain is giving spelling lessons...

Barack Obama, another presidential candidate, recently released a statement saying that the course we are on in Iraq is not working, citing John McCain's recent visit to a Baghdad market as evidence. Obama said that "the fact that Senator McCain required a flack jacket" (as well as armed soldiers and helicopters, if you remember) was a "reflection" of the wrong course in Iraq.

McCain bounced back with a statement that said, "By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket."

Of course, McCain's statement was supposed to be an I-wore-the-uniform-and-you-didn't kind of thing, but alas, McCain's statement has been debunked, not by Wikipedia, but by Webster's New World Dictionary, 3rd College Edition.

As MSNBC's Mike Viqueira points out, "[The Dictionary] says actually that "flack" -- F-L-C-K [sic] -- setting the record straight here -- is a noun, and it's alternative to the spelling of "flak" -- F-L-A-K."

Oh, and as Media Matters points out, the phrase "flack jacket" (with a "c") is used on multiple government web sites.

But thanks, Senator McCain, for the attempted spelling lesson.

Death of a Salesman: Jerry Falwell - at the Capital City Free Press

My newest article about the late Jerry Falwell is up early at the Capital City Free Press.

It's titled, "Death of a Salesman: Jerry Falwell."

Here is an excerpt:

"A person's death does not change the way someone chose to live their life,
and while Falwell may have done some good things, he made himself known for the
bad... and he did most of it in the name of Christ."

Two stories that get a great big WTF?!

Story #1:

A Liberty University student has been arrested for making bombs. Mark David Uhl was in the Army ROTC at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, and he told a family member that he made bombs and planned to attend Jerry Falwell's funeral.

According to police, the bombs were not to harm the Falwell family or disrupt the funeral, but may have been a response to the [insert your favorite 'insane' adjective here] members of Westboro Baptist Church who had planned to protest at Falwell's funeral. You may have heard of Westboro Baptist Church, home of the Reverend (to misuse that word) Fred Phelps, and the creators of the 'GodHatesFags' web site.

According to the Associated Press, "The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church sent about a dozen members to protest across the street from the funeral, claiming Falwell was a friend to gays. The group also has picketed soldiers' burials, claiming the deaths are God's punishment for a nation that supports homosexuality."

So what we learn here, kids, is that news travels slow to Westboro Baptist. In fact, it apparently doesn't travel at all because anyone with two brain cells knows that Falwell was no friend to gays. After all, it was Falwell, who said in 1997 that "gay folks would just as soon kill you as look at you."

If stupidity was contagious, then Westboro Baptist should have been quarantined long ago.

Oh, and thanks to Uhl for proving that religious fundamentalism isn't just for Muslims.

Story #2:

If you've been wondering what David Duke's racist brethren have been up to, wonder no more, for fliers have recently appeared in a predominantly black neighborhood in Wetumpka, Alabama.

Said fliers include a news story about Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, two whites who were gruesomly tortured and mutilated by five black suspects. The creator of the flier claims that the national media did not cover the story because the victims were white and asked why Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Morris Dees (of the Southern Poverty Law Center) did not rush to the defense of the victims' families.

Of course, the flier asks the readers to visit stormfront.org and, of course, davidduke.com.

So now, we're left to wonder if this is just the beginning of something more, and if Duke will crawl out from the shadows to promote more closed-mindedness and bigotry.

According to Wetumpka police, they know about the flier, but cannot do anything because, so far, no crime has been committed. Let's hope a crime doesn't happen.

Michael Moore investigated for trip to Cuba

If you haven't heard the news, Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" is now under investigation for a trip he made to Cuba while filming his new movie "Sicko."

According to a post on www.michaelmoore.com, Moore states that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson initiated the investigation into his trip because of trade embargoes with Cuba and travel laws that prohibit average citizens from traveling to Cuba. However, Moore also states that "The law does not prohibit anyone from exercising their first amendment right of a free press and documentaries are protected works of journalism."

Moore's new movie examines the U.S. health care industry, and he was in Cuba filming part of the movie about the health care involving some 9/11 rescue workers.

"Sicko" debuts at the Cannes Film Festival this Saturday and hits theaters June 29.

Letter-to-the-editor about my Don Imus article

Well, it appears my Don Imus article in the Capital City Free Press has caused a little controversy, though luckily, not the same level of controversy as Don Imus himself.

A letter-to-the-editor came in saying that Imus should have been fired for the very same reason that I said he should not have been fired.

Read the letter here.

Also, for those that missed it, I was a guest on 107.1 FM this past Friday at noon. I was on there to talk about issues ranging from Don Imus, my role at the Capital City Free Press, an entertainer's responsibility in the media and my alter-ego as the singer/guitarist for the band Marsellus.

(If you've ever wondered why my blog doesn't talk about Marsellus often, it's because I keep my politics and my music separate....so even if you hate me and think I'm a dirty liberal, please feel free to continue enjoying the non-political music of Marsellus. Thanks.)

Awwww, the president misses the blank checks

The President is threatening to veto a war spending bill that calls for a timetable to get out of Iraq. I guess it's a lot different when Congress isn't just writing you a blank check to spend and spend and spend, and then accuse Democrats of being "tax and spend," and spend and spend and spend.

Oh, but now there are stipulations, a "yes, we will fund the troops, and then they can come home." And Bush isn't having it, threatening to dust off his "veto pen" - you know, the pen that never got used except for that one time he wanted to put a stop to scientific research on embryonic stem cells because throwing the unused stem cells in a dumpster is the moral high ground to trying to cure alzheimers or parkinsons, or hell, even cancer.

Let's see if we can get through the next year and a half without Bush screwing up more of the world.

News sure travels slow to Ashburn, GA

Maybe someone should fire the local Pony Express in Ashburn, Georgia.

2007 marks the first year that Turner County High School, located in Ashburn, will have one official prom - with *GASP* both whites and blacks in attendance.

When schools integrated, to the chagrin of Alabama's old governor George Wallace, the memo apparently got lost on the way to the sticks of Turner County, but luckily, one Pony Express employee found an old telegraph message that got stuck between the water fountain marked "whites" and the water fountain marked "coloreds."

Luckily, Turner County High teaches students the power of logical thought, as shown with a statement by former student Mindy Bryan, who attended a segregated prom in 19......no, 2001, yeah, that's the correct year. Said Bryan, "There was not anybody that I can remember that was black...The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."

While it is safe to say that Bryan is not up for any awards involving the word "genius," how the hell is a segregated prom not "racial at all"? I mean, that one gets a great big "holy what-the-fuck, Batman?"

Luckily, the 213 upperclassmen decided that they were going to pretend that we were actually living in the year 2007, rather than some spin-off of "Back to the Future" starring Jim Crowe, and should be congratulated on getting the students to trade in their horse-and-buggies for a 1970's Ford pickup.

Hey at this rate, maybe they'll be in a Toyota Prius era by the time the flying car is invented.

The firing of Don Imus.....is it May already?

My newest article at the Capital City Free Press, which would normally be out on the first of May, has been posted early.

It is titled, "Why Don Imus should not have been fired." Rather than give an excerpt like I normally do, I say just go read it.

Here is the link.

John McCain walks safely through Baghdad...with 100 soldiers, helicopters, etc...and Chuck Norris?

Arizona's own Senator John McCain took a stroll through a Baghdad market recently, in order to demonstrate how Americans are "not getting the full picture" of Iraq.

McCain has said that there "are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today," and wanted his stroll through the market to prove that you can "walk freely" in some areas of Baghdad.

However, to walk freely, you must walk just as John McCain did - with 100 armed soldiers, three Blackhawk helicopters, two Apache gunships overhead and a bullet-proof vest. And really, who doesn't have 100 armed soldiers, 5 armed helicopters and a bullet-proof vest when they go grocery shopping or to the mall? I mean, that's just standard even in America, right? Never leave home without 'em....just like American Express.

Not so ironically, however, McCain's little shopping trip did take place on April Fool's Day.

From the New York Times: "'What are they talking about?' Ali Jassim Faiyed, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. 'The security procedures were abnormal!'"

Mr. Faiyed added, "They paralyzed the market when they came," and, "This was only for the media," and, "This will not change anything."

Maybe McCain would have been just as safe travelling with Chuck Norris - after all, he's now been named an "honorary Marine."

On Months, Days and Weeks

April's column is up at the Capital City Free Press. Titled, "On Months, Days and Weeks," I wrote about the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War.

Excerpt:

"'Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to
explain to us what the exit strategy is.' If only Bush would heed this quote...
after all, he is the one that said it. The date was April 9, 1999 and he was
talking about Kosovo."

Read the entire article here.

AP: Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit

From the Associated Press:

"'That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the
United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred
lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture,' Juan Tiney, the
director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan
religious and political leaders, said Thursday."

So a Mayan priest will purify the site, after Bush's visit, to eliminate "bad spirits" so their ancestors can rest. See, now Bush is harassing the dead, as well as the living.

Thoughts on the UK pullout from Iraq....

"UK pullout from Iraq a 'sign of success'" is up at the Capital City Free Press. In this column, I ask some questions about how this pullout is being spun.

Excerpt:

"If the British withdrawing troops from Iraq is a 'sign of success,' then
what is sending more than 20,000 American troops to Iraq? And why aren't our
British allies moving troops from Basra to Baghdad to support America in its
attempt to stabilize the area?

Read the entire article here.

Explain Rush Limbaugh to me...

Today, on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, which is a complete waste of time to listen to...I mean, really, let me sum it up for you and save you the trouble - The Democrats hate everything and are inherenly evil and the Republicans love Jesus and freedom. That's about it. Three hours of that is all you get.

Anyway, today, he was talking about "traditional marriage" and I was wondering....when you're on your 3rd or 4th marriage, as Rush is, what makes you the expert on anything having to do with marriage?

Unless it's some kind of "practice makes perfect" analogy, I just don't see it.

Oh, Irony....a qualified person at the White House

The new White House executive pastry chef, William "Bill" Yosses, co-wrote a book titled, "Desserts for Dummies."

Paging Jon Stewart.

The War of Words - CapCityFreePress.com

My new column is up at the Capital City Free Press. It's called "The War of Words: Surge, Escalation, Augmentation."

Here's an excerpt:

"Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying that insanity is 'doing the same
thing over and over again and expecting different results.' We have seen troop
escalations, surges, augmentations. We have seen the lack of a time table. We
have seen strong rhetoric. And we have seen empty promises. However, the results
have been the same."

Read the entire article here.

And the Nay's have it...and Savage talks of some birthright? What?

Well, actually I'm referring to Ney, not 'nay'.

Former Republican congressman Bob Ney of Ohio has been sentenced to 2 and 1/2 years in prison for his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

This former public official enjoys long walks on the beach, starry nights, conversation and exchanging political favors for golf trips, sporting event tickets, gifts and campaign donations. He also loves to get letters, which will come in handy during his prison term.

Of course, taking a page out of Mel Gibson's now-popular playbook, he blamed alcoholism (do you have to be drunk to like golf?) and will most likely enter a prison alcohol rehabilitation program, as recommeded by the judge.

And in other news of right-wing corruption....

Right-wing talk-show hatemonger Michael "Angry-man" Savage says that civil rights are taking away the birthright of heterosexual, Christian, white males. Unfortunately for the heterosexual, Christian, white males, he never says what exactly the 'birthright' is, and he never explained why they haven't been missing it.

Here's the exact quote from the January 15, 2007 edition of The Savage Nation:

"But basically, if you're talking about a day like today, Martin Luther
King Junior Day, and you're gonna understand what civil rights has become,
the con it's become in this country. It's a whole industry; it's a racket.
It's a racket that is used to exploit primarily heterosexual, Christian,
white males' birthright and steal from them what is their birthright and
give it to people who didn't qualify for it."

Why does anyone still listen to this guy?

Rush to judgement (pun intended)

I just wasted 10 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Rush Limbaugh spent 10 minutes of his radio show (and I use 'show' very loosely) attacking Senator Barack Obama because of...........(I know, what could it be? must be serious right? scandal, maybe? something just off-the-wall crazy, right?).......smoking.

Apparently, Obama smokes. He has a vice, and somehow that makes Limbaugh think (and I use 'think' loosely) that someone will have to make smoking "cool" - which would go against the "liberal anti-smoking people"....blah blah blah, rant rant rant, spin spin lie.

What is really sad is the fact that in a day of page scandals, mistresses, weapons of mass destruction, outing CIA officers, hangings, surges and lobbyists, the only thing Limbaugh and his ilk can attack is smoking.

In a day where the current president has done cocaine in his lifetime, along with the keg-stands and driving drunk into some bushes (shrubbery, not other family members) before being elected (read: chosen by the Supreme Court in 2000), I think that smoking is pretty low on the list of offenses for elected office.

And who the hell is Rush Limbaugh to talk about a vice? Hey, Limbaugh, at least Obama's not out doctor-shopping for his fix.

War on Terror going badly? Apparently so...

From Newsweek, Jan. 22, 2007 edition:

"Crumpton [the outgoing State Department terror coordinator] told Newsweek that a worldwide surge in Islamic radicalism has worsened recently, increasing the number of potential terrorists and setting back U.S. efforts in the terror war. 'Certainly, we haven't made any progress,' said Crumpton. 'In fact, we've lost ground.' He cites Iraq as a factor; the war has fueled resentment against the United States."

I think I know the answer to this, but.....

...is Bill O'Reilly losing it?

Seriously? Meltdown, maybe?

After saying that NBC had no conservatives "across the board," forgetting about, oh, say, Joe Scarborough or Tucker Carlson, O'Reilly interviews NBC's Andrea Mitchell, supposedly about her book, and he jumps on her about where the diversity is at NBC.

Now, if you ignore the sheer lunacy and irony of his statement - after all, where the hell is "diversity" at Fox News? - it makes him look crazy, like Keith Olbermann is just getting so far under his skin that he can't control himself anymore. (Go Keith!)

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter recently appeared on MSNBC's Tucker (with Tucker Carlson, sans bow tie), and he said that O'Reilly is basically helping MSNBC by going after Olbermann, similar to the situation where he tried to sue Al Franken...guess who got publicity for that? Hmmm? "Al Franken," you say? I knew you would get that one!

Alter went on to say that O'Reilly was like a "blimp...in one of those parades. He's so full of himself. He's so inflated, it's coming out of his ears. He's so full of it that they can't possibly, you know, bring him down to earth."

I could'nt have said it better myself.

Joe Scarborough vs. Bill O'Reilly

"Let's get it on!"

So Bill O' has gone on another "liberal media" tirade accusing NBC of moving to the left for business reasons...blah...blah...blah, and like most of what comes out of Bill's mouth, it is more "spin" for his ironically-titled "no-spin zone."

Bill accused everyone (i.e. 'everyone') at NBC of being liberal, using an exchange between NBC's David Gregory and ex-Fox News/current White House press secretary Tony Snow as evidence; Bill also used the fact that an NBC called the execution of Saddam Hussein a PR nightmare.

Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Scarborough Country" took issue with that - especially since he is a conservative. The ex-congressman says he has always been against "exploding deficits," "wreckless spending," "military adventurism" and "turning Congress into the type of swamp that we Republicans have turned it into over the past six years."

Scarborough added, "That doesn't make me liberal, that makes me conservative. That may make you, though, a suck-up, if you defend the Republicans that have done that to this country and to our party over the past six years."

Interesting to note that Snow apologized to NBC's Gregory for using the term 'partisan.' Not that O'Reilly was worried about accuracy or anything.

Another funny note is how Scarborough said of O'Reilly, "...he's angry at Keith Olbermann. He can't attack Keith Olbermann on the air anymore --"

Your turn, O'Reilly. Time to start spinning.

God tells Pat Robertson that Sean Hannity is hiding WMDs in Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an

Well....kinda.

The January 2 edition of Hannity and Colmes had Sean Hannity saying, during a discussion of Saddam Hussein's execution, "I believe there were WMDs. I believe they were moved."

The evidence he was using to back up his opinion, coincidentally, was also moved, and are now hiding with the WMDs in an undisclosed location. However, Donald Rumsfeld knows where the WMDs and Sean Hannity's evidence are - "in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

And of course, now that we know the Fox News version of the "truth" of WMDs, what would make the beginning of 2007 more complete than predictions by the Sister Cleo of the Christian Right - Pat Robertson.

His 2007 predictions include "very serious terrorist attacks," "chaos" and "mass killing" (although not nuclear - or even 'nucular' - as the Lord did not tell him that.)

Let's see...add to that "much more disaster," "the Israeli people...will surrender their birthright in favor of...illusory peace with the Palestinians" and "earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes - volcanic eruption..." ....and erectile dysfunction. Ok, maybe not that last one.

Pat Robertson's predictions are nothing to scoff at...

Here are some of his 2006 predictions so you can see how accurate he really is:

"President Bush is going to strengthen." (Oops, screwed the pooch on that one.)

"The fall elections will be inconclusive, but the outcome of the war and the success of the economy will leave the Republicans in charge." (Damn. That's a big one. Especially with today being the swearing in of the Democratically-controlled Congress.)

"Another liberal judge is going to retire - step down from the [Supreme] Court. We'll have another opening there." (Doh!)

"The war in Iraq is going to come to a successful conclusion. We'll begin withdrawing troops before the end of this year." (What is all this talk about a surge in troop levels?)

Apparently, Robertson was right about a couple of things - the Likud party in Israel losing the parliamentary election and Judge Samuel Alito, Jr. being confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Hey, 2 out of many isn't bad, right.

I'm currently taking down Robertson's Superbowl predictions, so place your bets here.

And in a bit of interesting news, Keith Ellison, the newly-elected congressman from Minnesota who happens to be Muslim, will use the Qur'an in his private swearing-in ceremony - but not just any Qur'an. The specific one he will use formerly belonged to Thomas Jefferson - yes, Judge(mental) Roy Moore, one of the founding fathers you always speak of.

Of course, ignorance abounds as proven by Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia. Goode warned his constituents that if we do not solve the immigration problem, there will be more Muslims like Ellison in Congress.

Ellison, however, is a native of Detroit, hence, not an immigrant, proving once and for all that Virgil Goode is ignorant, pathetic and touches himself at night causing the baby Jesus to cry.

Also, a little immigrant-problem factoid for Congressman Goode - most Mexicans are Catholic, not Muslim. Oh, but to you, the facts don't matter.

What's that? Huh? Montgomery has a budget, you say?

Apparently we do.

The Montgomery City Council finally passed a budget for 2007, even though the fiscal year already began months ago. It passed with a 5-4 vote (haven't we seen a lot of those lately?).

Now we're just waiting on the lawsuits....not that Janet May pays attention to legal opinions.

(Ps - instead of always having a "more info" section at the bottom, I've started putting links in the story....sometimes.)

"So this is the new year....."

Figured I would use a line from Death Cab For Cutie's song "The New Year" to title this first post of 2007....why not, right?

Anyway, be sure to check out the Capital City Free Press for "Off the record with Joseph O. Patton (and Josh Carples): Resolutions for Everyone." We decided to collaborate on new years resolutions - not for ourselves - but for people like the President, Hillary, Bill O, the University of Alabama, Democrats, the Alabama Legislature, Governor Bob Riley, Mayor Bobby Bright and the City of Montgomery.

Also, my new article - "A new year, a new direction...maybe" is up. In it, I ponder the question, "So was Bush really on a "listening tour," or was he merely "doctor shopping?"

And we ended 2006 saying goodbye to President Gerald Ford, Godfather of Soul James Brown, and Dictator/Murderer/Tyrant Saddam Hussein....and in 2007, two funeral ceremonies and one hanging can be viewed online.