Ala-Effing-Bama

(with a little music mixed in)

I'll keep following this until President Obama pardons Siegelman.

Legal Schnauzer: What 60 Minutes Didn't Tell You:

"Based on the quality of its report on Sunday night, it's safe to assume that CBS has material that would break new ground in the case. It's not unusual for 60 Minutes to revisit stories and update them. The Siegelman case cries out for that kind of treatment--particularly because it is not just an 'Alabama' story. This goes to the heart of wrongdoing in the Bush Department of Justice, which involves all Americans.

Just consider a few angles that 60 Minutes was not able to touch:

* The apparent electronic manipulation of votes in Baldwin County that gave Bob Riley the 2002 election over Siegelman."

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Jailed governor's daughter accuses judge of delaying appeal:

"Dana Siegelman, the former governor's daughter, joined Abrams Wednesday to discuss attempts to get her father's sentence reviewed. She said her father was 'excited' and 'reencouraged' by the CBS and MSNBC coverage of his case and that she believes Judge Mark Fuller is deliberately 'sitting on' the transcript of Siegelman's 2006 trial that has to be available before any appeal can go forward.

She confirmed that her father 'absolutely' believes Rove is responsible for his incarceration. 'He knows Karl Rove is behind this. ... My dad was the first governor to endorse Al Gore. ... He spoke at the Democratic national meeting in Boston and said some things that were very controversial and things that scared the Republican Party into thinking that my dad was also looking to run on a national sca"

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Crooks and Liars � Bush League Justice: More on Siegelman

Finally, Abrams speaks to Don Siegelman’s daughter, Dana, who speaks out on her father’s feelings about this new publicity in his case and gives some indication of why the Republican party was interested in getting Siegelman out of the way

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Some DBT NewYouTubes:

The Implosion-orium:

"Lately I've been doing alot with Graphic Design (small time altercations, nothing huge) and Video making. I made this one last week, and was incredibly proud of it... sort of. The actual process and quality of the diffrent frames is wonderful. Unfortuntily, the message it delivers borders on the side of 'bat shit liberal Crazy as fuck'. I'm gonna try to stick with the same format (the T.V. part atleast), and move to a more realisitc portrayal of my views. I won't lie, I got carried away. Why you ask? Who knows? A major reason is all the coolest graphics I found were once revolved around Anti-government concepts. And I won't lie, the graphics rock. Unfortunitly, it just didn't come together in any way that even closely resembles my political views.

I debated for a view days even posting it up, because I didnt want someone thinking I'm one of those bat shit crazy people... but my pride got the best of me. It just turned out...so good under process and formation standards!

To bad the message would make my grandfather have a heartattack. Oh well, enjoy... or atleast appreciate!"

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From Boulder:

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Shocking Photos of Obama

Happy Belated Birthday, Shonna Tucker!

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I'm speechless. Unbelieveable. I'm not sure I can support him after seeing him in this attire.

Shocking Photos of Obama!

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Here's the Republican Slim Machine playbook for what will be coming at Obama if he wins the Dem Nom.

Must read:

Road Map:

"The core is to drill a handful of key adjectives into the public mind about Barack Obama: Muslim, anti-American,BLACK, terrorist, Arab. Maybe a little hustler and shifty thrown in, but we'll have to see. The details and specific arguments are sort of beside the point. They're like the libretto in a Wagner opera, nice for some narrative structure. But it's the score that's the real essence of it, the point of the whole exercise."

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Looks like this little doggies may be getting some legs.

WHNT’s Technical Glitches - New York Times:

"In 1955, when WLBT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Jackson, Miss., did not want to run a network report about racial desegregation, it famously hung up the sign: “Sorry, Cable Trouble.” Audiences in northern Alabama might have suspected the same tactics when WHNT-TV, the CBS affiliate, went dark Sunday evening during a “60 minutes” segment that strongly suggested that Don Siegelman, Alabama’s former Democratic governor, was wrongly convicted of corruption last year."

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SO creepy. Good camp fire tale.

How creepy do you want it? / The famously eerie tale of nine dead Russian hikers, with all the bizarre details you can handle:

"The nutshell: In 1959, nine experienced Russian cross-country skiers — seven men and two women, led by a man named Igor Dyatlov — headed to the Ural Mountains, to a slope called Kholat Syakhl (Mansi language for 'Mountain of the Dead,' ahem) for a rugged, wintry trek. On their way up, they are apparently hit by inclement weather and veer off course and decide to set up camp and wait it out. All is calm. All is fine and good. They even take pictures of camp, the scenery, each other. The weather is not so bad. They go to sleep.

Then, something happens."

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I thought it was an 'eye for an eye'. But a 'tooth for an eye'. Looks like it.

Blind Irishman sees with the aid of son's tooth in his eye:

"DUBLIN (AFP) - An Irishman blinded by an explosion two years ago has had his sight restored after doctors inserted his son's tooth in his eye, he said on Wednesday."

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All But The Kitchen Cink

Man, I love dissent. The only way this video could be any cooler is if at the end the guy slaps handcuffs on Rove and then tosses him into a black van headed to the federal pen.

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Let's stick with the Alabama theme, shall we. Here's one of the more colorful members of Bama speaking much truth on 'fake christians'.

Charles Barkley: Conservatives are 'fake Christians':

"Barkley said he didn't want to see the Republicans win because they were 'fake Christians.'

The comment came after Barkley was asked his reasons for supporting presidential candidate Barack Obama, rather than Hillary Clinton or any of the Republican candidates.

'I've got great respect for Sen. McCain, great respect, but I don't like the way Republicans have taken this country,' said Barkley. 'Every time I hear the word 'conservative,' it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are.'"

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I grew up learning and playing golf with Stewart Cink at Florence Golf and Country Club. Stewart's mom Ann would drive us around the region so we could play in Dixie Junior tournaments. Some of the best times of my life. Not a care in the world.

While me and some of the other country club hoodlums were hitting on girls at the pool, or sneaking cigarettes by down by the cart chargers, or trying to steal liquor from one of the ROBs (Retired Old Boys) Stewart was always on the course playing or on the putting green practicing.

I guess that's why he's playing against Tiger Woods on Sundays and I'm.... watching him on the TV playing against Tiger Woods on Sundays.

Even though Tiger kicked his ass, Stewart still made out with a nice chunk of change.

PGATOUR.COM - Cink can only express awe as Woods dominates again:

"MARANA, Ariz. -- Over the past decade, a lot of people have tried in vain to explain the phenomenon that is Tiger Woods.

Stewart Cink could have a way to get to the bottom of it, once and for all."

"I think maybe we ought to slice him open to see what's inside there," Cink said, grinning. "Maybe nuts and bolts."

.............
Cink earned $800,000 and will look back on a week in which he beat British Open champion Padraig Harrington and U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera before running out of magic against the reigning PGA champion.

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I did not know that Rick Steves was down with the cheeba.

ACLU, Rick Steves launch marijuana campaign :

"Travel writer Rick Steves and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington have formed a partnership to tackle a topic they call the equivalent of the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s: the criminalization of marijuana.

Steves, the Edmonds-based travel guru who five years ago openly acknowledged that he uses marijuana while visiting Europe, says he's not 'pro-marijuana,' but in favor of discussing the laws that affect the 830,000 Americans who are arrested annually under existing marijuana laws. About 90 percent of the arrests are for possession."

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Alabama Slammer?

Only if you're a successful Democrat in the state.

What we have here is a politically motivated prosecution of a former Democratic Governor of the state of Alabama. A case so flimsy that it was thrown out of court within 5 minutes of the prosecution presenting their case to the judge on their first attempt.

Cuba, USSR, China... all would be proud of this type of political jailing.

And nobody gives a damn.


Daily Kos: If it can happen to a Governor...:

"Siegelman's supporters (which includes 52 former states’ attorneys general from both political parties) have been working with 60 Minutes for months to get this story aired in hopes that it will bring renewed interest in the case. Given that the show is going to air opposite the Academy Awards, that seems unlikely.
Scott Horton has covered this story in excruciating detail over at Harper's.
If you haven't heard of this case, or aren't 100% clear on its details, you owe it to yourself as an American, as a voter, or just as an educated, capable adult human being with any amount of political awareness, to make yourself familiar with this travesty. CBS will only go so far in helping you do it."

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The Raw Story | Report: Rove wanted dirt on Alabama gov.:

A former Republican campaign worker claims that President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, asked her to find evidence that the Democratic governor of Alabama at the time was cheating on his wife, according to an upcoming broadcast of "60 Minutes."
..........

"Democrats on Capitol Hill, however, have been looking into the case as part of a broader investigation into political meddling by the White House at the Justice Department. Also, more than 40 former attorneys general have asked for a congressional investigation into the case."

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Parts of "60 Minutes" Broadcast Blocked in Alabama... :

"Tonight was something truly unseen in US history. During the 60 Minutes broadcast and ONLY during the Don Siegelman portion -- the screen went black for Huntsville residents and Mobile residents. There are other reports of other locations, but I have not yet confirmed those. In Florida, a series of strange ads were running about the FISA bill and how Democrats are not tough on terrorism, apparently during the 60 Minutes hour and also right before 60 Minutes, but not after (still trying to confirm when the ads stopped running).

In other words, in the United States of America, a man is imprisoned for being a Democrat. When reporters attempt to get this story out, they are threatened and smeared. When all else fails, the public is not allowed to see the news."

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Important Updates to Siegelman Blackout Story in AL:

"Channel 19 is owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners, who can be contacted through Rhonda Barnat, 212-371-5999 or rb@abmac.com. Oak Hill Partners represents interests of the Bass family, which contribute heavily to the Republican Party. Viewers displeased about the channel’s decision to censor the broadcast should express their views directly to the station management or to the owners.'"

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Don Siegelman can't appeal his conviction. Catch-22:

"It has been 20 months since Siegelman’s trial ended and no trial transcript has been produced by Fuller's court. This is in violation of the rules of criminal procedure which require a transcript within 30 days of sentencing. Siegelman can't appeal his conviction with out an official trial transcript."

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Ex-Ala. gov. wants special prosecutor:

"Attorneys for imprisoned former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on Monday called for a special prosecutor after a key government witness claimed that he was forced to write out his testimony to get his story straight."

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Mr. Crooked talk is now involved:

McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email

"A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation.

In the 2006 Senate report concerning Abramoff's activities, which McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November 2002, and was reelected in 2006."

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DBT Week in Review - 2/25/08

Help a fellow DBTer and really cool chick fight cancer.

Way off topic, I know. But since it's quiet here in DBT land, I figured I'd send this out to you guys. Cancer has hit us on this board before. We've all been affected by cancer one way or another and I've finally decided to do something about it.

I ain't no super-hero but I'm temporarily dropping the bon-bons and the cigarettes and slapping a sports bra on these cancer-free boobies and I'm running my first marathon!!! If you'd like to donate a buck or two on my team's behalf (Team Jugs), I'll let you take a quick peek at my lady lumps at the next show in a town near you. You can even cop a feel! Just click on the link below:

http://race.komenatlanta.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1000&px=1021426

P.S. You're not really sneaking a peek at my lady lumps. Or touching them. But hey - they say sex sells. Hit me off-list if you're having trouble with the link.

Let There Be Rock and Boobs,

Andrea Gómez

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Swampland - Water, Water everywhere....

"Patterson Hood of the Drive By Truckers expresses his gratitude to Black Warrior Riverkeeper in his YouTube video. Hood says that it is time for us all---liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, to take a stand to protect the Southern way of life which has always been involved being outdoors and on the rivers and in the woods. He says they have “strip-malled and strip-mined our land.” They have “cut down the trees and polluted all the rivers.” On the Drive By Truckers' 1999 album Pizza Deliverance, Mike Cooley writes about “Uncle Frank” who had nothing but just had a little piece of land. This land was flooded by TVA in the 1930s. Here is the opening stanza of “Uncle Frank”: “They powered up the city with hydro-electric juice./ Now we got more electricity than we can ever use./They flooded out the hollow and all the folks down there moved out,/but they got paid so there ain’t nothin’ else to think about.” Uncle Frank, who couldn’t read or write, left no suicide note but “Just a rope around his neck and the kitchen table turned on it’s side.”"

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Pop culture is getting an injection of meth - Movies- msnbc.com:

"Not getting attention Patterson Hood, one of the singers and songwriters in the Drive-By Truckers, witnessed the effects of meth firsthand in his Alabama hometown, which “really got hit hard a few years back.” He penned “You and Your Crystal Meth” in response.

“At the time, nobody was talking about it,” said Hood. “There wasn’t songs about it; it wasn’t getting much attention from the press.”

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Swampland Patterson Interview

"GRITZ caught up with Patterson to get his thoughts on the latest Drive By Truckers album, his favorite music and the state of the Union."

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NineBullets.org - a DBT fansite :: View topic - Stories From the Road: 2/19/08:

"So Matt D, DBT's tour manager, woke up this morning and went up front to check with the bus driver, Kennedy, who'd been driving all night.

Kennedy says, 'I almost got hit by a star this morning.'

He goes on to tell about this giant ball of light that came down from the sky and landed in the median about 30 - 50 feet from the bus as they were driving down the road.

So they Google and find this:

Idaho Press-Tribune: "TREASURE VALLEY - Caldwell resident Glenda Nash was on her way to babysit her grandchildren early Tuesday morning when she saw a flash light up the sky. “I never saw anything like it before. The light was kind of blue-gray, then it turned orange,” Nash said. “I was just driving down the road and I saw a big light and a big flame and it just hit the ground. It was neat but kind of scary.”"

The Dragon that almost took out the mobile Muscle Shoals.

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

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Drive-By Truckers carry the torch for rock and roll | Entertainment Top | Idaho Statesman:

"I've got a question for you: I don't want you to get a big head, but I'm having my first child in about three months. I want to ask you about names. This has nothing to do with you, but one of the boy names my wife and I are considering -we don't know what we're going have - is Patterson. One concern with the name Patterson is: Did you ever get hit with Pat growing up?

Yeah, and I hated it. I still hate it. People still sometimes want to call me that, and I can't stand it. I don't care for the name. I've got some friends named that and it works for them, but ...

It's pretty much constant, you know, particularly for the first 35 years or so. It helped that my wife really loves the name Patterson and she would always get kind of red-assed when people would call me Pat in front of her. So it was nice to have somebody take that role for me, because I always felt kind of cheesy. So I would generally let it be and let it sit, so therefore I would continually get called that. But I never really felt like I was a Pat. I always felt I was a Patterson. Patterson's a family name. It was my granddaddy's last name, and I was named after that. I prefer to be called that."

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The Drive-By Truckers' rocky road turns brighter – February�2008:

"The process became even more alien for Tucker when she took her songs into the studio with the Truckers, as she had composed the songs with rudimentary guitar skills then had to switch back to her bassist role with the band during recording.

'I can't play guitar well at all, and we went in, and I had this bass, and I said, 'Oh, yeah, I gotta play bass and sing,'' says Tucker with a laugh. 'We had to figure it out, so it was a fun adventure. It changed my life, actually. I learned a lot about myself and that I could do things that I didn't know I could do or at least I haven't done them in a long time.'"

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Drive-By Truckers News on Yahoo! Music:

"The Drive-By Truckers are back on the road again and brought one of the most deeply probing and incendiary live rock shows out there to the Avalon in Hollywood on Tuesday night."

In a world of real justice, the Drive-By Truckers would at least be headlining a Gibson Amphitheatre-size venue. But calculated pandering rules the mainstream, and this brilliant rough-'n'-tumble outfit bravely travels the alternate highways as perhaps the best rock band in America right now.

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Exclusive Music Interviews - Music Artist Interviews - Band Interview

"'(The record has) a lot of first and second takes,' Hood said. 'I kind of like the way a song sounds when everyone's struggling to learn it more than the take when it's all polished. Sometimes there's more raw inspiration in those early takes, and we always kind of gravitated to those anyway, for better or worse at times.'"

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Drive-by Truckers - Recess:

"I can definitively say that the raucous 'The Man I Shot' is the best (and perhaps only) song I have ever heard about living with post-traumatic stress disorder"

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The Drive-By Truckers' Worst Song, Played on the Ugliest Guitar by Rob Harvilla

Spinner 3x3: Live Concert from the Drive-By Truckers - Spinner.com

dbts : Message: 2008 Grammys and Drive By Truckers @ HOB Anaheim

Seattle Pics:

MySpace.com Photos - Meramore for Prez - Feb 17, 2008

MySpace.com - Travis - 29 - Male - Seattle, US - www.myspace.com/travduke

SimpleViewer

Myspace.com Photos - Scott Baxendale

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Myspace.com Blogs - Cast your vote: Dexateens nominated for two BAMA awards
:

"Cast your vote: Dexateens nominated for two BAMA awards

The Dexateens were recenlty nominated for two BAMA awards presented by the Birmingham Weekly. Categories include best rock band and album of the year for our Hardwire Healing LP. The BAMA's are sort've a local affair, but voting is open to anyone anywhere. Stop by Birmingham Weekly to cast your vote. Not sure about the other categories? Leave em' blank or write yourselves in! The polls are open for a couple weeks. Stop by and vote if you can."

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Music

Fritts inducted into hall of fame | TimesDaily.com | Florence, AL:

"Hours before the he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame on Friday, Donnie Fritts sat down with his longtime friend Kris Kristofferson and talked about music, and their relationship.

Kristofferson was in Montgomery to induct Fritts into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, along with Muscle Shoals native Boyd Bennett, Ernie Ashworth, Cleveland Eaton and Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw."

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After the music dies � Pointy Pointy

2. The internet will have been harnessed, and will be regulated and policed by “government” (Big Business) (probably under the guise of “saving the children”) so that you will have very few outlets for originality, as exists in the record industry and radio these days.

It’s all up to us, and who we elect, and how much attention we pay to what is going on.

If you think the internet will always be free and easy, you’re wrong - it’s gonna be a fight, believe you me.

I’m opinionated about my music and I have a definite idea of what is good and what isn’t, but I don’t try to force it down anyone’s throat any more (well not much). I do believe with all my heart that some music transcends all barriers, and unless you’ve been molested to country music or had some terrible experience with music in general, you , my friend, will like most of what I like. I believe that if you aren’t a DBT fan, then you haven’t really listened to DBT. If you aren’t a Slobberbone fan, you have not really listened to Slobberbone. If you are not a Centro-Matic fan, then you haven’t ever really listened to Centro-Matic. I think that good music like this will break through most barriers and if you listen to it correctly, you can’t miss the genius. There’s enough variety for anyone to find something they bind to.

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Springsteen, Young join anti-war soundtrack

Rocker tells Huckabee to lay off song

Apple - Trailers - Young At Heart - Trailer A

People of the Web - How to Become a Rock Star

Black Crowes Say Maxim Review a Fraud

'My lost weekend with Lennon': May Pang breaks her silence over their relationship | the Mail on Sunday

Neil Young: Music Can't Change World

French crooner Henri Salvador dies at 90 - Yahoo! News:

"PARIS - Henri Salvador, the velvet-voiced French musician credited with inspiring the bossa nova, bringing rock 'n' roll to France and helping create the music video, died Wednesday, his record label said. He was 90."

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Dickipedia

DBT WIR coming Monday, Monday MONDAY!

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Things that I wish I had of thought of first:

How awesome is this? I'm not listed yet, but I'm working on it.

Dickipedia - A Wiki of Dicks

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Or this! Why couldn't I have come up with this!!

Knitted Gas Mask Will Keep You Warm But Not Safe From A Chemical Attack \

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It makes me SO MAD I didn't think of these things first and act upon them. So MAD I tell you.

Whew, I better calm down or my detached taint will never heal.

Anger slows healing process after injury: :

"PARIS (AFP) - The adage that laughter is the best medicine has been backed by an unusual investigation which says that people who seethe with anger take longer to recover from injury.

Previous studies have linked ill tempered behaviour, whether brow-beating or road rage, with higher incidence of coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke, especially among men."

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To hell with my detached taint. I'll get a new one in 2029. This one will be made of silver and gold.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Machines 'to match man by 2029':

"'I've made the case that we will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029,' he said."

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Hongry.

The Best Sandwiches in America - Esquire

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Hey Jude. He rocks the last part:

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Stupid is as Stupid Does

Update:

Rove's petri dish. Be sure to watch it:

"60 Minutes" preparing report on Siegelman case:

"TUSCALOOSA | I'm getting reports from all over that CBS's '60 Minutes' is gathering information in Alabama about the case of incarcerated former Gov. Don Siegelman.

First I got an email from a friend who forwarded another email saying that a women who works for the program had contacted the Alabama Department of Archives and History 'in an effort to locate the negative television ads that [former lieutenant governor] Steve Windom ran against Siegelman in 2002.'"

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Willie for President.

Willie Nelson: Impeach Bush, "Throw The Bastards Out":

"'If you break the law, you have to pay for it,' American icon tells Alex Jones Show"

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He's Nineteen! duh-nah-nah-nah.

I'm still amazed that 19% that still dig this moron.

Bush at 19% approval:

"Among all Americans, 19% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 77% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 14% approve and 79% disapprove."

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Speaking of dumb... Read a freakin' book without pictures already.

The Dumbing Of America :

"'The mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon itself.' Ralph Waldo Emerson offered that observation in 1837, but his words echo with painful prescience in today's very different United States. Americans are in serious intellectual trouble -- in danger of losing our hard-won cultural capital to a virulent mixture of anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and low expectations."

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The dumbest of the dumb. The 19 percenters.

Though applying 'intellectuals" to 'Right Wing' is a huge oxymoron.

Author: Right wing intellectuals make wishful thinking sound rational:

"'It's been forgotten now in the mythology of World War II that even when the Nazis invaded Poland and attacked England, overwhelming majority of Americans were opposed to American involvement in the war,' she said. 'The reason they came around is not just Pearl Harbor. Franklin D. Roosevelt spent several years trying to educate a resistant public about the stake that America had in the future of Europe. The renewal of the draft in 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor, in the summer of 1941, passed by one vote. Imagine what would have happened if the Army had been disbanded, if FDR had not made all those educational efforts, where we would have been six months later when Pearl Harbor was attacked.'"

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What a cruel, cruel world we live in.

Fontana man robbed of tacos at gunpoint:

"A hunger for carnitas nearly led to some carnage after a Fontana man was robbed of a bag of tacos at gunpoint.

Police Sergeant Jeff Decker says the 35-year-old victim had just bought about $20 in tacos from a street-corner stand Sunday night and was bicycling home when the suspect confronted him and said 'Give me your tacos.'

Decker says the suspect grabbed the bag of food, punched the victim in the face and began to flee.

When the victim demanded his tacos back, the suspect pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the man and threatened to kill him before running away."

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Time Out

Whew, I need a bit of a blogging time out. Carpal tunnel is bumping today.

Back in the saddle tomorrow.

Here are the links to DBT in SF Part 1 and Part 2.

DBT - San Francisco - 2/13 and 2/14 - Part 2

(Here's Part 1. Some additional pics on AAW's MySpace.)

Okay, here we go....

Here is the set list from the evening courtesy of Miss Jayne.

My buddy Rich and I got to the venue early after a few beers and some grub at 4th Street Bar and Grill.

Matador had graciously set us up with some passes that would allow us to sneak around back stage.

The Mezzanine's facilities are 1st class. The back stage area has its own mezzanine section separate from the rest of the venue. One could call it a VIP area but since I had access to it it was more of a Not-so VIP. This place had leather couches and chairs, stools that run along a bar on the railing, and its own wide screen plasma that broadcast the show live. The green rooms were decked out in dark tones, leather sofas and chairs, and an incredible bathroom with fancy new age sinks and a sporty shower. Really nice place compared to some of the more grittier back stages areas.

Rich and I were the first ones to reach the backstage mezz so we staked out our seats on the railing and sat there giggling to our selves at our sweet seats and crazy ass luck.

Kimtucky called soon after and I went outside to give her her pass and to escort her to the sweet seats.

Once the show started I lost myself in an orgy of rock and roll.

Here is a picture of the big screen TV in the backstage mezz area.

Rock challenge!

It takes skill to rock on one leg.

I love the look on the face of the girl in the grey t-shirt.

"Fuck Luckenbach! Come drink with us!!"

Here's the mystery bottle of booze that was being passed around on stage. I was perplexed the entire night by what this was. Obviously, it doesn't look like a Jack Daniels bottle. Someone on Ninebullets proffered that it was a bottle of Crown Royal.

Fortunately... and what turned out to one of the coolest moments of the night... or hell, the coolest moment of ANY DBT concert I've ever been too.... I was able to first hand determine what the bottle was.

During the last song of the evening (Buttholeville-State Trooper-Buttholeville) I was completely in the throws of a Rock and Roll religious experience. Damn near speaking in tongues (and, yes, I do have relatives in the back woods of Alabama who do speak in tongues. Those were some odd ass funerals when I was a little one). Eyes closed, arms thrust in the air, feeling the music so deep down in my core.

Suddenly I felt a presence. I opened my eyes to find Patterson standing directly below us passing the bottle to my buddy Rich. Rich takes a slug and passes the bottle to me. I take a slug and pass it to Kimtucky who slugs then hands it back to me. Before I hand the bottle back to Patterson I twisted it around to see the label. It was Jack Daniels Reserve. So smooth.

So a spectacular show ends with a sip from the stage bottle. Too freakin' cool.

"Comin' home with a bottle, tryin' not to break the seal."

Arty crowd shot.

Forget Neff's pedal steel abilities (which are freakin' genius). Neff is one of the best guitarist I've ever seen. But I think he needs to incorporate the "Jess Barr Finger Twirl" into his act when he finishes a blistering solo.

Speaking of Jess Barr, I ran into Drams friend and all around cool dude Ryan back stage. Ryan works at Siduri Wines. If you are ever in Sonoma County, CA be sure to drop by there winery for some excellent Pinot.

Ryan, if you read this shoot me an email at alabamaasswhuppin@att.net

Also, anyone else I chatted with in the back stage Mezz shoot me an email at the same addy. We didn't get to finish our convo due to the Rock.

After the scene died and the band collected in the green room I found myself seated next to Spooner and the EZB on a couch. I chatted with them for a while before Patterson plopped himself down next to me with a very wear smile on his face. Great conversations with him and Shonna.

Patterson Hood is Superman, y'all. This man was battling a flu bug that had left him with hardly a speaking voice. You would have never of noticed this on stage. He belted out the rock like he was as healthy as a horse. His vocal chords must be made of titanium or something to be able to put on the rock show that he did. Patterson is my hero, y'all.

We said out goodbyes and by 2 a.m. we were in a cab heading home.

The next day I drug myself solo over to Berkely for the in-store show.

Here's the set list from the in-store.

I was feeling rough. I mean, rough from the night before.

Patterson asked the crowed in Amoeba how they were doing. Someone shouted "Hung over from last night". Patterson agreed and stated "Yeah, someone slipped something into my drink last night... I think it was whiskey".

I hung out with Craig (the merch guy) before, during and after the show. What a great guy.

Also spent some time getting to know Justin (one of the techs). Another great guy. We both agreed that if you think of something really sick and wrong that you KNOW will offend just about everyone you know then the only person to call/email with it is Shayne. BUT, you do run the risk of Shayne topping it.

I also got to chat with Shonna some more after the in-store. Patterson and Cooley better be careful cause Shonna could be full time fronting this band very soon. I've never seen her with so much confidence which has translated to her stage presence and playing. She's always been great, but there's something else about her now on stage. What a presence.

A cool building next door to Amoeba in Berkeley.

Here's Spooner having his picture taken by Shonna with a nice DBT fan and her baby with a little baby wrinkle in her forward. Something tells me "there's a fit about to be thrown".

DBT is the best band out there. They keep getting better just when I think that there's no way for the band to get any better. The amaze me every time I see them live.

Thank you DBT. Thank you Matador and Craig and Justin.

Fans, y'all take good care of them on this leg of the tour. Raise hell, buy merch and go have your own Rock Religious Experience.

I love this band. I love all those who support this band. I love all of the fans of the band. The Best Group of Folks, Ever.

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Drive-by Truckers - San Francisco - 2/13 - Part 1

(Editor's note:..... yeah, like I have an editor.... I had to split this post into two parts. Part 2 pics will be up tomorrow and will include the Berkley in-store. Pictures are in the order in which they were taken except for the first picture of this post. It is one of my favorites so I decided to lead with it. Click the pic and it gets tig.... uh-huh-huh, I wrote 'tig' (.)(.) Where the hell is an editor when you need one...)

(Also, there are some pics up on AAW's MySpace that weren't included in today's or tomorrow's post)

"Happy DBT Day" my friend Kimtucky said to me as we settled into our first drinks before The Felice Brothers took the stage to open up for the mighty Drive-by Truckers in San Francisco last Wednesday.

"Happy DBT Day" indeed.

You know, it should be an official holiday whenever the boys and girl come to town though many of us make it an unofficial holiday.

Personally, I anticipate The Rock Show more than I do any federal or local holiday.

So, let's see.... what superlatives can I lay down to describe the show.

I've already used transcendent.

I've already used "the most amazing shows I've ever seen."

"I want to do it all over again." Check.

"...this was something special. Really special." Been there and written that.

How can I express the evening of Rock in a way that would be new and fresh. How, prey tale, do I express my amazement and my pride and my utter joy at this band without subjecting you, dear reader, to layer upon layer of redundancy?

What's a lazy blogger to do?

I'll let other fans who went to the show do it for me.

THAT's what a lazy blogger will do!

"So needless to say, I was pretty fired up for last nights show.

And they delivered.

......

The encores were definitely the most fun....with Patterson almost joining the crowd and Cooley and Shonna with the huge shit-eating grins. God I love that band!" - EZ - Yahoo List.

It was one of the best shows I've ever witnessed. I kept thinking maybe it's because I was somewhat drunk, but they tore it up. It was honestly louder and better (I cant believe I am saying this) than the Saturday night show at the 40 Watt in January. I was quite impressed with our San Francisco crowd as they wouldn't let em stop. Fucking Fantastic show. - slideonthis - Ninebullets.org

They were all amazing love love love this band.

Patterson sang with the crowd at the end thought I was back at a Rollins Show for a bit...Just wonderful and beautiful and fun. - miss jayne - Ninebullets.org

They were on fire. The sound to me was GREAT. I squeezed Matt it was so good. Damn.
......
The crowd was great and LOUD. Everyone was nice and completely dialed into DBT. Screaming. SOooo good.
......
I had a couple of newbies with me that couldn't believe what they were hearing and seeing. Hats off to the boys and girl. They have definitely hit the ground running. - slideonthis - Ninebullets.org

I agree with everyone so far, last night was sweet.
Band was great, setlist was great, they are kickin' ass and having fun doing it...classic DBT! - PeterG - Ninebullets.org

I throw down the gauntlet to every other city on this tour. Y'all are going to have to raise some serious hell to match the SF crowd last night. - JPW

Okay, that last quote was moi from the Ninebullets.org board.

But, yeah, what they said... times infinity.

So you see, DBT has once again raised the bar... kicked it up a notch... transcend... damn.

How about, "They opened with 'That Man I shot'".

From that first distinctive guitar lick that defines that song so well, I, and those around me, knew that we were in for a doozy of a show.

I give much thanks to JennB and especially The Matador for setting me up so well at the show. You guys rock so much and I am so appreciate and humbled by the access you allow me. Many, many many thanks to The Matador.

More 'blah blah' tomorrow with pics.

Cooley Bird hanging from the rafters


Front of the house before it filled

The venue, The Mezzanine, was top notch. They had some very cool Tim Burton/Wes Freed -esque projections on the walls. Here's one:

The Felice Brothers took the stage first. Mighty fine band.

Any band that had a washboard player who stomps on a piece of tin roofing during the songs is alright by me.

The crowd had a good time with the Felice Bros.

On to the main course.

New backdrop by Wes is beautiful.

Cooley's American flag guitar strap makes me laugh.

Town folk in Cooleyville practicing their rock signs.

Here they come!

Strapping up.

Daddy and Cooley need a drink before we get started.

Shonna. *sigh*

Let's look at Shonna again!

Spooner is the man. Playing keys with a cig in hand. What a professional.

Here's where I gotta stop for today. I've got some really great pictures from later in the show that will be in tomorrow's post. Lots of great crowd shots. Be sure to drop back by.

Til tomorrow.

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