"I have seldom felt helpless in my life. I hold to the hillbilly standard that there is no situation so hopeless that, through perseverance, I cannot make worse."
"During a semester in 2007, Long combed legal databases to identify lyrics in court filings and scholarly publications, finding Dylan cited 186 times, far outpacing the rest of the top 10: the Beatles, 74; Bruce Springsteen, 69; Paul Simon, 59; Woody Guthrie, 43; the Rolling Stones, 39; the Grateful Dead, 32; Simon & Garfunkel, 30; Joni Mitchell, 28; and R.E.M., 27."
Rather than take the bait, my friend said, “Well, she communicated with someone, didn’t she? Art is about communication, and what she had to say resonated with a buyer.” He wasn’t offended or competitive about it, but simply resolved to the truth that art was communication.
"The fact is that what we’re experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. The policies that got us into this mess weren’t responses to public demand. They were, with few exceptions, policies championed by small groups of influential people — in many cases, the same people now lecturing the rest of us on the need to get serious. And by trying to shift the blame to the general populace, elites are ducking some much-needed reflection on their own catastrophic mistakes.
Let me focus mainly on what happened in the United States, then say a few words about Europe."
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Maybe the Democrats will finally realize this on 1/2013 when President Huntsman is being sworn in. Doubt it, though. That lot doesn't do much learnin' from past mistakes.
"The way to grow your voting base is NOT to try to “appeal” to some group that is not left or right, but is “between” something called left and right. To get more voters — especially the “independent” ones who won’t identify with a party — is to take stands, be more committed to progressive positions, and to articulate them more clearly."
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The operative here is 'with the right policies' so, not gonna happen in the States.
"ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Governments approved on Monday a U.N. report projecting that renewable energies such as solar, wind or hydropower could leap to supply almost 80 percent of the world's demand by 2050, with the right policies."
"Bachus, however, apparently neglected to mention that he and other Republicans in Alabama's Congressional delegation voted against funding for satellites that are critical for accurate storm forecasting. The Web site climateprogress.org reports that Bachus and his fellow Alabama Republicans--Martha Roby, Mo Brooks, Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers, and Jo Bonner--voted against a bill that would replace aging satellites that are the heart of America's weather-forecasting system."
Therefore, who's really at fault? The asshole politicians or the dumb-asses who elect them. This we know for sure: An ass is involved in the process at all points.
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Oh, Matt Taibbi. How many nails must you crush on the head...
"'According to bin Laden, the goal of Al Qaeda was to bleed America to the point of bankruptcy. That was his grand strategy' (6:35 in the clip).
She titles her report 'On Our Terms, Not His'. On his terms, we lost, right? After all, isn't that what the Reagan of our myths did to the old Soviet Union — get them to spend themselves into bankruptcy?
Food for thought, though I don't hold out hope for our digesting it. The real predators feeding on our decline — the military-security industry — are feasting. They're unlikely to allow the process of decay to stop until the last drinkable drop has passed their lips. And we're unlikely to stop them."
"Davis grew up in Muscle Shoals and graduated from Alabama. He was in second grade when his house in Guin was destroyed by the outbreak of tornadoes that swept through the South in April 1974."
"Emergency workers used technology called capnography, which measures how much blood is traveling to the lungs and other organs. By seeing how much blood was still flowing through the body, EMTs could keep trying to revive the man.
'A pulse gradually returned,' anesthesiologist and cardiac care specialist Dr. Roger White wrote in the paper describing the incident. 'The effort was successful in large part because of capnography, which informed emergency workers that if they persisted, it was conceivable they'd have a survivor on their hands.'"
Tis fun watching all of the Rethugs tie themselves in knots attempting to 1) Not praise Obama. 2) Figure out a way for it to be Bush's win. 3) Lie that waterboarding
"US media reports said that bin Laden's body had been buried at sea, in a bid to prevent his final resting place from becoming a shrine for extremists."
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I like this guy. Seems to have a spot of fight in him. Granted this was an inside baseball, insular rich media people gathering having no bearing on the real world.
Credit where credit is due. However, I don't believe any administration, Dem or Repub, would allow another Katrina debacle. Bad for the polling numbers, dontchaknow.
"State and local leaders have not complained that the task of recovery, however big, is beyond their management. But with Alabama facing serious budget shortfalls, Mr. Bentley and Mr. Maddox made it clear that they would quickly require hundreds of millions of dollars in federal reconstruction aid.
Asked what his city most needed from the federal government, Mr. Maddox answered in one word. “Revenue.”"
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Stark reminder that a lot of people in the South need a lot of help:
"Oskar Blues Grill and Brew restaurant in Lyons hosted the Foo Fighters for a private concert in the Barn on Monday. The Barn, next to the restaurant, used to be the brewery's old canning facility."
Bus blogging today. Watching the sun rise over Bennett Peak and Sonoma Mountain. Very nice, indeed. Don't know what's up with these seats, though. The back is soft by the seat is hard. I can hear them bells.....
While we're dilly-dallying with DBT lyrics, here's couple of Buttholeville relatable stories:
This highway's mean. If you don't know nobody that gots kilt or seriously maimed on 72 then you ain't from around there.
George Jones gets a DUI riding a lawn mower... Melissa York gets one riding a horse... The cops in Alabama will give you a DUI for a druken piggy back ride.
SYLVANIA, Ala. (AP) - A woman who went for a horseback ride through town at midnight and allegedly used the horse to ram a police car was charged with driving under the influence and drug offenses, police said Tuesday.
"Cars were passing by having to avoid it, and almost hitting the horse," said Police Chief Brad Gregg.
He said DUI charges can apply even when the vehicle has four legs instead of wheels.
Police in the northeast Alabama town received a call around midnight Saturday about someone riding a horse on a city street, Gregg said.
Officer John Seals found Melissa Byrum York, 40, of Henagar on horseback on a nearby road and attempted to stop her. Seals asked the woman repeatedly to get off the horse, but she kept trying to kick the animal to make it run, the chief said.
"She wouldn't stop. She kept riding the horse and going on," Gregg said.
After ramming the police car with the horse and riding away, the woman tried to jump off but caught her foot in a stirrup, Gregg said. The officer took the woman into custody and discovered that she had crystal methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana, pills and a small pipe, the chief said.
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There is nothing... I mean, nothing more important in the state of Alabama than football. Jesus is #2.
"HARTSELLE — So, how dedicated are you to Alabama football?" .....
"What if Saban Witt turns into an Auburn fan?
'We'll put him up for adoption,' his father, joked."
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Update:
Example # 2. I've been involved in weddings where we, the fellas in the wedding, rebeled because the wedding was on game day. Dates got changed. I've also been to weddings where we are watching the game in the front of the church on a portable TV seconds before we walk down the isle to take our places:
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Spring time in Alabama. Must mean Tornadoes.... in my sister's back yard.... my neice must be pissed that the trampoline took a direct hit. Trees nor tornadoe hit the house, though. Tornadoes are weird like that:
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The netroots have taken hold in Alabama with the creation of Sack Sessions. Jeff Sessions is Alabama's ineffectual, Bush toadie Senator. He's worthless and a lapdog and must go.
Amen to this post from DK. These fucking pseudo-pragmatist Conservatives who believe there is no fixed reality and that reality is subject to whatever design is tickling their shrivelednutsacks at the time (a) bastardize a semi-legitimate philosophical concept (b) conveniently create an excuse for Conservatives to never be accountable for a goddamn thing.
Truth exists, Conservatives, and the rest of us live in that truth.
"Damn, it's amazing how the wingers will just make shit up to keep their own little fake world intact.
In this edition, Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rush Limbaugh claim that fired US Attorney Carol Lam was 1) just a law professor with 2) no prosecutorial assistance, 3) appointed by President Clinton, because 4) she was Bill's former campaign manager in Southern California.
The only problem is that 1) Lam was never a law professor, 2) had 15 years of prosecutorial assistance, 3) was appointed by Bush and 4) never worked as a campaign manager.
But what's a little lying if it helps smear someone (even if she is a Republican) who would dare question Dear Leader."
Either I'm getting smart or Kos has completely rubbed off on me.
UPDATE: Steve Richerson (Trash) has put up some footage of the DBT show on Thanksgiving on Youtube. Check it out:
UPDATE AGAIN: Damn, we got all kinds of good stuff coming this Saturday. Here's the "Aftermath USA" video I reference in the Cooley's Birthday post. Looks like it just went up on Youtube:
(actually we salt the piss out of it before we taste it. We just know and we don't need our damn-fool taste buds tellin' us otherwise. It needs salt. Period. End of discussion).....
Where the women start sassing you at age 6. (couldn't resist putting my little neice in the tour. Obviously, she's got a lot of her uncle in her)....
... And when those southern women ask you to play some Dylan, by god, you better play some Dylan.
Where Cooley might not have a need for brand new set of golf clubs... but you just might if you come visit 'cause we've got some mighty fine golf courses and some of the best hustlers in the world.
The following is a hole on the "School Master" course that's part of the Robert Trent Jones golf trail in Alabama. It is named after President Woodrow Wilson whose nickname was the "Schoolmaster" because he was once a teacher. Wilson Damn is also named after President Wilson.
It is located in Colbert County along the bluffs of the Tennessee River. There are two courses and both are amazing. I'm sure a PGA tournament is bound for these courses sometime in the future.
Our hometown PGA Tour member is Stewart Cink. I grew up playing golf with Stewart at Florence Country Club.
Where the woods in Alabama don't see no light.... well, in the fall and winter they see light and plenty of color..... and I'm sure the occassional moonshine still even to this day. The following pictures were taken on a walk-about on my buddy's land in Colbert County:
Where the Tennessee River coughs up the occassional dead body... but mainly supplies the region with much beauty and expensive lake front property. Doctors, lawyers and musicians.....
Where a world famous architect built a home for a family.
Below is a home in the neighborhood I grew up in which has recently been turned into a historical museum. This home was built by Frank Lloyed Wright for the Rosenbaum Family back in 1939. I remember being a wee lad and playing with a granddaughter of the Rosenbaums in this house.
The style is called Usonian and only 26 of these type of homes were built in the U.S. This is the only Frank Lloyed Wright structure in Alabama.
Drive-by Picture Taking
Let's take a trip out of Buttholeville proper to visit some good friends. First we'll cross O'Neil Bridge heading south.
The following picture was taken as we're driving over O'Neil. You can see the old railroad track, the new bridge and behind that Wilson Damn.
They converted the old railroad bridge into part of a walking trail that cuts through what was once called South Florence on the Colbert County side of the river. You can still find old curbsides and roads that were created for what was to be South Florence. The reason for South Florence was that Henry Ford came to town back in the early 20th century and he almost decided to build his car making factory here. Fortunately, he decided on Detroit.
As soon as you cross O'Neil Bridge and enter Sheffield there stands what was once Club XIII. Club XIII was the largest club in the Shoals for several years.
The original, original Club XIII was located just past the Alabama border in Tennessee. My aunt would tell me tales of waking up on the dance floor with the birds chirping in that particular locale.
A generation later.....
I worked as a bar back, bartender, doorman, DJ, contruction, etc. starting at the ripe old age of 19. Essentially, myself and my good friend and roommate at the time, Woodham, ran this joint when it first opened. Mike O'Rear owned the place but was never there as he was a talent agent/music manager and most of his business was in Nashville. Mike is a great man and the last I heard of him he was struggling with cancer (as so many in the Shoals are/were. Fucking Ford Plant/Reynolds Metals/TVA and all the other industries that used this place like a toilet. Again, fuck all of you). I hope he is still alive and well. If anybody has any info on O'Rear drop me an email. I'd like to know.
XIII was the best part of my existence between the ages of 19-22. We had a huge dance floor and in between live band sets we'd play dance music so you could get your grove as well as your rock on. Virgil Kane, Baghdad, Velcro Pygmies, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Atlanta Rhythm Section, shit, about a million other cover and original bands whose names I've already forgotten played there. We even talked O'Rear into booking Kyper for a show. Anyone remember the song 'Tic-tac-toe'?
The fire code was about 450 people but we would consistantly put between 700 and 800 in the place.
Club XIII was the major reason that I was a sophmore in college for a good 3 years. It was also one of the reasons I got out of Buttholeville. I was having too much fun at the club and not much fun anywhere else in town.
After I moved to Birmingham to attend UAB I'd come home on the weekends and work the door or bar or spin records... whatever was needed. By that time O'Rear had changed the main building, seen in the picture below, into a country music joint and the old car wash in the same lot was converted into a Rock Bar named Woodies.
The only time I've ever spent a night in jail occurred with my arrest just to the left of the red awning. Of the several times I should have been arrested and wasn't, this was the one occassion I should have never of been arrested. Luckily the prosecutor saw it the same way when I took those fuckers to court and settled before we even saw the judge.
But all good things come to an end and the bar is now a loan center. *Sigh* You can never go home again.
They'll hunt you like a dog.... (These are two of Jenn's mom and stepdad's pooches trying to figure out how to climb down a bluff in Frog Pond, Franklin County, AL)
Where tornadoes are birthed 5 miles north of......
After a nice visit to Franklin County let's head on back across the crick to Buttholeville proper and hook up with.....
Hwy 72....
Where the Great Car Dealer Wars were as much fact as the artistic fiction Patterson presents in a song with the same name..
Below are pictures of Nelda Stephenson's Chevrolet located on Florence Blvd (Hwy 72). This lot use to be named Bobby Mitchell Chevrolet. I don't have direct confirmation from Patterson on this but I do believe Jim Stephens in GCDW may partially represent the tale of Bobby Mitchell. Bobby Mitchell was gunned downed.....
In the door way right in the middle of the picture below.
Bobby and his wife were friends of my family. His wife baby sat me once during an emergency though I have not memories of it. Bobby was rumored to have been dealing drugs on the side. Hell, if you've ever lived in The Shoals chances are you've dealt some drugs... or at least consumed some.
Anyway it wasn't the drugs that did him in. I believe Bobby was killed by a mentally disturbed man.
Now, all the songs written by DBT that reference events that occured in North Alabama aren't 100 percent true. They're based on local lore then a fictional account is built around that base. Let's take a look a Decoration Day/Boys From Alabama.
There was a back woods, country-ass gang in Lauderdale county called The Dawson Gang. Rumor has it that The Dawson Gang were the ones who put the hit out on Buford Pusser. The Dawson's may also form the basis for The Lawson's in Jason's Decoration Day. I asked all my relatives if there were aware of a feud between the Dawson's and any Hill's or similarly named group. None of my people could recollect such a feud.
It was interesting to see the reaction some of them had to a mention of the Dawsons. My granddaddy on my mom's side had a fisceral reaction and stated that those were the meanest boys he had ever come across. This man served in WWII and at age 82 killed a deer while I was home for Thanksgiving and drug it out of the woods. Badass! Another relative stated that they weren't nothing but petty theives whose reputation was far greater than anything that they could actually pull off. It would be interesting to trade stories with Jason and Patterson regarding what they've been told about the Dawson's. I'm sure that legend has several version. If you think DBT cherry picked the best myths out of the Shoals then you be thinkin' wrong. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Florence/The Shoals is one of the most fucked up places in the world. Sometimes it is like living in a Stephen King novel. Southern Gothic doesn't even begin to describe it. There's another good 5 albums of wild ass stories that could be told but DBT is being gracious and leaving those for another band....
Movin' on down Hwy 72......
Where you better not be caught in Kendale with a wealthy man's bucket of paint...
