The Importance of Being Bagger

Uhhh, not really. Barely English.

I guess Alabama Republicans are getting a little jealous that they've been out-crazied of late.

No worries. Their bag of bigoted tricks is quite large.

The Rachel Maddow Show - 'This is Alabama. We speak English'

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Wow. To admit it... and it is 'has' not 'had'.

Again... Wow.

Michael Steele Acknowledges GOP Had “Southern Strategy” For Decades | The Plum Line:

"But I think folks are missing the real news in what Steele said. The RNC chairman also appeared to acknowledge that the GOP has had a race-based “southern strategy” for four decades, which is decidedly not a historical interpretation many Republicans agree with."

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Yeah, how's that free market working for ya?

In Coal Country, a Culture of Fear � The Washington Independent:

“They told my husband, ‘You’ve got a job to do and you’re gonna do it,’” said the wife of one Massey miner, referring to the funerals he’s missed this month for friends who died in the blast. “What else are we gonna do?”"

Where's the competition. How can a worker tell Massey to go frack himself and then take his/her talents to the competition?

Virginia, where coal is the only real industry, and Massey is king of the hill. Indeed, in certain areas there’s simply no queen.

“The bad thing here is that Massey owns [the Upper Big Branch] mine, and they’ve got a lot of subsidiaries — little tiny outfits just all down the river,” said Denny Tyler, an electrician who has contracted with Massey and now runs a website advocating for the end to mountaintop removal. “If you get fired from one, you’re not working anywhere on Coal River. … Its a fear thing

Evil. The lot of them.

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Special place in hell for insurance executives.

Exclusive: WellPoint routinely targets breast cancer patients | Reuters

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I guess the 'news media' is getting tired of playing with the tea bags.

The tea party's exaggerated importance - Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

There were 15,000 people at a cannabis and hemp expo in SF last week, but Hannity didn't host that one though it was 3 times as large as any bagger cross burning.

Hell, a dog poop protest in SF draws more participants.

Rendell: Media blow Tea Parties out of proportion | Raw Story:

"'We had two recent Tea Party demonstrations in Washington. One a week before the health care vote, drew about 1,000 people. The tax day rally by the organizers' own estimate was 1,500 people,' explained the governor.

'If I organized a rally for stronger laws to protect puppies, I would get 100,000 people to Washington. So, I think the media has blown the Tea Party themselves out of proportion,' said Rendell."

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Salt be killing us.

FDA plans to limit amount of salt allowed in processed foods for health reasons:

"The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products."

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Touche. Keep pluckin', though.

Chicago's DJ Intel And Blogger Girlfriend Make Vegetarian Version Of KFC's 'Double-Down

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After the attack, dude surfed for another 45 minutes.

Surfer rides shark after it bites his surfboard

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Fraudster

There is a very sick and twisted segment of the U.S. that is being legitimized and main-streamed by the traditional media.

What the hell is wrong with these people (and by 'people' I mean the twisted fucks and the news media).

pandagon.net:

"Via Spencer, Gawker reports on a growing movement of Christians using religious “jokes” in order to call for the assassination of Obama. The “joke” is this T-shirt, citing a verse from the Bible that says, “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.” As Gawker explains, it’s surrounded by other prayers of enemy smiting, namely that his widow and children starve and live in poverty after his death. Gawker has other examples of right wingers thinking it’s cute to be coy---but in an unsubtle, stupid way that’s not nearly as clever as they think---in calling for Obama’s death."

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Lies and damn lies. Isn't happening and the 30k don't even exist.

100,000,000 million U.S. residents scrub there asses with steel wool.

See, I can make up shit too.

Daily Kos: "30,000 Scientists Sue Al Gore for Fraud"

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World's largest ice sheet melting faster than expected | Environment | guardian.co.uk:

"'If the current trend continues or gets worse, Antarctica could become the largest contributor to sea level rises in the world. It could start to lose more ice than Greenland within a few years,' said Jianli Chen, of the University of Texas at Austin."

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Nice. We should schedule another meeting to schedule another meeting about scheduling another meeting to deal with climate change.

Warming's impacts sped up, worsened since Kyoto - Yahoo! News:

"WASHINGTON – Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated — beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.

As the world has talked for a dozen years about what to do next, new ship passages opened through the once frozen summer sea ice of the Arctic. In Greenland and Antarctica, ice sheets have lost trillions of tons of ice. Mountain glaciers in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa are shrinking faster than before."

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These folks could make a killing in the deep friend South.

Gang Killed People For Their Fat: Peruvian Police:

"LIMA, Peru — A gang in the remote Peruvian jungle has been killing people for their fat, police charged Thursday, draining it from their corpses and offering it on the black market for use in cosmetics. Medical experts expressed skepticism that a major market for fat might exist."

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NERDz!

d'Armond Speers: Dad Spoke Only Klingon To Son For Three Years

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Good vs. Bad and Ugly

The Alabama 'Good'"

Regina Benjamin, Obama's Pick For Surgeon General:

"WASHINGTON — The Associated Press has learned that President Barack Obama has chosen a well-known Alabama family physician, Dr. Regina Benjamin, to be the next surgeon general.

An administration official said Obama will announce the nomination later Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the official announcement.

Benjamin was the first black woman to head a state medical society, received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and just last fall received a MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant.' But she made headlines in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with her determination to rebuild her rural health clinic Bayou La Batre, Ala., which serves 4,400 patients who would be hard-pressed to find care elsewhere."

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The Alabama 'Bad' and 'Ugly'.

Like Jefferson has any clue what 'mainstream' is.

Priceless watching this bigoted fuck wring his hands over our Wise Latina.

Sotomayor ‘has the votes’:

"'I think philosophically her statements indicate an approach to judging that is outside the mainstream,' Sen. Jeff Sessions, senior Judiciary Committee Republican, said in a nationally broadcast interview."

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Only love here.

America's Love-Hate History with Pot - CBS News:

"The story of how a child of the post-war era came to doubt, and then reject, conventional wisdom about the horrors of the 'devil weed' parallels the story about how the rest of America has gradually rethought its views of marijuana. The transformation has been intertwined with the rise of the Baby Boom generation and its successors, the societal upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s, and a generational shift that chipped away at long-held assumptions about trust and authority.

Today the potent smell of marijuana legalization is in the air. States including California and New Mexico -- and, as of mid-June, Rhode Island -- already permit marijuana's use for medicinal purposes. The success of those initiatives, coupled with an economic downturn, a president who did inhale and governors who are willing to discuss complete legalization, make it seem possible that legal bans on recreational use of marijuana will, in the not-so-distant future, go up in smoke."

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Dang ol' interweb bringing the cool.

WeChooseTheMoon.org: Website Recreates Apollo 11 Mission In Real Time:

"BOSTON — Families crowded around black-and-white television sets in 1969 to watch Neil Armstrong take man's first steps on the moon.

Now, they'll be able to watch the Apollo 11 mission recreated in real time on the Web, follow Twitter feeds of transmissions between Mission Control and the spacecraft, and even get an e-mail alert when the lunar module touches down. Those features are part of a new Web site from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum commemorating the moon mission and Kennedy's push to land Americans there first."

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Shouldn't say 'fuck' no you shouldn't say 'fuck', fuck no!

Stub your toe? Say ‘Sh#!’ You’ll feel better - Behavior- msnbc.com:

"Peggy Loper doesn’t know why, but she’s sure that the rapid hissed repetition of her favorite expletive somehow dulls the pain when she’s hammered her thumb rather than the nail she’d aimed for.

“Generally I start swearing even before the pain actually registers,” says the 48-year-old student from Salem, N.J. “And usually, the ouch-ouch dance, where I’m hopping from foot to foot, goes along with it. People have told me that I should try deep breathing, but I personally prefer to swear.” The F-bomb is her curse word of choice; that hard consonant at the end is particularly satisfying, she explains."

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Fili-Busta-Clear-Skies

Rosalita... Chiquita... whatever.

What's the over/under before the first Republican utters 'wetback'.

I say a week.

I hear the weather is nice in FarLeftistan this time of year.

Huckabee: "Maria" Sotomayor Comes From "The Far Left"

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Up or down vote! Up or down vote! Unless it's a Democrat.

IOKIYAAR (It's OK if you are a Republican).

Look at all of the hypocrisy! Loads of video.

Democracy or Hypocrisy | Media Matters Action Network:

"In 2005, many Republican Senators went so far as to claim the filibuster of judicial nominees was unconstitutional. Now four years later, President Obama's has appointed Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Will Senate Republicans remain consistent in their position or commit one of the most blatant acts of hypocrisy in the 220-year history of the United States Senate?"

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Of course you'll see this all over the librul media on the TV.

Daily Kos: Eat your words, republican hypocrites:

"As Christy Hardin Smith so aptly points out, the foaming at the mouthers are already starting with their weak sauce hissy fit about Judge Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

And frankly, there are so many ways to push back against this – refuting their asinine talking points, pointing out their racist behavior, smacking down their 'analysis' of her prior opinions....but in reality, there is one way to short circuit all of this in a very simple and easily understandable way:

Why was there such an uproar in 2005 over a potential filibuster of Bush’s JUDICIAL NOMINEES but it is suddenly ok to filibuster a more qualified nominee now?"

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Doesn't work. Doesn't work. Doesn't work. Doesn't work.

Former military interrogator says torture cost hundreds ‘if not thousands’ of American lives

A 14-year military interrogator has undercut one of the key arguments posited by Vice President Dick Cheney in favor of the Bush Administration’s torture techniques and alleged that the use of torture has cost “hundreds if not thousands” of American lives.

The interrogator, who uses the name “Matthew Alexander,” says he oversaw more than 1,000 interrogations, conducting more than 300 in Iraq personally. His statements are captured in a new video by Brave New Films (below).

“Torture does not save lives,” Alexander said in his interview. “And the reason why is that our enemies use it, number one, as a recruiting tool…These same foreign fighters who came to Iraq to fight because of torture and abuse….literally cost us hundreds if not thousands of American lives.”

Moreover, Alexander avers that many — as many as 90 percent — of those captured in Iraq said they joined the fight against the United States because of the torture conducted at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

“At the prison where I conducted interrogations,” Alexander said, “we heard day in and day out, foreign fighters who had been captured state that the number one reason that they had come to fight in Iraq was because of torture and abuse, what had happened at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.”

“Cheney,’ said Alexander, ‘fundamentally misunderstands the way America is viewed around the world,” a reporter who reviewed the video wrote Tuesday. “The American principles of freedom and democracy are cherished in the Muslim world and the idea, at least, of America is still a seductive one. But it is the behavior of the Bush administration at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and secret prisons around the globe that undercuts that image, allowing Al Qaeda to make the argument that America isn’t what it stands for.”

“One of Al Qaeda’s goals, it’s not just to attack the United States, it’s to prove that we’re hypocrites, that we don’t live up to American principles,” Alexander said. “So when we use torture and abuse, we’re playing directly into one of their stated goals.

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Clear skies, bitches!

No ideas. Only words.

Luntz is an evil, for hire fuck.

Frank Luntz: It doesn’t matter what Obama’s health care plan says, we’ll still call it ‘government takeover.’

In an interview with the New York Times, GOP wordsmith Frank Luntz — who recently penned a health care messaging memo instructing Republicans to attack President Obama’s health reform efforts by criticizing the deficiencies in foreign health care systems — concedes that Republicans will label Obama’s reform effort a “government takeover” of health care, regardless of the actual proposal:

Is it a correct description of the president’s plans for reform?
We don’t know what he is proposing. We want to avoid “a Washington takeover.”

But that’s not at issue. What the Democrats want is for everyone to be able to choose between their old, private health-insurance plan and an all-new, public health-insurance option.
I’m not a policy person. I’m a language person.

Indeed, “rather than challenging the tenets of American reform proposals, Luntz establishes a straw man argument against a non-existent health plan.” As Democratic strategist Paul Begala observes in a recent retort to the Luntz memo, “Because they know they cannot win the argument honestly, Republicans are resorting to mendacity.”

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And to follow up on yesterday's post regarding the high cost of being poor.....

America's poor are its most generous givers | McClatchy

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Holy Downsize

Special treat:

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DBT/THS 1st Ave Show. Rockin' in the Free World.

Watch how much the crowd is into it. Good damn fun.

Countdown to Sunday and Monday in San Francisco......

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Funny stuff. Read 'em all:

Daily Kos: When I am king (Part II):

"When I am king, I will order much treasure invested in our space program, with the goal of colonizing the moon. As happened here in America year ago, we will send the religious fundamentalists there as early colonists. When the last one arrives, I will remove all funding and announce an end to the program."

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And they'll be many a fundie willing to go 'cause they ain't got no jobs.

Breaks my heart. Poor, poor, bigoted, twisted effers.

God is downsizing.... finally.

Maybe this will give them more time to focus on their own damn families and leave mine alone.

Focus on the Family forced to make layoffs after spending $600,000 to defeat marriage equality.

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How do I feel about this? Meh.

'Meh': new word for indifference enters English dictionary:

"'Meh', a word which indicates a lack of interest or enthusiasm, became the latest addition to the Collins English Dictionary on Monday."

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One final thought:

Dear Sarah Palin, Please Shut Up Already Petition

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Nuts

AAW Fund Raiser.

Read about it here.

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Obama To Tennessee GOP: "Lay Off My Wife"

I wish he had followed that up with "'Cause I laid off your's last night"! Boo-yah!

I guess that wouldn't be too "Presidential", now would it? Guess that's why I'll never be able to run for office. That and all of the prostitutes. No, no not like you're thinking. I've got a thong cleaning side biz for hookers. They do pay me in sex, but, that's like totally different than pulling a Spitzer. Yeah. I'll move on now

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Go Don, Go! Rove frog-marched into the same federal pen where Don was held as a political prisoner. Wouldn't sweet justice be served.

Q&A with Don Siegelman: 'I think this will make Watergate look like child's play'

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Good stuff. Lord knows I mangle me some engrish on a consistent basis but the 'like' has got to go. Took me 3 years to purge my ex of that habit.

David McCullough Urges BC Graduates To Speak Properly: Cut The "Like!":

"'Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, 'Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country actually,' he said."

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Lucky Illinois isn't close to me. I would have hi-jacked a milk truck and gorged myself til Oreo was coming out me nose.

14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic:

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How low can you go? Just as FOX.

Leave it to FOX to turn getting racked in the sack into some type of 'science'. Intelligent Design my ass.

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To Kill a Dirty Word

My oft harangued home state deserves a lot of the shit flung its way. Shitty politicians, race issues, fundamentalist preventing beer on tap and titty clubs, inflexibility, etc, etc. (N.B. I do reserve the right to punch you square in the mouth if you talk shit about her and aren't a product of an Alabama womb).

But I'm a firm believer that negative extremes often produce a fertile ground for the equal and opposite extreme to develop... especially in the arts. You need pressure and conflict and the world working against you to produce superior art.

Not only in the arts, though. There's a reason the best Marines are produced on Paris Island in South Carolina. The place is a hell hole. You want a superior soldier? Train them in the worst possible conditions, then.

Anyway, it has always been a pleasure of mine to know that one of the most popular American novels was written by an Alabamian and that that novel's power is in its ability to positively influence people's view regarding bias and injustice.

2nd most popular book in the U.S. next to the Bible. Get some of that!

Alabama town uses "Mockingbird" to learn from past

U.S. readers often cite it as their favorite novel. It ranked second only to the Bible in a reader survey of books that had affected them the most. Library Journal voted it the novel of the 20th century.

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This report was produced by the Bush administration. It doesn't even mention the issues with gun control and points the finger at privacy laws. Do you get that? Privacy laws were what caused the rampage at Virgina Tech.

I'm sorry, but that's about the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard. I work with privacy laws every damn day in a University setting. This 'report' is a bullshit attempt to take more of your privacy away by this gestapo of an administration.

This shit makes my blood boil. The laws ain't the problem. If, per Mike Leavitt below, "People don't understand what they can share and what they can't share" is true, then its not the laws fault. Its the damn lazy fucks in charge who don't take the time to educate themselves and their employees on those laws. And trust me, Academia in the U.S. is fraught with lazy, fat cat bureaucrats who actively work against any type of innovation because they don't want to change their Luddite ways.

Absolute bullshit.

Virginia Tech report faults privacy laws:

"'People don't understand what they can share and what they can't share,' said Mike Leavitt, the secretary of Health and Human Services."

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SiCKO going to be BIG. It's time to crush these greedy fuck medical insurance companies. They practice 'preventative healthcare'. It is their goal to prevent you from getting healthcare because it will cost them money.

Daily Kos: *UPDATED*: Nurses Give Moore, SiCKO 8-minute Standing Ovation:

"Yes I timed it.

After yesterday's national debut of SiCKO, 1,000 nurses from the California Nurses Association and across the country rose as one, roared, and continued roaring for 8 full minutes. I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes at the same time, and so did everyone else in the theater."

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Put this in the "news that should not be news" category. Spielberg makes movies, right? Who gives a fuck who he endorses, then? Is the Stars Wars voting contingency waiting to hear from Lucas on who they should vote for in '08? I shan't be voting for Jar-Jar.

Gee, I'm waiting to see who Paris Hilton endorses (probably herself).

It. Doesn't. Fucking. Matter.

Clinton Gets Endorsement From Spielberg:

"NEW YORK — Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has won the endorsement of film producer and director Steven Spielberg, ending a tug-of-war between Clinton and Barack Obama for the Hollywood heavyweight's affections."

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The liberal media that isn't:

For seven hours, MSNBC hosted only conservatives and reporters to discuss immigration:

"During the seven hours of the June 11 edition of MSNBC Live (9 a.m.-4 p.m. ET), 15 segments aired about immigration or the Senate immigration bill, none of which featured a Democratic or progressive commentator. Indeed, in nine of the 15 segments, the anchor interviewed a conservative anti-immigration activist who had opposed the bill -- including six separate solo interviews with MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan. The remaining six segments consisted of two panels with Buchanan and conservative activist and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Tamar Jacoby (who, alone among the guests, favored the recent immigration bill), an interview with Congressional Quarterly immigration reporter Michael Sandler, an interview with MSNBC terrorism analyst Joe Cantamessa, and two reports from MSNBC congressional correspondent Mike Viqueira."

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Fuuuuuuuuucckkkkkk....k........kk.....k

You Are So F--ing Obscene / The president says it, you say it, your kids say it all the time. So what's the f--ing problem?

Let us now recap: Since 2003, BushCo's own nipple-terrified regulatory agency has been working like a prudish little ferret to destroy perceived indecency, particularly those "fleeting expletives" that love to pop up in major media, threatening to fine any network roughly $5 bazillion for any appearance of the dreaded "f--" or "s--" or anything else that causes unusual tingling sensations anywhere in the pallid body of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Dismissed as eye-rollingly idiotic by every cunning linguist in existence, this absurdly strict rule nevertheless caused enormous panic and trepidation among generally spineless network honchos who immediately shifted programming and yanked uncut versions of "Saving Private Ryan" from broadcast and fired on-air talent for the slightest indiscretion and desperately called their lawyers in prayer. It was, to put it simply, f--ing ugly.

Fast-forward to now. A New York appeals court just told Bush's hard-line FCC that they are, in essence, a bunch of simpleminded out-of-touch dweebmonkeys and that the TV networks, while morally vacant in nearly every way imaginable, still cannot be held to such impossible standards when such juicy curse words are a common element of everyday speech, including that of President "Stop This S--" Bush and Dick "Go F-- Yourself" Cheney and just about every other being anywhere, with the possible exception of the ghost of my late grandmother.

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Dirty, Dirty Words

This came across MySpace bulletins this morning. Even if you didn't know Chris I'm sure you can agree that this is a ridiculous ruling by this management company. How they have the gall to tell you or I how we can memorialize, celebrate and/or grieve someone is outrageous.

The phone number and email are in the post below. Be nice but direct in your opposition to this stupid fucking rule.

But, do call or email where ever you may live:

Hi Everyone,

Those of you who knew Chris and have visited his gravesite over the years are aware that there have always been mementos left there for him: pictures, notes, guitar picks, drum sticks, purple daisies, handmade jewelry, and everything in-between. The list goes on…

Apparently, the Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens has passed some rule that you can only leave things in a vase. As of June 1, they have every intention of picking up and throwing away anything and everything that "isn't in a vase.”

If we do nothing, everything will be gone. Worse yet, we won’t be able to share those things which embody love or spirit or comfort with Chris, who was so wonderful and giving when it came to sharing all of those things with us.

And don't forget that if we stand by quietly and let that happen, we may see nothing of each other to remind ourselves of why we are there in the first place.

I called, and they promised me that Chris's things could be held for a few days until one of his parents could pick them up. That was all I could negotiate for the short-term situation, and yet it's still a better deal than those who are going there today, only to find the place bare and all of their treasured keepsakes in barrels and on their way to the dump.

The manager's name is Brian Sparks. He works for a company called SCI. They bought the place circa 2000. The e-mail addy they gave me for him is:
Bryansparks@sci-us.com

Please e-mail him and tell him how you find this policy ridiculous, or take a moment to explain what compassion is, or maybe just tell him how Chris made a difference in your life and ask what, exactly, is the problem with a guitar pick and a daisy sitting side-by-side at a grave. And then please call them and do the same. Make sure your voice is heard. If enough of us call to object, it could make a difference. Call them at 256-764-7542.

Do whatever's right for you, but please do it. No matter what, please do something...anything. If we fill the manager's e-mail box and ring their phone off the hook, we have a good chance of making that difference. There are enough of us.

You know it’s worth it.
Best to all of you , the Fiddleworms

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This news is a few days old now, but the video is PRICELESS!

A true Alabama Ass Whuppin caught on tape...

Why are republicans so damn angry?

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That the name "Paris Hilton" would ever shit stain this blog has always been something I've tried to avoid. But, this recent bat shit looniness of the MSM covering Paris' little jail sentence has pissed me the fuck off..... even more than usual:

Check this out:

VIDEO COMPILATION: The Assault On Reason, Paris Hilton Edition:

"The media’s latest “serial obsession” focuses on Paris Hilton’s jail sentence. On Friday, MSNBC abruptly cut away from coverage of Gen. Peter Pace’s replacement (with producers screaming in the background) to return to Paris Hilton. A CNN anchor proudly called the station “the most trusted name in Paris news,” and during Friday’s broadcast of Katie Couric’s CBS Evening News, “the Paris Hilton ‘news’ got more coverage on CBS than a roadside bomb killing a U.S. soldier, the immigration legislation, and passage of the stem-cell bill combined — times two.”"

oy fucking vay.

But, hey, at least Paris can take solace in the fact that she doesn't live in Georgia.... or is a black male.... who, when he was 17 had consensual oral sex with a 15 y.o. girl.... then received 10 yearsin prison.....

Daily Kos: Paris Hilton VS Genarlow Wilson:

Wilson was an honor student & standout football player at Douglas County High and was being recruited by colleges like Brown & Columbia, but all of that was taken away. Under Georgia law this was considered aggravated child molestation & was subject to a ten year mandatory sentence, since the girl was one year away from the age of consent
......

There is a website, WilsonAppeal.com, which has contact info & information on how to help Genarlo Wilson.

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How does a dirty word get that way?

They were born that way, for the most part. Fuck has always been an offensive word, though its exact origin is unclear. It's related to words in Dutch, German, and Swedish, and the etymological meaning has to do with moving back and forth. The first known evidence of the term is found in an English and Latin poem from before 1500 that satirized the Carmelite friars of Cambridge, England. In the line "Non sunt in coeli, quia gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk," the author replaced each letter of the unprintable words with the succeeding letter in the alphabet: "They [the friars] are not in heaven, since they fuck wives of Ely."* (Remember that the alphabet at the time was different, and that i was also j, v was also u, and vv was w. Thus gxddbov produces fvccant, a fake Latin word taken to mean "fuck.")

Since then, fuck has remained consistently offensive, though it has lost some of its original punch. The word only developed its nonsexual meanings in the late 19^th century. (You can find that usage in Civil War court-martial records, for instance.) The word became much more widely used after World War I and now, along with shit, accounts for half the swearing that goes on in public. At this point, even our president and vice president will use it casually in its nonsexual sense. In March 2002, Bush interrupted a meeting Condoleezza Rice was holding and yelled, ""Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out!" And Dick Cheney famously said "Go fuck yourself" to Patrick Leahy on the floor of the Senate.

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