An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Archive for 6 April 2008
Well, Ain’t That Interesting
Election 2008: Tennessee Presidential Election
John McCain enjoys a strong double digit lead over both Democratic Presidential hopefuls in the state of Tennessee. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds McCain leading Barack Obama 58% to 31%. The presumptive GOP nominee leads Hillary Clinton 52% to 38%.
McCain is viewed favorably by 65% of Volunteer State voters while Clinton earns favorable reviews from 45%. The numbers for Obama are bleak—39% favorable and 59% unfavorable. That latter figure includes 40% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of the Democratic frontrunner.
Perhaps the folks are starting to see through all the gloss and shine! I’m not a big McFeingold supporter, and I’m not real sure if he’ll be any better than Bush. But I gotta tell ya….ANY body would be better than those two socialists!
Vet Sentenced
Now, call me dense, but just why is a Mexican flag flying on a U.S. Campus? If the group stated wanted to honor Mexican independence, I’m sure there were plenty of celebrations going on in Mexico they could have joined.
So, it’s ok for a bunch of sh*t heads to burn the American flag, but it’s not ok for someone who is extremely angry to destroy something that should NOT have been flying over U.S. soil to begin with? Vandalism. Check. Got it.
I’d say the Dean should have been charged as well, can’t think with what right now…give me a few minutes. The man complained to the dean, the dean did…..what? Seems like not a damn thing. Did he forget which country he lives? The dean should have made a simple phone call, and had the flag taken down. Simple.
Now a U.S. vet has a record for getting rid of something that shouldn’t have been there at all!
Wrong. Just flat out wrong!
H/T: Stop the ACLU
Pleasant Afternoon
After church, we all went out to eat lunch. Nothing to brag about on that subject. What is it about restaurants in Tennessee? Is it that difficult to put the prices on the ticket so we can figure out, at least roughly, what the tip should be? Noooooo…..they will write down what you ordered…sometimes, and let ya guess! Sheesh!
For the first time since we moved here, we finally decided to drop Jr off and take a gander at the local flea market. Hmm….. best way to describe a large chunk of it…..imagine a garage sale, full of stuff nobody wants, and you’ll get a good picture. There were a couple of “upscale” sections. I actually bought an armadillo hand made from seashells. Ok, tacky, but it was cute, and only $3, and I really needed another dust catcher.
There was a guy there who was selling ammo. I’m trying to imagine a flea market in Wisconsin with an ammo salesman……..nope…can’t do it. Unfortunately, he was out of what I need for target practice, so we might go over there next weekend, just to check. Good prices, from the reaction the Mr gave. We had a nice conversation about the UN, which evidently he’s not a fan of either. Hint from the salesguy….buy your ammo before the end of this month cuz it’s going to go up, again!
We did more looking than buying. I have enough stuff to set up my own shop of stuff nobody wants. One difference…my stuff, at least, is clean! With a pleasant sunny, 72 degrees, it was nice to just walk around for a bit, without icicles or raindrops falling off my nose. 
More PC Manure
A gender gap has reopened: if girls were once excluded because they somehow weren’t good enough, they now are rejected because they’re too good. Or at least they are so good, compared with boys, that admissions committees at some private colleges have problems managing a balanced freshman class. Roughly 58% of undergraduates nationally are female, and the girl-boy ratio will probably tip past 60-40 in a few years. The divide is even worse for black males, who are outnumbered on campus by black females 2 to 1.
While educators debate whether there is a “boy crisis” that warrants a wholesale change in how to teach, colleges are quietly stripping the pastels from brochures and launching Xbox tournaments to try to close the gap in the quality and quantity of boys applying. “It’s a gross generalization that slacker boys get in over high-performing girls,” says Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions at Kenyon College, “but developmentally, girls bring more to the table than boys, and the disparity has gotten greater in recent years.”
Girls are smarter! Ok, but girls are also more emotional, so some things should be left to males.
But I find this report a little disconcerting. The last thing we need is MORE ‘affirmative action’! Perhaps if the ‘thug culture’ wasn’t taking over young black men, there would be more applying for college. If, perhaps, we put true competition back into our society, boys wouldn’t have been sissified?
Did I Miss A Day?
Seriously, I seem to be off by a day! When I posted my morning coffee, I dated it as the 5th (I fixed it). Hmmm…. Wasn’t yesterday the 4th? Did I go through some bizarre time loop??
Old age sucks!
Morning Coffee 04/06/08
A teen parent — and a graduate
Students at North Shore Senior High School spill through the halls, texting friends and making plans for the weekend.
Not Veronica Valdes, who has little time for such frivolity.
“People think it’s all fun and games,” she says, unsmiling as she describes her life as a teenage mother. “That pretty much is over when the baby is born.”
She no longer sees her baby’s father — “He couldn’t handle the pressure,” she says — and Valdes and her daughter live with her parents.
Still, she expects to graduate from high school next month, the first step in escaping the fate of many teenage mothers — dropping out of school and into a series of dead-end jobs, only to see their children repeat the cycle.
Now, while I’m all for kids getting an education, the first education they should have gotten was “WAIT”! Why has it become so acceptable for kids to have kids?
Nursing homes want to limit lawsuits
Crouch, along with her six brothers and sisters, sued the nursing home, claiming negligence caused their mother’s sore and hastened her death. While the nursing home battles the lawsuit in court, the nursing home industry as a whole is fighting to impose new limits on such lawsuits.
Opponents and supporters have engaged powerful allies, and the battle is playing out against a broader backdrop of long-term care reform. Gov. Phil Bredesen has made it an administration priority to find ways to keep more Tennesseans at home and out of nursing homes.
I hate nursing homes. I hate the way they smell. There are some really good ones out there, but cost more than most people can afford. State run nursing homes seem to be the worst of the worst. Has anyone figured out why? Well, one reason could be, the people they hire are just there for the paycheck. Perhaps if they shut down those hell holes, others could take them over, and actually run them like they care? I don’t know. Honestly, I just don’t know. I know there is a need for them, but I wish there wasn’t.
S.F. fire house arsonist cuts pricey plea deal
Lance Farber, the fire-starting, tomato-tossing boyfriend of new San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim, is out of jail – but only after the city took him to the cleaners.
Farber, who had been sitting in jail for almost six weeks on $1 million bail, pleaded guilty last week to one count of unlawfully and recklessly starting a fire and one count of vandalism with over $400 in damage.
The 47-year-old New Age chiropractor was accused of setting a bed on fire and tossing an open can of tomatoes through the city’s historic fire chief’s house – staining the walls – after an alcohol-fueled lovers’ spat with Rahaim back in February. The newly arrived couple had been staying at the vacant residence at Mayor Gavin Newsom’s invitation.
Maybe Johnny boy should have given his honey a psychological exam? Maybe San Fran should have given Newsom one too, before electing him. Perhaps, they should check the water. And what the heck is a “New Age” chiropractor? Does he shake feathers towards the areas that are afflicted? Does he sit in the nude, with his legs folded up, and think it all better?
Wis. house fire kills 3 college students
A smoky house fire near a University of Wisconsin campus killed three students who never made it out of the rooms where they were sleeping early Saturday, even though neighbors said they heard alarms.
Rescuers found two women and a man on the floors of three second-floor bedrooms near the University of Wisconsin-Stout. All three were pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said.
Prayers with the families.
‘Some progress’ in Russia-US ties
US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have signed a framework agreement but said they had made no breakthrough on differences.
Mr Putin said Russia remained opposed to US missile defence plans in Europe, but there were “positive developments”.
I think the only way a serious breakthrough will come is if Putin stops backing up Iran, and come to grips with the reality of the dangers. Ahmabooboo, or whoever will be his replacement isn’t going to care that Russia helped them out. Russia isn’t Muslim, therefore, they are “infidels” and will be treated as such!
Harold Sr., Jr. speak out against family members
In remarks published Friday in The Commercial Appeal, Jake Ford blasted Cohen, who is white, and said Tennessee deserves to have at least one black congressman.
(…)
“My brother and I were not saying we have to have a black representative in this district. We said in the state of Tennessee, the western district was created as a predominantly black district so we would have black representation in Congress,” Jake Ford said.“Everyone makes it seem like I’m creating the race issue.”
Something about a shoe and fitting comes to mind.
Tenn. public schools can offer Bible courses
Tennessee’s attorney general says the state’s public schools can offer classes on the Bible as long as the lessons don’t endorse a particular religion.
The opinion released Tuesday also says a pending legislative bill that would allow the state to create a nonsectarian Bible elective curriculum is constitutional.
Four Tennessee counties currently offer such classes as a special course that counts as an elective. Such courses are designed to look at the Bible’s impact on literature, art, and politics.
Excellent idea! The Bible has had a large impact of society, and not just in the religious world. Ok, where’s the ACLU? No doubt they will coming marching in stating there should be no choice in the matter. Funny, for a bunch that pushes a freedom of choice, when it comes to murdering babies and child molestation, they sure have been rabid against anything to do with the Word. Odd.
Weaseling
Vodka Maker Apologizes for Ad Depicting Southwest as Part of Mexico
The Absolut vodka company apologized Saturday for an ad campaign depicting the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico amid angry calls for a boycott by U.S. consumers.
The campaign, which promotes ideal scenarios under the slogan “In an Absolut World,” showed a 1830s-era map when Mexico included California, Texas and other southwestern states. Mexico still resents losing that territory in the 1848 Mexican-American War and the fight for Texas independence.
But the ads, which ran only in Mexico and have since ended, came as the United States builds up its border security amid an emotional debate over illegal immigration from their southern neighbor.
Apology not accepted! And besides, it wasn’t much of an apology, in my opinion.
Here’s a thought! How about if Absolut sponsor building that fence to ensure what’s our is ours? I mean since the gubmint is having such a hard time getting around to doing THEIR job, instead, wasting time with this investigation, that investigation….who’s got caught with their ‘pants down’ this time.
Yep, I’d say Absolut could have it built in no time at all. Then they can take their vodka and…… (insert your personal choice here).
Make sure you get the borders just right! I’m sure if you have any problems, there will be PLENTY of people to help you get the lines in the right place!
Hollywood Icon Gone
The loons in Hollyweird could have learned a lot from this man. Dignity, grace, humility, just to name a few.
Rest in peace sir, you have surely deserved it!
Charlton Heston Dies at Beverly Hills Home
Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing “Ben-Hur” and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the ’50s and ’60s, has died. He was 84.
The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.
Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.
“Charlton Heston was seen by the world as larger than life. He was known for his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders and resonating voice, and, of course, for the roles he played,” Heston’s family said in a statement. “No one could ask for a fuller life than his. No man could have given more to his family, to his profession, and to his country.”
Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer’s disease, saying, “I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure.”
With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. “I have a face that belongs in another century,” he often remarked.
The actor assumed the role of leader offscreen as well. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s. With age, he grew more conservative and campaigned for conservative candidates.
Verse of the Day
1 John 3:16
6 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
