"Absolut"ely Stupid Debate

Absolut brand
The controversial ad
Another controversial anti-war Absolut ad

The big brouhaha over the Absolut Vodka ads depicting parts of the Southwest US on the map as part of Mexico is puzzling to me. Apparently it pisses off people on both sides of the fence (no pun intended) because most Mexicans still feel like they were robbed when the US claimed those territories formerly belonging to their country.Americans are mad because they feel parts of America are already controlled by Mexicans. Tit for tat. (We took a couple of states from them , now they are invading every one of ours,but I digress)

So what does a stupid vodka ad (one that was NEVER meant for the US market in the 1st place) have to do with immigration? Vin & Sprit, the holders of the Absolut brand,have mounted way more potentially controversial Absolut ads in the past, particularly the anti-war ad among others.

Pernod Ricard SA , a French distilled spirit giant,is buying out V&S and aside from Absolut, has exclusive distribution rights to numerous other popular liquor brands sold worldwide. Does Michelle Malkin and the rest of her ilk really think a boycott is going to hurt them in any way?

People are NOT going to stop buying Absolut. Personally I dislike ANY vodka-it tastes like rubbing alcohol to me and I cannot differentiate top shelf stuff (like Absolut or Goose) from the cheap rail stuff, nevertheless ALOT of people consume vodka and many of them prefer the Swedish-made Absolut over any other (which brings me to a curious question-what do Swedes know about vodka?I thought it was a Russian thing!).

If anyone else can figure out what all the hullabaloo is about, please clue me in.Until then,I doubt the marketing dept. at V&S is losing sleep-in fact, all this media attention may even increase their sales worldwide.

The Kids Are Alright?

A plot by several third-graders to attack and "overthrow" one of their teachers was foiled Tuesday at a school in Waycross,Georgia after a student reported one of her classmates brought a weapon to school.Police seized a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape, electrical and transparent tape, ribbons and a crystal paperweight from the students, who apparently intended to use them against the teacher, and all kids involved were either 8 or 9 years old!WTF???
While school admininstration said all students involved in the scheme have been indefinitely suspended,they cannot be charged with a crime under state law because they are under 13!Mothers of other 3rd grade students have joined forces to demand the participants be expelled for the safety of their own kids.
Chillingly,they had the whole thing planned out-even conspiring to cover the windows so nobody could see in and witness the impending attack.The teacher reportedly was a 3rd grade"special ed" teacher,and instructed children with ADD,and other developmental problems.The plot was in retaliation to her disciplining a classmate for standing on a chair.
While some people may find this amusing,I think it is extremely disturbing.Had these kids had the opportunity to set their plan in motion they could have seriously injured or even killed the teacher.(and in accordance to Georgia law,gotten away with murder!)There is nothing "special" about these special ed kids,they demonstrated that by working in tandem to cook up an ambush!Is this what schools are coming to?What about the kids with learning disabilities who truly need special education?They clearly are not getting the attention they require if the teacher is pre-occupied with controlling kids who have severe personality disorders.
And just because they under 13 and cannot be prosecuted does not mean it is out of the states hands.Social Services should do independent investigations into each of these children because plotting to kill an adult,a teacher no less,is NOT normal!Are they growing up in homes with domestic violence,sexual abuse,substance abuse,or mental illness?We cannot sit back and wait until they older and not intervene.Incidents like Jonesboro prove that even young kids can pull off school massacres and they did not just "snap" one day-there were signs of trouble before they decided to shoot up the school.

NOW do you think he did it?

Yesterday it was released that the late THIRD wife of Drew Peterson,who was found dead in a bathtub in 2004 after starting divorce proceedings,actually did NOT die of natural causes as originally thought.Her body was exhumed and autopsied for a second time and medical examiners have now determined the cause of her death to be homicide.NOW do you think Drew Peterson had something to do with his FOURTH wifes disappearance?I certainly do.

This morning,Drew Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, told CBS' "The Early Show" that the latest autopsy results don't implicate him in the death in any way.HUH?

Let's look at this former police Sgt.'s domestic history.....his SECOND wife claims that when he started becoming abusive during their marriage,he taunted her by saying he could kill her and "get away with it".She did call the cops on occasion but they were all Drews "brothers in blue" and nothing ever was officially reported.

Flash forward to the 3rd wife-Kathleen Savio.In 2002 she filed for an Order of Protection after Peterson allegedly assaulted her,leaving marks.Just two years later,prior to the finalization of their divorce,she winds up dead in a bathtub.Things that make you go hmmmmm......

Meanwhile,wife number FOUR,Stacy,has been missing for over a year and suspicions about his involvement in her disappearance forced Drew Peterson to end a 29 year police career.He says she ran off with a man.Her family insists she would never abandon her kids.Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that at 54 years old,Drew Peterson is a full 30+ years older than Stacy which leads me to believe he has a Svengali complex or something along those lines.

That being said,I hope this new evidence brings alittle more closure to the family of Ms.Savio and whoever took her life faces justice.I might be wrong,but I have had a "hinky" feeling about this dude since he started showing up on all the news shows with his lawyer and the details of his past came out.What do y'all think?

How safe are oil refineries?

Aftermath of 2005 BP Texas City Refinery Explosion

Today an oil refinery explosion in Big Springs,TX injured four people,luckily no one was killed in the blast that shook houses for miles around.I could not help but think back to the March 2005 explosion at the BP Texas City Refinery that injured 170 and killed 15.At the time,it was the 3rd largest refinery in the US and had an input of almost half a million barrels a day.

Three subsequent safety incidents at the refinery led to the Baker Panel being formed to investigate the practices at BP Texas city.To date BP has paid out 1.6 billion dollars to victims of the 2005 explosion and they were forced to update equipment at their refinery with safer,more environmentally sound alternatives.

The Alon USA refinery that exploded today only processes a fraction of the crude as Texas City,about 70,000 a day but the impact will still be felt in a market where fuel prices are already staying high.With the record profits being enjoyed by oil companies,why aren't the refineries safer?Since environmentalists block new refineries,why wouldn't the oil companies invest some of their profits into updating and streamlining existing production facilities to ensure they will be up and running?

"More than a theme song..."

Tom Scholz,founder and former member of the classic rock group Boston and a Barack Obama supporter,has asked Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee to cease and refrain from using the Boston hit"More than a feeling" at his campaigning rallies.Barry Goudreau,also a former Boston band member is a Huckabee supporter and he and his band,Capital Offense,have performed "More than a feeling" at Huckabee events-which wouldn't be an issue but for the fact that Scholz fought-and won-a court battle with CBS and the other three members of Boston(including Gourdreau)for the rights to the "Boston" name and all of their songs.Scholz says that using the song implies that he and the band Boston support Huckabee.
In a similar situation,McCain's campaign agreed to stop playing John Mellencamp's songs "Our Country" and "Pink Houses" after the uber-liberal singer asked him to stop.
I can definitely understand how they feel....although Fleetwood Mac appeared with former Pres. Clinton on TV,the Clinton campaigns overuse of "Dont Stop(thinking about tomorrow)" ruined the song for me permanently and I was a Clinton supporter back in 92 lol.

"The Digital Revolution"

A study released today by Nielsen on the "digital TV readiness" pertaining to the February 2009 transition to all-digital TV signals had some suprising results.They found that older Americans are better prepared for the switch than younger age groups and that by race those most unprepared for it are Hispanics.The outcome of the survey was also influenced by what the industry calls "cable penetration".Ranked by market,NY has the most readiness,with only 3.5 percent of surveyed households who have non-digital sets and get TV "over the air"By comparison,Portland,OR,was the least prepared television market,with 22.4 percent of surveyed households with non-digital TV and UHF signals.
The survey also noted a vital fact that alot of people do not realize.It seems like alot of people think they will have to replace all their TV sets or buy converters and that is simply not true.Homes receiving satellite TV(all digital Directv or DishTV) or digital cable(Comcast,Charter,etc)will have to do nothing.Which leads me to the question-why all the fuss?How many of us actually still only get over the air channels?

"Jaws" star Roy Scheider dies at 75

Roy Scheider in "Jaws"1975
Recent photo of Scheider

Actor Roy Scheider died of undisclosed causes Sunday in a Little Rock,Arkansas hospital at the age of 75.Best known for his role as Chief Martin Brody in Jaws and Jaws 2,he had been treated at the hospitals Myeloma Clinic for the past two years.He also played opposite Gene Hackman in "The French Connection" and had a Tv series,Seaquest DSV.His trademark lines in the Jaws movies were" you're gonna need a bigger boat" and "Smile,you son of a bitch!"Jaws was the first movie to break 100k at the box office and kept an entire generation of nervous kids out of the water!

PETA gets their feathers ruffled over KFC

A 1980's circa KFC bucket





People for the Ethic Treatment of Animals (PETA) are outraged over a move by Kentucky State Rep. Charles Siler to designate Kentucky Fried Chicken as the official state picnic food.PETA has been embroiled in protests against the KFC chain for years over the alleged mistreatment of meat chickens.Yeah,I guess the slaughtering process leaves little to be desired but how else are you going to eat the chicken without killing,plucking and cleaning it?There are too many legitimate animal rights beefs without PETA going for the jugular of the ginormous Pepsico-owned fried chicken chain started by Colonel Harlan Sanders decades ago.The group even demanded that the Capitol House in Frankfort,KY,remove a bust of Col.Sanders on display!C'mon people,mellow out!We gotta eat!If you do not want to eat meat thats your right and you can just get biscuits or something if you do not want a juicy original recipe 4 piece dinner WITH giblet gravy!I think some of the state designations some politicians introduce are silly and all but KFC is a household name and if the state wants to honor Colonel Sanders then let them at it!

Another amazing dog in the news!

Today the Tampa Tribune reported the story of a Labrador,with the ironic moniker of "Jet",who survived a 6 story fall on New Years Eve 2007.She accidently leaped over a railing in the Tampa airport parking garage and plunged about 70 feet,and then got up!The 2 yr old pooch had a collapsed lung and some contusions and was home the next day!Jet lives in Largo,Fl,with his owners.

Super Tuesday means super stupid bills on the ballots

Today it was reported in national news that in two of the many states holding elections today,there are ridiculous bills on the ballot up for vote.
First of all,in Mississippi,we have a bill from Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier,which would ban restaurantiers from serving obese people.I sh*t you not!another dumb law to save people from themselves that has no merit whatsoever.Read says he never intended for it to ever be voted into law,he just wanted to shed light on what he feels to be an obesity epidemic in his state(an estimated 30% of Mississippians are obese).So why even waste the valuable time debating it or bringing it up at all?
Then over in California,Measure A on the local ballots in Riverside,if passed,would restrict the number of roosters residents can legally own.They say it is to cut down on cockfighting but there was also alot of pressure on the city council by residents who merely complained about excessive noise from crowing roosters.If you live in ANY metropolitan area and your biggest complaint is a crowing cock,then you need to get a life.If the city already allows people to keep chickens its kind of unfair to backpedal now because some neighbors got their feathers ruffled!

What is happening to these kids?

It was reported today in national news that a 15 yr old Cockeysville Maryland boy gunned down his parents and two brothers,left and spent an entire day with his friends,and reported his familys deaths upon returning home Saturday evening.He allegedly had been having difficulties getting along with his father,a Towson real estate attorney.Nicholas Waggoner Browning confessed to the slayings to police shortly after his crime was discovered.All their neighbors and friends have commented on what an asset this family was to the community and the boy had no history of violence.
Lots of teenagers argue with their parents.Let's face it,when you are a teenager you pretend your parents do not even exist,lol as if you were hatched out of an egg or something.There are going to be screaming matches and occasional tantrums but KILLING your parents AND your siblings?It is eerily reminiscent of the 1970's Amityville NY DeFeo murders-you know the ones in the "Amityville Horror"house.Was the kid in this case doing drugs?Did he have a mental illness?Or was it something darker that propelled him to commit such horror?He is too young to be charged as an adult in this tragedy and there is no offical word yet on whether he is being represented by an attorney.
I hope this is not indictative of another underlying epidemic of killer kids.In this case,the murder weapon was a gun in the home that belonged to the killers Dad.That opens up another big can of worms if the guns were not properly under lock and key.Browning is being held in a segregated juvenile unit at the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson.

NY Giants take the Superbowl and the Patriots by surprise

After trailing slightly behind the undefeated New England through most of the game,the NY Giants came back and won in a 17-14 upset with a mere 28 seconds or so left on the 4th quarter.

The Victory Parade will commence on Tuesday,ironically the same day as primary elections and lots of fanfare is expected-the Big blue has damn well earned it!Eli Manning was named Superbowl 42 MVP and Terry Bradshaw awarded him the keys to a new Cadillac Escalade.I am so psyched and Very,very proud to be a Giants fan tonight after they won their 3rd Superbowl.It proves that nice guys do not always finish last and the underdogs always come back!

Even MORE animal hoarders!

For the THIRD time in a little over a week another animal hoarding case has made national news-this time in Bonham,Texas where complaints from neighbors prompted an investigation yesterday by the local police in cooperation with the SPCA.Three dogs and a mind-boggling TWO HUNDRED AND NINE cats were removed from the home,and authorities say they found 40 of the cats together in a single bedroom.The alleged owner,David Wheeler,says he initially started out with 13 cats and they quickly multiplied.Wheeler also added that it was too expensive to spay and/or neuter that many cats AND feed them too.Here's a novel idea for him-don't have A pet,let alone over a dozen,unless you are prepared and able to have them neutered and vaccinated.

Hand sanitizers aren't enough in hospital settings

We all know someone who uses this hand sanitizer gel religiously-I typically only use it in cold season when I am not able to wash my hands right away but I know alot of people also keep it in their purse,car,desk drawer,etc.The problem with these gels are some people will forgo traditional hand washing altogether in favor of the quicker easier cleanup,which may be OK for most people but not good enough for hospitals.

Most hospitals now have hand sanitizer dispensers EVERYWHERE and while it is a step in the right direction,A recent study suggests they are NOT as effective as good old fashioned soap and water in preventing antibiotic resisitant hospital infections.

In a study headed by Dr.Mark Rupp of the University of Nebraska Medical Center,infection rates among patients persisted even though medical staff had doubled their use of the alcohol based sanitizing gels at Nebraska Medical Center.

Which means while you certainly cannot rub on some Purell and then perform surgery,it is still a healthy substitute for soap and water when there are no hand-washing facilities.Keep on pumping!

Federal tax rebates approved by House 385-35

The US House of Representatives has approved the proposed 146 billion dollar federal tax rebate package by an overwhelming vote with little debate today,but it still has to go through the Senate and word has it they will drag it out because they cannot agree on the terms of the rebate.The current rebate,as it stands,would provide the average married couple a rebate of $1,000,with an additional $300 for each child,providing their income falls under 150k a year.Single taxpayers would get $500 if they make under 75k a year.Unlike the House,some Senate members are pushing for rebates for those who would not benefit under the plan passed by the House-the very wealthiest taxpayers.Some Senate members have "wish-lists" they want to add to the economic stimulus package that includes food stamps,Medicaid and energy assistance for low-income people.Excuse me????Don't they get enough free sh*t from us working people?I am really starting to get disgusted with the Democrats because whenever the economy goes south,their first thought is to increase public aid!Food stamps and other entitlements are what is breaking the bank already,people!A bad economy doesn't affect those who get all those entitlements,because the tax money sucked out of working peoples pockets go to pay their electric bills,medical bills,rent AND food.What more do they want?They already get huge tax returns because they work as little as possible so they can get those government entitlements-therefore,"on paper",they are low income and qualify for EIC and all that other happy stuff.There is something wrong with our tax system when a man supporting a family of 3 on 40k a year with no government aid gets a meager $1500 refund,yet someone who works a PT job with government paid daycare,food,electric,housing and medical cards gets a windfall of 3 or 4 grand!They should be required to forfeit some of their massive refunds to recoup the costs incurred by John Q.Taxpayer to support them and their families.Instead of throwing more money at an outdated,unequal,and over abused welfare system,give more back to the people who are hurting in this country-you know,those of us who do it all by ourselves and don't expect the government to keep us fed.The first of the month in December,after the last government checks are sent out,you can't get near an H&R Block office for all the "entitled"people lining up to get "rapid refunds" so they can walk outta there with a loaded debit card.Sorry,they get enough!

Let's hope good sense prevails and the Senate speeds it through so we can start getting our checks-I sure won't turn down a grand!

It sounds like a Hollywood movie....but it isn't.

Government officials have disclosed that a large US spy satellite has lost power and could plummet to Earth in the next month or two.The satellite is the size of a small bus,weighs 20,000 lbs and would create a debris field one tenth the size of the 2003 Columbia shuttle crash site upon impact.Their primary concern is that "uncontrolled re-entry may risk exposure of U.S. secrets" and a chemical,Hydrazine,which is used as rocket fuel and is a highly toxic chemical.They did not comment on whether they would use a missile to shoot it down.
I know,it sounds like the plot of a movie,and even though it has happened before,it is still frightening for me to think about!I will be following this story closely!