April 19, 2006
Let them drink wine
Shelbyville Times-Gazette: Story: Rural residents want water
I mean, next thing they'll be asking for air or something.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:24 AM | Comments (1)
October 30, 2005
Not exactly a big crime
al.com: NewsFlash - For some hurricane victims, MREs may mean Meals-Ready-for-eBay
I mean, selling off relief supplies like that might be a little low, but it's hardly a big deal. There isn't a whole lot of money in reselling instant meals.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
What, again?
CNN.com - Florida Keys prepare for Hurricane Wilma - Oct 19, 2005
Yep, another Cat 5. Non-residents have been ordered to leave the Keys. Residents? You should probably leave, too.
Hurricane season doesn't end until the end of November. Let's see, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta... That's all I know, but I'm sure they have a full list. What happens when we run out of Greek letters? Hebrew letters, I suppose. Aleph, Bet, Gimel...
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:37 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 25, 2005
Don't worry
al.com: NewsFlash - Many fear rebuilding could ruin charm, diversity of Miss. coast
It's still Mississippi. It will be "charming", I'm sure. And Trent Lott's new house is going to be great.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
That is one mean-looking hurricane
CNN.com - Texans flee from Rita - Sep 21, 2005
You know how normally a hurricane looks like a spiral, with some areas where the clouds are a lot thinner. Not this one. It's an almost solid disc except for the eye. It looks like the blade of a giant power saw. It's going to hit sometime Friday, and it's probably going to hit hard.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:49 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
September 19, 2005
Probably a good idea
CNN.com - Key West orders hurricane evacuations - Sep 19, 2005
How crazy would you have to be to stick around now? Forecasters don't like the track of this storm. The way it's traveling makes it likely that it's going to hit Texas or Louisiana. And it's going to get stronger, because there's nothing in the Gulf to weaken it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:00 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 10, 2005
Can we go back to Iraq?
Guard unit says 'nothing left'
All the attention on New Orleans is finally slacking off enough so that people are learning how bad it is in the rest of the Delta. The only livable building in Pearlington, MS (previous population 2500) is the shelter they're making of the elementary school library. The Catholic church had to be bulldozed after Katrina pushed it into the middle of the main street.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:27 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 08, 2005
And Mexicans!
al.com: NewsFlash - Mexican troops cross into U.S. for hurricane relief
I mean, what if they stay behind? Think of the schools! Plus, it's kind of embarrassing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:57 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Oh no, the French!
al.com: NewsFlash - EADS Beluga lands with 22 tons of hurricane supplies
The massive EADS' Airbus Beluga aircraft with 22 tons of hurricane relief supplies from the United Kingdom and France landed Thursday morning at Mobile.
We can't accept help from the French! It will have garlicky French cooties on it!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 07, 2005
Please go east
CNN.com - Ophelia grows stronger off Florida - Sep 7, 2005
Or north, or south. Just don't go west yet. The Gulf Coast isn't ready for this right now.
Meanwhile, Nate is off Bermuda, which isn't used to this. Next up: Philippe!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 06, 2005
Inevitably
CNN.com - Official: E. Coli bacteria detected in floodwater - Sep 6, 2005
Considering all the crap -- literal and figurative -- in that water, it would have to be swarming with E. coli. Katrina hasn't stopped killing yet.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:01 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 02, 2005
Thank God
Convoy Nears Convention Center With Relief Supplies
What took so long? And how many people are dead now who would have lived if they'd gotten there on Tuesday or Wednesday? It's probably Clinton's fault.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The situation
`All I got left is God and my pictures'
This was not a normal hurricane. And this is not a normal evacuation. Normally, after a week maybe, people go back and rebuild. It won't be the case this time. We have hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and we're just not set up to take care of them long-term.
The woman quoted in the headline is facing breaking up her family. She has relatives in Michigan and in Kansas, but neither set can take everyone. Of course, she's one of the lucky ones.
A lot of people are in shelters. They're not exactly paradise, and most aren't really anywhere people are supposed to stay. Places like the student rec center at UA, where the above woman is staying. I have heard that the people there are being treated rather shabbily, by the way, and not allowed to mix with the students and faculty.
Of course, some people have money. Money solves a lot of things. They can rent a house and move in until the situation changes. But most people don't have that kind of money. Even the people who are well off don't, because their jobs don't exist right now. We have upper-middle-class professionals who are suddenly homeless.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:58 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
September 01, 2005
Let's be clear about this
Higher Death Toll Seen; Police Ordered to Stop Looters - New York Times
Hard to believe, but a lot of people -- including, apparently, the President of the United States -- don't realize a couple of things:
1. These "looters" are for the most part people who are trying to stay alive, taking food and supplies which are not available to them and which they need to survive. The supermarkets are closed, folks. And the Federal government doesn't seem to have actually gotten any relief supplies to New Orleans yet.
2. The people in question are for the most part poor and did not have the means to evacuate. Many don't have cars, or don't have cars that could make a 200 mile trip to safety. The buses were closed. Oh, and hotel rooms are expensive.
But who cares about icky poor people? It's their own fault, probably.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:37 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBack
Sorry, folks
Katrina notebook: Cruise line asked to provide help
Carnival Cruise Lines has been asked if they can open up their ships for use as emergency shelters or for other relief efforts. There must be a joke here, but I simply can't get my head around this one.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 31, 2005
This is America
CNN.com - New Orleans evacuations under way - Aug 31, 2005
Cholera? They're actually expecting a cholera outbreak? And typhoid? Dear God.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Finally, a use for the Astrodome
Houston Astrodome Opened for Superdome Refugees
I'm sorry, but there's something horribly funny about the idea of refugees being bused from sports stadium to sports stadium. Next up: the Rose Bowl!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:58 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
August 30, 2005
Under what?!?!
WWLTV.com | News for New Orleans, Louisiana
"Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish under Martial Law. No one being allowed into New Orleans."
Martial Law? Really? Apparently so:
Martial law declared around New Orleans:- - World News - Webindia123.com
Note passive voice: Martial Law "has been" declared, not X declared Martial Law. Who, exactly, declared this? From what I can tell, the President of Jefferson Parish -- i.e., the chief executive of what everywhere else we'd call a county. I didn't know they could do that. Said Parish president is saying that it will be four to six weeks before electricity is restored. New Orleans is basically a Third World city now. No, more of a fourth world city; most Third World cities have some electricity.
(Via TPM.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:40 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
August 28, 2005
CNN finally learns
CNN.com - Thousands flee hurricane threat - Aug 27, 2005
It speaks, this time, of the "Florida-Alabama border". Back in Ivan's time (remember Ivan?) CNN seemed to have forgotten Alabama's existence, referring to the "Florida-Mississippi border".
Anyway, odds are that the center of the storm will pass west of here. Which means that the worst part of the storm (of what's left of it when it gets this far) will hit right here! Whee!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
The summer of lightning continues
CNN.com - 19 Fort Benning soldiers struck by lightning - Aug 17, 2005
Bet they wish they were in Iraq. Well, not really.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 05, 2005
Cindy?
al.com: NewsFlash - Tropical Storm Cindy heads toward La.
I have a lot of trouble taking seriously a storm named "Cindy". Could mean rain here, which would at least break the heat for awhile.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:16 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 09, 2005
Already?
al.com: NewsFlash - Tropical Storm Arlene forms in Caribbean; U.S. Gulf Coast watches
It's just early June. This season's going to be as bad as last year, I can feel it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:44 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 05, 2005
Going South
al.com: NewsFlash - Airbus parent picks four finalists for U.S. factory
Airbus is choosing between four sites, all in the south, including Mobile. The others are Charleston, Kiln, Mississippi (Brett Favre's hometown, and that's all it's known for) and Melbourne, Florida. They won't be building passenger jets, so you don't have to worry about flying in a plane built in Alabama.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:07 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 20, 2005
Who let TVA have a nuke plant anyway?
al.com: NewsFlash - TVA reports leak at Watts Bar Nuclear plant
Tritium leaked from a plant in Tennessee while repair work was underway on something else that had gone wrong. In a way, it's a relief to find out that TVA doesn't just screw up the plant in Alabama.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 15, 2004
Save the bad doctors!
Herald.com | 11/15/2004 | Judge puts on hold three-strikes amendment against doctors
Florida voters -- on their way to returning the governor's brother to office -- voted in favor of an amendment to the Florida Constitution which would strip the licenses of doctors who lose three or more malpractice cases. Having lost to their archenemy trial lawyers in an election, the doctors have gotten a TRO to suspend the law until the legislature "clarifies" it. Of course, that sort of thing is only wrong when Democratic-leaning groups do it, and these are the other guys.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 25, 2004
All Deliberate Speed
al.com: NewsFlash - College desegregation lawsuits coming to an end across the South
I mean, it's just fifty years and a few months since Brown v. Board of Education. You can't expect real progress in less than a couple of generations. Sheesh.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:27 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 09, 2004
Another one two
Tropical Storm Matthew aims for Panhandle; a second system could soak south Alabama
It's no Ivan, but Florida's already been softened up. Meanwhile:
This is just a plain old ordinary low-pressure system. But Dauphin Island has been really softened up.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 30, 2004
Not in all instances
al.com: NewsFlash - Series of Fla. hurricanes delay funerals
Because the ground is so soggy you can't bury people, and many families are scattered. In some instances, meanwhile, they accelerated funerals, what with all the people they killed.
(Sorry, it was one of those things I had to say.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 28, 2004
Mindless zero-tolerance making strides in Georgia
Girl who 'smelled like smoke' suspended | ajc.com
First off, I think cigarettes are nastiest things in the world, pretty much. But I think that a school suspending a student for "smelling like smoke" is way, way too far. For one thing, it's all too easy to smell like smoke just from association. For another, the school had no evidence that she'd been smoking during school hours or on school property. Though the way that schools today seem to think that they own students and can tell them what to do even when they're at home, it doesn't surprise me that they'd ignore that.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 24, 2004
Public-spirited hurricanes
CNN.com - Fourth hurricane eyes Florida - Sep 24, 2004
I've decided that what is going on isn't, as I'd thought, that God hates Florida. In fact, these hurricanes are trying to save American democracy from another boondoggle in Florida. Eventually, Florida will collapse utterly and we won't have to worry about who wins the state.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 23, 2004
Personal safety
Herald.com | 09/23/2004 | Homestead house fire kills stepfather, four children
The world is a dangerous place. So you put up burglar bars to keep out the criminals. And storm shutters to keep out the hurricanes. Then your house catches on fire, and you're trapped, and the firefighters can't get in because of your protective devices, which they have to saw through. Here's one thing you can do; if you live in an area like Miami, where hurricanes are a threat, don't leave your storm shutters up when there's no storm.
The mother of the children is safe. She was in the hospital, where she just gave birth to a baby girl.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 21, 2004
Mmm, sand...
Ivan eats popular beaches; property damage minimal
All in all, the damage could have been worse. One of the big blows (the people on CNN were oddly concerned about this while 150-MPH winds were buffeting people's homes) is that a lot of sand has been stripped away from the beaches. It happens, but the beaches of the Gulf are a major selling point.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:16 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 15, 2004
It helps if you're already drunk
New Orleans Tourists Take Ivan in Stride
Look, if you're in New Orleans, you probably won't even notice the flooding until it becomes difficult to breathe.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 09, 2004
Okay, God, You got our attention
Herald.com | 09/09/2004 | Evacuation begins in Keys; Ivan predicted to hit Cuba, Jamaica, Florida
Florida's already gotten slammed by two major hurricanes, why not a third, even stronger one? Says a "visibly worried" Jeb Bush, "People are at wit's end." I could say something about his brother there, but I won't.
At any event, it appears that the Keys are going to be slammed, and there's little chance that some part of the mainland won't at least feel part of the hit. But there's no telling exactly where it will hit in the end; it could go back into the Atlantic, hit anywhere in the American Gulf Coast, even Mexico and Central America.
I remember when Andrew hit for the second time -- I think it was Andrew -- in Louisiana. It was so strong still that we got tropical storm-force winds and power outages in Birmingham.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:12 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Hurricane likely just an excuse
AP Wire | 09/09/2004 | About 25 nurses fired for not working during Hurricane Frances
Okay, maybe nurses should come in for duty during a hurricane. I think it's a bit much to make them do so and fire the ones that refuse. I have a feeling that this hospital was looking to fire some nurses anyway. Other hospitals in the affected area didn't fire any employees who didn't show up.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:16 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 07, 2004
I mean, compared to Fallujah...
Herald.com | 09/07/2004 | Reservists fresh from Iraq reactivated to guard Florida
The more things change... I mean, it seems like only yesterday that they were guarding a partially ruined area where there was no electricity and no running water, and now they're doing it again. But at least nobody's shooting at them. Wait, are they sure they're in Florida?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 02, 2004
2.5 million
Herald.com | 09/02/2004 | Frances edges closer; state's largest evacuation ordered
The largest evacuation in Florida history. And it's still probably not enough, but what more can be done? The airports are closed or closing, there's a gas shortage, and the roads are packed.
My stepmother and grandmother are in Florida, or were; they were trying to fly out, but I don't know if they managed in time. I hope so.
UPDATE: Herald.com | 09/02/2004 | Trash collection suspended in Broward County
Emergency officials today urged residents to bring in trash receptacles or other items left out and to store them in a secure, enclosed area.
Um... like a house? The house where you're huddled with your family and you hope the roof stays on? You want them to bring in the garbage?
Note that every piece of garbage is, potentially, a man-killing missile at hurricane-force winds. But if you only have one secure area, I don't think you want to share it with three-day-old trash.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Florida is the problem
Geographically, I mean, not culturally. For once. The state's geography makes it particularly difficult to evacuate, of course. And when a storm, particularly an Atlantic storm, approaches the peninsula, you really can't evacuate everyone in danger because the entire state is potentially in danger.
Andrew, which was smaller than Frances but just about as powerful, hit Homestead in 1992, causing massive damage. But then it kept going, got into the Gulf, and hit Louisiana as well. Florida's too thin and flat to knock out a hurricane if it just heads across. Frances could hit north of Miami and continue straight across, restrengthen in the Gulf, then hit Panama City or Pensacola. Also, it's so big that severe winds and rain could result throughout the peninsula no matter where it hits. Even if they could successfully evacuate a million people, that's just a fraction of the population in the Miami area. I don't know about the damage, but the loss of life from Frances could be worse than Charley.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 25, 2004
Does my heart good
Herald.com | 08/25/2004 | Bill punishes Cuba travelers
Nice to see the Florida Republicans are still pandering to the reactionary exile vote.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2004
That's Florida, all right
Herald.com | 08/18/2004 | State vows to punish frauds, gougers
Fraud and dishonesty are two of Florida's major products; why should a hurricane change that? So you have the guys who claim to be insurance adjusters showing up at damaged and destroyed homes and demanding payments up front to survey the damage. There are the hotels that have jacked up their prices by nearly 200 percent. And, of course, there are the "roofers" who take upfront payments for repairs they won't, and likely can't, make. Nothing new; they all showed up after Andrew 12 years ago.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 15, 2004
Let's keep in mind what's really important
Herald.com | 08/15/2004 | Damage control extends to state's battered image
Hey, sixteen people are dead (that we know of), an entire town has been destroyed, hundreds of millions of dollars in damage... So come to Disney World! The state of Florida has a special fund for such emergencies. No, not for disaster relief. To assure tourists that Epcot is still open.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 14, 2004
Will they ever learn?
Herald.com | 08/14/2004 | Weak codes make Gulf Coast homes vulnerable
Does every single square foot of the state of Florida have to be ravaged by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane before they figure out that they might, just might, want to stiffen the building code? They have in the Miami area (though my understanding is that inspections aren't all they should be) but surely a monster hurricane would never hit the peninsula's Gulf coast, right?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 13, 2004
There's no way
Two million warned to leave west Fla. coast
800,000 was bad enough. There's no way that two million people are going to be able to evacuate. If that many tried, it would be a nightmare, and likely worse that no evacuation at all.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:52 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 12, 2004
Lord have mercy
800,000 people? Can you evacuate that many? That's a tall order, especially in Florida, where there really aren't all that many routes out.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 28, 2004
Check your rifles at the door
Walt Hilderman, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, says that the group has become too radical and is being taken over by racists. So, of course, the radical racists are out to get him.
Hilderman claims (and I agree with him) that SCV -- at least in its upper levels -- has been infiltrated by the secessionist League of the South and the racist, anti-immigration Council of Conservative Citizens (the "legitimate Klan"). You'd be hard pressed to prove him wrong. Take, for example, this. Or this. Pay special attention to the trolls. Somewhere along the way groups like the SCV -- which in the seventies and eighties looked to be evolving into more or less harmless relics -- took a hard right turn.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 22, 2004
Luckily, they were just crooks
Herald.com | 07/22/2004 | 19 face charges in MIA jet fuel thefts
A massive plot siphoned off millions of gallons of jet fuel for resale to private planes, trucks, and boats. Apparently, it was just for the dough, but you can probably think of any number of homeland security issues this raises.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 12, 2004
Vote for Dork
Politicians get a ride right to your door
I would never, ever, ever vote for a man who showed up at my door riding a Segway. Unless he was running against George Bush or somebody like that.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:26 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 09, 2004
Or are they?
Herald.com | 07/09/2004 | Documents detail more voting machine flaws
Hey, guess what? Those nifty touch-screen voting machines Florida bought are even more glitchy than previously advertised. Some problems have already been reported, but apparently there are a lot more that the Board of Elections is asking the company to fix:
• The central database machines used to tabulate votes are incapable of holding all the audit data at once, requiring a ''labor intensive and costly'' solution that could complicate a recount in a close race. Audit data is used to back up the system.• The optical scanners used to read absentee ballots have problems when information is merged from the three machines the county uses.
• And the county could potentially mix up votes if it were to try to use phone lines to transmit data from the polling places to the election center, which it doesn't plan to do.
Well, it's not like there's going to be a tight election or anything. I mean, what are the odds of that?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 07, 2004
Not as good news as it seems
Herald.com | 07/07/2004 | State won't try to force 48,000 voters off rolls
The state of Florida isn't going to purge the voter rolls of felons (and get a bunch of other people who don't belong on the felon list as well) this time. And this is good news. However, the various county election supervisors will still have the opportunity to do so if they so desire. But weren't you impressed with the county election boards last time? I thought so.
Meanwhile, the picture with the story apparently is Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood. It just looks like Janet Reno.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 30, 2004
It's Official: Dennis Kucinich chosen to be ABC's next "The Bachelor"
His friend, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to be the 'Spy'
WASHINGTON, D.C.--Twenty-Five beautiful ladies are getting quite a surprise this Fall when they meet the not-so-handsome troll-like Congressman from Ohio as their potential mate.
"Dennis who?" said 23 year old Phoenix, Arizona contractor, Leslie Spade. "He's famous? I hope he's rich and cute!"
Another lady has heard of him and is less then thrilled.
"I am a hard core Republican, first of all" said 25 year old model from Sacramento, Terri Johnson. "Second of all, he looks like a troll; I mean if they were going to stick us with a Democrat, it couldn't have at least been John Edwards?"
When polled of the 24 girls, only 8 had heard of him and four of those ladies were from Ohio.
"Oh, he was the worst Congressman, just awful!" exclaimed 27 year old Stephanie Jansen, a Mall Security Officer from Cleveland. "He actually tried to feel me up outside of Macy's one time until I hit him with a baton."
Meanwhile, the process of choosing Madeleine Albright as a spy was a tough one. First, there's the age problem. Second, several of the women realized she was famous and stood out, particularly when they all got in the hot tub.
"She was just digusting, flab everywhere," said 25 year old Dallas waitress, Mary Adams. "It was obvious from the getgo she was spying for this guy and I can't believe some of the girls were dumb enough to confide in her."
Meanwhile, despite the overwhelmingly negative reaction the girls are having to Kucinich, he remains upbeat that he will find his true love on national television.
"I am no Jessie Palmer, my friends" said a cocky Kucinich. "Unlike Jessie, I have a real game plan. First, I believe in free trade and free love. Second, I will only put my 'troops' down when one of the ladies is giving me a signal...otherwise, no troops shall be delpoyed," said a smug Kucinich.
Meanwhile Kucinich's ex-wives could not be reached for comment but giant shrieks of laughter were her inside their homes in Cleveland.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:51 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 21, 2004
Not again!
Herald.com | 06/21/2004 | Body found in trunk at airport
I'm surprised that the Miami paper still bothers to report these.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2004
That would suck
You think you're going to Lauderdale and you wind up in Little Rock? Ouch.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 22, 2004
Celebration!
Fla. Plans to Mark Death Penalty's Return
The state of Florida says it's just a coincidence that they're going to execute someone on the 25th anniversary of their first execution after the death penalty was reinstated. Riiight. Anyway, about the silver anniversary executee:
John Blackwelder, a 49-year-old convicted child molester, said he killed a man in prison just so he would be sentenced to die
No, no, no! It's shoot a man in Reno, just to watch him die!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 04, 2004
Look out, North Korea!
TVA aggressively expanding its nuclear capacity
They're talking about energy production. Or so they say.
TVA is talking about, for one thing, bringing the Browns Ferry Unit 1 reactor back on line. If you're not familiar with Browns Ferry, think of it as the real-world basis for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant on The Simpsons and you won't be far wrong. The good news for me is that if the plant does go kaboom the prevailing winds should take the fallout in the other direction.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 02, 2004
Overreactions
Tennessee to tighten driver's license policy
Tennessee loosened its ID requirements to get a driver's license in 2001. So a lot of illegal immigrants took road trips to Tennessee to get their licenses there. So now the legislature is toughening up the ID requirements, but predictably they're going too far and making it too difficult for immigrants.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2004
Extreme classroom discipline!
Teacher probed in assault resigns
On Tuesday, Carrie Peoples opened up a classroom window and encouraged seven of the eight students in her language arts class to throw the eighth out. Several boys did, and the student -- a 14 year old girl -- landed outside on her head. (It was the first story and she only fell about three feet, apparently.) She's back in class. Teacher isn't.
(Asinine AJC registration required. Use name warliberal, address mac at warliberal dot com, password, warliberal. Nobody else in the entire world requires three elements for news signin, I think, but the AJC is on its own planet and always has been.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 19, 2004
Big deal
This is in Miami. There are bridge clubs in Miami with more firepower than that.
(Once again, stupidly invasive registration required. To avoid this and screw The Man, use email address mac at warliberal dot com, password warliberal.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Rare collective common sense
Bob Riley and the other southern governors decided not to show up for a "funeral" for sailors killed in the sinking of a Confederate boat in 1864. Riley instead was addressing a convention of National Guardsmen. Wow, Americans over traitors, how radical. Riley has "rankled" some Confederate heritage groups in the past. I knew there was a reason I kinda liked the guy.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:09 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 16, 2004
Born to eat wild
Weston restaurant owner charged with buying wild meat
The owner of the "Pacific Island" restaurant purchased wild ducks, white-tailed deer, bear and snook from undercover agents of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. I don't know what "snook" are but I'm guessing it's a fish which would mean that this goes in all three "pundit" categories.
The defendant says that he didn't feed any of this to his patrons, and that it was only used to feed his employees. Uh-huh.
(Offensive and overly intrusive registration required. Better use email address mac at warliberal dot com, password warliberal.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 28, 2004
Oh, no, not again
McKinney to run against Majette
Yeah, that's the last thing we need, a Cynthia McKinney comeback. She's running for the Democratic nomination. Her dad, always a go-to guy for a fun quote, says that Denise Majette "is Zell Miller's and the Republicans' candidate. We plan to run vigorously against Zell Miller, George Bush and Denise Majette." Because there's no difference between a centrist Democrat and George Bush, not to mention whatever the hell Zell Miller is.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 27, 2004
I see... a great waste of time and money!
CNN.com - Psychic tip prompts bomb search on plane - Mar 27, 2004
What kind of dumbass cancels a flight because a "psychic" claims there's a bomb on the plane?
The purported psychic's call was "unusual," conceded Doug Perkins, local administrator for the federal Transportation Security Administration director."But in these times, we can't ignore anything. We want to take the appropriate measures," he said.
Hey, maybe every flight should be preceded by a ouija board session! And we can have on-board astrologers! Sacrifice a sheep and read its entrails, then have mutton as the in-flight meal!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:24 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 25, 2004
Only in Miami
Juror is dismissed from Miami gun-planting trial
Okay, so three Miami police officers are on trial for covering up the planting of a gun following a 1995 double fatal shooting. The jury is deliberating, and one of the jurors' homes was actually broken into while she was sleeping earlier this week, only to tamper with her air conditioning. The juror told the (Federal) judge that she thought it was possible someone sympathetic to the defendants was trying to scare her, and the judge dismissed her. Normally, I'd think she was exaggerating, but you hear things about South Florida police.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack