Robocalls ::

Let's see. I got them at work today from Parker Griffith, Wayne Parker, and Bill Clinton. Got them at home today from Griffith, Deborah Bell Paseur, and one that was barely intelligible. I have to say that no matter who they're from they're irritating!

Earnest Nunley-One Fat Cowboy! ::

I was heading toward Huntsville yesterday afternoon when I saw this guy on horseback leading a packhorse. I didn't have time to stop then to ask if I could take a photograph, but on the way back in an hour of so I drove halfway to Guntersville futilely looking for him. I figured that he was on some sort of quest and I was curious.

I had to run to the store this morning and I saw his horse at my neighbor Mike's place. I had to unload some things and by that time he had gotten on the road, but I caught him just before he got to Hwy. 431 and I had a few minutes to talk with him and take a few photographs.



His name is Earnest Nunley and he is riding his horse, Snowey, to San Francisco. Here, in his own words, are his reasons for making the trip:

Hi!!
I 'm One Fat Cowboy (Ernest Nunley) and this is my horse Snowey.

I am traveling across America by horseback.
Please, keep the children for whom I am riding,
Snowey and myself in your prayers.
We have alot of rough miles ahead of us.
After completing 400 miles of our journey,
we have 3100 miles left to go.
Just me and my horse against the elements,
with no comforts of home.

Hopefully, this trip will accomplish several goals:

*Bring awareness that there are still way too many children
suffering from Catastrophic diseases and cancer,
as did four of my family members,
whom did not live to adulthood.

*Not all children that need help are physically
or mentally ill, but have parents that are too self involved.

*That you are the one who can make a difference,
by the donation of your time and/or money,
to the different charities, organizations or churches
that provide services for these children.

*To honor the memory of all the children who have succumbed
to childhood cancer and other illnesses like my family members.

As for me personally, it will give me a chance to meet people
and talk about my favorite subjects. Those subjects being
children and horses. It will, also, reunite me with my brother in
California that I have not seen in 17 years.
I will, also, join the ranks of a very few, in recent times,
that have ridden horseback from coast to coast.

The only way I can accomplish this is
with God's help through you.
Any donations, horse food, use of pasture,
food, board, cash, etc. will be appreciated!

I am not affiliated with any charity or group
so anything you give is strictly to help Snowey and Myself
complete this Quest.

Earnest has a web site, onefatcowboy.com, where you can make a donation to help him on his trip. Consider tossing him a few bucks to help him out on his journey!



[postscript]

I meant to also say that Earnest was getting ready to head south on Hwy 431 toward Guntersville, Albertville, and points south, but he always needs a place to stay and to stable and feed his horses. If you see him on the road and can offer a night at your inn please do so!

"Don't Speak For Me, Sarah Palin" ::

Q & A With Josh Segall ::

Over at The American Prospect.

Drastically Underemployed In Huntsville ::

Tristero at Hullabaloo had a post on this early this morning and I couldn't pass on commenting given the local flavor, especially given the Nobel announcements earlier.

In a couple of months, Roger Y. Tsien and Martin Chalfie will head to Stockholm to collect the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and $450,000 each in prize money in recognition of their development of a revolutionary technique that lights up the inner workings of living cells.

Meanwhile, the scientist who provided the essential piece that made Dr. Tsien’s and Dr. Chalfie’s work possible — a jellyfish gene that produces a fluorescent protein — is out of science.

Douglas C. Prasher, who conducted his research on the Aequorea victoria jellyfish while at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts in the early 1990s, now drives a courtesy van for a car dealer in Huntsville, Ala., earning $10 an hour. He said he was not bitter or jealous of this year’s winning chemistry Nobelists: Dr. Tsien of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Chalfie of Columbia and Osamu Shimomura, the original discoverer of the jellyfish protein in 1961.

Trained as a biochemist, Dr. Prasher, 57, was interested in the chemistry of how certain animals are able to glow. In the late 1980s, he applied to the National Institutes of Health for a five-year grant to track down the fluorescent protein gene.

Dr. Prasher said his proposal included speculation on how the fluorescent protein might be used as a beacon to light up structures in cells. “That would have certainly been part of my research program,” Dr. Prasher said. “I knew it could serve as a genetic marker and it would be really, really useful, which it has turned out to be.”

That application was turned down. A parallel proposal to the American Cancer Society succeeded, giving Dr. Prasher only two years of financing, enough time to isolate the gene, but not pursue any applications.

By then, however, Dr. Prasher had decided that Woods Hole was not the place for him. Instead of going through the tenure process — he thought he would be turned down, anyway — he looked for a new job. Dr. Chalfie and Dr. Tsien independently contacted Dr. Prasher asking about the jellyfish gene. Dr. Prasher generously shared the gene with both of them.

Dr. Prasher then worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, first on Cape Cod and later in Beltsville, Md., developing methods for identifying pests and other insects. Again, he was not happy, experiencing the beginning of bouts of depression. “I was not happy with management there, so I looked for another position,” he said.

His next move was to Huntsville, where he worked for a NASA subcontractor that was developing mini-chemistry laboratories, which would be needed as health diagnostic tools for a potential human flight to Mars. Dr. Prasher loved that job, but NASA eliminated the financing for the project. For family reasons, he stayed in Huntsville, which restricted his opportunities. “The amount of life science done here is very limited,” he said.

The depression returned. “That’s been a serious problem off and on, but anyone who doesn’t have a job has that problem,” Dr. Prasher said. “If they don’t, there’s a problem with them. Or they’re independently wealthy.”

After a year of unemployment, he started driving the van for Bill Penney Toyota, his job for the last year and a half.

The above was snagged from Hullabaloo, but the entire NY Times article is here.

I'll be curious to see of The Huntsville Times has anything on Dr. Prasher's situation!

Dealing With Plants In The Fall ::

Moving plants in the fall is always a dilemma for me. I will be taking some to work, but the larger ones sometime pose problems. A couple of years ago I gave a couple of Dracenas to a friend who has a music room with 10 foot ceilings as they were touching the top of my ceilings at home. Now they live in a very well lit room along with a parlor grand piano. The small Dracenas I have left are easily incorporated into my great room, but I'm curious to see what will happen with the Philodendron. I bought it about 3 years old as in a 4 or 6 inch pot for about $4. I take great pleasure in getting small inexpensive plants and growing them to maturity. I have a beautiful Amaryllis which I have been babying for probably 5 years and it is just now really becoming an interesting plant.

The 2 year old Boston Fern has been moved into the garage, but I'm not sure what to do with the Staghorn Ferns other than to put them into the garage for now. I have 3 which I have also grown, over a period of time, from very small plants. I may combine the 3 in moss next spring in one big hanger. Something to consider over the winter!

Obama Yard Signs And Bumper Stickers ::

Yesterday afternoon I drove up to Hollywood and Stevenson chasing both light and pixels hoping to produce some new photographs. I found a bit of each and I also found some Obama signs in downtown Stevenson. I hadn't been up in that area for a long, long time. I was disappointed that downtown Scottsboro was less photogenic than I remembered, but I did get an image or two in Stevenson although I'm not particularly happy with them and I will have to go back when the light is better. Here is one I shot which I will have to look at some in judgment:



I'm struck by how much we speed by on 4 lane blacktops without slowing down to take the side trips where the really interesting scenes are found, but I have lost my train of thought and my original reason for this post.

I saw several Obama yard signs in Stevenson and the Democratic headquarters in Scottsboro was in a great location where traffic should be great. I had to stop at the Piggly Wiggly in New Hope this afternoon for a quick purchase and found a car, other than mine, with an Obama bumper sticker. I was heartened with 2 weeks left!

The Decatur Daily Endorses Obama ::

Here is just an excerpt, or two:

Even recently, Mr. McCain advocated, “opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking.” He repeatedly demonstrates an inability to understand complex issues, and an ignorance of the plight of those who have not enjoyed his financial success.
...
Mr. Obama’s efforts to help the middle class, branded socialism by his opponents, show considerable wisdom in light of the current financial mess. Faced with a crisis, the government has had to respond with a flood of cash that increases the income polarization of Americans. Mr. Obama’s approach — helping middle class families avoid foreclosures at the front end — would have cost the nation less, helped those who needed it and possibly prevented the crisis entirely.

Mr. McCain offers few details on how we would prevent a repeat of our financial calamity, and even fewer on how he would deal with the mounting human and financial costs of the Iraq war. His proposals on health care, according to his own allies, would be disastrous.

(emphasis added)

Go read the entire endorsement and pass it around to your fence sitting friends!

Another Obama Sign ::

Someone else just down the road with whom I have a passing acquaintance has his Obama sign out so I don't feel so lonely now although I am surprised someone has not yet ripped it off. A passing pickup driver did yell something at me a few days ago: I'm not sure what he said, but I didn't figure it to be a compliment although I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Change!

Winter's Coming! ::

It's cold down here in New Hope this morning!

Donating To Obama! ::

I just tossed a few bucks to Obama in light of his performance in last nights debate, but I got a little carried away. No, not with money-I couldn't afford that much, but, after donating, I was led to a page where I could forward my support of Obama to 10 people from my address book and ask them to support the Obama campaign with a donation also. Some of these addressees are true-blue Dems who may need a nudge, but I have to admit to some push-back to old high school classmates who have been inundating me with anti-Obama e-mails for the past few months.

I have bitten my tongue and generally just deleted these Obama attacks with a shake of my head, but I think it's now time to let some of these people know just how I feel. I have no false hopes of converting any of these people to Obama supporters, but I feel better just letting them know that I support change!

New Header ::

I've only been planning to add something like this for the past year and a half. I took a few days off work this week and kicked myself in the butt and made the change. I also did a header for the blog I created for my high school graduating class. It only took me about a year to do that one also!

An Endorsement For Jerry Craig ::

As if he needs my endorsement for re-election to his county commission post, but I met him personally for the first time this past weekend at the New Hope Founders Day celebration when I was working the Parker Griffith tent.

Every time I have e-mailed commissioner Craig or called his office he has gotten back in touch with me and, believe me, this is something I appreciate, but there is more to his community involvement than that. He had several tables set up and he was giving away free books. I am a firm believer in the power of being able to read and I was happy to see that the book selection was good for both adults and children and this was a popular area. I snagged a biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, an anthology of English literature, and Dude, The Big Book of Zonker (I couldn't pass this one up).

One of the guys working the Griffith tent with me is a school teacher at Madison County High School in Gurley and he tells me that commissioner Craig regularly gets free books for the school system and for the students. I don't know how he does it, but I applaud his efforts to promote reading!

Parker Griffith Tent At New Hope's Founders Day Celebration ::

I spent the morning and late afternoon/early evening in, or near, the Griffith tent and we had a pretty good turnout although the location was not the best. I had to leave before the parade started and that was supposed to be when the most traffic occurred. Even at that we had a lot of people getting brochures and stickers. Parker was there for the parade and then a later stump speech and we found a lot of support for his candidacy!



The republicans had a booth set up, but I didn't see a whole lot of traffic through there although I did see a few people pick up McCain/Palin yard signs.

I had to leave a couple of times to run to the house and I did see several Obama/Biden signs on the back road to 431. That was heartening!

New Hope Founders Day Celebration ::

This will be happening tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday. If everything goes as planned I will be manning the Parker Griffith booth Saturday morning. Stop by and say hello!

Obama Yard Sign Is Still UP ::

I put it out Sunday and no one has snagged it yet! I'm amazed.

The Huntsville Mayoral Election ::

I moved away from Huntsville just over a year and a half ago so I had no voice in the election of Tommy Battle over Loretta Spencer, but I am happy with the result. I was very pleasantly surprised by the margin of victory!

The Obama Yard Sign ::

None of my meth addicted neighbors have stolen the sign after 3 days so I'm hopeful!

Obama/Biden Yard Sign ::

I put mine out this evening to counter my neighbor's McCain/Palin sign. The neighbor has his kinda hidden right up against his house and is difficult to see. I put mine right out by the road.

I'll be surprised if it's still there tomorrow, but I hope I'm wrong!

We've got roughly 4 weeks left and now it should get interesting. I'm really looking forward to the next debate between McCain and Obama, especially since McCain has pulled out of Michigan and Obama has made a push in North Carolina. I understand he was in Asheville over the weekend. Asheville is one of my all time favorite towns although I haven't been up there in quite some time.

Bailout Vote In The Senate ::

So, Shelby and Sessions both voted against! Interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing how the vote now goes in the house.

Picking Cotton ::

Driving home this afternoon I saw the first field being picked. I have spent some time in the past photographing agricultural activities and I hope to do the same this year and will share some pictures if they are interesting.

Richard Shelby On The $700B Bailout ::

I've gotta say that I am happy about Shelby's position in opposing the financial industries run on us, the taxpayers, and our treasury. I'm happy to see at least a modicum of integrity and honor from our senator!

Bud Cramer On The Bailout ::

Bud seems to be silent on the issue and if he has anything up on his web site it is deeply hidden. I have sent him a couple of e-mails in the past 2 days expressing my opposition to a taxpayer funded $700B (which I feel is a low estimate of the final cost). Today I am hearing that some representatives are calling for a suspension of the capital gains tax. If a company is realizing capital gains then why would it need a government infusion of money?

I can see my comments to Bud getting stronger as each day passes and I must say that I'm heartened by Shelby's approach to this government theft!

Bicycle Riding In Around Huntsville ::

I just rode my bike a short way up the road-a rural road with relatively sane traffic.

We have, unfortunately, just lost a rider to an accident last week. When I first moved to Huntsville I had a pretty nice, although aged, Peugeot road bike, but I quickly realized that biking around here is extremely hazardous so I got rid of the bike. I now have a relatively inexpensive mountain bike which I can ride through the fields around home, but I often come across large groups of bikers on Hobbs Island Road and I cringe every time I see them. I find this road to be extremely dangerous in a car and I would not conceive of riding a bicycle on this route between Huntsville and New Hope.

When I lived in south Huntsville I enjoyed the Aldridge Creek Greenway and often rode it down to Ditto Landing. I would really like to see bike lanes on local roads such I saw in Belgium lo those many years ago when I visited that country.

I make a conscious and concerted effort to protect bicycle riders when I see them on the road and I urge everyone to do the same.

The Huntsville Times Embarrassment ::

Leave it to The Times to make a screw-up of this magnitude as posted earlier on al.com:



I can't find this up on al.com now, but the screenshot was grabbed over at Doc's Political Parlor. I would love for this to get back to both Wayne Parker and The Shooter!

"Impeach Bush" Signs In Huntsville ::

I lost the larger versions of these, but the WHNT web site has these smaller images up:



This one was on the overpass at Triana Blvd and I-565.



The above banner was hung on the rock wall adjacent to Maple Hill Cemetery at California and McClung. Too bad these were not in the path of Cheney as he motored through Huntsville!

35803-Decisive In The Huntsville Mayoral Race?

From today's Huntsville Times:

with the candidates separated by a few hundred votes, the runoff election Oct. 7 could come down to a dead heat among the 5,000 voters in ZIP code 35803.

Unlike other areas, no favorite has emerged in the neighborhoods closest to the Tennessee River. Battle won some boxes. Spencer won others. Technically, neither one crossed the 50 percent mark there.

I hope that the Times follows up on this story after the election with zip code specific numbers 'cause I am very curious about how they came to the conclusion that this area could well decide who the next mayor of Huntsville will be. I lived in 35803 for 8 or 9 years and I just don't understand why it would be different from any other area of town.

New Hope-September 14, 2008

People in New Hope, especially the downtown area, seem to love yard signs and I noticed that a very large number of yards had Deborah Bell Paseur signs out. Hopefully that is a good omen!

Madison County Democratic Headquarters ::

I went by late yesterday afternoon about an hour before closing to pick up some election goodies and those manning the office were still busy with people dropping in. I talked to Sherry for a few minutes and she said that the grand opening had been wildly successful and many people had volunteered to help. As I was leaving at around 3:30pm there were still people pulling into the parking lot. All in all a very gratifying grand opening!

Some photographs are up at Left In Alabama.

Madison County Democratic Headquarters ::

The grand opening is today. Here is the e-mail I got from Sherry Walker, volunteer coordinator, a couple of days ago:

I hope you can attend the Grand Opening of the 2008 Madison County Democratic Headquarters this Saturday, Sept. 13, at 10 am. Many of our Democratic candidates will be there to meet you and ask for your vote and support in the upcoming election. We will have music, coffee, cold beverages and snacks for your enjoyment plus balloons for the young and young at heart. The Obama-Biden bumper stickers, buttons and t-shirts have already arrived and we have high hopes that at least a few of the yard signs will be delivered tomorrow and available Saturday.

Headquarters is located at 2227 Drake Ave., Suite 26. From Memorial Parkway, go West on Drake past the Senior Center. Turn left across from the American Legion building into the Brahan Spring Professional Center and drive straight back. Democratic Headquarters will be toward your right.

If you haven't already filled out a Volunteer Form or been contacted about the type of volunteer work you are willing to do and any special talents you may have, please reply to this message and let me know. We have a recurring need for people to perform the following tasks:

General office staff
Host an event (house party, candidate reception, etc.)
Write a letter to the editor
Voter registration
Phone bank
Sign assembly
Sign distribution
Door to door canvassing
Legal expertise
Mailing assembly
ELECTION DAY Poll Watcher
ELECTION DAY Driver
ELECTION DAY Office staff

Thank you so much for your willingness to give of your precious time and energy to support the Democratic cause in this important election year. You are much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Sherry Walker
Volunteer Coordinator
534-1776

Madison County Democratic Headquarters
Open Weekdays 10 am to 8 pm, Saturday 9 am to 4 pm

I will be stopping by, but I'm afraid it will be later this afternoon. Come out and make your presence known!

Lipstick On A Pig!

I just couldn't resist!

More Of The Redneck Survey ::

This past weekend I was in South Carolina and North Carolina and saw no McCain bumper stickers, but I did see 3 from the Obama campaign. Also, near my brother's place in rural (very rural) S.C. I saw an Obama yard sign.

I had lunch Sunday in Atlanta's East Village with John and Lester (smoked trout dip along with a spinach salad). Here's John, looking sufficiently stern, and he's proudly wearing an Obama button:



[update] I forgot to add that I do have a delusional neighbor here in New Hope with a McCain yard sign!

Sue Schmitz On Trial ::

So, we wind up with a hung jury! I was hoping for a complete acquittal and we'll have to wait and see if she will be prosecuted again.

I'm very concerned about what will happen to the justice department under any new administration and I'm afraid that the politicos are just too firmly entrenched to be rooted out. Seems like a difficult task to me!

Election Results ::

There will be run-offs in October in both New Hope and Huntsville.

Tommy Battle and Loretta Spencer will go at it again. Although I was pulling for Tommy Battle I expected Spencer to handily win so I guess my major endorsement of Battle must have done some good!

I voted around 6pm at New Hope city hall and I was surprised at the size of the crowd out front when I rounded the curve. Apparently friends and relatives of those running for office were out in force. Jason Smith will face John Lee Howard in October.

Election Day ::

Time for voting in local elections. I've been watching this young guy, Jason Smith, running for mayor of New Hope. I've lived down here for about 15 months so I don't know much about the local politics, but this kid (he's pretty young, at least compared to me) seems to have heart. Yesterday evening I had to run J.to work and he was standing out by the road, in the pouring rain, campaigning.

Yep, Jason Smith in New Hope gets my endorsement for mayor!

Of course, I can't vote in Huntsville any more, but I will endorse Tommy Battle for the office. Maybe that would signal an end to the "good old boy" politics in Huntsville although I doubt it.

No matter what, get out and vote. I make it a point to vote in all elections no matter how trivial or inconsequential!

Dining Out ::

We don't get out often, but yesterday I had a few extra bucks and I had a hankering for some crawfish so we took off for Crawmamma's in Guntersville. The appetizer was fried alligator tail and the entree was crawfish, steamed oysters, steamed mussels, corn and cajun boiled potatoes. It was good!

I hadn't eaten there in years and it used to be called Crawdaddies. Crawdaddie opened a second location up at Goosepond outside Scottsboro and somewhere along the way there was a crawdivorce with Crawmamma getting the location in Guntersville while Crawdaddie kept the Goosepond location.

The food didn't suffer!

Troy King: Kill The Wabbit, Kill The Wabbit ::

h/t to Loretta for leading me to this bit on Huffington Post about The King's crusade against sex toys. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Mr. Troy King, Republican Attorney General of Alabama, will soon be out rabbit hunting himself, by his own testimony, and he doesn't have to worry about it being the off-season. The rabbit he will be gunning for is a mechanical one, namely, the vibrator Rabbit.

What is the habitat of this rabbit, and why does this attorney general (who has, among other things, an extremely high rate of violent crime in his state to worry about) have it in his sights? For those of you who may be unfamiliar with such matters, it is essentially a vibrating dildo atop which sits a small rubber rabbit, complete with tiny, upright ears, which also vibrates when the device is running. The little rabbit's purpose, to be direct, is to stimulate the clitoris, while the other part of the device provides internal pleasure. The device produces intense orgasms, and it produces them quickly, and, if desired, in rapid succession.

[snip]

To what else may Mr. Troy King devote his time and energy if his rabbit hunt comes a cropper? Well, for one thing, since his days in college (when he frequently wrote impassioned letters to the student newspaper on the subject) he has been a dogged and rabid anti-homosexual agitator, and continuing that effort could be consuming. For another, revealingly, his wife recently caught him in bed--their bed--with a younger, rival sex partner (and banished him from their home, reportedly). King had to resign from his position as John McCain's Alabama campaign chair.

Now, to be fair, the allegation that The King is gay is an unfounded rumor at this time although he has not seen fit to comment on the allegation one way or another, but I'm a firm believer in the old adage that "where there's smoke there's fire!"!

Come on Troy. 'Fess up!

Yard Sign

I was driving through a subdivision in the northeast section of the county yesterday and what did I see but a Vivian Figures yard sign! I hadn't considered it before, but I got to thinking that I don't remember seeing a Session sign anywhere which means that for the next couple of months I'll have to exercise my peripheral vision while driving.

The Friday Afternoon Redneck Survey ::

Once more I drove through the lanes of the Sutton Rd. Wal-Mart (Hampton Cove area) and I saw no McCain bumper stickers. I also saw no Obama bumper stickers, but I have been trying to watch the traffic in the past few days and I only remember seeing 1 McCain sticker.

Is it just too early or is there just so little enthusiasm here in north Alabama?

I plan to be out of town for a few days, but I'll try to do the redneck survey in Camden and Columbia, South Carolina when I'm up there. Given the time I'll make a day trip to Gastonia, North Carolina to see the middle daughter, but I'm going to keep my eyes open for bumper stickers for either candidate and keep some sort of running count. Stay tuned for the rest of the story!

Parker Griffith Event Reminder

[update from Jason]

We have canceled the yard sign distribution as a courtesy to our municipal candidates. We will reschedule for later in the month, following the municipal elections. Thanks for your support.

Hi to everyone. We are organizing a district wide yard sign distribution for next Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th. I am still working out all of the details, but I wanted to get the word out quickly to all. We will need an immense volunteer effort to really make this a reality. We would like to paint the district red with Parker Griffith signs in one weekend. Please call me or email me and let me know your availability for next weekend. We appreciate any amount of time you can give us. Also, please help us spread the word to others who wouldn't mind putting a few yard signs up in their neighborhoods or communities. Thanks again for your help and your support. I look forward to seeing you all.

Contact information:

justin@griffithforcongress.com
www.griffithforcongress.com

Dan Calls It Quits! ::

The Daily Dixie is shut down for now, but I'll bet that Dan will be back before November. I certainly understand how he feels and I have felt the same as the enthusiasm and content waned in the ups and downs of blogging. My energy level has been low lately and I have a great deal of respect for Mooncat who seems to have a boundless blogging energy level.

Take a rest and recharge, Dan. We'll be waiting!

Web Outage? ::

I'm having trouble connecting to a host of web sites although some are fine.

Looking For McCain Bumper Stickers ::

I noted last Sunday that I had just seen my first McCain bumper sticker, but a commenter said that I must be driving around with my eyes closed if I had not seen more so I did a redneck survey this morning in the local Wal-Mart parking lot. I drove up and down each lane of parked cars and never saw a McCain bumper sticker. Truth be told, neither did I see any Obama bumper stickers, but that was not the challenge.

Maybe it's just too early in the election season, or, perhaps, everyone is already jaded.

Obamaroo In Huntsville ::

As usual I missed Thursday's mention of this in The Huntsville Times. Here is information:

Obamaroo, a fundraiser for the Illinois senator, will feature nine acts that range from bluegrass to folk to rock 'n' roll.

Bimini Road, Married in a Fever, The National Trust, Group 6, Jay Plizer, Tim Tucker and the Uh Huh's, Zac, Dragon Master and Andrew Michael are set to play.

Tickets are $10. The music starts at 4 p.m.

All proceeds will go to the Obama campaign.

I think I will be able to make some of the early hours showing my support for the Obama campaign. Hope to see you there.

[update] As it turnes out I think I overdid weekly yard activities and overheated myself a bit. I felt poorly and stretched out on the couch for a while, but I hope that this is not the last of the local Obama festivities!

Parker Griffith Campaign Looking For Some Volunteers ::

Next Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th.

Hi to everyone. We are organizing a district wide yard sign distribution for next Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th. I am still working out all of the details, but I wanted to get the word out quickly to all. We will need an immense volunteer effort to really make this a reality. We would like to paint the district red with Parker Griffith signs in one weekend. Please call me or email me and let me know your availability for next weekend. We appreciate any amount of time you can give us. Also, please help us spread the word to others who wouldn't mind putting a few yard signs up in their neighborhoods or communities. Thanks again for your help and your support. I look forward to seeing you all.

I should be able to give some time as I have already been in touch with the campaign looking for yard signs. If you can help out contact Justin at:

justin@griffithforcongress.com
www.griffithforcongress.com

Sharks In Lake Guntersville! ::

I don't see any way this can be anything other than a hoax, although a great hoax! It takes me about 6 to 7 hours to drive down to the coast so I'm curious just how long it would take a saltwater compatible fish to swim through the locks to Guntersville. I eagerly await the input from the biologists although, as I understand it, the fish was destroyed.

I haven't boated since just after J.'s accident since, at the time, she was unable to physically spend much time on the lake, but I miss it. I love being on the water and there is little more magical to me than being on the water at about midnight on a full moon! Ironically I spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy and never set foot on a ship!

McCain Bumper Sticker ::

I saw my first one earlier today. Clearly someone delusional!

Josh Seagall Running In The 3rd Congressional District ::

Not my district, but I really like the power of this campaign video:

Sunday Evening Bird Blogging ::

There are little baby Mockingbirds living in my Boston Fern. I have to be very careful about watering the fern now and I am dive-bombed by the parents who don't seem to realize that I would never hurt the baby birds. Such is nature!

Catfishing In An Economy Down The Toilet :;

It's amazing just how much we're affected by the "global economy" along with rapid rising oil prices. Here are some bits from today's New York Times about southern catfish farmers going out of business.

LELAND, Miss. — Catfish farmers across the South, unable to cope with the soaring cost of corn and
soybean feed, are draining their ponds.
“It’s a dead business,” said John Dillard, who pioneered the commercial farming of catfish in the late 1960s.
Last year Dillard & Company raised 11 million fish. Next year it will raise none. People can eat imported
fish, Mr. Dillard said, just as they use imported oil.
As for his 55 employees? “Those jobs are gone.”

[snip]

Perhaps nowhere has the rise in crop prices caused more convulsions than in the Mississippi Delta, the hub
of the nation’s catfish industry. This is a hard-luck, poverty-plagued region, and raising catfish in artificial
ponds was one of the few mainstays.
Then the economics went awry. Feed is now more than half the total cost of raising catfish, compared with a
third of the cost of beef and pork production, according to a Mississippi State analysis. That makes catfish
more vulnerable. But if the commodities continue to rocket up — and some analysts believe they will —
other industries will fall victim as well.

I hadn't thought about corn going to ethanol production affecting catfish farmers, but this seems to be pretty dire.

Rising feed prices were the final straw for Dillard & Company, which decided to close last January. Eighty
of its 10- to 20-acre pools are empty already. An additional 170 will follow as soon as their fish are big
enough to sell.
“It’s easy. You just pull the plug,” Mr. King said, surveying a pool that was nearly dry. Nearby, half a dozen
men were running their nets through a pond, then hoisting the last of its catfish onto a truck.
“I’ve been doing this for 23 years,” said one of the workers, Craig Morgan. “I don’t know what I’ll do now.
And there are a bunch of me’s out there.”

emphasis added is mine!

I have a friend who I seldom see who runs a catfish operation about 40 miles away. Buddy is old school and technology challenged so he doesn't use e-mail, but I think I'll run by there in a few days to see how he is doing. His operation is pretty small compared to what we're reading about here, but I'm sure that the impact of higher feed prices is just as crucial, if not more so!

There is also a feed mill down in Guntersville, about 20 miles away from me and I wonder just how this is affecting them. I don't know anyone who works at Wayne Feeds, but I may go down to Guntersville this weekend and ask around.

Cheryl Baswell Guthrie

Gone by something like a 4 to 1 margin, but her comedic tv ads will be sorely missed, especially the Bush lookalike monkey!

With the money she tossed down the drain a lot of hungry people could have been fed, clothes could have been obtained for poor children, and at least some health care for the needy could have been provided! Instead her misguided vanity led her into a losing political battle. I hope that she has learned a humble lesson from her experience!

Bye, Bye, CBG.

Run-off Election Today ::

The results tonight should be interesting, but I expect Pea Nut Parker to take the republican nomination. I gotta say though that I will miss the hilarity brought into our lives by the TV commercials of Guthrie!

On a national level John McCain does a good comedic job every day!

Baby Mockingbirds! ::

I went out early this morning to water the plants and 2 of the eggs had hatched overnight so I can expect the other 2 to hatch sometime today. Now I have to be very careful in watering the nesting fern!

See the post down below for a photograph of the eggs.

Troy King=Teh Gay=Schadenfreude? ::

I came late to this story today and I'm waiting for it to play out in the Big Boy Blogs just to see what happens, but this is just too delicious not to savor! I don't know what the definitive outcome will be, but I have to keep following Loretta in order to keep up. Here are some of her thoughts:

I have been sitting on this story for about a week. Truth is I am SORE from having to sit on it so long....but not as sore as Troy King is. Badda Bing! I would have blogged about it when I first learned of it but I can't afford a defamation lawsuit and Troy King already hates my guts anyway because of this...

[snip]

I have some friends in pretty high places in Alabama politics so I called one of them up with the juicy details. They told me they heard a rumor about his sexual orientation some six months ago from a former reporter with a large, credible newspaper in Alabama. I also know that reporter and knew them to be very credible. The rumor at the time was that Troy's mystery man was his old college roommate who he gave a position to when he took over the AG office in 2004. Supposedly when Troy was out of town so was lover boy.

The story then became that the mystery man was a young man who had just graduated from Troy University and was the Homecoming King(no pun intended) (God that gets confusing...Troy King with the homecoming king who graduated from Troy) and that was who the wife walked in on. Then a few weeks later Troy and his boy toy from Troy were spotted at the YMCA (not kidding) engaging in....ummmm....inappropriate activities. Yeah...at the YMCA...made famous by the Village People. Apparently Troy has no inkling of what it means to be 'discreet'.

OK, I'll lay off for a bit because my sides are hurting from laughing at the hypocritical asshole. I don't care that Troy King enjoys gay sex as I don't make value judgments on anyone's lifestyle. What I do care about is the hypocrisy shown by an elected official who is so adamant in denouncing the gay lifestyle while enjoying it in his, I presume, offtime.

I'll be curious to see his the reaction of his wife and I would be astounded if she didn't know about the AG's sexual predilictions all along. Maybe that was her kink also!

Elder Draper Helping People!

Here's my first Youtube video try. Let's see how it works.

Rove Refuses!

Rove, through his attorney, has said that he will not appear before the House judiciary committee on Thursday even though he has been served with a legal subpoena. I just tried to call Artur Davis' office to voice my opinion that Rove should be immediately held in contempt of congress, but I was too late for his office hours. I have resisted calling from work, even on my cell phone, but I will be making the call tomorrow during office hours. I generally try to watch as many of the committee hearings on c-span as I can I have long been impressed with Davis' tenacity in questioning. I'm hoping that he will support a congressional contempt citation against Rove!

Artur Davis' phone number is: (202) 225-2665. Let him know how you feel about this issue since he is the only Congressman representing Alabama on the committee.

As an aside, I happen to own a bit of property in South Carolina and I am not shy about expressing my opinions to the legislative delegation from that state. It helps a bit that I have a cousin in the state legislature!

I have a nice collection of plants on my front porch and several require watering twice per day. The Petunias are especially thirsty, but I have this Boston Fern that I have babied for the past couple of years. During the winter I keep it in the garage and it sheds some leaves, but it rebounded nicely this spring.

One day last week I noticed that there was a bird nest in the fern, but I didn't think much about it until a couple of days ago when I noticed 4 little eggs which left me scratching my head as I had not seen any birds around the fern. That has now changed and the fern was occupied a little later although all I could see was the tail sticking up.




Now I have to figure out a way to water the fern when the little ones hatch. I'm kinda thinking a rubber tube and a funnel so I can route the water around the nest.

[update] It's a Mockingbird which is sitting on the nest. I was out watering this morning and she stayed on the eggs most of the time I was doing the watering of the other plants, but she flew off when I neared the fern.

Summertime Veggies ::

Well, some fruits also. Yesterday I visited the farmer's market in Guntersville and picked up some green tomatoes, some squash, and about 3 pounds of okra. Oh yeah, there were a couple dozen ears of Peaches and Cream corn thrown in there also so I prepared everything except the squash and put it in the freezer yesterday evening. I picked up another 15 pounds of squash this morning from some local growers I have been dealing with for the past 12 or 13 years (squash at 75¢/lb) so I put about 20 pounds in the freezer. I'll do this for the next couple of weeks with a mixture of squash and zucchini. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a bushel of okra locally. The past few years have been so dry that local okra has been scarce, but my fingers are crossed for this year.

I also spent a couple of hours back in the lower forty (the back 1 1/2 acre) picking wild blackberries. I promised one of my co-workers that I would pick some for her grandmother. The blackberries are doing pretty well given the rain we've had this year and the next 2 or 3 weeks should be really good. The only downside is that the tick problem is terrible this year and I have already picked 3 off myself this evening.

It's hard work preparing all of these things for the freezer!

Good Morning Democrats-June 22, 2008

Let's try this again. Thanks to the Daily Dixie for leading me to this Alabama Republican party web site where they apparently try to get some digs in each day. Yesterdays was probably more telling than they had hoped for!

Birmingham, AL – We would like to welcome Michelle Obama to Alabama as the Obama campaign brings their liberal ideology to Mountain Brook today to raise a little money, funds that will go towards the advancement of radical socialist ideas and policies. The move by your Party to bring the Obama camp back to Alabama shows that your local leadership believes strongly in the platform laid out by the campaign – a platform of big government, higher taxes, gay marriage and weak national security. The visit by Obama also gives Parker Griffith, Bobby Bright, and Josh Segall another opportunity to vocalize their support for your nominee, something they are apparently hiding from. We call on Griffith, Bright, and Segall to show the people of their districts that they stand for something, either support Barack Obama or publically let the leaders of your Party know that they do not agree with your platform and will not allow funds raised by Nancy Pelosi, Obama, Howard Dean, or any of the other liberals who have walked out of Alabama with handfuls of cash, to be used in their races. It comes down to principle and the taxpayers don’t need fence-sitters in Congress. Voters need to understand that if these three can’t decide whether to support the Party that they represent, then they can’t be counted on to make decisions on the future of America – decisions that are undoubtedly a little more difficult. We need convicted leaders in Congress, not Pelosi pawns whose decisions are made based on the direction of the political winds. – Griffith, Bright and Segall are proving that they represent the latter.

Ps: bet there will not be any talk of eliminating the federal income tax deduction at the fundraiser!

The added emphasis is mine, but I'm happy to see that the Alabama republicans realize just what their leaders are!

David Prather On "Policing The Police"

I sent Prather an e-mail Monday evening expressing some thoughts on his column which is presented over on the left in PDF form. I was pretty forceful in my condemnation of The Huntsville Times as being a mouthpiece for the city and the local chamber of commerce. Prather apparently took this personally in his reply. I sent him a follow-up e-mail expressing my dismay that he took this critique personally, but he has not responded and I doubt that he will.

As far as "policing the police" goes I am now, for the first time, going to express my thoughts on the disastrous chase across Redstone Arsenal earlier which resulted in the death of a NASA employee. The powers that be, both within the city government and the military organization of Redstone, have determined that the chase was within local guidelines. I find this to be a ludicrous finding and I am appalled that, given all of the hype related to security in the aftermath of 9/11, the security situation on Redstone is so porous that this breach occurred! Redstone Arsenal should have the ability to be locked down in a matter of scant minutes and a high speed chase should never have been allowed to happen.

It's too late now and one death and several injuries resulted from poor decisions by police officers of the city of Huntsville as well as Redstone Arsenal security.

Incompetence by any other name is surely nothing more than incompetence and I certainly feel less safe than I have felt in years!

More On A Huntsville Police Officer Shooting An Innocent Citizen ::

I put a link to a pdf of the Huntsville Times article over to the left.

Read the article and try to determine who was tailgating whom, but we'll get back to that in a later post.

The story says that Scheuerman was shot 3 times. Actually there was a 4th shot that wasn't counted although there is a lip scar as a result. This one happened as Scheuerman was trying to get away from the attack, but let's move on a bit although I will come back to the initial scene later.

Ricky Scheuerman is suing the city of Huntsville for several reasons not the least of which is false imprisonment. The Huntsville Times article states that the hospital stay was 69 days although I think the actual stay was much longer. After the shooting incident Scheuerman was taken to Huntsville Hospital, but was not officially placed under arrest. Due to the severe nature of his gunshot injuries he was placed in a chemically induced coma, but a police officer was stationed outside his door and his family, including his mother, was only allowed visitation based on official jail policy which, if I'm not mistaken, was just a few minutes on Sunday although all of the doctors recommended that family be allowed liberal visitation given the nature of the injuries. If he had been officially arrested prior to the hospital admission then the city of Huntsville would have been liable for the medical charges incurred by the actions of one its employees.

More to come on the nature of the charges against Ricky Scheuerman soon, but I have been wondering why the Huntsville Times has not been reporting on this story although it is common knowledge in legal circles around town. I have long felt that The Times primarily functions as an extension of local government and the Chamber of Commerce, but why the story now?

Obviously the city is feeling the heat, knows it is a losing position, and is throwing a rogue police officer under the bus in an attempt to mitigate it's losses! I'm waiting to see what sort of follow-up the Huntsville Times will offer. My guess is little unless prompted by the city government!

A Trigger Happy Huntsville Police Officer ::

The Huntsville Times finally got off their collective asses and printed a portion of this story although most of what is written is mis-characterized or totally off base. I long ago tried to get The Huntsville Times to cover this injustice, but, given that The Times is little more than an mouthpiece of the local government and the chamber of commerce, nothing was ever written. My take on why this story has now been written about is that the city of Huntsville has finally realized that their position is untenable and their potential liability is huge. The city is now tossing Jeff Weaber under the biggest bus that can be found in order to try to limit its liability!

A Huntsville police officer could face federal and state charges for shooting a motorist in the chest and stomach after the man allegedly tried to run over him.

And the federal court opinion in the case also says the officer violated several department guidelines for using deadly force. The department's shooting review board and representatives of the Madison County district attorney's office cleared the officer in the shooting.

I plan on writing about this story for the next few days and, in the interest of fair disclosure, let me say that Ricky is a friend and my wife's ex-husband. He also often dog sits for me when we're out of town.

This tale is long and involved and I don't pretend to know all of the ins and outs, but I know enough about what transpired to write about what I do know and what is, or should be, public knowledge.

Check back in over the next few days for a truly frightening tale of the Huntsville police department and what is known inside the department as "The Wild, Wild West"!

Bitten By A Tick For The First Time

This year I have learned to spray myself pretty well with Deep Woods Off since I have found several ticks crawling around on various parts of my body in the past few weeks. Just a few minutes ago I took a shower and noticed an itching on my upper left thigh and looked down. At first I thought I had scratched a bit too much and had drawn a bit of blood which had died, but it turned out to be a small tick which had chomped down on my leg. I have spent a good portion of my 60 years living in the country and this, to my knowledge, is the first tick bite I've ever had, but luckily I caught it quickly.

I don't know the symptoms of Lyme disease but if I become incoherent in any writing here (moreso than usual) and threaten to vote for a republican then you will know that the tick bite went to my brain and I need to be put out of my misery!

A Discount For Being A Democrat?

I am afraid that I'm in dire need of a new set of tires and let me say upfront that I absolutely hate buying tires! I have been pricing them at some of the franchise shops and the Wal-Mart in Huntsville and it's pretty depressing.

I took this afternoon and tomorrow off. Today I had some bidness to take care of and tomorrow I'm going to let my 3 week old granddaughter drool on me as much as she wants, but I stopped in a small local tire shop here in New Hope to get a price on a set of tires. There were a couple of guys in the office when I entered and when I asked about the price of tires one of the men said that if I were a Democrat then I would probably get a better price. I had no problem admitting to my political affiliation! Now, I don't know if I got any sort of deal, but their price was not out of line with the discount franchise places and I will probably buy from them. I am a firm believer in keeping my business in my local community and away from the big-box stores!

Election Outcome

Everyone for whom I cast a vote came out on top, but I'm curious about why the Huntsville Times did not print the precinct results for the Sessions/Figures outcome. I was looking forward to seeing how my neighbors down here in New Hope voted. I guess I'll spend some time wandering around the Madison County web site hoping to find some results!

[update] Well, that was quicker than I expected for the total results:

Figures-6169
Sessions-21834

Which seems to pretty much mirror the percentage of Republican vs Democratic turnout.

OK, I found New Hope City Hall results:

Figures-60
Sessions-153

Seems as though some work needs to be done.

We Voted This Afternoon

I will be curious to see how my precinct went. I didn't ask about the turnout, but I was surprised at how many people were in the small room in New Hope.

I will be watching the news closely later this evening given the conflicting reports regarding what Hillary Clinton may, or may not, do. When James Clyburn of South Carolina broke for Obama I knew that the writing was on the wall for Clinton and tonight should be the tipping point.

Voting

Tomorrow, June 3, is the day and I'll be casting my vote late in the afternoon. Parker Griffith will get my vote to replace Bud Cramer and Vivian Figures will, of course, be my choice in the U.S. Senate race.

I have seen a lot of signs around opposing the sales tax increase to benefit the county school system. I have no children in the Madison county schools, but I care about the future of our educational system so I will be voting for the tax increase. This is probably another instance of our progressively tilting at windmills, but I will at least make the effort!

Whatever you do tomorrow go out and exercise your right to vote. I never miss an opportunity to cast my ballot no matter how minor the issues involved!

Mowing

I finished mine just in time today as the heavens opened once again!

So Much For The End Of The Rain!

My yard is once again a pond and my squash plants are swimming in water. On the upside I came home to my DVD video of "An Evening With Scott Horton". Gonna pop her in the player in a short while and watch it.

That reminds me that I need to add a link to North Alabama Media Reform and the North Alabama Peace Network.

The Rain Seems To Have Passed ::

Well, according to weather.com for a while anyway. I just walked outside to the singing of the insects and just a couple of nights ago I saw my first firefly winging his way through the backyard of the family compound. I don't look forward to the coming humidity!

I'm Livid Tonight!

I don't understand how people can so marginalize those with disabilities and special needs! More to come when I calm down.

The Huntsville Times

Left out my Sunday morning comics and I miss Dilbert!

The Great Speckled Bird Would Have Been 40!

There will be a celebration in Atlanta tomorrow, the 24th, of what would have been the anniversary of The Great Speckled Bird, one of this nation's premier alternative papers. Here is where the information about the celebration is happening. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now will be there. I wish I could make it, but that will not be possible.

I fondly remember The Great Speckled Bird being sold on street corners primarily by homeless people picking up a few extra dollars to see them through the day. Unfortunately The Bird went out of business not long after I moved to Atlanta. The premier alternative paper in Atlanta now is, I imagine, still Creative Loafing, but I also very fondly remember The Atlanta Gazette which also had a relative short run, but which had some truly good writing.

Here is some more very interesting information about The Bird.

I wish I could go!

Congressional District 5 Debate On 19

Sorry, but this is just lame! The pandering is terrible!

David Maker, unfortunately, has a terrible presence although I like some of his ideas!

I'm going to end this and go make myself a sandwich. Then I'm going to the local pub, such as it is, and have a cold adult beverage and ponder my wish for better choices in representation!

Gunfire

The past 2 or 3 weekends I have heard someone back behind us doing what I thought was probably some target practice with a small caliber rifle or pistol. The same thing happened this afternoon and I thought nothing of it until I heard several bursts of fully automatic fire. I don't really mind so long as whoever is doing the shooting is being both safe and legal, but I tend to have my doubts about the legality. In my life I have known several people with fully automatic weapons and the only one who was legal was a dealer.

Siegelman Interviewed ::

In the Anniston Star. Here's a snippet:

"It is clear to me — and I think to those who have been investigating, and that's why they're so hot about this case — it is clear that Karl Rove abused his power and misused the Department of Justice as a political tool to win elections, and that is something that would happen in a police state. That is something that we might have read about in history books as happening in Russia, but it is not something that should be allowed to happen in the United States of America. And Congress, and I believe John Conyers, clearly sees this as a wrongful action against democracy in this country, and he wants to make a statement that is clear and unequivocal that this kind of abuse of power is not going to be tolerated under any administration whether it's a Democratic administration or a Republican administration."

Thoughts From GK ::

And I heartily concur! From Whistle & Fish:

I consider myself a citizen of the world, and I firmly believe two tenets. First, that every human should have proper nourishment, adequate shelter, and minimal healthcare; we should all have meaningful work that empowers us to earn these things in a dignified manner; and we should be able to pursue them in peace. Second, since the first tenet seems an impossibility, I believe in the socialist principle, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

That said, I love the United States passionately. Outside my back door I reach down and touch Tennessee soil, American soil, and it thrills me. I feel about the United States Constitution the way most people feel about holy scripture. It stirs me, gives me hope, and challenges me to be a better person and a better citizen, both of the nation I am fortunate enough to call my own, and of the world. It is a document and a set of principles for which I would gladly lay down my life.

For the past seven years—at least—I have watched greedy, unscrupulous men and women wipe their backsides with the Constitution. I’ve seen them prey on human fear to enrich themselves, broaden their power, and marginalize the civil rights of ordinary citizens. I liken it to being tied to a chair and forced to watch the brutal gang rape of someone I dearly love: my mother, sister, daughter or lover.

Four of those seven years, Republicans controlled the House, Senate and Executive branches of government. During that time they regularly marginalized the will of “we the people.” When Democrats gained the House and Senate they did nothing to stop the process—or even slow it. They have let the most unpopular president in the history of the Union have his way with them.

And before you tell me this is simply politics and I shouldn’t take it so seriously, bite your tongue. This is no game and the Constitution is no ordinary document. I am appalled by the cavalier attitude of those who pooh-pooh the decline of our Democratic Republic. If this were happening in France, the streets of Paris would never be empty of protestors. Because the French, for all their faults, understand something Americans don’t: for democracy to thrive, citizens must be on guard against runaway government, and revolution must be an ongoing process.

In America we get no revolution. Instead we are offered Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain.

If Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain are the best and brightest America has to offer, we should be ashamed of ourselves. And if they are the the two-party system’s finest, the parties deserve to be pissed off.

Or pissed on.

If you have not bookmarked or linked to Whistle & Fish then you're missing out!

Rylee Quinn Porter ::

New granddaughter born May 13, 2008 at 3:46pm in Springfield, Tennessee:



6 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches. She is very active and and both mother and baby are strong and healthy! I look forward to much burping and drooling!

Ticks!

I had expected this year to be a bad year for ticks and looks like that will be the case. I spent some time in the yard this afternoon after having mowed the grass yesterday and this evening I have found two ticks on me. I would not have been terribly surprised if I had been in the brush, but I have not left the yard or the garage today.

I guess I'll have to start using the Deep Woods Off whenever I go outside. I have never in my life been bitten by a tick and I have no desire to acquire Lyme disease!

Wind Damage!

The weather alert radio was certainly active last night and I awoke this morning to some moderate wind damage to the vinyl under the eaves. I don't think I will have any problem fixing this myself, but we've certainly had our share of wind damage this year. We just had the roof replaced last month.



I guess that fixing this will be my afternoon project.

Going Fishing!

I hear that the bream are bedding.

The 5th Congressional District Race ::

I'm waiting for a little life to be shown on the Democratic side, or perhaps I have missed some things having been in the fog of trying to make a living!

The Shooting Range At Columbia High School ::

I really meant to post some further thoughts about my original post wondering about the wisdom of a shooting range located in a high school environment, but events kept getting in the way. I have had 4 very thoughtful and, to me, meaningful comments left and I would like to share them with whomever has not followed the saga. To the commenters, I appreciate your taking the time to leave a response and, believe me, I am not unsympathetic to your views!

Let me also say that I am very optimistic about the current generation of students that I have had experience with and the commenters here are no exception.

Siegelman On Air America ::

Thom Hartmann had Don Siegelman on for a lengthy discussion yesterday afternoon. You can find the podcast here. I thought that Siegelman acquitted himself very nicely!

note: I tried to embed the podcast, but the link seems to be wrong and I'm running out of time this morning to try to make it work. I'll try again this evening.

Bud Cramer's Stash 'O Cash ;;

So, Bud is retiring with upwards of $1.5 mil in his campaign fund. As I recall he had roughly the same amount of cash sitting around during the 2006 campaign cycle and he ignored most, if not all, calls to spread the cash around other local and national Democratic campaigns which could have used some help so I'm interested in his plans for disbursing the left-overs. It's not like he can use the money to treat the entire city of Huntsville to lattes at Starbucks.

My feeling is that Parker Griffith will pretty much be able to hold his own in fund-raising, but Vivian Figures could definitely use some help in her run against "Beau The Embarrassment" Sessions. This could be interesting! Time for some more e-mails to Bud.

Happy Birthday

Harper Lee born on this day in 1926.

Sunday Evening ::

We're having another thunderstorm in south Madison County and, given the tenuousness of our power down here, I expect an outage at any time.

I'm afraid that I missed the Madison County Democratic Reunion yesterday. I got involved with yard work and planting some small trees and the time just got away from me. I checked the time and it was already 2:30 pm. I was disappointed but Mooncat covered the event very well with photographs.

I enjoy planting things and, over the years, I have found that I'm pretty good at it. I have a great time visiting nurseries whenever I have the time and I generally find myself buying small, immature plants which I can grow into large plants. The Greenery in the Hampton Cove area is one of my favorites and I have found another, D&D Greenhouses, very near me on Oak Grove Road in New Hope. The selection is not large, but the plants are very interesting and very reasonably priced. Last weekend I picked up an extremely nice Oxalis hanging basket for $12.88. D&D also houses a small hardware section. Visit it if you get a chance. From south Huntsville take Hobbs Island Road toward New Hope and take a right on Oak Grove Road. D&D will be about 1/2 mile down on the right. From Monte Sano take highway 431 south to Hobbs Island Road and turn right on Hobbs Island Road and travel down to Oak Grove where you will take a left. There is a D&D sign prominent at this intersection.

I'll post some plant pictures soon!

The Text Of Scott Horton's Remarks At UAH ::

Here is the PDF file courtesy of Lynda Haynes of North Alabama Media Reform.

I'll have some more to say about local print media soon!

Madison County Democratic Meet-Up ::

I had almost forgotten that the spring meet-up is tomorrow (Saturday) April 26 at the Huntsville Depot. I plan to be there and scarf up all of the personalized campaign emery boards offered by the candidates! Can anyone explain why these are favored give-aways?

I missed last years get-together, but I plan to attend tomorrow. I spoke with former Gov. Siegelman at the Scott Horton event last Tuesday evening and specifically asked him if he planned to attend tomorrow and he said that he was not aware of the meet-up and had no plans to attend, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him given the importance of his local support.

Hope to see you there!

[update] The time is from 1pm 'til 4pm. More information is here.

Scott Horton In Huntsville ::

Scott Horton, adjunct professor of law at Columbia University and prolific writer, was in Huntsville yesterday evening to present a talk titled “Watchdogs or Lapdogs, Politics and the Alabama Press”, and the evening turned out to be much more interesting than I had ever anticipated given the persons in attendance. Let’s see: we had Don Siegelman, subject of much of Horton’s recent writings along with a related cast including Dana Jill Simpson and Eddie Curran, a Mobile Press Register writer who seems to have been instrumental in offering up Siegelman for prosecution. Curran was, to put it mildly, in a combative mood while encircled by a hostile crowd! Curran seems to have had a distorted view of what this forum offered and several times challenged Horton, much to the displeasure of the crowd. Much of the time was taken up with discussion of the malfeasance of Alice Martin, the U.S. District Attorney for north Alabama and the lack of local Alabama press coverage. I'm not going to go into a long narrative of the night's events. For that I recommend Left In Alabama which also has some video.

I came away from the event with the thought that someone should sponsor a symposium: something of a debate of the press coverage of controversial events in the state of Alabama. I was interested that The Huntsville Times' John Ehinger was in attendance, but declined to make any statements regarding the night's topic. I thought that this was more than a bit cowardly, but I was not terribly surprised.

At the evening's end I was able to spend a few moments with Scott Horton offering my thanks for his efforts in keeping the Siegelman story alive and offering my thoughts that I will miss hiatus from blogging.

[note] I'm typing this on my ancient laptop which drives me nuts. The keyboard, at times, seems to have a mind of its own. The upside to all of the frustration is that I can sit on my back porch on such a wonderful evening as this and enjoy the twilight without being tethered to my desktop.

Democrats meet at the roundhouse this Saturday! I'll be there and I hope that you will be also!

Scott Horton At UAH

Please don't forget about this. I plan to be there and I anticipate a really good turnout. All I have to do is find the building!

"Watchdogs or Lap Dogs? Politics and the Alabama Press," Scott Horton, writer for Harper's magazine and Columbia Law School adjunct professor, sponsored by North Alabama Media Reform, UAH Communication Arts and Political Science Departments, Alabama A&M University Political Science Department, at UAH Shelby Center, 7 p.m., free, northalabamamediareform.org or 489-3884.

Actually, I think I have been to the Shelby Center, but it was several years ago. I'll get someone to point me in the right direction!

Finally, Some Life From The Figures Campaign!

I got this in my inbox yesterday:

As a lifelong committed Democrat and an Alabama State Senator for the past 11 years, I have announced my candidacy for the United States Senate. I Believe that it is time to give this seat back to the people by putting our children, our seniors and our veterans first, providing affordable health care to all Americans and working for a stable economy.

I have been very active over the past few months speaking to many audiences across this great state spreading my message of inspiration and unity. To win the Democratic nomination on June 3, it is imperative that I have the support of people like you who Believe that Alabama deserves better.

Our polling data shows that my campaign will be successful if we are able to raise the necessary funds to get my message out to the voters via literature, yard signs, advertising and other media. Our goal is to raise $500,000 by May 31, 2008. If you can contribute $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford, we would be most appreciative.

I ask you to Believe with me that together we can make a difference and give Alabama what it deserves, bold, visionary leadership. Please go to www.actblue.com/page/figures08 and you will be able to donate to my campaign today.

I also would like to ask that you forward this email to everyone in your address book and ask them to do the same. I promise to make you proud when you send me to Washington, D.C. as your next United States Senator from Alabama.


Peace and blessings,

Vivian Davis Figures

I would have preferred that she had begun an active campaign much earlier, but we still have approximately 7 months left until November. I am going to toss a few bucks her way in hopes that she can at least put a scare into the incumbent embarrassment!

Mmmm, I just remembered the Dem spring get-together scheduled for next Saturday at the Depot. Does anyone know whether nor not Figures will be there?

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Interviews Don Siegelman

You can watch it here.

Food Prices In North Alabama ::

Accepting that, in many respects, our food prices are tied to the cost of petroleum , I am dismayed about the price of food when I visit the local grocery stores, but I am beginning to worry more and more about the future availability. I was listening to NPR on the trip home this afternoon and one topic was how world exports of food are not only drying up, but also increasing exponentially in price with the example of rice, in certain areas of the world, more than doubling in price/ton in the past few months.

Most people fixate on the rise in transportation cost as well as the cost of fuel for farm equipment, but they overlook the fact that fertilizer products are also derived from petroleum, so the increase in the price of oil continues to increase in hidden ways throughout our economy.

Decades ago much of our produce was grown on family garden plots or, at least, locally. Now almost all of our food in grown on large corporate farms and very few of us would know how to grow our own food.

Madison County has a wonderful farmer's market and I visit it often, but I doubt that the growers represented there would be able to supply the food needs of the population of the local area. When I was a little guy staying with my grandparents in rural South Carolina we planted a garden of approximately 1 acre each year and this garden produced enough food for us for an entire year. There was a school nearby which also operated a community cannery during the summer and all excess produce was canned for use during the winter. When my grandfather died in 1975 and the house and land were sold we moved everything from the house. We had a wood closet (at some time I will post about remembering the outhouse and baths in the kitchen in a washtub on Saturday night) where the cans of food were stored. I was probably 27 years old when we cleaned out the closet and we found dated home canned tins which were produced in 1947, the year I was born.

My point is that, for the most part, we, as individuals, are incapable of producing our own food in any sort of quantity to meet our needs, and this worries me!

"Is It Art, Or Is It Junk?" ::

The headline is from today's Huntsville Times regarding the city of Huntsville's proposed actions against Wade Whorton and his yard. I have never met Mr. Whorton, but I first came across his house, which is in an extremely obscure location in the city, a couple of years ago and immediately wanted to photograph it. I have yet to have the time when I would consider the light to be right, but I guess that I will have to make the trip soon: possibly as soon as this weekend. Here are some snippets from the Times article:

Wade Wharton's house is easy to spot. Drive south on Triana Boulevard, take a left on Nassau Drive and keep going. You'll pass a dozen or so houses, but be patient. You can't miss it.

At the end of the street, there on your right, is what Wharton's been working on since 2001. For more than seven years, Wharton, 70, has been transforming discarded materials into pieces of art...

[snip]

There's a Japanese-inspired bridge made out of an old trampoline. There's a disassembled Volkswagen Beetle crafted into the shape of a monkey. And, scattered around his property, are tire irons, shovel blades and transmission flywheels that Wharton has refashioned into flowers.

"Another man's trash is my treasure," Wharton said.

But not everyone sees the beauty in Wharton's art.

"We call it junk," said Bob Rushbrook, the code enforcement supervisor for the City of Huntsville's Department of Community Development.

In January, one of Rushbrook's agents gave Wharton an official notice to clean up the property.

Let me say at this point that several years ago, when I lived within the city limits of Huntsville, I had some interaction with this department due to a truck which was not running, but which had a flat tire. Didn't matter that I was working on the truck to get it running: A couple of trips to court and a used tire solved the problem, but I can attest to the tenacity of Huntsville's Department of Community Development. On with the story:

Is it art?

Wharton, who's lived in the same southwest Huntsville home for more than 40 years, said he doesn't remember why he started decorating his yard.

But he knows where his artistic abilities originated. Wharton had a stroke in 1974, and it changed how he looked at objects. He started whittling, which led to painting, drawing, gardening, creating stained glass and writing poetry.

In 2001, Wharton began adding items to his yard like the movable, metal praying mantis and the bright, pink bug on top of his roof.

This all reminds me of the fiasco of local businesses being forced to paint over outside murals relating to their business because these murals happened to violate some obscure ordinance which no one knew about, but here's some more:

Some of Wharton's art pieces are similar to the metal work of Alabama folk/outsider artist Charlie Lucas of Selma. Lucas, like Wharton, uses discarded materials. But Lucas, who has been featured on "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio, has been called a "visionary folk artist" and has shown his work around the world...

[snip]

It's Wharton's ingenuity, creativity and mechanical know-how that impressed Dan Halcomb, the deputy director of The Arts Council, Inc.

Halcomb, who took the tour on a recent Monday, called some of the pieces "smart" and "incredible."

"There are several pieces there within the garden that I think belong in a museum," Halcomb said. "It's good outsider art." ("Outsider art" is typically produced by self-taught artists who have little or no contact with the established art world.),
But Halcomb made it clear he was speaking from an artistic standpoint, and not about code violations.

"Here's someone that's thinking outside the box and being endlessly creative," Halcomb said. "To me, it's just fascinating."

Aesthetics, values, rights

We have this very nice museum occupying space down at Big Spring Park, but here is what the city's agent has to say about Mr. Whorton's art:

After an inspection of Wharton's property in January, his art was deemed junk.

"If it is art, then the landfill is a museum," Rushbrook said flatly.

Every so often I drive throught the neighorhood expressly to see Mr. Wharton's yard and I take great delight in seeing his yard. I have never stopped in simply because I never met Mr. Wharton and I had no idea just how he might react to my wanting to photograph his yard and I'm happy to see that he is very open to visitors. In fact, I might make this a part of my observance of Earth Day next Saturday.

I do plan to offer what support I can to Mr. Wharton's artistic endeavours and I sincerely hope that there is an outpouring of community support!

Springtime!

Although it doesn't feel much like spring outside this morning I can tell that my favorite season of the year has arrived. I put up my Hummingbird feeders a couple of days ago and saw my first bird earlier this morning. The trees are putting out their new leaves and I have baby birds nesting on my front porch.

I have two fairly large windchimes out front and, for some reason, little swifts seem to like building their nests atop the chimes so I can stand at the kitchen window and watch the nesting progress.

Uninsured In Alabama ::

Read this

Cramer Endorses Parker Griffith! ::

I'm happy to see that Bud jumped off the fence and took a position. I was beginning to worry about who he might ultimately endorse, but I'm wondering just how far his support will go. The last time I checked, Cramer was sitting on around $1.7 mil in his war chest. I hope that he spreads this around in this election cycle to worthy Democratic challengers wherever they may be!

Shooting Range At Columbia High School Opens ::

I first heard of the plans to build a shooting range at Columbia High back in December and posted some thoughts here.

My mind has not been changed and I still think that opening a firearms range in a high school is a terrible idea although I now see more details about the program such as the rifles are single shots firing .177 caliber pellets. Here are some snippets from The Huntsville Times article:

First, to dispel one possible fear, local JROTC programs use single-shot, .177-caliber air rifles, not high-powered rifles. Students use flat-headed pellets, not bullets.

Linda Haynes of the North Alabama Peace Network isn't convinced school ranges are safe.

"We need to be teaching conflict resolution skills rather than teaching (students) a violent skill, giving them something to commit violence," Haynes said.

For Haynes, whose group campaigns against war and violence, it's the idea of teens using guns that's bothersome. "I'm floored that they're doing that at that age."

But Hobbs and other JROTC instructors say precautions and training minimize the chance of injury.

Hobbs said he will recruit a shooting team this fall when the range opens. He said no student will be allowed inside the range before acing a safety test, demonstrating maturity and getting fit.

"There's going to be a lot of pushups done on this sidewalk before anybody goes in there," Hobbs said in front of the range, behind the school.

Safety first

I was also unaware that there are shooting ranges at Grissom, Johnson, Lee, Sparkman, and Buckhorn. I have to say that I find that shooting ranges of any sort are incorporated into a high school atmosphere to be disturbing. I went through ROTC in college and 4 years of military service in the U.S. Navy without ever firing a weapon!

I'm genuinely surprised and amazed that the presence of shooting ranges in high schools doesn't generate more concern.

Let me also say that I am the owner of a .177 caliber pellet rifle although I have not had any pellets for probably 8 years!