Jam Session: Kristofferson's show was refreshingly honest

From The Jam Session, Reloaded:

... it was this minimalist, for-real aspect that helped Kris connect with the audience. He was up there on the empty stage of the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, standing in the circle of light with two monitors at his feet, a microphone stand, and a music stand next to him. Just him, with a nothing-special acoustic guitar, occasional harmonica on the neck rack, and his songs. Take away the usual venue trappings and it could have been him playing in a coffee shop, some smoky tavern someplace, or your living room ...

Read the whole story here:

Here's a quick-and-dirty litmus test for your senator

Where does your friendly neigborhood senator stand on the issues? Is he worth your vote?

Earlier this week, the lines were drawn and each senator indicated which side he stands on. The bellwether question was whether he voted to keep Ben Bernacke in as Federal Reserve Chairman or not.

In my state (South Carolina) it went like this:

• Lindsey Graham (Republican) -- for Bernacke.
• Jim DeMint (Republican) -- against Bernacke.

How did yours do? How do you read it?

###

Some tweaking expected for The Column; not sure what

Well, that's a fine mess I got myself into.

As I mentioned, I'm doing a lot more writing these days. I'm talking about the writing that puts some of the ol' cabbage on my table.

Which isn't that much of a problem. If nothing else, in my journalism days I was prolific, and my old chops are just about all the way back. So coming up with material for this space isn't that much of a problem.

Here's the deal, though. Among my other pursuits I'm doing political commentary in The Examiner, as you might have noticed from my occasional blurbs and links (and if you're not clicking them, shame on you!). Much of the stuff I'm writing there is what I've been doing here all along, though a little bit more localized.

Which leaves the question of exactly what to write here.

I could do things the cheap and dirty way and cross-post, so I'm running duplicate content here and in The Examiner. But I'm not going to do that. Let the amateur bloggers pull that garbage off, and here's to hard disk crashes and melted CPUs for the whole stinkin' lot of them.

Giving up The Column, Reloaded is not an option either. This is my baby, and I'm gonna keep it.

I'm kind of thinking out loud here, shooting wild, but here's what you might see in this space:

• A center point, sort of a clearing house of the other things I'm writing, with links and the whole bit.
• An expansion of some of the issues I'm covering in The Examiner. Maybe I'll go a little deeper here, really explore things. You might see longer essays with a lot of the background stuff and editorial "I" things that got left on the cutting room floor.
• Maybe shorter posts, kind of a "government at its finest" theme. I always did love to mention some of the stupid things our folks in power try to get away with, maybe season it with a whole lot of salt, and serve it up in print.
• Some personal stuff.
• The rejects: Some of the writings I couldn't palm off on someone else for a price.

Meaning, dogged if I know.

Something about me I should mention. I despise all manner of hypocrisy. I get downright ill-tempered with inefficiency, unless it's mine own. I'm quick to point out when I'm surrounded by turkeys. I've always been a thinking man (I've been accused of living in my own head), and never could understand why everyone else isn't like that.

Or something.

Ahh, as I look at what I've written here, I'm leaning toward the "government at its finest" angle. Dress it up with ... well, with something, anyway. And, as I'm noticing, that's the stuff that gets read in here.

All this means I haven't figured it out yet. But hang in there. The Column, Reloaded will evolve into something, and when change comes in this manner it usually means it's for the better.

###

Examiner: Obama's jobs bill will follow same old script

In The Examiner, I took a look at the State Of The Union address, particularly keying on Obama's pitch for jobs.

The question is, will it work?

About as well as the previous stimulus bill. Does this help?

Here's my reasoning:

Obama cited the most recent stimulus bill, saying it created or saved some two million jobs. "Two hundred thousand work in construction and clean energy; 300,000 are teachers and other education workers. Tens of thousands are cops, firefighters, correctional officers, first responders. And we're on track to add another one and a half million jobs to this total by the end of the year." These jobs Obama cited either are in the public sector or serve it. As before, the job bill will do little to spur private industry, but will make the government itself larger ...

Well, don't just hang around the newsstand reading the headlines and staring at the pictures ... check it out.

###

Love that bubble wrap? Then get your own!

My name is Eric, and I'm a bubble wrap addict ...

From The Huffington Post:

... it's Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day today, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, a day honoring the conception of the bubble wrap 50 years ago ... "Spirit 95" Radio, a local radio station in Bloomington, Indiana, officially started Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day in 2001 with a number of events to celebrate the anniversary ...

Read the rest of the story here.

And hey, stop by the post office or UPS and pick up your own bubble wrap already. You can't have mine!

###

Examiner: What Mass. win means to balance of power

As published in The Examiner:

... one could say recent Republican wins -- in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia -- are little more than the balance of power doing its usual leveling-out process. But that's doubtful. As evidenced by the tea party and 9/12 movements, people are striking back, and the voters are listening ...

The entire article can be found here.

###

Recession #FAIL: Many incompetents still have jobs

I really hate it when circumstances suggest I could be wrong about something, and it took dinner out with friends to bring this to my attention.

But, a little background first:

Understand, I believe in the free market. I put my stock in those things Adam Smith wrote about, things like supply and demand that drive the marketplace.

As far as this recession, I figure it this way. It's a dieback, just like with species of animals that cannot adjust to a new world. They become extinct, are briefly mourned, and another, more adaptible species takes over its role. Yeah, when talking economics there's a bit of a Darwinist in me. Although I agree his theory of evolution is nothing but junk science that takes gigantic leaps in logic to formulate a half-baked hypothesis, some of his short-range ideas -- survival of the fittest, adaption and the like -- are spot on.

Economic Darwinism

As I write this, the economy is in the tank. Unemployment rates rival those of the Jimmy Carter era, and are not all that far behind Great Depression numbers when you include those who gave up looking for jobs. Foreclosures are happening left and right. Businesses that are too big to fall are falling. Our biggest automakers -- once the crown jewel of our industrial society -- are bankrupt. Newspapers are folding. It's just bad times in the neighborhood.

You can put this in biological terms and say it's a dieback of the less adaptible, and you won't be far off. The old Detroit assembly-line business model was obsolete a generation ago, but the only one who hasn't figured that out is the guy running the assembly line. The morning newspaper can't even touch an Internet that brings you news the way you want it when you want it, with videos and all, and again the only one who hasn't figured it out is the guy who owns the presses.

Under this theory, the obsolete are the first victims of an economic downturn, whether it's the worker that's obsolete or the company who owns the time card he punches every day. And for the most part, I'm not wrong in my thinking.

I've been unemployed since September, and I've still found no cause to alter this thinking. I've had to adapt, and so far it's coming together. Rather than punch a clock for a company that had a business culture that was unlike anything I've ever had to work under, I'm now working for myself. See, I know my own strengths and limitations. I can adapt, but I'm usually not willing to do so. This natural stubbornness makes me a good employee but something of a loose cannon, and if I was an employer I'd certainly be the micromanager from Hell. For me, the best employment scenario is self-employment.

Had I not been laid off when I was, I probably would have become obsolete very quickly -- at least in that setting.

Pretty heavy stuff, and I was only going to talk about dinner with friends. But bear with me here.

Hire the incompetent -- they're fun to watch

I get together with a group of friends every Saturday, and this time we went out to eat. Nothing fancy; just breakfast at Dennys in North Charleston. And it was a train wreck. A Polish fire drill.

It wasn't busy in the place; way more unoccupied tables than there were occupied. We trooped in, 10 adults and one infant, grabbed our seats, got drinks, and ordered.

It went downhill from there. More than an hour later, some of the folks in our group still hadn't received their food, and some of us who already received food saw that what they got had little to do with what they ordered.

The waitress, bless her heart, was frazzled. I don't fault her here; she was working in the eye of the storm while everything else was breaking down around here. At one point she said she was going to get it right "if I have to go back there myself." Again, bless her.

I didn't see the cook. Maybe he was thinking he should be steppin' out on a Saturday night instead of slaving away for eight hours. I'm not sure where his head was (and I'm still afraid to ask), but it wasn't in his work.

The manager? If he gave a rip, he sure didn't show it. He offered no apologies, but a sackful of excuses instead -- including being busy. Busy where? Certainly not at this place.

No perfect systems

Being prone to thinking these weird thoughts all the time, I came away thinking the recession is, so far, a failure. There are still plenty of incompetents who have jobs.

See, under the perfect system -- which we will never see as long as man, with all his frailties, is running it -- the jobs will be taken over by those who can do the work. The folks who actually care about customer service will take the customer service jobs. Those who are good with their hands will all be carpenters and mechanics. And those who have zero skills and absolutely no socially redeeming values can run for Congress.

Instead, we have the same slouching, uncaring types dealing with the public. Still, recession or not. We have people working jobs where they're totally unsuited, saying they need that job and the rest of society owes them. Still, recession or not.

So much for economic Darwinism.

I hate it when my theories don't hold up.

###

 

A tape, allegedly from bin

A tape, allegedly from bin Laden, praises underwear bomber. After fiasco of "Osama's" picture, I wonder if it's really him.

If you get this email, don't answer it!

I mentioned this in a post some time ago, and it bears repeating because I got this email again.

Some folks are pretty obvious when they're trying to scam you. And they're pretty bold about it, too.

Now, here's the thing:

If this was in fact from Gmail, you'd think they'd have my email address and password already, right?

If they have to ask for it, it ain't them.

Take a look at the logo at the bottom of the announcement, too. It's almost close, but it's NOT the Gmail logo.

Here's the email:



-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Important Update
Date:	Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:07:30 -0800 (PST)
From:	Gmail <info.accessaccount@gmail.com>
Reply-To:	accountinfo.110@gmail.com
To:	undisclosed recipients: ;

We are shutting down some email accounts and your account was automatically chosen to be deleted. If you are still interested in using our email service please fill in the space below for verification purpose by clicking the reply button and fill the form below. Learn more  User Name: Password: DOB: Country: Warning!!!   Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.   Thank you for using Gmail !     The Gmail Team G MAI L BETA

At the risk of ticking off my readerhood and insulting a great many people, I'll have to say this: If you received this email and fell for it, you probably don't need to be running a computer anyway. Stick to an Underwood typewriter and postage stamps. It's a whole lot safer.

For the rest of y'all, you know what that button at the upper right of your keyboard, the one marked DEL, is for. Use it with extreme prejudice.

###

I'm spreading the love and vitriol

Ahh, widening the audience a bit ...

You will see more of my pithy commentary, dead-on analyses, and general snarkiness at a new site.

No, I'm not shutting The Column down ... don't even think that for a moment.

Instead, you'll find me doing some more things, as mentioned in an earlier post.

I'm now writing for The Examiner, a Web site for news and commentary. Officially I'm listed as the "Charleston Conservative Examiner," and so far that's not inaccurate. While my political tastes are definitely more libertarian, most of the views are on the right-hand (red) side of the aisle. Close enough for hand-grenade tossing, anyway.

(Why did I use that analogy?)

Anyway, though there isn't anything written on the site yet, check me out at examiner.com anyway ... and tell them I sent ya.

###

What's that word again?

vit⋅ri⋅ol  [vi-tree-uhl] noun, verb, -oled, -ol⋅ing or (especially British) -olled, -ol⋅ling.

–noun

1. Chemistry. any of certain metallic sulfates of glassy appearance, as copper sulfate or blue vitriol, iron sulfate or green vitriol, zinc sulfate or white vitriol, etc.

2. oil of vitriol; sulfuric acid.

3. something highly caustic or severe in effect, as criticism.

–verb (used with object)

4. to treat with or as with vitriol, esp. sulfuric acid.

Origin:

1350–1400; ME

That's what a bunch of politicians need. Spread it around like you don't own it!

Thanks to the wonderful folks at dictionary.com.

A Republican wins Ted The

A Republican wins Ted The Lifeguard's old Senate seat. In other news, Satan was seen wearing a parka & thermal underdrawers.
-E

SC Senate says no to Obamacare

Oooh, this oughtta be real interesting ...

From The Palmetto Scoop:

... The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday asserted the health care rights of Palmetto State residents by passing a resolution reaffirming the 2nd, 9th, 10th, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution ... the resolution, which had been filibustered by State Sen. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg) until now, proclaimed South Carolina’s right to sovereignty as a state and, specifically, the rights of the people to make their own health care decisions ...

Looks like there's a states' rights backlash a'comin. How say you?

###

Multitasking? Do I have a browser for you!

Here's a bit of fun for the computer ubergeek, particularly if you just don't have enough time to get four things done.

It's called googlegooglegooglegoogle.com, and here's a screenie of the site in action.

Each quadrant of the browser window (I'm using Chrome here) is a working Web page of its own. Forget the browser tabs, this is the real deal.

Of course if something like this interests y'all, there's a phrase that just about says it all: Get a life!

###

Fewer blog posts? Here's what's going on ...

Y'all may notice my posts were less frequent the last few days.

The upshot is that I'm getting busy with a little freelance work; doing the same thing I have been, only it'll be stuff that pays. While I never minded doing this kind of work for love, cash is the coin of the realm these days and you'll still love me anyway.

Or something.

Meanwhile, in the next few weeks, these things may or may not happen:

• The Column, Reloaded and associated blogs may move to a new domain, and it'll be mine own. The likely domain name will be ericsomething.com, but even that's not carved in anything right now. This is at the top of my to-do list. Although I have no problems with blogspot.com, it's time to take that next logical step.

It's kind of like this: If you're running a business, is it better to run it from a location that you own, or from one that you rent or borrow? Yeah, thought so.

• This move will likely create glitches for my current subscribers, but we'll all work together on this and hopefully get it all straightened out with a minimum of fuss & bother.

• Going with that, expect some layout changes. I downloaded the fixins for Wordpress, and am playing with it as we speak. That will be the backbone for the new blogs, and hopefully the end product will look a whole lot better than that clustered-up layout I now have.

• You'll see me doing more things, all over the Web. Some of this may include some of the stuff I've been writing here, only for new audiences. Expect links to the good stuff.

In the long run, don't expect any real cutbacks here. The Column, Reloaded will still be what it is. The Workbench, Reloaded and The Jam Session, Reloaded, will remain what they are. In fact I may throw more emphasis in the music blog; it hasn't existed very long and already seems to have "flagship" written all over it.

As this project progresses, I'll fire off a few updates. But somewhere in the mix I'll still find time and room for news.

In the meantime, y'all hang in there. The next few weeks will be fun.

###

Jam Session: Pendergrass 'still proclaimed he was a lover'

Teddy Pendergrass died Wednesday at 59, and 28 years after a car accident nearly ended his career.

Story and video in The Jam Session, Reloaded.

Looting has started in earthquake-torn

Looting has started in earthquake-torn Haiti for ... electronics. Yeah, that makes a whole bunch of sense.
-E

On The Workbench: Got my Chrome on, finally

It took long enough, with a lot of Web searching and evil experiments, but I have Google Chrome working on my Linux box. I'm using it now.

The story, plus links and the ever-important "how-I-dunnit" can be found in The Workbench, Reloaded.

###

Salvation Army: Double or nothing

In a moment of madness, I predicted the Christmas donation hoax for the local Salvation Army might turn into a feelgood story after all.

I based that on the thought that people can be pretty decent after all, and that they might not take kindly to folks who scam a charitable organization.

I didn't know the half of it. Literally. In the past week, good-hearted people made sure the bad news paid off in silver dollars.l

After the issue became public, people opened their wallets to the tune of $50,000. In real donations, replacing the stolen $25,000 check that bounced and triggered the whole thing.

Double or nothing.

Donations poured in from across the country -- including an anonymous couple on vacation in the Carribbean -- to reload Salvation Army coffers.

The local media picked up the story a week ago, and before long it went nationwide. The Los Angeles Times and Charlotte Observer ran it.

Seeing everybody come together to do good things -- particularly in light of our in-the-tank economy -- does much to thaw the edges of this ol' frozen heart of mine.

###

Groundhog will text his Feb. 2 weather findings

I got this from a local weatherman, via Twitter:

Punxsutawney Phil to text his weather prediction....for the first time, you can receive Phil's forecast via text....www.groundhog.org

(Special thanks to Rob Fowler @StormTeam2!)

I tell you, the texters are taking over, but it should be OK as long as he is not driving.

###

I don't want to see my heating bill ...

Remember those old gas station pumps? The ones that made a lot of noise
and rang a bell every once in a while?

That's about what my heater sounds like when I run it.

That's the sound of one being separated from his money.

Pass the salt ... while you still can

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, after introducing laws regulating smoking and trans fat in his city, is asking restaurants and food packagers to hold the salt.

Here's a story about it in The Guardian, a publication from The United Kingdom:

... the campaign, called the National Salt Reduction Initiative, aims to cut the quantities of sodium in packaged and restaurant foods by a quarter over five years. The city claims that if the 2014 target is met it will help save many thousands of premature deaths ... Americans consume on average about 3,400 milligrams of salt a day ? well above the recommendation of the American Heart Association of less than 2,300 milli­grams. Most of that is out of the individual consumer's hands as almost 80% of salt intake is already added to packaged and restaurant foods and only about 11% added in the home ... high salt levels can raise blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and strokes ... Dr Thomas Farley, New York's health commissioner, said that 1.5 million New Yorkers already suffered from high blood pressure ... "If we can reduce the sodium levels in packaged and restaurant foods we will give consumers more choice about the amount of salt they eat, and reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke in the process," he said ...

OK, you might think. Let those New Yorkers live their lives any ol' way they please; what does this have to do with everyone else?

Here's the thing: New York City, like California, is a testing lab for strange new laws. Give it a few years, then what happens there will eventually happen in the rest of the country.

Back in the 1980s, writer John Naisbitt penned "Megatrends," a futuristic look at American society, and while he missed the mark on some of his guesses he was spot-on with others. In Megatrends, Naisbitt listed five states as "bellwether states," arguing that, as I am, what happens there will happen here. He kept up on trends by following the news in those five states. To Naisbitt, California was a bellwether state then, but New York wasn't. He did list Florida and Connecticut as two of the other states to watch 30 years ago.

Although it's not something I'd brag about, I grew up in California. But one thing I did gain from my 30 years there was that I had a sneak preview of today's and tomorrow's headlines. I wasn't terribly surprised to see the number of illegal aliens in South Carolina; in fact some folks in the Palmetto State thought I was some sort of mad prophet because I was predicting this here 10 years ago. I'd already seen it happen on the other coast. And I wasn't shocked to see new laws regulating smoking here; in the late 1980s California cities were already banning smoking in public places. We California products -- and New Yorkers now -- already know what's going on.

But then, Californians and New Yorkers know what's going to happen because they're often the trigger for new laws elsewhere. The more folks emigrate from these places, the more they'll bring their laws and customs with them. They become missionaries, trying to bring "civilization" on those poor backwards country boys in the South and Midwest. Shoot, no wonder folks in the South don't care that much for strangers. It's like what the late Lewis Grizzard, a great American, said of the southern states: "Come on down. Marry our daughters. We just don't want to hear how you did it in Cleveland."

Partly because of health concerns (but mostly it's nothing but preference), but I don't use much salt myself -- and I'm glad to share some of my own cooking hacks here -- but I'm not about to ask the government to regulate other people's salt usage. Are you kidding? Even if I could, the feds are the last folks I'd want to involve in this.

Again, from Guardian:

... the difference between the salt drive and the previous health initiatives is that this new mission will be purely voluntary. Smoking and trans fats were both banned, and the posting of calories imposed on larger chains, but in this case food manufacturers and restaurants will be encouraged to participate out of concern for public well-being rather than by compulsion ...

Yeah, that's what they all say.

Almost everything starts off as voluntary.

But here are a couple of things to chew on here:

The federal government is on the verge of taking over our health care system; it's just a question of how thorough a takeover will be at this point. The feds will then have an interest in cutting health care costs one way or another. While there's this talk of rationing health care and cutting back on Grandma (some of this is pure smoke, while some is actual fire), they'll start looking more at the prevention angle. Smoking is definitely a factor in respiratory and circulatory problems, fats fill your thighs and arteries with all kinds of sludge, and too much salt does a number on your blood pressure.

So you know it's coming.

###

Cooking without salt doesn't mean bland dinner

I'm still thinking about salt here; talk of more government regulation always does this to me.

I don't use much salt. I don't even keep it in the house. Part of it is the health angle, but part of it is just plain preference. I use a lot of other seasonings in the kitchen, and my cooking -- which I'd describe as more utilitarian than gourmet -- is anything but bland. When I eat I want to actually taste something; it's part of the pleasure of eating.

Here's a partial inventory of my spice rack:

• Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning blend: This is my go-to, and I use it like most people use salt.
• Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning blend: I use this when I want to kick it up a notch.
• Tabasco sauce: Required. I use it in my morning grits, too. A bit hotter and more of an aged-in-the-keg taste than Texas Pete.
• 5th Season Italian Seasoning: Any kind of Italian seasoning will work; this is the cheap stuff (half a buck at WalMart). Has thyme, oregano, and who-knows-what in it. I'll use it in eggs and on grilled cheese sandwiches, too.
• Garlic powder: Another must-have. Leave the garlic salt for the amateurs.
• Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning: This does have salt, but the red pepper is enough to counterbalance the effects.
• Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning: A friend turned me on to this. It has salt and monosodium glutamate in it, and I don't use it much. It's good on burgers, though.
• Dill weed: Good on fish and in casseroles; gives a little extra tangy bite.

But I do have a stash of pretzels somewhere in yonder kitchen. After reading about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's campaign to regulate salt usage in restaurants and processed food, I need some junk food ... and I need it now.

###

Shock: Big Mac admits to steroids, apologizes

So Mark McGwire admitted using steroids. So what did you think he was
using, Wheaties?

Funny how the Grand Old Game lionized him when he was hitting all those
home runs -- he and Sammy Sosa made the game fun again, remember? They
could do no wrong back in '99 and '00, and the lords of the game were
pretty sure there was some performance-enhancing substance involved
then, too.

Now Big Mac and Slammin' Sammy are bums.

Senator makes 'racist' statements -- so?

OK, so Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made statements about then-candidate Barack Obama's blackness. Big deal.

His comments found their way into "Game Change," a new book from Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, that is being released this week.

It appears this book dealt out equal amounts of gall and bitterness to a number of candidates, from both sides of the political spectrum -- folks as diverse as John and Elizabeth Edwards and Sarah Palin got their doses.

But it's Reid who's getting all the attention these days, probably because a) he's still in office, and b) he is such a central player in the government's efforts to take over our health care. Without his and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's efforts, the whole package probably would have been stuck in the talking stages rather than making it as far as it has.

Reid supposedly said that Obama was electable because he was light-skinned and didn't use "the Negro dialect" unless he meant to. In other words, black enough but not too black. Shoot, let's cut to the chase here -- his alleged statements painted Obama as someone that blacks a couple of generations ago might call an "Uncle Tom."

Again, who gives a rip? This is just a sideshow, which has little or nothing to do with any real issues.

Now, the Republicans are jumping on this one. They're calling for him to resign from his leadership position, or even from the Senate. This brings shades of 2002, when Trent Lott praised Strom Thurmond's segregationist past during the South Carolina senator's 100th birthday party.

It's funny how party affiliation means so much in politics. During that campaign Joe Biden, who was born with both feet in his mouth, made similar statements about Obama. Remember? A black man who is "articulate ... and clean." Biden may have tanked his presidential aspirations then and there -- as if they really existed anyway -- but he's now vice president to that articulate and clean black man. See how it works?

So far, I don't hear the usual gang of racist-shouters going after Reid like they did after South Carolina Congressman Joe (You Lie) Wilson or a handful of others, which shows how truly hypocritical these people are. If Reid was Republican, a conservative, or against the health care takeover, it would be a whole different story, but that's not the point I wish to make here.

Although the Republicans are asking the Democrats (and the racist-shouters) to rise up against Reid, it's not going to happen. The Democrats need every single vote they can muster to pass the national health care plan. After that, they can feel free to gut the senator -- if the Nevada voters don't do it first. Of course, the Republicans would love to see Reid get thrown out on his can sooner rather than later.

I see this whole thing as an obvious attempt to derail the health care bill, and yes, it does need derailing. Government-run health care may be an even bigger threat to our way of life than even the USA PATRIOT Act, but to shut it down by taking out the proponents represents politics at its slimiest.

Keep in mind, I'm not known for defending liberals. But Reid was elected by the voters in his state, and made his way into leadership positions by going through the usual channels that rule in DC. He's been a known quantity for a lot of years. If he doesn't represent the interests of his state, it's up to the electorate to decide that matter.

And so a few folks may be offended by the comments of a Reid -- or a Biden, or years ago, a Lott? OK, that's what that ballot box is for. But a smarter voter is likely to overlook the odd comment from deep left field and take more important things like his track record and political agenda into consideration.

Efforts to homogenize the leadership will ultimately backfire. Better to have living, breathing elected officials with minds and opinions of their own, even if a little offensiveness comes with it. There are enough drones walking around in our society, people who react instead of think, people who are afraid to voice their own opinions and maybe stir the puddin' a little bit. Must we elect these drones, too?

There are lots of reasons to vote against someone like Reid, and the occasional quasi-offensive statement isn't one of them.

###

(OK, let's go to the horse's ... mouth!)

Jam Session: At 75, what would Elvis do?

Because he's The King, that's all. He would be 75 today.

(Story, with sounds and stuff in The Jam Session, Reloaded)

###

White House: intelligence #fail so

White House: intelligence #fail so widespread no one person will be fired. Which means DHS head Incompentano keeps her job?
-E

If you can read this, you might be a mess. Or NOT!

This was posted by a friend of mine, and I thought it was interesting:

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. If you can raed... tihs, psot it to yuor wlal. Olny 55% of plepoe can.

It made perfectly good sense to me.

###

Local donation hoax can still turn into good news

It doesn't sound like it right away, but this could turn into a feelgood story anyway.

Last month, the local Salvation Army received a check for $25,000, and everything looked good so far. Captain Anthony Guliana said the check came with a note on the letterhead of a large company here in town, saying the company (Force Protection, which makes military vehicles) had a good year and wished to share its good fortune. The check was taken to the bank, deposited, and the Sally went to work feeding families and dispensing toys for Christmas.

Then a couple of days before Christmas came the bad news. The check was bogus, drawn on a closed account. The letter was a forgery, and the Salvation Army was stuck with a large bill.

This made national news, with the Chalotte Observer and L.A. Times picking up on it.

Meanwhile, Force Protection -- where times have really been lean the past 18 months, with cutbacks and layoffs -- says the incident is little more than a smear campaign against the company.

It appears several other of these rubbery checks were sent to other charitable organizations, including $10,000 to a local church. I tell you, there's a special section reserved in Hell for folks like that.

Now, it would be a real PR coup for Force Protection to honor these checks, but it's not their responsibility. Understand, this whole incident was little more than a case of stolen identity, and I wouldn't expect them to step up to the plate any more than I would expect anyone else to cover for checks written if his own identity is stolen. And, as I mentioned, business for Force Protection really laid an egg during this recession. So that scenario is probably out.

The story ran on The Morning Buzz, a local talk radio show hosted by Richard Todd, and here's where things start looking better.

One caller, who is a member of the motorcyclists' organization ABATE, offered to make a donation and challenged other local bikers to do the same.

A firefighter in North Charleston said he was going to donate, and asked all other firefighters to pass the hat. Ditto with a local minister, a professional driver, the owner of a carpet cleaning company, and an Avon representative. All of these people likewise challenged all others in their occupational groups to open their wallets.

And that's just the folks who went public on one radio show, in just a couple of hours of airtime. You know people around the Loucountry are a) digging deep and b) taking a few verbal shots at the anonymous person who sent out these bogus checks. Recession or not, people are pitching in.

See, despite our own every-man-for-himself natures, people can be okay after all.

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Jam Session: Playing weeks of Stormy Monday

I wasn't terrribly surprised to see that Stormy Monday is probably the most-recorded blues song of 'em all ... without a doubt it's the most played by bar bands ... (More in The Jam Session, Reloaded)

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On The Workbench: Chrome for Linux isn't there yet

... as it stands now, I can work Chrome all day, as long as I don't use it to go online. That's when it quits ... (Read more in The Workbench, Reloaded)

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Pop your Pez for Curtis

Pop your Pez for Curtis Allina. The inventor of the iconic candy dispenser died at his home at 87.
-E

31 years past his death, Mingus is still great

From The Jam Session, Reloaded ...

Bassist and band leader Charles Mingus passed away 31 years ago today, on Jan. 5, 1979.

Simply put, he was one of the greatest in jazz -- particularly if you could stand to work with him. There are plenty of stories about that ...

(Of course there's more -- with sound & pictures.)

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Music for today: 'UFO Tofu'

Music for today: 'UFO Tofu' (Bela Fleck), 'Red Planet' (Eric Dolphy; also released as 'Miles Mode'). Palindrome music.
-E

Twitter trivia: From @patkiernan: Today

Twitter trivia: From @patkiernan: Today - 01/02/2010 - is one of only 12 dates this century that reads the same backwards.
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As of today, smoking in

As of today, smoking in public places is illegal in North Carolina, which is the the state tobacco built.
-E