Meritocracy

I did not post anything today.

I actually did my work, at work.

That's all.

I thought you should know.

Oh, I am collecting single Jewish doctors and lawyers' phone numbers for Passover. AG does not want crazies, so do not send me those. (I got plenty of those.) Feel free to e-mail to me.

As you were. more...

Rider In The Rain

Remember the old days when dinosaurs roamed the Internets, which were a series of tubes?  Back when you would say "What Billmon Said"? and everybody would nod and chuckle?  Because back then, you could see each other on the internet?

Anyway, Billmon has come and gone, and come and gone again;  Many times you may hear 'what digby said' (from me, too)  and while Ol' Dig is a trenchant writer and understands hella lot more than I do, as well as being able to post JUST A BIT more often, and while Billmon has even inspired a verb, there is one writer out there...

Weaned on Steve Gilliard, and subsequently thrown out on his own by the same man, a Warrior named driftglass has been rippin it up out of Chitown for four years now.  As long as I have, but much much better.  Dig:

...the intimate exhilaration of wielding the primal power to bend one word around another until they catch fire and throw shadows on the moon chock-a-block with the terrifying feeling of being suddenly, randomly abandoned when our muses blow town for long spa weekends without leaving a forwarding address...

the man is a WRITER, full balls to the wall no-foolin' take no prisoners; and when he's turnin on, the ghosts of Hunter S Thompson, HL Mencken, Mark Twain and George Carlin chuckle and nod and raise a glass, knowing that their legacy lives on.

And drifty turns on A LOT.

You could do much worse than spending the day over there reading his archives.  What are you gonna do, WORK?

Say hi for the zombie and pass his links on.  

Philadelphia by the Numbers

-A picture from a PHL ghetto. (No, that's not AG or anyone she knows in the photo.)

I have spent a lot of time bemoaning Mississippi and southern states as of late. After reading yesterday's Currents section in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I thought we should discuss Philadelphia. You know, since it's the city I live in:

21% of Philadelphia residents have a college degree. That is compared to 28% (National Average that has climbed 3% over the past five years.) Washington DC is highest at 48% followed closely by Boston at 40% according to the Pew Charitable Trust.

Smoking is on the decline in America going from about 22% of the population to under 20% between 2000 and 2008. Philadelphia went from about 25% to 28% in the same time period. Clearly, we need to create public health campaigns around this issue.

Schools are in decline as the budget crisis rolls on in Philadelphia. The good news is that the perecentage of students considered proficient or advanced in math in reading increased between 2002 and 2008.

Despite the the 19990s being a time of economic boom in America, Philadelphia's number of poor continued to increase. The poor are a majority in the city. The median household income was $25,431 in 2007, which is less than half of the surrounding suburbs income (Mainline and Bucks Co.) and about $15,000 less than the national average.

Nearly 1 in 5 city families and 1 in 4 residents of the city are residing in poverty.

The rest of the report can be viewed here.

What does all of this mean for a city that is in decline and facing a lot of hardships? It means we need to focus beyond casinos, which now Governor Jack Markell (D) in Delaware is talking about too. We need to encourage business and industry growth in the city as more and more companies seek to move out of the high rent district of Manhattan. We need to encourage the students at local colleges like UPENN, Drexel, and Temple to stay in the city after graduating. The manufacturing jobs that were the cornerstone of middle class America left this country. They were replaced by low wage jobs in the service sector. Jobs at McDonald’s, were once just a fringe of the economy. Only kids in high school worked those kinds of jobs. Sadly, these McJobs are a reality for a good portion of the American public. We need to change that.

Most of all, we need to remove Nutter at the city level, expect more out of Governor Rendell at the state level, and remove Senator Specter at the national state level. Largely because Specter (R-PA) came out against card check last week. This was a major blow to unions in America. With less than 25% of residents in the city earning a degree in higher education, there is even more of a need for unions in the state to off set poverty. Unions level the playing field for the undereducated, the poor, and blue collar works. There is more than enough manufacturing here that is not unionized to save the city! It is imperative that Philadelphia and other cities in PA work towards change while preserving unions as a bridge tool.

Passover Seder

You know Fish only comes over here for the pictures. So, Good Shabbos, my goyish boy toy.
____________________________________

Last night I attended the Passover women's seder at my local synagogue. Yes, it's always before the actual holiday and this year's program was equally as nice as last years with exceptional singing and dancing. I always enjoy attending because I get to visit with my Jewish Ema and my gal pals. I was glad to see Ema, Meri, Judy*, Elena*, the Birthday Boy, Meri's husband, and a slew of older women that I am tight with. I have to say, our synagogue has some of the sweetest women. It really does and last night surely reminded me of that.

I was talking to my ALBT (Adorable Boyfriend), when I spotted Elena on the street. She grabbed me almost immediately within sight to ask me if I had her back. I was all, "Back?" Apparently some crazy started with her on the street because she wanted her parking spot. Oy, the synagogue drama is fun! I replied with, "I'm from Boston and New York. You know it!" The conversation drifted and it set the tone for the night.

This year we had assigned seating and since I knew Maura* and she's seen me intoxicated before, table three knew what to expect! In fact, table three is the only table that had five bottles of wine on it at the end of the night, instead of two. La. La. Right as Elena and I circle over to our table, a trio of women appear like hawks looking for their pray. The youngest is not very pleasant barking some orders at us about which seats we can have. Which seat AG can have? Bitch was clearly crazy. AG doesn't notice her because honestly, her brassy hair is making the eyes tear and there is something else far more interesting. I instantly spot the oldest one who looks like this. She had the four carat ring and everything. Oy gevalt was she stunning in her Bubbie glory.

She was pure fodder for the three hours I was there. The best part about her though wasn't that she tried to introduce me to her 45-year-old Boca Raton attorney son who has never had a relationship last more than six weeks, or that she brought her slave with her, or even that she informed me that her six inches high hair was not done last night because she didn't have time to "go to the beauty parlor." It was what Elena pointed out to me between the bitters and the maror. She pulled something out of her purse and began to discuss it with us.

Contest time! Can you guess what little gem of a gift she brought to the Passover seder. Trust me, no guess is too outlandish. Go ahead, try it.

At the end of the night, I found my tambourine that I decorated but someone swiped for themselves, (bitch, please!) left intoxicated (I paid $25, I was getting that amount worth of food, fun, and drink), got into it with my Ema for looking for another adopted daughter, and found out Bubbie belongs to Judy! Judy has the best Bubbie. Eva.

I am totally borrowing her next Shabbos and we are so going to George's where she will get me schtupped without a doubt. I did mention this to the ALBT and he was down with it. So, we're all good here. George's Happy Hour is filled with the Jews from the mainline who are dressed in Polo and talking about Devon Days. In other words, they speak AG shiksa!

Oh and in case you are wondering, yes, I am hungover today. I was still spinning when I woke up after throwing up while on the phone with the ALBT. I also may have fallen asleep on him over the phone and Alisa is pissed because I did not show up at the concert last night. Wah. Wah. Anyone have an Alka Seltzer because cheap, low ETOH, sugar laden kosher wine is killing me!

*Names are changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty. more...

So Close, Yet So Far Away

I was reading the commentary section of last week’s Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday and came across George Curry’s article on the Pope’s recent declaration of g-d being able to smite all of us who believe in science, medicine, research, and public health. It’s all because condoms do not reduce the transmission of HIV, despite what my scientific training and the CDC has told me. I have largely avoided the Pope’s comments because I am an atheist Jew who does not believe in any of that hocus pocus that organized religious institutions peddle*. As such, the Pope, his doctrines, and the words that come out of his mouth are consistently denounced by me on an apriori based upon his link to Catholics and magical beliefs.

There I am reading Curry’s pithy prose shaking my head while laying in bed on Sunday morning until I reach the bottom of the first column of text. Curry writes, “Adults under the age of 30 and teenagers together accounted for 34% of new HIV infections in 2006. Yet, for years, our government has pursued so-called abstinence-only programs. Sure, we should encourage teens to refrain from sexual intercourse until they are married.” That is when I put down the article and feel the Kung-fu Panda moves kicking in. Less than 5,000 words before this, Curry is crying out about our unease to discuss sexuality with children and especially condom use. As such, his language is paradoxically and at odds with the crux of his very argument that he is claiming himself not to be a part of.

We no longer live in a world where people need to wait until marriage. We are lying to children if we are telling them this is the value system that their adult mentors believe in. For example, 40% of children born in America last year were to unwed mothers. 50% of marriages fail today, yet many people go on to cohabitate in non married, heterosexual households, with children living in them, after divorce. Thus, adults do not value waiting until marriage themselves.

What we value and what needs to be espoused to children is waiting until they are emotionally and physically ready to have sexual relations. The yardstick by which I measure this in young adults is through condoms, the precise topic Curry wants to talk about with children. I have often argued that a young adult should not be having sex if s/he is not comfortable walking into a drugstore or discount retailer and purchasing adequate contraceptive without feeling embarrassed. S/he should also know how to properly identify the safest and most effective methods of birth control and how to properly use them. Now I know there are plenty of adults who do not feel comfortable doing this and to them I would suggest the same as I do to young adults and early 20 somethings: you have no business engaging in sex then.

Very similar to how law is carved out in the US, there is a means test. That is to say, we do not allow children to drive a car until we think they have reached the age of maturity and have passed mandatory driving examinations. We hold children accountable for what is morally and scientifically reasonable at their age and mental capacity when they commit crimes. Sexual intercourse should be no different. Therefore, I feel as though Curry made as much of a faux pas as the Pope. While the Pope denounces science and fact, he does so under the guise of religion. Curry denounces current trends and cultural beliefs that are not shared by him under the guise of religion, which suggests that virginity is about morality and women being Mary. Sounds like patriarchy, which is at the very core of religion and something I wish to have no part of today, tomorrow, or in the future.

*I respect those of you who do believe in organized religion, g-d, science, and/or progress. I just ask that we not discuss it here because it is not in my interest to do so.

Haley Barbour Must Go V3.0

On the Human Development Index, Mississippi falls is last with the lowest life expectancy of any US state (72 years of age vs. US 77.8), the highest rate of adults aged 25 and older who either do not have a high school degree or earned a GED, and one of the lowest in personal income and wages. By ranking of the 436 US congressional districts, the four MS districts ranked 380, 413, 416, and 429.

The disparities in college degree attainment between Caucasians and African Americans are alarming and a real cause for concern. The rates at which different groups of Mississippians attend college illuminate their potential for achieving economic security, seizing opportunities, and enjoying a host of non monetary benefits such as: longer lives, better health, more stable marriages, more effective parenting, greater self-confidence, and greater personal happiness. While MS rates of bachelor’s degrees obtained by Caucasians vary from 12 to 48 percent in the 83 counties, the rate for African Americans varies from 3 to 22 percent.

Governor Barbour is one of those individuals without a bachelor’s degree. He attended the University of MS in Oxford in the 1960s, but left in 1968 during the fall of his senior year to work on Richard Nixon’s 1968 election campaign. He later enrolled at the University of MS Law School and received his Juris Degree in 1972. He subsequently joined his deceased father’s law firm, which he still maintains today.

It’s a stretch to apply Mr. Barbour as a role model for young people in MS today when he didn’t finish college and lax rules and nepotism paved his way to the state house. It is time for change in MS as Barbour is term limited. My hope is that it comes in the form of a brown eyed Jewish boy who would be the first Jewish Govenor elected to the state. AG can then apply to be First AG and be responsible for addressing poverty in the delta region and bringing evolution, science, and math back to MS. She can also read to Republicans in the state and feed their servants. Good times await!

P.S. The wiki link above is going on the AG's Law homepage. That is a fucking gold mine of Ivy educated often JD dudes AG needs to hit!

P.P.S. Picture better?

Eat a Peach

I've discussed in the past the overall lack of stellar writing in the Delaware Spark, a free weekly paper in Wilmington, DE. However, the latest wonk has me really infuriated and wanting to act out scenes from Kung-Fu Panda. Not only does the author of this of exercise in falacies, Kelly Housen, go for the jugular on something she has clearly not researched, she mocks the individual who was not going after Barbie per se, but making a message about mental health and what we can do about it. Nice cut job, lady!

First thing first -- the woman behind the plastic. If Barbie were real, she would be a 7 feet tall with a waistline of 18inches and with a bust size of 38-40. Given these dimensions, she would need to walk on all fours just to support her peculiar proportions. Yet we all know who Barbie is and we do not discuss her ability to trump science and physiology.

What influence does Barbie have on children? Let's take a closer look at this published research that does suggest that the youngest of girls exposed to Barbie are affected by body image. Thus, Represenative Eldridge's point is well taken here. We have a problem that needs to be addressed:

In a survey of girls 9 and 10 years old, 40% have tried to lose weight, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (USA Today, 1996).

A 1996 study found that the amount of time an adolescent watches soaps, movies and music videos is associated with their degree of body dissatisfaction and desire to be thin (Tiggemann & Pickering, 1996).

One author reports that at age thirteen, 53% of American girls are "unhappy with their bodies." This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen (Brumberg, 1997).

In a study among undergraduates media consumption was positively associated with a strive for thinness among men and body dissatisfaction among women (Harrison & Cantor, 1997).

Teen-age girls who viewed commercials depicting women who modeled the unrealistically thin-ideal type of beauty caused adolescent girls to feel less confident, more angry and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance (Hargreaves, 2002).

In a study on fifth graders, 10 year old girls and boys told researchers they were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or a clip from the TV show "Friends" (Mundell, 2002).

In another recent study on media's impact on adolescent body dissatisfaction, two researchers found that:

Teens who watched soaps and TV shows that emphasized the ideal body typed reported higher sense of body dissatisfaction. This was also true for girls who watched music videos.

Reading magazines for teen girls or women also correlated with body dissatisfaction for girls.

Identification with television stars (for girls and boys), and models (girls) or athletes (boys), positively correlated with body dissatisfaction (Hofschire & Greenberg, 2002).

By the time a young woman has reached the age of 17, it is estimated that she has been exposed to more than 250,000 commercial messages through the media. Body image disturbances, typically the result of such exposure, are clearly dangerous to our youth not just because their preoccupation precludes clarity of thought, the ability to concentrate and learn, and attaining the developmental milestones of childhood, but also because they typically lead to the fear of being overweight, and therefore to dieting and food restriction, to becoming malnourished and/or excessively thin, and ultimately to the onset of clinical eating disorders. Eating disorders are the one of the most potent and preventable diseases that are afflicting youth today, as the youth under 20 are estimated to represent 87% of the demographics of the disorder.

Ms. Housen also surmises through her own somewhat limited personal recall that parents are to blame because we get our messages about our bodies from them. Sadly, she and several bloggers I have read recently are incorrect in their assumptions on this too. While media is influencing our youth, even more significantly, it is also influencing their parents. Remember, young women grow up to become mothers who parent their own children. Since a plethora of parents struggle with their own dysfunctions around body image and eating, they pass their messages onto their children. As role models for their own offspring, even healthy normal women typically experience body image distress today. 75% of normal women think they are overweight. 90% of women overestimate their body size, and 50% of American women report currently being on a diet. (Sadly, AG is one of them.)

Adults are equal victims of the pernicious messages sent by the media as are their children. They are party to reports of fashion models in our society being thinner than 98% of the American public. To that end, one recent study reports that 75% of women and 54% of men report being dissatisfied with their physical appearance and wish their bodies were different. The diet industry in America generates $33 billion annually because of this. With the trendy diets that go in and out of popularity so frequently in our culture, myths and misconceptions about the benefits of diets and restrictive eating abound. Increasingly, adult women admit to suffering from unresolved eating disorders has moved into their 50s. This has a devasting effect on one's health and development.

With women increasingly in the work force and/or at the health club, only 50 percent of American families sit down together at the dinner table these days. Kids are left to fend to themselves when it comes to what, when, and how they eat. At the same time, fast foods have become more available and affordable with obesity on the rise, afflicting one out of three in the U.S. today. Studies show that mothers with their own eating disorders, body image conflicts and dysfunctional eating habits have children who are more apt to suffer eating problems and depression by the time they reach age five.

It is hard to take what Ms. Housen says seriously given that her photo in the center of the article is centrally focused on seeing down her shirt to her wanton cleavage. Probably not a role model for young women and feminists alike. Oh and while I am picking things apart, it's Representative Eldridge or Eldridge in popular modern journalism, not Jeff. Again, not a role model for young women, feminists, and speakers of English.

Things That are Just Wrong

Esquire is the kind of magazine that makes AG violent. Since Granger took over in 1997, the "magazine" has become nothing more than an ongoing pile of sheep dung in my opnion. I guess it is largely because it fails to meet satire, it is generally wrong about most things not to mention the blatant misogyny, it is pedestrian, and lacks quality writing within the pages. It makes me think of Buffalo, New York --- a place where C students rise to the top.

Examples:

The bars in PA, DE, CT, NJ, and MA are not correct. Sorry!

Best breakfast. Also denied. They start pitching for Waffle House during the middle of the article. This suggests to me the kind of red neck University of South Clueless kind of journalism that is going down here. I will concede that they might be right on a few like Manny's in Chicago. Could we get some confirmation of places named near to you, so AG can visit the worthwhile places?

Abort!

Wake-up, Mayor Nutter!

I get an invoice for $71.00 for a parking ticket. Except I paid the ticket back in November before they tacked on all the interest. I called the number on the invoice for the Philadelphia Parking Authority to discuss this issue. It's automated. No live person. Invoices still come. They still have my money.

Nothing changes.

Mayor Nutter thinks Philadelphia will benefit from with casinos opening in South Philadelphia. Since 2007, Atlantic City, less than 200 miles away, has seen a drop in gambling and casino revnue. To that end, six of the 11 casinos have now filled for bankruptcy in court.

Right, close the libraries and open casinos.

Philadelphia: still a ghetto of mediocrity and Temple Grads: is there a difference?

Haley Needs To Go 2.0

Well, well, well. Look at Mister "I'm not going to raise taxes" on the front page of the New York Times today.

Haley Barbour is the gift that is going to keep on giving for years to come! He latest is something that should have been done years ago: raising the Mississippi state cigarette tax. Currently, MS has the third lowest cigarette tax.

Here's the rub: After a tax study commission appointed by Governor Barbour recommended an increase, he reversed his opposition but warned that the tax should be viewed as a matter of health policy. Right, so he doesn't want folks like AG pointing out that you can call it whatever you want, it's still a tax increase. Something he said he would not do after he announced his intention for a second term on 12 February 2007. In fact, during his campaign, Barbour signed the Americans for Tax Reform "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and vowed not to institute any new taxes or raise any existing ones.

Lies, all lies.

What is more interesting is why didn't Barbour raise taxes before? It would have made sense given that it's the third lowest cigarette tax in the nation, yet MS pays one of the highest grocery taxes. Well, wikipedia does a nice job of explaining it Clarissa style: Barbour's taxation policies have not been without contention. In March 2006 Barbour vetoed a bill that would lower grocery taxes, while simultaneously raising tobacco taxes. The "Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids" insinuated that Barbour's lobbying-era affinity with the tobacco industry may also explain his 2006 proposal to dismantle Mississippi's controversial youth-tobacco-prevention program, called The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. The Partnership is a private, non-profit group which receives $20 million annually and is led by former Attorney General Mike Moore. Moore created the organization when he, representing the State of Mississippi, settled a multi-billion dollar suit with the tobacco industry. According to the suit, the funds were to offset the extra costs incurred by Medicaid while dealing with smoking related illnesses. Opponents have consistently claimed that Moore uses the organization to further his political ambitions. The Partnership regularly offers up huge grants to political organizations such as the Legislative Black Caucus. Many point to even more facts such as The Partnership not allowing a public audit which in turn permits the group to have no public accountability of its expenditures of state funds. In 2006, Judge Jaye Bradley, the same judge that awarded Moore the annual $20 million in 2000, vacated her previous decision. Bradley claimed she did not decide against The Partnership because of its inability to perform but because she believes that the state legislature is the only body that can legally decide how state funds can be delegated. Following the decision, Barbour stated that it says a lot about Judge Bradley “…that she is a strong enough person to have the gumption to vacate her own order. The only way for the state to spend state funding is for the Legislature to appropriate it through the legislative process."　 After an appeal by Moore, Barbour went on to win a Mississippi Supreme Court battle that prevented the tobacco settlement moneys from funding the program, maintaining that is unconstitutional for a judge to award state proceeds to a private organization. Barbour's lawyer stated The Partnership was "the most blatant diversion of public funds to a private corporation in the history of the state of Mississippi" as The Partnership refuses to allow a state audit of its expenditures of the state's money.

That's not all. In 1991, Barbour helped found Barbour & Rogers, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, with Ed Rogers, a lawyer who formerly worked in the George H. W. Bush administration. In 1994, Lanny Griffith (also a former Bush Administration appointee) joined the firm to form Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, LLC. In 1998, Fortune magazine named Barbour Griffith & Rogers the second-most-powerful lobbying firm in America. In 2001, after the inauguration of George W. Bush, Fortune named it the most powerful. The firm has made millions of dollars lobbying on behalf of the tobacco industry.

He should bring this shit to Massachusetts because the Harvard types would roast him alive for this kind of back door dealing! Politics are total bullshit in MS. The man had to be brought kicking and screaming to tax cigarettes because he goes down on RJ Reynolds executive counsel like Paris Hilton to Justin Timberlake on a drunken bender in Detroit. What impresses me most is that he then has the chutzpah to call his tax increase not a tax but a matter of "health policy". Right, except he has no intention of giving any money to any anti-smoking groups, lung cancer groups, or prevention programs.

This is a guy who is trying to be like the carpet bagger Jindal and turn away government funds. Are you like me and just find this kind of ignorance both sad and amusing at the same time? Seriously, how do folks in MS sleep at night knowing they elected someone who steals from their impoverished pockets right in front of them and kicks them in the scrotum while doing so?

This Woman's Work

Ok, I know AG is gonna bust my chops about this, but MO looks so good doing real work, even if I know that she had lots of SS to do the heavy lifting here.

The optics of this image are so good, the horrible horrible cynic in me has to ask if this was intended to offset Obama's ill considered 'Special Olympics' comment.

Way to go, First Lady. You rock.

Shakin' Shakin' Shakes

Hi.

Two Fridays in a row. Getting back on that stupid horse. Don't get used to it.

Now. I love the Rude Pundit like a foul mouthed uncle, but I gotta say I think this is wrong. I understand the argument, and certainly concede that the money to be recouped is minimal at best compared to the recovery and bailout spending necessary, especially if the frauds want to lawyer up.

But this argument is like saying you shouldn't try to collect parking tickets because they don't amount to much of the City's budget. It's about justice, playing by the rules of society, and what is right; although the cash flow is always appreciated. The contracts required the bonuses to be at least equal to the asshole's 2007 bonuses; that's not a bonus, it's salary. Good work if you can get it, but these guys truly think of themselves as Masters of The Universe and if they can't see the inherent effrontery of this, they need to be slapped down; if it takes clawback taxation, so be it. Once the country has become majority owner, contracts are open to renegotiation. If it's acceptable for the UAW, it's acceptable for A-I-Fucking-G.

It's to Chris Dodd's shame that he let his bonus clause be defanged. He's been a good progressive, but the idiocy of that move should rightly imperil his re-election. The banksters pay you, Dodd, but the people elect you and the people do not see this as justified.

I do agree with Rudy that the overall focus needs to be on sweeping economic and financial reform, however. Tax-raping these few asswipes will feel good and help right a little karma, but it will do nothing to keep it from happening over and over and over....

So, here is a baker's dozen of Friday music, to help us get our drank on and forget our debts. Blood is a more flexible term than CAN be imagined, Snag.

1. National Health, The Kinks. Album came out in the midst of the first energy crisis, when $1 gas was freaking people out. We were so young, right?

2. Coffee Drowned, Arms & Legs & Feet. Milwaukee locals alts, headed up by a literate gent named Mike Benign. A friend of mine would do sound for them; Benign had a muddy middle range voice, so without a good mix it would tend to get obliterated. They only released the one disc, but it was pretty good, pretty good. eventually they added a horn section, became more pop-oriented, and named themselves Blue In The Face.

3. Accidental Man, Marillion. From the live disc Smoke. Without Mullet-boy.

3. Organ Grinder, Murder By Death. Carnival music for the end of the world.

6. 911 is a joke, Public Enemy. When this was written, it was.

7. Looking For Love, The Cars.

9. Down Love, Paul Westerberg. At least he's not dead.

8. My Impossible Dream, Ultrasound. Very short lived band. I picked up on them from the music blog War on Silence, and fell in love with their debut/ swan song album, the double disc Everything Picture. An impossible sounding cross pollination of alt, metal, punk, noise rock a la Sonic Youth, art-rock, and jam bands. Internal tensions broke them up before they even completed their first tour, but I managed to score all the singles as well, including a great cover of My My Hey Hey. They blast through this anthemic song, which then winds down with a muttered monologue in the background, sounding like something off Dark Side Of The Moon. You've got to hear it. I will bet Brando would love it and Pinko will hate it. AG will tell me I'm old and out of touch.

6. V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F. , Fishbone. Yes, the title stands for something. Manic punky ska funk to even make the white boys jump.

9. The Jungle, Wooldridge Brothers. Another local. Wrote about their newest one here, this is from an older album. It's on iTunes, for those with interest; as well as their previous band, the Squares. Very accomplished alt-americana with nods to the Kinks, elvis Costello and the like.

9. Shooting Shark, Blue Oyster Cult. Ahhhh, one of my many guilty pleasures. good extended song from a weak album, Buck Dharma co-wrote this with Patti Smith. It's lovely, really.

10. New Damage, Soundgarden and Brian May. Interesting collabo on a Greenpeace benefit disc.

13. Skin and Bone, The Kinks. More Kinks? O, I'll take it. A long time ago, random visitor and recovering Republican Nick complained that I must not have any Kinks, because it never showed up in the Randoms. Saving it up for all at once, I guess. But when you're doing a dozen or so songs out of 35,000, it takes a while to get through them all. Yesterday my son said "I've been riding in your car for thirteen years, and we've never heard all the songs in the iPod."

Thanks for riding in my car, everyone. You pay for gas, OK?

Amusement

I don't know why, but this amuses.]

Brando, I need points. I don't know what the game score is going to be!

Fighting over slices while others hold the loaf

Leland, MS


Another little gift that keeps on giving. I'd like to touch on the issues point by point over time. I am not here to get into a flame war with this blogger. Rather, this is an exercise for me in learning how to talk across differences with people and how to make an impact in the lives of those who are America's most vulnerable.

Today, I'd like to start with the claims about the war on poverty. The blogger is referring to the name for legislation first introduced by former President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. The War on Poverty speech led the United States Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, a law that established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty.

Legacy programs like Head Start and Job Corps still remain. From the initiative grew some familiar legislation like that which created Medicare and Medicaid, Civil Rights Act, and the Higher Education Act, to name but a few. These programs have had a significant impact on the lives of most Americans in some shape or form.

Historical poverty tables state:In the decade following the 1964 introduction of the war on poverty, poverty rates in the U.S. dropped to their lowest level to date: 11.1% . They have remained between 11 and 15.2% ever since. Since 1973 poverty has remained well below the historical U.S. averages in the range of 20-25%

Despite these programs being fragmented, under-funded, and besieged—they helped lower the poverty rate, reduce disorder, and absorb the shock from Baby Boomers entering the job market. Those defenders pointed out that most Americans have favored most of the Great Society’s programs. In that regard, support for the Great Society’s contributions to the welfare state—especially elements with formidable popular backing like Medicare, Head Start, Social Security expansion, and education funding. Despite what conservatives would like some to believe, these programs make a real difference in the lives of all people, especially since folks like the blogger who posted the assault on the program collects Social Security funds!

Why then do conservatives, and more accurately, Republicans hate on these programs? The easiest answer is that the Republican Party is pro war funding, but views everything else as an extravagance and personal, not political. This kind of neocon thinking is what seeks to destroy the very fabrics of what is truly American and good for all citizens.

As you can begin to tell from my post yesterday, poverty is a real issue in America, especially in Southeast, Appalachia, and rural America. It has been estimated that more than thirty-six million Americans live below the official U.S. poverty line today. This means less than $16,000 in income for a family of three or $10,300 for a single individual. $16,000 is just the government defined number. We all know that certain states and cities are far more expensive to live in than others and true poverty is hard to measure as such.

Nevertheless, approximately one-third of all poor Americans are children, and many remain that way throughout childhood and often into adulthood. Childhood poverty usually results in inadequate to poor health care, residing in high-crime neighborhoods, and lower-quality schools. Drop out rates, drug use, and teenage pregnancy are often the penalty from these socioeconomic ills.

During the 1990s, more Americans were able to escape poverty. Despite former President Clinton’s assault on welfare programs, more Americans became educated and climbed out of poverty. In fact, poverty among single mothers fell to its lowest rate ever during the Clinton years. While there was strong economic growth in the US, this change is better explained through policy changes at the federal level that included expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (which provides a subsidy to low-income working families), increased minimum wages, expanded child care subsidies, and welfare-to work programs.

Clearly sound federal policies (and a strong economy) can reduce poverty. I guess I don’t need to make a big splashy conclusion here. For those of you in the know, it’s pretty clear that the friendly blogger needs to review this. If he did, he might change his mind. He might appreciate that instead of fighting over the slices of bread with the poor, he’d be better served to be angry with spending 60% of federal dollars on war toys and AIG bonuses in excess of $100,000. Remember, before AFDC, which more than 99 percent went to poor children, the majority Caucasian, was abolished in 1995,three cents came out of every American taxpayers check for. Today, more than $3.00 comes out of every taxpayer's check for the Bush war in Iraq. You decide...

Haley Barbour Needs to Go: 1.0

-A home in the MS Delta region. The poorest portion of MS.

I've been thinking a lot about the state of Mississippi lately. As you know, I used to be afraid of the state. I decided to move beyond my fear and begin to suggest ways in which the state can improve itself and compete with more affluent states. I will be running an ongoing column on Haley Barbour, the Republican Governor, over the next few weeks and months. It is my belief that Mr. Barbour is the biggest problem that MS is facing today and without radical change in Jackson, MS and his immediate and timely removal, MS is never going to move ahead.

Much of my posts will be driven by statements found on Mr. Barbour's homepage. Today's little gem is this:

"In the upcoming 2006-2007 school year, per student spending in our public schools will be approximately $7800, a 22% increase during the Barbour Administration. Since Haley has been Governor, state support for our K-12 school districts through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program has increased $323 million, or 19%."

I will overlook the obvious concern that this data is old. Nevertheless, this number might impress me, if say, it met the national average. You'll note that the 2004 data was about $487 short of two years prior for the national average. To better visualize the disparity, go here. While the 22% increase is welcomed, it is hardly enough to pull MS out of its dead last ranking in public education. Or put another way, 48th a year later in per student spending.

Here are some suggestions for Barbour on how to really get the job done:

1. MS children are not ready to learn when they enter Kindergarten. This means programs like Pre-K, which assists children with getting prepared and on the level when they enter into the public school system in Kindergarten. See what Barbour said about it here. In 2007-08, the state spent over $28-million on kindergarten and first grade retentions. Clearly, something needs to be done.

2. Schools need to be safe spaces free of crime and bullying. We know that teen behaviors are improving in MS. The numbers are in line with national averages.

3. Elongate the school day. This allows parents to work more, which increases family income and potential for successes and keeps the kiddies safe and out of trouble after school. The cost increase can be addressed by not having children in schools during the hottest months in MS --July, and August. Other resources such as public libraries can share these costs by having programs and places for children to go instead of home to empty houses where they are far more likely to get into trouble.

4. Address drop out rates of nearly 30%. More than 13,000 kids drop out of school in Mississippi every year – 2,000 of those before they ever reach high school. That’s one out of every four Mississippi students dropping out of school every year. Somewhere between middle school and high school, kids are opting out of the system. Address both their academic and social needs. Disease, poverty, abuse, and alcoholism in the home make school a whole lot harder. Let's address that. Dropouts cost Mississippi $458-million a year.

5. Focus on improvements and reward success. So often media and tax payers want to point out what's not working or what has failed. However, the focus should be on what has improved and future improvement plans.

6. Get parents involved. However, you have to make it easier for them to be involved. With lower education attainment rates in MS, many parents are not able to assist their children because they don't have the skills or talents to do so. Also, because of poverty, many are stretched for resources. In fact, 19% of those designated as MS 'Head of Household' are drop-outs themselves. Each school system needs to reach out to parents and provide guidance on how to assist children and encourage positive messages about education.

7. Partner with school leaders. Without a partnership, it will be an uphill battle.

8. Practice what you preach, Barbour! If you say you support education, than do it! Mention it everywhere and talk to folks in Washington about how they too need to support MS in in her efforts to move from the bottom to the top. Don't be silent.

9. Improve school facilities. We say we value education, but school plants are in dire need of improvement. Children cannot learn in buildings that are falling apart. As Jonathan Kozol stated in his book Savage Inequalities, "the point is that all the school reforms on earth are worthless if kids have to come to school in buildings that destroy their spirits".

10. Put measures to programs, because assumptions do nothing but often make the problem worse. It is not enough to just throw money at the problem. Find a way to benchmark and evaluate changes.

Barbour is failing MS. My fear is that he is being hailed as a viable contender for the GOPs for 2012. If you learn nothing from these posts, he is a danger to MS and all of us.

Regression of the Mean

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to remind certain folks that it's time to move on. We don't enjoy seeing you around these parts and yes, we know. AG always knows. Then she tells everyone so we ALL know. Now mosey it onward because there is nothing to see and no, we don't miss you one single bit. (There is more than one of you that this is directed at let's be honest, you know who you are!)



I think the kid in the video says it all.

Bi-ya! (Said with a thick southern accent.)

Free Concert

AG is going to see this band next week for free. That's right, two breasts and a heartbeat is getting AG inside the doors.

I know, it sucks to not be AG or schtupping AG these days.

La. La. more...

Sponsor Us!

Quick question from the road:

Has anyone tried the new Michelob Ultra flavor: tuscan, orange, grapefruit?

Let's get a full report on this, if you have!

Ugly is as Ugly Does

There is another blog I read that frequently uses the word, retarded.

I loathe that. I said something once. It fell on deaf ear's, so I packed up the AG roadshow and moved on. No need trying to teach what are supposed to be relatively educated people how to act. It's like trying to reason with a sports Dad about my diagnosis of his kid's ADD. It's a futile exercise and I end up calling Social Work into the case because I do not have to deal with that and frankly, I went to medical school and he did not. So, AG wins. Wah. Wah.

You've probably read, heard or even said the word (and/or its "'tard" related speak) if you watched last year's MTV Video Music Awards; saw "Napoleon Dynamite," "House Bunny" or the listened to the Black Eyed Peas unedited and on and on. Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder brought it all to the forefront for mainstream America though. "You went full retard, man," Robert Downey Jr.'s character -- in blackface -- admonishes a deflated Speedman. "Never go full retard."

Yikes.

Society uses the word with tacit acceptance and it seems to transcend still today into younger generations. The word is not offensive on prima facie. For example, when we say that cell development was retarded because the cells were agnostic to the intervention. We are all good there. It is however offensive when a 40 something suggests that something that no longer works is retarded. The latter is clearly hate speech for the point of hate speech. Thus, retarded is used in place of anything that is different, odd, and lame.

We as a society have an obligation to stand up to this kind of schoolyard hooliganism. After spending an evening last week with someone who informed me that he was beaten many times on the schoolyard, I realized that we as a society have not transcended much. In fact, said person suggested his putative child should also endure such brute behavior on state owned, education provided, liberal bias property if s/he is a wise acre. Wow! We still think kids deserve a good beat down for being wise mouths and retarded is OK for things we do not understand or like?

We are in real trouble folks. Real trouble.

This schoolyard mentality and unevolved and unexamined lifestyle is offensive to all. We can no longer afford to sit back and watch America become less and less able to function, let alone compete in the global marketplace because we think a good beating and hate speech is just par of the course. If we need to use the word to make something funny or dress down someone that we do not know how to use our words with --- what kind of a society are we? Certainly not one that has progressed and learned to coexist.

I weep for America.

AG Haiku

I am sick.

I have a cold.

I probably got it from a cute Jewish boy who is sick.

That will teach me for making out with random Jewish boys.

Or get me into the university health clinic to meet more hot Jewish boys.

I guess being sick isn't so bad afterall.

Now as I think about it.

It's like JDate without the fees, fuglies, and freaks.

I am a genius.

I shall call it, "JewRx"

Adorable Boyfriend can trademark it for me.

Do I hear a Shamrock Shake calling me?

Not from Alabama.

Cannot get them there.

AG sad.

Sad, sad, baby.

Fried pie though. Can. get. there.

Jewish boys too.

Thank you Mountainbrook Jesus. more...

Riding the Crimson Wave

Still here in the 'deep south.'

Still loving that Billy Pilgrim couldn't binge blog like AG does. Maybe if he did, she'd call him by his eponymous name...

Still walking on cloud nine for obvious reasons.

Fretting going home because this will put some of my research behind.

Though this is going to fire up some new research:

“I think it’s regrettable that we are spending federal money on the kind of research that has such, really serious ethical issues, when we could leave that to the private sector.” (Roger Wicker, R-MS)

OK. So, which is it? Is it an ethical issue or one that you just don't want to fund? Let's suppose for a moment that it is an ethical issue, do you really want the private sector dealing with it? I mean, we've seen what the airlines, banks, Madoff, pharmaceuticals, Wal-Mart, and McDonald's can do. I'm not sure I want them in charge of mini AGs.

I guess this is the kind of magical thinking that happens in a place where all good ole boys determine your life. Same state that has banned mandatory sexual education in the schools and yet has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the US and is more likely than most states to see three generations of teenage mothers in the same family, even today. You also can only obtain an abortion up-to-12 weeks post conception.

Still Mississippi, still not doing it right.

I weep for America. more...

OK AG left, so I guess I have to try some posting. I swear, shes like a lemur on crack and cappucino. She's got a real job and everything, and I can't post like she does.

Kinda rusty and out of practice. I've been making messes at 3Bulls and Sadly, No!....

So, starting off easy with a good old fashioned Friday Random Musical Spew. I KNow!! It's like 2007 all over again! except for not having to listen to GWB alla time.




92.4 days of music, 143 gigs. Had to upgrade my music Hard drive this year. to 600 gigs. That should last me a while. We'll go to 16 BECAUSE AG IS OUT AND WE CAN!!!

1 . Johnny Cash, Rusty Cage. I'm not a traditionalist when it comes to Johnny, at least in that I like his American recordings the best. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love his old stuff too, I've got his classic 'Finger' poster from San Quentin above my workbench, but I feel like he and Rick Rubin connected in a primal way, and the song selections were so, so good. His cover of "Hurt" was for the ages, and spoke of an intimate knowledge that Trent Reznor could never muster. This is a pretty good one from that batch.

2. George Carlin, Hitchiking. I miss George. But this is kind of an outtake.

3. Grant Lee Buffalo, Crooked Dice. Alt-Americana. Grant Lee Phillips' voice has a wonderful yearning quality. One of his better albums before he just dropped the 'Buffalo' from the name.

4. The Figgs, Regional Hits. Great song from their semi-live discs (recorded in someone's dining room, from the look of it) it has all the fire and spit they put into the shows. It helps that it's a great pop-punk song with a killer riff. "International twits/ make international hits" O I loves me some Figgs and they are especially fine on a sunny warm Friday when it seems like winter might be on the wane...

5. Simple Kid, Oh Heart don't be bitter. Did this come from a Song of The Day? Don't remember. Singer-songwriter type stuff, but not from the oblivious school.

6. Utopia, Wild Life. I also have quite a love for Rundgren, especially when he is in Utopia prog-pop mode. This was from one of their later albums, POV, when they were melding prog/pop/and new wave to massive apathy. But we still saw them open for the Tubes at the Riverside, and they were goooood.

7. The Frames, Santa Maria. The Frames do some great guitar work. Definitely building off the work done by Jesus and Mary Chain, if less laconic in the vox.

8. The Planet Smashers, My Decision. Rockin ska. 3rd wave or 4th wave, I can never figure that out.

9. Rush, Spindrift. from the latest ear-violating screeching prog annoyance. One for me and Brando and Zelmo.

10. Paul Westerberg, Gun Shy.

11. Fishbone, Junkie's Prayer. Back in the olden days, they went for epic with The Reality of My Surroundings, and nearly made it. Some excellent stuff on that disc, but this is a spoken word piece. Kinda broke up the musical flow.

12. Iggy Pop, Lowdown. Iggy keeps throwing it. Saw him on the "blah blah blah" tour, and he was phenomenal. This disc wasn't so good though. Eff it, Iggy is still a classic, and his sellout to the Carnival Cruise lines is certainly ameliorated by the fact that the song he licensed was "Lust For Life" . Man, there are some clueless adverrtising weasels out there.

13. Elliot Smith, Speed Trials. Getting into this fella late, I know.

14. Ryan Adams, Goodnight Rose. That follows Elliot Smith pretty well. I just noticed his voice sounds like Grant Lee Phillips filtered through Memphis.

15. Rush, Heresy. Less screeching, but from Brando's Least Favorite Rush Album. Well, Random is Heartless.

16. Primus, To Defy The Laws Of Tradition. Good follow-on to Rush though.


That's it. Work to do. Leave your music in comments, or just talk about goats.

Saying it the Amy Way...

Best line from Wikipedia:

Carter chose not to be given away, stating that she "belonged to no one."

AG is off to AL for v.2.0 (2009).

Speculate all you want on the purpose of the connection with tah-tah.

Back on the flip side. Billy Pilgrim is all yours. Yeah, Billy. PILGRIM. Now, maybe he can get off his Midwestern, Culver's corn-fed, whiskey swigging, art school tortured tuckus and post something...

Megan McCain thinks She is Dear Abby

This is the timeless gift that I suspect will keep on giving for days to come.

Megan M. McCain in all of her 24-year-old glory has something to tell us single gals. Who knew the demon spawn of ignorance and Tammy Faye Baker v 2.0 could form a sentence, let alone tell us single ladies, and poltico Daddies something. I mean, she's put in like what, three years since graduating Columbia and she speaks for all 20 somethings? Additionally, I might argue she would like to spread her wing span and suggest this is for all women.

AG may have graduated Columbia, albeit, with a real degree and the medical school a year earlier than her, but even our beloved AG doesn't post low hanging flub like this out for the world to see. Largely because this kind of unresearched, non p-value supported, and narrow audience -- AG Momma's; political daughters, is not what is expected from a CUMC graduate, let alone one who graduated Cum Laude. Sorry, but even AG casts her goyim net a bit wider than that. We should all pause for a moment and remember this is the daughter of two conservatives. The party that only gives a shit about mentally ill people, learning disabled children, those of color, and state school graduates when it is a benefit to them. Since this is not a year ending in 12, wah. wah. Game over.

Before I rip it wide open, can we discuss something here? Generation Y, or as AG calls in Generation Mini Mart because they were conceived on cheap condoms from A Plus Market and had slurpees packed with Ritalin in their baby bottles, hasn't a god damn clue about the world. Um hello, at least us end year Xers were kewl enough to have Bambergers NJ or Gimbel's CT and Prozac for everything else. Furthermore, we didn't have the grade inflation that McCain was awarded during her days in the Upperwestside Ghetto. In fact, some of us may have actually sat an SAT before there was an SAT I and II and essay portions. Granted we may have been 13, but still. This means these are the kiddies who only know about Reganomics based upon what Momma and Poppa taught them. They don't remember Nancy Regan on Different Strokes, nor can they tell me what Channel 13 is and why it matters so much to the world. They can however tell me how to use an ATM to make a sandwich, deposit money, and get a blow job.

So, Whisky Tango Foxtrot! I am still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that if you like someone you meet, you must Facebook them. I guess that's what AG has been doing all wrong. Silly single AG. What the hell was I doing getting a medical degree, a prestigious liberal arts degree Summa Cum Laude, making six figures before turning 30, and owning a home in one of America's most sought after counties. I should have just bought an iBook, a Mr. Happy off of Amazon, and waited by the modem. Flagged and fridge noted. The next time I'm standing around a cocktail party of interesting Jewish men who have graduated Harvard Law School or have faculty slots at the University of Alabama, I'll be sure to be all, "Let me Facebook you."

Oh for the love of goat's milk! AG has already done that and got busted recently for suggesting to one boy of tribe he had not FB'd me hard when he had. So cute, so IT capable, and so single...

Enough. Ms. McCain sets forth an interesting juxtaposition that is the crux of the issue here that she has overlooked. She does not care how her friends vote, but men who don't believe in hatred, bigotry, ignorance, and crapping all over the poor better take a long walk off a short sidewalk. While I can appreciate not wanting to be with someone whose party and Daddy believes in family values and then talks about her unmarried libido in a public forum, I want that in my friends too. As my birthday twin once said to AG, "If I think for one god damn second you voted for any Bush, I am tossing your pale Jewish ass out of this car."

I get that. Along with the fact that I will never date the Republican, Jewish, Adam Sandler. AG doesn't show hymen for homophobes heretics. Sorry. She won't show her perky ones for any Republican. Jew or not Jew. (I know!) It doesn't matter whether they are an innie or outtie. Yet, Ms. McCain needs to get over herself and live an examined life. Stop blaming her Daddy for the fact that she cannot get laid. I would suggest it is a mix of her ignorance, her spoiled princess complex, and her drollness that was passed through her DNA expression that makes her vaginally unappealing.

I don't know about y'all but there is something appealing about Amy Carter, Tricia Nixon, and Chelsea Clinton. While Tricia's only appeal to me is a shared Alma Mater, I think it's about the fact that these women blazed their own paths. Chelsea got into Stanford and now Columbia, all on her own. She dated all on her own, and came of age on her own. She didn't go off and write a blog that was all, "Vote for my Mommy because I am Chelsea Clinton and I have nipples." I am not sure I can say that much for a Palin or McCain child. Especially when Ms. McCain rants about the fact that she cannot get a woody for a Democrat, those who are obsessed with her Daddy (other than Karl Rove, I am not sure that's possible frankly.), or by mere virtue of being a political daughter. I hate to be her bearer of bad news, but those are not the viable reasons for why she stays home at night and watches marathons of MTVs the Real World.

Don't get me wrong, I came from a prestigious family that one blogger has never met because honestly, most people cannot handle the truth about who I am related to (Remember, AG parents lived in the same town as Tucker Carlson at one point. Damn him for bringing down home prices!) Furthermore, they cannot figure out when they do how I am so normal, I misspell, cuss like a sailor, and do not have any of that trust funding coming my way anymore. The parents to blame though? Nope. No way. Not even when they do meet them.

It's the fact that I am fiercely independent, financially secure, and feminist. Tack that onto my age, my ability to get into PhD programs without even applying, and ability to talk across race, class, and gender. I blame nobody but myself for that. And you know what? If that means I sit home night after night, I'll take that over having dinner with a spoiled princess like McCain who never earned a place at the table or five months who thought Rosemont and a pathetic degree from a nothing school like Syracuse made you fuckable. (Let us remind you that Chuckles has drunk Stags Leap at $95/ bottle expense account with AG, and that was a cheap night.)

She got there like most of the types I knew at Amherst and Columbia: by classical legacy and an unexamined life. That makes her uninteresting to the class of men she is chasing after. Don't get me wrong, men love a good schtup and sequins at the opera. However, when you are 50 you want to be able to have intellectual conversations when the schmecky doesn't work anymore. Most men in the sought after demographics over the age of 30, get that. My sense from a post like that and Facebook is that Ms. McCain isn't capable of doing such now and she isn't like wine or cheese.

Cougar Barbie

Geek Chick sent the above video to AG on Friday. For as much as it is meant as humor, AG doesn't find it funny. It is yet again an expression of women as animals. Not to mention that women prey on young men and act in stereotypical (false) ways. All done through a doll that if she were human could not have a waist size like that with breasts that size and be able to walk. AG just loves her some misogyny and patriarchy in the morning!

Call AG a wet blanket, but AG just does not find this funny. The hatred just gets old after awhile for AG.

I am however glad it was sent to me.

Buh-Bye!

AG has no problem waving goodbye.

12 percent of jobs that belong to AG by being American by birth? Oh, they belong to AG!

Leave your messages of hate. It won't work. AG is helping them pack up and singing Kumbaya.

Facecrack

The Camille Mobile Rocks

Take that Delaware and Pennsyltuckey! I've seen fire, I've seen rain, and I fecking went to UGrad in Western Massachusetts and came of age on the streets of Boston. You know Boston, where the men are men and we dump snow in the Charles and Charlestown, because other than projects, what is my former 'hood known for? Certainly not teh Jews. (P.S. AG spent many a night at the Warren Tavern with the friends. It was a mere three block stumble!)

AG just drove the six miles to the office and kicked some snow tuckus. The Camille Mobile may be 15 years old and looking ghetto, but when she kicks it up into 4x4, she rocks the casbah. She took on the Philadelphia Blizzard of 1995 after the Governor shut down the turnpike. Now, she just got a thumbs up from the Delaware State Pigs and the security guard AG knows at work. That is platinum.

Snow driving is the best. Now AG is driving to Toronto to pick up her BFFs Peter (who never blogs anymore!) & Annie and then we are plowing forward to Iceland to go spa-ing with the blond hotties. Never doubt the powers of the Camille Mobile, even if AG is considering a Nazi AWD Audi wagon to replace her!

The Forgotten Chosen People

You heard about Alabama and Georgia getting snow, didn't you? Well, the oh so liberal New York Times loves to tell us about both snow and how the Jews don't count in the South. The article was changed about a half hour ago where it was even more Christian slanted because it was all about how everyone missed church today. Wow. Everyone. I guess the vast number of Jews that make up Atlanta can go matzoh off! They can also take the much smaller, but still present, folks in Birmingham with them too. Do not get me wrong, I know it's the Bible Belt, but we Jews and other non Christians do count for something even if it isn't talk of your taxes, health care, or Hollywood.

Oh, and do you notice how the story begins with Birmingham and then mentions Philadelphia? Just sayin'. La. La. more...