"Someone fell through the cracks, Bret'

That was Shepard Smith of Radio Rwanda to his colleague, Bret Baier.

He was talking, of course, about Mr. Jared Lee Loughner .(What is with these shooters and the name Lee?) A stark raving wingnut who took in upon himself to make some news today by killing six people (including a federal Judge, and a nine year old girl) and wounding twelve.
One of the wounded was a US Congresswoman. I am having 1995 flashbacks.

Poor Gabrielle Gifford was doing what a politician is supposed to do; meeting and reaching out to the constituents in the middle of her district. But in this toxic political climate, and thanks to- so called- main stream politicians threatening her and putting her in their "cross hairs", (yes Sarah, I am talking to you) one where popular talk show hosts who reach millions of people make a living off of ignorant and hate filled demagoguery, (yes Glenn and Rush, I am talking to you) she just didn't realize how dangerous the world in which she lives has become. Frankly, I am surprised that something like this didn't happen sooner. Remember all those tea party folks attacking their elected officials at those town hall meetings in the middle of the health care debate? Wingnuts, you are Jared Lee Loughner.

"I won't pay currency that does not involve gold and silver". Of course no one wants to jump to conclusions, but I will. This wingnut was exactly the type of ignoramus that the likes of Rush and Beck preach to everyday. With the help of the Jared Lee Loughners of the world, FOX NEWS and talk radio thrived; now watch how fast they will all try to run away from him.

It won't work. Those of us in A-merry-ca -who actually use our brains to think- can see exactly what is going on. Pump up the ignorant, and when they do the expected go into your best Inspector Renault impersonation.

I must admit that two years ago if someone were to tell me that an elected official in Washington would be shot, I would have thought it would be the man giving his condolences from the White House this evening, and not some poor congresswoman from Arizona. Now, however, I am not surprised. This is the nation that we have become.

It is a nation where we are told to fear those other people because they are taking our jobs and our way of life. It's not them. The real threat to our democracy is coming from those individuals who are going to be falling through the "cracks". Cracks that are being made bigger everyday thanks to an ideology of hate and hysteria that benefits a few but hurts many.

"We need a drum roll for those front runners in the election; those illegal teachers, pigs, and politicians of yours are under illegal authority of their constitution. Those dirty pigs think they know the damn year. Thirdly, tell them mother fuckers to count from 0 to whenever they feel a threat to stop their count…Those illegal military personal are able to sign into a country that they can't find with an impossible date! How did you trust your child with them fraud teachers and front runners, listener? Did you now know that the teachers, pigs, and front runners are treasonous! " [Source]

Enough Jared, your 15 minutes are up. You can turn things over to your friends now.

Carry on A-merry-ca.

Keeping immigrants out of America and killing Americans in Arizona. Republicans are on a roll.

Boy those wingnuts in Washington are off to a really great start.

"House GOP leaders are scrambling to remedy the rocky start to the opening of the 112th Congress by approving a measure Friday to invalidate votes taken by two Republican lawmakers who weren't properly sworn in.

As The Ticket reported Thursday, the leaders were stunned discover that two representatives — veteran Texas Rep. Pete Sessions and freshman Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick — weren't on the House floor Wednesday during the official swearing-in. Instead, they were in the Capitol Visitors Center at a party marking Fitzpatrick's first day in Congress. At one point, the lawmakers looked up and noticed on TV that the oath was being administered to their colleagues." [Source]

First order of business; pass a bill to repeal "Obamacare". It has no shot of passing, but hey, you know, anything for the "tea party" folks.

Meanwhile, here in Pistolvania, republi-clowns are taking steps to keep those immigrants from getting out of control.

"Hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens are crossing U.S. borders to give birth and exploit their child as an 'anchor baby'.." [Source]

You tell em, Daryl. And, while we are at it, why don't just we revoke the citizenship of all those Negroes who live in Detroit? I mean, since we are just kind of toying around with the 14th Amendment, why don't we just go for it?

And finally, the republi-clown governor is killing people in Arizona.

"Two people have already died in Arizona and another 96 are waiting for a life-saving transplant they may no longer be able to afford after the state slashed money reserved for the procedures.

One lawmaker said Arizona is now home to "death panels." And those whose names were on the list, those who will surely die without a transplant, found themselves in a state of disbelief.
"It's a shock to me," said Randall Shepherd, who thought he would receive Medicaid funding for the heart transplant he needs.

"There's a bit of a personal loss and the realization that this could be me in time if something's not changed here," Shepherd said, referring to the two who have died. "Until I get a new heart, my life is in a holding pattern."

Shepherd, like many others outraged by the state decision to slash $1.2 million from the state's Medicaid funding, said he believes the cuts could have come from elsewhere. Nonetheless, he said he understands the reasoning behind the decision.

"It's obvious. If the state's broke, it is broke," he said. "I can kick and scream all I want, and if there's no money for a transplant, it is just not going to happen.

"I really feel bad for the governor, for the legislators, those who had to make this decision," he said. "I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes and making the call that results in somebody else living or dying."

Arizona's Senate Minority Leader-elect David Schapira, a Democrat from Tempe, said he will seek emergency restoration of Medicaid coverage for certain kinds of transplants.

"I would like to alert people in the rest of the country that we have death panels right here in Arizona, and those who cut this funding and refuse to restore it are the death panels," Schapira said.

He was referring to Gov. Jan Brewer and her fellow Republicans who now hold a two-thirds majority in both legislative chambers. Schapira called Brewer "a one-person death panel." [Source]

Maybe Sarah was right, but she had the wrong person all along. Jan Brewer, how do you sleep at night? That was a rhetorical question. I know you sleep quite well. You are, after all, a wingnut.

THE WINGNUTS ARE HERE!

"The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.)"

My republi-clown friends left out that little part of the Constitution so I thought I would post it for those of you who are not familiar with that very important document. "Oh field, stop it, there you go being messy again, you know that portion of the Constitution was Amended. It's called the 14th Amendment, field." WHOOPS. Sorry, it was Amended; bad field Negro.

It's just that all this reading of the Constitution by all these strict constructionist made me want to go back to the strictest interpretation of that fine document. As it was originally intended by those who framed it, that's all.

I swear, these newly elected officials are a trip. And why did some of those dumbocrats in Washington even participate in this silly symbolic exercise?

"Some 135 lawmakers from both parties participated in the reading of the document approved in 1787 and in operation since 1789. Leading off was new House Speaker John Boehner, who recited the "We the People" preamble. He was followed by outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who read Article I, Section 1 that gives legislative powers to Congress.

The document, long a subject both of reverence and wrangling, has never been read in its entirety in the House, and the event, coming on the second day of Republican control of the chamber, was a nod to the tea partiers who returned Republicans to power.

Tea party backers often cited the Constitution in arguing that Washington is ignoring the limits of federal power outlined in the document.

Democrats went along, but before the reading started they asked why Republicans chose to omit sections, including those pertaining to slavery, that were later amended. In particular, they asked about the Article I, Section 2 clause that classified slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of congressional apportionment and taxation.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., asked why those elements of American history were being left out, "given the struggle of African-Americans, given the struggle of women."

"We fail to show the American people that imperfection is not to be feared and that our ability to constantly improve on what the Founders gave us is a blessing, not a reason for divisiveness," Black Caucus member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said.

Goodlatte said he and others had worked closely with the Library of Congress and the Congressional Research Service in coming up with the most accurate presentation of the Constitution. He noted to Jackson, son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, that another pioneer of the civil rights movement, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., had been asked to read the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. " [Source]

Isn't that special? Now that would make for a very nice little bit of symbolism now wouldn't it?

Symbolism is nice, but get with me when stuff like this stops happening in A-merry-ca.

Of course, when half of the people who populate this country dwell in the "Twilight Zone", a more perfect union is going to be that much harder to come by. "except Obama, except Obama"...Oh my! A birther outburst in the congressional chamber. Not surprising given the folks who now occupy most of the seats in that venerable body. The Capitol police removed the wingnut, but I am guessing that most of the elected wingnuts present were secretly saying, yesssss.

"Williams: I'm curious as to how much responsibility you feel specifically because of something that happened this morning. During the reading of the Constitution, Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey, was reading a portion of the document, interrupted by someone who heckled from within the chamber. It was to express doubt over the president's American citizenship. Provided you believe the president is an American citizen, you've got 12 members co-sponsoring legislation that does about the same thing, it expresses doubt. Would you be willing to say, "This is a distraction, I've looked at it to my satisfaction. Let's move on"?

Boehner: The state of Hawaii has said that President Obama was born there. That's good enough for me.

Williams: Would you be willing to say that message to the 12 members in your caucus who seem to either believe otherwise or are willing to express doubt and have co-sponsored legislation?

Boehner: Brian, when you come to the Congress of the United States, there are 435 of us. We're nothing more than a slice of America. People come, regardless of party labels, they come with all kinds of beliefs and ideas. Uh it's, it's the melting pot of America. It's not up to me to tell them what to think." [Source]

Yesssss!

Dead birds and the "N- word."

The Philly Bar Association is hosting a fancy get together right about now, but I am going to have to pass. I hate hanging out with a bunch of lawyers after hours almost as much as I hate being in a room full of wingnuts. Besides, I wanted to get inside as soon as possible. I didn't want to have a bird falling on my head. Seriously, WTF? Birds falling out of the sky? I am starting to get a bit concerned, because it's not just the birds in Arkansas and Louisiana; dead fish and dead birds are popping up all over the place.

Of course, in order to keep crazy bloggers like moi from screaming the sky is falling, folks who are supposedly in the know are giving us all types of explanations for this phenomenon. From "cold water stress", (whatever that is) to fire works explosions; they are scrambling very hard for answers. "Repent and believe field, the end of days are upon us". Pray for me people. Pray for me.

The progressive in me wants to say that this is all a result of global warming, but I will save my I told you so speech until I get more information.

But enough about dead animals. I want to talk about an interesting case making the rounds here in Philly. I talked about it with some colleagues today and we disagreed on some issues.

It seems that this white reporter at the local FOX affiliate (surprise surprise) dropped the "N"- word" a couple of times in a staff meeting. He was fired and he sued to get his job back. On its face it seems like a slam dunk for the station. But not so fast. The court has found that his suit has merit and has moved the case forward for trial. His argument is this: Black employees at the station have used the "N -word" and they are still there. (Always a problem that pesky little "N-word") Also, he is a reporter, he used the word while discussing the issue of the NAACP burying the "N- word" with some other reporters and...why am I explaining all of this? Here, let me cut and paste for you:

"U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick has ruled that former Fox29 reporter-anchor Tom Burlington's lawsuit against the station, claiming a double standard and alleging that he was the victim of racial discrimination, may go to trial. However, Surrick denied Burlington's claim of a hostile work environment.

Burlington, who is white, was fired after using the "n" word during a June 2007 staff meeting at which reporters and producers were discussing reporter Robin Taylor's story about the symbolic burial of the word by the Philadelphia Youth Council of the NAACP.

Burlington, who began work at the station in 2004 and is now working as a real estate agent, was suspended within days and fired after an account of the incident was published in the Philadelphia Daily News. He alleges that he "was discriminated against because of his race," according to court documents. He claims in his lawsuit that at least two African American employees at Fox29 had used the word in the workplace and were not disciplined....

The dispute began after Taylor, who is white, used the phrase the "n" word during the 2007 staff meeting. She said participants at the burial had said the full word "at least a hundred times or more," according to court records.

"Does this mean we can finally say the word n-?" Burlington asked colleagues, according to depositions.

Nicole Wolfe, a producer and one of the three African American employees among the nine people at the meeting, exclaimed: "I can't believe you just said that!"

Burlington told Taylor that although he did not necessarily expect her to use the word in her story, he thought that doing so gave the story more credence.

Burlington says he used the word only once and approached several attendees after the meeting to explain himself. The Daily News account said he had used the word more than a dozen times." [Story]

I don't know Mr. Burlington; "Does this mean we can finally say the "N- word?" sounds a little like you have waited all your life to be able to use it. This is where my colleagues and I disagreed. We all agreed that, as a reporter, he certainly had a right to use the word in the context of the story. But he lost me with his little outburst. (My collegues didn't have a problem with it.) He went from being a reporter who was trying to do his job and get the best possible story for the station, to just another white guy who wanted the chance to say nigger, publicly. Publicly.

Let me know what you think. And remember to look up when you go outside tomorrow.

An inconvenient intrusion.

"Honey I am home!" It's nice to be back on the plantation, it really is. I really love traveling but Philly is where my heart is. (At least for now.)

Before I forget; thanks for all the holiday shout outs and the wonderful e-mails and comments that you all left me. Right back at [everyone of] you.

Now enough of the niceties; let's talk.

I recently encouraged all of you who care about real American history to visit the wonderful President's House Memorial here in Philly. Sadly, not everyone shares my sentiments. It seems that some big shot arts critic from the New Yaawk Times took issue with the new attraction here in the city where our "founding fathers" left their mark.

Edward Rothstein penned the following:

"PHILADELPHIA — The convulsive currents that roil the telling of American history have become so familiar that they now seem an inseparable part of the story itself. Here is a nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to a proposition of human equality, that, for much of its first century of life, countenanced slavery, institutionally supported it and economically profited from it. The years that followed have been marked by repair, reform and reversals; recompense, recrimination and reinterpretation. Extraordinary ideals and achievements have been countered by extraordinary failings and flaws, only to be countered yet again, each turn yielding another round of debates......

And here, in this city where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were signed; where a $300 million Independence National Historical Park has been created, leading from the National Constitution Center to Independence Hall; and where the Liberty Bell, as a symbol of the nation’s ideals, draws well over a million visitors a year, a great opportunity existed to explore these primal tensions more closely on a site adjacent to the Liberty Bell Center in Independence park. Unfortunately, those opportunities have been squandered in “The President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” which opens on Wednesday.....

“History is not neat,” we read. “It is complicated and messy. It is about people, places and events that are both admirable and deplorable.” And the President’s House, we are told, “exposes the core contradiction at the founding of this nation: enshrinement of liberty and the institution of slavery.”

But what precisely is being exposed? A few yards away, the Liberty Bell Center discusses abolition and slavery; the park’s visitor center has an exhibition about the Underground Railroad; the nearby African American History Museum has a powerful audio and video history of blacks in Philadelphia. Accounts of slavery are even found at Mount Vernon.

Here, though, we get neither a sense of the place, nor a sense of the issues (and much of the year, the open air will be inhospitable). We don’t learn about the differences between Washington and Adams. We don’t learn much about the pictured events. There is no real narrative. Illustrations can also be melodramatically contentious: we see a seemingly disdainful Washington dangling a “peace medal” before a suspicious Seneca Indian leader

As for slave life, it is also difficult to piece together. The video screens that come to life above the fake mantels give the impression of a half-finished 21st-century home. The videos themselves (with scripts by Lorene Cary), in which slaves and servants provide first-person accounts of experiences, at least provide some sense of life. But how do we put these experiences in context? What was Philadelphia’s free black community like? How did white workers and black slaves live together here?

We are told that the President’s House “offers an opportunity to draw lessons from the past.” But what lessons? That Washington was flawed? That slavery was an abomination? Are these revelations? A memorial to the practice of slavery is mounted here, inscribed with the names of African tribes from which slaves derived, but it has no particular relationship to Philadelphia or this site. The need for some such memorial is keen, but here it seems thumped down as an intrusion..." [Read the full article here]

And that, my friends, is the problem with so many folks in the majority population: They view the sad legacy of slavery as nothing but an "intrusion". Memorials such as this one only reminds us of the flaws that even the "greatest" among us had. And if they were flawed, what does that say about us?

I am glad that folks like Annete John- Hall and my friend Michael Coard responded.

"The esteemed critic obviously missed the point of the exhibit.

Rothstein argues that the commemoration, by focusing on slavery, loses sight of other important history. You know, real American history.

Like more about George Washington, for one. The father of our country, America's foremost patriot. Military man. President. Name and image affixed to every stamp, currency, school and monument you can possibly imagine.

Except that a narrow little inconvenient truth surfaced as plans were made to build a president's house memorial. Something conveniently omitted from my history books: Washington unapologetically owned more than 300 Africans, nine of whom he shuttled back and forth between his Virginia plantation and his presidential home in Philadelphia." [Source]
Well put, Anette. But you have a long way to go if you want to convince the rest of A-merry-ca that your position is the correct one. I leave you with the words of "Tyrome". (Not a real name, I am sure. Just someone trying to be funny by poking fun at what he/she perceives as an ethnic name from a certain group.)

"PC ot[sic] of control. We don’t care about 1700-era slave stuff. The whole slave/victim/in-the-past thing is gettning[sic] real old to Americans.

My Irish ancestors where mistreated but thats[sic] not worth building a monument.

George Washington did great things for OUR country. People shouldn’t hijack it to push there[sic] PC victimhood shtick. "

2011 should be fun.

The governor and the coach.

I hate to start the new year on a sour note, but I am going to have to go there.

Michael Haywood is my first House Negro of the year because his behavior merits it. I know he has not yet been found guilty of domestic violence against the mother of his child, but come on Mike. Where there is smoke...

I detest even the appearance of domestic violence; and, apparently, so do the people over at the athletic department of the University of Pittsburgh. This Negro got a major college coaching job in December and was fired just a couple of weeks later. The sad thing is, of course, that division one coaching jobs are few and far between for people of color, and many people have been working very hard to insure that folks like Michael Haywood get their fair shot. He might have been a good football coach, and he might have done well at Pitt. But sadly, we will never know.

Finally, I have to rip Governor Krispy Kreme (New year, same old field). My man was on a Florida vacation while his state was buried in snow. And, in typical Governor Krispy Kreme fashion; he had the nerve to be upset when folks questioned his judgement.

“If someone is snowed into their house, that’s not our responsibility,” Gov. Chris Christie said during his first press conference upon returning from Florida Thursday. "

Ahh, excuse me Governor, but making sure that the government is acting in the best possible way for its citizens is your job. And if you want to avoid criticism in the future you might want to spend a little less time beating up on the teacher's unions and more time paying attention to what it means to govern your state.

2011!

I wonder where we are headed and what we will be talking about a year from now? I am sure that the 2012 presidential elections will be in full effect; wingnuts will be screaming more foolishness from their high profile perch over at Radio Rwanda; there will still be a war raging in some remote corner of the world; there will still be a war right here at home, where 300 plus people will, once again, lose their lives violently in my hometown of Killadelphia.

Still, I know what we won't be talking about: (By we I mean the folks here in A-merry-ca.) Poverty. Corruption. Education.Crime. Race. Social justice.....You get the idea; we won't be talking about anything that makes us uncomfortable. We don't want to feel uncomfortable while we pursue happiness here in A-merry-ca.

Anyway, we talked about a lot in 2010. And, for the most part, I enjoyed the conversation. At least the conversation we had here. We talked about a lot of the things that makes A-merry-ca uncomfortable, which is why this blog will always be, for the most part, on the outside looking in.

But we will keep having that conversation in 2011, because I want to talk; and judging from the comments and the folks who come to the fields on a daily basis, so do you.

So please keep talking to me and letting me know what you think. I promise that you will always know what I think no matter what.

Here is hoping that 2011 will be filled with happiness for you.

It's about time!!

I am glad to see that the Scott Sisters will be free from their Mississippi jail after 16 long years.

I won't get into this story again, it has been well documented here and other places. (Well, some other places. Some of you so call pro black women bloggers have been woefully silent on this issue.) But let me say this: folks here in A-merry-ca should not get upset when people in other parts of the world laugh at the notion of "American exceptionalism". It's cases like this that makes such a notion a joke. A life sentence for an $11 robbery? !!!


So Haley finally did the right thing and decided to act on behalf of these poor women. (For the record, he did not pardon them, he marely suspended their sentence for medical reasons. Yes, there are conditions to their release: One sister (Gladys) will have to give her kidney to the other (Jamie) whose kidneys are failing her.) Is there anyone reading this who doesn't believe that Haley did what he did for political reasons and to ease the sting of his ignorant comments about civil rights, recently?


And I have to take a moment to rip Ben Jealoous and the NAACP. I heard Jealous on CNN praising Barbour for his actions and refusing to say that he finally acted, after six years in office, for political reasons. Come on Ben, stop it! You know Haley only acted the way he did because he is thinking about 2012. Most A-merry-cans still don't know about the Scott Sisters, but I guarantee you that if one of them had died in jail, just in time for Haley's run, they would have.


So Governor Barbour, unlike those other Negroes like Ben Jealous, I won't be thanking you for s^&t. You should have acted six years ago. The state you lead -and which you are a product of- did this to these poor women, and countless others before them. You get no praise here, and I hope that everyone with half of a brain realizes why you did what you did.


Thank you NAACP! Even though,as usual, you were behind the 8 ball, and it was race chasing bloggers like moi screaming injustice for anyone who will listen, who were in front of this story. Still, we understand that you are the official face of the Negro in A-merry-ca, and if you hadn't gotten involved or Haley hadn't decided he wanted to be president someday, Gladys and Jamie would still be rotting in jail.

Some things to hope for in the new year.

The new year isn't officially here yet, but I already have some things that I am hoping and wishing for in 2011:

I am hoping that governor Neil Abercombie of Hawaii will be successful in quieting these "birther" nut cases here in A-merry-ca, forever. Good luck with that Gov.; the mind of the wingnut does not work like us normal folks.

I am hoping that A-merry-cans will stop obsessing over "celebrities" in our culture and start paying more attention to the people who really matter in our society. We can start with folks like our parents, youth coaches, and teachers.

I am hoping that "7" will find true redemption on the football field, and that folks will shut up forever about his damn dogs.

And, speaking of Vick; here is hoping that wingnuts like Tucker Carlson find it in their Christian hearts to forgive.

"Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson followed the company's interesting tradition the other day by making one of the most distasteful and egregious comments in recent media history. Filling in for Sean Hannity, Carlson said that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick should have been executed for dogfighting.

"I'm a Christian, I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances," Carlson said. "But Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did in a heartless and cruel way. And I think, personally, he should've been executed for that. He wasn't, but the idea that the President of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs? Kind of beyond the pale."

-Yes, and the idea that someone should be "executed" for killing a f&*^%$g dog is not?-

I am hoping that Ms. Thing gives black folks some shine on her new network. I mean how much more Rachael Rays and Doctor Phils can we take?

I am hoping that I am going to hear less of the word insurgents on the nightly news.

I am hoping that the authorities will find Jody Lynn Bennett. (No relation.) Tucker, who is worse? Jody Lynn Bennett, or Michael Vick?

"hand-held video game console and other items were stolen from the coffin of a teenager killed in a car crash on Christmas Day.
Jody Lynn Bennett, 38, of Mentcle, Pennsylvania, grabbed the items from the coffin of 17-year-old Bradley McCombs during a viewing on Monday night at a funeral home 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. State police have named the alleged suspect and said they were still searching for him this morning. "

Oh lawd!!

Finally, I wish that all of you Me-groes would stay out of A-merry-can politics. Charlie, Kwame, Larry, and Sheila; please don't let the door knob hit you where the good lord split you on your way out.

Some guys have all the luck: Part two.

It pays to have money in A-merry-ca. (Just ask guys like Hugh Hefner [Just say no to the pre-nup Crystal] and OJ. Well....maybe not so much OJ these days; but you get my point.)

I don't know too much about St. Louis, in fact, I have only been there a couple of times in my life. (just passing through once, and once on business) no offense to the folks in "The Lou", but its just never been one of those places on my wish list of places to visit. Anyway, folks in the know will tell you that St. Louis is Busch country. As in Anheuser Busch, as in this "Buds for you" Busch. And, if your name just happens to be Busch, St. Louis, is your town. Literally.

Which brings me, once again, to this story of the young lady who was found dead in the home of the former CEO of Anheuser-Busch, August Busch IV.

"Martin was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m. according to the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office. She was last seen alive at 3:30 a.m., the office said, though it's unclear when she died. Her autopsy was inconclusive, with no signs of trauma or any obvious natural causes of death. Toxicology tests could take six weeks.

On Saturday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that it took 42 minutes for someone to call authorities after Martin was found dead. The newspaper offered no explanation or comment from authorities on the timing of the 911 call.Calls by AOL News to Frontenac, Mo., police were not immediately returned.According to KTVI, investigators waited to release the 911 tape because there was a staff shortage over the holidays.Martin, a divorced mother of an 8-year-old son, had been dating Busch for about a year. She and her ex-husband, Dr. Kevin Martin, divorced earlier this year." [Source]

I swear, bad luck sure knows how to follow August Busch IV. Let's see now; first there was that girl in college:

"August Busch IV crashes his Corvette in Tucson, Arizona, killing a young female passenger. Police determined that Busch had left a bar with the woman and wrecked while speeding around a sharp turn. Busch left the scene and was found at his Tucson townhouse more than four miles away and eight hours after the crash. Busch still had blood on him from the wreck.August Busch IV - PHOTOS

Manslaughter charges against Busch were dropped. Blood and urine samples taken from Busch the day of the accident had reportedly been lost or damaged."

Then there was the time August tried to outrun the po po:

"August Busch was arrested after leading police on a high-speed car chase after leaving a Sauget, Illinois bar. Busch was accused of trying to run over two officers with his Mercedes during the ordeal. The chase ended when police shot out Busch's rear tire.
Busch claimed he thought the police were trying to kidnap him. He was acquitted by a St. Louis jury." [Source] (I heard somewhere that the police actually put the tire back on after they shot it out.)

And now this.

Look, this all might have been a tragic accident. But, then again, maybe not. Lady luck doesn't hang around forever. Just ask OJ.

Some guys have all the luck.

I see that O and the family are taking a well deserved Christmas vacation in Hawaii. O, we are all jealous of you. I can't think of a better place in A-merry-ca to kick back with the fam. and enjoy the holidays. Folks on the east coast must be hating on you right now. "Why does our president get to spend his vacation in paradise and we have to shovel snow from our driveway?" I am not sure the president's approval ratings will be up much come spring. Misery , after all, loves company.


Here is hoping that O can take this time to kick his nicotine habit for good. The White House says that my man has been cancer stick free for nine months, so it's all good from where I sit.

Believe it or not, the wingnuts actually tried to make an issue of O's cigarette issues. It's as if the entire country didn't already know that he likes to puff on the regular. They (the wingnuts) played it as if he was trying to keep a secret from all of us. Not.


The man has been up front with his addiction issues and that is a good thing. Others who have had issues with nicotine addiction can take heart that the most powerful man on earth is going through the same struggles that they are.


Finally, thank you O for reaching out to the owner of my birds and congratulating him for giving "7" a second chance. Some folks will hate on you for it but screw em. It's nice to see that you are standing up for someone and not tossing them under an oncoming Greyhound for once.