Cow Poop

Get used to it. Our new imperial government ain't puttin' up with anymore BS.

First this:

ATHENS, Ga. — A bumper sticker that takes a double-entendre dig at President Bush has landed a woman in trouble with the law.

Denise Grier, 47, of Athens was recently pulled over in suburban Atlanta's DeKalb County where she works as a nurse when a police officer spotted her bumper sticker that reads: "I'm Tired Of All The BUSHIT."

The officer who stopped her thought it was lewd, and she was cited for violating a state law prohibiting lewd or profane stickers and decals on vehicles.

Grier said the sticker is simply a political statement.

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=16704


And then the glorious FCC steps in.

In its latest batch of nannyisms, the FCC declared shit and all its variants, including bullshit, not merely indecent — which is where the case law stood after the Supreme Court washed the seven dirty words out of George Carlin’s mouth in 1978 — but also now profane. Since outmoded broadcast censorship legislation was passed in 1927 — giving the government this constitutionally dubious authority — the FCC had not once found any word to be profane until 2004, when it ruled against Bono’s joyful utterance of “fucking” at the Golden Globes. Now “shit” et al join this devil’s dictionary. And the FCC warns that they are not merely profane but “presumptively profane,” which means that except in “rare” and “unusual circumstances,” to speak these words on the air will guarantee you a penalty.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2006/03/28/in-defense-of-bullshit/

And a related story the WB quaking in fear of the FCC censors a new show

Buffalo State College graduate Tom Fontana is going back to college for his new WB series, "The Bedford Diaries."

In the series, which premieres at 9 tonight on WNYO-TV, six good-looking students attend a fictional New York City college and are taking a seminar on human behavior and sexuality.

The students talk about their feelings in video diaries.

Fontana, the writer-producer best known for his work on "St. Elsewhere," "Homicide" and HBO's "Oz" is on familiar ground, having taught at his alma mater, Syracuse University, as well as Columbia University.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060329/1054305.asp

Fearing the Federal Communications Commission would censor the pilot episode of this pointlessly racy and incredibly dumb drama, the WB asked executive producer Tom Fontana to make some edits. What Fontana -- one of the better talents in all of television -- should have said was this: "I don't know what you're talking about. I have nothing to do with that abomination."

But he didn't. He just said no. And the WB, fearing fines that were recently leveled at CBS stations, which aired an allegedly obscene episode of "Without a Trace" in the 9 p.m. slot, made the edits for Fontana.

Apparently they cut two girls kissing in a bar and one girl unbuttoning her pants for a little personal exploration. That may have made it better for the FCC, but unless the WB censors cut all the acting and, in particular, all the writing, then this series still qualifies as obscenely awful.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/
2006/03/29/DDG18HV5SA24.DTL&type=tvradio

The b-list

If you're much into blogging then you've heard of the socalled a-list of bloggers.
Dave Winer, Doc Searls, Robert Scoble, Esther Dyson etc etc. They spend more time linking to each other than saying much, so I'm not going to help. While I read some of them and think they often have something to offer I also think they're pretty full of themselves at other times. Here is a simple guide.

But on that note Baketown has purposed a local get together of B'town bloggers. I'm unofficially dubbing it the b-list. As in Bakersfield, Baketown, B'town, B'field, Buckcity or 'We're just second best'. Take your pick.

Well I very much wish I might actually go, though meeting some of these people might change preconceived images I have of them now.

Unfortunately I won't be in town, so have a drink for me ya b-listers.

Buck Dies

Buck Owens dies at age 76.
I'm no CW music fan but it's hard to deny that Buck had talent and did a hell of a lot for Bakersfield

I Can't Drive 55

For some reason I keep thinking of one of my favorite SH songs.


Captn' Kirk turns 75.

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1973521

An some sad news.
This is my 202nd post to this blog.
My apologies to the readers.

Religious Intolerance

Some people think I suffer from religious intolerance. Unbelievable! I assure you I have nothing but complete support for anyone to believe anything they want. First amendment and all that. Some would say that the Kliban cartoon I posted the other day shows that isn't true. Guess you didn't read what I just said. Get it straight.



You can believe in anything you want. So can I.

It's none of your business what I do believe in but I have enough conviction to state it. Do you have enough to act like the person you say you are. Don't judge others when you say that you don't.

Back off. HA! You can make fun of me. I'll certainly make fun of people I think are idiots. I'm an equal opportunity basher.

Quit trying to make laws to get everyone else to agree with your warped little view of the world. Majority doesn't always rule. Try reading the Declaration Of Independence and see what enlightenment was all about.

I strongly dislike fundamentalist of all colors. Christians, Jew, Muslims. Now here are people of intolerance. Insist your mottos be pasted all over the place. Pass laws to close up business on your sabbath. Put a man on trial for his life for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Come to my door with your kids all dressed in your Sunday best and I'll close the door. You invaded my property jerkface. Go back to your hall, I'll never bother you there or at your home.

Stop giving you and your like tax-free exemptions. If you run non-profit charities that's fine, but the accounting needs to be open and the perks to those who run it reasonable. Does anybody get TBN with those jerks sitting in golden chairs espousing the word of god? And please send us money to do god's work.

If you want to take backwardass 2000 year old writings as the absolute truth that's fine with me. Teach it to your kids at home or in Sunday school. I learned it that way. Stop trying to pretend it's science and force my kids to learn it in school.

Marriage is both a civil and religious contract, but they really aren't connected. If your church wants to restrict it to only certain people that's okay by me. But how the hell do you justify government giving that to one group and not another? My wife and I get a tax break by being married so why shouldn't two men or women have that same right? I can't see where it's any of my business. If government is suppose to be color-blind, age-blind and sex-blind in so many other respects why not all?

If you think Pat Robertson, Jerry Fallwell, The Pope, Ayatolla Assahola, The Grand Poobar or George Bush has all the answers you are welcome to it. I disagree. I prefer to think for myself, even when wrong.

The only thing I'm intolerent of is two-faced bigotted idiotic moronic fools.

Next.

Ahhh. Man that felt good. I haven't had a rant like that in a long time.

Water - Hmmmmmm......

Water - my favorite drink - yes I even drink more of it than beer. Tap water at that. At home I have the fridge with built-in water and ice dispenser tied into the under sink filter. I really don't care about the filter and change it about once a year but it does help keep the sand out.

Here is an article in today's SFGate about water tasting.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=
/c/a/2006/03/22/BAG33HS4DG1.DTL

In another of those blind tastings designed to demonstrate what suckers water drinkers have become, ordinary tap water faced off against its high-priced bottled brethren in head-to-head combat.

The idea, according to the earnest young organizers of the first-ever Tap Water Challenge, was to see if people could tell tap water from the $1-a-bottle stuff.

The answer was, they couldn't.

"We're falling for something we shouldn't be falling for,'' said David Assmann, deputy director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, paper cup in hand. "You really can't tell the difference.''

(David Assmann???? San Francisco???? okay I'll stop.)
Yeah I buy it sometimes, but only for the convenience. I'm not much for drinking soft-drinks (an occasional Dr. Pepper) because I don't need the calories and I find diet drinks leave a bitter aftertaste. Even at fast food joints I usually just ask for water and that really drives them. They all try to give you these little bitty cups. Why? Well because soft drinks are their biggest money makers. 99 cent burgers and other specials make them nothing. Fries and cokes are where all the money is, that's why they love to offer combos. I don't eat from fast food chains very often as I prefer local places with good food most of the time. Why go to MickeyDs when we have John's or Happy Jacks or Andres? When I do go for fast food I can often get by with a $2 meal. I know, y'all are thinking I'm just a cheap bastard. I prefer frugal.

Frankly most beverages cost nothing to make, relative to their price. Even beer. Far more is spent on packaging, transportation and marketing. How much bottled water is spring water? Not much. Names like Auquafina may invoke that thought but really read the label. Remember when this craze started Perrier and Evian were the big dogs. Now Pepsi (Auquafina) and Coke (Dasani) dominate the market. They are the big boys and the big market chains sell their shelf space to those with the most.

If I were in Mexico (or some other ferign place, say like Canada) I would stick with only bottled water, but only because the odds are better. You might still get something right out of the local tap. But here in the USA and most other western nations tap water is both highly regulated and tested.

PT Barnum strikes again. (btw he never said it - but you know what I mean).

Kliban Found

Last month I mentioned B Kliban his his great cartoons. It all started with a mention of Roger Wilco. Well I came across my Kliban books. Here is Wilco (my memory was pretty good but no pocket protector - maybe that was me I'm recalling) along with a couple of others. The scans are not great but I didn't want to break the back of the books to get them perfectly flat.





Not a pretty world.

St Patty's Day & I Hate Corned Beef

Well it coming on Friday. I detest corned beef. Fact is I can't even abide by the smell of it.
I understand cooking it in Guinness makes it really good. Why waste a good Guinness.
http://www.recipezaar.com/86868


Lots of people like it but for Catholics the problem is Friday. They still go by the no meat Friday during Lent. Well never one to let reality get in the way of a drunken party some bishops are letting the flock off the hook.

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=76339&ntpid=0

Lucky bastards.

For a little Irish humor try here.

http://sixbeers.blogspot.com/2005/03/st-patricks-day-is-thursday.html

Shafted

Many people are reporting that Isacc Hayes' departure from South Park had something to do with a moral outrage. HA! Turns out he's a Scientologist.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1731115,00.html

Criticising the hit US television series South Park for being offensive is a bit like criticising Antiques Roadshow for focusing too much on old things. But this has not prevented the soul singer Isaac Hayes from quitting the show in outrage at its treatment of Scientology - ending a nine-year association with a cartoon that has left few other religious or political groups unmocked. .............. "This has nothing to do with intolerance and bigotry and everything to do with the fact that Isaac Hayes is a Scientologist and that we recently featured Scientology in an episode of South Park," said Matt Stone, who created the series with Trey Parker. "In 10 years and more than 150 episodes Isaac never had a problem with the show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons and Jews. He got a sudden case of religious sensitivity when it was his religion featured on the show. To bring the civil rights struggle into this is just a non sequitur. Of course, we will release Isaac from his contract and we wish him well."

I thought it was one of best South Park episodes. (Tom, come out of the closet. You're not fooling anyone.)
Last week Bill Mahr said that the Mormons were thankful for Scientology as it makes them only the world's second weirdest religion.

Bakersfield Inn

I got a major project completed and started getting caught up on my blog reading. Blackdog had an old picture of the Bakersfield Inn up and was wondering if the sign was white. Several people commented but none seemed to know the story. I guess Im old but here's what I do know.



I am old enough and yes it was white along with the rest of the Inn. In fact the main building on the west side burnt in the early 60s. Later that awful looking west building was built and the west side of the bridge was then held up by that scrawny little tower that really didn't match the rest.

I remember it well because my grandparents lived in the Casa Loma neighborhood just east of the fairgrounds. We drove under that sign many, many times. Speaking of the end when I was about four I asked my parents if that was where Bakersfield ended - at that sign - because somehow I always thought they were saying Bakersfield end. Maybe I wasn't too bright at four.

Soduko