Bahama Breeze Beverages: The Legend of Aruba Red
As "theme" chain restaurants go, Bahama Breeze is pretty good. But don't believe "the legend of Aruba Red." There was no Pirate Queen with red hair and a secret beer recipe. It's a hearty custom brew… by Budweiser.
NPR : Ohio Vote Audit Turns Up Duplicates, Deletions
All Things Considered, April 22, 2007 · One person, one vote. That's how the democratic process should work. But a recent audit of the 2006 general election in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, found that some votes were counted twice, and others were deleted. Candice Hoke, who oversaw the independent audit, explains some of its findings.
Okay, but DON'T DO THAT AGAIN, OHIO. We're watching you this time around.
We reminded the senior White House advisor that the US leads the world in global warming pollution and we are doing the least about it. Anger flaring, Mr. Rove immediately regurgitated the official Administration position on global warming which is that the US spends more on researching the causes than any other country.
We felt compelled to remind him that the research is done and the results are in (www.IPCC.ch). Mr. Rove exploded with even more venom. Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Mr. Rove launched into a series of illogical arguments regarding China not doing enough thus neither should we. (Since when do we follow China's lead?)
At some point during his ramblings, we became heartbroken to think that the President of the United States and his top advisers have partially built a career on global warming not being real. We have been telling college students across the country for the past two weeks that government does not change until people demand it… well, listen up folks, everyone had better get a lot louder because the message clearly is not getting through.
In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, "Don't touch me." How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unfazed, Sheryl abruptly responded, "You can't speak to us like that, you work for us." Karl then quipped, "I don't work for you, I work for the American people." To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, "We are the American people."
Well, what did they expect? Rove has spent an entire career responding to criticism as if he was the bullied kid from junior high, getting his own back on The Jocks. It would be illogical to expect a reasonable discussion with the guy, as he practically invented "talking points" as they are currently used (and abused) by the neoconservatives.
At least they tried. I'm not sure if I want to go looking for Karl's version of the story, but it'll be something like this:
That crazy enviro-nut Sheryl Crow tried to attack me! But I showed her! She's a nut! She and her liberal nutball hippie friends think their wacky little theory counts for something, but look at the loser that goes around flogging his little documentary! I mean, LOSER! We made sure of that, er, and anyway Crow and her loser liberal friends can go F*$+ themselves. She'll never get near me again, the little anti-American rabble-rousing rock star the Secret Service will make sure of that.
Still, she is sort of hot for an old hippie-chick broad. Maybe I should call her.
Homeland audit says Katrina contracts were mismanaged – The Boston Globe
WASHINGTON — FEMA exposed taxpayers to significant waste, and possibly violated federal law, by awarding $3.6 billion worth of Hurricane Katrina contracts to companies with poor credit histories and bad paperwork, investigators say.
Great. Just great. We know this went on, of course, but farther down in the article, FEMA admits it has no action plan for the coming hurricane season. So if there's another big hit, it will be more screwed-up contracting on an unprecedented scale.
[tags]Katrina, Fema[/tags]
Senator Bernie Sanders is frustrated. He believes there is a gap between the American people who are increasingly embracing progressive values and what's going on in Congress.
"The American people are way, way ahead on matters of the economy, war, global warming," he says, over coffee with a small group of reporters.
Well, the polls quoted are interesting, but one of them boasts only a 2% majority for progressives on an issue. If only this were true, that people in this country are much more progressive than our current elected leaders. There would be hope for the future.
Rove, celebs have heated debate | Chicago Tribune
Here's this week's hot topic on the liberal/conservative punditblogs: Sheryl Crow picks a fight with Karl Rove. She tells him "You work for me." He tells her "No, I work for the American people." Um, dude, you told her to her face that you don't think she's an American. This is the root problem that the neoconservatives have foisted on the rest of our country – they think they're more American than the rest of us.
Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain , by Anthony Bourdain
If you’ve ever watched No Reservations, a travel and food show hosted by Anthony Bourdain, then you have “Tony’s” voice in your head as you read this book, the one that made him famous enough to be made host of his own show(s). He has a trademark writer’s voice, too – a little too cool for his own good, but genuinely racked-out sounding and with a certainhardcore urbanity and something that sounds like a foodie-sensualist’s version of Beat Poetry on his summing-up monologues.
I’m a fast reader, so it’s not unusual for me to sail through a book in a solid few hours of steady reading. I wanted to slow down and savor some things, and skim others just to see what happens next in Bourdain’s description of his own life and career. It’s the first time that I’ve read a “foodie” book, and was surprised to find it such a page-turner. But not all that surprised, because I knew that Bourdain could write in a way that makes you want to know more about him, yet doesn’t reveal all his secrets atonce.
I like reading books by writers who can really tell you something about themselves that’s true and authentic, in their own unique voice. I can’t write anything like that, but admire anyone who can.
Next up, case in point: Uncommon Carriers, by John McPhee.
Police: Gunman in JSC shooting feared losing his job | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
At the time, it looked like the "man with a gun at NASA" story would end peacefully, so I made a bad joke and turned to other stories in the news.
It didn't.
It's not so funny now, I readily admit. I'm don't know if the NASA gunman snapped because of all the news this week about the shootings at Virginia Tech, but if he was that close to the edge, the incessant coverage couldn't have helped his mental state.
Yes, there've been a lot of "copycat-like" incidents at schools this week – people are a bit jumpy and anything that resembles a campus shooter or someone "going postal" is going to make the news.
Maybe it would be best if the wall-to-wall VT/Cho coverage was reduced to fresh revelations and thoughtful analysis only, instead of incessant re-hashing of all the horrors. Who knows who else out there is ready to crack?
Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse
The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that I can represent and give shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through the Hood of death,
I don't back down for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib for the rest of my life.
I recognize the effort that went into making the Book of Common Prayer relevant to a specific group that is underserved and in need. But I'm not hearing the poetry or the beats in it. It's kind of a toe-curler, and I wonder what a teen seriously into rap would make of it – nod their heads approvingly, or wave it off like a bad smell?
NASA evacuates Houston building – Space News – MSNBC.com
A building at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston was evacuated Friday amid reports that an armed person was barricaded there, the space agency said. Other employees at the center were told to remain in lockdown as authorities surrounded the scene.
Does somebody need some Huggies?