anaconda-dan's Blog

Me too.

But what he was thinking was:

"I've got me some new golf clubs and I'll be smackin' a little white ball in two weeks."

I watched the coach make excuses for Jackson's fumbles Sunday. Who manages who?

Q.  What do you call 47 millionaires sitting around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A.  The Rams.
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Q.  What do the Rams and Billy Graham have in common?
A.  They both can make 62,000 people stand up and yell 'Jesus Christ.'
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Q.  How do you keep a St. Louis Ram out of your yard?    
A.  Put up a goal post.
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Q.  What do you call a St. Louis Ram with a Super Bowl ring?
A.  A thief.
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Q.  What's the difference between the St. Louis Rams and a dollar bill?
A.  You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.
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Q.  What do the Rams and a possum have in common?
A.  Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

 

 

I just watched Rob And Matin tonight. Martin's pised about Incognito, as we all are.

YOU GUYS ARE RIGHT THERE.

Call 'em out.

Somebody better say something on the Monday night show, or you guys are as bad as he is.

If you're gonna let all of this slide, invite me.

Any idea what kind of impact a poor-performing sports team has on an already struggling economy? I'll bring some bar owning friends of mine.

I watched Incognito's half-ssed aplology for what he said about Rams fans of late. They all seem to have forgotten who pays their over-inflated salary. It's the fans. And coming from Mr. Ingognito whose play has been let's say, less than stellar, shows even more disrespect.

I was realling thinking that a change in leadership might gel the team the way it was in years past, but now, I don't think it can. We need wholesale personnel changes. No one wearing a Rams jersey plays as part of a team. They are all individuals, that's clear. And no amount of leadership change or 2 by 4's upside the head will change that attitude.

So for you Mr. Incognito, take your toys and go home. We're not interested in your chest-beating. The only thing that matters to us fans is heart, and team, and try.

You guys possess none of that.

My toast burned this morning. Do you think Randi could relate it to the earthquake?

The last time my toast burned was in 1982. It could be smelled all the way into the next room.

I volunteer to take the test.

I'll get one of the African Americans I work with to take the test with me.

We are NOT firefiighters, but we are effective managers. Lets see how racially biased it is. Wouldn't everyone be interested in a non-racial evaluation? Aren't you just the least bit curoius?

Bring Al and Jessie in.

Anybody with me? It's OUR city for cryin' out loud!

This post has been edited by an administrator

You gotta be kiddn' me! Well if nothing else, it meant a slow news day. Since when do we have to worry about what every nit-wit and attention whore finds offensive? Shame on the store in question for even reacting. And for the crybaby who was offended? Get a life, and get over it. It's a "costume" for cryin' out loud. What's next?

Problem with giving this story any coverage at all is, the whiners will be comin' out of the woodwork.

Now, perhaps if they showed Bin Laden SMOKING, that would be a different story...

How exciting is this? Sept 29th at 6PM CT.

Quest for Sunken Warships
Torpedo Alley
TV-PG, CC

In 1942 German U-boats turned the waters off Cape Hatteras North Carolina into a sea of death. For six months the marauding U-boats patrolled the area unchallenged, sinking countless ships that littered the ocean and beaches with oil, cargo and bodies.

You will notice as you watch, that the subplot of this show is the danger of wrek diving and decompression sickness (DCS).

So happens, as I was a part of the dive team, and ended up with a mild case of DCS, I got at least 15 seconds of airtime on the show.

The story about the police officer in St. George is generating a lot of blog traffic. Seems everyone has a story about a run-in with the law. Why is that? I remember when I was a kid, growing up in South St. Louis, we actually had a 'beat cop'. As kids we always respected and admired the police, with the understanding that, as long as you behaved yourself, you've got nothing to worry about. Does it seem that we're seeing more and more incidences of police abuse of power? I think so. At first, I wrote it off as just another case of more media in every aspect of our lives, but now I wonder. I was watching "World's Wildest Police Chases" with John Walsh narrating, the other day (mostly because I am constantly amused at the way some people behave), and got to thinking. It seemed every time the police involved in a high-speed pursuit endangered the lives of innocent people, Walsh piped up with how noble and brave and pick-you-favorite-adjective, the police were. They were not. Car theft does not justify endangering the lives of innocent people, in my opinion.

On another show, depicting several days in the live of various city's SWAT teams, numerous mistakes were made, no-knock entries made into residences that turned up nothing, and while they were depicted as well organized and well equipped, their bravado was most evident. I don't know about you, but I'm not too keen on military-style operations being executed in residential neighborhoods, by adrenalin-fueled paramilitary types. I really question the benefit/risk in those situations. And if they make a mistake? "Well we're protecting you, you should be glad we're there. Mistakes happen". Sure they do, but when exercising these types of operations, mistakes can have tragic consequences.

How about the State Trooper that was killed recently in an auto accident while driving 90 miles to assist in a stand-off situation? Drinking or not drinking, tired or whatever, that situation should never have happened. Where is the common sense anymore?

Seeing a pattern where the risks start to outweigh the benefits? I do.

"But Anaconda, the police are there to protect us!"

Wrong.

The SCOTUS has rendered several decisions over the past several years absolving governments, and specifically police departments, of any responsibility to protect its citizens. How does THAT make you feel? It makes me a little uneasy. Civilian oversight into police policies and procedures is routinely shrugged off as unnecessary and seen as a hindrance to effective policing of the community. When politically motivated, I would agree. However, letting government make all of our decisions for us, especially when employees are making lethal-force decisions, using paramilitary tactics, and bulling and intimidating citizens, is not the path we should take.

This tuned into a long blog, triggered by a seemingly innocuous event of a cop bullying a kid, but it's becoming a pattern.

St. George's police department has been this way ever since I was a kid. It's a well-known speed trap (revenue-generator). It's about time for a spanking. They deserve it. But I think we need to start thinking long-term to find solutions to our crime problems, and that doesn't necessarily mean, larger numbers of police, or more stringent enforcement.

Let's use a little more common sense, and make sure when we say no, we mean no.

...and I'm NOT happy.

No. This doesn't belong in the news category. So sue me.

 

 

As some of you may know, the band I play in, "The Expressions", is a corporate-sponsored rock and roll band, formed in 2004. We were originally conscripted by our CEO, Barrett Toan, of Express Scripts fame, to perform at conferences put on for our clients. From there, we started performing for various charities, and always for free. (well, we do need to be fed and 'watered') We've helped raise money for The Arthritis Foundation, The United Way, CASA, CHIPS (one of Bonita Cornute's favorites), New City School, and just about anyone else who asked. It's been a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. We've had the opportunity to play on Fox2 in the morning (I still have my autographed picture of Pertz), at Mississippi Nights, before it closed, The Key Club in LA, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Odium in Cleveland, parks, bars and backyards.

It's time to announce our retirement.

Our last performance will be Friday night, June 1 at the BS Bar and Grill, 10471 St. Charles Rock Road, http://bsbarandgrill.com/. No particular charity event this time, this one's mostly for us. If any of my friends in blogland have the opportunity, come on out and see us one last time.

Yes, this is a shameless plug.

Well, I finally got tired of having my responses deleted over on all of the "Mother Church blogs" so here's mine.

I've read blog after blog on the Crow/Burke debate and I have to tell you, I'm amazed at the number of people who have come to the aid of the elderly archbishop. Apparently the Catholic Church still weilds some sort of mind-numbing power over it's members. To the extent that one blogger "fears retribution from Burke and his staff." Are you kidding me? This isn't the fifteen hundreds is it? I mean, back then you could be tortured or burned at the stake, but now?

Wow.

It's a benefit to bring money to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Burke should be happy, no thrilled, to see money flowing into the institution for the good of sick children. But no.

He would rather attempt to use his clout as a church leader to condemn the convictions of the people who are doing the most to further the church's cause. Pure political agenda. Screw the sick kids. Ms Crow wants people to conduct medical reseach with embryonic stem cells to enhance and extend the lives of other sick people, maybe even catholics. (Oh, by the way, neither God nor Jesus EVER said "when you find out about them, don't EVER try to use embryonic stem cells to cure disease. You know, like the apple in the garden that I told you about?").

This is another case of the church using it's power of control over it's members to further it's own agenda.

"Another case, you say?"

Certainly.

The Inquisition, what a show, the inquisition, here we go...The spanish inquisition was largely concieved in the later 12th century to unify a multi-religous region consisting of Jews, Catholics, and Islam to one big happy catholic family. With historically devastating results. Around 1492 The catholic church joined forces with Ferdinand and Isabella. Why?  To establish political and religious unity.  To weaken local political opposition to the Catholic monarchs, and ta da! Profit, as the properties of those convicted were confiscated. "those Jews were always getting in our way..."

Throughout the church's history, they have denied, to the point of calling it blasphemy or witchcraft, any scientific discovery that was counter to the church's current doctrine. Remember Galileo? You know, the guy who's theory about the earth revolving around the sun caused him to be imprisoned, and excommunicated, even AFTER the theory was proven to be fact? In 1992 pope Paul II FINALLY expressed regret at the way the whole thing was handled, after the results of a study by the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Pretty progressive, huh?

Birth control. Here's a good one. Nearly every practicing catholic I know, practices birth control. Blasphemers. Good thing it's not 1500. "Burn her, she's a witch! She turned me into a newt..."

Whatever happened to the Letter of Fatima? Weren't we supposed to find out? Maybe I missed it, but it was supposed to be a spectacular event, that we as non-priests couldn't possibly fathom. All of the catholic kids in the neighborhood were soooo smug. Say 3 hail mary's and 1 our father...

How come you guys can eat meat on Fridays now?  Me and my brother used to eat hot dogs in front of the neighborhood catholic kids on Fridays, just to watch 'em choke down their fish sticks so they wouldn't spend eternity in the fires of damnation. Good times.

That's a short list of the controlling opression of the Catholic Church. And the marching orders of guys like Burke and his child-molesting brethren. And yet, in this day and age, some of you think it's still ok to comdemn someone because they don't believe the same way as you. Here's an idea, we'll outlaw abortions if you agree to take in all of the unwanted children. We'll create cures for disease from embryonic stem cells, but we won't force the cures on you. We'll shut up if you shut up.

But you wont.

Thanks Bob and Cheryl. Thanks for caring more about others than yourselves.

Go ahead. Add a comment. I won't delete it.

In light of the recent shootings in Virginia, and some of the heated discussion regarding Charles Jaco's commentary, I have to ask the question. I typically watch the local news for just that. Local news. FOX 2 seems to be able to present a balanced report of the tragedies and triumphs in the greater metro area. For local news events only. For a more widespread look at the world in general, I tend to use a variety of sources. UPI, API, Least of all network television. I think I may be in the minority. In this age of 40 second sound-byte information dissemination, people tend to take what they hear on the television as rote. The only problem with this, as I see it, is that the media controls the content. Attention-getting, flashy graphics, over-dramatic "news casters", and self-proclaimed experts, all designed to impart a "spin" on the "tragic" event or events.
To create "water-cooler buzz". Why do we allow this to happen? Is it because we have become too lazy to think for ourselves, and let the media draw our conclusions for us? I think it is.
Take Mr. Jaco's commentary, for example. He states of the NRA board meeting, "Not only did they not have any comment, their meeting was apparently swathed in extra security, including a protective force composed of former Secret Service agents." In fact, the story read, "Security at the board meeting was tight, with former Secret Service agents providing security detail." No mention of "Extra Security". Swathed? Come on. "Protective Force"? What, maybe the same type of security that Oprah travels with? He deliberately uses the term "High-capacity clips". As a self-professed gun expert, he's knows that terinology is incorrect. But he dumbs-down his pseudo-reporting to draw the most attention.

Why do we let them get away with this?

For many people, their only exposure to events outside of their immediate area is television. We as viewers, should expect, no, demand, accurate reporting of facts, unclouded by editorial content.

Let's talk about editorial content for a moment. Certainly J.C. Corcoran's spots are intended as entertainment, after all JC's credentials consist of a spotted history in St. Louis radio. He's probably been fired from as many radio stations as have existed in St. Louis over the years. He carries no real credibility as a newscaster, but as such, provides entertainment and the basis for an occasional thought-provoking discourse at the water cooler, or in the blog space here. I'm certain that JC's commentary doesn't necessarily reflect the views of FOX 2.

Charles Jaco, on the other hand, is a highly-credentialed, experienced newscaster. His achievements during the first Persian Gulf war were well known, and highly rated. Does that make him a bell weather of American opinion? No. Are his opinions indicative of the views of FOX 2? That would be the way I see it. Put a respected newscaster's opinion on display for all to see and hear. He's not smarter than you or I, yet that's the way it's presented to us.

So, the only way you or I can express an opposing opinion, is to post a couple of paragrphs on a blog. That's great, but we might reach a couple of hundred people at best. (After all there aren't a lot of people willing to sift through all of the crap that get's spewed forth on the blogs). The airwaves belong to the American people. Television stations are obligated to provide a public service. We need to start demanding that they serve the greater public good, and not their own interests. John Pertzborn made a great comment on Jaco's blog. It's freedom of speech. It certainly is John. But you guys control the freedom.

Today is my wife's birthday.

Since last summer, when I had to put our 16 year-old cat, baby down, she's been talking about getting another. Perfect, I think. I shoot over to the local shelter and get her a rescue kitten. It'll be purrrfect!

WHERE ARE ALL OF THE CATS?

You would think, to hear all of the PETA people, that we are up to our necks in unwanted animals! Here I am people! Ready to take one of the millions of stray felines out of welfare and into the role of house pet.

But noooooo!

Oh well, not much I can do. But I'm afraid candy and a card aren't going to cut it this year...

 

Quite a bit of chatter on the web yesterday and today regarding the Kevin Johnson mistrial. Unfortunately, much of it has boiled down to cries of racism and prejudice. Some pretty heated discussions and accusations out there. Regardless, the declaration of a mistrial doesn't mean Johnson walks. The trial resulted in a hung jury while deliberating over a first or second-degree conviction. This isn't all that unusual, this simply shows that the system, as it is in place now, works. When considering cases where the death penalty my be incurred, state law requires a unanimous decision be reached by the jury. It is possible for the jury to become "hung" by one person who for religious or moral reasons, refuses to impose that sentence. Right or wrong, by your way of thinking, that's what we have in place in the state of Missouri. Even in a blatant case such as this, where a confession to the crime has been made, the laws for conviction and sentencing must be followed. It's easier to convict than sentence, in most cases.
Some states do not require a unanimous decision, rather a majority rule can impose sentence. This helps eliminate the possibility of a 'rogue' juror causing disruption in the proceedings.

Kevin Johnson will be tried again. Hopefully convicted and sentenced appropriately. Remember, for all of your outrage, we control how our courts work. So, faking sick to get out of jury duty, not voting, and not getting involved in your community are some of the reasons these things happen. So instead of whining on a blog, or calling people names from the safety of your computer, get involved.