At Least Part of My Blog Was In the News Leader Tuesday

Maybe the News Leader does like me after all. A few weeks ago, I had complained about how the News Leader was always writing articles about anonymous blogging yet allowed anonymous bloggers to be hosted by their new website. Then, Monday I wrote a complimentary post about the column Sarah Overstreet had in Sunday's paper about the flooding problem with my 25 cents (most people add their two cents but I believe my opinion is worth 25 cents).

On Thursday, I was speaking with a former co-worker who said, "I liked what you said in the News Leader about the flooding problem." Now, I usually read the News Leader online. For some reason the Local Blogs were not on the Voices page of the website. I dug through the old News Leaders at work and found it in Tuesday's edition.

Now, here is the funny part. As you can see from the photo of the column above, most of what was printed from my blog post was the quote from Sarah Overstreet's column. I guess the rest of my comments (especially the suggestion about the wiffle ball bat) were not acceptable or something.

If You Don't Agree With Sarah Overstreet On This One, You Can Drown Yourself

I know I have given Sarah Overstreet a hard time about a few of her columns, but her column in Sunday's News Leader was about one of my big complaints about Springfield - the flooding problem during the rains. I have complained about the streets flooding during the slightest rainstorm since 1987. Usually, falling on deaf ears or having some Ozarker tell me "We don't want to pay the taxes to fix it."

My parents attended a funeral here in town on June 13th. It rain quite a bit that day. They told me they would never again doubt me when I said the streets of Springfield flood when it rains.

Sarah suggest that the resistance needs to stop: "The scenario again is as follows: Old infrastructure, lots of old and new problems to be fixed, and virtually no funds in comparison to need. If you care about your fellow citizens and don't want to see them crying outside their houses and picked up by fire-and-rescue units, you're going to have to give up some greenbacks. It won't be much per resident, but we've got to push the issue and be willing to follow it up with "yes" votes.

This is one time where the "we already pay too much taxes" argument just doesn't wash. Don't want to help? Tell that to the guy sitting in the pew with you next Sunday, who's been up all night with a bucket bailing out his basement."

Of course, in the comment under this column on the website, some idiot is claiming the photos of flooding where "doctored" by the News Leader. Well, then there are doctored photos on the TV station websites and well as the Remembering Springfield MySpace site. There is a photo over at Ebbett's Field of a guy kayaking down Walnut Street.

Ms. Overstreet says she will have more articles on this in the coming weeks. Good. Here is MY suggestion if you feel as strongly about this as I do.

1. Carry a whiffle ball bat with you on the days we have rain.
2. Bring up the streets flooding in conversation.
3. If someone tells you that it will cost tax payers money and we pay too much taxes to fix it, you have Desdinova's permission to HIT THEM UPSIDE THE HEAD WITH THE WHIFFLE BALL BAT! Or you could...
4. Take them outside to the nearest flooded area and "baptise them" until the "believe" we need to overhaul the drainage system. Or...
5. Just ask them the old Bill Cosby line, "How long can you tread water?"

What is it going to take to solve this problem? Loss of property or life. How long can we tread water?

Did You Ever Watch an Old Movie on TV and Wonder How Many People in the Crowd Scenes Are Dead? George Carlin 1937-2008

Reuters is reporting that George Carlin has died at age 71. This pic is of the young George Carlin. Carlin's humor was an influence on me. I'm probably in radio because of his "Wonderful WINO" routine. He is the guy who created the "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say On Television." I've been lectured all my life about finding Carlin funny, so there will be no comments allowed. That will keep you Ozarkers from giving me another finger-shaking lecture about what is funny and what is not. I SAY GEORGE CARLIN WAS ONE FUNNY MOTHER&$%&ER!

Here is CNN's coverage. I think the media should go wall to wall with coverage of Carlin's death like they did with Tim Russert's death last week. Also I'm calling for flag to fly at half staff in memory of Mr. Carlin. That would really hack off the talk radio guys, but they deserve. I bet 'Wonderful WINO' is now a talk radio that is "standing up for what is right - even if it is wrong and just plain stupid!"

Maybe Nobody Was Pregnant To Begin With

My previous post was about the so-called pregnancy pact in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Now CNN is reporting that the Mayor of the town is questioning the validity of the whole thing. Mayor Carolyn Kirk says she will meet school, health and other officials to get figure out if the pregnancy pact was a hoax. The story came to light after the high school principal, Joseph Sullivan, told a Time magazine reporter about it.

"The high school principal is the one who initially said it, and no one else has said it," Kirk said. "None of the counselors at the school, none of the teachers who know these children and none of the families have spoken about it."

There is a difference between expecting and exposed.

Hey, Let's Get Pregnant!

I really thought we were past this kind of stupidity, however adults never seem to understand teenagers. Officials in Gloucester, Massachusetts, say that a group of teenage girls made a pact to get pregnant. The mayor, an anti-teen sex activist and a certain local talk radio show host (who came from Canada) is blaming Hollywood. Here is the AP story from Yahoo. First, Britney Spear’s little sister got pregnant, then there is that movie Juno (Right here I want to mention that I am madly in love with Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, who is on the cover of this month’s Writer’s Digest) about a pregnant teenager. IT IS ALL PART OF A PLOT!

Let me tell you what I know from my thirty-some years on this planet. Gloucester is a small town. This happens in small towns every year. It happened my senior year at Lebanon High School and about ten year ago People magazine had a cover story about a small town in Texas where about half the girls in school were pregnant. It happens all the time. Someone claims the girls were "giving Hi-Fives." I went to school in a small town and you always hear an eyewitness account from "Some kid." They are always unreliable.

Second, doesn’t the mayor have better things to do than worry about who is pregnant. That must really be a SMALL AND BORING TOWN. As for the activist mentioned at the end of the AP story, I want to ask one of these abstinence activist why they all look like the snooty girls in high school who only dated the jocks. It is like they say, "I’m not going to sleep with you and I’m going to make the other girls sign a pledge not to sleep with you. Naner, naner, nya nya!"

Kids, take some advice from Uncle Desdinova. If this is what you girls want to for fun, well then knock yourselves out up.

Embarrassing Banner Ad

Some ads on news websites and blogs are to advertise things related to the content. Adland has this rather amusing screen capture from CNN.com. Ooooppps!

Nashville Brass Leader Danny Davis Dies at 83

He cashed in on radio stations having news at the top of the hour and the success of Herb Alpert. Trumpeter Danny Davis died Friday in Nashville according to the Tennessean. He and Chet Adkins came up with the idea of instrumental country hits after hearing former big bands and orchestras mangle rock and roll songs of the day (101 Stings version of "Somebody To Love" is kind-of-cool though). I remember when Davis was in Branson, he told KY 3's Steve Grant that he modeled the upbeat sound and style after Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass. He recorded several short instrumentals for radio stations to use to time up to the network news at the top of the hour. Sadly, it is hard to find Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass on CD.