Maybe people will think twice before hoarding the next time there is a potential shortage being reported.
Nah. They won't.
Tip for the day: If you listen to a DJ named "Krazy Kid", you might want to verify any news alerts before jumping to conclusions.
All this toilet paper will probably come in handy since you just know these are the same people who were hoarding all the bottled water earlier in the week...
I axed the Weekly Poll for now. Blogpoll was having issues and causing my site not to load.
I'm sure the 8 people who voted will miss it...
Why does Mexico feel they are entitled to dispute Proposition 200? Last time I checked, they weren't part of the United States.
The Mexican government acknowledges that 40% of Mexican-Americans support the measure. These are obviously the hard-working folks who went to the trouble to enter this country legally. Illegal immigrants undermine the efforts of these law-abiding people who really do want a better life, but not at the expense of American taxpayers.
We're not discriminating against anyone based on racial profiling. We're fighting against people who break the law. If you did what it takes to enter this country legally, we welcome you. If not, don't expect us to give you a hand out anymore. Don't expect us to let you have a say in who we elect. Its as simple as that.
Now they say they will get the International Courts involved. For WHAT? Enforcing our own immigration laws? We're probably the only country that DOESN'T require proof of citizenship to vote. And I'd like to know what other countries provide welfare to illegal immigrants.
Funny... I haven't heard Canada complaining yet. Oh yeah, maybe that's because Canada requires proof of citizenship to vote in their elections. And they won't pay for your hospital bills if you're not a Canadian citizen.
The concerns of voting fraud aren't limited to Arizona. We simply put it up to the voters to decide whether or not to enforce the law (which is all Proposition 200 does--it holds people accountable for choosing not to enforce existing law).
Supervisor Bill Horn addressed his concerns with the California Secretary of State prior to the November elections. Other states, such as Texas and Arkansas, are jumping on the "proof-of-citizenship to vote" bandwagon.
I don't see how they can turn this into a human rights issue. If the Mexican government was so concerned about their human rights, why don't they provide for these people?
Personally, I'm sick of our tax dollars doing it.
How in the world does the fifth largest city in the country manage to allow its water supply to become contaminated?
Of course, I didn't hear about this until after I had left my house this morning. All I heard on the news was that only one water treatment plant in the city was operational and that City of Phoenix water customers were being asked to conserve water. If I had known, I would have brought water from home (Mesa's water is fine).
And... I would have made coffee at home.
But I work in Phoenix, and everyone here is in a panic. The grocery stores here are out of bottled water. Most of the fast food restaurants are closed. I guess the ones that are open are taking extra precautions and are using bagged ice, bottled soda, etc. Or maybe they just don't care.
Even the local Starbucks isn't serving any coffee. Apparently the extra filtration and heating isn't enough to ensure everyone's safety. I had to settle for bottled Frappuccino this morning to get my caffeine fix.
Just goes to show you how vulnerable we really are.
Scary.
Some nut job tried to stab Christian Slater in England last Friday night.
I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when I went to visit Heidi in England last November. I'm sure glad he wasn't injured (or worse!) in this attack. It sure would have put a damper on my European memories.
The celebrities are much more accessible in England than they are here in the US. We sat in the second row of this theatre and there were times when Christian Slater wasn't more than 10 feet away from us. The people in the front row could have literally reached up and touched him if they had been so inclined. After the show, the actors usually go out from the theatre and sign autographs.
In the states, you'd never be able to get near the entrance the stars use.
Of course, if this would have happened in the states, the guy would have pulled out a gun and shot him, and it would have been a much sadder story.
Well, I suppose maybe this explains why two cups of coffee couldn't get my butt in gear today.
So why didn't my employer buy into this extended lunch hour thing?
I need Starbucks...
I've run across some really stupid people working at Taco Bell before but this one takes the cake.
Thanks to Leigh for the link!
Last time I checked, there weren't any wild guinea pigs running around in the US. So why did the teacher of this class allow this to go forward?
This is so unbelievable. If I (or my kid, for that matter) had been subjected to this, I would have sued the school for allowing it.
And I'm totally against frivolous lawsuits.
This kid is a future serial killer... I hope the local authorities press charges.
Sheriff Joe sure wouldn't tolerate something like this.
The latest addition to the Mr. Potato Head family is a good one.
Darth Tater? What a kick! A must-have addition to any Star Wars fan's collection.
I might have to buy one of these.
Dennis Green was just on the local sports talk channel. Asked directly if he was interested in Randy Moss, he replied, "No, I'm not interested in Randy. We've got two great receivers in Boldin and Fitzgerald and we're happy with that."
Thank God.
And before I get attacked by any Viking fans, I do not hate the Vikings (except when they play the Cardinals), I rooted for you guys in the playoffs and I do not hate Randy Moss.
But there is not one single player in the league worth the trade THAT guy is proposing in his post.
As concerned I am that we might give up a good player to get Moss, I have no fear that the trade would go down like that.
Denny isn't THAT crazy...
Open letter to Dennis Green...
Dear Mr. Green:
I am a long-time Cardinals season ticket holder that is becoming increasingly more concerned with the rumors that have been circulating among national and local media, as well as among fellow Cardinal fans in the valley.
Those rumors concern trading Anquan Boldin, or worse, Bertrand Berry, Darnell Dockett or Adrian Wilson for Randy Moss.
Mr. Green, I've been a big supporter of yours since you got here. I haven't agreed with every decision you've made (Shaun King? What were you thinking?), but in general I feel you've done a decent job turning this team around. However, I must take great exception to the thought of having Randy Moss as a Cardinal.
While I must admit, I chuckled at the now infamous "faux moon" stunt, I don't think Randy Moss can help this team. We have two great receivers--WITHOUT the Randy Moss attitude.
Sign Anquan to a contract extension, and let's focus on the things we REALLY need (a quarterback, for starters).
Please Denny--I'm begging you. Don't give up any of the few impact players on this team. We fans are just starting to find guys to connect with. Randy Moss doesn't fit.
Make the rumors stop, Denny.
Yours Truly,
A Concerned Fan
Since we've had more rain this year than our reservoirs can handle and SRP closed McKellips Road to let water back into the Salt River, the 202 Freeway (my normal route into work) has been overloaded.
As I crept down the road this morning on my way into work, I noticed a motorcycle cop pulling over a car on the opposite side of the freeway. He seemed to get off his bike pretty quickly, and in the process he almost dropped it on its side. After struggling to get it back upright, he put down the kickstand, walked quickly up to the vehicle and grabbed the door handle. Upon finding the car locked, he slapped on the roof a couple of times and gestured for the driver to get out of the car. The driver got out of the car, at which point the officer must have directed her to turn toward the car. He pulled her hands behind her back and slapped the cuffs on her.
What struck me as odd about the whole incident was that the driver was at least 8 months pregnant. It left me wondering what she had done to make the cop so obviously flustered in his arrest.
The only thing I could think of was that she hit someone and took off.
What else could and 8-month-pregnant woman have done to make that cop so flustered that he nearly dumped his bike?
Weird.
I saw this article that said 40% of those responding to a Salary.com poll said they would rather have more time off than a $5,000 pay increase.
I'm curious to see how many agree, so I've added a weekly poll. Depending on how many responses I get, I might make this a permanent feature.
Go vote!
"A Mesa resident has won this week's Powerball jackpot!"
When you live in Mesa and you hear that on the news, for just a brief second you get really excited... until you realize that they wouldn't know someone in Mesa had won if that person hadn't already come forward.
And that you didn't buy any Powerball tickets this week.
I have to think that this dramatically diminishes any hopes I had of winning the Powerball in the future. After all, when is the last time you heard about two people winning a big lottery from the same town?
Lucky bastard...
The city of Show Low is proposing an ordinance banning the ownership of pit bulls in their community. This is a knee-jerk reaction to a recent attack by three pit bulls in Show Low, resulting in the death of a child.
While I sympathize with the family of the victim, I am completely opposed to the government putting restrictions such as this in place.
The people responsible for this horrible tragedy have been punished--the owners of the dogs. They have been charged with second degree murder and I feel this is an appropriate action. But banning the breed entirely punishes responsible dog owners too, which is completely wrong.
I've been around pit bulls who were the sweetest, gentlest dogs you could ever image. I've also seen chihuahuas and poodles that were the meanest, nastiest dogs you'll ever see. Obviously, the little dog isn't going to do much damage if it decides to attack someone. It won't make the news. But every time a pit bull attacks someone, its a major headline.
Granted, a pit bull is going to do some damage if it bites you. It all boils down to how the dogs are bred and raised. I don't buy for a minute that a well-bred pit bull will just "snap" and attack without warning. The dogs committing these actions are bred, raised and trained as attack dogs. Some are neglected or otherwise abused. The people who own these dogs are destroying a beautiful breed because of their own selfishness and stupidity. They are ultimately responsible and should be dealt with accordingly.
If pit bulls are banned, the people who want vicious attack dogs will turn to another breed with similar traits. Any muscular dog with a strong jaw could be bred over time to be aggressive.
The ban won't stop with pit bulls. Insurance companies are already classifying other breeds as "vicious animals", including boxers. My beautiful, lovable boxers wouldn't hurt anyone unless they felt Xan or I were in danger.
It isn't right to keep any dog from finding a home with a loving, responsible owner. We need to find a way to deal with the people who insist on turning wonderful pets into killers. I wouldn't keep a vicious dog of any breed, large or small, and no resonsible dog owner would.
(Continue reading if you want to read the story of Bo, my dalmatian.)
Running Raider Bo (after Bo Jackson) was his AKC registered name. Bo was a dalmatian that I adopted from a family who could no longer keep him. I was told it was because Bo "snapped" at a child who was teasing him. The mother ran a daycare business out of their house and they couldn't take a chance with the kids. They said Bo wasn't good with kids. I fell in love with him right away and since I didn't have any kids, I didn't think I had anything to worry about.
The day after I got Bo, I noticed there was blood in his urine. I immediately called the vet to make an appointment. After running some tests, it was discovered he had a bladder infection resulting from kidney stones, a common condition in poorly bred dalmatians. I called Bo's previous owner to find out if she had known about his condition. Her response was that Bo had been treated for this once before, but they didn't know he had the problem again. I could bring him back if I wanted, but they would probably just have him put to sleep because they couldn't afford to pay the vet bills.
By this time, I was already attached to Bo and I couldn't think of having him put to sleep. The vet put him on medication to cure the infection and put him on a special prescription diet, but he said there was little else they could do about the stones. He indicated I should expect this to be a recurring problem with Bo.
It didn't take long to figure out that Bo had a nasty temperament when he wasn't feeling well. He didn't take kindly to being told, "No!" and would growl defensively. My first encounter with his temper was a few days after I brought him home. He had found a baseball and had chewed the skin almost completely off. I was worried that he would swallow the skin and tried to take it from him. He bared his teeth at me, snarling and growling. I'd never owned a dog that I was afraid of so this came as quite a shock to me. Bo was a big dalmatian. He weighed 85 lbs. and could flatten a tennis ball in his mouth. Obviously, I was pretty intimidated when he growled at me.
After doing some research, I hired a dog trainer to come and work with me so I could handle Bo without fear. Several weeks of my time and several hundred dollars later, what I ended up with was an OBEDIENT aggressive dog.
The training and medication did little to curb Bo's temper. When he was feeling good, Bo was a terrific dog. More often than not, he was in pain and mad at the world.
The final straw came one Saturday morning. Bo slept right beside me on the floor every night. When I stepped out of bed on this morning, I must have startled him. He jumped up and backed himself into the corner and started growling at me. All the hair on his back was standing on end and he was baring his teeth as if he were going to attack me.
It was clear at that point that I couldn't keep a dog that I was afraid of. If he were to somehow get out of the house or the yard and go after someone, I wouldn't be able to control him. It was the hardest decision that I've ever had to make, but Bo had to be put down.
As much as I loved that dog, it was the responsible thing to do.
This is a pretty unbelievable story.
Talk about lucky to be alive. Holy crap.
You may never have to mix beer with your energy drink again.
This will be popular with my friends, of that I'm sure...
But she really did SUCK.
I actually thought Ashlee Simpson was pretty talented when I first heard her sing. Even though they toned her album down to "pop" status, she really has a decent rock 'n roll voice.
Or so I thought.
Even after the whole Saturday Night Live lipsync thing, I thought she was getting a bum wrap. She certainly isn't the first person to ever lipsync before (even on SNL, regardless of what Lorne Michaels will have you believe!).
But damn, that performance at the Orange Bowl was downright awful. Maybe it was just a bad song for her, but her voice was cracking and she was off key.
She probably would be better of sticking with pop music. If her voice can't handle screaming rock music at 19, she's not long for the music business.
I'm afraid I won't be buying any "pop" CD's in this lifetime (well, unless I have kids someday but that's another story altogether).
With all the death and devastation left behind by the tsunami in southeast Asia, its good to hear about a successful rescue, even if it wasn't a human life.
Its sad they weren't able to find her baby. More than likely, the mama only got stuck because she wouldn't leave her baby behind. Otherwise, she probably would have gone far out to sea before it ever happened.
It is amazing that animals were able to sense danger and flea to safety before the tsunami even hit.
I'll be paying close attention to the animals the next time I vacation on a beach somewhere...
Then the Trojans decided to blow things open. Its not even half time of the Orange Bowl yet and the score is 35-10.
Damn, no wonder USC is #1. I haven't watched them play much this year but they are downright brutal.
We'll see if Oklahoma can get back in this game.
(Hmmm... make that 38-10.)