…it has to be nasty.

Beefamato® is made from pure beef broth with a touch of worchester sauce for that extra tang

Mmm, yummy. Nothing spells refreshment like meat in a blender.

And from the looks of it, I probably like this old broad, too.

This evening I was stopped at a light behind a van with this logo. It’s apparently a vending, catering and food supply service. But it sounds more like some kind of alternative nutrition schema. So you have the meats, vegetables, starches, sugars, fruits and… the custom food group. This is the category for foods you wish were healthy but will instead get you a job on The View. Or maybe any of the categories can be customized, so now your vegetable group can include Snickers, Ding Dongs, steak and instant oatmeal (Ok, just kidding about the oatmeal).

Q. Excuse me, is that pure lard you’re eating?

A. No, lard substitute. I have to eat nine servings a day.

Cpl. Micah S. Gifford
July 7, 1979 - December 7, 2006

Just a few weeks before he was killed by an IED while on patrol in Iraq, Micah wrote these words for his friends and family:

In case you are worried about my well being… don’t. I am proud to be a part of this fight. I signed up to do this for a reason and I hope that everyone understands why this fight continues to be important to every one of us… not just the Iraqi people.

Don’t pray that I come home soon.

Pray that the people that are causing us to stay out there can see the light and change their ways without harm coming to them first.

After that Cohen plans to appeal to his colleagues again, seeking a national lottery for education Education lottery.

A professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at Sheffield University in England is speaking out about the dangers of sodium benzoate, a preservative used in soft drinks, sauces and pickles.

The professor’s name?

Peter Piper.

Today is John Wayne’s 100th birthday. Above is a shot I took of his birthplace in Winterset, Iowa, when I was home for a visit in 2003. The house is smaller than it looks from the front; see side view below the fold. (more…)

Self-styled “Reagan Republican” John Farmer says he no longer respects me. That’s fine. But this comment caused me to spit out my caviar:

You and Wright live in the BMW upper middle-class world (I lived there once), while I and the audience BCR represents live in a much different world. We can find common ground on many different levels, but there are aspects of our world that Mick Wright and you will never understand.

Boy did he nail it, there.

In fact, once I get done reorganizing my collection of gold-dust filled collector’s edition beany babies, double-check my hedge fund, return that phone call from my agent and finish polishing my silver-dipped espresso machine, I’m going to light up an imported cigar with a crisp, new Benjamin, pour myself a glass of Pinot and spend some time reflecting on this while perched on the platinum-plated toilet we just had installed, the one with the Corinthian leather seat. Now, I know I put the last issue of Chortle Quarterly someplace… back in just a bit, darlings.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) is the 10th-most progressive member of the U.S. House, while Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is the 10th-least progressive member, according to this study.

I don’t think [Commercial Appeal reporter] Jon [Sparks] did it on purpose, but what I was saying to him was “I was not judging whether it was right or not, I wanted to be sure Bartlett had it shot at the money if it became available”.

- Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald, responding to a question about his recent comments in the CA: “If it’s the right way or not… we want our shot at it.”

“It” would be the slush money allotted to each member of the Tennessee Congress under a proposed way to manage Tennessee’s budget surplus.

Rep. Brian Kelsey is getting criticism from all sides for his stance on the plan, which he considers to be an ethically dangerous pork process. Republicans Jim Coley and Curry Todd have been particularly abrasive.

Rep. Todd, who happens to represent my district, would be well advised to avoid the ad hominem arguments from here on out.

Notes and commentary: Bill Hobbs, Rep. Susan Lynn, Frank Cagle, Ben Cunningham.

AND: Commercial Appeal: [Rep. Kelsey] is correct to expose the lack of accountability in the plan and the government waste that it is likely to produce. In the wake of the Tennessee Waltz corruption investigation, legislators should be moving toward more transparency, not less.