| NATIONAL INDEX |
2006.12.25(27)/2007.01.03 --
Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!
A picture is worth a thousand words. Check this Christmas card out and I'll see ya next year. (I'll be taking New Years off, so I'll see back for the 10th of January.)
2006.12.19 -- News (story/photos)
Memorial Update
An outpouring of concern and support is evident at a memorial near the crash site. (story/photo)
2006.12.13 -- Editorial
Gotta love the Christmas Season! All sorts of things are keeping me busy this month and so again I am taking a break. It is worthy of note and comment that the Commission on Iraq headed by James Baker has clearly iterated what so many American's already knew. The war in Iraq is not good and it's time, way past time, to reevaluate the presence of the American troops there and to subsequently, if eventually, begin a drawdown. Lame duck that he is, George Bush is now backed into the corner, so it seems virtually impossible that he can continue to totally ignore the sensibilities of everyone else. For some, this will be good news and new hope for Christmas, even if it takes awhile longer to see the troops come home.
2006.12.05 -- Editorial
Other activities beckon my attention this week so I am taking time off from the column. Except, it is sadly noted that the Wall Street Journal is downsizing the physical size of it's publication in an effort to save on publication costs. I remember when the local rag, The Huntsville Times, did the same thing a few years ago. I have always missed the larger size. The Times followed up with other changes that are very nearly tabloid. Arghh! If newspapers are to die, let them die with dignity, not by following after cheesy tabloid journalism. Perhaps the Journal will maintain some dignity in their transition.
2006.11.29 -- Editorial
Georgia reinstates slave labor forcing probationers and homeless men to replace illegal immigrants at chicken processing plant.
2006.11.21 -- News (story/photos)
Tragedy struck yesterday in Huntsville, Alabama, as a school bus carrying 44 high school students to a vocational technical school for morning classes careened off the elevated Interstate on-ramp, apparently after having been cut-off by another vehicle. (story/photos)
FEAR THE THUMB!
Congratulations, to the University of Auburn Tigers for their win over the ALABAMA X CRIMSON TIDE last weekend in the Iron bowl.
2006.11.15 -- This just in from CNN: Neo-Nazis rally at Texas capitalTexas
Yep, it's poor Georges home state. Ole Jim called it long ago. Now the reality isn't a joke, or very much funny anymore. And, by the way, you needn't be a neo-Nazi to
understand that illegal immigration is wrong. They're just picking a subject the public is sympathetic to, in order to gain sympathy for themselves.
2006.11.15 -- Editorial
Atlanta companies gear up to violate privacy by stalking you in real time.
2006.11.09 -- Editorial
Blind and dirty evangelical Republicans you will now reap from the barrel of feminist fire and brimstone for your lack of contrition and failures to dispense grace!
2006.10.31 -- Photographs
Something from the lighter side this week, nothing could be as scary as the Bush administration. Here are a few photographs of Halloween decorations in the Huntsville Five Points district. I took these in the daylight not to spoil the spooky scenes for the kids. But, next year you may not know who is lurking behind the ghost mask in the dark with a camera around his neck...!
2006.10.25 -- Editorial
The war in Iraq is based on false premise, and failing beyond that. Other problems deserve our attention. It is time to bring the troops home.
2006.10.18 -- Editorial
Ohio Enacts Sex Offender Registry Without Due Process
What is occurring is the stage setting for the most radical, illegal, unethical, immoral, Nazi inspired, genocidal program of ethnic cleansing, genetic engineering, and fascist control this world has ever known. When the history books look back and make their judgments, the censors will obfuscate the reality that Hitler's foibles fade pale when compared to the incarnate evil of the Bush dynasty.
2006.10.10 -- Editorial
Since North Korea is now poised to obliterate Western Cvilization, I am taking today to make sure I have my plastic sheeting in place, as per Tom Ridge, and otherwise to generally take it easy.
2006.10.04 -- Editorial
Police in Lakeland Florida riddle a suspect with bullets without due process while school shootings escalate and big brother promotes homeland paranoia and the "new" fascism.
2006.09.27 -- The Abyss
I see Bill Cllinton ranting about foreign policy on tv. Come on Bill, what 'cha gonna do about Hillary? Ted Turner did a better job with Jane than that. Here's one for Chelsie. Heh, heh, heh.
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2006.09.19 -- Photos A little more than a year after the New Orleans disaster is somehow seems fitting to revisit these photos that I took during the summer of 2001. The photos aren't great, done prior to digital, but rememberance is the key. |
2006.09.19 -- Elegant Satire The judge in Saddam's trial intoned last week that "you are not a dictator." The obvious implication is that he is (still) the president of Iraq. I really have to wonder, with Iraq on the brink of full fledged civil war, how long until they put Saddam back in charge? Heh, heh, heh. So much for American democracy. Maybe we should reevaluate our own priorities. Check this satirical video that I first posted on August 25th of 2004. |
2006.09.19 -- Expository The Captain And Me: And The Kidd Elton John and Bernie Taupin are back at it again with a new album: "The Captain and the Kid." A sequel to the 1975 album that debuted at number 1 on the charts, this may be their most important album yet. (Photos of Elton and my own musings.) | ||
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2006.09.06
 Photographed in summer 2005 © . Each stamp individually numbered. One stamp: $5; sheet of 20: $100. Contact: MrJimCasey@TOCC.tv |
2006.09.11 -- Editorial
It's so obvious, and yet so many still have the plank in their eyes. David came and with two shots from his sling, knocked over two of this nations greatest monuments, setting the stage for society and democracy to crumble beneath our feet. Osama Bin Laden is surely not David, but then we don't live in a fairytale world. The allegory is apropos.
We are afraid, and in our fear we have willingly surrendered the United States Constitution and all it's liberties. Ask Cindy Sheehan about the right to protest, or to wear an expressive T-shirt. Ask Jim Gannon about freedom of the press. Ask the ACLU about the right to privacy. Ask any average American about his phone records, or real time phone conversations. Ask air travelers about background checks. Ask the train operators about the right to freely travel. Ask the subway riders about the right not to be subject to unreasonable search and seizure. Ask anyone on a sidewalk about the surveillance cameras stalking their every move. Ask the new car owner about the hidden black box and GPS tracking unit.
And...ask the soldiers in Iraq what democracy are they fighting for, and what Constitution are they shedding blood for?
For the fifth anniversary of 911 I am running two columns and a video from the past. The first, "Billion Dollar Sky" was originally posted on October 4, of 2001. It took me a couple of weeks to assimilate the event, but I haven't changed my perspective. The second was posted after Timothy McVeigh was executed on 611, 2001, exactly three month before 911. Although judge Matsch didn't allow evidence of International conspiracy in McVeigh's trial, the connections seem obvious. The Flag Burning Video first ran on June 30, 2005.
And, one more thing not to forget: Drop the toothpaste, nobody gets hurt.
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2001.10.04 -- Editorial An empty sky was left in the vacuum pulled by the aircraft that were grounded immediately following the trade center bombings in 2001. While some prayed at public ceremonies, I watched what was possibly the most beautiful sunset in modern history, knowing there were no "tin can like objects" cluttering the airwaves. This satiric work is presented in my finest rendition of farcee
2005.06.30 -- Editorial |
2001.06.11 -- Editorial McVeigh's execution is the ultimate irony of ironies. He is damned by becoming the symbol of that which he hated most about government and the system, while the OKC memorial, the stone blind pilgrims, the media circus, and the overall spectacle brings credibility to his philosophies. |
2006.09.06 -- Editorial
I realized then that the world of Journalism and the media was about to change forever, for better or worse, and that more than a few balloons were going to be burst along the way. Now, finally, the armchair quarterbacks of journalism could actually do some about the liberal mainstream media bias other than just sit there and rant.
2006.08.29 -- Editorial
After a week or two of dead air, three stories jumped out at me last week that all must be mentioned here. As I have mentioned here before, I follow USA Today fairly closely, and didn't see either of these first two national interest stories there. The first deals with broadcasting in the US, and the second with playing paintball. The last story is from Alabama, but hopefully will indicate a national voting rights trend.
2006.08.25 -- UPDATE News and photo essay Update
This update has been added to the "Rest In Peace" page that first appeared on August 17. Since the Comer bridge is being demolished one section at a time, I went back for a better photo and video. Take the link to the original page where the new photo and video are posted at the bottom.
2006.08.23 -- Editorial
A hectic week, and little in the news worth rehashing, so this week I'm taking another short break. I'll be back next week.
2006.08.17 -- News and photo essay
Time once was, the only way to travel between Madison and Morgan counties was to take a ferry. Then along came the Clement Clay Comer Bridge. Click on the epitaph for more including a photo essay.
2006.08.09 -- Slapschtick
"I just want the best of all worlds."
The photographer caught the above photograph immediately after Fidel Castro was seen swimming in the Tennessee River at the Wheeler Wildlife refuge. Reports now indicate that after watching too many Michael Jackson Videos, Castro determined that by excercising his absolute powers, he could morph into this wide eyed creature. Seen here finishing off a chicken bone, it is not known whether or not Castro is aware of alligators lurking in the dark swampy areas of the reserve...
(WHAT CASTRO DOESN'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW: He is only half squirrel.)
2006.08.01 -- Editorial
The reality is, more and more people are reaching their limits when it comes to a bankrupt legal system, run by corrupt judges, that often makes no legitimate attempt to dispense honest justice, aspiring instead to advance their own illicit agendas, political and personal. Worse yet, we are now seeing the beginning of a new and disturbing trend of extreme, cruel, and unusual punishments.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Speak of the devils. As noted in the column last posted on June 21st, local power brokers will stop at nothing in their attempt to censor this column. I apoligize for the gap in my weekly postings, but whether they like it or not, I am back. Please let your friends and neighbors know so they can tune back into TOCC.tv for more unbiased and enlightened commentary.