Can They Play Football?

According to the latest edition of BC eNews, Benedictine has been awarded a grant of over $400,000 to cultivate Latino diversity within the school. The grant will provide financial aid for Latino families as well as fund a full time position for a Latino counselor.

With 104 years of academic and athletic success, and a mission to educate students from diverse cultural, socio-economic and educational backgrounds, Benedictine Military School now has the financial backing of The Goizueta Foundation to deepen diversity specifically in the Hispanic/Latino community. Benedictine Military School grants more need based tuition assistance to its families than any other private or Catholic school in the region however, there remains continued financial need, in the community. Aided by The Foundation, whose own goal is “assisting organizations that empower individuals and families through educational opportunities to improve the quality of their lives” Benedictine is now able to offer tuition assistance in the form of a fund specifically targeted to Hispanic/Latino students. President of Benedictine Military School and a graduate of BC’s Class of 1960, Dennis Rooks states, “I welcome the opportunity to open our doors to more Hispanic youth. We have a proud tradition of helping deserving students to become BC Cadets and The
Goizueta Foundation will help us do even more.”

Along with the scholarship fund, a portion of the grant has been set aside to fund a new position in the Benedictine Guidance Department. The position will be a Director for Academic and Cultural Diversity, a Spanish speaking individual who has specialized training in support of the needs of minority students. Benedictine Military School Principal, Kelly Burke states “Whether a student brings unique cultural attributes or has a learning style that differs from the norm, they can be very successful at Benedictine Military School with the proper support and guidance. The Director of Academic and Cultural Diversity will take the lead with our faculty in providing that support to our students and their families.”

The Goizueta Foundation has also established and endowed The Goizueta Foundation Scholars Fund with a $186,000 gift. The endowment will provide need based scholarship assistance annually for Benedictine students. Preference will be given to Hispanic/Latino students whose families currently reside in the United States. “Our mission calls us to educate a diverse male population”,
said Greg Markiton, a member of the Benedictine Class of 1992 and Director of Development. “The Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority population in southeast Georgia. These families tend to be mostly Catholic and very family focused, two values that line up with the mission of Benedictine Military School making these families a perfect fit for our school.”

The Goizueta Foundation was established in 1992 by Roberto C. Goizueta, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company until his death in October 1997, to provide financial assistance to educational and charitable institutions. The Foundation supports educational programs that promote sustainable change and have a long –term impact in the community.

My Heart Hates Me

Thank you, Ryan for introducing me to the Krispy Kreme doughnut burger.

Get it brotha!

"So, let's all get together and welcome to the stand with a great big hand, Mr. Soul... Mr. Sam Cooke!"

Check it out.

Opinion

I believe yall are some of the smartest people I know, so I want to ask a question to those who would dare to respond:

What is your opinion on the proposed amendment to the constitution to ban gay marriage?

Have we forgotten?

Today is D-Day. 62 years ago, America led the effort to retake the world from evil. Remember the soldiers who plunged unselfishly into stormy seas, ran straight onto a hail of bullets, and scaled cliffs hundreds of feet tall, all in the name of spreading freedom.

Remember also the media's non-coverage of this great day, and the disdain that the far left has for our soldiers sacrificing their lives for the protection of the unthankful left's right to hold that disdain.

Inflation's Worst Nightmare

Make no mistake, we here at BMBS (ok, maybe just me) ultimately support a return to a private currency system (AKA, the gold standard). I'd much rather let the market do its job in determining the natural price of borrowing instead of putting blind faith in a government-run central bank subject to the whims of bureaucrats and politicians who are ever-thirsty to print more dollars to finance worthless projects and win elections. As history illustrates, the feds are almost always behind the curve when it comes to manipulating interest rates anyway. Government-induced inflation is the worst of all economic evils, and can lead to the mass destruction of wealth. Under a gold standard, inflation would probably hover around 0%.

But the good news is that since the late 1970s, the Federal Reserve has been dominated by free-market conservatives, who have given us a standard that is nearly "good as gold." The new fed chief, Ben Bernanke, is no exception. Steeped in Austrian-school economic fundamentals like his two predecessors, he understands that the primary purpose of a central bank is to fight inflation at all costs by keeping the money supply sound. It is not, on the other hand, to manipulate the supply of money just so we can have "full employment" like the Keynsian liberals did in the 60s and 70s.

Bernanke has vowed to continue Greenspan's money-tightening campaign that began 2 years ago until inflation is whipped. In the short term, this is currently bad news for stocks (the Dow has dropped nearly 700 points in the past month or so as investors fear the coming rise in borrowing costs), because Bernanke is proving he's even willing to throw the country into a temporary recession if necessary. But in the long term this is great news, because it means investors will continue to place faith in a currency that remains stable, and in a country that continues to be one of the best places in the world to do business.

Good work, Ben.

You Say You Want a Revolution...

National Review recently named the top 100 conservative rock songs of all time. I would point out that 2 spots in the top 10 are occupied by the best band to ever exist. Enjoy.

Southern Pride

Candice Hardwick, 15, walks to school with H.K. Edgerton, a former NAACP leader from North Carolina who is board chairman of the Southern Legal Resource Center, on Monday, May 22, 2006, in Latta, S.C. Terry Edgerton, left, brother of H.K. Edgerton, plays the drum as they march down the street to Latta High School. Hardwick is protesting her school's ban on wearing Confederate flag clothing. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

On a side note, my dad is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans , SCV (of which I will join shortly.) The SCV has many black members whose family members fought for the South. Blacks are some of the most loyal members of the Society, whose main purpose is to preserve the history and memorials of those who fought for the South. A little known fact in the world of political correctness.

We're Number Four!

How do you like dem apples, Charleston?

Mexicans aren't all that bad

At least we don't have to deal with Afghani freeloaders. More "refugees" trying to take advantage of Ireland's screwed up system:

Afghans' Irish hunger strike ends
Seven of 41 volunteer to go to hospital; police remove the rest

Irish police patrol outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, where the asylum-seekers were holed up Saturday.
All of the men were released on bail on Sunday and ordered to return to court Thursday.
The week-long hunger strike ended peacefully Saturday evening, Ireland's Ministry of Justice confirmed.
The standoff began a week ago when the group of about 41 males refused to leave the church until all of them were granted asylum by the Irish government.The seven youngest voluntarily left in ambulances for treatment for dehydration at a hospital Saturday evening. Soon after that, a large number of Irish police moved in to remove the men who remained inside, according to radio reporter Fergal O'Brien.Despite earlier threats of violence, the men did not resist when police removed them from the church, O'Brien said.The minors were taken into custody of health officials, and the men were taken into police custody, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice.The exact charges against them are not known.
The youngest of those appearing in court was 18 years old; the oldest, 61.When the standoff began Sunday afternoon -- May 14 -- they said they feared for their lives if forced to return to Afghanistan and would rather die of starvation in Ireland, O'Brien said.It was not clear if there were any special circumstances concerning the men that would make them more likely to be targeted for attacks in their home country, O'Brien said.The Church of Ireland conducted talks with the men for the first five days, until Ireland's Department of Justice intervened and the Garda -- Ireland's national police -- moved in.
Three of the men suffering from dehydration were taken to a hospital Friday and not allowed to return to the church. Earlier, several who were treated by doctors did rejoin the protest.It was not clear what triggered the hunger strike since most of them had not exhausted all legal avenues for asylum, O'Brien said.Some of the refugees arrived in Ireland just in the last weeks, while others have been in the country for as long as three years. At least two already have the right to remain in the country, and deportation warrants have been issued for only two.The standoff has been tense and emotional. At one point, 20 of them climbed to the top of the church organ loft and tied nooses around their necks. They threatened to jump from the 60-foot high balcony if police try to remove them.
Ireland's Justice Minister Michael McDowell said the incident has not affected the department's position "that our system of considering asylum is fair and up to best practice internationally."
"No favours or exceptions will be done for anyone who seeks to thwart the system by actions of this kind and the applicants will now be considered in accordance with the process," the minister said in a statement.

Where are all the Americans?

A Somali arrives in Minneapolis as a new immigrant to the United States.

He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says,"Thank you Mr. American for letting me in this country, and giving me housing, food stamps, free medical care and free education!" But the passer-by says "You are mistaken, I am Mexican".

The man goes on and encounters another passer-by. "Thank you for having such a beautiful country here in America!" The person says "I no American, I Vietnamese."

The new arrival walks further, and the next person he sees he stops, shakes his hand and says "Thank you for the wonderful America!" That person puts up his hand and says "I am from Middle East, I am not an American!"

He finally sees a nice lady and asks suspiciously, "Are you an American?" She says, "No, I am from Russia!" So he is puzzled, and asks her, "Where are all the Americans?"

The Russian lady looks at her watch, shrugs, and says... "Probably at work!"

BMBS Poll

1. Does the nickname of the Georgia/Florida game, "The World's Largest Cocktail Party", make you want to abuse alcohol?

2. Do you think University of Georgia president, Dr. Michael F. Adams, has sand in his vagina?

3. Have you meet any Univesiry of Florida graduate who was not a complete piece of white trash?

Beating A Dead Horse

This well-written article over at TCSDaily eloquently reaffirms what I've been saying in my past few political posts. Put simply, it argues that it's long past time for Republicans to abandon Bush's incompetent and incoherent bloated-government agenda and return to the ideals of classical liberalism, and it lays out how they can do it. At this late stage in the game, they have nothing to lose.

If they refuse to return to these ideals, you can bet that many conservatives, including yours truly, will choose to stay home on election day like when Papa Bush lost in '92.

Idiots

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195395,00.html
Your heard it hear first folks. The BMBS nation is organizing a premeditated boycott of the Mount Merpei Relieve effort. You know the lefties and going to be crying about how we need to help these people after this volcano explodes. Well, they need to help themselves by getting the fuck out of there.

Best Case Scenario

Given the current political situation, there may be only one way to cleanse the Republican Party of all its impurities:

- The Democrats take control of Congress in November.
- Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected in 2008.
- Clinton/Pelosi government raises taxes, tries universal health care, starts handing out condoms in schools, bans gun ownership, etc.
- In 2012, after 4 years of Clinton and Democratic rule, the Republican party is finally back to its Goldwater/Reagan roots (no more "compassionate conservative" B.S.) and ready to stand tough on issues like spending, deregulation, and taxes.

UCLA law professor Stephen Bainbridge does a much better job explaining this than I do in his latest post.

"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it." - P.J. O'Rourke

Thought for May 12

I wish I were important enough that someone would want to kill me. Like Bush or 50 Cent. That would mean that the amount of people who hate me would only be as great as the number of people who think I am amazing.

A Little Growing Up

For those of you who might not have heard, the two remaining undergraduate BMBS contributors (Brother Fleming and myself) graduated this past Saturday. Now that this blog is comprised purely of college graduates, no one can argue with our logic. The site's looking smarter already. Cheers, fellas.

Flashback

R.E.M. performing twice on Letterman in the early 80s. Both were a lot cooler back then. Michael Stipe was still pretty strange. Ryan, this is what ya'll need to sound like. Please bring this sound back to Athens. I'm sick of hearing either country and rap everywhere I go.

Date has been set

The fact that Jennifer and I have set the date of our wedding (4 November 2006 @ 2 o'clock) is not newsworthy enough to be posted on the infamous Beach Music and Boat Shoes Blog. The venue, though, may interest my fellow bloggers:

www.savannahcathedral.org

Thats correct. Fr. Patrick O'Brien will be conducting the ceremony at the Cathedral. Now Cadet Colonel Fleming will actually attend.

Wither Fall Break?

The Savannah Morning News reports:

A proposal to eliminate UGA's 2007 fall break almost became UGA policy last week, but the University Council - the faculty, staff and student advisory body - instead voted to form a committee to research fall break, and short academic weeks in general, for the 2008-09 school year.

Apparently the committee will be researching the effects of fall break over the next few months and will report back at the end of the summer. I've done some research myself, and this is what I've found:

If you give students fall break, then there won't be class on the Thursday and Friday before the Georgia-Florida game. If you don't give them fall break, then there will be class.

Proponents of abolishing Fall Break cite a number of reasons why it makes sense to get rid of it, ranging from... Well, actually come to think of it, they don't cite any reasons, because there aren't any. When asked why he is in strong favor of abolishing fall break, an institution that virtually all students, parents, and most faculty support, UGA President Michael Adams said "I really don't know why. I just like to make people mad. Since it's such a good idea, we ought to get rid of it. It's my job as university president to do what everybody doesn't want."

Why He's at 33%

Because he's not a conservative.

America's Forgotten Pastime

I miss tetherball.

Take that Islamo-Enviromento-Crazies.

This is great y'all. We finally have a nonpolitically correct spokesman for the Catholic Church. It's none other than Cardinal George Pell of Sydney. Not only does he deliver strike at "The Peaceful Religion of Islam", he puts down wacky environmentalist. Here's a blurb about what he's saying:


"The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has angered Australian Muslims with his description of their holy book as an incitement to violence. In a speech delivered to a group of Catholic business leaders at the Legatus summit in the United States, the Archbishop also took aim at what he claimed were hysterical and extreme claims about global warming.
Dr Pell's central argument is that an understanding of Islam is vital for the future of western democracies. September 11, according to the Cardinal, was a wake-up call that prompted him to dust off a copy of the Koran.
"I recommend that you too read this sacred text of the Muslims, because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives," he said.
Cardinal Pell says the Koran is riddled with so many invocations to violence that after about 50 or 60 or 70 pages, he stopped taking notes of them.
He also says that considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited.
He points to the difficulty that scholars and commentators face when analyzing the Koran, such as receiving death threats and violence when questioning the divine origin of the holy book." Cardinal Pell also spoke about the environment, in response to recent worries expressed about global warming:
The Cardinal's speech described concerns about global warming as "hysteric and extreme".
He says these worries are a symptom of pagan emptiness.
Cardinal Pell says in the past, pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate the gods, but today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions."

Booya.

Congratulations, TC

On a serious note, Congratulations to our own TC Madison on his engagement to Jennifer...doesn't matter, she'll be a Madison soon anyway. TC has the distinct honor of being the first in our circle, and outside the Pyramid, to take a step towards the altar. This is good, since TC was practically made for the married life.

I'm getting weird-drunk at your wedding, buddy. Good stuff.

"I'll have a gallon of cola"

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/diet.fitness
I don't know if you have heard about this yet, but they are getting rid of all drinks with sugar in schools. This brings a few things to mind for me. First, I thought that this is a pretty retarded idea because kids can just bring cokes or what not to school and that completely defeats the purpose of this entire thing. Then, I thought that maybe this will help some kids realize, "hey, I am fat as shit and probably should not eat so much or have so much sugar in my diet". Then I realized that I was giving this kids too much credit and that obesity rates will continue to "grow". Haha. When are people going to realize that when they get fat, they look ugly and that most people don't like ugly people. It's a scientific fact.

Movies 2006

While all we really had last year was Episode III, luckily there are lots of potentially great movies coming out this year to make up for it. Here are a few previews...

A French version of this teaser for Casino Royale came out a few days ago, but here's the English version.
http://http://pdl.stream.aol.com/aol/us/moviefone

Here's the sequel to the Pirates of the Carribbean:
http://www.totaleclips.com/Player/Bounce.aspx?eclipid=e27307&bitrateid=242&vendorid=566

And most importantly, the movie that will surpass Lord of the Rings as the greatest thing put on film, ever. Superman Returns.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/

Notre Dame Tailgating?

I've always been told that Notre Dame tailgating is second to none. Take a look at this video(scroll down). Probably the biggest collection of tools I have ever seen in my life. Which brings me to my next point and that is that Notre Dame would be alot cooler if it was in the South. Too many yankees up there to fuck things up. I bet if it was in the South then the SAT standards would be lower and I could have gotten in. Or I could have just claimed minority like my cousin did.
http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=2012

BMBS Caption Contest

In Praise of Spontaneous Order

There are nearly six million people in metro Atlanta. Six million. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. But if you drive around town, you’ll notice there aren’t any farms or cattle ranches within the city limits. So how do all these people get fed every day? Who plans it all out? I mean, let’s face it: here are six million individuals who would easily die in a few days if suppliers stopped driving and flying into the city to satisfy its endless wants and needs.

So try to imagine all that goes into keeping Atlanta fed. Try to comprehend the millions upon millions of complex transactions that take place every day between farmers, distributors, manufacturers throughout north Georgia and the Southeast, the companies that insure these manufacturers, the truckers, the people that build the trucks, grocery stores, the people that put the air conditioning in the grocery stores, restaurants, etc., all in effort to keep Atlantans fat and happy. There’s a seemingly endless intricate list of things that will all have to occur tomorrow so all six million people don’t descend into mass rioting, looting, starvation, and mass chaos. And yet no one in the city is frightened by this prospect. To the contrary, most Atlantans are peacefully sound asleep as I type this.

So what makes this great marvel of economic cooperation succeed so well every day? There’s no central government planning authority downtown tasked with calling all the thousands of farmers/distributors to make sure all of this goes through like it’s supposed to, and even if there were it would be simply impossible for such a bureaucracy to even fathom attempting to clumsily coordinate all the processes that would have to occur and to try and put them in motion. So what makes all of this stuff happen? How do producers calculate exactly what, where, when, and how much to supply? How do millions of complete strangers every day coordinate with a million other complete strangers to get that chili cheese dog and fries to you at the Varsity right when you want it? The answer is simple. Markets. Prices. The profit incentive. In two words: "spontaneous order," driven by economic freedom.

And yet there are those in Washington who are unappreciative, ignorant, and unaware of these billions of unseen connections that make our society so dynamic, so prosperous, and so wealthy. They instead seek to stifle the very incentives that hold this immensely elaborate system together, calling for more government intervention, taxation, controls and "planning." At least 48% of the country praises the likes of these planners. I fear them.

"It is no crime to be ignorant of economics which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance." - Murray N. Rothbard

Kingston on Colbert

I came across this video online recently, I think it aired awhile back. This guy leans to the left, plus he's from Charleston, but the video's pretty funny. I'm not sure if Kingston is being serious about the Africa stuff or not, and it's obvious they've edited out stuff to make him look like an idiot, but who cares, it's Comedy Central.

Re: Tax Breaks

My response is long, so I’m creating another post.

1. Concerning the “tax breaks” given to big oil companies; this term used by the article, I think, is a misnomer. Despite the ridiculously voluminous size of the Federal Tax Code, the laws are not created for specific industries (as this CNN article has you assume.) Especially with Corporate Tax, the rules and regulations are wide sweeping across all industries. Believe it not, if Congress created tax laws for specific industries, the Tax Code would be 100 times larger and more complicated. I was hoping the article would specifically list the “tax breaks” given to the oil industry. But of course not, CNN has an agenda not to disseminate truth from emotions.
   As far as I know, the oil industry is extremely capital intensive… meaning that oil companies must invest huge amounts of money into tangible assets (known as Property, Plant, and Equipment.) So, to stay in business, the oil industry must continually use up to 70% of its revenue to keep the machines greased and running. This does not even take into account cost of new machines, construction of new assets, and Research and Development ( R&D). In contrast, the public accounting industry requires almost no hard capital (only office buildings and computers.)
2. The only argument that liberals might have is the ability of oil companies (and all companies operating in the US for that matter) is to deny the oil companies deductions for the huge amounts of R&D costs, thereby reducing “tax breaks.” Currently, any company can either deduct fully upfront R&D costs, or pro rate the deduction over a longer length of time. But, as Pat can tell you, denying these deductions is insane. The reasoning behind R&D deductions is to incent big business to find more efficient products. If Congress denies the ability of companies to deduct these monstrous costs, new natural resources will not be searched for. Instead, the oil companies will cease explorations and developing more efficient machinery in favor of controlling costs. What liberals fail to mention, or are totally ignorant of, is that the allowed deductions directly enable big oil companies to keep the price of oil/gas as low as possible. If the R&D deductions were to be stripped away tomorrow, the average Joe will probably have top pay close to $10 per gallon for gas. Liberals fail to recognize that the costs of their “compassionate” policies end up being paid for by all taxpayers. The minimum wage phenomenon is the perfect example of what will happen. It may sound good to raise wages for the common worker, but what is the result? Higher unemployment, decreased output, increased prices of all goods, etc. The same effect will be created by a windfall tax. I presume this to be flat tax based on profit, over and above the regular tax. The windfall tax will end up being paid by you and me, starving college graduates, at the gas pump. But as Jimmy Carter found out, artificially lowering the price of gas through regulation will only create shortages… a much more drastic problem than increased prices.
   
3. The oil industry and all other hard capital intensive industries, already suffer from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) anyhow. The AMT is a recalculation of taxable income, different from the regular calculation. Generally, deductions are taken away from corporations. In addition, the calculation is such that capital intensive industries are punished more so than light capital industries. The AMT is sort of a “windfall tax” already in place.
4. In comparison to other industries, the oil industry is lagging when it comes to profiting. Of the oil company revenues, only 10% are retained as profits (the amount of revenues beyond costs) This 10% profit is kept only after Uncle Sam’s share of the pie, which is close to 18% of revenues (I heard these percentages on the Neil Boortz radio show.) Amazingly, the banking industry keeps close to 27% of revenues as profits… after taxes. Why aren’t liberals going after the banking industry? Because Democrats damn well know that a white collar worker with a large mortgage will probably never vote for a liberal. Liberals are taking this crusade against oil companies because their main voter base is directly affected by gas prices, even welfare recipients. (70% of US welfare recipients own cars, amazingly) Democrats always rely on emotional fears, they’ve been disparate for votes ever since Newt Gingrich was elected to office. But, this oil company crusade might work wonders for the Democrat Party. The average American is very uniformed of basic economics and tax laws. All they hear is the price of gas falling by a buck. I’m afraid the average Joes will vote more Democrats into office this time around. This might be good for Republicans to get their act together, because right now, the Republicans in office are no better than Cynthia McKinney.
5. The only way for the gas problem to be solved is to NOT to tax the oil industry at all, open up new oil refineries, allow more nuclear power plants to be built, and to allow more drilling sites. I’ve heard that the US has enough oil reserves to support its current consumption for 200 years or more. But, feel good hippie liberals would rather have that open 1/10 of mile wide stretch of Alaska prairie for the rare snow rat to prance about. Ridiculous.
6. CNN has failed to list the many obstacles Democrats have created to restrict the US’ ability to increase our natural resource supplies. Democrats are “having their cake and eating it too.” Liberals prevent us from increasing our supplies, and then punish the suppliers for following their orders. On top of all the “compassion” that Democrats invoke, the taxpayers will end up footing the bill of Liberal generosity.

Tax Breaks

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/29
After reading this article on CNN.com(sorry Stephen and Pat), I was a little confused. I don't have much time to keep up with business, politics, etc. , so sorry if I sound uninformed. In this article, they talk about how the oil industry is getting tax breaks. I thought that the act in question was whether or not to put a "windfall" tax(not really sure what that means) on the profits of the oil company. My point is that the article makes it seem like the "Bush-meister" is actively lowering their taxes rather than leaving the market alone(which is what I thought he was doing). Tell me where I'm wrong. If this is the case then CNN once again proves that they are quite the Spin Doctors, and I am not talking about the guys who wrote "Little Miss".

This should be on BC Gottum but...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football
Bad news for the Deuce. Check out the picture of him and look at the numbers written on his wrist tape.

I Love Corporations in Sports

Fox may produce the greatest show of all time in 24, but they've really messed up big.

Fox bought Turner South in February and starting next week, they are replacing Skip, Pete, Don, Joe, and Chip with the two guys from Fox Sports Network. Now the ever-decreasing TBS games and radio will be the only places to hear the guys. Hey, great. I really wanted the Braves to become more yankee, cracker bland. Pleasure doing business with you, Time Warner. You've been a great ball club owner. Now, if only we could switch ownership to an even more detached, uninterested corporation. Hello, Liberty Media of Colorado.

"The Worst Economy Since the Great Depression"

Really?

1st Quarter GDP Growth Rate: 4.8%

Unemployment Rate: 4.7%; nearly 5 million new jobs over the past 2 and a half years.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Sitting at a 6-year high


Consumer Confidence: at the highest level in four years.

So why is the economy still so bad according to polls and the media? Oh wait, I forgot, Bush is a Republican.

Let's Put a Windfall Profits Tax on Everything

The people down the street from us at the Landings bought their house for probably around $300,000 and recently sold it for close to $2 million. This makes me sick. It's time we implemented a windfall profits tax on all these greedy homeowners in America who, god forbid, are trying to sell their house at the highest possible price, thereby eminating a crucial signal to other owners and homebuilders alike that the market needs more houses and that providing them will be handsomely rewarded.

I saw a little girl the other day selling lemonade for $1 a glass. Greedy bitch. She's "manipulating" the price of lemonade, and I won't tolerate it. She should be generous and sell each glass for 5 cents instead and then donate the other 95 cents to research for cheaper ways of creating alternative types of drinks like cranberry juice or orange juice. Damn her for calculating the highest price that consumers are willing and able to pay and then charging it. She knows it's hot outside and she's providing a means for people to quench their thirst. Gouger.

All of this makes me sick. People don't deserve incentives to produce goods and services. We just need to abolish entrepreneurs and the profit incentive altogether. I know this defies all logic, because profit is what makes people get up in the morning, and is the basis for every trade made every day around the world, but who cares, logic is boring. Government officials just need to start doing what feels good.

"It's time we stopped thinking about the individual for once and started focusing instead on what's good for society." - Hillary Rodham Clinton

Coincidence?

I hope 4/20 was kind to everyone. Just kidding, I hate hippies. Anyways, I thought it was funny that GSU held it's Earth Day celebration and the intramural Ultimate Frisbee championship yesterday.

Going Solo

Continuing the recent trend of BMBS bloogers going solo (Ryan and Joe), I have started a new blog devoted entirely to BC athletics. Check it out at www.bcgottum.blogspot.com. I am basically going to rip off the Savannah Morning News and add my own additional comments. I hope ya'll enjoy it.

R. I. P. Shorty

Savannah icon Robert "Picture Man" Hall dead at 71.

I'm the Leprechaun

This is a real news cast.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/leprechaun-in-tree-part-1.html
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/leprechaun-in-tree-part-2.html

You can't get this at Thompson's.

I created this tee shirt at cafepress.com today.

It says Alumni in the bar underneath BC. The picture on the back is of the original Corps of Cadets. Let me know if you want one. They cost $17.99, including shipping and handling.

24

I'm sure Ryan already knows this, but it looks like we have at least three more seasons of 24 to look forward to.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/10/television.sutherland.reut/index.html

April 15th

I'm too lazy to create another April 15th advisory post, so here's last year's with some minor modifications.

Yes my friends, it is true that everyone's 1040s are due to the IRS by the end of this week, April 15th. I suggest filing before the end of Friday, April 14th. You know how government workers are (Like Ryan.) I doubt the s.o.bs will be working this Saturday.

If you haven't done so already, I'm sure your mothers have filed your income tax return to the Federal Government. After she is done forging your name and paying your apartment's rent, thank her dearly. Concerning income levels such as ours, it is a shame to make you mothers perform this petty task. Of course if you want to pay me to file your return, that is a different story.

I just wanted to give a heads up to those men that wait until this last minute with the philosophy that if you do wait until those last 60 seconds to complete the job, than the job will only take 60 seconds to complete. I honor you, Godspeed.

Most of us are college students or have just recently graduated from a post secondary school, so I suggest that you find Form 1099 mailed to you from whomever your school loans originated. There will be an amount listed of the student loan interest paid by you. Make sure to include this as an "above the line" deduction in the 1040. There are no phase outs associated with this expense (Ryan, this is a huge benefit.)

If you are still currently in school, list the tuition expenses you've experienced in 2004. If these are greater than grants and scholarships received, than a deduction will be allowed for the difference. (Ryan, A deduction does not lower one's taxes dollar for dollar, it lowers your Taxable Income, which is used to calculate your Tax . Assuming a 30% Tax Rate, a $1 deduction will result in $0.30 reduction in taxes for the year.) For people like you and myself, this is the best advice I can give. Go to www.irs.gov for any other questions you might have.

Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Come True

In what may be the beginning of the next great phase in popular music, I have have posted an ad in both Craigslist.org and the classifieds section of Flagpole in an effort to form a band. My craigslist ad, which you can find at http://atlanta.craigslist.org/muc/149139509.html, reads:

Guitarist seeks musicians for big, dynamic rock band

I'm a guitarist/songwriter looking for a drummer and any other musicians to form a band with a big, dynamic rock sound such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Trail of Dead, and Springsteen & the E Street Band. Any instrument is welcome! If you're interested, or have have any questions, please email me at rsmith4002@gmail.com.

This free listing will be on the website for 45 days. A condensed version will appear in the Musicians Wanted section of Flagpole for two weeks, starting Wednesday. I've already received a reply to my craigslist post, but it was some guy wanting me to replace the lead guitarist in his crappy band. I told him, "Look, buddy, you've got your hopes and dreams, and I've got mine. Let's shoot for the stars on our own paths, but under the same sky..."

Who knows if the next 2 weeks will bring anything, but I had to take off the panties I've been wearing for so long and man up. Have you ever seen how Chris Martin from Coldplay always writes "Make Trade Fair" on his piano hands so that everyone sees his agenda? That will be me, but with "bmbs.blogspot.com" instead. Okay, I'm gonna go sit in the corner and think about my role as That Weird Kid.

Dilemma

Who should I go hear speak today?

The liberal kool-aid drinkers at the law school are going ga-ga over John Edward's speech at 11 am at the Chapel. Unlike the vast majority of my classmates, I can't wait to not go. Meanwhile, a few hours later on south campus, Bush '41 is speaking. I'd like to go but I have class.

Edward's speech kicks off a week-long "poverty-reduction" seminar at the law school, which, of course, is hosted by him. My initial reaction: no seminar is necessary, we already know how to cure poverty: expand capitalism.

Anyway, the conference will focus on "expanding the middle class," whatever that means. Liberal intellectuals, who retreat into the halls of academia after losing elections (especially those in which they can't even carry their home state) because they can't survive in the private sector, love to gather around big tables and have complex "discussions" about alleged problems. Edwards, who loves to hear himself talk, will make himself and other ignorant leftists feel good by using big words and shaking hands with a few black people.

The anomaly here is that Bush did much more to reduce poverty than Edwards could do in a dozen lifetimes. While a disappointment to many conservatives, it was still Bush who pushed for the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has since brought millions of Mexicans out of poverty and reduced prices for American consumers who now have more money in their pockets.

Not surprisingly, it is Edwards who will be painted as the true philanthropist. He will get all the credit for being some self-righteous moral crusader by speaking at colleges and shaking hands with minorities, pushing for a "living wage," and telling people that make less than one-tenth of his income that he "feels their pain." Bush, on the other hand, will continue to get blamed for a recession he had no control over. By appearing to care about the less fortunate by hosting futile conferences where misguided policies are discussed, Edwards can be sure to win over voters, who he hopes will stay poor enough to vote for him in the 2008 Democratic primary.

Gel Head of the Week

For some reason, I took a little jog tonight. I needed to "blow off a little steam" if you will. Well, as I was approaching the back side of Sanford stadium, I see a black open top jeep speeding towards me. For one thing, this baby had "sweet" flood lights on the roll bar, and a visor strategically tied around the rear view mirror.

As the jeep passed by (with four or so Gel Heads hanging out of all sides) the driver, whom we will name "Cody", reached out with his arm... pointing his finger at me (Yes, he was wearing a "wife beater.")

Cody then exclaimed to me "YEEAAAHHH! JOHNNY! What's up bro!"

I am neither Johnny, nor his bro

Cody represents all that is wrong in this age of relativism. Cody is Gel Head of the Week.

November Preview

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal hit the nail on the head:

The biggest Republican problem now is the demoralization of their own voters. Their lack of meaningful achievements this Congress (beyond the two Supreme Court Justices), all of their spending, and troubles in Iraq have left conservative voters wondering what the point is to voting for the GOP. If Republicans want their supporters to show up on election day, they'll need more of a message than wearing a "Speaker Nancy Pelosi" fright mask.

May we suggest a Plan B? How about at least fighting for the agenda that elected them the last time? It's obvious at this stage of the 109th Congress that little will actually become law, especially with Democrats able to filibuster in the Senate.

I've been saying it for months now. If Republicans don't get their act together and start acting like the reformed-minded conservatives they were elected to be, they will lose Congress in November. USA Today also has a good article on this. The past 6 years or so has been a prime example of absolute power gradually corrupting absolutely. I'm not saying the Democrats deserve to win, as their solution to every problem is even more government. I'm simply saying the Republicans deserve to lose, because they have become the very thing they ran against back in 1994.

Socialism: Great Idea

Because it puts people over profit. Because it prevents those poor souls who actually have to work from putting in more than 25 hours a week. Because it forces us all to work for the "common good."







End Result? 40% unemployment among young people. Virtually no economic growth over the last 8 years. Stagnant job growth. Declining wages. Strikes, riots, and utter chaos twice a week. Great idea. Message to Howard Dean: This is the reason, despite my current disgust with the Republicans, why I will never vote for your party. I do not want our country to turn out like this.

Beware!

For the Roman Catholic faint of heart, do not look at the these disgusting images. Slowly but Surely, Benedict XVI is making progress against such awful liturgical abuses. The Holy Father has already threatened excommunication to some parishes in the Pacific for their outlandish desecration of the Mass. It is also rumored that the Pope will soon lift the current ban on the traditional Roman Rite (The pre Vatican II Latin Mass), which currently requires permission from the local Bishop. Hopefully, a sense of tradition will let fruit cake priests know their Mass is a disgrace. With the immense size of the Church and that vast number of weak minded bishops, the problems wrought by "the Spirit of Vatican II" will be slowly corrected.

FYI

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:29:25 -0500
From: Official UGA Announcements
Subject: 10-digit telephone dialing effective April 3 To: ARCHNEWS@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU TO: UGA Faculty, Staff and Students

This is a reminder that 10-digit telephone dialing is
required within the 706 area code effective Monday, April
3. This means that any call placed from the campus to an
off-campus phone will now require 10-digit dialing preceded
by a 9. Local calls made between off-campus phones, and
from off-campus phones to on-campus phones, also will
require all 10 digits. However, calls between on-campus
phones still may be accomplished by dialing only the last
five digits of the number.
For more information, please see:

http://www.eits.uga.edu/pressreleases/2006/areacode.html

Thoughts? Feelings? Concerns?

Silly Arabs

I laughed my ass off when I read this. These guys are trying so hard to be American, and I love it. My favorite quote is when the guy wants to try out for the George Mason basketball team, but only if he can "secure a visa".
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/5455338

Goodwill Hunting

I found this gem at Goodwill today. It fits like a glove and only cost $3.20. God has smiled on me today.

Only in Savannah...

...do the altar boys wear JROTC class A uniforms. Take that, liberal Atlanta diocese. Where's your long-haired, hand-holding, hippy guitar choir now?

Crickets......

That's all I hear. This place is dead.

Meat for all...

The bishop has given everyone a pass tomorrow:


LOCAL NEWS
SavannahNow.com
Roman Catholics throughout South Georgia can keep their traditional Irish dishes on the menu this St. Patrick's Day.
-->
The Catholic Diocese of Savannah has granted followers permission to postpone their Lenten obligation to abstain from meat on Friday, also St. Patrick's Day

Tell them I'm comin'...............

And hell's comin' with me. I just resigned from my job, which goes into effect in a couple of weeks. Expect the fury to be unleashed on all of downtown Savannah and it's single white women this weekend.

p.s.- No, I do not have another job lined up. If anyone hears of any openings in the Atlanta/Augusta/Savannah area, I'm all ears.

"Well, Goddamn!"

"Hey Mr. Leonard, don't worry about those ol' bastards. Y'all need to start yo' own damn group. You know I was the youngest Grand Knight eva of the K of C downtown? Damn right I was. I was about yo' damn age and those old asses wouldn't let us into their groups either. So you know what I did? I stood up on the baar at the Knights and said "Well, Goddamn! Let's start our own damn group." That's how I started the Friendly Sons."

Irish Time Line

Before we get too drunk to stand, I thought it proper to review Irish history with a little time line... and set the record for the longest post. Hopefully the length of it will really piss Pat off.

c100 BC Arrival of the Gaels
200 AD Beginnings of High Kingship at Tara, Co Meath
c 300 AD Ireland inhabited by tribes known as Scoti
377-405 Naill of the Nine Hostages, High King
428-463 AD King McNeill reigned
431 AD Pope Celestine 1 sent Palladius to the Irish, as their first Bishop. Palladius died soon after.
432 AD Arrival of St. Patrick to help convert pagan Gaelic Kings to Christianity.
550 AD onwards Irish monks re-Christianize Europe
Time of Written History...
461 St. Patrick dies, after having achieved his dream of introducing both Roman Civilisation, and the Christian Church to Ireland.
521 Columba or Colum Cille born at Gartan in Tyreconnell. He became a priest and became first Abbot of a church at Derry.
561 Battle of Culdremna.
563 Columcille sails to Iona, where he Christianised Scotland and much of England.
597 Columcille dies. his name and reputation was the greatest in the Irish Church. He had a great reputation as a missionary.
800 Ireland attacked by Viking Norsemen, on Lambay Island, off Dublin.
908 The Eoganachta were defeated, when they tried to subject Leinster to Cashel's rule.Their king, Cormac MacCullenan, was killed.
914 Vikings established settlements at Waterford.
915 Vikings established settlements at Dublin.
920 Vikings established settlements at Limerick.
940 Brian Boru was born. Son of a leader of one of the royal free tribes of Munster.
976 Brian succeeded his brother Mahon, as King of Munster until 1014.
999 Brian Boru defeated Vikings.
1002 Brian Boru wins recognition as king of all Ireland
1014 High King Brian Boru, killed at Battle of Clontarf.
1066 Normans defeat Saxons in England
1156 Turloch More O'Connor, a king of Connacht, who had become High King in 1119, and who was the greatest of Brian Boru's successors - died.
1167-69 Arrival of Normans at Baginbun, Co. Wexford, thus started 800 year struggle between English and Irish.
1170 Arrival of Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow.
1171 Strongbow becomes king of Leinster. Arrival of Henry II, end of the Milesian kings;thus began the political involvement of England in Ireland's affairs.
1166-1175 Reign of Rory O'Connor, Last native High King of Ireland
1235 Richard de Burgo conquered Connacht.
1258 Gallowglasses (mercenary soldiers) come to Ulster from Scotland
1264 Walter de Burgo was made Earl of Ulster.
1272 The English had now conquered Ulster, east of Lough Neagh, in Meath, as well as most of Connacht and of Munster.
1315 After Battle of Bannockburn, Edward Bruce of Scotland invaded Ireland but failed in his attempt to overthrow Norman Rule.
1318 Edward Bruce killed by the English, near Dundalk, after having failed to become the Ard Ri (High King in Irish), so long sought after by the Irish.
1361 An edict bans pure-blooded from becoming mayors, baillifs, officers of the king or clerygmen, serving the English.
1366 Statutes of Kilkenny forbade Irish/English marriages and preventing English to use Irish language, custom or laws.
1394 October. King Richard II, landed at Waterford, and marched up to Dublin.
1496 Line of "the Pale" at Clongowes. This was a small enclave around Dublin,which became the area of English rule.
1507 Accession of Henry VIII.
1515 Anarchy in Ireland.
1529-36 Henry VIII made his great breach with Rome, and set himself up as head of the Church in England.
1534 Kildare rebellion.
1541 Henry VIII declares himself king of Ireland.
1545-63 The Council of Trent gives Catholics a greater sense of purpose.
1547 Henry VIII dies, succeeded by the boy king Edward VI. England and Ireland were ruled by the senior nobility of England.
1553 Mary ascends the Throne. (One of the last Catholic Monarchs of England. She was later beheaded. The drink Bloody Mary is named after her. She is also known as Mary Queen of Scots)
1558 Accession of Elizabeth I.
1562 Elizabethan Wars in Ireland.
1588 Spanish Armada sent by Philip of Spain, to conquer England.
1594 August. Hugh O'Neill defeated a small English force at the Ford of Biscuits near Enniskillen.
1595 Rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
1598 O'Neill's great victory at Yellow Ford in Ulster
1601 Defeat of O'Neill, O'Donnell and Spaniards by Mountjoy at Battle of Kinsale.
1603 Accession of James 1. Surrender of Hugh O'Neill. Enforecement of English Law in Ireland.
1606 Settlement of Scots in Ards Peninsula. Land in six counties of Ulster consficated by English.
1607 Flight of O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone,and O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell. "The flight of the Earls" to Spain.
1608 Plantation of Derry and others confiscated counties planned.
1632-38 Compilation of the Annals of the Four Masters
1641 Great Catholic-Gaelic rebellion for return of lands, later joined by Old English Catholics in Ireland. Under leadership of Irish chieftain, Rory O'More, conspiracy was formed to seize Dublin and expel the English. English settlers were driven out of Ulster. Catholics hold 59% of land in Ireland.
1642 Confederation of Kilkenny met.
1647 Alliance between lords of Pale and native Irishmen came to an end
1649 English soldier & statesman, Oliver Cromwell, landed at Dublin. His troops killed 2,000 men. Agreat part of lands in Munster, Leinster and Ulster(Drogheda and Wexford) was confiscated and divided among the English soldiers
1650 Catholic landowners exiled to Connaught.
1656 Over 60,000 Irish Catholics had been sent slaves to Barbados, and other islands in the Caribbean.
1658 The population of Ireland,estimated at 1,500,000, before Cromwell, was reduced by two-thirds, to 500,000, at Cromwell's death in 1658.
1660 Accession of Charles II.
1661-68 The Duke of Ormond ruled Ireland as Viceroy.
1672 Over 6,000 Irish boys and women sold as slaves since England gained control of Jamaica.
1685 Accession of James II. (Last Catholic Monarch of England)
1688 English Revolution. James II deposed in England. Gates of Derry shut in face of James' troops. Catholics now hold 22% of land in Ireland.
1689 Siege and relief of Derry. James II's Parliment restored all lands confiscated since 1641
1690 William of Orange (William III) lands at Carrickfergus and defeats James II at Battle of the Boyne. 11,000 "WILD GEESE" soldiers sail for France.
1691 Catholic defeat at Aughrim and surrender at Limerick.
1692-1829 Exclusion of Catholics from Parliament and all professions.
1695 Anti-Catholic Penal Laws Introduced. Catholics hold 14% of land in Ireland.
1698 William Molyneaux pamphlet against England making laws for Ireland.
1714 Catholics hold 7% of land in Ireland.
1740 The Forgotten Famine
1775 Henry Gratten, becomes leader of "Patriot Party".
1775 Daniel O'Connell born at Derrynane,Co.Kerry. (I've saw where he was born.) Received early schooling from Parish Priest, then sent to France to receive further instruction at St. Omer and Douai.
1782 Legislative Independence won from Britain by Irish Parliament.
1791 Events leading up to the Revolution of 1798
1798 March: arrest of Leinster Directory of United Irishmen. May: arrest and death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Battle of Vinegar Hill. Battle of Antrim November: death of Wolfe Tone.
More about 1798 Rebellion
1798 Daniel O'Connell takes law degree at Trinity College, and is admitted to the Bar.
1800 Act of Union passed (effective 1 January 1801)
1803 Robert Emmett's rising, trial and execution.
1823 Daniel O'Connell's Catholic Association founded.
1828 O'Connell elected for Clare.
1829 Catholic emancipation passed. Tithe War began.
1837 Accession of Queen Victoria.
1839 January 6.. the Night of the BIG WIND
1840 O'Connell's Repeal Association founded.
1842 "The Nation" newspaper founded by Thomas Davis.
1843 O'Connell's "Monster Meetings" for Repeal of the Union.
1845 Blight in the Potato Harvest.
1845-49 Beginning of Famine. Charles Tteveleyan, permanent Head of Treasury. Sir Robert Peel, Prime Minister, imports Indian Corn. Many Irish from Southern Ireland begin to immigrate to Savannah, GA.
1846 April. Treveylan opens depots for sale of Indian corn, but closes them later in summer. Repeal of Corn Laws.
1846 July. Lord John Russell replaces Peel as Prime Minister.August: Total failure of potato harvest. October: First deaths from starvation.
1847 Fever spreading. Treveleyan winds up Soup Kitchen Act, and retires to write history of famine.
1848-49 Worst years of famine. By 1848 through emigration and deaths by famine, Ireland's population decreased by more than 2 million people (8.5 to 6.5).
1848 Smith O'Brien (Young Ireland Leader) arrested. James Stephens flees to France.
1856 Stephens returns from France.
1858 Stephens founds Irish Republican Brotherhood. Fenian Brotherhood founded in America.
1861Beginning of American Civil War.
1863 "Irish People" newspaper founded.
1865 End of American Civil War. Arrest of editorial board of "Irish People". James Stephens arrested, and escapes from Richmond Jail.
1867 February: Abortive raid on Chester Castle.March: Fenian rising in Ireland. December: Clerkenwell explosion.
1869 Gladstone, Prime Minister, dis-establishes Protestant Church in Ireland.
1870 Gladstone's first Land Act.
1875 Charles Stewart Parnell elected MP for Co Meath.
1879 Threat of famine. Evictions. Irish National League founded.
1879-82 Land War
1881 Gladstone's 2nd Land Act. Parnell imprisoned.
1882 Kilmainham "Treaty". Parnell's release. Phoenix Park murder.
1886 First home Rule Bill.
1891 Parnell loses three by-elections in Ireland. Parnell dies in October.
1893 Second Home Rule Bill. Gaelic League founded.
1903 Land Purchase Act (Wyndham Act).
1906 Liberals win General Election.
1909 Land Purchase Act.
1912 Third Home Rule Bill.
1914 Outbreak of First World War. IRB decides on Rising.
1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. May 3-12 executions.
1917 De Valera wins East Clare.
1918 November: end of First World War.
1919-21 Irish War of Independence against Britain.
1920 Burning of Cork by Auxiliaries.
1921 December. Anglo Irish Treaty.
1922 Civil War starts between Free State army and IRA.
1923 End of Civil war.
1926 De Valera founds Fianna Fail.
1927 General Elections in Ireland. De Valera and Fianna Fail enter Dail.
1932 General Election. Fianna Fail victory.
1937 Constitution of "Eire", claims 32 counties.
1939 Second World War.
1945 End of Second World War.
1948 General Election. Fianna Fail defeated.
1949 Repeal of External Relations Act. Ireland leaves Commonwealth. Republic of Ireland declared (26 counties)
1951-62 IRA campaign in North.
1955 Ireland joins the United Nations.
1965 O'Neill-Lemass Talks.
1967 Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association founded.
1968 August: First Civil Rights March. October: Derry Civil Rights March, banned by William Craig, Minister of home Affairs, held but broken up by brutality by police.
1969 January: People's Democracy Belfast to Derry Civil Rights March. January 4: Marchers attacked at Burntollet Bridge. April: O'Neill resigns. Chichester Clark Prime Minister. August 14: British troops sent to Derry. October: Protestant riot in Belfast.
1970 Dublin Arms Trial.
1971 First British soldier killed by IRA in Belfast. Chichester Clark resigns, Faulkner Prime Minister. Unionist government of NI introduces internment without trial for suspected Republicans.
1972Ireland joins the European Economic Community
1972 January 30: Bloody Sunday in Derry. British paratroopers shoot 13 civilians during civil-rights march. (I got to walk up and down the Bogside, where the murders took place. I stood where the British Troops fired from. An old IRA member gave me a British rubber bullet as a souvenir.) March: Stormont suspended.
1973 Sunningdale Agreement.
1974 Ulster Workers Strike brings down Faulkner and Assembly. Direct Rule re-imposed. Loyalits bomb Dublin and Monaghan, killing 30
1981-82 Ten Republicans die on hunger strike in Maze Prison, NI Dying hunger-striker Bobby Sands elected to British Parliament
1993 Downing Street Declaration; British Government accepts the right of the people of Irelalnd to self-determinination.
1994 IRA declares cease-fire
1996 Cease-fire breaks down after Britain's Conservative government refuses to allow Sinn Fein to join all-party talks on NI.
1997 IRA cease-fire resumes; talks begin in Belfast between governmentof Irish Republic, Britain's Labor government, and representatives of all NI's political parties.
1998 Initial peace-plan accepted by all parties.

The Doughnut Burger

Hardee's is no longer the champion of monstrous and ridiculous hamburgers.

Behold, The Doughnut Burger:

These babies will make their debut this year at some minor league baseball team's stadium. From espn.com: "The ballpark sandwich will include a hamburger topped with sharp cheddar cheese and two slices of bacon -- all between a "bun" made of a sliced Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut. If you can find a (loop)hole in your cardiologist's advice, calorie counters predict the monster will set you back about 1,000 calories and 45 grams of fat. "

Great Day For a Parade

I've checked the extended forecasts on both weather.com and accuweather.com and it looks like the high for Friday will be in the upper 60's. Sunshine will be abundant and a slight breeze will ruffle the flags. Both sites also predict a possibility of rain earlier this week which should cause the azaelas to explode with color. This may be the best St. Patrick's Day yet! Keep praying for nice weather and remember not to eat any meat today.

You Might Be a Cracker On St. Patrick's Day (Vol. 2)

If you drink too much the night before and throw up all morning...you might be a cracker on St. Patrick's Day.

If you have sex in a bathroom stall at State Line Cabaret...you might be a cracker on St. Patrick's Day.

If you have sex at the bottom of the stairwell at the Marriott Courtyard...you might be a cracker on St. Patrick's Day.

If you pay for a room at the Marriott Courtyard and don't stay there...you might be a cracker on St. Patrick's Day.

If you make girls cry...you might be a cracker on St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day Itinerary

What are yall doing?

Thanks, Guys

The text messages really made my night. I was disappointed, however, that I did not see TP at Kevin Barry's. Lately I've been building up my liquor tolerance for St. Patrick's Day and I think I'm good to go. I had six Jameson & gingers last night and wasn't hung over at all this morning. That's all I have for now. Thanks, again. Ya'll are dismissed.

It's COKE

Many of you know that one thing I'm obsessed with is finding out, in a geographic sense, just how many people in this country are still normal (the ones who share our blog's values), versus the radical, bet-wetting communists. The 2004 electoral map helped us out a bit, but this map I recently came across ends the debate once and for all.

Back to Normal

To contribute something for St. Patrick's Day 2006, I found this from www.accuweather.com:

Friday, March 17:


Sunshine. Winds from the NNW at 10 mph.

High: 68° F

RealFeel: 67° F

What's the Deal?

Why do we have the South Carolina state flag on our blog? How 'bout a kelly green Erin Go Bragh flag instead.















TWO MORE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dublin in Flames!

If you haven't been keeping up with Irish news (I can not imagine why you wouldn't be), Dublin was in chaos this past weekend.

The violence started when Unionists/Protestants decided to have a "Love Ulster Day" parade right down O'Connell Street (The main drag of Dublin.) As many of you know, O'Connell street was the battle ground for Ireland's dozen or so wars of independence from Great Britain.

Sinn Fein was having their usual protests with banners and such. No big deal, I've seen these protests every time I've walked down O'Connell. They're a small group of communists wannabes. They're the ones wearing Che shirts.

As the parade began, homemade gas can bombs and paving bricks went hurling at the Orange men. Mayhem ensued. Police were badly hurt (no wonder since these potato heads have outlawed guns!) The pubs began to poor out onto the street. Windows were smashed, cars burned, looting was everywhere, and people were being carried off. The Irish still won't say who started it. The papers speculate drunk "hooligans" looking for adventure jumped into the riot just for the hell of it. Who knows, I wish I were there though.

Anyways, Michael Collins was resurrected from the dead to lead the boys to victory!

Tony's Our Man

Hail Tony Ryan!
You'll be the best and grandest marshall of all.
Hail Tony Ryan!
On March the Seventeen you'll be walkin' tall.

Wearing his sash,
And heading up the big parade.
Hail Tony Ryan!
The grandest marshall ever made.

Tony's our man.
He'll ably represent the whole Irish clan.


We salute Tony, our man!



If you ever had Mrs. Bernadette Winters as a music teacher, then you know this song. I have forgotten a few lines, but you get the point. Ryan's election is no surprise, considering he ran unopposed. He is the fourth in his family (behind his uncle, father, and brother) to be elected Grand Marshall.

BREAKING NEWS!!

According to the Worldwide Sports Leader, the Naval Academy has accused BC's own Lamar Owens of rape.

Nonsense...

I just read this on Savannahnow.com:
"Bars will close at 1 a.m. March 18, or the morning following the parade, but open to 3 a.m. on every other day."

Has it always been this way? I guess it won't matter, I plan on being too drunk to function at that point.

Sherman Had the Right Idea

The inspiration for this post came from a Facebook group at UGA named All Those in Favor of Burning Atlanta a Second Time. I usually do not hold yankees in high esteem, mainly because most of the yankees I associate with are tourists.

General William T. Sherman, on the other hand, is one yankee that I can raise my glass to. He had the foresight to burn Atlanta and preserve the city of Savannah, offering it to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. I propose that we, at BMBS, adopt General Sherman as our Spiritual Founder. This blog was founded on the same principle on which Sherman based his march to the sea; keep Savannah and screw everone else. Also, Sherman's birthday is February 9, only two days removed from the anniversary of BMBS.

Community Service Project

Part of being an Irish Hurricane and/or BMBS blogger is a strong commitment to the community and, more broadly, society. So tonight I invite y'all to participate with me in the granddaddy of all projects. Many of you may be familiar with Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that really comes in handy the night before the due date for that 30-page paper you've had all semester to write and haven't bothered to read a single book yet. Anyway, Wikipedia is a self-editing resource, meaning it allows pretty much anyone to write on/edit any topic, but is constantly reviewed by the site's administrators, others who have edited the same article, and by the online community at large.

Anyway, I happened to search for Benedictine Military School the other day, and I was surprised to discover that someone has already done a little work for us. We're one of the few high schools in Georgia that has our own article, and that's damn impressive. But it's only a start. We need much more. The Fight Song, pictures, traditions, general history. To get an idea of what I mean, look at this article on the History of the United States, or this one on Ancient Rome. This is how long and extensive I want BC's article to be. It should cover everything from Bull Street to the Matt Baumann/John Hyche fight to the four square tournament to the time Kevin Leonard broke our lunch table freshman year, all the way up to the Herndon era. Regardless of how tempting it becomes to make up stuff, I would encourage us all to keep it half way respectable, because the people who run the site have a way of keeping tabs on who has written what through their IP address (whatever that is), and preventing people who go on there just to simply make up fake stuff. That having been said, this still shouldn't stop us from having whole entire sections dedicated to Hank or Harry Deal.

This will obviously be a work in progress, but every little bit helps. I know everyone will do their part, and I know "everyone" will basically end up meaning just me and Will. Either way, let's get to it.

One Month Left...

Again, self-explanatory.

More Bush Bashing

Except this time it's coming from the Right, and I'm all for it. Make no mistake, when it comes to domestic policy, Bush has been an absolute failure to the conservative movement and the Reagan vision. I hope this Mike Pence guy runs in '08. In many respects, I want a new president just as bad as the libs do.

Bryant Gumbel is a douche....

I'm not the biggest fan of the winter olympics, but this is rediculous. Somebody is bitter: "Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t care about them and won’t watch them ... Because they’re so trying ... Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won ... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done, when we can move on to March Madness — for God’s sake, let the games begin."

You'd think these remarks would have received more attention than they have. (Well, maybe not.) It's just hard to imagine a Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity getting a pass on something like this. It reminds me of when Rush Limbaugh got fired for saying that stuff about Donovan McNabb a couple of years ago.

Thanks for the Memories

Many are happy to see Brackett go, but I wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks coach, for giving us October of 1997. In conjunction with the previous season, this was the high water mark of BC football post-1983. After coming off huge wins against Bradwell and Glynn, the Cadets looked unstoppable. Like the Spice Girls and beanie babies, this short-lived era of regularly being ranked in the AJC was over before we knew it. Still, it made for one hell of a freshman year. So without further adeiu, here are the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class AAAA rankings from October 26, 1997:

1. Brookwood (8-0-0)
2. Lowndes (8-0-0)
3. Benedictine (7-0-0)
4. McEachern (7-1-0)
5. Clarke Central (6-2-0)
6. Parkview (5-2-0)
7. Valdosta (6-2-0)
8. North Cobb (7-0-0)
9. Bradwell Institute (6-1-0)
10. LaGrange (6-1-0)
11. Mays (6-1-0)
12. Shaw (7-1-0)
13. Fayette County (6-2-0)
14. Northside (Warner Robins) (5-2-0)
15. Wheeler (6-1-0)

And the weekly rankings below chronicle the Cadets' dramatic rise and fall that season:

#15 (0-0-0) 8/24/1997 Preseason
#15 (0-0-0) 9/1/1997 Week 1
#14 (1-0-0) 9/8/1997 Week 2
#13 (2-0-0) 9/15/1997 Week 3
#12 (3-0-0) 9/22/1997 Week 4
#10 (4-0-0) 9/29/1997 Week 5
#7 (5-0-0) 10/6/1997 Week 6
#7 (5-0-0) 10/13/1997 Week 7
#3 (6-0-0) 10/20/1997 Week 8
#3 (7-0-0) 10/27/1997 Week 9
#10 (7-1-0) 11/3/1997 Week 10

Courtesy of www.ghsfha.org

Greek Socialism Returns

According to the Red and Black, a handful of students met last night at the request of President Adams to discuss the "party culture" at the school and what to do about it. (First of all, I've been up here for 4 and a half years. I wasn't aware there was a problem, so I'm not sure why anything has to be done about anything, but apparently that decision has already been made for me.) Anyway, the forum consisted of about 30 students, mostly student group representatives and leaders (AKA, losers), where apparently a wide range of topics and "solutions" were discussed concerning this "problem", ranging from providing better communication between alcohol awareness groups and fraternities and sororities, to providing more funds for awareness education across the board. I could spend countless paragraphs on just how fruitless these efforts would be, but there was one quote by the president of the Panhellenic Council that really set me off:

This is beyond education. We need to fund alternatives to going downtown.

When I read this sentence it was like hearing fingernails screeching down a chalkboard.

Why more public funding? Everything has costs, and there's no free lunch, so why take more of people's tuition and put it towards something that obviously isn't in demand? The alternatives are already there. Bowling alleys, movie theaters, putt-putt, concerts, all provided thanks to the free market. What other alternatives do you want?

The reason why downtown Athens has so many bars is because people demand them. College kids are willing and able to go to them and drink because that's what college kids do. I, for example, regularly "fund" Bourbon Street and Allgood, whereas Walker Persons the Third may decide to fund Beauregard's or Gus's, and we're both happy at the end of the night. In addition, Blake the Baptist, who doesn't drink, may decide to fund Coldstone Creamery instead. We all get what we want.

But now Miss Panhellenic wants to take me, Walker, and Blake's money and put it toward something that none of us need or want, all in the name of her ardent crusade of fighting alcohol abuse, which will fail miserably anyway because it's completely out of touch with reality. Kids are going to drink. There will always be irresponsible toolbags who will take it too far. That's not my problem, nor is it my fault. Please stop trying to throw more of our dollars at problems that don't exist. The money will be much more efficiently spent when it's in our own hands anyway. Finally, stop knee-jerkingly turning to government, the most inefficient thing ever created, to plan, create, build, and fulfill your utopian dream where everyone drinks Sprite and plays free pinball at the Tate Center on Friday nights.

Welcome home, Bob.

Now go win us some games!

You Heard it Here First

Herndon will be the next head coach. Looks like I'll be paying for my own prize.

Free Advice

The Red and Black reports that $2 million will be donated for an "Alcohol Education Center," to be built next year, in response to the rise in drinking-related deaths on campus. UGA is also considering implementing alcohol education and awareness classes for undergraduates.

Well I've been doing some research, and I've decided to go ahead and save the community this $2 million dollars by educating everyone right here, right now. This might take a while to read through, but I really want everyone to be thoroughly educated. Ok, here goes:

Don't drink too much, it's not good for you. Use common sense and take responsibility for your actions.

Actually, that's it. There's nothing else. Cutting-edge research has statistically shown that one of the best ways to avoid drinking too much is by...not drinking too much. Anyway, next week I'll cover how to avoid using illegal drugs. I'm researching this stuff right now as we speak. Should be interesting. Class dismissed.

Waste of a Human Being

Sorry, I'm gonna pull a Dixie Chicks here and let everyone know that I'm ashamed that our 39th president is from Georgia.

The other day, I was watching clips of the Coretta Scott King funeral, and minutes after Bush spoke, good old Jimmy gets up there and takes a political cheapshot, at a funeral of all places, saying he felt sorry for Mrs. King and her husband because they were subject to government wiretapping in the early 1960s. He then criticized the administration's response to Katrina. The AJC, along with countless other news outlets praised Carter for his "brave" remarks. Keep in the mind this is all at someone's funeral.

For the past 3 days I've sat back and waited for someone to actually disagree with this viewpoint. Finally, I watched O'Reilly tonight. I usually agree with about 75% of everything he says, but he hit this one on the head. He asked a simple question: what if Bush said, during his speech, that it was a shame government wiretapping was used on people like Mr. and Mrs. King by the Democratic Kennedy Administration, but that today we should be thankful to have organizations like the NSA, which only gives the government the legal authority under the constitution to wiretap those who are a direct threat to our security, like suspected terrorists? Can you imagine how the Atlanta Journal would have responded then? They'd have called it political exploitation of worst degree. But no, not when Jimmy talks. He builds houses for poor people so they won't feel the need to work for them. He teaches Sunday school. He sits next to Michael Moore at political conventions. He meets with Fidel Castro, a mass-murderer, and talks about how he envies Cuba's healthcare system. He's our Jimmy, he's fighting the good fight.

Add that to the fact that he sat back and let the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan. Or gave in to the Iranians when they took American hostages. Or signed a million arms limitations agreements that meant absolutely nothing because the Russians never followed them. The press always talks about how Jimmy may not be remembered as the best president, but they praise him for his greatest, centerpiece achievement: the initiation of the Middle East Peace Process at Camp David. Yeah, that really worked out well.

In 1979, everybody was convinced that it was just a matter of time before the Soviets took over the world. You had to wait 3 hours in line to get gas because of price controls, and the federal reserve was printing more and more money, keeping inflation as high as 15%, all in attempt to achieve "full employment," whatever that means. All Jimmy would tell the people is to wear cardigans, turn down their thermostats, and start conserving, because America's best days were behind her. I don't think this country could have taken another day of this man in the White House. Thank God communism's worst nightmare succeeded him.

Finally, to be fair, I will say that Clinton's speech was good. No cheapshots and no political swipes, even though he had plenty of opportunity because he was in front of his favorite audience: black people. But no, just a solemn speech about Mrs. King and her contributions. As much as I hate Clinton, I'd still vote for him any day of the week and twice on Sunday over sorry-ass, out-of-touch Jimmy Carter.

Plan B

A confirmed source at GAVSV has reported that BC offered the job to Paul Standard of St. Pius on Monday, who subsequently turned it down. According to the source, the committee had no contingency plan and is now up Shit's Creek without a paddle.

The only two viable candidates left are Bob Herndon and John Pate, former GSU assistant. Herndon is an alum and will probably be called on next, but one must wonder if he will accept the job after being overlooked in the first round. My personal choice would be Pate. He is an excellent motivator; it has been said that players would run through a brick wall for him. He has turned down head coaching offers in the college ranks to stay at GSU. And he obviously has a lot of respect for BC's program since, out of all the vacancies in the area, this was the only job in which he expressed interest. I hope that we get one of these two guys.

Hang it up, Mic

That freight train of a rock band know as the Rolling Stones are amongst controversy once again. Supposedly, during their performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday, Mic Jagger's microphone volume was lowered when he came to lyrics involving sex. This has "outraged" the Rolling Stones and their overrated shriveled up frontman. I mean come on Mic, this isn't the Ed Sullivan show in the late sixties when it was cool for you and Jim Morrison to be badasses by disobeying the censors and saying what you wanted. You were informed of this way in advance and now are attempting to get any type of publicity for your career that wore out its welcome about 25 years ago. How about you worry less about the censors and worry more about putting on a good half time show. I mean seriously, I was offended by that sorry excuse for a performance. Towards the end, I was praying for a Salt-N-Peppa medley. The Rolling Stones are a band that needs to put themselves out of their misery. They have enough money, and they have not made a decent album in years. Just don't put me through that shit again.

Happy Birthday, BMBS

It's been a good year. We've ignited an intellectual firestorm of ideas in the blogosphere. Many are now beginning to question the validity of socialism, Hollister, energy drinks, and "Date My Mom." The Truman Parkway, for all intents and purposes, is finished. Two new conservative justices have joined the Supreme Court. State Line Cabaret's prices are lower today than they were a year ago. BC is about to hire its new head coach. The Bojangles on DeRenne Avenue is pretty much done. Unemployment is down to 4.7%. For six consecutive months, Chris Connolly has managed to not get kicked out of a bar.

But we still have work to do. Carey Hilliard's continues to raise its prices. More and more parents are sending their kids to Savannah Christian. There are no longer any oldies stations in Savannah. There remains a culture of corruption in our government and at our public universities. Kids are still using hair gel, even in the South. Cargo shorts are ubiquitous. I saw a kid yesterday in front of the library with a mesh "Vote for Pedro" hat turned to the side, talking in his usual fast-paced, high-pitched cadence to a hot girl. This has to come to an end. I have no idea who Pedro is, and neither does he. Yet another one of those tongue-in-cheek jokes that nobody even gets.

One of the most popular songs of the past year was "Golddigger" by Kanye West. Listen to the song and you'll soon realize that just about anybody in America, at least any black man, can do what Kanye does: talk. Actually, mumble is probably the better word. Somehow, he gets paid millions of dollars for doing it. Kanye makes it look so easy, because it is so easy. Yesterday while listening to the radio I heard Ray Charles' classic "Georgia on my Mind" start playing. Well hot damn, I thought, they're actually going to play an entertaining song by somebody who can sing good and play piano, someone with actual talent. Wrong. Within 5 seconds of Charles' melodic intro, rapper Ludacris breaks in and starts talking really fast about stuff I don't even understand, and have no desire to understand. I can hear all of you now: "oh come on Patrick, you're such an old man. Ludacris is talented. It's the 90's, wake up." How is Ludacris talented though? Does he sing, does he dance, does he play anything? I just don't understand how having a mouth makes someone talented. Yet millions of college/high school kids love this stuff, love to buy/download this music, and they have every God-given right to. But I have a God-given right to make fun of these people, too.

Anyway, we've only just begun. We've layed the foundation for what I hope will result in a political and social revolution among the disillusioned masses, i.e. people not from Savannah. We must never lose our optimism. May God bless us, and may God continue to bless Beach Music and Boat Shoes.

From Boortz

I hope everyone here watches FNC instead of CNN

A STUDY IN MEDIA HYPOCRISY
Would you think that any major American media outlet would be more willing to offend the world's Catholics than those practitioners of the wonderful, peaceful religion of Islam? Naw ... not in this country, right? Well, you're wrong. Let's take CNN as an example. For the first part of this lesson in hypocrisy I'll direct you to a story that appeared on CNN.com on September 28, 1999. The headline reads "Exhibit controversy makes coffee-table book a hot item." This is a story about an eight-pound coffee table book that was flying off the shelves of New York City bookstores. Why? Because of a controversy over one picture in the book .. a picture of a work of "art" in the book titled "The Holy Virgin Mary." The piece was done with elephant dung. Catholics were less than amused. So, what did CNN do? It published the story complete with a picture of the offending piece. Here's your link to check it out. Now .. we move to February 6, 2006 and another CNN.com story titled "Danes feel threatened in cartoon row." This story, of course, is about all of those peaceful Muslims rioting and threatening death and mayhem because someone drew a cartoon of their pedophile-prophet Mohammed. Here's your link for the story about these peaceful Muslims. Now ... scroll down to the bottom of the story. You'll see the notation "CNN has chosen not to show the cartoons out of respect for Islam." Well, isn't that special. Go ahead and show a painting of the Virgin Mary created out of elephant poo, but withhold the pictures of these cartoons that are causing carnage around the world. We don't want to insult Muslims, do we? Catholics? Well, apparently they're on their own.

Ohhh Billary...

Doesn't she know to keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?

Courtesy of Dennis B. Leonard

A Leonard Saved is a Leonard Earned

23 years ago today, the world's best and brightest future accountant was born in Savannah, Georgia. One of the original loyal contributors here, Stephen is a Catholic with a Protestant work ethic. He has always taken a no holds barred approach, fighting the good fight against frat guys, bible-beaters, laziness, bouncers at bars (after they discover the hidden flask), fat girls, extravagance, the Second Vatican Council, prodigality, restaurant tabs, sleep, overzealous cops, and people that don't believe the water in Augusta is cherry-flavored. You really have to have a lot of respect for a guy that, within the next 5 years, is going to be either killing Muslims or doing their taxes. Here's to 23 more years of running, pimento cheese, theft, Catholicism, Church's Chicken, frugality, industry, and intolerance.

'Preciate It, Tommy

These are Coach Cannon's words to me after I officiated BC's JV game against South Effingham last night:

Come back by the school sometime. Maybe we can get you in a PE class and teach you how to ref basketball.

Thanks for caring, Coach.

Are Justices Alito and Roberts Liberal?...

NO! I found a good case as to why.

From andrewcusack.com

The media claimed Roberts was breaking with conservatives because he refused to strike down a lower court's ruling that an Oregon physician-assisted suicide laws were constitutional. The Associated Press, meanwhile, judged Alito as "splitting with conservatives" for "refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection". Because the media are generally in the same liberal camp as the judicial activism proponents they think like judicial activists and a judicial activist would think "Gee, Alito's conservative so he opposes physician-assisted suicide so he'll rule against it." But that's the point, you ninnies! The job of a Supreme Court justice is to interpret the Constitution not to usurp the legislative authority of Congress by deciding to follow our own whims, fancies, and personal beliefs. The Supreme Court justice must not say whether a law was right or wrong, or whether he would've voted for it, he must ask "Does this law contravene the Constitution of the United States" and if it does not then he is obligated to rule as such and to let the law stand regardless of his personal opinion of the law. Legislative power is appropriately invested in Congress, not the Supreme Court nor the President, and the seperation of powers is fundamental to the continued success of our Constitution.

Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito have ruled according to the law rather than to their own respective whims. This is to be commended, and could set the tone for the Roberts court as a return to normalcy after the white squall of Holmesian jurisprudence and spark a concurrent deemphasis of federal power. We can only hope and pray it will be so.

Just Get Out of the Way

Larry Kudlow has yet another great post on his blog today. Read here.