Great Backyard Bird Count

Today begins the Great Backyard Bird Count…lasts all weekend.

Visit Great Backyard Bird Count . Over to the left are some tabs about what the count is and how to do it. Get a checklist and get started. Turn them in online or by email. It’s fun and gets you in tune with your backyard in the winter.

You just count for at least 15 minutes on whichever days you can. Last year we had 12 lists submitted from Bessemer, with 30 species of birds, and 1 from nearby Lipscomb, with 11 species. That may not sound like much, compared to, say, Fultondale, which led Alabama with 171 lists with 48 species. But well to do neighbors like Hoover and Vestavia residents must be too busy to sit around counting birds...only 1 list from each city.

Trey, from The Human Animal, now writes a column having to do with gardening and horticulture for The Western Tribune. More bloggers moving up in the world. More local talent in the Tribune.

Oh, gee, something happened to the comments feature. Overloaded I guess. I will work on that later. Until then, remember, this is a blog. A place for me to log my progressive, sometimes entertaining views. Not a forum, which is for the exchange of views and ideas.

Ok that’s it for today; I’m out of town seeking an internship. Wish me luck.

Happy Valentines Day

Today it is all about the heart.

Beating Heart
(The producer of this video disabled embedding, so you have to go to the link, but it shows how to make an origami beating heart. 3 minutes)

It is, after all Valentine's Day. And whether you are single and loving it, or single and looking, or partnered or married or whatever'd, take care of your heart and the heart(s) of those you love.

But it all comes down to this. You have to take care of your own heart. Often that means losing weight. And like the mayor of Oklahoma City believes and Kathleen Parker writes, "real, sustained weight loss takes patience, discipline and commitment, not a calculator."

We can justify anything we want today, like dark chocolate containing anti-oxidants or red wine being good for you. So go out and eat a nice, satisfying Valentine's Day dinner. Enjoy the box of chocolates. But today is just one day of the year, and your heart needs to pump 366 days (it is leap year, after all).

This video is a real beating heart...so don't watch if you don't like that kind of stuff.



According to CDC data heart disease is still the number one killer in America. And everyone of us...everyone...can do something to reduce our risk of heart disease. This is from the final data for 2004.

Number of deaths for leading causes of death:
Heart disease: 652,486
Cancer: 553,888
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 150,074
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 121,987
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 112,012
Diabetes: 73,138
Alzheimer's disease: 65,965
Influenza/Pneumonia: 59,664
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 42,480
Septicemia: 33,373

U. S. News and World Report had a section on heart disease and cholesterol and statins this week, and I am borrowing this information from an ad (Quaker Oats) in that section.

Be Heart Smart

This simple checklist shows you what you can do today to prevent heart disease.

• Be Pressured Know your blood pressure - high pressure will age your arteries. Keeping it around 115/76 can make your body up to 10 years younger.
• Floss & Brush Periodontal disease, such as gingivits, affects more than the gums. Chronic infections require the body to defend itself and inclrease clotting to protect against bleeding - a recipe for heart attack.
• Move it Walking 30 minutes each day can add years to your life - regular movement is a powerful anti-aging treatment.
• Easy takes it An aspirin each day greatly reduces your risk of a stroke.
• Get some shut eye Try for seven hours of zzz's each night.
• Dish up fish Three times a week, dine on omego-3s to help your heart and arteries function, plus fish protein that packs an additional cardiovacular boost. Not nuts about seafood? Walnuts shell out a good dose of omega-3s.
• Skip the smoking section An hour of second hand smoke can cause the same body aging as smoking up to four cigarettes.
• Turn off the TV When you pay attention to what you eat, you enjoy it more and you're likely to sense when you're full - before you've eaten too much.

I come from a family with a history of heart disease and my father had three heart attacks (and just kept on smoking) before finally dying of respiratory disease (caused of course by that smoking). That puts me at some degree of risk.

When I was younger I ran. And ran and ran. Not Forrest Gump type of running, but 6 or 7 miles a day several days a week. I had a running hero, Dr. Jim Fixx, author of The Complete Book of Running. When I graduated from college (the second time ) in 1981, and got a job, my running was reduced by a good bit, but I didn't quit altogether. But imagine my shock when my running hero collapsed and fell dead of a heart attack at age 52 after a run.

Fast forward 25 years and here I am. I've made it past Jim Fixx's age of death and feel pretty good about my heart. I am like the OK City mayor though, and have just a few more pounds to lose...the hardest ones.

I will tell you a couple of things I do. I park in a parking garage, usually on level 4 (not by choice) and take the stairs down and when I return, I take the stairs up. The walk to class is up a hill and down a hill, 2 blocks. Once in the building, my classes are on the 4th floor. I take the stairs.

I have cut down on sugared drinks. Not completely, but cut back to less than half of what I used to drink. I eat a hand full of nuts every day. I'm working on adding more fruits and vegetables. My blood pressure is great. My cholesterol is borderline, and by George I am going to get it within desired range by exercise and diet (I have been on Crestor and don't like it).

I enjoy good food, though, and I don't deny myself, but I now cook a little more healthy than I did 10 years ago.

So, there are things everyone can do. Walking is a good start. One flight of stairs at work is a good start (take the rest by elevator). Then in 2 weeks, take 2 flights of stairs. Whatever you do, start out easy and work your way up. You will feel better, and you will live better.

Why Gary White was Prosecuted

To coerce him into supplying false evidence against Don Siegelman and to score points with Bettye Fine Collins.

This, according to Harpers Magazine.

And while there is an ongoing discussion here about the two (count ‘em, two) Bessemer newspapers, the reputation of The Birmingham News is called into question by this article.

“Both of them are having their credibility tested severely, and neither has much of a record to stand on.”

“Both” refers to The Birmingham News and Alice Martin, who is getting more coverage in this blog than anyone of late. Well not quite, but she should.

If you want to keep up with the goin’s on about the Alice Martin, Don Siegelman and other's case read Legal Schnauzer every day. You can jump in anytime and just read a few days worth and be hooked. It's better than Days of Our Lives (which you can watch once weekly or monthly or yearly and still be up to date).

Here is a quote in the Harpers article from Judy White’s (Gary’s wife) affidavit. The full affidavit can be linked from the article.

(federal agents) repeatedly and insistently told my husband that they ‘needed’ for [a particular] meeting [between Governor Siegelman and Richard Scrushy] to have occurred at the particular and specific date, and that they wanted him to testify that it did. My husband maintained that he could not do so, as he did not know when the meeting occurred. They even attempted to persuade him that the meeting ‘could have’ taken place on the date they stated, and reminded him that he had no calendar saying that it did not.

The article is pretty long, but juicy, in my opinion.

If you were an outsider and had no clue about Alabama politics, would you have ever guessed that the Siegelman case and the Gary White case were related? Or that the Birmingham News wa involved in more than just reporting? Or not reporting?

Scott Horton, the author of the Harper's piece, offers this too, about the Siegelman case.

• sworn evidence by a Republican campaign operative, corroborated by documents and other witnesses, that White House figures including Karl Rove manipulated the prosecution to support G.O.P. election campaign projects,
• well-documented evidence of conflicts of interest by the two U.S. attorneys involved (Alice Martin and Leura Canary),
• admission that the two most senior career prosecutors on the case recommended against a prosecution of Siegelman,
• testimony before Congress that political appointees overrode their determinations in directing a prosecution,
• confirmation that evidence of criminal wrongdoing by William Pryor and Jeff Sessions, far stronger than any of the charges against Siegelman, was swept under the carpet by a prosecutor assigned to handle the matter, who was the wife of William Pryor’s lawyer (Pryor and Sessions belonged to the “home team,” as Time’s Adam Zagorin was told).

At any rate, it looks like Alice Martin should be placed under oath again in the near future. If that happens, let's see if she tells the truth this time. And let's see if the Birmingham News reports it.

Uno Takes the Title

Snoopy must be proud. For years he has been the most celebrated beagle in the country, even claiming a favorite spot in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.


But now, move over Snoopy. Uno is Numero Uno. Uno is the first Beagle ever to win Best in Show. Uno looks so cool, so sharp compared to all the fluff of the poodle and and fur of the Aussie. Go Uno!!!

Family blogging, and Democratic Mess

If you want a good read on the primaries go to Cousin Wayne's blog where he answers my question from the other day:

My preference of course is Clinton, and while she did not win in Alabama, look at the difference between Alabama and Georgia. Obama won by 34% in Georgia, but only by 14% in Alabama. Are we that different than Georgia?

Well, he comes close to answering it anyway. But he did a great analysis of the results in Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, New York, California, Missouri and Tennessee. You will have to scroll down past (or preferably look at) the post about the turkey vultures...the Primary Analysis post is from Sunday February 10.

I want comments on the following (actually I want comments everyday but it seems most people only comment when they can insult someone). On this blog, and in my column in the Western Tribune this week, I write about the problem the Democratic Party will have if they allow the super delegates to vote and change what looks like is the will of the voters in selecting a presidential nominee. But a caller on a talk show this morning said something that might make a little sense. She said that for the most part states where Obama is winning big are open primary and caucus states,where Republicans and Independents are allowed to vote in the Democratic Primary or caucus.

This is not a national election, she said, It is a political party, determining who they want their candidate to be. By allowing Republicans and Independents to vote, the choice is being taken from the Democrats. So the Super delegates, all being members of the party, could provide a better idea of who the party wants than the primaries that allow non-party members to vote. Allowing the Super Delegates to vote (sort of) balances out the effect of the non-democrats who voted.

Twisted Logic? or Good Point?

Camellias, a Bessemer video and a Quiz

I asked a couple of days ago if it is Spring? and I know it is not. The Camellias are blooming, and most don't bloom in the Spring, they bloom in the Winter. How refreshing to walk out on a cold morning and find these (providing the temps haven't dipped too far below freezing). I remember when growing up in Vestavia that on Comer Circle there was a yard where on occasion a bush (shrub, not a president) was wrapped in a sheet. Mom explained that it was a camellia. Of course, as I have reminded you before, it is our non native state flower.

And I said I would let you know when the camellia show is at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and I didn't do it. The show was this past weekend. Sorry. To make up, just a little for it, I will provide a camellia show here, of the ones blooming in the yard.

After the pictures you will find a video about Bessemer and a quiz.







This video was posted by photographer Larry O. Gay, who many of us know.



This quiz was in The New Yorker Shouts and Murmurs.

It is great. Thanks Paul Slansky.

SHOUTS & MURMURS Changes A 2008 Campaign Quiz. by Paul Slansky

1
1. Who is Michael Palladino?

(a) One of two young men who interrupted a speech by Hillary Clinton by yelling, “Iron my shirt! Iron my shirt!”

(b) The aide to Barack Obama who was shoved by Bill O’Reilly at a rally.

(c) The adviser to Fred Thompson’s campaign who turned out to have been convicted of cocaine trafficking.

(d) The boxer who hosted a Nevada Obama event and who had been convicted of battery.

(e) The New York City police detective who scoffed at Rudolph Giuliani’s claim to have been “at Ground Zero as often as, if not more than, most of the workers.”

(f) The formerly gay gospel singer who advocates “curing” homosexuality with prayer, and whose performance at Obama-sponsored concerts upset gays and liberals.
2
2. What did Bill Clinton call a “fairy tale”?

(a) Mike Huckabee’s contention that gay marriage would lead to increased bestiality.

(b) Obama’s claim that he has consistently opposed the Iraq war from the beginning.

(c) Mitt Romney’s positive remarks about Hitler’s scientific achievement in creating “liquefied coal.”

(d) Chuck Norris’s endorsement of Huckabee on the ground that he is “not afraid to stand up for a Creator.”

(e) The report that Obama and Dick Cheney might be distant cousins, which prompted Obama to remark, “He’s the black sheep of the family.”

(f) The suggestion by David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, that Hillary Clinton bore some responsibility for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
3
3. True or false: When the Clinton camp was mocked for its efforts to turn a kindergarten essay written by Obama into a reason not to vote for him, campaign officials claimed that the press release had been intended as “a joke.”

(a) True.

(b) False.
4
4. Three of these statements refer to Fred Thompson. Choose the one that refers to Mitt Romney.

(a) He asked an unresponsive audience, “Can I have some applause?”

(b) He referred to Russia as the “Soviet Union,” which it stopped being seventeen years ago.

(c) He said, “Some people have said we ought to close Guantánamo. My view is we ought to double Guantánamo.”

(d) He avoided a question about the Terri Schiavo controversy by saying, “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”
5
5. Wayne Dumond is to Mike Huckabee as ________ is to Mike Dukakis.

(a) Willie Horton

(b) John Kerry

(c) John Sasso
6
6. Who is Marianne Pernold Young?

(a) The Iowa college student planted in the audience by the Clinton campaign to ask the candidate a question that she was eager to answer.

(b) The CNN reporter whom Bill Clinton scolded by saying, “This is what you live for,” after she asked him to comment on a former supporter’s observation that the Clintons’ distortion of Obama’s record is “reprehensible.”

(c) The New Hampshire photographer who asked Hillary Clinton the question that made her choke up.

(d) The CBS newswoman who asked Elizabeth Kucinich, “Would you remove [your tongue stud] if you became First Lady, or leave it in?”

(e) The owner of the landscaping company that employed illegal immigrants to mow Romney’s lawn, prompting accusations that he lives in a “sanctuary mansion.”
7
7. Two of these statements refer to John McCain. Choose the one that refers to Ron Paul.

(a) When a supporter, referring to Hillary Clinton, asked, “How do we beat the bitch?” he replied, “That’s an excellent question.”

(b) He said that he would “prefer” a Christian president to a Muslim one.

(c) He voted against giving the Congressional Medal of Honor to Rosa Parks.
8
8. True or false: An hour after attacking Barack Obama’s voting record on “Meet the Press,” Hillary Clinton appeared at a black church and declared herself to be “so proud” of him.

(a) True.

(b) False.
9
9. Who said of MoveOn.org’s “General Betray Us” ad, “It passed a line that we should not allow American political organizations to pass”—Mike Huckabee or Rudy Giuliani?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
10
10. Who, when asked about financial disclosures, said, “I’m not doing more than what is absolutely required”?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
11
11. Who asked, “Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the Devil are brothers?”

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
12
12.Who said, “Most of our prisoners would love to be in a facility more like Guantánamo”?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
13
13. Who scoffed at the notion that sleep deprivation is torture, saying, “On that theory, I’m getting tortured running for President of the United States. That’s plain silly”?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
14
14. Who turned up on Outdoor Life’s list of the twenty-five most influential people in hunting and fishing?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
15
15. Of whom was it written that “[His] Nixonian soul comes bearing the face of a particularly cruel Renaissance cardinal”?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
16
16.Ten years ago, whose son was allegedly involved in the hanging of a dog while at Boy Scout camp?

(a) Rudy Giuliani.

(b) Mike Huckabee.
17
17. Who is James Clyburn?

(a) The Clinton campaign official who resigned after raising the issue of Obama’s youthful drug use.

(b) The Georgia congressman who said that Obama is “no Martin Luther King.”

(c) The Clinton adviser who said that Obama appeals to voters who want an “imaginary hip black friend.”

(d) The South Carolina congressman who told Bill Clinton to “chill a little bit” with the race-baiting.

(e) The Obama press secretary who took the blame for a memo cataloguing race-related verbal gaffes by the Clintons and their supporters.

(f) The indicted Chicago slumlord to whom Obama returned more than forty thousand dollars in contributions.
18
18. Who said, “Americans are looking for a change”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) Mike Huckabee.

(c) Mitt Romney.

(d) John Edwards.
19
19. Who said, “Our time for change has come”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) Mike Huckabee.

(c) Mitt Romney.

(d) John Edwards.
20
20. Who said, “I believe deeply in change”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) John McCain.

(c) Bill Richardson.

(d) John Edwards.
21
21. Who said, “Look, what we need is change, there’s no question”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) John McCain.

(c) Bill Richardson.

(d) John Edwards.
22
22. Who said, “I know that I have been an agent of change”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) John McCain.

(c) Hillary Clinton.

(d) Mitt Romney.
23
23. Who said, “I want to make change but I’ve already made change. I will continue to make change. . . . I embody change”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) Mike Huckabee.

(c) Hillary Clinton.

(d) Mitt Romney.
24
24. Who said, “Not only can I talk change with you, I’ve lived it”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) Mike Huckabee.

(c) Hillary Clinton.

(d) Mitt Romney.
25
25. Who said, “We don’t mention September 11th nearly as much as people think”?

(a) Barack Obama.

(b) Mike Huckabee.

(c) John McCain.

(d) Rudy Giuliani.

For the answers you will either have to read the magazine like I did (I got most of them right) or go to the link and take the quiz and submit.

An Arresting Story

My run for a delegate position fell short, but I feel good about it under the circumstances. Obama performed so well in the 7th congressional district that Clinton will get just 2 delegates from the district. That means only the two top Clinton vote getters overall or the top male and top female, depending on the particulars of how the delegates are choosen, out of about 20 who ran, will be selected. People with name recognition throughout the district, who have been politically connected, had the most votes.

After writing the other day that Republicans don't go to prison I will provide evidence that the justice department and Alice Martin are overzealous in bringing down democrats. The recent arrest of Sue Schmitz (D - Toney), was characterized in Bob Martin's column, The Alabama Scene, as follows (emphasis is mine):

Here's how the arrest in the small Huntsville suburb of Toney went down as described in one editorial account: "The morning calm in the small town of Toney, located near Huntsville, was broken at 6:15 a.m. yesterday morning. A team of five FBI agents, accompanied by a prison matron, pounded on the door. When the man of the house answered, he was forced into the yard, shirtless in the early morning cold. The team had come for his wife, Sue Schmitz. She was dragged out of her bathroom, where she was taking a shower, handcuffed, breaking her flesh and scraping her wrists, and hustled off to prison.

"Who was this threat to the community? Sue Schmitz is a diminutive, 63-year-old retired social studies teacher who has lived in the same house in Toney for 38 years, roughly 20 of them as a civics teacher. She is loved in the community and among her students is legendary for her passion for civics and her outreach to the disadvantaged."

Schmitz's Hunstville lawyer Buck Watson described the arrest as "very, very unusual." Suspecting that something like this might happen Watson had informed the U. S. Attorney's office that if they wanted Rep. Schmitz she would voluntarily surrender herself. But that obviously wasn't dramatic enough for Martin. "I can't see where she has committed any crime, but even if it was it was a non-violent matter involving a woman who has never been arrested in her life," Watson said.

Of course Martin herself might learn what it feels like to be led away in handcuffs...well, if the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility was not "slow walking" the investigation of Martin's perjury charge. There are accusations Martin gave false evidence in proceedings in a 2003 depostion filed in an EEOC case. Bob Martin (no relation to Alice, I assume) says the facts are clear, "Martin gave false evidence in the proceedings, and the trial officer concluded her statements are not credible." He echoes the question of many: "How can someone stay on as a U. S. attorney when they've been caught in a serious misrepresentation, under oath, in a legal proceeding?"

Now I admit I have called on Alice Martin to come in to Bessemer and clean up, but I will be happy with any investigator. Especially one who tells the truth and treats people fairly. I wish the people who left comments the other day about other prosecutors being brought in would provide some more inforation.

I really enjoy reading Martin's columns in the Hartselle Enquirer (Martin is the editor of the Alabama Independent in Montgomery). I wish The Western Tribune would pick up this column and do away with Gary Palmer's column.

Is Gary Palmer a plagiarist?

A recent column by Palmer, of the Alabama Policy Institute, appears to be plagiarized. The column was about the Alabama Certificate of Need program which in short requires hospitals and certain other health care facilities to gain state approval before being allowed to operate. The editorial recommends the state legislature do away with the Certificate of Need program.

When I read the column I noticed a familiarity with an email I had received months ago which contained an editorial written by Michael Morrisey and Michael Ciamarra. Michael Morrisey is a professor of Health Economics at UAB's School of Public Health. He and Ciamarra were the original authors, but it appeared under Palmer's name in the paper. If anyone is interested, I will forward the editorial (email) to you.


When I retrieved the email I found word for word similarity. Something's not right. Palmer, what's up?