I'm a Saints fan, but...

First, I don't bet on football. Not on Auburn, not on Alabama and not on the Saints.

Second, I don't drink to the point that I say stupid things (I may say some stupid things from time to time without drinking, however).

Third, I like our TV.

Fourth, I don't allow people to shoot semi-automatic weapons on my property.

But Wayne Spring is a different kind of football fan. He didn't think the Saints could beat the Redskins, so he posted on Facebook that if the Saints won that his FB friends could come shoot up his TV.

After the Saints won 33-30 in overtime, people began arriving armed, drunk and dangerous.

Goodbye 60 inch flat screen. "A bets a bet."

"That ain't nothing compared to what I lost to the bookie"

A cooking lesson

I love the smell of cooking Cajun or Creole foods. The seasoning mixture, the onions, peppers and celery cooking in olive oil, a bourbon pecan pie, fresh from the oven (and fresh from John Besh's cookbook, featured in the Birmingham News yesterday).

I use Emeril Lagasse's Creole seasoning recipe. Let me stop here for a minute. I am not a purist. Cajun and Creole foods are often confused, and I make no attempt to keep it straight which foods are which. So my Cajun pork tenderloin, for instance is actually seasoned with this Creole seasoning.

Anyway, I made up a batch of seasoning this morning. Here are the ingredients. They are: paprika, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne red pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and salt.

Here is the finished product. Yum!


This can be used in a lot of dishes, but I especially like to coat pork or chicken with it. Pork tenderloin can be brushed with melted butter, then rolled in the seasoning (or sprinkle it on). Line a shallow pan with aluminum foil (for easy cleaning), and place the tenderloins in, separating by 1/2 inch or so, and roast at 375 for 1 to 1.25 hours. This smells so good while cooking, but tastes even better.

Or, take some boneless chicken breasts and wash them, then cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide, and skewer them on wooden skewers that have been soaked in water. I skewer the strips by folding them back and forth, like an "s" pattern. Then sprinkle generously with the seasoning mixture. Grill for a few minutes (depending on your grill and such) until done. Yummy.

You can also skewer peeled shrimp, brush with melted butter and season with this mixture and grill them.

Western Tribune column December 9, 2009, Mayor here and there

I wrote this knowing that the paper would come out after the Birmingham mayoral election, so there is a bit of vagueness in the column. But, as expected, Patrick Cooper collected the most votes, it just wasn't enough to avoid a runoff. Let's hope he doesn't go into the runoff with 40% or so of the vote and then lose, like a certain Alabama house district candidate did in a recent special election.

As Cooper said on Fox6 this morning, this is now about the past vs the future. Atlanta's mayoral race was too, it's just that both of the candidates in the runoff there were about the future, since that city left the past long ago. Birmingham should be so lucky.

Langford/Bell v. Cooper. That kind of reminds me of Bush/McCain v. Obama. The same old versus the fresh new.

Western Tribune column

Atlanta elected a new mayor this month. We may not know who it is yet, because the results were so close, a mere 715 vote difference, that a recount is inevitable. Former state Senator Kasim Reed, who is black, leads white councilwoman Mary Norwood.

Atlanta billed itself as the “City Too Busy to Hate” during the civil rights struggles, and while cities like Birmingham suffered from hatred and violence that continues to influence our politics and impedes our progress, Atlanta grew and prospered.

Atlanta has a more racially balanced population than Birmingham, with 56 percent of their population being black and 38 percent white. Birmingham has almost 75 percent black and around 23 percent white residents.

Because Atlanta is what one may call a progressive city, their population has actually grown during this decade. More whites than blacks have recently moved into the city.

Political observers of Atlanta politics say that black political power is weakening there in part because blacks are shedding their civil rights-era sentimentality.

In Birmingham and in Bessemer as well, that mindset continues to hold us back. While we should continue to celebrate the advances made in the 1960’s and honor the heroes of the movement, we have to get past the idea that race is a more important characteristic than education or vision or experience when selecting our leaders.

Atlanta’s rejection of hatred is further evidenced by their embracement of the gay community, and in the mayoral runoff the candidates courted the gay vote with each trying to convince the voters that they were the greater friend to the GLBT community. More than 12 percent of Atlanta’s population self identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, according a William’s Institute report.

Think of the talent that is accumulating in Atlanta as educated individuals flock to the city. Remember, their population is growing.

Birmingham’s mayoral hopefuls, at least the frontrunners, were gay friendly, in contrast to the recently convicted former mayor. But we didn’t see them trying to out-gay each other as happened in Atlanta.

In Bessemer, the contributions of the GLBT community have never been acknowledged by city leaders, and race most certainly plays a role in the selection of our leaders. We might say that Bessemer lags behind even Birmingham.

That’s pretty sad, considering the current state of Birmingham politics. The good news is, for both Birmingham and Bessemer, I guess there’s nowhere to go but up.

Stories from the Bham News

If you live in Birmingham, vote now, before the rain gets any worse!!! Patrick Cooper!!!

These snowman salt and pepper shakers have nothing to do with the news, but aren't they cute!




News Flash! I agree with Joe Reed. Speaking of Artur Davis, Reed said, "But because he is now running for governor he is looking out for himself and not the people."

Reed was referring to Davis's votes against health care reform, but the poor people of his district are not the first voters that Artur Davis has thrown under the bus. His republican votes on gay issues (hate crimes, ENDA) are nothing but a play for the homophobe vote in his run for governor. Since Davis's aid told me when he was running for congress (the second time) that Davis is a friend of the gay community and even had a lesbian on his staff (that's what I was told) then it's clear, he is voting the way he does for his own interests, not the interests of his constituents. Same with health care.

Today the Birmingham News is just full of encouraging news.

1. Greenhouse gases now a threat

(Article) That headline is a little misleading. The gases have been a threat for years, the EPA is just now admitting it, after 8 years of ignoring or re-writing science. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the World climate conference in Copenhagen.

Rising sea water is part of the reason for the flooding in Bangladesh. The people living there and being forced from their home probably don't understand climate change and its effects, but they have an excuse. Republicans and other doubters in this country don't have an excuse.

But while Bangladesh needs help now and this conference won't produce any immediate results, it is still encouraging that we have an administration that believes in science and understands the urgency of the situation.

The EPA said that America's health is at risk from climate change.

2. Medicaid, Medicare expansion sought

(This story is not available on al.com yet). Democrat Senators are seeking to expand Medicare and Medicaid to near-retirees age 55 or 60 who would be able to purchase coverage. They probably won't be able to include this in the current bill, but at least they are talking about it.

3. President praised for pumping cash into arts

(Article not posted on al.com but available here) President Obama has "marshaled the largest infusion of cultural funding in decades."

So, these are a few of the major issues (yes, arts is a major issue) that were reasons we voted for Obama and democrats in general.

One eskimO and the Nostalgia Train

One eskimO, out of London, with lead singer Kristian Leontiou has a great sound, plus Kristian is pleasing to the eye. Listen, and watch this video.



And this is kind of neat, especially if you will be in the Big Apple during December. NYC Transit is going to bring back the Nostalgia Train.

This is a picture from last year, via J.reed on Flickr .

MTA says:

The Nostalgia Shoppers' Special is made up of subway cars in service from the 1930s to the 1970s, running along the lettered lines from the Grand Concourse to Coney Island. Ceiling fans, padded seats and incandescent light bulbs were state-of-the-art when these cars were first placed in service.

The cars were removed from service 30 years ago and replaced by the stainless steel, climate-controlled trains that our customers have become accustomed to. Many subway riders have never experienced the charm of wicker seats and ceiling fans, but they are back for four Sundays of service, beginning Sunday, December 6. The holiday "Nostalgia Shoppers' Special" will operate on Sundays only, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., on December 6, 13, 20 and 27.

Sundays only. Who's up for a trip?

Arlington Tennessee - what can i say?

Bessemer Conservative should move to Arlington Tennessee. Surely you have heard how Arlington's mayor, Russell Wiseman, fired off at President Obama on Facebook for holding his Afghanistan announcement at the same time as Charlie Brown's Christmas.

Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it....w...hen the answer should simply be 'yes'...."

I guess we can say that Russell is not so much of a Wise Man to have written something so idiotic on his Facebook page.

My favorite part of the quote is "try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose." Oh yeah, like the president looked at the TV schedule and found Charlie Brown and said, "attack!"

Listen, Russell, our president has better things to do than that.

He also wrote this, "...you obama people need to move to a muslim country...oh wait, that's America....pitiful."

Is Arlington such a backward place that they would elect this person? And he has kids? Poor children.

Please Arlington, do better next election.

This is bewildering

Falling is love is a wonderful experience. For some, it leads to long-term relationships or even marriage (for the privileged majority).

Rick Warren, the purpose driven pastor, did it differently. He married someone he was not in love with and was not attracted to, asking her to marry him on their second date, because "he said he heard God clearly tell him that this is who he will marry." His wife did not love him either, but she agreed because "she recalled hearing God say, “I’ll bring the feelings.”

This story, via JoeMyGod and originally at Christian Post, is more than a little strange.


"Through interviews with Sheler, Rick and Kay Warren disclosed that they were not attracted to each other nor had feelings for each other when they agreed to be married. Instead, they believed that God had spoken to each of them saying this is the person they should marry."


I'll let you come to your own conclusions, but can't offer too much respect for someone whose marriage began more a like Britney Spears relationship than a love story. Especially when he, as Joe said, has "no problem at all interfering with the relationships of other people who are madly in love with the person they want to marry."


On a completely different subject I just have to share this picture of Glenn Shadix and Johnny Depp. Glenn was attending an event honoring Tim Burton at New York's Museum of Modern Art last month. Read about it at Glenn's blog. Johnny Depp! People magazine's sexiest man of the year!