Archive for January, 2014

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Bread blogging: experiment #1

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

This requires some background.

One of my Christmas presents was a box of smoked meat from Goode Company Barbecue in Houston. The meat itself has been very good so far. But included with the meat was a loaf of Goode Company’s Jalepeno Cheddar bread.

I was warned in advance: “This stuff is addictive. You’ll find yourself eating the whole loaf in one sitting.” Well, I wasn’t quite that bad (it took two sittings to finish the loaf), but it is very very good bread. I wouldn’t put it at the “crack cocaine” level; that’s reserved for Caramel deLites (or Samoas, depending on which part of the country you’re in). It is even better if you toast it and spread some of Trader Joe’s Pub Cheese on the toast, but that’s a digression.

(And by the way, Girl Scout cookie season is upon us again.)

Anyway, after I finished the loaf, I found myself saying the following: “Hey! I have a bread machine! How hard could it be to replicate their bread?”

(more…)

Posted in Beef, Bread, Christmas, Food | 1 Comment »

Fundament, hindquarters, hind end, keister, posterior.

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Donavan Raynold Hunt, aka “Tanka 2”, is in custody.

Mr. Hunt was involved in an incident last November at a place called the “Quantum Lounge”. (The Statesman does not note if there are any cats in the Quantum Lounge, nor does it mention the living or dead status of said cats, nor does it give a position for said establishment. I think we can safely assume it has zero momentum.)

Anyway, Mr. Hunt was performing with his musical group, “Da Young Outlawz”, when they got into a dispute with some other folks.

The argument became so heated that the club’s management asked Hunt and his friends to leave, according to an affidavit, and both groups went outside and continued to argue. Around 1:40 a.m. on Nov. 8, a fight broke out and Hunt pulled a gun and started to shoot, according to the affidavit. One man was hit in the arm, side and foot, and a second man was hit in the butt.

“hit in the butt”? Are the Statesman writers and editors ten year olds? Couldn’t they have found a better word than “butt”? Perhaps “upper part of the thigh” as a homage to Robert B. Parker? “Posterior” isn’t a bad word, either. You say someone’s been “shot in the posterior” and everyone knows what you’re talking about.

But “in the butt”, Bob? Really?

Posted in Clippings, Law, Media | Comments Closed

Kelly Thomas.

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Since I’ve started thinking seriously (as a grown-up adult, not a child) about criminal justice issues, I’ve maintained certain positions.

One of those positions is that the verdict of a jury deserves a certain amount of deference. Yes, I may disagree with the verdict the jury returns. But: they were there in the courtroom. I was not. They watched all the testimony in person. I did not. They were able to see subtle cues of tone and inflection. I was not. At best, what I am basing my judgment on is what I read in the newspaper or saw on TV. These things are subject to conscious and unconscious bias, as well as errors and omissions. How can I question the verdict a jury returns without all the information they had access to? George Zimmerman or OJ Simpson, I’ve always thought the jury should be respected.

But I’m having trouble reconciling that with the acquittals of Manuel Ramos and Jay Cicinelli in the beating death of Kelly Thomas. (Previously. Also previously and graphic image warning.)

How does a jury return a verdict that says hitting a man in the face twenty times with a Taser is okay? How does a jury return a verdict that says telling a man “See these fists? They’re getting ready to [expletive] you up.” and then beating him until he can’t breathe and his blood is pooling on the sidewalk is not, at the very least, involuntary manslaughter? What evidence did they see that we did not?

And is it a compromise of my principles that I’m hoping the Justice Department indicts Ramos and Cicinelli?

Fiat justitia ruat caelum. But what is justice in this case?

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Law, Rage | Comments Closed

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! watch (#7 in a series)

Monday, January 13th, 2014

In some haste, because I’m out and about. But: as previously announced, and as everyone expected, Robert “Ratso” Rizzo, former city manager of Bell, has pled guilty to “filing a false tax return and conspiring to file a false tax return”.

Rizzo, according to the charges, illegally claimed losses of $409,731 between 2006 and 2009 by falsely claiming his horse ranch outside Seattle as rental property. He also admitted in a plea agreement that he paid for more than $80,000 in personal expenses in 2009 and $120,000 in construction work on his Huntington Beach home in 2010 while claiming they were used for his horse ranch.

Also as expected, Rizzo has agreed to “cooperate with federal authorities”, which is generally being interpreted to mean he’s going to roll on his former subordinate, Angela Spaccia, once she’s actually charged. (Tax charges against her are expected, but have not been filed yet.)

Also as previously discussed, it is expected that Rizzo’s sentence (which could be “up to eight years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine on the tax case”, though I am not a lawyer and am not clear if that’s within the federal sentencing guidelines) will be served concurrently with the twelve years he’s already serving on the other corruption charges he’s pled to. I’d like to see him serve more time, but this is still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Random notes: January 12, 2014.

Sunday, January 12th, 2014

Various news sources are reporting that the local cedar pollen count was 16,785 grains per cubic meter yesterday, and 13,340 today. For the record, these numbers are. (Records, that is.) This would explain why my skin feels like it is trying to crawl off of my body.

(“Why don’t you take some Benadryl, or a good anti-histamine?” Well, I don’t have any Benadryl, and I wouldn’t want to take it unless I was about to go to bed. I have an entire box of the good Zyrtec that I haven’t even opened yet, because, as scratchy as I am, getting the good stuff is such a hassle that I want to wait until I really, really need to use it before opening the box. Meanwhile, the Mexicans are purchasing pseudoephedrine in bulk and turning out high quality meth. Thanks, Obama!)

A Mr. Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey writes….

Lawrence made what I thought was a profound observation at dinner last night: every now and then, the NYT publishes a story that seems to be crafted in such a way as to make you hate not just the subjects, and not just the writers, but the entire population of New York City.

A half-dozen people were gathered around the tasting bar at the Henley Vaporium in SoHo on a recent Friday evening.

Let me interrupt here: where did the name “Henley Vaporium” come from?

The name, according to Ms. Eisenberg, has no significance other than that it sounded “cool” and “British.”

They should have named it “Henway”. What’s a “Henway”? About three pounds, give or take a few ounces. But I digress. Jumping back to where we were…

Behind the bar, two vapologists in white lab coats stood before a selection of dozens of tiny bottles, each containing liquid nicotine. The customers, all students or young professionals, leisurely inhaled on their so-called vape pens. Clouds of mist curled upward and vanished. A slightly sweet smell lingered in the air.

“Vapologist”?

…the title was actually stitched on the breast of each lab coat…

Their parents must be so proud.

After an hour sampling the “juices,” Chris Gsell, 39, a director of product development at a nearby ad agency, settled on creamy banana. “It’s delicious,” he said between pulls from his vape pen.

By a strange coincidence, “creamy banana” was also the flavor of the bubblegum cigars I used to chew when I was five years old.

You know, I try not to be judgmental about what people put into their bodies. And it does seem like e-cigarettes are less harmful for you than regular ones; if this is what gets you through the night, God bless you. But the “vape” culture that seems to be springing up around what is a replacement for smoking is starting to try my last nerve.

Posted in Clippings, Media | 2 Comments »

Dunder Mifflin won’t save you.

Saturday, January 11th, 2014

The city of Scranton, Pennsylvania has a problem.

Faced with a $20-million deficit, Scranton had to do some tricky maneuvering to balance its budget and avoid defaulting on loans. Most of this maneuvering has involved increasing taxes and fees paid by the people who still live in the town, which has seen its population drop by half since the 1930s.

How much?

In its 2014 budget, the city raised property taxes and trash fees nearly 60% and tripled rental registration fees. The city’s school district, which faced a $4-million deficit, raised taxes 2.4%.

The city already has a 5% tax on “live entertainment”, is discussing a 10% “drink tax”, and has jacked up parking rates. That’s going to help a lot:

The taxes are especially egregious to some because so many of the city’s residents are elderly and living on fixed incomes. The median household income in Scranton is $37,000, and nearly one-fifth of residents live below the poverty line.

I imagine a lot of those folks are going downtown and drinking in the downtown bars. Both of them. There’s only two left: all the others have gone out of business.

The city’s financial problems were accelerated by a 2011 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that found that the city owed its police and firefighters unions back pay — about $21 million. The settlement money became due in 2013, but the city bickered over how to come up with the funds for so long that Moody’s warned in November that Scranton faced the threat of default.

How bad is it? Many of the city residents quoted in the LAT would welcome a municipal bankruptcy.

“We’re watching what Detroit is doing, and just figure, with all the money we owe the police and all them, we’re going to be broke for the next 20 years, so why not file for bankruptcy?” said Walter David, a lifelong Scranton resident.

Why not indeed?

Posted in Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Got nothing.

Friday, January 10th, 2014

I hate being silent for two days straight, but I don’t have any thing I feel is worth writing about.

The Chris Christie thing is now being covered by everyone else in the world. I don’t have anything new to add, or anything more to say, about the gun show thing; there’s going to be a Saxet show this month per the existing contract, and Premier is going to have shows in Cedar Park during April and June. I’m frankly a little burned out on this fight, and I’m not sure what else we can do. (“If voting could change the system, it wouldn’t be legal.”)

More than anything else, I’m just feeling cranky and upset and tired and depressed. I think part of it is the season and part of it is the weather. I don’t know. I’m having trouble concentrating on stuff: I’m still trying to write the King of Sports review and do coursework, but both are struggles.

Maybe I just need a weekend. One more day to go.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Closed

TMQ Watch: January 7, 2014.

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

Ah, the promise of the new year. Ah, the promise of Gregg Easterbrook’s first column of the year. Ah, the promise of the playoffs.

After the jump, this week’s TMQ…

(more…)

Posted in Clippings, Mixology, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch, TV | 2 Comments »

Juggalo law.

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

The Michigan rap group Insane Clown Posse filed suit on Wednesday against the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, saying that the United States government had made the “unwarranted and unlawful decision” to classify fans of the band as criminal gang members, leading to their harassment by law enforcement and causing them “significant harm.”

This by way of a rather cryptic tweet from Popehat:

(Sorry, Mom.)

Not being a lawyer, I’m not sure what Popehat is referring to here as far as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, though I’m hoping it wasn’t just a play on ICP’s most famous quote and we’ll get a fuller explanation later. As a guess, I want to say that Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope may not have standing to sue, as it isn’t clear to me that they have actually been damaged directly by the government’s actions.

Posted in Clippings, IANAL, Law | Comments Closed

Second verse, same as the first!

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

My mother sent the kids an email this morning:

No more gun shows, big Velvetta shortage. Makes me want to get a gun and the big box of Velvetta.

And I said, “Whaaaaaaaaaat?” I wasn’t aware there was a gun show issue. As a matter of fact, I’d checked the Saxet Shows schedule just the other night (while dining with Lawrence) and they have shows scheduled through December 2014. So I figured we were done with the bolshie bushwa. Right?

Wrong.

Travis County leaders voted Tuesday not to extend a lease allowing Saxet Gun Shows to hold the event at the county-owned Exposition Center in Austin.

Here’s a report from yesterday. Basically, the county commissioners couldn’t agree on what to do:

After concerns with citizens last year, the county added a provision in the contract that Saxet require it’s private gun vendors to conduct background checks for shows at the Travis County Expo Center. Judge Sam Biscoe proposed the county halt attempts to negotiate with Saxet until they agree to the background check provision of the contract. That proposal failed. Precinct Three Commissioner Gerald Daugherty then proposed to continue the original contract without the background check provision, which also failed.

Oh, look. By way of KLBJ, here’s a non-paywalled Statesman link.

“If you use a public facility to sell guns, we really oughta have background checks done. Or don’t use the facility,” County Judge Sam Biscoe, the chairman of the commissioners, told reporters after the meeting.

And since licensed dealers at gun shows are already required to do background checks, that will accomplish…nothing. Except drive Saxet out of Austin and into someplace like Round Rock or Cedar Park, and reduce Expo Center revenue. Private sales between individuals are still going to take place, gun show or no show.

Perhaps some of my readers might wish to give Judge Biscoe and the other members of the Commissioner’s Court who aren’t Gerald Daugherty a call. I’d recommend being polite and professional. Judge Biscoe has nothing to lose, since he’s retiring this year. So perhaps you should also make a note on your calender for election time…

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Politics, Travis County | 2 Comments »

Random notes: January 8, 2014.

Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

Jeff Ireland out as general manager in Miami, on the heels of the Mike Sherman firing. This is being spun as “by mutual agreement”:

A club source said Ireland was going to lose much, if not all, of his decision-making power. Owner Stephen Ross intended to hire an executive with personnel authority over Ireland, a situation that was not acceptable to Ireland.

106 individuals charged in a massive, multi-decade long Social Security disability fraud scheme. Included in the indictments are 72 former NYC police officers and eight former NYC firefighters.

More to come. I’m getting a slow start this morning, but I do plan a gun show post as soon as I’m able to get one up. Assuming Lawrence doesn’t beat me to it.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Firings, Law, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Banana republicans watch: January 7, 2014.

Tuesday, January 7th, 2014

This story started breaking this morning, but I wanted to wait for the official word before posting anything.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has decided to drop his re-election bid, and is retiring as sheriff at the end of January.

Sheriff Baca and his department have been a frequent subject of coverage here, most recently as the result of 18 of his deputies being indicted on federal charges. But that’s just part of the story; Baca’s department has a long history of issues, including deputies beating the crap out of each other at the Christmas party, questionable hiring decisions, and questionable tactics. Browse the “California Uber Alles” category for more.

I have the feeling that this is another one of those “pass the popcorn” moments, and I look forward to finding out what happens next.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

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