This is a photo of the fabulous Brett Somers. She appeared on the match game and was married to Jack Klugman.
This is a photo of the fabulous Sara Lampe. She is my state representative and was married to to the guy who talks about eagles at the zoo.
This is Charles Nelson Reilly. He was very funny and recently died.
Last Sunday, I caught the last 30 laps of the NASCAR race and then ended up on the Speed channel for a recap of the race.
Most of the commercials on the Speed channel show, I think it was Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain, were for mediacom, the local cable tv provider.
One commercial was a young man entertaining his fiancee's parents when the phone rings. He lets the machine pick up the call, it is the video store saying his adult films were past due and please return them quickly. He is, of course, embarassed and his relationship with his future inlaws goes down the tubes quickly.
The commercial cuts to two girls working in the video store and they are giggling and saying let's down it again to someone else......Mediacom comes on and says what you watch on tv is your business and no one elses, and that they now offer adult features.
This commercial, or variations on its theme ran several times during the show. I wasn't paying much attention, but it seemed, in hindsight, that almost all the commercials were for mediacom and the adult movies.
We all can show the world just how aa we are and what we do with our time.
But, when we get behind closed doors, when we get behind closed doors, when we get behind closed doors, we, does anyone else find it humorous that mediacom is now offering adult movies on the cable tv? 
I went to their website but couldn't find anything, did anyone else see those commercials? I want to know just how adult are they? I may have to call them up tomorrow and ask them.
Court ruling: Same game, new rules
5/30/2007
A Missouri Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday strengthens the rights of school employees to negotiate employment terms with school districts — and requires that contracts be honored.
The Independence-NEA v. Independence School District decision came in response to a suit brought by the district’s transportation employees and educational support personnel after the district ignored a longstanding agreement and unilaterally decided to move to a "collaborative team policy" that recognized both NEA and MSTA members.
In its decision Tuesday, the Court overruled earlier decisions and wrote that once the Independence district entered into an agreement, the district could not unilaterally change it.
MSTA Executive Director Kent King said the decision is relatively narrow in scope and leaves many issues that the General Assembly must address. One thing is sure, though, he says: "Districts will be forced to interact with all educators, and MSTA will be there to represent them, just as it has always been."
King added that the ruling confirms rights for teachers that MSTA has always supported: "Look at how MSTA’s resolutions speak to these issues. We believe districts should listen to teachers, and if school boards and administrators have agreed to something with their employees, that agreement should be binding."
The 1945 Missouri Constitution states "employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing." In 1947, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that provision only applied to private-sector employees. The Supreme Court's 5-2 ruling, announced Tuesday, overturns that decision. The court also unanimously overturned a 1982 decision that allowed governments to negate agreements made with unions.
The court’s ruling did not describe the negotiating process for employee groups and employers. There was no mention of agency fee or exclusive representation. Instead, the opinion relies on the current public-sector collective bargaining statute. The legislature will be responsible for determining the exact method and parameters of the process. The court does, however, make it clear that if a district enters into an agreement with an employee association or union, the district must abide by the terms of that agreement.
The ruling also makes it clear that a public employer is not required to agree to any proposals. It suggests that districts are required to go through a process and at the conclusion of the process can determine to accept or reject the proposal.
How the ruling may change the way MSTA operates will unfold over time. The association will continue to protect and represent its members, providing the services that are important to them.
"MSTA has been around for more than 150 years," King says, "and when the playing field changes, as everything does over time, we adapt. Through the years, though, our basic goal remains the same: To take care of our members so that they can take care of students."
From the MSTA website.
Missouri Supreme Court
gives educators bargaining rights
Ruling will allow educators to become a part of the decision-making process and make contracts binding.
In a historic decision May 29, the Missouri Supreme Court gave public employees, including teachers, the right to bargain collectively with employers.
The ruling supports Article 1, Section 29 in the Missouri Constitution, which provides “That employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.”
“This is great news for all public employees, but it is especially good news for Missouri’s educators and students,” says Missouri NEA President Greg Jung. “This decision begins a new era in public education as it finally brings all the experts to the table and provides a means for collaborative decision making combined with accountability. Ultimately, the result is better working and learning conditions in Missouri schools.”
The ruling reverses a 1947 decision, Springfield vs. Clouse, whereby the Court ruled that the constitutional language did not apply to public employees, including teachers.
“Collective bargaining provides a fair process for educators to join with administrators at the decision-making table and holds all parties accountable for upholding the agreements they reach,” Jung says. “It allows employees to have a voice in negotiating their working conditions and students’ learning conditions. In addition, it provides for a rational, non-disruptive process to resolve disputes.”
In both the neighboring states of Iowa and Kansas, and 32 others, collective bargaining correlates with increased student achievement and a more stable workforce.
“MNEA believes that every child has the basic right to attend a great public school, and the court’s decision allows educators to have a voice in how that is accomplished,” Jung says.
Prior to this decision, some public employees in Missouri had meet-and-confer rights under RSMo 105.500. Teachers were specifically excluded from the provisions of this statute. Although educators were not included in the statute, many school districts in Missouri encourage positive employee relations by providing employees a legitimate voice in decision making.
from the MONEA website
She lost her son.
She became a galvanizing force for those who opposed the war.
She tried to save the world.
She burned out.
Read about it here. and here also..
I am sorry she lost her son.
This just in from Reuters:
Poland to probe if Teletubbies are gay
Mon May 28, 2007 1:20PM EDT
Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees as homosexual propaganda to the small screen on Monday, taking aim at Tinky Winky and the other Teletubbies.
Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told a local magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBC children's show promoted homosexuality.
She said she would ask psychologists to advise if this was the case.
In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady's purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy."
"At first I thought the purse would be a burden for this Teletubby ... Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone."
Poland's rightist government has upset human rights groups and drawn criticism within the European Union by apparent discrimination against homosexuals.
Polish Education Minister Roman Giertych has proposed laws sacking teachers who promote "homosexual lifestyle" and banning "homo-agitation" in schools.
But in a sign that the government wants to distance itself from Sowinska's comments, Parliamentary Speaker Ludwig Dorn said he had warned her against making public comments "that may turn her department into a laughing stock."
The 10-year-old Teletubbies, which features four rotund, brightly colored characters loved by children around the world, became a target of religious conservatives after Falwell suggested Tinky Winky could be homosexual.
In other news, Jerry Falwell is still dead.
There was a short piece in the voices section of the SNL lampooning Edwards and his actions after the death of his son in an automobile accident. The blogger questioned the sincerity of Edwards and suggested that he was "artificial" and that even Kerry didn't trust him. Now, Edwards is running for president.
And so is this guy....how many times has he been married? How's his relationship with his kids?....
From the Springfield Community Free Press May 9-22, 2007
The fight continues in Jefferson City for a much needed crime lab in Greene County.
"Right now, I'm gravely concerned that House Bill 19 is on life support," Rep. Bob Dixon said, "The Speaker indicated that, in his words, 'We can just do that bill next year.'"
Right now, HB 19 is currently in teh House Rules Committee. Dixon said that the bill is somewhat tied down in the legislative process because House Bills 1-13, which compromise the primary operating budget, must be passed first.
"What's really frustrating is that the members of the House sent the bill over to the Senate in February, and it's been sitting there, collecting dust," he said.
"I'm fighting with everything in me to get this bill passed," Dixon said, "It's crucial not just for Southwest Missouri, but for the entire state."
Vice President Dick Cheney gave a commencement speech at West Point. Andrew Sullivan blogged this reader's comments:
A reader writes
Read the speech more carefully. He didn't just attack the Geneva Conventions. He attacked the Constitution of the United States of America. The reality is in fact much worse than your original post would indicate.
Here's the key passage:
As Army officers on duty in the war on terror, you will now face enemies who oppose and despise everything you know to be right, every notion of upright conduct and character, and every belief you consider worth fighting for and living for. Capture one of these killers, and he'll be quick to demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States. Yet when they wage attacks or take captives, their delicate sensibilities seem to fall away.
Cheney, as usual, is careful with his words. He is, of course, right that our enemies are barbarians. Their torture manual confirms what we already knew. But the way he expresses this is very telling. He portrays the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution as devices by which al Qaeda can defeat the United States.
The effect can only be to undermine respect for both Geneva and the Constitution among West Point cadets and the military in general.
In the current debate, Cheney is using a West Point graduation to urge the military to support his disavowal of Geneva and his interpretation of a unitary executive in which the president has indefinite dictatorial powers with respect to "enemy combatants" in the war on terror. Invoking Geneva and the Constitution in a time of war, Cheney implies, is only something terrorists or terrorist-supporters would do. Sticking by Geneva and the Constitution is a function of "delicate sensibilities," which, in Cheney's faux-macho worldview, is about as contemptuous an expression as can be imagined.
Cheney represents the GOP establishment consensus, as expressed in the recent South Carolina debate, and across the Bush-blogosphere. He views both the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution of the United States as obstacles to be overcome in fighting the war on terror, the kind of obstacles only wimps defer to.
After all, the Constitution might be read as forbidding the executive branch from detaining a U.S. citizen on American soil, bringing no charges for years, and torturing that citizen in solitary confinement until he is a quivering wreck of a human being. But in the battle between Cheney, Padilla and the constitution, Cheney won - and Padilla and the Constitution lost.
Cheney seems to believe that the military and the president have taken oaths to defend American lives and American territory and American interests. But of course, presidents and vice-presidents and U.S. servicemembers take no such oath. Servicemembers take the following oath:
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
Does Cheney understand this oath?
Do the Republicans?
The Constitution - not the territory, not the people - is what the U.S. government is constructed to defend.
And yet the current administration clearly views that Constitution as very September 10.
We have a year and a half to go under a president and vice-president with this view of the Constitution.
If you are not worried, you should be.
The Washington Post says Dick Cheney is "Attempting to Constrain Bush's Choices on Iran Conflict: Staff Engaged in Insubordination Against President Bush."
This is further reported by Joe Klein in TIme Online: Cheney's Iran Fantasy.a
Then Andrew Sullivan has picked up on it also: Bush vs Cheney on Iran..
How will they spin this news?
Also, the Democrats are taking a lot of heat for the war funding bill, but if there were not enough votes to pass Bush's veto, it all boils down to rhetoric.
75% of Americans oppose the war. What are Bush and Cheney trying to do to us?
When I first read this headline, I assumed that someone was planning on bombing Falwell's funeral service.
Only after I read the text did I realize that one of the Students at Liberty University made the bomb to use AGAINST protesters at the funeral.
In discussions about terrorists and suicide bombers, I have made the comment that the faith of these must be mighty powerful to blow yourself up for your beliefs. (Remember the Buddhist monks who self imolated protesting their government in Viet Nam? At least they didn't take anybody with them.)
Far be it from me to throw stones,,,,,,but isn't using bombs against people who don't agree with you, sort of....could I, dare I, say a bit terroristic? But oh, this student wasn't planning to blow himself up, just other people. Maybe he was pretending they were an abortion clinic.
Read about it here.
Got 25 minutes to spare? Watch this, faith partners.
"I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." — Radical Right strategist Paul Weyrich, at a 1980 training session for 15,000 conservative preachers in Dallas.
They are still following the same play book. Except instead of jackleg preachers calling the plays, the Justice Department is.
This is a blog report from a GI in Iraq. You link to his blog in my links or get to it here.
Karma, Karma, Always Karma
We took another trip up into Karma tonight. We patrolled up through the town and cut east, out through the area in which coalition forces recently took a bite out of al-Qaeda's anti-aircraft capability. One bomb crater nearly blocked the road in one spot- another was visible a short distance off the road. We spent four or five hours heading out to our turnaround spot, with dark clouds menacing their showers over the entire trip. Rainstorms are refreshing, once in a while, but they also mean more work spent drying and cleaning ammunition and weapons.
The clouds finally broke as we were driving back out of Karma. Rain drummed fitfully on the roof- just enough to obscure the road, but never quite enough to need the wipers full time. Lightning shot blue fire across the sky. Somewhere to the south, a bolt of lightning hit the power grid, and the horizon light up with the turquoise strobes of exploding transformers. Distant lights began to wink out and disappear- the oncoming tide of blackness washed ever closer as transformers continued to light up the sky. The blue light was joined by the steadily flashing golden pink glow of a downed power line. As we continued to roll towards Camp Falluja, we passed the power line still sparking and glowing on top of a concertina fence. The air smelled sharply of ozone- it also smelt cleaner than it has in weeks.
The rain also lead to the first pang of homesickness that I've felt in a while. After we got back, I walked out under the netting that covers the entryway to my buddy's tent. The netting is a fine, sand colored mesh that block the sun. It also breaks up the rain into a fine mist, with larger droplets that break and fall occasionally from the net. I stood underneath the netting with my eyes closed, smelling the suddenly fresh air, and thinking of the rain in the forests on the coast that was so similar to what I felt tonight thousands of miles away.
Just a few more months now.
Man robbed of wedding ring worth $3
Thursday, May 17, 2007
West Side Sun News
SECOND DISTRICT A handgun was reportedly used in a robbery May 4 on Oak Park Avenue. Stolen was a carry-all bag valued at $30, a credit card, $1,500 in cash and a wedding ring with a listed value of $3.
This is photo is blog worthy simply because it is the first picture I have ever seen of Paris Hilton without cleavage, bare midriff, and legs to the moon. Click on Paris to see how much she has in common with Farah. All right, not that much in common with Farah, but there are similarities. 
Paris' reading material has improved dramatically also. Say, isn't that a Gideon bible? I'm sure she picked up to read between takes and forgot to leave it in the hotel room.
Here is an interesting article about the bus plunge story. And a follow-up here.
I used to collect bus plunges from the pages of the newspaper. I got a friend who collects obituaries.
Any good "bus plunge" story should have the following elements:
Plunge should appear in the hed; the piece should be only a couple of sentences long; and it should "include the number feared dead, the identity of any group on board"—a soccer team, church choir, or students—"as well as the distance of the plunge from the capital city." The words ravine or gorge should appear.
"You don't be writing no more about sex in cemetaries. Nice people don't talk about that, remember what Barbara says, ABSTINENCE works. You need to be spending less time with your mind in the gutter and more time here and quit blowing your nose in the sheets."
Paradise by the dashboard light. It was long ago and it was far away and it was so much better than it is today. It never felt so good. never felt so right, And we were glowing like a metal on the edge of a knife.
Church leader has sex with teenager in a car in a cemetary, they get caught by the cops, parents sue the church, church denies any knowledge of the wrongdoing, etc, etc. Only this time is a female youth leader and a male teenager. It was almost refreshing to read a sex abuse scandal that a) involved heterosexual sex and b) didn't involve the Catholic Church.
The story's over on KY3's website, you can Melissa Yeager's report read it here.
Gosh wilikens, how much stuff has changed in the last 43 years. When I was fifteen years old, if a female adult had asked me to go to a cemetary to partake in a sexual act, heck, if ANY female has asked me to go to a cemetary to partake in a sexual act....Seems like I spent most of my high school years playing baseball, trying to hit that elusive homer, being satisfied with a double.
Gosh, fifteen years old, naked in a car with an older woman, doing the deed....
Paradise by the dashboard light
Last week I went downtown to the Patton Alley Pub to the 417 area bloggers meeting.
I generally don't like going to bars, it i's just expensive, gosh darn it. I can go to Pricecutter and buy a 30 pack of Miller High Life for what three beers in a bar cost me. Since I live on a fixed income, how I spend my money has become very important to me.
So, I go to the bar and I drink tonic water. Which I like. But I am 58 years old and continually battle BPH so tonic water probably isn't the best choice for me, especially considering all the sodium in it. I end up feeling like the guys in the back seat of the Mustang.
For those readers under 50, the reference to the back seat of the Mustang is in reference to a television commercial for a drug that reliefs the gotta go syndrome of men that sometimes happens as we age. It is definately an annoyance.
I talk to a couple of bloggers and they speak of the need for bloggers to identify themselves to give credibility to their blogs. Of the three of us in the conversation, I am the only one whose true identity is secret. (Gee, I feel like Batman or Superman).
I like being able to blog under BusPlunge. No one knows who I am, so I can do some pretty daring things: Like making fun of city council, or , gee if Ryan Cooper can out a sex offender on SMSU....correction MSU faculty, can I out a local politician?
I have the balls to do it as BusPlunge.
And Ashcroft, I am saluting John Ashcroft for standing up for the constitution. John Ashcroft, who got kicked out of the Bush administration for being too moderate. John Ashcroft!
I've lived in Springfield since the summer of 1964. I've seen a lot of changes since then and it seems like I've been against dam near everyone of them. Red light cameras, iceskating parks, founders park, jordan valley park, crime lab, hillbilly silicone valley, where is the city getting the money to spend on all this stuff?
And then, in the SNL ---Springfield News Leader--- a consultant says that in revitalizing Commercial Street we need to pay as we go. Like shouldn't we have been doing that all along?
La De Da De Da, the beat goes on La De Da De De, the beat goes on.
Who is running the city? Why didn't anybody run against Ralph in the last election? Heck fire darnit.
How come Ozarks Politics is so darn funny and how come I can't write like that?
I was complaining to my son the other day about how things really got messed up with the contractor who was supposed to be fixing our house. Instead he took my money. My son asked me, "What can't you be doing that you want to be doing?"
My answer, nothing. It is pretty stressful and full, but nothing unmanageable. I gots to get these houses reroofed, patio covers fixed, cabin reroofed, trucks sold, money paid back, horse sold, airstream finished, bathroom redone, Hey we'll get it done.
You know, sometimes Bennett Cerf WAS funny.
Enhanced interrogation techniques. Torture.
Republicans condone torture?
This aint' over yet. Where is the outcry?
Did anyone else receive the holy handkerchief in the mail today?
God tells Ministers to send out handkerchiefs to people's homes, so that blessings will start in their lives. Use this Bible Handkerchief soaked with prayer, tonight, and return it in the morning.
Earlier this month I posted about Mediacom's rate increase, particularly the 3.95 service charge, you can read about it here.
On this month's bill (remember, I pay cable bills for four households), for three of the households, I got a special not saying that because I was such a good customer, even though the rates went up, I was getting a special deal by only increasing the rate to 49.95---this was for three households.
Today I got my bill,,,,,,no special treatment here, the bill was $51.95 plus franchise fee.
How come on three houses I get a special customer rate and on my house I don't get it?
YOu can read about it at Ozark snow.
I may be a little fuzzy in the math department, but bear with me:
In a two week trial, 11 people ran the red light. That's $1100.00 in revenue.
If we expand those figures, (assuming this is an average of one red light runner a day per intersection, and 15 intersections will have cameras) that is a projected income of $1500.00 a day times 30 days in a month = $45,000.00 a month income, gross times 12 months = $540,000 a year.
Laser craft charges $4,195 per approach per insection. I guess this means, although the newspaper reports aren't clear, that each intersection has four approaches, north, south, east and west. $4,195 time 4 = $16,870 per insection per month times 15 intersections (city says eventually 16 intersections will have cameras, you can adjust the math) = $251,700 city income per month times 12 months = $3,020,400.
Lasercraft also charges around $200,000 annually in processing and postage fees.
In addition, the city has budgeted $100,000 for salaries and benefits, as well as court contingency costs.
If I did the math right, the city will be spending $3,320,000 for the red light cameras. The city stands to receive $540,000 a year for red light cameras. This later figure will probably go down as people realize the cameras are there, so it is a diminishing figure.
Meanwhile, the pension fund is short $3,000,000. I think I know where to get it.
What was the City Council thinking?
There have been so many lies and distortions in the Bush presidency that nothing surprises me anymore. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzoles, Rove, the whole bunch of them have turned our government into partisan slop--from the white house offices to the fee offices. I didn't trust them then and I don't trust them now.
Doesn't anyone have the guts to tell the emperor he has no clothes?
Someone did, couple of years ago, it was mentioned briefly in the news last year, now it has made congressional hearing.
I cheered when he lost to a dead man. I lampooned him when he covered up the breasts in the hall of justice. I mocked him when he sang "Let the eagles soar". I laughed at him when I saw him in Staples on North Kansas Expressway trying to buy a fax machine, dressed in his cowboy clothes, wearing a leather cowboy belt with "JOHN A" stamped in white letters on the back. I told my co-shoppers that's how he knows which clothes are his.
John Ashcroft, I apologize to you. You had the courage to stand up for what is right. You alone held true to your beliefs. Even though I don't agree with your politics all the time,in this case I admire and respect your convictions and sense of balance.
I salute and thank you.
Read about it here. And here, in this article fromJanuary, 2006.
I apologize for making this comment, but not for holding this belief: Isn't gluttony one of the seven deadly sins?
Jerry Falwell is dead.
Jerry Falwell had a history of "heart challenges", like if you weren't just like him and believed just what he believed or told you to believe, he didn't have a heart.
Love him or hate him, he certainly stirred up strong emotions in people.
Falwell had opinions on a lot of issues. This comments on this blog certainly make for interesting reading.
But not all was as rosy as a winky blink's cheeks. Falwell was involved in controversy regarding his Liberty University indebtedness. Many bondholders were "mom and pops cashing in their IRA money because their local minister and Falwell's letters said they'd be doing God's work," recalled Doug Hudman, a lawyer in the case. "The true victims are the mom-and-pop believers who think their money was going to a good cause. All it was doing was going to fund Mr. Falwell's continued indebtedness. It's kind of sickening.
Robert Parry's in his treatise on Falwell and the Moon dynasty said Falwell's greatest deviation from fundamentalism has to do with his part in the PTL Network scandal. On March 20, 1987, Falwell announced that the reins of the charismatic PTL conglomerate had been turned over to him by the "Reverend" Jim Bakker. Falwell was quoted as saying that Bakker's resignation was a "blow to the cause of Christ," that "God would not want me to allow the collapse of this ministry," that he was "trying to save a sister ministry," that his goal was to "rebuild the credibility and guarantee the ongoing testimony of Jesus Christ," and that "the entire cause of Christ is at stake." All of these statements gave credibility to an enterprise which had been a spacey combination of tongues, healing, prosperity gospel, success testimonies, and unabashed deceit. Later revelations exposed all types of immorality, drug addiction, high living, and misappropriation of funds.
Falwell subsequently dumped Bakker almost as quick as Dobson dumped Haggard.
The Springfield connection? He graduated from BBC and, according to reliable sources, was a close personal friend of former state representative Larry Morris.
My personal opinion? I think he was a self righteous, hypocritical son of a bitch. May he rest in peace. May God have mercy on his soul.
On March 12, 2006, a hail storm hit Springfield, MO, damaging four properties owned by my family.
All of the properties sustained hail damage to the roofs and gutters, patio covers and outbuildings.
As of today, none of the jobs are finished and I am looking for new contractors. I assume **** is in Kansas helping the people out there. It ain't easy.
This morning after reading about Jay Nixon going after price gougers during the recent ice storm, I wrote a very long piece about how a local business overcharged me and my insurance company for damages from teh March 12, 2006 hail storm.
As I re-read it and re-wrote, taking out any names and specific locations. to avoid being sued for the s.o.b., I realized I was spending way too much time and energy on this jerk. So I deleted the posting.
If you want to read it in all its glory, send me an email.
Meanwhile,
The Boeing 737 stuck in city road
By Monica Chadha
BBC News, Mumbai
Residents of the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) are wondering how long it will take to remove a disused Boeing 737 that has been abandoned in a busy road.
The decommissioned aircraft was being driven through the city at the weekend when the driver got lost and then abandoned the plane.
The Boeing used to belong to the private company Air Sahara.
Some locals are angry that no action is being taken to move the plane. Others say it is a tourist attraction.
It appears that after taking a wrong turn, the driver found himself facing a flyover that was too low for him to take the plane under.
The driver has not been seen since and no-one is assuming responsibility for the 737.
Sunday surprise
Restaurant owner Ramji Thapar is one of the puzzled residents of the Chembur area of the city.
He woke up Sunday morning to find the aircraft on a giant trailer abandoned on the road.
"Saturday night I shut shop and go home and everything is fine," he told the BBC news website.
"Sunday morning when I get here, this aircraft is here near my restaurant!"
The fuselage of the decommissioned aircraft, with the engine, wings and tail removed, was being taken by road to the capital Delhi late on Saturday night.
Reports say it was supposed to be used at a flight training academy.
The plane has become the centre of attraction with people coming from all over the city to take a look.
"I've been fascinated with planes and never seen one so closely," engineering student Vamsi Shastri said. "It's huge!"
His friend Ankur Rane said, "It's fascinating to see an airplane on the roads when one is only used to seeing cars and auto rickshaws."
No joke
However, for Pradeep Malhotra, who runs a catering service in the area, the plane has become a huge problem because it is parked right in front of his shop.
"My work is suffering because the food cannot be loaded in the big vehicles," he said.
"I have to load it in the smaller vans and then carry them to the bigger ones parked at the back.
"I don't know how they are going to take it out because you can't reverse it, its too big, and you can't go further down the road."
Some residents said they had not complained simply because they assumed that the authorities would be making it a priority to get the plane out of the city.
Five days on, it is still not clear who is responsible for the aircraft and its transfer to Delhi.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6620461.stm
My wife and I bought a 1978 Airstream trailer from some people in Pennsylvania. WE got a really good deal on it, bought it worth the money. It had some soft spots in the floor.
Brought it home and tore out the insides to fix the floor. It turned out to be a bigger job than I had anticipated. 
Getting closer to getting it finished, got the new floor in, the cabinets back up and the bathroom ceiling in and painted with epoxy paint.
First, we let Pat Robertson graduates run our justice department,
Now, Mickey Mouse is running our immigration department,,,,that is when he isn't helping out Hamas.<
Gasoline in Springfield is $3.09 a gallon yesterday. Pundits say that the American gas user will tolerate this because of past history of spikes in gas prices before the summer and major holidays. We get used to it.
WE will tolerate the higher gas prices until it becomes intolerable. When will it become intolerable? I don't know. But I do know that gas prices are regressive, they affect lower income people much more than higher economic status folks.
We are more apt to drive less fuel efficient vehicles and to buy fuel in smaller increments. It is like an ATM, if I withdraw ten bucks from a generic atm and it costs me one dollar from the atm and one dollar from my bank, that ten bucks cost me 12 bucks. If I withdraw 100 bucks, same situation, that 100 bucks costs me 102 bucks. The guy who has less money always gets it in the end.
My take is people moan and complain about gas prices but we still drive our suburbans and suvs and guzzlers.
Something's happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear.....
This is a Monica Problem.
Monica graduated from Regent University.
This is Pat Robertson's school. You remember Pat.
About 150 graduates of Regent work for the federal government.
This is concerning because not everyone has the same opinion of Regents as do Pat and the graduates.
I first picked up on this on Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish and got linked over to this.
You need to read it.
I wrote a post last night on the US Attorneys and the squelling of voter rights. In that post, which is posted below, I wrote, in irony, "And thank goodness our senators and representative have the ability to make a good gumbo out of crayfish, turtles and whatever else animals we can find around this state instead of discussing depressing topics like sick people in wheelchairs kicked off health insurance, or cloning and gosh darnit, it's too bad about them people anyhow but it's survival of the fittest baby, I got mine, you gotta get yours.
This morning, while reading today's paper, I came across this:
To The Point
Comments from readers who quickly make their point. E-mail your one- or two-sentence comments to "To The Point" at letters@news-leader.com
Too many deadbeats out there
I am so tired of hearing about the lack of Medicaid and food stamps in Missouri. Isn't it time that people take responsibility for themselves and their actions? I agree that those unable to work should get assistance from the state, but those that choose not to help themselves should just fend for themselves. I'm tired of my tax dollars going to all these deadbeat people in the world.
- Matthew Miller, Springfield
Thank you Matthew Miller, you have stated my case far more elequantly than I ever could.
"Tis a privledge to live in the Ozarks."
This, from Fired Up Missouri, is all about that US attorney commotion, it's big in KC?
Picking up on link from the Turner Report, The Heartland Diary of Betty B, she wonders why it didn't get into the papers down here or on the television.
Heck, I'll tell you why the story didn't get into this area: We got more important things to cover, like a dog getting electrecuted from peeing on a light pole in Branson. Now THAT'S news!
No, there isn't a local angle to the attorney story, unless of course, you count the fact that the story concerns Missourians. Then maybe it concerns us down here.
But heck, down here we don't care about suppressing minority voters, heck there ain't no minorities down here except for them ones working in the chicken factories or putting on new roofs and they don't vote no how.
Naw, we got a lot of important things to worry about down here. Thank GOD we got people who keep our eyes on the prize and who are always writing Tony Messenger to keep us on track of the things that are important to us down here in the Ozarks. Things like
keeping bull dykes pesky abortion hoes out of our city and away from our wimmen folk;
keeping our rifles, pistols, shotguns, ak 47s, M-16 guns free and loaded in case I need to defend my castle, or doublewide as the case may be (my cold dead hands--now that's a man!);
Keeping those nasty hairdresser guys from marrying each other and upsetting the little woman, heck it's adam and eve, not adam and bruce! (I got to admit I liked it that the little woman's hair guy told her it was ok to do falinnio;
And thank God for John Ashcroft for covering up that nekkid lady in the halls of justice. Justice may be blind, but she sure had big a boombooms;
And thank goodness our senators and representative have the ability to make a good gumbo out of crayfish, turtles and whatever else animals we can find around this state instead of discussing depressing topics like sick people in wheelchairs kicked off health insurance, or cloning and gosh darnit, it's too bad about them people anyhow but it's survival of the fittest baby, I got mine, you gotta get yours.
Suppression of minority voters? Shucks we got more important things to worry about, like how are we going to get to our minimum wage jobs with three dollar gasoline. Guess I'll have to start smoking generics and drinking Cook's. I heard my kids talking about how cheese and strawberries take the edge off, guess I'll head down to the pricecutter and git me some.
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This just in.......
Owner says dog electrocuted yesterday on Branson Landing
Kathryn Buckstaff
© 2007, Springfield News-Leader
BRANSON - An old dog named Bailey was apparently electrocuted Thursday night went she stopped to urinate on a lamp post in Branson Landing.
About 9 p.m. Thursday, police were called to the downtown lakefront center, which opened a year ago. The police report said Edward French, who gave his address as the Branson Inn, said he was walking his elderly black-and-white dog on a leash when she stopped to at the light pole. He told the police officer that the dog yelped and fell over against the pole. It was raining at the time.
French told police he tried to pull the dog away from the pole, but received an electrical shock. French said he was not injured and refused care from members of the Taney County Ambulance District who also had responded to the police call.
French told police that after the dog collapsed, he went to get his girlfriend who was at the Landing looking for a job. The couple drove down to the area just north of the fountains, and placed the dog in the vehicle.
“She was a very sweet, good-natured dog,” said Trent Mitchell, who knew Bailey. French could not be reached for comment.
On Friday morning, a crew of electricians were brought in to check each of the 100 lamposts in Branson Landing, said manager Todd Hiepler.
Hiepler said they don’t know what caused the incident, but it was isolated to that single pole located just north of the lakefront fountains. The pole has been completely rewired including new circuit breakers. No other problems were found, he said
The police report said Edward French, who gave his address as the Branson Inn, said he was walking his elderly black-and-white dog on a leash when she stopped to at the light pole. She stopped to .....? We can only imagine.
I feel sorry for the dog and owner.
1. College sued over transfer of credits
May 6, 2004 •• 1131 words •• ID: spr2004050713052852
Ryan Slight, News-Leader A Cassville family has sued Vatterott College for fraud, alleging the Springfield campus deceived a student into believing all her credits would transfer to larger schools. Robert and Linda Moss spent more than $12,000 for Bobbie Moss' tuition and related expenses in the past year before learning neither Southwest Missouri State University nor Ozarks Technical Community College would take her credits, according to a petition filed last month in Greene County Circuit Court.
Here is the link to the court record.
Anyone know how this turned out? I seem to think that the family got their $12,000 back.
I received an email yesterday detailing what appears to be much the same thing happening up the road in Bolivar. Whomever wrote it appears to know what they are talking about in the program. It is an interesting read. Here is the link.
It appears that not every student up there likes the school either, as indicated on Rate My Professors.com.
Snarling Marmot and that Chatter guy got this thing going, NOT that kind of thing, keep your mind on the bidness, a thing going about places to eat and drink in Springfield, it is sort a fun to play.
Favorite overall restaurant: Shoney's, really nice food and great buffet,great for breakfast
Favorite new restaurant: any place downtown with over priced food and obnoxious self-serving customers.
Favorite breakfast place: Shoney's
Favorite sushi: Tie: Long John Silver and Captain D's, now they know how to cook fish
Favorite bar: Cat and Fiddle / cheap drinks, I just can't bring myself to spend $6.00 for a martini when I can buy a whole bottle of good vodka as Skagg's for 25 bucks.
Favorite brunch: Don't eat brunch, I get up early enough for breakfast.
Favorite “average Joe” chain restaurant: Burger King
Favorite Mexican: Tamale King
Favorite pizza place: TIE Pizza Hut, they deliver and always have something on sale and Pizza House, we love the burnt edges.
Favorite Italian: That place by Cox where they let you draw on the table cloth with crayons
Favorite burger: The 99 cent burger bar on Commerical street, mmmm, burgers and beer!
Favorite themed restaurant: Wing stop French fries are GREAT!
Favorite beer joint: TIE: Sunshine Inn, close to the house, can walk home/ my back porch BEFORE my neighbors found my beer fridge
Favorite pita bread and hummus: TIE: Pricecutter / Sam's Favorite lunch place for a first date: Heck, I been married 36 years, I don't know.
Favorite place for a romantic date: see above
Favorite fast food place: Wendy's they treat the tomatoe pickers right.
Favorite place I want to visit more but keep forgetting it’s there: Twilight Grill / Daniel's place on Division
Favorite restaurant for entertaining the kids: NOT that obnoxious faux xtian pizza joint on s. campbell,
Favorite dessert: Village Inn for the pies
Favorite new place for lunch: Coyote’s Adobe Cafe & Bar
Favorite place overall to eat: Cox South Cafeteria, reasonably priced well balanced meals.
Favorite place for steaks: My son's house, he is a great griller and he lives next door! I see my grandsons everyday, the only bad thing is my son knows where my beer fridge is
First BJ and Tony Messenger had a discussion about term limits. Marsh wants to run to represent his district again, but term limits won't let him do it. He believes the law should be tossed out. "I'm gung ho about this," Marsh said. "I think term limits are wrong."
Then BJ has a far reaching conversation with
Dave Catonese on his KY3 Political Blog.
Then, in this morning's News-Leader, Tony Messenger has a story about BJ and his lonely ethical stand.
Catonese mentions BJ's attendance problems in Jefferson City, only ever so slightly. When Democrats mention his attendance, BJ brings up his deceased wife's health problems, his son running into the wall at Greenwood (actually that year BJ had one of his best attendance records in the legislature), and his own health problems.
BJ is a nice guy. If I ever wanted to take a bus trip, I'd want him to be the driver, no, not the driver, BJ has too many health problems to be trusted driving a bus, but the tour guide, the guy who sits on the jump seat and tells jokes to the tourists. That's what I want BJ to be doing.
BJ's up to something, you can't feed at the public trough for as long as he has and not want it to continue.
I am not really sure what is going on with the Cable tv rates charged by Mediacom.
In January 2006, basic and extended cable went from $50.00 a month to $52.11 a month, taxes and fees included. included in this amount is a line maintenance fee of 25 cents.
The bills stayed at $52.11 for almost a year, then something happened with the March, 2007 bill.
The line maintenance fee went from $.25 to $3.95, an increase of $3.70. I called Mediacom and they told me that it was in the contract with the city to charge a line maintenance fee. But it was optional, I did not have to pay it if I didn't want it, but I would be responsible for all line repairs done by cable tv people at my house. I opted out of the maintenance fee, saving, or so I thought, $3.95 a month.
I pay cable for four households, I would much rather have that $3.95 a month times four than mediacom. That is $15.80. Now, add how many subscribers Mediacom has in Springfield area and multiply that by $3.95, quite a substantial income increase for mediacom.
I get the April bill and it is $55.14.....much higher than than what I thought it should have been (52.12 - 3.95 = 48.17).
I emailed the cable company and they told me there was a rate increase of $4.50 that took effect this month.
Sometimes I feel like Canada Bill Jones.
