Sophie's Sister, Sadie

Sadie Beth ---Kristin and Jim Got A New Baby Girl!

Monday, 7:30? am, 7 pounds, 5? ounces?, head of dark hair. Baby and Mother are doing fine! I forgot the camera so no pictures of Sadie Beth.

But, I did find the following picture on Sara's blog, 5 Acre Dream. It's a picture of a newborn. It's a picture of a newborn girl. It is a picture of a newborn girl without very much hair. Obviously it is NOT a picture of Sadie Beth and I posted the picture here just because I needed a photo of newborn baby girl.

This picture raises more questions than it answers, mainly Why did this kid have a kid?a) The Skatepark was closed.

b) The cable was out.

c) He discovered it was good for more than micturating.

d) He was channeling Levi.

Forgot The Camera....I Hate It When That Happens

Drove up Eye Forty Four early this morning to the 255 Missouri River Bridge and met a friend of Jeepjunkie who brought some jeep parts up from the birthplace of speed.

Drove into the side of a mountain. Dang no camera.

Got the parts and drove out the other side of the mountain.

Went to Jefferson Barracks Cemetary and found my Uncle Frank's grave, section IQ, grave 168. He passed over in 2000. He fought in Korea and WWII. He also had earned a purple heart. On his marker is the inscription "He Was A Good Soldier."

Then drove into Jefferson Barracks where I lived in my formative years. We lived on Kilner Street as did, according to the woman in the information center, about 5,000 other kids who are retracing their youth.

I mentioned playing on the cannons on the bluff. She said every resident who returns remembers that also.

Did find the church I was baptized at , St. Bernadette's, it was in the old post movie theater. Fr. Maurice Byrne was the pastor and his mother, Mrs. Byrne was his housekeeper.

Drove by my grandmother's house near Grand and Meramac, on Giles. It appeared vacant, the garage was gone and someone had gotten stuck in the back yard.

Drove by "The Neighborhood News" building where my dad was a newspaper editor, copywriter, cook and chief bottle washer. A man named Nordman owned the paper.

Hit Shrewsbury, the first new house my Mom and Dad lived in on Nottingham. My grandma and grandpa gave them the lot and Mom and Dad built a hew house with an unfinished upstairs. The house was on the block behind Granny and Man's house. We used to walk over to their house and watch tv when we didn't have a tv. Saturday morning westerns!

Drove by the old house on St. Charles Place. Stopped and tried to buy the address marker stone but no one was at home.

Stopped at donut place on Chippewa and Landesdowne where we would go for donuts on Sundays. I ordered some french crullers and told the saleslady, "we used to call these tractorwheels." She said, "They still do."

I ate six of them.

Stopped at White Castle, give me 20 white castle adn large sweet tea. Are these to go? You betcha. Where you heading? Springfield. How many will you eat on the trip? All of them! No you won't, let me put them in two bags. She was right.

Passing a semi truck, a sheet of ice fell off the roof of the trailer and hit my truck square in the windshield. That was exciting.

And I forgot the camera.

Cleaning Up After Elephants

The Elephant KeeperEach elephant deposits about 400-pounds of manure that must be shoveled up and disposed of. Morning clean-up alone necessitates removing two large wheelbarrows of manure from each elephant cage.

What is the worst job in politics?

Dancing Soldiers, Part 1

Dancing Soldiers, Part 2

ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL, AN IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM YOUR CABLE TV COMPANY.

From Mediacom:

For Your Information: Due to advances in technology & changes in consumer viewing habits, Mediacom will no longer carry the TV Guide Network effective on or about 4.16.

TV listings are available using the digital interactive guide, at Mediacomtoday.com/tv, and in local newspapers.

Save time, paper and postage by paying your Mediacom bill online directly from your checking account and by signing up for an electronic statement. Please visit www.mediacomcc.com for additional details. A copy of this bill is needed to register.

My cable tv bill this month was $61.16. That is $25.95 for Broadcast Basic, $32.00 for Expanded Basic and $3.21 for the Franchise Fee. That's right, almost $730 a year for television.

Re-reading the above paragraph, I wonder how many suscribers are in the Springfield area? $730 is a lot of money. I am going to start leaving the tv on 24/7 to get the hourly cost down to something affordable. I am also going to start having my pizza cut in 6 pieces instead of 8 because there's no way I can eat 8 slices of pizza.

So due "changes in consumer viewing habits" (our household used the TV guide channel to get up to the date information on tv listings and find out what channel the race is on) you will now have to log on to your computer to find out the tv listings or suscribe to the SN-L.

Does the SN-L even have complete listings?

What about those who don't have internet access or suscribe to the newspaper?

Dang, less service and more money.

When I was a kid my only experience with pay tv was the quarter operated machines in the railroad and bus station. For 25 cents you could watch 30 minutes of television.

When I heard grown-ups talk about 'pay tv', my thought was who was going to come into your house and empty all the quarters out of the tv.

Wichita Lineman

Jimmy Webb
Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
REM
James Taylor
Sammy Davis, Jr.
The Women's Chorus Of Dallas
Glen Campbell and Stone Temple Pilots
The Dells

Constant Craving

Cox Comes Through!

My younger brother Tom, who blogs here when he's not discing fields, selling miniature horses, taking care of Mom's property, working on Ford Broncos, and working at the Veteran's hospital in Mount Vernon, spent most of yesterday, last night at Cox Medical Center.

Dang those pesky chest pains! Here's an account another younger brother, John, who blogs from here:

9:50 EDT, Tuesday, March 24 2009
This afternoon, Tom was at work and experienced pain in his upper chest and arms. He went to the VA hospital and they transported him via ambulance to the heart ward at Cox South.
He was administered some drugs, I am sorry I missed the names, which were not that effective but the morphine they injected allows him to be in good shape this evening. He is scheduled to undergo more tests on Wednesday morning.
Take a moment when you read this to think a positive thought and/or say a prayer for thehorsefarmer.

Love to all,

John

Me, I don't worry about Tom, for he's as stout as his horse: Speaking of the horse, Tom wrote this in his blog on March 16, 2009: One other item of note, we had to put one of our real Broncos up in a seperate field on Saturday afternoon, because he was chasing the cows. A naughty naughty thing to do on this farm. So Haven Lee's Ice Storm got put up by himself until he meets the nice Vet with the knife, and our Bronco Storm becomes a Neutral Storm.

Man Strikes Police Horse With 5 Foot Penis Or "Hung Like A Horse"

Now, I know that stallions tend to run big and can cause trouble, but this here story out of Wichita, KS ---well it must have been one heck of a party!
Google has the links.

Everyone Needs To Watch This If We Ever Hope To Get Beyond The Simplisitic, Accusatory Catchphrases Bloggers Like To Throw Out

From the NYTimes:

Tuesday’s “Frontline” on PBS, want to make really, really, really sure that you know that George W. Bush, not Barack Obama, put the country in the economic mess it’s in now. More than half the program is devoted to cataloging the Bush administration’s economic policies, which, as portrayed here, come across as appallingly reckless, a burden that will grind us down for generations to come.

Though it may be accurate, it’s an emphasis that is unfortunate for two reasons. One is that it leaves the smart-sounding commentators assembled here not much time to talk about what matters now: how we get out of the mire. The other is that it could cause anyone who still has any regard for Mr. Bush to tune out the program as just another exercise in Bush-bashing. This is a program everyone needs to watch if the search for solutions is ever going to get beyond the simplistic, accusatory catchphrases that sometimes seem to pass for economic-policy debate in Washington.

The title, of course, refers to the national debt, and the program does a fine job of spelling out just what a daunting situation Mr. Obama has inherited: the federal government was already borrowing huge amounts, and now, as the only entity big enough to revive the gasping economy, it has to borrow more.
There is a succinct history lesson on how the Republican “starve the beast” economic philosophy — if you keep taxes low, government spending will automatically be kept low for lack of money — ran off the rails. And then, the program says, Mr. Bush took things a step further by cutting taxes while starting a war.

“We borrowed money from China to give tax cuts to the best-off people in our society and leave our kids paying the bill for a war that we chose to fight,” says Matt Miller, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning research group. “That was really unprecedented.”

Perhaps Mr. Bush’s main economic failure, based on the evidence here, was that he did not use the attacks of 9/11 to call on Americans to sacrifice, as other wartime presidents had. Instead he expanded spending — on the Iraq war, on prescriptions for the aging — without a template of how to pay for it.

Now it is Mr. Obama who will have to make the case for sacrifice, though the Iraq war is winding down, and the one in Afghanistan is somewhat murky in the public mind. Good luck.

“It’s hard to sell a message of pain to Americans,” says David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal. “It’s hard to tell them that we have lived beyond our means and we’re going to have to spend less money on benefits that you enjoy, and we’re going to have to collect more taxes from you than we do now because we overpromised in the past. That’s a very hard message to deliver when unemployment is low and everybody’s feeling good. It’s an impossible message to deliver when people are frightened that they’re going to lose their houses, lose their jobs and their kids are going to be out of work.”

Frontline will air this evening on Ozarks Public Television, Channel 21.

Main Street, Pie Town, New Mexico

Photo by Russell Lee, taken in October, 1940. Ozarks Law and Economy has a photo of what the street looks like about a week ago on his blog.

When A Stallion Jumps A Fence and Breeds Your Mare

DANG! Don't you just hate it when that happens!

What Is The Best Springfield Blog

What is the best Springfield Blog?

That is a subjective question which can have as many correct answers as there are people who answer the question.

But, we are looking for a definitive answer to the question, "What is the best Springfield Blog?" Using mathematics, the key to knowledge, there is a way to determine the correct answer to that question.

Of course we are all familiar with mathematical formulas. E=mc2 is the formula for Einstein's theory of relativity. a2 + b2 =c2 is the formula for determining the hypotenus of a right triangle. There is even a mathematical formula that explains what happened to our 401k plan.

Here, therefore, is the mathematical formula that determines the best Springfield Blog:

(Feel free to use your calculator if you need to, accuracy is of critical importance in this, as in all, mathematical formulas.)

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3

4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number….

5) Add the digits together

Take that number, remember it, and link over here. The blog that corresponds to your number is, mathematically proven beyond a shadow of doubt, the best Springfield Blog.

Special For Fr. Bob Landewe!!!

An American golfer playing in Ireland hooked his drive into the woods. Looking for his ball, he found a little
Leprechaun flat on his back, a big bump on his head and the golfer's ball beside him. Horrified, the golfer got
his water bottle from the cart and poured it over the little guy, reviving him.

"Arrgh! What happened?" the Leprechaun asked.

"I'm afraid I hit you with my golf ball," the golfer says.

"Oh, I see. Well, ye got me fair and square. Ye get three wishes, so whaddya want?"

"Thank God, you're all right!" the golfer answers in relief. "I don't want anything,
I'm just glad you're OK, and I apologize."

And the golfer walks off.

"What a nice guy," the Leprechaun says to himself. "I have to do something for him. I'll give him the
three things I would want ... a great golf game, all the money he ever needs, and a fantastic sex life."

A year goes by (as it does in stories like this) and the American golfer is back. On the same hole, he again hits a
bad drive into the woods and the Leprechaun is there waiting for him.

"Twas me that made ye hit the ball here," the little guy says. "I just want to ask ye, how's yer golf game?"

"My game is fantastic!" the golfer answers. "I'm an internationally famous golfer now."
He adds, "By the way, it's good to see you're all right."

"Oh, I'm fine now, thankye. I did that fer yer golf game, you know. And tell me, how's yer money situation?"

"Why, it's just wonderful!" the golfer states. "When I need cash, I just reach in my pocket and pull out

$100 bills I didn't even know were there!"

"I did that fer ye also." And tell me, how's yer sex life?" The golfer blushes, turns his head away

in embarrassment, and says shyly, "It's OK."

"C'mon, c'mon now," urged the Leprechaun , "I'm wanting to know if I did a good job. How many times a week?"

Blushing even more, the golfer looks around then whispers, "Once, sometimes twice a week."

"What??" responds the Leprechaun in shock. "That's all? Only once or twice a week?"

" Well," says the golfer, "I figure that's not bad for a Catholic priest in a small parish."

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2009

From the SN-L's website, some photos of the 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Springfield, MO.KY3 has a video of some of the participants, watch the video and watch Sophie ham it up for the cameraman. The anchorwoman later comments on Sophie's antics.Viewer submitted photos are linked here.

Attention All Personnel, Attention All Personnel:

Yesterday I posted a piece about Missouri lawmakers looking to undo some of the provisions of a voter-approved gambling initiative in order to tap into its money for education.

My source of information was an Associated Press story published in the Springfield News-Leader. The link to that story is here.

Missouri lawmakers propose change on new gambling money
The Associated Press • March 12, 2009
Jefferson City — Missouri lawmakers are looking to undo some of the provisions of a voter-approved gambling initiative in order to tap into its money for education.

Voters last November passed a measure removing gamblers’ loss limits and increasing casino taxes. It was projected to generate $130 million annually for K-12 schools.

But because of the way the state distributes education funds, 115 of the state’s 524 school districts were projected to get no additional money next year from the ballot measure.

“We have to undo what the voters did in order to do what they intended to do,” Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, said Wednesday as lawmakers heard testimony on proposals to redirect the money from the ballot measure.

One plan, by Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, would remove a new fund created by the ballot measure and distribute the money to each district using the state’s normal funding formula. Mayer’s bill also would increase funding to schools based on the number of gifted students in a district.

Mayer’s bill calls for roughly $40 million in funding to the formula and $10 million based on the gifted student calculation. Missouri previously earmarked money for educating gifted students but stopped doing so under a 2005 revision to the school funding formula.

I thought that Senator Nodler's comment (highlighted above in bold) was a perfect example of Ben Tre Logic.

An anonymous commentator made the following comment on my post from yesterday:
There is one problem with the quote from Senator Nodler. You left off the question mark. The words you quoted were a question directed to the bill sponsor. It is interesting that your entire comment derives from not understanding that Nodler was asking a question.
3/13/2009 4:45 PM

Actually my entire comment derives from the AP story. It is interesting because it appears that if Anonymous had read the source document he would have realized that the AP reporter did not report that Senator Nodler was asking a question but was making a statement.

Stuff You Can Do In The Summertime:

Vacation with the family
Have A Nice Cold Beverage
Watch Brittney and Justin
Stay At A Resort
Go Camping at the Lake
Go Camping At The Lake With Friends

Ben Tre Logic

The AP is reporting today that Missouri lawmakers are proposing a change on the gambling initiative voters passed in November..

Voters passes a constitutional amendment removing loss limits at casinos, increasing casino taxes and limiting the number of casinos in Missouri.

As lawmakers heard testimony Wdnesday on proposals to redirect the money from the ballot measure, the AP quotes Senator Gary Nodler, R-Joplin:

“We have to undo what the voters did in order to do what they intended to do.”

Ah, Ben Tre Logic at its best!

Type In Zip Code

65807.

Pluck

Still Working On That Project.....

But I'm quiting for tonight.

Logic And Fallacies: Constructing A Logical Argument

While I was search the tubes for to find the difference between a Rolls-Royce automobile and a Bentley automobile (my Dad told me there were only two differences: the badges and the hood ornament), I came across the following about constructing logical arguments.

An argument consists of one or more premises and one conclusion. A premise is a statement (a sentence that is either true or false) that is offered in support of the claim being made, which is the conclusion (which is also a sentence that is either true or false).

There are two main types of arguments: deductive and inductive.

A deductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) complete support for the conclusion.

An inductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) some degree of support (but less than complete support) for the conclusion.

If the premises actually provide the required degree of support for the conclusion, then the argument is a good one.

A good deductive argument is known as a valid argument and is such that if all its premises are true, then its conclusion must be true.

If all the argument is valid and actually has all true premises, then it is known as a sound argument.

If it is invalid or has one or more false premises, it will be unsound.

A good inductive argument is known as a strong (or "cogent") inductive argument. It is such that if the premises are true, the conclusion is likely to be true.

A fallacy is, very generally, an error in reasoning. This differs from a factual error, which is simply being wrong about the facts. To be more specific, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support.

A deductive fallacy is a deductive argument that is invalid (it is such that it could have all true premises and still have a false conclusion).

An inductive fallacy is less formal than a deductive fallacy. They are simply "arguments" which appear to be inductive arguments, but the premises do not provided enough support for the conclusion. In such cases, even if the premises were true, the conclusion would not be more likely to be true.

Following are 42 common fallacies used in the argumentative process and examples of each. Clicking on the fallacy will bring you to a link that presents it in more detail.

Ad Hominem:
Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally wrong."
Dave: "Of course you would say that, you're a priest."
Bill: "What about the arguments I gave to support my position?"
Dave: "Those don't count. Like I said, you're a priest, so you have to say that abortion is wrong. Further, you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I can't believe what you say."

Ad Hominem Tu Quoque:
Peter: "Based on the arguments I have presented, it is evident that it is morally wrong to use animals for food or clothing."
Bill: "But you are wearing a leather jacket and you have a roast beef sandwich in your hand! How can you say that using animals for food and clothing is wrong!"

Appeal to Authority:
I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the hit series "Bimbos and Studmuffins in the OR." You can take it from me that when you need a fast acting, effective and safe pain killer there is nothing better than MorphiDope 2000. That is my considered medical opinion.

Appeal to Belief:
God must exist. After all, I just saw a poll that says 85% of all Americans believe in God.

Appeal to Common Practice:
Director Jones is in charge of running a state's waste management program. When it is found that the program is rife with corruption, Jones says "This program has its problems, but nothing goes on in this program that doesn't go on in all state programs."

Appeal to Consequences of a Belief:
"I acknowledge that I have no argument for the existence of God. However, I have a great desire for God to exist and for there to be an afterlife. Therefore I accept that God exists."

Appeal to Emotion:
Bill goes to hear a politician speak. The politician tells the crowd about the evils of the government and the need to throw out the peoople who are currently in office. After hearing the speach, Bill is full of hatred for the current politicians. Because of this, he feels good about getting rid of the old politicians and accepts that it is the right thing to do because of how he feels.

Appeal to Fear:
"You know, Professor Smith, I really need to get an A in this class. I'd like to stop by during your office hours later to discuss my grade. I'll be in your building anyways, visiting my father. He's your dean, by the way. I'll see you later."

Appeal to Flattery:
"That was a wonderful joke about AIDS boss, and I agree with you that the damn liberals are wrecking the country. Now about my raise..."

Appeal to Novelty:
The Sadisike 900 pump-up glow shoe. It's better because it's new.

Appeal to Pity:
Jill: "He'd be a terrible coach for the team."
Bill: "He had his heart set on the job, and it would break if he didn't get it."
Jill: "I guess he'll do an adequate job."

Appeal to Popularity:
"My fellow Americans...there has been some talk that the government is overstepping its bounds by allowing police to enter peoples' homes without the warrants traditionally required by the Constitution. However, these are dangerous times and dangerous times require appropriate actions. I have in my office thousands of letters from people who let me know, in no uncertain terms, that they heartily endorse the war against crime in these United States. Because of this overwhelming approval, it is evident that the police are doing the right thing."

Appeal to Ridicule:
"Support the ERA? Sure, when the women start paying for the drinks! Hah! Hah!"

Appeal to sprite:
Bill: "I think that Jane did a great job this year. I'm going to nominate her for the award."
Dave: "Have you forgotten last year? Remember that she didn't nominate you last year."
Bill: "You're right. I'm not going to nominate her."

Appeal to tradition:
Of course the city manager form of government is the best. We have had this government for over 50 years and no one of any substance has talked about changing it in all that time. So, it has got to be good.

Bandwagon:
Bill thinks that welfare is needed in some cases. His friends in the Young Republicans taunt him every time he makes his views known. He accepts their views in order to avoid rejection.

Begging the question:
"If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be prohibited by the law."

biased sample:
Bill is assigned by his editor to determine what most Americans think about a new law that will place a federal tax on all modems and computers purchased. The revenues from the tax will be used to enforce new online decency laws. Bill, being technically inclined, decides to use an email poll. In his poll, 95% of those surveyed opposed the tax. Bill was quite surprised when 65% of all Americans voted for the taxes.

Burden of Proof:
"You cannot prove that God does not exist, so He does."

Circumstantial Ad Hominem:
"She asserts that we need more military spending, but that is false, since she is only saying it because she is a Republican."

Composition:
Sodium and Chloride are both dangerous to humans. Therefore any combination of sodium and chloride will be dangerous to humans.

Confusing Cause and Effect:
It is claimed by some people that severe illness is caused by depression and anger. After all, people who are severely ill are very often depressed and angry. Thus, it follows that the cause of severe illness actually is the depression and anger. So, a good and cheerful attitude is key to staying healthy.

Division:
"Sodium chloride (table salt) may be safely eaten. Therefore its constituent elements, sodium and chloride, may be safely eaten."

False Dilemma:
Bill: "Jill and I both support having prayer in public schools."
Jill: "Hey, I never said that!"
Bill: "You're not an atheist are you Jill?"

Gambler's Fallacy":
Bill is playing against Doug in a WWII tank battle game. Doug has had a great "streak of luck" and has been killing Bill's tanks left and right with good die rolls. Bill, who has a few tanks left, decides to risk all in a desperate attack on Doug. He is a bit worried that Doug might wipe him out, but he thinks that since Doug's luck at rolling has been great Doug must be due for some bad dice rolls. Bill launches his attack and Doug butchers his forces.

Genetic Fallacy:
"Sure, the media claims that Senator Bedfellow was taking kickbacks. But we all know about the media's credibility, don't we."

Guilt By Association:
"Will and Kiteena are arguing over socialism. Kiteena is a pacifist and hates violence and violent people.
Kiteena: "I think that the United States should continue to adopt socialist programs. For example, I think that the government should take control of vital industries."
Will: "So, you are for state ownership of industry."
Kiteena: "Certainly. It is a great idea and will help make the world a less violent place."
Will: "Well, you know Stalin also endorsed state ownership on industry. At last count he wiped out millions of his own people. Pol Pot of Cambodia was also for state ownership of industry. He also killed millions of his own people. The leadership of China is for state owned industry. They killed their own people in that square. So, are you still for state ownership of industry?"
Kiteena: "Oh, no! I don't want to be associated with those butchers!"

Hasty Generalization:
"Sam is riding her bike in her home town in Maine, minding her own business. A station wagon comes up behind her and the driver starts beeping his horn and then tries to force her off the road. As he goes by, the driver yells "get on the sidewalk where you belong!" Sam sees that the car has Ohio plates and concludes that all Ohio drivers are jerks

Ignoring A Common Cause:
"Over the course of several weeks the needles from the pine trees along the Wombat river fell into the water. Shortly thereafter, many dead fish washed up on the river banks. When the EPA investigated, the owners of the Wombat River Chemical Company claimed that is it was obvious that the pine needles had killed the fish. Many local environmentalists claimed that the chemical plant's toxic wastes caused both the trees and the fish to die and that the pine needles had no real effect on the fish

Middle Ground:
"A month ago, a tree in Bill's yard was damaged in a storm. His neighbor, Joe, asked him to have the tree cut down so it would not fall on Joes new shed. Bill refused to do this. Two days ago another storm blew the tree onto Joe's new shed. Joe demanded that Joe pay the cost of repairs, which was $250. Bill said that he wasn't going to pay a cent. Obviously, the best solution is to reach a compromise between the two extremes, so Bill should pay Joe $125 dollars.

Misleading Vividness:
Jane: "Did you hear about that woman who was attacked in Tuttle Park?"
Sarah: "Yes. It was terrible."
Jane: "Don't you run there everyday?"
Sarah: "Yes."
Jane: "How can you do that? I'd never be able to run there!"
Sarah: "Well, as callous as this might sound, that attack was out of the ordinary. I've been running there for three years and this has been the only attack. Sure, I worry about being attacked, but I'm not going give up my running just because there is some slight chance I'll be attacked."
Jane: "That is stupid! I'd stay away from that park if I was you! That woman was really beat up badly so you know it is going to happen again. If you don't stay out of that park, it will probably happen to you!"

Personal Attack:
Bill: "I don't think it is a good idea to cut social programs."
Jill: "Why not?"
Bill: "Well, many people do not get a fair start in life and hence need some help. After all, some people have wealthy parents and have it fairly easy. Others are born into poverty and..."
Jill: "You just say that stuff because you have a soft heart and an equally soft head."

Poisoning the Well:
"I ask you to remember that those who oppose my plans do not have the best wishes of the city at heart."

Post Hoc:
"I had been doing pretty poorly this season. Then my girlfriend gave me this neon laces for my spikes and I won my next three races. Those laces must be good luck...if I keep on wearing them I can't help but win!"

Questionable Cause:
Joe gets a chain letter that threatens him with dire consequences if he breaks the chain. He laughs at it and throws it in the garbage. On his way to work he slips and breaks his leg. When he gets back from the hospital he sends out 200 copies of the chain letter, hoping to avoid further accidents.

Red Herring"We admit that this measure is popular. But we also urge you to note that there are so many bond issues on this ballot that the whole thing is getting ridiculous."

Relativist Fallacy:
"That may be true for you, but it is not true for me."

Slippery Slope:
"You can never give anyone a break. If you do, they'll walk all over you."

Special Pleading:
Bill and Jill are married. Both Bill and Jill have put in a full day at the office. Their dog, Rover, has knocked over all the plants in one room and has strewn the dirt all over the carpet. When they return, Bill tells Jill that it is her job to clean up after the dog. When she protests, he says that he has put in a full day at the office and is too tired to clean up after the dog.

Spotlight:
Ann: "I'm not letting little Jimmy use his online account anymore!"
Sasha: "Why not? Did he hack into the Pentagon and try to start world war three?"
Ann: "No. Haven't you been watching the news and reading the papers? There are perverts online just waiting to molest kids! You should take away your daughter's account. Why, there must be thousands of sickos out there!"
Sasha: "Really? I thought that there were only a very few cases."
Ann: "I'm not sure of the exact number, but if the media is covering it so much, then most people who are online must be indecent."

Straw Man:
"Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely. I can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that."

Two Wrongs Make A Right:
"Bill says that capital punishment is fine, since those the state kill don't have any qualms about killing others."

Oh, by the way, it is considered bad form to point out a fallacy to a fallacy user---I mean nothing makes a person madder than telling them their logic is flawed. Sort of like saying, "I don't want to make you mad, but...."

The source for the material in this post is www.nizkor.org.

It All Seemed So Much Brighter Back Then...

October 02, 2008

News Release

For Immediate Release

Car Park Parking Fees Schedule
With the Fall grand opening of the Hollywood Theaters complex at College Station, the City of Springfield will implement the parking rates for the College Station and Heer’s Car Parks.

Instead of setting the parking rate structure immediately upon completion of the facilities, the City has offered free parking at the Car Parks since each of them opened in order to let downtown patrons and employees get familiar with using the facilities.

Beginning Friday, Oct. 3, users of the Car Parks will notice that the gates will be in operation and tickets will be dispensed periodically for operational testing for equipment and customer service. Even when tickets are dispensed, there will be NO charge for parking during this testing period.

Beginning Friday, Oct. 31, the new parking rates will take effect. Parking will remain free at all times except on the weekends until further notice.

A flat $5 parking rate will apply from 5 p.m. Fridays to 2 a.m. Sundays at the College Station Car Park. The same flat $5 fee will apply from 5:30 p.m. Fridays to 2 a.m. Sundays at the Heer’s Car Park. The fee will be effective 30 minutes later at the Heer’s Car Park to encourage the downtown daytime employees to use that facility so more spaces are available at the College Station Car Park for early evening movie patrons.

Theater patrons will receive free parking validation after Hollywood Theaters opens this fall.

For more information on the Car Parks, customers can contact the Downtown Community Improvement District at 831-6200.

The $5,889,131 carpark project was funded by the Level Property Tax, the 1/8-cent Sales Tax for Transportation and special obligation bonds. The Car Park was designed by Esterly, Schneider & Associates and built by Carson-Mitchell Inc., both of Springfield.

Here's an interesting series of posts in a forum regarding the Heer's Building.

I will post more on this later after my sadness wanes.

Oh my, I don't recall reading about this in the SN-L.

I Think I Know Some People Like

This But I'm Not Sure. Let's Play B*I*N*G*O!

Blunt Gears Up For The Fight....

some highlights of the Roy Blunt interview (thanks to David Catanese for the link.

Blunt tells why the Republicans lost control of the Congress:

Well the biggest reason that we took the beating in the last couple of cycles was that the Republican President of the United States had his approval numbers within 3 points of 30 for three years. And the raw politics of it are that that's the biggest reason that we took the beating that we took.
Actually in 2008 you could make the case that all historical things considered, we should have lost about 40 seats instead of 20. And so I think Republicans were beginning to get back on track in 2007, 2008. We stopped Democrats from passing almost any piece of legislation during that period of time.

Blunt's thoughts on Obama:

Well I would give him a really low grade and you know as a former classroom teacher, I'd also write a note to somebody that says "surprisingly underperforming."
Barack Obama, a young President who's never run anything -- he's never been an administrator of anything bigger than a community service organization and I don't imagine that organization was very big --

And then there is this statement:

on the fundamental issues that impact the country, whether those issues are tax policy -- where in the time when Republicans controlled the Congress the Republican House of Representatives passed a family friendly tax cut every single year we were in the majority. Now they didn't all get signed into law but we passed one every time.

And finally:

So whether it was taxes, whether it was immigration, energy policy, healthcare policy, property rights policy, and certainly the issues of life where I have 100% record there -- or you know on my 100% voting record with the NRA.

Blunt doesn't want a primary, the last statewide primary he was in was a mean spirited one between Blunt, William Webster and Wendall Bailey.

In terms of the primary, I just don't believe Missouri Republicans are going to go down that path again. We saw the dangers in 2008 of having a destructive primary in a state where we have a very late primary.

The Hubble Space Telescope Records The Beauty Surrounding The Black Hole At The Heart Of The Circinus Galaxy.

Speaking of "Black Holes", The New York Times and a lot of us out here in flyover country want to know just who is getting bailed out of this financial Black Hole Wall Street and AIG find themselves in.

What no one is saying — the Bush folks wouldn’t, and the Obama team seems to have taken the same vow of Wall Street omertà — is which firms would be most threatened by an A.I.G. collapse. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve noted in their statement that A.I.G. is a “significant counterparty to a number of major financial institutions.”

That means that by enabling A.I.G. to avert bankruptcy proceedings, the taxpayer is also bailing out — whom exactly?

Not knowing is not acceptable. At this stage of a deepening crisis, no one is arguing that the government should let A.I.G. collapse into a disorderly bankruptcy. It is too interconnected. During the housing bubble, it used unregulated derivatives to insure mortgage securities that turned out to be toxic — without putting aside reserves in case it had to pay up. If it now went under, there could be a chain of catastrophic defaults among banks that hold the securities and related investments.

The A.I.G. bailouts fail the basic test of transparency: Who ends up with the money? Major financial institutions are not innocent victims of A.I.G.’s demise. They are sophisticated investors, and they should have known the risks being taken — and who profited mightily from the relationship before it all came crashing down.

Whomever the recipients are, they should be investigated for their roles in the crash and, to the extent possible, be made to pay for the bailouts.

Jindal Got The Memo

But who is sending it?

Porn In The USA

oh yeah.

The Independent Titan Is Linking To Free Stuff

This just in from The Independent Titan: free stuff.

1 Missing Boater Found, 3 Still Missing

From the AP:

TAMPA, Fla. – A missing man found clinging to an overturned boat was rescued Monday off Florida's Gulf Coast, but the search continued for two NFL players and a third man aboard who didn't return from a weekend fishing trip. Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said.

Since then, Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been hanging onto the boat found by a Coast Guard cutter 35 miles off Clearwater.

The original post is here.

Teacher, Teacher, I Declare!

Pedersen/Stell Nuptials....

About Those Signs....

And a 'tip o' the hat' to longrooffan!

Missing Boaters

From the AP:2 NFL Players Among Missing Boaters:

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were among four boaters missing Sunday off Florida's Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard and Smith's agent said.

Smith and Cooper were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass for a fishing trip Saturday morning and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

Cooper owns the boat and he and Smith have been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004. The Coast Guard said two others were aboard, identified as Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler. The St. Petersburg Times on its Web site identified them as former University of South Florida players. Calls to the school by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.