Political experts in the state are predicting a much larger turnout for the GOP runoff today. That's mainly due to the increasingly negative and ugly exchanges between Bentley and Byrne and also Bentley's open invitation to Democrats to cross over and vote for him.
On the Democratic side, we have a hot race in AL-07 and it's generating that much heat and light because AL-07 still has the Democratic dynamics of a generation ago: winning the primary/runoff is tantamount to election in November. The stakes are high there.
We also have an Attorney General candidate to pick. My favorite is Giles Perkins - not just because of his chickens.
How about y'all? Have you voted yet? Which primary? What's the turnout? Share all that good stuff with us!
Left in Alabama hit a major Facebook milestone this weekend when the 1,000 person became a fan. Then another did, making it 1001. Hey, by the time you read this, we may have more!
We've been quite surprised at the response we got when we set up a Facebook page. We'd had a couple of LIA contributors suggest it and I personally thought it was probably a waste of time. But Mooncat asked so nicely that I created a page and released it on April 9. The first day, we had 384 fans and 641 fans the first week, prompting Dardango to email Mooncat with this obvious question:
"Good God, where did all these people come from? Who would have thought you'd get this response in Alabama?
After the huge growth spike, membership increased on a more moderate level of 2-3 people per day. Over time that adds up and we send a giant "THANK YOU" to everyone who invited their friends to "Like" us (to use a FB term).
Facebook has definitely upped our traffic and our visibility on the Web - and no, they aren't paying us for an endorsement! :-) There have been some spirited discussions about LIA posts on FB and a number of new LIA commenters have found us via that source.
And for a few fun statistics:
LIA FB fans are 53% female and 45% male. The other 2% must be either in transition or reluctant to share personal information with just anybody...
27% are in the 25-34 age group - much younger overall than the last time I checked that stat.
20% of fans are in Birmingham and 18% in Huntsville, making those the 2 top cities for LIA fans.
Countries include Brazil, Greece, Australia, Sweden, and Taiwan. And 3 fans access the page in "Pirate English" - ahoy to you mateys!
Haven't joined us on Facebook yet? Click on that handy FB icon here in the post. Or are you new to LIA? Here are some brief guidelines on how to post and our community rules/guidelines. YES. We are working on a Frequently Asked Questions/Help page, but we've been busy. It's coming soon!
I woke up this morning to NPR reporting bad news from Afghanistan. Not so unusual. But yesterday, I saw an awesome link on Facebook with some good news from that country:
In Afghanistan, in the midst of war, many animals are lost and separated from their family. Many are found later by troops from the US, UK and Canada. Soldiers rescue these animals and get help from rescue groups that help them send these animals out of the country and to a forever loving home that they deserve.
[...]
For soldiers who are on duty overseas, often time the only chance they get to cuddle is when they meet these stray animals. These soldiers are lonely and longing for love from their family and friends. The kitties are abandoned, lost and have nowhere to call home. When they find each other, they become best friends.
Naturally, this was big news at our cathouse. I've attached just one photo from the story. Follow the link above to see some really great photos!
And use this as an open thread. What's happening in your family, garden, or campaign on this steamy Saturday morning?
Our vegetable garden plants have LOVED the heat, humidity, and rain of the past few weeks. So have the butterflies, squash bugs, and cucumber beetles - but those last two are a hazard of an organic garden.
We started picking this week! Maybe the heat of the primary season affected not just my garden work (got dreadfully behind in those last 2 weeks) but also the garden itself. Yesterday we picked the first zucchini - a full 18 days earlier than zuckers were ready in the 2009 garden.
The wild mint is blooming along the road and is a powerful butterfly attractant. Sometimes there are a dozen or more - all shapes, sizes, and colors - fluttering about. I can pull up a chair and be entertained for a long time.
So, what's up in your yard or garden on this HOT June morning?
If you need heating up a bit more, I offer this quote about the oil spill from Congressman Don Young:
"This is not an environmental disaster, and I will say that again and again." - Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) speaking about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The DCCC is offering you a chance to "set Don Young straight." Sign the petition here.
More garden photos on the flip. Share yours with us too!
It's spring and time to re-start our traditional Saturday garden blog and open thread tradition.
The big news at the cathouse is our aquisition of two baby possums. One of the dogs injured the mama possum and we have two orphan babies we're caring for until the wildlife rescue people can come and pick them up.
They're cute little things. They sleep a lot and are snacking on cat food - we have plenty of that!
In garden news, the apple trees are blooming and the plum trees have set fruit. Won't be long until the blueberries bushes bloom and we hope to be eating fresh spinach and lettuce from the garden by the end of the week.
The asparagus crop is huge!
So, what's happening in your garden or with your wildlife? Feel free to jump in with whatever's on your mind.
Huntsville author Jane deNeefe - along with her co-authors - will have a book signing tomorrow at the Flying Monkey Arts Center (in Huntsville) for the book Alabama's Civil Rights Trail: An Illustrated Guide to the Cradle of Freedom:
Featuring music by Ivy Joe and the Snowballs. Please join us for a special event celebrating the civil rights era in Huntsville and the release of Alabama's Civil Rights Trail: An Illustrated Guide to the Cradle of Freedom by Frye Gaillard, Jennifer Lindsay and Jane DeNeefe, published by the University of Alabama Press. Coauthors Frye Gaillard and Jane DeNeefe will read selections from Alabama's Civil Rights Trail: An Illustrated Guide to the Cradle of Freedom, emphasizing the role of music in promoting racial harmony in North Alabama. Huntsville's beloved garage band from the 1960s, Ivy Joe and the Snowballs, along with musical guests they invite, will play popular music of the civil rights era inspired by the Muscle Shoals sound.
Now, I had never heard of Ivy Joe. In the 1960's the only music I knew anything about was along the lines of "Twinkle, Twinkle" and the "ABC song."
Teenage musician Ivy Joe Milan also did his part to integrate Huntsville. As part of the first big wave of black students to attend Huntsville High School, he was looking for a way to shine.
So Ivy Joe was delighted when Tommy Graham, Chris Couchois, Billy Brown and Mike Byrum asked him to front their new band. Ivy Joe would sing, and the white guys would back him up.
[...]
So “Ivy Joe and the Snowballs” assumed their role in Huntsville’s social history. They played for white kids at the country club. They played black social clubs, a white country and western bar, high school dances and family barbecues. They played at teenage dance clubs like the Epic on Andrew Jackson Way, and television’s “Hullabaloo.”
Effective social change rarely occurs by administrative decree. Social change starts with individual acts of courage. As teenage musicians, “Ivy Joe and His Snowballs” helped Huntsville integrate peacefully.
Can't wait to see them tomorrow! Do we have any "old Huntsville" types on the blog who remember this band? Please share some tales in this open thread if you do!
And my blogging after this post will be slim to none until Monday. Daddycat and I are celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary on Sunday and we'll be dealing with last-minute party plans, relatives coming into town, etc.
Our dog, BD (Brown Dog), has a thing about possums. He likes to bring them to us. I've become a bit puzzled about the possums because I've always dumped them a little ways down the road and a couple of times I've looked a little while later - and the possum was missing.
The first time I figured that somebody had found dinner. The second time I guessed it was a case of "playing possum".
Yesterday afternoon I went outside to walk down to the mailbox (about a third of a mile), BD and Zorra came running up for the pack ritual. Then I noticed another possum laying in the driveway! The dogs and I walked to the mailbox and back - and the possum was gone.
I know, they all look the same, but this possum is beginning to look familiar.
I'm thinking of marking the possom next time to see if it really is the same one. I've considered a dot of spray paint on its back - but I don't what to hurt it. Anybody else have any possum marking ideas?
This is an open thread - what else is on your mind?
Oh my... another Alabama citizen has made the news and is once again demonstrating to the rest of America that Alabamians are people of many talents and... well.... endowments. But "Markus," Nevada's first legal gigolo, may find it hard to compete with this cast of characters:
The Shady Lady Ranch successfully won state and county approval to clear the way for the "prostidude," as Nevada's newest sex worker is already being called. After a slow first week on the job, his first appointments are scheduled for this weekend.
Markus, 25, described himself as a well-read college dropout and former U.S. Marine from Alabama. He said he drove to Los Angeles to become a porn actor and left after filming two scenes, the first about a month ago.
Davis said the Shady Lady had received dozens of e-mails expressing interest in the gigolo.
There's more on page 3 of the article, but, this being a "family blog," I hate to post it publicly. Let's just say I learned more about how brothels control "health concerns" than I ever wanted to...
Senator Jesse Helms led the opposition to the bill, questioning whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. He also criticized King's activities in opposition to the Vietnam War and called his civil justice leadership "action-oriented Marxism."
On May 2, 2000, South Carolina became the last state to recognize MLK Day as a paid state holiday. Before that, state employees could take one paid day off by choosing between MLK Day and three Confederate Holidays.
Don't laugh: in Alabama we're "offiically" celebrating both Martin Luther King's birthday and Robert E. Lee's birthday today! Confederate Memorial Day is April 27th and Jefferson Davis' birthday is June 1. All state holidays.
On that day, I always tell our young people about the civil rights movement in the US, to impress upon them importance of electoral politics and non-violent social change.
It is not surprising that Dr. Martin Luther King adamantly opposed nuclear weapons. A man whose entire life was dedicated to non-violence was not about to look kindly on these ultimate, tsunami-dwarfing, instruments of violence. His words on nuclear proliferation seem particularly prescient today: He said "I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of nuclear annihilation."
Today is also the national Martin Luther King Day of Service, which was started by former Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford and Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
On the flip, we'll go from the admirable to the unbelievable. Remember Pat Robertson's Haiti comments? Well, now on eBay, you can purchase your own Pat Robertson voodoo doll.
The maker was able to do an "exclusive deal with the devil" to give you the opportunity to "bring black magic into your own home."
The current bid is $790, which seems high to me, but he does come with a bag of cash in one hand.
Don't miss your one and only chance to buy what's left of Pat Robertson's soul...
Well, what a week it's been in North Alabama at least. We began the post-holiday period with a "real" holiday: Mooncat's birthday on Monday.
Then, the drumbeats of drama from the local weather guys started: snow on Thursday? No snow on Thursday? Accumulation? what?????
But the real story was the COLD! As Lee Roop wrote in the Huntsville Times: "How cold is it? So cold that the possibility of snow is NOT the lead story!"
As citizens stormed the grocery stores in search of bread, milk, and beer, we cut and split wood (want to get warm? split wood by hand!) and made a couple of trips to fill the bird feeder each day.
It's even still snowing this morning here! I took this photo of the mountain about 8am.
So what about all the other LIA folks? With freezing temperatures in Florida, what's it like in South Alabama?
I remember that it snowed one time when I was at Auburn. 90% of the students cut class to play in the snow, but being a good girl, I went on to class. The instructor took roll, had the 3 students in class that day sign in, and informed us that we would received an extra 10 points on our final exam. He then dismissed class and told us to "go have fun!"
Let's all wish a big "Happy Birthday" to Mooncat as she celebrates her special "mnndnng" birthday today.
Also use it as an open thread to share what's on you mind this morning.
We hit a brrrrr cold 12.2 degrees at the cathouse last night. AND got a rather unusual mailer (4 mailers, actually) from State Senator Lowell Barron. The almost invisible state senator is inviting constituents to a "Community Chat."
The oddity is the date. Here's the text from the postcard:
Sen. Barron will host a Coummunity Chat at
Gurley Town Hall Mon. Jan. 5th 5:00pm
---- and ----
New Market School Mon., Jan. 5th 6:30pm
"I want to hear your questionsand comments. Let's chat!"
hmmm... are the chats Monday or Tuesday? January 5th is a Tuesday, not a Monday. And it sounds like people better be succinct with their comments. It takes at least 20 minutes (probably a bit longer) to get from Gurley to New Market, so it doesn't sound like he's planning to chat very long - whatever the date.
Still, it's nice to see him out in the district talking with voters.
Ok y'all. Enough of Parker Griffith for a bit. His ugly, turncoat mug is enough to make the eggnog sour. He also makes me want to indulge in way too many Black Russians.
So let's have some fun. What gifts do you hope to receive this year?
I know what Sarah and I want, but we aren't likely to get it:
Looking for a great gift for someone who's really hard to buy for? How about a case of beer from one of Alabama's own microbreweries? Or wine from a local winery? Surprisingly (at least to those who think our workers can't walk and chew gum, much less build airplanes), Alabama brewers and vintners are turning out some really high quality drinkables.
Beer drinkers in Huntsville are rejoicing at the news that the Good People Brewing Company in Birmingham is expanding into the Huntsville market.
h/t to Reactionary at Flashpoint for his post about Good People's expansion and inclusion of this timely reminder of how important it is to support local businesses:
This came from The Nook, a local beer lover's paradise:
Ever thought of the many persons / organizations affected by the simple act of ordering a GPBC Coffee Oatmeal Stout and the exponential power of supporting your local economy? While you are enjoying your pint, you are supporting the following organizations:
Good People Brewing Company and… . their accounting, legal, advertising, etc. services . local transportation companies . utility companies providing energy / water used at brewery . local / county / State taxes
Primavera Coffee Roasters located in Cahaba Heights.
J3 Organics uses spent grains (brewing by-product) donated by Good People as composting medium.
Continental Bakery uses donated spent grains in some of their products.
Birmingham Beverage distributes the beer: employing people, paying taxes, etc.
Free the Hops gets support from Good People to raise awareness of craft beer and lobby for better Alabama beer laws.
Pubs and restaurants sell the beer: employing people, paying taxes, etc.
… the power of supporting your local economy is pretty incredible, not to mention you get a pretty good beer out of the deal.
Local businesses employ your friends and neighbors. They support local ball teams, theater companies, sponsor events, and more.
Note that Huntsville has a local brewery as well - Old Towne Brewing Company - and its beers are quite popular in North Alabama.
Learn more about the Good People Brewing Company at its Facebook page. They also have a Web site, but it's a dreadful all-Flash affair that I hope they didn't pay a lot for.
Check out these Alabama wineries for gift ideas for your oenophile buddies.
It's Piggieheart's birthday today, so he may not be snorting around the blog too much, but a big "Happy Birthday" to him anyway. Have a wonderful day!!
So, Halloween is next weekend. What interesting plans do you guys have? Tomorrow, the cat family (CountryCat, DaddyCat, and RobiticCat) will be donning our finest Zombie ensembles and participating in the 3rd annual "Zombie Walk" in downtown Huntsville.
Hold on to your brains, everyone The Zombies are coming!
Republican Gomorrah is the first book that actually "gets" what's happened to the Republican Party and in turn what the Republicans have done to our country. The usual Democratic Party and/or progressive "take" on the Republican Party is that it's been taken over by a far right lunatic fringe of hate and hypocrisy, combining as it does, sexual and other scandals with moralistic finger wagging. But Blumenthal explains a far deeper pathology: it isn't so much religion as the psychosis and sadomasochism of the losers now called "Republicans" that drives the party. And the "Christianity" that shapes so much "conservative" thinking now is anything but Christian. It's a series of deranged personality cults.
I'm thinking that might be some really, scary Halloween reading!
If you wondered why Mooncat has been missing from threads these days, here's what Mooncat has been doing: This is the laundry room, which has been essentially unchanged since 1984.
Mooncat has torn out a couple of shelves to clear the window, patched the sheetrock, painted the room, and laid the tile (with incompetent help from myself).
The small red lights on the floor are part of the household laser inventory, which ranges from these small fry used to set tile alignment all the way up to these 2.2 TeraWatt big fellas , known as "The Claws of MoonCat".
Which, as I have said before, you do not want to see in action.
Yikes! And I thought we were busy a couple of weeks ago. The garden is laying me this week and I should be thankful for the bounty. Instead, I'm overwhelmed just by what I picked TODAY:
Paste tomatoes: 5.6 pounds
Slicing tomatoes: 3 pounds
Blue goose peas: 2.75 pounds
Tomatillos: 1.2 pounds
Jalapenos: 1.5 pounds
Bell peppers: 2.75 pounds
Okra: 2.5 pounds
Green chiles: .75 pounds
Yellow squash: .5 pounds (don't worry, the second planting is coming along nicely)
In other agricultural news, I've included a video clip of Agriculture Commissioner, Ron Sparks, discussing genetically modified food during his recent campaign stop in Huntsville. That's on the flip.
It's been a wonderful, productive summer in our corner of North Alabama!
The bees are buzzing, the okra is blooming, the apple tree is groaning under the weight of tasty Liberty apples, and - as you see - my beloved sunflowers are brightening the day of everyone who sees them. Which, given our location, isn't that many people, but every little bit helps!
I've attached some photos below the fold, but first, let me brag about our garden harvest so far:
Yellow squash: 73.6 pounds
Small canning tomatoes: 48.3 pounds
Slicing tomatoes: 19.6 pounds (seems small, but they're ripening with a vengeance!)
8 dozen ears of sweet corn
35 pounds of pickling cucumbers (now, if I could only make edible pickles)
and more.... the peas, okra, peppers are just now beginning to produce big time and we picked our first watermelon this morning!
Also below the fold is a photo of a large pile of cat fur. That's interesting only because it's what we got off our cats IN ONE DAY when I bought this newfangled cat brush called the "FURminator ." Normally, I'd never do a product endorsement at LIA, but I know that a lot of our regulars have companion animals. And this brush is AWESOME!
Driving home today, I quickly tired of Sean Hannity and his wingnut guests - like our own Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions - and tuned into NPR just in time to hear an absolutely riveting story about... librarians in competition at the annual meeting of the American Library Association.
Five teams of librarians — dressed in costumes ranging from Vikings to Elvis Presley — competed for the coveted "Gold Book Cart." They marched in drill-team formation, equipped with metal book carts.
[...]
The team from Oak Park, Ill., makes the day's most dramatic entrance. They swoop in wearing full Viking regalia, including horns, breast plates and swords.
Here are clips from the 2007 competition.... It's only 2 minutes!
Holy cow, those gals (and guys) in the stacks haven't gotten press like this since the FBI whined about "radical, militant librarians" for "kicking us around" about the PATRIOT Act....
Yeah, I know... we have everything from special elections to health care to the Supreme Court to worry about today. But there's no reason we can't have some fun too...
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We started picking this week! Maybe the heat of the primary season affected not just my garden work (got dreadfully behind in those last 2 weeks) but also the garden itself. Yesterday we picked the first zucchini - a full 18 days earlier than zuckers were ready in the 2009 garden.
They're cute little things. They sleep a lot and are snacking on cat food - we have plenty of that!
And my blogging after this post will be slim to none until Monday. Daddycat and I are celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary on Sunday and we'll be dealing with last-minute party plans, relatives coming into town, etc.
The first time I figured that somebody had found dinner. The second time I guessed it was a case of "playing possum". 
Senator Jesse Helms led the opposition to the bill, questioning whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. He also criticized King's activities in opposition to the Vietnam War and called his civil justice leadership "action-oriented Marxism." 
On the flip, we'll go from the admirable to the unbelievable. Remember 
Then, the drumbeats of drama from the local weather guys started: snow on Thursday? No snow on Thursday? Accumulation? what?????
Also use it as an open thread to share what's on you mind this morning. 
?
Yikes! And I thought we were busy a couple of weeks ago. The garden is laying me this week and I should be thankful for the bounty. Instead, I'm overwhelmed just by what I picked TODAY:
It's been a wonderful, productive summer in our corner of North Alabama! 
." Normally, I'd never do a product endorsement at LIA, but I know that a lot of our regulars have companion animals. And this brush is AWESOME!
Driving home today, I quickly tired of Sean Hannity and his wingnut guests - like our own Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions - and tuned into NPR just in time to hear an 
