Those characters at ESPN are at it again

This post is dedicated to Ole Miss haters worldwide.

 

 

Bryan Adams, principled exploitation

You may have heard that the Governor of Mississippi recently signed into law a bill which would prevent gay activists from bringing legal action against clergymen, bakers, and florists who decline to participate in homosexual weddings for deeply held religious reasons.

This kind of thinking is considered backwards and illegally discriminatory by those on the progressive left who believe that lifestyle, gender, and matrimony are matters of preference.  It really shouldn’t be much of a surprise that more consertative parts of the country would object, and would try to push back against the tide.  But to hear the Left tell it, it is morally wrong, and should be punishable by law to not allow their march to a society in which no one’s actions should be judged against the Standards which have held for centuries to continue unabated.

Enter singer Bryan Adams.  Jeff Clark has an interesting piece in the Sun Herald regarding the performer’s decision to cancel his gig in Biloxi due to the recent passing of this bill.  Supposedly, Mr. Bryan Adams was deeply offended by the bill, much like Mr. Bruce Springsteen with his recent decision regarding North Carolina’s “Bathroom Bill.”

In full disclosure, the show was not selling very well…

It was reported in March that about 1,000 tickets had been sold and about 3,000 tickets needed to be sold to break even.

It’s interesting that he would cancel a show in Biloxi because of HB 1523, yet he’s played concerts in India where it is illegal to be gay.

So, Mr. Bryan Adams, was your decision to cancel your show in Mississippi based on having your sense of justice be so deeply offended, or is this maybe a bit of opportunistic career preening, or is it just plain old poor ticket sales?

 

MS Initiative 42 Loses Big Time

There was a time in Mississippi when getting an Initiative for a Constitutional Amendment to the ballot was the hard part.  If it made it to the ballot, it was almost a done deal.

This time, despite all of the obfuscation and out of state money, it appears that the much balleyhood Initiative 42 is going to defeat.

In my mind, it all came down to taxation without representation.  42 would have required priority funding for K-12 at the expense of other agencies and programs.  If the Legislature did not fund K-12 to some undetermined level, the Courts would have the power of the purse.  It was an amazing sleight of hand, sold to the voters as the greatest thing ever for K-12, all of course #ForTheChildren.

Opponents of 42 were painted as being against education, and of course, racist.

One of the Pro-42 tv ads that were ran showed a group of school kids singing “This Little Light of Mine” in the background, all touchy-feely-feelgood mumbo jumbo.  And you just know, if there were any classrooms where this particular song were being sung, these same Pro-42 folks would be raising hell about religion in the class, yada, yada, yada.

I’m real proud of my fellow Mississippians for rejecting the guilt-trip, seeing through the smoke screen, and sending this purulent piece of filth back to the do-gooders.

Bullies Land A Whale. Ben Howland hired at Mississippi State (Updated)

Welcome Readers from SixPackSpeak.com

#HailState has become #HowlState as Ben Howland is set to become the new head coach of the men’s basketball program.

Howland is returning to coaching after a two year stint as a TV  analyst, following his very successful run at perenial basketball pwerhouse, UCLA.

The Blog interviewed legendary MSU alumnus Nuke Gingrich to get his reaction:

Epic.  Awesome.  The wool is thick.  Who would of thought AD Scott Stricklin had such a giant nutsack, to let go of his men’s basketball coach, with 2 years left on his contract, and go after a whale like Ben Howland.  And then, to bring him in —  I’m just beside myself with excitement.  I believe I speak for the entire Bulldog Nation when I say, “Welcome to Stark Vegas, Coach Howland.  We’re glad you’re here!”

Things happened quickly this weekend in Vegas, as the Saturday announcement of the non-renewal of Rick Ray’s contract was within a few hours followed by informed rumors that Howland had emerged as the leading contender for the position.  Howland had reportedly wanted to continue his coaching career at a football oriented school.  No doubt, Howland will get his wish at MSU and the SEC.

Consider this quote in an article from Bill Plaschke, LA Times.

“In my mind, my next job is where I’m going to finish my career,” he says. “I want to make sure it’s the right situation where we have great success.”

In typical Howland fashion, he then tightens his jaw and makes a promise.

“I’m really fired up about getting back into it, and I hope to do it next year,” he says. “And this time around, I will do the best job I’ve ever done.”

Yes, sir!  It’s a great day to be a Bulldog.

See also:  For whom the cowbell tolls

****

Update:  It is Official!  HailState Beat,

Statement from Athletic Director SS (Grasshopper):  “Ben is someone who is ready to invest in the people of Mississippi and Bulldogs everywhere, while bringing championship basketball back to the Hump. Mississippi State basketball can compete at the highest level, just as several of our other teams have done in recent years, and I’m excited to have coach Howland lead us back to that level.”

The school will officially announce the hire on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum. Fans are invited to attend.

Anything you want

If you want it, Craigslist probably has it.  I enjoy scanning the various items for sale, others’ trash becoming stil others’ treasures.  But, this morning, I ran across this ad, just blew me away …

Anybody need a kidney?

Healthy Kidney/Young White Male – $25000 (MS)

Link

I am a 37yr old, 6′ tall strong white male with heavy european bloodline. I am drug and disease free, no medical problems at all. I have been going through custody battles for the last four years and am flat tapped out of money and property left to sell. My son is my one true love and has taught me all I know about it. I will not give up on him, but as long as I am alive and in the picture, his mother will never stop trying to take me out. She has a devious liar of an attorney too, that has cost me everything. I am employed and love my job, but I need thousands to lay down at this point. I have two good kidneys and am willing to sell one to be able to stand up for my son. Please help. Call Jahred

Just in case you, or someone you know is in need of Jahred’s body part, you can contact him at 7six92one60four94.

I don’t know if Obamacare covers this or not.

Showtime!

Game week, baby. What can I say.

You want to hear superlatives and over used cliches, go somewhere else. None of that shite here.

Five of my Bullies have garnered pre-season all-sec recognition.

Leading the way for the Maroon and White was preseason All-America sophomore defensive lineman Chris Jones, who was named to the second-team defense. Redshirt junior Benardrick McKinney was also named to the second team, while senior defensive back Jamerson Love was selected to the third team. Redshirt junior quarterback Dak Prescott and senior Jameon Lewis earned third-team accolades on offense.  source

 

We open the season at home against Southern Miss.  Mrs. Nuke and I plan to be camping down on the Bogue Chitto River for the weekend, so I’ll have my trusty radio tuned to Bulldog Radio Network, with the TV back home set to record the action. (sec network- ch 611 on dtv)

Southern Miss has been down for the past couple of years, after having been one of the more consistent winners in Conference USA forever.  They really want to get back on track against State, but it just ain’t gonna happen.

In fact, I pity the fools.

I love this time of year, don’t you?

Go Dawgs!  Hail State.

 

 

In Todd We Trust

In the North American IRONMAN Championships, my brother-in-law Todd Wilson has just completed his amazing run in the 50-59 age category.

Fifteen hours, 27 minutes, 52 seconds.  Let this sink in….

The first leg, a 2.4 mile swim.

The second leg, a 112 mile bike ride.

And finally, a grueling 26.2 mile marathon run.

I can’t wrap my head around it, and I am so proud of this guy.  I’ll tell you his incredible story some day.

So glad to know you, brah.   Congratulations!!

Hurricane Camille, 45 years later

Everyone remembers the Hurricane Party at the Richelieu Apts that claimed 23 lives. Even Walter Cronkite reported on it. It was a great story, and IT WAS TOTALLY FALSE!

All that remained of the Richelieu Apartments after Hurricane Camille was the foundation slab. Ben Duckworth suffered recurring nightmares about a friend he lost in the storm. He revisited the site in 1972, where the cement slab was well hidden by bushes. Duckworth returned again in 2001 to try to correct the Richelieu story that persists as a Hurricane Party where everyone perished but one.

In the days following Camille, the national news people cruised the Coast ready to engage anyone who would talk.

The voice of Walter Cronkite, one of the most respected TV newsmen of 1969, lost its comforting timbre when he told the world about Hurricane Camille and its destruction of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The camera panned a cement slab littered with debris, which was all that remained of a three-story luxury apartment complex.

“This is the site of the Richelieu Apartments in Pass Christian, Mississippi,” Cronkite said. “This is the place where 23 people laughed in the face of death. And where 23 people died.”

Josephine Duckworth was watching television in Jackson — and that is how she was notified that her 24-year-old son, Ben, was dead. He was a Richelieu resident who had ignored her pleas to evacuate. Now he was dead! Because Cronkite said so. Her husband, Hubert Duckworth, immediately headed to the Coast to claim their son’s body and he stared at the Richelieu rubble, expecting the worst. It was then, that Mike Gannon, a storm-battered 29-year-old Texas Seabee, greeted him. “Where can I find my son’s body?” the father inquired.

“Ben isn’t dead,” Gannon told him. “I’ve seen him, and he’s all right.”

Gannon and Duckworth were Richelieu survivors – and they weren’t the only ones. Yet, the most persistent legend to spring from Camille is of a Richelieu Hurricane Party that claimed 23 lives, leaving just one survivor.

Follow the money? (Updated)

Update: FEC Seeks Answers From Pro-Cochran Super PAC

Update:  Charles Johnson is now reporting that if a special election is called, Cochran will resign

Update:  Team McDaniel says they have found 3,300+ Ineligible Votes

Update:  True the Vote sues MS Sec of State over alleged voter fraud

Update:  McDaniel reveals strategy to force another runoff election

Thad Cochran’s campaign has strongly denied any involvement in the vote-buying scheme alleged yesterday in an article by blogger Charles Johnson.  I was chatting with some friends earlier about this subject, and advised them to take the 48-hour rule on this story, as the blogger in question has a pattern of making claims in an article, only to have to walk them back later.  I suspect there will be some more walking back on this article as well.

Mr. Johnson’s reporting has had an effect.  Perhaps that is the point.    A lot of things can and will happen before November.  Something that I find very interesting has been confirmed by  a recent Chism Poll.   There are a great deal of hard feelings among McDaniel supporters:

“When we asked McDaniel supporters which candidate they would support in the general election, 21% said they would vote for Democrat Travis Childers and another 16% said they would probably not vote at all.

Only 22% of McDaniel’s supporters were committed to vote for Cochran in November.”  (emphasis mine)

The pollster, Brad Chism is a supporter of Democrat Travis Childers.

According to Y’all Politics, Chism is hosting a fundraiserr for Childers in Jackson tonight.

In a poll released last Friday by Rasmussen, Cochran is up 42-34.

Chism Poll

Rasmussen Poll

the TEA Party is dead? Don’t Be Stupid

A Guest Post by Rodney Lee Conover

It’s sickening to hear people – some I really respect – sounding so wrong about “the death” of the Tea Party and how badly they’re doing in the 2014 elections.

Sure, the trolls keep repeating it, but even in Republican circles I’m still hearing how the Tea Party has completely lost all influence in American politics and people are buying into it. To that I can only ask:

What are you, new?

When someone talks about the Tea Party being dead, or that “the brand” is damaged, or however the libs have managed to define it, you can bet it’s someone that doesn’t get out much.

Only folks sequestered in their basements, hospital rooms, DC offices or likewise have been sold this bill of goods. Get out into actual America and it’s the opposite, trust me. What these naysayers are yacking about are Tea Party “groups,” and who cares? What I care about is conservative voters. We are the Tea Party and these opportunistic groups aside, we’ve been busy kicking ass in 2014.

Enabling the Tea Party Downers’ ignorance as always are the media – ignoring the victories Tea Party voters are bringing this time around, despite us having to fight a three-front war against liberals, the media and the establishment GOP – bent on destroying the very people who put them in power.

Tea Party candidate Dan Bongino with his Obama bashing and damn Tea Party ideas just barely squeaked by his opponent, 84%- 16% in Maryland’s Sixth. Why is it newsworthy? Because it’s the only competitive district in Maryland for the GOP.

Didn’t hear about Dan’s landslide? That doesn’t surprise me, there was hardly a mention of him anywhere. He’s a former Secret Service Agent who claims Obama is corrupt and not qualified to lead the nation.

If Dan would have lost that badly, you think they would have reported a little something about the Tea Party boy getting whipped? Yeah. But do a google news search on his primary victory and…. yeah. No wonder you shut-ins think the Tea Party is dead, the NY Times, WaPo, HuffPo and all the other Po’s you read act like they’re dead.

Let’s jump right to Eric Cantor getting shellacked by Tea Party candidate David Brat. How many reports immediately sprang out announcing Brat was ignored by Tea Party groups? It’s true – but who cares? Brat was supported by Tea Party voters and this movement was never about groups.

The Tea Party is a true grass-roots movement no matter how they’ve lied to you about it being “astro-turf”, financed and contrived by the Koch Brothers or whatever. Stop being an idiot. If the Koch Brothers could invent a movement to shift political power such as the Tea Party did in 2010, don’t you think they’d have done it sooner and more often since then? Are you that stupid? Yes you are, so you need some more:

Ken Buck, Tea Party guy in Colorado in the 4th District wins the special election there – but is it news? If he would have came in last it would have been. So I’ll ask again – why do you say the Tea Party hasn’t won anything? Ben Sasse in Nebraska: Tea Party – BLAM! Alex Mooney in West Virginia: Tea Party – BLAM! There’s more –

How many Tea Party candidates have won elections in Texas this year? Too many BLAM!s to list, friendo. They’ve dominated and yet the Tea Party is dead? There are literally dozens of victories already this year in Texas for Tea Party candidates, including the ousting of America’s most senior Congressman, GOP establishment extraordinaire, Ralph Hall… Who?

“Ralph Hall!” I screamed at the media… He was beaten by Tea Party candidate “John Ratcliffe!” Wait – are you telling me that an incumbent Congressman got beat in a runoff election for the first time in 20 years – and by some Tea Party upstart, John Ratcliffe? That sounds like a story!

Well, not one that the mainstream press has any interest in. And not one that people hanging onto the dead Tea Party narrative are going to admit actually happened.

It happened my friends. Just like Tea Party guy Curt Clawson in Florida who cruised to victory in the 19th District in yet another special election ignored by the media and our buddies in Tea Party Denial Land.

Chris McDaniel is challenging the close results in Mississippi after the despicable Thad Cochran campaign. The media has taken the opportunity to use the Cochran re-election as an example of the Tea Party’s demise. If anything, doesn’t it show the strength of the Tea Party?

It’s hard to beat a guy that’s been in there for thirty or forty years – especially when millions come pouring in from decades of influence. And what about when scumbags from the left start supporting the GOP establishment candidate? Any idea what Cochran had to resort to in order to fend off Tea Party voters? McDaniel would have gotten trounced if the Tea Party were dead, so stop saying that.

No, we’re not winning like 2010 – but now we have the GOP establishment with the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Zuckerburg, Labor Unions, the evil Main Street Republican Partnership Super PAC and even George Soros money teamed up against us. So yeah, it’s hard out here for a pimp.

We’re losing some races – it’s true – but we’re not just winning a ton of them, we’re making this election about which candidate can be the most conservative. It’s forcing the GOP to admit they’re a bunch of Obama enablers. They’re exposed and they need to be beaten before we can do battle with the Maoists.

But to sit there and claim the Tea Party is dead because a couple of greedy and goofy-ass Tea Party “Groups” are backing the wrong horse here and there is just making you sound stupid. Get with the program, buddy – we’re still rolling and the general election is where we need to get it together.

Tea Party groups? Who cares? Tea Party candidates and voters? Not dead by a long shot, so quit saying it. Leave that to the wannabes.

 

How the GOP Establishment Won in Mississippi

Perhaps it was an echo of Obama’s 2009 declaration to the GOP, “I won,” or Stalin’s observation that, “It’s not the people who vote that count, it’s the people who count the votes.” Tonight’s runoff between Chris McDaniel and Thad Cochran has left me a little discouraged, but more than just a little bit angry.

I read a tweet from the NYT that history was made tonight when an elderly white Republican in Mississippi was bailed out by crossover votes from Black Democrats. Indeed, that is exactly what happenned.

Cochran won by roughly 7,000 votes. Hinds county, which includes the capital city of Jackson, is about 75% Democrat. Cochran’s increase in voting strength in Hinds County was a net 7,000 votes. So how does it happen that so many more Democrats decided to cross over and vote in the Republican Primary?

1) Money “walking around” money, vote buying, and bussing Democrats in to vote in Republican Primaries.

2) Fear: A robo call went out stating “say no to the tea party. They hate the first black president… say no to the tea party by voting for Thad.” The call was placed mainly to african americans in MS.

3) More Fear: This last ditch radio ad on election day was particularly disgusting.

The tactics of the establishment Republicans, including both the current and former Governor, have left a lasting and bitter taste with conservative Mississippians. It’s bad enough to hear that kind of rhetorical arson from the Leftists, but when our own Party calls us Racists and Extremists?

You establishment republicans have gone too far. Mitch McConnell said he was going to crush the Tea Party. So he can sit back now, and say “I won.” We will have to see if he can win in November if the Tea Party stays home. I don’t know about anyone else, but THIS Racist Tea-Party Bastard is going fishing the first week of November.

McDaniel vs Cochran: Part Deux

The polls have been closed for less than an hour in Mississippi, and early returns are starting to come in. Both candidates have made their last minute pitches to the voting public, and there is nothing left to do but count the votes.

The story on the radio today spoke of higher than normal turnout, and higher turnouts in normally Democratic areas of the state. No doubt, the result of Boss Haley Barbour’s GOTV effort in the Black churches. Win or lose, the tactics of the establishment Republicans, including both the current and former Governor, have left a lasting and bitter taste with conservative Mississippians. Perhaps the most repugnant tactic used by the Barbour Gang was the Anti-Tea Party Robo-call, urging Democrats to vote in the Republican Primary to re-elect Cochran and stop the RACIST Tea Party.

Sumbich. It’s bad enough to hear that kind of rhetorical arson from the Leftists, but when our own Party uses it against us? I don’t know about anyone else, but if Cochran wins because of those Democrat votes, THIS Racist Tea-Party Bastid will follow the time honored practice by taking a fishing trip the first week of November.

And you, Thad Cochran, will have no one to blame but yourself.

 

We will be posting updates throuout the night as the results come in.  Meanwhile, grab some popcorn, and feel free to join in the discussion.  Admission is free.  BYOB.

McDaniel – Cochran Primary Update

Update:  (11:44 pm)

U.S. Senate – GOP Primary

1794 of 1832 Precincts Reporting – 98%

Max Runoff Cands=2

	Name	Party	Votes	Vote %
	McDaniel, Chris	GOP	149,347	50%
	Cochran, Thad (i)	GOP	146,835	49%
	Carey, Thomas	GOP	4,700	2%

Razor thin.  Apparently two counties have not reported yet, and in at least one county, Covington, the Election Commisioners who count and report the vote have already gone to bed!

Hangin’ chads ain’t got nuttin’ on us!  It will be a runoff, unless last minute mischief by the vote counters bring someone to the magic 50% + 1 vote.

  Mark your calendars for the runoff:   June 24, 2014

Update: ( 941 pm)  McDaniel pulls ahead!!!! 

1407 of 1832 Precincts Reporting – 77%

Max Runoff Cands=2

	Name	Party	Votes	Vote %
	McDaniel, Chris	GOP	113,416	50%
	Cochran, Thad (i)	GOP	111,457	49%
	Carey, Thomas	GOP	3,638	2%

Update (7:55 pm)

The polls are closed, the Primary Campaign is over!  Nothing left to do but count the votes.  WAPT in Jackson is doing a mighty fine job, and you can follow them >>HERE.<<  It looks like it’s going to be a long night.

Me?  I’m going to kick back on the Veranda, and enjoy the sunset with a fine Maduro from Lucky Cigars.  Do yourself a favor:  drop by their website and order a bundle.  These are some of the finest smokes I’ve had.  I put them right up there next to those Havana smokes by big brah gave me on his return from Saudi.   And, tell ’em Nuke sent you.

—

Update (4:20 pm)

Polls close in less than three hours.  Weather may be a factor, as the off and on rain storms continue to pound the state.  That bodes well for the candidate who has the most motivated voter support, McDaniel.

—

In the Senate race of Chris McDaniel vs. Thad Cochran, I have bad news and good news.

The bad news is that Thad Cochran is carrying his hometown with 99.99% of the voters.

The good news is that those Washington DC voters don’t get to vote in Mississippi elections.

(h/t Bill Kalles)

 

Polls Close at 7PM Central.
More Updates to Follow

Thad Cochran’s Unanswered Questions

Update:  Dear Haley Barbour: STFD and STFU … Barbour Dismisses Palin And Santorum As Self-Interested ‘Outside Celebrities’

A Guest Post by Mississippi Rebel

If Thad Cochran wins tomorrow, all of the questions that he has avoided during the primary will continue to fester in the general election. And when the answers finally do come out, Travis Childers and the Democrats will reap the rewards.

Does Cochran actually own a home in Mississippi?

Who paid for the building in Washington where he “rents an apartment”?

Why has Kay Webber, his executive assistant, hosted Democratic fundraisers in the same building where Cochran lives?

Why did he bring Kay Webber on 33 taxpayer-funded trips around the world?

These issues aren’t going to disappear if Cochran somehow beats McDaniel tomorrow. At some point, more people are going to wonder why Cochran has been so secretive and defensive throughout the election.

First, he refused to debate Chris McDaniel, claiming that McDaniel “is trying to make me look bad.” Then, he refused to sit down with the largest newspaper in Mississippi.

Now, he is literally fleeing from reporters. Last week, Cochran was caught on camera switching vehicles and ducking through a building just to avoid answering a few questions.

Cochran can’t run away forever. When he finally confesses to whatever it is he is hiding, it might be too late for Republicans.

 

My thoughts on the matter.  Early in the campaign, Thad said he didn’t know too much about those Tea Party folks.  My hunch is he’s going to find out tomorrow — Big time! — Nuke

Benny Thompson–It’s All About Race

Mississippi’s own Bennie Thompson.  Elected from the gerrymandered 2nd District, drawn to guarantee a black voting supermajority, Bennie knows a thing or two about racial preference.  He bagan his career in local politics as a ‘race man’, finding racial motives and evil intent on the part of anyone and anything that opposed him.  Being  elected to  Congress  hasn’t changed him one bit–not even a smidgen.

Andrew Kaczynski reports at BuzzFeed:

A Mississippi Democratic Congressman says Clarence Thomas is an “Uncle Tom,” Mitch McConnell is a “racist,” and that Republicans are only anti-big government and anti-Obamacare because President Obama is black. Rep. Bennie Thompson made the comments over the weekend while appearing on a New Nation of Islam radio program.

“I’ve been in Washington. I saw three presidents now. I never saw George Bush treated like this. I never saw Bill Clinton treated like this with such disrespect,” Thompson said. “That Mitch McConnell would have the audacity to tell the president of the United States — not the chief executive, but the commander-in-chief — that ‘I don’t care what you come up with we’re going to be against it.’ Now if that’s not a racist statement I don’t know what is.”

Thompson adds at 2:40 in the video that the governor of Mississippi was against expanding Medicaid through Obamacare “just because a black man created it.”

At 3:00 into the video, Thompson adds opposition to Obama is “all about race” and “when a black man comes with an idea [for Obamacare] there’s something wrong with it. Again, it’s race creeping into the picture.”

At 4:47 in the video, he says the anti-government attitude has only been around since Obama was president.

“Now all of a sudden, government is the worst thing in the world since a black man became president.”

Discussing the Supreme Court and affirmative action, Thompson refers to Justice Clarence Thomas as an “Uncle Tom,” adding, “it’s almost to the point saying this man doesn’t like black people, he doesn’t like being black.”

There is just so much wrong with Bennie’s statements, I don’t know where to begin.  But, why bother?  There are no Jedi mind tricks I’m aware of to pry open Bennie’s mind.  He certainly didn’t get to where he is by being open-minded.   Nope, ol’ Bennie is a hard-core socialist.

• In November 1979, Marxists from the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee initiated a Democratic Agenda Conference, in Washington, D.C. The conference focused on “corporate power” as the key barrier to “economic and political democracy,” concepts many Democratic Agenda participants defined as “socialism.” Bennie Thompson of the Mississippi Association of Black Mayors joined a panel entitled: “Relating Local Issues to the Democratic Party.”

• In July 1996, Democratic Socialists of America (formerly Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee) endorsed Bennie Thompson, Mississippi 2, in that year’s Congressional elections.

• In 1982, Bennie Thompson served on the National Coordinating Committee of a Communist Party USA front, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which was led by leading Party members Angela Davis and Charlene Mitchell.

 

Bennie will have job security for as long as MS-02 remains a gerrymandered mess.  Check your privelege, Benny.

 

Only in Mississippi

The World Famous Friday Open Thread, Bigger and Badder than EVAR!!

And, Back with a Vengeance.

(click to enlarge)

I hear them thar zooKeenee’s are mighty tasty. Might fry up a mess of ’em for supper.

WFFOT: Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. But, last evening in Texas, Justice Was Served.

Have a great weekend y’all.

Allah Ack-Bama. It’s that time of year again

Wins against the Crimson Tide are rare for my Bulldogs. Heck, they’re rare for any ball club.

On November 1, 1980, the largest crowd in Mississippi history witnessed the Bullies defeating the top-ranked Tide 6-3 at Memorial Stadium in Jackson. Over the years, the size of that crowd has grown by thousands of fans who will tell you, “I was there when we beat the Bear.”

Two teams that ran the triple-option offense and played stout defense played their hearts out that day. It featured the inventor of the Wishbone, Emory Bellard, and the legendary Bear Byant. The keys to the Bulldog win were winning the turnover battle, and playing a more physical game than Alabama.

If my Bullies have a chance in the upcoming game, these will again be the keys to victory.

In the words of Emory Bellard, “Ohhhhh, was it good!”

The video from November 2, 1980 is a classic. It even has famous Coke commercial featuring Mean Joe Green.

Enjoy!

“Mississippi State broadcast legend Jack Cristil hosts his weekly show with Mississippi State head coach Emory Bellard. This show would be a little different as Mississippi State had just knocked off two time defending national champion and #1 ranked Alabama 6-3 in Jackson.”

Gingrich: “I can no longer endorse Gregg Harper”

Conservative Blogging Legend, Nuke Gingrich has concluded that 3-term Congressman, Gregg Harper no longer deserves the endorsement and support of common-sense conservative voters in the MS-3rd district.

“He hasn’t accomplished anything, he hasn’t done anything, and given the opportunity to make a principled stand, he caved faster than a spelunker on meth,” said Gingrich, amid fragrant clouds of Macanudo smoke at his southwest Mississippi compound.

“I should have recognized the bait and switch when Harper gained the support of the slimy Trent Lott.  I suppose I’m the victim of my own optimism.  But no more.  Now that Harper has shown himself to be an insider-Trent Lott Republican instead of a Common-Sense Conservative, I have decided that I can no longer  support him.”

Gingrich’s endorsement in the 2008 Republican Primary was seen by some as a pivotal moment for the Harper campaign, as polls which had been trending for his opponent, shifted dramatically and decisively in Harper’s favor.  He won going away.  It was an old fashioned whoopin’.

“I questioned Harper’s vote last week to end the battle against Obamacare, and politely asked for a response.  To date, Harper has refused to provide any answer at all, other than to send out a Press release, chock-full of fluffy piffle.”

Gingrich has provided the Blog with a copy of the note he sent to the Congressman in response to Harper’s “explanation” for the surrender vote, entitled “A Responsibility to Govern.”

October 17, 2013

Dear Congressman Harper:

 

Please tell me. 

 

Did you read the Bill before you voted for it? 

 

I understand it was an eleventh hour vote responding to a real or imagined crisis (this seems to have become the standard operating procedure, hasn’t it?).

 

Did you question the special $2.9 billion sweet deal for Kentucky?

 

Wouldn’t it have been appropriate to offer a clean, two-day CR to allow the Bill to be read by the Members, and posted to the internet as has been promised previously?

 

A Responsibility to Govern, indeed! 

 

Sincerely,

 

Nuke Gingrich

Somewhere in southwest Mississippi

Interestingly enough, Gingrich’s old nemesis, The Club for Growth is making a splashy re-entry into Mississippi politics for the first time since 2008.  The CfG has endorsed a Primary challenger to veteran senator Thad Cochran.  Losing Gingrich’s support may provide an opening for the other recent favorite of The Club for Growth, Charlie Ross.   “I may have to go reconsider my position on CfG,” Gingrich painfully noted.

#GAMEWEEK

The final countdown to the 2013-14 NCAA College Football season is upon us, and Game Week is here.

Yeah, Baby!!

Game One Predictions will follow on Wednesday.

 

7 days from kickoff     Mississippi State Football.      #Fight4MSU      #HailState

No. 7 Matt Wyatt played QB for the Bulldogs during the 1996-1999 seasons. During his career for the Bulldogs, he threw for 2940 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 1996 and was a four year letterman for the Bulldogs, earning those honors for the 1996-1999 seasons. In April of 2011, Wyatt was named Color Analyst for the Mississippi State football broadcast crew, where he works alongside Jim Ellis and John Correro.

Where were you when you got the news?

It was a few months before my seventh birthday. The whole family loaded up in the car and headed out for the Drive-In theater. We were well prepared:  tuna fish sandwiches, pimento cheese, and a pitcher full of sweet tea went a long way toward making sure that we wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money at the concession stand. We also packed a couple of empty Coke bottles for the back seat – just in case.

Follow that Dream was playing;  the latest Elvis movie, and although I’m sure we had done it before, this is my earliest memory of going to the movies with my family.

We went to more Elvis movies in the next few years, but, 1964 and the lads from Liverpool changed everything.  Suddenly, Elvis was old, and going nowhere. Plus, the idea of going to the picture show with the folks wasn’t near as cool any more.

Before we knew it, Elvis needed a “comeback tour” in order to gain attention. In 1968, we were gathered at Uncle Pal and Aunt Doris’ house when the show began. That meant we could watch “in color”. Those words, along with “air-conditioned” meant we would watch a memorable evening of entertainment in comfy surroundings. And, what a show it was.

Here is the intro from that show.

**

Red Ridenour left the workshop of his Clarinda, Iowa home in a hurry. He had some important news to deliver.

“Nuke! … hey Nuke, come here”

Did you hear about your fellow Mississippian?”

“Who?” I asked.

“It’s about Elvis Presley.  He died today.”

“Whaaaa?” I sat down on the curb. I didn’t want to believe it.

**

He was only 42 years old.

Also:  Read n2l’s recollections of The King here

UPDATE: you gotta see this! Sweet Baby Girl Sings Her Heart Out to Elvis in the Car.

This little sweetheart LOVES to sing when she is riding around in the car! Listen to her sing along to Elvis… she is an adorable old soul. You might just like her version better. 😉

I feel so much safer, don’t you?

#opencarry, #2ndamendment, #selfdefense, #whatpartofshallnotbeinfringeddontyouunderstand, #teaparty, #patriot

Looking For Abigail

I wanted to take a moment and share a local story of interest with our readers.  Please, if anyone sees Abigail, please respond at the links shown below.  Thanks …  Nuke!

Update:   Bloggers, please cut/paste this post on your own blogs.  Let’s help get the word out.

TOGETHER, WITH YOUR HELP……WE ARE GOING TO FIND ABIGAIL

This is Abigail Bonner, my 17-year old niece in Madison, Mississippi. She has gone missing as of late night August 2 or early morning August 3rd. Police have begun searching without any results. If you see her, please contact us at 

LOOKINGFORABIGAIL@GMAIL.COM

Be sure to “like” our facebook page “Looking For Abigail”. Share the page and tell others to do the same so that we can spread the word about Abigail and she can come back home.

WE ARE GOING TO FIND ABIGAIL! 

REWARD OF UP TO $25,000 FOR ANY CREDIBLE INFORMATION LEADING TO THE SAFE RETURN OF ABIGAIL BONNER

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT AT 601-856-6111

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR FACEBOOK PAGE

                                                                                                     ——————————————————————————

Please help find Abigail Bonner.

UPDATE:  Be on the lookout in the NJ/NY area… JWF:  I tagged your blog because you’re a Jersey guy.

Breaking (from FB):  We received information that seems to indicate that if Abagail is not in Madison or nearby, she may have made her way to the New York / New Jersey area.We are still continuing our search throughout Madison/Jackson because the information we received is not conclusive but it is sufficiently valid to ask for focused help from people in New York and New Jersey.

Everyone Has A Story

I wanted to write something about MSU’s run to the Finals of the 2013 College World Series. It was improbable. It was emotional.  It was wonderful.  

I spent a lot of time thinking about my Dad.  How he loved these Bulldogs!  And how, towards the end of his life, he would have to turn off Jim Ellis’ radio broadcast because it was just too hard for him to listen as State would either grind out another victory, or suffer a tough loss. 

In the end, this was something that made me very proud to be an alumnus of the People’s University.  Words, however,  fail me at the moment.  Fortunately for the Bulldog Nation, Bob Carskadon at #HailState Beat (The official blog of MSU Athletics) tells this story the way it should be told:

The best season in MSU history comes to an end

As we grow older, the more people we meet and with each new person we talk to, we learn that everyone has a story.

Children and adults, astronauts and teachers, white, black, tall or short, individuals lead their own lives, however little of it we see. Each has a past with a corresponding present and future.  Among all the masses, inside of every building and any place we turn, there are people.

At Mississippi State, affectionately called the People’s University, they know it as well as any.  John Cohen, head coach of MSU’s baseball team, said as much less than one month ago.  Moments after winning the Starkville Regional – the first one on MSU’s campus in 10 years – and advancing to a Super Regional, Cohen didn’t talk about his team or hitting or pitching.  “It’s the people who make Mississippi State special,” he said.  He praised the fans, the members of the athletic department and the citizens of Starkville over his team’s successes.  A couple weeks later, his Bulldogs arrived in Omaha, and again, it was the people who made Mississippi State special.  This time, it was the people on his team.

Sure, State was playing great baseball. They were hitting better than they had all year and the pitching staff had found a groove.  But the people of Omaha, the media covering the College World Series, baseball fans across the country and MSU faithful everywhere fell in love with people, not players.  ‘The Bench Mobb’ (second B is silent), made up of goofballs from the pitching staff, dancing, clapping, encouraging and even rapping in the dugout, were the stars of the two-week event.

Wes Rea became television’s favorite first baseman, the SEC football prospect who turned down the gridiron because he wanted to go to Omaha and play in the World Series.  Trevor Fitts singlehandedly saved Power Point with the presentation he gave Cohen asking his permission for the team to have facial hair, while also leading the charge for Team No Undershirt.

Not a soul has come in contact with Luis Pollorena and not been touched by his story of childhood leukemia and his dedication to giving back now with the life wasn’t expected to have.  Sledgehammers, mullets, rally dances, vine videos and Johnny Cash.

Not to mention the unheralded stories.  Mitch Slauter, who was baptized in front of his teammates on the morning before his Senior Day at Dudy Noble Field.  Sam Frost, the SEC’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, perhaps a more impressive honor than any.  This team showed us that everyone has a story, with countless more left untold.

And that’s what made this team special. You couldn’t help liking them and rooting for them, MSU fan or not.  The biggest crowd in the history of TD Ameritrade Park showed up not just because it was MSU’s first appearance in a National Championship, but because it was a team so easy to cheer for.

In a lucky twist, one of the most likeable teams turned out to be one of the best teams in MSU history.  From a matter of talent, others may take the top spot, but these Diamond Dawgs have just completed the best season in the history of Mississippi State sports.  In 120-plus years, they were the first to make it this far.  But through their success, they may not be the last.

After hosting a Regional for the first time in a decade, sweeping a Super Regional and starting 3-0 in Omaha, losing in the National Championship was a terrible, terrible feeling for these Bulldogs.

Standing in the dugout, faces stained with tears and sweat, embraces between players, coaches and the like, the first feeling is defeat.  Watching another team dogpile on the mound, gloves and hats thrown in the air while fireworks explode overhead and confetti falls across the stadium is, in that moment, the lowest of low.  But, while a victory celebration took place on the field, cheers rose up in the stands.

“Maroooooon!”

“Whiiiiiite!”

Even late in the game, with the Bulldogs down more than a handful of runs and the outcome all but certain, MSU fans were louder than they had been all night.

They were cheers of support, not of victory.  The unspoken words behind the noise said, “Thank you. We’re proud of you.”  Reaching the College World Series and playing for a National Championship meant an incredible amount to Cohen’s baseball program. It would take more money than MSU has to buy that kind of exposure, and nothing can replace the experience.

But this run, this experience, is far bigger than baseball. In doing something no one in Maroon and White had done before, it became a Mississippi State benchmark.  Academics and athletics, football and softball, men’s and women’s.

These Bulldogs proved it can be done.  No one had to tell themselves they believed. They did believe.

Just as the state of Mississippi can claim generosity, hospitality and countless professional successes over any other shortcomings, so can Mississippi State now claim time at the top in spite of any days at the bottom.

When you’re a kid, you always believe your team is the best in the country, that they can win it all.

With age, realism and awareness set in. You know what limitations your team has.  But now, for the first time, Bulldog fans have made it within reach of doing what they imagined as children.  The baseball team knows it can win it all, and now everyone else has seen.

Quarterbacks and defensive linemen watched their diamond counterparts and said, “Mississippi State really can win a National Championship.”  Tennis players, basketball coaches and those from every sport saw the realization of dreams.  Now they don’t just have to say, they know, “It can be done.”

Following a season-ending loss, and career-ending for some, the sting of defeat bit hard in MSU’s dugout.  Red-eyed Hunter Renfroe embraced Trey Porter, faces buried in each other’s shoulders, knowing they had played their last time together. Their careers in Maroon and White jerseys had come to an end.

The last person back to the dugout, Jonathan Holder found his pitching coach Butch Thompson.  No words were said. They didn’t need to be, and neither would’ve been able to take them in, anyway. A steady hug said everything they wanted to share.  The athletic director, the president of the university, half of MSU’s entire department staff and a horde of media watched from the far side of the dugout as tears flowed.

The end had come, so quick and so hard.  It was goodbye for many, and the start of a long offseason for others.  But just as it signified the end of a season, it symbolized the beginning of something else.

In a short moment between the final explosion of fireworks and the beginning of celebratory music, the smallest of Mississippi State fans stood next to his dad, looking over the dugout at the team he had always believed in his young heart could win it all, and with the optimism borne through youth, offered the best encouragement he could.

“We’ll get ‘em next year, guys.”

Thanks, Bob.  Well done, sir.

88 days

How bout dem dawgs!

College football season will be here before you know it.

(thank goodness)

The Hill of Death

The Battle of Champion Hill, May 16, 1863.

About 25 miles west of Jackson, major portions of the battlefield remain preserved, including the Coker House, complete with bullet holes in the door and cannonball holes in the sides.

“Grant’s crown of immortality was won, and the jewel that shone most brightly in it was set there by the blood of the men of Champion Hills…Six thousand blue and gray-coated men were lying there in the woods, dead or wounded, when the last gun of Champion Hills was fired.”
~ Major S.H.M. Byers, Fifth Iowa Infantry.

I haven’t been back down there since they refurbished the Coker House.  I need to plan a trip and take the grandkids real soon.