Susan Sarandon Whines: "I'll run away from home"

Isn't it a little *early* for these leaving the country lies?

From The New York Post:

SUSAN SARANDON, who appeared in three films last year and won kudos for her TV movie "Bernard and Doris," is still not a contented soul. She says if John McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada. She adds, "It's a critical time, but I have faith in the American people."

You’ve had more than seven years to move to Italy or Canada, Susan, why the wait?

What’s more, considering the opposition a number of conservatives and Republicans have with Sen. McCain (on whether or not he’s conservative or Republican enough, as opposed to his tendency to work too much with Democrats and liberals) I would have thought she’d be more willing to “suffer” through four years of a McCain administration, or at least test the waters first.

OK, American people. You don't want Susan to move out of the country, so it's up to you to elect Barack Obama. What? You thought Susan of all people would be for Hillary Clinton? Well, no. She told John Hiscock: "I thought the whole point of feminism is that you're not supposed to be defined by gender. I don't understand the reasoning behind that, because I wouldn't vote for Condoleezza Rice, and I hated Margaret Thatcher."

Of course you simply wouldn't vote for Condoleezza. We could have *guessed* that you hate, HATE!, Margaret Thatcher.

This attitude tells me Susan Sarandon doesn’t want a united political landscape, she seethes with hate for the opposition, or she simply likes the attention.

Socialism and Environmentalism

I just learned some old news. I didn’t know when I was well off.

Driving to work this morning I saw a Prius with a websiste and another logo stenciled on the back. Hourcar. The Our stood out with darker lettering. How sweet… a socialist bent. It called to mind the Yellow Bicycle idea that St. Paul used with community bikes.

Yellow Bicycle program
Yellow Bike program

Hmmm. The name might not mean shared property. Perhaps it is a market driven idea using a socialist idea to promote the concept. You know… rental by the hour.

Oh, were that the case.

(I'm probably WAY behind the curve on this.)

This is a car sharing project by a non-profit outfit. Apparently, it saves you thousands of dollars. (So does not buying a house.) Apparently, you should think of it as “go-anywhere transit”. (As long as you eventually reach an Hourcar hub.) Apparently, you can protect the environment. (With a Prius, which some contest is a bit “harmful” in the manufacturing.)

They compel visitors to the website:

Join Us!

I see Kevin McCarthy running down a busy highway.

Just see Part of the Solution to see “What’s Your Vision for the Future?”

Would you prefer a Smiley Face on your Air Quality Index or a Frowny Face? Would you prefer a flock of birds soaring over a lake or a bird covered in oil (EVIL oil, I tells you!) and much? Would you prefer a hazy Minneapolis skyline or a crisp and clean skyline? (I suspect the pictures might have been simply taken at different times of the day.) Would you prefer a lovely green park just outside Minneapolis (in view of the skyline) or some construction yard with noisy and dirty construction vehicles?

According to their website, hOURcar was founded by the nonprofit Neighborhood Energy Connection.

Apparently, they offer “tools” for energy-efficient living. I suspect you can’t pick up those tools at your neighborhood hardware store.

Ten Years On

Sitting at the news room, I wrote some stories for the day’s events… a reader, a few VOs, a couple of VO-SOTs (if I was lucky). Whatever else happened one announcement overshadowed the rest. American legend Frank Sinatra died following a heart attack at age 82. I’m certain the announcement didn’t come on May 14th. For big public figures it seems the news comes out from a press agent or a publicist after the family gets their time alone.

At the time I was as much a Sinatra fan as anyone else my age. You tend to hear a few tunes from the man in an Italian family, as a DJ, and during the crooner/big band/swing/classic revival. It was just like when we lost Ray and Johnny Cash… you knew these guys were legends with no equal. Growing up it was simply taken for granted that we had Frank. We lost Heston last month, but ten years ago we lost Sinatra.

Since that time I’ve read a couple of books on Frank and his guys, seen some of his films, and listened to a number of recordings. Hell, this guy wasn’t simply a singer with a long career. He had stories, failures, comebacks, friends, blow-ups, films, charities, scandals, tirades, plenty of personality, and lot of hubris. Frank could act, sing, do a little dancing, charm the ladies, make men envious, throw a fit, hold a grudge, fund a hospital or church, pay off your bills… and make it all look like it was all part of his plan.

Frank was the pop star before the Beatles, Elvis, and Madonna… before there were pop stars. He was Hollywood’s bad boy before Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, and Russell Crowe. He was pals with some of the biggest names be they from politics, sports, singers, writers, comedians, or actors… he had Sammy, Dean, Basie, Jones, Riddle, Jobim, Bogart, Monroe, Gardner, Gleason, Kennedy, Reagan, Rickles, Carson, and of course Sam and Lucky. The world really was Frank’s playground… Dean even half-joked on stage, “It’s your world, I’m just livin’ in it.”

The world’s a little less cool without Frank. He had the American spirit… probably by the tail. He was one of those Americans who embodied the American Dream. Scrawny little Dago from Jersey grows up and gets the world on a string (sittin’ on a rainbow). During his life he learned the meaning of the word success from learning the word failure… and he didn’t let failure get in the way. He represents all kinds of folks… down on your luck and top of the world, young and old, struggling and carefree, back against the wall and everyone watching your back.

If you can’t learn about America from school, history books, and documentaries… you can learn a lot about it from Frank Sinatra.


Some more nice pictures of Frank.

For Christ's sake, the man's got his own stamp!

BWCA Idiocy and Mayhem: Barney Lakner Update (May)

A brief update on the Ely Six. Essentially, we have more waiting. Not much on the kid (MU in the criminal complaint... the Star-Tribune had it).

Take a moment to review the newspaper stories and the criminal complaint… specifically, the way the “kids” allegedly threatened to have sex with one of the camper’s daughters, which was seen as unwanted

Evidently, they wanted to bore her to death. (I bet this kid could "interfere" with an olive without disturbing the pimento.)

(Courtesy: Duluth News Tribune… and commenter "Observer")

County attorney wants two Basswood shooting suspects tried together

Barney James Lakner, 37, of Ely appeared in Lake County District Court Tuesday but made no formal plea and has been rescheduled to appear again June 2.

Lake County Attorney Russ Conrow signaled at today’s hearing that he wants to try Lakner and another man, Jay Andrew Olson, 19, also of Ely, together. It’s likely both trials will take 10 days each, considered a huge block of Lake County courtroom time, Conrow said, and each will require potentially dozens of the same witnesses to testify.

[...]

“It would be a huge expense to do this twice. There are a lot of witnesses. ... A lot of people [who were threatened] want to be part of this,’’ Conrow said after today’s brief court hearing.

Olson’s attorney, David Keegan of Duluth, likely will reply to the formal request to join the two trials at a May 12 hearing. Lakner’s attorney will formally respond on June 2. Olson has pleaded not guilty. Keegan was not immediately available to comment today.

A trial or trials probably would be held later this year.