Will Mack Brown Use This Power for Good?

Or will Oklahoma and TCU find themselves victims of a drone attack?

Friday Happy Hour (Southern Beer)

If you like to beat the heat by enjoying a cold beverage, Garden and Gun has some Southern summer beer recommendations.

I've never had any of these. If you have, let me know.

Isaiah Crowell Arrested

I'm shocked. Crowell has always been such a model student-athlete. He was probably doing some sort of community service project, reading to blind orphans, or something like that.

Crowell was arrested on charges of carrying a weapon in a school zone, and having an altered ID mark, both felonies. He was also booked on a misdemeanor charge of possessing/carrying a concealed weapon.

Crowell's arrest resulted from a vehicle checkpoint on East Campus Road and Greene Street on the UGA campus, around 2:20 a.m., according to Athens-Clarke County spokesman Hilda Sorrow. Crowell was booked at 3:37 a.m. and remains in Clarke County jail, according to the jail's web site, with bond set at $7,500.

Kids aren't in school during the summer at 2:20AM, so what's the big deal? Bro was just exercising his 2nd Amendment right to go strapped. I hope Coach Richt keeps Crowell on the team. Crowell is such a team leader and a great guy to have in the locker-room...if you get into a gun battle.

maya
Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/06/29/2103737/isaiah-crowell-arrested-on-weapons.html#storylink=cpy

Summary of Obamacare Opinion

Too busy to read the 193 page opinion? Here's a two sentence sumamry:

The commerce clause doesn't allow Congress to just do whatever the hell wants. However, Congress can tax whatever the hell it wants.

You know, Courts are funny. The lawyers get all worked up about a certain issue and the Court comes out and issues a decision on the basis of what everyone else thought wasn't a great argument. That's happened to me before.

Full Opinion Here.

If you don't like people in Congress telling you what to do and taxing you, don't elect those kind of people to Congress. The Court isn't going to save you.

CNN Troll Can't Handle the Truth

CNN has been going downhill for quite awhile, and at this point, I think they’re just trolling to try and get better ratings. Case in point, the latest op-ed from “CNN Contributor” LZ Granderson in which he provides his valuable insight on the hearings that the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is holding on the DOJ’s Fast and Furious operation and claim of executive privilege that is being asserted by the Federal Executive Branch.

Oh, you haven’t heard of CNN Contributor LZ Granderson? Here’s how CNN describes him:

A senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, Granderson has written several guest columns for CNN.com on topics ranging from Sarah Palin to Charlie Sheen to the younger Barbara Bush’s endorsement of same-sex marriage. His pieces have been among the most widely read and commented on by CNN.com’s users.

Basically, he’s a professional troll.

So, what deep insight does Mr. Troll have for us on the topic of a Congressional oversight committee seeking documents that have been refused under the claim of executive privilege?

I know that's hard to digest in a society where pregnancies and marriages of D-list celebrities make the cover of People magazine, but there comes a point where the public's right to know needs to take a back seat to matters like national security and diplomacy.

Snooki’s pregnancy and the Kardashian divorce aren’t exactly in the same ballpark as a Federal agency being asked questions by a Congressional Oversight Committee. The whole point of an oversight committee is to provide “oversight”. You know, being accountable to the people’s elected representatives? Nevertheless, LZ doesn't need facts! He's ready to start making some serious decisions.

Heads should roll because of the Fast and Furious debacle. We don't need every detail of that operation to be made public in order for that to happen.

Great. Exactly whose head “should roll”? If we don’t need the details of who decided to green-light the operation and/or cover it up, are we just going to start drawing names out of a hat? Some people like to have all the facts before they decide who loses their job and possibly faces criminal charges, but ol’ LZ, he’s ready to start axing people now.

Much in the same way, Project Wide Receiver and Project Road Runner -- the earlier versions of Fast and Furious under President Bush -- were executed with the hope that they will do more good than harm. Hardly anyone in the public knows the finer points of these programs.

Were they legal?

Hell no.

Were they effective?

Who knows?

Were they done as a way to keep America safe?

Yes.

So the Department of Justice is acting illegally, and we don’t know if it the illegal operations are even effective, but since these illegal operations were done with good intentions, so STOP ASKING QUESTIONS! Just roll some heads! Any heads!

LZ brings his tolling to a dramatic conclusion with this:

By allowing guns to infiltrate Mexico's drug cartel, we thought we could trace them up the ladder to the leaders. Take off the head and the body dies. As for the innocent people who lost their lives? Collateral damage. That's the uncomfortable backstory to this scandal. And there are likely other operations like it in our nation's history that we don't even have a clue about.

And maybe it's better for us not to be so nosy, not to know everything because, to paraphrase the famous line from the movie "A Few Good Men," many of us won't be able to handle the truth.

You can’t handle the truth? Dude, have you even seen this movie? Col. Jessup is insulting Lt. Kaffee when he says that.

But if that’s what you want, fine. The adults in the room are going to handle the tough decisions and hear about the bad things that go on in the world. If you don’t want to hear about the bad things, or make tough decisions, you can go play outside with the rest of the children and assume that everyone does everything with the best intentions. Seriously, how childish are you, LZ? Man up.

Personally, if I was going to go with a Nicholson line from A Few Good Men on this topic, I would have gone with the best line from the whole movie:

Maybe AG Holder just wants the Committee to ask him nicely.

Tommy Rees Practicing With the First Team

The last time we saw young Tommy Rees, he was showing off his UFC fighting skills against local law enforcement in an attempt to distract everyone from the fact that he's a poor decision maker with weak arm and bad downfield vision.

So, to all the Notre Dame fans who are looking to get rid of the troubled quarterback who can't seem to stop throwing the ball to the other team: Your coach has decided to give him another chance, and Reese is practicing with the team.

Get used to this image, Notre Dame fans

Welcome to #TeamGarcia, Notre Dame fans. Only this version of #TeamGarcia doesn't have naked girls in hotel rooms, keg parties in the front lawn, and he's going to get you a loss against Michigan State.

Oreos Are Gay?

Has anyone else seen this?

 

Apparently, it's caused quite a commotion in the cookie world. In any event, congratulations to the LGBT community are in order! Your demographic can now be successfully marketed/pandered to just like anyone else. That's some serious equality.

Capitalism doesn't discriminate.

No NASCAR for Democrats

You know the DNC Convention in Charlotte? Apparently, some genius at the DNC had originally decided to have a big opening event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They even had planned for a DNC stock car to be there. So, how's that going?

Just last month, the local host committee unveiled an official stock car for the Democratic National Convention – and said it could have taken a spin around the speedway at the Labor Day event. The event was touted by organizers as being family-friendly and something that would engage “more Americans in the convention than ever before, and celebrate Labor Day, our democracy, the Carolinas, Virginia and the South.” But the Speedway festival had attracted little interest among correspondents planning to cover the DNC.

I'm shocked that a bunch of Democrats don't want to go to a NASCAR track for their little party. Maybe they should have planned to have it at a light-rail station, instead.

McDonalds in Prague

It looks like it was outfitted by Ikea.

Supreme Court to Decide ACA Fate on Thursday

Per SCOTUSBlog, the Supreme Court will be issuing it's decision on Obamacare on Thursday at 10:00AM. Should be an interesting week. My official prediction is a 5-4 decision (Roberts writing for the Court) striking down just the individual mandate.

I'm reminded of the old Chinese curse along the lines of "May you live in interesting times". The big spin will be how the decision (whatever it is) impacts the Presidential race. Just a wild guess here, but look for both sides to declare the outcome to be beneficial to them.

New York City Before Air Conditioning

Before air-conditioning, in the South, buildings were designed to circulate air and maximize cooling effects. I don't think this took place to the same degree in the North, but Arthur Miller has a great article about life in NYC before air-conditioning.

People on West 110th Street, where I lived, were a little too bourgeois to sit out on their fire escapes, but around the corner on 111th and farther uptown mattresses were put out as night fell, and whole families lay on those iron balconies in their underwear.

Read the whole thing.

Woman Sues Little League Player

Maybe you should watch the game, lady.

Saturday in Daytona Beach

I didn't say it was this Saturday.

South Carolina in the College World Series

I've been trying to think up a good way to explain how hard it is to defeat the South Carolina Gamecocks in the College World Series. Every time you think you've punched them right in the mouth, they hit you back twice as hard. Every time you knock them down, they're right back up. Every time you think you've killed them, they come back.

They never get tired, they never give up. They keep playing hard every pitch until you get tired and make a mistake. BAM! Then they strike.

They have the uncanny ability to turn the double play when they need it, get a strikeout when they need it, or get a hit at the right time. They're confident, loose, easy with a laugh, and calmly zen-like in their focus on the field. They're dangerous in the post-season. Dangerous, deadly, dream killers, these boys. How dangerous are they?

[Click for photo representation of the Gamecocks in the College World Series]

The Most Arrogant Man in the World

Haha.

Stay thirsty, my friends.

Pimento Cheese of the Month Club

Sign me up!

Clemson Tigers Spotted in Omaha!

I was reading the newspaper in Omaha the morning after the Gamecocks beat the Gators in the 2012 College World Series, and I saw that the Clemson Tigers had made it to Omaha also. Congratulations, Clemson!

George Washington's Personal Copy of the Constitution

If you're a history dork (like me) and have a couple of million dollars that you don't know what to do with (not like me) you might be interested in bidding on President George Washington's personal copy of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other Acts from the First Congress.

I'm sure Ezra Klein isn't interested in some old confusing document, though, so at least you know he won't be bidding against you.

New Scoreboard at Williams Brice Looking Good

This new board is going to be awesome!

Via SEC Sean.

The Shop Tart Reviews Cola's

As always the Shop Tart has a great review of the new and exciting things here in Columbia. If you're one of the "beautiful people", her blog is a must. In any event, her glowing review of Cola's is a good indication that this place is going to be great.

Lawyer Dog: Insanity

I'm feeling a little overworked and insane today, so this seems appropriate:

Cooking Underground

This seems like a lot of unnecessary work. Just cook it, you know?

Sporting Clays Review: Harris Springs

I wanted to take my dad out for some sporting clays for a Father's Day outing. We've shot around the midlands some, but I wanted to branch out a little. I found Harris Springs Sportsman's Preserve though the South Carolina Sporting Clays Association website and decided to give it a try.

Harris Springs Sportsman's Preserve is a wonderful little hidden gem located in Waterloo, South Carolina, not too far from lake Greenwood. From Columbia, you just drive up I-26 towards Greenville for awhile, and then head towards Greenwood. All in all, it took us about an hour and a half driving at a leisurely pace. On our drive up, we passed a BBQ place that indicated it was only open on Friday and Saturday, but that's a whole other post.

Arriving at Harris Springs, I was immediately impressed with the elegant simplicity of the place. The main lodge was filled with wonderfully soft leather furniture, and we were greeted by Mark Seay, who was wonderfully hospitable. There is an expansive deck with an immense outdoor fireplace, a guest house, and a group dining facility that looked perfect for a corporate retreat event.

As an aside, it's nice to have a welcoming atmosphere at a gun club when you're there for the first time. It's so easy for experienced shooters/gun club owners to view new guests with a standoffish or skeptical eye. At Harris Springs, we instantly felt welcomed and at ease. We were given a quick tour of the property, and then wished well as we headed out to start our shooting. It was evident that they really take their hospitality seriously.

Getting out to the shooting, the stations were well marked, solidly built, and the surrounding grounds were well maintained. The sporting clays course at Harris Springs isn't the toughest one I've been to, but it certainly had a few challenging stations. One thing that was quite nice was all of the different looks presented. One of my favorite stations was shooting from a tower with the birds crossing below you.

Station 7 at Harris Springs

In it's entirety, it is a wonderful sporting clays course. I think it is well-suited for a beginner or a group just looking for interesting shot presentations in a welcoming atmosphere. It's mostly report-pairs, and there aren't a great deal of long-range shots. Competition shooters would probably grouse about it being a "soft" course, but since I'm not a competition shooter, I thought it was great.

After shooting, we ended up back at the main lodge, and settled up. One of the interesting comments from our host was that Harris Springs didn't really focus on Sporting Clays. Having just shot the course, and being impressed with it's quality, I was a little surprised. Mark explained that the club's main focus was the great quail, turkey, and deer hunting they provide. With the sporting clays at such a high level of quality (and not being the main focus) I could only imagine how well the hunting is managed.

Overall, Harris Springs would be a wonderful place for any size group, it presents a comfortable and hospitable atmosphere, and the shooting facilities are quality. If the sporting clays are any measuring stick, the bird hunting there has to be amazing.

Happy Father's Day Weekend

For Father's Day, Permanent Press, Sr. and I are going to enjoy some time "bird-watching". We're hoping to see a lot of birds that look like this:

They're no good for eating, but they sure are fun!

Why are Tomatoes Red?

The answer may surprise you.

We suspect that the meteorite crash [the one that killed the dinosaurs] and the resulting solar eclipse had created conditions difficult for plants to survive. A distant ancestor of the tomato plant then reacted by expanding its genome considerably in order to increase its chances of survival.

Wow. Who knew that your tomatoes were prehistoric?

Sympathy for the Cubs

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man without wealth or taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a fan’s soul and fate

I was 'round when Sianis
Had his moments of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Wrigley
Ejected his goat and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my team, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

I stuck around the Northside
Even though I saw it was a time for a change
Killed their hope every summer

Andre Dawson screamed in vain

I hate Big Frank
I’m not a Yank
And when the wind blows in
I smell the bleachers stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my team, but
What's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game...

I watched the glee
While my favorite players
Fought for ten decades
For the Gods they made

I shouted out
"Lets go Cubbies!"
But after all
Everyone was there for the beer

Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man without wealth or taste

And I lay traps for talented pitchers
Who’s arms get hurt before they reach Triple-A

Obama Tries to Cut Government Spending

You know, Obama's out there trying to cut all the wasteful government spending on programs that we don't need, but the House of Representatives won't let him do it. Cutting this program would have saved $12.5 million.

Vikings With Nuclear Weapons

I'M SOLD. In the year 3991 A.D., Vikings will surprise attack, often with nuclear weapons.
[H/T @GabrielMalor]

Henry Hill Dead at Age 69

Henry Hill, the inspiration for one of my favorite movies, "Goodfellas", passed away at the age of 69 from natural causes. Not bad for a guy who ran with the Mafia back in the 1970's and 80's.

If you didn't like the movie "Goodfellas" you don't like movies.

Don't Like Extreme Members of Congress?

Most of the folks I know, even if they aren't exactly in line with my political beliefs, and even if they're miles to the left (most of my law school friends) are really reasonable folks. We can all sit down and in in the span of about four or five beers, pretty much agree on how to solve the big problems that Congress can't ever seem to fix. Maybe we can't agree on everything, but mostly, we can.

We also note how Congress simply seems to have devolved into a place where the most partisan and extreme folks dominate the debate (on both sides). The big difference between me and my friends is that no one in Congress actually listens to each other. They don't have to.

Ever wonder why this is? I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you. It's the crazy districts that have been carved out to make certain seats virtual locks for either a Republican or a Democrat.

When you take a group of people with diverse points of view (say the state of South Carolina) and start dividing them up in a gerrymandered way to get certain groups of like-minded folks in the same district, you're going to send the more extreme folks to Congress. Obviously, South Carolina leans pretty heavily towards the Republicans, but chopping it up into weird districts amplifies that.

Right now, both Jim Clyburn and Joe Wilson are going to cruise to re-election. The races won't even be close.

Wilson's second district goes from Hilton Head in a little narrow tunnel up to Lexington, and curls around downtown Columbia (wonder why) and around to Northeast Columbia. It's insane.

Clyburn's sixth district has Charleston surrounded, but avoids the high dollar real estate in Charleston, then goes onto Edisto, oh...and then it goes into the little void of downtown Columbia. It's insane.

These districts look like an acid trip gone bad. Why do we have these? Well, the politicians get to draw them up to put us (the voters) into little groups of what they think are like-minded people so they can get easy elections. When you have these artificial divisions amplified to such an extreme, you're absolutely going to get more extreme candidates. Heck the only way to probably defeat Wilson will be to run to the right of him, and the only way to defeat Clyburn will be to run to his left. And where does that leave the voters? We get the most extreme voices going to Congress who have no interest in actually getting things done. Both political parties are guilty of it. Heck, they probably make deals over it. We'll give y'all this district shape if you give us this district shape. 

It has to end. Show me some nice regular polygons, not an LSD trip. Even the most extreme voices in the US Senate aren't as extreme as our house members. It's because the whole states vote. You get Senators who know they aren't going to go back to their little crazy district filled with their supporters. Whole states moderate out the extremists. The house districts do the opposite, and the only people who benefit are the political parties.

If you claim to be a moderate who is frustrated with Congress' inability to actually solve problems, pass budgets, or you know...do stuff, you need to advocate for an end to all this crazy districting. Brad Warthen, I'm looking in your direction.

Can't Wait for Trader Joe's

With the new Trader Joe's planned for Forest Drive here in Columbia, here's a nice little preview of what Columbia residents can expect. Sounds great.

Gamecocks Heading to Omaha

The South Carolina Gamecocks are heading to Omaha again.

Enjoy the road, boys.

Sweden Requires Men to Pee Sitting Down?

Occasionally, you'll hear someone claiming how great life is in Scandinavia. They have great health care, great schools, and it's full of blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties. Sounds great right?

However, they seem to be quite interested in telling you what you can and can't do. I always have an aversion to anyone telling me what to do, especially when it's "for my own good". However, this government edict in Sweden, goes too far:

The Left Party in Sörmland is taking a stand to ensure men take a seat when emptying their bladders in the county council's own toilets.

According to the party, there are two very important reasons for the proposal encouraging men to sit instead of stand when they urinate.

That's right. They want men to sit down when they pee.

According to the folks pushing this law, there are two "very important" for making the men in Sweden do something extremely emasculating, unnecessary, and personal. Even though this should be dismissed out of hand, let's at least hear the sissies out. Are you ready? Here is reason number one:

One reason has to do with hygiene and a desire to ensure that no one who uses the toilets at the county council's offices will be required to walk through puddles or residue left by stray urine which happens to splash out of the bowl and onto the floor when male employees pee standing up.

Whoa! This  is a little gross, but we're going to have  serious discussion. First of all, where are the janitors? Being a janitor is a specific job here in America. You know, janitors: the cleaning crew that comes through buildings to clean the restrooms? They mob the floor, they refill the little towels, fill up the soap, and generally...clean the restrooms. Does this job not exist in Sweden? Also, where are the urinals? A urinal pretty much makes it impossible to leave a "puddle" and solves your problem right there. Also, maybe this could be accomplished with a little personal responsibility. You make a mess, you clean it up. It's not complicated.

We here at Permanent Press are all for bathroom cleanliness, and as a spokesmen for all men out there, I'm sure that we could all do a better job of bathroom hygiene. I freely admit that. However, a law, an actual law, with the coercive power of the government behind it, that requires men to sit down while peeing is beyond absurd.

Ok, so I think we can all agree that reason number one is not so great. Maybe reason number two is a humdinger. I really doubt it though, because if reason number two was so much better than reason number one, then reason number two would probably have moved into the position of reason number one. Everyone still with me? Anyway, let's have a look:

The Left Party also cites medical research it claims shows that men empty their bladders more efficiently when they are seated.

Umm...really? I don't really want to speak for all men everywhere, but I'm pretty sure that after I finish, I'm empty. That's the point. It's also pretty efficient in any position. Someone let me know if they have a different experience. Maybe if you've got a medical problem it's a different deal, but that's not something that requires a law for all men to take a seat.

If the men of Sweden go along with this, they are doomed. Where's the Viking spirit that made Sweden great? They are descendents of men who pillaged all along the European coast and were feared and respected. This is the land of Beowulf. The were men.

I'm pretty sure that these guys didn't pee sitting down.

And it's come to this? If the men of Sweden go along with this, I hope their Viking ancestors come back to haunt them. Some busybody regulator is taking away their personal bathroom freedoms: they have to fight this.

On the list of emasculating things, being forced to sit down while peeing is got to be in the top five. I can't come up with a comprehensive list, but it's got to be up there. Any women out there want to date a guy who pees sitting down? I don't think so.

Men of Sweden: Don't take this sitting down. Better to die on your feet than live on a seat.

[H/T: @Maetenloch]

Save the Planet - Move to the South

From time to time, I have been accused of criticizing the idea of man-made (or anthropogenic) "global warming". Well sir, no more. I've read an article that has made me realize how much some of our brothers and sisters living in the Northeast are killing the planet for their lavish lifestyle. I'm fully on the global warming train, and I'm here to address a large factor in energy consumption in the United States.

As you may be aware, the more energy you use, the more the planet dies a little. As you can see from this chart below, one of the main sources of household energy consumption is space heating. (It's the sky-blue part of the bar at the bottom of each column.) Note how the energy used for heating in the Northeast is significantly higher than everything else. By comparison, heating is far and away more of an energy waster than air-conditioning in the South and the West.

So, if you live in the Northeast, you're really being a wasteful energy consumer. You're living in a cold place that you have to use a great deal of energy to heat, just so you can continue to live there without your little toesies getting frostbitten. I, as the new global warming sheriff am here to tell all y'all up North: It's time to move down to the South.

So if you want to help save the planet, move out of Vermont and get yourself to Alabama where people know how to live in harmony with Mother Gaia. Moving out of New England could be the purest form of environmental activism; your selfish, earth destroying choice of living in Massachusetts in killing us all. And as for Canada, Gaia’s message is clear: shut it down, now.

I guess that if you don't want to move, being a selfish person who cares only about living in Connecticut, we could come up with a cold-climate heat-waster surtax. As a citizen of the earth, I'm sure that you Yankees would be happy to pay it.

You do care about the earth, don't you?
[H/T Insty]

Blogging Vacation: Back to Work on Monday

Ok, fine. I took little holiday from the blogging to go to the beach with my wife and eight month old son. It's hard to blog from the beach with a beer in your hand. So sue me.

Anyway, here's what I was looking at besides a computer screen. Regular blogging will return on Monday.

Edisto Beach, South Carolina

D-Day: Sixty Eight Years Ago Today

Sixty-eight years ago, the allies began to take back the continent of Europe.

Into the Jaws of Death: Robert F. Sargent, CPoM, USCG 

At the time (and I think still) the Normandy invasion was the largest amphibious assault in the history of the world. No one knew how it would turn out. Today, we take it for granted that the allies succeeded in retaking Europe, but this was a gamble. In fact, Eisenhower was so worried, he actually drafted a letter in case the invasion failed. As it turned out, we prevailed, and he didn't need that letter.

No complaining about your day today. 

Art of the Road Trip

Don't plan, just go. Get lost!

Lawyer Dog: The First Amendment

Carolina Advances to Supers (Photo of the Final Out)

Here's a nice photo of the final out from my seats:

Zimmerman's Bond Revoked

This is why you don't lie to Judges.