Headlines for November 17, 2014

It's cold, rainy, and foggy out there today. Good Scottish weather.

I was going to have a trial today, but the case settled just before we started picking a jury. Consequently, you get a blog post. (Lucky you!)

Looking around, here are some of the headlines that caught my attention today and over the weekend:

1. South Carolina beat Florida in overtime which got the Florida head coach fired. What's really interesting is whether South Carolina will now offer the former Florida head coach a job as a defensive assistant.

2. A doctor who was transported from West Africa to a Nebraska hospital has died of ebola. Apparently, he got to the US just recently, and it looks like he was in a pretty advanced stage of the disease before he got here.

3. One of the scientists who helped land the Rosetta probe on a comet wore a shirt that offended some people. If you're over 13 and offended by someone's shirt, you're a weak-minded moron. Get a grip, people. It's a shirt. You people are worse than the preacher in Footloose.

Other than that, what else you got?

Monday Mid-Morning Headlines Thread 9-29-14

It's been a long weekend 'round these parts. We had a birthday party for the (now) three-year-old son, watched the Gamecocks lose a heart-breaker, and generally enjoyed the wonderful cool weather that indicates summer is in full retreat.

Anyway, pour some coffee and get to it. It's Monday.

Here are some of the interesting stories I'm seeing this morning:

1. A Louisiana restaurant is giving 10% discount to concealed weapon carriers. I love it. Anti-gun folks are probably going nuts somewhere.

2. The Khorosan Group is actually al-Qaeda. So that's why no one had heard of them up until we were told they were the most dangerous group ever.

3.  Indicted House Speaker Bobby Harrell's bond has been set at $18,000 and he has to get permission from the Court if he wants to leave the State of South Carolina. However, "Harrell has been granted permission to attend USC's game this weekend in Lexington, Kentucky against the Wildcats." Priorities, right? He may be under indictment, but he'll be darned if he ain't going to the Carolina/Kentucky game.

4. Fans will be able to give input on the name of the minor league team that is coming to Columbia soon. I'm partial to the Columbia Corruption, myself, but there are lots of options here.

Friday Morning Good News Only Headlines

Happy Friday.

Medal of Honor recipient, Corporal Kyle Carpenter

Since it's Friday, here are some of the positive and uplifting headlines I'm seeing this morning. (I'm not going into all the negative stuff.)

1. Lexington, South Carolina's own Kyle Carpenter received the Medal of Honor yesterday. He intentionally threw himself on a grenade to save his buddies. You can see the official citation here.

2. Gun manufacturer thriving since moving to SC from CT, and will be issuing a commemorative SC rifle to say "thank you" to South Carolina.

3. 1964 Jaguar E-Type found in pristine condition in "nearly pristine condition" in a barn.

4. Oh, and Kate Upton has apparently made a cameo in a country music video. In case you're into country music...or whatever.

Saturday Morning: Breakfast and Headlines

I love being able to wake up on Saturday morning and cook a leisurely breakfast. With nowhere to be first thing in the morning, I can take more time than the normal because my main goal isn't getting out the door. Using a cast iron skillet, you can make almost anything.

So, now that I've got some coffee and eggs, here are some articles I'm reading today:

1. More on Bergdahl: Taliban says that they found Bergdahl alone, cursing Americans. I'm beginning to think that Bergdahl didn't intend to be a traitor, he was just a deserter/idiot.

2. In economic news: The percentage of American civilians 16 or older who do not have a job and are not actively seeking one remained at a 36-year high in May. Any which way you slice it, that's a lot. 37.2% of people 16 or older are not working. That's not how you have a productive economy.

3. In news of the stupid, a San Antonio, TX school allowed a 10 year old girl to get sunburned on a field trip because they don't allow children to take sunscreen with them...because the school considers it a "toxic substance". The stupid. It burns. Literally, in this case.

4. In BBQ news, Garden and Gun has a list of the top 21 BBQ sandwiches in the South. Jackie Hite's was the only one from South Carolina.

Ok, time for a coffee refill...

Headlines for Tuesday May 6, 2014

Today is Tuesday, May 06, 2014. On this day, back in 1937 the German airship Hindenburg caught on fire and burned. There were thirty-five fatalities including one ground crewman. This widely known disaster (along with the passenger airplane) ended the era of the airships for passenger travel. It also provided a the basis of a metaphor for something being a spectacular failure.

1. South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy will lead the House Select Committee on Benghazi. Not a bad choice. Gowdy has been known for his tough questioning of witnesses in front of his committee before. Rather than give a speech, he tends to...you know...ask questions. We'll see what he makes of this opportunity.

2. First it was Global Warming. Then it was Climate Change. Now it's Climate Disruption. Please adjust your lexicons accordingly. They can call it whatever they want, it's still silly.

3. Healthy SC man defrauds Veterans Administration by claiming he had combat wounds. They really ought to have a severe punishment for this kind of thing.

That's all I've got for you this morning. I'm heading to Florence.

"Female Bikers Forbidden From Selling Cupcakes At Shooting Range"

I don't have anything against females, bikers, cupcakes, or shooting ranges. Actually, I'm fine with all of them. But together?

That's just a weird headline.

"Slight risk of severe weather in the Midlands this week"

That's the headline on a piece over at WIS.

If given a choice, I would prefer a severe risk of slight weather.

Top Headlines Thread (Russian Toilet Instructions Edition)

FRIDAY!

Here's a look around at the top five headlines I'm seeing today:

1. Jay Leno Says Farewell to the "Tonight Show": After a long run, he's finally leaving. I've seen plenty of criticism of Leno from people who say he's really dull, but I always thought he was pretty funny. My guess is he'll find some way to keep telling jokes for a living.

2. Charleston School of Law to Possibly Merge With the College of Charleston?: It appears that the State Legislature gets the final say on whether the Charleston School of Law can be sold to a private group, and that's not a sure thing. Accordingly the College of Charleston is looking into it. Law Schools can be quite a cash cow, since they don't require much overhead and rake in tuition dollars.

3. SC Legislature has Bill to Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks: If I remember correctly, this was the same thing proposed in Texas that (by her opposition) propelled Wendy Davis to the forefront of national politics. Could we see a similar phenomenon here in South Carolina? If so, which state legislator is the most likely to be the face of the opposition to this law?

4. Four Ways Obamacare Hurts Millennials: Spoiler alert -- Young people are helping pay for the older, sicker people's coverage.

5. Want to Buy a Gun? Be Glad You Don't Live In Massachusetts: Hey, it could be worse. I hear China has some pretty tough restrictions on guns as well.

Yeah, yeah yeah...the Winter Olympics are starting, too. I guess that's news. The real news is all the problems that are going on with the logistics. Russia is weird, though. Here is a sign that is above toilets in Russian Hotels

 What's that on the bottom left? Do some people fish in toilets? Is this a Russian thing? I also like the bottom right one. Is that guy doing "air drums" on the toilet with a beer bottle?

That's all I got for some Friday AM links.

Monday Headlines 9-30-13

Don't have time for a long commentary-type post, but here are some events that I'm seeing around the midlands and the country:

1. Columbia City Hall renovations are finished, but a little more expensive that originally intended. They originally budgeted $500,000, but ended up spending over twice that: $1,113,411 as of late last week. Bryan's status: not surprised.
2. Gamecock QB Connor Shaw is out for two weeks. He has a "sprained shoulder" (his throwing shoulder), the team will be relying on Dylan Thompson for awhile. Bryan's status: not optimistic.
3.  Eric Holder and the DOJ are going to sue North Carolina over their new Voter-ID laws. It astounds me how people let these guys make racist arguments for how Voter ID is discrimination. Bryan's status: Bryan's status: annoyed at the DOJ.
4. Government Shutdown Looms. Apparently, the folks running the government are having a little disagreement on something, and a government shutdown might occur. For those of you unfamiliar with a government shutdown of "non-essential" workers, it looks a lot like a weekend. Bryan's status: Whatever, bro.
5. Remember the "hockey stick" graph? Yeah, that was totally bogus. Bryan's Status: Shocked!*

*just kidding, not really shocked.

Friday Headlines (Party Edition)

Friday Headlines:

1. Chicago is having a good old fashioned viewpoint discrimination party with the whole Chick-Fil-A deal.

2. Craig James hosted a party at SMU and forgot to pay the hookers. Luckily, he didn't kill any of them.

3. The Olympic party starts today in London. Time to brush up on your knowledge of sports that you don’t care about. 

This post is brought to you by Clint Eastwood's Dance Academy.