The Sad Case of the Balloon Boy

It appeared from the beginning that there was something strange about the supposed ride of the Colorado boy in his family's "weather balloon." When the boy was found in the attic of his home, there was a short period of normalcy. Maybe the kid had hid out to escape his parents' wrath at possibly causing them a problem.

Then the weird set in. It quickly became known the the family, under the leadership of the father, has been involved in some of the strange reality shows. He has also pitched ideas to reality show producers, to no avail. The family released their home video of the untethering of the balloon which showed no undue concern over anyone being inside. Then, when they made the rounds of the TV morning shows, the "balloon boy" threw up when asked about his hiding in the attic. He responded to his dad with "you said we did this for a show." Kids say and do the darnedest things, when their conscience kicks in and their parents want them to lie.

Now it appears that law enforcement officials will press charges against the father. Whether the charges will be in connection with a hoax or for violations of FAA rules and laws is still unknown. Obviously the father in this case is a publicity hound, obsessed with getting on TV reality shows. What better way than to create an incident that will appeal to the hungry cable networks, who will exploit anything to fill an afternoon on a slow news day.

When some one like this nutcase wants so badly to be in front of the cameras to make a name for himself, nothing will stand in their way. After all they see other ne'er do wells getting their own reality shows after some infamous act. Michael Vick mistreated his dogs, served time in prison and now will have his own reality show. Turning a homemade balloon loose and telling authorities that your son is in it, is a small price to pay to live your dream. There will probably be a fine and a suspended sentence. A small price to pay for a few million, if you can work it out.

The sad aftermath is the children. It would appear that they have been forced to lie and have been exploited by the parents in order to achieve enough notoriety to get the reality show offer. If this is the case, then, hopefully, the authorities will take action to see that the parents are counseled and monitor the situation to ensure the children's welfare. A better outcome would be federal charges serious enough to get the attention of these immature yokels.

Louisiana JP's Poor Excuse

Keith Bardwell, the Louisiana Justice of the Peace, who refused to marry an interracial couple, made a very bad decision. Even worse was his defense of his decision: "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way. I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else." Isn't it always amusing when racists try to excuse their public behavior with a statement like that.

"They come to my home...they use my bathroom..." Wow, he even lets "them" come to his home AND use his bathroom. I'd bet that he uses a lot of lysol, after they leave. No telling what "they" might leave in his home. People like Bardwell are too stupid to realize that they are showing their ignorance, when they make statements like that. He has "piles of black friends." No, has piles of black acquaintances. I would bet that they are not his friends. They are simply friendly.

It is not up to anyone with the power to marry a couple to make that decision for them. Their pastor or their friends may very well advise them against marriage, but in the end it is their decision. In today's world for someone like Bardwell to refuse to marry a couple on the basis of race is inexcusable.

I do not know Louisiana law. It may be perfectly legal for Bardwell to refuse to perform a ceremony. However, federal law permits interracial marriage and my guess is that Bardwell may very well have a rocky road ahead. If the couple decides to file a discrimination complaint with the EOC, Mr. Bardwell better lock the doors and hide his money.

The Duggars Are At it Again...and a Granddugger

I have to admit that on occasion I am fascinated by the Duggers. They are the Arkansas family that currently numbers 18 kids with another on the way. Last night I caught their TV show and found that their oldest son, who has been married a year or so, now has a child. Therefore there is a Granddugger. Why these people continue to overpopulate, I have never quite understood...until last night.

The young new father and mother were asked about whether they would continue the family legacy and have a herd of kids. Their response was that they had not planned such a family, but they would let God decide. I think that I now understand. Birth control in any form or fashion is, apparently, not in their vocabulary. I have news for them, God is not going to make that decision for them. They will make that decision by not controlling their baby making system in any way.

I was somewhat amused by Big Baby Mama Dugger, who said that she and Daddy Dugger had not planned another. It just happened. One would think that after 18 kids they would understand just how the system works. If you do "it" and you are as fertile as they apparently are, babies are going to happen. So, now they are expecting their nineteenth kid and it will be younger than their oldest grandchild. It kind of makes me think of the old song, "I Am My Own Grandpa."

These people are some kind of fundamentalist Christians, and today's fundamentalists are coming out now against any form of birth control, often likening it to a form of abortion. I suspect that the leaders of these groups want to increase their numbers through large families. They are very controlling of their children and bring them up in a sheltered way, refusing to expose them to other ideas. They ban TV, a source of outside information and they control the movies and books that their children read. In this way they raise a completely brainwashed child, who will have to break away in order to learn how the real world functions.

Orly Taitz May Get Free Room and Board

Thanks to the Federal Judge of the Middle District of Georgia, Orly Taitz may get to spend some free time in a federal lockup. Judge Clay Land has fined Taitz for "wasting the judicial resources" of the Middle District of Georgia with her "frivolous and sanctionable conduct." He also said that she "borders on delusional" and "demonstrates bad faith." If you have ever listened to Ms Taitz, you know that the judge has hit the proverbial nail on the head with that description.

Taitz had filed a lawsuit against the Federal Goverment demanding that Obama had to prove his citizenship before a soldier could be sent to Iraq. However, that solder has disassociated herself with Taitz and has threatened to file a bar complaint against poor, delusional Ms. Taitz.

The best part of this story is that Ms. Taitz has said that she has no intention of paying the $20,000 fine. Good deal. I cannot wait to see the sentence Ms Taitz gets and whether she will finally go off the deep end while incarcerated. She may very well end up in a federal mental institution. The good Lord knows she is almost ready for the men in the white coats now.

Protesters in the Sorghum Parade

In our section of the country and probably throughout the nation, fall is a time for festivals. The Native Americans celebrated fall as a time of harvest and thanksgiving for a good crop season. The Pilgrims did the same. The modern fall festivals are primarily a way to draw money into an area using some kind of gimmick. In our area, we have an apple festival, a marble festival, a copper festival, and many others, all tied to a local industry or tradition.

For our town it is the Sorghum Festival. In the mountains of Georgia early settlers found that they could grow sorghum cane and produce a thick, molasses-like syrup, good as a sweetener and good with biscuits and butter. Each year for the last 4o or so the local Jaycees have produced a festival that centers on sorghum making, where the cane is ground with a mule-powered mill, the juice cooked, and the syrup bottled. Together with traditional music, games, and arts and crafts, it draws a large crowd for two weekends in October.

The festival kicks off with a parade of floats, cars, horseback riders, tractors, and the usual small town attractions. This year there was an entry that turned many off. The so-called teabaggers entered themselves. They carried their hate filled posters and yelled nasty things about the president and the government as they walked along. Interestingly enough they got little positive response from the crowd. One lady in particular made me want to get in her face. She carried a poster with a nasty comment about public servants and a drawing of an outdoor toilet on top of another.

As a retired public servant, it simply outraged me that these people had the nerve to walk along behind firemen, and past police and EMT's, who were making the route safe for them to walk, and chant nasty lines and carry nasty signs putting down those sworn to protect them. Then there are the soldiers, public servants themselves, who have fought to protect their right to protest. I still seethe with anger when I think about it.

As I said, the people in our town are pretty polite, so they mostly remained silent or laughed at the outrageousness of the teabaggers' behavior. In the area where we stood amongst about 150 people, only two small groups or three or four cheered as they went by. It was very heartening to watch the response of the viewers. The people around me were outraged. The parade announcer ignored them as well. All in all, it was quite a negative response to a bunch of anti-government, unpatriotic Republicans in a Republican stronghold. I am proud of my town.