Jindal Shames Brown And Oxford

For the real skinny on Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana Science Education Act read Oyster at Your Right Hand Thief. Here's one quote:

Bobby Jindal and Timmy Teepell are not like Bush and Rove. No. Bobby and Timmy don't meet with leaders of the Fundagelical Right about legislative priorities, and then laugh at them after they leave the room. They don't string the fundagelical right along with "culture of life" talk, and just use them for their votes. No. But, surprisingly, it's not the reverse, either. The fundagelical right isn't using Bobby Jindal to further their political aims. Why? Because he's totally on board! People need to understand that Bobby doesn't "pander" to the extreme religious right, nor is he "used" by "them" because, in his heart of hearts, he is one of them. As hard is it may seem, Jindal really believes in the Discovery Institute pseudoscience just as he believes in the religious pseudo-history of Dan Barton.

How can this be? Jindal is an honor graduate in biology from Brown University, and he received his advanced degree from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Oh, it be. It be.

Jindal does exorcisms, too.

Snooks Eaglin - R.I.P

Snooks Eaglin playing "Baby Please" at the Lone Star Roadhouse with George Porter Jr.

From the Times-Picayune:

Snooks Eaglin, the idiosyncratic New Orleans rhythm & blues guitarist with fleet-fingered dexterity and a boundless repertoire, died Wednesday afternoon. He was 72.

"He was the most New Orleans of all the New Orleans acts that are still living," said Mid-City Lanes owner John Blancher.

Snooks got his name from Baby Snooks. Y'all remember Baby Snooks, don't you? Of course, you youngsters don't. You have to be old to remember her.

Glaucoma blinded Eaglin in infancy.

The digits on Mr. Eaglin's right hand flailed at seemingly impossible angles as he finger-picked and strummed a guitar's strings. A set by the so-called "Human Jukebox" could range from Beethoven's "Fur Elise" to Bad Company's "Ready for Love."

He thrived on feedback from onlookers, gleefully took requests and challenged his musicians to keep up. Utterly unselfconscious, he would render fellow guitarists slack-jawed with a blistering run, then announce from the stage that he needed to use the bathroom
....

In the early 1960s, Mr. Eaglin released a handful of singles for Imperial Records under the name "Ford" Eaglin. He logged three years in the house band at the Playboy Club off Bourbon Street.

After the British Invasion decimated the market for New Orleans rhythm & blues, he semi-retired. The launch of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970 brought with it fresh opportunity.
....

"He's an irreplaceable guy," Blancher said. "More celebrities came to see Snooks than anyone. His reputation was as big as anyone's in New Orleans. And he wouldn't travel, so if you wanted to see Snooks you had to come to Rock 'n Bowl."

During the 2000 Jazz Fest, Bonnie Raitt showed up at the Mid-City Lanes to hear Mr. Eaglin. He exclaimed from the stage, "Listen to this, Bonnie! You gonna learn something tonight, girl!" She later lent a hand by replacing a broken string on his guitar.


Like many of us, Eaglin was a storyteller.

Among the most infamous is the time Mr. Eaglin drove the Flamingos home following a Saturday night gig in Donaldsonville. The musicians were so intoxicated that they decided their blind guitarist was the most qualified driver.

Mr. Eaglin claimed he navigated the curves of the road from memory. The crunch of gravel under the tires warned him when the '49 Studebaker strayed onto the shoulder. The story concludes with Mr. Eaglin pulling up to his house early Sunday morning and his mother suggesting the musicians proceed directly to church.

I defy anyone to top that New Orleans story.

I commend Keith Spera for writing a fine tribute to Snooks.

Thanks Be To God!

My grandson was accepted into the high school of his choice, the school that his older brother attends. He's taking the separation of his parents quite hard, and, had he not been accepted, it would have been a terrible blow to him. Normally, I don't have much patience with the mentality that not getting into the right school will ruin a young person's life, but, in this case, my grandson didn't need another big disappointment coming right at this time.

What Do You Think?

From Lance, who laughs his way through his pain, with the following message:

Best scarf of 2009......you would look SO good in one of these! So toasty and warm.....AND attractive!

Perhaps for my visit to that cold place?

In The Mail

 

My shiny new passport arrived in the mail yesterday. I let my old one expire, because, due to embarrassment, I did not plan to leave the country while Bush was in office. I didn't want to wander the world saying, "I don't like him, either". Many thought me silly, but I simply could not go. Here in the US, we were all in the mess together.

In exactly one month, I will leave for England, and I can't wait. My woolly socks shipped the other day. I usually can't wear wool against my skin, but I tried out the socks yesterday, and they seem fine on my feet and legs. As of now, I plan to leave my long wool coat at home and take an all-weather coat. Mine doesn't have a zip-in liner, but with enough layering, the all-weather should do. Plus, it's waterproof, and I see that the sun peeps out only occasionally, interspersed with lotsa rainy days. The humidity and I should get along quite well, because living in south Louisiana, I will be already acclimated. I'll look at the extended weather forecast right before I leave, and I may change my mind if cold weather extremes are in the offing. Here's a link to the average temperatures in Leeds in March.

Durham Cathedral is on my list of places that I want to visit. I hope that the picture below wasn't taken in March. I don't usually pray about the weather, but I may change my mind.


Picture from Wiki.

Please Pray For Lance

I had an accident with my table saw Monday evening. Spent night in hospital and had surgery 1st thing Tuesday morning to repair left hand. I have cuts on 4 of 5 fingers. repaired severe damage to middle finger. I have a pin in middle finger. This shit hurts------------- My left arm is in a cast--cannot type...

Lance, who lives in a town nearby, found me through my blog. We haven't met yet, but we will. I've seen pictures of him, his lovely wife, and his two beautiful children. I just talked to him on the phone. His middle finger was hanging after the accident, but the doctors put it back together, and the blood flow is good. They say his fingers will be fine. Good thing. We all need the functioning middle finger for those special times when nothing but sign language works.

UPDATE FROM LANCE: I just read the comments your friends wrote of me. Thank you and please thank them. Seems like a nice fan base you have.

You are quite a nice fan base, my friends. Thank you.

"That's Too Bad"

From the Times-Picayune:

A national organization of scientists has informed Gov. Bobby Jindal it will not hold its annual convention in Louisiana as long as the recently adopted Science Education Act remains on the books.

The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology told Jindal in a recent letter that its executive committee chose Salt Lake City for its 2011 convention over New Orleans "in large part" because of the legislation.

To Gov. Jindal and the Louisiana Legislature: New Orleans thanks you. The hotel and restaurant owners thank you. I thank you. This was bound to happen.

"That's too bad," Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said of the group's decision. "New Orleans is a first-class city for a convention." Plotkin said the governor did not respond to Satterlie's letter.

Too bad the governor and the legislature don't have first-class minds, or they would never have passed the stupid law. New Orleans badly needs the business, but the city must pay the price for the ignorance of the political leaders of the state.

Many scientific groups, both in Louisiana and nationally, urged the governor to veto the bill. They cast the act, sponsored by Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, as a back-door attempt to allow Judeo-Christian creation theology or "intelligent design" -- the concept that biological life forms are the result of an intelligent being -- to be taught as part of science class.
....

"It is the firm opinion of SICB's leadership that this law undermines the integrity of science and science education in Louisiana," Satterlie wrote.

Of course, it does. The law will likely be struck down as unconstitutional, as was the previous law passed in the 1980s, the "Creationism Act", after a long and expensive legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court.

Roseann - Believe The Unbelievable

Dear Mimi,

I just spoke with Roseann, and she told me the tumor in the stomach is benign, and the doctors now believe her problems are caused by anxiety, and plan to treat her accordingly. She did use a sleeping pill last night and finally got some sleep. However this morning after her shower (which is not in her room) she fell in the hallway in front of a bunch of nurses, and now has a compression fracture of the hip. She is in excruciating pain. What more can go wrong??

She asked me to pass on the news.

Blessings to the OCICBW bloggers for all of their attention.

Sue

Thanks be to God that the tumor is benign. May Roseann's pain from the fracture of her hip and from the anxiety ease. Lord, have mercy!

An Alleluia For Doxy!

do I hear an alleluia?

PJ has left a new comment on your post
FRIEND IN A DARK PLACE:

GOOD NEWS!

Ms. Doxy has updated her Facebook page from afar, and has authorized me to let you know that all is well. She says:

Digital mammogram, with results read on-site. All is clear. Thanks be to God! (and to all you wonderful people...)

Thanks be to God, indeed.

Posted by MadPriest.

Alleluia!

What About Dover?

From John Soltz at The Huffington Post:

Christina Bellantoni, writing in the Washington Times today, details President Obama's first experiences writing letters of condolence to families of the fallen. According to the story, the president is taking the time to write each letter himself, signing it simply "Barack." As the president writes these letters, and feels the weight of Americans dying in war under his administration, he should also consider how the human cost of war has partially been hidden from the public, and reverse that policy.

Yes. So long as the policy change is sensitive to and respectful of the privacy of the families of the fallen, change must come. US citizens, along with the families of those who have died, need to know the true costs of war. Several years ago, a video (illegal?) which showed the dignified and respectful treatment by the military of the remains of those who died in the wars made the rounds. It's something we should all see.

In the end, those of us who served swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Part of that Constitution is freedom of the press, to promote the ability of the public to have as much information as possible -- even when that information is not comfortable for those decision-makers in power.

The return of our war dead certainly falls into that category. The policy should be changed.

A veteran speaks.

Picture from The Memory Hole.

UPDATE: I added the picture.