Wamp...

Now I have disagreed with almost all of Wamp's time in office (nothing personal, I just disagree with his views) but when I saw that he had voted against the bailout, not just a moniker but a DESCRIPTION, I was forced to admit agreement. I still don't know if I would vote for him, but at least he is showing allegiance to his town & their feelings.
The bail out will probably still happen but if by rejecting it in its current state maybe we can get a plan that actually forces some responsibility and accountability by the banks & corporations. Key points with according to local polls, letters, editorials, & ....; require some reimbursement from the recipients, limit CEO compensation, tax any windfall profits, and most importantly show the taxpayers how this bailout helps them. No generalizations & cut the fear mongering panic inducing rhetoric. Piss on you Mr Alexander, the most irresponsible thing you could say was we would not being able to cash paychecks. This kind of idiocy is the crap that causes runs on banks, gas and other essentials. Instead of crying wolf you should be encouraging voters to stay calm and to save/spend/invest as prudent. This will allow markets to adjust themselves accordingly and minimize any potential panic. The world is not on the brink of failure, with responsible stewardship there is no reason that the average taxpayer should be stricken by this situation.

93 gut bombs

Now I learned a long time ago krystals are a guilty pleasure to enjoy in small quantities. Otherwise you'll learn just how the gut bomb nickname was earned. We've all done it, most of us more than once, but the point is we learn. Now according to krystalsquareoff.com these gluttons consumed 710 of the mini-marvel burgers in 8 minutes. The winner ate 93. I almost feel sorry for these unfortunate souls and the hell they must be going through this morning, then I read that this is not their first time doing this. Once I could understand, but repeating this every year. Do these guys not learn or what. Now my pity switched to their toilets. Not even inanimate objects should be subjected to the foul torture they were face with last night & this morning.

Here are the results to Saturdays 8 minute eating frenzy.

1. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, San Jose, Calif. - 93 Krystals

2. Pat “”Deep Dish”” Bertoletti, Chicago, Ill. - 85 Krystals

3. Takeru Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan - 84 Krystals

4. “Humble” Bob Shoudt, Philadelphia, Pa. - 76 Krystals

5. Tim “”Eater X”” Janus, New York, N.Y. - 64 Krystals

6. Hall “Hoover” Hunt, Jacksonville, Fla. - 63 Krystals

7. Juliet “The Lovely” Lee, Germantown, Md. - 55 Krystals

8. Crazy Legs Conti, New York, N.Y. - 49 Krystals

9. Rich “”The Locust”” LeFevre, Henderson, Nev. - 47 Krystals

10. Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama, Murfreesboro, Tenn. - 43 Krystals

11. Eric “Badlands” Booker, Long Island, N.Y. - 41 Krystals

12. Kyle “12th Eater” Brogdon, Hixson, Tenn. - 10 Krystals

reprinted from krystalsquareoff.com

Last night of Nightfall

Fall is finally here and as summer's last dig before it takes some months off, we get to have one more night of entertainment. I could rant about the great music and blah bla-bla-bla blah, but I have resolved to be honest. So the fact is the music is an excuse for me. I don't really enjoy the acts but they make for a decent distraction. I (and I suspect I have a few cohorts) really go just to hang out with friends, have a couple drinks, crowd watch and check out some of the different bikes that always turn out in force. It's usually a relaxed atmosphere and that is what really appeals to me. So cheers to the coming cold weather and I hope to see you tonight.

Blame Who For The Financial Mess? reprinted from the chattanoogan.com

Blame Who For The Financial Mess?
posted September 25, 2008

"Clinton Signs Legislation Overhauling Banking Laws"By Reuters, November 12, 1999
"President Clinton signed into law today a sweeping overhaul of Depression-era banking laws. The measure lifts barriers in the industry and allows banks, securities firms and insurance companies to merge and sell each other's products."This legislation is truly historic," President Clinton told a packed audience of lawmakers and top financial regulators." "We have done right by the American people." (Italics added)"The bill repeals parts of the 1933 Glass-Stegall Act and the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act to level the domestic playing field for the United States financial companies and allow them to compete better in the evolving global financial marketplace.

"Analysts and industry leaders say the measure will probably fuel a wave of mergers as companies compete to build financial supermarkets offering all the services customers need under one roof."Financial stocks were winners on Wall Street today, with J.P. Morgan & Company, Citigroup, American Express and Merrill Lynch all posting big gains. That helped the Dow Jones industrial average end up 174.02 points at 10,769.32."The Senate approved the final bill by 90 to 8 on November 4 and the House followed suit by a vote of 362 to57. Congress had previously made almost a dozen unsuccessful attempts over the last 25 years to revise the statutes, which had increasingly come to be viewed as anachronisms."The world changes (and Lord knows we need change)(parenthesis mine) and Congress and the laws have to change with it," said Senator (Republican) Phil Gramm of Texas, chairman of the Banking Committee and one of the bill's prime sponsors."Supporters of the legislation say it will also benefit consumers, providing them with greater choice and convenience and spurring competition that will lead to lower prices."With this bill," Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers (you know, the one blaming the Bush Administration) (again parenthesis mine) said, "the American financial system takes a major step forward toward the 21st Century-one that will benefit American consumers, business and the national economy." (right!) (yep, mine) Opponents (including the Independent Bankers Association of America) said it would have the opposite effect, creating behemoths that will raise fees, violate customers' privacy by sharing and selling their personal data, and PUT THE STABILITY OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM AT RISK. (Italics and caps, mine)"The privacy issue was a key factor in the long and often heated negotiations that produced a compromise bill, and President Clinton made clear he still wanted to see more done to safeguard consumers' personal financial information. (ID thefts increased 1000 fold afterward.) (Mine)."President Clinton said the Treasury and White House would put together a legislative proposal to take to Congress next year that would extend the privacy provisions of the legislation.(end of article)Now someone please tell me how the governor of Texas, at that time, can be held responsible for the problems we have in the financial structure of the economy. This was a prime example of "If it ain't broke, don't break it." But you know the politicians - they can't leave well enough alone.By the way, as a retired banker, I was totally against this bill as were most of my community bank colleagues.
Terry Bridgman
Rossville
-------------
Thank you Terry for doing your research and presenting a very real explanation. Even though your biase is very pronounced you presented verifiable facts that really show the why today's corporate scape-goating versus yesterday's corporate ass-kissing just further demonstrates the two-faced hypocrisy that DC is overflowing with.

cheap short term road repair

Can someone please tell me why the hell, Mountain Creek Rd, Pineville Rd and others, instead of repairing the numerous ruts, pot holes and other deformities. Local crews have instead sprayed a tar coating and spread loose gravel on top. Driving over it even at low speed makes your floor board & wheel wells sound like a machine gun. At anything at forty mph or over and traction becomes a thing of the past.
When it first happened I thought it was just some prep work for some actual road repair. But now the week is nearing its end and the crews are nowhere to be seen. If this is a cost cutter repair job, I pray its limited to these few roads. Earlier it was suggested to me that it might be a safety idea (forcibly reducing travel speeds) but that seems a little, well really stupid because some fools will still try to push the speed some and with the loose surface, the chance of losing traction and having a wreck seems even more likely.

Wilkommen ... or however you spell it

First off VW, yeah for Chatty. There its done everyone please quit patting yourself on the back and get back to work. All it took to get them to come is millions in tax breaks and tax-payer supplied infrastructure. For all the local politicos are crowing we had better see the f***in' second coming once they open their doors.

Welcome ...

This blog is my tribute to Chattanooga. Not that there isn't problems with our town but no city is perfect and out of all the time I've spent in other cities, Chattanooga is the only city that I feel like calling home.

As time goes I hope to expand it greatly and play host to reliable information for our little metropolis. I welcome all comments, suggestions, submittals, whatever. I just want to get people involved and interested. Check back often as I am just getting started and still have a lot to add.

Here's to you Chatt-town.

A day in the life of Doad

I HATE CROHN'S. I am one of the tens of thousands (if not more) whom are stuck dealing with this day-to-day. For those who are un-informed, crohn's disease causes problems in the digestive tract. It can be located anywhere from the stomach to the bowels. Typical suffers have to deal with constant feelings of being bloated and having to go to the restroom MANY times a day. There's a lot more to it, but I won't elaborate all that here. Suffice to say google crohn's and you'll come across a ton of informational resources and holistic cures. So far I have tried acai berry juice, aloe pills & pro-biotics. As well as entirely removing certain foods & additives from my diet. The holistic stuff has failed entirely for me, but I have found that by cutting out MSG's (preservatives) and switching to low fiber diet that my digestion has improved. But sadly my intestinal tract isn't so agreeable. My case is concentrated on my large intestines, specifically the last turn of my large intestines. What should be the diameter of a quarter is closer to a sharpie, thanks to a build up of scar tissue. This SUCKS, it hurts on & off at irregular intervals and makes it difficult to absorb nutrients. Thus I am constantly fighting anemia and have to overdose on vitamins so that I am able to get the bare minimum absorbed. As well the medicines I take to keep it from getting worse are immuno-suppressants so I have to be careful about any infection because my body has a difficult time dealing with them. On the psychological side the constant restroom breaks and pain, make depression a very common partner. I deal with it daily.

Now that I am done whining, this disease has caused me to change my outlook on life. I'm lucky enough to have some wonderful health care professionals looking out for me, and a extremely understanding family, not to mention some supportive friends. I've come to appreciate family & friends more than ever. Once I accepted that my life will never be normal and that colon cancer strickens 95% of crohn's sufferers by the time they are 50, I came to relax about the future. Worrying about my golden years and retirement became a thing of the past. I put a cap of 50 yrs on my life span. Now don't think that is a bad thing, hell by the time I hit that stage I want to be able to say I've lived a full life. I'm sure I might have some regrets but those are like guilt, a bag of fucking bricks that all you need to do with is let go. On my good days, I make it a point to not lay about all day. I have opened myself to new interests and experiences. I figure as long as I can stay happy & productive than the rest of the bullshit will take of itself.

thumbs way up

rented a couple movies on recommendation & speculation this weekend.
First "OTIS" funniest, most twisted shit I ever watched. Stone sober and still laughing like a maniac. Satire on the whole torture movie craze. 4 out of 4 pit stained wife beaters, fave quote "rectum, you fuckin' killed 'em"
Then was "Shadowboxer" great acting from Stephen Dorf & Cuba Gooding Jr. Could have done without the full frontal and ass nudity, but at least they practiced safe sex. still 3.5 condom covered wangs out of 4.
Then the Sunday I got to go a christening for my nieces. Told it would be 15-20 minutes ... 1.5 hours later I walked out, kept expecting the roof to cave-in on my agnostic ass the entire time. Even worse I left my phone at home so no sudoku or tunes. Nothing against church or anything but isn't it a bit hypocritical to have your children baptized if you and them NEVER go to church? Great Grandfather's christening gift better have kicked ass.

Tired Of Republi-crats, Cookie Cutter Arguments And Lies

I know I'm not the only person who is tired of the campaigns already. Now it's time for everyone else to speak up as well. Every time I check Chattanoogan.com I come across another left-wing radical or right-wing extremist spewing more filth and lies into the public forum. I am a huge supporter of free speech and believe every person deserves a voice, but can we at least be honest with each other and end the lies.Congress, this is my biggest pet peeve against all politicians today. Yes, the Republicans controlled congress during Bush's first term and managed to preside over some of the worst corruption scandals in recent memory. Before anyone starts whining about Clinton's term in office let's compare his biggest scandal with just one of Bush's. Ol' Slick Willie was fooling with an intern and tried to cover his tail, but he never exposed a CIA operative's identity. Let's see, adultery vs. treason, which one deserves impeachment.
But let's not forget that Democrats have controlled Congress the past four years, and what do we have to show for it? No improvement, just more debt, more partisan back room political deals, and still no end to the senseless deaths our soldiers are facing each day in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now we the taxpayers are being stuck with the bill for Fannie and Freddy's bail out. How many more times will we sit back and watch the federal government throw away our hard-earned money, so that the people who run these companies don't have to face the consequences of their decisions.Now with the election fast approaching, both sides are accusing the other of inexperience and any other dirt they can find or fabricate. What that says to me is that both sides are fools for choosing candidates based not on experience, values or morals but on image. I'd say we need to start from scratch but I don't think I could handle another primary season the likes of which just ended.Man, woman, black, white, Democrat, Republican. They are all poor choices who have no place running our country. And certainly they have no right to proclaim they represent the American people.In the words of a very wise man, vote none of the above, or least let's all ditch the major parties and their chosen flunkies and find an third candidate that actually represents our choices and values.