a buddy of mine "came out" yesterday...sorta!

it was on the way to the Capital One Bowl...we stopped to get something to drink since both of us were tired & hung over from too much partying NYE. on the way back to his truck, we found that someone had punk'd him, GOOD:



that was pretty much the highlight of the day...the Gators stunk up the house against Michigan, and i didn't get to eat here:

big "free speech" stinkies afloat here at the Univ. of Florida

it all started with some groups on campus wanting to show the movie "Obsession--Radical Islam's War Against the West", back on November 13. Fliers were hung around campus, featuring the slogan "RADICAL ISLAM WANTS YOU DEAD". terror filled the hearts and minds of left-wing pantywaists...that's not very tolerant!

muslim students, and i'm sure some "thoughtful" professors and student activists at UF complained to the administration, so the following email was sent out to the entire student body:

November 26, 2007

To: All University Students
From: Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin
Vice President for Student Affairs

Re: Official Response to a recent advertisement for the movie "Obsession"

Throughout our country, we have witnessed a rise in offensive behavior and actions taken against others, which has created greater divisiveness and misunderstandings among the various ethnic groups residing in our communities. One of these events occurred on our campus recently with the promotion of an event.

Advertisements for the movie "Obsession" sponsored by several student organizations appeared during the past several weeks on campus bulletin boards and they illustrate the importance of balancing freedom of speech with responsibility.

The ads, which promoted a showing of the movie on Nov. 13 and a panel discussion afterward, entitled "Radical Islam Wants You Dead," offended many Muslim students on campus. Regardless of its original intent, the language reinforced a negative stereotype, created unnecessary divisiveness and contributed to a generalization that only furthers the misunderstanding of the religion of Islam.

We cannot speak of rights without also addressing the responsibility associated with our actions or statements, including understanding the potential consequences. One of our roles as a learning institution is to teach our students to express themselves freely, and also in a fair and conscientious manner. In an academic setting, differences of opinions are strongly encouraged, yet such opinions must be based on accurate information when describing other members of the community.

Unfortunately, in the case of the "Obsession" ads, that did not happen. I believe the groups that posted them owe the campus, and particularly campus members of the Islamic faith, an apology and a clarification.

At the University of Florida we have embraced a set of values, one of which is diversity. Diversity is not just about having representation from various cultures on campus, it also is having each member contribute to an inclusive and safe environment and collectively enhancing our understanding and appreciation of the richness brought by such differences. The University of Florida is committed to being an institution of excellence, where all members are valued and feel safe on our campus. Our role as an institution is to create opportunities for students to learn in an open and accepting environment; one that emphasizes respect for all. Let's remember that part of our mission is to prepare each other to be effective members of a global community. With that in mind, I encourage each member of our campus community as a start to learn more about the religion of Islam and some of its tenets of peace, hard work, charity and compassion.

There is little room for divisiveness in our world if we are to find peace and understanding among us. We all can win if we focus on greater inclusion and understanding as well as the delicate balance between our rights and responsibilities.

in response to this email, UF junior Ashley Emans re-directs:

Now the university administration is demanding an apology from the five hosting student organizations: College Republicans, Law School Republicans, the Jewish Law Students Association, the Jewish Student Union, and Gators For Israel.

in response, UF's College Republicans and Law School Republicans answered publicly in the Alligator (more or less the "official" student paper...to paraphrase--"no apology will be forthcoming". good for them, high fives all around...

Florida's attorney general, Bill McCollum, jumped into the fray, with this letter to UF president Bernie Machen:

Dear Dr. Machen:

It has come to my attention that Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin, the University of Florida Vice President for Student Affairs, sent a letter November 26 to all university students entitled “official response” highly critical of an ad for the showing of the movie “Obsession” which was posted around the campus. A copy of this letter is attached for your reference.

Dr. Telles-Irvin’s letter may have violated the free speech rights of the students and organizations who posted this ad and sponsored the movie. At the very least it has created a chilling effect on the free speech rights of students enrolled at the University of Florida. As the Attorney General of Florida, it is my duty to protect the constitutional rights of all Floridians including civil rights and free speech rights. Consequently, I have asked attorneys in my office to review this matter and advise me what if any action this office should pursue. I am writing to request that you review this matter with your staff, legal counsel and the University of Florida Board of Trustees and, if they concur with my concerns, formulate and take some appropriate remedial action.

No doubt Dr. Telles-Irvin was responding in her letter to the sensitivities of the Muslim students on campus. While the Muslin faith should be honored and respected and most practicing Muslims are not radical and not terrorists, the United States has been at war with radical Islamic terrorists since September 11, 2001. The movie “Obsession,” which I have seen, describes the nature of our enemy and this war. The headline on the ad for the movie reading “RADICAL ISLAM WANTS YOU DEAD” is one of the messages in this movie and is a true statement of the intent of these radical Islamic terrorists. In her letter Dr. Telles-Irvin says, “regardless of its original intent, the language reinforced a negative stereotype, created unnecessary divisiveness and contributed to a generalization that only furthers the misunderstanding of the religion of Islam.” This may be the view of Dr. Telles-Irvin, but a great many Americans would disagree and argue that it is essential to the discussion and understanding of this war that the terrorists be properly and correctly labeled as radical Islamists who by their very actions clearly want us dead. Students and student organizations who hold this latter view should not be stifled in their free expression of it.

By not only criticizing the ad, but also calling on the groups that posted the ad to apologize, Dr. Telles-Irvin, intentionally or not, has chilled free speech on the UF campus. It may be that her intent with this letter was simply to encourage students when speaking of radical Islamists to put them in context by also making a statement that most practitioners of the Islamic faith are not terrorists and not radical Islamists. But that is not the effect of her letter. And I would submit that when one posts an ad for a movie it isn’t practical to expect a “clarification,” as perhaps Dr. Telles-Irvin thinks is needed when speaking of radical Islamists.

It has also come to my attention that students and/or faculty tore down most of the posted flyers advertising this movie and that some of those doing so wore hoods. It seems to me that the university should investigate this behavior and prosecute or discipline those who engaged in such conduct. To permit this kind of conduct without an appropriate response has an even more chilling effect on free speech on the campus than Dr. Telles-Irvin’s letter.

Your early attention to this matter is most appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bill McCollum

Dr. Telles-Irvin must've realized she was in WAY over her head, because she sent out this email, "clarifying" the first one:

To: All UF students

From: Patricia Telles-Irvin, Vice President for Student Affairs
Subject: My e-mail last week

There has been much discussion about an e-mail I sent Nov. 26 regarding the posters advertising the movie "Obsession."

Since that time, some important dialogue has been exchanged between members of the student groups involved. But over the last week, there has been some misunderstanding on the university's position on certain points.

Please allow me to clarify.

* The university supports the rights of students to freely express themselves on any issue.

* The university condemns terrorists acts and those who perpetrate them, regardless of who they are. And we clearly recognize there are people who use Islam to support violence.

* The university has no intention of taking disciplinary action against anyone involved in creating or distributing the posters. That was never a consideration.

* The university has heard allegations that the posters were removed by people who opposed their message. Efforts by the University Police Department and Student Affairs to confirm this or identify offenders were unsuccessful. Removal of posters from proper venues is prohibited by the university's policies and will not be tolerated.

The original intent of my e-mail was to foster greater understanding and communication among groups. As we all surely know, free speech is a cherished right not only in this country but also on this campus. We
should always feel comfortable expressing our diverse opinions.

to sum up, i can't really express it better than Ashley Emams:

UF does so much hand-wringing over racial/ethnic/class/gender/religious diversity, yet it shuns the most important type of diversity a college could ever give: diversity of thought. Conservative impulses are swiftly suppressed, in and out of class, just as the Obsession kerfluffle has proved. Dr. Telles-Irvin and the rest of the administration apparently believe students who feel threatened by radical Islam have forfeited their rights of expression by not falling in line with what is the acceptable opinion according to them, namely that you are not allowed to fear radical Islam.

more from UF student's perspective at collegeotr.com. go gators!

my band's playing friday night!

that's right--my band
BIG OIL is playing THIS friday night, DEC 7, 2007, at the ATLANTIC in gainesville, FL...the atlantic is located pretty much at the corner of University Ave and Main Street in beautiful downtown gainesville. also on the bill are killer rockers and good pals BLACKSNAKE!

THIS IS A SHOW NOT TO MISS.

CNN/YouTube Republican debate--nuts and plants

CNN's agenda was on full display last night.

out of over 3000 videos submitted, CNN saw fit to pick videos like the kid in his bedroom with a confederate flag on his wall asking a question about the flag...some texas kook waving his bible to the camera and asking the candidates if they believed "EVERY SINGLE WORD"...a question about the trilateral commission...some guy with a shotgun in the desert threateningly asking the candidates about their thoughts on gun rights...etc, etc, etc....

basically, CNN picked videos which showed a bunch of weird, unhinged types who CNN then presented to the american people as "typical" republican voters. "typical" republican voters who asked questions which sounded suspiciously liberal in their orientation. hardly any questions at all reflecting the issues which concern most conservatives...no, CNN picked questions which reflected their own belief that conservatism is like some strange disease and is something to be quarantined.

oh yeah, and the democrats managed to crash the party...the hillary! camp sent in a gay general to ask the candidates about "don't ask, don't tell"...that topic was big like about 15 years ago or so, right??? anyway, this guy not only gets his video played, but he also was present in the audience! and, coincidentally, anderson cooper found him in the audience, where the gay general had conveniently remembered to wear his microphone, which made it easy to ask a follow-up question after anderson asked him if he felt the candidates had "answered" his question!

in a post-debate panel discussion, william bennett caused anderson to stammer and backpedal when he told cooper that he had been getting a ton of email about the gay general, who reportedly was on some sort of steering committee for the hillary! campaign...see video below...at the end anderson apologizes for CNN not identifying the gay general as a hillary! plant...



bennett was referring to this. the gay general is affiliated with hillary! and worked for Kerry in '04! surprise, surprise!

CNN video of hillary! plant Gen. Keith Kerr insisting that he's not a hillary! plant...Kerr tells FOX News that CNN paid for his trip from California to Florida...

michelle malkin's digging into the background of some of the other questioners, and she's coming up with some good stuff.

CNN debate chicanery from a few weeks ago...can we trust anything this network does???

more at the politico.

debate transcript pt. 1
debate transcript pt. 2

algore celebrates a touchdown! UF/FSU game to go "green"...

this is surreal.

they want to highlight the "fact" that football games produce a ton of greenhouse gasses. to help combat this problem,

...UF and its partners, the Florida Forestry Association and Environmental Defense, are arranging for approximately 18 acres of rural North Florida land to be set aside and managed as a pine plantation forest for 10 years. UF calculates that this is an acreage and period of time sufficient to absorb all the carbon emissions from the game.

according to Deedee Delongpre', director of UF's "Office of Sustainability",

At 18 acres for one game, some quick calculations reveal that we would need 126 acres to be managed for 10 years just to offset our football program for one year,” she said.

in a statement released from his office, Governor Crist approves, and will attend the game.

this is being hyped as the "first" carbon-neutral game ever. with 3 losses, i guess it's nice to be "first" in something...

go gators.


3 A.M. update--i can't sleep, this stuff is really bugging me. the more i read of this "office of sustainability" at UF, the more i want to puke. what a commie front. i'm going to this game tomorrow, and these whiners want to make me feel bad about it? i think a good old-fashioned protest could be in order...

yesterday's live blog on heismanpundit.com...

i was playing around on my blog yesterday hitting links to stories about tebow's heisman chances and i ran across a link to a site called heisman pundit, which, according to Sports Illustrated, is "the Heisman's foremost authority". intrigued, i read his blogs and read "The Ten Heismandents", and noticed that he was going to live blog a set of games which included UF/FAU.

him being the "foremost authority" and someone who has a set of actual heisman voters who conduct weekly straw polls, i decided that he needed influence beyond the "TEBOW ROX!! ALL THE REST SUX!!" variety...i plotted my entry into his live blog early, before he started...

my first question/comment was going to be about tebow becoming the first 20/20 college player EVER (20 rush TDs, 20 pass TDs)...

1:24 Do you guys know what Tebow was for Halloween?

1:24 [Comment From J.R. Deluxe]
doesn't this make tebow the first 20-20 player ever?
1:24 Clark Kent

1:25 Good question Deluxe

1:25 I think so

1:25 Amazing

okay, this guy is the "foremost authority" on the Heisman and i had to inform HIM of this fact? i detected a strong urge from "the establishment" to hurry up and find a frontrunner to replace the injured Dennis Dixon QUICK, with someone besides SuperTim...i wasn't having it.

so, i'm not going to take credit if Tebow eventually wins this thing, but i will say that i might have influenced an "influential player" in the game...

UPDATE--i don't mean to brag, but i think my pointing out the 20/20 angle seems to have become the talking point nationally. i think i re-framed this debate...

TIM TEBOW FOR HEISMAN

it looks like bias against underclassmen is going to rule the day, since Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon holds a commanding lead in first-place votes in all the sections of the country (even holding a sizeable advantage in the southern region). lame.

let's compare stats.

RUSHING...TEBOW 170-718 yds, 19 TDs, 4.22 avg, 71.80 ypg, ranked 71st in NCAA. let's not forget that on a lot of his TDs, he could've run a lot further... DIXON 103-549 yds, 8 TDs, 5.33 avg, 61 ypg. advantage--TEBOW.

PASSING EFFICIENCY...TEBOW is second in the NCAA with a 177.1 rating, with 23 TDs and 5 interceptions. DIXON is 4th in the NCAA with a 163.1 rating, with 20 TDs and 3 interceptions. TEBOW is averaging 1.5 yards more per attempt (9.93-8.43). advantage--EVEN (even if Tebow slightly leads).

so, it's either that UF's record is hurting Tebow (3 losses to 1 loss for Oregon), or Darren McFadden is siphoning off southern votes which would normally go to Tebow. by contrast, Dixon has virtually no competition in the west for votes, and there's probably a Florida Gator fatigue factor when it comes to the media types and whoever else votes for this thing, due to the incredible recent success of the UF football and basketball programs.

it looks like, per usual, the Heisman won't go to the best player. anybody that's seen Tebow play knows the real deal.

Boofest 2007

University of Florida police cleared in taser probe

the internal investigation into the "taser" incident involving UF student Andrew Meyer (which i blogged about here, rather weakly i admit...) has been completed, and a report has been released which finds that the University Police Department officers "were justified in their actions", according to the Gainesville Sun.

it was discovered during the investigation that, just as i had always suspected, that this guy Meyer was just a clown looking to make an ass of himself:

Apart from detailing the events that led to Meyer's Tasering, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement suggests Meyer had planned to act out during the campus political event. Meyer told a friend a week before the event that he would put on a show when Kerry came to UF, according to a witness who says he overheard the conversation.

The conversation took place on Sept. 11, according to the report, on a day when Meyer approached a student group on campus that was supporting former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

"Giuliani supporters had an interaction with (Meyer) in the Plaza of the Americas which resulted in (Meyer) allegedly kicking their candidate's signs. (Meyer's) behavior was characterized by witnesses as boisterous and provocative," the report says.

Meyer then proceeded to have a "heated exchange" with a female student who disagreed with Meyer's actions or views, the report says.

According to the report, Meyer then told an unnamed friend that, "If he liked what he had seen, referencing the verbal exchange/confrontation he had with the female student, that he should go to the Kerry speech and he would really see a show."

it wouldn't surprise me to find out that Meyer had come up with "don't tase me, bro!" beforehand.

a link to the actual report can be accessed here.

"Not a terrorist": Miami public school teacher (muslim) attacks Homestead Air Reserve base

he wanted to commit "suicide by cop", authorities say..

end of UF/UK game leaves bettors scratching heads

to set the stage, before gametime, most of the oddsmakers had the Gators a 7-point favorite over the Wildcats.

Florida led 45-31, when Kentucky quarterback Andre' Woodson rifled a touchdown pass into the end zone on the very last play, making the score 45-37. both teams strolled off of the field of play, without an attempted extra point, which, if successful, would've covered the spread if you had bet on UK. but, in 2006 the rules were changed:

The NCAA rule -- Rule 8, Section 3, Article 2, states:

"The ball shall be put in play by the team that scored a six-point touchdown. If a touchdown is scored during a down in which time in the fourth period expires, the try shall not be attempted unless the point(s) would affect the outcome of the game."

until news of the rule change began to circulate around the betting crowd in Vegas, those who had bet on Kentucky anticipated a "push" (in other words, the spread gets hit right on the number). oops!

"Priceless", commented Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay.

Brian Doherty on Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

this past week marked the 50th anniversary of the release of "Atlas Shrugged", which is still widely popular, if book sales are any indication (the other day it was #107 on amazon), and the planned movie version of the book featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, which i blogged about a while ago here on NGNG...

my old buddy and fellow musician Brian Doherty, ex-gainesville punk rocker (The Jeffersons) and , currently the senior editor of Reason magazine, has written an interesting editorial for today's Wall Street Journal--"Rand and the Right". he explores the long-standing contentious relationship between Rand/her supporters and the conservartive movement/Republican party, and makes a case for the political popularity of her philosophy (at least among book readers, a.k.a. voters). read the column...

speaking of Brian Doherty, a few years back he wrote a cool book review for Reason about "A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead", where one of his conclusions was "the Dead is best understood as an amazing, traveling capitalist commune".

Charlie Crist is a cool guy

i was just minding my business, having a burger & some beers with my roommate at The Red Onion in Gainesville. it's a neighborhood bar & grill, kind of off the beaten path for the "cool" downtown crowd. we were just chillin' and listening to our pal mama trish entertain the crowd with her mixture of classic rock covers and bluesy originals.

all of a sudden, these guys in suits burst through the door, looking around purposefully and speaking into their shoulders. and then, my eyes were blinded by the silver mane of none other than Florida Governor Charlie Crist! my god, what a TAN. his entourage took seats at some tables right behind us ("behind", as it related to the stage), while Gov. Crist and a couple of his goons bellied up to the bar, directly to my left.

it was obvious that the crowd was content to let the Governor enjoy himself in peace. one lady did come up and offer to buy him a beer, which i believe he accepted. i'm not sure what this bribe was all about...or that she actually went through with getting him the beer. all i know is that a few minutes later he's got a glass of darker beer which was about half-gone.

all the while, Mama Trish keeps the hits a-coming..."Squeeze Box", some Beatles stuff, some Joni Mitchell...at one point she even caved in to my yelled request and played Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla"--a crowd favorite if i've EVER heard one. after each song there would be the obligatory applause from the audience, and, since i could turn around and spy at the Governor without being too conspicuous, judging from his enthusiastic clapping and the look in his eye he seems to be quite fond of classic rock.

at one point one of his guys who had a habit of talking into his shoulder got up and marched to the back of his restaurant to the men's room, and either he takes care of business faster than anyone i've ever seen or he was just checking the stalls for wayward senators with "wide stances", but that guy burst out of the men's room door in about two seconds, then hurried back over to, i suppose, give Charlie the skinny on the bathroom. it must not have passed the security test, because, to the best of my knowledge, he never got up to relieve himself the whole time he was there. i was curious...i went to check it out for myself. hmmmm...looked clean to me. so, while i was there i went ahead and did my business and then did what i was shocked to hear this past week was a lot less common practice than i ever would've figured...i washed my hands. with soap. i was thinking ahead...
i might shake the governor's hand..

i stroll back to my table and proceed to toss back yet another beer. all of a sudden, a shot out of the blue, during a break between applause and another song:

"hey, do ya know any Neil Young?"

it was Governor Crist. requesting Neil Young at some goofy bar & grill here in Gainesville. i was impressed, to say the least...


he then proceeded to put on a charade by introducing himself to the female staff. i would guess that, this being Berkley of the South & all, that i was probably the only person there who voted for him. (on a related note, i asked my roommate, who didn't vote for Crist, who HE voted for...he couldn't remember the Democratic candidate's name...) seizing what i perceived to be an opportunity which was on the verge of dissapearing, my roomate & i strolled over and introduced ourselves to the governor. he shook my roomie's hand quickly, and then it was my turn. for some reason i blurted out "i voted for you, governor". he said something like "keep doing it", and i said something back like, "well, just keep on doing what you're doing". which, coming from me is pretty much a lie, since Crist's politics are geared toward whatever will eventually earn him 100% approval ratings, and he's getting disturbingly chummy with the global-warming gang...but i was kind of starstruck.

like i said, he's a cool guy.

UPDATE: Mama Trish weighs in on the same story...

my dog would never do that...

meet "sigourney".

a complete picture of innocence.

my girlfriend insists that, even though sigourney has ripped my flesh on multiple occasions while "nipping" me, and half of her friends are afraid to come over, that this dog is NOT dangerous.

i beg to differ.

this dog is the spawn of satan himself. or, at least has undergone years of breeding malfeasance which has emphasized a killer instinct.

thursday night in interlachen, florida, about 20-25 minutes from where i live,
19-year old Amanda Boyles was playing on the floor with the family's pit bull, when, out of the blue, this playful pup latched onto her face and clamped down. her father, Felton Boyles, pried the dog's jaws off of Amanda's face as it was shaking her head back and forth. i've seen this "shaking" thousands of times. substitute "infant's head" for "grown woman's head", and you probably have a pit bull with a head in it's mouth, wagging it's tail, and the rest of the infant in a bloody pool nearby.

it took 900 stitches to sew up Amanda's face, according to her father. 900!!!

Boyles declined to comment further, except to say the dog did not make any aggressive noises when he attacked Amanda and that the dog had not been aggressive in the past.

the gainesville sun talked to Putnam Sheriff's Dept Capt. Steve Rose. i'm not quite sure what the writer's point was here:

Rose said his department does not get dog mauling reports very often, and he said it simply illustrates the unpredictability of owning pets like pit bulls.

...i guess the "unpredictability" explains the infrequency of reports. okay, now that i read it like that, it makes sense. Capt. Rose continues:

"This father said he's had pit bulls for years and has never had a problem until now," Rose said. "Pit bulls are notorious for sometimes being unpredictable, even as pets. And that's what we tell people when they are considering getting a pit bull."

another story that the mainstream media won't pick up on

thank you, Carl Hiassen. at least a few people (in florida) will have this on their radar, even though you did your best to make it a joke:

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla)'s mom gets Cadillac Escalade from rich Boston developer.

Rep. Meek and his mom, former Rep. Carrie Meek (D-Fla), apparently had no clue that they both had dealings with the developer, Richard Stackhouse. it's a familiar tale of government trying to do good things for the poor folks, but, because in order to be able to do such good things, it has to involve politicians. and, in this case, former politicians as well.

predictably, lotsa money was appropriated...nobody is accountable for it...it gets siphoned off...and, in the end--nobody will care.

it's all about the "intentions", though...right?