Birmingham Blues

The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Karl Rove to testify about alleged politicization of the Bush Justice Department. He’s supposed to show up on July 9 to answer questions about the firing of nine US Attorneys and the prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman.

I doubt Rove will comply with the subpoena. He still has friends in high places, and they don’t want him spilling the beans. At least the Judiciary Committee will force the White House to issue a public refusal, another reminder of the corruption and lack of accountability that has permeated the Bush administration.  Keep digging that hole, guys.

Okay, y’all. I had a mammogram yesterday. I have a family history of breast cancer, so (reluctantly) when I turned 45 I dutifully began the annual pink-ribbon ritual. I’m small-breasted and not at all modest, so to be honest it just isn’t that much of an ordeal for me. Physically, that is. Mentally, from the minute I schedule the appointment, I am constructing various scenarios starting with phrases like, “Now, Ms. D., there’s no need for you to worry yet, but we need to run a few more tests…” and ending with my writing good-bye letters to the children and donating my hair to Locks of Love. (I am now two years younger than my mother was when the cancer was diagnosed that killed her five years later.)

Used to be, at the place I go, you were alone with either the technician, the doctor, or your own sweet self from the minute you left the waiting room until you went home. But they remodeled, and it’s different now. Yesterday the tech called me in along with two other women. We were led to a hall with several closet-sized dressing rooms containing lockers with keys and a minuscule waiting area. There we were instructed to undress to the waist, put on hospital johnnies, lock up our clothes, and have a seat. We were called from there to be scanned, and returned there to wait for The Doctor to give us the final verdict. As my husband said when I told him later: “like the menstrual hut.” (more…)

Ken would have been 51 today. I miss him so much.

When I started this blog, I never dreamed that this would be post number 2,000. That’s supposed to be a milestone. I guess it is, in a way. Half of my family of birth is gone. I’ve finally learned how those other people who have lost so much continue to get up in the morning and go on with life every day.

The cilantro seeds I planted ten days ago have sprouted big time. There are ten tiny seedlings in the pot.

I’ll take that as a gift from the brother with the green thumb to the sister who never had one before. Thanks, my only brother — and happy birthday.

NPR’s Jamie Tarabay says Buffy DVDs helped to keep her sane during her time reporting on the Iraq War from Baghdad. If you’re a fan, you’ll likely nod your head in understanding — and quote the dialogue along with the audio clips from the show. If you’ve always wondered what all the fuss was about, this will help explain it. Give it a listen.

via Whedonesque

This one definitely falls in the “What Were They Thinking?” category. Last night, the Vestavia Hills City Council voted to give away a 13-acre tract of land valued at $2 million for $10. Yep, that’s TEN DOLLARS. The land will be “purchased” by Life Time Fitness, which proposes to build a $25 million fitness center that will anchor a mixed-use development at Patchwork Farms off Cahaba River Road. The Council estimates the facility will generate nearly $450,000 a year in revenue for the city.

I wonder if any of the city councilors read this article before the vote:

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Lots going on in the garden right now. The tomato plants are busy making babies. I saw my first bell pepper sprout on Mother’s Day, which seemed rather fitting. Now we have two.

Tiny Tomatoes on the Early Girl

The Celebrity Has a Baby Too

Bell Pepper Seedlings

More pictures after the jump.

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Same as it ever was. The legislature failed to pass an education budget. The governor waited till the last minute to veto a portion of the general fund budget passed the first week of May, leaving no time for an override vote. So we go to special session, yet again.

No vote on the grocery tax reduction, no freeing of the hops, no ban on PAC-to-PAC transfers.

*sigh*

ETA: Loretta Nall has started a new blog, Alabama Legislative Outtakes, and she will have audio of the final day up soon. It will likely be painful to hear, but we do need to know how our legislators waste spend their time and our money.

The hoopla of Super Tuesday is long past, but Alabama has another primary coming up on June 3. Want to know more about the candidates running for local and state-wide office? Here’s your chance to find out.

Over the Mountain Democrats* is sponsoring a candidate forum tonight at 6:30 at the Homewood Library Auditorium featuring Vivian Davis Figures, candidate for US Senate, Debra Bell Paseur, candidate for the Alabama Supreme Court (Judge Paseur has a conflict and won’t be able to attend), and other Democratic candidates running in the upcoming primary. This event is free and open to the public.

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* along with Birmingham Young Democrats, Shelby County Democrats, Magic City Democrats, Greater Birmingham DFA-PDA, National Jewish Democratic Council (Birmingham chapter), Hoover High School & Mountain Brook High School Young Democrats

I opened up the intertubes a little while ago to find this headline staring at me from my AT&T homepage:

“Boxing great Tyson tells all in film at Cannes”

Part of me would like to ignore the larger message and simply concentrate on the lack of proper capitalization in a title. I’d like to write a post about the tiny tomatoes that appeared on my Early Girl this week. But I can’t ignore a report that Mike effin’ Tyson, convicted rapist Mike Tyson, ear-biting Mike Tyson, got a “prolonged ovation” at Cannes this week.

“I lived a wild and extreme life,” the former heavyweight champion told reporters Saturday. “I used drugs. I had altercations with dangerous people. I slept with guys’ wives that wanted to kill me. I’m just happy to be here, you know. It’s just a miracle.”

The 41-year-old former boxer got a prolonged ovation at the Cannes screening for “Tyson,” directed by his old friend James Toback (”Fingers”).

Seems he managed to overcome a difficult childhood to grow up and become a rapist and an abuser, and we’re supposed to cheer for that. He still denies responsibility for the rape, saying he was unfairly convicted. Well, of course. Anyone who earns adulation by living the life he’s lived must think he’s entitled to take what he wants, without consequences.

But on one issue, he still refuses to take responsibility. He insists he is innocent of the 1991 rape of an 18-year-old beauty queen for which he served three years in prison.

“I’ve been abusive to women before in my life,” he acknowledged. But in this case, “I thought (the conviction) was wrong, I thought it was unfair.”

Oh, poor baby. He only serves three years for a rape, and he’s whining about fairness?

Color me unimpressed. With him, and with the people who glorify him.

Fellow blogger and beloved nephew Zach is 25 today. Happy birthday, you sweet young thing!

Head over and give him some birthday love here.