Blaming The Followership

Our Peerless Leader once again finds fault with the country he leads:

On Wednesday in an interview with radio host Steve Harvey, Obama suggested that Americans only worry about poor neighborhoods when there's a crisis and fail to engage with their concerns and difficulties over time.

"People have a tendency, once the fires have been put out, and the cars aren't being tipped over, you know there's not some immediate crisis, then folks wanna go back and focus on, you know, whatever reality TV thing is going on," Obama said Wednesday.

Yeah, those darn bitter-clingers are just to busy keeping up with the Kardashians to worry about the world around them.

An alternative view is that people get back to scouring the 'help-wanted' ads, or puzzling over how to balance their checkbooks:

• More people are working, but the number of people without a job who want to work is still too high.

• Workers are getting higher wages, on average, but, paradoxically, the typical worker isn’t feeling any richer after taking inflation into account.

• The federal minimum wage, which is the benchmark for pay for more than 30 million workers, hasn’t kept up with the times and is less than half as high as it would be if it had kept pace with improved worker productivity.

• Despite the best year for hiring in more than a decade, the share of the nation’s income that’s going to workers remains near an all-time low.

• And, despite some successes in breaking down racial barriers, full-time African-American workers still only make about 80% of what whites earn.

Or maybe they are filling in NCAA brackets. Poorly.

Comments

[GUS]

I'm relieved. Freddie was NOT beaten by the Police.

[Jeff Dobbs]

If only we had elected a community organizer to be president - twice - this all could have been avoided.

[Jack is Back!]

Lady Mosby is out of her league.

The charges will not stick and I predict the officers go free en banc with a change of venue.

[narciso]

carlos slim's does the requisite 'little tail'

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/us/politics/senators-running-for-president-face-a-delicate-balancing-act.html?

[GUS]

It's almost as if this CLOWN is NEW on the job. ELECTED

[Rick Ballard]

"full-time African-American workers still only make about 80% of what whites earn."

Gosh, maybe there's something to that Bell Curve thingy after all. Nutting (the author of the MarketWatch drivel) has a moron's credential in economics and he appears to have the standard Marx to Keynes breadth one should expect from a May Day scribbler.

[Skoot]

2nd degree murder? Not likely. Whateve.. Dem union cops being railroaded by Dem machine politicians.

[Jeff Dobbs]

The federal minimum wage, which is the benchmark for pay for more than 30 million workers, hasn’t kept up with the times

Good news! Seattle is doing something about that.

Wait. What?

Seattle’s new minimum wage law has claimed its first victim. Make that, victims.

Q-13 News reports the owner of Z Pizza, Ritu Shah Burnham, says she will close her doors in August because the new minimum wage law is unaffordable. The Seattle City Council increased the minimum wage in July. [...]

Employee Devin Jeran says he was excited about making more money, but didn’t recognize there might be a downside:

People like me are finding themselves in a tougher situation than ever.

Maybe Seattle can pass a repeal of the Law of Unintended (But Perfectly Forseeable) Consequences next.

[jimmyk]

The "alternative view" is courtesy the appropriately named Rex Nutting. I'll focus on this, as it's a pet peeve:

The federal minimum wage ... is less than half as high as it would be if it had kept pace with improved worker productivity.

Why should the minimum wage keep up with overall productivity, which largely reflects advances in non-minimum wage industries? The market might bring about that result, but forcing wages higher will push productivity in minimum wage jobs higher by replacing the workers with technology.

Then he claims this (from the linked piece): "Raising the minimum wage would help about 37 million workers, and it wouldn’t reduce employment, according to the vast majority of empirical studies."

Ah, the old "the science is settled" argument, proof by popular vote, so beloved by the AGW crowd. Well, here's a story about recent study that shows something very different:

Low-skill workers with some college education became more likely to work without pay after the minimum wage increase. This is preferable to unemployment, since the worker gains experience and skills they otherwise wouldn’t. Workers without any college education were not so fortunate. They simply became more likely to be unemployed.

http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2557106

[Captain Haiku]

Idiots find out
That the real minimum wage
Is in fact zero

[PD]

Political Prosecution to calm the masses.

How well did that work out for Trayvon Martin?

Prosecutors have too much power...

[DebinNC]

Listen Live link to Baltimore "urban" talk-radio station that carries Al Sharpton's show at 1 p.m.. In the moment it took to grab the link I learned from an irate caller that jews killed Jesus and jews own the insurance companies.

[Extraneus]

Sounds like a job for the My Brother's Keeper Foundation.

[jimmyk]

The charges will not stick and I predict the officers go free en banc with a change of venue.

It's only a matter of time before an innocent cop gets railroaded into a murder conviction to satisfy the mob, if it hasn't happened already.

[JerryRigged]

OT, but this bothered me. I was listening to Sirius Urban Radio, and the host had a guest on who was from India. The host said she is dark enough to have issues getting a cab at night in NYC so she counts (whatever that means). With a little research, the top two countries of origin for yellow taxi cabs are Pakistan and Bangladesh. How the heck is that racism?

This site addressed racism involved with taxi cabs and basically proved it wasn't racism, more likely it was how affluent you are.
http://blog.modeanalytics.com/taxi-drivers/

Then they added this:
"Regardless of the results of this analysis, racism exists, and the experiences described by those above—and many others—are real and can’t be discounted. No matter what this smoothed, stylized, and aggregated perspective describes, we also have to acknowledge the view from the street."

So let's ignore the data and accept that it is racism...sheesh!

[Extraneus]

Ritu Shah Burnham, says she will close her doors in August because the new minimum wage law is unaffordable.

That wasn't allowed in Atlas Shrugged. No layoffs, either.

[daddy]

I would be happy to chip in a salary for some paparazzi to shoot pics of every meal Michelle has from now till doomsday, to demand of that hypocrite on a daily basis why she isn't complying with the food restrictions she demands on the part of all the rest of us.

Seriously,

I think a 5 minute daily bit on FOX, (maybe Waters World) or any media organ brave enough to do it, would in a "just the facts Mamm" approach: become a hit.---What did Michelle Obama eat today, with special looks into if it fits in to her program of mandating what other should eat, and also how much of a carbon footprint did her meal cost?

O'Reilly could run a segment like that without breaking a sweat, and it would put the onus on Michelle and the food Nazi's. Then bring in Dennis Miller for the verbal takedown.

Just my

[jimmyk]

the real minimum wage
Is in fact zero

Very good, Captain Haiku, though the Labor Department has been going after businesses that provide unpaid internships for violating minimum wage laws. So even that opportunity may be vanishing. Have to keep 'em on the plantation, you know.

[DebinNC]

Just heard from hosts on Baltimore urban radio link above that shootings during AA funerals is becoming more common in big cities, and the host had heard there's been one this week in Baltimore but hopes it won't catch on there. Sheesh.

[GUS]

The MOB will not be appeased. 50 years of dysfunction, and NOT PUTTING FREDDIE GREY in a SEAT BELT is murder or manslaughter. I'm sorry but his JAYVEE prosecutor has done NOTHING to fix ANYTHING.

[jimmyk]

So let's ignore the data and accept that it is racism

It was something similar that set off the whole subprime debacle and financial crisis: The claim that the failure to give mortgages to deadbeats was racism.

[James D.]

The Nutting link that TM quoted from is filled with garbage.

Starting with quoting the unemployment rate of 5.5% as though it's a remotely accurate of meaningful figure. If you start from there, anything you say afterwards is clearly wrong, or actively dishonest. Or both.

[GUS]

Yes comrades, the policies of the left seem to HINDER rather than HELP the "disadvantaged".

Who could have predicted this?

[James D.]

It's funny how that works, Gus, isn't it?

Almost as funny as the way that the R's can't ever seem to find a national spokesman who can articulate that clearly and reach the 50% + of the country who's ready to hear that truth from someone in Washington.

[DrJ]

going after businesses that provide unpaid internships for violating minimum wage laws.

I concluded about a decade ago that in CA practically I cannot offer unpaid internships unless it is to a student who gets course credit for it. Go figure -- pay the school, and get none from me.

[Jack is Back! (On His iPhone)]

When they announce the defense attorneys you'll know whether Mosby is as confident as she appears. I'd like her to step and take the lead and not delegate it. BPD police union will spare no expense.

Popcorn futures look bullish.

[narciso]

I recall someone said something about this, for her trouble, she was forced to leave office, and has been hounded by the Top Men, as well as the regime,

the earlier treehouse link, shows the fix, was already in, which juridiction would accept a change of venue, after this demonstration,

[danoso]

Maybe the Hippodrome in Charm city can put on Breaker Morant, just to let us know how little things have changed

[JerryRigged]

I would like to see stats on workforce participation that just includes 25-60 year olds (or similar). Everytime workforce participation is mentioned, someone always points out that the baby boomers are retiring which is causing the fall in the rate. This would negate that.

[Jack is Back! (On His iPhone)]

...step up...

[Janet]

the real minimum wage
Is in fact zero

from U-571

"Coonan: How deep does this thing go?
Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren: Oh, she'll go all the way to the bottom ...."

[jimmyk]

On a lighter note, I recall some discussion here a while back about diagramming sentences. Apparently this is a grammatically correct American English sentence: "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." (via Iowahawk)

[narciso]

the proper to Press Freedom Day, this is too much like futurama

https://twitter.com/hale_razor/status/594128077564678145

[JerryRigged]

Jack, if that was directed at me, I have looked, but it is not an easy thing to find...thought maybe someone had a link to it...I did find a Washington Post item that had some info, but no link to the data...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/06/the-incredible-shrinking-labor-force-again/

[Eric in Boise]

shootings during AA funerals

Hmmm...might be a marketing opportunity here. Double and triple wide caskets.

IDM, of course.

[PD]

So let's ignore the data and accept that it is racism

Think Baltimore riots were justified? Then you may be a racist.

[JerryRigged]

The WP led me to this, but again no data, just graphs, but really good ones:
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/12/decline-in-labor-force-participation.html

[jimmyk]

I would like to see stats on workforce participation that just includes 25-60 year olds (or similar).

Jerryrigged, that's easy to find here

https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/categories/

But this should link to a participation rate chart for 25 to 54 year olds:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=19Sr

Still a drop of around 2.5% since before the recession, which represents about 2.5 million people.

[Skoot]

The Police union mouthpiece should be in front of a microphone demanding every officer be issued a 20 pack of muzzles so they can safely lap belt the prisoners without being bitten. They have nice ones a *Petco.

*My cat didn't come in when I went out turkey hunting this morning. I thought the coyotes got him. I even drove out to make sure he wasn't on the road when the kids got off he bus.

But He just strolled up! a little dirty like he was laying low for a spell. I'll admit I shed a tear while out looking for him:) That little son of a gun's staying in tonight!

[MarkO]

daddy, did you know this?

A Crime a Day ‏@CrimeADay · 1m1 minute ago
43 U.S.C. §1733 & 36 C.F.R. §242.25(j)(1) make it a federal crime to feed an Alaskan wolverine to your dog, unless you skin it first.

[JerryRigged]

Thanks jimmyk...that site never showed in my googling...I do prefer data, I like to work with it myself...wonder if there is a table that has it by single year for all ages?

[MarkO]

No justice, no peas.
White on, baby. Farm out.

Anyway, thinking back on 1967, I think this song could make a comeback as theme music. I offer it for what it's worth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY&list=RDgp5JCrSXkJY

[Dave (in MA)]

People on my hometown's FB opinion page are upset about a photo they've been passing around that someone saw on the FB page for "Fox News" that purported to be a picture of the Baltimore riots. It turns out that the photo used was from riots that took place in Venezuela during 2014. It was posted by Channel 13 in Memphis, a Fox Network affiliate.

Even after I linked the original post from the Memphis station AND the subsequent apology from the station for their mistake, the FUKTARDS™ [GUS] continue to assign blame to Fox News Channel:

" it is what it is. If it was CNN you and the boys would have jumped all over that ad nauseum"

"it was Fox and they lied. Accept it and don't make excuses. Believe it or not sometimes conservatives are wrong."

Confirmation bias or a reading comprehension problem?

[Jane]

This is a wonderful essay by Deroy Murdock about Baltimore:

A taste: The only winners here are white racists. You hoods have handed them all the ammunition they need to keep preaching their lies: e.g. “Blacks are genetically savage, violent, and dangerous.” While you have thrown fresh gasoline on their flames of hate, you also have lit pilot lights of doubt in the minds of some whites who don’t hate blacks but, perhaps, wonder if a black candidate is quite right for that job. Or how about the young black couple eyeing that new house? Or the black businessman seeking that commercial loan? Or the amiable black guy trying to hail a cab and meet his sister and friends at a birthday dinner? After Ferguson and Baltimore, some whites now will wonder, “Is it really safe to bet on those blacks?”

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417768/black-thugs-hammer-black-citizens-deroy-murdock

[narciso]

the police union dispute the charges,

so it's now Al Afri, whose been promoted to the head office:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/01/isis-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-incapacitated-suspected-spinal-injuries-iraq

[Jane]

I didn't know the Baltimore police were in Iraq.

[MarkO]

Good heavens.

Rawlings-Blake attended Oberlin College in Ohio, graduating in 1992 with a B.A. in political science. She later returned to Baltimore to attend the University of Maryland School of Law, where she earned her juris doctor degree in 1995.

[narciso]

two unrelated events, one is nary a mention about,
because the real enemy is at hime,

[DebinNC]

Mosby said Freddie Gray's arrest was unlawful because probable cause didn't exist for an arrest. Reportedly, the probable cause officers listed was Gray's possession of a switchblade, but iirc the officers didn't know that when they chased him down after he made eye-contact with them and fled ... which I hope isn't illegal for someone the police aren't actively seeking. That initial pursuit was wrong imo, and no charges at all for any officer today would have been wrong too. Hope the nonresponsible sheep get separated from the irresponsible goat/s at some point.

[Skoot]

I read the MD statute concerning the spring loaded knife a few days ago. It's a misdemeanor if carrying concealed. It was reportedly clipped inside his waistline. Possible 3 years and $1000 fine. I'm sure the defense is going to dispute the state's assertion that it was legal.

[lyle, typical white person]

Great link, Jane.

But I save all my deepest gratitude for our racial-healer-in-chief, Barack Hussein Obama, for ushering in this era of racial harmony and unity unseen for decades in this country. This shining moment, this perfect moment when he calmed the nation with his dulcet tones of understanding, forgiveness, and, dare I say...hope. We are all humbled by his beneficence and wisdom and his Solomon like words of healing. We are truly blessed with his presence and wonder and of course fall cursedly short of his expectations and guidance. Let us pray that we can never disappoint him in the future and plead with him that he not turn his magnificantly sculpted back on our nation in this time of need.

[Extraneus]

Here you go, daddy.

Mount Everest shrank as Nepal quake lifted Kathmandu

[henry]

Lyle, nice praising of the Lord, but you forgot the pass the ammunition phrase.

[lyle]

Dang it, henry.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

A couple more earthquakes and K2 will rightfully be king of the hill. :)

[jimmyk]

they chased him down after he made eye-contact with them and fled ... which I hope isn't illegal for someone the police aren't actively seeking.

I don't know the law on this, and I probably should. If cop stops me on the street and asks me to identify myself, am I required to do so? If a cop sees me running and says "Stop! Police!" am I obliged to stop? I suspect the answers to those questions may be yes, though I don't have to answer any questions.

[GUS]

Nice Deroy Murdock piece. Complete RACIST stereotyping of all whites. NICE.
It makes me want to take a drive thru the "hood" in Milwaukee, just to say "hey" to the nice folks.

Jane, the irony of Black opinions on race. Whitey is X,Y,Z and priveleged. And we are all racists just waiting to us "code words" like "thug".

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

For Deb and jimmy;
Andrew Branca at LI: Freddie Gray's arrest was almost certainly lawful.

[DebinNC]

http://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2010/criminal-law/title-3/subtitle-2/3-204/

How does that MD statute, exempting LE "on the job" from various offenses, fit with today's charges?

[Extraneus]

California woman who ran over father trying to stop her from driving drunk charged with murder

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A woman who authorities say ran over her father while he was trying to prevent her from driving drunk has been charged with second-degree murder in Southern California.

Soukvilay Barton has pleaded not guilty and was held Thursday on $1 million bail. She is due back in court May 6.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/1EVF2cQ) that Barton is accused under a strategy known as a "Watson murder" — in which prosecutors argue that defendants such as Barton who have previous DUI convictions should have known that drunken driving can injure or kill others.

Police say the 38-year-old ignored her father's pleas not to drive and backed her BMW out of the garage, striking 69-year-old Bounmy Rajsombath. He died at a hospital last June.

What kind of names are these? (In the other link, her middle name is Lucky.)

[GUS]

I'd like to remind ALL OF US, that FREDDIE GREY was beaten until his spinal chord was 80% SEVERED. Try to stay on topic.

Oooooops? You mean the FUKTARDS were wrong again?? Maybe they should reinstate HOLDER so he can SHUT DOWN Baltimore P.D.

the GOP would go along with Holder again.

[narciso]

they still have some kinks to work out, namely inertial dampeners

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-might-have-successfully-tested-a-warp-drive-could-carry-people-at-speeds-as-fast-as-light-10215544.html

[lyle]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/michelle-obama-jokes-about-running-president_935263.html

[Skoot]

They're landing helo's at 6000m now. With the lower summit and once they're able to land a helo at 7000m, I'm going for it. In my track suit!

Back out to work. I've got a load of Norway Spruce 3-2 transplants to put in the ground. And they're beauts!

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Sound like names one might hear in downtown Bangladesh.

[jimmyk]

Ext, they sound S. Asian, somewhere from India to Thailand.

[jimmyk]

LOL, Iggy.

[narciso]

creme de pensee, mon ami:

http://reason.com/blog/2015/05/01/145-intellectuals-agree-dead-cartoonists

although I noted few french names,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Since only one country and a subcontinent separate Afghanistan from Bangladesh I wonder if Bunkerboob thinks Bangladesh is in Asia.

[Stephanie]

I'm going for it. In my track suit!

Kim Jun Un wannabe!

rse, the doctor prescribed a Z pac last Monday and I took the last this morning. Also a steroid and an albuterol inhaler. I actually spent most of last night hacking up what is hopefully the rest of the mess. Not wheezing for the first time in two weeks.

Thanks for the info everyone.

[lyle]

http://freebeacon.com/columns/the-appalling-mr-zarif/

Definitely worth your time.

[narciso]

but of course, grey poupon:

http://weaselzippers.us/222354-obama-on-charges-against-police-in-freddie-gray-case-justice-needs-to-be-served/

[Eric in Boise]

Don't know about Bangladesh, but a popular name in Baltimore right now seems to be Dindu Nuttin.

[Tom Maguire]

The host said she is dark enough to have issues getting a cab at night in NYC...

Ahh, does that take me back! Roughly thirty years, actually - I would go to NJ to visit my folks, then return to the Port Authority bus terminal around midnight on a Saturday night. I would often hit the mean streets of midtown in a sweatshirt and jeans, not at all dressed like the successful young business-thingy I was.

So - in front of Port Authority would be a crowd of, well, ethnics, waving at cabs, who would roar by with their "Off Duty" lights on (thus negating an obligation to provide service.)

When the cabbies saw my smiling white face six or eight of them would miraculously go On Duty and play bumper cars while trying to get near enough to reel me in. I would get in one cab and the rest would resume their off-duty status.

I made it a habit to ask the drivers about that game. And all of them - young, old, Pakistani, Jewish, black - told me that they didn't want to pick up black people because (a) the drop-off address was likely to be in a dodgy neighborhood with no easy return fares, and (b) getting robbed in a bad neighborhood or by the passenger is not appealing.

I was pretty sure the black cabbies telling me this weren't racist in the conventional sense but they seemed to be making the same business judgments based on skin color as the other drivers. Haters.

[lyle]

Good one, EiB.

[narciso]

they said Yamamoto was a charming fellow as well, he was the moderate in the Shinto war cabinet,

[narciso]

as I recall from Toll's December 1941.

[DebinNC]

Very informative LI link, Ig. After explaining the odd and repeated behavior of 3 men observed by the undercover officer in the Terry case, the LI writer claims the Gray officers observed similarly "noteworthy behavior". Iirc, Gray simply making eye-contact with officers prompted their approach and his flight. Not the same situation in my legally clueless opinion. Ditto Gray being a "well-known criminal". Do we know the pursuiing officers knew Gray's history of arrests? Maybe, maybe not.

[sbw]

FYI [To our staff]

On our editorial page, Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury has been replaced by the cartoon Mallard Fillmore. Doonesbury, originally popular in the 1970s, has been repeating for some time now and the current, relevant Mallard Fillmore will likely provoke more thought.

A recent editorial did criticize Trudeau for ill-considered comments against free speech but the decision to remove the cartoon has been under consideration for some time.

[narciso]

the last link in the LUN, shows the conflict of interest, re Mosby, I know I amuse myself,

they weren't in a hurry, hence they would have taken him straight to the station,

[Buckeye]

JiB

I have never tried Neyen, but I pinged my rep in Chile to get his opinion.

Says if you like Carmenere, you will probably like it. Blend of ~ 2/3 Carmenere and 1/3 Cab.

Also says 2010 much better than 2009. Those are the vintages he mostly sees on the shelf right now in Santiago.

[lyle]

http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2015/04/30/run-to-the-left/

[narciso]

hasn't he seen age of ultron yet:

http://libertyunyielding.com/2015/05/01/vladimir-putin-will-soon-have-superhuman-robo-soldiers/

[Buckeye]

Speaking of wine. How was your date Beasts??

After dropping serious Benjamins on the wine, curious minds want to know.

Did it pair well with the lamp chops?

Was the finish long??? ;)

[Eric in Boise]

With the cops acting stupidly in Baltimore, it's obviously time for another beer summit:

[GUS]

REMINDER. Freddie Gray was beaten by the POLICE.

Facts do not matter in Post Racial Obama America.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--I was pretty sure the black cabbies telling me this weren't racist in the conventional sense...--

You didn't recognize fellow Toms?
Not wanting to be robbed is a white privilege construct.

[narciso]

I tried one of the other IPAs the other day, I guess I'll stick to the Torpedo,

[lyle]

Yeah, Beasts. I heard the Dalle Valle Maya is a real comer. Or maybe it's just breathing hard...

[jimmyk]

return to the Port Authority bus terminal around midnight on a Saturday night.

The Port Authority was a scary place 30 years ago, even in the middle of the day. Now it's like a suburban shopping mall.

[Buckeye]

Speaking of Freddie Gray.

I think MM posted a link to an article earlier in the week that suggested he had neck/spinal surgery about a week before he had his run in with BPD.

Also said that he was negotiating a lump sum settlement with an auto insurance company for injuries he suffered in a recent accident. Reason for the neck/spinal surgery.

Anybody hear anything about this, or is it just BS??

[henry]

Buckeye, the negotiating was for lead paint eating cash. Unclear on what the neck injuries thing was all about or if the accident was real. Too much smokescreen layed down to ascertain facts here.

[lyle]

Although all of us at Borderlands support the concept of a living wage in princip[le] and we believe that it’s possible that the new law will be good for San Francisco — Borderlands Books as it exists is not a financially viable business if subject to that minimum wage. Consequently we will be closing our doors no later than March 31st.

It appears that the bookstore was unfamiliar with that old dead white guy, Claude Frédéric Bastiat, and any of his books.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417763/when-minimum-wage-hikes-hit-san-francisco-comic-book-store-ian-tuttle

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Anybody hear anything about this, or is it just BS??--

I read in comments at LI that the story had been debunked. Perhaps it has perhaps it hasn't.

[Buckeye]

henry

If they misrepresented the settlement, likely was BS.

[Buckeye]

Sounds like I need to find some lead paint flakes to chow down on.

[GUS]

No henry, the POLICE filled Freddie with LEAD, try to keep up.

Curtis Mayfield....SUPERFLY.....

I denounce myself.

[matt]

Carmenere' can be amazing, but a very good one is rare. Tough grape to ferment properly.

When the phylloxera epidemic hit France and especially Bordeaux, the Carmenere' was wiped out completely. The only place that it remained viable was in Chile'.

The Chileans originally thought it was Merlot but in 1994 a researcher in France found out it was the very ancient Carmenere', which may be the original wine the Romans praised that came from Bordeaux.

Chile is not a wine drinking country, really. I have been to a number of vineyards, and much of the wine is excellent (except for the organically grown crap)but most of it is for export. You really have to search the good ones out.

Mondavi went down there and began to work with them, and some of the Italians have JV's with the Chileans as well.

The culture is not like that of the wine countries, yet. I think it will come, though. I do love that country.

[NKvirusedandback]

TomM/JimmyK-- 30 years ago when I was young and had hair, I read the NY Times. In 84/85 they ran an aticle about Port Authority Terminal hookers, and traced their decline from young attractive call girls to 30ish Port Authority dregs. The Port Authority ca. 1985 is where the Earth's enema tube would have been placed.

[GUS]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B6TKClPFQA

I denounce myself again.