Missouri

"The Dark Knight”? Little movie, might have heard of it. Maybe even seen it … five times already.

It sure seems as if there’s no box-office record this “Batman Begins” sequel — which already has blown by most of its projections of popularity — hasn’t shattered or won’t shatter.

It has the highest-ever opening day and opening weekend. It’s 2008’s top-grossing movie after just 13 days in release. It’s the highest-grossing Batman movie ever. It’s the fastest movie to reach $100 million, $150 million, $200 million, $250 million and $300 million.

(Read the full post about ‘Nick Rogers: ‘Dark Knight’ faces ‘Titanic’ task’…)

LAKEVILLE -

The Ford Explorer was traveling the wrong way on a one-way Providence street a little before 2 a.m. on that June morning.

A police officer saw the SUV and could recognize the driver – Kenneth Day – known in police parlance as a “frequent flyer.”

In other words, he’d had his problems with the law in the past.

But the officer waved him on.

Within 10 minutes another officer spotted Day.

(Read the full post about ‘In ‘Thrill Killers,’ Rhode Island detective chronicles high-profile case’…)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -

Dave Tirio, guitarist for the Plain White Ts, is worried that the first concert in six years the band has played in Illinois’ outlying areas could be rained out. Tirio, 28, has seen showers fall at every festival he can remember playing. 

“If there is bad weather in Decatur, it is absolutely, positively our fault,” Tirio says. 

After the hit single “Hey There Delilah,” two Grammy nominations, appearances on the ABC Family show “Greek,” a successful Web series and recording a new album (“Big Bad World”), the 11-year-old Chicago band is returning downstate with a 5:30 p.m.

(Read the full post about ‘Plain White Ts wear their Illinois roots with pride’…)

NY Post:  THAT ‘70S WOE IN RERUN - GOV WARNING OF WORST ECONOMY IN DECADES

He’s blind, yet he can see what most of the experts can’t.

CNS:  U.S. Spends $1 Million Researching Syrians ‘Hooked on Hookahs’

If you think the Syrians are mad at us now, wait until we sick our anti-smoking activists upon Damascus.

CNS:  Obama Urged to Condemn ‘Imagine No Religion’ Billboard

John Lennon would, too.

Jo Mannies:  Obama to bring his “world tour” to rural Missouri

I know Jo was being glib, but what’s bad about Obama is that, if you didn’t know she was being glib, you might actually believe that he thinks rural Missouri isn’t part of America.

St.

(Read the full post about ‘Fun With Those Incarcerated and Those Not’…)

I have conditioned myself not to use that G-word as a verb meaning “search the internet.”  Even though they have the lion’s share of that market, they’re not the only game in town.

Now, some ex-G**glers have created another alternative, called Cuil.  (Think:  “Cool.”)  Now all they need is to add a news search and a blog search, and I’m there.  As it is, Cuil promises not to keep logs of users’ searches vis-a-vis their IP numbers, unlike those G-people.

Accoona, an alternative I promoted on this medium a few years ago, has now repurposed itself as a business records search engine.  However, their news search engine is still there.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Former Employees of Google Prepare Rival Search Engine - NYTimes.com
• How Long Will Google Dominate Search?

(Read the full post about ‘Remember, the Verb is “Search”’…)

As usual, my endorsements are only my own.  Voting day is August 5.

MISSOURI GOVERNOR, REPUBLICANS

Recommendation:  Jim Guest Sarah Steelman
Prediction:  Sarah Steelman

Analysis:  I’ll be voting for Jim Guest, because he’s a Ron Paulite with an excellent platform, but I know that this is essentially Steelman vs Hulshof.  I have already stated the problems with Hulshof, except to add that he lives in Columbia, so I think he’s too much influenced by the little red schoolhouse.  He’s saying a lot of the right things, but at the end of the day, I just don’t trust him.  I don’t know how much I can trust Sarah Steelman, but I already know I mistrust her less than Hulshof.

I think she’ll win because she’s already a statewide office holder, and he’s just a Congressman.  Ergo she started out with more statewide name rec.

UPDATE 7/29: H/T Clint Lacy:  Jim Guest isn’t on the ballot, as he backed out at the last moment.  I’m voting Steelman.

MISSOURI GOVERNOR, DEMOCRATS

Recommendation:  None
Prediction:  Nixon

Analysis:  It’s Jay vs a bunch of nobodies.

Beyond the primary, he’ll be hard to beat no matter which Republican takes him on, though I don’t think he’s as invincible as CW suggests.  Not only his links to La Raza, but the fact now that one of his recent moves as AG is to confiscate the estates that otherwise automatically transfer between husband and wife on the death of one spouse if the deceased spouse spent time in a nursing home funded by Medicaid.  It’s one thing to do this after both spouses have died, but this is the first time I have ever heard interference of an interspouse transfer — I always thought property was considered completely joint during a marriage.

What this means, is that if your husband is in a nursing home, and your insurance has run out, and Medicaid has started to pay for it, once your husband dies, the state will kick you out of your house if you own your house.  They won’t wait until both of you die and put a lien on the estate, which would be the humane thing.  And all this was Jay Nixon’s idea.

These things I think have made Nixon vulnerable.

ATTORNEY GENERAL, REPUBLICANS

Michael Gibbons, State Senator from the district that includes Kirkwood, is the only Republican on the ballot.  I don’t know too much about him, but will very likely vote for him in November.  The Gibbons law firm is probably the most famous one in Kirkwood.

ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEMOCRATS

Recommendation:  Margaret Donnelly
Prediction:  Dunno

Analysis:  I’m recommending a Donnelly vote (she is not related to Phil Donnelly, who was Governor 45-49 and 53-57), because Chris Koster is a fink.  Koster, currently a Senator from a district south of Kansas City, recently switched parties from R to D mainly because of stem cells.  And now all he can do (even in his campaign ads) is bash Republicans.  My bet is that he’s heavily invested in some biotech startup.  Of course, if you take a Republican ticket, you wouldn’t be able to make this vote.

SENATE, 7TH DISTRICT, REPUBLICANS

Recommendation:  Gina Loudon
Prediction:  None

Analysis:  I’m recommending Loudon because I don’t want Jane Cunningham to win.  If you want to know why I don’t want Jane Cunningham to win, click here.  I’ll give you a hint:  It has to do with deseg.

U.S.

(Read the full post about ‘2008 Missouri Primaries Preview’…)

Jihad Watch:  Grover Norquist: “Spencer hates Muslims”

Correction:  Illywah bin Alawyi (formerly Grover Norquist):  “Spencer hates Muslims.”

SPLC:  Extremist Steve Sailer is Source for CNN’s ‘Black in America’ Series

Combine this, with Paula Zahn’s lust for James Edwards, plus Lou Dobbs citing the CofCC as a source last year, and it’s not hard to see that CNN is becoming the Council News Network.

AP:  Iowans to congressmen: Stop immigration raids

We know the headline isn’t telling the truth because the part after the colon is in English.

AFP:  Memorabilia of late US civil rights hero Rosa Park on sale (sic)

What remains to be seen is how the emerging Parks, Inc.

(Read the full post about ‘Fun With Brain and Brawn’…)

Daily Mail:  You must be nicer to Muslims, Britain is told by UN human rights chiefs

How much f’n nicer can they be?

Dhimmi Watch:  Obama promises to “tear down walls” between Muslims and the rest of the world

The rest of the world then better get used to bombs and burquas.

AP:  Big change for welfarist Sweden: School choice

Who says it’s not welfarist?

AFP:  US, NZealand push for elections in Fiji

Get ready to hear about Fiji’s WMDs if they don’t comply.

AP:  Indian army to help prevent rhino poaching

Come to think of it, I’d like to “poach” a few RINOs of our own.

LiveScience:  Diamonds May Have Jumpstarted Life on Earth

And they still do — about five years after you buy a girl a diamond worth one-sixth of your yearly income, you have one or two new lives in your midsts.

AP:  FDA: Avoid jalapenos from Mexico, not US

So, in other words, we need some border control when it comes to peppers.

AFP:  Lancet study blasts Swiss stance on HIV protection

For some reason, I don’t think HIV is very high on the list of Swiss social ills.

AFP:  Britney Spears to pay $20,000 a month child support

See, Shaniqua Tompkins?  K-Fed can make it on $20G a month.

Take Two:  AFP:  Britney Spears to pay $20,000 a month child support

Since Britney’s paying, this means that K-Fed got custody, meaning that Britney must be really f’ed up for the courts to give HIM the kids.

Reuters:  Unwitting [Dutch] gardener man tends marijuana plants

And will soon get the Netherlands’ highest medallic honor — The Sacred Order of the Doob.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch :

Court orders new review of Mo.’s voter rolls

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An appeals court on Tuesday ordered a federal judge to go back and review whether Missouri’s chief election officer met her legal obligations to keep voter registration rolls current.

(snip)

Since the lawsuit was filed in late 2005, Missouri has created a statewide voter registration database into which local election authorities enter voter information. Carnahan’s office trains local officials on maintaining their lists and follows up with them if it appears they are not following the requirements of the federal law.

(Read the full post about ‘Now This Is Interesting’…)

And the worst part is that most of the 435 other members in your dinner party were wearing masks, so you wouldn’t know who stiffed you.

Translation:  U.S. House passes a resolution apologizing for slavery, segregation and Jim Crow.  Rep.

(Read the full post about ‘You Just Got Stiffed With a $10-odd Trillion Check’…)