RANTS
Michigan welfare and drug testing: Should this be a law?
October 12th, 2007

I get tons of emails daily where people are crying about our state and local government and their lack of spending habits.  One of the emails that bothers me the most is the one stating that recipients of Welfare should have to undergo drug testing in order to receive their monthly checks.  The reason this bothers me is it should be a standard practice or common law already.  Why are these people allowed to get a check for free and not have to prove they are drug free like the rest of us who go out and work for a living?

I know that most government workers have to undergo drug testing before they can get a job, and we all know how many different tests those of us who want to get a job in corporate America need to go through.  Yet if I want to stay home, collect a welfare check and smoke a little refer on the side, then it’s no problem.  Why should this be legal?
Continued Here

RANTS
What's up with Michigan bikers?
September 1st, 2007

Four Wheels Move the Body, Two Wheels Move the Soul - Unknown

In the past 8 months, my wife and I have logged close to 15,000 miles around the South Eastern Half of the United States.  Our adventure, which was supposed to only be a two year trip, has now been extended to 4 or 5 years because of how much fun we’re having.  We’ve been having a blast and learning a lot about this great country of ours while traveling in our camper while writing for our website www.everymilesamemory.com .

With the nasty heat that’s been encompassing much of the country this summer, we decided to stay in Michigan for the month of July and August and tie up some loose ends.  Its great to be back home and spend time with family and friends, but there is one thing that has been really bothering me since we’ve been back in Michigan, the Bikers!  Let me explain before we start getting flooded with hate mail. 
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RANTS
Who's your Tiger?
July 30th, 2007

"Does your Tiger have an ERA a shade under 6.00, is unilaterally scorned by the entire fan base and has a repertoire consisting of a straight-as-an-arrow 95 MPH fastball and a curve that breaks belt high and over the heart of the plate like it's sitting on a tee for the hitter?

"Does your Tiger go by the nickname "Cheese Man" because of the quality of his jokes in the clubhouse are similar to his relief outings? Or maybe because of his hip take on reviving the greaser haircut? Does he make your heart sink and stomach churn with a sense of impending doom every time he enters to pitch in a close game?

Does your Tiger's appearances usually end with him staring at the dugout floor with his head in his hands after giving up the lead and is his father a former Tigers pitcher whose career could best be described as being the Jason Grilli of the late 70's?"

Then your Tiger is Jason Grilli and I think I hate you.

RANTS
Sex Lube Maker's 250k Customer List Slides Onto Net
April 25th , 2007
Found this wonderful tidbit on the Wired Network...

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/20...ube_makers.html

Sex Lube Maker's 250K Customer List Slides Onto Net

More than 250,000 people's names and addresses are now naked on the web after the maker of a popular sexual lubricant called Astroglide accidentally exposed lists of people who bought or requested free samples of its products, proving that there's no such thing as a free lubricant. BioFilm, a privately-held California company specializing in sexual lubricants, exposed customer data files dating from 2003 to 2007 to Google's search engine in early April. Google then indexed the pages and made local cache copies. A search on an individual's name now reveals that person's home address and the product they requested or ordered.

AstroGlide, a once niche product that is now stocked by major drugstore chains and Walmart, took down its free sample page on Monday in the last few days (cached copy). The page promised users that "All information will be used for mailing purposes only and will not be distributed to any outside organizations. Except maybe the paramedics if your free trial gets out of hand."

Imagine having your name and address associated with that and your grandparents finding it..

RANTS
Can we just be friends - HE said
April 18th , 2007

Can girls and guys just be friends? This question has baffled scientists and theologians for years. This question can’t be answered by bar wisdom. So is it possible for guys and the fairer sex to just be friends and be completely platonic? After discussing the question with many friends, I still don’t have a concrete answer, but I do have a beginning point on how to answer this question. The answer seems to be some what of a paradox. There are too many meanings to telling someone we’re “just friends.” This is where I think it’s a paradox.

The first definition of ‘just friends’ is that we hang out and have common interest. You know, we like watching sports, playing water polo, or knitting. You can hang out and watch movies, like going to the same kind of bar, or hang out with common friends. This definition of ‘just friends’ is completely platonic. It also means that neither one of you have even a remote sexual interest in one another. You two end up getting drunk together and gossiping. 
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RANTS
Can we just be friends - SHE said
April 14th , 2006

Which came first the chicken or the egg? Before sliced bread, what was the greatest thing? Can guys and girls truly be “just friends”? All of these are questions that have been debated time and time again, but do any of them really have answers? I really don’t care about the chicken or the egg, all I care about is that both of them are equally delicious with bacon. I’m not all that impressed with sliced bread, so I pretty much think anything could have been the greatest thing, although it is tasty with bacon and eggs and chicken. As for can guys and girls be “just friends”…hmmm, that one takes a lot of thought.

While gathering my thoughts for this article (i.e.: sitting in the bar asking random people their thoughts) I received a lot of different opinions as well as many different classifications of friends. A lot of people told me they were friends with members of the opposite sex and then they had a special “friend” (yes, they did do the quotation marks) for late night calling. I then realized asking drunk people at the bar their opinions was not the wisest of decisions. 
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RANTS
Interesting read - Steve Jobs' Thoughts on Music
February 6th, 2006
I don't necessarily buy into all things that spew out of the PR machine known as Mr. Jobs, but this article he wrote about the state of DRM music gets a lot right. 

"With the stunning global success of Apple’s iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to “open” the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPods. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future.

To begin, it is useful to remember that all iPods play music that is free of any DRM and encoded in “open” licensable formats such as MP3 and AAC. iPod users can and do acquire their music from many sources, including CDs they own. Music on CDs can be easily imported into the freely-downloadable iTunes jukebox software which runs on both Macs and Windows PCs, and is automatically encoded into the open AAC or MP3 formats without any DRM. This music can be played on iPods or any other music players that play these open formats."

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RANTS
The 10 most dangerous playthings of all time
December 10th, 2006
Last month, Target recalled 10 of its Kool Toyz-brand play sets, citing hazards like "lead paint," "sharp points," and "puncture wound potential." The toys, which included plastic aircraft carriers, dinosaurs, and tanks, all appeared harmless enough. But according to the killjoys at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, children—at least those prone to eating plastic objects as big as their head—were at serious risk. A week later, Mattel recalled 4.4 million Polly Pocket dolls and accessories because kids were swallowing the toy's magnets. The Associated Press reported, "If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach to each other and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage." Three children required surgery.

In the last year alone, some eight million units of toys were recalled in the U.S., according to W.A.T.C.H., a toy-safety advocacy group. But Kool Toys and Polly Pockets are kids' stuff compared to the hazardous baubles of yesteryear. In the spirit of the holidays, Radar presents the 10 most dangerous toys of all time, those treasured playthings that drew blood, chewed digits, took out eyes, and, in one case, actually irradiated. To keep things interesting, we excluded BB guns, slingshots, throwing stars, and anything else actually intended to inflict harm. Below, our toy box from hell.
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RANT- SPORTS
Year of the Tiger.. and I don't mean golf
November 1st, 2006

What a year for baseball and the fans of Detroit.  The season of 2006 was magical for so many different reasons.  The memories, the stories, the excitement and above all the happiness that the Tigers brought us this year was amazing.  This year the Tigers became Detroit’s team again; they became our team.  I, along with so many other fans, can’t forget this season.

RANT
7 Monthly Rants
October 25th, 2006

These are things that bother me and I felt like making them bother you too.

1. Unenthusiastic Radio Station Prize winners: I do a lot of driving right now as I live 45 minutes from my job, so I listen to an awful lot of radio. There is nothing more annoying when someone wins a prize on the radio and they sound as excited as if they’ve just made an appointment for a root canal. Come on people!  Or else the listener that wins money and when asked what they plan to do with the money they say “pay some bills”. That answer sucks! Go shopping, take a trip, propose to your girlfriend; anything is better than paying bills with free money! I think radio stations should be allowed to take away the prizes when people are not excited or have a boring answer as to what they’ll do with their prize.

2. People who brag about themselves over the radio: As long as I’m on the subject of the radio…
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RANT
Horny goat weed
October 22nd, 2006

I was wandering through the drugstore a few days back and noticed I was in the Vitamin isle.  What the hell are half of these things and do people actually take all of this stuff?  I started reading some of them and was laughing out loud.  I called my wife over and pointed to one bottle in particular asking if I could buy it and bring it home to try?  With the typical look of disgust, she asked why I would want to try Horny Goat Weed no matter what its claims were?  I let her finish her shopping while I snuck to a cash register and bought a bottle figuring I would surprise her with some crazy animal love later this evening.

RANT
The Holy War
October 5th, 2006

So I hear that the Pope quoted 14th century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologos during a speech and caused an uproar.  Here is what he quoted…

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Hello!  Finally someone speaks the truth about this supposed false religion of Islam and he gets lambasted! Muslim riots brew all over the world, churches are fire bombed, nuns are killed and the persecution of Christians continues on.  What the F#@k?!  It didn't take the Pope's comments to ferment this shit; this crap has been going on all over the world every day for centuries!  I'd like to know - when is the rest of the world going to wake up and realize that we are indeed in a Holy war and that is rising to a horrific and final crescendo of violence.  Prepare yourself because it's going to get very, very, very ugly.
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RANT
What I saw in Dearbornistan
August 12th, 2006

DEARBORNISTAN, USA - Sunday was a busy day.

I did the work Michigan's FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel Roberts and his agents should be doing: I headed to the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in the heart of Islamic America--Dearborn, Michigan. More on that club--a hangout for thousands of Hezbollah supporters on our shores--later.

Bint Jebail--also spelled "Bint Jbeil"--located in southern Lebanon and very close to the border, is the key Hezbollah stronghold. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah makes most of his fiery anti-Semitic, anti-American speeches there...to eager ears. It is the site from which much shelling of rockets and missiles, onto Northern Israel and beyond, emanates. Thousands of Detroit area Muslims (the majority of whom are Shi'ite) come from the Bint Jbeil area, and they support Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's U.S. Citizen Mayor

Bint Jbeil's Mayor, Haj Ali Bazzi, is a U.S. citizen, with a Michigan Driver's License and an American passport. Even though he cannot speak English, he spent a short time in Dearborn and--voila!--American citizenship was served up. Bazzi told an ABC News TV crew that he "would defend Dearborn against invasion by another state." Of course, he would--it is Little Bint Jbeil. But would he defend America against a foreign invasion? Not likely, judging from many of his relatives in Dearborn, open supporters of Islamic terrorist groups.
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RANT
Letter on immigration
August 6th, 2006

From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet and a few other print publications. Pass it along if you feel so inclined. - Dave LaBonte

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statute of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.   Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

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RANT
Overserving
July 31st, 2006

A few weeks back I read an article in the Milford Times about a young man being overserved at one of our local area restaurants.  Two family members had written in exclaiming their shock that a bar would allow a customer to drink this much and I agree 100% that the bar is to blame.  Now I don’t know the whole story and there is always two sides to every story, but a breathalyzer that says your blood alcohol level is .294 percent is not lying.  With .30 being in a coma, what was this bartender thinking?  If the bar owner hasn’t been fined very heavy and sentenced to making everyone of his staff go through some sort of alcohol training, then they should get their license revoked; and this is coming from a person that believes the liquor laws are way to strict! 

In this day in age of drunk driving and over-intoxication being on the front page of everything you read, I would like to know which bar in Milford it happened at and if this bar owner still has his liquor license?  If the bartender or manger on duty that night is still working at this establishment, then the family should find a lawyer to make sure this person can never serve alcohol again.  

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RANTS
When do we say ENOUGH already?
June 19 th, 2006

Here at the offices of the Smalltown Lowdown, we always are talking about Drinking and Driving.  There is always some friend you hear that just got busted, or you hear of that unfortunate person who might have got in an accident and then there is the harsh reality of how dangerous it is when someone dies due to alcohol.  What do you do about it?  How do you get around it?  Why has the law made it next to impossible to go out and have fun, yet does not give us an alternative?  Why haven’t they made mass transportation available to these small towns or given us an alternative?
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RANT
Texas Police Arrest Drunks in Bars
March 31st, 2006

IRVING, Texas – The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has taken its fight against drunken driving to a new level. TABC agents, along with Irving police, targeted 36 bars and clubs Friday, arresting some allegedly intoxicated patrons before they departed the businesses.

Agents arrested 30 people Friday night. Most of the suspects now face charges of public intoxication.

The agents and Irving police officers traveled from bar to bar and worked undercover, according to an NBC 5 report.

The report also said that some agents shared tables with suspected drunken patrons. Some patrons were subjected to field sobriety tests inside bars.
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RANT
The Muhammed Cartoons
February 24th, 2006
Here you will be able to see all the original 12 cartoons that started this whole madness: www.danishmuhammedcartoons.com

And what’s even more funny is that this is far from the first time drawings and cartoons of prophet Muhammad was ever published. This was simply a great reason for those fanatic Muslims to demonstrate against the western world.

One question that comes to mind is, how come all of them at one time flock to get to Europe and enjoy all the benefits that generations of Europeans have worked hard to build.

And, on the other hand constantly complain about just about everything.....although in the country they left behind.......they had just about NOTHING, and GOT NOTHING from the government...and had just about NO CHANCE of improving there life standard, social status or career.

If it´s soooo bad here.....why don’t you pack your bags and return to Baghdad?
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RANT
Jarhead - Welcome to the Suck
December 5, 2005
I was looking so forward to seeing a good action-packed flick about Desert Storm.  When I saw the previews for Jar Head I thought this would be the one. I knew it wouldn’t be too long before this type of movie  would start popping up.  6 years ago there was David Russell’s story, Three Kings, which was about the theft of Kuwait once everyone was gone, which starred George Clooney, Mark Walberg and Ice Cube amongst many other notable actors, and this was a pretty good movie.  I don’t know about an award winner, but it would rank above the latest Desert Storm flick, Jar Head.

RANT
WWE Tragically Announces Eddie Guerrero Dead at 38
November 13, 2005
WWE is deeply saddened by the news that Eddie Guerrero has passed away. He was found dead this morning in his hotel room in Minneapolis. Eddie is survived by his wife Vickie and daughters Shaul, 14, Sherilyn, 9, and Kaylie Marie, 3.

Around 7:30AM, Chavo Guerrero Jr and Eddie were supposed to meet for breakfast Sunday morning. When Guerrero missed his wake up call, hotel security and Chavo were sent to his room. Eddie was found unconscious in the bathroom of his hotel room; Police were called along with EMS. They tried to revive Guerrero but could not. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner could not determine the cause of death at the scene, and will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. As local media has reported, Police do not believe foul play was involved.

R.I.P. Latino Heat. Anyone else think it is ironic that he just finished his book, Cheating Death, Stealing Life - The Eddie Guerrero Story ?

Paul Nancywood

RANT
San Francisco Voters Approve Handgun Ban
November 13, 2005
By LOUISE CHU, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 9, 6:27 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - Voters approved ballot measures to ban handguns in San Francisco and urge the city’s public high schools and college campuses to keep out military recruiters.

The gun ban prohibits the manufacture and sale of all firearms and ammunition in the city, and makes it illegal for residents to keep handguns in their homes or businesses.

Although law enforcement, security guards and others who require weapons for work are exempt from the measure, current handgun owners would have to surrender their firearms by April.

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RANT
A Fantastic Editorial from the November Issue of Esquire
November 2, 2005
GREETINGS FROM IDIOT AMERICA
CREATIONISM. INTELLIGENT DESIGN. FAITH-BASED THIS. TRUST-YOUR-GUT THAT. THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO ESPOUSE, PROFIT FROM, AND BELIEVE IN UTTER, UNADULTERATED CRAP. AND THE CRAP IS RISING SO HIGH, IT’S GETTING DANGEROUS.
by Charles P. Pierceb

There is some undeniable art—you might even say design—in the way southern Ohio rolls itself into northern Kentucky. The hills build gently under you as you leave the interstate. The roads narrow beneath a cool and thickening canopy as they wind through the leafy outer precincts of Hebron—a small Kentucky town named, as it happens, for the place near Jerusalem where the Bible tells us that David was anointed the king of the Israelites. This resulted in great literature and no little bloodshed, which is the case with a great deal of Scripture.

This is pretty long, but definitely a good read.
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RANT
Jack Thompson is at it Again
August 11, 2005
This guy must've read my earlier rant while he was spearheading the movement to get GTA: San Andreas changed to AO (Adult Only) rating.

Miami attorney Jack Thompson claims cheat codes makes EA's life sim a pedophile's paradise by showing genitalia; calls for ban on T-rated game.

How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and anti-gaming activist has done his share to see that games do not fall into the wrong hands–and lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.

More here.

I have so many responses to so many aspects of this investigation..
More here.

RANT
The Atlanta Shootings
March 19, 2005

I know in this paper we don't normally talk about hard news, but I can't keep quiet about this latest issue in the News. Why is it that Brian Nichols has not been executed already?...
continued here.