I Wonder What Virginia Tech Would Think?

I'm not sure where we should categorize this brilliant post: More Idiot Liberal Professors or Maybe All Cops Are Not Racist? Either way, THIS BRILLIANT POST by The Right Wing Prof deserves your attention, post haste!

A Radical Idea For Labor Day

Ugh, they're at it again . . .

VENICE, Italy - Brad Pitt and his partner Angelina Jolie are ready for another child, the actor said Sunday as he was promoting his new film.

Pitt and Jolie, with children in tow, were in Venice to talk about his film on Western outlaw Jesse James. The movie is competing for the top Golden Lion award at the city's film festival.

Pitt and Jolie already have four children including a 15-month-old girl, Shiloh, born to the couple. Jolie has also adopted three children close in age from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Asked by Italian state TV whether they were ready for a fifth, Pitt replied: "Yeah we're ready." (H/T - Yahoo!)

Now, before you send me hate mail, I want to make one thing clear: I applaud Brangelina for adopting three children and giving them a better life. However, I can't help but think that they are stepping over some children in order to find other, more exotic ones.

Um, here's a radical idea for Brangelina: maybe, just maybe, you can open your home to one of the thousands of children available for adoption in America!

Sorry. It just had to be said.

Hell Comes To Murdertown

Apparently, Labor Day Weekend only marks the end of the Summer; not the end of the homicides:

On a day devoted to neighborhood festivals promoting peace and harmony, Philadelphia police reported four more homicides yesterday, bringing the year's total to 285. Local civic leaders and anti-violence groups ended the summer with block parties and street fairs against the backdrop of a murderous season: Since the first of June, 117 people have been killed in the city.

The latest victims, police said, were men slain in separate shootings within two hours early yesterday:

* Jermaine Jackson, 26, of West Philadelphia, was found in the 3800 block of Haverford Avenue in the Mantua section shortly after 2:20 a.m., and was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds at Hahnemann University Hospital.

* Terrel Davis, 24, of Frankford, was shot in the head in an alley in the 3100 block of E Street in Kensington about 3 a.m.

* Julious Pickett, 24, of Brewerytown, was shot in the face in the 2000 block of North 31st Street in Strawberry Mansion shortly before 3:10 a.m.

* And shortly after 4:01 a.m., police found Walter Drivers, 27, of no known address, shot once in the head in the 6100 block of Callowhill Street in West Philadelphia. (H/T - The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Unfortunately, this count is now inaccurate. On Saturday, September 1, Philadelphia saw 6 homicides in 24 hours. Another homicide was reported Sunday afternoon, for a grand total of 7 bodies in a day and a half. (The 2007 total stands at 288.) And the holiday weekend is not even over yet.

Obviously, something is seriously wrong in this town. The murder rate is skyrocketing, and the politicians (both at the local and state level) are trying to clamp down on legal gun owners. Now, my regular readers have heard me shout this from the top of One Liberty Place, but it bears repeating (and re-repeating): the law-abiding gun owners are not the ones murdering people like it's going out of style! It's the thugs that buy the illegal guns on street corners and back alleys! Got it?!!!

Until the idiot politicians find a way to collect and destroy all of the illegal firearms, they should stop worrying about all of the citizens carrying legal firearms.

Happy Frakkin' Labor Day.

License To "Il"

"Herrro!"

GENEVA - North Korea agreed Sunday to account for and disable its atomic programs by the end of the year, offering its first timeline for a process long sought by nuclear negotiators, the chief U.S. envoy said.

Kim Gye Gwan, head of the North Korean delegation, said separately his country's willingness to cooperate was clear — in return for "political and economic compensation" — but he mentioned no dates. (H/T - Yahoo!)

Oh sure, just like the promised to do during the Clinton administration, right? Listen, you have a better chance of seeing me on the cover of Muscle and Fitness magazine than you do of seeing the North Koreans disabling their nuclear weapons.

Sorry for the disturbing imagery, but you see my point.

(Captain America has a different take on this HERE.)

Tragedy In The SJU Family

What a terrible, terrible story.

AP) CHESTER, Pa. According to police the body of Floyd Nelson, father of NBA star Jameer Nelson, was found near Fox Point Park in Wilmington, Delaware Saturday around 2 p.m. A boater called 911 after he discovered Floyd's body about three miles from where he went missing.

The 57-year-old was last seen walking across a dock at the Delaware River Tugboat company on Thursday when he is believed to have slipped and fell into the water. Floyd was a welder and had worked for the company for about a decade.

Jameer Nelson arrived Friday morning in a black SUV and was seen speaking with officials involved in the search. But on Saturday, he was informed of the discovery of his father's body. Jameer always wanted his father to retire but Floyd loved his job.

Floyd Nelson was also a Vietnam War veteran and wrote a book about his son’s basketball career in 2004 entitled “Jameer Nelson: This Jameer Kid.”

Jameer Nelson was a basketball standout at Chester High School and Saint Joseph’s University. He was a first-round draft pick in the 2004 NBA draft and is the starting point guard for the Orlando Magic. (H/T - KYW)

For those of you unaware, I am a proud graduate of Saint Joseph's University here in Philadelphia. Philly is college basketball heaven, and as such, I am a huge SJU hoops fan. In 2004, Jameer Nelson led the Hawks to an undefeated season (27-0) and I watched every game. When he went pro, Jameer avoided the usual thuggery that accompanies NBA players. He is a rare class act in a sport rife with criminals.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Jameer is so grounded because his late father Floyd brought him up right. My prayers go out to the Nelson family.

Pondering Some Pimpin'

SYLG's resident friendly stalker RT is only 68 hits away from #10,000. Damn, why couldn't have looked at her blog one visitor early? Tee hee hee!

Anyway, I know y'all are getting sick of the constant pimping around these parts, but I'd appreciate it if you took a gander at her stuff. And by "stuff," I mean her writing. Heh, I'm so juvenile. As far as I know, this is the last blog pal approaching a big milestone for a while, so it'll be good to send my pimp hat out to the dry cleaners.

In the meantime, go check out Public Pondering!

And I respectfully request forgiveness from Big White Hat, since I missed his 50,000th hit. Please stop by his ranch and congratulate him as well. Thanks!

One final pimp note: Philly-area guy Mark from Rico's Rants is approaching visitor #5,000.

Guess Where I'll Be In One Week?

Damned straight! On Saturday night, September 8th, I will be sitting in the grandstands at Richmond International Raceway. The trip is courtesy of my brother, Randal Graves. His brother-in-law Ed's company is running a bus trip to the race, complete with tickets, hotel room, and hookers.

I'm kidding, there won't be any hookers. Sheesh!

I'm rather excited, because I haven't been to a race since 2002 at Dover - Jimmie Johnson won that race - and my hearing is completely back to normal. This cannot stand. Besides, Randal has promised a 6-hour bus trip to the track filled with Jager-bombs! Mmm . . . Red Bully goodness!

If you're watching the NASCAR race, look for the Jeff Gordon fan trying to spit on Tony Stewart's car as it throttles around the track. That'll be me. Heh.

I Think I'm Going To Be Sick

Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32

This was the only part of the story I could read before passing out:

Appalachian St. pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history on Saturday, winning at No. 5 Michigan, 34-32.

This hardly bodes well for my Wolverines' chances at a National Championship.

Break Out The Duct Tape Again!

Because this story is guaranteed to make your head explode. Let's all go to the movies! I hear "Redacted" is just the feel-good story of the year!

American director Brian De Palma is launching his controversial new film based on the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl by US troops.

Now that's the perfect topic for a major motion picture. I mean, there are so many people in this country who hate our troops now. Imagine how many more will hate them after seeing this film!

"When I read about the Mahmudiyah incident in Iraq 2006 - five US soldiers raped a local girl, killed her and her family and later tried to disguise it as an insurgent attack - I knew I had a story.

He knew he had a story? And I'll bet he was salivating at the prospect of dehumanizing our armed forces on the silver screen. Jane Fonda Award here we come!

"In real life, I feel helpless to stop these horrible things that are happening, this horrible war that I am financing as an American citizen."

Good point, Brian. Giving Iraqis a chance to live free in their own country without being gassed by their own leaders, tortured in covert "Rape rooms," and summarily executed for the most minor offenses is horrible. I mean, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting another story of American servicemen and women brutally raping young girls, murdering families, and humping their goats, right? Idiot.

"The movie is an attempt to bring the reality of what is happening in Iraq to the American people," he said last week. (H/T - Sky News)

Really? Events like the Mahmudiyah massacre are the rule, rather than the exception in Iraq? I must have missed that on 60 Minutes. Well, that tears it. I hereby condemn each and every American soldier, and will ban them from commenting on SYLG. Furthermore, I will remove every blogger who is, was, or knows someone in the armed services from my blogroll. I'm sorry, Pandy, but Brian DePalma said that you sadistic butchers are all alike.

WWE Punishes Wrestlers For Doping, Steroids

Isn't that headline an oxymoron?

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Ten performers suspended by World Wrestling Entertainment were punished for ordering drugs, mostly human growth hormones, that violate the company's drug policy, a WWE lawyer said Friday.

WWE said it issued suspension notices based on independent information from the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney's office, which has been investigating sales of steroids and growth hormones through Internet and phone-order firms. (H/T - Yahoo!)

Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that wrestlers such as Rob Conway (below) didn't get that perfect physique through fitness, diet, and healthy living alone? Pshaw!