- Florida is already bat-sh*t insane, so why not add a few
more guns to the mix? A state that can colossally f*ck up presidential voting,
is overrun by elderly retirees and was once run by a sibling of the worst
president in American history actually needs more stability and not less, but
that could not matter less to the Florida legislators who
are considering a bill that would allow holders of concealed weapons permits to
carry their weapons onto public university and college campuses. On the
practical side, this discussion is taking place four months after a gunman shot
three people at Florida State University before being killed by police. On the
other side of the ledger, you’re considering giving thousands of people who
like to spend their days drinking cheap beer and getting baked on low-end ganja
in between viewings of “Teen Mom” and “The Real World” a free pass to strap
their weapon to their hip and head to Humanities 101. Not surprisingly, the
leaders of the support brigade for this bill are the bullet-happy kooks of the
National Rifle Association, who argue that permit holders shouldn't be forced
to abandon their right to self-defense simply because they walk onto a campus. Their
opponents number in the thousands and include students, faculty and
administrators of Florida's 12 universities, among them all 12 public
university presidents, the campus police chiefs and the system's Board of
Governors. Despite those wise opponents and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli
expressing reservations about the bill, it is making its way gradually through
various committees en route to becoming the latest insane law on the books in
the Sunshine State………
- One of the most iconic punk rock bands of the 1980s is
making a massive cash grab to show it can fit right in here in the year 2015. The Replacements
have announced plans to release an eight-disc box set comprising their entire
back catalog, which is as shameless a ploy to reach into the wallets of loyal
fans who already own said catalog in its entirety. “The Complete Studio Albums
1981-1990” will drop on April 13 and will bring fans the seven Mats albums they
already own and which were released as remastered deluxe editions in 2008,
along with the 1982 EP “Stink.” Sure, albums such as “Tim” and “Pleased to Meet
Me” are classics, but they were classics 30 years ago and anyone who really
wants them either bought them back then or in 2008 for the remastered versions.
The Replacements semi-reunited in 2013 when they played live for the first time
in 22 years at the Toronto leg of alt-rock roadshow Riot Fest in August of that
year, but this is no full-scale revival of the band. Founding members
Westerberg and Tommy Stinson have been joined in the reunion line-up by session
musicians Josh Freese and Dave Minehan because the band's original lead
guitarist Bob Stinson, older brother of Tommy, passed away in 1995. Those who want to remember the Mats as
they were when they formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979 and rocked out for
12 years before playing their final live show in Chicago on July 21, 1991
should steer clear of this last-gasp effort to score up some more income from
their waning legacy. It’s nice that they’ve been cited as an influence by Green
Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and acts such as Goo Goo Dolls, Cribs and They Might
be Giants, but at this point their catalog is the only part of that equation
Westerberg and the boys can montetize………..
- It’s time for another edition of “Whose government is
being corrupt and dishonest now?” The answer today is Macedonia, where the
country’s opposition leader is claiming government corruption and insisting he
has the proof to back up his conspiracy theory. Social Democrat
leader Zoran Zaev dropped his new mixtape, a.k.a. d audio recordings allegedly
showing conservative government officials discussing ways to manipulate voting
registration records and pressure voters to back them in last year's general
elections. The new Skrillex album it’s not, but if the recordings are legit and
prove that The Man has attempted to pressure state workers and others dependent
on government wages to vote for the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party, then its impact
will still be substantial – although not nearly as epic for ravers to dance to.
Zaev's party has boycotted parliament for nearly a year, ever since last April
when it claimed the government had won the vote unfairly and that it had
launched a massive, illegal wiretapping operation against it political
opponents. As expected, the government quickly dismissed the new allegations
and went with the boring, unimaginative claim that the recordings had been
fabricated with the help of a foreign government. Why the hell any other
country would give a damn about who runs a poor, unstable and
resource-deficient Mediterranean nation like Macedonia is unclear, but the
government didn’t elaborate on who might be responsible. The equally cryptic Social
Democrats refused to say where or how they obtained the recordings, shrouding
all of this in a delightful cloud of mystery that should keep the intrigue
going for a while………
- Never has San
Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich been more of a crotchety old man than he is
right now. At the age of 66, Pop has won five NBA titles and will chase a sixth
in a couple of months. He’s coached deep into the postseason and led three
future Hall of Famers for more than a decade, but he’s best-known for his
curmudgeony interactions with media members and now, a fiercely protective
stance when it comes to his vacation time. The league, in response to
complaints from players about packing its 82-game schedule into too tight a
time frame, is reportedly considering spacing out its 82-game season and
potentially playing into July. It seems like something an older coach might
like, what with longer breaks between games and less stretches of four games in
five nights. But Popovich has other ideas, ones he shared when the topic of an
extended season came up. "If there is a game in July, count me out,"
Popovich said. "Count me out. Count me out. Life is too short."
Absolutely beautiful. Life is too short, so count me out. It’s a brilliant
response even though he would still be making several million dollars,
traveling in extreme comfort and coaching some of the best athletes on the
planet. Surrendering more of your summer to work is something no one should
have to do, even if it means doing away with the crunch of games on
back-to-back nights or runs such as three games in four days. Extra rest for
tired players be damned, because Pop isn't having any of it. "I think the
season is long enough," Popovich said. "I will not come to work in
July." One of the biggest proponents of the longer season is Dallas Mavericks
owner Mark Cuban, who said he’s been suggesting the idea for years and believes
“everybody's for it now." Not everyone, Cubes……….
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