Shutting down for a couple of days ... see you here Sunday night, when I’ll have an update for you about our aspiring film star, Skylar Stone.

From the journalism journal:

Read this great column from John Kass of the Chicago Tribune. His readers react to his piece earlier this week about Jesse Jackson’s comments about what he’d like to do to Barack Obama.

Limerick lovers, especially, will especially appreciate Kass’s work today.

Barack Obama in NASCAR? SI.com says it may happen:

SI.com has learned that for the first time in history, a major presidential candidate may sponsor a race car in NASCAR’s premier series. According to sources, Barack Obama’s campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor of BAM Racing’s No. 49 Sprint Cup car for the Pocono race on August 3. Details of the agreement are expected to be worked out over the coming days.

A BAM spokesperson has revealed the team will hold a press conference July 23 in Miami to reveal the partnership, currently a proposed one-race deal with an option to continue. Obama will be at the briefing, which will be tied to the “Get Out The Vote” campaign message he spread throughout the 2008 primary season.

Racing sources claim one of the options being considered would allow individual campaign donors to get their name on the race car for as little as $100. Obama will also be present for a second private fundraiser on July 30 in Miami, in which team owners Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau—staunch Republicans—will give the Democrat an opportunity to spread his message of change. Randy Moss and Fergie are among the celebrities confirmed to be a part of that fundraiser in support of the candidate and his venture into NASCAR.

Well, that’s one way to woo working-class white guys!

(Thanks to my brother-in-law, Rob, for the tip!)

Today I bring you the first installment of what (I’m afraid) will become a regular series: Candidates for ejection from the gene pool. We’ll be back after a message from our sponsor.

(Commercial break)

This feature is brought to you by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which holds that through natural selection, the inferior members of a species gradually die out and leave only the superior members of the species to reproduce. Natural selection: Building a better world for you—through attrition.

(End of commercial break)

We’re back. Our initial nominee is Skylar Stone, your run-of-the-mill moron with a California driver’s license (we’re sure of the California part; we’re taking a leap of faith on the driver’s license part).

Well, Skylar decided that he would protest California’s new law banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving by getting a Bluetooth device, getting in his car and proceeding to do all manner of other things—take notes, eat, shave, type on his laptop, clean his windows, do something strange with a drill—WHILE DRIVING WITH HIS KNEES.

Watch the video, which isn’t going to win any documentary awards, here.

Yes, I know he was trying to be funny. And I’m sure he’ll find my analysis of his comedy just as hilarious as I found his video!

Skylar’s point is a valid one: California lawmakers banned the handheld use of cell phones, but they didn’t specifically ban all these other things he did.

But the nature of his stunt – which clearly shows him running a stop sign, blowing through a red light, running over a curb and cutting off another driver (although she was complicit in the “presentation”) – overshadows his point, whatever it may be.

It is one thing to risk your own life for the sake of argument; however ill-advised, it’s your life, so it’s your decision. But there’s another word for what your protest becomes when your actions endanger others: Illegal.

It’s anyone’s guess how many other drivers, parked cars and pedestrians our friend Skylar here passed during his stupid stunt, even though Skylar says he and his pals stayed in his neighborhood and tried to make sure no one was around (safety first, you know).

Skylar says legislators erred by focusing solely on cell phones to the exclusion of all the other things he did.

But as it turns out, a lawyer he is not. 

According to Section 23103 of California’s vehicle code:

(a) A person who drives a vehicle upon a highway in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.

“Willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property?”

Hey, hey, hey … that sounds like our guy Skylar!

Yes, I’m quite sure that brushing one’s teeth and SHARPENING A KNIFE (2:26) while driving meet that definition.

And this nice lawyer fellow, FORMER ORANGE COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY MR. EDWARD WELBOURN, helpfully interjects: “‘Highway’ doesn’t mean just the freeways. It includes any public streets.”

In other words, whether in the neighborhood or careening (or crawling) down the 405, the statute still applies to our buddy Skylar.

So, what do we have for our winner, Johnny?

That would be five to 90 days in the luxurious accommodations of one of California’s fine county correctional facilities, a fine of $145 to $1,000 – or both, according to subsection (c)!

But that’s not all! FORMER ORANGE COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY MR. EDWARD WELBOURN adds:

Keep in mind that a conviction for reckless driving will affect your driving records because it adds two points to your driving record.

If there’s any justice in the world, Skylar will spend a few days sulking in, and protesting the cell phone ban from, a stuffy slammer somewhere in the Golden State.

After all, the DA has everything he needs to score a conviction, and that brings us to Skylar’s final accomplishment that earned him this nomination: He had a friend videotape for posterity (and their independent film company! SHAMELESS PLUG!) all the illegal things he was doing behind the wheel!

So, I have just one thing to say to him:

YOU!! Skylar Stone!

Out of the gene pool!!

Here’s something especially for the voters of Alabama’s Third Congressional District.

You already know that Republican incumbent congressman Mike Rogers will face off against Democratic newcomer Josh Segall in the fall. The blogs have been abuzz with the potential that exists for this to become a competitive contest: Danny over at Doc’s has opined on reported poll numbers in the race and Segall’s surprising fundraising strength, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently put the contest on its Red2Blue Emerging Races List.

This is one of the contests where observers have wondered how much help Rogers will be able to get from the National Republican Congressional Committee and whether that open question leaves Rogers even more vulnerable than he would be otherwise, given the political climate of the country.

On Wednesday, Segall garnered a mention in the Alabama Republican Party’s daily “Good Morning, Democrats” feature (which we’ve discussed here before), which I’ve posted here in its entirety:

In 2006, one of your most influential and powerful leaders, Nancy Pelosi, gave a tremendous and impactful speech topping off your Party’s achievement of a majority in Congress.  To follow are a couple of excerpts:

“Today the American people voted for change, and they voted for Democrats to take our country in a new direction….from sea to shining sea, the American people voted for change…today we have made history, now let us make progress.”(Pelosi, Nov. 2006)

How quickly we forget that 2008 isn’t the first time that you asked voters to let you lead them towards the promised land of change.  Prior to your Speaker delivering this eloquent speech, gas was at a national average of $2.18/gallon and the approval rating for Congress was 23% (Gallup 10/06).  Fast forward a year and a half, AAA reports the national average price per gallon of gas is $4.11 and your approval rating in Congress after a year and a half of change and new beginnings is 9% (Rassmusen 7/08).  That’s right, under your leadership, after big promises and great speeches: the approval rating of Congress is at the lowest ever in history.  As the majority, you have tried to translate Pelosi’s vision into a new plan for America – the vision was blurred and only 9% of Americans approve of the plan. Speeches and dreams are great, but real progress is when promises of change translates into action that keeps us safe, puts a little more “change” in our pockets, educates our children, etc… The people have spoken, if not yelled, and 91% of voters do not approve of your leadership – your Party promises change, but whether it comes from Pelosi, Bright, Obama, Griffith, Reid or Segall, history proves that you can not deliver.

No surprise that Republicans would hammer Democrats positioning themselves on the conservative side of their party’s spectrum. But what does Segall think of being lumped in with the Pelosi crowd?

I asked and got this back from his campaign manager, Don Weigel:

The idea that Josh cannot deliver is foolish; he already has.  He founded an organization that brought different groups of people together for a common cause.  He’s seen first-hand how important it is that people speak up about what they want and need.  That’s why Josh will be holding town halls meetings across this district - to hear directly from the people what he can do to help them.  And he has pledged to hold two town hall meetings in every county, every year as long as he is in office.

Anyone who is following our race knows that Josh is focused on being an independent voice for East Alabama. So many of our problems are caused because politicians cave to their party and their biggest donors leave the people of their district in the dust.  That is part of the culture of Washington that Josh is campaigning to change.

Josh is running because he believes that a congressman must put his district above everything else - including his party.  Mike Rogers’ lack of independence from his party and his donors is the very thing that is at issue in this campaign.  Rogers voted to send jobs overseas, voted to give our tax dollars to big oil, and voted against health care funding for our troops to name just a few examples.  Alabama wants independence and that’s what Josh is offering.

We will combat the GOP’s attempts to paint us as anything with the truth about Josh’s record of public service and strong desire to represent the people, not Nancy Pelosi or the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.  A congressman’s job is to represent the people of their district, and the people of the 3rd district of Alabama have a strong independent streak - they vote for the person, not the political party that person belongs to.

From the sounds of that, Segall may well be designing the least partisan campaign on the ballot this year.

So, if you live in the Third District, will you vote on the party or the person? What are the issues that will drive your vote this year? I want to hear from you. 

Now, HERE’S something new!!

Oil was up $5 a barrel today to hit another high.

This time, tensions with Iran, the possibility of renewed violence in Nigeria and a planned labor strike in Brazil are blamed for the spike.

How long are Americans going to tolerate this?

How long are Americans’ leaders going to tolerate this?

What is it going to take for us to realize that we have to take whatever steps we can to make ourselves energy independent?

Because apparently, $4.10 for a gallon of gas isn’t enough.

I would write about this from the makeup file, since it happened while I was out of town, but I’ll give you this updated story from the New York Times (via the Tuscaloosa News) instead:

Federal and state authorities are looking into accusations of voting fraud in three largely black counties of Alabama, including Perry and Lowndes Counties, which played a historic role in the struggle for black voting rights in the 1960s.

In May, a local citizens group gathered affidavits detailing several cases in which at least one Democratic county official paid citizens for their votes, or encouraged them to vote multiple times. The affidavits were presented to state officials in Montgomery, the capital, and after the June 3 primary, the Alabama attorney general, Troy King, a Republican, seized voting records from the primary election in Bullock, Lowndes and Perry Counties.

The United States Department of Justice posted a team of observers to monitor the primary, and the Alabama secretary of state, Beth Chapman, a Republican, reported hearing from one of the federal observers that a candidate had “free rein” of a polling place, where campaigning is prohibited, passing out sample ballots and instructing voters how to vote.

This story is disquieting on many levels. Just as disturbing as the obvious concerns about voting fraud is the racial undertone permeating the story.

According to the Times:

Blacks hold a majority on the five-member Perry County Commission. And an influential political organization, the Perry County Civic League, founded during the civil rights movement by one of the movement’s leaders, Albert Turner Sr., plays a large role in filling other offices.

The “biracial citizens group” The Democracy Defense League is the organization that gathered the affidavits and drew attention to the irregularities after being “critical of voting abuses in the area for the last three years,” the Timessaid.

Hence, the racial tension.

“The Republican Party has an unscripted mandate to target Democratic counties, and African-Americans particularly,” county commissioner Albert Turner Jr. told the Times.

But it sure seems more about numbers—particularly, the numbers of absentee ballots used in the election on June 3.

In that contest, 1,114 voters—fully 25 percent of the total electorate—cast absentee ballots. That’s a percentage that is six times the state average and a figure that Chapman called “astronomical.” By way of comparison, only 365 absentee ballots were cast that day in Jefferson County, home to Birmingham and a population 60 times that of Perry County.

In addition, the DDL submitted affidavits alleging that some people voted six times in the same election, the Times said. One young man told DDL officials he had been paid by local officials to use an absentee ballot ever since he had been eligible to vote.

“The last time I voted, I was paid $30,” he said this week. “It’s pretty common. It ain’t nothing new.”

But not all Democrats in Perry County believe the investigation is racially or politically motivated. According to the Times:

The Perry County district attorney, Michael W. Jackson, a Democrat and the first black to be elected to the post, called early in June for a federal investigation into possible voting irregularities, particularly focusing on absentee ballots.

“Just the volume, the sheer number of it,” Mr. Jackson said in an interview. “For there to be that many, it’s suspicious. When you get the absentee ballots, it’s a lot easier to pull that off, forge their names, vote for them.”

He added, “It certainly needs to be looked at, because given the historic significance of Perry County, we want to make sure candidates and the public have a fair process.”

Read more first-person accounts of fraud in the rest of the Times story here.

And the most sinister aspect of these allegations is the despicable irony that all these things are alleged in an area there the modern civil rights movement was born. From the Times:

The incongruity is lost on no one here. It was here in downtown Marion on a night in 1965 that an Alabama trooper flung a young local activist against a cigarette machine and then shot him in the stomach. And that killing led directly to the Voting Rights Act enfranchising blacks throughout the South.

Just as Alabama is gearing up to prosecute the state trooper who acknowledges having fired on the activist, Jimmie Lee Jackson, 43 years ago, federal agents came to the state last month to observe whether voting is free of fraud.

What those who sell their votes fail—or simply refuse—to recognize is that by selling their votes, they are disenfranchising themselves all over again, the police dogs and sit-ins and Freedom Rides and marches and fire hoses notwithstanding.

Take some time to read the complete Times article. It’s an excellent overview of the situation, the investigation and the shockingly blasé attitudes about the integrity of the vote that prevail these areas, where the right to vote freely was once worth the precious human lives of many who died to secure it. 

Since corporate newspaper management won’t listen to their employees about how their compulsive cuts are ravaging the industry, one guy thinks he has the solution: Talk to them in language they’ll understand—in other words, sue them.

From the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer:

A News & Observer subscriber is suing the newspaper for cutting staff and the size of the paper.

Keith Hempstead, a Durham lawyer, filed the suit last month in Wake Superior Court. He says he renewed his subscription in May just before the paper announced on June 16 the layoffs of 70 staff members and cuts in news pages.

The paper, he says, is now not worth what he signed up for and therefore the cuts breached the paper’s contract with him ...

In a phone interview today, Hempstead, 42, said he could cancel his subscription but filed the suit to make a point.

“I wanted to get the newspaper’s attention and the news industry’s attention,” said Hempstead, who is a former reporter at the Fayetteville Observer, adding that he loves The News & Observer.

“I hate to see what companies that run newspapers are doing to the product,” Hempstead said. “The idea that taking the most important product and reducing the amount of news and getting rid of staff to me seems pointless to how you should run a newspaper business.”

Hempstead told the N&O that he wants to “keep the paper from reducing news coverage and wants the newspaper industry to revisit its business model.”

But N&O management was too busy joking about the lawsuit to get the message.

“We’ve had some really good papers recently, and they’re worth more than the 36 cents a day that Mr. Hempstead is paying us,” (executive editor John) Drescher said.

“In fact, he owes me money,” Drescher continued. “So when he gets a lawyer, he can work with my lawyer and figure out how much he’s going to pay me for the excellent coverage he’s been getting recently.”

I can sense the cooperative spirit from here.