Partisanship and Religion in the Workplace.

Late last week I found the following printed on a sheet of paper and posted anonymously above the copier in the office where I work:

“Solution to the problem in Libya:
They want a new Muslim leader, I say give them ours…
Solves 2 problems.”

This item pissed me off, but I held off responding until I thought about it. As a manager, I have the ability to address the item to the entire staff, but am unsure if I too am just being partisan.

It bugs me for multiple reasons.  Not only is it tin-foil-hat, Obama-is-a-Muslim crap, it touches on religion and politics.  We work in a state government office, so we need to avoid partisanship.  I am considering the following statement to our staff:

"Last week I found some commentary posted above the copier that I found troubling.

The printed item (which I won’t reprint) could be seen as a silly joke. It could also be read as conspiracy theorist nonsense or partisanship in the workplace. At worst, it could be read as religious intolerance.

We all come from different backgrounds religiously, politically, and culturally. Overall we work well together. Our diversity is a real strength. Let’s keep it that way."

Am I just being too sensitive? What are your thoughts?

Read more...

Since A Beer Review...

..is the last thing on Smitty's mind due to being under the weather, a little review is in order.

Read more...

I hate liberals.

I am a liberal, but I really hate liberals. I think I might need therapy.

When the Republicans were kicking our butts in election after election by making the case that liberals looked down on others, they were right. We drove our smugmobiles, were isolated from reality by our textbook-driven theories of how the world should work vs. how the world does work.

We laughed at people who turned and voted for George Bush.

Liberals are anti-corporate, but seems very susceptible to corporate advertising and trends. Example: They love Toyota for the Prius, but forgive Toyota even though nearly every other car and truck they make gets worse mileage than a competitor.

We claim to support better health care, a clean environment, a secure retirement and on and on, but are so gullible that we bought into the whole free-trade, pro-capitalistic corporate crap that has lowered our standard of living, destroyed unionized labor, moved production to dirty manufacturing facilities, and otherwise undermined everything we as liberals stand for. For what? Short term corporate profits, and no better conditions for our fellow humans overseas.

Sorry this isn’t a piece of literary genius. I just felt like ranting.

Have a nice day.


R.I.P. Teddy.

Read more...

Friday Video Beer Review

Bear with us...technical difficulties...&$%&*^*%^* YouTube...Coming shortly...

**Update**

Nowhere on the Youtube site does it say anything about video length limitation. Apparently, you have a 10 minute limitation on the length of your videos. You don't get to find this out until you shoot, edit, and upload a 15 minute video. Then, and only then, does the site tell you that your "video [is] rejected (length of video is too long)." Then you have to do a help search for that phrase, and THEN YouTube tells you it's too long.

There are 150 pages of complaints about the fact that 1) it's bullshit that video length is limited, especially when everywhere you look on You Tube, there are thousands of videos over the 10-minute mark; and 2) it's even more bullshit they don't tell you until you try to upload a longer video THAT YOU WORKED VERY HARD ON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

So, I will have to RESHOOT my &*%&^%(*) video tonight when I get home, and post tomorrow.

Unless someone out there has another solution (the video upload on Blogger has a 100 MB limit; my video is about 300).....

Read more...

We still live...

More to come.

Read more...

Wicked Witch of Wayne County?

Have you guys caught wind of Shirley Nagel, dubbed by one blogger as the "Wicked Witch of Wayne County"? I'll bet you have, but since I just heard about it, I'll assume there must be other who have not heard.

One Shirley Nagel, of Grosse Point Farms, refused to give candy to children on Halloween if their parents were supporters of Obama! What kind of a crock of shit is that?! She apparently even had a sign out front that read "No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters." OMFG?!?! It's one thing for a couple of adults to hash out their political views in some less than savory ways... BUT LEAVE THE KIDS OUT OF IT!



One commenter on Buzzfeed said "And that's how many children learned to hate republicans. Not the brightest campaign idea."

Freep.com article

Read more...

The things I fear

I've had this nagging thought for a few weeks now. I wanted to get it on e-paper, in the hopes that the loyal readers of this fine blog can allay my fears. The source of my fears are as follows;

Barack Obama is currently leading the race for President of the United States, and by a comfortable margin. Like any campaign in a similar situation, the McCain campaign is going to do what it feels necessary to win the race, which at this point means going negative. That need became greater after last night, when Obama (by most objective measures) won the second presidential debate.

Ordinarily, this would be fine. The leading candidate would get his name dragged through the mud for a while, the election would happen, and everyone would go about their lives. But this year is different. The candidate is black, and we've never done this before.

America has made great progress in the last 50 years. But in pockets of this country there remain bastions of hatred, intolerance, and racism. Most of them are in the South, but that isn't the only place where hatred exists. And as the attacks on Senator Obama become more focused, I fear that some will take away a dangerously misinterpreted message.

For the record, I don't for a second believe that John McCain is race-bating. But some of the comments from his camapign, and especially from Sarah Palin, have taken the tone of "he's not one of us". He pals around with terrorists. He attends a dangerous America-hating church. He sees America less favorably than you do. And it's already started to take hold. People at McCain (and Obama) rallies are shouting things that are initiating Secret Service investigations.

The three outcomes I fear from here are;

1)The attacks work. McCain manages to bring Obama back in the polls, and he defeats Obama on election day. Black society gets PISSED; in their opinon, they've seen their brightest light in a generation doused by tactics of fear. Bigots nationwide feel vindicated and validated, and another generation of politics is defined by divisive politics.

2) The attacks fail, and McCain is 6-8 points down approaching election day. Intimidation of black voters ramps up. Voters are harassed and assaulted by angry good ol' boys. Perhaps a homemade pipe-bomb blows up a polling place in Savannah. Race relations are set back a decade (probably to pre-LA Riot status). And if McCain somehow wins as a result? The nation would riot. Atlanta burns. New Orleans consumes itself again. Detroit loses any progress its made in the last 20 years.

3) Nightmare scenario. The spectre raised by Senator Clinton near the end of the primaries. A lone hate-filled man with a twisted sense of morality destroys the morale of a nation with a single shot. And that nation turns on itself with hatred, fear, and anger. I shudder to think.

In general, I am afraid that the genie that has been kept in a bottle will be released, and segments of America will cry havoc and let slip the dogs of racial war. Someone, please tell me I'm exaggerating.

Read more...

Friday Beer Pepto Review

Considering the rough times at the Smitty household, and the great pressure Smitty is under to not only care for his loving family of five, but also deal with the pressure of supplying ATK’s 1.6 Million readers with a weekly beer review, I have decided to step up to the plate.

Nope, I will not offer a beer review. I cannot do that justice. Instead, in honor of the current condition of Smitty’s stomach, I offer you a review for every person who has drank a little too much, or had some nasty bug fly through their family like wildfire.

Today's review is common enough in Michigan that you can consistently buy it at Meijers. I recommend that you do. Today, we're looking at the cleverly-named Pepto-Bismol. Pepto, from the Greek word referring to the digestive system and Bismol, named after the active ingredient, which contains bismuth.

I tried the 16 oz, original flavor Pepto, which poured into the handy (included) plastic shot glass as a bright pink color with a fluffy, yet thin, milky head that stuck like thick lace down the side of the plastic cup. The foamy top was accentuated when properly shaken.

Huge aromatic, sugary scents and bubblegum assault my nose. Underneath it all, hidden but there when you pay attention, are some more earthy scents.

The taste is a notch-up from the more common Milk of Magnesia or generic versions. Cotton candy was the overwhelming flavor, with a surprising amount of natural cane sugar and a touch of corn-syrup popping through. This elixir would be completely out of control if it weren't for the judicious use of bismuth, which faded into a chalky finish under all that sweetness. It has a creamy and smooth mouth feel on the tongue, that coated, soothed and relieved.

This Pepto is pretty tame, but for those who want a slightly heavier body and prefer a higher bismuth content (BBV) there is also maximum strength. For those who prefer a more fruity taste, Cherry is also available.

This original Pepto though could be quaffed one after another as the trips to the bathroom build or for really rough stomachs. (Use as directed.)

Well done, Procter and Gamble.

Read more...

"Uncommitted" Launches First Ad

The Uncommitted campaign is heating up! Our favorite candidate is now up with his own ad.

Read more...

“Uncommitted” Seeks Democratic Nomination.

Disassociated Press

LANSING - In a press release today, a person only known as “Uncommitted” announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for President.

In the press release Uncommitted was quoted as saying:

"With a strong grassroots movement already up and running in Michigan, I think I have a shot at taking Michigan’s delegates to Denver."

Remarkably, Uncommitted is already on the ballot in Michigan and some pundits have him polling ahead of presumptive leader New York Senator Hillary Clinton, the only other lead candidate on the ballot. Senator John Edwards, Senator Barack Obama and other candidates asked to have their names removed from the ballot last fall in deference to national party rules.

Uncommitted was not clear in what platform he’ll run on, but did say:

"If you don’t like Clinton, you’ll love voting for me."

Calls to the Clinton campaign were not returned at press time.

For more information on Uncommitted’s candidacy:

MSNBC
CNN
NPR

Read more...

Year-End Housecleaning: Dickheads of the Year

As 2007 comes to a close, thank God, we need to do a little housecleaning. Just some minor tasks to get some stuff off our collective chests and get ready for 2008.

Usually, this is handled by a VH-1 special about Best Year Ever and other such "Best Of" shows, or Comedy Central's year-end roast of some sort. But compliments of Mrs. Smitty, I have stumbled across Dickheads of the Year by Bill Maher. They are listed in no particular order (though one could make the argument that it is ordered from "plain old dickhead" to "massive universe-collapsing dickhead"), as it starts with Michael Vick, who, while a total loser dickhead, does not reach the mighty dickheadity of the other dickheads on this list.


Take a gander. Add your own ideas and submissions to the comments section.

Read more...

We're #1!!

It is finished! Around the Keg is #1 on Google for the phrase Brewing Extravaganza!

I would like to thank all of our contributors and guests for your hard work and dilligence in getting Around the Keg as the #1 spot on Google for Brewing Extravaganza.

This is a very proud moment for us. We'll pop the cork on a nice bottle of Unibroue's Maudite to celebrate.

First: Brewing Extravaganza. Next: The World!

Read more...

Another Damn Meme

Fom over at george's place there appears to be another silly little meme running around.

The goal appears to be to find 5 phrases in various posts in your blog that when you google them actually make your blog the first search result.

So here's what sets Around the Keg apart and above all the rest. It's a proud, proud list:

1. large-ass megalopolis
2. October-Long Oktoberfest
3. The head is a behemoth perfection
4. a sordid tale of sex and betrayal at a beer festival
5. massive-beer-geeks

And those, my fellow keggers, are what set us apart from all the other blogs. Sex and betrayal at a beer festival, month-long celebrations, head, huge cities and beer geekery. I am bummed, though, that the phrase "brewing extravaganza" did not include this site. We must try harder, people.

Read more...

"Make sure your seatbacks and tray tables are in their upright... oh, forget it, we're all going to die anyway"

Travelling is usually an enlightening experience. This was certainly true of my recent three-day trip to visit my sister in New York City. Some of the gems I can share with you:

• If your flight is delayed due to poor weather at your destination airport, but later the airline cancels the delay and declares that they are going to "give it a shot", beware.
• If you are on such a flight, and the pilot orders the flight attendants to take their seats and suggests that passengers tighten their seatbelts, and the flight attendants reminds you that the "barf bags are in the seat pocket in front of you," you're in for a ride.
• People lose ALL sense of humor when their plane hits turbulence.
• New York is an absolutely fascinating town. And by town, I mean large-ass megalopolis. So much to see and do, and not just in Manhattan. I highly recommend it.
• New York cabbies must be some of the most skilled drivers in the world. I imagine it's what the Blue Angels would look like if they were talking on a cell phone in a foreign language while flying.
• If you are a visitor in New York City, you will stand out. There is no way to avoid it.
• The East River has a specific smell. It's like Justice Stewart's definition of pornography... I can't define it, but I know it when I smell it.
• The people of New York have a reputation for being assholes, but I didn't find that to be the case. Except for Jets fans on Sundays. They are, as one might guess, unbridled dickheads.
• Make sure that your flight isn't scheduled for the one day where it might be difficult to get to the airport.
• Arrive early for any flights out of LaGuardia. The security lines can snake back and forth around the entire Departures section. It's like the lines at Cedar Point, only without the fun ride at the end. Unless, of course, you end up on one of the flights I mentioned earlier.
• On a 7:30 a.m. flight, worry more about the 60-year-old guy next to you than the 6-month-old in the seat in front of you. Both of them will sleep through the flight. But only the 60-year-old will snore like a lumberjack the whole way.
• The three days you leave Michigan will always, ALWAYS be the nicest few days of the month weather-wise.

Anyone else have recent travel advice?

Read more...

Wacky Asians

Back in the 1980's, I had a Van Halen t-shirt that was pretty cool (in my mind). This shirt was like a lot of other 80's clothes, in that it had Japanese writing on it. I haven't a clue what it said, probably something about having relations with goats, but I didn't care. This fad, thankfully, ended. Apparently, in Asia, they still have a similar fad. Signs with English are very popular, though it is clear that something is lost in the translation.

Read more...