Smith Vs. Bell: It Could Be Bush Vs. Gore All Over

Bush Vs. Gore, Round 2 (kinda)

Valerie Garner reports in Roanoke Free Press that 19th Senatorial District candidate Brandon Bell has challenged Republican Ralph Smith, who needs a script to order coffee, to a debate prior to their election showdown in a few weeks.

The speculation on Val's Facebook page from Bill Carder (a former Republican member of Roanoke City Council; Smith was mayor) is that Smith will decline unless he is perceived "by his handlers" to be behind, in which case he will debate, but ignore questions and stay on a message proscribed for him. If he can remember it.

If Smith is to debate, he'll have to do better than take his intellectual penknife to a bazooka fight. In a straight-up battle of words, he'd have no chance, but then George Bush had no chance against Al Gore until people began to give Bush points for breathing while Gore's score was reduced every time he said anything intelligent, which was with every sentence. Bush crushed him by being stupid because so many voters share that trait with Bush. They want somebody as dumb as they are so they won't feel inferior.

Smith even had the brass to criticize his assumed Democratic opponent in this race because he's smart and the people of Floyd and Franklin Counties, he says, won't like that one little bit.


(Photo: time.com)

Liberal Brain Vs. Conservative Brain: A Scientific Study

Conservatives fear what they don't understand.

Just ran across the results of a fascinating study I missed that ran here in April. The study purports to determine the difference between the brains of liberals and conservatives (OK, liberal buddies, stop with the jokes about conservatives not having a brain to study).

The April 7 issue of Current Biology has this revealing information, gleaned from a study of 90 young people (questionnaire, MRI scan) and determined that "structural differences support the notion that liberals are better equipped to make sense of conflicting information while conservatives are better able to recognize a threat." I won't go into the structural differences here, but the link will explain them to you.

Liberals are "open to new experiences."

According to the CBS story, study author Dr. Ryota Kanai of the University College of London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, says, "Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual's political orientation. Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure."

The study seems to confirm "several previous reports showing that conservatives are more sensitive to feel threatened or anxious in the face of uncertainty, while liberals tend to be more open to new experiences."

(Photos: Scared man, grist.org; looking to the horizon, trekearth.com)

Quote of the Day II: Rudy's a Fraud

Rudy the fraud

Lawrence O'Donnell went off on  former presidential candidate and 9/11 New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani last night. Here's what he said (and here's the video):

"Despite the painful truth of these details, which show Rudy Giuliani to have been an ego-driven incompetent in dealing with the threat of terrorism in New York City ... most of the media will continue to portray him as one of the heroes of 9/11. Know this: there is no more fraudulent public image in our politics."

This is an epic rant. Just sizzling. And lots of fun.

Quote of the Day: Hannity Questions Obama's Smarts

Hannity and another genius

Had to happen. The loveable and bubbly Sean Hannity had a wheel come off yesterday when responding to a Politico story with the headline, "Is Rick Perry Dumb?" (Hint: yes).

Here's Hannity's response:

"The question of intelligence is one the mainstream media [of which Hannity is a member] never bothered to ask about President Obama ... Every liberal's a genius that drives the economy into a ditch [the economy was driven into a ditch by George Bush, a classic liberal] ... I don't think he's that smart [uh, compared to what? Say Ann Coulter, maybe?]."

More Crapola Desguised as a Newspaper

Oh, lord help us all, the local daily is expanding those awful little zoned editions--the ones written and photographed for free by "citizen journalists"--into Blacksburg and Christiansburg, replacing the daily edition (The Current) that has been a mainstay competitor for the small papers of the area for years.

The paper has discovered that these sad little publications, which cost very little to publish, can be quite lucrative and it appears we're taking yet another step away from journalism and into ... well, whatever the hell this self-congratulatory black hole is.

Here's part of the press release:

A local daily in Roanoke today announced the launch of new print and online products to serve New River Valley readers. The fresh new print publication called The Burgs and companion website ... will provide local news to readers, drawing on much of the content from The Current, but offering even more news and information about Blacksburg, Christiansburg and neighboring communities.

"The two will debut the week of Sept. 25 and include these changes:

●     Print subscribers in the New River Valley will receive The Burgs on Thursdays through Sundays. The new publication will replace The Current, a zoned product that publishes Tuesdays through Sundays. The new publication will include content now featured in The Current, plus draw on additional photos and community information contributed by readers.

●     A new website will provide online readers with daily updates of breaking news and stories that reflect the communities of the New River Valley. The site will provide a closer look at news and achievements in local schools, businesses and youth sports. Users will be invited to upload photos, post community information and share their submissions via The Burgs and social media.

●     In addition to The Burgs, readers can continue to find breaking news and in-depth enterprise reporting about the New River Valley in the pages of [a local daily] throughout the week.

The staffing will include a community content coordinator and two community journalists who will develop relationships with schools, community organizations and businesses to produce stories and encourage those groups to contribute content.

Mural Commission: LewisGale Gets It Right

Chuck Almarez's mural photo

OK, now we're swimming with the fishes. LewisGale Regional Health System, the health care facility based in Salem, has hired a local photographer to create a mural for its new  Senior Transitions Unit at LG Hospital Alleghany. The photographer is Chuck Almarez, who is putting the final touches on as we speak.

This commission is a recognition that there is talent in this region. It is in stark contrast to the murals so prominently displayed at one of the region's signature buildings, Roanoke City Market, whose grand re-opening will be marked Labor Day Weekend with a celebration. None of the murals, commissioned by the City of Roanoke, is done by an artist from the city, the region or even the state.

Here's part of the LewisGale press release: "Almarez is creating five murals and three prints that will be displayed in the treatment area and waiting room. Two of the murals are large in scale, four feet by 15 feet, and are landscape images photographed by Almarez of Douthat Lake and Lost River Farm.

"Another mural captures the rich history of the community with an image of the C & O Railway Heritage Center in the foreground and the Town of Clifton Forge and Alleghany Highlands in the background. One of the canvas prints reflects Falling Spring from the top of the falls.

"'These images project peace and tranquility and should be very comforting to the seniors. I also hope the murals will bring some good memories to those who view them,'" says Almarez.

Photo(s) of the Day: Which Is Which?

I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to notice this, but look at the two pictures here and tell me who's who. The resemblance is striking and I'm wondering if maybe they're brothers.

You tell me: which is which? Dudley Do Right and Rick Perry. Separated at birth?

(Bottom photo: mediate.com)

Quote of the Day: Juggling Everybody's Balls

The following quote, which I had printed and framed after it ran in the old Blue Ridge Business Journal, which I was editing at the time, is a marvelous example of our stories getting away from us on occasion.

The story was a profile of a hotel manager in Roanoke named Herman Turk and writer Ellen Davies (one of my favorites, by the way) quoted him thusly:

"The big challenge for me as a manager in this business is trying to juggle balls. I look at my job as trying to facilitate the operation of a top quality hotel and to do that I need to juggle the balls of our associates, our guests and our owner (T.A. Carter)."

Busy man, that Herman Turk.

(Photo: bradbyers.com)