Bob Johnson: "Lawsuit to Taco Bell: Where's the beef?" (Associated Press)
The meat mixture sold by Taco Bell restaurants contains binders and extenders and does not meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as "beef," according to the legal complaint.
The Universe Next Door: Essay by Paul Di Filippo
The concept of the multiverse-a plethora of individually infinite universes of every conceivable nature, coexisting yet separated from each other in some fashion-holds a particular horror for those who fancy that their lives derive meaning and ethical stature only from a sense of self-determined uniqueness.
"Theodore Roosevelt's History of the United States: His Own Words" by Daniel Ruddy: A review by Franklin Foer
Ruddy is right to dwell on Roosevelt's histories. They provide a sense of the man, removed from his cultist followers and ideological detractors. From his narratives, you can see why Van Wyck Brooks could call him a "genius" and also why William James could denounce his state of permanent adolescence. You can see his irresistible vitality and keen descriptive eye, as well as his ridiculous veneration of militarism for manliness' sake.
A Restless Soul Revealed (Wall Street Journal)
Will Friedwald reviews two books on the jazz great Stan Kenton, including his daughter's memoir "Love Affair," that chronicles, as the book's subtitle has it, "a forbidden father-daughter union."
Sophie Heawood: "Amy Adams: punching above her weight" (Guardian)
Italian-born, Mormon-raised and the daughter of a restaurant singer and female bodybuilder… Amy Adams has had the sort of upbringing that would prepare an actress for almost any role. But it was the three weeks she spent working in a "boob bar" that proved most useful in 'The Fighter,' her latest Oscar-tipped movie.
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States, designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping. Most have been repealed, have been declared unconstitutional, or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and occasionally almost all commerce, on Sundays are still enforced in many areas.
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Religious Standards
mj wrote:
I actually remember these things
Blue laws generally enforced moral standards, particularly, respect for the Sabbath. When I was a kid, Sunday shopping was unheard of.
Leo said:
A blue law prohibits local liquor sales on Sunday.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, answered:
A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States,
designed to enforce religious standards
Marian replied:
I know in Philly you can't buy beer on Sunday. I think it is due to religious reasons.
Joe B responded:
The Blue Law did not allow stores to be
open on sunday.
Adam answered:
Broadly stated, morality.
DanD wrote:
Is it where J. Belushi and Dan Akaroid can't (couldn't) get a job?
Or maybe where all the gay boys (and gals) go to kick back and suck on
a dubie (of sorts)?
Actually, blue laws (still in some places) irrationally punish normal
people for violating the questionably moral dictates of the Christian
faith! Wanna buy some booze on the Sabbath (Sunday-sabbath Sally, not
Saturday)? Well, it used to be that, on the first day of the week,
Old South blue laws in many rural areas didn't allow that kind of
sinful conduct (unless it was officially stuffed in a small bottle
labelled as "medicine," which old ladies usually sucked down at
church).
The whole of Utah is (still) mostly a blue-law state (as Bart
frequently lets us know) ... and yes, I'm actually talkin' about how
the government there treats "freedom" among all those
quasi-Christianite Mormons who hide their own tyranny behind a
law-enforcement badge..
Basically, blue-laws were developed so that the fanatics of Jebus
could more righteously get their new-testament orthodox on in an
old-testament way.
Steven B replied:
Blue laws are designed to enforce the moronic religious f'tard views held by the inbred, open mouth breathing, intellectually lazy populace of a community.
No alcohol allowed if bare female breasts are present.
No beer sales on Sunday as it pisses off Jesus and he will destroy us all with a thought.
No stores open until after 1pm on Sunday as it pisses off Jesus and he will destroy us all with a thought.
No hunting on Sunday
No fishing on Sunday
No swimming on Sunday
No open fires on Sunday
No camping on Sunday
This is your park.
Enjoy yourself.
Except on Sunday.
Charlie answered:
A law intended to enforce religious standards. Usually this refers to laws restricting commercial activities on Sunday. The origin of the term "blue law" is uncertain.
Britannica Online - blue law, in U.S. history, a law forbidding certain secular activities on Sunday. The name may derive from Samuel A. Peters's General History of Connecticut (1781), which purported to list the stiff Sabbath regulations at New Haven, Connecticut; the work was printed on blue paper. A more probable derivation is based on an 18th-century usage of the word blue meaning "rigidly moral" in a disparaging sense. Strictest in Puritan, Bible-oriented communities, blue laws usually forbade regular work on Sunday, plus any buying, selling, traveling, public entertainment, or sports. Peters's account of the New Haven Puritan government's codes has been proved unreliable. ...:
blue law, in U.S. history, a law forbidding certain secular activities on Sunday. The name may derive from Samuel A. Peters's General History of Connecticut (1781), which purported to list the stiff Sabbath regulations at New Haven, Connecticut; the work was printed on blue paper. A more probable derivation is based on an 18th-century usage of the word blue meaning "rigidly moral" in a disparaging sense. Strictest in Puritan, Bible-oriented communities, blue laws usually forbade regular work on Sunday, plus any buying, selling, traveling, public entertainment, or sports. Peters's account of the New Haven Puritan government's codes has been proved unreliable. ...
Probably less well known than Russell's paradox is Russell's teapot:
If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.
~Bertrand Russell
Tom B responded:
Morality; I first came across them in 1976 when I found almost all stores closed on Sunday in Missouri.
Sally said:
Yes, I live 12 miles from the heart on NYC - across the Hudson River in Bergen County, NJ. Here, a 'late night' at the Mall/Target/food stores (to shop) is 8 PM, we can't pump our own gas because of State Law, and in our county (only our county in Jersey) we have the GD "Blue Laws" which are supposed to force us to "observe religion," and not to SHOP on Sundays - natch all the bars and liquor stores are verboten (we are supposed to be home reading the bible I guess)! It's absurd, and I HATE IT!! That being said, the people around here like it - they've mostly grown up with it, and think, "It's nice," #%^*@ idiots! The rest of us just drive in ANY DIRECTION to the counties and/or other states to civilization...
Observant Jews walking the empty parking lots on Sunday, in Bergen Cnty, NJ!
Oy Vey,
PS: Note to B2BB, did I read that a big snow storm was forecast up there real soon? (Love ya, B2BB)
MAM wrote:
To enforce moral standards, particularly the observance of the Sabbath. Most have been repealed or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions of the sale on Sundays of alcoholic beverages, automobiles, and occasionally almost all commerce, are still enforced in some areas. The word "blue" was commonly used in the eighteenth century as a disparaging reference to rigid moral codes and those who observed them ("bluenoses").
And, Joe S replied:
Puritan? It's late, I didn't look it up.
I write to you in a sense of enjoyment of Bartcop Entertainment, but this latest situation with the Vulgar Pigboy has got so many people going it has spread over to your page while waiting for the big hammer to publish a new issue.
My thoughts on the Vulgar Pigboy are as such - when I try to speak on the issue of this evil man, I find myself outnumbered by so many here who refuse to believe he can do wrong. When he was caught returning home from the Dominican Republic with that Viagra, that should have been a red flag right there, warranting an investigation, but no suck luck.
When he revealed that he once threatened an investigative reporter, his biggest threat being, "We're going to find out where your kids go to school", there was another red flag. Once again, no such investigation.
I still hold out hope that there will be an investigation of this evil man, by either Chris Hansen (of "Dateline NBC") or Matt Taibbi (of Rolling Stone magazine), and given the purchase of NBC by Comcast, I am leaning toward Rolling Stone for the work. True, there are some evil fans of the Vulgar Pigboy who may just make threats to anyone who dares to criticize him, even the Pigboy himself can threaten, but I feel that this investigation should take place.
In the meantime, the schedule for the television is a fine thing, and I do enjoy checking to see what TCM has on the roster for the day.
Thanks for listening, and I hope we can win over the Vulgar Pigboy!
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by a RERUN'Undercover Boss', then the FRESH made-for-TV-movie 'The Lost Valentine'.
NBC opens the night with 'Dateline', followed by the movie 'National Treasure: Book Of Secrets'.
ABC begins the night with a FRESH'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition', then a RERUN'Desperate Housewives'.
The CW offers an old 'Friends', followed by another old 'Friends', then the movie 'Evelyn'.
Faux fills the night on the East Coast with LIVE'NFL Football: The Pro Bowl', then pads the left coast with old 'Simpson's.
MY has an old 'How I Met Your Mother', followed by another old 'How I Met Your Mother', then an old 'The Closer', followed by another old 'The Closer'.
AMC offers the movie 'Open Range', followed by the movie 'Seraphim Falls', then the movie 'Seraphim Falls', again.
BBC -
[6:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 9 Usher, Miley Cyrus
[7:00 AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 9 Fiesta Sunrise
[8:00 AM] Ramsay's Best Restaurant - Ep 8 Spanish
[9:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[10:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[11:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[12:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[1:00 PM] The X-Files - Ep 7 Ghost in the Machine
[2:00 PM] The X-Files - Ep 8 Ice
[3:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 13 Deja Q
[4:00 PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 14 A Matter of Perspective
[5:00 PM] Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life
[6:00 PM] Secret Wilderness: Japan
[7:00 PM] A Bear's Story
[7:30 PM] The King's Speech: Behind The Scenes
[8:00 PM] Goldfinger
[10:30 PM] Goldfinger
[1:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[2:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[3:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[4:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[5:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 5 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', another 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', still another 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Atlanta'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again', 'Jeff Foxworthy: Totally Committed', 'Jeff Dunham: Spark Of Insanity', and 'The Comedy Central Roast Of Larry The Cable Guy'.
FX has the movie 'Hancock', followed by the movie 'The Incredible Hulk'.
History has 'Ax Men', another 'Ax Men', followed by a FRESH'Ax Men', 'Pawn Stars', and another 'Pawn Stars'.
IFC -
[6:00 AM] Benny & Joon
[8:15 AM] Le Divorce
[10:45 AM] Invincible
[1:30 PM] The Larry Sanders Show
[2:00 PM] The Larry Sanders Show
[2:35 PM] The Larry Sanders Show
[3:10 PM] Occupations
[3:15 PM] Pride
[5:30 PM] Sling Blade
[8:30 PM] Kalifornia
[11:00 PM] Onion News Network
[11:30 PM] Portlandia
[12:00 AM] Freaks and Geeks
[1:00 AM] Undeclared
[1:30 AM] Mr. Show With Bob and David
[2:05 AM] Sling Blade
[5:00 AM] Onion News Network
[5:30 AM] Portlandia (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[7:25 AM] Liberty Kid
[9:00 AM] Big Ideas
[9:30 AM] Big Ideas
[10:00 AM] Cities On Speed - Cairo: Garbage (Episode 1, Season 1)
[11:00 AM] GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS - Flying Blind
[11:30 AM] GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS - Great Expectations
[12:00 PM] GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS - Out of the Closet
[12:30 PM] GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS - Til Death Do Us Part
[1:00 PM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Relaxes in Palm Springs (Episode 8, Season 1)
[1:30 PM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Hangs With the Cool Kids (Episode 9, Season 1)
[2:00 PM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Gets a Magazine Cover (Episode 10, Season 1)
[2:30 PM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Stands Out on the Red Carpet (Episode 11, Season 1)
[3:00 PM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Shines Under Stress (Episode 12, Season 1)
[3:30 PM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Does Another Classic Leno (Episode 13, Season 1)
[4:00 PM] I'm Gonna Explode
[5:45 PM] New Boy
[6:00 PM] A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Dawn Of The Dead', followed by the movie 'Jurassic Park II'.
Actress Ashley Judd uses her phone camera to record a Kentucky huddle during the second half of their NCAA college basketball game against Georgia in Lexington,Ky., Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011. Kentucky won the game 66-60.
Photo by Ed Reinke
The nation's largest cable TV company, Comcast Corp., took control of NBC Universal after the government shackled its behavior in the coming years to protect online video services such as Netflix and Hulu.
The deal closed shortly before midnight EST on Friday.
The takeover gave the cable-hookup company 51 percent control of NBC Universal, which owns the nation's fourth-ranked broadcaster, NBC; the Universal Pictures movie studio and related theme parks; and a bevy of cable channels including Bravo, E! and USA.
The combination had raised fears that Comcast might abuse its control of NBC Universal to favor its most valuable customers: the 23 million who rely on it for cable TV service and the 17 million who pay for Internet connections.
Actor Tim Conway poses for a picture before the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 29, 2011. The SAG Awards willbe presented on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Photo by Eric Thayer
Roger Ebert has enlisted some high-powered stand-ins to do voice-overs for his new TV show while finishing touches are made to his customized electronic voice.
Famed director Werner Herzog's German-accented voice read the script for a review of the film "My Dog Tulip" while Ebert typed during the show's debut Jan. 21 episode. On Friday, it would be famed newsman Bill Kurtis' voice filling in.
Ebert said in an e-mail to the Associated Press that he doesn't know yet who will be future voice-over guests.
CereProc, a Scottish firm, is creating a digitized version of Ebert's voice using vast recordings from his past TV shows.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich said Friday that he settled a lawsuit filed against a Capitol Hill cafeteria over a split tooth he says he suffered when he bit into an olive pit in a sandwich wrap.
The lawsuit filed in early January in Washington had sought $150,000 in damages from companies involved with the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount that reflected out-of-pocket costs, according to the parties involved.
The Ohio congressman said biting into the pit in April 2008 split a tooth down to the bone, caused excruciating pain and required reconfigured bridgework. The damaged tooth became infected, and he suffered a reaction to an antibiotic and an intestinal obstruction that required emergency medical attention, Kucinich said.
The initial dental implant to replace the split tooth failed and required a second attempt, he said. None of the dental expenses were covered by insurance, he said.
Swiss acrobat Freddy Nock balances down on the cable of a funicular on the Mount Corvatsch (3,303 m/9,908 ft) near the Swiss mountain resort of St. MoritzJanuary 29, 2011. Nock walked down over a distance of some 1,600 metres (5,249 ft)from the mountain station of the cable car in 3,303 metres (10,836 ft) altitude to the middle station (2,702 metres/8,865 ft altitude).
Photo by Arnd Wiegmann
While Britain has a public holiday to celebrate Prince William's wedding, one company is taking the party one step further with souvenir condoms that urge lovers to "lie back and think of England".
Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction is producing special celebration packs that bear the slogan: "Like a royal wedding, intercourse with a loved one is an unforgettable occasion".
Critics have dismissed the novelty condoms as "tasteless".
All manner of predictable unofficial souvenirs such as tea towels, chinaware and postcards have been rushed out by manufacturers, with condoms now joining the ranks.
Mel "Sugar Tits" Gibson's copy of the final cut of "The Beaver" was stolen from the mailbox outside his Malibu home on Wednesday.
Summit Entertainment gave Gibson a copy of the final cut to screen at home and put in his mailbox when he was done.
"When the courier came to pick it up, it wasn't there. They went out to check, and apparently someone prior to the courier took it out of the mailbox and made off with it," Lieutenant Rich Erickson of the Malibu/Lost Hills Station Sheriff's Department told The Hollywood Reporter.
Continues Erickson, "It's a $10 DVD. We're treating it as a petty theft at this point."
Rows of "Maneki Neko", also known as Fortune Cats, are displayed for sale during the Lunar New Year bazaar in Singapore's Chinatown January28, 2011. The raised left paw symbolises the welcome of good fortune and wealth. The Lunar New Year begins on February 3 and marks the start of the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese zodiac.
Photo by Kevin Lam
Bristol Palin won't be speaking to Washington University students about teen pregnancy and abstinence after an invitation was withdrawn on Friday because of protests.
The University Student Health Advisory Committee had proposed the appearance next month as part of Student Sexual Responsibility Week, and the Student Union Treasury had approved spending $20,000 to sponsor the panel featuring Palin.
But "because of the growing controversy among undergraduates over the decision to pay for her talk with student-generated funds" the committee and Palin decided against the appearance, the university said in a statement.
A "No thanks, Bristol" Facebook petition against the appearance was started by College Democrats shortly after the plan was announced Wednesday and hundreds of students signed it Thursday. Others expressed displeasure during a packed meeting on the St. Louis campus.
Having an abortion does not increase the risk of mental health problems, but having a baby does, one of the largest studies to compare the aftermath of both decisions suggests.
The research by Danish scientists further debunks the notion that terminating a pregnancy can trigger mental illness and shows postpartum depression to be much more of a factor.
Abortion in Denmark has been legal since 1973 - the same year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, which established a right to abortion.
The Danish study included 365,550 teenagers and women who had an abortion or first-time delivery between 1995 and 2007. None had a history of psychiatric problems that required hospitalization. Through various national registries, researchers were able to track mental health counseling at a hospital or outpatient facility before and after an abortion or delivery.
While first-time mothers had a lower rate of mental problems overall, the proportion of those seeking help after giving birth was dramatically higher. About 7 per 1,000 women got mental health help within a year of giving birth compared with 4 per 1,000 women pre-delivery.
Artist Tjaasa Gusfors uses a chainsaw as she works on ice statue of Jesus Christ outside the 'Tomaskyrkan' church in Vasteras, west of Stockholm,January 29, 2011. The ice block weighs 3 tonnes and was transported from Jukkasjarvi in northern Sweden to Vasteras.
Photo by Peter Arwidi
More than 65 years after World War Two, Adolf Hitler's last surviving bodyguard says that he can no longer respond to the continuous deluge of fan mail he receives from around the world, because of his advanced age.
Rochus Misch is 93 and uses a walking frame to move around his apartment. He told the Berliner Kurier tabloid that, with most of the letters he receives asking for autographs, it was "no longer possible" to reply because of his age.
"They (letters) come from Korea, from Knoxville, Tennessee, from Finland and Iceland -- and not one has a bad word to say," said Misch, who is believed to be the last man alive to have seen Hitler and other top-ranking Nazis in the flesh.
In the past Misch used to send fans autographed copies of wartime photos of himself in a neatly pressed SS uniform. Now the incoming fan mail, including letters and packages, piles up in his flat in south Berlin's leafy Rudow neighborhood.
A member of French street art company Generik Vapeur performs during the close of the National Festival Of Arts in the streets of Valparaiso city, 137km(85 miles) northwest of Santiago,January 29, 2011.
Photo by Eliseo Fernandez
A cluster of 300 artificial islands off Dubai's coast in the shape of a global map is stable, its developer Nakheel insists, despite a court claim alleging that "The World" was neglected and eroding away.
The islands, many of which represent individual countries and which can only be accessed by boat or helicopter, were meant to be one of the Gulf city-state's crowning developments.
Builders have announced plans for a few of the islands, but development has yet to begin on most of them.
A company contracted to provide logistics support to the islands filed a claim with a tribunal that handles cases related to the emirate's troubled Dubai World conglomerate, alleging that third-party developers had not been encouraged to develop the islands, and said they were being hit by erosion.
Comic David Frye, whose impressions of Presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson and other prominent political figures vaulted him to popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, has died in Las Vegas at the age of 77.
Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Saturday that Frye died of cardiopulmonary arrest at his home on Monday.
Frye's sister, Ruth Welch of Boynton Beach, Fla., says he was a genius who began by imitating neighbors in Brooklyn, N.Y., where they grew up.
She says her brother had an "ear for people's voices" and an "eye for their movements" that made his impressions very accurate.
Orang-utan baby Duran walks through its enclosure at the zoo in Dresden, Germany, on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. Duran was born on Jan. 30, 2010.
Photo by Matthias Rietschel
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
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Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better, amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican hypocrites?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
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