I feverishly hated Billy Ray Cyrus. His cruddy look, the cruddy music, the cruddy . . . everything.

Now, when I see my daughter being a fan of his daughter, my perspective is given a jolt. Miley (short sidetrack: Her name isn’t Miley - she got that nickname from her dad, the aformentioned and formerly reprehensible Billy Ray, who used to call her “Smiley Miley") is a well-adjusted “tween” star; my daughter looks up to her, and looks down on the Britneys, Lindsays, and Parises that pollute this world.

Though I still loathe everything Billy Ray Cyrus has done in his professional career (from the “Achey Breakey” to “Doc” on PAX), he has proven me wrong; I not only think he’s the man of the year - he’s the man of the last 1.5 decades. He is a great, great man, as evidenced by his daughter, Smiley Miley, whose biggest scandal is showing her bare back on a magazine cover.

I am proud that Myley Cyrus is one of my daughter’s idols; as a result, I am proud to say that Billy Ray is now one of my idols. He is clearly a gentleman with proper ideals and perspective, who cast away the temptations of stardom in favor of the lost ideal of “doing the right thing”.

Of course, this is just the meaningless opening of the meaningless Olympics, but just imagine if it applied for the duration:
Germans boycott Olympics! Oh, my gosh, who would stagger around clumsily?
(I can say that, because I’m Celtic & white: we’re fair joke game.)

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080329/D8VMPPIO0.html

I blame George W. Bush.

McCain ‘08

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda

Even if Al-Q were “made up”, the timeframe is before Bush was even considering a run for president; but, of course, he invented it to prosecute the “bad guy of their choice”.

So let’s get this straight. Bush, the idiot, illegitimate president, teamed up with Clinton and his Administration. Becoming pals with the man that had ended his father’s presidency, the simpleton younger Bush came up with a devious plot to someday try to arrest someone (bin Laden) who was then a very low-profile local terrorist wannabe (kind of like now). Bush had the foresight to know that bin Laden would someday orchestrate a massive organization that he could bid his presidency on, so he brainstormed with Bubba, who surely wanted his pal GWB to be president instead of his own AlGore, to invent this organization, so future prosecutions could ensue. Bubba, to throw us commoners off the trail, endorsed AlGore over GWB to help in a close, contested election, since the wise sage Maharishi Gore would never go along with such a devious plot, as it would interrupt his own mission of saving the world.
All of this before the massive attack happened, and while not basing his first campaign on terrorism, again, I suppose, just to hoodwink us, and then lauch the 9/11 attacks himself (all while being an idiot, of course).

Makes perfect sense, now that I’ve typed it out. I think there’s a Follett novel in there, too.

Fight the power!!!!

Jurors deliberated for nearly 8 1/2 hours before recommending that Kevin Underwood, 28, be put to death for killing Jamie Rose Bolin. He was convicted last week of first-degree murder.

Underwood, who showed no emotion as the verdict was read, was handcuffed and led from the courtroom while 10 armed deputies stood guard. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced on April 3.

His mother, Connie Underwood, sobbed quietly after the verdict was announced.

Jamie’s father, Curtis Bolin, had little to say. “I still have to absorb it,” he said, overcome with emotion.

During closing arguments, prosecutors argued that Underwood should be put to death because he is plagued by deviant sexual fantasies that make him want to kill, rape, torture and eat his victims.

Jurors also had the option of sentencing Underwood to life in prison, either with or without the possibility of parole. For him to be sentenced to death, prosecutors needed to prove either that he is a continuing threat to society or that the crime was heinous, atrocious and cruel.

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Relatives of Convicted Okla. Child Murderer Describe His Emotional Difficulties as a Young Boy Prosecutor Greg Mashburn recounted the final moments of Jamie’s life, struggling for air as the former grocery stocker suffocated her after luring her into his Purcell apartment.

“This was the worst of the worst,” Mashburn said as he displayed some of the items found in Underwood’s apartment, including a cutting board prosecutors say he used to beat the victim before suffocating her.”