Thomason Tracts

Lipscomb officer who shot man was fired after two Birmingham shootings- al.com

A Lipscomb police officer shot a man Christmas Eve. I didn’t write about it here because it was Christmas, plus I didn’t think it was particularly funny. However, it turns out that this is his third shooting! He was fired by Birmingham PD, as the headline said, after shooting #2. Lipscomb has a tradition of hiring cops fired by other local departments.

Tiger on the Loose: Can It Happen Here? - New York Times

Melanie Bouyer, recently appointed to the Lipscomb city council, has to resign because it turns out she doesn’t live in the district she represents. I can’t find a link yet, the AL.com story has apparently gone down the rabbit hole.

Birmingham plans science fiction convention to rival DragonCon- al.com

Of course the whole idea of holding a science fiction convention in Birmingham is to have one as big as Atlanta’s. Duh. Hopefully this will last long enough so they can hold it in the Birmingdome.

Berg Confirmed For New Dune

Peter Berg’s great; however, so is David Lynch (in a completely different way) and his Dune sucked. As did the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries. I’m not a big Dune guy, but I recognize that the book has its merits: being adaptable into a comprehendable film is not one on them.

Bah, Humbug! Bama not looking forward to a Shreveport Christmas- al.com

Let’s face it, Nick Saban is a jerk. Claiming that it would be his only chance to practice under the lights, he’s having his team spend Christmas night practicing. They’re really excited about it, as you might expect.

Birmingham school system has twice as many administrators with six-figure salaries than the larger Jefferson County- al.com

Sometimes, Larry Langford has a point:

“I guarantee if this system was not in the situation it is in now, nobody would care how much they make,” he said. “But now, people have a right to start questioning salaries.”

The point being:

• Twice as many administrators in the Birmingham school system make $100,000 or more as do in the Jefferson County school system, even though Jefferson County is larger.
  
• The Birmingham school system is shrinking, and many schools are about to close; two schools already have, with more than 400 employees laid off.
  
• My guess is, none of these administrators making six figures was among the layoffs.
  
• The schools suck.

Other than that, everything’s great.

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, investor want extension to respond to subpoena- al.com

However, I could suggest that BMLL is just trying to get enough time to arrange fleeing the country.

McGregor plans to bring electronic bingo to Birmingham dog track- al.com

I remember when it was a horse track. Actually, they wanted it to be this upscale sort of thing, but that never worked, largely because the horse racing industry is dying. There’s still an Alabama Derby out there, but it’s held in Maryland or some place like that. Anyway, this place just gets more and more trashy, leading up to electronic bingo. Guess who thinks it’s a super idea!

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, who then was mayor-elect and as mayor now holds a seat on the racing commission, attended the Oct. 24 commission meeting and endorsed the deal, minutes of that meeting indicate.

Langford also recently said he favors a location adjacent to the dog track for a 60,000-seat sports dome that business leaders want to be built downtown at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

Whatever McGregor wants, I guess.