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The End of the World is Nigh!
Pac-Man. Coming to a theater near you.
How dare these commie atheist pigs try to silence these poor persecuted Christians' right to freely express their religion! All true Christians should rise up and smite these Godless heathens. Foes of Phelps fight ire with ire
By SCOTT CANON
The Kansas City Star
SOUTH HAVEN, Kan. — The Phelps family hoisted the same old laminated gay-bashing placards.
They made their same tired chants taking glee in a soldier’s death.
Another funeral, another round of pickets from the minichurch fixated on homosexuality.
Yet now that the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. has moved on to flinging epithets at military martyrs, a few politicians have begun trying to silence him. Their success will depend on how carefully they mind free speech as they write their laws.
In the meantime, noise is met with noise.
Whenever the few protesters from Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church shouted or sang Wednesday in South Haven, the earth trembled.
Any time they spoke up, the wrists of biker veterans twisted on dozens of throttles to strike the thundering chords of Honda and Harley-Davidson.
More than 200 bikers had made themselves into a chrome-and-black leather barrier. The 10 anti-gay picketers stood on one side, drowned out by the noise. Mourners arriving for the funeral of Army Sgt. Evan Parker passed on the other side.
“We’re supporting the family of a fallen soldier,” yelled Don Barr of American Legion Post 138 of Caney. “And we’re telling these jokers” — he jutted a thumb in the direction of Phelps’ picketers — “to get lost.”
Were the protesters concerned that the spectacle might upset a grieving family?
“No,” Fred Phelps Jr., said. His 75-year-old father is increasingly absent from the picketing. “The (soldier’s) family has made a public spectacle of things. There’s nothing private here.”
People have hoped for years that the obsessively anti-gay protesters would go away. Yet the Phelps clan travels the country, and even overseas, to protest anything it deems not hostile enough to homosexuality. (The Kansas City Star, and the funerals of former employees, have been picketed at times.)
Most recently, the peculiar Phelps logic has shifted the pickets to funerals of Americans killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Phelps’ church says the deaths are the penance of a nation too accommodating of homosexuality or, alternatively, that the deaths of U.S. servicemen and woman are divine retaliation for a small bomb that caused about $1,800 damage in 1995 outside the Topeka home of one of Phelps’ daughters.
Legislators in two states are pushing laws to bar protests at funerals. At least one Tennessee county has adopted a resolution to keep picketers away from mourners.
That has triggered warnings of a First Amendment showdown. While Phelps family’s message strikes many people as offensive (one of their signs reads “Thank God For Dead Soldiers”), it is decidedly political.
In 1995, a federal judge threw out a Kansas law that prohibited picketing outside funerals because it was too vague. With Phelps in mind, legislators quickly adopted a law specifically barring pickets an hour before and two hours after a funeral. (Missouri has no law regulating picketing at funerals.)
The Kansas law bars pickets only near a funeral, and in planning for Wednesday’s demonstration, Sumner County Attorney Shawn DeJarnett looked at lower-court rulings that said the state law effectively allows people to protest from across the street.
“We came to the conclusion to avoid confrontation” and decided against arrests, DeJarnett said. Officials elsewhere have taken the same approach.
The U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly has upheld laws that establish protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics — laws that specify the distances and apply to everyone.
Before memorial services in 1998 for Matthew Shepard, a man singled out for a brutal robbery and murder because he was gay, officials in Casper, Wyo., adopted a 50-foot no-protest zone. The action earned them a letter from Phelps that described it as an “ideal arrangement.”
But in September 1998, the city of Lincoln, Neb., passed an ordinance in response to protesters who staked out a church attended by a doctor who provides abortions. The courts tossed out the law saying that in protecting children from upsetting messages the ordinance also kept those messages away from adults.
Tim Butz, a Vietnam veteran and executive director of the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he thinks similar efforts to muzzle the Phelps protests will be doomed.
“It may be obnoxious as can be,” said Butz. But “we don’t just protect popular speech in this country.”
One legal argument, however, holds that the right law could keep Phelps from tossing insults at funeral processions.
“The regulation has to be content-neutral,” said Michael Fenner, a First Amendment expert at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
Fenner said a law might stand up if it is related only to time and place of funeral pickets — limiting protests to within so many feet from a service or so many hours before or after a service begins. Even if lawmakers obviously intend to push away Phelps, Fenner said, the law might survive. He noted a 1960s law aimed at stopping protesters from burning their draft cards by requiring young men to always carry the cards.
“Everybody understood this was a way to jail people who burned their draft card,” Fenner said. “It didn’t matter. It stood up.”
Likewise, Fenner said laws aimed at Phelps might withstand court challenges precisely because of whom they are intended to control.
“Judges are humans,” he said. “They’re not going to have any sympathy for this guy.”
Oklahoma Rep. Paul Wesselhoft makes clear his sympathies lie with military families. A retired Army chaplain, Wesselhoft has introduced a bill that would ban any protest within 500 feet of a funeral site from two hours before the service starts until two hours after it is over. Violators would face a mandatory 30 days in jail.
“This comes when a family is in its most vulnerable state,” Wesselhoft said of the protests. “We can protect them a little without trampling free speech.”
Clay County, Tenn., adopted a ban on picketing funerals, and Indiana state Sen. Brent Steele has drafted similar legislation.
“In my family, if somebody had done that at one of our services, it wouldn’t have been pretty,” Steele said. “No family at their lowest emotional ebb should be put into this trick box of (being provoked into) clocking these guys and then getting sued.”
For years, the Phelps protesters stuck to waving placards at the funerals of people who died of AIDS or harassing public officials in Topeka and elsewhere who dared condemn them.
“For our folks, the shock value has mostly worn off,” said Ron Schlittler, deputy executive director of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. “The answer to abuse of freedom of speech is for other people to speak up more vigorously.”
Vanda Neely, a doughnut shop employee who lives in South Haven, said of Phelps, “I think this bunch needs to go home. They’re not making any friends.”
Rather, they draw regular confrontations with American Legion bikers.
Bill Logan of Wichita was at his fourth funeral to counter the picketing. Each time, the veterans check with police and the family of the deceased to make sure they are welcome, Logan said.
“It’s the least we can do,” he said.
Inside the South Haven High School gymnasium, Sgt. Parker’s family and friends recalled an energetic and competitive 25-year-old father of two who died in Germany a few days after a roadside bomb went off near Balad, Iraq.
“He was not a victim,” Brig. Gen. Vern Miyagi said. “He was an American hero.”
Outside, men such as “Grizzly” Bob Jeter, a 51-year-old Army veteran from Wichita, stood vigil.
“If those losers are going to be somewhere,” Jeter said of the protesters, “there will be a whole lot more of us.”
Merry Christmas
There. I've said it. You may now resume celebrating your materialistic holiday.
Talk about missing the point....
There's a big panic amongst theater owners these days because of free-falling box office receipts. Apparently, for some unknown reason, people are attending movie theaters in less-than-staggering numbers these days. So, what is the proposed solution to this problem? Why, lobbying the FCC for permission to jam cell phones, of course, because the only reason people go to theaters is to escape their homes and watch a movie in a cellphone-free environment. Naturally, the box office slump has absolutely nothing to do with, say, the garbage that gets put on the big screen these days. Just like it has absolutely nothing to do with exhorbitant ticket prices, and the requirement of having to sell one's children into slavery in order to afford a bucket of popcorn and a soda. Nope. It's all because of the cellphones.
Yesterday, Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman, an incredibly talented actor whose Oscar was a long time in coming, came out swinging against racism. His major premise was that racism is fed by the ones who wish to celebrate what divides Americans as opposed to celebrating what unites Americans. In this case, he says the concept of Black History Month is "ridiculous." For what it's worth, I believe Freeman is teling the truth when he states "Black history is American history." Freeman is the latest black celebrity to go on record as opposing the seemingly innocuous events that cause serious damage to the black community in America. Previous celebrities are Bill Cosby and Carl Eller. Freeman Criticizes Black History Month
Thu Dec 15, 2:40 PM ET
NEW YORK - Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."
"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."
Black History Month has roots in historian Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Woodson said he hoped the week could one day be eliminated — when black history would become fundamental to American history.
Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it."
The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.
"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.
Freeman received Oscar nominations for his roles in 1987's "Street Smart," 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy" and 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption." He finally won earlier this year for "Million Dollar Baby."
King Kong racist?
It is, at least according to the race hustlers who can somehow manage to see racism in a bowl of Cheerios. Big black and bad stereotyping
By Kwame McKenzie
Most black men I know will think twice about going to see King Kong. First because of the story, second because of Peter Jackson's other recent blockbuster movies.
The story feeds into all the colonial hysteria about black hyper-sexuality. This imagery has a long history and is difficult to shift.
It was so pervasive and prevalent even in the 17th century that Shakespeare could write Othello knowing that his audience would understand the Moor stereotype. As Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, Associate Professor of Theatre at George Mason University notes in her writing on the subject: "Moors were commonly stereotyped as sexually overactive, prone to jealousy and generally wicked. The public associated 'blackness' with moral corruption, citing examples from Christian theology to support the view that whiteness was the sign of purity, just as blackness indicated sin."
It is so pervasive that after fronting a pop psychology TV series a decade ago as a psychiatrist I was offered a 20 part series on sex.
The story also touches the raw nerve of the Darwin-based association between black men and apes. Though the monkey noises and the discussion about whether Africans are the missing link between apes and humans may be out of the classroom, it still has to be endured by black footballers when they travel to away games.
Peter Jackson used the same hackneyed stereotypes for the Lord of the Rings triology. The most fearsome baddies were big black and just a bit too Maori looking, the good guys - well white.
So when King Kong unfolded and the 1930s New York crowd scenes were almost devoid of black faces, rather than the 15 per cent you would have expected, and when the first black actors had small non-speaking parts - dancers and the only major black character was the strong caring second officer to the ship's captain - the good and dutiful slave stereotype - I was squirming in my seat. If I had not been at a premier with my transfixed son I would have been out of the door soon after the wide eyed, homicidal, half dressed, blacker than black natives of Skull Island started cavorting one hour in.
I was lucky that my paternal instinct to stay and explain this to my son at the end got the better of me, because the next two hours were fabulous.
Though it was always impossible for the film not to endorse the black male stereotype, and one has to ask why Jackson so wanted to make King Kong as opposed to anything else, his attempt to shelve the lust angle and portray the relationship between Kong and Darrow (played by Naomi Watts) as owner and favourite pet - in that order - worked. The cinematography was excellent and my worst fears were not realised.
But I could not help but feel that if Jackson had put as much thought into the rest of the racial imagery as he did into the relationship between Kong and Darrow this could have gone down as a much less offensive film. As it is it leaves a bitter sweet taste in my mouth and a complex discussion on negative stereotypes that I have had to have with my son.
It left me thinking, that if censors look at violence, sex, and sexual violence when giving a certificate why do they not look at negative racial stereotypes?
Dr McKenzie is a societal psychiatrist, specialist in causes of mental illness, racism and social capital.
The So-Called “War on Christmas”
This year, the religious reactionaries are whipping themselves into a masturbatory frenzy over the alleged “war on Christmas”. It’s gotten to the point where they’re veritably foaming at the mouth in simulated rage whenever someone mentions the phrase “Happy Holidays”. “How dare you try to take ‘Christ” out of Christmas!” they screech to all within earshot. Y’know, I’m 34 years old, and as far back as I can remember, the phrase “Happy Holidays” has always been used. As I understand it, Christmas isn’t the only holiday that takes place during the month of December; it is merely the most high profile. So, naturally, the phrase “Happy Holidays” can be looked at as the recognition of the other holidays that other people celebrate, as opposed to an attempt to “take Christ out of Christmas.” This brings me to my next point – “taking Christ out of Christmas.” Please. Spare me your mock anger. Christ hasn’t played a large part in Christmas for as long as I can remember. The absolute most attention the vast majority of people pay to the birth of Christ during the Holiday Season (“Aaaaaaahhhhhh, no, he’s attacking Christmas again!”) is when they say “Praise Jesus, now pass the Playstation.” This is not to say, of course, that all Christians surrender to the materialistic nature that has come to embody the Holiday Season (“Ack! He said it again!”). In fact, I know a few (and only a few) who generally try to keep true to the spirit of Christmas, but their quiet belief gets buried under the cries of “gimmegimmegimme” that echo through the Hallowed Halls of American Consumerism. And, there’s the other side of the coin: the secular reactionaries who, like the religious reactionaries, work themselves up into an impotent tizzy when they hear someone say “Merry Christmas.” To these people, all I can say is “shut the fuck up.” These folks are even worse than the religious reactionaries, in my opinion, because they’re trying to prevent people from celebrating an allegedly religious holiday in a manner they deem appropriate. Sure, I criticize what I see as mass stupidity that’s pervasive at this time of year, but I never actually make an effort to stop people from “celebrating” their “holiday.” I’m not a Christian, and haven’t claimed to be one for more than 20 years. As such, I do not celebrate Christmas, nor any other religious holiday. However, when someone says “Merry Christmas” to me, I return the sentiment. Same thing when someone says “Happy Holidays.” Does this make me a hypocrite? Not at all, because it causes me neither grief nor pain to politely utter two words in response to someone else politely muttering those words to me.
Hat tip: Tammy Bruce. A few months back, I made a post about what I termed to be the Vast Vortex of Suckitude. I made that post after having become disgusted with the serious lack of both originality and quality of films being turned out by Hollywood over the last few years. It seems I'm not the only one making this observation. Hollywood is reporting its worst box office receipts in 15 years. The reasons being observed for this slump are the exact same reasons I mentioned in my previous post: remakes, sequels, video game themes, and big-screen bastardizations of 1970's television shows. Maybe Hollywood should wake up to the vast amounts of horse manure it's putting out, and actually make an original flick for a change.
Stanley Williams, aka "Tookie", is scheduled to be executed tonight in the state of California. Tookie Williams is one of the co-founders of the bloodthirsty and violent gang known as the "Crips." He was convicted in 1981 for the murder of four people, and was sentenced to die for his crimes. In the last 24 hours, the California Supreme Court has refused to grant a stay of execution, and California Governor Arnold Shwarzenegger has stated that he will not grant clemency to Williams. Schwarzenegger Won't Spare 'Tookie' Williams' Life
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused to spare the life of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips gang who awaited execution early Tuesday in a case that stirred debate over capital punishment and the possibility of redemption on death row.
Williams, 51, was set to die by injection at San Quentin State Prison after midnight for murdering four people in two 1979 holdups.
A federal appeals court Monday rejected a stay of execution for Williams.
With the clock ticking down to the scheduled execution of Williams, officials made final preparations at San Quentin State Prison.
Guards have been watching Williams for unusual behavior and are recording his activities every 15 minutes.
The death chamber, where as many as 50 people are allowed to witness executions, has been cleaned. It's also been stocked with fresh supplies of medical tape, syringes and chemicals.
The California Highway Patrol is preparing security measures for outside the prison, where hundreds of people are expected to rally Monday night.
A team of defense lawyers for Williams is busy with a last-ditch federal appeal to call off his execution.
The California Supreme Court has already refused to grant a stay of execution. Williams is scheduled to die a minute after midnight tonight by injection at San Quentin State Prison.
Williams co-founded the Crips gang. He was condemned to death for the murder of a man during a robbery in February 1979 and the slayings of a couple and their daughter at a South Los Angeles motel the following month.
Opponents note that Williams has never acknowledged killing his victims and insists someone else did it.
 Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65Saturday, December 10, 2005; Posted: 4:32 p.m. EST (21:32 GMT) LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Richard Pryor, the caustic yet perceptive actor-comedian who lived dangerously close to the edge both on stage and off, has died, his ex-wife said Saturday. He was 65. Pryor died of a heart attack at his home in the San Fernando Valley sometime late Friday or early Saturday, Flyn Pryor said. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system. The comedian was regarded early in his career as one of the most foul-mouthed comics in the business, but he gained a wide following for his expletive-filled but universal and frequently personal insights into modern life and race relations. His audacious style influenced an array of stand-up artists, including Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and Damon Wayans, as well as Robin Williams, David Letterman and others. A series of hit comedies in the '70s and '80s, as well as filmed versions of his concert performances, helped make him Pryor one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood. He was one of the first black performers to have enough leverage to cut his own Hollywood deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures. His films included "Stir Crazy," "Silver Streak," "Which Way Is Up?" and "Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip."
25 years ago today...
John Lennon was put out of our misery.
A date which will live in infamy
Transcript of Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)
Mr. Vice President, and Mr. Speaker, and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Transcription courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Attention Brat Owners
Your drooling, dripping, screeching, whining "darlings" aren't cute. They are neither lovable nor special. What they are is "annoying." It is not funny to let your offspring run rampant through the mall/stores, etc. It is not polite to sit and eat dinner at a restaraunt while your little hellions are tormenting the other patrons with their ear-splitting screeches as they run up and down the aisles. Control your little brats before some fed-up third party remembers that duct tape is roughly $1.50/roll.
Gator, also known as the Scourge of the Internet has gotten itself a makeover, and worse, it has gotten a government green-light to continue it's malicious practices. Don't Call It Spyware
By Annalee Newitz
Back in 2002, Gator was one of the most reviled companies on the Net. Maker of a free app called eWallet, the firm was under fire for distributing what critics called spyware, code that covertly monitors a user's Web-surfing habits and uploads the data to a remote server. People who downloaded Gator eWallet soon found their screens inundated with pop-up ads ostensibly of interest to them because of Web sites they had visited. Removing eWallet didn't stop the torrent of pop-ups. Mounting complaints attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission. Online publishers sued the company for obscuring their Web sites with pop-ups. In a June 2002 legal brief filed with the lawsuit, attorneys for The Washington Post referred to Gator as a "parasite." ZDNet called it a "scourge."
Today Gator, now called Claria, is a rising star. The lawsuits have been settled - with negligible impact on the company's business - and Claria serves ads for names like JPMorgan Chase, Sony, and Yahoo! The Wall Street Journal praises the company for "making strides in revamping itself." Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that Microsoft came close to acquiring Claria. Google acknowledges Claria's technology in recent patent applications. Best of all, government agencies and watchdog groups have given their blessing to the company's latest product: software that watches everything users do online and transmits their surfing histories to Claria, which uses the data to determine which ads to show them.
Read the rest here.
Mooooo-Rah!
Once more, it’s time to gird ourselves up for battle as the 1st Cattle Brigade starts its annual march to war. Of course, by “war,” I really mean “Christmas shopping.” Naturally, some people think I’m giving in to hyperbole and exaggeration, but in fact, I’m not. Let’s take an example this past weekend at a local Brawl-Mart. Several people were arrested as holiday shoppers started a knockdown, drag-out battle over toys of no significance whatsoever. The release of Microsoft’s new game console, the XBOX 360, has merely added fuel to the fire. These are but the latest incidences in a long line of holiday shopping nightmares. A few years back, when I was living in California, the big must-have toy of the year was the Furby. Jeff & Jer, the morning show at a local radio station almost started a riot at one of the Brawl-Marts. Their little Go-Fer, Helper Boy Randy, accessed the store’s PA system, and announced the arrival of a large number of Furbys. The “shoppers” practically killed one another to get the beloved Furby before the toys were all gone. The Tickle-Me Elmo doll, the must-have toy that shoppers were brawling with each other to acquire, dominated the year prior to that. This year, however, the battles have started early. The first holiday shopping weekend hadn’t even gotten into full swing before the fur started to fly. For those of you going out into the fray, whether for Christmas shopping or simply to run errands amidst the madness, I have only this advice: Armor up, gear up, and Moooooooove out!
Ok, some people just need to lighten up. Lakeside Mall demands 'blue roof' Christmas display be taken down
07:31 AM CST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Stacey Plaisance / Associated Press
METAIRIE -- Frank Evans thought the tiny blue-tarped roofs, little toppled fences and miniature piles of hurricane debris he included in the Christmas display he builds every year for a suburban New Orleans shopping mall struck just the right humorous tone.
Mall management decided otherwise and told Evans, a landscape architect from nearby Gretna, to dismantle it.
"Although most people did enjoy the decorations, a few customers found the display to be in poor taste," said a statement issued Tuesday night by Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie.
Evans videotaped the display before dismantling it. The creation had sat since mid-November among a grand, more traditional display of gleaming Christmas trees, colorful gifts wrapped in holiday paper and Santa's elves on carousel horses.
Situated in a large open plaza in the heart of the mall, the display was 60 feet long, circled by a miniature train that children rode after sitting on Santa's lap. Plush stuffed animals sat atop hills with model trains running on tracks and through tunnels -- and a rescue helicopter circling above.
Bob and Jill Patin of Gentilly liked the "You Loot, We Shoot" graffiti on one of the ruined refrigerators.
"It's priceless," Jill Patin said. The couple, who are rebuilding their home that had wind and flood damage, came to the mall just to see the display, she said. And they weren't alone.
Kim Koster heard about it and brought her camera. "It's like putting Christmas lights up on your FEMA trailer. It just makes you feel better," said the Uptown New Orleans resident, whose home was inundated.
As children rode by on the motorized train, Ray Smith and his wife, Marcia, chuckled at the "Caution -- Operates Only in Good Weather" sign next to a model of a Jefferson Parish pumping station. It was a wry reference to a decision by Jefferson Parish president Aaron Broussard to evacuate pump operators before Katrina hit on Aug. 29, inundating the area.
"At times like this, you need a little humor," Ray Smith said.
Evans has long thrown political humor into his displays. "It's fun for the adults," he said.
When former Gov. Edwin Edwards was facing racketeering charges in 2000 (he's now serving a 10-year sentence) Evans' Christmas scene included a model of a federal prison with a sign that read: "Louisiana Politicians' Retirement Home." It also featured sharks walking upright carrying briefcases.
Following the 2000 presidential race, Evans included two model trains representing each candidate. "The Bush train crossed the finish line, and the Gore train was derailed," Evans said.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) 
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