Finally, Someone Who Understands the #Occupy Movement

This news from KTLA:

BREAKING: Dr. Jane Goodall named grand marshal for 2013 @RoseParade!

I'm hoping she can work with the #Occupy movement while she's here. They're barely evolved beyond the chimp stage so I'm sure be able to help them.

Some Classic Rose Parade Photos

If you're watching the 2012 version of the Tournament of Roses Parade, you might enjoy seeing these photos of floats from 1954-1958.  They're certainly simpler than the stuff you'll see today.

Need a Rose Parade Fix Today? How About the 1982 Parade?

Back in the early days of the Tournament of Roses Parade an agreement was made between the Tournament Committee and local Pasadena churches never to hold the parade on a Sunday.  The big problem - it spooked the parishioners horses.  That tradition continues to this day, so even though this is New Year's Day there won't be a parade in Pasadena until tomorrow morning.

However, you can still watch a Rose Parade today on KTLA Los Angeles channel 5, or streamed on their website, at 9am this morning PST.  In honor of the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast by anchor team Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards the station will be rerunning the 1982 parade.  I believe Eubanks has been on the show every year since, but in 2006 Edwards was relegated to a minor role and ended up sitting in the stands in the pouring rain trying to pretend like she was enjoying herself while a new anchor sat in her place in the booth.  In 2007 she was not on the broadcast at all, but returned in 2008 after viewer outrage motivated the station to return her to the anchor booth.  The 2007 show also featured a bizarre moment in which Eubanks sounded like he was leaving the show.

When I heard they were rerunning 1982 I thought back to what I was doing that morning 30 years ago.  The night before I had taken part in a concert in which the group I was in, The Watchmen Quartet, had recorded a live concert album.  I probably didn't get home until 2 or later that morning and almost certainly didn't watch the parade which started at 8.  Maybe I'll watch it today.  Could be entertaining.

UPDATE: I've been watching and commenting on Twitter:

Grand Marshall of 1982 Rose Parade was Jimmy Stewart. Just watched "It's a Wonderful Life" the other day.

Watching the 1982 Rose Parade broadcast on @ktla and trying to imagine what all these people look like 30 years later.

Funny to think that all the cheerleaders I see in the 1982 Rose Parade on @ktla are now in their 50's.

One of the expensive 1982 Rose Parade floats was sponsored by Western Airlines which went out of business five years later.

I wonder how many of the college kids I'm seeing in the 1982 Rose Parade on @ktla are still paying off student loans?

Iron Eyes Cody in 1982 Rose Parade, described as "most famous Native American". He was born Espera Oscar de Corti - he was Italian.

Just heard a reference to "President Reagan" on the @ktla 1982 Rose Parade broadcast. *sigh* Those were the days....

Float in '82 Rose Parade celebrates 2 flights of Space Shuttle Columbia. 30 years later Shuttle program is dead and Columbia crashed.

Tournament of Roses Parade Photo of the Day

The #Occupus, the moron-powered octopus built from trash bags that's supposed to represent something to the #Occupy crowd (h/t KTLA):

After all those floats costing $250,000 and up, I'm sure this will be a real treat for the folks on the parade route.

The L.A. Media Have Become the Official Spokesmen For #OccupyRoseParade

For the last several days every news broadcast on every L.A. TV or radio news station has carried a story on the plans for #Occupy morons to infect the Rose Parade next Tuesday.  There's absolutely no real news value in these repeated reports...unless it's the goal of the media to promote the morons in hope of a disruption or confrontation during the parade.  After all, there's nothing like a good old-fashioned police hippie whomping to stimulate the ratings.

The washed-up theater majors that make up #OccupyRoseParade plan to showcase a 70-foot octopus made of trash bags that's supposed to represent corporate greed (what, no giant puppets??), and will be relegated to following along behind the cops who officially end the parade...and the network TV coverage.  But it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the networks hang on a bit and give them national coverage, again in the mindless search for ratings.

The Pasadena Tea Party briefly considered a counter-demonstration when it appeared the protesters would be allowed in the actual parade, but wisely dropped their plans in favor of allowing people to enjoy a politics-free family event.  Too bad the #Occupy morons and their enablers in the media don't have that level of maturity.

Parade of Fools

It's almost too bad the Tournament of Roses didn't allow these idiots into the parade:

Although the group is not part of the parade, its Web site OccupytheRoseParade.org says, “Float #44/#99 will be our float with visual displays including a 250 foot ‘We the People’ U.S. Constitution, a 50 foot ‘We The Corporations’ version, a giant ‘Goldie Sachs’ Wheel of Fortune exhibit, a Wall Street ‘Occupy The Octopus’ (Occupy The Vampire Squid) representing Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citibank (i.e. Wall Street) and much more,” the Web site states.

Must be the doing of all the out-of-work theater majors.

Pasadena Tries Negotiating With Dirty Hippies So They Don't Crap On Their Parade

I can't believe how many wimpified city leaders we have in America these days:

Authorities are beefing up security for the Tournament of Roses Parade this year but hope a planned Occupy protest will be peaceful and not disrupt the event.

Pasadena police and Occupy the Rose Parade demonstrators had a meeting of the minds this week, with protesters who plan a post-parade march down Colorado Boulevard promising not to disrupt the main event and police ensuring that the demonstrators would be treated fairly as long as they keep their word.

In a meeting Wednesday with Police Chief Phillip Sanchez and other department brass, Occupy the Rose Parade organizers agreed not to disrupt official proceedings.

"We want to make sure this is completely non-disruptive to the main parade," said Occupy the Rose Parade organizer Peter Thottam.

"We're going to work with [Occupy the Rose Parade] to ensure that the parade goes smoothly and they have the opportunity to have their voice,” said Police Department spokeswoman Lt. Phlunte Riddle.

On Jan. 2, the Occupy demonstrators plan to display signs near the Norton Simon Museum, across from the main location for television cameras covering the parade, before banding together to carry a 250-foot-long banner representation of the U.S. Constitution from Orange Grove Boulevard to a post-parade rally at Pasadena City Hall.

In the good old days the mayor and police chief would have sat down with the #Occupy crowd and told the something like this:

"If we see your raggedy dirty hippie butts anywhere near this parade we're going to beat 99% of the stupid out of you. You and your scummy crowd better be scarce during this parade."

The hippies would have gotten the message and Pasadena would have been nice and clean during the parade. However, I fully expect these loons to do their best to inject themselves into the event. They might not disrupt the parade, but they'll know where the TV camera locations are and they're sure to try and get their ignorant signs on the air.

Ironic Rose Parade Moment of the Day

The float entered by the City of Sierra Madre, which won the Governor's Trophy for Best Depiction of Life in California, broke down.  Didn't even make it off the starting line.  Had to be towed the length of the parade route.

The only thing that would have made the depiction more accurate is if Mexicans ran out of the crowd and jumped aboard as the float was towed down Colorado Boulevard until the whole thing collapsed of its own weight.

Rose Parade Viewing Guide

If you're planning to watch the big Pasadena flower fest, here's a guide to the units in the parade.  You'll especially want to see #52, the Ronald Reagan Foundation float and #94, the Los Angeles County Fireman's Benefit & Welfare Association - 9/11 Never Forget float.

The Ronald Reagan Float

The Tournament of Roses Parade will feature a special float honoring the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth. Here's some video:




There will also be a float created by a member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department honoring the 9/11 first responders. It will feature an item not covered in flowers or seeds - something that required a variance from the Rose Parade directors. That item is a fire hydrant that was recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

A Rose Parade by Any Other Name...

...will still take place in perfect weather on January 1st (even if it's pouring rain on New Year's Eve and January 2nd):

For the first time in its 122 year history the Tournament of Roses Parade will have a new name.

Parade organizers announced the 2011 version of the New Year's Day spectacular will be officially known as the 122nd Rose Parade, Presented by Honda.

The change is part of a new sponsorship deal with American Honda Motor Co.

As part of the partnership, the Tournament of Roses will create a new logo that incorporates the Honda logo.

The carmaker will also get the lead float in the parade.

Good thing they didn't get a sponsorship from Toyota or they might not have been able to get the floats to stop.

Sully Gets Another Honor

Boy, what a great year this guy has had:

Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, the quiet California pilot whose heroic emergency landing in the Hudson River on Jan. 15 captured imaginations worldwide, was named grand marshal of the 121st Rose Parade on Thursday.

Emerging from Tournament House in a shower of gold confetti, Sullenberger, of Danville, told the applauding crowd he was "happy and excited" to lead the Jan. 1 parade, themed "2010: A Cut Above the Rest."

"Being `a cut above' is something I aspire to, and I'm looking forward to driving down Colorado Boulevard ... and participating as the person who tosses the coin in the 96th Rose Bowl Game," he said.

The parade, an event he's "admired from afar," has been a family New Year's Day tradition, Sullenberger said.

"I always had a dream that one day we'd see it in person," he said after the ceremony. "And this is the way to do that!"

The parade theme is "perfect," Sullenberger said. "It honors all the everyday heroes who do their jobs with great diligence ... heroes who have not received so much notoriety."

Most Grand Marshalls are honored for a lifetime's work, and in some ways so is Sully. Although it was a few minutes on January 15th that made him a hero, it was a lifetime of piloting skills that made that day, and this honor, possible.

Which Member of the Rainbow Coalition Will be Queen?

No, I'm not talking about race hustler Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition, but the group of ladies vying for this year's Rose Parade Queen (from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune):

The 2010 Tournament of Roses Royal Court, from left; Ashley Thaxton, 17, Kinsey Stuart, 18, Katherine Hernandez, 18, Michelle Van Wyk, 17, Natalie Innocenzi, June Ko, 17, and Lauren Rogers, 17. (Keith Durflinger / Staff Photographer)

I always kind of laugh when I see this picture every year. You could probably look at every Rose Court photo for the last 20 or 30 years and see the very same racial mix. There's always at least one African-American, one Hispanic, one Asian, one Caucasian, and then whoever else they feel is worthy of the position. If they had any Eskimos in Pasadena they'd probably have one of those too. They're very careful at the Tournament of Roses that they don't slight any particular ethnic group.

For the record this year's Rose Queen is Miss Innocenzi, third from the right.

Based on their bios my choice would have been Miss Thaxton (first lady on the left):

Ashley is a part of her school’s marching band and her church worship team. She is passionate about musical theatre and plans to pursue it as a career. She hopes to obtain her masters in education and teach theatre and music in a public school or with a nonprofit organization.

You can't go wrong with a marching band kid who wants to teach music. I've got one of those myself.

Mama Moonbat Gets Booed in Pasadena

The threatened "hundreds or thousands" of pro-impeachment protesters led by Cindy Sheehan at the Tournament of Roses Parade ended up being about 100, and they were booed by the spectators:

Twenty-three people were arrested by Tuesday afternoon, including one protester, Pasadena Police Department Lt. Keith Jones said. Jones said the protester was "arrested for holding up a sign that blocked other patrons view of the parade."

Dozens of anti-war protesters led by "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan staked out spots across from television cameras, hoisting signs reading "Impeachment is Patriotic."

After the procession's last float inched out to start along the parade's 5 1/2-mile route, a group of more than 100 anti-war protesters marched behind it, including Sheehan. Parade watchers sitting in the grandstand booed and yelled at the protesters.

"This is not the occasion for this," Mary Feichtel, 63, of Florida, said of the protests.

Sheehan spoke later to a gathering of protesters at Pasadena City Hall.

I watched the entire parade (while working on my computer) and never saw any sign of protests on the HGTV broadcast. The other networks may have picked them up, but they didn't seem to make much of an impact.

Once again the wacky left has overplayed their hand and turned people away from their cause. Of course, their cause is silly to begin with. With barely a year left in Bush's term, there will be no impeachment regardless of how many temper tantrums Sheehan and her Code Pinko bunch throw. The Dems won't risk turning large parts of the country completely against them in a presidential election year.

It's time for Mama Moonbat to move on.

I Think They Should Follow the Horses

As I write this I'm watching the HGTV broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade (this is one of those times when I have no control over the TV remote). For some reason the parade organizers have decided that they have to have some sort of "Kum-Ba-Yah" big opening number every year. Last year's was pretty lame and this year's production number featuring the "Up With People" cast, a bunch of Boy Scouts, and the Missouri marching band wasn't much better. Lots of international brotherhood and love hoohah, all lip-synched to an overproduced score.

I did learn something, though. When the Queen's float came by the announcer informed us that over 1,100 girls had tried out for the court...and two guys. If one of them had been chosen it certainly would have given a new meaning to the title "Queen". They always pick an ethnically diverse court, so how long until the ACLU sues to demand a guy in the Queen's court?

Although there will be more than 50 spectacular floats, lots of bands and lots of horse units, the most interesting part of the parade will be the performance of the "Marching Morons Impeachment Drill Team" which is scheduled to march behind the street sweepers at the end of the parade. Personally, I would have lined them up behind a horse unit. That unit will be led by none other than Cindy Sheehan, who is described by Instapundit as "not the freshest flower in the bunch".

It will be interesting to see if the network parade coverage stays on the parade long enough to pick them up. Of course, at the end of the parade it may be hard to pick them out from the other horse's butts.

UPDATE: Neither HGTV nor the local LA channel gave any coverage to the protesters. They cut away as soon as the last unit (the LA Sheriff's Department mounted police) passed their cameras.

UPDATE 2: Michelle Malkin has Sheehan's unhinged online rant about protesting at the parade.

UPDATE 3: The crowd boos the protesters.

Mama Moonbat to Join the Malcontents in Pasadena

I previously posted about the plans of the White Rose Coalition to protest during the Rose Parade on Tuesday morning. They seem to think that prancing around on Colorado Blvd. and littering the area with flyers will make people want to impeach Bush and Cheney. Joining them will be none other than Cindy Sheehan, Mama Moonbat as she's known at this site:

Sheehan, the outspoken San Francisco Bay area activist whose son was killed in Iraq, is campaigning for Congress against Rep. Nancy Pelosi and calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. She will join other pro-impeachment and anti-war groups at the parade, according to her sister, Dede Miller.

As many as 1,000 supporters are expected to rally before and after the parade and distribute 20,000 pamphlets while flying 300 banners along the parade route, said Peter Thottam, executive director of the Los Angeles National Impeachment Center.

I'll bet you didn't know there was a Los Angeles National Impeachment Center, but there is - at least since last July. I guess they didn't think to organize that fine institution during the Clinton impeachment.

The White Rose Fools aren't the only malcontents that will be present in Pasadena:

Chinese Americans who claim they were victims of political or religious persecution in China are criticizing the $400,000 Beijing Olympics float.

(Mayor) Bogaard said the city cited security considerations in turning down the group's proposal for a demonstration along the parade route involving a large band and several vehicles.

"The tournament views the float as I do, as a celebration of the Olympic Games, not as a subject of criticism of the Chinese," Bogaard said. "It is my hope that as China emerges more and more into the world community it will be inclined to respect all human and civil rights."

Protest organizer John Li, a member of Caltech's chapter of Falun Gong, the spiritual movement outlawed by the Chinese government in 1999, promised his group would be seen if not heard.

"We are going to ask the audience on the road to turn their back when the Asian float arrives, and show banners. We have to send a strong message to say no to human rights abuses in China," Li said.

I hope they all make complete asses of themselves and it's carried on national TV when they do. If anything, this will damage their impeachment efforts more than it will help. Once again the whackos will be their own worst enemy.

The forecast for Tuesday is high winds in the LA Basin which may prove problematic for lightweights like Sheehan.

On January 1st Morons Are Required to Wear White Roses

The Rose Parade is always a big deal here in Southern California, and this year there will be a special treat for the crowd - the White Rose Coalition, a loosely organized bunch of loons is planning to try and add their protest to the end of the parade. And what do they hope to accomplish? They want to impeach Bush and Cheney, of course.

Here are some of their plans:

Rose Parade Prepares to Welcome White Rose Coalition Activists

Our volunteer numbers are steadily increasing, shooting up from 25 to 65 or so in the past week alone. It's not too late to get in on the fun, and make a historic stand for our national constitutional principles as a land governed by laws, not by men.

People love the visual props we've assembled including the preamble (a giant 1/2 block long copy of the Constitution) and the 4 "CHAIN GANG" giant heads donned over snappy striped prison uniforms. The White Rose Coalition's volunteer levels and commitments are building very nicely. ...

Our official committed impeachment / antiwar headcount (as of 12/15/08) for 01/01/08 now stands at about 150 people. Our goal is at least 200 people participating in visibility and outreach actions at the intersection that morning. Tobi Dragert and Robert Eidman have prepared the attached White Rose pamphlet on the growing fascism/militarism in the U.S. An anti-war pamphlet is also being prepared. We plan to distribute over at least 5,000 of these to the 1,100,000 (1.1 million people) from all around the country that the Tournament of Roses actually attending the parade.

They can't even figure out how many volunteers they've got, and I'm sure handing out 5,000 flyers to 1,100,000 people will have a massive impact. It will add 5,000 pieces of litter to the mounds of trash generated by the parade.

And from another organization's site:

Join us and Congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan (www.CindyforCongress.org), Kucinich/Paul reps and numerous other activiss on Tuesday, 01/01/08 event in Pasadena (by Norton Simon museum- 7:30 am).

"Stop Shopping" Campaign : BOYCOTT /50% reduction in the purchase of all non-essential U.S. goods -- until Congress impeaches Bush & Cheney (see Tab #14 for details). Bush told us to 'go shopping'. Don't.

Gee, I wonder how many "activiss" they'll have?

They apparently hope to tag their little protest onto the end of the parade, which is usually signaled by a line of motorcycle police officers or officers on horseback. They are hoping the networks will continue their coverage long enough to give the moronic convergence some air time. Don't count on it. I doubt the cops will allow them to get between them and the last unit in the parade.

If you know somebody who is planning to take part, do us all a favor and buy them a calendar. None of them obviously own one or else they would realize that 2008 is an election year and there's no chance that Congress will take on impeachment no matter what the evil Bush and Cheney do. With barely a year left in office, impeachment is off the table. Congress is not in the mood to appease the temper tantrums of the wacky left.

The other goal of the White Rose Wackos is to immediately end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistant. Based on this, that's not going to happen either. The "Rosies" are in for a disappointing year in 2008.

Odd Moments During the Rose Parade

I only watched a little bit of the Rose Parade this morning. I saw the first 30 minutes or so, including the bizarre opening, and the very end. I guess the parade organizers have decided to do a little Macy's impersonation with the tribute to Oklahoma song-and-dance number they opened with this morning. They'd even written a hokey theme song to go with the parade theme. I don't remember seeing them do anything like that before, and although it was typical of what you see in New York on Thanksgiving Day, it seemed a little odd in Pasadena.

I watched the local Channel 5 KTLA broadcast which for many years featured Bob Eubanks (of the Newlywed's Game fame) and Stephanie Edwards. Edwards was shunted out of the booth last year by a newbie and ended up reporting from the bleachers in a pouring rain. This year Edwards was not on the broadcast at all. I don't know if she finally quit or wasn't renewed. After her experience last year, I wouldn't blame her for quitting.

There were two moments in the brief part of the parade that I saw in which Eubanks was clearly campaigning for a new contract (his expires this year). During one of the early horse units he mentioned that they were training new horses to replace the oldest ones - "kind of like what they do with parade announcers". I thought that was an odd comment at the time, and was maybe a reference to Edwards, but apparently he was referring to himself. As the last parade units came into view he told the audience that his contract was expiring this year and he hoped to be back next year (but obviously hadn't gotten a renewal yet). If I were the station, I'm not sure how'd I'd react to that kind of on-air campaigning.

Eubanks might have talked himself out of a job.