A call to Arms...

For 2008, I wish, for each and every one of you, the will to fight.

The American Dream is up against the wall, and it's time to ask...Do you love the Constitution?

George Bush don't.

A Liberal voice passed away this year, but he left us with a call to arms...

It is time to stop looking for an accommodation with the right. They want none
for us. They want to win, at any price. So, you have a choice: be a fighting
liberal or sit quietly. I know what I am, what
are you?

Steve Gilliard was a fighting Liberal...And so are we!

Bring it On, 2008! It's time to kick ass, or die!

Peace,

Steve

So Mean

A relative was offended when I said I wouldn't even consider a Republican candidate this time. He kept asking why?

By way of replying, I asked him to name one thing that the republican party, being in control of all three branches of government, had done that was good for the Country? The only thing he could come up with was "no terrorist attacks since 9-11", which is hilarious...since they really have to take credit for 9-11 in the first place. Lot's of people were trying to tell them but they really screwed that one up and I think it has to stay on the record.

My real problem with Republicans is that they are just plain damned mean, and I just don't like them anymore, sorry. Republicans have even gotten so mean they don't even like themselves:

"My party is appealing to a real meanness," he said in an interview, "and an irresponsible sense of machismo in foreign policy. ...I'm an American before I'm a Republican."
...Republican Senator John Danforth

Me too, Senator Danforth. As a matter of fact, I'm so many things before I'm a republican that I can't even list them here, but I think republican falls right between corpse and nazi war criminal, if I'm reading my list right.

Peace,

Steve

*****

I keep hearing people diss John Edwards because he's wealthy and a lawyer. All I can say is, So is everyone else.

Most people think of John McCain as a war hero. He has very little business experience and has been a Senator since 1982. He was hounded by scandal fairly early in his career but one thing is certain...No one seems to realize how much money he's worth or that most of his net worth was gained during his tenure in the senate.

John McCain is a very wealthy man, primarily due to selling beer...Say $21 to $32 Million according to his filings, but others put the figure as much higher.

Mitt Romney is worth somewhere north of $190 Million.

Hillary ain't no slouch, with $10-50 Million, though that includes Bill's money too.

Barack is a relative pauper with reported assets of $456k to $1.1 Million, and Kucinich probably qualifies for food stamps with only a few hundred thousand.

Huckabee is worth a bit less than a Million but Giulliani is loaded with estimates in the $50 Million range and rising fast.

All in all, it's good to see that a poor boy can rise up and get rich enough to run for President of the United States of America...Poor Girls, too.

Financially Speaking

New Year Predictions...Not looking so good.

(From a blogger with a very good track record, btw)

Perhaps

Things are happening all over the world that will impact our future in unimaginable ways. Amazingly, they seem to be happening right here in the USA, even though we're usually too stupid, or too corrupt, to jump on them.

I told you about this one, but there's more.

America innovates and the rest of the world goes for the brass ring using our ponies. We come up with solar cells printed on cheap foil that can produce electricity at the same cost as coal and who figures out that this is a good idea?

Not America, with two corrupt oil men (is that redundant?) sitting in the Whitehouse doing nothing for their country, but Europe is ready and willing.

The holy grail of renewable energy came a step closer yesterday as
thousands of mass-produced wafer-thin solar cells printed on aluminium film
rolled off a production line in California, heralding what British scientists
called "a revolution" in generating electricity.

The solar panels produced by a Silicon Valley start-up company,
Nanosolar, are radically different from the kind that European consumers are
increasingly buying to generate power from their own roofs. Printed like a
newspaper directly on to aluminium foil, they are flexible, light and, if you
believe the company, expected to make it as cheap to produce electricity from
sunlight as from coal.

It's not hopeless though. We have some of those "liberal college students" who are kicking ass designing and building off the grid energy efficient homes and proselytizing their renewable heretic ways. How dare they make Big Electric obsolete!

For now the cost is excessive in these demonstration homes but they showcase the future and how we can eliminate oil and coal as dominant energy sources. It is a disruptive idea whose time should have been thirty years ago. Ask yourself this:

What power would Al Queda have if oil were only worth $12 a barrel even today?

Perhaps it is not too late.

Peace,
Steve

Field of Study

With a presidential candidate not immediately being forced to withdraw after noting with a straight face , that assassinated former Prime Minister of Pakistan did not properly sacrifice herself to her husband and, and Tennessee's own Prez candidate saying that it's fine for other countries to have a woman leader but not the USA ... I need to get a laugh somewhere.

There's always Texas, right?

The Winter Solstice signals the darkest night of the year but there is another darkness creeping around this Country. It seems like the Texas Board of Higher Education wants to allow the Institute for Creation Research issue Master's Degrees. I think the degree would be an M.S...That would not be Master of Science...The S would stand for Stoopid, I think.

Susan has the funny:

Why do we need an Institute for the study of Ignorance?

We're pretty good at that right off the bat.

Peace,

Steve

Tilt, And the Gift of the Mysterious

Around here it happened around 6:08 this morning, and it is all because of the TILT. The tilt is pretty close to 23.5 degrees and combined with the gyroscopic effect of the rotating planet we live on, and the period of orbit around the star which is our major source of energy, we have seasons.

I like seasons, and even though I appreciate the fact that seasons are a by product of the physics in a dynamic solar system, I still take a visceral pleasure in the seasonal mystery of cold foggy mornings like this one. My mind says all this starts with the tilt, of course, but my sprit says, "Breathe deeply and enjoy your life this morning. This is a gift."

Last night was the night of the Winter Solstice and was the longest one for the next 365 days, and we have learned that it can be predicted with simple arithmetic. We humans did not always know that and some of us still don't. When we were more ignorant, our mystics told us various things were the cause of the long night and the cold. Some of the mystics told their tribe members to do various things so that the days would get longer and warmer again and the crops would grow and the tribe would again have enough to eat. Interestingly enough, nearly all winter solstice festivals involved giving things to the mystics in one form or another, even though there were thousands of variations on the theme. Here is an example from Ancient Greece:

The winter solstice ritual was called Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women. In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day. Later in the ritual, Dionysos would be reborn as a baby. By classical times, the human sacrifice had been replaced by the killing of a goat. The women's role had changed to that of funeral mourners and observers of the birth.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

So because of the TILT, we had seasons and some of them were rough on humans living at various latitudes on planet Earth. Religious myths were created by simple social conversations and interactions and sometimes molded and used for the benefit of some folks, but not always, as in the case of some of the Winter Solstice celebrations. Sometimes it was dark and cold and miserable and people just needed a party.

Just remember that "YOUR RELIGION" is the only true religion and all those others are just mythologies, but even so, all of the Winter Solstice celebrations have come about because of the TILT.

If you are curious, and I know that you are, you might enjoy reading about a lot of the practices that various peoples have created just to get them through the darkest night. Your personal religion is probably listed here but that's just for camouflage and the interests of peace and good will.

You and I both know that your personal religion is actually the only real one. All of those other religions owe their Winter celebrations to TILT...But not yours.

Enjoy your gift and may you revel in it's mysteriousness,

Peace,

Steve

Tolerance for other's beliefs

A Change A Gonna Come

This could be the most important breakthrough in electrical history on a functional day to day basis.

A Standford University researcher has created a silicon nano-wire Lithium battery that has ten times the storage capacity of previous batteries. It's a well understood combination of two separate technologies and could be commercially viable in a very few years.

If this technology is not stopped, we could see a severe depression in the price of oil as the 80% efficient electric vehicle replaces the 18% efficient gas powered vehicle. Screw you, Exxon-Mobile.

If this technology is not stopped, we could see those motor vehicle manufacturers who have dragged their feet and opposed efficient vehicles lose out big to the ones who have aggressively pursued the technology. Screw you, General Motors.

If this technology is not stopped, We could see the end of the offensively loud internal combustion engine which insecure males use to augment their manhood in the form of two wheeled machines with noise generating non-mufflers that scream, "I am a moron" and impose this information on everyone within a half mile. Screw you, Harley Davidson, and the leather clad wannabees that have stuffed you into their codpiece.

Now be quiet.

Peace,

Steve

Crazy Conspiracy Theories, Whitehouse Fire edition

Those crazy conspiracy buffs...I can't wait to see what they come up with on the fire in the Eisenhower office building next to Dick Cheney's ceremonial office. (I think he has trophy mounts of lawyer's heads in there on the wall or something)

The next thing you know, they'll be saying that Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and some other Justice Department lawyers decided whether they should destroy the CIA torture tapes or something. How silly is that?...Oh, wait...They did?

Fun with Politics, Crazy people edition

Pat Robertson says the complete destruction of George H. W. Bush's other home and George W. Bush's other home town of Kennebunk Port, Maine, was because they weren't being "solicitous enough of Israel"...

GOP contender Mike Huckabee named John Bolton first on his list of people who's world views he respects. Bolton may have been body snatched by an alien mustache. it's the only thing that explains his determination to start World War three. Huckabee is simply nuts, and yes, his office did issue a correction that even though he wrote it in his book, he doesn't actually think gays are the same as necrophilacs, or worse...
Environmentalists! ..."Aberrant Behavior" he called environmentalists.

And then there's the Ten Best list...No not David Letterman. This is for the best George Bushisms of 2007, like this one:

"And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it." ---interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29

One Liner

Listening to the news talk shows you are absolutely convinced that the Republican race is between the ascendant, Huckabee, and the descendant, Romney and Giulianni with a slight nod to McCain. Romney can't win because Mormons think God is Jesus' older brother and Giulianni has gay friends and mistresses (apparently the mob connections are no problem, it's the homos). I have this theory that Romney and Giulianni may be pandering self serving ass holes, but in the end they just aren't crazy enough to appeal to the republican primary voter, noted far and wide for foam at the mouth wing-nuttery.

In the media, the Democratic contest is between Hillary and Obama with Edwards only talked about as a "dark horse". Hillary has the highest negatives of any Democrat, though, and Obama has his own challenges, although most intelligent people think living a portion of your life outside the USA is a huge credential on the world stage, and why is it that a person with only one white parent is black, anyway?

But polls depicting a head to head match up tell a completely different story. Head to head puts this candidate against that candidate, and guess what it tells us?

John McCain is the only republican who beats any of the Democrats, and John Edwards is the only Democrat who destroys every single one of the Republicans...humiliating John McCain by ten points. Iowans thought Edwards was by far the best candidate in the last Democratic debate and the Iowa caucus polls show him tied or beating Hillary, with Obama in the lead. We'll see what happens after the debate has time to sink in.

Suffice it to say that it ain't over, though we will see pronouncement after pronouncement on news talk shows, particularly the ones that feature a Republican and a Conservative as their fair and balanced commentators, which is most of them.

Frankly, I can't wait for the writer's strike to be over so we can get some real news in America. The Daily Show, Colbert, and the late night monologues are the main place coherent thinkers in America get to speak out, with Olbermann rising fast.

Why is it that comedy shows tell us the news...And the news shows are a joke?

Peace,

Steve

Saving for Christmas

The current savings rate for US citizens is below zero.

We are borrowing a bit more than we earn. Would that this was true of the Bush Administration, which is borrowing a LOT MORE than we earn. George W. Bush has borrowed more money than all the Presidents in history before him, over $4,000,000,000,000.00.

Four Trillion Dollars is a lot of money. One Trillion is the bill for Iraq if we stop right now this second...but we won't, and that will have to be added but we'll stick with Four as the number right now. If we only pay interest on Four trillion dollars and we can get it at 5%, which may be optimistic given the state of the Bush Dollar which is now worth less than the "loonie", we will have an additional burden of $200,000,000,000.00 added to the USA's cost of merely existing.

And it goes on forever.

That's 200 Billion Dollars a year forever. We have a problem, America, and with that in mind, there is only one appropriate gift for children this year.

One of these.

The Great Depression was the price America paid the last time we got in this situation, and I can't see much of a way to avoid something like that in coming years. Bush has borrowed the credit card over the limit and will do his damnedest to get out of the house before the bill comes in. The next President will not only have to deal with the most screwed up International situation in my lifetime, but the worst financial situation America has been in , maybe ever.

Peace,

Steve

Sunday Reading Assignment

"...had the Congressional Democrats been more willing to consistently oppose Bush on his wrongheaded proposals, not only would Bush's approval rating be even lower than it has been, the Democrats would have had more success in their opposition and been better able to peel away enough Republicans concerned about their own political survival to have made some meaningful difference in what has happening, especially in this past year of nominal Democratic control. "

A review of Tom Oliphant's new book

Brilliant! (And the books seems nice too)

Old Dogs and Children

Michael Vick, the very talented and now jailed quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, is serving 23 months in jail for abusing dogs. I detest people who abuse animals, but I have to think Vick's sentence has more to do with who he is than what he did. What if he were white?...Or the son of a Republican?

In Roane County, Tennessee a man was sentenced to probation for killing his wife's lover. "He was upset," said the judge.

In Blount County, Tennessee a Judge refused to issue a restraining order against a man who regularly beat his wife on the grounds that she was not an American citizen, even though she was legally in our country. The penalty for spousal abuse can easily match what Vick is serving for abusing dogs.

I can go on, and it's not just Tennessee, I just happen to be familiar with these examples and I'm sure you can provide your own.

Here's one you might be interested in...A man shot, hung, slit the throat, and eventually stoned a stray dog to death. He and his buddy were fired from their jobs as camp councilors (taking care of kids, yeah) but not reported to the police. That was a few years back, and recently the man was arrested at the airport trying to board a plane with a loaded Glock pistol. "Didn't know it was there," he said and was sentenced to 10 days of community service which he can avoid by paying $100.

"Politically motivated," said the man's father about the accusations and charges. The father also carries a concealed weapon. he is also a Baptist Minister, and is currently in the lead to win he Iowa Republican Caucus. I guess it's ok that his child seems to have serious problems because it's only fair to be mean toward children of Democrats...Ask Chelsea Clinton, who seems to be living a fine life to make a parent proud. It would make headline news if Chelsea Clinton got a parking ticket, but David Huckabee tries to walk on board a plane with a loaded weapon and gets a hundred dollar fine and you folks only know about it because of some liberal blogger living in a cabin in the hills of Tennessee.

Mike Huckabee claims to love Jesus and love guns and raised a child who should have felt consequences for several of his actions, but didn't. I think it is a small example of how justice would be administered if he were in charge. It's just one more example of Conservative self delusion, that it is fair if his children don't get punished for things that send other's to prison.

What is it about prominent Conservatives that crazy gets a pass? What is it about your media that this is OK by them?

Where has "FAIR" gone in America?

Peace,

Steve

What Rule of Law?

I wanted to title this post "Screw You" but I felt like that was a bit inappropriate since it winds up on the front page of so many other blogs, only it actually WAS totally appropriate as a description of the Bush Administration's view of Law in America.

I'm disgusted and I don't know what to do.

Why aren't Impeachment Proceedings raging forward in Congress?

This President and his minions have simply flipped off the notion of Justice enshrined in the Constitution. The Justice Department is now simply a political enforcement arm of the worst clique within the Republican Party, bringing ludicrous prosecutions against Democratic enemies and sweeping corruption investigations of Republicans into the compost pit.

Evidence is destroyed routinely. Subpoenas are simply ignored. The Rule of Law has no meaning.

George W. Bush, in the biggest screw up of recent Presidential memory, simply refused to speak under oath and without the accompaniment of the man behind the curtain (Mr. Cheney) when asked why he ignored the screaming Presidential Daily Briefing with the title, "Bin Laden Determined to attack within the United States."

"I don't know, I don't Remember, I can't recall," is the mantra for all members of the Bush Administration and Republicans everywhere, including their current crop of Presidential contenders.

So now...Under a Court order to preserve evidence in the CIA torture case, we find that the video tapes were simply destroyed.

"SCREW YOU, America"...Love George

John Edwards... Yesterday

My other cabin is in South Carolina near Seneca where my boys were born, and so, as chance would have it, was John Edwards. He came home to see his Mom and Dad and stopped by the new Democratic Campaign headquarters to cut the ribbon.

I've heard his speeches before and I'm a fan. He's different.

Of all the candidates, He strikes me as a person who wants to be President because he feels obligated to serve, not just because he wants to be President.

His events are not a rock show or a tent revival. It is so refreshing to hear someone ask for help getting the work done, rather than "elect me because those other people are mean"...Even though some of us think that.

Since the event was at the Democratic headquarters, they had to display campaign literature and posters for all the candidates. Hillary was prominent, as were Chris Dodd and Barack Obama. One good Democrat even had a Hillary campaign hat on. Edwards shook his hand just as enthusiastically as anyone else's. The guy really smiled back at John Edwards and watched him intently as he went through the crowd.

One other thing I noticed was the diversity of the folks. Every demographic was there. Old, young, girls, boys, men, women, Hispanic, Black, White, and other. The Vets were there and so were men and women still on active duty. I talked to one who was standing smartly in beret and camo who said he had heard about Edwards and had to see him.

"What did you think?" I asked him.

"You saw him," he said, looking me right in the eye. "He's the one."

Thoughts

I have a problem with how we discuss things like the latest "Mall Massacre."

I'm sorry for all his relatives and friends but he was simply a murderer. A vile and disgusting murderer who did not even have the decency to end his own life without destroying the lives of other innocent people who had done him no harm.

He chose to end his miserable existence in the absolute meanest possible way and should be publicly vilified as a wretched piece of scum.

Now I know that the ammofascists will rant things like, "See! If everybody else had been packing heat, he would have been stopped after the first few murders." This is a dishonest and self serving argument that conveniently ignores the possibility of a massive gun fight erupting in the chaos, or the untold numbers of shootings that would inevitably blow up in day to day interactions of Little League dads with guns readily at their finger tips. It also fails to own up to the fact that a large percentage of shooters like this have obtained their guns illegally, through some flaw in the system as did the shooter at Virginia Tech.

Yes I know that our latest monster had problems and had gotten dumped by his girlfriend and fired from his job at McDonald's but that makes him no less the foul monster that is proved himself to be.

Media will focus on the dead, the wounded, and the stories of near misses and near tragedies, and it will wallow in the grief, interviewing everyone who will tell their horrible story, and they will tell the names of the victims and the name of the murderer, who says he did it to become famous.

And these sick people who may become the next miserable monster to go on a rampage of senseless death will be watching and may well envision their own photograph on the screen. I would tell them, at this instant, that we will never again show the photo of a monster, say his name out loud, or promote his unworthiness and miserableness in any manner that can remotely be considered glorification.

I would tell them that we will not remember them at all...For they are the scum of human existence and we will turn our backs on them and turn our minds away from their vile and putrid last act.

We shall grieve, but...

The muderer shall receive no reward.

Peace,

Steve

Shorter CIA: "Impeach the President"

I think revelations by the CIA and 15 other American Intelligence agencies is the biggest news of the last twenty years and maybe my lifetime.

The President of the United States has known for over a year that Iran had ceased development of nuclear weapons in 2003 and has lied about it... and continues to lie about it.

We have to ask, Why?

But even more shocking than that...I have to ask myself how bad things must be for the Central Intelligence Agency to go public and call the President of the United States and his entire Administration Liars? It is essentially an accusation of "High Treason" and attempting to start what could be a nuclear war under false pretenses.

What would it take? The CIA kills people, for heavens sake...How big of a problem is a little lying about a nonexistent nuclear weapons program in a small foreign country?

The CIA revelations had to come at great personal anguish to nearly everyone in the agency. It had to be the realization that the people surrounding the President of the United States are crazy enough to really try to start World War Three just for the "Hell" of it, and the President of the United States is stupid enough to let them.

The CIA is essentially calling for the Impeachment of the President.

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country.

Maybe it is up to the rest of us, because It appears that there are very few of them in Congress.

Peace,

Steve

CIA plot...To protect Iran?

These people are absolutely crazy or just simply evil beyond belief..

American Heroes

The President had staked out his stand against war with Iran and now the CIA has backed him up.

A different president did everything he could to prevent the CIA from going public with damning information that undermined his case for war.

What information did President Bush try to keep from being released?

Iran has no nuclear weapons and has no intention of getting them.

It is a tale of the weirdest time in American history when the CIA backs the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and publics points out the President of the United States, George Bush, is a big fat liar...But that is exactly what just happened.

At the same time, every major Republican Candidate for President was made to look like a complete fool.

Giulianni just kept on rattling his sword at Iran, promising war and looking more like a character out of some freaky Batman sequel, what with his mafia friends, police force lackeys, and serial mistresses.

Romney was made to look like a complete idiot saying we should talk to the religious leaders in Iran instead of the Government, and why talk anyway when we can just bomb the crap out of them?

Huckabee said we should talk to China, Russia, and South Korea so that when we go to war with Iraq it will be their fault.

...And then the CIA pulled the rug out from under every single one of them.

There must be a fascinating backstory in all this but from where I stand, Condi Rice comes off as a minor heroine who went against Dick Cheney and his plans for eternal war by allowing the release of a previously classified report by the 16 Intelligence Agencies who went against their President in order to prevent what Bush himself was calling "World War Three."

Frankly, folks...In my lifetime I never thought I would call anyone at the head of an American Intelligence Agency a hero, but here I am... These people love their country.

No Congressman or Senator or any activist anywhere in America has presented a more definitive case for impeachment of the American President, George W. Bush, and the Vice President, Richard B. Cheney, than the CIA just did.

At the very least, the CIA has done what it could to prevent World War Three.

Peace,
Steve

Political Creek

National politics affect us all, and I guess it's time for me to own up to the original reason I started writing WhitesCreek Journal. I wanted to document my thoughts on the Presidential election and the direction certain choices would take America. Over the next year, I expect I will offer a good bit of opinion on the candidates and what choosing them would mean for our future, so I'm just warning you...If you stay with me, you'll read a lot of things like this:

Leader of the Pack?

Suddenly the leader of the GOP pack has changed in Iowa. Rudy Giulianni has had the shining veil of his 911 extended photo op lifted to expose him as a philandering megalomaniac who uses public money for his own, possibly illegal, purposes and attempts to destroy anyone who dares to oppose him or reveal the truth about his exploits.

Giulianni has been replaced by Mike Huckabee, a megalomaniac who uses public money for his own. possibly illegal, purposes and attempts to destroy anyone who opposes him or reveal the truth about his exploits.

I keep coming back to a question I and many other folks have repeatedly posed...Are ALL Republican candidates nutjobs? I mean when Mitt Romney seems to be the sanest one of the bunch, there's some serious smoke coming from the engine compartment of the GOP bus.

Huckabee, being the front runner, gets our attention for now. He has something in common with Giulianni in that only about a third of his former constituents would support him if he got the nomination. It took a lot of shouting from Giulianni's ex-people to get the rest of the world to start noticing that the guy has a corruption problem, even if you disregard his cheatin' ways. Now that Rudy is in eclipse feathers, we can turn to Huckabee for an even bigger and more egotistical nutjob, if that's possible.

Sanctioned by the campaign ethics commission on more than five separate occaisions, Huckabee has earned the support of a minority of his own party's legislators in Arkansas. Only 10 of the 33 Republican Legislators in Arkansas have said they will support him.

A lot of speculation has gone on regarding the secrets held on State computer hard drives that might xpose even more wrong doing on Huckabee's part, but he took care of that little problem by having the hard drives crushed.

Salon on Huckabee

Enjoy your reading assignment. There'll be more.

Peace,

Steve

He was in jail next to Awful Knofel

Random stuff From http://www.wikipedia.com/ :

The animated Beatle Movie "Yellow Submarine" premiered on July 17, 1968. For some reason I have been wanting to play Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and started thinking. You folks know how dangerous that is. So here's a bit of Yellow trivia:

The term "Blue Meanies" is actually a metaphor for bad people in government and corporate, who force their wills on good people (Pepperlanders), and carelessly deplete and ruin the natural environment, resources, colour and landscape. They are carefree about their destructive ways and will do whatever necessary to crush those (The Beatles) who oppose them.

Evel Knievel died yesterday. He was a wild ass petty criminal who entertained a lot of us as we watched him to see if he would kill himself. I thought he got his name from his grandfather but here's a different version that's funnier:

Bobby Knievel dropped out of high school after his sphomore year and got a job with the Anaconda Mining Company as a diamond drill operator in the copper mines. He was promoted to surface duty where his job was driving a large earth mover. Knievel was fired when he made the earth mover pop a motorcycle-type wheelie and drove it into Butte's main power line, leaving the city without electricity for several hours.

With a lot of time on his hands, Knievel began to get into more and more trouble around Butte. After one particular police chase in 1956 in which he crashed his motorcycle, Knievel was taken to jail on a charge of reckless driving.

When the night jailer came around to check the roll, he noted Robert Knievel in one cell and William Knofel in the other. Knofel was well known as "Awful Knofel" ("Awful" rhyming with "Knofel") so Knievel began to be referred to as Evel Knievel ("Evel" rhyming with "Knievel"). The nickname stuck.

So now he's died...An American Character we'll miss, somehow.

Peace,

Steve