If you’re old enough to remember that from the old Wendy’s commercials, well, then you’re old.

These old broads ladies were quite the rage back in the 70s and 80s.  And Wendy’s restaurants challenged the rest of the burger world to beef UP their burgers and make the beef fit the bun.

Well, now it’s Taco Bell that is being asked that question.

Attorneys in Alabama are questioning if the beef in the Taco Bell menu items is really beef!

Please tell me it is.

Everyone knows that Taco Bell is the “open late stop for stoners and other hungry folks”, and Lord knows I don’t want anything in my tacos but beef.

The USDA standard for what constitutes beef is pretty clear:  flesh of animals.

Wait a minute, that’s not too clear if you ask me!

Taco Bell says: “”Our taco meat is made from USDA-inspected beef and is subjected to quality check points. It tastes great because it’s simmered in 12 authentic seasonings and spices and is never frozen. Moreover, our taco meat is leaner than what you’ll find in a restaurant-cooked hamburger because of the unique way that we prepare our taco meat and remove fat.”

But the Alabama law firm of Beasley Allen says, “liar, liar pants on fire!”

The firm contends that that Taco Bell shouldn’t market the taco meat filling as beef because their testing shows that it only contains 36 percent ground beef. 

Oh crap!

If that’s true, Taco Bell’s meat filling product would fall below the already generous USDA standard for it to qualify as meat – the present standard demands it consist of at least 40 percent meat.

Generous!!!!  Seriously folks, I was hoping for 100% meat!

According to the law suit and the “tassled loafer wearin’ lawyers” from Alabama,  “The remainder of the Taco Bell’s meat filling product consists of “extenders” like water, “Isolated Oat Product,” wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate and silicon dioxide.”

Again, I say, “Oh crap!”

The Bell boys actually address the silicon dioxide issue on their “Food Facts” website.  They say, “silicone dioxide is “a safe, common food ingredient that’s primarily used in food to prevent ingredients from sticking together.”

Ah, gross!

Taco Bell did issue a response to some questioners: 

At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods. We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture. We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website. Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later — and got their “facts” absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food.”

This comes from Taco Bell President and Chief Concept Officer, Greg Creed.

This kind of press is bad for Taco Bell, and I love Taco Bell; I’m just hoping the lawyers are wrong…they are sometimes, aren’t they?

…and change that plea.

Jared Loughner, the “suspect” in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, entered a plea of not guilty Monday.

Seriously, “not guilty”?

Ok, there’s that innocent until proven guilty thing, I know – blah blah blah- , but didn’t several hundred people see him shot her and several others,  killing a few?

I say you do the right thing Jared and fess UP!

Save the State of Arizona and the Feds a ton of money and bite the bullit, admit your crime and take what’s coming.

His attorney, Judy Clarke has started what will probably be a long and costly defense paid for by the American people.

She’s the gal who got life instead of the death penalty for the Unibomber, Ted Kaczynski and Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph.

Those trials took forever and cost millions.

Every one is trying to get a quote from Ms. Clarke.  She has not responded to requests seeking comment. She is one of the top lawyers in the country for defendants facing prominent death penalty cases, and she’s pretty good.  This guy may just dodge the needle bullit.

Ms. Clarke hasn’t mentioned an insanity defense, but I’m sure it’s on the way.  Investigators have said Loughner was mentally disturbed and acting increasingly erratic in the weeks leading up to the attack on Jan. 8 that wounded 13.

If Loughner’s attorney uses mental competency questions as a defense and is successful, Loughner could be sent to a mental health facility instead of being sentenced to prison or death.

Is this guy crazy?

I’ll let you be the judge.

I went to see “The King’s Speech” this weekend. 

It’s the best movie I’ve seen since “Gladiator”, and may possibly be the best movie I’ve ever seen in my life. 

But then, I’m an English history nut.

I really didn’t know what to expect.  I’m a big history buff, and knew of HRM King George VI’s speech impediment, but it isn’t something that is brought UP in history class often.  It’s also something that the British Royal Family doesn’t talk about.

Based on a play by Mark Burgess, the film stars Colin Firth as King George VI, Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth – not the present one, but The Queen Mother as people of our generation knew her. 

King George VI died the year I was born; 1952. 

He was never supposed to be King, never wanted to be King, and probably disliked being such.

 He lead his country through WW II, and the film starts with one of his earlier attempts as The Duke of York, second in line for the throne, stumbling through a speech – literally stumbling, it was a disaster.

 His wife, Elizabeth, played by Bonham Carter and pictured as the Duchess of York below…

… realizing that he might have to speak publicly more often with the advent of radio, or “the wireless”, finds Lionel Logue, played brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush, a quirky, non-conventional speech therapist to help him.

Things don’t go well. 

 ”The King’s Speech” takes the viewer inside the Royal Family of 1936 when the Old King, King George V is dying, Queen Mary is setting the tone for the “firm’s” behavior, and The Prince of Wales, future King Edward VIII and future Duke of Windsor is wreaking havoc along with – I’m sure she was once a man – Wallis Simpson.  You can read an earlier post about her if you’d like by clicking here. 

After David’s (King Edward VIII) abdication to marry “the woman he loved”, Bertie (King George VI) finds himself thrust UPon the throne at a time when the world is on the brink of war. 

There’s drama everywhere. The movie’s climactic ending with the King’s triumphant radio broadcast advising the British people that they are at war with Germany, is to me, the most moving scene in a film since the one in “Secret Life Of Bees” when Lily tells August about killing her mother and says, “I’m bad, I’m bad, I’m unlovable.”     

Its gut wrenching. 

Firth deserves every award he’s nominated for for this film, and he’s already won several including the Golden Globe.  Rush, is a very close second.  They are both brilliant actors and make these two characters real and vunerable.

The film is very accurate with a few exceptions.  Churchill’s role in the abdication crisis was not one of advising the Duke of York, but advising the King – he encouraged him not to abdicate – and the guy playing Churchill looks about as much like him as I do!  The King and Mrs. Simpson’s sympathetic leanings toward Hitler are brushed over, and the British Government:  Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, et al’s,  policy of appeasement towards Hitler isn’t mentioned at all. 

Nonetheless, it’s historical depiction of events, though crammed into a few years instead of ten (Seriously, who wants a movie that long?) are “on the money”. 

The film is rated R.  One word used several times in one scene along with the desire to get more people to see it brought the R rating.  There is no sex, there are no drugs, there is no rock and roll, and there is very little swearing.  The swearing scene is actually funny and really not offensive at all.

Don’t wait for the DVD 

The movie’s a must see.

In 1901, on this day, Albert Edward became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions as well as Emperor of India UPon the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

He was known to his family simply as “Bertie”.

He was heir apparent longer than anyone else in history, and was still ill-prepared to rule.

The poster child for the idle elite, he had a beautiful wife, money, social power, mistresses and a vocracious sexual appetite.  It is believed he had at least 55 mistresses in his lifetime, maybe more.

He was a naughty, naughty boy.

Victoria wanted to live forever just to prevent him from taking the throne.

He was the first ruler of England in the 20th Century.

He was the King Emperor for just over nine years, and did a much better job than anyone ever expected.

England was still a power, and the Sun never set on the British Empire.

He had a secret friendship with US President Teddy Roosevelt, and the two of them probably delayed WW I by 10 or 12 years.

He and his wife Queen Alexandra had six children, one was at one time thought to be Jack the Ripper – later disproved, one would become King George V, and one would become the Queen of Norway.

He was the Uncle of Europe.

His mistresses included Sarah “the devine” Bernhardt and the Jersey Lily, Lily Langtry, both actresses.  One of the greatest books I’ve ever read is called The Prince and the Lily, which is about his decades long relationship with Langtry…you may remember her character from the film, “Judge Roy Bean”.

One his mistresses, Alice Keppel was at his death-bed along with his wife, the Queen;  her presence was a request of the King, not the Queen.  Alice’s great-granddaughter is Camilla Parker-Bowles, the present Duchess of Cornwall, and the wife of the current Prince of Wales, Charles.

Ewwww.

He put the fun in dysfunctional.  But not to worry, Camilla is truly a Keppel, and not a descendant of Bertie.

He was the first member of the royal family to be called into court as a witness…it was a divorce case on the grounds of adultry.  Shocker!!

He was a gourmand and became so fat that he had a special chair designed so that he could engage in sex…without suffocating his partner.

Nice!

Just thougth you’d want to know…and see, history can be fun.