Quad-Cities Daily is Great, but...

Last year I reviewed two of the three local news sites: the Shoals Insider and Pen-N-Sword. Someone recently asked why no review of the Quad-Cities Daily. Sheer laziness!

I love the QCD. I love the Event Photos and I love the jail reports (don't we all just love to see who's in the lockup?).

I highly recommend the QCD, but...

About those page hit numbers? Jail rosters, birth records, animals needing homes? All those categories require two clicks before you get to the page you want. So, guess what?

The QCD says it has 18 million page hits racked up. But if you consider at least three categories take two clicks, and if we say those three categories make up at least 1/3 of the content, that would lower the number to 15 million. It's quite possibly even lower. 

Dishonest or just good business? No, matter. The QCD is one of two must reads in local news and I highly recommend it!

The Shoals Tatler

Indict Trey Wooten and Get It Over With!

Photo From Engagement Party. A Few Hours Later She Was Dead

The Lauderdale grand jury finally meets on Tuesday. I dunno if they'll indict anyone on the mysterious cabin cruiser, but I do know Trey Wooten should be indicted.

Exactly what did Trey have in his system when he left the engagement party that fateful night? Alcohol and Xanax? Everyone knows what a synergistic effect is, right? 

Five Weeks After The Accident - Arrested For Xanax Possession

It looks like there's plenty of guilt to go around, but people seem to be giving Wooten a free pass. Maybe you should ask how many times he's been in rehab. No matter what the guys in the cabin cruiser did, they wouldn't have been in that position if Trey hadn't first hit their boat. 

Let's give those two girls justice!

The Tatler

Kevin Pennington Should Be Charged With Manslaughter

You may know I have three daughters that I love more than life itself. The only things I place above them are God and my wife. So far I've kept them from being shot and I plan to keep it that way.

No, I don't think Kevin Pennington meant to leave a loaded gun in his truck. At least his family says that he didn't. I have no idea if sweet Kaleigh's brother meant to shoot her or not, but he's only 10 or 11, so he's not the adult here. Kevin Pennington is.

DA Brent Cooper says he won't prosecute Kevin. Okay, I get it that the family needs Kevin to keep being the breadwinner, but what kind of message does that send? DA Cooper can make sure Kevin gets probation, right?

Until we start prosecuting gun crimes, and this was a crime, our children's death rate is going to remain the same.


The Tatler

Use Your Head!

This blog is addressed to "whom it may concern" since I promised my wife I wouldn't name any names. Two or three people took umbrage to my last blog, so I thought I'd clear a few things up for them while teaching a little logical thinking in the process. 

No. 1: Spelling. You see when a logical, intelligent person reads a word they've never seen before, or never seen spelled that way, they don't immediately criticize the writer. No, guys, they look the word up. But since that seems a little hard for some, I'll help ya out. This blog isn't the Shoals Tattler, it's the Shoals Tatler. Two different things entirely. A tattler presumably tells on people. A tatler observes and reports. Now that's not too difficult to understand, is it?

No. 2: Gender. Considering I mentioned pretty early on that I had a wife and children, I was pretty shocked to find out that I was a woman. That's not nearly as shocked as my wife was. I haven't had the heart to break it to my kids. No, if you want to criticize someone, be sure you know a little about them or you make all your points look shaky. 

No. 3: Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson. You don't like Williamson. I get it. You criticized him for not reporting new sex offenders in a timely manner. Okay, let's say that your criticism is justified and not just some petty revenge on your part. Then what did you say? 

You criticized Williamson for not reporting to the state in a timely manner that two sex offenders had moved out of the county. Actually, all you know is that he (or the person responsible in his office) didn't remove them from the online site. If Williamson is responsible for immediately notifying the state of incoming sex offenders, why isn't the sheriff of the county where these two moved (and registered) responsible for notifying the state of the same thing? See, you can't have it both ways. 

Hope that cleared some things up for you two or three.


Shoals Tatler

Edward Bowman: A Dangerous Kind of Stupid

Right now, lads and lassies, I'm glad I live in Lauderdale County and not in Colbert where the likes of Edward (Ed) Bowman live. Bowman never met a conspiracy he didn't like. He even supports forgoing vaccines so your child can die a horrible death. Nice, huh? Bowman claims vaccines contain tissue of aborted fetuses. IQ of 12 or less, Mr. Bowman?

Anyone out there really think Bowman found out about the controversial re-entry ministry by himself? If you do, you should think again. Bowman has a bone to pick with the Colbert County sheriff, and it would be interesting to know just what it is and who put him up to it.

He doesn't like county commissioner David Black either. Most people don't, but Bowman's views stem from Black being homosexual. Dunno if he is or not, but that's beside the point. He could be Steve Douglas and I wouldn't vote for him. Bowman needs to stick to the facts.

Now Bowman has allied himself with the crazy Witt couple. Need I say more? If Ed Bowman tells you something is white, you pretty well know it's going to be black before you ever see it.


The Tatler

Two Witts Don't Even Make One Half-Wit

Fluffy Gets Her Revenge on the Half-Wits

Up until now I hadn't done any tattling on Terry and Resa Witt, that Colbert County couple suing the whole of three counties, two cities, and one chihuahua. That didn't stop the couple (Yeah, I know, it's prolly Mrs. Witt) from commenting on MY BLOG!

Now I know it's hard to comprehend, Mrs. Witt, but comments are for things I've said here. So now you can comment all you want on this blog as long as you don't libel others. Yeah, yeah, silly of me to think she can do that.

How's that lawsuit against Colbert County coming along? Sorry, ol' gal, but don't count on it to keep you in tranquilizers cause you don't have a case. If I were the deputy or the veterinarian, I'd own every thing you got. That's after the bank was through with you.

Now try to post some more idiotic comments and I'll blog on your great family relationships and vehicle problems. How's that sound?


The Tatler

Why So Long for Pen-N-Sword to Get Its New Format?

I recently reviewed the Shoals Insider, so now it's Pen-N-Sword's turn. The site had a virus for ages and every time I ventured near, my McAfee told me I was in danger of being robbed. Not very good PR, is it?

So now the virus is long cured and posts are salaciously scintillating. Don't mess with a great thing, right? But PNS is or so they say.

Readers have been promised a new format for at least three months, but so far none has shown up. Is it just some gimmick to get you to the site like the SI's "Readers' Choice Awards?"

Personally, I'm going to give them 30 more days before I call foul. I'm tired of waiting!


Shoals Tatler

"Shoals Insider" Shutting Down?

Not long ago I promised to rank the local online news sites. So far, I've not kept that promise, but I'll critique one right now - the Shoals Insider.

A poster on the TVT Forum recently stated the site was closing down. Is it? I took a long look at the site yesterday. It can go seven days with no posts, but it seems to have a lot of advertisers. I'm guessing because of the likes it got on Facebook when it was in its infancy and had no competition.

I've collected 10 or 12 accounts of people not getting ads they've paid for. Shoot me a line if this has happened to you. If it does close suddenly, or even slowly, good luck at any advertisers getting their money back.

The Tatler

Baby-Killer Justin Green & Local Media

The Shoals Tatler is guessing all online publications received some information about Justin Matthew Green, the little p.o.s. who killed his daughter a few years ago. The Tatler has absolutely no aversion to publishing the worst about this man who doesn't deserve to be walking amongst us, but yet I had to be sure the info I received was true. Was he in the ol' lockup?

It took just one phone call to determine that Justin “Justified” Green was in fact incarcerated in Lauderdale County. But by the time I'd finished this mini-investigation, Pen-N-Sword had published an article on this dreg of humanity, so the Tatler didn't see much necessity in his own. Then I noticed something.

Green's arrest was never in the Quad-Cities Daily. Why? Don't they publish misdemeanor arrests? Had the arrest shown up as only for child support and perhaps didn't fall within that publication's parameters? Or was there something else?

That reminded the Tatler of his promise to rank local publications. I still intend to do just that. I am dropping the Shoals Daily from our list of reading-worthy sites. The Tatler will rate, if not rank, the Quad-Cities Daily, Pen-N-Sword, and yes even the Shoals Insider which doesn't publish much more than the Shoals Daily and whose owner seems to owe half the Shoals for unpublished ads.

But don't think the two more reputable publications will escape our renowned wit. It will be interesting.

Justin Green won't be reading the article. He'll still be behind bars where he deserves to serve the rest of his miserable existence living in his own excrement.

The Shoals Tatler 

Have Leo Take a Bite out of Kitts-Katts

Who's in charge at UNA? Is it the pointy-headed Kenneth Kitts? Is it the over the hill David Shields? Is it the board that usually has their heads up their arses?

My wife and I have three daughters. One is already in college at UNA. She won't be in the spring semester. She'll be at UAH and her sisters will follow.

Did anyone check out Kitts' credentials? How about a background check? Why did he leave his home state and a position he'd held for only a short time? Is there something the people of Florence and the Shoals need to know?

All these clowns need to leave the university, the town, and the state. Not sure where Shields is originally from, but Kitts isn't homegrown. Maybe we should be like in those movies with demons where the priest commands them to return from whence they came?

The Shoals Tatler