JolieSimons.com

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of my favorite UFC fighters. He’s the guy who wears a huge, industrial-looking chain around his neck. He’s the one who beat up Chuck Liddell for the title win in UFC 71. He’s the guy who, up until his stupid loss to Forrest Griffin, was the UFC Light Heavyweight champ. He’s got one of the funniest mouths in MMA.

Well, turns out Quinton is a bad man indeed.

Yesterday, while driving around in a monster truck emblazoned with a Toyo Tires logo and his own picture, Quinton led Newport Beach police on a chase after a hit and run accident. Police arrested Rampage at gunpoint, as these shocking pictures from TMZ can attest. Apparently Jackson was driving erratically, swerving lanes and driving on the sidewalk.

Jackson was then taken to the hospital. Some say Rampage was visibly not well, and cops forced the champ to go to the hospital before taking further action.

Well, Jackson was picked up again today, supposedly for his erratic behavior. He is currently in the hospital. Now word yet on his condition or the cause of his erratic behavior. TMZ reports that friends have claimed that he’s not been well lately.

As a fan, I would never condone Jackson’s actions, but I do hope he gets well soon and seeks treatment for his problems.

Also, enjoy some of Rampage Jackson’s famous quotes (definitely R rated). He’s quite the dirty Yogi Berra, that guy.

First, the story was hostile. Belgian brewer InBev set its sites on the St. Louis-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch and was not going to let go until AB was in its growing portfolio of beer brands. InBev already owns Anheuser-Busch Canada. It wanted AB so bad that they threatened a hostile takeover. First, they were going to pull an FDR and pack the board with InBev-friendly board members. Then they were going to take the case directly to shareholders in hopes that they could gain control of AB for a cut-rate price, but that wasn’t necessary and AB was sold to InBev for $52 billion dollars, making St. Louisans sad. Even Obama is sad about the sale.

Of course, InBev realizes that this is the best time to buy possible. The dollar is weak against the Euro, and AB is a $50 billion dolllar-plus bargain.

InBev claims that things in St. Louis won’t change much. Anheuser-Busch headquarters will still be housed in St. Louis, they say, and they will continue substantial charitable donations. Of course, millions of dollars float around St. Louis not-for-profits today, and there is no certainty that these charities will receive any money once the takeover is complete. My friend who works at a local art museum can’t count on having job next year if InBev does indeed pull their funding of local arts and charitable organizations.

AB has already had plans in place to cut costs. They’ve recently renegotiated benefits for employees to cut costs. They are no longer filling open positions and more people could be losing their jobs in the future.

So is this another nail in the coffin of the St. Louis economy? The automotive business has moved out, slowly but surely, as the local Chrysler plants have announced that they will be cutting thousands of good blue collar jobs. Now the monument of St. Louis corporations, Anheuser-Busch is no longer a St. Louis company and there’s no guarantees that AB will stay in this city, state, or even country.

I’m reminded of the eighties documentary Roger & Me, directed by Michael Moore. While St. Louis is no Flint, Michigan, we are certainly facing an uncertain economic future. On the plus side, with the weakening dollar, we become more attractive to foreign business. We have a large, qualified work force, ready and willing to take on the challanges of running a successful corporation or assembling complicated, high-tech products.

So is the InBev takeover really a nail in the coffin of the St. Louis economy? Well, that remains to be seen.