No, that’s not Photoshopped. My penchant for Seagal ‘shops notwithstanding, you can believe this is the real deal, because I hadn’t heard the name “Joe the Plumber” in so long that I’d forgotten he existed. Sadly, he’s still around, has a Facebook page, and posted this picture of himself with Steven Seagal, taken at an Arizona Republican fundraiser a few weeks ago. So, Steven Seagal is a Republican? I’d never heard anything about it before now, but knowing that he’s a Buddhist Irish Jew from Fullerton who considers himself Russian and wears sleeveless kimonos while playing blues music about loving poonani, I can believe anything. It’s quite possible they just saw him front-kick a few Mexicans in his movies and figured he was good peeps.

In other Seagal Watch news, there’s a new fat Lawman in town, and his name is Butterbean. Despite weighing 416 pounds, ‘Bean still managed to climb atop Seagal’s shoulders to promote his new show at the television critics awards. Luckily, Seagal’s back is very strong from his training with Shaolin monks in the 5th and/or 27th centuries (get it? because Steven Seagal doesn’t keep track of space or time too well? Jesus, these Seagal posts need annotations).

The fighter, whose uniform has “Deputy Butterbean” stitched into it as the camera follows him on the job, wants viewers to realize that he’s not a flash in the pan law reality star like other celebrities, like Seagal’s Lawman and Erik Estrada’s Armed & Famous, who have joined law enforcement ranks for the camera.
“I was deputized before the show even happened,” Esch said Friday during the series’ stop at the Television Critics’ Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills.
Deputy Adam Hadder, his partner on the Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit in Jasper, notes that Butterbean is not a flash in the pan and that his hometown celebrity status helps a lot.
“It draws attention to our department,” Hadder noted, adding that it helps in fighting the town’s drug problem. “I don’t think people took the Seagal show serious because he didn’t live there.”
“It’s not all about arresting people and throwing them in jail,” Esch noted. “It’s about trying to make a difference where we live.” [THR]

Yeah, yeah, it’s different because you’re a real cop. You’re all real cops, we get it. By the way, have you seen most local cops? It’s not as as impressive as you think it is. Kind of like me telling girls I’m a blogger at parties. Call me when you bring a tank to break up a cockfight.