Monday, October 8, 2012

McMahon and Murphy finally talk about the issues.

Who would've guessed that on a late Sunday morning in October the Senate race in Connecticut would really begin? WFBS hosted the first televised debate with Dennis House moderating and featuring a  well respected panel of  journalists that included Angela Dias, of WTIC Radio, Mark Pazniokas, from the Connecticut Mirror and Fran Schneidau from WCBS News Radio 880. As of  this last week both candidates are in a dead heat.
 
The debate on Sunday was an all out barrage of policy differences, accusations, and rhetoric but for the first time in this campaign Connecticut voters actually got to see the two candidates speak on their own and challenge each other and answer the panel's questions.One of the most compelling questions was from Pazniokas. This having to do with press access to both candidates and the transparency of their campaigns when it comes to providing press conferences or even the candidates daily schedules, which neither post on their web sites.This issue being one of the most disheartening aspects of this Senate race. McMahon began by defending the structure of her campaign and stated  she  enjoys the face to face meetings she has with voters on a daily basis. In this response we heard one of McMahon's most revealing statements when she said this about her wanting to run for the Senate. "In a Congress where we have so few people who come from the public sector."  It might be news to McMahon but now more than  half of the members of Congress are now millionaires. In Murphy's response he committed his first pivot of the debate by not answering the question, instead using his time to drawn contrast between him and McMahon. Pazniokas had to ask Murphy  once again to answer the question in which he said he does work with editorial boards and often answers questions from the media.

What  followed next was Murphy's unabashed accusation that McMahon's plan on her web site is simply not her own by saying "Entire paragraphs and entire sentences" were "lifted from the House Republican website, the Cato Institute,". He went on  to say  "It's a plan that was essentially written by people in Washington who have ideology as their primary concern." McMahon clearly stunned turned  directly to Murphy and pushed back hard " Congressman Murphy shame on you. You have just  accused me of  plagiarizing my plan." McMahon then when on to say "You know very well that my plan is my own. I have sought the expert opinion of those outside to get the brightest and the best, and every word of that has been cited, either in the online plan or in print."

 For may Connecticut voters, and the writer of this blog, when you have checked McMahon's plan in the recent past on her web site none of her plan was cited at all.
 Later in the day this story exploded into a even bigger issue as it was being reported that the McMahon campaign had earlier in the week released the edited text of an email exchange with a Huffington Post reporter and Cory Bliss of the McMahon campaign. This in reference to the McMahon plan not being properly being cited on her web site. The information is now cited.What was omitted in the released email was the previous un-cited web pages that reporter Amanda Terkel included in her original email to Bliss.

One has to just ask McMahon with her tens of millions of dollars she has already spent on her race, how could citations be over looked?  Coincidental McMahon  vast wealth afforded her the opportunity to place full color full page ads in numerous Sunday morning papers.The ad in sarcastic details compares Ferrus Bueller's Day off to Chris Murphy's six years off in Congress. Ironically none of the committee attendance records from three different Congresses are cited at all in the print ad.
Are we seeing a trend here?
This is a copy of the newspaper ad on McMahon's Facebook page.
 
The debates did provide  plenty of details,contrast, and zingers between the two candidates and is worth watching here. Connecticut voters need to determine what is more important for our state. Candidates controlling the narrative and ignoring the issues and the  press in possibly the worst Senate race in Connecticut's history or do the voters want bothMcMahon and Murphy to honestly talk abou the issues and prove to  voters who will be a greater advocate. The one who will go to Washington and be a partner with our other sitting Senator to work and fight for all the residents of our state.
The next four weeks will be one wild roller coaster ride here in Connecticut.
Hopefully the  voters will demand more in this race from each of the candidates in both substance, action and simply telling voters where they will be appearing each week.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Jack Welch diatribe an accident or GOP narrative?


Ponder this.
Why in the world would Jack Welch come out and go on a diatribe about the LBS unemployment numbers yesterday? Especially after Romney did so well in the debates?
I will present this idea.
Romney came off as a moderate in the debate, yes a moderate. The last year he has tried to plead the case to his own party that he is " conservative" enough and has said whatever he needed to say and waffled on a variety of issues to support this ideology that now dominates the GOP and win the reluctant support of his party.
Even as late as after the GOP convention conservative writers were slamming the Romney campaign.
It is clear at this juncture in history the people of America do not want a extremist from the right or left in the White House so Romney did what he had to do to appeal to that moderate middle away, as he did in Massachusetts to become Governor, and on Wednesday night he did it quite effectively too.

Now less than forty right hours after Romney’s post debate glee in walks  Jack Welch. The perfect and respected former CEO of General Electric. His career at the Fairfield, Connecticut based General Electric epitomizes the best and worst in America Corporatism. He  is revered as much as he once was feared but after what happened yesterday on  numerous cable television shows you have to wonder why in the world he would say this? Of coarse this was proceeded  by his tweet heard around the world, which he posted five minutes after the data was released, accusing the Obama Administration of manipulating the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment numbers. The very same data that the nation has  relied on for decades.Granted there is legitimate criticism and there may need to be  reform but it was actually  during the Richard Nixon administration that  they did manipulate the BLS data and changes have been made to protect the integrity of the  data and how it reaches the oval office.
Bloomberg news last night  had this headline about Welch's claim "Welch Conspiracy Theory on Jobs Data Not Tied to Reality."
So why would Jack Welch say something as absurd as this? A well respected, and equally hated, American business icon?  If you were to visit  the Romney campaign rallies yesterday many in attendance in  were in agreement with this latest conspiracy theory allegedly created by the hands Barack Hussein Obama's Chicago cronies, and now being championed by  the likes of Jack Welch.
That is where the problem begins within the Republican party. There have been numerous and successful attempts to discredit this current Administration from the the Reverend Wright statements, to the birther movement, to accusing Obama of being a Muslim and socialist. Shallow theories that regardless how often and how well they were debunked this narrative has  stayed with a  growing number of American voters. It was only six months ago that Donald Trump was reeling about the birther issue.
Fast forward to a moderate sounding Mitt Romney on Wednesday night. Not exactly what the extremist or the teaparty wings of the GOP wants to hear. It was like seeing a developing Scott Brown who has now become the second most bipartisan Senator and guess what?  He blew up his teaparty allegiances months ago and they are  both from Massachusetts. A sheer coincidence?
This  sounds more and more like a  kick  back by the extremists conservative base to maintain and appease their "liberty" fighting, fear obsessed folks who are threatened by any reach of the Federal government into their lives, especially when it comes to healthcare and taxes. You can only wonder what Mitt Romney is now thinking? On one hand he is simultaneously trying to appeal and be liked  by moderate voters, and on the other side he has to please the real drivers of the GOP, the powerful and wealthy elite of the tea party, and  maybe Jack Welch comments are the warning shot to Mitt Romney not to go to far to the middle?
It is yet to be told but just the silence from actual  Republicans leaders is curious to say the least on these comments. Either way it is painfully clear that Jack Welch is more than willing to take some  shots for his team and fall on his own sword as he  tries to defend a position that he himself said " I have no evidence the numbers were doctored."
Look for him on the next season of The Apprentice as it will be his only legitimate next career move.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Linda McMahon Putting the Sleeper Hold On Connecticut Voters

With  the most contested Presidential race in over  a decade occurring a strange and disturbing race is playing out in the land of steady habits, better known as Connecticut. With something right out of the Pete Campbell play book Linda McMahon has been  effectively taking over the narrative in this very tight Senate race against Democratic Chris Murphy. Much of the national attention, and soon Super Pac monies, will be drawn to this race and rightly so if the Democrats are to hang onto their slim control of the Senate. As of August 28th McMahon had Murphy on the ropes with a  49% to 46% lead over likely  voters. If you look closer McMahon is leading over men with a dominating 54% to 42% over likely voters. These  number do not  improve much for Murphy with likely women voters as he only has a four point lead.

McMahon has spent over $65 million of her own  money since her  previous lost Senate bid against former AG Richard Blumenthal. In that race the majority of Connecticut voters disliked Linda McMahon and it was clear why they did. Her  carpet  bombing of their mail boxes with daily multi-color mailings attacking one of the most beloved and effective Attorney Generals in Connecticut history left a  bitter taste in most sensible people's mouths. Blumenthal did  beat McMahon by 7% in 2010 after she  spent nearly $50 million dollars of her own money.
Fast forward to 2012 and that sensible attitude has given way to ousting the incumbants and career polticans coutesy of the Koch brothers.

 Today McMahon has  taken a  page right out of the Obama playbook and has used her  unlimited resources to create a social media power house through her endless TV commercials and her very effective online and social media presence. One just has to look at her own very attractive and user friendly web site  as it  drips with tea party inspired talking points and nostalgic U.S exceptionalism web design. Comparing this to Chris Murphy's site which pales in comparison by failing to excite you by coming to, or even entering the site, and it gravely fails to get his message out clearly. There are no mentions of his voting record and accomplishments in Congress or his passions for  fighting for the working class. On a Google search of Chris Murphy for  Senate, McMahon's paid ad attacking Murphy's skipping committee hearing  comes up first right above his web site link. That is what $65 million dollars will buy you along with three fired campaign mangers.

This race is not about issues but image and Linda McMahon has built her vast personal fortune, which is estimated at over $350 million, doing just that. The other shocking truth is if elected this would make her the wealthiest Senator eclipsing John Kerry. This empire has been created by the use of degrading and manipulating characters in their concocked warp reality of the WWE. They call it entertainment but the majority of  it borders on the rediculus and absurd, jump to 9:14 to see what Linda has to say about her two children. The campaign has even started to ban and have removed older clips that could, and do,  make McMahon look like an idiot. The WWE has  used violence, and sexism to amass it  millions but Connecticut voters sadly seem to be giving her a pass on this. She is a professional  through and through and has learned much from her own company's moronic soap opera story lines as her aggressive and relentless  attacks against Murphy are working and winning over white middle class  voters.This would make even Karl Rove proud.

Connecticut may claim to have some of the most educated voters in our  country but you  have tio start to wonder. Begin by just diving into the details of McMahon's web site and her six point plan, which is short on details and specifics or gasp... references and citations. It is  just the 1% recycled talking points. If one is to just consider her middle class tax  cut, which  would benefit singles making $86,000  a year or  families making $143,000 a year. Sadly the median income in Connecticut is much lower for the majority of Connecticut families than her tax plan would  help.Plus she does not even mention how these and all the others tax cuts would be paid for. It just more of the trickle down economics which is not what our country need rights now. Murphy along with Connecticut voters should be demanding to see her tax returns and the specifics of her fiances and where she would truly stand for Connecticut working families in the Senate.

Instead we have been hoodwinked into watching a  played out story line in which the one with the most money controls the discussion and focus of the campaign and if Connecticut voters do not wake up soon, McMahon will win reinforcing the dominance of special interests and multi- millionaires in Congress and in our democratic process for years to come.
It would be  wonderful to have the first ever woman Senator from Connecticut but Linda McMahon is not what the 99% of Connecticut residents needs in these difficult and challenging times. Her lack of any previous public service in any elected position is cause for great concern as Connecticut needs a proven fighter for  our state, the entire state, not just the gold coast of Fairfield county.There is too much at stake for our futures and our country and Linda McMahon is not working class America. Sadly she left that behind decades ago.


Saturday, May 26, 2012

Activism for what it is worth.

I came upon this article the Zone today and it was posted by a wise soul know as Fafa. His insights and commitment to positive social change are remarkable and  from the heart. I hope you enjoy reading David Swanson's article and the rest that is part of this remarkable piece that Fafa compiled.
I am only passing it along and take no credit for the work. I encourage you all to do the same.
Fafa begins,
"Here's an interesting article we should consider:"
"Preface: The only people who should read this are folks who want a better world. Everyone else - please ignore it ... it will be a TOTAL waste of time ..."

Our Actions Are More Powerful Than We Realize
David Swanson writes today:


Almost every [history of past activism] includes belated discoveries of the extent to which government officials were influenced by activist groups even while pretending to ignore popular pressure.



These revelations can be found in the memoirs of the government officials as well, such as in George W. Bush’s recollection of how seriously the Republican Senate Majority Leader was taking public pressure against the war on Iraq in 2006.



Of course, activism that appears ineffectual at the time can succeed in a great many ways, including by influencing others, even young children, who go on to become effective activists — or by influencing firm opponents who begin to change their minds and eventually switch sides.



The beautiful thing about nonviolent activism is that, while risking no harm, it has the potential to do good in ways small and large that ripple out from it in directions we cannot track or measure.



Wittner participated in his first political demonstration in 1961. The USSR was withdrawing from a moratorium on nuclear testing. A protest at the White House urged President Kennedy not to follow suit:


“Picking up what I considered a very clever sign (‘Kennedy, Don’t Mimic the Russians!’), I joined the others (supplemented by a second busload of students from a Quaker college in the Midwest) circling around a couple of trees outside the White House. Mike and I — as new and zealous recruits — circled all day without taking a lunch or a dinner break.



“For decades I looked back on this venture as a trifle ridiculous. After all, we and other small bands of protesters couldn’t have had any impact on U.S. policy, could we? Then in the mid-1990s, while doing research at the Kennedy Library on the history of the world nuclear disarmament movement, I stumbled onto an oral history interview with Adrian Fisher, deputy director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. He was explaining why Kennedy delayed resuming atmospheric nuclear tests until April 1962. Kennedy personally wanted to resume such tests, Fisher recalled, ‘but he also recognized that there were a lot of people that were going to be deeply offended by the United States resuming atmospheric testing. We had people picketing the White House, and there was a lot of excitement about it — just because the Russians do it, why do we have to do it?’”

Yes, Kennedy delayed a horrible action. He didn’t, at that time, block it permanently. But if the picketers in 1961 had had the slightest notion that Kennedy was being influenced by them, their numbers would have multiplied 10-fold, as would the delay have correspondingly lengthened.



Yes, our government was more responsive to public opinion in the 1960s than now, but part of the reason is that more people were active then. And another reason is that government officials are doing a better job now of hiding any responsiveness to public sentiment, which helps convince the public it has no impact, which reduces activism further. We also focus far too much on the most difficult individuals to move, such as presidents.



In 1973-1974, Wittner visited GI coffee houses in Japan including in Yokusaka, where the Midway aircraft carrier was in port. The Japanese were protesting the ship’s carrying of nuclear weapons, which was illegal in Japan, and which the U.S. military, of course, lied about. But U.S. soldiers with whom Wittner and other activists had talked, brought them onto the ship and showed them the nukes. The following summer, when Wittner read in a newspaper that,


“a substantial number of American GIs had refused to board the Midway for a mission to South Korea, then swept by popular protest against the U.S.-backed dictatorship, it occurred to me that I might have played some small role in inspiring their mutiny.”

Soldiers can still be reached much more easily than presidents, more easily in many cases in fact than the average citizen. War lies are harder to sell to the people who have been fighting the wars.

In the late 1990s, Wittner was researching the anti-nuclear movement of decades past. He interviewed Robert “Bud” McFarlane, President Ronald Reagan’s former national security advisor:


“Other administration officials had claimed that they had barely noticed the nuclear freeze movement. But when I asked McFarlane about it, he lit up and began outlining a massive administration campaign to counter and discredit the freeze — one that he had directed. . . . A month later, I interviewed Edwin Meese, a top White House staffer and U.S. attorney general during the Reagan administration. When I asked him about the administration’s response to the freeze campaign, he followed the usual line by saying that there was little official notice taken of it. In response, I recounted what McFarlane had revealed. A sheepish grin now spread across this former government official’s face, and I knew that I had caught him. ‘If Bud says that,’ he remarked tactfully, ‘it must be true.’”

When someone tells you to stop imagining that you’re having an impact, ask them to please redirect their energy into getting 10 friends to join you in doing what needs to be done. If it has no impact, you’ll have gone down trying. If it has an impact, nobody will tell you for many years.

Mr. Swanson is right. I noted in 2009:


As MSNBC news correspondent Jonathan Capehart tells Dylan Ratigan, the main problem is that people aren’t making enough noise. Capehart says that the people not only have to “burn up the phone lines to Congress”, but also to hit the streets and protest in D.C.



Even though most politicians are totally corrupt, if many millions of Americans poured into the streets of D.C., a critical mass would be reached, and the politicians would start changing things in a hurry.



As [liberal] PhD economist Dean Baker points out:


The elites hate to acknowledge it, but when large numbers of ordinary people are moved to action, it changes the narrow political world where the elites call the shots. Inside accounts reveal the extent to which Johnson and Nixon’s conduct of the Vietnam War was constrained by the huge anti-war movement. It was the civil rights movement, not compelling arguments, that convinced members of Congress to end legal racial discrimination. More recently, the townhall meetings, dominated by people opposed to health care reform, have been a serious roadblock for those pushing reform….



A big turnout … can make a real difference.

Baker is right about Vietnam.



Specifically – according to Daniel Ellsberg and many others – Richard Nixon actually planned on dropping a nuclear bomb on Vietnam Nixon also said he didn’t care what the American people thought. He said that — no matter what the public did or said — he was going to escalate the war in Vietnam.



However, a well-known biographer says that Nixon backed off when hundreds of thousands of people turned out in Washington, D.C. to protest an escalation of the war.

And Pulitzer prize winning reporter Chris Hedges pointed out recently:


I was in Leipzig on November 9, 1989 with leaders of East German opposition and they told me that – perhaps within a year – there would be free passes back and forth across the Berlin wall.



Within a few hours, the Berlin Wall, at least as far as an impediment to human traffic, did not exist.



Week after week, month after month, these clergy in Leipzig held these candlelit vigils. And it was slow at first … people forget. Just like the Egyptian revolution has been percolating for many many months, and even years.



And suddenly, it began to grow.



And Honecker – who had been in ruling East Germany since the time of the dinosaurs – sent down a paratroop division to Leipzig .. . and they won’t attack the demonstrators.

Part of the reason that our actions are more powerful than we thinks is that courage is contagious. So is the ability to think.

As we’ve previously noted:


[Studies show ] that even one dissenting voice can give people permission to think for themselves. Specifically:


Solomon Asch, with experiments originally carried out in the 1950s and well-replicated since, highlighted a phenomenon now known as “conformity”. In the classic experiment, a subject sees a puzzle like the one in the nearby diagram: Which of the lines A, B, and C is the same size as the line X? Take a moment to determine your own answer…The gotcha is that the subject is seated alongside a number of other people looking at the diagram – seemingly other subjects, actually confederates of the experimenter. The other “subjects” in the experiment, one after the other, say that line C seems to be the same size as X. The real subject is seated next-to-last. How many people, placed in this situation, would say “C” – giving an obviously incorrect answer that agrees with the unanimous answer of the other subjects? What do you think the percentage would be?



Three-quarters of the subjects in Asch’s experiment gave a “conforming” answer at least once. A third of the subjects conformed more than half the time.

Get it so far? People tend to defer to what the herd thinks.

But here’s the good news:


Adding a single dissenter – just one other person who gives the correct answer, or even an incorrect answer that’s different from the group’s incorrect answer – reduces conformity very sharply, down to 5-10%.

Why is this important? Well, it means that one person who publicly speaks the truth can sway a group of people away from group-think.



If a group of people is leaning towards believing the government’s version of events, a single person who speaks the truth can help snap the group out of its trance.



There is an important point here regarding the web, as well. The above-cited article states that:


when subjects can respond in a way that will not be seen by the group, conformity also drops.What does that mean? Well, on the web, many people post anonymously. The anonymity gives people permission to “respond in a way that will not be seen by the group”. But most Americans still don’t get their news from the web, or only go to mainstream corporate news sites.



Away from the keyboard, we are not very anonymous. So that is where the conformity dynamic — and the need for courageous dissent — is vital. It is doubly important that we apply the same hard-hitting truthtelling we do on the Internet in our face-to-face interactions; because it is there that dissent is urgently needed.



Bottom line: Each person‘s voice has the power to snap entire groups out of their coma of irrational group-think. So go forth and be a light of rationality and truth among the sleeping masses.

And a recent study shows that when only 10% of a population have strongly-held beliefs, their belief will often be adopted by the majority of the society.

True, governments worldwide are cracking down on liberty with the iron fist of repression.

But some argue that this is actually a sign that we are winning.

As Truthout’s Matt Renner writes:


Recently I sat down with two of the young adults who organized and led the Egyptian resistance movement that overthrew Hosni Mubarak. The media narrative said it took 18 days, when in fact, they had been organizing for over five years.



According to these young men, the moment they knew they had won was the day Mubarak’s government shut off the Internet and blocked cellphone communications. When people could no longer get updates about what was happening in Tahrir Square, they had to come out of their homes and see for themselves, tripling the size of the protests in one fell swoop.



The global plutocracy is terrified of dissent. In some places, the war on dissent is being fought with bullets. In others, the war on dissent targets social media and mobile communications, while repressing and deceiving communities of struggle. It’s already happening.

Indeed, the use of heavy-handed tactics – taking the velvet glove off of the iron fist – could backfire, as it will show the “emperor’s ruthlessness” for all to see.

The powers-that-be are terrified of political awakening and dissent. For example, Zbigniew Brzezinski – National Security Adviser to President Carter, creator of America’s strategy to lure Russia into Afghanistan, creator of America’s plans for Eurasia in general, and Obama’s former foreign affairs adviser – said:


For the first time in human history almost all of humanity is politically activated, politically conscious and politically interactive. There are only a few pockets of humanity left in the remotest corners of the world that are not politically alert and engaged with the political turmoil and stirrings that are so widespread today around the world.

***


America needs to face squarely a centrally important new global reality: that the world’s population is experiencing a political awakening unprecedented in scope and intensity, with the result that the politics of populism are transforming the politics of power.



***


[T]he central challenge of our time is posed not by global terrorism, but rather by the intensifying turbulence caused by the phenomenon of global political awakening. That awakening is socially massive and politically radicalizing.


It is no overstatement to assert that now in the 21st century the population of much of the developing world is politically stirring and in many places seething with unrest. It is a population acutely conscious of social injustice to an unprecedented degree, and often resentful of its perceived lack of political dignity.



***



These energies transcend sovereign borders and pose a challenge both to existing states as well as to the existing global hierarchy, on top of which America still perches.


***



The misdiagnosis [of foreign policy] pertains to a relatively vague, excessively abstract, highly emotional, semi-theological definition of the chief menace that we face today in the world, and the consequent slighting of what I view as the unprecedented global challenge arising out of the unique phenomenon of a truly massive global political awakening of mankind. We live in an age in which mankind writ large is becoming politically conscious and politically activated to an unprecedented degree, and it is this condition which is producing a great deal of international turmoil.



That turmoil is the product of the political awakening, the fact that today vast masses of the world are not politically neutered, as they have been throughout history. They have political consciousness.



***




The other major change in international affairs is that for the first time, in all of human history, mankind has been politically awakened. That is a total new reality – total new reality. It has not been so for most of human history until the last one hundred years. And in the course of the last one hundred years, the whole world has become politically awakened. And no matter where you go, politics is a matter of social engagement, and most people know what is generally going on –generally going on – in the world, and are consciously aware of global inequities, inequalities, lack of respect, exploitation. Mankind is now politically awakened and stirring.

And a reader notes:


We do not understand our own power. Look around you. Almost everything you see was not only made, but created by people like yourselves. Most of the horrors existing on earth were engendered by the elites, WITH OUR CO-OPERATION. Without our consent, most of the terrifying situations existing in our world will cease to exist. Resist. It certainly may be difficult initially, but it grows easier moment by moment.

Some historical quotes may be helpful in illustrating the importance of struggling to make things better …

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
- Robert F . Kennedy

We must never despair; our situation has been compromising before; and it changed for the better; so I trust it will again. If difficulties arise; we must put forth new exertion and proportion our efforts to the exigencies of the times.
- George Washington

We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and that a small group of determined people can change the course of history.
-Sonia Johnson

Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead

At certain points in history, the energy level of people, the indignation level of people rises. And at that point it becomes possible for people to organize and to agitate and to educate one another, and to create an atmosphere in which the government must do something.
- Howard Zinn, historian

There is no act too small, no act too bold. The history of social change is the history of millions of actions, small and large, coming together at points in history and creating a power that governments cannot suppress.
- Howard Zinn

Even If We Will Not Ultimately Win … We Must Do It Anyway
Czech leader Vaclav Havel said:


Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.

Chris Hedges – the Pulitizer-prize winning reporter who challenged the indefinite detention law and amazingly succeeded in having a judge strike down that law – writes:


In January, attorneys Carl Mayer and Bruce Afran asked me to be the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that challenged the harsh provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). We filed the lawsuit, worked for hours on the affidavits, carried out the tedious depositions, prepared the case and went to trial because we did not want to be passive in the face of another egregious assault on basic civil liberties, because resistance is a moral imperative, and because, at the very least, we hoped we could draw attention to the injustice of the law. None of us thought we would win. But every once in a while the gods smile on the damned.



U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest, in a 68-page opinion, ruled Wednesday that Section 1021 of the NDAA was unconstitutional. It was a stunning and monumental victory.



***



Maybe the ruling won’t last. Maybe it will be overturned. But we and other Americans are freer today than we were a week ago. And there is something in this.



The government lawyers, despite being asked five times by the judge to guarantee that we plaintiffs would not be charged under the law for our activities, refused to give any assurances. They did not provide assurances because under the law there were none. We could, even they tacitly admitted, be subject to these coercive measures. We too could be swept away into a black hole. And this, I think, decided the case.



***



We pushed forward because all effort to impede the corporate state, however quixotic, is essential. Even if we ultimately fail we will be able to say we tried.



This law was, after all, not about foreign terrorism. It was about domestic dissent. If the state could link Occupy and other legitimate protest movements with terrorist groups (US Day of Rage suffered such an attempt), then the provisions in the NDAA could, in a period of instability, be used to “disappear” U.S. citizens into military gulags, including the government’s offshore

penal colonies.



***



The battles that must be fought may never be won in our lifetime. And there will always be new battles to define our struggle. Resistance to tyranny and evil is never ending. It is a way, rather, of defining our brief sojourn on the planet. Revolt, as Albert Camus reminded us, is the only acceptable definition of the moral life. Revolt, he wrote, is “a constant confrontation between man and his obscurity. … It is not aspiration, for it is devoid of hope. That revolt is the certainty of a crushing fate, without the resignation that ought to accompany it.”



“A living man can be enslaved and reduced to the historic condition of an object,” Camus warned. “But if he dies in refusing to be enslaved, he reaffirms the existence of another kind of human nature which refuses to be classified as an object.”



***



Victory or defeat was not part of the equation. Not to challenge this law would have meant being complicit in its implementation. And once resistance defines a life it becomes reflexive.



***



Rebellion is an act that assures us of remaining free and independent human beings. Rebellion is not waged because it will work; indeed in its noblest form it is waged when we know it will fail. Our existence, as Camus wrote, must itself be “an act of rebellion.” Not to rebel, not to protect and nurture life even in the face of death, is spiritual and moral suicide. The Nazi concentration camp guards sought to break prisoners first and then kill them. They understood that even the power to choose the timing and circumstances of one’s death was an affirmation of personal freedom and dangerous to the status quo. So although the guards killed at random they went to great lengths to prevent people in the camps from committing suicide. Totalitarian systems, to perpetuate themselves, always seek to break autonomy and self-determination. This makes all acts of resistance a threat, even those acts that will not succeed. And this is why in all states that rule by force any act of rebellion, even one that is insignificant, must be ruthlessly crushed. The goal of the corporate state, like that of any totalitarian entity, is to create a society where no one has the capacity to resist.



***



We have to stop asking what is reasonable or practical, what the Democratic Party or the government can do for us, what will work or not work. We must refuse now to make any concessions, large or small. We must remember that the lesser of two evils is still evil. We must no longer let illusions pacify us. Hell is truth seen too late. In large and small ways we are called to resist, resist, resist ….

The great psychologist James Hillman agreed, writing that we should seek to help others and act with dignity even in impossible situations.

In other words, it is in the best interests of our dignity, our moral life, our sanity, and our spiritual well-being to struggle … even if the odds seem impossible.

But How Do We Know If Our Actions Will Be Successful … Or Will Only Help Us In a Spiritual Sense?
But how do we know if what we’re doing will really have an effect or not? How do we know if we are being called upon to struggle in order to succeed in changing things for the better … or for the heck of it?

As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote:


The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.

Hellen Keller pointed out:


Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

We are called upon as part of our core purpose to struggle to try to make the world a better place. But we are not privy to fruits of our actions. We are not granted a view of the future … we will never know how many people we will help, and how we will change the course of history.

We are called upon to struggle, but we can never know the end result of our efforts … that is not for us mere mortals to know.

But we are only fully human, fully alive, reaching our potential, and most in tune with the universe if we try.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Shame on me.

It has  been a spell since I last posted. It seems with spring and the deterioration of the Occupy movement I have been in a slight funk. Plus my love life has been more like  the life of a Tibetan monk. Not that I am complaining, especially if I was a Tibetan monk.

I have been wanting to see Steve McQueen's Shame for a long time. It never popped up in the Redbox, and probably never will, so I finally  got to see it tonight and it has inspired me to write  some thoughts on it.

I found the film compelling, moving, vague and flawed at points but overall was impressed by the film.
Very few modern film makers dive into the shadows of trauma and how it may play out in our adult lives and particularly in our sexuality.

It is clear Brandon is a troubled soul or a better description may be he is a severely emotionally detached and narcissistic person. We observe his routine of excessive masturbation, prostitutes, ignoring phone messages from an unidentified women, porn, and a  job he seems to skates through while earning buckets of money.There is very  little dialog about the past life or trauma but from my own experiences it  clearly involves childhood sexual abuse from the above described behaviors.

 One of the most dramatic and telling scenes in the film is when Brandon comes home  to find his apartment occupied by a possible intruder. He reaches for a baseball bat as some funk music plays loudly on his vintage turntable. The shower is running and he burst into the bathroom with full force, not knowing who or what to expect. What  he finds is a petrified naked woman who jumps out of the bath while standing fully naked to him they get into a emotional charged argument of blame. The twist on this scene is that the confrontation goes on for over a minute, the woman never reaches for a towel or tries to cover herself up and Brandon does not seem embarrassed or even throws her a towel. You are to assume that it is an ex-girlfriend, as it is very ambiguous, and as we find out later it was his sister Sissy.
With this knowledge the scene becomes something very inappropriate and twisted for a interaction between siblings. It leads you to believe that their relationship has been quite inappropriate for a long time.

One of the possible suggestions of incest or childhood sexual abuse, the other more obvious being the cut marks on Sissy's wrists and arms.

One of my favorite scenes in the film, and again so revealing, is Sissy's torchlight reading of the classic New York New York. It is  spell binding and personal take of this "uplifting" song. Sissy's interpretation reveals the dark under belly of living in the city that never sleeps. The pianist Liz Kaplan is remarkable and her playing is like  being thrown down the rabbit hole of despair, with glimpses of madness interlaced with loneliness. It brings Brandon to tears.

The tormented relationship that exist between  Brandon and Sissy  propels the film. There is a deep connection between the two, but it seems it more based on the  bonds brought on by trauma then from actual love and friendship.
Where I  feel the film is seriously flawed is how easily women participate in Brandon's sexual addiction, unless they are being paid for it. Granted with his chiseled looks,piercing eyes, toned body he is eye  candy, but  he clearly has no personality or redeeming qualities so it is a big stretch. Wait! he is rich so that explains the attractions.
Brandon's social awkwardness is very apparent on his first date with a co-worker that is possibly one of the worst on film.When he leaves her at the subway station for the night and a failed attempt at a kiss good night Brandon ask her sincerely if they can go out again she replies "maybe we can."

 It then reverts the next day to male escapist  fantasy as he confronts her in the office and begins making out with her behind frosted glass in an empty office then whisks her away for the afternoon to his "other" apartment to fully seduce her. Brandon unsuccessfully can not seal the deal by a  sudden attack of impedance.
The only words of insight  Brandon can offer with his face buried into his hands is " I can walk you down." She declines.

This fuels a self retaliatory sexual farce with a older prostitute less than an hour later. The two perform against a open window in  broad day light, OK actually foggy daylight, as his mounts her from the rear as they are both standing up and get his rocks off. For her its just another day at the office with no emotional investment or hint of pleasure.


As the film goes on Brandon resentments begin to surface more and more and he focuses his rage on his sister Sissy.
Another revealing scene begins with Brandon disassociating in front of the TV as vintage cartoons play in the background. Sissy comes to the couch and sits down close to him and asks for a  hung. Brandon places his arm reluctantly around her as Sissy buries her head in his chest, yet another example of inappropriate boundaries between the two. In this scene Brandon, after some deep prodding from Sissy, explodes into a rage and vocalizes his contempt toward her and her presence in his life.
For Brandon it is hatred he feels toward his sister and he holds nothing back as he  become emotionally abusive.

I feel the  film could have benefited more from a scene of two more in which Brandon actually tries to vocalize his rage, disconnection,  or even sadness even if he has no idea what he was trying to express, which is the case for the entire film, the subject matter deserves more intellectual and emotional expansion for the two main character.

The ending of the film is brilliant and not to give anything away I will only say this. As with any serious trauma experienced as a child, or as a adult, it is like dropping a  stone in a still pond. As the ripples ring out and the effect of the stone continues on each ripple takes on a life of its own.
Both Brandon and Sissy may not even remember what that past shared trauma, or the current state of their existance has dulled the pain, was but the effects  continue to ripple on through their adult lives with  devastating and perpetual consequences.


Here is the trailer

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Wisconsin is Occupy Main Street.

 Please watch the news tonight and see if the Wisconsin Democratic governor primary makes it into the first ten minutes of the broadcast. Sadly the majority of Americans still have  no idea that Wisconsin in the new front line of the war against the middle and working class people of this nation. Today is the democratic primary  and one month from today will be the recall election to outs Republican Governor Scott Walker.This is the biggest news of the spring and its not folks you  think you have nothing in common with either who are making it happen. These are our fellow Americans raising families,single folks, and the wide gamut of citizens who have had enough. This recall election will be a game changer and it seems the people of Wisconsin are more than up for the challenge. It is  now time for the millions of our fellow Americans, who have been patiently waiting for that great calling, to make their collective  voices be heard right now and support this great fight.

We can not wait  until June when the Supreme Court announces its decision on the Health Care law or even till November to voice our opinions and call to action. We need to focus our country's intent on doing away with gridlock, the partisan jockeying, and the enormous special interest money that is stealing away our democracy. We have to shift and demand that this discussion be front in center in all of our minds especially our elected officials.
Occupy Wall Street's May Day protests were a mixed bag and I  believe the example  being created in Wisconsin is the  model  that will inspire collective public action and get  people off their couches and at the  very least raising the level of  discussion, awareness, and debate, but better yet get them onto the streets and participating in democracy.

We do have to do more as the people and corporations in power are  probably sighing a big sense of  relief that there are not hundreds of thousands of us in the street this month demand economic justice for working people.

This does not mean we are not all thinking about it.
We all want to do something about it and we can. One voice at a time
The time is right.
No more sitting on our hands folks.

We can't wait for Occupy Wall Street to rally us. It will be Wisconsin people. Wisconsin is Occupy Main Street and that is what is needed.

We need to learn from their efforts regardless of what occurs one month from now.

As one great Wisconsin wrote.
"I want to make sure that decent hard-working people in this community aren't robbed blind by a pack of money-mad pirates, just because they haven't anybody to look after their interests."

We do have someone looking after our interests...its you and I.

Lets work together to take back our democracy and ensure a  future that will be fair and just for all Americans.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Something in the air?

One has to wonder when you have that unsettling feeling about something. You are not sure what it is or is it just you? It seems for me I have been alittle more sensitive to others  people's vibes or what is just in the air the last three of four days.
A feeling of anxiousness about something.

Mother Nature has been wielding her ways with cold arctic air blowing down on us here in New England and it seems like she is trying to get our attention.

Everything has been constantly moving in the wind.

Is it just a flux or a slight wrinkle?

I know there is a pressure valve around  tomorrow and want may or may not occur.

I don't believe that what it is.

Maybe its another cross roads?

Or is it just permanence?

Either way we should all be extra aware of our part in it and stay as grounded and in the moment as we can.

Intention is a very powerful thing too.
Mandala courtesy of Drepung Loseling Monastery
                                                    



Sunday, April 29, 2012

Granville MA

It was a blustery day but the late afternoon light was quite special.
The matriarch of the forest.
That perfect light.
Cold clean water.


Bending birch





Emily on a April morning

One of my favorite poems by Emily Dickinson. I discovered it many years ago watching the  heartbreaking  film Sophie's Choice. If you have never seen the film  you can see the clip here of the poem being read.The yearning of her words read by Stingo, the  visual imagery and the emotional and  moving  score by Marvin Hamlisch will bring you  to tears.

Ample make this bed.

Ample make this bed.
Make this bed with awe;
In it wait till judgment break
Excellent and fair.

Be its mattress straight,
Be its pillow round;
Let no sunrise' yellow noise
Interrupt this ground.
Emily Dickinson
Photo courtesy of wikipedia
 

Saturday, April 28, 2012

The "Q" is back!

This weekend on the heels of the recent ending of the Furthur spring tour last week and the passing of Levon Helm the following day. Phil Lesh is already midstream in a  four show reunion at Terrapin Crossings out in San Rafael of the legendary "Q". This  band includes the long time  drummer of  Phil & Friends John Molo, DSO keyboardist Ron Barraco, and legendary guitar players Jimmy Herring and Warren Haynes.

To many this band was simply one of the best bands, if not the, of high energy improvisational  psychedelic rock  music of all time. To the die harder follower of this band this weekend reunion  has been long over due and some thought it might never happen. From the reviews coming out of the first two shows this  band has picked up right where they left off  back in 2002. If you hang out on the Philzone you know what I'm talking about.
It is the  buzz for sure.

I  will honor this reunion with a review of my one and only " Q" show from February, 9th 2001 at the Fillmore in Denver, Colorado. For many of us who were major Deadheads for the last fifteen years of the band's run, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. In hind sight we all know now we asked for far more than Jerry could  give those final years and we regret it to this day. When Phil had a liver transplant a  couple years after Jerry's passing who knew how the music would carry on? Phil Lesh also recognizes how the past played out and began the resurgence of his musical career and  life by honoring the present. This is clearly best represented by his performances of live music with the large family of fellow musicians who have joined him over the last seventeen years. This begin to come back in a big way with The Other Ones in 1998 and solo projects of the core four continued. One of the most important and influential was Phil & Friends. If you were a Jerry head back in the day more than likely  you were a Phil head too. You  understood that  Phil was the heart of that band and when your heard him play live he could move you in so many ways.

With his Phil & Friends projects Phil did the most justice to the Grateful Dead song book. He also  took that very same song  book and turned it on its head and went on wild and magical rides many nights, and the "Q" best represents those efforts.

Flashing back to Denver, this  for me was the only the fourth or fifth time I had seen Phil live since Jerry's passing. The summer  before I saw my first Friends show in Albuquerque and guess who sat in?  Warren Hayes. That show was sort of a culture shock for me as Phil was taking the music in a very different direction from what I knew and loved. These were the days of what my friends and I  called the" noodle jams." Some times these jams worked and sometimes they did not.

By the time I saw this show in Denver the "Q" had really become a  force to be reckoned with as they had  been playing together for over six months. As was typical a jam opened the show and this one is ok, as after  seven minuets they drop into "1/2 Step". It is a  good version but the energy seems off in some ways. My reaction at the time was that the song did loose some of its emotional appeal and power when they were deconstructed it and inserted jams that were not there before.
The jam into "Smokestack" is a much  better example of when the  band gels and they create something quite  good. Warren's raspy vocals worked well in this old Pig Pen cover.

Now the intensity of this band is best exemplified by the explosion into "Shakedown Street". The tempo is  kicked up and the band just plays it so fast, they rip it apart but make it work. Many have called this band "southern fried" Grateful Dead and with Warren and Jimmy's style that is very true at times and this version would  reinforce that claim.
Either way the band raises the roof on this one.

Rob, who is a strong vocalist, delivers a more text book reading of " Ramble on Rose" The highlight of the set has to be the "Broken Arrow" that Phil sang. This was one of my  favorite late era song the GD performed and on this night it was  done so well. They added more solos but not to the point of loosing the melody and theme of the song. Sadly this was the last time I have heard it live. They  do a  wonderful  jam that leads to a  ferocious "Cold Rain & Snow." Warren is in the wrong key when they drop into it, and as like " Shakedown" this  version is   played at break neck tempo. Phil sings his heart out and they soar on it. The ending verses is unique as Phil sings it  as a chorus and this leads into a well played high energy jam that ends the set.

Set II begins with a another jam, this one  being much more on mark and even has a " Wheel" tease in it before they  explode into a text book reading of " Help on the Way" which blows the crowd away with its intensity and precision. The jam into "Slipknot!" is another wild example of how this band gets out there and I even hear  a " As My Guitar Gently Weeps" tease before they end the  jam and enter the final melody before racing into " Franklin's Tower."
The  audience roars in approval as Phil's sings a joyous  reading of this well loved  classic and John Molo' s drumming is stellar and  hard hitting.

The band jams out of it and teases the " Other One" before dropping into a sweet and lovely " Crazy Fingers" again sung by Rob. This features some of Phil's most delicate playing so far and is well done.
They once again jam out and arrive at a cranking " Not Fade Away" that has the " Q" twist of this Buddy Holly  classic.This leads into a intense version of Warren's classic "Soulshine"  which is excellent and showcases his strong vocals and playing. Rob's work on the organ is quite impressive as well.  This leads into a uptempo, too uptempo for my ears, version of " Fire On the Mountain". The  "Q" can be  guilty of sacrileges at  certain times and I have to say this interpretation of this one is a  good case in point. The  melody is so fast s the song looses it heart, yes it is full of  jams and  energy but...I will let you decide what you think?

Phil then ends the set with a emotional riveting and understated reading of  "Morning Dew". At this time  playing  one of Jerry's huge numbers was always walking on sacred  ground and Phil's sing this with conviction and  testament to his fallen brother. It was simply the highlight of the night for me and Jimmy's solos are very nice. The song does not end with a intense peaking  jam but on a  somber reflective note. I agreed and thought was very appropriate.Most of the crowd just  stood in awe and tears ran down many cheeks.

Phil comes out for his donor rap and shares some  kind words about himself and the band and the blood drive the next day.
They launch into one of my favorite post GD encores I ever saw. They  jump right into "The Wheel" which I thought was another  wonderful tip of the hat to good ole Jerry. This is a heartfelt and joyous version featuring Phil's strongest singing of the set and they stay true to the song and then  explode into the "Other One." Once again this band takes us on a wild and passionate ride lasting over  three minutes before switching perfectly back into the " The Wheel" and that ends the show.

After the band leaves you get a rare treat and  hear the song that comes on over the PA. Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" in its entirety and yes as it was true back then and is today.
"I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world."

Welcome back guys.
You can enjoy this show here
Poster courtesy of deadnet
If you want an added surprise I would highly recommend listening to the opening of the first set from Portland

                                                   

Friday, April 27, 2012

Why has the #Occupy Movement not embraced the mainstream?

With a call for action of a general strike all over the country this coming Tuesday I have to wonder who is the #Occupy movement  trying to inspire and appeal to?  Last fall all over the country an amazing thing occurred as people began to come together in large  numbers to publicly voice their collective opinions in drawing much needed attention to the crimes of economic injustice, wealth disparity, banks to big to fail, corporatism, the mortgage crisis,debt, Wall Street, and the 1%. Over the last forty years  special interests groups representing these beliefs have worked endlessly in shifting our economy and laws to their advantage and polluting and corrupting our  elected officials with armies of lobbyist who have led too many smart, well we thought so when we elected them, people into buying into these enormous and reckless policies and making them a reality.

I have to credit Bill Moyers in his efforts to wake  up the middle and working class in mainstream America with his new program. He in my opinion has really made one of the best and most convincing arguments of the real and dramatic changes that have occurred in our country over the last forty years and the selling of our democracy to the highest bidder. He presents his case  in a logical and reasonable fashion that allows  people to listen.

 I also highly recommend reading the  book Winner Take All Politics How Washington Made the Rich Richer--and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class  by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson. This  book will enrage you and open your eyes on how all this has happen and not by some strange coincidence either. Bills Moyers cites this book often in his new program and interviews the authors.
The authors and their team put together the history, players, and polices over the last forty years in shocking details.The power and control these special interests now exert on all of us is one of the biggest threats to our democracy since the cold war.Many agree with these  assessments whether they are a radical, Libertarian, tea bagger, Democrat,Republican, or Occupier.

The question is what to do about this?

It seems from my experience working with a local #Occupy movement we are leaderless right now. Yes I know the #Occupy movement is not supposed to have  "leaders" but seeing how things have unfolded it is clear that leadership qualities are much more  needed at this point in time.

You can reject the system but you can not reinvent the wheel.

If you are a person who has leadership qualities and have used them working with small or large groups of people professionally, or as a volunteer, you understand that consensus building is one of the most important aspects that can help lead,organize, and motivate large groups of people to get things done.

The #Occupy movement needs to grow up in someways and embrace certain proven and recognizable ways of bringing more people into the  movement.
This chiefly means reaching out to the mainstream as that is who we need to inspire right now.
It needs to be our biggest call to action to date but sadly it is not even in the discussion.
Many recent calls  to action are scheduled at  times during the week when many of us "mainstream" people are working, taking our  kids to school, or simply not able to attend.

The May Day call for a general strike is a just another example of this. What does this say to the 99%? " Come on folks strike this coming Tuesday and we will send a message"  First America is not ready for a general strike. It has been decades since the last high profile strike and  guess what President Reagan fired them all. That weighs heavily on people's mind and even more so in this fragile economy. It is honestly selfish to ask this of people right now.

If  these  #Occupiers simply considered doing this May action on a Saturday or Sunday and organizing this as a "Welcome back. We need you" rally many more  people would consider attending and  participating.
You have to realize that after more then six months of awareness and information being put out in the media and on social media many mainstream people could be ready to join.

They just need that invitation.

For whatever reasons that is not on our radar and it is weakening the cause.

This movement will not have figure heads or leaders like Martin Luther King to inspire us it will be the 99% who will be the faces and voices of this movement and we  need them all....badly. If  Tuesday is a utter failure it will be time for us to stop looking in the mirror and to begin looking out and talking to our neighbors and the strangers in our communities and reaching out to them and letting them know we are just like them.
We want a world that is better than the one today, one that is fair and just and provides a good  quality of life to all of our fellow citizens. We were just the first wave trying to awaken and reinvigorate this calling to save our country and  by no means does this mean we know best.

Come on #Occupiers take a chance on the mainstream they are who we really are.
                                                

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

"Power concedes nothing without demand."

I am passing this along as it is such a wonderful and insightful quote. It comes via a  good soul on the Phil Zone and if you are a Virgo this is for you today.
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), a great American statesman who, after
escaping slavery, became a leader of the abolitionist movement. "Those
who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation," he said, "are
people who want crops without plowing the ground; they want rain
without thunder and lightning . . . The struggle may be a moral one, or it
may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle.
Power concedes nothing without a demand."
Photograph courtesy of Biography.com


LIve music recommendations

I first saw Ryan Adams play with Phil Lesh & Friends during the second set of a show at the Nokia Theatre in the fall of 2007. It was Ryan's birthday and he came out for the second set and was greeted with a birthday cake and a rousing version of " Happy Birthday" from the energetic crowd. The band they launched into "Eyes of the World" Man was it a  amazing night of music.The night featured many classic GD songs,  like" Scarlet","Birdsong", "I Know You Rider", "Uncle John's Band" "Dark Star", and "Ripple" and Ryan sang an amazing  "Wharf Rat" for the encore.

After that I heard some live material that Ryan, like Phil, freely allowed to be circulated on the archive and I was on the bus. Starting with this show in Albany that began a amazing fall tour and showcased the Cardinals at the peak of their powers. Riding on the new songs of Cardinalogy this band would tear it up on most nights. Ryan guitar playing just kept getting better too. I would  gone on to see shows at the Apollo on Halloween and when they opened for Oasis at Madison Square Garden and one of the final shows they would play in the late winter of 2009 in New Haven.
I am very happy Ryan is back performing but will always miss the Cardinals. 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Haiku for a Monday

Nor' easter blew in
Heavy skies quench my thirst
Winds caress my lips

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Looking for love on Twitter?

This may be  more of a guy thing but for those that use it, and women do  use it  more  then men, it is viable option for making new connections. Now for love connections that is still to be determined.
Let me walk you through some recent exploits of mine.
The names will be not mentioned to protect the anonymous and maybe that is not their name to begin with anyways?
The first step. You know you will follow people who you think are cute or sexy.
Why not?
Next are they interesting? Are they clever? Are they passionate? Do they have  sense of humor? Do they love politics?
If so good you are off and running.
Now you can RT all you want but it is their reply from your tweets that breaks the ice.
So now it is your turn to be clever, funny, and insightful.
This is the deal maker young padeawan.
You only have 140 characters so you have to be very efficient and effective.
A great tweet will stand on its own merits.
When he or she finally replies to you that is a  good sign. If the person has like a thousand followers even  better.
Now you can  begin to get flirty and clever. Remember the mind is the most erogenous zone of the  body. It is very important to update your picture to a nice recent face picture.
Now you might really focus on her tweets and there might be a specific times of day you are  both on.
So you begin to look forward to her posts.
If you are smitten you yearn for her posts.
You check your interactions for  new followers, but you are only really interested if she if  following you.
Then the day happens..she is following you.
Ok before you begin doing somersaults at your kitchen table.
You must continue being cool and if you are online coincidentally and you interact more you move on to...
The direct message,
A very  big step to see if this possible connection has any legs.
Generally you can get extra flirty and clever here but  not too creepy because no one enjoys this when it occurs.
Being a gentleman is always the higher road to take.
If you are lucky you two might spend an hour or  more one night doing this.
This usually occurs during the week when there is no  good television on.
The DM may go on  for a few days and then  you pop the  question?
Are you on FB or gmail? Maybe we can IM there is you like?
Usually there a pause....
Ok here is my gmail.
You prefer gmail because its not as big of a commitment as FB. Gasp ! On FB she can read your posts to your real friends and can actually see your boring life and all the Grateful Dead youtube videos you post and with no comments too.
Next the chat request.
Will she accept?
If not she  does not want to move too fast or take it the next level of  actually talking in real time with you.
Folks this is a  big commitment for us these days.
If you do IM on gamil or FB you generally can  snap it into  third  gear all  cover all the basics.
Are you single?
Do you think I'm cute?
Do you enjoy sex?
Are you looking for sex?
Would you like to have sex with me?
Another long pause...
"I'm am kinda an old fashion girl"...
Ok that is cool.
Drats!
Generally next you enter the break up phase, no more RTs, or DMs or even a favorite tweets on both of your parts.
When she drops following you sadly you are done.
Back to tweeting about #Obama and #Romney and those bastard on #Wallstreet you go.

"Love sought is good, but given unsought, is better."
-- William Shakespeare