The first three rounds of the NFL draft are over. Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert have made their picks and I am some what dismayed by their number one pick, Joe Haden. Joe Haden is rated very highly by all of the intellects connected with the NFL draft. He was a very good NCAA player. He has one attribute that has me wondering if he was a good pick, his height. Brandon McDonald was a very good open field tackler and was quick enough to stay with the wide outs but he was to small to defend in the jump ball situation. You know the situation a 6'6" wide receiver splits out and goes deep enough to get the first down or touchdown. The ball is thrown high enough that the receiver can jump to get it but the 5'10" midget playing corner back can't. I hope Joe Haden has springs in his legs to jump high enough because for the past three years I have suffered with McDonald being to short to cover the jump ball. All of the top prospects at corner back were 5'10" or 5'11". The Browns could have waited until the second round to pick up the taller Chris Cook out of Virginia or Jerome Murphy from South Florida, but they didn't.
In the second round the Browns pick up T. J. Ward, strong safety from Oregon another small defensive back at 5'10 and a half inches. Like Haden Ward is known for his open field tackling. The Browns look to be shoring up their run defense but again I don't like the short guys on pass defense. I will have to wait and see I guess.
The Browns second pick in the second round, the 59th pick overall, is running back Montario Hardesty from Tennessee. Hardesty is obviously a Mangini pick. Mangini likes ball players that will run through a brick wall when he tells them to and won't question him. Hardesty was banged up much of his college career and still compiled some impressive stats. He was a team leader as a captain of the team even when he didn't start in 2008. Hopefully he can stay healthy and run inside as well as outside to gain some yards for the Browns.
Our third round pick, 85th overall, is a big name player who possibly because of his size slipped to the third round, Colt McCoy. McCoy is the winningest Quarterback in NCAA history with 45 wins. He is accurate but does not have the strongest arm. Hopefully he can take two to three years of learning on the bench and developing his arm before he has to be called into duty. Remember the Browns have Jake Delhomme at QB now.
The Browns final pick in the third round at number 92 overall is Shawn Lauvao, Offensive gaurd from Arizona State. At 6'2" and 315 pounds he is a big boy that can certainly help shore up the Brown's offensive line. Plus all of those Hawaiian kids do well in the NFL because of their discipline.
Right now it does not look like a bad draft but I am concerned by the lack of height. It will be interesting to see how these players pan out. Is Heckert, Holmgrin and Mangini's first draft together pure genius or a bust, only the season will tell. A defensive backfield filled with midgets does not make me feel confident in our ability to cover the pass. My man Nick Sorenson at back up safety is the tallest DB at 6'3". Abram Elem at starting safety is 6'0". The rest of the DB's are 5'10". In my humble opinion we are way to short in the defensive backfield to play competitively in the NFL. I hope I am wrong, but I doubt it.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Captains Game 4/21/10
My Honey Bunny and I joined some of our friends and went to the Cleveland Captains game last night. It was an enjoyable experience. A very nice spring night if you dressed for it. The temprature started to drop towards the end of the game so you needed to add a layer of clothing to stay comftrable. The Captains beat the Loons 6 to 5.
The highlight of the evening was the opening act. Mr. Robert Lippucci sang the National Anthem. Mr. Lippucci said he was a little nervous before he took the field. This fabulous tenor belted out a traditional version of the Anthem. No hip hop or jazzed up version Rob sang it the way it was written. His voice quivered a little in the very beginning but once he got into the song he belted it out like Rocco Scotti. I give my friend a ton of props it takes guts to go out in front of a large crowd filled with family and friends and sing solo one of the hardest songs to sing. Rob started out low so that he would have enough range to hit the high notes. A common mistake amongst singers of the National Anthem is they start out to high and they run out of voice when they get to the high notes.
When Mr. Lippucci finished a roar from the crowd went up and he received a standing ovation. I got a tear in my eye I was so proud of him. Rob says he will probably try again next year at a Captains game. I can't wait until he moves up to a CSU game, Cavs game or maybe even the Indians. I hope to get a chance to sing a duet with Rob when the Earls are in town playing in August. Keep your pipes warmed up because I will try and give you a run for your money. Congratulations Mr. Robert Lippucci you can scratch Singing the National Anthem at a ballpark off of your bucket list. Good Job.
The highlight of the evening was the opening act. Mr. Robert Lippucci sang the National Anthem. Mr. Lippucci said he was a little nervous before he took the field. This fabulous tenor belted out a traditional version of the Anthem. No hip hop or jazzed up version Rob sang it the way it was written. His voice quivered a little in the very beginning but once he got into the song he belted it out like Rocco Scotti. I give my friend a ton of props it takes guts to go out in front of a large crowd filled with family and friends and sing solo one of the hardest songs to sing. Rob started out low so that he would have enough range to hit the high notes. A common mistake amongst singers of the National Anthem is they start out to high and they run out of voice when they get to the high notes.
When Mr. Lippucci finished a roar from the crowd went up and he received a standing ovation. I got a tear in my eye I was so proud of him. Rob says he will probably try again next year at a Captains game. I can't wait until he moves up to a CSU game, Cavs game or maybe even the Indians. I hope to get a chance to sing a duet with Rob when the Earls are in town playing in August. Keep your pipes warmed up because I will try and give you a run for your money. Congratulations Mr. Robert Lippucci you can scratch Singing the National Anthem at a ballpark off of your bucket list. Good Job.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sucked in by the Machine.
Dear loyal readers of the Moral Compass I owe all of you an apology. I have neglected my duties as of lately in bringing you entertainment reviews and political commentary. I have fallen prey to the most modern obsession that is plaguing mankind right now, technology addiction. I have seen people in the past obsessed with playing Atari games. Then portable Game Boys became the rage. Texting consumed people to the point that I thought there was something wrong with the persons back because their head was always hanging down looking at their stomachs. Internet porn can become a problem when your eyesight starts to go just like your mother warned you. I see people who can afford blackberries not wanting to be disturbed by human interaction unless there is an app for it. As rude as it is for people to ask you to put your thoughts on hold so they can return a text while you are standing right in front of them, I was infected with something far worse. I became ill from Face Book.
It started out simple enough, a person on my e-mail asking me to join Face Book. Sure why not. You start meeting many of your old friends from past lives and it all seem like fun. Then one of your so called friends tells you about a thing called Farkle. Not all people get started on Farkle just like not all alcoholics get started on Strohs. No, you may have gotten your first taste of alcohol form Boones Farm or MD 20 20 or Black Velvet. Believe me there are many different flavors of games on FB to whet your gaming appetite on. I just happened to start on Farkle then moved on to Slot Machines ( I am still on level 2 but I have all of my keys). Yes then I got sucked in by Word Drop ( I had the high score amongst all of my friends who played thanks to the word Whitehorse). Word Drop led me to Bubble Pop ( I was sooo close to getting a perfect score after three weeks of practice) just one more time, almost, Ok this is the last one, fifteen more minutes, only until one O clock, two O clock, Three O clock. Screw it let me try Bejeweled. Bejeweled became my heroin. It is a one minute game that will consume you for hours. I can do better than that, I have done better than that, I need more coins so I can afford boosts to the game. And pretty much for a month and a half instead of writing I have been sucked in by the machine, my compulsive personality took over and I became a Computer Zombie.
I apologize.
It took one of my loyal readers, a devil to some RI666, to smack me up side the head and say "what the hell is going on with the Moral Compass you have not written in over a month. I miss reading your blog, get off your lazy ass and write something". And to Mister 666 I say thank you. You have snapped me out of an addiction that like most addictions just makes you senselessly waste time.
I forgot that I have a responsibility to my public and just like Tiger Woods I hope you can forgive me too. Like Ben Rothlesburger who was smart enough not to have any witnesses by posting guards at the bathroom door, May God watch over all of us. Like Shaun Rodgers, the dumb ass, who doesn't know there is a locked and loaded firearm in his overnight bag that he is carrying through an airport I ask you to pardon me.
Yes people I am one of the fallen but now I am back. And to all of those people who are tending to your gardens on Farmville "get off of your lazy asses and get outside and do some real gardening". Forgive me and I will try and not get sucked in by the machine again.
It started out simple enough, a person on my e-mail asking me to join Face Book. Sure why not. You start meeting many of your old friends from past lives and it all seem like fun. Then one of your so called friends tells you about a thing called Farkle. Not all people get started on Farkle just like not all alcoholics get started on Strohs. No, you may have gotten your first taste of alcohol form Boones Farm or MD 20 20 or Black Velvet. Believe me there are many different flavors of games on FB to whet your gaming appetite on. I just happened to start on Farkle then moved on to Slot Machines ( I am still on level 2 but I have all of my keys). Yes then I got sucked in by Word Drop ( I had the high score amongst all of my friends who played thanks to the word Whitehorse). Word Drop led me to Bubble Pop ( I was sooo close to getting a perfect score after three weeks of practice) just one more time, almost, Ok this is the last one, fifteen more minutes, only until one O clock, two O clock, Three O clock. Screw it let me try Bejeweled. Bejeweled became my heroin. It is a one minute game that will consume you for hours. I can do better than that, I have done better than that, I need more coins so I can afford boosts to the game. And pretty much for a month and a half instead of writing I have been sucked in by the machine, my compulsive personality took over and I became a Computer Zombie.
I apologize.
It took one of my loyal readers, a devil to some RI666, to smack me up side the head and say "what the hell is going on with the Moral Compass you have not written in over a month. I miss reading your blog, get off your lazy ass and write something". And to Mister 666 I say thank you. You have snapped me out of an addiction that like most addictions just makes you senselessly waste time.
I forgot that I have a responsibility to my public and just like Tiger Woods I hope you can forgive me too. Like Ben Rothlesburger who was smart enough not to have any witnesses by posting guards at the bathroom door, May God watch over all of us. Like Shaun Rodgers, the dumb ass, who doesn't know there is a locked and loaded firearm in his overnight bag that he is carrying through an airport I ask you to pardon me.
Yes people I am one of the fallen but now I am back. And to all of those people who are tending to your gardens on Farmville "get off of your lazy asses and get outside and do some real gardening". Forgive me and I will try and not get sucked in by the machine again.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Jim Bunning and GOP opposed to the American Worker
Jim Bunning has stood up and stopped a vote from being conducted for the passage of an extension to unemployment benefits. He claims he wont allow a vote until the legislature can show how they are going to pay for the 8 Billion dollar extension. Not one GOP member tried to talk Senator Bunning out of his power play. Not one GOP member has come out and spoke out against Jim Bunning. Do Mr. Bunning and the GOP even have a clue how much pain and suffering is going to be unleashed across the United States if unemployment benefits are disrupted for even only one week to the 1.1 Million of unemployed workers. Unemployed workers who have already been cut to the bone by a lack of jobs that the GOP and their cronies have created. Kids will have to go without good meals, bills will have to go unpaid and, medication will have to go unbought pain and suffering will rain down on the already downtrodden.
The Bush Administration gave away close to a Trillion Dollars to the banks and the insurance companies without any stipulations. Just gave it away. Obama then gave the banks and the insurance companies over a Trillion dollars with stipulations that the GOP thought was unfair. Not that he was giving the money to the "Money Changers" and the Insurance People but that he was putting stipulations on the money so that the money might be repaid to the American People. A bank and or an insurance company produces nothing. They make nothing. They add nothing to exports to other nations, and yet they were too important to let fail. Now we come to the American unemployed worker and we are looking at 8 Billion Dollars, less than 1% of what was loaned to the banks and insurance companies, and these jackals known as the Republican party block a vote from taking place to help. ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS. If you want to get money into circulation plus help the unemployed give them the money they need to spend it out of necessity. The Banks have locked up all of the money giving to them and are not handing out loans to even rich people with good credit. All those Trillions of dollars only helped a select few rich people it did not help the economy.
The Banks and Insurance Companies reward their employees with Billions of dollars in bonuses per year even when the banks were failing. Congressmen and Senators when they do a bad job we have to wait until the next election then vote them out of office and they are punished with a nice pension and health insurance for the rest of their lives. Their is no punishment for ineptness in any of these situations. Everyone just keeps getting rewarded for being stupid, for playing games, for running America down the drain. The only people that get punished are the middle class and poor Americans. We keep paying with the sweat off our brows and blood in our veins for the rich and powerful in this country.
Well I am finally fed up with it all. The last time I looked all of the Right Wing pundits were completely wrong and Obama did nothing to prevent me and all Americans from bearing arms. It is time to punish the banking and insurance company CEO's. It is time to make Congressmen and Senators pay for not protecting our American way of life. Yes it is time for the REVOLUTION. If we take a Jim Bunning and maybe a couple other of his friends and shoot them and hang them in Public Square, or better yet on the mall in front of the Capital Building maybe the rest will start to do what is right. Maybe the rest of the Congressmen and Senators will realize that there are consequences to their decisions and they will start to work for the good of America and stop punishing the small and downtrodden American blue collar constituents. Shoot a couple of bank CEO's and hang their bodies on Wall Street and maybe instead of rewarding stupidity with Million Dollar bonuses they will raise the interest paid on a savings account which would help the American population.
These thief's, these robbers, these crooks, need to be stopped before they completely wash America down the drain. At this point in time things have gotten so out of control the only answer is REVOLUTION. Block the Drain with the blood of the people who have gotten us here, our elected officials. They must be punished. My father told me when I was a young man never mess with a mans paycheck. Well you just messed with thousands of peoples paychecks and now you must pay. Vote nonincumbant get rid of professional politicians. Rise up my people rise up, bear arms if you must, the time is now to revolt.
PS: This has to be one of the biggest bonehead moves that I have seen come out of either party. By no way am I saying that the Democrats are innocent in their folly, they just were not the ones to blame for sticking it to the American People this time. If a Nancy Pelosi gets caught in the cross fire I would not be upset. The great Philosopher John Lennon warned that their was going to be a Revolution.
The Bush Administration gave away close to a Trillion Dollars to the banks and the insurance companies without any stipulations. Just gave it away. Obama then gave the banks and the insurance companies over a Trillion dollars with stipulations that the GOP thought was unfair. Not that he was giving the money to the "Money Changers" and the Insurance People but that he was putting stipulations on the money so that the money might be repaid to the American People. A bank and or an insurance company produces nothing. They make nothing. They add nothing to exports to other nations, and yet they were too important to let fail. Now we come to the American unemployed worker and we are looking at 8 Billion Dollars, less than 1% of what was loaned to the banks and insurance companies, and these jackals known as the Republican party block a vote from taking place to help. ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS. If you want to get money into circulation plus help the unemployed give them the money they need to spend it out of necessity. The Banks have locked up all of the money giving to them and are not handing out loans to even rich people with good credit. All those Trillions of dollars only helped a select few rich people it did not help the economy.
The Banks and Insurance Companies reward their employees with Billions of dollars in bonuses per year even when the banks were failing. Congressmen and Senators when they do a bad job we have to wait until the next election then vote them out of office and they are punished with a nice pension and health insurance for the rest of their lives. Their is no punishment for ineptness in any of these situations. Everyone just keeps getting rewarded for being stupid, for playing games, for running America down the drain. The only people that get punished are the middle class and poor Americans. We keep paying with the sweat off our brows and blood in our veins for the rich and powerful in this country.
Well I am finally fed up with it all. The last time I looked all of the Right Wing pundits were completely wrong and Obama did nothing to prevent me and all Americans from bearing arms. It is time to punish the banking and insurance company CEO's. It is time to make Congressmen and Senators pay for not protecting our American way of life. Yes it is time for the REVOLUTION. If we take a Jim Bunning and maybe a couple other of his friends and shoot them and hang them in Public Square, or better yet on the mall in front of the Capital Building maybe the rest will start to do what is right. Maybe the rest of the Congressmen and Senators will realize that there are consequences to their decisions and they will start to work for the good of America and stop punishing the small and downtrodden American blue collar constituents. Shoot a couple of bank CEO's and hang their bodies on Wall Street and maybe instead of rewarding stupidity with Million Dollar bonuses they will raise the interest paid on a savings account which would help the American population.
These thief's, these robbers, these crooks, need to be stopped before they completely wash America down the drain. At this point in time things have gotten so out of control the only answer is REVOLUTION. Block the Drain with the blood of the people who have gotten us here, our elected officials. They must be punished. My father told me when I was a young man never mess with a mans paycheck. Well you just messed with thousands of peoples paychecks and now you must pay. Vote nonincumbant get rid of professional politicians. Rise up my people rise up, bear arms if you must, the time is now to revolt.
PS: This has to be one of the biggest bonehead moves that I have seen come out of either party. By no way am I saying that the Democrats are innocent in their folly, they just were not the ones to blame for sticking it to the American People this time. If a Nancy Pelosi gets caught in the cross fire I would not be upset. The great Philosopher John Lennon warned that their was going to be a Revolution.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Failure of American Politicians
If you have been elected to a public office in the past decade you have let the American people down. It doesn't matter if you are Democrat, Republican or Independent. Right Wing, Left Wing or Centrist. Capitalist, Socialist or Communist. It doesn't matter, you have failed the American people and you have failed at what you were elected to do. You were elected to run the greatest, most prosperous country in the world and to keep it the greatest and most prosperous country in the world. You have failed. Why have we failed?
Our forefathers set up a Democracy where a two and sometimes three party system evolved. An exchange of ideas was supposed to take place and a compromise was supposed to be reached that would benefit and be for the good of the American people. All parties were working for the good of the American people. Since the Nixon administration our government has been degenerating into a bunch of spoiled school children that don't care about anything but themselves. Our Professional Politicians are more worried about filling their war chests for the next election than they are about the issues at hand. They need to take care of lobbyist and special interest groups who have money that can be funneled into their campaigns for reelection. Pork barrel and earmarks stall and overwhelm our economy not for the good of the majority of people but for the good of the politician and his wealthy influential friends.
Filibusters have reached an all time high where over 80% of all Bills in the past year were filibustered by the Republicans. I hear the Democrats rubbing their hands together waiting for me to pounce on their obstructionist opponents. Not today. Filibusters have been on a rise for the past decade which means that the Democrats started filibustering more and more Bills while they were the minority party during the Bush years. The Republicans have just taken it a step farther than the Democrats. Is the filibuster being done for the good of the American people? NOOOO. It is being done trying to disgrace the opposite party, so in the next election the Professional Politician can claim that the other party didn't get anything accomplished. In reality nobody accomplished anything other than take a paycheck out of my pocket.
No Politician is concerned about the American people any more and that is why we are in the mess we are in. They are too concerned about keeping their jobs and not about the issues. Politicians are not graded on their performance. They are graded on their looks and on how much money they can raise for their next campaign. Very few times does a candidate with less money in their war chest, than their opponent, win an election.
Voting along party lines does not help the American people either. It is done to preserve the Ideals of the radical Right and the radical Left. Most Professional Politicians come from the far Right or the far Left there are very few true centrists in politics. Yet I believe that around 70% of the American population falls somewhere in the middle, with 15% each going to the extreme Right or Left. So why don't these Professional Politicians do what would be good for 70% of the country and find some middle ground to agree on? Because they need the party backing for their next election. Independents don't usually win elections as is evident by the lack of number of them.
Most politicians are not good businessmen as is evident by the number of bankruptcies filed by congressmen and senators. So why are we entrusting these men with Trillions of dollars with no consequences if they fail to spend the money wisely, when they can't even take care of their own finances. Most politicians as a matter of fact are Attorneys not businessmen.
I think we need to get rid of PERS and have all public employees be dependent on Social security like the rest of us. I feel that all congressmen and senators should have to purchase their own health insurance like a private contractor has to. Any laws passed by Congress and the Senate should pertain to the politicians who pass them as well as all the rest of Americans. Lets stop letting Politicians who are not affected by certain laws vote on these issues. If they have such good ideas on what we need, then how come they are not covered by the same retirement system and insureance as we the people are? What makes them so special? Why don't they like the plans they have stuck us with? Things have got to change.
Any politician that votes strictly along party lines needs to be voted out of office. Any politician that filibusters more than one Bill in a two year period needs to be voted out of office. any politician that has been involved with a company that has filed for bankruptcy or personally has filed for bankruptcy needs not to be elected. Any politician that tries to insert pork into a Bill or earmark funds that only benefit a few rather than the majority of people needs to be voted out of office. If you have the chance to vote for a businessman over a Professional Politician please do it. Until our elected officials start compromising, talking across the aisle and voting for Bills that are for the good of the majority of people and not the special interest and the minority of people America will remain on the brink of collapse. If things don't change soon we all better call Rosetta Stone and learn how to speak Mandarin Chinese.
Our forefathers set up a Democracy where a two and sometimes three party system evolved. An exchange of ideas was supposed to take place and a compromise was supposed to be reached that would benefit and be for the good of the American people. All parties were working for the good of the American people. Since the Nixon administration our government has been degenerating into a bunch of spoiled school children that don't care about anything but themselves. Our Professional Politicians are more worried about filling their war chests for the next election than they are about the issues at hand. They need to take care of lobbyist and special interest groups who have money that can be funneled into their campaigns for reelection. Pork barrel and earmarks stall and overwhelm our economy not for the good of the majority of people but for the good of the politician and his wealthy influential friends.
Filibusters have reached an all time high where over 80% of all Bills in the past year were filibustered by the Republicans. I hear the Democrats rubbing their hands together waiting for me to pounce on their obstructionist opponents. Not today. Filibusters have been on a rise for the past decade which means that the Democrats started filibustering more and more Bills while they were the minority party during the Bush years. The Republicans have just taken it a step farther than the Democrats. Is the filibuster being done for the good of the American people? NOOOO. It is being done trying to disgrace the opposite party, so in the next election the Professional Politician can claim that the other party didn't get anything accomplished. In reality nobody accomplished anything other than take a paycheck out of my pocket.
No Politician is concerned about the American people any more and that is why we are in the mess we are in. They are too concerned about keeping their jobs and not about the issues. Politicians are not graded on their performance. They are graded on their looks and on how much money they can raise for their next campaign. Very few times does a candidate with less money in their war chest, than their opponent, win an election.
Voting along party lines does not help the American people either. It is done to preserve the Ideals of the radical Right and the radical Left. Most Professional Politicians come from the far Right or the far Left there are very few true centrists in politics. Yet I believe that around 70% of the American population falls somewhere in the middle, with 15% each going to the extreme Right or Left. So why don't these Professional Politicians do what would be good for 70% of the country and find some middle ground to agree on? Because they need the party backing for their next election. Independents don't usually win elections as is evident by the lack of number of them.
Most politicians are not good businessmen as is evident by the number of bankruptcies filed by congressmen and senators. So why are we entrusting these men with Trillions of dollars with no consequences if they fail to spend the money wisely, when they can't even take care of their own finances. Most politicians as a matter of fact are Attorneys not businessmen.
I think we need to get rid of PERS and have all public employees be dependent on Social security like the rest of us. I feel that all congressmen and senators should have to purchase their own health insurance like a private contractor has to. Any laws passed by Congress and the Senate should pertain to the politicians who pass them as well as all the rest of Americans. Lets stop letting Politicians who are not affected by certain laws vote on these issues. If they have such good ideas on what we need, then how come they are not covered by the same retirement system and insureance as we the people are? What makes them so special? Why don't they like the plans they have stuck us with? Things have got to change.
Any politician that votes strictly along party lines needs to be voted out of office. Any politician that filibusters more than one Bill in a two year period needs to be voted out of office. any politician that has been involved with a company that has filed for bankruptcy or personally has filed for bankruptcy needs not to be elected. Any politician that tries to insert pork into a Bill or earmark funds that only benefit a few rather than the majority of people needs to be voted out of office. If you have the chance to vote for a businessman over a Professional Politician please do it. Until our elected officials start compromising, talking across the aisle and voting for Bills that are for the good of the majority of people and not the special interest and the minority of people America will remain on the brink of collapse. If things don't change soon we all better call Rosetta Stone and learn how to speak Mandarin Chinese.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Government Mule HOB 2/2/10
I tortured myself again and went to the House of Rules (House Of Blues) to see the capricious Government Mule on Tuesday. As good as the band was The house of rules staff and management drives me crazy. I have come to expect the invasion of privacy of being carded at the age of 53, the metal detector wand shoved up my crotch, groping at my front pockets they say to feel my keys and generally being molested without the simple courtesy of telling me they will call me tomorrow and respect me afterwards. What I didn't expect was to be told that if we sit in the HOB restaurant and eat dinner that our drinks are at full price and not at the Happy Hour prices listed. No, to get the Happy Hour prices you have to sit at one of the 15 seats at the bar. These people are unbelievable. Talk about misleading advertising. Plus you used to be able to get in early and get stools right next to the sound board. Not no more. The area next to the sound board is fenced off for special people who pay extra. In other words GA means there is very little chance that you are going to find a seat in the House of Rules. Joe, Michael and I were lucky we found three stools off to the right of the stage under the overhang. We were the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth people in the venue.
Gov't Mule took the stage and started out jamming hard off of their new CD with "Broke Down on The Brazos". Joe called that one while we were eating. They then sulked into "World Gone Wild". And had the crowd roaring for DA DA DA DA CHANG DA DA DA DA CHANG, Yep you guessed it "Thelonius Beck". They swerved and rolled through "Painted Silver Light", "I Think You Know What I Mean", "Railroad Boy". "Railroad Boy", " Monday Morning Meltdown" and "Gordon James" are all off of the new CD but the crowd was very receptive. Warren played "Gordon James" on the electric guitar rather than the acoustic guitar like on the CD. They finished out the first set with "Thirty Days In The Hole" what a classic.
The second set starts out with " Which Way Do We Run?". Again one of my favorites "Fools Moon". "Trying Not To Fall". Then here we go again with the band snaking through a medley of songs "The End", into a nine minute drum solo that the young girl in front of me kept jumping in the air whooping it up for, I guess she liked it. After the Drum Solo the Mule played "Stepping Lightly" off of the new CD and slid into "Mother Earth". They finish the set with "Mr. Man" and a little teaser of "Highway Star".
The encore is a soulful version of "Forevermore" off of the new CD. Whoo Hooo the last song is... just like my daddy used to say, Soulshine, is better than moonshine, better than sunshine, and damn sure better than rain. The whole crowd is singing to "Soulshine". What a killer ending to a show. "Soulshine" I love that song.
Warren Haynes' voice is spectacular and it is hard to pick a better guitarist than he is. Matt Abts as always was strong on the drums. Danny Luois is really starting to become an integral part of the band. His keyboard runs are fitting in better than when he first became a member of the band. Jorgen Carlsson has found his niche he isn't copying Allen Woody he is his own bass player. Over all a good show four twirls and some moth catcher hand moves. Maybe the Gestapo tactics by the House Of Rules hampered the experience for me. Got Mule?
Gov't Mule took the stage and started out jamming hard off of their new CD with "Broke Down on The Brazos". Joe called that one while we were eating. They then sulked into "World Gone Wild". And had the crowd roaring for DA DA DA DA CHANG DA DA DA DA CHANG, Yep you guessed it "Thelonius Beck". They swerved and rolled through "Painted Silver Light", "I Think You Know What I Mean", "Railroad Boy". "Railroad Boy", " Monday Morning Meltdown" and "Gordon James" are all off of the new CD but the crowd was very receptive. Warren played "Gordon James" on the electric guitar rather than the acoustic guitar like on the CD. They finished out the first set with "Thirty Days In The Hole" what a classic.
The second set starts out with " Which Way Do We Run?". Again one of my favorites "Fools Moon". "Trying Not To Fall". Then here we go again with the band snaking through a medley of songs "The End", into a nine minute drum solo that the young girl in front of me kept jumping in the air whooping it up for, I guess she liked it. After the Drum Solo the Mule played "Stepping Lightly" off of the new CD and slid into "Mother Earth". They finish the set with "Mr. Man" and a little teaser of "Highway Star".
The encore is a soulful version of "Forevermore" off of the new CD. Whoo Hooo the last song is... just like my daddy used to say, Soulshine, is better than moonshine, better than sunshine, and damn sure better than rain. The whole crowd is singing to "Soulshine". What a killer ending to a show. "Soulshine" I love that song.
Warren Haynes' voice is spectacular and it is hard to pick a better guitarist than he is. Matt Abts as always was strong on the drums. Danny Luois is really starting to become an integral part of the band. His keyboard runs are fitting in better than when he first became a member of the band. Jorgen Carlsson has found his niche he isn't copying Allen Woody he is his own bass player. Over all a good show four twirls and some moth catcher hand moves. Maybe the Gestapo tactics by the House Of Rules hampered the experience for me. Got Mule?
Friday, January 22, 2010
"Going Rogue" Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue An American Life" is a light reading book. Sarah does not go into detail about boring things like where she stands on any major topics that are confronting the United States right now, or how to help the nation get back on its feet. No Sarah wrote a feel good book about her charmed life and how she has to overcome adversity from her own party, the left wing media the Democrats and anyone else who does not agree with her paranoid visions. Don't be afraid to pick up the book thinking that you will not understand it a fifth grader can understand it. The original transcript was probably written in crayon. "Going Rogue" is like reading "Legally Blond" a feel good story about a ditz that makes it to the top.
It only takes until page three for the whining to start. "I was pro-life enough for the grassroots RTL folks to adopt Piper as their poster child, but I wasn't politically connected enough for the state GOP machine to allow the organization to endorse me in early campaigns." Sarah these organizations have limited resources. They already had you in their pockets by putting your kid on their posters, they could better spend their money on a second candidate that if that candidate beat you they could then use. You were a long shot. You claim you always had an interest in politics from an early age and yet when you went to college you did not take Political Science courses, you graduated with a degree in Journalism.
Sarah tells heart warming stories of her brother pulling fake fire alarms and taking burning magazines out of a fireplace and almost burning down their house. She recalls her sisters doing dishes, ""I'm washing!"Heather would say. "I'm rinsing!" said Molly. "I'm singing!" I said. Then Heather washed the dishes and Molly rinsed, while I sat on the washing machine, which was squeezed up against the sink in our sunflower yellow kitchen, and sang until the dishes were dry." Isn't that wonderful, it is like a Doris Day movie from the sixties. In my house we bitched and moaned and fought with each other until the job was completed. 19 pages in and I already want to vomit.
Sarah who claims she was not a "girlie girl" explains how she entered into a beauty contest just to get money for college. "Linda also reminded me that the scholarship money was generous, especially if I won individual competitions within the pageant, in addition to the Miss Wassilla crown. I enlisted the advice of a former pageant winner, my friend Diane Minnick. Then I shocked my friends and family, put on a sequined Warrior-red gown, danced the opening numbers, gave the interview, and uncomfortably let my butt be compared to the cheerleaders' butts. I played my flute, and I won. In fact, I won every segment of the competition, even Miss Congeniality." Oh yeah, Sarah you are the greatest! OK lets break this down as simple as possible, she is a cute girl in Alaska showing off her butt and sucking, I mean playing a flute. She won on the sex ticket. Yes I hope my nieces look up to her, NOT! What a sell out on women's issues.
All right we are now on page 52 and Sarah is married to Todd and pregnant with their first child. Sarah must be about 23 years old and a college graduate. Remember this woman wants to be President of the United States some day. "Todd drove me to Valley Hospital. We saw the sign where we were supposed to go-deliveries-and followed the arrows...Since I thought I was dying, I didn't care that we were in the warehouse part of the hospital." She didn't go to Emergency or Admitting, she followed the signs to the back of the building and tried to go into deliveries. Even if I was that stupid to have done something that moronic I would not put it in writing for the whole world to see. Vote for me I am Sarah I am a dunce.
Sarah now captures a seat on city council and in order to keep big business out of Wasilla and keep taxes low she votes against local garbage pick up. Of course one of her foes owned the garbage truck company. She is very proud of the fact that even today much of Wasilla does not have garbage pick up and they drive, as she does, to the dump with their garbage themselves. So instead of one truck that could pick up a whole streets, lets say 100 houses, worth of garbage and drive to the dump for oh maybe $100.00 per week, $1.00 per house, Sarah figures it is better to have 100 people drive to the dump costing each person $3.00 per week in gas plus dump fees and the time to haul it. Yep, makes sense to me. A government employee for only a short time and she already has figured out how to waste constituents money and piss off her foes.
Stein is the Mayor of Wasilla and Sarah has her eye on his position. "Stein supported expanding land-use restrictions and building codes. I wanted to eliminate property taxes, slow down the rate of government growth, and build roads and water and sewer systems." How do you support road, water and sewer expansion while eliminating taxes? I hear this all of the time from Republicans, it does not make sense. I want smaller government but I support building roads and sewer and water plants. The government has to expand in order to maintain all of these amenities. It is double speak, talking with a forked tongue, talking out both sides of your mouth. Stein is old and been in politics a long time Sarah is young and cute and she wins another beauty competition, I mean Mayoral race.
Sarah tends to have a bad judge of character when it comes to people. She first backs them, then realizes that they are dishonest, then she tries to separate herself from them and can't understand how she gets caught in the crossfire. Throughout the book she tells different stories of how her bad judgement affects her. She doesn't see it as bad judgement but it keeps coming up throughout the book. She sidled up next to Mayor Stein when he first asked her to run then once her aspirations became bigger she tried to separate herself from him. She marries Todd. Todd's stepmother decides to run for Mayor after Sarah vacates the seat and Sarah backs the competition rather than her own extended family. She pairs herself up with Governor Frank Murkowski to be his lieutenant governor. Governor Murkowski is in bed with big oil companies and later is indicted for taking bribes. She writes a letter of recommendation for Mike Wooten to become an Alaska State Trooper. Mike Wooten is a drunk, poacher, wife beater, who cheated on Sarah's sister while they were married. Her first legislative director turns out to be an idiot with no political connections or savvy. Sarah has to fire the guy. On John McCains campaign one of the first people she meets is Steve Schmidt veteran campaign manager. "Schmidt AKA "the Bullet" told me he managed Arnold Schwartzenegger's campaign handled press relations for Dick Cheney, and worked on George W. Bush's 2004 reelection." "He was very good at setting traps for his opponents." Sarah loves the guy immediately. Later on in the book Sarah begins to hate Schmidt and thinks he in part silenced her. Sarah gives answers to us on how she was misled and that she isn't to blame.
She tells of the Catie Couric interviews and how Catie mistreated her and misrepresented what she said. How Joe the Plumber was an inspiration. How she tried to rewrite the Saturday Night Live skits to make them funny. She tells how the clothes that were purchased for her were not her idea, and that McCains people used the clothes to show how Sarah wasn't playing along. Sarah was being set up to take the fall. "It is unheard of for campaign staffers to brazenly throw a candidate under the media bus with sleazy anonymous comments." Poor Sarah.
"I don't like to hear people complain; I am the first to say "Buck up or stay in the truck." You have a choice on how to react to circumstances. But I will state this complaint for the record: what used to be called "mainstream" national media are, in many respects worthless as a source of factual information anymore." Yet Sarah later goes on to acknowledge respectable reporters. "To some media professionals whom I admire because you don't let anyone tell you to sit down and shut up, please keep making the idiot's heads spin...Amanda, Andrew, Ann, Bill(s), Bob, Cal, Dennis, Dick, Eddie, Fred, Glenn, Gretta, Hugh, Joey, John, Jonah, Larry, Laura, Lou, Mark, Mary, Michael, Michelle, R. A. M., Rich, Rush, S. E., Sean, Tammy, Walter." Yep no unbiased reporting out of any of these people.
After reading this book it is amazing how she takes no responsibility for losing the election or any thing else that goes bad in her life, it is always someone elses fault. She thinks running government should be done by her baking brownies, smiling and deals get done. I get a sense she hates men. She will turn on anyone who can't help her. She pretty much describes herself as an egocentric, right wing, opportunist that regards politics like a high school election where you win on looks and popularity not knowledge of the issues. Get the book from the library, read it, and look for someone else to vote for in 2012.
It only takes until page three for the whining to start. "I was pro-life enough for the grassroots RTL folks to adopt Piper as their poster child, but I wasn't politically connected enough for the state GOP machine to allow the organization to endorse me in early campaigns." Sarah these organizations have limited resources. They already had you in their pockets by putting your kid on their posters, they could better spend their money on a second candidate that if that candidate beat you they could then use. You were a long shot. You claim you always had an interest in politics from an early age and yet when you went to college you did not take Political Science courses, you graduated with a degree in Journalism.
Sarah tells heart warming stories of her brother pulling fake fire alarms and taking burning magazines out of a fireplace and almost burning down their house. She recalls her sisters doing dishes, ""I'm washing!"Heather would say. "I'm rinsing!" said Molly. "I'm singing!" I said. Then Heather washed the dishes and Molly rinsed, while I sat on the washing machine, which was squeezed up against the sink in our sunflower yellow kitchen, and sang until the dishes were dry." Isn't that wonderful, it is like a Doris Day movie from the sixties. In my house we bitched and moaned and fought with each other until the job was completed. 19 pages in and I already want to vomit.
Sarah who claims she was not a "girlie girl" explains how she entered into a beauty contest just to get money for college. "Linda also reminded me that the scholarship money was generous, especially if I won individual competitions within the pageant, in addition to the Miss Wassilla crown. I enlisted the advice of a former pageant winner, my friend Diane Minnick. Then I shocked my friends and family, put on a sequined Warrior-red gown, danced the opening numbers, gave the interview, and uncomfortably let my butt be compared to the cheerleaders' butts. I played my flute, and I won. In fact, I won every segment of the competition, even Miss Congeniality." Oh yeah, Sarah you are the greatest! OK lets break this down as simple as possible, she is a cute girl in Alaska showing off her butt and sucking, I mean playing a flute. She won on the sex ticket. Yes I hope my nieces look up to her, NOT! What a sell out on women's issues.
All right we are now on page 52 and Sarah is married to Todd and pregnant with their first child. Sarah must be about 23 years old and a college graduate. Remember this woman wants to be President of the United States some day. "Todd drove me to Valley Hospital. We saw the sign where we were supposed to go-deliveries-and followed the arrows...Since I thought I was dying, I didn't care that we were in the warehouse part of the hospital." She didn't go to Emergency or Admitting, she followed the signs to the back of the building and tried to go into deliveries. Even if I was that stupid to have done something that moronic I would not put it in writing for the whole world to see. Vote for me I am Sarah I am a dunce.
Sarah now captures a seat on city council and in order to keep big business out of Wasilla and keep taxes low she votes against local garbage pick up. Of course one of her foes owned the garbage truck company. She is very proud of the fact that even today much of Wasilla does not have garbage pick up and they drive, as she does, to the dump with their garbage themselves. So instead of one truck that could pick up a whole streets, lets say 100 houses, worth of garbage and drive to the dump for oh maybe $100.00 per week, $1.00 per house, Sarah figures it is better to have 100 people drive to the dump costing each person $3.00 per week in gas plus dump fees and the time to haul it. Yep, makes sense to me. A government employee for only a short time and she already has figured out how to waste constituents money and piss off her foes.
Stein is the Mayor of Wasilla and Sarah has her eye on his position. "Stein supported expanding land-use restrictions and building codes. I wanted to eliminate property taxes, slow down the rate of government growth, and build roads and water and sewer systems." How do you support road, water and sewer expansion while eliminating taxes? I hear this all of the time from Republicans, it does not make sense. I want smaller government but I support building roads and sewer and water plants. The government has to expand in order to maintain all of these amenities. It is double speak, talking with a forked tongue, talking out both sides of your mouth. Stein is old and been in politics a long time Sarah is young and cute and she wins another beauty competition, I mean Mayoral race.
Sarah tends to have a bad judge of character when it comes to people. She first backs them, then realizes that they are dishonest, then she tries to separate herself from them and can't understand how she gets caught in the crossfire. Throughout the book she tells different stories of how her bad judgement affects her. She doesn't see it as bad judgement but it keeps coming up throughout the book. She sidled up next to Mayor Stein when he first asked her to run then once her aspirations became bigger she tried to separate herself from him. She marries Todd. Todd's stepmother decides to run for Mayor after Sarah vacates the seat and Sarah backs the competition rather than her own extended family. She pairs herself up with Governor Frank Murkowski to be his lieutenant governor. Governor Murkowski is in bed with big oil companies and later is indicted for taking bribes. She writes a letter of recommendation for Mike Wooten to become an Alaska State Trooper. Mike Wooten is a drunk, poacher, wife beater, who cheated on Sarah's sister while they were married. Her first legislative director turns out to be an idiot with no political connections or savvy. Sarah has to fire the guy. On John McCains campaign one of the first people she meets is Steve Schmidt veteran campaign manager. "Schmidt AKA "the Bullet" told me he managed Arnold Schwartzenegger's campaign handled press relations for Dick Cheney, and worked on George W. Bush's 2004 reelection." "He was very good at setting traps for his opponents." Sarah loves the guy immediately. Later on in the book Sarah begins to hate Schmidt and thinks he in part silenced her. Sarah gives answers to us on how she was misled and that she isn't to blame.
She tells of the Catie Couric interviews and how Catie mistreated her and misrepresented what she said. How Joe the Plumber was an inspiration. How she tried to rewrite the Saturday Night Live skits to make them funny. She tells how the clothes that were purchased for her were not her idea, and that McCains people used the clothes to show how Sarah wasn't playing along. Sarah was being set up to take the fall. "It is unheard of for campaign staffers to brazenly throw a candidate under the media bus with sleazy anonymous comments." Poor Sarah.
"I don't like to hear people complain; I am the first to say "Buck up or stay in the truck." You have a choice on how to react to circumstances. But I will state this complaint for the record: what used to be called "mainstream" national media are, in many respects worthless as a source of factual information anymore." Yet Sarah later goes on to acknowledge respectable reporters. "To some media professionals whom I admire because you don't let anyone tell you to sit down and shut up, please keep making the idiot's heads spin...Amanda, Andrew, Ann, Bill(s), Bob, Cal, Dennis, Dick, Eddie, Fred, Glenn, Gretta, Hugh, Joey, John, Jonah, Larry, Laura, Lou, Mark, Mary, Michael, Michelle, R. A. M., Rich, Rush, S. E., Sean, Tammy, Walter." Yep no unbiased reporting out of any of these people.
After reading this book it is amazing how she takes no responsibility for losing the election or any thing else that goes bad in her life, it is always someone elses fault. She thinks running government should be done by her baking brownies, smiling and deals get done. I get a sense she hates men. She will turn on anyone who can't help her. She pretty much describes herself as an egocentric, right wing, opportunist that regards politics like a high school election where you win on looks and popularity not knowledge of the issues. Get the book from the library, read it, and look for someone else to vote for in 2012.
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