Scot Ranney's LearnJazzPiano.com archive: Politics

LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Politics
Scot -- 01/27/2004, 13:10:12 -- #1075237811
CBS Censorship
So what do you guys think of CBS playing political favorites? I thought air waves were a public medium. Here's some information you might not know about but should. This information is from http://www.moveon.org, an amazing grassroots campaign organization that is doing a lot of work to put honesty back into the whitehouse in 2004. "Over the last four days, something incredible has happened. CBS has received over 340,000 emails and phone calls asking it to stop its censorship. Clearly a huge number of us believe that CBS's refusal to run our Voter Fund ad, while allowing the Bush White House to run an advocacy ad of its own, is just plain wrong. Columnists and editorial pages are writing about it. And on Monday, FCC commissioner Michael Copps issued a statement on it. These folks understand that this issue isn't just about our Voter Fund's ad -- an ad by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was censored as well. At heart, it's about free speech. Huge companies like CBS that control access to the publicly owned airwaves have to air opposing points of view. CBS still refuses to run "Child's Pay." But together, we can increase the pressure on CBS. And through the power of the Internet, we can make sure that millions of people see the ad and learn about the controversy." Here's the url: http://www.moveon.org/cbs/ad/ Life is politics, but there are some things that aren't right. When CBS will air political propaganda from the Bush administration but not opposing view points. Here are the points I see that relate to this issue: 1. It's about free speech. The First Amendment doesn't mean a whole lot if we're denied access to the airwaves. CBS has a constitutional obligation to air opposing points of view. 2. If the White House can run an ad, other groups should be allowed to also. CBS will be airing an ad sponsored by the White House on this year's Super Bowl. Previous ads in this series have implied that buying drugs funds terrorism -- a much more controversial claim than the one "Child's Pay" makes. 3. CBS just got a huge favor from the White House. Senator John McCain said that the bill was custom tailored to CBS and Fox, which have been lobbying heavily for an illegal merger. MoveOn and other groups have lobbied against this bill. Now the White House is allowed to run an ad, and groups like MoveOn Voter Fund are not. 4. What's "controversial"? CBS claims that it has a policy against running "controversial" issue ads. But the only line in the whole ad is a fact: President Bush has created a $1 trillion deficit. In fact, according to numbers released by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office yesterday, that number's low.
LearnJazzPiano.com Forum Compilation 2001-2002
flicklers -- 01/29/2004, 12:37:58 -- #1075408677
Another view of current politics
I'd like to suggest that y'all consider an alternative to the liberal socialists (Democrats) or the conservative socialists (Republicans), which is the far more limited role of government envisioned by our founding fathers represented by the Libertarian Party. You can learn more by going to www.lp.org. Just a few reasons I support them: taxes are essentially armed robbery; the government screws up everything it touches such as mail, schools, drugs...; socialism is unsustainable. These two parties you argue about so passionately are essentially minor variations on the same invalid confidence scheme and unchecked we will sooner or later become bankrupt like the USSR did. Sure Bush has done a lot of wrong like his unprovoked "war" and spending far more than the goverment takes in but the alternatives offered by his opposition especially increasing taxes are equally repugnant.
Scot -- 01/29/2004, 12:54:26 -- #1075409666

Hey, I agree with you Bert, but the LP will never win the White House. In fact, people who voted for people like the Libertarian party and the greens and whoever else can be held responsible for placing Bush in office in the first place. That extra 7% from people who think they are making a statement has really kicked us all in the butts... I whole heartedly support their ideology, but would I vote in that direction? Hell no! That would be a wasted vote. The democracts suck almost as bad as the republicans, but not quite as bad. I'd rather have the lesser of two evils in office that waste a vote on someone who will never make it.
Whacky -- 01/30/2004, 08:11:00 -- #1075479060

Ditto:)
flicklers -- 01/30/2004, 12:01:06 -- #1075492866
Glad to hear you agree
But I don't want to be blamed for Bush in any way. I think that had LP party members been forced to vote for the lesser of two evils they would have leaned toward Bush. Now the Greens who got a much larger percentage by the way may have to accept some responsibility since most probably would have voted for a Democrat had they voted at all. Certainly Gore should have been acceptable to most Greens so let's blame Nader not Browne. As long as everyone thinks that they can't vote Libertarian because it's a wasted vote we'll always end up voting for one evil or the other. And how on earth is a vote for the (apparent) lesser of evils worth anything anyway. At least we should get some local Libertarians elected (it has happened) and help them build an effective alternate party. Sometimes I think the LP is a little too extreme anyway and the best hope is that if enough people support them at least some of their ideas will become mainstream. BTW I lived in Florida (one county over from the big controversy) during the last election and from close up it really seemed like the Democrats were the ones trying to steal the election. The Democratic party controlled the county and designed the "flawed" ballots, the confused "voters" were people the Democrats had bussed in and Gore was the one on the offensive claiming problems. Whatever, at the time I don't think anyone realized just how evil Bush was and I suspect that the economy would have been even worse off under Gore. Suddenly I'm sorry I started posting here. Back the main focus, piano playing. I've said my piece and unless provoked will refrain in the future.
Scot -- 01/30/2004, 13:00:12 -- #1075496411

Hey, it's the politics room. I welcome any insights- discussion on this stuff is not only good, but incredibly valuable (and should even be required!) for anyone who has US Citizenship. Too many people sit on their couches with chips and salsa and a big gulp letting the process that runs their country go on without a word in edgwise. That's why things are going to hell- more people need to become inflamed, angry, argumentive- if people were arguing about politics on every street corner, we'd have twice the voter turnout and things would be different. Fact is, these days we almost do have political arguments on every street corner. Bush has pissed people off and divided the country to such a degree that even the average couch potato is wondering what is going on. As for the stuff that happened in Florida- it's good to hear some first hand experience. I know that the media is full of lying bastards, so I doin't believe what they say anyway. I recall living in South Korea (Seoul) and my Mom would call me every other day asking when I was leaving because nuclear was was just around the corner. Well, that's what the media wanted everyone to believe. Living there, I knew the truth and the truth just wasn't as interesting. So the media does it's thing. I think they have a mantra: "Why ruin a good story with the truth."
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Whacky -- 01/31/2004, 08:46:37 -- #1075567597

yeah, I did a tour of the Carribean for the Doepratment Of Defense back in '82. I wasn't politically aware at all...I can't even tell you what was going on at the time, but I'll never forget being told by the military people how much BS the US inflicts on other countries, how hated we are and how the media reports that we're doing all thses wonderful things...one guys exact words were "you guys have no idea the shit we're pulling down here"
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
Whacky -- 01/31/2004, 08:47:29 -- #1075567649

that's "Department" not Doepratment...why don';t I proff reed befour i post?
Scot -- 09/21/2004, 12:08:44 -- #7338
A BBC article that discusses media censorship in the US
THE LYNCHING OF DAN RATHER On British TV, Dan feared the price of "asking questions" By Greg Palast September 21, 2004 "It's that fear that keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions," the aging American journalist told the British television audience. In June 2002, Dan Rather looked old, defeated, making a confession he dare not speak on American TV about the deadly censorship -- and self-censorship -- which had seized US newsrooms. After September 11, news on the US tube was bound and gagged. Any reporter who stepped out of line, he said, would be professionally lynched as un-American. "It's an obscene comparison," he said, "but there was atime in South Africa when people would put flaming tires around people's necks if they dissented. In some ways, the fear is that you will be necklaced here. You will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck." No US reporter who values his neck or career will "bore in on the tough questions." Dan said all these things to a British audience. However, back in the USA, he smothered his conscience and told his TV audience: "George Bush is the President. He makes the decisions. He wants me to line up, just tell me where." During the war in Vietnam, Dan's predecessor at CBS, Walter Cronkite, asked some pretty hard questions about Nixon's handling of the war in Vietnam. Today, our sons and daughters are dying in Bush wars. But, unlike Cronkite, Dan could not, would not, question George Bush, Top Gun Fighter Pilot, Our Maximum Beloved Leader in the war on terror. On the British broadcast, without his network minders snooping, you could see Dan seething and deeply unhappy with himself for playing the game. "What is going on," he said, "I'm sorry to say, is a belief that the public doesn't need to know -- limiting access, limiting information to cover the backsides of those who are in charge of the war. It's extremely dangerous and cannot and should not be accepted, and I'm sorry to say that up to and including this moment of this interview, that overwhelmingly it has been accepted by the American people. And the current Administration revels in that, they relish and take refuge in that." Dan's words had a poignant personal ring for me. He was speaking on Newsnight, BBC's nightly current affairs program, which broadcasts my own reports. I do not report for BBC, despite its stature, by choice. The truth is, if I want to put a hard, investigative report about the USA on the nightly news, I have to broadcast it in exile, from London. For Americans my broadcasts are stopped at an electronic Berlin wall. Indeed, Dan is in hot water for a report my own investigative team put in Britain's Guardian papers and on BBC TV years ago. Way back in 1999, I wrote that former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes had put in the fix for little George Bush to get out of 'Nam and into the Air Guard. What is hot news this month in the USA is a five-year-old story to the rest of the world. And you still wouldn't see it in the USA except that Dan Rather, with a 60 Minutes producer, finally got fed up and ready to step out of line. And, as Dan predicted, he stuck out his neck and got it chopped off. Is Rather's report accurate? Is George W. Bush a war hero or a privileged little Shirker-in-Chief? Today I saw a goofy two page spread in the Washington Post about a typewriter used to write a memo with no significance to the draft-dodge story. What I haven't read about in my own country's media is about two crucial documents supporting the BBC/CBS story. The first is Barnes' signed and sworn affidavit to a Texas Court, from 1999, in which he testifies to the Air Guard fix -- which Texas Governor George W. Bush, given the opportunity, declined to challenge. And there is a second document, from the files of US Justice Department, again confirming the story of the fix to keep George's white bottom out of Vietnam. That document, shown last year in the BBC television documentary, "Bush Family Fortunes," correctly identifies Barnes as the bag man even before his 1999 confession. At BBC, we also obtained a statement from the man who made the call to the Air Guard general on behalf ofBush at Barnes' request. Want to see the document? I've posted it at: http://www.gregpalast.com/ulf/documents/ draftdodgeblanked.jpg This is not a story about Dan Rather. The white millionaire celebrity can defend himself without my help. This is really a story about fear, the fear that stops other reporters in the US from following the evidence about this Administration to where it leads. American news guys and news gals, practicing their smiles, adjusting their hairspray levels, bleaching their teeth and performing all the other activities that are at the heart of US TV journalism, will look to the treatment of Dan Rather and say, "Not me, babe." No questions will be asked, as Dan predicted, lest they risk necklacing and their careers as news actors burnt to death. "Bush Family Fortunes," the one-hour documentary taken from Greg Palast's BBC investigative reports, including the story of George Bush and Texas Air Guard, can be viewed, in part, at http://www.gregpalast.com/bff-dvd.htm
Whacky -- 09/22/2004, 09:54:37 -- #7354

a few weeks ago I posted a link here to a video interview in which shrub was asked about his views on tribal sovereignty. His answer was something like, "well it's exactly that...it's sovereign..." This video alone is enough to show the world what an uninformed idot we have as the apparent leader of the free world. And guess what...the link is now dead. Why wasn't this video the top story on all news across the world? It is so very important to world peace that everyone know who and what is running the show... Maybe I'll be killed for saying this, but I have a copy of the clip - about 500k - if anyone would like a copy
Whacky -- 09/22/2004, 10:11:34 -- #7355

ya know it reminds me of the story of The Emperor's New Clothes. (the tailor failed to design a special outfit for the King so he sold him some "invisible" clothes that only intellectuals could see) It seems everyone really knows bush is an idiot, but are afraid to actually say it...with the exception of a few like Michael Moore... Why do respected journalists let shrub and others get away with all this bullshit? I guess if they come on too strong, they would never get any interviews...hmmm...
sebos -- 09/22/2004, 12:28:51 -- #7358

Hi AFKAW Please send a copy of the video at sebosj(at)yahoo(dot)com It would be nice if you could send me as well what he exactly says so that I can translate it in french.... though most people around here don't need to be convinced that bush is a dumb ass and anyway, won't vote te eliminate him. Thanks Seb.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
7 -- 09/22/2004, 22:00:01 -- #7365

I don't post much in this area, but two thoughts that I had today might deserve to get kicked around: The president stated recently that even if he had known then what he knows now (that Iraq was not actively involved with Al-Quaida and that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction) that he still would've invaded Iraq against the United Nations will. What excuse would he have used to rally the people of the USA and congress to be able to get the "go ahead" to invade Iraq? That Saddam is a nasty fellow? If that's the case, there are about forty other nations that have "nasty fellows" in power. Why haven't we invaded THEM? N. Korea and Iran are right up front about developing nuclear capabilities, yet we aren't invading them! Oh, and speaking of Iran, you'll notice that they just told the UN to stuff it with regards to their intent to continue with their nuclear arms development. But if the USA can tell the United Nations to go fuck themselves, then Iran has a perfect right to do the same. We have now set the tone for the entire world community, reducing the United Nations to a bunch of hand-wringing nobodies with absolutely no respect from anyone. And bush wants to ask the United Nations to help rebuild Iraq. If the UN tells bush to stick it where the sun don't shine, would anyone be surprised?
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
Whacky -- 09/22/2004, 22:57:13 -- #7366

It's interesting, I temporarily lost my mind and sent a copy of the bush video I mentioned to a bunch of folks in my address book, many of whom are right-wingers. The responses are fascinating to say the least. What I have learned is: #1 never send out an email like that again #2 most people have an allegiance to their party regardless of any facts that might raise suspicion. #3 most folks take it personally when you either question their views or express your own #4 none of the above will change anything I have echoed the same arguments 7 has just presented and it just doesn't register with some folks. All we can do is vote and wait an see... My 20 year old just called me. He's very upset about the new plans for the draft. I also have and 18 year old and a 16 year old. Houston, we have a problem
Scot -- 09/23/2004, 12:09:33 -- #7385

You know how Bush and his cronies go after Kerry for "flip flopping"? Check out this new Michael Moore letter to Bush (I'm really happy Michael Moore is stepping up his rhetoric - he needs to at this point!): 9/22/04 Dear Mr. Bush, I am so confused. Where exactly do you stand on the issue of Iraq? You, your Dad, Rummy, Condi, Colin, and Wolfie -- you have all changed your minds so many times, I am out of breath just trying to keep up with you! Which of these 10 positions that you, your family and your cabinet have taken over the years represents your CURRENT thinking: 1983-88: WE LOVE SADDAM. On December 19, 1983, Donald Rumsfeld was sent by your dad and Mr. Reagan to go and have a friendly meeting with Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq. Rummy looked so happy in the picture. Just twelve days after this visit, Saddam gassed thousands of Iranian troops. Your dad and Rummy seemed pretty happy with the results because The Donald R. went back to have another chummy hang-out with Saddams right-hand man, Tariq Aziz, just four months later. All of this resulted in the U.S. providing credits and loans to Iraq that enabled Saddam to buy billions of dollars worth of weapons and chemical agents. The Washington Post reported that your dad and Reagan let it be known to their Arab allies that the Reagan/Bush administration wanted Iraq to win its war with Iran and anyone who helped Saddam accomplish this was a friend of ours. 1990: WE HATE SADDAM. In 1990, when Saddam invaded Kuwait, your dad and his defense secretary, Dick Cheney, decided they didn't like Saddam anymore so they attacked Iraq and returned Kuwait to its rightful dictators. 1991: WE WANT SADDAM TO LIVE. After the war, your dad and Cheney and Colin Powell told the Shiites to rise up against Saddam and we would support them. So they rose up. But then we changed our minds. When the Shiites rose up against Saddam, the Bush inner circle changed its mind and decided NOT to help the Shiites. Thus, they were massacred by Saddam. 1998: WE WANT SADDAM TO DIE. In 1998, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and others, as part of the Project for the New American Century, wrote an open letter to President Clinton insisting he invade and topple Saddam Hussein. 2000: WE DON'T BELIEVE IN WAR AND NATION BUILDING. Just three years later, during your debate with Al Gore in the 2000 election, when asked by the moderator Jim Lehrer where you stood when it came to using force for regime change, you turned out to be a downright pacifist: I--I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president [Al Gore] and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I--I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and, therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place. And so I take my--I take my--my responsibility seriously. --October 3, 2000 2001 (early): WE DON'T BELIEVE SADDAM IS A THREAT. When you took office in 2001, you sent your Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and your National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, in front of the cameras to assure the American people they need not worry about Saddam Hussein. Here is what they said: Powell: We should constantly be reviewing our policies, constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they have directed that purpose. That purpose is every bit as important now as it was 10 years ago when we began it. And frankly, they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors. --February 24, 2001 Rice: But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt. --July 29, 2001 2001 (late): WE BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US! Just a few months later, in the hours and days after the 9/11 tragedy, you had no interest in going after Osama bin Laden. You wanted only to bomb Iraq and kill Saddam and you then told all of America we were under imminent threat because weapons of mass destruction were coming our way. You led the American people to believe that Saddam had something to do with Osama and 9/11. Without the UN's sanction, you broke international law and invaded Iraq. 2003: WE DONT BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US. After no WMDs were found, you changed your mind about why you said we needed to invade, coming up with a brand new after-the-fact reason -- we started this war so we could have regime change, liberate Iraq and give the Iraqis democracy! 2003: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Yes, everyone saw you say it -- in costume, no less! 2004: OOPS. MISSION NOT ACCOMPLISHED! Now you call the Iraq invasion a "catastrophic success." That's what you called it this month. Over a thousand U.S. soldiers have died, Iraq is in a state of total chaos where no one is safe, and you have no clue how to get us out of there. Mr. Bush, please tell us -- when will you change your mind again? I know you hate the words "flip" and "flop," so I won't use them both on you. In fact, I'll use just one: Flop. That is what you are. A huge, colossal flop. The war is a flop, your advisors and the "intelligence" they gave you is a flop, and now we are all a flop to the rest of the world. Flop. Flop. Flop. And you have the audacity to criticize John Kerry with what you call the "many positions" he has taken on Iraq. By my count, he has taken only one: He believed you. That was his position. You told him and the rest of congress that Saddam had WMDs. So he -- and the vast majority of Americans, even those who didn't vote for you -- believed you. You see, Americans, like John Kerry, want to live in a country where they can believe their president. That was the one, single position John Kerry took. He didn't support the war, he supported YOU. And YOU let him and this great country down. And that is why tens of millions can't wait to get to the polls on Election Day -- to remove a major, catastrophic flop from our dear, beloved White House -- to stop all the flipping you and your men have done, flipping us and the rest of the world off. We can't take another minute of it. Yours, Michael Moore mmflint@aol.com www.michaelmoore.com
ClosetBlues -- 10/05/2004, 08:37:01 -- #7743
The Essence of the Bush Campaign
You have got to see this... http://home.earthlink.net/~houval/gopconstrm.mov
Whacky -- 10/05/2004, 08:58:52 -- #7746

that could be a great madrigal piece:)
ClosetBlues -- 10/05/2004, 09:47:42 -- #7756
Madrigal Piece
Excellent observation, Wacky. Medieval prose for medieval politics. Love it!
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 10/10/2004, 17:57:24 -- #7909
The following are two personal emails from a Wall St. Journal reporter
A reporter for the Wall Street Journal based in Iraq sent a couple of private emails to friends and family. These two email messages were not intended to "get out", but thankfully someone put them out to the public. It's interesting to hear an unedited view of what's going on. -------- 9/29/2004 2:58:10 PM From: [Wall Street Journal reporter] Farnaz Fassihi Subject: From Baghdad Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference. Little by little, day-by-day, being based in Iraq has defied all those reasons. I am house bound. I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can't and can't. There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second. It's hard to pinpoint when the 'turning point' exactly began. Was it April when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the Americans? Was it when Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S. military? Was it when Sadr City, home to ten percent of Iraq's population, became a nightly battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when the insurgency began spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni triangle to include most of Iraq? Despite President Bush's rosy assessments, Iraq remains a disaster. If under Saddam it was a 'potential' threat, under the Americans it has been transformed to 'imminent and active threat,' a foreign policy failure bound to haunt the United States for decades to come. Iraqis like to call this mess 'the situation.' When asked 'how are thing?' they reply: 'the situation is very bad." What they mean by situation is this: the Iraqi government doesn't control most Iraqi cities, there are several car bombs going off each day around the country killing and injuring scores of innocent people, the country's roads are becoming impassable and littered by hundreds of landmines and explosive devices aimed to kill American soldiers, there are assassinations, kidnappings and beheadings. The situation, basically, means a raging barbaric guerilla war. In four days, 110 people died and over 300 got injured in Baghdad alone. The numbers are so shocking that the ministry of health -- which was attempting an exercise of public transparency by releasing the numbers -- has now stopped disclosing them. Insurgents now attack Americans 87 times a day. A friend drove thru the Shiite slum of Sadr City yesterday. He said young men were openly placing improvised explosive devices into the ground. They melt a shallow hole into the asphalt, dig the explosive, cover it with dirt and put an old tire or plastic can over it to signal to the locals this is booby-trapped. He said on the main roads of Sadr City, there were a dozen landmines per every ten yards. His car snaked and swirled to avoid driving over them. Behind the walls sits an angry Iraqi ready to detonate them as soon as an American convoy gets near. This is in Shiite land, the population that was supposed to love America for liberating Iraq. For journalists the significant turning point came with the wave of abduction and kidnappings. Only two weeks ago we felt safe around Baghdad because foreigners were being abducted on the roads and highways between towns. Then came a frantic phone call from a journalist female friend at 11 p.m. telling me two Italian women had been abducted from their homes in broad daylight. Then the two Americans, who got beheaded this week and the Brit, were abducted from their homes in a residential neighborhood. They were supplying the entire block with round the clock electricity from their generator to win friends. The abductors grabbed one of them at 6 a.m. when he came out to switch on the generator; his beheaded body was thrown back near the neighborhoods./CONTINUED BELOW WSJ reporter Fassahi's e-mail to friends /2 9/29/2004 2:47:12 PM The insurgency, we are told, is rampant with no signs of calming down. If any thing, it is growing stronger, organized and more sophisticated every day. The various elements within it-baathists, criminals, nationalists and Al Qaeda-are cooperating and coordinating. I went to an emergency meeting for foreign correspondents with the military and embassy to discuss the kidnappings. We were somberly told our fate would largely depend on where we were in the kidnapping chain once it was determined we were missing. Here is how it goes: criminal gangs grab you and sell you up to Baathists in Fallujah, who will in turn sell you to Al Qaeda. In turn, cash and weapons flow the other way from Al Qaeda to the Baathisst to the criminals. My friend Georges, the French journalist snatched on the road to Najaf, has been missing for a month with no word on release or whether he is still alive. America's last hope for a quick exit? The Iraqi police and National Guard units we are spending billions of dollars to train. The cops are being murdered by the dozens every day-over 700 to date -- and the insurgents are infiltrating their ranks. The problem is so serious that the U.S. military has allocated $6 million dollars to buy out 30,000 cops they just trained to get rid of them quietly.As for reconstruction: firstly it's so unsafe for foreigners to operate that almost all projects have come to a halt. After two years, of the $18 billion Congress appropriated for Iraq reconstruction only about $1 billion or so has been spent and a chuck has now been reallocated for improving security, a sign of just how bad things are going here. Oil dreams? Insurgents disrupt oil flow routinely as a result of sabotage and oil prices have hit record high of $49 a barrel. Who did this war exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer because Saddam is holed up and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq? Iraqis say that thanks to America they got freedom in exchange for insecurity. Guess what? They say they'd take security over freedom any day, even if it means having a dictator ruler. I heard an educated Iraqi say today that if Saddam Hussein were allowed to run for elections he would get the majority of the vote. This is truly sad. Then I went to see an Iraqi scholar this week to talk to him about elections here. He has been trying to educate the public on the importance of voting. He said, "President Bush wanted to turn Iraq into a democracy that would be an example for the Middle East. Forget about democracy, forget about being a model for the region, we have to salvage Iraq before all is lost." One could argue that Iraq is already lost beyond salvation. For those of us on the ground it's hard to imagine what if any thing could salvage it from its violent downward spiral. The genie of terrorism, chaos and mayhem has been unleashed onto this country as a result of American mistakes and it can't be put back into a bottle. The Iraqi government is talking about having elections in three months while half of the country remains a 'no go zone'-out of the hands of the government and the Americans and out of reach of journalists. In the other half, the disenchanted population is too terrified to show up at polling stations. The Sunnis have already said they'd boycott elections, leaving the stage open for polarized government of Kurds and Shiites that will not be deemed as legitimate and will most certainly lead to civil war. I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: "Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and murdered for cooperating with the Americans? For what? To practice democracy? Are you joking?" -Farnaz
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
Billy Miller -- 10/12/2004, 19:21:25 -- #7976

scot, where did you find those emails? And how do we know that they are real?
Whacky -- 10/13/2004, 11:15:57 -- #7997

Good point Billy. As you may know, I'm an anti-bush guy, but I'm getting pretty sick of miss-information being tossed around. (on both sides) I don't mean to say that Scot's reports are true or false, but we really do owe it to ourselves to check the facts before we send emails around. I kind of started an email debate with some friends a couple of weeks ago and I found the varying opinions to be quite interesting. There are some facts on which we will just agree to disagree and others, (like Iraq war stats) where sadly, we'll never really know the truth. A lot seems to depend on where folks get their news. Emails are quite easy to forge so I choose to not pass them along unless I can verify their validity. Ya can't believe evrything you read...but please, vote for Kerry:) we've seen what bush can do...
Scot -- 10/14/2004, 13:17:37 -- #8040

I can't say whether it's true or not, but I would lean towards the side of truth. Here's a link to a page that analyzes the emails: http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2004/10/08/e_fassihi.html Here's a link to a page that has some info on the reporter: http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=4894 Here's where I got the emails that I posted: http://www.poynter.org/forum/?id=misc Some more information about the emails: http://wsrblood.typepad.com/wiserblog/2004/09/strongfarnaz_fa.html Just do a search on google for "Farnaz Fassihi email" and you'll get tons of stuff to look at.
Whacky -- 10/14/2004, 17:19:33 -- #8049

cool...yeah, my gut is to believe it too...but it makes a stronger case when you can provide links like that:) There's another one going around citing how little Cheney attened the very meetings he has accused Edwards of missing. In that email, Edward actually attends more than Cheney...and guess what, they've met several times over the years prior to the VP debate...oy... None of this really amounts to a steaming pile of poo though, because their core positions on issues really haven't changed, and I'm clearly in favor of Kerry over shrub... Had Gore actually taken office I don't think the WTC would have been attacked, but even if I'm wrong about that, we surely would not have stirred up shit in Iraq...the world would have been a lot more peaceful right now
Scot -- 10/15/2004, 23:19:36 -- #8086

Bush is such a dumb-ass.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 10/16/2004, 05:32:05 -- #8094

Here's a good bit about voter suppression: http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oId=16368
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
Scot -- 10/26/2004, 12:54:02 -- #8366
funny stuff
http://www.monsterslash.com
flicklers -- 10/29/2004, 11:41:42 -- #8431

I know many of you, like Scott, have already made up your minds but I would like to remind those of you who have grown disgusted with this election campaign and the two major parties that there is a viable third party alternative,the Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party is the party of principle; the basic one is that we do not believe in nor advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals. The Libertarian Party has been in existence for more than 30 years, is the third largest nationwide and our presidential candidate,Michael Badnarik, is on almost all state ballots. You may learn more about the party and our candidate from either www.lp.org or www.badnarik.org. A common objection to voting for a third party candidate is the fear of wasting a vote. Perhaps that does apply to a vote for a personality candidate, like Nader, who has no real party. But continuing to cast a vote for the lesser of two evils, even if that could be accurately decided, is still a vote for evil. What could be more wasteful than continuing to support evil? In order to truly effect change we must begin to change something. Electing a member of either one of the two major parties just guarantees more of the same ineffective wasteful government programs and the continuing erosion of our freedoms. A vote for Michael Badnarik sends the message that it is time to return to the principles upon which this country was founded.
Scot -- 10/29/2004, 15:37:38 -- #8437

If the libertarian party had a chance to win, I'd cast a vote for them. But they don't have a chance. Not until they can spend hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign advertising like Kerry and Bush and their followers have done. Like it or not, the majority of the people in this country don't research things on their own- they watch TV and read the newspapers and believe what they see and hear. So casting a vote for the libertarians IS a wasted vote, unless you weren't going to vote in the first place. I don't think Kerry is the "lesser of two evils". He appears ready to make some good changes if he makes it into office. Sure, he's still part of the political monster and plays the same game as everyone else in politics. Our society demands it. If Bush is re-elected, people who could have voted for Kerry but wanted to "make a statement" and voted Libertarian or Nader will have a lot longer than four years to think about it. If Bush gets in, this country, sad to say, is going to continue the downward spiral until there's blood in the streets- and I'm not talking terrorists, I'm talking about the people who are going to be fed up with governmental policies that make life more difficult for them instead of easier. Yeah, it's an apocalyptic view, but I'm convinced that Bad Things Will Happen if we don't get Bush out of office. So vote libertarian if you want, but know that though your vote will count as a message, the only other thing it's going to count for is possibly keeping the worst president the US has ever had in office. We're at a good time to make changes in the political landscape. Vote for Kerry and then use the next four years to organize the same kind of grassroots campaign that went off the charts for the Dems and Repubs this campaign season. Use the next four years to build up the Libertarians- heck, I'll help. To vote libertarian now, when so much is at stake, is irresponsible. If Bush gets back in and takes away even more of our constitutional rights, you might not even have a Libertarian choice four years from now. The choice is pretty clear to me- vote to send a message and help this country go down the drain, or vote for Kerry and give this country a fighting chance.
dharminor -- 10/29/2004, 17:39:06 -- #8445

Nader is in no way an idiot if you want to talk about character he has got it. the EPA would not exist if it were not for him (though it is somewhat of a joke thanks to scumbag christie todd whitman who was a politician before she headed that office, huge conflict of interest). as well as Nader having an entire life of serving the public and consumer rights (NOT CORPORATIONS). all those requirements that keep you somewhat safe in your car are thanks to him. and the list goes on. i'm so sick of being told that i wasted my vote on him in 2000. Gore won my state anyway. I also refuse to be forced into voting for the lesser of two evils if i don't believe in either. isn't that the true democratic process, VOTING FOR WHAT YOU WANT NOT VOTING OUT OF FEAR OF THE WORSE ONE GETTING ELECTED. and no matter how you look at it as much as the dems and repubs put eachother down that is what they want us to focus on instead educating ourselves and looking elsewhere for an answer to the issues in our mind. they both love their little 2 party monopoly and the propoganda comes from the media rhetoric that labels everything left or right, repub or dem. screw that crap i have views that span both sides on different issues and they're just trained liars anyhow. it would be nice to see nader at least in the debates so real things could be dealt with, the way sharpton brought some confrontation to the democratic debates. besides the fact that 1000's and 1000's of votes were thrown away in florida who coincidently is governed by georgy boy's brother....hhhmmmm??!! so vote how you believe not how your being trained to believe through the fear tactics of both sides. one side uses terrorism the other places blame where it doesn't belong!!!!!! and above all else people should think for themselves the biggest problem in this country is that everyone is becoming apathetic and just listening to their 'magic picture box' which is allowing these retards in office to get away with their debauchery!!!!!!!!!
dharminor -- 10/29/2004, 17:42:40 -- #8447

oh and one more thing JON STEWART is the man!! if you didn't catch him on crossfire go to ifilm.com to check out his guest appearance on that show it is great and refreshing!!!
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 10/29/2004, 21:09:49 -- #8452

Dharminor- I agree with EVERYTHING you are saying. But I disagree about not voting for one of the two parties that are monopolizing the political arena these days. If Bush gets in, your vote may never count again. Do you understand that? The US is moving in a direction where our most basic rights are being questioned. I think Nader is great. I watched his speech today on TV. I agree with him. I like him, and I particularly am thankful for all the h ard work he's been doing for this country without hardly a glance by most people. But man, this election is unlike any other. The first step is to get Bush out of office, any way we can. If we don't, this country is going to be at war forever, or at least until it's not a united country any longer. I think a lot of people are tired of the two party political system. People are READY for a change- they are ready for someone like Nader or the Libertarians. But if you guys waste your vote on "sending a message", you're just going to contribute to the deterioration and rot that is corrupting this country right now. Before we can polish the tiles in the bathroom, we have to shovel out the sh*t first, you know? That means sweeping Bush out office and putting Kerry in. Then we work our asses during the next few years to get someone like Nader in the public eye enough so that he could actually have a chance at winning the presidency. Yeah, I agree with what you are saying, even the Jon Stewart thing... but to turn things around, we need to get Bush out of office first. Does that make any sense? It seems obvious to me.
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
flicklers -- 10/30/2004, 09:13:05 -- #8462

I hear you Scot and I certainly respect your passion. It's truly a shame the Democrats couldn't have found a candidate to be passionately for rather than just being against Bush. The major problem with the don't vote for other than the lesser of two evils approach this time is that almost every election seems to be a crisis requiring continuing to support the status quo. Remember Bush Sr., Nixon, LBJ, Clinton ... all frightening to some for a second term but we survived although our tax and regulatory burdens have generally increased, our freedoms steadily eroded and our country's road to bankruptcy continued. And the trend will never end unless this two party sham is broken up. If one of these two must win I hope it is the not-Bush and I challenge you to honestly analyze how much better off you and the country are after a few years of his regime. The positve from my perspective about that result would be the stalemate created by the other party having the legislature. That's been good for us before in terms of at least slowing the pace of new evil regulations and spending programs. You may take some comfort in the fact that most analysts believe that Libertarians would vote for a Republican if forced to pick a major party candidate so a vote for Badnarik is probably more harmful to Bush.
dharminor -- 10/30/2004, 22:16:23 -- #8477

scot it makes alot of sense i am just so pissed at the corner i think alot of people feel backed into by the overall system in this country. the 'checks and balances' system needs reformation cause the majority of these washington a-holes have found ways to gravely manipulate it and use loop-holes. there is no question bush needs to be gone for the sake of our world. i mean it scares me that this man is the leader of the most powerful nation and therefore in many ways the world!!
dharminor -- 10/30/2004, 22:25:55 -- #8478

well put burt i am very aggravated. but as we come within days of the election i find myself undecided. definetely anti-bush but unsure of which of the other options i will go for because of the different arguements for nader or kerry.
Whacky -- 10/31/2004, 07:29:36 -- #8484
Please!!
Please vote for Kerry! As Scot said, this is not the time to take a stand against the two-party duopoly...We MUST get Bush out first...then, we can continue supporting reasonable alternatives to the dems & repubs... I voted for Nader in 2000 and we got bush, 9/11, Iraq, deficit, unemployment increase, etc...we are headed for even more trouble...
Scot -- 10/31/2004, 12:05:21 -- #8493

Heck, even if Kerry gets in, our downward slide has momentum... it will be a few years before things really start getting turned around. The great thing is how many people are involved in this election! And look at the ages- the biggest young voter turnout EVER. Possibly ever in our political history. All these young people who have been growing up in this era of instant communication. They are calling it "Generation Y". People all the way into their 30's who are generally more team oriented than individual oriented- thought patterns that are more like "what's best for the team" than "what's best for me". If this culture of people decides something needs to be changed, I think the future will prove that from this time forth, people will realize just how much power they have if they yell out in once voice... Horton Hears a Who. Do you really think that's a children's story? :) I'm just rambling, recuperating from too much fun last night. But we played great music, got three more gigs out of it, and I ate the Tequila worm- chewed it up with a smile on my face.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Gordon -- 11/01/2004, 02:22:04 -- #8509
Reasons to be cheerful
I am trying to prepare for the (seemingly 50/50) possibility that Bush and his wretched cabal get re-election tomorrow night. One thought I have had is one I read in a Buddhist text once. It basically explained by way of a story that you could never tell what would be good or bad. Thus, you may lose a leg, think that's bad, but having one leg may have prevented you going somewhere and losing your whole life etc etc - (This is in no way a philosophy for inaction - we should of course fight for what we think is right - It's just that once the election is over, if Bush has won, we may need to switch into different modes of thinking than those we have adopted pre-election) I also read recently in a newspaper, someone saying that 'nothing is ever as good or as bad as it first seems' - sounded pretty wise. Can anyone help with more stuff like this - I don't want to spend Wednesday wondering round in circles, forlornly shouting 'why' to the sky, dribbling and throwing rocks at the moon.
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
Whacky -- 11/01/2004, 06:33:27 -- #8513

true...I felt that way when shrub got elected...but as we all know now, a lot more was at stake...this is supposed to be OUR country....even if he gets in office again, we should not roll over and just accept it...more lives will be ruined...(maybe your own)
Scot -- 11/01/2004, 10:38:18 -- #8517
Michael Moore's latest message to the masses
11/1/04 Friends, This is it. ONE DAY LEFT. There are many things I�d like to say. I�ve been on the road getting out the vote for 51 straight days so I haven�t had much time to write. So I�ve put together a bunch of notes to various groups all in this one letter. Please feel free to copy and send whatever portions are appropriate to your friends and family as you spend these last 24 hours trying to convince whomever you can to show up and vote for John Kerry. Here are my final words� To Decent Conservatives and Recovering Republicans: In your heart of hearts you know Bush is a miserable failure. From having no plan on what to do in Iraq once he conquered Baghdad to the 380 missing tons of explosives that could be used to kill our brave young men and women, this guy doesn�t have a clue how to fight and win a war. You should see the mail I�ve been getting lately from our troops over there. They know how much the Iraqi people hate them. They are sitting ducks anytime they go out on the road. Many believe we are not that far away from a Tet-style offensive inside the Green Zone with hundreds of Americans and Brits killed. Bush refused to go after and capture Osama bin Laden. He fought, every step of the way, the investigation into the 9/11 attacks. Who on earth would oppose such a thing? If 3,000 people died at your place of work and your boss said we don�t need to find out why or how it happened, he�d be thrown out on his ear. Bush�s behavior after this great tragedy alone is reason enough for his removal. You already know that George W. Bush is the farthest thing from a conservative. He�s a reckless spender who has run up record-breaking deficits and the biggest debt in our history. He believes in having the government pry into everything from your library records to your bedroom. He has hit you with hidden taxes with his tax cuts for the rich. I know many of you don�t like Bush, but are unsure of Kerry. Give the new guy a chance. He won�t raise your taxes (unless you are super-rich), he won�t take your hunting gun away, and he won�t make you visit France. He risked his life for you many years ago. He�s asking for the chance to do it again. Scott McConnell at The American Conservative magazine has endorsed him. What more do you need? To My Friends on the Left: Okay, Kerry isn�t everything you wished he would be. You�re right. He�s not you! Or me. But we�re not on the ballot � Kerry is. Yes, Kerry was wrong to vote for authorization for war in Iraq but he was in step with 70% of the American public who was being lied to by Bush & Co. And once everyone learned the truth, the majority turned against the war. Kerry has had only one position on the war � he believed his president. President Kerry had better bring the troops home right away. My prediction: Kerry�s roots are anti-war. He has seen the horrors of war and because of that he will avoid war unless it is absolutely necessary. Ask most vets. But don�t ask someone whose only horror was when he arrived too late for a kegger in Alabama. There�s a reason Bush calls Kerry the Number One Liberal in the Senate � THAT�S BECAUSE HE IS THE NUMBER ONE LIBERAL IN THE SENATE! What more do you want? My friends, this is about as good as it gets when voting for the Democrat. We don�t have the #29 Liberal running or the #14 Liberal or even the #2 Liberal � we got #1! When has that ever happened? Those of us who may be to the left of the #1 liberal Democrat should remember that this year conservative Democrats have had to make a far greater shift in their position to back Kerry than we have. We�re the ones always being asked to make the huge compromises and to always vote holding our noses. No nose holding this time. This #1 liberal is not the tweedledee to Bush�s tweedledum. To Nader Voters: See the above note. Ralph�s own party, the Green Party, would not endorse his run this year. That�s because those of us who want to build a third party in this country know that the only way to do this is to build bridges with those who believe in the issues Nader believes in. But not one of those people will sacrifice the chance to remove George W. Bush from the White House on Tuesday. The choice here is clear: do we join with our friends, or do we piss on them? After the debacle of 2000, the Democrats got smart and abandoned the conservative wing of their party. That�s why 8 of the 9 Democrats in the primaries this year were from the liberal wing. Ralph should take credit for that and declare victory. It�s so sad that he doesn�t realize the good he�s accomplished. But for reasons only known to him, he�s more angry at the Democrats than he is at Bush. He has lost his compass. I worry he has lost his mind. But he still gives a great speech! And Lila Lipscomb, the mother from Flint who lost her son in Iraq, she still grieves -- as do the mothers of 1,120 others (not to mention the mothers of the 100,000 Iraqis who have died because of Bush�s war). That�s what this election is about. Not Ralph proving some point. Almost none of us on his 2000 advisory group are supporting him this year. His total lack of respect for his best friends should tell all of you something about what he really thinks of you, too. To the Non-Swing States: Stop listening to how your vote doesn�t count in this election and that your state is already decided for Kerry or Bush. It is critical that you vote because we not only need to give Kerry the electoral win, but he needs to have a HUGE mandate with an ENORMOUS popular vote victory as well. It will be impossible for him to get anything done for four years if there is no clear mandate. We must not only defeat Bush, we must put a stake in the heart of the right-wing, neo-con movement. If you live in New York, California, Illinois, Texas, the Northeast or the Deep South, you need to vote and you need to bring ten people with you to the polls. If you live in a state where we have the chance to elect the Democrat to the Senate or the House, you need to vote. Turn off the TV. Quit listening to news media that has a vested interest in repeating to you over and over that your vote does not count. It does. If you have friends or relatives who live in the 30-plus non-swing states, call them and remind them how important it is that Kerry gets a massive popular vote victory. To Non-Voters: I understand why you stopped voting. Politicians suck. Nothing ever seems to change. You�re only one vote. Yes, politicians suck. But so do car salesmen � and that hasn�t stopped you from buying a car. Politicians only respond to the threat of the angry mob also known as the voting public. If most people don�t vote, that�s good news for them �cause then they don�t have to answer to the majority. Almost fifty percent of Americans don�t vote. That means you belong to the largest political party in America � the Non-Voting Party. That means you hold all the power to toss George W. Bush out of the Oval Office. How cool is that? I believe that we are going to have the largest election turnout in our lifetime tomorrow. You don�t want to miss out on that. The lines at the polls are going to be long and raucous and fun. It is an historic election. You won�t want to say that you were the only one who wasn�t there. Promise me you�ll vote, just this one time. To All First-Time Voters: Welcome to the longest running, uninterrupted democracy on earth! You own it. It�s yours. A few words about how messy it�s going to be tomorrow. The lines are going to be long. Bring your iPods. Better yet, bring a friend or two. The election officials have no clue just how many millions are going to show up at the polls. This will be the largest turnout in our lifetime. They don�t have enough machines. They are going to have to send for more ballots. And they are going to make it difficult for you to vote. The new law says if this is your first time voting you must bring ID with you that matches the address you are registered at. If for some reason they can�t find your name on the voting rolls, you have the right to ask for a provisional ballot, which you can fill out and then sort things out later. If you have any problems at the polling place, please call 1-866-OUR-VOTE. The people there can tell you how to find the precinct where you should be voting, get you legal help if you are denied the right to vote, or answer any other questions you may have. If you need any help figuring out the ballot, don�t be afraid to ask. If you screw up your ballot, you can ask for another one. In fact, the law allows you to screw up your ballot two times before you finally have to submit your final ballot! Be careful to vote on the line that says John F. Kerry/John Edwards. Don�t vote for more than one Presidential, Senate or House candidate or you ballot won�t be counted. If your polling place has a stub or a receipt from your ballot, make sure they give you one. Thanks for joining us. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It only works when we all come off the bench and participate. To African Americans: First of all, let�s just acknowledge what you already know: America is a country which still has a race problem, to put it nicely. Al Gore would be president today had thousands of African Americans not had their right to vote stolen from them in Florida in 2000. Here is my commitment: I will do everything I can to make sure that this will not happen again. And I�m not the only one making this pledge. Thousands of volunteer lawyers are flying to Florida to act as poll watchers and intervene should there be any attempts to deny anyone their right to vote. They will NOT be messing around. For my part, I have organized an
Billy Miller -- 11/01/2004, 15:45:18 -- #8527

too bad i cant vote :( i missed it by 1 year!
Whacky -- 11/01/2004, 18:18:27 -- #8533

I'm glad you're thinking about it! I didn't vote until I was in my late 20s because I didn't feel I had a grasp of what was going on...(until Iran Contra - oy) It warms my heart to see people your age getting involved. This is still a great country and I'm afraid it's up to you to keep it that way:)
dharminor -- 11/01/2004, 20:14:19 -- #8537

I am 24 and this is my second election. Scot i agree with you on many points but i refuse to listen to your rhetoric about Nader. Fine Bush(the idiot) definitely needs to be gone but don't lie, twist facts, and spit progadanda to get your point across, because those of us who do educate ourselves will turn a deaf ear. The same way we have to most politicians and the mainstream media. Nader is mad at a party and a left that turned on him first by blaming him for the corrupt appointment of Bush. His entire record has been selfless and has benefited the environment, consumers, and the working class. Don't lie and attack a man's character, especially a man as benevolent as Nader. Which is oh so rare in politics. When i hear you SPIN the facts about Nader it makes you sound like every other political lemming. Honesty is the biggest problem with politics. Don't become one of these spinsters(liars) that run rampant on the political circuit!!!! Besides Gore did win the popular vote! Maybe we should be concentrating on how the outcome of 2000 could be possible, rather than attacking one of the few leaders who is trying to do some good and who is not just after personal gains because his past has dictated just this.....not trying to make an enemy i just could not leave what you wrote about Nader alone.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 11/02/2004, 05:37:55 -- #8542

What are you talking about?? Do you disagree with my statement: "I think Nader is great. I watched his speech today on TV. I agree with him. I like him, and I particularly am thankful for all the h ard work he's been doing for this country without hardly a glance by most people." I hardly call that an attack on Nader! And if you're referring to that LONG message a few before, I didn't write it- Michael Moore wrote it and I just posted it here for anyone who was interested. Please read things a little more carefully before attacking, ok?
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
7 -- 11/02/2004, 09:05:48 -- #8547

Michael Moore's long post was truncated due the character limit. It ends with "For my part I have organized an ..."
dharminor -- 11/02/2004, 09:18:33 -- #8548

Scot I apologize. I was reading through all the messages for the last few days. I missed the heading and I am already on the defensive about Nader cause of everything I hear from the left about him. I neglected to pay attention to the heading and apologize for the attack. However now knowing that the message came from Micheal Moore, a person I respected, makes me question Moore, his credibility, and just how different he really is from the rest that I speak about in the blog.
Barry -- 11/02/2004, 10:15:57 -- #8550

Well today is voting day - that means that you guys could have a result in about two months when the legal wrangling has finished. I think this is going to be so close that there will be weeks of legal challenges before the result is announced. I heard on the news the other day that both sides have 10,000 lawyers on standby if the result doesn't go their way. Maybe we should send some UN observers to ensure that the election is run properly! In all seriousness, I wish I were American today so that I could vote against George Bush. To my mind the world is a hell of lot more dangerous than it was before his presidency and that's not because of 9/11. His invasion of Iraq and cavalier, gung-ho foreign policy has stirred up hatred throughout the world and I cannot remember a time when the ruler of an ally scared me so much. I know that Britain was part of the invading forces and that will be a huge factor in our elections next year. However, we are a small country and could not, and would not, have invaded Iraq without Bush. I don't understand why any Americans would think that they will be safer with Bush in power. To my mind, he's going to get us all killed. I hope to God that Kerry wins the election. Incidentally, on your home front, your national debt is out of control, your economy stalling and yet Bush is cutting taxes for his friends - the rich. To all you jazz republicans - realise that, as jazz musicians, you are unlikely to earn a lot of money. Realise also that under Bush, you will always be second best and subsidising those cuts for the bigwigs. I know that you would all be well within your rights to tell me to mind my own business, but I honestly believe that this election is so important to the future of our world that I have to speak up. I urge you all - please vote democrat today.
Whacky -- 11/02/2004, 10:32:22 -- #8551

Thank you Barry. I think it's very important for us to hear from people from other countries. I agree with you whole-heartedly. In fact I'll go one further and say that I believe 9/11 happened because Bush was president, and if he gets re-elected I fear we will see another attack of that magnitude...I surely hope I'm wrong, but even more so I hope Kerry gets in. I voted democrat this morning!
ziggysane -- 11/02/2004, 12:14:23 -- #8555

Ditto
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 11/02/2004, 16:02:19 -- #8564

Well, even though I'm completely against Bush and his policies of making the rich richer, the poor poorer, and taking care of his friends before the rest of the American people, I think it's our overall foreign policy that caused 911 and Bush just happened to be in office when things went to hell. He certainly didn't HELP anything, but neither did any of the presidents before him. Our continued reliance upon foreign energy is ultimately going to be our downfall unless Kerry wins and really starts pumping funding into some of the really cool new energy theories and technology that are being developed. The development of these technologies is going VERY slow due to the fact that our boy Bush just loves oil, and there's no way he's going to do anything to hurt the oil industry, his friends, conspirators, contributors, and constituency. I also agree that the world is going to be a very scary place if Bush gets back into office... We will invade Iran, we will become bankrupt, and the scary possibility of our entire economy exploding so that the dollar is a worthless piece of green and white paper is all too real. In fact, if Bush wins and I do move to Canada, I have a feeling that's not going to help anything... Bush has already publically said that we're an empire and empires play by different rules. So what's to stop him from invading canada for their resources? I think the next four years, regardless of who is president, is going to see the seeds of the grassroots politics that have been planted in the last several months grow into lush gardens of people-power. I think the days of the president being all powerful and not accountable for real failure (not cigar sex :) such as the kinds of failures Bush has provided us, those days are numbered. Back tracking- isn't it funny how Clinton got impeached because of sex, while Bush is individually responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 people in Iraq, most of them innocent as well as lying about going to war, and some people call him a hero? Makes me want to puke it's so damn funny. Well, today is Tuesday. Tonight I run my Tuesday night jam session. I have a killer bass player, a great drummer, some of the best microbrew west of the continental divide, and I get to play whatever kind of jazz I want for three hours. So whatever happens, I'm going to play jazz and drink good beer. We'll just see how much beer I'm going to have to drink :)
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
dharminor -- 11/02/2004, 18:33:11 -- #8570

well Nader wasn't on the ballot in my state. so any question i had in weighing my options between Nader and Kerry have been answered for me. Man I am on two knees praying that this turns out alright. The man in the white house these days really scares me!!! he needs to go! i think our future really hangs in the balance. Maybe Jeb will do his brother another favor and conveniently lose votes.(man i Hope not!!!)
Whacky -- 11/02/2004, 21:00:36 -- #8579

Missouri - The Moron State (I tried)
Whacky -- 11/03/2004, 11:41:17 -- #8585

Well I tend to grieve hard...I actually wept and wallowed in hopelessness for a while, but I'm starting to pick myself up. They say every cloud has a silver lining. My brother-in-law made the point that the dems failing so miserably may open the doors for some independent parties to become reasonable alternatives in the future...one can only hope...I hope we all live long enought to see it It's still our country and as dissappointed as I am, and with such an urge to move to a different country, part of me just can't let those bastards win! the fat lady aint sung yet:)
Scot -- 11/03/2004, 12:07:30 -- #8586
A silver lining?
So the US is full of morons. Well, there is a silver lining. We should thank the sound-byte idiots of today's society because in the next four years, this country is going to be a pretty crappy place to live. How, you ask, is that good in any way? It's good because the people that are lucky enough to survive the heinous stuff that is going to go down in the next four years will realize that without a complete political shift in this country, the whole damn world is going to be doomed. That is, if it's not too late. To the people who believe everything they are told (Bush supporters for the most part)- educate yourselves, ok? Don't let the media and paid advertisements educate you, do a little homework. Don't be so lazy. Get off your fat asses and find things out on your own. The lack of individual motivation to make a change for the better in this country sickens me. The pervasive mindset of "now now now now mine mine mine" instead of trying to build a sustainable future for the entire human race sickens me. But this western society, particuarly the United States, is really all about instant gratification and self preservation without any thought to what is being left for future generations. It's all about politicians "giving them what they want" instead of "making choices for a bright future". Well, congrats to the people who voted for Bush. Please remember to take full responsibility when the crap starts hitting the fan, ok? And in four years, hopefully you will have learned something about how to make decisions on your own so that if national and personal debt, international hatred, and just plain lazy-ass stupidity doesn't do us in, we'll have another chance to turn things around. If I were a gazillionaire, I'd go into politics. To bad you have to be rich to be a politician.
dharminor -- 11/03/2004, 12:08:42 -- #8587

ITS ALL JUST A BAD DREAM!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING!!!! WE ARE SCREWED!!!!!!!! ENJOY NOT LEAVING OUR BORDERS FOR VACATION FOR A LONG TIME, AS OUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF KEEPS THE ANYMOSITY LEVEL TOWARDS AMERICANS RISING!!!
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 11/03/2004, 12:08:43 -- #8588

(note: I'm not responding to Whacky's post, I started writing it before I saw what Whacky left. Interesting that the same words were used... weird!)
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
dharminor -- 11/03/2004, 12:21:26 -- #8589

BYE BYE ENVIRONMENT, BYE BYE INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY, BYE BYE CIVIL LIBERTIES. HE FED ALL YOU BUSH VOTERS A HOT STEAMY PILE OF.......AND YOU LAPPED IT UP. AND LET ME SAY THAT AMERICA IS MY COUNTRY, BUT THIS PIECE OF SH*T IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE THE LEADER OF MY COUNTRY. ALSO TO ALL YOU BUSH VOTERS I ASK WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE DURING THE ASCEND OR DECLINE OF A CIVILIZATION. YOU DON'T NEED TO ANSWER YOUR VOTE HAS SAID IT ALL. "DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTISM" THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Whacky -- 11/03/2004, 13:42:38 -- #8591

Wierd! Maybe someone's trying to tell us something...a glimmer of hope perhaps?
Billy Miller -- 11/03/2004, 14:36:36 -- #8592

republican house and senate, republican president, and soon to be some new conservative justices. Do the democrats really have much of a voice now? I do however, respect the way kerry went out, even though im not fond of the outcome. Rather than to keep fighting a loosing battle, he respectfully gave in. Its good that he isnt too proud to admit defeat.
Scot -- 11/03/2004, 14:56:56 -- #8594

Kerry bowed out because he is a class act- he knows that drawing out stuff via court battles weakens us as much as anything else... good man.
Gordon -- 11/04/2004, 06:08:36 -- #8610
There will be an answer
Many commiserations to you Americans, tentatively raising umbrellas under this new four year Bush cloud. It seems terrible enough from over here in the UK - I can't imagine what you're going through. But be ready with your shades, because there's bound to be a silver lining - Scott and Whacky have just proved it... I think. Dharminor - Remember Europeans and most of the brain-alive world are anti Bush/Cheney etc - not anti-American people at all. We feel the frustration of democrat voters and pity the republican voters as we would a demented dog trying to eat his own leg.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
sid -- 11/04/2004, 06:56:08 -- #8612
Fom another Brit who should mind his own business
I hear that more people voted for George Bush than for any other President in history. So it's difficult to argue that somehow he doesn't represent what the United States and Americans are really like in the 21st century. It's just something the world will have to come to terms with. I can't say I've ever met an American remotely like the kind of person who would vote for George Bush, but then I mix with jazz musicians and academic scientists, who are hardly representative of the nation as a whole. It seems we all have to try and learn what makes these people tick, because they are clearly intent on making a world according to their rules. I think I could handle the prospect better if the soundtrack wasn't Country and Western. sid
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
flicklers -- 11/04/2004, 07:14:18 -- #8613

Hopefully the following will generate a smile, it is not meant as a taunt. I truly share your pain, wish George had not been elected (either time), constantly live with having opinions not shared by the majority of voters. I actually thought Nixon got the largest majority in history - just before being thrown out of office, so maybe there's hope. Anyway the following is from The Borowitz Report, www.borowitzreport.com, a daily political satire column: "CANADA REPORTS HUGE JUMP IN IMMIGRATION Over 55,000,000 Requests for Citizenship Since Tuesday Night Canadian immigration officials have reported a huge increase in the number of requests for Canadian citizenship in the past twenty-four hours, with over fifty-five million such inquiries pouring in since late Tuesday night. Of those fifty-five million requests, well over 99.99% of them came from U.S. citizens, the lion�s share residing in such states as New York, California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said that he was �flabbergasted� by the fifty-five-million-plus requests for Canadian citizenship, adding that it was difficult to pinpoint the precise reasons for the staggering increase. �My only theory is that after many years of exposure in the U.S., hockey is finally starting to catch on,� Mr. Pettigrew said. He cautioned, however, that it is impossible to know exactly what is sparking the sudden interest in America�s frozen neighbor to the north: �People answering our immigration hotline say that it is hard to understand many of the American callers because they are sobbing uncontrollably.� In other news, President Bush used his acceptance speech Wednesday to reach out to supporters of Sen. John Kerry, telling them, �You can run, but you can�t hide.� Meanwhile, in his first statement since being voted out of office Tuesday night, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle said, �Do you want fries with that?� "
Scot -- 11/04/2004, 09:00:31 -- #8615

"I hear that more people voted for George Bush than for any other President in history." That is correct, Sid, however it's also correct that more people voted AGAINST George Bush than any other president in history as well.
Whacky -- 11/04/2004, 09:41:52 -- #8617

Well it does seem apparent that perhaps the moronic populous does really want this, which is why my wife began looking for jobs/property in Canada....and historically whenever she finds places for us to live, we go...(ya gotta love a women like that:)
Whacky -- 11/04/2004, 09:43:23 -- #8618

but why Canada? Any of you non-US folks have room for us? We teach and play music, but we also have brains:)
7 -- 11/04/2004, 11:48:26 -- #8620

It's easy to understand the results. A simple graph of IQ levels tells all: Only a very small percentage of the population possesses any degree of intelligence. The vast majority range from average to morons.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
dharminor -- 11/04/2004, 21:01:56 -- #8643

i just hope that there are many more understanding and logical people overseas like the one's posting here. my experience and observations tell me that the same intelligence displacement spoken about in the U.S. population exists the world over and while i know probably won't have problem visiting somewhere like England. it will be years longer before we can visit safely, any part of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and west asia. thanks to the policies of our wannabe cowboy!
Randy Halberstadt: Metaphors For The Musician Grade: A+++
dharminor -- 11/04/2004, 21:11:19 -- #8644

sorry for my poor grammar. typed in a hurry! and to whacky p the answer is not to run. this is our country too and we need, now more than ever, every single person that is not in the stupor that the majority here is in.
Whacky -- 11/04/2004, 22:12:57 -- #8645

Well it's unlikely I'll actually leave. My youngest is a sophmore in high school...I'd hate to yank him...and those war mongers aren't gonna yank him either...I may have to buy a gun and dig a hole like hussein...
Whacky -- 11/05/2004, 16:06:43 -- #8658
hmmm....
anybody seen this yet? http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
dharminor -- 11/05/2004, 17:16:03 -- #8660

checked out that sight. very interesting
dharminor -- 11/05/2004, 17:16:28 -- #8661

site!?! damnit...lol
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 11/05/2004, 18:50:31 -- #8667

Oooooo, this is very interesting. Not unexpected. I wonder if Michael Moore knows about it?
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
Whacky -- 11/05/2004, 21:14:54 -- #8670

hmmm...he didn't mention it on his latest website message, which is very good btw..."17 reasons not to slit your wrist" or something like that...kind of calming:) it sure would be funny to find out georgey and the boys f***ed around with the voting machines.... and then winds up impeached:)
Whacky -- 11/05/2004, 21:16:14 -- #8671

only funny of course if they all go down with him...nah...they'd give that job to Connie
sid -- 11/06/2004, 12:48:07 -- #8681
Expect you've seen this, but
http://www.amipatriotic.com/story/2004/11/4/13038/9521
Scot -- 11/06/2004, 14:22:20 -- #8688

:) I'm now a Virtual Canadian!
Scot -- 11/10/2004, 19:13:29 -- #8828

http://www.fuckthesouth.com/ funny! (sorry for the profane domain name, not much I can do about that)
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Billy Miller -- 11/10/2004, 20:13:09 -- #8829

that was an interesting read, asside from the profanity. I think it could have done without all the bad language. And whats with the stereotyping about us religous people? We're not all idiots.
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
dharminor -- 11/10/2004, 20:20:09 -- #8830

scot that sight is f*cking hilarious!!!!!!! good for who ever wrote that. Classic stuff!
Whacky -- 11/10/2004, 21:49:11 -- #8831

Outstanding:)
Scot -- 11/11/2004, 07:06:38 -- #8841

Billy- it's a satirical rant about the current state of political affairs as the author of the piece sees it. Most people who read it are very aware that the generalities in the paper do not apply to everyone in the regions that are being bashed on. Like most satire, there are some scary seeds of truth in that paper, once you get past the bad language and doggerell.
Whacky -- 11/11/2004, 07:34:18 -- #8844

some of my best friends are religious :) and there are plenty of religious folks who voted non-bush (none of my friends though)
Scot -- 11/11/2004, 18:16:22 -- #8865

Musicians are normally self employed- I am. So this really pisses me off. It has for a long time. If I want to try to save my money, I get hit hard with the tax hammer. But if I spend all my money on equipment, I can write it off and not pay federal taxes, but then I don't have any money in the bank. They let you put money into an IRA and such, but stock related investments suck so bad these days, why would anyone put their money there? THey should allow land investment as a viable tax shelter, damnit. That's the only safe investment I can think. ANyway, just moaning about it cause it's getting closer to that day when I have to pay everything I've saved to the IRS.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Whacky -- 11/11/2004, 22:20:30 -- #8866

Ya know what pisses me off? The IRS requires we self-employed to make equal estimated taz payments each quarter, but the quarters aren't really quarters. The first is three months, the second it two months the third is three months and the fourth is four months. Now how the hell am gonna pay them for three months income when I've only worked two months? The answer; I don't...and for that I get penalized...One year I pinched as tight as I could to make those regular payments, and boy did my family suffer...I'll NEVER do that a again...who the hell wrote the tax code?
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
Scot -- 11/12/2004, 16:00:07 -- #8898

Yeah, I hate those estimated payments as well. The way I do it is pay as much as I can the first time around (same day as taxes are due... sheesh) and then don't pay for the rest of the year. The penalty isn't that much if you pay at least once during the year... I just did some research. I can get a Canadian "Green card" (they call 'em Maple Leaf Cards or something) for $2k and some time in interviews and applications. Being single, a pro musician, and self employed computer guy sure helps in that area.
Whacky -- 11/18/2004, 13:02:02 -- #9066
Interesting quote
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)
Whacky -- 12/07/2004, 08:17:47 -- #9534
recount
well, ya never know... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6661622/ 6 more days...
dharminor -- 12/10/2004, 16:43:01 -- #9598

highly unlikely
Whacky -- 12/10/2004, 22:00:37 -- #9603

yeah...but I keep picturing the picture of Truman holding the newspaper whose headline was Dewey defeats Truman (or something like that) I know it's kinda late, but a little hope here and there never hurt anyone:)
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Whacky -- 12/26/2004, 10:35:38 -- #9877
Anonymous Quote
I got this in an email: Our Constitution - They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years and, we're not using it anymore.
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
Scot -- 12/28/2004, 01:22:02 -- #9925

:) Interesting that we're spending a billion a day on the Iraq invasion, but locally we have to close libraries becuase of budget shortfalls. Steinbeck's home town is closing all of their libraries. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Salinas%20Libraries&dpfrom=1
Whacky -- 12/29/2004, 07:45:44 -- #9964
more bs
I was told yesterday that although we are against stem cell research here in the USA, we actually sell left over embryos to India, where they use them for stem cell research. "don't kill em here, you guys do it" I also just read that the US offered 15 million to SriLanka while Japan ponied up about 30 mill...It's more important for us to spend the huge dough on blowing the shit out of Iraq.
7 -- 12/29/2004, 13:27:21 -- #9970
Doctors Bragging About Their Achievements
An Israeli doctor said "medicine in my country is so advanced, we can take a kidney out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in six weeks." A German doctor said "that's nothing! In Germany, we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks." A Russian doctor said, "in my country medicine is so advanced, we can take half a heart from one person, put it in another, and have them BOTH looking for work in two weeks". The American doctor, not to be outdone, said "Hah! We can take an asshole out of Texas, put him in the White House and half the country will be looking for work the next day."
Whacky -- 12/29/2004, 17:06:33 -- #9973

he he:)
7 -- 01/08/2005, 13:08:56 -- #10205

As you may already be aware, the Islam encourages charity. However, it also admonishes those who are charitable but make a big show of it to the world. Muslims hold that true charity is anonymous. Giving to the needy and then bragging about it, is being charitable for the wrong reasons (according to Mohammed). Therefore, we will never know exactly how much (or how little) Osama Bin Laden did for the tsunami victims.
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 01/08/2005, 16:41:19 -- #10208

Bush has the lowest approval rating of a re-elected president since 1877. Bush has even less approval than when he "won" the election. And from the comments I've been reading in various national newspapers, the majority8 of the people in this country are still morons. Not because they voted for Bush, but for the reasons they voted for him. It amazes me that people will believe everything that fat asses on conservative talk radio say when it's widely known that radio hosts, conservative and liberal, make up facts as they go along to suit their whims. Does anyone make up their own minds anymore? Did "five second sound byte" replace the definition of TRUTH in the dictionary? This country is fat, stupid, and lazy, and people who are dying from medical problems because of being fat, stupid, and lazy, deserve it. Bellingham is nice- I'm insulated from the rest of the country, but Canada is looking so much better. Time to get a Canadian girlfriend :)
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
Whacky -- 01/08/2005, 19:13:32 -- #10211

Michael Moore's most recent letter is somewhat encouraging: http://www.michaelmoore.com/index_main.php I've met a few folks from Canada that are not very happy with things there...now they live here...hmmmm Oscar Peterson doesn't speak too highly of it either...I guess there will be problems where ever we go - we might as well work on our own - if we can
Scot -- 01/09/2005, 23:32:34 -- #10253

Well, the girls a prettier in Canada, that's for sure :)
Whacky -- 01/10/2005, 00:50:39 -- #10261

ya know...I have noticed that...
Scot -- 01/18/2005, 17:57:17 -- #10510
Condoleezza Rice
"Rice said spreading democracy through the Middle East remains a top administration objective." What the hell? So now we know the truth- it really is the next Crusades. As for as the Monkey Boy Bush and his legions of The Mindless are concerned, Democracy = Fundamental Christianity. What a pile of steaming crap. And the scary part is a majority of this country believes the same way. I'm ashamed and sorry to be a part of a society of morons who can't see the truth unless it's a five second sound byte. People are afraid to say George Bush is a dumb-ass. Why is that? People are afraid to point fingers and name names. Hey, if someone is in politics, they are fair game because they are a publically elected official. Rice is so far up Bush's ass that it's hard to tell where one ends and the other one starts. At least Colin Powell had some dignity. Rice is just an brown nosed ass-kisser. Has anyone heard her speak? She's smart- if it's not on the script, she doesn't make it up, she just ignores the question. The entire senate needs to be taken outside and have the crap beaten out of them. There were only two senators to question Rice, and only one that said they wouldn't vote. Sen. Barbara Boxer is the only senator with some balls who questioned Rice's honesty, and Kerry is the only one who said she won't be getting his vote. Hey, maybe in private monkey boy and Rice and all the rest are nice poeple. But their policies stink. How about this one- let's aid the tsunami disaster. All sorts of people are giving money away. But what about the Iraq disaster? What about all the homeless, hungry, injured, innocent people that we are totally screwing over in the quest for "democracy" (or is it fundamental christianity?) How many people are going to open their wallets and help the Iraqies who are getting their asses blown up for oil? Today I'm pissed off because yesterday was MLK day and all I saw was a bunch of people getting together in rallies and preaching to each other. Sheesh, that's like teaching a whale how to swim. If those people at rallies want to do something, get on the street corner and preach the words of Dr. King to people who haven't heard them before, you know? Anyway, that's my rant for the week. If you want to make intelligent decisions, then learn the truth and stop believing what CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, and all the rest of the "owned" media groups tell you. Get your news from The Onion, Indy Media, and other independant media groups who aren't bought and sold like a bunch of dead fish.
Scot -- 01/28/2005, 12:05:44 -- #10806
"If Iraq asks, troops would leave, Bush says"
----------- weekly rant begin ---------------- Talk about being a flip-flopper. He creates one of the most unstable areas in the world, and now will pull everything out if a puppet government asks for it. What next? Don't be surprised, with Monkey Boy as president, we can literally expect anything. Invade Canada because of all the pot-smoking terrorists? Occupy Mexico to help organize cheap labor? Sure, just silly statements... or are they? Bush is the worst thing to happen to the world in the new millenium. He plays the game very well- say what they want to hear while behind his back tear the heads off pidgeons. He's a great magician, very good at keeping our attention where he wants it (don't forget- terrorists want to kidnap and do horrible things to you children, vote for me!) while shuffling important issues and constitutional rights under the mat. --------- Weekly rant end ----------------
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Whacky -- 01/28/2005, 12:43:39 -- #10809

aagghhh!!!
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
Scot -- 01/31/2005, 18:46:04 -- #10855

Sorry- I just re-read what I wrote. Kind of a scary message! I'll tone down my next rant so we don't get nightmares about monkeys dancing on top of oil wells any longer.
Whacky -- 01/31/2005, 22:11:14 -- #10861

hehe...I'm always on the verge of losing it over this crap - I'm trying not to watch the news so much so I don't spend each day pissed off
Whacky -- 03/11/2005, 00:56:33 -- #11843

A neighboring city to mine has banned smoking in all public buildings, including bars. Can you believe this?! It is now illegal for a bar owner to allow smoking in his establishement! I don't smoke, and I don't go to places that have a lot of smoke, but damnit, those who want to smoke ought to be able have some place to go and do it - and any buisness owner should have the right to allow or disallow smoking - or peeing or whatever! What the hell is happening to freedom in this country?! (USA) AAAGGGHHH!!!!
sdm -- 03/11/2005, 15:06:50 -- #11857

Yeah, they're talking about doing that here (Portland, OR). My kid is in a rock band and I've gone to a couple of show. Everyone in that scene seems to smoke. I've been off about ten or eleven years. I can't believe I came home smelling like that every night! Anyway, I can only imagine what those club owners are going to do if their customers can't smoke in their clubs. Many will shut I'd have to guess. The older I get the more libertarian I seem to feel!
Whacky -- 03/11/2005, 17:47:01 -- #11866

yep...if they can travel less than a half mile to a bar that allows smoking, the poor club owners will go out of business - great for the economy isn't it?...and in the name of what? good health? c'mon...what's next? make it illegal to serve fatty foods?
In Oscar Peterson - Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes and Pieces for Piano
Scot -- 03/11/2005, 18:22:07 -- #11868

Actually, from what I've seen when regulations like that go into action most people don't stop going to the bars, they just go outside to smoke. Now some places want to ban outside smoking which, even though I don't smoke tobacco, I think is an infringement on rights. If they want to get serious about banning smoking, then call it what it is and put it on the dangerous drugs list like they do with marijuana (which according to Ashcroft is MORE dangerous than Cocaine and Heroine, at least as far as it's listed on the drug type chart).
Mark Levine: The Jazz Piano Book • Mark Levine: The Jazz Theory Book
7 -- 03/11/2005, 20:29:42 -- #11871

It's been that way in California for a long time. There are many bars that defy the law. They just let the customers smoke inside and since law enforcement officers have better things to do with their time, the cops don't bother raiding places unless someone's filed a for