Rush Limbaugh was blaming Obama for the recession three weeks after he was elected!

One thing we have to get away from now that the Bush Era is over is allowing partisanship to blind us to the facts.  That goes for Democrats too, by the way! But to blame Obama for this recession is ludicrous.  I don't suppose the fact that the Bush Administration didn't budget a single dollar for the Iraq War - not one! - had anything to do with it.  Instead, they funded the war on supplemental budgets so there would be no transparancy as to how the money was spent.  Any lawmaker who voted against it was bullied as "Not supporting the troops." 

Furthermore, can I finally get an "amen" to the fact that the GOP's theory of  "Free Market Economy" is a failed idea?  The Bush Administration did everything it could to deregulate the Financial industry and refused to provide oversight.  "Let the Free Market dictate things," they said.  What it wound up dictating is unbridled greed and the failure of some of America's biggest banks.  It was just a device for the greedy to squeeze money out of nothing.  My DW called sub-prime mortgages, "The Junk Bonds of the New Millenium" and she was absolutely on the money about that.

The Right Wing Echo Machine wants to blame all the ills of the world on President Obama.  Do they not realize that he was preceded by the Worst President Ever?

The latest thing is that the Right is SCREAMING because Obama has ended the "Enemy Combatants" status for the prisoners at Guantanamo.  What he's doing is ending the Bush assertion that as Commander-in-Chief, the President had the right to declare ANYBODY an "Enemy Combatant" and hold them INDEFINITELY with no rights, no charges and no legal recourse. 

Now, the truth is I don't want these terrorist bastards released any more than the Right does.  But Bush's claims that the President has the right to spy on anyone without a warrant, hold anyone indefinitely without charges and torture with impunity CANNOT and MUST NOT STAND!  Frankly, I'm surprised and dismayed that more "Strict Constructionist" Republicans aren't more up in arms about this. 

Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, the ideals on which America was founded should be dear to you. We are not a Nation of Kings, as George W. Bush would have had - we are a Nation of Laws.  America must observe the Rule of Law, which protects us all, whether the defendant is Bernie Madoff, O.J. Simpson or Jose Padilla.  Everyone must be given due process and legal recourse to defend themselves.  Everybody.  Why is the Right so eager to forfeit the legal rights that made America great?

...And stop blaming the ills of the world on President Obama.  You guys had your chance for eight years and you blew it.  Geez, give him a chance, don't root for him to fail!  If he fails, America fails!

But, as the months have gone on I've really started to enjoy doing this.  We have a core of great young musicians coming up and it's really been a joy to work with them.  We've got a young bassist and guitarist, both fifteen.  The drummer's twelve but he loves playing and he's a gamer.  We've got a couple of youngsters singing with us too who are showing some promise.  Then we kind of fill in with grownups on vocals and keys and rhythim guitar. 

The band's a nice mix of old and young.

Now, I've been playing for a long time - nearly forty years!  It's no exaggeration to say I've been pummeled; suffered the slings and arrows of "The Biz."  But for all that, I've never lost the love.  When it's grooving, I groove.  When the people are bopping to what I'm playing, it's still a thrill.  So, to get these kids rockin' and to see the look of delight on their faces is really a treat for me.   It brings me back to when I was their age and just getting it going for the first time.  It doesn't make me feel young - if anything it makes me feel old! But, their youthful joy is certainly infectious!

I don't have to "big-league" anybody.  I do my thing every day of my life and have nothing to prove.  I don't try to be cool; don't try to be their pal. The kids know I 'm for real and they give me respect.  I have to say, I enjoy working with them quite a bit, but they are an especially good bunch.  For one thing, their parents are making sure they grow up churched!  So, we've got some good raw material to work with. 

Singing His Praises in our church.

Sean, our lead guitarist, favors the "Jazzer" look with a suit jacket and button-down shirt.  He even plays a "Jazz Box" type Ibanez guitar.  Bassist Aaron goes more for the "athletic" look, wearing tight-fitting shirts that show off all the time he spends in the weight room.  He's quiet and reserved, but if you look at his Facebook page you can read that he's a deep thinker.  I'm schooling him on bass and working him into the band until it's time for me to step aside altogether. Twelve-year-old Jake looks like a little guy but he smacks those drums and he's got a lot of heart. He's a little wise guy but you can't help but like him. The girls are just coming on board so I don't really know them yet.   

Jim, our Youth Minister

Month by month we've been slowly working towards "critical mass," getting the group off the ground.  Jim is a fantastic Youth Minister who really connects with the kids but doesn't know much about running a band, so I'm helping him out.  We've got some talented kids in our small congregation and we've been slowly getting them on board.  We've got the Paul the Choir Director on keys who I'm hoping to get more involved with vocal arrangements and we've got Janice, an experienced jingle singer, to anchor the vocal section.  Plus we've got Glenn, a wonderful sound man who makes us sound real good.  So we've got a lot of things going for us.

The congreagation's response has been wonderful.  Every month there seem to be more fannies in the pews.  Just the fact that I've been able to get my very "white bread" church clapping their hands and rocking has in itself made the whole undertaking worthwhile for me. I've been dreaming of doing it for years! At services I declare, "Let's get some joyful praise going on in here this morning!" And we do. 

"Let's get some joyful praise going on in here!"

I went into this thing thinking I was making a sacrifice for the church but, as usual, when you give you get back many fold.  You'd think I'd know that by now since it's happened to me so many times and yet here I am - surprised again!   

At long last, the national nightmare that has been the Bush Administration is finally over.  Thank God!

BAD BUSH! No banana!

Smarter and more articulate people that I will summarize his failures and outright crimes, so it really isn't necessary to describe them all in detail here.  That would be a long, long, post since there are so many! 

It's laughable to hear them unrepentant and arrogant to the end; trying to retroactively change their abysmal record. Hey guys, saying something doesn't make it so!  If you ask Dick "The Penguin" Cheney, he has no regrets about anything he did.  The scary thing is that I believe him... more's the pity.  They say history will be kind to their time in power but here's what I think they will be remembered for:

"We didn't make any mistakes!"

- Coming to power (as opposed to being elected) in 2000 under highly questionable circurmstances.  I dream of how much better-off America would be were I writing about the end of the Gore Adminstration!

- Retaining power by the tiniest of margins in 2004 using electoral gamesmanship, then declaring they had a mandate.

- Starting a fraudulent war in Iraq that bankrupted the country and funneled billions of dollars to their corporate political benefactors.

5000 Americans killed, 100,000+ Iraqis killed, country bankrupted.  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

- When the war DID bankrupt the country, they authorized even MORE deficit spending to arrange bailouts for Wall Street while thousands of families lost their homes. 

"Mr. President, America is under attack!"

- History will record that Bush sat there in a stupor after he was informed that America was under attack on 9-11!

- Failing to capture Osama Bin Laden after the 9-11 attacks and not even really trying!  Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

- Causing irreversible harm to thousands of NYC first-responders and downtown residents by declaring the post 9-11 air safe to breathe.  I hope you burn in Hell for that, Christie Todd Whitman!

- Used 9-11 to erode personal freedoms at home and ignore the Geneva Conventions abroad, thus emboldening our enemies and serving their cause.

"You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie!"

- Doing nothing to save a major American city from a natural disaster, then dragging their feet with the reconstruction for political ends.

- Allowing their corporate cronies to foul the planet by refusing to provide EPA oversight.

- Allowing their corporate cronies to collapse the economic system by refusing to provide SEC oversight.

"Why do you hate the President so much George?"you may ask.  Read here.

The bet here is that no member of the Bush Administration (other than Scooter Libby) will ever be held legally responsible for their misdeeds.  These people will never, ever see justice for what they did.  They should all be jailed for what they did but that isn't going to happen. 

Years ago I agreed with President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon because I felt America needed to move on.  Now I regret that stance, because it set a bad precedent for much-worse future presidents. 

Don't let these guys escape justice the way Nixon did!

In 1974 when Nixon resigned, I felt it was OK to pardon him because it was punishment enough to have to resign and live out the rest of his life in disgrace.  Alas, George W. Bush and his cohorts will get away scot-free.  The only justice they may see is themselves being eviscerated by history ten or fifteen years  from now.

The one and only thing I will miss about the Bush Administration is the bond of hating them so much that I shared with my DW Terri for the past eight years.  I hope we can find something new that we are both that passionate about!

"I had my hand up his back the entire time!"

From President Bush's Farewell Address the other night, it's plain to see how delusional and disconnected from reality he is.  Somehow he thinks he did such a good job that should take a bow!  Amazingly, he genuinely believes he was a great president!  "I made the tough decisions," he bristled, ignoring the fact that he was almost invariably wrong on every single one!

Terri and I watched him say goodbye, with her soft slippers from the closet beside her on the couch.  Whenever Dumbass let out a particulary huge whopper she threw her slippers at the TV. Hey, no sense wrecking a good set over it!

I pray this guy does a lot better.  He could hardly do worse, but he is inheriting quite a mess!

Soon a new Democratic President will take office, and what a mess he inherits!

President Obama,  I hope that somehow you and your administration will find a way to start to heal the country.  I pray you can undo the damage the previous administration has done by their misgovernance.  May God watch over you and give you strength.  You're going to need it!

Heckuva job Bushies!  You should all be real proud of yourselves!

...and if you voted for them, YOU SHARE IN THE CULPABILITY!

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time, plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines...

- Pink Floyd, "Breathe"

Well, another year's over... and where the hell did it GO? Although I personally had a pretty great 2008 it wasn't exactly a vintage year for the good old USA!  Nevertheless there were some uniquely "2008" events, both in the news and in my life, that I will be happy to see in my rear-view mirror. 

Say "Goodbye" and "Good Riddance" to:

Bye bye and GOOD RIDDANCE to Bush-Cheney!  You've done so much damage to our country.  Don't let the door hit ya, warmongering greedy Fascist mofos that you are!!

The Mets collapse and play themselves out of the playoffs on the last day of the season… for the second straight year! Ugh.

I'll always be a Mets fan but sometimes it's hard...

Any 2008 television appearance or column by William Kristol.  When are they going to send him to the Hague to be tried for war crimes?

I'd love to meet him in a dark alley and wipe that smirk off his face!

Vice President Cheney, and his infamous reply when asked for his reaction to the fact that most of the American People oppose the Iraq war: "So?"  He pretty much summarized his arrogance and his lack of concern for the American people in that one word.

A friend referring to the President-elect as "President Nigger."  A family member will only refer to him as "Iraq Attack," with the same bile and pretty much the same intent.  I'm ashamed of both of them.  Race relations have come a long way since Segregation but we clearly still have a looooong way to go.

Sarah Palin's ridiculous assertion that some parts of America are "More Pro-America" than others

Babeacious but totally unfit to lead.

The cowardly American Media calling her on the carpet for $150,000 in wardrobe when they totally tanked during eight years of rampant fraud and cronyism by the Bush Administration.

Oliver Stone fumbling his chance to give the President his comeuppance with his neutered, milquetoast "W," which packed no wallop at all and wasted a spot-on performance by Josh Brolin.

What could have been a real movie highlight of '08 was one its biggest busts!

The fraudulent assertion by the Treasury Dept. that America faced imminent economic collapse unless Congress immediately ponied up a $700 Billion bailout package for Wall St.  That was as big a lie as the ones they used to start the war.  Similarly, Henry Paulson's deliberate lack of oversight and accountability for how it the money's being spent.

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. "Joe the Plumber," who is neither named Joe nor a licensed plumber, trying to extend his fifteen minutes after McCain lost by bashing him.  Why doesn't he just wear heels, fishnets and a miniskirt like the media whore he really is?

Phony-ass "Joe the Plumber" never met a camera he didn't like!

Rush Limbaugh blaming President- Elect Obama for the recession, a full three months before he even takes office! Unbelievable.

One-legged gold digger Heather Mills taking Paul McCartney to the cleaners.  Oh well, if anybody can spare $250 Million, it's ol' Macca!

No amount of image rehab is gonna make Macca's millions of fans stop hating you, lady! 

Alleged "friends" coming to my house for Christmas only to snub me and refuse to speak with me like I was one of the help. WTF!  Utterly classless. You know who you are, and I AM SO DONE with both of you!

Jets go from 8-3 to out of the playoffs after five straight flops by a washed-up Brett Favre.

What a bust he turned out to be!  Bring him BACK? ARE YOU KIDDING?

The Yankees spending nearly $500 million on three players!  And who exactly is going to be able to afford to be able to attend these games in the new stadium?  Corporate seats only, the rest of us will only get to see them on TV.  To quote Randy Quaid in "Major League II," YOU BUNCH OF OVERPAID WEENIES!!!

Sanctimonious Eliot Spitzer getting caught in a money laundering scandal involving hookers.  Shouldn't have been so "holier-than-thou," buddy!

People who live in glass houses...

John Edwards' infidelities being revealed and all the associated lies that went with them.  You might think he only hurt himself and his family but the poor and underprivileged really lost a dynamic spokesman.  A real shame.

Let's all hope for better things in 2009!

I just want to celebrate another day of living, I just want to celebrate another day of life... Rare Earth

I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning waiting for the sun to come up so I can go roust my parents to open presents!  Anybody who knows me knows that Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday of the year.  Why?  Because the food's great and so is the company.  In my family we eat too much, drink too much Asti Spumonti, then the guitars come out and we all sing. How lucky we are to have a family where we can do that.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. We are all OK in a year where people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads!  I lost a good job, but got another one and managed to have a great Summer in the process.  What a great Summer I had - better than any 52yo guy has a right to have!  We went to Europe for our Silver Anniversary, I  played the festival with Sullivan, played some wonderful beach gigs solo and with the band, did lots of recording but otherwise pretty much goofed off all summer.

I started my new day gig at Estee Lauder about a month ago and happily, that has been working out so far.  It's less than two miles from my house so I can have lunch at my own kitchen table every day.  It's great.  It takes all of five to seven minutes to make the commute most days.  While it's a little further than my previous job where I actually worked from home, I actually prefer having the structure of having to go to the office every day.  At my last job it was often isolating and difficult to stay on the same page as everyone else.

Stephanie turned 21 this year and she is just so wonderful.  She's a budding geek like her Daddy and finishing up her Digital Media major at Drexel.  It was funny talking to her yesterday and hearing her say how ready she was to graduate and get on with her life already.  It's beautiful to see her eagerness to go and conquer the world, like most of us have when your life's all ahead of you.   She is a smart, creative, caring person with a great work ethic and you can't ask for better than that.  I'm so proud of her.

What a musical year it's been.  If the rest of the dates I have on the calendar come through I'll have performed forty times this year; a lot for this essentially amateur player.  I started out the year doing the videos with Sullivan and ended it recording in my Mom's garage with Rockslide. In between I finished my CD and wrote a bunch of new songs.  My singing improved another notch and I learned what it'll take for me to play on a real Pro level.  I am grateful that Mike Hogan came back into my life and challenged me to take it to a whole new place.

I jammed in Europe, played some perfect nights on the beach and even did a "family" gig with Terri and my brothers.  I got to sing praises and even got to ROCK the church for the first time! Been wanting to do that for years. Got to jam over there with old friends and new.  

Another major thing I am thankful for is another mostly happy year with my mostly wonderful wife who is a truly extraordinary woman.  Terri had a good year musically, too.  She took her kids to sing with the Huntington Choral Society, then brought down the house herself with a solo originally intended for Roberta Flack. Now she's taking them to perform "A Charlie Brown Christmas" with David Benoit at IMAC.

I am grateful that my brothers found love in their lives again.  My bro Joe looks pretty happy and my other bro Willee got married again (third time's the charm?) to his sweetie Ruthie.  I'm grateful that Mom's managed to get through her first year of widowhood as well as she has.

I am SO, SO thankful that the REAL America finally showed up and elected Obama this year. That Bush and the rest of those SOB's will finally be shown the door.  They've done so much damage.  I am grateful that America wants to move forward from the politics of division and racism. 

I am so grateful that the black cloud that's been over my head since Bush stole the election in 2000 has finally dissipated.  He is not now,  has never been, nor will he ever be my President.  Alas, the only punishment he will ever receive is seeing himself eviscerated by history ten or twenty years from now.  Not much justice but some, I suppose.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Peace.

THAT'S LIFE - That's what all the people say... you're riding high in April, shot down in May. - Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon (not Frank)

Hi Gang,

Haven't written in months, just 'cause I haven't had much to say since I got back from Europe.  Life goes on as it is wont to do but for the last little while I've been in a period where there's been a cloud over my head.

The Mets dropped out of the postseason on the last day of the season for the second straight year although it didn't hurt quite so much this time.  My heartbreak was mitigated by knowing that they limped to the finish line with a spit-and-bubblegum starting rotation and a useless bullpen with no closer.  They'll be back.  (Note to Omar: Get C.C. Sabathia puhleeeeeeeeeze!)

No that's not me but I share this guy's feelings about the second straight Met collapse!

In addition to being out of work as so many people are these days, I've had a bad patch with gigs getting canceled - two with Sullivan and two with Rockslide.  Those cancellations wiped out most of my performance calendar for September and October, but I've finally got a gig coming up with Sullivan in Manhattan at the M.E.A.N.Y. Fest on Oct. 18.  It feels like ages since I've trodden a stage and it'll be good to get back to performing. 

Like many people I've been following the Presidential race obsessively, though doing so makes me feel more and more helpless.  The tanking economy favors Obama although it does no one any favors.  Please God let America make the right choice in November! 

Obama seems to be ahead but there is always that 'x-factor' looming on Election Day.  The 'x,' of course, being the number of otherwise well-meaning, decent Americans who will get in that voting booth and say to themselves, 'I won't vote for a ni**er.'  Since few people will admit to that openly no one knows how to quantify this factor; yet it portends to decide an election that is much closer than it should be.

Some Americans are openly racist... many others feel the same way but won't admit to it.

Oh, how dreadful this worst-case-scenario could be: through a combination of hidden racism amongst the electorate and Rove-engineered GOP dirty tricks, McCain wins on Nov. 4.  OMG, there are so many negatives that haven't been discussed about a McCain Presidency. 

For one thing McCain is well-known for his terrible temper and when you factor in his overall hawkishness it makes him a very dangerous man to be given the keys to America's military.  Like President Bush, he is likely to employ a 'Shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later' foreign policy.

A McCain Presidency could be even MORE catastrophic for America than Bush's!  Can you say, 'President Palin?'

Furthermore, McCain is looking increasingly decrepit on the campaign trail, like he's got nothing left in the tank.  If elected, he would be the oldest man to assume the Presidency and we know how well that worked out in Reagan's second term. (Can you say 'Iran-Contra,' boys and girls?) I suspect McCain's health isn't as good as he'd like people to believe.  Likely as not he wouldn' t survive a first term and then....  Well, all I can say is that whether you're a Democrat or Republican; Liberal or Conservative; Libertarian, Green or Anything in Between - the phrase 'President Palin' should scare the bejabbers out of you!

Even if America makes the right choice and Obama wins, his hands are going to be tied and most of his first term will be all about damage control from eight years of Bush.  He's going to inherit a government in shambles, a broken military and an empty treasury.  Boy, it's not a job I'd be sending in MY resume to apply for!

Let's hope we make the right choice on Election Day and America is on the rebound real soon!

So, my own feelings are very much in tune with the general maliaise looming over the country.  But for all of that, I know that you can't enjoy the good if there's no bad every once in a while.  Like the song says, 'That's life' - it's all part of the cyclical nature of things.  Even if I'm faced with a little adversity right now,  I'm hopeful that I'll soon be on the rebound. 

...And that America will be too.