"Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees" RIP Davy

Well, I was definitely a Monkees fan. It was very weird that one of my neighbor's looked just like Mike Nesmith (he even wore a knit cap). I don't remember what night they were on, but we (my sister and I) would go next door to the neighbors' house (they were a very young couple, so they like the show as well) and watch the show each week. I was in what was then called junior high, probably 8th or 9th grade, and I do believe that my first crush was on Davy Jones (I really didn't have any crushes on any of the Beatles at that time).

Years later, Davy actually recorded one of the songs that my family owned the publishing rights to (but for the life of me, I cannot remember the name). It was on the B side of one of his hits as an individual artist (maybe Rainy Jane, but not sure).

Daydream Believer


He was 66, died in his sleep of an apparent massive heart attack after tending to his horses.

RIP.

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Newt Breaks Down In Boystown

I'm a little late on this, but I did find it funny! Newt's bus breaks down in "boystown" (West Hollywood, California)! As IF anyone was going to help them! Read the comments from the article, they are hilarious.

Florida's New Prison Bill Goes Down In Flames

A massive expansion of private prisons in Florida collapsed in the Senate Tuesday as nine Republicans joined a dozen Democrats in handing a setback to Senate leaders and a victory to state workers.

As a result, the state will not undertake what would have been the single greatest expansion of prison privatization in U.S. history, affecting 27 prisons and work camps in 18 counties and displacing more than 3,500 correctional officers.

Thank Goodness! This was pushed by the Governor and touted as the "new" way to go regarding imprisoning so called criminals. Except in Florida, the privatization was predicated on the expected "new" criminals that would be coming from the illegal immigrant crackdown. They were counting the money hand over fist. Glad to see that this "plan" died a quick death.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/14/2642075/bill-to-privatize-prisons-dies.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

The "Fleecing" Of Minnesota Citizens By NFL

The rich never, ever, run out of ideas to screw the non-rich. I am copying the post from Think Progress verbatim, as cutting it up will now give the full impact of the deviousness nor the duplicity of the NFL (the "rich") stealing money from the non-rich, in this instance, the citizens of Minnesota. Guess there's a reason I don't root for the Vikings, and now I have another reason not to root for them.

In an egregious example of how professional sports can be little more than a “glorified real estate scam,” the owners of the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings are about to fleece an unwilling Minnesota public for hundreds of millions of dollars, as they push to secure public subsidization of a new stadium. A deal is reportedly “imminent.”

Real estate developer Zygi Wilf and five partners bought the team in 2005 for a reported $600 million. (The franchise is now valued at $796 million.) From the get-go, Wilf and his partners wanted what every owner in the NFL wants: a new stadium.

The Metrodome opened in 1982 and is certainly not the newest and most lavish in the league, but there are eight stadiums that are older. And Minnesota voters clearly do not want to pay for a new stadium using public funds. A February 3 poll sponsored by KSTP-TV in Minneapolis found that a whopping 68 percent of Minnesota voters think the new stadium should be built “entirely with private financing.” Only 22 percent believed that any tax dollars should be used at all.

Even more astounding, these results came after a six-figure ad campaign paid for by the Vikings to try to drum up support for financing the stadium.

So leave it to Minnesota’s politicians to find a way around the public will. Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has been out front on the stadium issue and is doing everything he can to get a new stadium built. “We’re at the five yard line and its first and goal, and I think we’ve got a great opportunity,” Dayton recently said.

But in 1997, Minneapolis voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum stating that voters must approve any plan to spend more than $10 million on a sports facility. Given that a referendum today would obviously fail, how is the governor going to get a stadium built in downtown Minneapolis? By exploiting a loophole, of course.

In the latest stadium proposal, at least $300 million in Minneapolis taxes already devoted to paying off the city’s convention center would be diverted to pay the city’s share of the new stadium. And to circumvent the requirement that voters approve funding for the stadium, Dayton’s top stadium negotiator, Ted Mondale, explained that a newly created “stadium authority” would spend the city’s money, rather than the city itself.

So despite the fact that the Minneapolis public voted to require a public referendum before financing any new stadium, and has made it clear that it doesn’t want a new stadium in this case, Minnesota’s governor and state legislature appear poised to spend $300 million in taxes on one anyway by creating a new entity out of thin air that is not subject to the referendum law.

The NFL is making money hand over fist, but the public is expected to pay the costs of providing a (lavish new) place for NFL teams to play, socializing the costs of the sport while privatizing the profits.

Berkely Man Dies Because Police On Standby For Possible Occupy Protests And Refuse To Respond To His Calls For Help

Lest anyone think that the Occupy movement has gone silent, this tidbit should be of interest.

A Berkeley, California, man is dead and some residents say it's because police were focused on an Occupy march. Peter Cukor made a non-emergency call to police last Saturday night to report a suspicious man hanging around his home. He was told police were only responding to emergency calls because the department's officers were on standby to monitor an Occupy Oakland march to the UC Berkeley campus. Cukor walked to a nearby fire station for help and was beaten to death as he returned home. The suspect in custody Daniel DeWitt has a history of mental illness. An Occupy Oakland representative says people should be furious over Cukor's killing. He said Berkeley police officials made monitoring a non-violent march a higher priority than responding to what turned into a deadly crime.

(Copyright 2012 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)

So, the police department in Berkeley is more concerned about what may happen with respect to a bunch of protestors, and are too busy concentrating on what may happen, to actually be effective and do their job when someone reports a suspicious person trying to get into your home.

Need I point out that police, who have unions, are part of the Republican strategy of eliminating collective bargaining, which is but one of the things the Occupy movement is concerned with. Although many police unions have been given the opportunity to be "exempt" from the right to work laws enacted as of recent in many states, and the stripping down of the collective bargaining powers of government employees, it is still distasteful to me that the police side on the part of protecting the 1% when, in fact, the police are part of the 99% across the board.

"Old Photograph" By Warren Wiebe

From a commenter:

Well, if truth be told, for years I thought Christopher Cross was the guy singing at the end of "Voices That Care" and for some reason I must have been looking at that video on youtube where his name was mentioned somewhere in the uploaders comments or something and I was immediately on the move to find more stuff by him. This is when I learned of his death, the history and some of the artists he performed for and with. This happened about a year and a half ago. Believe it or not, I have 77 songs (some live performance stuff included) that he has done. I know there is more out there and my quest continues. I am envious of you having been able to see him perform live...how cool!! I feel a sense of loss and somehow robbed of him in that there will be no more music from him. He was truly a gifted vocalit and it's like I almost fall in love with him when I hear him sing. Kinda weird, but it's honestly how I feel.

I know lots of people that have confused Warren with Christopher over the years. But like you said, I was blessed to know his voice in a particular fashion having heard him night after night at the Forum in Inglewood for years and years. Also, being raised in a musical family, I CAN distinguish between say, Jack Jones and Steve Lawrence (laughing). So I do know the difference in sound between Warren and Christopher, just from my own life in music.

But, like I posted and commented, that year, when he wasn't in his regular season seat for the first few games, and he didn't sing the opening song before the games, the rumors started ... "he died" and then morphed into "he killed himself" and man, oh man, the sadness that enveloped the Forum that October was intense.

I like the website they have maintained for him, but I am bummed that they will not allow embedding of videos. I also do not have nearly as many songs as you.

My favorite is this -- "Old Photograph." Hope you enjoy.

Women Reply To Darrell Issa

In light of the Darrell Issa hearings on women's birth control, where his now infamous panel lacked any women to discuss women's birth control ... Second City brings you this gem:

Oh Yeah, Fat Tuesday!

I usually post live webcam shots from New Orleans ...

Boring. How many drunken assholes do we need to see to understand the tradition of Mardi Gras? (rhetorical for those educationally impaired)

Well, are we going to go western tradition or Brazilian tradition?

Western ... Fat's Domino - Walking to New Orleans



Neville Brothers - Mardi Gras Mambo



Some traditional zydeco ...

Beau Jocque



Ok, so let's go South American!





UPDATE 2/23/12:

For Arno - Buckwheat Zydeco - Route 66

Say Something Nice

Great idea. H/T to AMERICAblog.

From Smirking Chimp - "Class Warfare: Which Side Are You On?"

Interesting piece. Read it in its entirety. (H/T to Mikes Blog Roundup at C&L).

This struck out most, to me. I, too, have not seen any growth in my pay since 1980. I am STILL making the same amount of money per month that I made in 1980 -- no more, no less. I've struggled for 30 years raising my daughter and my grandson, and now that both are gone (she on her own, grandson stuck in a custody battle, but living right now in Chicago so I don't see him, am not allowed to talk to him, and I come to find out, the father fails to allow my grandson to even get the mail and cards I send to him), I am not as burdened by bills as I was during those 30 years. I live alone, sold my cars so that's a huge expense I do not have to endure (payments, insurance, gas, parking, tickets, etc.), and I just pay rent, (utilities included), my cable, internet and Vonage and cell phone bills. That's it, except my doctor I see every five weeks who only charges me $40 bucks, plus gives me my blood pressure medicine for free, and I pay $25 for my anxiety medicine, Valium. On that, I have been able to actually be free of financial worry on a day to day basis, but I have nothing to look forward as to future revenues (I will not be able to collect social security for various reasons, so I will have to work until the day I drop, unless my daughter eventually gets some kind of job after college that can help me in the future). Truly, if I lost my job, or my office closed up, I would be homeless in less than a year, unless I could still parlay my knowledge of the field of law and be taken in by one of the many lawyers I have befriended over the past 30 years and get some work despite my age (I turn 60 this year).

Perhaps working Americans do not understand how grave the situation is. A recent Mother Jones article graphically illustrated the problem: in the last 30 years the income of the one-percent has quadrupled and everyone else has experienced no growth. The Washington Post noted that in 2008, the average family income for the bottom 90 percent was $31,244 and that was a 1 percent decline from 1970. During the same period, the top .1 percent saw their income increase by 385% to $5.6 million. (The wealth divide is even more extreme; while the top 1 percent earn 21 percent of the nation's income, they now control 36 percent of our wealth.)

I am disheartened by the way our country is being run. I am sick and tired of the lying by everyone, democrats, republicans, teachers, lawyers, clients, ordinary people, newscasters, journalists, other governments. Lying is the new norm and for the life of me, I just do not understand how this bullshit crept up on us so that this country (and the world) is divided by the haves and the have nothings -- and there is very little outrage. Even the most have nothings that are on the right winger side, believe in and support things that simply hurt them even more. We've become a stupid world, and even those haves are not exactly smart -- just rich, and they use their riches to buy governments.

We are doomed as a world, and I wonder if I will be around long enough to see anything change.

The Funeral Of Whitney

I admit that I was stuck on pause all day yesterday after spending approximately three hours watching the funeral of Whitney Houston in the morning (it started at 9 a.m. PST). There was great, great singing by Pastor Marvin and the rest of the Winan family (Ronald, Carvin and Michael, CeCe and BeBe), Alecia Keys, Stevie Wonder, etc. There was a great tribute by Kevin Costner and anecdotes about the movie he made with Whitney (The Bodyguard - which interestingly enough, I had never seen, but since it was on rotation on television yesterday, I actually watched it for the first time), and a whole host of other tributes from Clive Davis to Ricky Minor (her music director, responsible for the famous half-time national anthem song sung by Ms. Houston). I cried like a pathetic baby all through the funeral, and on/off for most of the day. I was useless.

The only version I could find.

More Posts Coming Soon, I Promise

I have been under the weather as they say, all week, and spending most of my time in bed, sleeping and trying to shake this new strain of the flu that has hit everyone around me. I seem to be one of the luckier in that while I had the usual aches and pains, fever, and head cold, along with a sore throat, it never went bronchial, and as a result, I did not have the potential for pneumonia as many of my other friends did. They ended up in the hospital and having to take antibiotics and even have an asthma enhaler to assist with the breathing and clearing out the fluid in their lungs.

I tried to go to work yesterday, but lasted only an hour. It was pure hell trying to even get dressed to go to work. I ended up leaving and coming back home to sleep more. Today, I am still tired and have the remains of the head cold, but I do not feel the aches and pains that makes it hard to get dressed, walk, etc. So, I'll give work another shot!

Although the dearth of posts could also just be a coincidence in that nothing much has changed ... still idiot Republicans badmouthing this country, women, poor people, civil rights, the unemployed, bombing Iran, etc. (Yawn)

RIP, Whitney - Tonight's Grammy's Will Be All About You

I remember the first time I ever heard Whitney Houston on the radio. I was just back to Los Angeles, after having lived for a few years in the Portland, Oregon area. I was driving up Laurel Canyon in my Honda Quaalude (LOL), with the moon-roof open, and "Saving All My Love For You" came on. I got chills and the hair on my arms just stood up. That voice was just unbelievably unique.



Her follow-up hit, "How Will I Know" was pop and bouncy, and I truly loved the song, especially dancing to it.



I totally enjoyed, as well, her followup album, which included "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."



Of course, one of her biggest hits was an old Dolly Parton song, which I actually enjoyed Dolly's version when she had recorded it, but Whitney's version is by far, a standard.



To me, her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the Superbowl halftime show, during the Gulf War, was the version for all to aspire to.





Rest in peace, baby. Your life somehow had the demons, and you have left us way to soon.

Sharon Kips - What A Fool Believes

DJ Rix had this song on his blog, and it really struck a chord with me that I actually purchased the song (ok, for 99 cents) so that I could share it!

Enjoy ... Sharon Kips

What A Fool Believes

You Just Never Know What Star Is Sitting Next To You In Hollywood

I did a post a while back about true angelenos that included a bit about the nonchalance with respect to famous stars. True angelenos would not go all Lucy Ricardo on the star, and at best, they would just say ... "I love your work."

So tonight, it was like older ladies at the bar, and this tall blonde dude at the end, very unassuming. We were having a great discussion about Vegas, when two women of my age sat in between us, and at some point, one of them said to the blonde dude, "I love your work." I was like ... who is that? I thought he was just some business dude, who I see all the time at my watering hole.

Lo and behold, it was Ken Howard! Once I realized that (noticing that tonight we were watching basketball on the big screen at the bar and he made some comment about the white players on the team which to him, meant the teams were from the midwest, and he was right ... and still I did not make the connect) he was THE Ken Howard from The White Shadow, which I have to admit, I watched religiously ... I was so impressed by his charisma and his lack of "look at me, I am a famous person" while we still traded "name dropping" in our respective stories about entertainment.

And this man is the president of the Screen Actors Guild. Damn ... ya never know who is sitting next to you in Hollywood!

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For you out-of-towners, find a deal on Orbitz, come to Hollywood, and rub shoulders with the famous.
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At Least The Giants Won

I cannot stand Tom Brady. It's not personal, though. It started a few years back when the Chargers had to get past Tom to get to the Super Bowl. And all I heard for days and days was "Brady" this and "Brady" that. I got so sick and tired of hearing just how much better Brady is/was than Phil Rivers that I just grew to hate the guy.

I also won a few bucks at the local watering hole's pick a square pool. Although I didn't win as much as I bet (lost $25 on the overall squares picked), it was still fun to be, again, a winner in the bar's football pool.

I guess it's back to hockey now.

Planned Parenthood's Donations Up Since Susan G. Komen (think "pink") Organization's Decision To Defund PP

UPDATE: 2/7/12:

Karen Handel resigns from Komen for the Cure:

Karen Handel, the former GOP candidate for governor, just announced her resignation as a senior vice president for public policy of Susan G. Komen for the Cure – one week after the breast cancer charity reversed itself on a decision to sever financial ties with Planned Parenthood.

Read her letter of resignation here. The bitch is so full of herself, and you can tell. This story just keeps getting better and better. Not quite full blow red in the face yet, but enough pink to see it coming!

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UPDATE: 2/3/12

Did SGK just blink? (H/T to Crooks and Liars)

We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives.

The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.

Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.

Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.

Well, according to that statement (and a post at AMERICAblog), SGK isn't really backing down, because the grants already approved for PP will still go through, despite their decision not to give any MORE grants. And the statement above does not change that. SGK is STILL reserving the right not to approve any future grants.

So, we have SGK first saying they will no longer fund PP because it is under "investigation." Then last night on their website, they claim it wasn't because they were under investigation, but because PP uses what is termed "pass through" grants, i.e., allegedly PP does not do direct mammograms, but "refers" them out (not sure if that is entirely true of the all of PP locations). And now, today, they change the story again and say that they have revised their internal rules so that any refusal based on any investigations will have to be a "criminal" and credible investigation.

Keep stepping in the doo doo. The smell is going to take a long time to go away, and those pink ribbons are not looking so hot right now.

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Unbelievable! All the press action today over the Susan G. Komen's organization's decision to defund Planned Parenthood!

First, in case you do not know what the SGK Organization is famous for, think "pink," as in breast cancer awareness PINK. Didn't we just have to go through a month of watching NFL players wear pink shoes, gloves and towels, etc. in support of SKG? And what about the "Race For The Cure" that SGK sponsor's annually? Guess you won't see too many liberals, dems and independents supporting SGK, wear pink ribbons, eat Yoplait yogurt, or sign up and/or donate to the Race.

And now that there are serious concerns as to whether the Race for the Cure and its founder are simply an arm of the anti-abortion wing of the Republican party, it's hard to imagine any Democrats or Independents wanting to be a part of that fundraiser any more - unless of course it's to protest it.

Let this be a case study in how to destroy an amazing brand in just 24 hours.

On the upside, Planned Parenthood received upwards of $400,000 today since the news of SGK's decision to defund breast cancer screenings.

This is all to say that perhaps the Planned Parenthood decision isn't all that big of a surprise, given the politics of people involved with Komen. The flap might end up benefiting Planned Parenthood in the end, however. The group has raised more than $400,000 since the news broke, a spokesman said Wednesday afternoon.

UPDATE:

It appears that a couple of SGK statewide affiliates are breaking ranks with the main SGK organization and will continue to support Planned Parenthood.

While the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation announced its organization will no longer partner with Planned Parenthood, the group’s local affiliate in Denver is breaking from the rest of the Komen organization. The Denver affiliate announced today that the national organization granted it an exception to continue funding Planned Parenthood.

[snip]

The Connecticut affiliate withdrew its support for the national Susan G. Komen organization, and the group wrote on its Facebook page that it enjoys a great partnership with Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. “We understand, and share, in the frustration around this situation,” the group wrote.

If You're Going To Drug Test, Test Everyone

A Republican member of the Indiana General Assembly withdrew his bill to create a pilot program for drug testing welfare applicants Friday after one of his Democratic colleagues amended the measure to require drug testing for lawmakers.

Hee haw.

Recess Appointment Invalid? Give Me A Break!

"I can't imagine how anybody could maintain under the circumstances that your appointment and your service is valid," Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) told Cordray at Tuesday's hearing. "And I can't imagine then … how the actions you are taking will be upheld, and I think that's a very, very serious consequence for our nation."

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said: "There's no question there's going to be constitutional challenges" to Cordray's appointment.

Cordray said he and his staff have discussed the potential for legal challenges to the appointment by businesses affected by any new rules. But Cordray said it wasn't clear whether those challenges would succeed and that he believed the appointment was valid.

"I have been appointed as director," Cordray said. "There may be issues about that … but I now have legal obligations I'm supposed to carry out for this bureau. I'm going to do that."

The Republicans are all up in arms about this particular recess appointment. I find their complaints to be incredibly bogus when one first considers how many recess appointments Bush made, and second, how we had endure the fucking idiocy of John Bolton's recess appointment as the American representative to the United Nations. The man with the most reckless mouth in history at the UN (shaking head).

Republicans need to shut the fuck up. They are running in circles nowadays, and quite frankly, the rhetoric is just not convincing too many outside of the viewers of Fox News (all three million of them, in a country of 350 million people). Yawn .....