Series, Part 2: Taking Back Our Government (Part 1)

Okay folks, remember those "insurmountable tasks" I referred to in my introduction to this series? Here's the first, most insurmountable, and yet most absolutely critical task we need to undertake in order to take our country back from those who have usurped it:

1. Abolish ALL private funding of political campaigns, replacing it with limited PUBLIC funding.

Just absorb that for one moment. Read it again, if you need to do so.

I would submit to you that the number one reason we no longer have a government "by the people" is that our politicians are willing to sell their souls to whatever devil has the money in hand to finance their election and re-election campaigns. Neither I nor 90% of the people living in this country have the financial capability to influence a politician's thinking. So, effectively, this country is being run by that 10% (or less) who does. That's not government "by the people..."

And I know what you're thinking "Seriously? You want me to pay MORE in taxes to finance these thugs' election campaigns?" It's a simple choice, my friends. Either you let them keep being bought and sold by special interest groups who NEVER have your best interest at heart, OR, you make them beholden to every single taxpayer in this Country just by upping your taxes a few dollars a year! I'd pay the extra taxes to get my government back, wouldn't you? The key would be to sharply limit how much any politician received. If you're running for a local office, you get XXXX amount of dollars. If you're running for state, you get XXXXX. Federal, XXXXXX. And not a dime nor even a PENNY shall you spend beyond that which you receive from the taxpayer. Not your own money, not anyone's money but what is allotted to you by the public coffers. And, I would further argue that giving them a flat, taxpayer-funded amount would virtually eliminate any and all "thugs" considering a run for public office.

Our current system of campaign finance is nothing short of legalized, thinly-disguised bribery. You know this, I know this, the people doing the bribing know this, and most acrimonious of all...the politicians know this.


And therein lies the rub, doesn't it? We're going to have to find some way, as citizens, to make this become the law of the land. Because we all know there's not a single politician, from the local city board all the way up to the White House, "left" "right" or "in between" that would ever vote "yea" on a bill that would enact this as law. Hell, you'd be hard-pressed to find a politician who would even propose such a bill with a straight face!

I'm not going to tell you I know how to make this happen...because I don't. But for anything else to be accomplished, this must be the first step.

Series, Part 1: The Common Sense, No B.S. Way to Fix This Country

So, I've had some discussions in the recent past about politics, both about specific situations, and things in general. My conclusion is that while we all may have our disagreements on exactly what needs to be done ideologically to get this country back on the right path, we have FAR more common ground as citizens than you would think if you were just to watch the political shenanigans coming out of Washington D.C. ("District of Criminals," as one of my friends so aptly put it the other day...don't even recall who but I thought it was hilarious.)

During one of these conversations we were discussing how real change could be brought about in this country. I think I have some pretty solid ideas on how that can happen. The person I was conversing/debating with made the very apt point that "you're telling all this to someone who absolutely cannot do anything about it." So I'm taking up that challenge. I'm going to write a series of blogs on the steps I feel are necessary to get this country back to where it should be. I will tell you up front that most of these things have nothing to do with being Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, Christian or Atheist. These are all ideas and ideals that we can get behind as Citizens.


And so that I won't be just "...telling this to someone who absolutely cannot do anything about it," I intend to forward links to my blog to both houses of Congress, the White House, and the major media outlets as I complete them. Will it do any good? Perhaps not. But at least I'm making the effort at having my voice heard.

The "mainstream politicians" have usurped and sold out the ideal of a government "by the people, of the people, and for the people," and we are the only ones...you and I...Joe and Mary Citizen, who can get that back. I will not deceive you...I will tell you from the outset that it will not be easy. In fact, some of the things I will propose will seem insurmountable hurdles. But you know what? Go ask one of the Founding Fathers the definition of "insurmountable!"

Why are we so easily distracted by side shows?

Tweeted pictures of Weiner's Weiner: When there are untold numbers of women abused, tortured, enslaved and murdered around the world on a daily basis. We have the power to stop it, and we do next to nothing to do so.

Caylee Anthony: When there are untold numbers of children abused, tortured, murdered, starved (intentionally or through poverty), living on the streets. We have the resources to end *all* of it, and we do next to nothing.

Lindsay Lohan behaving like a 2 year old (and boy don't we let her have it for doing so?). When we are raising our own children to expect that everything will be handed to them and they will never be told "no" (not by our words of course...we preach a good game...but by our actions.)

I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the picture.

These circus side shows are mirror reflections of what our society is spiraling down into...and as such should be a wake-up call to much broader action

But instead...they're just distractions that keep us from having to deal with the reality.

We watch "reality" shows to avoid dealing with REALITY.

We obsess over the symptoms...while totally ignoring the causes AND the solutions.

Because "smh" is the EASY thing to do......

If I were the President's speech writer....

This is the speech I would write for tomorrow:

3 years and 8 months ago, your government stood on this very ground and promised you that they would bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice. On Sunday, your government made good on that promise.

And the message rings clear around the world:

No matter who holds the office, when we promise the citizens of our country justice,  no matter how long it takes, we will deliver on that promise.

Ok. I will take you at your word that "birther" does not equal "rascist"

I don't know you from Adam or Eve, as the case may be, but I believe you. Just because you are a "Birther" does not mean you are "Racist".
Despite the fact that every "Birther" piece of evidence has been consistently and convincingly debunked, right up to and including the President of These United States being "forced" to "show his papers" for the first time in the history of this country. Despite the fact that within minutes of him producing it people were denouncing it as a forgery, moving on to demand his college transcripts while brushing aside the whole birth certificate thing with an "oh well gee I guess we were wrong on that one but what about THIS one?" In full face of the fact that the whole point of the "Birther Movement" is to de-legitimize the man as being "not one of us" and "not worthy of being President of our country"...to "take back our country" (from "them").

In full face of all of that, I will concede that just because you are a "Birther" does not make you a "Racist."

What it makes you is a sadly misinformed, incurably gullible dupe of a small cadre of racists who have spent millions of dollars and man-hours to perpetuate the myth of the "Birther Movement" in an effort to distract you from the fact that they are systematically raping this country of everything it has ever stood for.

What I Believe

Someone recently asked me, in the context of religion, the essence and existence of Mankind..."what do you believe?"

Before I tell you what I believe, I will say this: I am not so pretentious as to present my thoughts as original or revolutionary. Or for that matter, as the "Ultimate Truth." It is just what I believe.

There are 2 major tenets to my belief:

1) Whatever it takes for you to treat people with kindness...with utmost respect...to never intentionally do any harm, either physically or mentally, to another person...to place the well-being of others above your own when necessary...that is what you should believe.

What do I mean by that, you ask? (I thought you never would!)

I mean this:

If it takes the threat of Eternal Damnation in all 9 circles of Hell for you to do all the things I enumerated in #1, then that is what you should believe.

If it takes the promise of an Eternal Paradise to do all the things I mentioned in #1, then that is what you should believe.

If it takes the certain knowledge that Karma will have its way with you if you do (or do not) follow the ways outlined in #1, then that is what you should believe.

If you believe that as highly evolved, higher thinking, higher functioning Beings that #1 is the only logical path to follow, then that is what you should believe.

2) In complete harmony with #1, you should never try to impose your beliefs on anyone else.

My take on the Christina Aguilera/National Anthem Debacle

Well the SuperBowl is over and people my age and older are already asking "who played who in the SuperBowl?" But the world (sarcasm) is still abuzz about the "atrocity" wreaked by Xtina. So here's my buck-and-a-half on the topic.

First let's let's enumerate the criticisms:

1. She "forgot" the words
2. She butchered the melody

Okay...to point one I have a couple responses:

1. SO WHAT??? She's not the first to do so, and she most definitely will NOT be the LAST to do so! Don't believe me? Go Google "National Anthem Bloopers" Heck...even the venerable "Hi-De-Ho" man himself, Cab Calloway flubbed miserably in a performance of the Star Spangled Banner.
2. I would submit to you, as a musician, that she did not "forget the words"...what she actually did was lose her place in the song. Now, you could argue "what's the difference?" and I would tell you there is a huge difference, and any musician can tell you the same. The case can also be made that the reason she lost her place was because she was so damn busy butchering the song that she wasn't concentrating on where she was in the song. I would not necessarily argue with you on that point.

To point two, I have a single response:

1. Yep, you're right. She butchered it. But for anyone to say that she got up there and sang with the intent of being disrespectful in her performance is absolutely ludicrous. Unfortunately, her "career" has been made on her ability to perform "vocal gymnastics." So much so that she is well on her way to having ruined her singing voice doing so, and at the ripe old age of 30! Again, speaking as a musician, I truly feel sorry for her. She doesn't even really know how to "sing from her heart." All she knows is that the more embellishment she throws in, the more her records sell. At least up until now. So she got up there and gave what she thought her "fans" would want to hear: Senseless, meaningless, embellishment sung with absolutely no heart and no soul behind it. Truth be told, if you want to "blame" someone, blame the people who made her famous for her vocal style to begin with: her fans!

Now...to address the "backlash" from her performance. The vast majority of people, myself included, thought it was an absolutely abysmal performance. What bothers me, though, is the knee-jerk reaction of so many people screaming "just sing it STRAIGHT!" or "how disrespectful" or "what a disgrace for our country." I've already discussed the "disrespectful" aspect, so I'll discuss the other two here.

The only person "disgraced" by that performance was: Christina Aguilera. Well, and maybe the person who's idea it was to have her sing at the superbowl. And, well, maybe, her parents. Anyway, the nation is not disgraced by her performance. Get over it!

"Just sing it straight." Oh my goodness are you KIDDING me???? Ok...let's just say, for example, that the average person attends some gathering where the SSB is performed, what? 10 times a year? 15? For people who hold season tickets to major sporting events, you can double and even triple that. Can you imagine, if every performance were "note for note" with the original music? Stadiums everywhere would be filled with snoozing people before the game even started! Seriously...let's face it...no matter how patriotic you are...no matter how much  you love your country...the melody of the SSB is...well...let's just say it's "plain." So if for no other reason than to keep people awake...embellishment should occur.

To me, the whole "sing it straight" mentality is a false outrage. With all the other problems this country has, you're going to get all worked up about a single (admittedly distasteful) rendition of the National Anthem? Come on now...come on back to earth and join the rest of us earthlings, please? Channel that false outrage into doing some good in this world.

Not only that, but, last I checked...we live in the "Land of the Free," right??? I mean...it even says so right there in the SSB itself! So, why shouldn't a performer have the freedom to inject their heart, soul, and personality into our very own National Anthem? There is absolutely nothing "disrespectful" in doing so. In fact, I would submit to you that there is nothing more "American" than adding embellishment to music in general, and that includes the SSB. After all, the original "uniquely American" music...Jazz...is built on embellishment and improvisation. The key here being that it be done in a tasteful manner and more importantly: from the heart. Two things completely lost on Xtina. She has no concept of the term "tasteful," and her idea of "from the heart" translates as "let's see how much shit I can throw in for the sake of throwing it in..."

Whitney Houston's rendition of the SSB for SuperBowl 25 is considered by many to be one of the most heart-warming performances of the tune in modern times. Personally, it still gives me goose-bumps every time I hear it! Why? Not just because of it's musicality...but because the heart and soul she puts into that performance. Go watch the video and notice the look of sheer joy on her face as she's singing that song! I bet if we were to ask her...she probably looks on that performance as not only one of her best...but one of her personally proudest moments as well. Those who know me know that I am a huge fan of hockey, and particularly the St. Louis Blues. One of the BIG reasons I love going to a Blues game is to hear Charles Glenn performing the SSB before the game. He has a wonderful voice and while each performance is similar, (because that's his "style") I've never heard him sing it the exact same way twice. And just like Whitney's famous version, you can hear Charles's heart and soul in every note...and see the joy on his face as he performs!

So, to all you who say "sing it straight" I say, "stop being un-American."

Do people actually believe this junk???

Well I haven't blogged since Christmas...so I guess it's time. Well, that and I just read quite possibly THE worst analogy I've ever read in my life...so I have to comment. It's short and sweet, trust me. (Not the analogy...my comment on said analogy.)


So my nominee for the world's worst analogy?


"Being in a bad relationship is like trying to dance in shoes that don't fit... once you find a shoe that fits, everything else falls into place."


RIGHT...because, just like a relationship...becoming an accomplished dancer requires NO skill...NO practice...NO dedication...NO sacrifice...NO patience....no NOTHING....just....SHOES.


Told you it would be short and sweet. Oh well....I got the short part down, I guess. One out of two's not bad.....