As noted previously, ACORN, a supposed get-out-the-vote group that pushes for liberal and progressive candidates, and who Barack Obama once represented, is now under investigation for voter fraud in at least 11 states. They are under investigation in:
Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Nevada, which included an FBI raid, Ohio, including apparent bribery, Connecticut, North Carolina, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan.
In fact, ACORN representatives in Ohio note that they couldn't stop it even if they tried. In fact, they blame the local elections board for not reviewing election cards; which is precisely their point. Groups like ACORN don't want local or state election authorities reviewing voter registration cards, that's why states like Ohio have registration laws that are ripe for voter fraud, and a Secretary of State that is patently encouraging it.
All of this is coupled with a lawsuit progressing in Louisiana over alleged corruption and embezzlement by ACORN leaders.
So, an organization that openly admits it can't stop voter fraud from happening, that engages in potential bribery and other shady activities (including hiring felons to engage in voter registration) and is an organization that not only endorsed Obama, but is organization that hired Obama as their lawyer in at least one lawsuit, invited Obama to help train activists, and, according to Obama himself, "I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career. Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work", run Project Vote, a get-out-the-vote organization that is affiliated with ACORN, and is using all its means to get one of their own elected president.
It's high time that Obama is made to answer for his association with radical, fringe groups and people, and not simply pooh-pooh them as some crazy ex-girlfriend(s) from his past.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Minnesota
Two weeks ago I got to spend a full weekend in the Twin Cities. I make note of this because it was my first ever trip to Minnesota; so, I only have 8 states left to visit (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Vermont and Rhode Island). I went out to meet up with my wife who was there for business and her uncle and his family who live in St. Paul.
That first night there got to go to a Homecoming high school football game. Quick aside: the week before that we were in Redding for a wedding of one of her other cousins, and also went to a high school game. The differences between the two were interesting: the team in Redding had maybe 20-24 players, the team in Minnesota had easily more than 50; the two offenses in the Redding game were primarily run oriented, the teams in the Minnesota game were passing oriented. The weather was equally nice, although we arrived late for the Redding game.
On Saturday, her uncle, some of his children, my wife and I headed to the Old Mill section of Minneapolis to take a tour of the Old Mill. It focused on the history of Minneapolis and St. Paul as a mill town, turning the wheat from the Midwest into flour and shipping it around the world. Minneapolis was the home for companies like Pillsbury and Gold Medal Flour, both of which ended up being bought by General Mills, which is headquartered in Minneapolis. I also didn't really realize the role the Mississippi played in making Minneapolis a hub for milling by altering the flow of the Mississippi slightly at St. Anthony Falls to harness the hydropower potential of the Mississippi at that particular point of the river.
We then went our separate ways as wife and I headed for the Mall of America, or the MOA as the locals call it (ok, it was my wife's aunt who said it, but it still sounds good). It's huge, but, honestly, not as big as I was expecting. I mean, yeah, it's got 4 levels, and 3 rollercoasters (those turns and corkscrews are pretty tight), but we were able to walk around it, and all 4 levels in the space of a few hours. By the way, there's no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota. Needless to say, we ended up buying some clothes. Also, people are nice. Like really nice. My wife's cell phone has been slowly coming to its end (I mean, the battery lasts 5 minutes, the numbers 3, 6 and 9 didn't work, and if she was talking to someone during those 5 minutes her battery lasted, the phone would start randomly dialing other numbers). So, we go to the Verizon Wireless store in the MOA, and we're told just drop it off and we'll do a program update, be back in an hour. No problem, we walk around and get some lunch. Go back and hour later and they tell us that the update crashed the phone and they are replacing it with a new phone, but the same model. To think that at the Verizon Wireless store by my work, it takes a minimum of 2 hours to get anything done there, but at the MOA store, we were able to drop the phone off, come back and hour later and leave with a new phone. Plus, the person helping us gave us credit so that my wife could re-purchase the ringtones she downloaded as well as a few other free stuff. However, I completely forgot to look around for homeplate from the original Metropolitan Stadium which is where the Twins played when they moved from D.C. I've seen the homeplate and remaining outfield wall of Forbes Field when we went to Pittsburgh several years ago, so it would have been nice to add the Met to that. Maybe next time.
We finished the day with a lovely dinner out with her aunt and uncle in downtown St. Paul. Afterwards, her uncle drove us around and showed us the cathedral where they got married, the state capitol, the Governor's House (that was pointed out by relaying a story about an event during the time of Gov. Ventura), and other historical sites around St. Paul.
Sunday, however, was the main draw for me as we got to go to a Twins game at the Metrodome. The Metrodome is the 11th baseball stadium that my wife and I have visited. What more can be said about this place that hasn't already been said. Well, what isn't said is that the rows are like 30 seats long and there is no view of the field from the concession stands. Like the article notes, though, the seats don't face home plate, but, really, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure, I lost most balls that were hit in the air, but being indoors meant it wasn't going to be too cold or too hot, people were relatively pleasant, and being in the last row on the field level meant we were right below the first batch of club boxes and we could watch the football games going on at the same time. And, unlike with Shea or Yankee Stadium, we were able to hit this stadium before the Twins move to their new stadium in 2010. All in all, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't PNC. Plus, it was the last game of the season and the Twins had a chance to clinch the American League Central division with a win and a White Sox loss; the Twins won, but so did the White Sox, who also won the next day to force a one-game playoff against the Twins, which was won by the White Sox. There's always next year Twins fans.
Overall, the weekend was great, the leaves were beginning to change, which is something that I always looked forward to when I lived in D.C., but don't really get living here in the Bay Area, and had a great time doing a bit of sight-seeing. There are two things that I want to see in Minnesota- the beginning of the Mississippi and the home of Sinclair Lewis. Sinclair Lewis is one of my favorite authors, that's why. However, neither of those sites are really that close to Minneapolis though, which means, I guess, we'll have to spend more than a weekend there.
That first night there got to go to a Homecoming high school football game. Quick aside: the week before that we were in Redding for a wedding of one of her other cousins, and also went to a high school game. The differences between the two were interesting: the team in Redding had maybe 20-24 players, the team in Minnesota had easily more than 50; the two offenses in the Redding game were primarily run oriented, the teams in the Minnesota game were passing oriented. The weather was equally nice, although we arrived late for the Redding game.
On Saturday, her uncle, some of his children, my wife and I headed to the Old Mill section of Minneapolis to take a tour of the Old Mill. It focused on the history of Minneapolis and St. Paul as a mill town, turning the wheat from the Midwest into flour and shipping it around the world. Minneapolis was the home for companies like Pillsbury and Gold Medal Flour, both of which ended up being bought by General Mills, which is headquartered in Minneapolis. I also didn't really realize the role the Mississippi played in making Minneapolis a hub for milling by altering the flow of the Mississippi slightly at St. Anthony Falls to harness the hydropower potential of the Mississippi at that particular point of the river.
We then went our separate ways as wife and I headed for the Mall of America, or the MOA as the locals call it (ok, it was my wife's aunt who said it, but it still sounds good). It's huge, but, honestly, not as big as I was expecting. I mean, yeah, it's got 4 levels, and 3 rollercoasters (those turns and corkscrews are pretty tight), but we were able to walk around it, and all 4 levels in the space of a few hours. By the way, there's no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota. Needless to say, we ended up buying some clothes. Also, people are nice. Like really nice. My wife's cell phone has been slowly coming to its end (I mean, the battery lasts 5 minutes, the numbers 3, 6 and 9 didn't work, and if she was talking to someone during those 5 minutes her battery lasted, the phone would start randomly dialing other numbers). So, we go to the Verizon Wireless store in the MOA, and we're told just drop it off and we'll do a program update, be back in an hour. No problem, we walk around and get some lunch. Go back and hour later and they tell us that the update crashed the phone and they are replacing it with a new phone, but the same model. To think that at the Verizon Wireless store by my work, it takes a minimum of 2 hours to get anything done there, but at the MOA store, we were able to drop the phone off, come back and hour later and leave with a new phone. Plus, the person helping us gave us credit so that my wife could re-purchase the ringtones she downloaded as well as a few other free stuff. However, I completely forgot to look around for homeplate from the original Metropolitan Stadium which is where the Twins played when they moved from D.C. I've seen the homeplate and remaining outfield wall of Forbes Field when we went to Pittsburgh several years ago, so it would have been nice to add the Met to that. Maybe next time.
We finished the day with a lovely dinner out with her aunt and uncle in downtown St. Paul. Afterwards, her uncle drove us around and showed us the cathedral where they got married, the state capitol, the Governor's House (that was pointed out by relaying a story about an event during the time of Gov. Ventura), and other historical sites around St. Paul.
Sunday, however, was the main draw for me as we got to go to a Twins game at the Metrodome. The Metrodome is the 11th baseball stadium that my wife and I have visited. What more can be said about this place that hasn't already been said. Well, what isn't said is that the rows are like 30 seats long and there is no view of the field from the concession stands. Like the article notes, though, the seats don't face home plate, but, really, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure, I lost most balls that were hit in the air, but being indoors meant it wasn't going to be too cold or too hot, people were relatively pleasant, and being in the last row on the field level meant we were right below the first batch of club boxes and we could watch the football games going on at the same time. And, unlike with Shea or Yankee Stadium, we were able to hit this stadium before the Twins move to their new stadium in 2010. All in all, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't PNC. Plus, it was the last game of the season and the Twins had a chance to clinch the American League Central division with a win and a White Sox loss; the Twins won, but so did the White Sox, who also won the next day to force a one-game playoff against the Twins, which was won by the White Sox. There's always next year Twins fans.
Overall, the weekend was great, the leaves were beginning to change, which is something that I always looked forward to when I lived in D.C., but don't really get living here in the Bay Area, and had a great time doing a bit of sight-seeing. There are two things that I want to see in Minnesota- the beginning of the Mississippi and the home of Sinclair Lewis. Sinclair Lewis is one of my favorite authors, that's why. However, neither of those sites are really that close to Minneapolis though, which means, I guess, we'll have to spend more than a weekend there.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
An end of an era
Mother's Cookies shut down today after 92 years in business. I remember Mother's Cookies very fondly, and, in fact, one of the very first things I bought when I moved back to California was a package of their taffy sandwich cookies and a bag of their variety cookies. In the 80s, Mother's Cookies was the sponsor of baseball card give-aways at both Giants and A's games. I still have several of those packages; although, while the set usually consisted for 15 players or so, each pack only had 10 (or something like that), so you couldn't get a full set from each pack. It wasn't until years later that I realized how rare those cards were.
In addition to Mother's, the company also owned Archway Cookies, a brand I was familiar with when living on the East Coast and in the South. I am going to guess that at some point, the brand name and logo will be sold and we'll get "Mother's Cookies" again, but they won't be the same.
In addition to Mother's, the company also owned Archway Cookies, a brand I was familiar with when living on the East Coast and in the South. I am going to guess that at some point, the brand name and logo will be sold and we'll get "Mother's Cookies" again, but they won't be the same.
Where there's smoke, there's fire
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, got busted yet again for potential voter fraud, this time in Missouri. Let's not forget that ACORN is also under investigation for more voter fraud in Nevada. In Nevada, ACORN volunteers apparently signed up to vote various members of the Dallas Cowboys.
ACORN is one of the most outspoken groups supporting the nomination of Barack Obama; in fact, when a mere attorney in Chicago, Obama represented ACORN, at ACORN's request, as part of a motor voter drive. Stanley Kurtz has an article on Obama's ties to ACORN, with an update from today here. While coming to no firm conclusions, noting that more investigation is needed, he does list some several interesting ties between Obama and ACORN. What is interesting is that in his article, Kurtz links to a magazine called "Social Policy" and specifically to an article called "Case Study: Chicago-The Barack Obama Campaign" dated October 2004. There are 24 articles listed in that edition, but there are 2 that are unavailable. One of them is the Case Study article, the second also deals with Chicago. This article is called "Towards A Chicago School of Youth Organizing." The full "Case Study" article can be found here. Why would Social Policy all of a sudden cut off access to these articles?
What is interesting about the second article is that it's written by a guy from the Woods Fund and how the Woods Funds held outreach meetings with various youth organizing groups. And where have I heard the Woods Fund from before? That's right, Barack Obama was on the Board of Directors, along with Bill Ayers. The Woods Fund, while Obama was on the Board, gave grant money to a number of organizations, including, ta da!, ACORN. Further research on Obama, the Woods Fund and ACORN can be found here in an article by Jennifer Rubin.
Let's also not forget about this Boston Globe article about Obama's ties to various failed housing projects in Chicago, including housing projects in his state Senate district that he advocated for and helped fund when on the Woods Fund (I find it odd that he was on the Board of Directors for the Woods Fund while he was in the Illinois state Senate). Obama instead, relies on his time-worn excuse: "Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times that the deterioration of Rezmar's buildings never came to his attention. He said he would have distanced himself from Rezko if he had known," even though, as the article continues, a local alderman was aware of these problems. In a Chicago Sun-Times article, it notes that the Woods Fund, while Obama was on the Board, helped fund his ex-boss on constructing a housing project for low income and elderly residents, similar to those other failed housing projects. And while he was in the state Senate, Obama wrote letters to get funding for other residential housing units for his ex-boss and Tony Rezko. A group of residents in one of the failed housing developments began to protest against Obama in his 2004 Senate run, noting "How didn't he know [about the housing problems]? Of course he knew. He just didn't care." Once again, Obama shows a shocking lack of judgment with who he associates with, an apparent cavalier attitude about the goings on in his district, and again says that he didn't know.
Of course, none of these associations with various left-wing, anti-american groups matters to many Obama supporters. As David Bernstein notes,
I mean, not only is it romanticized, but it's a fashion statement (according to the LA Times, "it shouldn't be a surprise that L.A. artist Shepard Fairey, in his design for a Sen. Barack Obama poster, looked to Korda's Che. Fairey's Obama is not wearing a beret, and he's looking left instead of right, but his face tilts at the same angle as Che's.").
It's quite breathtaking the length to which Obama will continue to deny any and all association between himself, Bill Ayers and ACORN when the paper trail (and money trail) all converge. This all seems like more than mere coincidence. I still don't understand how Obama can write letters asking for government funds for friends to construct low income housing, then a few years later through his position on the Woods Fund, gives more money to the same people for more housing projects, but then not know the status of the living conditions in still other housing projects he supported. There are a lot of questions that Obama has not adequately answered, and probably won't be forced to answer. And for some people, that's perfectly fine.
ACORN is one of the most outspoken groups supporting the nomination of Barack Obama; in fact, when a mere attorney in Chicago, Obama represented ACORN, at ACORN's request, as part of a motor voter drive. Stanley Kurtz has an article on Obama's ties to ACORN, with an update from today here. While coming to no firm conclusions, noting that more investigation is needed, he does list some several interesting ties between Obama and ACORN. What is interesting is that in his article, Kurtz links to a magazine called "Social Policy" and specifically to an article called "Case Study: Chicago-The Barack Obama Campaign" dated October 2004. There are 24 articles listed in that edition, but there are 2 that are unavailable. One of them is the Case Study article, the second also deals with Chicago. This article is called "Towards A Chicago School of Youth Organizing." The full "Case Study" article can be found here. Why would Social Policy all of a sudden cut off access to these articles?
What is interesting about the second article is that it's written by a guy from the Woods Fund and how the Woods Funds held outreach meetings with various youth organizing groups. And where have I heard the Woods Fund from before? That's right, Barack Obama was on the Board of Directors, along with Bill Ayers. The Woods Fund, while Obama was on the Board, gave grant money to a number of organizations, including, ta da!, ACORN. Further research on Obama, the Woods Fund and ACORN can be found here in an article by Jennifer Rubin.
Let's also not forget about this Boston Globe article about Obama's ties to various failed housing projects in Chicago, including housing projects in his state Senate district that he advocated for and helped fund when on the Woods Fund (I find it odd that he was on the Board of Directors for the Woods Fund while he was in the Illinois state Senate). Obama instead, relies on his time-worn excuse: "Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times that the deterioration of Rezmar's buildings never came to his attention. He said he would have distanced himself from Rezko if he had known," even though, as the article continues, a local alderman was aware of these problems. In a Chicago Sun-Times article, it notes that the Woods Fund, while Obama was on the Board, helped fund his ex-boss on constructing a housing project for low income and elderly residents, similar to those other failed housing projects. And while he was in the state Senate, Obama wrote letters to get funding for other residential housing units for his ex-boss and Tony Rezko. A group of residents in one of the failed housing developments began to protest against Obama in his 2004 Senate run, noting "How didn't he know [about the housing problems]? Of course he knew. He just didn't care." Once again, Obama shows a shocking lack of judgment with who he associates with, an apparent cavalier attitude about the goings on in his district, and again says that he didn't know.
Of course, none of these associations with various left-wing, anti-american groups matters to many Obama supporters. As David Bernstein notes,
the elite liberal academic culture I've been referencing, violence on behalf of "revolutionary" goals is not only not shocking to many, it's often affirmatively romanticized, as with the ubiquitous Che t-shirts, and the inexplicable love affair many in the academy have with Fidel Castro. Again, it's not that Obama himself romanticizes such violence, but that he is a product of a culture in which being disturbed by a lack of remorse over the "revolutionary" violent actions of the Weathermen 30+ years later is just not on the cognitive map.
I mean, not only is it romanticized, but it's a fashion statement (according to the LA Times, "it shouldn't be a surprise that L.A. artist Shepard Fairey, in his design for a Sen. Barack Obama poster, looked to Korda's Che. Fairey's Obama is not wearing a beret, and he's looking left instead of right, but his face tilts at the same angle as Che's.").
It's quite breathtaking the length to which Obama will continue to deny any and all association between himself, Bill Ayers and ACORN when the paper trail (and money trail) all converge. This all seems like more than mere coincidence. I still don't understand how Obama can write letters asking for government funds for friends to construct low income housing, then a few years later through his position on the Woods Fund, gives more money to the same people for more housing projects, but then not know the status of the living conditions in still other housing projects he supported. There are a lot of questions that Obama has not adequately answered, and probably won't be forced to answer. And for some people, that's perfectly fine.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
San Francisco unleashes their new weapon against cars
Noise pollution! Seriously.
According to the article, "Traffic is the No. 1 contributor to the ambient noise level in San Francisco." The other major forms of noise pollution listed in the article are sirens (from fire trucks), trains and exhaust fans. San Francisco senior environmental health specialist for the Department of Health, Tom Rivard, hopes to use this study on noise pollution from traffic as another input in future building codes, land-use ordinances and transportation policy. The article also notes that cars aren't the only major sources of noise pollution. What else is there? A ventilation and A/C unit in a library is causing problems for local residents.
A solution raised by Mr. Rivard is to have ordinances issued that would curtail operating hours for a bar or restaurant, in addition to other measures to limit noise. Yes, I can see it now: a noise curfew for certain hours of the day, ala quiet hours in dorms, where pesky RA's wander the dorm searching for people making too much noise. Perhaps these noise police can be the same people checking our trash and tire pressure on our cars. In other words, San Francisco is about to embark on another ambitious program to weed out those of us who live in the city and own a car under the guise of noise pollution. Environmentalism is indeed the new religion and mantra for all sorts of invasive government regulation and oversight.
Hey, you know what else would limit noise? New windows, and, as a bonus, they help make one's house or apartment more energy efficient, and create jobs. Let's, instead, help people pay for installation of new windows that will reduce noise inside a residence, and also help lower energy bills, instead of limiting the ability of business to operate or forcing people out of their car. Or getting the screaming-in-the-middle-of-the-night homeless people into shelters, instead of saying it's a lifestyle choice. I swear, each time I read one of these articles about pushing government into people's lives and their choices, I'm one step closer to moving to the suburbs, where I have a yard in the front, thereby keeping a distance from the road, a tree lined street, safe(r) neighborhoods and better schools.
In another article from today, this one on legislation limiting what types of businesses can open in North Beach, the President of the North Beach Merchants Association noted that "I'm a 25-year resident and I'm tired of having to get in my car and drive to Polk Street to buy a screwdriver."
So, at the same time San Francisco is trying to come up with creative ways to limit people driving, they have fashioned rules (including a potential carbon tax) that make it difficult for new businesses to take root in this city, thus, requiring residents of this city to drive somewhere else and buy what they need. In March of this year, Home Depot was forced to cancel plans to open a store in San Francisco due to zoning rules that were going to be passed by the Board of Supervisors, denying the opportunity to have a new source of revenue and jobs for an area of town that desperately needs new jobs. As Caille Millner noted in this February 2008 editorial:
Of course I do that, I have a car and Daly City offers the businesses that I shop at most, notably, Target and Home Depot. Also, I can still get plastic bags in Daly City, so that's another plus.
Course, the opposition to the building of a new Whole Foods in the Haight on the site of a former grocery store, further shows this dichotomy, albeit for slightly different, and far more stranger, reasons. But that's another topic, for another day.
According to the article, "Traffic is the No. 1 contributor to the ambient noise level in San Francisco." The other major forms of noise pollution listed in the article are sirens (from fire trucks), trains and exhaust fans. San Francisco senior environmental health specialist for the Department of Health, Tom Rivard, hopes to use this study on noise pollution from traffic as another input in future building codes, land-use ordinances and transportation policy. The article also notes that cars aren't the only major sources of noise pollution. What else is there? A ventilation and A/C unit in a library is causing problems for local residents.
A solution raised by Mr. Rivard is to have ordinances issued that would curtail operating hours for a bar or restaurant, in addition to other measures to limit noise. Yes, I can see it now: a noise curfew for certain hours of the day, ala quiet hours in dorms, where pesky RA's wander the dorm searching for people making too much noise. Perhaps these noise police can be the same people checking our trash and tire pressure on our cars. In other words, San Francisco is about to embark on another ambitious program to weed out those of us who live in the city and own a car under the guise of noise pollution. Environmentalism is indeed the new religion and mantra for all sorts of invasive government regulation and oversight.
Hey, you know what else would limit noise? New windows, and, as a bonus, they help make one's house or apartment more energy efficient, and create jobs. Let's, instead, help people pay for installation of new windows that will reduce noise inside a residence, and also help lower energy bills, instead of limiting the ability of business to operate or forcing people out of their car. Or getting the screaming-in-the-middle-of-the-night homeless people into shelters, instead of saying it's a lifestyle choice. I swear, each time I read one of these articles about pushing government into people's lives and their choices, I'm one step closer to moving to the suburbs, where I have a yard in the front, thereby keeping a distance from the road, a tree lined street, safe(r) neighborhoods and better schools.
In another article from today, this one on legislation limiting what types of businesses can open in North Beach, the President of the North Beach Merchants Association noted that "I'm a 25-year resident and I'm tired of having to get in my car and drive to Polk Street to buy a screwdriver."
So, at the same time San Francisco is trying to come up with creative ways to limit people driving, they have fashioned rules (including a potential carbon tax) that make it difficult for new businesses to take root in this city, thus, requiring residents of this city to drive somewhere else and buy what they need. In March of this year, Home Depot was forced to cancel plans to open a store in San Francisco due to zoning rules that were going to be passed by the Board of Supervisors, denying the opportunity to have a new source of revenue and jobs for an area of town that desperately needs new jobs. As Caille Millner noted in this February 2008 editorial:
Never mind that most city residents hop in their cars and offer their sales tax to Daly City when it's time to hit Home Depot: A small, vocal element of "neighborhood activists" insists that chain stores "ruin neighborhood character" and are "homogenizing" because the goods they offer are - gasp! - widely available.
I'd like to point out, too, that people who hold these views usually emphasize that it's only certain chain stores that they don't like: the déclassé ones like McDonald's, the ones that reek of lower-income customers and commonness. Trader Joe's is always just fine with these folks, it's Subway that's the problem.
Of course I do that, I have a car and Daly City offers the businesses that I shop at most, notably, Target and Home Depot. Also, I can still get plastic bags in Daly City, so that's another plus.
Course, the opposition to the building of a new Whole Foods in the Haight on the site of a former grocery store, further shows this dichotomy, albeit for slightly different, and far more stranger, reasons. But that's another topic, for another day.
Monday, October 6, 2008
It's been awhile
Since I haven't done a 120 Minutes recap in awhile, thought I do one today. This one was from Sunday night, at 11:00 PM Pacific time.
Morrissey- Tomorrow: I remember when this album came out, or rather, I remember singing this song to a friend my senior year in high school who thought the lyrics were some of the most depressing she'd heard, nevermind the beat is rather upbeat. This video has Morrissey and his band walking around some narrow streets in a French town. . they ultimately walk in a circle, but no matter, it's Morrissey. Still a pretty classic mid-90s alternative song.
Wall of Voodoo- Mexican Radio: Ok, I've always liked this song and the video, but it's waaaay overplayed on this show. The video is pretty amusing, what with the band in various old timey pictures, including on band member missing his legs. And hey, who doesn't like barbecued iguana. And the final few shots are really random, from the very, very tall director to Stan Ridgeway in a pot of beans.
U2- Where the Streets Have No Name: A secret show from the top of a building in L.A. with L.A. cops pissed at it happening. There's a story that the cops told them to stop playing and the band said ok, but kept playing anyway until finally the cops got onto the roof and shut them down. The improv group Improv Everywhere even did a play on this during U2's Vertigo tour by staging a mock U2 concert from on top of an apartment complex in New York City, the night of the U2 show there. Anyway, I don't think I need to really say anymore about this song and video.
The Alarm- Spirit of '76: A mix of live shots and various shots of lead singer Mike Peters. Boring video, and, boring mid-80s anthem. Fast forward.
The Cure- Hot, Hot, Hot: One of the more shocking Cure videos since it shows Robert Smith with short hair. Pretty much from their only pure pop album, as they followed this album with Disintegration, blowing away a whole generation of music listeners, and closing the 80s to doom and gloom, along with Depeche Mode's "Violator." Anyway, the video is of the band playing the song on raised circular stages, but concludes with them a few feet shorter. I don't get it, but then, I don't get a lot of their videos.
Gin Blossoms- Found Out About You: Boy, the Gin Blossoms. They were everywhere in 1994, huh? Then they kicked out their one songwriter for alcohol abuse, and couldn't replicate the success of the singles he wrote from their first album. Anyway, the video, like most of these, are the band playing the song, with various scenes showing up behind them- green screen stuff. I'm gonna take this moment to note that Rock Band is missing out by skipping over a lot of these early to mid 90s alternative songs. While they may not necessarily be the hardest songs to play, they sure to bring those of us who lived through that time back to being in college or post-college; Hey Jealousy would be a great song for Rock Band.
XTC- Dear God: Ok, I love XTC, but I'm tired of seeing this video nearly every week. One day I'll post my dream episode of 120 minutes, but not today. One of the amusing things about this song is that I used to DJ at my college radio station, and on Sunday's, since I went to a school affiliated with a Christian denomination, someone would always play this song. I don't know why, I mean, I guess it's kind of an ironic song, but I don't think the people on Sunday's got that, or listened very carefully to the words. While I'm here as well, how is XTC not garnering support for induction into the Rock n'Roll Hall of Fame- I have another posting about the Hall, so I'll save my XTC argument for that, whenever I get around to it. Yeah, I know I didn't talk about the video, oh well.
Stone Temple Pilots- Plush: Their first big song. Just a staged video of them in a club, and Weiland has orange hair. While I thought they were a phony band, I also thought they were in on the joke. Like they knew there were completely derivative, but didn't care and took everyone's money, because, frankly, they wrote some very strong songs, of which Plush is one of many. What I don't like about this video, though, is Weiland copying Eddie Vedder's movements, almost done to a tee. Since this was their first big song, and they were following Pearl Jam and Soundgarden they had to look similar. Weiland got a lot better when he stopped copying Eddie Vedder and became his own on stage train wreck.
The Replacements- The Ledge: God their videos are lazy. Just them in chairs eating, smoking and doing nothing much else. If it's not "Alex Chilton," I'm fast forwarding.
The Fixx- Red Skies: Why they are playing this, I don't really know. I suppose at some point in the 80s, The Fixx was "alternative" or "modern." Honestly, I don't remember this version of the video, with the bass player wearing a long beard, cape and a wide brimmed hat. Really? A cape? Moving along.....
The Dead Milkmen- Punk Rock Girl: Ahhhh, still one of my favorite songs. Saw them in Dallas in 1993 or something- great show. One thing does annoy me about this song is that they get the wrong band; California Dreaming was the Mamas and Papas, not the Beach Boys. There is just so many things in this video that I can't explain, it's awesome.
The Charlatans- Weirdo: When I used to record the original 120 Minutes starting in 1992, this was a song played quite often. The video has a number of "weirdos" including an admittedly scary clown/jester with a fake large nose bouncing around with various lighting. You know, I didn't much care for this song back in 1992 either.
Love and Rockets- So Alive: Another classic from 1989. I remember this song being popular that summer. I can't help but watch every time a Love and Rockets video comes on, I don't know why, other than I like their songs. Oh, and they are 3/4's of Bauhaus. Not much to say about the video. . .
New Order- Blue Monday '89: For some reason has dogs balancing on top of various objects and the band dodging various objects. I guess that, much like how their songs are nearly unintelligible, the videos make even less sense. While I'm here, I want to point out to people this embarrassment:
This is the video for their song "Confusion" from 1983. I mean, nevermind about the song being mastered to a reel-to-reel, and the reel-to-reel being taken to the dance club, that happens to have a reel-to-reel player in the DJ booth, but this whole video is amazing; it's a testament to the early 80s, with the Richard Simmons' candy cane stripped shorts, men with mustaches dancing without shirts, Bernard Sumner wearing a polo shirt buttoned to the top, tucked in with shorts and white socks and boat shoes. I'm amazed by the goings on in that video. . .it astounds me that 3 pasty white guys and one pasty white girl from England could come up with that song and have it be popular. It's really something to behold. Also, another band (and it's previous incarnation as Joy Division) that should be in the Rock n'Roll Hall of Fame.
The Stone Roses- Fools Gold: Never a Stone Roses fan. This video is of them walking around hills and rocks, leading to an impromptu concert on top of one of aforementioned hills. Fast forward.
Fishbone- Modern Industry: All they are doing is reciting various radio station call letters. I have no idea what's going on in this video or with this song. I'm going to guess that it's making fun of major radio stations and how they are controlled by. . .someone or something. Course, there's even less diversity in radio and music today.
Soundgarden- Black Hole Sun: A really creepy video as it uses that technology that exaggerates facial expressions and a number of weird scenes (why is the woman taking a bath with a dog is the one I really don't get). It's a fun song to play drums to on Rock Band. Otherwise, I don't have anything to really say about this video, except I didn't like the song when it first came out, and I really don't care for it today.
The Waterboys- The Whole of the Moon: Ok, now this is a very enjoyable song and one that has really grown on me from watching the video. Just a simple video of the band playing the song, and it's a really good song. It's a song like this that makes one think that anyone can do that, but really, you can't.
Modern English- Melt With You: You know, there's one thing you can say about these cheesy and simple songs from the 80s- they're catchy and will be played forever. And the confluence of influences that resulted in these poppy new wave songs won't be repeated.
REM- Get Up: A confession- Green is one of my least favorite REM albums. There are a number of songs that I do like on that album, I just don't like it in its entirety. It seems way too preachy for me. I'm pretty ambivalent about this song. The video is boring with just a mismash of cut-outs coming together to form various images; it's like a huge collage project.
REM- Supernatural Superserious: God.. .seeing your idols grow old. Anyway, the video has the band driving around New York City, I think, and playing in-store performances in various stores. Didn't buy this album, which I think may be the first one I haven't bought, but the song is thoroughly enjoyable. Perhaps I should go out and find a copy of it.
Alice in Chains- Man in the Box: A song that I really liked growing up. It captured the angst and darkness that was missing in Pearl Jam and even Nirvana. Yes, I know, my music tastes in high school were all over the place, and I haven't even mentioned that one of my favorite bands in high school was Ministry. I suppose I'll have a lot to explain to my future shrink.
The Human League- Human: Another one that doesn't belong on this show. I'm not even gonna write anything more about it.
So, that's all. Not the best episode, but certainly not the worst. I must say that I am getting tired of the repeats.
Morrissey- Tomorrow: I remember when this album came out, or rather, I remember singing this song to a friend my senior year in high school who thought the lyrics were some of the most depressing she'd heard, nevermind the beat is rather upbeat. This video has Morrissey and his band walking around some narrow streets in a French town. . they ultimately walk in a circle, but no matter, it's Morrissey. Still a pretty classic mid-90s alternative song.
Wall of Voodoo- Mexican Radio: Ok, I've always liked this song and the video, but it's waaaay overplayed on this show. The video is pretty amusing, what with the band in various old timey pictures, including on band member missing his legs. And hey, who doesn't like barbecued iguana. And the final few shots are really random, from the very, very tall director to Stan Ridgeway in a pot of beans.
U2- Where the Streets Have No Name: A secret show from the top of a building in L.A. with L.A. cops pissed at it happening. There's a story that the cops told them to stop playing and the band said ok, but kept playing anyway until finally the cops got onto the roof and shut them down. The improv group Improv Everywhere even did a play on this during U2's Vertigo tour by staging a mock U2 concert from on top of an apartment complex in New York City, the night of the U2 show there. Anyway, I don't think I need to really say anymore about this song and video.
The Alarm- Spirit of '76: A mix of live shots and various shots of lead singer Mike Peters. Boring video, and, boring mid-80s anthem. Fast forward.
The Cure- Hot, Hot, Hot: One of the more shocking Cure videos since it shows Robert Smith with short hair. Pretty much from their only pure pop album, as they followed this album with Disintegration, blowing away a whole generation of music listeners, and closing the 80s to doom and gloom, along with Depeche Mode's "Violator." Anyway, the video is of the band playing the song on raised circular stages, but concludes with them a few feet shorter. I don't get it, but then, I don't get a lot of their videos.
Gin Blossoms- Found Out About You: Boy, the Gin Blossoms. They were everywhere in 1994, huh? Then they kicked out their one songwriter for alcohol abuse, and couldn't replicate the success of the singles he wrote from their first album. Anyway, the video, like most of these, are the band playing the song, with various scenes showing up behind them- green screen stuff. I'm gonna take this moment to note that Rock Band is missing out by skipping over a lot of these early to mid 90s alternative songs. While they may not necessarily be the hardest songs to play, they sure to bring those of us who lived through that time back to being in college or post-college; Hey Jealousy would be a great song for Rock Band.
XTC- Dear God: Ok, I love XTC, but I'm tired of seeing this video nearly every week. One day I'll post my dream episode of 120 minutes, but not today. One of the amusing things about this song is that I used to DJ at my college radio station, and on Sunday's, since I went to a school affiliated with a Christian denomination, someone would always play this song. I don't know why, I mean, I guess it's kind of an ironic song, but I don't think the people on Sunday's got that, or listened very carefully to the words. While I'm here as well, how is XTC not garnering support for induction into the Rock n'Roll Hall of Fame- I have another posting about the Hall, so I'll save my XTC argument for that, whenever I get around to it. Yeah, I know I didn't talk about the video, oh well.
Stone Temple Pilots- Plush: Their first big song. Just a staged video of them in a club, and Weiland has orange hair. While I thought they were a phony band, I also thought they were in on the joke. Like they knew there were completely derivative, but didn't care and took everyone's money, because, frankly, they wrote some very strong songs, of which Plush is one of many. What I don't like about this video, though, is Weiland copying Eddie Vedder's movements, almost done to a tee. Since this was their first big song, and they were following Pearl Jam and Soundgarden they had to look similar. Weiland got a lot better when he stopped copying Eddie Vedder and became his own on stage train wreck.
The Replacements- The Ledge: God their videos are lazy. Just them in chairs eating, smoking and doing nothing much else. If it's not "Alex Chilton," I'm fast forwarding.
The Fixx- Red Skies: Why they are playing this, I don't really know. I suppose at some point in the 80s, The Fixx was "alternative" or "modern." Honestly, I don't remember this version of the video, with the bass player wearing a long beard, cape and a wide brimmed hat. Really? A cape? Moving along.....
The Dead Milkmen- Punk Rock Girl: Ahhhh, still one of my favorite songs. Saw them in Dallas in 1993 or something- great show. One thing does annoy me about this song is that they get the wrong band; California Dreaming was the Mamas and Papas, not the Beach Boys. There is just so many things in this video that I can't explain, it's awesome.
The Charlatans- Weirdo: When I used to record the original 120 Minutes starting in 1992, this was a song played quite often. The video has a number of "weirdos" including an admittedly scary clown/jester with a fake large nose bouncing around with various lighting. You know, I didn't much care for this song back in 1992 either.
Love and Rockets- So Alive: Another classic from 1989. I remember this song being popular that summer. I can't help but watch every time a Love and Rockets video comes on, I don't know why, other than I like their songs. Oh, and they are 3/4's of Bauhaus. Not much to say about the video. . .
New Order- Blue Monday '89: For some reason has dogs balancing on top of various objects and the band dodging various objects. I guess that, much like how their songs are nearly unintelligible, the videos make even less sense. While I'm here, I want to point out to people this embarrassment:
This is the video for their song "Confusion" from 1983. I mean, nevermind about the song being mastered to a reel-to-reel, and the reel-to-reel being taken to the dance club, that happens to have a reel-to-reel player in the DJ booth, but this whole video is amazing; it's a testament to the early 80s, with the Richard Simmons' candy cane stripped shorts, men with mustaches dancing without shirts, Bernard Sumner wearing a polo shirt buttoned to the top, tucked in with shorts and white socks and boat shoes. I'm amazed by the goings on in that video. . .it astounds me that 3 pasty white guys and one pasty white girl from England could come up with that song and have it be popular. It's really something to behold. Also, another band (and it's previous incarnation as Joy Division) that should be in the Rock n'Roll Hall of Fame.
The Stone Roses- Fools Gold: Never a Stone Roses fan. This video is of them walking around hills and rocks, leading to an impromptu concert on top of one of aforementioned hills. Fast forward.
Fishbone- Modern Industry: All they are doing is reciting various radio station call letters. I have no idea what's going on in this video or with this song. I'm going to guess that it's making fun of major radio stations and how they are controlled by. . .someone or something. Course, there's even less diversity in radio and music today.
Soundgarden- Black Hole Sun: A really creepy video as it uses that technology that exaggerates facial expressions and a number of weird scenes (why is the woman taking a bath with a dog is the one I really don't get). It's a fun song to play drums to on Rock Band. Otherwise, I don't have anything to really say about this video, except I didn't like the song when it first came out, and I really don't care for it today.
The Waterboys- The Whole of the Moon: Ok, now this is a very enjoyable song and one that has really grown on me from watching the video. Just a simple video of the band playing the song, and it's a really good song. It's a song like this that makes one think that anyone can do that, but really, you can't.
Modern English- Melt With You: You know, there's one thing you can say about these cheesy and simple songs from the 80s- they're catchy and will be played forever. And the confluence of influences that resulted in these poppy new wave songs won't be repeated.
REM- Get Up: A confession- Green is one of my least favorite REM albums. There are a number of songs that I do like on that album, I just don't like it in its entirety. It seems way too preachy for me. I'm pretty ambivalent about this song. The video is boring with just a mismash of cut-outs coming together to form various images; it's like a huge collage project.
REM- Supernatural Superserious: God.. .seeing your idols grow old. Anyway, the video has the band driving around New York City, I think, and playing in-store performances in various stores. Didn't buy this album, which I think may be the first one I haven't bought, but the song is thoroughly enjoyable. Perhaps I should go out and find a copy of it.
Alice in Chains- Man in the Box: A song that I really liked growing up. It captured the angst and darkness that was missing in Pearl Jam and even Nirvana. Yes, I know, my music tastes in high school were all over the place, and I haven't even mentioned that one of my favorite bands in high school was Ministry. I suppose I'll have a lot to explain to my future shrink.
The Human League- Human: Another one that doesn't belong on this show. I'm not even gonna write anything more about it.
So, that's all. Not the best episode, but certainly not the worst. I must say that I am getting tired of the repeats.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Disgust
Watch this:
This letter is a summary of how I feel and the way that Democrats have used "deregulation" as a code word for greed.
Did you know that the bailout bill passed by congress and signed by President Bush contains a number of other provisions that have zero relation to banks and mortgages? For example, Sec. 211 contains a section called "TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS." What this section does is that it provides a $20 tax credit or subsidy a month to people who ride bikes to work. That $20 can also be used towards a purchase of a bike or to pay for repairs of that bike, provided the bike is used to get to work. Section 503 is a "EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN." I can't even explain what this does. Apparently, there's a producer of these products in Oregon, and one of Oregon's representatives or Senators got this tax credit in the bill; but, only all wood arrows, if they are not completely made of wood, you're out of luck. Again, what does this have to do with the banking system? I won't even go into why the renewable energy credits and the plug-in hybrid credits are in this bill.
Yes, I'm mad and disgusted with what has transpired over this week in Congress. That by simply adding more tax credits and government spending programs that that will get Congressmen on board. As Joel Stein, who I might add has been on the button recently, noted:
Ok, I've said enough. . .While I thought that this little diatribe would help, it hasn't; my disgust is still there.
This letter is a summary of how I feel and the way that Democrats have used "deregulation" as a code word for greed.
Did you know that the bailout bill passed by congress and signed by President Bush contains a number of other provisions that have zero relation to banks and mortgages? For example, Sec. 211 contains a section called "TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS." What this section does is that it provides a $20 tax credit or subsidy a month to people who ride bikes to work. That $20 can also be used towards a purchase of a bike or to pay for repairs of that bike, provided the bike is used to get to work. Section 503 is a "EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN." I can't even explain what this does. Apparently, there's a producer of these products in Oregon, and one of Oregon's representatives or Senators got this tax credit in the bill; but, only all wood arrows, if they are not completely made of wood, you're out of luck. Again, what does this have to do with the banking system? I won't even go into why the renewable energy credits and the plug-in hybrid credits are in this bill.
Yes, I'm mad and disgusted with what has transpired over this week in Congress. That by simply adding more tax credits and government spending programs that that will get Congressmen on board. As Joel Stein, who I might add has been on the button recently, noted:
If I were in Congress, I'd hold out. Every representative who voted no on the bailout got something totally sweet in the bill that passed the Senate. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) changed his mind once he got the health insurance for mental illness he's been fighting for. The Senate is trying to bribe Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) with tax breaks for Arizona solar companies. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who rides a bicycle, is supposed to be tempted by a tax deduction for bike commuters, as Democrats Adam Schiff of Burbank and Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks are by tax breaks for movie producers. If they all vote no again, the next version of the bill will include a federally funded movie about a schizophrenic guy who rides his solar-powered bike to work. Which will win 8,000 Oscars.
....
Any representative who voted against the world's largest economic bailout last week but votes for this bigger, uglier, more dangerous version has been bought. Whether you think this bailout is good or not, the people who changed their minds on such a monumental matter for such flimsy, unrelated reasons do not deserve to be trusted with your vote this November. They deserve to have their office called over and over in increasingly less believable accents. If you can do a crazy guy who rides a solar-powered bike, I'd go with that.
Ok, I've said enough. . .While I thought that this little diatribe would help, it hasn't; my disgust is still there.
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