Rantings from 2288 Beckley Rd.

2012-01-27T06:16:00.002-07:00

REDISCOVERING THE QUEEN OF NICE

2011-10-11T13:25:00.005-07:00

Rosie O’Donnell’s long awaited return to series television premiered last night on The Oprah Winfrey Network and all I have to say is I’m Damn Glad you are Back Rosie!

The show is a mash-up of The Tonight Show meets The Oprah Winfrey Show meets Univision’s Sabado Gigante. There is an opening stand-up routine, a question and answer session, a Broadway style musical number, celebrity interview, and the show finishes with a game show.

The Rosie Show is pure Rosie through and through and it is easy to remember why we connected with the Rosie O’Donnell Show 15 years ago. She is real, funny, cheesy, and entertaining every-woman. She is a child of Broadway and retro-television shows like Carol Burnett, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Truth or Consequence, and the Ed Sullivan Show.

No one has ever connected to an audience the way Rosie does - not her new boss Oprah, who appeared to be above the audience, nor the other successful daytime lesbian Ellen DeGeneres. Rosie is one of the audience and has always had an exuberance and passion about her that no one else brings to the table. She is even more relatable all these years later now that she has been in the trenches as a parent for the past 17 years – something that is unique to her when compared to her peers.

Having had the pleasure of meeting, and being in the company of, Rosie several times, I can say that the warmth, compassion, and humor the audience experiences onstage with Rosie is how she is in public as well. She relates to the every day and is possibly more at home with the average stay at home mom then she is with high dollar celebrities, as she has lived the past 10 years as a suburbanite with only fleeting moments of celebrity.

While I loved all things Rosie about the show, there were elements that distracted me – none of them having to do with its host or the content, but more the bricks and mortar.

The set of the old Rosie O’Donnell Show was bright, cheery and upbeat, and it was shot in a much smaller space. The audience always felt like they were participants in the show. That intimate feeling in missing with the move to Oprah’s cavernous state-of-the-art studio. While Rosie’s connection to the audience is always evident, it is only because she is who she is. A smaller personality would get lost in the auditorium like studio.

For the opening stand-up routine, Rosie is positioned in front of a satin curtain backdrop. Prior to the premier, I had seen the curtain in promotions and I wrongly thought it was meant to keep the real stage a secret until the debut yesterday. I was wrong. The curtain appears cheap and almost an afterthought, and I think it needs to go. I would prefer they darken the stage behind her, or at least move the curtain back 10 feet back.

During the interview portion with Russell Brand (more on that in a bit) I found the two overstuffed chairs lost on the massive stage. While it is a beautiful stage, there needs to be a backdrop of some sort that shrinks the size of the space surrounding her and her guest during this segment of the show to make it more intimate. For the big numbers, or whenever necessary, the full stage can be opened.

I suspect the lighting of the show was an important consideration in pre-production. Since the show is sandwiched between daytime and primetime the mood of the show had to have been of concern. Daytime shows are usually brighter and late-night talk shows are typically darker. In the end it appears a more nighttime feel was chosen for the Rosie Show, and since it was still light outside when I watched the show, I’m not sure of the right choice was made.

As everyone who know me is well aware, I am a huge admirer of Rosie. I think her humor and wit are matched only by her compassion and heart, but for the life of me I do not get her new celebrity crush -Russell Brand. While I cannot put my finger on it, there is something about him that … well… creeps me out. I find it difficult to understand him and have an even worse time looking at him. He is like an unattractive and filthy Farrah Fawcett - all hair and teeth - and always in need of a bath.

With a stable full of big named celebrity friends and acquaintances, an “A Lister” such as Rosie should have pulled out the big guns and had a big name sitting across from her on her inaugural show . My choice would have been:

- One of the Ryans -Gosling or Reynolds
- The Casts of Glee or Modern Family
- George Clooney (who I am not crazy about – but still)
- Lady Gaga
- Hilary Clinton
- The Queen of Entertainment – Barbra Streisand
- Or Tom Cruise who she ended her last show with

The problems with the lighting and the staging will not keep me from watching the show – and are just my opinion. I look forward to getting home from work each evening and plopping down to watch the new Rosie Show on DVR. I couldn’t be happier she is back. Her brand of humor and heart have been sorely lacking in television since she left. This time around the koosh balls may be missing but what remains is a good time capped off with confetti.

SARAH PALIN - PLEASE SHUT UP

2011-07-27T16:57:00.003-07:00

Can't someone shut up this media whore? She has nothing useful to say!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: INVOKE THE 14TH AMENDMENT AND END THE CRISIS

2011-07-27T16:46:00.003-07:00

Tell President Obama to use his 14th Amendment powers, raise the debt ceiling without Congress, end this crisis, and tell the House Republicans to go take a hike.

For weeks now, House Republicans have been holding America hostage, and threatening to wreak havoc with our credit rating and our economy. They have refused to raise the debt ceiling unless their extremist policies are enacted, policies that place a higher priority on defending tax loopholes for corporate jets than on preserving Medicare and Social Security.

Enough is enough. Mr. President, it is time to use your 14th Amendment powers to end this crisis.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution clearly states that the validity of the U.S. government's debt "shall not be questioned." Leaders from President Clinton1 to Representative James Clyburn to have called upon the president to invoke these powers.

Republicans, apparently unable to read, have tried to claim that doing this would be unconstitutional. But these same Republicans have held America hostage for too long. It is time for President Obama to move ahead without them, and use the powers given to him by the Constitution. If the Republicans really want to take their claims to court, let them. But right now, it's time to end this long, national nightmare.

Enough is enough. Tell President Obama to use his 14th Amendment powers to end this crisis.

Click the title to sign the petition

THE DOUBLE STANDARD OF CHRSTIAN TERRORISM

2011-07-27T16:43:00.001-07:00

I found the below article on Facebook, posted by an organization called "People Against the Tea Party." It was written by a man named Joshua Stewart. You can click the title to read it in it's original website.

On July 23, 2011 a terror attack rocked Oslo, Norway, killing 93 innocent people. The speculation began from the moment it was reported. Everyone was convinced a Muslim was behind it. Then a suspect was captured. He was both white and Christian.

From that moment forward, in typical Western fashion, people came out of the woodwork trying to distance him from Christianity, even though his words said otherwise. Even some atheists, for whatever reason, were trying to separate Christianity from this act of obvious terrorism.

This highlights a fundamental hypocrisy that we have seen time and time again in the West. Had this man been brown-skinned with an Arabic name, he would have automatically been labeled a Muslim fanatic and a terrorist.

History

This scene has played out many times before from Tim McVeigh to Joe Stack to John Bedell to the Hutaree in Michigan to Jared Loughner. When a person is a White or Anglo European Christian, he is not labeled a terrorist. Instead, he his actions are often dismissed (not justified or excused) as by that of a “mentally disturbed” or “crazy” person. He is never a terrorist, nor is his Christian faith ever mentioned. Even the Hutaree, who were investigated by the Anti-terrorism Task Force, were only called a “Christian militia” by the media, and their faith was the centerpiece of their actions.

Why?!

It begs the question: why is this? Why does Western society strive to distance Christianity from these occurrences, when they also are the first to call Muslims who perpetrate the same acts as terrorists?

Terrorists

Let it be stated that I am not saying that al-Qa’ida or Richard Reid are not Islamic terrorists. Of course they are. But, in the same breath, the Hutaree and Andres Breivik are Christian terrorists. If you are a Christian, it does not mean you condone his actions and his being a Christian does not reflect on you.

Justification

The problem is, with religion it’s not difficult to find scriptures to justify these actions, whether it be in the Qur’an or the Bible.

In the Bible, God commands the decimation of entire cities, and Psalm 137:8-9 reads, “O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.”

People say that Jesus preached a message of love and tolerance (even as many of these same people are hardly loving and tolerant of, for instance, homosexuals and atheists). Fair enough. Let’s say that is 100% accurate. That doesn’t make him not a Christian. He may be a “bad Christian” but he is still a Christian nonetheless.

Hypocrisies

The “no true Scotsman” argument is one of the biggest Christian hypocrisies in which Christians are judging who is a true Christian and who is not. Many do this whether the person in question be Andres Breivik or a formerly devout Christian-turned-atheist (like Dan Barker, for instance), when Jesus commanded them to not be judgmental. (Matthew 7:1-2; John 8:7)

They do this because they are ashamed that such occurrences can be aligned with their faith, and rightly so. In the same way, many non-extremist Muslims try and claim the Taliban are not real Muslims.

Whether they are distorting scriptures or not, the fact remains that they do not have to look far to do so. And that’s frightening. Religion has inspired violence and bigotry since its earliest incarnations. To try and say it doesn’t, or that religious extremists aren’t real adherents of said faith is doing a giant disservice to all mankind.

Manifesto

In closing, let’s look at an excerpt from Breivik’s manifesto:

“I trust that the future leadership of a European cultural conservative hegemony in Europe will ensure that the current Church leadership are replaced and the systems somewhat reformed.” He further states. “We must have a Church leadership who supports a future Crusade with the intention of liberating the Balkans, Anatolia and creating three Christian states in the Middle East. Efforts should be made to facilitate the de-construction of the Protestant Church whose members should convert back to Catholicism. The Protestant Church had an important role once, but its original goals have been accomplished and have contributed to reform the Catholic Church as well. Europe should have a united Church lead [sic] by a just and non-suicidal pope who is willing to fight for the security of his subjects, especially in regards to Islamic atrocities.”

Now let us examine this again with some minor substitutions:

“I trust that the future leadership of a Arab cultural conservative hegemony in Europe will ensure that the current Mosque leadership are replaced and the systems somewhat reformed.” Furthermore, “We must have a Mosque leadership who supports a future Jihad with the intention of liberating the Balkans, Anatolia and creating three Islamic states in the Middle East. Efforts should be made to facilitate the de-construction of the Shi’a whose members should convert back to Sunnism. The Shi’a had an important role once, but its original goals have been accomplished and have contributed to reform Sunni Islam as well. Iran should have a united Khilafah lead [sic] by a just and non-suicidal Imam who is willing to fight for the security of his subjects, especially in regards to Christian atrocities.”

If it was a Muslim who wrote the latter statement and then committed acts of violence including a bombing and shooting spree, he’d be labeled an Islamic terrorist hands-down and rightly so. Look at Nidal Hassan, for example. Let’s stop the hypocrisy and label Breivik what he is — a Christian terrorist.

Joshua Stewart
SupportAtheism.com

Let me add, though many people think I am, I am not an Aetheist.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

2011-07-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

‎"If you can look at a crime where everything points to one answer and not see it, you're a dumbass. And if you can look at the deficit and not realize that the rich stopped paying taxes, you're a republican."~Bill Maher

CONSERVATIVE CNN CONTRIBUTOR WRONG ABOUT SAME SEX MARRIAGE

2011-06-27T13:05:00.003-07:00

Way to go David Frum. He now sees the error of his ways and realizes it isnt the gays that are ruining the institution of marriage. He isn't saying who is, but at least he isn't blaming the homos.

Editor's note: David Frum writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002, he is the author of six books, including "Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again," and is the editor of FrumForum.

Washington (CNN) -- I was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Fourteen years ago, Andrew Sullivan and I forcefully debated the issue at length online (at a time when online debate was a brand new thing).

Yet I find myself strangely untroubled by New York state's vote to authorize same-sex marriage -- a vote that probably signals that most of "blue" states will follow within the next 10 years.

I don't think I'm alone in my reaction either. Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision.

Why?

The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test.

Since 1997, same-sex marriage has evolved from talk to fact.

If people like me had been right, we should have seen the American family become radically more unstable over the subsequent decade and a half.

Political impact of same-sex marriage

Clinton: Fight for LGBT rights ongoing Instead -- while American family stability has continued to deteriorate -- it has deteriorated much more slowly than it did in the 1970s and 1980s before same-sex marriage was ever seriously thought of.

By the numbers, in fact, the 2000s were the least bad decade for American family stability since the fabled 1950s. And when you take a closer look at the American family, the facts have become even tougher for the anti-gay marriage position.

Middle-class families have become somewhat more stable than they used to be. For example: College-educated women who got married in the 1990s were much less likely to get divorced than equally educated women who got married in the 1970s.

What's new and different in the past 20 years is the collapse of the Hispanic immigrant family. First-generation Latino immigrants maintain traditional families: conservative values, low divorce rates, high fertility and -- despite low incomes -- mothers surprisingly often at home with the children.

But the second-generation Latino family looks very different. In the new country, old norms collapse. Nearly half of all children born to Hispanic mothers are now born out of wedlock.

The case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test.

Whatever is driving this negative trend, it seems more than implausible to connect it to same-sex marriage. How would it even work that a 15-year-old girl in Van Nuys, California, becomes more likely to have a baby because two men in Des Moines, Iowa, can marry?

Maybe somebody can believe the connection, but I cannot.

I remain as worried as ever about the decline in family stability among poorer Americans. But as for same-sex marriage, my attitude follows the trajectory described nearly 150 years ago by the English writer Anthony Trollope in his novel "Phineas Finn."

Two of his characters are discussing a proposed reform that has just been defeated in Parliament. The author of the reform is understandably dejected. His friend consoles him by pointing to the future:

"Many who before regarded legislation on the subject as chimerical, will now fancy that it is only dangerous, or perhaps not more than difficult. And so in time it will come to be looked on as among the things possible, then among the things probable; -- and so at last it will be ranged in the list of those few measures which the country requires as being absolutely needed. That is the way in which public opinion is made."

By coincidence, I am writing these words on the morning of my own 23rd wedding anniversary. Of all the blessings life has to offer, none equals a happy marriage. If proportionally fewer Americans enjoy that blessing today than did 40 years ago, we're going to have to look for the explanation somewhere other than the Legislature in Albany.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

This article was on the CNN website today.

BILL MAHER ON TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY

2011-06-20T21:49:00.005-07:00

THIS SHOULD BE MANDATORY VIEWING

If I had a talk show and a team of writers, I would be Bill Maher! This guy is so spot on and I cannot understand why these solutions to our problems are not as clear to everyone. The worst part is the rubes that are voting Republican are cutting their own throats - well except the rich who have ascots covering theirs.

STEWART -VS- WALLACE ON FOX NEWS SUNDAY

2011-06-19T22:28:00.003-07:00

Below is a small piece of Jon Stewart being "interviewed" by Chris Wallace on today's Fox News Sunday. To me it felt more like he was being interrogated and Chris Wallace was hoping the outcome of his reparative therapy would be full conversion to conservative think.

If you watch the entire interview (below is only a minute or so) you will see that Chris Wallace was there with an agenda - to draw parallels between what the two men do for a living, but Jon Stewart would not concede.

Chris Wallace comes off humorless and about as stiff as a piece of cardboard.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE ECONOMY (IN 2 MIN 15 SEC)

2011-06-18T08:41:00.001-07:00

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich succinctly explains the problems with the economy (brought to you by moveon.org).

Contrary to the load of crap the Republicans shovel down our throats so often that many of us believe it, the rich do not create jobs, the demand for goods and services from the middle class do, and as long as there is no demand, there will be no new jobs.

NO MORE POLITICS ON FACEBOOL

2011-06-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

I have long neglected this space on the web that I call my blog, although I have been meaning to get back to it for some time. Facebook has become the new blogging space for many but I would prefer it return to being a place where I keep in touch with friends and family, therefore, today I have instituted a moratorium on political posts on Facebook. I will no longer be posting the countless political articles I read daily. Instead I will be posting them HERE.

I do not promise; however, to restrict myself completely. If I see something funny about some right wing cracker (like Sarah Palin) I reserve the right to post it on Facebook for all to provecho-itize.

I am hoping this change will help motivate me to start writing again and not just re-posting things of interest that I see.

Wish me luck.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO.....

2011-02-27T06:03:00.004-07:00

Due to early forecasts of cold and rainy weather for today, February 27, 2011, I canceled the Ghetto and Gowns Gala - our annual celebration of all things Oscar.

That is the first call I got right in the 2011 Academy Awards race. If the temperature were to dip any lower outside we would be in the middle of a blizzard.

Below are my thoughts and predictions on some of the actual awards to be handed out tonight at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood:

BEST PICTURE

Black Swan - I found this movie difficult to sit through. How good is a movie you watch through your fingers?

The Fighter - Although not my top pick, it is right up there. I walked out of this movie completely satisfied with what I had just watched and was blown away by the four lead performances: Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. All four were superb.

Inception - I did not see this movie and have to admit I don't think I am smart enough to see it.

The Kids Are Alright - I know some people raved about this movie, I, on the other hand thought it was a snoozefest - and rather pointless. While I believe female sexuality is more fluid then males, I thought the affair between Julianna Moore and Mark Ruffalo was unrealistic and a way for Hollywood to make a "gay themed" movie that was somewhat palatable for straight audiences.

The King's Speech - WINNER - While I enjoyed this movie I do not feel it should win.

127 Hours - This movie was good, perhaps long, but the only reason to see it was because of James Franco's performance.

The Social Network - This was the best movie of this past year and I think it should win. I walked out of the theater completely satisfied, like I had just pushed my chair away from a delicious 7 course meal. I loved this movie.

Toy Story 3 - I cried like a baby the last 10 minutes of this movie. Very good movie but it will win in the animated category.

True Grit - I didn't see this movie but it doesn't have a chance.

Winter's Bone - This is one of the best movies of this past year and I am happy to see that it got nominated as I doubt many people saw it.

BEST DIRECTOR

Black Swan Darren Aronofsky - I found this movie difficult to follow and watch at times. So sorry Darren!

The Fighter David O. Russell - Good job and thanks for showing up but you can stay in your seat.

The King's Speech Tom Hooper - If it is a "King's Speech Sweep" then Tom has a chance - and that will be his only reason for winning.

The Social Network David Fincher - WINNER - Great movie, great direction!

True Grit Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - Is it only me that finds it strange when the Coen brothers are co-nominated for things? Shouldn't only ONE be able to be the best?

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” - I am sure he is good in this and I meant to see it (and didn't) but he doesn't have a chance.

Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” - Although I didn't see this movie, I don't think it matters as he won last year.

Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” - Jesse was very good in this movie but I'm not sure he isn't this nerdy and awkward in real life.

Colin Firth in “The King's Speech” - WINNER - Solid performance

James Franco in “127 Hours” - Possibly the best performance of this past year and if Colin Firth hadn't perfected his stutter, James would be going home with Oscar. The entire film is him and he carries it well.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right” - WINNER - In recognition of her body of work, Annette will walk away with Oscar.

Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” - I saw the trailer of Nicole being great actress Nicole. I am rarely impressed with her and do not think she should have won for The Hours.

Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone” - This was a spot on performance by a relatively unknown actress and she should be very proud of the work she did on this movie. While her performance is definitely worthy of a Best Actress win, she doesn't have a chance.

Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” - Most likely to upset Annette Benning and I would not be unhappy in the least. While the movie is too strange for my tastes, her performance is amazing and I would be happy to see her walk to the podium.

Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” - If I was able to officially cast my vote it would have been between Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Williams. This girl nails it every time, and in the movie, although I thought her character was the problem in the film (as opposed her Ryan Gosling's), Michelle's performance was SPOT ON!

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale in “The Fighter” - WINNER - One of the few cases that I think I will agree with the Academy voters. His performance was transformative and sublime.

John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone” - I don't think the Oscar should go to anyone who looks dirty (or toothless) on screen. Good performance though.

Jeremy Renner in “The Town” - The Town is tied with The Social Network as my favorite movie of the year (and it just arrived from Netlix). Jeremy Renner's performance was fantastic and any year he wasn't competing against this year's Christian Bale performance might have nabbed him the gold.

Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” - Nice to look at but anyone could have played this role.

Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech” - Geoffrey's performance is the heart of this movie and definitely Oscar worthy but against Christian Bale's performance this year, he doesn't stand a chance.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams in “The Fighter” - Definitely Oscar worthy and if Melissa Leo screwed herself out of an Oscar with her "For Your Consideration" advertisements, Amy Adams will be the winner

Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech” - Her first normal person role in recent memory, but this performance was not the best of the year.

Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” -WINNER - This is my choice of the year (along with Amy Adams). Melissa Leo was outstanding as the rough around the edges mother to Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in The Fighter. With more screen time she could have qualified as Best Actress as possibly won.

Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit” - Sorry I didn't see your movie Hailee, but I don't think you have a chance. Plus, with a name so close to Seinfield, I probably would not have voted for you anyway.

Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom” - I Netflixed this movie and then didn't even watch it. I hope you were good Jackie.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

How to Train Your Dragon - Sorry, stay in your seat!
The Illusionist - I haven't seen it yet but plan to see it.
Toy Story 3 - We have a WINNER

Those are a few of my picks.....and the Oscar goes to.................

IMAGINE - SAM TSUI AND AHMIR

2011-01-16T17:06:00.003-07:00

After the tragedy last week in Tucson, I started to write a reaction and couldn't do so without angry words and pointing fingers. I'm glad I waited until today when I received this video of Sam Tsui and AHMIR's cover of one of my favorite songs - John Lennon's Imagine.

NOELLE TURNS FIVE AT DISNEYLAND

2011-01-01T08:27:00.016-07:00

Two days before my tenth birthday, my grandparents took me to Disneyland. I remember going on nearly every ride and although I thought my grandparents were a tad over protective, I had a wonderful time. Since then I have visited the park two more times, and as an adult it doesn’t hold the same magic. The only way to enjoy it is through the eyes of on innocent and two or three months ago I promised Noelle, a lover of all things Disney, we would take her for fifth birthday.

On Monday, we left for California and Disneyland, and although there were a couple of hiccups along the way, the trip was a resounding success.

We set out for Southern California at 9:45 Monday morning and 40 miles west of Phoenix we got stuck for 45 minutes in a long line of traffic due to road construction. Three hours later we approached the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs) and saw snow on the tops of the mountains, San Jacinto is on the left and San Gorgonio (the highest peak in Southern California) is on the right.

After the six hour drive (stopping only for lunch and gas), our first stop was Belmont Shore (Long Beach). I lived in this seaside community from July 1996 to August 1999 and then returned from August 2001 to April 2002 and have many fond memories. It was only fitting that this be the place where Noelle first experienced the Pacific Ocean, and although it was cool outside (low 60s) she frolicked and wanted to build a sand castle.

It had been a long day so I promised her a rain check and we drove downtown Long Beach to the Hyatt.

Our initial intent was to leave Phoenix on Tuesday, drive to Long Beach that night, go to Disneyland on Wednesday and stay in Palm Springs afterwards, returning home Thursday. Unfortunately, the weather changed our plans.

I had been watching the weather forecast on a daily basis (as it seemed to change daily), and on Sunday the forecast called for rain on Wednesday, therefore, we decided to leave a day early and go to Disneyland on Tuesday.

Tuesday was a beautiful day, bathed in sun and blue sky. It was forecasted to be the nicest of the week and we took our time getting ready for the big day. We arrived at Disneyland to find that it was sold out. While sitting in traffic waiting to get into the park I stopped a policewoman and inquired and she informed that the park had been sold out the day before as well, but they had allowed visitors into California Adventure (Disneyland’s sister park) and then at 6:30 they were allowing guests to cross over and enter Disneyland.

Although this wasn’t how I envisioned our day - it was worth a shot. There was no way I was going to disappoint Noelle. She had been looking forward to this trip for so long, so we paid the $15 to park our car, boarded the bus to the park, got outside the gates to Disneyland and were turned away, being told that an hour earlier they have stopped offering the California Adventure/Disneyland arrangement.

Discouraged, we returned to Long Beach to regroup. We ate lunch at an old favorite of mine in Belmont Shore, Super Mex, and while there we decided to extend our trip a day and visit Disneyland on Thursday, as it was forecasted to rain on Wednesday. We then did some shopping and took Noelle to get her hair cut. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and Noelle decided it was a time for a photo shoot.

Wednesday, Noelle’s actual birthday, was rainy and we didn’t do much. We went out for breakfast and then back to the hotel. Noelle decided it was time for another photo shoot.

That evening we joined my friend Tova, her mother Joyce, and Tova’s two boys, Reece and Ty for an evening at the Aquarium of the Pacific, located across from the hotel. It is a spectacular facility with several outstanding exhibits. I lived in Long Beach when it opened (and was a charter member for a few years).

Noelle had met Tova's boys the day before and insisted that Reece was a girl because has long blond hair. I repeatedly tried to explain that boys can have long hair too, and Tova also gave it a shot, but Noelle still insisted that Reece was a girl. She couldn’t quite understand that boys can have long hair too.

I purchased our Disneyland tickets online to ensure we wouldn’t have a repeat of Tuesday’s fiasco and Thursday morning we got up early and arrived at the park at 9:15.

Our initial destination within Disneyland was the Princess Fantasy Faire - where the princesses spend their time, but along the way there the Merry-Go-Round caught Noelle's eye.

Then it was off to the Princess Fantasy Faire where Noelle was too shy to join the festivities but instead sat next to me smiling from ear-to-ear.

Once the Princess coronation was over we hopped aboard the Disneyland Railroad for a trip around the park.

Afterwards Noelle announced she wanted to get her face painted – BIG MISTAKE. Almost instantly, her mood changed and she wanted to go home. When I asked her why she wanted to leave she said because people were staring at her. Thirty minutes, and some cotton candy later, her mood returned to normal and she wanted to stay.

The crowd at Disneyland was huge. It was like New Years Eve at Times Square. There was no where to walk without stumbling over people and the lines for the good rides were over two hours each. Even getting a bite to eat was an endeavor and while walking around trying to find a sit down restaurant (I think there is only one and you must have reservations) we stumbled across, and toured, Tarzan's Treehouse - forty years ago when I first visited Disneyland it was called the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (named after the Disney movie).

After grabbing a quick bite we resumed our expedition. The following clip shows some a small glimpse into the crowd.

The next ride Noelle wanted to go on was the Mad Tea Party (the tea cups), but just as we were about to get in the line, she spotted the Dumbo ride - the Tea Cups would have to wait. Dumbo had a line with an approximate wait time of 50 minutes. It went rather quickly and Noelle was very well behaved waiting her turn. While we were in line, a little girl in front of us, between three and four years old, got her head stuck in the fence - Looked painful!

After Dumbo it all becomes a blur to me now. I know that Fettit took Noelle on the Mad Tea Party ride and then there was the Christmas Parade (for some reason my video recorder did not record the parade). It was during the parade that we got to see nearly every Disney character – Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale and several of the princesses again. Sleeping Beauty was absent from the parade – we think she was taking a nap.

Once the crowd cleared from the parade we were nearly the first in line for Storybook Land Canal Boats. Noelle seemed to enjoy it but it was a snooze. If you watch the following video be prepared to fall asleep (and get a cavity from listening to the guides too sweet voice).

At this point the temperature was dropping from chilly to cold and we decided it was about time to leave - after one more ride on the Tea Cups.

Noelle was an ideal travel companion and we haven't stopped talking about her, and the trip, since we got home. Fettit keeps asking when she is coming over to spend the night. He misses her after spending those five days together.

It was such a nice trip - one of many - with more to come.

2011 RESOLUTIONS

2011-01-01T07:20:00.002-07:00

2010 is in the history books and it’s on to 2011 – which means it is time for some RESOLUTIONS:

- I would like to revive this blog and write something witty, clever, or insightful at least on a weekly basis.

- Today starts a return to eating healthily – Whole, low carb, and low fat

- It’s time to incorporate some physical activity into my routine. TIME TO MOVE!

- To quit smoking (for good) before I have my BIG birthday in July

LITTLE FOCKERS-BEHIND THE SCEENS

2010-10-16T10:45:00.004-07:00

The new "Little Fockers" movie trailer follows. With the reshoots (adding Dustin Hoffman and more Barbra) it may now be worth going to the theater to see. It is being released December 22nd.

THIS FUNNY GIRL IS SMART......

2010-09-14T21:24:00.004-07:00

STOP. THINK. BREATHE

It's not news…many people in our country are suffering. Uncertainty over our economy continues with high unemployment, which in turn has triggered many more home foreclosures. The lack of jobs has left a lot of people understandably angry, fearful and cynical about what they will face in the days ahead.

It’s natural to want to stop the pain, to find a fast solution or look for a quick fix to end the agony of the last twenty months. But it took many years (eight) to unravel the policies and regulations that both protected our economy and kept it strong, and it is going to take time to rebuild and restore it.

The patience of the American people has worn thin. However, as we head into a mid-term election, we must not make decisions based on frustration or anger, and revert back to the party and the leaders that turned a $236 billion budget surplus left by President Clinton into a $1.2 trillion deficit left by President Bush. We cannot, out of fear, go back to the same party and policies that created this economic meltdown, abused the system, and did little to help those who were left victimized by the greed of Wall Street and the special interests from K Street.

Republicans spent eight years creating and supporting the destructive policies of the Bush Administration, which systematically debilitated the economy as well as weakened our regulatory system. They created the biggest disparity between the ultra rich and the poor, while working to relax and eliminate rules governing banks, corporations, and financial institutions. Now, as we near Election Day, they are again asking hardworking Americans to trust them with their vote. Why should we trust them? They spent twenty months stonewalling the President’s efforts to recharge our economy and put Americans back to work.

My question to the Republican Party is: What actions would you take that would differ from the actions that originally got us into this mess? Would you extend the Bush tax cuts that primarily benefit the top 1% of our country? Continue to block energy policies that will create millions of new green jobs? Keep policies in place that reward corporations that ship American jobs overseas? Oppose strong financial reform that insures that transactions, loans and credit cards are fair and transparent? Oppose a jobs bill that helps small businesses get the loans and the tax cuts that they need to prosper? Those are not the decisions that will lift America out of its difficulties and make our country stronger.

Week after week, on the 24 hour cable news cycle, Republican officials and prominent GOP leaders twist, distort and misrepresent the facts in order to place blame on others, while they continue to obstruct progress. It’s like the old saying that if you tell a lie big enough and you keep repeating it often enough, people will eventually come to believe that it is true. Whether they are discussing financial regulation, health care, jobs, the economy, energy policy…virtually every important issue our country is grappling with today, the Republican Party that once stood for something, now refuses to engage in constructive conversation about anything, all the while, offering virtually no new policy alternatives in return.

Since President Obama took office, the Republican narrative has been to serve their party over serving the people. They have been committed to blocking progress at all costs in order to insure the failure of this President. But now is the time to give President Obama a chance to fulfill his promise of reviving the spirit of hope and possibility that has always allowed our country to dream and to make the impossible possible. The only way he will be successful is if he has a Congress that dreams with him and an American electorate that gives him the chance!

I believe that Americans truly want a government that represents the middle class and working families of this nation, not the extremely rich, the bankers, and the CEOs. We have experienced a difficult recession, but due to the President’s policies, the country has avoided a total depression. What matters as we move forward is that consumers are protected, Wall Street is regulated, children have health care, and our representatives in Washington are committed to working for the people, not the private interests. I only hope that we can all take a deep breath and show the patience that is required to give our smart, committed and hopeful young leader the time he needs and the elected allies in Congress he requires to lift us all into a new time of innovation and prosperity.

The above was posted today by a very smart woman.... Hope she doesn't want to have me killed for reposting it here....

Originally posted as http://www.barbrastreisand.com/us/statement

FORMER RNC CHAIRMAN KEN MEHLMAN GAY

2010-08-25T21:15:00.004-07:00

Another Republican comes out of the closet - surprise surprise.

Ken Mehlman, a man who formerLY held the highest (non-elected) office within the Republican party has come out as gay.

For at least four or five years of his involvement with George W. Bush and the Republican party, he was the mouthpiece for a group of rich, bigoted, white men and had to demonize and criticize his own community in order to get his boss re-elected.

I cannot imagine the self-hatred this man must have internalized - just to make a living!

To him I say congratulations for finding peace and honesty, but also shame on you for not standing up for yourself and for allowing Karl Rove and other puppet masters to pull your strings.

Interestingly enough, Bill Mahr outed him on CNN's Larry King Live back in 2006. See below:

TWINKLE TWINE (OF MY EYE)

2010-08-25T20:36:00.003-07:00

Papa Fettit taught Noelle how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or at least the first couple of notes and next thing I know she is play the entire song - much to my amazement.

Arizona immigration law: Arizona's immigration law should be overturned, says Rev. Josh Pawelek - Courant.com

2010-07-28T19:12:00.002-07:00

Arizona immigration law: Arizona's immigration law should be overturned, says Rev. Josh Pawelek - Courant.com

This article first appeared in the Hartford Courant. My response: AMEN

After praying long and hard, I have decided to go to Phoenix to add my voice to the growing chorus of protest against Arizona's tough new immigration law. Barring an injunction from the U.S. District Court, the law goes into effect next Thursday.

Dubbing this Arizona's "freedom summer," civil rights organizations and faith groups have vowed to resist the law's implementation and are calling on all those concerned about the humane treatment of immigrants to lend their voices and bodies to the struggle. The law's most controversial provision is known as Article 8 B. It requires police to make a "reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of a person if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that "the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States."

Unfortunately, Article 8.B does not define "reasonable." It is so vague that even my untrained legal eye can see that police officers, on a whim, will be able to stop, question and detain anyone they choose. This opens the floodgates for racial profiling, which has been cause for dismay among civil rights activists across the nation.

With Article 8. B at its core, Arizona's law has the strong potential to result in separation of families, unnecessary incarcerations, erroneous deportations of legal citizens and lost productivity. It has struck fear and terror into the heart of Arizona's Hispanic communities. This law is an affront to the moral sensibilities of our nation.

I am not in favor of open borders. Given the reality of drug smuggling, human trafficking and the potential movement of international terrorists, I recognize the need for tough, consistent and well-resourced border control. I also recognize that the Arizona legislature and Gov. Jan Brewer were frustrated by the lack of federal progress on immigration reform and felt compelled to act. But, in the end, the new law doesn't "get tough" on immigration.

It gets tough on people already living in the United States. That is its moral failing.

Some estimates put the number of undocumented people in the United States at 20 million. The vast majority of them have come here out of economic desperation.

There is considerable evidence that in most cases, they take jobs most citizens don't want. There is clearly a robust market for their labor, otherwise they wouldn't come. We cannot intimidate, arrest and deport our way out of this situation as if such activities can somehow contain the larger economic forces at work. Undocumented immigrants work extremely hard, for long hours, with very little recognition and few rights. Like so many previous generations of immigrants, they provide the unseen backbone of our economy. The Arizona law completely ignores this reality.

I am moved by the words of Moses who said "when an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be as a citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself." I don't turn to this scripture for legal advice, but I do seek moral inspiration from it.

Our nation needs immigration reform desperately, but let us achieve it in a manner that respects the integrity of undocumented people and honors their contributions to our society. Let us achieve it in a way that doesn't tear parents from their children in the dead of night. Let us achieve it in a way that doesn't criminalize whole communities based on skin color, language and accent. Let us achieve it in a way that doesn't return us to our white supremacist past. Let us achieve it in a way that is grounded in the same love toward the alien of which Moses spoke.

Arizona is better than its new immigration law. So is our nation. That is why, when the call went out for clergy and others to come to Phoenix, I could not refuse.

The Rev. Josh Pawelek is minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society: East in Manchester and president of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice.
Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant

THE COOLEST YOU'LL LOOK POOPING YOUR PANTS

2010-05-31T13:27:00.006-07:00

Fettit and I stopped by the Conforti-Wiley's earlier today on our way home from lunch and while there this commercial came on the television.

A toddler is all swagger and charm as he struts his chic down the sidewalk, capturing the attention of two beautiful sidewalk cafe diners and the nodding appreciation of a motor scooter rider. A slack-jawed pedophile (in a gray Pee Wee Herman suit) is so taken by the denim diaper wearing stud that he releases his balloons. (Okay, what the hell was JWT thinking - that part is beyond creepy.)

Other then that last part, I love this advertisement. It made me want to run out and buy jean diapers for my kids - then I remembered they are nearly 28 years old. They can buy their own!

My diaper is full
Full of Chic
When it's a number two
I look like number one
I poo in blue

PRAY FOR OBAMA

2010-05-18T15:35:00.004-07:00

Today I returned from work and found an email in my inbox. The subject line read "PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS." As I scrolled down the above picture was displayed and the text of the email read:

The scripture on the T-Shirt reads: Psalms 109:8 - If you look in your Bible it reads: "Let his days be few and let another take his office (or place of leadership)."

Please Black people - show them that you just don't buy and wear ANYTHING!

It was signed by Dr. Leslie Agard-Jones, Historic Paterson, NJ. This prompted me to look up the passage, as well as the supposed author (Dr. Agard-Jones), and that is what it says and Dr. Agard-Jones is the former Dean, College of Education, William Paterson University.

I initially found it a bit humorous that Dr Agard-Jones, a black man himself, addressed his statement to "black people." Perhaps he felt it necessary, but what disturbed me (yet didn't surprised me), was that a white sheet wearin red neck would be making such t-shirts. Is nothing beneath these cowardly racists. Perhaps it was the brain child of one of the neanderthal low-lifes that pass as Arizona state senators, you know, the ones that still want President Obama to hand them his birth certificate in order for him to be allowed on the ballot in 2012.

CHRISTOPHER'S FIRST HAIRCUT

2010-05-09T07:22:00.006-07:00

Yesterday my 21 month old grandson, Christopher, had his first haircut. I wasn't there but I am told he handled like a trouper.

BARBRA STREISAND - ONE NIGHT ONLY

2010-05-09T06:16:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, fours days after its release, I purchased "One Night Only Only - Barbra Streisand and Quartet at the Village Vanguard." I typically purchase her music and videos on the day they are released, but this week I procrastinated.

While Fettit was away playing his organ for the masses, I snuck off to Target and bought the DVD/CD combination, came home and cued it up for viewing later that evening, and once the sun went down, and it was apparent our Arizona Diamondbacks were going to lose against Milwaukee, I switched over to the concert.

At 67 years old, Barbra Streisand's voice is still as captivating as ever and she continues her reign as the preeminent interpreter of the great American songbook. In the case of this concert, the 123 lucky people in attendance (and now everyone else,) were able to experience her in an intimate setting, reminiscent of her beginnings in the small clubs of New York's Greenwich Village.

This private concert was to kick off the release of her last CD "Love is the Answer" - the jazz inspired work of art that surprisingly debuted at number 1 on the charts, making her the only artist to have a number one album in five decades (breaking her own record).

Barbra puts her stamp on several standards: In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, Nobody’s Heart (Belongs To Me), Make Someone Happy, My Funny Valentine
Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered, and stripped down versions of two of her most well known songs, Evergreen and The Way We Were.

One of my favorite moments in the concert came near the end, after finishing her classic "Evergreen," she leaves the stage and when she returns she realizes that she walked off a song too early. Known for her perfection to detail and production, and releasing carefully controlled product, her realization (however brief) is priceless - a brief glimpse into a human Streisand.

Sarah Jessica Parker sits at the front table with Barbra's husband, James Brolin, and is clearly mesmerised throughout. As Babs finishes her final song, "The Way We Were," she is visibly moved and is seen wiping tears from her face - a reaction I can relate to from the four times I have seen her, whether from the rafters in Detroit's Palace in 1994 or 30 feet from the stage here in Phoenix in November 2006.

Nearly 50 years after becoming an international sensation, Barbra Streisand's connection to the lyrics and emotions of a song remain unequalled. She still touches a special place in my heart and getting to experience this exclusive, unplugged performance was a pleasure to watch from beginning to end.

DOBSON'S SUCCESOR GIVES MEGA-MINISTRY NEW FOCUS

2010-04-25T09:22:00.008-07:00

I stumbled upon the following article this morning featuring Focus on the Family's new leader Jim Daly. Is there a softening of the evangelical right? Are they starting to see the light?

COLORADO SPRINGS (April 24) -- Jim Daly is certain there is "a right way and a wrong way" to live one's life, and it's all about Jesus Christ and a literal reading of the Bible. But the new leader of the evangelical ministry Focus on the Family isn't going to get in your face if you disagree.

At a time when the conservative movement is dominated by raucous tea party demonstrations for lower taxes and smaller government, Daly seems oddly disconnected. "Don't know much about it, to be honest with you," he said, even though a recent poll showed that many tea party supporters are social conservatives like himself.

Instead, he spends more time worrying about so-called "Christian militias" plotting against the government. "The 'Christian' label means a lot to me," he said. "We don't want a theocracy. We want a government informed in moral principle.”

Focus on the Family "will weigh in on the big social issues before us and provide an opinion, but in all of that I want to express respect for everyone, for all human beings," he said. "It's not about being highly confrontational. It's about results."

Daly may be getting them. On a wall in the organization's offices here is a framed editorial from The New York Times, a publication not known for its sympathy toward religious conservatives. It defends Focus on the Family's right to air a TV ad during the Super Bowl featuring Denver Broncos draft pick Tim Tebow and his mother, who ignored doctors' advice that she should abort her fifth child, the future Heisman Trophy winner himself. The Times editorial attacked "would-be censors" and called protests by abortion rights groups against the then-unseen spot "lame."

When the actual commercial turned out to be an understated, feel-good message about motherhood, in fact, it was the group's most ardent supporters on the right who had a problem. "Some on our side criticized us for being too soft," Daly said in an interview with AOL News. "CBS wasn't going to allow, you know, 'DO NOT ABORT YOUR CHILD!' It's ridiculous."

In any event, traffic to the group's website surged after the Super Bowl, and Daly cited surveys saying it prompted millions to reconsider their position on abortion. "That's a game changer," he said.

Don't Say 'Unlike Dobson'

The biggest game changer for Focus on the Family, though, was the departure of its fiery founder, James Dobson. The child psychologist-turned-radio minister started the group in 1977 to help strengthen traditional marriage and give advice on parenting. But in recent years Dobson, 74, had become more involved in politics, and before the 2008 election he gave Sarah Palin a sympathetic platform and published a letter predicting that in "Obama's America" gays would get bonuses for joining the military and pornography would be televised in prime time.

In an era of kinder, gentler evangelical leaders like Rick Warren and Timothy Keller, who appeal to a younger generation of believers, Dobson may already have been an anachronism.

"The hard-edged politics of the original Christian-right leaders is increasingly out of style, partly due to generational change, and partly because evangelicals have been involved in politics for a long time and many have adopted a more pragmatic approach," said John Green, a University of Akron political scientist who studies religion.

Daly certainly has. He joined the ministry in 1989 and ran its international division -- which broadcasts to 130 countries, including Muslim Indonesia -- before becoming president in 2005. In February, he took over the organization after Dobson left to host his own radio show. (Dobson declined to be interviewed for this article.)

Dobson's departure angered some Christian conservatives even as liberal bloggers rejoiced. But Daly, who hates when journalists describe him as "unlike Dobson," says on matters of principle there is no daylight between him and his mentor. In tone and style, though, they are like night and day.

Speaking of the heyday of the religious right in the 1980s, Daly, 48, suggested that the influence of social conservatives like Jerry Falwell and of Dobson himself may have been illusory.

"When you look back from a pro-life perspective, what were the gains there?" he asked, noting President Ronald Reagan's judicial choices. A generation later, "we see a bit of fatigue. We don't see the results for the energy, the money, everything else that's been poured into the political sphere," said Daly, who keeps a desk plate reading "Laugh" in his office overlooking Pike's Peak.

"We as a Christian community need to refocus a bit on what's important in the culture. For us, it's family. That's our mission."

'Not Fearful of Change'

Earlier this month, hundreds turned out for a community discussion on homosexuality in a strip mall movie theater-turned-church in this city known as "the Evangelical Vatican" for its dozens of Christian ministries. Among the six panel members were those comfortable with their homosexual orientation and others who were less so. One of the latter was Focus employee Jeff Johnston, who told of "my journey out of homosexuality."

Daly was out of town but taped a welcome message. "We're not always going to agree," he said on the video, but added, "I'm not here to tell you what to do."

Bill Oliver, a local gay rights activist who has protested outside the 81-acre Focus campus, said Dobson disparaged gay families, but under Daly, "the rhetoric has definitely been lowered."

One sign: the group's recent decision to stop offering "reparative therapy" for gays and lesbians. Focus officials say the transfer of its Love Won Out program to Exodus International -- which has been attacked by gay rights groups and criticized by mental health professionals -- has to do with getting back to "bread-and-butter" issues and doesn't signal a change in policy.

Yet it's clear Daly, who has met with gay activists, sees diminishing returns in continuing the culture wars.

"I'm not fearful that change will happen in America. It will happen. ... I don't know what will happen with same-sex marriage, but I'm not going to be discouraged if we lose some of those battles," he said, noting that for "98 percent" of people, traditional marriage will remain relevant.

"It's going to be difficult in this culture and the way the demographics are going right now," he went on. "You look at the under-35 age group. I think it's splitting 60-40 support for same-sex marriage. There's a lot of people in the U.S. [who] basically come to the conclusion that this is something between two adults. I will continue to defend traditional marriage, but I'm not going to demean human beings for the process."

As with the Tebow ad, the new approach hasn't always pleased the Focus faithful. Daly sparked an uproar last year after he attended a White House conference on fatherhood and said the president was a good role model for African-American men.

"It caught me by surprise," Daly said of the criticism from conservatives. Like them, Daly finds little political common ground with Barack Obama, but, considering the president is married to his "first wife" and is raising his own biological children, "does anybody doubt that if we had more families like that in America, we wouldn't be better off?" he asked.

Daly told Obama that both know what it's like not to have a father around. In his autobiography, "Finding Home," Daly writes of being abandoned by his alcoholic father, then orphaned at 9 when his mother died and sent to a nightmarish foster home before finding God in high school.

That dysfunctional childhood, in fact, informs Daly's priorities at Focus: Since he took over, Focus has started a program to reduce the number of legal orphans in foster care by recruiting families to adopt hard-to-place children. Wait No More is in five states and has already halved the number of children in foster care in Colorado. The Denver Post called it "a perfect example of how faith-based organizations can partner with government to best utilize the strengths of both."

Faithful to Its Mission

Amid the recent economic decline and falling donations, Focus on the Family has had to scale its ambitions back a bit. The organization's budget has fallen from $151 million in 2008 to $136 million this year. In 2004, there were 1,400 employees; today, there are 830 (many of them working in modern buildings incongruously adorned with seven miles of oak trim donated by a wealthy supporter).

But the group hasn't abandoned its more traditional activities. For instance, it still buys ultrasound machines for pregnancy centers, boasting that has "saved" 80,000 babies whose mothers had considered abortion. And it still rates popular entertainment for its suitability for Christian families -- Daly recently devoted his radio show to an interview with the executive producer of a wholesome made-for-TV movie sponsored by Wal-Mart.

Indeed, despite media stories emphasizing the differences between Dobson's Focus and Daly's, much remains the same. The campus bookstore sells such titles as "The Feminist Mistake: The Radical Impact of Feminism on Church and Culture" and "What Darwin Didn't Know: A Doctor Dissects the Theory of Evolution." And the latest print edition of the group's Citizen magazine features articles on the "unprecedented wave of anti-life legislation and executive orders" under Obama and, under the headline "What We're Really After Is Cultural Change," how state-level activists can get like-minded candidates elected to public office.

Tom Minnery edits the magazine, and as head of government and public policy for Focus, he lobbies against same-sex marriage and abortion rights. He notes that just 45 Focus employees are involved in policy issues, even if they do get most of the media attention.

That doesn't include the Family Research Council, a separate but closely aligned advocacy group Dobson helped found. Earlier this month, it was almost alone in speaking out against a White House order extending hospital visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians.

Daly may be dialing back his public image, but Minnery's shop is more active than ever. Last year, Focus opened its first Washington office. In February, the group took part for the first time in the annual meeting of CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. Minnery said the group's lobbying arm, which may soon change its name from Focus Action to something less identified with Dobson, plans to speak out soon on immigration. He called current laws "terribly wrong" because they often lead to family separations.

"Whether we're big players or small players or quiet players," Minnery said, "we'll keep playing."

Jesus First, Policy Second

Yet it's clear his boss may be playing by new rules.

"Policy is important, but Jesus is more important," Daly has said. Which may explain his hesitancy to talk about one of the biggest policy issues of the day.

"Now you're going to get me in hot water," he said when asked his views about health care reform. No, he didn't like the language about abortion and would have preferred a go-slow approach. Mandating health insurance "doesn't come out of our free will," he noted. "Tax collection is not an act of love."

But he also noted that early Christians opened the first hospitals and hospices and that after "gladly" ceding responsibility to the government during the 1960s Great Society era, the church was "muddled" on its role.

"Many people would put their hand up, Christians, and say, 'Well, that's something the church should do.' But the church has failed to step up. That's a big task, to try to insure 30 million people. I don't know that anybody but the government could do something for those people," he said. "As we've focused a lot more on the political issues and trying to defend those things we believe in that arena, I'm concerned we may be forgetting the social issues that we need to be engaged in."

The above article is from AOLNews' Senior Washington Editor Andrea Stone.

HAPPY 68TH BIRTHDAY BARBRA

2010-04-24T06:23:00.002-07:00

FIRST THEY CAME

2010-04-23T16:36:00.003-07:00

In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

By Pastor Martin Niemöller

BOYCOTT ARIZONA NOW

BOYCOTT ARIZONA NOW

2010-04-23T16:01:00.005-07:00

Today Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed the Republican legislature backed Senate Bill 1070 which makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It requires local law enforcement to determine an individuals immigration status if an officer suspects that person is in the country illegally. In other words, they have just passed a law to that allows racial profiling.

Playing to the fears of many, Brewer stated, "I've decided to sign Senate Bill 1070 into law because, though many people disagree, I firmly believe it represents what's best for Arizona. Border-related violence and crime due to illegal immigration are critically important issues to the people of our state, to my Administration and to me, as your Governor and as a citizen."

The police of this state have more important things to do then check the immigration papers of every dark skinned person they encounter.

How many more legal, brown skinned U.S. citizens will be unnecessarily stopped and harassed - simply because of the color of their skin, and how will they prove their legal right to be here? I have not been issued my United States ID card.

Today I am ashamed to say I am an Arizonan and believe it is time to call for a boycott of my state. Spend your money in New Mexico or California. Do not support this racist state!

BOYCOTT ARIZONA NOW

SNACK FOOD PERSONALITY TEST

2010-04-10T09:34:00.003-07:00

Along with the horoscope, four temperaments, personality types and psychological tests, those who seek the gnosis of the world can take a very simple test that will reveal secret knowledge about their personalities. This is a very brief, simple test that does not require psychological interpretation. As soon as you take the test, you can turn to the profiles and find out the essence of your personality. Furthermore, you can keep an eye on which snacks your friends choose and thereby have secret knowledge about them, which will naturally help you socialize more effectively.

Furthermore, this test might save Christians lots of time and money, because it may be about as reliable and valid as most other personality tests that mission agencies and other Christian organizations use in evaluating candidates. In fact, this test was administered to 800 volunteers along with other personality tests and the results were comparable.

The only prerequisite for the test is that you must answer the question as if you are not on a diet and as if all the choices are equally beneficial to your body. Now, just pick your favorite snack from the following list:

(1) Potato chips
(2) Tortilla chips
(3) Snack crackers
(4) Pretzels
(5) Cheese curls
(6) Meat snacks

Discover your own Snack Food Personality Profile.

According to Alan Hirsch, MD, a researcher at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, the following are snack food personality profiles:

(1) Potato chips: "Potato chip lovers are successful, high achievers who enjoy the rewards and trimmings of their success—both in business and in family life."

(2) Tortilla chips: "Perfectionists in regards to their own actions and to the community at large, people who crave tortilla chips are humanitarians who are often distressed by the inequities and injustices of society."

(3) Snack crackers: "Contemplative and thoughtful, people who prefer snack crackers base their decisions on logic rather than emotions."

(4) Pretzels: "Lively and energetic, pretzel fans seek novelty and thrive in the world of abstract concepts. They often lose interest in mundane, day-to-day routines."

(5) Cheese curls: "Formal, conscientious and always proper, the cheese curl lover can be described with one word—integrity. They will always maintain moral high ground with their family, work and romantic partners."

(6) Meat snacks: "Gregarious and social, those who reach for a savory bag of pork rinds or crave beef jerky and other meat snacks are often the life of the party. They are loyal and true friends who can always be trusted."

Wow! Did you notice that with this test everyone is a winner? That’s because the research for this personality test was "conducted on behalf of the Snack Food Association and the National Potato Promotion Board." To learn about some of the negative aspects of these personality profiles, just take some of the key words of each profile and compare them with some of the more detailed lists given with other descriptions of personality types, such as the four temperaments, the DISC, or the MBTI.

The question remains, however, as to whether "You are what you eat" or "You eat what you are." Can a person change personality types by choosing the snack with the most appealing personality? If this all sounds like nonsense, you are getting the point. However, we must end this nonsense with one more typology: there are two types of people: those who believe this nonsense and those who don’t.

I am a tortilla chip person (for those who wondered).

ONE NIGHT ONLY - BARBRA STREISAND AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD

2010-04-09T16:30:00.002-07:00

Below is a preview of Barbra Streisand's September 26, 2009 performance at the Village Vanguard - out on DVD May 4th.

MYTH OF THE 'GAY LIFESTYLE' JUSTIFIES BIAS

2010-04-06T09:02:00.003-07:00

I read the following article on CNN this morning and found I had to post it (as I agree completely). I only took offense to his preferring Madonna to Streisand - but he is like many of my friends.....

(CNN) -- On most mornings, my better half wakes up around 5:30, throws on some sweats and heads to the gym before work.

About a half hour later, I wake up my 13-year-old son, go downstairs to the kitchen to make his breakfast and pack his lunch. Once he's out the door, I brew some coffee and get to work.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the "gay lifestyle" -- run for your heterosexual lives.

I understand opponents of gay rights must highlight differences in order to maintain the "us against them" tension that's paramount to their arguments. But this notion that sexual orientation comes with a different and pre-ordained way of life -- as if we're all ordering the No. 3 at a drive thru -- only highlights how irrational groups such as Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and others like them are in this whole debate.

Pro-marriage organizations try to stop two consenting adults from marrying. Pro-family groups try to stop stable couples wanting children from adopting unloved orphans.

And somehow, me doing something like going to the grocery store threatens the very fabric of society, as Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern spewed. She says "the homosexual agenda is destroying this nation" and "homosexuality is more of a threat than terrorism." I'm not sure what her idea of a gay lifestyle might be, but with a growing teenager, buying and cooking food dominates my day-to-day.

I don't worship Barbra Streisand, I don't watch any TV show with the word "Housewives" in its title and I love fishing, beer and Madonna. But more importantly, I'm just a father trying to keep my son away from drugs, get him into college and have a little money left over for retirement. I'm no sociologist but I'm pretty sure those concerns are not exclusive to gay people.

In one of the most pivotal scenes in the biopic "Milk," Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn, gathers a group of community organizers and activists to come up with strategies to combat a 1978 ballot initiative that sought to ban LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) teachers and their supporters from working in public schools in California. As the small crowd settles down, Milk quickly glances around the room and says ..

"If we're going to convince the 90 percent to give a ---- about us 10 percent, we have to let them know who we are ..."

"What" we are -- be it gay, straight, black, white -- is simply window dressing. "Who" we are is where the substance is, where the person is, where our humanity is.

Too often, discussions about gay people and gay rights focus on sex, as if a person's entire being is defined by his or her Hollywood crush.

This fixation has been the crux behind attempts to link gay men to pedophilia -- from John Briggs, a state legislator from Orange County who introduced the proposed ban on gay teachers in California, to the Catholic League's Bill Donohue, whose recent attempts to excuse the church for its global scandal coverup by seemingly blaming homosexuality, is evil incarnate.

"The vast majority of the victims are post-pubescent," Donohue recently said on "Larry King Live." "That's not pedophilia, buddy. That's homosexuality."

Actually, Bill, sexual predators whose victims are 13- to 17-years-old are called hebephiles -- a la Joey Buttafuoco, Madeleine Martin and Heather Kennedy -- not homosexuals. And that still doesn't explain why the church opted to save face as opposed to, in the words of the infamous anti-gay figurehead Anita Bryant, "Save our children."

Being gay doesn't dictate how people live their lives any more than being straight does. There are gay people who go to church every Sunday and straight people who do not believe in God. There are single gay men who believe in the sanctity of marriage and married straight men who apparently do not -- such as Gov. Mark Sanford, ex-Sen. John Edwards and Sen. John Ensign, to name a few.

The truth is the only thing all gay people have in common -- you know, besides being gay -- is that we face continuous rhetorical, social and legal attacks for simply existing, thus potentially making something as mundane as bringing a date to a work function a fight-or-flee situation.

And yet, even in the face of that discrimination, LGBT people all handle it differently.
Some of us live in the closet, some of us do drag every Wednesday night, some of us are Republicans hoping to be change agents within a conservative sect and some of us are apathetic Democrats too dumb to carry on a conversation about anything other than Lady Gaga.

In other words, we're just as diverse, intolerant, upstanding and tragic as our straight counterparts and unless there is an annual meeting I don't know about, the only item on the much talked-about gay agenda is an abbreviated passage from the Declaration of Independence -- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

In 29 states, people can be fired simply for being gay regardless of their education, experience or job performance; servicemen and women can be dismissed from the military regardless of their qualifications, dedication and courage; and partners are unable to see their better halves in the hospital regardless of the love, commitment and life they share.
Wanting to be judged by the content of one's character isn't a special right, it's a constitutional one guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments.

And yet, 145 years since the abolition of slavery, 90 years since women were allowed to vote and 20 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act, we're still involved in McCarthy-like investigations, holding Briggs-like elections and taking opinion polls based solely upon "what" someone is as opposed to "who" they are.

It's sad. We're such a great nation, still full of great hope and promise and yet we keep being tripped up by ignorance, which leads to fear and then eventually hate. Being gay isn't a choice, but being a bigot certainly is.

Editor's note: LZ Granderson is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and has contributed to ESPN's Sports Center, Outside the Lines and First Take. He is a 2010 nominee and the 2009 winner of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) award for online journalism as well as the 2008 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) winner for column writing.

EASTER 2010

2010-04-04T21:51:00.004-07:00

For the past three weeks Fettit has taken the time to grow real grass in Noelle and Christopher's Easter baskets. Last year he wanted to do this for the kids but time slipped through his fingers and before he knew it, it was too late; however, this year he has gone out and tended to their Easter baskets like a mother hen to an un-hatched egg.

After 26 years, few things Fettit does surprise me, but occasionaly (actually rarely) his love for the traditional, in this case our grandchildren's Easter baskets, stuns me!

REPUBLICANS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY

2010-04-04T06:43:00.002-07:00

The following article appeared on "The Huffington Post" this past week:

Last week, the Republicans took a big gamble and lost by lining up on the wrong side of history with their battle against health care reform. After the bill passed in Congress, all we heard from Republicans on the 24 hour news channels was, how can Congress pass a bill without even one Republican vote? The answer is...the same way President Clinton passed his Budget Reconciliation Act in 1993. He had to rely solely on Democrats to win passage after not one Republican voted for either his stimulus plan or his budget. Clinton's economic initiatives ultimately brought us the greatest period of prosperity for our country in modern times by creating 23 million new jobs and projecting a federal budget surplus for the first time since 1969.

Conversely, during the time when Republicans held control of the House, Senate and Presidency, they used their power to pass economic policies that led to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. Despite this fact, Republicans continue to revise history, accuse Democrats of fiscal irresponsibility and vote in lockstep against President Obama's most important policy initiatives, in their effort to have him fail.

Just this last week, the Senate Banking Committee moved to approve financial reform legislation. Not surprisingly, the panel passed the overhaul bill on a 13-10 vote, without support from one member of the Republican Party. Given that the world economy nearly caved to its knees under Republican stewardship and millions of Americans are still suffering, one would think that at least on this issue, partisanship would not trump good policy.

Health care reform, financial regulation, the economic stimulus, energy policy....the GOP has continually stonewalled legislation to move our country forward. The only victory the GOP can claim after the successful passage of health care legislation is that they stuck together in solidarity to do nothing. The GOP's obsession with seeing the President fail and their refusal to work with the Democrats to better the lives of the American people will come back to haunt them.

The American people are starting to resent the "politics of no" and the Republicans are quickly devolving into the "party of no tolerance." Recently, leading intellectual and former Bush White House aide, David Frum, was fired from his fellowship at the conservative-leaning think tank, American Enterprise Institute, after he was critical of the Republican strategy against President Obama's health-care overhaul. Bruce Bartlett, who was also fired by a right wing think tank in 2005 for writing a book critical of George W. Bush's policies, commented that "rigid conformity is being enforced, no dissent is allowed."

Republicans need to understand that elections matter -- even when they don't win them. America voted overwhelming for Barack Obama because they wanted big change, and now they are getting it. The President deserves a chance to realize his agenda, and I hope that by the November mid-term election, Americans will see that Democrats are the only ones working to put forth policy initiatives to move our country forward.

Author: Barbra Streisand

RECESS APPOINTMENTS - BUSINESS AS USUAL

2010-03-28T05:24:00.006-07:00

Before the crazy Republicans and "Tea-baggers" start donning their white sheets, throwing bricks, spitting on black folks, and lighting the White House on fire over yesterday’s announcement of the 15 “recess appointments” made by President Barack Obama, I feel compelled to point out a few things.

The first being that President Obama did not invent "recess appointments." The authority to do so comes directly from the U.S. Constitution. Secondly, this power has been used by every president since George Washington, and lastly, those arguing against President Obama's recent use of this constitutional power are hypocrites and only doing so keep the noise level elevated to incite the right wing nut jobs and hate-filled talking heads (Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck etc., etc).

Recess appointments are authorized by Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution: "The President shall have Power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."

George Washington was the first president to use recess appointment when he seated John Rutledge as the Chief Justice of the United States.

The most recent, and controversial recess appoint, was that of John Bolton as US representative to the United Nation. George W. Bush exercised his constitutional power when Bolton’s appointment was stalled in the Senate.

Recess appointments are rather common and during the past four presidencies have been used over 600 times: George W. Bush 171 times, Bill Clinton 139, George Bush 77 and Ronald Reagan 243.

As usual the Republicans are trying to use these appointments as another form of Obama’s bullying, but as long as it suits them, and it is a president from their party, it is business as usual.

Nico Pitney points out this hypocrisy today in "The Huffington Post:

Obama's Recess Appointments: GOPers Raging Now, Welcomed Process Under Bush

President Obama's decision to bypass the vacationing Senate and directly appoint 15 nominees has produced some expected cries of outrage from Republicans.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) pronounced himself "very disappointed" with the move, charging that it showed "once again" that the Obama administration has "little respect for the time honored constitutional roles and procedures of Congress." The president's team had "forced their will on the American people," McCain fumed in a written statement.
Were these the words of a principled opponent of presidential recess appointments, or of a politician in a tough primary jumping at an opportunity to bash President Obama?
Well, here's how McCain reacted in 2005 when President Bush was considering a recess appointment for John Bolton, the controversial nominee to be United Nations ambassador: "I would support it. It's the president's prerogative."
Indeed, just a few years earlier, McCain had succeeded in a one-man crusade to persuade President Bush to install a favored nominee using a recess appointment. Here's how UPI described it in 2002:
Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain prevailed in his fight with the White House to have Ellen Weintraub, a former Capitol Hill attorney, named to a Democratic seat on the Federal Election Commission as a recess appointment. McCain must now be overjoyed that her colleagues have elected her chairman of the commission for the coming year. In her new role, Weintraub, the wife of Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold's legislative director, will have a lot to say about how the regulations governing the McCain-Feingold campaign legislation will be written an implemented.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell also joined in the protests of Obama's recess appointments on Saturday, calling them "stunning" and "yet another episode of choosing a partisan path despite bipartisan opposition."
But back in 2005, under President Bush, McConnell spoke what is probably far closer to the truth. When asked by a Fox News host if a recess appointment of Bolton would make the atmosphere in the Senate more poisonous, McConnell replied "no" and pointed out, "typically senators who are not of the party of the president don't like recess appointments."
There is a key difference, however, between 2005 and 2010: the amount of Senate obstruction. As White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki noted today:

[A]t this time in 2002, President Bush had only 5 nominees pending on the floor. By contrast, President Obama has 77 nominees currently pending on the floor, 58 of whom have been waiting for over two weeks and 44 of those have been waiting more than a month. And cloture has been filed 16 times on Obama nominees, nine of whom were subsequently confirmed with 60 or more votes or by voice vote. Cloture was not filed on a single Bush nominee in his first year. And despite facing significantly less opposition, President Bush had already made 10 recess appointments by this point in his presidency and he made another five over the spring recess.

Sen. Harry Reid echoed this sentiment in a statement: "Nominees under President Obama have fared worse than others in recent memory. Regrettably, Senate Republicans have dedicated themselves to a failed strategy to cripple President Obama's economic initiatives by stalling key Administration nominees at every turn. With the recess appointments of these highly-qualified individuals, President Obama has shown that he is serious about getting the right team in place to create jobs and protect the American workforce, and I support his decision."

KARL F. WILLI - MAY 7, 1936 - FEBRUARY 8, 2010

2010-02-09T09:33:00.001-07:00

THE NEW IPAD FROM APPLE

2010-02-06T07:59:00.002-07:00

Long before Apple unvieled it's IPad, Mad TV introduced the country to the idea.

PINK WOWS FROM HIGH ABOVE

2010-02-02T05:37:00.004-07:00

Pink wowed Grammy watchers from the Staples Center this past Sunday night with the above performance.

Drenched in water and spinning high above the Grammy crowd, she sang the song "Glitter in the Air" from her five time platinum CD "Funhouse."

Simply spectacular!!!

Another reason I appreciated her performance is that she was not lip-syncing as so many other talentless performers do. As many of you know, this is one of my biggest pet peeves.

Striking a blow against the pretenders, after her performance Pink joked, "I would say that no one ever has another excuse to lip sync."

A FAMILY IS A FAMILY IS A FAMILY

2010-01-31T22:36:00.016-07:00

My son got married last night at The Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale - one of the top rated resorts in the world. It was an intimate and beautiful outdoor ceremony at sunset followed by a lovely reception.

In addition to being the union of two individuals and families, it served as a reunion and possible detente and reunification.

It may not be perfect and the situation may be unorthodox and confusing, but it's my family and last night I was especially happy and proud to be a part of it and them!

Below are some rather surprising photos from last night...

INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

2010-01-27T05:41:00.006-07:00

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Sixty-five years ago today the 7,000 or so prisoners not well enough to join the "Death Marches" were freed from Auschwitz, the Nazi Death Camp located in Poland, by the Russian "red" Army.

THE NEW TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO

2010-01-20T13:32:00.003-07:00

Gotta love David Letterman!!!

Is anyone rooting for Jay Leno in this mess he and NBC created, and put upon Conan? I have not heard one person come to Jay's defense. Why is that? Is it because he is a putz and has been been funny?

This is also the third time I have heard different celebrities speak of Jay's stealing from other comedians - specifically Howard Stern.

This is funny!

CHRISTNE EBERSOLE NAMED BEST MUSICAL ACTRESS OF THE DECADE

2010-01-12T21:07:00.006-07:00

This morning I was perusing the internet and found an article on Theatermania.com written by Peter Filichia rating several "best" theater categories of the past decade and he named a personal favorite of mine, Christine Ebersole, as Best Musical Actress of the past decade.

You can read the full article here:(http://www.theatermania.com/peterfilichia/index.cfm?mode=viewentry&id=E5DAD578-2219-54E7-B9D9D1D1DAFE44C2)

I was first introduced to Christine years ago when she was on the Rosie O'Donnell show. I loved he humor, wit, heart, and pure and beautiful voice, and I have plans to see her, along with my friend Ray, when she visits the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on February 26th. I have been excited!

Several years ago when Christine was playing both Big and Little Edie Beale on Broadway in "Grey Gardens" I had tickets to see her (and the show). Unfortunately, she decided to take a few days off, including my performance, and although I was disappointed, I was able to return my tickets because her name was above the title (a little known rule).

This morning, after reading Peter Felichia's article I wrote to Rosie letting her know of Christine's new accomplishment and for the first time since early August, she answered me.

Hell, I thought Ro had blocked me or something as it has been so long she she has answered one of my questions. The last time was early August - just before I was kicked out of her Atlantic City concert.

Now I have to work on finagling backstage passes to meet Christine after her performance.... hmmmmm!

Congratulations Christine!!

(Oh.. and I apologize for not being around lately. I have written a few articles over the past few weeks, but afterwards haven't felt they were good enough to post.)

SILENT NIGHT

2009-12-22T06:47:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite Christmas song, sung by my favorite singer, set to pictures of my favorite people.

CHRISTMAS EVE - 1963

2009-12-22T06:15:00.004-07:00

The video below is from Christmas Eve 1963 at 2288 Beckley Rd. My God, that is 46 years ago and I was 2 1/2.

Each year Grandpa Willi would disappear to go feed the horses - always just missing Santa Claus.

I have noticed in most of the movies I had recently watched, the evening always ends with me doing the twist.

THE GOLDEN GLOBES GIVE IT UP FOR GLEE

2009-12-15T22:26:00.006-07:00

What do you get when you cross clever dialogue (everything out Jane Lynch's- Sue Sylvester's - mouth), crazy situations (Will's wife's fake pregnancy), great vocals (Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele) and some of the best songs of the past 40 years - Don't Rain on My Parade)?

The answer is : GLEE!!!!

And today they were all nominated for the Golden Globes... Best Comedy, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress....

Congratulations and I cannot wait for your return in APRIL.........

SCHWETTY BALLS

2009-12-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

Since I first posted this two years ago the clip has been removed from Blip.TV and Youtube. It is now only hosted at Hulu.

This is my favorite SNL skit and it is so appropriate since it is the holiday season and all.

MANY AMERICANS TOO FAT TO COMMIT SUICIDE

2009-12-05T18:00:00.005-07:00

LOS ANGELES—A report published Monday in The New England Journal of Medicine warns that the nation's obesity epidemic has reached a new level of crisis, with many overweight Americans' increased girth rendering them physically unable to end their own, fat lives.

"We've known for some time that obesity can cause heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and other potentially life-threatening illnesses," said report author Dr. Marjorie Reese, director of UCLA's Obesity Pathology Clinic. "But the fact that obesity impedes suicide is truly troubling. It appears that the more reason people have to die, the less capable they are of doing so. They are literally trapped in their grotesque, blubbery bodies."

Of the one-third of Americans classified as obese, the report estimated 29 percent are too heavy, immobile, or both for suicide to be a viable option. This figure is up from 18 percent in 1996.

A full 70 pages of the report focus on suicide methods that are taken for granted by persons of normal weight but often present insurmountable challenges to their corpulent counter- parts.

For example, hanging oneself is most often out of the question. The report notes that a disturbing percentage of the obese are too large to ascend a footstool, too inflexible to kick it out from under them, and even if they could, are too heavy to remain atop it long enough to put their giant, flabby necks through a noose before the footstool shatters into splinters under their massive girth. Plus, as Reese writes, "even if all other variables were eliminated, the weight of these enormous individuals would probably break any indoor light fixtures or attic roof supports to which they might tie a rope."

Overdosing on narcotics is also impossible, according to Reese.

"Body fat absorbs toxins, so fat people simply cannot ingest enough bottles of sleeping pills to have any effect, much less stop their hearts," Reese said. "And slitting one's wrists in the bathtub is not an option if you can't find a butcher knife thick enough to reach the arteries under your rolls of wrist flab, or can't fit into the bathtub in the first place. All the self-loathing in the world is not going to help the obese get their meaty index fingers through the trigger guard, nor give them the flexibility to raise the pistol to their head. It's heartbreaking."

The report included detailed illustrations of extremely overweight people unable to bend over far enough to fit their heads into ovens, bobbing like corks while attempting to drown themselves, and becoming too winded scaling stairs to reach heights from which they could hurl their enormous bulk with fatal results. Another researcher at the Obesity Pathology Clinic has developed a computer model which demonstrates that even if the obese were able to jump off a skyscraper, their bodies would be "more likely to bounce than splat."

Yet health experts say that there is hope for these hulking individuals.

"The fat need to improve their eating habits and commit to a modest exercise regimen, even if it starts with just walking from room to room inside their houses," said Dianne Evans, a specialist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health. "If they keep that up for six to 12 months, most of these people could lose enough weight to be able to kill themselves with relative ease."

But Evans warned that losing too much weight too fast could have serious repercussions.

"What you want to avoid is a situation where someone comes down from 320 pounds to 240 in the span of a single year, and suddenly does not have the suicidal urges they once did," said Evans, who explained that the "sweet spot" of self-hatred and physical suicidal ability is extremely small. "If they mistake their all-but-meaningless improvement for a legitimate reason to live, their fat, revolting lives may be prolonged indefinitely.

The above is courtsey of The Onion News Network.....

BOLOGNESE RAGU ALA FETTIT

2009-12-03T19:25:00.006-07:00

When I arrived home tonight, fresh vegetables were sauteing and Fettit was elbow deep in ground turkey, sausage, beef and chicken livers. Why you ask?

He was making Bolognese Ragu.

Fettit was trying to recreate the meal we had last night at Giuseppe's on 28th, a non-descript, tiny restaurant in a strip mall not far from the house. You wouldn't even give the place a second glance if it wasn't for the three by ten foot banner that hangs in front of the place like a beacon that states "AS SEEN ON FOOD NETWORK'S DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES."

In the end he was successful. His Bolognese Ragu was every bit as good as Richard Bock's, the owner of Giuseppe's on 28th - only with more meat.

ALL THESE BOOKS ARE CONFUSING ME

2009-12-01T21:20:00.005-07:00

I just finished updating the "Books I am Reading" and I realized that I am in the middle of five very different books. Oh wait, it is actually only four:

Four weeks ago, or so, I was at Sam's Club and I picked up South of Broad by Pat Conroy. I hadn't been reading for several months and I found I couldn't put the book down and once I was completed I decided I needed something to replace it with so I got Rainwater by Sandra Brown.

I was enjoying it but one a trip to the store I saw Why We Suck by Dennis Leary and Knock Out (Curing Cancer) by Suzanne Somers. I purchased both of them and started reading both, even though I wasn't finished with Rainwater.

Last week while listening to Rosie O'Donnell on her new Sirius/XM radio show "Rosie Radio," she mentioned The Velvet Rage (Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World) by Alan Downs so I immediately went to Amazon.com and found the book, in hard cover, for only $4.99. I placed an order and it arrived yesterday. I am now about 1/6th of the way through it.

In a single day I will pick up each of them at various times through the day and read a few pages. By the time I fall asleep each night I am confused as hell.

I now think that gays are curing cancer and Suzanne Somers is funny as hell in a straight man's world.

Add to the mix Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Fortunately it sits on my bed stand and I haven't confused myself further - I have not even cracked the binding.

STILL GAGA FOR THE LADY - AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS 2009

2009-11-22T22:21:00.007-07:00

I started to rate the individual performances from tonight's American Music Awards show on ABC, but found I was too tired, uninspired and unentertained to do so.

Instead I want to point out that I enjoyed the showmanship of the Adam Lambert finale and unlike all the nay sayers I have read on the internet in the past hour, I do not believe his career is over before it started.

Although I am not a fan of screamers, the boy is talented and self-possessed and I am fan just for those reasons and I hope he stays true to himself and his instincts.

My favorite performance of the evening belongs to my new favorite performer Lady Gaga.

A complete original, Lady Gaga blended song and dramatics for a performance that was theatrical, artistic, and entertaining unlike the those the lip syncers (Janet and J Lo). Did anyone see J-Ho fall on her overrated behind?

Below is Lady Gaga's performance at the show.

I just found Adam Lambert's adult rated performance and like the Lady Gaga video, the quality is crap, but it will give you an idea.

The FETTIT'S 5TH ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY - 2009

2009-11-14T15:07:00.005-07:00

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this video posted but my computer has been in the shop for repair since October 20th and I just got it back last night.

On October 24th, 2009 we held our 5th Annual Halloween Party and it was a huge success - every year it seems to get bigger and better and this year my estimate is about 130 people joined us throughout the evening.

The ISM and Brad brought 12 or so highly energetic ladies from the Great Lakes State, and they were joined by Fettit's sisters - Cny-dy and Mar-y from Michigan, and Donna Jean from Salt Lake City.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did and I am already starting to plan the next event - the 2nd annual Ghetto and Gowns Gala which coincides with Academy Awards telecast being held March 7th, 2010.

I would like to the thank the extra efforts of the Motown Librarians (that includes you too DJ), my son-in-law Jon and daughter Michelle, and the Conforti-Willey's, for all the help and effort they put forth to ensure the party was a huge success.

I am very appreciative of the friends who make it a point to be here each year, even if it is the one time of year we have a chance to get together, and this year we were joined by several new additions (you know who you are) who fit in so well and kept me laughing throughout the evening. Thanks again everyone for making the party such a success.

For those who forgot to sign the guest book and would like an invite next year, please shoot me an email - Gpawilli@aol.com.

Enjoy the video.

BREAKING NEWS - BOY SWIMS WITH T-SHIRT ON

2009-11-13T10:41:00.004-07:00

Sometimes I feel I have to educate the world on new and exciting breakthroughs. I guess that is the role I am meant to play since certain subjects and topics are not covered by the "elite" mainstream media.

I found this ground-breaking clip when I discovered the previous one - "De-fagging Your Effeminate Son" and knew I had to post it.

Fat Kid Successfully Avoids Ridicule By Swimming With Shirt On

DE-FAGGING YOUR EFFEMINATE SON FOR HALLOWEEN

2009-11-07T10:00:00.004-07:00

Unfortunately, I found this informative news clip a a tad late, but perhaps you can keep these costumes in mind for next year when your little sissy son wants to dress up like Cher for Halloween.

This is a very helpful segment and I only wish my parents had made me dress up as a fierce soldier with my hands wrapped around a big gun.

How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son

My Halloween video coming as soon as my computer returns from the shop............

LAPTOP STILL IN THE SHOP

2009-11-01T23:55:00.001-07:00

I will update the site as soon as I get my laptop back from the shop.

The Halloween Party was a major success and I have tons of photos and will be making the annual video...again... when my computer is returned.

HALLOWEEN PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT

2009-10-23T21:03:00.004-07:00

My feet are killing me, my nerves are frazzled and there is still more to do.

Tomorrow is our annual Halloween Party and for the past four days I have done nothing but eat, drink and sleep party preparation. These things to not plan themselves and the menu does not appear from thin air.

I am one of those that does not want to go to Costco or Sam's and buy everything pre-made so today I spent the day making 100 or so jello shots, surprisingly around the same number of spinach balls (a new find suggested by my mother), a vat of my crab dip (which I love and goes over big every time), and a few dozen mini puff pastry quiches (from scratch).

Tomorrow is more mini quiches, meatballs, queso dip and God knows what else, and the Conforti-Wileys will be slaving over a hot stove (and grill) making several dozen hot wings.

The menu includes even more then the items I mentioned and it is all inventoried on a legal pad that I have written, crossed out and re-written several times. I feel like Santa Claus, in more ways then one.

There is still a ton of work to be done on the back patio and new bar area but fortunately we have three out of town elves (Fettit's sisters) who have been incredibly helpful while Fettit spends countless days fretting over baseboards that looked fine, and reseeding and planting the front yard that no one will see in the dark.

Our priorities never align when it comes to parties - especially ones of this size, but I am calling it quits tomorrow at 5 pm to start my annual transformation.

In addition to Fettit's three sisters, his niece arrived today, and the ISM has flown into town from Michigan with a crew of 15 or so costumed crazies - several of whom were here last year as well.

Below is the video of last year's party which included close to 100 throughout the evening. Although I do not have an estimate for this year I do not think it would be a stretch to say we will see at least 130 costumed freaks.

Enjoy last year's video and start looking for the new one in the next few days.

WEEK ENDING OCT 4, 2009: A DEBUT LIKE BUTTAH!

2009-10-07T13:15:00.003-07:00

The following was posted October 7th, 2009 by Paul Frein in Chart Watch:

Barbra Streisand's Love Is The Answer enters The Billboard 200 at #1, edging out Paramore's Brand New Eyes, which bows at #2. The two albums were separated by fewer than 5,000 copies, which means that Streisand's uncharacteristic promotional hustle probably made the difference. She appeared on Oprah, CBS's Sunday Morning and NBC's Today. This was the closest race for #1 by two debuting albums since April, when Keith Urban's Defying Gravity beat out Prince/Bria Valente's Lotus Flow3r/MPLSoUND/Elix3r by a little more than 3,000 units.

By hitting #1, Streisand sets all kinds of records. The diva has had at least one #1 album in each of the last five decades. No other individual artist equals this feat, though John Lennon and Paul McCartney manage it if you combine albums by The Beatles with their individual work. (The Beatles didn't have a #1 album in the ‘80s, but Lennon and McCartney did on their own.)

Streisand, who is 67 and six months, is the second oldest artist ever to have a #1 album on The Billboard 200. Bob Dylan scored in May, a week before he turned 68, with Together Through Life. Streisand's one-time duet partner Neil Diamond is the third-oldest artist to land a #1 album. He was 67 and four months in May 2008 when he scored with Home Before Dark.

Love Is The Answer is Streisand's ninth #1 album, a total equaled by only five other artists in chart history. The Beatles lead the pack with 19 #1 albums, followed by Jay-Z with 11, Elvis Presley with 10, and The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen, who also have nine.

Streisand scored her first #1 album, People, in October 1964. This gives her a nearly 45 year span of #1 albums. Only one artist in chart history, Elvis Presley, has had a longer span of #1 albums. The King first topped the chart with Elvis Presley in May 1956 and scored most recently in October 2002 with Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits, giving him a span of nearly 46 years and six months.

Shameless Plug: On Friday, I'll have a Chart Watch Extra in which I count down all acts whose #1 albums span 20 years or more. I've given you the top two, but who are the other acts who made the list? Check back Friday and see.

While the overall race between Streisand and Paramore was close, it was a runaway in the digital realm, with Paramore on top. Brand New Eyes sold nearly 73,000 digital copies (out of a total of 175,000), which made it the week's #1 Digital Album. Love Is The Answer sold a mere 8,000 digital copies (out of 180,000). Streisand's fans are old-school and want to have it and hold it, thank you very much.

Brand New Eyes is Paramore's biggest hit to date. The group's last album, RIOT!, debuted at #20 in June 2007 and later peaked at #15. The album spawned the top 40 hit "Misery Business." Paramore is fronted by 20-year old Hayley Williams. (As it happens, Streisand was 20 when she first hit The Billboard 200 in July 1962 as part of the Broadway cast album to I Can Get It For You Wholesale.)

Paramore also bested Streisand in the U.K. Brand New Eyes debuts at #1 in the U.K. Love Is The Answer opens at #4 there. This is Paramore's first British #1. Streisand has topped the chart five times there, most recently with 2002's The Essential Barbra Streisand.

As for the other superstar divas, Mariah Carey's Memoirs Of A Perfect Angel debuts at #3, and Madonna's Celebration bows at #7.

Streisand, Madonna and Carey are the three female artists with the most #1 albums in chart history (nine, seven and six, respectively). They are also the three female artists with the most top 10 albums. Love Is The Answer is Streisand's 30th album to make the top 10. Celebration is Madonna's 18th. Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel is Carey's 15th.

Among all artists, Streisand is now in a tie for third place (with the Beatles) for most top 10 albums since Billboard introduced its album chart in March 1945. Frank Sinatra has had 40. The Rolling Stones have had 36.

Diana Krall, who had a #3 album in April with Quiet Nights, produced Streisand's album. This isn't the first time that Streisand has had a hit album that was produced by a successful artist. Barry Gibb co-produced her 1980 blockbuster Guilty and produced the 2005 sequel, Guilty Pleasures.

(The title, Love Is The Answer, is drawn from the song "Make Someone Happy." The warm ballad, which was written for the Broadway musical Do Re Mi, was a Grammy finalist for Song of the Year in 1961.)

Memoir Of An Imperfect Angel is Carey's 10th regular studio album. All have reached #4 or higher on The Billboard 200. Still, Carey is bound to be disappointed by this debut. Her last two studio albums, The Emancipation Of Mimi and E=MC2, both debuted at #1, with first-week sales of more than 400,000 copies. The new album starts with sales of 168,000.

Three rock or hard-rock bands enter the top 10 this week opposite all the divas. In addition to Paramore, we have Breaking Benjamin at #4 and Alice In Chains at #5. Alice In Chains' album, Black Gives Way To Blue, deserves special mention. It's the group's first studio album in nearly 14 years. It's also the group's first release with new lead singer William DuVall, who replaced original front-man Layne Staley in 2006. (Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002).

Eight albums debut in the top 10 this week, a new record. Sales were brisk this week. The week's #9 album (Selena Gomez & the Scene's Kiss & Tell) sold 66,000 copies. That's more than the #1 album (Taylor Swift's Fearless) sold in three different weeks back in January and February.

Miley Cyrus' "Party In The U.S.A." was the best-selling digital song in the country for the sixth week. The tune sold 177,000 downloads, lifting its eight-week total over the 1.5 million mark. It's the first song by a female solo artist to top the Digital Songs chart for six weeks since Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" in June and July 2008. "Party" hasn't had nearly as much cultural impact as the Perry hit, but there you are. (Cyrus also has the weeks' #1 theatrical movie soundtrack, Hannah Montana: The Movie, for the 26th time in the past 28 weeks.)

And you had to know I'd work this in somehow: Paramore's new album has a butterfly on the cover. Mariah Carey and Barbra Streisand both had hit albums titled Butterfly. (Actually, the band has more in common with Heart, which had a hit album titled Dog & Butterfly.)

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums:

1. Barbra Streisand, Love Is The Answer, 180,000. This new album beat initial sales projections. The advance word was that it would probably debut at #3 with sales in the range of 155,000. Sales through Starbucks, QVC and Streisand's own website added to the total.

2. Paramore, Brand New Eyes, 175,000. This new entry is the group's first top 10 album. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Careful," which debuts at #38.

3. Mariah Carey, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, 168,000. This new entry is Carey's 11th album to reach the top three. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Obsessed," which jumps from #14 to #9.

4. Breaking Benjamin, Dear Agony, 134,000. This new entry is the group's second top five album in a row. Phobia hit #2 in 2006. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "I Will Not Bow," which drops from #52 to #75.

5. Alice In Chains, Black Gives Way To Blue, 126,000. This new entry is the group's fifth top 10 album; its highest-charting release since MTV Unplugged hit #3 in 1996. "Check My Brain" dips from #171 to #173 on Hot Digital Songs.

6. Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3, 89,000. The former #1 album slips from #2 to #6 in its fourth week. Two songs from the album are listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs. "Run This Town" (featuring Rihanna and Kanye West) dips from #6 to #7. "Empire State Of Mind" (with Alicia Keys) dips from #7 to #8.

7. Madonna, Celebration, 72,000. This new entry is Madonna's fourth greatest hits album to reach the top 10, following The Immaculate Collection, the ballad compilation Something To Remember and GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2. "Revolver" enters Hot Digital Songs at #114.

8. Miranda Lambert, Revolution, 66,000. This new entry is the country singer's second top 10 album in a row. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend debuted at #6 in May 2007. The new album also enters Top Country Albums at #1, dislodging Taylor Swift's Fearless from the top spot. "White Liar" enters Hot Digital Songs at #105.

9. Selena Gomez & the Scene, Kiss & Tell, 66,000. This new entry is the first album by the star of the Disney Channel's The Wizards Of Waverly Place. Three songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Falling Down," which leaps from #59 to #41.

10. Pearl Jam, Backspacing, 58,000. The album drops from #1 to #10 in its second week. It's the biggest tumble from the top spot since Sugarland's Live On The Inside fell from #1 to #11 in August. "The Fixer" drops from #40 to #60 on Hot Digital Songs.

Eight albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Three Days Grace's Life Starts Now falls from #3 to #17, Whitney Houston's I Look To You drops from #4 to #13, Miley Cyrus' The Time Of Our Lives drops from #5 to #11, Brand New's Daisy plummets from #6 to #44, Five Finger Death Punch's War Is The Answer drops from #7 to #30, Harry Connick Jr.'s Your Songs falls from #8 to #14, Drake's So Far Gone falls from #9 to #20, and Muse's The Resistance falls from #10 to #25.

For the first time in 15 weeks, the top 10 on The Billboard 200 contains all 10 of the best-selling albums in the country. Has Billboard revised its controversial policy of excluding catalog albums from the top 10? Alas, no. This week's flood of debuts simply pushed the top catalog title, Michael Jackson's Number Ones, out of the 10 best-sellers. The compilation sold 32,000 copies this week and would have ranked #19 on the big chart if catalog albums were eligible to compete there.

AFI's Crash Love bows at #12. The band's last two studio albums made the top 10. Sing The Sorrow reached #5 in 2003. Decemberunderground hit #1 in 2006.
Dethklok's Dethalbum II bows at #15. This beats the initial Dethalbum, which debuted (and peaked) at #21 in September 2007. Dethklok is the death metal band in Metalocalypse, an animated cartoon series on the Adult Swim TV network.
Avett Brothers' I And Love And You opens at #16. The Americana/roots-rock group features brothers Seth and Scott Avett. This is by far the group's highest-charting album to date. Second Gleam reached #82 in July 2008. Rick Rubin produced the new album.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's God & Guns bows at #18. This is the Southern rock band's ninth top 20 album. The band had seven consecutive top 20 albums in the ‘70s and returned to the top 20 in 2003 with Thyrty-The 30th Anniversary Collection. Kid Rock's 2008 smash "All Summer Long," which featured a good chunk of Lynyrd Skynyrd's anthem "Sweet Home Alabama," doubtless introduced the band to a new generation of fans.

Jordin Sparks has a double dose of good news this week. Her current hit, "Battlefield," tops the 1 million mark in paid downloads, and her 2007 hit, "Tattoo," tops the 2 million mark. "Tattoo" is Sparks' second song to top the 2 million download mark, following "No Air," her 2008 collaboration with Chris Brown. Jordin is only the second American Idol alumnus to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with two songs. Kelly Clarkson was the first to do it. Carrie Underwood and Daughtry each have one song above 2 million.

"American Boy" by Estelle featuring Kanye West tops the 2 million mark in paid downloads this week. The zesty tune was a Grammy nominee for Song of the Year earlier this year. "It's a happy song," Estelle told Paul Zollo in his annual roundup of the Song of the Year nominees for the Grammy program book. "It brings you back to like a 1970s roller-skating vibe; to being a kid." West has topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads with four of his own hits, "Stronger," "Heartless," "Love Lockdown" and "Gold Digger" (featuring Jamie Foxx).

Eleven songs from Glee are listed on Hot Digital Songs. This week's highest-ranking Glee entry is their rendition of Queen's 1976 hit "Somebody To Love" at #10. Who knew this whole Glee thing would be so big?

Heads Up: Michael Buble will storm next week's chart with Crazy Love, his bid to broaden his appeal beyond the modern-day Sinatra image he had honed. Buble's last studio album, Call Me Irresponsible, hit #1. (So the old image was working pretty well.) Two other artists who have had #1 albums are due next week. Toby Keith will be back with American Ride; Backstreet Boys with This Is Us. Also due: Tokio Hotel's Humanoid, Kiss' Sonic Boom (a Wal-Mart exclusive), Relient K's Forget And Not Slow Down, Air's Love 2, Brandi Carlile's Give Up The Ghost, Bebe & Cece Winans' Still and Fat Joe's Jealous Ones Still Envy. There will also be two holiday albums: Now That's What I Call A Country Christmas and the Irish Tenors' Christmas.

BARBRA STREISAND SURPRISES WITH 9TH NO. 1 ON BILLBOARD 200

2009-10-07T12:49:00.003-07:00

Below is the article from Billboard.com confirming the news that Barbra Streisand's "Love is the Answer" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Album Charts:

While many were focused on a battle between Paramore's "Brand New Eyes" and Mariah Carey's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" for the top slot on the Billboard 200 this week, Barbra Streisand trumps them both. "Love Is the Answer" earns Streisand her ninth No. 1 on the chart, opening with 180,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The debut extends Streisand's lead as the female act with the most No. 1s in the history of the Billboard 200. It's also the her best sales week and highest charting album since 1997, when "Higher Ground" started at No. 1 with 207,000.

"Answer" beats the arrivals of Paramore's "Brand New Eyes," which enters at No. 2 with 175,000, and Mariah Carey's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," arriving at No. 3 with 168,000. First-week sales projections had estimated that Paramore would finish ahead of the two divas. As it turns out, Streisand surprised many with how well her album sold in non-traditional ways -- such as through Starbucks, QVC and via her Web site -- and that likely threw a wrench into forecasting sales.

"Brand New Eyes" gives Paramore its best sales week and highest charting album ever. The band's sophomore album, "Riot!," peaked at No. 15 in 2007. "Eyes" also starts at No. 1 on the Top Digital Albums tally with a whopping 73,000 downloads.

Carey's "Memoirs" begins its Billboard 200 life with 168,000 -- off quite a bit from the opening of her last set, 2008's "E=MC2." The latter effort bowed at No. 1 with 463,000, her biggest first-week sum ever.

Those titles are just three of the record-breaking eight entries in the top 10. Rock band Breaking Benjamin's "Dear Agony" arrives at No. 4 with the act's best sales week -- 134,000. It's the Hollywood Records band's first release since 2006's "Phobia" debuted and peaked at No. 2 with 125,000.

Alice in Chains visits the top 10 for the first time since 1996 as its new album, "Black Gives Way to Blue," bows at No. 5 with 126,000. The album is the band's first with new vocalist William DuVall, who replaced the band's late frontman Layne Staley in 2006.

Madonna's new greatest hits set, "Celebration," starts the party at No. 7 this week with 72,000. Rounding out the top 10 entries are Miranda Lambert's third album, "Revolution" (No. 8 with 66,000) and Selena Gomez and the Scene's "Kiss and Tell," which debuts just a little behind Lambert's sum at No. 9 with 66,000. Only two albums in this week's top 10 also appeared on last week's chart: Pearl Jam's "Backspacer" falls from No. 1 to No. 10 with 58,000 (down 69%) while Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" drops from No. 2 to No. 6 with 89,000 (down 34%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Oct. 4) totaled 6.87 million units, up 16% compared to the sum last week (5.93 million) and down 8% compared to the same sales week of 2008 (7.50 million). Year to date album sales stand at 263.4 million, down 14% compared to the same total at this point last year (305.3 million).

LOVE IS THE ANSWER DEBUTS AT #1

2009-10-06T22:24:00.007-07:00

Billboard has just announced that "Love is the Answer," the new jazz-infused album by Barbra Streisand debuts at #1 this week. This makes Barbra the ONLY recording artist (whether male, female or group) to have a number #1 album in five consecutive (or non-consecutive) decades.

In 1968, the first song Barbra sang in her film debut, "Funny Girl" was the prophetic "I Am the Greatest Star," and it is as true today as it was more then forty years ago. Having been the only artist to ever have a #1 album in four decades, she has now topped herself.

CONGRATULATIONS BARBRA!

LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE

2009-10-06T20:32:00.003-07:00

My stranger-friend, Rosie O'Donnell is currently starring alongside Tyne Daley (among others) in Love, Loss and What I Wore. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it east before it is either closed or she is has moved on.

SOME NAMES IN THE NEWS

2009-10-06T14:20:00.019-07:00

ROMAN POLANSKI

There has been so much made of Roman Polanski's "capture" in Switzerland and I think who really cares? Put the criminal, who admitted to the crime a thousand years ago, in jail and let's move on. I don't care that he is a famous film-maker. You drug and rape a 13 year old, you go to jail.

DAVID LETTERMAN

So David Letterman slept with a few women who work for him - is he a congressmen, a senator or a member of the clergy? No, he is a comedian. The only person who should care about this is his wife. No one was forced to do anything - it is no one's business.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

Phew, she isn't going to kill herself over the unexpected death of her friend Michael Jackson. Oh thank God! I feel so much better knowing that. I was really worried - pause - NOT! Does anyone really believe this crap that is put out there? Yes... I actually have had family members tell me things they have read in the tabloids as if real news.

Liz is having a little procedure on her heart to stop a leaky valve. Sounds like it is an old Cadillac or something.

MACKENZIE PHILLIPS

Mackenzie is a HOT MESS who needs to keep her mouth shut about the consensual sexual relationship she had with her father. It is distasteful and the only reason she wrote about it is because she needs the money.

After their initial encounter she could have called the police. She is just as much to blame as her drugged out father. It's gross and no one needs to hear about it.

TYLER PERRY

In anticipation of his (and Oprah's) new movie "Precious" which I can't wait to see, Tyler Perry is opening up about the abuse he suffered as a churrin. His father verbally and physically abused him. A male member of his church congregation molested him and a childhood friends' mother stuck a key in her snatch and made him retrieve it.

Why do I need to know these things? I do not need to know that his hand has been fishing keys outta cooch? So is this why you dress up as a 300 pound elderly black lady in all of your movies?

BROOKE SHIELDS AND JIM BELUSHI

I saw a headline today, "Brooke Shields and Jim Belushi unharmed in airplane mishap." It appears that an airplane carrying Brooke Shield and Jim Belushi rolled into an SUV - after it had landed and was um.... PARKED! The "incident" broke the side view mirror and scratched it vehicle. Everyone was unharmed.

It is a slow news day when this is being reported as news. I didn't call CNN on Saturday while working in my yard when I accidentally pushed my wheel barrel into the side of the house. No one was harmed.

Now, I do like Brooke (I was just commenting to Fettit this morning about how gorgeous she still looks in her eyelash growing commercial, but Jim Belushi? I don't care what happens to him. I do not think I have ever seen any of his work, and I doubt I am missing anything.

and Finally...........

DANCING WITH THE STARS

First I have to say, I am not a regular watcher of the show. I find most of it just foolishness, but last night there were two things on the show that kinda creeped me out.

After flamboyant judge Bruno Tonioli told Donny Osmond that his Rumba was "a bit Swan Lake," the toothsome, middle-aged, Mormon (read boring) man lunged at the judge and attempted to kiss him. Those Osmonds will do anything for votes and ratings. First Marie "passes out" and now Donny is embracing his "inner-homo" trying to play to the gay vote? Cheesey and a little yucky!

My other squeamish moment from Dancing With the Stars was THE ENTIRE TIME TOM DELAY WAS ON THE SCREEN. I had a trying time watching him. If his pathetic, "Oh, My feet hurt," or the motivating "my dad would never let me be a quitter," wasn't enough to turn me off, his Dentu-grip smile and the fact that I could actually smell his Drakar Noir through the television certainly did. He looks like someone who would offer your three year old a piece of candy to sit on his lap and then "innocently" diddle her. YUCK! YUCK! YUCK!

A NOTE FROM MICHAEL MOORE

2009-10-04T07:10:00.004-07:00

This morning I logged into my email and received the following note from Michael Moore. All I can add is AMEN!

For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning ...a note from Michael Moore

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Friends,

I'd like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I'm sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values).

In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one's religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. After all, we've heard enough yammerin' in the past three decades about how one should "behave," and I have to say I'm pretty burned out on pieties and platitudes considering we are a violent nation who invades other countries and punishes our own for having the audacity to fall on hard times.

I'm also against any proselytizing; I certainly don't want you to join anything I belong to. Also, as a Catholic, I have much to say about the Church as an institution, but I'll leave that for another day (or movie).

Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in "Capitalism: A Love Story," I pose a simple question in the movie: "Is capitalism a sin?" I go on to ask, "Would Jesus be a capitalist?" Would he belong to a hedge fund? Would he sell short? Would he approve of a system that has allowed the richest 1% to have more financial wealth than the 95% under them combined?

I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. All the great religions are clear about one thing: It is evil to take the majority of the pie and leave what's left for everyone to fight over. Jesus said that the rich man would have a very hard time getting into heaven. He told us that we had to be our brother's and sister's keepers and that the riches that did exist were to be divided fairly. He said that if you failed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, you'd have a hard time finding the pin code to the pearly gates.

I guess that's bad news for us Americans. Here's how we define "Blessed Are the Poor": We now have the highest unemployment rate since 1983. There's a foreclosure filing once every 7.5 seconds. 14,000 people every day lose their health insurance.

At the same time, Wall Street bankers ("Blessed Are the Wealthy"?) are amassing more and more loot -- and they do their best to pay little or no income tax (last year Goldman Sachs' tax rate was a mere 1%!). Would Jesus approve of this? If not, why do we let such an evil system continue? It doesn't seem you can call yourself a Capitalist AND a Christian -- because you cannot love your money AND love your neighbor when you are denying your neighbor the ability to see a doctor just so you can have a better bottom line. That's called "immoral" -- and you are committing a sin when you benefit at the expense of others.

When you are in church this morning, please think about this. I am asking you to allow your "better angels" to come forward. And if you are among the millions of Americans who are struggling to make it from week to week, please know that I promise to do what I can to stop this evil -- and I hope you'll join me in not giving up until everyone has a seat at the table.

Thanks for listening. I'm off to Mass in a few hours. I'll be sure to ask the priest if he thinks J.C. deals in derivatives or credit default swaps. I mean, after all, he must've been good at math. How else did he divide up two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish equally amongst 5,000 people? Either he was the first socialist or his disciples were really bad at packing lunch. Or both.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

ABOLISH THE "N" WORD

2009-10-03T22:24:00.005-07:00

If you want to be blown away, watch the below video clip. I am crazy about Jonathan McCoy. I saw him on CNN today. At ten years old he wrote and gave a speech calling for the abolishment of the "N" word and the video has received more then 1 million hits on Youtube. He is wise beyond his years and his parents should be very proud.

MAYBE THIS TIME

2009-10-01T21:46:00.007-07:00

Below is a clip of Lea Michelle and guest star Kristen Chenowith singing "Maybe This Time" on last night's episode of Glee. If you haven't watched the show, this is just one example of what you are missing.

Glee airs on Fox, Wednesday nights and is a must see!

BARBRA STREISAND AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD

2009-09-27T22:16:00.003-07:00

Last night Barbra Streisand returned to her West Village roots and gave a concert at the historic Village Vanguard for the 100 people lucky enough to win the Streisand lottery. My luck never runs that way and although I asked Rosie O'Donnell to take me as her guest (ha) I was NOT in attendance.

Below are five clips from the show that I found on AOL. I have not listened to most of them, but I wanted to get them posted, and I may post my reaction later.

Provecho! Oh.. that means enjoy!

Barbra Streisand - Some Other Time

2009-09-27T22:15:00.003-07:00

Barbra Streisand - Wee Small Hours of the Morning

2009-09-27T22:14:00.002-07:00

BARBRA STREISAND - MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY

2009-09-27T22:13:00.007-07:00

BARBRA STREISAND - IF YOU GO AWAY

2009-09-27T22:12:00.002-07:00

BARBRA STREISAND - HERE'S TO LIFE

2009-09-27T22:10:00.006-07:00

BARBRA STREISAND - MAKE SOMEONE (ME) HAPPY

2009-09-26T07:36:00.004-07:00

So Barbra Streisand was on Oprah two days ago to promote her newest CD, "Love is the Answer," and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. Her appearance was way too short and she shared the show with Jay Z.

I don't have anything against Jay Z, I actually don't know that much about him other then he is a rapper/producer and is married to Beyonce, but with a career spanning nearly 50 years (so hard to believe) there is more then enough material on Babs to fill a complete hour, or more.

Barbra looked beautiful - actually the best I have seen her look in many years (I suspect she has had some work done, but I who cares) and she was relaxed and funny.

In her brief interview, she and Oprah discussed dolls and Barbra retold the story (for the umpteenth time) of how poor she was growing up that the only doll she had was a hot water bottle with a sweater knitted by her babysitter. She also discussed her fear of performing in public and what lead to her stage fright (forgetting the words in her central park concert in front of 135,000 fans).

Oprah didn't ask her about the new album or anything about possible upcoming projects she is working on (the new Fockers or The Normal Heart movies). There wasn't anything special about the interview other then we got to see a fantastic looking Barbra on TV - which is so rare.

The highlight of her appearance on the Oprah show was her singing "Make Someone Happy" from the new CD (which is being released Tuesday, September 29th.) It’s always a treat to see and hear Barbra singing, whether it is live in concert or on television.

I previously read that Oprah's crew went to Barbra's house and they filmed a tour of the property (guided by Barbra as I understand it.) Unfortunately, this footage was not used on the show.

She also sang her classic "Evergreen,” and while this was not shown, it is available on Oprah’s website.

At 67 years old, Barbra Streisand is still sublime and without contemporary. While the voice has mellowed with age, there is still no one, NO ONE, who can touch her vocally. She is the ultimate interpreter of songs and you feel her every note - even the one she messed up while singing “Make Someone Happy” (see below).

Two other heavy-hitting females are releasing new CDs on Tuesday as well - Madonna and Mariah Carey, and while these two ladies may sell more albums today, neither of them have the charisma or talent of Babs.

Although I read that "Love is the Answer" has become Sony Records' most pre-ordered CD of all time on Amazon.com, I am sure these two other ladies will outsell her next week (because they skew to a younger demographic) but I will be watching to see where Barbra charts with this new CD.

Tonight Barbra is performing at the Village Vanguard in the West Village for 100 lucky fans who entered and won seats (I entered but didn't win). What an experience that would be. I wrote to Rosie and asked her to take me as her date, but she is doing a show on Broadway and will not be attending. I'm sure that is the only reason she isn't taking me.

Tonight's Village Vanguard concert will be streaming later in the week on Barbra's website.

Barbra is doing two other interviews in the coming days and I am hoping someone will talk with her about something new. Set your DVRs to record for her tomorrow on CBS Sunday morning and then on the Today Show Tuesday.

Below is a clip of Barbra singing “Make Someone Happy.”

The Teabagger's Socialist-Free Purity Pledge

2009-09-20T09:20:00.006-07:00

A friend of mine emailed this to me and I immediately knew I have to include it here. Thanks Brent.

What follows is the Teabagger's Socialist-Free Purity Pledge. I haven't checked, but I imagine it is making it's way around to all fair-minded, responsible individuals.....

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also, I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

• Social Security
• Medicare/Medicaid
• State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
• Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
• US Postal Service
• Roads and Highways
• Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
• The US Railway System
• Public Subways and Metro Systems
• Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
• Rest Areas on Highways
• Sidewalks
• All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)
• Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
• Public and State Universities and Colleges
• Public Primary and Secondary Schools
• Sesame Street
• Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
• Public Museums
• Libraries
• Public Parks and Beaches
• State and National Parks
• Public Zoos
• Unemployment Insurance
• Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
• Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
• Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
• Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
• Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
• Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
• Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care
I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

• Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
• The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
• The government-operated Statue of Liberty
• The Grand Canyon
• The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
• The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
• All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.

_____________ ___________________________________
Signed Printed Name/Town and State

GAGA FOR LADY GAGA

2009-09-13T22:52:00.013-07:00

For too many years we have been told by pop performers that they can not dance and sing at the same time, and followers have accepted lip-syncing as the norm. Ever since MTV killed the radio star (i.e. singers who can truly sing), we have been subjected to performance over vocal ability - looks over talent - and although Lady Gaga does not have the voice of a Barbra or Whitney, she sings live.

My disinterest in today's music, and the majority of the pop-tarts we have been force-fed for the past thirty something years, is they can't sing. They can dance, look sexy in their half naked costumes, and grab headlines by being provocative, but they cannot sing. Lady Gaga does it all.

The below video is from tonight's Video Music Awards and Lady Gaga's live performance - not to a pre-recorded track.

Lady Gaga - New Music - More Music Videos

Five postscripts:

- Oddly enough, I liked watching Lady Gaga prance around in what appeared to be only panties, and the way it made me feel was a little shocking - almost unnerving.

- When she won the award tonight for Best New Artist her final words were, "...this is for my F#*king fans. You are the best fans in the whole world and I love you, and it's for God and the gays." Where have you ever heard that before? Gotta love her!

- Pink singing live from a trapeze - so why can't the others sing live! I like Pink - the anti-pop, pop star.

- Beyonce was amazing tonight! The portions of her song she prerecorded she didn't even pretend to sing - and her dance moves were amazing. Her generosity towards Taylor Swift (whoever the hell she is) was pure class - she was raised right.

- The typical lip-syncing females did not perform at the VMA's tonight - with the exception of Janet Jackson. I will cut her some slack since she is in morning but she almost never sings without a pre-recorded track. Another offender, Madonna, didn't sing, but she spoke touchingly about Michael Jackson.

FANTASTIC FIND - SAM TSUI - PART DEUX

2009-09-12T18:19:00.006-07:00

Below is another video from Fantastic Find Sam Tsui. You can see my original post here:FANTASTIC FIND - SAM TSUI

Below is another video featuring Sam Tsui singing a cover of "Down" by Jay Sean that was uploaded last week . In this video he plays the piano and is joined on guitar by his friend and collaborator/arranger Kurt Schneider, the "mastermind" behind the music and videos. Even with the flub at the 2:30 minute mark, I think these two are fantastic (keeping with the theme).

Enjoy!

PRESIDENT TO DETRACTORS - WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?

2009-09-07T22:54:00.004-07:00

Today President Obama spoke about healthcare reform to the masses gathered at the AFL/CIO annual Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati, and asked the cynics and naysayers "What are you gonna do? What is your solution?"

The answer is simple. They don't want change. They want to continue pillaging so they will continue to instill fear and fight the truth with lies and distortions!

Americans need to stop special interests and corporations from deciding what laws get passed.

Corporations are accountable to a board of directors who insist of profit - even at the expense of the American Family - and Congress is accountable to us.

Write or call your congressional representative and senator today and tell them you support Healthcare Reform and you demand action now.

Below is an article of interest I found from "The American Prospect" by Paul Waldman entitled "The Public Option and the Hope of Health Care Reform," dated December 23, 2008.

Since the remarkable results of Nov. 4, there has been much discussion about the new progressive moment in which America finds itself. But it has actually been evident for some time that we're talking about old issues in new ways. Let's take just one -- health care reform-- which could actually happen next year. One thing we know is that there will be a serious, even vicious fight over the issue. What we don't know is whether President-elect Obama will seize the moment, or succumb to the same fear that has stayed Democrats' hands for so long.

In the presidential primaries, all three top Democratic candidates -- Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards -- featured in their health care plans something that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, a public option. The public option is a government health insurance program akin to Medicare, which would be open to anyone. Credit should go to Edwards, who not only was the first of the three to propose it, but who said that if so many people chose the public option that over time it evolved into a single-payer system, that would be fine with him. That kind of talk used to come only from candidates with no chance of winning.

Although the public option wasn't the topic of a great deal of discussion during the campaign, for many progressives it amounts to a beautiful jewel hidden amidst a pile of compromise and disappointment. Ask average progressives what they think ought to be done about health care, and many will reply, "Well, a single-payer system would obviously be the best thing. But since that's politically impossible…" At the end of 2008, some things seem a little more possible than they used to.

That isn't to say a public option is just a modified single-payer system. It would be one option among many for individuals and businesses, and would leave the private insurance system in place (you can read more on the benefits of the public option here). But it does crack the door open for expanding the number of Americans who get their health insurance through the government. And this is what terrifies the insurance companies and conservatives. Their fear is that it will actually work. If the program operates well, more and more people will make the rational decision to choose it over private insurance (what we're supposed to do in a market, after all) and the insurance companies will lose customers.

For all their paeans to the power of private enterprise, we know that private insurers simply can't compete with the government, because they offer an inferior service at higher prices. We know this because of the example of Medicare, which operates more efficiently than private insurance (Medicare spends only around 2 percent of its costs on overhead, a fraction of what private plans do) and gets higher satisfaction ratings. We also know this because the government set up a program to allow private companies to compete directly with Medicare.

It's called Medicare Advantage, and the "advantage" was supposed to be that by allowing private companies to handle insurance for Medicare enrollees, costs could be reduced. Using their free-market mojo, the private firms would naturally bring in the coverage at a lower cost than having the big, bureaucratic government do it.

So does it work? Only if by "work," you mean "do the opposite of what it's supposed to." In fact, the government pays insurance companies more to provide a service it is providing to other enrollees for less. According to this recent report by the Commonwealth Fund, in 2008 the government paid Medicare Advantage plans 12.4 percent more per enrollee than it expended to administer traditional Medicare benefits (see this lengthy postby Maggie Mahar that lists the myriad ways Medicare Advantage amounts to an insurance company scam). It's no accident that the program in its current form was enacted as part of the abomination that was the Republicans' 2003 Medicare drug bill, a giveaway to insurance and drug companies so lurid it will stand as an eternal monument to legalized corruption. (The bill's chief architect, Louisiana Congressman Billy Tauzin, left Congress upon its passage to become the president of PhRMA, the lobbying arm of the pharmaceutical industry. Tauzin's starting salary was reported to be $2 million a year, a well-deserved reward for services rendered.)

One piece of good news on this front is that during the campaign, Obama pledged to "reduce waste in the Medicare system, including eliminating subsidies to the private insurance Medicare Advantage program" (you can read the promise on his campaign web site). That's one more promise he ought to be forced to keep.

But driving a stake through the heart of Medicare Advantage could wait (although Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus has already targeted the program's "overpayments"). The Obama team has signaled that it has no intention of putting off its larger effort to reform health care. The appointment of former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle as both Secretary of Health and Human Services and White House "health czar" indicates that Obama wants reform that will actually pass Congress (recall that Bill Clinton's 1993 health reform effort never even came to a vote). Our once-in-a-generation chance to reform health care has come again.

There is no doubt that the insurance companies and their Republican allies in Congress will fight the inclusion of a public option with every bit of power they can muster. They'll call it "socialized medicine" -- but by now we should all have realized that Republicans will call any health care reform Democrats propose "socialized medicine" (that's what they said about Clinton's 1993 health plan, whose chief cost containment measure was enhancing the role of HMOs). They'll scream about "government bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor." But anyone who has tried to get reimbursement for a medical service from an insurance company that didn't want to provide it knows that government bureaucrats are pussycats compared to insurance company bureaucrats. Republicans will offer some bogus plan of their own, presented for no purpose other than pretending that they're not operating in bad faith. But their goal will be to stop any effort at health care reform – particularly the public option.

Republicans fear that the public option would work, and therefore undermine their broader arguments about the evil of government and the perfection of the market (and make voters thankful to Democrats to boot). All true. The insurance companies fear that the public option would work, and therefore put them out of business. Is that true? Not really. Although there are a lot of variables, a much more likely outcome would be that the insurance companies would continue to exist, but their business would shrink. If we're smart and lucky, we might end up with a system resembling the one they have in France (rated by the World Health Organization as the world's best), where basic health insurance is provided by the government, but most people have supplemental private insurance to fill in the gaps in coverage (the Prospect's Ezra Klein has helpfully laid out the basics of the French system here and here). That kind of hybrid system would still allow "choice,", yet cover everyone and hold down costs.

It's a beautiful dream, one that the insurance companies and their Republican allies in Congress will do everything in their power to crush. So the question is whether Obama will see the public option as something he will fight for, or as a useful bargaining chip to be sacrificed in order to get a bill through the Senate. In one troubling sign, John McDonough, Senator Ted Kennedy's senior health adviser, told Congressional Quarterly that the purpose of the public option was to "provide cost accountability," and "Maybe there are other way to achieve those ends." Ah, the time-honored Democratic tradition of making concessions before negotiations begin.

This is a different environment than it was even a few years ago, let alone in 1993 when Bill Clinton's plan went down in flames. The public is more open to ambitious government solutions to pressing problems than they have been in decades. And perhaps both big business and small business can finally be persuaded that a strong public insurance program is in their interest, since it will save them money (their prior opposition to health care reform has always been more ideological than economic).

Up until now, Barack Obama has displayed a keen understanding of when to compromise and when to fight. He surely knows that his attempt to reform our ridiculous health care system is going to be a fight from start to finish. Let's just hope he doesn't give up on the best thing about his plan.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ENCOURAGES CHILDREN ACROSS THE USA

2009-09-07T10:20:00.010-07:00

Below is the speech President Barack Obama will deliver tomorrow at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia.

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn.

And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

I'm certain there is a lefty (read communist), subversive (probably subliminal) message in the text that I am not smart enough to decode. Perhaps I needed the encouragement of a president (or teacher) when I was in school.

GO'HEAD MISTER PRESIDENT!

REPUBLICANS DEMAND EQUAL TIME TO CORRUPT YOUNG MINDS

2009-09-04T12:39:00.007-07:00

In response to President Obama’s planned speech to school age children set for next week across the country, a republican organization, The Right is Right, has invoked the “equal time rule,” and has disseminated pamphlets to the nation’s school superintendents (except those in California and Massachusetts), suggesting four alternatives to counter the president’s far reaching, left-leaning agenda. School districts are encouraged to pick from one option below to be held immediately following daily Morning Prayer:

Option One - All children are encouraged to watch the season premier of Dancing with the Stars and write an essay on the merits of Republican Tom Delay’s old-white-man foxtrot versus Afro-centric singer Macy Gray’s Samba.

Option Two – Actually two separate sessions – one for girls and one for boys:

-Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin presents a discussion on the importance of abstinence entitled “Everything I Taught Bristol and How To Learn From My Mistakes.” Governor Palin will also demonstrate how to “Woo Voters with a Wink and a Nod.”

-The boys’ session will be conducted by Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Bob McDonnell. He will instruct the boys on how to keep your bitch in her place, and explain why if you let her work outside the home, she will be indoctrinated into a life of bull-dykery.

Option Three - Students are encouraged to discuss the dire consequences of Obama Healthcare reform after viewing the new documentary entitled “A Foreign Born, Socialist Negro Wants to Kill Grandma and Sweet Crippled Aunt Gertie.” A strict dress code is enforced for this option: White sheets required.

Option Four – The final option is entitled “Earning your Wings” and consists of a field trip to the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. This session explains how through church fund raising and the assassination of the President of the United States, students can guarantee themselves a place in Heaven. Following a showing of the short film “Why Teddy and Queers Deserve Brain Cancer,” there will be a question and answer session. Light refreshments will be served during the raffle where one lucky attendee will win a one way greyhound bus ticket to the Washington DC, $50 spending money, a high powered rifle and 400 rounds of ammunition.

Interested parties are encourage to learn more, and obtain educational materials, from “The Right is Right” by calling toll-free 1-877-336-6887 (877-EFN-NUTS).

REPUBLICAN

2009-09-04T12:39:00.001-07:00

WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY?

2009-09-03T17:58:00.009-07:00

What follows in italics is Michelangelo Signorile's description of his conversation (above) with nut-job "Pastor" Steven L. Anderson, who resides not far from me.

This is my interview with Pastor Steven L. Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Temple, AZ. He has prayed for President Obama to die, calls for the execution of gays and told me it would not be murder if a group of gays and lesbians were gunned down with a machine gun, or if the president were killed. He does not believe the killing of Dr. George Tiller was murder. He also said, after I told him I was gay, that he hopes I "get brain cancer like Ted Kennedy" and die and insisted I must be "molesting children."

I am appalled that a "so-called" man of God would advocate the murder of another human being - specifically our President - Barack Obama.

It's it frightening on so many levels. This "man-of-the-cloth" not only holds un-Christian views, he has a platform in which he is able to spread his hate. What also frightens me is this man is not alone.

Hate queers all ya like, but nowhere in the New Testament does it say (unless I missed that part) it is allowable to kill another person. Sure the "Old Testament" has "An Eye for an Eye" (Exodus 21:23–27) but if we are going to cherry pick the bible, lets start having fun. This could be a really great conversation.

George W. Bush ordered the senseless murder of thousands of innocent men and women, both Iraqi and American, and at no time did I ever hear anyone propose murdering him. What has Barack Obama done that so incites this type of hatred among the "religious" right?

If there is one political figure in my lifetime deserving of incarceration, not assassination, it is George W. Bush, or perhaps more appropriate Dick Cheney.

The "right" truly scares me.

Because of their position within churches, these freaks, yes I said freaks, are able to whip up the masses and gain support for their extreme agendas.

Heed my warning!

All blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and gays better start watching their backs. These people are no different then Hitler. Their way is the only right way. They want to rid the world of people that do not look like them, think like them, or worship like them.

It is time to rise up against the haters in this country. Point your fingers and lift your voices because these people, who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ are the ones who will bring this country to anarchy.

As "they" like to say - What Would Jesus Do? Like Martin Luther King, and Gandhi, he was a man of peace and would not condone murder, or incite others to commit it.

REINCARNATED THROUGH FOOD

2009-09-01T20:18:00.005-07:00

Last night I made a traditional Willi dinner.

When it is my turn to cook, which happens infrequently, I typically turn to one of the meals of my childhood - usually a meal my grandmother cooked for us on any given weekend occasion - no offense mother.

As a kid, one of the perks of staying overnight at Grandpa and Grandma Willi's house, on the weekend, which I did often, was waking up knowing that Gramma would prepare German Pancakes. I've seen recipes for German pancakes, baked concoctions that puff up in the oven, but Gramma's German pancakes were made of a light eggy batter that she fried. They were almost crepe like and crispy, golden brown.

Hot from the pan we would slather them with butter and spread on the strawberry preserves, usually homemade from Gramma's garden, and then we would roll them up, again like a crepe, and sprinkle powered sugar over the top.

Gramma would stand at the stove for a couple of hours each weekend morning, serving each one of us grandchildren an individual, piping hot serving and then she would return to the stove to make the next one with as much love as batter.

Weekend mornings at 2288 Beckley Road are some of my best childhood memories.

Some years later, I would make German pancakes for my children, hoping they too would taste the love in each bite - trying to instill a sense of tradition.

When Noelle came to live in Phoenix, one of the first things I did was start making her German pancakes on Sunday mornings. She was only a year old. By that time I also knew if I wanted to spend any time with her Aunt Christy, German pancakes were an easy lure. All I needed to do was text Christy to let her know of my plans to make German pancakes, and she would show up bright and early.

The German pancake tradition continues and I hope that one day Noelle or Christopher will ask me the recipe. My Gramma Willi lives through us in food.

Yesterday I had to go into work early (we had a 6:30 AM conference call) therefore I left early. Before leaving I texted Fettit to let him know I would stop by the market to pick up dinner, not having a clue what I was going to make.

I asked him if he had a suggestion and he said it was up to me so I went to the store and walked around aimlessly, not knowing what to make - then it hit me.

After getting the organic grapes that were on sale, and buying a bottle of tequila (with a $3 off coupon), I walked over to the meat counter and picked out some pork loin chops, then grabbed the Aunt Nellie's red cabbage and mashed potatoes.

This is the most traditional Willi meal.

Gramma never cooked pasta or chicken - ever - that I recall. Although she could throw anything at a minute's notice and have it turn out delicious. There were several signature meals, however, the most iconic meal in Margaret's house was breaded pork chops, mash potatoes, and red cabbage.

Fettit and I sat down to watch The Young and The Restless (our nightly tradition) and eat the traditional Willi meal. At the last minutes Fettit remembered we had seeded Jewish rye bread so we each grabbed a few slices and some butter.

With the first bite I was hit by a long ago memory and I told Fettit how the meal tasted like 2288 Beckley Rd - home. He didn't say a word, he just turned and gave a nod to the photograph of Gramma that sits next to my bed.

Gramma lives in each of us - even Fettit. She lives on - reincarnated through food.

FANTASTIC FIND - SAM TSUI

2009-08-31T06:15:00.007-07:00

If this kid were a stock I would buy him and undoubtedly make a fortune!

His name is Sam Tsui and he is from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania (which is outside of Philadelphia) and is a student at Yale University. I stumbled upon him this weekend while looking for the “Don’t Stop Believing” video from the new Fox series “Glee,” and boy am I glad I did.

He and his collaborator, Kurt Schneider, create these great videos, as well as a web based series, “College Musical.”

The first video is a cover of "Don't Stop Believing," the second is "Before the Storm," originally sung by Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas (who knew) and the third is a medley of Michael Jackson songs.

There are several more videos on Youtube, including the aforementioned "College Musical" which is up to episode 4.

SO talented!

Hope he doesn't mind that I stole the picture from his Myspace.

SUNDAY MORNING

2009-08-30T06:37:00.006-07:00

Last night I had a one year old and his three and a half year old sister in my bed and I didn't get much sleep.

I laid on one side with Christopher in the middle and Noelle on the opposite side of the bed but within minutes she decided she needed to be able to touch me so she slept sideways with her head in the middle of my back - all night long.

That continued until about 4 am when, in a half unconscious state I heard a thud and knew even before the cries started that Christopher had fallen out of bed. Somehow his balled up mass made it's way from being next to me to the other side of the bed - THUMP!

Fortunately his cries did not awaken his sister and I was able to pick him up, lie him on top of me and get him back to sleep. He fell back to sleep - I didn't.

Knowing that sleep would not return until tonight, I got out of bed at 5:15 AM and went into the house to find Fettit sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee from McDonald's and watching a rerun on last night's 10 o'clock news. Fortunately he is always considerate enough to get me one.

Minutes later I returned to my room to check on Christopher who was awakened by the creak of the door. After my attempt to get him back to sleep, I scooped him up in my arms and took him into the house to say good morning to his Papa.

Walking back in the house I heard the shower running. Christopher's early morning greeting to Papa will have to wait.

Papa Fettit gets up early every Sunday. He has three masses today, the first one starting at 7 o'clock. He won't return until 12:30 this afternoon.

Soon it was just me and Christopher - Noelle still slumbering. I tip-toed back into my room to get what I need for the morning - trying not to awaken her. I need her to sleep as long as possible.

I gathered up the high-chair and Christopher and we head out to the patio to enjoy the the cool morning temperatures - the calm before the storm. Today's high is projected to be 110. As summer is relenting in the rest of the country, it hangs on in Arizona. The upside is the mornings as cooler. It is only 86 degrees and not a single cloud in the sky. There will not be many more days of using the pool.

I love these mornings - the stillness and quiet. The only sounds come from a plane flying high above and Christopher's excitement as the dogs run around the yard. The oasis we have created in the city fools me into thinking I am not in the heart of a very large metropolis.

THE FINAL JUDGMENT

2009-08-29T09:05:00.004-07:00

The following passage from the Christian bible, Matthew 25, was read at Ted Kennedy’s funeral today by his step daughter and it struck me how few Christians yield to their savior’s words and works, and how they espouse Christian faith but do not follow through with the fellowship towards their neighbor.

I am not a follower of Christianity but I do find the principles of the faith to be rooted in truth, a truth bastardized by its followers who proclaim loudly and who wear their faith like a badge of honor. This passage is one that all Christians, as well as members of other faiths, need to sit up and take to heart.

By not helping your fellow man, you are not helping your Lord or yourself.

You do not condemn the countless trillions of dollars spent on killing innocents on foreign soil, but you do not take care of our closest neighbors.

Sinful!

Matthew 25 - The Final Judgment

31 “But when the Son of Man[d] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[e] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[f] you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[g] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

All I have to say to this is AMEN!

EDWARD "TEDDY" M. KENNEDY 1932 - 2009

2009-08-26T22:49:00.005-07:00

It does not matter if you are democrat or republican, male or female, black, young or old, white or somewhere in between, if you were not born with a silver spoon in your mouth you owe a debt of gratitude to Ted Kennedy.

Since he first stepped foot on the Senate floor in November 1962 he fought tirelessly to give a voice to those who were not heard. A dedicated supporter of the middle and under class, his causes were American causes – education and head start, health care, voter’s rights, equality for women, ethnic minorities and the disabled, worker’s rights, (including a fair minimum wage), and the environment and nuclear proliferation.

Thank you Teddy

THOMAS CHAPPELL ISN'T KINDEY-ING AROUND

2009-08-26T15:24:00.005-07:00

Yesterday on my way to work I was listening to the radio and the man mentioned in the following article was being interviewed by two local morning personalities. He must be something else to give a virtual stranger one of his kidney’s. It is nice to know there are still good people in the world. I doubt that I would be so generous. The story is from the AP:

PHOENIX (Aug. 24) - Rita Van Loenen had no idea that a trip in Thomas Chappell's taxi cab could end up being the ride that saves her life.

"There are better odds of getting struck by lightning," Van Loenen said. "A random taxi driver offering to give me his kidney and all these pieces match. There has to be something behind this. How can this be?"

Rita Van Loenen was shocked that her taxi driver, Thomas Chappell, offered to donate his kidney to her -- and that he was a perfect match.

Chappell, who has been driving Van Loenen to dialysis appointments, shocked the Gilbert, Ariz. woman a month ago by offering to donate his kidney. But even more shocking to her was that doctors found they had the same blood type, that they were compatible.

"He calls me all excited. If we were a closer match, we would've been siblings. I was ready to fall off the floor," Van Loenen said.

The Phoenix taxi driver said he was a man of faith and that a higher power wanted him to step in.

"By then, me and the good Lord already had a talk. He said 'Tom, you go give her one. It will work," Chappell said.

Last year, Van Loenen, an instructor in special education methods, began feeling ill and experiencing water retention in her legs. She went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with kidney disease. With kidney failure setting in, friends and family were tested but there was no match.

In February, she received her cousin's kidney but that transplant failed. One day, Van Loenen, 63, found herself telling Chappell, 56, about how her son was now going to get tested. Chappell decided to add his name to the list.

"I said 'Rita, your son's a whole lot younger than me. He's got a lot more years. I'm gonna go down and go through the process and see if it will work.' I don't think she really believed I was going to."

The gesture evoked tears of gratitude from Loenen but she was still skeptical.
"A little bit in my heart I didn't believe it. He said 'give me the number' and I have transplant number at Mayo (Clinic in Scottsdale) memorized."

The two first met more than three months ago. It wasn't an auspicious beginning.
Chappell was half an hour late picking Van Loenen up for a dialysis appointment.
"When I got there she was not happy," Chappell said. "And I can understand it now. She's sick and all these things she goes through ... The next day, it just so happens I got her again."

Since then he has — and he insists it is by happenstance — been her taxi driver three to four times a month. For the last month, Chappell has started undergoing the arduous process of donor screening, undergoing numerous tests and exams. But none of it has brought second thoughts.

"This has put a whole new kind of lift in my boots. I never knew what it felt like to give somebody life and that's what I'm doing," Chappell said.

Van Loenen said Chappell never asked for any compensation. She still can't quite believe his level of commitment.

"I've never known anybody so enthusiastic to get a body part removed," Van Loenen said.

After the transplant, which hasn't been scheduled yet, Chappell will need to tread carefully. He will have to rest between four and six weeks but his work has promised to cover his lost wages.

"I've had drivers do some pretty incredibly amazing things for no charge. But this is just over the top," said Jim Hickey, national sales and marketing director for the company that owns VIP Taxi. "We're just so proud of him."

Van Loenen said that, thanks to Chappell, she can actually make plans for the future.

"Whenever I tell my friends or my family, they just find it so incredible," Van Loenen said. "They do call him an angel. My friend says there's angels everywhere. That's the right way to capture it."

HERE'S TO LIFE

2009-08-24T16:19:00.012-07:00

"Love is The Answer", the new jazz flavored, Diana Krall produced CD by America's First Voice, Barbra Streisand, is scheduled for release September 29, 2009 and Parade magazine, the circular that comes in most Sunday newspapers - as well as online, is the first to debut a full length cut - "Here's To Life."

Click on the link below to read the interview and to hear Barbra's beautiful and haunting version of:

Here's to Life.

I can't wait to listen to the CD in it's entirety - over and over again.

Barbra is also performing songs from "Love is the Answer" for 100 lucky "PEOPLE" at the Village Vanguard in New York City. For more information and a chance to enter the contest go to Barbra Streisand.Com.

EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO MY OPINION

2009-08-19T23:36:00.002-07:00

I recently read an article in Vanity Fair about Denise Hale, a San Francisco socialite, whose friends bought her a t-shirt with the saying printed on it, "Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion," and I found it so appropriate for how I feel.

Uninitiated, I will gladly give my opinion on any range of subjects and expect my audience to agree with me because the way I feel is the way I think every free thinking, open minded, educated person should feel.

It is also appropriate because that is what is at the core of this blog. I give you how I feel - what makes me happy, what makes me sad, and what simply pisses me off. I believe in fairness, equability and reciprocity, both for the good and the bad, I guess.

Those who come here know that if I am ranting about something, or something upsets me, I am going to be vocal and it is understood that "Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion."

There is one subject I have yet to be as vocal online about as I am in person, and maybe one of these days I will offend the entire world by letting everyone in on my feelings about this subject, but as far as most social issues (and politics) I think that anyone who doesn't think like me was raised wrong. I know... but I can't help it and I admit it - "Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion."

People are mean to each other and although I can be a little harsh, and often definitely doctoral, my beliefs are quite simple and I just believe everyone needs to treat each other fairly, without cynicism, free of prejudice and preconceived misconceptions, and to let everyone live their life freely and honestly.

I have always said as long as no one is getting harmed, leave em the fuck alone - so ya see "Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion."

ASPIRIN SHOWN TO HELP COLON CANCER

2009-08-18T19:00:00.010-07:00

There is potential good news for those of us who have been diagnosed with colon cancer - something as simple as aspirin could be beneficial. Watch the report from CBS News below.

I also recently read that Tagamet (also known as Cimetidine) shows promise with some forms of cancer; however, one reason we do not hear much about these cheap alternatives (and they are not recommended by doctors) is that there isn't money in it for them like there is with chemotherapy.

Medicine has little to do with helping the sick, it is about money - financial gain for the drug companies and many, not all, but many doctors. I have been fortunate. Not a single doctor that I have been working with for the past year, or nearly a year, has ever pushed chemotherapy, or any other unnecessary treatment, on me.

With my father's diagnosis last year with stage four colon cancer and then my own diagnosis four months later with stage two, I have done a fair share of reading about potential cancer cures and it appears to me that when there is possible good news coming from an area not dominated by money and the pharmaceutical companies, they are downplayed and not given much credence.

Medicine is not about helping the sick, it is about money - financial gain for the drug companies and many, not all, but many doctors. I think I was fortunate that not a single doctor that I have been working with for the past year, or nearly a year, has ever pushed chemotherapy on me.

Oh... and one more thing... Our president and congress are working on healthcare reform and I am sick of all the nay-saying whiners. We need affordable healthcare for all. Even with health insurance my surgery cost me several thousand dollars. Americans shouldn't have to make a choice between surgery or food. This is a no brainer (you bunch of selfish, self centered asshole teabaggers and birthers)!

Anyway... I have gotten way off subject... Watch the video about the potential positive effects of aspirin on colon cancer and if you want to read more on Tagamet and cancer... google it.

Watch CBS Videos Online

I WAS KICKED OUT OF THE ROSIE O/CINDY LAUPER CONCERT

2009-08-13T21:28:00.004-07:00

STAY TUNED!

I am in the process of writing about my experience of getting ejected from the Girls Night Out Concert at the House of Blues in Atlantic featuring Rosie O'Donnell and Cindy Lauper.

Check back this weekend for the complete story!

ROSIE DUMPS ON TRUMP

2009-08-13T17:44:00.002-07:00

This past Friday I was in Atlantic City with friends seeing our "stranger-friend" Rosie O'Donnell, along with Cindy Lauper, at the House of Blues. Before getting kicked out I was able to record all of Ro's set. This is a something I put together from Ro's comments on Donald Trump. GO RO!

PROVINCETOWN - JULY 4TH WEEK 2009

2009-07-26T01:43:00.009-07:00

So it is finally here - not perfect but here!

Fettit and I joined our friends Matt, Roland and Kevin for a week in Provincetown, Massachusetts and the result was near perfection.

For some of us it was a return to a place we have enjoyed for many years. For Fettit it was a brand new adventure since he has never been east of Sandusky, Ohio.

The below video is just a small sampling of the events (and photos) from the week.

We are already planning next year.........

Click to play

LEFT IN THE DARK - JUST BECAUSE

2009-07-23T06:06:00.008-07:00

Barbra's Emotion album was released in Oct of 1984 and for some reason I woke up this morning thinking about it. I am not certain why, but I knew I could find this video on Youtube so I had to post it.

I remember Fettit got me a huge "Emotions" poster for Christmas that year. There is actually a photo of him standing in front of it on the "Friends" page of my website. He looks so young and innocent.

It is unfathomable that it has been nearly 25 years ago, but when I look in the mirror and ponder everything I have done and everywhere I have been, I realize that I have done a good job of filling up those 25 years and I don't regret any of it - including the misery and pain.

Hearing this song, and seeing the video, instantly take me back to our apartment on Clark Street in Marquette, MI. I was 23 years old and in the Air Force. Fettit was 21 years old and a server at the Onion Crock (and played the organ at the catholic church for $6 a mass) Kate-Kate Lemonade lived upstairs with Bob and his Boo-Boo and Poo-Poo pillows, homely Gladys lived with us briefly, and we drank Seven and Sevens every night after work... oh...and my ex-wife took my kids to Texas. Well, most of them are fond memories.

Where were you and what were you doing 26 years ago?

PHOTOS OF FLIGHT 477 ARE NOT REAL

2009-06-27T06:44:00.010-07:00

This morning I was chatting online with my brother, the ISM, and he said, "oh I am going to send you the pictures from that flight that crashed off Argentina" to which I replied, "ok." I didn't know what he was talking about - I know about the crash but I didn't know about any pictures, other then the picture of the wreckage being removed from the ocean.

The email and photos follow:

Structural failure in flight, but why?

AIR FRANCE CRASH PHOTOS

The world saw the disappearance of an A330 Air France during its trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris ...

Here are two shots taken inside the plane before it crashed.
The two photos attached were taken by one of the passengers before the aircraft crashed.

This extraordinary photographer kept his cool, even in his last moments of life, to take these photos. The photos were retrieved from the camera's memory stick. You will never again see photos like this.

In the first photo, there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and a vertical fin of the aircraft.
In the second photo, one of the passengers is seen being sucked out of the gaping hole.

The photos were found in a digital Casio Z750, amidst the debris. Although the camera was destroyed, the Memory Stick was recovered. Investigating the serial number of the camera, the owner was identified as Paulo G. Muller, an actor of a theatre for children known in the outskirts of Porto Alegre .. It can be imagined that he was standing during the turbulence, he managed to take these photos, just seconds after the tail loss and the aircraft plunged. The structural stress probably ripped the engines away, diminishing the falling speed, protecting the electronic equipment but unfortunately not the victims. Paulo Muller leaves behind two daughters, Bruna and Beatriz.

In a split second I had two reactions - panic and disbelief.

The thought of people enduring such an experience sends an electrical current through my chest. Seeing the passengers strapped in their seats, oxygen masks on, waiting as they fall from the sky, knowing the end is imminent, feeling helplessness and hopelessness just terrifies me.

Yet, almost instantly I took note that the sky was light - the sun is out. What follows is our exchange:

Me: is this real
Me: can’t be real.... it was night
ISM: so it isn’t real
Me: well.... didn’t the flight and crash happen at night
ISM: don’t remember
Me: I think so.... I’m having a panic attack thinking they are real
ISM: think how they felt
Me: the photos look real but I just think it was nighttime
Me: I know... that is why I am having a panic attack
Me: they have to be fake
ISM: Google it

I did Google it and so did the ISM and they are fake. The sky was dark when Flight 477 disappeared. It departed Rio de Janeiro at 7:30pm and depending on what news source you read, the last contact was somewhere between 9:30pm and 2:30am (perhaps time zone issues). The photographs are from the ABC television show "Lost" and upon close inspection a couple of the stars of the show can be identified.

This is just another example of a hoax, or lie that circulates through the internet without anyone checking on its authenticity (like the one about Barack Obama that I wrote about and unintentionally upset my mother).

In this case not only were the recipients of the email fooled, but a television station in Bolivia, believing their veracity, aired the photos without doing any fact checking.

I am not a cynic, but I do not always believe what I see or read.

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS' 2009 TONYS FINALE

2009-06-08T09:56:00.003-07:00

DO-RE-MI AT ANTWERP TRAIN STATION

2009-06-08T08:34:00.003-07:00

A friend emailed me the above clip this morning and knew immediately I had to post it. Sure, I may not be crazy about Julie Andrews' voice (too sweet for me) but what happens at the Antwerp main train station was so fun I had include it here.

According to an article I read: The video was produced to publicize Op zoek naar Maria, the Belgian TV version of the BBC talent competition program How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, about the search for an actress to play the lead role in a stage revival of The Sound of Music.

PROVINCETOWN DREAM

2009-06-06T06:39:00.012-07:00

Last night I had a dream about my upcoming trip to Provincetown, MA. I guess you could say I am excited.

In the dream we arrived in town (a town that was much bigger then the actual Ptown) and were greeted by Richfield, Minnesota's most famous resident, Miss Richfield 1981. We spent the entire day walking the streets, stopping in random stores and bars, while Miss Richfield gave us a glimpse into her world of international fame, and shared her dreams of building a comedy palace that she envisioned herself performing in nightly.

(This Photo of the gang and Miss Richfield 1981 was taken three years ago during my last Ptown vacation)

The next day while sitting in a coffee shop talking with friends, a thin and not completely unattractive friend of friend (I have no idea who he was) asked me what I ate. Not understanding, I asked what he meant. Looking at my mid-section he said, "Do you eat pies and cakes or do you eat salads?" As I started to reply my attention was diverted as a cute, young man with tossled brown hair hanging in his eyes, and a tattooed map of Scandinavia (with green letters - NOR - in the middle) on his left bicep started to walk by me. He stopped, gave me a smile and started up a conversation. I told him I hadn't taken a shower since the day before and for some reason that drew him closer and with an even wider smile he started caressing my face and massaging my neck.

Then I woke up - but what does it all mean?

Last night, while watching baseball (and The Young and The Restless)on television, I was perusing Youtube for Ptown videos. Trying to get Fettit as excited as I am about our upcoming adventure, I showed him several videos of Miss Richfield and Ptown.

The acquaintance asking what I eat - I think that is about my self-consciousness about my weight and what I ate the day before. However, in my defense, I have lost 25 pounds (it was 30 but I have played with five pounds over the past year) - and we have been trying to eat more healthy again prior to our trip.

Yesterday I didn't do myself any favors.

For breakfast I had an everything bagel with garden veggie cream cheese - a no no. At lunch I had three rolled chicken taquitos with guacamole and cheese -another no no, and when I got home I was peckish so I had about 20 Pepperidge Farms crackers - no no trifecta. To make matters worse, for dinner Fettit made beef stroganoff.

Okay - so yesterday was a frickin fat and carb-fest and subconsciously I am disgusted with myself for all the crap I ate.

Eating all that dough is not going to help me fit into the new bathing suit I bought for the trip, and I don't want to have to wear a jilbab to the beach to conceal any new found girth.

When I first started going to Ptown, 12 years ago, part of the routine was to go the beach, but as the years passed, and the pounds started piling on, I kept my distance. This year, feeling better about my ol body, I have been planning to make a return to the beach and am determined feel good about my body.

As for the good-looking young man with the tattoo. I will have to think long and hard about that one, but I am sure it was just a dream within a dream!

THE BIBLE'S IDEA OF MARRIAGE

2009-06-04T21:49:00.007-07:00

A slew of my friends posted this on Facebook, so of course they will have no need to watch it here, but I think it is hilarious....and so sacrilegious that I had to post it.

Ironically near the end as she is recapping I thought to myself this is just like "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and right then guess what tune started to play? YEP!!!

Get yer head outta yer asses people...Against Gay Marriage? Don't marry a gay!!!!

ELLEN DEGENERES - TULANE COMMENCEMENT 2009

2009-05-31T07:59:00.005-07:00

It is so much easier to just steal things off the internet then to come up with an original idea and yesterday I started a piece for inclusion here and still have not finished it so when I found this I thought it was worthy...ha - like anything I put on here is ever worthy.... and worthy of what anyway?

I originally saw a small clip of Ellen Degeneres' Tulane commencement speech and found it so funny I went to Youtube to see if there was more. As luck would have it, there was, and what I discovered was nearly all of the funny parts were in the beginning but what she had to say after the jokes was touching (co-mingled with some comedy).

Its rather long at nearly 10 minutes but I think it is worth the time.

Oh.. and I really am working on an original piece having to do with my upcoming vacation....

SECTION 60 - ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

2009-05-23T14:05:00.008-07:00

This weekend we remember and memorialize those who have touched our lives and are no longer with us, especially our service men and women who have died with the belief that what they were doing was making our country a safer place for each of us.

Last year I attended the memorial service and burial at Arlington National Cemetery for one such individual - Technical Sergeant Anthony (Tony) Capra who was married to my eldest daughter, Angie, and was father to their five beautiful children.

Angie, holding youngest child Anna, is interviewed in the above CNN news clip about Arlington National Cemetery and Section 60 - the area where over 500 American service members have been buried after losing their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Below is the CNN article that accompanies the video:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Flowers arrived at Capt. Marissa Alexander's office at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on June 3, 2005.

Her husband, Staff Sgt. Leroy Alexander, was half a world away fighting with the Special Forces in Afghanistan, but he had found a way to send a floral arrangement to his wife, who was five months pregnant with twins.

"He called me and asked me what building I worked in. He said he had to update some records," Alexander said. The flowers lifted her spirits.

But a few hours later, her emotions would be thrown into a tailspin. Alexander saw two Army officers in dress uniforms knock on her front door.

One of the officers started to talk: "We regret to inform you..."

If he said any more, Alexander doesn't remember. "The next memory I have is in my kitchen, banging on the floor. I just couldn't believe it," she said.

The good feelings from flowers delivered a few hours before were gone, replaced by shock, pain and mourning.

A roadside bomb had made her a widow.

Staff Sgt. Alexander now lies in Arlington National Cemetery's Section 60, where 500 soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

For years Section 60 has been the one of busiest parts of the cemetery. Every day new burials bring precision marches, the somber tones of taps and the nerve-rattling three-gun salutes.

Then there are family and friends who come to the graves to make an emotional connection to their lost loved ones.

Memorial Day weekend brings even more activity and more visitors. Adults, even some uniformed generals, walk slowly between the rows and rows of headstones, looking for a familiar name. But small children often seem to find the cemetery a place to explore, even play. Their smiles and curiosity remind grown-ups that even in a place synonymous with death, life goes on.

A sense of community has emerged in Section 60.

"I've come here at times and I've met people who were paying remembrances to their loved ones. You become friendly," Capt. Alexander said. "You see each other sometimes and you make a friendship because you know that your loved ones died for the same cause."

Angie Capra's husband is buried a few yards from Leroy Alexander. Air Force Tech Sgt. Anthony Capra was an explosive ordnance disposal expert, killed trying disarm a bomb in Iraq.

"Other widows will come by and put something on there for me if they don't see me. They'll put down flowers. It's kind of a community," Capra said.

More than flowers adorn the graves in Section 60. Visitors of all faiths have picked up the ancient Jewish tradition of leaving a small stone on the headstones to show that a visitor had been to the grave. In most cases these are pebbles found near the grave. But some people have taken to leaving colored glass beads or elaborately painted stones with shamrocks or words like "hero."

Capra recently found a small Yoda figure on her husband's grave. She doesn't know who left it, but it must have been a friend, because her husband loved "Star Wars."
"We never know who puts stuff" on the headstone, she said.

Some mementos leave one to wonder about the story behind them. Like the headstone topped by a tiny bottle of Tabasco hot sauce. Or a set of dog tags with a name that didn't match the name on the headstone.

There is another topped by a small Lego toy, perhaps left by a child whose father died in a far-off land before they even knew each other. Or the grave adorned with an empty bottle of Bud Light, a rubber duck and a candle.

Nearby an empty Wild Turkey bottle is the lone addition to the grave of a soldier who died in a country where drinking alcohol is strictly forbidden.

Capra has found a variety of items on Tony's headstone.

"Coins, lots of rocks, candy. My husband was a candy freak," Capra said. "There was a cross. A little necklace, Mardi Gras beads during Mardi Gras season. Anything they have they'll put on top to show that they are thinking about them at the time."
Alexander seems to draw strength from the items she finds.

"Someone came and did a picture of Lee, and it was a hand-drawn picture. I thought that was very interesting," she said.

"People who haven't been seen in years will leave a note of some sort. It's nice to know that you've been remembered after all of this time. To know that we have friends who still love and support us, that is just wonderful."

Section 60 has been called the "saddest acre in America," and without a doubt sadness abounds. But so do comfort, support and even an occasional smile.

HAPPY 25TH ANTI-VERSARY FETTIT

2009-05-17T07:12:00.013-07:00

Twenty-five years ago today I met the single most seminal individual of my adulthood - Fettit. Who would have thought the night we met all those years ago in Marquette, MI we would still be living together?

I knew the night I met Fettit that I loved him and with all we have been through, nothing has changed (except our hairlines). Our relationship has evolved into something different then it was in the beginning, but what partnership doesn't change through the years?

For 25 years he has been more then my best friend - he has been my family - my brother. He has gone from helping me raise my kids to becoming Papa to our grandchildren, and he has put a smile on my face and made me laugh harder and more often then anyone.

Fettit - thank you for opening your heart and life to me, for giving me a home, for 25 years of laughter and friendship and for loving me.

Above are two photos of me and Fettit taken the first year we were together

And this is a photo of me and Fettit taken this past summer

COMMANDER-IN-COMEDY

2009-05-10T07:18:00.007-07:00

For those that missed the Commnder-in-Chief speak at the White House Correspondent's Dinner this weekend, I snagged this from CNN.Com. Not only is President Barack Obama a capable and compassionate leader, he has a flare for comedy.

My favorite joke was in reference to his newfound closeness with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It happens at the 7:56 mark on the clip....