Wandering Through My Mind 30 MAY 12

I've been having wonderful conversations with sane people all over the US via video conferencing. It would be nice if someone would listen to us in a critical, non-tainted manner. Ideas in the public forum are worth examining. One-sided propaganda funded by those who want us to hand over the keys to the country to them seem to be quite effective. De-funding education seems to have been working for these manipulators over the past 40 years.

I'm quite upset with the news that Florida is running massive voter purges again to counter non-existent voter fraud. James O'Keefe is reported to have tried to fraudulently obtain ballots in New Hampshire: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/07/479343/fake-voter-fraud-filmmaker-james-okeefe-says-he-faces-grand-jury-subpoena/?mobile=nc He may face charges and would be subpoenaed before a grand jury if he were to go to the state. The article also covers Governor Skeletor's voter purges in Florida.

It's so distressing that people continue to buy the lies and fraudulent actions of administrations who are in business to turn the United States into an oligarchy in which the wealthy and their minions rule as dictators.

People seem to be quite willing to believe outrageous lies, and then work against their own interests. The winners of the 2012 election have been declared: the media. Their coffers are being filled with "free speech"; money from the wealthy and corporations throughout the world. Who can believe that a corporation in China, Germany, France, England, Japan or elsewhere should be able to influence elections in this country? This is not democracy by any stretch of the imagination. It is rule by wealth; rule by sociopaths and psychopaths.

Wandering Through My Mind 27 MAY 12

Great jam session in St. Charles yesterday, and then off to practice with Dan Becker and Glenn Hampson for the upcoming "Art In The Park" gigs on 9 & 10 June.

Free shows, lots of disparate kinds of art displays, kayak races in Mastodon Lake, good food, and great people. We're playing with Urban Groove, Jazz Vertigo, and Leah Pearl twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday afternoons. Phillips Park is on East Parker Avenue in Aurora. For more info, call 630-978-4774.

Come one, come all for a great time with Dan Becker and The Tourists.

Wandering Through My Mind 25 MAY 12

A day without music can be a dreary thing. We love patterns, and thrive on them throughout life if we're lucky.

Getting ready to play in Aurora, IL at Phillips Park for "Art in The Park" festival on 9 & 10 JUN with Dan Becker and The Tourists. We play two shows a day for both days, along with Urban Groove, Jazz Vertigo, and Leah Pearl.

See http://www.ReverbNation.com/DanBeckerAndTheTourists

Wandering Through My Mind 21 MAY 12

There's nothing like a leisurely trip home from Maryland to delete a billion or so brain cells from my brain pan. Weaseling down the highway at 0300 at 80 MPH through the Alleghenys  might be thrilling if it wasn't for 100' dropoffs, falling rocks, fallen deer, and morons who are stoned, drunk, or on the phone. I suppose I'm not the adrenaline junkie I used to be.

Wandering Through My Mind 16 MAY 12

There is nothing like a long, leisurely drive from Chicago to Baltimore to remind me of the fights we have with our bodies. In particular, odd schedules and sleep deprivation. It's been a while since I've driven this far, and I've had too many close encounters of the 18th kind on this night. Watching an 18 wheeler swerve off the road and then into my lane in several separate instances during the night in Pennsylvania and Maryland is not what I remembered.

Some TV pundit suggested that people who think they don't make enough money are not working hard enough. I guess the solution must be to dump the regulations on truck drivers so they can drive enough hours during a day to prove they can work harder or die trying, or kill someone else while trying. 

I think the TV pundit guy might try thinking about why there used to be regulations on how many hours a driver could work without rest, or how many hours a pilot could fly without rest, or ...

Wandering Through My Mind 10 MAY 12

Eliminate poverty! Kill all the poor people! Such a deal, eh?

Wandering Through My Mind 09 May 12

The Hudson river was dead; the Cuyahoga River caught on fire regularly. Vine Deloria commented, "only the white man would make a river that would catch on fire." Externalizing all of the toxic effects of making a profit are a death sentence to our children and our environment - a result of human selfishness and willful ignorance of our stewardship as keepers of our planet.

Sorry if this seems so negative, but we cannot progress if we ignore responsibilities and just kick the can down the road.

Wandering Through My Mind 07 MAY 12

Socialism for the rich! "Free enterprise" for the rest!

Wandering Through My Mind 07 MAY 12

Great gig with Dan Becker And The Tourists at the Elbo Room tonight. Really glad to have Jeff dropping on the drums, Dave entertaining us, Mindy regaling us with her wisdom, and especially Liz working video for us.

It would have been a bit easier if I hadn't broken my wrist Saturday, but Liz drove home, and I'll somehow survive.

Wandering Through My Mind 05 MAY 12

Raise the retirement age to 67? Why not raise it to 134 or death, whichever comes first? Of course death would render you and your family ineligible for benefits.

What is wrong with us? Why do we keep going back to that 55 gallon drum and guzzling down that Kool Aid?

Aren't you, (Illinois) Gov. Quinn, and our legislators smarter than A.L.E.C.? What's wrong with our collective brain that makes us keep going for this complete bull-crap of attacking the least among us whenever the powerful decide to impose yet another austerity measure upon us? Remember that we PAID for our benefits, and now the legislature will admit they stole our retirement and benefit money, but have come back for more! For whom do they work?

Wandering Through My Mind 04 MAY 12

Ghandi said that there is more to life than living it faster. I think people need to understand that the concept of living life faster also encompasses consuming the resources of the earth at a rate that will make humans another failed species, and commit the rest of the planet to an early demise.

People who advocate consumption of resources as an end of our "purpose" may have an argument with respect to the concept of entropy, but it's self defeating, and not a way to help us enjoy our and our world's existence.

Wandering Through My Mind 04 MAY 12

I'm just tired of right wing talking points: If we tax corporations, they'll just make us pay those taxes in what they take from us. So, if we eliminate taxes on corporations, will they somehow magically reduce the amount they take from us because of our generosity? Don't be idiots - the money will just be taken.

Wandering Through My Mind 04 MAY 12

Republicans are people who would blame corn for being welfare cheats because we spent so much to grow it, but can't figure out its use or benefits.

Wandering Through My Mind 03 MAY 12

I've been tossing this around for years:

Pandora's Box

There only needed to be two things in Pandora's Box:
Mortal knowledge, and a mirror.

Wandering Through My Mind 03 MAY 12

When I own a navy, army, and air force, I might think I have some strength against oppression. That being impossible, I think it might be better if I own the government.

Money in politics? We're looking at the results.

Wandering Through My Mind 02 MAY 12

Interesting that people think they can destroy labor without killing the workers.

Wandering Through My Mind 01 MAY 12

May Day should be illegal! Throw all of those lazy criminal workers in jail! That'll learn 'em!

Wandering Through My Mind 01 MAY 12

A corporation is a person in the same sense that a flamethrower is a firefly.

Wandering Through My Mind 01 MAY 12

The most powerful thing we can do is introduce people to one another.

Wandering Through My Mind 01 MAY 12

If you don't ask, you may never know.