Mission:1)Advance the principle that Pacifism, Liberalism, Environmentalism, + membership in the Democratic Party are not sins nor of which one need be ashamed. 2)Move us in the direction of a political culture which would enable public persons to proudly proclaim their leftist tendencies, just as those on the right may do at present.
ADDENDUM: TO VIEW ARTICLES JUST SCROLL DOWN. DON'T FEAR SCROLLING; NO INJURIES HAVE RESULTED, JUST ENLIGHTENMENT. ;o) PEACE PLEASE.... STEVE
Joe Gallagher Jr. is a frequent visitor to open mike night at a local Wallingford night and day spot, a coffee shop reminiscent of Greenwich Village 30 years ago, and an awesome place and story in and of itself, called The Dry Dock at 68 Quinnipiac Street. The aside is that The Dry Dock serves no alcohol and great local music is spotlighted frequently, good eats are there to be had at abundant times, the social setting is unique and friendly in the extreme, whether your choice is to simply donate a buck or two for a cup of java or a great breakfast, lunch or dinner cooked on the grill. I spent a good portion of my New Year’s Eve there, and it was a memorable event, indeed. I met many great folks, including some music fans from a local NPR outlet who offered the opportunity for volunteer service at their station and many other like-minded non-drinking people on a night when it seems the world is out to accomplish DUI and DUI only. I’ve since returned on many occasions during the day to stop by for coffee, to chat with the manager and to set up my lap top and do a bit of work in a more social setting than my own living room and each time came away fed in far more ways than in merely the gastro-intestinal sense, and the food’s good too!
Joe is a Wallingford friend, and I recently became acquainted with his music via a single amateur video which I hereby declare to be the Cutest Music Video Ever Produced. The song is “My Only Son” a tribute song to his young son Joe, and the tune is awesome and the emotion Joe manifests in his playing is evident. But stealing the show is his little daughter, Savannah Jeanne, who tries her darnedest to distract Dad by repeatedly using the “L” word on him, “I love you Daddy” she says, by playing his guitar while Joe plays guitar, and by dancing in front of the camera Joe set up to work on the writing of this tune. You can’t help but believe that Savannah might just have a bit of sibling rivalry going on with little bro and that this might be one factor in her efforts at distracting father Joe! It’s a riot and a beautiful testimony to the love of a father for both his son and for his daughter, for whom he’d written a song years earlier. He does other music which is acoustic and awesome, my personal favorite besides "My Only Son" being a tune he calls "Serenity" and the Youtube.com link to a variety of his work is: http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeJr1234. Joe's Facebook page link is: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Joe-Gallagher-Rocks/168359669874357 and The Dry Dock's Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/TheDryDock?ref=ts&sk=wall.
Genres: Alternative / Indie Rock / Alternative Rock
Label: Wicked Talent Productions
"Members: Mark Andersen-Drums, Pat Mace-Bass, Jonathan Sibrava-Lead Guitar, and Joe Gallagher Jr.-Vocal/Guitar Out of Character is a slap in the face, a riot act to replace the free will of mankind. They tear their way on stage as well as off and bring an industrial, hypnotic sound into the world. Formed at a local open mica in a magical place called The Dry Dock, they progressively cut through the scene. By leaps and bounds, Out of Character stormed into their own souls to produce and create fantastic songs. Keep an eye out for these rising stars." ---------------------------------------
The list of venues the band has played in recent months is impressive and stretches from The Dry Dock in Wallingford; to the Bronx; Manhattan; to Danielson, Hamden, Orange and New Haven, CT. Their music is great on video, although I have to admit that I have neither caught Joe's individual nor the group in action onstage yet. That yet will happen very soon, and a review will most certainly follow. That is most certainly a ‘yet’ I’m very much looking forward to, as Joe’s music, Out of Character’s music and Joe’s own character as a man today are amazing, indeed. Hi Savannah! 5 Stars without a doubt! And a link for the advancement of community, please take a look and drop by when you're in the area, I assure you that you won't regret it! http://www.thedrydock.org/
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
by Steve Alexander on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 9:04am.
Yesterday evening, very late, I posted an article entitled "Bernie Sanders, Ed Schultz, MSNBC, Income Disparity and the Rich Getting Richer." By 8am I had received an email from the publisher, Examiner.com attempting to censor the article less than 8 hours after publication AND before business hours at their west coast offices. I find them to afford editorial freedom, and in fact praised them yesterday for that. However it IS very much imperfect. I've found that they use the 'local pertinence' argument whenever it is convenient to censor the most controversial articles. It's worth noting that this article praises the only member of the U.S. Senate who is an avowed socialist and a member of neither major political party (except my own lame duck Senator soon to say bye-bye and good riddance to his dubious public service, Joe Lieberman) Bernie Sanders. Often they refuse to label newsworthy articles as newsworthy (which would result in more hits for the articles) and my very first submission on food and veganism was deleted altogether--the only time that ever happened. I find that the more economic justice that is involved in the article the more the censorship is likely to emerge. For some reason the article has not been deleted as of this hour (8:53am 6/22/11) and I posted right on the article about their email to me announcing their censorship and my own terse email responses. I'm also publishing this note at my blogspot immediately. First Amendment Matters! And the link to this article is:http://www.examiner.com/government-in-hartford/bernie-sanders-ed-schultz-msnbc-income-disparity-and-rich-getting-richer.
And here is the note I attatched to that article including the email exchange between myself and Examiner.com:
EXAMINER.COM HAS SENT ME THE FOLLOWING EMAIL IN AN EFFORT TO CENSOR THIS ARTICLE: Dear Steven Alexander,
Thank you for publishing your recent article headlined Bernie Sanders, Ed Schultz, MSNBC, Income Disparity and Rich Getting Richer! Unfortunately, our review team has decided that it does not meet our criteria for local coverage. Although you cannot resubmit this story, here are a few easy ways to localize your future stories: Local Info: Add local information or links to local resources that relate to the topic. Local Perspective: Provide a local perspective on the story that is unique to your town or city. Local Angle: Focus the story on a local resident, business or place illustrative of the subject. To help readers relate to your local story, establish the relevance to your location in the lead paragraph or first 100 words.... Find more helpful tips on local coverage in Examiner University.This does not mean that your article has been removed from the site, only that it does not count as a qualified article for the local incentive. Only articles published in the 2.0 pub tool are eligible. Please contact your Category Manager if you have further questions.
Thank you, Examiner.com Review Team.
" I'm not certain why the Censors at Examiner.com have not yet removed this article, I HAVE replied to their emails as follows:
'CENSORSHIP STINKS. I will report on this censorship. Thank you. Steve
And, btw, no thanks on the 'helpful tips on local coverage in Examiner University.' Again, thanks for other matters besides repeated efforts at censorship,
Make Love Not War "All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance" Said
John Winston Ono Lennon and Yoko Lennon Ono During Their Bed-In's For Peace
He, Himself Assassinated Of All Things By Handgun, Mr. Peace. Go Figure.
A Victim Of War
War Results In Rape, Killing, Torture And Maiming Of Adults, Men, Women, Children
And Needs To Stop
As Unpleasant As This Picture Is, Imagine Being This Person Or His Lover or Son Or
His Daughter
WAR IS REAL!!!
AND THE UNITED STATES IS A PRIMARY CULPRIT NOW FOR DECADES!
Happy Father's Day?
OMG
:(
ON THE WAR POWERS ACT: A DIALOGUE WITH A FRIEND
by Steve Alexander on Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 2:15pm.
From my friend Ed (Ed's from CT, and has become an awesome friend who is not afraid to disagree very agreeably, is also a Weather Fan from CT and keeps the power on in bad weather as a utility employee) via FB Private Message Thursday June 16th, 2011:
ED:I am soooooo tempted to raze you answering the poll that right now Obama is the best Republican in the field!!!!! after the notion that the war powers act do not apply in the case of Libya. I personally think they do,but that is another thing. My question to you ,though,since I was not really paying attention at the time is this: Did Reagan go to Congress before Grenada or Bush '41 before Panama? That would go a long way toward establishing precedent. I am hoping you were into politics enough during those days that you might have noticed. Maybe sometimes I am too harsh on Obama but sometimes I feel very betrayed that I voted for him because I thought he really would "have the courage to stand up to special interests" like he said he would,but really doesn't seem to. That brings me to the conclusion that if he is the one person I trusted and he wouldn't, then there really is no one that ever will,and that makes for a very sad vision of the future for the average working joe. Sometime I need to write more about my thinking a few years ago that the American economy is in a bind it can not get out of and a lot of fighting will take place for those that have something to preserve it. I see a lot of it today in many places.again more on that another day. I start 12 hour night shifts to night so may not be near the computer as much, but I will look at it from time to time. Thanks for giving my mind an outlet. I know even when you do not agree you will listen...
To which I replied on Fathers Day, June 19th, 2011:
I'm sorry, I'm gonna make you look at him again. OMG! How horrible!
UNABASHED LEFT: OK, here goes Ed. I did NOT want to short shrift your comments about the War Powers Act and Libya. I personally believe that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional in and of itself. It's simple. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land and amending the Constitution or changing any aspect of it requires 2/3's vote in Congress and approval by 2/3's of the States' legislatures. Article 1, section 8 reads as it gives EXCLUSIVE power to CONGRESS, without Presidential involvement whatsoever: "Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water." The War Powers Act, passed in 1973 over Nixon's veto grants specific war powers to the President, via a 2/3 vote, because a veto had to be overridden, however a Constitutional Amendment was never proposed and NO State Legislature has ever had the right to vote on changing this usurpation of power by the politicians in DC, both in Congress and in the White House. Every president, Dem or Rep winds up wanting to exercise more power than allotted constitutionally. Wikipedia describes the War Powers Act: "The War Powers Act requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30 day withdrawal period, without an authorization of the use of military force or a declaration of war. The resolution was passed by two-thirds of Congress, overriding a presidential veto." Clearly in violation of the Constitution's reservation of all dispatches of U.S. troops and military hardware to Congress, and Congress alone. As Commander in Chief the President's job is to implement the declarations of war that ORIGINATE with the US Congress. I agree that the President needs to have some flexibility beyond that granted by the Constitution, but the only legal way to do it is to amend the constitution. Anything else is actually treason, to be honest, it's just been 'acceptable' since the last officially declared war in 1941. We've only declared war 5 times in US history, the 1812 war against Britain, WWI, the Mexican/American War, and Japan and Germany in WWII. As far as George HW Bush, his use of the War Powers Act was summarized by Wikipedia as follows: "Congress invoked the War Powers Act in the Multinational Force in Lebanon Act(P.L. 98-119), which authorized the Marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 months. In addition, P.L. 102-1, authorizing the use of U.S. armed forces concerning the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, stated that it constituted specific statutory authorization within the meaning of the War Powers Act." His son, Dubya, on the other hand violated US Treaties by launching his Iraq misadventure in violation of UN Resolutions, and, like it or not, we have treaties in place compelling us to abide by UN Resolutions, and international Treaties, which necessitate 2/3 votes in the US Senate, supersede "Acts" by Congress, so the entire Iraq mess since 2002 has been illegal. Regarding Ray-Gun and HW in Panama and in Grenada, I think it's all irrelevant, with regards to whether these usurpers sought Congressional approval after the fact, and illegal as well as treasonous in actuality. In addition the Dubya administration provided false info to Congress on the presence of weapons of mass destruction to Congress. I oppose American militarism. Politics is the art of compromise. Barack Obama and the Democratic Party itself, are a compromise for me my friend. Thanks for the comment, and I hope for your response, I value your opinions, indeed! Happy Dad's day! Peace pleeeeeze, Steve
PAULA POUNDSTONE INTERVIEW – TUESDAY JUNE 7TH 2011 WALLINGFORD/L.A.
Last Tuesday I did a phone interview with 32 year veteran stand-up comedienne Paula Poundstone. She has an appearances coming up in the Connecticut area on the following dates: June 24th she'll be at the Union County Arts Center in Rahway, NJ (seeya there Paula). On July 8th she'll be at The Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, MA and on July 9th she will be appearing at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center in Westhampton, NY. Thanks to Derek and especially to Paula for taking the time she did for this and for the laughter and good works she does. Me: First question: You’ve got 16 cats.
Paula: I DO have 16 cats.
Me: WHY???
Paula: Because I had 15 and then I got one more. That’s my traditional answer. I DON’T know! It probably is like some weird mental thing. I’ll tell you, we were walking, my kids and I on Sunday, down by a busy populous Street here in Santa Monica and there was some cage of kittens some rescuer was giving away and I had the nerve to stop and think about it. I’m dumb! I don’t know why! My whole life is cleaning up someone’s waste product. I clean litter boxes, like four times a day! The honest truth is they’re really fun and their entertaining and that’s why we have them. But it is a pain in the neck.
Me: After I had seen you in Manhattan you sent me a card with a picture of your cat named Hep.
Paula: Oh yeah. Good old Hep.
Me: Why did you name her Hep?
Paula: Oh its Hep cat, as in… he’s a hip cat, you know, jive talk.
Me: Oh. You wanna know where my mind went? I thought you named him after a social disease. Hepatitis.
Paula: Is there a social disease that’s Hep?
Me: Yeah, hepatitis.
Paula: OH MY GOD! That’s too funny! I never thought of that. Some of our cats are named after Harry Potter characters. Some when the kids were littler after the color of their fur, but I had to put my foot down and say that I had to do the naming because you’re gonna be off in college and I’m gonna be stuck with Fluffy. Like they wanted to name one cat Olive. I hate the name Olive. I don’t want a cat named Olive, I don’t even like olives. And another cat’s name is Sham Wow. It’s a long-haired cat – it’s the only long-haired cat we have.
Me: Feralcare.org is a good organization that rescues feral cats. feralcare.org
Paula: OH! There’s some organization – how can I forget the name of it, it’s something feral cats as well. You know 50% of cats are feral! They need to be trapped and fixed….
Me: It’s a good cause.
Paula: Yes it is, definitely.
Me: Another sort of serious question. Are you political? In your comedy and in general? In other words to you have a political orientation?
Paula: I have a political orientation. I’m a Democrat. However… and I do...
Me: It’s hard to say that on the post-Weiner day.
Paula: Yeah I jumped on the Weiner bandwagon to some degree. You know frankly I wasn’t quite inclined to do so. Frankly I don’t care if he Twitters pictures of his penis or not, I don’t care. Or his crotch or whatever the Hell he’s doing, I don’t know. But it makes no difference to me. I just think his word ‘certitude’ sounds vaguely sexual in itself. I thought that that part was all kind of weird. But no, I talk about politics onstage, but not because I’m always right. You know what I mean. There’s some comics who if you think differently than them then your cast as somewhat of an idiot. I don’t join in that I don’t think. I just try to make jokes; I don’t always think that I have any answers at all. I just like to make jokes. I don’t know anything about how to make a budget. It makes me nervous. I flipped by Suze Ormand a few times on television and she scares me! And I even fear that my credit card is gonna get cut up when I use it. And also that she’s going to jump out from some kind of display case and shout at me.
Me: She kinda makes me wonder what she does when she’s Tweeting.
Paula: Boy, she scares me. Yeah I do talk about politics from the point of view of just an average citizen trying to glean what I can to cast a half way decent vote. I wouldn’t tell somebody else how to vote.
Me: Are you an Obama supporter?
Paula: DEFINITELY! And I have come out for one President or the other and done fund-raisers and this or that, but when I’m talking to the audience onstage at a show where they’ve paid to come see me, I certainly don’t say you have to do this or you have to do that, other than recycle.
Me: Let me throw out a few names and see what you have to say about them. Comedians. What do you think of Jon Stewart?
Paula: Well I think I’d love him if I saw him, I don’t watch television much. I haven’t watched prime-time TV since Radar left M*A*S*H*. I used to work with Jon a hundred years ago. That was before his show and I liked him a lot. But I get nervous about people saying they get their news from Comedy Central. It’s not a source for news it’s a source for opinion and its fun.
Me: It’s kinda like getting your news from Fox.
Paula: Well, I get nervous watching MSNBC. I agree with it mostly, but it’s not a source of news, editorials really and silly.
Me: Speaking of comedians let me throw a couple more out there. What do you think about Sarah Palin?
Paula: Ohhh. She’s just a…she’s just a… I don’t know... Just look what she’s done! I went onstage the night after Mitt Romney announced and the first thing I said to the crowd was ‘Mitt Romney is running for President.’ Because I really feel that anyone who knows that he’s running for President needs to turn to the person beside them and say it. The man’s been done an injustice. The media have the NERVE to follow Sarah Palin. Instead of someone who is throwing his hat into the ring for the Presidential election. We need to hear from Mitt Romney, not Sarah Palin. If she’s gonna run then she should talk. But the media should be following the man who’s gonna run for President.
Me: Between Anthony Weiner and Sarah Palin, Romney’s announcement didn’t stand a chance.
Paula: I don’t know if it’s the chicken or the egg. I can’t tell if the media does that or if WE make the media do that. You know, salivate for this stuff.
Me: What do you think of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O’Reilley?
Paula: Well Beck is going to be an internet presence. You know I’ve never seen more than 2 seconds of any of them. None of that really appeals to me. You know what appeals to me, early ‘Leave It To Beavers.’ I just get nervous when people are doing masquerading as one thing and doing another. My son is Eddie Haskell. He’s always complimenting my necklace. I’ll tell him you have to get up now and he’ll say ‘Yes Mom.’ And then not a move. Not anything. But it all sounds so good. He presents so smoothly in that Eddie Haskell kind of a way.
Me: You know your son might wind up with a political career.
Paula: Yeah, there are two that would make great politicians. [lol]
Me: When I saw your show at the Gramercy in Manhattan there was a guy in the audience, a Madison Avenue guy, who claimed credit for the Clorox bleach ad campaign, do you remember?
Paula: [laughs] Ooh yeah!
Me: He claimed credit for making Clorox popular. You dismantled him and Wall Street.
Paula: Well Wall Street is doing a pretty good job of dismantling itself. I saw a bank ad the other day that was really reprehensible. They’re trying to make themselves look real friendly, I can’t remember what bank it was, but ‘you know, come on in tell us what we can do for you.’ That was like their little slogan, it’s more like ‘Come on in, none of us ever went to jail.’ Gawd!
Me: Yeah, well they got one, Madoff, that’s it.
Paula: Well he wasn’t doing what they were doing, it was just coincidence that he did it right around the time that they were doing what they were doing.
Me: Wrong place wrong time, he was caught at a bad time for him.
Paula: Yeah, it must have been the air they were all breathing.
Me: Do you have a script planned for your shows or not?
Paula: No. Not exactly, I’ve been doing my job for about 32 years now. I’ve told a lot of jokes. It’s certainly unscripted. My favorite part of the night is the time honored part: ‘What do you do for a living?’ And I allow for the biographies of the people’s jobs steer the topic and where I go. I happen to have obsessive compulsive disorder and literally everything somebody says reminds me of something else that I feel that I MUST say and so that’s what sorta drives the show. And then I ask people questions and then everything they say reminds me of things that I MUST say.
Me: You have a great job
Paula: I have a really hard time getting off the stage actually. That’s why my shows are very long. Everything reminds me of something else I want to say. I could go on forever!
Me: Let me ask you about the library cause. The Association of Library Trustees… You’re the national spokesperson.
Paula: That’s quite a name. Huh?
Me: Yeah a bit bureaucratic. ALTAFF.
Paula: They used to just call themselves ‘Friends of the Libraries.’ The come around to some of my shows and sell books and the money goes to that organization. I didn’t know until I met them, I always thought that all tax money paid for libraries. Although some tax money goes to the libraries, a lot of it is raised through fund raising arms that help raise money to not only help keep libraries going but it’s for books, and CDs and after-school programs, sometimes literacy programs—even for adults—it depends on the library. Because they’ve morphed over the years. When I was a kid we had a library in Sudbury [MA]—there was this hill, and kids used to run up this hill to this low window and there was a rock. And we believed that a kid had hit his head on that rock and there was blood there and so we would run up to look at that and looking for the kid’s blood on the rock was the most exciting thing we did. So libraries have changed. There’s more than just looking for blood on the rock. I’m not even sure if there was, but by God we’d convince ourselves there was.
Me: I joined the local library fund-raising group here in Wallingford and got two free coffee cups.
Paula: Well eventually you’ll get a tote bag.
Me: Libraries really are a First Amendment thing, and that ties in to another project of yours. Could you talk about NPR [National Public Radio] a bit?
Paula: Listen, I love public radio and I love public television. And I feel really strongly that we need their good journalism. And it’s not a good idea to leave things in the hands of the citizen reporters. That’s lovely, but we need good, well-trained unbiased reporting. And I really think that public radio and public television gives us that. Otherwise we can’t make good decisions. That’s really all there is to it. I don’t really want to hear someone else’s opinion. Not when I’m getting my news I mean. The truth is, when I watch CNN what I come away with often is the name of the person doing the story. As much as I listen to NPR and PBS whenever I listen to them I can’t remember the name of the person who did the story. Because that’s not what the story was about. It’s a real important distinction. It was never the Margaret Warner Show. Or the Gwen Ifill Show. As opposed to Anderson Cooper. You don’t know anything about the stories he’s talking about, what you come away with is knowing about Anderson Cooper. ‘Look he’s in Haiti.’ Anderson Cooper was assaulted by someone; it turned out it was an agent or something. I couldn’t figure out how he got from Haiti to Egypt that quick…They’re out to aggrandize Anderson Cooper.
Me: Someone wanted me to ask you this: What personality characteristic do you think we need more of?
Paula: Oh gee! I don’t have a clue! I really don’t have a clue. I have so few answers it’s just embarrassing. I mean to anything.
Me: I think that’s a good answer.
Paula: I don’t know. I don’t know how we’re supposed to be. A while ago there was this push to get celebrities to come out against bullying. Do you remember that?
Me: Yeah.
Paula: You know there’s bullying going on in school, blah, blah, blah. There has been since time began and the odds of eliminating bullying are very, very slim. So in the middle of that I was interviewed by this lady, and it was a taped thing and she was hoping I’d say some kind of pissy thing. And she said ‘Can you talk about bullying?’ And I said ‘Well you want to get them when they’re small!’
Me: Try doing that on Ellen Degeneres’ show and see what happens. You can’t do it on Oprah anymore. Omg. [Lol]
Paula: [Lol] I Tweeted the last Oprah by the way!!!
Me: Didja?
Paula: Oh man did I have fun.
Me: Did she put it on?
Paula: No, Heavens’ no. No I just Tweeted her into the Tweetosphere, and I got a lot of feedback from it. But it was really, really, really fun to do. I probably never watched more than 5 minutes of Oprah. I remember one time back in the early 80s I saw probably half of the show maybe. And since then maybe one segment. And since then I haven’t watched except maybe 5 minutes. So who could not hear it was gonna be the final episode. So I Tweeted it and it was glorious—the Tweet. I mean, I’m an atheist, but I couldn’t help wondering during the show the people who are believers were supposed to thank God for Oprah or thank Oprah for God. It was a hairline distinction.
Me: I didn’t see the final episode, but I do believe there should be an ‘Anti-Peace Prize’ like the opposite of the Nobel Peace prize for Oprah for giving the world Dr. Phil McGraw. [lol]
Paula: Ooh! Do I agree with that! I totally agree. That’s one of the things I wrote, ‘anybody who gives us Dr. Phil can’t be all good.’ But you know as bad as Dr. Phil is, in the battle of good and evil he would be in a white suit compared to Dr. Drew. Now that’s evil incarnate.
Me: I don’t even know Dr. Drew.
Paula: OMG!! He’s a heinous guy! He sets himself up as this celebrity drug and addiction guy. Oh he’s on like CNN a lot. He’s awful. Here’s the thing that he does. I personally hate A.A. However there are people who feel it’s been helpful for them. More power to them. One of the main tenets of it is anonymity. You’re not supposed to go around telling people. That’s one of the ways that it functions and it works. Well this BONEHEAD…he’s the guy who has the show with the celebrities and the rehab, that’s him. The other thing he does, maybe it’s even worse than that, at least those poor guys who have decided to sell their souls to the devil and do that show during the most miserable time of their life… but ok, at least they actively chose it. But he’s this guy who goes on CNN with a person with a fall from sainthood, somebody with a problem with alcohol or whatever it is they’re doing and they call up this idiot to come on the show and talk about them. The problem is he’s talking about them as if he knows. If he knows them, then it is illegal for him to do that and certainly immoral and if he doesn’t know them then it’s immoral. He’s talking as if they’re clients of his. He’ll say ‘Well, she is in a decline now…’ or whatever. I mean really awful. It’s like paid gossip.
Me: Like a local A.M. talk show or something?
Paula: He did a call-in show. It’s like the evil juicer from which he was distilled. It’s underhanded and the notion that he’s profiting from somebody else’s struggle is reprehensible to me. It’s like the plane has crashed and you can’t move and somebody comes over to take the money out of your pocket.
Me: Like ‘Caught on Camera’—taking the change off a cadaver.
Paula: I would rather have Charlie Sheen do sensitivity training with my children than have this guy talk to them. You should watch him for 2 seconds – he’s really, really awful.
Me: He’s with CNN?
Paula: He’s with any slimy vehicle that will hire him. He had a reality show…if you look very close at the top of his head there’s two little buttons where the horns come in.
Me: Comment on Bob Hope?
Paula: I met him once. When I did backstage coverage at the Emmys, and Angela Lansbury [Murder She Wrote] was the host and Bob Hope was a guest and he was very elderly at that point and he was backstage. You know where they kind of wind him up and send him onstage and then wheel him back in. Very elderly at that point. And I met him then, that was the only time.
Me: What did you think of his comedy—his stand-up?
Paula: I’m not that familiar with it! When I was a kid I definitely knew who he was. I love it that he was a USO guy. That I certainly have undying admiration for. I wish that now, that we are absolutely abusing these young men and women, who go into the service—I wish that we had more for them than a planeload of comedians every so often. At the same time I really respect that he made such a notable contribution to the USO. But I don’t know that much about his comedy. I love Abbott and Costello,
Me: How about Rickles?
Paula: I loved Mr. Potato Head, I can tell you that! I remember him from when I was a kid. But I’m not really all that familiar with his work. I loved the Three Stooges. I loved I Love Lucy. I love Mary Tyler Moore. There’s a woman named Christine McIntiyre who was the blonde, really beautiful woman who was often in Three Stooges shorts. And she was a genius. Larry said she would do anything. I love Margaret Dumont.
Me: I’m a big fan of Gracie Allen.
Paula: I drive on her street! In Beverly Hills there’s a street named after her. And there’s a street named after George Burns.
Me: Do you ever do any venues in CT?
Paula: I do go to CT a good deal. I don’t remember exactly where. I’ve been to Hartford a lot, I know I’ve been to New Haven a lot. I’ve even been to where you mentioned, begins with a W?
Me: Wallingford?
Paula: Yes, there used to be a club there I’d work in a long, long time ago.
Me: I really want to thank you for doing this, I’ll see you in Rahway on the 24th.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a May 17th photo posted on her Facebook page this morning!
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in a vicious bloodbath at her wonderful tradition of meeting constituents in her 8th Congressional Arizona district at a supermarket; she calls them "Congress On The Corner." In the assault, 6 died and 13 others besides Gabby were wounded. These included a federal judge and a 9 year old girl out to get a civics lesson, who admired Gabby and just wanted to meet her.
The Dead:
9 Year Old Christina Green
Dorothy Morris
Judge John M. Roll
Phyllis Schneck
Dorwan Stoddard
Gabriel Zimmerman
OMG
Violence stinx. The whole point of being a Democrat and a liberal for me was rooted in Vietnam and growing up in that era. The war itself. Kent State and '4 Dead in Ohio!' Civil rights marches turned into riots by police abuses in New Haven during the Bobby Seale trial. Lynchings and cross burnings. George Wallace screaming "Segregation Now, Segregation Forever!" JFK killed. Bobby Killed. MLK killed. John Lennon killed. Then the Health Care vote and the endgame of the vote last year. The spitting at Civil Rights heros turned Congressmen on the steps of our nation's Capitol. 'Tea Party' protesters carrying signs with President Obama in a coffin! Cutting a Congressman's brother's gas line to his house, thinking it was the Congressman's house. Capitol Police having to inservice train staff and members in new security measures. Boehner and McConnell refusing Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's overture to make a joint appearance decrying the violence. In Gabby's neighboring state, Nevada, Senator Reid's Republican opponent Sharron Angle's thinly veiled "Second Amendment Remedy" threats against Senator Reid! The current U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lying and claiming his campaign window had been intentionally shot out, when a police report indicated it was random and had occurred weeks prior.
And then the kicker. Sarah Palin with her 'Crosshairs' approach to using rifle scope crosshairs aimed at particular Congressional Districts. Gabby's was one of those! OMG! Palin was called out on the inappropriateness of her symbolism, particularly given the incendiary and violent turn that national politics had taken in 2010. Yet she stubbornly refused to remove this 'symbolism' of 'targetting' wonderful Americans such as Gabby and left it up until 24 hours after the Tucson massacre. Then it was gone in a heartbeat. Unfortunately 6 heartbeats had already been stilled by then. Their pictures are above. Sarah did NOT pull the trigger. She and Cantor, and Tea Party "Patriot" fools like them, Beck, Limbaugh, the current Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority 'Leader' Mitch McConnell are contributing to a political culture not of loyal opposition, but of hatred, violence and animosity. I believe that the more violent overtones that preceded Tucson have abated somewhat since January. I hope and pray this is permanent. Wake up people! Smell the coffee, please. Love one another on all sides, Dems and opponents, pleeeeze!!!
Thank God Gabby survived and is getting better.
There she is. Isn't she gorgeous in this shot?
No wonder Christine wanted to meet Gabby and so admired this courageous woman.
I Facebooked the following message to Congresswoman Giffords this morning after she had posted these wonderful photos:
Congresswoman, you are an inspiration and a Godsend, the violence in our political rhetoric has decreased somewhat since the massacre in Arizona, and violence is just simply an obscenity. You, Gabby, are exactly the opposite. You are an art form and these photos far more beautiful than the Mona Lisa or the Sistene Chapel. Thank you so much for sharing these. As Lisa Hart said, 'You go girl!' May God richly bless you and your's. Peace.... Steve Alexander
Happy Sunday everbody! ;o) Thanks Gabby for sharing so much of yourself and your life. My prayers continue daily. Amen. <3 :)
Check out Yoko Ono's website including her creation: the Lennon Peace Prize...
Arlo Guthrie Sings "The Garden Song" Sowing Seeds is Good Not Bad
If Seeds Hadn't been sown, and sustenance provided
then where would I be?
OMG!!!
The Republitea Greedsters just don't get it!!!
A Sign Near the front of the Community Where I live--a Public Housing Program--it's awesome!
The Republican Guv mentioned on the sign opposed the bill but took credit for it whenever
she could. She's gone. Out of office. :)
Lot's 'o Wallingford jobs created
by upgrading these homes
with TARP funds! Phew!
The sign sez Barack Obama, President and
Funded by:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
aka
The Stimulus Bill
or
the TARP Bill
Thanks to the Federal Government and some awesome local people who administer the program [hi Mary--Madame Coordinator--that's an inside joke, hi Sharon!] I have a place to live that's real nice. Just moved in a coupla months ago. Boy did I need a place to live. Phew. I was sweating it out. Had financial problems and others galore! Wow. What a big help. I had to walk to apply the first time during the winter in Connecticut because the snow was so bad and I've been pretty sick for a few years and couldn't shovel my minivan out in record snows. When I got to the area where the Housing Authority Offices in town are, I saw this:
The neighborhood was beautiful, not fancy at all, but real nice. Well maintained, one floor units for the most part, for elderly folks, disabled brother and sisters, and other low income people, and further up I saw basic single family houses with nice yards for folks with bigger families. There weren't alot of fellow Wallingfordites [not exactly sure whatcha call us] out in the snow, but they were nice, friendly and very eager to help. When I saw this sign, I cried. Yes I did. I was happy. Because I knew I was coming home. It would be a few months, an application process, documentation, filing financial forms, and getting onto 'THE LIST.' THE LIST is intimidating to us applicants, boy! And a rough one for Housing Authority and federal Housing staffers in general to deal with because they don't know exactly when units will become available because it happens often due to people moving out and is unpredictable, and the staffers are NOT responsible for shortages of elderly and low income housing but just the bearers of the news. My wait was only less than 4 months. :)
My beautiful new front yard, I could have a picnic for 250 out there if I was so inclined. Lol! :D
That's my new home! Number Seven!!! Yippee! And yes, that's Peace Duct Tape
from Walmart on my mailbox. My new neighbor said that she had a bees
nest in her mailbox because of the design, when
she found out I have anaphylactic reactions to
bee stings, she's handicapped and real
nice as a next door neighbor
and cares alot.
Peace
Tape
And my beautiful little back yard. I love it! Anybody know somebody who fixes scooters???
Two tables, an umbrella and more fit back here and its real private and just over
the hill is a food store, and right across the street is
the community center and laundromat, no
more than 200 feet from
number Seven. :)
I've had a series of setbacks in recent years. I've been a Social Security Disability recipient since 2007, a Medicare beneficiary, and since January I've even qualified at poverty level for a small quantity of Food Assistance (the former Food Stamp Program) and now Medicaid.
I thank God for this Card and this wonderful program for the Elderly and Disabled.
Thank you Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Thank you Barack Obama
for fighting to
keep
my
disability!
I sure
do
still need it for awhile, sir. Please don't give up the fight! I know you won't!
And this card? A Godsend! Wow.
Politics is not just pie-in-the-sky.
The Republiteas REALLY do
wanna eliminate Medicare
and disability.
Even Mitt Romney
during the 2008
Republican primaries
said that under a Romney
administration nobody under
65 would ever get Social Security.
THE END OF SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY WAS ROMNEY'S PROMISE DURING THE 'O8 DEBATE!
Mine's from another state, Connecticut, but this is an EBT card, Food Stamps
and my Medicaid card now, too! :) Sure need this one right now! Phew!
So I'm grateful for my beautiful new home. My mammalian cohabitant is a happy camper too. But we're not camping, not feral or homeless! Instead, I'm applying for part time jobs now that I'm finally beginning to feel better. I've been admitted to graduate school at Hartford Seminary and will be a full-time divinity student in September. :) Thank you Mr. God! :) <3
I'm writing for Examiner.com and making a bit of money that way, and this writing project right here, Unabashed Left--your exclusive source for all your military affairs and comedy needs, the only place you ever need to be, spend all your time here 24/7 you'll be much happier a person--yourone-stop shop forsociology, politics, justice and rock and roll--is doing beyond fine too, thanks for asking! Thank you First Amendment! Let's just ditch the Second Amendment, whadya say? Confusing isn't it? Does it mean individual arms or militias? Biceps or artillery? Handguns or shotguns? Second Amendment remedies Sharrrrrrrrrrrrron? Really???
Yeah, let's just scrap that one and keep my favorite! THE FIRST AMENDMENT! Keep Julian Assange and his people in your prayers, please and unhand him NATO, I insist, BTW!!! Grrrrrr....
The nonsense myth that those of us on disability or receiving benefits of any sort don't wanna work, or get spoiled on unemployment and lose the urge to achieve??? What are you fools on the right thinking? Most ofya have never 'worked' a day in your lives. And those ofya trying to end unemployment extensions for folks, end or 'privatize' [which means end it, too, just enriching their Wall Street greedster pals as they go down] Social Security and Medicare are, yourselves receiving Federal Government checks each month as employees who take over 20 weeks of vacation a year, and don't have to even report to the office on Capitol Hill ifya feel like getting yourself some publicity that day instead. And you're all rich compared to me and most of us out here in real America you rightie guys and gals! None of us are making $100,000 apiece anymore (very few households are at this point guys and gals, wake up) let alone $250,000. And you don't wanna tax yourselves which is why you oppose taxes for the rich!!!
Go ahead. Make my day. I have so many loved ones and friends and friends I haven't met yet who are threatened by your militarism, your threats to end public education, the Dept of Ed., Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Social Security, SSD, Supplemental Security Income, Labor rights, Unemployment Compensation, and all that you're twisting up conservatism and the Republican party to be today, that I want your party to end now. It's time to dismantle the party of real Republican Abraham Lincoln. Get rid of the silly party of Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Angle, Boehner and Gingrich. Build a different opposition party again ifya like, but after we wipe your hiney (spellcheck) the first Tuesday of November 2012 you'll be in the history books, and your genuflecting to the Tea Party will have been the cause.
I thank God for Barack Obama and his decision to run for re-election, and for his wife, our awesome First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters' (Sasha's birthday this weekend-happy birthday) conscious sacrifices every day for me and all of us. Thank you guys. You're the best!
