Frank's 2008 Blog 644
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May 11
20 Million in Debt and Billary doesn't get the message
CNN reported today - Mothers Day - that Billary's campaign is 20 million in debt but she vowed today to push on, in her slash and burn campaign to destroy Obama and the Democratic Party's chances for winning if she's not the candidate. And by her side at all times is her other half, Bill Clinton, who disgraced our country with his misconduct, and now wants to be appointed a Supreme Court Justice. It won't happen, and hopefully now history will reveal the Clinton's destructive legacy on our nation.
On a positive note my old friend Kevin Sweeney - Musician Extroadenairre - showed up unexpectedly from Hawaii and I drove him back to North Idaho this weekend. He played for my guitar class Thursday night and everyone was dazzled by his playing and his stories. On our trip we stopped in Spirit Lake to meet my friend Brad Sondahl and it was nice to see the town unburied from all the snow. I wish we had had more time to pick a little as they are two of the finest players I've ever met.
May 8
Blind Ambition
People are pressuring Billary to withdraw from the race, and wondering why they won't ...
The reason is - the Clintons (Billary) are all sociopaths with a sense of entitlement that they are the chosen people, and that they deserve to once again be in the White House. They would rather cut the baby in half, than let it live and give up their chances.
Billary - blinded by ego - doesn't see that her putting in 11 Million dollars of her own money into her campaign - is the surest sign that she doesn't have the support she claims to. And thus the Democratic party, Obama, and the American people suffer on due to Clinton Hubris.
May 6
Obama crushes Billary in North Carolina - almost ties her in Indiana with Republican cross-over
Republicans in Indiana - at the direction of conservative talking head Rush Limbaugh - crossed over and voted for Billary - giving her the narrowest of meaningless victories.
April 25
Billary plays the race card again and again
Pennsylvania shows the racial ugliness behind the Clinton's slash and burn campaign. Billary planted the story of Obama belonging to the church chaplained by the controversial Rev. Wright. Now the exit polls are showing racism by the inner city voters claiming they voted for Obama but actually voting for Clinton. 6% of Pennsylvania voters who voted for Clinton said they would vote for McCain in the Presidential vote - same as the Texas voters - their votes are against Obama - not really for Billary.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-SC, the highest-ranking African-American in the Congress, has some tough assessments of la famille Clinton today.
"I heard something, the first time yesterday (in South Carolina), and I heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can’t win this," Clyburn said. "But they're hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win."
To the New York Times Clyburn said there was a near "unanimous" view among blacks that the Clintons are "committed to doing everything they possibly can to damage Obama to a point that he could never win."
Chelsea Clinton refuses to discuss Monica Lewinsky - .
Monica Lewinsky was 21 - several years younger than Chelsea - when the President of the United States - Chelsea's father - had oral sex with the impressionable intern - with his wife in the same building. If Chelsea is going to be on the campaign trail for Billary, she should not be covered by the Press if she doesn't want to answer questions. Another Clinton double-standard.
Billary loses half her lead - claims huge victory .
A few months ago, Billary had a 20% lead in Pennsylvania. She won Tuesday's primary by only 10% after using her kitchen sink attack campaign, and we know that 6% of that was people voting for her who will vote for McCain. The Clintons will do anything to further themselves. Now that they've become millionaires, they want more.
April 17
The Political scene explained
All the Republican conservative talking heads are pummeling Obama. Billary is pummeling Obama. Why is this ?
Because the Republicans know they can't beat Obama, so they tear him down with the same arguments and attack fervor Billary is using. Billary has even higher negatives now than before, and the Repulicans know Billary can't beat McCain, and that Obama can beat both of them, so they're trying to help Billary. And I think people are finally tuning out all this negative political hacking, started by Billary, continued by Billary, and now jumped on by the Republican conservatives.
April 7
The Memphis Blues
A few weeks ago I was pointing out to Maddy that no team had ever won the NCAA Basketball championship with a free throw average less than 65%. Memphis averaged about 60 %. Tonight's championship came down to final minute Free Throw Shooting. and Memphis choked and missed critical free throws, and lost to Kansas in overtime. I guess this is why insurance companies have actuaries constantly crunching the statistics numbers, because in the end - they do predict outcomes.
March 24th
I declare it Spring !
I had an appointment at the VA hospital this morning for an annual physical and I had to fast since 7 pm last night. You never get hungrier than when you can't eat and you have a well stocked refigerator, and an Easter basket full of goodies. So I couldn't eat or drink anything this morning, but my morning was brightened when I looked out my sliding glass door and saw 2 Robins hopping on the grass - I immediately put some bread out for them, and it reminded me that it is now officially Spring.
I have been getting nutritional counseling at VA trying to get my cholesterol and weight down - I had some good news:
My cholesterol went down 60 points by
1. switching off butter to a spread - I use "I can't believe it's not butter light" which tastes almost like butter.
2. not using table salt on my food - just pepper
3. Switching to 1% milk from 2 %
4. and by taking 2 fish oil capsules a day !
In politics Billary got caught in a massive lie - in a Friday speech trying to show "her foreign experience" she said she had flown into Bosnia in 1996 under sniper fire, and they had to run into the airport terminal with their heads down.
It turns out that was one of the safest days in Bosnian history, and she was warmly greeted at the airport in a public flower ceremony presented by a little girl. So Billary can't keep track of her husband in the White House with an intern, and she lies about her foreign experience, but yet she claims she has the experience to protect us all from the enemies of the free world. I don't think so.
March 23rd
Cougs advance again and Billary's Texas victory was rigged
WSU played a near perfect game beating Notre Dame - it was great to see the Cougars stick to their game plan, after Ex-Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps had said the Pac West teams were weak and couldn't hang with the Irish. They were held to half their scoring average and shut down in all categories.
Voting analyses now shows that up to 100,000 Texas republicans crossed over and voted for Billary in the Texas primary, giving her a pyrrhic victory. Most of the anti-Obama onslaught now is by the conservative Right; talking heads like Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs, trying to promote Billary, as they know she's beatable ( She has the highest negatives of any of the current candidates ), and Obama is the strongest candidate against McCain..
March 21st
Cougs advance - Bulldogs bow out
WSU had an incredible 2nd half in their game, tied 29-29 at the half - they almost doubled the score in the 2nd half, holding their opponents to 11 points.
Gonzaga led after the first half but got blown away by Davison's Stephen Curry scoring 30 points in the 2nd half - mostly by 3 pointers. GU's vulnerability all year has been their inability to stop the 3 point shot, and they looked flat since losing the WCC Championship. Both Bouldin and Pendergraft were in single figures, and once again Coach Few played a different starting lineup, which once again didn't work. Anyhow, it was great to see them get to the NCAA playoffs for the 10th year in a row. Gu is about 1/10th the size of some of the major sports power universities.
March 19th
Federal archivists today released 11,000 pages of schedules from Hillary Rodham Clinton's time as first lady, but the material offers little to support her assertion that her White House experience left her best prepared to become president.
What the records do show is that she was right there in the White House during several of Bill&Monica's sexual escapades...... so if she can't even keep an eye on her roaming husband there in the same house, how is she going to protect the free world from all our enemies ?? Quite simply she won't.
March 18th
Give us this day our daily bread
I like working every weekday. I'm happiest when I can get up and have breakfast and read the paper, and then have a few hours work to do. My business has changed so much over the past 21 years that now most work I do here in my home office. I maintain several websites and make ongoing changes, and I have a couple ongoing programming jobs where the client sends me the current version of their database and I make requested changes to it, then email it back to them. I actually have clients I've worked with for the whole time I've been in business, 21 years now.
I also like to have creative time each day, to work on whatever guitar class I'm teaching, or to work on my Mississippi John Hurt book, or just to surf the web and look up topics of interest to me. And I also like time to play my guitar each day.
Days I don't like are when I'm working on multiple projects, and have problems and get behind, and then I feel really stressed and I can actually see my blood presure go up on my BP machine. As I have gotten older; I just turned 63, I need more personal time and making money is not as important as it was to me as when I was in my 30's and worked for the big corporations ( Xerox, Univac and IBM ). It's important that we contemplate life, and enjoy and examine it, and try to live a good well spent life. .
March 17th
St. Patrick's Day
I had a Guiness this weekend to celebrate my irish heritage. I understand it's the beer of choice of Irish alcoholics who subsist completely off it; breakfast lunch and dinner in a can. I have to gag them down as I don't like the taste. I also had a couple Irish Harp Beers which is more palletable, but slightly bitter. Both my daughters have been to Europe and I think they both visited the Guiness brewery. Back in the 70's in Seattle my Mom and I toured the Rainier beer factory on an incredibly hot Summer day, and it actually tasted good, for about the only time. I try to buy a Rainier at least once a year as they used to have great ads - if you remember the Running of the Rainiers. Eris go bragh !!
The NCAA final 65 Team Bracket is out and both WSU and Gonzaga appear to be cannon fodder in their brackets facing huge odds. Gonzaga faces Davidson - a team with the longest winning record in the country and if they win they play East Coast power Georgetown next. The Cougs face Winthrop and then Notre Dame. I think their path is easier. I'll be watching and cheering for the Bulldogs and the Cougs.
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Books read this year, and films/dvds of note:
To Live's to Fly The ballad of the late great Townes Van Zandt - by John Kruth - Dacapo Press Chuck Berry - The Autobiography By Chuck Berry - Simon & Shuster Thinking in Pictures - My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin - Vintage Books - Buried in Ice - Mystery of the Lost Franklin Arctic Expedition By Owen Beattie - Scholastic Books 3 Chords and the Truth - Behind the scenes of Country Music Lawrence Leamer - Harper Paperbacks Last Train to Memphis The rise of Elvis Presley - by Peter Guralnick - Little Brown &Co Freak Show The Misadventures in the Counterculture 1959-1971 - by Albert Goldman - Cooper Square Press North 0f the Narrows Men and Women of the Upper Priest Lake Idaho Country - Claude&Catherine Simpson - Gem Books Sweet Tuesday by John Steinbeck a re-read - My 2nd favorite Steinbeck novel after Cannery Row, about the return of Doc after WWII and the changes he found. Mystery Train by Greil Marcus - Images of Amereica in rock'n'roll music - a re-read as I always do of my many music books. Film/DVDs: -- Townes VanZandt - Be Here To Love Me Documentary by Margaret Brown - Rake Films Being Caribou - DVD I bought for Christmas presents- about a naturalist couple who follow the Caribou herd one Summer on their annual migration - an incredible saga with danger from nature and grizzly bers. Unfortunately I recently read that Bush has authorized oil drilling in the midst of the migration route. Arctic Son - a docmentary I saw on IFC about a teenage native boy in Seattle who visits his estranged father in Old Crow - Yukon territory Canada - and spends several weeks learning how to survive on your own in the wilds - rather than drone out on drugs and alcohol. Has kind of a Smoke Signals feel to it and very nice. Arctic Son preview |
March 15th
Yeehaw ! Attending the Bluegrass Concert
We went to the Spokane Bluegrass Association concert last night at Trent Elementary School. Huge crowd - maybe 400 or more people and an older crowed - looked like a country music crowd. Our friend Brad Sondahl was playing with his accompianest Jonathan Hawkins. They opened and were great but the sound for Jonathan could have been better. They had 4 other acts - including the always great Prarie Flyer with Jim Faddis, and a group from Lewiston Asotin that were really good too. This is a great family event with Adult admission being only $ 5 for almost 3 hours of entertainment !
March 13th
False apology
Today Billary tired to suck up to black leaders by apologizing for any race inferences in her campaign ( after Billary started them ). Now she's in Pennsylvania claiming to be a native Pennsylvanian; suck up; suck up; it just goes on and on and now there's finally some Press commentary about how people are just tired of the Clintons and their legacy of the past and their dirty tricks.
March 12th
The race card's already out there ....
The race card has been on the table since the Clinton's brought it up months ago - when Bill said that Rev. Martin Luther King would not have achieved any of his accomplishments without Lyndon Johnson passing the civil rights law, and strongly downplaying King's record.
Today Geraldine Ferraro resigned from Billary's campaign because of her racial remarks towards Obama - and I saw on her face the same look of racial hatred that was on the face of white racial rioters in New Jersey protesting black students being bussed into the schools, and the same look as the white crackers in Little Rock, Arkansas in the 60's screaming at the black students. Ferraro looks like an old withered bigot and washed up politico, which she is, and watch - the race will get even nastier as Billary unleashes their scorched earth policy on American politics. Them or nobody....
March 11th
Let's face it - the Clintons ( Billary ) are political whores and will do anything to perpetuate themeselves. Over the past few weeks they've attacked Obama using fear mongering, the race card, and every dirty trick in the book. Hillary now looks and sounds like a shrieking harridan, and obviously the campaign is wearing heavily on her. The Clintons have also cowed the Press, who are now bending over backwards to prevent being unfair to Billary, which plays right into their clever ploys. If they can't get the nomination, they'll make sure they'll destroy Obama chances, and have now elicited Republican criticism of Obama, who obviously would be the stronger candidate against McCain. Reminds me of the biblical story of King Solomon... Now it turns out that they actually split Texas with Billary winning the general election but Obama winning the caucuses, but most of the fearful Press is still saying Billary won it. CNN actually showed a graph tonight showing the election split - pretty smart for talking heads !
In College bball, Gonzaga lost the WCC championship playoff yesterday but will still get into the NCAA tournament. Their problem all year has been Few's inability to find the correct starting lineup. He's a great coach and they have great players but finding the correct starting team is very hard.
I've been starting my Spring get-in-shape campaign. I think my Winter weight is beginning to shed, at last. My hips and ankles have been hurting after jogs so I am now fast walking; ok slow walking, but at least I'm out there moving. I've been getting nutritional counseling at the VA hospital and have given up using salt, switched to using a spread - not butter - am taking fish oils pills daily, and trying to eat more fruit and salads, and less candy and cookies. If I have a drink I try to have wine instead of beer too.
I have cabin fever and am really anxious to get out for a day or weekend trip somewhere... anywhere. I have to teach one more guitar class on Saturday at SFCC and then I"m free again on weekends..
March 3rd
"How can you tell if you’re suffering from primary election fatigue?"
Today CNN - in their efforts to be "fair" ( meaning they're afraid of the Clintons ) is falling over themselves to report Obama stories fed to them by Clintons the day before Super Tuesday II. Everyone knows that Billary has given their dirty tricks expert - Harold Ickes - the green light to sling mud and rumors.
So when CNN asked listeners to email them and answer the question "How do you know when you suffering from primary election fatigue" - I did in my below email.
"When CNN's coverage and chest beating claims of expertise -
while they fan the flames in National Enquirer type tactics themselves -
becomes more annoying than the rhetoric or dirty tricks of the candidates themselves.
Report the news - don't become part of it !!"
March 2nd
I had a very social weekend. Saturday I went out to dinner with some friends to the Sukiyaki Japanese restaurant in downtown Spokane. They have the traditional booths where you take your shoes off and sit with your legs in a recessessed area under the table. Very good food - we ordered the kind of sampler plate for 4 which includes Tempura, teriyaki, batayaki and a pork dish, with miso soup and pickled vegetables, and other delicacies, and great company. That's one of my favorite places, and I remembered that Jimmy Marks - the Gypsy who put a curse on the city - used to hang out there too.
Sunday both my daughters from out of town and my Granddaughter came over for pictures and movies. And then later we met some friends from Bonners ferry and had lunch. I feel like a socialite, as opposed to my normal reclusive hermit self. The days have been sunny but cold and the nights even colder below freezing and I am SO ready for Spring....
In politics the big Super Tuesday elections in Ohio and Texas are next, and Billary has been using every dirty political trick in the book against Obama. Billary said she wasn't aware that her campaign workers had released the Obama in Kenyan garb pictures to the press, which is code words for instructions "Don't tell me anything - so I can deny everything."
I send about one complaint email a week to different places, tv stations, websites. etc. Much of the world isn't going the way I like it, and I think it's important to voice your complaints or kudos as you feel necessary. Years ago I read the book "Talk back to your tv set" which explained that tv ads become subliminal mind control ads if you just watch them and hear them, and it's important that you actually verbally refute them so you don't become a mind-controlled automaton. So I talk back to anything on my tv set I don't like, and I write a lot of complaining emails too.
Last week I sent one to ESPN telling them that poker is not a sport, and that I wished they would take it off. Tonight I tuned on it and of course they still have poker on, and one of the player put all his chips in to bet, and the camera showed his wife in the audience calling out loud to Jesus to help him win like you see the evangelical christians on the christian tv shows doing - "Let him win, Father ! " and waving her arms in the air. I guess she doesn't know that Jesus threw the money lenders out of the temple, and that he probably regards gamblers as even lower than money lenders. And the guy lost too.
Feb21
The Texas Billary/Obama debate:
Hillary Rodham Clinton accused presidential rival Barack Obama of political plagiarism, but drew boos from a Democratic debate audience when she ridiculed him as the candidate of "change you can Xerox."
Obama dismissed the charge out of hand at the debate Thursday night, then turned the jeers to applause when he countered, "What we shouldn't be spending time doing is tearing each other down. We should be spending time lifting the country up."
And then - in typical Clinton hypocritical manner, Hillary ended her speech with this line:
Hillary Clinton, tonight: "You know, the hits I've taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country."
And if we look backwards, we see who she plagiarized the line from:
Bill Clinton, 92: "The hits that I took in this election are nothing compared to the hits the people of this state and this country have been taking for a long time."
Enough of the past and the Clintons; let's move forward.
Feb19th
Subject: Hot Rod Lincoln - Charlie Ryan's passing
It seems like only yesterday - but it was over 20 years ago - when I had Charlie Ryan on my Backwater Blues Show - interviewing him and talking about how he happened to write one of the most popular Car songs of all time - Hot Rod Lincoln - "Down in the ditch a red light was blinkin', the cops were after my Hot Rod Lincoln."
Charlie was a good interview and a very nice guy, but I actually found the musicians he used on the original recording here in Spokane back in 1958 much more interesting.
The Livingston Brothers - Steel Guitarist Neil and his brother Rhythm Guitarist Ronny - are both legally blind since birth, but have had amazing musical careers. They began playing in a family band here in Spokane called the Stringdusters, and Neil even remembered playing down near Spangle when I was Mayor there. Neil had played on the Louisiana Hayride in the 1950's just before Elvis took over the music scene, and has written a biography of his musical life.
It seems one of the rules of the music industry is that musicians never get the proper credit, and that bandleaders get all the glory....
Such is the case with Hot Rod Lincoln and the Livingston brothers.
What really made the song was the driving rhythm played by Ronny, and the amazing pedal steel guitar licks by Neil - answering the lyrics - "A rod started knockin' .. " ( Neil played knocking sounds on his steel guitar "A red light was blinkin' ... (Neil made siren sounds ... ) etc etc
Recently a few history books on Rockabilly have credited the Livingstons with their contribution, but in Charlie Ryan's obit there is no mention of them.
Here's an excerpt from Neil's biography he gave me:
Aug. 1958
Charley Ryan introduced Ron and I to his song "Hot Rod Lincoln" Charley asked me what I though of the song I told him it sounded too much like "Hot Rod Race" (a semi hit recorded earlier by Arkie Shibly) Charley asked me what we could do to make it sound different I suggested that we put sound effects in the background; horns, sirens, rods knocking, tires sliding he liked the idea Charley, Ron and I recorded Hot Rod Lincoln at Sound Recording Studios, Spokane, Washington we took a dub of the song up to a KSPO night diskjockey (Dave Clark) phone calls tied up station phone lines for over two hours Dave played the song three or four times it appeared like the song was going to be a big hit with public.
May 1960
Traveled to Glendive, Montana to play a duo with Charley Ryan at the Stockman's Bar wages $100 week and room Club was a nightmare no dancing, bright lights, fights every night Charley sent me to the record store in Glendive to check the sales of his record (the song had been re released on Four Star Records, Hollywood, California) I asked if they had any calls for a record called "Hot Rod Lincoln" the man said they were sold out, that the song was now #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart I ran back to the barbershop where Charley was getting a haircut he got so excited he jumped out of the chair and ran down the street to the music store, with the shaving soap still on his face we played on a local television station in Glendive, Montana.
I did a couple shows on the Livingstons, and over the years John Johnson and I covered them on his Improbable History of Pop.
One of the most wonderful things about being associated with KPBX is realizing that we all are musicians/music lovers, and that we become the keepers of the flame of music and all the wonderful interesting stories behind the scenes.
Feb18th
Today I was reminded of Ross Perot's comment about NAFTA - That sucking sound you hear is the sound of your job going overseas ..." I went to a client's office on the outskirts of town to install a new Dell computer and he wanted it to connect to his wireless network in his house. Dell had sent us a wireless router which turns out to be the wrong item we needed, and in calling Dell Tech Support we immediately gut routed to support people in India who just can't speak English. I got tired of repeating my questions and asking them to repeat their non-answers and I finally hung up on them. What a joke ! Most computer companies have shipped their tech support overseas, laying off thousands of Americans. I have talked to support people in Ireland and at least I could understand them. All we wanted to do was return the wireless router and get a usb wireless networking card but the language barrier was SO GREAT that I'm getting one locally and we'll keep the router in case we need it in the future. If this was my usual Dell experience I'd never recommend them, but all the Dell computers I have bought have worked flawlessly. I've just never had to talk to ther New Delhi based non-English speaking support people.
About half our snow is gone - most of the streets are bare - but it's still cold - dipping down into the 20's at night and keeping everything frozen. C'mon Spring !! Think Spring !!
Today a friend of mine in Bonners Ferry pointed out there was a Newsweek Feb 18th article mentioning Mississippi John Hurt in the current week magazine - I hadn't read it yet. Page 54 "It's a white thing" talking about how Skip James was very unfriendly and sometimes insulting to fans. He was John's brother-in-law thru marriage. There's a picture of Skip and John playing guitar in some New York City park.
I keep seeking a way to jog on frozen streets - friends keep telling me about various gadgets to put on your running shoes to get traction. The final solution is for Spring to come.
In politics the New Yorks Times just did an article showing irregularities in the New York primary that Billary won. Billary is the carpet bagger senator from New York - never lived there - they're from Arkansas - remember ? Anyhow there's sections of Harlem where Obama got zero votes. Statistically that's impossible, and defacto is impossible as Harlem is a huge Black district. Tomorrow is the Wisconsin primary and it will be interesting to see the result. Obama has trounced Billary in 8 straight states now, by some whopping margins too.
Feb15th
Today I knocked over a minute off my ytd glacial best time for my mile course slowjog - did it in 16.34 - only had 1/2 block of black ice I had to walk, and the temp was an honest 26 with no wind chill. Spokane is the home of the Bloomsday race, so cars are somewhat runner-friendly. There are NO sidewalks now with all the snow so I run in the gutter of the street, and generally most cars will see you and pull over a bit for you. But I am beginning to feel my legs getting a little more in shape. I now do my dumbbell exercises ( dumbbell exercises for dumbbells .. ) and my situps - standalone ( feet not hooked under the couch ) - and 3 sets of 15 - 15 and then whatever I can do, which is usually not much.
I'm going to lunch with a friend I worked with at the Mental Health Center in the early 70's, an we have an ongoing feud with a psychiatrist who worked with us who now lives in Florida Evil ODFA . We're going to a restaurant named Delaney's near the old Marycliffe center.
Bloomsday Geezering:
I first became aware of Bloomsday when it started in 1977. That year I went to a track near my house wearing long pants and my pf flyer sneakers, ran a lap, and collapsed on the grass. I went home and weighed myself and was disappointed I hadn't lost 10 lbs. I stopped smoking and started jogging, and it took me several months to be able to jog a mile. I was working in Pullman at the time for Xerox and used to run on a rubberized tartan track. My best running times were from then, 1 mile in 7:35, 2 miles in 16.55, 3 miles in 26.55, 4 in 36.02, 5 in 48.15, 6 in 58.35, and a half marathon in 2.25.55, so even when I thought I was fast, I was slow, but I have been jogging since then - now for 30 years. So the first time I actually ran Bloomsday I thought I had a shot at doing it in around an hour. But that was before I found out that when you run with 60,000 other people, everything slows down. You can stand at the starting line with the clock running for as long as ten minutes waiting to move, and on the course you spend a lot of time running sideways around people. My best time was 1:19:20, and I think I passed about 50,000 people. The problem with the race is that everyone lies about their time, and thousands of fat slow people line up in front of you. Then at the 2 mile point they're in the bushes puking and dying. So I figured I was slowed down at least 15 minutes at my best time, in my best shape. Bloomsday's popularity has greatly waned since, as has the attendance, but I still like jogging and collecting my thoughts.
WSU beat Oregon state in Bball last night, so they're still in the top 25 to go to the NCAA tournament, and Gonzaga is tied for 1st in the WCC so that still looks good.
Feb14th
Valentine's day and I'm back at the VA hospital for a dermatologic exam. I've had a spot on my ear that comes in the summer, and goes in the winter. I had a doctor look at it in my last physical a couple years ago, and he said he thought it was nothing. But it hasn't gone away and one time bled last year to I had it checked out. I also had a rough spot on my face under my eye and the area around my heart surgery scar itches so much it drives me nuts. So the nice lady Doc prescribed some ointment for my itching, and froze the rough spot using liquid nitrogen - just sprayed it on a couple times. She says my ear spot is a tiny carcinoma and she's going to excise it but I have to take some medicine in advance, so that's scheduled for March 6th. Other that that I passed.
I almost had a politician in my pocket at a bargain price. The Clintons sold out the White House bedrooms for their supporters in exchange for huge donations, but I almost pulled a fast one at bargain basement prices with presidential candidate Phil Steen of Spirit Lake, Id, running on the "No Felonies - let's party" ticket Phil Steen Message . I thought I would own him for my $ 20 donation but his advisers wisely had him send it back. Curses ... foiled again ...
I thought it was supposed to be warming up and some days have been in the 40;s, but this morning when I jogged it was 13 with the wind chill. Now only one block on my route is total ice so I have to walk it, but can slow jog the rest. I've started that and dumbbell exercises and situps as part of my perennial "New Man" campaign, high hopes, low results.
Today they declared Billary the winner in the New Mexico primary which was held 2 weeks ago but they hand counted the votes. She won by less than 1800 votes, and virtually split the delegates with Obama. Billary is now saying that breaks her losing streak of 9 states to Obama. No it doesn't, Billary - that election was held before Obama won 9 straight. Clintons now have their daughter going on a Hawaiian shopping spree as payment for her campaigning. Most kids would just do that because they love their parents without any required payback.
Today in a store I saw Winnie the Pooh and Tigger and I remembered that as a child I noticed there was a sign over Pooh's door that said "R Sanders" and that has been one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of my life why it said that, when it should have said "P Bear". This was in one of the wonderful illustrations by the original illustrator E.G. Shepherd, before Winnie was sold and it became the property of the hideous Disney illustrators. If any one knows, please tell me.
Feb13th
Today was my 63rd birthday and I had a prostate exam at the VA hospital....... Heck of a way to put a damper on a birthday. However the Physician's Assistant I talked to turned out to be a blues harp player who knows a couple good music friends of mine. I've already had a couple prostate biopsies over the years because I have always had a high PSA. He told me that once you have a biopsy, your PSA level will always be higher .. There is a new test on the horizon that will predict your prediliction to various diseases and conditions, but it will be a couple years. He ordered some special blood test and said if I don't hear from him a week or so I'll be scheduled back in 6 months. I hope I don't hear from him. Last night I met a guy who is in town I met on the Mississippi John Hurt forum - he was interviewing for a job a U of I and we played MJH music for a couple hours. Tonight I'm going to an open mike on the South hill with a couple friends and hope to play some country blues tunes.
Feb10th
It warmed up over the weekend and we are now in a sea of slush. I had a
surprise 63rd birthday over the weekend with several good friends and
hope everyone got home ok and is not stuck on a snow berm.
In College bball UW beat UCLA, and Clemson should have beaten North Carolina but didn't in double ot.
In politics Obama beat Billary in all 4 primaries/caucauses
and she fired her campaign manager. Maybe they'll have to coff up more
of their own money again as Obama keeps cleaning their clock.
On local politics I think we need to support local Pacific
NW candidates and my vote is for Phil Steen of Spirit Lake, Idaho,
running on the "No Felonies" platform.
His Campaign website is Phil Steen Message
He also has a twin brother who makes both excellent pottery and music at Brad Sondahl Website
I had breakfast today at the Skyway Cafe at historic Felts
Field airport - an airport straight out of the 1950's. This airport has
been used in several movies and it's a treat to see and good food at
the airplane theme cafe.
Feb 8th
Today it was 32 at awakening - a heat wave. We had another 3" yesterday but that might be the last of it. Now the big fear is thawing and flooding, and there have been several house and building roofs that have collapsed from the weight of the snow.
Politically the race is narrowing - Obama and Clinton dems, and McCain and Huckabee Repubs. As an independent I could vote for either Obama or McCain. We are one of the few countries that only have 2 political parties, and sometimes it seems there is no difference between those on the edges of their parties. Today Michelle Obama and Billary Clinton are making Spokane appearances. Now that the race is so close, Washington has emerged as an important primary state.
I am feeling really snowbound and am anxious to drive somewhere, anywhere. I have jogged a couple times in the past few weeks being very careful of falling, and hope today I can plod a little faster. Everyone in the Inland Empire is SO TIRED of all this snow, which is breaking records. The Idaho towns just across the border from here - less than an hour's drive - have had record snowfall.
I've started my new accounting year and printed out all my new folder lables for all categories, and put my 2007 stuff in a box to do my taxes with, but the year looks sparse with retail sales for January at a record low, and the mortgage market still crashing.
I'm teaching a new guitar class at a local community college this quarter - a beginner's class for the first time in years which I have to adjust to, and am teaching a class on Townes VanZandt for Spokane Parks&Rec starting later this month, so I have a couple new creative outlets to work on, and still having problems finishing my book on Mississippi John Hurt and the related NPR production.
One of my new years resolutions was to cancel my Dish tv - I Called to cancel and they said they would give me $ 10 a month off my bill starting this month with NO LONG TERM Commitment so I’m staying with them for awhile more. I tried jogging and it is a windy ice slick mess with no bare spots from our snow yesterday and after about 20 near slips I turned around and came home - too dangerous.
Jan. 19
Today is football - pro and college. I don't watch much pro football except for the playoffs and superbowl. I prefer College sports to pro, and I particularly like Women's Basketball because they play real team basketball usually without a dominating star. My choices for Superbowl would be Packers and Patriots, with Green Bay winning it all in a heroic quarterback movie-style ending.
I went outside to slowjog and found I was so out of shape I couldn't, so walked instead. It wasn't that cold - 26 - and I wore 3 layers of clothes and 2 hats and mittens. My regular neighborhood course is now about 70% solid ice and snow and some areas were like scaling Mt. Everest. Did a mile in under 21 minutes which is slow even for me. My best Summer time was in the high 13's.
I'm still setting up and learning my new Dell Inspiron cpu 500Gb Harddisk, 3 Gb RAM, 22" monitor which is like being at a drive-in movie, with MS Office Vista and Vista o/s for me to learn, whether I like it or not.
I'm watching the Nevada and South Carolina primaries today, both sides and all candidates. My favorites are Obama and McCain. I read a CNN article today on the Clinton's playing good cop/bad cop on their campaign trail. I wouldn't put anything past them as they are obviously getting desperate now. I got a funny email picture this week of a bumper sticker that said "I'm voting for Monica Lewinsky's ex-boyfriend's wife .. "
Jan. 21
Football was disappointing to me yesterday. Sometimes I wonder if the new generation of players are anywhere as tough as the old school players; guys who played with helmets but no facemasks; they'd get shot up with novacain on the sidelines if something hurt so they could go back in the game. Not so anymore. San Diego was minus 2 of their better players due to injury, although they put up a good fight. I think Green Bay lost because Favre is an experienced QB whose will to take a risk now and then cost them the game, while Manning was playing not to throw an interception. So Favre's risk throw in OT resulted in the interception and game over.
In politics the Clintons are now double-teaming Obama. I would never vote for either Clinton - aka "Billary". I believe they're both sociopaths whose lust for power overrides everything else in their lives. Hillary's Oedipal Problem
I voted for Clinton in his first term but like millions of Americans watched him disgrace our country with his White House affair with an intern, as we watched Hillary put up with it. The clear Clinton agenda is now not just getting Hillary elected, but then having her appoint Bill as a Supreme Court Justice, the ultimate vengeance for his almost being impeached for his misconduct. A lot of the world is laughing at us now, and imagine if that ever happened ... When Hillary did her "tear up" in New Hampshire every major TV station featured it on their 6 PM news, which resulted in the huge wave of sympathy for Hillary. Today Bill Clinton fell asleep in church during a re-enactment of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, and they all chose to ignore it. Where's the media balance and fairness? If Obama had fallen asleep at a service for a white icon imagine the furor ! The Press is obviously afraid ot the Clintons (Billary) too. I emailed this complaint to the major news services and received no meaningful replies.
Today it almost touched down to zero and I slow jogged when it was 8 degrees, and yesterday too, so I feel like I'm toughening up and now on my 2008 Exercise goals.
Jan. 23
A friend sent me this new term:" Electile Dysfunction" : the inability to become aroused over any of the choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election year. I am an independent so I could vote democratic or republican, but I would never vote for Hillary: My daughter sent me this interesting oped piece by a former Clinton Advisor:
AN ANALYSIS WORTH READING: by Dick Morris, former political advisor to President Bill Clinton
If you happen to see the Bill Clinton five minute TV ad for Hillary in which he introduces the commercial by saying that he wants to share some things we may not know about Hillary's background . . beware . . .
I, Dick Morris, was there for most of their presidency and know them better than just about anyone, I offer a few corrections;
Bill says: 'In law school Hillary worked on legal services for the poor.' The facts are: Hillary's main extra-curricular activity in law school was helping the Black Panthers, on trial in Connecticut for torturing and killing a federal agent. She went to court every day as part of a law student monitoring committee trying to spot civil rights violations and develop grounds for appeal. Some of these Panthers still live inCuba.
Bill says: 'Hillary spent a year after graduation working on a children's rights project for poor kids.' The facts are: Hillary interned with Bob Truehaft, the head of the California Communist Party. She met Bob when he represented the Panthers and traveled all the way to San Francisco to take an internship with him.
Bill says: 'Hillary could have written her own job ticket, but she turned down all the lucrative job offers.' The facts are: She flunked the DC bar exam, yes, flunked, it is a matter of record, and only passed the Arkansas bar. She had no job offers in Arkansas, none, and only got hired by the University of Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville because Bill was already teaching there. She did not join the prestigious Rose Law Firm until Bill became Arkansas Attorney General and was made a partner only after he was elected Arkansas Governor.
Bill says: 'President Carter appointed Hillary to the Legal Services Board of Directors and she became its chairman.' The facts are: The appointment was in exchange for Bill's support for Carter in his 1980 primary against Ted Kennedy. Hillary then became chairman in a coup in which she won a majority away from Carter's choice to be chairman.
Bill says: 'She served on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospita l.' The facts are: Yes she did. But her main board activity, not mentioned by Bill, was to sit on the Wal-Mart board of directors, for a substantial fee. She was silent about their labor and health care practices.
Bill says: 'Hillary didn't succeed at getting health care for all Americans in 1994 but she kept working at it and helped to create the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides five million children with health insurance.' The facts are: Hillary had nothing to do with creating CHIP. It was included in the budget deal between Clinton and Republican Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott. I know; I helped to negotiate the deal. The money came half from the budget deal and half from the Attorney Generals' tobacco settlement. Hillary had nothing to do with either source of funds.
Bill says: 'Hillary was the face of America all over the world.' The facts are: Her visits were part of a program to get her out of town so that Bill would not appear weak by feeding stories that Hillary was running the White House. Her visits abroad were entirely touristic and symbolic and there was no substantive diplomacy on any of them.
Bill says: 'Hillary was an excellent Senator who kept fighting for children's and women's issues.' The facts are: Other than totally meaningless legislation like changing the names on courthouses and post offices, she has passed only four substantive pieces of legislation. One set up a national park in Puerto Rico A second provided respite care for family members helping their relatives through Alzheimer's or other conditions. And two were routine bills to aid 911 victims and responders which were sponsored by the entire NY delegation. Presently she is trying to have the US memorialize theWoodstock fiasco of 40 years ago.
Here is what bothers me more than anything else about Hillary Clinton She has done everything possible to weaken the President and our country (that's you and me!) when it comes to the war on terror.
1. She wants to close GITMO (Guantanamo Base, Cuba) and move the combatants to the USA where they would have access to our legal system.
2. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of suspected Al Qaeda phone calls to/from the USA .
3. She wants to grant constitutional rights to enemy combatants captured on the battlefield.
4. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of money transfers between suspected Al Qaeda cells and supporters in the USA .
5. She wants to eliminate the type of interrogation tactics used by the military & CIA where coercion might be used when questioning known terrorists even though such tactics might save American lives.
One cannot think of a single bill Hillary has introduced or a single comment she has made that would tend to strengthen our country in the War on Terror. But, one can think of a lot of comments she has made that weaken our country and makes it a more dangerous situation for all of us.
Bottom line: She goes hand in hand with the ACLU on far too many issues where common sense is abandoned.
Our local weather has been experiencing our usual annual Arctic blast, temps down to below or near freezing, and I ran yesterday in 4 degrees in my very cold weather gear with a total head mitten. I even have a more extreme weather facemask that supposedly protects me from freezing my lungs I used once when it was -25 with the wind chill. I'll be glad when it warms up to the 20's.
Gonzaga is playing nationally rated Memphis this weekend and I'm afraid they'll look as bad as the Cougs did at UCLA. GU has let up at the end of their past several games and the other teams almost came back...
Jan. 29
Spokane has been buried under a record snowstorm that started on Saturday and broke the continuous snowfall in 24 hour record and most snowfall in 2 days. I was teaching a guitar class at SFCC when I looked out and saw it as really coming down. On Monday I did a movie for my Eastern relatives showing that we had 15" new snow on the ground, and we're had even more since. My car is buried and even though I dug it out the wheels just spin on solid ice. If I coudl get out and out of the parking lot I'd be stuck on the streets which are completely unplowed. So I'm truly snowbound and kind of liking it for awhile at least. I emailed the city traffic department about no snow plows being seen and they said they were aware of the problem and had their best people working on it. ( Standard corporate BS response )
In politics yesterday some of the Kennedy clan - Sen Ted and Caroline - endorsed Obama over Billary. There's a Clinton/Obama comparison article in the current New Yorker magazine by an ex-Clinton aide who said "When I talk to Hillary I feel she's always trying to impress me - and when I talk to Bill I feel he's always wanted to get something from me. " Even today the Kennedys stated that they're "still friends with Clintons ...." I doubt Billary feels that way ...
What does is mean when I would rather watch Meerkat Manor on Animal Channel than any other program (or infommercial) on my Dish TV choice of dozens of channels ? I guess it's sad when rodent watching is the best thing on tv, including the news and talking heads.
Today is football - pro and college. I don't watch much pro football except for the playoffs and superbowl. I prefer College sports to pro, and I particularly like Women's Basketball because they play real team basketball usually without a dominating star. My choices for Superbowl would be Packers and Patriots, with Green Bay winning it all in a heroic quarterback movie-style ending.
I went outside to slowjog and found I was so out of shape I couldn't, so walked instead. It wasn't that cold - 26 - and I wore 3 layers of clothes and 2 hats and mittens. My regular neighborhood course is now about 70% solid ice and snow and some areas were like scaling Mt. Everest. Did a mile in under 21 minutes which is slow even for me. My best Summer time was in the high 13's.
I'm still setting up and learning my new Dell Inspiron cpu 500Gb Harddisk, 3 Gb RAM, 22" monitor which is like being at a drive-in movie, with MS Office Vista and Vista o/s for me to learn, whether I like it or not.
I'm watching the Nevada and South Carolina primaries today, both sides and all candidates. My favorites are Obama and McCain. I read a CNN article today on the Clinton's playing good cop/bad cop on their campaign trail. I wouldn't put anything past them as they are obviously getting desperate now. I got a funny email picture this week of a bumper sticker that said "I'm voting for Monica Lewinsky's ex-boyfriend's wife .. "
Jan. 21
Football was disappointing to me yesterday. Sometimes I wonder if the new generation of players are anywhere as tough as the old school players; guys who played with helmets but no facemasks; they'd get shot up with novacain on the sidelines if something hurt so they could go back in the game. Not so anymore. San Diego was minus 2 of their better players due to injury, although they put up a good fight. I think Green Bay lost because Favre is an experienced QB whose will to take a risk now and then cost them the game, while Manning was playing not to throw an interception. So Favre's risk throw in OT resulted in the interception and game over.
In politics the Clintons are now double-teaming Obama. I would never vote for either Clinton - aka "Billary". I believe they're both sociopaths whose lust for power overrides everything else in their lives. Hillary's Oedipal Problem
I voted for Clinton in his first term but like millions of Americans watched him disgrace our country with his White House affair with an intern, as we watched Hillary put up with it. The clear Clinton agenda is now not just getting Hillary elected, but then having her appoint Bill as a Supreme Court Justice, the ultimate vengeance for his almost being impeached for his misconduct. A lot of the world is laughing at us now, and imagine if that ever happened ... When Hillary did her "tear up" in New Hampshire every major TV station featured it on their 6 PM news, which resulted in the huge wave of sympathy for Hillary. Today Bill Clinton fell asleep in church during a re-enactment of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, and they all chose to ignore it. Where's the media balance and fairness? If Obama had fallen asleep at a service for a white icon imagine the furor ! The Press is obviously afraid ot the Clintons (Billary) too. I emailed this complaint to the major news services and received no meaningful replies.
Today it almost touched down to zero and I slow jogged when it was 8 degrees, and yesterday too, so I feel like I'm toughening up and now on my 2008 Exercise goals.
Jan. 23
A friend sent me this new term:" Electile Dysfunction" : the inability to become aroused over any of the choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election year. I am an independent so I could vote democratic or republican, but I would never vote for Hillary: My daughter sent me this interesting oped piece by a former Clinton Advisor:
AN ANALYSIS WORTH READING: by Dick Morris, former political advisor to President Bill Clinton
If you happen to see the Bill Clinton five minute TV ad for Hillary in which he introduces the commercial by saying that he wants to share some things we may not know about Hillary's background . . beware . . .
I, Dick Morris, was there for most of their presidency and know them better than just about anyone, I offer a few corrections;
Bill says: 'In law school Hillary worked on legal services for the poor.' The facts are: Hillary's main extra-curricular activity in law school was helping the Black Panthers, on trial in Connecticut for torturing and killing a federal agent. She went to court every day as part of a law student monitoring committee trying to spot civil rights violations and develop grounds for appeal. Some of these Panthers still live inCuba.
Bill says: 'Hillary spent a year after graduation working on a children's rights project for poor kids.' The facts are: Hillary interned with Bob Truehaft, the head of the California Communist Party. She met Bob when he represented the Panthers and traveled all the way to San Francisco to take an internship with him.
Bill says: 'Hillary could have written her own job ticket, but she turned down all the lucrative job offers.' The facts are: She flunked the DC bar exam, yes, flunked, it is a matter of record, and only passed the Arkansas bar. She had no job offers in Arkansas, none, and only got hired by the University of Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville because Bill was already teaching there. She did not join the prestigious Rose Law Firm until Bill became Arkansas Attorney General and was made a partner only after he was elected Arkansas Governor.
Bill says: 'President Carter appointed Hillary to the Legal Services Board of Directors and she became its chairman.' The facts are: The appointment was in exchange for Bill's support for Carter in his 1980 primary against Ted Kennedy. Hillary then became chairman in a coup in which she won a majority away from Carter's choice to be chairman.
Bill says: 'She served on the board of the Arkansas Children's Hospita l.' The facts are: Yes she did. But her main board activity, not mentioned by Bill, was to sit on the Wal-Mart board of directors, for a substantial fee. She was silent about their labor and health care practices.
Bill says: 'Hillary didn't succeed at getting health care for all Americans in 1994 but she kept working at it and helped to create the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides five million children with health insurance.' The facts are: Hillary had nothing to do with creating CHIP. It was included in the budget deal between Clinton and Republican Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott. I know; I helped to negotiate the deal. The money came half from the budget deal and half from the Attorney Generals' tobacco settlement. Hillary had nothing to do with either source of funds.
Bill says: 'Hillary was the face of America all over the world.' The facts are: Her visits were part of a program to get her out of town so that Bill would not appear weak by feeding stories that Hillary was running the White House. Her visits abroad were entirely touristic and symbolic and there was no substantive diplomacy on any of them.
Bill says: 'Hillary was an excellent Senator who kept fighting for children's and women's issues.' The facts are: Other than totally meaningless legislation like changing the names on courthouses and post offices, she has passed only four substantive pieces of legislation. One set up a national park in Puerto Rico A second provided respite care for family members helping their relatives through Alzheimer's or other conditions. And two were routine bills to aid 911 victims and responders which were sponsored by the entire NY delegation. Presently she is trying to have the US memorialize theWoodstock fiasco of 40 years ago.
Here is what bothers me more than anything else about Hillary Clinton She has done everything possible to weaken the President and our country (that's you and me!) when it comes to the war on terror.
1. She wants to close GITMO (Guantanamo Base, Cuba) and move the combatants to the USA where they would have access to our legal system.
2. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of suspected Al Qaeda phone calls to/from the USA .
3. She wants to grant constitutional rights to enemy combatants captured on the battlefield.
4. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of money transfers between suspected Al Qaeda cells and supporters in the USA .
5. She wants to eliminate the type of interrogation tactics used by the military & CIA where coercion might be used when questioning known terrorists even though such tactics might save American lives.
One cannot think of a single bill Hillary has introduced or a single comment she has made that would tend to strengthen our country in the War on Terror. But, one can think of a lot of comments she has made that weaken our country and makes it a more dangerous situation for all of us.
Bottom line: She goes hand in hand with the ACLU on far too many issues where common sense is abandoned.
Our local weather has been experiencing our usual annual Arctic blast, temps down to below or near freezing, and I ran yesterday in 4 degrees in my very cold weather gear with a total head mitten. I even have a more extreme weather facemask that supposedly protects me from freezing my lungs I used once when it was -25 with the wind chill. I'll be glad when it warms up to the 20's.
Gonzaga is playing nationally rated Memphis this weekend and I'm afraid they'll look as bad as the Cougs did at UCLA. GU has let up at the end of their past several games and the other teams almost came back...
Jan. 29
Spokane has been buried under a record snowstorm that started on Saturday and broke the continuous snowfall in 24 hour record and most snowfall in 2 days. I was teaching a guitar class at SFCC when I looked out and saw it as really coming down. On Monday I did a movie for my Eastern relatives showing that we had 15" new snow on the ground, and we're had even more since. My car is buried and even though I dug it out the wheels just spin on solid ice. If I coudl get out and out of the parking lot I'd be stuck on the streets which are completely unplowed. So I'm truly snowbound and kind of liking it for awhile at least. I emailed the city traffic department about no snow plows being seen and they said they were aware of the problem and had their best people working on it. ( Standard corporate BS response )
In politics yesterday some of the Kennedy clan - Sen Ted and Caroline - endorsed Obama over Billary. There's a Clinton/Obama comparison article in the current New Yorker magazine by an ex-Clinton aide who said "When I talk to Hillary I feel she's always trying to impress me - and when I talk to Bill I feel he's always wanted to get something from me. " Even today the Kennedys stated that they're "still friends with Clintons ...." I doubt Billary feels that way ...
What does is mean when I would rather watch Meerkat Manor on Animal Channel than any other program (or infommercial) on my Dish TV choice of dozens of channels ? I guess it's sad when rodent watching is the best thing on tv, including the news and talking heads.