Happy Memorial Day Weekend

The Glamour of Show Biz

One of the downsides of living alone is that there is nobody to complain to when the alarm goes off to early. I had to do another TV stint for my employer and of course it is for an early morning show, which meant getting to work at 5, which meant getting up at 4.

Given our heat of late, my adoration for my air conditioner knows no bounds, but it’s unifying rumble drown out Delaware Ave fairly well. Of course, you don’t sleep great knowing that it is happening.

Having done this a few times, I strive to make it easy. Pick out some clothes the night before to minimize the thinking involved. Alarm goes off and I groggily get myself together. I grab my glasses to use as coverage for any bags under my eyes.

One of the upsides to getting to Delaware Park at 5 AM is the abundance of parking spaces. Got a good one. Got inside, got a water bottle and headed out to let the reporter and crew in. Everything goes pretty well. Didn’t studder, yet I talked with my hands a little much for an Irish guy. Sent them on their merry way a little after 7AM and still had the rest of the work day.

Got to book around 2, seized the day and did laundry, ran a quick errand or two and settled in a little. Nice little ego trip when the landlord tells you that “you sounded pretty good dere!” By the same token, you know that is a funky schedule that you aren’t used to when the couch feels a little too comfortable and all the dialogue on Top Gear sounds like “mooje, mooje, mooje.”

That was God’s way of telling me it was time for bed. 10 hours later, I wasn’t a new man, just a refreshed version of the old one.

Crap, I’m old, but apparently still telegenic.

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Oilmageddon!

That ain’t good.

But you knew that. You don’t need “Boycott BP” facebook groups to tell you that is bad. You don’t need pointless congressional hearings held by folks desperate to appear busy. You don’t need folks screaming about the lack of government action when six months ago, they were screaming “Drill Baby Drill.”

I sympathize with Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser. He was on the Today show lamenting how money has been allocated already to study prevention in the future, while solutions to the problem right in front of us all is proving illusive. Mr. Nungesser eloquently called for action and rightly so as the marshlands are soaking in oil and dispersant, the area fishermen are five weeks without a paycheck (sort of like NYS legislators), the gulf is going dark and Rube Goldberg could seriously come in handy about now.

If blowing mud and concrete was a good idea, why didn’t it occur until now? Bet the now famous shot of the brown pelican soaked in crude wouldn’t be so overplayed.

I read a wonderfully inept news article about the spill being “Obama’s Katrina.” I love it when crappy gossip is costumed as analysis. All the small government hawks now want the government to intercede. That seems a little hypocritical considering they would hate the government interference in any other respect. But with BP playing a game of “What if we take a few rubber bands, some chewing gum and…” Perhaps the Obama adminstration should take the lead as BP isn’t going to McGuyver their way out of this one.

I got a bad feeling about this.

The Weight

It’s moments like these that made the Last Waltz one of my favorite movies

Miss groups like the Band

Bartender

Got a bunch of versions of this song, not completely fixed on what it is about, just like it

“Don’t Drunk Dial Freedomworks”

Oh, Now You Get Mad

Some of the primary results from Tuesday night have all the network pundits slobbering. People are generally ticked off I think with politicians constantly running for election and doing little else. Look at the New York State legislature for piles of examples of that. What is troubling to me is the gross oversimplification that is muddling thinking. Tea parties blame The Obama Administration for all the government bailouts without remembering that the TARP money started with Hank Paulson of the Bush Adminstration.

I like seeing people voicing their complaints, but where the hell have they been? Lord knows the bottom is dropping out of New York State thanks to the poor economy and a me first then the constituents mentality. But a recent email forward caught my attention:

“Oh, Now You Get Mad”

–You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
–You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
–You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got ousted.
–You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
–You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
–You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
–You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
–You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
–You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
–You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.
–You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
–You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown.
–You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
–You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation, a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides.
–You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark.
–You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich, richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans…

Now, I’m not saying they don’t a right to be ticked. They do, but “I want to take my country back” is a stupid refrain that means nothing. If that is your soundbite, then shut the hell up. You sound like an idiot who couldn’t get a walk on for the Dukes of Hazzard. President Obama shouldn’t be punished for winning and the state of perpetual pandering isn’t totally at the feet of President Bush. If everybody grew up and did the job and LED, we might have something. If staying elected wasn’t the first priority, we might see fewer folks taking up space and more legislating. They say a statesman is a politician who’s been dead for 20 years. As President Bartlet wished for “we need to be statesmen now.”

Want to blame somebody? I still think my mom is right. Newt happens. Not the rational talking head, who politely disagrees with Matt Lauer, but the contract with America figurehead who was upset that Reagan and Bush were gone. He led an attempt to squeeze the Clinton Administration that has gradually let to both parties behaving like spoiled ten year olds, which may be an insult to real ten year old.

I think that is grown to the current resentment, where people bitch about something that was okay when a candidate they liked was in office.

Crazy, isn’t it.

You and Me

Some pieces of music, they have a way of sneaking onto your mental jukebox. Usually, there is no explanation, you just mentally kick back and be grateful it’s not “Put down the Duckie.” Although, Hoots could play. (Shaddup!). But I digress. A lazy saturday put this song on my radar. Enjoy

Dear Dave,

Hope you don’t mind the informal nature of this quick note, but today’s Buffalo News features a story that caught my eye and I figured why stand on circumstance.

The idea of closing state parks & beaches to save money isn’t working for me. I know you are in a tough spot, as the Assembly and Senate care so little about us residents that six weeks after the budge should have been done, most are home holding reelection fundraisers. Hopefully they aren’t getting paid since they aren’t working. But places like Woodlawn Beach, the Knox Farm and others are little jewels that Western New Yorkers use and willingly pay in some fashion to use. By not caring for them this year and attempting to lock them, (most can’t be completely closed off), I think that is going to create a larger issue. If things could be put back for next year or later this year, won’t the savings disappear through the lack of upkeep, the inevitable repairs and the extra vigilence of the park police who will now have to patrol to keep the fence jumpers (and we know there will be some) out.

I understand there isn’t 12 million dollars lying around in every Albany sideboard drawer, a lesson not really learned by our elected reps as a whole. Give it some thought as you don’t pay that all up front and by trying to close those places, you might just wind up spending more.

Just a thought,

Mike

P.S. Meaningful cuts? State Legislature Committee stipends, raises, every dept takes 10% off the budget, authorities 20. That might make the school aid bugaboo less problematic

Black on Beck

Ignore the Olbermann into and enjoy this particularly choice Lewis Black rant