Ode to Jo

I lost one of my best buddies yesterday. Jodie, a black and tan Cocker Spaniel, had been one of our family members for 9 years. A blood disorder took her from us suddenly and unexpectedly.



Those of you who have pets, particularly dogs, know how they become members of the family - they are not just pets. We love them, perhaps because they love us back unconditionally. We love them too much - their relatively short life span means that we are setting ourselves up for pain when we lose them. I think the pain is worth it - although I am very sad now at her loss, I can't imagine having gone through the past 9 years without my Jo.

Hey Rich Folks, Bend Over

The sur-tax being levied against 'rich' people to fund Obamacare, as defined in the Senate version of the bill, is just the first attack on people who have a decent amount of money. Get ready, all you 'rich' people ... Democrats think you are a never ending supply of money for their efforts to destroy this country.

The latest example - Democrats are floating the idea of taxing 'rich' people to fund the Afghanistan War. Yes, another 5% or your income taken away from you to supposedly fund our efforts in Afghanistan. Apparently, Democrat leadership in Congress has determined that it can't find the $40 billion needed per year to support our troops there - and are now calling for either the 'rich' tax, or withdrawl of our troops - because we can't afford the war.

This is in addition to the 5% of your income that will be confiscated to pay for Obamacare. Think of that - the 'rich' tax bracket will be right at 50% if both of these measures are passed. What is even more sinister is that the Democrats have a sliding scale when it comes to defining 'rich'. You folks earning $75K per year, don't be surprised if you find yourself declared 'rich' next year.

Hypocritical bastards ....

They can burn through billions in social programs, programs that are not needed and designed to do nothing but increase the size and control of government, but they can't find a very small (to them) amount of money to fund the war? $40 billion is chump change to Democrats, not worthy of even mentioning, if it is spent on their social programs ... but an incredibly large sum that will bankrupt the country if it is being spent on our troops.

What's the Going Rate for a Senator's Vote?

$300,000,000, according to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Sen. Landrieu had been one of three Democrat Senators who were waffling on whether to support Harry Reid's version of ObamaCare. Those three votes, if cast against the measure, would have killed the bill in the Senate. Not going to allow that, says Reid .....

Landrieu was promised $300,000,000 in healthcare aid for the state of Louisiana if she agreed to support the bill. Rather than being embarrassed about selling her vote, or trying to hide what she had done, she proudly stepped to the Senate floor and announced that she had gotten not the reported $100,000,000 for her state, but $300,000,000. Landrieu, facing a tough election next year, now gets to go home and tell all the poor people in Louisiana how much money she stole for them.

It used to be that deals like this were made in the back room, out of sight of the public. It says a lot about the arrogance of the left that they are not only doing this out in the open, but they're bragging about it.

What Would the Press Say if Cheney Had Done This?

Joe Biden, the best Vice President this country has ever known (just ask him, he'll be happy to tell you so) played a round of golf at the exclusive private The Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas over this past weekend.

This club is a very exclusive private club. Biden's staff called the club at 7:00am this past Sunday, telling them that the Veep wanted to play the course that morning. The reply was that he couldn't, since he wasn't a member. Two more calls were then placed to the Club's manager. I don't know what was said during those calls, but suddenly Biden was on the course at 11:00am flailing away at little white balls. He was unable to complete his round before having to leave to participate in a political fund raiser for Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV).

Now, I really don't have a problem with this. What is repulsive is seeing the total lack of coverage of this by the mainstream media. If Vice President Cheney had done this, we'd be blasted with story after story about how he pushed around the locals, abused his power, played golf while ignoring XXX problem ( insert any problem you want), how the club is racist/discriminatory, how he shouldn't be wasting tax payer money on a fundraising trip, etc, etc, etc ...

The Mexican-American Invasion of 2009

I read an article in the local paper a couple of days ago, where the new head of the Mexican Consulate in Dallas stated he was going to clean up all of the corruption that was exposed in his office. He made a statement during the interview, stating why his Consulate was the third largest in the US, and why the Consulate's presence was so important.

His statement was that since 10% of all Mexican citizens resided inside the US, his presence was critical to supporting those persons.

10% ????????

He's telling us that the Mexican government believes 10% of all of its citizens are living in the United States, legally and illegally (we know which category has the highest percentage, don't we ....). The published population of Mexico for the last census in 2008 was 106,350,434. 10% of that is 10,635,000 people.

Now, this does not include other legal and illegal immigrants from other countries in Central and South America. I've seen estimates that indicate that there are at least as many immigrants from those countries combined as there are from Mexico itself. So, a total of 21,000,000 immigrants from south of our border currently residing in the US is a reasonable figure.

This far exceeds the estimates I've seen from the Democrat party, which puts the figure at about 12,000,000 total. Is it any wonder that Democrats do not want these folks identified, don't want them thrown out, and don't want any form of voter fraud reform? Any wonder that Democrats are so much in favor of anything that promotes or rewards illegal immigration? That's a very large number of Democrat voters that the party wants to keep.

The Sarge - Champ Again!

How 'bout a little good news ....

Tony Schumacher won the NHRA Top Fuel Championship yesterday at the season ending event in Pomona. Tony, driving the US Army sponsored 'The Sarge' dragster, won the season long championship by 2 points - yes, just 2 points.

The closest championship in Top Fuel history was won over the Al-Anabi Racing entry driven by Larry Dixon. Those of you who follow the NHRA will recognize the Al-Anabi car as the one Schumacher's crew chief and whole team defected to after last season. To say the victory was sweet for Schumacher is an understatement - though there does not seem to be any bad blood, at least publicly.

Schumacher and Dixon seemed destined to meet in the final round for the championship, but it was not to be - both lost in the semi-finals, giving the title to The Sarge. The title was Schumacher's seventh, sixth in a row, both records for the NHRA.

Tony teared up in his winning interview, and stated that the gold trophy would be presented to Ft. Hood as a tribute to those who fell there.


In related news, the US Army announced last week that it is renewing sponsorship for both Schumacher's dragster and the #39 NASCAR Chevy driven by Ryan Newman for next year. A wise choice, these two teams represent the US Army very well.

Army Strong!

The Whole Eco-Green Movement is a Scam

The lunacy of the eco-nazi movement is not just ludicrous - it is dangerous and it will cost all of us a tremendous amount of money - as well as impacting our way of life.

Why is the eco-nazi movement being pushed so much? There have been kook left wing eco-nazis around since the early '60s - why is the effort getting so much steam behind it now? Follow the money and the answer is there for all to see ...

1) Algore, the world's most knowledgable climate expert, according to himself. Algore, who puts forth such incredible, knowledgable, infallible, scientifically proven work such as his docudrama "An Inconvenient Pile of Bullshit". Algore, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to save our planet. Algore - who makes millions upon millions of dollars in speaking fees and royalties while spitting his vile climate crap. Algore, who makes tens of millions of dollars investing in companies who make technology to address his false climate emergency. Algore, who without the climate emergency, would be just another lunatic Washington has-been with no income source .....


2) George Soros, bankroller of the left wing kook movement in this country. George Soros, who pulls the Obama Administration's strings, because he footed the bill for their ascension to power. George Soros, who announced his investment of over a billion dollars into 'green' technology - counting on making a ton of money out of the climate emergency.

3) T. Boone Pickins, who spent millions of his own money putting up TV ads touting green energy sources, such as wind and natural gas. T. Boone, who made and lost and made fortune on oil - has suddenly gotten green on us? No - he's invested millions, and stands to make billions on wind farms and natural gas production in and around Texas.

4) Power Companies. Yes, power companies. Passing on all kinds of fees, taxes, and surcharges to us, their customers. They aren't providing anything to us in return, merely milking every dollar they legally can out of us.

Example 1 - Oncor, who has convinced the Texas Public Utilities Commision to let them charge customers for not one, but two electric smart meters, which will cost the average Texas consumer about $300 over the next three years, without providing any increase in function, energy savings, or savings to the consumer.

Example 2 - Cleveland's power co-op, which will deliver new smart lightbulbs to each residential consumer, without asking if they are wanted. These lightbulbs, which cost the co-op about 1.85 each, made in China, will be added to the consumer's bill at over $21.00 each - and there is no opt-out for the consumer.

Example 3 - that same Cleveland co-op. You would think that using eco-friendly light bulbs will cut electricity usage for the consumer, resulting in lower bills, right? Wrong ... the co-op will add fees to each bill to offset any electricity usage savings seen by the consumer, so the bills will not go down. The power company gets paid for electricity that is not used!

5) Fourth World Countries. International agreements that are being pushed now are geared towards one thing, and it's not saving the environment. It is all about transferring money from rich countries (namely the United States), and giving it to poorer countries (which is pretty much everyone else). If you look closely at any of the cap-and-trade proposals, including Kyoto, that is the underlying function - wealth redistribution, regulated by those who would receive the wealth.

6) China, Russia, and our other so called friends (ex-enemies?), who see international eco agreements as a method to weaken the United States as a global power. Every dollar drained out of our country, either by investments based on falsities or confiscated for transfer to other countries, is a bullet shot into the gut of America. Do you think that these countries, along with India (the biggest polluters on the planet) will ever agree to anything that punishes themselves for eco issues? Not a chance.

Being a good steward to the planet is a noble cause. Protecting our environment is a good thing. However, destroying our country and our way of life for false reasons just to line the pockets of rich left wing kooks and our enemies is criminal.

Update - The University of East Anglia is a well known and 'well respected' center for global climate research, and whose research is frequently quoted by eco-nazis. Algore has been a big supporter of theirs, and vice-versa. This past week, hackers broke into the University Climate Research Unit's computers, and downloaded a wealth of emails and documents that show a pattern of deception, lies, fabrications, and coverups that the Unit has been guilty of. The documents show clear patterns of falsified data, and discussions between staff about how to present the falsified data to further their political agenda. The Unit's Director, Phil Jones, is quoted in one email telling his collegues how to 'trick' data in a temperature graph to hide the fact that global temperatures have actually gone down since 1960. Jones denied it, claiming his comments were taken out of context.

Typical left wing behavior - the goal justifies any means in their minds, including flat out lying to the world.

Update II - As we approach the start of the Copenhagen Global Warming Summit, India, one of the world's two greatest polluters (China being the other), has publicly stated that it will not accept or sign any agreement that legally binds it to reducing emissions of any type. Now, that should tell the whole world what this summit is all about. Instead, the international press concentrates on Obama, and how he is going to commit the US to binding agreements that will punish the country and result in wholesale transfer of money from the US to Fourth World countries.

If the greatest polluters on the planet will not sign any binding agreement, why should we?

Update III - Sen. Barbar Boxer, one of the Democrat Party's biggest eco-Nazis, chairman of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, has come out publicly on the hacking and subsequent release of the emails. Typically, rather than be outraged at the content of the emails, she is outraged and demanding criminal prosecution of those who leaked them!

"You call it 'Climategate'; I call it 'E-mail-theft-gate. Whatever it is, the main issue is, are we facing global warming or are we not? I'm looking at these e-mails, that, even though they were stolen, are now out in the public.

We may well have a hearing on this, we may not. We may have a briefing for senators, we may not. Part of our looking at this will be looking at a criminal activity which could have well been coordinated. This is a crime." - Sen. Barbar Boxer, during her committee meetings

S0, the libs are freaked out that the emails outing the falsifying of ecological data have been leaked, not about the subject of the emails. She wants the leakers prosecuted. She will not allow her committee to pursue inquiries into the contents of the emails.

You know, if this had happened in the Bush Administration, on another subject, and information that harmed the Administration or one of its causes came to light, Democrats would be crowing at the top of their voices to reward the leakers and pursue the subject of the leak. Liberals love leakers, hackers, and tattle-tales - IF their efforts result in information the liberals like. Two-faced bastards ....

Hypocrite-In-Chief

I've seen where Obama The Immaculate has been pushing the Chinese government to loosen their restrictions on political free speech - to stop censoring those who disagree with the Socialist/Communist government in charge. Apparently, this is a high priority for him to address during his current 8 day Asian trip.

Am I the only one who sees the incredible hypocrisy in this? Obama and his lap dogs, who have done more to stiffle political free speech than any other administration - who have openly attacked a news network because it dares question His Highness - who have openly tried to censor internet and radio based opposition to His policies - dare to criticize another government for doing the same thing He does?

You know, it would be nice to have a day - just one day - without hearing about another incredible outrage from these assholes ....

Facebook Addiction ... When Is It Too Much?

Too all of those folks who spend far too much time on Facebook, there is a time when enough is enough .....

And no, I am not talking about my wife and daughter ... I wouldn't dare .....

Is He Stupid, Or Doing It On Purpose?

Once again, Obama The Immaculate subjugates himself and the United States of America before a foreign head of state. I can't wait to see how his keepers explain that this one isn't an actual bow .....

I can't figure out if this guy is just ignorant of how heads of state are supposed to behave, or if he is bending over on purpose to show how unworthy the USA is. In either case, it is an embarrassment - the international community is laughing at him, and us .... (anyway, someone needs to teach him how to bow - you don't lose eye contact with the one you are bending over for - it is a sign of disrespect to the bowee, and you don't shake hands with someone you are bowing to ...)

Update - I would be remiss if I didn't mention this. Earlier this year, during an interview about the situation in Afghanistan, Obama stated he didn't want 'victory' in that war. He cited the humiliation poured upon Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II, when he was marched across the deck of the USS MIssouri to sign the surrender papers. He didn't want to force Taliban commanders or anyone else to feel that humiliation. Trouble is, that never happened...

The Emperor never set foot on the Missouri. In fact, he was not made to be part of any of the surrender protocols. Underlings in the Japanese government and military performed those duties.

Obama is a dunce when it comes to history and international protocol. He makes us, as a country, a laughingstock world wide when he repeatedly commits these gaffes.

Obama's DoJ Sucks Up to Terrorists

Eric Holder, Obama's Attorney General, announced that Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other 9/11 conspirators will be transferred from Gitmo to a civilian court in New York for trial. This lunacy has several reasons, and all of them are bad for our country.

Mohammed and his terrorist buddies admitted last year to what they did, and asked to be executed - they wanted to become martyrs, and we should have accomodated them.

Instead, Obama is going to give them a platform to attack the United States - exactly what Obama and the far left want to happen.

Consider these items ....

Holder will judge shop, finding the most liberal, anti-Bush jurist they can get to sit on the bench.

So many socialist, anti-US ACLU lawyers will be lining up trying to get the defense assignment that the ACLU will probably have to hold a lottery to see who 'wins'. Can you imagine the joy one of these asshole attorneys will feel, given the fame and platform to attack what they hate so much? They're not going to care about the defendants - their goal will be to prosecute the goverment, specifically the military, CIA, and everyone in the Bush Administration.

The trial won't start for years. Instead of sitting in Gitmo, where they have been successfully incarcerated for years, they will be in a Federal Prison in New York, costing us a ton of money and creating a large security risk.

The trial is likely to last for a year or more - all of which will be paid for by us.

The defense laywers will use every mechanism allowed by the liberal sitting judge to attack the government's case. You can bet they will file motion after motion for dismissal due to legal technicalities. They will drag this out, try to expose every bit of US intelligence gathering assetts, and use every possible chance to 'put on trial' Bush Administration officials. You can bet they will try to call Bush and Cheney both to the stand. You can bet they will do everything they can to expose classified information and methods. You can bet they will do everything to portray the defendants as victims, whose strike against us was justified.

This will be a landmark event, defining perhaps forever how combatants captured on the battlefield while fighting our military are treated, if they aren't flying a specific country's flag. Despite the fact they were armed combatants, Democrat insistance on treating them as petty criminals will create a lot of confusion as to what rules are to be applied. Troops don't stop and read Miranda rights to people shooting at them before they shoot back or capture them. Count on the defense trying to get acquittals based on them not having been read their rights immediately after being captured.

The defendants will use the trial as an opportunity to spit their vile hatred of our country out in public. They've been muzzled while at Gitmo - now they will be free to shout out to the world how evil we are.

This trial will establish legally that people who take up arms against our country have protected Constitutional rights. Think of that - people who are fighting our country, killing and wounding our soldiers, will have the same legal rights as our citizens. Think of what it will do to our military, if they are attacked by our own government for fighting for our country.

Make no mistake folks ... This is not about justice. It is not about trying these bastards. It is all about attacking the United States and what it stands for. It is about putting the Bush Administration on trial for its efforts to defend us after 9/11. It is about Obama's reach out to the world, trying to snuggle up to our enemies. It is a key component of Obama's left wing koolaid drinker's attempt to change our country forever.

The Reality of Obamanomics

In my business travels, I have occasion to visit Las Vegas (strictly business, thank you very much ...). Was out there earlier this week. I saw something I have not seen before, and it is a direct reflection of our current economic situation and the incredibly high unemployment that continues to plague us courtesy of Obama's war on the economy.

Homeless people, sleeping across the street from the strip. Now, I am sure this is not new, but this is the first time I have seen so many so close to the casinos. Between Ceasar's Palace and I-15, there must have been 50 flopped down in a single block. I asked the driver about it, and he replied that job cuts in hospitality and construction have been devestating in LV.

From what I saw, tourist traffic was way down. This may be due to the economy, but also might in some part due to Obama coming out and telling our population that the days of picking up and going to Vegas for a vacation are over.

As a sideline, I saw several TV commercials for Harry Reid, touting his leadership and success in bringing money and jobs to Nevada. Sounded like a sarcastic comedy routine to me - he can't seriously believe any of the Nevada voters are going to fall for that? I imagine the SEIU (whose members have been hit hard by Vegas unemployment) will have a difficult time getting the membership to block vote for Reid again in the 2010 election. The Leader of the Senate, the most powerful person in the US Senate, very easily could be voted out of office next year - that would be so funny, so righteous, and so deserved (anyone remember Tom Daschle?)

For those of you looking for a quick vacation, you might consider Vegas. Cheap flights, cheap hotel rooms, crowds are down ... pretty good time to visit!

Is That My Daughter?

Some video of a recent New Mexico vs. BYU women's soccer match. Who says soccer is a non-contact sport? I see a lot of similarity between #15 for New Mexico and my daughter, who played the same position while wearing #16 (even had the same team colors), though she didn't play at the college level. Rough, tough defense .... gotta love it ....

Sorry Sambug ;)

Commie-In-Chief, Part Deaux

Obama the Immaculate is visiting Ft. Hood this afternoon for a memorial service for the troops and civilians killed and wounded in last Thursday's ambush. He is taking a whole hour out of his incredibly busy schedule to bless the victims with his presence.

The White House has been asked why he is not spending more time at the post. I haven't seen any answer from them. We all know he is incredibly busy making campaign stops for his lap dogs, fund raising events for every left wing kook in the Democrat Party, and intense phone attacks on wavering Democrats about Obamacare (and one lone Republican traitor from Louisiana). God help anything that might interfere with such important duties.

We've already been told he has asked for and received permission from the families of the victims to visit with them and offer his sympathies. Let's see - a hour on base, about 45 families of the dead and wounded, and his speech at the memorial service .... I'm sure he will spend a great deal of time comforting those affected (what, about 15 seconds for each family?), and it will be thoroughly documented by the mainstream media to show us how much he cares.

Jackass ..... He could spend a week there and it wouldn't be sufficient. An hour??????

This is even worse than his photo op grandstanding at Dover AFB a couple of weeks ago, where he visited for a few minutes to have his picture taken with coffins of our fallen being offloaded from a C-17. He dishonored those heroes just so he could have his picture taken - did anyone notice how perfectly the released photo was staged?

Compare this to President Bush, and the numerous times he visited with wounded soldiers, and the families of those killed and wounded - all of which were done in private - no reporters or cameras allowed. He did it out of actual respect from the Commander In Chief to his troops - not a damned photo op. how many news agencies have reported that President and Mrs. Bush visited the wounded at Ft. Hood and Killeen last Friday night to offer their sympathy and show their support? No reporters, no cameras, done just because it was the right thing to do.

Commie-In-Chief

German Chancellor Angela Merkel extended an invitation to Obama the Immaculate during her recent visit to the US. The invitation was to come to Berlin to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which sounded the death knell of East Germany, the Warsaw Pact, and the Soviet Union.

Obama turned her down, and has given no specific reason in public. The Big O once again slaps one of our most important allies in the face.

Now, there are multiple possible explanations for this:

1) Obama is too busy to fly to Germany for a day. (I really don't think so, he had no problem flying over there to try and 'rescue' the 2012 Olympics for Chicago, and he's had plenty of time to make multiple campaign appearances for the just defeated Democrats in New Jersy and Virginia.)

2) Obama does not want to be compared to Ronald Reagan, whose 'Mr. Gorbachev, bring down this wall' speech will undoubtedly be played again and again during the anniversary celebration.

3) Obama does not want to embarass his good buddies over in the Kremlin by acknowledging the anniversary.

4) Obama does not want to participate in a celebration of the defeat of Socialism.

5) Obama does not think the fall of the Soviet Union was a good thing.

6) Obama is miffed that he wasn't allowed to stand in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the wall for his 'President of the World' speech back before he was elected.

No matter what the reason, this is not the behaviour of the President of the United States - it is the behaviour of a spoiled little brat. Disgusting......

Obama/Pelosi's Porkulus - Some Details

Courtesy of Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examiner, here is a list of some of the wonderful uses your Federal Government has found for that $787,000,000,000 stimulus bill that Pelosi rammed down our throats back in February. Calm yourself, this will make your blood boil ....

- $300,000 for a helicopter to search for radioactive rabbit turds at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation

- $30,000,000 for a baseball spring traiing facility to be used by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies

- $430,000 to repair a bridge in Wisconsin that carries fewer than 10 cars a day

- $11,000,000 to build a bridge to connect Microsoft's two Redmond campuses, currently seperated by a road

- $800,000 for the John Murtha Airport in Johnstown Pennsylvania, to add a second runway. The airport serves an average of 20 passengers a day

- $219,000 for Syracuse University to study the sex habits of freshman women

- $2,500,000 in stimulus checks sent to deceased persons, subsequently lost, stolen, or cashed by unintended persons

- $2,300,000 for the US Forestry Service to breed large numbers of bugs, including such winners as the Asian Longhorned Beetle, the Wooly Adelgid, and the Nun Moth

- $3,400,000 for a tunnel for turtles to use to cross a road in Lake Jackson Florida (I'm sure the wildlife is smart enough to read the signs directing them to the opening!)

- $1,150,000 to install a guardrail on a dry lake bed in Oklahoma

- $9,380,000 to refurbish a railroad station in lancaster County Pennsylvania - a station that has not been used in over 30 years

- $6,000,000 for a snow making machine in DULUTH MINNESOTA

- $173,834 to winterize six pickup trucks in Madison County Illinois

- $20,000 for a fish sperm freezer at Gavins Point Fish Hatchery in South Dakota (what, they couldn't buy one at Sears?)

- $380,000 to spay and neuter pets in Wichita Kansas

- $300 apiece for thousands of road signs to be placed at construction zones announcing that the project was being funded by stimulus money

- $1,500,000 for a fence to block suicide jumpers on the All American Bridge in Akron Ohio

- $1,000,000 to study the effects of environmentally friendly housing for 300 people in Chicago

- $356,000 for an Indiana University study of how children recognize foreign accents

- $983,952 for street beautification in Ann Arbor Michigan

- $148,438 for a Washington State University study on the affects of marijuana in conjunction with other drugs like morphine

- $462,000 to purchase 22 concrete toilets for the Mark Twain National Forest

- $3,100,000 to transform a barge into a floting museum that will travel the Lake Erie Canal in New York

- $1,300,000 for government sponsored art projects in Maine

- $71,000 for a hybrid car for student drivers in Vermont, decked out with signage touting the car's energy efficiency

- $1,000,000 for Portland Oregon to replace aging bike locks and build a garage to house 250 bicycles

Thanks to Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), the Senate Minority Leader, for digging this info out and posting it on hie official web site.

Doesn't this make you feel good about Obama's Hope and Change?

THIS IS OUR MONEY. The bastards running Congress and sitting in the White House told us this $787 ,000,000,000 was desperately needed to bring our economy back from the brink. Instead, this is the bullshit they wasted it on.

Obama, Pelosi, Reid ... should not only be thrown out of office, but should be thrown in jail for stealing our money and lying to us about it. How can we believe anything these crooks, these idiots tell us? And now we're supposed to trust them with 1/6th of our economy, and to oversee all aspects of our healthcare system. NO!!!!!!!!!!

Elton John in the Hospital

News reports today said that Elton John is in a private London hospital recovering from an E-coli infection and influenza. Tour dates in the US, where he was to appear with Billy Joel, have been postponed. Get well, Elton ...

Reginald Dwight was one heck of a talented musician. His unorthodox approach brought a style to Rock and Roll that was unheard of before. I was hooked on his music while in high school. I even continued to enjoy it after he outed himself, an action that caused a close friend, Craig Thompson, to freak out - as Elton had been his favorite and the realization that he was 'gay' (not the word that Craig used!) devestated him. It was funny to watch.

I lost interest in his music after he split with Bernie Taupin, his lyrical author. The music, his appearance, his act - all grated on me - but never spoiled the memory of his early efforts. I haven't had much use for his musical efforts since the split, except for the 'Candle in the Wind' redo he did for Princess Diana.

My Top Five Favorite Elton John Songs:

1) Tiny Dancer
2) Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
3) All the Girls Love Alice
4) Madman Across the Water
5) Candle in the Wind

Here is a sample of his early efforts, one of my favorite Elton songs. Even though it is an obvious exercise in lip syncing, the music itself is great. How many people could take piano, steel guitar, and a full orchestra and fold them successfully into a Rock and Roll song? "Tiny Dancer" ......






Hah! Caught you .... how many of you out there are playing 'air keyboard'????

Halloween 2009 - What Happened?

Last night's Halloween trick or treat traffic was very disappointing. Here at the house, we got about 1/10th as many kids come by as we normally do. The weather was perfect. The only thing we can think of is the Pig Flu has got everyone spooked (sorry for the pun) about going out in public. What a shame ....