Let's spend a trillion buying hospitals instead

If the feds are going to spend a trillion in tax payers dollars, just like that, I think they should buyout ALL hospitals and medical facilities  - saving millions and millions in health care costs by taking banks and insurance companies out of the equation....

Henry Paulson --- Your wheeler dealers won't be grateful for this bailout you are peddling. They will look at it he way a shark looks at a distressed swimmer -- can I get a meal or not?  The idealist thought that the moguls are not going to make off with as much as they can if unlimited underwriting is involved  --  is naivety of the sort that brought us IRAQ.   I was one of the ones hoodwinked. I thought the president must know about those WMD  and with-held my cynicism, when we invaded. I learned my lesson Mr. Paulson. Officials will hoodwink us if they can for their own obtuse reasons, their own selfish interests or those of their freinds or for their very personal delusions.

And, now I should believe that a TRILLION DOLLARS will fix this  just because Paulson says so....???  

Henry Paulson blames the borrowers

I am listening to Henry Paulson's speech and I note that in his first few paragraphs -- he blames the borrowers not the banks. He said that "borrowers took out loans they couldn't afford" and this is the root of this crisis. As if the trembling would- be-home owner, who was swayed by a so called "expert" bank official offering a variable rate mortgage with a balloon payment bears all the blame. The question remains to be answered -- WHY DID THE BANKS GRANT THESE LOANS?

The world as we know it, is preparing to implode, they say

Ah, the past.  We will be thinking of it fondly very soon, or so they say.  It's taking the slow implosion of Wall Street and the American way of Greed - to finally knock Sarah Palin off the front page.

Matt Scott – incredible musician at Molten’s open mic

Well, I went down to the open mic at Molten Java and I signed up to play. Got there late and was last person on the list. The MC was a fella named JD who helped each act set up, and tapped the one to go next.

There was a guy there, Matt Scott, who was a true master of his craft – he played an instrumental guitar piece entirely using the hammer-on technique. While I have heard people use that in a variety of ways over the years and use it a little my self — I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANY THING LIKE THIS – I was transported by the wax and wane of it. The guy is an incredible instrumentalist who really knows his axe. He was able to clearly delineate a melody with accompaniment and a base line and express a full range of dynamics from Pianisamo to Forte!! Later, at the very end he sang a piece and YIkes he is a great and expressive singer as well.

Matt also played a rather unique instrument which he called a harp guitar … it was a beautiful acoustic with a sort of sculptural extension and a second neck and gear head. The second head held bass strings. On this he once again played both a regular guitar line and the base part….

Another really cool thing that happened was at the very end, JD played “Lola,” with Sean, that crazy singer-performer-poet guy from Wed Nite Poetry – Sean sang and played harmonica…. At first it was pretty low key, but then Sean sort of went crazy and it was very amazing to watch and hear!!! I really enjoyed that number a lot.

A fellow named Neal (also from WEd Poetry) played some folks style songs on an electric guitar, and a young man who’s name I didn’t get played well.

There were also quite a few of the usual folks who play and run out, not stopping to hear the rest of the room.

I played three songs. LEt the Wind Blow Me Away, REady to Fall, and Wishing Stone. Got a nice response though I felt pretty rusty. All in all I had a great time!!! Go MOLTEN JAVA!!!!

New experiment - song lyrics as performance poems? Maybe

Yup I did it. I went and played a song in the poetry/acoustic open mic at Wednesday Night Poetry. . It was a fun night with many different readers.

Sandra Ebner was the feature and Slam Pappy Steve Marsh warmed up the room for her with a 10 minute play on My Fair Lady starring the NeoCons, McCain & Palin.. (Hilarious.)

Earlier I played one song and read one poem during the open mic. - but later I had an epiphany -- some, not all, but some of my songs would make GREAT SLAM POEMS..... I will be working on this idea....to painlessly get ready for the NorthBeast Regionals which Zork has asked me to compete in again this year. Very cool! This was the day my dad was born. It was a good day all in all.

Georgetown Saloon - great spot, great open mic!

Played tonight (Tues Sept 16, 2008) at the Georgetown Saloon open mic. That’s run by Marc Hubberman.

WHAT A GREAT OPEN MIC… so many great acts. I played three of my own songs, Stranded and Ready to Fall, It’s love that makes you free, and Wishing Stone.

What a great Audience they are too!!!My friend Robin went with me, and I tried a Saranac India Pale Ale for the first time. Not bad at all!!!Thanks Marc Hubberman and Georgetown Saloon for a great time!!!

Sept 11, Can't help but remember

I was sitting safely in my Northville apartment, making toast. I had just been hired for a new job and was feeling quite positive about the course of life.

Then the phone rang. It was dear old mom. ”Turn on your television set, right now,” she said. ”A plane just hit the World Trade Center.” I turned the set on, then spent the rest of the day in stunned silence as events unfolded, as a plane hit the second tower, and later as both towers crumbled to dust on live TV.

It seems incredible now, all these years later, that in response we attacked the wrong country and have now spent $550 billion plus on that spurious activity. It won’t bring back our dead. More deaths and more debt won’t make the path right.