I’m going to admit right off the bat that I don’t comprehend politics as well as some Americans do. Occasionally I get sucked into an issue or a period (2008) of movement but for the most part I stay away from it. Quite frankly it’s maddening. It’s also frustrating and sickening when I hear about the stuff happening in our nation’s capital. The absence of logic, compassion and honor really piss me off. Politicians will routinely lie or distort the truth to serve their needs. They’ll attack their opponents without knowing all the facts and sometimes even make things up completely to win elections and sway voters. Illogically, some favor the needs of the few over the needs of many. You can’t count on them to do the right thing either. They’ll put a spin on their choices, point fingers and find scapegoats when the buck should really stop with them. I find politics to be turning into the greatest reality game show of all. It’s just that it is so incredibly boring and convoluted that the common American and their short attention span will abandon the trek very quickly to get back to some Angry Birds, Facebook and their easier to follow reality shows. I’m not immune to this myself. Plus the politicians know how ridiculously boring and convoluted things are and so they encourage it and exacerbate it to keep most of us ignorant as to what’s going on. The more attentive we are, the more decisions they have to make. The more we cared, the more we would expect from them. Okay, anyway with that in mind I’m going to rant about politics, the GOP, the economy, the debt ceiling and who knows what else. It’s just an opinion but dammit it’s mine!
From my blog:
I've had it with government and politics. All they do these days is play games… very dangerous games. This country is in abysmal shape and all they want to do is posture and act like children. I’d say they are too focused on the past and present but that’s not true. They are focused on the future, only it’s not the future health of our country or democracy it their political future or the political future of their party. No one wants to make a tough choice that could hurt them down the road even if it’s the best thing to do right now. There’s a lot to lose! You don’t want to aggravate the people with the deep pockets. The people with the most money have the most influence. This is how it has always been but in this age of visibility, media frenzy and instant gratification it feels like it’s out of control. Money rules all. About 30 years ago our government engaged in something called trickle down economics. The premise was that tax breaks for the rich would spark job creation and a reinvestment in our economy. In these 30 years what if anything has trickled down? During those 3 decades taxes were seriously slashed for the rich to the point where quite famously, people like Warren Buffet are paying the same tax rates as the people who work far underneath them. If you aren’t hurting too much from this downturn maybe you can muster a laugh because on paper this whole thing is comical. The GOP has maintained for a long time that slashing taxes will create jobs and will booster the economy. The slashes of federal tax rates during the Bush administration alone have been quite significant but where are these jobs? They haven’t trickled down to us yet, maybe to China or India but not around these parts. The truth is lowering taxes for the rich does not create jobs, it just lets them put more in their coffers for rainy days and frivolous spending binges or even bolsters their portfolios so they can buy up more of the world.
Since money is king, it seems like Washington doesn’t listen to regular people any longer. On top of that the people who are the most fanatical and dedicated (the tea party for instance) are often the ones who speak the loudest and try to speak for everyone. So the people the government ends up listening to besides the rich are ones who don’t speak for all of us because these people are often the craziest people out there. Their fanaticism, persistence and borderline insanity are what got someone’s ear. Their influence is being felt right now during the debt ceiling talks.
We’re on the verge of an unprecedented financial collapse into default and the GOP and their Tea party handlers are still adamant that the trillions of dollars needed to raise the debt ceiling and help to reduce our debt going forward come from the working class, middle class and the poor and their entitlement programs. Now that’s just rude. If you were out one night with 3 of your friends and those friends had only $20 each in their pockets and you had $2000, would you really allow THEM to buy YOU a round? I would hope not! If all other things were equal and you were with your friends I would imagine you wouldn’t mind buying rounds for everyone, maybe quite a few. Of course in this country in 2011, everything is not equal and we certainly do not consider other Americans to be our friends. The growing gap between the rich and the poor has become a Grand Canyon and the numbers of the middle class are shrinking and they know it. The fear and paranoia these times have given us have the middle class distracted and fighting each other for whatever crumbs are left by the rich. Meanwhile, the numbers of millionaires and billionaires are skyrocketing! Let’s face it. People are selfish and the ones on top look down on those beneath them. Oh well, should’ve made better choices. Should’ve went to school, stayed away from the booze, kissed more ass, had more guts, married rich, been luckier, etc. It’s like a person being right and then rubbing it in your face that you are wrong. Don’t you just hate that person? Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back! How about just being happy to be right and how about helping other people to get it right like you did? Instead people turn a deaf ear to the cries of the unemployed, underemployed, sick, aging and unfortunate. How much is enough? How much is enough before the people getting stepped on can’t take any more? In olden times, revolutions were fought and royalty were overthrown and even beheaded for such offences! How much is enough?
Today I saw an article where President Obama is quoted as saying that the rich need to pay their “fair share”. Then I went to a few message boards where it seemed the sentiment was 50/50 as to whether they should. Some people suggested those who are deemed too poor to pay taxes should pay their fair share too. Others talked about how the rich already pay a significant percentage of the tax revenue in this country. I read somewhere recently where the top 1% of Americans control over 40% of the wealth in this country. Think about that. It’s a staggering amount. Just like when election time comes I’m thoroughly shocked that it seems 50% of Americans represent the ideals and desires of that 1%. Sure there’s more to it than that. There are social issues, religious views and so much more but what’s issue #1 with the vast majority of Americans lately and has been for the past few years? That’s right, the economy. Wake up people! The GOP is nothing more than a tool for the rich and righteous and I can only assume that the vast majority of Americans are neither. The fact that the country sent in the GOP in 2010 to destroy the incremental progress we had made climbing out of that massive hole during the first two years of the Obama Administration still mystifies me. That damn Obama didn’t fix everything fast enough! He didn’t bring any real change! This guy is all talk! And now because of the Republican controlled House, nothing gets done unless Obama bends over and “compromises” by giving the other side more than an equal amount of concessions. It’s happening now with the debt ceiling thing.
I don’t feel like the president has gotten a fair shake considering the extenuating circumstances surrounding his presidency but that’s neither here nor there. All I can say right now is dammit Obama don't give in! There are lives at stake! The poor and middle class have been beaten down enough! I'm so sick of all the proposed cuts to people who are already roughing it out even though the side that wants them is the side that put us into this mess with THEIR wars and THEIR uncontrolled spending despite most of us little people being against it. Did you know that on 5 occasions in the last 9 years the Republicans, including the ones who are at the head of the party now (Boehner, Cantor, McConnell), voted to raise the debt ceiling? Oh, it’s just that a Republican was president at the time so I guess that’s when it’s okay. The Bush Administration spent more than any Democrat ever did and handed Obama a recession, a grossly unbalanced budget and a lot of problems without solutions. Let’s never forget that! Oh and by the way, taxes are lower than they've been in 30 years. That, my friends is ridiculous in times like these where the number of billionaires and the record corporate profits grow nearly as fast as the unemployment line. Yeah, some companies are showing record profits and paying little to no taxes while they outsource jobs to other countries. It’s like these companies are being rewarded for eliminating American jobs! I’m not asking for new taxes on the rich… no, let’s just bring back some of the old ones! We need to rebuild this nation and it’s tough to do that when we are waging 2 wars, giving the rich the best tax rates they’ve had in decades and playing politics to the point nothing ever gets done in some attempt to sabotage someone’s presidency.
To me, governing is not imposing the will or beliefs of some people on all of them. It is doing what is right for the populous, not a small number of Americans but the nation at large. Nothing has trickled down to us on the bottom these last 3 decades and call me crazy but I’m beginning to think it never will. It’s time to get serious. It’s time for people to see reason. It’s time to buy a boatload of gold!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
The Good, The Bad and the Poetry! (7-2-11)
The Good:
The weather! It’s been so nice of late and I constantly want to be outside. Whether it’s going for a bike ride, a long walk or sitting somewhere and absorbing life, I want to do it all! Being inside for too long is making me edgy these days… just ask my co-workers, ha! I love it so much I almost want to throw the tent out into the backyard and sleep outside! Perhaps a camping trip is coming soon.
It seems there are at least 2 cool outdoor concerts each week, plus there’s baseball games, an evolving waterfront (they just opened a food shack “Clinton’s Dish” down there!), outdoor festivals every weekend and so much more going on. If you have air conditioning I understand why you might want to stay inside for periods of time but I will say this to you, THIS is what we suffer all winter for. These few warm, active months are to be enjoyed!
If you are one of those people who want to get out more but don’t know where the party is, never fear! In the very near future I am going to be releasing Crazy Eddie’s Event Calendar spotlighting some of the best things to do around Buffalo. All I will be doing is just compiling a list of great events and things to do and sharing it with you. I do this for myself all the time anyway and lately I’ve started sharing that list with a few of my friends and it’s occurred to me, why not share it with everyone, you know since I’m putting in the time anyway. Hopefully I can help you and yours find some fun things to do this summer that you might not have known about otherwise. I’m not sure if I am just going to post it as a blog/note or if I will make a weekly video spotlighting some of the best things to do that week. Perhaps I will do both. Stay tuned to see the first installment this week!
For those of you who missed out on my Best of 2011, Volume One CD from last month, don’t fear! You are obviously not as cool as those who got a copy 4 weeks ago but I still have several left so that you can salvage your reputation before it’s too late! Obviously I’m kidding (am I?) but I do have a handful more to give away and since I carry my backpack with me almost everywhere I go and/or I wear lots of cargo shorts with CD sized pockets, if you see me out and about there’s a good chance I’ll have a few on me! I may make an additional run of 10-15 more to give out at my poetry show in a few weeks but I’ll have more on that later in this blog.
The Bad:
I used to think I did things because I had a hunger for life, experiences and adventures no matter how small or insignificant they seemed. It’s always taken very little to make me happy, to keep me entertained. While to an extent that is still very true nowadays I feel like my activities are distractions. I feel like I’m doing things so I’ll forget how lonely I am. It certainly works because this has been a great week right up until yesterday where not coincidently I spent the evening at home doing very little. When I am out doing things I’m not thinking about the things I wish I was doing, so to speak. I used to be against such thinking, when friends would tell me they keep busy so they don’t think about all the crap in their lives, I used to scoff at that and think to myself that if you have stuff bothering you why not figure it out. But sometimes there are no easy answers and I guess now I can relate, except there isn’t a lot of crap in my life. A lot of things are good but it seems I spend a lot of my idle time thinking about the few things that aren’t right. What’s up with that?!?
I feel so isolated when I’m alone and I keep wondering if I will always feel this way. I really wish I had someone that I could share a connection with. I wish I had a companion, a partner, a woman who would indulge me and my crazy ideas and whom I could indulge. The most recent female I had a thing for, it turns out she is involved with someone and has a young child… although I never saw her out with the child or the guy, always alone. Oh well, guess I’ll find a new crush. It can take me anywhere from a few minutes to a few years to find one. I genuinely like so few women that I can’t predict how long it will take to be smitten again. Smitten is pretty nice though. Still I hope one day to have what many of you have… closeness, intimacy, a connection and someone who really cares about what you need, what you want, how you feel or what you are thinking.
I’m starting a new exercise routine this weekend with an eye towards what I eat and it feels like it’s the 50th time I’ve done such a thing. It feels that way because it probably is! I’ll keep trying I guess until I get it right. I know what you are thinking; why is this under the “bad” category? I’ve included it here because I’ve done some bad things in recent months to get me to this place. The fact that I have to saddle up and give it another go with a new exercise and diet deal means I’ve made some bad choices. I’m usually a glass half full kind of guy but until I start doing good things and making good choices I’m a bad boy. For me the test is consistent moderation in servings and staying active. It’s really that simple on paper. In reality, and this is a line from one of my poems, I have to learn to separate the hunger from the cravings.
Besides that, there’s always a setback. Every time I begin a new journey towards better health and getting into better shape I run into bumps in the road. That could mean a minor injury that bumps me off track or a moment of weakness and a bad eating night that bumps me of course and snowballs into a full regression. It’s at these times where my loneliness really hurts. Moments where I lose my balance and need someone to lean on to help regain it is the absolute worst. When I fail myself and there’s no one to lean on I then fall down and find myself feeling pretty low, lying on the ground for a while. There’s a lot of metaphor in this but it’s true. Yes I know I have a lot of friends who are more than willing to help me out but it’s not the same. It’s not the same as having that one person to confide everything in and who’s always there. My friends have their own lives and I won’t trouble them with all my silly problems and struggles. I dunno, I guess I’m weird that way. I offer myself to any and all my friends in their times of need but feel strange asking the same of them. I’m trying to get to a point where I don’t need to lean on anyone but myself but who knows if I’ll ever get there. I do know I always have a hard time asking for help… too much pride and too much of my father in me (He was quite stubborn and prideful).
Hopefully I’ll turn these bad situations into good ones but until I do something about it, for now it’s only words. Speaking of words…
The Poetry:
Still no word yet on when and where I will perform at the 2011 Buffalo Infringement Festival. All I can say is me and my Spoken word/poetry show “Young Hearts and Old Minds” will be on sometime from July 28th to August 7th, somewhere in the city. I should find out any day now. Of course when I do there will be hoopla on my end… lots of hoopla. I am going to make the obligatory facebook event page for it, plus there will be flyers and then I’ll start talking to people as far as helping out in various ways, recording it on video, etc. So keep those 11 days FREE, hahahahaha!
In the meantime I’ve been writing more and more poetry. The 2 pieces I’ve finished this week (“Let Go” and “Hope, parts 1 & 2) are most likely going to be part of my show and I’m working on several more. I wouldn’t say I’ve been writing 1 a day but they are coming out fast and furious lately. Hopefully some of them are good! Between now and then I’m going to read at a few open mics. One I’m looking at is “Spit at Spot” at Spot Coffee downtown on Thursday evenings, plus maybe some others at the Screening Room, EM Tea Coffeecup Café and so on. I have been rehearsing nearly every day and that will intensify as we get closer. I really want to deliver these pieces to you flawlessly with the accents on the right words, at the right pace, with the clearest voice and with the raw emotion they were written with. Somehow I think I’ll be okay. I can’t wait!
I’ve said enough to know I’ve said too much.
:)
E
The weather! It’s been so nice of late and I constantly want to be outside. Whether it’s going for a bike ride, a long walk or sitting somewhere and absorbing life, I want to do it all! Being inside for too long is making me edgy these days… just ask my co-workers, ha! I love it so much I almost want to throw the tent out into the backyard and sleep outside! Perhaps a camping trip is coming soon.
It seems there are at least 2 cool outdoor concerts each week, plus there’s baseball games, an evolving waterfront (they just opened a food shack “Clinton’s Dish” down there!), outdoor festivals every weekend and so much more going on. If you have air conditioning I understand why you might want to stay inside for periods of time but I will say this to you, THIS is what we suffer all winter for. These few warm, active months are to be enjoyed!
If you are one of those people who want to get out more but don’t know where the party is, never fear! In the very near future I am going to be releasing Crazy Eddie’s Event Calendar spotlighting some of the best things to do around Buffalo. All I will be doing is just compiling a list of great events and things to do and sharing it with you. I do this for myself all the time anyway and lately I’ve started sharing that list with a few of my friends and it’s occurred to me, why not share it with everyone, you know since I’m putting in the time anyway. Hopefully I can help you and yours find some fun things to do this summer that you might not have known about otherwise. I’m not sure if I am just going to post it as a blog/note or if I will make a weekly video spotlighting some of the best things to do that week. Perhaps I will do both. Stay tuned to see the first installment this week!
For those of you who missed out on my Best of 2011, Volume One CD from last month, don’t fear! You are obviously not as cool as those who got a copy 4 weeks ago but I still have several left so that you can salvage your reputation before it’s too late! Obviously I’m kidding (am I?) but I do have a handful more to give away and since I carry my backpack with me almost everywhere I go and/or I wear lots of cargo shorts with CD sized pockets, if you see me out and about there’s a good chance I’ll have a few on me! I may make an additional run of 10-15 more to give out at my poetry show in a few weeks but I’ll have more on that later in this blog.
The Bad:
I used to think I did things because I had a hunger for life, experiences and adventures no matter how small or insignificant they seemed. It’s always taken very little to make me happy, to keep me entertained. While to an extent that is still very true nowadays I feel like my activities are distractions. I feel like I’m doing things so I’ll forget how lonely I am. It certainly works because this has been a great week right up until yesterday where not coincidently I spent the evening at home doing very little. When I am out doing things I’m not thinking about the things I wish I was doing, so to speak. I used to be against such thinking, when friends would tell me they keep busy so they don’t think about all the crap in their lives, I used to scoff at that and think to myself that if you have stuff bothering you why not figure it out. But sometimes there are no easy answers and I guess now I can relate, except there isn’t a lot of crap in my life. A lot of things are good but it seems I spend a lot of my idle time thinking about the few things that aren’t right. What’s up with that?!?
I feel so isolated when I’m alone and I keep wondering if I will always feel this way. I really wish I had someone that I could share a connection with. I wish I had a companion, a partner, a woman who would indulge me and my crazy ideas and whom I could indulge. The most recent female I had a thing for, it turns out she is involved with someone and has a young child… although I never saw her out with the child or the guy, always alone. Oh well, guess I’ll find a new crush. It can take me anywhere from a few minutes to a few years to find one. I genuinely like so few women that I can’t predict how long it will take to be smitten again. Smitten is pretty nice though. Still I hope one day to have what many of you have… closeness, intimacy, a connection and someone who really cares about what you need, what you want, how you feel or what you are thinking.
I’m starting a new exercise routine this weekend with an eye towards what I eat and it feels like it’s the 50th time I’ve done such a thing. It feels that way because it probably is! I’ll keep trying I guess until I get it right. I know what you are thinking; why is this under the “bad” category? I’ve included it here because I’ve done some bad things in recent months to get me to this place. The fact that I have to saddle up and give it another go with a new exercise and diet deal means I’ve made some bad choices. I’m usually a glass half full kind of guy but until I start doing good things and making good choices I’m a bad boy. For me the test is consistent moderation in servings and staying active. It’s really that simple on paper. In reality, and this is a line from one of my poems, I have to learn to separate the hunger from the cravings.
Besides that, there’s always a setback. Every time I begin a new journey towards better health and getting into better shape I run into bumps in the road. That could mean a minor injury that bumps me off track or a moment of weakness and a bad eating night that bumps me of course and snowballs into a full regression. It’s at these times where my loneliness really hurts. Moments where I lose my balance and need someone to lean on to help regain it is the absolute worst. When I fail myself and there’s no one to lean on I then fall down and find myself feeling pretty low, lying on the ground for a while. There’s a lot of metaphor in this but it’s true. Yes I know I have a lot of friends who are more than willing to help me out but it’s not the same. It’s not the same as having that one person to confide everything in and who’s always there. My friends have their own lives and I won’t trouble them with all my silly problems and struggles. I dunno, I guess I’m weird that way. I offer myself to any and all my friends in their times of need but feel strange asking the same of them. I’m trying to get to a point where I don’t need to lean on anyone but myself but who knows if I’ll ever get there. I do know I always have a hard time asking for help… too much pride and too much of my father in me (He was quite stubborn and prideful).
Hopefully I’ll turn these bad situations into good ones but until I do something about it, for now it’s only words. Speaking of words…
The Poetry:
Still no word yet on when and where I will perform at the 2011 Buffalo Infringement Festival. All I can say is me and my Spoken word/poetry show “Young Hearts and Old Minds” will be on sometime from July 28th to August 7th, somewhere in the city. I should find out any day now. Of course when I do there will be hoopla on my end… lots of hoopla. I am going to make the obligatory facebook event page for it, plus there will be flyers and then I’ll start talking to people as far as helping out in various ways, recording it on video, etc. So keep those 11 days FREE, hahahahaha!
In the meantime I’ve been writing more and more poetry. The 2 pieces I’ve finished this week (“Let Go” and “Hope, parts 1 & 2) are most likely going to be part of my show and I’m working on several more. I wouldn’t say I’ve been writing 1 a day but they are coming out fast and furious lately. Hopefully some of them are good! Between now and then I’m going to read at a few open mics. One I’m looking at is “Spit at Spot” at Spot Coffee downtown on Thursday evenings, plus maybe some others at the Screening Room, EM Tea Coffeecup Café and so on. I have been rehearsing nearly every day and that will intensify as we get closer. I really want to deliver these pieces to you flawlessly with the accents on the right words, at the right pace, with the clearest voice and with the raw emotion they were written with. Somehow I think I’ll be okay. I can’t wait!
I’ve said enough to know I’ve said too much.
:)
E
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