Things I have to keep track of now that I didn't have to keep track of back in the day

No wonder I am losing my mind, I have way too many things in my life that I have to keep track of. For instance: passwords; tiny little pieces of electronic equipment, such as the transformer card that lets me put my really tiny little memory card from my phone into the card reader so that I can look at all the pictures I take whenever I can't keep track of my camera; flash drives, chargers,etc. ad nauseum.

David Cook - new song

David Cook performed a new song - which hopefully will be featured on his new album - at a show at the Morongo back in February. I like it, it is a little different from the songs on his first album DCTR. "You and I ... suicide." David always has interesting insight into life and relationships. I wish he would write more melodic songs that show off his beautiful voice, though.

Here is some video of the song from YouTube: ">

"Every Rose has a Thorn"

Every minute of being a Casey James fan on American Idol this year was totally justified by this duet on finale night. These 2 got a standing ovation and were voted as the top performance that night on every poll I've seen. It would be great if Casey would sing this on the tour, along with maybe "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Cowboys."

Maybe Casey James can erase a little bit of the Bush stink from Texas.

Comment in Reply to David Brooks' Op-Ed "The Story of An Angry Voter"

David Brooks' latest Op-Ed column "The Story of an Angry Voter," describes 'Ben,' a hard-working person looking for a moderate who shares his views of the way society should be, rewards for those who work hard, and no rewards for those who don't. In a comment in reply to this column, Elizabeth Fuller of Peterborough, NH makes some great points that epitomize the problem with the Tea Party movement. She wrote, "You're making it sound as if it is government that is making things unfair for Ben and those like him. Was it government that outsourced jobs? Was it government that created the huge pay imbalances between CEOs and the people who work for them? Was it government that forced banks to charge 29% interest rates on credit card balances? Was it government that invented financial products that ruined the retirement funds and savings of so many people?

No, it was lack of government and a belief that things run more smoothly when unfettered by government regulation. It is not our political system that undermines the relationship between effort and reward; it is the way business is structured, and it is the way markets work. Markets, for demographic reasons alone, richly reward undisciplined talk show hosts and manufactured pop stars who may not be putting in half the effort of a truly dedicated teacher or an office cleaner who works two jobs to eke out a living for his or her family.

If Ben is smart, he may be finally realizing what many before him have learned -- that the market is amoral and unjust, and that hard work alone can't always overcome the unfairness thrust in one's way. He may be growing up enough to understand that right and wrong are infinitely complicated constructs that cannot be reduced to the idea that they are contained in the relationship between effort and reward. Does the good that those who work in obscurity and without financial gain among the world's poor have anything to do with the relationship between effort and reward? A thoughtful Ben may be finally understanding what people mean when they say virtue is its own reward.

If Ben gets angry only because he feels he's not getting all he deserves, if he doesn't make the leap to acknowledge that without government "interference" life can be very unfair for many of us, then his anger and extremism will probably get nothing done. But if in his own discomfort he finds the key to making society more just and workable for all, then his anger and "extremism" may be much more effective than centrist gentility."

UC Campus police beat up student protestors objecting to a THIRTY-TWO PER CENT fee increase

Shame on you is absolutely right. I wonder if the Campus Police are among those with mandated furloughs amounting to an 8% pay cut?

Video for Kris Allen's "Live Like We're Dying"

Interesting video. I like the clock concept, but could have done much more with it.

Great Anti-Dobbs video from Latinos

Hate speech on the public airwaves is one of the things I most disapprove of. Thinking people DO NOT respond to this type of garbage-spewing. The volume, tone and pitch of the voices of many of the ones on TV is a dead give away that what they are saying is not rational. Listeners/viewers forget that their purpose is entertainment, not information. Opposing a viewpoint rationally and factually is a totally different thing than fomenting hatred by way of distortion and lies. Our Constitution protects the former; the latter in my opinion does not qualify as free speech.

Anyway, here is a great video/ad about one of the all-time worst, Lou Dobbs:

Phillies Going ALL THE WAY

G-20 Armed Police on University of Pittsburgh Campus

While on some college campuses kids are watching football games and getting drunk, they are having a different experience at the University of Pittsburgh. A la Martin Niemoller's "They came for me, but there was nobody left to speak up," YubeTube videos are showing what you won't see on the news - City of Pittsburgh armored police attacking students on the University of Pittsburgh campus - "no matter what your purpose is you must disperse." Most of us have just sat back and watched while our rights have eroded. There is no more horror to what happened at Tien An Men when the same thing is happening right on our Main Streets. Thank you, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and John Boehner.

Kris Allen's single LIVE LIKE WE'RE DYING

86,400 seconds in a day - WOW - this is a great song. Not at all what I was expecting from Kris. He gets the message out without being sappy - fresh and contemporary. I like it!