Wednesday, December 02, 2009
After Thinking for 92 Days Obama at West Point - The Enemy Camp
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Leave it to the idjit Democratic liberals to cast dirt on their own president as Chris Matthews of the comrades in arms network MSNBC called our nation's Military Academy at West Point "the enemy camp". As usual when a elitist liberal shoots off at the mouth he got caught and immediately began to backpedal faster than Obama's promise for transparency in government.
One thing the liberals said was right concerning the speech on Afghanistan was it certainly came across dry and clinical, a typical professor speaking down to the students even those he was sending these students off to war and some will not be coming home. If the cadets were grave perhaps it was the subject matter.
Then again, there was none of the motivational lines, uplifting rhetoric, and pride most presidents have demonstrated when addressing his troops. It took at least 92 days for the president to figure out what to say from the time his own general asked for more troops. Over the past three months of indecision his poll numbers crashed from 56% approval to 35% on his handling of the war. As usual he apologized for all the mistakes by America.
Obama then proceeded to give the generals pretty much all they wanted in terms of troops, 30,000 more as fast as possible. Now most red blooded Americans will support the president on the troops because in America patriotism is a way of life and we are getting tired of endless wars. But Obama never claimed we would win. He didn't claim any positive result but merely mumbled about we will see how it goes.
Suddenly the bombshell, obviously meant to appease all the flaming liberals in his White House, as he said we would start withdrawing troops 18 months after the troop build up, and that we would complete our withdrawal before the 2012 presidential elections. It seems a bit much to expect 30,000 more troops will give us victory in just 18 months when it has been over eight years since we started the war.
Obama has to be the first commander in chief in history to predict the end of a war when he just sent more troops to the battleground. To commit might be the second dumbest thing he has done next to thinking he was anointed president in the first place. What did the new policy do to VP Biden's reputation? He was very much opposed to it in White House deliberations. Hillary, on the other hand, approved of it.
Still, anyone with experience knows there is no way we can start leaving 18 months after reaching full force so his words will slip by unnoticed and when the deadline comes and goes it will just be another in the series of failed promises to his rapidly fading liberal base.
Now Afghanistan has given him the opportunity to count the votes on health care and decide it was time to change his priorities. Of course the war in Afghanistan will only dominate the president for a day as he starts a whole new campaign to define a new strategy for joblessness and the floundering economy. I guess taking 92 days to think about Afghanistan pales in comparison to the economy which has been ignored since he passed the ill fated bailouts and stimulus bills at the beginning of his term.
Let's see, Afghanistan yesterday and joblessness tomorrow, does that mean health care is no longer a priority or did he finally decide to blame any failure in health care on Nancy Pelosi whose pork barrel bill gives new meaning to fat cats in our nation's capitol?
The Obama record on foreign policy leaves a lot to be desired. Every day another of his "enlightened" new foreign policies seems to self-destruct. He wanted to sit down with North Korea and Iran and got fireworks he didn't seem to expect. North Korea fired off missiles in defiance of the president while Iran boasts it will build ten more nuclear reactors and create even more powerful enhanced uranium for nuclear weapons.
Israel greeted warnings from Obama to stop building settlements with a ban on settlement construction where it was not happening and ordering 8,000 more homes built in the controversial East Jerusalem settlements. Some ban. Every day Israel is closer to attempting to take out the Iranian reactors with military force which will instantly move the world a step closer to world war.
China scolds us for causing the world economic meltdown, Russia ignores calls to lean on Iran, China ignores calls to lean on North Korea. Europe seems to ignore just about everything he asks of our European allies. Even the global warming cartel led by Al Gore and Goldman Sachs is self-destructing with the release of a pattern of liberal scientists who manipulated and made up numbers to justify the global warming debacle.
Ironically, the White House just announced the president would go to the world conference on global warming on his way to pick up his Nobel Peace prize, hummm, just a few days after expanding the war in Afghanistan. Can't wait to hear his Peace prize acceptance speech.
And then, well, it was disclosed that Obama and his friend Tiger Woods are featured on the cover of Golf Digest under the story ten things Tiger can teach Obama on the same day Tiger admitted to his digressions that hurt his wife and family.
Finally Obama's patron saint Goldman Sachs continues to raid Obama's US Treasury and pay out $23 billion in bonuses and this week it was announced Goldman has forbidden employees to gather in groups of 12 or larger and that Goldman employees are filing for gun permits in NYC to protect themselves from the threats they seem to be receiving for raiding our treasury.
And then there was the crashing at the White House state dinner by socialites who got pictures with Obama and Biden. Is the president safe in his own home? What a week for our commander in chief.
Leave it to the idjit Democratic liberals to cast dirt on their own president as Chris Matthews of the comrades in arms network MSNBC called our nation's Military Academy at West Point "the enemy camp". As usual when a elitist liberal shoots off at the mouth he got caught and immediately began to backpedal faster than Obama's promise for transparency in government.
One thing the liberals said was right concerning the speech on Afghanistan was it certainly came across dry and clinical, a typical professor speaking down to the students even those he was sending these students off to war and some will not be coming home. If the cadets were grave perhaps it was the subject matter.
Then again, there was none of the motivational lines, uplifting rhetoric, and pride most presidents have demonstrated when addressing his troops. It took at least 92 days for the president to figure out what to say from the time his own general asked for more troops. Over the past three months of indecision his poll numbers crashed from 56% approval to 35% on his handling of the war. As usual he apologized for all the mistakes by America.
Obama then proceeded to give the generals pretty much all they wanted in terms of troops, 30,000 more as fast as possible. Now most red blooded Americans will support the president on the troops because in America patriotism is a way of life and we are getting tired of endless wars. But Obama never claimed we would win. He didn't claim any positive result but merely mumbled about we will see how it goes.
Suddenly the bombshell, obviously meant to appease all the flaming liberals in his White House, as he said we would start withdrawing troops 18 months after the troop build up, and that we would complete our withdrawal before the 2012 presidential elections. It seems a bit much to expect 30,000 more troops will give us victory in just 18 months when it has been over eight years since we started the war.
Obama has to be the first commander in chief in history to predict the end of a war when he just sent more troops to the battleground. To commit might be the second dumbest thing he has done next to thinking he was anointed president in the first place. What did the new policy do to VP Biden's reputation? He was very much opposed to it in White House deliberations. Hillary, on the other hand, approved of it.
Still, anyone with experience knows there is no way we can start leaving 18 months after reaching full force so his words will slip by unnoticed and when the deadline comes and goes it will just be another in the series of failed promises to his rapidly fading liberal base.
Now Afghanistan has given him the opportunity to count the votes on health care and decide it was time to change his priorities. Of course the war in Afghanistan will only dominate the president for a day as he starts a whole new campaign to define a new strategy for joblessness and the floundering economy. I guess taking 92 days to think about Afghanistan pales in comparison to the economy which has been ignored since he passed the ill fated bailouts and stimulus bills at the beginning of his term.
Let's see, Afghanistan yesterday and joblessness tomorrow, does that mean health care is no longer a priority or did he finally decide to blame any failure in health care on Nancy Pelosi whose pork barrel bill gives new meaning to fat cats in our nation's capitol?
The Obama record on foreign policy leaves a lot to be desired. Every day another of his "enlightened" new foreign policies seems to self-destruct. He wanted to sit down with North Korea and Iran and got fireworks he didn't seem to expect. North Korea fired off missiles in defiance of the president while Iran boasts it will build ten more nuclear reactors and create even more powerful enhanced uranium for nuclear weapons.
Israel greeted warnings from Obama to stop building settlements with a ban on settlement construction where it was not happening and ordering 8,000 more homes built in the controversial East Jerusalem settlements. Some ban. Every day Israel is closer to attempting to take out the Iranian reactors with military force which will instantly move the world a step closer to world war.
China scolds us for causing the world economic meltdown, Russia ignores calls to lean on Iran, China ignores calls to lean on North Korea. Europe seems to ignore just about everything he asks of our European allies. Even the global warming cartel led by Al Gore and Goldman Sachs is self-destructing with the release of a pattern of liberal scientists who manipulated and made up numbers to justify the global warming debacle.
Ironically, the White House just announced the president would go to the world conference on global warming on his way to pick up his Nobel Peace prize, hummm, just a few days after expanding the war in Afghanistan. Can't wait to hear his Peace prize acceptance speech.
And then, well, it was disclosed that Obama and his friend Tiger Woods are featured on the cover of Golf Digest under the story ten things Tiger can teach Obama on the same day Tiger admitted to his digressions that hurt his wife and family.
Finally Obama's patron saint Goldman Sachs continues to raid Obama's US Treasury and pay out $23 billion in bonuses and this week it was announced Goldman has forbidden employees to gather in groups of 12 or larger and that Goldman employees are filing for gun permits in NYC to protect themselves from the threats they seem to be receiving for raiding our treasury.
And then there was the crashing at the White House state dinner by socialites who got pictures with Obama and Biden. Is the president safe in his own home? What a week for our commander in chief.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009 - When Did This American Tradition Start?
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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a national holiday, yet many people have no idea of the history of the holiday. Those of you living around Coltons Point should know this history as it began around the colonial days, exactly 155 years after the colonists landed here, the oldest continuous settlement in the original thirteen colonies.
Now not to overlook the Spaniards, they did hold some form of Thanksgiving celebrations in Saint Augustine in 1565, then San Elceario (near today's El Paso) but neither was part of the original colonies. In 1619 Virginia colonists held such a feast and in 1621 the Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists held such a feast but this was before the founding of the nation and they were not annual traditions.
After the founding of the United States the first holiday was declared by President George Washington, a religious feast to thank the "providence of Almighty God" for his help. Still, it was not designated a national holiday but states were encouraged to participate.
Of course George was born directly across the river from Coltons Point and when younger he walked this area as a surveyor.
George Washington
As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America:
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
The national holiday came during the darkest hours of the Civil War when Lincoln was president. The year was 1863, and it was the bloodiest days of the Civil War. It followed the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg and Lincoln's trip to Gettysburg to honor the most soldiers killed in one battle in our history, Lincoln, heartbroken by what he had seen at Gettysburg, may have used Thanksgiving as a time to give the people to reflect and hope. He was not a publicly religious man, but he used his Thanksgiving proclamation to find humility and gratitude, and to remember how richly blessed we as a nation really were despite everything. His proclamation was one of the first times he used strong religious overtones in his public speech.
Abraham Lincoln
In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863:
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth."
Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863.
Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States.
I hope you all join me in Thanksgiving, honoring the Almighty God as Washington and Lincoln told us, and honoring our sons and daughters around the world defending our right to be free.
-
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a national holiday, yet many people have no idea of the history of the holiday. Those of you living around Coltons Point should know this history as it began around the colonial days, exactly 155 years after the colonists landed here, the oldest continuous settlement in the original thirteen colonies.
Now not to overlook the Spaniards, they did hold some form of Thanksgiving celebrations in Saint Augustine in 1565, then San Elceario (near today's El Paso) but neither was part of the original colonies. In 1619 Virginia colonists held such a feast and in 1621 the Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists held such a feast but this was before the founding of the nation and they were not annual traditions.
After the founding of the United States the first holiday was declared by President George Washington, a religious feast to thank the "providence of Almighty God" for his help. Still, it was not designated a national holiday but states were encouraged to participate.
Of course George was born directly across the river from Coltons Point and when younger he walked this area as a surveyor.
George Washington
As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America:
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
The national holiday came during the darkest hours of the Civil War when Lincoln was president. The year was 1863, and it was the bloodiest days of the Civil War. It followed the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg and Lincoln's trip to Gettysburg to honor the most soldiers killed in one battle in our history, Lincoln, heartbroken by what he had seen at Gettysburg, may have used Thanksgiving as a time to give the people to reflect and hope. He was not a publicly religious man, but he used his Thanksgiving proclamation to find humility and gratitude, and to remember how richly blessed we as a nation really were despite everything. His proclamation was one of the first times he used strong religious overtones in his public speech.
Abraham Lincoln
In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863:
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth."
Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863.
Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States.
I hope you all join me in Thanksgiving, honoring the Almighty God as Washington and Lincoln told us, and honoring our sons and daughters around the world defending our right to be free.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Taylor Swift Sweeps Awards, No Longer Just Country Queen but Queen of the Pop World
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Now that the American Music Awards, to the shock of the non-country music industry, has anointed Taylor Swift as the voice of American music, what does that mean to the good old folks back home? In winning five AMA awards including artist of the year over Michael Jackson and others, what does that hold for the future.
It was a very good night for country music in spite of the Swift landslide but one wonders how much was because of the Swift coattails which were very much in evidence with the award to Gloriana as breakthrough artist of the year without being well known compared to Lady Gaga who lost to both Swift and Gloriana. Taylor did take Gloriana on tour with her to help introduce the singers.
Still, Swift is the story as she is now known as America's pop queen having demolished the competition in the Country Music and American Music Awards, competition that included all the best performers, male and female in country and pop music including Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Straight, Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, and pop starts Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Kings of Leon, Beyonce and Daughtry.
So how does a 19 year old kid dominate the greatest artists of all music genres for the last couple of decades? How has Taylor gained world recognition as the queen of pop music and the best selling artist in the world for all types of music? And what will be the Swift impact on country music?
Just like her friend Miley Cyrus who also came from country roots, Taylor Swift is already facing the many seductions of entertainment fame and fortune as they tend to first become a self contained money machine hungry to dominate every aspect of the entertainment business. Both quickly took control of every aspect of their lives from writing music to television appearances.
The rocket to fame opened doors to performing and recording with other established artists. An avalanche of money allowed them to break new ground with music videos. Their packaging for concerts and special performances was flawless. But each degree of control has a price.
Taylor Swift has shattered record sales in a time when the tough economy has driven down the sale of records. That means a whole bunch of other performers have been squeezed out of the fragile sales market. Her concerts are becoming more rock like all the time leaving less money and fan support for other artists.
By writing her own music she has blocked untold writers from ever being a success. When she co-writes and performs with anyone else it is usually because that person is also successful, note, Miley Cyrus, Kellie Pickler, etc. But those hand picked friends are always successful in their own right thus further closing the doors of opportunity to other struggling artists and writers.
In the record business more than any other money talks. But just like Wall Street, money only feeds on more money as costs escalate, video production becomes more extravagant, concert shows become more complex and expensive, and the price of everything from tickets to records has to go up to make sure the public is bled dry.
You reach a certain point and suddenly risky investments stop while formula ideas, known techniques, or songs or styles whose cost benefit analysis offers the least risk begin to dominate. The industry vultures hover around you at all times. Some kids can handle it. Most don't.
The more commercial the kid, for example, young Miley, the more demands on them to continue making tons of money to feed their own machine. They become an industry in and of themselves and they become a slave to their own success. All the time their creativity, which thrives in the early stages gets worn out in the later stages.
That is when they are forced to compromise everything they stood for when they were young and unknown in the first place. Fame has a horrible price to pay. Just look at the lives of music legends like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. You reach a certain point when you can never again be one of the genre but become the genre. Yesterday Taylor Swift was the hope for country music, today she is the poster girl for pop music.
It will be a miracle if she ever has control of her young life again. As she is seduced by the masters of entrapment in Hollywood, New York and Wall Street through television and movies, then fashion and cosmetics, her world will open up just as her life is becoming more and more isolated. All the time the greed of those using her will keep pushing her while denying other aspiring artists the chance for any hope of success.
The people of the entertainment world now pouring ideas and dreams into this new star are masters at their game and their game is pure and simple, greed. Squeeze every last ounce of profit out of the celebrity because they might break under the pressure at any step along the way and suddenly the gravy train is gone. To them she is the golden goose and when the goose stops producing it is cast aside for the next Taylor Swift waiting in the wings.
Right now young Taylor has the enthusiasm and energy of youth. But her breakneck schedule and the amazing diversity of activity they have her doing cannot be sustained for long. Most likely she has already been lost to the country music industry. The lure of Hollywood and the mega bucks in the genre will take care of that. Others are pushed in that direction, like Carrie Underwood, but they do not stay there and survive. If they are lucky, they get back to their roots before they are broken.
Swift was a talented kid who just happened to break through in country music. There is no evidence that she was grounded in country as her roots were never deep enough to establish that fact. It was only a matter of time and luck before she found her home and most likely that is in the pop culture. Her music is every bit as much pop as country so the genre of the arrangement determines which doors are open to the artist.
Now that she is the best selling female of all music, and the heir apparent as pop queen, her true roots will never be known. Her opportunities may be endless, but the risk reward ratio just took a gigantic leap forward, meaning what you may ask? It means this. When you have reached the pinnacle of your life's endeavor there is no way to go but sideways or down. You go sideways by jumping from country to pop but from either perspective the only way to go is back down.
Let us hope and pray that Taylor Swift is not already a victim trapped in her own success. She needs to find her own way but also needs to understand she never walks alone. As she is faced with untold wealth and opportunity may she never forget that the gifts she has came from a higher source and the success as measured from that perspective is how you use your gifts to help others in need of help, not those already drowning in success.
Compassion and empathy comes from the heart, not from the largess of foundations and tax deductions. Young Taylor is at a crossroads where she can find a solid foundation in life or forever walk on quicksand. The latter comes from a world of glamour and glitz while the first comes from listening to the heart and soul.
Perhaps she should journey to the Hopi Indian reservation in Arizona with no media, no photo ops and no status symbols and see how the most sacred and oldest of cultures has survived with nothing but a bond to Father Creator and Mother Earth and a desire to bring all people together. Honoring God and all God's creations is the highest service possible to the Hopi, the Children of God and People of the Sun. Then Taylor will see what being grounded is all about.
-
Now that the American Music Awards, to the shock of the non-country music industry, has anointed Taylor Swift as the voice of American music, what does that mean to the good old folks back home? In winning five AMA awards including artist of the year over Michael Jackson and others, what does that hold for the future.
It was a very good night for country music in spite of the Swift landslide but one wonders how much was because of the Swift coattails which were very much in evidence with the award to Gloriana as breakthrough artist of the year without being well known compared to Lady Gaga who lost to both Swift and Gloriana. Taylor did take Gloriana on tour with her to help introduce the singers.
Still, Swift is the story as she is now known as America's pop queen having demolished the competition in the Country Music and American Music Awards, competition that included all the best performers, male and female in country and pop music including Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Straight, Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, and pop starts Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Kings of Leon, Beyonce and Daughtry.
So how does a 19 year old kid dominate the greatest artists of all music genres for the last couple of decades? How has Taylor gained world recognition as the queen of pop music and the best selling artist in the world for all types of music? And what will be the Swift impact on country music?
Just like her friend Miley Cyrus who also came from country roots, Taylor Swift is already facing the many seductions of entertainment fame and fortune as they tend to first become a self contained money machine hungry to dominate every aspect of the entertainment business. Both quickly took control of every aspect of their lives from writing music to television appearances.
The rocket to fame opened doors to performing and recording with other established artists. An avalanche of money allowed them to break new ground with music videos. Their packaging for concerts and special performances was flawless. But each degree of control has a price.
Taylor Swift has shattered record sales in a time when the tough economy has driven down the sale of records. That means a whole bunch of other performers have been squeezed out of the fragile sales market. Her concerts are becoming more rock like all the time leaving less money and fan support for other artists.
By writing her own music she has blocked untold writers from ever being a success. When she co-writes and performs with anyone else it is usually because that person is also successful, note, Miley Cyrus, Kellie Pickler, etc. But those hand picked friends are always successful in their own right thus further closing the doors of opportunity to other struggling artists and writers.
In the record business more than any other money talks. But just like Wall Street, money only feeds on more money as costs escalate, video production becomes more extravagant, concert shows become more complex and expensive, and the price of everything from tickets to records has to go up to make sure the public is bled dry.
You reach a certain point and suddenly risky investments stop while formula ideas, known techniques, or songs or styles whose cost benefit analysis offers the least risk begin to dominate. The industry vultures hover around you at all times. Some kids can handle it. Most don't.
The more commercial the kid, for example, young Miley, the more demands on them to continue making tons of money to feed their own machine. They become an industry in and of themselves and they become a slave to their own success. All the time their creativity, which thrives in the early stages gets worn out in the later stages.
That is when they are forced to compromise everything they stood for when they were young and unknown in the first place. Fame has a horrible price to pay. Just look at the lives of music legends like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. You reach a certain point when you can never again be one of the genre but become the genre. Yesterday Taylor Swift was the hope for country music, today she is the poster girl for pop music.
It will be a miracle if she ever has control of her young life again. As she is seduced by the masters of entrapment in Hollywood, New York and Wall Street through television and movies, then fashion and cosmetics, her world will open up just as her life is becoming more and more isolated. All the time the greed of those using her will keep pushing her while denying other aspiring artists the chance for any hope of success.
The people of the entertainment world now pouring ideas and dreams into this new star are masters at their game and their game is pure and simple, greed. Squeeze every last ounce of profit out of the celebrity because they might break under the pressure at any step along the way and suddenly the gravy train is gone. To them she is the golden goose and when the goose stops producing it is cast aside for the next Taylor Swift waiting in the wings.
Right now young Taylor has the enthusiasm and energy of youth. But her breakneck schedule and the amazing diversity of activity they have her doing cannot be sustained for long. Most likely she has already been lost to the country music industry. The lure of Hollywood and the mega bucks in the genre will take care of that. Others are pushed in that direction, like Carrie Underwood, but they do not stay there and survive. If they are lucky, they get back to their roots before they are broken.
Swift was a talented kid who just happened to break through in country music. There is no evidence that she was grounded in country as her roots were never deep enough to establish that fact. It was only a matter of time and luck before she found her home and most likely that is in the pop culture. Her music is every bit as much pop as country so the genre of the arrangement determines which doors are open to the artist.
Now that she is the best selling female of all music, and the heir apparent as pop queen, her true roots will never be known. Her opportunities may be endless, but the risk reward ratio just took a gigantic leap forward, meaning what you may ask? It means this. When you have reached the pinnacle of your life's endeavor there is no way to go but sideways or down. You go sideways by jumping from country to pop but from either perspective the only way to go is back down.
Let us hope and pray that Taylor Swift is not already a victim trapped in her own success. She needs to find her own way but also needs to understand she never walks alone. As she is faced with untold wealth and opportunity may she never forget that the gifts she has came from a higher source and the success as measured from that perspective is how you use your gifts to help others in need of help, not those already drowning in success.
Compassion and empathy comes from the heart, not from the largess of foundations and tax deductions. Young Taylor is at a crossroads where she can find a solid foundation in life or forever walk on quicksand. The latter comes from a world of glamour and glitz while the first comes from listening to the heart and soul.
Perhaps she should journey to the Hopi Indian reservation in Arizona with no media, no photo ops and no status symbols and see how the most sacred and oldest of cultures has survived with nothing but a bond to Father Creator and Mother Earth and a desire to bring all people together. Honoring God and all God's creations is the highest service possible to the Hopi, the Children of God and People of the Sun. Then Taylor will see what being grounded is all about.
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Is Hillary about to Pillory Obama?
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As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes more and more rogue from the policies of the Obama Administration is there a danger that she might just resign and decide to make one more run for the presidency?
Certainly the signs of dissatisfaction are becoming obvious as Obama and his White House palace guard seem to drift from issue to issue while never resolving anything when it comes to foreign policy. At the same time Hillary has been running stronger and stronger in the polls while our rudderless president continues to crash reaching new lows day by day.
The Obama gang, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in particular, demand blind loyalty to the president and to the agenda they give the president regardless of the reality of their policies or concerns of the public. Such a detachment from the American political process and people is suicidal as one can see from the collapsing poll numbers.
While the palace guard have worked out some sort of relationship with Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer at the House and Harry Reid at the Senate, strong arming Congress is not a way to win support or loyalty in the log run and Democrats have started abandoning the policies of the president at an alarming rate. Even the liberal elitists have stopped singing the blind praises of Obama and started questioning the strange way policy is determined and implemented.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, was never one of the adoring followers of Obama. Thanks to the antics of her husband, she has just about seen it all at the White House and knows the mess the staff can create for the president. Because of that she didn't complain when Emanuel, err Obama, appointed foreign policy watchdogs to the White House staff to keep an eye on her.
The spies didn't seem to realize that Hillary didn't need Obama to introduce her to foreign leaders, she already had a pretty deep portfolio without the new kid on the block. For six months she maintained a low profile as the White House staff quickly over-extended its reach, played too many games in the interest of the country, and got bogged down in it's own quagmire of inertia and inconsistency.
Even a prolific ballet dancer like Emanuel is having a hard time pirouetting out of the mess they have created with the sluggish decision-making process, conflicting direction and lack of leadership. Still the palace guard refuses to abandon it's social agenda and deal with jobs and deficits like the public demands.
The result, quite predictable, was the loss of the governorship in two key battleground states, New Jersey and Virginia this year. Of far more ominous concern is the fact many Democrats in the House and Senate can see their own political self-survival threatened in next years' elections if they continue to back the rather bizarre agenda of the Obama gang.
The failure to address the jobs and deficit while padding the pockets of Obama contributors to the tune of billions of dollars could already be fatal to the president as his chances for reelection in 2012 become dimmer by the day. Already his own favorable rating is below half and his unfavorable is above half while his policies across the board are backed by just 15-30% of the public. Independents are having no trouble making up their mind as they flee the Obama train wreck.
Does anyone believe Hillary is willing to allow her popularity and future go up in flames because of blind loyalty to the Obama bunglers? No Hillary always spoke her beliefs and her decisive leadership is a stark contrast to the waffling president. So she has started distancing herself from him.
Several times she has ignored the Obama gang policy book and said what she believed to the press and public, a far cry from the absolutely controlled press in the White House. Most certainly it infuriated Little Napoleon and the rest of the White House gang.
She actually had the audacity to wonder to the media about the succession of the presidency of North Korea, one of the main Obama thorns in the side. You see Kim Jong-il, the mysterious leader who loves American movies and nuclear missiles, may also be quite ill. Such a breach of protocol by the Secretary of State was frowned upon by the Obama boys.
Hillary also double-crossed the liberal elitists being kept on a short chain by the White House when she said forget about human rights in China and focus on the economy as China pretty much already owns the USA. She also said Israel had to make unprecedented concessions regarding the settlements or there could be no Mid East peace,
She backed the generals in Afghanistan while Biden has led the inside charge against her within the Administration. Finally, she has been rather silent about the bank bailout, economic stimulus and other odd efforts by the Administration to half-heartedly address the public concerns as if she knew they were a sham from the first place.
One might expect the Obama gang to start a media leak campaign to get her out since they know they cannot control her. Circulating rumors about her spats with the White House is normally a good first indicator that someone is being made a scapegoat for the president's failed foreign agenda.
However, this might truly backfire. If they force out Clinton she becomes the only Democrat who could take him on in the 2012 primary and beat him. One would think the conniving White House staff would already be making their moves. So is she.
Now, if she resigns without White House interference then it is a much darker signal to the White House that Hillary intends to lay claim to the title that should have been hers were it not for the nearly one billion dollars spent against her before in the race for the presidency of the White House.
Stay tuned as this is about to get real interesting.
-
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes more and more rogue from the policies of the Obama Administration is there a danger that she might just resign and decide to make one more run for the presidency?
Certainly the signs of dissatisfaction are becoming obvious as Obama and his White House palace guard seem to drift from issue to issue while never resolving anything when it comes to foreign policy. At the same time Hillary has been running stronger and stronger in the polls while our rudderless president continues to crash reaching new lows day by day.
The Obama gang, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in particular, demand blind loyalty to the president and to the agenda they give the president regardless of the reality of their policies or concerns of the public. Such a detachment from the American political process and people is suicidal as one can see from the collapsing poll numbers.
While the palace guard have worked out some sort of relationship with Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer at the House and Harry Reid at the Senate, strong arming Congress is not a way to win support or loyalty in the log run and Democrats have started abandoning the policies of the president at an alarming rate. Even the liberal elitists have stopped singing the blind praises of Obama and started questioning the strange way policy is determined and implemented.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, was never one of the adoring followers of Obama. Thanks to the antics of her husband, she has just about seen it all at the White House and knows the mess the staff can create for the president. Because of that she didn't complain when Emanuel, err Obama, appointed foreign policy watchdogs to the White House staff to keep an eye on her.
The spies didn't seem to realize that Hillary didn't need Obama to introduce her to foreign leaders, she already had a pretty deep portfolio without the new kid on the block. For six months she maintained a low profile as the White House staff quickly over-extended its reach, played too many games in the interest of the country, and got bogged down in it's own quagmire of inertia and inconsistency.
Even a prolific ballet dancer like Emanuel is having a hard time pirouetting out of the mess they have created with the sluggish decision-making process, conflicting direction and lack of leadership. Still the palace guard refuses to abandon it's social agenda and deal with jobs and deficits like the public demands.
The result, quite predictable, was the loss of the governorship in two key battleground states, New Jersey and Virginia this year. Of far more ominous concern is the fact many Democrats in the House and Senate can see their own political self-survival threatened in next years' elections if they continue to back the rather bizarre agenda of the Obama gang.
The failure to address the jobs and deficit while padding the pockets of Obama contributors to the tune of billions of dollars could already be fatal to the president as his chances for reelection in 2012 become dimmer by the day. Already his own favorable rating is below half and his unfavorable is above half while his policies across the board are backed by just 15-30% of the public. Independents are having no trouble making up their mind as they flee the Obama train wreck.
Does anyone believe Hillary is willing to allow her popularity and future go up in flames because of blind loyalty to the Obama bunglers? No Hillary always spoke her beliefs and her decisive leadership is a stark contrast to the waffling president. So she has started distancing herself from him.
Several times she has ignored the Obama gang policy book and said what she believed to the press and public, a far cry from the absolutely controlled press in the White House. Most certainly it infuriated Little Napoleon and the rest of the White House gang.
She actually had the audacity to wonder to the media about the succession of the presidency of North Korea, one of the main Obama thorns in the side. You see Kim Jong-il, the mysterious leader who loves American movies and nuclear missiles, may also be quite ill. Such a breach of protocol by the Secretary of State was frowned upon by the Obama boys.
Hillary also double-crossed the liberal elitists being kept on a short chain by the White House when she said forget about human rights in China and focus on the economy as China pretty much already owns the USA. She also said Israel had to make unprecedented concessions regarding the settlements or there could be no Mid East peace,
She backed the generals in Afghanistan while Biden has led the inside charge against her within the Administration. Finally, she has been rather silent about the bank bailout, economic stimulus and other odd efforts by the Administration to half-heartedly address the public concerns as if she knew they were a sham from the first place.
One might expect the Obama gang to start a media leak campaign to get her out since they know they cannot control her. Circulating rumors about her spats with the White House is normally a good first indicator that someone is being made a scapegoat for the president's failed foreign agenda.
However, this might truly backfire. If they force out Clinton she becomes the only Democrat who could take him on in the 2012 primary and beat him. One would think the conniving White House staff would already be making their moves. So is she.
Now, if she resigns without White House interference then it is a much darker signal to the White House that Hillary intends to lay claim to the title that should have been hers were it not for the nearly one billion dollars spent against her before in the race for the presidency of the White House.
Stay tuned as this is about to get real interesting.
-
Monday, November 23, 2009
SNL 2012 Predicts Sarah Palin to Save America from Barack's Armageddon
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Saturday Night Live became the first of the nation's elite liberal media to predict that the only hope for America in 2012, the end of time according to the Mayan prophecies, is Sarah Palin. Attempting to disguise the prediction as a typical spoof by the show that is dying for ratings and knows a ratings winner from experience, SNL showed a preview of the Sarah Palin in 2012 movie yet to be made.
Already acknowledging a failure by the Obama administration in their first term and that there is no chance for the reelection of this, the best team liberal money could buy, the entertainment celebrities have already turned on their political celebrities in predicting a Palin win in 2012.
Of course there is nothing like a liberal stampede to attract the attention of the masses so SNL relied on their comrade in arms MSNBC to splash the preview all over the airways on Monday thus insuring the spoof would become part of American media lore.
Liberal's don't like to lose and the liberal elitists are already abandoning the Obama ship of state as they watch the domestic and foreign policy initiatives of the Obama gang go up in flames. A good liberal always knows when to run and run they are from their Chosen One as he demonstrates the very inexperience the liberals promised he did not have.
Apparently this past week which Obama spent in Asia watching every policy initiative from Chinese human rights to getting tough on North Korea and Iran, from a stop to Israeli settlements to a halt to the Iranian nuclear program, all be ignored by foreign governments was enough to convince the liberals to jettison Obama and his gang and bet on Palin in 2012.
While Obama was disappointing everyone in Asia Sarah Palin was setting book sales records here in America as the liberal press did everything to undermine her efforts. As usual, the media sucked and Sarah blew them away. They just don't get it. We don't need any more intellectual constipation from the Ivy Leagues. We don't need empty promises. We don't need hidden taxes for all Americans.
Telling lies should not be part of the government agenda. Seizing up when tough decisions are faced is not what we expect of our leaders. Playing politics with the sons and daughters of Americans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq is not what is expected of a Commander in Chief. Ignoring the advice of generals sent by the White House to recommend military strategy is not leadership.
Letting banks not provide banking services and Wall Street and banks pay out record bonuses is not the legacy the Democrats wanted. Watching Barney Franks continue cover up for the home mortgage mess or Rahm Emanuel continue to gut efforts to reform the financial system is a continuation of the corrupt practices that got us here in the first place.
With all the baggage mounting up against the ability of the Obama/Pelosi machine to run things, is it any wonder that SNL was the first to abandon them for 2012 and admit Sarah Palin may be our only hope to get us through the mess the politicians are creating? It is not often liberals can be accused of foresight but this may be the case.
You see, while the Obama gang was busy wondering what happened to the Obama ratings Palin was busy cruising Main Street and military bases meeting the people. While Obama plays basketball on Sundays with the guys, Palin is meeting with the Reverend Graham and other ministers to talk about the needs of families and for more faith in God. It does not take long for the public to know where hypocrisy thrives and where good old American values are protected. Yes SNL, Sarah Palin may be America's only hope for 2012.
-
Saturday Night Live became the first of the nation's elite liberal media to predict that the only hope for America in 2012, the end of time according to the Mayan prophecies, is Sarah Palin. Attempting to disguise the prediction as a typical spoof by the show that is dying for ratings and knows a ratings winner from experience, SNL showed a preview of the Sarah Palin in 2012 movie yet to be made.
Already acknowledging a failure by the Obama administration in their first term and that there is no chance for the reelection of this, the best team liberal money could buy, the entertainment celebrities have already turned on their political celebrities in predicting a Palin win in 2012.
Of course there is nothing like a liberal stampede to attract the attention of the masses so SNL relied on their comrade in arms MSNBC to splash the preview all over the airways on Monday thus insuring the spoof would become part of American media lore.
Liberal's don't like to lose and the liberal elitists are already abandoning the Obama ship of state as they watch the domestic and foreign policy initiatives of the Obama gang go up in flames. A good liberal always knows when to run and run they are from their Chosen One as he demonstrates the very inexperience the liberals promised he did not have.
Apparently this past week which Obama spent in Asia watching every policy initiative from Chinese human rights to getting tough on North Korea and Iran, from a stop to Israeli settlements to a halt to the Iranian nuclear program, all be ignored by foreign governments was enough to convince the liberals to jettison Obama and his gang and bet on Palin in 2012.
While Obama was disappointing everyone in Asia Sarah Palin was setting book sales records here in America as the liberal press did everything to undermine her efforts. As usual, the media sucked and Sarah blew them away. They just don't get it. We don't need any more intellectual constipation from the Ivy Leagues. We don't need empty promises. We don't need hidden taxes for all Americans.
Telling lies should not be part of the government agenda. Seizing up when tough decisions are faced is not what we expect of our leaders. Playing politics with the sons and daughters of Americans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq is not what is expected of a Commander in Chief. Ignoring the advice of generals sent by the White House to recommend military strategy is not leadership.
Letting banks not provide banking services and Wall Street and banks pay out record bonuses is not the legacy the Democrats wanted. Watching Barney Franks continue cover up for the home mortgage mess or Rahm Emanuel continue to gut efforts to reform the financial system is a continuation of the corrupt practices that got us here in the first place.
With all the baggage mounting up against the ability of the Obama/Pelosi machine to run things, is it any wonder that SNL was the first to abandon them for 2012 and admit Sarah Palin may be our only hope to get us through the mess the politicians are creating? It is not often liberals can be accused of foresight but this may be the case.
You see, while the Obama gang was busy wondering what happened to the Obama ratings Palin was busy cruising Main Street and military bases meeting the people. While Obama plays basketball on Sundays with the guys, Palin is meeting with the Reverend Graham and other ministers to talk about the needs of families and for more faith in God. It does not take long for the public to know where hypocrisy thrives and where good old American values are protected. Yes SNL, Sarah Palin may be America's only hope for 2012.
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