Being a child of the (’60s) ‘70’s I grew up with some great Rock and Roll. As a kid, Led Zeppelin was my all-time favorite band. I couldn’t get enough; it’s all I played for about a year. The likes of Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton forced me to buy my first guitar just so I could attempt to make the sounds they made (for the record, I never really got there — but I tried). As I would try to dig deep down and pull inspiration from anywhere I could to keep going, I began to read the stories in the liner notes. I wanted to know that they struggled to find the cords as I was struggling trying to play them. But there was never any mention of a struggle, so I decided that my hopes of writing great songs and being a rock star were fleeting. I wouldn’t stop playing the guitar but I would recognize that those that make great music have a gift that I didn’t possess. I made my peace with it and just kept listening to all the greats — Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Robin Trower … Did you ever notice all of these great Classic Rock Gods came out of the same era?

One day while reading the liner notes (again) and thinking to myself that Led Zeppelin were brilliant song writers, I was disheartened to find out that two of my favorite songs were written by a non-band member. It was a crushing blow for me; I’ll never forget it. I was really upset that these guys that I revered as geniuses actually sought out help to write a couple of songs. The songs were “You Shook Me” and “I Can’t Quit you Babe.” I knew nothing about the blues at that point but I knew those songs spoke to me more than the others. I could feel those songs in my bones every time I played the album. Yet some guy that went by the name of W. Dixon wrote those tunes.

One day while working in a restaurant kitchen cleaning the dishes the radio was playing a “three for Thursday set” of Rolling Stones — the last song was “Little Red Rooster.” I loved it and turned it up a little. The guy who scrubbed the pots and pans said to me, “You like Willie Dixon?”

“Who?”

“The guy that wrote this tune the Stones stole,” he said. Then it washed over me … W. Dixon equals Willie Dixon. He continued to tell me that a guy named Howlin’ Wolf originally did this tune. Enough was enough, I was going to find a record store the very next day and check into this guy. I did just that, I ventured into a small record store in Brattleboro asked the guy behind the counter if he ever heard of Willie Dixon? He came out from behind the counter, never saying a word, went to the blues section of the store and pulled out the Willie Dixon album “I am the Blues.” He handed it to me and said, “Take this home and listen to it. I open tomorrow at 10. I’ll sell you more you like then”.

He was right, I never looked back. I was hooked on the blues! And this past weekend I took 20 of my 48 hours off and listened to it at the second annual Vermont Blues Festival at Mount Snow. The music just washes over you; you can feel it in your soul. How serious am I about the blues? I didn’t even play one hole of golf the entire weekend! What the hell is up with that?

Artist: Dane Tilghman

Folks lose their jobs for a pile of reasons, they get fired, laid off, the place there working for goes under - the list goes on.  When I found my self having to go to the unemployment office I was let go due to a personality conflict.  I plead my case provided the necessary evidence and was (by the close of business the very same day) presented a large “exit/please don’t sue/we have no way to undo this/your manager has slept with one of the higher ups and is threatening their own law suit check.  So I felt slightly vindicated even though in the long run it was going to cost me money.

Thank you to zazzle.com for this image.

But it left me in an unfamiliar place - unemployed.  The comptroller/HR person of the company told me that I needed to file for unemployment right away so as to mot miss out on my benefits.  I remember saying that I had enough money no to survive for about a year so I would file then if I still needed to.  He explained to me that it didn’t work that way and it was nothing to be ashamed of because after all I had been paying into the system the whole time.  I thought to myself “I don’t need the money right now, I’m not going to take it”, after all I would be pulling money away from someone who might need it.  Long story short, I filed.  I asked if it could be deferred and the answer was no.  It would be the first political thought I had regarding the way our government does things.

George Herbert Walker Bush was in office and the previous 8 years was Reagan.  I’m not sure what their policies were around this topic were but I know that they were partially responsible for the way things were run, so I blamed them.  I thought how could a system be so flawed that it would allow someone who doesn’t need the money to take the money.  My father suggested I look up Reaganomics.  I did, what I got was the rich got richer and the poor were allowed to work for the rich.  But at least they started to work… right?  Well in theory it wasn’t a horrible theory - on paper.  As it would turn out however, supply-side economics would take on it’s own kind of failure and you and I are paying the price.

Shortly after I started collecting my unemployment checks Clinton would take office and the economy would start to boom again.  I removed myself from the weekly government check pool and started a business that made money for me while I slept - literally.  It was this new thing called the internet and it made a ton of folks a lot of money in a hurry, and I was one of them.  It felt good to free that money up, because as our current situation would dictate the government does run out of money and folks that didn’t need checks got them and those who needed checks couldn’t.

Then the Clinton years ended and ended with a stained dress and a tarnished image for the democratic party.  Couple that with a rebel name Nader and we wouldn’t see another Dem in office until Obama.  While “W” was in office he would proceed to tear down any assemblance of fiscal responsibility the the Republican party held and before we knew it we were trying to impeach him (albeit in grass root movements).  But it occurred to while reading something the other day that under the Bush administration they voted to extend unemployment benefits and with the American people sucking wind as a result of the Bush economic policies Obama couldn’t get extended Unemployment benefits through.  So I asked the question - is that politics at its worst?  Most folks took the opportunity to call me a liberal socialist that wants illegal immigrants in the country.  When in truth I was only pointing out the two examples - Bush got it passed and Obama got Fillibustered.  But what it boiled down to was party before country - which was my original thought.  Has Obstructionism become the new American way of life.  I’m not delusional that the Dems have their issues, they do.  Me, I just want folks who legitimately can’t find work to get the help they need so they don’t lose everything.  But I also understand that there should be a better set of checks and balances put into place to better protect those who need it versus those who don’t.  What the hell is up with that?

On a local level some folks in Brattleboro (the town I live in) are feeling victorious because Pay as you Throw was voted down.  I for one am happy about not having to pay the money to dispose of my trash, but I also recycle, and I’m overly conscious about what I throw out and have become more aware about what I even bring into my home.  Not everyone is like that however, yet we need to be.  We as a whole need to think about this because, I hate to say it – if we’re not, it will be reflected in our taxes, and not in the form of a decrease.

The Windham Solid Waste District here in town is now able to take more of those plastic items that weren’t previously recyclable.  Medicine containers, small pails, dairy tubs, yogurt, cottage cheese, deli and take-out containers, plastic lids, plastic egg cartons, and here’s the best part – curbside recycling in Brattleboro is still free.  Yet only about 15 percent of the population here does it and I bet that more than 15 percent of the cars run around town with that bumper sticker that reads “think globally, act locally”.  So we need to practice what we’re preaching here.  We need to get the green tubs and start dragging our recyclables to the curb and start to reduce the waste.

But thinking on that “more Global” level…  With what the environment provides for you and me why is it that we don’t take better care of it?  Why has every President since Nixon talked about it and at the end of the day – done nothing? “W” talked about our addiction to crude, Clinton promised to leave us with a more sustainable planet, Herbert Walker Bush talked about energy conservation, Reagan stated that we will not be held hostage by the oil Merchants, Carter talked about energy uniting a nation, Ford knew increasing energy supplies wasn’t enough, Even Nixon knew that something had to be done.  In September of 1969 Patrick Moynihan (a top aide to Nixon) released a memo urging that administration to push a world wide agenda of for monitoring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – or as we call it today Global Warming.

So with all this information at our fingertips for so long it really begs the question, why hasn’t anything been done?  For my entire life the environment has been an issue, for my entire life it’s been a part of a stump speech but nothing ever comes of it.  Why?  Well because things like the economy and peoples wallets lead the charge.  My father taught me at a very young age, that if you want to hurt a man you never hit him in the face you hit him in the wallet.  When money is on the line everything else gets pushed to the back burner.  Bringing it back to a local issue Pay as you Throw – that $2.00 a week would have forced people to look at what they were tossing into the landfill.  But I’ve got news for you – they are going to get their two bucks one way or another, and you’re in complete control of that.

There’s an organization called the Environmental Defense Fund, and they’re doing a ton of great work.  At the moment President Obama has a very real chance of passing a strong energy bill.  But like anything a show of support is what’s needed.  And the internet has once again made it a simple 2 minute process for you to throw your support behind saving our planet, go to www.edf.org/actnow .  And if we don’t, well, you can look forward to Pay as You Breath – What the hell is up with that?

But in light of birds being scrubbed with dish detergent and dead sea turtles washing up on the gulf coast he rescinded he openness to it as he watched the oil slick a little smaller than Vermont float toward our coast line.

Drill baby drill, was always an ignorant statement to me.  It just conjured up the same mentality of shooting bullets through a closed door because there might be danger on the other side.  Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell thinks we should be drilling off shore and Queen of the Tea Bag movement Sarah Palin is still insisting that off shore drilling is a good thing and in our countries best interests.  Well I’m here to tell you, what’s going on in the Gulf Coast is an eco-system changing event that could take years to return to normal.  Palin on the denial trail even went so far as to post something to her Facebook page - “How could I still believe in drilling America’s domestic supply of energy after having seen the devastation of the Exxon-Valdez spill? I continue to believe in it because increased domestic oil production will make us a more secure, prosperous, and peaceful nation.”  Yeah!  What do sea turtles do anyway?

Now that being said those with “R’s” next to their names inside the beltway are a little more reserved.  And that’s understandable and also the right thing to do.  There are human lives at stake here, not just amphibian lives.

But here’s our situation - we are completely hooked on oil.  If we ran out of it things would get primitive in a hurry and tensions would run high.  Now that doesn’t excuse what happened, but I have to ask why there wasn’t redundancy built into shutting off a leak like this?  Some kind of devise that could, right at the ocean floor crimps the pipe.  Maybe I don’t understand what it takes to drill for oil, but I have to believe if you can drill for miles below the floor of the ocean then you can come up with more than one way to shut it off.  Why wasn’t BP (or anyone who drill baby drill’s) better prepared for this?  If our government wants to regulate anything it should be this.  Oil companies make billions and billions in profits; they can easily afford a few more million to install a redundant shut off system.

Drill here - drill now, drill baby drill, these are terms and sayings that should sound as foreign as “More Doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette”, under the current light. When medical scientists had the epiphany that lighting a stick of dry tobacco leaves on fire and inhaling the smoke wasn’t good for and could possibly kill your doctors stopped answering survey questions about what they smoked. Applying that to deep sea drilling and a hemorrhaging oil well in the Gulf of Mexico that it pumping 200,000 gallons of crude to the surface of the ocean daily.  It may be time to re-think this whole thing.  Perhaps we need to figure out a way to loosen our grip on oil, lessen our dependency on Sarah Palin’s favorite fragrance.  Lee Iacocca once asked the question, “We’ve got to pause and ask ourselves, how much clean air do we need?”.  My answer - as much as my lungs can hold.

We have a teaching moment unfolding in the Gulf.  What will we do with it?  Develop solar, harness wind, Geo-Thermal or if you have to play in the ocean Tidal movement energy.  I’m not saying that we need to stop using oil (nor is my SUV), but lessening our dependency seems to be the order of the day, just ask a Sea Turtle.  What the hell is up with that?

Yeah, somethings not right here when you can get a belt loop or merit badge for playing video games!  But the Scouting talking heads say they’re are just moving with the times and it’s not realistic to not included this is a list of possible patches to have Mom stitch onto your uniform.

In order to acheive such an honor you must complete these three requirements:

1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
2. With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.
3. Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.

Well there you have it, it doesn’t seem so bad when you try and infuse some good wholesome family values into say a game like Resident Evil 4, where it’s all together possible to find the corpse of a woman pinned up on a wall–by a pitchfork through her face.  Or after you’re done with your homework you can play God of War  were the player becomes a ruthless warrior, seeking revenge against the gods who tricked him into murdering his own family. Prisoners are burned alive and player can use ‘finishing moves’ to kill opponents, like tearing a victim in half.  I wonder if you can earn a patch for actually ripping a body in half?

I get that I’m getting old and I’ve probably reached that point in my life where my changing world stops changing and a I no longer want to participate in those changes.  If they offered a merit badge for not wanting to change… I’d have that one.  But for me, offering a merit badge, belt loop or pin for playing video games takes away from the homophobic organization that the scouts proclaim to be.  In all seriousness (forgiving for the moment the Homophobia) the Scouts have been a long standing organization that built themselves on the pride on molding young boys int productive young men.  An Eagle Scout to this day is still one of the highest achievements you can receive as a young man.  After all the likes of James Lovell (Houston we’ve got a problem), Bill Bradley (Former Knick turned Senator), Gerald Ford (38th US President), Steven Spielberg  9Film Director/Producer) and Walter Cronkite (Journalist, T.V. commentator)were all Eagle Scouts.  So not just any neo maxi zoom dweebie becomes an Eagle Scout.

But with that rich tradition lets enter into the fold the fold the Video Game badge so that we can begin to lower the standard of what being a scout is.  Because after all a Scout is A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent and able to slice your foe with a chainsaw from the groin upward while playing Gears of War 2!  What the Hell is Up with That?

I pondered this as I got a cup of coffee and told the story of the man I just saw to see if I was over reacting.  Even though we all thought it strange we agreed he was well within his rights and was abiding by local laws so, no harm no foul - right?  Well for me it wasn’t that simple, for me carrying a fire arm (unless you are a member of law enforcement) is a sign of aggression.  It tells the world “I’m here to be left alone”.   With that thought in mind I couldn’t help thinking maybe that is exactly what he wanted.  Maybe the world is so crazy that he straps this thing to his side so as to avoid a problem.  Because lets face it, if you go after a guy that is armed and you’re name isn’t Wyatt Earp and you’re not on the OK Corral then you are a bit nuts.  So as I pondered that for a bit, I actually thought to myself - the world is nuts and this might be the only way to navigate through it safely.  So, on that premise I found a little peace.

I was very tempted to ask him why he carried a gun in the open like that.  But the better part of respect stopped me.  Because after all it’s none of my business and besides in a town where Birkenstocks and wool socks run amuck, that question, no matter whom asked it could have wound up confrontational.  I honestly wanted to know, I wasn’t judging just wondering what the mindset was.  Because as I thought about it I went from one end of the spectrum to the other.  The other being, maybe he was on a power trip (although, I have to say it really didn’t appear that way), someone looking for trouble.  Maybe that is what unsettled me.  The prospect that someone would be that aggressive is a little troublesome.  Although I really do want to be clear that this individual was not carrying himself like that.

Our Constitution has many amendments.  Those that cover Cruel and Unusual punishment, term limits, abolishing slavery, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms to name a few.  None of which I have an issue with.  I believe in protecting the second amendment even though I don’t own a gun and actually never owned a gun.  I will defend your right to own one should that be your choice. However how contradictory do I sound when I say I don’t want to see one strapped to your side in a social open setting?  Oddly enough what drives that thinking are the folks that conceal weapons and not the ones that you can see.  I feel the same way when I see hunters walking through town with rifles slung over their shoulders.  If I see a sidearm at a firing range or a rifle in the woods it doesn’t bother me a bit, I consider those in their element.  It’s when you remove them from what I define as their element that I get a tad hinky.  Much like say Sarah Palin in a tie die shirt flashing a peace at a pro-choice rally - tell me you wouldn’t stare.  What the hell is up with that?

How come you didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President?  How come you didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy Company officials to dictate energy policy (it’s like putting the inmates in charge of the asylum)?  You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.  You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed (if you need to be reminded of exactly what the Pat Act is - The Act increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records).  You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us. You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war. How come you didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq (disappeared, never to be seen again… really?)?  You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people (which changes what happens to our troops should they get captured, we live in an eye for an eye world). You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans (see Patriot Act).  You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden (never even came close).  You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed (The conditions of this hospital were deplorable.  Well maybe you got a little mad, but it wasn’t enough).  You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city - New Orleans drown.  You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion-tax break to the rich.  You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion-dollar mark.   Yet you finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.

What the hell is up with that?

While Bush was in office I did everything I could to strike his name down.  Anything I could do to disparage his name I would do. But throughout it all I was able to listen to both sides of the argument.  I honestly believed that the super conservative had a fix for what ails America and so did the tie-dye wearing liberal.  I considered myself an independent that had liberal leanings.  But over the course of the last year after watching how the Republicans have conducted themselves I’m not convinced any of them have anything to say, worth listening to anyway.  John McCain said that there would be no more cooperation between Republicans and Obama for the rest of the year!  I’m sorry but have we been witnessing cooperation?

Those of you that know me know I’m a fan of basic math, so let’s run some numbers.  On October 10, 2002 the Iraq war resolution came to a vote 215 Republicans voted to march us off to war.  For the record 81 Democrats also voted Yea, but that just proves my point before I’ve even made it - in matters of great national importance the Democrats can think it through.  But when it came to health care it passed without one single Republican vote!  Not one of the 219 votes that passed a bill meant to help people had any Republican support.  Yet when it came time to wage war on false information they marched lock step and rammed it down our throats (which is how they refer to healthcare).  They Okay-ed a war that cost roughly 12 billion dollars a month.  They didn’t vote for healthcare, which will cost roughly 7.8 billion a month.  Healthcare will help people; war will help them need healthcare.  A year of Healthcare 94 billion, a year of war 144 billion - drop the war and healthcare is free and we save 50 billion a year.

So I’m not really sure what it is that makes the Republicans not like the people of the United States, but it surely seems that way.  You might recognize that as an over the top statement to make a point, and for the most part it is.  But when a large portion of the house and senate vote for war and then don’t vote for something that will help the people of the United States what else am I supposed to think?  Frankly I’m growing tried of political posturing it doesn’t matter what side it comes from, it’s counter productive and serves no purpose.  I understand the opposition to something but for an entire party to be disagreeable seems highly unlikely.  Even with the October 2002 vote to go to war six house republicans voted nay along with 126 democrats & in the senate vote one republican said no to it.  So it just seems odd that not one Republican saw a benefit to healthcare reform.  It just seems funny that even with repeated invitations to bring a plan to the floor they never did.

As a result we’ve got a situation of civil discourse.  Members of the house are being threatened for passing the bill.  Coffins are being left outside representative’s homes.  But proof that the Republicans want to march lock step; the DNC sent a Joint Civility Statement to RNC chairman Michael Steele, which called for “elected officials of both parties to set an example of the civility we want to see in our citizenry.”, they rejected it.

So it remains there will be no meeting of the minds to work towards a common goals.  Agendas are set with little sign of change.  The Democrats will be the party of  Hope, while the Republicans are the party of Nope.  What the hell is up with that?

Unfortunately this time around we live in a country that will allow this woman to continue on with her lofty goal of weighing in a butt ton!  Because by the time she’s done she is going to be a financial drain on the tax payer.

She runs her own web-site where dumb asses can go to and pay to watch her eat.  For the life of me I can’t figure out why someone would do that but I guess it takes all kinds.  She says that in order to reach her goal of being an uber fat ass she must consume 12,000 calories per day!  That’s like eating 40 Whoppers, or based on a 1,200 per day diet - 10 days of food in one day.  This all begs the question why not put a gun to your head and pull the trigger.  And if you’re thinking “Man Fish, you’re kinda of harsh”, allow me to explain.

About five year ago I got a call from my father informing me that my mother had collapsed on the ground and they were rushing her to the hospital.  My folks lived a half hour from me.  I called back and asked him some questions about her condition and he thought she might of had a stroke.  As it turns out he was correct.  I hoped in the car with my wife and we raced to their house only to find the ambulance still in the driveway - a heart dropping moment!  You assume after a 30 minute care ride you’ll just be picking up your father and racing to the hospital but in this instance that was not to be.  I honestly thought she had died.  It turned out that my Mother who stood 5 feet tall and weighed in excess of 300 pounds needed one more person to help carry her out - I was that person.  I was a 40 year old man when it happened and I still haven’t wiped my memory of her face lying on the floor with the look in her eyes that this may very well be the last time she sees me.  A horrible night to say the least.

The story is make a bigger point.  Donna Simpson has two children.  She’s 42 years old.  What kind of life do you suppose she is lining up for her kids?  She can’t walk more than 20 feet with out her knees giving out, she’s border line diabetic and about the most selfish person I think I’ve ever come across.  As a parent your responsibility is provide a positive roll model, something your children will want to emulate.  This, this is disgusting and frankly her are setting up for a lifetime of hurt and disappointment.  That being said I don’t want to make it sound like every overweight parent is a horrible parent.  But someone who has made this proclamation certainly walking… opps waddling around with their heads straight up their fat asses.

She pays nearly $750.00 per week in food.  She’s uninsured and unlikely to get insurance due to the risk level.  SO undoubtly she’ll become a financial drain on the tax paying citizens of NJ.  all because a goal. Her goal is to be crowned the world’s fattest mother.  I say we crown her the world’s dumbest mother and move on!  What the hell is up with that?

PETA Demonstration

But just the other day was election day.  And this over the top political atmosphere needed a defibrillator to bring it to life.  Only 16% of registered voters showed up to the poll to vote for a myriad of different town seats, select-board, town meeting reps, school board and so on.  Will I agree that it’s not as sexy as voting for Barrack Obama or any President for that matter - Yes - I agree to that.  That being said however a town election is on of the single most important elections you can show up to.  These are folks you share grocery lines with, these are the folks that are spending your property tax money, these are the folks that effect your bottom line.  So where the hell was everyone?  I couldn’t tell you.  I heard folks say they forgot, it wasn’t in the paper, I didn’t see lawn signs to remind me, they were tired of politics and so on.  It was a long list of nothing frankly, to me there’s no excuse for a 16 percent voter turn out, none what so ever.

But Brattleboro isn’t the only community where this is happening.  It’s going on all over the United States.  Folks make the excuse that their vote doesn’t count, that no matter how they vote nothing will change.  Well I’m here to tell you that it’s just not true.  If you stand up for what you believe in, your beliefs become reality (unless your last name is Palin… just sayin’).  But it takes some work, and it certainly takes dragging your ass to the polls once a year.

This lady didn't get to the polls in her Escalade - that I can tell you.

Our political process has been taken for granted, the rights afforded you as a US citizen are over looked.  Folks have adopted this wait until tomorrow attitude that we need to abolish.  The lady in the picture above most likely did arrive to the polls in her air conditioned SUV with the DVD player keeping the kiddies occupied.  I’m sure it was quite the opposite, she probably walked for hours while in a snipers cross hair to cast her vote.  She was never able to do it and new that now matter what happened to her, her single vote could change things forever.  Remarkable don’t you think?  But instead our process has become boring to us, it has been taken for granted and nobody wants to make the effort.

It’s a sad state of affairs if you factor in what was given up for the rights we enjoy (or not) now.  The fore fathers of this country died in an effort to gain independence, wars have been waged to keep this independence, yet every year we take it for granted.  But we’ve become this nation of tweeting, facebooking zero attention span drones with our eye on entitlement that can be financed at zero percent.

But if you need something to cling to that can help you get to the polls.  Just remember voting is sexy!  What the hell is up with that?