RIP - Singer of British Invasion Band Dies

From: www.eonline.com

There weren't many bands that rivaled Beatlemania in 1964. The Dave Clark Five was one of them. Mike Smith, the lead singer of the hard-driving British Invasion group, died Thursday in a hospital near London, less than two weeks before he and his bandmates' scheduled induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Smith was 64, and had been in compromised health since 2003 when he suffered a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him below the ribcage. He was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday with a chest infection. The Dave Clark Five's hits included "Bits and Pieces," "Catch Us If You Can" and "Glad All Over," which knocked the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from its No. 1 perch on the British charts in 1964. In all the Dave Clark Five amassed 17 Top 40 U.S. hits, and 18 appearances on the career-making Ed Sullivan Show, more than either the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. It disbanded in 1970.

This Day In Music

1956 - Specialty Records released Little Richard's "Slippin' and Slidin'."
1960 - The Miracles made their first TV appearance on "American Bandstand."
1967 - Pink Floyd recorded their first single, "Arnold Layne."
1970 - Jefferson Airplane was fined $1,000 for using profanity during a concert in Oklahoma City.
1970 - The Beatles album "Beatles Again" was released in the U.S. It contained the song "Hey Jude."
1976 - Mick Jagger was hospitalized in New York with a respiratory infection.
1977 - Keith Richards' Toronto hotel suite was raided by Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Richards was arrested and charged possession of heroin with the intent to traffic and possession of cocaine. He was release on $25,000 bail.
1984 - A Pepsi commercial featuring the Jackson's premiered on MTV.
1987 - Capitol Records released the first four Beatles albums on CD.
1990 - Milli Vanilli's Rob Pilatus shared his perspective on life with Time magazine. In the interview he said, "Musically, we're more talented than any Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney. Mick Jagger can't produce a sound. I'm the new Elvis."
1991 - James Brown was paroled from prison after serving two years. He had been sentenced to six years in prison after leading police on an interstate car chase.
1997 - James Brown asked talk show hostess Rolanda White to marry him during the taping of one of her shows. She didn't marry him.
1998 - Tommy Lee was released on $500,000 bail after pleading innocent to the charge of abusing his wife and son.
1998 - Vince Neil of Motley Crue announced an agreement with Internet Entertainment Group and Vivid Video to distribute a 60-minute home video of him having sex with two adult film models in Hawaii.

George Harrison

The biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles in 1962. The second biggest break since then is getting out of them.

Ralph Nader is Running for President

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080224/cm_thenation/1289744

After four previous bids, mounted in varying forums and with varying goals, Nader is used to the slings and arrows that will be tossed his way. He is conscious and committed. He will not back off.

He knows how to campaign in the face of a firestorm of criticism. Above all, he knows how to make himself heard -- even when almost everyone who guides the political processes of the nation wants to shut him up.

The latter knowledge will serve him well in a 2008 contest where the man who is either a national treasure or a national frustration, or perhaps both, may find himself more marginalized than ever before. Nader is running for the same reason he has run in the past: Because the likely nominees of the two major parties do not begin to meet the standards that might reasonably be asked of progressive contenders in 21st-century America.

Fundamental issues -- Wall Street-defined globalization, rampant and frequently deadly corporate crime, out-of-control military spending and an imperial foreign policy -- are not going to be addressed in a realistic let alone definitional manner by the Democratic nominee (be he Barack Obama or be she Hillary Clinton) or by Republican John McCain. And that, says Nader, will leave millions of Americans feeling frustrated and disenfranchised.

"You take that framework of people feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected," he explained on NBC's "Meet the Press," the same forum where he announced his 2004 presidential run. "You go from Iraq, to Palestine to Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bumbling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts."

From: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/23/obama.sobu/index.html?eref=rss_politics

The annual State of the Black Union forum boasts a number of famous names as it gets under way in New Orleans, but this year's event is getting much more attention for who won't be there.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, was the only major presidential candidate to accept an invitation to attend. Her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, declined, as did Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

In a letter to Smiley earlier this month, Obama commended the forum for addressing important issues, but explained he needed to focus on his presidential run ahead of the critical March 4 primaries.

"In the final stretch, I will be on the campaign trail every day in states like Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin talking directly with voters about the causes that are at the heart of my campaign and the State of the Black Union forum," Obama wrote. "That is why, with regret, I am not able to attend the forum."

http://www.nypost.com/delonas/delonas.htm

Damn, I am in the wrong business

From:http://www.lvrj.com/news/15834017.html

The shoe dropped Wednesday when the Internal Revenue Service and other law enforcement authorities raided Pure nightclub and Pure Management Group headquarters, confiscating a number of computers. Cash-heavy operations are known to get the attention of the IRS.

Sources have been telling me that doormen at several clubs are clearing $8,000 to $10,000 a night before they share tips. So much cash is pouring in that some doormen are making $400,000 to $500,000 a year, several nightclub executives told me. "Pure has guys at the door making more than the president," said one executive with intimate knowledge of the cover-charge system.

"Club employees, usually the size of big league umpires, will go down the line and fish for people who really want to get in. The line guy might get $200, but now everyone in the group is still going to have to pay a $30 to $40 cover charge. Sometimes, the doorman demands more, maybe $50 to $100 per person." Then there's bottle service, which means you have to buy a bottle to sit in the VIP section. The usual requirement is one bottle per three patrons. Two-bottle minimums are not uncommon. Bottles at most clubs are going for $350 to $650 a piece.

Too Funny Not To Publish

From the NY Post

I Don't Buy It For A Second ....

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/19/where-is-the-happiest-pla_n_87381.html
Happiness is that quirky, elusive emotion that the Declaration of Independence maintains we have every right to pursue. And we do pursue it: we are suckers for an endless stream of self-help books that promise a carefree existence for a mere $24.95; and television hucksters of every kind claim they have the key to Nirvana. So the happiness business, at least, is one big smiley face.

As for the rest of us, the main scientific survey of international happiness carried out by Leicester University in England ranks the U.S. a distant 23rd, well behind Canada and Costa Rica. But you'll be pleased to know we beat Iraq and Pakistan.

Douglas MacArthur - WWII General

Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.

On the Ropes

From:http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/20/clinton.strategy/index.html?eref=rss_politics

As Barack Obama solidifies his lead, Hillary Clinton is shaking things up with a revamped message and sharper digs at her party's front man.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has set her sights on the upcoming contests in Texas and Ohio.

Her commanding lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination has vaporized since the Super Tuesday contests two weeks ago, and now, not only is Obama out in front, he's also chipping away at her base.

In a speech Wednesday, the New York senator maintained her campaign is moving forward, despite suffering 10 consecutive losses.

"It is time to get real," Clinton said, "to get real about how we actually win this election... It is time to move from good words to good works -- from sound bites to sound solutions."

Clinton had largely overlooked the recent races in Wisconsin and Hawaii, as well as the Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington and Potomac contests.

She instead turned her attention to the upcoming delegate-rich contests in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Now she's trying to avoid becoming the next Rudy Giuliani, whose failed strategy took him from front-runner status to GOP dropout.

She didn't mention her losses in her speech after the results came in Tuesday, and instead focused on her economic message and tried to appeal to the blue collar voters she lost in Wisconsin.

She told an audience in Ohio that the choice in the Democratic primary this year is between someone in the "speeches business" and someone in the "solutions business." "Americans have a choice to make in this election, and that choice matters," she said. "We need to make a choice between speeches and solutions, because while words matter greatly, the best words in the world aren't enough unless you match them with action."

Will Rogers

Elections are a good deal like marriages. There's no accounting for anyone's taste. Every time we see a bridegroom we wonder why she ever picked him, and it's the same with public officials.

Thomas Paine

Love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

From: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-20-burmese-pythons_N.htm?csp=34

As climate change warms the nation, giant Burmese pythons could colonize one-third of the USA, from San Francisco across the Southwest, Texas and the South and up north along the Virginia coast, according to U.S. Geological Survey maps released Wednesday. The pythons can be 20 feet long and 250 pounds. They are highly aptable to new environments. Two federal agencies — the USGS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — are investigating the range of nine invasive snakes in Florida, concerned about the danger they now pose to endangered species. The agencies are collecting data to aid in the control of these populations. They examined Burmese pythons first and, based on where they live in Asia, estimated where they might live here. One map shows where the pythons could live today, an area that expands when scientists use global warming models for 2100. "We were surprised by the map. It was bigger than we thought it was going to be," says Gordon Rodda, zoologist and lead project researcher. "They are moving northward, there's no question."

Burmese pythons were introduced to the USA as part of the pet trade. The first specimens in the wild were discovered in the mid-1990s in the Florida Everglades, released by owners who no longer wanted them, says Skip Snow, a wildlife biologist with the National Parks Service in the Everglades.

The Burmese python is not poisonous and not considered a danger to humans. Attacks on humans have involved pet owners who mishandle and misfeed the snakes, Snow says. In Florida, they eat bobcats, deer, alligators, raccoons, cats, rats, rabbits, muskrats, possum, mice, ducks, egrets, herons and song birds. They grab with their mouth to anchor the prey, then coil around the animal and crush it to death before eating it whole.

When Bill Speaks ...

From:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080220/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_on_the_ropes
She's still fighting, but it's awfully hard to find encouraging news for Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic homestretch.

She's behind in money, delegates and momentum. She's selling experience when everyone seems to want change. And all the cheering for the man who could be the first black president is drowning out any excitement for the first female.

Once deemed the nearly inevitable Democratic nominee, Clinton has now lost 10 presidential contests in a row as the battle heads for a March 4 showdown in Texas and Ohio — states she must win. By most measures, the combative New York senator is on the ropes.

"If she wins in Texas and Ohio, I think she'll be the nominee," former President Clinton said Wednesday during a speech to his wife's supporters in Beaumont, Texas. "If you don't deliver for her, I don't think she can be."

Winston Churchill

The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.

Noam Chomsky - Freedom of Speech

If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise we do not believe in it at all.

Chelsea Clinton

From http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/
Look for former first daughter Chelsea Clinton to step up her schedule on behalf of her mother's presidential campaign. "She's our not-so-secret weapon," says an aide. Chelsea's already visited about two dozen states, hitting lots of college campuses and generally campaigning on her own. Here's why we expect to see more of her: Associates say Chelsea's visits boost Sen. Hillary Clinton's election night numbers. One insider says there's "a direct correlation between Chelsea's visits and Hillary Clinton's performance."

From http://wonkette.com/
Exhausted by the Hillary-Obama race? Kind of looking forward to John McCain getting 32% of the vote in November or maybe even dropping out in summertime, giving America a welcome respite from Election 2008? Well, too bad. The Main Stream Media wants you to know that beloved Polar Bear King Albert “Al” Gore may just end up as the Democratic nominee after all, thanks to a “second ballot” at the DNC convention that could give delegates, super delegates and super villain delegates the chance to put those women and minorities back in their rightful place.

Less than five minutes.

From: http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/JonahGoldberg/2008/02/16/a_few_minutes_well_spent?page=full&comments=true
That's the total amount of time the United States has waterboarded terrorist detainees. How many detainees? Three.

One was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, "the principle architect of the 9/11 attacks" according to the 9/11 Report, and the head of al-Qaeda's "military committee." Linked to numerous terror plots, he is believed to have financed the first World Trade Center bombing, helped set up the courier system that resulted in the infamous Bali bombing, and cut off Danny Pearl's head.

A second was Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the head of al-Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf. He allegedly played a role in the 2000 millennium terror plots and was the mastermind behind the USS Cole attack that killed 17 Americans.

The third was Abu Zubaydah, said to be Osama bin Laden's top man after Ayman al Zawahri and al-Qaeda's chief logistics operative. It is believed that Zubaydah essentially ran al-Qaeda's terror camps and recruitment operations. After he was waterboarded, Zubaydah reportedly offered intelligence officers a treasure trove of critical information. He was waterboarded just six months after the 9/11 attacks and while the anthrax scare was still ongoing.

John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer who witnessed the interrogation, told ABC's Brian Ross: "The threat information that he provided disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks."

And that's it. Less than five minutes, three awful men, five years ago.

Yet none of these interrogations were the result of a "rogue" CIA or the mad whims of a "torture presidency." The relevant Democratic congressional leadership for intelligence - including current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Jay Rockefeller and former Sen. Bob Graham - were briefed on CIA operations more than once. "Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing," Porter Goss, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee from 1997 to 2004 before becoming CIA director, told The Washington Post. "And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement."

I don't like waterboarding, and I hope we never use it again. I have respect for those who believe it should be banned in all circumstances. But I do not weep that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed spent somewhere between .03 and .06 seconds feeling like he was drowning for every person he allegedly helped murder on 9/11.

London - Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, 65, and his wife Heather Mills, 40, have finally agreed on a 55-million-pound (108-million- dollar) divorce settlement, according to a newspaper report published Saturday. The two parties had reached a verbal agreement on Friday on what is considered the most expensive divorce in British history, the Daily Mail reported. McCartney and the former model separated after four years of marriage in May 2006. According to the paper, McCartney is to pay a 20-million-pound lump sum to Mills and continue to make annual payments of 2.5 million pounds until their 4-year-old daughter Beatrice turns 18. The former model was planning to leave Britain because everyone in the country hated her, Mills' father said last week.

Wow! I would marry a Beatle for $ 74,000 a day/ $519,230 a week / $2,250,000 a month (and I am a guy)

From the Congressional Budget Office:

The wealthiest 1%, in 2003, earned 14% of the income and paid 35% of all individual income taxes. By comparison, the bottom 60% of all taxpayers earn 28% of all income and pay just 1% of all individual income taxes.

What this really means:
Wealth / Income Earned / Taxes Paid
Top 1% / 14% / 35%
Bottom 60% / 28% / 1%
Middle Class 39% / 58% / 64%

39% of the wealth paid 64% of the taxes. This is killing the lower end of the middle class and making living difficult for young couples trying to get started. We need to scrap todays system and start over with a flat tax or national sales tax. I am not an economist but the weight should not be on the young couples who are trying to live the Amercian way.

February 11 - Events

Birthdays - Thomas Alva Edison 1847, Burt Reynolds 1936, Sheryl Crow 1962, Jennifer Aniston 1969 & ME!
*
1963 - The Beatles recorded "Twist & Shout" and "I Saw Her Standing There."
1964 - The Beatles played their first U.S. concert at the Collisseum in Washington, DC.
1965 - Ringo Starr and Maureen Cox were married. They divorced in 1975.
1966 - Cher recorded "Bang Bang."
1967 - The Monkees announced that they would be playing all the instruments on all recordings.
1970 - The film "The Magic Christian," featuring Ringo Starr debuted in New York City.
1972 - David Bowie performed as "Ziggy Stardust" for the first time.
1983 - The Rolling Stones concert film "Let's Spend the Night Together" opened in New York. 1986 - Boy George guest-stared on an episode of "The A-Team."
1986 - The single "Superbowl Shuffle" by the Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew was certified gold.
1994 - Prince premiered his song "The Most Beautiful Girl" on the 1994 Miss USA Pageant.
*
... and ME!

Mark Twain

In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.

OOPS! Wish I hadn't said that ....

There is no need for any individual to have a computer in their home.
- Ken Olson, 1977, President, Digital Equipment Corp.
*
I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
*
There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.
- Albert Einstein, 1932.
*
But what ... is it good for?
- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM,
1968 commenting on the microchip.

Tolerance

I believe in tolerant behaviour, I believe in respecting the rights and beliefs of all people. Especially those people who come to Amercia from foreign lands. I understand that it takes time to assimilate. I do not believe it is ok to try to damage or suppress the beliefs and lifestyles of your adopted country. These pictures are disturbing because they were taken during a "peace" rally, read the words on the signs, these people don't want to fit in, they want to control. I understand this is not fully reflective of the Muslim people but no rejection of these attitudes have been expressed publicaly.

Life's Leadership Lessons - Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the Winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

***
Morals of the story: (1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy. (2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

Life's Leadership Lessons - Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. 'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' 'Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients.' The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.
***
Moral of the story: BullShit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Life's Leadership Lessons - Lesson 4

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?' The eagle answered: 'Sure , why not.' So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

***
Moral of the story: To be able to sit and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Life's Leadership Lessons - Lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.' 'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.' Puff! She's gone. 'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.' Puff! He's gone. 'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

***
Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Frederick Douglas

"I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."

Bernard Meltzer

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.