Free Outdoor Rock and Roll

We interrupt the political blogging to bring you a concert review.  I just returned from catching a Rolling Stones tribute band in a free outdoor summer concert at one of the local community parks here on Long Island.
The Glimmer Twins put on a rock and roll show tonight that plowed through some of the biggest hits of the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World.


Opening with Start Me Up, a Stones favorite, the Twins were a more than credible re-enactment of the Stones.  During their hour and forty minute show they easily moved between hard rockers like Satisfaction, Paint it Black and Honky Tonk Women to ballads like Angie and Ruby Tuesday.


Mick Jagger impersonator Keith Call had all Jagger's moves as he sashayed across the stage with that famous Jagger pout.  Guitarist Bernie Bollendorf as Keith Richards easily replicated Richards' riffs and provided strong backing vocals.  the remainder of the band; Mike Rubino on guitar, Chris Bollendor on drums, Rob Ekstedt on bass, Mike Dancik on keyboards, Bobby Michaels on sax and flute and Valorie Steel on vocals were tight and more than up to the task.


If you are as disappointed as I am that the Stones decided not to tour this year, the Glimmer Twins will help fill that void until the real Stones tour again next year.

Bad Jobs Report but Good News Too?

This is the first in a series about jobs and job creation.
  
Last Friday the Labor Department released the latest report on job creation and the news did not look good.  It showed another month of weak growth as only 80,000 jobs were created closing out the weakest quarter of job growth since 2010.  Predictably, Republicans were quick to pounce on this with Mitt Romney calling it "a kick in the gut".  According to the Wall Street Journal, however, there were actually some encouraging signs if you really looked into the data.   

Just Can't Escape it!

No use in ducking Mitt...



Personally, I think he should be bending over more because that's where he's really getting this!

States Can Opt Out of the Affordable Care Act

After the Supreme Court Decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie criticized the decision saying: 

"I’ve been clear from the very beginning that I do not believe a one-size-fits-all health care program works for the entire country and that each governor should have the ability to make decisions about what works best for their state. Today’s Supreme Court decision is disappointing and I still believe this is the wrong approach for the people of New Jersey who should be able to make their own judgments about health care. Most importantly, the Supreme Court is confirming what we knew all along about this law – it is a tax on middle class Americans.”

Christie obviously isn't paying attention to what is going on around the county.  Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Montana are all in various stages of endorsing a single-payer system.  The California legislature kept passing bills for state single-payer health care but Governor Schwarzenegger wouldn't sign them.  

Last year Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law a bill establishing a single-payer health care plan for the state, making Vermont the first state to do so.  The law is set to take effect in 2014.

In order to accomplish this Vermont will need to secure a waiver from the Affordable Care Act because under that law states are not permitted to opt out to implement alternative plans until 2017 as long as those plans provide equally comprehensive, affordable insurance coverage to at least as many residents as the Affordable Care Act provides. And these plans would have to do so while insuring that they would not add to the federal deficit  

In February of this year President Obama supported the idea of moving that date up to 2014.

Senate Bill S. 248 and House Bill H.R. 844: The Empowering States to Innovate Act are designed to accomplish this.

Christie could look for an alternative for the people of New Jersey also.  But Chris Christie has no ideas.  He has no other plan.  Just a lot of criticism for the man who finally was able to accomplish something that no other president has been able to accomplish. 

Reform health care.

Need a Reason to Vote Democratic in November?

Are you pissed off at the Citizens United decision?  

Did the SCOTUS Montana Anti-Citizens United reversal make you want to bash your head into a brick wall in frustration?  

If you still need an extra incentive to vote Democratic in November, consider this: The next president could be in the position to appoint 2 new justices to the Supreme Court.  These potential appointments would affect court decisions for years to come.  And it's not just about getting President Obama re-elected.  We need to also give him a Democratic Congress to work with him because it will be these members of Congress that will be sitting on the panel that will confirm potential appointees. 

So, there you have it kids.  Vote Democratic this November or look forward to more Democracy-killing Citizens United decisions handed down by a partisan Supreme Court.

Contrasting Visions

I've always like the way Gary Trudeau simplifies an issue and makes it understandable to the masses.

This is the choice for Americans this November.  Thanks Gary!

It's About Character and Honesty

There are a lot of things being bantered back and forth between both parties in this run-up to the November election.  Everyone is looking at the economy and jobs to be the focal point of this election.  Who is better at improving your condition.  Who is better at creating jobs and lowering the unemployment rate.  All of these are valuable questions and should be answered but from what we are seeing and (not) hearing from Mitt Romney and the Republicans is a repudiation of the birther issue that has dogged this president for years now.

Although this myth that Obama is not an American citizen and, thus, is not eligible to be president, has been debunked ad nauseum, it is once again coming front and center as various factions of the Republican party try to discredit Obama's citizenship.  The latest and greatest of them all is Donald Trump!  Again.  Remember when The Donald sent a team of investigators to Hawaii to dig up evidence that President Obama was not born there?  Recall that he claimed the birth certificate was missing and that his investigators had found amazing things that he would divulge at a later date?  Whatever happened Donald?  Why did we never hear or see this "evidence"?  Because there is none.

So, why is this so important?  It comes down to assessing a candidates character.  I think we can all agree that a person's character should be taken into account when we evaluate his fitness to be elected to the highest office in the country.  Now here's the thing.  Mitt Romney, instead of coming forward and repudiating the birther attacks on President Obama, has embraced Donald Trump and is actually offering a dinner with the two as a fundraiser.  Unbelievable, right?  Not for Romney.  Which brings us back to this issue of character.  Back in the 2008 election there were allegations brought forth by the McCain campaign that Barack Obama was a terrorist and a Muslim.  Remember that?  People at his rallies were all stoked with fear that Obama was an Arab terrorist.

But here's the difference.  John McCain did not allow that to stand.  John McCain stood up to boos from his supporters when he defended Obama at one of his rallies.  THAT is character.  THAT is honesty.  Mitt Romney, having embraced the birther issue, lost his John McCain moment.  Mitt Romney has demonstrated how little character he really has.  We have seen this lack of character from Mitt before.  Remember during the GOP debates when they fielded the Don't Ask Don't Tell question from the soldier in Iraq?  I do.  Remember the chorus of boos that came from the audience?  I do.  Remember how Mitt stood up for that soldier?  Remember how he blasted the audience for booing a member of our military that is over in Iraq voluntarily putting his life on the line for you and me?  Remember?  No, I don't either because it didn't happen.  It didn't happen because Mitt Romney lacks character.  Mitt Romney does not have enough of a backbone to stand up to those saying blatantly outrageous things about the president.

And it is this lack of character that makes Mitt Romney unfit to occupy the highest office in this country.  It's about character.