travelins: The - Not - So - Great American Blog

VOTE LIKE YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS UPON IT BECAUSE IT DOES

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 14:57:00 +0000

Donald Trump represents a “clear and present danger” to the United States of America. Since 1959, I have voted in every election. Many times I may have disagreed with the candidate I did not select, and many times I disagreed with some of the beliefs of the candidate for whom I voted, but every candidate until 2016 was a person of integrity who, despite human faults, always realized that their election made them responsible for each and every American and for the overall good of the Republic’s Constitution .

Every day now, we take on step closer to a Constitutional crisis. Every morning, I awaken more frightened than I have ever been of our elected officials, whose job as the elected is to serve the people by introducing and passing legislation that will protect all our “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

We are in the throes of Trumpism. The very fact that he continues to draw crowds at his rallies and that his approval rating, once at 40% has recently risen to 42% speaks volumes about mostly caucasian American people’s giving into fear and racism, or feeling empowered to do so.

Steve Schmidt enumerated the five reasons we should all be aware that we are on our way to something totalitarian:
“We're seeing at this moment a president of the United States do five things. He is using mass rallies that are fueled by constant lying to incite fervor and devotion in his political base.

The second thing we see him do is to affix blame for every problem in the world. Many of them are complex, not so different from the issues faced at the end of Agrarian age and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. We see him attack minority populations with words like "invade" and “infest.”

The third thing he does is a create a shared sense of victimization caused by the scapegoated populations. This is the high act of Trumpism: From Trump to Sean Hannity to Laura Ingraham, everyone is a victim.

The fourth thing he does is he alleges conspiracy by nefarious and unseen hidden forces – the "deep state.”

And the fifth thing is the assertion that "I am the law, that I am above it." He just said immigrants don't get a hearing; they don't get a court representation.”

In addition, the rule of separation between church and state has become nearly non-existent. Many so-called Christian Evangelicals no longer ask WWJD, but rather What Can White Americans Do to Maintain Power.

Schmidt, in his interview with Rolling Stone Magazine (which everyone who loves this country should read) also had this to say about the present Party of Trump:
“The Republican Party isn't going to die because of Trump. It's going to die because of Ryan and McConnell. You're now left with one political party in support of liberal democracy.”

If McConnell’s delaying Merrick Garland’s hearing for the Supreme Court coupled with his insistence that whoever Trump choses for the post be chosen BEFORE mid term elections doesn’t raise hundreds of red flags, America takes a giant step out of independence and into a fascist rule.

All of this, coupled with gerrymandering and obviously ignored Russian interference with our electoral process spells total disaster unless each and every one of us, and I do mean each and every person reading this that supports a liberal democracy, votes!

We had best vote like our freedom depends upon it because it truly does!

APRIL FOOL'S DAY (sort of)

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 13:19:00 +0000

This is an excerpt from the current book of memoirs, yet to be completed. Although the following event did not occur on April Fool's Day, it certainly fits the criteria.

It was a long time ago while I was still traveling great distances to do shows. This time
around, I had gotten a call to perform comedy at a convention being held at the
Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center, just outside Alexandria, Minnesota.
I got an unusually early start that morning and while driving, I noticed that my van was
due for a 5,000-mile oil change. Since I reached Alexandria with plenty of time to
spare, and found a Pennzoil Ten Minute Oil Change business right on the edge
of town, I took advantage of my early arrival, pulled in, and checked in at the desk.
I did notice that they were extremely busy, but as I said, I had hours to spare, so I
wasn't too worried. After registering my vehicle, I joined several other customers in the
waiting lounge, grabbed a magazine, and asked the woman sitting near an empty chair
if she would mind if I sat near her. With her permission, I took the seat and began
absent mindedly flipping through People Magazine.

After a bit, I introduced myself to the woman. She, in turn, introduced herself to me and
I struck up a conversation with her. I really do enjoy engaging people, even strangers,
in this kind of situation, as it passes time in a way much better than reading People
Magazine ever could. Besides, I thought she might be able to give me some insights
into the city of Alexandria that I could incorporate into my performance. When I asked
her about Alexandria, she told me that she didn't know much about the town as of yet,
as she and her daughter had just recently moved from Blue Earth, Minnesota.
This opened up a whole vista of questions I could ask: How old is your daughter? (20)
What is your daughter's name? (Jane) What made you decide to move to Alexandria
(job as a registered nurse) Were you able to find housing? (a "fixer upper”)

She asked where I was from and what I do for a living and I told her I am from Eau
Claire, Wisconsin, and that I am an ex-middle school teacher that quit teaching. I told
her that I am a comedian/guitar player. Why was I in Alexandria? I told her that I am to
the after-dinner entertainment at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center.
She lit up at the words Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center. She exclaimed that
her daughter works there summers as a waitress for convention banquets, and that as
a divorced, single parent she is very proud of her daughter's initiative not only in
seeking summer employment but in the skills she’s learning at the technical college.

I then asked her to give me a physical description of Jane, in case I have a chance to
meet her and tell her that I have met her mom. Barbara then really opened up to me,
told me all kinds of great details . . . how talented her daughter is in interior design and
implementing it . . . that she had just finished tiling the entire bathroom and it looked
like a professional had done the work . . . that she was schooling at the nearby
technical school, pursuing interior design . . . that she missed Blue Earth and her boy
friend, Jim.

She would have told me more but her number was called and she left to get her car. As
soon as she left, I took out the little notepad that I always carried with me in case of
comedic inspiration, and hurriedly scribbled all the facts I could remember so that if I
did get a chance to meet Jane, I would be able to speak intelligently about her mother
and she would not think I was just some weirdo vagabond trying to hit on her.

I arrived at the Arrowwood, a large and impressive place with a central conference
center, surrounded by a golf course and spacious vacation townhomes. When I work
a conference, before I even take the guitar out of the van, I first scope out exactly
where it is that I will be setting up my sound system, where the nearest entrance to the
banquet room is, and who I need to contact and let know my purpose for being there.
This I accomplished, the last step being to enter the actual dining area to see if there
is a stage or some sort of set up.

When I walked in, there were two uniformed young women, busily putting down the
place settings of plates and silver. Jane's mother had given me a very accurate
description of her daughter. I recognized her immediately. It wasn't until that moment
that I suddenly came up with a plan to have a little fun with her. I approached them
and watched as they worked for a moment, my gaze transfixed on Jane. She became
aware of my seemingly rude staring and looked up from her work. ”Hi, Jane", I said,
and then turned to leave. "Wait a minute!" she cried out, "how do you know my
name?” "It's right there on your plastic name tag", I said, knowing full well she had no
name tag. She actually looked down at her uniform. "I'm not wearing a name tag," she
said, alarmed. "Okay, you caught me," I said. "I know your name is Jane because I am
psychic. In fact, You are giving off a very strong aura and there is much I can tell you
about yourself.” "Like what?" she asked. "Well, for starters, you haven't been living in
Alexandria very long. You moved here from . . . from . . . Blue Earth, Minnesota,
because . . . “ , I paused, winced, rubbed my temples. "because . . . your mother
received a better job offer.” Now, Jane’s eyes grew wider. ”How could you know
that?”, she exclaimed loudly. "Did I not just tell you that I am psychic? "I don't
believe you,”Jane replied, “You are just making lucky guesses. What’s my mother’s name?”
Again, I paused as if waiting for inspiration. "Is your mother's name . . . I am seeing a “B"
. . . Ba- Ba- Barbara? .”Her jaw dropped. Recovering, she asked: “What does she do for a living?”
"She is a nurse . . . no, not just a nurse . . . a Registered Nurse.”
”And she is very proud of you because of your talent and gumption." I paused again.
“ You are taking a two-year course in Interior design. Another pause; “ You just
finished tiling the bathroom floor at your house.” . . . I closed my eyes . . . I can see it.
You did a very professional installation."
Now I had her hooked.
"What else can you tell me?” "You will be going back to technical school this Fall to
finish your two-year degree in interior design."She looked at her fellow worker.
"Can you believe this?" she asked. Her partner was frozen in place, silverware in hand.
I turned as if to leave, then turned back and said: "You are really missing Jim, aren't you?"

I started walking away and from behind me I heard the other waitress: "Hey! Don't
leave! Do me!”

"I'm sorry. My brain is really tired. My head hurts. Maybe some other time.”
I sure would have liked to have been a fly on the ceiling when she got home and told
her mother about the psychic she met at work.

THE MARCH FOR OUR LIVES

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 16:56:00 +0000

I am currently watching the thousands upon thousands of people that have gathered in Washington, D.C., and I am at times in tears just listening to these young people testify so eloquently. I remembered this chapter in my writings, my memoirs, and I think today it should be published:

OUTSTANDING COURAGE AND DEDICATION

In an earlier chapter, I remarked that I found most comedians that I worked with over the years to be rather shallow, insecure and self centered . However there are some comedians that will always stand out in my mind as real people, One such man was a young Black comedian from Chicago, Illinois, that I worked with on another of Ken’s Comedy Productions Midwest tours. In addition to having a great sense of humor and a pleasant comedic style, he was a pleasure to be around, not the kind that only used me as a sounding board for new jokes written.

I cannot recall clearly in which city we were performing when, less than an hour before
he was to go on ahead of me, he was called out of the green room to a waiting
telephone call. When he returned, it was written on his face that he had just received
bad news. He told me that the call was from his mother. His younger brother was just
shot and killed on the streets of Chicago. We both sat, staring into one another’s face,
unable to even speak. I began to consider exactly what he was trying to fully
comprehend and how anyone in that circumstance would react. I found my voice and
said: “Listen. There is no way I, nor anyone associated with the club expects you to
go on stage tonight. I will go out and start the show by explaining that you have
taken ill. I have been working clubs for years and have well over two hours of material I
can use to fill both our time.” He continued to look into my eyes and after a pause said,
“No. I will do my time. I want to do my time, and Larry, I want you to know that I am
dedicating my performance to my brother.” With that, he got to his feet, paced the open area of the green room, rubbing his hands together, deep in thought and concentration.

The appointed time arrived. I went out on stage and introduced him as I had all week,
then went back around to the front entrance to watch his performance. I slipped just
inside the door of the darkened room and watched him work his audience as he had
done all week only tonight he was somehow even better, more inspired, smiling, joking
with audience members, taking everything they had to offer and multiplying it times
ten in the giving back. By the time I heard him begin his closer, and headed quickly back around to be ready myself, I realized that he, indeed, was going to be a hard act to follow. I cannot tell you how very proud of him I was for what he did that night. I can tell you that he showed all of his love and courage for his lost brother that night, as well as his own.

Patrick O'Brien Brings it Home . . . All of It.

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 12:36:00 +0000

Last night, Saturday, January 27, Kim and I had the distinct pleasure to be able to see "Whisper in my Good Ear", a two person show, performed brilliantly in a one hour and a half scene by Larry Ripp and Patrick O'Brien. Pat O'Brien is an alum of the UWEC Theater Department, one of many who has gone on to a highly successful career in professional theater.

Kim was first introduced to Pat when she performed with a company he formed to do dinner theater at Fanny Hill, just outside of Eau Claire. I, because I am much older then Pat, worked the same Kjer Theater stage as Pat, but was not fortunate enough to get to work with him during the legendary summer theatre years. In Dr. Wil Denson's newly released book "Life Upon the Wicked Stage", both O'Brien and another actor that has gone on to become a nationally known figure, Laila Robbins, are discussed and given their due.

Kim and I had the usual fare at The Court-n-House and had great seats in the third row for the show. I was disappointed to see that there was not a full house, but for those who did not see the performances, either Friday or last night, I can only say: too bad for you, it's your loss. . Both actors held us spellbound throughout the entire show. The hour and a half performance felt like half an hour.

Both actors played off each other with a convincing ease. It was obvious that these two characters, both lonely old men, had been friends for a long time. The scenery? Minimal; a park bench. But the dialogue made it abundantly clear, through dialogue, that they were in Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. Eeffortlessly, the two actors had my imagination seeing the lake in the park, young lovers in the distance, and mention of Park Avenue widened the scope and brought back memories of my own experiences in the Big Apple.

Although the play had some laughs in it, it became amply clear that this was a portrait of two men who knew that their "good lives" were now far behind them. Both Ripp and O'Brien took me somewhat by surprise with their portrayals, as I am at the age where everything that transpired between the two tugged at my own spirit. I certainly still have a love for life every morning, but these two men made me give pause; made me realize just how fortunate I am at this juncture in my life.

After the performance, the actors invited us to join them at the Court-n-House, which we, as well as many others, did. Although we only spent a few moments with Pat (their were many others awaiting their turn) it was just good to see him and to tell him how he had moved us so deeply. The last time I had seen Pat was at Steve LaVigne's apartment in Minneapolis, at a delightful gathering of many people from the Arts.

While driving back home, with Kim and I marveled at what we had just witnessed. Kim told me that she would loved to have had a chance to see it again. I concurred. Thank you, Patrick O'Brien and Larry Ripp for bringing such class to Eau Claire. It is truly refreshing to watch professionals at work.

HAPPY NEW YEAR? IF YOU CAN SAY IT, YOU ARE FROM ANOTHER PLANET

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 16:23:00 +0000

. So it ends; a year of great disappointment if you, like I, am what the loyal followers of the Gropenfuhrer, like to refer to as "libtards".

The Donald has done nothing but devolve all the steps that were taken in the previous eight years to make our world at least a bit more livable. Every time that Americans think the Donald can sink no lower, he proves that he can. He is the master of the concept of "Divide and Conquer", and unfortunately even here in my home state, our governor kisses up to him, a true disciple, a man who had the audacity to even use the term "divide and conquer" in an interview with Beloit Millionaire, Diane Hendricks, also a supporter of The Donald.

Divide and Conquer. What's very disconcerting is that it has worked. It has towns, neighbors, even best friends, that are no longer speaking with one another.

I recently lost one of my very closest friends, an avid Fox News watcher, who has several televisions left turned on in his house 24/7 to the latest "news"; Right now, Fox, Trump's favorite channel, the only one that doesn't carry "fake news", is busy crucifying Robert Mueller as a traitor and a threat to overthrow our government. My friend invited me over to watch a Packer game, and late in the game, wanted to "discuss" politics. Over and over I told him that I valued our friendship too much to even "go there". But he likes "stirring the pot", he likes to see if he can get his libtard friends angry and then belittle them for not being civil.

He succeeded. Then, when I told him that I could no longer deal with it and that I was leaving, the became extremely angry with me.

I have stop watching the news nightly as it only increases my stress levels and makes me physically ill. I will always remember 2017 as the year that not only were our elections tampered with by Russia, but a minority of Americans swallowed the lies of the world's sickest narcissist.

So here comes 2018. I don't feel much like having a "whoop-te-doo" over the future of the earth, much less our country. "Happy New Year" is something I will not be able to regurgitate to anyone today.

This afternoon, all the "old guard" Kjer Theatre performers of past glories will once again gather for a late lunch, as we do each year. Most of them are libtards. I think it will make for a pretty somber welcome to 2018. God knows, all of us old timers will have gone to bed, hopefully to sleep, by the time it officially arrives.

By the way, the tee shirt in the photo is one that I wore while Bush/Cheney were killing the brown man and making millions. Back then, I found them both repulsive. Well, now itH is the end of 2017. welcome to Really repulsive!

So, I won't say the "happy" part to anyone who reads this. Just "New Year". Now what?

August 29, 2016. The Day My Live Changed

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 18:08:00 +0000

On August 29, 2005, my life changed.

At the time I was once again band leader of a four piece combo. We had played a gig at Lehman’s Supper Club on the edge of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Butch always paid me by check, and I, in turn, wrote each of my band members a check so that we were all square before we even left. When I had finished writing checks, I realized that I would be overdrawn come Monday.

When my bank opened on Sunday morning, just after eleven in the morning, because it was a beautiful late summer morning, I decided I would use the Honda 500 motorcycle to deposit the check. I also decided, for the first time since I had purchased the shiny, new, burnt orange bike two months earlier, that I was not going to wear my helmet as I was only traveling less than three miles at speeds of no more than 30 miles per hour. My route would take me past the mall on Golf Road, to the intersection of Golf and Highway 93. Golf Road, newly widened and repaved, at this intersection now had painted arrow indications for a right turn only lane, a straight ahead lane, and a left lane with both straight ahead and left turn arrows painted on it. Golf Road was my usual route to my bank, Royal Credit Union, which was located just across the junction. The past few times I drove to the bank, because of the new changes, it was anybody’s guess if drivers would end up in the correct lane at the intersection and the confusion made it dangerous.

This morning, traffic was already heavy and when I approached the intersection, there were vehicles already at the stop light in all three lanes, and others slowing down and choosing lanes. I decided I would take the straight ahead middle lane which meant that as I approached, there would be vehicles on both sides of my bike. I was less than 20 yards from the light; and that’s the last I remember.

I regained consciousness several hours later, looking at the ceiling of a patient room in Luther Hospital, my right lower leg shattered in several places, already in a cast, and a severe concussion. One of the staff informed me that I had been in a bad motorcycle accident, had been delivered to Luther Emergency by ambulance, that I had already had surgery during which an artificial knee and a titanium rod was placed in the leg.

What exactly happened that August morning, my memory will not allow me to see. Because the bike had jumped the curb on the right and I plowed into the light pole, and because later a friend brought me a photograph of the chalk outline of my body on the street, I can only surmise that at the last moment, a driver to my left realized they were in the wrong lane and wanted to move over into the lane I was in, didn’t see me in the mirrors, made their move, and I must have reacted instinctively and swerved hard to my right, fell off the bike as it careened into the pole, totally destroying it, or I was still on it when it hit the pole, and the result of the impact threw me back on the pavement. I don’t even know who called it in.

I will spare the details of the lengthy recovery. The most difficult part, emotionally, was to miss my nephew Michael Heagle’s wedding and a chance to spend time with my two sons Jonathan and David, who had flown in from Brooklyn, New York,.

The specialist who had done the surgery told me that I would have to return in a year’s time to have the rod removed. Looking down at the lengthy scar that went from four inches above the knee to mid ankle, I thought to myself I don’t think so, Doc. I’m not going through this again, I will live with the metal.

When I fully recovered, the band reassembled and we worked pretty regularly until the following Autumn. We were on the bill at Chippewa Falls annual Oktoberfest and it was at that point, with arthritis setting in so badly that the pain became unendurable. I would have pleaded to have the surgery. However, because after the first surgery, the leg had not been set properly. I wore a brace for several months which was supposed to straighten the lower leg but didn’t. I knew I would have to have a second surgery, but decided it would not be in Eau Claire.

One afternoon I was just coming out Menard’s when I crossed paths with Jim Carter, former Green Bay Packer linebacker, and now Ford dealership owner in Eau Claire. He nodded to me, seemingly recognizing me, so I engaged him in conversation, told him what had happened to me, and then asked: Jim, as a retired NFL linebacker, did you have to have work done on either of your knees?
Yes, both knees.
I then asked where he had his surgeries, the surgeon’s name, and if he would recommend him for my second knee operation. I wrote down the pertinent information, including the surgeon’s office number, thanked Mr. Carter, and began to make plans.

Again, I will spare the details of a lengthy recovery in Minneapolis, but at least the leg no longer had hardware, was set using a Global Positioning System, and was now straight. However, I found as the months passed, I was still dealing with constant pain in the lower right leg, especially the newly replaced knee, so much so that I could not kneel on it. My physician at Marshfield Clinic first suggested over the counter pain medications, but nothing assuaged the pain.

After nearly two years of experimenting with anything and everything non narcotic, I pleaded with him to allow me to use something stronger, There was a new drug on the market, the long term effects of which were not yet known, but it was a recommended drug for those in chronic pain. However, my physician was reluctant to allow me to begin using it; he warned me that it was addictive but I pressed. I told him I was 66 years old so what if it is addictive? Who knows how much longer I will live anyway.

Finally he relented and gave me a prescription for Fentanyl, an opiod, which within ten years would be the scourge of Americans when people began overusing, becoming severely addicted, so much so that increased dosage was necessary to achieve the same results. In my case, I was on 75 milligram Duragesic patches which were changed every 72 hours, covered by Kim’s health insurance through her long and dedicated service as an Eau Claire Public Schools Kindergarten teacher. I continued to regularly refill my prescription until early 2017 and the death of Paisley Park’s Artist Known as Prince. When I read that he was addicted to Fentanyl, I knew that I had to get off the drug as its effectiveness had already begun to wane for me as well.

Because of insurance coverage changes, I had to leave Marshfield Clinic and become a member of the Mayo Clinic Health System years ago. When I made my decision, with the strong support of my wife, Kim, who has always stood by me through sickness and in health, we visited my new physician together. He suggested that I begin tapering very slowly as Fentanyl is stronger than Heroin. He lowered the dosage to 50 milligram patches and I did well for some time, but now my insurance company began to be a hassle with the changes, and every time I would go to renew my prescription, the transaction would not be completed with one trip.

Disgusted with the whole routine, we once again visited my regular physician and I told him that I wanted no more patch use. He gave me a prescription for Tramadol, a much weaker form of Fentanyl, to see how that would go. After the first week, however, Dr. Larry decided he didn’t need the Tramadol and would go cold turkey. I stopped taking the Tramadol, against Kim’s better judgement, and consequently, a few days later ended up screaming in pain, being driven to Luther Hospital’s emergency room at 11 P.M.

I was given a one time injection of some other narcotic to ease my withdrawal pain and when I was ambulatory, Kim drove me home and I returned to my doctor’s recommended withdrawal schedule. April 11, 2017, will always stand clearly in my memory as that is the day that I began withdrawal in complete dedication. That first month was agony I would not wish on my worst enemy. It got so bad, in fact, that I once again ended up at Luther Hospital Emergency, this time screaming at Kim as she drove. Kim! Don’t pull over! Just undock the car doors and let me jump out !

Once again a very patient, kind, compassionate daytime shift of nurses and doctors slowly brought me down. This time around, they gave me a one time prescription of a non narcotic pain reliever, Toradal, which is mostly used for women after child birth or other short term intense pain encounters. I am still using the generic, Ketorolac, but I use it very sparingly for two reasons: some of the side effects, which I have experienced, are small itchy red spots on the arms and torso, increased swelling in the lower legs, and secondly, I do not want to abuse my prescription by increasing intake as my physician keeps a close eye on that.

After a little over a horrific month of intense pain that seemed to know exactly where the weakest points of my body are and settle there, coupled with diarrhea, intense stomach cramping, two separate tones ringing in my ears, one a piercing high, the other the sound of a rumbling railway train or a furnace running, unimaginable pain in my low back and between my neck and shoulders, I knew that the Fentanyl was finally out of my system one morning when Kim gave me my now one half of a Tramadol and it made me very ill.

Although still taking non narcotic pain meds, I did go through a time when food tasted better than it ever had and my body told me that I needed fresh fruit and real oatmeal. I could not bear to look at Payday candy bars, once my favorite when I drove for Markquart Toyota as a car jockey, swapping brand new cars color for color. I had used them for the sugar rush, which helped me stay alert at the wheel.

During the month of May 2017, I was still not steady enough to drive myself. I tried it once, on a short jaunt, and the car frightened me. At that point, it may as well have been a navy cruiser, because that’s how it felt to drive it. May is also the month that I began to experience Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, a phenomena which is still bandied about by some experts as not real, a figment of the imagination, a mind problem. I can assure you that PAWS is real.

That first month, I would be fortunate to have two days in a row where I could operate at about a 75% capacity before all the symptoms of withdrawal would reoccur, including the return of the loud ringing in my ears, diahrrhea, extreme amounts of intestinal gas, returning pain and swelling to the injured leg, high anxiety levels as well as irritability. On those days, I could not think clearly enough to be able to perform song lyrics or drive for Markquart Toyota. The first time I played a one hour set of music, the songs of which I knew every lyric, for Oakwood Villa in Altoona, I would get into the second verse and totally lose it.

Fortunately, I took Peggy McGraw, the entertainment director, aside before my show and explained what I was going through, and she, wonderful person that she is, would come to my rescue, filling in the blanks. There was also a Catholic Nun who was always in attendance as her mother is a resident, and I could tell she knew that something was amiss, so after I stumbled through my hour, I approached her and explained. She said Well, I could tell that you were on something or coming off something. i’ve been around the block more than once, you know. The first grade Catholic boy inside me was relieved and she and I had a good laugh about it.

As I write this, Thanksgiving 2017 is part of a very stressful weekend past, which ended with an email telling me that my dear friend of some 30 years, Matthew Capell, had died. As a result, the stress and overwork of handling all the Thanksgiving cooking, and the further stress of the sad news, set me back to nearly zero in the PAWS scale and the ringing in the ears, loose stools, irritability, and inability to sleep returned, but with the help of Toradol, which I haven’t had to use for nearly a month, the continued withdrawal has begun to stretch into a continuous line of two steps forward, three steps back, three steps forward, two steps back, and although it has taken all of seven months, I am beginning to have longer stretches of pain free days, as long as I watch my parameters closely, and avoid extreme stress.

If publishing this helps in any way for others to avoid using Fentanyl, or of, like me, you are an addict, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone and never give in to the urge to go back. I have never had that urge because I have been through so much that I don't ever want to go back. My good friend Sarah Herrell sent me a card while I was in the midst of withdrawal that said simply "When you're going through Hell, keep going."

PRINCIPLE OVER PARTY? YOU DECIDE.

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 17:43:00 +0000

Yesterday, while dropping off equipment at Mike Schlenker's Speed of Sound, I got into a discussion about politics with a nephew of a close, now deceased, former teacher friend of mine from the "good old days".

His main point: neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are worth our vote as they are indebted to huge campaign funders instead of us. "Until", he said, (and I am paraphrasing here) "Big Money, i.e. corporations are no longer considered as individuals, there is not going to be a candidate that will truly represent the middle and lower classes." And I totally agree.

when Kim and I attended the celebration of Minnesota's great Senator Paul Wellstone two weeks ago, we were both struck by the early panel discussion and an author's view that not only has the Republican Party lost its way, but the Democratic Party has as well.

The "new" Democrats are as hung up on expensive trappings, the finest wines, coffees, and boutiques as their Republican counterparts.

during the last election cycle, I didn't decide upon voting for Clinton until my candidate favorite, Bernie Sanders, an Independent and a "socialist", (OOH! there's that scary word again) was rudely removed from the run with a lot of help from Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The point that was made in Minneapolis that afternoon is that it is about damn time that the Dems get back to being the party of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a President who cared about the average American citizen's well being. The last Democrats that really showed that they would look out for us were both assassinated.

Which brings me to the problematic situation here in our own once great Progressive state: Wisconsin. Our present "Governor" has used the same tactics of Donald Trump, continually finding ways to divide and conquer us instead of uniting us.

Before Walker's last attempted recall and then re-election, I was astounded by conversations with total strangers in parking lots who are lower middle class but supported Walker. How could anyone not know that any votes cast for this should be-pariah were votes against their own self interest????

Now we have another chance to rid ourselves of Governor Wanker coming up in the next election cycle. I have long admired Eau Claire's Dana Wachs, even wrote an editorial praising his work in the State Senate at one point. I still appreciate everything that Dana has done and the fact that he is running against Walker.

But here's the deal with me. As an after dinner comic, I have worked a lot of banquets in the past five years at which the keynote speaker was Mike McCabe, an immediately recognizable honest man who talked about "the blue jean nation" that Wisconsin needs.

the last time I heard him speak was at the State Farmers Union Cooperative Convention in Wisconsin Rapids, and once again, he proved himself to be an intelligent, unassuming Wisconsin citizen who has worked tirelessly for his state.

this week I received a mailing with the heading: "McCabe - Principle Over Party" and I want to share it with any of my readers who will take the time to read it:

ITS OFFICIAL.. I'm a candidate for governor.
Wow, when I was growing up on the farm I never thought I'd be saying those words.

Can't say it was my idea. I was drafted. But let me tell you why I allowed myself to be talked into this crazy idea.

Wisconsin is becoming a shadow of its former self. So much of what made Wisconsin special is being dismantled. I'm having an increasingly hard time recognizing it as the place where I grew up. Never in my lifetime have I seen our government less responsive to regular people. Never have I seen our public institutions so disrespected and distrusted. Never have I seen both major parties this fouled up. Never have I seen the political establishment so corrupted and out of touch.

I am running for governor for one reason and one reason only. To do everything I can to get our government working for all of us and not just a privileged few.

Party insiders and those currently calling the shots at the Capitol are quick to say I lack what they consider the proper credentials to run for governor. It's true, I am not a professional politician or career office holder. That's something I have in common with over 5 million other people in this state. I don't belong to any political party. That's another thing I have in common with almost everyone in Wisconsin. When you think about how badly all those experienced politicians and party leaders have messed things up, it's clear that people like you and me need to take matters into our own hands.

So I'm running for governor. I need your help. I can't do this alone.

When you run for office the first thing you're told is you have to spend four or five hours a day, every day, asking rich people for money. No! That's exactly what got us into the mess we're in.

I am doing it differently. I'm going to rely on small donations from regular people. And I'm going to spend 8, 10, 12 hours a day raising a citizen army. Our campaign is going to be headquartered in living rooms and kitchen tables all across the state.

State law allows candidates for governor in Wisconsin to take $20,000 checks from individuals and $86,000 donations from political action committees. But here's the thing. You and I know those huge donations that flow so freely in our elections amount to legal bribes. I cannot in good conscience accept them.

Our campaign will be people-powered and crowd-funded.. I won't take a single contribution over $200. Supporters will be allowed to give more than once but no more than a total of $1,000.

Yes, there is risk involved in taking this stand against the influence of big money. but there is an even greater risk if everyone is going along with the corrupt way election campaigns are regularly being funded. If big money rules again in the next election for governor, some candidate will win. But the people will lose. You will lose.

If big money rules again, we'll all continue to be stuck with elected representatives who don't really represent us. Our own elected representatives won't be free to lead and act according to our interests. They'll have no choice but to scratch the backs of those who scratched theirs. Our government will continue to be controlled by the wealthy and well-connected.

Breaking free of this trap involves risk. It requires faith and the courage of conviction. We can do this.
with heartfelt thanks,

Mike McCabe
GovernorBlueJeans.com

I am sending my funding to Mike McCabe. I feel that we need Dana Wachs in the state governing body to help this man, as Dana has done so faithfully these years.

BE CAREFUL WHEN VENTURING INTO CYBERSPACE. IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE!

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 17:01:00 +0000

It was on Friday, September 15, that I suddenly became aware that cyber-thieves, scammers, hucksters, are not all in Nigeria and in addition, they are getting more sophisticated in their approach. I had driven down to Mondovi, Wisconsin, to play for the residents at The Home Place of Mondovi in mid morning. I was double gigging that day, but the second gig was at the Home Place of Durand, Wisconsin, and not until 6PM. So I returned home for two reasons: I had the time; I was having some sort of electronic problems with my amplifier.

While I was back at my office, I was also at the computer when I got a message through "Messenger" from whom I thought was a friend, Jim Smith, a fellow guitar player who quite often sends me videos of guitarists, so I didn't find it unusual. However, this time he sent, instead, a message asking if I had looked into getting that federal grant that he had told me about over a year ago.

Not wanting to appear to be completely ignorant, I wrote back, apologizing for not recalling that conversation, which, unfortunately, opened the door to my "friend" Jim, who wrote back to tell me that he had requested a federal grant several years ago to help him as a writer and to pay off debts, and surprisingly was eligible and did receive aa $90,000 grant from the federal government. He suggested that I do the same.

At this point, I had no idea that the real Jim Smith's Facebook account had been hacked and that I was not really communicating with the Jim that I know, but instead to a criminal hacker. So I asked "Jim" who I needed to contact and he told me that her name is Mary Habberfield, the person on charge of grant disbursements.

"Jim" then forwarded a link to her Facebook page, which I clicked on and up popped her home page, complete with photo and resume. No sooner had I gotten this up on my screen when "Mary" asked: "Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?" So I explained that my friend Jim Smith had told me to contact her about a federal grant. She asked what I would be using the money for and I honestly told her I would be using it by applying the money to the Arts, reproducing my first album onto CD disc and any money left over would be used to help publish an autobiography I was compiling on my travels.

She said that I would first have to provide some basic information to see if I would be eligible and forwarded me the following questions: Full Name, Full Address, Telephone number, Married or Single,, House or Apartment, and if house, how much owed. She did not ask for my Social Security number, which made it more believable.

I submitted, she wrote back in a surprisingly short amount of time saying that she would have to enter my information into the system to see if I was eligible, and for how much. Within the hour, she wrote again, saying I was eligible for a federal grant of $150,000. Well, that didn't sit very well with me at all. That is a hell of a lot of money for the small amount of time she supposedly spent checking me out.

So before I answered, I messaged "Jim" again, telling him the large amount and that it sounded fishy to me. "Jim" assured me that it was on the up and up and how pleased he was that I was doing this and how surprised he was that I was able to get such a large grant, but good for me!

So, still thinking that I was talking to my true friend, Jim Smith, I recontacted "Mary" and asked what the steps would be. The more she told me, however, the more skeptical I became. First . . . questions: "What are your assets?" "How much in savings? "How good is your credit rating and do you have a credit card?" Boing! Up goes the first red flag.

"Why do you need this information?"

Then this: "Well, in order to fully process your grant for $150,000, you must first pay earnest money upfront to cover all inter-departmental paperwork, final approval, and express shipping of the check. That amount will be ten per cent of the total, ($1500) of which you can send the first $50 of earnest money to a Mrs. Rodgriquez, ( she then gave me a box number address) in Houston, TX with a money gram you can purchase through your local Walmart. Then Monday you can use your credit card to pay the rest."

Now I am really certain this is a scam but can't believe that a friend of mine would actually set me up for this! So I message "Jim" again, saying please call me immediately, as I am becoming very suspicious about this grant thing.

I get an immediate response: "I can't. I am in a meeting right now. But if there are problems, just keep messaging me and I will help you through it." "No", I say, "I need to actually talk to you in person. When is your meeting over?"

"Can't tell how long it will take"

"Well, can you meet me in person right after the meeting?"

"No, I already have plans."

I then write: "Please send me your phone number so that I can call you at a designated time."

Then he writes back: "I don't understand why you are having trouble understanding that this is legit. But then, again, when I applied, I was skeptical, too, and when the check was delivered, I couldn't believe it! Larry, take it from me, as your friend. You have nothing to lose."

I write back, knowing this next question will really throw him: "What does Joyce think about this?" (Joyce is Jim's wife). There is a long pause and then he totally disregards my question and says: "Look, Larry. I can't meet with you today as I am in Pennsylvania with investors."

Busted! Two reasons: the real Jim Smith was in a very serious auto accident several years back and does not work. There is no way he would be in Pennsylvania on a Friday afternoon "with investors".

"Okay, Jim . . . if I can't talk to you first I am bailing on this because it's a scam."

"you would be making a big mistake, Larry."

"Well call me then, and let's talk about it."

"As I told you, I am in a meeting. I will try to call you later if I get out in time. Why are you in such a hurry about this?"

End of conversation. I go to the house to get dressed for my second gig and my phone rings. It's a Pennsylvania number. I cautiously tap the phone on, but say nothing. What comes through is about 10 seconds of garbled sound, then a voice says "Can you hear me?"

I am already aware of this scam. A voice asks if you can hear it and if you say yes, it is recorded and then they use your voice to agree to whatever they want to bilk you out of. So I hang up.

Then I get a text: "You asked me to call. Why did you hang up?" I write back: Because I am on to you, Scumbag! You are an internet criminal and think you can take advantage of me because I am older. So fuck off!!!

Now its time to deal with his partner in crime, the "grant distributor", "Mary Hadderfield. I email her and tell her that I am aware of what she and partner are doing and to leave me alone.

She quickly writes back (even though it would now be after office hours if it were really a government office): I don't understand what you are talking about.

She then sends the resume again and at the end tells me she is quite hurt by my accusations. I give her the same good bye as I gave her partner.

So, if you think you are visiting with someone you know via your computer, remember this, and be careful, please!

I AM ONE OF THE MILLIONS IN THE OPIOD EPIDEMIC

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 12:41:00 +0000

I am not even certain of the time line, but feel it important to share this. Almost ten years ago I was involved in a serious motorcycle accident which shattered my lower right leg in multiple places.

Two operations later, I was still in a great deal of pain and consulted with my physician several times, finally asking if there was some sort of pain relief that could be administered. The doctor mentioned Fentanyl but was hesitant to prescribe it as was just being marketed and might be very addictive.

Ultimately, I accept responsibility for finally talking the physician into allowing me to use duragesic Fentanyl patches to control the constant pain. I am in no way accusing anyone but myself. I used the patches, changing to a new one every three days for over nine years.

Within the last year, my use became more of a hassle, as I had decided, with a new physician, that I would start weaning myself from the drug, so the first step was to go from 75mg to 50mg patches. For some unknown reason, at least to my way of thinking, this caused all kinds of problems with my insurance coverage, and in addition to not being able to get refills with any regular schedule, the price of the patches increased substantially.

When the artist known as Prince died of an overdose of drugs, one being Fentanyl, I made my decision that I wanted out. Not realizing that the drug is considered to be 100 times stronger than heroin, and even though my doctor had told me that the withdrawal would be as long, slow process, I thought I could go "cold turkey". The date that I began my long journey back to normality is etched in my mind forever: April 11, 2017.

When the effects of not using the patches regularly struck me four days into the process, I went to a horrible place of pain that I have never experienced before. I ended up in the emergency ward, not once, but twice during the first month.

I was given Tramadol, which is also an opiod, but of a much weaker strength. The entire month of April is mostly a blur, although I do remember small rallies from time to time. I found that driving my car was out of the question, as I attempted it once early in May and it scared me so badly to be in traffic behind the wheel of what seemed to me to be this huge vehicle, that I didn't start driving again until months later.

It took a little over a month to get the drug out of my system and in that period I lost 22 pounds. I knew I was finally through the initial phase when the reduced dosage of one half a Tramadol made me instantly sick.

Once I was at that point, food tasted better than it ever had. I had always been a craver of sweets after a meal, but at this point anything with sugar I found to be totally unappetizing. There was a short period of feeling like I was going to be through with the hell.

Then the next phase began in earnest. I would have a day or two when I felt that I was operating at 60 to 75% full health, then I would suddenly plunge into two weeks of exactly the same symptoms I went through in the original withdrawal. I found I was battling on two fronts: the purely physical and in addition, the mental.

I came to realize that stress was my biggest enemy and also if I tried to do too much on any given day, I would suffer for it. It is very difficult for me personally to not stress out, so there were many days when I was certain that I still had not gotten "clean" of the drug itself.

I began to do extensive reading on the subject of "PAWS" . . . Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, and the facts that I found were another set back. At first the articles that I read led me to believe that within a few months the back and forth between feeling pretty normal to once again descending into the hell of pain would ease up, but the more I read the more I began to realize that the longer a person had used, the longer it would take to break through entirely. In my case, because I had used so long, I was led to believe that it could take up to three years before my life would return to normal, and in some cases, people find that even when they might feel good for months at a time, they will inevitably have recurring episodes.

I began seeing a behavioral therapist as often as I could and quickly learned just how many of us are really in deep trouble as my appointments were at least a month apart. I cannot say enough good things about the young woman to whom I was assigned. I could tell that she really cared about my well being and was a very good communicator.

Another aspect of recovery that I found very alarming is that at times, for no apparent reason, everything and everyone would make me lash out in unsubstantiated anger and my wife, Kim, who is my true shelter in the storm of life, would suddenly be confronted by this unruly, continually upset man who would say things that even he couldn't believe he was saying. I am now in my sixth month of recovery and for the first time, the "up" days are beginning to outnumber the "down" days and there is a direct correlation to the amount of stress and the amount of overextending myself that will put me in the "down" days. My personality is such that all of my life I have been going 90 miles an hour
or near nonfunctioning at all, so it is a continual challenge to find my parameters, to know when to say yes, when to say no.

I am back to performing my music again, which has always been great therapy for my soul, and to supplement my meager Social Security checks, I am a "car jockey" for the regional Toyota dealership, driving a new vehicle of a wanted color or style to a different dealership, and then returning in a vehicle that is needed at the regional dealership.

There are times when I still have difficulty with self-loathing issues, when I turn the anger on myself, but I have an amazing life partner who helps me immeasurably at those times. I know that I am far from being totally "out of the woods", but my life is better than ever before and I feel that this experience has made me into a better person.

I can tell you this with complete certainty. I will never use an addictive pharmaceutical again I read and hear of people who were users, got clean, then returned to using; to me, that is total insanity. I don't ever want to go through what I have gone through and am still recovering from, ever again. I wouldn't wish that descent into Hell on anyone.

At a point in my recovery when I thought I would never make it, our dear friend Sarah gave me a card that is still displayed prominently where I can see it every morning: It simply says: "When you are going through hell, keep going." I shall.

_________________________________________________________________________

PLAYING FOR AND DEALING WITH AGE

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 20:15:00 +0000

Last week I worked several gigs at area nursing homes. At all of them, I arrived so early that the directors of each thought that either they or I had made a time mistake. This brought back memories of when I was a younger man, in my fifties, and working conventions and banquets quite regularly.

I shall never forget the day I was to entertain a luncheon of senior citizens at what was then known as The Hoffman House in East Claire, Wisconsin Having worked "senior banquets" before, I knew that they always arrived way too early. I supposed the reason being that it must have been that this luncheon was all they were doing that day. So I decided, since they were to begin at noon, I would get there extra early at 10:30 in the morning to insure that I would have a clear path to bring in my sound gear and get set up before the hall outside the dining room became jammed with hungry people.

When I arrived, I was astounded to find the hall already jammed full of people! I went out to my van and brought the first load in, constantly having to say excuse me to even get them to step out of the way at least a bit. That was when I found out that the doors to the banquet hall had not been unlocked!

So I took my speakers in hand again, and put them back in the van, excusing myself yet again, as the seniors parted like the Red Sea and then closed behind me just as quickly.

I came back and and reconnoitered the entire outside of the banquet hall and way off to one side found an unlocked door.

About the time I was through bringing all my gear inside and was beginning to set up, the crowd suddenly came rushing in like a raging stampede. They had found the door that I had used! At the time, none of the wait staff was in the room. they had just finished putting out the salads at each plate and had returned to the kitchen.

The diners all sat down and commenced to eat their salads! It was at that point that the wait staff returned, mouths agape. The one nearest the stage was very upset. She looked up at me and asked: "Who let these people in here???"

"I don't know", was my reply. Well, it wasn't really a lie. I didn't "let them in", they just came in on their own, uninvited!

Now I have to laugh at myself because I have turned into a geezer who arrives way too early. Well, I would rather be way too early and have time to set up at a leisurely pace, than have the stress of rushing around, trying to make certain everything was operational.

__________________________________________

I have been frustrated for a long time, not having written any song lyrics that I considered valuable enough to keep. but September 1, 2017, my muse finally struck! As one ages, it becomes more and more difficult to actually look at what is supposedly your image in the mirror. What the Hell happened???

that's how I arrived at the inspiration for these lyrics:

"My Mirror Broke Down" lyrics, music written by Larry Heagle, copyrighted, September 1, 2017

Ma gave me that mirror when I was ten
Thought I'd look great ever since then
But my mirror broke down, yes, my mirror broke down
My mirror broke down, It just don't work for me

That mirror looked good when I was sixteen
The girls all smiled, if you know what I mean
But my mirror broke down . . .

It worked really well at twenty one
My, my, my, the gals sure were fun
But my mirror broke down . . .

When I looked in it at forty two
It made me look fat, nothing I could do
Cuz my mirror broke down . . .

At fifty five the glass was looking bad
It showed wrinkles that I never had
Cuz my mirror broke down . .

It got even worse at sixty six
So I took it to the glass man to get it fixed
Cuz my mirror broke down . . .

He checked it out and just shook his head
said there ain't nothing wrong, it's all in your head
But my mirror broke down . . .

So I gave it to a young man of twenty three
That fickle mirror'd been playin' with me
That mirror broke down
Yes that mirror broke down
that mirror broke down
But only when it looked at me.

How Very Fortunate I Am

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 16:55:00 +0000

This morning, although not often enough, I want to express just how fortunate a life I have lived. I have been lucky enough to have taught hundreds of 8th and 9th Graders for over a decade before moving on to a more or less full time career as a traveling entertainer.
I have made some fast friendships with some of those now more than mature people and even still, while playing locally at area nursing homes and other senior facilities, I meet up with former students who happen to be visiting a parent while I am there.

When I realized in 1976 that I had lost my original enthusiasm for teaching, I also knew that I refused to be one of those teachers who, although, "burned out", continued on for as long as necessary to draw a good retirement.

I have always loved performing both music and comedy for people as I find it extremely rewarding and feel that over the years I have honed my craft enough that even though I am now on the down side of my 70's, I still have something to offer.

I cherish the opportunities that have been afforded me by my wonderful wife and partner, Kim Wilson, who works many hours to keep me booked into various senior centers as it is not only still very rewarding to me, but it is also a way for me to express my thanks to the Chippewa Valley and beyond for allowing me to spend time with all the people I have been accepted by and taken from over the past thirty some years.

when people ask me why I am playing at senior centers, I kiddingly tell them that I am just following my fans, rather than having them attempt to follow me.

I have also been very blessed to have had opportunities to open for some of the biggest names in the music industry, but two stand out best in my memory. The first opportunity I had to be an opening act for someone was for Emmy Lou Harris at the UWEC Field House, lo, those many years ago.

As I said, it was my first, and wouldn't you know, I committed a faux pas that I learned from immediately. My half hour warm up went well. The crowd kept applauding and wanting me to do more; a cardinal sin for an opening act! But I was an ignorant small town guy who didn't know that rule and went back on and did one more novelty tune.

As I went back through the darkness behind the stage, who should I come face to face with, but Emmy Lou! She, being a really classy lady as well as a class act, extended her hand and said: "Thank you. You did very well. The audience really enjoyed you." She could have and most others would have, rebuked me for what I had done.

I recently saw her on The Big Interview with Dan Rather and was struck by how similar her attitudes toward life are with my own. I love her to this day and always will.

Some years ago, (when you get to my age, everything is some years ago), I received a telephone call from Perla Batalla's Midwest booking agent, Andrea Hansen, who explained that she was good friends with a mutual friend, Dr. Judy Sims, of UWEC, and had asked her if she knew anyone that she could consider using as an opening act for Perla, as an Eau Claire stop would fill a gap between performances, and, thankfully, Dr. Sims recommended me.

Perla was performing at The Stone's Throw and would be arriving by rented car with her backup duo nmusicians, around 3 PM, so I wanted to be sure to meet her and do a sound check.

As soon as I met Perla, I was immediately struck by her warmth and openness. I remember her remarking, having just flown in from California, how, on the trip over from Minneapolis, she was just really taken with how green and beautiful western Wisconsin is.

Knowing from my own experience as a road performer, just how monotonous staying in hotels night after night is, I took a chance and asked Perla and Andrea if they would be interested in staying out in the country at my "office" bungalow, as I would love to make them one of my home made pizzas after the show, and they graciously accepted my offer.

Perla's performance, was stunning. It only convinced me further that she was a very warm and open person, not in the least haughty, as many can be. After watching her perform, we came out here in separate vehicles, I think, but this is hazy; Think that I left a bit early to get the pizza stone heated and to get started with the dough for a pizza Margherita.

It was a very special evening for me and after saying good night, I asked what time they would like to be up and that I would make them Popovers for breakfast. Imagine my dismay when months later, when I found out that Perla's husband, Claud Mann, is a world class chef, who at one time hosted the TBS program "Thursday Night: Dinner and a Movie", on which he prepared fascinating recipes during the running of a film. I was a big fan! Had I known, I would never have had the cojones to suggest baking for Perla! (I also found out at her concert at Cedar Avenue Cultural Ccenter that her mother is an incredible cook.)

That was the last I saw of her in person, but she has kept in touch with me both in e mails and she sends me her newest CD's, autographed. During our correspondence I would continually ask when she would be returning to Wisconsin and at one point was negotiating with Big Top Chataqua, but that fell through.

I made certain I was own her mailing list and watched closely for an appearance any where near us. When she released her CD saluting the music of Leonard Cohen, with whom she traveled the world over as one of two back up singers, she again, sent me copy, which I played over and over. I was really taken by "Bird On a Wire" which every time I listened to her sing it, gave me goose bumps.

She let me know that she was appearing with Leonard on The David Letterman Show, and although, most of the time, understandably, the cameras were focused on Mr. Cohen, I did get glimpses of Perla.

Then early this past September I found out that she was scheduled to perform at the Cedar Cultural Center, Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, and I immediately ordered tickets on line, the kind that you print out so you have a hard copy immediately. Kim, at the time, was in New York City with her sister, Kristi, and our two good friends, Wes McClain and Bill Peisert, taking in Broadway shows, including Kim's all time favorite, Bette Midler, in Hello, Dolly.

The week before Perla's October 5th performance, I went searching the net for a very good Jewish Deli where we could celebrate Leonard Cohen's heritage, but could find nothing close by. So I decided we would try LaFresca, an upscale "Mexican" restaurant whose chef, trained in South American cuisine, as well as French cooking in Paris, and served dishes combining the two cuisines, celebrating Perla's Chicana heritage instead.

we left early so that we could have a leisurely dinner before the 7:30 performance. It wasn't until just after eating a fantastic dinner, while Kim had left for the ladies room, that I suddenly thought about whether we had remembered to bring the tickets!

Kim returned to the table and could tell something was on my mind. I said: "I'm afraid to ask you this: Did you remember the tickets, because I didn't until just now!" Her answer: "What tickets?" Just after she got back from NYC, still burdened with unpacking, etc, we talked about where to put the printouts so that they would be safe and we would remember where they were.

But neither of us did! Senior moment? So we fretted our way to the Cedar Cultural Center, making wrong turns most of the way, fighting parking lot ticket machines, but still managed to be inside by 7:20PM.

I explained to the lady at the ticket table that we had bought tickets online but forgot them. she asked whose name they were under, pulled out a spread sheet, went looking for the "H" section, and said: "Yes, here you are. two tickets purchased back in September." Sighs of relief.

Perla was magnificent, as usual, accompanied by her pianist, Michael Sobie, a very talented musician as well as an occasional harmony voice. What made the entire evening more special was that she took the time between songs to fully explain how and when Leonard had written them.

I was, of course, holding my breath, waiting for "Bird on a Wire" and when she told the audience how she came to first perform it on her own, it became very clear to me why I had considered the song so very outstanding to me.

Leonard was throwing a party and asked her to sing it at the party. Perla immediately rejected the idea as she has so much respect for his works and didn't think she would do it justice. But Leonard insisted that she at least give it some thought.

So a week or so before the party, she decided, just for Leonard, to give it a try, with her husband, Claud, accompanying on guitar.

Perla told us that after a week's practice she realized that she CAN sing it! She told Claud: "You know, I feel like I own this song." Claud's reply: "No, Perla, that song owns you." She sang it and brought tears to this old man's eyes.

It was an evening that no description I would provide would do justice. Kim and I talked about it much of the way home and still the next day.

If you would like to hear her perform, please call the Cedar Avenue Cultural Center, Minneapolis @ (612) 338-2674. Perla told me that if enough people call and ask when she will be returning, the possibility will be much more likely.

RAPE WISCONSIN . . . ELECT SCOTT WALKER

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 14:32:00 +0000

I haven't blogged in quite some time; truth be told, state and national politics have driven me into a deep depression. Only the correct medications have helped keep me from ending it all.

I truly do not understand what is happening to my once progressive state. How could so many of my fellow Wisconsinites be taken in by a man who is easily the most egotistical,self-serving demagogue to ever come down the pike???

From the get go, Walker made it very clear ON TAPE, TELEVISED, speaking with his billionaire donor, Diane Hendricks of Rock County ABC supply, with this telling conversation:

Hendricks:
“Any chance we’ll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions and become a right-to-work state? What can we do to help you?”

Walker replied: “Well, we’re going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is we’re going to deal with collection bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.”

Yesterday I received an e mail from my old friend, Dr. Ron Keezer, musician and etcher extraordinaire and the article he sent really NAILED IT:

Citizen Dave: Scott Walker and the politics of resentment

Credit:David Michael Miller

If Scott Walker were in governor's school he'd be earning an "F."
Let's look at the record.
He promised he'd create 250,000 private-sector jobs in his first four years. Less than half that number were actually created, and Wisconsin underperformed most Midwest states as well as the national average.
He promised he'd balance the budget. He produced a projected $2 billion deficit for the 2015-17 biennium.
Failing at his employment goals, last year he touted an $800 million tax cut as the way to create jobs. Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton didn't follow Walker's standard ALEC policy playbook. The result? Unemployment in Minnesota is 3.7%, while the unemployment rate in Scott Walker's "open for business" Wisconsin is 5.2%.
And while Wisconsin legislators struggle with that $2 billion deficit, liberal Gov. Dayton's Minnesota just can't agree on what to do with their almost $2 billion surplus.
Walker's refusal of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act will cost our state $345 million over the next two years and result in 81,000 fewer Wisconsinites being covered. That's right, we're paying more to cover fewer people.
He turned back $810 million, again of our own federal taxes, that would have gone to a high-speed rail system knitting together Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison. That system would have been up and running now for over a year if he hadn't narrowly won election in 2010.
So just between Medicaid and rail alone, Walker has turned his back on over $1.1 billion in federal resources that will just be spent in some other state. Did I mention he's running a $2 billion deficit?
In any school he'd be failing. In any private company he would have been fired a long time ago. If he were a city manager he'd be sued for malfeasance in office.
So, how did this guy who the record shows is incompetent or reckless or both, get elected to begin with, become the only governor in American history to ever survive a recall, and then win reelection to a second term, all in the space of four years?
Answer: He knows how to play on people's resentments.
Let's start with high-speed rail. Walker was actually open to the idea early on in the 2010 Republican primary. But when one of his opponents went hard against it, Walker responded immediately with absolute statements saying that he would turn down the federal money. It became a significant wedge issue, playing on resentment of Milwaukee and Madison in the rest of the state.
Act 10 was all about playing on resentment toward local teachers and "Madison" bureaucrats (but really state and municipal workers all over Wisconsin) in the wake of the Great Recession. Rather than trying to put in place policies that would build up private-sector workers' pay and benefits to equal or exceed their public-sector colleagues, Walker sought to drum up hard feelings between private- and public-sector workers, who should have been on the same side.
The Medicaid refusal is all about capitalizing on resentment of working-class whites against working-class African Americans. Medicaid is often heard as code for black and urban.
Walker's attacks on the UW and the Wisconsin Idea are intended to highlight the differences between those with university degrees and most Wisconsinites, who don't have one, at the expense of all the economic development that comes with a strong higher education system and a better-educated workforce.
And last year's senseless tax cut was mostly about keeping government in a constant state of fiscal crisis so that cutting programs will always be on the table. Walker doesn't want fiscal stability. He wants to gut government. In this way he plays on the resentment of the very idea of government.
So, Walker seeks to divide rural against urban Wisconsin, better-educated Wisconsinites versus blue-collar workers, private-sector employees versus those in the public sector, white Wisconsinites against their black fellow citizens.
My point is that if you want to look for the secret to Scott Walker's success, don't look to the higher human values of the common good. Instead, examine the politics of "divide and conquer." Walker succeeds by employing a remarkable and laser-like focus on exploiting and inflaming human resentments.
This is not the kind of man to be leading Wisconsin, or Wauwatosa for that matter, or any private company or, God help us, the United States of America.

**************************

NAILED IT!

The problem with my fellow citizens is not that difficult to discern. Nobody READS anymore. We have become a state of half-wits who don't really give a shit what is going on around them as long as they can watch FAUX News, (which they actually believe is really news!), and get the latest "smart phone" to stick in their ear.

Want to make you Sunday a real Funday? Read this article on our beloved governor's favorite masturbator:

http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2012/05/16/walkers-billionaire-divide-and-conquer-backer-diane-hendricks-isnt-paying-state-corporate-taxes/

If this doesn't piss you off, then you are absolutely getting what you deserve: LESS AND LESS OF EVERYTHING.

I MAY BE SEVENTY THREE YEARS OLD, BUT I AIN'T DEAD YET!

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:36:00 +0000

AS I grow older, I begin to realize that some activities are in the rear view mirror; my sex life for instance. (Oh my God, he's gonna talk about it!) Well, actually, I'm going to talk about the lack of it. First off, don't misunderstand. My wife is an absolutely perfect mate. None of the cessation of sex in my marriage has anything to do with her.

Let's face it. At 73 years of age, and rapidly approaching 74, things don't work like they used to. As someone once said "Making love to a 73 year old is like trying to shoot pool with a rope. And the more I think about Viagara and all those other "helpers" all I can think of is how very ugly a seventy three year old man must look with a raging erection.

Then there's the sleeping disorder that I have. I didn't know that I had one for years, but I finally went in for the overnight sleep test. When morning finally arrived, I got together with the nurse who had administered the test. She told me that I really have a sleep problem called apnea.

Apnea is when, for no apparent reason, I just stop breathing. She told me at one point she almost came into my room to jolt me awake because I had stopped breathing for nearly a minute.

So now every night after ablutions, I have to put my teeth guard in (TMJ), and then strap on my mask, replete with machine and long coiled hose. Anybody want to make love to the alien?

So now, I think about sex. If ever some guy tells you that he doesn't, no matter how old he is, he is bull shitting you. The other day, while driving for Markquart Toyota, I was thinking about various things when suddenly the following "movie" began running in my head.

I believe it was in the year 1972 while I was still struggling with my first marriage. I received a telephone call from one of Eau Claire's long standing grocery store owners. I had already been hired to do a 45 minute set of comedy for the retail grocers of Eau Claire, and I assumed that this is what he wanted to talk to me about. Turns out, I was wrong.

He explained that in addition to my show, they had hired an "exotic dancer" and that she lived out in my neck of the woods, near Elk Lake, so would I be willing to pick her up before coming into town to set up for the show and to escort her back home afterwards. Truth be told, it wasn't the fact that I lived near her that prompted the call . . it was more of a "I can't be seen with an exotic dancer" type reason.

Well, another truth to be told, I kind of looked forward to being her escort as this would probably be a once in a life time opportunity, which now that I think back on it . . it was. He gave me the address and the telephone number and asked me to contact her, which I did.

On the designated evening, I left the house and drove to her address. I didn't even have to get out of the car. She appeared, locked her door, and made her way around to the passenger side. I am not going to lie. She was a beauty. Short woman, raven black hair, which she had up, wore up in a bun, and of all things, she was wearing a business suit. I am talking the three piece with a neatly tied neck tie. As we drove towards Eau Claire's west side, we chatted.

She told me that she is a college student at UWEC, majoring in business. I told her that she looked good in a suit. She not only looked fabulous, but she smelled great, too; not too much perfume at all, but just a devastating hint. We were immediately comfortable in each other's presence as we had something in common. We were both in "show business".

Cocktail hour went by quickly as she sat next to me at the bar and we continued to talk. I do remember that she pointed out my wedding ring and said, I thought with some disappointment: "You're married".

The grocers meantime had their share of booze on an empty stomach and were close to "roaring". You know, when the volume of conversation keeps getting louder and louder as everyone strains to hear each other.

The supper club waitress summoned them to sit as dinner was served. My new friend and I were not invited to partake, and if I had been, I would have declined as I don't like to perform on an empty stomach. Instead we continued to chat while they ate.

After dinner was finished and the introductions and awards were handed out, it was my turn. I did a really good show and had them banging on the tables. After I finished to strong applause, I read the introduction she had written and given to me and she made her appearance, carrying a boom box containing her music.

I cannot recall the music. Had you asked me that night I couldn't have told you because like all the other men in the room, I was immersed and mesmerized by her. I will tell you right now that she did the best strip tease I have ever witnessed, and I have seen more than a few in thirty some years of being on the road. She did not rush at all, but danced, fully clothed, for quite some time, until I could feel the tension growing between her and her all male audience.

Then she started to undress, very, very slowly, in time to the music. First she unbuttoned her suit coat, removed it; then undid her neck tie, danced over to a table of grocers and, grasping both ends of the tie, looped it over a head and did the"drying off with a towel" move. Next , she reached up and with one smooth motion released a cascade of beautiful long, black hair, all the while pulsing to the music. That is as far as she got when the animal noises began from the audience.

Next she lifted her skirt to reveal silk panties and, oh dear, a garter belt with real nylon stockings! She danced slowly, removing each stocking with delicate hands, then slowly slipped each one off into her hand. Both times she executed the lasso move with the stocking, whirling it overhead and then let it fly into the rapt crowd.

Next she began slowly unbuttoning her blouse, revealing a frilly black brassiere. She removed the blouse entirely and tossed that into the crowd as well. She was working these guys into a hot mass of manliness. She danced with her skirt and bra in place for what seemed like hours, then turned her back, unhooked her bra with one hand (I've always marveled how women can do that) and then turned, covering her breasts with the loose bra for several measures, and then that also went into the crowd. She was really good. She covered her breasts with her hands while she danced and threw her raven mane about.

She finally revealed her pert breasts with (as Detroit rocker Bob Seer so sensually described in "Night Moves"):

She was a black-haired beauty with big dark eyes
And points all her own sitting way up high
Way up firm and high

By now, the dollar bills and fivers were fairly flying in her direction. She danced topless, then removed her skirt. Someone got a hat and retrieved all the bills, filling the hat entirely. She danced furiously in only her panties and then . . . she was all done. This was met with yells of disappointment and "take it off" in unison. But she remained resolute. Even after they emptied the hat and passed it around again, she would not give in to their ardor.

She gathered up her strewn clothing and disappeared into the ladies room. Then she came out and sat back down next to me. Looking straight ahead, all I could say was "incredible . . . absolutely incredible."

Then the grocer who had hired me came over with a handful of cash in one hand and the hat full of cash in the other. He told her that the grocers wanted here to have all the cash for being such a "good girl".

Taking her home was quite different from our trip into town. Neither of us said anything. When I reached her driveway and parked the car, she reached over and shook my hand, thanking me at the same time. Then she did something I was not expecting. She enclosed my hand in both her hands and rubbing my hand gently, she said: "You have really nice hands." She paused, as though waiting for me . . . then she said, "well, good night." and she was gone.

All the way home I could hear her saying "You've got really nice hands." And you know what? I can still hear her voice saying that, clear as a bell, every time she comes to mind.

###

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 28 Sep 2014 13:20:00 +0000

Sorry I haven't kept up with the blogging. Aw, hell. Who am I kidding? I'm not sorry at all! I used to blog all the time . . . almost every day. That was then. This is now. A whole lot of things going on at the same time. Tends to make you shuffle priorities. But I was thinking yesterday while I was battling all the "It's the weekend" idiots on Highway 94,that it's time to write.

Would someone please explain to me why what appears to be most of Minnesota is in exodus at illegal speeds into my home state?

Every car . . . well, that is an exaggeration . . . every other car roaring down the interstate, passing everything except the other vehicles with Illinois plates, was from the "Land of 10,000 Lakes". WTF? Who are these people? Don't they have a home in Minnesota? Their license plates would indicate that they do. Where the hell are they going in Wisconsin?

I drive "professionally" for Markquart Toyota/Scion, taking one car of a particular color to a dealership in a distant city, dabbling in some paper work at the dealership, retrieving a different car of another color, changing over the dealer plate, and then, after a thorough inspection for any bumps, dents, or paint scrapes, a quick inventory to items listed on the window sticker, I then drive the "swapped" vehicle back to Markquart Toyota/Scion.

AMERICA IS ONLY FOR "REAL AMERICANS"

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 17:28:00 +0000

Yesterday my wife came back from running errands with quite a tale to tell. She had stopped at Walgreen's to pick up some prescriptions. she drives a Prius with three stickers and an American flag on the rear bumper: "Obama 2008" "Jeff Smith for Assembly" and "Obama 2012".

As she approached her car, a man in his 60's began shouting at her to remove that American flag sticker because she didn't deserve to have it on her car. He told her that "you liberals are everything that's wrong with this country" and that some day, real Americans would "get rid of all the liberals".

Kim was dumbfounded and didn't say anything as he continued: "Did you ever serve your country in the military?" By then Kim was in her car, started it, backed out and left.

When she got home she was very upset for not having answered the attacks. She said: "I should have told him that I have every reason to be flying the flag on my automobile as the flag represents Americans constitutional right to believe in whatever they want."

"I should have told him that 'no', I didn't serve in the military but my father, my uncle, and my husband all had."
President Obama is in the habit of telling audiences that Republicans are patriotic and love America, but they just have a different idea of how to govern. That is just not true and it is likely the President knows it. If they cared one iota about America, its people, or the electoral process they would swallow their pride and work with the opposition to advance the interests of all Americans. Instead, they met in secret on Inauguration night in 2009 and plotted their revenge on the people by swearing an oath to subvert any attempt by the new President to pull the economy out of the catastrophic recession they created during 8 years of the Bush administration. That was over five years ago and the President’s re-election just enraged them to punish Americans by shutting down the government, wasting taxpayers’ time and money with fabricated scandals, and suing the President for doing his job.

Americans expect the President to display a semblance of comity when dealing with Republicans, but the time for niceties is long past. Although the President is beginning to express his frustration with Republican intransigence in public appearances, he seriously needs to address the nation in prime time and explain exactly why Washington is not attending the needs of the people. While he is at it, the President can spend five minutes disabusing several persistent lies Republicans spew without any pushback. For example, he could tell Americans the KeystoneXL pipeline is an export cash cow for the Kochs and the oil industry and that no oil will stay in America. To his credit, the President did say the pipeline is for exporting Canada’s oil to Europe, but it was buried in a NY Times interview; the people that need to hear about Keystone are not reading the NY Times. There are myriad Republican myths the President can dispel quickly, but it requires him to acknowledge openly that not only are Republicans rank liars, but that their actions, or lack thereof, are driven by their hatred for the people, America, and democracy.

Obviously President Obama is not going to address the nation and call Republicans liars, but he can reasonably posit that it is no coincidence that when Americans elect a Democrat as president, Republicans shut down the government, make drastic cuts to social programs, and go on an impeachment crusade. The American people will make the connection that every despicable act by Republicans over the past five years was driven by vengeance to punish the people for electing a Democrat as President; not, as President Obama says, out of their ideological form of patriotism or love for America. Maybe then the people will finally comprehend, like President Obama surely does, that not only do Republicans hate an African American Democratic President, they hate America, its democracy, and most of all they hate the people.

Boehner Is Suing Obama Because Republicans Refuse To Work… The Republican answer to the President's executive actions to help all Americans is suing him for doing what they refuse to do; work for the general welfare of the people.
Obama Drops A Major Truth Bomb On The GOP: They’re… Things are going from bad to worse for the Republicans as President Obama is openly calling out John Boehner and the GOP for suing because they don't like him.
Republicans Are Disgracing America With Their Talk of… By resorting to threatening to impeach President Obama over his use of executive orders, Republicans are not only humiliating themselves. They are also disgracing the country.
Conservative Calls For Obama’s Impeachment Are A Cover The list of charges conservatives have leveled at the President that they claim are irrefutable impeachable offenses that demonstrate their complaints are a cover for racism and anger over losing.
Obama Slams Republicans For Not Wanting 30 Million Americans In the strongest language that he has ever used, President Obama called out Republicans today for wanting to deny 30 million Americans healthcare.

The incident with my wife speaks correctly to Frank Reich's belief that it has everything to do with "the browning" of America and the terrible panic, knowing that being rich and white will not be enough to carry the day any longer.

I told her that the way she handled it was the best way possible. Anything she would have said would not have made a bit of difference to this man, who obviously has mental issues. I told her that who knows; had she argued, he may have been "carrying concealed" and if she had argued long enough, might have been shot.

This is the state our country is in, unfortunately. The Kochs and their co-conspirators, who decided long ago that they would employ the Goebbels "Divide and Conquer" method, are seeing it come to fruition.

Two weeks ago in Texas, and again in last week’s radio address, the President noted that Republicans were furious that, while they were busy obstructing governance and devising political stunts, the President was doing whatever he could to help Americans. However, the President posed a question that he obviously knew the answer to keep the possibility open that Republicans would abandon their obstructionist ways and join him in working for the people, he stopped short of elucidating what the impetus for Republican intransigence is driven by.

The President said, “The truth is, even with all the actions I’ve taken this year, I’m issuing executive orders at the lowest rate in more than 100 years. So it’s not clear how it is that Republicans didn’t seem to mind when President Bush took more executive actions than I did. Maybe it’s just me they don’t like. I don’t know. Maybe there’s some principle out there that I haven’t discerned, that I haven’t figured out. You hear some of them — ‘sue him,’ ‘impeach him.’ Really? Really? For what? You’re going to sue me for doing my job?” Barack Obama is an intelligent man, and he is well aware of recent American history, and although it is true Republicans do not like the President, there is more at play than just racial animus.

THE VASECTOMY SONG LIVES ON - TEE SHIRT!

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 17:25:00 +0000

I found an online catalogue that I find refreshing as the items for sale fly in the face of convention. I suppose that's why I like it.

Anyway, I immediately sent in my order for this tee shirt as it really reminded me of The Vasectomy Song, which I wrote way back in 1979. I also found out some history of the operation itself.

Did you know it was once illegal to advertise where to get a vasectomy? This shirt was originally designed for the first publicized vasectomy clinic in Chicago (late 1960's). Each customer got a t-shirt. A portion of the sales from each shirt goes to support the great reproduction rights advocate Bill Baird. Bill was once arrested for distributing condoms to unmarried people. Although not an attorney and unable to hire one, he fought two reproductive rights cases in front of the Supreme Court.... and WON!

My song was eventually recorded by The Limeliters, a folk singing trio that I saw in concert as a student at Eau Claire State University. I was a fan of theirs as well as a fan of The Kingston Trio.

Folks might find it interesting to know how it happened that The Limeliters decided to record the song. I had been working in the lounge of the Holiday Inn, downtown Minneapolis, just the week before the trio made an appearance at Orchestra Hall in the city. They apparently saw my advertising that the Holiday Inn displayed on all the elevators, and decided they would like to hear some of my novelty songs.

Alex Hassilev called my house in Eau Claire! He asked if I could send recordings. I told him I would much rather meet with the trio and sing the songs to them in person, as I was a fan. That got me a free pass to the concert, which was a reunion tour with Glenn Yarborough, who had established himself as a single artist with "Baby the Rain Must Fall".

Yarborough was not at the meeting in Hassilev's room. It was Hassilev, bass player, Lou Gottlieb, and a woman who was introduced to me as Tommy Smothers' ex-wife.

I sang The Vasectomy Song and they really responded with enthusiasm. I recall Hassilev telling Gottlieb: "The Kingston Trio would KILL to have this song!" They asked if I would mind if they used it in their shows and might possibly record it at a later date. I said that was fine, but that I wanted credit for the song and if recorded, expected residuals.

So I wrote out the lyrics and then taught them the melody by singing it with them a few times. It was an evening to remember.

They, in fact, used the song in their live shows. I know this for a fact as I accidentally caught a folk concert out of Canada that they were a part of, and they closed with it.

After a year or so, I received a residual check for $75.00. Then nothing. At a much later date, through the diligent work of Elizabeth Fischer, who I dubbed "my marketeer", I received a larger check.

I suppose it probably is time to pursue residuals further. I have seen the song recorded on youtube, also. I am a member of ASCAP, but it really hasn't done me much good.

_____________________________________

The above is not really what I had set out to blog about today. But I suppose my subject matter, our beloved governor, made me think of vasectomies.

Here's the question that has been gnawing at me for the past month with new revelations about "the Man": Excuse me, but could you tell me again just why you are going to vote for Walker this coming November?

Here's what's been going down:

During his first year in office,newly elected Governor Walker replaced the state’s Department of Commerce with the “Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation” (WEDC), a quasi-private entity that would, Wisconsin was told, spur economic development and drive a job creation recovery in the state. Instead WEDC has been plagued with allegations of corruption, cronyism and incompetence – and despite unbending support from Gov. Walker, WEDC has failed to recharge Wisconsin’s economy.

Jenny Dye, of One Wisconsin Now, reported that the lack of appropriate oversight and reporting made the success of WEDC incentives in achieving job retention, job creation and investment goals difficult if not impossible to analyze. A 2013 audit of the agency’s 2011-2012 performance found that only 45 percent of recipients of 59 awards had submitted contractually required reports on their progress toward meeting their contractual terms. The report also stated that some awards were made to ineligible recipients, for ineligible projects, and were given amounts that exceeded program limits. Further, one-third of the 30 WEDC economic development programs did not meet their expected goals.

Gov. Walker, campaigning for office, promised to create 250,000 jobs over the course of his term. Recent jobs figures and independent analyses portend he will fall disastrously short of that goal as Wisconsin remains mired as the second worst state in the Midwest for job creation and in the bottom third of states nationally.
Audits and analyses of the WEDC have found an organization rife with problems. Funds have been spent on things like iTunes gift cards, liquor and tickets for sporting events. Funds that have gone for economic development have not been properly tracked, been given to ineligible recipients and in many cases have been ineffective.
Meanwhile, Gov. Walker’s campaign and the Republican Governors Association have reaped over $2 million in campaign cash from donors, who have in turn received a disproportionate share of public economic development funds.
For the people of Wisconsin, has reality of WEDC matched the rhetoric of Gov. Walker? By any objective measure, the answer is a resounding “no”.

(My thanks to my wife, Kim Wilson, for this information)

In addition:

Walker’s WEDC is in the news again, this time for using taxpayer-funded loans to help Wisconsin companies ship jobs overseas. A WKOW 27 News investigative report found that at least two multinational companies who received millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded loans from the WEDC later laid off Wisconsin workers and moved those jobs to Mexico and other foreign locations. One company even received a second WEDC loan after outsourcing jobs.

Report highlights:

• “In April of 2013, Eaton laid off 163 employees at its Cooper Power Systems plant in Pewaukee and announced it was moving those jobs to Mexico. Less than a year later, WEDC awarded Eaton Corp. with up to $1.36 million in additional tax credits for a proposed $54 million expansion at that same Pewaukee plant.”

• “In July of 2012, Plexus announced it was laying off 116 workers from its Neenah facility…Plexus Corp. did not identify where it relocated those jobs to in 2012, but also has offices and interests in the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Romania, Malaysia and Thailand.”

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (a nonpartisan watchdog group working for clean, open and honest government and reforms that make people matter more than money in politics) found that the companies cited in the investigation for outsourcing jobs to foreign countries gave generously to Gov. Walker’s campaign.

Wisconsin is ready for a transparent jobs agency that lets taxpayers know how their loans are being used to create jobs in-state. Wisconsin is ready for accountability. Wisconsin is ready for job creation. Wisconsin is ready for a new direction with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke.

Tea Partiers will tell me that this is not the truth. Unfortunately, however, this IS the truth. SOME OF US, I GUESS, JUST CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.

VOTING THIS NOVEMBER IMPERATIVE . . . NO MORE "TALK THE TALK"

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 17:32:00 +0000

I am way too old to be as worried as I am about current affairs and the state of the nation as well as the state of the state. But, truth be told, I am not able to disengage. I see the many inequities, the incredibly selfish lust for money of the already wealthy, the war on women that Republicans try to tell me is all in my mind, the out and out criminality of our own governor, and worst of all, with an upcoming November election that I personally feel will be the tipping point in American history as to whether we begin to restore the government to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people", the seemingly flippant attitude that was displayed in the past mid-term elections that gave us a Republican controlled House of Representatives nationally, as well as a Republican controlled State of Wisconsin government that has wreaked havoc on our state's environment.

Allow me to quote directly from Politicus, in an editorial comment by Rmuse:

"Since teabaggers and Fox News seized control of the Republican Party directly after the 2010 elections, there has been a preponderance of petitions decrying everything from the Christian right’s attacks on women and gays to the Supreme Court’s unwavering devotion to corporations and Catholic dogmata. It is true that Americans opposed to losing their democracy to religious and corporate fascism are rightly frustrated, but it is just as frustrating that any American is under the delusion that signing a petition is ever going to achieve or change anything, or prevent America’s slide into a corporate theocracy.

There is an inconvenient truth Americans are going to have to come to grips with even though it is painful; no amount of signatures on a petition equals one vote at the ballot box, one vote in either house of Congress, or will overturn a Supreme Court decision. One wants desperately to believe that Americans understand the gravity of the Supreme Court setting a precedent that, in effect, can abolish legally passed laws and eliminate long-standing protections in the United States Constitution, but sadly that is not the case. If the American people were aware that only through their votes could they affect change, it is possible that a close vote in 2000 would not have given the Supreme Court the opportunity to appoint George W Bush as president who followed his father’s footsteps and installed two hardline religious corporatists on the High Court."

The fact that "liberals" and "progressives" talked the talk in 2010, but did not "walk the walk" is why we are in the shape we are today. Each and every one of us has the right, nay, the obligation to get off our dead asses come November and make certain that we have turned the corner on this terrible regression we find ourselves in today.

It astounds me that Americans have such a short memory of current history . . . I'm speaking of going back no more than 14 years!

Republicans are producing tee shirts crying about how they miss George Bush!

Because the print is so small in the picture, here is the copy accompanying it: "Learning the Wrong Lessons" (Steve Benen)
It's not uncommon to hear Democratic officials complain that Republicans, if given half a chance, would return the country to the failures and disasters of the Bush/Cheney era. In an unexpected twist, the Republican National Committee is helping make the case that Dems are onto something.
The Republican National Committee is celebrating former President George W. Bush's birthday this weekend by selling wistful "I Miss W." t-shirts to its supporters. "President George W. Bush led our nation through some of its most challenging moments of our nation's history - - and we miss him and his leadership," reads a fundraising pitch on the RNC's website. "By sporting this comfortable, classic, American-made tee, you can share our message and help us elect principled conservative leaders to office."
(The shirts available for the low, low price of $27.00)
The larger point, however, isn't that Republicans miss a Republican president. Rather, the significance of the silly t-shirt is appreciating just how little the GOP has changed in recent years, even after party leaders seemed to decide collectively that changes were necessary.

So let me get this straight. We are to miss the guy who:
started two wars
One . . . Iraq . . . in which the whole case for was was built on lies.
Introduced the worst recession in U.S. history; one from which we still have not recovered fully.
Implemented a policy of TORTURE
Implemented a doctrine of WAR . . . BECAUSE WE WANT TO
Implemented a policy of not admitting people to a speech if they disagreed
Ignored previous administration's warnings about terrorist attacks and allowed the attacks on NYC on 9/11
Damaged irreparably the credibility and reputation of the United States of America.

A Facebook friend of mine posted: "the only person that missed G W Bush was the Iraqi that threw his shoes at him."

"Americans, says Bmuse, "have to come to their senses and face a fundamental, and very painful fact; because the Supreme Court and Republicans serve the religious right and corporations, it does not matter one iota what the people want. They can gnash their teeth, sign petitions, and bemoan the fascist elimination of their democracy until the proverbial cows come home, but nothing is going to change and it is all down to not voting; particularly during the 2010 midterm elections. It has gotten to the point that even when Democrats do turnout to vote, Republicans in service to the real leaders in America, the religious right, Wall Street, and Koch-corporate fascists, oppose their chosen representatives as evidenced by obstructing anything President Obama supports. The American people twice elected Barack Obama to lead the nation, but because Republicans do not want him as President, they spent the past five years bringing governance to a veritable standstill and it is due to being inexorably bound to the Christian and corporate prerogative.

In the leadup to elections, there is a mantra espoused ad nauseum that “elections have consequences.” One never hears that petitions have consequences for one simple reason; they do not. It is true that turning out en masse to evict Republicans from Congress will affect change for near future, but those Supreme Court rulings giving the religious right and corporations control over Americans’ lives are here to stay. One imagines a different America if more Democrats turned out to vote in the 2000 general election that would have prevented embroiling Americans in two unfunded and unnecessary wars of aggression, and prevented an out-of-control banking industry from nearly destroying the world’s economy. A few thousand more votes would also have prevented a conservative Supreme Court majority from abolishing the Establishment Clause, voting rights laws, campaign finance laws, and the right to class action lawsuits against predatory corporations.

It is true Americans are frustrated with the path the country is on, but their frustration should be put to use educating, registering, and encouraging other Americans to vote instead of signing useless petitions to overturn High Court decisions. It is too late to even ameliorate the damage conservatives on the Court have imposed on America, and the Constitution, but there is time to stop any further damage Republicans in Congress are planning to unleash on the people whether it is privatizing Medicare and Social Security, or eliminating Medicaid, food stamps, environmental protections, and every other social program the Koch brothers, Wall Street, and religious right want abolished. If Americans should feel anything, it should be desperation because while they are signing petitions, the religious right, Koch brothers, and Wall Street are mobilizing their forces to finish what they began in 2000 and 2010 to get what they want; government beholden to the Christian and corporate prerogative and a quick end to democracy."

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND OUR COUNTRY, PLEASE VOTE THIS NOVEMBER . . . AND TAKE A FRIEND WITH YOU TO THE POLLS!

_______________________________________

BAD THINGS HAPPENING, EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 19:22:00 +0000

While reading the Upworthy story on women being harrassed, I had a flashback to a late night in Eau Claire. I had turned left off Water Street at 5th, wending my way home on the far west side of Eau Claire. It was a warm early summer night, I had my windows down, and as I crossed the intersection of 5th and Niagara, through my open passenger side window, I heard the sounds of an angry male voice and alarming cries of a female. I stopped my van and watched but for a second. When the college age asshole assailant, who was screaming at the young woman, whose arm he had gripped in his left hand, suddenly back-handed her across the face, I opened the driver's side door, stood up on the floor board so as to be able to see over the roof, and shouted at the top of my lungs: "HEY! KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF!" To which the bastard replied "mind your own business, asshole!"

"I am minding my business," I shouted, "and right now, YOU are my business! You should know that I have already called the cops(I lied) and that they will be here any second, so I suggest you let her go!"

And he did. And he decided not to stick around but went running off in the direction of Riverside Park. I then pulled my vehicle to the curb beyond the intersection, climbed out and approached the young woman, who was crying, her face buried in her hands.

"Are you all right?" I asked when I reached her.

"Yes, I'm all right, thank you," she said. But she obviously wasn't. I asked who the guy was and she said he was her boyfriend. I asked if I could give her a ride home, which she first refused. However, I insisted, telling her that I would feel much better escorting her safely to her apartment.

"What if, after I leave, he returns?" I asked. This was enough to convince her to allow me to get her out of there. We didn't speak as I drove the short distance to her apartment address. When she got out of the van, she thanked me again, and left.

I thought about her many times after that evening, wondering if she returned to that abusive relationship. There are two things I will never understand: How a supposed "man" can hit a woman, and secondly, why a woman would ever allow herself to continue to be in that kind of a relationship.

________________________________
This, today, from The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters

It's official. 10,000 acres of Wisconsin's public land is now being sold off to private interests, and it's just the start.

Rather than protecting the places that are so important to us, state leaders voted for the first time ever to require that public lands be sold off. This is the wrong direction for Wisconsin.

This is just the beginning. You can bet that more attacks on Wisconsin's lands are sure to come in the next legislative session. We're committed to fighting every day to restore Wisconsin's nonpartisan legacy on conservation that has sadly been abandoned by leaders in recent years.

That's why Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is working with citizens, like you – to let our legislators know that Wisconsin citizens expect them to protect our land for our families and future generations.

Like you, we grew up camping at state parks, getting our hands and knees dirty in nature, and paddling our state's great lakes and rivers. It's who we are.

Now these special natural places are threatened. Make your donation to Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters today and help us fight back against future attacks on our land.

https://conservationvoters.org/donatetoday/?tdburl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ethedatabank%2Ecom%2Fdpg%2F273%2Fspdf%2Easp%3Fformid%3DDonateLand0717

Bottom line: Once our public lands are sold, they're not coming back. We need to protect land now – for our families and for our children. Wisconsin's public land should remain public.

Thank you for being a conservation voter,

Anne Sayers
Program Director
Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters

_____________________________________________________________________

AND THIS REALLY PISSES ME OFF!!!

There are few things as fundamentally crucial to the existence of human beings and, indeed, all life on Earth as water. It is difficult to believe any human being thinks water is privately-owned, a commodity, to use for profit at the expense of human life, but Americans know there are entities that will go to any lengths to feed their corporate greed. In several states in this country, climate change is wreaking havoc on the people in the form of severe, multi-year droughts. So, with extreme water shortages, what do two industries do with the vanishing precious resource? They either mix it with deadly carcinogens and pump it, under extremely high pressure, back into the ground, often directly over active earthquake faults, or draw it out of the ground, bottle it, and sell it for profit. It is a wealthy corporations’ ideal business model; free raw materials and a product no human being can survive without.

California, like many states primarily in the southwestern United States, is facing one of its most severe droughts on record. The conditions are so severe that in January Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency in preparation for water shortages that are especially dangerous during the summer months. The critically severe drought has entered its third year of a projected decade (at least) long drought, and throughout California water restrictions are having a profound impact on agriculture. In fact, the water shortage is so severe that farmers in some of the most agricultural-rich areas of the country are being forewarned there may be no water within two years at best; that is if the extreme conservation measures work.

However, while the rest of the state is attempting to conserve what little life-sustaining water California has left, the Nestle Company ignores the emergency measures the state adopted because its water bottling plant is conveniently located on a Native American reservation. Like all N.A. reservations, it is considered a sovereign nation by the US government. It is a water-theft enterprise any greedy corporation would lust after because unlike farmers, individual Californians, and every municipality in the state, Nestle is exempt from complying with any water-saving state or federal regulations. To make matters worse, Nestle is depleting what precious water reserves lie deep underground in the aquifer and pumping it directly to its bottling plant and selling it for profit. This is not a new endeavor for Nestle, and their blatant disregard for Californians’ need for basic survival was best expressed by Nestle’s CEO and Chairman.

According to the former CEO and now Chairman of the largest food product manufacturer in the world, Nestle, corporations own every drop of water on the planet, and because he believes water is not a basic human right; if human beings get thirsty, they have to pay or die. It is the ultimate privatization insult to mankind, and worse because Nestle is intent on privatizing water the world over; a natural resource that falls from the sky and seeps into the Earth for man to use for survival. In the case of California, and other regions around the world, what precious little water remains for basic survival is being stolen by a filthy corporation to sell to those who can afford to survive, and they are being assisted by Native Americans claiming to be good stewards of the Earth. Maybe this is Native American vengeance on the white man for invading their sovereign land, massacring them, and sending the survivors to permanent interment camps with high-sounding names like “sovereign nations.” But that is another story altogether; this is about Nestle draining California’s water.

The Nestle Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water bottling plant is located on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians reservation and drains water from a Mojave Desert oasis at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains 85 miles from Los Angeles where just three inches of rain falls each year. Their little enterprise prevents water from seeping downhill to fill aquifers of nearby towns struggling for water during the drought, and prior to 2009, about when the drought began, Nestle submitted annual reports to local water districts detailing how much groundwater they were extracting for profit. Since the drought began, neither Nestle nor the Morongo tribe submitted any forms; likely because it would be bad for business to tell local residents how much of their precious water they are being forced to buy to increase Nestle’s profits.

Nestle already has a history of showing blatant disregard for the human race according to Corporate Watch. The company regularly barges into struggling rural areas and extracts groundwater to sell in bottles “completely destroying the water supply without any compensation,” and in fact “actually makes rural areas in the United States foot the bill.” However, Nestle is not focusing only on Americans’ water as reported by Corporate Watch that has documented Nestle and former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe’s long history of disregarding public health and abusing the environment for profit to the tune of $35 billion annually from water bottle sales alone. Corporate Watch states that “Nestlé production of mineral water involves the abuse of vulnerable water resources. In the Serra da Mantiqueira region of Brazil, home to the “circuit of waters” park whose groundwater has a high mineral content and medicinal properties, over-pumping has resulted in depletion and long-term damage.”

One wonders if when the Morongo Band of Indians runs out of water themselves and is forced to buy water they allowed Nestle to deplete for profits, they will still consider themselves good stewards of the Earth or that Nestle is a “valued partner.” California is home to the largest Nestle water bottling operation near Mount Shasta that is suffering the drought as much as any other part of the state with nearby Shasta Lake unrecognizable as a lake. Still, the piece of human filth, Nestle CEO, condemned non-governmental organizations like the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations for perpetuating the “extremist idea that drinking water is a human right” that should not have a market price to enrich the Nestle corporation.

Although the extreme California drought is just one reason to take action against Nestle, the point is the giant corporation is pillaging a basic necessity for human life all over the world with little opposition and relative impunity. The company touts job creation as validation for draining the water supply dry and selling it back to thirsty Americans, but when they have exhausted the water supply, no amount of jobs or money will sustain life devoid of water. There is no end to the disregard for human life that corporations have made their overriding mission after profit taking, and at least in one California region, there is no possibility of holding a truly vile and inhumane corporation accountable for a crime against humanity; stealing their dwindling water supply and selling it back for profit because they set up shop in a sovereign nation inside drought-stricken California.

__________________________________________________
file this under: WHY WOULD ANYONE VOTE FOR THIS SOB???

Citizen Action of Wisconsin

When Scott Walker forced tens of thousands of people off BadgerCare he promised that there would be no coverage gap and most would transition to the new on-line marketplace.

But Walker refused to release the actual numbers all spring and summer. Even when Senator Tammy Baldwin asked for the numbers Walker did not provide them.

Last week we at Citizen Action of Wisconsin filed an official open records request demanding the numbers, and on Wednesday the Walker Administration finally released them.

We now know why Walker was sitting on the numbers. Shockingly, over 60% of the 63,000 people Walker kicked off BadgerCare were unable to sign up for marketplace coverage!

Because of Scott Walker’s decision to put politics over people’s health, 38,000 Wisconsinites have no access to BadgerCare or to the new on-line marketplace for the rest of 2014.

We won’t give up until we reverse Walker’s decision to turn down up to $1 million dollars a day for BadgerCare.

We need you to give a tax-deductible contribution of $100, $50, $25 or whatever you can afford to help us win real health care access for everyone in Wisconsin.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert Kraig, Executive Director

Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund

P.S. Contributions to Citizen Action’s charitable arm, Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund, are tax deductible.

WALKER - MORE THAN ONE REASON TO "GET OUT OF TOWN"

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 17:00:00 +0000

FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL:
Citing personal safety concerns, Gov. Scott Walker has sharply increased the amount the state is paying to protect him and his family, boosting the budget for his security detail by 239% in his term.

Records show taxpayers spent more than $2.23 million in 2013 for the 10 state troopers who protect Walker and his family, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and dignitaries from other states and countries who visit Wisconsin. That was up from $657,457 paid out by Gov. Jim Doyle on security during his last year in office in 2010.

A large part of the increase in spending on security came as a result of Walker's decision to add five members to the Dignitary Protection Unit, the official name of the security team, in the wake of the 2011 protests over Act 10.

The first-term governor sparked protests around the state with his sweeping plan to curtail collective bargaining for most public employees. Both Walker and Kleefisch were the target of death threats during the frenzied debate over the bill.

"Have you been asleep for the past three years?" Walker said during a stop in New Berlin on Tuesday when pressed about his rising security budget.

But that's not been the only factor driving up security costs. Records show that:

· Taxpayers have paid some $978,000 to provide security for Walker's home in Wauwatosa — a figure that continues to rise sharply even though his two sons are in college and the governor has said he's spending more nights at the Executive Residence in Maple Bluff.

· Spending on items designated "other expenses" has increased by 716% in the past five years, with annual $600 clothing allowances for the security team; $975 bulletproof vests and iPads and iPad accessories for all 10 bodyguards; and a safe and car tinting.

· The number of out-of-state trips for which security has accompanied Walker has increased as his national profile rises and he is increasingly seen as a possible 2016 presidential contender. In 2011, he had state-funded security for 29 trips outside Wisconsin, a number that had risen to 47 by 2013.

_______________________________________

Evidently our beloved governor is "running scared" but if you ask him, he would tell you that because he acted to save money for the tax payers of Wisconsin,(a complete ruse) some people hate him.

I am confounded to find that the governor's race is tied at 47% per candidate. Not only is Walker spending our money like a drunken sailor on shore leave, but the signs of corruption are becoming more evident with each passing day.

There are a lot of other reasons why Walker should not be elected for a second term; take for instance, the voter suppression attempts by his administration and his rubber stamp senate and assembly. Under the guise of discovering and preventing voter fraud, this attempt to keep the poor, the aged, and those who do not have a drivers licenses from the polls, legislation was presented.

And I guess for good reason! WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS HAVE FOUND VOTER FRAUD!!!.

Unfortunately for them, they are the guilty party . . . and parties.

Scott Walker supporter, Robert Monroe, a Shorewood, Wisconsin health insurance executive, was charged with 13 felonies relating to his voting a dozen times in five elections between 2011 and 2012, using his own name as well as that of his son and his girlfriend's son.

Even worse, Monroe voted multiple times in the April 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court race that required a recount.

Then it came to light in the March 6, 2014 issue of the Wisconsin State Journal that Marcie Malszycki, a Repulican legislative aide who worked for Warren Petryk, 93rd Assembly, the man who co-sponsored the voter ID bill, voted improperly for Scott Walker in 2010.

Malszycki pled guilty to election fraud on March 4, 2014, and under a plea agreement, yet another count of election fraud, involving a vote alledgedly cast in the wrong district in 2008 was dismissed.

I wonder how many Wisconsin pick up trucks that proudly display their I STAND WITH SCOTT WALKER bumper stickers do any reading at all and are in the least bit aware of these happenings.

I have even seen SCOTT WALKER FOR PRESIDENT bumper stickers! We live in frightening times,

HEY! RICHARD BRUCE! STFU!

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 17:10:00 +0000

Ever since the emergence of the ISIS in Iraq, and the increasing conflict and further loss of life, there has been one constant voice critical of President Obama's handling of the situation (a situation, by the way) that he was instrument in setting in motion as the "chicken hawk" vice president and "the power behind the throne" during George Dubbya's two terms: Richard Bruce Cheney.

If there is a hell, Cheney shall one day, in my opinion, sit at Lucifer's right hand.

When Cheney published his tome: "In My Times", strangely, there was not a chapter on the Vietnam conflict. As the brilliant writer, John Nichols wrote in Nation Magazine:

Try as readers may, to find the tale of Cheney’s Vietnam service or, to be more precise, his meticulous avoidance of service, they just won’t find that In My Times offers much in the way of revelation about Cheney’s times.

Cheney has always positioned himself as an arch militarist. But when he had a chance to get on the frontlines, he instead chose deferments. A lot of them.

Richard Bruce Cheney was “of age” for service durng the Vietnam conflict. Faced with the chance to engage on the battlefield or the home front, however, he dodged out—not for moral reasons but selfish ones. Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Maraniss, who interviewed Cheney for his book They Marched Into Sunlight, says the vice president just couldn’t be bothered. “I think he’s emblematic of a certain type. He wasn’t against the war, just didn’t want anything to do with it,” explains Maraniss. “He wanted to get on with his life and not let the world get in the way.”

Unfortunately, the world had a tendency to get in the way of young men who, like Cheney, were of draft age when the US troop presence in Vietnam began to rise in the mid-1960s. As a result, there was one sense in which Cheney mirrored the actions, if not the politics, of his fellow students. Dick Cheney was definitely opposed to the draft, at least as far as it affected him. Indeed, unlike George W. Bush, who performed some sort of service—ill-defined and unrecorded as it may have been—in the Texas Air National Guard, Cheney reacted to the prospect of wearing his country’s uniform like a man with a deadly allergy to olive drab. Between 1963 and 1965, Cheney used his student status at Casper College and the University of Wyoming to apply for and receive four 2-S draft deferments. As the war in Vietnam heated up, Cheney fought to defend and expand his deferments. Twenty-two days after Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin resolution in August 1964, raising the prospect of a rapid expansion of the draft, he “coincidentally”—in the words of a Washington Post profile—married longtime girflriend Lynne Vincent. The advantage was that even if his student deferment was lifted, his married status might carry some weight with his draft board.

But the Vietnamese were not cooperating with Cheney’s schemes. The war kept demanding more and more young American men, and the range of those who were eligible for the draft expanded rapidly. On May 19, 1965, Cheney was reclassified with the most dangerous draft status: 1-A, “available for military service.” Soon afterward, Lyndon Johnson announced that draft call-ups would double, and on October 26, Selective Service constraints on the drafting of childless married men were lifted. Danang was calling. And it didn’t look like Dick had any excuses left.

But there was one way for ambitious young men to avoid serving their country while maintaining their political viability. If Cheney had a child, he’d be reclassified 3-A, removing him from the pool of those likely to be drafted. Cheney needed a kid — quick. And he got one. Precisely nine months and two days after the Selective Service eliminated special protections for childless married men, Cheney was no longer childless. His daughter Elizabeth was born on July 28, 1966. Convenient? Coincidence? That’s not Cheney’s style. Writer Timothy Noah did the math and suggested that the timing of Elizabeth’s arrival “would seem to indicate that the Cheneys, though doubtless planning to have children sometime, were seized with an untamable passion the moment Dick Cheney became vulnerable to the Vietnam draft. And acted on it. Carpe diem! Who says government policy can’t affect human behavior?”

Cheney applied for 3-A status immediately, receiving it on January l9, 1966, when Lynne was still in the first trimester of her pregnancy.

Twenty-three years later, when Cheney appeared before the Senate to plead the case for his confirmation as George Herbert Walker Bush’s defense secretary, he was questioned about his failure to serve. Cheney responded that he “would have obviously been happy to serve had I been called.” In a more truthful moment that same year, Cheney admitted to a reporter, “I had other priorities in the ’60s than military service.” Cheney’s lie to the Senate has never caused much concern, but that “other priorities” line has dogged him. After he selected himself to serve on the 2000 Republican ticket, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown, a Vietnam veteran disabled by a gunshot wound to his right arm, said, “As a former Marine who was wounded and nearly lost his life, I personally resent that comment. I resent that he had ‘other priorities,’ when 58,000 people died and over 300,000 returned wounded and disabled. In my mind there is no doubt that because he had ‘other priorities’ someone died or was injured in his place.”

That may sound like a harsh assessment, but the fact is that at least a dozen men aged 19 to 47 from Cheney’s adopted hometown of Casper, Wyoming, died in Vietnam during the period when Cheney might have served. Because local draft boards had to fill quotas when a man who was eligible got a deferment, someone else had to fill the slot. The vagaries of draft quotas, military service and the war itself make it impossible to say whether Leroy Robert Cardenas or Walter Elmer Handy or Douglas Tyrone Patrick or any of the other sons of Casper who perished in Southeast Asia might have survived the war years and gone on to explore their “other priorities” if Cheney had responded to his country’s call. But that doesn’t stop some of those who served from asking, “Who died in your place, Dick Cheney?”

When Cheney served as vice president, Vietnam veteran Dennis Mansker raised that question on a website, where he maintained a list of the dead from Casper. Maybe Cheney did have other priorities, Mansker argues, but “so did these guys.”
_________________________________

No wonder, then, that there are increasing cries for Cheney to shut the fuck up!

JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, SMART NOT COURAGEOUS (just ask him)

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:33:00 +0000

The first time I was keenly aware of Antonin Scalia was when George W. Bush was handed the 2000 election by Scalia and his cronies. Scalia made no apologies to the accusation that his role in the case of Bush v. Gore conferred the election on Bush, telling critics "it was the right thing to do".

He also confounded many Court observers with his recusal record. Scalia, who portends to adhere to the judicial philosophy of "originalism", which holds that the Constitution is to be interpreted in terms of what it meant to those who ratified it over two centuries ago ( in direct conflict with the more commonly held view that the Constitution is as "living document" allowing courts to take into account the views of contemporary society) recused himself from cases that should have interested him, such as the Pledge of Allegiance case of Elk Grove v. Newdow but refused to recuse himself when there was a suspected conflict of interest in the case of Cheney v. US District Court for DC even though he had a close personal relationship with the then-Vice-President Dick Cheney.

From the press:

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spent part of last week duck hunting together in a private camp in southern Louisiana just three weeks after the court agreed to take up the vice president's appeal in lawsuits over his handling of the administration's energy task force.

While Scalia and Cheney are avid hunters and long time friends, several experts in legal ethics questioned the timing of their trip and it raised doubts about Scalia's ability to judge the case impartially.

In a startling and unconvincing statement, Scalia asserted that the hunting expedition was not in an intimate setting, based on the facts that they did not sleep in the same room or hunt in the same duck blind and that he was not alone with Cheney at any time during the trip, except, perhaps, for instances so brief and unintentional that Scalia could not recall them; walking to and from the boat, perhaps, or going to and from dinner.

Although intimacy may be defined in many ways, a reasonable observer certainly could conclude that the expedition, as described by Scalia himself, was quite intimate. Flying to Louisiana on Cheney's own aircraft in the company of only Cheney and three other guests and spending two days in a highly communal setting with only twelve other men (members of Cheney's staff and security detail) certainly seems intimate to many persons who urged Scalia's recusal (the "originalist") to no avail.

At some point much later, Scalia was pressed to cite a "heroic moment" in his career. Scalia finally sited his refusal to recuse himself from the case involving Dick Cheney's claims of executive privilege for his energy task force. (Scalia, in addition to the duck hunting trip, also attended a private dinner with Cheney and then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Maryland's eastern shore, while the Supreme Court was considering Cheney's appeal.)

"Most of my opinions don't take guts", Scalia told New York'sJennifer Senior. "They take smarts. But not courage. And I was proud of that. I did the right thing and it let me in for a lot of criticism and it was the right thing to do and I was proud of that. So that's the only heroic thing I've done."

Somewhat ironic that this opinion of which he is so proud led to such things as the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the current raping of Wisconsin's silica for use in even more environmental destruction, fracking.

I would imagine as a "good Catholic boy" he can add to his heroic opinions, the recent Hobby Lobby decision.

_______________________________________________________

My friend and erstwhile "marketeer", Liz Fischer, recently sent this to me:

Here is the history of one of the most controversial pieces of advertising copy ever written... The Pledge of Allegiance.

That's right. Little did we know, but this little thing that we grew up saying daily in school wasn't a noble tome written by our Founding Fathers. Nor is it some holy relic of history. Rather, the pledge got its start as a piece of sales copy.

I kid you not.

The author was a fallen Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy. The year was 1892. And Bellamy had recently lost his preaching job for giving sermons with titles like "Jesus Was A Socialist."

His friends James Upham and Daniel Ford had hired Bellamy to write for their magazine, "Youth Companion." One of the things the magazine did was sell flags.

On the magazine's reputation, Bellamy was able to convince President Harrison to ask for flag flying at every public schoolhouse. Three months letter, Bellamy wrote the Pledge to help promote the idea in the magazine.

It was a smash success.

And as Paul Harvey would say: . . ." And now you know the rest of the story".

THE 'SUCKER PUNCH' STORY I'LL BE TELLING JULY 18

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 22:09:00 +0000

Recently I was contacted by Mike Paulus of Eau Claire's Volume One. He had sought out the advice of Bruce Taylor, UWEC Poet Emeritus, as to whom he could contact to fill out two entries in an upcoming evening of "adult story telling". Here is the e mail:

From: Mike Paulus [mike@volumeone.org]
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2014 2:55 PM
Cc: Thom Fountain; Eric Christenson
Subject: Re: WANTED: Let's Be Honest Storytellers

Hey everybody!

We could really use some help getting 2 more featured storytellers for our Let's Be Honest show on Friday, July 18. The theme is "Sucker Punch: stories of getting duped ... or doing the duping."

If you have a great story for this show or know someone who does, please email me back!

-Mike

Mike Paulus
online editor
--
Volume One Magazine
205 N. Dewey Street
Eau Claire, WI 54703
ph: 715-552-0457
www.VolumeOne.org

Dr. Taylor's reply:

From: Bruce Taylor
Subject: RE: WANTED: Let's Be Honest Storytellers
Date: July 7, 2014 7:46:13 PM CDT
To: Mike Paulus
Cc: August Rubrecht , lheagle@larryhegle.com

Have you tried August and Larry?

Then I received a copy of August Rubrecht's reply:

Bruce, I very much appreciate your recommendation to Mike Paulus. I would love it if Volume One invited me to tell (especially if I could be on the same program as Larry Heagle). Unfortunately, I will be traveling to the Ozarks then for a mini-reunion with siblings, cousins, and one charming old uncle, one of the last two of my mother's siblings.

August Rubrecht, is without a doubt, THE best storyteller I have ever known! After my head returned to normal size, (7 1/8), I contacted Mike and told him I was available.

I will be a part of the show on Friday, July 18. I am going to use this blog today to "polish" up my true story.

It was a long time ago while I was still traveling great distances to do shows. This time around, I had gotten a call to perform comedy at a convention being held at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center just outside Alexandria, Minnesota.

I got an unusually early start that morning and while driving, I noticed that my van was due for a 5,000 mile oil change. Since I reached Alexandria with plenty of time to spare, and found a Pennsoil Ten Minute Oil Change business right there on my way into town, I took advantage of my early arrival, pulled in, and checked in at the desk.

I did notice that they were extremely busy, but as I said, I had hours to spare, so I wasn't too worried. After registering my vehicle, I joined several other customers in the waiting lounge, grabbed a magazine, and asked the woman sitting near an empty chair if she would mind if I sat near her. With her permission, I took the seat and began absent-mindedly flipping through People Magazine.

After a bit, I introduced myself to the woman. She, in turn, introduced herself to me and I struck up a conversation with her. (I really do enjoy engaging people, even strangers, in this kind of situation, as it passes time in a way much better than reading People Magazine ever could!

Besides, I thought she might be able to give me some insights into the city of Alexandria that I could incorporate into my performance. When I asked her about Alexandria, she told me that she didn't know much about the town as of yet, as she and her daughter had just recently moved from Blue Earth, Minnesota.

This opened up a whole vista of questions I could ask: How old is your daughter? (20) What is your daughter's name? (Jane) What made you decide to move to Alexandria (job as a registered nurse) Were you able to find housing? (a "fixer upper" house).

She asked where I was from and what I do for a living and I told her I am from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and that I am an ex-middle school teacher that quit teaching. Had I not, I told her, I would have been the one on the roof with a high powered rifle. I told her that I am a comedian/guitar player. Why was I in Alexandria? I am the after dinner entertainment at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center, I told her.

She lit up at the words "Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center". She exclaimed that her daughter works there summers as a waitress for convention banquets! And that as a single parent (divorced) she was very proud of her daughter's initiative (in seeking employment for the summer).

I then asked her to give me a physical description of Jane, in case I had a chance to meet her and tell her that I had met her mom. Barbara then really opened up to me, told me all kinds of great details . . . how talented her daughter is at interior design and implementing it . . . that she had just finished tiling the entire bath room and it looked like a professional had done the work . . . that she was schooling at the nearby technical school, pursuing interior design . . . that she missed Blue Earth and her boy friend, Jim.

She would have told me more but her number was called and she left to get her car. As soon as she left, I took out my little note pad that I always carried with me in case of comedic inspiration, and hurriedly scribbled all the facts I could remember so that if I did get a chance to meet Jane, I would be able to speak intelligently about her mother and she would not think I was just some weirdo vagabond trying to hit on her.

I arrived at the Arrowwood, a large and impressive place with a central conference center, surrounded by a golf course and spacious vacation town homes.

When I work a conference, before I even take the guitar out of the van, I first scope out exactly where it is that I will be setting up my sound system, where the nearest entrance to the banquet room is, and who I need to contact and let know my purpose for being there.

This I accomplished, the last step being to enter the actual dining area to see if there was a stage of some sort set up. When I walked in, there were two uniformed young women, busily putting down place settings of plates and silver. Jane's mother had given me a very accurate description of her daughter. I recognized her immediately.

It wasn't until that moment that I came up with a plan.

I approached them and watched as they worked for a moment, my gaze transfixed on Jane. She became aware of my seemingly rude staring and looked up from her work.

"Hi, Jane", I said, and then turned to leave.

"Wait a minute!" she cried out, "how do you know my name?"

"It's right there on your plastic name tag", I said, knowing full well she had no name tag.

She actually looked down at her uniform!

"I'm not wearing a name tag," she said, alarmed.

"Okay, you caught me," I said. "I know your name is Jane because I am psychic. In fact, You are giving off a very strong aura and there is much I can tell you about yourself."

"Like what?" she said.

"Well, for starters, you haven't been living in Alexandria very long. You moved here from . . . Blue Earth, Minnesota, because . . . "

I paused, winced, rubbed my temples.

"because . . . your mother received a better job offer."

"HOW COULD YOU KNOW THAT?"

"Did I not just tell you that I am psychic?

"I don't believe you. . . you are just making lucky guesses. What does my mom do for a living?"

Again, I paused as if waiting for inspiration. "Is your mother's name . . . I am seeing a "B" Ba- Ba- Barbara? .

Her jaw dropped.

"She is a nurse . . . no, not just a nurse . . . a REGISTERED nurse."

"And she is very proud of you because of your talent and gumption." I paused again. "You are studying interior design. you just finished tiling the bath room floor at your house . . . I closed my eyes . . . I can see it. You did a very professional installation."

Now I had her hooked.

"What else can you tell me??"

"You will be going back to technical school this Fall to finish your two year degree in interior design."

She looked at her fellow worker. "Can you believe this?" she asked. Her partner was frozen in place, silverware in hand.

I turned as if to leave, then turned back and said: "You are really missing Jim, aren't you?"

Then I started walking away and from behind me I heard the other waitress: "Hey! Don't leave! Do me!"

"I'm sorry. My brain is really tired. My head hurts. Maybe some other time."

I sure would have liked to have been a fly on the ceiling when she got home and told her mother about the psychic she met at work!

EDITORIALS - DON'T BE FOOLED BY QUESTIONABLE SOURCE AS BEING "EXPERT"

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:09:00 +0000

A letter to the editor of this past Sunday, only 63 words long, uses as it’s sole reference Citizens Against Government Waste. That’s one of those very misleading titled organizations like the Koch brothers Americans For Prosperity. I mean, if you take them at their face, just by their titles, you would think to yourself: "Americans for prosperity'? Hey, I'm all for every Americans being prosperous . . bet they are a good group!" "Citizens Against Government Waste?" Well, it's about damn time!" But the truth is both those organizations are about as honestly named as a new housing development calling itself Paradise Prairie. Housing four feet apart ain't no paradise and if it's built on a prairie, well, you can't see the prairie!

CAGW, according to the editorial, scores Senator Ron Johnson at a 100 per cent ranking while Senator Tammy Baldwin was given a 4 per cent rating.

Before you decide that Ron is a “superhero”, (as the author of the editorial did, which almost acted as a laxative to me, because to link Ron Johnson with the word superhero, just about made me shit myself!) you should know that the CAGW has been accused of fronting lobbying efforts of corporations to give them the appearance of “grassroots” support. It has accepted donations from Phillip Morris, the Olin Foundation, The Bradley Foundation, Microsoft, and Exxon-Mobil. Check out how grassroots any of these are!!!

In 2006, The Senate Finance Committee investigating ties between Jack Abrahoff and CAGW stated that CAGW “probably violated their tax-exempt status by laundering payments and then disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff’s direction; taking payments in exchange for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Abramoff’s clients in a favorable light; introducing his clients to government officials in exchange for payment, and agreeing to act as a front organization for congressional trips paid for by Abramoff’s clients.”

CAGW also supported a bill that would limit damages resulting from malpractice lawsuits; a bill that consumer watchdog groups opposed heavily.

Sunday’s editorial chose to limit the number of words and quote this right-wing organization as though it is expert and we should unquestionly trust their ratings without knowing their background; a background that includes articles like: “The Veterans Administration is a Socialized Healthcare System”. Ron Johnson, superhero? Ask a veteran.

Yeh, I said it! (had to clean it up for the paper, though.

__________________________________________________________

Man, we had fun being in the Rock Falls Independence Day parade yesterday! Check out the photos on my Face book home page. Kim and I have marched (well, Kim marched, I drove either the Model A or Jeff's big Pick-em-up truck because Larry's a cripple you know) in parades in Maiden Rock, Mondovi, and now Rock Falls. I know what you are thinking . . Rock Falls, a parade? What a joke! But you'd be wrong . . there were more entries in the parade and more peole along the route than any of the other parades.

Afterwards, Jeff invited everyone out to the ranch for brats, hot dogs, and everybody bought a dish to pass. I brought two rhubarb/custard pies as our offering.

What's really cool is that the number of Dems walking along with Jeff are way more than his opponent has. And every parade that number grows.

If you are an independent or are leaning (D), you really should join us in the next one. Just go to "Jeff Smith for 93rd Assembly" Facebook page and find out what's next.

________________________________________________________

FACEBOOK: LEAVE YOUR POLITICAL OPINIONS AT THE DOOR, THANK YOU

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 21:16:00 +0000
I have decided to start blogging again for a couple of reasons, primarily, because I don't relish conflict at all, and secondly, I feel that I now finally understand that Face book is little more than a virtual cocktail party at which two subjects are absolutely taboo: politics and religion. Unfortunately, with our present theocratical (is that even a word?) "Supreme Corp", that weird concept foisted on us by our founding forefathers, "Separation of Church and State" is down the toilet . . and last, believe it or not, I have actually received the following "threat" on messsaging: "I think letting people know what you are doing is fine, but if you don't stop posting that liberal crap I'm going to have to unfriend you". (Actually this is not a reason at all. I found it really funny that my "friend" thought that this would "shape me up". I wrote back and told him that for his own peace of mind, he'd best "unfriend"me. Then I laughed to myself all afternoon.)

Aside: I am having a hell of a time getting my damn Clear Wire modem to function today! Something wild is going on in the atmosphere I guess.

As I was saying: with the recent Hobby Lobby decision by the Idiot Five (all old men, you will observe) the door has been opened for all the religious crazies to praise Jesus and attack women, gays, lesbians, and probably Muslims and Jews; I guess anybody that "jist don't look right".

Today, the strategists who dreamt up Hobby Lobby's lawsuit aren't resting on their laurels -- they're plotting the next attack.

In the last 24 hours, religious-right leaders have started publicly bragging about plans to use the Supreme Court's decision to legalize anti-gay discrimination. In fact, "religious freedom" legislation to that effect has already been introduced in state legislatures across the country.

Right now, most judges, politicians, and journalists take the right's claims to speak for Christians at face value. Yesterday Supreme Court decision actually said that "no one has disputed the sincerity of Hobby Lobby's religious beliefs"!

But in reality, there are virtually no Christians who won't use birth control or refuse to do business with gays and lesbians, and when I say Christians, I mean real Christians, those who actually believe in the tenets of Jesus Christ's "Love they neighbor as thy self" and accept and respect every human, no matter if they be catholic, protestant, methodist, baptist, seventh day adventist, jew, hindu, muslim and yes, even athiests like Bill Maher; all manner of ethnic groups . . you don't have to be white to be right.

And of course, this isn't just about birth control -- it's about not letting conservative extremists get away with claiming to speak for the entire Christian faith. But with the Supreme Court opening the door to massive amounts of discrimination in the name of Christianity, we now have two fronts on which to fight: separation of church and state and the fact that corporations are not people.

Journalist Ryan Grim put forth an interesting premise today:

The owners of a chain of stores called Hobby Lobby don't like Obamacare. In particular, they really don't like the part that requires insurance companies to cover contraceptives. Normally, people who don't like a law petition the government to change that law. That's how a nation of laws works.

But these men are Christians. The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Christian business owners are special. Their deeply held religious belief that some particular form of contraception is immoral carries more weight than the force of law, five conservative Christian justices ruled. The court -- in a fairly bald admission that its ruling is incoherent -- added that no general amnesty from other laws should be assumed to be the result of its ruling and that its reasoning was strictly limited to women's contraception. Such a limitation raises legitimate questions about the rather perverted and obsessive minds of the five men who made the ruling, but it also carries little legal weight. Precedent is precedent, whether the precedent-setters say so or not.

As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wondered aloud in her dissent, "Would the exemption ... extend to employers with religiously grounded objections to blood transfusions (Jehovah's Witnesses); antidepressants (Scientologists); medications derived from pigs, including anesthesia, intravenous fluids, and pills coated with gelatin (certain Muslims, Jews, and Hindus)?

As long as we're doing a la carte law-abiding, Grim writes, here are a few additional ones that could become optional to certain people with deeply held beliefs.

NUDITY LAWS
Entire colonies of people are dedicated to the belief that being compelled to wear clothes is wrong. Others don't believe they should be compelled to make love only indoors. Don't wanna see naked people on your Saturday stroll? Hey, freedom isn't free.

TAXES
Most religions profess a deep affinity for peace (while drenching history in blood in the name of religion, but whatever). Why should religious pacifists be compelled to pay taxes that subsidize war? Why should Randians, believers in Atlas Shrugged, the bible for dorm-room free-market evangelists, be forced to support the evil that is government?

LSD
There isn't much more religious of an experience than talking directly with God. Hell, Huston Smith included a section on acid in his definitive book The World's Religions. While we're at it, all drug laws rub up against religious practice. Sorry officer, this is our church.

GROWING HEMP
If you've ever talked to a hemp evangelist, you know belief in the crop borders on the religious.

STONING
The Bible is packed with tales of impure women meeting a just end under a pile of stones. Today, in certain countries, they're known as honor killings. Will the court make an exception to murder for the deeply religious?

GENITAL MUTILATION
Female circumcision -- more commonly and accurately known as genital mutilation -- is central to the practice of some religions, according to some people who have strong beliefs. What is a democracy to tell people otherwise? In fact, the same could go for domestic violence, polygamy and whatever else.

PASTEURIZED MILK
For some Amish folk, following a strict religious interpretation of "Do unto others what you would have others do unto you" means selling raw, unpasteurized milk, a practice banned under U.S. law for its potential to carry dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
To hell with the Violence Against Women Act, when the Quran authorizes you to strike a disobedient wife, as illustrated in Chapter 4, Verse 34. And we don't have to limit the freedom to Muslim men. As Deuteronomy 25:11-12 testifies, "If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."

One thing is certain. The world has gone mad. And our Supreme Corp is making certain that the good old U.S. of A. is going with the rest of it.

DEALING WITH TODAY'S ENTITLED GENERATION

noreply@blogger.com (Travelins) — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:26:00 +0000
I have been an active buyer/seller on eBay since 2005. In all that time, all my business exchanges have been, surprisingly, amicable and satisfying.

That's over.

About two weeks ago, I sold the second of two guitars that I had purchased since Christmas. This guitar is a 000 size solid wood spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, manufactured in China (as it seems most goods are these days).

It didn't sell during the first month's posting and had just been re-posted when I began getting e mails from a gentleman in Australia who wanted to know if I would make an exception to my "no sales outside of the continental United States" rule.

I told him that I would as he was willing to pay all of the shipping costs that it would entail. He, of course, wanted to know what the shipping costs would be, so I packed the guitar for shipment, took it to the post office and got the exact cost.

When I got back to my office, I found an e mail from eBay congratulating me on the sale of the guitar. At first I thought it was from my Australian contact, but looking at the statement, I found that it had been bought by a Nick from Manhattan Beach, California.

I had to email the bad news to my Australian contact and then do the necessary shipping labels. Wanting to maintain my very good feedback on eBay, (100 per cent satisfaction from my customers of the past)I shipped through Fed Ex that same day as they have a late afternoon pick up that makes a difference in delivery time.

I shipped the guitar and was told that it would be delivered by friday. I immediately contacted the buyer, gave him the tracking number and estimated day of delivery.

I then checked the shipping progress daily and to my surprise it was delivered on thursday! What follows are the emails between the buyer and myself:

Hey! Congrats Nick. It looks like you will have the guitar in your hands by tonight. I know you will really like her. Hope to hear some kind words. Sent in some good feedback on you as a buyer.

Larry

On Jun 12, 2014, at 11:48 PM, Nicholas wrote:

larry,

did you or your tech bore out the A string bridge pin? b/c the A-bridge pin is wrapped in tape at the bottom to make it fit? Really?

Thanks,

Nicholas

On Jun 13, 2014, at 7:06 AM, Larry Heagle wrote:

Nick: I am very sorry . . . I forgot that. Gordy Bischoff (my tech) pointed that defect out to me while installing the pick guard. He DID NOT do any boring. That is the way the guitar was manufactured. It would make absolutely no sense for a qualified Martin repairman to "bore out the A string bridge pin."

Larry

On Jun 13, 2014, at 9:54 AM, Nicholas wrote:

I feel like a manufacturing defect is something that you don't forget to mention when selling.

Sent from my iPhone

On Fri, Jun 13, 2014 at 8:26 AM, Larry Heagle wrote:
Nick: Again, I apologize for not remembering that defect. I assure you that this was not intentional. Please check my record as a seller on ebay and you will see that I have an impeccable record. If you are unhappy because of this, I will gladly make an exception, take the guitar back and resell it, being certain to mention this defect. I already have a buyer who missed getting it because you bought it. Lee lives in South Australia and was willing to pay any and all shipping costs. I had taken the packed guitar in, gotten the estimate on shipping, and was about to e mail him when I found your sold email.

Again, if you feel this is a manufacturing defect so horrendous, please feel free to ship the guitar back to me. I want my customers to be satisfied. I appreciate the fact that finding the taped pin was an obvious disappointment. However, I feel that if you do wish to return it, shipping costs are your responsibility as I already shipped it to you at my expense..

It just occurred to me that perhaps the reason the pin is loose fitting is not because the hole was rebored but that they used a different size pin. Here's another alternative. If you would like to replace that pin with one that matches the others but fits snugly, do so and send me the bill for the pin.

Let me know what you want to do.

Larry

On Fri, Jun 13, 2014 at 9:04 AM, nicholas wrote:
Would you be willing to replace the bridge pins?

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/Endpins_and_Bridge_Pins/Bone_Bridge_Pins.html

Slotted, black dot $28.40?

Thanks,

Nick

On Jun 13, 2014, at 8:34 PM, nicholas cesnik wrote:

Larry? thoughts? bridge pins?

Thanks,

Nicholas

On Jun 13, 2014, at 11:23 PM, Larry Heagle wrote:

NIck: I have been on the road all day - it is now after 1 AM and I am finally back home. I think I already told you that I am willing to replace the faulty bridge pin. This would remedy the problem. I think it takes some pretty big balls to want me to replace the entire set with the most expensive set of pins you could find. You are obviously an opportunist. So here's the deal. First you post some really complimentary feedback on my behalf. If and when I see it posted on line, I will send you the $28.40 for your high end pins. Then, my friend, I am done with you.

Larry

On Jun 14, 2014, at 10:59 AM, Nicholas wrote:

That my friend is what I don't need. I said would you not please do this or I will not leave good feedback. It's not about the $28. I couldn't care less about buying bridge pins. I'm upset about the fact that I feel duped. Sure I love the guitar and it sounds great bit at the end of the day you advertised it as in great conditions without any manufacturing defects. I feel that you are the opportunist.

Sent from my iPhone

Nick: I don't know what else I can do to convince you that I am an honest seller. Did you look at my feed back? Does it make me look like I am an opportunist? I am really sorry that you feel duped. I will tell you again . . . the bridge pin being a loose fit was such a minor defect to me that I forgot about it. I would swear an oath on that in court! I HONESTLY FORGOT! I certainly would NEVER purposely mislead a buyer. Again, check my record.

I apologize for losing my temper with you this early morning. I had been driving, doing a show, and driving all day and was really really tired. How can we reasonably settle this? Here is what I think. I will write a check for $28.40 for the pins that you want and mail it to :

Nick ******
**** Walnut Avenue
Manhattan Beach, California 90266

If you want it sent to a different address, please let me know.

I can see that it would be much easier to replace the entire set than to try to find just one pin with which to replace it. To me, The most important aspect of this is that I don't want you to associate unpleasant memories with your guitar. I am a guitarist (of sorts) and have been since I was 13 years old. I know that your guitar is more than an inanimate piece of wood to you. It is a part of you and if you are like me, a favorite guitar goes with you wherever you go.

Unless I hear differently, I will put the check in the mail yet today.

Larry

Larry -

Don't sweat it. We all get worked up from time to time, you probably just need a lite more time on the 6 string ;-). I am aware of your feed back and I provided you with a like-kind review as well. Like I said, I just wanted to ask and see your response. No need to send the check. I do love the guitar and unfortunately needed to have this discussion out before I could be okay with everything. Be well and keep on playing.

Nick

________________________________________

I forwarded all these emails to my brother, Father John Heagle just to hear his reaction. Here's what he had to say about the whole matter:

Larry,

Well, first the more important: Happy Father's Day to you!

And, yes, your 'good friend', Nick, is an embodiment of the entitled male connoisseur in the good ol' US of A, who is always quick to criticize, taken up wholly with his own needs, and damn proud of it besides. It also mirrors the political chaos and stalemate that this country is now in. It's all about competing, winning, demolishing, demeaning, and de-evolving. And as you correctly point out, we have bizarre parallels for all this in the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Tea Party Catholics? This is ironic at best and absurd at worst. This group of weirdos have little or nothing in common with the original Tea Party, and they are even less grounded in the authentic Catholic tradition of social justice. In reality they are much more devoted to Ayn Rand than to the historical Jesus.

It's many of the same group who now want to fight another war in Iraq. More shock and awe. Just what the world needs most.

I remember when we used to tell Mother Alice that she shouldn't watch more than an hour of national and international news a day, because she internalized it all too much and then ruminated about it all night. I'm beginning to think that I'd better take that advice seriously myself.

So, you go bust your rear end in volunteer performing in Faribault, and come home to snarky emails.

Are we having fun yet!?

brother john

Every day I am thankful to have a big brother who is so intelligent and articulate! And to have a wife like Kim, who helped calm me by saying: "Look at all the years you have been selling on eBsy and never had any trouble with buyers at all."

So . . . to all of you out there in eBay sales land, realize from time to time that you may be stepping in doodoo once in a while.