Sunday Night Music Byte

George Benson (born March 22, 1943) is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, whose recording career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist. He is also known as a pop, R&B, and scat singer. This one-time child prodigy topped the Billboard 200 in 1976 with the triple-platinum album, Breezin’. He was also a major live attraction in the UK during the 1980s. Benson currently lives in Florida and is an active Jehovah’s Witness. Benson uses a rest-stroke picking technique very similar to that of gypsy jazz players such as Django Reinhardt.

Benson was born and raised in the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 7, George first played the ukulele in a corner drug store to which he was paid a few dollars. At the age of 8, George was playing guitar in an unlicensed nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights which was soon closed down by the police. At the age of 10, George recorded his first single record with RCA-Victor in New York, called ‘She Makes Me Mad’.

Miles Davis employed Benson in the mid 1960s, featuring his guitar on “Paraphernalia” on his 1968 Columbia release, Miles in the Sky. Benson went to Verve Records afterwards. Then, Creed Taylor signed him up for his CTI label, where he recorded numerous albums with jazz heavyweights guesting to limited financial success. Benson also did a version of The Beatles’s 1969 album Abbey Road called The Other Side of Abbey Road, also released in 1969, and a version of “White Rabbit”, originally written and recorded by San Francisco rock group Jefferson Airplane, around this time.

By the mid to late 1970s, as he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson for the first time. With the 1976 release Breezin’, Benson began to put his vocal on tracks such as “This Masquerade”. He had used his vocals on songs earlier in his career, notably his rendition of “Here Comes the Sun” on the Other Side of Abbey Road album.

Benson toured with soul singer, Minnie Riperton, in 1976. Riperton had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer earlier that year. “This Masquerade” won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the live take of “On Broadway”, recorded two years later from the 1978 release Weekend in L.A., also won a Grammy. Benson made it into the pop and R&B top ten with the song “Give Me the Night”, produced by Quincy Jones. On Warner Bros., Benson accumulated three other platinum LPs and two gold albums.

He also recorded the original version of “Greatest Love of All” for the 1977 Muhammad Ali bio-pic, The Greatest, which was later recorded as a cover by Whitney Houston. During this time Benson recorded with the German conductor, Claus Ogerman.

Please enjoy this video clip of George Benson performing “On Broadway” in 1998.

Sunday Morning Coffee (or Tea) – 27

Just a few noteworthy political meteorites and comments thereon that have been careening around the galaxy this past week.

BREAKING NEWS: It was refreshing to see President Barack Obama venture into the enemy territory of the House Republicans’ Retreat in Baltimore where he delivered a cogent and fact based dissertation of the state of the economy; his administrations policies to address the economy; the Republicans’ lack of support for any of those policies and the Republicans’ lack of any policy proposals of their own (other than to extend the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest 1% of Americans). Obama then proceeded to allow questions from the Republican attendees which he also answered in a thoroughly fact based manner. He swatted boilerplate Republican talking points like flies and then challenged Republican and non-partisan fact checking organizations to prove him wrong. Republicans, oh Republicans, is there anyone out there? We are still waiting….

THIS JUST IN: Did we mention that the Obama smackdown of Republicans was televised? What, we didn’t? Well, please take a look at Luke Russert describing to the nation how the televised event was an embarrassment to Republicans and how some Republicans admitted as such. By the way, when are the brass at Meet The Press going to wake up and replace the ineffectual Dick Gregory with Tim Russert’s more than capable son?

BREAKING NEWS: Remember all the doom and gloom about the passage of a health care reform bill after the Massachusetts Senate election of the nudist Republican, Scott Brown? The loss of the 60 vote Democratic party super majority was alleged to be the death knell to the passage of any such legislation. Of course, that was not the truth. After all, the bill could either be passed by means of the reconciliation process that requires only 51 votes or the House could adopt the Senate bill, as is, and it could be passed with only 51 votes. Well, leave it to the good folks over at the Huffington Post to inform us that there is even a more simple way to pass health care reform with only 51 votes, and that is to simply change the Senate rule regarding filibusters. According to the Constitution, as affirmed by the U. S. Supreme Court, the Senate can change its rules at any time by a simple majority vote. Here is the finding from U.S. v. Ballin, 144 U.S. 1 (1892):

… The constitution empowers each house to determine its rules of proceedings … It is no objection to the validity of a rule that a different one has been prescribed and in force for a length of time. The power to make rules is not one which once exercised is exhausted. It is a continuous power, always subject to be exercised by the house, and, within the limitations suggested, absolute and beyond the challenge of any other body or tribunal.
The constitution provides that ‘a majority of each [house] shall constitute a quorum to do business.’ In other words, when a majority are present the house is in a position to do business. Its capacity to transact business is then established, created by the mere presence of a majority, and does not depend upon the disposition or assent or action of any single [144 U.S. 1, 6] member or fraction of the majority present. All that the constitution requires is the presence of a majority, and when that majority are present the power of the house arises.

Now get out there and inform your senators of this mechanism and let’s get health care reform passed!

THIS JUST IN: Speaking of Republican Senator Scott Brown, let’s keep reminding him and all the other members of the G.O.P. of this:

BREAKING NEWS: Glenn Beck, the uneducated and memory challenged Fox News host was spewing falsehoods once again on January 28th. Media Matters informs us that:

Beck again falsely claimed he opposed bank bailouts. Beck also asserted of the “greedy bankers” who got bailout money: “I didn’t want them to get the money in the first place.” In fact, in September 2008, Beck called for a bailout bigger than $700 billion, but subsequently claimed he “hated” former President Bush for starting the bailouts. Beck previously acknowledged supporting the bailout on the December 2, 2009, edition of his show.

THIS JUST IN: What is with Sarah Palin and her obsession with sports? She let us all know about her high school basketball nickname of “Barracuda”. She then had a very short and unremarkable career as an Alaskan TV sportscaster. While running with McCain, she began referring to herself  repeatedly as a hockey mom even though none of her children were playing hockey at the time. She then started appearing at N.H.L. games to drop the puck for  opening faceoffs (appropriately enough, the home team went on to lose all of those games). Next, there was her feud with David Letterman over remarks he made about one of her daughters while they were at a New York Yankees game. Did we mention the “Arctic Cat” sponsorship controversy at Alaska’s Iron Dog snow-mobile race? That was followed by her incoherent speech about why she quit her job as Governor of Alaska which was couched in terms of something to do with a point guard looking for the open shot. She announced her decision to be the keynote speaker at the Bowling Convention in Las Vegas and we just learned that she will be appearing in some unspecified capacity at this year’s Daytona 500.

Sarah Palin has certainly covered all the bases (if we may be allowed to coin a baseball phrase). Wait, what’s that? We forgot something? Oh, yes, Sarah Palin has now injected herself into the N.F.L.’s Super Bowl by means of telling the world (on FaceBook, Twitter and with pal Greta Van Susteren) that she defends a proposed pro-life Super Bowl TV commercial paid for by Focus On The Family. The ad in question features the mother of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow saying that she is glad that she did not abort him. Just wondering, but would Palin’s mother say the same?

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Big Shot song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFvlF2CirP0&feature=related

BIG SHOT

(sung to the Billy Joel song “Big Shot”)

Well, you went off campaigning with ol’ John McCain
With your new G.O.P. purchased clothes
You had that beehive hairstyle on your head
And high heels for your toes
Ooh,, and when you woke up in the mornin’
With your bub-ble burst
And tears pouring out of your eyes
We know “Thanks But No Thanks” was just
Another one of your lies

Because you had to be a big shot, didn’t cha
You had to open up your mouth
You had to be a big shot, didn’t cha
Now your smile’s become a pout
You talked a lot of Reverend Wright
But all you did was scream and shout
You showed us that you’re way too uptight
You tried to be a big shot that night (Ooh oh)

And no one was impressed with your wolf hide dress
Just because you shot the wolves from a plane
And nobody could have really cared less
That you can see the Ukraine
But now you just don’t remember
The dumb things you said
And I’m damn sure you don’t want to know
I’ll give you one hint, Barbie
I think you got plumbed by Joe!

Yes, yes, you had to be a big shot, didn’t cha
You had the SarahPac girls wowed
Your nose was running pig-snot, oh ya
Hockey mom without a doubt
Your interviews were such a sad sight
You’re so much fun to be around
You had to have the front page, bold type
Upstaging McCain most every night, (Ooh oh)

Oh Oh whoa whoa oh, Oh Oh whoa who-oo-oo-oo-ah,
Oh Oh Oh whoa whoa oh, Oh Oh whoa.

Well, it’s no big sin to stick your two cents in
If you’re talking to someone that’s grown
But you’re attacking Levi
Because he was on the Tyra Banks Show
No, no, no, no, no, no

You had to be a big shot, didn’t cha
You had to badmouth that young boy
You had to be a big shot, didn’t cha
Just because you were annoyed
You had to have the last word, that’s right
You know what everything’s about
But still we know that Levi spent nights
Sleeping at your house within your sight, Oh oh

Oh Oh whoa whoa oh, Oh Oh whoa
Big shot…Big shot… Big shot…Mmmm…Big shot…Whoa whoa
Big shot…

Saturday Night Music Byte

Manfred Mann were a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboard player and founder who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.

Mann went on to write advertising jingles after the group’s demise, but still continued to work in the group format. Initially he formed Manfred Mann Chapter Three (with Mike Hugg), an experimental jazz rock band, described by Mann as an over-reaction to the hit factory of the Manfred Mann group. This was, however, short lived and by 1971 they had disbanded and Mann had formed a new group, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.

This group had a UK top 10 hit in summer 1976 and No 1 Billboard Hit in February 1977, a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light”. In the 1990s, most of the original 1960s line-up reformed as The Manfreds, minus Manfred Mann himself (hence the name), playing most of the old 1960s hits and a few jazz instrumentals, sometimes with both Paul Jones and Mike d’Abo fronting the line-up.

At the same time, Jones and Tom McGuinness (McGuinness formed McGuinness Flint in 1970, but they disbanded in 1975) have been mainstays of The Blues Band (which they helped form in 1978).

Please enjoy this video clip of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band performing “Blinded By The Light” in 1975 on television’s Midnight Special.

Sarah Palin: A Tea Party Change Of Hearty?

Tea Party Convention Officials anxiously await Palin's decision.

When Sarah Palin gave up on her State of Alaska and quit the governor’s job last summer she said, (sandwiched between a lot of gibberish) “We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction”. For Palin, that direction was the world of paid speaking gigs. She ran away from the meager governor’s salary for a potentially lucrative career full of private speaking engagements. The problem for Palin was that she was quickly forced to realize that she was not in particularly high demand for the more prestigious speaking forums.

The trial run at her newly chosen vocation was at a financial investors’ forum in Hong Kong, coverage of which was closed to the press. Despite her attempts to limit critiquing of her oratory abilities by debuting many thousands of miles away from this “great nation of ours” and by closing the event to media coverage, her speech was recorded by many attendees. The reviews were not kind. Consequently, the demand for Palin at premier events spiraled downward.

Another obstacle to Palin’s efforts to secure speaking opportunities was her habit of pulling out of (dare we say, quitting) events at the last moment. On the numerous occasions that she pulled that stunt, she always laid the blame elsewhere. She would either blame the event organizers for announcing her appearance before her final approval, or she would blame her staff for a scheduling snafu. It appeared strange however, that those “problems” seemed to happen so often. One would think that if Palin were serious about her new vocation, she would straighten out the communication and scheduling problems post haste.

Nonetheless, Sarah Palin’s paid speaking opportunities lessened in terms of both quality and quantity. She was not a sought after commodity on the lecture circuit. Indeed, the New York Post reported, lecture buyers “are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they think she’s a blithering idiot.” Ouch, that is going to leave a mark! Newser.com reported, “Palin is too controversial for the subscription lecture series, whose organizers fear that subscribers will cancel if they see her on the schedule. Corporations, too, like to avoid controversy, and universities tend to lean left. ‘Palin is so uninteresting to so many groups—unless they are interested in moose hunting,’ says an insider. ‘What does she have to say? She can’t even describe what she reads.’ ” Nuff said.

Sarah Palin was left with only the dregs of the lecture circuit. She was booked to speak at two separate Tea Bagger events in January and February 2010. Unfortunately, Palin got a taste of her own medicine when the January event in Texas was canceled at the last moment without explanation. But for those venues, Palin has been relegated to the status of washed up Las Vegas entertainer. Really.  The former Republican Vice Presidential nominee is scheduled to make two speaking engagements in “Sin City”. Isn’t that a little like mixing oil and water? It seems odd that the conservative right’s poster child for family values and morality would be spending quality time in the the land of gambling, prostitution and organized crime. But hey, whatever grinds your beans.

First Sarah Palin accepted the gig as keynote speaker at the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America’s Bowl Expo (i.e. The Bowling Convention) in June. That is about as far away from a prestigious speaking engagement as one can get. Maybe the bowlers will honor Palin with one of those snazzy bowling league shirts with her name (“Barricuda” maybe?) embroidered thereon. Or perhaps they might present her with a pair of high heeled bowling shoes. The possibilities are endless.

As a warm-up to the bowling event, Palin will be the keynote speaker at the Wine and Liquor Wholesalers of America convention (i.e. The Boozers’ Ball) also to be held in Vegas this April. The gala will include a “Wine and Spirits Tasting Competition”. Let’s all pray that Todd “The First Dude” Palin will not be driving anybody back to the hotel after that. Perhaps the conventioneers will honor Sarah Palin by naming a new drink after her. Maybe a “Quinine Quitter” or “Alaska Disastah” or “I Can See A White Russian From My House”? Any other suggestions?

As a precursor to both of those events however, Palin is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, TN on February 6th. Like all things Palin and/or Tea Party related however, the event is devolving into a complete disaster. The writing was on the wall from the beginning. The last two Tea Party events were smaller than a five year old’s birthday party and those in attendance shared the  same level of education as the aforementioned cake and ice cream eaters. First there was the Washington DC “Die In” in which Tea Baggers were prepared to play dead inside congressional buildings as a protest against health care reform. Unfortunately very few Tea Baggers were “dying” to get involved. Next, there was the Tea Baggers’ National Strike planned for January 20th when the Baggers intended to show the world how they could strike or boycott media outlets and businesses that they do not watch or patronize anyway. By a showing of hands, how many of you even know if the strike took place?

So, what about the big National Tea Party Convention? Well, the first problem is the price of admission. Tickets are priced at a hefty $ 349.00 and $ 549.00. That is a lot of dough for all those marginally employed Tea Baggers. To add insult to injury, Palin was to be paid over $ 100,000.00 for her appearance. Did the organizers forget that Tea Baggers allegedly oppose excessive spending as well as elitists that profit off them? Ticket sales dwindled and then came the speaker cancellations. Congresswomen Marsha Blackburn and moonbat -crazy Michele Bachmann each backed out of the event on Thursday. Ticket sales plummeted even further. Consequently, Sarah Palin is now in a dilemma.

If Palin honors her commitment to speak at the event, she will once again be associated with a less than prestigious forum and most likely a small audience. If, like Blackburn and Bachmann, she cancels her appearance, she will add to her own legend as the nation’s Quitter in Chief. What’s the poor girl to do? Will she stay or will she go?

I bet you folks know where this one is going, don’t you? Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsNJDWA0sAw&feature=related

WILL SHE STAY OR WILL  SHE GO ?

(Sung to the Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I Go”)

(Whoo! – – – Allah!)

Sarah you gotta let us know
Will you stay or will you go?
Can you make it there on time?
Your speech begins at ten to nine
You just have to let us know,
Will you make it to the show?

It’s always me, me, me
Yes, they agreed to pay your fee
If you have a nerve attack,
Do you agree to pay them back?
The “Tea Baggers” want to know
Is it “yes” or is it “no” ?

Will she stay or will she go now?
Will she stay or will she go now?
If she goes, she will be humbled
But if she stays there will be trouble
So come on and let us know

Her poor decisions boggle me
Palin’s become a mockery
Since demanding such a large fee
She is no longer their “cup of tea”
Come on and let us know,
Is she brain-dead or is it show?

(split)

Will she stay or will she go now?
Will she stay or will she go now?
If she stays, she’ll stir up trouble,
But if she goes she will be humbled
We just hope that if she goes…
She pleases all those “Sixpack Joes”

Will she stay or will she go now?
If she goes, she’ll stir up trouble,
And if she stays, laughs will be doubled
We just hope that if she goes
She wears some garish slutty clothes!!!

Sarah Palin, “Start Your Engine !!!”

Sarah Palin will drive the "Arctic Cat" car in the Daytona 500

The announcement last week that Sarah Palin will appear in some unspecified capacity at the Daytona 500 in February should come as no surprise to those that follow the less than mediocre career of the former ex-quitting governor of Alaska. After all, the NASCAR crowd dovetails quite nicely with the audiences she will entertain  at the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America’s Bowl Expo (i.e. the Bowlers’ Convention) and at the Wine and Liquor Wholesalers of America Convention (i.e. the Boozers’ Ball). In fact, inasmuch as all three of these events take place on different dates, it would not be surprising if the attendees of all three functions are exactly the same people. There is an undeniable symbiosis between drunks, bowlers and racing fans. Sarah Palin should mesh seamlessly.

In other news, CNN reports today that two key G.O.P. speakers have canceled their attendance and speeches at the Tea Party Convention on February 4-6, 2010 in Nashville, TN. Conservative congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and moon-bat crazy congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota have each backed out of the event at the last minute. Each of their offices has stated that the cancellations come as the result of the fact that the House Committee on Standards has advised them that the sponsor, Tea Party Nation’s for profit tax status could potentially place the elected officials in ethical jeopardy depending upon how the sponsor elects to spend the profits.

The most noteworthy aspect of the last minute cancellations however, is that the two Republicans upstaged keynote speaker Sarah Palin by stealing the thunder of quitting before she does. This puts Palin in a bind. She has attained the status of United States Quitter in Chief by means of her last minute backing out of numerous planned speaking engagements dating back to when she quit her job as Alaska’s governor last July. In order to retain that status, Palin might need to retroactively quit the Tea Party Convention to a date before yesterday. By quitting on the Tea Baggers however, she might irritate the exact same audience that she must appear before at the aforementioned Bowlers’ Convention, Boozer’s Ball and Daytona 500. Decisions. Decisions.

Factoid: The Tea Party Convention will be held at the seemingly inappropriately named Gaylord Opreyland Hotel.

In honor of Palin’s new-found road-racing affection please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s NASCAR inspired song parody.

Roadrunner cartoon theme song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fATQ06XniYA

ROAD RUNNER

(sung to the “Roadrunner” television cartoon theme)

If you’re on the highway and Ms. Palin goes “beep, beep”
Let her pass by cuz she once ran for VP
Ms. Palin, Ms. Palin runs from the truth all day
Even the fact checkers can’t make her change her ways

Ms. Palin, the media’s after you
Ms. Palin, even Glenn Beck says you’re through
Ms. Palin, we see every thing you do
Ms. Palin, no 2-0-1-2  for you

Sarah Palin is really a crazy clown
When will she learn she’ll always be voted down?
Poor Sarah Palin won’t say if she will run
Cuz starring on Fox News has turned out to be such fun

Ms. Palin, the media’s after you
Ms. Palin, even Glenn Beck says you’re through

Poor Sarah Palin seems to bother everyone
She’s runnin’ down the road like a nut with a loaded gun!!!

Glenn Beck’s Fantastic Fascism Falsehoods

Fox News‘ Glenn “Cry Me A River” Beck played a documentary film on his show last Friday. It was titled, “Live Free Or Die” (I wonder if the people of New Hampshire are happy with his use of their state slogan?) and it feebly attempted to misinform his audience that fascism is a creation of liberals. The fictional film built upon that hypothesis to come to the ridiculous conclusion that the Obama administration is leading the United States on a path of genocide. Honestly, did Glenn Beck really curb his drug abuse years ago? There is certainly no outward evidence that he is clean and sober.

Let’s just nip his misinformation in the bud. Fascism is a product of the far right. I’ll say it again, fascism is a product of the far right. Fascism is a political ideology that seeks to combine radical and authoritarian nationalism with a corporatist economic system, and which is usually considered to be on the far right of the traditional left-right political spectrum. Think about it for a moment, who comes to mind when you think of authoritarian nationalism in the form of, say The Patriot Act or the acceptance of torture? Need we even ask who comes to mind when you think of a corporatist economic system? Let’s put it this way, it ain’t the Democratic Party.

So, the next time some brainwashed Glenn Beck fan starts to parrot these falsehoods to you, don’t just brush him/her off. Fire back with facts and logical reasoning. It is people like Glenn Beck and their hate fueled insane ideologies that are a danger to our nation. It is our job as patriotic and informed citizens to ensure that his misinformation does not become an accepted doctrine of the ignorant masses. Let’s get out there and do what we can to educate our families, friends, co-workers and children about how Fox News pundits will do whatever they can to preserve ignorance in an attempt to trick Main Street America into believing that far-right-wing conservative policies are in their best interest.

Over and out!

Ok then, now for some fun. Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

The Fool On The Hill song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KXrrh74wTs&feature=related

THE FOOL WHO KNOWS NIL

(sung to the Beatles song, “The Fool On The Hill”)

Day after day
He gives us a chill
Glenn Beck is crying again
Let’s watch his eyes start to fill

And nobody wants to know him
They can see that he’s just a fool
And he has not one good answer
Beck’s the fool who knows nil

Nita Dunn took him down
And Glenn’s face grew bright red
As his head spins around

Glenn’s head today,
Filled up with sound
Beck’s head hears a thousand voices
Screaming nonsense so loud

Everybody wants to jeer him
For the weeping that he does fake
Yet Glenn never seems to notice
Beck’s the fool who knows nil

He’s a dim-witted clown
In need of some strong meds
Beck’s off to crazy-town

(musical interlude)

And nobody seems to like him
It looks like he’s back on the booze
Or maybe he’s back drug dealing
Beck’s the fool who knows nil

He’s beginning to drown
And his sponsors have fled
Soon he’ll be not around

Oh, round, an’ round, an’ round, an’ round, an’ round
Nobody listens to him
They know that he’s a fool
They don’t like him
The fool who knows nil

He’s beginning to drown
And his sponsors have fled
Soon he’ll be not around

Oh, round, an’ round, an’ round, an’ round
Oh …

Palin v. Johnston: What A Long Strange Tripp Its Been

The Bristol Palin/Levi Johnston Probate Court custody battle continues. The first round of motion filings in this sure to be long and drawn out litigation involved Palin’s unsuccessful bid to have the proceedings closed to the public. Palin has now followed-up with a motion seeking monthly temporary child support from Johnston in the amount of  $ 1,750.00. In essence, she wants a piece of Levi’s nude modeling money to pay for clothes for baby Tripp. In an affidavit, Palin swears, “I have received limited and sporadic financial assistance from Levi.” we have not yet seen Johnston’s reply to the motion. We will however, keep you posted.

Since giving birth, Bristol Palin, now 19, has become an advocate for abstinence and speaks out against teen pregnancy. As we have said before, that is like closing the barn door after the horse has already left.

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Levon by Elton John song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lXOuZgm_eY

LEVI

(sung to the Elton John song “Levon”)

Levi is just like a circus clown
He just wants to please us
He should be ashamed
If he poses with his boxer shorts pulled down

Levi, Levi wants some money
He wants a lot they say
Spends his days hunting
When he’s not clubbing down in LA

He was born a pauper to his mom on the third of May
Bristol was his chum, she said, “let’s wed”
And they had a son
Tripp E. Johnston is that son today

And we still have Levi
And he is a manly man
And we still have Levi’s
Confrontations with the Palin Clan
And we still have Levi
Showing his full body tan
He shall be Levi

Levi plans to pull his whities down
He hopes his business thrives
He knows the magazines are gay
While claiming that he is not into guys

And Levi, he plans to show his penis
To anyone that will buy
Posing on a sailboat sailing
Sporting those,  hockey player thighs

He’ll be a showstopper not a bum by next Christmas day
First Dude will say, “where’s the support pay?”
And, “where is my gun?”
Levi, son, you’ll never get away

Yet we still have Levi
Sporting his full body tan
And we still have Levi
Pissin’ the Palins –off when he can
And we still have Levi
Spending time in Disney Land
He shall be Levi

And he shall be Levi
With that tattoo on his hand
And he shall be Levi
Avoiding Bristol is his new plan
And he shall be Levi
Posing for a hundred grand
He shall be Levi

Supreme Court Injustice

Supreme Court Injustices decide Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission

Last Thursday, the five conservative, activist U.S.  Supreme Court Justices effectively transferred the power of electing politicians from the people of the United States to corporations (including foreign controlled domestic corporations). In the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission the Supreme Court effectively wiped out corporate campaign spending limits and now corporations can open their almost limitless coffers to influence elections throughout the United States. The net result is that business friendly Republican candidates will benefit while Democratic party candidates will be penalized.

It will be interesting to see how the Tea-Baggers react to the decision. After all, the Tea Party prides itself on returning power to the people and its members are steadfast in their opposition to recent corporate bailouts. Consequently, common sense would dictate that the Tea-Baggers would be furious at the decision. The problem is that the Tea-Baggers in general are uneducated, gun-toting dolts and probably cannot read well enough to understand the implications of the decision.

So, what was the decision about? Overturning a century-old restriction, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that corporations could spend as much as they wanted to sway voters in federal elections. Until Thursday, corporations and unions were barred from spending their treasury funds on broadcast ads, campaign workers or billboards that urge the election or defeat of a federal candidate. The restriction dates to 1907, when President Theodore Roosevelt persuaded Congress to forbid corporations, railroads and national banks from putting money into federal races. After World War II, Congress extended the ban to labor unions. More recently, the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002 added an extra limit on corporate and union-funded broadcast ads in the month before an election. Such ads were prohibited if they even mentioned a candidate running for office. Thursday’s decision swept away all of these restrictions.

Consequently, your next President may be brought to you by the generosity of Sony Corporation.

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Catch Me Now I’m Falling song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teBYPHu94Cw

CORPORATE BARONS CALLING

(sung to the Kinks song “Catch Me Now I’m Falling”)

We remember your little town
How it needed a helping hand
We came to feed you but now when we need you
You won’t let us elect our man

Now we’re calling those Justices that rule over our world
This is Corporate America calling
We took your bailouts and then we increased your fees
But on campaign finance you’re stalling (stalling)

Help us now we’re calling you
Stop your endless stalling
It’s in your hands, its up to you
Profits might be falling

We remember your little towns
And their tiny storefront vacancies
First we connived you and then we denied you
Of taxes on which you must feed

Now you Supreme Court Justices that rule over our world
This is Corporate America calling (calling)
Please don’t make us break every one of your knees
You would rather walk than be crawling (crawling)

Help us now we’re calling you
Profits might be falling
We need election help from you
Our guys need installing

Plain folks are broke and down on their knees
Now you can help us keep them down
We have paid you off to sit upon our throne
Now you must return the favor in a hurry,
You best not let us down

This is Corporate America calling
This is Corporate America calling

Help us now we’re calling you
Profits might be falling
We need election help from you
Our guys need installing

Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling

We denied you through all of your recessions
And we spit on you when you were down
We search overseas for our employees
We fill our coffers while our poor employees’ wages
Get shipped right out of town

This is Corporate America calling
This is Corporate America calling

Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling

Corporate America deserves more clout
Because recessions cause us difficulties
The Supreme Court will never let us down
Because the Chief Justice and four others are George Bush appointees

Now we’re calling the Justices that rule over our world
This is Corporate America calling
Just bail us out or do we have to say,”please”?
We must stop our profits from falling

Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling
Corporate barons calling

Monday Night Music Byte

The Dave Clark Five (also known as “The DC5”) were an English pop rock group. It was the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to have a chart hit in the United States (“Glad All Over” #6, February 1964).

The Dave Clark Five had several more hit songs in the United States during 1964-67, including “Bits and Pieces” (#4, April 1964), “Can’t You See That She’s Mine” (#4, June 1964), “Because” (#3, August 1964), “Anyway You Want It” (#14, November 1964), “I Like It Like That” (#7, June 1965), “Catch Us If You Can” (#4, August 1965), “Over And Over” (#1, December 25, 1965), and “You Got What It Takes” (#7, April 1967). The group disbanded in late 1970.

Dave Clark was the band’s drummer, an unusual instrument to be played by the namesake of a rock group. Clark, who played drums at the front of the stage, relegating the guitarists and keyboard to his rear and sides, formed the band around 1959. He owned the copyright in the recordings for this period.

Lead vocals were provided by Mike Smith, who also played the keyboards. The rest of the band was Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, Rick Huxley on bass guitar, and Denny Payton on saxophone, harmonica and guitar.

Originating in North London, the band was promoted as the vanguard of the ‘Tottenham Sound’, a response to the Mersey Beat stable managed by Brian Epstein. From the outset, the band’s sound was complemented by the inclusion of a saxophone. They had a series of memorable hits, including “Glad All Over” that in January 1964 knocked the Beatles from the number one position on the UK Singles Chart.

After the success of the Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night in 1964, the DC5 released their own film, Catch Us If You Can (directed by John Boorman) in 1965. It also starred Barbara Ferris, and was released in the United States as Having a Wild Weekend. The promotional film for the song “Nineteen Days” is a precursor of the music video. The short film Hits in Action highlighted a series of Dave Clark Five hits.

The Dave Clark Five had 17 records in Billboard’s Top 40, with 12 Top 40 United Kingdom hits between 1964 and 1967. Their song “Over And Over” went to number one in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of December 1965, despite less than impressive sales in the UK, and they played to sell-out crowds on their tours of the U.S. Heavily promoted as having a “cleaner” image than the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five made 18 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, more than any other UK group.

In spite of their huge success for a period, bolstered by the movie and a television special, the major hits dried up after 1967’s “You Got What It Takes”. The DC5’s efforts to embrace the prevailing trend of psychedelia were not successful. They disbanded in 1970, having placed a further three singles on the UK chart that year.

On 10 March 2008 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Please enjoy this video clip of the Dave Clark Five performing their 1965 hit “Catch Us If You Can” on British television’s Shindig series.

Fox Walks While Television Rocks

Fox News has a new slogan. It is “Heartless and Callous”. Is there any other way to describe the network’s dearth of coverage of the Haitian earthquake and its devastating aftermath? In short, one of the poorest nations on earth was struck by one of the worst natural disasters in recent history, resulting in a present death toll in excess of 100,000.00 and growing, coupled with one third of the nation’s population clinging to life and Fox News has remained largely silent. When compared to nearly every other network’s time allotted to coverage of the tragedy, Fox News consistently devoted less time to coverage.

The Fox News network’s indifference to the Haitian tragedy was never more conspicuous than on last Friday night. The cable news channel refused to air Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief. Instead, it broadcast its regular lineup of The O’Reilly Factor and Hannity. To add insult to injury, neither of those programs even devoted a segment to the Haitian disaster. Instead, Bill O’Reilly had segments on Sarah Palin’s body language while on Oprah, an interview with Glenn Beck about Glenn Beck and a segment on the deterioration of “far left media”. Sean Hannity’s program consisted of an interview with Karl Rove, Obama’s approval ratings with regard to health care reform and coverage of newly elected senator Scott Brown.

Hope For Haiti Now: A Global Benefit For Earthquake Relief was a telethon which was broadcast worldwide to raise funds for Haitian victims through organizations including Oxfam America, Partners In health, UNICEF, the Red Cross, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation and the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. There were  segments by George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Halle Berry. There were performances by Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Beyonce´, Madonna and U2’s Bono and The Edge.

The telethon was broadcast by the following media outlets:

MTV, ET, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino and Canadian networks, including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and Rhapsody, and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and FloTV. “Hope for Haiti Now” will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International and national geographic.

Fox News‘ conspicuous absence from this lineup is indicative of its indifference to those in need and its single minded purpose of promoting an agenda solely dedicated to furthering the policies of the selfish far right. perhaps the network’s new slogan should be, “Fox News: Fairly Unbalanced”.

Please remember to click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

Let Em In song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe990JYsbNo&feature=related

LET FOX IN

(sung to the Paul McCartney and Wings song “Let ‘Em In”)

Someone’s sniveling on the tube
Somebody’s startin’ to yell
Someone’s sportin’ new boobs
Somebody reeks of hair gel

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Ooh yeah

Someone’s not “fair and balanced”
Somebody’s missing brain cells
Someone’s psyche is imbalanced
Somebody’s wearing pastels

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Yeah ,yeah, yeah, let Fox in

Neil Cavuto, O’Reilly
Glenn Beck and Hannity
Huckabee and Sarah Palin
Change the channel and let Fox in
Yeah

(musical interlude)

Neil Cavuto, O’Reilly
Glenn Beck and Hannity
Huckabee and Van Susteren
Change the channel and let Fox in
Oh,yeah

Someone’s talking to Newt Gingrich
Somebody’s starting to shout
Someone called Hillary a bitch
Somebody’s starting to pout

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Ooh yeah ,yeah, let Fox in, let ‘em in now

Doo doo doo doo da doo doo
Doo doo doo da doo da

Neil Cavuto, O’Reilly
Glenn Beck and Hannity
Huckabee and Sarah Palin
Change the channel and let Fox in
Oh,yeah

Someone’s sniveling on the tube
Somebody’s startin’ to yell
Someone’s sportin’ new boobs
Somebody reeks of hair gel

Do me a favor,
Change the channel and let Fox in
Ooh yeah , yeah , yeah ,yeah ,yeah