This Blog Post is Dedicated to the Ox

Right now it's the Lunar New Year in Asia and this year has been declared as the Year of the Ox. As someone who was born in one previous Ox year and was married in another Ox year, I'm delighted that the Ox is going to have its turn as the featured animal.

On that note, I'd like to dedicate this blog post to a famous rock musician who was nicknamed "The Ox" because (according to the Wikipedia) of his ability "to eat, drink, and do more than the rest of them". I'm talking about the late Who bassist John Entwistle.

He was and is still ranked among the best bassists of all time. To this day there are not a lot of musicians who can match him on this instrument. Here is a video clip of Entwistle playing an incredible bass solo during a Who concert.

Bye-Bye, Blago

Illinois Senate ousts Blagojevich

Yep, it really happened despite the fact that Blago has been on nearly every single television talk show and news outlets this week except for The Dr. Phil Show talking about how he's innocent and how he did everything for the people of Illinois--especially the poor and disenfranchised. He's made so many appearances that Keith Olbermann aired an edited version of his many appearances where he essentially said the same thing and hit the same talking points.

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I only saw one of his interviews in full when he appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. He kept on saying that he only cared about the poor, such as signing bills enabling poor women to get mammograms and obtain treatment for breast cancer and how he considered nominating Oprah Winfrey for Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat.

What was amusing was the fact that after airing the long version of his interview, Rachel Maddow went back and aired some portions of the interview where she felt that he incriminated himself.

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There's a reason why most lawyers in high profile court cases tend to advise their clients not to talk to the media until after the court case has ended. You have to be extremely disciplined to not accidentally incriminate yourself during the course of an interview. I wouldn't be surprised if Patrick Fitzgerald has recorded all of Blago's television appearances and is currently getting his staff to pour over everything Blago has said in order to help the prosecution for his upcoming criminal trial.

Hell, I think he should be sending flowers to Rachel Maddow after the case ends to thank her for making his job so easy with the above video clip.

I'll admit that Blago came across as charming in Maddow's interview and the other clips of his appearances. But even if one believes his contention that he's done the things he's done to help the poor and downtrodden in his state, here's are some questions that needs to be answered. Why haven't there been any big demonstrations against Blago's arrest and impeachment trial? Why haven't there been any buzz in the blogosphere and the news media calling for the Illinois Senate and Patrick Fitzgerald to back off of Blago? Why haven't any entrepreneurs try to sell "Free Blago" buttons or t-shirts?

Blago loves to compare himself to Nelson Mandela but Mandela had demonstrators all over the world calling for his freedom during the years that he spent in a South African prison. So far, there have been no major movement to support Blago at all. Why is that?

Perhaps this video clip from CBS News provides a clue for this apparent apathy over the persecution of Blago.

Watch CBS Videos Online

That's right, 66 percent of respondents in a Chicago Sun-Times poll gives and "F" to the now former governor. Which goes to show that Blago has an inflated sense of self that has no basis in reality.

The Blago Trainwreck on the Media Prowl

The fact that Rod Blagojevich has said that he won't attend his own impeachment trial starting tomorrow hasn't stopped him from giving interviews like this one on this morning's Today Show Sunday on NBC where he compared his recent troubles to those of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

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By the way, Blago is going to be making appearances on two ABC daytime shows tomorrow: Good Morning America and The View. Will he spout some poetry or make some sort of analogy to a historical event or person? I can only hope! (Ha! Ha! Ha!)

Blago Is At It Again

Illinois Drama Queen Governor Rod Blagojevich is now saying that he is boycotting his own state impeachment trial.

It gets even better. Instead of spouting poetry like he did at other press conferences, he is now comparing his plight to the Old West.

There was an old saying in the Old West, there was a cowboy who was charged with stealing a horse in town. And some of the other cowboys, especially the guy whose horse was stolen, were very unhappy with that guy.

One of the cowboy's said, "Let's hang him!"

And the other cowboy said, "Hold on! Before we hang him, lets first give him a fair trial. Then we'll hang him."

Under these rules, I'm not even getting a fair trial. They're just hangin' me.

Ah, Blago, you do provide a lot of drama and entertainment. If I lived in Illinois right now, I'd be embarrassed.

Organizing for America

Here's a video about the new movement known as Organizing for America.

This Blog Post is Dedicated to a Band Named Steam

Chances are that you have never head of the late 1960's-early 1970's band Steam. However, there's a very good chance that you have heard of Steam's first and only hit song: "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye". Here's a clip of the band performing (okay, they are more likely lip synching) that song in their heyday.

Over the years that song has been resurrected many times in the form of covers by other bands (such as Bananarama's 1980's version) and being used in ad jingles (like the one for Tide to Go in 2005). This week, the song was resurrected once again on Inauguration Day as Former President George W. Bush (God, how I love saying that!) was boarding a helicopter out of DC and crowds of people were singing that song to him. Of course, there have been a few YouTube clips posted of that incident already such as these gems.

The Wikipedia page about the song has even been updated to include this sentence:

On January 20, 2009, after the 2009 Inauguration of President Barack Obama, the crowd outside the Capitol (which had been estimated at 2 million people at its peak) began singing the song as the helicopter lifted off carrying the former President George W. Bush out of town.

That same page also has an interesting background story about the song that became more famous and longer lasting than the band. The song was originally written by Gary DeCarlo, Paul Leka, and Dave Frashuer in the early 1960's when they were members of a short-lived band called The Chateaus. In 1969 Paul Leka produced a few songs that his ex-Chateaus bandmate Gary DeCarlo recorded for Mercury Records.

This was back in the days of vinyl records when record labels routinely issued seven-inch singles that played at 45 r.p.m. (which was why singles were sometimes called "45's"). Normally a seven-inch vinyl single has two sides: an "A" side featuring the song that is generally played by the radio stations and is considered to have potential as a hit single and a "B" side that includes another song mainly as filler and it is usually considered to be inferior to the "A" side.

The record label liked all the songs that Gary DeCarlo recorded and wanted to issue them as A-sides on the singles. That left the challenge of finding and recording more songs to serve as the B-sides. So Paul Leka and DeCarlo decided to resurrect that song from their former band because they felt that it was inferior enough to serve as a B-side so, together with fellow ex-Chateaus bandmate Dave Frashuer, they recorded it. They improvised parts of the song by singing "na na na" and recycling a drum track from one of DeCarlo's other recording sessions.

Well the record label liked that song so much that they decided to release it to the public as the "A" side of the 45 r.p.m. The musicians who created that record felt too embarrassed by the song to be publicly associated with it so the record label created a fictional band named Steam and the song was released under the Steam name. The song became a hit single in 1969 so Paul Leka assembled a touring band under the Steam name and the group even made a few subsequent recordings that went nowhere.

Steam quickly ran out of, well, steam and they disbanded in 1970. But the song lives on and will probably continue to live on for years to come.

A Bizarre Episode of "The Dr. Phil Show" Featuring Ann Coulter and Alan Colmes

I came home from another round of physical therapy today and I felt tired so I turned on the television to an episode of "The Dr. Phil Show". Dr. Phil was devoting this episode to the inauguration of President Barack Obama (God, how I love to say that) and it started off benignly enough with clips of person on the street interviews with people expressing their hopes for the new administration.

After the commercial break, Dr. Phil announced that he was having two guests debating the political impact of the new administration--one from the left and one from the right. For the right wing, Dr. Phil had Ann Coulter on. Yes, THAT Ann Coulter, the same person who writes all those vile books that say just one thing: If you disagree with her or the previous Bush Administration on any issue or hold a political opinion that's different from Ann Coulter or George W. Bush, you are a traitor, Godless, full of slander, lacking a brain, and you're not worth talking to unless the other person MUST talk to you. (Now that I wrote the previous sentence that provides a synopsis of all of her books, I've just saved you a lot of money and a trip to the bookstore or library. You're welcome.)

For the left wing, Alan Colmes was brought on to represent them. Yes, the same Alan Colmes who, until recently, was a co-anchor of that notorious Fox News show "Hannity & Colmes" (or as Al Franken once called it HANNITY & colmes). Watching Ann Coulter debate Alan Colmes with Dr. Phil moderating is just like watching Snow White taking on the Tasmanian Devil with Yosemite Sam moderating. Yes, it was THAT bad. Yet I couldn't change the channel because, for some strange reason, it was like watching a train wreck.

At one point former White House press secretary Scott McClellen came on and Ann Coulter went after him like he was the anti-Christ. McClellen took it all in stride and showed that he had two things that Ann Coulter clearly lacks--humility and class.

The end of the episode was golden when Dr, Phil took on Ann Coulter for some of her writings. He mentioned that one of her books not only disrespected single mothers for being responsible for many of society's problems but she referred to children of single mothers as "future strippers". Coulter claimed that she was quoting statistics that claimed that many girls who grew up with single mothers ended up becoming strippers. One irony that wasn't mentioned on the show: Barack Obama grew up in the home of a single mother because his father left his mother soon after he was born and Obama only saw his father one other time when he was 10 years old. Look what became of him!

At that point Dr. Phil ran out of time but he invited Ann Coulter back for a future episode debating single mothers and she accepted! He also invited all single mothers and children of single mothers to write in to the show in order to become a guest for that episode. Oh man, I see another train wreck episode in the future.

But, to be honest, given how skinny Ann Coulter looked on television, I think Dr. Phil should've had her on as a guest the next time he does a show on people with anorexia. She looked downright skeletal and scrawny. I know that television tends to add an extra 10 pounds so I shudder to think how skinny she looks in real life.

By the way, you can see today's episode in all of its fuckery right here. You can also check out the message board with tons of heated discussions about Ann Coulter.

Inauguration Day

Man, I'm so glad that the Wikipedia already has an extensive well-researched page documenting all the events of yesterday's inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States (man, it still seems like a dream--it's going to take some time for me to get used to this new reality after eight years of George W. Bush) that I don't have to do much writing. Which is just as well because I'm kind of tired from staying up last night celebrating the inauguration with friends and going through today's physical therapy session.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart has a more humous take on things. First, Jon Stewart talks about that Obama-Biden train trip from Philadelphia to DC that the train my husband and I were riding last Saturday got caught up in. It also includes Jon Stewart's hilarious review of that concert that was held outside the Lincoln Memorial last Sunday that my husband and I watched on HBO.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Barack Concert

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Then there are the clips from last night's episode, which was broadcast live and devoted entirely to the inauguration.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Intro - Night of History & Balls

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inauguration

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

I'm Glad I'm Not in DC Now

Tonight my husband and I were going to meet a few friends that we met through the Upsize This forum. (They are from Chicago and they live in the same South Side area where Barack Obama got his start in politics.) The original plan was for them to take the Green Line Metro to College Park where we would pick them up and go to R.J. Bentley's nearby for drinks. However, they had planned on going to a dinner party in downtown DC first so we would not have met up until after 9 p.m.

Well those plans have fallen through. One of our friends had called us saying that the streets of DC were so clogged with people that it took a much longer time for them to reach their dinner than usual. They didn't arrive at the dinner until after 8 p.m., which was about a couple of hours later than they planned on arriving.

As I'm typing this I'm watching a live broadcast of Countdown With Keith Olbermann on MSNBC from DC. Outside the window of the broadcast booth, there are throngs of people standing outside hoping for their 15 seconds of fame.

Martin Luther King Day

Oh, man the last couple of days have been incredible. Even though I live outside of Washington, DC, I haven't gone inside the city mainly because of the throngs of crowds that have come from faraway places have descended on the city in droves. My local state delegate had a contest where he was giving away two free tickets to tomorrow's inauguration. I entered it but I lost so I'm going to watch it on television instead because there is no way in hell I'm going to step foot inside that city until after it's all over.

Besides, with my recent hip replacement surgery, the only way I could've gone to either the swearing-in ceremony or the parade would be if I could bring one of my portable folding chairs with me. But there are so many security-related restrictions on what you can or cannot bring that I know there is no way in hell I would even be permitted to bring that chair.

How strict are the rules? Well, this page on The Washington Post's site provides the answer. For example, you can bring a camera but not a tripod or a camera bag, you can't bring any bag larger than 8 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches, you can't bring backpacks or strollers, and you can't bring an umbrella with you no matter how bad the weather gets.

Yesterday I saw the concert at the Lincoln Memorial on HBO. I would've loved to have seen it live but the crowds would've been a bit much for me. I later learned that it was just as well because they capped the fenced-in areas off at no more than 400,000 people and anyone who came too late had to deal with watching the thing on one of the many giant screens that were set up further away from the concert area. If I was going to have to watch it on a screen, I was better off with watching it in the comfort of my own home--where it's nice and warm, I'm able to get food and drink anytime I want, and go to the bathroom instead of waiting in line to use a port-a-potty.

The entire concert was awesome to watch from beginning to end. It was star-studded ranging from U2 to Bruce Springsteen to Will.I.Am to Beyonce to John Mellencamp to John Legend. Here is an awesome clip that Bono made after he performed onstage with U2.

Today is Martin Luther King Day and here is an excerpt from The Washington Post's website about Barak Obama's call to make this holiday a day of national service. Here's video from Obama's visit to a homeless shelter for teens.

Here is how I answered Obama's Call to Service. Yesterday I purchased a few bags full of canned goods. Today I sent it over to a local non-profit organization known as SEED (Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development), an organization that helps out low- and moderate-income families and communities by providing education, job training, food, and clothes. I also spent a few hours helping out in the pantry where I sorted the various canned goods that many people had donated today. It was pretty easy work and I felt like I had something more constructive than--let's say--spending the holiday watching television or going shopping where I buy something on impulse that I don't need.

I hope the idea of service on Martin Luther King Day becomes an annual tradition. Heck, I would like to see other days of service throughout the year. For example, I think it would be cool to do something for our men and women in uniform on Veterans Day instead of ceding that holiday to the stores so they would use it as an excuse to run sales.

Tonight my husband and I are going to meet a few friends we've met through the Upsize This.org forum. They are a couple who live in the South Side of Chicago (where Barack Obama began his political career) and they arrived in DC just for the inaugural ceremonies. We're going to pick them up from the Metro station in our area and go to a local bar here in the suburbs. (There is no way in hell we are going to fight the crowds downtown to go to any bars or restaurants there.)

The Train Trip

I was out of town for a few days with my husband. We did a train trip to visit our nephew and his fiance in Groton, Connecticut (he is in the U.S. Navy and they recently moved there because of his new Naval assignment) then we travelled to New York City to visit my husband's father and step-mother. It was a very cold trip (yesterday the temperature reached no higher than 18 degrees Fahrenheit) and it even snowed at times.

We originally scheduled our return to the Washington, DC area so we could outnumber the large number of people who are arriving in droves for next Tuesday's inauguration. While I was still in New York City yesterday, I got an e-mail from one of the many mailing lists that I'm currently on that invited me to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden arrive in Edgewater, Maryland via train the very next day. Then I got a second e-mail announcing that the train carrying Obama and Biden would arrive in Baltimore that very same day.

Needless to say, I had no advance knowledge that there was such a train trip. Had I known a week or two in advance, I would've suggested to my husband that we postponed our own train trip since our return trip was scheduled on the same day and around the same time as the Obama/Biden train trip.

Sure enough, when our Amtrak train reached around Aberdeen, Maryland, the train suddenly stopped and we were informed that we would be staying there a while because of not only the Obama/Biden train but apparently there was a police action involving some people who were hanging around the railroad tracks illegally. The train eventually re-started but it moved very slowly. We were informed again that the train was forced to move slower than usual due to the Obama/Biden train.

So we had about an extra two-hour commute added to that trip. When we arrived at the BWI Airport stop, we saw a lot of policemen milling about along with plenty of yellow "CAUTION! DO NOT CROSS!" tape streamed about. We also saw quite a few people with cameras waiting by the train track but the police officers outnumbered the photographers.

As we were leaving the parking garage at the Amtrak station, we saw traffic cones blocking all access to the upper levels of the parking lot (probably to discourage any would-be snipers). While we were driving away, we saw all roads near the railroad tracks loaded with police vehicles parked on the shoulder of the roads. The overpass that went over the railroad tracks even had cop cars parked there. The unfriendly combination of the bitter cold weather and the multitude of law enforcement officers just seemed to discourage average people from just turning out to see a soon-to-be president and vice president and wishing them well. I know the law enforcement people were there to prevent any assassinations or other types of terror attacks but that whole array of cops were just plain too intimidating to fully enjoy this historic travel.

So I ended up with reading about the train trip on the Internet, such as this one from BBC News.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/obama_inauguration/7835253.stm

US President-elect Barack Obama has retraced the steps of Abraham Lincoln by travelling from Philadelphia to Washington ahead of his inauguration.

His day-long train trip took him through towns and stations packed with cheering supporters.

Mr Obama told a crowd in Baltimore that America was facing very serious times.

In Washington, he is due to take part in celebrations leading up to his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday.

Delaware pick-up

The journey began at Philadelphia's 30th Street station, where Mr Obama, a security detail and a media pack boarded the 80-year-old train.

Speaking just before he boarded the train for the 137-mile (220 km) journey, Mr Obama said he would be carrying the hopes of ordinary Americans with him on his journey to Washington.

"Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but just the beginning," he said. "Let's seek a better world in our time."

The train made a stop in Wilmington, Delaware, to pick up Vice-President-elect Joe Biden and his family.

In Baltimore, Mr Obama recalled the troops at Maryland's Fort McHenry, who had defeated the British during the War of 1812. He said it was "time to take up the cause for which they gave so much".

He added: "The trials we face are very different now, but severe in their own right."

Late on Saturday the train rolled into Washington's Union Station - only a short walk from the platform where Mr Obama will take the oath of office.

A Video to Put Me in the Mood for Next Tuesday

Anybody remember The Mr. Bill Show from the late 1970's? Well, here's a video starring the Play Doh guy named "Mr. Bill Goes to Washington".

Here's hoping that Barack Obama has an easier time as President than Mr. Bill did!

The Inauguration is Coming!!!

Here's one sure sign that Obama's inauguration will be held next week. More and more stores in the DC suburbs have been selling their own inauguration memorabilia, much of it at relatively reasonable prices. I'm glad I don't have to go downtown to score some of this stuff. I've recently purchased a really cool looking sweatshirt for myself from CVS along with a sharp-looking hat. Those items are so cool that I can wear them for months to come and still be in fashion. I also purchased a button from Five Below that said "I Voted for Obama."

Michelle Obama's Call to Service on January 19

Blago: 1, Senate: 0

It looks like Rod Blagojevich has got his way in terms of his appointment for the Senate.

Senate Democrats expect to seat Burris

You have to admit that Blago was clever in his selection. By choosing an African-American, the Senate had to decide whether to stand its ground and risk the perception of an otherwise all-white group denying a seat to a person of color or seat Roland Burris and be accused of waffling on its principals. The Senate took the lesser of two evils and Roland Burris will become a junior Senator from Illinois.

Despite Blago's victory, you have to look on the bright side. He didn't sell Obama's vacant seat to Burris so he lost out on an opportunity to make an illegal profit. And he is still facing impeachment in the state legislature. So he'll still be facing difficult times despite this victory.

Besides it's not the end of the world that Roland Burris is becoming a Senator. He has solid civil rights-era cred and he's been well-regarded by many including Barack Obama.

The Soap Opera in the Senate

As you may have heard, the Senate race in Minnesota wasn't decided until yesterday, when a recount confirmed that, after a very close race, Al Franken was declared the winner. Except that his opponent Norm Coleman is fighting the outcome in court so Minnesota had one less Senator when the Senate reconvened today.

However, that's nothing compared to the continuing Blago-Burris drama.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7813594.stm

Mr Burris said officials turned him away when he arrived to be sworn in.

---

Unresolved wrangling over two Senate seats cast a shadow over the first day of the new Congress.
In his speech opening the session, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated that Mr Burris was "not in possession of the necessary credentials from the state of Illinois".

Illinois's secretary of state has so far refused to co-sign the letter of appointment from Mr Blagojevich, as required by Senate rules.

Speaking to reporters outside the Capitol earlier on Tuesday, Mr Burris said: "I presented my credentials to the secretary of the Senate, and was advised that my credentials were not in order."

Mr Burris, a former attorney-general for Illinois, said he was not seeking a confrontation but was looking at options for taking the seat. He would now consult his lawyers, he said.

I hope something happens that will get rid of this sideshow soon. Sure, it's entertaining to follow it but it's a definite distraction at a time when there are more urgent matters that both houses of Congress need to focus on (like the faltering economy).