The Half Baked Lunatic

  I've done a lot of media licensing in my life.  A lot .... hit songs, video clips, still images (including a picture of Elvis Presley once, that was fun). I'm fairly up to date on licensing laws and procedures, and I have a high regard for artists rights. And I certainly wouldn't dream of using someone's copyrighted material in a national advertisement without their permission.  So why is John McCain trying to sue Jackson Browne after he used "Running on Empty" without permission?  This is just plain stupid: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27820970 Basically, McCain's campaign used Jackson Browne's hit song "Running on Empty" in an ad that targeted Obama's energy plan.  Jackson Browne sued, rightfully so, stating that More...

  Americans are spoiled. We want to have a semi-socialist government that provides entitlements and health care, but no one wants higher taxes to pay for it. We want high wages, but then we complain when everyone buys cheap foreign made goods. We're straddled with trillions of dollars of debt, and no one wants to raise taxes to pay for it. We want it all, and we don't want to pay for it.  Spoiled. Something has to give! Believe me, I think our taxes are too high as it is and I don't want to pay any more - especially when the money is being spent on an idiotic war that has no end in sight, on a bailout which has very little chance of saving our debt driven economy, and social programs that give freebies to people that really don't contribute much in return. But let's be realistic. For 150 years, we've gone More...

  For the last two days, I've seen numerous reports calling for job seekers to submit their resume's on Obama's website www.Change.gov I'm a seasoned manager with great credentials.  I have very few skeletons in my closet, and as an added bonus I am currently living in Washington D.C.  So I've decided to give it a try.  I filled out the "expression of interest" form last night.  Lest you think I'm doing this as a joke - I'm not.  Although I don't really NEED a job at this point, I would seriously consider the opportunity if I manage to get through the vetting process. I'm curious if they'll even respond to my "expression of interest" (that's such a politically correct way of stating it.  Hmmph.)  An MSNBC news report published today says that administration applicants will go through the most "extensive and invasive" application process ever.  They will review all blogs, More...

  It's time for the press to stop bringing up Barack Obama's race whenever his name is mentioned.  It's only been one day, and it's already getting tiring. For one thing, Obama is bi-racial.  His mother was white and his father was African American. But that doesn't matter.  What matters is whether or not he is the right person for the job.  I don't give a rats ass if he's green, pink, tan, black, or bluish purple. Yes, it is a big deal to be the first obviously bi-racial president - I'm not denying that (reportedly, there have been others, but they were "mostly white"). In any event, the leadup to this election has been in the works for a long time.  At one point, in some city, we must have had the first black mayor. And I'm sure that was big news at the time.  I'm not sure who/when/where it was - but no one bats an eye anymore when a black man (or woman, or Chinese, or Indian) is elected More...

The Bush administration will go down in history as one of the worst - make that the absolute worst - in U.S. history.

George Bush Senior should whip the president's ass with a ping pong paddle for making such a mess of things. In public.

In the last 8 years, [More]

* * * I'm writing the first entry to my new blog on the day before the Presidential Election, 2008.  Whew, what a mess! As you'll find within these pages, I have absolutely NO allegiance to either political party - but I share the nation's disgust with the mess that the Republican Party has made of things. On a personal level, I could never vote for John McCain - he is a whiney little weasel, and his whole demeanor is not what I would expect from a seasoned politician and presidential candidate.  His whole "let me tell you something my friends" shtick makes me feel like I'm listening to a used car salesman. I went in to the campaign season with an open mind, but I was REALLY turned off by McCain during the first debate. First off, when backed into a corner with a very logical and well presented argument, he always came back with a very condescending response - trying to make it look like it was Obama who didn't understand the issue.  Obviously, logic and reason don't matter much to him. I found it very insulting. But the real capper was one sentence during the debate.  When talking about budget issues, McCain said More...