Thank You Mr. President, You Have Saved Conservatism.

Yes, I’m serious.

George Bush has given Conservatives all over the country a much needed kick in the pants. “See ya at the bill signing” was about as powerful a statement as the ‘Bullhorn Moment’ on September 12th. These six words were the last straw on the back of the we-voted-for-you-and-we’re-sticking-with-you camel. The arrogance, the swagger, the cojones. You should expect these to be associated with the great state of Texas, but not in a statement said in defiance of most Texans as well as the rest of this great country.

Screw the little people, those loud talkers whipped up by evil Conservative talk radio hosts. We The Elected is what Bush implied. By ignoring 80% of the electorate President Bush sealed his fate as one of the worst presidents ever. His passion for all things Mexican has blinded him from the reality of closing hospitals, drastically overburdened social services and falling wages. Granted, there’s not much that is better than a nice cheese enchilada plate with some crispy tortilla chips and fresh salsa, but I think we can all agree that national security is a tad higher on the presidential to-do list.

To use a common Alan Colmes phrase, “How dare you. How DARE you.” The role of the president is to lead the nation, not ignore it. President Bush glossed over the will of the people and wrongly assumed that his good ‘ol boy network would step in and save him. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, talk radio and news programs aired the statement and a sleeping giant was jolted from its slumber. Conservative Americans everywhere realized that they had to do something to counter the wanton condescension seeping outside the beltway like the smell of rotten eggs. Email boxes were flooded, faxes were blasted and phone calls were made. Thousands of them. We The People even crashed the White House switchboard! For about two weeks We The People wrestled control away from our homegrown Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro (Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy respectively) and scolded them. We pimp slapped them. We rubbed their noses in the fecal mess known as the Immigration Reform Bill of 2007. And the bill died.

Afterwards Harry Reid had the cojones to say that many friendships were formed during the process. I think he’s 100% correct, sort of. There were no new friendships forged in the Senate. These new friendships formed among the masses that shook off the fog of political numbness, rounded up their friends and used technology to slay a very old, very out of touch dragon. As Glenn Beck said after the bill died, Conservatives don’t just listen to talk radio… Conservatives get involved.

I haven’t heard the president’s response to the death of his favorite bill, I’m sure it will include phrases like “hard work” and “I’m disappointed.” Well Mr. President, it has been hard work trying to stand by you for the past 6 years and the vast majority of your previous supporters are certainly disappointed. But look at it this way… you have 18 months before you leave the White House. Maybe a good ‘ol conflict with Iran will help the public forget about how little you apparently care about them.

Hide the children, Paulie has a blog!

OK folks… this is it. The world is about to end. Cats and dogs… mass hysteria, you know the drill. I now have a blog.

Mwahahahahahahaaaaaaa!

Who knows where this will go. My main goal is to take the many thoughts and ideas buzzing around inside my brain and get them on virtual paper so that I can get some sleep at night. Some of these thoughts are bothering me more than having a stupid song stuck in your head, so the therapeutic value of this blog could be wonderful.

So, let’s get this party started.

Fix Immigration… a fence would be a damned good start.

Here’s a great article by James Lewis: http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/06/now_fix_immigration.html

Some highlights:

• The US Senate has shown itself to be an incompetent gaggle of grandstanders.
• The United States used to have immigration policies that worked reasonably well. It must be possible to make that happen again.
• It’s just nonsense that the Bank of America can track credit ratings for illegals, but the United States Government can’t even figure out who they are.

The ideas:

1. Build a fence and enforce border security.
2. Outsource immigrant tracking and database management.
3. Consider letting legal visitor levels float upward, to take the pressure off the illegal flow
4. If government bureaucracies like the INS can’t do the job, outsource it to private corporations that can and will.
5. Go back to the sponsor system.
6. Reduce incentives for illegals and increase them for legal immigrants.
7. Insist that foreign countries help the United States to enforce its immigration laws.
8. Require state and local police to register non-English speaking individuals who are stopped for traffic violations and other minor offenses.

Immigration: The Neglected Truths

This is an excellent article by Thomas Lifson on the Immigration debate:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/06/the_neglected_truths_of_the_im.html

I can’t improve upon the article, perhaps the introductory paragraphs will pique your curiosity:

“Most of the public debate over the immigration bill has taken place in a fantasy world where certain fairly immutable truths are blithely ignored. The vast gulf between the political elites and the bulk of the electorate is matched by the vast gulf between the announced intentions of “comprehensive immigration reform” and the inevitable results of their proposals.

Common sense is being strikingly disregarded. And most of the politically correct media are loath to puncture the fantasies of the reformistas. The result is that a majority of the discussion is pointless, and unusually few people have been either informed or persuaded by all the public discourse. The scandalous immigration crisis has been joined by the scandalous immigration bill debate.

Leave aside the shameful accusations and implications of racism by critics of the bill heard from the highest levels of our government.

Here are six basic hard truths that must be part of any realistic attempt to improve matters.”

1. Any plan that can’t be enforced is no improvement.
2. Poor and unskilled immigrants are expensive for the rest of society.
3. A large supply of unskilled immigrant labor benefits some groups and hurts others.
4. There is nothing wrong in insisting that immigrants serve American interests, not vice versa.
5. Citizenship is precious, and carries with it serious obligations.
6. Border security is well within our grasp, and is a precondition for the success of any other immigration changes.

Read the article… spread the word. Our President cares nothing about what the public thinks. Most of our government leaders are lost. Unfortunately the vast majority of the public is clueless, which is the reason we are in this mess to begin with.

Secure the border FIRST. Then deal with our visitors as humanely as possible.

I’m a music snob… if it sucks I’ll tell you.

I’m a music snob. I’ve got a degree in Jazz Studies from one of the finest Jazz programs in the world (University of North Texas). I am a saxophone and keyboard player that can cover any style out there (jazz, bebop, funk, r&b, rock, classical, etc.). My opinions about music are based on the quality of the music, the form, the chords, the originality. The one caveat I have is that I rarely listen to lyrics, and lyrics often make the song for the listener. I’m in it for the groove, the interaction, the form. It takes a special lyric to capture my attention.

That being said, let me frame my opinions on music with my Top Ten list of over-rated musicians (not in any particular order):

1. The Grateful Dead: The music sucks. It is simple music for simple minds. There is a joke about the band that sums it all up for me: What did the Dead Head say when he ran out of drugs? “God, this music sucks!”
2. Neil Young: I just don’t get it. His music is like raw tofu: boring, dull, lifeless. He should spend more time with his trains.
3. The Rolling Stones: C’mon… what have they done since the 1960’s? Satisfaction (1965), Honkey Tonk Woman (1969), Time is On My Side (1964)… those are fun party songs. The Stones put on an awesome show but the music is so vapid. They’ve made a bajillion dollars, kudos for that.
4. Tom Petty: Very boring… tunes are three/four chord wonders, no brain needed. ::yawn::
5. Bruce Springstein: His voice does nothing for me, nor does his music.
6. Elvis Presley: White trash that made it big. One walk through his mansion proves this.
7. The Beatles: GASP!! Sacrilage! I said it. Yes, I think The Beatles are over-rated. They wrote some great tunes (Let It Be, Hey Jude, Yesterday), but I think all of the hype that surrounded their arrival in the U.S. was because the music scene sucked back then. The previous four number one Billboard his in the U.S. were Singing Nun - Dominique, Dale and Grace - I’m Leaving It Up To You, Nino Tempo and April Stevens - Deep Purple, and Jimmy Glimer and The Fireballs - Sugar Shack. Who?
8. Nirvana: The patriarch of whiny teenagers. The soundtrack to all that is wrong with our country today. Famous thanks to MTV. Interesting harmonies, but the attitude and angst is a little over the top. Grow up.
9. U2: Anything worth listening to since the early 1980s? Another band living off of a twenty year old reputation. Probably popular thanks only to the rise of MTV.
10. The Doors: Other than the innovation of keyboardist Ray Manzarek, this band was hugely overrated. They were the Nirvana of their time. Whiny angst against the world… with a bad drug habit as the only real legacy.