Big Wooly Mammoth

social security is in fine shape. debt is not inherently bad. and there are times when it is a very good thing. like when you are in a recession. the time to cut back on spending is when you are in a period of growth. the countries in europe that are continuing to do badly are the ones like ireland that made big spending cuts. and don't be fooled to think that there was a proper stimulus in the U.S. it was mostly offset by cuts at the state and municipal levels. it's not that stimulus didn't work - the problems is that there wasn't any significant stimulus spending. that all being said, both parties are to the right of centre. both work for wall street. but there is still a significant difference between the two. there is no doubt of that. Obama has been a huge disappointment, but if you think dubya was bad, the tea party GOP will make you look back fondly on those days. unless you are a libertarian ayn rand follower. but these guys are not true libertarians either.

>>the wealthy are not afraid to be very vocal and put their support / money where their mouth is not all the wealthy - the power hungry selfish wealthy - like the kochs, and the adelsons. folks like buffet and gates actually care about others and realize that they have enough for many lifetimes. it is the others though - from the ayn rand school of selfish objectivism. those who believe that altruism is evil. and that includes the VP candidate paul ryan. these people believe in social darwinsim. that they are better than everybody else. this will be a very close one. and obama (actually the citizens of the united states) will be very lucky to win. the majority of the country are red states. there are a few swing states, and it will depend upon who gets their people to come out and vote. and that is why mittens chose paul - to excite the base and get them out on voting day. Obama's team is going to have to work damn hard to get their supporters out there on election day. they will not be coming out in the #s that they did last time around. he has screwed things up too badly by giving in too much to the repugs. the man is not the great left hope. he is a right of centre politician (fuck - he is pobably to the right of nixon). but still much better than mittens and the repugs, who if elected will send that country down a scary path of ever-increasing inequalities and such. and never mind another scalia type on the supreme court, which has already lost all sense of objectivity and non-partisanship. the U.S. is a country of uneducated ignorant morons, in general. that's the only way to explain the fact that romney even has a chance. how else can you explain people being against being given health insurance. it is just absurd that poor uninsured folks think that this is a bad thing. I lived in nebraska for a few years. and that is the real america. and it is a scary place. AD is correct in his assessment. and the scary thing is that he is describing most of the country. this election will be about sound bites and lies. and that's where the repugs have the advantage. this is going to be a very close one. and i'm not at all convinced that Obama will win it.

Amy Helm is definitely worth seeing. I wonder if it is it just her solo? Her band, Olabelle are excellent. Check out the American Beauty Project from a few years ago.

actually that could be pretty cool. check out what he's been doing recently: http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/ and he's got a pretty good catalog of music to choose from.

There's that little bookstore next door to the Bytowne Theatre.

streaming here:

It was the 2009 Ontario election when the question about proportional representation was on the ballot.

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/02/09/its-official-ottawa-double-a-baseball-deal-confirmed/ would be nice to see a Blue Jays farm team in Ottawa.

i grabbed myself a 14.95 ticket from FNAC this afternoon. Carrefour wasn't offering the flash vente any more. looking forward to seeing y'all.

...and the advertised price in France is the actual price you pay. no service charges added. which is nice. same with internet/cable/phone companies.

looking forward to a local moe. show. And will be cool to see some friendly faces. This topic reminded me that I still need to get my ticket for the Paris show. And they just happen to be on sale for some reason. Regular price is €24.90, but they are currently on sale for €14.90. In France you can buy tix from a number of places such as FNAC (a book, electronics store) and Carrefour (a supermarket chain) on-line or in person. I'm gonna order myself a ticket and pick up an actual hard ticket at one of the store outlets (likely at the Carrefour down the street from my apartment). Let me know know if you want me to grab you tickets while they are on sale - no idea how long it's gonna last. Would be happy to grab some for you, and meet you pre-show. http://www.fnacspectacles.com/place-spectacle/manifestation/Pop-rock-Folk-MOE--BP203.htm http://www.spectacles.carrefour.fr/billets-spectacles/manifestation/seance/0/BP203.htm?parse=true&direct=1&frompage=BP203

problem is that you need to watch The Donald - I can't stand the guy. not that I ever liked him, but I like him even less after his foray into the political spectrum. I'd probably end up watching some of this while flipping channels if I was living in Ottawa - kind of like watching car crash.

nice that it's starting at a decent time for those in the Eastern time zone. Doesn't help those of us living in Europe. 2AM is a little late for me. too bad they don't archive these shows.

ignore that. just got an email. they've changed plans...and I'm kind of to far away to be going...

heynow and seejay were looking for tix I think...

you can listen to a new song here. I've tried to embed the link but it won't work.

I just DLd it myself yesterday. very easy to use.

Kevin is a big Genesis and Musical Box fan - so that makes sense...

David Barbe played bass in Sugar. And he has worked with John Keane (possibly regularly at Keane studios). was the engineer on some Panic albums.

and they are at the Bus Palladium in Paris a couple of weeks later. woo hoo.

sounds like a tough gig

We are, once again, looking for a home for the kitties. Things are not working out very well in their current home. Althea has started to scratch the new carpet and a couch. We never had issues with her before, and I'm not sure if she has stopped yet, or not. But it's brand new house and the people are kind of concerned (it's their first house). Perhaps Althea is/was anxious as a result of the move. (This will really help us find another home for them!) Now to make matters worse, One of the people has discovered that they are allergic to the cats. So...if anybody knows anybody that would like to provide a home for these two (up until recently) well-behaved sister kitties let me know. merci.