Twit this

Twitter limits a tweet to 140 characters, we have 6 word memoirs, what's next, a 50 page novel? Has it happened? Can people not focus long enough to read a book? Why do we have to follow something in 140 characters? That's way too long. Say what you want without yawning. Yabba Dabba Do or Yabba Dabba Don't , followed by news, views, or blues. Virtual life is moving so fast, software is catching up to human capacity. Cut costs, corporations crow to increase revenue and margins and give the best customer service. How do you provide the best customer service when the corporations cut their most important resource, employees? They can provide the best services because their software has gotten better, and faster. Employees, they are things of the past. Corporations have no loyalty to Americans to give us jobs. They are global, they go for the cheapest labor. Democrats = Republicans. More jobs, better education, national security. 36 million people w/o health care. 40 million go hungry every day. Manning vs. Brady, Obama vs Whoever, Palin vs. Fey, Stimulus package, Congressmen and women who don't vote, best job in America except for Vanna White's.

First, there is a Mountain, then there is no Mountain, then there is

The impact Ted Kennedy had in this country and Massachusetts is poignantly expressed in the opening lyric of the song by Donovan, the great English rock poet/singer of the sixties. Teddy Kennedy, the last Kennedy brother has died and I, like thousands of others, feel like I lost a family member. He carried the mantle of idealism that Jack and Bobby established in the turbulent sixties. The family had an effect on the history of America like no other family in our history. Even the average man or woman today feels like he has suffered an irreplaceable loss. The hole has fallen out of the center of gravity. At times like this, people feel leaderless, like children looking for answers or guidance. They look for the leadership that Ted Kennedy provided as the champion of education, civil rights, disability rights, immigration, and health care. He fought for a better world for everyone, especially the downtrodden. That's where he took up Jack and Bobby's cause. That's why people feel empty now. They look around and wonder who will do it for me now? And the answer is no one. People have to do it for themselves. Fight for what you believe in and don't be dissuaded or influenced by political labels. Idealism does not have to die. If nothing else, that is what the Kennedy legacy can teach us.

Do you want a Shot of Consciousness with that?

A shot of consciousness, a wake-up call, an awakening. If only we could bottle and sell it, whatever "it" is, we might end the madness and suffering in the world. A woman rips a baby from a mother's womb. Another woman cannibalizes her own baby. Genocide goes on unabated in Darfur. Heinous acts happen every day somewhere, and less overtly heinous acts. I read one job is lost every 1.4 minutes in this country alone. One company wants to lay off 8,ooo people by the end of the year. Eight-thousand people, that's a small town. That's mothers, fathers, churchgoers, homeowners, renters, coaches, PTA members, part time waiters, students, instructors, volunteers. That's people whose income support basic town services, not to mention local businesses that keep a town afloat. Eight thousand people without jobs so one company can increase their share price value for their investors, and just possibly beat the market. YAY! Oh, and this company is spending millions of dollars for the naming rights of a stadium in Oakland, CA, where the Raiders play. Awesome! One CEO got it right when he said when he dies, God isn't going to be interested in what his company's share price was, but if he did good works.

Three Men Walk Into A Bar...

President Barack Obama, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley stepped into The Enlightenment Bar. The bronzed bartender poured a bag of popcorn into three small plastic bowls as the men approached bamboo stools, while "Margaritaville" played in the background.

"What'll it be mates?"

"Hey, aren't you that Jimmy Buffett guy that sings that song?" Obama asked.

"Nah, he's my twin, ha, ha. I get that all the time."

"It's uncanny," Crowley said in amazement.

"Hey, if I was that guy I wouldn't be here would I gents?"

"No, that is true," Gates said. "You'd be on the road playing to your summer crowds."

"So, fellas, what can I get you?"

"I'd like a Becks," Gates said.

"And I'll have a Blue Moon," Crowley said.

"And for you, sir?" The Jimmy Buffett look-a-like asked.

"A good, old American Bud," Obama said.

"Do y'all want a shot of consciousness with that?"

"What the heck is that?" Obama asked.

"You did come into the Enlightenment Bar gentlemen." The bartender pointed to the neon sign hanging above his head.

"Okay with you guys?" Obama asked as Gates and Crowley settled into their bamboo stools.

"If it's good enough for you, it's okay with me." Gates said.

"Crowley?" Obama asked.

Crowley shrugged and nodded his head.

"Three shots, my good man. " Obama said.

The bartender whirled around and seized a green bottle and three tiny paper cups from a shelf behind the bar. He deposited a cup in front of each man and poured green liquid into each cup.

"Drink up and I'll get you your brewskis."

The men, following Obama's lead, picked up the cups and drained them.

"This tastes like asparagus," Crowley said.

"Mine too." Gates said.

"I agree." Obama assented. "What's in it-"

"Jimmy," the bartender said while he filled their beer steins. "Essence of nature. Hey guys, I gotta go check on a shipment, so enjoy yourselves. Just ring the bell if you need anything."

"What bell?" Gates asked.

"The brass one at the end of the bar."

They peered at a big brass bell hanging on a pole at the end of the bar. When they turned back, the bartender was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Crowley asked bending over the bar. "He didn't just disappear."

"This is a very odd bar," Gates said. "I didn't notice that bell before."

Obama picked up his beer stein and studied the amber liquid. Gates and Crowley picked up their mugs too.

"Cheers," Obama said, and they all took a drink.

"Man, this is good." Obama said.

"Hits the spot," Crowley said.

"Excellent taste." Gates concurred.

"Well gentlemen, I have to take responsibility for this brouhaha. " Obama said. "I mis-spoke and for that you have my deepest apologies. It should have remained and been handled as a local issue."

He took a swig of his Bud. "My, this beer is excellent."

Gates and Crowley guzzled their beer and put their mugs down, eyeing each other.

"I got carrried away. Gates said. " I didn't give you a chance," Crowley said simultaneously.

"You first." Gates said.

"No, you." Crowley said.

"It was a rough day. I had been traveling from China. My equilibrium was way off, and then that fuckin' door wouldn't open. All I wanted to do was go in and take a nap, go lie down. I don't sleep well on planes- I lost it, I just motherfuckin' lost it, when you showed up on the front porch. I'm sorry man. I really am. " He laid his hand on Crowley's shoulder. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Crowley picked up his mug and handed it to him. "Here man, have some of this and you'll feel better."

Gates drank thirstily, the foam escaped his lips and pooled onto the bar's surface.

Obama patted Gates on the back. "Are you okay, man?" Gates nodded.

Crowley sipped his beer, then lowered his stein.

My day wasn't so tough, and when I got the call on the radio, I was skeptical that there was a break in. Perps don't usually carry suitcases in broad daylight to the front porch of a house. I figured whoever broke in there lived there. But I had to put that in the back of my mind until I was sure. But then it was how dare you accuse me? Then you hit me with that racial profiling and all the other bullshit and I was like I'm a fucking cop. I don't have to take that shit. You were pounding me with your insults."

He took a big gulp of his beer, and looked sideways at Gates.

"I was just doing my job. Just doing my job. Tears well up in his eyes. "I tried to save Reggie Lewis. He died in my arms. My arms."

Gates laid his hand on his shoulder. "I know man. I read about that. It really was a fucked up day."

Obama ran to the end of the bar and rang the bell. "More beers, Jimmy. We're ready for more beers."

Three hours later the men staggered out of the bar with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Charles Ogletree, Gates lawyer sat on a bench across from the bar with Crowley's attorneys.

"Well, gentlemen we didn't solve world peace, but this issue is resolved," Obama said.

"What did you do?" Take some happy pills?" Ogletree asked.

"Better than that," Gates and Crowley said and laughed.

"That's great. That's all great," Ogletree said. "But how long will it last?"

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For more on The Enlightenment Bar, click on my audio link in my profile.

Sunny Fourth of July

This is America, and people are happy when the weather is nice. This is the Summer, and people enter the vacation mode. A switch goes off in their brain and they R E L A X. The Sun and the warm temperatures make their cares melt away. Plunging into a pool or the ocean brings back memories of when you did those things as a kid, and you had no worries or cares, and you could just enjoy the feeling of burying your feet in the sand, or jumping into a pool and swimming or playing underwater games with your friends. Couple the beginning of Summer with the Fourth of July celebration, and you are reminded about the greatness of America. The promise of America as set forth in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." So after sunning and swimming for most of a warm, sunny July 5, I dropped my Ford Taurus off late in the afternoon for service. My fan wasn't working and when I turned the dial nothing worked from the vent to the defrost. But my conversation with my mechanic restored a chill I hadn't been feeling all day, when we talked about how General Motors, once the biggest company in the world was now owned by the government. He said it was nuts, that socialism was taking over the country. Why aren't people worried about that? And I said this is America, people are in a good mood when the weather is nice. But as I walked back down the asphalt driveway, a thought occurred to me that there was a fine line between socialism and fascism. In socialism, the government says, "You will do this," and in fascism the government says, "You will do this." History shows us it all depends on where the accent is.

Life as it is happening--now

What did we do before GPS, cellphones, laptops and PCs, and of course the Global Internet. Now, although we are safe at work, or supposed to be working, or on our coffee break, or even standing and ordering coffee and food at Dunkin', or getting a Value Meal at McDonald's, we get instantaneous news on our Blackberry or Iphone about citizens getting shot at in Iran. Now, this very moment, helicopters are trailing citizens and the military is cracking down and threatening to fire on their own people. Right now, while you bite into that donut and take a sip of your iced coffee. You can read about it as it happens, just as you read the sports pages of the Boston Globe online. But those pages tell you what happened yesterday. You can be a witness to what's happening right there in Iran. You can zoom in and see it for yourself, or you can flip over to the Wimbledon tennis match, or the Dow Jones industrial average if you get bored. You can witness history being made, if you want to. Now that you are aware of the battle in Iran, you can google other websites to learn about the fraudulent election that sparked the unrest, or you can switch over to a video game, or close the window and work on your spreadsheet or your resume. The choice is yours.

Restart, June 12, 2009 --The End of Rabbit Ears

What better way to begin again, then with the end of an ear(a). It almost made me shed tears if you waxed nostalgic as I did for the golden age of the 50s and 60s T.V. Back in those predigital days, you had to play with the rabbit ears to get them right if they got knocked over, or nudged while you chased your brother or sister around the house. Then you would have to move them back and forth on top of the T.V., or turn the dial up or down, or spread them open or closed to get the clearest picture while you watched Bonanza with your family in the evening. Imagine those days of yore when you actually sat around the kitchen table and had dinner together. Then the family enmasse went into the living room, settled in their favorite chairs or places on the couch and went on an adventure with the Cartwrights- Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe, while Hop Sing waved good-bye from the Ponderosa's door. Ah, those were the days. And now they're gone. Gone. Everyone is officially launched into the Digital Age. What about those people that didn't come kicking and screaming into this virtual New World? They watched blank screens the rest of the day, and wondered if their world was coming to an end. It was and it did.