Hey, Look! Dale Jellings
Finally Has a Web Page

Five of My Favorite Singer/Songwriters who are overdue for a new CD: (Instead of a criticism, a hope there's more great songs to come)

Mike Stinson: A honky-tonk voice so unique and a talent for pathos dripping with irony.  One of the top songwriters I've heard so far.  There has been promises of an impending new project due out any day now, "The Jukebox In Your Heart."

Last CD: Last Fool At the Bar

Brian Keane: A founding member, but now part-time player of the Band of Heathens, he recently gained some notoriety for co-writing Hayes Carll's award-winning "She Left Me for Jesus." 

There have been hints since 2007 that a record entitled "Forbidden" was imminent.  Still hoping.

Last CD: I Aint Even Lonely

David Halley: The writer of "Rain Just Falls" would be enough, but he has two fantastic, hard to find CDs: Stray Dog Talk and "Broken Spell."

Said to be working on new stuff with a band called Shake a Stick.

John Eddie: A touring, live performer whose only major release is Who the Hell is John Eddie which produced some airplay for songs like "If You're Here When I Get Back" and "Let Me Down Hard."

No word on an upcoming release.

Irene Kelley: The writer of one of the best country songs of all time, "A Little Bluer Than That."  Her sophomore effort, "Thunderbird" was a little disappointing, but A Simple Path was a revelation.

Come on, y'all.  The crowd is getting restless.

I Recommend: The Missing by Tim Gautreaux

World According to Me: Favre Not Alone Among Great Quarterbacks with less than Favorable Finishes

A Brief Special Sports

World According to Me:

Now, that A-Rod has been exposed, what shall we do about the "steroid era?"

There has been consternation about the besmirching of the record book.  Much longing for the days of Ruth and Aaron.

A little due diligence would cast some light on this darkness.  How did the sport reconcile the many Babe Ruth homers hit during the game's admitted "live ball" era.  Lip service for awhile, and then we let it slip into oblivion.  And did we agonize over nearly half of Hank Aaron's homers coming after they'd lowered the mound which took pitchers a lot longer to adjust to than hitters.  Nope.

What are the agonizers  worried about?  That names other than McGuire, Bonds, Sosa, and A-Rod would be at the top of the power totals?  Really, who?

I have already ranted about the erroneous, widely-held beliefs about steroids. (See the World According to me)

However, I encourage anyone interested in learning some level-headed facts about the "steroid scare" to check out the following: (the first is a real eye opener from HBO's Real Sports):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2754168929523377644

http://www.biggerstrongerfastermovie.com/

("I got 99 holes in my head, one more can't hurt me much."  -- 99 Holes by Butch Hancock.)

New, even more topical John Prine lyrics from his recent CD, Fair & Square:

Deep Cover by Tim Eagan
July 01, 2010

Utah Holding Huge Gun Permit Blowout Bonanza

-- July 6th, 2010

  In 2004, Utah received about 8,000 applications for the permits. In 2009, that number had skyrocketed to 73,925.

  Pass a Utah gun safety class which can be taken anywhere in the country and pay the $65.25 permit fee and you, too, can carry a handgun in at least 28 other states in addition to Utah.  The prized permits is good for five years and costs $10 to renew.

  Nearly half of the 241,811 permits granted by the state are now held by nonresidents, according to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which administers the permits.

  It is, perhaps, not a surprise that the 28 states which honor Utah's crazy gun proliferation permit are predominantly red with Michigan, Florida, Vermont, and Colorado honoring only permits held by Utah residents.

  “We teach passive shooting in Utah,” said State Representative Curtis Oda.

  As close as can be deduced from the representative's nugget of qualification is that those people killed by a gun held under a Utah permit do not die a violent death.  The passively shot bullets don't penetrate a victim's body as much as they insinuate themselves inside the wounded person and become uncooperative with the functions of the internal organs until they stop resisting.

Cushing Wins NFL Rookie of the Year Award...Again: AP Sportswriters surprise everyone with the percentage of backbones in their number -- May 12, 2010

  Even though many of the voters chose not to change their vote because they were more appalled by the precedent of re-voting than the worry over female fertility drugs, and several switched to voting for Cushing for the same reason, this is a seminal step toward an era where witch hunts, accusations, and secret lab tests are disdained in favor of evaluating performance and effort.

  For those who changed their votes, I can only ascribe the following: The idea that taking diuretics, female fertility drugs, or steroids of any kind could cause any player to make more tackles, more interceptions, or more sacks is so preposterous as to challenge the credibility of anyone who would propagate or support such a specious theory.

So, once again, my e-mailbox is inundated with pointed, almost accusatory demands for my donated money, time, and effort to help Obama get his watered-down healthcare package through Congress.  The bill is primarily a Republican version of what started out to be a reform initiative.  Why would I want my representatives to vote for that?

  Obama's people are so desperate to pass this lame product they've resorted to bragging up elements of reform which are clearly not addressed in the bill and are a long shot in the reconciliation action supposedly planned for the near future like:

  Ending insurance company abuses

  Ending the denial of coverage to those with pre-existing conditions

  Prohibiting drastically raising premiums.

  Taking life-and-death decisions out of the hands of insurance companies and returning such decisions to patients and doctors.

  Unfortunately, these essential reforms are not in the healthcare bill as it now stands.

  On top of trying to mislead me about his lack of reform, Obama alienates me further by supporting the firing of an entire teaching staff in New Jersey who were holding students accountable for attending school and mastering the curriculum.

  Yeah, I'll be quick to volunteer my money for that sort of political agenda.  At this rate, Democratic Party candidates may not want Obama to campaign for them in 2010.

Obama Remains Mystified by Bush sleight-of-hand Economics

  Unable to figure out how George Bush conducted a costly, illegal war, funneled billions to drug companies for inflated prescription prices for medicaid recipients, and handed the richest people in the country an irresponsible tax cut while still balancing the budget, President Obama decided to alienate his base further by calling for budget cuts and freezing government spending on over 100 programs.  

"A person’s last days can be spent in any number of ways. But on the phone pleading with an insurer, that’s only in America."

-- from ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D. review of T.R. Ried's Healing of America

"One Injury, 10 Countries: A Journey in Health Care"
NYT, September 14, 2009

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