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1. 

   Saturday8pm

   107 Kudos

   07/01/09

   Hee, I'm old enough to remember the John Anderson campaign of 1980 ... the vote was split between he, Carter, and Reagan ... I remember driving south with a van full of kids to do some charity work, and one of the older girls was trying to convince me to ditch the Republicans and go for Anderson. My point, AS ALWAYS, was that it was a waste of a vote. She kindly dug in her heels. One problem - I was too young to vote! Still, it was an interesting time to see the boat turn right. Of course, 1980 turned into a watershed year in some other ways ... I was nearing the end of high school, Lennon was murdered, and it was a new decade ... dunno how the next election will take shape, but I'll give everyone due diligence whatever their affiliation ... except the possibility of the Communist Party, lol!
   Original comment »

   07/02/09

   Reply from TheCreep:

   Interesting, mate! I was 16 when Lennon was murdered, and I remember having the "Double Fantasy" album on vinyl, along with a growing collection of NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) albums from Brit bands such as Raven, White Spirit, Praying Mantis, and the like.
   
   That was a great time, man. The Brit metal bands had the ultimate influence on the American scene that followed in the 80's. And if you listen to those old songs, they sound just as good today as they did then. Maybe better.
   
   Yeah man, I think the boat will eventually turn right again, (or at least independent) and I think that the issue of terrorism will be a major factor.
   
   Republicans kicked their asses, the new admin. is kissing it.
   
   I can't believe that at one time, Eric Holder (the new AG) wanted to release ALL the Gitmo guys into American society and give them benefits..not suprising since he dropped charges against 3 armed Black Panthers who intimidated voters outside the polls during the last election (armed with military nightsticks no less.)
   
   AND he wants to use the drug war in Mexico as his excuse to take away everyone's guns in America, and he also pardoned 10 Puerto Rican terrorists during his Clinton days.
   
   America, the Paper Tiger.....I hope 2012 has better results.

2. 

   Saturday8pm

   107 Kudos

   07/01/09

   Well, I gotta say I'm more left of the dial than I was in '01 ... too many things have floated under the bridge to like. First off, I am a registered Republican who did vote for McCain largely based on his war experience, which would have brought credibility to the base. Despite these things, there's lots to hate that the Republicans did over the past 15 years. While it's true the reformers of housing were backed by Bush, ultimately leadership failed us and brought down the house of cards, because that's what our economy largely is now. The thing I despise is how predictable and self-defeating politics is now ... Obama has been in how many months? and Rush practically has called for his impeachment. We all knew that the new emperor would own the dirty laundry of the past administration and that's exactly what's happened. I think the two key people in the whole "meltdown", Paulson and Bernanke, had to react to events that had no script ... that's the job of such administrators, to use the tests of history and experience to predict as best as possible the outcome of various scenarios ... what surprised them, Paulson more, was how badly entwined the banks were in their bad investments ... one false move, and the whole fix could go south. That occurred when Lehman was shown the door, remember credit locked up THAT DAY and is still struggling to flow. What's interesting to note here is how Paulson, a Wall Street insider at Sachs for years, came to be a Federalist at the 11th hour ... he too realized it would take a massive injection of public funds to keep banks afloat, because ( they claimed ) we were very close to realizing a complete shutdown of our banking system. So, where do we go from here? We'll never really know if this "TARP" tactic was our safety net or not ... right now, we're still here, but many companies won't be. I've sniffed around shops locally and I must say people are not buying much ... that's the problem with the whole economy, it's lifeblood is trade, and we've been trading more than we create for over 50 years now ... GE claims America is on the path to a new round of manufacturing, sounds too good to me coming from a company that's made much of its profits in the military industrial complex than appliances ... and that's what scares me the most. I don't like this corporatist outsourcing of our jobs overseas and maintaining mailboxes in tax shelter schemes while their top brass make 1000x the salaries of their oversea brothers ... at the same time, gov't functions have been quietly transferred to for-profit free marketers who have a stake in keeping security viable ... right now, these guys are taking public money and producing self-perpeptuating paradigms that cater to the war machine ... didn't we learn ANYTHING from Iraq and Afghanistan 1980? Holy Christ ... Blackwater effectively replaced the Gi ... where does this end? Mind you, I'm never going to invest in any of these "security" firms because I find the whole enterprise distasteful in the extreme ... and I'd like to invest in a Ford, if I could find a car I actually like ... but that's the problem between gov't, free marketers, the unions and a do-nothing Congress ... we've become a fat oaf of a country that continues to legislate based on corporate interests and produce junk and force other countries to surrender their land and resources with the false promise of democracy ... lookit what just happened with Big Oil in Iraq ... so transparent, huh? Further, our gov't has become a toothless watchdog that allowed Bernie to "Madoff" with the money for 20 years ... that's the problem ... our legislators ... on ALL SIDES ... who mandate and don't fund ... what good is a law if it's not supported? What do these people do, just sit there and pass paper? Green is an idea whose time has come ... albeit an "inconvenient" time. Oil has had decades to prepare for this and has done just as much as The Detroit Three ... now that Iraq is up for grabs again, we can safely say this entire mess will be repeated and the least fortunate will be forced to choose between the Army and McDonald's for careers ... I say, technology can fix some of this mess, but not all of it ... I think America is very backwards in its grasp of science and its relation to policy ... who cares WHAT's causing the world to warm, just DO SOMETHING ... but no, people would rather grasp straws and support their agendas rather than act ... hey, even Paulson saw the writing on the wall. What of these detainees? Dunno that either ... as far as I can read, it seems a very narrow percent of those held are true threats ... many are in there because they were beezlebubs in the wrong place at the wrong time who were fingered by cold-blooded profiteers who surrendered them for cash ... back during the American slave trade, tribes did that to others they were at war with ... good way to dispatch an enemy AND profit at the same time ... so, I can't get excited about that island deal when we've just handed a blank check to wayward, UNAMERICAN trade groups who hedge against the dollar and continue to invest in security schemes that keep the war machine greased ... Fuck, even The Ford Foundation is complicit in CiA schemes back in the day. So, we're all dirty, and there ain't enough soap to go around to wash our faces except those who can buy the media. Total Anticipated Iraq and Afghanistan Spending: $2.4 Trillion
   Original comment »

   07/01/09

   Reply from TheCreep:

   Some good thoughts about War and Profit. The UN has seen to make good on their own deals with tribal chieftains in return for a nice cut of the money when the last native is driven from some of the lands they pretend to be helping. Cambodia and Rwanda come to mind.
   
   As to the U.S. and war-you make a great point about Blackwater. Their involvement points to a possible trend in the future. That trend is the use of PMC (Private Military Companies) to accomplish political goals w\o directly involving any government.
   
   Plausible deniability is still the big deal these days, but unless the money is put into Swiss bank accounts, it won't be hard to figure out whose doing what for who based on the specifics of any private mission, although direct accusations would be hard to prove on word of mouth alone.
   
   The Russians have always been a case study-almost EVERY Third
   World country uses Soviet Bloc military weapons and hardware, and many still retain Russian military advisors and trainers. They have always been the textbook case of mercenary scum, they've probably made more profit than any other arms dealers. Wherever there's anti-Western sentiment, there's Russian hardware.
   
   No matter what war breaks out in the future, old Ivan and his warchest of goodies will be there.
   
   As to the rest of the stuff you pointed out-how true. NOONE has been on the up and up. Where it goes form here is anyone's guess. I know one thing, this is my last election voting for a party-Independent in 2012. I had enough of both parties.

3. 

   Saturday8pm

   107 Kudos

   06/27/09

   Good news for your love ... yeah, insurance is a real headache for us right now. We're going on the state plan because our jobs have been rocky recently. As soon as something gets signed, POOF ... we have to start again. Too tired of that, so we bit the bullet. Hopefully when the economy gains traction, HOPEFULLY, we can get into something better. Problem is, many docs don't accept it. PAIN IN THE ASS. So it goes. Yeah, you seem to have the "Roswell Theatre" version, right? I have the Varese LP version, sans theremin. Interesting one has it, the other doesn't. Like to read the backstory there. In any case, Derek Jacobs is an unsung interpreter of others' works ... his versions of some well-loved compositions improve greatly the originals.
   Original comment »

   06/30/09

   Reply from TheCreep:

   Yeah, IF the economy picks up again..I'm not so sure this new guy is right for America..he just put us a few trillion more in the hole, wants to tax health care benefits, wants to go totally green and put a lot of us out of jobs, and he used the bailout money that was supposed to HELP us to buy GM (now known as Government Motors.)
   
   I'd like to say that I didn't vote for Obi Wan Obama, (cause I didn't) but now we ALL have to live with his decisions regardless of who for him..
   
   Another thing too-WTF is with this Palau thing?. Al Qaeda getting a free ride to Fantasy Island Golf Course for $200,000,000 when the rest of us are struggling to make our mortgage payments?
   
   2012-please put an independent into office..

4. 

   Saturday8pm

   107 Kudos

   06/23/09

   Sorry to hear about your wife ... hope she gets well fast ... yeah, some of the family is getting on, and we're facing end of life possibilities too ... two elderly parents and a two sick siblings ... it happens sooner or later. It's always possible that YouTube® can yank any of our creations ... I'd consider it an honor if anyone thought it the real McCoy! No sense stroking my own ego ... it's the components that make the whole that are the concern, so must tread carefully. Nope ... never did catch "Satan ..."! After all these years ... one to see. Hey, I've got Halloweens to look forward to yet! GREAT you found that CD ... dunno if it would email however ... I prefer to work in aiff, but them files are GARGANTUAN ... Ray tried to do similar but it never worked. Worth a try, I always say, so if you're game ... Best, Sat

   06/27/09

   Reply from TheCreep:

   Hi Mac! Yeah the wife is way better now..had her stitches out last week and her foot is back to normal. She goes back to work next week and she and I are extremely thrilled that the bill for a 20,000-some dollar surgery only cme to 203 dollars with the insurance payments. That was a load off our minds for sure!
   
   Hey I just thought of something too-Ray has a copy of my CD, and you can ask him for it too if he still has it. Look for Track no 9 on it.
   
   Oh yeah, saw the new Star Trek movie! I thought it was pretty decent. A very nice homage to the old look without destroying it with "new age" design. The Starfellt uniforms and the Enterprise bridge were a great example. If ya' haven't seen it yet, ya' gotta' do it.

5. 

   Saturday8pm

   107 Kudos

   06/21/09

   Hey Shawn, yeah, she was getting better, just the annoying virus of the week hitting the schools up here, but dummy was allowed to go to a sleepover nonetheless on the PROMISE she'd go to bed at 10pm. Yeah, right! She's sleeping it off now. Last week of school, back to motherhood here. "Tom Weaver" is the nice chap with Chaney's "Man Made Monster" for his avatar ... if he's the Real McCoy, he's a film historian who's done many commentary tracks for DVD reissues and is a good connection to finding artifacts ... the original CF opener, for example. You, Tap, Joe K, Tom Weaver and Creeping Bride may be able to dig up that thing eventually. There's another film archivist out there too, known as "Professor Kinema" online. I emailed him once back in The '90s in regards to the "Chiller Theatre" hand sequence, and though he was kind enough to respond, he said something along the lines of, "Yes, I have a copy, but I'm not distributing it." Obviously he's keeping his copyright laws in check. Can't blame him. He MAY even know the creators, which would make for a very good reason. No progress on the intro yet, I'm shooting for Halloween. At least the image has come a long way. Since I'm learning new poop here all the time, it'll take time. The goal is to finish BOTH intros ( Top Secret ) and figger out how to burn 'em to DVD with feature films, just like the good ol' days. Hardly original! Despite the talk, I have quite a learning curve. Oh, I may be able to pinch the theremin bit from a college station's website. As I've gabbed about online here, for some reason, Dick Jacobs recorded two versions of that tune, one with, one without. OF COURSE I have the one without theremin. That Varese LP is gold though, he reinterpreted a lot of good music from horror scores, in STEREO! "Sat" on his ass

   06/22/09

   Reply from TheCreep:

   I found the music CD with the CF song on it if that'll help ya'. I went diggin thru all my game CD's for the PC (and playing some of them now) and found the CD.
   
   Hey man, good to hear your daughter's getting better. My wife jst had major surgery for a cyst in the bottom of her foot 3 weeks ago and she's doing great now, her stitches came out last week and she's on the move again.
   
   About that copyright stuff-I know! Youtube is so paranoid about copyright infringement.
   
   Be that as it is, I managed to catch (for the first time in years) that British classic "The Blood On Satan's Claw." Man Linda Hayden was HOT! Did a full frontal :) See that one if you can (and be sure to pay attention to the movie too!) :)
   
   Well, gotta' run. I'll see ya' round the boards and hopefully one day we'll get our CF and Chiller stuff. W\regard to Chiller, it's a Godsend that we have what we have now on Youtube, at least yo can hear the hand when it says it's famous tagline! ttyl bro'.
   
   Shawn

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