(from The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles)
". . . The (New York) Times editorial (defending Cornelius Vanderbilt and the question of railroad monopolies) introduces the second current of anxiety surrounding railroads: the corruption of government. The tales of bribery that flowed out of Albany reinforced stereotypes of public officials on the take, acting as if they were retainers of wealthy corporations, not representatives of the people. After Jay Gould took over as president of the Erie, he allied the railroad explicitly with the Tweed ring, naming 'Boss" Tweed himself to the board, along with his close associate Peter Sweeney. . ."
Things imagined
Things desired
Youth's imagination
From so countless
Directions fired
But life is truly
Not one taken lightly
So gravity inevitably
Exercises its option
Sometimes not so slighly
And dreams
Although good
Must be relegated
Back further in the queue
Relinquishing where it formerly stood
As the end fast approaching
Wants to now get acquainted
and the years have provided
Many lessons to mull
Seems that life is quite good
When you're proud of your choices
But the brain can't help ponder
Each leap and each lull
(from The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds. . . by Michael Lewis)
". . . a big part of a consultant's job was to feign total certainty about uncertain things. . . exhibit confidence when in his view, confidence was a sign of fraudulence. . . pretending to know things rather than actually knowing things. . .
. . . Awhile back, when my songwriting was more prolific (by choice- not by inspiration), intentionally for educational purposes, I wrote a song about one of the most frivolous topics of which one could write a song. Simply titled "Butter", the lyrics rationalized the act of throwing the leftover breakfast toast out on the lawn for the birds. Below is a fragment of the melody of the song, sans lyrics, as it turned out to be, in my view, a catchy tune with much potential for improvisation. . .
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-trump-for-possible-obstruction-of-justice/2017/06/14/9ce02506-5131-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?utm_term=.1225549df424)
". . . The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said. . . The move . . . marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. . .Trump had received private assurances from then-FBI Director James B. Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comey’s firing. . ."
Some days I feel like I'm twenty-one and I just can't wait to get on with exploring all the wild and wonderful things life has to offer. Other days I wonder if I have ten, maybe twenty years left to do the things that I enjoy and the things that I think I should be doing. At best, that's only about one-third of what I've already had. Don't get me wrong. I'm not regretting anything. It's only that, in spite of all the trying times I've had over the years, I've been having a blast.
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
-Dr. Seuss
(from James Madison; A Biography by Ralph Ketcham) as Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury promotes his plan for a national debt. . .
". . . Hamilton's candid admission that he intended the concentration in order to bring to the federal government a self-interested support he thought is desperately needed to become an effective means of government only increased Madison's apprehensions. Though the secretary expressed regret at the misfortunes of those whose interests suffered under his plans, he saw them as a small price to pay for the vital strengthening of the Union he thought made them necessary. As Madison observed the Hamiltonian "phalanx" in Congress, the eager support given the program in New York financial circles, the often arrogant comments by men of wealth about their superior capacity to lead and govern the country, and the tendency of backers of the secretary's report to exalt the executive over the legislative department, his concern for the survival of republican principles grew rapidly. Jefferson's famous charges, made in old age, that "Hamilton's financial system . . . had two objects; 1st, as a puzzle, to exclude popular understanding and inquiry; 2nd, as a machine for the corruption of the legislature," and that "men thus enriched by the dexterity of a leader [Hamilton], would follow of course the chief who was leading them to fortune. . . "
(from Michael Moore and http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/11/10/just-in-michael-moore-releases-plan-to-immediately-impeach-donald-trump-details/)
". . . Day Two’s To-Do List:
1. Must quickly and decisively form an opposition movement, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the 1960s. I will do my part to help lead this as I’m sure many others (Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, MoveOn, the hip-hop community, DFA, etc.) will, too. The core of this opposition force will be fueled by young people who, as with Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, don’t tolerate b.s. and are relentless in their resistance to authority. They have no interest in compromising with racists and misogynists.
2. Prepare to impeach Trump. Just as the Republicans were already planning to do with President Hillary from Day One, we must organize the apparatus that will bring charges against him when he violates his oath and breaks the law — and then we must remove him from office.
3. Must commit right now to a vigorous fight (including civil disobedience, if necessary) which will block any and all Donald Trump Supreme Court nominees who do not meet our approval. We demand the Democrats in the Senate aggressively filibuster any nominees who support Citizens United or who oppose the rights of women, immigrants and the poor. This is non-negotiable.
4. Demand the DNC apologize to Bernie Sanders for trying to fix the primaries against him, for spinning the press to ignore his historic campaign, for giving Clinton the questions in advance at the Flint debate, for its latent ageism and anti-Semism in trying to turn voters against him because of his age or religious beliefs, and for its anti-democracy system of “superdelegates” who are elected by no one. We all know now had Bernie been given a fair shot, he probably would have been the nominee and he — as the true outsider and “change” candidate –would have inspired and fired up the base and soundly defeated Donald Trump. If no apology is soon forthcoming from the DNC, that’s ok — when we take over the Democratic Party (see yesterday’s To-Do List, #1), we will issue the apology in person.
5. Demand that President Obama establish a Special Prosecutor to investigate who and what was behind FBI Director James Comey’s illegal interference into the Presidential election 11 days before the vote was held.
6. Begin a national push while it’s fresh in everyone’s mind for a constitutional amendment to fix our broken electoral system: 1. Eliminate the Electoral College — popular vote only. 2. Paper ballots only — no electronic voting. 3. Election Day must be made a holiday for all — or held on a weekend so more people vote. 4. All citizens, regardless of any run-ins with the criminal “justice” system, must have the right to vote. (In swing states like Florida and Virginia, 30-40% of all Black men are prohibited by law from voting.)
7. Convince President Obama to immediately do what he should have done a year ago: Send in the Army Corps of Engineers to Flint to dig up and replace all the poisoned pipes. NOTHING HAS CHANGED; the water in Flint is still unusable.
Will try to get these done by sundown. More To-Do tomorrow…
–Michael Moore . . ."
My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
. . . similar to any Americans in the news lately??? . . .
(from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-s-president-erdogan-calls-women-who-work-half-persons-n586421)
". . . Women who choose careers over motherhood are trailblazers in some parts of the world. But in Turkey they're "deficient" — at least according to the nation's president. . . is the latest in a series of remarks by the leader of a key U.S. ally that has sparked outrage and fear among liberals and human rights activists, who allege he's leading the country down a path to conservative Islam. . . "A woman who abstains from maternity by saying 'I am working' means that she is actually denying her femininity," Erdogan said in a widely reported speech in Istanbul on Sunday. . . Erdogan — who was prime minister for 11 years before becoming president in 2014 — said Muslim families should not engage in birth control or family planning. He has come out against cesareans, equated birth control with treason, and opined that women should avoid laughing in public — all the while using his strong Muslim faith to justify his ideas. . . "
My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
Brook (a listener of http://progpositivity.com/)
Hey, bro...just stopped by for a few minutes and caught some OHO...love it. Probably stop back by in a little while.
OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(from(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Hazare)
Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish official corruption. In addition to organising and encouraging grassroots movements, Hazare frequently conducted hunger strikes to further his causes—a tactic reminiscent, to many, of the work of Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Hazare also contributed to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts in establishing this village as a model for others.
Anna Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, The Lokpal Bill, 2011 as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, a day after the government accepted Hazare's demands. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee, consisting of government and civil society representatives, to draft the legislation.
For the year 2011 Foreign Policy magazine named him among top 100 global thinkers. Also in 2011 Anna was ranked as the most influential person in Mumbai by a national daily newspaper. He has faced criticism for his authoritarian views on justice, including death as punishment for corrupt public officials and his alleged support for forced vasectomies as a method of family planning.
In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA, People's Movement against Corruption), a popular movement to fight against corruption in Ralegaon Siddhi. In the same year he protested against the collusion between 40 forest officials and timber merchants. This protest resulted in the transfer and suspension of these officials.
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