Never discuss politics. . .

. . . or related topics with your family. I think, and hope, that although I ventured into that dangerous turf, I may have survived this ordeal 'relatively' unscathed. And I hope that I perceive correctly because I sincerely respect their points of view, although I am still entitled to my own and chose to defend it to the point where my loved one expressed some visible discomfort with the boisterous debate that ensued; even though she thoroughly agrees with me.

I don't understand why some of the 99% do not even realize that they fall precisely within that percentage.

Further. . .the significance of the Occupy movements could eventually rival the impact of the civil rights movement. Not only are many confused members of the 99% missing, priests, pastors and clergy of every kind are conspicuously absent.

The evils that sparked these protests are real and critical to the well-being of lots of people. Instead of feeling proud of giving turkeys to the poor, religious and non-religious alike should be joining in the protests against the haughty rich.

". . . The current crop of national bank leaders are being shown to be just as corrupt as were the temple bankers of Jesus day. If Jesus were present among us today, he would be moving from Portland, to Los Angeles to Kansas City, to Dallas, up to Chicago and on to Wall Street in New York City. He would join the protest in every city. . ."
(from Howard Bess)

Above inspired by writings of Howard Bess
[The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is HYPERLINK "mailto:hdbss@mtaonline.net" hdbss@mtaonline.net]




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More thanks. . .

. . . Continuing with the Thanksgiving theme. . . I knew that ONE day, ONE MEASLY HOLIDAY, would not be sufficient to encompass (or be sufficiently inclusive) of all the thanks that I feel I should express at this time in my life. So I will continue on that theme today so that I do not neglect any significant personages deserving of my gratitude at this apropos time.

So I will add to the thanks expressed previously, I am also thankful (not to some bearded man in a golden chair sitting high in the clouds) to Todd, Rod, Tomy, Doug and Ron who have been in my life for the past three or four years and who have contributed to my artistic development, my confidence in myself, and in my confidence in the process of community, support and artistry which continues to give me strength and courage to continue in my pursuit of success in the musical realm.




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Gee, Thanks!. . .

. . . Most holidays really bother me. It's just me. Many times I feel like we set aside a special day, we give it a name, we develop a tradition involving some specific ceremonial details like fireworks, trees, gifts and always food (one the better parts of the process). But the purpose of the observance is usually to honor, remember, be thankful for someone or something for which honor, remembrance or thanks should be a regular part of our lives. I don't know, it just seems like we pull it out of a drawer or closet every year, dust it off and play with it for a day, then put it away to be forgotten until next time- usually a year later. Is 'contrived' the word I'm looking for.

This is why I have a particular dislike of what I usually call the "Hallmark" holidays. You know them, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Babies Day, Doggie Day and Dog Day Afternoon. . . the list goes on. And my dislike developed in my early adult years. I have (had) no problem acknowledging and thanking my Mother, for example, for all her love, care and sacrifice devoted to me and the whole family. But after childhood and all fun of picking out that greeting card, I began to think that it was a bit shallow, or should I say narrow, to whip out this gratitude only one day a year. I think it diminished the magnitude of the very thing it attempted to honor by confining it neatly to one day and conveniently making the greeting card (and in some cases, a complete industry so money could be made-which is another story completely) to commemorate the occasion.

I'm not saying I ignore these 'holidays' or special days. I would be a complete outcast if I tried. (And my wife would probably divorce me.) They are, as it is said, what they are. I do try to make the best of them but still voice my thanks, gratitude, love, honor etc. to or about the things about which I feel very strongly throughout the entire year and not singly on the 'one' day designated.

And on this Thanksgiving day, since I agree with John Shelby Spong that there is no person-like God who is intimately invested in the minutiae of human life and to whom I am obliged to offer these thanks for fear of punishment or desire of a heavenly afterlife, I offer my thanks directly to the sources to whom I am grateful. First and foremost, my best friend, love of my life, housemate, soulmate, co-parent of our wonderful sons- my wife Pam. Thanks Hon! (Yes, I'm from Baltimore) And this year I am thinking about some old friends who probably not fully aware of the influence they exerted upon me during certain periods of my development, have now re-entered my life and have brought back not only wonderful memories, have brought a new dimension to my present life, Clint and Jay.

Gee, Thanks.





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Yeah, so what!!. . .

. . .$600 million to be cut from the military. I’m no expert on this, but I do know two things. I know my gut and I know how to budget.

My gut tells me that war is wrong. It’s just plain wrong. Now to this, the military consultants, the conservative think tanks, the republican party (and almost half the people I know) will say,“but we must be prepared to defend ourselves.” And maybe surprisingly to them, I actually agree. But invading Iraq, sending troops to Libya and threatening military action against Iran cannot even loosely be described as defending ourselves. Oh there may be all kinds of bad things happening in these places and yes, they may even reach us eventually. But until they reach us, and ONLY WHEN they do reach us, will defending ourselves actually become one of our options. And at that point, it will most certainly be a good choice.

But NOT before!

Fatalistic though it may sound, any world in which we must interpret (or define) the military actions we have taken many times in the past as DEFENSIVE, is not a world in which I (for one?) choose to survive. Any imperialistic entity that believes (in this year of 2011) that they can truly and indefinitely subdue ALL countries, territories or federations with whom they do not agree, or who chose NOT to do the kind of business asked of them, by sheer brute force has not learned ANYTHING from written history.

That’s the GUT part.

The budget part is quite short, simple and to the aesthetically-inclined, sweet. In order to balance a budget some spending must be reduced. Logically, the areas in which the MOST is spent would be the places to begin. Cut, stop, end, fine.




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A word or two. . .

. . . here about 'coolness' and musical instruments, the relation of one to the other quite relative but very important. The 'uncool'-ness of the accordion which had become, in essence a new appendage, had long since been a non-issue to me musically. But it was an issue for audiences of popular music, not to mention for bandmates of accordionists in groups that played popular music. In other words, okay to me-uncool to them. And in truth, I was enamored with the idea of a new, and much more widely acceptable to younger audiences, instrument which was a mainstay in a preponderance of musical groups professional and unprofessional, young and old- the electronic organ. I had previously graduated from my first very own 120 bass accordion to a 'mic-ed' acoustic/electric hybrid accordion (not as sophisticated nor as expensive as the Cordovox) which had its merits: additional volume and the mere characteristic of being 'electric'. But NOW, I was ready for the electronic organ.

Remember Paul Revere and the Raiders and Paul Revere himself (stage name, I'm sure) who stood, sang and danced while banging out those gloriously wheezing chords on his Vox electronic? Well that's what I wanted, only I couldn't dance and I didn't want the HAT.

Not surprisingly to me, electronic organs were expensive. At least for an adolescent earning about $10.00 a week delivering newspapers. A then you would of course, have to buy an amplifier through which to play this wonderful instrument. After some shopping, comparing and arranging finance with my parents, I decided upon the Farfisa Fast Four and a used Ampeg bass amp with two 24-inch speakers and nary a watt of output. I do exaggerate, but it was FAR from powerful. The organ itself was off-white with chrome folding legs and gray keys (naturals) with which sharps and flats with a little more than an octave of bass keys in black instead of gray. It was GRAND. It was downright COOL!




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Twelve GOOD what?. . .

. . . I'm not talking about the jury in the famous play and movie. I'm not talking about the twelve sons of Jacob or the followers of Jesus. Not 12 bad habits that hold good people back, not twelve good men and true. . .

No. I heard a politician on the radio this morning refer to the Congressional "'Super Committee' as twelve GOOD people who worked hard" to reduce the deficit. Almost FOUR months! And NO DEAL! COME ON!!!

Now the final insult from our public servants. No deal after all this time, fuss and their refusal to take the well being of their constituents seriously. And the same, one, big, clear point of disagreement remains - TAXES!!

And even the rich people that the Republicans refuse to tax WANT to take on the extra burden. (See the news last week.)

I URGE the "Occupy" groups to take on this one issue and I'll be specific about how I think it should be done. Here's your chance to show the world that you DO HAVE AN AGENDA. What better way to help the 99% than by removing the 1% from power. My suggestion. . .

Occupy Washington DC and recall the ENTIRE CONGRESS. WHO NEEDS THESE PEOPLE to continue pretending to serve us? We certainly don't.




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Where's the Cheer?. . .

. . .That I should feel
Inside my heart
This time of year
While all the
Televisions
Newspapers
And billboards
Count the shopping days
For me

It appears
To me that
I'm the only one
Who doesn't see
The fine and natural
Attraction to what seems
Part race
Part obstacle course
I believe

Long ago I leaned that we
Celebrate this season
Anniversary of the birth
Of someone named Jesus

Through the years
How my perception of it all
Has gone awry
When so much
Manufactured hype
And pressurized requirements
Make it all seem a lie

How I wish
Since it's the
Time of year that
Dreams can come alive
That you and I
See one November when
Without the retail forecasting
Some peace on earth
Goodwill to all arrives

CHEER
©2007 Raymond M. Jozwiak


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