Ra-ra. . .

. . . ra

Another ra-ra session from another political party, this time the Democrats in Charlotte.  Seems to me that all the money spent on political conventions could be more wisely spent without having to exert too many brain cells.  Furthermore, modern political conventions have become more showbiz than substance.  See what I mean. . .

". . . The aspect of the convention [Phil; formerly of NBC News] Alongi seems most proud of is the 13 screen back drop for the podium. The set allowed him to personalize the look of the stage for each speaker without physically moving anything.

When Jeb Bush made his speech Thursday night, Alongi and his team anticipated the former Florida Governor would talk about education – so they prepared elements that complimented his subject. Behind Bush stretched giant ruled notebook paper as he said “lets talk a little about our kids, and education.”

The RNC also played a 10 minute “Introduction” to Mitt Romney that played across the 13 different screens. Different aspects of the short film were highlighted in the different sizes and shapes of screens surrounding the podium.

Although some pundits have complained that the conventions are over-hyped and drawn out, Alongi told CNN he thinks they play an essential role. Alongi says he loves that for four days all the attention is on the candidates, and it’s not up to journalists to decide whether it’s worthwhile.
For Alongi the real challenge may have been that the stars of his show didn’t have the same draw. Sarah Palin drew 37.2 million viewers the night of her speech at the 2008 RNC, whereas Paul Ryan’s speech Wednesday drew 21.9 million. And John McCain’s acceptance of the Republican nomination in 2008 pulled 38.9 million viewers, while Romney’s speech Thursday got 25.3 million.
But, regardless of ratings, Alongi strived to create something that put the candidate, and his ideas, center stage.

He told CNN, “If you learn something about the candidates and what they stand for, you’ve learned something when you go to the voting booth and push the lever. It’s a chance for people to learn what these guys really stand for.”. . . "

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Unsolicited . . .

. . . advice to the media. . .

(from "It's Even Worse Than It Looks;  How The American Constitutional System Collided With The New Politics of Extremism" by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein)
". . . Help your readers, listeners, and viewers recognize and understand asymmetric polarization.  The [political] Parties are different in many important respects. . . Document those differences, report on them, and consider the implications of those differences for ordinary citizens.

A balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon is a distortion of reality and a disservice to your consumers. . . media should report the truth.  Both sides in politics are no more necessarily equally responsible than a hit-and-run driver and a victim; reporters don't treat them as equivalent, and neither should they reflexively treat the parties that way. . . don't seek professional safety through the unfiltered presentation of opposing views.  What's the real story?  Who's telling the truth? Who is taking hostages at what risks and to what ends?

Fact checks are important contributions to contemporary journalism.  What treat them all as equally important and bury them in the back pages?  Move them into the body of news stories and onto the lead, and repeat them when politicians continue to repeat falsities despite the fact check.

Stop lending legitimacy to Senate filibusters by treating a sixty-vote hurdle as routine.  The framers certainly didn't intend that.  Your consumers should be better informed of the costs associated with it.  Report individual senators' abusive use of holds and clearly identify every time a minority party uses a filibuster to kill a bill or nomination with majority support.  Do not say or write that Congress of the Senate killed a bill or stopped a nomination if a majority in both houses voted for the bill or the individual-say or write the truth, that the bill or person was blocked despite majority support, by the use of a filibuster.  This is especially true, as with the example of the DISCLOSE Act on campaign finance, when all the members of one party (in that case, fifty-nine) support a bill and all the members of the minority vote against.  It was not Congress that blocked disclosure-it was one political party via the filibuster.

Your highest priority should be to clarify the choices voters face and the likely consequences of those choices after the election.  How would they govern?  What could they accomplish?  What differences can people expect from a unified Republican or Democratic government or one divided between the parties? The "how would they govern?" story is always important, but more so now than ever. . . "

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We are. . .

. . . seven

—A simple child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage girl:
She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl
That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad;
Her eyes were fair, and very fair;
—Her beauty made me glad.

"Sisters and brothers, little maid,
How many may you be?"
"How many? Seven in all," she said,
And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they? I pray you tell."
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.

"Two of us in the churchyard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And in the churchyard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet ye are seven! — I pray you tell,
Sweet maid, how this may be."

Then did the little maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the churchyard lie,
Beneath the churchyard tree."

"You run about, my little maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the churchyard laid,
Then ye are only five."

"Their graves are green, they may be seen,"
The little maid replied,
"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door,
And they are side by side.

"My stockings there I often knit,
My kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit,
And sing a song to them.

"And often after sunset, sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there.

"The first that died was sister Jane;
In bed she moaning lay,
Till God released her of her pain;
And then she went away.

"So in the churchyard she was laid;
And, when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.

"And when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,
My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side."

"How many are you, then," said I,
"If they two are in heaven?"
Quick was the little maid's reply,
"O master! we are seven."

"But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!"
'T was throwing words away; for still
The little maid would have her will,
And say, "Nay, we are seven!"

(We Are Seven, by William Wordsworth)

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Tired . . .

. . . of hearing of . . .

 Romney's misrepresenting Obama's welfare plan.   The need for fact-checkers.  Serious and terminal illness, helplessness and grief.  Willful ignorance.  Political polarization.  The approaching end of summer.  Droning, monotone, musically elementary folk singers who are hugely popular.  Office politics.  Lack of leadership.  Bad poetry.  Higher prices.  Senseless killing.  Theistic religions with archaic tenets.  Endless, mindless drivel from the media about stupid people who have money but no sense. 

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Double Feature. . .

. . . well, actually two consecutive nights . . .

at Bread & Circuses Bistro.  Friday with Oho and. . . 

Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano
Saturday, September 1, 2012
6:00 til 9:00PM at
Bread & Circuses Bistro
27 E. Chesapeake Avenue
Towson, MD  21286
410-337-5282
http://bandcbistro.com/

(from http://www.dougalanwilcox.com)
". . . I'd like to promote some coolness scheduled to happen in the Spring of next year.
As many of you know, I've dabbled in numerous genres of music over the course of my career - more than once jumping into material with a decidedly jazz-influenced bend. During one of those periods, I polished up some bits and pieces of a song I'd started years ago called "Distraction". Fast forward to more recently and bring into play my friend, pianist Ray Jozwiak. In the course of our working together a few times, Ray came to arrange an instrumental version of Distraction heavily flavored with his own unique style. Well, I've just been informed that the song will appear on Ray's new CD "Black and White Then Back", scheduled to be released in April 2013. I'm highly honored by all this and urge lovers of instrumental jazz piano to look up this new disc when it's released to the world next Spring. Thanks Ray! . . . "

Thanks Doug.

Check out Doug (one of the finest vocalists you'll ever hear) at http://www.dougalanwilcox.com.

Distraction (Sample)
*original by Doug Alan Wilcox ©2011 / BMI / 2012 instrumental arrangement by Ray Jozwiak (from Black & White then Back, scheduled release April 2013)
© 2012 Raymond M. Jozwiak



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Oho. . .

. . . plays for you. . .

OHO (2012, that is) a rocking, folking, jazzing amalgam of inspiration, ability and dedication all together on one stage at:  Bread & Circuses Bistro

27 E. Chesapeake Avenue
Towson, MD  21286
410-337-5282
 http://bandcbistro.com/

Oho is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak
(with special guest Matt Graboski)
Friday, August 31, 2012
@ 9:00PM
On The Patio

Please visit http://www.ohomusic.com
for all things OHO

                                          (from the 1990 Wammie Awards Show,
                                           Washington DC)


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Outspokenly denounce. . .

 (from IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN IT LOOKS by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, Copyright ©2012 by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein)
 ". . . The country needs the remaining (if dwindling) opinion leaders from institutions like the military, churches, universities, foundations, business, the media, and public life to outspokenly denounce those who profit from bombast and lies and to denounce equally the television and radio networks and the print outlets that gave them airtime and web and print space, with the legitimacy that flows from them.  There's no better place to start than with the outrageous rhetoric of Stephen Schwarzman, billionaire chairman of the Blackstone Group, who responded to a proposal from the Obama administration to treat  the "carried interest" of private equity managers as ordinary income, taxable at a rate of 35 percent, instead of the same as capital gains and dividends, at 15 percent.  Schwarzman characterized the proposal as being "like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939."  Scores of such examples litter the landscape.  In another particularly egregious example, the Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives, Republican Mike O'Neal, referred to First Lady Michelle Obama as "Mrs. YoMama" and called her the Grinch, and then forwarded widely an e-mail that asked for Psalm 109 to be applied to the president-- a verse which says "Let his days be few in number" and "May his children be orphaned and his wife a widow."  Then there was Republican Representative Allen West of Florida who told President Obama to "get the hell out of the United States of America" in a January 2012 speech captured on videotape.  People like Colin Powell, Robert Gates, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Tom Brokaw, George Shultz, and Oprah WInfrey, ideally through some collective effort, should have the goal of recreating in society some sense of shame for distortions, lies, and other efforts to coarsen the culture and discourse.  That means calling out miscreants like Schwarzmand, O'Neal and West. . . "

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