NOT . . .

. . . because of skin color, not because he wasn't 'tough' enough with Putin, not because of the ACA (well, maybe that one too- but not for the popularly held conservative reasons), not because he uses a teleprompter, not because he spoke to elementary schoolers standing on a 'my ABCs' carpet. . .

NO. . . but this president concerns me because. . .


(from http://rt.com/usa/obama-ndaa-detention-president-288/)
". . . President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 . . . giving his stamp of approval to a Pentagon spending bill that will keep Guantanamo Bay open and make indefinite detention for US citizens as likely as ever.

The president inked his name to the 2013 NDAA . . . to little fanfare, and accompanied his signature with a statement condemning a fair number of provisions contained in a bill that he nevertheless endorsed.

The NDAA, an otherwise mundane annual bill that lays out the use of funds for the Department of Defense, has come under attack during the Obama administration for the introduction of a provision last year that allows the military to detain United States citizens indefinitely without charge or trial for mere suspicions of ties to terrorism. Under the 2012 NDAA’s Sec. 1021, Pres. Obama agreed to give the military the power to arrest and hold Americans without the writ of habeas corpus, although he promised with that year’s signing statement that his administration would not abuse that privilege.

In response to the controversial indefinite detention provision from last year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) introduced an amendment in December 2012 that would have forbid the government from using military force to indefinitely detain Americans without trial under the 2013 NDAA. Although that provision, dubbed the “Feinstein Amendment,” passed the Senate unanimously, a select panel of lawmakers led by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Michigan) stripped it from the final version of the NDAA two week later before it could clear Congress. In exchange, Congress added a provision, Sec. 1029, that claims to ensure that “any person inside the United States” is allowed their constitutional rights, including habeas corpus, but supporters of the Feinstein Amendment say that the swapped wording does nothing to erase the indefinite detention provision from the previous year. . ."

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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)

'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Friends . . .

NO, not the television show. . .


Many have sung of the great value of friends. I now realize how differently I value friends from a more mature perspective than I did as a child but I'm not really sure I can say with accuracy that I valued them any less as a child.  I only valued them differently without the wisdom these many years have bestowed upon me.

Of course, as you well know, this has everything to do with music. Many websites list their 'top friendship songs' which vary but contain many common titles.  So here's a list, based upon several sites but compiled by me of some of them:

You've Got To Have Friends by Buzzy Linhart and Mark 'Moogy' Klingman
You've Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman
You've Got A Friends by Carole King
A Little Help From My Friends by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Stand By Me by Ben E. King
Lean On Me by Bill Withers
You're My Best Friend by John Deacon (Queen)
Waiting On A Friend by Mick Jagger

Well.  I gotta' run.  Gonna meet some friends. . .

What do you think?
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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)

'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Money. . .

The radio is rambling on about Syria with mention of car bombs, Assad, opposition, terrorists, negotiators etc., very sad indeed.  The umpteenth snowstorm is coating the complete pre-spring landscape and once again, complicating a morning commute.  The president has spoken with high schoolers about going to college and how they're going to pay for it. Mere distractions to be sure.

But once again, prompted by the dinner conversation last night, distribution of wealth sneaked into the mix.  The angle this time was not the greed of Wall Street or big business.  This time we zeroed in on the entertainment industry.  Not only the vast amounts of money required to make a major-release motion picture, but also the salaries commanded by professional sports players.  See . . .

". . . For the first time since SI.com began publishing the Fortunate 50 in 2004, Tiger Woods is not No. 1. He's not even No. 2. That honor goes once again to Phil Mickelson. The new No. 1 (for now) is Floyd Mayweather, who was unranked a year ago but scored two huge pay-per-view paydays to earn $85 million without a single endorsement.

This year's list is unique for a couple more reasons. NBA players, who have historically claimed more spots in the Fortunate 50 than any other group, had their salaries slashed by nearly 20 percent this season because of the 66-game schedule brought on by the lockout of 2011.
Our findings consisted solely of salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees. We consulted players' associations, tour records, agents and news reports. Our endorsement estimates for 2012 came from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salary figures were based on current or most recently completed seasons (July 1 for the NFL, which is why Drew Brees, who just signed a $100 million deal last Friday, isn't on the list). For winnings-based sports (auto racing, golf, tennis), we used the 2011 calendar year. Boxing purses are from June 2011 through May 2012. Candidates for the U.S. 50 had to be American citizens and currently active in their sports.
For the 20 highest earning international athletes, go here
. . ."(Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2012/#ixzz2wDNJ0k1u)

What do you think?
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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)

'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Let's Dance . . .

(from wikipedia.com)
The tango (from Latin tango, meaning "touch") is a partner dance that originated in the 1890s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay, and soon spread to the rest of the world.

Early tango was known as tango criollo (Creole tango). Today, there are many forms of tango extant. Popularly and among tango dancing circles, the authentic tango is considered to be the one closest to the form originally danced in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

Tango is a dance that has influences from European and African culture. Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former slave peoples helped shape the modern day Tango. The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. The word "tango" seems to have first been used in connection with the dance in the 1890s. Initially it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, primarily Italians.

In the early years of the 20th century, dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires travelled to Europe, and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York in the USA, and Finland. In the USA around 1911 the word "tango" was often applied to dances in a 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm such as the one-step. The term was fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance, although they might be. Tango music was sometimes played, but at a rather fast tempo. Instructors of the period would sometimes refer to this as a "North American tango", versus the so-called "Argentine Tango". By 1914 more authentic tango stylings were soon developed,[which?] along with some variations like Albert Newman's "Minuet" tango.

In Argentina, the onset in 1929 of the Great Depression, and restrictions introduced after the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen government in 1930 caused tango to decline. Its fortunes were reversed as tango became widely fashionable and a matter of national pride under the government of Juan Perón. Tango declined again in the 1950s as a result of economic depression and the banning of public gatherings by the military dictatorships; male-only Tango practice—the custom at the time—was considered "public gathering". That, indirectly, boosted the popularity of rock and roll because, unlike Tango, it did not require such gatherings.


Ognat
(instrumental) ©2013 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from '2014'
available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak






What do you think?
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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Also, be sure to visit:
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Trickle. . .

 . . . down

Why is it when I hear the words “trickle down” I only think of PISS?


(from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-the-us-economy-really-needs-to-recover/)
"A recent uptick in employee earnings has some experts saying the economic recovery, during which income gains have gone almost entirely to affluent Americans, is beginning to trickle down. Such a rise is critical not only to lifting economic growth in the short term, but sustaining the robust consumer spending that the U.S. economy needs to thrive.

No need to rush out and buy an umbrella just yet. The Commerce Department reported that average income rose 0.3 percent in January after being flat the prior month. Government economists also said that if it hadn't been for the expiration of jobless benefits for more than 1 million unemployed people at the end of December, the jump would have been even greater.  .  ."

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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
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Two . . .

. . . faced. . . 


Our very own government has mastered the art of hypocrisy with the recent outrage they've expressed over the situation in the Ukraine.  But while its own citizens are not all fully cognizant of this fact, they are not fooling many Russians. John Kerry said that it is unacceptable to invade another country on a 'completely trumped-up pretext' or simply because you do not like its current leadership.

Meantime, Iraq notwithstanding, the U.S. initiated or participated in armed attacks in Libya, Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen and still refuses to join or recognize the International Criminal Court.

And while Putin's actions have been irresponsible and dangerous and could still backfire, it was not unprovoked.
(source:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/opinion/putin-western-hypocrosy/index.html?iid=article_sidebar)

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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
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'2014' available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak
Pre-order your copy of "2014" at the iTunes Store NOW

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Twenty-five. . .

 . . . days

. . . til the release of '2014' .  .  . (pre-order at your iTunes store NOW)



Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns

I'm not talking 'bout weapons
Automatic and such
If you have some conviction
Principles mean so much
Principles mean so much

Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns
I just want to sing
Hear the many vibrations ring
Maybe my music's not your kind of thing
I've got to get the others listening
I've got to get the others listening

Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns

It's a human thing
We're easily led when there are two or three
Two is company and three is a crowd
A group of voices can be very loud
The other voices can be very loud

Stick to your guns
Stick to your guns
Don't let nobody make you run
Just stick to your guns


Stick To Your Guns
(instrumental) ©2013 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from '2014'
available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak




What do you think?
Tell me at
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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). 

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
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