pianogonzology

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Sincerity . . .

Saw a lot of social media talk the other day about 'all lives matter', white racism, etc. etc. and rightly so. This is a good thing. As long as we talk. As long as we are sincere. And as long as we LISTEN. We must listen to each other. Let us all enter the discussion with open minds and hearts. Preconceived notions and know-it-alls are NOT welcome here. I grew up with racism. While not defending it, I can recognize the source of it. . . and as they say, acknowledging the problem is the first step in resolving it. It's not easy and it's not simple. Still, I believe it is noble and worth working toward. Like campaign reform and redistribution of wealth, it probably won't be accomplished in my lifetime. But it will be accomplished.

So let's be careful to avoid generalizations. People are people, and much like music, there are only two kinds. . . good and bad. Be sincere.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html or at
http://www.ohomusic.com

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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Monday, June 29, 2015

Family . . .

. . . values??

(Bernie Sanders on Republican family values)
". . . When a mother has a baby and is unable to spend time with that child during the first weeks and months of his or her life, that is not a family value.

When a wife is diagnosed with cancer and a husband cannot get time off of work to take care of her, that is not a family value.

When a mother is forced to send her sick child to school because she cannot afford to stay home with her, that is not a family value.

When a husband, wife, and kids, during the course of an entire year, are unable to spend any time together on vacation, that is not a family value.

The Republican agenda for families is really an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for.

When it comes to basic workplace protections and family benefits, workers in every other major industrialized country in the world get a better deal than workers in the United States. That should be an embarrassment to anyone who wants to talk seriously about family values in this country. . ."

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Ah . . .

. . . life

. . . goes on . . .

Tsarnaev sentenced. . . the Pope says you're not a Christian if you have a gun. . . white supremacist kills nine innocent people in a church. . . serious consideration is given to removing confederate flags from government facilities. . . heavy summer thunderstorms. . . prison seamstress smuggled saws to prisoners inside raw meat. . . Putin marches on. . . Kurdish forces say they seized a military base from ISIS fighters just 30 miles from the self-declared caliphate's capital city in Syria. . . both sides of the political spectrum accuse each other of using the South Carolina Church shooting for political motives . . .

. . . the music goes round and round . . .

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Go Get 'Em . . .

. . . Bernie . . .

"More than 90,000 people have signed our petition asking the Democratic Party to host more presidential debates starting this summer. Voters shouldn't wait to hear candidates debate the very serious issues facing our country.

Can you help us get to 100,000 signatures?

Click here to sign the petition to start the presidential debates."

What can it HURT???

Friday, June 26, 2015

Supreme . . .

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/supreme-court-just-handed-victory-obama-republicans-too-n381851 by Mark Murray)
". . . Had the Supreme Court invalidated the subsidies in some 30 states operating on the federal insurance marketplace, that would have affected nearly 6.4 million Americans, who would have seen their health costs skyrocket by about 300 percent. Republicans were ready to blame Obama for the potential chaos. But some of them acknowledged the GOP would get the brunt of the blame, especially since they backed the lawsuit challenging the subsidies. "[Obama will] have the ads all racked up with the individuals that have benefited from Obamacare on the backs of the American taxpayer," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., admitted in an April interview. Republicans also had been divided on how to respond. Some like Johnson wanted to extend the subsidies for Americans - in exchange for repealing the law's individual mandate. But others were in favor of letting the subsidies die, full stop. . ."

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Hopefully . . .

. . . this interview will do him in. . .

(http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/jeb-bush-a-tolerant-country-should-allow-discrimination-based-upon-religious-beliefs/)
". . . In a sit-down interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Saturday, potential GOP presidential nominee Jeb Bush explained that a “tolerant country” should make room for “people of faith” to discriminate against others.

Speaking with host David Brody, the former Florida governor said, “It’s not just that people of faith can have their views, it’s that they need the space to act on their conscience. That is what faith is about.”

Saying the best of all religious beliefs is when people of faith act on their values to help others, Bush nonetheless defended the rights of those same people to deny “services” to people whose lifestyles they oppose.

Using the Washington florist who was sanctioned for refusing services to a gay customer as an example, Bush explained, “A big country, a tolerant country ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating against someone because of their sexual orientation, and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs.” . . ."

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Men Without . . .

. . . balls

The U.S. team should have refused to play.

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/women-forbidden-attending-u-s-vs-iran-volleyball-game-n378356 from June 18, 2015)
". . . Women have been "forbidden" from watching Iran play the U.S. volleyball team . . . despite the government signaling it would loosen restrictions on females attending sports events. Earlier this month, Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi announced that a limited number of women — mainly members of players' families — would be allowed at upcoming men's volleyball matches. In an interview with The Associated Press, Molaverdi said women could also now watch live basketball, handball and tennis. However, women would not be allowed to attend soccer, swimming and wrestling. . . And in a clear sign of back-pedaling, the state-run ISNA news service on Friday quoted an official from Iran's volleyball federation as saying "the entry of women at volleyball matches is forbidden." The issue garnered worldwide attention after British-Iranian woman Ghoncheh Ghavami was arrested last year while protesting with other women outside Tehran's Azadi Stadium during a volleyball match between Iran and Italy. . . Nonetheless, the incident resulted in the International Volleyball Federation to call for Iran to allow women to attend all games or lose the right to host international tournaments. . . And over the course of the last six months, the government of Hassan Rouhani has indicated it wants to loosen the restrictions on women attending sports events — which date back to the 1979 Islamic revolution. . . "

. . . or just spell it out in the league rules. . . "All Welcome: