Kanye's an Ass, Beyonce Has Class

I was going to post yesterday about the Kanye West/Taylor Swift incident yesterday, but the news of Patrick Swayze's death led me to post a tribute to him instead.  As it turns out, audio was released of Barack Obama commenting on the incident.  In one of those rare twists of fate, I actually find myself in 100% agreement with the president.

Actually, I was going to be a little stronger in my sentiments and say that Kanye was a fucking asshole, but the president sums it up pretty well.

I am not going to embed the video of the actual incident, but I do want to give major credit to Beyonce who showed unbelievable grace.  She is a class act, not to mention totally Bootilicious.

Sadly, Viacom disabled the embedding on the original video I posted so I will give it another shot.

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Patrick Swayze: 1952-2009 RIP

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Last year, Patrick Swayze was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Survival rates for this form of cancer are poor, and despite a valiant fight, Swayze lost his battle passing away yesterday at the age of 57.  He continued to work, starring in an A&E Television series called "The Beast" which ran through June of this year.

I think the first movie that I ever saw that featured Swayze was "Red Dawn," a film in which the Soviet Union had invaded the USA.  That film followed his appearance in "Uncommon Valor" and Swayze seemed poised to be an action movie star.  He gained worldwide popularity in 1987 when he appeared in the romantic film "Dirty Dancing" with Jennifer Gray, who coincidentally also appeared in "Red Dawn."  As a side note, "Dirty Dancing" is one of Mrs. Dickster's favorite movies.  His biggest hit came in 1990 in another romance, when he starred with Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in "Ghost."

While my movie tastes tend to lean towards action and juvenile comedy (I am a guy after all), I must confess that I did enjoy Swayze's performances in "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost."  They were great "date" movies. 

Patrick, may you rest in peace, and I wish comfort to your wife and family.  In what could be considered a bonus Music Monday, a day later, I have embedded Swayze singing his hit song "She's Like the Wind."

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Music Monday-Three Dog Night "Liar"

After Barack Obama's speech the other night, and Joe Wilson's little boo boo, I could not resist making this my choice for Music Monday.  I was hoping to find an edited version that showed Obama's picture whenever they were singing the chorus if for no other reason than to aggravate liberals.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

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Are You Ready For Some Football?

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Today marks the start of the NFL season.  Yeah, I know that the first game of the season took place Thursday night but it doesn't count.  In my mind, the "official" start of the season is the Sunday that the majority of teams play their first game of the season.

In year's past, I started looking forward to this day about 10 minutes after the Super Bowl ended.  Not so this year.  Usually, I will have watched every Redskins preseason game from beginning to end.  Even the first one where most of the people who are playing don't even make the team.  This year I may have seen a half of a game.

For the first time in about 15-20 years, I will not be participating in a fantasy football league.  Usually by this time, I have devoured two or three fantasy football magazines and participated in at least two fantasy football drafts.  I would be visiting multiple websites daily to find the least bit of information to plan my lineup.  Then as the games progressed, I would sit at the computer checking the progress of my teams.

My wife has known not to make any plans that would include me on a Sunday afternoon during the season.  This year, I have actually considered planning activities other than sitting here watching the games.  Sure I plan to watch the game this afternoon, but if something else comes up, I would consider it where in the past that was never an option.

I am not sure what has led to this apathy towards a sport that I once felt so passionate about.  I suppose that I could chalk it up to maturity and that other interests are more important now.  Then again, perhaps it could just be a little bit of depression and the stress of the real world.  Since I am a white man and politically conservative, the liberals would probably say it's due to racism (oh wait that's opposition to health care reform).  The only question is, does this mean I have to turn in my "man card?"  

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New York Musical Theater Festival

When I think of New York City, I think of entertainment. OK, first I think about how much I hate the New York Yankees, but after that, I think of entertainment. In particular, I think of the theater.

Without a doubt, New York is the capital of the theater world. Even President Obama took the first lady out to see a Broadway show shortly after he took office. If you are a fan of musical theater, then there is no better time to head to New York than the end of the month for the New York Musical Theater Festival. The Obama's probably don't have to worry about booking lodging, but if you were to head up for the festival you can get a great deal at Vacation Rental Deals.

The festival is the largest of its kind and its goal is to introduce contemporary musical theater to a diverse audience.  They also promote, support, and discover new performer, producers, and projects.  Their website has a great search engine that allows you to search by the type of show you want to see.  One thing for certain, they have programs for everybody.  I was particularly intrigued by one new musical called "Fantasy Football: The Musical?"

If you happen to have some unplanned vacation time coming up and you are a theater fan, you owe it to yourself to check out the New York Musical Theater Festival.

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Unintended Consequences

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Sometimes I wonder if politicians operate in a vacuum.  They pass legislation with one particular goal in mind with little to no regard of the potential consequences of what that legislation brings.

Let's take, for instance, the idea of sin taxes.  Governments pass taxes on things like alcohol, cigarettes, and now, more and more, candy and sodas.  The goals of such taxes are usually twofold.  One, to try to discourage consumers from using the products that government has determined are harmful.  Second, the government uses these taxes as revenue to fund various projects.  Unfortunately, these taxes are regressive in nature, impacting lower income consumers disproportionately.

Earlier this year, the federal government increased the federal excise tax on tobacco products in order to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).  The results of this tax increase are that tobacco sales have declined and there is not enough revenue to cover the cost of program. 

Not only does the federal government pass these taxes, but also the state governments.  Each state has their own tax rates for tobacco.  No surprise, but those states that have tobacco as a major crop, have lower taxes on cigarettes.  In July, the state of Florida increased their tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack.  The results of this tax has led to a decrease in cigarette sales of 28% from last year.  So in one respect, the goal of reducing tobacco consumption would appear to be successful.

Unfortunately, like most legislation, there are consequences that were not considered when the legislation was passed.  First, for those folks that live on state borders where there are lower taxes, some are buying their smokes across state lines. That actually increases the revenues of the neighboring states and decreases the revenue for your own state.

More importantly, is the consequences for those businesses that rely on cigarette sales for their profit.  In the state of Florida, most cigarettes are sold in convenience stores and account for up to 34% of sales.  Those sales help pay the salaries of the store's employees.  When you lose that large a percentage of your sales, you can no longer afford to pay the same salaries you were previously.  Those businesses will either be forced to lay off employees or reduce the number of hours those employees work.  Neither are good for those employees or the economy in general.

Barack Obama's Health Care Speech

I debated about whether or not to post anything regarding President Obama’s health care speech last night. In fact, I actually had another posting scheduled for this morning, but I have rescheduled it for another day.

There were a few things he spoke about that I could find some agreement. Some of the horror stories he told of people losing their insurance are disgraceful. To think that a man could lose insurance because he did not report gallstones that he did not know he had is absurd. I also like the idea of doing something about deductibles and out of pocket expenses. Right now, I am looking at going to a better plan when open enrollment rolls around next month because of deductibles. Currently, I am putting off visits to the doctor because I can not afford the deductible if the doctor decides to order tests.

There are a couple of things he said, though, that bother me. He stated that if you have health care through your employer that there is nothing in the plan to require you to change what you have. While technically that is true, I wonder about the practicality. I had mentioned before that they were talking about an 8% payroll tax for employers that do not offer health insurance. Studies have shown that employers, on average, are spending 10-12% of payroll on health insurance. If the cost of the tax is less than the cost of the benefit, I can see businesses opting to pay the tax.

Another issue is the president’s attack on the partisanship that exists in this debate. You get the feeling, that it is the Republicans he is singling out on this issue. He claims he wants the best ideas from both sides of the debate. His Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate continue to block and vote down any suggestions brought forth by the Republicans. My question is who is being partisan? The left is being just as partisan as those on the right.

On a side note, I have to wonder what thoughts immediately went through the mind of Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina after he yelled out, “You lie” when the president talked about illegal immigrants during the speech. I can’t help but think it went something like this. “Oh shit! Did I really say that out loud? I guess I forgot to turn on that little filter that keeps me from blurting things out. I really fucked up this time.”

Note: I may edit or add to this post later today.

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