Who's Bankrolling Whom?

Ever wonder why certain elected officials vote completely opposite of what they claim to champion? Well, check out this site - you'll be amazed!

www.opensecrets.org

meet lady ga ga

So I was recently introduced to someone, Lady Gaga, and I was thoroughly impressed. Check out the videos, even if you don't like her, you'll love the outfits and comic relief they provide. I mean when was the last time you saw someone rocking shoulder pads or black socks with neon green sandals??

jUssssst DAnCE (ThA ORiginAAAl)
JuSt DaNce (LiVe)

Book Club (5ppl)

Alrighty - I guess now is just as good a time as any - let's start this book club thing. First up, 5ppl by Mitch Albom.

Open thread...

the world is on fire

Today is one of those melodramatic days. It's cloudy. I'm bored -- should probably be doing some work. Anyways, I was just sitting around so put the telly on C-Span, and the next thing I know the "democracy" we live in, better known as the United States of America, is going to hell in a hand cart.

Our elected officials are currently voting for legislation that could quite possibly bankrupt us. They are gambling with the security of future generations...

So, I guess what I am trying to say is, "the world is on fire".

Enjoy the clip.

welcome back, welcome back, welcome back

Okay - so the semester is well underway, and I think I've managed to find my "mojo", meaning, with a little hope, I can start blogging again - yeah! For all you die-hard readers out there, I'm sure this is monumental, exquisite news on such a dull September morn.

I'm heading out to get a scoop -- yes, yes, duty calls. I am hitting up the local SPCA; then, I am knocking on doors and calling some financial gurus to see what this mortgage mess means for us young, fabulous types.

Open thread...

is Hillary Clinton a triumphant cock?

Recently I was in a bookstore on campus browsing a sales rack that I've been using to bolster my book collection. I've been reading some 'heavy' stuff, so I was looking for a lite, fun read. I stumbled upon a blast from the past, Aesop's Fables, that I couldn't pass up. I'm sure you remember some of them. Anyway, I was fumbling through it and I came across "The Eagle and the Cocks" and for some odd, far-out reason it seemed perfect for my blog.

Here's the fable:

There were two cocks in the same farmyard, and they fought to decide who should be master. When the fight was over, the beaten one went and hid himself in a dark corner while the victor flew up onto the roof of the stables and crowed lustily. But an eagle espied him from high up in the sky, and swooped down and carried him off. Forthwith, the other cock came out of his corner and ruled the roost without a rival.

Pride comes before a fall.

Today it was released by AP that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's name will be placed in nomination at the Democratic National Convention beginning Aug. 25 in Denver. Great! I have to confess, when I learned that Democrats were attempting to stifle a vote -- a vote, a core tenet of their party -- I was taken aback. Why oh why would some in the Democratic party be afraid of something they deem so sacred? Not the point.

This fable was interesting to me because after Senator Clinton gave in to the calls of resignation, she crept into her senatorial corner in Washington. True, we did see her out and about, but she definitely admitted defeat and left the scene. Senator Obama climbed right on top of the stable, assumed his perch as the annoited presumptive nominee, and acted like the cock that he is. He hired Patty Solis Doyle (a slap in the face to HRC), and had his surrogates out there demanding HRC -- and her supporters -- to shut up and fall in line.

Flash forward: here come the swift-boats with another book. Yes, four years later, after the Swift-boat Veterans for Truth effectively sank any hopes of a Kerry presidency, they put out another book titled Obamanation that's already topping the New York Times best sellers list. True, they lack any credibility - their efforts will fall flat, I believe. It's like someone telling a joke twice, or seeing a M. Night Shyamalan movie twice - there is no point, you already know the ending. However, this, combined with the 5-2-7 groups the GOP is funding, will effectively circulate even more doubt of Obama presidency. The cocky cock is now gobbled up by the steath eagle.

But is HRC the victorious cock? Unfortunatley no. Perhaps she's been too brow-beaten by the DNC. Perhaps she's scared. Who knows? ESP was never my strong suit.

Obama is hoping that by putting her name into nomination it will "bring peace to the kingdom". More, dare I say it, 'cocky' rhetoric. PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass) and some Clinton supporters may see this Obama-authorized gesture as a mark in the win column, it's not.

Something happened to HRC. She lost her fight. Her gritiness. A quality that made her her - and a damn good (transplant) New Yorker. If you ever read her early speeches (and by early I mean speeches she made at Wellsley, as first lady of Ark., and in China, etc.), and compare them to now, it's totally different. I liked her rhetoric then, and I like her now.

I hope that between now and the convention she regains her "testicular fortitude" that she's known for, and fights for those who fought for her. Furthermore, I hope she understands that the "Kingdom" that needs peace isn't the Democratic party - it's America.

the book club, baby!

Hey - so it turns out that the extravagant host (me) of this here blog is in a summa' book club. We're reading some great ones -- The Five People We Meet in Heaven, by the new sportswriter turned literary genius, Mitch Albom, the psychological thriller, The Lovely Bones, by the talented Alice Sebold, the slave story, Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and finally, the classic, The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath -- in that order.

The ever diverse, intelligent, yet chaotically scheduled book-club members have had one hell of a time trying to get together for meetings. Because of this, we've taken to the web. Enough of the, "yeah, we've got to get together," we need action...now! Townsend Today will be the very venue - and agent - for that action.

Please, newly turned book-worms, check back daily. I will be starting a literature section to faciliate our book club. We will be able to post comments, questions and reactions to the various books. It's not ideal, but busy times call for...for...for...on the run kinda measures.