Townsend Today

Who's Bankrolling Whom?

2008-09-28T23:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-09-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-08-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

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.

a news-worthy endeavor

2008-08-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Hey - this is a new site I found. It's still somewhat of an underground movement and very much in the preliminary stages, but we need to be conscious, supportive, and all about these kind of groups. FIGHT THE POWER...er something...

http://www.youth-for-truth.blogspot.com/

anti-muslim rhetoric from the ex muslim

2008-06-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

Senator Barack Obama has again mounted a defense to disburse any rumours that he is a Muslim. The media saturation - websites, press releases and various literature - does not stop at disproving this religious association though. David Axelrod, the head hancho at the Obama camp, and his communication team have vehemently disassociated the presumptive democratic nominee from his Muslim heritage as well.

Obama's father was a Kenyan Muslim; however, the Senator was a self-proclaimed aetheist until he met his wife Michelle and the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

The recent press defense is offensive at best. My problem is not that he may be a Muslim, it is how badly he doesn't want to be mistaken as one.

There are plenty of Muslim Americans: Whitey Ford Sings the Blues rapper Everlast, Akon, Busta Rhymes, Lupe Fiasco, hell even Dr. Oz - all Muslim. Let's not even get started with how many NBA players, quality Dr.s, gas station proprietors and cabdrivers make up the USA. Forget all that. Remove the celebrity factor. Muslims are people, too.

Not to sound all kum-bay-ya-ish, but what's so bad about being a Muslim? Yes, the hi-jackers of 9/11 were muslims - but they were fundamentalists, as we all know (if not, you're ignorant as shit).

I wonder what the Senator's late father would think of him divorcing himself from the Muslim culture? Low blow you may be thinking. Not how I see it.

I grew up in a rural town in upstate New York. I was fortunate to have three really kind friends. They just so happen to be Muslim, too. I was blessed to call them friends. If I ever saw someone running away from them the way Obama is running from his religious associations, I would hope to see that person trip and fall. Fall hard.

lobbyists, liars and the like

2008-06-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

This article is amazing! Just when you thought one team or another was above the fray, the AP sheds some light on presidential candidates and their connections to those who buy up the American government. Check it out!

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CANDIDATES_SPECIAL_INTERESTS?SITE=MAHYC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

give me another cup of joe!

2008-06-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

"Let's be a colored-blind society," Joe Scarborough, moderator of MSNBC's Morning Joe said early today. "I don't want to hear a lot of people whining when Michelle Obama gets attacked, 'this is because of race, this is because of race.'"

The congressman turned commentator went on to say, "Everybody, including Cindy McCain, will be open for attack...what I think is bigotry is when you say someone can't be attacked because they're black. Cindy McCain will be attacked this fall and no one will say it's because she's white."

This may be the most honest American dialogue on race that I've heard yet.

We all remember the speech that Senator Barack Obama gave in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, earlier this primary season. We remember it because the media and political pundits gobbled it up - and I would submit Chris Matthews may have recorded it to DVD and keeps it under his bed next to his lotion and "special" sock. What did we learn from it though? Something about how a politician can't disown a racist grandmother and shouldn't be friends with someone who yells "God damn America!"

But what does all of this mean for Michelle Obama? Is she fair game? Will the republicans be using 527 ads targeting the democratic nominee?

Furthermore, why haven't we heard more about Barack's other half? Oh - you haven't heard? He's half white, too.

superdelegate rush hour in full swing

2008-06-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

As the clock runs out on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for the democratic nomination, superdelegates flock to Senator Barack Obama's camp. Representative Maxine Waters (Ca.) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (Ca.), both longtime Clinton supporters, jumped ship in the name of unity and healing. Majority whip Jim Clyburn (Sc.) stated early in the primary season he would remain silent until the contests were over and there was an apparent nominee. Today the South Carolinean went back on his word and broke for Obama.

This recent switch of allegiance comes hours before the final two primaries, South Dakota and Montana, come to a close. A member of the Democratic National Committee who wished to remain anonymous stated, "I am not surprised at the recent switches." When the DNC member was questioned about the timing, he said, "I am definitely not surprised at the timing, either." After being pressed more, the DNC member would not comment as to whether or not there was an organization of superdelegates to committ to Senator Obama before all of the votes in the primaries were counted; however, he did say, "Democrats cannot afford to have our nominee limp into the general election."

CNN reporter John Roberts said of the delegate flood, "If you switch today, you get your name in the news - if you switch tomorrow, you're just part of the herd."

onondaga gas cap on 'E'

2008-06-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

Onondaga county gas tax cap expired June 1st. What does it mean for the county and those who failed to reprise the cap? We will bring you the coverage live as it unfolds and as county legislators defend their positions.