Healthcare is a ball in the ocean.

There it is! My public option. Also known as the SBX radar, just one part of a $19 billion a year SDI defense system that is a proven failure yet is being deployed anyway. Why do we need this again?

In response to John Boccieri announcing he'll back health care bill, I say this:

I will still probably support Obama, Kucinich & Boccieri come election time because I feel they will still probably be the far lesser of the two evils but there is no disputing Obama had to twist some arms to get support for this out of Kucinich & Boccieri to get them on board. I applaud them for holding out as long as they did because I do not support this bill. Healthcare reform is desperately needed in this country but this bill doesn't come close to what is needed. This bill will provide no universal healthcare or public option. It will provide a requirement for everyone without healthcare (because they can't afford it) to get healthcare now. It will be just like car insurance. They will have to buy it from the same insurance companies that are jacking up their rates and caused this mess to begin with. I would have much preferred all three of these guys stuck to their principles and rammed a public option plan through congress despite any opposition (just like the Republicans would do under W). It could easily all be funded if we spent a fraction less on the two pointless wars we are still engaging or if stopped spending trillions on developing & deplying defense systems that are no longer necessary or don't even work (i.e., SDI, F22 Raptors & 10 new Ford Class aircraft carriers). It's outrageous that we have people that can't afford medicine or medical care in this country yet we pay for public health care in Iraq & Afghanistan. God bless America! Hope you have some tissue.

Kucinich finally caves...but at he least he put up a fight.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland steps off Air Force One at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Monday. He flew in with President Obama for Obama's visit to Strongsville.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich to vote "yes" on health care

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich waited until Democrats had won last November's health care reform vote before casting his ballot against it on the House of Representatives floor.

This time around -- pressured by everyone from President Obama to Moveon.org -- the Cleveland Democrat had no luxury to dawdle before taking a stance. He announced at a Capitol news conference this morning that he'll vote "yes" on the bill's latest draft.

"I have doubts about the bill," Kucinich said. "This is not the bill I wanted to support. . . However, after careful discussions with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, my wife Elizabeth and close friends, I’ve decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation."

Bill opponents pounced quickly. Said an e-mail alert from the National Republican Congressional Committee: "Left-wing icon flips from 'No,' exposes so-called moderates."

Kucinich's move came after months of insisting he'd oppose the bill because it doesn't do enough to curtail insurance company abuses. Kucinich advocates bolstering Medicare and expanding its coverage to include all Americans.

But he acknowledged this morning that his choice now is to either vote "no" on principle, and thereby possibly block the biggest (though imperfect) advance in health coverage in decades, or compromise for the good of the estimated 30 million more Americans who could gain insurance.

"I have taken this fight further" than many other Congress members, Kucinich said, citing his two presidential campaigns in which he advocated universal coverage and his bill introduction and other attempts in the House to get single-payer insurance.

He told reporters that if they want to see first-hand the tough economic and health-care choices that many Americans face, they should "come to the 10th District in Ohio and you'll understand."

Kucinich's field office on Cleveland's West Side routinely helps constituents with their social services needs, and that includes dealing with insurance matters, he said. He cited his own impoverished childhood, saying, "I grew up understanding what it meant to struggling families who did not get adequate care."

"I understand the connection between poverty and poor health care," he said.

As an adult, he has struggled with Crohn's Disease, and although he follows an alternative diet as one way of dealing with it, he also has had "access to the best" health care around.

"I know I have to make a decision, not on the bill as I would like to see it, but as it is," Kucinich said.

His recent criticism of the bill included a column he authored for last Sunday's Plain Dealer, in which he wrote:

"Even with the few modest improvements in the bill, the insurance companies will still have dozens of loopholes to deny care and continue to find ways to leave Americans with the unpayable bill."

But Democrats are struggling to round up the 216 votes they need to pass the bill amid heavy lobbying from its opponents and its supporters, and Kucinich''s arms were twisted.

President Obama personally lobbied for his vote Monday on a ride to Cleveland aboard Air Force One, and at a health care reform rally in Strongsville. Picketers descended on Kucinich's Lakewood office to register their displeasure with his announced opposition to the package slated for consideration this week.

By Sabrina Eaton, The Plain Dealer, March 17, 2010

This is my response to the morons commenting on the story here:

You did all you could Dennis. Holding out any longer would have been pointless. As for you mis-informed masses, Dennis Kucinich has been & still is the best advocate for the working poor this country has. He held out on this not because of the non-existent tax increase or because of the debt burden but because it turns around and hands the same insurance companies that have caused this mess more business. He held out on principle. He wants Universal care for everyone. This bill will not provide that. Keep up the good fight Dennis! I happen to know my opinion is in the minority on this forum but after reading the majority of the previous comments, I am quite proud of that. No wonder things are the way they are here in this country. It seems to me that the majority needs to turn off the Fox & Rush & pick up a book. People of Cleveland! People of America! Educate yourselves! Stop believing the propoganda. Stop voting against your own interests!

Check out Dennis.

Kweezy Returns!!!

I've been taking a break from blogging about all the problems of the world for a little bit in order to pursue another creative outlet of mine. I used to make these tapes of really crappy home-made music. The last was "released" in 1997. I produced these little creations under the name of Kweezy.

My recording technology consisted of a tape-recorder & a stereo. I'd record something on the tape & then I might play that back on the stereo really loud & play along with that & record that too. I could get two dubs on one tape. Any more than that and the background noise & hiss would make everything else barely audible. Just one or two dubs sounded bad enough.

So now that I have access to a computer & free downloadable recording programs on the web, I have decided to revisit this old past-time of mine and try my hand at recording digitally.

I really have no idea what I am doing but I am definitely having a lot of fun with it. My whole life it seems, I have heard music/songs in my head. Fleeting moments of inspiration would come out of nowhere at the least expected times and then suddenly disappear. If the moment isn't captured somehow then the potential masterpiece could be lost forever. I am sure all artsy types of people experience this & know what I mean. If you're a writer you can jot it down or type it out. Hopefully you can keep up with your thoughts. A painter can make a sketch or doodle. A musician/song writer has to record it unless they happen to know how to actually read & write in musical notation. I don't & most of your favorite music was probably not written on a piece of paper (except the lyrics).

I used to console myself by saying, "well if I forgot it then it must not have been worth remembering." Their may be some validity to this but certainly not always. Often I will hear a whole song with rhythm changes and different harmonizing melodies. Its hard to just remember all of it and how they fit together.

So now I finally have a set up in my basement that will allow me to record these moments when they arrive (if I'm at home). At least that's the theory. Technology still kicks my ass quite a bit but I am slowly figuring it out. You can check out my stuff here.

I got my Tin Hat buckled on tight for this one.

Did the U.S. Navy cause the Haitian earthquake?

Yes, my Tin Hat is on way too tight but my tongue is only half in my cheek on this one. One thing I will not argue against is that the earthquake in Haiti was a terrible tragedy. Something just seems fishy about the whole thing though. Some of the poorest people on the planet. Way too easy to exploit. It just seems like the country is an easy target. I don't know for what or why. Did you notice that almost as soon as the earthquake happened, all the "news" agencies started speculating on the inevitable looting. The Looting! THE LOOTING! They were all talking about looting before there were any reports of looting. I still don't think there have been any reports of a large-scale looting problem. I mean, a city has just been shattered & thousands of people are dead and they are worried about looting? Of course we must send the troops in!

"Others are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves." -Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, April 28, 1997, 8:45 AM EDT

Source: The United States Department of Defense, Transcript of DoD News Briefing by Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, April 28, 1997. http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=674
January 12, 2010, The magnitude 7.0 quake -- the most powerful to hit Haiti in a century -- struck shortly before 5 p.m. and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It could be felt strongly in eastern Cuba, more than 200 miles away, witnesses said. -CNN

Read a brief history of U.S. & European exploitation of Haiti in The Gleaner, The Hate & the Quake, Sir Hillary Beckles, January 24, 2010.

I realize that we do have the technology to create earthquakes through certain types of drilling or maybe even with powerful transmissions of a certain frequency but I don't think that is what happened in Haiti despite whatever Venezuela's president might say. I like him though. He's hilarious. Here's a quote of his taken from his 2006 address to the UN.

CHAVEZ (through translator): "Representatives of the governments of the world, good morning to all of you. First of all, I would like to invite you, very respectfully, to those who have not read this book, to read it. Noam Chomsky, one of the most prestigious American and world intellectuals, Noam Chomsky, and this is one of his most recent books, 'Hegemony or Survival: The Imperialist Strategy of the United States.'" [Holds up book, waves it in front of General Assembly.]

"It's an excellent book to help us understand what has been happening in the world throughout the 20th century, and what's happening now, and the greatest threat looming over our planet. The hegemonic pretensions of the American empire are placing at risk the very survival of the human species. We continue to warn you about this danger and we appeal to the people of the United States and the world to halt this threat, which is like a sword hanging over our heads. I had considered reading from this book, but, for the sake of time," [flips through the pages, which are numerous] "I will just leave it as a recommendation.
It reads easily, it is a very good book, I'm sure Madame [President] you are familiar with it. It appears in English, in Russian, in Arabic, in German. I think that the first people who should read this book are our brothers and sisters in the United States, because their threat is right in their own house. The devil is right at home. The devil, the devil himself, is right in the house.

"And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the devil came here. Right here." [crosses himself]

"And it smells of sulfur still today."
Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world.
You can read the rest of his awesome speech here.
Anyway... All I'm saying is that the U.S. may not have caused the Haiti disaster but I can guarantee that U.S. corporations will see this as another great opportunity for exploitation of this poorest of countries that is physically right in our backyard.

Tragedy in Haiti & Pat Robertson is the biggest dick in the world.

This is an image from Haiti from before the devestating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010.

Haiti should be a warning to us all. As we watch the bodies pile up in the streets of Port-au-Prince and troops deploy to bring aid and order we need to reflect on how an earthquake could be so devastating to this country.


Pat Robertson has his opinions. According to him the hand of God is punishing the poor Haitian people for making a deal with the Devil in their fight for freedom from the French in 1804. That's right. According to this mouth-piece for the Lord, the thousands and thousands of people that died in the earthquake, many of whom aren't even Haitian have all died because God is mad at them for refusing to be slaves over 200 years ago. Pat Robertson IS truly evil. Anyone that agrees with him is an ignorant racist bigot. Pat is not ignorant. He knows full well the weight of his words and the power they hold over his flock. I can only pretend to pray that there is a hell for him to eternally burn in.



Please God. Please allow Satan to boil the insides of Pat Robertson in such a manner that his scalding entrails steam and ooze from his every orifice and his flesh is charred like that of those that have burned to death in Haiti in order for him to better empathize with these victims. Please allow him to stay conscious through levels of pain that would normally cause a person to go into shock or lose consciousness.


I joke of course. If the God that Pat pretends to believe in really does exist, I am sure he will know just what to do with him.


I am sure Pat is familiar with the 3rd commandment: "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain." I never understood how he and his ilk managed to stay in business while preaching their so-called, "word of the Lord" out of one side of their mouths while begging for "donations" from the ignorant and desperate out of the other side. If ever there was a violation of the 3rd commandment it is this profiteering from false propheteering.

Way to go Browns! Hope you don't Cribbs!

Now that the momentous Mangini decision is out of the way, Josh Cribbs cleans out his locker.

The back story:

Al Lerner (Brooklyn, NY native, former Marine and chairman of MBNA bank) helps his pal, Art Modell move my beloved Cleveland Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens. Then in 1998, Al purchased the rights to the team we now also coincidentally call the Cleveland Browns. Al died in 2002, leaving his billions and the new Browns team to his son, Randy. Randy graduated with a Law degree from Columbia University in 1984 and helped sell MBNA to Bank of America in 2006 for $35 billion.

While Randy may be a fine billionaire, businessman and lawyer, he seems to have very little knowledge of this game called football here in the USA. He may however have a bit more knowledge or at least interest in what they call football over in the UK and is also owner and chairman of the Aston Villa Football club. He is also quite a philanthropist and art-lover, making the largest charitable donation ever to London's famed National Portrait Gallery. According to Wikipedia, he is married with 4 kids. That's all I'm saying about that other than he loves wearing ascots to London art museums.

I bring all this up to point out that Randy's interests probably don't really lie in Cleveland or football. Some of his business interests do for sure but I don't really think he could tell you the difference between a punter or a quarterback if you asked him. Good luck with asking him though if you are a Cleveland Browns fan. Randy is the equivalent of an absentee landlord when it comes the Browns. He rarely attends the games, rarely gives interviews and although Forbes has his residence listed in Cleveland it's really just his Dad's old estate. Randy prefers his place on Long Island, NY with his Spielberg and Seinfeld neighbors or over across the pond near his art museum and futball team. To his credit, I think he knows he knows very little about football and has been searching for a face and team leader since he took over ownership.

Let's review:

1946 to 1995- The Browns are the pride of Cleveland with many Championships and competitive teams. My first memories are of Sipe, Rutigliano & the Kardiac Kids. The Dawg pound is born. Kosar & company are great. Although I've never seen them play I take pride in the stories of past glory and greats like Otto Graham & Jim Brown.

1999- from the 49ers, the Browns return with Carmen Policy as CEO/president and Dwight Clark as GM. Chris Palmer (former offensive coordinator of the Jaguars) takes the reigns for the first time as an NFL headcoach. Palmer goes 5-27 in his two years with the Browns. To rub salt in the wound, the Ravens win the Superbowl XXXV at the end of 2000 season.

2001- from the University of Miami, Butch Davis gets his first crack at being an NFL headcoach and takes the team to 7-9. Dwight Clark resigns as GM and the team goes 9-7 with a brief appearance in the playoffs in 2002, only to lose in the first round to Pittsburgh.

Dec. 2002- Al Lerner dies and leaves the team to Randy.

2003- Davis reverts to a 5-11 season and resigns after a 3-8 start in 2004. Policy had already resigned earlier in the year. Offensive Coordinator, Terry Robiskie (Brian's dad) is left holding the bag as interim headcoach.

2005- Randy hires Phil Savage as GM and Romeo Crennel (former defensive coordinator for the Patriots) to take a turn at trying to be an NFL headcoach and goes 6-10. The Browns sign Josh Cribbs out of Kent State as an undrafted free agent, he makes the team, averages 24.5 yards per return, and his total of 1,094 return yards set a franchise record.

2006- The Browns go 4-12. Josh Cribbs signs a 6-year contract extension ($6 million over 6 years) and he breaks his own franchise record for most kickoff yardage in a season.

2007- Miracle of Miracles. DA, K2, J-Lew & Braylon light it up and go 10-6. They still don't make the playoffs because DA chokes in the play-off, clinching Cincy game. Josh Cribbs goes to the ProBowl as the AFC 's kick returner.

2008- Disaster of disasters. Cribbs is told by Savage in training camp that his contract will be renegotiated at the end of the year. Randy reiterates that promise. The Browns go 4-12, go through 4 QBs and finish the season with 6 straight losses, 24 quarters without an offensive touchdown and are completely shutout in the final two games. Crennel & Savage are fired. Cribbs scores a touchdown on a kickoff return for the fourth straight season, scores a rushing TD on Monday Night Football and is named as an emergency back-up QB but gets no new contract.

2009- Randy hires former Brown's ball boy and former headcoach of the Jets (23-25), Eric Mangini to take over and allows him to hand-pick his own GM (George Kokinis). Randy fires George halfway through the season and after a 1-11 start, the team wins the last four games in a row to end up 5-11. Josh Cribbs did not get a new contract as promised nor did he hold out of training camp. He did show up and play his guts out every game. He caught 20 passes for 135 yards and a TD, ran the ball 55 times for 381 yards and a TD, threw the ball 4 times for 18 yards, returned 38 punts for 452 yards and a TD, and returned 39 kicks for 1542 yards and 3 TDs. Cribbs was once again named to the ProBowl and now holds the all-time NFL record for most kick-returns for touchdowns. On a team that only scored 25 touchdowns all season, Cribbs scored 6 of them in four different ways.

2010- Holmgren takes over as president "the guy" in Jan. 2010. Holmgren keeps Mangini and offers Cribbs the same offer they gave him earlier in the year which they knew was unacceptable. Cribbs cleans out his locker and asks for a trade. Way to go new guy.

But back to the point I think I was trying to make. Randy Lerner is clueless and Josh Cribbs deserves more money. I say this as a guy who won't make in my lifetime what Cribbs makes now in a year. I'm just following the capitalist logic of you are what you are worth. Randy is clueless because he comes out in the middle of a horrible losing season and meets with two loud-mouth fans that are threatening to boycott the kick-off of a game. They weren't threatening not to attend or buy tickets or merchandise. They just weren't gonna watch the first few minutes. Well it worked. It definitely got Randy's attention. So much so that he proclaims he will hire a big-name, football-czar to run the show. He had just hired Mangini to do that less than a year before that. He then hires a guy (Holmgren) to be the coach's new boss (or the new coach) before the season is even over and then he disappears from the scene once again. Randy where are you!!!!!!!!!!

As for what Josh Cribbs is worth? I don't know exactly how much money the NFL & Browns get from tv & radio ads during the games but, I do know Josh Cribbs was about the only reason many of us tuned in or showed up at the stadium this last season. So from that perspective, he is worth the entire advertisement sales revenue of the Cleveland Browns. Without him no one would have watched. No one would have known if the games were blacked out or not because no one would have cared. I think he is worth more than an O-lineman that didn't play at all last year and played only 1 game in 2008 but Ryan Tucker is still making 4 times the amount of Cribbs. I think he is worth more than a completely useless wide-receiver that ran over and killed a guy while drinking and driving and didn't play at all last year but, Donte Stallworth still gets paid more from Randy Lerner than Josh Cribbs does. Ryan Pontbriand the long snapper makes 5 times the amount Josh Cribbs does! That's why Randy may be a great businessman and knows how to screw over his best player, the only reason to watch his team in order to save a buck but he does NOT know football or the fans of Cleveland.

If he wants his team to make money by having fans then he might want to make us fans happy by paying the only reason we watch this team what he is worth. Otherwise, Josh Cribbs will be gone and so will a lot of other long-time, paying customers in brown & orange. The team will just not represent something I am able to support anymore. I will no longer be able to support or root for a team that treats it's finest player that way. Cribbs did sign a contract. He has played way above and beyond the parameters that original contract was based upon. He has far exceeded expectations and has taken on many more roles and responsibilities since that signing. He deserves a fair raise that is comparable to other players of his caliber. Instead the Browns are taking advantage of the fact that Cribbs did not have a big-time agent when he signed that first contract. Randy, Holmgren, Mangini, Dawn Aponte, Romeo, Savage all know he is worth far more than what he is getting paid.

Cribbs now wants traded because the Browns will not treat him fairly and prefer to play low-ball with him. He is cleaning out the locker. Randy! Holmgren! Mangini! Pay the man! Because if he walks, I will too. I am sure that many others may as well. How can I cheer for an organization that treats a player like Cribbs, who has never been a detraction or problem, from all accounts is a great teammate, a fine example to our kids, and a public servant to the community of Cleveland like he is only worth $1 million a year? Now that I think about it.... that really doesn't sound too bad. I wonder who we could get in a trade for him?

No, back to original thought.... Get a clue Randy! Pay the Man!

What's your poison?

I know I'm a big whack job but just hear me out for a second. Which do you think the government would prefer of these two choices?

A. Find cures for deseases such as Cancer and help enforce and regulate policies that will help prolong the life-spans of ordinary Americans that have paid into Social Security and Medicare so that they can collect those benefits from the government for a longer period of time after retirement.

B. Not look too hard for those cures and allow all kinds of life-shortening, chemicals and poisons in our food and drugs in order to avoid paying out as much of that Social Security and Medicare.

Do you think the health insurance industry would prefer that we live long, healthy lives or short, healthy lives? I'm just guessing but I would bet that on average, shorter lives are less expensive than longer lives.

I'm speculating again but I'm thinking that most industry probably has little use for people after they move into their twilight years and are no longer the wage earners and big consumers they once were. Once people start collecting checks rather than earning them I would imagine that government and industry would see them as a burden.

So is it so crazy to think that the government is allowing or helping maintain our lifespans at a manageable level by poisoning our air, water, food, and drugs? Remember hurricane Katrina? That told me right then and there how much our government is out to save it's people. You can't seriously think that if those people drowning were in the Hamptons or Silicon Valley they would have recieved the same delayed and shoddy treatment as the lower-income, residents of New Orleans' ninth ward.

I'm trying to count how many poisons I have ingested today or fed to my family:
1. Flouride in the water I drank. check (did you know that if a company accidently dumped this stuff in the water they could technically be arrested but if your city doesn't dump it in the water they could technically be arrested?)
2. Aspartame in my can of diet Coke. check
3. High fructose corn syrup in just about everything we ate. check (Have you ever looked at a school lunch menu?)
4. Sodium nitrate in the bologna sandwich. check
5. I didn't take or feed my kids any medicines today so I know we missed out on a whole bunch of cool chemicals there.
6. Growth hormones and antibiotics in the milk I gave my daughter. check (oh, the guilt...I should be arrested for abuse and could be if I lived in Europe)
7. Cyanide, Ammonia, Carbon Monoxide & over 500 others in the cigar I smoked. check

Dammit! I haven't had my MSG or hydrogenated oils yet. Okay. I'm getting depressed now. I think I'll go smoke another cigar, drive on the icy roads and talk on my cell phone on my way to get a flu vaccine. jk- I would never get a flu vaccine.

Seriously, maybe it's time to go organic, stop eating meat and stop smoking.