My Personal Top Ten Guitarists of All Time

1.    Jimi Hendrix -- the one true "god of guitar".

2.    Eric Clapton -- Another of the guitar playing Mt. Rushmore.

3.    Jimmy Page -- Lead guitar of the greatest rock band ever.  Need I say more?

4.    Stevie Ray Vaughn -- an awesome talent who died too early like Jimi.

5.    Al DiMeola -- One of the most versatile guitar players ever.  From rock to jazz to flamenco.

6.    BB King -- King of the Blues, nuff said.

7.    Eddie Van Halen -- has a Wow Factor all his own.

8.    Wes Montgomery -- Top of the list of jazz guitar.

9.    Terry Kath -- highly under rated lead guitar for the band Chicago until his death in 1978.  When given the spotlight, he never failed to wow.

10.    Duane Allman/Dickey Betts -- These two guitarists were the signature sound of the Allman Brothers Band.  Really can't separate one from the other.

Lies, Lies, Lies!

Candidate Mitt Romney's attack ads on President Obama just plain lie about the President's performance in office.  Especially the ads that blame the President for the increasing deficit when one does some research, mainly the reduction in tax revenue caused by the deep recession we're all experiencing in job cuts, the overall reduction in middle class income, and the massive middle class tax breaks included in the last stimulus package passed by Congress.  People aren't paying as much tax as before, and we're still paying for two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on our collective credit card started by the preceding President in response to the 9/11 attacks; one of those wars wasn't justified and you can guess which one.  As a result, we have a massive debt to overcome.  Yes, I said overcome, not pay off.  Our government never has run on any kind of household-like budget and never will, so comparing the govt's budget to a household one is an exercise in futility like comparing apples to elephants.  Out federal government never has actually paid off any debt, but, in the past, grown our economy faster than the debt has grown making its proportion of our GDP small, therefore manageable.  The same thing can happen again, but it will take time.

Our previous President did not leave this country in any sort of good economic shape when he left office, and our current President has spent these last four years cleaning up the mess.  The mess is still here, but it is smaller indicating positive progress.  Let me put it this way, if our govt and the Federal Reserve allowed the cascade of bankruptcies threatening to take out our largest banks, our largest employers would have been not able to obtain the cash necessary not only to expand and introduce new products, but not even to run day-to-day operations.  The largest corporations borrow frequently to run, and pay back as necessary rather than keep the huge amounts of cash on the books to keep running; they found it was more efficient and cost-effective.  This catastrophe would have brought about a full-on depression and unemployment probably gone to 1930's depression era levels of around twenty to twenty-five percent, i.e. one-in-five to one-in-four people unemployed as compared to the approx. 2-in-50 people unemployed currently.  A chilling difference.  President Franklin Roosevelt and Congress at that time (the 1930's) set up precautionary measures in case another Black Tuesday should happen again, and it did about six years ago.  Our govt and the Federal Reserve did their jobs in preventing another total economic collapse.  Yes our national debt expanded greatly, but better that than the alternative (see above).  President Obama is a courageous man by being our President in a time of economic crisis and knowing that getting our county back on track would be a herculean task.  Pres. Obama could have waited to run for office at a time when times are better, yet he chose the time he did knowing full well that anything he would do would be a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario.  If that isn't political courage, I don't know what political courage means.

The New Pres

Barack Obama is now our President and already has followed through with a number of promises. Gitmo prison is to be shut down, our armed forces are leaving Iraq by Sept. 2010, and a colossal economic stimulus bill has been passed. No wonder President Obama's approval rating is 64%. The Republicans in D.C. 'just say no' strategy (how unoriginal) is making a joke of a political party that has a rich tradition in American government--what a shame. There may be some pitfalls in this last spending bill, but from what I've read about it, the positives far out weigh the negatives. Rush Limbaugh and the Republicans may want the President, and by extension, the country to fail, but we voted for the change we wanted. Not what Rush Limbaugh and the Republicans want to continue.

For the Love of Christmas, Let's Stop the Insanity.

Shopping is a time when a person buys things, not a competition. These limited time, limited inventory "sales" promote people's worst behavior, not their best as these times should be doing. Unfortunately, these sales put shoppers in a totally competitive state of mind, objectifying all others as the "competition." History is replete with examples of what people do when they objectify other human beings. The trampling incident in a Long Island, New York Wal-Mart is just a small example. One may read what the Nazi's did to the German Jews after turning them into objects to be hated. Also, one can read about all the other attempts at Genocide of one people against their neighbors. Unrestrained competition leads to people objectifying people.

Yes, unrestrained competition for jobs, resources, land, etc., can lead to, and has led to Genocide -- the gravest of all crimes. Unrestrained competition also leads to other, less serious incidents that involve the deaths of other people as well. The recent Wal-Mart incident for example. That incident in 1980, or so, in which several people were killed due to mob activity because they were in unrestrained competition for seating at a Who concert in Cincinnatti's River Front Stadium is another smaller example. Boy, despite what conservative economists would have us believe, unrestrained competition seems to be, generally, a bad thing for the public. Let me make myself clear, no one, and I mean no one, should die while shopping; zero, zippo, nil, nada, none. Exegent circumstances not withstanding like being shot, or dying in an auto accident. That people die as a result of sales being made into buying competitions is a shame that rests squarely on the shoulders of those merchants that have them. That they don't seem to expect, or care about, mob behavior makes this selling "strategy" even more abhorrent.

Would Would a Re-organized Ford Motor Company Look Like?

If F. M. C. is allowed to file for Bankruptcy, here's my estimation of how re-organization would affect Ford.


1. Reduce the number of lines offered under Ford. Perhaps merge Mazda under the Ford nameplate in order to gain an edge in fuel efficient car offerings. Keep Volvo separate -- it's brand has its own identity. Also, merge Mercury under the Ford nameplate as its identity has been totally subverted under the Ford name anyway and its models are simply higher priced versions of models offered under Ford such as the Taurus/Sable line.

2. Reduce the number of models offered under each of the remaining brands: Ford, Lincoln and Volvo:

• For the Ford line, keep the highly successful Fusion and Taurus models; drop all other car models including the Mercury; and merge the Mazda 3, 4, and 5 models under Ford and drop the rest of the Mazda line. For the truck division, merge their low-end SUV line, including those in the Lincoln, Mazda, and Volvo lines, into one model combining the best features of each; keep the best-selling F-series pickups; offer one high end SUV model; and combine the Ranger, Mazda B-series, and Explorer Sport Trac into one compact truck model that fuses the best of each into a single unit. While reducing the number of models offered, expand the number of option packages each model offers, so customers may customize any vehicle purchases to their individual tastes and desires.

• For the Lincoln line, drop all truck models and have the Ford truck line pick up the option packages the Lincoln trucks offered. Merge the Mercury Marquis into the Lincoln line as a mid-priced luxury car and keep its low-end MKZ model and high-end Town Car.

• For the Volvo line, offer one basic model with sedan and station wagon versions. Merge its CUV/SUV lines into Ford's truck division with all the option packages.

• Merge all the niche cars under Ford: the Mustang, Mazda Miata and RX8; and offer them as low, mid and high price sport models.

• Finally, reduce the number of manufacturing sites to two, perhaps four -- one, or two located east and one, or two located west. Have one, maybe two mega sites that build all the Ford and Volvo car lines and one, maybe two mega sites that build all the truck lines.

By dropping brands that are not selling well enough to justify their existence within the new Ford structure and combining all manufacturing into two maybe four lines, F. M. C. would be able to compete effectively in the 21st century auto market. By cutting all the bloat they're carrying now, hopefully, they will take these increased saving and invest them into their own R&D department that sorely lacks attention and just maybe we can see Ford return as a leader in innovation in automobile technology.

GM, Ford & Chrysler to go into Bankruptcy?

At this time, the situation doesn't look good for the "Big Three" bailout from Congress. Perhaps our Congressional representatives shouldn't bail out these corporations anyway. The re-organization Bankruptcy proceedings would force upon the Big Three would probably be economically healthier in the long run for all of us despite the loss in jobs that would ensue as a immediate result. Re-organization would force our domestic automakers to be more efficient in their manufacturing models and allow them to select their most successful car models and drop those that aren't so successful despite any owner loyalties. The end result would be leaner, more competitive corporations that could meet Toyota, Nissan and Honda on far more even footing within our domestic auto market. My next postings will detail my estimation on what a re-organization would look like as applied to each of our domestic car makers.

New blog

I've started a new blog for posting my novel Voyage of the Jewel Star posting a chapter a week: http://vojts.blogspot.com.

Please read and give your constructive comments and critiques after reading.

Thanks in advance.

Who is Martin Eisenstadt? A Ghost, That's Who.

Yes, the whole thing of leaks from senior officials of the McCain campaign staff turns out to be a hoax according to the New York Times. Someone posing as Martin Eisenstadt, an alleged McCain campaign senior official, is the person responsible for the "leaks." His excuse is he claims the news media and the whole Internet blogosphere are too quick to seize in on any story that even looks like it's newsworthy without first checking out its validity. He pulled this prank by "leaking" false claims against Gov. Palin about how she miss took Africa as a country rather than a continent and some other "allegations." He reasoned the whole Internet community and the broadcast media would take the bait "hook, line and sinker." He was right, but I could have guessed that, no problem.

So what's his point? That the media and the Internet are too information hungry for their own good? That's true, but big hairy deal. This kind of prank does not belong in our political discourse for a number of reasons. The poser represented himself as an official of a campaign staff for a candidate running for the highest office in the land. I don't know, but shouldn't this be the equivalent of impersonating a government official? People should not be able to get away with impersonating any officers of any organization without paying a severe penalty. Releasing false information while posing as an official should also be severely penalized. This whole "prank" is a fraud put upon the trust of the American people. The People trusted this source as factual and caused us to form our opinions of Gov. Palin's competence on misleading information. This "prank" is dangerous even beyond Gov. Palin's demonstrated lack of constitutional knowledge. At least she can correct her errors through study. This "prank" did lasting damage to our due process of elections by violating the trust of the American people. I hope the persons responsible will be brought before a court of law for their due justice and be made an example that We shall not tolerate those who violate our sacred trust in our institutions.

The General Election, My Hindsight

As the results came in on election night, my feelings, despite the historical significance of the vote, were the best man won. Skin color being a happenstance of heredity; the man who should have won did win. This time, it was the Republicans who blew the election. Democratic majorities were either increased, or held in Congress, the U.S. Senate and state legislatures all over the country as well.

To my Christian Nazi leaning friends, deal with it, the Democratic "Liberals" will be in charge for a while; and I don't think this coalition is going bust anytime soon.

As far as the economy is concerned, recovery will take a while, but it will occur sooner rather later under the Democrats rather than the Republicans.

New Blogs

I've created three new blogs.

• http://oridianorator.blogspot.com -- My place for thought and opinions on my RPG campaign and RPGs in general.
• http://drednotssportsspeak.blogspot.com -- My place for opinions on sports related issues.
• http://drednotswritingwrangles.blogspot.com -- My place for thoughts on my novel and writing in general.

This blog is now my place for opinions on politics and the news .

Miscellaneous Musings on Campaign 2008

About 9:00 A.M., I went to my polling location and voted. I'm a registered Democrat, so you can figure how I voted.

I've been reflecting on this past Presidential campaign. Obviously, it comes down two ways. If Sen. Obama is elected, then his mostly positive message won out over the rhetoric of the opposition. If McCain is elected, then that event will only reaffirm the power of negative campaigning; the 2012 campaign becomes more negative than 2008 as a result. That's one of the reasons I want Obama to win. The others are: No more Reaganomics, no Sarah Palin near the White House, let the Democrats run things for a while--they surely couldn't screw things up worse than the Republicans. Well, let me give a less partisan view of this election.

If Barack Obama becomes President, it's his message for "Change We Can Believe In" that carried him to the White House. This theme could also be called the New New Deal. It's like two books with similar covers, but different content. Back in the thirties, we didn't worry about war, terrorism and national security--we were pretty isolationist back then. FDR could get away with hammering strictly on pocketbook issues; "a job for every man and a chicken in every pot." Sen. Obama not only has take account of the financial crisis, but he has to assure everyone about his views on the Iraq War, terrorism and national security. A far more complicated campaign strategy. "A job for every household, a big break on your mortgage, tax breaks for you, bring our boys home, and no terrorist attacks at home" are the themes Sen. Obama has repeatedly hit hard throughout his campaign. According to the most recent polls, this strategy seems to have stuck with the voting public despite the negative campaigning from Sen. Obama's opposition.

If John McCain wins, then this "victory" will only reaffirm the effectiveness of negative campaigning. If you think this 2008 campaign was negative, wait until 2012. That future election campaign will only be worse, and we will be worse off as voters. Ideas, issues, and messages of hope will be shoved to the back of a long campaign strategy bus. For Sen. McCain, votes for him are votes for what people don't want rather than votes for what people want. This strategy is an ugly way of getting elected on a number of levels.

Is This Election the End of Reaganomics? I Hope So.

Reaganomics, you know, the richest five percent of the population will spend us out all our economic troubles? Unfortunately, their spending habits do not necessarily help the U.S. economy very well. Their spending seems to help Italy, Germany, France, and England though. You know, Ferrari, Mercedes, Porche, Dom Perigon, and Rolls Royce? None of these companies are American, so the money from the super-wealthy's wild spending sprees does not stay within the U.S. Plus, they "invested" their money (more like squirreled away) in ocean front properties in Florida, the Gulf Coast and California. I don't see how investing in Florida real estate helps farmers in Iowa. Yet, many people hold on to the notion that the more money the uber-rich make, the better off middle America is. These self deluded ones deserve our pity. The river Denial runs very deep for them. Had the super-wealthy did what the original boosters of Reaganomics expected, this philosophy might have worked, but they didn't. The uber-rich did not invest their money by creating start up companies, investing in new technologies and any other investing that would have created wealth for, say, farmers in Iowa, or owners of small to medium sized manufacturing companies, or...oh, you know what I mean. When I read and listened to what the backers of Reaganomics were saying about this "new" economic philosophy, this is the picture I was getting from them. But, when the fox is let loose in the chicken house, your bound to have fewer chickens, not more. Old fashioned human greed took over and perverted Reaganomics until it became a philosophy of corporate greed, not corporate philanthropy as first envisioned. But, wasn't this what the Democratic Party was saying all along; that, when just a few people are given huge sums of money, they wouldn't necessarily reciprocate in investing in enterprises that would bolster the middle class? Looks like the Democrats were right all along despite all the venomous charges the Republicans have cast their way. Now that all the Reganites have been proved wrong, let us move on to a different economic philosophy that will "float all boats", not just the multi-million dollar yachts.

What's Right with John McCain

Despite the approving the frequently nasty attacks on Sen. Obama's character, Sen. McCain has a number of positives if he is elected President, and I say this as a registered Democrat:

1. Experience in foreign affairs. Both his experience in the Senate leading the reconciliation with Vietnam, as a Naval officer and as a POW give Sen. McCain a perspective on world events second to none. As our National Statesman, Sen. McCain would be a great asset to our status as a world power.

2. Love of country. I'm not saying Sen. Obama does not love his country, he does, otherwise he would not be running for President. Only that Sen. McCain's sacrifices for our country show unambiguously his love of the United States. As President, one does not have to worry about national security, or any other issues that may compromise our nation's standing in the world. Believe it, or not, people worldwide respect a true patriot. Sen. McCain is a true patriot. Do not under estimate the power of patriotism.

3. His independence. Although he has not shown it much during this campaign, Sen. McCain's independence from his party's dogmatic fervor on issues such as the environment, energy independence, and social conservatism make him less likely to be influenced by outside conservative authorities, and able to make decisions in the best interests of the whole nation.

4. Being a military veteran. I know this sounds redundant, but having served as an officer in the military gives Sen. McCain an inside edge on defense spending issues. He would know better than most civilians about all the shenanigans defense contractors pull in getting their weapon systems approved. Sen. McCain would ensure that our defense truly does, in the words of Sen. Grassley, get the most bang for the buck. Plus our first line of defense, the Navy, would not be neglected ensuring a speedy and devastating response that will deter attacks upon our nation.

What's Right with Barack Obama

Yes, Sen. Obama has only four years in the U.S. Senate and he hails from a very liberal part of Illinois -- Chicago's South Side. Still, I have very favorable impressions of this man and feel he would make an excellent President:

1. Demeanor, I've not seen Sen. Obama lose his temper yet. Frankly, every time I've seen him being confronted be someone who's obviously hostile, he always, calmly with forethought, counters that person's arguments point by point. I've never seen him visibly rattled under any circumstance. A person who does not panic under pressure is an asset to the Presidency.

2. A detailed plan once he's in office. Whether you agree with him, or not, you know, almost exactly, what Sen. Obama is going to do while in office. One can't say that about other Presidents from the past.

3. Eloquence and Charisma. Sen. Obama's way of assured speaking not only appeals to large masses of voters here in the U.S., but to people worldwide as well. As President, Sen. Obama's calm, self-assured style is sure to restore some of our lost status as a world power. People all over the world will lose a lot of their panic regarding us as a nation because Sen. Obama will not be regarded as a "rogue cowboy."

4. His desire to get the troops home at last. This issue will be the toughest one for Sen. Obama to crack. He must get the timing right, or as the troops return in a phased withdrawl, the troops remaining may suffer from increased attacks. That means the Iraqi secuity forces must be ready to take over when our troop withdrawl starts to quell any sources of violence. I do not expect a troop withdrawl within the first year of an Obama administration, even though he's said that, but will probably occur within the third year going into the fourth. The American people must be very patient regarding this issue.