George’s “Feelin'/Not Feelin'” List 2011
Feelin'	Not Feelin'
Wikileaks With the Corporate Media totally co-opted by the Powers that Be, Julian Assange and his small band of cohorts prove once again that a few determined people can shine the light of truth in a time of lies and fiction. Everyone hates them – the Press for showing them up; Government for shining light in their dark little corners; Industry for revealing their dirty little secrets. Some people who know better say he should be shot, which makes me even more convinced that he is a great truth-teller. Live Nation to Lower Concert Ticket Prices After losing $100M last year, concert promoters LiveNation finally figured out that people only have so many entertainment dollars to spend on concerts. Overpriced tickets didn’t sell and some tours had to be cut short due to lack of fan support. They even had to sell tickets at deep discounts or give them away outright just to avoid the embarrassment of empty venues. Hopefully that means that ticket prices will be more aligned with reality next year. It would be great if I went to more shows in 2011 rather than saying “Too expensive” like I did in 2010. HBO Original Series “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under” and now “Boardwalk Empire” have been must-watch shows on Sunday nights. Steve Bushemi is riveting as Nucky Thompson. Can’t wait for the new season of “Big Love!” Black Eyed Peas You can say what you want about the Peas being a Pop band and lowbrow. Their music is irresistible and I have all their discs. Their new one, “The Beginning” is excellent. Will i. am has hit the perfect blend of Pop, Techno, Disco and Hip Hop to make another killer disc. IMHO he is the best Pop producer on the scene today. Bernie Sanders This year, as he has for so many, Bernie is out there fighting for the People’s interests – one of the few senators to consistently do so. Thanks Bernie! “99’ers’” UE Benefits Extended With Real Unemployment in this country up around 15%, the Republicans held the unemployed hostage and wouldn’t extend their benefits. Do they really want people to think they are for the working man at all? Really? Absolutely unconscionable. But, the Democrats finally made a deal to get this done so props to them! Rex Ryan No matter how the Jets do in the playoffs - whether they soar or go down in flames - it has been a great year for Gang Green. Fans either love or hate Rex Ryan. I happen to be in the “Love” column. He’s a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and says what he feels. In the buttoned-down, stiff-upper-lip world of NFL coaches in which tight-asses like Bill Belichick are revered, Rex is a breath of fresh air. The best thing is, win or lose they will never again be the “same old Jets!” Knicks OK, Knicks GM Donnie Walsh was a knucklehead. Knicks fans had to endure three long seasons of horrendous basketball to get room under the salary cap. The plan all along was to get LeBron James, and then it turns out that he never even seriously considered coming to New York. Some “master plan,” Donnie! But, let’s give credit where credit is due. “Plan B,” namely getting Amar’e Stoudemire, has worked out fairly well so far. At least the Knicks are watchable this year, and let’s hope they continue to improve. Meghan McCain One of the few honest truth-tellers in the Republican Party, like her father used to be. What the hell happened to you, Senator? Rachel Maddow Still hands-down the most intelligent political commentator on TV, gaining respect on both sides of the aisle. She has done some remarkable work this year. Russ Baker This man is one of the most outstanding investigative reporters of our time. I finished reading “Family of Secrets,” an exhaustive history of the Bush family from Poppy’s first forays into politics in the Sixties through W’s presidency. If you want to know what made W. who he was and why he governed the way he did, skip “Decision Points” and read this book. Greg Palast Still one of the best investigative journalists America has to offer. Too bad he has to work for the BBC because no American network will touch him. 9-11 First Responders Bill Passes Finally, the men and women who ran to Ground Zero in the wake of the 9-11 attacks are getting some of what they deserve. Many suffered permanent disability and even died of their afflictions from going there. Even the Republicans knew they had to do the right thing by these heroes. Oksana and Mel I didn’t think anyone could be less sympathetic than Mel Gibson but here comes his wife Oksana Grigorieva to actually make him look reasonable by comparison. This woman has a documented history of marrying a star, accusing him of abuse and then divorcing him for big bucks. She is the modern version of the Black Widow. I’ll bet Mel’s ex-wife is having a good chuckle over this whole mess. End of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” . In a long overdue bill, Congress abolishes the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy in the Military and finally allows gay people to serve openly. Finally, America enters the 21st Century! Now, when are they going to pass Same-Sex Marriage? Health Care Bill Passes I am glad many more people will be covered but to be honest, I have mixed feelings about the bill. For one thing, the President used way too much of his political capital to get it done. Obama basically staked his legacy and his place in history on it. The endless debate and stalling by the Republicans distracted him from many more things that need to be done. I really wanted the Public Option and while it didn’t have one, at least it’s a step in the right direction. Years from now this will be a landmark moment in American history. Chris Dodd Retires Chris Dodd calls it quits so he decides to ease himself into retirement from the Senate with a nice cushy Wall St. job. How does he ensure that? By defanging the Finance Reform bill, that’s how. Way to sell the People out, Senator. You really tarnished your legacy, now go away. Kid Rock, “Born Free” Best Bob Seger album I’ve heard in years.	Republican Takeover of the House What the hell is America thinking? I understand that people vote with their wallets but they haven’t given the President a chance. It’s not his fault that that the banks he bailed out with taxpayer money won’t lend to families and small businesses. It was just a big money grab for the “haves” while the “have nots” got left out in the cold yet again. But the President’s in charge so he gets the blame, even though the Republicans put the economy in the crapper in the first place. BP Nobody’s talking about the huge oil spill and the fouling of the Gulf Coast anymore. Why the hell not? BP basically writes its own ticket on safety regulations and doesn’t even follow those. The Gulf Coast will never be the same; an entire way of life, harvesting the bounty of the Sea, has been destroyed. And just to show you how tone-deaf and clueless he is, Tony Hayward is spotted racing his yacht in the middle of the crisis and whining about how he wants his life back. Not to mention Rep. Joe Barton apologizing to BP for making them pony up funds to help clean up the damage. Sarah Palin’s Alaska Caribou Barbie thinks she can use Reality TV to springboard her to the White House. The scary part is that she might be right. LOVED the segment where she clubbed the fish to death on the deck of a boat. Can’t wait for the episode in which she hunts caribou from a helicopter! The Mets ARUGH! Boy, it’s been rough being a Mets fan the past couple of years with one collapse after another. And with the Wilpons still broke because Bernie Madoff took all their money, next year doesn’t look like it’s going to be much better. Trade the stars, play the kids. Sell the team. “9-11 Mosque” Saber-Rattling I thought this was America, or at least it was last time I looked. The Republicans and Tea Partiers are so fond of talking about the Constitution. THEY SHOULD READ IT!!!! Guess what - there’s this little stipulation in the First Amendment about “Freedom of Religion,” and it applies to Islam too! Newt Gingrich and Bill O’Reilly, intelligent men who should clearly know better, got a lot of mileage by saying that Islam attacked America on 9-11. That’s like saying all Christians protest soldiers’ funerals because a few kooks from the Westboro Baptist Church do it. They should have their mosque wherever they want, even a few blocks from Ground Zero. Those Kooky Tea Party Candidates! Oh, what a year it’s been with some of the craziest candidates for the House and Senate that have been seen in years. Who could forget Christine O’Donnell, who had to tell voters “I’m not a witch!” Or Sharon Angle, who was way too radical to beat a very vulnerable Harry Reid for his Senate seat in Nevada. Joe Miller lost in Alaska and the only one who won was Rand Paul, who got to replace Jim Bunning in the Senate. They used to call Jacob Javits’ seat in the Senate the “Jewish Seat.” Rand Paul’s must be the “Crazy Seat.” The Kardashians I am sick to death of seeing these useless women who are famous for doing nothing and have nothing the least bit worthwhile to say. Can they please JUST GO AWAY ALREADY? War!!! The Powers that Be are not stupid, they know their history too. They know the British Empire failed to conquer Afghanistan. They know that Soviet Union failed to conquer Afghanistan. Do they think we can succeed where they failed? Hell no, but then the war is not designed to be won – it is designed to run in the background indefinitely like Vietnam. This way they can make billions of dollars in government contracts. I will believe the Republicans are serious about the deficits when they decide to defund the war. Ain’t gonna happen. My prediction that by the time I do my “Feelin” list for 2012 we will be at war with South Korea and/or Iran. Russ Feingold Defeated! What a shame. One of the most reliable progressive voices in the Senate has been defeated. Feingold was one of the few people who was willing to hold people’s feet to the fire. I hope we will see him again in the future. SC Secession Ball Let’s just call it what it is – the Racist Regalia. I don’t think you’re going to see too many black faces at this event. They want to fly the Stars and Bars and laud the old South where they had Slavery. These people have the right to free speech but what they’re saying is reprehensible. Every Black person in SC should find this insulting. Hey folks, let me help you out – THE CONFEDERACY LOST THE WAR! Alan Grayson Defeated I will always love Alan Grayson for his shining moment during the Health Care debate, in which he made this presentation. He was a guy who wanted to take the fight to the Republicans. It was no surprise that they targeted him and poured millions of dollars into making sure he was defeated. I hope we will see him again on the National scene. G.W. Bush, “Decision Points” It’s pretty clear that I have never been a fan of W, for so many reasons. I expect him to justify himself in his book, that’s what ex-Presidents do. They write books and make a case for themselves. But he also showed himself as the hopeless narcissist he is when he identified Kanye West’s comment, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” as the worst moment in his presidency. Not that he caused so much suffering, that his feelings were hurt. “Avatar” While it was the highest-grossing movie in history it was also the most overhyped, overrated movie in history. James Cameron should have spent a few million less on doing SFX and put it into writing a decent script. But then that’s what happens when studios let the Director write it. Plot-wise it was “Pocahontas” on steroids. North Korea With Kim Jong-Il on his way out, the North Korean military is getting antsy. Do they let the country languish and rot from the inside for another forty years under Kim Jong-Un or is there another way to go? That way might be war. Go to war with the South, fight it out and then reunify like Germany. Fraudulent Mortgages, Fraudulent Foreclosures Working people were sold a bill of goods with fraudulent mortgages they couldn’t possibly afford. Now their houses are being foreclosed with too many legal short-cuts. This problem is a lot worse than the Government is letting on and something has to be done! For the People that is, not the banks! South Fulton TN Firefighters Let House Burn These men are a disgrace to firefighters everywhere. I don’t care if the Mayor ordered it, no fireman worthy of the name would stand down while a family’s house burned to the ground. Over a $75 fee no less! They have brought shame to their town and their fire department. There is no excuse for this. Islanders It’s a shame what they’ve done to this once-proud franchise. But that’s what happens when a billionaire purchases a sports team as part of a real estate deal. He doesn’t know jack about hockey and doesn’t really care about the team. Do the damn development deal or sell the team and move it already. Bryan Trottier and Bobby Nystrom should go to Charles Wang’s office and kick his ass!
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