DATE: 12 20 2006, 9:43 am / MOOD: Other

 While listening to President Bush this morning it occurred to me that Iraq might not be going well for the same reason that the welfare state work.

 Welfare is a handout. In some cases people need a handout (I don't think it should ever come from the unwilling taxpayer, but that's a different subject), but for almost everyone else motivation, discipline, and opportunity would get them in a bettewr financial situation.

The question is why should I give up a free ride to go to work. Free babysitting (public schools), free medical, free food (food stamps and WIC), free rent, and a check to boot. Work can be hard, takes up a good chunck of my day, ect.

 Welfare is suposed to be a helping hand to get people self sufficeint, but it gives no motivation for becoming so.

 The theoretical goal in Iraq is to get the Iraq people to defend and govern themselves, but why should they bother when they have willing American soldiers to die in thier place? Why worry about building thier economy and infrastructure when the US taxpayer can pay the bills?

 Are most people on welfare truly unable to help themselve or are they just unwilling?

 Were the people of Iraq unable to overthrow their government or just unwilling?

 Is Iraq on welfare?

 

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DATE: 11 29 2006, 9:20 am / MOOD: Other

Here's the sales pitch for my EP that you can purchace @ tallmanwithguitar.com or download @ itunes  

  

In Transit

All throughout Nebraska and Kansas you can find vehicles being driven around without license plates and often without insurance. All that keeps them from being pulled over is an 11"x 7" piece of paper in the window that states that the vehicle is In Transit. This informs the authorities that the owner has yet to register the vehicle in their hometown or the town they're moving to. They have 30 days to do so.

Travelers along the road. People headed for home. This is the theme of In Transit.

Hop in, start the car, and pop in a cd......


...The albumn starts with A Hop, Skip, and a Jump. The short instrumental captures the nervous energy and excitement at a trip's beginning. Playful and driving, no thoughts of traffic jams or tolls as it bounces along....

...3,000 Miles. Reality sets in. Familiar places behind and the open road ahead. The destination is still far away, but the sounds of an optimistic ache prod the driver on.....

....Where Are You?

Along the interstate evrything looks the same. Exits to unfamiliar towns dot the landscape.

Who lives there?

What's is there to be missed if you don't stop?

What is to be missed if you do?

Track three swings along through similar questions.

Is true love real?

Where is it to be found?

Do I even know what to look for?

A spector of doubt may hover over the the question, but hope keeps driving....

"Why do they call it God's Counrty?"

"Because no one else wants it."

We make plans and God laughs. Mapless and clueless. Wrong turn? Maybe not....

....Home. Depending upon what awaits us there, can bring thoughts of joy and comfort or thoughts shame and regret. Home is a place some long for and some dred, made up of geography and people.

Shuffling along, track five covers both time and place to discover that Home is a Who.....

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DATE: 11 05 2006, 6:15 pm / MOOD: Other

"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."

 

-Martin Luther King Jr.

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DATE: 11 02 2006, 4:52 pm / MOOD: Other

 I am not against government. Someone has to have the official job of protecting us from worse governments that would invade us if there was no military in place, someone has to judge between victims and perpertrators and make sure that restitution is made, someone has to make sure that people are truthful in their advertizing and that they fulfill their contracts, someone has to make sure that companies are not killing their ususpecting neighbors as they pursue profits, but I am not for BIG government.

 

 Many people feel that government should be paternal. They want government to be a big brother that equalizes all unfairness (at least whatever a particular group deems unfair) and a loving father that makes sure all of it's children get what they need ( again, the same percieved need). This kind of government will decide who desrves to reap the rewards of who's labors this kind of government decides what and who is offensive, and this kind of government will decide what is safe for you to do with yourself and your property.

 

 None of this is necessarily bad in and of itself. I want many of the same things that the advocates of such a government wants. The only problem is all of this involves people. Where do we find people wise enough to decide these things for us and honest enough to carry out these duties without corruption. The history of the world and the history of this country in particular, show that it is not among the political encumbants and hopefuls we have at our disposal.

 

 I am not saying that ALL politicians are immoral or ignorant, but the deck is stacked against those of us that are looking for representatives that fall into neither class. If we do happen to find someone who is both wise and honest there is no guarantee that associating with the rest of the fools will not effect their judgement and that power and kickbacks will not corrupt their morals. There are exceptions, but are there enough to make a real difference. History seems to say otherwise.

 

 Human nature has not changed over the course of written history. As a whole we are all made of the same stuff. That is one of the very reasons we need something in place to do the things I mentioned in the first paragraph, but it is also the reason that we need to limit goverments powers to the bare minimum. I may not be able to necessarily trust my neighbor (or his corperation or special interest group), but he has no real power to control me. I can kepp an eye on him, presure him to change, ignore him, compete with him, ect., but who is going to protect me from my neighbor's government.

 

 There are many groups looking to take advantageof us and to make us to serve their needs, but in a truly free society they have the right to try and we have the right to resist, but when those same groups make up a government everyone MUST go along. So I will happily deal with the devils that I know and run up against everyday than the untouchable devils I don't know who hide out in government offices.

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DATE: 11 01 2006, 4:40 pm / MOOD: Other

Everyday countless musicians find themselves working unfulfilling jobs.

Carpenters, financial experts, baristas, ... the list goes on.

The hours, the days, and the years roll by while they struggle to find the time and the resources to be heard by a world in need of better music .

To make matters worse, many of them are white: dancing is out of the question, rhythm is a challenge, and bling just seems beyond their reach.........

.... but you can help.

For the price of a fajita burrito and a drink @ Chipolte you can buy a copy of In Transit and help keep the dream alive.

We here at the Poor White Musician Fund are doing our best to ensure that at least one band has the opportunity to get on the path to avoiding another honest day's work.

Won't you join us in this noble effort?

 

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