Musical Detour

And, leaving aside the usual crippled rants for the moment, I present a musical detour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQu49GdLGu4

Steve Gadd, Drums
Marcus Miller, Bass, Bass Clarinet
Joe Sample, Piano(s)
David Sanborn, Sax
Eric Clapton, Guitar(s), Vocals

The best all-out blast I've ever seen, true ensemble playing!

The. Best. Ever.

This is what can happen when you wander the web....

It has become absolutely predictable, every year 'round this time somebody, somewhere, puts up a JEEEESUS display of some kind in the wrong place and the other side promptly makes a fuss, followed by another fuss in return, ad nauseam...

I offer you this as the most innovative and appropriate response I've ever encountered:

Festivus celebration to take place at Utica fire station

If you're into airing grievances and displaying feats of strength, then the Utica Fire Department's Shepherd Place fire station might be the place for you Tuesday.

COMMENT
1

S. Alexander Gerould 
Posted Dec. 22, 2014 @ 1:05 pm 

UTICA

If you're into airing grievances and displaying feats of strength, then the Utica Fire Department's Shepherd Place fire station might be the place for you.

People are expected to gather in front of the station at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Shepherd Place and Sunset Avenue, to celebrate Festivus, a fictional holiday made famous on the popular sitcom “Seinfeld.”

“Utica is a diverse city with many different beliefs and religions,” said Kevin Nugent, an organizer of the event, in a news release. “We want to ensure that all faiths are represented on government property, as well as share our faith with the city of Utica.”

Today's event comes as a homemade sign reading “Happy Birthday Jesus we love you” displayed in front of the station has received national attention from a variety of media outlets and has drawn criticism from the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, which sent a letter to Mayor Robert Palmieri asking him to direct Fire Chief Russell Brooks to remove the sign immediately.

Brooks, meanwhile, said that he would take the sign down "right after the first of the year."

Festivus was made popular by the character Frank Costanza in a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld.” The holiday came about after Costanza became upset with materialism and commercialization during the holiday season, and it gives people the chance to air their grievances and take part in a wrestling match.

During today's event, the Festivus-celebrators plan to present a Festivus Pole - a staple of the holiday's celebration - to the department to be placed alongside the birthday sign, according to the press release.

The pole will be crafted out of Utica Club beer cans to demonstrate hometown pride.

The group also is calling for other local religions to request the fire department post signs representing their faiths to foster feelings of unity and togetherness in the city during the holiday season, according to the release.

On Monday, Brooks said two groups of carolers visited the station recently and many people have been stopping by the station to wish the firefighters well and have been leaving cards.

“I am amazed at the attention this little sign is getting,” he said.

Read more: http://www.uticaod.com/article/20141222/News/141229888#ixzz3MlAVAGiF


Heh, what better way to throw a move on your opponent, right?

A Suggestion...

Our country has undergone a significant and horrific change over the course of my lifetime, the product of said change is now on full display when it used to be buried in the local newspaper's (remember them?) weekly "Police Blotter" due to the acceleration of technology in communications. The head (apparently up his own ass) of the NYPD union decided to put his supreme arrogance on public display over the Mayor's supposed responsibility for the senseless killing of two of his officers by an apparent nut-job from out of state, thereby doing his level best to hurl a 55 gallon drum of gasoline onto an already flaming situation.

I have something of a suggestion to address this and it was brought to my mind by everybody's favorite Koch-Whore, that wretched fuckstick who currently occupies the Governor's office in Wisconsin, Scott Walker. He famously (and successfully) went after the "public-sector unions" in order to reduce or entirely negate their influence in said state, but, BUT, the police union (to my knowledge) was not included, even though they are also "public-sector" employees. Why not employ the very same tactics to correct this massive oversight on his part? It's long past time to jerk the leash on these purveyors of state-sanctioned violence and bring them to the bar of justice when they commit crimes "Under Color of Authority" and who have now apparently declared war on the city of New York AND the duly elected Mayor of said city.

It's one thing to be an arrogant asshole, it's something light-years different to be an arrogant asshole with a gun and a badge and a free pass to murder at will. There is a strong parallel to the situation ongoing with Wall Street; "Oh, trust us to regulate ourselves!" and look what happens... This ain't over by a long shot and, unless some kind of shift in thinking and behaving occurs, it will likely get bloodier, mostly from the police side because they have the firepower and the license to kill.