Tonight Ed Schulz announced that he is moving from his weeknight MSNBC 8pm slot to Saturdays and Sundays. Of course he says he volunteered to move but we all know that's not true. Nobody in their right mind in that business gives up a prime time slot to go to where the beginners sharpen their craft.
So I bet you are guessing it's because his viewership is down.......they are leaving in droves? Nope, his ratings are solid. As a matter of fact he is the 2nd highest rated show on a network that is gaining ground on CNN and it's Right Wing rival Fox News. It seems and I have noticed as well that a guy who fights for American workers and the middle class has no place in the Left Wing haven that we call MSNBC. That seems weird, right? That seems f@#ked up, really, and I am not surprised. The middle class has been so dismantled and destroyed that it's power isn't even relevant to Democrat leaders and it's media. And it hasn't even hit rock bottom yet.
I'm afraid that Democrats in Congress and President Obama are leaving us behind as well. Let's face it, the GOP has NEVER been on the side of the American worker. History proves that and the new budget proposed by Paul Ryan reenforces it. And now we don't even have the Democratic party, a party that we helped build.
The fight for the Middle Class is been put to bed to bring in an elitist and wonkish Liberal attitude that is filled with commentators who have never picked up a shovel or walked a picket line. Fresh out of college Harvard grads who have no idea who John L. Lewis is or how men died making the workplace safer. It sickens me. Who are these Democrats?
So in the end, the labor force in the great US of A is still on it's own. Maybe someday we will get to the point that things will get so bad that a Labor Party will emerge. And please, don't start with the Communist garbage. The pro-Union men I grew up with hated Communism and everything it stood for. In the end it is about getting a fair wage for a days work. Getting back job security and a pension for your dedication and hard work. Being able to spend time with your family and the VALUE of family. Do yourself a favor and read books and speeches by Union organizers 120 years ago. It was all about the family unit that they were defending. Sadly, we may need to fight the same war.....again. I see it in our future.
Where I grew up is coal country and has been for well over 100 years. If you grew up there chances are you had a relative who worked in the mines. For me, it was my uncles, cousins and father. I never worked in them but did venture in a mine a couple of times.
When I was 14 my father was a foreman at a mine in Clear Creek, Utah. This is at a high elevation where the snow can reach the rooftops during the winter months. At this time the mine was idle on the weekends, so each foreman would take a shift going through the mine periodically which is the law. You see, when a mine is shut down to reopen it takes a lot of paperwork and inspections. So it is much easier and cheaper to idle the mine and have a guy "sit watch" on Saturday and Sunday.
My father asked me if I wanted to go with him one Saturday and of course I said yes. I had never been in underground before. These mines go for miles under 2,000-3,000 feet of mountain. The snow pack is always melting and the the drain off goes into the mines. A series of pumps will pump most of the water out but not all of it. Looking back I can always see why my father was battling sinus infections. The cold and wet can mess with you down there. So before we went in he gave me a run down on what to expect and what NOT to do. Many were things you really would not think about, like when you are talking to someone and your lamp is on (a "lamp" is the light that miners wear on their hardhats to see in the darkness of the mine) you shouldn't look directly at them because the brightness of the light will hurt their eyes. One warning I have never forgot and I'll tell you why. In my old man's words;
"When you see a puddle avoid it. First off, the water down here is just above freezing. It hurts like hell. Second, you don't know how deep they can be, maybe an inch, maybe six feet. The last thing you want is to fall in. You could freeze."
It was cool being down there and seeing where my dad went to work every day. I got to learn about ventilation, I saw a lot of heavy machinery and I learned to admire the hard work and tuff conditions those miners including my uncles and father had to endure.
Then it happened..........
At one point I stumbled a little and stepped right onto a puddle about 3 feet in diameter. It was inocent looking. Just a plain old looking puddle. But it was deep. As I stepped onto it I went in and ended up waist deep. Yep. Waist deep into the coldest water and mud one could ever experience. I just stood there in shock. It was so cold I thought my manhood had escaped up into my chest. I was also pissed because I looked like an idiot in front of my dad who I had spent all my life trying to make proud of me.
With a chuckle he helped me get out and I was about 20 pounds heavier because the mud, which looked like brown cottage cheese was clinging to me from my waist down. I had and HAVE never been that cold. So we went out side and into the bath house where I took off my clothes and had a nice warm shower.
To THIS DAY, I never step into a puddle.
...............and I can safely say that this guy will never do it again either.
UPDATE: The video has been copyrighted and is no longer available.......go make your $100.
I started really singing about 2-3 years ago. I forgot the exact date. I know it was the first closing of Rick and Tracy Yost's club, Pearl. I decided at the spur of the moment (yeah, I do that) to just start the song "The Love I Want" as I got up on stage with my bandmates Kevin Schermerhorn and Drew Allain. I did it solo and pretty much nailed it shocking a few folks in the process. I had tried singing before but was put down by the guys I was in a band with at the time. That experience put me in a hole vocally that took me 20 years to get out of. But I'm glad I finally did. Over time the added confidence has helped me build up a catalog of over 25 songs.
So.....why does the week before my monthly gig at the Goat always seem to be filled with dread and anxiety? I get nervious, I don't want to work on the songs, I don't even want to do the gig hoping somehow a natural disaster like a sink hole will cancel it. Yeah, I know what it is. It's just me being a wimp. I'll get through it. When I show up with my gear all that will disappear. It always does.
Monday, that's today........and my "Week of Fear" begins. But I'm not on that mistress Facebook that has taken so much quality time away from my music and family. I WILL work on my singing. I will work on finding more songs to play. I will NOT miss Facebook.
Well, I did it. I am no longer on Facebook. I did it on a whim actually. I finally got tired of the ass kissing, political stupidity and stupid photos. I know, I guess I could have ignored it but if you know me, I just can't.
I have friends I will miss and some I won't. In person they are great, on Facebook they bug the shit out of me. It's like when you get out of your parent's house and move in your first place with your best friend only to find out that they get on your nerves and you can't stand them. We have all been there.....or most of us have. That relationship is changed forever.
And then there are the whiners........Jesus H. Christ.....so many WHINERS. The ones who will complain about the stupidest shit to get sympathy comments. And the worst part is that it comes from grown men. The same guys who talk shit and act like bad asses but the first time someone hurts their feelings they cry like a teenage girl who has had her iPhone taken away. Pathetic.
Then there are the folks who think every negative comment is about them and they have to ask, "What do you mean by that?" Nothing. It wasn't about you....."Lighten up, Francis." I was tired of watching opportunists post and brag about their gigs and triumphs that were at best amateur.
And the photos.......between the cat photos and somebody's obsession of some guy who dyes his facial hair and kisses another guy's ass in a vain attempt at purging his fans.......I better stop there.
Lastly, I was tired of being the guy who was entertaining everyone with my hot opinions and entering the Coliseum for bloody battles about morality, politics and the things I mentioned above. Funny thing, some dickhead would be sending "Go get 'em, Pat!!" messages privately then unfriending me citing my "negativity and bullying". Come on you jerk, unfriending me wasn't about that and you know it.
So there you go, so long Facebook. I'll get my dirt the old fashion way, on Sunday mornings from my bass player.
