TEA Time

I agree with Thomas Sowell.

What is greedy about seeking to retain the fruits of my own labor?

And for crying out loud, why is not considered greed for governments and the idiots who support their unquenchable thirst for tax dollars not considered greed.

In fact, it is immoral for those folks to lay claim to the fruits of my labor.

Taxation, and regulation, are out of control.

The Beatles had it right.

"Let me tell you how it will be There's one for you, nineteen for me Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman"

The Beatles released Taxman 50 years ago in 1966 on the album "Revolver". No Beatles video, but here is George Harrison with Eric Clapton in for Paul McCartney on lead guitar. TEA time!

Bright Are The Stars That Shine

On this Sunday, fifty years ago, America changed forever.



On February 9, 1964, Ed Sullivan welcomed The Beatles to make their US television debut by performing live in the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on The Ed Sullivan Show before what turned out to be a television audience of an unprecedented 77 million people.  The first song The Beatles played was "All My Loving".

Such a success it was, The Beatles remained at The Warwick Hotel and performed again the following Sunday, promoting their new single, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand".

The Beatles are part of the fabric of America, four talented individuals from Liverpool, perhaps divinely inspired to meet, who transformed music and inspired a collection of musical artists, many of whom comprise what has been referred to as part of the British Invasion during the mid to late sixties.

It is worth noting the innovation exhibited by this group is second to none, emerging with what many consider these days as pop music, to releasing the first real hard rock album in "The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and continuing to release stellar efforts individually after the breakup of the band.  Each had great success, with both John Lennon and Paul McCartney each individually releasing singles considered among the best of all time.

While many these days do not speak of The Beatles as one of their favorite bands, only musical nincompoops fail to adequately recognize their place as one of, if not the greatest, band of all time.  The greater majority of music composed by The Beatles are a brilliant, timeless collection of art, which will never be matched, particularly considering the small window of time, 1962-70, the band was together.

Without a portfolio of tunes second to none, would anyone be crazy enough to attempt to list the best Beatles songs in order?  Many have, and the variances are welcomed and no doubt personal preference.   As such. few can mount a legitimate argument against any such list.

Below is my list, a Top 25, which is mostly comprised of The Beatles early material. 

1.      In My Life
2.      While My Guitar Gently Weeps
3.      Abbey Road Medley
4.      Revolution
5.      And I Love Her



6.      I Wanna Hold Your Hand
7.      If I Fell



8.      Here There and Everywhere
9.      Tax Man
10.    Let It Be
11.    Ticket To Ride
12.    She Loves You
13.    Please Mister Postman



14.    Help
15.    Do You Wanna Know A Secret
16.    Something
17.    Nowhere Man
18.    You Can't Do That



19.    Eight Days A Week
20.    Should Have Known Better
21.    Eleanor Rigby
22.    Tell Me Why



23.    The Long And Winding Road
24.    Yesterday
25.    Things We Said Today

I love many songs left off the list, such as Twist and Shout, Drive My Car, Day Tripper, Helter Skelter, I Feel Fine, Paperback Writer, A Day in the Life, Strawberry Fields Forever, Don't Let Me Down, Penny Lane, Oh Darling and Please Please Me. 

In an unspeakable tragedy, John Lennon was murdered in New York City on December 8, 1980, shortly after emerging with a very strong comeback album, Double Fantasy.  Most of America found out the horrible news from ABC's Howard Cosell, broadcasting an NFL Monday Night Football game with the New England Patriots visiting the Miami Dolphins. Lennon's talent was immense.  George Harrison sadly died in 2001 of lung cancer at only 58 years of age.  Ringo Starr, who had the first individual hit to reach #1, is doing very well and traveling around performing with his  All Star Band.  Always great to see Ringo and that infectious smile of his.  Peace and Love!  Paul McCartney is still performing, selling our venues all over the world.  The individual efforts of McCartney, beginning with his early work with Wings, continues to cast in stone his place as simply the greatest singer songwriter of all time.

This Sunday evening, 50 years to the day, CBS will broadcast a special event, The Night That Changed America, a Grammy Salute to The Beatles.  It should be mandatory viewing.



Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr

Bright are the stars that shine.



And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love, you make!

Such Joy In Crackerbox Palace

These days, every day is a real head scratcher. A whip around the news of the day leaves you wondering when you passed through the worm hole. As astonishing as it is, you cannot wake up from it, for it is real. Welcome to Crackerbox Palace!

There are hundreds, but here are three cases in point.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Giethner, who failed to pay his taxes unlike the rest of us, wrote a recent editorial in The New York Times that welcomes us to the recovery. Is he just this stupid, or does he think flyover country is stupid or is he just outright lying to our face. There is no recovery going on. President Obama claims under his direction, we are on the right track and the worst is behind us. One would hope with all the stimulus, a recovery could be sparked, but it has not happened with unemployment on the rise and the housing crisis that at best could claim it is gaining stabilization, a double dip recession, or perhaps a continuation of the one we have been in, is coming.

Radical Islamists are attempting to build a mega mosque 600 feet away from Ground Zero, which you would think would be immediately thwarted by sound thinking government officials. Nope. In fact, they are embracing the potential construction citing harmony. I am vehemently against the mosque, and have blogged on the subject not once, but twice. However, this is no doubt the best example of political correctness gone amok I have ever seen. Oh, it gets worse.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a Kuwait-born Muslim, leads the Cordoba Initiative project. A supporter of Hamas and one who feels the US brought 9-11 upon ourselves, has been given funding by the State Department to go to the middle east to spread goodwill and raise money for the project. On our dime? We are joining the terrorists in financing this mosque? No way! Most media could not care less, but Sean Hannity is not pleased, and neither is Glenn Beck, who goes off in a must see monologue.

Those who do not understand the financial markets should not be falling all over themselves to craft regulatory reform of the financial markets. They are and they did, as the financial reform bill passed. The bill was crafted by Rep. Barney Frank, D:MA, and Senator Christopher Dodd, D:CT, both of whom are lucky not to be in the federal lockup.

Central to the housing crisis is the mismanagement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government sponsored entities who play monopoly in the mortgage markets. Frank, chairman of the committee that oversees this bunch, joined Andrew Cuomo, The Architect of Ruin, in failing miserably to adequately manage these GSE's. The amount of wealth destroyed by this mismanagement is historic. So, Frank is an idiot at best. Dodd, who dances around ethical behavior, got a sweetheart loan from Countrywide, now a part of Bank America (BA:NYSE) and the first major mortgage company to bite the dust. The arrogance of these men is astounding, but that our Congress would allow these two clowns to craft the unnecessary regulatory reform bill (FINREG) is mind boggling. No doubt Jethro Bodine was unavailable.

When we elect these idiots like this, we get what we deserve. And what did we get with FINREG? Fannie and Freddie, bleeding cash as if they are swimming in a piranha tank, were not included in the bill. So the centerpiece of the fraud, that Dodd participated in, Fannie and Freddie, fail to make the list of things to reform? Oh my!

The mind boggling decisions we witness that are made almost daily, by each branch of government, cannot be the result of incompetence. The destruction of our country, and our Constitution, is unfortunately deliberate. It is time to pull your head of out the sand and draw a firm line in it.

Don't you get it? While we were busy living our lives, we have checked into Crackerbox Palace. The Progressives have been expecting us.




Check out time is the first Tuesday in November!

The Beatles Got It, So Should You!

Glenn Beck of FOX News presented week long series titled Reasonable Questions for Unreasonable Times. I sincerely hope you were able to catch this vitally important series. If you missed it, please visit Glenn Beck clips where you can watch each segment.

We all owe Glenn Beck a debt of gratitude. Beck has put his career, and health, on the line to orchestrate delivery of information of critical importance about this administration very few other media outlets will touch. Yes, Investors Business Daily is outstanding, Michelle Malkin and blogs like Gateway Pundit are stellar while Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity play their roles, but Beck has attacked and outlined these issues with his well researched unique delivery and top notch wit.

In the following segment, Beck fired lyrics from the greatest band ever, The Beatles, in demonstrating the restraint against progressivism not displayed by the Obama administration. Take a listen:



Beck comments that the Beatles got it, quoting from "Revolution"

"You say you want a revolution.
Well, you know,
We all want to change the world.

You say you'll change the Constitution,
Well, you know,
We all want to change your head.

You tell me it's the institution,
Well, you know,
You better free your mind instead.

But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao,
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow.

Don't you know know it's gonna be all right."

1,2,3,4.....



I'll take it a step further by remembering the George Harrison Revolver classic "Tax Man" and posing a few questions of my own.

Should US tax dollars be going to minds that hate like ACORN, masters of civil disobedience?

Certainly, the Census should not be operated by this group, should it?

With an economy on the ropes, is it appropriate to "skyrocket energy taxes" and potentially tax stock market trades, hampering investment yet again?

Members of Congress are failing to read proposed legislation, never mind voting on bills yet to be crafted. Forget voting on some agreed upon principles written by some left wing looters, fire us the details for we would all love to see the plan? Nice transparency on you!

Who is for making September 11 a day of service, trying to mask the horror we all dealt with on that horrific day?

I could go on and on. One thing is clear. Thanks in part to Glenn Beck, Americans are waking up in droves to the fraud committed against them. In fact, there is a non-transparent revolution presently going on against free market capitalism and the Constitution. America has found out!

The revolution? Let me tell you how it will be! I hear Americans now! Like we told you before, NO, "You Can't Do That"