VASSAR CLEMENTS

I can't tell you how influential this man and talent was. Vassar passed away two weeks ago and I'm just finding out now. That should tell you how unrecognized he was by the "music establishment" which like most "establishments" misses the whole essence of the real thing. Commercial music has lost its soul, period. The true geniuses, the true talents never lay their instruments down. But the Britney's of the world retire exceedingly wealthy in their 20's because music today is not about the love of music it is about money and status. But not that long ago when rock n' roll was about fun and the blues musicians were spawning such a creative force as to birth John Mayall, the Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly, and Elvis, and Bill Monroe gave charge to Grisman and Garcia well there was a guy named Vassar Clements who said frig Nashville, frig the establishment lets all play together. And play he did with everyone you can think of from the Allman Brothers to Woody Herman, the Grateful Dead, Doc Watson to the Byrds, Paul McCartney and the Monkeys(??!!??). Vassar was a true ambassador to what is so great about music and learning to play an instrument, about putting the music above the ego, about getting along with others, about sharing and creating something larger than yourself and the song you are playing. If there was a Mount Rushmore of music Vassar should be up there because he pulled so many people together and spread to the outer reaches of popular music what it was to be a true Country Gentleman.

He in my opinion single handedly bridged the gap between the artificial divides imposed on us by the music industry. He bridged the gap between country, bluegrass, southern rock, jazz, and rock n’ roll. If it's good music it doesn't matter what they call it. Jazz heads who don't like the blues, or country purist who don't like southern rock, or rock n' rollers who don't like blue grass or rappers who don't like anything - I don't get that, and neither did Vassar because he jammed with everybody!!!!

Thank you Vassar for broadening my horizons, thank you!

Journey Home Update

Dear Friend,

I wanted to share this note from an unknown reader. It is inspiring and heart felt and why I wrote the book Journey Home. I hope everyone who reads Journey Home gets something personal, profound, profane and fun from the read. In short this rocks and slaps a big smile on my face!

Paul, I finished reading "Journey Home". I had reread many passages as I was so entranced with the messages. It is so refreshing to find someone else who sees the deeper reasons and meanings of life. I especially enjoyed the passages about the wind, water and nature talking/feeling. About how mankind has lost the real journey. As I had a dear friend who was torn between his spiritual quest and the illusions(or delusions) he got caught up with in a rock star world, I can so relate to the characters' journey in your book. It helped me to somewhat understand what he must have struggled with. It all became clear to him at the end; that may have been a blessing in itself.

My own values have become so much less of things and people of this world and more towards a spiritual quest. I see you quoted Edgar Cayce.

Have you written any other books? Have you ever done any biographies?

I would love to read any other books you may have published.

Never loose your inner self.

Donna

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Thank You Donna!!!!

Comments like that make the decades long struggle to finish my novel so worth it I will always remember your kind words.
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Energy Bill Transportation Bill

The glib response to the pork barrel energy bill is atrocious. It is irresponsible, and gives the impression that our government can sustain itself by deficit spending. Our government is totally irresponsible. Our politicians are totally corrupt. The only way to get their attention is to limit their access to our tax money. We need an immediate across the board reduction in the payroll tax. Politicians redistribute our tax money to the cronies that finance their campaigns. Its quid pro quo - it's corrupt, and it's no different than the system of bribery corporate america complains about when they try and do business in the Soviet Union and the Middle East. It's a not too sophisticated form of the same thing. Look they have been robbing Peter to pay Paul up on Capitol Hill for far too long. The Democrats actually handed them a surplus which they gave back to their leading campaign donors, and now instead of paying down the debt and getting out from the enormous interest payments they are continuing to flaunt solid economic sense. If I ran my household the way the government runs theirs I would be out on the street living in a garbage can. Economic advisors across the board tell you to pay off your credit cards first to get away from the interest payments and bank the savings. Our government can't do what some retired school teacher does to manage her money.

The only reason there is a social security crisis is because they manufactured one. Instead of plowing the surplus social security funds back into social security and letting it compound with the interest - they swooped in on the surplus to pay for everything, and anything. Face it Al Gore was right put social security in a lock box, and don't touch it. But our politicians who are supposed to represent us don't care about social security. They have their own different retirement system. Put the politicians retirement into social security and I guarantee you it will never get touched – surplus and all. Their lives aren’t affected so they reach into it time and again in total disregard of the public trust and their mandated responsibility to the public at large. They grab that money and they don't feel any obligation to replenish what they borrowed from our retirements.

Us the people without whom big government couldn't operate we are the last in line behind those that fund the elections. That's treason, that's a conflict of interest and that’s impeachable, corrupt and immoral. Any glib broadcast who tries to cast this energy bill as something else has bought the party spin hook line and sinker. The media should be holding our politicians accountable, and the macroeconomic picture should be illuminated. The robbing of the Social Security surplus to pay for isolated one time projects is corrupt and a violation of their fiduciary responsibility. The misappropriation of our tax dollars for private interest, and the buying and selling of our politicians is bankrupting and corrupting our government. It's fiscally irresponsible to suggest that the economy is better off by having the Chinese finance our enormous debt driven interest payments rather than the government being self sufficient, and putting the tax dollars back into the hands of those who earn it.

Run the government like you run your household. Pay off the debt, get out from under the interest payments, bank the savings for retirement (social security), and put as much money back into the paychecks of the American workers as possible so they can save and spend as they see fit. It’s simple more money in the hands of the consumers who earn it would create a national surge in spending and savings, bond issues could then fund these ridiculous bridge projects when the States have a surplus. No I'm sorry glib assessments that the energy and transportation bills are good for the economy is dead wrong and in support of the misinformation campaign led by the few people who benefit from the passage of these corporate gives aways.

Tax breaks for Exxon/Mobile should have been plowed back into social security used to pay off the interest on our debts or given back to the people in the form of a payroll tax reduction - that's the cure and the only cure for the economy, and it would mean less money for our politicians to give away to their cronies, and less bidding for their favors if they have less money to give away. George W. Bush spent how many months touring the country to overhaul social security, and when he had the chance to plow money back into the social security system he gave it away to Exxon/Mobile and a bridge for 50 people. That’s the definition of a traitor.

John Roberts Wolf in Sheeps Clothing!!!

First off the louder the right wing media howls about MoveOn.org the more credible they must be. I find that their observations are based on source documents. To tune out the opposition makes you a blind follower, "danger Will Robinson, danger". I find it very disturbing that the White House and Roberts are denying his membership and association with the Federalist Society. Although I agree with their mandate in principle (I'm not sure in action as to what they are exactly doing) as a strict constitutionalist. However to turn a blind eye to lobbiest writing laws, and the silence of the libertarians and Federalist Society on that issue, and the mainstream press saddens me.

Everywhere is a consolidation of power. The media owned by giant corporations who subsequently write the laws to protect their interest, and no where to speak out in the main stream media, and now public radio and television being abducted by the extremists. It is amazing how everyone has swallowed the RNC's talking points including our Senators. The talking points are that Roberts is a nice guy so don't look at his record. Isn't he handsome? Look how non-threatening he looks. Well baloney there is a lot of disturbing information out there that is going to come to light. I continue to say that Bush is a traitor, and a liar and that he and his cabinet are treasonous who deserve impeachment on the grounds of "conflict of interest" and acting in direct opposition to the mandate to "uphold and maintain" the Constitution of the United States. I suggest everyone read it before it’s too late.

You will be amazed at what the second amendment in the bill of rights really says. The right to bear arms is taken out of context and the punctuation illuminates that the second amendment was about state's rights in forming militias. Pay attention to the punctuation "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." This isn't about the right of individuals to own guns. This is about well regulated militias and the security of the individual States who regulate them.

It's just another classic example of lazy Americans being duped by special interest twisting the Constitution and Bill of Rights for their own gain. We are being slowly eroded out of our forefathers hard won rights, liberties and gouged on taxes, sweetheart deals, and insider trading government style. In my opinion the population at large deserves what they get for being unaware, clueless and lazy. Read the Constitution and Amendments, the Bill of Rights, and study history. Even a modest amount of historical analysis will shock the pants off of you as to what this administration is doing, eroding the separation of powers, the separation of church and state and the rampant "conflict of interest" destroying the system in place to monitor their criminal behavior. Good luck collecting on your 401K's.