Brazil’s “Tea Party” – Takin’ It To the Streets

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 4

Brazil protest The government has become too big, inefficient, costly and corrupt. Citizens are oppressed and punished by heavy-handed government officials. Promises made by the government have not been kept. Taxes increase, but services diminish. The health care system is broken. Scandals arise daily, revealing government corruption in every corner. The voters elected the nation’s first ____ president without proper vetting, and now regret it. A land of astonishing natural resources and industrious people languishes in economic misery.

No, it’s not the United States. It’s Brazil.

This week, frustrated Brazilians took to the streets. What was the “one more drop” (Brazilian version of the straw that broke the camel’s back) that pushed citizens over the edge, uniting rich, poor and middle-classes in protest in the face of violent police pushback? It was a twenty-cent increase in bus fare. One more little spit in the public’s eye by a government class that has taken its power and control for granted.

It wasn’t only the relentless increases in taxes and fees. It wasn’t just the massive spending on lavish sports facilities while hospitals and roads crumble. Or the ubiquitous “palm-greasing” for political favors. It was all the above, and finally “one more drop.”

One protester quoted in The Independent (UK) summed it up: “Our parents fought against the dictatorship, but then we went to sleep,” he admitted. After an extended period of improving economic conditions and expanding personal freedoms and opportunities, Brazil’s government got too big for its britches. “Now, finally, we’re waking up.”

Fortunately Brazil enjoys an aggressive and free press, who relish in pointing out the failures of their government. Brazil’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, a Marxist who battled the country’s ruling military junta before being catapulted to its highest elected office, now sees her popularity rating tumble. After a prolonged silence, she has announced her intention to pursue reforms.

It seems the disrespect Brazil’s government shows its citizens is not so different from our own. But our only resistance to date has been a small but persistent Tea Party, which is vilified by those who refuse to wake up. In Brazil, the people are “taking it to the streets.” Could it happen here?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Are you…telling me the things you’re gonna do for me
I ain’t blind and I don’t like what I think I see
Takin’ it to the streets
Takin’ it to the streets

Takin’ It To The Streets – Michael McDonald

Dana Loesch – Attitude!

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Girl got ATTITUDE!

Nuff said.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’m in control, my worries are few
‘Cause I’ve got love like I never knew
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I got a new attitude
New Attitude - Patti LaBelle

People Got To Be Free – Including Black People

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Freedom plate I have worried about the racial polarity evident in our elections. Minorities, especially blacks, have tended to vote in lockstep for Democrats. I don’t understand it, because I can’t see where Democrats have elevated the lives of African Americans in any way – in fact, the opposite seems to be true.

And from a personal standpoint, if a group told me day after day, year after year, generation after generation that I am not capable of taking care of myself and my family – that I am inferior to others and unable to compete – I would be furious.

I have never really believed the statistics we are presented about the black community’s political leanings. Everywhere I look there are black families who appear to believe in and live every principle of conservatism. It’s hard to accept that all of these people close the curtain and pull the “D” switch every time.

This week a Democrat state senator from Louisiana, Elbert Guillory, switched to the Republican party, with a very polished and carefully crafted video speech explaining his decision. Granted, the production had “campaign” written all over it, and Mr. Guillory will no doubt receive a great deal of notoriety. Still, the message he delivers is a perfect analysis of the state of political affairs in the black community.

I hope we will see a burgeoning “emancipation” movement among African Americans – a reach for freedom from generations of what Guillory calls “plantation” treatment at the hands of Democrats who have taken their loyalty for granted for far too long.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free
I can`t understand it, so simple to me
People everywhere just got to be free

People Got To Be Free – Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals

Isn’t it strange how so many of the “Peace” and “Freedom” songs of the sixties are appropriate now? Today’s political “left side” claims these songs, but the roles are reversed – they are now the oppressors, the imperialists and the intolerant. Check out this great concert clip of Ringo Starr’s band with guest Felix Cavaliere.

I Am Running for President

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 6

Our nation languishes in an economic recession that seems intractable.

Median household income in the US has declined from $56,000 to $51,000 since January of 2000 . That’s thirteen and a half years headed in the wrong direction.
During the same period the number of Americans employed dropped from 65% to 59%.
15 percent of Americans are on the SNAP program (govt. food assistance), an increase of 140% since 1990.
Our national debt is nearing $17 trillion – that’s $53,000 for every man, woman, and child in the US. Many say that is grossly understated, and imagine what that debt would be (will be) without the Federal Reserve artificially holding interest rates to near zero.

Our manufacturing base is gone. Many of our cities and states are bankrupt. The aisles at the neighborhood Dollar Store are jammed.

Still, there doesn’t seem to be any sense of alarm. We whistle past the graveyard, as our government borrows and prints ever-increasing gobs of money to shore up our sagging standard of living. We know it has to come crashing down. The bubble will burst. Are we content to just wait around until the doo-doo hits the fan?

Meanwhile, our fearless leaders offer no suggestions, no plans, no hope for a solution to this inevitable economic Hiroshima. Have you heard anything from our President or our Congress that leads you to believe the economy will get better?

Decision-making has devolved into finger-pointing. Politicians ride the fence, careful to not suggest anything that might cost them a vote as they play on the emotions of a citizenry that has become numb to bad news. The remaining few of us who realize the gravity of our economic situation have, frankly, given up.

To hell with it. I’m tired of whining about the situation and nothing gets done. If nobody else will step up, I guess I have to. ELECT ME AS YOUR NEXT PRESIDENT. I will head the ticket for the E Party (the “E” stands for Economy).

If elected, I will declare war – call it World War “E”. We will attack our economic crisis with a national fervor and urgency not seen since World War II. The futures of our children and grandchildren depend on it. You will ask not what your country can do for you, you will ask what you can do for your country. And what you can do for your country is demand performance from our federal government, starting with Congress.

No more pandering for votes by competing to see who can give away the most stuff. No more political correctness and phony junk science. No more corruption – government crooks will do jail time, not get suspended with pay. No more 139-day work calendar. You will stay in session, you will do research and deliberation, you will work until you come up with solutions! The president and the citizens will tell you – Congress – what needs to be done, and you will do it!

We will seal the borders and stop the flood of poor and unskilled illegal immigrants – we can’t afford them and we need to take care of our own. We will eliminate corporate taxes, death taxes, and all other double taxation, and will create a simple, fair and flat tax system – this will spur the economy and eliminate corruption between big business and politicians. We will sell all unused federal property. We will eliminate all obsolete and inefficient federal programs. We will abolish the corrupt government employee unions.

We will embrace our natural resources and become the energy provider to the world. We will implement modest tariffs on all imports and bring manufacturing jobs home. We will build 21st-century transportation and communication infrastructure and a state-of-the-art national defense system, including REAL anti-terrorism with profiling – not hassling Grandma at the airport. We will let the rest of the world sort out their own problems, and make sure they know better than to screw with us. Those nations who want to join our side in World War E will be welcomed to the team. Kick the United Nations out. Drop out of the World Trade Organization. Tell the Chinese to get on board or bug off.

We will help the helpless, but not the clueless. We will teach our children patriotism, history, free-market economics, and individual responsibility. We will make our education system relevant, functional, and competitive. We will encourage excellence and initiative rather than dependency.

We can do this. Look at what our nation has accomplished in the past when our backs were against the wall.

Can I count on your vote?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’m your top prime cut of meat, I’m your choice,
I want to be elected!
I’m your Yankee Doodle Dandy in a gold Rolls Royce,
I want to be elected!
Kids want a savior, don’t need a fake,
I want to be elected!
We’re all gonna rock to the rules that I make,
I want to be elected!

Elected – Alice Cooper

Here’s my first campaign commercial!

Sanity Prevails (for once) – Crazy Airline Subsidy Ends

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 2

airplane dropping money Last December you witnessed my rant about the ridiculous airline subsidies for “Essential Air Service” for small Montana cities. I facetiously thanked you taxpayers for chipping in $3,652 for my (and every) 120-mile flight from Lewistown to Billings.

Apparently ridership increased from 1 passenger per day to 1.5, so the annual subsidy turned out to be just over $2,000 per passenger. But here’s the good news: Today the Associated Press reported that the Essential Air Service subsidies for Lewistown and Miles City are no more. Unfortunately, the subsidies for the other Montana small cities were left in place.

Hooray! Chalk up one small victory for the taxpayers!

Now, how many other wasteful, fraudulent, unproductive, and obsolete federal government programs are out there? Hey, I know . . . let’s look first over at the IRS, who spent $4 million on a conference for 2,600 government workers, but can’t seem to figure out how to collect over $1 billion in past due taxes from federal govt. employees (did ya ever hear of payroll deduction?)

Maybe we should look into the estimated $2.5 billion in food stamp fraud, or the $1.5 billion spent for ObamaPhones. Senator Coburn found $18 billion totally wasted in 2012 without breaking a sweat. And then there’s ObamaCare.

I have applied for one of those government grants so I can do a study: “Why does the federal government waste our taxpayer dollars?” The report would be pretty short, so I only asked for a million dollar grant. But just in case my grant request doesn’t come through, I’ll give you a sneak preview of my findings. The federal government wastes your money because: it isn’t their money.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

That ain’t workin’. That’s the way you do it.
Let me tell ya, them guys ain’t dumb.

Get money for nothin’, and chicks for free.

Money for Nothing – Dire Straits

Classic rock by an all-star cast – Mark Knopfler, Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton. Notice they left out all the politically-incorrect words. Wimps!

The Lies About the Tea Party Go On and On and On . . .

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

They just can’t give it up. The lies and distortions and boogie-men-ifications of the Tea Party go on, and on, and on . . .

Tea Party people are racists. I have been attending Tea Party events for years, have met thousands of Tea Party people at every level from small town sign-holders to the top echelon of national organizations. I have NEVER seen a racist or a racist act. Quite the opposite, I have met many wonderful, happy, and intelligent Tea Party people who are . . . gasp . . . minority. And you know what? Nobody cares! The Tea Party doesn’t give a flip what color you are. If you are intelligent enough to realize that the continued expansion of government at the expense of individual freedom and national prosperity is the wrong path for our country, you belong here! There has never been any evidence of racism in the Tea Party, any time, anywhere, ever.

Meanwhile, many Progressives continue to practice soft racism daily by insisting that minorities are incapable of feeding their children, competing for jobs on a level playing field, or taking care of themselves.

Tea Party people are hateful, mean and violent. See above. I have never seen a hateful and mean Tea Party person. Look at the group of mostly senior citizens at any Tea Party event. They smile and wave. They carry flags. They bring cookies and deviled eggs. They clean up behind themselves, and behind others. Their group name probably includes the word “Patriots”, meaning people who love their country and care about making it a better place for everyone.

Now look at the other guys – the perverse side of the Progressive party. Here are some direct quotes from the Montana Cowgirl blogsite, the state’s leading progressive web voice. Please forgive me for not editing this:

Here’s a comment in Montana Cowgirl about the Montana Tea Party:

In case anyone missed this, this is really some excellent reporting by Marnee Banks. It shows the real ugliness of what Kockhsuckers look like. Assman, Fart Fetish, and Pervert Priest have perverted their party into something that does NOT even resemble the old Republican Party of Montana. These three appear to be truly proud of being assholes for hire to the Big Kockhs! Nasty, nasty pieces of human feces! But don’t take my word for it. Watch this excellent piece and judge for yourselves. And then, you’ll have a little more sympathy for the courageous Republicans that stood up to these dipshits. These three have NO place in Helena, and hopefully, the word will get out and these turds will be flushed! Ugly, ugly stuff! Kudos to Ed Buttrey, Jim Peterson, and heck, even Taylor Sencha Brown! And all the others. They done good!

Here’s another from Montana Cowgirl – a comment in response to the blog editor’s snarky photo of Michelle Bachman:

bwhahahahahahahahahahahahaahhahaa!I only saw an attractive woman inserting a long, dark colored, wiggly thingy INto her mouth in a provocative fashion while mightily enjoying such a stimulating, smile provoking, pleasure inducing throat reaming! BTW, what did you see? Did we really see the same pic? MAN you’re a pervy dude! You been there, done that maybe?????

Now that’s some cogent political analysis, isn’t it? Do your neighbors and friends talk like this? Not if they are Tea Partiers. You may disagree with conservatives on issues, but you can’t say that they are not civil, thoughtful, well-intentioned and intelligent. You will never find garbage like this on any Tea Party or conservative website.

To Messrs. Buttrey, Peterson, and Brown – I’m sure these potty-mouthed Progressives are as repulsive to you as they are to me and everyone else – even some of their fellow Democrats. And I’m sure you know that your Tea Party friends (most of whom voted for, and manned phone banks for, and wrote checks for, and attended rallies for, and held forums for Republican candidates) are serious about real issues. I know you do not want to align yourselves with people like this, nor do you want to go to war against those who mostly agree with you.

In the absence of facts, or the ability / willingness to debate on the merits of the issues, weak zealots will always resort to name-calling, lies, and ugliness. It doesn’t elevate them in the minds of sensible people, but nonetheless it goes on, and on, and on . . .

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

On and on, he just keeps on tryin’
On and on, on and on, on and on.

On And On – Steven Bishop

From “Midnight Special” 1977

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back – the Obama Tango

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 1

DC Celebrates Inauguration With Gala Balls The relationship between government and citizens is a delicate dance. In recent years, our federal government has insisted on taking the lead role, forcing citizens to step consistently backward, giving up their personal freedoms and national dignity. But recently the music has changed, and our president takes us by the hand to do the “Obama Tango” – an intricate, passionate dance with steps forward and backward and all over the place.

The Obama Tango:

One step back: Congressional hearings reveal the utter and apparently willful failure of the administration to defend the Libya embassy compound and personnel, and attempt a disgraceful coverup by sending U.N. ambassador Susan Rice to lie about it on all the major TV networks.

One step forward: Benghazi-gate finally gets some mainstream media coverage as a result of the hearings.

One step back and a slap in the face: President Obama selects Rice as his next National Security Advisor. What a slap in the face to the families of those who died representing the USA and defending our embassy and personnel, and to the American people who have always believed the word security implies honesty.

Another step back: The federal government is caught abusing the privacy of reporters and news agencies including the Associated Press.

One step forward and a turn: The mainstream media, whose fawning and “thrill-up-the-leg -ing” over the “Unvetted One” was the single biggest factor in Obama’s election and re-election, turn against their former lover. While defense of the Constitution has not been a priority with the fourth estate for a long time, they are reminded that “freedom of the press” is in there somewhere. Mainstream America has a good laugh at Mainstream Media’s expense – serves them right.

One step back and a pelvic thrust: The IRS systematically targets conservative groups and contributors for harsh treatment over the last several years, while throwing lavish parties on the taxpayer’s dime. The administration pretends it knew nothing about their political adversaries getting screwed.

One step forward, then grab and double-slap: The media, already upset at Obama and his crew (see above), grabs the momentum and gives him a slap, followed by a back-slap when they learn that the EPA has been setting up hidden “man rooms” in warehouses where its employees relax with couches, TVs, microwaves, etc. instead of laboring at their desks.

Stand still: It turns out the NSA has been gathering phone, e-mail, credit, web traffic and other information about every US citizen without our knowledge or consent. Citizens ask why data is collected from everyone instead of just the bad guys. Obama says, “I believe in the right to privacy, but there are some tradeoffs involved in our need for security.”

One step forward, deep dip, and kiss: The Obama administration, in a surprising concession to hunters and stockmen, announces that the feds will lift the ridiculous protections for the gray wolf that was “reintroduced” to the lower 48 states, resulting in untold damage to livestock and the decimation of elk herds and moose in Montana and other western states.

After all these years of only stepping back, it’s refreshing to get in a few forward steps.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I take 2 steps forward, 2 steps back
We come together cuz opposites attract
It ain’t fiction, just a natural fact
We come together cuz opposites attract

Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract

Paula Abdul live in Japan, 1991 – kinda cheesey stage show, but the music is solid with a smokin’ band and backup vocalists.

Do You Know What Common Core Is Yet?

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 3

classroom I posed this question almost a year ago, and today I ask again – do you know what Common Core is?

Common Core, the biggest change in education in US history, is underway, and yet it continues to fly mostly under the radar. If your child or grandchild is in a public school, it is almost certain that he or she is already caught up in this total overhaul of our public education system. Even if you don’t have children involved, you should be concerned because most citizens feel that education is the linch-pin to the success of our nation and way of life.

“Wait a minute,” you might ask. “If Common Core is such a big deal, why haven’t I heard anything about it?” And that is a very important question. Did your school ask you whether you wanted to implement Common Core? Were you involved in deciding what is important in your child’s education? Whenever a major government program is kept secret – especially one that will have such a major impact on your children – you should wonder why.

Here are the basic tenets of Common Core:

national standards will be applied to make education homogeneous across the country
teaching methods and content will be focused on preparation for college and careers, rather than the attainment of general knowledge and skills
courses will encompass more “rigor” (higher level learning)
content will be technical rather than general; reading materials will be primarily non-fiction; history and philosophy will be limited and focused; and emphasis will be placed on how students learn rather than acquisition of facts
teachers will become facilitators of group projects and discussions rather than classroom leaders and producers of information – students will collaboratively determine what they should learn and what the correct answers are

These intentions sound good. But like every process change, the devil is in the details. There are so many unanswered questions: if content is homogenized, how will students learn special and individual skills? If the primary instruction model is group work, will introverted students be left behind, or will competitive students be held back? Are we abandoning the building-block approach to knowledge that has traditionally established the foundation for higher learning? Are elementary students capable of determining what they should learn? Will schools cut back on the foo-foo to allow the necessary time to make this work?

And perhaps the biggest question of all: will parents, teachers and local school boards have any control over content, or will our schools become federal government factories spitting out ideologically cloned kids? Look back to pre-war Germany to see how dangerous top-down control of education can be. Defenders of Common Core insist that there will be a great deal of local control. Have you seen any yet? All decisions to this point have been made by a small, elite cadre of educational theorists, government wonks, and profiteers lined up at the Bill Gates money trough.

North Carolina Lt. Governor Dan Forest has it right – he says let’s slow down and take a good, hard look at Common Core before we just jump in, with no questions asked:

As a school board trustee I barged in and studied Common Core up close and personal, alongside the teachers. Although they had no choice in the matter (the train had left the station), many of them were not sold on the idea. An article in Education Week illustrates just how tough the leap from “zero to ten” is going to be. More teachers are now speaking out, and questions about Common Core are beginning to appear in the mainstream media.

Supporters of Common Core say conservative critics are uninformed and unnecessarily cautious – we are roadblocks to progress. We need hope and immediate change! Don’t ask questions, just trust us!

Sound familiar?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

So, don’t ask me no questions
And I won’t tell you no lies
So, don’t ask me about my business
And I won’t tell you goodbye

Don’t Ask Me No Questions – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Here’s an EARLY Lynyrd Skynyrd clip (1974, before the plane crash). Look behind them – that’s a SERIOUS back-line of amplifiers!

Stop Those Montana Extremists!

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard 2

Montana BASE 2 A group of “responsible” Republican Montana legislators, led by Sen. Jim Peterson, Sen. Llew Jones, and Sen. Ed Buttrey, has banded together to “stand up against political extremists.” The group, Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections (BASE), is seeking donations from businesses, for whom they promise protection from the forces of evil.

Who are these extremist bad guys? Democrats? Environmental whackos? Overreaching federal bureaucrats? Al Qaeda? Nope, Montana BASE says the bad guys are: conservative Republicans. I guess these would be the “irresponsible” Republicans, the other 93%.

The BASE website warns:

“. . . an extremist group of outsiders has begun operating within the Republican community. These zealots rarely understand or even care about business friendly economic conditions or jobs, yet frequently choose to attack Republican Business Candidates over social issues, state militias, or other non-business issues. We must recruit problem solvers as the antidote to extremism.”

The group’s website bullet-points say education is good, natural resources are good, infrastructure is good. High insurance rates and frivolous lawsuits are bad. Pretty fresh, out-of-the-box thinking, eh? I guess they think this distinguishes them from the “extremist” Republicans. Looking at the list of claimed legislative victories on their website, I have to question – how did those bills get passed without voting help from the “extremists” they want to eliminate?

What they don’t mention is any concern about federal overreach into state affairs, restrictive state administration and regulations, or Montana’s massive unfunded liabilities, largely due to union government pensions. They don’t promote running the business of Montana using Zero Based Budgeting, as every private business does. The tax reductions they claim to have supported were vetoed, yet they claim as successes increased spending on government projects.

Senator Peterson and Montana BASE joined forces with Democrat Governor Bullock against “dark money” after, according to the AP, “some Republicans were attacked in primaries last year as too liberal by anonymous conservative groups.” No mention of unions (mostly government employees), and the corrupt kickback scheme that is the butter to Democrat bread. And there is an unsettling similarity between the enforcement features of Peterson’s dark money bill and the actions of the IRS against conservative groups which are currently under intense national scrutiny.

Another strange bedfellow emerges, as Montana BASE has aligned with and frequently quotes the Center for Public Integrity, which claims to be “one of the country’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations.” Nonprofit, maybe – but nonpartisan? A quick look at their board of directors reveals a Who’s Who of liberal media bigwigs: a half-dozen hotshots from NPR and the NY Times; a class-action tort lawyer extraordinaire; Arianna Huffington (needs no introduction); Steve Kroft (60 Minutes correspondent and Barack Obama’s favorite reporter), Henrick-Jan Laseur (UNICEF/Union for Conservation of Nature/SustainAbility/Agenda 21), Dr. Gilbert Omenn (associate director of OMB for Jimmy Carter). Every business in Montana should want to be advised by Jimmy Carter’s Office of Mgmt. and Budget, wouldn’t you think?

I can’t criticize the “responsible” Republicans for any position they take on bills or issues. They are elected representatives and their votes should reflect the wishes of their constituents and their best individual judgments. But I can see why some constituents are alarmed when their representative campaigns one way and then sides with the opposition after the election. The voters in Sen. Peterson’s own district did not view the redistricting loss of their elected Republican seat to a Democrat from a distant district as “responsible”. As Senate president, Peterson had, or should have had, considerable influence over redistricting.

Senator Peterson and friends have been roundly criticized for voting with the Democrats and against the majority of Republicans in the Montana Senate. How does voting against the majority of one’s party, on its own, make one “responsible”? Would any Democrat break ranks to vote with the Republicans? Who are the extremists?

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Darling, I don’t know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low, there ain’t no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It’s all or nothing at all
Darling, I don’t know why I go to extremes

I Go To Extremes – Billy Joel

Pat Buchanan: Competition – It’s A Good Thing!

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Tom Balek Standard Reply

pat-buchanan Pat Buchanan is right on the money. Again.

In a recent editorial he points to a Senate hearing where Apple CEO Tim Cook (former darling of the Dems) was excoriated for tax avoidance. You see, Apple has paid zero US income tax on its earnings from outside the country in recent years, and it’s perfectly legal. Ireland won Apple over with its 2% corporate tax, compared to the 35% Apple would pay our Treasury. Corporate income tax now makes up less than 10% of federal revenues, and will continue to decline as long as we fail to compete with other nations.

Buchanan says the solution to our economic woes is to abolish the corporate income tax in a revenue-neutral exchange for a 10% tariff on all imported goods. This would bring American corporations (and their off-shore money) racing back to the homeland, and would invite foreign manufacturers to move here as well, reversing the death-spiral of our currency and our ghastly trade imbalance.

Instead of blaming entrepreneurs for avoiding taxes, our fearless leaders should work on attracting and retaining businesses, along with the jobs and wealth they create.

Adam Smith, the father of free market capitalism, taught us that any attempt to control commerce externally is a bad thing. Free and natural competition is a good thing.

The best solutions are usually the simplest.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

Seems this worlds got you down
Your feelin’ bad vibrations frown
Well, open your eyes girl, look at me
I’m gonna show you how it ought to be

We’re gonna’ have a good thing
Such a good thing baby

Good Thing – Paul Revere and the Raiders

Here’s an unusual video for you Rockers on the Right Side. Yeah, it’s GOOD THING by Paul Revere and the Raiders, but from a different perspective – behind the drums. Unless you have played drums, you would not know that everything is different back there – the sound, the lights, the distance from the audience, even the “feel” of the music. It’s kind of a lonely world for drummers. This video features Raider drummer Tommy Scheckel. And even Tommy is different – a left-handed drummer playing a right-handed setup. It makes for some unusual moves! Scheckel is a relative newcomer to the Raiders after playing for 27 years with the Buckinghams (“Kind Of A Drag”,” Susan”,”Don’t You Care”). Enjoy! Oh, and hug a drummer today.