Some quick hits, because I’m too ragged out to write anything more complicated.

1. I know that my friend, the Joanster, has a case of the ass with Jersey Peeps who move to Florida, so I wonder if she had something to do with this.

2. Recently, The One came to Jersey to lend his support to Governor Corzine, who, so far, is not faring well against Chris Christie, former federal prosecutor. Turns out that The One could just as well have stayed home. Sweet.

3. Who ya gonna call? Dipshits.

4. Preemptive Refusal: Just in case The One was considering inviting me to the White House for a beer, this is to let him know that I’ll be sure to have something else to do on that day.

5. Prince Charles inspects the troops.

I can’t believe that I’ve been around this long and only heard of Tommy Emmanuel last night. My buddy Mike, the Computer Maven, emailed me a link to one of this Aussie guitar wizard’s You Tube videos, asking if I had ever heard of him. I opened up the link and spent the next hour listening to various performances, each one more jaw-dropping than the next.

In one of the videos, Emmanuel takes questions from the audience. One of the questioners asked about the percussion he adds to many of his tunes by scraping and smacking his guitar. He revealed that he is also a drummer and demonstrated some of his technique.

You can see his percussion skills full blown in his performance of Mombasa.

While you’re at it, don’t miss Classical Gas.

Just, wow!

John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is one of the Poster Children for Term Limits.

I will let this creep’s words speak for themselves.

It was hot as hell, and there was no shade to be had. I’m beat, and my cruller is cooked.

Still, it was a great day to have the chance to see our buddy Willie take a few very short Sunday drives at 155 mph in his funny car, which is pictured above.

The One and his congressional allies (e.g. *spit* Pelosi, Reid and Waxman) are hell bent on passing this 1,000-page legislative turd before they all take a well-needed break from all that hard work being a congresscritter. Seeing as how much of the law wouldn’t kick in for another three years, what’s the rush?

As my constitutional law professor from Maine used to say, “To ahsk the question is to ahnswer it.” Obviously, they know that, if the American people at large know what’s in the bill, it will never be passed. They also know that, once the American people learn what is in the bill, any congressperson who votes for it may well have to leave Washington to find a real job.

Just in case you might be interested, take a look at some of the gems that currently are in the bill.

You also should take a listen to Fred Thompson interviewing Betsy McCoy, New York’s former Lieutenant Governor. She talks about how the bill provides for the “healthcare” of those of us who are on the wrong side of fifty. Ouch!

Thanks to my buddy Brian, the Air Force Vet, for the Fred Thompson link.

Yeah, it’s Friday, and I don’t feel like doing any heavy lifting. Rather, I thought I’d listen to what I believe is one of the ass-kickin’est songs ever recorded.

I only got to work once with a second drummer, and for a very short set at that. It was hot shit, lemme tell ya. Damn, just thinking about it still gives me goosebumps.

Enjoy!

The FBI bust of 44 people in New Jersey on corruption and money laundering charges made national news, as well it should have, given that corruption that is as rampant as is the case in New Jersey is relatively foreign to people from other states. Louisiana and New York may seek to claim the title, but in Jersey crooks are like cockroaches in a tenement house.

Not surprisingly, most of the politicians and government officials, including the recently-elected mayor of Hoboken, are creatures of Hudson County, a place of which I have said on many occasions has made corruption an art form. (I should note here that Bob Menendez, before he became our U.S. Senator, was the Boss of Hudson County. Just an observation.)

The money laundering cruds arrested were rabbis and their “civilian” counterparts in Brooklyn and Jersey. I haven’t had time to dig into the details of the money laundering schemes, but I presume they were at least arguably sophisticated. By contrast, the politicians and officials displayed pure thuggery and boundless arrogance. I assume they were so brazen in their extortion because they felt certain of never getting caught. After all, they were risking everything in exchange for money that might only fund a weekend or two in Atlantic City.

And now, their lives have turned to shit. They were publicly hauled away in cuffs and they’ll learn the joy of dealing with a bail bondsmen who won’t be interested in the cruds’ proclamations of innocence, but rather will only want to talk about taking a mortgage on their homes (or parents’ home) to secure their bail bonds.

The formerly fat, arrogant and happy politicians and Hudson County officials will learn how few friends they really have. Their new best friend will instantly become their criminal attorneys (They’ll be your friend for $375 per hour), as they contemplate the possibility of spending time in a federal lockup. Some of these idiots are in their 50’s and 60’s. What the hell were they thinking?

Is it big news in Jersey? Well, maybe for a few days, but not for much more. You see, the FBI could arrest 44 crooked politicians and government officials per day and they would not exhaust the supply in my lifetime.

The cold, hard truth is that this kind of crap exists because the people of New Jersey elect cruds and tolerate their corruption. We get what we deserve.

Do yourself a favor and read this heartwarming and heartbreaking story. It all unfolded in the suite next to the one I was in at yesterday’s game. These days it’s rare to read a story in which everyone is a good guy. I didn’t write about it, because I didn’t think I could do it justice, but then a colleague pointed me to the article.

My thoughts are with this man and his family, and my admiration goes out to everyone who made his day a very special one.

Yes, I spent the day at the new Yankee Stadium watching the game. It was not, however, your average day at the ball park, because I was among those who were guests in one of the luxury suites. I took the above cell phone picture from the outside part of the suite.

The inside of the part of the suite is a large air-conditioned room with multiple tables and video screens and an endless supply of snacks (peanuts, popcorn etc.), and open, well-stocked bar. We were also provided with an excellent buffet lunch, which, of course, included real stadium hot dogs, which was followed by a large selection of gourmet desserts. The section of the stadium that contains the suites has the atmosphere of a hotel, rather than a ball park.

It is definitely a civilized way to watch a ball game.

Bonus: The Yankees won.