Youngstown Convocation Center Surprises Blogger With A Great Starting Lineup

I have to admit that I thought the new Youngstown Convocation Center would never feature any really great acts but it looks like I was wrong. Our good friends at It's Not Our fault, Computers Make Us Lazy have a great post about the Convocation Center's fall and winter start. I have to admit I'm impressed enough to go see at least one show.

Tony Bennet, Three Doors Down and The Barenaked Ladies are a far cry from the 70's rock bands and Michael Stanley appearances that I thought would crowd the schedule. Let's hope it keeps up this caliber of talent.

Suspend the Gasoline Tax?

Drivers filling up in Ohio currently spend 46.4 cents per gallon in gasoline taxes. That figure represents all state and federal taxes. Supending the gasoline tax in Ohio would obviously save drivers some money and ease the burden created by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The state tax on a gallon of gas in Ohio is 24 cents.

Declaring a tax holiday certainly isn't going to make anyone rich, but it would show the people of the state that the government in Columbus understands that people are going through a rough time. The state recently levied taxes on everything from haircuts to massages so it's unlikely that Governor Taft or the state legislature will seriously entertain the notion of a brief tax holiday. After all, it's just an idea that would help every citizen in Ohio and we all know that Columbus only rewards those that contribute huge sums to the campaigns of the Governor and his party. One has to wonder if all the money recently lost from the State Bureau of Worker's Compensation fund during the Tom Noe scandal would help offset any monies lost from suspending the state tax on gas. Too bad we will never know.

Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle Has Landed.

Those were the first words spoken from the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had just set the lunar module, the Eagle, down in the Sea of Tranquility on the lunar surface. Since that fateful day only 10 other human beings have visited Earth's nearest neighbor in the solar system. Now, 36 years later, NASA has finally announced that they will be going back to the moon and onward to Mars.

It will take 13 years and 104 billion dollars to do it but it's worth every dime. As the plan was announced some questioned the wisdom of making such a commitment during a time when we are fighting an enormously expensive war or when the Gulf Coast needs to be rebuilt following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. After careful consideration, I have decided that the money spent on the space program, on going to the moon, is money well spent. The Gulf Coast will be rebuilt by insurance money and by people who want to live there. There is opportunity there among the chaos and those willing to take a chance on the rebuilding will be handsomely rewarded. The same weather and attitude that has drawn people to the gulf region for two centuries will prove to be too enticing for people to stay away for long.

As for the war in Iraq, well, I would rather see us spend our money on things that make us find new ways to build things rather than finding ways to destroy. Sadly, we know how to wage war. No matter what else happens, there is always money available if we decide war is the answer to a problem. No, this 104 billion dollars is going to show us what it means to look ahead. This money will focus our nation and the whole population of the world on what we can achieve if we really want to do something wonderful.

NASA plans not to just land on the Moon and return as they did with Apollo. This time they mean to establish a settlement there. This could be the beginning of the colonization of our solar system. If this plan comes to fruition, we will leap forward as a species. The human race will have slipped loose from the Earth and established a habitat away from the very planet that spawned it. Those are dollars well spent.

The perspective gained from having men and women look back at the planet of their birth from a quarter million miles away cannot be overstated. Those travelers will see just how small and vulnerable our home is. If we listen to them, if we see Earth through their eyes from so very far away, we might be able to figure out a way to stop the insane cycle of hatred and violence that batters us daily. We may finally realize that we are all that we have and we should take better care of one another.

For those who balk at the cost, I point you in the direction of your nearest congressman and senator. In 2005 we will pay just over 335 billion dollars in interest on the federal debt. That money is strictly spent servicing the debt, not paying it down. If you want to complain about the cost, talk to congress and tell them to stop packing every transportation bill that comes along with pork for their districts.

Going back to the Moon is a good thing. My only disappointment is that it will take so long.

Top Eighteen Movies Ever!

My esteemed colleague at It's Not Our Fault, Computers Make Us Lazy has put up his list of the top fifteen movies ever. This got me thinking about movie, song or book lists. They are all rather arbitrary. Every once in a while you find a list compiled by experts who proclaim to love and study movies but then you look at their lists and think, "Would they really spend the only two hours of free time they get this week watching "My Fair Lady"? No, of course they wouldn't. To get true lists and I mean truly honest lists, I think you have to get them from people who write on blogs or live journals. There's less snobbery and no one is putting a dime in our pockets to act like we're experts or to promote a certain film. That means my opinion is just as valid as everyone else's.

So, without any further ado, here is my list of the top eighteen movies I would watch if I could ever stay up two hours after I get the kids to bed! I listed eighteen because cutting any one of these was just too difficult. They are in no particular order.

Jaws
Good Will Hunting
Unforgiven
Rounders
The Godfather
The Magnificent Seven
American Beauty
Fight Club
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Almost Famous
The Shining
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
True Romance
Blade Runner
Alien
Christmas Vacation
The Usual Suspects

There you have it. These are the movies I feel have reached the pinnacle of achievement that would force me to stay awake, make popcorn and go to work bleary eyed the next day. Feel free to comment on what you like or dislike.

The Top Ten Reasons Why Rush Limbaugh Should Shut Up

10) I don't think he believes most of what he says. I think he found a schtick that pays well and he ran with it.

9) He's a one-trick pony who uses the "straw-man" technique for every broadcast. By this I mean that he begins his show by presenting an issue, telling his listeners what the left thinks, and then spends three hours explaining why they are wrong.

8) He never has a guest on who claims to actually hold the opinion he spends three hours a day refuting.

7) Any good Rebublican would have just said no to drugs like Nancy Reagan told them to.

6) He imitates liberals with these weird, high-pitched whiny voices. I've been to the meetings. None of us talk like that.

5) He thinks the high point of liberalism was the 1960's peace movement. It was actually election night in November 1991 when Bill Clinton took the White House from Bush 41.

4) He roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

3) Bill Clinton left office in 2000 but somehow everything wrong with America is still his fault. I guess you stick with your bread and butter when the going gets tough.

2) He showed the true depth of his vileness by saying "But the longer the Sheehan thing goes on and the longer she's treated as some sort of super-celebrity by the press and the more outrageous things she says, trust me on this, the more people are going to get fed up with it. She's going to become the next Natalee Holloway before it's all said and done."

1) He tried to deny that he ever said what is quoted in #2.

Local Organization Makes Free Wheelchairs Available to the Needy

This is an excellent article in The Vindicator about a local organization that is making a cheap, reliable wheelchair available to needy people in third world countries who would otherwise not have the resources to be mobile.

According to the article, Donald Schoendorfer traveled and saw a woman in Morrocco dragging herself along a dirt road and realized she and people similarly afflicted could only crawl on the ground if they needed to get somewhere. Over the course of two decades he designed a wheelchair that could be built and shipped for $41.17.

A church in Ashatabula, The Second Congregational, is assisting Schoendorfer in raising funds for his mission. They can be reached at (440) 964-9640 or you can visit the organization's web site here.

It's great to see someone from the area making such a difference.

Fox News Reporters Erupt Over Conditions In New Orleans

Geraldo Rivera and Shepard Smith were on the scene in New Orleans Friday night and both of them did some excellent work. While Fox News can normally be counted on to back any play the Bush administration makes, these two guys went to the Superdome and the Convention Center and told the whole world just how bad conditions were and asked the questions that needed to be asked. This kind of coverage is why the media exists. Regardless of your political stance and whether you believe in liberal or conservative media bias, I firmly believe the situation in New Orleans is now being dealt with because every news outlet in the country is asking why the government has been so slow to respond.

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for the link.

Help New Orleans

New Orleans has been devestated by Hurricane Katrina. People are trapped inside the city with no way to evacuate and no hope for survival unless something is done, very quickly, to aid them. Tonight, the reports of the conditions inside the Superdome and Convention Center in New Orleans are nothing short of horrific. There is no power, the air is hot, humid and thick with the stench of waste and death. Reporters who have toured the facilities speak of overflowing toilets and dead bodies shoved into out of the way areas in order to separate them from the living.

While it is true that many people refused to evacuate New Orleans when the order was given, it is also clear that some people were unable to. There are poor people who did not have the resources to leave, there are sick and elderly who could not because they are physically or mentally unable. Worst of all there are children who are now suffering and dying because they are unable to help themselves.

Regardless of the dangers from looters or people who are stressed and scared, the government of Louisiana and the Federal government must respond to the plight of these people. Ordinary citizens should donate their money and time to organizations such as the Red Cross in order to aid these victims. The government and military should do everything within their considerable power to make sure children are not dehydrating to death in a sports arena.

Now is the time to question why it is taking so long to get food, water and medical supplies to the tens of thousands that are trapped in New Orleans. They only have so much time left before there is a total breakdown of society and people begin dying in unfathomable numbers. I refuse to believe rescue convoys could not be formed to get aid in to the Superdome and Convention Center area in order to enable people to hold out until they can be evacuated. I refuse to believe rescue teams cannot be protected by police and National Guardsmen well enough to do their jobs. Now is the time for elected leaders to earn their pay.