Bet you never thought this space would be asking you to help send Alaskans to Washington, D.C.  Well, I am.

Alaska’s only high school marching band remains on its own to raise money to cover a trip to Washington, D.C. , to march in the inaugural parade.

PALMER — The Colony High School marching band will have to continue raising funds for a trip to Washington, D.C., without monetary help from the Mat-Su Borough School Board.

The board voted 3-3 Monday on a decision of whether to give the band $15,000 to help cover expenses for a trip to play in the Jan. 20 Inaugural Parade.

The tie vote effectively becomes a failed vote.

Source:  Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

Board members opposed to covering the band’s $15, 000 shortfall said it would set a bad precedent and open the board to many more requests for special funding.

Marching band director Jamin Burton said he disagrees.

“How many other groups will be invited by the President-elect to play?” Burton asked after the vote failed.

That notion seemed to be one reason the board members in support of the funding found it to be a good idea.

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Colver said of the funding. “It’s history in the making.”

Still, Welton, who said she received a threatening letter attempting to influence her decision, said setting a precedent where the board acts like a bank is bad.

“We cannot be the cash cow,” Welton said.

Source:  Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

However, the band and its supporters say the youngsters will march one way or the other and fundraising will continue.

The Colony High School marching band is the only marching band in the state, and was invited to play in the inaugural parade over scores of other bands that applied to do so.

Source:  Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

The band is receiving some help from Alaska Airlines, which waived its second bag luggage fee for the students. A church in Fairfax, Va., has agreed to lodge the band.

Burton said anyone who wants to donate money to help the band get to Washington, D.C., can still do so at any Wells Fargo Bank. There is also a Web site, www.chsmusicboosters.com., that will accept online donations.

So far, a gauge on the Web site shows 12 percent of the $45,000 the band still needs to get to the Inaugural Parade.

Source:  Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

You really cannot blame the school board and I am not calling them out on this.  There are kids in bands in similiar situations all over the country right now.  Part of it, I admit, is the irony.  The other is that these kids will be representing kids from all over Alaska and they’d like to know the other states know they are here, especially on the 50th Anniversary of statehood.

Please send money.

Please, if you are looking for a pet and can offer a good home, please think about adopting these rescued kittens in Arlington, Texas.

The lovely lady who rescued the kittens doesn’t want to turn them over to a shelter, but taking of these and her own cats is starting to drive her crazy.

The attempt at lyrics here was inspired by this story –

The little girl had been good all year.

Even in October when they took her to the “haunted house,” and it got a little scary.

So the mother asked her friend to write the little girl a letter from Santa.

The woman did and laid it on thick about how wonderful she was.

The mom got the letter, addressed it to the little girl and put a stamp on it.

Unfortunately, as soon as that was done, the little girl started to act up.

Some other children came over and she didn’t seem to appreciate her not getting all of the attention.

She was three.

The kids left and mom and dad took her to the mall to see Santa.

As soon as she got on his lap she told him in no uncertain terms,

“I hate Christmas.”

He shook that off, and asked her “Well, then, what do you want for Christmas?”

She told him, “A chainsaw!”

His jaw fell open.

After they got home and put her to bed, the mom said to the dad, “What do we do now? The letter
to Santa is already sealed.”

Then she said, “Maybe I’ll just write something on the back of the envelope.”

She wrote, “Dear Emma Grace, I was very saddened to hear that you hate Christmas. But I forgive
you, and I hope you will be a better little girl than you were last night.”

Then she signed it “Santa.”

And then below his name, she added:

“P.S. No Chainsaw!”

StandUpToRacism, NowPublic Crowd Powered Media

A Chainsaw Christmas

It’ll be a chainsaw Christmas from the break of dawn

I’ll start with the lights and crap out there on the lawn.

Then I’ll shred the mailbox before I leave the yard

So, I’ll never have to suffer another Christmas card.

Inside, me and my chainsaw will be as ferocious as we can be.

The lights will spark and fizzle as we chainsaw the Christmas tree.

We’ll sit and wait for “It’s a Wonderful Life” and take out the TV.

I hear roaring of the engine, the spinning clatter of the chain

as I take out sweaters and underwear and Johnny’s electric train.

It’ll be a chainsaw Christmas with shredded turkey and splattered ham

Flying mashed potatoes and pureed sprouts with yams

Yes, a chainsaw Chrismas, I’ve had all that I can take

and my chainsaw Christmas ended when I took on the fruitcake.

This just in from the Tarrant County Democratic Party!

The Tarrant County Democratic Party’s Inaugural Ball.
The rebirth of Hope.
The Tarrant County Democratic Party proudly invites you to a once-in-a-lifetime event—-the inauguration of our 44th President. This will be an evening you will never forget. It promises to be an event worthy of the most historic inaugural ceremony our country is likely to ever experience. It will be a chance for all of us to wear our finest, and to share the joy and the glory of this celebration with hundreds of Tarrant County Democrats who worked so hard to make it happen.
Cocktails from 6:00-6:30
Inaugural Ceremony 6:30-7:00
To be viewed on tape delay.
Dinner and Dancing 7:00-midnight
Black Tie Optional
When: Tuesday, January 20, 2008
Cocktails from 6:00-6:30
Inaugural Ceremony 6:30-7:00
Dinner and Dancing 7:00-midnight
Where: The Historic Hilton Hotel
Downtown Fort Worth

For tickets, CLICK HERE

Media Matters, a lefty liberal watchdog, wants our help in picking the most inane political punditry of the year.  It must have been hard to narrow it down, but they have picked ten, and have an online poll.

My work on the documentary series “World War II: In Our Words” gave me a whole new appreciation for the B-24 Liberator bomber. I already had a link as my maternal grandfather had helped build them in WWII here in Fort Worth.

In April, 2007, my documentary producing work got me on board the Collings Foundation’s B-24. I got to fly from San Antono to Austin, not just a loop around the field. It was terrific! I returned with video for the documentary, along with personal photos and video.

Most of the bomber crew members I interviewed for “In Our Words” flew on the B-24.

Consolidated’s B-24 was used in every theater in WWII, to only bomber to have that distinction. It still holds the record for the most U.S. combat planes produced. Despite all that, the B-17 got all the glory, and it also was a fine aircraft (and more hearty and survivable by some accounts).

I found B-24 aficionados have few places to go for memorabilia. Thus, I offer up some of my humble efforts. This make great gifts, especially for the men who flew and maintained these aircraft and the men and women who built them.

Click here to get B-24 Gear

The following is from whatsdrivingyoucrazy.com

Still no word from the Treasury about my bailout check. Sigh, I am beginning to feel unloved. You don’t think ol’ Boy George Bush, that man of the people kind of guy, would forget the little people, do you?

Yeah, right. I know.

Anyway, enough of that. What we desperately need here is a massive infusion of cash. I speak not of the nation, or its banks or industry. I speak of me, myself and this site.

How about a new twist on the “Support Our Troops” bumper sticker?
In the case of this design and all the rest shown in this post, if you click on the image, you will be taken to the appropriate store.

These stores include the What’s Driving You Crazy? Shop, Haricot Vert Expeditions Commissary, NO BAILOUT!, Pilot Gear, B-24 Liberator Shop, Culinary Cowboy Shop, 2C-Fry Pan Commissary and many more.

You can just drop a few coins in my cup if you click here.

(read more)

During World War I, thousands of Royal Flying Corps officers and men came to Texas for flight training. However, many came only to die without ever facing the enemy and never returning home to Canada or the UK.
This video is about eleven of those men.
The graves in the video are at Greenwood Cemetery. Every other year, the cemetery hosts a commemoration at the site on Memorial Day, the American holiday honoring war dead.
My mother says in World War II, a Canadian cousin ( a real cousin by blood) came to Fort Worth for flight training. He then went to Liberal, Kansas, for advanced training and was lost in a crash. My mother says the kids in the family first suspected Nazi sabotage, but eventually they blamed the government. Wayne washed out of pilot school and became a navigator. Mother says the kids decided it was the government’s failure to make Wayne a pilot that cost his life and the lives of his crew. Not sure which government she meant.

Tuesday, 4 November 2008, is the last day to vote in this year’s general elections. Looking for where you vote? Try starting here at www.whatsdrivingyoucrazy.com. You’ll find detailed links for Northeast Texas, including the Fort Worth/Dallas area, as well as links for national and Texas sites with voter information.

Thus begins the somewhat surprising endorsement of Barack Obama by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, deep in the red heart of North Central Texas. In 2004, the newspaper endorsed George W. Bush and it joins the more than 30 other major dailies which have switched support to the Democratic Party candidate after endorsing the GOP in the last election.
The endorsement says the elections of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clintons were major times when the nation wanted a new direction and went to the polls for a major change of course.

Today, the American people aren’t just asking for change; they are demanding it.

The economic inequities are no longer tolerable. As remarkable as it is to say during a time when U.S. troops are actively engaged in wars on two fronts, Americans are looking for a visionary leader who will focus first on the daunting domestic financial crisis that has upended so many lives.

The nation has experienced the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, an enormous stock-market plunge among the worst in history, record-high energy prices, and an ongoing war in Iraq that has exacted an agonizing cost in lives, dollars and international prestige.

Americans need new leadership.

Source: star-telegram.com

The Star-Telegram editorial says Obama’s intellect, eloquence and leadership of his campaign have shown him to be the prescriptiion for what ails the country.

Obama provides the prescription for America’s ills at this moment: a fine, inquisitive intellect, paired with an eloquence that allows him to articulate a message with clarity and substance; an ability to inspire people of all ages, races and ethnicities who never before were engaged in the political process; and an unflappable temperament that allows him to weather a barrage of withering personal attacks.

Under his leadership, the Obama campaign has been amazingly disciplined, efficient and effective. Those same talents will be essential for the difficult work ahead to rebuild the nation’s faltering economic institutions and restore citizen confidence.

Source: star-telegram.com

At the same time, the newspaper admits many of Sen. Obama’s plans, such as tax reform, could founder on the shoals of GOP opposition.
Vice presidential candidate picks may have been the deciding point.
Obama gets top marks for his pick of Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.

Obama picked a seasoned veteran, a Delaware senator who has distinguished himself as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees. A moderate on foreign policy, Biden brings experience and an extensive network of international contacts, a definite boost in an arena where the Illinois senator needs an assist. Biden often been a leader on issues, from aid to former Soviet states in the early 1990s to U.S. involvement in the Balkans.

On the domestic front, Biden, 65, has worked extensively on crime and domestic violence issues, authoring the Violent Crime Control and Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Violence Against Women Act in 2000.

Obama’s “cautious and safe” selection of Biden may not have moved the polling needle, but it reflects Obama’s recognition that his own candidacy was daring enough in a nation so deeply divided.

Source: star-telegram.com

It’s just the opposite for Sen. John McCain and his pick of Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin.

McCain, 71, selected a woman who, without question, energized a Republican base that was underwhelmed with the man at the top of the ticket. Many conservatives, in their desire to back the Republican Party’s nominee, choose to forget that McCain was not their early favorite.

He was hammered in the early primaries for his support of humane immigration reform; his campaign-finance initiatives were vilified by those who consider the freedom to financially support political candidates a First Amendment right; and his commitment to balanced budgets meant he initially opposed extending President Bush’s tax cuts — a commitment McCain put aside when it became necessary to adopt the GOP’s tax-cut mantra as his own.

The Arizona senator quieted many of his early Republican critics by naming Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 44, as his running mate. She ignited the base with “drill, baby, drill” speeches and unapologetic social conservatism, as evidenced by her pro-life, teach-creationism stands.

But that brilliant short-term tactic has proved a flawed long-term strategy. Palin’s once-captivating newness and tough-gal persona have given way to serious questions about her understanding of checks-and-balances governing on a national level. While she may be an entertaining master of the politician’s fine art of the memorable one-liner, she inspires little confidence in her readiness to be commander in chief.

Had McCain, whom we chose as the best Republican nominee in the primaries, selected a woman with more political and governing experience — someone like Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or U.S. Rep. Kay Granger — it would have demonstrated better judgment and put more credence in his oft-repeated slogan of “Country first.”

Source: star-telegram.com

While noting Sen. Obama’s own lack of experience, the Star-Telegram says he has surrounded himself with knowledgeable advisors. The paper praises his inquisitiveness and his ability to accurately take in and explain difficult subjects.

His critics call it “airy-fairy silly rhetoric” and liken his appeal to “celebrity” fascination. But there’s substance there, and it goes beyond his ideas.

Fear drives domestic and foreign markets. Fear can ignite people and politicians to overreact — or paralyze them from acting.

Sadly, fear drives otherwise rational people to make irrational, even hurtful statements.

Obama isn’t afraid to articulate people’s fears and acknowledge their anxieties and then try to help them move beyond them. That was most evident in his speech on race, in which he spoke plainly about frustrations and resentments of both black and white Americans and called on them to look instead to common hopes in order to solve collective problems.

Those thinking and speaking skills, coupled with an unflappable demeanor, are the hallmarks of a deft diplomat who can not only stand on the world stage for the photo-op but also sit backstage, in close quarters, where the hard work takes place.

Good leaders know how to listen, negotiate and collaborate, and those only happen when people speak with each other. Obama offers a fresh approach to U.S. diplomacy after eight years of too much silence or, worse, verbal non-engagement.

Source: star-telegram.com

While noting and commending Sen. McCain’s service to the nation, the editorial says “2008 is not his time”.

We remain unconvinced by the harsh and often hateful criticisms of Obama’s character and his motivation for seeking the White House. That’s fear talking, and it is unbecoming in a nation that professes to believe every child can achieve the dream of serving our country through elected office.

Barack Obama’s performance throughout this two-year presidential campaign has been extraordinary. He has never blown his cool under enormous pressure and vicious attacks. He has continued to speak of bringing our nation together to work for the “more perfect union” that our forefathers envisioned.

That is indicative of what Americans can and should expect of a commander in chief when the unexpected occurs — and it will occur.

The Star-Telegram recommends Barack Obama for president of the United States.

Source: star-telegram.com

Other endorsement coverage:

Nation Needs A Steady Hand: Anchorage Daily News Endorses Obama

GOP papers continue to pick Obama over McCain; Alaska and Texas give Obama more major endorsements

NowPublic

Tags: Election | president | Barack Obama | World | The | JOHN MCCAIN | joe biden | Endorsements | US Election | Star-Telegram | Sarah Palin | Alaska Daily News