they fill us full of lies, everyone buys

 Bout what it means to be a soldier

I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel

'Bout all the blood that's been spilled

Will god on this throne

Get me back home

On the day after tomorrow   ( Tom Waits)

it's been almost 30 years since our Commander in Chief was a true military man ( ie served in something other than the national guard or went to boarding school). George Bush Sr.

and in that time our troops have been continually used and treated as chess pieces on the political board of life....politicians are careful to say the right things about the troops and how much we appreciate their sacrifices, the NFL trots a BIG FLAG on veterans weekend and baseball sings God bless America....it's all bullshit.....at the end of the day they view the military as a necessary evil....a pawn...a piece on the global stage to move around and frighten or influence our enemies. 

the latest indignation came as all 3 high ranking members of the joints chiefs of staff testified on Capitol hill that they recommended 2,500 to 5,000 troops remain in Afghanistan and at the very least  that we not draw down below that level until our evacuation was complete....they also said they warned/advised that the Afghan Govt would indeed collapse if we left......the President sat down with his boyfriend george stephanopolous in august and lied to the American public when he said those two things were never mentioned.........his incompetence lead to 13 Dead American Serviceman..and why ??  well it sure looks like he was already working on his glorious victory speech on the 20th anniversary of 9/11....a speech where he cemented his legacy and patted himself on the back for being the Great President that ended the war......he deserves an ice pick in each eye......but hey...he did show up to Dover Air Base and welcome the coffins home......In truth , we will probably never elect another president who has served in the Military.....unless it's a transgendered moslem refugee who spent 6 weeks in the coast guard blowing everybody on governors island.....it's over

I just do what I've been told
We're just the gravel on the road
And only the lucky ones come home
On the day after tomorrow

Gold will turn to gray

 and youth will fade away

They'll never care about you, call you old and in the way (D. Grisman)

last saturday as my uber rolled down the quiet desolate streets of my birthplace, and classical piano and violin music played on the car stereo .....it felt surreal......as if i was in a movie.....the night before was a very emotional experience....PC's Bar & Grill celebrated their 25th anniversary...and seeing so many people at one time was overwhelming....some i had not seen since the carefree pre-pandemic days...it was both a celebration of longevity for the bar and the friendships that were harvested around that mahogany room and also a kind of wake/funeral for a time that has surely past on.......time is fleeting and our days are short.....i wonder if people realize that ?

i arrived on whitehall street with time to spare and so i walked the streets where i used to work for so many years......stopped at a street cart and ordered a bacon agg and cheese on a roll with ketchup and hot sauce.......just a sandwhich ? not really......it was a piece of my former life.....a time when things were good.....real good......a time when i would bounce up the subway stairs at Rector Street and roll past Trinity Church and onto Wall Street.....eager to get in the office believe that or not.....comradery was overflowing back then.....we worked together and played together......we drank in the Gin Mills, made good money and loved every minute of it........today that too is soo distant that it almost seems like a movie i watched decades ago and i have to strain my brain to recall all the details......growing older and moving on is difficult enough.....but it becomes so much harder when they erase your past......it's almost all gone now , and in some cases it's as if it never existed at all.

This Saturday we gather again in the borough of churches , in that oasis on 5th avenue we call PC's...we gather to remember a friend who left too soon ( don't they all)....we gather to tell his stories for one more afternoon....we try to turn back the clock , although we know we cannot. .....as mister dylan would say...someday too we'll be in that ditch....lets hope somebody cares enough to raise a glass......i really hope we have a nice turnout....because time is fleeting and our days are short.

When just a boy, he left his home

Thought he'd have the world on a string

Now the years have come and gone

Through the streets he walks alone

Like the old dog gone astray, he's just old and in the way

oh time is short

 and the days are sweet

 and passion rules the arrow that flies

A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes  (Dylan)

saw a blip on the news that the vaccine mandate has an exception for religious reasons.....i'm curious as to which religions they are talking about ? did religions that were founded before vaccines existed have provisions or rules in their bylaws that forbid their members from receiving something that didn't exist ?

are these religions against modern medicine in general ? if so, do these people have to buy health insurance like obama care or are they exempt from that as well ? do these religions pick and chose which  medical treatments go against their foundation ?  i'm not mocking ....i'm genuinely curious.....as far as i am concerned you can worship and believe whatever you want .....you can even worship a cow if you like, and let millions of people starve to death while the Bovine Majesty avoids the grille.

BUT.....and this is interesting.....the talking head on ch 5 ( the lovely Bianca Peters) pointed out that POLITICAL beliefs were NOT grounds for an exemption ? just think about that for a moment ? in this country in the year 2021, Political Beliefs are the most divisive issue we face.......Political Beliefs are twice as strong as religious beliefs......Political beliefs are breaking apart families and ending friendships.....not religion..........i personally am in favor of vaccines for anyone and everyone that wants a vaccine......i detest mandates....they go against everything this country has fought for.....the politicians are using vaccine mandates to punish and separate the opposing party or anyone with a differing opinion.........i ask anyone who supports mandates.....what would you do if in 5 years the ruling party decides that population growth is the number 1 issues for global warming....and that if we do not curb over population we can not survive as a planet....and so a new vaccine has been created to render half the worlds male population impotent.......and since the white male has historically been the "Bad" guy .....all white males over the age of 21 must be vaccinated to prevent them from procreating .....it's a global crisis....it is what it is .....refuse the vaccine ? you can not work, eat or live in this country anymore....you will be extradited to a remote island.......sounds ridiculous ? could never happen ?  the people would never stand for it..... there would be a revolution ..........there are some that feel it's happening already....what if you learned in 5 or 6 years that the covid vaccine rendered portions of the recipients impotent......how shocked would you be ?

the absurdity of today is the precedent of tomorrow. Hitler didn't outlaw Judaism overnight...it was gradual at first.

**ihave been asked on occasion if someone can share my posts.....all i ask is that you cut and paste....no links to the blog...and please don't give me credit...i have to keep my job for a few more years, thanks Matteau Matteau***

They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes
They tell me revenge is sweet and from where they stand, I’m sure it is
But I feel nothing for their game where beauty goes unrecognized
All I feel is heat and flame and all I see are dark eyes

the world is turning

 i hope it don't turn away (N. Young)

i sure hope the world is watching and reporting what is happening in the white house, because we know the American media is NOT.

Joe Biden held a short press conference with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday after his silly scripted UN speech about climate change......two leaders of the free world standing at podiums, the US and UK media hanging on every word.....surely a great time to make your point about your passion.

Boris Johnson asked " is it okay if i take a few questions" to which the leader of the free world said "good luck"

Johnson proceeded to take 3 questions from the UK media, but as he was answering the 3rd question the white house staff abruptly moved all of the media out of the room.....Johnson, stunned; stopped talking in mid sentence.....the media then began shouting questions as they were being corralled out of the room......

the POTUS is NOT the POTUS.......he is a demented puppet....and everyone knows it.......and nobody says a word.........we are ripe for destruction....and we deserve it.

I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day
Though my problems are meaningless, that don't make them go away
I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day

sunshine came softly

 through my window today,

could've tripped out east, but i, changed my ways (Donavan)

Saturday actually.....what a beautiful sun drenched day that was..ice cold beeeer rested in the cooler....pork chops sizzled on the grill.....mans best friend snoozing in the grass.......and i am happy to report that 8 of the top 25 teams in the nation were in action at High Noon.......including a classic old school rivalry revisited....Oklahoma-Nebraska......and the 3:00 window brought us Aalabama-Florida ......Clemson and ND also had matinees......is there hope for the day drinker ?  let's keep our fingers crossed.....

We stood on a beach at sunset, do you remember when?
I know a beach where, baby, a-it never ends

let's go away for a while

 You and I

To a strange and distant land

Where they speak no word of truth

But we don't understand anyway   (weezer)

Friday morning the FDA says no to a white house push to approve Booster shots for everybody.

Friday morning our ally France recalled their ambassador, furious that the United States brokered a security deal with the UK and Australia and left France on the sidelines.

Friday at lunchtime the Pentagon admitted that the infamous drone strike that the White House claimed stopped an imminent terrorist attack and killed the bad guys....well it wasn't isis......it was 10 civilians....7 of them children.....ooops

Friday afternoon dementia Joe made his 21st trip back home to Delaware since the inauguration.

i wonder how many of the hundred thousand dead people that voted for biden were turning over in their graves yesterday...

well John the baptist, after torturing a thief

 Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief

Saying, “Tell me great hero, but please make it brief

Is there a hole for me to get sick in?”  ( Dylan)

if it is true.......that General Milley held unauthorized phone conversations , behind the back of a sitting President, with  his Chinese equivilant in rank, and promised to alert the Chinese if Donald Trump ever planned to attack.....well then he must be court martialed , charged with Treason and hung......there is no alternative..........as of this morning the general is not disputing that the phone calls were held.

change of topic......no proof, just an observation..... i didn't watch too much sports over the weekend, but when i saw highlights i saw a lot of FDNY hats on coaches around the ncaa, nfl, mlb........i did not see many/any NYPD hats.......maybe just coincidence.......but if not....could it be that these coaches were afraid to offend their players by wearing POLICE hats ?  i hope i am wrong....and i hope both the police and fire were equally supported on the 20th anniversary....but it did not appear that way to me....

lastly a lot has been made about women soccer players being paid less than the men.

whats never mentioned is that both teams are union and both groups agreed to collective bargain agreements that were best suited for them at the time......for example, the women choose guaranteed money no matter how far they advanced in tournaments....the men chose a merit based system that paid higher amounts if they were successful but it was not guaranteed.....the women also chose perks like pregnancy leave, family leave, pay for players in the professional leagues that did not qualify for the national team and apparently contributions to their 401k's.......the men do not have these perks in their contracts..........now that the US soccer federation has agreed to give the same contract to both men and women, we can expect to see rapinoe and the other thespians get another parade down the canyon of zeroes........or will they find something else to cry bloody murder about ?

The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
Saying, “Death to all those who would whimper and cry”
And dropping a barbell he points to the sky
Saying, “The sun’s not yellow it’s chicken”

 

someone's gonna have to explain it to me

 i'm not sure what it means (j. Browne)

this anniversary was by far the hardest one yet.....it feels sometimes like everyone is conspiring against me.....they are coming at me from every angle.....the world of sports and concerts , two healthy diversions from hard realities for so many years have kicked me while i was down.....the military has let me down....the pentagon and the armed forces are singing for their supper and covering up for the establishment...and who pays the price ? the man in the field.

i tried really hard to avoid it all this year......i was on the beach with a cooler of beer and no TV or radio as early as possible on saturday.....was hoping somehow it would just pass......i thought i succeeded for the most part.......until i woke up sunday for coffee and made the mistake of turning on the news.

the ultimate FUCK YOU apparently occurred saturday morning at the site of the World Trade Center.....at the reading of the names.......bruce "41 shots" springstein sang one of his new songs for the grieving masses.......the piece of shit that profited off a song vilifying and convicting 4 members of the NYPD before they were rightfully acquitted in the amadou diallo shooting.....this low life cocksucker who swindles and convinces the hypnotized masses that he's one of them...a regular guy....blue collar through and through , a lives in a gated mansion with private security detail , but wants your police defunded.....this pimple on the ass of society must have laughed the night away after being allowed to play at ground zero on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.......i unequivocally give up.......their is no rock bottom.......our society can always find a way to sink lower.....

fools rush in where angels fear to tread

 Both of their futures, so full of dread, you don’t show one

Shedding off one more layer of skin

Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within  (dylan)

bowe bergdahl was and is a coward.....he was disillusioned snowflake that fell in love with the moslem religion and abandoned his post to go join his comrades. he sent an email to his parents telling them he was ashamed to be an American. he walked off his post in afghanistan and was immediately captured and held prisoner. American servicemen were killed to rescue this piece of shit......

president spoonjiah obama was in a political pickle...he promised to close the detainment center in Guantanamo Bay but had nowhere to put the inmates. so spoony began negotiations for a prisoner exchange.......5 scumbag taliban fighters for 1 of our deserters.....the State Dept said at the time of the transfer "The transfer was intended as one of a series of confidence-building measures designed to open the door to political talks between the Taliban and the Afghan Govt lead by Hamid Karzai" so it's obvious where clueless Joe got the notion to work with and cooperate with the Taliban, it started on his watch as VP , although he was probably busy with Hunter taking bribes from China at the time.

The US tried to include provisions that would ensure that the 5 scumbags could not regain positions in the taliban  .....the Taliban told us to Go Fuck Ourselves.......and so obama caved and struck those provisions (as if they would have honored them anyway)....and so that answers the question of how did we get here.

By now i am sure you know that 4 of the 5 assumed leadership positions in the New and Improved Taliban Ramblers Govt announced Tuesday , including acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head and is believed to still be holding at least one American hostage. He headed the feared Haqqani network that is blamed for many deadly attacks and kidnappings......and why are these senior leaders holding American hostages ? ?  well now if we decide to drone strike and kill these scumbags we will also be killing American hostages......way to go clueless Joe.

i write this today as a thoroughly disgusted and embarrassed American......we are a disgrace and a laughing stock and each day we sail further away from where we need to be....

Oh, Jokerman, you know what he wants

Oh, Jokerman, you don’t show any response

Jokerman dance to the nightingale tune

Bird fly high by the light of the moon

Oh, oh, oh, Jokerman

slippin and a slidin

 and playing domino,

gotta tell your story , boy

before it's time to go (N. Young)

so true Neil, so true.......gotta tell your story, nobody will tell it for you.

not surprising but still disappointing to see the world of sports and the mainstream media trip over themselves to cash in on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.......just a few of the pathetic events being peddled as patriotism.

i try to avoid hypocrisy, so lets jump in a call out my Naval Academy football team , they gladly took a check from cbs to move the traditional October game against Air Force to 9/11 this year......as if seeing two service academies play football is going to somehow bring joy and relief on 9/11 ....in the aftermath of afghanistan and the helicopter crash in San Diego last week , perhaps the Naval Academy should be focused on other things and treat football as a diversion from the mission....and not the mission itself.

not quite as bad but still ridiculous was the decision to "award" the annual Army-Navy game to the Meadowlands to coincide with the 20th anniversary of 9/11 ( that is seriously how the press release was worded) , the game of course is played in December , but oh yeah, never forget and all that jazz.

The FDNY and NYPD moved their annual hockey game which used to be played on a Sunday in February or March ( usually after a Rangers-Isles game or as a sunday matinee) to Thursday Night September 9th ...courtesy of ESPN........i wonder how many times they will roll clips of the planes hitting the WTC ? wonder if fan duel has an under/over.

MLB network is trotting out a replay of the Mets-Braves game in 2001, thr first game to be played in NYC after the attacks and they are now referring to that instant classic as "The Game for America" ...spoiler alert, Sam Champions boyfriend hits a HR to win the game.

and the NFL ? ?  one can only imagine, but we will have to wait and see how the felons and miscreants that represent professional football show their honor and sacrifice to the nation.

me ?  i'll be at the beach drinking beer, just like the 19 anniversaries prior......i will avoid the televsion and stare blankly at the great Atlantic Ocean, the navy and seagreen abyss.

Are you Ready for the Country ?

Because it's time to go......

heard one person starve

 i heard many people laughin

Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter

Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley

And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard

And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

as we anxiously await the dawn this day we count our blessings.....i hope my friends were unscathed by that storm last night.......as i walked the yard an hour ago with my trusted companion Matteau, ensuring the fences had not blown down and no tree limbs or other debris were scattered about , i heard the rustling of the trees......a cool and constant wind blew across my property....beckoning me....if i listened carefully it was an invitation of sorts....come drink with us......a crisp autumn day that will certainly eventually deliver a brilliant shining of the sun.......with air so fresh you can't help but smile....a day where the music will magically turn up a notch and only the finest songs will work their way into a random shuffle.....blue sky perhaps...or running down a dream....a box of rain most definitely....the hair on your neck will stand up....the ice in the cooler will only melt enough to produce ice cold droplets of water  on the cans below....a day that makes you worship and not question a higher power.....an atmosphere so inviting that the beeeers will practically drink themselves.........bring it on i say to you, bring it on.,,,,if ever we needed a day such as this , i believe it is now.

Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’

But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’

like i said before, i ramble around

 I meet a whole lot people out there who put New York down

Of course half of them ain't never been there

So some of that criticism just ain't fair  ( Loudon Wainright III -Talkin Big Apple Blue)

the mets are a mirror of society, as scary as that may be......allow me to explain.

i had the pleasure of working from home yesterday ( for the 540th straight day approx) and as such i was able to listen to Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez discuss the most recent NY Metropolitan embarrassment .....the Thumbs Down Caper.......in case you missed it.....the 300 million dollar Man Lindor and his imported Rican cohort Javy " i swing at everything " Baez ; decided that  "if the fans boo when we don't get success, then we gonna boo them when we do get success" (harvard men, no doubt) and proceeded to give a big thumbs down after getting a hit......let's leave the obvious criticism of this childish act off to the side for now and focus a little bit on how we as a society got here.

Tee Ball......no scorekeeping....participation trophies.....and home run hitting contests.....todays' player is born and raised on personal achievement.....individual acts that receive a pat on the back whether deserved or not.....praise, praise, praise and more praise......you can hit a baseball or throw a football, and so you are placed on a pedestal and no longer need to participate in the classroom.....just keep doing that vodoo that you doo so well......nobody keeping score, everyone wins, so swing for the fences and hope for the best.....this is a popularity contest, not a team sport anymore........

and the equivalent in society is the Safe Space on College Campus.....the world has you down.....big orange man scares you with his harsh reality tweets......someone disagrees with you about transgender bathrooms and open borders ?  well just go to your safe space and hide from the world...for ? forever.

borrow money to attend a school you can't afford ?  student debt forgiveness......no accountability.

remind me how brave and great i am for following my dreams all the way to USC , but don't you dare suggest that i can't repay 200K in student loans working as a barista at starbucks'.

your boss wants you to do your job ? go to HR and complain about his white privilege and his TONE.

if you try hard enough you will find someone or something to BLAME for every thing in life that gets you down.

and so lindor and baez ( who has only been a met for two weeks and should shut the fuck up asap) find themselves in the real world NYC without the MTV producers......you wanna hit .220 and strikeout 30% of you at bats......all while collecting 30 million dollars a year on an underachieving team.....you want to pose for imaginary selfies after finally hitting a home run ?...and tear your shirt off and demand the world looks at you when you draw a bases loaded walk in the 9th ? you want all the glory and none of the accountability ? then NYC ain't the place for you.

NY fans are tough but fair....are there racists amongst us, of course....are NY fans racists ? no fucking way..........NY will embrace anyone from any walk of life if they play the game hard and give it their best and care at least half as much as the fans do about WINNING.......it's always about winning....NY fans don't boo players for failing, they boo players for failing to care......loafing in the outfield...not running out a ground ball or displaying a flippant, uncaring approach to the game.....take a look at Patrick Ewing, nobody failed as often or on such a grand stage as Ewing....but it wasn't for lack of effort....it wasn't for lack of care....and when he failed he showed his disappointment, never pointed a finger, and vowed to work harder and was treated very well by the fans and still to this day is cheered at MSG ( even when he comes back as the Georgetown coach) tough but fair......it doesn't matter how big you are or how bright your star shines...if you disrepect the game or disrespect the fans, you will hear it.........in truth i will say that i have been emotionally detached from the Mets since the Dom Smith BLM disgrace of 2020...the refusal to play a game because a thug in kenosha was wounded by police....somehow they managed to play every game after 13 Americans were killed in afghanistan....where were his crocodile tears this week ?  in truth...i am emotionally detached from sports in general.....i still watch, but frankly scarlet...i don't give a dam

Sure I know New York is dirty and ugly and
Full of cockroaches and gonorrhea and rats and junkies and
Hookers and rude cab drivers
Bad air and bad vibes and unemployment and
They don't pick up the garbage

ah , but it's not boring