| Somehow, I wish the media outlets could all be held responsible for the truthfulness of the political ads that they profit from airing. Granted, my Radio-TV Speech degree came in a completely different era, but I still hold onto the naive notion that "the airwaves" belong to the citizenry and we (supposedly represented by the Federal Communications Commission) allow stations to use those airwaves "in good faith". Instead, media outlets are allowed to run half truths (often times COMPLETE lies) in the name of free speech and capitalism. (somehow the enormous amount of political ad revenue and "free speech" just sounds SO disingenuous doesn't it?)... But that's not why you signed up for The Blue Notes. The Blue Band did not find gainful employment for this Halloween weekend. We are REALLY looking forward to next week's First Friday (YIKES, it's November, the swarms of snow flies will get here any day now) Geeezer Gig at The Hub, 4th & Main, Sparkle City USA 6-9:30p (maybe later if ya wanna) and the Saturday Nov. 13th, 1st Anniversary Party for the 503 Nightclub in Iowa Falls (503 Estes St.) 9-mid. We are also honored to have been invited back to the The New Bo Festival fundraiser in Cedar Rapids, the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) Proceeds from this fundraiser support the revival of the arts community that was washed away from the 2008 floods in Cedar Rapids and it's Labor Day weekend festival in the New Bohemian neighborhood in Cedar Rapids... So far, that's it for November Blue Band dates. December has LOTS of open dates too (our thanks to the wonderful folks at ReMax Okoboji/Spirit Lake for inviting us to be part of their Xmas party again this year) Let us know if we can help with your holiday party entertainment and I am told that tickets/room packages for this year's New Year's Eve extravaganza are now ready. Start your reservations here: http://www.theblueband.com/newyear.htm OK, that's it for Blue News. If all you want from these notes are the facts on Blue Band appearances, your work here is done. Buh-bye, see ya later alligator, time to make like a baby and head out, make like a tree and leave, make like a scissors and cut out, See ya next week, bring CAKE!... But for people like you and me, life goes on whether The Blue Band has a gig or not. And what seems to go on and on and on and on these days is the endless ads that scream, I WILL FIX EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG (real or stuff I made up before "approving this message") AND IT'S WRONG BECAUSE MY OPPONENT MADE IT THAT WAY AND THAT'S JUST WRONG!!!... I have been a third party voter for most of my adult life. I understand the frustration and anger that is currently manifesting itself in the Tea Party (I DON'T understand the Tea Party, but I DO feel their pain!) I have not heard an explanation for the middle class frustration that rings true for me. For me, this pain and frustration is born by the stark realization that the myth that was taught to all Boomer Generation kids that says if you go to work, (often 6-7 days a week) play by the rules, make the right decisions both morally and ethically, pay as you go, and do the right thing, you will be rewarded, is nothing but A BALD FACED LIE! After a lifetime of pursuing the dream in that fashion, we are now confronted with the fact that if you lie and cheat and wink at the rules, and make decisions that are not only morally and ethically wrong, but they are greedy beyond the wildest imagination (like the banks and investment institutions or General Motors that are all "too big to fail") (making many of us too little to succeed!) not only will you be rewarded with bonuses but those bonuses will be paid for by those of us who were stupid/naive enough to work hard and play by the rules! I am looking for a candidate that has just one message on his or her commercial: I will work hard to reward people who do it the right way and will penalize and punish people who are feloniously making the wrong decisions. But I haven't seen an ad like that yet. And that's just wrong!... Quick, if you don't want to hear some takes on the political races in Ioway, jump to the next paragraph. I feel Iowans are fortunate in that both men who are running for governor have Iowa's best interests at heart. Governor Culver got stuck with the worst tornado day our state has ever seen, followed by the worst year of floods we've ever seen, followed by the worst worldwide economic downturn we have seen in my lifetime. His administration has navigated these major challenges and we are currently in the top tier of states for solvency, education, green energy production, and potential growth and employment. Former governor Branstad worked thru a lot of similar (tho' smaller scale) problems, but he was a much younger man then. I believe it is true that you can't go home again and have it be the same. I would like to see Culver allowed to reap the benefits from steering the ship thru such constant turbulent waters, but I don't see the ship sinking if Branstad takes the helm (how's that for a wishy washy endorsement?!) Bruce Braley vs. Ben Lange? Sorry Ben, I will NOT vote for someone who puts his 4 year old daughter on TV saying "vote for my daddy". Who's yer daddy? Braley! Grassley vs. Conlin? Senator Chuck has so much seniority power and congressional standing/chairmanships that manifest into Iowans having a stronger voice in Congress that it's hard to vote for the perennial second place finisher Conlin. (OK, I just lost Shelly Sheehy) And please God (some of you will get the irony) do NOT let Bob Vanderplaats politicize our court system. I am voting YES for retention of all Iowa Supreme Court justices. Can you imagine the ads if judges had to run for office? It'd give an all new meaning to VOTE FOR ME, I'LL SET YOU FREE!... Oooops, if you jumped down one paragraph to avoid political ramblings, jump down one more, cuz I've got one more thing! My wife and I both got married for the first time in our 50s. Obviously, it's not about procreation for us. It's about building a household, developing trust, and developing a relationship that transcends sex. (don't get me wrong, the sex is really great too) This is the same as two same-sex people who want to make that commitment to sharing and growing their lives together. Please inform me (because I'm seemingly ignorant) of how this can possibly negatively impact MY life... Being Halloween weekend, the radio shows all have Halloween content. Backtracks (Sat. 7-10p) has mostly a combination of leftover requests from last week's live show and rock 'n' roll Halloween songs from many decades. The 8 o'clock hour will start with a quick recap of my attending the Bob Dylan concert in Sparkle City last Sunday night. Blue Avenue (Sun. 5-6:30p) is entirely made up of blues songs dealing with hoodoo, voodoo, deals with the devil, and yer Black Cat Bone! Even the Beatles Medley (Sun. 6:30-7p) has a spooktacular theme! Get the frequency in your area or listen on line at www.iowapublicradio.org... And finally, we've put it off as long as we could, but we're still busting at the seams with too much stuff here at the little/big house, so IT'S GARAGE SALE TIME, ONE MORE TIME!! Saturday, 10:30am-2pm, in the garage behind the house at 1216 Iowa St. in Cedar Falls. (keep it just between you and me, we're having an EARLY SALE, tonight, Friday 5-7pm) There's a bunch of new stuff including conga drums, old tyme snare drum, saxophone, microphones, bicycle, (one wheel needs work, let's make a deal!) dehumidifier, 27" color TV, lots of Iowa band CDs, card table with 4 chairs, computer desk, shelving, women's and men's clothes, and lots of misc. household stuff. There might even be CAKE! The later it gets on Saturday, the cheaper the stuff gets! We might even pay you to take it after 2pm!... Be careful of the little spooks if yer out on the Blue Highway, rub yer washboard tie to the tune of The Monster Mash, you'll be the hit of the neighborhood if you give the trick or treaters CAKE, and no matter who you vote for, we'll still love you! Bob Dorr & The Blue Band |
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