Hey Folks –

I’ve worked up a show for Wednesday, October 29 that presents a unique, talented jazz musician: Khabu – that fact is underlined, perhaps, by the fact that he performs with ukuleles.

I’ll be doing a few song backed by Khabu, as will Jodi Mathews (uke) & Dan Sagraves (bass). The majority of the show will be Khabu.

Below is the show information, a flyer, and a bio.

I hope you can attend!!

– Uke Man


Show Information:

Khabu, jazz ukulele artist out of New York’s East Village, will be appearing Wed., Oct. 29 at Areopagetica Books (3510 N. High just north of E. North Broadway) for a 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. show. There will be appearances by Ukulele Man and by Jodi Mathews with Dan Sagraves. No cover.

Contact: Tom Harker at: ukulele_man@yahoo.com


Khabu bio:

Khabu Doug Young
Musing Ukulele
1.

Khabu Doug Young has recently been commissioned by the Armour Foundation to compose new works for the ukulele for the second consecutive year. He has worked on guitar and uke with a wide range of musicians (such as Art Lande and Paul McCandless) plus actors, dancers, poets and visual artists.

Khabu will be performing compositions & improvisations developed during his Armour Foundation Sabbatical, often featuring audience interaction. Additionally, he will draw upon his favorite songs from the jazz repertoire, particularly the music of Thelonious Monk, Steve Lacy, and Khabu’s long-time mentor/cohort Art Lande. Also included will be rock/blues/folk-inspired music from The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Jimi Hendrix, etc.

2.

Ukulele player Khabu creates music with a spirit of collaboration and interaction, exploring the continuum between improvisation and composition, sculpting sounds into musical journeys of the unknown. Born Doug Young in Lubbock, TX, he grew up in Houston and became known as Khabu while attending the High School For The Performing And Visual Arts (HSPVA). After two semesters at William Paterson College (Wayne, NJ), in hopes of being close to the NYC jazz scene, he found his way instead to Boulder, CO. While there, The Naropa Institute provided fertile ground for integrating his diverse interests in Tai Chi, Buddhist meditation, improvised music, health & healing, and anthropology. He soon became an adjunct faculty member and formed The Russian Dragon Band with Art Lande. Khabu later moved to New York City to work with artists from all disciplines: theater, dance, spoken word, film, as well as musicians of many styles (often with unique instrumentation). He has toured the US, Canada, Europe, and India with musicians such as Art Lande and Paul McCandless. He is a founding member of The Creative Music Workshop and currently resides in the East Village with his wife and four-year old daughter.

the Dispatch is consistent, if nothing else

the Columbus Dispatch endorses Uncle Chipmunk

Hey Folks -

The Uke Man is 63 years old. The Columbus Dis[grace]patch has never in my lifetime endorsed a Democrat for president. Today they were consistent, endorsing John S. McCain III for president.

I wrote them a letter (directly below). Their editorial follows.

- Uke Man



To the Editor (not any identified editor -but whoever it is that actually writes the editorials*):

The Dispatch editorial board endorsed George W. Bush in 2000; that certainly helped Joe the Plumber. They endorsed George W. Bush in 2004; that helped Joe the Plumber even more. Now they’ve endorsed John S. McCain III to further aid Joe the Plumber.

. In doing so, the Dispatch has held firmly to the course that has served Ohio’s workforce and economy so well over the last eight years. Now the working people of Ohio can rest easy, knowing that as their income further declines, they will be more competitive with workers in China . Just think how many jobs will be brought back from overseas once the former middle class get used to subsistence.

Thanks to the Dispatch for its part in helping Ohio achieve our present status and for steadfastly urging its continuation.

Yours truly,

Tom Harker

* The editors have been complaining of late that they get nasty mail aimed at the editorial agenda, but they have no say in that. I wrote and suggested that in addition to the "Letters to the Editor" they sollicit, they should offer a "Letters to the Editorial Board" option. They did not reply.



For president: John McCain
A lifetime of sacrifice and service make John McCain best choice
Sunday, October 19, 2008

For president of the United States, The Dispatch endorses Republican Sen. John McCain, whose experience, service and sacrifice for his country make him more qualified to lead the nation.

McCain's Democratic opponent, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, is a rousing motivational speaker, but his experience and achievements -- eight years in the Illinois Legislature and less than four in the U.S. Senate -- do not stand comparison with McCain's.

A resume containing so little evidence of leadership and accomplishment leaves in question Obama's ability to handle the most responsible and difficult job in the world, especially at a time when the nation faces a combination of problems so large and complex that they would challenge even the most seasoned leader.

Nor does it seem likely that a man who has traveled in the left lane of American politics for his entire adult life really is the bipartisan centrist that he claims to be. And with Democrats already in control of the U.S. House and Senate -- and the possibility that they might gain a filibuster-proof majority in the next Senate -- there would be little to check the inevitable excesses of one-party rule if a Democrat wins the White House.

This could have a profound effect on the U.S. Supreme Court. A divided Senate acts as a check on presidential nominations to the court by preventing the confirmation of justices with extreme views. But with a filibuster-proof Senate majority ready to do his bidding, Obama would have the unfettered ability to appoint justices likely to be judicial activists, eager to launch a new era of legislating from the bench. Such a Supreme Court could end up as a rubber stamp for, rather than a check on, the White House and Congress.

While neither party can make a credible claim to fiscal responsibility, the dangers of more deficit spending, a growing national debt and uncontrollable entitlement spending are likely greater with an Obama administration. Democrats have not controlled the White House and Congress simultaneously since 1994. A return to majority status is likely to unleash pent-up demand to enact a Democratic wish list of new and expensive social programs when the nation can't afford the ones it has. Given his party-line voting record in the Senate, there is no indication that Obama is able or willing to stand against such an onslaught.

But many of the policy choices the nation will have to make in the next four years are monumental and should be the result of a bipartisan dialogue, not of unchecked one-party dictate.

Debate and political give and take ensure that decisions have been fully vetted, that all interests and concerns have been weighed and that the resulting decisions enjoy broad public support.

Unlike Obama, McCain has a record of bipartisanship: He was a member of the Gang of 14 Republican and Democratic senators who joined in 2005 to preserve the Senate filibuster rule. Note that this courageous act, which enraged the Republican Senate leadership, preserved the filibuster power for what was then the Democratic minority in the Senate. And that was not the only time that McCain has bucked his party.

At a time when the nation faces serious problems, including international economic turmoil, immigration, health care, war in Afghanistan, nation-building in Iraq and foreign-policy challenges from the Middle East, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, the president should have an extensive resume and long experience in grappling with tough decisions. Few new presidents have faced an assignment as tough as the one facing the winner of the November election.

From 5 1/2 years as a POW in North Vietnam, where he endured torture, through 25 years in the U.S. House and Senate, McCain has demonstrated the grit, energy and determination that the present challenges demand.

The choice is between a candidate who has been tested to a degree experienced by few and a candidate who is untested. In Obama, Americans are presented with a question mark.

Among the top problems facing the United States is its dire fiscal situation. The nation has a $10 trillion debt and other unfunded obligations to entitlement programs that total $53 trillion. The federal deficit this year is nearly $458 billion and some project the 2009 deficit could hit $700 billion. Despite these staggering numbers, lawmakers and the president just approved a $700 billion Wall Street bailout that they don't have the money to pay for. In short, the United States is dangerously overextended at a time when a worldwide recession threatens.

For years, The Dispatch has called on the president and Congress to deal with this massive, mounting debt which threatens the prosperity and quality of life of generations to come. But year after year, the nation's leaders have kicked the problem down the road.

Seriously confronting this problem will require a president able to call on Americans to make sacrifices for the sake of their grandchildren.

The president will have to ask them to accept cuts in popular programs, tax increases and lowered expectations of what government can afford to do.

Because of the personal sacrifices that McCain has made for the nation, he has unmatched moral authority to call on Americans to take their medicine. If elected, that is precisely what he should do.

The Dispatch urges voters to elect John McCain as president.

Like Kennedy and Palast said earlier . . .

Hey Folks -

Here's a full-page ad People for the American Way will be putting in the New York Times.

- Uke Man

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FRAUD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You’ve heard a lot about ACORN in the media lately, accused of voter fraud. But it’s news fraud — a false story instigated by right-wing operatives.

The wild charges made against ACORN aren’t true. Period. It’s the story the right wing wants you to hear and the media is reporting as unchallenged fact.

ACORN hired 13,000 workers to register voters. And unfortunately a few bad apples turned in registration forms with inaccurate and even made-up names.

Here’s what’s missing from the story: In most states, ACORN is required to submit all forms they collect, whether they appear to be bogus or not. That way election officials, not independent groups, can decide who gets registered and who doesn’t. ACORN spends millions to flag cards that may not be legitimate. And many of the irregularities you’ve heard about only came to light because ACORN itself flagged the cards!

Meanwhile, ACORN has successfully registered over 1 million legitimate voters — Democrats, Independents and Republicans. And there are no reported instances of organized double-voting — so there’s no chance this will affect the election.

So what’s the real story?

The right wing wants to discourage low-income people and African Americans from voting. And attacking ACORN helps justify their real efforts to suppress the vote — which are well under way.

In Indiana, the right is considering using home foreclosure as a reason to prevent legitimate registration.

In Philadelphia, an anonymous flier targeting African-American neighborhoods falsely warns that voters with outstanding traffic tickets may be arrested if they go to the polls.

In Colorado, the Republican Secretary of State rejected more than 6,000 citizens’ registration cards because of minor errors like not marking a checkbox.

Last week, Fox referenced ACORN 770 times on the air. That’s to be expected, but then CNN and others parroted the same right-wing talking points.

Instead of hearing about the hundreds of thousands of American citizens who will be prevented from casting a vote this year, you heard about fictional people who will never cast a vote.

And that’s the real fraud.

To learn more, please go to www.PFAW.org/ACORN

Steal Back Your Vote !!!

Hey Folks -

A friend turned me on to "Steal Back Your Vote." Please visit the website:

http://www.stealbackyourvote.org/

Below is a YouTube video with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of GoLeft TV and Air America's Ring of Fire and investigative journalist and author Greg Palast about the Republicans' plans to steal the '08 election, and how voters can steal back their vote. For more information (and to download a copy of Bobby and Greg's comic book) visit - http://www.stealbackyourvote.org/


Part I


Part II


- Uke Man

It's Joe the Plumber

Fuck Joe the Plumber

Hey Folks -

I’m from Ohio!!

Joe the Plumber is from Ohio!!

I’ve lived in this state for 63 years - and I KNOW Ohio!!

I know Joe the Plumber.

I know a lot of Joe the Plumber’s !!

Joe doesn’t make anywhere near $250,000 a year; so Obama’s tax plan won’t touch him (Joe admits it). But SOMEDAY it COULD!!! Obama is attacking the AMERICAN DREAM!!! He supports SOCIALISM!!! CLASS WARFARE!!! INCOME REDISTRIBUTION!!! According to Joe's own words, Obama is hurting someone (the top 5%).

So, Joe the Plumber has to support erratic Uncle Chipmunk and Sarah Baracootie who have their own American Dream – i.e. to live the high life on the backs of all the lemming Joe the Plumber’s out here in ‘merica.

McCain likes to say over and over: “I know how to _________________” (fill in the blank). He rants on about how people are suffering and scared, but he “knows how to” fix it. Joe the Plumber likes that, but Joe the Plumber isn’t reading the fine print.

McCain says he will have a “Spending Freeze,” cut taxes on the wealthy, fix health care, cure autism, “win” the war, and balance the budget. He “knows how to do it.” He’s a maverick.

Ohio is full of dumb shits who think shifting money from the bottom 90% to the top 10% is just fine, but howl in horror if it shifts the other way: “INCOME REDISTRIBUTION!!!”

Ohio is full of dumb shits who think subsidizing a business and allowing it very large tax dodges is just fine, but programs for the people are SOCIALISM !!!

Ohio is full of dumb shits who think their American Delirium will someday become the American Dream that the wealthy few now experience.

Ohio is full of dumb shits upon whom it never dawns that "Conservatives" balance budgets by cutting the hell out of programs that help Joe the Plumber (Joe actually says he doesn't like Social Security).

Well, this is just the same old bullshit, recycled for the millionth time by greedy, conniving fucks for whom it has worked before. They screw stupid people like Joe the Plumber, and he proudly brays his appreciation. THIS is the Old politics. It has always worked in the past. The question is whether it will work one more time.

We shall see. Maybe it won’t work nationally, but THIS is OHIO!!! And there are a lot of Joe the Plumbers here.

Finally, Joe says he hopes he doesn't make a fool of himself.

Oops!! Too late!!!

- Uke Man

Jack Cafferty tells it like it is!! Poor Baracootie!!

Hey Folks -

A little too strong for Wolf, but Wolf is Wolf.

- Uke Man

Stupid People in Ohio ("The Heart of it All" - where I live)

Hey Folks -

I live in Ohio!! What a place!! Look at the warm, intelligent, informed folks in the video!! They are from Ohio!!!

My, my!! And the blonde sweetie with the attitude - she'll make somebody wish he'd married a socialist!! (Isn't she cute!!).

Well, as I have said, every election is an IQ test. Soon we will see if the mentally challenged voters seen here are still in the majority.

I wouldn't be surprised. It's OHIO!!!

- Uke Man

"Nailin' Sarah Palin"

Hey Folks -

What a great song!!

- Uke Man

Sarah Silverman brings out the Florida Jewish vote for Obama!!!

Oy vey!! Folks!

Have I got a video for you!!

- Uncle Uke Man

McCain - The Little-Big Man Syndrome?

Hey Folks -

I had Bush pegged the first time I experienced him. It took me a little longer with McCain ( Palin was an easy read), but I'm not at all surprised by what this video reveals.

Will it take the majority of voters as long to find out the truth as it took them with Bush?

- Uke Man


From the video-maker:

"I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public's." - John McCain

During the last debate, John McCain said we need "a cool hand at the tiller," but McCain has proven to be a loose cannon. He has accosted his Congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle on everything from the federal budget to diplomatic relations. He is known for hurling profanities rather than settling disagreements calmly. His belligerence is legendary. Even conservative Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi has said, "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

When someone earns the nickname "Senator Hothead," the public ought to call his character into question. McCain's propensity to explode undermines his abilities as a rational decision maker, particularly on national security issues -- which could prove disastrous considering our country is already involved in two wars.

O'Bama is Irish

Hey Folks!

Check it out!!

- Uke Man

Religulous

Hey Folks -

Bill Maher has a film out right now that addresses religion. I'm going to see it. You should too.

Below are some related videos. Below that are some comments an atheist friend sent me, to which I've added some of my own in red.

- Uke Man

Bill Maher on Larry King, discussing Religulous. http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2008/bill-mayer-larry-king-religilous-p1.php

The official Religulous site: http://www.religulousmovie.net/ check "Enter Site" first; then take a quik look at the "Kosher Site"

Interview of Bill Maher by National Lampoon:

TV - Movie Review:

God said, "Let there be light."
Nothing happened for a few moments.
Then God said, "Who the heck am I talking to?"

Does "the Curse of Ham" have anything to do with the prohibition against pork?

Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day.
Give him a religion, and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish

If Pat Robertson's prayers made a hurricane swerve and miss his headquarters, isn't he liable for the damage it caused elsewhere?

A little boy prayed for a bike. Then he realized God doesn't work that way so he stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

If God saves the survivors of a plane crash, who killed the victims?

Every time someone predicts the date of the end of the world, God pushes the date back a little, just to be funny.

If the good people dissapear and leave their clothes, watches, rings, wigs etc. behind when the Rapture strikes, what about pacemakers and silicon implants?

The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next.

On the 6th day, God created Man. On the 7th day, Man returned the favor.

If God made man in his own image, and we look honestly at mankind, isn't it inescapable that God is REALLY screwed up?

If money is the root of all evil, why do churches want it so badly?

Is there a reason that job and Job are spelled the same?

Is it an accident that the symbol of a bishop is a crook and the sign of an archbishop is a double-cross?

If Jesus was a Jew, how did he get a Spanish name?

Why does the Vatican have lightning rods?

When Cane killed Abel and was run off to the land of Nod, he took a wife. Where did she come from, and where did the Nodians come from?

If Noah took two of every animal on the ark with him, then what did they eat?

Did Noah bring termites with him on his ark? And why did he leave the dinosaurs behind?

If God's love is unconditional, then why does hell exist?

If man is fallible, is it possible his interpretations of religion are as well?

If God is all-knowing, why is prayer necessary?

If God is all-powerful, can he make a rock so heavy he can't lift it?

Bush's Economic Crash speech deciphered!!!

Hey Folks -

Here's an interesting two-part take on Bush, capitalism, lies, and the shit hitting the fan!! Bush reads the teleprompter, and is revealed via captions for the thinking-impaired.

- Uke Man

Letter to Joe Hallett

Hey Folks -

I just HAD to share my thoughts expressed in the posting below with Mr. Hallett!!

- Uke Man

Dear Mr. Hallett,

In your September 28 column you suggested: "All they could do -- all any of us can do -- is trust our leaders."

I find that view discouraging and wrong.

A major problem with our nation is the belief that we are powerless and can only look to our “betters (e.g. "leaders," experts, and preachers) to take care of us and make things better.

I live in Circleville where I bet folks aren’t too much different from the folks in Fulton County; so, I think I understand the situation.

The point of your column is that you’ve always been able to find solace back home among the corn and soy bean fields where they are concerned with "democracy's stewardship," but this time it didn't work. Now, the "little people are crying out for leadership."

These "little people," you say are like local Republican official, Sandy Barber, who "is a loyal partisan, but you won't find a Democrat in the county who doesn't like her. She played to win, but she didn't play to destroy her opponents, because she knew she'd be cheering with them at the next high-school football game."

Well, they can do that because they have their heads buried in the sand. Either through ignorance or rationalization, these“informed” voters believe the world is just a small town where Friday-night-football rules, and folks are protected from weightier matters by our beloved "leaders" in the State House and the White House. "Yep, elect 'em and fergit 'em. We're done with that 'til the next 'lection - unless a tit gits seriously caught in the ringer; then we'll squeal bloody murder, and vote-in some other guy who smiles nice while he makes his promises."

If nothing changes, they just shrug: “All any of us can do is trust our leaders until we vote-in some new ones to trust.” And they believe that! When the next election rolls around the parties, candidates, and the media will concentrate on rumors, distortions, lies, lipstick, unpopular religions, and other matters “crucial” to informing the electorate, and – based on that - deliver another official to trust.

Many rural folks are simple because they are relatively isolated and, because of that, are easily led to believe that the world is simple and that our wise government cares about us and works to improve our lives. Only when thing get REALLY bad do they start to doubt.

Well, things are getting REALLY bad. The home folks are waking up, but your suggested answer to their concern is a disservice.Ignorance IS bliss, and "throw the bums out" as a solution is just a part of that ignorance. Unless people know the reality of their situation, voting is just a merry-go-round. Telling them to choose a different horse to ride gets them nowhere.

Yours - Tom Harker