The Affordable Healthcare Act is full of surprises. One of these is The Data Hub. This is a comprehensive database of personal information established by the Department of Health and Human Services, which has been charged with the task of implementing ‘Obamacare.’ In a Government Accountability report, the Data Hub is to provide “real-time access to federal data and third party access to sources needing to verify consumer eligibility.
Based on the current news of abuses of information by federal organizations, The IRS, The NSA and other agencies this is bound to make a reasonable thinking man/woman nervous.
This Data Hub would include our personal information such as income, financial data, family members, immigration status, incarceration status, our social security numbers and all of our private health information. These facts will be stored in dossiers. Sources of this data are coming from the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration, Medicare and Medicaid and the Peace Corp. Any eavesdropper or fraudster with hacking capability could access the confidential personal records of the entire United States of America.
The Department of Health and Human Services guarantees this data will be safe and secure. Yeah right!
The Data Hub will be used daily by ‘Navigators’, which according to the GAO are community and consumer nonprofit groups. The Navigators will let the citizens know which health exchanges award grants and provide impartial information to the lot of us. They will direct us to the appropriate agency for further assistance.
What does this mean? Thousands of Navigators will have unfettered access to the Data Hub, however there are currently no guidelines on what qualifications the should have, how they will be hired, trained and monitored.
This is frightening and appears to be a violation of our personal privacy and civil rights.
I am amazed at the reaction to the verdict in the Trayvon Martin trial. Good friends of mine are tearing their clothing and gnashing their teeth. Had George Zimmerman been of the same race as Martin, this would have been just another blip on the nightly news.
The fact is a jury is instructed to consider just the facts presented by the prosecution and the defense in making a decision and in a capital case find that Zimmerman’s claims were true by 100% beyond a reasonable doubt. In fact most of the public is not privy to all the facts that came out during the trial. Obviously the jury concluded there was not enough preponderance of the evidence to find in favor of the prosecutions argument.
From all accounts, under the state law of Florida, this should never have gone to trial. No one should be charged with a crime unless prosecutors themselves really believe that the person committed a crime.
The case was so weak that the local Sanford District Attorney refused to bring charges against Zimmerman. On orders of the governor, an outside District Attorney, Angela Corey, had to be brought in to handle the prosecution. In fact Sanford Florida Police Chief Bill Lee was fired because he refused to charge Zimmerman with a crime. However show trial moved forward to satisfy “the will of the people.”
The prosecution and their experts’ language consistently showed a lack of certainty. Prosecutors are not supposed to bring cases where the best they can say is that something might “possibly” have happened or that there was a “chance” that it did.
In this case the prosecution’s own witnesses could not get definitive statements from their own witnesses.
The lead detective on the case stated that he believed Zimmerman’s version of the events, going as far as to say the voice crying for help on the 911 call was Zimmerman and that Martin’s father lied about the voice on that call.
Comments by Al Sharpton and President Obama have stirred up adverse race relations and demanded vengence.
The national media bears culpability for sensationalizing this trial and fixating on the race. NBC and The Today Show went so far as to doctor the recordings of the 911 tape.
Pictures were shown on TV and in news stories of a 12 year old Trayvon Martin, when in fact Martin was a well built six foot tall former high school football player. The media even went as far as describing Zimmerman as a “White Hispanic.” You can draw your own conclusions about that racial remark.
The defense was prohibited from any mention of Martin’s prior arrests or the fact he was smoking marijuana when the altercation took place.
The facts brought out in the case, even from an eye witness proved that Martin was on top of Zimmerman, holding him down, beating him and attempting to grab his gun when he was fatally wounded.
I concur that Zimmerman should not have followed Martin, especially not while in possession of a fire arm. Zimmerman had a right to report suspicious activity in his neighborhood, but should have left well enough alone after contacting the police. Bringing the gun was a bad idea.
However the situation escalated to the point that there was no option for retreat.
Now the national media and the Federal government, including our President, want to bring civil rights violations against Zimmerman, based on the fact that things did not go as they planned. In my humble opinion this is a politically based ploy to satisfy the desires of the masses. Perhaps this is a just a bone to throw by the government to keep the more raucous and vocal dissenters from rioting and damaging property.
This is my opinion of the matter and I most assuredly respect your opinion.
The first thing I notice is that I am inside a medium size room. The walls are covered with 1960’s style faux wood paneling and the floor is green indoor/outdoor carpeting. I pay no attention to the ceiling, but it is probably a tiled dropped ceiling, judging from the light.
Father Jon is anxious. He tells me that Father Chris has left and he is now in charge of the Church. We’ve moved the Church to this building. Father Jon is very concerned about the situation and the fact that he has inherited the head position.
I tell him not to worry, that God will take care of all things. I say just trust God, listen and obey and all will be well as I walk out the door. The building looks like a small white frame cottage that is surrounded by asphalt.
Suddenly everything changes and I find myself in bed. Only the bed is one of many beds in a row. Am I in a hospital? I don’t know. A lady in a gray dress with a white apron comes over and tells me it is time to get up and go shopping. I agree and I am whisked into a supermarket.
I look up and down the isles and find what I am looking for. I pick up a box that holds 24 cans of evaporated milk. I was told by the lady in gray to bring this back so we could use it to make ice cream. I head to the checkout. The store is strange. It is one that I do not recall being in before.
The cashier scans my purchase. I do not recall paying, because I am whisked back to the bed room. Perhaps it is a hospital ward or an infirmary. I don’t know.
Upon presenting my evaporated milk to the lady, she scolds me. “This is made with water! It clearly states this on the cans. We need the kind made from milk. Go back!”
I feel foolish. I thought all evaporated milk was made with milk. Silly me.
And then I find myself in a metropolitan city. At first I believe it is New York, but I am not certain.
There are lots of very tall buildings and lights. It is gloaming time and I find myself in a group. But I am talking to a young lady I scarcely knew from my high school day.
She was the younger sister of a friend. Her name was Lynn. She is very shy. She tells me that I promised to take her shopping. Alright! I think I only spoke with her once or twice and that was over forty years ago.
We walk along and I ask her about what she has been doing lately. I am so confused because I am sixty-one and she would be in her mid fifties, but we look young. I no longer have a beard. I am a fresh faced kid with dark combed hair and she is frightfully thin and has short red, wispy, curly hair.
She eventually overcomes her shyness and tells me all about herself, and then suddenly we find ourselves in a car driving down a country road.
I pull over to look at the map. We must be in a Bavarian town because one road that forks to the left states this is Stradivarius Road. The map guide says this is where the famous violins were made. It looks like fun, so we take a drive down the road. I am very disappointed since what left of the town is reminiscent of Covington Kentucky and nearly all the homes and shops are vacant and have foreclosure notices.
I am thinking how sad and wondering where the stain was put on the violins when I am awakened and notice it is 4:50 am. I get to sleep another hour and a half. However I can’t go back to where I had been.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A
12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a
marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off
her captors, a policeman said Tuesday.
The
girl, missing for a week, had been taken by seven men who wanted to force her
to marry one of them, said Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo, speaking by telephone from the
provincial capital of Bita Genet, about 350 miles southwest of Addis Ababa.
She
was beaten repeatedly before she was found June 9 by police and relatives on
the outskirts of Bita Genet, Wondimu said. She had been guarded by the lions
for about half a day, he said. “They stood guard until we found her and then
they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,” Wondimu said.
“If
the lions had not come to her rescue, then it could have been much worse. Often
these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the
marriage,” he said.
'Some kind of miracle', Tilahun Kassa, a local government official
who corroborated Wondimu’s version of the events, said one of the men had
wanted to marry the girl against her wishes.
“Everyone
thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack
people,” Wondimu said.
Stuart
Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said the girl
may have survived because she was crying from the trauma of her attack.
“A
young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub,
which in turn could explain why they didn’t eat her,” Williams said.
Ethiopia’s lions, famous
for their large black manes, are the country’s national symbol and adorn
statues and the local currency. Despite a recent crackdown, hunters kill the
animals for their skins, which can fetch $1,000. Williams estimates that only
1,000 Ethiopian lions remain in the wild.
The
girl, the youngest of four siblings, was “shocked and terrified” after her
abduction and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings, Wondimu said. He
said police had caught four of the abductors and three were still at large.
Kidnapping
young girls has long been part of the marriage custom in Ethiopia. The United Nations
estimates that more than 70 percent of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction,
practiced in rural areas where most of the country’s 71 million people live.
We're about to
enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now, you're going to turn on
the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological points.
(1) There is no
need to panic.
(2) We could all be
killed.
Yes, hurricane
season is an exciting time to be in Florida.
If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to
prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one." Based
on our insurance industry experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple
three-step hurricane preparedness plan:
STEP 1: Buy enough
food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.
STEP 2: Put these
supplies into your car.
STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain
there until Halloween.
Unfortunately,
statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most
people will foolishly stay here in Florida.
We'll start with
one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:
Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will
not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Florida.
We'll start with
one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:
HOMEOWNERS'
INSURANCE: If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately,
this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic
requirements:
(1) It is
reasonably well-built, and (2) It is located in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, if your home is
located in Florida, or any other area that might actually be hit by a
hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane
insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is
certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So
you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you
an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any
moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss.
SHUTTERS: Your
house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, There
are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:
Plywood shutters:
The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap.
Sheet-metal
shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The
disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless
bleeding stumps, and it will be December.
Roll-down shutters:
The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect
your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay
for them.
Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle
in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can
withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says
so. He lives in Nebraska.
Hurricane Proofing
your property: As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects
like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc... You
should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you
don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately). Otherwise,
the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.
EVACUATION ROUTE:
If you live in a
low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out. (To determine
whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says
"Florida,"
you live in a low-lying area).
The purpose of
having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home when a major
storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several
miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a
bonus, you will not be lonely.
HURRICANE SUPPLIES:
If you don't
evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Florida tradition
requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the
supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last
can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies
23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that
turn out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.
Bleach. (No, I
don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but
it's traditional, so GET some!)
A big knife that
you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks
cool.)
A large quantity of
raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through
Andrew,katrina,jeanne,charlie,frances;
after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)
$35,000 in cash or
diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a
man with no discernible teeth.
Of course these are
just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that
you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV
reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the gulf or ocean and tell you
over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the
gulf or ocean.
Good luck, and
remember: It's great living in Paradise!
As a native Iowan
and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for
your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an
effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred
me to you.
My primary reason
for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to be an illegal alien stems
from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted.
If my understanding of this bill is accurate, as an
illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I
need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for
only three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am
anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out.
Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes
every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in
return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be
illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my
family because we paid heavy taxes in 2008 and 2009.
Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin
using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have
stopped paying premiums for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could
save almost $10,000 a year.
Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be
that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law
school applications, as well as 'in-state' tuition rates for many colleges
throughout the United States
for my son.
Lastly, I understand that illegal status would
relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those
burdensome car insurance premiums. This is very important to me, given that I
still have college age children driving my car.
If you would provide me with an outline of the
process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the
necessary forms, I would be most appreciative.
Thank you for your
assistance.
Your Loyal Constituent, (hoping to reach 'illegal
alien' status rather than just a bonafide citizen of the USA )
Donald Ruppert
Burlington , IA
Get your Forms (NOW)!! Call your Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-289-1040
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts
and are things people actually said in court,word for word, taken down and published by court
reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking
place.
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband
said to you that morning? WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?' ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you? WITNESS: My name is Susan! _______________________________ ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of
the impact? WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active? WITNESS: No, I just lie there. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth? WITNESS: July 18th. ATTORNEY: What year? WITNESS: Every year. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with
you? WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't
remember which. ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you? WITNESS: Forty-five years. _________________________________ ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your
memory at all? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your
memory? WITNESS: I forget.. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of
something you forgot? ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a
person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam? ____________________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how
old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ. ___________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken? WITNESS: Are you shitting me? _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August
8th? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time? WITNESS: Getting laid ____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children , right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can
I get a new attorney? ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death.. ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? WITNESS: Take a guess. ___________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual? WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female? WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________ ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you
performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of
a fight. _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school
did you go to? WITNESS: Oral... _________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time? WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished. ____________________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample? WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________ And last:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you
check for a pulse? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No.. ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive
when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive,
nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive
and practicing law
In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from LouisianaStateUniversity .
On a hike through thebush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with
one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached
it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and
found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently
as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant
gingerly put down its foot.
The elephant turned to face the man and with a
rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter
stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the
elephant trumpeted loudly, turned and walked away. Peter never forgot that
elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the
Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure,
one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son
Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its
front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several
times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not
help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage,
climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right
up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again,
wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing,
killing him instantly.
It must not have been the same elephant!
This is for everyone who sends me those
heart-warming bullshit stories.
A male patient is lying in bed in the
hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. A young student nurse appears
and gives him a partial sponge bath.
"Nurse,"' he mumbles from behind the mask,
"are my testicles black?" Embarrassed,
the young nurse replies, "I don't know, Sir. I'm only here to wash your upper body and feet."
He struggles to ask again, "Nurse, please
check for me. Are my testicles black?"
Concerned that he might elevate his blood pressure
and heart rate from worrying about his testicles, she overcomes
her embarrassment and pulls back the covers. She raises his gown, holds his manhood in one hand
and his testicles gently in the other.
She looks very closely and says, "There's
nothing wrong with them, Sir. They look fine."
The man slowly pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at
her, and says very slowly, "Thank you very much. That was
wonderful. Now listen very, very closely:
I thought this was hilarious, I started crying with
laughter. Please take a moment to read the whole thing.
My wife insists that I accompany her on her shopping trips to
Walmart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in
and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to
browse.
Yesterday my dear wife received the following
letter from the local Walmart.
Dear Mrs. Woolf,
Over the past six months, your husband has caused
quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been
forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband,
Mr. Woolf, are listed below and are "documented by our video surveillance
cameras":
1. June 15: He took 24 boxes of condoms and
randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off
at 5- minute intervals.
3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor
leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an
official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This
caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a
reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted in management getting
involved causing management to lose time and costing the company money.
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to reserve a
bag of chips.
6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a
carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and
told the children shoppers they could come in if they would bring
pillows and blankets from the bedding department - to which twenty
children obliged.
8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he
began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me
alone?' Emergency Medics were called.
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and
used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the Sports
department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. October 3: Darted around the Store suspiciously while
loudly humming the ' Mission Impossible' theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his
'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'
14. October 22: When an announcement came over the loud
speaker, he assumed the fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES
AGAIN!
15. Took a box of condoms to the checkout clerk and asked
where the fitting room was.
And last, but not least:
16. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door,
waited awhile, and then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet
paper in here.' One of the Staff passed out.
I wonder if I'll have to go along on many more shopping trips?
1. The bandage
was wound around the wound. 2. The farm was
used to produce produce. 3. The dump was
so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4. We must polish the Polish furniture. 5. He could
lead if he would get the lead out. 6. The
soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 7. Since
there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the
present. 8. A bass
was painted on the head of the bass drum. 9. When shot
at, the dove dove into the bushes. 10. I did not object to the object. 11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. 12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to
row. 13. They were too close to the door to close it. 14. The buck does funny things when the does are
present. 15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer
line. 16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his
sow to sow. 17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail. 18. After a number of injections my jaw got number. 19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a
tear. 20. I had to subject the subject to a series of
tests. 21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
When I was 13 years old, Mom decided it was time for me to
learn how to dance. The lessons were for ballroom dancing.
As I recall I learned
the Foxtrot, the Cha-cha and the Waltz, although I can’t for the life of me
remember any of those steps. The guys and girls in this class had to dress up
and be polite. At the break the guys got punch and cookies for the last girl
with whom we danced.
It seems that I usually wound up with this cute little
chubby redhead. I don’t know if she had
a crush on me or I had a crush on her, but as I recall we always paired up with
each other to dance.
The instructor played the song Meet Me at Midnight Mary
every week and we did a fast Foxtrot to the music. I loved the song, the lyrics
and the arrangement. It had everything a 1960’s song should ever have.
Here was
a story about a poor boy that secretly married a girl, got a job working on the
railroad and later found out her Daddy was his boss.
When I listen to it I think of that chubby
little redhead girl and wonder whatever became of her.
The song was written by a fellow named Artie Wayne. He was
working as a song writer in New York
City. He also was dating some Iranian girls. One of
the girls was the daughter of a deposed Iranian General.
I don’t know how much
is remembered about the days when the Shah of Iran was exiled to the United
States, so as a quick reminder in the early 1960’s Iran was governed by a king
which was called The Shah. There was a theocratic uprising in Iran and the Shah, his family and members of his
government sought refuge in the United
States. They brought with them a fortune in
Iranian assets, thus they were hated by the religious rulers and the people
that overtook the government as well as the general population of Iran.
The United
States government housed the Shah and his
entourage and assigned them a protection detail.
Artie Wayne
All this to say that Artie Wayne was head over heels in love
with the daughter of an Iranian general and this was forbidden. Both Artie and
the girl were excited about the danger of their secret romance. The only way
they could meet was to see each other secretly.
What can a songwriter do, but write a song about this
forbidden tryst?
Artie’s friend was a fellow songwriter named Ben Raleigh. Raleigh
had scored a recent hit with the sappy song “Tell Laura I Love Her.” In true songwriter fashion, Artie Wayne
decided to write a better song. He
eventually teamed with Raleigh
to write Midnight Mary.
The song was taken to a local studio and the guys were given
an advance to produce a demo. They shopped the demo around for a year with no
luck until they learned that a new artist named Jerry Cole had signed with Capitol Records and recorded
their tune. Neither Wayne nor Raleigh
liked Cole’s version and thought they could do a much better version.
Joey Powers
Artie Wayne had
befriended a singer/songwriter named Joey Powers. Powers had been under contract
with RCA and had just been released when Wayne
asked him to help make a demo that was good enough for air play.
Wayne
scraped together $500 for studio time and hired arranger Al Gorgoni and Charlie
Macey to play guitars. Drummer Buddy Saltzman played drums and Jeannie Thomas
sang all the background parts. Joey Powers sang the vocal.
Once again the song was shopped around. A local song plugger
named Jerry Landis (the pseudonym Paul Simon was using) turned the song down but
suggested taking the song to Larry Uttal at AMY Records (which is now Arista). Uttal liked the song
and agreed to market it and an agreement to refund production costs and give a
small percentage to the writers was approved.
Larry Uttal (seated)
Upon listening to the recording,
Uttal asked that the bass be turned up. Wayne
let him know they did not have money to hire a bass player for the demo.. Larry Uttal gave Artie Wayne $15 and told him
to go hire a bass player. Wayne
knew a bass player that owed him a favor and asked Russ Savakis to come to the
session and lay down a bass part.
With a few months Artie Wayne was taking publicity pictures for an album when he was handed a gold record by Uttal who told him, this doesn’t mean the song
sold a million records.
On November 22, 1963 the Joey Powers album was to be recorded featuring
the song Meet Me at Midnight Mary. Artie had met with Joey in Ohio to set up the arrangements.
That night Al
Gorgoni was finishing up arrangements. Jeannie Thomas was working on background
parts along with a new singer, Lettie Hamblet. The guitarists for the session
were Paul Simon and Roger McGuinn, who played 12 string acoustic. The session
was to start in 30 minutes.
The only musician who was not there was Joey Powers. His
flight was delayed. Artie picked up Powers
from the airport. When they walked into the studio, everyone was crying. President
Kennedy had been assassinated.
The album was eventually recorded and went on to be a big
hit…in England.
The song was covered by over 250 artists. Artie Wayne is
semi retired these days.
Ben Raleigh passed away in 1997 and left a legacy of
hit songs behind. Besides “Laura”, he wrote Wonderful Wonderful, She’s a Fool,
Love is a Hurtin’ Thing, Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) and
composed the theme music for the cartoon Scooby Doo.
Joey Powers was born in
1939 and is still alive. According to newpaper reports, he became a Christian and sent his kids to
OralRobertsUniversity.
Larry Uttal died at age 71 in New York City. He had
worked with many famous artists.
Jeannie Thomas is actually singer Jean Thomas. She was
the lead singer of the Rag Dolls, the Calendar Girls, the Powder Puffs, Angie
and the Chicklettes and other girl groups of the '60's and went on to have a very successful career as a background singer and is anonymously heard on many, many recordings.
Funny thing, Meet Me at Midnight Mary inspired two "answer" songs.
The other was a number one hit by Johnny Mathis called "What Would My Mary Say?" Those who are old enough will recall Mathis had a hit with Wonderful, Wonderful written by Ben Raleigh.
A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation in Jerusalem . While they
were there, the wife passed away.
The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her
buried here in the Holy Land for $150 or we
can have her shipped back home for $5,000.
The husband thought about
it and told the undertaker he would have her shipped back home.
The undertaker asked him,
"why would you spend $5,000 to have her shipped home when you could have a
beautiful burial here, and it would only cost $150????"
The husband replied,
"Long ago, a man died here, was buried here, and three days later, rose
from the dead. I just can’t take that chance!"
Last Thursday night around midnight, a woman from Houston , Texas
was ...arrested, jailed, and charged with manslaughter for shootinga man 6 times in the back as he was running away with her
purse.
The following Monday morning, the woman was called
in front of the Arraignment Judge, sworn-in, and asked to explain her actions.
The woman replied, "I was standing at the
corner bus stop for about 15 minutes, waiting for the bus to take me home after
work. I am a waitress at a local cafe. I was there alone, so I had my right
hand on my pistol in my purse hanging on my left shoulder. All of a sudden I
was spun around hard to my left. As I caught my balance, I saw a man running
away with my purse. I looked down at my right hand and saw that my fingers were
wrapped tightly around my pistol. The next thing I remember is saying out loud,
"No Way Punk! You're not stealing my pay check and tips." I raised my
right hand, pointed my pistol at the man running away from me with my purse,
and started squeezing the trigger of my pistol.
When asked by the arraignment judge, "Why did
you shoot the man 6 times? The woman replied under oath, "Because, when I
pulled the trigger the 7th time, it only went click."
The woman was acquitted of all charges. She was
back at work the next day! That's Gun Control, Texas Style.
You've heard of General Wellington who won at Waterloo; well there's a
good old Irishman I'll mention unto you. He hails from dear old Dublin,
he's a man we all applaud--for he always finds a corkscrew far more handy than
a sword.
He's good old General Guinness, he's a soldier strong and
stout--he's found on every battle( bottle?) front, for he can't be done
without.
His noble name, his worldwide fame deserve 3 hearty cheers;
'Hurrah for General Guinness of the Dublin Boozaliers!
This hale and hearty warrior is worshiped in the ranks For he does his task inside the cask as well as in the tanks. And he bears the brunt on every front, North south
East andWest And he wears about 10 million canteen medals on his
chest.
He's good old General Guinness, he has won the
world's applause For he always keeps our spirits up in the midst of
all our wars. Who was the first to flirt with Mademoiselle fromArmentiers? Why good old General Guinness, of
the Dublin Boozaliers!
All over
Bonny Scotland too, the General he is seen; They've given him the frrreedom of the toon of
Aberrrdeen. Frae Inverness tae Galashiels he keeps them warm
and bright And they love tae gather roond him Och! on every
moonlit night.
He's good old General Guinness, he's as good as
Scottish broth; It's he who turned the Firth of Forth into the
Firth of Froth! All Scotsmen dance the Highland Fling and shout!
when he appears- Hurrah! for General Guinness, of the Dublin Boozaliers!
On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told
them his three ultimate wishes:
1. The best doctors should carry his coffin; 2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious
stones.) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery. 3. His hands should be let loose, hanging outside the coffin
for all to see!!
One of his generals who was surprised by these
unusual requests asked Alexander to explain.
Here is what Alexander the Great had to say:
1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to
demonstrate that, in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have
no power to heal; 2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure
so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, stays on
earth... 3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that
people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this
world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and
that is TIME 4. We do not take to our grave any material wealth,
although our good deeds can be our travelers' checks. TIME is our most precious
treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot
produce more time. 5. When we give someone our time, we actually give
a portion of our life that we will never take back. Our time is our life! 6. The best present that you can give to your
family and friends is your TIME. May God grant you plenty of TIME and may you
have the wisdom to give it away so that you can LIVE, LOVE and DIE in peace.
ze!~~60_35.JPG)
