WALKING ALL OVER THE LITTLE PEOPLE....

George Bush and his government have been the bane of my existence for six years now. But lately, with the hurricaines, they are becoming the thorn in the side of millions of Americans. Want to know why?

Because in order to "fund" the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast, G Dub and his evil cronies are going to cut HUGE amounts of government funding for the following programs, most of which affect the middle and lower-income class:

Here they are. I hope you are sitting down:

(info from Moveon.org)
$225 billion cut from Medicaid, the last-resort health insurance program for the very poor.
$200 billion cut from Medicare, the health care safety net for the elderly and the disabled.
$25 billion cut from the Centers for Disease Control (!!!!!!!!!!!)
$6.7 billion cut from school lunches for poor children
$7.5 billion cut from programs to fight global AIDS (FURIOUS YET?)
$5.5 billion to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
$3.6 billion cut to eliminate the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities (!!!!!!!!)
$8.5 billion cut to eliminate all subsidized loans to graduate students.
$2.5 billion cut from Amtrak
$2.5 billion to eliminate the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative
$417 million cut to eliminate the Minority Business Development Agency
$4.8 billion cut to eliminate all funding for the Safe and Drug-Free schools program (So whip out those crack pipes kids!)

AND THOSE ARE JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE LIST!
As moveon put it, "This plan is not about "offsetting," or rebuilding—it's about exploiting this crisis to push their longstanding goals for America." How true. The Bush administration will use whatever tragedy it can to provide a smoke screen for their political agenda. THEIR PROPOSAL IS OVER FIVE TIMES THE COST OF RECONSTUCTION. It really makes me ill.

THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO!
Sign the petition to let congress know that the American public is watching and will not stand by and watch while Bush and his uppercrust good ol'boys eliminate funding to some vital programs.

HERE IS THE PETITION:

http://www.political.moveon.org/rebuild/?id=6043-4590252-ekbLk_W3MKpUQuc2CjiO5A&t=3


and HERE is the entire proposal in all of its horror:

http://www.political.moveon.org/images/operation_offset/operation_offset.htm?id=6043-4590252-ekbLk_W3MKpUQuc2CjiO5A&t=4

-A

You People Disappoint Me

And yet I still reward you. I've decided that no news is good news and even though none of you posted on my super important Arrested Development thread (fucking spam doesn't count), you all watched it and my show is safe for at least one more season. So with that, I give you the promised Louis XIV photos.

The first photos are from Music Midtown back in June. Technically, Louis XIV's set back then was my kid's first concert. 'Cept I didn't know it at the time. It just so happened to work out that the next concert I went to after Midtown was a Louis show at the Roxy, so either way it works out. Cool. I threw in a few pics from that show, too. Oh, did I mention that they headlined the Roxy that night and were AWESOME?! I know the awesome part goes without saying, but it was pretty cool to get an official Louis XIV ticket without some other band's name printed on it.

And remember, next Monday, Charlize on Arrested Development. 8 pm. Fox. Be there. My future child's well being depends on it since I won't be able to keep the kid in diapers if I have to shell out for cable. (Yes, I will sink so low as to use my kid... this is for a good cause. Besides which, the kid can hear now and I'm pretty sure I could feel it laughing. Which means my child obviously has good taste and not only enjoys Louis XIV, but is also an AD fan.)

Without further ado...


This is the only decent picture I got at Midtown that included Hot Bass Player. Now I know for future concerts to stand more toward the middle. Even if it means hurting little girls to get there. I promise I won't do any permanent damage. Especially to their libidios.


Here is the lovely Brian, 8 stories tall. Hee hee!


Not to be out done, here is an 8 story Jason. Amy, did I hear you slurping??


This was the clearest shot I got of Mark.


This is the coolest picture I got of Mark, but that stupid line jacks it up. I think there was a breeze or something that screwed it up. A few pics came out like that. I couldn't trash this one though because it was so damn cool. I tried to mess with it in Photoshop. That online class my boss popped for really paid off, huh? Anyway, I don't regret blowing out my cheap ass car speakers one bit. Mark rocks!


Louis XIV at the Roxy in Atlanta, August 2005. Sadly this was the best picture that I got at the Roxy. Stupid no-flash camera.


More of Louis XIV at the Roxy in Atlanta, August 2005.


I just thought this was a funny picture of my dogs.

Now, Watch This

Ok, for TWO YEARS I've been talking about Arrested Development. TWO YEARS PEOPLE! And does anyone listen to me? Noooooo. Of course you'd rather watch freakin' Extreme Make-Over Home Edition. I know Ty Pennington is hot, but until the guy rebuilds homes in Waveland that the insurance companies won't cover because the house was "flooded" rather than "got flooded because the hurricane ripped the roof off" I don't wanna hear it!

Thankfully, Fox agrees with me and they moved my precious (yes, I am almost Golum-esque in my devotion) Arrested Development from Sundays at 8:30 to Mondays at 8. THAT'S TONIGHT PEOPLE! TUNE IN!

Seriously, this is a very smart, funny show. Its been getting a bum rap for years now, I'm guessing in part because of the time slot. There is NOTHING on Monday nights. NOTHING. So you must watch.

I know this is starting to border on begging, but this is the first edgy comedy to hit regular TV in a long time. I can't afford cable, so would you please freakin' give this show a try so that I have something *good* to watch every once in a while? I don't ask for much.

As I bribe, I offer this. Ms. Hottie Hot Charlize Theron is going to be in a bunch of episodes. If you don't believe me that the show is smart and funny, then at least watch for her lovely hotness.

I'm done with the begging. For now.

--E

P.S. If you watch, I'll post more Louis XIV photos... you know you want to see 'em.

The Rockchicks Love Brian...

I figured I would post this pic now. I've had it for a while, but the ultrasound pic was so cool, I didn't want to steal Elaine's thunder. I figured she wouldn't mind a couple claps being given to Brian. I mean...it's Brian. Besides, he can keep the baby company on the site. :-)

You can't see it, but Jason is over to the right cutting his hair using the side mirrors of the tour bus. :-) The guys were SOOOOO awesome to us. Jason seems to have relaxed back to his old self, which is great. Also, "Hot Bass Player's" real name...Jimmy. Isn't that ironic? As far as I'm concerned, our name for him is his only name. PLUS...the guys shop at Target. We first saw them returning on foot from a large shopping expedition at the Target across the street from the venue. Apparently, Elaine and I are not the only ones who love that place. What shocks me is that I STILL shop there even though it's not a nice place to work. go figure. anyway, the show was phenomenal, of course. They really rocked out and it was supremely cool to look around and see people singing along. very cool.

It's all a little bit too much...

Trent posted this link on his site, and I wanted to post it on ours too...

I have to say, reading it is really hard.

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/laf/