Mulled Marc

The Petition

It was a letter to the President
With a list that numbered one to ten
It said:

Make a law where daddy’s don’t work late
Keep Uncle Joe and those soldiers safe
Give those kids on TV all they want to eat

Put a stop to bullies on the bus
No crime, no AIDS, no hate, no drugs
Give a jacket and a job to people on the street

I said “Son sounds like a world I’d like to live in.”
And I signed his petition

DISCLAIMER: If you think those lyrics are cheesy and stupid, then stop reading this review, you’re probably not going to care for this CD. On the other had, if the lyrics seem innocent and naive, but reflect the clarity that children can sometimes have, then go buy this CD…..now…..really.

This is the first music review I’ve done, but it’s the first CD that I thought was worth recommending in a long time. Let me start by saying that Kenny Rogers can still sing. There’s no fancy pop backgrounds, no over-powering bass, just simple, clean vocals, but he makes it seem simple as breathing.

The reason I added the disclaimer is because the lyrics are optimistic, contemplative, even sappy at times. The entire album has the feel of a man looking back on his life and seeing his mistakes, the world’s mistakes, and knowing that we all could have done better. It also has a very “we’re in this together” feel, with a knowledge that it’s never too late to start changing yourself and the world. Mixed in with this are several traditional, upbeat, “couldn’t live without you” country love songs which you should hear in major rotation if there’s any justice in the world.

The biggest surprise for me was the title track “Water & Bridges”, a song that Collin Raye recorded in 2000 on Tracks. I’m really like Collin’s version of the song so I wasn’t sure what I would think. Kenny’s version is reflective of a lot of songs on the album: a little slower, quieter, almost sad at times. It’s different from the version that Collin recorded, but very honest and the arrangement is probably a little closer to the feel of the lyrics.

My understanding is that this is Kenny’s first album since returning to a major label, in this case Capitol Records. I’m not a fan of the major labels, but I think this album is worth getting even from of them. Hopefully Kenny has many more albums of this quality yet to come.

KennyRogers.com
Kenny’s MySpace Page

The US Senate today voted to raise the US Debt Ceiling so we’re free to continue borrowing like children. I realize that as a percent of GDP, and per capita, etc, etc, etc it’s not that bad, but shouldn’t we stop somewhere? At this rate we’re going to have to wrap text just to fit it on a page. Whether you’re a democrat or a republican, I think it’s time we force the government to control spending.

The best quote that I’ve heard lately was in regards to the “earmarking” reform that seems to have lost traction in Congress. While speaking to NPR an analyst commented that since President Bush doesn’t seem willing to veto spending bills to control Congress, that our government has no “adult supervision”.

It’s easy to blame the republicans or the democrats, or say that the President should do more, or Congress should control themselves but, in the end, isn’t it our job to supervise the government? While that bridge in your state may be a cool idea, or getting a butterfly garden for your town might help local tax revenue, maybe we should stop thinking of the federal government as our rich uncle who can fund anything.

• What happened to the time when a local town was responsible for funding the local school?
• Why must the government be involved in the new zoo you want to build?
• Why can’t we give our money to local churches and charities to help those down on their luck?

While it may be easier to just give our money to Uncle Sam and let him figure out who needs help, if we would take just a little responsibility for ourselves we could get much more for our money and maybe actually get something done.

Reuters.com
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Debt
brillig.com U.S. National Dept Clock