‘Grok ‘n Roll: Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now… Not!

David Lee Roth Eddie Van Halen
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Well, I went down yonder in Louisville
Lived a cat named Big Bad Bill
I wants ta tell ya
Ah, the cat was rough and tough he would strut his stuff
Had the whole town scared to death
When he walked by, they all held their breath
He’s a fightin’ man, sure enough
And then Bill got himself a wife, now he leads a different life
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Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now
Married life done changed him somehow
He’s the man the town used to fear
Now they all call him Sweet Papa Willy Dear
Stronger than Sampson I declare
‘Til a brown-skinned woman’s bobbed his hair
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Big Bad Bill don’t fight anymore (No, no, no)
He’s doin the dishes an’ moppin’ up that floor (Yes he is)
Well he used to go out drinkin’ lookin’ for a fight
Now he gotta see that sweet woman every night
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now
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Aw, play it boys
(Clarinet Solo)
Aw, yeah!
Whoo!
I likes that, yeah ("Yeah," say I)
Ah, y-well, Big Bad Bill don’t fight anymore (No, he don’t)
He’s doin’ the dishes ‘n moppin’ up that floor (Yes he is)
Well he used to go out drinkin’ lookin’ for a fight
Now he gotta see that sweet woman every night
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now (Doin’ the dishes)
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now (Moppin’ up that floor!)
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now
Cha!
Yeah!
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Guess what? "Big Bad Bill" is "Big Bad Bill" once again! Well, not exactly, but the boys who made the song famous are back! My guess is that when they hit the circuit, they’ll be as big and bad as they were in the day… probably even more.

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Welfare Poem

welfare sticker
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Well, I have no idea if the figures in the poem below are correct, etc., but you get the drift, huh? Read the poem (after my discourse)  and let me know if it makes you angry, okay?
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Somewhat related to this, I’ve been following some of the coverage on the Pelosi/Shea-Pompous upcoming trip to New Orleans along with the other 13-14 democratic party animals. The story is interesting. Why, you ask? The comments are overwhelmingly against them going to New Orleans for what most people believe is merely another photo op and Bush bashing expedition at taxpayers’ expense.
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What does Congress do about approval ratings in the single digits? Go on a trip, of course. They are all on vacation anyway. Many people are mad at Pompous and wondering why she doesn’t work here in NH to solve fixing the many roads and bridges that are red-lined, help those who have suffered flooding problems here, feed the one in ten children who go to bed hungry…you know work on NH’s many unsolved problems. We’re 6th in income but 49th in services to citizens right here in NH. Where’s the NH way?
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Not a big photo op here, I guess, as it probably wouldn’t get national exposure. Playing on people’s sympathies works very well many times. What some people don’t seem to understand is that you can fell sorry for somebody, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to "do" something for them, especially if they’re not willing to do something for themselves.
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We all like to give, partly because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Obviously, when there’s a real crisis as there was with Katrina, we should all try to do our part to help. But, sometimes people don’t appreciate what they get for nothing so it can be more harmful to them and what they may need is to become responsible and accountable and held to a higher standard sometimes too. I’m not saying we still shouldn’t be trying to help people in New Orleans, but sometimes "help" can actually hurt.
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I was in Vail about a year ago. I rode the shuttle van from Denver and met a New Orleans’ football player who was going to see an ortopaedist in Vail. We started talking about Hurricane Katrina.
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VLog– Question for McCain: Was Truman right?

John McCain meets the press in Wolfeboro, NH . As Skip has noted in his previous postings, we got to ask Senator McCain several questions following Friday’s "town hall" style campaign event at the Wright Museum. Given that we were in a World War II museum, and it is the 62nd anniversary of Truman’s decision to … Read more

Hillarous Hillaryisms!

Hillary Clinton

Hillary in Manchester, NH (GG file photo)

Perhaps you’re a morning person like me so you miss the late-night comedians.

Why are these so funny? Yeah, it’s because they’re based on so much truth! Start your day with some belly laughs!

"Hillary Clinton said that her childhood dream was to be an Olympic athlete. But she was not athletic enough. She said she  wanted to be an astronaut, but at  the time they didn’t take  women.  She said she wanted to go into medicine, but hospitals made her woozy.   Should she be telling people this story? I mean she’s basically saying she wants to be president because she can’t do anything else."

         –Jay Leno

"Well, the big story — Hillary Clinton will be running for president in 2008.  You know why I think she’s running?  I think  she finally wants to see what it’s like to sleep in the president’s bed."

       –Jay Leno

 "Top Democrats have mixed feelings about Sen. Hillary Clinton  running for president.  Apparently, some Democrats don’t like the idea, while others hate it."

        –Conan O’Brien

 "In a fiery speech this weekend, Hillary Clinton wondered why  President Bush can’t find the tallest man in Afghanistan.  Probably for the same reason she couldn’t find the fattest  intern under the desk."

       –Jay Leno

"Former President Bill Clinton said that if his wife, Hillary, is elected president, he will do whatever she wants.   You know Bill Clinton — when he makes a vow to Hillary, you can  take that to the bank."

       –Jay Leno

A student from the University of Washington has sold his soul on eBay for $400. 

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END THE WAR!

I’ve recently seen a few signs around with this disturbing slogan: “Support the Troops, End the War!” In fact, I just returned from Town and saw a few along my way home.

 

Would someone please, please explain to me how stating “End the War” is in reality supporting our VOLUNTEER troops? Explain how ending the war in Iraq is, in fact, the end of the global war on terror?

 

Are you people all former hippies, draft dodgers and on an acid trip or what?

 

Supporting the troops is getting behind their mission and THEM by encouraging them AND TELLING THEM THAT YOU KNOW THEY CAN WIN! If you think bringing all the troops home tomorrow solves the complex issue of the global war on terror, or you believe that there is no GLOBAL WAR OF TERROR you’ve obviously lost some brain cells from your drug days or you’re a democrat or both.

 

What the hell is wrong with you people? You think committing psychological warfare against the Armed Forces who are fighting to protect your freedom and keep terrorists out of the USA is supportive? Oh yeah, there’s already terrorists in the USA who have been caught, thank God, before they’ve blown up more buildings and people like you to bits!

 

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… and a good time was had by all. Republican Machine Gun Shoot

My kid shot something similar to this Sunday at the shoot– M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun with 30 Round Magazine. . You know the routine when it comes to the typical Republican party fundraisers. Buy a ticket for some thirty bucks or so. Go to a picnic or a dinner of some sort, oftentimes with food of questionable … Read more

Honey! Grab the kids… We’re goin’ to the machine gun shoot!

. . This is the most innovative fundraising idea I have seen in many years. Why should those nutcase Jihadis and the crazy Arab "street" gangsters we see on TV have all the fun all the time? You know what I’m talkin’ about– every time they’re happy… or sad… or anything in between, they always … Read more

I know that guy!

I live 5 miles from the center of the Town of Bradford. There’s not much excitement here in this rural community especially out where I live. It’s why we moved here from Bedford’s hustle and bustle in 1991. We love the outdoors and the privacy we have on our 27 acres. Yep, even a river runs through it…well, it’s really a brook and, unfortunately, I’ve never seen Brad Pitt fly fishing here although he and Angelina and the kids are welcome.

We regularly watch deer from our farmer’s porch. Beautiful herron’s land on our pond, and life is pretty simple and quiet most of the time. Sometimes we see bears and moose cutting through our property. Canadian geese make regular stops when migrating. Wood ducks mate and meander through the water. It’s peaceful and beautiful, and we’re blessed to live permanently in what many others would consider a vacation home.

Unbelievably, the peace was interrupted Monday when the little branch of Lake Sunapee Bank was robbed at knife point. Yep, it’s where I bank and I know all of the tellers by name and see them out and about elsewhere in the community.

I also substitute taught at the Kearsarge Regional School District for several years and fairly regularly saw Mark Laspesa,, the alleged bank robber, sweeping and going about his custodial duties. I talked to him there a few times and he helped me move some desks. He was always pleasant to me.

I was shocked to see his picture in the paper, click here, while he was in the midst of allegedly robbing my local bank. More accurately, "armed robbery" since apparently he had a knife.

Mr. Laspesa is most definitely the Dope of the Week. Why, you ask? He wears no disguise, he banks at the branch he alledgedly robbed, he uses his own car, the tellers and many people in town know him; when the police catch him, he still has the clothing and knife used in the robbery…need I go on!

It really makes me wonder why this quiet, former custodian would do such a stupid thing. Since he made it so easy to be caught, I can’t help but wonder what made him so desperate? I almost feel sorry for him, although I’m sure the very nice gals down at the bank may have been quite frightened. I’m sure I’ll see them later today, when I do some banking, and hear the entire story.

Of course, it’s all the town’s people have talked about since then. Well, at least it takes the focus off of what they usually gossip about. You know small towns; if they don’t know anything about you, they just make stuff up whether it’s true or not. Our family was verbally "victimized" by many townspeople shortly after we moved here because people "heard" we were in ministry.

The rumors were unbelievable and some of them were just plain bizzare. My husband and I tend to ignore such things, but when our 6-year old son came home from school one day and told us about some of the horrible things kids were saying to him about us, my husband took action. 

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Free Will

We have a "nutty professor" up here in the central part of NH.  A lot of time, not a lot of respect flows from him.  Just thought I’d let him chew on this, as even the "little people" deserve as much, if not more, than the "important people".
 

Life is all about "Free will", which I call one of God's gifts.

Using the animal kingdom as an example, the species were formed in such a
way as to have to prey on other, more vulnerable creatures in order to
survive. Big fish eat little fish. Lions and Tigers eat Wildebeests. The
strongest survive because they get more of the creatures to eat. They also
survive because their birth rates are geared to meeting those needs. Fish
spawn with thousand and thousands of roe, that turn into fry, that turn into
fish, that become meals for bigger fish. The more wily, and luckier small
fish survive and then they become the predators who eat the small fish.
Lions don't spawn but they do have multiple births. Often papa lion will
kill the male cubs because he doesn't want future competition, and because
it is the mama lions who go out and get his next meal for him. You can fill
in the rest of the animal kingdom, it's almost all the same.

What does all that have to do with "Free will"?

Imagine, if instead of free will, we were all made exactly equal. Everyone
was a smart and as ambitious as everyone else. We were all equally strong
and no one had an advantage. Without free will, how would we survive? Would
we be like the fish?, the lions?, or some other creature?, where, for our
survival, we had to do the other person in. If we don't have "Free will" and
we're all "equal", who is going to plant and harvest the garden? Who is
going to mine the coal or drill for oil or water? Who is going to work at
the grocery store or the service station? Who is going to mow the lawn or
take out the trash? And, oops, who is going to pick up the trash? Who is
going to humble himself for the benefit of his equals, because then he would
not be "equal".

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Shoot the B#*!#^+s!

Ruger Mini-14
Ruger Mini-14. The "ranch rifle" of choice here at the ‘Grok
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Okay, much has been made of the upcoming GOP fundraiser so click here to read about it first,and then I’ll tell you why I love my right to bear arms!

My father owned a .22 rifle when I was a kid. He made sure that I, and my brother and sister, knew proper gun safety; how to safely handle weapons, load, unload, clean and everything connected with gun safety that he knew, he passed along to us. I will be forever grateful to him for his teachings, and he may have even saved my life.

I have great memories of growing up in Oklahoma City and going out to some remote location where our family would spend a day hiking, picnicking, finding a stream, floating cans and bottles and taking turns shooting at them or at targets. It was a very different time in America (yeah, I know, but nobody was concerned about the environment in those days), and we did not live in fear, as do many people today.

From a very young age thanks to my Dad, I became comfortable and confident in handling any weapon and did not grow up in fear of guns because of it. I did grow up respecting firearms and always handle a firearm assuming it’s loaded. Years later, my later father-in-law and I went out so he could show me how to handle a gun. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I already knew, since he took great pride in instructing me.

After I put six rounds pretty much in the bullseye, he beamed that he had done such a good job teaching me how to shoot. Years later, we shared great laughs about it when he learned about my background with firearms from my Dad when they had an opportunity to meet.

When I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska during the pipeline project in the 1970’s, when there were an over abundance of men compared to woman, I spent many nights alone. I always felt secure knowing I had a loaded handgun on my nightstand. While I always hoped I’d never have to use it, I was happy to have it when one night someone attempted to break into my home in the middle of the night.

 

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The Rising Cost of Healthcare: Chronic Disease

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As the presidential campaign heats up, so does discussion of the issues. While I believe that at the time the votes are cast, most will be based on feelings and perception rather than purely on the important issues of the day, the primary still allow for a good amount of actual discussion on matters that otherwise might never get any real consideration. As we follow the various campaigns during their visits here in the still first in the nation primary state of NH, we have observed at most of these events supporters of the numerous causes vying for "collateral attention" that might be gained as the candidates interact with the regular folks of the Granite State.
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The interest groups and causes are not strictly from one end of the political spectrum. Indeed, they come from every possible political stripe. The Ostrich Girl (YouTube here) promotes social security reform from what I would characterize as a decidedly conservative point of view, while others I’ve run into come from the farthest reaches of lefty-looneyville.
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I’m pretty sure I don’t agree completely with these folks, but I have to give them credit, they are present at every event. Like it or not, the subject of health care is important, and these folks are raising it…
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health care voterhealth care voterhealth care voter
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It is my personal belief that the main issue first and foremost that must concern the next President is that of the war followed by homeland security and an element of border control that must be a part. Many Americans, I’m sure for the most part, agree. There is no doubt, however, that right on the heels of those is the matter of escalating health care costs. Liberal or conservative, the ever growing amounts of hard-earned dollars consumed by basic medical/health needs hurts. Whether it can be said an American President should somehow "control" one seventh of the US economy– the health care industry– is an argument I’ll hold for another day.
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As a conservative, from a global perspective, I see this debate as a struggle between traditional American free-markets versus a socialist model found in some European countries and Canada. This is one part of the debate that remains pretty much in the open and can be almost always heard discussed by the various candidates. Hillary, Obama, Richardson, Kucinich and the rest all promise one variation or other of "universal" health care while Rudy and other Republican wannabees want to increase free market involvement by independent consumers with maximun choices available. This is where I come down. I am sure that this aspect will be debated over and over again as the season rolls along.
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Beyond the grand debate over what shape the health care industry and delivery system might take, there are other points to ponder and consider,

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Aiding the Enemy

Okay, I just returned from a 9-day vacation in California, baby. When I left, I said: "I’ll be back" (use your Arnold voice) and here I am tanner, relaxed and ready to take on the world. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I rested. You guys know what I mean. Sun, fun, reading, movies, swimming, … Read more

Oh no, It’s Ann (Not Dennis) Miller Time!

 

Have you ever watched “Miller Time” on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News? If you have, you know that Dennis Miller is not just one funny dude, but he’s smart as a whip.

I listen to Dennis on WTPL, 107.7 FM from 10 am until 1 pm every chance I get. While he talks about very serious subjects, he always approaches them with his unique sense of humor. He’s one of the few people I know who can slam someone or some cause yet, because he’s always laughing and does it in such good humor, it’s difficult to take offense to his position even if you don’t agree with him.

Then there’s Ann Miller, Executive Director of NH Peace Action. Not only does Ann not seem to have much of a sense of humor, she’s also lacking in the smart as a whip department.

Click on her letter recently published in the Monitor, Giuliani’s Offensive Foreign Policy here, and you’ll see why she’s no pie in the face comedian and just not too bright.

My personal history with Ann goes back several months. After I read an article she wrote published in NH Magazine and after reading several stories from several newspapers, I wrote Ann and she called me. The first words out of her mouth were that I had “disrespected her” by referring to her as Tokyo Ann.

For you youngins out there, here’s a bit about Tokyo Rose whom I based my Tokyo Ann comment on:

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VLog: Hillary Clinton on homeland security

  . When studying the varied presidential wannabees from both parties, and attending their campaign events one comes to appreciate the type refered to as a "town hall meeting" versus the more typical rally type of event. (click here for an overview of a town hall meeting as demonstrated by the master, McCain) . The town hall … Read more

What’s Healthcare gotta do with war?

   Is this Ghoulish? I was wondering about the word choice then actually pondering some of what this letter to the editor states and forgot about the word choice after I read the last paragraph: "We need to stop thinking in terms of killing and how to make us even more lethal. We need to think in … Read more

More on our Right-to-Know lawsuit…

  . As we continue to wait to find out if the words written in NH’s Right-to-Know law (RSA 91-A) actually mean what they say or not, another long-time citizen-activist of Laconia has weighed in with an observation that we can only hope the judge reads before rendering his final decision on our suit in Superior … Read more

Obama Campaign Conference Call: Stoneyfield’s Hirshbergs Endorse Obama

A conference call hosted by the Obama campaign has just concluded. It featured the announcement that well-known NH Democrats Gary and Meg Hirshberg have officially thrown their support to Barack Obama. This comes over their second choice of John Edwards in the current field- originally being with Tom Vilsack, who dropped out early on in … Read more

Try Opera

Did you know that Beverly Sills died? Who’s that, you say? I said the same thing 35 years ago since opera was just about the farthest thing from my mind. That was prior to someone giving me free tickets to attend one of her performances in Columbus, Ohio. I remember thinking at the time that the … Read more

Our Judy a troglodyte? Not hardly!

  Grokster Judy Paris appearing on MTNP . The staff here at GraniteGrok works very hard to bring thoughtful, somewhat biting commentary and observations to the readers. It was with that in mind that we invited Judy Paris to blog here at the ‘Grok. Ever since, we have been glad that we did. In addition to … Read more

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