#3: John Bonham


He was the perfect accompaniment for Jimmy Page's gigawatt-powered guitar licks. The ideal rhythm section for Robert Plant's ear-splitting vocals. There never has been a drummer like John Bonham. Zeppelin called it quits in 1980 when he died and their few reunions have always been done with son Jason Bonham.

I apologize for the recent lack of posts. Here's what I have been doing. Went to two Monster Balls this week and I'm totally blown away.

Lee Bollinger: Socialist Moonbat of the Week

Lee is the president of Columbia University. His accomplishments include support of racist 'affirmative action' programs at the University of Michigan. Now get a load of what he wants to do to journalism in the USA (MAJOR BARF ALERT):

Both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission are undertaking studies of ways to ensure the steep economic decline faced by newspapers and broadcast news does not deprive Americans of the essential information they need as citizens. One idea under consideration is enhanced public funding for journalism

...the broadcast news industry was deliberately designed to have private owners operating within an elaborate system of public regulation, including requirements that stations cover public issues and expand the range of voices that could be heard. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld this system in the 1969 Red Lion decision as constitutional, even though it would have been entirely possible to limit government involvement simply to auctioning off the airwaves and letting the market dictate the news. In the 1960s, our network of public broadcasting was launched with direct public grants and a mission to produce high quality journalism free of government propaganda or censorship.

Lee you are fucking hilarious. The broadcast news (ABC, CBS, and NBC) report with an extreme leftwing slant. This was the result of the FCC-enforced oligopoly during the pre-cable, pre-satellite era. All markets were limited to stations that carried the three alphabet networks, plus an independent station or two.

Likewise, PBS is not high quality, but has a similar leftist slant.

But I'm not surprised that you approve of the reporting of the broadcast networks plus PBS, and I'm sure you are appalled by Fox, talk radio, and much of the internet.

Ironically, we already depend to some extent on publicly funded foreign news media for much of our international news—especially through broadcasts of the BBC and BBC World Service on PBS and NPR. Such news comes to us courtesy of British citizens who pay a TV license fee to support the BBC and taxes to support the World Service. The reliable public funding structure, as well as a set of professional norms that protect editorial freedom, has yielded a highly respected and globally powerful journalistic institution.

So what is this 'editorial freedom' the journalists at the BBC possess? Is it the freedom to be a leftist political hack while calling yourself a journalist? My counterparts in the UK find the BBC to be every bit as biased towards the left as are ABC and CBS in the USA.

Now here's the best part. Lee tries to claim government- funded academic research is 'independent'

There are examples of other institutions in the U.S. where state support does not translate into official control. The most compelling are our public universities and our federal programs for dispensing billions of dollars annually for research. Those of us in public and private research universities care every bit as much about academic freedom as journalists care about a free press.
Yet—through a carefully designed system with peer review of grant-making, a strong culture of independence, and the protections afforded by the First Amendment—there have been strikingly few instances of government abuse. Indeed, the most problematic funding issues in academic research come from alliances with the corporate sector. This reinforces the point that all media systems, whether advertiser-based or governmental, come with potential editorial risks

Really, Lee? You mean like that great 'independent' research being conducted by the likes of Michael Mann and Keith Briffa on the subject of global warming? Yeah, they're getting lots of great government funding, as long as it supports the notion that human CO2 emissions are causing atmospheric warming and that government controls are necessary. The fact that Mann and Briffa and others are conducting very questionable research doesn't seem to matter. Most scientists who do not support the global warming mythology are getting little or no government funding.

Above all, Lee, what about those of us who don't care to pay taxes to support propaganda in favor of your stupid, racist political views? We don't stick a gun in your face and tell you to support our views. Please give us the same courtesy.

What Caused Steinbrenner's Heart Attack?

The Folly of Government-Financed Sports Stadiums

An interesting article cites research by Andrew Zimbalist

For one thing, Zimbalist says, the money that will be spent on the events held at the new sports arena or stadium is money spent by local residents. This is not new money but money that would simply have been spent on other entertainment in the metropolitan area if the stadium didn’t exist. Secondly, the big money that goes to players, owners and investors does not stay in the area but is invested elsewhere. Third, the city or state is often chipping in up to a third of the continuing costs and this is tax money wasted, not revenue made

The third point is most important to dwell upon in this time of one of the worst economies in 70 years. “’… in the typical case,’ Zimbalist says, ‘the city and/or state contributes roughly two-thirds of the financing for the facility’s construction and takes on obligations for additional expenditures over time.’”
There are other problems with these projects, as well. For one thing, the jobs created are for the most part low paid, part time and offer no benefits. Because of this “jobs” are not really created by a sports complex. Also, very few ballparks have been much of a boon to surrounding businesses. Few people that attend sports events stay around the area in which the stadium sits to shop, eat, or look for other entertainment. They go to the park and then they leave. About the only thing locals get are traffic nightmares and litter.

As much as I like sports, I agree that government-financed stadiums are a horrible idea. Aside from the lack of economic benefits, it simply is not fair. Many people could care less about sports. Those of us who do like sports should not force others to pay for our entertainment. Should the government also finance somebody's stamp collection or scuba diving?

Who's a Coward, Eric?

We wrote previously about Attorney General Eric Holder's ridiculous accusation that Americans are cowards on matters of race. Now we hear from J. Christian Adams, who recently resigned from the Department of Justice over its handling of a voter intimidation case in Philadelphia during the 2008 presidential election

In emotional testimony, J. Christian Adams, until last week a member of the DoJ's Voting Section — he resigned in protest over the department's handling of the case — told a stunned hearing room why he felt the case had been dropped. In no uncertain terms, Adams noted that senior officials within the Obama Justice Department had told employees that they were not to bring voting-rights cases where the alleged victim in the case was white. In other words, white transgressor and black victim, bring it on. Black transgressor and white victim? Forget about it.

Many people were hopeful that the election of 0bama would help heal wounds from past racial conflict. It is clear that through his handling of the Black Panther case, as well as the nomination of the racist Sotomayor to the supreme court, that just the opposite is happening.

Hollywood's Golden Age

I just saw this pic on another blog and I realized that the two in the middle are still alive. How many other actors and actresses from Hollywood's Golden Age, which ended about 1950, are still alive? The only ones I can think of are Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine.