Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Sen. Hillary Clinton: I’m Going for It
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
The real question is, can she win the General Election in 2008, running against whatever Republican candidate lands on the ticket? That remains to be seen, but I'd bet it will be much more difficult for her than winning the Primary. In fact, having Hillary on the ballot for President might make it even easier for Republicans to hold on to the White House for another four to eight years.
Joe
By the way, I just had to use that picture of Hillary. After all, every time the mainstream media prints a story about a Republican, they choose the worst photo they can possibly find. Touche.
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006 11:18 a.m. ESTCan she do it? Can Hillary Clinton make it to the White House? She can certainly win the Democratic nomination, I believe. With the Democratic Primaries being limited to only Democrats voting, and with the obvious backing of her husband -- the Democrats Golden Boy -- who else could possibly stand a chance.Sen. Hillary Clinton: I’m Going for It
Sen. Hillary Clinton has come closer than ever to officially throwing her hat into the presidential ring, revealing her White House plans in conversations with several political insiders.
"She said to me, ‘I’m really going to go for this. I’m going to make this effort,’” a New York lawmaker told the New York Post.
"She never said she was running for the presidency of the United States or if she was going to announce – or anything like that. It wasn’t a question that needed to be asked. It was an obvious conversation.”
Another Empire State lawmaker who spoke with Hillary during a blitz of Clinton phone calls on Monday said she "revealed she felt pressure to formally jump into the 2008 White House race sooner rather than later because other candidates are becoming increasingly active,” the Post reported.
Rep. Joe Crowley, a Democrat from Queens, spoke with Clinton on Monday and was convinced she’s going to be in the race.
"She just let me know that what I’d been hearing is true and that she wanted my support and help in any way that I possibly could,” Crowley said.
Clinton also spoke with the Rev. Al Sharpton, Westchester County Democrat Nita Lowey and supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, a major donor, the Post reported.
Said Catsimatidis: "She wants to get together before the holidays.”
The real question is, can she win the General Election in 2008, running against whatever Republican candidate lands on the ticket? That remains to be seen, but I'd bet it will be much more difficult for her than winning the Primary. In fact, having Hillary on the ballot for President might make it even easier for Republicans to hold on to the White House for another four to eight years.
Joe
By the way, I just had to use that picture of Hillary. After all, every time the mainstream media prints a story about a Republican, they choose the worst photo they can possibly find. Touche.
Ease Your Shopping Woes and Support Average Joe
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the Christmas shopping season is in full swing. Every time I go into a store I think, "I'm going to do all of my Christmas shopping online this year." I did that one year, and it was so much less stressful.
Well, pardon me for asking, but if you enjoy the blog, and you do find yourself doing some shopping online this year, there are a couple of ways that you can help to support your local blogger.
If you're shopping on Amazon, use my Amazon search box in the sidebar to find what you're looking for. Your search will take you to Amazon's search results, and Amazon makes a donation to support Average Joe American.
If you're searching online for the best place to buy something, use the Custom Google Search above my posts. It will provide you with a real Google search results page (though it will have the Average Joe logo at the top), and if you click any of the sponsored links, Google will make a donation to support Average Joe American.
Also, if any of the items in the Google ads directly below the search box should interest you, give 'em a click. Again, Google will make a donation to support Average Joe American.
None of these methods will increase your cost one cent, and none of them will provide me with any information about you or about your purchase. It's just a nice little way of supporting your local blogger while doing something you would do anyway.
Thanks for your support and your continued patronage.
Joe
Well, pardon me for asking, but if you enjoy the blog, and you do find yourself doing some shopping online this year, there are a couple of ways that you can help to support your local blogger.
If you're shopping on Amazon, use my Amazon search box in the sidebar to find what you're looking for. Your search will take you to Amazon's search results, and Amazon makes a donation to support Average Joe American.
If you're searching online for the best place to buy something, use the Custom Google Search above my posts. It will provide you with a real Google search results page (though it will have the Average Joe logo at the top), and if you click any of the sponsored links, Google will make a donation to support Average Joe American.
Also, if any of the items in the Google ads directly below the search box should interest you, give 'em a click. Again, Google will make a donation to support Average Joe American.
None of these methods will increase your cost one cent, and none of them will provide me with any information about you or about your purchase. It's just a nice little way of supporting your local blogger while doing something you would do anyway.
Thanks for your support and your continued patronage.
Joe
Monday, December 4, 2006
The Buckeye Drive Time Retooled
I've posted here before about the Buckeye Drive Time podcast. Well, it deserves another mention, as the podcast has been "retooled" in Episode 118, and I think it's great! Sometimes, change is good.Check out The Buckeye Drive Time by clicking one of the links above, or subscribe to the RSS Feed below.
Joe
Sunday, December 3, 2006
A Thousand Screaming Claymates
Video is Dark. You may need to adjust Brightness and Contrast settings for optimal viewing.
Hundreds of obsessed Clay Aiken fans -- called "Claymates" -- endure sub-freezing weather to get a close-up glimpse of their American Idol.
As I mentioned, I took my wife to see Clay Aiken in concert at the Star Plaza Theater last night. It was a Christmas show in two parts. The first forty-five minutes was Christmas music performed by the Bill Porter Orchestra. The Bill Porter Orchestra is a consortium of musicians from the Northwestern Indiana/Chicagoland area that performs every Wednesday evening at Green Dolphin Street Jazz Night Club in Chicago. Porter, who played trombone with the orchestra during Aiken's second half of the show, made the orchestral half of the show more appealing to the "Claymate" fans by adding his own blend of humor to the show, keeping patrons laughing as they eagerly awaited their Idol's entrance. Though some of Porter's humor was admittedly a bit risque for a family crowd at a Christmas show, any offense taken seemed to melt away easily.
After a fifteen minute intermission, the American Idol runner up took to the stage crooning out the carols in the unique style that has quickly made him a multi-platinum recording artist. In rare form for the night, Aiken also tossed in some humor of his own, engaging in banter with the "Claymates" in the audience and, after a two week silence, revealing what he really thinks about the recent controversy between himself and Kelly Ripa while guest-hosting on Live With Regis and Kelly.
"Was I rude?" Aiken called to the hoard of screaming fans, who roared back in unison, "No."
"It was intended to be," he confessed. "A little." Aiken later returned to the topic when heckling one of his fans who, in her excitement, had pushed aside a fan sitting in the row in front of her: "That was worse than what I did to Ripa." The crowd roared approval. And again later when he threatened to put his hand over the mouth of one of his fans, the "Claymates" erupted.
Aikens playlist included such popular Christmas songs as Sleigh Ride, Mary Did You Know, My Grownup Christmas List, and Don't Save It All For Christmas Day, and "Claymate" favorites All Is Well and Merry Christmas With Love (all of which can easily be found and viewed on YouTube). Aiken -- who is very involved with fans through blogging and online chat -- put on a good show, both singing and joking with fans in the crowd.
What was most surprising came after the show, as hundreds of "Claymates" lined the parking lot in sixteen-degree weather waiting for their American Idol to come out of his behemoth bus and pass in review. He did so, briefly, and as you can see in the embedded video, the "Claymates" loved it. For most of the fans in attendance this was not their first Clay Aiken concert. In fact, many attendees had seen the same show the previous night in Waukeegan, Illinois, and more than a few find their way to every concert Aiken performs. While it was my first Clay Aiken concert, I'm sure my wife won't let it be my last.
Is Clay Aiken the new Elvis? The last time I've seen fans so devoted to their Idol was when Elvis was King. Is there a new King in town? While Aiken calls himself the "King of Controversy," I'm sure millions of "Claymates" the world over call him king of their hearts.
Joe
Hundreds of obsessed Clay Aiken fans -- called "Claymates" -- endure sub-freezing weather to get a close-up glimpse of their American Idol.
As I mentioned, I took my wife to see Clay Aiken in concert at the Star Plaza Theater last night. It was a Christmas show in two parts. The first forty-five minutes was Christmas music performed by the Bill Porter Orchestra. The Bill Porter Orchestra is a consortium of musicians from the Northwestern Indiana/Chicagoland area that performs every Wednesday evening at Green Dolphin Street Jazz Night Club in Chicago. Porter, who played trombone with the orchestra during Aiken's second half of the show, made the orchestral half of the show more appealing to the "Claymate" fans by adding his own blend of humor to the show, keeping patrons laughing as they eagerly awaited their Idol's entrance. Though some of Porter's humor was admittedly a bit risque for a family crowd at a Christmas show, any offense taken seemed to melt away easily.
After a fifteen minute intermission, the American Idol runner up took to the stage crooning out the carols in the unique style that has quickly made him a multi-platinum recording artist. In rare form for the night, Aiken also tossed in some humor of his own, engaging in banter with the "Claymates" in the audience and, after a two week silence, revealing what he really thinks about the recent controversy between himself and Kelly Ripa while guest-hosting on Live With Regis and Kelly.
"Was I rude?" Aiken called to the hoard of screaming fans, who roared back in unison, "No."
"It was intended to be," he confessed. "A little." Aiken later returned to the topic when heckling one of his fans who, in her excitement, had pushed aside a fan sitting in the row in front of her: "That was worse than what I did to Ripa." The crowd roared approval. And again later when he threatened to put his hand over the mouth of one of his fans, the "Claymates" erupted.
Aikens playlist included such popular Christmas songs as Sleigh Ride, Mary Did You Know, My Grownup Christmas List, and Don't Save It All For Christmas Day, and "Claymate" favorites All Is Well and Merry Christmas With Love (all of which can easily be found and viewed on YouTube). Aiken -- who is very involved with fans through blogging and online chat -- put on a good show, both singing and joking with fans in the crowd.
What was most surprising came after the show, as hundreds of "Claymates" lined the parking lot in sixteen-degree weather waiting for their American Idol to come out of his behemoth bus and pass in review. He did so, briefly, and as you can see in the embedded video, the "Claymates" loved it. For most of the fans in attendance this was not their first Clay Aiken concert. In fact, many attendees had seen the same show the previous night in Waukeegan, Illinois, and more than a few find their way to every concert Aiken performs. While it was my first Clay Aiken concert, I'm sure my wife won't let it be my last.
Is Clay Aiken the new Elvis? The last time I've seen fans so devoted to their Idol was when Elvis was King. Is there a new King in town? While Aiken calls himself the "King of Controversy," I'm sure millions of "Claymates" the world over call him king of their hearts.
Joe
Saturday, December 2, 2006
President Bush's Weekly Radio Address
20061202.a.mp3 (audio/mpeg Object)I'm taking my wife to Merrillville, Indiana, today to see her favorite singer (Clay Aiken) perform a Christmas concert, so I'm posting this link before the President's Weekly Radio Address is available. If you click the link above and don't find it, check back later.
Have a great weekend!
Joe
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