E. Michael Harrington

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I'M BACK IN NEW JERSEY. I had such a great time in Atlanta and saw so many old friends, met great new people, heard good and great music, had great food - only great food... I didn't want to leave.

I flew back to Newark and despite bad weather the flight was perfect and smooth. We have lots of gas and rain here. Atlanta has little gas and no rain.

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I was surprised to see two NJ Port Authority policemen with very large machine guns - the kind they use outside St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue in Manhattan on Sundays - standing outside of Door #8 by Qatar Airlines and SAS (Scandinavian Airlines). But as I thought about it, it occurred to me - Scandinavia and Scandinavians - terrorism! Maybe that's why there were such large weapons outside of SAS. People are afraid of the terrorist leaning Scandinavian countries.

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My car service came to Door #9, I got in, and the guy said, "you're on TV! I've seen you on TV. What show are you on?" (I was wearing a black suit - damn odd of me - and on a Sunday. I guess I looked more TV-like than normal.) I said that I was not on a TV show. I told him that I've been interviewed on TV. He went on to correctly guess that he had seen me interviewed about music on BRAVO, and on different shows. I was very surprised as this guy's memory for faces is astonishing. I can only remember a face after I've seen it several times over a period of a few weeks.

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SARAH PALIN might become President. She surely as hell wants to be President. Sadly she has to partner with some old guy (who left his first wife for a younger/hotter/wealthier alternative) to get there, but she's willing to do that.

A friend turned me on to this trailer of a not-yet-released Sarah Palin/Walt Disney-esque film this afternoon, "Head of Skate." Very very funny, unless enough people drink the Kool-Aid and this unqualified person gets elected. It would be a hell of a lot of fun for those of us who use politics rather than comedy clubs for laughter but still, I really love my country and after G. W. Bush, we don't need this.

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AND THEN....... there's this strong editorial by a strong conservative (Kathleen Parker) requesting Sarah Palin do the right thing and resign for hockey/moose eating) reasons, and from The National Review, God's word to real conservatives.

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Posted by EMH at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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THE BEST THING ABOUT TONIGHT'S DEBATE BETWEEN Barack Obama and John McCain was the fact that Sarah Palin was, 1. too frightened to speak or answer questions after the debate, 2. not knowledgeable to speak or answer questions after the debate, or 3. her handlers were too frightened to have her speak or answer questions after the debate.

SADLY and STRANGELY, the role of Republican Vice Presidential candidate was played by Rudy Guiliani, and in a way, that was appropriate because Rudy is very good at dressing up like a woman - and he does look like a pig with lipstick - and acting womanly. He had Sarah's nasty tone learned. I expected a "thanks but no thanks," and "I can see Russia from my front door," and "I don't know but I'll get back to ya," as she told Katie Couric.

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I MISSED HEARING HER INSIGHT. Sarah tonight was no talking head. What excuse could she have for chickening out of such a great opportunity to stand by her grandfather? Was it too early in Alaska? Was she too busy breast feeding? Did her husband need something? Did he need her? Her permission to do something? Were Sarah and Todd off snow-bogging somewhere?

Walking back from a friend's hotel room tonight I really enjoyed talking to so many people. Atlanta, at least my part of downtown, is damn excited at how well Obama did. I felt so at home and had so much fun with my new friends. This was the best place to be for this debate. Excellent time!

Annuit Coeptis and good night.

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Posted by EMH at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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THE FIRST SONG I HEARD THIS MORNING WAS IN A MEN'S ROOM at an airport (not Minneapolis as I don't want a Larry Craig wide-stance incident) but in Atlanta's petite cushy and intimate Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and it was REM's "What's The Frequency Kenneth." How appropriate is that - Atlanta taking pride in the their almost sons, REM, kind of like hearing Louis Armstrong at the Louis Armstrong Airport (New Orleans). But the song is about Dan Rather being attacked by a couple of deranged guys, a thought that did not escape me as I stood in the men's room with best thought in hand wondering if a local Senator Larry Craig was going to be driven to some wide-stancing/wide-stancing action or not. Is "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" the appropriate song to be greeted with in a men's room airport? But then again, I slept from 1:15-2:45 AM and my mind could have been playing tricks on me.

I expected Ludacris or Outkast as they're more Atlanta than REM.

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I AM IN ATLANTA to speak this morning and be interviewed tomorrow and do a little more talking and chairing and responding and moderating and eating and drinking and socializing in this nice city.

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I MISS LARRY CRAIG, but perhaps he will get newsworthy again soon as he has tried to appeal his guilty plea as he decided that having a wide stance and fumbling around with a strange man in the next stall is only a wide stance and not a crime and that when wide stances are outlawed, only outlaws will have wide stances. Go Larry Go.

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THE RED SOX BURIED THE NEW YORK YANKEES LAST NIGHT. The Red Sox, with all of their home grown talent, beat Cleveland 5-4 but it spelled the mathematical end of the $209 million New York Yankees' hopes for a happy October. How can this be? I'm giddy happy of course especially because this will mark the beginning of A-Rod's last 10 years with the NYY and, I am convinced, will mean the NYY will not win a World Series until the great A-Rod's career ends.

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TIME FOR BREAKFAST. My room is not yet ready but the bartender is doing her best to suggest I need her services. Less than two hours of sleep, but it is happy hour in England..... TIME for a BAILOUT. What's $700 billion when there are thriving economies that can help us and grandchildren to burden with debt?

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Posted by EMH at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I FLEW TO NASHVILLE YESTERDAY. Because I flew on a commercial flight, the flight was late. It left LaGuardia late (this time without the help of any stodgy quiet and subdued tennis tournament near the flight path), arrived in Charlotte late (of course), and just to make the day a little more (predictably) difficult, the Charlotte flight to Nashville left on time. I got to run from high in the E gate to gate B9, seemingly one city away from the original gate. I made it on time (the last person to board the plane) but my luggage didn't. By the time the luggage was to be delivered, I was at the Country Music Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville (one of the places where Next Big Nashville events are scheduled). So, it got delivered to me there by a large older guy in a large older green Volvo. Life was fine after that.

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There was a big stir at the US Air food court at LaGuardia yesterday at 7:00 AM as Montel Williams was there going from "restaurant" to restaurant trying to find the right food and the short line. He & I both came to the same conclusion and ate the same Mexican type breakfast. The Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's lines were too damn big. He was very well dressed and I wasn't.

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I AM SPEAKING ON A PANEL at noon today about fighting for artists' rights with some very good people. It should be fun. And the parties and events at NBN are already great. I look forward to seeing how strong my character, head, stomach and body are in the next few days.

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Am I man enough/Sarah Palin enough to survive and thrive in this pressure cooker of nonstop parties at Next Big Nashville? Sarah The Strong could dig down deep and be good enough for this. I should use Sarah Palin as a model for everything because Sarah Palin is perfect in every way. How dare the press or Democrats assume for a minute that there might be a flaw in her, or that she might have taken per diem funds in Alaska as governor? How could anyone suggest that we even need a Vice Preesident or a party to run the land? Why does Sarah Palin have to be attached to/ride the tail of such an old grumpy man as John McCain? And why should Obama and Biden even consider running now that there is Sarah Palin? Sarah can run her family, her state, her country and fight corruption (and women she doesn't know who would want to choose to give birth or not) without building up a sweat, or her lipstick being smudged. She is in with God - HE tells her how it is (perhaps he asks her how it should be) and she, in her almighty goodness, will be able to tell us how, what, when and where.

This seems like a simple thing - John McCain can step down, Barack and Joe can fold up their tents, and Sarah Palin can then do God's work without any meddling from others. I would first like to hear some speaking in tongues from Sarah because her speaking in tongues will be the right thing and probably very sensible. Sarah, please give me a "yabba dabba do." I know Fred Flinstone can do it and I know that old church lives through these gleeful other worldly emotive emissions. If Sarah speaks in tongues just once in public, then I'll take it upon myself to rent some Flintstone DVD's and go about learning the secret. Between Sarah and Fred what else would happen?

Time for breakfast in Franklin, Tennessee.

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Posted by EMH at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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GREAT NEWS FOR DETROIT - their crooked mayor is pleading guilty and resigning immediately.

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SARAH PALIN's sarcasm helps prove she is a pit bull with lipstick (to quote her own quoting of a well-known joke). But her remark that Republicans will shrink government?!?!!?! Republicans had complete run of the Executive, House, Senate (and U. S. Supreme Court) for 6 of the last 8 years. Bush increased the size of government at almost every opportunity, the worst by starting the Office of Religious Affairs, and the bloated money-sucking ineffectual Department of Homeland Security.

And the economy is great, there is no war or deficit or debt and we are all happy, except for the "whiners," as John McCain's ex-finance guy, Phil Gramm, stated.

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Posted by EMH at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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In honest, unspun, unguarded and off-camera moments, this is what two prominent Republicans said about Sarah Palin. This is supposed to be John McCain's most important decision.

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The Red Sox keep winning. The Yankees keep winning, but their wins are too little too late and really cruel to their fans who might still hold out some hope. Such heartbreak - I feel sorry for some of the Yankees' fans as they did not choose where they were born and raised and what bad teams would be within proximity.

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Posted by EMH at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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BILL, THANKS FOR SENDING THIS VIDEO. Thanks to the addition of captions, I realize that Joe Cocker, in this unique Woodstock 1969 performance, must be Nostradamus with his Ellen & Ann comment, and more. This is what we lived through in the late 1960's. Such good times, such clarity, such chemicals....

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THIS IS DAY 1 of professoring for me at William Paterson.

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CNN did a little funny piece on John McCain's roving eyes. It seems many have noticed McCain noticing Palin.

The VOICE of the Narrator (Andrea Mitchell ?) on this video states, "John McCain only met her once? They didn't know each other. This was not a carefully vetted personal decision."

I bet it wasn't careful but he must have liked what he saw.

It might be a good thing to vote for President Palin. It would be alliteration, and hopefully she and her family could bring sex scandals back to the White House. Sex scandals have gone to Congress (those easy-going Republicans, Larry "Take A Wide Stance" Craig and David Vitter) and state houses lately. It's time sex scandals are brought back to The Executive Branch.

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Posted by EMH at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)