Dusty Mendoza: Janet Jackson- 'Live in Tampa, Florida: December 4, 2011'

Source:Dusty Mendoza- Janet Jackson: Up Close and Personal (2011)

Source:The New Democrat 

"Janet Jackson Live Tampa, Florida December 4, 2011"  

From Dusty Mendoza

I think the thing that most impresses me most about Janet Jackson, is the dancer. Janet dancing on stage is truly a pleasure and watching her dance in a music video the same thing. She is not someone who typically sits on a stool, or stands in front of a microphone and just sings. She sings obviously, but she's usually on the move as she's singing and having to perform the song as well. Her own music and the dance routine at the same time. 

And then you combine the great body and the great shape that she's always in and those classic Levi's black denim jeans with the boots and t-shirt or leather jacket and get to see her move in that outfit and showing everyone what she has to work with (so to speak) and you have one of the most entertaining and sexiest performers you'll ever see. Even if you're not crazy for her music, but perhaps crazy for great entertainment and sexy yet professionally well-done entertainment. 

Shawn's Girl: 'Janet Jackson Runaway Sydney Australia 5/11/2011'

Source:Shawn's Girl- Up Close & Very Personal, with R&B Diva Janet Jackson.

Source:The New Democrat 

"Janet Jackson performs Runaway at the Sydney Opera House on her number ones up close and personal tour." 

From Shawn's Girl 

There's really only one part of Janey Jackson's 2011 Up Close & Personal concert tour that I don't understand. They're down under in Australia (so to speak) and the crotch of her skin-tight, black, Levi's, denim jeans is wet. She's obviously a woman, so she didn't have an accident there. But how did the front of her pants get wet, while she was performing on stage?

Source:Janet Jackson- Up Close & Very Personal, with R&B Diva Janet Jackson.

Janet Jackson is simply one of, if not the sexiest female performers live and in concert. Because she’s a not just a singer, but a performer who is also a great dancer. And then you combine that with her beautiful, baby-face, appearance and the great body and how well she shows off her body and I don’t know of a sexy performer right now. She is so professional and not just great onstage, but the work she does offstage to remain the great performer that she is.

If you have a front row seat to a Janet Jackson concert, that seat should be probably worth somewhere around a million dollars. Even if you are not a fan of her music and I like some her songs, but not all of them, but whatever she’s singing, she always looks great singing and performing because of talents and ability to both move and sing as a performer. And all the work that she does offstage to stay in the great shape she’s always been in.

Inter Planetary Living: Janet Jackson- Rhythm Nation Breakdown: Sydney, Australia

Source:Inter Planetary Living- Janet Jackson, Up Close and Personal. 

Source:The New Democrat

Just to speak very personally and frankly for a minute and then I’ll go back to being a distant liar. Ha, ha, but checking out Janet Jackson up close and personal, which was the title of this album, feels like a great Christmas gift. With that voice, that body, her in those tight Levis black denim jeans, the boots, that belt, the tight black t-shirt, makes me want to get down on my knees and thank God I’m a man. Or at the very least get down on my knees and scream, yes!!! At the top of my lungs.

Source: Perez Hilton- Janet Jackson, Up Close and Personal 

Janet is one of the cutest, sexiest, sweetest, singers and performers you’ll ever see and she’s still only like forty-eight years old. Obviously not a little girl anymore, just with a face that makes her as cute as a little girl. And then you throw in that she’s a hell of a writer and singer who sings about her real life as a person and what is going on in the world around her. As attractive as she is. her professional talents as a dance, singer and writer or just as great.

Janet Jackson is not a one-hit wonder or a bimbo whose famous because of who her father is. And there are plenty of women and men who are and I’m sure you are already aware of this, unless you’ve grown up in Afghanistan or some place that is completely isolated from the world. There are plenty of people who are famous because of their parents. Janet comes from a great music family, but she’s been as successful as she’s been unlike some of her siblings because she’s a great talented performer.
Source:Inter Planetary Living

AlterNet: Edward Harrison: A United States of Europe?

Source:FreeState MD

The European Union created the Euro currency in the late 1990s because at the time they were a continental union of 350M people or so. But weren’t one country that could respond as one to whatever the crisis’s or issues they were facing. They are basically the United Nations of Europe, but a lot more efficient and saw the power of the United States growing after the collapse of the Cold War and decided they need to move as well. 

Especially after the Soviet Union had collapsed in 1992 and China, India and Brazil emerging, with Japan still an economic power. And all of these countries are huge, with the smallest country being Japan 130M people. The largest country in the European Union in population is Germany 85M people at the time, but they are now down to 80M people. And were feeling a little overwhelmed with all these huge countries with all of their influence. And the EU being made up all of these mid size to big countries, but none of them with a lot of world power by themselves.

Thats why the European Union was put together sixty years ago. As a response to the power of the United States and Soviet Union. Because these Euro states knew that by themselves except for maybe the United Kingdom, they didn’t have much power on their own. But together and unified, when they agree, they feel they can match the power and influence of these world powers. Especially with the Russian Federation emerging again as both a military, but also an economic power. Thats now energy independent and with an economy thats just getting stronger. 

Russia is also  growing in influence, this is why the European Union was created and the European currency so these Euro states could have more influence in the World. On paper the European Union and Euro currency sound like good ideas. Unifying one huge market that's larger than the United States in population. And a Union of nothing but developed nations. And with four of the largest economies in the world. Britain, Germany, France and Italy. 

But again they aren’t one country, that can respond to different issues as they come up. Unlike one country with a federal government, they have to work together and be unified to make any decisions. But one country with a federal government, with an executive and legislative could do these things. And with power like that the EU could solve a lot of their problems. And meet their economic and fiscal issues in a more efficient way.

There are several reasons why we won’t see a United States of Europe. But we may see a United Federation or Federal States of Europe. And they have to do with ethnicity, language and culture, as well as nationality. This would easily be one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world with around 400M people. And would probably have the largest economy in the world. 

A brand new huge country without a majority ethnicity. Each state would have its own dominant ethnic group and language. But there are several reasons why Europe could unify. Again because they would be a major economic and world Power, that could defend themselves and dwarf Russia economically. All these States speak English at least as a 2nd Language. So they would have a unifying language that their federal government could work in as well.

I don’t see the United Kingdom ever becoming part of a Federal Europe. Too much ethnic and national pride in Britain, that already has four major ethnic groups. But the other countries from Portugal in the Southwest, to Italy in the Southeast, to South Ireland in the Northwest to Poland in the Northeast, could form a Federal Europe and all of these States could have one country. That could match these other World Powers in several areas.

Salon Magazine: Michael Lind: 'The South is Holding America Hostage'

Source:FreeState MD

I seem to be writing a lot of responses lately to people who are on the lets say on the social democratic left in America who do not like our form of government to begin with because we are a federal republic. Instead of a unitary government where most of the power is centralized with the federal government. With states and local governments only being left to do what the feds allow them to do. 

The United Kingdom of Britain is a perfect example of a unitary government. And I believe they are paying a heavy price for that now. With Scotland looking to break away from Britain all together. And when Social Democrats get the opportunity to say "look-see, we told you that federalism doesn’t work and we need to become like Europe. And basically take their form of centralize government and apply that to the United States". 

Under a unitary governmental system, we would  basically only have states in name only. You try a system like that in America and you would see states looking to break away and not just in the South. But you would see states that are more open to a strong progressive or socialist form of government looking to break away because they would say "we do not need Washington telling us what we should do. We can run our own domestic affairs".

The latest thing that Social Democrats like Michael Lind and others are critiquing about federalism,who I do respect in Michael Lind’s case because you always know where he’s coming from and he can back up what he believes, but now they are using the government shutdown and Southern-Anglo (for the most part backlash) in the Tea Party a combo of Libertarians and Neo-Confederates, to say that "federalism doesn't work and we need a more centralize form of government". 

But today's Progressives who are really not lets say, but their point against federalism is that. "Look because these Neo-Confederates are in power in the House of Representatives and because of this they can keep the government shutdown by themselves even though they can’t reopen the government on their own". Are saying, "because of these Neo-Confederates we need to change our Constitution and nationalize our social insurance system and tell the states to sit down and shut up. Because Uncle Sammy is now completely in charge".

As I blogged just last night the problem with America is not our Constitution. Or our federal republican, (small r) form of government. American liberal democracy is not the problem with America, but some of our so-called public officials who are in office are. And we have a good way to deal with people who are not responsible enough to govern in America. Which is to fire them and even if we can’t defeat all the Neo-Confederates in the House of Representatives, we can defeat enough House Republicans to put power back in the hands of Democrats who not only know how to govern, but who want to and would govern responsibly.

The Boston Globe: Ted Kennedy: Why do You Want to be President?

Source:The New Democrat

Anyone who doesn't know why they want to be President of the United States, should not run for President. It is too big of a job to have someone who hasn't put much if any thought into why they are running, or why they would be the best person for the job. Also anyone who doesn't want to be President, shouldn't run either because of all the work and sacrifices that go into to simply running for President let alone doing the job itself. Sacrifices that the candidate as well as their family make.

I believe Senator Ted Kennedy qualified for both when he was looking at a 1980 presidential bid against President Jimmy Carter who just happened to be from the same party the Democratic Party. He not only didn't know why he wanted to be President of the United States, because he didn't want the job in the first place. He felt some obligation to the Progressive Left in the Democratic Party to run for President against Jimmy Carter who was very vulnerable against the Republican Party for reelection. But also came from the center-left New Democratic wing of the party.

ESPN Films 30 For 30: Elway to Marino, the Story of the 1983 NFL Draft

Source:The New Democrat

The 1983 NFL Draft is famous for several reasons, but a big one is the fact that it produced three Hall of Fame quarterbacks. The most important position in football, but more than that, it produced two of the top five quarterbacks of all- time in John Elway arguably the best all around quarterback of all-time and Dan Marino the best pure passer of all-time. Then you add Jim Kelly to the draft a quarterback who won four conference championships and played in four Super Bowls and. 

Jim Kelly one of the greatest winning quarterbacks of all-time and then you add Tony Eason who played in Super Bowl 20 with the New England Patriots, we haven’t seen another NFL Draft like that before or since, but a draft that produces not just two of the best quarterbacks of all-time and in Jim Kelly arguably three of the best quarterbacks of all-time but, also in Elway and Marino two of the best players of all-time as well which makes it an incredible draft.

But that’s not the whole story, this draft was also about workers rights. In this case football players do they have the right to decide who they work for and in this case who do they get to play football for and in John Elway’s case a California boy from Los Angeles who played college football at Stanford in the Bay Region, should he be forced to play football on the East Coast in Baltimore, Maryland for the Baltimore Colts. 

The Colts offered him a job, but the question posed by John Elway’s management team was. Can an employer force someone they’ve just offered a job to, to work for them or does the potential employee, in this case a football player have a say in who he works for and in this case play football for. And that’s what the Elway team was going to find out. Where are football players rights to decide where they can play football for. And Elway won in the fact that he wasn’t forced to work for the Colts. 

The whole draft brings up a more important point. What rights do workers including football players and pro sports athletes in general have in determining where they get to work. Because it’s really only pro sports where the franchises or employers basically have all of the power. As far as deciding who works for who and where with the players not having much if any say in deciding where. They work coming out of college.