Apr

Radio Rules the Day as Adam Carolla Wins 36th Toyota Pro / Celebrity Grand Prix

Radio Wins the Day As
Adam Carolla wins Celebrity Grand Prix
By Charles Karel Bouley II

Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy, Resident Evil: Afterlife) felt pretty good starting the ridiculously beautiful Saturday April 14, 2012 36th Toyota Pro/Celebrity race as part of the 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. After all, even in one of the worst storms to roll through Long Beach in some time on Friday the 13th, he managed to take the top Poll position, qualifying at 1:49:385 with Adam Carolla right behind him at 1:49:940 and Eddie Cibran right behind with 1:50:077; and those times were off of the morning qualifying heat due to the storm.

Coates’ poll position won him the 15th Annual People Pole Award from People Magazine and a check for $15,000 to his charity One Heart Source in Africa.

“My daughter is involved with this charity, so you’ve made her very happy and this has made me a very popular dad,” he said at Friday’s qualifying event as People Magazine awarded him and his charity a check for $15000.

Kim Coates accepts $15k for Charity From People Magazine for the People Poll Award at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Photo: Brandon Crispo

But how one evening can change things.

At Saturday’s Toyota Pro/Celebrity race the tide quickly turned for Coates.

Remember, this may be all in good fun and for charity, but the celebrities and pros want to win. While there is a sense of team spirit, there is also real competition. For many, like Coates, this is not their first race or Grand Prix.

“It’s fun when you get to crash other people’s stuff for charity,” Adam Carolla joked prior to the race.

It didn’t seem too fun for Coates. His race ended early, after a promising start, in Lap 7, when a crash sent him to the wall and then to be checked out by doctors shortly after the checkered flag was lowered. His car remained dangerously in lanes on the dreaded Hairpin curve of the track.

Coates wouldn’t be the only celebrity to taste the wall or metal. Even before Coates left the race Brody Jenner and Eddie Cibrian clashed after Cibrian had trouble with a corner and Jenner collided with him in Lap 3, leaving Jenner out.

Brody Jenner talks to Karel in the People Magazine Celebrity compound.

“It’s a shame to ruin such a beautiful day this way,” he said shortly thereafter. “I really wanted to finish, because, it’s fun! Plus, I wanted to win. But it wasn’t in the stars. I ran in to Cibrian, well, he ran in to me! Or somehow we ran in to each other.

WIn or not, it must be fun being Brody Jenner. This star of reality TV who the term “bromance” was coined was the definite attention getter as women, and a few men, from behind the fence of theToyota Grand Prix People Celebrity Paddock screamed for his attention.

“Well, at least if the fans are having a good time, and people are here for the race, it makes it all worthwhile. It is for kids, after all,” he added.

Many celebrities talked of the charity, The Miller Children’s Hospital and Racing for Kids. Toyota donated $5000 to Racing for Kids in the name of each celebrity and pro participant and an additional $5000 to Adam Carolla’s charity, because of the win.

Carolla was quick to clarify the charity aspect of this after.

“FIrst of all, this is the best part of being a celebrity, and one of the best perks, so i encourage you all to become celebrities quick,” he joked as the press conference after the event began. “But let’s remember, there’s a lot of talk about how this is for the kids. Well, the kids are great, they are fine, but they could know me or anyone else from Adam at five or six. It’s really the parents that need as much support. I can’t imagine what it’s like to hold your kid’s hand time and time again, surgery after surgery, to be there, sleeping on chairs and cots, sometimes through very trying times. We need to remember it’s as much for those heroes as it is for the kids. For us? It’s just a blast,” he concluded.

Adam Carolla about the Charity. Video by Karel

Racing for Kids is a national nonprofit program benefitting children’s hospitals in Long Beach and Orange County, CA. Toyota has donated more than two million since 1991. People magazine goes above and beyond by awarding the winning Poll placer $15k to their charity.

CSI:NY’s Hill Harper took the race very seriously. He challenged Carolla for the lead for the last third of the race, never letting up until the end and taking a very decent second. Harper had the fastest lap of any Pro or Celebrity.

Hill Harper at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Grand Prix of Long Beach. Photo: Karel

“The instructors were so great,” Harper started. “We train for weeks out at Willow Springs and they take this race very seriously. Things happen fast out there, and you have to be prepared. I listened and studied hard, and I wanted to win,” he added. “I will definitely come back if I can, I want this.”

Latin superstar Kate del Castillo (NBC/Mun2) finished first amongst the women, including Grand Prix Queen Jillian Barberie Reynolds (the female veteran).

“Jillian has done this before, so it wasn’t fair to paint us as rivals,” Casitllo laughed after. “We drive like this in my country all the time, I like to speed,” she continued in good spirits.

When asked about her involvement on behalf of the large Hispanic community now represented at the Grand Prix (Bellanova is the headliner Saturday, April 14th, a wildly popular Latin band) she said it was overwhelming to see the response.

“My fans brought banners and were so loud, it was so wonderful to see them all turn out here in Long Beach. I’d love to come back and reconnect with them again, and of course, do the race!” she concluded.

William Fichner (Contact, The Lone Ranger, Entrouage) finished second in the pro, a category he earned by winning last year’s Celebrity Grand Prix, with Pro racer Frederic Aasbo finished first in the pro. Record Producer and American Idol Mentor Jim Jonsin took third in Pro and Bryan Clauson fourth.

In all it was Carolla, Harper and Biff Gordon taking the top three podium spots in the 36th Annual Toyota Celebrity / Pro Race. Gordon is a Toyota Dealer who drives through winning the spot on silent auction (again, for charity). Rutledge Wood came in fourth, with Cain Velasquez, Adrien Brody, Kate del Castillo, Jerry Westlund, Jillian Barberie Reynolds, Doug Fregin, Eileen Davidson (Daytime TV), Eddie Cibrian, Kim Coates and Brody Jenner finishing out the pack; with the last two not finishing.

Jim Jonsin

The average speed for the celebrities was 63.866 with the best speed 66.147. However speeds in excess of 100 are not uncommon during Grand Prix.

The 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach continues all weekend with the main race beginning at 1:30 on Sunday, April, 15. The race brings hundreds of thousands of people to Long Beach and is a major source of economic stimulus. It is the largest event in Long Beach and one of the top three in the State. Go to http://www.lbgp.org for more.

Thanks to Chris Esslinger and Sharon Noot for their assistance. Photos and Video by Charles Karel Bouley and Brandon Crispo.

To hear the Karel Show, read the blogs, including HuffingtonPost get the Karel App from either iTunes or Google Play from the website http://www.thekarelshow.com

Video Below:

Start of Press Conference:

Adam Carolla on vintage cars versus Grand Prix cars.

Carolla on winning the trophy.

Carolla on threats while racing

Brody Jenner and Rutledge Woods on the crash

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Mar

The Trip Goes Full Circle: Ireland After St. Patricks

The Trip Swings Full Circle: Ireland After the Party
By Charles Karel Bouley II

And it ends as it began. Seven days previous, myself, my niece Heather McGrath (pronounced McGraww! In Ireland) and the very special Brandon Crispo hopped off US Air (willing) and hopped on to BMW Sport Adventure bikes through Celtic Riders (http://www.motorental.ie). Now, seven days later, we are back at Celtic Riders about to embark on a day trip to the “Garden of Ireland” the Wicklow Mountains and Wicklow National Park. It was Saturday, two days out from St. Patrick’s Day and the day of big rugby match that we wanted to return in time to see prior to going to the 0-2 Concert Venue to see the 20th Anniversary reunion of The Commitments.
Gone were the maddening crowds from a few days back. In fact, the Friday after St. Patrick’s Day 2011 was a sedate, controlled night in the Temple Bar area of Ireland, the part of Dublin set aside for the party animals and Bohemics.
In fact, Friday morning after St. Patrick’s as we walked to a tour at the Jameson’s Distillery (http://jamesontickets.visrez.com/ticket_booking) in the heart of Dublin, it was back to work for many. It wasn’t a four day holiday, so many Dubliners were back at work bright (?) and early Friday morning. Offices were bustling, stores and the locals were now mingling with the tourists that were left. Brits and others were filling the hotel rooms left vacant from the holiday for Saturday’s match. Little signs could be found of the night before, an occasional patch of puke and several people sleeping (yes, sleeping) along the bridges over the Liffey still in their party hats left to sleep it off; but for the most part, it was back to work.
The Distillery is another great tour as Jameson’s Whiskey is a big part of the Dublin and Irish culture. It sells over 31 million bottles world wide a year is the most popular Irish Whiskey made; it is also the fastest growing whiskey brand in the world. Established in 1790 by a Scot, John Jameson, it is distilled in Cork, Ireland with vatting taking place in Dublin. It is a single distillery whiskey, adhering to the single malt tradition with difference being Jameson’s combines malted barley with umalted or “green” barley. Then they use what is known as the Pure Pot Still distilling tradition and used sherry and brandy kegs brought from Kentucky and other places. The tour is great fun and ends with a tasting, and be sure to see the actual cat that caught 20 mice per day for the brewery. They stuffed it. No lie. It’s a great place for gifts for those that like whiskey as they will print the name of someone on a label of their Distillery Reserve, available only there in Dublin.

Dinner was in the Grand Canal Square area of Dublin, a newly redeveloped waterfront area that is where modern meets traditional on the waterfront. It is developing in to a very trendy area, think SoMa in San Francisco or SoHo in NYC and that includes the restaurants springing up. This is where you could get a bit of West Hollywood in Dublin; places like the Ely Gastro (http://www.elywinebar.ie/en/ely-gastro-pub.html) I suppose for locals this is great, but for me…ehh…I didn’t travel all this waysto have service I could get in America (read, less than stellar) and food that was more style over substance. The patrons really seemed to be enjoying themselves at the bar and I could see this as a very trendy night spot for young urban hipsters. There’s much better food in Ireland and places that mix more traditional Ireland with the modern. The Grand Canal is full of them, and so trendy, upscale, modern night life on an incredible waterfront by a spanking new theatre exists just a five minute cab ride from the City Centre.
Friday night Dublin was sedate, having shot an incredible amount the night previous. Pubs like Hogans or The Stag’s Head that were far too crowded to attempt were now readily accessible with good crowds and good fun. The George rounded out with an evening of dancing and street food (Cod and chips) in the Temple Bar and it was back to the hotel by 1am, the earliest!
Saturday night after St. Patrick’s Day was a huge concert event for Dublin, the 20th Anniversary reunion of The Stars from The Commitments. The film, now two decades old, and the actors and singers who made it all under the writing prowess of native Roddy Doyle came together for a special night at Dublin’s O-2 (http://www.theo2.ie/) . The house was filled to capacity as the various members of the group did R&B covers and a host of material from the movie and other albums. The band has broken up a few times over the years and as singer Bronagh Gallagher said in jest when they first came out “we’ve already broken up 20 times today. She was joined by Andrew Strong, Robert Arkins, Angeline Ball, Michael Aherne, Glen Hansard, Felim Gormley, Dave Finnegan Ken McCluskey and Dick Massey for a rousing two-and-a-half-hour set. Even though these are actors and such who have gone on with their lives, I see a tour in their future. The night was a mix of a Blues Brother’s concert and some real Irish spirit, a great combination. In fact Heather looked over and said “I didn’t know Ireland had this much soul!” and when Brandon exclaimed “Look, White people CAN dance!” I exclaimed, “They’re not White! They’re Irish!”
The after party at the Premium Club was the best industry after party I’ve been to, and I’ve been to countless. The Premium Club is on the third floor of the O-2 and singer Bronagh’s mom was behind us during the show. We got to hug that very pride woman and shake her father’s hand, you could see the joy in the parents as the daughter worked the room. Irish celebrities abounded, Bushmills was the drink of the evening and before one knew it, it was
But the star of Saturday was the ride, back on the bikes and out to see more of Ireland. Paul Rawlins and Liam from Celtic Riders met us after we transferred to the Radisson Blu hotel at the airport. It’s a grand hotel, with lush rooms and very modern appointments. It’s a big cab ride to City Centre, about 30 Euros ($45) but it’s worth it when flying out the day after because you can walk to the new terminals at the airport.
Rawlins was going to take us in to the high country, the national park just 30 minutes outside of Dublin. I thought after the ride to Cannamara that I couldn’t be overwhelmed yet again, naïve little me.
We headed out of town on the M50 and then quickly cut off to begin a twisting turning four hours that would lead us through some of the most spectacle views and scenery available in any country, any where and solidifying that it is worth going through a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course (http://www.msf-usa.org) and getting a class C in America and practice on rental bikes JUST to do this tour. Even if you never saw yourself on the back of one, this drive alone would make it worth months of preparation.
Along the way we stop at a graveyard for German soldiers from WWII. The Germans would fly over Ireland and run out of gas near the mountains and crash. The Irish would bury them out of decency and kindness. Ones that survived or lived through the crashes only to then die were sometimes heard asking “Why? Why help us?” As Paul explained Ireland was basically neutral and just felt it was the human thing to bury young men who were doing only what they were told. They weren’t an evil dictator, they were kids, dying and deserved a beautiful place to be. And they are in one indeed marked by one of the few remaining Celtic Crosses standing in the land

Next stop was a famous part of the Wicklow National Park and Wicklow Mountains (http://www.visitwicklow.ie/attractions/wicklow_mountains_national_park.htm). It’s in these mountains that many films of Ireland have been made, including a large battle scene from “Braveheart” with Mel Gibson PB (pre breakdown) that even got the Irish Army involved as extras. There’s a great vantage point (well, every 20 feet really) of the vast bog that is the beginning of the River Liffey in Ireland. Bog is Turf, which is thousands of years of compressed organic material that is moist. Things buried in it like people or animals are preserved almost perfectly. It is used for fuel, to burn, in homes and pubs after it is dried. While moist, it is the sponge that soaks up the rains that feed the Liffey which runs from that point to the sea through Dublin.
As we stood at its source the uniqueness of the place can be felt. Camping is allowed or just sitting for a while. There aren’t many resources around, so come prepared (gas, food, snacks, etc). It really was standing on the top of Ireland.

Heather McGrath, Brandon Crispo, Karel
Then it was more overwhelming beauty after more as we went by waterfalls, lush valleys and rivers out of every painting one has ever seen about lush country cottages. The road goes to the heart of the Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough where an ancient monastery, church and spire sit. A lovely lunch at the Glendalough Hotel and a stroll through the grounds juxtaposes the modern and the ancient all in a serene setting.

Brandon, Liam (from Celtic Riders), Heather, Karel and Paul (Celtic Riders) in Glendalough.
Leaving on the bikes it began to rain. This is a very dangerous time for bikers and the roads of Ireland are unforgiving; one doesn’t control or conquer them, one respects them or gets hurt, especially in these conditions. This is where bike and gear makes all the difference in the world.
AlpineStars supplied the gear (http://www.alpinestars.com) including the Gor-Tex jackets, gloves boots and pants. The wisest investment ever for a biker in these conditions whether in Ireland or Arkansas, Seattle to L.A. As the winds whipped and the rain began to fall hard, we were dry and warmer than anyone could imagine, even myself.
The BMW 1200 GS and F 650 GS, as Rawling says, “are the only bikes for Ireland whether in the West or here,” and I agree. From the heated hand grips to the incredible traction and sturdiness, as I rode with Heather as my passenger on roads that switchback and are barely 10 feet wide I actually wasn’t too worried to check out things like the village of Hollywood, yes, the first, the lake scenery, gorges, valley and other things along the way. It was an initiation by fire (well, rain) and thanks to the leadership of Celtic Riders Paul and Liam, the craftsmanship of BMW and the protection of AlpineStars, it proved to be another exhilarating experience.
We rode back and said goodbye to new friends, fast friends, friends we will be seeing again with our minds full of such joy, beauty, so much that it’s too hard to process. So here’s what Rawlings wrote in an email to me when I returned. “It was really nice to meet and talk to 3 down to earth American people, we enjoyed immensely bringing you all for a ride on Saturday afternoon. I know for a fact that Brandon’s never ever going to forget his baptism of fire riding in Ireland. I read his eyes during our ride when we stopped to admire the landscape and he was wired straight to the grid, electrified with adrenalin and pure happiness. That makes me so happy because these feelings are the feelings I want to bring out in overseas tourists when they visit our island.”
Well Paul, mission accomplished there.
Wired, electrified, adrenalin, overwhelmed, connected, alike, friends, family, laughter…how many adjectives, how many descriptors does the human language have; I need more.
In America, we are lucky if we take a week off from work by ourselves or with our families.; Let alone two or three or four. And in today’s economy, where there is so much uncertainty, the thought of a vacation has been put aside for so many.
But why do you work? To live? Define living. Is living working hard to simply pay corporations interest, conglomerates fees. If the past three years has taught us nothing it’s that living is what is important, connecting, being present, being there. People saved their whole lives for later, for retirement, never taking vacations longer than a few days, never spending money on a concert or play, and where are they today? So many were wiped clean, back to work.
We have to go and blow it out, go and explore, go and be different people and meet different people and see how NOT different we all are or else what is the point of being here? Today as I sit and wade through the bills from the last seven days, the calls, the “back to life, back to reality” I realized what I did was priceless and the relationships and memories I made forever.
Ireland may be a world away for so many of you, but let me tell you, it’s waiting to welcome you. It’s been welcoming people for thousands of years and will go on. Try to be one of those one day and do just a few of the things I may have suggested and you’ll see life from a whole different point of view when you return home.

Mar

Karel on ABC 7 San Francisco Friday

Karel on KGO with Michael Finney, San Francisco

Feb

Feb 2 what a difference….

Feb 2nd … What a difference a day makes.

I owe my fans so much. And I have them, real ones. People who would fill a cabaret at $25 a head in the middle of a depression. How can that not renew even the most tired soul?

And I did it. I pulled off the day. Meetings, radio show with bosses listening, sold out Rrazz room, dinner with friends, yes friends I’ve made in San Francisco. The audience liked it so I must have been ok. And I have to give myself that finally. Not in a cocky way but I at least have to know I got this. Nerves aside and all I got this.I can entertain it seems. Not always but more times than not.

Reality is here. A bill collector rings me on the Bart on my way to the airport. Do you know when you’ll be making your enormous payment sir? No, actually, I don’t. But oh well. That is reality now it won’t always be, I hope, because I can do this on THAT level.
O
Paths. I’ve thought a lot about them over the last few days. Karen’s, mine, those of cabin drivers, the homeless guitar player coughing wildly at the Powell street entrance to the Bart. Each is on a path, a unique one, uncontrollable by me, even my own to some degree. I have set up a different life, I’m a different person. I’m not Karen, cancer may not await and my senior years may, in fact be happy ones. I’m not the millions that never make it; I’ve worked my ass off in radio, in print, on stage and even tv and gotten noticed a little. I have something to build upon it’s not too late to try, or keep trying. In fact, it’s all I, you, we, have.

I don’t know the financial reality of the next six months. Will add be sold? Will more stations take the show? Will it work out? Will tv or other things happen? I honestly don’t know any more but al. I do know is there are thousands of people hoping for me that it will. And today, I’m one of them.

But how? What path to choose. Professionally. Personally? How do I find those four people that could change my world? Today I don’t know. But I know that I must. With help. Whose? I don’t know. Yet. But I’m putting it out there.

Sep

Enough is Enough! The Noise from Florida Is Deafening.

Enough is Enough is Enough
Stop the Media Blitz about the Nut
By Charles Karel Bouley

OK, now this has gone too far.

Enough of all this fake protest over the nut-bag in Florida with less followers than I had guests at my last dinner party; the one that wants to burn the Muslim holy book. All this global outrage, including a comment from the United States President, at this media created hysteria has now got to end before it hurts someone.

Because no matter what anyone will ever tell me, burning a few books does not endanger our troops, outrage any more or cause any worse ripple effect then launching two illegal occupations of Muslim homelands, sustaining those occupations for seven and nine years (and counting) respectively and a refusal to acknowledge the Islamaphobia created by George W. Bush as he terrorized a nation and world for eight years—unstopped by Congress (including the Democratic led Congress since 2006)—with his NeoCon Right Wing Evangelical propaganda. That President told people he was preparing the Middle East for the return of Biblical angels; a statement by a Christian President with occupying forces in Muslim land, a statement backed up with things like “shock and awe.”

And as horrible as the nut-bag’s actions in Florida are, due simply to the disrespect of it all, I still believe blowing up neighborhoods with collateral damage called children, women, innocents whose only crime was living in a region deemed a danger by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and all the other unprosecuted war criminals is far worse. Killing people at a birthday party on camera and enjoying it is far worse. Asking our troops to go door to door in foreign lands with no clear goal is far worse.

We have destroyed the country of Iraq, period, end of story. It does not exist. There is a shell where a country once was with no real working government, inadequate defenses, infrastructure and the vast resources benefitting a small few and not the nation (please don’t say it sounds like here, or was that the plan?). It will be three countries one day, perhaps, or the starting place of a bigger conflict with Iran. Whatever it will be, it’s broken now, and is no way a unified, democratic peaceful ally or nation.

Afghanistan has been exploited by regimes that come in, and then realize, usually after bankrupting the nation, that the commitment is far beyond what any nation can actually commit to and afford, because the nation needs a complete and total revamp, rebuild, and needs a revolution (internal) to solve its problems. But the fact is, it’s broken, too, and our presence isn’t helping because our mission is still unclear. So, another broken country, broken before we found it, and it will be worse after we leave it.

These actions, and our foreign policy endangers our troops. Deeply ingrained hatred and misconceptions endangers our troops (on both sides). Allowing your President to deploy troops where there should be none, and attack strangers who are not our enemy endangers our troops and our security. Running a black ops torture chamber known an Guantanamo endangers our troops. Waterboarding with impunity endangers our troops. Not impeaching that President endangered our troops. Not forcing this one to completely withdraw (out means out) endangers our troops. And yes, Bashing Muslims in this country, be it stabbing a cabbie or protesting a Mosque, say it with me, endangers our troops (oh ya, and burning their Holy book).

But stop all the denouncing. Every major Christian leader should fly to Florida, form a human chain between this nut and the burn pile, and tell him No! We Christians know this is wrong and hateful and we stop you in the name of our Lord! Let them police their own crazies. But stop condemning and get up and do something. Go there, stop him. Put yourself in between. Show the Muslim world good Christians will stand up for them even to one of their own. But No. They’ll condemn and moan and groan but say “we have to let him, it’s his right in America…” Yup, it’s his right, but nope, you don’t have to let him. It’s your right to go there, and stop him. Show up, join arms, block the burn pile.

Or, in a show of solidarity, burn the Bible on Saturday as well to show that any God can withstand a good bon fire. Make smores, because only God can make a Smore, from the heat and be joyous that your God is more powerful than a small bonfire and that His Word has withstood much worse than a crazy guy in Florida. Burn your bibles to show the Muslims that it’s all just books being burned, not Gods or faiths (or religious leaders as the Catholics once did) but just pulp returning to ash. Show them your book and theirs are equal and that you both mourn the stupidity that day.

Or shut the hell up; Because the NOISE about it all is what is dangerous, not the act itself. I talk to thousands a day, my columns read by more than 50 people. If I burned a Bible on Saturday would it start world wide condemnation and protest? Would Obama comment about Karel. I doubt it. It would be seen as a radio stunt, like Beck’s rally, an entertainer doing a PR move.

So why isn’t this? This guy wanted Press, that’s all, and he’s clearly crazy. With Snooki and Lindsay and others we have enough Crazy in the news. We don’t need Christian Crazy, any more than we have it already.

There are insane people like this guy in Florida all over America with agendas as bigoted, as phobic, as ridiculous as him. Media does not cover them because it leads to no productive end, and bigotry and racism isn’t new or newsworthy.

He’s a miscreant. Don’t focus on him.

Our actions as a nation have been far more offensive to the Muslim world than this. Bush’s illegal occupation of Iraq and our failed mission in Afghanistan (wasn’t it to get Osama Bin Laden, then, we failed) have only harmed us more. Guys like the one in Florida and things like the Mosque in NYC will end as soon as we get our troops out of harms way all together when it is not necessary.

The Muslim world, and most Americans agree, neither Iraq or Afghanistan are necessary. Start with that, and forget the preacher. Wars endangers troops more than bonfires.

Sep

Truth

Written by me in 2005 to sum up how I felt at a deposition in my case against L.B Memorial Hospital and Dr. Kooshian:

The truth.
Where is the truth?
How does one find it?
People sit and swear to tell it.
They affirm to deities to defend it.
They profess their love of it.
And then evade it…
coat it…
dodge it…
colour it…
Lawyers jockey to be in control of it.
Judges sit in awe of their ability to discern it.
And yet the only thing sure about the truth
Is that everyone sees it differently.
And swears their version is absolute.
And once the truth is finally revealed
It is just as quickly lost to versions of it

Aug

Joan Armatrading Living Charming Life

Joan Armatrading

Singer/Songwriter Comes to Long Beach Terrace Theater Aug. 7

By Charles Karel Bouley

“Is she the one that sounds like Tracy Chapman?”

That’s a question often posed when explaining the musical wonderment of Joan Armatrading. Since the release of 1972’s Whatever For Us, the European-based singer-songwriter has consistently satisfied lifelong fans and created new ones. Her success abroad is undeniable; America has welcomed her throughout the years, but never with the commercial success it has awarded some female singer-songwriters cut from the same cloth.

Armatrading is touring and doing interviews in support of her 20th album, This Charming Life, and in her own words, “This would be a great album for America, if they would just give it a listen.”

This Charming Life is a return to Armatrading’s rock and pop roots. She played every instrument on Charming, as well as on her previous two albums — an undertaking not foreign to her, but one she doesn’t repeat live.

“It hasn’t changed much, really,” she told the BLADE. “When I do my demos, and back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I was writing, playing, doing my arrangements. It’s not that different, except I’m doing it on records now and not demos.”

Armatrading, who said she “should expect to be 60 this December,” is reflecting a little more on Charming.

“I’ve written songs called ‘I’m Lucky,’ ‘Blessed,’ and I’ve written ‘This Charming Life.’ They’re all songs saying ‘thank you very much’ for the life I’ve been given, I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve really appreciate it, and I want to say it someplace outside of my head,” she explained. “I actually think a lot of people have a charming life if they would just step back and take a look at it.”

To read the full interview from the Long Beach/OC Blade and to find out United States tour dates, go here.

Jul

Leave Lindsey Alone!

The Morning Edit

It’s terrible when you have to defend people whom you neither like or care for; people that you might not give one iota for or against until they come under scrutiny for something that just can’t stand. Enter Lindsey Lohan and Michael Steele, the strangest of bedfellows.

First, there’s Lohan. Not since Brittney went crazy or Paris got arrested has the Los Angeles media been on such high alert. TMZ is on 24/7 lockdown to get the pertinent data out, from her nail polish with the “F U” written on it, to every sobbing minute of this life deconstructing in the court house. Her crime? Pissing off a judge. Truly, all things considered, she’s being punished far more than most for crimes where no one except herself was hurt. She missed court ordered alcohol classes for Cannes Film Festival; classes she would later make up. Judge Marsha Revell said “the court does not buy it…” when Lohan made her emotional pleas for freedom and sent her off to 90 days in jail and 90 days in rehab. Remember, he first offense was a DUI, drunk driving, where she crashed in to a curb. The second DUI ended in a small chase and cocaine allegedly was found. But everyone agrees the decision is because she is Lindsey Lohan. If the judge was lenient, then the myth of celebrities getting great treatment gets perpetuated. In this case, she actually is having a book thrown at her for being a celebrity.

Then there’s Steele. I’m not a fan and I might as well go on record in print with the “Uncle Tom” comment I made about him when he got the job on air. Yes, I said it, like I’ve said so many things. But I’ll never change my mind about why or how he got the position. Democrats elected a Black man and Republicans wanted to show they are inclusive, thus, the ultimate affirmative action. But the party never reflected diversity, racial equality, equal rights for all so he was a sham, a fake. However, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And recently, when he said Afghanstan was Obama’s war, that the American people don’t want it and that it is unwinnable, the attacks from both sides were quick. In fact, the Democrats took a press release written about war dissenters under Bush and revised it for Steele, calling his comments unsupportive of our troops, unpatriotic, on and on; the letter read like a Bush administration attack on an anti-war protester.

The problem is Steele was right about 2/3rds of his statement. Since Democrats have been in control of Congress, which controls war and war funding, since 2006, and since Barack Obama has been President since 2008 and over that time Afghanistan has only escalated to rival Iraq in costs and lives, it would appear both wars are in full swing . And Democrats need to own that. Right, wrong, make arguments here it doesn’t matter. Remember Vietnam was Nixon’s war, but Johnson started it. So it no longer matters that these two illegal occupations were George Bush’s dirty little payouts to his war mongering profiteer friends, but Congress and this President have kept them funded, kept them up, escalated them in some cases. No, Afghanistan and Iraq are now the part and parcel of the Democratic majority; time to stop blaming the evil dictator and own up. If any Democrat doesn’t like the fact that we must now own the war, end them, not around esoteric deadlines in the future. Stop the funding. In 2009 one of the only real Democrats in principal, Barbara Lee (D-Calif) introduced a bill to stop funding the war in Afghanistan, making money available only to bring troops home. H.R. 3699 died, of course, no support, no publicity, no will to make it happen.

So the party of peace is the party of war, like it or not, and you can’t kill the messenger, in this case, Michael Steele.

So two people coming under attacks; one for behavior neither outrageous nor egregious for someone that grew up famous and the other neither untrue nor far off the pale.

Before all the members of MAD comment on this about the seriousness of drunk driving, NO ONE believes what Lohan did was all right. She’s rich, get a driver (or was, rumors are she’s broke now). But the entire nanny philosophy the court has taken, you can’t drink, you must go here and there, do this do that or else…really? This is what the City of Los Angeles and the People of the State of California want to spend what little money the city and state has on prosecuting? As the state begins to pay its workers minimum wage because it can’t come up with a budget and is broke, as education is cut, police cut, fire cut, services needed, as real criminals go untried, or worse, released early due to overcrowding, Lohan is the fish we need to fry? Of course not, but she’s the brunt of the outrage that should be targeted elsewhere.

Think about this. A person stood on the deck of the Deep Water Horizon rig in the Gulf and told someone to shove salt water down the pipe instead of mud, because it’s cheaper. Another person knew the concrete Halliburton was using wasn’t the proper grade or strength. And CEO Tony Hayward knew and knows he runs a company guilty of felonies outside of Deep Water Horizon, and knows that this disaster did not have to happen. Tony Hayward, and the staff that ordered the salt water and others have caused a tragedy that has killed 11 people, and has killed an entire region and maybe it’s way of life and people.

Not one of them has served as much time as Lohan has or will. Not one has been in court as much, or is as monitored as Lohan.

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove and the other neocons are war criminals by their own admissions. Bush authorized torture, illegal occupations, hell, they were all part of a coup d’etat in 2000 where the neocons used the U.S. Supreme Court (duplicitous in it) to make a ruling on Equal Protection, something not at issue and not under the prevue of that court. Dick Cheney released the name of spy and let Scooter Libby take the wrap.

None of the above have served as much time as Lohan has or will. Not one has been as monitored as Lohan.

On and on I could go, listing Bush era criminals that will never, ever serve one day in jail, but Lohan must. Not one of them reduced to tears for their crimes, but Lohan was. Not one of their careers ruined or disrupted, but Lohan’s will be. In fact, the neocons have gone on to prosper, from starting PAC’s and collecting millions, to doing book tours, speaking engagements or taking high profile private sector jobs.

As for Steele, it’s true he’s just a placeholder, a face put up to show the party is something it’s not. And he’s usually full of ridiculous rhetoric from a dying party, a party of racists (the rhetoric over immigration and Arizona is proof enough for me), of criminals, a party whose members would leave poor America without the lifeline of unemployment checks because the poor or unemployed are just lazy and should get out there and take whatever job there is (of course, there aren’t any, but don’t confuse them with facts).

But as ridiculous as he is, he’s right about Afghanistan. We, the People need to own those wars. They are still being fought in our names, and if we don’t like it, then end them. It really is that easy. It was that easy to go in to both of those countries. We occupied them in days. We can leave in months.

His statement, this one statement, was very near the truth. And it’s an ugly truth, a terrible truth, a truth we can’t escape any longer; these are no longer George W. Bush’s wars or failures, there everyone’s now, ours, mine, yours, Republican and Democrats have supported the wars if nothing else through approving the funding. Democrat’s fears of being called anti-war, un-American, unpatriotic have kept them silenced and impotent; so much so that the only one brave enough to say what needs to be said about the war is now the head of the party that started it. Now that’s irony.

There’s plenty of reasons to get rid of Michael Steele, this isn’t one of them.

And for god’s sake (any god named or unnamed) leave Lindsey alone. So she likes to drink, so does a whole lot of America. So she’s a young girl who had money and fame and enjoyed it just a bit too much. Leave her alone. If she wants to self destruct, let her. Take away her license, period. Don’t let her drive at all. If she does, arrest her. But all this drug rehab (what if she likes them?), alcohol rehab (again, what if she enjoys drinking, is this not America?), and SCRAM Bracelets (secure continuous alcohol monitor).

And speaking of SCRAM bracelets, it’s rich a court weighs in on Lohan’s addictions while our addiction, Oil, is killing an entire region. Leave Lohan alone, or else we should all start wearing SCROM bracelets, secure continuous OIL monitors. Because of lust for oil is killing more, costing us more, and hurting us more than Lohan’s lust for Mojitos.

America, worry about your own addictions, and leave Lindsey alone. And Democrats, worry about the two wars you are funding and conducting, and stop worrying about those that are pointing out that it is, in fact, you that are now funding and conducting them.

To hear segments about these and other topics (both issues covered on the 7-6-10 shows) go to the podcast at www.radiokrl.com

Jun

Time For A Little Humanity

If We Stand Back And Take A Breath, We’ll Choke Up
By Charles Karel Bouley II

We’re so many things, each of us. We’re male, female, gay, straight, we’re progressive or conservative, we’re black, white, Latino, we’re husband, wife, son, daughter, we’re American, we’re immigrant, we’re blue or red or purple, we’re so many adjectives these days, so many names. We’re iPhone or Blackberry, Mac or PC, Facebook or Twitter (no longer Myspace), cell phone or landline, snail, or email, we’re web traffic. We’re the poor or the rich, we’re the middle class, we’re the unemployed or the uninsured, on and on and on until every bit of every subsection of everything that may make us different and classifiable is exhausted; Especially in, or for, the 24 hour news cycle, for politics, for conversation.

And that 24 hour news cycle, the news alerts beamed to your device of choice from the now archaic yet irreplaceable radio to the latest WiFi device in your pocket, keeps us so busy and so distracted that for many, the one thing we’re not any longer is feeling, emotional, rational, thinking humans. Somehow, humanity has been the victim of getting in closer touch, of staying connected 24/7 or knowing it all. It got beaten out of us it would appear. And how could it not?

Yesterday, I closed my syndicated radio show by stating, “Well, the disaster in the Gulf caused by the felons BP is worse today than yesterday. We are no clearer on our mission or its success in Afghanistan but lost a general in great political theatre that does nothing to keep my friend, Eric, safe in-country right now (he’s in Afghanistan in the Army). We then took a General that MoveOn.org once called General Betray Us, one that Obama then skipped the vote to condemn MoveOn.org for the attack as Republicans wanted, have Orin Hatch of Utah wanting to drug test the unemployed to allow them to get benefits which only further victimizes the poor (there’s no provision for medical marijuana, either), lost two soldiers in Afghanistan and have no end in sight really for the worst ecological disaster of all time while a federal judge with lots of oil industry and Halliburton holdings says drill baby, drill. Oh and new home sales plummeted to their lowest ever, in history as unemployment in states like California soared as benefits run out because Congress is three weeks late approving another extension…but don’t worry, it’s only Wednesday….”

Any one of the incidents or situations should ground us as a nation. Stop us from whatever we are doing, make us take a pause, solve the problem, even if it takes time and sacrifice. But they don’t, they blend, they merge, they become news stories and sound bytes and water cooler conversations (does anyone have those any more since, well, no one is working in offices that can afford to rent coolers any more…). They have to, even 9/11 has to, or else we’d be even more medicated than we are right now.

If we step back, take a moment, and be, yes, human, if we, as humans connect with the events and each other as the most basic common denominator, humans, our country, our world would change instantly. It would have to, the pain of its existence right now would be too much for any feeling person to bare. It’s too much for me. I often cry on air covering the news these days. Sappy, huh? I know. But when I’m talking about the baby dolphin in the surf, dying, soaked in oil, it’s first breaths from coming forth from mom, reaching for the surface, for life, for air, and it sucks in crude…for what. Really, for what? Because corporate America, not human America and Americans, but the soulless corporate America refuses to give us the alternatives at affordable prices to get off of gasoline and petroleum period; government refuses to truly back emergency plans to get us off fossil fuel, because no one has asked us to sacrifice and we won’t without being asked, obviously.

I won’t preach about how we each could do wonders already to get away from fossil fuels. Walking within one mile of your house, biking within two, no two car families, one car, one motorcycle or scooter, a home can go solar for under $2k in most cities and states now…on and on..it’s all there. No, this is not the place for that. This is the place where I wonder if the soulless corporate America has become America and Americans; I truly do.

Because in a feeling world, cars would be parked. Period, end of story. Seeing what uncontrolled oil can do, all off shore wells, ALL OFF SHORE WELLS in the United States would be shut down, capped, left forever untouched. It’s just too dangerous should they break. There are no acceptable levels of crude in the food chain. None. Animals shouldn’t swim in it, eat it, or “dispersants.” Period. Seeing what happens to the people and the ecosystem would make any other society stop, change immediately I would hope. Truly, immediate moratoriums on all fossil fuel vehicles. Trucks parked from X to X, cars not used except for work or emergencies from X to X. Like when we lined up for gas. Your car ends in an even number plate, you use it on even numbered days. Find another way 15 days out of the month. Yup, inconvenient as hell, but it would force the industry to change immediately. We’d have electric cars, hybrids, fuel cells, all kinds of technologies. I got rid of my car for motorcycles and scooters. Not perfect, but the lowest gets 50mpg. In December my Piaggio MP3 300 hybrid will get over 100mgp. I know it’s still using the drug, but it’s something. It hurts too much, I’ve got to try.

Afghanistan hurts too much. I’ve seen too many photos from my Army friends. The soldiers are not well cared for, period, end of story. It’s embarrassing how they are forced to live knowing we spend over a million dollars a year each on them. The people there are so..sad..so caught in the middle of so much and we can’t solve their problems for them, it’s so very, very sad. We often create more.

America, Americans, whatever you are, we don’t need to think any more. At all. Really, we don’t. The great thinkers are thinking and then marketing their thoughts to us constantly. We need to remember it has always been our job to feel. We, the People are the Soul of America, its heart. Our founders knew that many of us wouldn’t be the most informed, but we’d have the spirit, the heart, the soul to do what is right, to vote for what is right based on truths that are “self evident.”

Think about the Constitution. It doesn’t talk about divisions, about labels, about budgets and committee meetings and moratoriums. It talks about the intangibles,

As I grab my iPad and launch the app “USA Manual” which has so many great documents in it like the Constitution, reading them again, reading it, makes me believe the founders were more emotion than anything else. Courage, fear, hope, lots of hope, they were feeling Americans who reacted out of those emotions. In their very documents defining the country they speak of “justice” and “tranquility,” “the general welfare” and “the blessings of liberty.” Those are all things that can’t be touched or legislated, they are things to be felt, to be achieved. One knows when justice is served not by a sentence, but by their gut feeling. One certainly knows when one is tranquil or blessed. No, our founders felt, they felt anger and rage against a King and a tyrant, they felt love and compassion for strangers, yes, they were greedy, some, another emotion, and yes, unjust, to Blacks and American Indians, and every kind of horrifying part of humanity existed them, the worst we can be. And yes, there was business and corporations of sorts. Yet, to them, all of that was a means to an end, and that end was a country that FELT, that had a heart and a soul to stand up for what was right and defend against wrong. Even right and wrong are emotions and totally subjective points of view at times.

I understand why many of you can’t or won’t feel it as deeply, or tire of it, but we must remember today more than ever that we are human. The immigration debate isn’t about illegals, it’s about people. Humans. The Gulf Disaster isn’t about who can or should drill where, it’s about us causing an event so catastrophic we have yet to see the outcome, hell, it’s not even anywhere close to being over. It’s a game changer, a life changer, a country changer or should be. It should be the death knell of oil and big energy companies. Period. Don’t you feel it? Can’t you feel it? Won’t you?

The same with war. Aren’t you weary of it for any reasons any more? Weary, tired, human thing again. A billion a day on foreign oil, billions more to fight wars to protect it, Iraq and Afghanistan tie directly in to the Gulf. It’s all related, everything in the news. And it’s all about people, not things, not adjectives, people.

It’s time to take a step back. To breathe in; to breathe deeply. Yes, you’ll choke on the toxic fumes of the Gulf, but once you recover, you’ll be inspired. Another emotion we need to feel. Inspiration. It’s been a while since America has felt it as a whole. If we begin to feel through all these events, and the pain they will cause (and they will, they still do because we don’t feel our way through then heal, we move on without healing); but if we move through that pain we’ll make something so much better than what we have now.

If we don’t start to feel more, more pain, more outrage, more of a need to sacrifice to make things better, then we sold our lives and souls to corporate America and like all of our gadgets our battery life as a nation is running out. The only way to recharge is to go back to basics; humanity.

Mar

Stop the Gayhunt on Massa

Stop the GayHunt And Refocus on the War
By Charles Karel Bouley

Rep . Patrick Kennedy got all fired up on the floor of the Congress Thursday, March 11, 2010, veins bulging, spittle flying….why? He was angry that while the Congress debates Afghanistan and the $3 Billion dollar a year escalation there are two members of the press corps there; he contends because the rest are too busy talking 24/7 about former Rep. Eric Massa’s personal woes.

He’s right. I did the same rant on my radio show yesterday (you may here that here http://www.radiokrl.com). But for different reasons.

You see, while the media was chasing down poor, helpless ex-Navy men that had the scarring and emotionally damning experiences not of war but of being groped by a guy, formerly unreported events that should have probably remained such, I was reading an email from an extended family member that had me quite upset. Upset because it wasn’t the “what” of the email but the “where.” He had just left Kabul and was in some outpost in Afghanistan. My extended family member, my fabulously gifted and remarkably handsome engineer is now one of the number I spoke so much about, the 30,000, one of the troops that now costs us one million per year to support; he’s back, for the third time.

My heart stopped when I got the email. My thoughts went to his wife, immediately. I wanted to hug her, bring her down to my house, go for facials. Because if she’s anything like me, she now goes to bed and wakes up hoping he’s OK and saying to ourselves that if one hair on his head is harmed….

Meanwhile, as I sat worried, Massa deconstructed on TV, including going on Glen Beck, a move so ridiculous that the man is obviously having a breakdown and no one stopped him. Truly, when one is in a room with Glen Beck and Beck appears to be the sane one, something is wrong.

His family must be in such an uproar, and his life is unraveling. The one thing this man has probably never dealt with, the fact that he obviously wants to explore men sexually on some level, has been ground in to grist for the media mill and he is literally falling apart under the glare of the spotlight. He is unstable, in huge denial, struggling internally to hold on the “self” he thought he had and the “self” that everyone now sees. He cant’ reconcile the two and he’s come unglued in some areas. I’m no psychologist, I’ve just been gay my entire life and have seen this over and over again.

And the media, including liberals on liberal radio started screaming for him to come out, bringing more salacious details about past allegations to the foreground. Everyone began the horrible news cycle of replaying his rantings, the obviously unstable talk from a man trying not to drown. I feel nothing but pity for him. He has lived a closeted life and now the door is wide open. Not that he’s gay, he may not identify as such. There are 307 million Americans and 307 million different sexualities. But why the media is on a gay witch hunt is beyond reason at this point. Why they insist on not stopping until he is outed or outs himself even after he has resigned is just malicious. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHO HE IS YET, give him a minute to find out. And then, really, it’s none of our business unless he wants it to be.

Me, the guy over here that doesn’t care, I lost a Universal Health Care supporting Democrat, and they’re hard to come by. As for the allegations about staffers, I find it hard to believe that men can truly be sexually harassed. I am a man, and it would be hard to harass me. Because I can say No! and I have the ability to back that No! up. So did each and every other sailor on that ship or any other ship. Sexual advances are only harassment if the person doesn’t want them, otherwise, it’s dating. Some people don’t wait for an answer, they’re boorish and jump in. Smack their hands, send them away with a warning. They do it again, report them or flatten them. You’re a guy, man up. And for the record, when someone muffs your hair and says they should be “frackin’” you, it’s a compliment not harassment. Since when is being told you are sexually attractive to someone an insult? Have we become that society? A society where someone making their sexual interest known, even in a boorish way, is harassment? Man up.

None of that applies to women. Between men and women it’s always a power thing. Always. Men have been harassing women since the caves. In fact, many women I’ve heard comment about the Massa case say, ya, our world, welcome to it, man up and move on. When a man harasses a woman it’s always about power and then sex, whether the man knows it or not. When a man harasses a man, it’s just sex. Unless it’s rape, and no one has alleged that. And at any point any of those staffers could have ended any harassment.

Oh, but they might have lost their job. Well, if your boss makes such a demand you’re screwed either way so pick your poison. Either it’s literal, or you end up in a big HR thing, people getting fired, reprimanded, investigated and that’s a mess, too. Of course report them and screw them by ruining their career; But for a mess of the hair? Truly. If someone refuses to stop and continues the behavior, take them down professionally so they learn. And if like Mark Foley the object of their attentions are under age or wards of the government, go after them. But nothing in this case really smacks of anything but some closeted guy trying to cop a feel every now and again. The grabby icky family member that is always doing inappropriate things…

And after he resigned why does anyone care? There were no criminal charges. No sexual claims in the Navy, and the ones that have come to light in office have been dropped or ended with the resignation. Nope, this is just a gay witch hunt. Make him come out. He’s a groper. He likes men. He’s a dirty abusing fag hypocrite in a closet and should be exposed, at least the media thinks so. Even Larry King got the “are you gay” question out…instead of, “are you an abuser? Do you abuse your office to get sexual favors? “ Nope, are you gay. And the diversion answer he gave was classic of someone not wanting to answer truthfully. You don’t have to watch “Lie to Me” to figure that out.

Meanwhile, while all this raged, it appeared Rep. Patrick Kennedy and myself were paying attention to Afghanistan. Maybe he feels he has a horse in the race, I certainly do.

So I’m drawn back to my letter to President Obama. Yes, I wrote one the moment I got the email from Afghanistan. The talk topic became very real, and suddenly Massa…who cares? Poor guy, he’ll probably end up in gayhab, repaired through the Lord. Whatever. Unemployment went up in 30 states on the same day (down from 43, but still), 100 Americans on average died from lack of access to health care, 1600 more on average went bankrupt because of medical bills and my friend had to go to sleep in deplorable conditions only to get up and go on a patrol that may be his last. All in the one day Eric Massa chose to deconstruct. So like Kennedy, I really think there’s other things to focus on unless you’re TMZ. Maybe we need a political version of TMZ for all this kind of stuff so MSNBC and CNN, Fox Noise, etc, can leave it alone.

And if one does focus on Massa, focus on the abusive aspect, not the gay aspect. When something is repressed like that, the person acts out. These were incidents where he was acting out, the whatever part of him that wants to be with men coming to the surface, reason be damned. He joined the Navy for God’s sake. He put himself on a ship with men at sea for long periods of time. If your branch of service has a Village People song about it, something’s up.

And you know what, thank society for that. If men were allowed, like women, to explore sexuality with other men without repercussion it would all be different. Two women get together in college, on an all females ship, or any time, and not only does the heterosexual society not care, but most straight guys would want to be there. Two guys try it out on any level even once, QUEERS! HOMOS! The heterosexual porn industry bears that out; two women often get together in those films, never, ever two men. That would then be Bi. Such a ridiculous set of rigid rules and double standards it’s no wonder we have Massa, and let’s not forget State Senator and homophobe CA Rep. Ashburn coming out in messy, messy ways. It’s scenes just like the Massa one that will keep other men from actually saying, I’m not gay, but I have always wanted to…or, I’m secure enough to explore this side of my sexuality or whatever Massa could not tell himself, kept his attractions so pent up even he couldn’t recognize them when they surfaced and ended up being that grabby guy no one really likes.

Meanwhile, today, this very day, 100 Americans on average will die from lack of access to health care, 1600 more on average will file bankruptcy because of medical bills and my friend, and hundreds of thousands of other people’s friends and families will be in Afghanistan or Iraq, unemployment in my state, CA, will still be at 12.5 %, and on a personal note, I’ll still be single. Yes, it jabs at me that closeted Republicans or Democrats with families are getting more male attention than myself. What a world.

So leave Massa alone.; He’s a hot gay, bi or questioning mess who is having a stress related breakdown. Do not repeat what he says in the news if you care at all for his sanity or his process. He hasn’t hurt you, America, at all. He doesn’t deserve to have such a gayhunt after him. Foley? Yup. Craig? Yup. Ashburn? Yup. Massa? Please.

And let’s refocus as Kennedy has asked on Afghanistan for just a minute or two. I drafted this to the President, maybe it’s time more of us do.

Dear President Obama:

I usually address my messages to you on air, but tonight, I’m writing you for a reason. You see, today, I became invested in the wars again, because a family member of mine is now in Afghanistan. A kinder, more intelligent person you’ll never meet, and a fierce and brave warrior.

So I need you, Mr. President, to really make the right decisions in that theatre. I’m not telling you what that should be. I don’t see the PDB’s you do, I don’t have the full picture. But remember this: someone I love as much as any other human on this planet is now one of the 30,000 sent over, and there’s 29,999 others this year alone with family just like me.

So Mr. President, as Commander in Chief I want you to know I am holding you personally responsible for his safety. He trusts you, and the military, and has served it well. Do not betray his, or any trust, by keeping them in harm’s way any longer than need be. Make sure his mission, all missions are clear, that objectives are not muddy, that the goals are obtainable. Listen to the generals and commanders, but then use the wisdom that we elected to make sure our men and women, particularly one of them, comes home unscathed.

I support you Mr. President, but now I have a horse in this race as well. A thoroughbred really. I know to him he’s no more valuable than any other member of his squad, but to me, he’s an American hero.

Please, keep him safe, support him and his fellow army soldiers, and know I am watching every single thing and I’m a voter. Please make the right decisions for the overall objective, and for the troops on the grounds.

You’ll never meet each and every soldier, Mr. President. But know this: if they are half the person my family member is, then you command an Army of Americans that cannot be replaced, is not dispensable and is deserving of your full attention and support both in the wartime theatre and when they return home.

Be well
Charles Karel Bouley

I sent my letter to President Obama. Why not take the five minutes you might have spent in the Massa saga today, and write one yourself about Afghanistan. Let him know we are all still very focused on it as well.

Do so here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

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