Jay Allen's Blog

The Relevance of 1876 in 2008...

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:45:33 -0600

Google has recently published several volumes of photographs from LIFE magazine. I've spent the last hour looking at many of these fascinating, depressing, and bizarre pictures dating back to the 1870s. Every picture I see, seems to flood my mind with more blogging ideas than I can possibly write - pictures of the Great Depression and if it relates to current economic conditions - pictures of Congress from decades ago and how odd it is to see no women and all whites - pictures of windmills from the 1800s and how odd it is to think that this "technology" is part of the future - and the list goes on...

The picture that caught my attention the most was of the Washington Monument under construction in 1876. Construction on the monument began, nearly 30 years prior, in 1848 and the monument was not completed until 1884. Funding problems and the Civil War were two of the primary reasons for the lengthy construction.

For some reason, the picture is calming to me, especially in our country's economic crisis. It reminds me of the simple adage - plan your work and work your plan. 1876 was nearly 3 decades after construction began on the monument, nearly 1 decade away from the monument's completion and 1876 was not much more than a decade beyond the Civil War, our country's biggest crisis. There's a lot more pictures and a lot more monuments 132 years later. However, I can't help but wonder what Americans in 2140 will think of our generation. Will we leave behind more than shopping malls?

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

What's Cheaper than the Bailout?

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:57:30 -0600

It's interesting if not astonishing to compare the $700 billion bailout to the cost of other major government projects and wars. According to CNBC, when adjusted for inflation, the Vietnam War, Korean War, Gulf Wars 1 & 2, and the war on terror have all cost less money than the bailout. And the ten years of technological advancements to send a man to the moon was 1/3 the cost of the bailout. The following is a list of big projects with original costs and inflation adjusted costs:

Hoover Dam
Original Cost: $49 million | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $782 million

Panama Canal
Original Cost: $375 million | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $7.9 billion

Gulf War I
Original Cost: $61 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $98 billion

Marshall Plan
Original Cost: $12.7 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion

Louisiana Purchase
Original Cost: $15 million | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion

Race to the Moon
Original Cost: $36.4 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion

Savings & Loan Crisis
Original Cost: $153 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion

Korean War
Original Cost: $54 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion

The New Deal
Original Cost: $32 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion

Gulf War II / War on Terror
Original Cost: $551 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion

Vietnam War
Original Cost: $111 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion

NASA (Cumulative)
Original Cost: $416.7 billion | Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Blog No. 100 - Hopefully not Another Brick in the Wall

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:32:45 -0600

This is my 100th posting. I try, with varying degrees of success, to write interesting blogs with a unique perspective - not just another brick in the wall... Most of my blogs from the past couple of months have been political in nature, but there have also been a few with some of my original music.

Anyway, in the tradition of Simon Conway and Nicholas Goglucci, I am including music videos to accompany this milestone post. Enjoy!

Video from the movie - The Wall...

Video from a concert - 1980...

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Bliss for Less than a Minute - Original Instrumental & Video

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:12:38 -0600

This track is a synthesizer instrumental I wrote called "Bliss for Less than a Minute (At a Time)". In addition to writing and performing the brief amount of music on this track, I produced a video to accompany the track.

Bliss for Less than a Minute (At a Time) - The Jay Allen One

And here's the video...

What do you think about the track and/or video?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Obama - Better than Reagan

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:07:02 -0600

The 2008 Presidential Election is over, but many people are already blaming Obama before he moves into The White House. One lingering condescension from the campaign is the condemnation of his experience as a community organizer.

It is evident that most people who joke about him being a community organizer do not realize that he was a community organizer at 23 years of age. So, what did Reagan do when he was 23? Ronald Reagan was a disc jockey for a low watt radio station in Iowa. And many of the same descriptions that were once applied to Reagan have been applied to Obama in a negative manner... "celebrity", member of the "Hollywood/media elite", and just a good "public speaker".

Following his early 20s, here is a very brief recap of Obama's acolades in chronological order... J.D. magna cum laude, President - Harvard Law Review, Senior Lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School, Illinois Senator, United States Senator, and President United States.

Therefore, if you are someone who still thinks of Obama as just a community organizer, then from now on, think of Reagan as just a disc jockey. I prefer to think of them both as Presidents.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Why can't ActiveRain spell Barack Obama?

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:41:43 -0600

I think ActiveRain is a great website - informative, fun and addictive! However, it seems odd that the spellcheck feature on ActiveRain, as of today, does not recognize the name of our President-Elect. If you type a blog or make a comment with the name Barack Obama - the spellcheck recognizes it as being a mistake.

So, come on AR - update your spellchecker!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Obama - Day One

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:28:02 -0600

After the "Patriot" Act and years of George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, et al. - the Constitution has essentially been torn apart. A President, such as our President-Elect Barack Obama will have the intelligence, the staff and a cast-iron backbone to restore our Constitution - piece by piece. The cartoon below illustrates this hope.

By Mike Luckovich of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Fox News: Palin did NOT know Africa is a Continent!!!

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:04:25 -0600

I hadn't planned to write any more blogs about Sarah Palin, unless she announced her intention to seek the Republican nomination in 2012. BUT then I saw this on Fox News.

Palin...
Didn't know Africa was a continent
Didn't know which countries makeup NAFTA.

By electing Barack Obama, we might not have a booming economy anytime soon, but we have collectively dodged the proverbial bullet by NOT electing a person that couldn't answer $100 questions on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. If you voted McCain/Palin, be thankful that more people voted for the opposition.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

McCain wants Obama to Win

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:12:53 -0600

McCain wants Obama to win... how else can you explain his behavior?

A 60-something McCain was better than Bush and perhaps better than Gore. A 70-something McCain is a good enough American to hand the election to the best candidate in generations... Barack Obama.

If McCain is a bright man (despite graduating 894 of 899 in college), then he wants Obama to win. His desire for Obama to win is evident in many of his recent actions, especially the following...

McCain picks the least qualified VP is US history. (McCain wants you to use your common sense and not vote for an old man who has an uninformed, unqualified running mate.)
McCain suspends his campaign to fix the economy.(McCain wants you to see that he is truly erratic, not just because an Obama ad said so.)
McCain looks like an amateur in 3 of 3 debates. (McCain said he was "going to kick Obama's 'you know what'" in the third debate, but instead he simply referred to a loser named Joe 20+ times.)
And the list goes on...

Has McCain convinced you to support Obama?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

"Originality"

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:03:09 -0600

In July, I founded the AR Group - Blatant Politics. Since then, I have posted several political blogs. However, with the election just hours from now, there will soon be less emphasis on politics (for better or worse) both in the news and on my blogs.

One of my favorite hobbies, outside of arguing about politics, is composing/writing/recording original music. So, in the spirit of non-politics, I've created a new group called "Originality".

Originality is a group for originators. Members should present original thoughts, original artwork, original music, and/or any other original material for others to review, praise and to offer constructive criticism.

I invite you all to join and look forward to reading, seeing and hearing your original material!

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Original Psychedelic Song/Video - Space (on December 13, 2005)

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:56:11 -0600

This track is a psychedelic song called "Space (on December 13, 2005)". In addition to writing and performing the brief amount of music on this track, I produced a video to accompany the track.

Space on December 13 2005 - The Jay Allen One

And here's the video...

What do you think about the track and/or video?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Original Hard Rock - Eel Song

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:50:21 -0600

This track is a hard rock song I wrote called "Eel Song". In addition to writing and performing the brief amount of music on this track, I produced a video to accompany the track.

May 17 2005 (Eel Song) - The Jay Allen One

And here's the video...

What do you think about the track and/or video?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Bush may Deserve Nobel Peace Prize

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:08:11 -0500

Al Gore was dull and boring, even Gore and bore rhyme. But George W. Bush was far from a bore.

With questions, George Bush was frequently at a loss for words or creating words, which made him appear spontaneous and ordinary. Many people voted for Bush because he was more "likeable" than Gore. Therefore, in 2000, voters (along with the US Supreme Court) decided that our country needed an average, likeable guy rather than an intelligent, accomplished one. Eight years later, we are paying a hefty price for having Mr. Ordinary as President.

In 2008, Ms. Ordinary is now campaigning to be the Vice President to the oldest presidential nominee in US history. However, it seems that enough people are beginning to realize that they will never meet, much less have a beer with, a presidential nominee - so, it makes no difference if the candidate is likeable - the United State needs a leader that is intelligent and healthy enough to be capable and effective.

John McCain likes war (100 years in Iraq) and Sarah Palin believes that the world may be coming to an end (her church makes Rev. Wright look like a comedian). Thus, WWIII is much more likely with McCain/Palin... McCain will create war(s) and Palin should see war as simply a part of "end times". Prior to Bush, Americans had not seen how much damage a dimwitted president could cause. With Bush's exceptionally low approval ratings, it's evident that many Americans realize they made a mistake by electing Mr. Ordinary. So, without Bush, many Americans would make a mistake by voting for Ms. Ordinary. Thus, Bush has done his part to avert World War III.

Honorable Mention for Nobel Peace Prize - Tina Fey for making a mockery of a conceited, arrogant and uninformed candidate.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Music and a Video for Syrupy Funk Drive

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:44:20 -0500

My last music post was for a ~12 second ringtone, now I am posting another short track called Syrupy Funk Drive. In addition to writing and performing the brief amount of music on this track, I produced a video to accompany the track.

Syrupy Funk Drive - The Jay Allen One

And here's the video...

What do you think about the track and/or video?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Watch this Actor Portray a Candidate in Campaign TV Ad

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:40:40 -0500

This is the first campaign ad that I've seen with an actor portraying a candidate. In Kentucky there is a very entertaining, negative campaign, by both parties, for Mitch McConnell's seat in the U.S. Senate.

This 30 second ad features an actor portraying Mitch McConnell. In the commercial, McConnell, who is the Senate Minority Leader, is being chased through the woods by hound dogs to find his "record".

What do you think of this ad?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Original Music from Jay Allen... "Eerie Ringtone"

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:51:33 -0500

During the past couple of months, I have posted several political blogs. However, with the election less than a week from now, there will soon be less emphasis on politics both in the news and on my blogs.

One of my favorite hobbies, outside of arguing about politics, is composing/writing/recording original music. So, in the spirit of non-politics, I give you an original music composition called Eerie Ringtone... (the player doesn't always work on the blog, so you might have to click the link)

Eerie Ringtone - The Jay Allen One

As the name, Eerie Ringtone suggests - this musical bit is best suited not as a song, but as a ringtone. What do you think about it?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Should Election Day by a National Holiday?

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:50:17 -0500

Salaried professionals/white collar workers are more likely to have control of their work schedule than hourly blue collar workers. Therefore, white collar workers would have easier access to the election booth than their blue collar counterparts. It seems logical that this would create a situation in which people earning less money would be less likely and less able to vote.

In fact, Census data from the 2004 election shows a direct correlation between participation and household income - lower class citizens are much less likely to vote than upper class citizens. Only 36.5% of individuals from families earning less than $10k/yr voted, while 78.3% of individuals from families earning more than $150k/yr voted.

Do you think that election day should be a national holiday to help more low wage workers to vote?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Palin's Hometown Paper Endorses Obama

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:49:45 -0500

This weekend, Sarah Palin's hometown newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News announced that it would endorse Barack Obama for President. Based on Palin not being able to name one newspaper or magazine in an interview, it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't read the article. Despite her qualifications, the newspaper stated that "Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment."

In terms of the economy, The Anchorage Daily News cites McCain's longtime opposition to market regulation. And more recently his erratic (as the paper states "erratic is a kind description") behavior during the economic crisis and inability to demonstrate presidential maturity or leadership in the process. It shows that McCain is "ill-equipped to lead the essential effort of reining in a runaway financial system and setting an anxious nation on course to economic recovery."

The article concludes... Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Are you surprised that Palin's hometown paper opposes her ticket or has the liberal/elite/gotcha media infiltrated Alaska?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Who Ended Depression? - DEMOCRATIC President, Senate, House

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:57:35 -0500

A Democratic President, Senate, and House ended the Great Depression... and they'll do it again.

Many people have expressed concern, especially given the current depression-esque state of the economy, about Democrats controlling the White House, Senate and House. The suggestion is that spending will run rampant, socialism will ensue, and the country will disintegrate. However, the great depression ended with the Democrats in "full-control".

The years leading directly to the Great Depression were lead by Republican Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover and were supported by Republican controlled Congresses. As the saying goes, the Rich got Richer and the Poor got Poorer with the Republicans in total control and ultimately the economy collapsed due to the excesses of the rich. As illustrated by the timeline below, the Democrats fixed an economy that was broken by the Republicans. If history really does repeat itself, Obama will be President, the Democrats will control the House and Senate and our economy will be restored.

Do you think history will repeat itself?

Here is a brief timeline as seen on Hyperhistory.com...
1924 - The stock market begins its spectacular rise. Bears little relation to the rest of the economy.
1925 - The top tax rate is lowered to 25 percent - the lowest top rate in the eight decades since World War I. 1933 - Roosevelt does much to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, but is concerned with a balanced budget. The free fall of the GNP is significantly slowed; it dips only 2.1 percent this year. Unemployment rises slightly, to 24.9 percent.
1936 - Top tax rate raised to 79 percent. Economic recovery continues: GNP grows a record 14.1 percent; unemployment falls to 16.9 percent.
1937 - Roosevelt fears an unbalanced budget and cuts spending for 1937. That summer, the nation plunges into another recession. Despite this, the yearly GNP rises 5.0 percent, and unemployment falls to 14.3 percent.

One last thought... people lose track of time. And it's easy to look at a man of John McCain's age and think - "he knows what it was like to suffer because he grew up during the depression" - well, the fact is both McCain and Obama grew up after the depression.

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

White Coed - "Black Man" Carving Hoax - Was it CREATED by McCain Campaign?

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:56:56 -0500

The proof that the McCain campaign created the hoax about 20-year-old, attention deprived Ashley Todd is not available, so perhaps I'm "jumping the gun" just like the McCain campaign.

According to several reports, McCain's Pennsylvania communications director disclosed very specific details about the supposed incident to John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, at about the same time Ms. Todd provided the information to police. This would indicate that Ms. Todd was working directly with at least the state level of the McCain campaign.

So, what will the McCain/Palin campaign not do to steal this election?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Funniest Image of the 2008 Election

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:19:42 -0500

More Taxes = Fewer Abortions

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:56:45 -0500

Many people have cited abortion as a primary, if not the sole, reason for opposing Barack Obama. I have written several blogs and comments that have illustrated how a McCain/Palin administration would threaten not only the lives of the unborn, but also the lives of children, men, women, Americans, foreigners and anyone else with a pulse.

Let's get back to the topic of abortion. I am personally opposed to abortions - as far back as I can remember, I have believed that abortions are simply wrong in most cases. BUT... what about people like Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, Timothy McVeigh, Jeffrey Dahmer, or the rapists, murderers, and child molesters that occupy prisons - would the world be a better place had these people not been born? I suspect that the victims in these cases would say YES.

So, why would a mother choose to have an abortion?
Is that mother evil, a satan worshiper, a socialist, an atheist, OR someone who has been dealt a series of personal and economic setbacks that many of you reading this have not experienced, will not experience and cannot understand? I tend to believe the latter and research proves it.

Joseph Wright of Penn State University and Michael Bailey of Georgetown University wrote a report about this subject. "This study of all U.S. states from 1982-2000 finds that social and economic supports such as benefits for pregnant women and mothers and economic assistance to low-income families have contributed significantly to reducing the number of abortions."

The government programs that provide economic assistance are not funded by growing money on trees, they are funded by taxpayers. John McCain's "hatchet" will chop away at these programs - he will cut taxes for the rich and famous and eliminate programs to help the poor including pregnant women. So, based on two decades of irrefutable government data, if you want more abortions vote for John McCain.

What are your thoughts?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

Palin Still Doesn't Know What the VP Does

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:52:16 -0500

Yesterday, Sarah Palin answered a few questions on KUSA. A third grader sent a question for the interview - "what does the vice president do?" According to Palin (see the video below), a VP is "in charge of the US Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes."

Had Palin learned the Constitution of the United States or simply read Article I, Section 3 - she would have known that this assertion is wrong. The Constitution states that "the Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided."

Here's my question - does anyone think that Palin has ever read the Constitution?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

People Cannot Vote for Obama - Literally

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:59:23 -0500

The October 19, 2008 edition of The Charleston Gazette reports that early voters are having trouble casting a vote for Barack Obama. The voting machine switches a vote cast for Obama to a vote cast for John McCain.

A voter at the Putnam County Courthouse in Winfield, WV said "I hit Obama and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. If McCain wins, there was something wrong with the machines." When she asked officials at the courthouse for a printout of her vote she was told that it was not available.

A report like the one above shows that the integrity of our democracy is in question. In case you did not hear the voting machine "problems" from Ohio in 2004, read on... Prior to the 2004 US Presidential Election, Walden O'Dell, the CEO of Diebold Inc. (the company that makes voting machines) stated that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president [Bush]." Based on O'Dell's comment, Diebold rigged the voting machines in Ohio for Bush. If Bush lost Ohio in 2004, he would have lost the election.

As McCain says - he is not George Bush- but do you think that McCain will be just like Bush and get a boost from Diebold's voting machines?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net

The Rich... Tax Them Before it's too Late

Jay Allen - MovieVoice (MovieVoice Production Co.) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:33:51 -0500

According to the results of a 20-year study published today at businessweek.com- achieving the "American Dream" is becoming less of a reality and more of just a dream. Children are less likely to do better than their parents and the poor are less likely to become affluent through hard work. The BusinessWeek article states that "the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger -- particularly in the United States -- as top earners' incomes soar while others' stagnate."

It seems to me that many people are too optimistic about their earnings potential. If someone imagines a different lifestyle than they are living, most people prefer to imagine themselves as richer, not poorer. Therefore, as a rich person you wouldn't want to pay any more in taxes. But let's be realistic, the vast majority of people are not rich and should not be concerned about someone with multiple homes and a private jet paying more taxes.

Raising taxes on the richest is necessary. Based on the nearly non-existant American Dream, how could you not agree with more taxes for the richest (many of whom achieved vast sums of money by underpaying employees and defrauding shareholders)?

Best regards,
Jay

Jay Allen
MovieVoice
jay@movievoice.net