How the President should be elected

How the President should be elected

First things first, no more parties. Political or otherwise. All the money that is raised for campaigning and wasted on advertisement, hot air and parties for these people is criminal! With the amount of money raised you could pay teachers proper salaries, build out homeless shelters, provide proper counseling and medical treatment for PTSD veterans, clean up our environment, get kids off of drugs, keep food on families tables, stimulate the economy and focus on our nation first and foremost which would result in the rest of the world viewing us differently and becoming less apt to try and attack us. No more talk of what these people say they are going to do- it will all come down to action. Action that will have to be accomplished within a month time frame.

Here's the format:

10 people are going to vie to be the leader of the USA. Beginning in January they will need to complete 10 tasks- 1 per month, January thru October with the best performer being inducted in November- right on time.

Each month on the first the new task will be presented to them. They will have to raise the money and put it towards that task. The task could be Creating a solution and putting it into action for homelessness, or creating universal health care, repairing Social Security or cleaning the environment-just to name a few.

In doing this selection process we can have most problems fixed by the time November rolls around and it will be general maintanance at that point. At the end of the month you will see who achieved the goal. Whoever did the least is now out of the running. It will trim the selection pool down until the last month you will have the top two performers competing in the last task. Whoever does the best job there will be President. Period.

No talking, no promising, no warming up to any special interest groups at all. The leader will have shown the ability to take a problem in our nation, find a solution and put that solution into effect immediately. Everybody wins! The Nation is back on track. No more political red tape and time wasting. No more disconnected, overfed, overpaid politicians in nice suits, perfect smiles, a unique hand gesture and immovable hair who have zero interest in anyone but their own pockets wasting our time, money and resources. This should scare a lot of people but it should set a light bulb off in the heads of 95% of the people.

Of the people, for the people and by the people. Let's take it back!

Gettin' Press

I was interviewed and written about in the San Diego Reader by Jay Allen Sanford. The article is here:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/oct/12/musician-interviews-chad-cavanaugh/

go check it out!

Dead Man Walkin' Pulp Vol. 1

It's dark and I'm awake.

Body aching from a few hours before. It's been a while since I had to jump from the fire escape of a fourth floor to escape a 'collector'. I buried a Louisville Slugger in his dome, but, a dome like that only stays asleep if it becomes the new home of a cannon ball. Not a wooden bat. He'll probably use the splinters to clean out his teeth when he comes to.

The rain beats down like a snare drum on the AC unit propped in the window. It's already 80 degrees and the humidity is 100%.

It's sweaty...

The rain stops suddenly. Another sound grabs my attention. It's foot steps. I expected it. How long could I go without this coming my way. The rain starts up again, even harder. Perfect. It means I don't have to tip-toe to get my sawed off.

The silhouette grows on the window of the side door. It's a large shadow. They never send a small shadow. Always the big lugs. Usually just out of the joint. The type of guy that is more comfortable in the Hell that is maximum security prison than he is with freedom. In the joint, he's the boss. Nobody is above him on the food chain. His word is law. The warden consults with this type of guy when there's a problem within the walls of the pen. A guy who's skull can take a crack from a Louisville Slugger.

The sound of the door handle jiggling. My heart beat stays steady. I've prepared for this moment. Somewhere in the back of your mind, when you deal with a guy like Verducci, you know you HAVE to be ready for a moment like this. because it's going to come. Whether you're paid up or not. This is how Verducci covers his tracks. He sends these big lugs as 'collectors'. He's not interested in repeat business. He's interested in not having his name spoken in the same breath as his 'other business'.

Especially during election season...

The door handle is pulled through the door and moonlight shoots through the opening where the hardware used to be. Now my heart rate jumps a bit. I pump the sawed off. A universal sound that would make any man turn and run, only serves to help this 'collector' determine where in the dark I'm crouching. He barrels towards me.

I empty three shells into him. One to the left shoulder, one to the right knee and the third seems to have buried into his stomach.

He buckles over to catch his breath. I chamber one more shell. He looks up at me, the moonlight outlines his larger than life head. I pull the trigger and the larger than life head becomes a larger then life splatter mark across the wall by the door.

They know where I am... it's time to move on... Once again I'm a dead man walkin'...

A new sound enters my ears. My daughter. She's woken up.

op*por*tu*ni*ty

Opportunity is defined by Merriam-Webster as:
1: A favorable juncture of circumstances
2: A good chance for advancement or progress

When I think of the United States of America and why it exists, I think 'Land of Opportunity'. Because think for a few moments at the myriad opportunities out there waiting for you to grab a hold of them. Yes, I said that YOU have to grab hold of THEM. Nowhere in those definitions does Merriam-Webster mention a handout or entitlement of any kind.

If you sit, with your hand out, palm up, waiting. Waiting for someone to give you everything you need, waiting for someone to help you out, waiting for anything to start your life for you, then you're going to end up with an extremely fatigued arm because that hand will stay outstretched for a looooooooong time.

Don't wait for a friend that promised you something, go get it. Don't wait for a government handout, go make it happen. Don't wait for a ride, get to walking.

Make your own good fortune happen! Yes, it's hard work. But hard work is necessary. It's necessary because once you've broken your back achieving your goal, the end reward will have a value that cannot have a price affixed to it. Get something easy or for free and it will have little or no value, period.

Make it happen, don't wait to see if it will happen.



The song 'Opportunity' written/performed by Chad Cavanaugh, all rights reserved

Can't Never Could

Can't never could...

These are the words of a very wise and very successful man. A man that didn't operate on 'can't' but on 'can'. His name is Dr. Tom Malone.

Think of the massive walls the word 'can't' builds. Think of the numerous life experiences and fond memories never occur because of on contraction. Can't.

Think now about a completely different word. Can. The exact opposite of can't. Can is a key, it opens doors. Can is a bulldozer that knocks down Can't's walls. Can is climbing new heights, breaking new barriers, smashing old records and filling a scrapbook full of memories. Can is a rich, full life.

You Can take control of your life

You Can take control of your diet

You Can choose to love instead of hate

You Can determine who is allowed in your life

You Can have happiness

It's quicker and easier to say than 'can't'. Can went to the moon, Can scored 100 points in a basketball game, Can won 8 Olympic medals, Can is a shot of adrenaline to the psyche which is the most powerful weapon on a human.

I Can, I Have and I Will again! So Can you!

More Than Just A Bean and Cheese

It's the most non-descript item on any Mexican food places menu.

Bean and cheese burrito.

Nothing fancy. Nothing earth shattering. Three basic elements. Tortilla, refried beans and cheese. But when done right, it is a masterpiece. The most purest form of simple perfection and for me, the telling tale of whether or not I'm going to patronize a taco shop.

Many people argue over the carne asada, the mariscos, the fish or shrimp tacos/burritos. All of those items are nice and all, but when a place takes the time, puts forth the effort and shows the true love of the basic ingredients it speaks volumes to me. You see, it's more than just a bean and some cheese. It's an indication of caring.

In the theme of simplicity, I leave this at that.

What'd He Say? Que ha dicho?

Had it not been for a news article on July 9th, 2011, I would've never heard of Facundo Cabral. Unfortunately for Senor Cabral, myself, and millions of adoring fans around the world, it was an article about his untimely death.

He was an Argentinian singer/songwriter who grew up impoverished and without formal education. He had to walk miles and miles just to seek work to support his mother and many siblings. He was abandoned by his father at an early age and as an adult his wife and child died in a plane crash. He was considered a rebel and is particularly appealing because to me he is akin to the Irish balladeers that sang songs of Irish freedom. He was a voice for those not happy with politicos and officials and his death is considered an assassination.

Facundo Cabral was the definition of 'street cred'.

This is a life most would never want to live. This was a life that spawned music that would inspire millions around the world and especially in South America.

So, once again, I'm late to the party. I only heard about him after his death. Thankfully we live in the day and age we do. All I had to do was type his name in to my Pandora app on my iPhone and voila! I have a Facundo Cabral station.

The first song ever played on my new station was 'No Soy De Aqui, Ni Soy De Alla'. And it is beautiful, well crafted and weaves a story through delicate string play that I cannot for the life of me tell you the meaning of because it's in a different language. No clue. My limited Spanish allows me to pick up on a few words or phrases here and there but over all. Couldn't tell ya...

But here's my point in all this. He begins his songs with an introduction of the song, as most singer/songwriters (myself included) will do. Create the background for the story before singing the story. He introduces, sings and composes so brilliantly, that, even with a language barrier, I feel like I know the song. Even though I don't. It is a true gift to be able to speak in a foreign tongue and STILL connect with those who don't speak it.

So, if you have Pandora, create a Facundo Cabral station. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

*the image of Facundo Cabral was taken from latinorebels.com.