The Daily Poop - 7JUN11

News, views and snooze in preparation for the Navy Musicians Association reunion.

Two weeks and a wakeup.
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Two of my old Navy Band Newport shipmates will be returning to the NMA reunion after missing the fun in San Antonio last year: Max Murry (bass) and Tom Wholley (piano) came to the reunion for the first time in Virginia Beach two years ago. I'm glad they've agreed to a second chorus.
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Newporter Jack Rodway, however, will not be in attendance. He and his wife Mickie are selling their house and moving in early July, and the timing is too close. I have issued Jack a Certificate of Validity for this excuse. It's a one-reunion, non-renewable note of forgiveness, and you don't want too many of them in your file.
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Wouldn't you know it: just as I send out the notices that the annual Daily Poop season has begun, blogger.com redesigns its blogging interface. Everything you do to get the scoop online is revamped, altered, just plain pain-in-the-butt different. It looks like the learning curve well be, well, vertical.

But these changes all happen "under the hood." You, the loyal patron, won't notice anything different. You can count on the same smooth, high class journalism you expect from a humble guy like me.

The Daily Poop - Monday, 6JUN11

NMA Officers Planning 2011 Reunion. 

Barely two weeks until the NMA reunion officially begins in Virginia Beach. Two weeks of incessant blogging. Welcome to Year Four of The Daily Poop.
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I've had a few questions about ground transportation from the airport to the hotel--some of us are flying to Virginia Beach for the first time. Arranging a shuttle ride from the airport is easy--the details are here.
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Lucky me--I get a warm-up for the reunion. The week before the reunion will be Navy Week here in the Quad Cities area of western Illinois/eastern Iowa. (We've had this honor before and, believe me, it's a big deal here in Corn Country, USA.) Navy Band Great Lakes will give a number of performances. I've seen the pop/rock contignet, "Horizon" before--NMA member John Pastin's son Chris was the drummer. This year, I'm hoping to catch the jazz and concert bands; I imagine those youngsters will compare pretty well to our NMA bands...
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Dear Senator: Preserve Military Band Funding

The thought that congress might cut the budget for military bands is no longer a vague worry. The threat is now on active duty.

The House of Representatives has approved the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012. This bill reduces military band funding by more than 1/3, reducing the current appropriation of $320 million to $200 million.

Ouch.

I have strong, although mixed, feelings about this.Yes, I support military music. Yes, I know how bands contribute to our armed forces, how hard they work and how well they succeed in promoting morale, recruiting, public relations and tradition.

And, yes, I also know that our country is in a fiscal mess. Three-year-olds and nations must learn they can't have everything they want.

There's a lot we could debate here. Even if you're convinced, as I am, that strong, versatile music programs contribute greatly toward the military's mission, does the Army really need 4,000 musicians and 100 bands? Time is critical, so I'm not going to start that debate right now. What I'm going to do is write to my senators and ask them to consider reducing or eliminating the cuts in the bill.

It's not too late. I know I should have contacted my representative in the House weeks ago, but as the Washington Post reported,

More than 150 amendments to the defense bill had been approved for debate, and in a rush to get the bill passed, [the chairman of the Armed Services Committee] packaged dozens of them together for passage by voice vote.

In other words, the amendment to reduce band funding, (introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)), was passed with scores of other amendments"en banc." That's French for "all at once, in a rush, without discussion."

If there is to be deliberation--and horse-trading--it will be in the Senate. If you feel that military music is an asset worth preserving, I urge you to tell your senator. Pronto.

It's never been so easy to do.  This list links you to a web form for contacting both of your senators. You can write to him or her and have your message in your senator's office in ten minutes.

I feel strongly enough to consider it an obligation to do what I can, even if it's not much. And it's not just an obligation; petitioning the government is also, as I recall, a right, guaranteed me by the First Amendment.