The Hateful Repubs and Hillary Clinton

The GOP’s Hillary problem

copied from THE HILL...........

By Brent Budowsky - 05/08/13 06:35 PM ET

House Republicans are misusing taxpayer money and abusing House committee rules to promote a partisan vendetta against President Obama and the woman who has earned the stature of being the most admired political leader in America, and a stateswoman who is widely admired around the world: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Last week I wrote about the GOP’s Obama problem. Today I write about the GOP’s Hillary problem and begin with this: The House leadership and the media should investigate and report whether Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and the majority of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have violated the rules of the House by systematically withholding vital information about Benghazi witnesses and testimony from committee Democrats while selectively leaking information to the press.

Make no mistake, the hearings about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, are being conducted with one-party rule and the ethical standards of a Soviet Politburo hearing under Leonid Brezhnev, with rampant procedural violations of the rights of committee Democrats.Make no mistake, these hearings are not an impartial attempt to gather the facts. They are a partisan witch hunt against Clinton that embodies everything Americans dislike about politics in Washington and Republicans today.
Former White House Counsel John Dean once told Richard Nixon that there was a cancer on his presidency. Republicans have lost so many recent elections because there is a cancer on their party.
The cancer is that, without ideas and policies that appeal to voters, Republicans are reduced to a politics of obstruction, nihilism and negativity that makes them appear as if they hope America fails, and a politics of personal destruction that is now, through the Benghazi hearings, directed at Clinton.
Republicans today can learn from Nixon’s farewell address, when he warned that those obsessed with destroying their political opponents will only destroy themselves.
Before the bodies were fully laid to rest after the tragedy at Benghazi, the Republican nominee for president, backed by the Republican National Committee chairman, disgracefully said that President Obama was sympathetic to those who killed Americans at Benghazi.
From September 2012 until May 2013, Republicans have shamefully tried, and failed, to exploit the deaths of Americans at Benghazi for partisan gain. Of course, mistakes were made at Benghazi. Clinton long ago accepted her fair share of responsibility, which is one more reason she is held, and will continued to be held, in such high esteem by so many Americans.
When will Chairman Issa and Republicans accept responsibility for their aggressive and unwise attempts to cut embassy security spending before Benghazi?
It is a disgrace for House Republicans to ask taxpayers to subsidize five House committees — paying huge staffs and expenses, working in league with partisan Republican lawyers, withholding information from committee Democrats and leaking partial information to the press — pursuing a partisan vendetta against the former secretary of State, who is the one person who has taken public responsibility and implemented changes to prevent future tragedies.
Clinton has achieved widespread admiration at home and abroad by earning it through hard work, great skill, high standards, vast achievement and good faith as first lady, a United States senator and secretary of State. She has triumphed over a generation of GOP slanders and cheap shots with even more achievement and good humor.
This is the GOP’s Hillary problem. Republicans ignore Nixon’s farewell warning at their peril. Republicans who offer nothing except attempts to destroy opponents they treat as enemies will only destroy their party, as the GOP has destroyed itself in recent elections.
Republicans tried this against President Clinton, who was elected to serve two terms. They tried it against President Obama, who was elected to serve two terms.  The Benghazi attack against Clinton will fail by making Republicans look like party hacks demeaning a world-class stateswoman.
The GOP’s Hillary problem is that over a lifetime of great achievement, she has earned the admiration and trust of the people, while Republicans who smear her have not.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Bill Alexander, then chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. degree in international financial law from the London School of Economics. He can be read on The Hill’s Pundits Blog and reached at brentbbi@webtv.net.

Read more: http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/brent-budowsky/298627-the-gops-hillary-problem-#ixzz2Su40JvbM
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JFK Author Larry Hancock on the Radio This Evening at 6PM Central

New post on Larry Hancock

Lancer Conference plus by Larry Hancock As mentioned, I'm afraid I will be blogging only infrequently for a couple of months as we go through the edit process on the new covert warfare book - the publisher would like to have it out in January and that means a lot of work right now. I did want to mention that I will be going on internet radio with Jeff Bushman against this evening, for a full hour.  It will be live at 8 pm Central at http://www.GoingBeyondRadio.com. but its archived for anyone who wants to check in later.  I'll be on for a full hour this evening.  I also wanted to give everyone a bit of an update on the JFK Lancer Conference coming up in November. The conference will be considerably larger this year, both in terms of length and number of participants -  you can find the details on the JFK Lancer web site - we began receiving requests to participate in the 2013 conference last November and have been working on reviewing proposals and scheduling since the end of last year.  The focus of this conference is on taking a new look at the evidence officially presented against Lee Oswald as the shooter and sole participant in the crime. We have a number of professionals lined up to address the forensics and ballistics evidence, presenting what has been learned including considerable information that was either filtered or simply not presented to the official investigations.  We will also have critiques of each of the official investigations based on what has been revealed by the past 50 years of research, in particular the new information surfaced beginning in the 1990's with a vast amount of oral history work and document releases. In addition a number of speakers will be offering brand new research, literally never presented previously. If anyone thinks that nothing new exists on the case - well the conference should dispel that notion. We always try to maintain a real balance in the conference participants, covering the range of interests without too much redundancy and also offering the attendees the chance for personal dialogs with authors they have read or specialists the have read about - of course nobody will agree with all the information presented but its good to remember that nobody every learns much new by only talking to people with whom you already agree. To elaborate on that point, one of the things going on at this years conference will be a number of focus group discussions on a wide variety of topics.  We have recruited researchers specializing in those subjects to moderate the focus groups and Debra Conway has obtained a separate conference room for that.  She has also organized cash breakfast and lunch buffets so that attendees will have to option of eating while listening to and participating in some of the structured discussions.  That is going to be important this year given the crowds expected in Dallas and the lines at restaurants, etc. Beyond that we will be running conference activities from around 8 am in the morning to 9 pm each evening.  If you are coming, rest up in advance as we will be keeping you quite busy. A final point on Dallas this November, I know some folks are concerned about access to the Plaza. Debra has pursued that issue with the Mayors office for months, starting last year. Although its pretty clear that Dallas still has some work to do and decisions to make about the crowds at its official ceremony, we have been assured that once that is over, the Plaza will be open to the public on November 22.  And of course our normal walking tour of the Plaza area will be a couple of days later on Sunday, so attendees should have no concern about access to the Plaza during their time in Dallas. -- Larry Larry Hancock | May 8, 2013 at 1:23 pm | Categories: Everything else | URL: http://wp.me/p1DeOb-4G Comment    See all comments

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Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Islamophobia in The United States

Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity....often promoting Islamophobia.....

their crime.....always pretending to have a discussion when there is obviously no intention of trying to find actual facts or information.

 They both "pretend" they are discussing the issue when in reality their ploy of asking a "question" only serves to further their point of view.....especially when they attempt to force the guest to "just answer the question, why won't you just answer the question, I'm the host, it's my show, I'll ask the questions."

 What a stupid game by these particularly ugly Americans.

If  fox news, or these American embarrassments were truly interested in finding facts and information they would certainly conduct themselves differently..........   

Recently, mr. o'reilly had a representative on from CAIR but instead of letting the man talk he proceeded to interrogate the individual.    He must have felt embarrassed, if that is possible, but he continued to proclaim his innocense and the reasons for his vulgarity on the following shows.

 There is a reason why Wesley Clark would not go on o'reilly...I wonder why.....  

 copied from wiki.... The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide.^[1]
CAIR's mission statement is "to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding".^[9]

copied from CNN opinion.......

 

Missing the best chance to prevent terror bombing

By Arun Kundnai,n Special to CNN

updated 8:10 AM EDT, Tue May 7, 2013

From left, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev went with Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to Times Square in this photo taken from the social media site VK.com. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were arrested on Wednesday, May 1, on charges they tried to throw investigators off Tsarnaev's trail. See all photography related to the Boston bombings.

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Suspects tied to Boston bombings

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Debate has ranged widely over how to prevent terrorist attacks
• Arun Kundnani says answer is not more and more surveillance
• He says mosque leaders are fearful of engaging in discussion with radicals
• Kundnani: Don't toss people like Tamerlan Tsarnaev out of mosques; confront them

Editor's note: Arun Kundnani is author of the forthcoming book "The Muslims are Coming! Islamophobia, extremism, and the domestic War on Terror," to be published by Verso Press in January 2014. He teaches terrorism studies at John Jay College, New York.

(CNN) -- Since the bombing of the Boston marathon -- in which three people, including a child, were killed and more than 200 injured -- attention has naturally focused on what could have been done to prevent it.

Some, such as Rep. Peter King, the New York Republican who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, have argued for increased surveillance of Muslims in the United States. Local police departments "have to realize that the threat is coming from the Muslim community and increase surveillance there," he says.

Others have asked whether leads were properly followed and if better sharing of information between agencies would have helped thwart the bombing.

Arun Kundnani

However, the government, with its $40 billion annual intelligence budget, already amasses vast quantities of information on the private lives of Muslims in the United States. The FBI has 3,000 intelligence analysts working on counterterrorism and 15,000 paid informants, according to Mother Jones.

Exactly how many of them are focused on Muslims in the United States is unknown; there is little transparency in this area. But, given the emphasis the FBI has placed on preventing Muslim terrorism, and based on my interviews with FBI agents working on counterterrorism, there could be as many as two-thirds assigned to spying on Muslims.

Taking the usual estimate of the Muslim population in the United States of 2.35 million, this would mean the FBI has a spy for every 200 Muslims in the United States. When one adds the resources of the National Security Agency, regional intelligence fusion centers, and the counterterrorism work of local police departments, such as the New York Police Department (where a thousand officers are said to work on counterterrorism and intelligence), the number of spies per Muslim may increase dramatically. East Germany's communist-era secret police, the Stasi, had one intelligence analyst or informant for every 66 citizens. This suggests that Muslims in the United States could be approaching levels of state surveillance similar to that which the East German population faced from the Stasi.

Boston Imam: Suspect should be buried

Student visas under scrutiny post-Boston

The roots of radicalization

Yet, as the Stasi itself eventually discovered, no system of surveillance can ever produce total knowledge of a population. Indeed, the greater the amount of information collected, the harder it is to interpret its meaning. In the majority of terrorist attacks in recent years, the relevant information was somewhere in the government's systems, but its significance was lost amid a morass of useless data.

What is obscured by the demands for ever greater surveillance and information processing is that security is best established through relationships of trust and inclusion within the community. The real missed opportunity to intervene before the bombs went off in Boston likely came three months earlier, when bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev stood up during a Friday prayer service at his mosque - the Islamic Society of Boston, in Cambridge - to angrily protest the imam's sermon.

The imam had been celebrating the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which Tsarnaev thought was selling out. According to one report, Tsarnaev was then kicked out of the prayer service for his outburst.

Since 9/11, mosque leaders have been under pressure to eject anyone expressing radical views, rather than engaging with them and seeking to challenge their religious interpretation, address their political frustrations, or meet their emotional needs.

That policy has been forced on mosques by the wider climate of excessive surveillance, which means mosques are wary of even having conversations with those perceived to be radicals, for fear of attracting official attention.

The fear is that every mosque has a government informant listening for radical talk. Unsurprisingly, this means most people are reluctant to engage with young people expressing radical views, who instead tend to be ejected from the congregation.

The Tsarnaev brothers were said to be angry about U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and Iraq, possibly drawing parallels with their own experiences as refugees from Russia's brutal wars of counterinsurgency in the Caucasus. But because discussions of foreign policy have been off-limits in mosques since 9/11, they were unlikely to have had their anger acknowledged, engaged, challenged or channeled into nonviolent political activism.

The heavy surveillance of Muslims has meant there is no room for mosques to engage with someone like Tamerlan Tsarnaev, listen to him, challenge those of his ideas that might be violent, or offer him emotional support. Instead, Muslims have felt pressured to demonstrate their loyalty to America by steering clear of dissident conversations on foreign policy.

Flawed models of the so-called "radicalization" process have assumed that the best way to stop terrorist violence is to prevent radical ideas from circulating. Yet the history of terrorism suggests the opposite is true.

Time and again, support for terrorism appears to increase when legitimate political activism is suppressed - from the French anarchists who began bombing campaigns after the defeat of the Paris Commune, to the Algerian National Liberation Front struggling to end French colonialism, to the Weather Underground's "Declaration of a state of war" after state repression of student campaigns against the Vietnam War.

Reconstructing the motivation for the bombings is fraught with difficulty; there can be little certainty in such matters. But pathological outcomes are more likely when space for the free exchange of feelings and opinions is squeezed.

As many community activists and religious leaders argued in Britain in the aftermath of the 7/7 terrorist attacks on the London transport system in 2005, the best preventive measure is to enable anger, frustration and dissent to be expressed as openly as possible, rather than driving them underground where they more easily mutate into violent forms.

These activists put this approach into practice, for example at the Brixton mosque in south London, by developing initiatives in the community to engage young people in discussions of foreign policy, identity and the meaning of religious terms like jihad, in order to counter those who advocate violence against fellow citizens. It is difficult to measure the success of such programs. But many see them as having played an important role in undermining support for terrorism. In what must seem a paradox to backers of East German levels of surveillance like Peter King, more radical talk might be the best way of reducing terrorist violence.

No one could have predicted from Tsarnaev's outburst that, a few months later, he would be suspected of carrying out an act of mass murder on the streets of Boston. And we don't know what would have made a difference in the end. But a community able to express itself openly without fear, whether in the mosque or elsewhere, should be a key element in the United States' efforts to prevent domestic terrorism.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arun Kundnani.

The Risk of Drinking Raw Milk

copied from Vitals on NBCnews.com

 

Raw milk sickened scores, even with oversight, report finds

By Karen Rowan, MyHealthNewsDaily

 

Even under the best circumstances, unpasteurized milk can make people sick, a new report concludes.

In one of the biggest outbreaks of campylobacter bacteria seen nationally in recent years, raw milk from a Pennsylvania dairy farm sickened 148 people in four states in January 2012, according to the report. Most campylobacter outbreaks involve a dozen or fewer people.

The report, which details what happened during the outbreak, said the dairy that sold the milk had a permit for selling unpasteurized milk, and had passed all inspections. The farm was among the largest sellers of unpasteurized milk in the state.

The dairy also tested its own milk for E. coli bacteria more often than was required. The vast majority of the sick people drank the milk before its "best by" date.

The only deficiencies that investigators found were that a mechanical milk bottle capper was broken, so employees had capped the bottles by hand, and that the water used to clean equipment was cooler than recommended (110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, instead of 160 to 170 degrees F).

But these issues were "minimal," and this campylobacter outbreak demonstrates "the ongoing hazards of unpasteurized dairy products," according to the report authors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments. The findings were detailed online April 26 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"Raw milk is riskier than most foods," said Douglas Powell, a professor of food safety at Kansas State University. While certainly a larger number of people get sick yearly from eating tainted tomatoes or lettuce, there are many more consumers of those foods than consumers of raw milk, he said.

Bacteria commonly found in the digestive tracts of farm animals, including campylobacter and E. coli O157, can easily find their way into milk as it is pumped and bottled on a farm, Powell said.

"Fecal matter just ends up in the milk — it's not like you can see it," he said. "No inspectors can see it — this isn't CSI, where the bacteria just magically line up."

Nearly a third of those sickened in the outbreak were children, the report said. Children, along with pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems, are at high risk of complications from campylobacter infections.

Powell said he advises that raw milk not be given to children. "As adults, you're free to choose," he said. "But don't give it to your kids."

The people sickened in the outbreak ranged in age from 2 to 74, the report said. Typically, campylobacter infections cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever that last about a week, and most people get better on their own. In the outbreak, 10 people were hospitalized.

The dairy immediately suspended unpasteurized milk sales when it was informed of the outbreak.

The researchers recommended that state officials consider more regulation of unpasteurized milk, such as monthly pathogen testing.

However, consumers can never be certain that unpasteurized milk is free of pathogens, even it is certified and from a dairy that seems to be functioning well, the report said.

"The only way to prevent unpasteurized milk–associated disease outbreaks is for consumers to refrain from consuming unpasteurized milk," the researchers wrote in their report.

The number of dairies with permits to sell unpasteurized dairy products in Pennsylvania grew from 26 in 2002 to 153 in 2013, according to the report. The increase was driven by consumer demand and the higher prices that unpasteurized milk producers can get for their products, the report said.

Sten Martin Talks About His New Project: The Scandinavian Tailoring Fashion Course

Sten Martin Talks About His New Project:  The Scandinavian Tailoring Fashion Course

from the desk of the Sewing Herald Tribune.....we need contributors!


Sten Martin makes sewing and patterns make sense!

Your Own Portable Fashion Shool by Sten Martin

from the writing desk of  The Sewing Herald Tribune--a newspaper about sewing....all contributions are welcome.

Here is Sten Martin showing the very beautiful mobile app of his new online fashion school and tailoring class.  I would really love to take this course and I also think the price is a very good value. 

I love watching his you-tube videos about sewing--he is a natural at design and after I watch his shows sewing and patterns, in particular, make a lot more sense to me. 

Now I am going to make a jacket but I will use the pattern as just a guide and then I will try to fit my jacket according to his techniques I have seen on his videos.

My goal is to make a jacket like he wears in his vids that is stylish and flattering, yet comfortable and easy to wear and work at the same time.

Thank you Sten, for all of your very useful information......

Is This Pit Bull Terrier An Angel Or What

copied from dogfiles.......

That's My Buddy Max, To The Right!

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Stray Pit Bull Saves Woman, Child From Attacker

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The wandering 65-pound Pit Bull mix might have seemed menacing to some passerby, but one woman will always remember him as her “guardian angel.”

The dog, which authorities think is lost and not a stray, successfully thwarted a robbery attack on a mother and her 2-year-old son, who were held at knifepoint Monday afternoon.

The Florida woman, who has been identified by authorities simply as “Angela,” was leaving a playground with her toddler son in Port Charlotte when a man approached her in the parking lot with a knife and told her not to make any noise or sudden movements.

Angela didn’t have to do either to protect herself and her child — a dog mysteriously ran to the scene and charged the man, who quickly fled.

“I don’t think the dog physically attacked the man, but he went at him and was showing signs of aggression, just baring his teeth and growling and barking. It was clear he was trying to defend this woman,” Animal Control Lt. Brian Jones told Pet Pulse.

“I don’t know what this man’s intentions were, but it is very possible this dog saved her life.”

The exceptional part of the story, Jones said, is that the dog had never met or even seen the people it quickly jumped to defend.

“You hear about family dogs protecting their owners, but this dog had nothing to do with this woman or her kid,” Jones said. “He was like her guardian angel.”

After the alleged thief ran away, Angela quickly placed her son, Jordan, in the car and tried to drive off. Before she could, though, the dog jumped into her backseat, waiting with her for the police and animal control officers to arrive at the scene.

The dog was transported to a local shelter and if his owners don’t step forward within five days, Jones said, Angela and her family plan to adopt the savior she named “Angel.”

Animal control officers and shelter workers believe Angel is lost, and not a stray, because of his good health, sturdy weight and mild temperament.

“It’s funny, that someone’s irresponsibility could have saved someone’s life,” Jones said of Angel’s possible owners.

For Angela, it doesn’t matter where the dog came from, just that he was there when she needed him most.

“I don’t know what his [the thief's] intentions were — I don’t know why he did it, but I’m glad that — we call him Angel — I’m glad that Angel showed up because I don’t know what would have happened,” Angela told NBC2 News.

Bill O'Reilly: The Ugly American and Why The Republicans Lost The Election

One major problem with bill o'reilly--when he does get actual information from an important person and expert on the subject--bill can't understand that he is really getting some good facts.  bill never takes the facts in.  These people wonder why they lost the election--bill...this is why........you're out of touch....out of touch and embarrassing.

copied from Mediaite........

BET Founder To O’Reilly: Obama Getting A Pass From Blacks, O’Reilly Pushes Back On ‘Institutionalized Racism’

by Josh Feldman | 8:58 pm, April 3rd, 2013 video » 143 comments

Last week Black Entertainment Television Founder Robert Johnson commented on the high black unemployment rate in the United States, remarking that the nation would never tolerate white unemployment being in the double digits. He sat down with Bill O’Reilly tonight to further elaborate, admitting that President Obama is getting a pass from the black community because they still have “immense pride” in the first black president and are still “hopeful” he’ll turn things around.
RELATED: Black Republican Reverend To MSNBC: Blacks And Latinos Had No Reason To Vote For Obama But His Race
Johnson explained to O’Reilly why Obama has consistently gotten overwhelming support among African-Americans despite high unemployment figures.

“African-Americans have immense pride in President Obama as a president. They see it as a major accomplishment in this country and embracing an African-American leader. And they’re positive and hopeful, probably, more than anything, that his leadership will make their lives better.”

However, Johnson told O’Reilly that black unemployment has been higher than the national average for decades. O’Reilly cited statistic showing black unemployment under eight percent in 2000, and how under Obama it has risen from 10-14 percent. He asserted that the “primary problem in the African-American community is out-of-wedlock birth.”
Johnson disagreed, saying it’s a combination of many factors, including the U.S.’ “legacy of long-term, institutionalized racism.” He cited the drastic wealth gap between white and black Americans, saying that African-Americans are generally the “last hired and the first fired.” When O’Reilly asked if these instances are more do to with performance than color, Johnson said that when a societal problem exists like this for 50 years, there’s more at work “than just the failure of the family.”
Watch the video below, courtesy of Fox News:




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Mick Taylor Tops List of Underrated Musicians

inShare

Hicks: Former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, drummer Alex Van Halen top my list of underrated musicians By Tony Hicks thicks@bayareanewsgroup.com Posted:   05/01/2013 03:05:42 PM PDT Updated:   05/01/2013 07:08:54 PM PDT   1 of 8 The chance top see Stones ex-guitarist Mick Taylor, left, and Keith Richards trade licks again is a big selling point on the current Stones tour. (Brian Rasic / Rex Features) . Related Stories Apr 30: Rolling Stones: 10 reasons why they still matter Apr 28: Rolling Stones rock small L.A. club ahead of tour Apr 12: Hicks: The Rolling Stones not making a new record Apr 11: Rolling Stones tickets: High prices, big profits, disgruntled fans Apr 4: Hicks: The Rolling Stones, just one last time? With the Rolling Stones coming to town (Oakland on Sunday and San Jose on Wednesday), one hears hopeful rumblings among fans about seeing former guitarist Mick Taylor on stage again. Taylor -- who played with the Stones from 1969 to 1974 -- has made a few appearances onstage with them in various tour spots. He's not the most famous Rolling Stone, but he represents what many fans (me included) think was the band's best period, to which his excellent guitar skills and musical taste contributed mightily. Yet one doesn't hear Taylor's name much during conversations about the best rock guitarists of all time. That's right -- he's underrated. In the shadows There are many reasons why various musicians are underrated, most of which involve them playing with people who are either more famous or perceived as even better musicians (or, if you're a drummer or bassist, it's called hanging around singers and guitarists). Some never had the chance to get as big as they should have, including a generation of blues players whose names we may only know because of bands like Led Zeppelin and the Stones covering their music. Still others play a genre of music that isn't mainstream enough. Taylor isn't the only talented musician to be dwarfed by more famous bandmates. Take drummer Alex Van Halen, for example. There's a guy in his band who happens to have the same Advertisement last name who pretty much revolutionized rock guitar playing 30 or so years ago. But while little brother Edward was making history downstage, Alex was taking his jazz and swing chops, adding a ton of muscle and developing a driving style that fuels the whole Van Halen franchise. Another drummer that comes to mind is Frank Beard of ZZ Top. Most people think of him as the guy who doesn't have 4 feet of facial hair (odd, given his name). When MTV infiltrated ZZ Top's world back in the 1980s, the band started looking for accessible hits that didn't require Beard to do much. But back in the '70s, Beard's boogie/blues-infected rock playing could be mind-boggling. He would occasionally do things that required slowing down the music to figure it out, but he always stayed right in that comfortable rock pocket of beat. Some people are underrated because they outshine themselves. Are Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen overrated? Of course not. But they all might be underrated guitarists. Same goes for Willie Nelson. If Eddie Izzard were a musician, he'd be underrated. For now, he's just going to have to be content with being the most underrated comic on the planet. Then there are entire bands that are Van Halen members Wolfgang Van Halen, left, and Alex Van Halen, right, perform during thier "A Different Kind of Truth" tour on Sunday, June 3, 2012 in Oakland, Calif. ((Aric Crabb/Staff)) underrated, which every rock snob on the planet would say includes the Replacements, which, come to think of it, means that maybe they are not so underrated after all. A whole host But there are plenty of other acts. A few that come to mind: De La Soul, ELO, the Supersuckers, UFO, Squeeze, Citizen Cope, Fiona Apple, Terence Trent D'Arby, The Georgia Satellites, Hanoi Rocks, and especially Oingo Boingo. Danny Elfman's old band was considered a weird, semi-New Wave act during the '80s that relied on gimmicky soundtrack songs. But anyone who thinks Elfman just sounds impressive when doing music for Tim Burton should go back and listen to the well-arranged and layered pop genius of Oingo Boingo. It was a band full of great players in a genre that wasn't supposed to have great players. Even with all that discovered music out there, we can still go back, listen again, and rediscover musical greatness we didn't know was there. Contact Tony Hicks at Facebook.com/BayAreaNewsGroup.TonyHicks or Twitter.com/insertfoot.