Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

Listen, I’m not into the whole golf thing. I certainly can appreciate that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer ever – although growing up it was always for me Jack Nicolson and Arnold Palmer. Call me a fool, but I like my champions to be, well, champions. And yes, we’re all human and put our pants on the same way and everybody makes mistakes. I don’t have a problem giving Michael Vick a second chance in the NFL or maybe putting Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame with an asterisk. But what you do after you screw up is critical to what happens next.

So, you’re in your truck at 2:30 AM. You’re home for the holiday parked on the side of your house. Something we’re told is not our business happens to cause you to drive the truck into a fire hydrant and maybe even a tree. None of the safety devices like the air bags engage. Your wife or girlfriend or significant other comes out of the house with a cheater bar and smashes all your windows and “allegedly” pulls you out of danger. The neighbors call 911. You’re taken to the hospital, but nobody finds out about it until 12 hours later. You go home. The state police knock on your door and want to find out exactly what happened. But your – somebody – tells the cops to go away because your sleeping and don’t want to talk about it now or maybe ever again.

Take what I just said and make yourself the most famous and richest truck driver in history. International, Caterpillar, Sirius/XM and many others want you to put your name on their product. The press follows you everywhere. If you’re not inside one of your multi-million dollar homes or tricked out trucks, you’re followed and photographed. And you understand that this is the price of fame and fortune. So you then find yourself, at 2:30 AM, on the ground, in the street, next to your Cadillac, I mean truck, a wee bit banged up. And you want us to just forget about it and not want to know what the heck happened. Just go on with our day as if you, Mr. Sports Hero, all-time greatest golfer didn’t screw up and now expect us to just ignore you.

Well, I just don’t think so. Because you do put your pants on just like the rest of us. And you are human. And you do screw up. And most likely will again. But we truckers know that if something like “this” happened to “us”, we wouldn’t be “allowed” to either get back in the truck or go inside our house and tell the cops sorry, can’t talk to you right now or ever. And we expect, despite who you are and your homes, planes, cars and riches to be treated just like we would be. And we expect you to come clean, because that’s what a champion would do. Because, at least in my eyes, even though golf is not my thing, all you are is some dude who for some weird unknown reason the early morning after Thanksgiving wrapped yourself around a tree and a fire hydrant. And the problem now is not what you did, but how badly, how arrogantly and how stupidly your handling the aftermath.

I’ve said many times that Bin Laden must be sitting on a rock in some cave somewhere laughing his posterior off at the utter stupidity of the people involved in rebuilding the WTC -World Trade Center. He can read the New York papers on line, just like we all can. I’m sure he enjoys the New York Post. Achmed, Achmed! Did you hear what those American infidel fools are doing now? Get off your camel and come over here and read this!

Here’s the latest as reported yesterday in the New York Post: “A turf war between the Police Department and the Port Authority that has led to a crackdown on cement mixers headed to the World Trade Center has only put more trucks on crowded city streets as they take longer routes to avoid the NYPD. The Police Department has set up the nitpicking inspection stations near the site, which only delays the delivery of cement — often long enough that it’s no longer usable for construction.

The Post continues: “According to an engineer at the site -the concrete suppliers are working at night to stay away from the cops. But you cannot see as well without natural light. When you pour in the evening, the quality of the work isn’t as good. Another construction source said some of the cement firms have put on additional trucks, ready to haul concrete to replace time-sensitive cargo that’s been rendered undeliverable because of the delays caused by street-side inspections.”

It took 410 days to build the Empire State Building back in the 1930’s. It took two years to erect the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Three years for the Sears Tower in Chicago. The Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, has taken 5 years to build. It’s almost open for business. That’s a picture of it above. It has 160 floors! 9/11 was 8 years ago and the concrete is being held up in a pissing contest between the NYPD and the Post Authority. What an absolute disgrace.

Back to the story in The Post: “The PA (Port Authority) owns the World Trade Center and patrols the site with its own police force. The NYPD wants to take over jurisdiction at the site now, but won’t be allowed until construction is completed. “I don’t hear about enforcement anywhere else in town, said Carmine Valente, president of the Association of NYC Concrete Producers, It seems to be just focused on trucks going into the World Trade Center site.”

I remember not long after 9/11, “we” flatbed drivers were told – ooo, expect “tons” of freight going from every steel mill in the US to the WTC site. They’ll be plenty of business for everyone and we’ll all do our patriotic duty and get the site rebuilt fast. We would set an example for the world. Yeah right! Never happened. Who knows where the steel will come from. Probably China. And when? Who knows. President Obama is flying back over to Europe, again, this time to try and get the Olympics for Chicago. Might I suggest he climb aboard Chopper One -  Marine One – or whatever his helicopter is called, go to NYC and kick Mayor Bloomberg in the rear and tell him to get that place built already. As just about everyone wanted to do in the beginning – get Trump to take over the project with the sole authority to make it happen. It’s still not too late.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slieschke/2639039936/

It’s so nice to see States and their bureaucratic “cop-infested” transportation departments finally see the light and advance their “customer service” operations into the 21st Century. Consequently, effective October 1st, the Buckeye will now be using E-Z Pass for turnpike tolls. Throw away your green OH toll card, if you have one. Illinois, Indiana, PA, West VA, NJ, NY, etc., use the system – its too bad others who have the nerve to levy tolls on interstate highways (double-dipping) don’t as well.

Now I just can’t imagine what took so long for Ohio to come to their senses. Some time ago they raised the truck speed limit to what it should have always been – 65 mph- eliminating separate speeds (at least on major roads) for cars vs. trucks. Now others have to follow suit. Not just with the dual speed issue as in TN, but with E-Z Pass and Pre-Pass as well. And States such as Florida and Kansas need to stop insisting inter-state truckers use their own State-specific toll collection systems like Sun Pass. What does Kansas call theirs? – Speedy Corn? If other States had us apply their logic, truckers couldn’t see out their windshields with all the transponders that would be required. Remember the old days with 35 different license plates on your bumper?

As noted in the Year 3000 piece, States like North Carolina and Kentucky still don’t have PrePass. In Kentucky, the DOT there still has signs posted for a nonexistent bypass system. George finally took down the same signs and went with PrePass. In Kentucky, scales there, amazingly, still have trucks roll over an individual axle scale at 12 mph. Even Louisiana has a more advanced system combining on the road weighing backed up with PrePass. For goodness sakes, even California has PrePass. There is no excuse for States and truck drivers not to have PrePass and E-Z Pass. The big brother watching me excuse is BS.

Listen, I know we all don’t want the Federal government in our business. But, what’s certainly worse are the States managing their portion of the INTERSTATE highway system they way they deem fit. Big mistake. But that’s how it’s been since Eisenhower said we should have interstate highways. Change health care? Ha? Change the interstate system. Start by making E-Z Pass and PrePass a requirement for all States.

We here at LOTR get e-mails from just about everywhere. Last night my son forwarded me one with photos from US Marines 1st Sgt. Dave Jobe. He writes: “The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute to our fallen comrades – so since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq, the one way that we could think of doing that is by taking pictures of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this info your papers to let the world know that we have not forgotten and are proud to serve our country. Semper Fi.”

There are no Flying J’s or Pilot’s over there to pull into, eat a buffet and then climb into your air conditioned dry bunk for 10 hours. Looks to me like these folks just stop and hit the dirt for a spell. I can barely lift my tarps let alone digging a fox hole in the desert heat. By the way, did I mention last week when I was on the road I bought a $3.33 copy of the movie Black Hawk Down? It’s about a Special Forces/Delta mission that didn’t go as planned in Somalia during the Clinton Administration. Well – just other day – did you read about it in the news? – in Mogadishu, Somalia – elite American commandos in a 15 minute helicopter assault operating from two Navy warships – killed top al-Qaida fugitive Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan – wanted for the 2002 car bombing of a beach resort in Kenya and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner. This time mission the was flawless. The U.S. has not gone in force into Somalia since the early 1990s, when it became embroiled in feuds between warlords. If not for witnesses to Monday’s attack in southern Somalia, it might have gone unnoticed by the world.

So today, as I’m sitting around nursing my very sore knee (s) waiting on a trip somewhere, after receiving the email from Sgt. Jobe, I’m thinking of our men and women serving overseas. Imagine that, it’s not even Veterans Day. As a OTR truck driver, I have it good compared to the conditions over in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, down at GITMO and the many other duty stations around the world. I know of a sailor in the Coast Guard who had hoped to be stationed here in Florida near his parents, but got assigned (as he puts it – got stuck) up – way up – in Northern Alaska for the past two years. All of you – thank you for your service. Right now the focus, apart from the economy and health care – there seems to be no pressing issues right now on any burner concerning trucking – is on sending more troops to Afghanistan to seek out and destroy the Taliban. 4000 military trainers are scheduled to arrive there in November bringing the total number of U.S. forces there to 68,000. I’m not going to debate that. But for now, please, truckers, let’s not forget the folks of Baker Company still stuck and driving on the dangerous roads of Iraq. Let’s continue to display our flag and wear the ribbons. And if you see a serviceman (or woman) welcome them home with open arms. Let’s not repeat the mistakes that our soldiers encountered returning from Vietnam.

Haven’t we all seen Dirty Dancing at least a fifty times? Over the years I’ve walked past many dark Petro, T/A and FJ movie rooms and saw numerous lonely, tired and broke truck drivers falling asleep on broken chairs watching one Patrick Swayze film or another.

He drove a Peterbilt 379 in the 1998 movie “Black Dog.” Country singer Randy Travis and rocker Meatloaf, costarred. Swayze plays an ex-con manipulated into transporting illegal arms from Atlanta to NJ. His character had been imprisoned for accidentally killing a 4-wheeler after experiencing a “black dog” hallucination.

Ok, it wasn’t the greatest movie or the best representation of the professional truck driver. The movie has a positive ending with Swayze getting his CDL back from the FBI. Can they do that? Whatever it’s a movie. Women truckers have confided in me that they much prefer him in Dirty Dancing, Ghost or many of the other 50+ movies and television shows he was featured in. I also seem to remember being told by female drivers that they “appreciated” Mr. Swayze’s tight buns as well as his gyrating dance moves. I personally preferred Jennifer Grey.

Swayze, a three time Golden Globe nominee, passed away yesterday after a 20-month battle with advanced pancreatic cancer. He was 57 years old. According to The New York Times: “Patrick Swayze was the subject of a one-hour “Barbara Walters Special on ABC, in which he talked about his illness. “I keep my heart and my soul and my spirit open to miracles,” he told Ms. Walters. But he said he was not going to pursue every experimental treatment that came along. If he were to “spend so much time chasing staying alive,” he said, he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the time he had left.”I want to live,” he said.

The AP – Associated Press – reports: “Off-screen, Swayze was an avid conservationist who was moved by his time in Africa to shine a light on "man’s greed and absolute unwillingness to operate according to Mother Nature’s laws.” Swayze was married since 1975 to Niemi, a fellow dancer who took lessons with his mother; they met when he was 19 and she was 15. A licensed pilot, Niemi would fly her husband from Los Angeles to Northern California for treatment at Stanford University Medical Center.

Patrick Swayze has passed, but tonight, as always, Black Dog or Dirty Dancing will be running in some truck stop somewhere.

Photo credit: mrpaparazzi.com

Remember the phrase the generation gap? Well, if you’re 18 to 49, you – according to the Neilson ratings – and taking a close look at the demographics -  enjoy watching Conan. And that makes advertisers happy. That’s just the age group they want to sell to. You are their “target” audience. They would prefer if you were female because that’s who apparently makes the buying decisions. You might even decide to watch Letterman for a week. But it’s a fact, that when Leno had the Tonight Show, he was #1 for over fifteen years. Conan takes over and he pretty much tanks in the ratings losing the less desirable to advertisers 49+ folks, like me. I liked Conan on his old show. I only occasionally tuned in to Letterman. I’ve only watched Conan once since he took over for Leno and I find the show unbalanced as in I need to fast forward to get to any of the good parts. As a OTR driver, my wife used to tape every Tonight Show with Leno, for me to watch in the truck. She is not taping Conan.

Now for the longest time I didn’t watch the Tonight Show after Johnny Carson retired. But as one who never watched MASH, Seinfeld or NCIS until long after they first aired, my wife taped the reruns and the shows grew on me. That was the case with the Tonight Show with Leno. I was angry when it was announced Conan would replace him. I thought it was and is a bad decision. Maybe over time Conan will grow on me. He’s going to have to get rid of that annoying Andy Ricker and relocate the band back over to camera left (how “television” of me) where they used to be prior to their move from NYC to LA. I’m very OCD about that. His bit “In the Year 2000″ – now updated – “In the Year 3000″ has definitely lost something, but at least is still backed up by La Bamba’s high falsetto.

Formerly of SNL – Saturday Night Live – Jimmy Fallon took over Conan’s old NBC time slot. Have you watched the show? He’s OK. I don’t like the house band – The Roots. I don’t expect them to last. They’re scary and look positively bored. Actually, I never heard of them nor know of their music. Fallon still has to find his groove as his talk show mojo has yet to settle in to where Conan was. It took me a long time to focus in on Conan and his shtick, but when I did, I got it and watched it most of the time. But Leno was still my favorite. Then they gave him the boot. The whole transition was very premature.

But, this Monday at 10pm – prime time – Jay is back on NBC. A new show. An experiment. Might work – might not. There has never been a show on five nights a week at the same time slot in prime time. Jay will still do 160 gigs – his standup -  on the road while doing his new show. His old announcer, John Melendez, formerly “John the Stutterer” on Howard Stern, has been bumped down to the writing staff. Leno claims there will be no studio announcer for the new show. He also promises it’s not going to be another Tonight Show. That remains to be seen, but frankly, I wish it was the Tonight Show, just the way he used to do it. You knew from night to night what you were getting -  consistent balanced laughs.

I don’t care if advertisers are not interested in my business. I’m not interested in many of their products. I never drink Budweiser, my dog doesn’t eat Alpo, and I pretty much buy all my “stuff” at Wal-Mart. What I do care about, at the end of the day, when I’m in the bunk of my truck, and I want to be entertained, is being able to watch Jay Leno. I like his humor, his style, his timing – I like his “bits” and I enjoy his sidekick band leader Kevin Eubanks. Jay has a connection with his audience that Conan, Fallon and Letterman just don’t have. I’ve been waiting for Leno’s return ever since he left the Tonight Show, and my wife will have a fresh package of VHS tapes – harder and harder to find these days – ready to go Monday night at 10pm, for me to take on the road. For previews and more information about the new show, follow this link: http://www.thejaylenoshow.com/

Photo credit: greghalbert.com

I’m the last person to criticize anyone who displays passion – no matter misguided it might be. Joe Wilson – R- SC – yelled out to President Obama, during his address last night on health care reform, “You Lie”, specifically when the issue of illegal immigrants and coverage came up. The President later accepted Wilson’s apology.

I know that I personally have wanted to shout out all kinds of things from you lie to go to hell to this is nonsense on many occasions during my career. I’ve also wanted to rush over to many corporate execs and middle managers and strangle them until their blue in the face. But despite my own level of commitment to my cause at the time and my high level of personal passion, I could not afford to lose my job. I held my tongue. I might have regretted it later, but I did what I thought was right at the time.

I’m a lot more boisterous nowadays, in my “golden” years, but I’m also a lot smarter and wiser and choose my moments. The problem with Wilson was the this was just not the right time to say to the President anything. It was rude, mean, disrespectful and stupid. What he did was to hand the Democrats a gift. America now has the image of a bunch of rich mostly white middle men aged sitting there in $1000 suits waving their proposals while one of their “club”, acting like a bored brat in school, who didn’t take his Ritalin, stood up and yells out “You Lie.” Of course, Rush Limbaugh today called Wilson a hero. What else did you expect?

Did you ever watch a session of Parliament? We have Congress and the UK has Parliament. Well, their form of government is, shall we say, a lot more “confrontational.” It’s a lot of fun actually. During one of their sessions, both sides are shouting and calling each other names. But that’s England and obviously this is America. And the Congress is serious place. It’s not like the Israeli Kinnesit where members don’t wear suits or ties and sandals are common. Now, I wasn’t there but I’m sure during many sessions of the first Continental Congress back when George Washington was President, someone might have said “You Lie:, but there’s no evidence that ever happened.

Because right or wrong we’re Americans and we’re supposed to have more class – I think they call it decorum. And I would have like Wilson to have done more. If he had to stand up, he should have said: Mr. President, with all due respect Sir, you lie, and we Republicans want to make health care reform work.” But just like a whining trucker who does nothing but complain and offers no workable solutions, Wilson let out a short blast of bureaucratic Republican National Committee hot air, that did noting but hurt his party. And he did on national television, in prime time. The only other puff of smoke that was equally as meaningless was the Republican response to the Presidents speech by Charles Boustany who was as boring as the response given by his fellow Louisianans (crazy Cajun) Bobby Jindal to an earlier Obama speech.

Perhaps Wilson was really expressing his surprise and disgust over Ellen DeGeneres replacing Paula Abdul on American Idol – who knows. For someone to say what he said, he obviously has no respect for the man or the office. He now needs to put up – since he didn’t shut up – and work with his party to come up with health care reform that makes sense, although he seems to have spent the summer doing nothing to advance the cause. Shall we call him the Biden of the Republican party? Whatever. His party will determine his future. And Ellen DeGeneres? Ug.

Photo credit: news.yahoo.com

I didn’t know where the holiday originated, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. It says that the first Labor Day here in the US was celebrated back on September 5th 1882 in NYC. After workers were killed by US Army soldiers and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike – the President at the time – Grover Cleveland – put reconciliation with labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation declaring Labor Day a national holiday was spearheaded through Congress – it passed unanimously – and was signed into law six days after the end of the strike. FYI – the Pullman strike involved violent disputes between the unions and the railroads.

So now you know where Labor Day began. Fast forward to 2009. I just drove the 600 miles from wherever I was to just West of Jacksonville. I’m tired. Including myself, there was a lot of trucks on the road. Obviously “we” didn’t have the day off like the stock market, Federal government employees and of course, the sales, safety and operations people who work for the carriers. They’re home, “we’re” not.

For the record, as of today, there are 15 million people unemployed in the US. The percentage is almost at 10%, the highest level in years. Last month, the economy bled 250,000 jobs. Foreclosures – not from the ranks of adjustable mortgages or where people got homes for no money down – but from conventional mortgage holders. Somehow, we – I should say – greedy businessmen are going to have to start hiring 125,000 folks a month in order to stop that percentage from rising higher. Listening to the Labor Secretary on the radio today, telling people to go back to school – take advantage of the “many” government programs available and get “other” jobs only caused my stomach to turn. After she added that Pell Grants are easily obtainable as I try – and I’m employed – to come up with $900 to pay my son’s college tuition because we can’t get a loan – well, I thought here’s another rich Obama “official” living in liberal fantasy land.

Also, one year ago today – Labor Day – the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Combined they hold over 5 1/2 trillion dollars in mortgages. They were given a $100 billion dollar bailout. One year later, credit is extremely tight whether you run a trucking company, an airline or small manufacturing concern. While the Obama Administration continues to oversee these two entities, they have offered no strategy as to how to successfully manage them. We’ll have to wait until February, when they say they will have some sort of plan. Meanwhile companies continue to go bankrupt and eliminate jobs because they cannot obtain credit.

Today, by the way, is the biggest home improvement day of the year. Yes, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart, Target and the rest were open. Their employees celebrate the holiday by working. Today more people “dig-out” their Christmas lights than at any other time of the year. No I’m not kidding. And please permit me a senior moment – when I was a kid – nothing was open. Back then there was also talk of a 4 day work week someday. Computers were going to make our lives so much easier. The way things are going, I don’t think our kids will be celebrating this holiday – not so much a holiday – in future years. There is no talk of working less – just more – and for less money than you probably earned five years ago. If you lucky enough to have the day off, enjoy it.

Photo credit: http://www.oldcitypics.com/images/empire-state-workers-1930.jpg

I’ve seen your billboards. I’ve heard your commercials. You know the ones. How one freight train will take 250 trucks off the road and improve highway congestion. How your trains are so fuel efficient. How service via rail is so superior. How you protect the environment. How by using trains I can reduce my carbon footprint.

Railroads, I’d like to tell you just where I’d like to put my footprint. And it has nothing to do with carbon or the environment. You people have lost your minds. And I’m going to take a few minutes just to tell you how wrong you are and how your message to the American public is a bunch of hooey. Oh your slick, I’ve got to give you that. But I, for one, can see right through all your nonsense.

Let’s start with the most important point. America doesn’t care what you have to say. Trains are no longer sexy. Kids want to be truck drivers and jet pilots, not train engineers. What fun is it to just to go forward and occasionally in reverse? When America thinks of trains, they think smoke, loud ear piercing horns and having to wait at annoying rail road crossings while your cars jingle jangle across the tracks. And while folks are sitting in their cars waiting for your train to someday pass, they’re praying its doesn’t go off the tracks and spew ammonia or some other lethal chemical all through their neighborhoods.

America hates trains. In fact, the day you chose to get rid of the friendly red caboose at the back of your lineup of toxic clickety clackety noisy rusty railcars, America’s love affair with the train died. Trains are dangerous. They’re too big and too heavy. They scare people. When is the last time someone asked for a train set for Christmas? When is the last time you took a train somewhere? Have you ever shipped anything by rail?

Jim, my jibber-jammer is down. I need that part. Ok, I hear ya Bill, I’ll get my guys to get it on the next train out. You should have it in two or three weeks. Listen, nobody even knows how to ship anything by rail. Don’t you need to be right on the tracks? What if the material is oversized? How do you get it to the railroad? Where are the railroads? How would I get something from Charlotte to LA? Do I use the Burlington Northern or the Carolina Illinois Railroad which will transfer it to the Midwestern Union Pacific or Santa Fe or California Wyoming Express to yet some other train so it gets to LA somehow someday?

Can I tell you a little secret? Make sure nobody is looking. Ready? OK. There is NO railroad in the world that can do anything without trucks. All the switches, locomotives, rail yards, freight cars, engineers, lights and horns don’t make any difference without trucks and truck drivers. Because even if JB Hunt, Schneider, UPS and Swift intermodal their trailers anywhere, they still have to be picked up and delivered by truck. Ain’t no darn railcar going to drive into Wal-Mart and back up to a dock with the freight.

When America thinks freight transportation they think truck, not rail. When America thinks rail they think hazardous chemicals, hot molten tanks cars with white clouds of smelly smoke and yellow mucus liquid oozing from the top and freight cars with graffiti sprayed all over them with hobos, beggars, criminals and illegal immigrants riding inside or on top top of them.

Railroads, nice try, but trucks are the foundation of America’s movement of goods. If you eat it, drink it, sleep on it, sit on it or ride on it, mostly likely it was delivered by truck. In fact, the backbone of any rail system is the truck, not the train. And you know it. So good luck with your “campaign” but you’re not fooling anybody.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cemeteryrodeo/2049011904/

My original title for the post was “Carrie Underwood – Move Over” but being that this is a trucking blog I thought the Swift reference would be more apropos. A while ago I did a piece on Darius Rucker, who was new on the country scene, a definite comer, having a solid gold & platinum hit background as the founder and lead singer of the rock band Hootie and the Blowfish. In fact, their 1994 debut album, Cracked Rear View, went platinum sixteen times. Well, last week Rucker’s latest single was #1 on the charts – it has only come down one position to #2 with Taylor Swift taking the lead. Ms. Swift is the focus of this piece.

19 year old Ms Swift, from Wyomissing PA, in 2008 was the years biggest selling artist selling 4 million albums. She was the first artist in history to have 2 different albums in the top ten on the the year end best selling albums chart. In Jan. of this year, she was the first country artist to have sold 2 million downloads of three of her songs.

Her latest album, and the name of her current 52 date tour, Fearless, was the first album by a female artist to remain #1 for eight consecutive weeks and remained on top for 21 more weeks. The only other country artists this decade to achieve the number-one sales position for 20 weeks or more are The Dixie Chicks and one of our other favorites Idol winner Carrie Underwood. And if all that isn’t enough, according to Wikipedia – “Swift has surpassed the 200 million mark for music streams on MySpace. She is currently ranked in the Top 10 for the most MySpace visits for all genres of music, and is MySpace’s current top-ranking Country artist.

At the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Swift picked up Album of the Year honors as a performer and producer for Fearless. She is the youngest artist in history to win Album Of The Year award. Swift was also awarded the Academy’s Crystal Milestone Award, given for Outstanding Achievement in Country Music. So far, Swift has sold more than 14 million downloads, as well as three Gold Mobile Ringtones.Did I mention that she was 19? Her Fearless tour, with Kelly Pickler and Gloriana opening, is a smash. Back in February, tickets went on sale for the May 22 date at Los Angeles’ Staples Center and sold out in two minutes. Ticket for several dates and venues, including Madison Square Garden, went on sale the following week and sold out in one minute.

Swift made her primetime television acting debut on CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – the episode was watched by 20.8 million viewers. Swift made a cameo appearance in Kellie Pickler’s music video “Best Days of Your Life”. Swift also appeared in Hannah Montana: The Movie as “woman singing in the barn” You can easily say that Ms.Swift is a walking mega talented goldmine with an incredible highly desirable demographic among not only teenage females but men and women of all ages. She is the Michael Jordon of country music. Although rejected at an earlier age by most of Nashville, she has rocketed in a short time – without the help from platforms like American Idol – to become a superstar that will be around for a long time to come. And did I mention she was 19? Yes, this SWIFT, we really like!

Photo credit is: Kempin/Getty – http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/29921140/taylor_swift_fearless_at_new_yo/photo/3