G'Day Bruce

Going to concerts used to be a primary form of entertainment for me. Some of that just comes with youth, but much of my concert history was because I worked in record retail for 13 years, starting in college. The job was shitty but the perks made up for it: free albums/tapes/CDs, posters, various swag, and of course, concert tickets.

From 1979 to 1996 I saw 95 concerts. In the 28 years since, only 14. And that’s fine… there are far fewer bands that I would even consider going to see. Sweetpea and I have only seen three. One was John Mellencamp, one of her favorites. That was a birthday gift for her in 2019.

Two years ago, we saw ZZ Top. It was my 5^th time seeing them and it seemed like each show was shorter than the last. This time, they started encores after an hour of playing, and the show wrapped up 18 minutes later.

This brings us to last Friday when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band played Camden Yards in Baltimore. (The baseball park where the Orioles play.) These tickets fell into my lap.

I had considered trying to go when the show was originally scheduled, but you know how Ticketmaster is with the big shows… First, you have to join some kind of club to get a special access password or some shit. Then log on at the split second the website opens for business. And maybe, just maybe, you win the right to pay an outrageous sum for the privilege of being allowed to attend. Who needs it?

Bruce postponed the 2023 concert due to health issues and later rescheduled it for last weekend.

My brother had bought a pair, I suspect on the secondary market, for him and his oldest son to go. But in the gap between the original show and the make-up date, the #1 Son moved to Philadelphia for a new job. #2 son was away at college. So, not wanting to go with anyone else, he offered the tickets to me. So thank you, Bluz Brother, for your incredible generosity.

I’d seen Bruce once before, on his 1985 Born in the USA tour, Pontiac Silverdome, north of Detroit. That was when he was at the height of his powers. He played for 3:20, not including a 35-minute intermission. He also told great stories, had detailed introductions to songs, and genuinely made all 68,000 of us feel like he was talking to each of us. That was an amazing experience. It was like, “How will any other show ever measure up to this?”

Like we did for the ZZ Top show, we decided to make a trip out of it and book a hotel downtown for that night. All the better not to have to worry about sitting in a massive parking lot traffic jam at 11:00 at night.

Unfortunately for us, all the “good” hotels were booked up, no doubt at the moment the new date was announced. But I managed to find a Days Inn about 2 blocks away. Not fancy, but it would do. All we needed was a place to crash for the night. And because this was an “event” night, they wanted $358 for this small, outdated room. Price gouging is real, folks! But whaddya gonna do? It was worth it not to have to fight the traffic.

Anyway, the seats were tremendous. Thanks again, bro! We were in the club level, first row. That’s the tier directly above the lower bowl, and being in the front row, there’s no one to stand up in front of you! Hallelujah! Given that Sweetpea is barely 5’1”, that’s always a consideration.

The place was pretty full but this wasn’t a rowdy crowd. It was mostly a bunch of white senior citizens. I don’t remember seeing anyone younger than 30. But that’s to be expected now at shows from the rock and roll dinosaurs of my youth.

This was our vantage point before the show started. No mosh pit, just some organized folding chairs. The stage was by the centerfield wall, with the legendary Warehouse lurking to the right.

At the stroke of 7:30, the lights went down and the band took the stage. Immediately, I tapped Sweetpea on the shoulder to acknowledge that her prediction was correct that Bruce would open with Hungry Heart. (Opening line: “Got a wife and kid in Baltimore, Jack/I went out for a ride and I never went back.”)

For a 74-year-old guy, Bruce looked damned good. While he was spirited and energetic, he wasn’t doing any more end-to-end stage runs that ended up with him sliding on his knees. 74-year-old knees are nothing to play around with, after all.

This time out, there were no long stories, no charging everyone up like a Baptist preacher. He didn’t say much in this show, in fact, he barely spoke from the opening number until the 15^th song. Until then, all we heard between songs was an impassioned “1-2-3-4…”

I’ll tell you, video screens are what make these big shows enjoyable. I barely even followed the action on the stage… not that you could really see anything. I just watched the near-side video panel. But here, (above) you could see where he came down the steps, up close to the audience. He did that frequently throughout the show. I don’t think video screens became commonplace at concerts until the late 80s to early 90s. Before then, you just had to try to weasel your way up front to get a good view. I know in my old days, when I was going to see a band at a club or small hall, I’d get there when the doors opened, so I could dash up front to get close to the stage. Back then I could stand for the whole show. Now, it’s all about getting a good seat.

Some other thoughts via pictures:

There’s nothing more Rock n Roll than Bruce and Little Steven sharing a mic for a big chorus. I didn’t get to see Steven the first time around so I was glad he was there this time.

Is there anyone who gets a bigger sound from such a small drum kit than Max Weinberg? The guy can really pound. But his kit looks like something you'd get a kid who's just learning.

Saxophone duty was handled by the late Clarence Clemmons’ nephew. If you closed your eyes, it definitely sounded like The Big Man.  The kid played his ass off. One of the night's best moments was during 10^th Avenue Freeze Out. I was wondering how they were going to handle this part… When the line came up: “A change was made uptown when The Big Man joined the band…” they showed the unmistakable silhouette of Clarence, followed by some other pictures of him and the late E Street keyboardist Dan Federici. Oh man, that hit me right in the feels. I actually choked up a little.

Bruce did a cool thing I liked when we went down close to the crowd. It wasn’t exactly Angus Young soloing while being carried through a raging crowd on his roadie’s shoulders, but it was very Man of the People. Nobody was grabbing at him though. Mostly they wanted to take selfies.

As he was winding up with a raucous version of Twist and Shout, he hollered to the crowd, “Do we look tired?” as he wanted to know if the crowd wanted more.

With an incredulous look, he shouted, “You think you can outlast the E Street Band??”

Man, no one outlasts these guys. They may be old, but they run a well-oiled machine. It’s a joy to see people at the top of their craft, entertaining a crowd.

He wound up the show by 10:30, clocking in at an even three hours, (In other words, like more than two ZZ Top shows.) 

Worth every penny.

Director's DVD Commentary: My apologies if you were lured here by the headline and expected to see something about Monty Python's legendary Australian Philosopher's sketch, wherein everyone is named Bruce and they end with the classic "Philosopher's Song," containing the immortal lines:

"Aristotle Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,

Hobbes was fond of his dram.

And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart,

'I drink therefore I am.'"

It's just that whenever I hear the name "Bruce," this bit is my go-to frame of reference.

Quick Debate Impressions

Director’s DVD Commentary: This is a special bonus post dropping midweek because if I wait until next Monday, it will literally be last week’s news and we’ll be onto the next thing. If this is the first you’re visiting this week, please click on the “Older Post” link at the bottom of the page.

Now, for today’s news:

BAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA

She spanked his ass red and sent him to bed without dinner.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a mismatched debate performance. She was cool, calm, and collected and he was sputtering like an old man raging about movies with sound.

TFG brought his customary lying to a new height, putting forth ridiculous, previously and easily debunked accusations like pet-killing Haitians living in Springfield and eating the citizens’ cats and dogs.

That brought on one of the few times the ABC moderators corrected him. I admit that if they had corrected every lie, there wouldn’t have been enough time to hear from Kamala.

Naturally, Republicans are accusing ABC of some kind of bias and I think they’re correct. Every time TFG begged for extra time, they gave it to him without equal time going to the VP. And the one time she asked for it, they denied it. He ended up with nine more minutes of ranting time than she had. Obviously, ABC was out to get him by allowing him to speak! It proved to be an effective strategy.

You didn’t think Republicans were actually going to do some soul-searching as to why they so slavishly back this incompetent madman, did you? No, they have to blame someone for his catastrophic showing. It can never be him who is at fault. Never apologize, never back down, and always double down. That’s their way. It always has to be someone else’s fault, usually a Democrat. From crappy debate performances to hurricanes, they need to blame a liberal.

Kamala impressed me by going after him in a civil but needling way. I loved that she went after his rally attendance, which is essentially how TFG measures his dick. It totally put him off his game. He just had to rebut every personal remark that highlighted his shortcomings. She let tons of stuff go, oftentimes, to my consternation. I love to see debunkery in action. But she was right in making the larger points, calling for unity and a way forward. All he could do was fall back to his regular routine of invading immigrants, coming to steal our jobs, rape our women, and eat our pets. Or is it to eat on the job, steal our women and rape our pets? Who knows with this guy? He makes less sense with every speech.

Taylor Swift's administration of the coup de grace endorsement was just [chef’s kiss]. A perfect message for the perfect time. I hope it transforms into votes, but knowing the reliability of the Swifties may make a difference in a swing state or two.

So while I feel pretty giddy about her debate performance, let me also remind you that Hillary also kicked his ass in a debate or two. It didn’t mean much when the votes were counted. Granted, there were outside factors involved there too, with the FBI breaking their own rule to publically resurface accusations that were later dismissed. Who knows what kind of skullduggery is about to be unleashed in the coming months? (Skullduggery is the best kind of duggery, don’t ya know?)

I expect the attacks to get more and more personal and the smears increasingly vicious. It’s all they have left. They don’t have any popular ideas to put forth, all they have is criticism and attack and gaming the system. If you remove that, all you have left is a party of stupid red hats sitting atop empty suits.

We just need to see through it and show up in November.

Final note: Speaking of gaming the system, if you live in a Red State, be SURE you’re registered to vote. Republicans are trying everything to thin the voter rolls of likely opponents, from closing and moving polling sites to, requiring new IDs, to stripping people from voter rolls, especially those who haven’t voted recently. 

"90-Days" of Conflict

 Even with its current pervasiveness, I’ve never been a big watcher of reality TV. For 20 years, I only watched the Big Three: Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race, all of which I picked up in their respective first seasons. By 2024, I picked up a couple more, “Bar Rescue” and “Naked and Afraid,” which I may post about some other time. And there’s one other.

Now, my wife, Sweetpea, predominantly watches what she calls, “murder shows.” You know, the true crime series like First 48, Forensic Files, Dateline, and the like. I’m ok with them once in a while, but I prefer more escapist fare. Because we don’t have many shows that we both like, it’s hard to find things to watch together. Because she gets up insanely early and goes to work before I’m out of bed, she also goes to bed early, so we don’t have a lot of downtime together. After dinner, she’ll usually put on a murder show and promptly fall asleep. When she can’t find a murder show she hasn’t seen, she’ll opt for MTV’s Catfish or TLC’s 90-Day Fiancé.

I figured I could tolerate those so I began recording them with the DVR, so we can watch together at our leisure. Catfish is straightforward enough. It’s like a true crime show where the hosts investigate people who get into relationships with other people via dating sites but refuse to meet or ever be seen on camera.

But the 90-Day stuff? Wow. What a mess of humanity… that I can’t stop watching. It’s basically nationally televised voyeurism.

There are several 90-Days brands. The original is 90-Day Fiancé, which centers on couples who date internationally. One will bring the other to the US via a K-1 visa, and will then have 90 days to get married or the visitor has to go back. That’s always the focal question: Will they get married or will it all blow up?

Another variation is Before the 90-Days, which focuses on the lead-up to the travel to America, as they begin exploring an international relationship. There’s also 90-Days – Happily Ever After? which shows the lives of some of the couples after they’ve gotten married and are going about their lives. Then there’s the Bizarro World version, 90-Days – The Other Way, which is where an American goes abroad to marry and live in a vastly different culture.

And if all that isn’t enough, there’s a parasite series called Pillow Talk, which runs right after each of the other shows, featuring several pairs of former 90-Day participants who watch the show and provide commentary.

The whole organization is its own self-contained world, like an Earthbound Marvel Universe, whose occupants have staged adventures and bitch at each other.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started. I fully admit that this is crap TV and I’m probably dumber for having watched it. It’s just that you get sucked into these people’s lives. There are some you love but many more that you love to hate. And there are some real pieces of work on these shows.

The reason I’m bringing this whole thing up is that I find there are a lot of the same themes that flow through each of these series and most of the dating pairs. There are three main categories of conflict:

·         Money

·         Jealousy/Insecurity

·         Religion

Money? That’s obvious and applies universally. As British comic Spike Milligan once said,

Everyone wants/needs more money. Some lie about it, some cheat to get it, and some think it’s owed to them.

To me, the biggest thing keeping these couples apart is jealousy (and the insecurity that leads to jealousy). Women go ape-shit any time their man talks to, texts with, bumps into, or acknowledges the existence of another woman.

Director’s DVD Commentary: I’m not being sexist; it goes both ways. I just don’t care to bother with the verbal gymnastics of keeping all terms unisexual.

One woman doesn’t want her fitness instructor boyfriend to have women as clients, even though they make up over 90% of his business. Another guy is crucified for “cheating” by receiving sexy videos from women he’s never met. Men flip out any time they find themselves near their women’s previous boyfriends, with whom they are still friendly. One girl got upset because her guy went to church, and there were women there. She also didn’t want him to hang out with his sisters, because they might have friends around. And on it goes…

If I were on that show, my stories would be as dull as dishwater. Most of my friends are women. Anyone I was dating would have to understand that, and if they flip out about it, I’m out. It’s non-negotiable. I will be friends with women. And my mate is free to be friends with men. I’d never be a hypocrite about it. I’m fully trusting until I have a reason not to be. (And I’m quite fortunate that Sweetpea is fine with this.)

I think these “cast members” would ease a lot of their own misery if they just decided to trust their partner and assume the best rather than the worst. And if they do stray, for real, cut them the eff loose and move on. (Those who do bugger off invariably find a line-up of men (or women) who want to go out with them, after having seen them on TV.)

The last obstacle is religion and it’s almost always bout Middle-Eastern or African men wanting to control American women. They never seem to tell their prospective wives all the details of what their lives together might look like, or what she might look like after she’s covered head to toe. They know that if they let on they expect a life of obedience, servitude, and child-bearing at the outset, the American dating pool is likely to dry up

One Egyptian guy was coming to live with his American wife in California, and they had a fight that led to their breakup because she was wearing a dress that, while it went up to her neck, down past her knees, and had long sleeves, it bared a couple square inches of her back. He couldn’t live with such a tawdry display of wantonness. Because of religion.

There is a couple this season, where the 40ish American woman is going to Jordan to marry her 22–year–old guy on the very day she arrives because his religion won’t permit them to be alone together in a room. This story is just getting underway and she has no idea what he’s going to expect of her. This is basically a “boy” who told the cameras he wants her to obey his wishes at all times and not question him as the man of the house. And he needs her to cover up with loose clothing

I think she ought to spank his 22-year-old ass and send him to his room without dinner. These stories always seem to end up the same way, with the American women taking a powder either before or shortly after the wedding.

I don’t see how they didn’t research the culture the second they made contact with their foreign beaus. It would have saved them a lot of heartache and a pile of cash.

Or maybe they just reeeeeally wanted to be on TV.

But that’s the worst part. I can’t even comprehend allowing TV cameras to film every part of my life, every argument, every mistake, every emotional moment, and broadcast it nationwide. And when these fights happen, everything is in play, from bathroom habits to sexual inadequacies to masturbatory quirks. Nothing is off-limits.

And I make room for the fact that producers are egging them on or providing angles to assert to keep the fights going. You can see by their casting choices that they’re counting on the conflict, the louder and more warped the better.  That’s too bad because I’m sure there are viewers like Sweetpea and me who really enjoy seeing decent people overcome international obstacles and go on to live happily ever after. (These people tend to end up on the Pillow Talk series.)

At the end of every season, they stage a multi-episode “Tell All,” where all the cast members get together in New York to answer questions from a moderator and each other. They all get to know one another; some become real-life friends, others bitter enemies. This helps build the 90-Day ecosystem

It’s hard to watch sometimes because they poke and prod for every bit of controversy and conflict, even those that have already been resolved. They ought to call these episodes, “Pulling at Scabs.” It’s seldom pretty.

The bigger point is that we, as a people, are being conditioned to become our ugliest forms of ourselves. We’re guided to be vain, jealous, insecure, snarky, mean, over-reactive, and without empathy. Is this the public influencing the media or the media influencing the public?

Either way, we’re a mess and we don’t seem to be getting any better.

Maybe the next iteration ought to be “90 Days – Incel.” That’s where they take some anti-social, obnoxious misfit out of his parents’ basement, send him on a date with a real woman, and film the inevitable disaster. They just need to make sure the crew has tasers ready. They’ll need to be able to guarantee the woman’s safety.

So yeah, I’m up here on my soapbox, but I’ll still be watching Sunday nights. Damn it.

Climbing Walz

 My apologies for posting a day late. I’ve been running around so much lately that I literally forgot that yesterday (Labor Day) was a Monday and therefore I needed to post.

My mom has been in a seniors rehab facility for the last several weeks, getting therapy on some broken bones. My siblings and I take turns staying with her to support and advocate. The TV in the room is usually tuned into MSNBC, the only channel Mom watches. I rarely watch TV news unless there’s an event happening, so it was all news to me.

But this was how I came to see some of Gov. Tim Walz’s Labor Day speech. It was a real corker, too. I can see why Kamala picked him. By the time he was done, I was ready to run through walls for the guy. He’s loaded with Everyman Charisma and common sense.

He basically hung TFG out to dry with his own words:

“This guy has made it clear how he stands. He’s sitting down at Mar-a-Lago after he got elected president, and this was his exact quote, he’s talking to a bunch of folks at Mar-a-Lago: ‘You’re rich as hell, and we’re gonna give you a tax cut.’ At the same time, he was telling workers they get paid too much already. That’s who this guy is.” [snip]

“You tell me who in Wisconsin is sitting around saying, ‘damn, I wish they’d give billionaires tax cuts and screw me over. Damn, I wish they’d take my health care away. I wish they’d underfund my public school. I wish they would make my job more difficult and more dangerous. And then at the end of the day, I wish they’d make me work ‘til I’m 75 years old.’”

It’s no wonder the Republicans are grasping at any straw they can to tarnish the guy. Rather than anything of substance, they’re talking about how he was only an assistant coach and not a head coach, and that he had a DUI 15 years ago, and the other garbage about his 24-year-long military career. It’s all they have so they have to use it.

It certainly pales compared to the garbage that’s been found coming from their VP candidate. Talk about toxic. It’s like he’s saying, “All you single women, single men, women over 50, cat owners, and Swifties, your vote doesn’t matter to us and probably shouldn’t count, so go ahead and vote for the Democrats.”

Walz also managed to work in his catchphrase that the Republicans should “Mind their own damn business!”

I love this angle because I’ve been pushing that sentiment for decades. Republicans are all about “small government” and “limited government reach” when it comes to shielding businesses from regulations that cost money, regarding trivial things like worker safety, pollution, quality of goods, and livable wages. There is no ripple too high to surpass the importance of increasing the next quarter’s profits.

But they’re just fine with the government reaching into your personal lives and private bedrooms to judge you on or ban you from the exercise of your own free will. Everyone would be so much better off if we just Mind our Own Damn Business!

But as long as there are Evangelicals, there will be a push to make us get in step with their out-of-step views on morality and religion. They’ll never be content until this country becomes a theocracy with their views enforced as the National Religion. And that means controlling education, what people read, what people say, how they dress, how they love, and how they reproduce. Does that sound like a free country to you?

It’s really an unlikely pairing under the Republican banner; the business people, and the religious people. The business people don’t care what the wingnuts do as long as it doesn’t interfere with raking in money. And the religious people don’t care what the business people do, as long as they can ban abortion, shove gays back in the closet, and trumpet their holier-than-thou status. And then you can add the racists in there who don’t care what the wingnuts or businessmen do, as long as they can deport brown foreigners and re-marginalize the Blacks. It’s a match made in Self-Interest Heaven.

I presume it’s no accident that the rich guy looks like Rupert Murdoch, Owner/Creator of Fox “News.”

The Big Government Bluz

I saw this meme posted by a conservative friend on the old Facebook a while back, which I thought was a pretty good example of the kind of dishonest fear-mongering for which Republicans are known.

More people work for the government…ooooh, scary. It paints dark pictures of overreaching politicians and endless, faceless bureaucracy.

The first thing I question is whether this is true or not. I mean, in a capitalist society, everything is for sale. It takes a lot of people to ship things, sell things, and account for things. (I’m omitting “building things” because as often as not, that doesn’t happen here.) So I have doubts. I think the only way the statement becomes true is if includes ALL government work. Federal, State, local, etc. And think what that includes:

·         Firefighting and police.

·         Military and National Guard.

·         Schools and libraries.

·         Sanitation, road construction, and maintenance.

·         Road salting and plowing.

·         Postal Service.

·         FEMA, NOAA, and weather forecasting.

·         Courts, district attorneys, and legal aides.

·         The IRS (Yeah, boo, hiss, but someone has to handle collecting taxes if we want any of the services above.)

Are any of these jobs particularly evocative of the evil intentions of government? Of course not, they’re just jobs that are necessary in our society. These are absolutely “government jobs.” And the fact that they are ensures cost control.

I’ll tell you what it really comes down to: Republicans don’t like all this government work because unless there is a private entity involved, the rich can’t skim the till and take a slice of taxpayer money for themselves.

They want all of these jobs privatized for the simple reason that it’s an opportunity to make more money. They want these services to become more things we have to pay for out of pocket, but at a higher price because they need to make a profit. But first, they have to get us to go along with it, hence the scary “Runaway Big Government” memes.

It’s just like with Social Security. Republicans have been trying to privatize that for years, not because it’s inefficient, but with money going from the government directly to the people, fat-cat Wall Street firms don’t get to take a cut. It is money left on the table and they can’t stand that they can’t get their mitts on any of it.

That’s why they lie about Social Security being a factor in the federal deficit. They want us to think benefits need to be reduced when in fact, a few small changes would guarantee viability for decades to come. It’s just that Republicans don’t like those changes because the filthy rich would have to pay more than they do now. All they need to do is raise or remove the cap at which Social Security taxes end ($165K.) That’s a non-starter with them, and it shows to whom they are beholden. (It’s not us.)

Or, they could always pay back the money Congress “borrowed” from the Social Security fund decades ago, but never seem to find a way to return.

***

In other news (from a couple weeks ago) I saw this in the local paper.

As usual, the GOP is demanding the blood-thirsty option of sentencing the 9/11 mastermind to death. I think they’re being short-sighted. While I agree that his maniac is deserving of death, I think life in prison would be far more punishing. Is this guy really even afraid of death? Isn’t he one of those men who expects 72 virgins at his beck and call once he snuffs it? Far better for him to rot in jail for one long, miserable year, after another. Or, give him his 72 virgins right now, and by “virgins,” I mean anti-social, basement-dwelling, woman-hating incels. Party on, Sheikh.

***

Hey, how about that convention, huh? It actually left me feeling a bit more optimistic. I loved the speeches, especially those from Doug Emhoff, Secretary Pete, Michelle Obama, Tim Walz, and the nominee herself.

You can tell it scared the Republicans because they’re killing themselves trying to find an angle of attack to discredit the proceeding. Their only hope is that it works on their fan base who never saw any of it for themselves. We know joy and happiness when we see it and we recognize messaging that resonates.

It’s funny that one of the recurring themes from the Fox "News" crowd is how “no one voted for her in the primaries.”

To that, I use Governor Walz’s new punchline in that they should “Mind their own damn business.” This is our dance, not theirs. They get no more say in our primaries than we had in theirs. If we’re happy with our nominee, that’s all that matters. It just goes to show that they’ll latch onto anything to keep from admitting their guy is a joke.

The Republican War on Sex

I don’t know how I missed this last February but this should have been a major story, if not for the dereliction of journalistic duty on behalf of mainstream media. Behold this social media post from the Heritage Foundation:

There is so much to unpack here. But first off, let’s remember that the Heritage Foundation is a Republican think tank and funding source that has its tentacles into every level of GOP government, forever pushing for ways to go back to the “Good Olde Days” when women were in the kitchen, Blacks were in the fields, and Gays were in the back of the closet. Back when men did what their bosses told them to do and accepted whatever pay was deemed appropriate. They’d like all of that back again, except without the 90% corporate tax rate. They want that to be zero. They are funded by men who are filthy rich and intend to keep it that way, for themselves and their silver-spoon-fed offspring.

But back to the tenet at hand… keeping women under men’s thumbs. They think the best way to do that is to keep them pregnant. They are for “returning consequentiality to sex.” As if the clap wasn’t enough…

“Senseless use of birth control.” Seriously? There is literally no such thing because if a woman or a couple don’t want to become pregnant, that’s all the sense it requires. Everyone else can piss off!

Ultimately, they frame their points as a religious and moral argument.

Like “restoring sex to its true purpose.” When the hell was that? People have been screwing like minks since the dawn of time. Sometimes it may have been under the radar, so to speak, but it was happening. And there have always been these religious pricks trying to make everyone behave.

“You people stop boning and get back in the fields!”

These people don’t give a flying fig about religion, not for real. Not about the messages of the Bible, anyway. No, they need a way to control people yet still appear to claim the moral high ground. So they wrap themselves in some of the most out-of-touch pieces of the Bible and use it to insulate themselves from examination.

And for other religions? Well, none of those count, obviously. Theirs is the only “real” religion, as if there’s such a thing.

Back in the eighties, Republicans figured out that they could count on the vote of Evangelical Christians if they became the Morality Party and campaigned against abortion, sex, and secularity. It worked for them because it gave them a voting base beyond the rich people they were obligated to placate. And if the Evangelicals didn’t get what they wanted? Who cares? All the more to rile them up for the next election. Most importantly, it didn’t cost the 1% any money. They can always find an abortion if some rich guy’s mistress needs one. This was a great way to get people to vote against their own economic interests.

The Heritage Foundation is knee-deep in all of this. And here they are, actually posting their plans to keep people from having sex.

Well, good luck with that. Have you ever noticed that the states (or cultures) that are the most legally constricted have the highest porn usage? There’s no keeping a cork in that bottle; it’s going to pop one way or another.

So, this is real. The Republicans are coming for sex. They want to restrict or ban contraception, outlaw abortion, and track women’s periods so they can police the whole thing to keep them from exercising their own free will. And they have six justices on the Supreme Court who came with Heritage Foundation endorsements, so whatever religious restrictions Republicans can dream up will be rubber-stamped into the laws of the land.

For “freedom” of course. Complete, flag-wrapped freedom, which really means the freedom to live, think, and act like they tell you.

Amen.

From The “I Called It” Dept.

In a post two weeks ago, I wrote the following:

Last week, VP Harris unveiled her plan to cap price gouging and offer assistance for first-time home buyers. And what did the GOP do? They promptly opposed all such measures.

"...completely preposterous for government to play a role in setting food prices," he said. Unlike the GOP campaign messaging which castigates the Biden Administration for not doing just that.

So the next time one of your friends is complaining about the “Biden Economy,” ask him what, exactly he thinks should be done about it. Because solving the actual problem seems to be a non-starter.

Just like with the border, Republicans don’t really want to solve the problem, they just want to blame their opponents for it. They have zero intention of lowering prices because that wouldn’t be in the best interest of their big donors.

Outrageous, Egregious, Preposterous!

How bad do you feel for Jordan Chiles right now, huh? Man, what a kick in the teeth. It’s bad enough that she has to compete against the most dominant gymnast in history, now she’s getting railroaded out of her bronze medal.

Apparently, the judges made an error in determining her degree of difficulty, which lowered her score. But her team protested, and the judges made the proper adjustment and the resulting score landed her the bronze medal.

But wait, now it comes out that her team was four seconds late in protesting… they have one minute from the end of the routine… so they’re recalling the metal.

What a sack of shit. I know there are rules about such things, you’d figure there has to be some kind of deadline. But one minute, amidst the swirl of Olympic competition. This is bullshit. At minimum, there should be an appeal process which when used successfully, keeps a medal from being turned in because of actions taken by those other than the athlete. In other words, they want her to return her medal because the judges screwed up.

If I’m her, assuming the decision is final, I’d be like, “I know the official record books will be updated, but you’re not getting this medal back. You want it, come get it.” Then I’d go see my new best friend Snoop and see if he still has some friends from the Hood who will protect my ass. What are they going to do, send a team of Olympic goons? Like a judo team? Or the shot putters? OK, maybe some of those archers and sharpshooters would get my attention. 

They should do a Pulp Fiction remake with these two:

I would probably do things just to piss them off, like post photos on Facebook or Insta of the medal in various famous places. Like, “Can’t catch me…”

Or “Missed me by that much!”

I don’t know what kind of leverage they have over someone in her position. Maybe they can prevent her from competing again, but she can always retire and start doing commercials. Like, for home security systems. Or maybe Spellcheck apps.

“Don’t let stupid mistakes jam YOU up. Use this and get them fixed immediately!”

She should hire the actor who played the Seinfeld show attorney Jackie Chiles to work with her on it, and just let him do his thing.

Anyway, I just think it’s silly to let systematic screw-ups put the screws to athletes who have busted their buns to become world-class talents. There needs to be some kind of review board to ensure that athletes’ dreams don’t become victims of the quest for bureaucratic purity.

***

This was in today’s Baltimore Sun:

My intention in highlighting this story is not about Chuck Schumer’s decision to kill this proposal in its sleep, but to question why Republicans proposed such a thing in the first place. I mean, I know the answer, and it’s twofold:

·         To appease the idiots from their base who think there’s a vast conspiracy regarding COVID, the pandemic, and other viruses in conjunction with the CDC, and other anti-vaxxers.

·         The GOP wants to cut or defund any department or entity that creates barriers to profit by large corporations. Whether it’s air purity, water clarity, or food safety, it’s much more cost-efficient to contaminate all three areas and settle with or (legally stall) complainants, than it is to produce a clean, safe product.

I’ve been beating this drum for years and this is just one more example. And without the Democratic majority we have now, slim as it may be, this was something that could have come to fruition. This is the importance of keeping the Senate. It’s something on which our lives may actually depend.

***

I also saw this on my news page today. Get ready for another Tan Suit Controversy.

 We know this play by now. The GOP goes crazy because a Democratic president takes a few hours (or days) off, even though their own guy set the presidential record for the most time spent playing golf. (And using his own facilities so the government has to pay him for his own protection.) And famously only worked a couple of hours per day, setting aside vast portions of “executive time” for watching Fox “News” and sending incoherent tweets.

And now they want to throw shade on Biden for it? (Sorry, it looks like he already has some.)

I think every president needs some recharge time, some R&R. And that goes for presidents of both parties. I’m sick of this cheap blame game over something so universal.

And it’s not like no one can find him if something comes up. I guarantee he’s got a team nearby keeping tabs on whatever’s hot and can pull him in if need be. Every human, president or not, needs time to disengage and chill.

Republicans are probably just mad because they think he’s wasting the opportunity to direct government business into his own pocket. Maybe if he were charging the Secret Service to be on his own private beach, they would understand. Game recognizes game.

Show Me the Money

I’m enjoying the Democrats' new line of attack, calling Republicans “weird” at every turn. Certainly it’s juvenile, but it gets under their skin. At least it bugs them enough for them to start calling the Democrats weird, using the timeless “I Know You Are But What Am I?” defense. Unfortunately for them, the Democrats already invoked the “No Take-Backs” clause.

I say, let the experts weigh in:

I saw a lot of Republican commercials over the weekend smearing Harris, most of which used the sure-fire conservative hot-button terms… “Most progressive Senator ever,” “San Francisco politics,” “Nancy Pelosi,” “Illegal immigrants and gang members” killing people while she was somewhere in the state, etc.

They really love to throw “San Francisco” around. To them it just reeks of hippies, drugs, and free love. They’re all like, “She’s so San Francisco, Rice-a-Roni is suing her for copyright infringement. She’s so San Francisco, it should say Kamala’s Wharf on the sign. Instead of cable cars, she’s pulling tourists up the hills herself.”

And I “can’t even” with the DEI stuff. I mean, wasn’t she elected by her constituents several times for various offices? To the MAGAs, they figure we need to wait for another 42 White guys to become president before they can cope with another person of color. I know I’m not the first person to point this out but the fact that DEI can easily stand for Don Jr, Eric, and Ivanka, all of whom had jobs because of who they were on paper rather than actual skills.

***

I’m more than ready for someone to finally come back at Republicans who are claiming that the current state of high prices can be laid at Biden’s (and by proxy, Harris’s) feet. Rational people know that the prices of anything are influenced by many factors, not least of which is the amount of profit their manufacturers choose to take.

So, what do you think would happen if Biden or Harris said, “You want us to provide price relief? How about this? How about I order a cap on corporate profits? If you get caught gouging in excess of allowable profit, we fine the shit out of you. And let’s prevent corporations from buying up all the housing to turn the units into rentals, so we can keep a lid on housing prices.”

Watch how fast Republicans scream bloody murder about Socialism, Communism, and every other “ism” that they think will scare you. They don’t want prices to go down. Their donors love these high prices because they’re making one record-breaking quarter of profit after another. And then they get to laugh as they blame it all on the Democrats.

Try asking TFG what his plan is to reduce the cost of living. I’ll tell you his answer: “I have a beautiful plan in the works, the best plan ever, many people said so. It will be released in two weeks.” And we know what that means. There is no plan. Someone who takes pride in skipping out on what he owes people will never care how much things cost.

Just like with the border, Republicans don’t want to take action to fix problems, they want to run on them and blame the Democrats.

Anyway, it’s not like any such economic pronouncement from Biden would pass muster with the new Overtly Corrupt Supreme Court. They’re prepared to thwart any economic plan that isn’t directed at the 1%. That’s why they’re there.

***

I’m glad that Biden is at least proposing SCOTUS reforms. Drastic action is necessary at this point. The fact that several justices have been bought cannot be hidden. No one provides the kind of financial favors that Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh received, without expecting something in return.

Sadly, nothing will ever come of it without the Presidency, the House, and 60 Senators onboard. The only way to get Republicans on board will be when the Supreme Court has a Democrat-appointed majority. (And even then, the rich will just buy off more Democrats.) You can already see the Republican panic in this Wall Street Journal headline:

Republicans didn’t do all that work to pack the court with their own flunkies just to give it up due to the public’s (correct) perception. The Journal goes on to say that the number of possible accusations and complaints will provide the appearance that the court is corrupt. How that differs from what we have right now is beyond me. We already KNOW the court is corrupt.

But the biggest no-go is the idea of an amendment eliminating presidential immunity. And it’s not because of the issue itself, it’s just that any new amendment requires ratification by 38 state governments.

My friend, we can’t get 38 state governments to agree that the grass is green. They could be trying to pass a declaration in which if an asteroid were to be discovered streaking towards a planet-killing collision with Earth, the states would unite in trying to divert it. We would still have red and blue states fighting about something. Maybe the Dems want to hire the most qualified contractors and the Republicans want to hire established Defense Department contractors so they can skim the funds. Whatever the case, we can’t even get 38 states to agree to something as basic as men and women being treated as equals. (And I’d bet some of the states that DID sign on would like to change their minds now.) No, unless there’s a complete overhaul in this country’s collective mindset, we’re never going to see another amendment to the Constitution pass again.

BUT, I don’t see the harm in talking about the issue and getting Republicans on the defensive. It’s good to make them show their true colors. Which, in fact, are always “green.”

More "News Wheel of Fortune"

With Pat Sajak newly retired, it’s bedlam at the ole Spinning Wheel, so I’ll step up with my ongoing audition for the News Wheel of Fortune. There have been a lot of stories from the last month upon which I haven’t been able to comment. So let's give the wheel a spin and see what comes up.

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Republicans went from not having a platform to having one and it’s still the same platform: Whatever TFG says it is. While they did try to soften their abortion stance, we have to remember that this is a political document, intended to get them elected. What they’re actually going to do is another matter. (See Project 2025.) So, minimized or not, abortion is still in danger of a national prohibition if Republicans regain power. Watch what they do, not what they say.

Let’s take another spin.

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Somewhere, a photo editor suggested that the famed “bloody-faced fist pump” shot might be considered partisan and probably shouldn’t be used by unbiased outlets. So naturally, Fox “News” takes umbrage because the whole point of what they do is biased towards gathering and maintaining conservative power. They’re basically making the editor’s point in that the shot has become iconic in Republican circles and to use it is to endorse TFG. This shows why you can’t take Fox seriously as a news organization.

And speaking of Fox “News” distorting a story, consider:

Ooh, this looks bad for the VP and nominee. The lead sentence of the article: “MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend suggested she had a bad experience working for her ex-boss, Vice President Kamala Harris.”

Uh-oh, we could have a new scandal here. But then, the article goes on to talk about how hard it is to represent a woman in politics because of how much abuse gets thrown her way from misogynistic haters. That’s not at all what the headline implies and it’s just one more way Fox “News” skews their coverage. They know that far more people skim the headlines than read the article, so why not leave the masses with the impression that Madame K is a bitch to work for. Never trust anything with a Fox byline. Oh, and there’s more!

This is the same deal, only in print, made possible now that the founder of conservative “news” outlet Sinclair Broadcasting bought ownership in the Baltimore Sun.

The headline screams that a major donor is abandoning Harris. The actual story says that the guy already gave the Biden/Harris campaign a million bucks, which they can keep, but he’s not giving them anymore. Shit, after a donation like that, I’d be done too. That is NOT a lack of support, it’s a statement of prior support. But they framed it as a blow to the Dems in the headline, again knowing that it would leave a lasting impression on more people than those who read the story. Conservatives game the system at every opportunity! OK, that was three stories for one spin. Let’s spin again:

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Herein lies one of the major differences between modern Republicans and Democrats. When a Dem fucks up, he’s out of the club. Have you seen or heard any stories about Dems denying the guy took bribes (in gold bars), saying his trial was rigged, that there was no influence peddling or any other excuse? No, you didn’t because we don’t play that shit. All you saw were calls for him to resign. He got caught and was proven guilty, so he’s gone. That’s how it is and how it should be. We don’t want crooks like this tarnishing the brand. Let’s spin again:

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Boy, talk about a way to get people angry at you, try suggesting that childless people should be treated as second-class citizens. What a maroon, as Bugs would say. They should get on their knees and thank childless people for continuing to fund things like public education, even though they only get the peripheral benefit from it having a less ignorant population. And while they’re at it, thank us for picking up that slack at work when they go on maternity or paternity leave and dump all their work on their single or childless friends. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have leave, but how about a little something for the effort here?

And how smart is it to alienate the nation’s cat ladies not to mention one of the biggest social forces in the country, the Swifties, by smearing their idol, the Single Cat Lady in Chief? This guy looks like a bigger boob with every news cycle. If they ever had a chance to peel off some of the Swiftie votes, it’s gone now. Somewhere, there’s a countdown going, ticking down to when this putz gets replaced on the ticket by Governor Nikki. We’ll spin again:

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And there it is, my friend. TFG is finally speaking the unspeakable truth about his intentions if he were to win in November. I know his handlers are trying desperately to spin this as a joke, but we all know that this guy doesn’t joke. He smears. And this wasn’t a smear, it was a statement. It’s what he thinks because we also know he has less filter than a carton of old Pall Mall reds. He knows exactly what’s in Project 2025 and he’s behind it all the way, no matter how hard he tries to distance himself from it. It just keeps creeping back.

This is what Republicans are defending: a guy who intends to install himself as a dictator by any means necessary and stay there for life. After replacing everyone at Justice with his lackeys and reconfiguring the military…

…who’s to say he doesn’t disband Congress? With his own law enforcement operation, lacking civil laws to keep him in check, and a Congress to impeach, we’ll be stuck with him until he has a massive heart attack. Or someone comes along who’s a better shot than that jagoff from PA. Who knows what damage he’s prepared to inflict on the country before then, or how much of the US Treasury he and his enablers will be able to loot?

That’s it for our show tonight, go forth with your eyes open, engage your mind, and believe nothing you hear from the conservative media (which is basically everything now).

Now one last spin, just for shits and giggles:

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This is a picture from the intro to this year’s MLB All-Star Week Home Run Derby. Is it me, or does this look like they’re in the Hunger Games? It’s like suddenly a siren is going to sound and they’ll all start hitting each other with bats. Which would be no doubt more entertaining than the Home Run Derby.

Where's Selina Kyle?

Another weekend, another blockbuster political news story. As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, President Biden is stepping down from his re-election campaign in favor of his VP, Kamala Harris. Naturally, the media sideshow kicked into overdrive, as well as the nonsense from MAGA World.

First off, I want to say how happy I am that the top Dems have seemed to come together over supporting Harris’ run for the top spot. The last thing I wanted to see was a messy public fight over who gets the nod. I understand it can still happen at the convention, but only if enough people are dissatisfied with the new ticket. I think there may be a few attention-seeking troublemakers out there but they’ll be voted down swiftly in favor of the appearance of a unified party.

Harris is the one in position as the Veep; this is what she’s there for and everyone who voted for Biden in the primaries knew that she is part of the deal. As far as I’m concerned, she’s already been approved.

Removing her now would be disastrous and seen as a slap toward women and people of color, whom the Democrats are already accused of taking for granted. And as I (and many others) have pointed out before, she should be able to use the Biden/Harris campaign fund, assuming the Republicans can’t find one of their lackey judges to find a way to declare it illegal.

But it should be made clear by Democrats everywhere: at this point, the past doesn’t matter. What was, was and what will be is what we need to determine. All eyes ahead for the job we need to do, to prevent fascism from taking over our government.

As for the sideshow, the Republicans do not disappoint. TFG actually started whining about how the GOP already laid out money on preparations to beat Biden and it’s not fair that the money has now gone to waste.

HA! I’m dyin’ here.

Maybe if their money went toward promoting Republican positions to persuade people that their ideas are best, they wouldn’t be in this mess. But because their platform is toxic to all but the rich, racist, and evangelical, all they have left is smears, insults, and disinformation. And we’re supposed to care that they’re stuck with millions of dollars worth of “Let's Go Brandon” merch?

It’s not like they’re unprepared to start the smear war on Kamala. In fact, they’ve already started.

The thing to remember about this entirely bogus charge (of being a homewrecker and sleeping her way to political power) is that the reality is that she dated a guy who had been legally separated for a couple of years. In no way did she wreck anyone’s home. But details like that don’t matter to the Repubs, who never pass up a chance to slut-shame a woman who dares to seek office.

They’re also breaking out the AI deep fakes.

I heard this referred to on the radio this morning by my local morning show, who repeated the quote in mocking tones. They neglected to mention that the quote was faked, which three minutes’ worth of research would have made clear.

And when they can’t libel their way into office, they work the system.

I don’t know what “experts” think the Dems won’t face legal challenges to putting Harris on the ballot. Dems face legal challenges just by getting up in the morning. What I presume this headline means is that the charges are dubious. But then, that hasn’t stopped Republicans so far. Lately, they’ve won one dubious case after another, all the way up to the illegitimate Supreme Court. So I’m waiting to see how they’re going to make it illegal for Harris to use money earmarked for Biden and Harris. But as I’ve said, this is all they’ve got. When they can’t win on ideas, they have nothing left but to game the system.

And it’s not just campaign funds, they’re already ginning up election fraud charges, months before the election. From the Baltimore Sun last Wednesday:

“If we don’t win, it’s rigged. If we do win, it is fair and square. Heads I win, tails you lose.”

These bastards are shameless. But they don’t care. Winning fixes everything.

The next round of intrigue revolves around who may be the new VP. I’ve seen several sources suggest nominating a moderate Republican, which is so “rose-colored-glasses” dopey that it defies credibility. Harris’ VP will be the one presiding over a Senate counting the electoral votes. Why would we put someone in a position to sabotage the election who will be susceptible to GOP pressure to monkey with the procedural mechanics (again)? No, it has to be a Dem who will be a reliable blue vote in what is sure to be a narrow majority for either party. That vote could be all that stands between a new Democratic Supreme Court justice or several years of stalemate. Democrats need to stop apologizing for being Democrats and act like they believe in what the party stands for.

Unfortunately, the one I think would be best as a VP choice, AZ Senator Mark Kelly, should not be considered due to other considerations, namely that we can’t afford to lose the seat in Arizona. We can’t trust that the GOP state process would put another Democrat in the seat or even allow a fair electin. So I don’t want to see any sitting Senator getting the nod. Leave it to governors, House, or Cabinet members.

Speaking of the latter, I think Pete Buttigieg would do a terrific job. Just watch conservative brains go into meltdown every time he goes on Fox “News” and cleans house. But I am conflicted because putting together a ticket with a Black/Asian woman and a gay man would send the backlash into overdrive. On one hand, I think anyone whose vote would be lost by a candidate being gay isn’t voting Democratic anyway, so why not? But on the other hand, the heat is going to be turned up so high on this, it may be the only thing the politically uninterested hear about it and swing the Independents to TFG.

So I’m sure it will be something to behold, as the media runs wild on this horserace within the horserace, rather than just waiting to see it play out. Now that they’ve got Biden’s pelt on the wall, they no doubt have a taste for adding another.

Lastly, I just want to point out that Joe Biden has been a tremendous president. He got more done with less Congressional support than anyone could have hoped for. Insulin capping, getting top drugs into anti-price gouging programs, getting roads and bridges fixed, taming COVID, lowering temperatures with our allies, supporting Ukraine in their war against annihilation, shoring up the electoral counting process, growing the economy, and so much more; he did all of it with a narrow majority or split Congress. It was a masterful job and he deserves to be appreciated.