Bernie's in!

There's a part of me that thinks Bernie Sanders could be our next President--an upset in Iowa, a win in his neighboring state of New Hampshire and it's off to the races.  But then reality creeps in--he's trailing Hillary Clinton 62% to 14% and that's a lot of ground to make up in eight months considering that he's going to be vastly outspent (and have trouble raising the kind of money needed anymore to be President), doesn't have nearly the name recognition she has, and doesn't have the campaign infrastructure that Secretary Clinton has.  And while Senator Sanders has his charms, he doesn't have quite the oratorical flourish that President Obama has that is so necessary to rally Democrats with a little "d."

Still, I honestly think he has a better chance than any republican.

First hope:  That Sanders can be the Democratic Party's better self in articulating again and again what we stand for--single payer healthcare, raising the minimum wage, affordable college education for all, more spending on infrastructure, expanding Social Security, ridding our elections of Citizen's United, the middle class and not the billionaire class, and closing the ever-widening gap that is income inequality in America.

Second hope:  That he lasts long enough in the Democratic primaries that I can vote for him when the Michigan Primary comes around next year.  At least then I can know that once in my life I got a chance to vote for a proud and unabashed Liberal for President....

Peace,
emaycee

About damn time

Files this under better late than never....

Turns out that thirty-plus years of conservative dogma (see also the Reagan Devolution) for our economy hasn't had such a great outcome--feeding the rich while starving the poor has only led to the United States falling farther and farther behind other industrialized countries in infant mortality rates, people incarcerated, life expectancy for women, children in poverty, and teenage pregnancies.  Even worse, the social safety net that republicans spend so much time bitching about isn't all that safe--it's got gaping holes in it that far too many Americans in need are falling through.

And while we're beating a very dead horse, for all the right's claims to concern for the unborn and flogging of European socialism, it sure is funny how Europe absolutely cleans our clocks on infant mortality rates.  Who'd have guessed that, unlike our republican party and its minions, those socialists actually give a shit about children?

And therein lies the legacy of the modern republican party:  all talk and plenty of failed action for ordinary Americans.

Peace,
emaycee

The ghost of revolution future

While I would not downplay the role police brutality toward Freddie Gray (and numerous other instances) had in the unrest in Baltimore last night, it would be equally foolish to disregard the effects of the downward spiral of our economy for the past thirty years on our inner cities--and likewise, on America's working poor and middle class.  Police vioence on top of joblessness, hunger, and little hope for the future is not a recipe for peace and brotherhood.

The powers that be in America need to take a good look at what happened in Baltimore last night (and Ferguson, MO last summer)--if things don't change economically for a vast majority of Americans and very soon, it's only a matter of time before the anger and turmoil moves from our inner cities into our suburbs as well, and the end results will not be pretty for those at the top.

A gated community might keep a burglar or everday miscreant out, but it's not likely to stop a hostile mob that's tired of being cold, hungry, and jobless.

Peace,
emaycee

Brothers-in-arms

The National Organization for (Heterosexual) Marriage (NOM) held a "March for (Heterosexual) Marriage" at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. this past weekend for which about 6000 people attended to share their intolerance with the rest of the world, and as I was browsing the pictures from the march in this piece from Think Progress it dawned on me that there wasn't much difference between NOM and the Ku Klux Klan.

After all, both organizations are hate groups with viewpoints from another century that cloak their bigotry in religion.

And it's equally true that America would be infinitely better off without either group.

Peace,
emaycee

Pray tell

Former republican congressman Allen West of Floida this week solved all of our problems when he spoke to a group in Texas and said that the reason so many football players are getting injured these days is because of a lack of prayer in schools.

No shit?

Hell, then let's all pray and we'll all be rich and poverty will disappear and cancer will be cured and all of our kids will be brilliant and every man will be handsome and every woman pretty and...what's that?  People have been praying since the beginning of time and it really hasn't solved much?

Well, never mind then.

And unfortunately for Mr. West, despite the existence of prayer medical researchers still haven't found a cure for stupidity.

Peace,
emaycee

The kids aren't alright

For all the news you may have read and seen this week, you sure as hell didn't see any of this:

• The four nations with the highest child poverty rates?  Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and the good old U.S. of A.
• One-half of the kids in American public schools are eligible for lunch assistance.
• One-half of African-American children under the age of six in America live in poverty.
• Out of every 100 American children, twenty are currently on food stamps.
• On any given night, 138,000 children in America are homeless.

And these numbers come from the richest nation in the history of human civilization.

But you know, if only those four and five-year-olds would pull themselves up by their bootstraps I'm sure they could find a couple of dented soup cans in some dumpster and a bigger cardboard box to spend the night inside.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol XVII--Eels: Rock Hard Times

Silly me--I don't keep up much with music reviews anymore, and I had assumed since they formed in 1995 that Eels were  a semi-hip band that most people who were familiar with them at least liked.  Turns out they are more a  love 'em or hate 'em outfit.  While I wouldn't classify them as my favorite band, I'm more in the love 'em camp.

I first became awate of Eels with their hit "Novocaine for the Soul" (#1 with a bullet on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and also a top ten hit in the U.K.), which I heard late at night on a local alternative station while I was writing the worst novel ever written (I've also written the second worst novel ever, a rare double feat that I'm quite proud of).  A few years later while reading Nick Hornby's tribute to some of his favorite singles, Songbook, he had an addenda in which one of the newer songs he listed was "Rock Hard Times" and for me, it was love at first listen.

Released in 2003, it was featured on their/his (read the Eels link) album Shootenanny, and wasn't actually released as a single.  No matter--the song is one of their/his best with frontman Mark "E" Everett's weary mellow soul vocals (California pop!), some nice self deprecating lyrics, a touch of the jangly guitars, and a catchy as all hell chorus.  It's a feel good song that isn't a feel good song, and "rock hard times" are something far too many of us have felt the last few years personally, economically, and politically.

And yes, everybody knows we all just  "...gotta make it through..." them....

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

Koch heads

Other than the fact that they're all probably running for the republican Presidential nomination in 2016, know what Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker have in common?  They've been anointed by the Koch brothers as the five candidates most likely to be supported by the not so dynamic duo ($$$$) as the Man Who Would Be King, otherwise known as the republican Presidential nominee in 2016.

Not so sure any of the Fab Five should be rejoicing--contrary to republican groupthink, rich folks aren't all that popular with average Americans these days and I'm pretty sure that whoever wins the Democratic nomination (not to mention our support groups) is going to use large chunks of the two to three hundred million dollars they'll have in their campaign chests to remind average Americans just how much they don't like rich rolks.

Having the Koch brothers on your side is a lot like trying to paddle a row boat with a basketball sized hole in the bottom across the Pacific Ocean--the odds were long to begin with but the hole makes it impossible.

Peace,
emaycee

Just one more thing to worry about

An autistic eleven-year-old in Virginia had criminal charges filed against him for..wait for it...kicking a trash can in school (disorderly conduct).  A few weeks later, after another minor incident (seriously--not waiting until the other kids had left class), the school principal sent the same officer to the classroom, and the officer proceeded to handcuff and arrest the young man, who attempted to push the officer away as he did.  This time he was charged with felony assault of a police officer.

I fully realize I'm a bit more sensitive to this because I have a ten-year-old with ADHD and impulsivity/anger management issues, but what exactly in the fuck are they putting in the water in Virginia that has caused a massive outbreak of stupid?  He's eleven-years-old for fuck's sake, and a school principal, a police officer, and a judge signed off on these actions against a little boy.

Man, I think I'll bypass Virginia on any future east coast trips.  Not exactly sure where their water supply comes from, but no since taking any chances--there's already enough dumbasses in the United States.

And as the above proves, Virginia already has its fair share.

Peace,
emaycee

And then it's too late

There was an excellent post today in The Daily Kos about how the 2016 Presidential Election isn't about who is going to be our next President, but rather about the future makeup of our Supreme Court--most likely as to whether we get a Court friendly to Wall Street or to Main Street.  And whether we like Hillary or we love her, it's going to be necessary to get our voters to the polls to prevent an even worse Court for everyday Americans than the current Roberts Court.

All too often we don't see this until it's too late--just witness the war on workers and the war on women orchestrated in Michigan and Wisconsin, where nominally blue states managed to let a republican Legislature and a republican Governor come to power and watched their people power disappear.  And it isn't coming back anytime soon.  Now imagine this on a national level--because right now Barack Obama is the only thing standing between us and the annhilation of unions and abortions being performed in back alleys by charlatans.

And if there is any one message we need to get to our supporters in 2016 it's this one:  either get out and vote for our candidates or kiss even the minor victories of your way of life goodbye.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XVI--Temple of the Dog: Hunger Strike

This week we'll be taking the "A" Train from Saccharine City back to Coolsville....

If I was being sent to a deserted island and told I could have only ten songs on my iPod (and, no smartasses, I have no idea how I'd keep the iPod charged on a deserted island), I don't know that I would choose "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog, but I'm certain I would spend the rest of my time on the island wondering if I should have.

I could tell you that the band was formed in the wake of the death of Andrew Wood (heroin overdose), lead singer of Mother Love Bone, as a tribute by his friend and roommate Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), and that the band also featured four members who would eventually become the heart and soul of Pearl Jam.  I could also tell you that it's the only album the members ever made together, though they've performed it live since a number of times.  I could tell you that it's on their appropriately titled  album Temple of the Dog  which was released in 1991, and while critically well-received, it didn't have much popular success until both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam found large mainstream audiences.  All of which has about as much relevance as does the Big Bang to my existence--yes, I wouldn't be here without it, but I don't spend much time thinking about it while I'm enjoying my life.

Simple put, "Hunger Strike" is one of those moments of pop utopia where everything came together to produce a stunning song.  From the gentle string strumming of the opening to the overtly political lyrics to the bursts of power guitar, the song is a masterpiece of rock.  But what really makes the song, turns it into a slice of rock and roll heaven, is the dueling vocals between the worldly-wise depth of Eddie Vedder's (his first recorded vocal, no less) singing and the plaintive wail of Chris Cornell.  Whether it was karma or luck or the touch of the music gods we'll never know, but everytime I hear "Hunger Strike" their vocal back and forth never ceases to amaze me.

And, no, "I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence..." one bit.

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

Nope, not him either

So Marco Rubio became the third republican to announce his candidacy for the Presidency in 2016 this week.

And he has no more chance than Rand Paul or Ted Cruz.

Although...the gold standard in liberal punditry/blogging, Digby, believes Rubio is the best candidate republicans have to offer in 2016.  And good luck with that....

While I believe that a Jeb Bush/Marco Rubio ticket may be the best republicans can put forward (and will still ultimately be doomed), the only way Marco Rubio sets foot in the White House is if the Clintons invite him to dinner.

In fairness to Rubio, unlike Paul and Cruz, he's not a nutjob.  And I could tell you that his candidacy will never reach its desired goal because a) the great Latino hope isn't all that well-liked by Latinos, or b) that he's already on a short leash with Big Business, the Tea Party, and the Religious Right, none of whom are particularly fond of him (a.k.a., Chris Christie disease), or even c) that he might be the most craven republican since Richard Nixon (and that's really saying something), and finally, d) the man has as much charisma, as well, a dried earthworm.

But the main reason he'll never get to snip a few roses from the garden in the White House yard is this:

Before you scoff, keep in mind the following:  1) Rubio knew from the minute he won his Senate seat in 2010 that he was running for President one day so he had a few years to prepare for his introduction to America (anybody remember how some guy named Barack Obama did at his intro to America at the 2004 Democratic National Convention?); 2) His gaffe wasn't merely a touch of nervousness (understandable) or a bit of stiffness (terminal in Rubio's case), it was a blunder of monumental proportions that looked like nothing short of amateur hour; and c) do the American people really want a man who completely blew the biggest  opportunity of his political career to be in charge of the world's most powerful nation?  Not fucking likely.

Next!

Peace,
emaycee

Hillary nails it

In what comes as a major surprise, Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for the Presidency in 2016:

Like her or love her, this ad is sheer Democratic brilliance--a cavalcade of diverse Americans from the most diverse political party in America.  Hillary spends about ten seconds on camera--she lets Americans do the talking for her.  I know there are going to be missteps, and we're going to see plenty of Wall Street/Centrist/Third Way Hillary, but for today, as I watched I have to admit the only thought I had was, "You know, this is a Democrat I could happily vote for."

I noticed that Reince Priebus, Chaiman of the Republican National Committee, said this week that Clinton was a good person for the republicans to run against.

No, she isn't.

The only Democrat that would be worse for them would be Elizabeth Warren.  Period.  Clinton has been a First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State.  You would have to go back to Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey in 1968 to find a candidate for the Presidency of the United States who was as qualified as Hillary Clinton.  And there is nothing that unites Democrats (even those who aren't all that fond of the Clintons) more than republicans with their chickenshit potshots and conspiracy theories concerning Bill and Hillary.

In other words, welcome to their nightmare.

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XV--Stephen Bishop: On and On

In the immortal words of Bedford Falls' Mr. Potter, sentimental hogwash.

Or maybe not--as I was doing my (half-assed) research for this week's tune, I discovered that the fictional hero of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, Patrick Bateman, is a Stephen Bishop fan.  Never having read the novel or seen the film, I have no idea if this ups the coolness quotient of "On and On," though I doubt it.

While only having a modicum of commercial success, Bishop has pretty much made a career of his first album, Careless (if you ever read the liner notes, you'll find that Bishop has quite the self-deprecating wit, not often seen in pop stars), though he wrote the theme for the movie Tootsie, "It Might be You" (crap) and was nominated for an Academy Award for his song "Separate Lives" (crappier) from the film White Nights.  His two other claims to fame are having dated actress Karen Allen (hubba, hubba) and having his guitar smashed  by John Belushi in Animal House as he strummed the worst folk song ever written, "I Gave My Love a Cherry" (also known as, for some odd ass reason, "The Riddle Song").

His one big hit, though, released in 1977, was "On and On" which reached #11 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  And who among us hasn't had his or her heart broken (segues are for amateurs)?  Ostensibly, that's what the song is--a paean to how we all pick ourselves up after having our love left in the ash heap.  Frankly, the lyrics are corny, though Bishop's knowing falsetto and lightly strummed guitar saves them from being a caricature.  Truthfully, when Bishop sings, "I got the sun on my shoulders and my toes in the sand/My woman's left me for some other man/I don't care I'll just dream and stay tan/Toss up my heart to see where it lands" it literally makes the whole song for me.  I mean, Christ, if you're gonna have your heart broken, at least have it be near a fucking beach, you know?  Sun, sand, and surf will cure what ails you.  As I noted last week, I'm from the Golden State and while you can take the boy out of California, you can't take California out of the boy.

And like so many others, I'll "...smile when I feel like dying...."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

...Fat chance

Completing our republican idiot trifecta for today, Rand Paul on Tuesday announced his candidacy to be the next President of the United States.  Frankly, I have a better chance of winning the gold medal in the men's pole vault in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (at which point in time I'll be fifty-seven years old and still forty pounds overweight) than Rand Paul does of being our next President.

Like Ted Cruz before him, Rand Paul inhabits a building where the elevator does not go to the top floor and the American people (not to mention the powers that be in the republican party) aren't about to put a conspiracy theorist nutjob in charge of our families' well-being.

Next republican candidate please!

Peace,
emaycee

...Nevers to...

Having a bad day?  Well, at least you can be thankful you're not from Arkansas and thus are being represented in the U. S. Senate by a man who just might eventually make Ted Cruz look like a prescient politician:  Tom Cotton (with apologies to anyone reading this who might actually be from Arkansas).

Not satisfied with being the lamebrain architect of a near treasonous letter to Iran, Tom Cotton suggested yesterday that any military action taken against Iran would be short and sweet, sort of like a gherkin.

Say...didn't republicans feed us the same bullshit in the buildup to the Iraq War?

Yes--yes, they did.  And frankly, Cotton's claims should be given about as much credence as the same ones we got from the Three Stooges triumvirate of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld before the war in Iraq.

As in zip, zero, nada, none, and goose eggs.

Peace,
emaycee

Stinker to...

Out on another fruitless book selling tour, Dick Cheney called the foreign policy actions of President Obama as "...those of the worst President we've ever had."

Huh--I thought Dick Cheney was the worst President (two disastrous wars, economic collapse, Hurricane Katrina, just to name a few) we ever had...oops, that's right, he was Vice-President.

Silly me.

Peace,
emaycee

You sure about that?

Thanks to a GoFundMe fundraising effort for the pizzeria in Indiana that said it wouldn't cater to a gay wedding and subsequently had to close its doors, over $800,000 has been raised for the family that owns the restaurant.  In response to the tidy sum of money, one of the owners said, "God has blessed us for standing up for what we believe, and not denying him."

Isn't it entirely possible that the large amount of money raised is Satan's way of celebratin' their hatin'?

Seems just as plausible to me--after all, Christ didn't say "Love your neighbor as yourself--unless, of course, he's gay."

Peace,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol XIV--Tony Bennett: I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Old fart alert!

Actually, baseball season starts Monday and as such, this is the time of year when I become most homesick for "my city by the bay"--San Francisco.  I've been a Giants fan since 1967, and my family left the Bay Area for the heartland in 1973.  As you might have surmised, there have been an awful lot of homesick Opening Days over the course of my life.

Arguably the most beautiful city in America (the world?), San Francisco didn't really need to be immortalized with a song, but Tony Bennett sure added a little luster with this gorgeous ballad (written by, oddly enough, a couple of San Franciscans living in New York and missing their home).  The songwriting duo, George Cory and Douglass Cross, never had another hit but they didn't need one.  (There's a nice tour tutorial of their song here.)

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was actually released in 1962 as the b-side to "Once Upon a Time" (no clue) which went nowhere fast but back in the day dee-jays would on occasion play a single's flip-side (you have to be of a certain age....)--and as they did with this one, turned it into Tony Bennett's signature song, which he's still singing to this day.  Released on his appropriately titled album, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, it reached #19 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  Featuring a twinkling piano and Bennett's heartfelt (not bad for a native New Yorker) vocals, the song manages to capture the essence of the city in just under three minutes--no easy task.

Just so you know, you don't have to be a native of San Francisco to appreciate it, but it probably helps.

And even after all these years, ..."high on a hill, it calls to me..."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee

Jekyll and Hillary

For all the grief she takes, turns out Hillary Clinton's voting record over the course of her Senate career was, well, pretty Liberal.  Clinton comes in as the 11th most Liberal Senator for the 107th, 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses.  In fairness--as Digby notes in the link--most Democratic Senators aren't quite the Liberal Lion that Ted Kennedy was in their voting patterns, but still....

...I've had a sneaking suspicion that the Hillary Clinton we see on the campaign trail might not be the Hillary Clinton we see in the White House.  Why?  This (and I freely admit it's mostly anecdotal):

"What difference does it make?' indeed.  She didn't back down and took him rightfully to task for being another in a long line of republican knotheads.  She wasn't candidate Clinton, she was forceful and truthful Clinton.  She had nothing to lose and she basically flipped him the bird with words.

I don't think she'll have anything to lose when she makes it into the White House, either.

Peace,
emaycee