Look, I get that Obama has been all over the place when it comes to the economic security of everyday Americans--from his grand bargain seeking on Social Security and Medicare to his speeches decrying income inequality it's been a veritable back and forth as to how much we should trust the man. That he's trying to push the Trans Pacific Partnership? Pretty much par for the course.
But attacking Elizabeth Warren over her opposition? That's like a huge bitch slap to the left for what? A trade deal that will not be a signature issue, that at best will be a wash and at worst another disaster a la NAFTA for America's workers? And calling her just another politician? What's he want--to be as hated on the left as he is on the right?
Can anyone explain how any of this makes sense? Who the hell does he think is going to support him for the last 20 months of his Presidency?
Sometimes the smartest guy in the room can be awfully obtuse.
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, May 11, 2015
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Happy Mother's Day!
In a recent study by Save the Children, when it comes to the best countries to be a mother, the U. S. ranked...thirty-third. A woman in the United States has a 1 in 1800 chance of maternal death--the worst among developed nations.
So much for American exceptionalism.
Amazing how so many Americans will talk about the sanctity of life--at least until we're actually born, that is.
Peace,
emaycee
So much for American exceptionalism.
Amazing how so many Americans will talk about the sanctity of life--at least until we're actually born, that is.
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XIX--Ray Charles: What'd I Say, Pts. I & II
One of the last memories I have of my father is him sitting in the kitchen of his and my Mom's home in Ohio, smiling and swaying to Eric Clapton singing "San Francisco Bay Blues" from Clapton's Unplugged album. By that time, chemotherapy had taken most of his hair, left his cheeks puffy, and made him feel like vomiting every time he moved. Still, the joy he felt as he listened was palpable, and I could tell from the glow on his face that music was an old and trusted friend that he was going to miss dearly when his time was done.
Had my father lived, he would have been eighty-one years old today. More importantly, because he lived a love of music was imbued in all of his family and will remain with us until our time here on earth is done as well. My family, my sister's family, my brother's family--music is as much a part of our lives as our toes and fingers. There's nothing like a "You've gotta hear this song!" e-mail from my kids, or my brother, my brother-in-law, and myself playing our half-assed version of Name That Tune, with my nephew playing the emcee.
When my father passed away I was the very lucky recipient of his record collection. My father loved God, his family, America,and Ray Charles, in that order. While the ranking for Ray Charles may be a bit of hyperbole, by my count I own better than fifty Ray Charles albums--ninety-nine percent of which were purchased by my father. I had the pleasure of seeing Brother Ray in Decatur, Illinois in 1983, and I can tell you it is still one of my fondest concert recollections.
Here's all you need to know (though I'll have more to say for certain) about "What'd I Say": If an alien came down to earth and asked, "What is this 'Rhythm and Blues' of which you speak?" all you would have to do is play "What'd I Say" and by song's end the alien would understand (and presumably beg you for more). Released in 1959, the song is considered Charles' signature tune, was his first gold record, and is listed at #10 (with a bullet!) on the Rolling Stone list of the five hundred greatest songs ever.
Part I is one of the longest and funkiest instrumental intros you'll ever hear as Charles' fingers dance all over the piano, and Part II is some of the most soulful vocals you'll ever hear, with a touch of fun thrown in with the back and forth "Ohs" traded between Charles and his backup singers, the Raelettes. Frankly, if you're not shakin' all over when you hear this song, you're either tone deaf, in a coma, or dead. "What'd I Say" is a true piece of musical genius by a true American musical icon.
Fun Factoid #1: My father was a hell of a dancer. At my first wife and I's wedding, after my parents had cut a wicked rug, one of the guests came up to me and said, "I never knew your parents before today, but after watching them dance, I'll never forget them." Some years later my mother would tell me that when my father was young, they would clear the dance floor for him (a la John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever) to watch him dance--though she was quick to point out that he had a partner, too, because their generation wasn't quite as self-centered....
Fun Factoid #2: "What'd I Say" was released the same year I was born. Coincidence? I think not....
Here's where I usually find some pithy way to tie in a link to the lyrics, but this time I'll just tell you the lyrics are here, and say Thanks, Dad--your love for music is ensconced in our DNA and it has given us immeasurable joy. And it's something we'll all miss dearly when we're gone, too.
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Had my father lived, he would have been eighty-one years old today. More importantly, because he lived a love of music was imbued in all of his family and will remain with us until our time here on earth is done as well. My family, my sister's family, my brother's family--music is as much a part of our lives as our toes and fingers. There's nothing like a "You've gotta hear this song!" e-mail from my kids, or my brother, my brother-in-law, and myself playing our half-assed version of Name That Tune, with my nephew playing the emcee.
When my father passed away I was the very lucky recipient of his record collection. My father loved God, his family, America,and Ray Charles, in that order. While the ranking for Ray Charles may be a bit of hyperbole, by my count I own better than fifty Ray Charles albums--ninety-nine percent of which were purchased by my father. I had the pleasure of seeing Brother Ray in Decatur, Illinois in 1983, and I can tell you it is still one of my fondest concert recollections.
Here's all you need to know (though I'll have more to say for certain) about "What'd I Say": If an alien came down to earth and asked, "What is this 'Rhythm and Blues' of which you speak?" all you would have to do is play "What'd I Say" and by song's end the alien would understand (and presumably beg you for more). Released in 1959, the song is considered Charles' signature tune, was his first gold record, and is listed at #10 (with a bullet!) on the Rolling Stone list of the five hundred greatest songs ever.
Part I is one of the longest and funkiest instrumental intros you'll ever hear as Charles' fingers dance all over the piano, and Part II is some of the most soulful vocals you'll ever hear, with a touch of fun thrown in with the back and forth "Ohs" traded between Charles and his backup singers, the Raelettes. Frankly, if you're not shakin' all over when you hear this song, you're either tone deaf, in a coma, or dead. "What'd I Say" is a true piece of musical genius by a true American musical icon.
Fun Factoid #1: My father was a hell of a dancer. At my first wife and I's wedding, after my parents had cut a wicked rug, one of the guests came up to me and said, "I never knew your parents before today, but after watching them dance, I'll never forget them." Some years later my mother would tell me that when my father was young, they would clear the dance floor for him (a la John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever) to watch him dance--though she was quick to point out that he had a partner, too, because their generation wasn't quite as self-centered....
Fun Factoid #2: "What'd I Say" was released the same year I was born. Coincidence? I think not....
Here's where I usually find some pithy way to tie in a link to the lyrics, but this time I'll just tell you the lyrics are here, and say Thanks, Dad--your love for music is ensconced in our DNA and it has given us immeasurable joy. And it's something we'll all miss dearly when we're gone, too.
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Huckabee Hound
Mike Huckabee, the surprise winner of Iowa's 2008 Caucus and wise man for not running in 2012 (it's hard to beat an incumbent), has become the latest to hop on the Bozo Bus that is the republican race for the Presidential nomination for 2016. Huckabee, a pastor and former governor of Arkansas, is hoping to ride his evangelical cred and governing experience to the nomination....
Not so fast there, Mike. Huckabee has a penchant for saying really dumb things, so together with Dr. Ben Carson he should provide much fodder for stand-up comedians and snide columnists until at least next January or so. In fairness, Huckabee is somewhat of an economic populist (at least until Wall Street and Big Business start writing their checks as per usual for republican candidates) and vowed in his kick-off speech to keep Social Security intact.
Huckabee is unlikely to win the nomination (think climbing Mt. Everest--you might be able to do it, but chances are you never will), but I honestly think if he does that unlike Cruz, Paul, Rubio, Fiorina, and Carson that his loss to Hillary Clinton in the general will only be embarrassing rather than mortifying.
And that's really something for republicans to look forward to, ain't it?
How many more will come forward to plead their case for losing to Secretary Clinton? Time will tell....
Peace,
emaycee
Not so fast there, Mike. Huckabee has a penchant for saying really dumb things, so together with Dr. Ben Carson he should provide much fodder for stand-up comedians and snide columnists until at least next January or so. In fairness, Huckabee is somewhat of an economic populist (at least until Wall Street and Big Business start writing their checks as per usual for republican candidates) and vowed in his kick-off speech to keep Social Security intact.
Huckabee is unlikely to win the nomination (think climbing Mt. Everest--you might be able to do it, but chances are you never will), but I honestly think if he does that unlike Cruz, Paul, Rubio, Fiorina, and Carson that his loss to Hillary Clinton in the general will only be embarrassing rather than mortifying.
And that's really something for republicans to look forward to, ain't it?
How many more will come forward to plead their case for losing to Secretary Clinton? Time will tell....
Peace,
emaycee
Monday, May 4, 2015
How many more bozos can fit on this bus?
It's a great day to be alive...and a Democrat.
Say what you will about Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio (none of whom will be the next President of the United States) but at least all of them have won elections to the U. S. Senate. The latest two to join the republican race to get crushed by Hillary Clinton in the Presidential election of 2016 stand out quite a bit because neither of them has done much of anything to be considered a viable candidate for the republican nomination--unless you consider failing miserably or being cuckoo for cocoa puffs two solid qualities for a U. S. President.
The first to declare today was Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, best known for failing as their CEO and being one of the few republicans to get crushed (by Sen. Barbara Boxer) in the republican wave of 2010 (she lost by double digits). Her big claim is that she is the one candidate who can look good criticizing Hillary Clinton because she's a woman, too. Unfortunately, Fiorina is just as anti-woman as any other republican and there's a better chance that President emaycee will be taking the oath of office in January of 2017 than there is that Fiorina will be doing anything other than watching Secretary Clinton take the oath on television on that same date.
The second was former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who, for lack of a better term, is fucking nuts. Carson's claim to fame is that he compared Obamacare to slavery--because so many people who didn't sign up were whipped or had appendages chopped off. Other than that he appears a lot on Fox News, I can think of no other reason Carson is in the race. On the bright side, if Carson ever says, "You know, running for President isn't neurosurgery" he'll be the only person in the race who really knows it isn't neurosurgery....
The only way either of these two dodos get anywhere near the oval office is if the Clinton Administration hires them to paint its walls.
Peace,
emaycee
Say what you will about Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio (none of whom will be the next President of the United States) but at least all of them have won elections to the U. S. Senate. The latest two to join the republican race to get crushed by Hillary Clinton in the Presidential election of 2016 stand out quite a bit because neither of them has done much of anything to be considered a viable candidate for the republican nomination--unless you consider failing miserably or being cuckoo for cocoa puffs two solid qualities for a U. S. President.
The first to declare today was Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, best known for failing as their CEO and being one of the few republicans to get crushed (by Sen. Barbara Boxer) in the republican wave of 2010 (she lost by double digits). Her big claim is that she is the one candidate who can look good criticizing Hillary Clinton because she's a woman, too. Unfortunately, Fiorina is just as anti-woman as any other republican and there's a better chance that President emaycee will be taking the oath of office in January of 2017 than there is that Fiorina will be doing anything other than watching Secretary Clinton take the oath on television on that same date.
The second was former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who, for lack of a better term, is fucking nuts. Carson's claim to fame is that he compared Obamacare to slavery--because so many people who didn't sign up were whipped or had appendages chopped off. Other than that he appears a lot on Fox News, I can think of no other reason Carson is in the race. On the bright side, if Carson ever says, "You know, running for President isn't neurosurgery" he'll be the only person in the race who really knows it isn't neurosurgery....
The only way either of these two dodos get anywhere near the oval office is if the Clinton Administration hires them to paint its walls.
Peace,
emaycee
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Got hope?
If not, you will after watching this young man school Geraldo Rivera and Fox News:
A young American speaking eloquently and passionately about his city and the bullshit that too often passes for news reporting on Fox News. There seems to be those who think the young man was indicting all of the media (Chris Hayes chased this theme last night as here on Daily Kos) but I've watched it four times now (the young man is that good) and I will guarantee you he isn't talking about anyone but Fox News. And he's right--Fox News doesn't care about Baltimore, about the poverty, about the joblessness, about the hunger, about the good that these folks do, about the hopelessness they fight every day while still trying to keep hope. Fox News is only there to scare their white republican viewers--the thugs are coming to get you! The thugs are coming to get you!
No, they aren't. They're too damn busy trying to survive to worry about your ignorant asses.
And the children shall lead us, indeed.
Peace,
emaycee
A young American speaking eloquently and passionately about his city and the bullshit that too often passes for news reporting on Fox News. There seems to be those who think the young man was indicting all of the media (Chris Hayes chased this theme last night as here on Daily Kos) but I've watched it four times now (the young man is that good) and I will guarantee you he isn't talking about anyone but Fox News. And he's right--Fox News doesn't care about Baltimore, about the poverty, about the joblessness, about the hunger, about the good that these folks do, about the hopelessness they fight every day while still trying to keep hope. Fox News is only there to scare their white republican viewers--the thugs are coming to get you! The thugs are coming to get you!
No, they aren't. They're too damn busy trying to survive to worry about your ignorant asses.
And the children shall lead us, indeed.
Peace,
emaycee
Friday, May 1, 2015
Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XVIII--Okkervil River: Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
In late 2007, Rolling Stone had an alternative band sampler that the Beautiful Girl was kind enough to both download and burn onto a CD of for me so I could listen to it as I drove to and from work. And during the second go round, I was about halfway to work one day when I noticed this song where the lead singer was wailing away and all of a sudden this bass drum goes off like a cannon and the background singers start screaming "HOO HOO!" again and again and it's like I'm watching some horror movie where the psychopath is ready to begin his blood bath--and I thought, "This is unbelievable--who the fuck is singing this?"
Turns out it was Okkervil River, the alternative rock fan's alternative rock band, unleashing their single "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe." And I can honestly say that some eight years later every time I hear it the song still sounds unbelievable, an utter marvel.
Released on their The Stage Names (#62 on Billboard's Hot 200--with a bullet!) album (which my oldest son was kind enough to burn a copy of for me), the song is a play on the often mundane existence of a band, despite the hype of being rock and roll stars. Will Sheff's vocals vacillate from a false calmness to a knowing screech, the drums bounce from tapping to booming, the guitars are a whirlwind of sirens, and Sheff sprinkles on some worthy of a wordsmith lyrical phrasing ("serenely dribbling" "flickering pane")--and you have one of those moments where you think, "Yes, it's songs like this that make it all worthwhile...."
And in the end, "It's just a life story, so there's no climax...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
Turns out it was Okkervil River, the alternative rock fan's alternative rock band, unleashing their single "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe." And I can honestly say that some eight years later every time I hear it the song still sounds unbelievable, an utter marvel.
Released on their The Stage Names (#62 on Billboard's Hot 200--with a bullet!) album (which my oldest son was kind enough to burn a copy of for me), the song is a play on the often mundane existence of a band, despite the hype of being rock and roll stars. Will Sheff's vocals vacillate from a false calmness to a knowing screech, the drums bounce from tapping to booming, the guitars are a whirlwind of sirens, and Sheff sprinkles on some worthy of a wordsmith lyrical phrasing ("serenely dribbling" "flickering pane")--and you have one of those moments where you think, "Yes, it's songs like this that make it all worthwhile...."
And in the end, "It's just a life story, so there's no climax...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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