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