Sandy Hook

It puzzles me why, some thirty-two years after John Lennon’s death, we’re still struggling with the issue of gun violence and in taking a clear path towards becoming better at this thing called humanity.

Not that Lennon was a saint, but he clearly is an example of someone from a less-than-ideal upbringing can break the cycle of those limitations and become better than anything that was expected of him.

The point worth taking is that Lennon was able to achieve far more than his expectations, and even with those achievements he was able to see a more righteous path for everyone, if we all just imagined it for three minutes in our day.

That song is a sacred sacrament. It’s not something that I particularly want to hear every day, but it’s something that I want to live. I want to imagine that we can live in a world where violence is an option that’s just a little bit harder to choose.

I want to make sure that those parents with children who have mental health issues are able to address them professionally, without having to worry about the costs involved. Because, to me, that’s a hell of a bargain compared to the lives of twenty children.

I want to make sure that those individuals who own guns are trained how to use them. I want them to make sure they’re secured when they’re not in use, so that individuals who shouldn’t be around them have no access to them. And I want them to have to work hard and be heavily regulated whenever they’re considering weapons that go beyond general protection of their family or possessions, or assist them with hunting for game or sport.

I feel that respecting my rights to feel safe in this country trumps the assertion of whatever interpretation that someone has of the second amendment. We were under the very real threat that another country could walk right into our neighborhood when those were written. Now, the threat could be living right next door, with enough high powered weapons to dismantle another country.

It’s 2012. When can we move away from this ridiculous wild west perception of our country and backwards mentality that people should be able to fend for themselves when dealing with a family member who has significant mental illness? If we can’t see the benefit of managing these two things that seem to intersect with every fucking mass shooting we have to endure, then how can we ever imagine "a world that lives as one?"

Much to Bill Maher’s chagrin, I’m going to pray for those forced to endure this needless tragedy, and I’ll probably hug my children a bit longer tonight too. Because both of these actions go beyond the politics of this tragedy and they’re in addition to the aforementioned frustrations of why my country can’t wrap its head around doing the right thing. If we’re ever going to move forward, we need to have a government that lays a clear path to having higher expectations of how its citizens are required to live.

Listen To The River Sing Sweet Songs To Rock My Soul

Here’s a video about the restoration efforts currently underway in my old hometown on the old union railroad station that’s right next to the Mississippi. The videos only five minutes of your time. I encourage you to watch it.

For me, it merely hits home the fact that my former town continues to decay and crumble. I’m not being critical of the restoration efforts-far from it, in fact. The old depot building has always been a beautiful building and it’s seen much better days, so I’m grateful that there is a concerted effort underway that is trying to save it.

The cynic in me would like to point out that when I moved back to Keokuk some twenty years ago, there was a similar effort taking place. I remember there was a fundraising event that was held inside the depot, complete with a decent blues artist providing the entertainment. I went down there, paid my donation and marveled at the interior. It was the first time I’d been inside the building. All of that beautiful woodwork you see in the video was covered over in ridiculous lowered ceilings and the benefit I attended marked the initial stages of restoration where they removed all of that nonsense to give attendees a chance to see what beauty was hidden underneath.

I don’t know what became of that benefit, and there in lies the problem for me. Like a number of things in Keokuk, things never get done. There’s no real initiative to try and save buildings like these in the area, and the community is so poor now that you’ll find neighborhoods of majestic old homes that are literally falling in on themselves because the owners can no longer afford to take care of them.

This is so much different from when I grew up there. There was a sense of pride among the residents. People took care of their things. You could find these big, wonderful homes throughout the town and not just in the well to do neighborhoods either.

Of course, there were jobs back then.

I went off to college and moved back after graduation. I moved to another river town for a couple of years, but then moved back again eventually buying a house that was just down the street and up the bluff from the depot. I could see the river, the depot, the hydroelectric plan, all from my bedroom window. My parents used to live on the bluffs of the Mississippi river too, about two miles upstream from my house, so I’ve spent a large chunk of my life around those parts, coming of age in the same area as Mark Twain, who also used to live in Keokuk briefly when he was known as Sam Clemens.

The running gag was that Twain moved to Keokuk for one of his first jobs as a printer and as soon as he made enough money, the next thing he did with his first paycheck was to move away from the town.

The mayor in the video has a brother who used to live in Keokuk. He’d dress up and play Mark Twain, giving performances and essentially becoming our little version of Hal Holbrook. He was also a high school English teacher. A few years after I graduation, he was caught having an affair with a 17 year old girl. He was unable to use his Twain skills to weasel out of that controversy and he quickly was relieved of his teaching duties. The last I heard, he was working as a waiter at a Red Lobster in Cincinnati. That may or may not be true, as it seems like a tragic fall from grace to be viewed as a hip, tenured high school English teacher for so many years and then be forced to take orders for Walt’s Favorite Shrimp baskets to people who think Red Lobster is the epitome of fine seafood. With that being said, he was probably making more money doing that then when he was a teacher.

I vaguely remember that Vogel guy who seems to be some kind of knowledgeable architect dude now as a guy that graduated a few years before I got to high school. His arms were like huge tree trunks, if I recall, and he was a complete badass without having to prove it. Like my father told me once, “It’s the quiet ones you have to worry about.”

The guy playing the fiddle? He used to run the Disc Jockey record store in the mall. He interviewed me for an Assistant Manager position once as a favor to my Mom who managed a women’s clothing store in the same mall. I never got the job and the bastard never called me back to tell me that I didn’t get the gig. His record store went out of business when one of those F.Y.E. stores came in and ran his Disc Jockey out of business. Karma.

My old house on the river bluffs had a wall around the front yard that stood a good nine feet tall at its highest point. It was made with cut stones taken from the bottom of the river when they built the hydroelectric dam.

On one muggy summer evening, I was sitting in my living room when I heard a car zoom up the hill and try to navigate the immediate turn directly in front of my house. The car barely missed my wall, but it demolished my crabapple tree. The impact was loud, and I immediately went to my back door to investigate. As I turned on the light to the back door, I saw a young black male run past the door. I swung open the door and yelled “Hey!” but the runner made another right and ran towards the bluffs out front.

There was a stone entry way to my back steps, which we used exclusively as the front steps were numerous. Right in front of the entrance was a car. The lights were on, the front door open, and smoke was coming from underneath the hood. Apparently, my crabapple tree-which lay crippled on the sidewalk a few feet down the hill-had bitten back at the car that killed it, and did an admirable job of incapacitating it.

Suddenly, police cars came speeding up to the scene and I advised them of what little that I knew. They caught the driver later on, but they immediately caught the young black man that I had scene. When I positively identified him as he sat in the back of the squad car, he was sweating profusely and there were lots of cockleburs stuck on his hair and clothes, a sharp reminder of the bluff where he had chosen to hide.

The next day, I traced the car chase and found that it passed in back of the Union Depot. What pained me more than my dead tree was the fact that the two dipshits had plowed into the corner of the depot, causing some severe structural damage that went unrepaired for my remaining years in Keokuk. I’m sure that this wound was fixed during the recent repairs.

My tree was also fixed thanks to the restitution that the white trash driver had to pay for. I got a reputable nursery in Quincy, Illinois to come up and plant a new one. It lasted a week before somebody-I’m assuming one or both of the occupants of the vehicle that crashed-came by one night and pulled down nearly every low-standing brand on my new tree. I guess they didn’t like the fact that I had identified one of them. I was able to save the tree and I was able to restrain myself from jotting down the addresses of the guilty parties from my victim’s statement and enacting a bit of vigilante vandalism on their properties.

I miss that neighborhood sometimes. A really nice pastor lived alone across the street and he would often ask my ex-wife to go over a play his grand piano. It was one of the last artifacts from his dead wife, and my ex-wife was always happy to play on such a nice instrument.

The retired police chief lived across the street from us. He was a Vietnam veteran and a staunch Democrat. He supported Kerry during the ’04 elections while I supported Edwards.

Next to him was a French chef who lived in a huge 19^th Century home that was used as part of the underground railroad. She made a remarkable Easter dinner for us and a few other families once. She barely ate anything, choosing instead to get drunk on wine in a box. She later filed bankruptcy and had to sell that wonderful home after I had moved out after my divorce. I’ve seen her name occasionally in the local food section of our city’s newspaper. She evidently drives up here and gives cooking lessons from time to time at one of the grocery chains around here. I’ve haven’t made a point to visit during those occasions.

And next to her was another huge home, facing due East, at the behest of the steamboat captain that built it. It was owned by a guy name Chuck Mitchell, a dude that all of a sudden showed up in the neighborhood with Wisconsin plates. He was always nice to me and admired my big Black Walnut tree that was a smorgasbord for the squirrels that nested there. He was a Howard Dean supporter, and he invited me to a campaign fundraiser for Dean a few times. I never went.

He became the town’s resident historian, tirelessly fighting to save some of the town’s decaying houses with historical significance. More often than not, he was not very successful.

I got to see one of his biggest personal projects once. It was an enormous three story brick house that he restored with a few friends, turning it into a lovely set of apartments that always seemed to be priced too high for most of our town’s renters.

It wasn’t until after I left before someone told me that Chuck Mitchell was none other than the first husband of one Joni Mitchell. She never gave back the name and he never talked about her.

Even though I miss my old neighborhood, I don’t miss my old town, mainly for the complacency that I described earlier. The town’s charms are the same as they’ve always been: the river that runs right in front of it. Nobody has yet capitalized on that fact, steadfastly refusing to improve the riverfront so that bicyclists and other naturalists could better explore it like I did as a child. There’s a sense of defeated pessimism that permeates its residents, and after a while-and after a messy divorce-I had to leave.

I would return after my ex-wife moved out, mainly to visit the folks and make repairs to the house in order to sell it. Each time it was a chore, a reminder of my own failures and of the dreams that I had in store for that ideal spot of the world. It dawned on me that, even though I had briefly found a bit of heaven on earth, I was surrounded by a community that didn’t bother to take pride in itself, which would have eventually brought me down too, I suppose.

It’s Labor Day. A day that I would have spent eating Catfish and Carp down at the Labor Hall in my old hometown. Instead, I’m visiting my folks in our state capital, as they too have moved from that same hometown years ago after I left.

At the very least, I guess that I’m a little thankful that some of the town’s remaining residents have put forth an effort to refurbish the old depot. There’s still a bit of pride running through these veins, but there’s also a healthy amount of reality that sees a town with a constant decline in population, high unemployment (Keokuk has the highest rate in the state) and the highest drop-out rate in the state as another feather in the cap.

Of course, all of this points to an even worse future for my old hometown, perhaps suggesting that Sam Clemens was right when he took that paycheck and loaded out.

Breaking News: Jack Blades Announces That He's A Republican

I noticed that they used a polite (and probably cleared) instrumental version of “The Boys Are Back In Town” last night as they introduced Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate for Vice President at last night’s Republican National Convention.

I wonder why they didn’t use “(You Can Still) Rock In America” instead.

No seriously. Night Rangerian Jack Blades is a big dumb Republican, and I say “dumb” because any real Republican would not be able to support the ass clowns that they have running the party these days.

"You can still rock in America, but only if you vote for Romney!"

Not to suggest that the dumb Democrats are much better, but have you ever noticed that aside from Ted Nugent, there aren’t that many GOP rockers? 

Let’s count ‘em:

The Nuge (dangerously crazy)

Dave Mustaine (crazy ex cokehead)

Blackie Lawless (irrelevantly crazy)

And now Jack Blades.

I don’t think Jack Blades is dumb, just misinformed. I firmly believe that if you or I were in a band with The Nuge and spent an entire tour with him, we’d come out of it partially brainwashed, or at the very least, fearing for our lives if we ever uttered a dissenting opinion toward Uncle Ted’s views. It is my fear that Jack Blades is merely showing the signs of his exposure to Ted Nugent.

Plus, he's the fucking dude from Night Ranger. Plus Damn Yankees. Plus Rubicon, or whatever the name of that shitty band he was in prior to forming Night Ranger with that bald dude from Montrose. I don't see the guy who composed such classics as "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" as someone I look towards as a political commentator.         

Here’s his silly press release advising everyone that he’s a dumb Republican and he’s going to play a shitty little song for dumb Republicans.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                
AUGUST 27, 2012                                                                  

Jack Blades of Night Ranger/Damn Yankees Takes "Rock N' Roll Ride" to 2012 Republican National Convention

Iconic Entertainer Joins GOP in Tampa to Help Show America is "Back in the Game"

TAMPA, FL -- You can still rock in America -- and with his blend of common-sense conservatism and rock n' roll credentials, Jack Blades is out to prove it.  The songwriter, bassist, lead singer and front man of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees is in Tampa, Florida this week to participate in the 2012 Republican National Convention, where he'll perform "Back in the Game," the lead track from his latest solo effort, Rock 'n Roll Ride, and make appearances in support of Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and other GOP candidates.

"This country was built on the hard work of individual Americans who took a chance and pursued a dream," says Blades, who has sold more than 25 million albums throughout his remarkable career and performed in front of millions of fans worldwide.  "Too often today I see that sort of initiative being discouraged and punished.  We can do better.  That's why I'm honored to have been asked to be involved in the convention."

Blades' music has long had a patriotic flavor, evident in Night Ranger's classic 1983 hit "(You Can Still) Rock in America" and emerging more recently in his solo hit "Back in the Game," the video for which made its debut earlier this year on radio and TV host Sean Hannity's website.  Night Ranger also performed for U.S. troops stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2008, an experience Blades found deeply inspiring.

With a career spanning three decades, Blades has recorded with, penned songs and produced albums for some of the music industry's biggest names, including Aerosmith, Cher, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, Journey, Vince Neil, Ozzy Osbourne, Styx, Ted Nugent, and Motley Crue.

Blades has brought his common-sense conservatism and passion for America to television, appearing as a guest on Fox News' "Hannity" and "Red Eye" programs.

Blades' music has been featured in films such as Armageddon, Oscar-nominated Boogie Nights, Tommy Boy; television shows such as South Park and American Dad, the wildly successful Rock Band and Guitar Hero video games; and the Rock of Ages hit Broadway musical and feature film.

In Case You Were Wondering, Ben Gibbard Will Be Voting For Obama In 2012

The cocktail politics and obscure details.

Our weeklong coverage of Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard continues with a lengthy announcement at how Ben would like you to consider Barack Obama for re-election this November.

The funny thing is, other than slowly placing Mr. Gibbard into a category of “irritating indie rock hipster,” I don’t think that I gave two shits about the political leanings of the frontman for Death Cab For Cutie. For me, it ranks right up there in the eye-rolling category as Dave Mustaine blaming Obama for the shootings in Aurora, Colorado or Ted Nugent whenever he opens his big fucking mouth.

Ok, maybe he’s not on the same irritant level as the Nuge, but you get the idea.

And to be fair, the idea that we even have Ben Gibbard spouting about the merits of another 4-years of Obama isn’t even his idea, even if he could have easily said no to the contribution.

No, it’s the brainchild of two Chicagoans who looked around and noticed that their peers weren’t impressed with the first four years of the Obama presidency and, as a result, weren’t opening up their pocketbooks as much as they did in ’08. To which I say, “You’re damn right, Cutie!” as the only check that Obama will get from me is the one on the absentee voter ballot that I just ordered last week. And the only reason he’s getting that from me is because there’s the very good possibility that the victor this November will have a say in shaping the direction of the Supreme Court.

But enough about my political bent; you undoubtedly want to hear more about “90 Days, 90 Reasons” and how their first day is devoted to why Ben Gibbard is supporting Barack Obama this election year.

Never mind a simple Tweet from Ben stating, “I’m voting for Barack Obama this year because he supports gay marriage” would be enough.

Ooops! Spoiler alert!

"90 Days, 90 Reasons is an independent initiative unaffiliated with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 90 Days, 90 Reasons was conceived by two guys originally from Chicago, Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland. In late July, they looked around and saw that many of Obama’s voters and donors from 2008 needed to be reminded of all he has accomplished, and all he will do if given another term. They asked a wide range of cultural figures to explain why they’re voting for Obama in 2012, in the hopes that this might re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place. Every day, a new reason will be posted — in short, Twitter form, with a longer essay available here. Please spread the word."

REASON 01: OBAMA IS THE FIRST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE RIGHT OF GAY COUPLES TO MARRYAND ENJOY THE FULL BENEFITS OF MARRAIGE IN THE EYES OF THE LAW.

My sister Megan is married to one of the most wonderful women I have ever met. Her name is Amber. They courted for years before tying the knot here in Seattle 3 years ago. They have two dogs named JoJo and Franco. They will undoubtedly grow very old and very wrinkled together.

When they are very old and very wrinkled they will tell their grandchildren what life was like at the turn of the century. It will be difficult for these kids to comprehend a time before people could view the Internet on the inside of their eyelids. Or that people once used GAS to power their flying cars. Or how when their Grandmas got married, the Government wouldn't recognize them as wife and wife. All of this will sound very strange.

Their grandkids will be too young for the details on how gay marriage was eventually legalized across the country but this is how it unfolded:

In Washington State, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage passed the Legislature and was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire in February 2012. Same-sex marriages were to be performed starting in June 2012 but that was delayed as opponents gathered enough signatures to force a voter referendum on the legislation. This was known as Referendum 74. A number of bigoted organizations tried their best to squash Ref. 74 but the voters of Washington State decided it was time to afford equal rights to all. It passed! Washington became the first state to approve marriage equality by a popular vote after 32 others had tried and failed. The rest of the country saw what Washington had done and decided they wanted to get some of that equality, too. Gay marriage started getting legalized all over the place. It was great. It was the right thing to do.

A lot of credit also had to go to our President, Barack Obama. In May of 2012, he went on national TV and expressed his support for gay marriage. It may be hard to believe but at the time, this was quite a controversial position to some people. He said he had "gone through an evolution" on the matter and felt it was time to share this view with the country (Vice President Biden also kind of forced his hand on the timing of this announcement but hey, who cares now?). He was the first U.S. president to voice support for marriage equality. His support continued through his second term and helped us get to where we are today: Gay couples that choose to get married receive the same rights and recognitions as straight ones.

I am voting for Barack Obama this fall because I want a president who recognizes that gay or straight, the rights of married couples should be equal. Marriage equality is undoubtedly the most important civil rights issue of our generation. We must elect a leader committed to being on the correct side of history. Please vote for Barack Obama this November.

—Benjamin Gibbard
 Seattle, Washington

Michelle Shocked Live At The CSPS Hall

Michelle Shocked

Live at the CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, IA

Monday, May 14, 2012

It has been nearly a quarter-century since Michelle Shocked has been on my radar, and I imagine for many fans, fair-weather though we may be, Short Sharp Shocked remains as their first and only foray into her body of work.

But Ms. Shocked’s sophomore record is such a significant release that even after 25 years, I am still interested on where her troubadour Converse All-Stars has taken her. So when Michelle stopped by my community on Monday night, I determined that “Anchorage” was a brilliant left-field smash that required me to attend.

Dressed in those black high tops, Michelle shows some of the age of the years in her face, but her body bounds around like the youthful version. And the fight is still there: white t-shirt, tight black jeans, an old Bob Dylan conductor hat, and a red bandana around her neck with the word “Occupied” prominently printed across the front. She came prepared to talk some dialogue about the 99% movement-a cause, which got her, arrested during a protest in Los Angeles last November (she told the pigs her name was Michelle 99)-but thankfully she brought an acoustic guitar on Monday night and someone left behind a nice piano for her to play around with, making the evening more than just a political event.

On that second effort, Michelle is seen being choked by someone ironically hired to serve and protect on the cover of Short Sharp Shocked. He did neither in Michelle’s case, but the startling image makes it one of the most powerful covers in the past quarter-century, and her East Texas ease belies a strong woman who can back up her convictions with potent words and intimidating vocal range.

The performance took place in the CSPS Hall, a century old structure next to an old firehouse, both of which took on extensive damage from the 2008 flood. Finally, some life is coming to the downtown area in between pockets of unrecovered devastation and an obvious appearance that something indeed ran clean over the landscape.

This was my first visit to the restored center, which features a nice stage in an auditorium upstairs, perfect for artists who may not be familiar that there is a market for this out in the heartland.

For Shocked, she nearly filled the area, but the layout was very informal and Michelle used a platform in front of the stage for her acoustic set, bringing her even closer to the audience. I got there late, and as I was being hushed over to a seat, I noticed that she had captured about a half-dozen patrons from the audience and was wrapping up an impromptu version of “This Land Is Your Land.”

I wasn’t prepared for an evening of Woody or audience participation (more on that later), but being blessed with perfect timing, she set on to a set of obligatory favorites, most of which came from Short Sharp Shocked.

Shocked provided an update to “Leroy” and his wife from “Anchorage,” with the narrator now a grandmother and Leroy’s job bringing them down to Montana. Shocked mentioned that she drove from their place in Billings to then drive to Omaha and then  to Cedar Rapids, treating the couple as if they were long-lost friends of us in the audience, which they were in a way. “I look like an old housewife,” admitted Shocked during the song’s sudden self-realization.

I couldn’t help but thinking that, for all of her talk of turning 50 and growing old, Michelle Shocked is still doing things her way and does not seem one to bow to authoritative demands. That’s probably farther from the truth for most people who age, some who even must be taking steps of complacency as they approach what’s left of their retirement.

There were some moments of nostalgia, thinking back on the guy who stood her up at senior prom and adding a few licks towards the backwoods culture she calls her leveling point. But there was no condescending tone and she seemed to bend over backwards for us to sing along, and to engage when the discussion turned to foreclosure or what the occupy moment stood for.

Just when you felt that you had your fill of progressive dogma, Shocked announced that she’d be back to lead a brief forum on the topic, after she called her boyfriend on the phone and played three new songs before the intermission.

No joke. Shocked grabbed her phone and called her boyfriend David Willardson just as she sat down to the piano where she began explaining the large portraits behind her. Each one began as a painting by David, followed by an incredible muse they created over Michelle, which in turn created the song. At first, the entire “hold the phone up to the microphone” bit got somewhat uncomfortable. After a while, Willardson on the other end just became another character in the community, offering a few insights to the painting while Shocked gave her musical rendition. She had high praise for Mr. Willardson, even suggesting (with him still on the phone) that she was expecting to be married by the end of the year, a decision she made while hearing the refrain of a sermon in her head, encouraging her to do the right thing with her relationship.

With the intermission ending, Shocked continued talking to David on the phone before ending the call and leading the now reduced crowd on a discussion of the Occupy movement. For those that were left, if I may use profiling tactics, none of them looked like the housing crisis took much out of them, and indeed, which Shocked pressed the crowd for personal accounts, no one raised their hand to testify.

Shocked quickly got the sense that it may be our polite Midwestern demeanor, but I think that none of those in attendance had anything to add to the discussion, even when most seemed to be in perfect harmony with her progressive ideals.

You could tell that the momentum she was trying to muster up was merely glossing over the fans that stayed to hear just a few more songs and a few more tales of East Texas.

For me, the moment came during “Graffiti Limbo,” another Short Sharp Shocked tracks, this time extended and with bonus footage. “You wanna hear the long version or the edit?” she asked, leading the audience to naturally respond for the former. What we learned was that the evidence the corner lost in this 1988 account of the death of graffiti artist Michael Stewart, was in fact Michael’s eyes.

The original song only suggested something was lost, but the retelling plays up the ”justice is blind” irony of this case that never did find the accuser.

“To serve and protect.”

It was a pretty poetic moment, if you let the words sink in a bit. You may have even found a correlation between the content and what happened in our town just a few days prior, when a man was placed in the back of a Cedar Rapids squad car and was unresponsive when he arrived at the jail.

His family just made the decision to take him off life support.

This kind of thing makes me grateful that Shocked is still out their raising a stink. It’s reassuring to know as well that her stink still sounds pretty good. The new songs found an emotional depth and a sense of challenging herself by adhering to a new idea of combining song-cycles with her boyfriend’s work, even adding more musicians to the process for an entire piece.

But even armed with just an acoustic guitar and that underrated voice, Shocked can hold her own quite well and would be the first to admit that all of this is “Just one woman’s opinion.”

The Iowa Caucus 2012

We’ve reached the end of this Iowa caucus season, and it’s weird sitting on the sidelines as a registered Democrat, watching the GOP make a circus out of their weak candidate pool.

As the caucus results pile in tonight, I’m a little relieved that they’ve chosen from their moderate candidates, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney. Ron Paul’s candidacy proves once again that he has solid support from his loyal constituents but little in the way of mainstream acceptance.

I get the libertarian slant.

The “weed should be legal” rallying cry gets you all interested in college, and then you get caught up in the entire heavy fuckin’ fee of freedom and the existential thoughts of what America would look like with a Libertarian president.

Personally, I’m still close with the idea that government has a vital role in its relationship with its citizens. I believe that we do occasionally need to monitor our distribution of wealth and support some people who are at risk or in need of temporarily assistance.

If I believed our behaviors all aligned in that way, then the idea of outside regulation wouldn’t be necessary. But the simple fact that we are human and that history has proven that we often don’t possess the empathy to help each other makes it hard for me to dismantle our government’s vital role as a support network.

Without it, the landscape looks a whole lot meaner and stacked against the common face of its citizens.

Don’t believe me? Then explain why the gap between the poorest in our country and our wealthiest is a Grand Canyon of divide with deregulation.

Throughout this campaign, I struggled with understanding how the GOP candidates could ignore this fact and contend that the gap between our wealthy and poor needs to expand further. I question how any who has no reasonable chance to benefit from this hyper-extended trickle-down theory can support such a candidate.

To see the candidates the GOP presented was disheartening.

To see that Iowa Republicans put the wackjobs towards the back of the bus was reassuring.

You really had to live in the state to get a full sample of how ridiculous the campaigns air attack was. From Rick Perry’s nutty baiting of our state’s fair share of Christian conservatives to Romney’s carpet-bombing attack ads (a decision that probably contributed to his poor showing in ’08 and will probably push Santorum to the top in ’12) against his own Republican counterparts.

Will our results here in Iowa tonight be a mirror of the national convention?

We’ll see.

But at least our last-minute swing to sanity and the return of the archetypical GOP candidate will hopefully put another nail in the mean-spirited views of that party’s fringe members trying to take it to the national level.

"NEWT GINGRICH" — a Bad Lip Reading Soundbite - watch more funny videos

Jackson Pollock's Mural

"Passion looks like a painting
Jackson Pollock’s No. 5”
-The Stone Roses
1987

There are two things that I rarely touch on this blog: art and jazz. It’s not that I don’t appreciate either-quite the contrary-it’s just that my ignorance of each would be quite obvious the moment I start blabbing on and on about it.

I know what I like and I keep it like a secret.

Hint: Miles Davis’ Miles Smilesis my favorite jazz album and I dig the chaotic splatter of Jackson Pollock’s stuff.

This brings me to the drama that’s been knocking around my neck of the woods lately: the proposed sale of Pollock’s “Mural,” the piece that has been at the University of Iowa since it was donated to the university’s art museum in 1951.

No, this isn’t the drippy color stuff of his more famous works, this is a mural created in 1943, before Jackson got all Post-War crazy with his brushes. It was this work that indeed makes “Mural” so potentially expensive if someone were to consider buying it.

This is exactly what a Republican State Representative in our state is recommending we do with the piece. Evidently, the Republican leader feels that it is the U of I’s best interest to sell “Mural” and pocket the cash to fund future art scholarships. The University, like many in our country, is facing tough resistance to increased spending and is dealing with intense scrutiny from the statehouse to get a handle on costs. There are some unique ideas being tossed around from both our elected officials and university budgeters in trying to get a handle on costs while keeping services consistent, but this idea is not one of them.

First of all, “Mural” was donated by Peggy Guggenheim. This means the donate would inevitably come with the potential that the donators could simply “donate it back” if they felt the university was only interested in the financial gain the painting provide. Never mind that any reasonable executor would later view Iowa university with a suspicious eye in the future, potentially blocking the idea of donating anything to the institution dead in its track.

But the real concern is what isn’t being reported as this story gains traction: an underlying culture of suppressing liberal institutions that many Republicans feel are creating a population of free thinkers that will render them irrelevant as our state’s population moves from the rural landscape into more urban areas.

It’s not as far-fetched as one may think, particularly if one follows the money and sees how conservatives immediately look at our three public universities when brandishing budgetary carving knives.

It gets even more suspicious when you see which of the three universities they target first. My Alma matter, the University of Northern Iowa and another, Iowa State University, doesn’t get nearly the amount of scrutiny as the U of I, mainly because they are business and agricultural institutions respectfully, both viewed as colleges that typically graduate students who would be more in line with Republican ideals. The University of Iowa, on the other hand, is the kind of liberal leaning universities that can be found in nearly every state, and the progressive nature of the students and staff makes right wing conservatives extremely nervous.

Despite the twisted logic that the Republican committee has presented in explaining why such a sale is needed, they’ve successfully brought it out of the chambers and onto to floor of the House where a vote is expected. After it travels to the Senate (where Democrats hold a slim majority) it is expected to be blocked.

Not Necessarily The News

Sorry for the delay.

I was went through an intense Bob Dylan phase for the last few weeks, and after determining that “Visions Of Johanna” may be the greatest song ever made, I ended up with the new Duran Duran album.

Talk about a complete 360.

I’m also completely immersed in the Keith Richards book, Life.

Yes, it’s awesome.

Yes, I’ll tell you about it sometime.

But for now, I will tell you about my recent foray into a couple of news stories that I’ve become fascinated with.

You should know something about me first, and that is how I used to be motivated by politics. My family is, at least on my Father’s side, heavily Democratic. I think that it stemmed from my Great Grandfather, a World War I veteran that saw enough frontline horror that he never talked about it that much.

He kept it inside.

He also found favor with Harry Truman’s direction during the Second World War It didn’t hurt that my Great Grandfather hailed from the same state as President Truman, so he was quite familiar with Harry’s state efforts before he called Pennslyvania Avenue his home.

Here's a picture of the long-since-closed movie theatre that is on the Main Street of Hopkins, the small town in Northwest Missouri where my Grandfather lived. I'd like to rent this place with my cousin someday and play a punk rock show there. If one person came, it'd be a success in my mind.

I mention this only because I’ve noticed a tremendous amount of vitriol from the Republican side of the aisle, beginning almost as quickly as Obama was elected. I get “politics,” or at least I thought I did, but to be honest-the dialog seemed to take a nasty tone early on in his presidency.

And then it got worse.

Look, I won’t be the one who says that all of the general nastiness in politics caused the recent tragedy in Arizona. It’s abundantly clear that the shooter was not healthy and he associated some aspects of his mental illness with an innocent target and acted on his faulting wiring.

While the verbal hostilities may not have had any influence on motivating the tragedy, they certainly didn’t prevent it either. So what’s the harm is trying to “E” a little bit.

That’s my friend Ed’s slang for “Take it easy.”

“You’ve got to E, my friend!”

So why do we have to revolt against the notion-just the notion that maybe tone it down a bit because there is a large population of crazy fuckers in this country that are susceptible to triggers that cause them to snap.

Maybe it’s time to be aware of the people who listen to us, and how their instabilities may not understand that we’re not really bringing a gun to a knife fight or that Sarah Palin’s website didn’t really suggest that we shoot a U.S. Representative.

Don’t we bite our tongues around the children and not let the word “Fuck” blurt out?

Then there’s a golden-throated homeless man-a radioman, how ironic-who goes from panhandling to the Today show in a fucking week, and we wonder why he just can’t hang with the notoriety.

Did anyone think to run him through rehab prior to sitting down on Today?

Did at any time someone ponder the obvious: “There’s a reason why he’s homeless?”

Did we really think that a You Tube video would erase his prior demons and turn him into a productive member of society, eternally grateful to the man who pulled up to an intersection to make him dance for his change while recording it for the rest of us.

“Hey look! That bum’s got pipes!”

I’ve become so cynical with America that I absolutely relish going to church to be around people that try to tackle all of this world’s shit even in the face of impossible odds.

Sometimes, all we can do is pray for them to just do the right fucking thing.

Is it any wonder why I listen to the news anymore?

After all, in the same amount of time that it takes me to commute to work in the morning, I could have listened to Devo’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Add your own sniglets to the comment section.

Ye vs Bush2

According to former President Bush, the worst moment of his presidency came when Kayne West uttered his unscripted tirade against the president during a Hurricane Katrina fundraising effort.

It was during the moment when Ye remarked that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” which caused me to do a spit-take and caused Mike Myers to shit his pants on live television.



As awesome as that moment was, the fact that it ranks as the worst moment of his presidency is curious. I’m reminded of my own mantra that if you begin a sentence with “I’m not a racist but…” and then follow it with your own warped take on race, then you are indeed a racist.

The fact that a rap artist who is notorious for creating controversy by saying/doing a lot of stupid things at the spur of the moment created such a lasting impact on the former leader of the free world, speaks volumes to me.

It makes me think that George Bush indeed, does not care about black people.
Could there be any other explanation?

I completely understand that if you believe that you feel you’re not racist and someone comes up and says “You’re racist!” you immediately get defensive and want to make a comment contrary to it.

But if the offending comment comes at the hand of an attention-seeking performer who is speaking from unconfirmed perception, then one should be able to see that the person is ill-advised to make such a broad statement and have enough temerity to argue against such falsehoods.

They then should be able to move along, particularly a president who must face all sorts of criticism-both reality based and irrational ones-on a never-ending basis.
Not George. He’s clearly fixated on this one off-the-wall comment without recognizing that the source is completely irrelevant to the topic.

So if he’s still dwelling on it, it makes me consider that George Bush really does have issues with black people and that anyone who suggests that he might have issues with people of color, a weird defensive stance gets triggers within him, a fear that has him considering that others recognize his hidden racism.

Another theory might be that Bush has an obsessive personality that prompts an unhealthy attention towards anyone that he perceives as a threat.

It certainly was the case with Saddam Hussein. He publically stated that Hussein threatened his “daddy” which translated into a war that was started under the guise of protecting America’s security.

Could it be that the war with Iraq was triggered by a verbal threat from an alientated dictator?

Could it be that similar obsessions on the perception of racism triggered these feelings of defensiveness, to the point where he’s still troubled by it today?
As callused as Bush’s response (or lack thereof) to Katrina was, there wasn’t anything that blatantly suggested racism. On the surface, it seemed that it was yet another example of this inept president bungling yet another disaster, thanks in large-part to an administration that was focused on skull fucking their ideology on the American people instead of utilizing the time needed to tackle the disaster head on.

Kayne or anyone else is welcome to imply that this foot-dragging is the result of racism, but that doesn’t mean it’s true and, more importantly, it doesn’t mean that you should define that kind of comment as the “worst moment of your presidency.”

One would think that every human life lost on 9/11, or the soldiers and innocent civilians who perished as a result of the two wars that came after the attack would rank as a lower moment for the president than any misguided comment from a rap star.

So does the hurt result from the pointed jab of Kanye West’s verbal sucker-punch, or is the sting the result of the truth smacking back at Bush’s white guilt

Blunted On Reality: Wyclef Jean Runs For President

Normally, I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about the government of Haiti. From what I’ve read before, it’s a country that’s plagued with corruption, lies, and an arcane system of checks and balances that promotes those first two issues.

Plus, it’s the poorest country in this neck of the hemisphere.

Plus, it had a devastating earthquake earlier this year.

So those two things prompt me to give a rat’s ass, to the point where those aforementioned problems within the country’s government need to be address because there are thousands of lives depending on meaningful change.

The change that’s being offered?

Wyclef Jean.

Obviously, this wasn’t the type of change within Haiti’s government that I was hoping for.

I don’t know how many of you got an opportunity to hear Wyclef answer some very pointed questions on All Things Considered on NPR this afternoon, but they asked the very same concerns that I had when I first heard that Jean was considering a run for that country’s leadership role.

And Wyclef got an opportunity to answer some of those questions with the same compelling responses that you’d expect from someone’s who’s last job was leading a phony marching band in a Ritz cracker commercial.

How does a musician with no practical legislative experience lead a country out of crippling debt when he has his own financial issues to deal with, namely paying all of the back taxes he owes his current country? His answer? My accountants are handling the problem right now.

How does a musician with corruption problems of his own explain how he plans to address the corruption problems within Haiti? By hiring cabinet members that are outside of corruption, whatever that means.

In addressing some of those corruption concerns, Wyclef immediate began to deny the allegations in a weird third person narrative.

“The idea of Wyclef taking money to put in his pocket, that is a no….The idea of Wyclef being corrupted is a no.” he told NPR today.

Well then, that settles it!

Still, his motivation is questionable, particularly at this juncture. One would think that a man with a passion for his native country and a desire to lead it out of yet another in a long line of natural disasters would find time to be in that country more that just the one month that Jean has logged in Haiti since the earthquake last January.

There’s just something inherently wrong about this candidacy, and it reeks of the whim of a narcissist musician who likes the idea of being president more than he actually likes the idea of working to improving the country he’s campaigning for.
He’s provided no real plan on how to get Haiti out of its problems other than thinking that a president’s job is to fly around the world and get all of the missing pledge money that people donated after the tragedy.

How about starting with your own organization, ‘Clef?

Despite the vague answers and poorly executed campaign dialogue, Wyclef came across as a candidate who understands that none of the NPR listeners will have any impact on his plans in Haiti, regardless of how strongly they may disagree with him. He knows that he can carpetbag his way to the country’s youth and spin his celebrity to the point where they will blindly vote for his candidacy without fully understanding that his lack of experience and his own questionable financial background could have devastating implications on a country that needs real leadership instead of a figurehead.

The idea of Wyclef Jean being the next president of Haiti? That is a no.

Daniel Schorr R.I.P.

Daniel Schorr died today.

He was 93.

I knew he had been around forever, but since he still gave relevant essays on N.P.R. and delivered them with such intelligence that the coherency belied his advanced years, I could have sworn he was twenty years younger.

The dude was hand-picked by Edward R. Murrow, got thrown out of Russia for not adhering to their strict sense of editorial review, was threatened with jail time for not revealing his sources, and was one of the key members of the press during Watergate.

In fact, when news divisions got a hold of the Nixon Administration’s “Enemies List,” he began to read it aloud on the air and paused ever so slightly when he got to name #17.

The name was his own and the reason for his ranking was because he was considered “A real media enemy.”

But the best Daniel Schorr story-the one that enables him to reach such a pathetic blog like this one-is the time when he joined Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention on stage.

Zappa was trying to get young people to vote, and who better than to relay that message than Daniel Schorr. Nothing screams hip quite like an old Jewish dude with an encyclopedic memory.

The true test of Schorr’s hipness was after he gave his little speech when Zappa teased him with a question.

“Would you like to sing something?”

He agreed.

Schorr through Zappa a curve by singing a few bars of “It Ain’t Neccesarily So” from the Gershwin musical Porgy & Bess.

Frank and the band tried their best to try and find the correct chord progression to the song while Schorr himself tried to find the right key.

You can hear a bit of that event at the ten-minute mark, but do yourself a favor and check out the complete NPR story below.

U.S. House Representative Recognizes Alex Chilton

There's nothing cool about the passing of Alex Chilton and many fans are continuing to make sense of a legendary performer taken from us too soon.
If there can be one moment that provides some levity in Chilton's passing, it's that the U.S. House Representative from his former district took to the podium in Washington and announced Alex's accomplishments into the public record.
No politics.
No posturing.
Just a brief acknowledgement to one of Rock & Roll's most acclaimed performers.

I must confess to knowing very little about Congressman Steve Cohen before his eulogy on Chilton, but now that I do, I'm ready to declare him the hippest Congressman in the house.
The Democratic Congressman from Tennessee's 9th District did a quick interview with Craig Marks over at Billboard to discuss his ties with Chilton and demonstrate that his hipness didn't end there.

How did you meet Alex?
I met Alex the first time at his father’s funeral. Sidney Chilton was an early supporter of mine. He was a jazz musician himself, but his business was the lighting business. His crew of people helped shepherd me into the political scene years back. The last time I saw Alex, ironically enough, was at Thomas Boggs’ funeral. Thomas was the drummer for the Box Tops and one of my dear friends. He was beloved in Memphis.

You seem to have some real musical chops.
Well, I’m from Memphis. We know music. You know, Warren Zevon and I were best friends.

Really?
Yes. In fact, I gave one of the eulogies at Warren’s funeral in L.A. I bring this up because one time Warren and I were driving up to Memphis from New Orleans, doing the Highway 61 trip, and we listened to Alex ‘cause he was one of my favorites. It was interesting because they were so much alike: Iconoclastic, rebellious, more loved among the aficionados and musicians. I didn’t put together until recently how R.E.M. really loved both Warren and Alex.

Do you have a favorite Alex song?
I guess my favorite is “Free Again.” Because, unfortunately, it relates to my social life. I've been single all my life. I can just relate to “Free Again.”

Interview originally appeared in Billboard.biz

Live Nation/Ticketmaster Merger

Any fan of live music would probably be instinctively apposed to the idea of Ticketmaster/Live Nation/Comcast merger, and you should probably send your thoughts on the proposed merger to the department of justice.
Anyone who’s ever wondered what a “convenience fee” is on their ticket purchases, grumbled at the idea of an $8 beer, or has reservations about the idea of this entity having complete control over the concert business should drop the DOJ a line. antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov
And don’t forget: when the venue/ticket outlet/promoter conveniently runs out of your already exorbitantly priced ticket, you can always visit their in-house ticket re-seller where you can get raped even more.
http://ticketdisaster.org/

Election Coverage

DirecTV had this nifty little thing during the election. It was a channel that had about 10 different networks on at the same time, enabling you to highlight one network and hear the audio while keeping a visual eye on the others in case they broke with news that the other network didn’t seem to be carrying.
Because of this, I got a chance to seamlessly switch from one network to another without really switching channels. Admittedly, I did end up going to those channels as the small picture within a picture feature made it hard to see anything, particularly when results came in.
Here’s a rundown of the different networks and their “unique” coverage.

Fox News-Brit Hume is an annoying fuck. I know, so is everyone on Fox News, but for some reason they put this mush mouth on like he’s some fucking vital news relic. Aside from his mumbling, Hume is more annoying when he’s waxing poetic on shit that he really hasn’t thought all the way through. Hume brilliantly observed that the reason Obama won is that he effectively sold the “idea of Barack Obama” rather than his ability to sell any real ideas. Then there’s Juan Williams, an occasional NPR journalist that I had respect for until I noticed that he also shells for Fox News. With such a decision, he’s compromised everything that I ever trusted in him. He’s proven a good journalist, but the moment he starts acting like a pundit is the moment he starts looking stupid. Example: Williams gave a resounding “meh” after Obama’s nomination speech while everyone else with a pulse seemed to agree that it, like Obama’s acceptance speech last night, was very eventful. For a dude that’s covered many elections, could Mr. Williams name a candidate’s speech that he declared “eventful?” Methinks that Juan is another pawn for Murdoch’s conservative machine and it really came to fruition during this campaign. By the end of the night, it didn’t matter who was talking as everyone at Fox News looked like someone had just killed their family pet.
CNN-And the award for most embarrassing coverage goes to CNN. Motherfuckers had holograms. Let me repeat: they had HOLOGRAMS. When they weren’t providing viewers with visual novelties, they had expert panels. The panel members each had “CNN” laptops and they would all talk over each other. After getting a headache trying to decipher one goddamn point they were trying to make and getting freaked out by holograms, I switched to another network.
BBC-“Finally!” I thought. “Some legitimate coverage by stuffy English reporters with their pretentious accents.” But no. The piece I saw featured a classy blonde talking to two bloggers in the studio, one representing each party affiliation. The host would ask the bloggers something, and the bloggers would repeat some things that they saw other bloggers type on the internet. It’s nice to know that British media outlets are just as fucking stupid as American ones.
MSNBC-I didn’t stay here too long as I normally enjoy MSNBC’s blatant liberal bias. During the brief time I did watch, they just let the video footage roll. I needed mindless talking heads talking shit, and MSNBC just wasn’t giving it to me.
NBC-The old standby. I loves me some Tom Brokaw. I’m not a big fan of Brian Williams. Other than Williams throwing some utterly softball questions to Congressman John Lewis (“Who are some of the people you’re thinking of right now after this historic election. Specifically, who are some of the names?” I mean, fuck dude, just come right out and ask: “So Congressman, were you thinking about Martin Luther King Jr. when you witnessed this election?”) NBC filled the screen with an inordinate amount of visual clutter. When I considered grabbing some out-of-fashion glasses just so I could read it, I realized that it would be easier to stay on the couch and try another channel instead.
FOX/CBS (local)-Swear to God, the news anchors announced that they were about to join their sister station for “dual coverage.” They ran a little “Election 08” bumper and then joined the same two anchors. If it wasn’t the same two anchors, then CBS and Fox in Cedar Rapids have hired four people that look suspiciously alike.
NBC (local)-Ron Steele has been doing the same folksy anchor bullshit for so long now that it’s annoying. You would think the guy could do a little better at ad-libbing (see Tom Brokaw), but he’s such a wishy-washy fuck that seems so concerned at offending anyone that he actually is offending. The only time he looked excited is when he announced that his former co-worker, the weekend news anchor Tami Wiensek (she was the fat one) was actually winning her election bid (she eventually lost).
Through it all, I began to wonder if all of these media choices were really worth it. It seemed that there was less bullshit, clutter and novelty back in the day we only had three major networks. I suppose I could have drifted by C-SPAN…I have in the past…But whenever I do, the coverage is so dry that it becomes mundane. Besides, I didn’t have C-SPAN programmed into my remote, and figuring out how to program the thing would have meant that I could have missed potential holograms.

Election Day

Election Day. Probably America’s best day and the worst single by a Duran Duran sideproject. I’m intentionally not watching the election returns…that will come later when the real data starts to come in…but am cautiously optimistic that America will figure this shit out. The last two elections were mindboggling as to how uncomfortably stupid American voters can be, or at least half of them.
The first election I ever participated in was 1984. I went to the caucus and supported John Glenn. Walter Mondale got the nomination, and I got out of school to go around the ward of my hometown and doorknock. Mondale won in my hometown, but got blown away in the national election.
This would have been around the time that Duran Duran released Seven And The Ragged Tiger.

Politics As Usual

I voted last week.
You probably know who for.
One of the votes I cast was on the ballot measure to reword the Iowa constitution to a more politically correct statement. Currently, the language that describes a person who cannot legally vote is an “idiot or insane person.” There is an individual who has working for many years from that understandably harsh statement to “a person adjudged mentally incompetent to vote.” Changing the constitution is a lengthy process, and if the measure passes, it will take two consecutive legislative sessions before the wording changes.
I actually voted to keep the wording. I like the idea of politically incorrect wording from a bygone era (as long as it doesn’t make us look racist or stupid) and this wording suits me just fine. Plus there’s a bit of juvenilia in my decision too.
People may think that I vote straight ticket during elections, but I don’t. I feel that the process seems more blind faith when I do, so I take every candidate into consideration. There may be elections where I vote for all of the candidates in one political party, but I’ll mark each one individually because of those aforementioned feelings.
Admittedly, there are probably a handful of times in which I voted for a Republican candidate. I’ve voted for Grassley a few times and then endured my father’s complaints after the fact. The funny thing is, when Grassley helped him out with something later on with a bill he was trying to get support on, my Dad thought he was just awesome. I also casted a few ballots for Jim Leach during the day. That is until the Republican Party strong-armed him into the entire Clinton Whitewater investigation, and then I realized that he was just a sap for the party line.
The irony here is that the Republicans later threw Leach under the bus in the last election and he was (finally) defeated by Dave Loebsack. Now Leach, in an apparent “Fuck you too” to his old party, has leant his support to Barack Obama. At first, I thought that maybe he was getting back into the groove to run again, showing us that he really was “independent,” but now I think that he’s cozy in his new life at Princeton. For those of you who don’t follow Iowa politics, Leach dug an early grave with the Republicans by not allowing the R.N.C. to distribute anti-gay political mailings to taint his opponent. Social conservatives pulled the plug on his 18th run towards the House and Loebsack, an unknown who was essentially a write-in candidate for the Democratic ticket, pulled a stunning upset.
It was kind of a big deal in my area of Iowa.
There was also that time where I voted for Nader in ’96, a ridiculous attempt at lofting a “protest” vote to the Democratic party because I felt the lines between Democrat and Republican were getting too blurred.. Since Nader is obviously such an egotistical weirdo…as evidenced by his obvious glee with being the 2000 spoiler…I’m now embarrassed by my decision to support such a fuck stick.
There seems to be a pretty obvious line with this election, one in which I can’t fathom why anyone would even be on the fence. Humorist David Sedaris speaks to this recently in the New Yorker. Sedaris questions how anyone could be an undecided voter at this stage of the game.

“Then you’ll see this man or woman— someone, I always think, who looks very
happy to be on TV. “Well, Charlie,” they say, “I’ve gone back and forth on the
issues and whatnot, but I just can’t seem to make up my mind!” Some insist that
there’s very little difference between candidate A and candidate B. Others claim
that they’re with A on defense and health care but are leaning toward B when it
comes to the economy.
I look at these people and can’t quite believe that
they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen
who want a lot of attention?
To put them in perspective, I think of being on
an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and,
eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she
asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”
To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how
the chicken is cooked.
I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?”

Indeed.
The argument could be made that one could question how anyone could be a supporter of John McCain, but to each his own even when they are inherently insane when it comes to politics.
And as the Iowa constitution currently states, those people aren’t even allowed to vote in the first place.

Glam-Racket Would Like To Recall The Last OCD Chronicle Entry...

Because I just found an unbeliveable remake of the song, written and self-released by Sophie herself, that lends it support to Hillary Clinton in this year's election.
It's not even because I'm an Obama supporter and Sophie isn't; I can understand how a bisexual cougar like Hawkins would tend to lean towards Hillary.
No, it's because this version is completely retarded.
I don't expect Sophie B. Hawkins to be Joni Mitchell, but can't she come up with something that doesn't sound like it was penned by a Clinton staffer? It's almost as embarassing as the "Hillary Quit The Band" video.
Also, could you make something that doesn't sound like it's a karaoke version of your own fucking song, albeit with dumber lyrics.
And to prove that I'm not playing favorites here, I thought the entire Obama via Will.I.Am thing was completely stupid, but it's not as bad as this.

Maybe He's A Leo

In December of last year, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin seemed to hint at naming a successor to his title in March. Dmitri A. Medvedev, a young protégé with no background in the state security services and virtually no power base in the Kremlin, is now poised to win the presidency this March thanks to Mr. Putin’s blessing.
It’s unclear whether Dmitri will merely be a figurehead that enables Putin to run the country from a self-ordained lifetime position behind the scenes. In fact, very little is known about Mr. Medvedev (who is a year older than yours truly) other than he is a former law professor and is a big Deep Purple fan.

I’ll let that sink in for a moment.

Without knowing a damn thing about Dmitri Medvedev’s political beliefs or how effective he will ultimately be as Russian president, I want an American president (or potential candidate) to come out and publicly declare their love for an English hard rock band like Deep Purple. And Cream doesn’t count; that band was merely a clusterfuck of jazz and blues virtuosos. No, I want the heavy shit.

“My name is Mitt Romney, and my favorite album is Whitesnake’s Slide It In.”

“And now, John McCain will discuss immigration and the discography of Uriah Heep.”

“Please welcome ‘The Man on the Silver Mountain,' Mike Huckabee!”

Medvedev is seen as a moderate, a progressive face in an environment of former Kremlin underwriters. But there’s nothing “moderate” about Deep Purple. Even Concerto for Group and Orchestra is heavy by “rock band playing with a symphony” standards, but it would be cool if someone asked Medvedev what Purple album he puts at the top of his list.

If he chooses Perfect Strangers, then we’re headed for another cold war.

Here's some footage when Deep Purple could anihilate any superpower.