less lee
less lee's JournalDebate? What debate?
Saturday, September 29, 2012
You call this a debate?
Wow! Are you fired up about the Obama v. Romney debate? Yeah baby! Obama is going to give Romney a body slam!
Uh…not really. What will take place at the University of Denver will be so punctilious that there will be a massive soporific reaction. Over the years, presidential debates have been so altered and fine-tuned that you have to ask yourself, “why bother to show up at all?” These events are over-regulated and tightly regimented. Why don’t they just use pre-recorded answers? The American people deserve to be treated like brainless voters! They’ll sit on their collective ass, slack-jawed, and make inane remarks like, “I like Mitt’s tie.”
Every 4 years, we get these so-called presidential debates. They are corporate- directed and usually held in a hall or auditorium at some college so they appear to have some scholarly virtue. These debates should be held at some oil company’s conference room, or maybe at Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles! That would be more honest.
Candidates’ debates used to be slightly better when The League of Women Voters conducted them. But the campaign managers made demands, and more demands, until a debate became nothing but two rival candidates standing next to one another. The panel usually consists of writers who are at the end of their careers. Some are (sic) news reporters who spent almost their entire careers reading teleprompters. They are seated behind a desk, asking pre-scripted questions that both candidates previously agreed upon. Each candidate already knows what the other will say during his/her rebuttal time. This is not a debate, it’s an info-mercial! Hundreds, if not thousands of people have made the same compliant as I! Does anything change? Hell, no!
I wish Obama had resigned from the Democratic Party to be an independent, like George Washington did. The Dems treat politics like a Broadway play and professional sports. Politics is all about entertainment. Do you really believe that!? When you hear a four-year-old voice say, “Mommy, I’m hungry,” do you think politics is about winners and losers? You see your husband past out drunk on your couch.
What the U.S. Americans want to see is a panel of presidential candidates from different political parties, standing behind podiums defending their parties’ agenda. I am so fucking sick of the excuse that these so-called third parties do not have a certain percentage of registered voters to deserve a seat at the table! The only thing Democrats and Republicans ever agreed on was is to keep third parties off of the ballots! Now, that’s bipartisanship! The two-party system consists of cowards who are afraid of third parties!
A real debate is an atmosphere of invectiveness, not a tea party for well-dressed gentlemen! We are not British dignitaries! I want to see Obama call Romney names and accuse him of being an asshole! Which he is! I want to see yelling and rudeness! I want to hear one candidate interrupt the other in mid sentence! I want to hear Romney yell out, “Let me finish! Let me finish! You had your turn! Let me have mine!” I want to hear the candidate from the Green Party call Obama a corporate Uncle Tom! I love to hear the Constitution Party candidate call Romney an anti-American Mormon, while Romney gives him a copy of the Watchtower! I would really love to hear the candidate from the Communist Party USA denounce both candidates as being agents of the ruling class!
And, “So,” you ask, “What would this accomplish?” A great deal more than what you will be witnessing this Wednesday!
A rare punk rock recording from 1981.
A punk rock classic...
The underground punk band: Benedict Arnold & the Traitors recorded this song on a 4 track fostex recorder in 1981. The song :The black flag of Anarchy was written by Stephen Jay Morris. This L.A band is now starting to get noticed.
Is it time to put the Republican Party to sleep?
8/30/2012
G.O.P. on Life Support Machines!
Watching the GOP convention is kind of sad. Listening to one paean after another, rally for Free Enterprise was a lot like hearing testimony from members of the Amway Corporation. This was what the new wave band, Devo, was satirizing in the 70’s: pure evidence of devolution in the USA. All of the speakers’ igneous rhetoric fell flat on its ass, coming from the podium. This begs the question: If the Republican Party is so individualistic, then why do its members resemble robots in Halloween costumes? Individualism does mean collective stupidity. Sorry! Plus, repeating talking points is extremely collective!
Now, here’s another analogy! No—make that two analogies. The first: The Republican Party is like an abandoned building, where various squatters have taken over. In one room, you have your Protestant fundamentalist Christian crackpots. In another, your Libertarian/Conservative dingbats. In the penthouse, you have your rich corporations. In the basement, old Militia members, Neo-Nazis, skinheads, Patriots, and Nationalists! Sleeping in the garage are a few Tea Party members. So who really owns the building? Nobody really knows!
The second: The Republican Party is Terri Schiavo. The party has been dead since 2007. Political schism has taken hold of the corpse. Can the oil companies save the decaying party? Year after year, the party has been on life support machines. The party would benefit from the Affordable Heath Care Act, referred to in Right wing circles as “Obama Care.” If they rely on free market medicine, then they will spend billions upon billions of dollars, just to keep those machines working. Any logical human being would employ political Euthanasia. “Calling Jack Kevorkian! Calling Dr. Kevorkian! You are needed in Washington!” Is this party worth saving?
So whom can we blame for this factionalism? Is it a Communist plot out of Red China? No! It was started by the Neo-cons during the Bush administration. The definition of “Conservative” has gotten more convoluted over the years. All of its different ideologies clash with one another. Ayn Rand’s beliefs contradict with those of Christianity. Not only did she advocate “Godless Capitalism,” she was pro-abortion! Plus, she was opposed to sacrifice! The GOP worships soldiers sacrificing their lives for the Republic! They have a military fetish, plus they love U.S. imperialism!
So, what happens when you mix Nationalism, Libertarianism, Christianity and Capitalism? Answer: You get political vomit! In order for the GOP to survive, they need to find an ideology and stick to it!
When the Republican Party finally dies, the two-party system will not die! Another right wing party will take its place! What party will it be? It might be the Libertarian Party—they have been in a coma since 1972. Maybe this is their time? How about the Constitution Party? Nah—they are too John Bitchy for the general public. The American Independent could make a come back—they love that “States Rights” crap!
Will somebody pull the plug on the Republic Party? Let them die in dignity!
Scott Mekenzie R.I.P
8/20/2012
That Cornball Anthem We All Hated To Love.
Confess, you dog! I know of one guilty pleasure you hide in the deepest part of your right brain: Every time you hear that song, it transports you to that particular summer.
I was a lad, all of 13. My dad was attempting to euhemerize the “flower power” movement. He loved to carp about anything. The hippie was no rapprochement to the so-called “Greatest Generation”--Nope! To him, the whole hippie trip was an excuse to be a bum. He repeated jokes that had been told by our illustrious California governor, Ronald Regan. When he told those non-funny jokes, I had to do method acting and pretend to laugh. I didn’t give a loving shit about “flower power!” Not at the time. The knavery of the news media was eating it up and puking it out to the general public. So, what else is new?
The radio and the record industry jumped on the “flower power” bandwagon. The local L.A. radio powerhouse, 93 KHJ, was promoting various campaigns using the “flower power” movement. They sponsored some cat named Johnny Apple Seed, walking barefoot across the country. Then came novelty songs. Marcia Strassman, who later was to be a character actress on the sit-com, “Welcome Back Kotter,” was a singer. She released this histrionic song called, “The Flower Children.” It was a pop folk whining about how the “flower children” were misunderstood. Sky Saxon, along with his Seeds, released a goofy song on the flip side of their 45, “A Thousand Shadows” (which sounded like, “You’re Pushing Too Hard). It was “March of the Flower Children,” one of the worse songs they ever did. It included a sound effect like a bullwhip, which to this day, I don’t know why. In England, a Beach Boy rip-off, vocal band, the Flowerpot Men, released a song called, “Let’s Go to San Francisco.” The only cool song that was devoted to San Francisco was Eric Burdon & the Animals’ release, “San Franciscan Nights.” Nice guitar phrasing. John Philips of the Mamas and the Papas wrote an anthem called, “If You’re Going to San Francisco, Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair.” He gave it to Scott McKenzie, who was a buddy of his. Now, McKenzie was a serious folk singer. He produced euphonious vocals like those of Tim Buckley or Phil Oaks. Little did he know that the song would ruin his career, but would be loved by millions of fans! He would be condemned via that dreaded label, “a one-hit wonder!” His follow-up release turned out to be better than that anthem: the operatic song, “Like An Old Time Movie,” was a poignant masterpiece. If he couldn’t top San Francisco with that great song, he was doomed. He faded into obscurity like many before him.
In 1967, I was driving through the mountains with my dad. The only radio station we could get was this top 40 station. That song came on the radio. My dad was mocking it mercilessly! When it came to the bridge with the lyric, “There’s a whole generation, with a new explanation! Ooo, ooo, people in motion.” My dad would yell at the radio, “What is the explanation? Why do you refuse to work or take a bath?” I didn’t understand what was his bitch!
Along with Love’s “Forever Changes” and the Beatles’ “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”—plus, Jefferson Airplane’s album, “Surrealistic Pillow”—that song captured the sound of ‘67!
It’s a shame that Scott McKenzie had only a cult following. Oh? Did you know that he co-wrote the Beach Boys’ song from 1988, “Ko–Ko-Mo?”
Good-bye, Scott.
Speaking of the Auroa tragedy...check out this song!
This rap video was posted way back in June but it's on topic. WARNING: If you are offended by strong language do not veiw this video.
At long last! An Anthem!
2 legendary punks make a anthem! All you broadcasters out there! Play the damn song!
We didn't put out the fire!
In case you forgot what it was under the Bush regime, listen to this song by the most underrated rock band ever, Benedict Arnold & The Traitors.
This song was a repy to Billy Joels: We didn't start the fire!
I didn't vote for the Koch brothers! Did you?
7/7/2012
Koch Gives Me Gas, Burrrp!
I was more confused than a Libertarian, driving on a one-way street during a snowstorm, high on pot. Never for the likes of me can I figure out a billionaire’s mind! I mean…really, if you had the dough, would you spend $200 million to defeat the President of the United States? I mean, if I had that kind of money, I would just shut up and pay my taxes! If all of the right wing billionaires just paid their taxes without protest, all these troubles we have would be diminished. It’s not as if they’re going to feel it! So, what is their deal?
In my analysis, they are bored rich kids playing a real life video game. In 1924 Chicago, little 14-year-old Bobby Franks was murdered by two rich kids; Leopold and Loeb had no reason for killing the little boy. They wanted to commit the perfect crime and get away with it. It was a so-called “thrill kill.” They got caught and were convicted. When asked why they did it—and I am paraphrasing here—when you have everything in the material world, then you look for excitement to help pass the time.
I think the Koch brothers are playing a dangerous game. Of course, if confronted about their objective, they offer a well-rehearsed alibi based on some Ayn Rand, dog shit principal that rich people have the right to make all the money in the world. But, I believe they have an ulterior motive. These are not misguided pranksters, but insidious criminals. However, here in the good old USA, if you are rich and white, you are automatically considered moral and intelligent. To me, the Koch brothers are common criminals and belong in prison. “What crimes did they commit?” you ask. It would take pages to document all them! They are too beguiling to get caught for most of their crimes. Their contribution to air pollution is well documented.
Around 1973, David Miller directed a movie called “Executive Action.” Dalton Trumbo and Donald Freed wrote it. The plot of the movie was about these Texas oil magnates who were concerned about the JFK administration. They were worried over how his liberal policies might hinder their pursuit of massive profits. So, these oil magnates decide to assassinate JFK. The story was fictional, but it dares to ask the question, “Could it really happen?” Well, could it?
The blatant hatred of Barack Obama is quite toxic. The hatred shown toward George W. Bush was righteous indignation, not derangement! However, that directed at Obama is deranged, and some of it is really stupid! “Obama is Hitler!” Really?? I thought the main requirement of being a Nazi is to have been born of pure Aryan blood. In that case, Obama is a funny looking Aryan to me! “Obama is a secret Muslim!” I’ve seen him eat a B.L.T. sandwich!!
My favorite wine from the right is, “We can’t criticize Obama because he is black. We would be accused of being racists!” In other words, it’s because of political correctness. Hold on to your underpants, Tea Party people, because the left has criticized black dictators like Idi Amin Dada!
It’s not because of political correctness; it’s because of passive-aggressive racism! What’s that? In 1878, a man in the south was walking down a dirt road when he came upon a middle-aged black man, hanging from a tree, a noose around his broken neck. Four white men were standing beneath the body.
The man asked them, “Did you hang him because he was black?”
One man replied, “No! He was a horse thief!”
There are two kinds of racists: the outspoken ones like Nazis and Klansmen. And then, there are the secret ones. We used to call them know-nothings. They would never call Obama the “N-word.” These know-nothings are happy to call him a socialist. If Obama was a socialist, there would be no taxes.
What? WHAAAT!!!? Figure that one out!
Vision in mono (the rise and fall of CBS)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Vision In Mono!(The Rise And Fall of CBS)
If you want to find a libertarian, just go to your local welfare office. As for me—I’m in front of my T.V. set, trying to forget my problems and constant self-loathing. I should do what a typical, depressed person does--take dope, overeat (which I do in front of the T.V.), masturbate, watch Internet porn, or drink myself to death. Naah! Television is a safe escape—plus there’s no chance of a hangover in the morning.
I am among the first generation that grew up with television; to me, it was always there. I remember how, in my early childhood, my parents would park me in front of the T.V. for hours, where I’d watch shows like Popeye, Mighty Mouse, and Gumby. On May 9,1961, Newton Minow said to a meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters: Quote, Television is a vast wasteland. Unquote. I might add: Television has become a propaganda tool for the 1%. With the exception of viewer-sponsored T.V., television has become a medium of a hyper commercial, noise machine; a wasteland of decadent reality shows and brain numbing sit-coms. Television used to be free! Buy a T.V. set and watch it until it dies of old age! Now, you have to pay for it! HDTV my ass! Not only must you pay for it, but you must also endure the corporate propaganda. Now, let us consider a television network.
At the southeast corner of Beverly & Fairfax, in L.A., famously known as Television City, stood the CBS Studios. It was a Goggle-styled, black and white building, constructed in 1952. My childhood home was about a half a mile east of there and, as far as I was concerned, the place had always existed. It was a great tourist attraction—you’d see people standing in line out front, waiting to see a live show. I rarely went there, however, I did see a taping of “The Red Skelton Show” once. In 1965, the Rolling Stones played the Skelton show. I walked over, hoping to get a glimpse of the Stones, but all I saw was a crowd of kids and a CBS security guard, yelling at them, “You kids get out of here, unless you have a ticket!” Otherwise, I didn’t really care about the place. A funny thing, though, was that shows taped there would credit their location as Hollywood, when, actually, it wasn’t Hollywood at all—it was Fairfax!!
CBS stands for Columbia Broadcasting System. In the 50s, the political right said it stood for “Communist Bull Shit.” Now? It stands for “Corporate Bull Shit.” This was the network that gave us Edward R Murrow, Walter Cronkite, 60 Minutes, All In The Family, and The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour. Okay—it was mainstream media, but it wasn’t outright reactionary like Fox News is. On Sunday mornings, CBS aired the show “Sunday Morning,” hosted by Charles Kuralt. It was inspired by Jack Kerouac’s 1951 book, “On the Road.” Every Sunday, Charles would set out in his R.V. to visit some eccentric unknown, somewhere in the continental U.S. Eccentrics like Chip Lord in Texas, who had the Cadillac Ranch. This artist painted used Cadillacs and would plant them in the ground, with the front end standing upright. It was a folksy show that celebrated the common American. At the end of the show, they’d feature a non-narrated, captivating look at some of the most beautiful places in the country--deserts, forests, Florida swamps, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park. There would be scenes of deer grazing in a meadow, or wild horses running across a field, goats standing on steep mountainsides, endless wildflowers swaying gracefully--and countless others. These clips would go on for five minutes. Now, maybe 20 seconds of such clips are featured, if that. After Charles retired, the show went into the toilet! Sunday Morning now sports interviews with actors and entrepreneurs, and other commercial shit. Recently, there was a movie reviewer who complained about the flick, “Magic Mike”—a film about a male stripper—proclaiming that the film painted capitalism in negative light. They show pop culture as though it is like collecting soda bottles. The commoner is made to look like a buffoon. The show is now nothing but bolstering free enterprise!
When CBS abolished their news department and the entertainment department took over, the once journalistic news became a bulletin board for corporations. When oil companies raised the price of gas, the news anchors would read the oil company’s press release that gave some alibi about how their refinery caught fire and now they had raise prices! CBS used to have investigative reporters that exposed corruption in corporations and government. Not any more! Now, anytime there’s a government scandal, they will report it. However, if a U.S. corporation commits some wrongdoing, you will not hear about it from them. Their primary “news” source is conservative think tanks.
Now, let me say something about “60 Minutes.” As it stands now, it is just right wing crud! The “interviewers” are not interviewers anymore—they’re just props. Whenever they interview a subject, they ask a question and then immediately echo their subject’s response. For example:
CBS interviewer: “What was it like for you to play that character in XYZ (movie)?”
Actor: “When I was asked to play that character, I was really happy!”
CBS interviewer: “So you were really happy to play that character. What is your favorite color?”
Actor: “I like brown.”
CBS interviewer: “So, I assume your favorite color is brown.”
AAAHHHH!!! That is not exactly Mike Wallace interviewing Fidel Castro! “60 Minutes” should go on hiatus forever!
It’s not just CBS, but all networks! It’s all about advertising and ratings. Entertainment? The “Two and A Half Men” sit-com is keeping CBS afloat, just like the Three Stooges kept Columbia pictures in business! Network television is nothing but a giant info-commercial for capitalism!!
Well, I guess I’ll just have to endure these changes as I get older. T.V. is dead!
One thing I learned about corporate businessmen is that they worship the virtues of competition, yet they hate to compete. Most of them have wet dreams about monopoly. I wonder what the Libertarian position on this is? How about it, Ayn Rand? Forget about it—she’s too busy feeding her cats to answer you! Not only do some businessmen hate to compete with one another, they hate to compete with non-profit organizations, alternative progressive media, and government media. What the left must do is have the left wing media be just as pervasive as commercial television. To say the media is liberal is not only bullshit, but it’s also diversionary. If the media were liberal, there would be no corporations advertising on it. The media is right wing.
But we knew that, didn’t we?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/newwavedavecom/7495659546/in/photostream
How far will they go to stop Obama?
6/22/2012
How Far Will They Go To Stop Obama?
If you take the second “m” out of the word, “Mormon,” you get…Romney. I have heard commentators comparing Romney to the 1948 Republican candidate, Thomas Dewey. That is not a very good comparison. Dewey had an imperious disposition. Who could you compare Romney to? “Calling Dr.Frankenstein! Paging Dr.Frankenstein! Need an analogy for this sentence!” If Dr. Frankenstein were to combine the speaking style of Hubert Humphrey with the personality of DubbaYa, you’d get Romney. After observing Romney on T.V., many people, including myself, would swear that Romney just came from the dentist’s office following a substantial dose of Nitrous Oxide. The goofy fool is always laughing! Why is that?! A normal person knows when it’s appropriate to laugh or to remain serious. Not Romney! Is he suffering from sort of mania?
Over the years, I’ve noticed that people in cults are always laughing. Is it because Romney is Mormon? Are they a cult? I don’t know! Some major movie stars are into Scientology. Madonna is into Kabbalah, for Christ shake! But the public seems to overlook these facts. It may be that he belongs to two cults: the Republican Party and the Mormon Church. Hey! That would make me a laughing fool—belonging to two cults at once!
Sorry about being hung up on this laughing thing, but you have to wonder. There are sadists who laugh at people who are suffering from pain. Old villains in vintage Hollywood movies or comic books are always laughing. “Ah, ha! Batman! You will die! Hee! Hee! Ha! HA!” says The Joker. Glen Beck used to do that shit.
Is Romney’s laughter voluntary or involuntary? Ask any degreed psychologist who’ll confirm that laughing is sometimes used as a defense mechanism. For a villain in a comic book, laughter means he is invincible. Bullies, after they beat the shit out of you and you’re lying on the ground, bleeding, will point at you and laugh. A laughing fool is obnoxious and right wing clowns know this. The right wing’s debating method is to call their opponent a coward. They will elicit your anger and, should you display it, they’ll accuse you of being unhinged!
So what is this laughing shit all about? To intimidate you and make you feel small! They laugh, not because they are happy; they laugh because they are sadistic. The left should not react; they should just be stoic and that will drive them NUTS!
So, will the U.S. public fall for a fake, cavalier facade? The so-called liberal news media is pro-Romney. CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN all support Romney. So does Fox News. So who’s the “lame stream” now?! Fox News is part of it. How about the public? The entirely phony polling machine will tell you that the race is tight, but that is greatly misleading. So, will perspicacity prevail? Hell, YEAH it will! I doubt the public at large will fall for another Bush. If we live in an ethical nation, Obama has this election in the bag.
But we don’t.
How far will Obama’s adversaries go to stop him? One way is massive election fraud. Going after the Attorney General is a lame tactic. Demanding poor blacks present government-issued I.D. to vote is unconstitutional. Dissolving ACORN will NOT stop people from voting. So what will work? Having Republican operatives working as election workers could succeed. Sabotaging election ballots could work.
Then, there is the unspeakable.
I shutter to think it.
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