After the terrorist shooting in Pittsburgh where only religious minorities were killed, the far right, and our President gave the event a shoulder shrug and then twisted the knife in his relentless attack on the media. Yeah, killing sucks, but the media, am I right people?
However, how off is he?
First, let's get out of the way that this President has called for violence against his political opponents. He refused and continue to refuse to condemn hate groups, mostly because then it would be against a large swath of people who voted for him and actively campaign for him (and because he kinda agrees with them). He's demonstrated that in addition to religion (anti-Islam/Judaism) he's also anti-environment, anti-women, anti-Native American, and anti-poor. WORDS HAVE MEANING AND CONSEQUENCES!
But, he's right about a slanted media. "Headlines," and I use the term loosely, have been sensational and alarmist and accusatory against this administration, or at least, presenting facts and drawing conclusions that the administration doesn't either want to admit or believes to be false, hence, fake news. So, why submit misleading headlines? Blame FaceBook.
The Pew Research Center has been gathering information on newspaper and periodical distribution since the 1940s, and, according to this report the news industry is in a death spiral: "A Pew Research Center analysis of data from AAM shows that total weekday circulation for U.S. daily newspapers – both print and digital – fell 8% in 2016, marking the 28th consecutive year of declines." Not only that, but the L.A. Times reported on September 25 that TV network news ratings are also slipping. "Broadcast network news continued to fight a rear guard attack as audience levels slipped again in the 2017-18 television season, which ended last week. Only one daily program, 'ABC World News Tonight With David Muir,' showed year-to-year growth, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen." Fewer people paying attention equals a drop in advertising revenue and makes it harder for these organizations to staff experienced journalists and editors to get the real news out there.
So, if the populace isn't getting their news from papers or TV networks, where are they getting their news from? Well, that's the FaceBook link. In a report that the Pew Research Center released back in 2014, it was estimated that roughly 2/3rds of Americans used FaceBook, and 30% of those got their news from headlines posted on the site. That's tremendously ominous as we know that much of what is posted or shared on FB are opinions, not researched news. We also know that in the last 4 years, FaceBook and Twitter influence has grown substantially globally, i.e. the numbers aren't likely to be less if that same study was updated today. And, finally, the most troubling fact is what the Washington Post reported on in 2016 is that "According to a new study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute, 59 percent of links shared on social media have never actually been clicked: In other words, most people appear to retweet news without ever reading it."
That's right, no one actually reads an article which makes our collective information problem less click-bait and more share-bait, which is healthy and strong, regardless if it's from a trusted news source or not. Many of us are guilty of doing it, including and especially the President who has the intellect of a white-tailed deer: "ooooh, look at all of those lights getting brighter, I'll just stand here and watch the show!"
So, what can we do about it? First, we must all resist that dreaded "share" button for opinion pieces that aren't vetted. Second, we need to focus on actual news sources that aren't just writing headlines for us to push around. Forbes, which I believe is a bit right-of-center when it comes to political leanings, has a list of news institutions where the journalists are held to a higher standard. The full list of their 2017 recommended sites is here, but you already know that the Huffington Post is not, nor should it be, on this list. Next, pay for your news. I'm not saying that you need to have a paper delivered every morning, but absolutely subscribe to a real news agency and help support the distribution of verifiable content. And, finally, vote. We're in the final week before mid-term elections, and there are so many politicians who are the ones circulating poor data and bad science. We need people making policy who believe in both social science and environmental science, or at least have staffers who are digesting that information for the candidates allowing them to make informed decisions based on undisputed scientific fact!
What happened in Pittsburgh is atrocious. None of us wants to be a target of extreme hate and violence. However, if we aren't able to enact common-sense legislation based on facts because our representatives are kowtowing to a neanderthal minority with deep pockets, then we need to vote them out.
Monday, October 29, 2018
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Adventures in Asbury Park, NJ
The New York Times (that liberal rag, go figure) ran an article about the life of the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. If you're from NJ, you're familiar with the Pony: home to Bruce Springsteen...which, if you read this article, you'll realize that he was a johnny-come-lately, just looking to catch a local act, play some music and drink a beer. Regardless, the resilience of Pony after riots in the 70's and depravity in the 80's is definitely due to something magical, something inexplicable, which reminded me of a story...(cue flashback waves a la Wayne's World).
About 8 years ago, in 2010, I had a day off in June (read: forced State furloughs), and my brother-in-law, Jesse was in from Los Angeles, visiting family. He had grown up in and around Freehold, NJ, and like many in that neck of the woods, idolized Bruce Springsteen. Bruce, after all, was the home town hero. Bruce stopped into local businesses like Jersey Freeze right off Route 9. And, Bruce lived nearby too. Jesse had one movie out already (see it on NetFlix), which made him a professional screen writer (and actor), and he had thoughts about writing something about Bruce and Freehold, however, he'd never spent any appreciable time in Asbury Park. Road-trip.
When we got to Asbury, a lot had changed from what it had been in the 80's and 90's. Asbury was a hole. It was seedy and drug-filled, and poor...desperately poor. The late Anthony Bourdain visited with his show in 2005, where the only place Tony was willing to grab a bite was the Howard Johnson's, and he ordered something he thought wouldn't kill him, something safe: a Heineken and a grilled cheese sandwich. "The beauty of the grilled cheese sandwich in its classic form is that neither the shaped carbohydrate slabs nor the processed orange food product have any relationship with a living, organic nutrient system. Being therefore incapable of sustaining life in any form they, presumably, can't make you sick." By 2010 things had gotten way better. My wife and I had been there and visited the Langosta Lounge and loved it. In that, the Lounge's original configuration and eclectic upscale menu, there was plenty to eat that Bourdain would have loved, including sushi, and succulent pieces of beef, and plenty to drink. There was music in the corner, and a bar with many TVs. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Jesse and I got there mid afternoon, and the place was open, but not close to being "lively." We visited the old casino building. We walked up and down the newly renovated boardwalk. And we pointed out the Paramount and walked past the pinball museum. It was fairly uneventful. At about 6pm, we decided it was time to bail and do something else. On the way back to the car, there was a woman playing guitar on the boardwalk and crooning (whining?) a Natalie Merchant tune. This was a long way off from the city's storied history of music. About to cross the street, we see another girl with a guitar slung on her back, and joked, loudly, that we hope that she plays better music than the one we just left. And, with a very thick European accent, she said "You know Bruce?" She took off her gig bag, unpacked the acoustic she was traveling with, and started into "No Surrender." Jesse, someone not unfamiliar with Bruce's entire catalog, immediately joined in singing, and she then lent him her axe to continue/finish the song. It was great! Here we were, with a complete stranger, sharing something bigger than the three of us, on the streets of the city he made famous.
She explained that her name was Calien, she was from Amsterdam, she was 17. She was so obsessed with Bruce Springsteen that she came to New York, and specifically to Asbury Park to see the Stone Pony with her own eyes. She had already gotten kicked off his property in Rumson by the police. She just wanted to be part of the scene. She had taken a hotel right there near the boardwalk, and as the sun went down, it was getting a little cooler. Would we want to go back to her hotel room so she could get a jacket? It would just take a minute.
Get your minds out of the gutter.
That said, Jesse and I looked at each other and, we had no place to go, so, yes, we'll come along for the ride. When in her room, she not only took out her jacket, but also an orange crown, with the Netherlands coat of arms on it, and a soccer ball. She made us each pose wearing the crown as, the world was in the middle of the 2010 World Cup. National pride and all that. Then, she pulled out a XX Large Stone Pony bouncer's jacket, handed it to me, and asked if I wanted it. It was the same make and material of the light jackets students wear in High Schools when they're part of the tennis team or band. What? How'd she get it? Well, her obsession with Bruce brought her to the Paramount Theater in AP at 2am after a day of being in New York. She snuck into an open door at the back of the theater and immediately got wrangled by the guard there. She explained she just wanted to see the stage where Bruce performed. The guard took pity, let her walk on the stage, and then, handed her his jacket he wore as a bouncer at the Pony as a souvenir, one that was at least 5 sizes too big. Would I want it? Sure! I put it on.
We decided that, because we were all there due to Bruce, maybe we should check out the Pony for ourselves. It was literally across the street. Off we went, and, because I was wearing the right apparel, we walked right in, told the other bouncers that Jesse and Calien were with me, and marched into the club. The band taking the stage wasn't our cup of tea, some metal band, but that's OK, we just wanted to see the inside for Jesse's research and Calien's holiday. While I was standing there, I got a tap on my shoulder. Worried that it was time to get thrown out, I turned around, and there's a dude, standing there, arms above his head, waiting for me to frisk him on his way into the venue. I quickly pointed him to someone who actually worked there, found Jesse and Cal, and got out.
Lots of laughing happened later as we headed to the Langosta Lounge for a drink with a 17 year old from Amsterdam, and watch the Mets and the Yankees duke it out for supremacy in the Big Apple.
There's really nothing more. I'm not sure where the movie is on Jesse's list, whether he's shelved it for other things. I do know that Calien has made it BIG in Amsterdam. We knew she was talented, and after she finished school, she formed her own band: Cal and the Leavin' Train, yes, a direct reference to a track officially released on Bruce's 1998 Box Set. You can catch some of her stuff here on the band's FaceBook page. There are a couple videos to check out.
Also, Asbury Park has since exploded with restaurants and the artist community that was there is thriving. The beaches are fun in the summer. And the Mogo Taco, next to Langosta Lounge, is worth the trip alone. Bourdain made a second trip (probably more) for his more recent show "Parts Unknown" that was on CNN in 2015. "Asbury Park has taken the long, hard but smart road back,"It's very unusual to have a place with this kind of tradition of live music," Bourdain said in an interview with the Asbury Park Press. "It's such a powerful tradition and that it's managed to survive at all, that's very unusual." That's because the music of Asbury Park, and the epicenter, The Stone Pony, has the magic to bring people together. Certainly, it worked for the city, Bruce, Cal, Jesse and me.
About 8 years ago, in 2010, I had a day off in June (read: forced State furloughs), and my brother-in-law, Jesse was in from Los Angeles, visiting family. He had grown up in and around Freehold, NJ, and like many in that neck of the woods, idolized Bruce Springsteen. Bruce, after all, was the home town hero. Bruce stopped into local businesses like Jersey Freeze right off Route 9. And, Bruce lived nearby too. Jesse had one movie out already (see it on NetFlix), which made him a professional screen writer (and actor), and he had thoughts about writing something about Bruce and Freehold, however, he'd never spent any appreciable time in Asbury Park. Road-trip.
When we got to Asbury, a lot had changed from what it had been in the 80's and 90's. Asbury was a hole. It was seedy and drug-filled, and poor...desperately poor. The late Anthony Bourdain visited with his show in 2005, where the only place Tony was willing to grab a bite was the Howard Johnson's, and he ordered something he thought wouldn't kill him, something safe: a Heineken and a grilled cheese sandwich. "The beauty of the grilled cheese sandwich in its classic form is that neither the shaped carbohydrate slabs nor the processed orange food product have any relationship with a living, organic nutrient system. Being therefore incapable of sustaining life in any form they, presumably, can't make you sick." By 2010 things had gotten way better. My wife and I had been there and visited the Langosta Lounge and loved it. In that, the Lounge's original configuration and eclectic upscale menu, there was plenty to eat that Bourdain would have loved, including sushi, and succulent pieces of beef, and plenty to drink. There was music in the corner, and a bar with many TVs. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Jesse and I got there mid afternoon, and the place was open, but not close to being "lively." We visited the old casino building. We walked up and down the newly renovated boardwalk. And we pointed out the Paramount and walked past the pinball museum. It was fairly uneventful. At about 6pm, we decided it was time to bail and do something else. On the way back to the car, there was a woman playing guitar on the boardwalk and crooning (whining?) a Natalie Merchant tune. This was a long way off from the city's storied history of music. About to cross the street, we see another girl with a guitar slung on her back, and joked, loudly, that we hope that she plays better music than the one we just left. And, with a very thick European accent, she said "You know Bruce?" She took off her gig bag, unpacked the acoustic she was traveling with, and started into "No Surrender." Jesse, someone not unfamiliar with Bruce's entire catalog, immediately joined in singing, and she then lent him her axe to continue/finish the song. It was great! Here we were, with a complete stranger, sharing something bigger than the three of us, on the streets of the city he made famous.
She explained that her name was Calien, she was from Amsterdam, she was 17. She was so obsessed with Bruce Springsteen that she came to New York, and specifically to Asbury Park to see the Stone Pony with her own eyes. She had already gotten kicked off his property in Rumson by the police. She just wanted to be part of the scene. She had taken a hotel right there near the boardwalk, and as the sun went down, it was getting a little cooler. Would we want to go back to her hotel room so she could get a jacket? It would just take a minute.
Get your minds out of the gutter.
That said, Jesse and I looked at each other and, we had no place to go, so, yes, we'll come along for the ride. When in her room, she not only took out her jacket, but also an orange crown, with the Netherlands coat of arms on it, and a soccer ball. She made us each pose wearing the crown as, the world was in the middle of the 2010 World Cup. National pride and all that. Then, she pulled out a XX Large Stone Pony bouncer's jacket, handed it to me, and asked if I wanted it. It was the same make and material of the light jackets students wear in High Schools when they're part of the tennis team or band. What? How'd she get it? Well, her obsession with Bruce brought her to the Paramount Theater in AP at 2am after a day of being in New York. She snuck into an open door at the back of the theater and immediately got wrangled by the guard there. She explained she just wanted to see the stage where Bruce performed. The guard took pity, let her walk on the stage, and then, handed her his jacket he wore as a bouncer at the Pony as a souvenir, one that was at least 5 sizes too big. Would I want it? Sure! I put it on.
We decided that, because we were all there due to Bruce, maybe we should check out the Pony for ourselves. It was literally across the street. Off we went, and, because I was wearing the right apparel, we walked right in, told the other bouncers that Jesse and Calien were with me, and marched into the club. The band taking the stage wasn't our cup of tea, some metal band, but that's OK, we just wanted to see the inside for Jesse's research and Calien's holiday. While I was standing there, I got a tap on my shoulder. Worried that it was time to get thrown out, I turned around, and there's a dude, standing there, arms above his head, waiting for me to frisk him on his way into the venue. I quickly pointed him to someone who actually worked there, found Jesse and Cal, and got out.
Lots of laughing happened later as we headed to the Langosta Lounge for a drink with a 17 year old from Amsterdam, and watch the Mets and the Yankees duke it out for supremacy in the Big Apple.
There's really nothing more. I'm not sure where the movie is on Jesse's list, whether he's shelved it for other things. I do know that Calien has made it BIG in Amsterdam. We knew she was talented, and after she finished school, she formed her own band: Cal and the Leavin' Train, yes, a direct reference to a track officially released on Bruce's 1998 Box Set. You can catch some of her stuff here on the band's FaceBook page. There are a couple videos to check out.
Also, Asbury Park has since exploded with restaurants and the artist community that was there is thriving. The beaches are fun in the summer. And the Mogo Taco, next to Langosta Lounge, is worth the trip alone. Bourdain made a second trip (probably more) for his more recent show "Parts Unknown" that was on CNN in 2015. "Asbury Park has taken the long, hard but smart road back,"It's very unusual to have a place with this kind of tradition of live music," Bourdain said in an interview with the Asbury Park Press. "It's such a powerful tradition and that it's managed to survive at all, that's very unusual." That's because the music of Asbury Park, and the epicenter, The Stone Pony, has the magic to bring people together. Certainly, it worked for the city, Bruce, Cal, Jesse and me.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Wake Up
I had this whole rant thought out about how the religious right are using our sheep politicians to further their goals to subjugate women through restriction of medical treatments (i.e. birth control, abortion, etc.) and the flaunting of patriarchal misogynistic practices by denying women a voice in physical and sexual assault situations.
But, I am seriously burnt out on this whole Kavanaugh thing. I so want the GOP to move on to a better candidate, but I'm terrified that this rich, Roe v. Wade-hating, beer-swilling entitled fraternity douche-bag is going to get his vote and be 100 times more politically charged than Gorsuch whilst attempting to legislate us back into the dark ages.
And while he believes himself to be a child of Jesus, and a righteous Catholic, I think, even the Pope would have issue on this man's past actions, legal decisions, core beliefs and severe lack of a dedication to his fellow man, except for Judge and Squee. Frankly, the Pope would make a far better justice.
But that all being said, I have found myself turning to my music for both confirmation of my feelings and fears as well as a refuge so as to tune the world out.
For fears, I think it's easy. I've recently re-found Rage Against the Machine (as I've mentioned before) and the lyrics to "Wake Up" are so adaptable to today. Admittedly, I'm cherry picking them for my argument, but the song references:
Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy;
Still knee deep in the system's shit;
Departments of police, (what!) the judges (what!), the feds;
Networks at work, keeping people calm
It speaks, literally to the assassination of Martin Luther King, a Federal cover-up because he returned the power to the people. I think a lot of it resonates with me because the problem never went away...certainly it never left the black communities, and now there are echoes of similar themes with white nationalist politicians, namely Trump and the Republican right. As an avid student of music from the 60s, these themes are hardly new, but due to the grandstanding and extreme political actions by those who would put business before the needs of the people, a new protest, using old themes, is in order.
What's more, it's so hard to believe that informed citizens voted "these people" in. There are so many extremes I see on the right, from fraternizing with a new Nazi regime, to claims of being devout without following a word of the bible when it comes to treating others as you would treat yourself. Granted, the Democrats are hardly innocent. I believe Menendez dodged a political bullet based on procedure and lack of evidence. I think he's guilty. I think he's not the only one who swings his political might in this manner, and that both sides of the aisle are guilty, but he got caught. I'm not happy that I have to vote for him, but the alternative is another right-wing religious zealot, with views similar to Trump's, that would be deciding Federal law in my name. No way.
November is coming. Historically, Americans are horrific at getting to the polls. I hope you're not. Something has to change. And, I don't believe that a xenophobic, nation-first, blinders version of United States policy is good for our own citizenry or that of the world. Which movie will you feel better coming out of: the one where the underdog, with nothing, is able to finally make his/her life better against all odds...or the one where the oppression of the people rewards only the task masters at the top pulling all the strings to keep them fat while the rest of the world burns around them? We have one month to talk to people about our right to choose who leads this nation. It's time to wake up.
But, I am seriously burnt out on this whole Kavanaugh thing. I so want the GOP to move on to a better candidate, but I'm terrified that this rich, Roe v. Wade-hating, beer-swilling entitled fraternity douche-bag is going to get his vote and be 100 times more politically charged than Gorsuch whilst attempting to legislate us back into the dark ages.
And while he believes himself to be a child of Jesus, and a righteous Catholic, I think, even the Pope would have issue on this man's past actions, legal decisions, core beliefs and severe lack of a dedication to his fellow man, except for Judge and Squee. Frankly, the Pope would make a far better justice.
But that all being said, I have found myself turning to my music for both confirmation of my feelings and fears as well as a refuge so as to tune the world out.
For fears, I think it's easy. I've recently re-found Rage Against the Machine (as I've mentioned before) and the lyrics to "Wake Up" are so adaptable to today. Admittedly, I'm cherry picking them for my argument, but the song references:
Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy;
Still knee deep in the system's shit;
Departments of police, (what!) the judges (what!), the feds;
Networks at work, keeping people calm
It speaks, literally to the assassination of Martin Luther King, a Federal cover-up because he returned the power to the people. I think a lot of it resonates with me because the problem never went away...certainly it never left the black communities, and now there are echoes of similar themes with white nationalist politicians, namely Trump and the Republican right. As an avid student of music from the 60s, these themes are hardly new, but due to the grandstanding and extreme political actions by those who would put business before the needs of the people, a new protest, using old themes, is in order.
What's more, it's so hard to believe that informed citizens voted "these people" in. There are so many extremes I see on the right, from fraternizing with a new Nazi regime, to claims of being devout without following a word of the bible when it comes to treating others as you would treat yourself. Granted, the Democrats are hardly innocent. I believe Menendez dodged a political bullet based on procedure and lack of evidence. I think he's guilty. I think he's not the only one who swings his political might in this manner, and that both sides of the aisle are guilty, but he got caught. I'm not happy that I have to vote for him, but the alternative is another right-wing religious zealot, with views similar to Trump's, that would be deciding Federal law in my name. No way.
November is coming. Historically, Americans are horrific at getting to the polls. I hope you're not. Something has to change. And, I don't believe that a xenophobic, nation-first, blinders version of United States policy is good for our own citizenry or that of the world. Which movie will you feel better coming out of: the one where the underdog, with nothing, is able to finally make his/her life better against all odds...or the one where the oppression of the people rewards only the task masters at the top pulling all the strings to keep them fat while the rest of the world burns around them? We have one month to talk to people about our right to choose who leads this nation. It's time to wake up.
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