Monthly Archives for March 2020

The Dignity Of Work

So tired of the “people don’t want to work” narrative. I’ve been hearing it my whole life from the mouths of people that are themselves overly entitled, small minded or simply unaware. It’s inaccurate when we’re in a time of prosperity and it’s irresponsibly ignorant in a time of crisis.

Listening to politicians and my fellow citizens say that “too much relief” may discourage people from working is fundamentally outrageous. The dignity of work is something of value to us all.

Besides, look around you. When have we ever lived in a world where a persons pay was equaled to the amount of work actually done to earn it or the true societal importance of their work?

Ventilator Blues – The Rolling Stones

Artist as Rock & Roll Enthusiast (aka ARE) Post: 12

The soundtrack of life continues. Rough and tumble blues from the Stones is my nomination for our post apocalyptic national anthem. Lyrically it relates to the news of the day of course. The sound of this tune is appropriately greasy and gritty for our present situation too. Not only that, it is a damn good song, one of my all-time favorites (https://brettcalleroartist.com/2019/09/11/my-500-favorite-songs-at-50/).

If a song could literally kick your ass, this would be one to watch yr back around.

When your spine is cracking and your hands, they shake,
Heart is bursting and you butt’s gonna break.
Your woman’s cussing, you can hear her scream,
You feel like murder in the first degree.
Ain’t nobody slowing down no way,
Ev’rybody’s stepping on their accelerator,
Don’t matter where you are,
Ev’rybody’s gonna need a ventilator.
When you’re trapped and circled with no second chances,
Your code of living is your gun in hand.
We can’t be browed by beating, we can’t be cowed by words,
Messed by cheating, ain’t gonna ever learn.
Ev’rybody walking ’round,
Ev’rybody trying to step on their Creator.
Don’t matter where you are, ev’rybody, ev’rybody gonna
Need some kind of ventilator, some kind of ventilator.
What you gonna do about it, what you gonna do?
What you gonna do about it, what you gonna do?
Gonna fight it, gonna fight it?

Here Comes Sickness – Mudhoney

Artist as Rock & Roll Enthusiast (aka ARE) Post: 11

Mudhoney knows this subject well. This ought to be your social distancing theme song. Be safe everyone. Stay home and crank the tunes.

Vehicle – The Ides Of March

Artist as Rock & Roll Enthusiast (aka ARE) Post: 10

Hey, it’s the Ides of March. A one-hit wonder of a day! The hit of course being the murder of Julius Caesar. Therefore, it’s poetic symmetry that the band Ides Of March would be a true one-hit wonder.

Chicago band, the Ides Of March hit it big with their first single “Vehicle” which peaked at #2 in 1970. For a brief time this song was everywhere. It was a major hit. Tom Jones even sang it on his variety show. It has also even become a rock song regularly played by marching bands.

If you’re from Chicago as I am, you’ll certainly know this song. It’s on permanent rotation there.

 

Touch Me, I’m Sick – Mudhoney

Artist as Rock & Roll Enthusiast (aka ARE) Post: 9

I’ll start the pandemic soundtrack in the perfect place. With this classic infectious mess.

Resurrection Joe – The Cult

Artist as Rock & Roll Enthusiast (aka ARE) Post: 8

I’ve always liked the Cult. They’re a chameleon of a band. However, this post isn’t about them. Maybe another day. Here I’m using their song as a metaphor. This post is about current events. I was simply reminded of this song of theirs today when watching the news of the election results last night. You can draw your own conclusion. Just remember, there’s a song for everything. Isn’t that correct, Joe?

Observations, Predictions & Questions

I have a few observations and predictions for the upcoming months.

Like many, I’d rather have Bernie Sanders over Joe Biden. However, I’d rather have Elizabeth Warren over everyone else. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. A Bernie Sanders nomination isn’t likely to happen now either. I’m still voting for Warren in the Georgia primary (unless she exits this week as well). That said, I’ll be voting for whomever gets the nomination and I hope everyone else does too.

I don’t need to remind you that the current “occupant” of the Oval Office is an imbecile. He reminds us of this himself, every single day. Every voter needs to wake up and realize that the issues of our time they so deeply care about may become non-issues, forever, if Trump wins re-election.

Observations:

  • Joe Biden did so well on Super Tuesday because Buttigieg and Klobuchar dropped out of the race. Almost all of their votes went to him. Sorry conspiracy theorists, this is not like 2016 when the DNC tipped the scales in Hillary’s favor. Make no mistake, in this election cycle Bernie Sanders has had a far greater political machine than Joe Biden. Biden was out of money. He won in states in which he didn’t even have a campaign office. He won in states he had not even visited. Biden won without receiving an endorsement from Obama (it’s on the way now I’m sure). This is not the establishment forcing its will. This is a case of the establishment sitting back watching the scenario they hoped for fall into place. I’m not exactly pleased about it but I’m not placing blame. No one cleared the way for Biden. This is not a coronation, like in 2016 when the DNC would’ve been perfectly happy to let Hillary win the nomination unopposed.
  • Joe Biden did so well BECAUSE people want to defeat Trump. More of the actual voters think he has a better opportunity to beat Trump than Sanders does. I don’t disagree. I’m on board with most of the Democratic Socialist programs that he proposes but many more are not.
  • Mike Bloomberg entered the race for two reasons: to expose Donald Trump as a fraud (in a way no one else can) and to derail the progressive campaigns of Warren and Sanders. Even though they’re still in the race and he is not, Bloomberg has not failed at his mission.

Predictions:

  • One prediction already came true. That Mike Bloomberg would drop out of the race after Super Tuesday. Alas, he beat me to the punch.
  • Even though he’s no longer in the race, Bloomberg will continue to pummel Trump with his unlimited resources. Let the oligarch help us remove the malignant tumor of a president we have now.
  • Joe Biden wins the nomination and selects Stacey Abrams as his running mate.
  • Donald Trump replaces Mike Pence with Nikki Haley (probably in July). Trump will cite his disappointment  in Pence’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak as his reason for making the change.

Questions:

  • Do the Democratic oligarchs want more of Trump over Sanders? Unfortunately the answer is yes. Which is why many are happy about Resurrection Joe.
  • Will the left put on its big boy pants and vote for whomever is the nominee? Heaven help us if the answer to that question is not also yes.