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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Time keeps on slippin into the future

Time keeps on slippin into the future

by DougJ|  June 22, 20181:44 pm| 159 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M.

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I don’t have any time at all to fundraise, but I’m going to try to highlight good ads done by Dem candidates and then do fundraisers for them. Seems like a good time to start right now after the Trump/Miller debacle of the past week.

In the fall, I will put together a fund again I hope. I may try to recruit some of you to help me. This election is too important to leave any money on the table.

This is a great ad, done by MJ Hegar, running in TX-31.

Let’s raise some money for her.

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Previous Post: « On Beyond the Border… of Decency
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Reader Interactions

159Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    Thanks for this.

    Will you do one for the Democratic Candidate for Governor in Georgia?

  2. 2.

    Doug!

    June 22, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Sure thing. Can you email me a blurb and video that I can paste into a post?

  3. 3.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    Michelle Alexander, author of the best-selling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, will become a columnist for the New York Times Opinion pages, the Times announced Thursday.

  4. 4.

    TaMara (HFG)

    June 22, 2018 at 2:01 pm

    Thank you! I didn’t know how to do the act blue thing when I posted her video this week. You are a god.

  5. 5.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    We have to work for a blue tsunami in November. Money, time, talk with friends and family, letters to editor, anything anyone can do.

    Trump’s short attention span and childish fantasy life may help us. The miserable fool cooked up, or someone placated him with, the notion of an Orange Wave in November. He gets bored too quickly to carry through with his and his flunkies’ disastrous and evil schemes. Except ordering up lists for new BS and harmful tariffs is easy enough for him to keep up, which may mess up the economy enough be November to hurt the GOP without causing permanent harm (I am hoping the rest of the world does not give up on the patient until we allow Trump to play doctor for more than two years).

    So, good chance Trump will while away the time by concentrating on his idiotic and noxious rallies, and playing Trade Warrior fantasy games.
    Four months, one week, and a few days change until November election.

  6. 6.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 2:11 pm

    I’ve been going back and forth between ‘while’ and ‘wile’ away the time. Grammar site on internet says either is OK.
    Trump whiles away the time because he is too stupid to wile it away, he can merely fill it up with his childish and toxic BS.
    Unfortunately, some Trumpster are just smart enough to wile it.

  7. 7.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 2:11 pm

    @germy:

    Michelle Alexander, author of the best-selling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, will become a columnist for the New York Times Opinion pages

    How did she sneak in? Must be a mistake

  8. 8.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 2:13 pm

    @jl:

    Definitely “while.”

    ETA: Merriam-Webster defines the verb “wile” as “luring as if by magic.” So you could be right.

  9. 9.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 2:15 pm

    @germy: Wow! That is great news. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the history our Justice system.

  10. 10.

    Doug!

    June 22, 2018 at 2:15 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    The ActBlue stuff is slightly painful to learn unfortunately .

  11. 11.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    @debbie:

    I had the blues, so bad one time it put my face in a permanent frown
    You know I’m feeling so much better, I could cakewalk1 into town
    Honey, I woke up this mornin’ feelin’ so good, you know I laid back down again
    Throw your big leg over me mama, I might not feel this good again
    My baby, my baby, I do love the way she walks
    And when my woman gets sleepy, I love the way she baby-talks
    My work is getting scarce, oh baby, my work it done got hard,
    I spend my whole day stealin’ chickens Honey from the rich folks yard
    I would love to take a picnic in the country and stay all day
    I wouldn’t do nothing but while my blues away
    I had the blues so bad one time it put my face in a permanent frown
    You know I’m feelin’ so much better I could cakewalk into town

    No way Taj is wrong!

  12. 12.

    Lapassionara

    June 22, 2018 at 2:18 pm

    @germy: Yes!

  13. 13.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 2:19 pm

    @jl:

    Mango Mussolini is making me nervous with his talk of a “red wave” — it makes me think that he’s already working with Russian hackers to mess with the vote. But that’s what makes it imperative that we have a huge turn-out on our side. It’s the only way to counter those kinds of shenanigans.

    Play like we’re 10 points behind, all the way to November.

  14. 14.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 2:22 pm

    @jl:

    The miserable fool cooked up, or someone placated him with, the notion of an Orange Wave in November.

    Weasel Face is not a politician; he doesn’t understand elections or votes [he doesn’t understand any fucking thing]; he hit the powerball by chance and that makes him a genius.
    If he doesn’t stroke out before November, a wave might force it.

  15. 15.

    Kathleen

    June 22, 2018 at 2:23 pm

    @germy: Do you think they realize she thinks Jim Crow is bad thing?

  16. 16.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 2:24 pm

    @Kathleen: Maybe they hired her thinking she’d defend Jim Crow. Good point.

    Maybe the opinion editor said, “Can we just get this guy Jim Crow to write a column? Does anyone have his contact info?”

  17. 17.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Mango Mussolini is making me nervous with his talk of a “red wave” — it makes me think that he’s already working with Russian hackers to mess with the vote.

    Reminds me of W during the 2000 race. “Heh heh heh, we’ve got this in the bag,” he said.
    I think he was with Jeb when he said this.

  18. 18.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Agreed there. We have to hope that Trumpsters are too incompetent to actively collaborate. Seems like at least half of the big Trumpster voting suppression effort fell apart due to abject and truly hilarious incompetence. Kobach’s flunkies are reduced to flirting with jail time by claiming that the word ‘immediately’ in a court order is ambiguous.

    Most states are very jealous of their own voting system. Even if some are just that only for the purpose or rigging their own elections. they don’t want anyone else to have the power to do the rigging. We have to hope that two years is just not enough time, and 400+ Congressional district elections, run by the 50 individual states and DC are too many to effectively rig.

    One thing to remember that a true voter tsunami in 400+ races is just to many to rig effectively. Tell anyone worrying about rigging, that an unexpectedly massive turnout is one of the best ways to beat that kind of deviltry. Having the House is a very important beachhead in this political war to retain democracy.

  19. 19.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    @germy: Gee when else did an candidate think it was in the bag?

  20. 20.

    piratedan

    June 22, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    still a great ad, and it works on a local level not just a national one. Nothing beats personal

  21. 21.

    zhena gogolia

    June 22, 2018 at 2:36 pm

    @raven:

    No question, it’s “while.”

  22. 22.

    JPL

    June 22, 2018 at 2:37 pm

    My representative Karen Handel, tries to stop Ted Lieu from playing the audio of the babies crying on the House floor.
    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/06/watch-dem-lawmaker-plays-audio-crying-immigrant-kids-republican-tries-shut/

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    June 22, 2018 at 2:38 pm

    @germy:

    They do have Paul Krugman and Charles Blow, after all, who are impeccable (now; Krugman wasn’t good on Obama), and Gail Collins and Michelle Goldman, who aren’t too bad. So it’s not all that surprising. But encouraging!

  24. 24.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 2:41 pm

    @jl:

    50 individual states and DC

    DC doesn’t elect a voting member of Congress.

  25. 25.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 2:42 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: thanks oh wise and knowledgeable one. Simi Valley Boy Scouts are always prepared.

  26. 26.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    June 22, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    @jl: Milky Way from Mt. Pinos. The trees aren’t the right height.

    ETA: Wouldn’t know about the scouts in Slimy Valley.

  27. 27.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Thanks, Very nice pic.

  28. 28.

    gene108

    June 22, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    Can we do a fundraiser for Andy KIm, who is looking to unseat my odious Rep. Tom MacArthur?

    NJ-3, like other NJ districts held by Republicans are ones we need to win to retake the House.

  29. 29.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    Trump doesn’t understand the great banana trade war. Sad. Loser. A mess.

    @paulkrugman
    As James Stewart says, one reason the “banana war” is a bad precedent for Trump is that in that case the U.S. worked with the system — we were the ones demanding that others abide by WTO rules 1/
    https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1010145079435124737

  30. 30.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    @jl:
    I think that if turnout is large enough we’ll be ok. Even if the GOP somehow managed to maintain control over the House, I don’t think anybody would believe the results. They voted, after all. There would be massive demonstrations calling on GOP officials to resign and for new elections.

    I don’t care if there isn’t anything in the Constitution, something will have to be done or else shit will stop functioning.

  31. 31.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    @jl:

    and playing Trade Warrior fantasy games.

    Sadly, its not a fantasy.

    Trump has literally picked a fight with EVERY MAJOR TRADING PARTNER of the USA.

    EVERY SINGLE ONE. Counter-tariffs are kicking in this month and more are coming starting in July.

    We are headed for a 2019 recession. Possibly the worst one ever in American history.

    There is going to be a strong push for Democrats to “come together across the aisle” to fix Trump’s deliberate fuckup of everything.

    It can’t be allowed to happen. This is War. No Quarter. No bailouts.

  32. 32.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    something will have to be done or else shit will stop functioning.

    /puts money down on shit stopping to function

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    Tell it, Bishop

    https://twitter.com/TalbertSwan/status/1010178995722379264

  34. 34.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 2:55 pm

    @JPL:

    **

    Oh my, was Congressman Lieu being uncivil? How does one recover from such an atrocity?

  35. 35.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    @raven:

    Absolutely right!

  36. 36.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    Trump’s fuckups will be only be fixed when Dems have unified control over the federal government. We’ll certainly try to offer solutions that the GOP and Trump will shoot down. But that’s ok. We’ll make them all own it. Turn it around on them: why aren’t you working with us?

  37. 37.

    Kathleen

    June 22, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    @germy: Cue Twitter Magsplain: White House sources are saying Stephen Miller’s new aid, Jim Crow, will bring the skillset Stephen needs to remain viable.”

  38. 38.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    @jl:

    One thing to remember that a true voter tsunami in 400+ races is just to many to rig effectively. Tell anyone worrying about rigging, that an unexpectedly massive turnout is one of the best ways to beat that kind of deviltry.

    The key to successful vote rigging is to get just enough votes in just enough districts to retain a majority.

    The enemy isn’t going to target every race. Just the ones that they need to survive.

  39. 39.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 3:00 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    We’ll make them all own it. Turn it around on them: why aren’t you working with us?

    I’m sorry, have you seen the media we have to work with these days?

  40. 40.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    @raven:

    Just listened and bookmarked. My favorite version of his!

  41. 41.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 3:02 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    But here’s the thing; historically, the midterm elections go pretty badly for the president’s party. If the House doesn’t flip, we’ll know something is wrong and we’ll have to demand new elections

  42. 42.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 3:03 pm

    @TenguPhule: I think you are both too alarmist and too complacent. If the trade wars only last a little while, they won’t have a big effect on the economy. If they only last over the summer, supplier stockpiling, which is already happening, will reduce the impact, and in some cases defeat them. Hilariously, the (now it can definitively be said) liar and crook Wilbur Ross who shorted his stock to profit off an upcoming negative story about him and his corruption, was complaining that suppliers stock piling steel were evildoers, and committing treasonous sabotage of Trump’s great patriotic trade crusade.

    And, until House and Senate can be regained, Trump will eagerly play a trade war of his fantasies as much as he wants (all he has to do is sit on his fat dumb ass and order up someone else to compile lists of paired goods and numbers), with transparently false rationales, due to powers Congress has given the Executive. I think the judiciary will let Trump get away with it in deference to the mere word ‘national security’ even if the logic is ridiculous and the evidence nonexistent.

  43. 43.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 3:03 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I’ve been reading the Des Moines Register for the past couple of weeks and the tears haven’t started yet. But I do see signs that a slow realization of just how bad things might get dawning on Trumplandia. All those phony Midwestern smiles are about to get an economic bat right square in the kisser.

  44. 44.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 3:04 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    We’ll have to work on them too. Won’t be easy, but anything worth achieving rarely is.

  45. 45.

    marcopolo

    June 22, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    Thanks for posting. Gave money to MJ’s campaign earlier this week, along with Amy McGrath in KY 6, Betsy Londrigan in IL 13, and Audrey Denney in CA 1. Denney is a true long shot but both Amy & Betsy have a chance given a decent blue wave.

    And I’ve seen in a few threads folks talking about how their congressional races are not competitive. For starters, I think there are now only 4 House races without a D candidate running. That is freaking unbelievablevable. Everyone BJer now represented by an R should consider doing some volunteering in their home district. First, you’ll be spreading the D message, even if the R is an overwhelming favorite. Second, if there are contested statewide races (like for Senate here in MO), every D vote counts no matter which congressional district it is cast in. For Claire McCaskill to win she needs a blowout vote in KC and StL AND to keep the R margin in rural red areas as small as possible.

    Or if you live in a ultra safe R (or D) district but a more flippable one is close by go help there. I live in blue blue blue MO 1 but will be driving a few miles south to help the D candidate in MO 2 (once the primary is over in August and we have a D nominee). I have already gone across the Mississippi to IL 12 twice to help out Brendan Kelly beat Mike Bost in IL 12 (that is the best red to blue flip possibility close to me).

    If you are in a safe R or D district but too long a drive away to help with a competitive/flippable race then donate some scratch & go to postcards to voters to help with sending GOTV postcards to voters across the country.

    Trust me, whatever winds up happening in November you will feel better if you’ve helped out on a campaign between now and then. And mucho thanks to all the BJers who are doing it!

  46. 46.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 3:08 pm

    @jl:

    I think you are both too alarmist and too complacent. If the trade wars only last a little while, they won’t have a big effect on the economy. If they only last over the summer, supplier stockpiling, which is already happening, will reduce the impact, and in some cases defeat them.

    But that’s not fair. These people have to face the consequences of their actions. These suppliers are wrong to do this; they’re protecting Trump’s supporters whether they realize it or not.

  47. 47.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 3:08 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: With a huge turnout and unexpectedly huge wave, will be hard to guess which of the 400+ districts to jigger. And if we do reach a tragic extremity, then you are right, hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, and general strikes will start to roll things back. More and more evidence coming in that Trump is the miserable coward some people have been saying he is.

    Now is the time to full potential swing and new voters with confidence, not fear or doubt.

  48. 48.

    GregB

    June 22, 2018 at 3:08 pm

    The trip down Trump’s golden escalator to Hell is gaining speed. At his ghoulish event where families of crime victims are retelling their tagic stories, they are holding large pictures of their loved ones that Trump has garishly signed.

    A descent into madness.

  49. 49.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    @JPL:
    My God that woman is an utter shitbag. Is her seat vulnerable?

  50. 50.

    Another Scott

    June 22, 2018 at 3:11 pm

    I agree it’s a great ad. I sent her some money yesterday.

    One thing I really liked about it was the credit at the end which said that the DCCC also helped pay for it.

    More, please.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  51. 51.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    @JPL:

    I think you should call Handel’s office and asked what happened to her concerns about babies. She ran saying she was worried about all of the babies being killed by Planned Parenthood, and now ACTUAL babies are being harmed. Why isn’t Handel helping the babies in need?

    Now, you and I know exactly why Handel isn’t helping babies in need, and that’s why you want to push the “babies” line when you call her office. Babies need help! Why isn’t Handel helping the babies? I thought she was “pro-life” and wanted to help babies!

    Make sure you use the word “babies” at least once in every sentence. I bet you could get the intern to stammer.

  52. 52.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    That is exactly where they should wind up ???

    https://twitter.com/NicoleS35317814/status/1010160389210955777

  53. 53.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    @GregB: Need to contact media and tell them to do their jobs and report facts. Immigration does not increase crime, period. It is true that there are isolated cases of tragedies and crimes committed by immigrants.

    But you could easily get a a short list of horrid crimes committed by the great Celtic Ginger Threat, and yell about the country being overrun with the vile Gingers. Or the Krauts. Or even my people, the vicious Irish-Zuricher threat. Need to put those Irish-Zuricher filth in camps.

  54. 54.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    No way Taj is wrong!

    @raven: Changed his guitar strings once. Fucker didn’t want to pay for it. Thought he was rock royalty or some shit like that.

    First music store gig I’d ever worked. I made ’em all pay, even Betts and the Allman guys. I was a young punk, didn’t know who the hell any of those old guys were and didn’t care. My boss was horrified. But y’know something weird…they all came back.

  55. 55.

    ruemara

    June 22, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    @rikyrah: AS an FYI, he’s talking good now, but he didn’t vote for Hillary in 2016.

  56. 56.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    Plans to build concentration camps

    https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1010230152092180480

  57. 57.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    @ruemara: We can fight that out after we beat back the Trumpsters.

  58. 58.

    Amir Khalid

    June 22, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
    Demand new elections? How? What constitutional provision lets a political party demand a redo of an election that didn’t go its way?

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 3:23 pm

    JRubz hits Trump where he’s most vulnerable, calling him weak.

    n a scathing column for the Washington Post, conservative commentator Jennifer Rubin said President Donald Trump folded in the face of outrage over the forced separation of immigrant children from their parents because he is “weak and getting weaker.”

    With Trump issuing an executive order rolling back his own administration’s policy of placing children in separate detention camps, Rubin said the uprising against Trump made him look “pathetic” when he rolled.

    “The great falsehood that was at the root of President Trump’s candidacy was that he was very strong and America was very weak,” she wrote. “We were losing, having our jobs stolen, getting ripped off by allies, etc. We were supposedly awash in crime and illegal immigration, and the latter, we were told, contributed to the former. It was all untrue. We got a welcome reminder this week that both halves of that equation are false — Trump is weak and getting weaker by the day, while the United States has never been a basket case — and is regaining its strength in opposing Trump and Trumpism.”

    “Trump talks tough, but when criticism rains down, he blames others (the Democrats!) or lies that his hands are tied or that his predecessor did the same,” she continued. “And when he retreats, he pretends he never wanted what he implemented anyway. Because he does not know what he wants or what is in various legislative options, he cannot provide clear direction in Congress.”

    In tandem with Michelle Wolf repeatedly calling Trump broke, attacking his manly vanity and wealth are the two things up with which he cannot put.

  60. 60.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 3:25 pm

    But that’s not fair. These people have to face the consequences of their actions. These suppliers are wrong to do this; they’re protecting Trump’s supporters whether they realize it or not.

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Fair? FAIR? Fuck, you have to be kidding me. The suppliers are absolutely right to do this: their duty is not to pick sides in a political spat, but to stay in business. Does it protect Trump’s supporters? Probably. Is that the goal? Absolutely not.

    If I know something is coming down the pike that’s going to cost my employer money, I’d damn well better do what I can to mitigate that and help the business do what they can, or be out on the fucking street.

    You’re usually WAY smarter than this.

  61. 61.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 3:26 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I don’t know of one. Would be interesting to hear from the BJ legal flying wedge on the topic.
    But the point is for mass quantities of citizens to scare the crap out of state and local authorities and enlist them in throwing sand in corrupt and illegitimate federal gears. And even at the federal level, even if (God forbid) another GOP House with just a couple of GOPers making the difference, and a dozen GOPers who just had the crap scared out of them in the general, will act very differently than the one we have now.

    There will be desperate measures if we reach desperate times, and they will work if people get out in the streets before things have gone too far down the road of authoritarianism.

  62. 62.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    My hero Congressman John Lewis:

    https://mobile.twitter.com/leahmcelrath/status/1009471314485227522

  63. 63.

    Amir Khalid

    June 22, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    @The Moar You Know:
    How does a guitar player not know how/get too lazy to change strings for himself?

  64. 64.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 3:29 pm

    Demand new elections? How? What constitutional provision lets a political party demand a redo of an election that didn’t go its way?

    @Amir Khalid: Christ, if there was one we should have busted that out November 9, 2016.

    I can’t think of any democracy that has such a provision, interestingly enough.

  65. 65.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @The Moar You Know: In Macon? Me and a buddy were talking about Chuck Berry the other night. We went to a show in Decatur, IL and he wouldn’t play until the crowd passed the hat and gave him more. We passed it all right but he ain’t got none of it!

  66. 66.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @The Ancient Randonneur:

    BRAVO!

  67. 67.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @trollhattan: Trump is just such a childish fool, he doesn’t understand how to allow the media to play its preferred ‘bothsidedoitism’.

    We’ve seen it before, with far better people. I think McCain during his presidential campaign, forced the media to do it’s job. The ‘bad’ McCain just couldn’t help himself as the economy fell apart, and along with Palin, dealt the media hands that they could not play as they preferred.

    Hard for the media to play their usual lazy game, when they have to cover Trump as he blows the whole Kabuki Theater to smithereens.

  68. 68.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Just wait until you’ve been on tour with your very own guitar tech for a while, then you’ll get it.

  69. 69.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    How does a guitar player not know how/get too lazy to change strings for himself?

    @Amir Khalid: Called a “gear tech”, still very common with any decently-sized touring band, and they just do it for you. They also make sure the thing is set up just the way you want it. I understand the allure! Truth be told, most guitar players are not very good at it. They’ve only done a few hundred in their lives. I’ve done well over 5,000 and that’s a pretty conservative estimate. I can do it better, and FAR faster, and it’s not very pricey. So, that’s how.

  70. 70.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 3:37 pm

    @The Moar You Know: A buddy was REM’s gear tech. When he got married the band came in, picked up the wedding band’s gear and played 7 songs. I had just bought a new camera I got the video (save one song where I zoomed too much and distorted the visuals) I’ve asked their manager if it’s ok if I put it on youtube and he always hems and haws so no one has ever seen it.

  71. 71.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    In Macon? Me and a buddy were talking about Chuck Berry the other night. We went to a show in Decatur, IL and he wouldn’t play until the crowd passed the hat and gave him more. We passed it all right but he ain’t got none of it!

    @raven: Nope, San Diego, he was playing a block away. He was a really nice guy.

    Chuck Berry was known for that bullshit. That’s one guy I would have flat-out refused to do ANYTHING for under any circumstances, he had a reputation for treating people like absolute shit that frankly was not only deserved, but less known than it should have been.

  72. 72.

    Teddys Person

    June 22, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    @The Ancient Randonneur: John Lewis is a national treasure.

  73. 73.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    Let’s not wait. Let’s start working now to get people out to vote in huge numbers.

    Swamping the vote with our side is the best way to prevent shenanigans.

  74. 74.

    cmorenc

    June 22, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    That indeed *is* the best political ad I’ve ever seen. If people are hungering for a natural strong no-bullshit leader and listener, she’s it.

  75. 75.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    @The Moar You Know:
    This may sound like a stretch comparison but lacing a bicycle wheel is also a bit of an artform only attained with a LOT of repetition. I’ve never built a wheel but have re-spoked wheels and am simply no match for someone who builds them routinely. A well-made wheel not only rides better, it’s stronger and remains true much longer. I’m guessing a well-strung guitar stays in tune rather longer, dunno about broken string frequency though.

  76. 76.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 3:44 pm

    @The Moar You Know: Huh, I’ve never seen this article:

    A few hundred lucky wedding guests got the surprise of their life Saturday (Oct. 8) as R.E.M.’s original four members reunited to play a seven-song set at the wedding of R.E.M. guitar tech Dewitt Burton. The action went down at Kingpins Bowl & Brew in the group’s Athens, Ga., home base and marks just the second time Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills have performed with drummer Bill Berry since his 1997 departure.

    “Nobody really knew it was going to happen,” Kingpins owner Ed Connolly tells Billboard.com. “As a matter of fact, I think it was fairly hit and miss up until the time it happened. I heard they didn’t know if Bill was even going to make it, and I don’t know if they had a chance to rehearse.”

    Connolly, who has known Burton for years, said the actual wedding band was taking a break when he noticed Stipe and company setting up in the bowling alley’s arcade. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I was transfixed. I heard the count in and then ‘Sitting Still,’ and by the time they got to the first chorus, it was packed shoulder to shoulder.”

    The group went on to play some of its most beloved early tunes: “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” (with Mills on vocals), “Wolves, Lower,” “Begin the Begin,” “The One I Love,” “Permanent Vacation” and “Radio Free Europe.”

    “The beauty is that it was in Athens on a warm Saturday night, with the band on the floor with no production,” Connolly says. “I had three old disco mirror balls and they hung them up — that was the extent of the lighting show.”

    As for the possibility of the performance seeing commercial release, Connolly says with a laugh, “If it’s cool with [R.E.M. manager] Bertis [Downs], it’s cool with me.”

  77. 77.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    something will have to be done or else shit will stop functioning.

    Haven’t you been paying attention? Shit stopped functioning after the RWNJs took control of both houses. I certainly wouldn’t call what’s happening on Capitol Hill the last four years or so “functional”

  78. 78.

    cmorenc

    June 22, 2018 at 3:47 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    Chuck Berry was known for that bullshit. That’s one guy I would have flat-out refused to do ANYTHING for under any circumstances, he had a reputation for treating people like absolute shit that frankly was not only deserved, but less known than it should have been.

    Another famous musical artist, the one who just won a Nobel Prize (Bob Dylan) is someone I went to see *once* – NEVER again. His demeanor toward the audience was unforgivably rude and distant – I don’t need a performer to blatantly suck up to the audience, but he never look at or acknowledged the 10-15k people there to see him *once* – didn’t even speak a word to us. What made his bad demeanor stand out even more was that he was doing a doubleheader tour with Willie Nelson, who went on first – Willie has a way of making the audience at his concerts feel like invited guests to a picnic out at his ranch.

  79. 79.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    we’ll know something is wrong and we’ll have to demand new elections

    And? Fantasyland

  80. 80.

    eric

    June 22, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @Amir Khalid: See The Edge.

  81. 81.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @The Moar You Know:
    Heh, James Brown stories aren’t far off. He’d fine band members for what he considered fuckups, on stage and in real time, indicated via flashing hand signals behind his back. A story (apocryphal?) is one show he was busy dancing, got distracted and fell off the stage, signaling band fines on his way down.

    Show biz.

  82. 82.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    @cmorenc: When I saw Miles he had his back turned on the audience the entire show,

  83. 83.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    Jeff Sessions Now Says the Administration “Never Really Intended” to Separate Families. Liar Liar Liar!
    By BEN MATHIS-LILLEY

    JUNE 21, 20185:35 PM

    Attorney general Jeff Sessions tried to do some cleanup on the administration’s unpopular and maybe-disavowed family separation policy in a Thursday interview with Christian broadcaster CBN. Here’s one of the things he said:

    It hasn’t been good and the American people don’t like the idea that we are separating families. We never really intended to do that. What we intended was to make sure that adults who bring children into the country are charged with the crime that they have committed.

    Nope!

    • In March 2017, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked White House chief of staff John Kelly, who was then running the Department of Homeland Security, if DHS was considering a policy that would “separate the children from their moms and dads” at the border. Kelly said that DHS was “considering exactly that” in order to deter other potential undocumented crossings.

    • In May 2018, Kelly was asked during an NPR interview if he supported the now-imminent plan to prosecute all border-crossers in such a way that would separate children from their parents. He answered affirmatively, noting that “the laws are the laws” and “a big name of the game is deterrence.” His interviewer responded that “family separation stands as a pretty tough deterrent,” to which Kelly then said that it would indeed “be a tough deterrent” and would create “a much faster turnaround on asylum seekers.”

    • On a media call in June, a Health and Human Services official reiterated the administration expected and hoped that family separation would result in a deterrence effect.

    And, of course, there was the time on May 7 when attorney general Jeff Sessions literally stood in front of a fence at the California-Mexico border and pretended to talk directly to potential undocumented border-crossers in a speech:

    I have put in place a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal entry on our Southwest border. If you cross this border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It’s that simple. If you smuggle illegal aliens across our border, then we will prosecute you. If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you and that child will be separated from you as required by law.

    Incidentally, according to DHS’ own numbers, groups that include suspected smugglers make up 0.61 percent of the family units apprehended at the border. (The separation policy Sessions was announcing, of course, applied to all family units.)

    In summary, a politician is being dishonest!

  84. 84.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 3:52 pm

    @? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:

    But here’s the thing; historically, the midterm elections go pretty badly for the president’s party.

    This has been repeatedly pointed out to you by other commentors that this is not true.

  85. 85.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    @raven:
    Love the idea somebody could unironically get married at a bowling alley.

  86. 86.

    Ohio Mom

    June 22, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    @germy: As an expert in incarceration used for political purposes, Alexander certainly has her work cut out for her. I wonder if this is a permanent gig or just for a few months.

  87. 87.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    @jl:

    If the trade wars only last a little while,

    Are you familiar with “short victorious war”?

  88. 88.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    President Trump’s roundup of immigrants is beginning to resemble a sort of ethnic cleansing campaign. He’s already proven that he won’t be constrained by our democratic norms, our respect for human rights or even basic human decency. https://t.co/DVGGyrOMLx

    — Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) June 22, 2018

  89. 89.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    As HHS tent city filled with kids, Azar left for college reunion

    Rachel Maddow reports that HHS Secretary Alex Azar, whose purview includes the facilities housing separated migrant kids whose parents can’t find them, skipped out for his college reunion on the day after his agency build a tent city in Texas to house migrant children taken from their parents.

  90. 90.

    Gravenstone

    June 22, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Shh, don’t spoil the kid’s beautiful fantasy.

  91. 91.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    Conscientious objectors to Trump border policy get free legal aid

    Jason Rittereiser, whose law firm has offered free legal representation federal employees who refuse to carry out Donald Trump’s migrant family separation policy, talks with Rachel Maddow about response to the offer both from other lawyers wanting to help and at least five government employees who have reached out for help.

  92. 92.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    Senators push back on DoD over JAGs assigned to immigration cases

    Rachel Maddow reports on a letter sent to Defense Secretary Mattis from Senators Gillibrand, Leahy, and Ernst, asking him to reconsider sending JAGs to border states to help the DoJ prosecute immigration cases.

  93. 93.

    Amir Khalid

    June 22, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    @rikyrah:

    In summary, a politician is being dishonest!

    This is my shocked face.

  94. 94.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    @jl:

    But the point is for mass quantities of citizens to scare the crap out of state and local authorities and enlist them in throwing sand in corrupt and illegitimate federal gears.

    Cue martial law, crackdowns and finding out which side the majority of military and law enforcement stand with.

  95. 95.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    Kids removed from parents by Trump policy suffer lasting trauma

    Dr. Marsha Griffin, pediatrician and co-chair of The American Academy of Pediatrics Special Interest Group on Immigrant Health, talks with Rachel Maddow about the lasting developmental damage done to children when they’re taken away from their parents.

  96. 96.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    Multiple states sue Trump admin to stop family separation policy

    Rachel Maddow reports on a lawsuit filed by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and joined by several other states to stop Donald Trump’s migrant family separation policy.
    Jun.21.2018

  97. 97.

    jl

    June 22, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    @rikyrah: ‘beginning’ to?

  98. 98.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Cue martial law, crackdowns and finding out which side the majority of military and law enforcement stand with.

    Enough apocalypse for one day. Fuck, it’s still late afternoon in the East, can’t you save any of your bullshit for later when Adam will be around to stomp on you?

  99. 99.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Unfortunately, he went to Dartmouth, so he’ll probably get a standing ovation from his classmates. ?

  100. 100.

    rikyrah

    June 22, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    National Enquirer consulted Cohen, Trump on 2016 stories: WaPo

    Rachel Maddow shares reporting from the Washington Post that the National Enquirer sent stories about Donald Trump to Michael Cohen for approval before publishing and took suggestions for stories about Hillary Clinton from Trump.
    Jun.21.2018

  101. 101.

    geg6

    June 22, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    @cmorenc:

    Saw him once myself and was completely insulted by what a jerk he was.

    He was playing the old Civic Arena here in Pittsburgh and Mark Knopfler was playing guitar in his band. Knopfler was the only one entertaining the audience. Dylan literally kept his back turned to the audience for the entire concert. Never once turned around or acknowledged the audience. Asshole. I’ll never see him again. Jerk.

  102. 102.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    @trollhattan: It was great, a little 7 lane joint just up the street!

  103. 103.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    @Ohio Mom: Well, I hope it’s a permanent gig.

  104. 104.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    June 22, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    @TenguPhule: Tengu, cut the paranoia out; Trump isn’t getting demonic aid. Who in the administration has the focus, political experience and the skills to work with the GOP House caucus to craft a detailed plan like that? Manfort is in jail, Bannon is out of power and Trump doesn’t even listen to his own lawyers.

  105. 105.

    Gelfling 545

    June 22, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    @Mnemosyne: My daughter interned in Gillibrand’s local office when she was an undergrad. She says some the phone calls were a hoot. One constituent used to compose a somg based on issues highlighted through the week and call up and sing it to them.

  106. 106.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a performer who was a jerk to the audience or didn’t face them. I think the closest to that was when I saw the Pogues and Shane McGowan would go to the back of the stage to smoke and drink a Heineken when he wasn’t singing lead.

  107. 107.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @geg6: “Contempt for the audience. That’s what killed Dennis Day.”

  108. 108.

    geg6

    June 22, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    You’ve been relentlessly quashing any optimism anyone may feel for the last few days. For a while there, you were getting better to read, but I’m going to start skipping over your comments again. You are killing any hope anyone may ever have. It’s really a bummer to have to use my version of pie on you again, but I can’t take the 24/7 “we’re all gonna die” ranting. I just can’t.

  109. 109.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    June 22, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Dinesh D’Souza got a warm welcome a few months after completing his sentence.

  110. 110.

    Yarrow

    June 22, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    @rikyrah: Since you mentioned the National Enquirer:

    Federal authorities have subpoenaed the publisher of the National Enquirer for records related to its $150,000 payment to a former Playboy model for the rights to her story alleging an affair with Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

    The subpoena from Manhattan federal prosecutors requesting information from the publisher, American Media Inc., about its August 2016 payment to Karen McDougal is part of a broader criminal investigation of Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, they said.

    And just as a matter of interest, when I searched for this article both the WSJ and the NYT came up in the news list as having articles about it.

    WSJ: “Publisher of National Enquirer Subpoenaed in Michael Cohen Probe”

    NYT: “National Enquirer Executives Said to Be Subpoenaed in Cohen Investigation”

    Said to be?

  111. 111.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    @germy: I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin!

  112. 112.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @Yarrow: Sometimes I think the person in charge of writing headlines is the same person in charge of the opinion page.

    Some good reporting from the NYT that is often watered down by the headlines.

  113. 113.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @raven: Oscar Levant got kicked off TV for saying that.

  114. 114.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    @germy:

    Some good reporting from the NYT that is often watered down by the headlines

    Some editor years ago probably included conditional headlines in their style book, and they’ve gone with it ever since.
    They suck, they’re uninformative, and they don’t draw the reader into the story

  115. 115.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 22, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    @germy: Ha! that makes it funnier

  116. 116.

    Gelfling 545

    June 22, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @The Moar You Know: Yes,just as I’d prefer getting secure and affordable health care for all (by Divine intervention or some curious concatenation of circumstances), get the Dreamers legal status, reunite families, etc. though it might risk making Trump and his minions look less bad. We can always count on them to make themselves look bad in some other way anyhow.

  117. 117.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    @germy: I meant to put quotation marks on it!

  118. 118.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Ha! that makes it funnier

    Oscar was a quote machine. He once told an interviewer he’d been kicked out of a mental hospital because he was depressing the other patients.

  119. 119.

    efgoldman

    June 22, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    @germy:

    He once told an interviewer he’d been kicked out of a mental hospital because he was depressing the other patients

    Given his Droopy Dog face and the way he talked, that was a credible joke.
    Yes, I’m old enough to remember him on the TeeVee machine.

  120. 120.

    waysel

    June 22, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    @raven: I hadn’t heard that one. It’s very funny.

  121. 121.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    @efgoldman: I remember a clip of his Jack Paar appearance.

    Paar asked him what he did for exercise.

    “I stumble… and I fall into a coma,” was his reply.

  122. 122.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 22, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    @germy: I used to have a book called the Portable Curmudgeon. As I recall, half of it was quotes and anecdotes from the Algonquin Round Table, including Dorothy Parker saying the whole ART was overrated– a bunch of drunks sitting around asking each other, have you heard the clever thing I said the other day?

  123. 123.

    Amir Khalid

    June 22, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    @The Moar You Know:
    I’ll never get pro enough to hire a guitar tech. Like all the other amateurs I’ll have to learn to be my own tech.

  124. 124.

    Anotherlurker

    June 22, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    @trollhattan: In defense of James Brown, Taj and other “difficult” acts, many of them experienced being ripped off by promoters and othere management.
    Ray Charles was very hip to the big possibility that his work could be recorded and bootlegged.
    Ray had members of his team make sure that any video/audio recording means were un-plugged if he was not one of the acts being recorded.
    One of the best gigs I shot was an up-front. The after show act was the Eagles. We had to unplug our cameras and audio multi, cover the equipment and wait for them to finish their full 90 min. set.
    We were heartbroken.
    Not! We were on O.T and the band kicked ass!

  125. 125.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I think she may have been right about the ART. At least about guys like Alexander Woollcott.

    And who nowadays reads Franklin P. Adams?

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    June 22, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    @germy: I still would’ve liked to sit at the next table and eavesdrop every now and then

    I wouldn’t have wanted to go drink for drink with them, especially Mrs Parker.

  127. 127.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    This may sound like a stretch comparison but lacing a bicycle wheel is also a bit of an artform only attained with a LOT of repetition. I’ve never built a wheel but have re-spoked wheels and am simply no match for someone who builds them routinely. A well-made wheel not only rides better, it’s stronger and remains true much longer. I’m guessing a well-strung guitar stays in tune rather longer, dunno about broken string frequency though.

    @trollhattan: Odd you should mention. My only non-music industry job – up to my current one, which has nothing to do with it – was managing a Performance Bike. And you are spot-on in your assumptions. A properly strung guitar should stay in tune for a long time and yes, it reduces broken strings (a properly set up guitar will NEVER break strings).

    My mechanic built my wheelset – and I had him build it total overkill as I was an urban rider in SF. It took him about four hours. I couldn’t have done it in four weeks. It has never needed truing, even after crashes, and I still ride ’em. Twenty years later.

  128. 128.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: A documentary about them, “The Ten Year Lunch” is on youtube:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ObXzrP4wdc

    “The Ten-Year Lunch,” which won Aviva Slesin an Academy Award in 1987 for best documentary, offers a vivid introduction to the Round Table and its unparalleled wit.

  129. 129.

    eric

    June 22, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    @Amir Khalid: and talk yourself into how your strings are not “that” dirty. and if you dont have locking tuners, go get them…..

  130. 130.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    @efgoldman:
    And? You continuously harass them until they do something. Make their lives unbearable. Mass demonstrations demanding change worked in many eastern European countries at the close of the Cold War.

  131. 131.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?

    June 22, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    That’s funny. I didn’t say it would happen every midterm election, but there is a historical trend. And with these fascist cretins in charge, would you believe the results?

  132. 132.

    trollhattan

    June 22, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    My mechanic built my wheelset – and I had him build it total overkill as I was an urban rider in SF. It took him about four hours. I couldn’t have done it in four weeks. It has never needed truing, even after crashes, and I still ride ’em. Twenty years later.

    Nice. Treasure them!

  133. 133.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    I’ll never get pro enough to hire a guitar tech.

    @Amir Khalid: It’s looking as though I won’t either :)

    Like all the other amateurs I’ll have to learn to be my own tech.

    Been doing it since I was fifteen. In my early fifties now. I love it. I still absolutely love it. Do all my own work and knock out a few guitars (not from parts, either) per year out of my garage – it’s a lot easier when you work in a shop! But since I don’t have room for a lot of the tooling, I end up doing a lot of work by hand, and those aren’t bad skills to have.

  134. 134.

    Jager

    June 22, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    @raven:

    Chuck Berry was weird and cheap, he didn’t have a band and hadn’t for a long time. He get a few locals to back him up, pay scale and move on to the next gig. A friend of mine played drums and was excited as hell to play with Chuck. He and the other locals showed up 3 hours early for a show at a dinner theater, they set up and waited for Chuck to show. About 10 minutes before showtime, Chuck walked in and said, “you guys all know my stuff, just watch me and play along.” No wonder his shows sucked for about the last 40 years of his career.

  135. 135.

    The Moar You Know

    June 22, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    Nice. Treasure them!

    @trollhattan: I do. And the bike they’re on. Last of the really good steel Rockhopper frames, Specialized sent them out to bike shop employees, which I thought was a class move.

  136. 136.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @Jager: And at the show I was at he had the lead payer unplugged because he was too good.

  137. 137.

    Steve in the ATL

    June 22, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    @marcopolo: related question: are you going to Bob Costas bobble head night on Monday?

  138. 138.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 5:06 pm

    @Anotherlurker: I hate the fucking Eagles man. . .

  139. 139.

    Jager

    June 22, 2018 at 5:08 pm

    @trollhattan:

    In Keith Richards’ biography, “Life” he tells a story about the young Stones opening for Brown on a UK Tour. They finally were invited to an after gig party with Brown and his band. One musician was shining JB’s shoes, another pressing his pants, another running out for food, etc. Keith says he was “appalled but Mick was enthralled.” Great book.

  140. 140.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @efgoldman: You expect these assholes to respond rationally to the proposed scenario?

  141. 141.

    Mnemosyne

    June 22, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    @germy:

    He got kicked off twice. The final straw was after Marilyn Monroe converted to Judaism after her marriage to Arthur Miller, and Levant said, “Now that Marilyn is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.”

    On live TV, IIRC.

  142. 142.

    TenguPhule

    June 22, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Russia? Some GOP members with simple self interest? i don’t know why people keep thinking that this has to be a big plan. A few small plans in the right places are just as dangerous and those tight districts should be the ones where attention should be paid,.

  143. 143.

    PJ

    June 22, 2018 at 5:18 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Shane always did that, he wasn’t being rude, it’s just that it’s hard work being an alcoholic and he needed to rest when he wasn’t singing. Besides, otherwise, he’d just be standing there with his mouth half full of teeth doing nothing.

  144. 144.

    Jager

    June 22, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    @raven:

    One of my best radio pals was the program director of an album rock station in Philly in the 70’s, the entire staff hated the fucking Eagles. He told them, “if you hate the fucking Eagles that much, turn down the speakers and take your fucking headset off.”. When he took over WNEW in NYC, the staff told, him “New York isn’t a rock and roll town like Boston and Philly.” Charlie laughed and said, “Lou Reed, Talking Heads, Steely Dan, that guy from Jersey, what’s his name, Bruce something…”

  145. 145.

    Steve in the ATL

    June 22, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    @raven: @The Moar You Know: that fucker also stiffed his lawyers!

  146. 146.

    PJ

    June 22, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    @Jager: Another anecdote I heard was, when Chuck finally showed up, one of the pickup musicians asked him what songs they were going to play, and Chuck turned and said, “We’re going to play some Chuck Berry songs.”

    Sometime in the 90s, the Circle Jerks were playing in St. Louis and the manager came on stage and asked if this old guy could get up and play with them. Greg Hetson: “About halfway through the show, the stage manager hands me a note saying, ‘Chuck Berry is here and he wants to play with you. Is that okay?’ I say, ‘Yes, of course! Bring him up!’ So I unplugged one of my amps and gave him my spare guitar.” Berry calls out for “Roll Over Beethoven” and Hetson turns to bandmate Zander Schloss: “Oh shit, what key? Then I remembered from watching Keith Richards in Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll that most of his songs were in C, so I yell “C!” And we followed his lead. He left before we finished our set so we didn’t get to meet him. Our singer, Keith Morris, heard from the club manager that he thought we were one of the best rock bands he’d ever seen. Who would have thunk?” And here’s Keith Morris about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ9tzt2CN0E

  147. 147.

    germy

    June 22, 2018 at 5:28 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    He got kicked off twice.

    I remember reading his memoirs when I was a teenager. I think there were two books.

    Harpo Marx had some interesting things to say about him in his own autobiography.

    I remember seeing a grainy clip of Oscar’s own (short-lived) TV show. Fred Astaire was the guest. At one point, Astaire reaches out to shake Oscar’s hand. Oscar just stares at him.

    Apparently, shaking hands was one of his phobias or something.

  148. 148.

    raven

    June 22, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    @Jager: Fucking Irving Assoff.

  149. 149.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    @raven:

    Even Joe Walsh’s guitar?

  150. 150.

    Jager

    June 22, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    @debbie:

    Joe was “Fucking Irving Assoff’s idea”.

  151. 151.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    @Jager:

    Not familiar with him, but I liked Walsh’s work on the song Hotel California. Couldn’t stand listening to him speak though.

    ETA::Wiki tells me he was with Ticketmaster. Okay, he’s a schmuck.

  152. 152.

    Raven

    June 22, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    That was old business. I knew Irving when he ran light shows in Champaign

  153. 153.

    Raven

    June 22, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    @debbie: he owns Live Nation. Got his start with bands with Fogleberg and the Eagles.

  154. 154.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    The stories here have been great. All this behind-the-scenes stuff. All I’ve ever been is one of the idiots jumping up and down in front of the speakers.

  155. 155.

    Raven

    June 22, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    @debbie: I don’t know if gunfire or the dead ruined my hearing

  156. 156.

    debbie

    June 22, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    @Raven:

    Yeah, my days of hearing “Yanny” are long gone.

  157. 157.

    Marcopolo

    June 22, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    @germy:@Steve in the ATL: will be in PA through July 1–leave tomorrow.

  158. 158.

    J R in WV

    June 22, 2018 at 10:25 pm

    @marcopolo:

    My congressional district is WV#3 and the candidate is a retired Army Major named Richard Ojeda — a WV Senate member who supports unions, medical cannabis, and who was attacked physically, put in the hospital during hsi last campaign. I’ve been contributing with Actblue on a monthly basis, and I intend to volunteer for whatever I can do in the near future.

    His opponent is some Republican woman, which in this district is a good thing as there are quite a few voters who don’t believe in women running anything past their kitchen. I learned this doing phone work for a female Senate candidate in the election cycle before last. She was defeated by Shelly Moore Capito, now in the US Senate to steal everything not nailed down tight. MS Capito is the daughter of a previous governor of WV, the felon Arch A Moore.

    Please consider kicking in to Richard’s campaign with me. He isn’t a wild eyed progressive like me, but for a Senate candidate I think he’s a pretty good egg. Click here!

    Thanks!

  159. 159.

    Anotherlurker

    June 22, 2018 at 10:27 pm

    @raven: LOL! to each their own.
    They were so good live. Tight. Great harmonies.
    Henley dedicated “Dirty Laundry” to “Rupert Murdoch, that fucking asshole” Gotta love that shout out.

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