Tilting at Windmills

Sunday, August 7, 2011

The Debt Crisis, and the Harlot's Forehead

I had a moment this morning when I just had to go out and, as I told Laurie, "do some mental screaming". The reasons were of faith and finance. I started with the Journal Gazette headline, which summed up the idea that Texas Gov. and 2012 Presidential candidate Rick Perry prayed for our country, our economy, and the decisions being made by our government by the line "Perry asks God to solve U.S. crisis". Which is good if, you being a liberal and unconscious to the mashing of facts to express your opinion, you want to paint Perry as a fundamentalist whacko who'd turn the nation's government into one big church. So it goes any time a person of faith expresses an opinion. Those of you old enough will remember the fathers of these anti-religious bigots saying that JFK's election would make Washington an adjunct to the Papacy because he was "catholic".

Another example came as I watched a morning news program (Fox, because CNBC was busy stimulating the economy by running paid programming) where a conservative girl and liberal fellow were debating the debt ceiling deal. For her credit, at least she was objective; she pointed out not only that the cuts made were just a start of what were needed, but that Defense was "greatly bloated" and that high end tax loopholes need to be closed. She was not ashamed to say that harmful rhetoric pervaded both sides. When Mr. Liberal got his shot, was he willing to be as even handed? Well, his main "points" were:
-The Tea Party was to blame for the S&P downgrade.
-The Tea Party was a bunch of "terrorists" who held up the government and the people to get what they wanted.
-The Tea Party was responsible for the sinking of the Titanic, the explosion of the Hindenburg, and the meltdown at Chernobyl. (Not really on these, but you get the point).

Yes it was THE LIBERAL who could not get past his talking points to have a reasonable, adult discussion. It was THE LIBERAL that thinks that fighting however misguidedly for your economic policy position is just as evil as, say, flying a plane full of people into a building full of people. It was THE LIBERAL who had no intention of saying, "well here's where my side should have given a little". And, it was THE LIBERAL who claimed that the Tea Party had been planning to make the debt ceiling a battleground for the last two years, instead of saying truthfully that the debt ceiling should have been a battleground FOR THE LAST THIRTY YEARS.

I'm not saying that the republicans are fighting for truth, honor and apple pie. Think about this- the stimulus was in essence giving money to rich businessmen to create economic opportunity. A good dictionary would use this as a definition of "trickle-down economics". Yet the same liberal who won't say a word against Obama in the face of the majority opinion that the stimulus failed, are more than happy to say trickle down econ won't work- WHEN THEY ARE THE SAME THING. Meanwhile, republicans assail the stimulus and say that cutting taxes to the corporations will stimulate growth, never admitting that these, too, are the same thing.

You want the truth about economic policy and politics? Here it is: Republicans won't raise taxes, not because of you and I who are down here already screwed, but because the rich and corporations are where they get their power- and that's who is unwilling to pay their fair share, Obama's recent primer on the debt crisis notwithstanding. And, democrats won't cut the spending, or reform entitlements, because the "great unwashed" and the unions are their power base. Behind every bit of rhetoric that either side spews out, the underlying motivation is nothing but self-preservation. Both sides as a group are disingenuous in claiming they are fighting for the little man- they are in a constant fight for nothing more or less than their next election.
I only get pissed at the liberals because they are revisionist historians at the core- willing to tell any lie (and convince the undereducated to believe it) to bolster their cause. At least I hear some conservative voices willing to stand up to the rhetorics and say, "Hey, that's bulls--t," like the lady on Fox did today. Show me a liberal willing to do the same.

In the meantime, we sit here with a narrow bandwidth of time before China and the G20 say, the hell with you, and really put the squeeze to us. And the best solution we can come up with is to print up yet more monopoly money, because nobody wants to stop campaigning for office long enough to commit to working on a real solution. If we weren't in the age of metal detectors, I'd bet money that during the "supercommittee" meetings, someone on the panel would take out a gun and shoot another panelist. Because we talk in protest signs and work together like rutting bucks.

And so, out I went to calm down thinking of what I studied in this morning's Bible reading. One phrase had caught my eye- Jeremiah 3:3:

3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
You have had a harlot’s forehead;
You refuse to be ashamed.

A harlot's forehead, I asked? A perusal of my concordance shows that the Hebrew word translated "forehead" or "brow" connoting something of prominence. In other words, when someone looks at you as a person, what stands out? I have to look at myself in the mirror every moment to see if I have a Christian's forehead, or a harlot's.

And in that idea, I have to ask our government, our political sides: What is your forehead? Republicans, I agree that most Americans are taxed to the limit now, and that spending is where we need to work to eliminate the debt. Can you agree, that $900 for a$7 part tells us that Defense is one of the first places to start? If I agree that just giving money to the corporate heads will not result in jobs, will you agree that tax incentives haven't worked either? Democrats, if I agree that all people, corporations and little guys, must do their part, will you agree that we won't NEED as much if we do not SPEND as much? If I agree that Defense can be reformed, can you agree that rampant social security, welfare, and medicare/medicaid fraud tells us that entitlements need reformed just as badly? If I agree I don't have all the answers, can you agree that I am not a "terrorist" because I didn't agree with yours? Whose forehead do you have?

Quite frankly, I think we all have enough "scarlet letters" that name calling rhetoric only proves the bankruptcy of your mindset. Mind you, I'm not trying to say either side is stupid- but if all you can bring to the table is, "It's their fault", then YOU ARE.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

The 10,00th pageview

And now, the third-ever presentation of the coveted Trophee du Beagle, given for blogging actions above and beyond the call of duty. Today's recipient, for being my 10,000 pageviews, is Bouncin' Barb over at This n' That. Now, Barb just celebrated her first year in the blogoverse Friday, and already has a large core of faithful followers, including yours truly. She is without a doubt one of the best storytellers out there, and well worth a visit. So hit the link, already! And thank you, ma'am, for your contribution to TAW history.

The great 1960's countdown, week two

Before we get going, I'd like to thank somebody from the vicinity of Longs, South Carolina, because you were my 10,000th page view! I'd tell you to e-mail me for some great prize, but that isn't in the realm of financial consideration right now. However, if you'd like to be presented with the coveted Trophee du Beagle and get yer blog pimped over here, let me know who you are and I certainly will!

Back to the countdown of my 300-strong list of my favorite sixties songs. If you are interested in all the relevant disclaimers, go to the week one post, right here. As for the rest of you, we pick up at # 280.

280. Sunshine Of Your Love, Cream. There are some songs that just seemed to have a power beyond their music and lyrics, and Cream was a master at this.

279. Yesterday, Beatles. Of the million or so Beatles songs, 11 of them make my countdown starting here. I had an old gf who used to make me sing this to her over the phone. Why I don't know, it wasn't "our" song and I'm not all that great a singer. (And that may well be charitable.)

278. Cherish, The Association. A band that definitely got short shrift in the mayhem, only this one song makes it in. That despite Windy, Never My Love, Everything That Touches You, and Pandora's Golden Heebee Jeebies. The Beach Boys-like hook at the end gets it in.

277. Inna Gadda Da Vida, Iron Butterfly. This song fits the description I gave for Sunshine Of Your Love. And can you really have a sixties countdown without it?

276. If I Had A Hammer, Trini Lopez. This song brings back memories of being little kids with my nephew and niece and playing the 45 at 78. Good Times!

275. Tell Laura I Love Her, Ray Peterson. They called it "death rock" back then- songs like Last Kiss, Teen Angel, and this. Some stations, I gather, even banned such songs, not that it did them any good. They were good, tear-jerking songs, and I loved most of them. (Which means, "You won't find Leader Of The Pack on this countdown.")

274. Love Is Here And Now You're Gone, The Supremes. These gals were hot and cold for me musically-hence they make but 4 appearances on this countdown- but the ones I liked I really liked. When I was four or five I had such a crush on Diana Ross. That faded long before she and Michael Jackson began to meld into one person.

273. The Stripper, David Rose. Is there a guy that wouldn't have this on his list? Really?

272. Baby Don't Go, Sonny and Cher. This one, and not the ubiquitous I Got You Babe, is the duo's lone rep on this countdown. That mandolin part just melts me.

271. Crimson and Clover, Tommy James and the Shondells. I really liked their more psychedelic stuff like this more than the run of the mill stuff like Mony Mony or Hanky Panky. They'll be back 2 more times.

270. Tracks Of My Tears, Smoky Robinson and the Miracles. This really brings home the sheer amount of good music back then to me- this is the only one from the Motown Miracles that I managed to squeeze in. And of course, I took the song that got short shrifted the most on the charts (as I noted in a previous Time Machine post). But really, the next closest for me was probably Mickey's Monkey.

269. Needles And Pins, The Searchers. This song has been done by a ton of acts, including Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This is my favorite, though, with the way it so smoothly rolls from verse to chorus without missing a beat.

268. The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, Walker Brothers. You don't hear this one a lot anymore, and that's too bad.

267. I Can't Stop Loving You, Ray Charles. According to Billboard, this was the number one song when Laurie and I were born (5 days apart!) The second of Ray's two times on the chart.

266. Theme To A Summer Place, The Lettermen. I never knew there was words to this until I stumbled onto the Lettermen a few years back. I love the vocal groups, and the Lettermen will be back later.

265. Woman, Woman, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. In addition to one of the coolest names for a band in history, Puckett's powerful voice made him a favorite of mine. Especially that last "Have you got CHEEE-ting on your MII-I-I-IND" where he hits the high spots.

264. It's My Life, The Animals. These guys really became one of my favorites over the last few years, and have 5 songs on the countdown. Despite the abject selfishness of the lyrics, you gotta love the voice of Eric Burdon.

263. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Mainly to show Diana Ross how this song SHOULD be done.

262. I Love How You Love Me, Bobby Vinton. If I haven't mentioned it yet, there'll be a LOT of the Polish Prince on this countdown. He was my mom's favorite, and she passed him down to me. He's Mine, you can't have Him!!! LOL

261. In The Ghetto, Elvis Presley. The second of the King's two charters. If this don't make you cry, well, move up a few years and listen to Don't Cry Daddy. For me, though, this works.

And that, believe it or not, makes 20 for this week. As we fade out, listen to one of those Association songs that didn't quite make the cut. See you next week!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Rikuzen Takata update #7

I was hoping to do this last weekend, but a plea for info from a certain reporter has thus far fell on deaf ears. One thing that has framed the entire concept of recovery for Rikuzen and nearby towns is that the area is over 2/3 65 years old and up, and was in a steady decline even before the disaster. And much of the heart of the city's youth fell in the tsunami- I just saw a report that when the harbor's tsunami gates failed to close, 45 young firemen gave their lives trying to shut them manually.

And the courage needed to live on is just as great. As the weather warmed, flies bred in the still-unremoved debris, nearly swamping the town again. Eradication measures by the government had soon cut the fly population by 90%, according to one resident, but it still had him catching 100 flies a night in three traps. The Japan Pest Control Assn. sent in a crew of 4,000 to assist. They decided to assess the size of the problems by setting traps at various locations in each city and checking them at 20-minute intervals. In Rikuzen's Osabe district, they were totalling 300 per count. Some other cities were registering as many as 2,800 catches, and the 20 garbage pickup sites in nearby Kamaishi were catching 22 lbs. of flies per week.

Another problem as the weather changed is that the bulk of clothes donated to relief agencies were winter items such as heavy coats- great when the quake hit in March, not so good now.

The age demographic there has also caused a crisis in care for the elderly. Many have relatives in various states of dementia, aggravated by the conditions. To care for them in the temporary homes most people who have homes live in is near-impossible; the government lifted capacity restrictions on care centers such as hospitals for the emergency, but many are worried over what they'll do when the government re-instates the regulations.

Heroes arise to try to bring life back to a semblance of normalcy. One is Akishi Sasaki, coach of Takata High School's baseball team. The school building is gone, the ball field a relief camp. The kids journey to Ofunato to learn in a once abandoned school; the players practice wherever, and play where they find open diamonds. In July, the team competed in the national tournament's first round. Many from the city followed them. Most of the boys had lost homes; none were killed, but a star pitcher had to move out of the area to live with relatives. A picture of him took his place on the bench as the team lost a lead and the game, 5-2. Afterwards, the man who'd held them together talked to them.On the grass outside the stadium, Mr. Sasaki, the coach, gathered his players. "Without a doubt, you guys will build the future of Takata," he told them. "You've experienced a lot. But you've come out stronger."

Another hero is Masaru Kumagai. Once the curator of the Sea and Shell Museum, he is now the de facto curator of the main municipal museum, which lost much of its collection and all of its staff in the wave (including his own mentor, Masahiko Sato). Bit by bit the trained archaeologist has led his volunteers in recovering items from the muck and debris, including a set of 1,200 year old sword blades.

Also among the finds are the Yoshida diaries, documents from the shogunate period dating back hundreds of years and severely damaged by the water. He realizes that rebuilding the museum will cost millions of Yen and is probably out of reach. But Kumagai was "raised by the museum," and lives it every day.

Yet another is 66 year old Mitsuaki Kinno. A volunteer, he runs the public bathhouse that has become an essential public meeting place. At its height when everyone was homeless, the baths (known as Fukko no Yu, or "a bath for recovery") served 300 people a day; now that there are some with at least temporary housing it runs about 1/3 of that. Still, it is so popular- and necessary from a societal perspective- that a planned shut down date of late July was cancelled. While Kinno doesn't know how much longer he'll be able to do the exhausting job, he has no intention to give up while it- and he- is needed.

Hope, though, goes on. The Singapore Red Cross announced in a report dated today that they had raised S$ 34.4 million ($28.2 million USD), of which S$11 million (just over 9 mill American) will go to building a hall/evacuee center in Rikuzen. But the real battle is if the young people like coach Sasaki's team will actually stay to do the job, or if the exodus from the aging northeast of Japan will accelerate.

Much like the heroic efforts to save that one remaining tree, it remains to be seen if even heroic efforts can succeed. For the tree, we might know as soon as next spring if any of the desperate measures tried will end up saving the tree. For the city itself, the results are going to be much more long term.

Step into my time machine week sixty-seven

Thirty-five years ago this week, America's Today Is The day, with vocals by Dan Peek,was sliding down the charts. Two Sundays past, Dan joined his Lord in Heaven, dying in his sleep at the age of 60. The next Friday we lost a less familiar name- Gene McDaniels. Gene had three top tens in 1961, the biggest being 100 Pounds Of Clay; he was also a gifted songwriter, his greatest success being Roberta Flack's Feel Like Making Love.

At Time Machine, we go back 35 years to the pop charts of this week in 1976- a week in which Legionnaire's disease was first being discovered in the unexplained death of 29 conventioneers, and a day in which Big Ben would have a catastrophic failure, not telling the time again in London for nine long months. However, time would keep moving, and we are left to look back, and mine is a musical look back. This week, We not only get a new top dog, we get a bunch of birthdays, a very unusual chart record held by Domingo Samudio, and a twisty-turny six degrees that winds around not only the Almost But Not Quite feature, but Charles Manson as well. Strap in, kids, and keep yer arms inside the vehicle!

We had 6 hot 100 debuts this week, but despite some very familiar names, only one of our birthday songs get the nod, and it too will tie into the Almost But Not Quite shoutout- Chicago's If You Leave Me Now, at #76. As we wish this song a happy 35th, here are some other songs celebrating birthdays this week:
Turning 40 this week: Donny Osmond's Go Away Little Girl; the Partridge Family's I Woke Up In Love this Morning; Stevie Wonder's If You Really Love Me; Joan Baez's The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down; Lee Michael's Do You Know What I Mean; and The Moody Blues with The Story In Your Eyes, which is one of their most underrated songs.

I've been thinking about our fortune

And I've decided that we're really not to blame
For the love that's deep inside us now
Is still the same

And the sounds we make together
Is the music to the story in your eyes
It's been shining down upon me now
I realize

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
We're part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day

But I'm frightened for your children
That the life that we are living is in vain
And the sunshine we've been waiting for
Will turn to rain

When the final line is over
And It's certain that the curtain's gonna fall
I can hide inside your sweet sweet love
For ever more

Celebrating 45th birthdays this week are the double sided cut from Pet Sounds, Wouldn't It Be Nice/God Only Knows, perhaps the Beach Boys greatest effort; and Jr. Walker and the All-Stars version of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).

And on the hook for 50 years are: Barry Mann's Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp-She-Bomp); and the classic melody Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight? by Lonnie Donnegin and the Skiffle Group. "Blow out the candles..."

The big mover this week is Orleans' Still The One, which rises 18 spots to 43; the big dropper is Never Gonna Fall In Love Again, slipping 11 to 59, and Last Child, which falls the same to 32. And Sara Smile stubbornly hangs on to the Grandpa chair, having fallen only from 44 to 48 in the last four weeks to run its total to 26 weeks on the chart.

This week's look at the top dogs of other years is up to the sixes once again, which means that next week the 1990's entry will be off the Billboard chart. For you newbies, this chart data is from Cashbox (because cashbox doesn't cost 17 bucks a month to look at), and they stopped publishing in 1996. Anywho, the #1 song this week in '96 was Toni Braxton's You're Making Me High/Let It Flow; in 1986 it was former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel with Sledgehammer; 1976 was **** WAIT TILL WE GET UP THERE!! ***. The number one in 1966 was Domingo Samudio (AKA Sam The Sham) and the Pharoah's Lil' Red Riding Hood, which brings up a curious record that Sam held. It was with their first hit, Wooly Booly. Despite peaking at #2, Wooly Booly went on to be Billboard's top song for the year in 1965- a feat that wouldn't be matched for another 35 years. And the top dog this week in 1956 was the Platters' version of My Prayer- a song that Glenn Miller took to #2 and the Ink Spots to #3 waaaay back in 1939.

Next we come to #49, which is our Where Are They Now segment. And in true Rundgren-esque fashion, we have a Michael McDonald composition here for the second straight week. This time, though, it's the Doobie Brothers' sliding Taking It To The Streets.The Doobies are still touring today, 41 years after Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston founded the band. Along the way, four members have joined Dan Peek in rock and roll heaven- founder Dave Shogren (1999), Keith Knudsen (2005), and later members Bobby LaKind (2004) and Cornelius Bumpus (2004). The membership has fluctuated over the years, including a 1987 reunion tour to raise money for veterans that brought all iterations of the group together and on some songs featured 2 lead singers, 4 lead guitarists, and 4 drummers (but were running short on bass guitarists, apparently!). Besides Tom and Patrick, today's lineup included Michael Hossack (joined 1971), John McFee(1979), Skylark(1995), Guy Allanson (1998), Marc Russo (1998), and Ed Toth (2005). John Cowan, a 1993 inductee, is filling in for Skylark who's recovering from a stroke, and McDonald occasionally makes special guest appearances.

Hitting the top 40 for the first time this week are War with Summer, climbing 4 to 37, and Cliff Richard with Devil Woman, jumping a fast 13 to #30.

We have two honorees on the previously-mentioned Almost But Not Quite this week. First, Chicago's Another Rainy Day In New York City begins its fall from last week's high of 33 to 35. Ironically, the record company had had so many calls for this week's debut, If You Leave Me Now, that they ceased promoting the Rainy Day single and quick-released the other just seven weeks later. The other is Rock'N'Roll Music by the Beach Boys which drops from a peak of 11 to 19 this week. Among the many ironic things we learn about this song today is that Brian Wilson conceived this entire lp (15 Big Ones) to be an oldies compilation. The rest of the band wanted new stuff, and wanted it fast to take advantage of the momentum that Endless Summer had gave them. The result was a half oldies album, which featured not only R&RM but Chapel Of Love, Palisades Park, Blueberry Hill, and In The Still Of The Night. We'll get to more of the irony part when we get to 6 degrees in a bit.

Two songs join the top ten, two drop out. Falling are You're My Best Friend from 9 to 12, and Love Is Alive from 6 to 14. And Breezin' by George Benson remains the top album this week.

Lou Rawls breaks into the top ten at 10 this week, moving up five with You'll Never Find (Another Love Like Mine), yet another graduate of the BJ Thomas school of unnecessarily long titles. Also joining the top 10 this week are the Brothers Gibb with You Should Be Dancing. Seals and Crofts are up 2 spots to 8 with Get Closer. John Travolta drops a pair to 7 with Let Her In. Starbuck slips 3 to #6 with the setting Moonlight Feels Right. At 5, down 3, is the former top dog Kiss And Say Goodbye by the Manhattans. Wings blast up 4 to #4 with Let 'Em In. Which brings us to #3, and our six degrees featuree- Got To Get You Into My Life by the Beatles.

First, let me say that a Beatles six degrees is uniquely challenging, because of the sheer amount of directions you can go. And I sifted through a bunch of them to find this one. The song, originally on the lp Revolver, was to be on a new compilation album Capitol was putting out called (irony) Rock And Roll Music. Without going into the huge amount of headaches with song choices, remixes, and cover art that this album put everyone associated with it through, we go on to find that GTGYIML was actually supposed to be the b-side of the single. The A-side? Helter Skelter. Now that song (from the White Album) was actually about an amusement park ride, but got damned by association with Charles Manson. Not coincidentally, the TV docudrama about Manson, also called Helter Skelter, was in release; and somehow, someone got enough good sense to say, maybe we should push the b-side instead. You see, Manson, or Jesus Christ as he thought himself, had decided that the White album was a coded prophecy by the Beatles indicating that the race-war apocalypse Manson was preaching was about to happen, and that the Beatles were encouraging him to get it started. Now Manson considered himself to have musical talent, and wanted to record an album that would be the trigger for the blacks to rise up, kill all the whites (except the family, who would then come out to lead them since blacks couldn't possibly govern themselves). Into this conveniently drops Dennis Wilson, the drug-addled drummer for the Beach Boys, who gave a ride to 2 female hitchhikers who were members of the family. Manson saw the chance, and had the two get "picked up" again by Wilson a few days later. They talked him into bringing them home to his mansion, which became Manson's foot in the door. Dennis thought he saw some talent in Manson (and he and Terry Melcher actually helped him record a track, originally called Cease To Exist, which got cleaned up, name-changed, and put on a later album.) But soon, the violent nature of Manson got to him and Melcher, and Dennis did what any self-respecting rich hippie would do- he moved out, leaving Manson to do whatever. What he did was leave a note with a bullet with Dennis' maid, which scared Melcher so bad that he broke his lease and moved, the real estate agent then leasing his home to- altogether now- Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. Just to wrap this all up, consider that both Got To Get You Into My Life and Rock'N'Roll Music entered the chart the same week, and peak the same week- on Cashbox, the Beatles hit #3 and the Boys #11. On Billboard, it was the Boys peaking at #5 and the Beatles at #7. Go figure.

One more note about the Beatles. With this song at #3 this is the first time the Beatles had been in the top 3 since the last week of June, 1970, a span of 616 weeks. For some perspective: from 1964 to 1970, the longest that the Beatles had been out of the top 3 is 23 weeks. This happened twice- between Yellow Submarine and Penny Lane, and between Hey Jude and Get Back.

Which at long last brings us to the top two. And with Afternoon Delight dropping out of the top spot for the second time, that means that our new top dog jumps all the way from #7-

Elton John and Kiki Dee, with Don't Go Breaking My Heart!!! Okay, kids, that's it for this week. Tune in Saturday for week 2 of the Great Sixties countdown, and right back here next week!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Bobcat And The Damage Done- with profuse apologies to Neil Young

I took a drive to the grocery store
I saw the red fox I had watched before
Dead... gone... the damage done

I went to the meadow to ease the pain
Another wild land easily swept away
Gone.. gone.. the damage done

Once a meadow... soon a soccer field

The trail, partially stoned

Once thick brush... now...?

I lived a life since nineteen-fifty-nine
I watched the deer as they passed me by
They are gone and so am I....

I sing the song because I loved the land
I know that those in charge don't understand
let it alone, to keep from running out...