The Joy and Pain of Being a Rugged Individualist

Wooden Ships -- Paul Kantner

What better tribute could Paul Kantner ask for than giving a listen to Wooden Ships? 

Crosby, Stills and Nash's version was better known, but Paul Kantner co-wrote it.  The Jefferson Airplane's version (from their Volunteers album) is far far superior.

R.I.P.

Exclusive Preview of Obama's State of the Union Speech Tonight

Bernie Sanders: Please DON'T undermine your campaign speeches with too many policy specifics

This column by Gail Collins, Cornering the Anger Market, makes some excellent points.  It's a wake-up call to all Democratic candidates who think they can capture the voters' attention with specific step-by-step plans.  Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have been the most successful at stoking the voters' fear and loathing.

Unfortunately, Donald Trump is shrewd enough to NOT strain his audiences' intelligence by boring them, or going over their heads, with any specific plans or details.  “I'm gonna build a huuuuuge wall and make those dirty Mexicans pay for it!”  “Take that Muslim bitch's overcoat away from her and throw her out in the snowbank!”  The audience goes into an orgasmic frenzy of hatred, and they don't even have to comprehend any big words or listen to any boring details.

Bernie Sanders is just as skilled at dialing into the public's anger, and he doesn't even have to scapegoat poor people, minorities or refugees.  “Congress does not regulate Wall Street … WALL STREET REGULATES CONGRESS!”

“[Wachovia, an American bank later acquired by Wells Fargo] aided Mexican drug cartels by laundering billions of dollars in their cash. Yet the total fine for this offense was less than 2 percent of the bank’s $12.3 billion profit … and no one went to jail. No one went to jail.”

“If you [financial barons] do not end your greed, we will end it for you.”

All right!  But then Bernie takes the wind out of his sails by following up his rhetoric with step-by-step details on how he's going to accomplish this.  NO!!!  Damn it, Bernie, this is America!  Most voters don't give a fuck about (or comprehend) the derivatives market, reinstating Glass-Steagall, yada yada.  Huh???  Do what now?  Oh look, something shiny!

The follow short comedy clip should be a constant reminder for any politician who might forget who his/her audience is, and how to communicate with them:

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And now the News...

This pretty well sums it up...

The War on Drugs, and Militarized Police Departments' Targeting of Black Citizens: the Prequel

Check out this statement from one of Richard Nixon's most infamous enforcers, the late and unlamented John Ehrlichman:

“The Nixon Campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar Left, and Black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or Black. But by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

Let's hope this Nazi scumbag twisted slowly in the wind before he finally died.

Can the GOP keep on selling the same old platform?