What Was

One of the things Russell Brand nails in his touching tribute and farewell to Amy is his description of what communicating with an addict is, the "barely discernible but un-ignorable veil... [They] look through you to somewhere else they'd rather be. And of course, they are."


I lived that, and am now experiencing that with someone close to me. It may sound strange to some on the outside, but this person's addiction isn't drugs, alcohol or even sex, and in many ways is much more pernicious. To them, I can only say, that the answer you seek is ease itself, hidden in plain sight, and that if you had the power the words alone would unlock the chains. And while it's painful to watch you twist and turn in the wind, I rest my hope for you in the simple fact that if a wretch like me can find it, then anyone can.


What was so remarkable about Amy went beyond her phenomenal voice, and spoke to history, the fact that her roots went straight to the greats like Dinah. It's her acknowledgement of standing on the shoulders of giants that deepened my appreciation of her as an artist. As I write this, I'm listening to a demo of Amy singing Love is a Losing Game with just her and guitar. At the end, just now, she nonchalantly asked the engineer, "Is that alright?" What a weird, wonderful moment.


For Amy
by Russell Brand
July 24th, 2011

When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. There will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they’ve had enough, that they’re ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it’s too late, she’s gone.

Frustratingly it’s not a call you can ever make it must be received. It is impossible to intervene.

I’ve known Amy Winehouse for years. When I first met her around Camden she was just some twit in a pink satin jacket shuffling round bars with mutual friends, most of whom were in cool Indie bands or peripheral Camden figures Withnail-ing their way through life on impotent charisma. Carl Barrat told me that “Winehouse” (which I usually called her and got a kick out of cos it’s kind of funny to call a girl by her surname) was a jazz singer, which struck me as bizarrely anomalous in that crowd. To me with my limited musical knowledge this information placed Amy beyond an invisible boundary of relevance; “Jazz singer? She must be some kind of eccentric” I thought. I chatted to her anyway though, she was after all, a girl, and she was sweet and peculiar but most of all vulnerable.

I was myself at that time barely out of rehab and was thirstily seeking less complicated women so I barely reflected on the now glaringly obvious fact that Winehouse and I shared an affliction, the disease of addiction. All addicts, regardless of the substance or their social status share a consistent and obvious symptom; they’re not quite present when you talk to them. They communicate to you through a barely discernible but un-ignorable veil. Whether a homeless smack head troubling you for 50p for a cup of tea or a coked-up, pinstriped exec foaming off about his “speedboat” there is a toxic aura that prevents connection. They have about them the air of elsewhere, that they’re looking through you to somewhere else they’d rather be. And of course they are. The priority of any addict is to anaesthetise the pain of living to ease the passage of the day with some purchased relief.

From time to time I’d bump into Amy she had good banter so we could chat a bit and have a laugh, she was “a character” but that world was riddled with half cut, doped up chancers, I was one of them, even in early recovery I was kept afloat only by clinging to the bodies of strangers so Winehouse, but for her gentle quirks didn’t especially register.

Then she became massively famous and I was pleased to see her acknowledged but mostly baffled because I’d not experienced her work and this not being the 1950’s I wondered how a “jazz singer” had achieved such cultural prominence. I wasn’t curious enough to do anything so extreme as listen to her music or go to one of her gigs, I was becoming famous myself at the time and that was an all consuming experience. It was only by chance that I attended a Paul Weller gig at the Roundhouse that I ever saw her live.

I arrived late and as I made my way to the audience through the plastic smiles and plastic cups I heard the rolling, wondrous resonance of a female vocal. Entering the space I saw Amy on stage with Weller and his band; and then the awe. The awe that envelops when witnessing a genius. From her oddly dainty presence that voice, a voice that seemed not to come from her but from somewhere beyond even Billie and Ella, from the font of all greatness. A voice that was filled with such power and pain that it was at once entirely human yet laced with the divine. My ears, my mouth, my heart and mind all instantly opened. Winehouse. Winehouse? Winehouse! That twerp, all eyeliner and lager dithering up Chalk Farm Road under a back-combed barnet, the lips that I’d only seen clenching a fishwife fag and dribbling curses now a portal for this holy sound. So now I knew. She wasn’t just some hapless wannabe, yet another pissed up nit who was never gonna make it, nor was she even a ten-a-penny-chanteuse enjoying her fifteen minutes. She was a fucking genius.

Shallow fool that I am I now regarded her in a different light, the light that blazed down from heaven when she sang. That lit her up now and a new phase in our friendship began. She came on a few of my TV and radio shows, I still saw her about but now attended to her with a little more interest. Publicly though, Amy increasingly became defined by her addiction. Our media though is more interested in tragedy than talent, so the ink began to defect from praising her gift to chronicling her downfall. The destructive personal relationships, the blood soaked ballet slippers, the aborted shows, that youtube madness with the baby mice. In the public perception this ephemeral tittle-tattle replaced her timeless talent. This and her manner in our occasional meetings brought home to me the severity of her condition. Addiction is a serious disease; it will end with jail, mental institutions or death. I was 27 years old when through the friendship and help of Chip Somers of the treatment centre, Focus12 I found recovery, through Focus I was introduced to support fellowships for alcoholics and drug addicts which are very easy to find and open to anybody with a desire to stop drinking and without which I would not be alive.

Now Amy Winehouse is dead, like many others whose unnecessary deaths have been retrospectively romanticised, at 27 years old. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrelevant. It is not preventable today. We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease. Not all addicts have Amy’s incredible talent. Or Kurt’s or Jimi’s or Janis’s, some people just get the affliction. All we can do is adapt the way we view this condition, not as a crime or a romantic affectation but as a disease that will kill. We need to review the way society treats addicts, not as criminals but as sick people in need of care. We need to look at the way our government funds rehabilitation. It is cheaper to rehabilitate an addict than to send them to prison, so criminalisation doesn’t even make economic sense. Not all of us know someone with the incredible talent that Amy had but we all know drunks and junkies and they all need help and the help is out there. All they have to do is pick up the phone and make the call. Or not. Either way, there will be a phone call.

The Death Stars

I didn't get to finish this, it has some more work but I've lost interest. Still it shows what one can do while listening to interviews with the Net, Photoshop fired up, and a healthy dose of Travis Bickle revenge toward the Evil Empire.

To borrow Joe Nocera's & Bethany McLean's title, All The Devils are Here. Well, 32 of them. Next up, all of the hack msm journalists and analysts who got EM08 completely wrong, and in some cases, insisted things were ok leading up to the fall of '08. In fact, I know someone in real estate 10 months ago who is still drinking bubble flavored kool aid, trying to convince peeps the market bottomed and it was a good time to buy. I checked his ass so hard he acted like Jack Tatum hit him. Then, only a month ago he wrote to tell me (and others) yet again, that real estate was a good move.

That after almost a year of deleveraging and way more to go, plus all of the uncertainty and mess around mortgage gate, not to mention no one's talking about the disaster CRE is, with over a trillion there waiting to jack us into Judgement Day. Ah, como es la guerra.

What I tell peeps is that while there have been empires past, because of the limitations in technology, they were bound to colonies. But in the EM08 world, we have the first true world empire, and its madness has infected everyone; this is why what's happening in the EU has huge consequences everywhere else. And, we have some of the walking puss sacks below to thank, many paid by you. How's that for bending us over twice?  Here then are the biggest thugs in history, the Death Star's Hitmen and the Dark Side's agents. 

Some of these are easy, but without cheating, I bet you can't name all of them.

Razzing the Death Star

When it comes to hubris, if Goldman Sachs were a porn star and everyone else had a 10 inch weenie, Goldman would somehow have a 2 footer. And no, they wouldn't care what women had to say.

Said hubris is usually -- when it's called at all -- associated with Goldman's penchant for fixing games, lying and all around corruption when it comes to bets. In his notorious Wall Street memoir, Liar's Poker, Michael Lewis said of Salomon Brothers, his old firm and the head of the snake that would become the mortgage backed securities game, that you never wanted to be on the other side of the bet with them. And if Salomon was Darth Vader, Goldman is surely the Death Star.

But here's an aspect of the Goldman Death Star -- the kind, warm den on a cool autumn afternoon Goldman. You know, snuggly and fuzzy, in a Death Star kinda way. Take a look at their ad banner below; the black man as the object of Goldman Death Star affection and the way Goldman is touted as a catalyst for communities. (!!!)  That would be even more hilarious were it not running against the stark irony reality check of the story headline. Let the community support -- and eye rolling

click to enlarge

Killer Nanny

I'm a Comcast Ho. Yeah, AND...?

Straight out of the opening of Blue Velvet's weird bugs underneath the white picket fence crawls Stepford Wife in her wildest dreams Meredith Atwell Baker, although one imagines the wildest this puss gets is sneaking squirts from the Reddi Whip can at midnight. It's all over the news about how she sold out her FCC commmish position to Comcast and is now -- in the finest aping of Phil "the walking hemorrhoid" Gramm -- leaving the FCC to join -- ta da -- Comcast.

As we know from EM08, such conflicts of interest are nothing new, the so-called "revolving door" between uncle scam's chamber of horrors bureaucracy and the corporate boardrooms of hell where creepy old men take 3 hour strip club lunches and jack their jollies as they dream of new ways to rape and pillage. You know, like the scorpion said about it being "his nature"....

But while Philly Gramm's joining UBS barely tweaked the msm in terms of conflicts of interest, somehow even the HuffPo has run Baker's story fairly prominently. In fact, my in box had several messages screaming about this.

So what can we expect out of this ink? Vegas is putting the line at "blah blah blah"; there'll be some minor talk from the msm and of course unc scam. Just as with all of the hot gas when unc scam "investigated" EM08 (the FCIC). That's about it.

Purple Pain: Mavs Sweep, End of an Era

Even a billion douches can't keep him from believing it, either.

After losing the third game in their second round playoff series versus the Mavs, I penned a letter to my Laker friends. And yes, I call the Lakers the "Lakes" - it's an old habit, so buy an rpg and shoot me.


With today's slaughter, the "Mother's Day Massacre" which saw the Lakes meltdown like our economy, the public rape and torture is at least over. The Mavs were unstoppable, and everything I said about game 3 applies in spades.


Now that Phil's gone, it may be time to bring in Coop to lead them. Here's a guy who has the champion and Lakes pedigree, played with the greatest floor general the game will ever see who happens to be an owner and vp, and obviously has expressed interest with his coaching stint in the WNBA.


And then there's the sad spectacle of Pau's meltdown. Pau, as talented a big in the league, was just sad to watch. LakerNation's David brickley put it into perspective:

Gasol’s struggles are mental; there is no other way to explain it. After he fails at something on the court Pau shrugs his shoulders, hangs his head, and complains to the refs.He is not performing at even close to what he is capable of when the Lakers need him, and it seems as if he doesn’t even care.Or at least comes off like he doesn’t have the answers to fix his issues.He gets paid 17.8 million dollars per year to be the Robin to Kobe Bryant’s Batman.The Lakers traded a player away for Gasol that Laker fans couldn’t stand, and what many call the biggest draft bust in history, Kwame Brown.Kwame Brown in the 2006 playoffs with the Lakers averaged 13 points per game, while shooting 53% from the field, and pulling down 7 rebounds per game.Pau Gasol in the 2011 playoffs with the Lakers is averaging 13 points per game, while shooting 42% from the field, and pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game.Look familiar?

$17.8 mil is a ton of meltdown money. It really is sad. Kinda weird, too.


Let this series be a harsh reminder that while the Lakes were loaded with talent -- much more so than the Mavs -- they were completely dominated and swept. It is one of the most stunning upsets in sports ever. And for that, give credit of course to Nowitski, Terry, Barea (super off the bench), and Rick Carlisle, who outcoached Phil at every turn of the road. Oh, and old man Jason Kidd.


=================================


From May 7, 2011 after the game 3 loss.


Dear Chicky Baby Fan Club,

The hated Celtics in their game 3 with Miami today did what I had hoped the Lakes would do Friday in theirs; they got attitude. That may sound like mumbo jumbo to those of you who know me; that when it comes to sports, it should be about strategy, tactics and techniques. But psychology is arguably the bigger part of sports, and in this area, I think the Lakes have just burned out. Not even Phil thumping Pau's chest can revive this patient. So, to drown my sorrows I'm going to torture y'all with my breakdowns of why -- in my boy MM's words -- the party's ova for the Lakes.

One thing first; Imo, the series at worst should be 2-1 Mavs. In fact, I think all three games have very key correctable reasons -- different in each game but related in one overall aspect. Here we go....

GAME 1

The Mavs were down by 16 in the third. The first game thus set an ominous tone, but I think the very last play said a lot about why we're now down by 3, and it's this; WHY when you have to score, would you go for a 3??? I don't care if it's Yoda shooting with the aid of The Force, Kobe shot a 25 footer - at best a 45% proposition. And, if I remember correctly, it wasn't a clear shot, and I believe he was falling away, thus compounding the degree of difficulty.

Percentage basketball says; work for a good percentage shot, or at least (some would say this would be option 1), drive and increase your odds of getting to the foul line.

The Lakes instead made the worst choice that makes the least sense (Phil and staff are sounding like our government, right?). That's a basic, fundamental tactical mistake - a big one, at a big time in a big game.

GAME 2

The Lakes have never been a distance shooting team. There have been anomalies -- Coop in the day could hoist. Zeke from Cabin Creek could gun (in one of the most remarkable achievements ever, he averaged 43 through a playoff series). Despite history and Chicky Baby rolling his eyes from the grave, the Lakes continued their assault on the "worst distance shooting in a playoff game" record. At one point I think Mike Breen said they were 2 for 20 when yet another 3 was launched.

My head couldn't explode anymore because the damage had been done way before.

Yet again, another violation of basic strategy which says; if something isn't working, you must change, shift gears.

GAME 3

Obviously this was a disaster, but in a game that will rank in Purp & Gold infamy, when everyone else was out of it, Shannon Brown came off the bench and gave the Lake body on the gurney a desperately needed transfusion, much like Coop in the day did. I've long been a fan of this kid, and believe he should have been developed better. So anyway, what does Phil do after this kid puts on a terrific show?

He takes him out.

And the Lakes corpse -- once again -- reverts back to dying on the gurney, its adrenaline rush soon to be forgotten.

Once again, this is a violation of a cardinal strategic rule; never change a winning tactic. Remember in game 2 when Carlisle put in Barea and the way that kid turned on the Mavs as if a turbo charger had been shoved up their asses? You didn't see Carlisle yanking that kid out before the Mavs had thoroughly stomped and psyched out the Lakes. In other words, Carlisle let Barea play out his rush.

This is a basic 101 strategy in war, investing, business, even gambling, perhaps more so in gambling. If you're cranking at the tables, let's say you're on your way to tripling up, what, you should pick up your chips and all of a sudden call it a night?

The irony in a footnote here? Bynum all of a sudden decides that now is the time to get fired up. All of the shots of him shouting and getting all worked up seemed like so much posturing - desperate posturing, by someone who because of circumstances and all, has been far from what I thought he could be.

THE THREAD

It should be obvious by now, but Phil's the common denominator in all of this. A few of my friends and I are of the opinion that Phil's overrated, and I think this proves it. In games 1 & 2, arguably, for as bad as the Lakes played, they could have won if the fundamental mistakes would have been avoided.

There's a poker saying; it's a game of making the least mistakes. In a way, sports (and everything, really) and in particular hoops can be thought of this way. But with these three games, the Lakes added another dimension to that adage; because when you commit errors on such an elementary level, you go to the core. And if things are off at the core, how can you possibly expect the billion other things that basketball imposes to not be affected? It's like trying to build a bridge without understanding physics.

The late Arthur Ashe told one of my favorite stories about a time when he was playing Davis Cup, and during a changeover, his coach said, "Get your first serve in." Ashe cited this because it's silly to tell a tennis player, but particularly a pro like Ashe, to get his first serve in, because it'd be like telling Kobe: "Make 80% of your freethrows." While that's an example of bad coaching, at least Ashe's coach was thinking about strategy, even if it was on a kindergarten level. But it's kind of obvious that Phil hasn't been; maybe he's daydreaming about Jeanie.

This lack on the fundamental level has reared its ugly head in some conspicuous ways, particularly on D. Dirk was so open on one 3 there was a campfire beside him.

LOOKING AHEAD: ALL'S NOT LOST

Obviously, Kupchak is gonna have to work this summer, really, extra hard. Blow up that cell of yours, Kup, because you know what? We haven't had a real point guard in a while. I like Fish, but even in his prime, Fish wasn't the caliber 1 that a team as storied as the Lakes deserved. But guess what; Chris Paul's unrestricted in 2012. So is Deron Williams. Hello? You're breaking up....

Baron Davis is also up in 2012 as are fellow Bruins Westbrook and Farmar, but I don't know if Baron's a good fit. He can run 1, but he loves to get wild. I think Westbrook's good. I'd take a chance on him. I don't know how the Celts managed to get Rondo, but that kid's the find of the decade. But if we get CP, then it's on. But that raises the obvious; what're we giving up?

Magic said that except for Kobe everything's legit bait. Think about that; he's basically cleaning house. I don't know if I agree, but let's not forget that before the playoffs, the Lakes were a legit 3-peat threat. Very legit. Also, while I think Magic was the greatest player ever, as a coach he made Del ("Dull") Harris look interesting. So as a GM, I don't know how much more insightful he'd be. 

The other historically glaring need is for a 4. Gone are the days of hard helmets like AC or Clark Kent; we need someone to get in, plug up the middle and grab some fucking boards like he's starving and missed shots are cheeseburgers. Zach Randolph, after a billion teams (including everyone's bus stop, the Clips), is having the time of his life. I heard earlier he had 14 boards and it was only the 3rd quarter or something. And guess what? He's unrestricted.

When was the last time a Laker power forward just went off and dominated the boards? No Rodman doesn't count.

But arguably the biggest change is Phil. As I said before, I think his lack of attention on basic strategy has been key. In prior years the Lakes have relied on talent and youth, but it was only a matter of time before 1) they got older and slower (Barea made them look like they were wearing lead boots) and 2) the league caught up to the vaunted triangle offense. The Lakes certainly contributed -- the lack of mental fortitude I mentioned at the top is but one example. Not paying attention to other basics -- such as pounding it down the lane or in the block when you've talented players like our bigs and one of the premier shot creators in history in Kobe is a sin. Instead, the Lakes were reduced to giving it to Kobe (or Pau), everyone fleeing to the weak side and then standing around as one on one ensued and a J was launched. Not only is it boring, but, violating yet another strategic rule, it's predictable. Communicating and rotating on D is yet another.

The Lakes are the sports meltdown to go with the economy. With the Spurs ouster and the Celts dropping their first 2 (they're still holding serve though), change is obviously the operative word.

I've now seen 3 of the 4 classic team incarnations (Baylor/West/Chamberlain, Magic, Kobe). What hurts so much is not that they lost -- "all good things must come to an end" was my ma's mantra when I was a kid and my eyeroll cue -- but the way they lost. Unlike our economy, the Lakes can recover. In the big scheme of things, I know this peasant wish of mine doesn't mean jackshit, but I have way too much emotionally invested in this team to let go now. So here's to the future.

From the Vaults: Korean History Channel

Many moons ago I was researching a bunch of AA stand ups and discovered something; there are some really talented brothers out there. In fact, Fish and I saw Dr. Ken before he broke and we both knew he had it but wondered if the machine was ready or willing to give him a shot.

Now in the Internet era there are some pretty creative AA kids. Bart and Joe are two of them, under the moniker, "Just Kidding Films" on YouTube. This one's kinda long but like most, yours truly included, editing is one of the flaws in their game. Still, the bright spots are what to look for, and the thing to look for here in this first vid is the Korean soap parody.

As a viewer put it: with a seashell cover her nipperl I was like wow you a beautiper...

They're still rough around the edges but you can see they have talent. Anyway, a while back I think it was Renee that first turned me on to them and showed me this next one; I 'bout shit my pants laughing.

Funny Hurt

Sarah's story was from the 3/10/11 show @ 2:13:15

Sarah Silverman was recently on the Stern Show and said something really funny but so on point. The setup was, as usual the way Stern can make the mundane interesting and/or entertaining, and in this case, he and Sarah were riffing on being sick. What Sarah says about her experience illustrates the relationship between big American style medicine and corporate payola.




Howard: When you get on that path of antibiotics, you're ruined.


Sarah: I think you're right.


Howard: Think I'm right, I know I'm right. Have your cold, go through it for a few days. Rest up, your body needs some rest, and you'll come back stronger. This is the first cold I've had in two years, because I don't take antibiotics.


Robin: Remember the good old days when people had colds and they just took care of them?


Howard: Yeah, they died!


Sarah: I went to the doctor and he goes, "I'm going to give you anitbiotics." I go, "Are you gonna give me Biaxin?" He goes, "Yeah, how'd you know?"


I go, "Cause you have a Biaxin notepad, Biaxin pen, a Biaxin calendar..."

The Show Must Go On

Ya gotta hand it to this kid, Kate Wilson, she soldiers on. And thank god she does -- this is funnier than shit! I like the ones she tries to stifle... LMAO!


Hat tip to the Stern Show.

Isn't that Special?

The recipe is getting old: take a savant, somebody who plays golf better than any other human, or can cut on the bias, or throws a lot of touchdown passes, and surround him with sycophants and barrels full of money. Praise everything he says or does no matter how solipsistic or selfish. And what do you get? Exactly what the adoring public deserves. Even Galliano’s drug abuse was seen by many of the most prominent people in fashion as an adorable foible, like wearing a monocle or writing with a fountain pen. “Oh, that’s just John,” one of France’s better known fashion people once told me. “Obsessive indulgence is his thing.
--John Galliano's Explosion, by Michael Specter, March 2, 2011, The New Yorker

Axel Jordache

Vot about ze sins of ze fodders? You believe ze kids have to pay for vot zare fodders did?

Rudy Jordache

I’m not so sure that’s true.

Axel Jordache

(mocking laughter) You’d better hope it izn’t.

-- Irwin Shaw, Rich Man, Poor Man

When Van Halen was stomping through arenas and making more money in one concert than most see in a year they had a cause and a clause written into a bevy of demands in their agreement ("tour rider" in industry jingo) as legend holds it; indulge in "the good life" to Zeppelin-esque proportions and no brown ones as in M&Ms. Whether or not the clause is true, the story served to make people react with a disapproving shake of the head and raised eyebrows. It also served as a way to capsulize the cult of personality that the late 70's had blueprinted, the go-go 80's nurtured and that now, in the super-predatory era of bankers and their cronies has been juiced up to cosmic clown proportions.

Van Halen and I share one thing in common; we're from sycophant city, where every type of jerkoff with any kind of celebrity is nauseatingly babied so long as the machine deems them worthy. LA's also home to the has-beens, a lot in some ways even more sorry than the never weres, standing on the corner of Hollywood and Vine pathetically trying to light the Hollywood pipe with just their fingers. At least the never weres eventually learn the hard way and give up. Well, most of them.

John Stewart had a great line in his interview with Terry Gross (NPR's Fresh Air) about how he came from a generation and time that would call you out if you thought yourself above the fray.

Oh, you think you're special? You're not special.

Not in today's world of special in a can, where the bargains change daily and the menu runs deep, across industries, spans continents and even co-opts the homeless. Need I mention golden throat Ted Williams? Here's a dude that evidently is a serial abuser on many fronts, and yet with the first glint of Youtube ho-dom, he's given corporate gigs and courted by money. Like he's special.

The truth always evens things out though, at least in reality, sometimes with humor and irony but not enough in raw dollars let alone Federal Grab Your Ankles and Grimace Prison. So Betty Ford was a drunk, Newt, Henry Hyde and half of the Hill are hos and former chair of the senate banking committee during the whole subprime real estate scandal Chris Dodd had not one but two sweetheart conflict of interest deals with Angelo "The Toxicator" Mozilo.

So if John Galliano spits venom, is accused of being a Jew hater and Dior fires him, we should not lose site that despite such public floggings some people very much are special. Welfare thieves and their psycho fuck enablers, for instance, are the specials of the day, perhaps in the Special Hall of Fame; Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein, Chuck Prince, Ken Lewis, John Thain, Joey Cassano, the aforementioned Chris Dodd, Phil Gramm, his wife Wendy Gramm, Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, Larry Summers, Hank Paulson....

Beyond his homespun way of talking on the real, I loved Malcom's pragmatism. He also had what no one on the so-called left has these days; elephant balls. I can hear Malcolm today saying:

Why is it that when a clothing designer is accused of being anti-semitic he's publicly outed and loses his prominent job. A TV star is also outed and flogged. They both lose their livelihoods. But when the corporate board of Texaco is caught red-handed--ON TAPE--uttering racist remarks, two white guys get suspended and it's business as usual? Oh, they pay a fine and do some piddly public relations -- you know, that's when they say what they think you want to hear but don't believe in their heart of hearts. No, my question to you is, if a corporation is an individual, and John Galliano and Charlie Sheen are humiliated to no end, lose their livelihood and are damaged goods, then why is Texaco, some fifteen years after we know the way they feel about black folks, why, if a corporation is a person, is Texaco still working at its livelihood?

Number 2

If you look on the sidebar here where I basically (try and) kick these criminals in the nuts, just check out #2. I wrote that at least a year ago, and it's not that I'm a savant, I just want to prove to my friends and family that for all of my psycho ranting, I think I have EM08 right. 

The new marauders don't use guns

Main Street Movement Erupts as Thousands Across Country Protest War on the Middle Class

From truthout:

Thursday 24 February 2011

by: Zaid Jilani   |  Think Progress | Report

Thursday 24 February 2011

Inspired by the events in Wisconsin, thousands of Americans all over the country are taking action to battle legislation that would attack their labor rights, defund their schools, threaten their health and safety, and decimate the American middle class. Here are just some of the places across the nation that are taking part in this new “Main Street Movement” to defend and rebuild the American middle class:

for the full story: http://www.truth-out.org/main-street-movement-erupts-as-thousands-across-country-protest-war-on-the-middle-class68039

Cuts for Cooky: Jimi, Villanova Junction

Seldom recognized amongst most rock aficionados, Villanova Junction is a great kickback song for a lazy afternoon. As with Third Stone from the Sun he here echoes the influence of Wes, and creates a mood of introspection that I bet would surprise those only superficially familiar with his music. Jimi headlined Woodstock, and by the time he came on much of the crowd had left; like Jim Gray leaving, I wish I could make a short film with those who walked out on history and see what they think of their decision now. Nonplussed and as usual rising to the occasion, Jimi's Woodstock version is the best take.

Send in the Clowns, Don't Bother, They're Here: Client 9

Most corrupt gargoyle on most corrupt capitol building?

I've put off watching Client 9 for several reasons, but chief among them was that I didn't need to have my head explode again. You know, life is short, we've only got so much time on earth, blah blah blah. But much like Spitzer not being able to resist his temptations, I caved. Now I can say that I've reached yet another bottom to the abyss that is EM08, however, I'm now multi-tasking, if that's what you call throwing up while your head's also exploding. Knowledge is messy.

Greenberg's initials prove he knew

There's a moment among a roster full where the central theme of Alex Gibney's is thrown with such in your face gusto it becomes hallucinatory, because it involves no less than mister AIG himself, Hank Greenberg, concocting fraud. Greenberg -- widely regarded then as the most powerful corporate king -- had even initialed (more than once) a handwritten deal memo for the $500 million con. In the end, the Gen Re officers that Greenberg had roped into the scheme were found or copped pleas. Greenberg's fate, however, is perhaps best summed up in a snippet from an interview he gave to Charlie Rose in the aftermath of EM08 when Rose asked him about the value of his stock. Greenberg says that it's worthless, Rose presses for a figure, and Greenberg with a straight face and a shrug says, "a hundred million."

And what is "Gen Re"? Why, it's a re-insurance company, which is just a smoke and mirrors way of calling a casino a legit business, in the same way that insurance is in reality gambling. All reinsurance casinos do is invest in some of the bets that another insurance company made. Just as a CDS (credit default swap) is to a CDO (collateralized debt obligation). And who owns Gen Re? Warren Buffett via Berkshire Hathaway.

I've said it before; Two years plus after the largest heist in history, with forces very much still in play (foreclosuregate, pension fund crises, fed, state & muni debt loads, millions in  unemployment, over 43 million on food stamps, record number of bank closings...) with implications for the future that are unprecedented (just on debt loads alone) and  despite massive evidence of fraud, conflicts of interest, payola... there hasn't been talk of one prosecution for those who were the architects and overseers.

But evidently there's time, money and manpower to go after a governor getting laid.

Cuts for Cooky: Esperanza Spalding

Every once in a while I come across a young artist that really brings it. Just today I was checking out Olly Moss' graphic art and plan on hittin' it with a piece, he's that good, as in a Saul Bass heir. This piece, however, is about a musician.


Esperanza is so self-possessed it's a marvel. Jesus I've been in college and wondered how in the hell those kids even got in. Home-schooled, vibrant, articulate, smart as a whip, she's a triple + threat; bass, voice and pen. And at age 28 or so, along with Christian Scott, is one of the youngins devoting herself to jazz! For all of the ragging I do on kids these days, Esperanza -- as befits her name -- gives us old farts hope.


There's tons of her performance stuff out, but I'm posting these interviews because I think it's important for Renee to hear Esperanza talk about her life.

Amy Winehouse, "I Wake Up Alone"

Cuts for Cooky: The Pierces, "Boring"

Wireless Welfare: Add AT&T and Verizon to Deadbeat Welfarists

The more I thought about America the welfare state, other examples of course popped up like Wack-a-Moles. Education was the most obvious one. Art was another, such as the NEA. But where I step off the bus of the hardliners, I'm all for the NEA as long as puke industries like banking and healthcare are welfare industries.

Anyway, here's the WaPo's Cecelia Kang riffing on yet more welfarists. Cell companies! AT&T are total shitheads, but I would have to come across this at a time when I was just about to pull the trigger on an iPhone with Verizon.

AT&T, Verizon get most federal aid for phone service

AT&T and Verizon Communications were the biggest recipients of federal support from an $8 billion phone subsidy program, according todata released Thursday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Over the past three years, AT&T received $1.3 billion in funds to deploy phone lines to rural areas. Verizon got $1.27 billion in the same 2007-09 period.

Lawmakers and public interest groups are questioning the use of those federal funds, much of which appears to go to wireless services areas where telecom companies would be even without support. And they say the fund needs to be overhauled to focus on expanding broadband connections.

“Subscribers now pay close to 14 percent of their long-distance phone bills to subsidize scores of telephone providers in each geographic market, while other providers are serving the same markets without a penny of support,” Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) said in a statement.

The committee's ranking member said the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the fund and supplied the committee with the data, should be focused on reforming the fund instead of pushing to assert more authority over broadband by redefining Internet access as a telecommunications service.

“It is inexcusable that the FCC chairman is trying to reclassify broadband service under the pretext that the commission lacks authority to implement aspects of the national broadband plan, when he should instead be focusing on bipartisan aspects of the plan that he clearly has authority to move on, such as reducing antiquated voice service subsidies,” Barton said.

Last year, Verizon tapped the most money from the Universal Service high cost fund, mostly because of its acquisition of Alltel.

CenturyTel received $931 million, Alltel received $747 million, andTelephone and Data Systems received $661 million from 2007 through 2009.

Derek Turner, director of policy at the public interest group Free Press, noted that many of those company – including AT&T and Verizon – appeared to use the money for wireless networks. Those companies would have served areas where they received federal subsidies even without the government support, he said.

“The USF process at the FCC doesn’t ask if money is actually needed to ensure access to those areas,” Turner said. “Some areas have as many as19 carriers serving it with USF funds. That is scarce money that could be used for broadband.”

And some projects appear too expensive for the number of people served. Westgate Communications in Washington state, for example, runs 17 separate phone lines at a cost averaging $17,000 per line.

By Cecilia Kang  |  July 8, 2010; 5:31 PM ET

Welfare Gone Wild

Language is important, but because of its utilitarian usage has a "dulling effect" and makes people sitting ducks for all sorts of monkey biz. The father of public relations, Edward Bernays, understood this and capped a very successful career working with some of the largest corporations. Beyond Karl Rove is Frank Luntz who whipped the Republicans into marketing shape; thus, "estate taxes" became "death taxes." And in one of the most famous verbal hits ever, George Bush I fired "the dreaded 'L word'" at liberals and buried it next to Hoffa's bones.

So, language, words, are very important, and here's where I'm going; the largest heist in history was not a "bailout," much less "TARP," it was WELFARE. The most criminal and vile kind of welfare; staring down a double barrel sky is falling harangue from the right, left and most in-between. And that time-worn tactic, fear, was the sword of Damocles.

But in spite of the right's classic demonization of brown people crossing our borders in order to have kids and prey on us via welfare, not one on the left calls this fiasco, this absurdity of absurdities for what it is; Welfare Gone Wild.

And talk about some BIG assed welfare mothers; look at Israel, which has been on the dole for half a century. Cash, guns, ammo, tanks, bombs, intelligence... like clockwork, year after year going to foreigners, even in the face of Americans left holding the bag as with Katrina and now EM08.

Want more? Here's a list of the biggest and baddest welfare deadbeats in history; Let's call these the "Welfies", The Welfare Awards for the biggest deadbeats and beggars in history whose white collars make brown mothers on assistance seem like Pop Warner to the NFL:

1. Too Big to Fail banksters, headed by BoA, JPMC, Citi, Wells, Morgan Stanley, and the ever-present when there's a con going down, Goldman. Need I go on?
2. Insurance: AIG was one of the single largest recipients of direct welfare money payouts, some $70 billion of your money that barely left Tim Geithner's quivering, hush hush urgings and found its home lining the pockets of, yep, you got it right, Goldman, making them whole on their bets (Credit Default Swaps).
3. While we're talking about insurance, we might as well talk about the way healthcare is welfare. Think about it, what is Medicare but welfare, like clockwork, siphoning taxpayer money to corporations? It's but one reason why healthcare in this country will never be socialized; it's controlled by not one or two industries, but three; big pharma, hmos and insurance. Any one of which has ultra-deep pockets and is so far up the ass of congress via their lobbyists everyday people have zero chance in this fight. Put three huge industrials together with common interests and it's bon voyage to hope for everyday people, hello to grabbing your ankles and the grimace of reality, whether you know this or not, because eventually, by odds, everyone gets sick.
4. Agri-biz. Like clockwork, year after year, huge welfare payouts go out to pukes like Archer Daniels Midland and Con Agra for things like corn that they then flood the market with. Notice, childhood obesity and diabetes have been steadily increasing over the past 20-30 years and of course American adults are hogs without governors on their mouths. Agri-biz is perhaps the most pernicious and ironic form of welfare; pernicious because of the health ramifications, ironic because with the in-our-faces approach to cheap carbs in this country -- cereals to soda -- you'd think we'd wise up. Unfortunately, not even Dick Cheney having sausage links in his veins will wake us up.
5. Big auto. Not much more to say here save for Chrysler is one of the worst welfare mothers, with the recent welfare it received being the second time it has come begging for money. The first was under the revered Lee Iacocca.
6. Defense - If there's an overall Welfie winner, it's defense. By far the largest portion of our budget, it's 100% welfare, and one of the oldest, battle-tested methods of welfare transference from everyday people to the elite (pun intended). The corporations with defense contracts -- the Lockheeds, Boeings, Martin Marriettas of this privileged world -- are just the most obvious first line of welfare deadbeats, because the money is re-distributed via the equities market. Thus, the econ elite with the wherewithal (large capital investments + inside info + inside connections) enrich themselves as a result of the welfare state. Dis-Honorable mention and a special Welfie goes to Dick Cheney's Halliburton whose no-bid contracts as a result of the Iraq invasion set a new high in low for welfare leeching cronyism.
7. Government employees. Take the heads of the three branches of government, and they all receive welfare healthcare - for life. Which raises the question; if a socialist healthcare system is so evil, then why don't our politicians who receive it deny it? Why don't they work to rescind it? why don't they do as Nancy asked inner city kids, and just say no...?  Enlarge the iris a bit and every government employee's pension -- including their healthcare -- is welfare.

A fundamental problem in America is that we lie to ourselves. Columbus was not a great explorer and people of equal talent to Einstein had to have toiled anonymously in cotton fields and sweat shops (hat tip to the late great Stephen Jay Gould). The truth of the matter is that America has no such thing as the "free market" and is not a capitalist system of economics, it is at best a perversion of ... of what I don't know, but in the same way and taking a cue from Wolfgang Schivelbusch, that under Stalin there was no such thing as Communism but tyranny flying under the guise.


The raw truth; America has been a welfare state for quite some time. In fact, the more I think about that and until I wrote the above list, I never realized just how deeply rooted in welfare we are. We're junkie status.

Now if we can just be honest with ourselves about it.