Thursday, 8 August 2019

Danny Kortchar-This Week's Podcast

That's right, Kootch! Guitarist and songwriter for James Taylor ("Machine Gun Kelly," "Honey Don't Leave L.A.") and band member for Carole King and Jackson Browne and...co-producer for Don Henley, Danny came up with the sound of "Dirty Laundry," and...yup, Danny has too many credits to list!

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danny-kortchmar/id1316200737?i=1000446428937

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0eDaqFlATylvh3zdgHtvqg

https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=63086283


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Wednesday, 7 August 2019

Who Else Is In?

I'd do it. I'm tired of this Bob. I'm tired of the shootings and rhetoric. Tired of the blame game. Tired of politicians screaming at each other. Tired of the blame. 

I have 3 little girls and a little boy on the way. I want real change. Will a concert make real change? I don't know to be honest. But I'm willing to try. I'd talk to the guys. 

X
Dan Reynolds
Imagine Dragons

__________________________________

Hey Bob. I'd love to get involved if you're serious about doing an end gun violence event.

Michael Franti

__________________________________

Kaskade wants in. 

Thanks for being the idea factory on this one Bob. You've got the megaphone and seems like everyone is listening. 

Let's do this. 

Jodi Call

__________________________________

I'm in!  New York should be in, it's always a target!  911?  

I organized with the Black Rock Coalition (Vernon Reid/Living Color) and we had 65 artist including David Bryne & Jerry Harrison of The Talking Heads (a reunion there w/Chris & Tina?) celebrating Bernie Worrell (P-Funk) while he was still alive to enjoy it.  We had George Clinton, Bootsy and Buckethead along with Meryl Streep playing triangle and Jonathan Demme doing visuals.  All for free!  Space and time was donated.

The SHED/Hudson Yards in NY would be a great venue to do this.  Mayor Bloomberg helped build it, get Gov. Cuomo & Mayor Deblasio, I have relationships. We could join with my friends Ron Delsener (Live Nation) Cyndi Lauper (True Colors Events) and John Varvatos (God's Love We Deliver Concert) and Robert DeNiro along with my friends at The Jazz Foundation (Get Herbie Hancock to lead +Jon Glasper & some of the young-uns) SZA, RZA, FKA Twig, Rage Against The Machine, Chuck D (Public Enemy) Red Hot Chilli Peppers) Qtip & many, many more I know who would suit up & show up for gun control & gun law legislation. 

I would make the call to Bloomberg, Ron, Robert, Chuck D., Meryl, etc today!

Nona Hendryx


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Tuesday, 6 August 2019

First Mailbag-Anti-Gun Concerts

Note: Ton of positive support on this. Only a few negative e-mails, especially loved the one that said the shooters were all left wingers! I'm printing the words of those with access who want to help.
_________________________________
_________________________________

I applaud your enthusiasm, passion and pro-active thoughts.  Best place to start?  Michael Lang and I.  After all, I'm the one (Danny Wimmer Presents) who was hired by Lang to book and curate the 75+ acts that were set to perform at Woodstock 50.  You know, the 75+ acts that have been paid and paid in full?  Yup—those 75+.  Money is living in their bank accounts. What a wonderful thought for them to do something good with that money.  Like perform (free of charge) in either SF, Austin and Cleveland for this critical cause  And yes go right to CAA, WME, Paradigm, High Road, UTA, APA etc.. You need some numbers and emails?  Glad to lend a hand my good sir. In the name of Anti-Gun concerts?!?  Ummm...I'm in.

But check Austin City Limits' schedule.  ACL is both Oct 4-6 and Oct 11-13.   Perhaps have them do a kick-off of sorts Thur Oct 3 (one day before  ACL begins) then head to Cleveland for Friday Oct 4 and wrap it Sat Oct 5 in SF.  Use the Sun Oct 6 for wrap-ups, news pieces and involve the NFL for "take a knee Sunday" in support of Anti-Gun violence. (Oct 6)  This way you have most of August and all of September to get it together.  Tons of music festivals already set for September btw. (Crowded). Or try Dallas if not Austin.  Will you get all the Woodstock 50 artists to take part?  Don't know if you don't try.  Go for it.  You have the platform. You have the eyes and ears on you.  This is your legacy.  Good on ya.

Gary Spivack
Executive/Head of Talent-DWP

_________________________________

How about someone who keeps pulling off miracles with no money and this woodstock thing you keep hyping as you know is nothing but what Newport has been doing for 60
Years

In short
I'm in 
Let me know 

Jay Sweet

_________________________________

I'm in... And I'll betcha Michael Belkin is, too. Raspberries?

Jim Fox

_________________________________

What an brilliant plan!
I want in!

Steve Lukather

_________________________________

We are discussing this now in Nashville. Please let me know how I can help 

Will Hoge

_________________________________

Are you forgetting the most universally sung protest song on Earth...

The song used by the disenfranchised,
Teachers union, Brexit foes, . Anti govt.protests the world over

We're Not Gonna Take It

Would Twisted Sister reunite for this?

We reunited to raise money for the widows and orphans fund for the emergency workers and first respond for 9/11.

And if we can't then others should scream at every concert

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT!!!

John French

_________________________________

More diverse, please. Pitbull. Drake. Chance. Jennifer. Cardi. Chris Rock. Wu Tang. Gaga. 

Joe Schick

_________________________________

Hi again from New Zealand (Christchurch, actually)

This sounds like a great idea! I've cc'd in the prime minister of New Zealand. She was amazingly swift, strong, and empathetic in response to our gun tragedy.

Someone on her staff will read this, maybe mention it to her. Maybe she will reply. Maybe she could come and give a little talk?

Good luck!

Anthony Gardiner

_________________________________

How can I help?
Let's do this !
Lmk,
Best ,
Larry Vallon

_________________________________

Yes, Yes, Yes!!

Please count me as on the team.

I sincerely hope this is the new Woodstock.
I was at Woodstock in '69—still have my uncollected tickets.
But I'm down for this.

Hank Neuberger

http://www.springboardproductions.com

_________________________________

I'm from Colombia and you know out history with guns and violence but I give you a simple idea :

When a I was a child the government made a campaign and it was am exchange if you as a kid give a gun toy they give you a normal toy.. It's looks like a silly thing but thousands of kids did that exchange and changed our minds as Colombians 

Att
Camilo Gordillo 

_________________________________

LOVE this!!!
Count me in for the branding/design.

todd gallopo
----------------------------------
meat and potatoes, inc.
www.meatoes.com

_________________________________

I can help you to do a one on this side of the border, I can put together one in mexico city with the biggest stars in the spanish/ latino community, I'm sure residente, j balvin will be interested as well as big mexican names, maybe even one more in tijuana?

Here my details and what I do for a living:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0265389/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1

I'm your fan… I read 80% of your articles.

Lynn Fainchtein 

_________________________________

I volunteer to coordinate and stage manage. Johnny Palazzotto either city.

_________________________________

The guy here with a little fleet of buses. 
I'll donate transport for 5 acts. (I've only got 5 buses)
This is the only reason I started a bus company. 
It's also the only reason I started playing drums.
To help others. 
I've read most everything you've sent for 10 years. 
This is the real stuff Bob.
Cheers to you
Here to help on any way I can
Best
Ian Lee
Affordable Tour Solutions

_________________________________

I'm in! How can I help? How is it that any person can buy a rifle yet a background check is required for a handgun? Both are just as lethal!

Nice work as always!

Gary Nuell

_________________________________

Count me in Bob!

Dawn M. Gardner

CHINOOK ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
Talent Buyer, Operations & Finance Manager
www.chinookfest.com

_________________________________

Bob,
 
I would volunteer my time to provide financial support in whatever way this would need.  Budgeting, Planning, accounting , whatever is needed.
 
We as an industry have to do something.
 
Colin Finkelstein

COFINK
Music Business Management
https://www.cofink.biz/

_________________________________

Bob I was literally thinking about this yesterday. Forget 3 cities. I want to do a show in every single state at the same time.
Can I partner with you on this?

Currently working Jason Flom at Lava, I'm going to speak to him about this tomorrow.

All the best,

Josh Brickman

_________________________________

Well thought out, Bob. Funds raised should also go into gun buyback programs. This will involve infrastructure and logistics (collection and destruction), but let's get it on. 

Susan Michelson 

_________________________________

I'm in "the Deadlies", we were playing at Gilroy the day of the shooting (earlier in the day). We'd be honored to be involved.

Best, James 
https://youtu.be/576q-Sig-E8

_________________________________

Bob - there is an awesome and nearly new ball park in Dayton called "Fifth Third Park" - home of the Dayton Dragons - very close to the Oregon District - between it and the River. You should consider doing it there.  

Best

Michael Battey

_________________________________

Bob - this is a wonderful idea. Don't know if you follow Amy Siskind, but from her FB page it appears a We The People March is being organized in DC for 9/21. This could be the day of protest in DC you have envisioned? Permits apparently in hand, website being developed, larger organizations possibly getting involved and satellite marches being planned for other cities.

Kim Brillhart
Seattle  

_________________________________

Voter registration should be a goal. Every vote counts, complacency got us here.

Linda Forlini

_________________________________

I traded an email w/Rihanna.   She maybe interested.  #BanTheGun

Roland West

_________________________________

This is the most important idea of your life. Even if you achieve 75% of it. Do it. You have the power/network. I'm happy to volunteer and donate a wework office in Santa Monica for your use.  
Seriously. Do. It. 

Fritz

_________________________________

And we'll donate PR services. . . this is a must happen event!

Mike Gowen | M I L E S T O N E

_________________________________

Reunite Rage Against the Machine for the Cali show and have the Beastie Boys perform two songs with them!

JW

_________________________________

Can even pull the James Brown Band out for this one if I can find a way to put em up and fly 'em to SF.

Onboard!
Stephen Wilson 
Juan Nebulla Productions/Local 16/Corporate Fuckstick and the VIPs

_________________________________

https://youtu.be/n71CSp8NJlc

Bob, ever seen this? Lengthy but hysterical and on point. If a show gets produced, he needs to be on it. But, we still have aids, we still have poverty and homelessness. We still have uneducated students and mental illness. $$$ need to get a piece of legislation that starts the process of disarming the NRA, which is a misnomer as they are the true front for the GOP and have been for decades which is the real fight. The Republicans needed the shield of another group taking the heat and that is the function of the NRA. We need masses to get behind a piece of legislation. Look at what Jon Stewart did with 9-11 survivors and embarrassing Congress to cover them. Anyways, watch the video and get a bit of distraction! Keep pushing!

Tom Ross

_________________________________

LIVE AID.
Look what Geldof pulled off for a cause in Africa !

I wouldn't reference Woodstock...just kinda eh. 
It was a train wreck...culturally cool to us but partly due to it being a train wreck. 

Love the social movement slant.

"Step at a time". Don't go for ALL GUNS or the push back (from the conservative gatekeepers) will play right into their hands. 
Change doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and disciplined effort. We didn't get here overnight, we won't get out of this mess overnight.

1. More scrutinized screening.

2. Limit clip capacity for guns that will accommodate them beyond a certain number (tbd) of rounds.

3. Have active citizen groups rat out hate groups online. Create "citizen alert" sites. 

4. Austin is hip but Dallas might be better. 
(No hardcore "can't take my f___ing gun" advocates....but no Uber liberal mouthpieces either).

Country....?
Jason Aldean
Alan Jackson
Brooks and Dunn 
Emmy Lou (cool but too far left)
Toby's not as "red" as he comes across. 
Blake Shelton (huge hunter)
Kelly Clarkson (yep)
Keith Urban


Participants / artists... as artists are prone to do...come off as too emotional /passionate and are somewhat under informed "airheads"....there's power in not OVER SELLING although the cause is justifiably supercharged with emotion.

Love the Net Flix concept !!

Ronnie Dunn


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Anti-Gun Concerts

I told Alexa to play Blind Faith. The people looked at me funny, like I was talking to myself, but Alexa works on the phone, assuming you've got a subscription to Amazon Music. And the great thing about Vail is you get Verizon LTE over the complete mountain, so you can stream on your hike.

But then I got an e-mail from Jesse Kornbluth:

"Bob-

Doesn't there need to be a big, star-studded concert - a benefit for gun control?
Like No Nukes... after 9/11.../

Bruce, Jay-Z, Paul, Jason Isbell, Emmylou, every major female?

I'm going to write this up.

Will you?

We could work on it together...

JK"

And I'd thought about this on Monday, but there seems to be a concert for everything these days, they've become meaningless, but I responded to Jesse:

"It needs a twist. Maybe multiple locations.
Heritage and new artists along with Presidential candidates. And the tie-in should be to Netflix."

I was kinda blowing Jesse off, showing him it just could not be routine.

But after typing that e-mail, I got excited! And I fired off another e-mail:

"Maybe Texas, SF and Ohio.

SF-Another Planet
Texas-Louis Messina (who could get Swift, Sheeran and Chesney)
Ohio-Belkins

And some reunions-Destiny's Child and...

And a day of protest in D.C."

And I forwarded this to Don Strasburg and he said we should reunite Zeppelin. And my brain was firing on all cylinders, and if I'd had a computer I would have nailed this. Writing is all about inspiration.

But that was three hours ago, I had to hike to the top of 4 and then 3 and check out Windows and...

Now I'm back.

So here's the scoop.

There are gonna be three concerts, three festivals, this will be the Woodstock spirit Michael Lang was talking about.

But there will be no camping. All will be in established venues requiring no infrastructure, like baseball stadiums. If Another Planet can do it in Golden Gate Park, that's great. But we don't want to fail in construction, we want to make it easy.

So there will be shows on three consecutive days. Let's say Friday San Francisco (representing Gilroy), Saturday Austin (representing El Paso) and Sunday Cleveland (representing Dayton). If the concerts can be held closer to the exact sites of the tragedies, that's great. But close is close enough.

Now these shows are not about healing, these shows are about ACTION!

There will be a manifesto, not only right wing people can write one. Laying out our position, one that all participating musicians must sign.

Of course we'll include background checks and anti-AK-47/assault rifle/automatic weapons measures, but I believe we should go further.

First, a waiting period. As they say, if it takes that long to get an abortion, it should take that long to get a gun. You've got to go back twice, and you've got to speak with a mental health professional in order to get a gun.

I would go even further, and say we should stand up for no guns, but I'm willing to go with the consensus. But it can't be namby-pamby, it's got to be envelope-pushing, we've got to ask for more than those in Congress, we've got to demonstrate the power of musicians to unite their fans in action!

This is how it's like No Nukes. Which halted nuclear construction immediately.

I give Jimmy Iovine oodles of credit for his 9/11 show, but once again, that was about healing, not action. And there's nothing wrong with healing references in these shows, but the main thrust must be action.

So, if you've been arrested on gun charges, you can't perform. If you're a pro-gun nut, we don't want you on stage. We're making a point here, not everybody can play, you've got to sign the manifesto.

And if you were arrested on gun charges, you can play if you sign and give three guns to the police. Yes, we want people to turn in their guns. Maybe we even give tickets to those who turn in their guns. We're making a point here, you've got to start somewhere.

And we've got to have old acts and new acts.

In San Francisco, we've got CSNY. Yup, this is the time for them to reunite, to get over Crosby's actions... And Crosby must turn in the aforementioned three guns.

And Pearl Jam in San Francisco too.

Destiny's Child in Texas. As well as ZZ Top. And some of the red dirt acts.

In Ohio, you reunite the James Gang and Wild Cherry. This is not a somber affair, life is about joy, maybe that show finishes with "Play That Funky Music."

And I don't care if the acts are on the chart now, or are superstars of yore, but we've got to have a balanced slate. And, once again, if you've got a posse responsible for a shooting, you can't appear, unless you cough up the three guns. We're drawing a line in the sand. We're trying to send the right message to the young 'uns, to all music fans, to AMERICA!

This is not anti-dope ads by people who still partake. This is not get out the vote ads by people who don't vote. You've got to walk the walk. There are plenty of acts who are anti-gun, and if you want to change your opinion to appear, more power to you. This is a MOVEMENT!

Now the shows are all on separate days so you can see all the music.

And they will be live, because it's the editing that takes the soul out of music, it's a live medium, your flaws are what draw people to you!

And, of course, we'll have an anti-gun playlist that will be on all streaming services, from Spotify to Amazon to Apple to Tidal to Deezer. And all the money made from those streams will go into the pot.

As for streaming video...

As per above, my first thought was Netflix, because everybody's got an account and the company lets artists be free, it's on the right side.

But I'm wondering if we should limit it to them. Maybe we should also have it on Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO. You can't air the concert if you take ads (there is a Hulu tier with ads, but let's not get caught up in the details right now). And anybody who airs, has got to pay. And can run no commercials, no NPR sponsored by corporation commercials, we're looking for credibility here. I'd say leave corporations out, but if they're included, they've got to sign the manifesto/pledge. The CEO. They've got to stop giving money to candidates who support guns.

As for radio... SiriusXM pays well, and they could have a free weekend, exposing potential subscribers to their service... But not everybody has a radio, so we add iHeart too. Once again, they've got to PAY to stream!

Now Scooter Braun marshalled the troops in Manchester quickly. These shows have to happen soon, we've got to keep the spirit alive. Got to be before October 1st, when it's still warm, when people can go without heavy coats.

And, you can buy a good ticket by turning in your guns. Maybe we'll have a competition, like Taylor Swift did with her last album. But it'll be pure. The people turning in the most guns will get the best seats. And maybe even a meet and greet.

And there will be a Grateful Dead-style lottery for half the tickets, you know, where you send in an envelope and they're picked at random. And I think the Dead should reunite one more time in their home city of San Francisco, don't you?

And half the tickets will be sold at what the public will bear. AEG has done this wonderfully with the Stones, they can be in control of it.

But one thing's for sure, EVERYBODY'S INVOLVED! AEG and Live Nation...WME, CAA, Paradigm and UTA...

And the acts don't get paid a cent, not a single penny. If you can't pay your way, you don't deserve to be on stage.

And yes, we'll have politicos talking. We'll have Obama, we'll have anybody willing to sign the manifesto/pledge. This is kinda like Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge. We want politicos to sign it and adhere to it.

We want to demonstrate the power of music.

We want to raise money we can use for lobbying, maybe tie in with Irving and Coran's new organization.

We want to keep this story in the news.

And if you're a Republican and you want to sign the manifesto/pledge, you can participate, welcome aboard! But if you won't, you can't. Same deal with acts.

As for where we go after this...

I've got ideas but it's too soon. Let's see how this plays out and then adjust/pivot, like Silicon Valley.

As for the techies, I'd kinda like to leave them out, but...

You can donate your private jets to ferry musicians and equipment.

Facebook, you can donate a ton of ads. Same deal with Google. Whenever someone searches on "gun" they'll get an anti-gun ad.

As for Microsoft... I'm not sure yet.

Apple? We'll tie in the Apple Stores, maybe that's where the public can sign the manifesto/pledge, maybe where they can turn in their guns, although police stations are better.

Amazon?

One year of Prime for every gun turned in.

Let's be clear. This isn't about promoting corporations, it's about them supporting us. There ain't gonna be any ads promoting their efforts. We're not gonna display signage. They can take out their own ads, fine, but I'd say their advertising agencies should donate their commissions.

Now ideas are a dime a dozen, it all comes down to execution.

But I know there are tons of people who'd like to play. Tons of promoters, like Michael Rapino, Jay Marciano and Gregg Perloff, tons of agents, like Rob Light, Marc Geiger and Marty Diamond. And managers like the aforementioned Irving Azoff, Coran Capshaw and Scooter Braun, as well as Guy Oseary too.

This has got to be a team effort.

This is the new Woodstock.

Will it happen?


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Monday, 5 August 2019

History Of Steve Winwood-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in Tuesday August 6th to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive  

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive 


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Sunday, 4 August 2019

The Shootings

This is why we want change.

Nobody can sacrifice in America. Screw the greater good, I've got mine and you're on your own. As for a shooting at Wal-Mart, when was the last time the east coast elite ventured into one, the intellectuals who keep telling us they know better when the truth is they've got less of a handle on America at large than the people walking the streets, trying to make ends meet.

Let's face it folks. In a week, max, this will be an old story. We get no change. WHY? Because people love their guns. They want to feel safe in their houses when the truth is family members end up shooting each other, or committing suicide.

And then there are the hunters. Okay, it's a sport. But if the NFL instituted new rules to cut down on CTE, can't we have new rules re gun ownership and hunting? Guns should go the way of the NFL. The NFL is gonna die. Parents don't let kids play. The only ones on the field are those who come from underprivileged circumstances and see this as a way to get ahead. Of course that's not completely true, but generally it is. That's right, we live in a gotcha culture. Unless your statement is 100% accurate, you're gonna be shouted down. America has become a land of facts, but the truth is society runs on emotions.

And what are the emotions of the many? You just can't get ahead. That's why they play the lottery. Forget the odds, that's their only chance of getting rich. And if you go to college, which you need to to become a receptionist, you end up with a ton of debt so you can't buy a house and...

Ever notice the media keeps running articles against self-driving cars? These are the same wankers against streaming music and digital books. Hell, I just bought a book yesterday, the Kindle version was only a buck less than the hardcover. I'd say the publishers have another thing (I know it's THINK, don't e-mail me!) coming, but they inhabit such a backwater most people don't care, they buy a book a year, if that. We had the same situation in music, and as soon as the public had an option to $15 CDs with one good track, they took it, they called it file-trading, Napster.

It's like the intelligentsia are against the future. They want to bring Tesla down. I'd say the problem is they didn't invent it, but the truth is they like life just the way it is, they want to play it safe, so they don't lose a thing.

This is how Trump won.

Oh come on, don't point to racism or some other b.s., the guy won because he was new and different and promised to upset the apple cart. What did the Democrats offer? The status quo. And that was only working for the entitled elites. The same elites freaking out about Sanders and Warren, they want to be in control, when the truth is they lost it years ago!

So you're a nobody in America, unnoticed, unable to get ahead, unable to get laid. There's no money for mental health, and you don't have insurance anyway. You can't afford it and don't even want to pay for Obamacare.

So you're looking for something to believe in. Call it Al-Qaeda. Call it the Incels. Call it white supremacy. I don't see anybody sacrificing to help these people, to get them on the right track. As for the guns they employ in mass shootings, cancel them, make them illegal. The government has the power, but it doesn't want to use it. And right wingers rule the Supreme Court and their interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is the people have to have guns to stand up to the government. This is like trying to use your IBM Selectric to fight the internet. It's 2019 folks. The danger is data, not guns for war. Hell, we use drones!

But all this digitization, these technical advancements, leave people overwhelmed. Which is why the old whites watch Fox and those who lean left can't stop trying to put their finger in the dike of the future. Yup, that's the problem, screen time! Yup, the anti-tech police believe they can fight mass shootings by banning 8chan. Can I remind you that after the music industry shut down Napster it was replaced with KaZaA and a host of other P2P services? Revenue didn't go up until you got ahead of the game, which in the case of music was Spotify.

You don't eradicate online, you replace. Find something more enticing. It can be done, never forget Facebook killed MySpace and Instagram has diminished Facebook and...

Give these guys on 8chan a chance of advancement job-wise, a chance to get laid, or counseling to achieve both and...they ain't gonna be wasting time looking how to blow things up. THEY WON'T HAVE ANY TIME!

Of course Trump is fanning the flames. But the story there is how the Republicans are afraid of him. Come on, break ranks, if Trump goes you're still in control, you've got Pence, but NO!!

That's right, people fire guns, and people make laws allowing people to get guns.

And then they throw their hands up, saying there are too many guns in America, you can never shut them down. The best solution for this is Chris Rock's, make the bullets damn expensive. Say a thousand bucks. Believe me, there will be no mass shootings by the underclass, they won't be able to afford it! But Hail Mary solutions...isn't that why they put down Sanders and Warren?

So if you're sitting at home, if you are not famous, you feel frustrated, powerless in this situation. You might as well sit on the couch and smoke dope. And I'm against dope-smoking, but I am for legalization. For a whole host of reasons. And one thing's for sure, no one is gonna vape and then go commit a mass murder!

So there's a school shooting in Florida and Laura Ingraham can't stop excoriating David Hogg. What's next, picking on babies?

And we always hear about the children, we only care about the children, then why are they separated from their parents at the border?

And that's the right's position. Bogeymen. Gay marriage. Illegal immigration. Dope. But even Republicans have gay children. And even Republicans have kids addicted and O.D.'ing on opioids. Yup, that's why we've suddenly got movement on opioids, the right's kids are affected.

And the only place people are really standing up to the opioid manufacturers is at museums, refusing to take Sackler money or giving the manufacturers' money back. And forget the cash, they've got so much, but what they're looking for is respectability, like Jeffrey Epstein, they want to be part of the rich and beautiful club. Which the hoi polloi cannot join.

Used to be all about rock stars. They challenged the status quo and did whatever they wanted, they had cash to cover the consequences of their behavior. But now, Bono becomes a VC. That's how you hang in Davos, you need more cash than you can ever make in the music industry.

The only people who laud performers are the ignorant young. Who are unaware of how the game is played. They don't know the game is rigged, run by people they don't know the names of.

Yup, this is another consequence of income inequality. No one with a brain wants to go into music, and the people who do are selling out constantly, to corporations, trying to make a few bucks.

You know what the status symbol is today? A PRIVATE PLANE! In almost all circumstances it makes no sense, you're better off with a NetJet account. But not only does it connote wealth and status, it allows you to give people rides and curry favor. It's like free records on steroids. And break the code and you're banned. You can't write a negative review and you can't call your benefactor out and if they get caught, you owe it to them to get them off, that's how the game works.

And instead of all the tax cuts for corporations and the rich, why not put it towards mental health problems, the homeless problem, try to pull these people up from the bottom. BUT NO! The Republicans keep on pointing at bogeymen, it's always somebody else's fault. And they play offense and the Democrats play defense and as soon as someone goes on offense, they're a pariah and must be shouted down. Tell me the solutions Biden is proffering again? What are his plans?

So there you have it folks. I'm lucky I live in California, which might as well be Russia to the Republicans, Gavin Newsom is worse than Putin in the eyes of the President. Newsom got new fuel standards agreed upon, close to the Obama rules as opposed to the pollute for all plan of the Administration. That's right, burn that coal, don't electrify cars, enact those tariffs. What did we learn decades ago? We live in a global economy! Oftentimes it does not make sense to make it here. And the truth is almost everything constructed here uses foreign parts. Trump keeps telling Tim Cook to build the new Mac Pro in America, but the truth is the old Mac Pro was hobbled by not being able to access enough high quality screws! I could go on, but please just see this as an illustration that there's a lot going on beneath the headlines, but in a tribal, cacophonic news world, who knows what the truth is unless you're reading all day long.

So you want a solution?

Start taking away the guns. And yes, take away their private health insurance too. How many people do you think need their guns? How many people have such great private health insurance they don't want to cough it up?

So kids get killed in Newtown and Parkland and we go into national mourning.

But if they kill some Latinos or poor people...forget about it. Because those who pull the strings don't care about them.

But they care when their teenage daughter gets pregnant, when their kid is shot or O.D.'s. Yup, that's self-centered America, it only matters if it happens to you. And the regular people are seen as chumps.

So, once again, we all feel powerless. We've lost belief in government. It's not only about holding Trump accountable for his lies, but letting the Democrats know it's not business as usual, and the rank and file are sick of being talked down to and ignored as people like Chuck Schumer, who uses a flip phone, I still can't get over that, deliver nothing.

One thing is for sure in America, we need change.

And we got it in Trump. But he's pushing us backward and antagonizing people all the while.

But the Democrats are afraid.

No, you bozos. EVERYTHING Bernie and Elizabeth are saying resonates with the hoi polloi, it's YOU, the media, the pundits, who it doesn't resonate with, dreaming about helicoptering to the Hamptons with someone rich, or taking their private jet to Cannes or the Caribbean.

Of course the shooters are bad actors.

But the truth is the elites are responsible. Trump first and foremost for stirring the pot, the Democrats for doing nothing, the well off who live behind walls and have contempt for the rest of the population.

Yup, we need to change our focus. If we want fewer mass shootings, we have to hold WASHINGTON, D.C. responsible!

That's the only way we're gonna get change.

I'm just looking for something to believe in, ironically just like these shooters.

Dick's Sporting Goods stopped selling guns and all the elites can talk about is their stock price, the hit to their earnings.

But what about morality, what about doing the right thing?

Wal-Mart needs to stop selling guns immediately. They need to be held responsible, they can afford it.

Like Republicans with abortions, guns should be hard to get.

But they've really got to go.

I can't believe in musicians, if you can even call them that.

I can't believe in Zuckerberg.

I can't believe in Sergei and Larry.

I can't believe in Gates.

I can't believe in McConnell.

I can't believe in Fox.

I can't believe in Biden.

I can't believe in Trump.

I can't believe in Remington.

I can't believe in Koch Brothers.

I can't believe in Wall Street.

I can't believe in Congress.

I can't believe in tariffs.

I can't believe in clean coal.

I can't believe in Rihanna.

I can't believe in Putin.

Just give me something to believe in, PLEASE!


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