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Silver Pelican-cockpit

American Society, Economy, Feature, Humor, Jobs, Labor, Opinion

When we last left Ross and Reverbo- A Cavalcade of Crazy (finally) returns

No Comments 18 April 2011

PART THREE

I took another turn at the issues as best I could.

“You know, I’m not comfortable with blaming others when times get tough. I’m well aware there is truth to the line, Reverbo didn’t apply himself enough. But damnit, Ross, they stole from us. They sold us out and swiped our future. Working Americans have a legitimate beef this time. Jobs were allowed to swim away, wages tanked, and the cost of decent education and medical care went through the roof. Living on credit was the only way to keep up. Then the contrived real estate bubble went pop, and we had to cover that. Four hundred people now control half the wealth in the United States, and our piece of the pie looks like a crumb.”

“And that is basically what I predicted would happen nineteen years ago!” said the magical magnate. “Things turned out just like the chorus from an old honkabilly number by the Farmer Boys from 1957. Those howlers could have been singing about policies that wouldn’t afflict the country for fifty years.” He sang the following line in an excellent Bakersfield-styled imitation: ”There was a flash, a crash and some thunder, take a look now at what you done to me.”

“Or more accurately, to us,” I added. “How the hell are the baby boomers going to make it back now? Does this make any sense, RP?”

Ross nodded and squinted into the sun glinting off the bay, his nose and thoughts deep in his rockeroo and the Farmer Boys’ tangy tune. “How is any working or middle-class citizen going to make it back?” he said. “This was a deliberate design. The government has allowed an aristocracy to literally buy political power at your expense, and there is no We The People in this model. They control the money, the message, and the elections, and their plan is simple: a new feudalism. Sacrifice you to protect them, and they will do anything to keep it that way. The Republicans have been happy to help. What’s new is that far too many Democrats are for sale now, too. Make no mistake about it–we’ve elevated money and wealth to the highest motivating component in our political system, and this has sabotaged the democratic process with the thoroughness of a coup d’etat. What that leaves, Reverbo, is a government that does not listen to you anymore. By the way, that song I attempted was co-written by Buck Owens. I’ll bet you didn’t know Buck’s real first name.”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” I said. “Alvis. I would imagine everyone knows your first name is Henry, right?”

Accepting his disapproving look, I took a long sip of my drink and stared at our beautiful curved blue world. “You know,” I continued, “most of us aren’t born into the accident of privilege or power, and I also know that perseverance can trump talent. I mean, how else do you explain Richard Nixon, Brittany Spears, David Hasselhoff, and Paris Hilton? What do you do with a Jim Belushi, a Sarah Palin? Just having money doesn’t explain these people. Did I mention Nixon?”

I wanted a wrap-up for now and this was it. “It wasn’t that long ago when the middle class was enjoying the wide-track life on one salary, remember? Is it really like George Carlin said: ‘They’ll get it all, sooner or later, because they own this fucking place. It’s a big club and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club.‘ The fundamental ideas of the United States are going down the tubes.”

“It’s just sad,” agreed Ross. “We have become an oligarchy, and the class at the top and their corporate friends successfully lobby against any legal, trade, or tax barriers to ditching the country. They feel no obligation to the American workers who enabled their success, and their stooges in government cultivate and recruit bus loads of well-chumped fools who keep voting them in. And the thing is, the wealthy and powerful never have enough, but keep telling you that if you just take care of them, y’all will be millionaires one day, too. While you’re waiting for that ship, they’ve sailed to the Cayman Islands.”

We sat in silence for a spell and then Perot, his cocktail finished, stood up and stretched. “Now Larry, I know you’re probably thinking, well Ross, how am I going to cut through this and land one right in the wheelhouse? There seems to be only two possible realities: that opportunities exist even in these dark times, or you may already be retired, my friend, no matter how much we look. The answer is, you have to think outside the tetrahedron. Let’s get our heads together, set the neuron activators to income generation, and see what turns up. But first, how about lunch? Put on some Johnny Tyler and the Riders of the Rio Grande, bring this airship down to the water, and we’ll catch us some dejeuner.”

In the ideas of sacred geometry, the tetrahedron–and it’s geometric iterations–is considered the fundamental repeating mathematical shape in the universe. And he wants to think outside it? This fizzy financier must be vibrating at a frequency beyond anyone I know. Though never having met Claudia Cardinale, I can’t say that for sure. It was theorized by some physicists, including the legendary Richard Feynman at Cal Tech, that the torso of the astro-arrayed Italian actress contained the elementary numerical equivalent of the sought-after Golden Ratio. Suffice to say that in HRP I was in the presence of a heavy hitter.

The Silver Pelican descended over a calm stretch of the Miles River near the Hooper Strait Lighthouse, and we broke out the rods and reels. Ross tied on some old EDS-logoed blinking flash drives for lures, and in tandem with some experimental proprietary-coated hydro goggles, turned out to be a pretty fair angler. I mixed a couple of more rockeroos, and Perot returned to the topic of music as we waited for some action.

“You remember we were talking about the Farmer Boys and Buck Owens,” said Ross, “but here’s a fact you may not know that might come in handy some day: The great Tammy Wynette was married five times. And I’ll bet you don’t know her first husband’s name.” He had me and he knew it. “It was Euple. Euple Byrd,” he said. “You can almost imagine how it went on their wedding day. Feel free to come up with your own ideas for the parts, but this is how I picture it: for the Justice of the Peace–the JOTP? It’s John Goodman all the way. For Tammy, let’s see–Scarlett Johansson? No, maybe too alluring for the role. How about Holly Hunter? And for Euple, a sweaty M. Emmet Walsh or Harry Dean Stanton. Here’s the scene:”

JOTP:     (nods) Miss Wynette. (then turns to her fiance) And you must be…

Euple:     Euple.

JOTP:     Well, Euple, you don’t know this, but Miss Wynette is going to marry five times. You are the first of four more husbands. (Turns back to Tammy) That’s how it’s gonna go, right?

Tammy:  I’m afraid so.

JOTP:     Now, Euple, there’s something else that might affect your decision today. You don’t know this either, but within no more than a year or so, the both of you will be sucking on rhinocerous tranquilizers just to brush your teeth in the morning. But I can tell you this. For as long as it lasts, you will be driving down the road in some fine automobiles. You still want to go ahead with it?

Euple:     (looks at Tammy, then, somewhat dazzled, back to the JOTP)  Yes sir.

JOTP:     All right then, repeat after me. I, Euple Byrd…

We were both laughing so hard, we almost spilled our rockeroos. ”Called the First lady of Country Music,” said Perot. “Only 55 when she died. It’s just sad. Hey, feels like I got a bite!”

In short business we had landed two plump rockfish. While Ross scaled and filleted them, I prepared my signature Tampico salsa (onions, tomatoes, mangoes, serrano chiles, mushrooms and lime), and we grilled up a trophy mid-afternoon repast which I hoped would energize the exceptional executive’s brain cells. I was correct. After lunch, I took the Pelican back up to about 2000 feet, assembled the easels, clipboards, sunscreen, artists supplies, and cocktail tray, set the iMac on voice activated audio capture, and prepared for a Perot-inator mind meld. Remember the t is silent. I wasn’t disappointed.

Next: Uncle Dave has a pesky rash, and Ross unveils some fantastic options.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                                           Critic-At-Large

 


 

57 Fairlane 500

American Society, Feature, Humor, Opinion

A Cavalcade of Crazy Gives Thanks

No Comments 23 November 2010

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, why not take the family to our nation’s capital and check out what’s happening at the National Animatronic Kiosk in Washington D.C.? Just drop in a buck, touch the button on the screen, and after a few seconds of buzzing and whirring, a hologram of one of America’s favorite actors pops into view. Look– it’s Martin Sheen.       Let’s watch:

Happy Thanksgiving to the United States of America! Our citizens allow themselves almost unlimited cultural and discretionary choices. We are also supposed to accept and tolerate natural conditions and distinctions that may affect your progress. By requiring next to nothing, we include just about everything! Rock ‘n’ roll? Included. Flaky pastry and delicious filling? There’s some right over here. The Possum Goddess Fellowship of the Thirteen Exalted Teats? Just down the street. A thoughtful alternative to the angry-white-god-in-the-sky crowd. Well, more like down the street and over a couple of blocks. Brain-dead morons hopelessly lost in a DEVO time-trap wilderness? Unfortunately, we’ve got them too. See, the beauty of America is, we’re not in the establishment business, so you can pretty much take any road you want.

We hope you don’t remain ignorant, easy prey to those wishing to manipulate and exploit you, but you are free to be foolish if that sounds good. Global warming? Do we have global warming? Miles of coastline, longer summers, pretty girls, ’nuff said. The ’57 Ford Fairlane 500? Part of the permanent collection. How about that all-new Camaro? Better believe it. You might just see Vice President Biden making tracks around D.C. in his Imperial Blue Metallic 426 V8 with the RS Package and Cyber Gray Rally Stripes. Nice.

Hey – we have it all, although not quite as much as we used to, and for that we should all give thanks. And by the way, if we don’t have it, you can either order it, or start it yourself. Easy credit terms are usually available. Ask for Tim in Treasury.

Is this a country or what?

America is a self-governing community of free and equal individuals, and we respect and encourage your contribution. Now, you know, if you’re different – and the line between individual and different is sometime a thin one – you could be made fun of. Heck, the whole planet knows Americans are always ready with a wisecrack and a good-natured prank. That’s just how we are. And from time to time, some of us let the profit motive get a little out of hand, and the Congress is supposed to keep an eye out for that. But things work best if we all live by this simple rule: if your mom wouldn’t appreciate it, stop doing it, say you’re sorry, and clean it up.

Thursday marks the anniversary of what is generally considered the original Thansgiving celebration at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusettes in 1621. 155 years later, the colonies would declare their independence and become the United States. On this celebration of unselfishness, compassion, and community remember to always play fair and watch where you step so we can all enjoy the same rights and opportunities. And please don’t forget our brave soldiers far from home. This has been Martin Sheen for the United States of America. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and thanks for your support.

(Holographic display of Whoopi Goldberg appears) As a Thanksgiving gift to you from the United States, please accept this recyclable souvenir bag with laminated wallet-sized photo of President and Mrs.Obama, $10 gift certificate to Target, library card application, complimentary CD – The National Recording Registry Presents “Twanglers, Janglers, and Wranglers: Golden Age Western Swing & Red Hot Rockabilly Favorites,” We’re Going Green! enamel lapel pin (made in China), coupon for a free hot dog at any national sporting event, and 3×5 card with this printed  acknowledgment:

NOTE:  These expectations represent ideal conditions. Your results                                   may vary. If your experience fails to reflect those described,                                   please see Constitution for details.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                                         Critic-At-Large

A Cavalcade of Crazy Special Edition: Lest We Forget– Mickey Mantle

American Society, Feature, Opinion, Sport

A Cavalcade of Crazy Special Edition: Lest We Forget– Mickey Mantle

No Comments 26 October 2010


“Somebody once asked me if I ever went up to the plate trying to hit a home run. I said,  ‘Sure, every time.’” – Mickey Mantle. Born October 20, 1931, died August 13, 1995.

Mickey Charles Mantle decided early in his baseball career that the appropriate way for a player to circle the bases after taking a pitcher deep was like he’d been around them before. He knew he’d probably be doing that a lot, and after giving up a 565-foot blast, like Washington starter Chuck Stobbs did in Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953, most pitchers would most likely be feeling bad already. No matter how big or timely the hit, his signature home run trot was always respectful, head down and never showboating.

You have to appreciate Mantle’s honesty about swinging for the fences; an egotistical admission by many, but for No. 7, a simple truth. Mickey Mantle hardly ever choked up on a bat in his life, unless it was to lay down a bunt. Without arrogance or conceit, he was sincerely unabashed in his concept of the game and his place in it. In his eulogy, sportscaster Bob Costas described Mantle as “a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic.” Mantle wanted the words “A Great Teammate” engraved on a marker after his death, and that earned title is carved on both a plaque at his gravesite in Dallas, and inscribed on a statue in his hometown of Commerce, Oklahoma.

How about this: In the 1953 season, Mantle astounded everybody with displays of almost unreal power. He either hit one off the roofs, or completely over and out of the parks at Pittsburgh, Washington, St. Louis, Detroit, Philadelphia and New York. Nobody could believe those shots. For his 18-year career, Mantle hit 266 of his 536 homers at Yankee Stadium, with a left field fence 402 feet from home plate; the fence in left center just a blur at 457. Rather intimidating numbers for round-trip plans. Not only could Mantle clear those fences from either side of the plate, but an opposing slugger’s 430-foot smash–a home run in many parks–could be a fly-out there, often run down by Mantle in center, bad knees and all.

The famous photo accompanying this column illustrates the incredible feats of which Mantle was capable even when he played in pain, which he often did. It’s September 3, 1961, the year both Mantle and Roger Maris were chasing Babe Ruth’s 60-home run record. Against the second-place Detroit Tigers in Yankee Stadium and with his left forearm basically useless from a badly pulled muscle, Mantle blasted his 49th homer into the right field stands off Jim Bunning. Then in the ninth inning, with only one good arm, he hit number 50.

With all the excitement of New York City baseball in the 1950s, including the great Duke Snider in Ebbet’s Field, and the greater Willie Mays in the Polo Grounds, Mantle was the one. What his baseball legacy would have been had his body stayed healthy is just scary to ponder.

I suppose I loved Mantle like I later loved John Lennon. They both demonstrated a quality of skill, style, and spirit that placed them at the top of their craft, but they were also scarred and imperfect men. Neither were role models and they knew that, but they were most definitely heroes, reluctant or not. As Bob Costas said, it does almost defy logic how strongly people felt, and still feel, about Mickey Mantle. You didn’t just want to be like him, you wanted to be him. Mantle is immortal, at least to people my age. And as Mantle’s physical ability began to fade, the Beatles were coming on. Connected? No. Pretty good timing? Absolutely.

Mickey Mantle was my favorite player–my favorite person– when I was a little kid; no one else came close. I lived in NY from about 1954-60, until I was eight years old, and I remember going to Yankee Stadium and actually getting to watch Mantle and those great teams in person. Now, I can’t say I recall that like it was yesterday, but I have memories of taking the subway up to the Bronx with my father and sitting in those legendary stands. And there he was, the coolest guy in the world, in the on-deck circle, waiting to walk up to the plate for another understated, but spine-tingling announcement by the Yankees eminent PA voice, Bob Sheppard: “Center Fielder…Number 7…Mickey…Mantle.”

In his eighteen seasons with the club, Mantle led the Yankees to twelve A.L. Pennants. They were World Champions seven times. Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956 and was league MVP three times. His number 7 was retired by the team in 1969 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. A few pieces from not just any player’s stats.

Mantle was only 63 years old when he died, his life damaged by injuries, alcohol and cancer. What I’ve sometimes held against other fallen idols I could never hold against him.  Even at the end, after knowing how much harm he caused himself, I rooted for him and wished he could restore his ravaged body and be Mickey Mantle again.

There was a time, now a century ago, when America was once a better place because Mickey Mantle was in it. It seemed like Mantle almost personified our Post-War Golden Age, a era sadly but ultimately unsustainable and unrepeatable. It still gives me chills thinking about him now.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                                             Critic-At-Large

Day of Action-feature pic

Big Business, Coal, Environment, Health, Humor, Opinion

A Cavalcade of Crazy Joins the Day of Action

No Comments 29 September 2010

This columnist  took a break from his recent tasks to attend the Appalachia Rising Day of Action in Washington D.C. on Monday, September 27. At least one thousand people took part in an inspiring and passionate rally calling for an end to the devastating practice of mountaintop removal by the coal companies in Appalachia.

I was already cruising over the Chesapeake Bay in my personal airship, the Silver Pelican, and with sidekick Ross Perot still on board as my guest, we set a course for our nation’s capital, and turned what would have normally been a two-and-one-half hour car trip into a bracing fifty-minute flight. My Head On Radio Network credentials cleared us for a one-day dirigible mooring pass, and I found a great spot on the old zeppelin mast atop the Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. Encouraging me to “Get straight to the bull’s-eye on this deal down there,” Ross elected to remain with the ship and observe the activities from above, so I grabbed my camera and a rain jacket and descended, amidst  beaucoup d’esprit de bienvenue, to the genial but serious gathering below. You know, I never get tired of that.

Readers of this column are aware of our penchant for mirth and satire. But there is nothing amusing, let alone necessary, about blowing the tops off our mountains to extract more dirty fossil fuel–a process that we should be ramping down if not eliminating outright. Also in town were Bob Kincaid of the HORN – http://headonradionetwork.com/ and Matt Osborne – http://www.osborneink.com/ and we discussed this very topic later in the day. (You’ll notice in one of the pictures that Bob has no problem jumping right in the middle of the action. Unfortunately, this makes it easy for Dick Cheney’s spy satellites to locate and train their deadly high fructose rays on him.) It wasn’t so much that the rally lacked humor–it was certainly a jovial, exuberant and sociable affair. The funny part was how totally different this was compared to a typical tea bagger party.

These men and women are passionate and intense with their message, but unlike the Right, they’re not trying to scorch debate and criticism with shrill and incoherent posturing. Appalachia Rising and similar groups are made up of caring and discerning citizens who have a specific and legitimate concern and they are directing their protest at exactly the source of their anguish: Big Coal and the government which supports it. On Monday, I heard and watched these voices of the mountains, along with many others sympathetic to their cause, being eloquent, expressive and articulate. They understand history and context; they demonstrate an awareness of the connections between life, work and health and the real institutions which threaten them. To put it another way, those arrayed against Big Energy and mountaintop removal and in favor of conservation and alternative energy broadcast signal. The other side only transmits noise.

They are what the tea baggers wish they were and can never be.

An overwhelming majority of Appalachians stand in opposition to mountaintop removal. When your kids’ teeth are rotting, your water is poisoned, your home and land is being dynamited, and your neighbors are getting sick and dying, you don’t need handlers to tell you what the day’s talking point is. The folks who reside within the sound of mountains exploding every day don’t need to be reminded that we all live downstream, and that the damage is irreversible. I like to end my occasional call-in conversations to Bob Kincaid with a line from the book Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan. It’s simply stated: make it personal. I don’t know how it could get any more personal for the people living in these corridors of destruction. The fact that they keep their tempers in check and their disobedience civil is even more to their credit.

The Right Wing has classically attempted to misrepresent the two basic camps of Americans by perpetuating an erroneous national distinction between them. It goes like this: those on the negative side who promote war, destruction and profit above all else–who essentially worship death– are strong and patriotic. Those on the positive side who seek peace and protecting the earth and it’s people from harm–who worship life– are portrayed as weak and un-American. I’ve never been quite able to have my synapses to fire completely around this. If I can ever get Ross out of the Silver Pelican’s rec room and away from playing Galaxy Girl for two minutes maybe he can explain the appeal of this anti-progressive myth.

It’s a characterization that has no substance. Because what results from building genuine and positive strength from the bottom up is a power that can face down the most entrenched opposition. Once you become a true victim of the system–once you realize that the Establishment will sacrifice you and your family for economic and political gain–then you become a force to be reckoned with. The cries and protests rising out of West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky are resolute and unwavering. They are of the same grassroots stock as those who helped bring an end to the Vietnam War, who marched for civil rights, and who should hit the streets against our senseless crusade in the Middle East. But there are too many causes and not enough time, and right now, the war zone for these people is in the heartland of Appalachia.

You almost have to pity those who sat at the gates of the White House on Monday (and about one hundred peacefully arrested), and basically begged their president to acknowledge these reasonable and justifiable concerns from the people who helped put him there. Mr. Obama and all the legislators who were the fortunate recipients of the wave of populist spirit in 2008 should make no mistake about it:  these were your voters for hope and change. You asked them to believe and to show up on election day and they did. Now they are asking you in return to listen and act on their behalf. The only special interest here is our quality of life.

There is no doubt that there is a sense of powerlessness over America. Inequality has never been greater and participation in government and affecting the forces that shape our lives by the middle and working classes has never been more difficult. Those with wealth and influence can pick up the phone and be patched through to Senator Snorebuckle’s office as I write, and some call that democracy. Well, it ain’t. Anyone who claims to believe in the real thing should have been in Washington for the Appalachia Rising Day of Action. That is what democracy looks like.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                                           Critic-At-Large

Climatologist James Hansen

Our man in the middle

Organizer Bo Webb

Manchin vs. Hechler, A Head-to-Head Comparison

Big Business, Coal, Environment, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health, Labor, Opinion

Manchin vs. Hechler, A Head-to-Head Comparison

2 Comments 10 August 2010

With the August 28 “Special” Democratic Primary fast approaching, it is appropriate, as a service to voters, to conduct a head-to-head comparison between the two main opponents, Joe Manchin and Ken Hechler.  The following represents that attempt:

Manchin
Hechler
1.Used Car Salesman Good Looks
Advantage: Manchin

2.Actual experience in Washington

Advantage: Hechler

3.GREAT Hair

Advantage: Manchin

4.Trans-generational Wisdom

Advantage: Hechler

5.Fawning obsequiousness to Big Coal

Advantage: Manchin

6.Unimpeachable commitment to Human Rights

Advantage: Hechler

7.Yachting Experience

Advantage: Manchin

8.Educational Experience

Advantage: Hechler

9.Motorcycling Experience

Advantage: Manchin

10.Tremendous accomplishments in Congress on behalf of working West Virginia families

Advantage: Hechler

11.Ability to saddle WV with Earl Ray Tomblin as Governor

Advantage: Manchin

12.Saving the lives of mining families

Advantage: Hechler

13.Likely to vote in U.S. Senate more like a Republican than a Democrat

Advantage: Manchin

14.Unimpeachable commitment to Justice

Advantage: Hechler

15.Shares views similar to those of Kentucky GOP Senate nominee and Social Security despiser Rand Paul

Advantage: Manchin

16.Courage of convictions

Advantage: Hechler

17.Will make sure planet continues to get hotter,and Hotter and HOTTER and West Virginia gets flatter, and Flatter and FLATTER

Advantage: Manchin

18.Shares views in-line with a majority of West Virginia voters

Advantage: Hechler
19.Will make sure WV waters become more poisonous and West Virginians keep getting sicker.
Advantage: Manchin
20.Eminently qualified to sit in the U.S. Senate (a body named from the Latin root word meaning “old men”)
Advantage: Hechler

21.Privatized WV Workers Comp; likely to think the same way about Social Security

Advantage: Manchin

22.Less likely to be indicted during term in Senate

Advantage: Hechler

Executive Summary

As you can see, the head-to-head comparison is almost dead-even.  Only with a closer examination of the metrics may we see what the data genuinely discloses.  While Joe Manchin clearly has it all over Mr. Hechler in the things that really matter in American politics, things like hair, yachting and those used car salesman good looks, we really cannot ignore the fact that Mr. Hechler has what the old-timers liked to call “substance.”

Consider the candidates’ commitments to social justice.  While it’s true that Joe Manchin has had opportunities to actually do social justice, he really hasn’t shown much interest.  Why else, when tens of thousands of people around the world begged for a new Marsh Fork Elementary School, did he and his former staffer (and recently appointed senatorial seat-warmer), Carte Goodwin, actively oppose it?  Why did Joe have to wait until “outsiders” came in to finally get on the right side of justice and history?  On the other hand, as he noted at the time, when many members of Congress jetted away to Cape Kennedy for some NASA event, then-Congressman Hechler chose instead to risk arrest, beatings and even death to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Selma.  To me, it’s clear that Mr. Hechler’s contribution to the betterment of our nation as a whole far outpaces Mr. Manchin’s tepid attempts at what he likes to call “balance.”

It is impossible to disagree that Mr. Manchin surely owns the field when it comes to courting the money.  How many politicians do you know who can hoodwink Labor into thinking he’s for working folks at the same time he’s blithely taking fistfuls of corporate cash from folks who loathe people who earn by the sweat of their brow?  Ken Hechler couldn’t do that in a million years, and never even tried.  He stood with working people, literally making possible entire next generations of mining families with his advocacy for mine safety and health legislation.  His part in the struggle for Black Lung benefits, alone, foreclosed any of the kind of love Joe Manchin gets from Corporate America.

If you work for A.T. Massey or any of the other non-union coal giants, I won’t be surprised when you vote for Joe Manchin, although Don Blankenship would far prefer you vote in the GOP Primary, what with its slate of “free-market” (read: anarchist) luminaries.  Frankly, to Mr. Manchin’s dubious credit, you really can’t tell the difference between him and a Republican, so I understand the confusion.  By comparison, Mr. Hechler is likely thought, for this day and age, quixotic for his dedication to the Democratic Party principles that made this country great.  Then again, what would you expect from a man who was on a first-name basis with an American Hero like Harry S. Truman?

One of the great successes of the modern Republican Party lies in its ability to have convinced a great number of Americans that Social Security is either dead or dying, even though the facts don’t support the conclusion.  If you’re one of those folks who believe that piece of shiny, sparkly misinformation, it will not shock me in the least when you vote for Joe Manchin on August 28.  After all, given the fact that Joe Manchin dismantled West Virginia’s government-run Workers Comp system and replaced it with a lumbering, profit-driven Frankenstein’s Monster, privatized version, you won’t be surprised when Joe Manchin starts mumbling about the need to find “balance” in privatizing Social Security.  What you’ll get from Mr. Hechler, however, are the facts: to paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of Social Security’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.  It is, at present, with absolutely nothing done to augment it, wholly, fully, completely funded through 2037.  Mr. Hechler will act and vote accordingly.

Polling data has indicated that a majority of West Virginians oppose the practice of Mountaintop Removal coal extraction.  The people who make money doing it, however, are not a part of that majority, and they can be expected to vote en masse for Mr. Manchin, since he’s been consistent in his ongoing struggle to seek “balance” between his need to curry favor with the coal industry and the will of the people of West Virginia to end Mountaintop Removal.  Even though Mountaintop Removal coal accounts for less than five percent of the less than 45% of America’s electricity provided by coal generally, Mr. Manchin has continued, day after day in his dogged, determined, lonely quest to find that ”balance” between what’s good for him and what’s good for the people of the State of West Virginia.  He is a tireless seeker, Mr. Manchin.

Mr. Hechler, on the other hand, is just tireless, and refuses to hold Mr. Manchin’s youth against him.  Mr. Hechler has shown that tirelessness (not to mention courage) in his willingness to be beaten by thugs on a march to commemorate the Battle of Blair Mountain (which, interestingly, Joe Manchin helped de-list from the National Register of Historic Places and, he hopes, from West Virginians’ collective consciousness, as well), not to mention being arrested in his effort to stand up for little children being poisoned by a coal prep plant next to an elementary school.  Come to think of it, where was Joe Manchin that day in June 2009 when Ken Hechler was standing up for little children?  Probably out hunting that elusive “balance.”  I hear it likes to nest with snipes.

Not to be outdone in Civil Disobedience, however, Mr. Manchin is on yet another quest.  If elected to fill Robert C. Byrd’s unexpired term, we may well see him cross that Finish Line in the next two years.  Mr. Manchin will not allow Mr. Hechler to outshine him in the Getting Arrested Department.  We may yet see the fruits of Mr. Manchin’s labors if he is, in fact, shown doing the now-all-too-familiar “perp walk” into the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston (Irony!) following the Federal Grand Jury Investigation of his administration that is presently under way.  Bravo, Joe!  We all admire initiative in such a balanced man!

So it is that we see a comparison much closer than I’m sure Mr. Hechler would prefer.  Granted, compared to the half-century of public service Mr. Hechler has rendered to the people of both his nation and his state, Mr. Manchin’s resume must look a little, well, thin, and wanting in gravitas, but I’ve never known Mr. Hechler to take an election cycle for granted.  More than anything, Mr. Hechler’s long experience in public service gives him a sense of perspective that no amount of that elusive balance can surmount.  He understands that this isn’t simply a statewide election; that, in fact, this election holds in the scales the fate of a nation.  West Virginia literally powered the Industrial Revolution.  Now, West Virginians will decide how we power the 21st century.  Will we power it with compassion, courage and vision, the hallmarks of Mr. Hechler’s entire life, or will we power it with the heady-but-toxic fuel of lobbyist-delivered Corporate Money that flows like what Dr. King called “a mighty river” into Joe Manchin’s campaign, potentially influencing his senatorial votes on the issues of our day, not the least among them the pressing question of whether we will continue to cook ourselves right off this planet?  What kind of “balance” is there between the frying pan and the fire?

For the answer, and if you prefer not to cook your own goose (and that of every other American) in either frying pan OR fire, go to the polls Saturday, August 28 and cast your ballot for Ken Hechler.

Bob Kincaid is a broadcaster and activist living in West Virginia.  He was recently recognized as one of the Top 50 internet broadcasters in the country by the industry publication “Talkers” magazine.  He can be heard nightly around the world from 6 to 9 p.m., Eastern Time at www.headonradionetwork.com

Netroots Nation Day One (D.O.A.)

Show Posts, Uncategorized

Netroots Nation Day One (D.O.A.)

No Comments 22 July 2010

Due to circumstances beyond the network’s control. Our coverage of Netroots Nation is a non starter.

Your conversation network went to this event with high hopes. We’ve been thwarted at every turn. Our friend Bob Kincaid will tell his tale in a few short hours. We’ve been stabbed in the back by those who profess to be on our side.

Wait till Bob tells you about $300 access to electricity. That’s only the beginning.

Jon Fox

Welcome one and all the The Head On Radio Network’s live coverage of Netroots Nation.

We expect coverage to begin at noon Eastern Time.

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Strangelove-war room

Big Business, Military, Opinion, War

A Cavalcade of Crazy Explores Some Slip-ups

No Comments 23 June 2010

“Mr. President, I, uh, don’t think it’s quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.” These famous words of support were, of course, offered by Gen. Buck Turgidson, played by George C. Scott, in the classic black comedy, Dr. Strangelove, after a rogue U.S. Air Force general subverted America’s “fail-safe” system and sent a wing of nuclear-armed bombers to annihilate the Russians.

This seemed an appropriate intro to General McChrystal’s meeting today with President Obama, where the general’s attempt to explain numerous slip-ups to his Commander-In-Chief predictably resulted in dismissal. Scott’s line is also the lead-in to my reaction to a piece sent to me by Bob Kincaid, host of our favorite nightly progressive radio show on the HORN, describing our pay-offs to Afghan travel agents–otherwise known as insurgents and warlords–to safeguard passage for our military convoys. In a campaign fraught with mistakes and distorted vision, buying into protection rackets which invariably end up funding our enemy seems like another in a series of tragic slip-ups.

See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/21/AR2010062104628.html?hpid=topnews

After you look at the story, try to re-read the opening sentence of paragraph six without making those gurgling noises we’re so fond of here at A Cavalcade of Crazy. No disagreement with that senior official here. After nine years and over 1100 American casualties, I think we need to give it more time. It’s just too early to tell. And all along, I thought U.S. Army trucks still transported the U.S. Army. Where have I been? Actually, I’m having trouble understanding what the program is at all, anymore.

Once again, we are totally out of our element. Here we are, once more, Third World invaders in a classic relationship-based country. News flash: The illegal heroin trade trade originates there. In addition to lacking a legitimate government–rather a huge obstacle to our success–Afghanistan has no, well, rules–no dependable legal structure with the incentives to chase down the bad guys. Were we expecting to go over some contracts with village leaders? These people conduct business on a handshake, plain and simple. Friends and enemies can change every day. This place has ground up everybody in history who’s tried to mess with them. On the surface, maybe greasing palms is a good idea.

Unfortunately, these tactics just sink us deeper into the quagmire. We’re not going to change any hearts and minds, let alone institute our democratic form of government for which they’ve been waiting so breathlessly for centuries, by buying them off. Of course if anyone reading this still believes we do this to spread democracy, we can find you some hogs to wash. Our military has and continues to be for rent at the pleasure of big business, for dirty resources and dirty money. We are up to our necks, past our necks, into where one hoped by now we would have discovered a brain, with the puppet Karzai and this scene of total madness. Do we even need to mention just how critically we must to attend to our own backyard, that it is redundant and ridiculous to even consider foreign entanglements?

The American people know nothing good can come from this. But we’re not in charge anymore, and haven’t been since the Industrial Age aristocrats opened up branch banking in Washington, D.C. This is corporatism at its finest. The fabulous New World Order. What’s Good for GM is Good for America–and the rest of the solar system, no doubt. Admittedly, GM’s stock price is a little low right now for such grandiose claims. Oh well, we all got the point.

Ah, the enduring Gilded Age. There’s so much in it for everyone, isn’t there?

In related news, let’s follow the Senate as they obstruct the latest unemployment extension benefits. Evidently, keeping the jobless remnants of our once-stalwart middle class alive is not on the agenda. It’s so difficult, these days, to get sustained help for life, but there’s always plenty of cash available for death.

We might as well be fighting space aliens on one of the moons of Saturn. Imagine the weekly briefing sometime in 2410: “Well General, how’s the mission on Titan coming along? What’s your assessment after 14 years of bloody warfare?”

“Well, we’re still taking it to them, although it would be easier if there was anything like a legitimate government or legal system up here. But we’re pressing on, and securing as much crazillium-7 as we can.”

“Sir, we understand United Crazillium is poised to make a fortune with the exclusive rights to sell this amusing and revolutionary energy source. Is that still our goal?”

“God willing. Their contractors have been working with us from the outset. Lord knows, they’ve written enough checks to right people.”

Four hundred years from now, those choosing to review the failed campaign on Titan will no doubt reflect on the history we ignored centuries before–and were thus doomed to repeat–of the conflict on a similarly hostile and formidable world known as Afghanistan.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                                 Critic-At-Large

Column 8-photo

Big Business, Feature, Opinion, War

A Cavalcade of Crazy: D-Day and Beyond

No Comments 06 June 2010

SCENE:  Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. D-Day. Operation Overlord begins. Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe launch the largest amphibious invasion of all time against Hitler and the Nazi war machine. More than 5000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the landing of 160,000 troops, establishing a foothold from which to drive the Germans back across Europe and bring an end to that horrible conflict. Over 9000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded during the first day of the invasion.

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Books falling from sky

American Society, Feature, Humor, Opinion

A Cavalcade of Crazy Goes To A Book Sale

No Comments 31 May 2010

For the last month or so I have been busy relocating my cultural and navigational systems north, from below the Possum Line to a more progressive landscape. The reasons for this are varied, but among all the tedious moving arrangements, I was also able to complete a most enjoyable task: get a new library card.

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A Cavalcade of Crazy–What does it take to shut down a coal mine?

Coal, Feature, Labor, Opinion

A Cavalcade of Crazy–What does it take to shut down a coal mine?

1 Comment 09 April 2010

Hillbillies dying in a hole is somewhere below grunts dying in war. With apologies to both groups for using these unflattering expressions, that is an essential component to this tragedy and gives it the emphasis it demands. That’s what your boss thinks of you, that’s what the generals think of you, and the reason more people aren’t outraged is because that’s what they probably think of you too. That needs to be changed.

So how do we close down a coal mine? How about what it takes to have safety, health, and a clean, prosperous future once more? Three things: enforce regulations, severe penalties for violators, and hicks have to want to stop being hicks. Do not mistake that last conclusion for a lack of sympathy, but there’s no other way put it; the serfs have to say, no more. For too long one check for a million dollars has been worth more than a million votes. Obviously we need a massive revision of our priorities but we have to be smart about it. The screech of ignorant tea-baggers is a misguided waste of effort.

To all the folks who were ever called hillbillies, and the rest of the working class who are being herded closer to those same circumstances every day, it is time to discover your mind, announce your humanity, and say goodbye to the dark side once and for all. If you do that, you’ll have real allies you would have never expected, instead of those con artists who only wish to exploit and abuse you. I have said before in frustration that the bus can’t wait any longer and y’all evidently don’t want a ticket, so we’re leaving without you. But what happened inside a coal mine again is so sad, and so unnecessary, that after this one – well, I don’t know. Perhaps only together can we repair the nation. Does everyone finally realize we’re all on the same page? The powers that be want to turn back the clock on all of us. 

With the deaths of over two dozen coal miners, we have yet another example of the price we pay for allowing our choices to be controlled by people who measure progress by personal fortune and power. This picture should be clear to anyone who is paying attention to the true causes of our social and economic decay. We have had too many years with our citizens and our country being expendable in the name of profit, and Republicans have the most explaining to do. It is worth everyone’s time to examine how a mine owner can buy protection, who was running the country, and the values of an administration that rewards such dishonesty.

There’s no attempt to even conceal what’s going on anymore. Everyone knows who has connections and how they use them to rig the system. The fix is in deeper than it’s ever been. I believe President Obama is trying to turn things around, but as we have seen, it will be slow going. The labor situation in this country is in sad shape almost everywhere you look, and to further their own sick version of a retro-future where West Virginia is the model for everyone, there are forces who actively want to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, this will continue and people will die as long as plantation owners like Don Blankenship can pay off the heat. Hell, a guy can barely even run a coal mine with all these damn restrictions. Everybody has violations in this business – as a matter of fact, Performance Coal, a subsidiary of Massey Energy, which operates the Upper Big Branch Mine, received fifty-seven in March of 2010 alone (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/west-virginia-coal-mine-tragedy.php). It’s nothing personal, just part of your operating expenses. The fact is that the probability of cutting corners, allowing dangerous conditions, and running your business with criminal disregard for the people and the environment is a factor of the risk of getting caught versus the severity of the punishment. You can almost hear the anguished cries from the next tragedy.

Reverbo                                                                                                                                                             Critic–At–Large

Note:  That photo is the entrance to the exhibition mine at the Beckley Coal Mine and Youth Museum (http://www.beckleymine.com/).  Apparently, the State of West Virginia considers their coal mines family tourist attractions. C’mon kids, let’s have a race to the bottom.

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