Thoughts On My Music Festival Travels In 2022

July 2022 was a fun and exhausting month for me. I left NYC and came back knowing new recording artists and being more tanned. I was almond colored. I successfully attended two major summer music festivals: the one-day Palomino country and folk festival at the Rose Bowl golf course, and the Newport Folk Festival in Newport Rhode Island.

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2022 Palomino Festival

The inaugural Palomino festival was a one-day country, folk and blues music festival on Saturday July 9, organized by Goldenvoice, the same people behind the much larger Coachella and Stagecoach festivals in the desert of Indio, California. I decided to go to Palomino because the 2022 edition of the Newport Folk Festival was not securing any fun, big name acts (in the end, Newport got a few, which I will explain later). Palomino would be my opportunity to see party boy Paul Cauthen, Saskatchewan cowboy crooner Orville Peck, and folk greats Old Crow Medicine Show and Jason Isbell.

Here are some of the artists I enjoyed.

Country does not need another fat dude singing about cocaine and champagne. But Paul Cauthen of east Texas brings it. And he has a good voice.

Zach Bryan was a late addition to the festival, and I didn’t appreciate him at the show as much as I love him now. This young son of Navy parents served in the Navy himself for most of his 20s and is now cranking out well written songs like Something In The Orange, and this instant classic, Godspeed.

Orville Peck is like Roy Orbison. He has a strong, memorable voice. He's not taken too seriously. He prefers to be anonymous. But people who follow him know he has one of the best voices in country music.

I finally saw a Willie Nelson set. Willie at age 89 can still play guitar very well and sing at about 70% of his 1970s prime voice. He was flanked by his sons Lukas (who we have seen many times in Newport and New York) and Micah (who we saw open for Midland in September 2019.). I liked Willie so much, I saw him do another set at Central Park Summerstage in Septeber. I know now every Willie Nelson set starts with Whiskey River.

Jason Isbell knows how to write a great song. If We Were Vampires is probably the saddest English language love song this century.

The festival itself was not the best organized. It wasn't clear where to park. The food truck lines were long. They ran out of craft beer before I could try Ride On IPA by Golden Road brewing. But the music setup was perfect. A band would play one stage, and the second they ended, the next band would start playing at the stage next door, about 400 feet away. And they perfectly alternated and remained on-time.

As we drove back to our guest house in San Gabriel Valley, we turned onto our street and saw a really cute coyote trotting across. Our route home from the Rose Bowl to San Gabriel Valley included historic downtown Pasadena.

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2022 Newport Folk Festival

The marathon, three day Newport Folk Festival didn't have as much star power in 2022. I theorize that newer festivals like Palomino offered artists more money. Add the fact that just about every artist and band is touring this year and competing for venues, and you have quite a minefield of conflicts and missed connections.

My partner was trying to enjoy the Newport festival and prepare for a professional certification exam that Monday (the day after the festival wrapped) so it was difficult to see many acts nor enjoy the show very much. But we saw 40-50 minute sets by the following artists.

On Friday we caught Arooj Aftab, Bela Fleck, Taj Mahal, and Cortney Barnett.

On Saturday we saw Lucy Dacus, Clairo, Langhorne Slim, and Lucius.

On Sunday, we saw the excellent Hermanos Gutiérrez, Valerie June, Sylvan Esso, The Roots and the finale, Brandi Carlile and friends with Joni Mitchell.

Two sets really stood out in the final hours: Sylvan Esso and The Roots. Sylvan Esso is an electronic husband and wife duo from Durham who somehow make dance music that is folk-adjacent, thanks in large part to the dense lyrics. We liked them so much, we caught their show at Forest Hills Stadium in August.

The Roots, let by drummer Questlove, were on fire. They brought a big fun set that filled the fort with beats and a lot of energy. “Do you want more!,” shouted out Black Thought. I wish they had played another 20 minutes.

After the Roots played, a cold, dirty fog rolled in. While it put a stop to the super hot sun, it was an unwelcome change as we were not dressed for such a drop in temperature and rise in dirtiness. A wet film covered us. It was gross.

And that final set was uncomfortable. Let me explain.

It felt like I was seeing a contrived, forced event. It also felt mildly exploitative.

It started out well. Brandi Carlile -who has become the captain of the festival in recent years- played her own short set, and it was great. She then told the crowd to hold tight for the set to follow.

About 20 minutes later, Carlile returned to the stage, in front of a living room set of chairs, sofas and tables. She explained that since 2018, she's been invited to Joni Mitchell’s house in Laurel Canyon to perform songs with other artists while Joni holds court. It was a nervous affair for all the invitees and until 2022, it was sort of a secret society. Brandi and the festival decided it was a good idea to fly Joni out to Newport to recreate what happens in the Hollywood Hills.

Well, I don't think that was a good idea.

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But I admit, the first half of the set was a small miracle. Joni didn't sing all the songs. The artists surrounding her were singing more to Joni than to the audience. But we can say accurately that this was Joni's longest set since June 2000. With an unknown amount of rehearsal, the ensemble plus Joni delivered Carey, Come In Form The Cold, Help Me, A Case Of You, Big Yellow Taxi, and Just Like This Train, complete with a surprising guitar instrumental by Joni herself that showed off her unorthodox strumming style (a result of suffering from polio as a child).

The second half of the set, punctuated by what I consider to be black American standards, lost of lot of momentum and energy, became awkward, and began to feel like a memorial service. It didn't help that Wynona Judd sort of hung there over everything. She sat in the back, probably still grieving over her mother. Judd was supposed to sing with Joni on the final song, The Circle Game, but I noticed that Judd seemed to change her mind and go back to her seat. Everyone was afraid of stepping on Joni's lines.

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Which reminds me, in the first half of the set, when Joni started to sing in the middle of one of the early songs, Brandi Carlile exclaimed, "She's on, guys!" Does that mean there was a chance that Joni wouldn't be on? I cringed.

The cold fog had already rolled in after the red hot set by The Roots. But by 7pm, everyone was clammy, dirty and cold. As it wound down, the set we were treated to felt like Joni's funeral. The magic happened in the first half of the set. During the second half, I regretted choosing Brandi Carlile and Joni Mitchell over Japanese Breakfast (who were playing inside the fort quadrangle).

This is terrible, but as the set wrapped, I had this thought that Joni might not live to see California again. I felt she was fading before our eyes.

I think the 2023 Newport Folk Festival can only be better given how that ended.

Can Anyone Stop The Boston Bruins?

I’ve been writing here for over 15 years, and somehow this is only my second-ever post about the NHL. Okay then!

There’s no way the Boston Bruins can’t be seen as Stanley Cup contenders for 2023.

The Bruins had a problem to solve going into this 2022-23 season. In order to challenge for a title, they had to score more goals. They have a great defense, but their offense was average to mid-range at best. In order to score more goals, they would need their veteran players -several of whom are slowly on their way out- to produce numbers closer to players in their prime. At the same time, the Bruins needed their younger players to follow the lead of the veterans and produce more. It was a huge ask but it was the only way this team could go for a Cup. Otherwise, this season would surely set the stage for a rebuilding year in 2023 as their senior players, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, retire.

Oh, and they hired a new head coach. So this would take time to figure out, right? Wrong. Everyone who wisely predicted that the Bruins would have a slow start this season while they waited for injured stars to return was mistaken.

What we have right now is a team with a roster that reads like an all star list. They have the best winger in the league in David Pastrňák. And they have one of the best defenders in the league in Charlie McAvoy. Their roster is just full of top guys. And with the exception of two games against the teams from Ottawa, the Bruins have steamrolled just about every opponent. They find ways to score goals, and therefore they find ways to win.

Here they are beating the very good Dallas Stars.

Here they are winning a thriller at Madison Square Garden.

They went to Buffalo this past weekend and got the job done. This was quite a performance. Kincaid made 30 saves. And check out Patrice Burgeron’s kick and juggle of the puck at 07:42.

And then they went back home to beat a younger Vancouver team the next evening.

When they score first they win.

If they fall behind, they usually tie the game, and then usually win.

They are unbeaten at the the TD Garden.

The Boston Bruins are a juggernaut until they stop being one. And simply for that, they are favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Let Kylie Play...Overseas

“Let Kyrie play,” screamed the internet. “Let Kyrie play,” screamed Ted Cruz. Wait, what?

I doubt Irving will complete the rehabilitation regimen that the Nets have laid out for him. We'll see.

I think Kylie Irving is too stupid to sit through training, volunteer, meet with some flesh and blood American Jews, and then answer questions about what he learned in an oral quiz. He’s dumb.

He thinks he’s having an intellectiual conversatrion here. He isn’t. He’s confrontational and he’s dumb!

For all those who are defending Irving on the grounds that we give thousands of antisemitic, powerful white people a pass, you are partially correct. We let a lot slide, starting with Phil Knight, a man who has worked to burn the republic down and make life miserable for minorities, regardless of what religion he might have been born into.

We have given passes to living and dead antisemites like Donald Trump, Sebastian Gorka, Ted Nugent, Eric Clapton, Mel Gibson, Roald Dahl, Henry Ford, John Galliano, and so many others. But the argument that we must fully punish white antisemities before we silence Irving is not a great one. We need to silence hate speech whenever possible. And when a sports star does something this egregious, after being given pass after pass for his refusal to be a good citizen and get a damn vaccine, he needs to be silenced as soon as possible. He needs to be removed from this league. Let him play in Russia.

I'm Done With Baseball

Buck Showalter and Mets fans looked really terrible this month as their playoff dreams collapsed. So much so, I have handed in my Mets fan card. It was nice living in New York City for 27 years and have a local team to support not called the Yankees. But supporting the Mets presents its own set of awful problems and awful people. I used to describe Mets fans as friendly, knowledgeable baseball fans. More chill than Yankee psychos. Now I wonder if they are all just Yankee fans in disguise and I’ve been too kind to them for 23 times. I'm done with them after last night's stunt. And now that I’ve given it some thought, I am done with baseball.

I just have to call it. I have already seen the greatest things to ever happen in the sport. Carlton Fisk’s homer. The 1986 and 1988 Mets. The 1988 Dodgers. The 1991 Twins. The greatest Red Sox shortstop. The greatest pitcher of my lifetime. His striking out 17 Yankees. His striking out 5 of the first 6 batters in the 1999 All Star Game. The Yankees losing the fascist, militarized 2001 championship series to an expansion team in Phoenix and their two durable pitchers. The greatest hitter of my lifetime. The 2017 Dodgers. The Red Sox in 1986, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. Those 2018 Red Sox capped it all. They were dominant, fearless, and executed perfectly. They went toe to toe with the Houston Astros, a team that was and still is a pennant contender in the American league, and beat them in 5 thrilling games.

So the Mets had Joe Musgrove’s ears checked for a dark sticky substance. They did it because they couldn’t accept that he was spinning the ball perfectly that night. In the aftermath, I took that as my cue to quit following this sport. I can now focus on global football and auto racing. Sure, I could make time to follow more sports. But when something ridiculous like this takes place, that’s the perfect moment to show myself out.

Senator Warnock Is Too Passive

We see what Reverend Raphael Warnock is doing. He’s trying to “go high.” But that isn’t going be enough to block Herschel Walker from the US Senate. Would it be too much to ask Warnock to attack Walker a little bit? Have a snarkier writer manage the Twitter account. A little more John Fetterman, and a little less Barack Obama, please. Warnock shouldn’t be tied with Walker given the fact that Biden won Georgia in 2020 and we have seen Trump and his followers become even more toxic since. The race should not be this close.

Throw some punches, Democrats! Enough with this polite “can you chip in?” You got the cash advantage. Now attack!

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 Review: U Got The Look

Looks over function and practicality. Here are my thoughts 18 months after buying one.

I was going to write a lengthy review of the second Chromebook I have owned, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 from the spring of 2021. But there’s no need. I intend to own it until support ends. And overall, I like it. But there are some things I don’t like, and that’s what this review will focus on. I don’t recommend this Chromebook. If you need a Chromebook you can take anywhere, has top specs, leading build quality, and has an ideal, business class keyboard, I recommend Chromebooks by Lenovo and HP. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 isn’t bad. But it really isn’t good on the road. It’s more like a Chrome desktop (Chromebox) with a great display, that you should keep at home, as I do.

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Let’s start with what’s good.

• The Galaxy Chromebook 2 has a fine processor, enough RAM for 99% of users, and a fantastic display. The base specs are outstanding. There’s a good Chromebook inside that red shell.

• The processor is an Intel Core i3 10110u “Comet Lake.” The storage is a generous 128GB with a micro SD slot for up to another 128GB. It has 8GB of RAM as every laptop should have at the minimum these days.

• The highlight of this device is the 16:9 QLED display. It’s a bright 13.3” touch panel with a resolution of 1920x1080. That’s perfect for me. It’s so good, I want Samsung to make an ultrawide desktop QLED monitor. It’s a fantastic low-cost alternative to a 4K OLED.

• Also good is the color of the device. The metallic red is matched on the upper and lower halves of the clamshell, despite being different materials (aluminum and plastic, respectfully).

• There’s a fan inside, but that’s a good thing, and it is quiet when it turns on.

• At 2.7 LBS, it’s light.

• And did I mention it looks great on any desk?

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And now for what’s not so good.

• The price when this was released was $699. I paid that, plus New York state and city sales tax in March 2021. Ouch. Now, I knew going in that once I had this chromebook in my hands, I had to own it until it is no longer supported. That will be the fall of 2028. So cost per year is low, in my case.

• Still, it took a while for the price to come down. 18 months after launch, it finally became a good buy.

• The keyboard is okay. It’s super low profile with what I think are butterfly switches, so it is very similar to the MacBook pro. That’s not what I prefer. For me, the gold standard in factory notebook keyboards is the Lenovo ThinkPad. I prefer keys with some travel and a springy feel.

• The trackpad is not glass. At this price point, it really should be. It’s still good. It works fine. But as you can see in the photos, it has picked up a lot of gloss from my oily fingers. I must admit, once you have a glass trackpad, there’s really no going back, until the next best material is developed.

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• I should also mention, when one buys the Galaxy Chromebook 2, there is a giant sticker affixed to the left of the trackpad. The only way to remove it is with water and some Goo Gone. It’s awful that Samsung made consumers have to remove that giant sticker from such a great looking device. They should have just included the sticker info on a postcard. I forget what was on the sticker. Nothing important.

• The aluminum hinges are fine, but they highlight something that bugs me: the upper and lower halves of the clamshell are different case materials with different weights. The display is wrapped in beautifully engineered red aluminum. The lower half of the device is the same red color, but in slightly flexible plastic. That doesn’t bother me when this device is connected to an external mechanical keyboard. In that mode, this Chromebook is essentially a second monitor or a docked Chromebox. But on my lap, it feels so unbalanced. The heavier, cold metal display half is held up over a warmer, lighter keyboard and motherboard half. In terms of feel, it doesn’t work when sitting in your lap. It feels like two different devices joined together. That makes it a desk machine only in my mind.

• Which brings me to my next point. It’s such a desk machine, that I don’t take it outside. I don’t travel with it. It’s not good at what notebook computers are supposed to excel at - portability. This is my Chromebook for home use only. For many, many others, particularly students, this is a deal breaker. Students need a device that can travel well outside with some confidence. This just looks too nice to go outside. And the weight imbalance between the upper and lower halves of the clamshell is something I can’t ignore.

• Samsung made sure the speakers of this Chromebook were mentioned in its press releases and marketing. I don’t know why. They are poor, and are under the keyboard. Users should plug in headphones or pair their Bluetooth headphones with this Chromebook. BYOH - bring your own headphones!

• And finally (and worst of all) is the built-in camera. It is beyond awful. It shocks me that this device shipped with such a poor camera at $699 in 2021. It’s so bad, the only way I can do a video meeting with this device is to connect an HDMI to USB C capture card and run my Canon M50 in video mode (which by the way, is a fantastic setup that’s superior to any built-in camera by any notebook computer manufacturer). It’s not the resolution that’s bad, it’s the image quality. 720p resolution is fine for web meetings. But the image is cloudy and dark. It would have been a lot better if this Chromebook didn’t have a camera at all. BYOC - bring your own camera!

Here are some photos of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 next to a Chromebook I highly recommend, the Lenovo Flex 5i.

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So to summarize, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is a good choice if you can adhere / agree to a couple of key points. First, you have to own it to the end of life (July 2028) for maximum value for the dollar Second, you have to acknowledge that there are Chromebooks with the same specs for less (like the Lenovo Flex 5i). so if you get this, you are partially getting it for the great looks and the much better than average display.

Want to stick with Samsung? Then check out the newer Galaxy Chromebook 3, er the Galaxy Chromebook 2 360. It doesn’t have an backlit keyboard, but it has a USB A port the Galaxy Chromebook 2 doesn’t. And while the display isn’t quite as sharp, it has a more comfortable shape (it’s taller to show more lines of text). It also has a more comfortable keyboard and consistent plastic feel inside and out. It’s clearly marketed at high school and college students. It also has a slower Celeron processor, half the RAM and not much storage. And yet, I think it’s the better Chromebook overall. It should have been called the Galaxy Chromebook 3. But I suspect that Chromebook is coming two years from now.

Roe Is Dead. And So Is The United States.

The mess that the overturn of Roe has caused will last decades. I'm reading opinions that states that ban abortion might sue New York and California for luring thier women to commit "criminal acts" (which we good people call accessing medicine). How can a nation function if medicine in one state is "homicide" in another (Louisiana)?

Texas is going to assemble a challenge to Plyer v. Doe (1982) which could end the requirement for states to provide free education to all children regardless of nationality in grades 1-12, effectively closing all public schools in some states.

States will challenge Loving, Griswold and Obergefell. And soon states will pass laws banning all sex reassignment medicine and procedures.

And then there's the misoprostol pills, the next abortion front. Will states try to ban medications? Will they try to create their own DEA-like agencies? Will they sue drug makers to stop making pills they want to ban? Will they sue the US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx and DHL for allowing banned medications to be sent into their state from outside states or overseas?

What other drugs will more than 20 states want to ban? Hormones? HIV treatments? How about vaccines?

This wouldn't happen, but what would stop this Roberts court from allowing a state to ban alcohol sales? It's a fair analogy because the Court just let states ban a major category of medical care. This isn't a mild difference in laws so some states allow gambling, fireworks and open alcohol containers. This is an extreme legal divide in which legitimate medicine obtained in New York is categorized as a felony by one or more states.

The civil suits will be endless. Lawyers are about to get decades of guaranteed extra cases that shouldn't exist in a functioning nation. We're a failed state. Any one of us could be entangled in a criminal or civil case involving us directly or indirectly. Plus, we're all going to fund our state's lawsuits and defenses. This nation is finished. Will 0.5% of our GDP be simply interstate civil suits clogging up our courts and our lives?

For the average American, the overturn of Roe should be a bigger story than Russia's invasion of Ukraine or even the investigation into Trump’s failed coup in late 2020 and early 2021. And given that Democrats would rather talk about fighting Russia in a proxy war than the looming loss of freedoms at home, it's quite telling how absolutely screwed we all are.

In fact, I think the overturn of Roe is the biggest development in the US since our invasion of Iraq. Easily, I think. One could even argue that the Dobbs decision is the most consequential bad Supreme Court decision since Ferguson (1896).

Red states are assembling agencies to spy on their citizens and to keep tabs on abortion providers in other states. Red states are putting together wish lists of what types of medicine they want to see banned. What's coming is horrifying. And no matter where you live, in any of our 50 states and 5 colonies, your life is going to become more difficult thanks to the overturn of Roe.

My argument is not an easy one to make, I admit. And I can't diminish other major US events in this century. We’ve had two stolen presidential elections (if we count George W. Bush’s 2001 inauguration as a completion of a steal that occurred at the end of the year 2000), a ruling that corporations have rights like people, and a US president who chose a violent transfer of power over a peaceful one. But one could make the case that the overturn of Roe and the failed Trump coup are directly linked. The tyranny of GOP minority rule is evident in both. The attempt to keep Trump in power failed, but the full assault of the 14th Amendment is now on. We're about to live in a nation in which legitimate medicine administered in one state is a felony homicide in another. A nation with that kind of split simply cannot stand. We're a failed state.

The GOP signaled, way back in 1994, that they were going to govern by dismantling our society and removing all liberties and protections for the poor. They were going to inflict pain and suffering for the sake of it. Reagan started it, but didn't say it out loud. Newt said it out loud. By the time we got to Ted Cruz and Trump, they weren't just saying it out loud, but they were using macho and violent marketing to motivate their voters to vote for the destruction of the US.

The GOP project to overturn Roe has been mainly a patient, focused 29 year project, starting with Bush 41’s appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Court in 1991, over objections that he was under-qualified and a serial abuser of power in the workplace. Then his son, Bush 43, appointed John Roberts in 2005 and Samuel Alito in 2006. It is notable that Alito’s confirmation vote was the closest and most controversial since Thomas. The late, great Robert Byrd was one of only two Democrat's to vote in favor of Alito, who went on to be the most bitter and mean spirited Justice in Supreme Court history. Then Donald Trump traded a solid right-wing justice, the late Anton Scalia, with three Justices selected by the Heritage Foundation. The Supreme Court transitioned from a 5-4 center-left majority in 1990 (White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Kennedy) to a 6-3 right wing supermajority (Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett) by 2020. This took incredible effort, hundreds of millions of dollars, and some good fortune as both Bush 43 and Trump failed to win the popular vote in their first presidential elections.

When a minority party is aggressively attacking the majority, and taking their rights away, the majority needs to aggressively to fight back. And in my book, some violence is now justified.

I'm not saying that I am going to conspire to kill Republicans. But if say, an armed left-wing mob stormed the Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, or Nebraska State House and killed every Republican lawmaker they could find, that would be justified at this point, because a small number of Republicans are threatening the lives of millions.

Too violent? Okay, how about long occupations of those statehouses, so legislative business could not be conducted? How about a national strike in which every labor union walked out for 14 days? The damage to the economy would be swift. Hit the old men in charge where it hurts - the markets and the GDP.

In my view, only a violent revolution can save the USA. And since that is not coming, I am casually preparing to flee the USA later in life. I don't want to die in an authoritarian or autocratic regime.

Uncle Tim contributed to this post.

The Anker 726 and 735 GaN Chargers Take Device Charging To The Next Level

I am not paid to promote anything. This is not sponsored content. I just wanted to share because one thing has really simplified my life for gadget charging. I have a laptop (Chromebook), a tablet and a phone. And the one charger I need is a GaN charger.

I still have this weird one from Brasus, the GaN2 Pro, and it's perfectly fine, if just a couple of centimeters too long to stay stuck in every AC outlet around. For example, in my home, in my office, in a hotel room or on Amtrak, it stays plugged in. In a plane outlet, in between seats, too close to my leg or knee, it does not. It’s just a little too rear-heavy.

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But the Anker 726. Damn. Charges an iPhone in about 20 minutes, or 2% per minute. If you are viewing this post on a laptop or desktop, it is about life-sized in the photo below. And with 65 Watt output, it can keep a Chromebook, Windows laptop or MacBook charged, plus a tablet or phone.

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Need a USB-A port with those two USB-C ports? Check out the Anker 735. This is the new road warrior.

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Here’s the Anker 735 next to the Baseus GaN2 Pro. Both run cool. Both deliver quick, 65 Watt charging. The Anker is just a little shorter, for better balance in outlets.

And for my cables, the next level is pastel silicone, also from Anker. It can quickly charge iOS devices, Android phones, plus MacBooks, Chromebooks and Windows laptops. Even flashlights now have USB-C charging ports. These cables will not tangle, and each includes a silicone wrapping strap. They're available as a USB-C to USB-C, or a USB-C to Apple Lightning cable, in 3 and 6 foot lengths, and in 7 colors.

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Newcastle United Emerge From The Ashes Of The Mike Ashley Era

I think last Monday night (May 16) was incredible, given that NUFC were up against a younger squad that had something important to play for. I will argue to my dying day that what we saw was more significant than what we saw in 2011 when Pardew's squad drew Arsenal 4-4. That match was far more entertaining, and unforgettable. But this match was a glimpse of what NUFC will do when they are a good club. Were they good in 2011? I don't think so.

Monday night was a heavyweight bout, and Newcastle bruised and battered Arsenal. They bruised Martinelli. They sprained Tomiyasu. They cut Lacazette. And our Callum Wilson nearly lost a front tooth. It was a game of pain, and Newcastle outlasted Arsenal in the ring.

Know what's amazing? Monday night wasn't even the best match of the season. I think that honor goes to the 2-1 comeback win against Leicester. No, wait, the comeback win against Everton on February 8! Ryan Frasier with the winner in that one. Trippier scored the final goal on a free kick, and he would do it again against Villa the following week (and fracture his foot).

The goals against Arsenal were not pretty, but they were earned. And man, had that Wilson lob gone in, people would have been having flashbacks to 1996 and 2002 Alan Shearer. I think everyone can agree that the score could have been 4-0 Newcastle. They bossed the Gunners. I am seriously going to miss Newcastle football this summer. 75 days without seeing this squad. At least we could see 4 new signings. And soon!

A big thank you to Wor Flags. St. James' Park is looking like the best stadium in European football these days. The display and planning is impressive. Keep those flags waving.

LOL

I don’t need to break through the Washington Post’s paywall to know just how incorrect and foolish this editorial is from the papers resident spook, David Ignatius.

The American empire is in decline. Has been for decades now. And sometime during the Trump administration, the other industrialized nations of the world finally behaved as if they knew it. Because they now know it.

Russia is down? Sure. They have made a devastating choice. But the US is not up. That is laughable.

This is an old man reaching back to the times that made him a trusted journalist for the CIA and a well-paid pundit on MSNBC (which he still is).

The Washington Post is good for two things: solid investigations of the White House, and it’s a journal of how the American Empire sees itself and the world. It is the official news outlet of the empire. Which is why this editorial also just dropped today, which argues that banning abortion would weaken the response capabilities of the US armed forces.

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LOL

My Mask Strategy Is Not Changing

I will have a mask supply for life.

There are a lot of reasons we let this pandemic win. But one of the big reasons is we let a minority of crybabies frame mask wearing as some sort of punishment. Masks have saved lives. Masks are cool. Mask wearing reduces the number of common colds we get. Mask wearing prevents the transmission of influenza and exotic animal diseases like, oh, SARS, a virus family that has now killed millions of people. Masks allow us to go to shops, and go out and live life a little during a pandemic. Most of all, masks work. They were the only tool we had during the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic. They were all we had before we had the mRNA vaccines in late 2020. The fact that people cheered when a judge killed the mask mandates on domestic flights demonstrates how we shifted our thinking in two years. We’re no better than the thugs who stormed the Capitol. We’re part of the decline of this nation.

Study after study shows that wearing a mask cuts the wearer’s infection risk by at least 50%. I think it is greater than that. And a lot of the early air travel studies didn’t take into account that transmission is more likely at the gate and during the boarding process than in the cabin itself (which itself is not as low risk as the industry says - remember how many times you caught a cold after a flight?).

The WHO and Pfizer seem to have a consensus. We are in the second half of a 4-year pandemic. This seems correct to me. We need to get through a winter without a big wave. Pfizer estimates that the pandemic will become an endemic in early 2024. People deny that COVID-19 is a serious disease. People think that this was all a plot by Pfizer to make billions. But I believe Pfizer. They have not yet been proven incorrect on this virus. And COIVD-19 is still an exotic bat disease you do not want to catch.

The Brooklyn Nets Are Insulting

I am not a Nets fan, and this is not a shitpost. At least I don’t think it is.

I hate the Knicks. Always have. They will never win a third title. That we all know. That we can raise our glasses to.

But given the decision by Ben Simmons to not play a single minute, I question why anyone would be a supporter of the Nets after this season. It seems like the Nets simply exist just to insult everyone. The insane valuation when they were purchased by a Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov. The sweetheart arena deal (which followed New Jersey building them a new arena, which they refused). Then the Irving thing. Then the Simmons thing, which still shocks me. How many times does a sports franchise have to hurt a fan before the fan walks?

And to be fair, I am there myself with Newcastle United. I went through 14 years of humiliation and pain, but now me and about 2 million fans worldwide are locked in a deal with one of the most evil and cruel nations on earth just to see our team win some trophies.

At what point does a Nets fan just say, to hell with it, I don't have an NBA team to support?

2022 NYIAS: The Show Finally Opens Its Doors To Electric Vehicles

Well that took long enough. 10 years after the sale of the first Tesla Model S, the dealer association that runs the New York International Auto Show has finally accepted our electric future. It was inevitable. Of course, Tesla is never invited to any auto show, nor would it need to show off its cars in a traditional show. Tesla, for now, is still big and attractive enough to sell its cars its own way.

Tesla aside, the NYIAS has fully pivoted away from big oil and towards full electrification. The impression I got in a lot of the discussions and presentations was that big oil wasn’t trying to stop this massive shift in energy sources for cars and trucks. It’s as if big oil is just running a “prevent” defense on the flight from gasoline while shifting to renewable energy themselves. And while the automotive industry doesn’t attract the best technology or marketing people, they can see the public demand for EVs become real and permanent. For the old dealers, it seems that they don’t have to waste any time choosing a side. Dealerships are doing really well these days, and a good salesperson can sell gasoline-powered cars until retirement. For the new generation of auto sales and marketing people, EVs are the only game in town.

This year’s edition of the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) was the first in three long years. There was a wonderful relief to be back at the show as an invited non-credentialed media guest. But it was apparent that the number of presentations, attendees, and even the amount of security was lower in this return. Having said that, there was still a good number of New York car debuts, if you keep track of all the new cars that have ben released in recent months. Setting aside big names like the Ford Bronco, Mach-E and C8, the show saw the New York debuts of the Nissan Z, Subaru Solterra, Hyundai Santa Cruz, Hyundai Ionic 5, Kia EV6, Nissan Ariya, Ford F-150 Lighting, Volkswagen ID Buzz (the Bus), and Toyota GR (Gazoo Racing) Corolla without an event or presentation for any of them.

This week was also the first time the New York show got to see the Nissan Ariya in motion (it did sit at the Formula E race weekend in July 2021). And while not officially in production, New York saw a bonus electric car debut with the INDI ONE. Where is it made? When can we drive it? Why does it market to gamers and Tik Tok users? Why do the LED lights inside and out look like the strip light kits you can get on Amazon? All those questions remain unanswered.

Here are some photos from my miles of walking at the Jacob K Javits Center:

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There were more things to do at the show this year despite it being smaller overall. Hyundai offered indoor rides of their beautiful Ionic 5 electric hatchback / wagon. Jeep was back with their Camp Jeep for the 16th time, with a new, taller “mountain” (which really made the ride down a thrill, like a slow roller coaster). Toyota had their safety road course again, featuring at least five different models. In the Javits lower level, there was an EV ride track featuring at least 6 manufacturers, including INDI and VinFast. Toyota had their game show trivia show again (which might be loudest booth at the show), and Subaru was back with their maze-like National Parks themed booth with an impressive LED display floor.

The list of manufactures opting not to appear the New York show grew as Honda / Acura weren’t there. Honda has a new HR-V that city people will surely like, but they will wait to market it. Now I was going to write that BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche and Volvo were no-shows again. But that’s not accurate. Volvo was showing their electric XC40 and C40 on the lower level. BMW had their i4 on the EV ride track, also on the lower level. The Mercedes EQV and Audi e-Tron GT were nominated for multiple World Car awards, so the cars were there, as was the BMW iX4, another nominee. Lamborghini was technically there, with the latest Huracan, the Tecnica. And outside the show, things got interesting. BMW hosted a party after the first press day that quite a few automotive journalists weren’t invited to. I saw Lamborghini activity outside the show, as well as Land Rover / Jaguar. Companies might not be investing in the show, but they know hosting events around it has value. Are auto shows dying? I think they are diminishing in importance. But the New York show is supported by ticket-buying attendees who are always eager to see cars. Embracing electric cars was a very wise move. At $17 per adult ticket, the show should have another successful year.

I think the automotive press agrees that the new car presentations, aside from the Kia Niro and VinFast lineup, were all forgettable. Kia and Hyundai refreshed their big 7-seat family SUVs. Jeep made the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer a foot longer and introduced an inline 6 motor that all the Wrangler fans would love as an option. Chevrolet wanted to talk about the electric Silverado a little. Ford just wanted to show the F-150 Lighting and Mach-E in action, which will make a big impression on the show-going public. Nissan let the new Ariya and Z do their talking. Same with Volkswagen and their ID.Buzz. Same with Toyota and their soon to be sold-out GR Corolla. And that was about it. I will remember some of those cars, especially if I one day own an Ariya or Mach-E.

But it was the food that was more memorable. You can check out my food photos in the gallery above.

Here’s what anyone on the press day could have gotten. Lincoln had espresso and lattes, which I think they have had since the brand was given a thorough new look in 2014. Nissan handled the “coffee break” duty in lieu of lunch. They had big, sweet and doughy doughnuts, hot chocolate with rectangular marshmallows as big as Lincoln keyfobs, a tasty sweet and salty trail mix bar (for the new Pathfinder Rock Creek), lattes and virgin cocktails from Curious Elixers out of Tucson. And VinFast took the afternoon reception duties with simple cocktails and small plates.

But it was the Infiniti booth that has reclaimed its place as the place the press wanted to stay in for a while. In previous years (2013-2017 come to mind), they served red and white wine in the afternoon to lure in members of the media to hang out, sip the wine and recharge their lithium-ion batteries. The press day schedule didn’t list Infiniti as provider of breakfast, lunch, or anything else, but they served food from 9am until they ran out. Incredible. What did they have? They had breakfast sandwiches, like sausage egg and cheese on an english muffin, or lox, capers, cucumbers and cream cheese on an everything bagel. They had an excellent supply of Saratoga sparking mineral water. They had various hors d'oeuvres, including a little potato doughnut and a tiny beef filet on a flatbread chip. They had premium wine. For the red they had the 2019 ‘Artemis’ cabernet sauvignon by Stag Leap. And for white they had the 2020 chardonnay by Cakebread Cellars. Three days later, I noticed the same wines for sale at my local elite wine seller, PJ Wine, priced at $70 and $40, respectively. By my under $26 standards, this was premium Napa wine. And I estimate by 4pm on press day, the wine was gone. The loud parties at the high tables supported this. I heard a lot of alcohol fueled laughter.

But maybe it wasn’t the wine. Maybe it was the whisky. That’s right, there was a featured offering that was not only great, they had enough of it to last into the second press day. It was a trio of Japanese whiskys (yes, the Japanese distilleries are trying to enforce that spelling without an e, just like Scotland). Nothing special. There was no Hibiki. But I got a re-introduction to these whiskys. It seems I don’t have to desire top of the line Japanese whiskys at all. These three will do. They were Suntory Toki, Mars Iwai, and Nikka Coffey. I have long seen Japanese whiskys as finely made scotch-style elixirs. And that’s generally true. But with this sampling, I learned that Japanese whisky is more than that. They can fall on a wide range on the whiskey spectrum, with some whiskys tasking like bourbon, scotch and Irish whiskey.

I think this was a perfect introduction to Japanese Whisky. Toki is the ground floor. Sip it, or shake it into a Toki highball (which takes some skill). Mars Iawai has some poor reviews online, but I think the whiskey snobs miss the point. Iwai is really good at what it sets out to do. It is a young whisky that brings some bourbon character to the Japanese distillery scene. It’s totally mixable, and it’s good enough to drink neat thanks to hints of pear and general good balance. Plus, it is cheap ($30), unaffected by the supply shortages at the high end. I’d love to see Mars release whisky that has spent more time in the barrel.

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The third whisky was probably the best, Nikka Coffey. Not only the most complex, flavor-wise, but also the most aged. If I had room on my bar cart, I’d get all three! But if I had to choose just one, I’d get the Iwai. Maybe it can make a good old fashioned. Maybe I’ll post about that.

So this wasn’t an auto show at all! It was a good food sampling in a socially-distanced, high ceilinged hall. Until next year!

The Biden Presidency Is Over

The original title of this post was “The last political cycle is repeating itself, only worse.” I wrote that in June 2021. Below is the aborted text of that post:

If Joe Biden was hoping for a bi-partisan epiphany from Moscow Mitch and Cowardly Kevin, he's delusional. The Republicans are replaying 2009 and 2010 when a Republican president left a hot mess for Obama and decided they would obstruct everything  Barack needed to do to avoid a depression and begin extracting us from two unnecessary wars. And their plan worked. The stimulus needed to begin a robust recovery was far too small, and Republicans ran in 2010 on the lie that the Democrats were taking over health care and exploding the national debt.

In the 2010 off-year elections, the Democrats were crushed, losing control of the House of Representatives  for the next 8 years, getting annihilated in state legislative races, allowing the Republicans to gerrymander dozens of Congressional seats, and giving Obama an obstructionist legislature for his final six years in office. Mitch and Kev intend to do it again. And this time, if they're  successful,  they stand ready to elect a right wing president in 2024, regardless of the outcome of the vote. A majority of House Republicans voted to overturn the presidential election in 2020. If they control the House and Senate in 2024, they will surely do it again. The Democrats had to have seen this coming. They did nothing to stop it.

Republicans want to win elections when they don't have enough voters. So logically, they want to take rights away. They want to make their rich friends richer. They want to destroy the regulation regime (EPA, CDC, FDA, IRS, Department of Education, OSHA, FEMA). They want to dismantle state gun regulations (as the Court will do to New York this summer). And when leftists complain, they say, "you're being hysterical. You're in power. You're exaggerating. That little rally in he Capitol was overblown. You're making it all up." Or in the case of overturning Roe, they say, "the Court is just sending the issue back to the states." That's what you call taking away liberty from women. That is gaslighting.

It is really happening. And while I might come across as a crazy person now, we shall see where the nation stands in 2025 when President Noem or DeSantis steals an election, and the next one. And then stacks the court 7-2 or even 9-0 to the right. Sotomayor looks ready to walk and Breyer won't live much longer.

Republicans are evil. Anyone who joins their side is in for some fun in online forums, "owning the libs," or encouraging their children to murder their classmates, but it will destroy the nation in the process. And that is the bottom line. Republicans would rather burn the nation down than share power with brown people and women. That is what we are seeing. The bros and their white supremacist allies are having their final stand. It's one last party for the bros who marked keggers in their calendars.

10 months after I wrote those words, it is clear this nation is is being destroyed. The decline is noticeably fast now.

Joe Biden got his single Supreme Court pick. Joe Manchin will ensure he gets nothing more accomplished. The Biden presidency is finished.

It's Who We've Always Been, Jack

Joe Biden likes to say that the US is a compassionate nation that isn’t cruel at baseline. Sure, Jack. I don’t think he believes it when he speaks of the US in positive terms. His optimistic flourishes seem like going through the motions. He knows it. We know it. It’s bullshit.

We’re the nation that beats the shit out of Haitian refugees on our southern border.

And we’re the nation that tells asylum seekers from central America to get lost, but it appears we’re going to let a few Ukrainians and a few Russians cut to the front of the line.

And of course we never offered visas to Syrians, Libyans, Yemeni and other middle eastern refugees desperately trying to escape war. This nation has part time jobs to fill. And we need more people to grow our GDP. But we’re telling the rest of the world to fuck off as we sink into irrelevance. For the most part, we don’t want any refugees.

We New Yorkers Are Fools

Yesterday, Mayor Eric Adams dropped this executive order on the heads of New York City residents. Somehow, it insults both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. We're all fools. We've been so stupid, for different reasons.

The people who were ignorant, foolish, and reckless are those who refused the COVID-19 vaccine. They now see, a little over a year later, that our leaders carve out exceptions for entertainers and "performers." Any city employee who was involuntarily terminated for refusing vaccines (without a health exemption) now has grounds to file lawsuits.

And then there's the slap in the face to the majority of us, who got vaccines. We waited in long lines. We did our part to take pressure off of hospitals, and give society a chance to smother this raging fire. We trusted the medicine, as these vaccines (aside from J&J) were the most researched and tested vaccines in history. But here we are, a year later, with a mayor who basically just told us that our getting vaccinated to fight the world's first pandemic in 101 years was for nothing. Silly us. COVID-19 is just the flu. Anyone still advocating for vaccines and masking is now a raving crazy person. Since 2021 I have been told by strangers to “seek professional help” because I have been stressing the need for good people to get vaccinated and wear a mask.

The pandemic rages on, but Mayor Adams has declared it over. Throughout the press conference video above, he referred to the pandemic has having occurred in the past. The vaccines that the majority of us worked hard to get as early as possible are now just an option, like the flu shot. The only people who are getting vaccinated going forward are people who want to stay ahead of variants with boosters, children when they reach the minimum vaccination age, or college bound teenagers who realize that flu shots and the COVID-19 vaccine protect their interests to stay healthy.

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has killed between 6 and 18 million people, depending on which research methodology you choose. Millions of deaths should have made the vaccines mandatory for decades -generations, even. Instead, millions of deaths only led to the COVID-19 vaccines being mandatory for just under a year. Just under a year of fighting something no one alive has ever seen before, and requires a lot more than a year to defeat. Never mind, say our leaders. Just kidding, you fools! Get back to NBA playoff games and dining indoors. Get back to what’s important.

There will almost certainly be another respiratory disease pandemic in this century. When it hits, there will be PPE, vaccines and anti-virial medications to save lives. But none of it will be mandatory. None of it will be free, either. Theaters will stay open. Airlines will keep flying. Bars and restaurants will carry on. In the next pandemic, it will be every sucker for themselves. And millions of Americans who choose not to limit their exposure will die.

Mayor Adams let his friends in the entertainment industry set public health policy. I'd say "shame," but he has no concept of it.

We're Getting Closer To Irish Unification

With St. Patrick’s Day festivities wrapping up this weekend, I thought it’s a good time to re-post this outstanding article by Paul Maskey, MP for West Belfast, from Jacobin Magazine, July 2021:

Momentum toward Irish unity and self-determination for the people of Ireland is continuing to grow.

The party I represent, Sinn Féin, believes that Irish unity is the only platform on which we can build an Ireland of equals.

In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) was overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of Ireland, north and south. This internationally recognized accord was fully supported by successive US administrations and houses of Congress, Canadian governments, and the European Union, and it was registered at the United Nations. It provides a democratic and peaceful path toward Irish reunification — a pathway denied to previous generations of Irish republicans.

For the first time, Britain’s control of the North of Ireland was conditional on the will of the majority of citizens there.

International support for the peace process has been significant. Irish society has also changed dramatically as a result of that same peace process. In the north of Ireland, Sinn Féin will contest the upcoming Assembly election in May 2022 to return our largest-ever team of representatives.

The significance of this cannot be overstated. On the opening of the northern parliament after the partition of Ireland in 1921, the statelet’s first prime minister declared it “a Protestant parliament for a Protestant people.” The monopoly of power held by political unionism at the time of partition is no longer. The Executive that governs in the north now consists of Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and the Alliance Party.

Similarly, a significant realignment has taken place in the twenty-six-county southern state. Sinn Féin has consistently built support and, at the time of writing, is the biggest party south of the border, with thirty-seven TDs (teachta dála, members of the 160-member parliament), five seanadóirí (senators), and an all-Ireland vote tally of nearly 800,000.

Despite this result, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party have coalesced to form a government that omits Sinn Féin. Since this watershed election in February 2020, Sinn Féin, led by Mary Lou McDonald, has provided the most formidable opposition in the history of the State. In fact, Mary Lou is the first woman in the history of the state to lead the official opposition. We are confident that Sinn Féin can lead the next government in Ireland.

Brexit, coupled with the ongoing realignment of politics in Ireland, has resulted in a renewed sense of urgency and optimism around the national question.

The ongoing and developing conversation around Irish unity now needs to move to the next stage: preparation and planning.

For a referendum, there are some key actions that the Irish government needs to progress. Sinn Féin has called on the Dublin government to deliver the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, including guaranteeing the functioning of North-South institutions; the establishment of a joint Oireachtas committee on Irish unity, the setting up of an all-island-inclusive citizens’ assembly to discuss and plan for unity, and the publication of a “White Paper” road map to Irish unity.

We have witnessed the chaos and confusion Brexit has created — and this cannot be countenanced in the Irish unity campaign. We want a referendum in which people know what they are voting for, where they are well informed about what the new constitutional arrangements and the new Ireland might look like. The Irish government must start the process of planning and setting out new arrangements urgently.

The Irish government must become a persuader for a united Ireland. It must honor its constitutional obligation to work toward national reunification, and it must bring the focus of the international community to the unity campaign. The government must secure the referendum on unity in line the commitments of the Good Friday Agreement and let the people have their say.

The British government cannot deny the right of the people to self-determination. The British secretary of state has the discretion to call a unity referendum at any time — and, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, they are compelled to call one when it appears likely that the majority in the North of Ireland would vote for change.

Sinn Féin believe that time has come and that a date should now be set for the referendum.

A new and united Ireland must be a more prosperous, inclusive, and equal island. The economic outworkings of reunification would have a positive impact on the Irish economy as a whole. The outdated arguments that “we can’t afford it” do not have any basis in reality.

The demand for unity among the Irish people is growing. It is time to plan and allow all of the people to have a say in their constitutional future. It is important, too, that we respect the legitimate concerns of our unionist neighbors and work toward a new constitutional arrangement where everyone’s culture and traditions are respected. We can do it.

The American political system, the Irish American diaspora, and all American citizens supported the Irish peace process, as did the European Union and Canada. A referendum on Irish unity is a core part of the Good Friday Agreement, and it is welcome that the agreement is supported in all its parts by those who strive for peace the world over. I am confident that the international community will continue to support our quest for independence and reunification.

Partition has hampered Ireland’s ability to take its rightful place among the small nations of the earth — and it has been a destructive force in terms of building the nation that the people of Ireland, its diaspora, and its many international supporters wish for it to be.

Unity is the basis on which Ireland can thrive as a country, upon which a new nation can be built — a real republic that is outward-looking, forward-thinking, inclusive of all, and a global leader. The call from Ireland is that it is time for Irish reunification, it is time to plan, and it is time to deliver. Onward to the republic,

An Phoblacht Abú.

Analyzing 40 Years Of Tears For Fears

On February 25, the world got a new album by Tears For Fears. The Tipping Point is the band’s seventh studio album, and not surprisingly, it is very good.

Tears For Fears don't have a single poor album. My favorite TFF albums continue to be The Hurting (1983) and Elemental (1993). I also defend Everybody Loves A Happy Ending (2004), with its powerful Brian Wilson style production. I knew Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, our boys from Bath, wouldn't come back with a studio album unless they had something important to say. I didn’t realize that they have been actively playing shows since 2004. They stepped-up their live shows and set list for a lot of outdoor, warm weather UK shows in the years before the pandemic. Both Curt and Roland have personal things to air out on this possible final album. There are some beautiful moments on The Tipping Point, and I would rank it along with Sowing The Seeds Of Love (1989) and Raoul And The Kings Of Spain (1995) as a solid, contemplative TFF album.

In 1990, I read stories saying that these guys were done. Curt wanted out of the band before the Seeds Of Love tour even began. But here we are 31 years later with 4 more albums, bringing the total to 7. Seeing the TFF songbook expand to nearly 100 songs is a great achievement. Not bad for two men who were seen as more sensitive and sadder than their contemporaries Duran Duran, XTC, The Psychedelic Furs, Talk Talk and Simple Minds, who filled arenas with their thoughtful, romantic pop.

I wasn’t going to do a ranked list. This is not a music blog. I don’t do rankings. But screw it! Let’s do this!

Here are all 7 Tears For Fears studio albums, ranked how I, Mister Sterling, see them.

Oh, but first! Something has to be acknowledged. A lot of their material is inspired by the late American psychologist, Arthur Janov, specifically his book, The Primal Scream and his development of primal therapy. Considering that Dr. Janov became a bit of a celebrity psychologist to famous people like John Lennon, I have a theory as well. I don’t think highly of Freudian theory, and primal theory was a revival of that. But I acknowledge that in the 1970s and 1980s, that second look at Freud helped inspire some good art and art criticism. I had a professor who made me view Italian Neorealism through a Freudian lens, and it proved to add a layer of entertainment and discussion, and very little else.

Since Roland Orzabal has written songs either adjacent to or inspired by The Primal Scream, we can conclude that the book had a profound influence on his life. The Primal Scream inspired the band’s name, and most of the tracks on their debut album. (Interestingly it didn’t inspire Shout - that’s just a good protest song).

I notice two things. First, we all go through phases of being influenced by media (the smart among us, anyway). The Primal Scream is the big bang that gave us Tears For Fears, but it didn’t remain the inspiration for their songs after their first two albums. Second, flawed inspiration or not, it set the tone for Tears For Fears as an emotionally-charged band. Some of their songs make me and millions of others cry. These boys broke from the chains of English society in which young men are seen and not heard (and girls fare even worse, of course). These boys were going to put their feelings out there. They presented themselves as university students in sweaters (“jumpers” as the British call them). Visually they looked like conformists, but they were anything but. They were and remain understated, sensitive rebels, much like their contemporary from Manchester, Morrissey. And well, isn’t that very English?

7. The Tipping Point (2022)

Wait, didn’t I just say that The Tipping Point is very good? It is. It’s also the album in the band’s discography I don’t see myself going back to often. Like I wrote above, Roland and Curt wouldn’t record new songs unless they had something important to say. Tears For Fears is a project that juxtaposes memorable well crafted music with serious, sometimes depressing subject matter. As usual, it’s Roland who has the most to share, as he is the primary lyricist on all TFF albums. On Tipping Point, he brings at least three (and arguably four) songs about his late wife, Caroline, to whom he was married for nearly 35 years.

There is not a bad song on this, or any Tears For Fears album. That can be a problem if you are trying to rank them. But The Tipping Point is mainly a personal affair. Roland has important things he wants to air out. Rivers Of Mercy and Please Be Happy form the emotional core of this album. I think Rivers Of Mercy is fantastic.

The most fun track on the album is My Demons. They could have leaned into a more 80s synth sound, but that would have made the song trendy. This final version will hold up.

The title track, which was released in September 2021, was a clear signal that Tears For Fears were not messing around. After touring together off and on since 2004 or so, it was time to record some new songs. This is a great song, true to the band’s roots.

The pair have said that there were more songs recorded with up and coming producers dating back to 2019 or so, but Roland and Curt rejected most of them. I’d be curious to know how those sounded. Maybe they have some remnants that can go into an eighth album. They are not done yet.

6. The Seeds Of Love (1989)

This album has two great songs: Woman In Chains and Advice For The Young At Heart. But I rank it low, because again. when I judge a discography this strong, some good albums aren’t going to make my top three.

In August 1989 this album’s lead single blazed across FM radio stations and on MTV. The band’s third studio album belongs to a shortlist of albums that were made to show off the CD format. Albums like Brothers in Arms and So were big sellers in the relatively new format, as was Songs From The Big Chair and this album.

Even though the production of this album was aimed for pristine CD sound, every album by Tears for Fears is under 51 minutes. This allows all of their albums to be pressed on a standard, two sided vinyl LP. And The Seeds Of Love was arranged with this in mind. It has four songs on each side, with side B being the less commercial side. But make no mistake, this whole album is a blend of two styles of pop. First, it is a Brian Wilson-inspired sound that brings Tears For Fears close to the sound of The Beatles, The Beach Boys and XTC (who had their sonically bright album Oranges And Lemons that same year).

But, second, let’s tackle the core of this album. This is the band’s ‘quiet storm’ album. Side B has moments that sound like Sade (her band, which is also called Sade). There are also elements soul, such as the self deprecating Bad Man’s Song on Side A. That piece was inspired by Orzabal overhearing tour crew members speaking very negatively of him.

The Seeds Of Love has a magnificent soundstage. You want to play this on a high end home system, through wood and Kevlar speakers that themselves recreate the big stage. The album sounds like a live performance.

It has to be said that Side A is just about perfect. Tears For Fears being the downers that they are, the album begins with Woman In Chains, which is one of their very best tracks. It was the second single from the album. Phil Collins delivers a restrained performance on drums and the song introduces the world to the voice of Oleta Adams. I know exactly where I was in my life when I first saw this video on MTV in November 1989.

Bad Man’s Song, the second track on the album, is very complex. It starts as a jazz track, with piano and drums, then abruptly shifts to country style with the opening verse. And then it settles to a blend of jazz, soul and even some gospel. You have to wait for the hook. But by the time you get to it, the song is in full Quiet Storm mode; a blend of soul and jazz. It’s weird and good. Just listen to that production and mix.

Go big or go home with the lead single. Sowing The Seeds Of Love is the third track. Very few songs to ever reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 are this layered, big sounding and complex. In terms of similar songs from the same year, I like XTC’s King For A Day and even Elvis Costello’s Veronica better. But this song is a lush, retro mid-60s style hit number one in the USA the same year Madonna, Richard Marx, Janet Jackson and Bobby Brown topped the same Hot 100 chart.

I will point out that Sowing The Seeds Of Love wasn’t entirely alone at the top of the charts that year. Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals had a retro, early 1960s style.

The final song on Side A, and third single from the album, Advice For The Young At Heart, is a jazz song. It’s also another songwriting triumph. It’s beautiful. And it could have been the last single from the band, or the last single to have Curt on lead vocals. Miraculously it was neither.

The production of Seeds Of Love cost more than twice what the boys expected. They went through three producers, including their friend Chris Hughes, who had produced Songs From The Big Chair. In the end they re-recorded the album themselves, self-produced in their own studio. The final cost was over £1 Million. In today’s dollars, that’s over £2.5 Million. You can hear the money.

5. Everyone Loves A Happy Ending (2004)

This is the previous time Roland and Curt got together in the studio to make a final statement. That’s now 18 years ago, and a new final statement is available for the world to listen. In a way, this album a direct sequel to The Seeds Of Love, thanks to its wonderful, lush production inspired by Brian Wilson and The Beatles. Perhaps Roland decided to make a bright pop album to celebrate the return of Curt. Or maybe he thought that The Seeds Of Love deserved a sequel. But, as we shall see, he took Tears For Fears to exciting new places with the two albums he led on his own. This album was a return to a 1960s sound, but my no means a regression.

I think most fans like this album, but don’t love it. I myself haven’t memorized the title of every song. But what I do know is that it is a more complete album than The Seeds Of Love. The themes and musical styles come together better, and it’s more consistent. It was made under the assumption that it could be their last studio album (hence, the “ending.”). Roland was tired of label executives asking him to reunite with Curt. Over the years, they continued to meet with their lawyers and accountants for business reasons, like signing legal papers, and reviewing royalties and revenue sharing. Eventually, they started talking to each other, and the musical partnership resumed, and that’s the happy ending the label and fans wanted.

Orzabal stuck with producer Tim Palmer, making this their third consecutive Tears For Fears album together. This means that Curt was rejoining a band that changed its studio and production team two years after he left it.

I remember spinning the CD the day it was released, and it was a tense listen. I didn’t want one of my favorite bands to release a poor album when they didn’t have to release an album at all. The music critics at the time were fawning over The White Stripes and Interpol. Tears For Fears could have just done a greatest hits tour. But they gave us a new album that was better than The Seeds Of Love. The backing personnel had changed since 1989, but Roland and Curt continued to mature and grow as artists.

This album demands a full play, start to finish. It features bright songs that evoke movement, and feature a lot of guitar and drums. For example, I really like Killing With Kindness. I’m sure the boys like Thomas Dolby, but Killing With Kindness includes the line, “Don’t blind them with science.” I get a kick out of that reference to a fellow New Wave artist.

The brightest and perhaps best song on the album is Call Me Mellow. Here, Orzabal and company nail that mid 1960s sound they had been chasing. This is beautiful and a bit psychedelic. Keen musicians will also note that there is a harmony of G, D, C# in the chorus, much like There She Goes by the La’s. Roland is transparent in his borrowing, but he backs it up with well composed and arranged music.

Secret World is yet another bright mid-1960s style song, complete with a horn section. The band continue to play this live in 2022. I think what makes this album so good is that all the songs have good structure. They have memorable choruses, good bridges, and are all under 6 minutes long.

On Size Of Sorrow, we get a solid Tears For Fears song. This could have been a track off of Roland’s albums from the previous decade. It’s a melancholy song about the band. They “borrow” styles from artists who came before. They know they can’t match their “high wire” days of 1985 to 1989. Yeah, this is about them.

Ladybird is a great, sad number about aging, I think. It’s very XTC with its Beatles sound and powerful chorus:

Ladybird fly away our friends are gone
Ladybird fly away our house is on fire

That chorus was written by Curt well before he rejoined the band. He presented it to Roland Orzabal and Chris Hughes, and Roland had the verses done in just a few hours.

Curt borrowed from the classic, dark English nursery rhyme, Ladybird Ladybird:

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,

Your house is on fire and your children are gone

The album’s closer is appropriately titled Last Days On Earth. I think it has a groovy 1970s soul bass line. I certainly thought this was finally the end. Roland and Curt were well into their forties. But they were friends again, or at least working partners. This felt like closure.

4. Raoul And The Kings Of Spain (1995)

I like to think of Tears For Fears in the 1990s as being a band in exile. Curt has left the band and is living in Los Angeles. Most fans have put their cassettes and CDs into a bookcase and have moved on, listening to grunge, “alternative,” or adult contemporary tunes. Roland took his time to build a home studio and retained rights to use the Tears For Fears name (sort of a Roger Waters situation, but if Waters actually recorded and toured as Pink Floyd after 1983). I had no idea if the door for Curt to return was open or closed. And probably neither did Roland. He just carried on and did exactly what he did on The Seeds Of Love. He hired a band. He produced and arranged the music. He let his influences guide him through two albums.

Raoul And The Kings Of Spain is the second of those albums, recorded in 1994 and released in 1995 with the same personnel as Elemental (1993). This is a very personal album for Roland -his most personal until The Tipping Point (2022). He explores his Spanish and Basque heritage (on his father’s side). Don’t expect many happy songs with hooks here. Roland looks inward here. But some of the songs are simply gorgeous.

God’s Mistake has the chorus, “Love is God’s mistake.” Not pulling punches on this catchy number. Notice how Roland was at his vocal peak. He could almost make himself sound like Curt. The lyrics include the words paradigm and pantomime. I don’t think you’ll find those words together in any other song.

Sketches Of Pain. It's Folk and country in style, with a strong dose of flamenco. The title is a play on “Sketches Of Spain,” perhaps?

Secrets totally fits as a Tears For Fears song, both lyrically and musically.

And the album closes with the magnificent Me And My Big Ideas. It has lament, reflection, humility, and the return of Oleta Adams, who Orzabal was working with on her solo albums in the 1990s. When I heard this track, I thought this was the end of the band. It was yet another perfect final album track.

Oh, this album ends with a reprise of a song that appears earlier on the album - Los reyes Católicos. What was that I said about filler and artists highlighting their own work? Still fine. I rank this album high for having a huge heart.

3. Elemental (1993)

Elemental continues to stun me as a near perfect pop album. This is also the album that made me a Tears For Fears fan, after 8 years resisting them. I was working as an unpaid intern at WBCN radio in Boston when this album came out. Of the six or so DJs who worked the classic late 80s/early 90s rotation at that station, one of them, Mark Parenteau, recommended the new Tears For Fears album more than once on-air. Tears For Fears had no chance of being played on WBCN in 1993. Songs in heavy rotation during my first few weeks at the station included Pets, Creep, the other Creep, Plush, and No Rain. But by the end of that summer, the two new CDs I wanted to bring with me for my third year at University were Robert Plant’s Fate Of Nations, and this one (oh, and Songs Of Faith And Devotion by Depeche Mode!).

What makes Elemental a triumph? Roland Orzabal took full control. He wasn’t going to bend to trends or what was hot in pop music in 1992. He was going to ignore techno, trance and grunge. He knew the new album would struggle to go gold (which it did). He knew MTV wasn’t going to play any videos. And he knew that it was too soon for people to want to hear his songs from the 1980s (except, apparently, the audience in Bogotá, which depressed him). So he assembled an all new band and production team, led by Alan Griffiths and Tim Palmer. The latter mixed Pearl Jam’s debut album and became a fine producer himself starting with Elemental.

This album has peaks and valleys. It takes us somewhere. It has payoffs. I won’t link to every track, but anyone who likes Tears For Fears who has never listened to this album needs to sit down and give it a chance. It’s every bit as good as the albums that follow it in my ranking. This is the Tears For Fears podium -the top three.

The first three songs set the tone. This is the new Tears For Fears, and it’s on these tracks you clearly notice Curt is not there. But Roland’s electric guitars are back for the first time since Songs From The Big Chair.

The following three songs bring things down to a simmer, but they are still all very good. Notably, Fish Out Of Water is about Curt leaving the band. Roland even included it in the Elemental tour set list. Curt really took that jab well. He has said on numerous occasions that he found it funny. What a good sport. The guy has had to deal with Roland’s dominating personality and excessive creative control for decades.

The seventh track, Gas Giants, is a bass-synth heavy instrumental that signals the album’s final third. And what follows are three songs, two of which are among my very favorites from Tears For Fears.

Power is a power pop song about, well, power. And while the lyrics dance around the topic, I think it’s a highlight of the TFF songbook. Just when you thought this album was winding down, it hits you with this.

The Goodnight Song is a great country song about performing music live in front of an audience. That’s both corny and on the nose for a final song on an album. But there is a reason so many people think that not only is this a great Tears For Fears song, but it’s an underrated highlight of the 1990s. It’s wonderfully made, has a hook, and a guitar solo closes it. In this final track, I think Roland was trying to sound like Curt in the second verse. He had me fooled for a moment.

When the new Tears For Fears hit the road in the summer of 1993, songs were already written for the next album, Raoul And The Kings Of Spain. Orzabal would simply have the same crew reconvene in his studio to record the next album. Tears For Fears the band was not just alive, it was going thorough the busiest period of its existence. Roland was driving this bus, and he delivered two albums, one of which might be his career peak.

2. The Hurting (1983)

The Hurting is a bold debut album. The Hurting is as much a pop album than a depressing diary of a young man. It arguably has breakup songs, or perhaps those songs are about being abandoned by one’s parents (“you don’t give me love”). But it doesn’t have a single love song. It’s a downer, and it’s my favorite Tears For Fears album.

I’m a closeted goth. No, the music isn’t goth. But how can I not love this album? It is such a downer.

Recorded in 1982 and released in 1983, The Hurting is a snapshot of two young men and their nation in a particularly bleak moment in time. It is the time of Thatcherism, a made-up word with a very real history behind it. It’s the history of austerity being sold to people as an improvement over a previous political regime. But the austerity actually brought more sadness and social destruction. This is the backdrop of The Hurting.

At the age of 20 or 21, living in a flat above a pizzeria, probably lying on his bed or sofa, an unemployed Roland Orbazal wrote these extraordinary lyrics while watching people walk and drive by.

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere

Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very, very
Mad world, mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello, teacher! Tell me, what's my lesson?
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very, very
Mad world, mad world

Enlarging your world
Mad world

This is their first single. Curt sang the vocals. They had low expectations. Mercury, the record label, had low expectations. At least the label hired Depeche Mode’s director to shoot the music video. This song went to to number three on the UK pop chart on Halloween, 1982! Number three! And it stayed there for three weeks, not far from smash hits like Pass The Dutchie, and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (both of which went to number one!). A note about those: New Wave included some reggae and both of those chart toppers are reggae songs. Eddie Grant’s Electric Avenue would be released just weeks later.

And with that, Tears For Fears was born.

The Hurting is equal parts finished songs and equal parts experimental or undercooked songs. But collectively it is a landmark album and quite listenable. The boys and their producer couldn’t replicate an electronic band like Depeche Mode or Yazoo, but we hear them trying a few different things.

Curt Smith was given signing duties for the most catchy songs, Mad World, Pale Shelter and Change. But there isn’t a single happy song on this album.

When you don't give me love (You gave me pale shelter)
You don't give me love (you give me cold hands)
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command

The Hurting is one of the greatest debut albums of all time. It launched Tears For Fears into a most crowded market of New Wave artists. U2, Simple Minds, Talk Talk, Duran Duran, INXS, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen, Missing Persons, REM, Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, The Human League, Heaven 17, The Cure, OMD, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, A Flock Of Seagulls, Thompson Twins, Adam Ant, XTC, Eurythmics, Gary Numan, Culture Club, The Police and so many others were already established. Most were already on their second or third albums (or more). But we consider Tears For Fears to be in that class. They (and Erasure, I guess) got in towards the end of the “Second British invasion.”

And yet (yet!) The Hurting is not even the best debut album of 1983. Incredible! That title goes to The Script Of The Bridge by The Chameleons. A very crowded market, indeed.

I love the long synth and drum machine outro to Memories Fade. This ends side A.

The Hurting LP is 10 songs, with 5 songs per side. Side B is pretty damn serious and shows a songwriter who is more mature than his age suggests. Suffer The Children is sung to a parent, presumably older than Orzabal. Maybe his single mom. It has perhaps the best written and sung chorus on the album.

And all this time he's been getting you down
You ought to pick him up when there's no one around
And convince him
Just talk to him
'cause he knows in his heart you won't be home soon
He's an only child in an only room
And he's dependent on you
Oh he's dependent on you

That’s Orbazal’s wife Caroline singing the La La La part.

With the next track, Watch Me Bleed, the doom doesn’t stop.

It’s important to finish strong. I think Roland lives by this rule, because The Start Of The Breakdown might be the best composition on the album, and includes either a grand piano or a piano synth (a Roland Jupiter? A Prophet T8?) a real drum kit, and an extended instrumental section with a drum solo to close it. The song is about Roland’s father, who physically and emotionally abused Roland’s mother, had arterial scoliosis (“ice in the vein”), and suffered a nervous breakdown. Orzabal’s mother would soon move out of the house with her three boys and raise them alone in Bath.

Mercury Records wanted more from this band, and fast. They knew Roland was developing a new song called Head Over Heels, but it wasn’t ready. And while the label pressured Roland and Curt to have a second album ready for 1984, they got the boys to release a cut track, The Way You Are, to hold fans over while Songs From The Big Chair was being developed. They toured. They took extra months to make their masterpiece. And then they toured again. No wonder they were too exhausted to play Live Aid on a day off in their summer 1985 tour.

1. Songs From The Big Chair (1985)

I didn’t want this to be my number one. Nope. I really wanted to put The Hurting here.

However, I gave Songs From The Big Chair two full listens for this blog post. I had never listened to this album twice in a day, and I hadn’t played it in probably 12 years, because I feel it is their best known and most overplayed work. But after serious listens, I have a new judgement of this album. I heard things I hadn’t noticed nor appreciated before. Things like the Fairlight CMI in Shout. Sure I have heard the song dozens of times, but hearing it in 2022 let me think back and connect the dots. I first heard the Fairlight CMI on Peter Gabriel’s Security Album in 1982, and then Herbie Hancock’s Rockit album in 1983. By 1984, it was everywhere, even in hair metal. Phil Collins even dissed it. But you know what? The Farlight rules. Shout is also one of the few protest songs to chart in the 1980s.

Once they get that out of the way, what’s the second song? The Working Hour, which is 6 and a half minutes. Roland is so proud of this song, he still includes it in live set lists and almost named the album after it. Listen to that production and big budget mix. Remind you of another artist? Here’s a hint: he’s also from Bath. Yes, this is a very Peter Gabriel song for me. It’s like a cousin of Red Rain, with its grand piano and wide stereo sound (but Gabriel liked the Yamaha and Roland piano synths, right?). Jerry Marotta plays both drums and keyboards on The Working Hour. Perhaps just weeks after this album was released, Marotta would lay down the drum tracks for Red Rain (with Stewart Copeland performing the cymbals and high hat). This album makes the case for greatness with just its second track.

But you know what’s coming next. Track # 3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Could this be the best pop song of 1985? If not this, then what? Raspberry Beret? Sussudio? I Feel For You? Take On Me? Money For Nothing? Don’t You (Forget About Me)? Everything She Wants? The Boys Of Summer? In 1985 you had so much to choose from. But this stays in the mixtape. How can it not? Shit, the 1985 mixtape has to start with this song.

Side A ends with Mother’s Talk. It’s fine. Compared to what came before, it’s a little lazy. It has a dash of primal theory. Play it through and turn that LP over. And then prepare for a dramatic shift.

Hope you got your dancing done on Side A. Because Side B starts with one of my very favorite Tears For Fears songs. At first glance, it might be an optimistic tune. It’s called “I Believe.” Hey guys, Roland believes in something! And then you listen to the words. and it is a marvelous punch in the gut:

That's why I believe it is too late for anyone to believe

Or how about the end?

And I believe, no I can't believe that every time you hear a newborn scream
You just can't see the shaping of a life
The shaping of a life
It's too late

Primal theory again, there.

Roland delivers some of his very best vocals, backed by a grand piano, a drum kit and a saxophone. What sounds like the sample of a record skipping backwards opens the track. It’s a jazz song, like Advice For The Young At Heart.

This won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo or Group, right?

No?

The Grammy went to [checks Wikipedia] Quincy Jones and USA for Africa for We Are The World.

Well, fuck! FUCK!!!!

Phil Collins got his male solo Grammy for No Jacket Required. Fine. But seriously, fuck this shit. We knew that New Wave power groups Simple Minds nor U2 weren’t going to win for best Pop Duo or Group. And I love three of Wham’s songs, but Wham was not going to win a trophy. It should have been Tears For Fears.

Side B of Songs From The Big chair is short. It goes by real quick. We are left reeling from I Believe, but the boys proceed with a sandwich of three tracks to take us home: Broken, Head Over Heels, and a snippet of the Broken instrumental, played live. I wasn’t annoyed when artists added a “reprise” or alternate mix version of a song on their albums in the 80s. It was a way to add some filler, and get a window on what the artist thought was a highlight of the production. But I am surprised Tears For Fears did this. The next critically acclaimed band to repeat themselves was probably Radiohead some 15 years later, with Morning Bell. Broken is an odd song. It kicks off super strong with a long instrumental introduction, complete with a Roland guitar solo. “We are broken” is the first chorus, and then the song takes us to what sounds like a second chorus:

In my mind's eye
One little boy anger one little man
Funny how time flies

This leads straight to one of their greatest songs that also ends with those very same lines.

Head Over Heels is the first love song Tears For Fears put on a record. It’s their wonderfully awkward love song. "Something happens" is passive voice. The songwriting here is genius. This describes anxiety, fear and a little anger all so well and efficiently. It's the love song for people who aren't players nor have any game. And it opens with chords that are instantly recognizable, just like Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

The final track is Listen. It’s mostly instrumental, and it dabs in World Music, but not the great way Peter Gabriel does it. If we knew this would be the final Tears For Fears album, it would go down as a weak final studio track. Roland Orzabal arranges the tracks. He knows how to pick them. Six of their seven albums close with really strong, fitting songs. The weakest closer, in my opinion is Listen. But can anyone complain after 8 songs -6 of them phenomenal- in just 41 minutes? Take your prize, Tears For Fears. This album is your masterpiece. It was produced by Chris Hughes, Adam Ant’s drummer. All synthesizers, programming, sequencing, and the Fairlight CMI were manned by Ian Stanley. Aside from Roland’s vocals and guitar, he IS this record, and he’s the guy in the Head Over Heels Video who’s got game.

And this incredible album almost didn’t happen. Their label wanted this sophomore album released in 1984, hot on the heels of their great debut and first tour. But the boys would not rush things. They spent nearly all their money renovating a Grade II listed 16th century building, called The Wool Hall, converting it into their recording studio. Thus they made a studio that suited them, their sound, and their work pace.

They released Songs From The Big Chair when it was ready.
That too describes their fellow Bath native, Peter Gabriel. The world is still waiting for him to release his tenth and final studio album (it will probably never come). And this album set the standard for all Tears For Fears albums that followed. Roland Orbazal is the creative director, and he decides when a project is done.

Are they done? Not this year. They start a US and UK tour this spring.

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He Walked The Talk

This is the greatest death of the year.

He died doing what he loved: owning the libs and resisting a proven vaccine

Fuck him. Fuck every eligible adult who refuses to get vaccinated. And fuck every parent who ruses to get their eligible child vaccinated. Fuck them all.

The Virus Won

Democrats gave up fighting SARS-CoV-2. It is just the flu now. We are now being told that we have to live with it. Get back to work, Jack.

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The Supreme Court saw the signs. They knew we were going to give up fighting the virus. And as an added bonus, they weakened the regulatory authority of OSHA.

The Spreme Court’s mission, under it’s right wing majority, is to dismantle Federal regulatory agencies. The regulatory state was created by the Democratic Party, with overwhelming popular support. The New Deal and the Second World War made the creation of such a state an obvious necessity. If they and the GOP succeed, as I think they will, the Federal government would fit comfortably within the confines of Calvin Coolidge's policy, circa 1925. He once said that if the U.S. government were to go out of existence, the average citizen would only miss the mail. For this backward Republican majority, the repeal of the twentieth century seems to be the goal. Regulation of capitalism, and the protections of civil liberties, would once again be left to the tender mercies of the states. For the white and rich, this might mean little. For the vast majority of the country, the results will be catastrophic, just as failure to snuff-out the pandemic has been catastrophic.

Uncle Tim contributed to this post.