Althouse: "We are all right-wingers now: How Fox News, ineffective liberals, corporate Dems and GOP money captured everything."

March 10, 2014

"We are all right-wingers now: How Fox News, ineffective liberals, corporate Dems and GOP money captured everything."

A Salon headline for a piece by Thomas "What's the Matter with Kansas?" Frank.

130 comments:

tim maguire said...: in the perspectives of multiculturalism and diversity...you can have a society that’s perfectly just if less than 1 percent of the population controls 95 percent of the stuff, so long as that one percent is half women and 12 percent black, and 12 percent Latino and whatever the appropriate numbers are gay.

Wow, an accurate summation of liberal thinking. I totally didn't guess I'd find that at the link.; 3/10/14, 1:56 PM
SteveR said...: Because, you look at something like Fox News, and they talk about Obama as if he were a socialist or a communist or a dictator.

These guys are supposed to be smart and they talk seriously with that type of statement in the middle. I'm absolutely sure they've never watched Fox News.; 3/10/14, 2:14 PM
test said...: we all knew the left was going to renounce Obama.

Q: Why the sudden journo-lister willingness to attack [Obama]?

A: It's becoming harder and harder to defend leftist policies as they prove ineffective. The best strategy to preserve leftism is to turn on Obama and blame the failure on him.

Besides, the election's over and Obama can't take leftism any farther. Save the credibility for the next Democrat.

5/15/13, 9:44 PM; 3/10/14, 2:14 PM
mishu said...: But I still think there’s a lot of astro-turf there. I go back to the founding moment of the Tea Party. And I’ve watched this clip a number of time since then. That day that Rick Santelli…

I’ve written about that at great length.

Oh good, I need to read that because when I watched it after the founding moment it seemed pretty clear to me—I mean, you can tell me if I’m wrong—that the co-host knew what was coming. That this was not a spontaneous rant.

It might have been planned, I dunno. You know what got me about it, is that it was on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. And you think about Populist movements, like my favorite one from the 1890s, where the Chicago Board of Trade was the pit of evil. And here’s a guy launching his populist movement from that same spot. Remember, he’s not yelling at the traders, he’s not chastising the traders, he’s speaking on their behalf. What kind of populist movement is that? It’s like they were trying to reverse the fundamental symbolism (of populism). Because that’s what the Tea Party movement is: it takes all of the classic populist symbolism and reverses it.

Right. That’s exactly right. That’s exactly right. Yeah.

Did these guys actually watch the video? The traders cheering Santelli on weren't wearing spats and diamond cufflinks, smoking cigars, and snifting brandy. They were wearing golf shirts and khakis hunched over keyboards, you know, working. The world has changed from 1890 despite what the hipsters of Williamsburg are trying to do. Most working people wear khakis, not coveralls.; 3/10/14, 2:15 PM
Bilwick said...: Thomas Frank, the Linda Lovelace of State-fellators? That Thomas Frank?; 3/10/14, 2:18 PM
Nonapod said...: Wow, Salon is still around?; 3/10/14, 2:19 PM
Bilwick said...: Thomas Frank, the Linda Lovelace of State-fellators? That Thomas Frank?; 3/10/14, 2:19 PM
Lnelson said...: Kansas??? What's the matter with busybodies is the question. Why do they think they know what's better for us than we do ourselves.

“One man who minds his own business is more valuable to the world than 10,000 cocksure moralists.”
H. L. Mencken; 3/10/14, 2:19 PM
garage mahal said...: we all knew the left was going to renounce Obama.

Liberals have been renouncing his policies for years. Which is more than you can say.; 3/10/14, 2:23 PM
jacksonjay said...: About 3 million people watch FOX News. Less than 1% of the population and less that 3% of the electorate, and yet....! Some of those viewers work at the White House, or Media Matters, or Jon Leibowitz's show, or Stevie ColeBurt's show.

Fire-up the FCC! Fired-Up! Ready to Go!

What in the Hell is the matter with Thomas Frank?; 3/10/14, 2:30 PM
Bilwick said...: "Liberals have been renouncing his policies for years."

And by "liberals" you mean "tax-happy, coercion-addicted State-f*ckers," correct? Why would they be renouncing Obama's policies? Not socialistic enough for them?

Which is more than you can say."
Actually, I've been renouncing "Il Dufe's" policies for about eight years now. Although I guess "denouncing" would be the better word.; 3/10/14, 2:34 PM
Anonymous said...: The bit about Pat Buchanan perfectly encapsulates the weirdness of the Frank Method:

The holy rollers backed [Bob] Dole. And that’s where the field capacity was in South Carolina, among the holy rollers. And you’d wonder, well, why would they do that, right? Partly, it’s because they made the rational calculation that the interests that the elites in the right wing with populist tendencies are fundamentally connected with right wing corporate and financial sector interests.

So he starts with a theory that makes you think: What is that even supposed to mean?...

And they figured that in strategic terms they’d be better served by getting behind Dole and helping to deliver him the nomination than by going down in flames with their version of Henry Wallace, I guess.

...then switches midstream to an explanation that actually makes sense, but delivers it like it's a continuation of the conspiratorial-sounding gibberish that came before. The end product is a piece of conventional wisdom-- they realized Buchanan wasn't electable-- into which Puppet Masters have somehow been insinuated.; 3/10/14, 2:34 PM
Robert Cook said...: "we all knew the left was going to renounce Obama.

"Q: Why the sudden journo-lister willingness to attack [Obama]?

"A: It's becoming harder and harder to defend leftist policies as they prove ineffective. The best strategy to preserve leftism is to turn on Obama and blame the failure on him.

"Besides, the election's over and Obama can't take leftism any farther. Save the credibility for the next Democrat."

Hahahaha! Stop, you're killing me! Hahahaha!; 3/10/14, 2:35 PM
Bilwick said...: I guess if "liberals" are disappointed with Obama--because he's not statist enough to wearm the cockles of their sadomasochistic hearts--they'll have to content themselves with a video of the movie "Gabriel Over the White House" and a bottle of lube.; 3/10/14, 2:39 PM
Revenant said...: Did these guys actually watch the video?

Of course not. Being familiar with the truth makes it harder to lie with a straight face.; 3/10/14, 2:43 PM
Henry said...: That may be the most incoherent interview I've ever tried to read. One guy can't formulate a clear question and the other guy's on speed.; 3/10/14, 2:45 PM
Henry said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/10/14, 2:51 PM
Henry said...: The line "[Sheryl Sandberg] is the Alexandra Kollontai of our moment" got my attention. I didn't know who Kollontai was, either, but I googled her. I wanted to know if she was shot or poisoned.*

*Neither! She successfully survived Lenin and died at age 79.; 3/10/14, 2:51 PM
garage mahal said...: Why would they be renouncing Obama's policies? Not socialistic enough for them?

Neo-liberal policies are unpopular and ineffective. Education, energy, education, trade deals. Republicans should love a good portion of Obama's policies.; 3/10/14, 2:55 PM
RecChief said...: it is interesting that Frank rejects identity polititcs.

Over to you, Crack; 3/10/14, 2:56 PM
Henry said...: Republicans should love a good portion of Obama's policies.

Funny how Republicans keep trying to block those policies they should love. Clueless and corrupt as the national Republicans may be, at least you've got to give them credit for obstructionism.; 3/10/14, 2:57 PM
Bilwick said...: "Neo-liberal policies are unpopular and ineffective."

Not to mention that they may lead to a tad less statism and a smidgen more of individual liberty! Horrors!

"Education, energy, education, trade deals. Republicans should love a good portion of Obama's policies."

Such as, specifically? Are you saying that the Red Diaper Baby in the White House is actually a closet libertarian? In other words, if I want policies that increase my individual liberty and get the Iron Boot to press less heavily on my neck, I should vote for someone else who, say, belonged to the socialist New Party and espouses coercive income redistribution? Fascinating.; 3/10/14, 3:05 PM
Bilwick said...: "Neo-liberal policies are unpopular and ineffective."

Not to mention that they may lead to a tad less statism and a smidgen more of individual liberty! Horrors!

"Education, energy, education, trade deals. Republicans should love a good portion of Obama's policies."

Such as, specifically? Are you saying that the Red Diaper Baby in the White House is actually a closet libertarian? In other words, if I want policies that increase my individual liberty and get the Iron Boot to press less heavily on my neck, I should vote for someone else who, say, belonged to the socialist New Party and espouses coercive income redistribution? Fascinating.; 3/10/14, 3:06 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Henry said...
That may be the most incoherent interview I've ever tried to read. One guy can't formulate a clear question and the other guy's on speed.

Agreed. The shit makes no sense.

Heck, I'm evidence the title's wrong:

I don't like FOX, have been at war with liberals forever, I left the Dems (who I was born into) as soon as I realized I could, and I'm disgusted the GOP has lost touch with it's good side, partially, because - despite finally getting to the White House (Michelle, if you won't accept the claim for Obama) - collectively, we blacks they freed don't appear to be meeting their expectations.

The whole piece is just wrong.; 3/10/14, 3:09 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: RecChief said...
it is interesting that Frank rejects identity polititcs.

Over to you, Crack

I don't practice identity politics - I'm black:

I practice survival.; 3/10/14, 3:10 PM
test said...: Robert Cook said...
Hahahaha! Stop, you're killing me! Hahahaha!

Cook's objection is hardly surprising given his entire oeuvre consists of this sole tactic. By denying any real world policy is sufficiently leftist he attempts to deflect the negative outcomes associated with them. Naturally he applies the same tactic to Obama himself - or any other politician.; 3/10/14, 3:12 PM
Bilwick said...: "I don't practice identity politics - I'm black:

I practice survival."

Hey, we have something in common, Crack! I'm a libertarian (you know, one of those weirdoes who think their lives and property belong to themselves and not to Obama), and I practice survival, too. Because statism kills.; 3/10/14, 3:14 PM
garage mahal said...: Funny how Republicans keep trying to block those policies they should love

Romney said he would consider keeping Arne Duncan. Obama signed same trade deals any Republican would have signed. You know Keystone will go ahead. Look at who Obama hired. For someone like me, in many ways Obama is worse than Bush.; 3/10/14, 3:16 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: William Chadwick,

"I practice survival, too. Because statism kills."

Then you've been no help in the freedom of blacks.

Goodbye.; 3/10/14, 3:17 PM
test said...: garage mahal said...
Republicans should love a good portion of Obama's policies.

So garage admits Republicans don't act as he thinks they should given his understanding of their priorities. This error should be alerting him he doesn't correctly understand those priorities.

Introspection isn't exactly his strong suit.; 3/10/14, 3:18 PM
Bilwick said...: Not true, Crack. I advocate individual liberty for all. Statism has killed billions, of every skin color.

See you at the next Mensa meeting, buddy.; 3/10/14, 3:24 PM
Illuninati said...: "As I argue in the essay, by “Left” I mean an old-school understanding ... that’s rooted in political economy."

"the problem with a notion of equality or social justice that’s rooted in the perspectives of multiculturalism and diversity is that from those perspectives you can have a society that’s perfectly just if less than 1 percent of the population controls 95 percent of the stuff, so long as that one percent is half women and 12 percent black, and 12 percent Latino and whatever the appropriate numbers are gay."

This appears to be an old leftist calling the new left right wing. The old style leftism reduced society to economic class struggle while the new left has added race and gender into the equation. He is right that the new left's obsession with race and sexual orientation along with quotas is ugly and dangerous. Is the new left right wing? Hardly.

The new left still shares many traits with the old left going all the way back to the French Revolution. This is not a complete list but is a start.

1. Elitism and Arrogance. Lefties are often smart. Because they consider themselves moral people they think smart = good. This exaggerated self esteem breeds arrogance. When lefties want to criticize a conservative they call them stupid or evil compared to the supremely smart good leftie of course.

2. Depersonalizing other people. Because many lefties are academically sharp they are good at abstractions. When lefties talk about the will of the people or of the masses they are not referring to actual people but to their idealized concept of people. This is how Moa or Stalin could kill millions of people all in the name of the very people they claimed to represent.

3. Will to power. Because lefties are so smart and so good, they have the right to political power. They don't appeal to God in that God provided them the divine right to rule. Lefty's divine right is due to their own god like goodness and supreme intellects.

4. Personifying evil. For lefties evil has a real physical presence -- in the form of other people. Corporations are evil. Fundamental Christians are evil. Dick Cheney is evil. Tea Party people are evil. Thus the only way to destroy evil is to destroy the people who are the incarnation of evil.; 3/10/14, 3:25 PM
RecChief said...: "Depersonalizing other people."

You umean like Crack's constant "God, you people are so dumb" or "You people are morons" or any other eptithets he chucks around so casually?; 3/10/14, 3:35 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Marshal,

Sad to say, because I contributed to it, Obama's policies haven't, in practice, been as extreme as the reaction to them. And, now that I've been ripped apart financially (and might be homeless) by an injury, I can see the wisdom of focussing on trying not to let what's happened, to me, happen to everyone.

It's too late for me, but, I at least understand it.

ANd, of course, a healthy people are a vibrant people. That's part of what the we-freed-the-slaves GOP misses - this country, which has abused so many, should be willing to make an investment in us from time-to-time. I'm telling you - directly:

These "racist" whites I talk about are watching too many bad news stories, too many gangsta rap videos (there are other kinds) and too many movies, to see the millions upon millions of good people who've been broken by a system they had nothing to do with.

There should be a hand for those people - that even includes some of the bad ones, because slavery twisted their compasses, too.

I want to be part of a country. That's what I learned from living in France and looking at this place from those shores. That's where I was, when Obama gave his first big DNC speech to the nation, driving my hosts nuts because I was up at 4 in the morning, studying the convention live. I knew then he could be president. Didn't think it would happen.

But it has. And I'm grateful. It's about time.

But now it's about time for a whole lot of other things. The GOP can't stay stuck in it's narrow view of our mission, which (looking at everyone but possibly Rand Paul) is either a defensive crouch or, somehow, weaving Dr. Seuss into into ineffectually flipping the bird for Jesus. WHo, outside the die hards, are going to vote for that? Maybe the Buddhists, because they, too, believe in suffering but nobody else.

Everything's changing. The sand is moving beneath our feet.

We cannot stay the same.; 3/10/14, 3:49 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: William Chadwick said...
Not true, Crack. I advocate individual liberty for all.

Then when blacks get it - Libertarianism seems to skip that part - I'll join you. In the meantime, we got the right to vote with the Republicans and a president with the Dems.

Now comes reparations.

What are you offering?; 3/10/14, 3:52 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I watch the first 15 minutes of O'Reilly two or three times a week.

Ocassionally, I watch Shep's show.

Fox is not anything like the lefties claim. It does allow conservatives to speak, which horrifies lefties.

Which does not speak well of lefties.

I've tried to watch MSNBC. What a bunch of howling loons? Unwatchable.; 3/10/14, 3:55 PM
Birkel said...: "Obama's policies haven't, in practice, been as extreme as the reaction to them."

Yes, thank goodness the Tea Party helped an opposition party keep the worst impulses of this president in check, in part. Obama has his phone and his pen, of course, to perform extra-constitutional bull shit. And he's got the administrative agencies lined up to punish his political adversaries.

But I can agree that Obama hasn't been able to be as awful since January 1, 2011 as he would've liked to have been.; 3/10/14, 3:56 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Crack

I don't care about either party, but I seriously doubt whether the Republicans want a raving racist loon like you.

You're disgraceful. You are guilty of precisely what you accuse other people.

You are such a wild, crazy racist pig that you can't be taken seriously as a sane or decent person.

And, you don't represent blacks. My black friends and associates don't behave like a fucking asshole like you do. They'd be ashamed to be associated with you.; 3/10/14, 3:58 PM
wildswan said...: Color-blind is the new racism.

That's the thesis of a new book I'm reading called Race Decoded. And it gives a sociological analysis of the development of a new system of thought which grew up after the completion of the human genome project in 2003. In this system of thought identifying Americans by race and doing medicine by race is all good because this system aims to overcome social injustice, not perpetuate it. So in this system being color-blind is racist. The system is a lot like identity politics and grew out of that but it is associated with science, with genomics, not just machine politics. It is being pushed by people like Francis Collins of NIH. Its phenomena aren't just racism or just identity politics.

This is the first book by a sociologist that ever explained anything to me that I had not seen done better by a novelist. And I think a lot of people like myself, like the author of the Salon article, like Crack are having trouble understanding this reversal (in which colorblind is racist) because it is so recent. The author of the Salon article talks about how identity politics demands are being put forward that could be met and leave unjust structures intact - he can't understand why this is being promoted by the left. He feels as if he went to sleep in the Nineties and woke up twenty years later like Rip van Winkle in a new world. But this new world has come about since 2005 as this book explains. If anyone is curious the author has put the preface online at Amazon and in 18 pages she outlines her thesis.

If the author is right about this system of thought, there will be trouble as soon as these epidemiologists try to explain behavior traits using overtly racial health models and I wonder that they don't see this. But then I've seen the real ugly segregation at first hand.; 3/10/14, 3:58 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: BTW - I'm taking nothing away from the Dems and LBJ (my favorite Dem) by saying the GOP got blacks the right to vote. However haphazardly, they walked us to the booth. Circumstances made it possible for LBJ to be the one who pulled the curtain aside.

My favorite Republican, after Lincoln, is George W. Bush.

And RecChief, I call you stupid because you are. There's a thing called "listening" this party needs to master as well.; 3/10/14, 4:04 PM
SteveR said...: Now comes reparations.

What are you offering?

Same deal I got and you got. That's all you need, of course that requires you to stop sticking your hand out. You're not the only one who's had issues. Man up; 3/10/14, 4:04 PM
Illuninati said...: The Crack Emcee said...
Marshal,

"... And, now that I've been ripped apart financially (and might be homeless) by an injury, I can see the wisdom of focussing on trying not to let what's happened, to me, happen to everyone."

Crack, that sounds bad. Are you OK now?; 3/10/14, 4:06 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Illuminati

Don't get taken in by the Fraudster.

This is all, in most likelihood, a con job.; 3/10/14, 4:08 PM
Birkel said...: LBJ... That makes sense. After all, he's the one who started a bunch of programs that have trapped poor people in poverty while spending trillions of dollars without discernible improvement of outcomes.

The Crack Emcee is a Republican. Remember that. Because all Republicans love LBJ.

HFS.; 3/10/14, 4:11 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"You don't represent blacks. My black friends and associates don't behave like a fucking asshole like you do. They'd be ashamed to be associated with you."

Until we met. Then you'd be odd man out, because you're an asshole who (after how many years have we known each other? Talked on the phone? "Brother") chooses to misrepresent a fellow black.

They'll understand that.

You've lost the plot, ST. On my blog, which you post to multiple times a day, I don't even look at your comments. Today, Freeman wondered what's wrong with you, there.

We've known each other for years, ST - you KNOW I'm not a racist. Ann knows. Meade really knows. Freeman knows. I'm pretty sure the same goes for a lot of people here, who may not understand or agree with my recent online persona but THEY KNOW I'M NOT A RACIST.

I'm trying to jangle these lames from their white superiority/white privileged mindsets, so we can get on with it. I don't care if they, or you, or anyone else who gets insnared in it, likes it. It's the work that has to be done. They have to wrestle with it and guess what?

I'm a professional wrestler - I can go for weeks, baby.

So save you spit, your lies, your mischaracterizations, your black "friends" (which I seriously doubt) save all of it for someone who gives a damn because I ain't the one.

And that - after all these years - you know as well.; 3/10/14, 4:17 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: SteveR said...
Now comes reparations.

Stop sticking your hand out.

First, it was just said at CPAC that the GOP has to stop assuming everything is a hand out instead of a hand up.

Second, reparations has nothing to do with helping anyone, black or white, but about establishing justice in this land. You can't complain about black criminals when a crime of this magnitude hangs over us - go on, try to pretend there's a law anybody should respect without doing so. This country is lucky black people are different, from the stereotypes it's implanted in white's heads about us, because we could - and probably should - be so much worse. Rapes, chopping off body parts, medical experiments, terrorism (didn't start on 9/11 - different response, though, huh?) setting whole black towns on fire if they were successful - making men watch as their wives are used as breeders, forcing them to sit, tied up, on anthills if they didn't agree? Putting shit in their mouths and tying it shut?

And now some call US animals, without giving a thought to what produced the people you see before you. These are our families - and our family stories. It's a HUGE part of "America" to us.

That has to change. It's been said, the opposite of poverty isn't wealth but justice.

Fortunately, with reparations, a *little* bit of both could finally come, to those who deserve so much more, for what they've given - and been forced to give - to this, our, nation. We fought in every war.

It's simply about justice.

The GOP should understand that, too.

Only monsters, in my opinion, couldn't.

I woman just came to my door in tears - I gotta go.; 3/10/14, 4:35 PM
Known Unknown said...: "... And, now that I've been ripped apart financially (and might be homeless) by an injury, I can see the wisdom of focussing on trying not to let what's happened, to me, happen to everyone."

Most likely head trauma.; 3/10/14, 4:37 PM
Sam L. said...: Frank is more of an idiot that I thought, and I gave him no credit at all.; 3/10/14, 4:44 PM
Birkel said...: Jimmy the Greek was fired for saying breeding was responsible for athletic prowess.

The Crack Emcee goes even further and says pathologies have been breed into people.

I'd be interested to see if there is any science to substantiate such a claim. Links?

LOL; 3/10/14, 4:44 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: I've been around smart people all my life; in the mid and late 1950's there was a strong intellectual tracking system in public high schools; the class of 1961 in my high school had 600 students in it; but I doubt that I had classes with more than 60 individuals in 4 years time. We were all segregated off in a "technical" track, because we were all supposed to become"rocket scientists" etc. I fooled them. I went on to college and a top 8 law school ticking all the boxes, making all the scholastic honorary societies--heck, unlike Obama I even had a couple of published law review articles. I then practiced "Big Law" for a few years, before going in house where I spent the rest of my career working with highly educated engineers.

All my life I've been around very bright people--which also means that I've met a certain number of highly educated fools that I could not/would not trust to organize a two car funeral in a small Texas town. Obama is one such person.

I never equated academic smarts with "good". I'm much more likely to equate people who have "street smarts" with "good". Some of the brightest people I've met had relatively little formal education.

Now as for 'evil'. Yes there's evil in the world--you have to believe that if you accept that some people, and some ideas and some things are just no damned good. That's the tragic view of life. There's also good in the world--and unless you accept the premise that evil with a capital "E" actually exists in the world, then you're going to be blinded to reality. Heckfire you might even become a "progressive".; 3/10/14, 4:46 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Birkel said...
LBJ... That makes sense. After all, he's the one who started a bunch of programs that have trapped poor people in poverty while spending trillions of dollars without discernible improvement of outcomes.

Birk, you're dissing a first effort, that came waaay too late, and - honestly - without much help from this country. Hostility, disinterest, all of them are also part of the package. As well as incompetence, the fact they had no idea what they were doing, and extreme black dysfunction to contend with.

You're looking at this all wrong. These are American citizens. The days of quantifying us, merely by dollars and cents, is over. You want to see real outcomes? Make this country put forth a real effort - willingly. Bring blacks into the American family. That's how you get our votes.

Telling us to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, while possible for some individuals, is just cruel when they don't have boots - or a clue.

It's got to stop for all of our good.; 3/10/14, 4:52 PM
Robert Cook said...: "in the perspectives of multiculturalism and diversity...you can have a society that’s perfectly just if less than 1 percent of the population controls 95 percent of the stuff, so long as that one percent is half women and 12 percent black, and 12 percent Latino and whatever the appropriate numbers are gay.

Wow, an accurate summation of liberal thinking. I totally didn't guess I'd find that at the link.

3/10/14, 1:56 PM"

Dude, Reed is making the point that that kind of complacent thinking among self-satisfied liberals is problematic. He's not endorsing it.; 3/10/14, 4:54 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Illuninati,

"Crack, that sounds bad. Are you OK now?"

If anyone wants to verify, I guess, Meade will speak for me, but "no". I'm almost out the door, in a small town, and without many options. I'm facing selling my last item of worth - my car - just so I don't enter homelessness broke.

Pay ST no mind - talk to Meade, if you must.

I'm obviously not ashamed to say I'd appreciate a little help, if I could get it. The shit's getting very tight.

BTW - I sufferd a double back injury, neck and lower back, which shift, somewhat painfully, over the course of the day. That's my medical issue.

I haven't felt "safe" since it happened, which was months ago. Before Christmas.; 3/10/14, 4:58 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I post on your blog, Crack, to condemn your racist rants.

Which is what any decent person would do.

I'm also trying to push you in the direction of ceasing the asshole act, getting an education and getting a job.

If you had a job, this raving lunatic racist act would stop the day you started work.

You just don't have anything to do. The bane of the uneducated failed musician. I see it all the time in Woodstock.; 3/10/14, 5:00 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: The only real virulent racist I encounter in this life is... hold your breath... Crack!

He's a disgrace. His blog is a daily racist diatribe that is so crude he'd be attracting the attention of the authorities if he appeared to be a white man. Morris Dee and the the SPLC would be trying to shut the racist bastard down.

Con artist, too. He's most likely lying about the disability.

Claims of a back injury are the most common SSI fraud committed. Here in Woodstock, we call SSI "crazy money."; 3/10/14, 5:05 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Birkel,

"Jimmy the Greek was fired for saying breeding was responsible for athletic prowess."

He shouldn't have been - Chris Rock made the same claim in his famous "Bring The Pain" tour AKA There are Blacks and There Are Niggers. It's not new news.

"The Crack Emcee goes even further and says pathologies have been breed into people."

Not bred - learned.

I'd be interested to see if there is any science to substantiate such a claim. Links?

LOL

Not bred pathologies, but breeding for physical strength? Sure - from Wikipedia:

Slave breeding in the United States were those practices of slave ownership that aimed to influence the reproduction of slaves in order to increase the wealth of slaveholders.[1]
Slave breeding included coerced sexual relations between male and female slaves, promoting pregnancies of slaves, sexual relations between master and slave with the aim of producing slave children, and favoring female slaves who produced a relatively large number of children.[1]
The purpose of slave breeding was to produce new slaves without incurring the cost of purchase, to fill labor shortages caused by the termination of the Atlantic slave trade, and to attempt to improve the health and productivity of slaves. Slave breeding was condoned in the South because slaves were considered to be subhuman chattel, and were not entitled to the same rights accorded to free persons.; 3/10/14, 5:07 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: And, for you fans of all around vicious racism, you might want to read Crack's comments about Filipino women in America.

According to him they are...

o Desperate
o Poverty stricken
o Wildly promiscuous

Etc.

Crack is everything he claims to hate. Like all paranoids, he assumes that other people are stricken with the same hateful, evil and violent thoughts that obsess him.; 3/10/14, 5:08 PM
cubanbob said...: "Birkel said...
LBJ... That makes sense. After all, he's the one who started a bunch of programs that have trapped poor people in poverty while spending trillions of dollars without discernible improvement of outcomes.

The Crack Emcee is a Republican. Remember that. Because all Republicans love LBJ.

HFS.
3/10/14, 4:11 PM "

Birkel cut him some slack, LBJ with the help of the Republicans did pass the Civil Rights Act which is and was a big deal for blacks. Being legally denied the vote for bs reasons isn't to say the least a joke. As for Republican's also note it was Nixon who really started the enforcement of the Civil Rights Act.

The Great Society that's another story, most of the welfare oriented policies turned out to be a disaster for blacks and just as bad for whites who are trapped by them as well.; 3/10/14, 5:08 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Crack, you are a disgraceful, virulent racist.

Every time you post here and on your blog you indict yourself.

If you had any sense, you'd shut the fuck up.; 3/10/14, 5:09 PM
Illuninati said...: Crack Emcee said:
"I'm obviously not ashamed to say I'd appreciate a little help, if I could get it. The shit's getting very tight.

BTW - I sufferd a double back injury, neck and lower back, which shift, somewhat painfully, over the course of the day. That's my medical issue."

Crack, I'm not against helping someone in need but need more information. AI don't know what I could do but perhaps I could do something. I have deliberately chosen to keep my identity hidden for safety issues but I believe Althouse has my e-mail address. If you know Mead perhaps he will send me an e-mail and let me know more.

I'm leaving for Europe Wednesday so I'll be out of touch for about 2 weeks but I do hope to keep up on the e-mail.; 3/10/14, 5:09 PM
n.n said...: The left-wingers are in full damage control mode. They cannot reasonably hope to denigrate individual dignity, devalue human life, initiate and expand overseas conflicts, debase capital and labor, uphold a selective rule of law, etc. and escape the consequences of their actions.; 3/10/14, 5:11 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Illuminati

Don't say I didn't warn you.

You are most likely getting scammed.; 3/10/14, 5:11 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @n.n.

Wrong.

They've got one more weapon in their arsenal... wage and price controls.

That's always the desperate last resort.; 3/10/14, 5:12 PM
Birkel said...: You had my disinterest right up until you truncated my chosen nickname.

That was disrespectful.; 3/10/14, 5:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Shouty, how stupid are you? No one here thinks you have any noble or decent motivations. You basically exist to spew bile, you are one big sack of bile. You attack Althouse and Meade on an almost every day. You post things you do on a daily basis as if it would make your appear normal, again no one is deceived, you are probably one of the most pathological commenters I've ever read on Althouse. What you vomit up over at Crack's blog is disgusting, blatant racism. Perhaps one day karma will spring up and punch you square in the gut, there are few more deserving of a knockout game punch than you.; 3/10/14, 5:22 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Illuninati,

"If you know Mead perhaps he will send me an e-mail and let me know more."

I'll drop him an email now.

Thank you.; 3/10/14, 5:24 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Inga,

Yes, moron Democrats like you will urge blacks on to self destruction for the purpose of winning elections.

Your motives are evil.; 3/10/14, 5:26 PM
Illuninati said...: Shouting Thomas said...
"@Illuminati

Don't say I didn't warn you.

You are most likely getting scammed."

Thank-you for the warning. I believe in due diligence, that's why I will wait for Mead to e-mail me before going any further.; 3/10/14, 5:27 PM
Titus said...: "What's wrong with Kansas"?

Easy, all there young people leave and for good reason.; 3/10/14, 5:27 PM
Anonymous said...: Snouty, you are really a piggish human, your "music" sounds like hogs being murdered. You obviously have a fixation with Filipinas because no American woman would have you. What is evil is the obvious joy you seem to get being base and vile. Or is it such a normal state for you that you don't know what you sound and look like? Your comments are increasingly being vulgar, coarse and filled with ugliness. It make Althouse's comments section look like a psych ward at a full moon.; 3/10/14, 5:32 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Inga

Those post about the suffragette who chopped up the painting contained this accurate description of you:

Mary Richardson, Inga's spiritual mom.; 3/10/14, 5:35 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Freeman Hunt said...
ST, what is your deal with Crack? Comment after comment after comment about how you hate him. I don't get it.

She's crazy, too, ST? Doesn't know my character? She's seen my online evolution, from NewAge harpy to Civil Rights fighter, and doesn't think I've changed my outlook, just my focus and tactics.

It IS all just cultism, tribalism, groupthink, in the end.

You've got it wrong, ST - you've changed.; 3/10/14, 5:35 PM
Gahrie said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/10/14, 5:40 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: No, she's not crazy, Crack. She's a woman and she thinks that soft concern about your feelings will help you.

She's wrong. Soft concern about your feelings will only intensify your rantings.

You are a fucking mess.

What you need is to get your shit thrown right back in your face. Which I'm doing. Which I will continue to do.

I haven't changed a bit. You just thought all white guys were afraid to challenge a racist ranting black guy. I'm not.; 3/10/14, 5:40 PM
Gahrie said...: Fortunately, with reparations, ......

You missed it...we just had the reparation program....it was called pigford...you know the one where we gave billions of dollars to Black "farmers" that owned farms that never existed. Apparently one of them got your share.; 3/10/14, 5:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Althouse once ventured a guess after one of Snouty's rants that perhaps we should be kinder to those with dementia. Maybe she's right. Personally I think it's brain damage, probably got punched in the head one too many times.

Crack he was always an ass, but now he has progressed to something else altogether. It's been disturbing to watch the decline.; 3/10/14, 5:42 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"I haven't changed a bit. You just thought all white guys were afraid to challenge a racist ranting black guy. I'm not."

Fine, man. You do what you have to.; 3/10/14, 5:42 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I've fought racist black guys like you in the streets of Brooklyn and won, Crack.

You're up against something you don't understand here.

I don't give a fuck about white women and their concern with you feelings.

Freeman thinks she's doing the right thing. She's absolutely wrong.; 3/10/14, 5:42 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Now, get and education and find a job.

The minute you have something to do, this shit will go away.

You've got too much time on your hands and nothing to do. That is causing your paranoia to run wild.; 3/10/14, 5:44 PM
Sigivald said...: SteveR: I find that almost nobody that talks trash about Fox News has ever watched it.

It's simply a form of signaling behavior and a way to mark the political Other as yet more of an Other.

(And I've managed to figure that out without ever watching more than a few minutes of it, myself.

But I don't talk trash about it.); 3/10/14, 5:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Crack, I remember it starting when Snouty made taunts regarding your parentage, about your mother and father and your upbringing. That was pretty damn low. Snouty should be shunned by decent people.; 3/10/14, 5:46 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: MadisonMa'am,

"Crack he was always an ass, but now he has progressed to something else altogether. It's been disturbing to watch the decline."

Yeah, but believe it or not, I've got sympathy. That shit with my wife has made me a bit more philosophical about (some) of these kinds things. We slip, fall, get up, try again.

ST's into something he can't get out of, probably, in his mind, without losing face. That's my guess anyway. I remember when he was more granola than wannabe-fierce.

Let's wait him out,...; 3/10/14, 5:48 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I'm doing fine, Crack.

You're the one who doesn't have a life.

I keep telling you that I'm playing in three bands, have an original CD coming out with the Dawgz, that I have a lovely granddaughter and that life is good.

I keep telling you this to challenge to behave like a man and make something out of your life, instead of festering in the hatred, racism and stupidity that now is all you've got.

That act of yours, the all knowing guy, is grotesquely stupid in light of the disaster that is your life. The first thing for you to do is to drop that shit.; 3/10/14, 5:52 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: You are basically incapable of wiping your own ass, Crack, and you are obsessing about solving the problems of the world.

Forget about the problems of the world, and find a way to fix your own life.; 3/10/14, 5:54 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Sigivald said...
SteveR: I find that almost nobody that talks trash about Fox News has ever watched it.

When I first returned from France I was dying to see FOX News, because all my friends in San Francisco were telling me what an outrage it was, and my first reaction was, both, relief and joy.

Here was a channel that placed the flag right there at the bottom of the screen - cool. I once emailed Bill O'Reilly a question and he answered it, right there on the air - cool. They were fighting the good fight, and - having just got back from the socialist paradise - it was a breath of fresh air.

But not any more. I won't go into it all but, let's just say, it's now the channel that makes news by saying "Jesus is white".

Like the rest of the GOP, they've really got some changes to make, and soul searching to do, regarding what's in the best interest of the country.; 3/10/14, 5:56 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Now, unlike you, Crack, I've got things to do tonight.

I'm going to be mixing down 10 songs.

Find something to do. Start looking at junior college and college catalogs and find a place to start.

If you really are telling the truth about your circumstances, you can get into and LPN program for free, and get a living stipend while you do it.

10 months and you'll have a job. Then all this shit you think is so important will dissolve into nothing.; 3/10/14, 5:58 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Crack, shut the fuck up about politics.

You dumb shit, you don't have the wherewithal to wipe your own ass.; 3/10/14, 5:59 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"I'm doing fine, Crack."

No, you're not.

"You're the one who doesn't have a life."

And you know that, through your computer screen, how, again?

"I keep telling you that I'm playing in three bands, have an original CD coming out with the Dawgz, that I have a lovely granddaughter and that life is good."

ST, your music isn't very good. It's not "bad" but you need a producer. Someone who can hear what you're doing and get the best out of it - you're not that guy.

If you're doing shows, you'll sell 'em, until word gets around they're not very good. And then you'll be stuck with 'em - so do a short run. You'll make money, but your credibility will be in question for any other releases.

Glad your granddaughter is doing fine and you love her and she brings you joy. That's all good.

"I keep telling you this to challenge to behave like a man and make something out of your life, instead of festering in the hatred, racism and stupidity that now is all you've got."

But you're wrong, ST. If that were true, the other people who "know" you and I would be reacting the same way you are, but they're not.

It's just you. And you take advantage of the others here, who don't know me, by trying to misrepresent me before they can know better.

Most of them (the people new to me here) have probably never read a word of mine, in my own voice, before today. All they know is Martin Luther Scream.

That's not me and you know it. Why pretend?

"That act of yours, the all knowing guy, is grotesquely stupid in light of the disaster that is your life. The first thing for you to do is to drop that shit."

Yeah, and Obama getting to the White House is proof all racism has gone away and blacks live on silk sheets while partying in Cancun, right? One thing follows another as smooth as silk, always. Smart people never encounter hardship - even if they don't have family - and one man's success equals success for all. That's how the world works, always.

It's time to stop pretending you believe that, ST, because you and I know better.

Come on, I've taken a day off, can't you?; 3/10/14, 6:09 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: A shitload of advice from a guy who's got nothing going, does nothing but cut and paste from the web and spends his days raving like a racist bastard.

Yeah, that's what I'm looking for.

I make money and I'm out there in front of an audience three of four times a week, chump.

You don't know shit.

Now, find something to do with your life.; 3/10/14, 6:15 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: And, shit, yeah, I'd like to be recording in a studio that charges $200 an hour and hire a producer for $50,000.

I didn't hit the Big Time. I accepted that and learned a job skill to support myself and my family.

I've built a life out of what is possible, and I've refused to destroy my life for those Big Time dreams that are long gone.

Get a clue.; 3/10/14, 6:20 PM
Douglas B. Levene said...: When I am in the US, (a) I never watch network news - it's just a rebroadcast of whatever was in the NYT, (b) occasionally, I'll watch CNN for breaking news, (c) I'll watch the two Fox evening news segments, which are pretty good - but the other stuff on Fox - the daytime shows and the evening opinion shows - are not very good, too strident for my tastes, and (d) I'll go back and forth between CNBC and Fox Business. Oh, I try to watch MSNBC every now and then just to see what the fuss is about but it's unwatchable. Mostly this is all just a matter of taste, and as the man said, "different strokes for different folks."; 3/10/14, 6:23 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"I make money and I'm out there in front of an audience three of four times a week, chump."

But I'm still more respected than you. As an artist, as a blogger, and even as a commenter.

See, unlike you right now, I know what I'm doing online - it was a conscience decision. Anyone who's watched me for years knows that. I'm not stupid. I am deliberately trying to work a nerve.

But you? You just come across, by no design, as unhinged. Crazy. Insane. Manic. I don't know anyone but the other long types at Lem's who even take you a little serious anymore. I told you - I don't even read what you write and, because we've spoken, I know you better than most here.

You didn't seen "all right" to me, even then, but at least you were comprehendible. Now? Who would bother?

You've lost your humanity, ST, and all the gigs in the world can't get that back. Chuck Berry kept cameras in the women's toilets of his restaurants. It happens in our line of work - which, despite what you think, is only one of mine. It's the one I like best, and the one that's most important to me, and the one I may even do best, but it's still only one.

Raise your head up, ST. Regain some vision.

No matter what you say, I'm pulling for you.; 3/10/14, 6:27 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"And, shit, yeah, I'd like to be recording in a studio that charges $200 an hour and hire a producer for $50,000."

You don't have to do that. You just have to find someone willing. With your sound, that might take a while, but in Woodstock? Go to a folk/roots music website and poke around, listening for who knows your kind of thing.

"I didn't hit the Big Time. I accepted that and learned a job skill to support myself and my family."

Fine - are you recording on a computer?

"I've built a life out of what is possible, and I've refused to destroy my life for those Big Time dreams that are long gone."

And you say I'm the one who has nothing to live for?

"Get a clue."

That makes two of us,...; 3/10/14, 6:34 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: But I'm still more respected than you. As an artist, as a blogger, and even as a commenter.

You stupid fuck, I've spent the last 35 years working as a sideman and session man for some of the most famous acts of our generation.

I don't comment about that here, or anywhere. The reason, if you know the music biz, is that I don't want to incite jealousy and fighting among my clients. They don't need to know who I work for besides them.; 3/10/14, 6:40 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: And, Crack, I blog for fun and to experiment with media.

I'm not even trying to be a "successful blogger."; 3/10/14, 6:43 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"You stupid fuck, I've spent the last 35 years working as a sideman and session man for some of the most famous acts of our generation."

Yes, ST, but I'm a front man, a band leader, a composer, and an artist. I, too, have played with big names, in big venues, all over the world. I'm related to Charles Mingus, remember?

"I don't comment about that here, or anywhere. The reason, if you know the music biz, is that I don't want to incite jealousy and fighting among my clients. They don't need to know who I work for besides them."

And I'm going to let that one slide right on by,...; 3/10/14, 6:47 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

I'm not even trying to be a "successful blogger."

Neither am I but, unlike you, sometimes it happens.

That's why it's successful. And I say I'm better at it than you.

But why are we doing this? Nobody cares, least of all me.

Are you recording on a computer or not?; 3/10/14, 6:49 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I led my own original band for years and played in every major venue on the East Coast.

I know everybody from the big bands. Sponsored and ran a series of concerts at the Tinker Street Cinema, and brought up all of the big bands from NY and Philly, including Sun Ra and his Arkestra, Archie Shep, etc.

At one time or another, I've played with just about every member of Miles Davis bands from the 50s and 60s, either in jam sessions in Woodstock or at gigs.

You think name dropping is going to impress me?

I hope your career returns to where it used to be. What you're doing right now isn't cutting it.

I'm happy in the life I have. I turn down most of the touring shit because the lifestyle sucks. Unless you are touring with the top few names in rock, touring is a good way to kill yourself. I've seen plenty of that.; 3/10/14, 6:55 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Why are you insisting on trying to prove yourself?

I don't care.

Are you working on a computer or not?; 3/10/14, 6:58 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: You see what you're doing right now, Crack... the macho challenge over the Big Time? That's what's got you stuck.

I stopped doing that and learned a job skill. My success on the web was in corporate, advertising and commercial media. I made money. Nothing you'll ever see. I don't care.

I made more money writing 30 second sound loops for about 5 years for multimedia presentations at trade shows or for advertising than I've made in my entire life performing life...and unlike working for big name musicians, I never got stiffed.

Whether or not I'm in the Big Time ceased to be a concern of mine 30 years ago.

I put the interests of my family ahead of that.

And, yeah, I get the same challenge all the time to prove how macho I am all over again by destroying my life in another effort to hit the Big Time.

I am using a Zoom R24 portastudio to record my bands.; 3/10/14, 7:00 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Why are you insisting on trying to prove yourself?

I don't care.

Bait and switch. You just did the name dropping and challenged me, chump.; 3/10/14, 7:01 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Here, ST:

YOU NEED THIS.; 3/10/14, 7:01 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: I didn't "challenge" you - that's your delusion talking.; 3/10/14, 7:03 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Who's delusion?

I'm the one who has a great life.

You're the guy who can't afford to buy as swipe.; 3/10/14, 7:05 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: A Zoom R24 can transfer the tracks into a computer, making (wave?) files.

Have you done that?; 3/10/14, 7:05 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Cute tune.

My granddaughter just learned how to rock on her own on her rocking horse.; 3/10/14, 7:06 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"I'm the one who has a great life.

You're the guy who can't afford to buy as swipe."

Sigh. Whatever makes you happy, ST.

I told you - I'm being philosophical now. You can't hurt me - why keep trying?; 3/10/14, 7:07 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Have you transferred the files?; 3/10/14, 7:08 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Yes, the Zoom connects via USB, and you see it on the desktop as if it were another hard drive.

I do the editing and mixdown in a program called Adobe Audition.

This is just an initial step with the bands I work with. They aren't yet developed enough or making enough money to justify working in a major studio.

When the time comes, we'll go there.

Big Joe's son is a major sound engineer on the East Coast. He routinely does Madison Square Garden one night, and the Dawgz in a club the next. When it's time to do major stuff, he'll do the engineering.; 3/10/14, 7:08 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"Yes, the Zoom connects via USB, and you see it on the desktop as if it were another hard drive."

Yeah! He answers like a normal human being! Bravo!

"I do the editing and mixdown in a program called Adobe Audition."

Hm. I didn't know Adobe made music software. Are you working with wave files or pare you on a Mac?

"This is just an initial step with the bands I work with. They aren't yet developed enough or making enough money to justify working in a major studio."

Nobody goes to major studios anymore, ST.

"When the time comes, we'll go there."

Why?

"Big Joe's son is a major sound engineer on the East Coast. He routinely does Madison Square Garden one night, and the Dawgz in a club the next. When it's time to do major stuff, he'll do the engineering."

Engineers are a dime a dozen. Has he ever produced?; 3/10/14, 7:13 PM
furious_a said...: What's the Matter with Kansas for Not Voting the Way Thomas Frank Thinks Kansas Should Vote -- by Thomas Frank; 3/10/14, 7:23 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Nobody goes to major studios anymore, ST.

Yeah, they do. The advantage of major studios is space, isolation and $10,000 microphones.

From time to time, I work in this studio. Dr. John and a number of other major acts record there. This studio even has living accommodations so you can hole up for the duration.; 3/10/14, 7:25 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Engineers are a dime a dozen. Has he ever produced?

He charges one hell of dime to his corporate clients.

A producer is an unnecessary expense for the bands I work with. Unless and until we're knocking on the doors of major venues, that's not going to happen.

I'm not saying that a producer won't make a big difference. I've worked with the best. That's just not where I at right now, or where the bands I'm working with are at. We're focusing mostly on event and corporate gigs because they pay and we don't have to travel very far.; 3/10/14, 7:27 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

Nobody goes to major studios anymore, ST.

"Yeah, they do. The advantage of major studios is space, isolation and $10,000 microphones."

But none of that is necessary anymore - especially not $10,000 microphones. I know a kid who makes excellent recordings, in a little room with one mic for everything, and Pro Tools.

"From time to time, I work in this studio. Dr. John and a number of other major acts record there. This studio even has living accommodations so you can hole up for the duration."

It's still a waste of money. But, it's yours, so go for it.; 3/10/14, 7:34 PM
YoungHegelian said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/10/14, 7:35 PM
YoungHegelian said...: As I argue in the essay, by “Left” I mean an old-school understanding that’s rooted in evaluation and critique of current circumstances from the standpoint of an ideal of equality and justice that’s rooted in political economy.

Do you wonder why Frank is so fundamentally dishonest that he can't use the word Marxist to describe that ideal? He's comfortable describing someone as the Alexandra Kollentai of the movement, but not with using the word "Marxist"?

I wouldn't believe this man if he told me the sun sets in the West without watching a sun set.; 3/10/14, 7:37 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Shouting Thomas,

"He charges one hell of dime to his corporate clients."

Who doesn't? What do they know?

"A producer is an unnecessary expense for the bands I work with."

Bullshit. A producer is the difference between being good and greatness.

This is Talking Heads' first hit, produced by nobodies.

This is Talking Heads once they got a real producer - Brian Eno.

It makes all the difference. Eno took them to the top (producing almost all their following albums) and left them there.

"Unless and until we're knocking on the doors of major venues, that's not going to happen."

You've got an outdated view of this process.

"I'm not saying that a producer won't make a big difference. I've worked with the best. That's just not where I at right now, or where the bands I'm working with are at. We're focusing mostly on event and corporate gigs because they pay and we don't have to travel very far."

That's fine, but recording is a different endeavor. It requires different sensibilities. I'm telling you, I've been there. It's what I do, which is why I've been asking you how you're doing it.

I could produce you, online, and still crank out a hit.; 3/10/14, 7:43 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I could produce you, online, and still crank out a hit.

I'm always open to new ideas, and we'll talk about it.

I've got to mixdown 10 songs and produce a CD for a client tonight, so it's going to have to be later.; 3/10/14, 7:49 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: We'll speak - and glad to have you back.; 3/10/14, 7:51 PM
Known Unknown said...: I, for one, would love to see/hear ST and Crack work together.; 3/10/14, 9:27 PM
Known Unknown said...: Eno certainly helped TH, but I think Psychokiller is the better song of the two.; 3/10/14, 9:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Crack wrote;

"Fortunately, with reparations, a *little* bit of both could finally come, to those who deserve so much more, for what they've given -"

This is why, in a nutshell, I would never support reparations. Because it would always be "A little". It would never be enough. It would always be more, more, more.

The best thing that can be done has been done. Work towards a colorblind society. Going the other way is suicide.; 3/10/14, 9:41 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Illuninati,

Please send me an email at themachoresponse@gmail.com

Meade asked me to send you his email address, but I need one from you, to do so.

I think he and Ann may be away.; 3/10/14, 9:45 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: eric,

"This is why, in a nutshell, I would never support reparations. Because it would always be "A little". It would never be enough. It would always be more, more, more."

You're too cynical. No, there can never be enough to make up for the horror inflicted on black lives, but denying people even a modicum of justice - because you assume it's pointless, though it isn't to them - that isn't a solution, either. Nor does it do anything but reinforce the obvious - you don't want a country, but the status quo.

"The best thing that can be done has been done. Work towards a colorblind society. Going the other way is suicide."

What is "suicide" about doing the right thing by Americans?

For the good of their party and for the good of the republic, Republicans must genuinely reach out to and successfully attract black voters.
The GOP is not off to a good start. In South Carolina, where blacks make up 28 percent of voters, so few blacks voted in the 2012 GOP primary that it was statistically impossible to find among them a preference for any of the party’s candidates.

Rand Paul and other Republicans have made awkward attempts at appealing to African-Americans — so awkward it sometimes seems their intended audience is not the people sitting in front of them. Speeches by white Republicans at historically black schools and in Detroit have had the whiff of slightly smarmy non sequiturs. "Dontcha know? Republicans were abolitionists 150 years ago."

There are some obvious alterations the GOP and the conservative movement must make to attract black voters. Any project that looks like anti-black voter suppression should be first on the list to go. The Randian rhetoric of "takers" must go too. It not only alienates parts of the existing GOP base, but is pungent with contempt for those, like African-Americans, who view themselves as unfairly held outside and below the sphere of social concern. Perhaps most difficult of all, conservatives need to bring their well-paid yappers to heel, lest they find another case like Trayvon Martin's death and use it to enflame a totally spurious debate about "the real racists." Such arguments make conservatives look like self-involved idiots and aggrieved monsters.

Conservatives in the GOP like to assail identity politics and tout their own ideology as one of color blindness. Sometimes this is stupidly marketed to black voters as a selling point for Republicans. "We don't categorize you by race," brags a Republican. The black audience hears: "We don't take the most salient part of your American political identity seriously."; 3/10/14, 9:51 PM
RecChief said...: Say Crack, are familiar with the Battle of Athens, TN in 1946?

Same kind of thing that happened to Alan West.; 3/10/14, 10:12 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: EMD said...
Eno certainly helped TH, but I think Psychokiller is the better song of the two.

I had the same thought listening to the two songs again. But the production on the first one is awful. Eno's productions are always very good. I don't know what the knack is but he has it.; 3/10/14, 10:32 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: So, peace has apparently broken out between Crack and Shouting.

Can world peace be far behind?; 3/10/14, 10:33 PM
Illuninati said...: The Crack Emcee said...
"Illuninati,

Please send me an email at themachoresponse@gmail.com

Meade asked me to send you his email address, but I need one from you, to do so.

I think he and Ann may be away."

Good one Crack.; 3/11/14, 12:19 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Illuninati,

"Good one Crack."

It's not a joke:

On Mar 10, 2014, at 7:31 PM, Laurence Meade wrote:

Feel free to give him my email address.

Sent from my iPad; 3/11/14, 8:32 AM
Nichevo said...: Birkel said...
You had my disinterest right up until you truncated my chosen nickname.

That was disrespectful.
3/10/14, 5:18 PM

Birkel, since you've made yourself clear I shall endeavour not to alter your handle, but in looking to take offense at this, may you be trailing your coat?

I, for instance, call The Crack Emcee "Cracky" or "Crack" sometimes, meant in a friendly or even affectionate way, and that's how he has taken it.

Likewise, I've been called Nichy, Nich, and other short names. In reality my first name is pretty unable to he shortened or modified so having this happen is refreshing.

I don't want to say you're uptight or anything, Birk-Man - but pull the cork! 😜

Btw my gf says she is, um, I forget, 1/16? Cherokee, anyway twice as much Indian as Elizabeth Warren. Occasionally I call her "Wigwam." Am I going to hell?; 3/12/14, 8:25 PM