October 26, 2020

"Right now our country's gloomy/Fear is in the air/But when Joe's president/Hope is everywhere/Troubles fly away/And life will easy flow/Joe will keep us safe/That's all we need to know...."

 

Cher weighs in — that's all you need to know — at the 2020 I Will Vote Concert last night. 

As New York Magazine explains, "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe" is an old song — Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg song from the 1943 film musical "Cabin in the Sky." Here's its original context — question whether there's a problem of racial appropriation — with the devastatingly sweet Ethel Waters:

 

Original lyrics: "It seems like/Happiness is just a thing called Joe/He's got a smile that makes the lilacs want to grow/He's got a way that makes the angels heave a sigh/When they see little Joe passing by..."

ADDED: The all-time greatest political rewrite of a song was Frank Sinatra's "High Hopes" for JFK:

 

Here's the original version, from Sinatra's own movie, "A Hole in the Head":

147 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

Nothing says hope like Joe’s promise of shutdowns into 2022 and his prophesy of the coming Dark Winter.

daskol said...

She's not, I would say, a girl who misses much, although she looks well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand, fwiw.

Shane said...

I see the rallies and cannot imagine the polls are right.

Watching this though, whoever wins, 2021 is going to be lit.

WK said...

Read an article linked on Instapundit yesterday that we should be full naming composers and artists. Not mono-naming. Full-naming puts everyone on an equal playing field. Cher. Beyoncé. Joe. Let’s start being more fair.

Bob Boyd said...

"Right now our country's gloomy/Fear is in the air/But when Joe's president/Hope is everywhere/Troubles fly away/And life will easy flow/Joe will keep us safe/That's all we need to know...."

Jesus H Christ on a crutch.
If you put that in a dystopian future movie, it would be considered ham-handed.

Chris said...

Delusional. That's the comment. She's delusional.

Kevin said...

It’s a cult.

Almaron Dickinson said...

Well, now that Cher has weighed in, all of our questions are answered and our doubts are resolved.

Phil 314 said...

That Ethel Waters clip was both heart warming and creepy at the same time. Did our parents/grandparents really like the “Us darkies is happy folks” Schlick?

Bob Boyd said...

He's got a way that makes the angels heave a sigh

Well that part is probably true.

tim maguire said...

The left's hero worship is a bad joke. Of course they think Trump voters are trumpets (can't even be bothered to notice that "trumpist" makes more sense) or trumpbots, or cultists. Of course they think Trump's a dictator, even when they are literally complaining that he's not enough of a dictator.

A thief thinks everyone's a thief.
A liar thinks everyone's a liar.
Liberals think everyone's a fascist.

mezzrow said...

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ...We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. ...In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons...who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” - Edward Bernays

See #42 on the list. That's where I heard High Hopes first.

There was a cute little animation about a caterpillar and a rubber tree plant, iirc.

It has been a long time. A very long time.

http://www.45cat.com/45_list_view_record.php?li=2248

rehajm said...

Happiness is a Warm Puppy. Gun is a close second.

tim in vermont said...

I have written some doggerel in these threads, but nothing as lousy as that.

n.n said...

I wonder if Trump will be recognized for ending Obama's wars (e.g. Iraq War 2.0 or greater Middle East War) and social justice adventurism (e.g. elective coups from Tripoli to Cairo to Damascus to Kiev), catastrophic anthropogenic immigration reform); standing up to diversity (i.e. color judgments) and exclusion; exposing the several ways to single/central disinformation and progressive prices in medical care; not kneeling to the oppressive forces of witch hunts, warlock trials, protests, cancellation, and fascism; not rewarding the terrorist sponsors in Tehran or the human rights abuses in China; and normalizing the American dream: Pro-Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Amadeus 48 said...

Biden should go with Happy Days Are Here Again. It worked for Roosevelt. Actually, the official Kennedy campaign song was "I'm Walking Down to Washington (to Shake Hands with President Kennedy)". Kennedy was substituted for General Jackson.

The Kennedy campaign had a lot of show-biz.


Ann Althouse said...

"That Ethel Waters clip was both heart warming and creepy at the same time. Did our parents/grandparents really like the “Us darkies is happy folks” Schlick?"

In 1943? I think they were preoccupied with winning a war.

sterlingblue said...

It's sad that people like Cher don't realize they're doing the bidding of big corporations when they shill for the modern Democrats.

rehajm said...

I had to go see if (the original parts of) Cher was the same age as Joe Biden. Younger by only a few years.

Cher seems more 'still with us' than Joe does. Yikes...

alan markus said...

Now North Korea is trying to influence the election?

I mean, that song by Cher is goofier than the kids singing for Obama.

Only North Korea could provide lyrics like that.

jaydub said...

I think people were right when they said that Sonny was the smart one.

n.n said...

they think Trump's a dictator, even when they are literally complaining that he's not enough of a dictator

Yes, Trump is both far left (i.e. dictatorial) and far right (i.e. anarchist/passive) is a common complaint. For 16 trimesters, he has been neither, standing up to hunters, judges, and protestors; while pursuing reconciliation of common and special interests within our American framework.

stevew said...

More fatigue than gloom for me. Fortunately Trump is neither fatigued nor gloomy. I'm placing my bets with him.

AllenS said...

In 1943? I think they were preoccupied with winning a war.

Back in 1943, America had a segregated Armed Forces. That said, maybe that policy helped win the war.

alan markus said...

This is what Cher's song reminds me of.

Onward toward the Final Victory is a Korean patriotic song, written in honor of leader Kim Jong Un. It is in many ways an Anthem of Kim Jong Un's new era of leadership, in the same way No Motherland Without you was to his late father Kim Jong Il.

Kate said...

I immediately thought of "Good, Ol' Shoe" from Wag the Dog. Went looking for a clip and ended up watching a minute or 2 of the film. They sold us political cynicism and we can't go back to a more innocent perspective.

Lurker21 said...

Fond memories of Blanche Ring:

We think the country's ready for a man like Teddy,
One who is a fighter through and through.
We need another Lincoln to do our country's thinkin'
And Mr. Harding, we've selected you."


TR used the obvious rhyme in his own campaign song, "Ready for Teddy Again," but he had to settle for sheet music, because there weren't pop stars back then. I forget the name of the country singer who attempted a comeback with a "Ready for Teddy" song of her own for the 1980 Kennedy campaign, but neither the campaign, nor the comeback succeeded.

*

I never really got Cher. Most of her act consisted of insulting Sonny. He was so puppy-dog eager for affection and she kicked him to the curb every time -- a shorter, mustachioed Charlie Brown. Was it all a metaphor for Republicans seeking the approval of the mainstream media?

Lurker21 said...

Happiness is just a thing called Joe

Objectifying much?

TJM said...

Cher is nuts, everything she states about China Joe is demonstrably false. The stupid runs deep in that one

Wince said...

If you asked for proof that the left in league with China has visited all manner of hell on earth to derail the country the last several months in order to say they can now make it stop, this is it.

The hidden, corrupt, empty vessel called Joe is the "make it stop" candidate.

Temujin said...

This actually happened? Did anybody watch it? And if so, why?

You see, this is the chasm between the left and right. No one on the right would sit through such bilge.

tim in vermont said...

"Did our parents/grandparents really like the “Us darkies is happy folks” Schlick?”

My dad would be a hundred and four if he were still alive, born in an era when Woodrow Wilson was showing Birth of a Nation in the White House. His dad was born the year of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Dad fought in WWII. You can’t compare eras. We should be happy with the progress that we made from the kind of savagery that was the norm 2,000 years ago. It’s not like people could just wake up one day and drop all of their beliefs. I am not a believing Christian, but I do believe that there was a man named Jesus of Nazareth who, along with John the Baptist and St Paul, started a long process of lifting us out of brutal savagery. It’s pointless to complain today of how the Romans treated Europe, for example. Learn from it.

Iman said...

Grifters, Chumps and Thieves

mikee said...

I loved Cher when she was on TV in scandalously tight, low cut dresses, but I was 14 then and excited by anything even remotely resembling breasts. Why should anyone care what Cher, Shirley MacLaine, Madonna, and other ancient sex icons of yesteryear have to say about politicians today? Katy Perry, maybe, still. Keep your ancient albatrosses.

Iman said...

Hey, Joe, where you goin’ with that pud in your hand?

Spiros said...

Politics are embedded in and fused with these people's group identity. Voting for Biden is "who I am" or "who we are." Isn't this a bit disturbing? Biden is an 80 year old creep, a corrupt politician. He's not Jesus.

Maybe, hopefully, Cher is being ironic??

(Same criticism for the Trumpsters. I mean, come on, where is the friggin' Wall?)

Leland said...

"Did our parents/grandparents really like the “Us darkies is happy folks” Schlick?"

There is a minstrel song called "Happy Are We Darkies So Gay".

John henry said...

I take your point about cultural appropriation, Ann. How is it right for a black woman to be singing a song written by 2 Jewish men

Or for 2 Jewish men to be writing songs for black women to sing?

I have no idea which of the two is worse on the appropriation scale.

And me, a Puerto Rican man, weighing in on it has to be wrong for some reason. Doesn't it?

John Henry

PHenry said...

If you have ever actually seen the movie this song is from, the premise is that Joe is a gambling, cheating, no good drunken bum but the Ethel Waters character loves him and prays for his redemption every day. He craps all over her the whole movie.
A pretty accurate parallel. Joe is no good, cheating corrupt politician, but Oh! how his followers like Cher love him and refuse to hear any of it.

Fernandinande said...

One of the Pleasures of Authoritarianism is singing about it.

John henry said...

Sonny and Cher were just a reprise of Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Sonny said that he planned it that way and they were very successful. He also said that Smith and Prima were much better at it.

Cher was better looking and had a better voice but Sonny was always the brains.

I've had a crush on Keely Smith for 60 years now.

Also a big fan of Louis Prima as well as the Sam Butera and the Witnesses.

Just a gigalo, and the beat goes on.

John Henry

tcrosse said...

Interview after Sonny's death, Cher asserted that he was the brains of the outfit. The joke was always on him, but it was his joke.

John henry said...

Has Joe withdrawn from the race? He has declared a lid until after the election. Is a candidate who is doing NO appearences, talking to NOBODY, still a candidate?

Have the Dems given up on him?

If they just throw in the towel on Joe and concede to PDJT, they can tell all the Trump voters "No need to come out now" while telling theirs "Come out and vote for Reps, Senators, Mayors and so on"

Maybe they can still save the downballot races.

Was Joe Biden always just a one way ticket to Palookaville?

I think PDJT has to still pretend that Joe is a contender and that his people need to come out and vote for him and the Republican downballot. To continue the boxing analogy, PDJT is going to have to carry Biden, waltzing him around the ring, before finishing him off in the designated round. Next Tuesday in this case.

This is going to be an interesting week. This is the week that the really juicy stuff starts to come out about Biden.

Hard to believe that there is anything left to throw at PDJT after 5 years of trying. Not that they won't throw stuff. Cookie says PDJT is broke and in debt, for example. After 5 years of crying wolf, will anyone believe anything they come up with? Not likely, IMHO.

John Henry

Rick.T. said...

"Here's the original version, from Sinatra's own movie, "A Hole in the Head"...
---------------------

Joe's had two holes in the head.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Very appropriate-- a washed-up singer promoting an ancient, dirty politician who happens to be a mental basket case.

Well if it keeps her off the street corners and out of the gin mills it's all to the best, I suppose.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Very appropriate. A washed-up singer promoting a dirty and mentally decrepit old politician.

If it keeps her off the street corners and out of the gin mills, it's all to the best, I suppose.

Tank said...

I thought High Hopes was a titty bar song.

Rory said...

"Did our parents/grandparents really like the “Us darkies is happy folks” Schlick?"

People can be happy even if they don't have what are considered full rights in a given place at a given moment.

Maillard Reactionary said...

BTW, those lyrics are the female Democrat vote in a nutshell: Issues that affect the Nation don't enter into it--The only thing that matters is our FEELINGS. Which are always in some state of being upset.

God, how tiresome.

Maillard Reactionary said...

I thought the thing was called willie.

John henry said...

Blogger Kate said...

I immediately thought of "Good, Ol' Shoe" from Wag the Dog. Went looking for a clip and ended up watching a minute or 2 of the film. They sold us political cynicism and we can't go back to a more innocent perspective.

Great movie. I've seen it a dozen times and it gets better on each viewing.

At least Cher's handlers didn't cut her song on an old scratchy 78, slip it into the Library of congress, then have it "discovered" just in time for the campaign.

I've always felt the discussion of the president getting the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the war was one of the best parts of the movie.

Motss: We should nominate him for the Peach Prize for ending the war.

Brean: But there was no war.

Motss: All the greater accomplishment.

Also, Mottss' line about "If Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, I might wake up one day to find that I've won the Preakness."

John Henry

Jack Klompus said...

I hope Cher performs her best song at Biden's inauguration in full injun attire and gives a shout-out to Scientology for all the support they gave Sonny throughout his life.

Tacitus said...

I have a policy of never calling political figures by first name alone. Sometimes first and last are easier on the ear than just last, but that varies. Nixon for instance stands alone well. Some such as Bush and Roosevelt obviously need a clarifying addition.

This is only appropriate with our employees. They are not supposed to be our friends, and excess familiarity only makes it harder when it is necessary to fire them.

Pachydermis

RK said...

question whether there's a problem of racial appropriation

Is black men wearing pants a problem?

tim in vermont said...

The lyrics are so flat. Rhyming is not enough Cher. But I guess she fills it in with her own private emotion, there will be no shortage of people calling it “brilliant” (code for that person agrees with me) though.

ga6 said...

I counter with: https://tinyurl.com/y3yyewsp

Michael K said...

Sonny was the smart one. He had a successful restaurant in Palm Springs and got elected to Congress.

tim in vermont said...

“That’s all we need to know” is kind of chilling.

but good citizens need not fear.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Joseph Robinette Biden

...Mmmmm! Mmmmm!! Mmmmm!!

C'mon, sing it, kids!

Static Ping said...

I wonder if Cher let's Joe sniff her hair.

walter said...

Joe Biden for Senate!
George doesn't stand a chance.

tim in vermont said...

Biden is going to spend the rest of the campaign avoiding questions in his basement. Greater men than he have snapped under the kind of disclosures he is facing that he knows are true. Everything from his son sexually abused his 14 year old granddaughter and the video will be on the internet forever, to the fact that his legacy is going to be one of utter corruption and betrayal of his country.

Who wouldn’t hide out?

Fernandinande said...

Vladimir Putin meddles in our democracy in support of The Thing Called Joe.

exhelodrvr1 said...

And you're abstaining?

Phil 314 said...


“In 1943? I think they were preoccupied with winning a war.”

Are the two ideas mutually exclusive. You should watch the Apple TV+ movie “Greyhound” with Tom Hanks. The black cook is “nobly” concerned about Tom Hanks wellbeing and always trying to get him to eat something while combating the German U-boots. Of course he dies during an attack. As creepy as the Ethel Waters clip is its equally weird to “create” heroism out of the forced segregation of the Armed Forces.

wendybar said...

She's as delusional as Joe. He thinks he's running for Senate against George W. Enough said.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Yuck. I see this is a continuation of your series, The Worst Art is Political Art, and fits the theme perfectly. I really really really would like to know, today who is motivated by this sort of thing?

CJ said...

Sonny was considerably smarter than Cher. He went from working in a butcher shop to writing two smash hits (I Got You Babe and Needles and Pins), starring in a popular television show, becoming mayor of Palm Springs, and then getting elected to Congress.

And Cher? Puhleeeze.

Michael said...

As Tina Fey famously said: "If we'd just had one more celebrity get-out-the-vote video, we could have flipped Michigan!" Horsefeathers.

MAJMike said...

Happiness is a thing called Joe?

Gag me with a semi-ovular kitchen utensil.

Jess said...

A few years in a concentration camp will get their heads straight. Joe will guarantee them that opportunity, with free room and board.

tim in vermont said...

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/breaking-exclusive-text-messages-show-vp-biden-wife-brother-key-family-members-aware-concerned-colluded-suppress-hunters-actions-around-certain-minor/

I think that the most damning thing is how distraught Hunter seems to be that he is not allowed to be alone with his 14 year old niece. It seems like he is desperately in love with her. I can see why Joe has "called a lid” on the remainder of his campaign. Jill threatened to call the cops on Hunter if he ever was alone with his niece, fat lot of good that would have done. The cops said "it’s just Russian disinformation.” when Rudy called it to their attention with evidence.

tim in vermont said...

With Hunter’s sexual interest in young relatives, maybe he could do a cover of “I am my own grand paw.”

Night Owl said...

When Cher, looking like a caricature of her younger self, oh so seriously and sentimentally sang that 1st line I fully expected a laugh track. What does it mean when real life looks like satire?

stlcdr said...

Can someone remind me, how is good ole' Joe going to make things better?

William said...

I don't think Biden attracts much in the way of hero worship. There has never been a Joe Biden cult. Even when he had primeval hair, even when he was at the peak of his physical magnetism and mental acuity, he never had much of a following beyond a few credit card executives in Delaware...... She's just going through the motions, looking for that first fine careless rapture when Obama was running. Such a song directed at Biden emphasizes the vacuity of Cher and the emptiness of Joe.

MayBee said...

The celebrities are gloomy. But I look at those rallies and those people are not gloomy.

mockturtle said...

Cabin in the Sky is a delightful movie and Ethel Waters was great in it. Watched it again fairly recently and enjoyed it as much as ever.

Joe Smith said...

Cher looks like she's been embalmed.

Her brain was embalmed decades ago.

Never understood her appeal...didn't think there were enough gay men in the world to fund her $400M bankroll...

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

on the bright side

...looks like Covid cures the flu!

DarkHelmet said...

Hey, does Obamacare pay for plastic surgery? Or is Cher covering that out of her own pocket?

Skeptical Voter said...

Sonny thought there was nothing hotter than Cher Sarkissian from El Centro--a real Armenian princess in his mind---not that there is anything wrong with that.

Meantime in the real world, I live in Glendale the city with the second largest Armeinian population in the world. Yerevan is the only city with more Armenians. We've got cars and trucks all over town flying flags in support of the Armenian population in Arsakh--where the war between Armenia and Azerbajain is going full force. Or at least was until the Trump administration brokered a cease fire this weekend. Come on Cher--where is your support for peace in Armenia? Did you donate to the cause (lots of cars in town have "Defend Armenia" vinyl stickers covering their back window). Trump's done more for your group than Biden ever will Well maybe your group is Hollywood these days.

Freder Frederson said...

Or at least was until the Trump administration brokered a cease fire this weekend.

The duration of which was measured in minutes.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Cher became persona non grata with me when she dissed Sonny Bono after he died in a ski accident. She's a horrible person.

Butkus51 said...

sad, sad people

Chris N said...

If a political tchothke came to life, growing little arms and legs, launching into a sappy, shitwritten, made-for-tv song, I guess this would be it.

rcocean said...

Frank got his reward from JFK when the President refused to visit Sinatra at his Palm Springs home because of Frankie "Mob ties". Sinatra was pissed.

Achilles said...

Joe Biden is happiness:

href="https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/breaking-exclusive-text-messages-show-vp-biden-wife-brother-key-family-members-aware-concerned-colluded-suppress-hunters-actions-around-certain-minor/>"[redacted] wont let me see [redacted] without my father present.

A kid's parent threatened to call the police on Hunter if he was around their kid alone. There are several texts in the story. Jill Biden knew Hunter was screwing a minor.

So did Joe.

At this point a reasonable person would conclude Joe Biden is probably a child rapist as well as a rapist.

rcocean said...

Senile Joe just got George Bush mixed up with TRump. Another senior moment. He also called a question regarding his families pay-offs from China, Ukraine, and Moscow, by saying "There is no controversy regarding my son. It's a hell of a lie".

Looks like we can look forward to plenty of lies and stonewalling from President Biden.

MacMacConnell said...

Biden, Cher and Pelosi have a lot in common, they all are proof BOTOX effects the brain.

tim in vermont said...

".looks like Covid cures the flu!”

Or it could be that the precautions we are taking against the far more contagious COVID are stopping the less contagious flu in its tracks.

Naah!

tim in vermont said...

"The Worst Art is Political Art”

Hemingway said that writers to put politics into their work die like any other, but their corpses stink more.

Sam L. said...

Cher...listening to the voices in her head. Ya know, a woman with a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG butterfly tattooed on her butt (both sides iirc) just doesn't strike me as intelligent.

Todd said...

Static Ping said...

I wonder if Cher let's Joe sniff her hair.

10/26/20, 9:26 AM


Joe don't sniff no old lady hair.

tcrosse said...

Who put the bomp
In the bomp bah-bomp bah-bomp?
Who put the Kam
In the Kamala-ma ding-dong?

walter said...

exhelodrvr1 said...And you're abstaining?
--
It's all so..icky!

Big Mike said...

I was in high school when Jack Kennedy was assassinated and subsequently canonized. Three or four years later the official position of Kennedy loyalists was that, had he lived, JFK would have found a way to extricate us from Vietnam. With a half century and more in the rear view mirror, I am inclined to believe that he’d have fallen into the same traps Johnson fell into, and probably people of my age, and down to young punks kids like Althouse, would have been in the streets chanting “Hey! Hey! JFK! How many kids did you kill today?”

CapitalistRoader said...

When Joe is president my troubles will fly away, just like when Obama was president and I didn't have to worry about putting gas in my car or paying my mortgage.

NCMoss said...

Let Joe retire into obscurity; like his former boss.

Chris N said...

Who's that older guy
With the twinkle in his eye?

That's My Union Joe
sure is getting slow

Look now, over there
sniffing locks of hair

So Romantic, not pedantic
That's My Union Joe

Who's that younger guy
zipping down his fly?

It's Hunter!
So Romantic, not pedantic

That's my union Joe
Make sure you go and holla

at his best top gal Kamala
absolutely no corruption

it's a populist eruption
That's my Union Joe

God Save My Union Joe

-Ol' Rusty Buckets and his pet Raccoon Smokey

narciso said...

so the greg allman desk in doonesbury doesn't seem so crazy,

narciso said...

a neighbor caught the bug at a doctor's office, where everyone was wearing masks,

bagoh20 said...

All my life presidential candidates and presidents have been promising to accomplish a number of things seen by nearly everyone as tremendously important and valuable goals, but they never seem to get done. This president in just one term has accomplished a number of them, while we were told they were impossible by everyone. Each one on their own is good reason to reelect. You should not consider yourself intelligent and principled if you can ignore these over some feelings you have or some lie you have been told about the man who finally made it happen, and in just one term.

* Record low unemployment and income improvement for Blacks and Hispanics, and probably every other minority group.
* Creating an energy independent United States which completely changes the power structure of the world in our favor and toward peace for Americans. (Just think about how that alone would have changed American history in your lifetime for the better had it been done earlier.)
* NATO finally paying their fair share after 50 years of our protection and their prosperity (also imagine if that was done long ago, and all anyone had to do was have the balls insist they keep their agreements.
* Peace deals braking out in the Middle East like never before. (The holy grail of our generation's foreign policy objectives).
* Brokering peace in a number of long-standing powder kegs around the world.
* Accepting Jerusalem as the Jewish capitol it should have always been.
* Ending old wars and not starting new ones
* Destroying ISIS
* Forcing trading partners, especially China to treat us more fairly.
* Calling out China and making them pay a price for the malignant force they are in the world.
* Forcing Iran without war to back down on it's terrorist work around the world and weakening that center of evil instead of paying them.
* Reducing regulations dramatically that have dragged down and often destroyed businesses and the dreams of people creating and building them.
* Reducing taxes on over 80% of middle class taxpayers
* Stopping the travel of millions of people from China and Europe who would have vastly increased the spread of Covid-19, and doing that when everyone else was saying it was wrong. This may have saved thousands if not millions of Americans.

There is much more, but can you really imagine any politician doing all that in less than four years. are those things good? Are they important?

If that does not qualify for reelection, then what would?

Greg The Class Traitor said...

REPORTER: Joe Biden says you've waved the white flag on fighting the coronavirus.....

TRUMP: No, no, he has. He's waved a white flag on life. He doesn't leave his basement.

The one thing we KNOW about a Biden Presidency is that it is based on embracing "fear itself", and cowering from the world.

If you don't want a life of fear, reject Biden

Scott said...

Why not, "Happiness is a man called Joe?"

Although as he becomes more senile, and his personality abandons him (leaving a shell of familiar affects far less driven by sentience), he will become more thing-like.

Maybe the song is telling this. Joe, embrace your progressive journey into thingness!

Joe Biden. Just the thing for the Presidency.

Scott said...

Sing it with a fake French accent, like Maurice Chevalier. (They can't pronounce "h" very well.)

"A-penis is a thang call Joe!"

Lurker21 said...

Did our parents/grandparents really like the “Us darkies is happy folks” Schlick?

My parents' day was Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, Lorraine Hansbury, and Sammy Davis Jr., edging slowly towards the proto-woke Sixties. The happy always had its darker side.

I'm not so sure about my grandparents' or great-grandparents's day. Apparently, people did believe it back then (though they may have had fears that it wasn't really true).

Iman said...

Are you ready for the Thing called Joe
Believe your lyin’ eyes
This cat’s a real schmoe
He ain't no genius
His son’s a crack ho’
Are you ready for the Thing called Joe

Gk1 said...

Why did they send Cher out to shake her saggy ass? To attract the youth vote?!? Most of the kids would have to ask their grandparents who she is. What demographic is swayed by Cher's endorsement?

I think a better anthem for the democrats is "Big Rock Candy Mountain" as they promise "free college" and college loan forgiveness on our way to a "Fossil Fuel Free" future.

Bilwick said...

I'm gloomy with the fear of statism.Is that what Cher's referring to?

Michael K said...

Blogger Freder Frederson said...
Or at least was until the Trump administration brokered a cease fire this weekend.

The duration of which was measured in minutes.


Freder the field marshal is cheering on those Arabs. They can't kill Jews fast enough for Freder.

Scott M said...

Holy crap. Eddie Vetter looks horrible these days.

hstad said...

Biggest question I have is how can anyone Democrat or Republican vote for Biden? Really folks, the USA would be the laughing stock of the World. Voters who cast their ballots for Joe Biden are nuts or likely have TDS.

As Winston Churchill said - "...The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter..."

Yancey Ward said...

If I could turn back time, I would have skipped this blog post altogether.

n.n said...

A vote for Trump is a vote for peace in the Middle East. A stand for human rights in China, Tibet, Iran, etc. A stand against diversity, political congruence, anti-nativism, social justice adventurism, including: elective wars and coups. A stand for emigration reform to mitigate collateral damage at both ends of the bridge and throughout. Neutralization of Obamacare, urban sprawl, democratic gerrymandering, and pursuit of market reform to control progressive prices and availability of medical care, and development of green technology to mitigate the Green blight and ensure the energy necessary for a first-world experience is available, when and where it is needed while conserving ecology and civilization. A vote for Trump is a vote for the American dream: Pro-Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. He must be stopped!

bagoh20 said...

"Or it could be that the precautions we are taking against the far more contagious COVID are stopping the less contagious flu in its tracks."

Which is why we should never stop doing it.

If someone tested positive for Covid, but also had the flu and then died from pneumonia, what would they officially die from?

BUMBLE BEE said...

Borat, Michael Moore, Cher, Chelsea Handler and Billie Eilish opining on politics have the equivalent brainpower and depth of understanding of Bullwinkle Moose. I don't always want to listen to an asshole, but when I do, I fart.

BUMBLE BEE said...

In 2009 Al Gore swore we had only "Ten More Years". How'd that go?

Yancey Ward said...

Flu hasn't disappeared- they just aren't testing for it now, and I think anyone with an IQ above body temperature knows why.

Skip said...

Almaron Dickinson said...

Almaron Dickinson died in the Alamo in 1836. I wonder as to the choice of such a nom de plume.

donald said...

She as fake titties. Pretty much fake everything else I know, but it started with the titties.

bagoh20 said...

Imagine if we tested for flu the way we are Covid: drive through tests, everyone admitted to the hospital tested, lots of people tested daily or weekly, etc. The flu might look like the most contagious disease known to man. Now imagine everyone who tested positive for the flu and died and was labelled as killed by the flu. We'd have a flu pandemic on our hands, and it that would be Trump's fault too. I also wonder if the vast majority of people who catch the flu are asymptomatic?

bagoh20 said...

A vote for Trump is a vote for Trump.
A vote for Biden is a vote for...?

Freder Frederson said...

Freder the field marshal is cheering on those Arabs. They can't kill Jews fast enough for Freder.

I don't know what the hell you are talking about. Azerbaijan is indeed mainly Muslim, but they are Turkic, Iranian, and Caucasian, not Arabs. Armenians are also Caucasian, but Christian.

My point is that Trump is running around claiming he has brokered these cease fires, which fall apart immediately, "peace deals" between countries who are not at war (Sudan and Israel, UAE and Israel). The Sudan deal was especially egregious as it was basically an extortion plot where the richest nation in the world extorted 330 million dollars from one of the poorest countries and forced them to recognize Israel in return for removing them from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (even though the terrorist supporting government was deposed a year ago). And the deal has to be approved by the Sudanese parliament, formation of which is about two years from now. The UAE deal is just as cynical. Apparently we offered to sell them F-35's if they recognize Israel, which if that looks like it will go ahead will cause Israel to abandon the deal.

Quaestor said...

Cher is almost as creepy-looking as Biden -- it's that squinty-slanty post-facelift thing.

Quaestor said...

Borat, Michael Moore, Cher, Chelsea Handler and Billie Eilish opining on politics have the equivalent brainpower and depth of understanding of Bullwinkle Moose...

...And Bullwinkle fans slam the OFFENSIVE button.

Ralph L said...

Switching to Kern:
Ah even love him when his kisses got gin... or Johnson's Baby Shampoo.

Darrell said...

Folks, here's a story 'bout Joey the Moocher
He was a red-hot hoochie-coocher
He was the roughest, toughest frail
But Joey had a heart as big as a whale
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi (hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi)
Whoa-a-a-a-ah (whoa-a-a-a-ah)
Hee-dee-hee-dee-hee-dee-hee (hee-dee-hee-dee-hee-dee-hee)
He-e-e-e-e-e-e-y (he-e-e-e-e-e-e-y)

He messed around with a bloke named Smokey
He loved him though was cokey
He took him down to Chinatown
And he showed him how to hug the kungflu around
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi (hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi)
Whoa-a-a-a-ah (whoa-a-a-a-ah)
He-e-e-e-e-e-e-y (he-e-e-e-e-e-e-y)
Oh-oh-oh-oh (oh-oh-oh-oh)

He had a dream about selling favors
That gave him things that he could savor
That gave him a home built of gold and steel
A diamond car with a p-la-ti-num wheel
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi (hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi)
Ho-dee-ho-dee-ho-dee ho (ho-dee-ho-dee-ho-dee ho)
Skip-de-diddly-skip-de-diddly-diddly-oh (skip-de-diddly-skip-de-diddly-diddly-oh)
Bour'rrigy-bour'rrigy-bour'rrigy-oh (bour'rrigy-bour'rrigy-bour'rrigy-oh)

That gave him his townhouse and his racing horses
Each meal he ate was a dozen courses
He had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes
He sat around and counted them all a million times
Hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi (hi-dee hi-dee hi-dee hi)
Whoa-a-a-a-ah (whoa-a-a-a-ah)
He-e-e-e-e-e-e-y (he-e-e-e-e-e-e-y)
Whoa-a-a-a-ah (whoa-a-a-a-ah)

Poor Joe, poor Joe, poor Joe

DavidD said...

daskol said...
“She's not, I would say, a girl who misses much, although she looks well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand, fwiw.“

Sing it with me:
“Happiness is a warm, yes it is, g-u-u-u-u-n.”

JAORE said...

Cher: If Trump wins I will scrub off all my make up and post a closeup on Instagram.

Much more of a threat than a plan to move to Canada.

Bay Area Guy said...

If I coulda voted in 1960, I probably woulda voted for JFK.

I woulda liked his youth, charm and vigor.

I woulda liked his anti-communist stance, telling folks that Ike and Dick were caught flatfooted by Fidel's revolucione in Cuba.

I woulda liked his Berlin speech, reminding folks that we faced a massive Russian army in East Berlin ready to pounce.

I woulda liked his cutting highest marginal tax rates.

I woulda liked his Catholic family and his lovely wife.

The lapdog press woulda concealed his sleazy philandering, drug use and many illnesses, so I wouldn't known or cared. Also, his Pop's mob connections.

I woulda been tempted to punt on then 47-year old Tricky Dick. Not a player, according to Ike.

So, I woulda mistakenly voted for JFK. And I woulda mourned when he got shot.

Of course, through age and experience, comes wisdom. With the full picture, well, the Kennedy's don't look so hot.

gerry said...

It's amazing that her lips haven't exploded yet.

Michael K said...

Apparently we offered to sell them F-35's if they recognize Israel, which if that looks like it will go ahead will cause Israel to abandon the deal.

Freder, I sure wish I had your sources, anonymous of course. You are just up on the latest war talk.

Which cease fire fell apart immediately ?

Paul said...

They say in the end there will be just cockroaches and Cher.

I dunno.... I doubt the cockroaches would share with Cher.

And electing Biden will just hasten that end.

DeepRunner said...

Cher. She's as old as Trump. She was a decent actress a while back, and before that she was singing about gypsies, tramps, and thieves and splitting with Sonny. Funny that she's singing for Sloppy Joe. Surprised she can still smile after all the...uh...facial enhancements.

tim in vermont said...

Maybe Freder could tell us about all of the successul negotiations Biden has been the “point man” on. Like the famous Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq he totally fucked up, but he did get is brother a 1/3 cut of a 1.5 billion dollar housing building contract. A business his brother had never been in before.

How did Biden’s negotiation with the Chinese over the Spratly Islands go? Oh, that’s right, the ChiComs told him to pound salt and raised their presence in the islands, but Hunter didn’t do as badly during his time there, and made quite a deal for himself, setting aside “10 for the Big Guy” whoever he is.

Maybe Biden isn’t such a bad negotiator, if it’s for the Biden clan. There is a reason that bin Laden wrote, in letters we found, that his men should not shoot down Biden even if they had the chance, because his point wasn’t to help the United States. He wanted to kill Patreus or Obama though.

Drago said...

Field Marshall Freder: "The UAE deal is just as cynical. Apparently we offered to sell them F-35's if they recognize Israel, which if that looks like it will go ahead will cause Israel to abandon the deal."

LOL

Freder still pretends to be some sort of geo-political whiz kid.

Too funny.

Drago said...

Can someone look up to see if Freder criticized the obama/biden payoff to Iran as part of the obama/biden deal to let Iran develop nuclear weapons while lying to the world about not developing them?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'll bet Freder expressed no problems at all with that "cynical" payoff to the iranian anti-Israel terrorist funding mad mullahs....all just to get a deal done which was designed to hand over the Middle East to the Persians.

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Cher is a wonderful entertainer but I reject her politics.

Amadeus 48 said...

In case any of you have forgotten, Obama couldn't deal with Mitch McConnell, so he delegated the tax bill negotiations to his VP. McConnell played Biden like a fiddle and picked the Dems' pockets coming and going. Harry Reid said he never would have given away all the stuff Joe agreed to.

Thanks, Joe. Now get out of here.

Michael K said...

Blogger Bay Area Guy said...
If I coulda voted in 1960, I probably woulda voted for JFK.


My first vote and it was for Nixon. I was in college and had taken an Economics class. That was enough. I remember Kennedy came on the USC campus and girls were going nutso over him. That made me suspicious.

My family was outraged because we were supposed to cousins.

Dude1394 said...

Someone ( not the biden campaign ) ( and not the news media ) got video of the ginormous crowd that was attending.

The passion, the energy, the leadership, it is really awe-inspiring.

https://twitter.com/hunterschwarz/status/1320597396573745154?s=20


Churchy LaFemme: said...

they say in the end there will be just cockroaches and Cher.

I dunno.... I doubt the cockroaches would share with Cher.



Keith Richards will eat the last cockroach.

Unknown said...

"K-E-Double N-E-D-Y"

Why does Sammy Cahn spell it out? Because nothing rhymes with Kennedy!
"Threnody" rhymes, but was not yet appropriate in a song about JFK.
"Remedy" does not rhyme. Sorry, Freddie Mercury.

Bilwick said...

"Happiness is a thing called The State."

Focko Smitherman said...

So any time you need a car
You know where we are
Come and see what we've got!
Oops there goes another car off our lot
(Oops there goes another car off our lot)
Oops there goes another car off our lot...

--1970s TV ad for a Chicago-area car dealership. No idea which one.