Keeper of the Clown Bell

Hey, hey, we are The Monkees You know we love to please A manufactured image With no philosophies. You say we're manufactured. To that we all agree. So make your choice and we'll rejoice in never being free! Hey, hey, we are The Monkees We've said it all before The money's in, we're made of tin We're here to give you more! The money's in, we're made of tin We're here to give you... The life of a thespian is difficult and though it comes with benefits like loose women and free libation the constant sense that ones life is, at least in part, under the direction of someone else is an ever present, nagging annoyance. The transposition from the actual person you are to the role of the character you're playing causes confusion in the mind and spirit. In the age of recorded media and  mass communication this transposition carries a quality of permanence unknown in any previous era and the actor discovers that he's been transformed f

The prison of life is one we never fully escape. Even the spiritual yogi, the rich oligarch, the nihilist  pop star and (believe it or not) college professors must all stoop to clean up a mess from time to time - trapped as we are in this mortal and material cell. Be that as it may, some cells are worse than others. Don't spend your life cleaning A wishful bit of advise from those who sell toxic scrubbing suds to ease the burden of which every life is consumed. But scrubbing is drudgery - with or without miracle cream - and for the vast expanse of human history drudgery is what life was spent doing. Enter the machine . The machine "works pretty well" and though it won't take all the work out of prison life ("you still need to push") it does clean things up in an impressive manner and with its extension handles and multiple cleaning brushes it can wipe up almost any mess. So the decision everyone has to make is between living on your hands and

Sorry, what country are we in? "Trump Strategist Steve Bannon Says Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut’, via @nytimes " https://t.co/WvRf5MQXdS — Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) January 26, 2017 Leave it to the New York Times to miss the point that Steve Bannon was trying to get through their thick skulls and everyone in the media-industrial complex follows the lead of the NYTimes so they will miss it too (for now). Here's the headline from 42nd Street and their phone call with Darth Vader: Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut’ What Bannon actually said was, “The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while .” So a more accurate headline would read: Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Humiliated Media Should ‘Just Listen For A While’ Listening is not something the MSM does very well and even when they do listen what goes in the ears gets horribly distorted by the feedback lo

LeBron James must be on the Trump Train because he's produced a hit TV show for NBC called " The Wall " and by estimates it's " the most American game show on TV ". "In many ways, The Wall embodies values that are distinctly red, white, and blue. It attempts to sell us something new, even though its concept is really based on old ideas that someone put in a blender and mixed up just enough so they would seem fresh, which is the same guiding principle that has kept American capitalism running for decades." Indeed there is nothing new about this "guiding principle" and though it's true that it does keep "American capitalism running" it is also true that it keeps everything else running too. The Wall, as a concept, is very old and new walls are built all the time around the world based on this "old idea." Some walls are just a glorified folly to provide aesthetically pleasing definition to the landscape or a bo

I guess it's worth mentioning that America has a lot more Democrats than it does Republicans and always has (since the election of 1800 at least). That is true nationally and on a state by state basis and more new Democrats are always being registered every year . It really is amazing that a GOP candidate can even compete on a national level and almost inconceivable that a Republican can actually win, but win they do. They usually win when the Democrats screw up and somehow shoot themselves in the foot by inter-party conflict or running a lousy candidate. Since 1932 the GOP has won a lot of presidential contests but take a close look at how their candidates won: 1950 - Ike was a Dem turned Repub and governed as a moderate General. 1968 - Nixon exploited the Dem split and Geo. Wallace took enough votes to hand the presidency to the GOP 1980 - Reagan was a Dem for the first half of his life and because the Dem-Media-Industrial complex took Nixon out prematurely a mediocrity (J

Yesterday after his speech and before the parade POTUS signed a bunch of paper surrounded by all the people he had insulted a few minutes earlier. He goofed around and messed up the protocol of signing and handing out the pens he used to scribble on the various documents. The leadership from both political parties was irritated and confused and when it was all over Trump couldn't even find a taker for the the last pen - he just tossed it on the table. Welcome to the new DC folks where the work takes precedence over the ceremony. The pen is now in he hand of an all business doer and if you complain (or lie) about his style he'll drone you with a tweet.

If anybody wonders how serious the situation in DC really is this video should make it clear that for the Elvis from Queens it's damn serious. When you play the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" accompanied by fireworks at your warm up event it means you're ready for war. Not war like they talk about on cable news - "this means war", "war room", "in the trenches", etc but real war with blood letting and death. Dems are holding up their end of the game by not accepting the results of the election and not attending the inauguration - just like they did in 1860. There will be blood as this new regime takes power and wipes out the old order and president Trump is ready and willing.

Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning   And the first thing that I saw   Was the sun through yellow curtains   And a rainbow on the wall   Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you   Crimson crystal beads to beckon   Oh, won't you stay    We'll put on the day   There's a sun show every second Chelsea Manning's treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation's most sensitive secrets. My full statement ↓ pic.twitter.com/PcQrgK2SI3 — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) January 17, 2017 In a America we have a concept called  'Civilian Control of the Military' which, though somewhat misunderstood . means that the democratically elected POTUS tells the army what to do. There's a reason he's called the commander-in-chief and that reason is that military leaders do what he commands (weather they like it or not) and live with the consequences. And because it's the military which operates by a very strict chain-of-command model

When your mom and dad saddle you with the name Martin Luther there are really only two paths afforded you in life. You crumble under the weight of history and its judgement like all the other Moses's, Jesus's and Muhammad's crawling the earth in their tee-shirts and sandals. You own the memory of your namesake and rise to the occasion - whatever it is. MLK took the second, less traveled, road that more often than not leads to personal destruction accompanied by some measure of fame. There are many qualities I like about the civil rights leader (and some I don't like) but one of the mountaintops he stood upon was the conviction that integration was a two way street. This concept is often overlooked by todays SJW community but King was very direct to his audience that both whites and blacks must change to effect a true integration of the races. So in the same way he expected white folks to stop using racial slurs and open up the neighborhood to black families h

Yesterday I was having a tasty taco lunch with my daughter at Al Carbon in the Woodbrook Shopping Center (best tacos west of the I-5) and a very funny snapchat blinked on her phone about  Allie Dowdle and her GoFundMe effort to "Say No to Racism ." Allie attends Hutchison School in Memphis, TN and my daughter knows an alum from that fine institution who forwarded the electronic tin cup to her not because she expected my daughter to contribute but just for giggles. Supposedly the Hutchison community, and all of Memphis, is freaking out about this drama and when we checked in Allie had already "raised" $2,500. At 5PM ET tonight Allie had bilked internet innocents for over $16K and her effort is trending so there's probably more greenbacks coming. Not that she's unappreciative - "Even the smallest amount helps. I cannot express how much your time and money means to me." All of this because Allie fell for a black guy named Michael Swift ( no, I&#

The Big Orange Brick There are many moments from DJT's first presser as pres-elect that put a smile on my face but the best was when he took on CNN and blew up the unsubstantiated prank the Deep State pulled on him the night before the event. If you watch the full clip of the interaction you'll see a master at work as he sends a reporter over the edge of sanity and decorum and owns him like a boss. Setting the hook (0:37) - After calling BuzzFeed garbage he mentions CNN and for a moment looks (and points) at the CNN reporter at the press conference (Jim Acosta). Feeding the line (0:40 - 1:15) - Rather than talk about CNN directly, Trump talks about his lawyer Michael Cohen and how obviously wrong the reporting on his meeting with Russians in Europe was - He mocks the talking heads at CNN and calls them disgraceful. Swallowing the sinker (1:18) - Initially Trump points toward Acosta and starts taking the next question but as soon as the CNN reporter starts talking the f

There's a new bio of Margaret Wise Brown titled “In the Great Green Room” and it sounds like an interesting read. It is fascinating to examine the artist in reflection of the art they create and often, as in the case of MWB, it seems inconceivable that such a person could make a timeless work of fiction - but she did. "Goodnight Moon" is one of those books that grows on you over time and though I've read it a hundred times (probably more) to my children, just as it was read to me, I'm starting to think that it was actually written for adults to invoke nostalgia for childhood. Children like the rhymes and bold pictures but parents LOVE it and for good reason. The book starts by setting the stage with its kittens and mittens and old lady whispering "hush" then starts systematically goodnighting all of them into the oblivion of a sleepy dreamworld. The Goodnight nobody, Goodnight mush pages are pure genius in this context and they delight any reader wit

Hypothesis: “Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners and if we kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts.” Postulate: Okay. America can survive and prosper on a visual diet of football and MMA. As a rule I don't watch the Golden Globes or any awards show but my daughters were home from college and they like to watch them so I jumped in for a few minutes to see who snagged a trophy. Not surprisingly "The Crown" won big, but since QE2 runs the world (and certainly the entertainment industry) I yawned and having watched the series myself I must say that it is pretty good except for John Lithgow playing Churchill (how can a an American be cast as the most English of Englishmen). But the highlight of the evening was watching the Queen Bee of all awards shows receive a lifetime achievement award and, rather than reflect on a lifetime of achievement, go crazy with Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). What you miss b

As we wrap up an 8 year presidential run it's worth taking some time to review BHO's accomplishments of which, despite the nay-sayers, there are many but, as with most things, they're not obvious - even to the man responsible . Domestic Averting Financial Catastrophe - Give me $10 Trillion and I too will stop a financial crisis (especially if I can barrow it from the Federal Reserve with an IOU). Obamacare - An expensive (and mandatory) disaster that will soon be a unpleasant memory. Energy Independence - due to fracking and the fact that "solar now employs more Americans than coal mining in jobs" is not because there are millions of "solar employees" but because all the coal miners are out of work (by design). Financial Regulation - Has anyone reading this blog tried to get a loan from a bank, any bank, over the past eight years? Has the POTUS? Education - Early on the Feds "took over" the student loan operation and they've bee

One of the more fanciful conspiracy theories floating about is one postulated by Lyndon LaRouche claiming that the Queen of England runs the world . Most of his connections sound extravagant and the web of intrigue would be almost impossible to keep hidden but other claims are obviously true: "At one time LaRouche claimed that Queen Elizabeth II personally sent the philosophers Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts to America to corrupt us with drugs and Asian religions." But every once in a while something will happen that's so strange, so incongruous, so mysterious and so scandalous that I'm tempted to buy off on LL's whole crazy theory because crazy is the only rational explanation for what I'm watching. I ask YOU America, in all seriousness, what the hell is going on here? I know he's crazy uncle Joe, Lunch Bucket Joe, the Dwight Kurt Schrute III of US politics but come on, fellow citizens. This man is the Vice President of the United States of America

THEY'RE BACK!!! Ye new Congress has taken their seats and prepare to Make America Great Again but on the night before they start ye old Congress decides to muck around - who will save us? Perhaps Senator Chuck Schumer will rise to the occasion.  " In floor speech, Schumer warns of 'Twitter presidency '" as reported by The Times Union in Albany. "'Making America Great Again' requires more than 140 characters per issue," Schumer said on the Senate floor in his first speaking foray as the body's top Democrat. "With all due respect, America cannot afford a Twitter presidency." And The Times Union reported it like most other MSM journalists editing out the first words of this bold declaration which were, "These issues are too important for mere words . Our challenges too entrenched for mere tweeting." Check it out yourself - starts at approximately minute 23:30. Hold on a second, what ever happened to " wo