Tuesday, February 4, 2014

KLEM FM

"If I had a rocket launcher...some son-of-a-bitch would die"


That song swayed a lot of tie-dyed hips back in the 1980's when it was all over alternative FM radio. Lesser known is that Bruce Cockburn (pronounced CO-burn) actually got handed a rocket launcher -- by his younger brother who volunteered for duty in Afghanistan:

101 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

An interesting video in light of Pete Seeger's passing.

Interesting to me because I think I'm gonna pass on the Thursday night bluegrass jam session at the club in Woodstock, because it will undoubtedly be a tribute to Seeger.

The best thing that I can say about Seeger is nothing. I never met him, and avoided listening to him.

My opinion on Big Issue songs isn't worth giving, because I never listen to music that tries to be about Big Issues.

How to get the girl. And hold onto the girl. That's the music I want to hear.

Unknown said...

Bruce Cockburn is an awesome dude. His "Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu" (1999) gets a lot of rotation in my life. Highly recommend.

I have a Bruce Coburn six degrees of separation connection. My cowgirl friend (the same gal who attends Buck horse clinics) She is good friends with Bruce Cockburn. It was funny because a Bruce Cockburn song started on the radio while we were in the car together and I said - ooo turn it up. Then she told me they were old friends. cool. Because I happened to like his music.
When she was going thru miserable cancer treatments, Bruce dropped in for a visit to help cheer her up.
Bruce just got married in Lake Tahoe and the cowgirl and her husband were guests. Oddly, I got a phone call with a request to find the wedding gift. A pocket sized photo of the venue, framed nice. What? Am I the personal shopper or something. I've never been to Lake Tahoe.

Unknown said...

The Last Night of the World.

Mumpsimus said...

You could go nuts letting artists' politics determine what art you enjoy. (P.J. O'Rourke's Enemies List included "anyone named Cockburn," though he was probably thinking more of Andrew and Alexander.)

Bruce Cockburn was (still is?) a terrific musician and songwriter, and a great live performer. Lovers In A Dangerous Time is one of my all-time favorites.

Unknown said...

Some lefty politics do determine who I like/don't like. If I don't really like an artist anyway, knowing they are full blown leftists makes it easier to dislike them as artists. Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi come to mind. But certainly there are artists who are on the left and I just don't care. Their music and talent are just too good to miss.

btw- my friend and her husband who know Cockburn personally, they happen to be very conservative.

KCFleming said...

I would have loved to hear what Cockburn thought about his brother and the real rocket launcher.

Always loved his song 'Cry of a Tiny Babe.'

For some artists, their in-your-face politics makes it impossible to see or hear anything but that in their performances.

Springsteen ruined his work for me. Now I can hear the fraud in his voice.

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Unknown said...

You won't even give a thought to what ideology or political party that CNA belongs to if only she'll wipe your ass clean so you can get rid of the stink and reclaim your dignity for a few more minutes.

That's true, but with the state running our health care system, we won't have the luxury of an ass-wiper without a $10,000 deductible.

KCFleming said...

I don't think 'immortality' is the erroneous belief.

chickelit said...

It sounds like phx has cancelled his subscription to the resurrection.

KCFleming said...

I remain unclear as to how disliking the enormously wealthy Springsteen singing about the common working stiff is related to never dying.

Makes no sense.

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KCFleming said...

If you think the certainty of death removes petty behavior, you've never read anything about the concentration camps.

Synova said...

"It's the powerless who take this stuff so seriously that they hate each other. Boehner and Obama go smoke cigarettes together in the rose garden. All these guys are golfing buddies."

Do they?

Because Clinton, yeah, Bush, absolutely, wouldn't think of making anything personal. Obama? Do you have some sort of evidence that he even speaks to any Republicans?

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Synova said...

I don't think I've ever heard that song before. It's thought provoking.

On the way home tonight the car on the on-ramp in front of us had a Ghandi bumper sticker, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

I nodded at it and said to my husband, "That perfectly illustrates the problem with the idea of proportionate or measured response."

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KCFleming said...

And you've never set foot in a nursing home or hospice, or learned nothing in them, if you really believe that.

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Synova said...

phx, what Obama says in an interview won't cut it when we're talking about what these powerful people do off script. Since Obama doesn't seem to have any Democrat friends, I'm having trouble imagining him sharing vacation pictures with Republicans.

We got a glimpse of Bush, after meeting the Jr. Obama at the White house, so junior he was at the very end of the line, and Bush shares his hand sanitizer just like they were chums and darned if it wasn't Obama who spun it to sound fishy.

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Aridog said...

Phx...you should have stopped at 7:26 PM. You were on the money momentarily.

Unknown said...

PHX - we take is seriously because while the rich and connected in DC are sucking us all dry and lying to everyone about it - they have the luxury of putting on the big show. Playing kissy face. We don't like it.

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Birches said...

I agree with phx a bit. Those guys in DC are all in love with their power more than their ideology. But I'm not too sure about Obama. He seems like he really doesn't know any real conservatives.

I remain unclear as to how disliking the enormously wealthy Springsteen singing about the common working stiff is related to never dying.

I don't like Springsteen anyways, but he really does piss me off with how much he "cares" about the little people. Such a shtick. Mellencamp started getting on my nerves too. Things have to go pretty far before I'll give someone up for their politics though. Sneakers is still an awesome movie; I don't care that Robert Redford is a flaming liberal.

KCFleming said...

Maybe what makes the powerful so dangerous is their lack of interest in and outright distatste for the small and petty things of life.

Maybe they're just arrogant fucks who don't see how they screw things up for the rest of us.

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Unknown said...

phx - That's because of YOUR ideology. The fact that you don't care that DC is raping and pillaging the nation while we all lose our jobs and our life savings - all so that it can be wasted and poured into power hungry coffers.

It's a conflict of visions.
You don't think what is happening is happening and you don't care because your players are in and you think they are infallible.

for many of us, it's a big f'ing deal.

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KCFleming said...

"Nobody screws things up for the rest of us. Life happens."

Tell that to the 2.5 million who will lose their jobs because of Obamafuckingcare.

"You're fine! Everything's fine"

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KCFleming said...

Oh wow, man.

Unknown said...

I can clam my rhetoric, but the political class ARE ruining this nation.
If you choose to ignore or downplay what is happening, or perhaps you personally are not feeling what is happening, that is your choice, phx. Or your luck. Some of us who are effected and who are watching others who are effected, do not have that luxury.

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chickelit said...

phx said...
We can talk.

You know who gets away with pretty edgy humor?

Joan Rivers.

sakredkow said...
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Unknown said...

Sometimes there's just nothing left to say.

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Unknown said...

Why don't you read the whole thing. Learn something for a change.

sakredkow said...
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Unknown said...

Billions upon billions of dollars in economic productivity up in smoke as workers who’ve stuck with their jobs for the health insurance quit and take a subsidies check from Uncle Sam instead. To the White House, which otherwise bleats about “growth” at every opportunity, this is a feature of the law, not a bug. WaPo’s fact-checker even rushed out a piece this afternoon in defense of their position. The law’s not destroying 2.5 million jobs, says Glenn Kessler, it’s merely inviting 2.5 million employees to quit. How much does it matter to growth, though, if the labor force shrinks on the demand side versus the supply side? Will all, or most, of the vacated positions be filled by younger workers or will they evaporate as businesses downsize (or close down)? If giving people more “choice” in whether to be employed or not is now our cardinal social good, we might as well go for a guaranteed minimum income and clear out all the wage slaves. Let’s see how small we can get the labor force before the wheels come off the economy.

Don’t act surprised, either. Nancy told you this was coming. Look on the bright side: If fewer people working is a sign of economic success, the Obama presidency will be remembered as a golden age.

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chickelit said...

Why don't you read the whole thing. Learn something for a change.

I suspect phx is being crack-lite here. Injustices were done in the past. Wealth accumulated into the wrong hands for no good reason. Obama's policies will fix this.

People thought he was kidding, didn't they?

chickelit said...

Then again, I've been called a conspiracist.

sakredkow said...
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chickelit said...

Obama on the military? Listen to what Gates said: Obama loved the troops but he hated their mission. It must have broken his heart to see people -- real flesh and blood -- killed because of his ROE policy.

chickelit said...

phx said...
@chickenlittle This is why I don't deal with you. You can never let me speak for myself.

This is why I have to find work-around solutions to reach you.

Unknown said...

Some of us get a little upset as we watch the nation we love systematically destroyed by the economically ignorant.

sakredkow said...
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chickelit said...

@phx: I'll back off now. I didn't mean to get between you and April.

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chickelit said...

@phx: Just one thing...because I think we got off on the wrong foot..

You said...
I'm not talking to everybody. Just some people need to stop believing in their immortality.

A reasonable person could read that to refer to Christians and their belief in eternal life. That is why I gently chided you, referencing a pop star's words.

It was downhill from then on.

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Synova said...

I've been feeling a lot of seething rage lately but it all has to do with my CS150 class.

Any of my fellow students I've heard say anything at all about the class use violent terminology, so I know I'm not alone.

"This page should take about 5 minutes to complete."

Each question on the page takes about five minutes of scratching your head and guessing and trying to figure out before you can even tell what it's asking you to do. "1. Fill in the 4 missing T accounts." With what???? ARgh!!! Which missing T accounts?? If they're missing where are they supposed to go? Oh, not MISSING! Empty. We have no data, fill them with what??? WTF!

Seething.

Rage.

Synova said...

There's a reason that not caring about anything is called "fatalistic."

Just, you know, saying.

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KCFleming said...

That Jesus dude should have just calmed down, instead of overturning tables and making such a mess in the temple.

If only He'd been aware of his mortality, He'd have done so much better.

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Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

This was a good thread. Phx is like the anti-Crack.

Icepick said...

People are petty with one another because they think they won't ever die. They have time to be petty.

So now we know phx has never actually been around people who are dying and know it.

Icepick said...
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Chip Ahoy said...

I have not heard of this person.

I have also not heard of the famous actor who o.d.ed on heroine and started a 'dialogue' on heroine resurgence.

And thus exposed, giant gaps in my impressively vast areas of knowledge.

Shut up, it doesn't take much to impress some people.

I used to be remarkably good at NYT crossword puzzles despite my poor spelling. But now they're all pop culture, names of actresses and actors and shows and brand names and such. NYT crosswords resemble TVGuide crosswords now because of that, except with better themes. And I no longer have patience to sort them.

deborah said...

So do you get crossword books, Chip?

chickelit said...

AReasonableMan said...
This was a good thread. Phx is like the anti-Crack.

phx said...
You are truly a retard when it comes to me. Why do you do that to yourself?

I see a crack of something there.

deborah said...

I'm not in the proper frame of mind to make my way through this thread, but it seems that phx's point that we are not immortal was misunderstood by Pogo, and then others ran with it. It was obvious that phx meant you won't live forever, so stop being mean. A life of meaness will lead to the imperilment of one's immortal soul according to many versions of Christianity.

KCFleming said...

deborah, you're being too kind to phx.

I agree with your sentiment, and if that's what phx intended, he missed the mark widely.

I was responding to this:
"It's the powerless who take this stuff so seriously that they hate each other. Boehner and Obama go smoke cigarettes together in the rose garden. All these guys are golfing buddies."

It's enraging to me that the powerful think my daily concerns about jobs and healthcare and taxes are petty and that they have a big laugh about it and play golf.

I feel more like modelling Jesus and they are moneychangers in the temple.

In my day-to-day life, I am kind and polite and rarely mean; just as I was raised. Heck, I was able to turn two different crazy neighbors into almost-friends. You would have no idea who I was based on what I write here.

But the idea that one mustn't rage against the political machine because they don't seem to mind destroying my way of life, well that I cannot stand. The powerful are slowly turning us from a free people into serfs. No, I can't be copacetic with that.

Paco Wové said...

You know, phx, if you could just overcome your apparently unquenchable urge to lecture other people, you would be much less irritating.

chickelit said...

deborah said...
I'm not in the proper frame of mind to make my way through this thread, but it seems that phx's point that we are not immortal was misunderstood by Pogo, and then others ran with it. It was obvious that phx meant you won't live forever, so stop being mean. A life of meaness will lead to the imperilment of one's immortal soul according to many versions of Christianity.

On the topic of "being mean";

Well deborah. You set what you probably thought was a "good example" on the other thread. When Crack showed up you announced that you "were out." I on the other hand reacted by making a new chirbit.

Your reaction could be construed as turning the other cheek; it could also be construed as running away out of fear.

Is making a mocking chirbit confrontational? In a sense it is also turning another cheek -- giving your enemy another chance.

As for phx? Paco nailed it.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

chickenlittle said...

I see a crack of something there.


The fact that people as diverse as Crack and phx both find you insufferable is probably a message that you should listen to, rather continue unquestioning in your patented passive aggressive style. With love ;)

chickelit said...

I think you could have found much more disparate examples than Crack and phx, ARM. Just sayin'

Aridog said...

This thread lost me when Phx said this:

Life's full of challenges. Some people get cancer. Some people lose people they love. Maybe Obamafuckingcare drove 2.5 million out of work, maybe it didn't....Warriors aren't victims of anything.

First, the "warriors" bit in two parts:

1.) WTF does that mean? In terms of the government, they herd sheep, not warriors....I can assure anyone of that because I was part of it for a couple decades...and still consult and IMO it is growing worse by metastasis. Read that crap and recall that when I retired in 2005, e.g., FY 2006, it was to protect a superb subordinate from RIF, because she deserved better and I could. So I did. And it worked, she got my job, not the gate. Both Bush and Obama have driven federal growth like Topsey while re-arranging the deck chairs and screwing people over wholesale. Every re-organization, under both, hired more senior executive know & do-nothings at the expense (job loss...see RIF) of the actual functional civil servants who gave a damn. F'em both, Bush and Obama. WE have let our government instituionalize itself beyond anyone's individual control...BOHICA!!

2.) Given the disadvantaged ROE's established under Generals McChrystal (as well as his dietary nonsense) and Petraeus, both under Obama, and the subsequent flat out doubling in 3 years of US KIA's versus the prior 7 years...I say warriors damn sure are frigging victims.

Next: I am a cancer survivor, so far. I have lost everyone I love but 3 people, some long ago in war, others recently due life's consequences. I live in a bankrupt metro area with likely the highest unemployment rate nation-wide...so yes, anything governmental that causes job loss is consequential. My background in military database elements tells me we have true hacks and schmucks running the government now, and the PPACA is the product of their labors...unworkable, incomplete, and fully deficient. "Hell of job there, Barack!"

deborah said...

Pogo, as Paco said, phx could tone down the lecturey youth tone of his delivery. But phx's main point, that the powerful are laughing up their sleeves at us fighting with each other, being divided and conquered and all that. Shall we on blogs sublimate our fury and never actually confront power? We, here, when we feel sick with powerlessness are not raging against the machine, we are raging against each other.

Very sorry to be Pollyanna here. To paraphrase an ancient quote by Ana Marie Cox, you can't have a revolution in your pajamas. (A reference to internet commenting versus leaving your house.) Not you Pogo, I know your life is even more hellish now, with even more paperwork and seeing extra patients.

chickelit said...

@Aridog: You are favorite commenter, here and elsewhere.

Always on point & never flippant. Earnest & credible.

deborah said...

"On the topic of "being mean";

Well deborah. You set what you probably thought was a "good example" on the other thread. When Crack showed up you announced that you "were out." I on the other hand reacted by making a new chirbit.

Your reaction could be construed as turning the other cheek; it could also be construed as running away out of fear.

Is making a mocking chirbit confrontational? In a sense it is also turning another cheek -- giving your enemy another chance."


I left the thread calling Crack a dry drunk. I wouldn't call that not being mean or setting a good example. It was my way of signaling that I'm not interested in any more Crack-hijacked threads.

I like your chirbits, but I'm not sure mocking an emotionally damaged and possibly mentally ill person is the way to go. But since Crack's the consummate attention whore, it shouldn't matter that much.

Aridog said...

Deborah said ...

But phx's main point, that the powerful are laughing up their sleeves at us fighting with each other, being divided and conquered and all that.

I'd hope you also detected that concept from my post at 11:01 AM. In particular part " 1.)" vis a vis "warriors" versus "sheep."

Once inside the DC encirclement you can't help notice the difference between most politicians is their lapel pins...with a few exceptions like uber hack's Reid and Pelosi, who really are demented.

Aridog said...

Deborah said ...

But phx's main point, that the powerful are laughing up their sleeves at us fighting with each other, being divided and conquered and all that.

I'd hope you also detected that concept from my post at 11:01 AM. In particular part " 1.)" vis a vis "warriors" versus "sheep."

Once inside the DC encirclement you can't help notice the difference between most politicians is their lapel pins...with a few exceptions like uber hack's Reid and Pelosi, who really are demented.

deborah said...

Yes, Ari, I also recall the very depressing post you made a few months ago about bureaucracy over-growth at the very top and cronyism. But for some reason, veterans will no longer receive their COLA allowance.

Aridog said...

Deborah....See my "metastasis" link for this gem....

Growth at DOD was due to conversion of positions from military to civilian, as well as from the growth in acquisition and cybersecurity positions...

Uh, uhm, er...Snowden! Manning! Bwahahahaha. Uhm, never mind that major defense contractors are now major purveyors of Obamacare services. Say whot?! You can't understand how it got so screwed up? Uhmmmm...think about it.

Oh, wait...didn't Obamessiah say he wanted a civilian force as powerful as the military? Huh. Ya think? Conversion?

Full disclosure: I have been both uniformed military and civilian military in my time, so I am not without experience. As the military shrinks, in terms of fighters, "flag ranks" keep growing...both in uniform and as "Senior Excecutive Service" (SES) or higher .... why yes, SES is a "flag rank" and they do in fact have their own little flags you must display if they visit your functional facility. Bow to your betters, bitches!

Sorry...from Clinton forward, our leadership has been dolts. Likable dolts, but dolts....managed by the institution.

deborah said...

Ari, from your article:

"The report also found that the long anticipated federal retirement wave is likely fast approaching. As of September 2012, nearly 270,000 employees, or fourteen (14) percent of the workforce were retirement eligible. By 2017, that figure will rise to nearly 600,000 retirement eligible employees, or thirty-one (31) percent of the workforce.
GAO notes that the impending retirement of a significant proportion of the workforce “could produce mission critical skills gaps if left unaddressed,” and highlighted that human capital planning and development of talent pipelines was an issue included on GAO’s High Risk lists."

I'm guessing these jobs won't be phased out.

sakredkow said...
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Aridog said...

Deb....you may be guessing wrong. Other than STEM positions in unique offices (USACE, NASA, NOAA, BLM, and a few others), not including IT fields, I've seen little retention or recruitment of functional performers. The greatest additions are in the senior "policy" ranks and 9 out of 10 of those can't wind their watch without help. Our Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff in DOD has a primary experience background in TRADOC (Training)...e.g., a policy guy with little field knowledge. Those kinds of managers are happy with dolts for subordinates and will happily make up stuff as they go along. Witness PPACA....and many other items too numerous to mention.

In short, they will not hire skills equivalent to those they are losing. Witness the IRS crap of recent vintage. Doubt many are accountants by trade and degree, let alone CPA qualified. However, they do go political eh?

In my field, a STEM field, as well as practical business area, we had new people coming aboard who had to prepare budget in put, but didn't know a debit from a credit or how they relate in double entry accounting. No wonder everyone in DC is happy to NOT have a real Budget.

Good f'ing luck in the future. Just pay your taxes and be quiet...because shut up.

deborah said...

Sigh. Thanks for the info, Ari.

Methadras said...

Now if his name was Richard Cockburn, I'd laugh harder.