More Watt

What I didn't say in my 4-13-2011 post was that I had invited Mike Watt & The Missingmen and crew to stay at my home after the show, and they had accepted. I've learned not to get all excited about things that can change in a heartbeat, lest I suffer a big letdown, and have it out there for the world to see besides, allowing me to look like a braggart who can't produce the goods. Or some such.

In any case, Watt & Co. were very happy to have a place to stay. It all fits in with Watt's "We Jam Econo" ethic, and beats the sterility and monotony of motels. Here's what he had to say about the stay in his online tour diary for 4-13-2011:

good man mike kole has invited us to his pad in fishers, we passed it coming earlier in the day. he's got two beautiful dogs, just beautiful - so much righteous fur, like husky/saint bernard style, righteous for hugging. he's got a washer to so levis, chonies, gig shirt and socks joins other missingmen stuff - so kind is mike. I hose off and then get into nightwear, the best ever sitch, best ever! he's got a trippy four corner-style couch (four pieces), I put myself in and finding my konk mask (it was in blue ronnie jacket inside pocket), I don and konk just after one - again, repeating last night w/no drinking. a weak watt has to fight a good defense. we're coming into the endgame of this tour now my health is most critical.

I did not get a chance to interview him for my podcast. He was just too busy with tour logistics, and wasn't feeling too healthy besides. He's been fighting off a bug and has a knee injury to boot. Touring the way he does (51 gigs in 52 days) isn't for the faint of heart. Anyhow, I'd love to discuss his vocabulary. I can translate some of the above.

konk: to sleep
pad: home
chonies: underwear
hose off: to shower
gig shirt: flannel button-down shirt

Bits I can't precisely translate: "sitch" & "ronnie jacket"

The band were very businesslike. They got in, chose beds/couches/air mattresses, gave me laundry to do, and all got their laptops and were online. The best I could do for them in terms of post-gig hospitality was to get Watt some Throat-Coat herbal tea. Nobody wanted a drop to drink. Very friendly, but very much locked in.

In the morning, Watt was up first and was immediately online. He writes his tour diary entries daily in the morning, does email interviews with journalists, lines up the next crash pads, confirms phone interviews he'll do from the van, etc. Before long it's time to go. Watt calls, "Pull anchor!" and everybody snaps to- grabs their stuff and heads to the van.

Watt dealing with the online world and tour logistics

Photographer Peak was the other early riser, here chatting before everyone came around for breakfast.

Guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales with happy cups of 'coff'.

Pull anchor! Everyone's in the van, and beginning the roll to St. Louis, morning sun playing havoc on my snapshot.

It can be a letdown if expectations are too high. This is a working band. Ame asked if they had groupies. Shit- they don't have time for that. It was a 4-hour drive from Fishers to St. Louis, and they gained an hour crossing from Eastern to Central Time Zone, but they have an afternoon in-store appearance at a record store there, so they're in the van (Watt calls it 'The Boat') before 11am.

I wish them good fortunes and safe travels, and they're gone. Someone in St. Louis will share the same experience, and so on as they head back West.

Crazy Good Day

This is always one of my top sports watching days of the year- the day the NHL playoffs begin.

There's a topper, though. Mike Watt is playing Indy today with one of his many bands, the Missingmen, at Radio Radio. The topper is so good that I'm going to skip out on playing hockey, and going to the sports bar with the guys to watch all the games at once.

I love watching Watt work his bass. He makes crazy faces while playing fantastic, intense music. Here's a clip from a show he did at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Hts OH last year:

When Your Candidate Fails To Deliver

I’m a partisan Libertarian, as you know. Although I frequently state my ‘glass half empty’ case, fact is, whenever a major change takes place affecting an executive or legislative branches of government, there are things I can be hopeful of, depending on the offices affected, and the party of those taking power.

When Obama was sworn in, there were many things I was hopeful for, especially because he was campaigning about them. These included:

• Withdrawl from Iraq
• End to borrow-and-spend
• Closing of Gitmo
• End to policy of ‘indefinite detention’

There were others, but these were the big ones. On all counts, I have been disappointed with the President.

This has been the way of modern politics for me, regardless of the party in charge. There are things I can be hopeful for, especially in light of the rhetoric that got people elected, but promises aren’t kept, or impressions aren’t matched with actions.

Prior to the election of Obama, I spent several years blogging about the failure of the Republicans to deliver on the things I was hopeful for on the domestic front. Smaller government is the rhetoric of the Republican Party, but when Bush was President and his party controlled Congress, borrow-and-spend became a way of life. Bush didn’t veto a single bill coming from the Republican Congress. Departments were added, not cut.

So, what to do? Well, I am a partisan Libertarian. I’m not going to go voting for Republicans, hoping for smaller government. I have a recent track record that tells me I’m not going to get what I want. I’m not going to vote for Democrats, hoping for expanded civil liberties or an end to war. I have a recent track record there too that tells me I’m not going to get what I want. I’m going to vote Libertarian.

Sure, Libertarians haven’t been winning elections. So what? What kind of fool gives his vote to someone he can reliably determine won’t deliver? Not this one. Voting is about selecting candidates that best represent your views, not about picking winners. After all, winning is pretty hollow if you don't get the policy you wanted.

So, what about those who aren’t partisan Libertarians? What about those who are disaffected Democrats or Republicans- people who love their party, or hate the other party, and aren’t willing to go 3^rd party? I think the best thing they can do is make a statement at the Primary Elections. Vote for the candidate who best represents your views, regardless of their ‘electability’. If you continue to vote for a candidate that doesn’t deliver what you want, you have told them they never will have to. After all, they have what they want- your vote!

What if nobody challenges Obama in the Primary? Well, Democrats who want an end to wars and restoration of civil liberties are going to be out of luck, in the same way Republican fiscal conservatives were when nobody challenged Bush. They better start bending Dennis Kucinich’s ear now, and start funding him.

Failing that, vote for the Libertarian or Green Party candidate, or some other that represents your views. The only truly wasted vote is for the candidate who has given you good evidence that he won’t deliver what you want on the issues that matter most to you.

When Research Leads One Another Direction

It's kinda funny. With all the noise about The evil Koch Brothers and Koch Industries, the great puppet masters of our age, while large financial contributors to conservative and libertarian causes, are relative lightweights compared to the real heavy hitters. At least, that's how Open Secrets reports it:

Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2010

LEGEND: Republican Democrat On the fence
	= Between 40% and 59% to both parties = Leans Dem/Repub (60%-69%) = Strongly Dem/Repub (70%-89%) = Solidly Dem/Repub (over 90%)

Rank	Organization	Total '89-'10	Dem %	Repub %	Tilt
1	ActBlue	$51,124,846	99%	0%
2	AT&T Inc	$46,292,670	44%	55%
3	American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees	$43,477,361	98%	1%
4	National Assn of Realtors	$38,721,441	49%	50%
5	Goldman Sachs	$33,387,252	61%	37%
6	American Assn for Justice	$33,143,279	90%	8%
7	Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$33,056,216	97%	2%
8	National Education Assn	$32,024,610	93%	6%
9	Laborers Union	$30,292,050	92%	7%
10	Teamsters Union	$29,319,982	93%	6%
11	Carpenters & Joiners Union	$29,265,808	89%	10%
12	Service Employees International Union	$29,140,232	95%	3%
13	American Federation of Teachers	$28,733,991	98%	0%
14	Communications Workers of America	$28,376,306	98%	0%
15	Citigroup Inc	$28,065,874	50%	49%
16	American Medical Assn	$27,597,820	40%	59%
17	United Auto Workers	$27,134,252	98%	0%
18	National Auto Dealers Assn	$26,311,758	32%	67%
19	Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union	$26,229,477	98%	0%
20	United Parcel Service	$25,290,039	36%	62%

83

Koch Industries

$11,002,235

10%

89%

We do have a lot of misconceptions in this country.

I was busy trying to make a point elsewhere about how corporations tend to fund both Ds & Rs so that they can play the game of corporate largesse. That point seems to be supported by what I found on Open Secrets. But it just jumped out at me how much noise we hear about the Koch Brothers, so I looked for them. I looked right at the top. Then I scrolled down. And scrolled down, and down, and down. #83.

Look at the top 20. 11 unions represented. Look at who they support. Is it any wonder there is a political war going on, with unions at the center of it? It takes a willful ignorance to look at this and to feign surprise.