Diversity of Opinions & A Nation of Business Owners

Like clockwork. Nobody helps Republicans rehabilitate their image more than centrists. Liberals love to pat themselves on the back. Seeing the Obamas buddy around with a war criminal, for instance, warms their civility-loving heart. (Do you think it makes W jealous that Barack had access to better technology? That he had nothing better to do than work on his shitty paintings while his successor got to drone strike weddings with no consequences? Anyway, the liberal should be locked up too, but he puts out these cute Spotify playlists now and hangs out with The Boss, so it’s all good.)

Back to this…hey listen, I thought conservatives were a threat to our democracy and way of life? I thought this was another Most Important Election of Your Lifetime? You’re going to do all this work, burn through all this money to win and then just give them a job and platform? Which is it? If one Republican is a good thing, why not two? Why not more? Just get it over with and do the whole cabinet and VP and then resign. When the next fascist comes along, and he’s a little more charismatic, and he does a slightly better job of hiding his bigotry, and he can string his words together more coherently and is slightly less off-putting, and he wins because the centrist message of “we’re not as bad as him so you have to vote for us” doesn’t work anymore, do you think liberals will acknowledge the role they played in helping push the country further to the right?

The fascist isn’t an outlier. His approval rating in his own party is over 80%. This is who they are, who they were. A liberal would rather flip a few thousand “good” Republicans than do anything for the tens of millions of people who don’t vote. A liberal’s dream is to barely win an election and then do nothing, pretending they don’t have any power. (Well, that and insider trading out in the open with, again, zero consequences). Their comfort and smugness are really all they care about.

We see you, and we hear you. And what we hear is “we want money and healthcare.” Well we’ll do you one better. We in the Democratic party know what you really need, and that is a 50,000 dollar tax credit to start a business. We know, deep down inside, you all want to be business owners. Make your own American Dream. You say you have crushing medical debt, student loans, and constant worry from living paycheck to paycheck. We in the Democratic party say this – you have opportunities. Imagine how freeing it will be to take a break from raising your kids, working multiple jobs, or trying to find a place to live, and take on the huge risk and responsibility of starting and running a business. Just businesses as far as the eye can see, one big strip mall from sea to shining sea. Business owners buying shit they don’t need from other business owners. You could finally start that t-shirt business you dreamed of when you were 12, and your neighbor could buy junk from China and try to resell it, and that guy who lives under the highway onramp could sell fucking cupcakes or something, who cares? Use your imagination, peasant. Business, business, business, it really is a fun word to say. In closing, we in the Democratic party will do everything we can to make sure nothing ever gets better. Now let’s get down to business!

Civility

A liberal doesn’t stand for anything. They smugly hide behind “civility” to deflect any criticism. Speaking out of turn angers a liberal more than a bombed-out hospital. Pay no attention to my senile granddad funding a genocide. There will be a time to deal with that, they say, but the time never comes. When they luck into winning they would rather take the high road and compromise with fascists instead of helping anyone beneath them. They’ve had 4 years to deal with the other guy and done nothing. But hey, in a few months you get to vote for a fucking cop.

That Path Down to the Sea

New song, listen here.

On that path down to the sea
Lies our weeping willow tree
Felled by neither rain nor wind
But man’s thin skin
Because it was free
Its branches sang
As wishes left the shore
So long old troubadour

On that path down to the sea
I asked her to marry me
Fate or worse came cutting in
Our thick and thin
Would never be free
I close my eyes
The waves crash through my door
I pray for nothing more

Almost Never

New song. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. Listen here.

Almost Never

Yeah I may nurse this beer all night
Even if it makes me a little cliche
I’ve always been the sentimental type
And right now I don’t care anyway

Yeah I still have those pictures hung
Looking down above me from cheap plastic frames
It’s all we could afford when we were young
And right now I’m too damn old to change

A new dawn hits
This can’t be it
I shout up through the sky
I almost never think of you
And when I do
I almost never cry

No I don’t think I’m moving on
Someone has to worry and pace the floor
And think about where on earth you’ve gone
And if you’ll come walking through the door

A new dawn hits
This can’t be it
I shout up through the sky
I almost never think of you
And when I do
I almost never cry

A new dawn hits
This can’t be it

Dad says

Dad never talked about his past. But once a year, the day after Christmas, he would have 2 fingers of good scotch, talk about his childhood, then cry for about 2 minutes. That was that.

Dad never bought anything for himself but he would always read the junk mail sale flyers that came to the house. He drank his coffee and never said a word except one time he mumbled “guns are on sale.” That was that.

Dad never talked politics except for once after seeing some liberal’s campaign commercial. “Their fetishization of the middle class implies the existence of a permanent lower class, and they’re ok with that.” That was that.

Far Away from Here

New song, available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, etc.

Listen here

Far Away from Here

Did you find your missing peace
When you walked away that night
Is it snowing where you are
While some new arms hold you tight
Far away from here

You were new this time of year
Making plans and dreaming dreams
Can you hear my voice in there
Is life ever what it seems
All the Christmas joy I knew
Is far away from here with you

I need to know
This monochrome
Will all change back
I don’t belong
I look for you
In broken songs
Come home

Can you still remember us
When that spark comes to your eyes
I think now I understand
But I can’t send my goodbye
Far away from here

Are you rested, are you safe
What was missing we’ll repair
Gate is open, tree is lit
Find your way and climb the stairs
All the Christmas joy I knew
Is far away from here with you
Far away from here

Another Summer

New song – Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc…

Listen here

Another Summer

I tried to tell my story
But the words wouldn’t come
I tried to thank all of you
But the dust filled my lungs
Filled my lungs

These days are too long
Please tell me what to do
Tomorrow never comes
And I can’t make it through
Can’t make it through
Another summer

The cowards in the tower
Won’t set foot outside
The sunlight sees all
There’s nowhere to hide

Then your world is stolen
And taken for a ride
Even the good ones make sure
We barely survive

Never thought it would be ending
On a day like today
A storm tears through the canyon
Let it take me away
Take me away

These days are too long
Please tell me what to do
Tomorrow never comes
And I can’t make it through
Can’t make it through
Another summer

The Conductor

Somewhere, in a state-funded university, The Conductor holds court in his office. He sits around a conference table with his 5 students. They admire him but they don’t know any better. He talks about how to program a concert, how to choose repertoire, etc. He uses words like “sophisticated” and “advanced.” His students nod.

At the end of the lesson he asks for questions. A student apologizes for being a little off topic but wonders if The Conductor or other students have any advice on how to handle the overwhelming cost of college. “You just do it,” he says wisely. He pauses for a few moments, thinking back to his own college days. “Have you thought about a part time job?” He had to work to pay tuition when he was in school. It was hard to balance studies with 10 hours of work a week, but he persisted somehow and was able to graduate without any debt. Having provided a satisfactory answer, he lightly chastises the student, telling them to stick to important topics from now on. After a brief talk about alto clarinets he decides to head out for the day.

Later that night The Conductor puts on a concert. The performers onstage outnumber the audience, who gradually shuffle out of the hall as the concert drags on. At the end he pats himself on the back for doing such a sophisticated job. He has a clear head. Despite the poor attendance he will not have to worry about paying for groceries or making rent. His mind drifts to tomorrow’s lesson, where he will lecture his students on the evils of socialism. He turns on the tv, binging a few hours of the dumbest shit ever made before contentedly nodding off.

Sandcastles

New song, available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, etc…

Listen here

Sandcastles

Alone on
An old gray beach
Building my castle
Just out of your reach

But here you come
Like you’ve always done
Ever since we were kids
Before I knew what I’d become

You leave when I want you to stay
Why do you come around anyway
I’m building as high as I can
So why can’t I live
Until you come knock it down again

The wildfire don’t care
If it’s wrong or right
The lion don’t question
What it does in the night

But when you look inside
What do you find
If it’s just your nature
Then what the hell became of mine

You leave when I want you to stay
Why do you come around anyway
I’m building as high as I can
So why can’t I live
Until you come knock it down again