Halftime, Part Two

I did not watch the super bowl last night. But I did tune in for the halftime show. I may not have understood Bad Bunny's lyrics (even with a 400 day streak attained yesterday my Spanish still needs work!) I understood the message. Really a nice show. Surprisingly I enjoyed it. Many thoughtful touches. An interesting take I saw last night: the same people who needed a separate halftime show are the same type of people who once needed separate water fountains. 

No SB

 I’m not watching the Super Bowl today. 

Seven!

 Gotcha Day. Seven Years Ago! 

Olympic Fever Gone

 

One of the earliest posts on this blog was about the 2006 Winter Olympics. I used to really get into the Olympics, especially the Winter edition. But with the Games starting tonight I'm meh about the whole thing. I just don't have much interest. I'm sure there are many factors on my declining Olympic enthusiasm. But I honestly don't have the interest to spend time delving into it. Truly meh on an Olympic level. 
 

Halftime

TPUSA has announced they are presenting an alternate halftime show during the Super Bowl. Their headline performer is Kid Rock. 

They have said they want to present a family friendly show that presents American values. They have betrayed their true motives.

Some MAGAs decried having a non-citizen performing at the SB Halftime ignorant of the fact that Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been a territory of the United States since the Spanish American War. Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Can you hear the dog whistles? They didn't seem to have a problem with Paul McCartney and Bono and many others performing at the Super Bowl.

Now, I have never heard a Bad Bunny song. I am not familiar with him as a performer. I have never seen any of his lyrics. For all I know his lyrics could be super "clean." They could also be obscene. I don't know.

But I have seen and heard Kid Rock songs. I have heard him sing songs glorifying and celebrating the pursuit of underage girls. I have heard him sing songs downplaying statutory laws that protect girls from predators. I have heard him use language that is far from "family friendly."

But Kid Rock is white. TPUSA has long revealed who they are. Remember, the Ku Kux Klan also claimed they were protecting Christian values. TPUSA believes in Christian values, as long they are white Christian values. And that is not Christian at all. 

My First Period Class

 

Populations

The map above is often startling to a lot of people. The little blue dot is the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Some estimates believe there are now eight million people living in DFW. This is twice the population of the entire state of Oklahoma. Wyoming's population is around 600,000. The eight states with the smallest populations have a smaller population combined than Dallas-Fort Worth.

This, of course, always calls into question the equability of our representative system of Democracy. Because each of those states have the same representation in the United States Senate as a metropolitan area far larger in population. Why does a senate vote from North Dakota, a state with a population of less than 800,000 carry the same weight as a vote from Texas with a population of nearly 30 million? We are seriously basing our democratic system on a compromise made in 1787 under circumstances much different than those today?

And yet, I'm not so sure I would want to abolish the U.S. Senate. It is usually (not always!) in the Senate that cooler heads prevail. This is because Senators have to represent an entire state and not a smaller district. It's in the House of Representatives where you find the more clownish of our politicians. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of clowns in the Senate (Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz to name a few) but the Senate usually is a much more stable body than the House. 

So, what's the solution? Surely there's a compromise, designed for modern times, out there that can bring equity to our representative system? I'm going to have to think on this. 

The Ocean

The sixth novella in Dave Egger's Forgetters Series. Short, compact and full of realistic feeling. The world always seems larger and better after reading one of these stories.

Dylan and Baez

This photo came across one of my socials the other day. Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. 1964. Protesting conformity is as important today as it was then. 

Our Land

This book was better than I expected. Lotta heartbreak but also a lot of joyousness. Woody Guthrie of Okemah, Oklahoma always stood with the down and outers, the forgotten, the impoverished, and those outta luck. He fought against fascism of all types and told the story of the working class of America. He didn't only tell the story of the rough and tumble, he lived it. He had many a chance to live the high life but he always eschewed riches and stood true with the poor and huddled masses. We used to sing his most famous song every day in elementary school during announcements: This Land is Your Land, this Land is My Land…

 

Perspective

 

Isms

 Wise words from Woody Guthrie in his 1943 autobiography “Bound for Glory.” 

One More…

 One more day off from school today. Three in a row! 

Almost Over

Looks like the worst has passed. We are scheduled to return to school tomorrow. 

Shoveled

How to tell if someone who grew up in the Midwest lives in your Texas neighborhood during an ice storm. 

A Lament

 I often feel helpless and not sure what I can do when I see five year olds being detained coming home from school and Americans being executed in the streets of Minneapolis. But, as one of my favorite authors once wrote: 

“We are not helpless. We can sing the truth and name the liars.” 

Lord have mercy.

The Storm is Here

 

Sauron and the Ring

 Lord of the T-Shirts

Outta Here

You know the upcoming ice storm will be bad when Senator Cruz is seen heading to the beach! 

Get Back