Sunday, December 17, 2023

In Memorium


Tom Degan 

1958-2023

To all Tom’s faithful readers of the Rant, we are sad to announce that he passed away on December 7th, 2023. Thank you so much for the time and engagement with his blog, please know that every reader and every comment was a source of pride and excitement for him.  Sharing his thoughts, knowledge, and humor was his passion and we feel truly blessed that he preserved so much of himself here on the pages of the Rant. He was an original. He will be deeply missed by friends and family. 



Reposting his obituary below:


It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Thomas Michael Degan, a devout Catholic, at 65 years of age on December 7th, 2023.  Tom was born August 16, 1958 to the late Susanne Elizabeth Degan née Clements of South Bend, Indiana and the late John R. Degan of Brooklyn, NY.  He attended St. John’s School and later Goshen Central High School. For most of his life, Tom proudly lived in Goshen. He is survived by his siblings Jack, Peter, Carol, Susanne, Jeffrey and Sarah as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and innumerable friends. He was predeceased by his infant brother Thomas Matthew.

From an early age, Tom developed an eager interest in film and a passion for music that would last his entire life. He was a lifelong fan of Charlie Chaplin and enjoyed projecting his films on a wall of his parent’s house on South Street in Goshen for his younger brothers and sisters. “Tommy” delighted in amusing his siblings with humorous home videos. A fundamental part of Tom’s personality was that he was always happiest when he was putting a smile on someone else’s face. He used his skills as a videographer to record weddings and parties for friends and family over the course of several decades because he understood there is no greater gift than the preservation of memories of time spent together in happiness. 

Tom had an ear for music and a gift for picking up and learning a new instrument so that he could perform for others. This also resulted in a discerning taste in music and all who remember him know of his passion for the Beatles, particularly John Lennon, but also Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, Buddy Clark and many others.

Although Tom was never married and had no children, his nieces, nephews, and children of his close friends will remember with great fondness his songs, jokes, and many lessons on musicians and modern historical trivia. There is more than one millennial out there with a knowledge of music that is just a little bit beyond their years because Tom saw the importance of sharing beautiful things with future generations.

Tom was politically inclined with a strong sense of social justice and he combined this with his passion for satire and history in the work on his blog, “The Rant” which he faithfully updated from 2006-2023. His regular readers will undoubtedly miss his humorous takedowns of conservative politics, celebration of his historical heroes from FDR to civil rights leaders, and his encyclopedic knowledge of American pop and political culture from the 1920s onwards.  He also highlighted the lives of comedians he felt deserved greater recognition for their works, in particular Ernie Kovaks and Lenny Bruce and his fight for free speech. Above all, Tom lived his life with the philosophy that whatever may divide us, common ground can be found in the celebration of art, music, and laughter.

If Tom could have written his own obituary, he would tell us that he died one day before the 43rd anniversary of the death of John Lennon. His family and friends would have informed him that like John Lennon, he is gone far too soon from our lives. Lenny Bruce once said that “there are never enough I Love You’s.”  Tom, however, cherished his friends and family, and he never left anyone in doubt of his affection and generous heart. We have been so blessed to have him in our lives -  may his memory and his example serve to remind us that truly, all you need is love.


























Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Seig Heil, Adolf Shitler


 

This is my first posting on this site in well over a month. To be honest with, the very prospect of The Donald being returned to office in a year is becoming more and more possible with the passing of each wretched day. It's not that he has any hope of winning the popular vote - that's never gonna happen, campers - but the possibility of him getting the most electoral votes is very real. That is why we need to do away with the electoral college. Since the start of this still-young century it has saddled us with one of the worst presidents in American history - and the very worst one. It needs to be abolished. So there.

The very prospect of Trump becoming the first president since Gover Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms has had me too depressed to concentrate on anything.

If the inmates of Idiot Nation are stupid enough to send this bloviating twit back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next year (and too many of them are) the United States is finished. America has become infected by Trump's rhetoric and bluster. Two days ago, three Arab college students (two of whom are American citizens) were wounded in an attack in Burlington, Vermont. BURLINGTON FREAKING VERMONT! One of the sweetest, safest, hippest cities I've ever visited in my life. It would have been one thing if this latest act of racist violence had taken place in Shit-For-Brains, Mississippi - but Burlington, Vermont??? It staggers the imagination.

I just turned sixty-five and my health is not what it should be. Unfortunately getting out while the getting is good is not an option for me. I've no other choice than to ride out the next wave of Donnymania. Trump has publicly stated that "when reelected" he has every intention of persecuting his political enemies. He has already called for the execution of General Mark Milley, a man who has dedicated his life in service to his country. If Trump is elected in 2024, there promises to be an explosion of racial violence in the United States, violence a lot worse than the violence that was visited upon the three students in Burlington; at least those kids survived, thank God

One day, the historians and sociologists will try to explain why and how America came to be what bit became in the second and third decades of the twenty-first century. I hope I'm around to read them. I can't figure this stuff out at all.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon:


This news special brings that horrible night back in  a way that I didn't think was possible.

Friday, October 20, 2023

Hurricane Sydney


 

"The Chicken McNuggets have come home to roost"

Jimmy Kimmel

There cannot be so-much as a molecule of doubt: At this precarious hour, Donald Trump has to be shitting purple yoyos. 

The decision of former Trump lawyer Sydney Powel to flip on Donald Trump has a lot of folks within the sphere of the Trump Mob in a state of raw panic and terror I imagine. Other than The Donald himself, there are eighteen other co-defendants who are implicated in the plot to subvert and overthrow American democracy on January 6, 2021 - the latest "Day of Infamy". How many of her cohorts will be making sweet deals for themselves and turning on the hideous little thug in the hours and the days that follow? If she was an eyewitness in any room  where an insurrection was being formulated, one can only imagine the terror that is being felt at this moment by those who know of her presence. Just you wait! It'll be the equivalent an army of half-witted rats desperately fleeing a sinking ship. This is going to get interesting, folks.

There was always something about poor old Sydney that made me somewhat uneasy. I was always under the impression that the poor old gal was just a tad bat-shit crazy. It is my belief that both she and Rudolph Giuliani could make a convincing case of "not guilty by reason of insanity". it would make perfect sense; and if anyone out there has any familiarity with any of Sydney or Rudy's attorneys in this case, you might want to forward this piece to them.

As it turns out, Sydney Powell won't be doing any time in prison for her crimes against the people of the United States. She'll merely be forced to pay a few thousand dollars in fines and will be on parole for about a year (give or take a few months). The worst that can happen to her will be that she might be disbarred from ever practicing law again. Personally, I believe that she is getting a really sweet deal. She must be very relieved at the moment. She should be.

The former First Fool has always had nice things to say about Sydney Powell. That's about to change as you might imagine. Is Trump tampering with her as a witness? I can imagine him phoning her in the dead of night ordering her to keep tight-lipped regarding every crime she saw committed in the White House during the 2020/21 season. 

"But Sydney, I'm going to be re-elected next year, and my first order of business on January 20, 2025 will be a sweet and juicy pardon for you!"

I wouldn't put it past him for a minute. The fact is that no chief executive has the jurisdiction to pardon Sydney Powell. Hers' is a crime against the state of Georgia. It is not a federal crime. The guy's arrogance knows no bounds. I need to take note here of the fact that the word "bitch" rhymes with "snitch". Wait for that to be the next trend in extreme-right-wing talking points. Mark my words, campers.

It's almost a pity that Dick Nixon couldn't live to see this moment in our history. Compared to the Trump Mob, the Nixon Gang are starting to look like the Founding Fathers. Did you ever dream that you would live to see the day where our national civic dialogue would become this unhinged? I always knew that it would eventually happen - but not in my lifetime. 

Strange days indeed.

Tom Degan - Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

This very well-made documentary about the 2020 campaign appeared on PBS's Frontline recently. 

(2) The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden (full documentary) | FRONTLINE - YouTube

It's well-worth your precious time.

AFTERTHOUGHT, 10/28/23, 3:00 PM:

I posted this on Facebook three years ago. I found it in the Memories file. It ain't bad.

Is stealing ever justified?
If your child is hungry and you need to steal a loaf of bread and a pint of milk in order to feed that child, then, yes, stealing is more than justified. Blessed are the meek - even if they're forced to resort to theft. Even if they go to prison for the offense. That is why our prisons are filled with people for whom poverty is almost like an old and dysfunctional friend. Rich people don't go to prison - unless they steal from other rich people.
Breathe in the crisp, Autumn air.

Saturday, October 07, 2023

Chaos In Their Wake


 
Cassidy
I used to speculate that back in the not-too-Fabulous-Fifties, while Joe McCarthy was stumbling around the country doing so much damage to American civil liberties, the average American could take comfort that seventy years ago, there was only one Joe McCarthy. Today the halls of the House of Reprehensibles is literally
crawling with scores of Joe McCarthy wannabes. One of the most hideous and vile of the bunch is a lamebrained congressman from Florida named Matt Gaetz, He succeeded this week in removing Kevin McCarthy from his position as Speaker of the House. I suspect this was a personal vendetta on his part. As Cassidy Hutchinson relates in her recently released memoires, a couple of years ago Gaetz tried to get Cassidy to let him into her room at Camp David. McCarthy came to the poor woman's aid and effectively told Matty boy to get lost. Matt was determined to get vengeance. It's only a theory of mine but it makes perfect sense.

By the way, After Cassidy's book was released last month, Gaetz, dismayed no doubt by the unflattering things she wrote about him, said in a statement that he and Cassidy dated for a while. In an appearance of the Jimmy Kimmel program, Cassidy Hutchinson stated unequivocally that her tastes in men are several notches above the likes of Matt Gaetz and that "he's not a serious person".

Gym Jordan
Here is one of the many reasons why I left the Democratic Party twenty-five years ago: the main problem with that idiotic party is that they don't think long range. A lot of them were just giddy to join the extremist republicans in ousting Speaker McCarthy - which is why I believe that there are not too many of these knuckleheads who are any good at chess. Did any of them not stop and think about the possibility that the next one might not be as bad as McCarthy? That he might even turn out to be much worse? I'm not sure about Steve Scalese....BUT JIM JORDAN??? (or as I usually refer to him, "Gym" Jordan). The man is a thug and a charlatan of the worst order. Why the good people of Ohio would send such an incomprehensible and disgusting crank to represent them in Washington is anybody's guess. Remember it was Jordan who was caught red-handed in a scandal from when he was an assistant wrestling coach at an Ohio college covering up for some perverted doctor who had been sexually harassing some of the boys under his charge. And don't forget that it was former GOP Speaker Denny Hastert whose life and career were ruined because of a nasty scandal involving the abuse of young men barely out of their teens....NICE!.

NOTE TO THE GOP: Do you folks really want to go down this road again??? Asking for a friend.

In 1856, when the Republican Party was founded, they were the party of black peoples' freedom. That is no longer the case. Wake the fuck up.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTGED VIEWING:

This interview with one-time Republican operative Mona Charen appeared recently on PBS's Frontline:


It's eye-opening.

AFTERTHOUGHT, 10/8/23, 5:34 PM

It appears that Jim Jordan will be the next speaker of the house. Watch while this once-great-nation discends into the abyss 

Monday, September 11, 2023

March in Washington


 

I wanted to write this on the 28th 0f August, the sixtieth anniversary of the March on Washington. Given the heat wave that most of the country was experiencing at that moment, working in the upstairs office in my house was out of the question. I should have done it all the same. I was in a fairly decent mood on the 28 two weeks ago. I'm not today, On that particular day my plan was to focus on how far we've come as a country. Today I cannot stop thinking about how far we need to go. On August 28th 1963 there had not been an overt white supremacist in the White House since 1921, Since The March, we've had two: Ronald Reagan (who was covert) and Donald Trump (who was quite overt). Back in the day, politicians had the good sense to keep their bigotry to themselves. Today the halls of the Senate and the House (and too many governor's mansions to count) are littered with racists. Sure, we've had an African American president - which is a decided step forward - but in too many cases we've taken decided steps  backwards. 

AFTERTHOUGHT, 2 October 2023:

I never finished this one. Truth be told, my health has not been great lately and my concentration and energy level has been in the toilet. 

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

Crazy Like a Fox (1926)

Charley Chase was one of the great silent film comedians. Sadly, he's all but forgotten today. This film is really funny. Look for a young Oliver Hardy. This was a year before he teamed up with Stan Laurel. Charley Chase died in 1940, age forty-seven, from acute alcoholism.


The man was a hoot-and-a-half.

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

POST #1,128: Random Observations

Pissing off the Far Right since June of 2006


What you are about to read are a collection of unrelated observations that I had scribbled in my notebook or posted out in the Facebooksphere. Any resemblances to any people - living or not-quite-so-living - are purely intentional. 

1: More American Carnage

There was another mass shooting in the American night; this time at a dollar store in Jacksonville, Florida. Get used to living in a nation in ruins. Unless our politicians get their priorities in order, this is the way it's going to be from now on.  keep voting the Republicans and the Blue Dog Democrats. 

2: The Error of Donnie's Ways

Donald Trump's fatal error was assumption that all professional Republican politicians are as blatantly corrupt as he. Most of them are - but not all of them, I cannot tell you what a pleasant surprise it was for me to find this out.

3: The Year of the Black Woman

Three of the four people whose mission it it to deliver justice to Donald Trump are Black women. I'm absolutely certain that this nasty little fact must be driving the old bugger nuts. Book 'Em, Fani.

4: Rudy's Irony

Twenty-two years ago, Rudolph Giuliani was one of the most beloved Republican politicians since Dwight Eisenhower - perhaps even Theodore Roosevelt. Three years ago, he attached his star to Donald Trump's clown car. Today his historic reputation is mere ashes on the alter of public opinion. He is telling everyone who will bother to listen that he is proud to be in Donald Trump's corner. He's not. The association with the former POTUS is the biggest regret of his once-proud life. Take it to the bank.

5: What Is Reality?

This particular post that you are now reading has no point whatsoever. Please move on to the next one.

6: A Disney Moment

I just had a revelation that almost threw me: today (August 30, 2023) I am four days older than Walt Disney was on the day he died (December 15, 1966). My only comfort is the certain knowledge that when you wish upon a star, it doesn't make a damned bit of difference how old you are.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

Don't Arraign on His Parade
By Randy Rainbow

Randy's latest is a hoot!


The man is every bit as good a lyricist as Lorenz Hart.

AFTERTHOUGHT, 4:00 PM

Piss off the Looney Right!
Go out and enjoy a Bud Light!

Friday, August 25, 2023

WHAT A MUG!

Mugshot of the former president of the United States

Yesterday was a ripe day for schadenfreude. Donald J. Trump, the former president of the United States, was booked for multiple felonies in Georgia at the Fulton County Jail....The Fulton County Jail....It sounds like the name of a country and western record:

Oh, Mama, A'hm here in the Fulton County Jail
Mah life has always been a gigantic fail

If Trump is convicted of only one of the ninety-one felonies he's being charged with, it will end up meaning that he'll go to prison for at least five years....Five years in the slammer, baby! He could very-well die in federal custody. For someone who has spent the last fifty years thumbing his nose at the law, this would be quite a 
Shakespearian comeuppance indeed. For someone like me - who was laughed at and sneered at seven years ago when I predicted that his administration would end disastrously with him being the first chief-executive in American history to be sent to federal prison - this is indeed a red-letter-day of sweet vindication.

Some of the opinion makers out there are mournfully bowing their talking heads and bemoaning yesterday as "a sad day for America". I could not disagree more. In fact (with the exception of Donald Trump and company) yesterday should have been viewed by all as a beautiful day for America and the American people. Yesterday the entire nation could hold their heads up high and proclaim to the rest of the planet that, in the United States of America, NO ONE is above the law. Thats's a very good thing. It was one of the great days in the history of this country, with the head of an organized criminal enterprise being held accountable for his many crimes against the people. What's not to be giddy about? Smile, Darn You, Smile!!!

The following twelve months will be the most civically interesting of our lifetimes.
More interesting than Watergate even. As I've said too many times to count, Nixon was a pin-prick. Donald Trump is a freakin' blood bath, A lot could happen between now and the GOP convention next summer. If Trump ends up incarcerated between now and then, would he be so brazen to run his campaign from his prison cell? Of course he would! Remember that this is Donald Trump we're talking about here. In fact, it would not be unprecedented; Socialist candidate Eugene Debs ran his 1920 campaign for the presidency from his prison cell. The only difference between the two men is the fact that Debs would have made a pretty decent president.

I hope I live long enough to see this mess through to its conclusion (my health is not great these days and my longevity is anybody's guess). The first time I ever heard of Donald Trump was not though the print or electronic media - it was by meeting him. It was about 1983 or '84. I was polishing the brass railings in the lobby of the not-yet-opened Trump Tower when Donald and one of his sycophantic little flunkies came over to where we were working. After he asked us a couple of questions about what we were doing, the sycophantic little flunkie informed us that we should not direct our answers to "Mr. Trump" - but to him. I remember thinking: What an asshole! At the time, Trump was just another dime-a-dozen New York real estate mogul and not yet a public figure. That would happen in about a year. After that, I studied every article on him that I came across. By the year 2016 I was an expert on the guy. That is why when he seized the White House on January 20, 2017, I knew he would be a disaster as chief-executive. In fact, it was the easiest call I ever made.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

Confidence Man
by Maggie Haberman.

I plugged this one a couple of weeks ago but I need to repeat myself. Historians will still be referencing this excellent book a century from now.

Wednesday, August 09, 2023

Jumpsuit For the Donald



"IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU."

Donald J. Trump, 8/4/23

Full disclosure: I committed a felony - once.

The year was 1975 and I was seventeen. I had come into possession of eight ounces of marijuana. Back in the days of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller's insanely stupid drug laws, carrying a half pound of weed was a felony. I knew perfectly well that what I was doing was agin' the law but, the way I looked at it, I was hurting no one - not even myself. That was the only time in my life that I committed any type of felony. Given the age I was in 1975, I would not have been tried as an adult had the coppers nabbed me. That being the case, the question is screaming to be posed:

How the heck does a man in his seventies manage to commit seventy-eight felonies in the course of just four years?

Oh yeah, "allegedly". We must not forget the truism that Donald Trump is innocent until proven guilty. For all we know, that audio recording of him threatening the Georgia secretary of state with criminal prosecution if he didn't provide the seventeen-thousand-plus votes needed to secure that stare's election might only be Rich Little doing an impression of the man's voice. If that is the case it would be the only perfect impersonation that Rich Little ever did in his career. I think the guy's incredibly overrated.

The man that we must assume Trump was threatening in the quote at the top of this piece is the man who is in the process of making the case against Trump, Jack Smith. Making so public a threat against a prosecutor is against the law. Trump should placed in custody until his trials are over and he is sent to federal prison - not jail  - PRISON.

Jail is where you go when you've had one-too-many on a Saturday night and you accidentally back your car into the plate glass window of the local pharmacy. Donald Trump needs to go to prison for a very - VERY - long time.

In the meantime, hold the silly dip-shit in the slammer until [unless] he is sent up the river for his long overdue, involuntary vacation. Anyone else who publicly threatens an officer of the court for doing his job would immediately be placed into custody. Why not Donald Trump? And what does he mean by, "I'm coming after you"? Is the deranged old bugger physically threatening Jack Smith? Is he threatening his life? At the very least he needs to be brought in for some serious questioning. His lawyers must be having a collective nervous breakdown. 

Some are arguing that sending a former POTUS up the river would set a terrible precedent. I agree wholeheartedly. The only worse precedent would be to allow him to get away with his crimes against the people of the United States. We need to send a message to the rest of the planet that, in the Untied States of America, no one is above the law. not Donald Trump; not you; not even seventeen-year-old Tom Degan (The statute of limitations long ago ran out; the weed in question long ago went up in smoke. NYAH!) 

Tom Degan, Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman 

The best post-presidency book on Trump yet written. Historians a century from now will be referencing this amazing work. Maggie is as good as they get.

AFTERTHOUGHT, 8/10/23, 12:30 PM:

When I learned that a gun company was marketing an automatic weapon for pre-schoolers, my immediate reaction was that this has to be a joke.

It isn't.

WEE-1’s JR-15 Is the AR-15 for Kids (nymag.com)

Idiot Nation

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Slavery is Bad: DUH!



It's almost impossible for me to fathom how - 
nearly a quarter of the way into the twenty-first century - we're having this idiotic argument. And it is no surprise that the main stage of the argument is taking place in the Sunshine State - where, as you might have surmised by now - some of the dumbest people in America reside. I once had a good friend who moved to that state in the mid-eighties. Because of my writings, he has not spoken to me in over eight years. That's okay, I'll be fine. He'll be fine, too, I think.

Ron DeSantis is the worst racist to come along in politics since Mississippi's own John Stennis nearly seventy years ago (as vile a creature to come out of dear old Dixie since the Civil War). While a lot of politicians are truly racist, most of them have the good sense to keep that racism to themselves.
Not Ron! His latest cause is watering down African American history in the Florida school system. They now want to teach the kids down there that slavery was an institution that "benefitted" many of the human beings being held in bondage., you see, it allowed many of them to learn a trade. African American history is the hinge on which the doors of American history open. If you do not understand the story of the struggle of African American men, woman and children in this country, you don't understand American history - period. It's as simple as that, campers.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch

The best book ever written about the civil rights era

Monday, July 10, 2023

The Harder They Fall


 

Fiorello LaGuardia
T
hese must be tormented times for Rudolph Giuliani. Can you imagine? I know he's thinking to himself: If only I had walked away when my term as mayor of New York City ended in the months following the attacks of September 11, 2001 and stayed the hell away from politics and politicians.

He would today be remembered as a beloved mayor of the greatest city in the world and have a cherished place in the heart of history - much like Fiorello LaGuardia does today. 

As John Belushi liked to say in his day:

"BUT NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

As it stands, he will be remembered as a pathetic and comical buffoon and Donald Trump's ultimate stooge. It's a comic-tragedy that I imagine would have been the perfect plot for a Kurt Vonnegut novel. God Bless You, Mr. Giuliani. (Breakfast of Chumps?)

I once met Rudy Giuliani on the corner of  Madison Avenue and 57th street in merrie olde Manhattan back in the eighties. Although our conversation was brief, he struck me as a friendly and intelligent man. That is the reason why what he has done to himself is such a hard thing to figure. Didn't he understand the trend of what happens to people who hitch themselves to the wagon of Donald Trump ambitions? What the hell were you thinking Rudy???

Here's something even sadder: when you do a Google search of Rudy Giuliani's image, the first thing that comes up is the photograph at the top of this piece; with that befuddled look on his face and hair dye streaming down both sides of his face. It's not the kind of image that looks good in the history books. It's probably going to end up at the top of his obituary.

And now there is a very good chance that Rudy will be disbarred from ever practicing law again - all because he put in his lot with Donald Trump. You would think that in forty-plus years, Guiliani might have taken the time to observe Trump's method of operation, ie, his habit of throwing everyone around him under the bus to save his own skin. I knew, early on, how this would end for the poor old bugger. His legacy is pulverized. He should have known better,

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

AFTERTHOUGHT, 7/12/23:

I started writing this piece two days ago. I took a break and forgot all about it. Sorry 'bout that, campers.

Saturday, July 01, 2023

Dumping on the Supremes



 

Joe Biden's attempt to redeem the debts of millions of college students this week was torpedoed by the conservative-controlled Supreme Court. This decision may come back to bite them on the bottoms. While the Supremes are supposed to be-ideological, we all know that they're really not. Those same millions of college students are going to head for the polls en masse and cast their ballots for the Democrats. The cancellation of that debt, I'm sure, would have pumped many billions of dollars into Joe Biden's economy, which is a factor that I'm suspicious might have played a factor in their decision, perhaps not all of them, but I wouldn't put it past Uncle Thomas. 

In his memoirs, Clarence Thomas Thomas wrote that when he received his law degree, he slapped a Twenty-five Cents sticker on it and relegated it to the basement of his house. You see, by his reckoning, his degree would have meant so much more were it not for all of those silly and stupid white liberals and their silly and stupid Affirmative Actions. Oh, and speaking of Clarence Thomas, here's a question I've asked on this site before, and current circumstances are forcing me to ask it again:

QUESTION: Where do you think Clarence Thomas would be today if not for Affirmative Action?

ANSWER: He would be mounted on the front lawn of some beer distributor's home in Albany, Georgia wearing a jockey uniform and holding a lamp.

Roger and Me
I've never been an advocate of monetary reparations to the descendants of African American slaves. While an ancestor of mine might have been responsible for writing the Dred Scott decision, I am innocent of the sins of the asshole who penned it (Roger Brooke Taney). But the one of the forms of reparations that I do support is Affirmative Action. For more than two centuries black people have been forced to live at an economic and educational disadvantage in the United States. "As Lenny Bruce once observed, "Education is the answer to everything. World leadership hinges on education."

Affirmative Action with respect to institutions of higher learning was ruled unconstitutional this week by an extreme right leaning Supreme Court that seems hell-bent on sending America back to the not-so-fabulous-fifties. Affirmative Action made possible the viable African American upper class which didn't even exist sixty years ago. The Supremes are turning back the clock of progress. 

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

AFTERTHOUGHT, 7/2/23, 6:00 PM:

Just in case you've been paying attention, I need to apologize for taking so long to complete this piece. Apparently, Blogger.com had a bad day yesterday and I was locked out of this site for over twenty-four hours. I was able to get back on this afternoon and all is fine and dandy, thank you very much. 

Saturday, June 24, 2023

RANDY RAINBOW NATION


 

I've got to start this off by telling you that I think that Randy Rainbow is the best thing to happen to American comedy since Lenny Bruce.  Fortunately he appears not to possess all of the personal, psychological torment and baggage that Lenny carried within him so we can happily expect him to be with us for a very long time. 

How to describe the man: Randy is a musical satirist who performs reworked Broadway musical numbers that hold up a mirror to the current sick and dysfunctional American system of politics. To say that he takes no prisoners in his quest to hold accountable the most corrupt and vile of American politicians would be the understatement of the century. (Oh, and did I mention?) The guy is funny! The videos he posts periodically on his YouTube channel he writes and produces himself. I have written many song parodies in my time and I'm also a video artist; but I've got to tell you that I have nothing on Randy Rainbow. Here's another understatement: I'm jealous, dag nap it! 

Also, if Randy Rainbow is not the poster boy for gay pride in America, he really should be

I wish that he would team up with a composer and produce a very topical and original Broadway production for the simple reason that Randy is the best lyricist to come along since Lorenz Hart. At the bottom of this piece I will provide you with a few links to some of his videos. I don't have in me the adequate vocabulary to describe what he's all about, so you really need to experience him for yourself. Simply put: Randy Rainbow must be seen to be believed. He is a rib-tickling, hoot-and-a-half Laugh Riot. Don't take my word for it; see for yourself. 

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

Here are just a handful of Randy Rainbow's YouTube videos:

Gee, Anthony Fauci: A parody of Gee, Officer Krupke from West Side Story:


Sedition (Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof):


KAMALA! (Camelot):



There Is Nothing Like A Wall (South Pacific):


Welcome to DeSantis:


Rudy and The Beast:


I'M GAY! (Once Upon A Mattress)


Ted and Lindsay (Oklahoma):


Trump Trouble (The Music Man):


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What did I tell you? These are only a handful of many. Look Randy Rainbow up on YouTube. Here is one more for the road:

RANDY RAINBOW FOR PRESIDENT! (yeah, that works for me).


He's a national treasure.