Did Ben Franklin Say “Question Authority”?
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.” Benjamin Franklin This nugget appeared on facebook recently, and the bs detector was buzzing. I never heard the phrase “Question Authority” before 1981. QA sounds awfully modern for 18th Century America.
I quickly googled the phrase, and found indications that it was in not found in the Franklin Papers at Yale University. A search of the Mr. Franklin’s wikiquote did not turn up QA.
Unfortunately, I chose to include a link to Snopes in my facebook reply. The meme-poster saw Snopes, and said that was not a valid source. We went back and forth on the issue. I did say that Snopes was questionable, but had other sources that fueled my skepticism.
A google search credits Timothy Leary with saying “Think for yourself and question authority.” … “Timothy Leary’s track on Sound Bites from the Counter Culture (1989.)” 1989 is a few years after I saw my first QA bumper sticker. Maybe Mr. Leary heard someone else say QA, and claimed it for himself. Timmy Leary was an authority that required enhanced interrogation.
A Christian oriented forum says that Mr. Leary got QA from Ben Franklin. At any rate, QA is counter-culture phrasing, of the type that Ben Franklin probably did not use. According to Google n-gram, QA does not appear in print before 1885. 1976 and 1987 saw QA spiking, with QA usage peaking in 2005.
Let’s examine the concept of questioning authority. In this case, the authority was a facebook meme. When I presented Snopes as a dissenting authority, it was rejected. When I presented Wikiquotes as an authority/source, I was satisfied, and my facebook opponent dismissive. I should note that in my initial facebook reply, I said that it was unlikely that Mr. Franklin said QA. We cannot claim to have heard every conversation Ben Franklin had, or if he said something similar.
Did Mr. Franklin question authority? Lets take a look at a famous quote: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” “The words appear originally in a 1755 letter that Franklin is presumed to have written on behalf of the Pennsylvania Assembly to the colonial governor during the French and Indian War. … the Assembly wished to tax the lands of the Penn family … to raise money for defense against French and Indian attacks. … In other words, the “essential liberty” to which Franklin referred was thus not what we would think of today as civil liberties but, rather, the right of self-governance of a legislature in the interests of collective security.” The “essential liberty” Mr. Franklin referred to was the ability of the government to tax citizens. It’s all about the Benjamins.
One type of questionable authority invoving Mr. Franklin was slavery. Benjamin Franklin owned slaves. Pennsylvania tax records of 1769 and 1774 show “1 Negro” as being in his possesion. “Franklin owned slaves from as early as 1735 until 1781. The Franklin household had six slaves; Peter, his wife Jemima and their son Othello, George, John and King.”
Mr. Franklin ran advertising for the slave trade in his publications. “To be SOLD A very likely breeding Negroe Woman, and a Boy about two years old. The woman is fit for any Business Either in Town or Country. Enquire of William Bafdon, over against the Coffee House in Front Street.” … “Advertisement for an enslaved woman and an enslaved child from Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette (December 9-16, 1736).”
Mr. Franklin later changed his tune. “In 1787 Franklin became the President of the Philadelphia Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, often referred as the Abolition Society. … The Abolition Society was the first in America and served as inspiration for the formation of abolitionist societies in other colonies. The group focused not only in abolishing slavery but also in education, moral instruction and employment. In a letter dated November 9th, 1789, Franklin wrote wholeheartedly against the institution of slavery. He argued that slaves have long been treated as brute animals beneath the standard of human species. Franklin asked for resources and donations to help freed slaves adjust to society by giving them education, moral instruction and suitable employment. … On February 3rd, 1790, less than three months before his death, Franklin petitioned Congress to provide the means to bring slavery to an end. When the petition was introduced to the House and the Senate it was immediately rejected by pro-slavery congressmen mostly from the southern states.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Netanyahu Pushes Back
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HARDBALL,S Ep145: THE MOM WHO BAKED HER BABY IN AN OVEN
fani willis body language ~ qi clay ~ qi clay ~ yarmouk ~ nyt podcast
terrence ahmed bradley ~ idf ~ wayne newton ~ louvre collections ~ le louvre
original ~ hatler dean gurius ~ @radleybalko ~ glenn & john ~ romney
ryan powers ~ hatler gurius ~ hatler gurius ~ daniel morgan ~ stuart culpepper
jack v lloyd ~ mises u ~ french toast ~ creative commons ~ soul divine
timpson ~ timpson ~ amanda timpson ~ radley balko fired ~ balko
Robin Bryant Yeartie ~ Ogelthorpre ~ austin dabney ~ austin dabney ~ austin dabney
law.com ~ wade campbell ~ racist ~ Young India 1924-26 V0l-ii ~ gandhi correspondence 1925
gandhi 1925 ~ gandhiserve ~ gandhi’s ashes ~ hh addendum ~ coleman hughes
eigenrobot ~ balko ~ KISS ~ gsu ~ steve rickz
@inkfit_ ~ super bowl ~ superbowl ~ original ~ rfk ad
mardi gras ~ public speakers ~ polish jokes ~ polish jokes ~ rowe center
Аквариум – Поезд в огне ~ bookman ~ Cloacal Anomalies ~ @jccfergie ~ fergie chambers ~ debt
this original spawned this haiku reduction like bible tracking FBI disco Christians buy product MAGA ~ @hzomlot This is 7 year old Sidra, the cousin of my wife. The impact of the Israeli missile was so powerful it flung her out, leaving her mutilated body dangling from the ruins of the destroyed building in Rafah 48 hours ago. My wife’s aunt Suzan, her husband Fouzy Hassouna, two of their sons, Muhammad and Karam, Karam’s wife Amouna and her three children (7-year-old twins Sidra and Suzan, and 15-month-old Malik) were all killed. The family had been displaced from the north of Gaza and took shelter in Rafah. We will be relentless until those responsible brought to justice. ~ Fani Willis went “Marilyn Mosby” on the Trump case, and indicted several other actors. Michael Roman, one of the other defendants, told us about the affair with Nathan Wade. Question: If Fani Willis had focused on Donald Trump, would we be having this scandal? ~ this is the monday morning reader for the day after the super bowl massacre. The picture today was taken by John Vachon in February 1942. “Burlington, Iowa. Sunnyside unit, FSA (Farm Security Administration) trailer camp. McReynolds family in their trailer for workers at Burlington ordnance plant” ~ It is Fat Tuesday again, and here is my Mardi Gras post. It is another world. The picture is from the GSU library. I don’t think this description is completely accurate. “Ponce de Leon and Briarcliff, 1954-02-22” ~ #UnpopularOpinion The RFK ad in the stupidbowl was pretty “swift”. Just some retro sixties fun, before it all turned sour. I had the game on the background, with the sound off. Trying to find the commercial today is a struggle. Google has lots of chatter, but no video. Finally, I found a tweet with the ad. ~ In 2020, Democrats blamed Covid on Trump, despite knowing that they would have done little different. In 2024, decent people are blaming the slaughter in Gaza on Biden, despite knowing that Trump would have done little different. This is called karma. ~ the Georgian Terrace Ballroom was across from the Fox Theater on Peachtree Street. It hosted a series of music venues over the years. It caught fire in 1987. The Hotel next door built an annex on the property. ~ “the Free Press — a publication that advertises itself as the antidote to the gullible, lazy mainstream media … Hughes … will be moderating a panel discussion on Gaza (of all things) in New York later this month.” ~ This is a repost from February 11, 2020. Thirty days later, the stock market fell 2400 points, and Kroger had panic buying. The pandemic had arrived, and nothing was ever the same again. ~ this feature is about a TED talk, Toni Morrison, Robin DiAngelo, and an angry Black man. It was originally published February 11, 2020. Thirty days later, the stock market fell 2400 points, and Kroger had panic buying. The pandemic had arrived, and nothing was ever the same again. ~ your post was removed because it has a Meme, graphic, Tiktok, or comic that wasn’t made by a religious fruitcake from their point of view. ~ was Mohandas Gandhi a racist? He lived in South Africa for 22 years. There are reports that he did not appreciate the native South African population. ~ This is a repost from February 2020. A few things have happened in the last four years. … ~ A few years ago, Jordan Peterson underwent “emergency medical benzodiazepine detox, which we were only able to find in Russia.” This story was originally published a month before the start of the COVID lockdown. Pictures today were taken in March, 1940, by Marion Post Wolcott. “Farmer’s son and friend playing cards in pool room on winter morning. Woodstock, Vermont” ~ This is a repost from 2018. Rose McGowan lives in Mexico City today. ~ Rose McGowan was once a presence in Hollywood. She currently lives in Mexico City. Russell Lee took the photograph in February 1939. “Mother and child, white migrants, Harlingen, Texas.” ~ @haaretzcom 🧵1/8 Israel’s National Buffoonery Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the Southern District’s police chief to skip a meeting with the IDF chief about protesters’ efforts to block humanitarian aid to Gaza ~ pictures today are from The Library of Congress ~ selah
Rose McGowan Again
This is a repost from 2018. Rose McGowan lives in Mexico City today. … Brave is the book that Rose Arianna McGowan is promoting. Whenever there is a fresh controversy, there is usually product to sell. This blog has done it’s part, writing about RAM thrice: Rose McGowan Misogygate, A Rose By Any Other Blame, and The Rose And Bret Show.
Recently, during a promotional event, push came to shove. RAM fought back, against the trans activist who verbally assaulted her from the audience. While RAM, and her opinions, can be highly annoying, it was fun to see someone push back at a troll. RAM said a few things about labelism.
“Don’t label me, sister. ’ Don’t put your labels on me. Don’t you f—ing do that. Do not put your labels on me. I don’t come from your planet. Leave me alone. I do not subscribe to your rules. I do not subscribe to your language. You will not put labels on me or anybody. Step the f— back. What I do for the f—ing world and you should be f—ing grateful. Shut the f— up. Get off my back. What have you done? I know what I’ve done, God dammit.”
Andi Dier is the trans activist who made a scene. There are unconfirmed rumors of bad behavior on their part. @PopCrave “Andi Dier the woman who heckled Rose McGowan at her book signing is now being accused of sexual assault by multiple women.”
Some reports on the B&N episode note trans-problematic comments made on RuPaul’s “What’s the Tee?” podcast. In the last part of the show, RAM makes comments about trans women not having periods as teenagers. Is that transphobic? Certified cis-male PG is the wrong person to ask.
The rest of the show was fun to listen to. RuPaul is a smart cookie, and made sage observations about the illusionary nature of just about everything. RAM made one comment, at 51:11, that is easily refuted. “60% of gun violence deaths are in this country are women.” The FBI issues a report every year. The homicide numbers for 2016: Total 15,070 male 11,821 female 3,208.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. “Mother and child, white migrants, Harlingen, Texas.” The photographer was Russell Lee. The pictures were taken in February, 1939.
Jordan Peterson Goes To Russia
This is a repost from February 2020. A few things have happened in the last four years. … Sometimes, things go beyond the like/dislike binary. Some stories are just so weird, that the only reaction is to observe in wonder. Just how can real life could be so bizarre? The recent chapter in the Jordan Peterson story is an example. Dr. Peterson is a Toronto psychologist/professor, and youtube personality. His signature work is a book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.
Mikhaila Peterson, the daughter of the professor, released a youtube video on February 7, 2020. “Dad was put on a low dose of a benzodiazepine a few years ago for anxiety following an extremely severe autoimmune reaction to food. He took the medication as prescribed. Last April when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the dose of the medication was increased.” This went on for a while, until he went into rehab. This article, about the first rehab, is dated September 20, 2019.
“After several failed treatment attempts in North American hospitals, including attempts at tapering and micro-tapering, we had to seek an emergency medical benzodiazepine detox, which we were only able to find in Russia. … He’s had to spend 4 weeks in the ICU in terrible shape, but, with the help of some extremely competent and courageous doctors, he survived.”
“She and her husband took him to Moscow last month, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and put into an induced coma for eight days. She said his withdrawal was “horrific,” worse than anything she had ever heard about. …Jordan Peterson has only just come out of an intensive care unit, Mikhaila said. He has neurological damage, and a long way to go to full recovery.”
This raises a few questions. Why Russia? France ranks as the number one healthcare system in many rankings. The World Health Organization, in their ranking of “Overall efficiency in all WHO member states,” puts Russian Federation at 130, out of 191. (The United States is 37.) USNews ranks Canada as number one. Jordan Peterson is famously Canadian.
Pride goeth before a fall. Jordan Peterson is not a humble person. It is bad manners to celebrate the misfortune of others. However, when the fallen person is famous for promoting 12 Rules for Life, it is tough not to speculate. This story has inspired some creative types. “deep in the Russian wilderness, an unholy experiment is underway. for years Peterson has attempted to transmute himself into the exalted lobster, king of the animals. but there’s been a malfunction—he’s stuck in the interstitial stage, forever to live as an eldritch abomination.” @MenshevikM “Jordan Peterson is incredible because most right wing hacks are very boring career hypocrites, whereas he went from nobody to living in Russia with brain damage in about 3 years by practicing what he preached”
There are hundreds of hours of Jordan Peterson talking online. These videos are a gold mine of ironic comments. Chamblee54 had a post about a Peterson appearance in June 2018. (The video is no longer available.) Apparently, this was after he started taking Benzos. Two quotes that stand out. “What stupid things am I doing that is making my life wretched?” “The next rule is to not let your children do anything that will make other people not like them.”
On November 29, 2018, Peterson was on the Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan “you have the schedule that you have and the amount of energy and enthusiasm you maintain with the schedule is very remarkable cuz you’re not stopping you’re not slowing down I mean you’ve had your foot on the gas for like two solid years now” Peterson “make hay while the Sun shines I guess is that how you feel about it well you know when you have an opportunity that’s completely preposterous you’re a fool to take it for granted … Tammy and I have been to a hundred cities since January.” Dr. Peterson was raking in the dough, and did not want to get off the merry go round. “What stupid things am I doing that is making my life wretched?”
Dr. Peterson started to make appearances after his first bout with rehab. PG saw a video, and noticed a difference in his appearance. PG has written about Dr. Peterson two times, in addition to the 06/13/18 post. There was a commentary about a video at Prager U. When you click the original link to that video, you get a message: “You just hit a route that doesn’t exist… the sadness.” Dennis Prager is another snark-worthy public figure.
The other video is about an appearance Dr. Peterson made in Aspen, hosted by Bari Weiss. John McWhorter asks a question. Dr. Peterson does not have a slick answer. Pictures, for this tabloid view of academia gone awry, are from The Library of Congress.
Was Mohandas Gandhi A Racist?
A meme appeared on facebook, “GHANDI’S 7 DANGERS TO HUMAN VIRTUE.” Below the misspelled name were seven concepts, written in all caps. This got PG thinking.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (M.K. Gandhi) “was born was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town on the western coast of India.” At some point the title Mahatma was applied, and is often used as though it was his name. Exact transliterations between languages using different alphabets is tricky. What is the “correct” spelling of this man’s last name? Most sources today use Gandhi.
Another term, Gandhiji, turns up in the research. “‘Ji’ in Hindi or Urdu is a suffix used after the names of respectable persons and elders like father and mother. It is used every day by millions of Indians to address their elders. Hence Gandhiji is but Mahatma Gandhi, father of our nation, addressed reverently and respectfully. We call mother mataji. Mata means mother.”
The quote in the meme is real. It is found on page 135 of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 33. It was in an article found in Young India on October 22, 1925.
“SEVEN SOCIAL SIN The same fair friend wants readers of Young India to know, if they do not already, the following seven social sins: Politics without principles, Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice. Naturally, the friend does not want the readers to know these things merely through the intellect but to know them through the heart so as to avoid them.”
The next entry in the collected works is interesting. “79. THAT ETERNAL QUESTION However much I may wish to avoid it, the Hindu-Muslim question will not avoid me. Muslim friends insist upon my intervention to solve it. The Hindu friends would have me discuss it with them and some of them say I have sown the wind and must reap the whirlwind.”
The meme had comments. Lloyd Lachow Gandhi was intensely racist. Joanne Gibson Gandhi was not intensely racist. Fighting racism was his first cause. John Janiga Gandhi racist??? John Taylor Lloyd, were you born an idiot, or did you have to work at it?
This looks like a job for Mr. Google. When you type the phrase “Is Gandhi,” suggested searches include “sill alive” and “on netflix.” This does not help if you want to know if someone is racist.
Mr. Gandhi lived in South Africa from 1893-1915. During this time he was offended at the treatment of Indian nationals, which led to a decision to fight for Indian rights. Unfortunately, these rights were not to be extended to the native South Africans.
… “there’s no doubting that Gandhi had little time for black people. During his 21 years in South Africa, he repeatedly expressed contempt for the native population, claiming they were no better than the “untouchables” of Indian society. One speech in particular stands out. In 1896, he was quoted as referring to black South Africans as the “raw kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness.” For those of you who aren’t up on your South African slang, “kaffir” is a direct equivalent of our N-word. Another time, he complained about finding himself in a “kaffir” prison, claiming Indians were “above” natives, who “are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals.”
There is the story of the Durban Post Office. “The first major accomplishment of the Natal Indian Congress was to further entrench racial segregation into South African society during a time of massive racial strife. At the time, the Durban, South Africa post office had two doors. One was for whites and the other for Indians and black natives. Gandhi was so disgusted at having to share a door with blacks that he initiated a campaign for the creation of a third door. … A year later, after the issue had already been resolved, Gandhi chose to expound upon his reasons for raising it in the first place. In his August 14, 1896 letter, “The Grievances of the British Indians in South Africa: An Appeal to the Indian Public,” he called being “put on the same level with the native” a “disability.”
This is a repost. Many of the links no longer work. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
TED Talk Google Adventure
This is a repost from February 11, 2020. Thirty days later, the stock market fell 2400 points, and Kroger had panic buying. The pandemic had arrived, and nothing was ever the same again. … TED sends me emails, recommending talks. This week, it was The real story of Rosa Parks — and why we need to confront myths about black history. I felt like listening, and clicked on the link.
David Ikard was the TED-talker. His son came home from school, having learned a lesson about Rosa Parks. Unfortunately, he was taught the version where Mrs. Parks is an old lady, whose feet hurt. The truth is that the protest had been planned.
Dr. Ikard was offended that his son was taught the incorrect version of the story. He wanted to have a conference with the teacher. The transcript tells what happens next. “So I’m agonizing over this, primarily because I understand, as an African-American man, that whenever you talk to whites about racism or anything that’s racially sensitive, there’s usually going to be a challenge. This is what white sociologist Robin DiAngelo calls “white fragility.” She argues that, in fact, because whites have so little experience being challenged about their white privilege that whenever even the most minute challenge is brought before them, they usually cry, get angry or run.” At this point, I decided not to listen to any more of the talk.
I got curious about how this turned out. His son taught his own lesson to the class. The teacher saw the error of her ways. That part of the talk has a happy ending. Unfortunately, the talk has eight minutes to go. Dr. Ikard tells another story. If you want to hear this story, you can listen to the talk.
After the second story, Dr. Ikard is talking about race relations in general. He repeats a quote. “Toni Morrison said, “If, in order for you to be tall, I have to be on my knees, you have a serious problem.” She says, “White America has a serious, serious problem.”
I have never read any of Ms. Morrison’s books. I have heard an interview on CBS radio, and seen a couple of videos. The “If, in order for you…” quote sounds like something she might say. However, I wanted to know the context. How did she come to say that?
I highlight the quote, right click, select google search. The only results that I saw, in English, were the TED talk. The next step is to find the Wikiquotes page for Toni Morrison. Go to Control F, write a search term in the field, and see what you find. After using tall, knees, order, and serious, as search items, the quote does not appear. It is possible that Ms. Morrison did say that sentence, but, for our purposes, it is not verified.
This is not the first time a Toni Morrison quote has caught my attention. A few years ago, a facebook friend posted a video of Ms. Morrison on the Charlie Rose show. I asked the fbf if he had a link for the video, for which he replied “Google it, sir.” It turns out that the video used creative editing, and did not accurately represent what Ms. Morrison said.
This is the problem with saying “Google it.” A search engine is going to show the searcher information that you might not want them to see. Besides that, saying “Google it” is rude. If you post something on facebook, or a TED talk, you should show where you get your information.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The Georgian Terrace Ballroom
The Georgian Terrace hotel used to have an adjacent ballroom. The building opened as the “Lucky Strike”, featuring “Duck Pin” bowling. At some time, it became a 1300 seat ballroom. It was not the grand ballroom, where events for the premiere of “Gone With The Wind” were held. As time moved on, the ballroom became a music performance hall. I saw shows there under four different business names. After the Agora Ballroom closed, the building was vacant, until a fire August 30, 1987. The site of the ballroom is now occupied by an annex of the Georgian Terrace Hotel.
The first show I saw at this facility was in 1972. The name of the business is forgotten, as is the act that performed. A band, comprised of people I went to high school with, played before he got there.
In 1974, “Big Time” promoter Alex Cooley opened “Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom”. (Alex Cooley died December 1, 2015.) The first show that I saw was Dr. John The Night Tripper. A few months later, Capricorn artists Cowboy played, with a vulgar New York band named Mercury opening. Gato Barbieri played, with some wondering how people could dance to that type of music.
Several major acts appeared at the Ballroom, mostly without me in the audience. KISS played there in 1974, and photographs from backstage are in the video. In April of 1974, Steely Dan was across from the Fox. In the summer of 1974, The Tubes played a week at the ballroom, with another heavily hyped show. On January 23, 1976, The Patti Smith Group played at the ballroom.
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen was on the covers of Time and Newsweek, and was receiving a promotional push unlike anything seen before. He played a show at the ballroom that summer, with a generous press party in the balcony. (At one unforgettable show Alex was caught off guard by a Bruce Springsteen request. “He asked if we could shut down the cash registers because they were making too much noise!… That’s the only time I ever did that.” Alex admits.)
I attended two shows in 1975. Mckendree Spring opened for Fanny, while I drank too many bourbon and cokes. In November of 1975, Juice Newton opened for Hot Tuna. Miss Newton seemed to be a bit pale, and performed “Get drunk and screw”. Hot Tuna was amazing. They went on stage at 10:55, and played, without a break, until 2:50. The drummer wore a shirt, mother fucking hot tuna. Few would argue that night.
In autumn of 1977, some brave soul opened a place called “The Ballroom” in the space on Peachtree Street. One night, I went with some friends to see an act, Happy the Man. There seemed to be a bit of chaos in the management of the facility. The Great Southeast Music Hall loaned a few microphones for the show. When the show was over, I walked out to a car, whose motor was running, with the driver asleep inside.
In the summer of 1978, the ballroom opened as The Agora Ballroom. Apparently, there is a music hall in Cleveland with that name, and they opened branch facilities around the country. There were some shows that I did not attend. Todd Rundgren opened the facility August 19, 1978. On October 2, 1979, The Clash played. Pictures from the crowd appeared on an album by the band. On December 2, 1981, U2 made their Atlanta debut.
A few weeks after the opening, PG won tickets to an all Texas show. Marcia Ball opened. I got bored and went to a neighborhood bar to drink beer. I returned later, and stayed long enough for the singer with Asleep at the Wheel to ask the crowd, Are you stoned?
In November of 1978, I called a radio station, and asked to be put on the guest list for Talking Heads . (For Talking Heads, and three links in the following paragraphs, the link is for a previous Chamblee 54 post about the show.) The first six people he called were busy, but the last one agreed to go. On the bus going home, a group of black men started to make unfriendly comments. At the next stop, a black friend got on the bus, and went to talk to me.
A few weeks later, Tim Curry made his United States debut. Some record company invested a lot of money in him, and supplied him with an outstanding band. I was wandering around the balcony after the first show, and saw Tom Waits sitting at a table. The bodyguard said no, that’s not Tom Waits, it is just someone that looks like him. At a bar, after the show, I was raving about what he had seen, when a lady came up to him. What color are your eyes? They are brown, because you are full of shit. Soon, the 23 Oglethorpe was taking him home.
Somewhere in the haze of 78 and 79, Ultravox brought their synthetics to the Agora. A local band, First Blood, was more entertaining as the opener. I drank a very large can of Foster’s beer, and floated through the proceedings. After the show, I was invited to a party in Candler Park. On the way there, there was a horrific car crash on Ponce de Leon. At the party, friends of First Blood dissected their performance, between lines of coke.
One night, I was enjoying drink specials at a neighborhood bar. He took a break, walked over to the Agora, and saw a few minutes of a show by Freddie Hubbard.
In early 1979, the B 52s were on the verge of stardom. (Here is a nifty feature about the Atlanta local music scene in those days.) The opener for the 52s was The Brains , yet another talented band that never made it big. At the table next to PG, a lady wore a dynamite World War Two army uniform.
Later in 1979, Ted Turner had an idea for a TV show, “Live at the Agora”. The first show was filmed in Atlanta, and featured Graham Parker and the Rumor. If they ever show that film again, and you see a crowd shot, that is me wearing a white T shirt, with a white Agora iron on logo. Parker was a great musician, who had the misfortune to look like Big Bird’s nerdy little brother. If Graham Parker looked like Bruce Springsteen, he would have been a superstar.
In March of 1980, Lene Lovich came to the Agora. About a year later, Spirit played on Peachtree Street. The show was sponsored by a radio station, and tickets were $2.96. Despite the low price, and high musical quality, the balcony was closed, and only about a hundred people were at the show. I thought this was odd, but little surprised me by this time.
The last show that I caught at the Agora was The Ramones. Joey and the pinheads were past their prime, with only two original members playing. It was an all ages show, with alcohol served in the balcony. Downstairs was a festive party, with costumes and enthusiastic high school kids. The balcony was the same rock and roll drunks you had seen for years. The Ramones would have made a great oldies band, if they could have quit dying. This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Mardi Gras
It is fat tuesday again. For someone who lived most of his life in Georgia, it is just another day.
In 1990, PG went to carnival. He rented sleeping bag space in a house on Marigny Street, just outside the quarter. It was like nothing he had ever seen.
This was 14 months after PG quit drinking. If he had life to do over, he would have gone to Mardi Gras first. He did feel good about going through that much drinking without being tempted to participate.
By the end of the Rex Parade, PG was getting tired of the whole shebang, Mob scenes of drunks, in costume, can get old. PG has not been back.
Two years later, the Grateful Dead was playing at the Omni, and the camp followers were in the parking lot. PG would go on his lunch hour and observe. A young lady walked by, and PG said Happy Mardi Gras. She gave him a string of beads.
Five years after that, PG had a boss from New Orleans. He looked like the Grinch who stole Christmas. He also hated Mardi Gras. PG did not know this, and greeted him Tuesday morning with a cheerful Happy Mardi Gras. If looks could kill, PG would have dropped dead. This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
“White Fragility” Myth
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immigration is for republicans what racism is for democrats. it can fire up the gullible base, while knowing there is little they can do about it. ~ Mark 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. ~ Fani Willis was running against Paul Howard, she said voters deserve a DA that will not have sex with their employees. You can’t make this up. ~ this is your monday morning reader for today. The picture today is a haiku reduction. Take a text, select a five-seven-five group of words, and render the rest unrecognizable. It is a metaphor for a lot of other activity in the world today. ~ yesterday was birthday number 110 for William S. Burroughs, a heroin addict of international renown. The picture today was taken by Timothy H. O’Sullivan in August 1863. “Bealeton, Virginia. Officers of 93d New York Infantry” ~ I do not watch cable news. I saw all the animosity towards @TuckerCarlson Then he got foxfired, I heard some things I agreed with, and I wondered what the problem was. This is similar to what is happening with Mr. Putin ~ Who is going to translate the conversation between @TuckerCarlson and #VladimirPutin ? How will the American translation compare to the Russian translation? ~ the Bituah Leumi data does not distinguish between those killed by Hamas and civilians killed by Israeli forces in the fighting to retake control of southern Israel, an operation in which the army used shells and rockets on inhabited areas, according to testimonies collected by AFP and Israeli media. ~ Now, there is a growing body of evidence that many of the Israeli civilians Tel Aviv claims were killed by Palestinian fighters on Oct. 7 were actually killed by the Israeli military. Over the last month, eyewitness testimonies and other evidence has surfaced indicating that a great many of those blasted and torched on Oct. 7, Palestinian and Israeli alike, were the victims of indiscriminate and massive Israeli tank and helicopter bombardment. The narrative now being pieced together is that Israeli forces fired a huge amount of ordinance indiscriminately from tanks and U.S.-supplied Apache helicopters on towns as well as on cars either fleeing a rave concert or driving towards Gaza with hostages, indiscriminately killing both Palestinian fighters and the Israeli civilians. This was a desperate attempt to contain the Palestinian surprise assault and to prevent the fighters from taking live Israeli hostages. The death toll was then added to those killed by Palestinian fighters and Hamas was blamed. By the military’s own admission, Israeli pilots could not distinguish clearly between Palestinian combatants and Israeli civilians but decided to open fire anyway. Apache helicopter pilots fired continuously without intelligence on targets. Tank crews were ordered to shell homes, even though Israeli hostages might be inside. A military commander even ordered an air attack on his own base when he learned it had been overrun by Palestinian fighters. At least part of the indiscriminate firing appears to have been a deliberate policy called the “Hannibal Directive” under which Israel is willing to kill its own citizens rather than have them taken hostage. ~ “The woman in the black dress” is a key figure in the sexual violence claims about October 7. Was she killed by #Hamas or #IDF ? ~ the spell check suggestion for gnihton is tonight gnihton in chinese is 格尼頓 Gé ní dùn. ~ chamblee54 This is just good clean fun. Krystal says that trash talking “self improvement” adds “shame and pressure to their lives” Saager responds by saying “I don’t know it depends” These are stressful times. A tragedy of historic proportions is occurring in Palestine. The Presidential election is going to be between two senile white guys. Taylor Swift’s bf has a haircut that is cultural appropriation. Krystal and Saager are doing a great job of keeping us informed on these crucial issues. It is not going to hurt anything if they have a discussion of a “human interest” subject. They might even be able to sell some ads for paper towels. ~ @clgood Somebody said that it couldn’t be done, But he, with a grin, replied, He’d never be one to say it couldn’t be done, Leastwise not ’till he tried! So he buckled right in, With a trace of a grin, By golly, he went right to it! He tackled the thing that couldn’t be done… And he couldn’t do it. ~ I saw this purple prose, and felt the need to make a statement. The result was a short haiku. “But Wig Snatch all the feels We know chopping onions.” As a wise man once said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” @JonathanLKrohn Picture: “Singing “Trying to Make a Hundred, Ninety-Nine and a Half Won’t Do” during the collection at Negro church in Heard County, Georgia” ~ @JonathanLKrohn Essayist. Film programmer. Jewish Benjamaniac. Bisexual baseball faggot. Bylines:@RollingStone , @TheAtlantic , @WashingtonPost , @USAToday , and others. ~ I don’t like Bob Newhart, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like Bob Newhart, denigrate means ‘put down’ ~ “in the special case of Gaza, moreover, the crowded urban battlefield offers endless opportunities for the easiest of tactics, because contrary to accusations that only expensively educated U.S. college students could possibly believe, Israeli soldiers do not deliberately kill innocent civilians going about their business.” ~ religiousfruitcake-ModTeam Your post was removed because this is a screenshot with no apparent fruitcaky content. If you believe the post was removed in error, please message the moderation team. … Your post was removed because it is a reaction-ception that wasn’t made by a religious fruitcake from their point of view. ~ Here is an experiment. I took a James Baldwin soliloquy about the magic word. I substituted racist, for the other 6 letter word. (the one that ends in r) Be sure to read to the second part. ~ “You’re the ______ baby, it isn’t me” Which six letter racial slur was James Baldwin talking about? The one that starts with R, or the one that ends with R? ~ We could use the initials AH, for alleged hypocrite. This might be confused for an anatomical pejorative with those initials. ~ Glimmer of Darkness/ A Glimmer of Kindness/ Glimmer of Silence, glimmer of camera not working learn something new everyday, if you hit the widget off and on the camera will work, it was a glimmer of digital kindness, it is a glimmer of silence while the writing juices flow, meanwhile the stupid bowl is playing on a silent screen, if only i turn it on, ~ Mr. Hughes made this post about “How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7.” This is the controversial NYT story, whose veracity is seriously disputed. “These is not an Israeli gov claim, Aaron. I knew you would dismiss it if it were. These are claims made by The NY Times—which, for all its flaws—tends not to invent photographs out of whole cloth. I’ll let you parse the difference between rape and driving nails into a woman’s groin. I see no meaningful difference in the context of 10/7. In other words: Whatever it would say about Hamas that they did the former, it would say the same about them that they did the latter. And you seem equally tempted to deny it in either case.” ~ pictures for today’s post super bowl slowdown are from The Library of Congress ~ selah
James Baldwin And The Magic Word
In the spring of 1963, KQED filmed a show, “Take this hammer, featuring James Arthur Baldwin. The snippet in the video seems to have been the last three minutes of the show. Here is a transcript. Mr. Baldwin discusses a six letter insult. The n-word is more about the speaker, than the spoken of. A 2010 blogger had this to say. The original link no longer works.
“I’ve often felt that people’s projections of me are oftentimes just that – their projections. However, Baldwin’s ending sums up a solution to this perfectly: “But you still think, I gather, that the n****r is necessary. Well he’s unnecessary to me – he must be necessary to you. Well, I’m going to give your problem back to you…you’re the n****r, baby…not me.”
It is now 2024. (All discussions of race must mention the year.) The TV show was sixty one years ago. A few things have changed. To many white people, overt expressions of racism are seen as bad manners. The n-word is taboo in polite company. The overall attitudes may not have changed, but most white people are careful how they say things.
Mr. Baldwin offered an insight into who the user of this nasty word was really talking about. Now, there is another nasty word being casually tossed about these days. This other nasty word is Racist. What would happen if you took Mr. Baldwin’s talk, and substituted racist for nasty? It is an interesting way to look at things. What follows is not a perfect fit, and may be offensive to some. A few times, it is very close to the truth.
Who is the racist? Well I know this…and anybody who has tried to live knows this. What you say about somebody else, anybody else, reveals you. What I think of you as being is dictated by my own necessities, my own psychology, my own fears…and desires. I’m not describing you when I talk about you…I’m describing me.
Now, here in this country, we got somebody called a racist. It doesn’t in such terms, I beg you to remark, exist in any other country in the world. We have invented the racist. I didn’t invent him, white people invented him. I’ve always known, I had to know by the time I was seventeen years old, what you were describing was not me and what you were afraid of was not me. It had to be something else. You had invented it so it had to be something you were afraid of, and you invested me with it. … I have always known that I am not a racist … but if I am not the racist … and if it is true that your invention reveals you … then who is the racist?
I am not the victim here. I know one thing from another. I know that I was born, am gonna suffer and gonna die. And the only way that you can get through life is to know the worst things about it. I know that a person is more important than anything else. Anything else. I’ve learned this because I’ve had to learn it. But you still think, I gather, that the racist is necessary. Well he’s not necessary to me, so he must be necessary to you. So I give you your problem back. You’re the racist baby, it isn’t me.
This is a repost. Pictures are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. These images are from the morality play “Heaven Bound,” staged by the Big Bethel African Methodist Choir, at the Atlanta Theatre (23 Exchange Place), Atlanta, Georgia, August 1937.” Chamblee54 has discussed Mr. Baldwin before. One Two
@nakedpastor Reacts To r/religiousfruitcake
@nakedpastor “I created a react video for Youtube. I’d love to know what you think!” The RVFYT is NP scrolling through r/religiousfruitcake. This is a subreddit, featuring people with too much free time. They like to post clever memes. You are not likely to learn anything useful there.
The first item is an instagram video. We see a young lady is talking about loving God, who sends people to hell. Is there anything more pathetic than Christians, past or present, pearl clutching about life after death? Christianity is not a religion anyway. It is a high pressure sales pitch for “salvation.” If you don’t agree with their ideas, then there is no point is sticking around.
What do I think about Jesus, and life after death? NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS. That is not gratuitous profanity. Merriam-Webster says that damn is the act of God sending your soul to HELL. It is totally appropriate to use GD in discussions about life after death.
I turn the video back on, and have to turn the sound up so I can hear NP. This means that I will have to turn the sound back down later, when I look at something else. This is an important point. The medium is the message. When you deliver your message, you should make it easy on the listener. This is another problem with the Christian church. They think their message is wonderful, and it is your duty to pay attention no matter what. If you don’t turn up the volume, you might go to HELL.
NP does not see the video as being about life after death, but rather the existence of evil. My Bad. Why does an omnipotent God allow evil to exist. I could offer thoughts and prayers, but want to get back to the video. We are only up to 3:31, of a video lasting 14:10.
At 4:30, NP holds up his index finger and says “There’s only one reality.” I immediately flash back to those evenings watching the Billy Graham Crusade, where Billy would hold up his index finger, and shout there is one way, Jesus Christ.
At 6:00, we finally move to the second item. It is a tweet, saying that the job of women is to make babies. The best thing to do here is make a haiku reduction. yo die God create magnificent job eating ew important this This exchange has 42 upvotes at r/religiousfruitcake.
I am reluctant to say this, because it sounds so pretentious, but here goes. God is using me as a conduit, when I create content. Does this mean that she exists? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I will say this is not evidence of the divine tautology … to believe in the God of the bible, and that the bible is the word of God. I could ramble on a while. … The rest of the video is not that inspiring. Finally, NP says “Thats enough for now.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress
Chamblee54 
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