EARTH SONG Michael Jackson

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EARTH SONG by Michael Jackson

Time is running out. We only have one mother, let’s work together to protect her. One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century will be climate change. The Calamity Politics jukebox choice of the day is the Michael Jackson hit, “Earth Song.” Watch for the upcoming Calamity News and Politics videocast with David Shadrick on Climate Change. The Democrats have a plan to reduce pollution and plan to make a huge commitment to reversing climate change. #VoteBlue2020 #RidenWithBiden

Poetry Morsels By Jack Babcock

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Jack Babcock is a long time friend of Calamity News and Politics. Jack is a poet and writer. If you’ve visited CNP before you have probably seen some of his postings. Today is a good day to laugh a bit and not take things too seriously.  You can find Jack Babcock his poems and how to navigate to his Amazon site at this link:

You can find him at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jack+babcock&ref=nb_sb_noss

POETRY MORSELS

by Jack Babcock

 

the bird

the birds
wings cut the sky
another bird proud
has his own
way to fly
cutting the sky
hovering over his nest
as if to say
I am the best
His wings cut the sky
Amazing you and I

 

Bed

I saw on the tube
An ad for a bed
King sized

I’m single bed Jack

It would be nice to do things in two

2.
doing things in one tho is nice
no petty quarrels
no intrigue no spice

one is just fine for now
two is too many maybe

my uncle used to say
that he was a lone angel

so be it. I’m an angel. Jak

 

living

what’s the point of living
if you can’t
smoke a cigarette
drink a beer
blow some dope
or
drop some acid
what’s the point
Author’s note:
14 years of sobriety

 

baseball

illness

I have 3 illnesses

Schizophrenia
Diabetes
Acute kidney disease

3 strikes 3 strikes and you’re out

But I feel pretty well

 

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2019/02/13/mental-illness-i-m-prism-by-jack-babcock/

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/09/14/fire-by-jack-babcock/

HUMOR: The Perils Of Pumpkin Spice

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HUMOR: The Perils of Pumpkin Spice- 

It’s Not Everything Nice

By Anna Hessel

  

Falling Leaves

The air is turning cooler, the trees are a beautiful kaleidoscope of bright, harvest-toned colors, and with this a bevy of everything pumpkin spice.  I am more of a cute sweater, ankle boots, apple cider donuts, and taking pictures of fall foliage type of person.  I really don’t need pumpkin spice candles, air fresheners, Oreos, milkshakes, cakes, butters, jellies, iced tea, marshmallows, bread crumbs, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, toaster pastries, deli meat, cheese, lotions, soap, shampoo, facial wash, hair mousse, muscle rub, shoe polish, toilet bowl cleaner, dog biscuits, cat food, kitty litter, glass cleaner, laundry detergent, fabric softener, cologne, after-shave, lip balm, nail polish, cuticle remover, mascara, floor wax, drain cleaner, toothpaste, or super glue.  I’ve even seen a pumpkin spice pandemic face mask – really?

Pumpkin Spice Overload

What ever happened to plain old pumpkin pie, smothered in a half-can of Fat Free Reddi Whip?  I honestly don’t find the necessity to drink pumpkin-flavored java – make mine a decaf, skim, mocha latte, please, to sip while enjoying a pumpkin pedicure and a pumpkin muffin.  Perhaps a slice of homemade pumpkin bread with buttercream frosting, however, I prefer to brush my teeth with something minty fresh, not tasting of sugar and spice, that is certainly not nice.  If I tried to serve Purina pumpkin spice to my cats, they would simply hiss and turn over their bowl.

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The Lincoln Project: #Trump Is NOT WELL

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#TrumpIsNotWell: by the Lincoln Project

The Lincoln Project is the creator of my favorite 2020 election ad videos. The crew at the Lincoln Project are former Republicans. The never Trumper crowd and thank Zeus for them. There seems to be a ruthlessness in the Republican soul that the Democrats can’t match. Eric Trump was on FoxNews and he questioned Joe Biden’s mental capacity. The folks at Lincoln got busy and put a montage of Trump photo clips together, showing Trump as sadly incapacitated. #SaveAmericaVoteBlue. #Vote Joe.

Health Care Options

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Health Care Options

By Trevor K. McNeil

The Tangled Web of Healthcare

It has come to my attention that some potential leaders in the United States of America (a.k.a. “The Greatest Country in the World” and the a.k.a. “Free World”) are considering reform to their currently mostly private, insurance-only approach to healthcare. A system which allows for medical professionals, who have sworn an apparently empty oath to ‘do no harm’, deny America’s cutting edge medical technology to anyone who can’t pay. A situation from 1968 sounds laughable, but it is the system the Republicans want to return to. After being shot 3 times doctors refused to operate on Andy Warhol until he signed a check to cover the costs. The three bullets embedded in his torso notwithstanding. Yet there are many, particularly on the Republican side of the aisle, who act as though the likes of Obama and Biden are proposing the revival of eugenics into mainstream practice.

Terror Tales

There are lots of stories, most with the flagrant exaggeration of a campfire terror tale, spoke by a drunk high schooler, about ‘state controlled medicine.’ A system, it should be noted, that has enjoyed great success in every industrialized, western nation, except America, since the 1940s. Even a small island nation like New Zealand easily out-paced the great and powerful U.S. of A. in terms of accessibility to medical care. New Zealand also reported better statistics than the U.S., on infant mortality rates and  over-dose death rates. Do people have to wait? Yes. Then again most of them survived and there don’t tend to be people dying at home of burst appendix because they have no health coverage. Which is more than can be said for “the land of the free.”

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Creativity During COVID-19 Pandemic

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CREATIVITY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The Mother of Inventions

By Trevor K. McNeil

Kick At the Darkness

There is a prevailing theory that times of turmoil lead to an increase in creativity. An idea supported by the warehouse’s worth of material created around the Nixon and George W. Bush administrations. Trump himself has countless examples of opposition in the public sphere. Despite having, so far, been in office half as long as the previous two. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. Aside from the suicidal fools denying the very existence of the virus killing hundreds of thousands around the world, there are three basic approaches to creating in the age of COVID-19. Survive, improve and thrive.

Survive

The most high-profile examples of creativity during the pandemic are those that engender a sense of community with each other and defiance against our common enemy. These include the now famous “Patio Concerts” that were started by opera singers in Italy. An idea taken into the digital realm by bands such as Blink-182 and Chvrches. Releasing socially distanced songs and sessions with the members distanced from each other and their fans. A theme filtering into albums, such as The Lockdown Sessions by The Coral. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah has changed its name to The Daily Social Distancing Show. A tactic also adopted by Full-Frontal with Samantha Bee and Conan hosted by Conan O’Brian. Though in O’Brian’s case, rather than being recorded in his home, the production has moved to an empty theater space.

Stronger Than Death

Others have taken the opportunity at self-isolation to really focus on their work. A tradition stretching back to Shakespeare who wrote King Lear under lockdown during a different outbreak and The Marquis De Sade, who worked under lockdown of a different kind. Having spent much of his life in prison or asylums. Standouts from the modern crop of self-isolated work include How I’m Feeling Now by Charli XCX and Folklore by Taylor Swift.

Lives Pulled Apart

Of the two, How I’m Feeling Now resonates most with the times. While pandemic and its effects aren’t mentioned by name, this only makes the effect all the more potent. While her work has always been urgent, songs like “Pink Diamond” have a raging, desperate, tiger-pacing-in-a-cage aspect to them. Gentler tracks like “I’ll Love You Forever” have a tinge of tragedy. Strongly implying lives pulled apart by isolation, lockdowns and death, yet still with a glimmer of hope. Love being stronger than death.

Clear Blue Sky

I’m not sure what happened to Taylor Swift while under self-isolation but I’m glad it did. Anyone familiar with my previous work won’t be surprised that I’m not the biggest fan of pop music. Particularly in terms of overproduced, corporate products. Folklore is the anti-matter of that. Released without promotion and recorded in self-isolation just months after her 30th birthday, Folklore is a huge step forward.

Wow, She’s Good

Swift having the time and focus to do her best work and sweet Thor in Asgard is it good! The raw talent only glimpsed previously, now on full show. The album is categorized as “Alternative” which, while vague, is the perfect way to describe this befuddling experience. Veering from the darkly bouncy “The Last American Dynasty” to Hozier-levels of poetic melancholy on “Exile” to the delicious word play on “The Lakes.” A bonus track which evokes the Romantic poets better than any song in recent memory.

Get Your Passes!

The pandemic also hasn’t been able to keep cultural events down. While some, like the San Diego ComicCon have been cancelled for the first time in decades, others have found new ways to exist. The Chelsea Flower Show, a major event in London often attended by The Queen, has gone online. Video tours of this year’s displays available on their event’s website. The Toronto International Film Festival, one of the oldest film festivals in North America on par with Cannes, has done something similar. Film buffs can see every film that was going to be shown in this year’s festival by buying a single digital-pass. Not only making the whole experience cheaper but a lot more accessible to those unable to get to Toronto for whatever reason.

 

RIP: Remembering The Notorious RBG

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RIP: Remembering The Notorious RBG

By Anna Hessel

A Woman of Substance

This weekend the Jewish community celebrates Rosh Hashanah. It is the dawn of a new year. Truthfully, 2020 cannot end soon enough for me. Sadly, the loss of yet another icon marks this holiday as bittersweet.  Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at 87.  So many giants in the struggle for social justice have died this year.  Justice Ginsburg stood emphatically for equal rights; her mother told her to be a lady, which meant being your own independent person.  She believed any state that controls a woman’s right to choose meant the denial of her full autonomy and full equality.  Ms. Ginsburg was convinced that it is essential for women to be decision makers. Having the responsibility of bringing up the next generation, it is imperative that women have control.

Appointments

With her unique beauty and  attractive style complete with black horn rim glasses she drew attention. This petite powerhouse has been featured in a number of lifestyle publications, such as Cosmopolitan, Mental Floss, Marie Claire, Town & Country, and Elle.  Concerts have been dedicated to her, and two films have been made about her life.  Jimmy Carter picked her for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Ms. Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.  I remember it well, for she was sworn in on the date of my second wedding anniversary – August 10th of that year.  Justice Ginsburg emphatically believed women belonged in all places where decisions are being made.  Her most fervent dying wish was to not be replaced until a new president is installed.  I will honor her memory with a vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

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