Saturday, August 13, 2011

OTeil's Got Something To Say



To give you a short answer Butch, Liberal and Progressive became bad words, even to me, when I realized that they had become sellouts just like the other side.


But lets look at your definitions and apply them to Liberals and Progressives since Clinton.


What was so liberal about Clinton selling out to Wall Street and the Fed? In 1998 when Brooksley Born (Head of the CFTC) went all the way to the Oval Office to warn Clinton about what the banks were doing in their newly deregulated freedoms, he blew her off and sided with Greenspan and Rubin. Naturally, Rubin was his Secretary of Treasury. Ms. Born resigned she was so upset and she was replaced by Gary Gensler, another one of Rubin’s deputies from the Federal Reserve. Progressive or Sellout?


What was so progressive about Clinton letting the Military Industrial Complex conduct business as usual in Kosovo? What was so liberal about Clinton being 13% worse than Bush senior in the “War On Drugs”? NAFTA turned out to be horrible for Jobs in the USA too. Obama’s trying to repeat it right now in South America. Progressive or Sellout?


What reforms did Obama and the Dems deliver us when they had control of the House, Senate and Executive branches? What did they do to advance our “maximum freedom”? They didn’t even repeal the Patriot Act! They not only didn’t end our present wars but are starting new ones. Iran’s next. They haven’t indicted one person in the banking industry for the fraud that was perpetrated. Progressive or Sellout?


How was Obama protecting our freedoms by appointing the very people that caused the financial crisis (not members of the Tea Party) to his cabinet (Geithner, Summers)? After we bailed the bankers out they foreclose on citizens without even being able to prove they have possession of their ACTUAL mortgage notes (MERS), refuse to renegotiate the principles, and freely admit that they are sitting on the trillions they have, thanks to us, instead of lending and investing in America. Do all the jobless, homeless, and savings-less Americans feel more free after the liberals had control of the whole ball of wax? Progressive or Sellout?


How has the Obama administration treated dissidents like Assange and Manning. Granted Manning was in the military, but hey, they're supposed to be liberals right? So much for whistle blowers  getting a better deal.


Liberals are by definition not supposed to be racists but is that really true? Butch you sound pretty prejudiced against the Tea Party. Emotionally I am too. I have no love for racists but I accept them because its a utopian dream to think they will ever go away. As long as I can vote,  own property, and have a gun then I’m fine. 


I do find it fascinating that some people are allowed to tolerate racists in their own tribe while others aren’t. The Million Man March was sponsored by the Nation Of Islam. One of their core beliefs, (unlike Al-Islam) is that White people are the devil, Satan himself. Every progressive, liberal, black organization joined in that march. Why did they not repudiate the NOI as I did? My own father has a lot of racial mistrust that I will not teach my children as do some of my White and Jewish friends with their parents or in-laws. We tolerate our own racists but the Tea Party is not allowed to. Its hypocritical. Racists are also Americans and they are also getting screwed by the same people as the rest of us.


The liberal notion the the Federal gov’t is supposed to give out money freely is wrong to me because it first depends of the theft of my money by the IRS. I am all for giving liberally individually but not federally. If I am allowed to keep more of my money I can guarantee it will get to the local homeless shelter, food bank, school, etc... when it is stolen from me by the IRS and given to the Federal gov’t it disappears into thin air. If the gov’t wasn’t so corrupt, and we all had jobs and surpluses (and not because of bubbles like Clinton let the bankers create) then I would be fine with it. But we don’t and we can’t trust the gov’t to reform itself. As long as the foxes like Gensler are guarding all the regulatory henhouses we can expect more of the same.


Cornel West pinpointed it. He calls Obama and most Dems "neo-liberals". I guess they’re the Special Interests’ perfect answer to the neo-con-artists they promote across the aisle. Its all MORE OF THE STATUS QUO. 


Please watch The Warning:


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/
 
And also a documentary called Inside Job.


http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/


I’ll leave you with a recent quote from Daniel Ellsberg in the Washington Post - 
"Richard Nixon, if he were alive today, would feel vindicated that all the crimes he committed against me–which forced his resignation facing impeachment–are now legal. " 


You can thank the Liberals and Progressives for that. They blew they’re chance.


Butch adds:


I agree with so much of what you say, my friend. The lack of consequences, indeed the blatant continuation of the monetary policies that are now making the wealth gap wider and wider is sickening. You bet your sweet ass that many of the Wall Street firms and the banks have hedged themselves with hidden companies that are shorting their own positions and are making a fucking killing off of this bear market.


Why is Dick Cheney particularly not in prison for treason? The outing of Valerie Plaime to get at her husband for having the audacity to expose their lies about WMD is treason. Cheney knew and should have been shot. All we get is Scooter Libby in jail for a little while.  The list of those culpable in the Iraq War lies that has cost us trillions, off the books, and much worse thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousand of Iraqi lives is far too long to list. You must start with George W. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, anyone remember Wolfowitz? This is just scratching the surface.


From the other side you say that Obama and the Dems had control of the house, senate and executive branches. True but you left out a very important fact. Not one single Democratic budget bill sent from the house to the senate could get past the senate filibuster. IF Obama had gone after the Darth Vader's of the Iraq War and the financial meltdown do you really think that anything of import could have past that same filibuster? No fuckin way. Like you, my HUGE disappointment is that no one even tried, but still. if they had it would have been an exercise in futility. Especially after the death of Ted Kennedy and the election of Scott Brown even the semblance of a filibuster proof senate went out the door. You can't deny the fact that the Republicans have managed to march "lock step" to stop any major initiative by Obama and the Dems but the Dems are not able to do this. It is the ability of the Dems to represent their constituents that will never allow them to put up as united a front as the Republicans. Indeed it is the "Blue Dogs" that have made the filibuster so effective. The senate is no longer a "democratic" institution. The majority does not rule. You left this major factor out of your argument.
 
I have many other issues I could raise, but this is already a very long piece. let's see if it sparks further conversation. 


Thank you my brother. I love you dearly and can't wait for us to get back on stage together. 


And I also agree Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner just lead the list of those that should be in jail. They aren't and Summers is back to business as usual. the rest of the fuckin crooks are making another fortune on the current mess. I grow angry and redundant.


"Nuff said





40 comments:

  1. I have to put this somewhere. I was just sent the following: "Witnessing the Republicans and the Democrats bicker over the U.S. debt is analogous to watching two drunks argue over a bar bill on the Titanic."

    Ain't that the fuckin truth.

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  2. Oteil, I watched the Frontline program. Sickening and predictable from that group. What I didn't see was a single mention of Bill Clinton being involved in any of the Brooksley Born affair. Ultimately he was responsible, but from what I saw it was the group of Rubin, Summers, Greenspan and the dude from the SEC that sold their bill of goods to congress and brought her down. The only mention I saw of Clinton was his name was on her letter of resignation. Greenspan looked at the end like he was ready to follow his mentor, Ayn Rand, and jump off a building. What is the most outrageous thing about it all is that there still is no real regulation on OTC derivatives. There were regulations passed, but they can't get through congress. Guess who's stopping them?

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  3. It must be wonderful for some just to keep filling their hearts with indignant rage. Righteous indignation. And that's all they will ever do.
    Do nothing further. It is easy. Go on bury yourselves in past glory that earns well amid people who love the cult and keep living in the past (wow, acid, groupies)

    Have you read the New York Times today? "The Curse of Musical Nostalgia". I liked esp. the piece about "selling out" (maybe they had the duaneallman.com website also in mind, the Rowland Archers c.s. (cum suis) of this world).

    You have a platform. Do something. Oh, yeah, of course you will try to save face by retorting something smart. Do something. That the Dems and Reps. are utterly corrupt is no news. Very old news if you want. Never mind. There are people going hungry in this country. Many many. Do something. Instead of bursting out in rage whilst bathing in wealth and perhaps even narcissism.

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  4. I will probably never respond to one of these mean people again on this site but just this once I have to say: Abigail, you have no fucking idea who Butch and I give money to in an effort to help out with homelessness, hunger, AIDS, victims of abuse, etc....

    At least Butch is trying to do something constructive by starting a conversation on this site. There is nothing constructive about your contribution to the conversation, AND, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

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  5. I question myself when I hear a point of view that is right and I agree and then I hear a point of view that is left and I also agree. I suppose I'm undefined in my views. I love what Butch is doing and now that you've weighed in Oteil I love it even more. Being a fan and now listening to both your thoughts is fabulous. Thanks for the dialogue.
    Janine/Long Island NY

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  6. Thank you for the unapologeticcally typically rude and respectless rant. This is how you talk to women in general?
    Very nice how you personally and privately may give charity and sorry for not applauding for that is normal to do. What I meant as you have obviously not wanting to understand or failed to grasp, is that as a band and rather a company which is sold multinationally there may be multiple possibilities to actually undertake lasting programs. Like Starbucks for instance.
    So leave out the garbage language and think before answering. Oh, I am not mean. If you think this is mean you have not grown up in the real world. And we are not on the schoolyard here defending our little friends against some others. There is no bully here against a lone victim, allright? Try to upgrade this to a blog level. As adults without thinking that someone is punching the other. Think. For the sake of being able to make a sound argument. Butch Trucks is not attacked, allright. Have a nice Sunday. (No, this is also not meant hatefully, but in earnest. I do not function on this level of aggression and negative thinking or projection. Tiresome).

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  7. Abigail, I am at a loss. Watch the Frontline program that Oteil posted about a person that was appointed by The President to DO SOMETHING. She was in very special place to do exactly that. Then she made the fatal error of actually doing something, something that may have saved us all from the mess we now find ourselves in. The simple fact that history has shown her to have been 100% correct doesn't seem to make any difference we continue down that same path right now. Any attempt to regulate the crooks that created the OTC derivatives has been totally stymied by the far right, as well as members of Obama's leaders of the economy. History is repeating itself as it usually does. Brooksly Born made the mistake of doing something that was in direct conflict with the true powers directly under the President and, her attempt to DO SOMETHING was completely negated plus, as a bonus, the agency from where she tried to DO SOMETHING was stripped of all of its power. I have been doing something for as long as I have been of age to do so. I have made contributions to our culture that I am very proud to claim. I now find myself in a country that hardly resembles the one in which I and my band mates did these things. I am watching the powerful dismantle, piece by piece, that FDR gave to the powerless. The safety net that FDR knew was needed to avoid revolution by providing at least some sense safety to so many. That was reinforced and strengthened by Eisenhower, JFK and my hero LBJ. Richard Nixon even made some contributions and Ronald Reagan wouldn't even recognize the party he led. England is now what our future is doomed to be. My gut tells me we are in for a much worse go of things. If you have anything other than criticism to offer to this conversation how about offering SOMETHING TO DO. Something that isn't a waste of time, energy and possibly lives. Be damned if I can think of anything at this moment. Some one else has the power, all of it. Nothing short of an up-rising of the population is going to turn this boat around (see England right now). Also how dare you suggest that I ever "sold out." Like Oteil said, you have no idea what you are talking about. When we started in 1969 Atlantic Records, our record company, told us that there was no way that a group from the south could just stand on stage, play music and ever be successful. We told them to go to hell success was not our goal. Making that magic that we had found in the music we were playing was all we were going to do and that is exactly what we did. Maybe this is why we did eventually succeed. Who knows? As I noted in one of my articles, that success eventually destroyed that group. We are now playing with the same attitude that we had until Duane's death. We are playing music because it is very good music. That music makes us and the people that come to hear it feel good and gives them the opportunity to forget about the shit going on around them for a moment. I call that doing something. Can you say you are doing even that much? If so, what? Your suggestion that we are "sell outs" is insulting beyond belief. I have tried to begin a conversation here. It helps to ease the feeling of total powerlessness I have felt for over a decade watching the country I love so much go down the tubes. I await with bated breath your suggestion of something to do that will amount to helping make even a small change for the better. Call this my "something smart" retort. Your turn and it let's try and keep this a conversation. Your veiled insults get no one anywhere. Your overt insults are totally counterproductive.

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  8. And don't even dare and make this a sexist issue. That is a massive red herring and you have to know that. I don't give a shit what gender you are. you could be genderless and my respinse would be the same.

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  9. Abigail: It is quite hard for anyone to take your comments seriously - or to even read through everything you posted - when you cannot spell words correctly and your thoughts run into each other. I think you need to leave the schoolyard and go back into the classroom, recess is over.

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  10. One more thing. You're opening volley was "bury yourselves is Past glory." For your information three weeks ago we hit 201 sellouts in a row at The Beacon Theater. If you think for one minute we are resting on our laurels, then Oteil really nailed it when he said you don't know what the fuck you are talking about. Read Pollstar, it will give you "current" audiences. That word was CURRENT, as in RIGHT NOW. Understand?

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  11. Butch, I love what you and Oteil have to say. It's interesting and I value your thoughts and views. I look forward to your comments and I have learned a lot from them. This is a conversation we're having. Someone, who makes judgements and is offensive and insulting in your house and is not respectful of your views is not welcome here and isn't deserving of a response. This message to Abigail; Not all of us agree on each others views and beliefs and that's ok. After all that's what makes us so great in the USA. We have the right to speak our mind without being persecuted. However, in this venue, you are not adding anything anything constructive to the conversation with the spirit that it was intended. I am respectful of your views but not when they are insightful and hateful. And as a bystander of this rant of yours I am also offended. I respectfully request that you change your tone or go elsewhere with your demeaning words. It is not productive and not wanted in this house. Rock On!!!

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  12. Lighten up Obama is making it an easy choice next year. Thankfuly your are only one vote.

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  13. I did not vote for Obama, even though my entire family ( including my Republican father, retired military ) did. Not only on my FB wall have I expressed my outrage and disappointment in the INability of Congress to put aside special interests and have a conversation (I think you said that Butch) - instead of the constant bickering that got our downgrade by S&P. . . I am also sick to my gut over how Obama, as the Commander In Chief - with as much power as HE Does Have ... FAILED to tell America in his radio address the TRUTH about the financial status of this wonderful country that I love. My entire family is former military, including my entire ex-husbands family ... it is Sickening and a Bloody Disaster that double digit MILLIONS of us are not only UNemployed, Exhausted any benefits we earned, we are Now Considered UNemployable by companies because we have spent 2, 3, 5 years barely making ends meet. I agree with Oteil - he nailed many valid points, as did you Butch ... now, WHEN do we fix Congress ? HL

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  14. wow Butch - just read one response to a poster --- you know, I wonder how we could generate a revolution of the lower and middle class ??? I think it is about time that Congress LISTEN to us.

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  15. Have no fear (or rather be very afraid) the revolution is coming. If, for some reason, the Armed Forces of this country refuse to stand against their fellow Americans we all know why Whitewater and its kind have so much man power and machinery. What is happening all over the western World is on its way, with a vengeance. To the dude that praised the largesse of billionaires, especially the Koch Brothers and ran down George Soros. I think it is very telling that the Koch Brothers have for a very long time remained hidden. It took some extremely good investigative reporting to bring some of their activities to light. George Soros has always been very transparent with his political contributions and activities. Bottom lie is he people on the Koch Brother's level of income have seen their share of the pie go up 300% in the last decade, while the bottom 50% has seen a major decrease in income and worse, loss of jobs. Thanks to initiatives like NAFTA the Brothers Koch, GE, Exxon/Mobile have outsourced millions of American jobs and gotten tax credits for doing so. Please get the facts about what these guys are doing and I don't mean Fox News. Your country is being taken from you. The ones at the very top are taking it. At least enough of them to make this place not a place where you will or can raise your children.

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  16. Butch....
    This is where I come in here...(remember the wire thingy there) I mentioned!!!
    "Have no fear (or rather be very afraid) the ...."
    With all due respect...
    Shut the fuck up and keep the message within the music...talk like that will only get people hurt and killed...and bring the feds and everyone else down on the people...
    We got to show em whos boss but in a wiser way brother!!! Ya know what I mean!!!

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  17. Never mind!!!
    My apologies!!! LOL
    I'll go take my meds now...
    ROTFFLMAO....

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  18. Butch,

    Thanks for letting Oteil share your space.

    Creating a forum for and encouraging public discourse is "doing something" (to say nothing of personal, private actions). Actively giving voice to those with whom you may not agree is an important aspect of this.

    It also is nice to know that other people base their friendships and work associations on things other than politics.

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  19. To be honest, and perhaps this is contrary to what the whole point of this discussion is about, I truly believe there is absolutely nothing that can be done. We are all fucked. Life will go on, but it won't be the life prior generations are accustom to. I wish we could start from scratch...I don't have any solutions or answers as to a better way to do it, but maybe it would be easier to develop a solution when the slate is blank. Only a matter of time before the Earth has had enough of us anyways (not referencing 2012 either). We are oddly similar to a bad rash on the ass of the planet. Now where the fuck is that Gold Bond....

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  22. Damn- back from vacation and I though things were testy a couple of weeks ago. I liked Oteils input-- I think he and I share a bit more common ground compared to Butch and I. Oh- and you can ad Barney Frank to the potential jailbird list. :)

    Touching story re Duane a while back.

    Later-
    Mike

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  23. Sorry everyone....
    Especially you "Butch"...
    That comment about a revolution just struck a major fear chord in me and my head cranked the volume
    I didn't mean to piss all over your blog...
    It's just so freaky and weird whats going on(so many parallels to when I had my breakdown years ago and what the voices used to tell me)right down to the fact of having a black president
    Anyway If I comment in the future I will try and stay on topic again sorry!!!

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  24. Here's an interesting spin & angle on things...

    http://laurensheil.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/the-true-evil-of-our-time/

    Remember the corporate responsibility thingy ???
    Is it dead can it be resurrected?

    CAN WE DO AN EXORCISM ON THE CORPORATE WORLD AND ENVIRONMENT WITH OUT A REVOLT AND BLOOD SHED?
    IF YES HOW CAN WE COMPETE WITH STATE SPONSORED ECONOMIES LIKE CHINA.

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  25. Just curious...
    Did anyone bother watching this video I posted on butches other blog?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI


    Here is an except from it...
    We must go forward cautiously and consolidate each acquired position, because already the inferior social stratum of society (the American voters) is giving unceasing signs of agitation.
    “Let us make use of the courts…. The common people shall have lost their homes, they will be more easy to control and more easy to govern, and they shall not be able to resist the stronghand of the government acting with …the control of the leaders of finance.”
    “[We] must keep the people busy with political antagonisms. “we’ll therefore speed up the question of reform [of tariffs within] the Democratic Party; and we’ll put the spotlight on the question of protection… [for] the Republican Party.
    “By dividing the electorate this way, we’ll be able to have them spend their energies at struggling amongst themselves on questions that for us, have no importance whatsoever.”
    (United States Bankers magazine. 1892 as quoted in the Micheal Journal, Jan. –Feb…2003)

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  26. Here's another excerpt...
    but first do any of you have any Idea who owns and runs the global food corporations? Take a guess!!!
    here is the excerpt...

    "On September 1, 1894, we will not renew our loans under any consideration. On Sept. 1st, we will demand our money. We will foreclose and become mortgagees in possession. “We can take two-thirds of the farms west of thes Mississippi, and thousands of them east of the Mississippi as well, at our own price…
    “Then the farmers will become tenants, as in England…”

    (1891, American Bankers Association, as printed in The Congressional Recoed of April 29, 1913)

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  27. There are three people I would like to address here directly:

    Oteil: I agree with everything you say 100 % , but I think there is something you need to consider. Presidents are never able to acheive everything they set out to (aside from James Polk). Politics is who gets what and how they get it. A President has to make decisions based on what they see as being best for the common good. We are a democracy and everyone deserves to be represented. The right wingers have interests that are just as valid as the lefts, the problem is that it has become way, way out of balance in the right wings favor. That doesn't mean they should be completely shut out of the process completely. It's the same with the right, we have had four pro life Presidents since Roe V. Wade and yet abortion is still available legally. The White House has a very moderating influence on it's inhabitants once they discover they have to lead the whole country as opposed to selling themselves to voters. I also think there are things that Presidents find out about once in there that none of the rest of us know about. The trick is to get the closest you can to what you do want, and I agree Obama has been very underwhelming in that area.
    By the way I used to work with Jerry Ferguson in Falls Church, I'm sure he sends his greetings...

    Abigail: Your comments sound self serving and condescending. If you have been to an Allman Brothers concert and think it's a nostalgia act then you either have no soul, are tone deaf, or haven't actually been to one. I also don't blame Oteil for being irritated at your uninformed statement about whatever charity work they happen to do,as well as your snotty tone.

    The Wired Journal: I can't hold my tongue anymore. I am tired of your spamming this blog. Your rambling text and your links and your quotes are irritating, tiresome, and have added nothing to the conversation except annoyance, and before you say "well don't read them thens then", I can't. They're unavoidable. I have to see them and it's just clutter. Also, I'm tired of people telling Butch to "just talk about the music". He didn't set this up so that he can write about what drumsticks he prefers. If you want music posts then go to "Hittin' The Note"and you can quote the 1913 Congressional Record there. Peace to all.

    Brian

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  28. Brian...
    "Your rambling text and your links and your quotes are irritating, tiresome, and have added nothing to the conversation except annoyance,...and it's just clutter."

    So what are you saying I'm an idiot??? Well please then... indulge me and explain to me exactly how and why my comments/links are just clutter and have no relevance to and add nothing to the conversation....
    Outside of a couple of my little rants...(ya so what I'm a little flaky...Get over it!!! TS)I happen to think the idea of monetary reform was a very relevant contribution to what was discussed...
    Tell me how was that adding nothing???

    Perhaps Maybe its you... who is not adding any thing to the so called conversation to help stimuli and spark thoughts and ideas and feed back...etc pardon me for breathing the same air there Mate!!!

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  29. Abigail I apologize and I'm sorry for being mean. It was unnecessary and unbecoming. I was hurt and returned it in kind. So much for me being a Christian.

    Anonymous I agree with you that presidents never achieve all that they want, but making Geithner the Secretary of treasury after that financial debacle was quite simple unforgivable. And Larry Summers??? Have you really looked into the background of his cabinet?

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  30. Wired Journal: I'm sorry I hurt your feelings but it is very bad etiquette to post multiple comments on a chat blog when you're not being responded to. You have seven posts on this article alone, one of which has a link that you previously posted. That is called spamming and it is considered to be very rude as it chokes out other people's comments. Additionaly, many of these posts just don't seem relevant to the topic at hand, our current situation is very unique to this age, and your publishing quotes that are over a hundered years old. Your compulsion to quote things is to such an extent that you quoted ME from a text that was right above. Additionaly, I can't ever gleen what point you are trying to make whereas I have no difficulty with any of the other commentators. You're entitled to respond to these blog posts and I am also entitled to respond to what you post. It's called an open forum, and I never called you an idiot so please don't take this conversation in that direction. I hope that you take this as positive criticism and again, I'm sorry if this hurt your feelings.

    Brian

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  31. Oteil, Butch, you owe no apologies to anyone for your contributions here and elsewhere. And, you definitely owe no apologies to Abigail, whomever that actually may be.

    My experiences with Oteil have left me with the impression of a very patient, kind, gentle, and decent man. My experiences with Butch are not that much different, although he isn't the most patient individual I have met, but that is by no means unforgivable on his part.

    From somewhere near Gatlinburg Tennessee, hometown for Melinda...

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  32. Way to go Oteil-- while we may not agree on everything- we seems to be right on the same page here -- you've echoed exactly the point I tried to make a week or two ago.

    You said:

    "The liberal notion the the Federal gov’t is supposed to give out money freely is wrong to me because it first depends of the theft of my money by the IRS. I am all for giving liberally individually but not federally. If I am allowed to keep more of my money I can guarantee it will get to the local homeless shelter, food bank, school, etc... when it is stolen from me by the IRS and given to the Federal gov’t it disappears into thin air."

    Dead on right. I lean right, fiscally, and I think like-minded right leaners have done a terrible job of making the point that we *want* to help those in need, and DO help those in need - but we can do it better and more morally as individuals rather than at the point of a corrupt and inefficient federal gun.

    My take on this a few days back:

    "One point I'd ask is this- Who is the better steward of your money? You or Gov't? Does it not bother you that they take so much and squander it? If more of it remained in your control, could you not do a better job of helping others as you see fit? If you (and I) kept more of what you earn, the ABB could do soo much beyond what you do now. I know you guys contribute to charity, and Warren is well known for Habitat for Humanity, etc. (Our office worked on a HfH house this spring, in fact) I just think that we as individuals are better, more efficient, and more ethical when it comes to allocating wealth for the common good than the state. The politics and power corrupts the process too much."

    Hey- and if you see this Oteil- my favorite memory of you was in the New School days of Gov't Mule when you did a few shows with them. I was front and center with my wife at an Atlanta show, the Roxy I think (maybe Tabernacle), and we got a kick out of watching your big toes on your bare feet boppin' along to the music as you played your ass off...

    Thanks man!

    Respectfully-
    Mike

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  33. Thank you for responding, Oteil. As I said before you are absolutely right on all points. Maybe I have just become so cynical and so used to none of my interests being represented by anyone that I'll settle for whatever little scrap of anything the powers that be throw my way. The fact is I don't make alot of money and what I do make goes into my expenses. It bothers me that so many people can speak so casually about taking my social security away or reducing it. It's not an issue of expecting a handout, it's an issue of me living in poverty in my old age and being unable to work. I agree that Obama has been a disappointment but I also knew that we weren't going to get everything he was promising, it just doesn't work that way.

    Brian

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  34. Who gives a fuck about this blog,Butch and Oteil get The Allman Brothers back in the studio!!!!

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  35. I give a fuck about this blog, but I too would love a return to the studio. We've been treated to killer albums by Tedeschi-Trucks, The Warren Haynes Band, and Gregg Allman in the past year or so. It is time for the ABB to make their mark on this decade.

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  36. No way Rowland and Lana Archer or the Duane Allman website should be mentioned in this blog....

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  37. I agree with what Oteil had to say. He summed up my and I am sure many others, thoughts as well. Butch, I think it is be afraid, the revolution is coming. Especially, now that private armies are available.

    by joe

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  38. I have lost faith in the American political system. The Dems and the Repubs aren't interested in serving their constituents. They serve their party. The last few elections, I have voted for a candidate to keep the opposing candidate from getting elected. There's something wrong with that. I support freedom of speech, whether I agree or not. Thanks for having an open forum, Butch, and Oteil, thanks for your opinions, many of which I share. Keep the music alive!

    Dave, a.k.a, BDOB

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  39. Butch-
    You said the following - "From the other side you say that Obama and the Dems had control of the house, senate and executive branches. True but you left out a very important fact. Not one single Democratic budget bill sent from the house to the senate could get past the senate filibuster."

    There's one small problem with this argument. Under Senate rules, budgetary items cannot be filibustered. That is how Obamacare got through the Senate, because the majority [Democrats] deemed it a budgetary item.

    Regards,
    Tony Howard
    Ft Walton Beach, Fl

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