We Shall Never Be Beatless

There is no record of Walt Disney saying anything about the Beatles. A Hard Day’s Night was released on August 12, 1964 and Disney’s Mary Poppins arrived on August 27.

I was eight when the Beatles arrived in America, and fourteen when Paul made the breakup official. Six short years, but in those years I went from being a little kid in the third grade to being an adolescent in the ninth grade.

“All of you youngsters out there,” as Ed Sullivan would say, may not even be aware of the Beatles, let alone appreciate their significance. But having lived through it and grown up with it, the effect and influence of THE BEATLES cannot be overstated.

“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, ‘The Beatles did’.” – Kurt Vonnegut, 1997

A Bloomin’ Onion

This has gotta make Alex Jones’ eyes sting and water up.

https://news.yahoo.com/onion-says-bought-alex-jones-142338329.html

Satirical publication The Onion said it has bought Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction for an undisclosed price, with the backing of the Connecticut families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and one first responder.

Republicans are so worried about the books that kids might read, but where’s the concern they could be shot to death in class? I won’t live long enough to see Gen Z reach middle age. How many from the generation of school shooting kids will fight to restrict access to guns? How many will follow the example of Trump, who has made it okay to bully and lie your way through life?

My 2008 Obsession

Michael Lewis is featured in this old 60 Minutes piece about The Big Short. Lewis should be undergoing a self-imposed writer’s rehab for not immediately being suspicious of Sam Bankman-Fried.

Have I used that video before? Doesn’t matter, because the Financial Crisis of 2008 is always worth another visit, especially now that anti-regulatory Republicans have once again seized power. Maybe Trump will pardon fellow felon SBF and put him in charge of the Fed.

What Goes Up Must come Down

In 1993, Clinton inherited a recession from Bush Sr. Eight years later, he left office with a budget surplus. In 2009, Obama inherited the Great Recession from Bush Jr. Eight years later, he left office with a solid economy. Four years ago, Biden inherited Trump’s Covid recession. He’s now handing Trump the economy that’s “the envy of the world.”

https://www.economist.com/special-report/2024-10-19

In four years, will Trump continue what has become a Republican presidential tradition, of leaving office with the economy in a mess (assuming he’s willing to leave office)? Liberal economist Paul Krugman weighs in with his concerns about Trump’s economic policies. Krugman is usually good about admitting when his predictions turn out wrong.