As of April 10, what has ostensibly been my "main" site, Barney Quick, Musician & Writer will cease to exist.
I just looked at the monthly Yahoo Small Business charge on the latest American Express statement and then asked myself if I was getting that much value from having the site up there.
For one thing, the last few times I tried to go in and tweak things, or even update my gig calendar, there was some kind of hose-up, and when I'm presented with hose-ups, I'm generally on the express train to Damn-It Land. Figuring stuff out is not my strong suit. And in the past few years I've developed blood pressure issues, so the gates of Damn-It Land is not a good place for me to go.
But for some time I've also thought about the way I want to brand myself.
The site is hardly slick; it's pretty bare-bones, in fact. And the music clips are not necessarily the best music I've recorded. The writing samples linked on the page for that are old and woefully unrepresentative of the breadth of what I now crank out all the time since that's become my day job.
Then there's the matter of the fine line that anybody who is simultaneously a "creative type" and a conservative must walk when presenting themselves to the world.
I love music so much, but I am utterly uninterested in the nature of what is left of "the music industry." I have accounts with a few of those "build-your-fan-base / get-your-music-heard-by-big-time-players-and-entertainment-producers"-type sites but it's been ages since I attempted to get anything going with any of them. (Even writing about music is something I no longer seek out. There's a photographer who is making a bit of a name for himself taking concert pictures. I did a little work for him a while back - interviewed an up-and-coming band in our area - and now he's all the time texting me, seeing if I can go hear so-and-so with him, get in free with a press pass. I'm always relieved when I check my calendar and find I've scheduled some previous activity. Two recent shows were Bob Dylan and the Avett Brothers. I hope he enjoyed himself and got some good shots.)
Am I jaded? Perhaps so. Another good reason for taking a deep breath and considering this matter in its largest context.
In the meantime, I have no problem blogging my tail off here, so this will be my main presence. And, like all human beings in 2013, I'm on Facebook and Twitter.
When I ask myself, "What is important for me to do?", the answer I keep coming back to is "Whatever you can to help save Western civilization." So, for right now, it's full-tilt LITD, baby.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The perspective of a few days
While I still agree with those who frame Rand Paul's filibuster as genuinely pivotal, it is well and proper that the tempering views of others whose concern for national security I deeply respect get an airing.
Bill Kristol at the Weekly Standard points out that it should give all of us pause that Code Pink applauded what Senator Paul did. Methinks he focuses so much on the official reason for Paul's move, and its ramifications for cross-ideology interest, that he loses sight of its sheer energy.
Andrew McCarthy at NRO quotes Hamilton's Federalist 23 in order to reinforce his point that no one in any age can know the full scope of possible threats to our exceptional and precious democratic republic.
He then, in his own words, fleshes this out. Right now, we are engaged in a protracted conflict with jihadism, and seem to have the resources we need to fight it effectively. But the nature of the struggle could morph, or be joined by other struggles, and then we would really need to parse the Constitution for just what it does - or doesn't specify in the way of executive power:
There's no denying that this is a singularly noteworthy moment. The filibuster's energizing effect beyond the scope of its ostensible purpose must be taken into account, by anyone interested in seeing the real present dynamic at work in the political landscape.
That said, at some point Senator Rand Paul is going to be asked how much daylight there is between his own worldview and that of his Rockwellian father, and he'd better have an answer that satisfies the broad spectrum of conservatives.
Bill Kristol at the Weekly Standard points out that it should give all of us pause that Code Pink applauded what Senator Paul did. Methinks he focuses so much on the official reason for Paul's move, and its ramifications for cross-ideology interest, that he loses sight of its sheer energy.
Andrew McCarthy at NRO quotes Hamilton's Federalist 23 in order to reinforce his point that no one in any age can know the full scope of possible threats to our exceptional and precious democratic republic.
He then, in his own words, fleshes this out. Right now, we are engaged in a protracted conflict with jihadism, and seem to have the resources we need to fight it effectively. But the nature of the struggle could morph, or be joined by other struggles, and then we would really need to parse the Constitution for just what it does - or doesn't specify in the way of executive power:
In the ongoing conflict, the enemy does not have fortifications inside our territory that would enable its operatives to keep the police at bay. As long as we catch them in time, our enemies can be safely taken into custody. And if we catch them on the precipice of deadly action, ordinary law-enforcement principles allow for the use of lethal force to stop them.But that may not always be the case. We could have enemies with much greater capabilities, enemies including traitorous Americans. The fact that we do not appear to need lethal military force in the homeland in this conflict does not mean we will never need it.So leave the Constitution alone. The Constitution does not tell us what should or must be done in a particular situation. It tells us the outer limits of what is legitimate in all threat situations. To shackle our power to meet a threat, as Hamilton explained, is to put us in peril.The goal, according to Senator Paul, is to shackle the president. That is done by trimming his sails in the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), not by trimming his constitutional power.
There's no denying that this is a singularly noteworthy moment. The filibuster's energizing effect beyond the scope of its ostensible purpose must be taken into account, by anyone interested in seeing the real present dynamic at work in the political landscape.
That said, at some point Senator Rand Paul is going to be asked how much daylight there is between his own worldview and that of his Rockwellian father, and he'd better have an answer that satisfies the broad spectrum of conservatives.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Melvin Rhyne, RIP
Really sad to hear about this development. Great jazz organist. He was in Wes Montgomery's trio from 1959 to 1964, appearing on two albums from Wes's Riverside period. During that time he made his recording debut under his own name on Riverside. Over the years also did session work with blues artists such as T-Bone Walker and B.B. King.
Re-emerged in the 1990s on the European label Criss Cross. He was regularly gigging in Indianapolis clubs until quite recently.
The way our paths crossed: his quintet played at one of my book signings for my novel High C at the Sunset Terrace. I called him some months in advance to book the date. Over the course of our phone conversations and then, in person on the day of the event, at a now-defunct wine bar in Bloomington, Indiana, I discovered his crusty, somewhat offbeat sense of humor. I remember at the end of the event, he grabbed the microphone and went into a somewhat lengthy soliloquy about the importance of being happy.
With each of these passings, an era in American culture recedes into an ever mistier past.
Re-emerged in the 1990s on the European label Criss Cross. He was regularly gigging in Indianapolis clubs until quite recently.
The way our paths crossed: his quintet played at one of my book signings for my novel High C at the Sunset Terrace. I called him some months in advance to book the date. Over the course of our phone conversations and then, in person on the day of the event, at a now-defunct wine bar in Bloomington, Indiana, I discovered his crusty, somewhat offbeat sense of humor. I remember at the end of the event, he grabbed the microphone and went into a somewhat lengthy soliloquy about the importance of being happy.
With each of these passings, an era in American culture recedes into an ever mistier past.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
State Department to honor Jew-hater Samira Ibrahim with its Courage award
It doesn't take much digging to find out what this supposed champion of women's rights is really all about.
Interpretations regarding what it meant will be myriad, but it's pretty well established that it was historic
I think the list of four things Rand Paul's filibuster accomplished that is offered by Thomas Lifson at The American Thinker distills its significance pretty well.
The point is not, as the dismissive remarks of Graham and McCain suggested, whether a drone strike on an American citizen, without due process, is very likely or even remotely likely. It's about being very clear, as we must be in all matters of policy and governmental action, on what kind of authority the Constitution bestows on whom.
And, in the climate developing this week, as the sequester does not cause mass societal chaos, Rand's stand has made the Most Equal Comrade squirm. It brought the invincibility of the Freedom-Hater regime into question. It showed us an alternative to despair. The overlords and their Reasonable Gentleman sycophants do not like it one bit that we actually exercise this thing called our liberty.
The point is not, as the dismissive remarks of Graham and McCain suggested, whether a drone strike on an American citizen, without due process, is very likely or even remotely likely. It's about being very clear, as we must be in all matters of policy and governmental action, on what kind of authority the Constitution bestows on whom.
And, in the climate developing this week, as the sequester does not cause mass societal chaos, Rand's stand has made the Most Equal Comrade squirm. It brought the invincibility of the Freedom-Hater regime into question. It showed us an alternative to despair. The overlords and their Reasonable Gentleman sycophants do not like it one bit that we actually exercise this thing called our liberty.
We definitely want to know why they came out of there upbeat
Apparently the Pub Senators who dined with the Most Equal Comrade - while Rand Paul was back at Capitol Hill showing us all what real principle looks like - are "optimistic" about a big deficit reduction deal.
Of course, I wan't there, but I don't see it. We all know that the MEC's primary objectives are redistribution and destroying the Republican party. He's not going to agree to anything that doesn't tax the American people more (the "balanced approach"). So unless these guys saw him have a road-to-Damascus experience before their very eyes, there was nothing to be energized about.
Of course, I wan't there, but I don't see it. We all know that the MEC's primary objectives are redistribution and destroying the Republican party. He's not going to agree to anything that doesn't tax the American people more (the "balanced approach"). So unless these guys saw him have a road-to-Damascus experience before their very eyes, there was nothing to be energized about.
It may go very badly indeed
The other day, when I put up the "Very Full In-Box" post, I did so with some degree of queasiness.
It's all too easy, after twenty-plus years of Western concern- but little substantive action - about the threats posed by North Korea and Iran, to be numbed by the announcement of new developments. But they are real and gaining momentum. (See today's story about NK using the term "pre-emptive strike.")
If you want a bracing dose of just how late in the day it really is, check out this column by Dr. Peter Vincent Pry at Arutz Sheva. An EMP attack is an immediate, not a remote, possibility.
It's all too easy, after twenty-plus years of Western concern- but little substantive action - about the threats posed by North Korea and Iran, to be numbed by the announcement of new developments. But they are real and gaining momentum. (See today's story about NK using the term "pre-emptive strike.")
If you want a bracing dose of just how late in the day it really is, check out this column by Dr. Peter Vincent Pry at Arutz Sheva. An EMP attack is an immediate, not a remote, possibility.
Compare and contrast . . .
. . . the way the Heritage Foundation's Hans A. von Spakovsky frames the debate about Section 5 pre clearance in the Shelby County v. Holder debate case currently before the Supreme Court, and the way Linda Greenhouse frames it on the New York Times op-ed page.
Greenhouse is perfectly happy that "later Supreme Court interpretation [of the limitations placed on the power of the federal Congress] were understood to apply to the states as well."
von Spakovsky reminds us that the congressional districts with the greatest disparity between white and black voters where whites are the majority are found in states like Massachusetts and Washington, whereas the opposite maximum disparity is found in - Mississippi. In other words, we've come a long way from the set of circumstances of 1965, when the Voting Rights Act became law.
The central issue here is whether race should be a factor in establishing congressional districts. The other main issue, pretty much equally crucial, is whether states should retain the power to take a look around at their own demographic situations and perform any tweaking of perceived unequal opportunities on their own, or whether that should fall under the federal purview.
Then there's the glaring cultural question: Is the American South of 2013 a repository of bigotry and social ossification, as the snoots and pointy-heads would have us believe?
Or are individual people and families just moving around the country according to their own priorities, settling in particular locales because they like the climate or the economic opportunities or whatever?
In other words, it gets harder for the FHers to guilt-trip America as factors having nothing to do with unsavory attitudes account for societal discrepancies of a racial nature.
People are just going where they want to go, doing what they want to do, whoever they are. You know, like Americans.
Greenhouse is perfectly happy that "later Supreme Court interpretation [of the limitations placed on the power of the federal Congress] were understood to apply to the states as well."
von Spakovsky reminds us that the congressional districts with the greatest disparity between white and black voters where whites are the majority are found in states like Massachusetts and Washington, whereas the opposite maximum disparity is found in - Mississippi. In other words, we've come a long way from the set of circumstances of 1965, when the Voting Rights Act became law.
The central issue here is whether race should be a factor in establishing congressional districts. The other main issue, pretty much equally crucial, is whether states should retain the power to take a look around at their own demographic situations and perform any tweaking of perceived unequal opportunities on their own, or whether that should fall under the federal purview.
Then there's the glaring cultural question: Is the American South of 2013 a repository of bigotry and social ossification, as the snoots and pointy-heads would have us believe?
Or are individual people and families just moving around the country according to their own priorities, settling in particular locales because they like the climate or the economic opportunities or whatever?
In other words, it gets harder for the FHers to guilt-trip America as factors having nothing to do with unsavory attitudes account for societal discrepancies of a racial nature.
People are just going where they want to go, doing what they want to do, whoever they are. You know, like Americans.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
This is how Pubs are supposed to react to the Most Equal Comrade's nominees for high office
Rand Paul stages a good old-fashioned Mr. Smith-style filibuster on the John Brennan nomination for CIA chief.
A very full in-box for the world's geostrategic problem-solvers
I may post about Hugo Chavez later, but, after all, he's dead, so his regime is in at least some degree of flux.
Right this moment, two other problem states have placed themselves back on the front burner among the civilized world's concerns:
North Korea announces that it declares the 1953 armistice null and void and will cut the direct communication line used at the village of Panmunjom. And threatens to "counter [perceived Western aggression] with diversified nuclear precision strike means of Korean style."
And even Secretary Global Test must now acknowledge that Iran is hair-raisingly close to getting a nuke.
Right this moment, two other problem states have placed themselves back on the front burner among the civilized world's concerns:
North Korea announces that it declares the 1953 armistice null and void and will cut the direct communication line used at the village of Panmunjom. And threatens to "counter [perceived Western aggression] with diversified nuclear precision strike means of Korean style."
And even Secretary Global Test must now acknowledge that Iran is hair-raisingly close to getting a nuke.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Don't let your kids anywhere near government schools - today's edition
Actor Joseph C Phillips has a fifteen-year-old son who saved up his money and bought a BB gun. He took a photo of it with his digital camera and showed it to some friends at school. That got him in a heap of trouble, and his parents weren't even notified.
A seven-year-old who, in the interpretation of a teacher monitoring, with a great deal of scrutiny, apparently, the breakfast-munching activities of her charges, bit his pastry into the shape of a gun, was suspended.
The first incident occurred in LA; the latter in Maryland. Coast-to-coast totalitarianism.
Parents of post-America, get your kids out of these sewers. And teach them how to use guns.
UPDATE: Check out the decree that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has issued to that state's schools regarding gender "expression" and gender "conformity."
No guns. No girls. No boys. Just neutered cattle blankly staring ahead as they're corralled into the pen.
A seven-year-old who, in the interpretation of a teacher monitoring, with a great deal of scrutiny, apparently, the breakfast-munching activities of her charges, bit his pastry into the shape of a gun, was suspended.
The first incident occurred in LA; the latter in Maryland. Coast-to-coast totalitarianism.
Parents of post-America, get your kids out of these sewers. And teach them how to use guns.
UPDATE: Check out the decree that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has issued to that state's schools regarding gender "expression" and gender "conformity."
No guns. No girls. No boys. Just neutered cattle blankly staring ahead as they're corralled into the pen.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
How long are we going to keep up this "partner-in-good-faith" charade with China?
Per today's New York Times, an Iranian ship seized in Yemeni waters was carrying highly sophisticated Chinese-made heat-seeking missiles to jihadists in the Middle East.
We expect that regime to help us with Iran, or North Korea, or intellectual-property theft from our own companies right there in their own stinkin' country?
We expect that regime to help us with Iran, or North Korea, or intellectual-property theft from our own companies right there in their own stinkin' country?
The kind of courage required for this
This has not been a good winter. Sure, I'm current with my bills, my in-basket stays full of magazine work, music work and teaching work, and my family and friends are the delight they've always been.
But you know what I mean. The bleakness besetting Western civilization has gained a grim momentum. It's present on very front, from economics to world-stage threats to the arts to human sexuality. Then there is the mockery of the emboldened Left, whose "who-cares-what-you-losers-have-to-say" taunts and dismissals in comment threads and chats and face-to-face encounters does not in fact ring hollow. The question of who indeed does care is front and center among our concerns.
So I'm never far from giving up these days.
That's why Dana Loesch's remembrance of Andrew Breitbart on the first anniversary of his death was like manna to me. It was a swat upside the head. She was saying to the likes of me, "You stand for things that are good, right and true, and you're not alone. Do not quit standing for them."
Ive added emphasis to what I feel is the key line of this excerpt:
The perfect moment for returning to first principles:
The God of the Holy Bible is the author not only of the visible universe, but of moral law.
The free market is the only real economic system. All others fail.
Males and females are fundamentally different and any talk of "equality" between them must take into account their particular characteristics.
The most commonly held notion of what a family is - a man, a woman, and any children they conceive or adopt - is the best social unit in human history for learning virtue and wisdom.
The United States of America, being the peak distillation of the best qualities of Western civilization, is far and away the most righteous and essential nation-level political entity in the history of the world.
Evil exists and must be confronted.
There. Re-stating that has definitely had a re-charging effect.
Yes, I'm sad that some of my friendships, some going back over fifty years, are probably irreparably frayed. Yes, I'm discouraged that certain career paths aren't open to me because of my unwillingness to keep quiet. Yes, the task before us is Herculean in scope.
So be it. There's one more fact that is more important than any of those considerations: I will not live in a world where the opposite of what I stand for prevails.
But you know what I mean. The bleakness besetting Western civilization has gained a grim momentum. It's present on very front, from economics to world-stage threats to the arts to human sexuality. Then there is the mockery of the emboldened Left, whose "who-cares-what-you-losers-have-to-say" taunts and dismissals in comment threads and chats and face-to-face encounters does not in fact ring hollow. The question of who indeed does care is front and center among our concerns.
So I'm never far from giving up these days.
That's why Dana Loesch's remembrance of Andrew Breitbart on the first anniversary of his death was like manna to me. It was a swat upside the head. She was saying to the likes of me, "You stand for things that are good, right and true, and you're not alone. Do not quit standing for them."
Ive added emphasis to what I feel is the key line of this excerpt:
Be there for each other. If you agree on 80% but disagree on 20%, fine. Whatever. Stick together to accomplish that 80 and when you’ve accomplished that then fight over the rest. Don’t give up on each other. Don’t throw each other to the wolves as a substitute for the bravery required to stand and fight. You don’t have to love one another, but you do have to work together. Promote each other. Recommend one another. Support the up and coming generation. Others must take over when you can no longer fight this multi-generational struggle, so encourage them for your own sake and for the sake of your children. Don’t leave the next generation defenseless because you couldn’t sacrifice your ego. Maintaining a strong community means no one has to alone carry the burden of “rodeo clown.” More voices, not less. Andrew understood this like few others. No one has to fear repercussions for speaking up, speaking out, speaking loudly.Bracing stuff, no? What a way to start a Sunday morning and a week.
The perfect moment for returning to first principles:
The God of the Holy Bible is the author not only of the visible universe, but of moral law.
The free market is the only real economic system. All others fail.
Males and females are fundamentally different and any talk of "equality" between them must take into account their particular characteristics.
The most commonly held notion of what a family is - a man, a woman, and any children they conceive or adopt - is the best social unit in human history for learning virtue and wisdom.
The United States of America, being the peak distillation of the best qualities of Western civilization, is far and away the most righteous and essential nation-level political entity in the history of the world.
Evil exists and must be confronted.
There. Re-stating that has definitely had a re-charging effect.
Yes, I'm sad that some of my friendships, some going back over fifty years, are probably irreparably frayed. Yes, I'm discouraged that certain career paths aren't open to me because of my unwillingness to keep quiet. Yes, the task before us is Herculean in scope.
So be it. There's one more fact that is more important than any of those considerations: I will not live in a world where the opposite of what I stand for prevails.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
This is what the rhetoric from a Senate Republican should sound like
John Hinderaker at Power Line reprints Jeff Sessions's entire floor speech imploring his colleagues to reject Jack Lew for Treasury Secretary.
Of course, Lew was confirmed, but this speech is now in the eternal record book.
Of course, Lew was confirmed, but this speech is now in the eternal record book.
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