History

Musically debatable

Posted on by backuphill

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The music industry is rather strange when it comes to censorship, or self-censorship.

One country group, Lady Antebellum, has decided that it’s name needs to be changed because of the offense it may cause. So they have now officially decided to go by Lady A instead their original name.

OK, I get it. That is their right and they are certainly being sensitive to the times and their fans (or potential fans). For them, it makes sense and I certainly won’t stop listening to them when they come on the radio because they decided to change their name.

The interesting thing about the music industry is that they seem to have a double standard when it comes to language. Musicians are now using explicit language in their music a lot more often than they used to.

It’s a strange trend, really, with the rise of streaming services and ways to get music delivered to you without having to purchase something the entire general public might listen to.

Regular old radio broadcasts never had such language or it was “bleeped” out. CDs eventually had the “explicit” label on the cover so people knew what they were buying. Streaming services today even let you filter your music so that you don’t have to play explicit songs on the stations you are listening to. All perfect examples of ways to make sure the public gets the music they want without having to listen to things they don’t want.

WHAT I DON’T GET

What I don’t get is how the music industry continues to allow artists to publish and distribute music with the N-WORD in it.

How is this still a thing if there is such a debate about the use of the word?

If nearly everyone finds it offensive and people are being publicly tarred and feathered on social media if they have ever uttered the word at some point in their past, then how are current artists still allowed to use it?

Certain genres even seem to thrive on the use of the N-WORD.

I’m not talking about artists from last decade or several decades ago (though they still seem to use it also). I am talking about current household names, modern, up-to-date, people who in certain settings object to the use of the word and then turn around and use it in their own music. Double standard much?

Why aren’t music studios taking a stand on this? Why aren’t streaming services taking a stand on this? Why aren’t artists calling out other artists for the use of the N-WORD? Why does the music industry continue to perpetuate the use of the word by continuing to allow it? Is it offensive or not?

Don’t even get into the whole “freedom of expression” or “artist’s voice” arguments. We all know of instances where freedom of expression has been suppressed and publicly shamed for a myriad of circumstances, so that doesn’t really apply. Right? Or is there a double standard in the music industry?

This is a subject I guess I’ll never understand.

 

 

Redefined #1

Posted on by backuphill

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It’s interesting how those who don’t like something are always trying to redefine it. If it doesn’t fit your agenda, redefine it so it will by turning the meaning around so it fits your message.

Here is current examples I’ve seen recently:

Looting

The definition we all understand and have used in the past is NOT a tough one to remember. It is basically stealing or taking something that isn’t yours by force. If you need a reminder of what the definition is you can look at Dictionary.com (here) and Mirriam-Webster.com (here).

My guess is that you really don’t need a reminder.

Bernie Sanders and his Socialist friends are trying to create a class war (this is a Communist tactic) by specifically trying to redefine the word during the present crisis. Maybe you have seen some of this flying around social media.

The looting of America has been going on for over 40 years – and the culprits are the ultra-rich.  ~ Bernie Sanders

American billionaires got $434 billion richer during pandemic. (widely reported by news media)

So, people who spent their lives building a business and positioning themselves in a place to prosper are going to be faulted for consumers going to their place of business to buy supplies?

Example: Amazon (I mean, because it is so obvious). It was literally set up so that you could order anything, any time, from anywhere, and have it delivered to your doorstep. It was set up to make it as convenient for you as possible. And you love it.

So consumers were forced, or they willingly complied, to stay home and order things online. This is exactly why the business was created or has adapted to the changing retail landscape. They didn’t do anything wrong and is perfectly acceptable for them to do. That would make them pioneers and visionaries in retail, right? As such, it’s perfect for those who have had the foresight to establish, or adjust, a business that has this capability.

Why then would you fault Jeff Bezos or any other person for making money during the pandemic? This is what a business is for. To make money. By ordering online. As far as I can tell, he wasn’t price gauging people for the goods he was selling. Prices didn’t suddenly and ridiculously increase because of the situation. He wasn’t taking advantage of the situation. He literally continued to do what he set up his business to do.

Sure, there were probably some 3rd party sellers who may have taken advantage of the platform and increased prices. Sure, that will always happen. That isn’t new to any crisis. But was it a systemic, company wide policy/effort to defraud the population? No. Amazon and others worked to correct the issue as it was discovered and reported.

Look, I think it is clear that the work of a political party is trying engender bitterness, anger, and dissatisfaction with people who make money in legitimate ways. They are trying to pit the poor, and even the middle class, against those who are rich. For them, they can’t gain ground politically any other way so redefining words and making the word to encompass a broader meaning means that they stimulate mistrust and hatred.

This word being redefined is nonsensical. Let’s keep it a crime and not turn it into something it isn’t.

 

 

Fraud

Posted on by backuphill

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Confirmation.

Only it isn’t the kind our state needed or wanted. Yet, we now know without a doubt that the governor and the health department had an alternative agenda. Revelations like this have a pretty serious implication on the state’s economy, but literally on lives of people who never had the virus, won’t ever have the virus, but are struggling with the isolation or unemployment.

Not only is our state the victim of a massive fraud in unemployment claims, but the governor seems unwilling or unable to deal with it. Instead, he cancels his usual briefing and sends an underling to take the heat. Leadership, eh?

Now, we have confirmation on how the governor’s agenda has played out. Many people, in states all over the US, have suspected for a long time that deaths in their states were being reported as “covid deaths” even though the person died of other causes. Pad the numbers. Make it look worse than it is. Justify lockdowns and killing jobs/the economy by making a totally survivable illness more dangerous than it is. Inflate the numbers for an agenda.

Are you people paying attention to what is going on in your state? Your country? Are you taking the government at its word or are you just hunkered down in fear, waiting for when they tell you “it is safe to come out”?

Conspiracy? No. But there are definitely some who are taking advantage of you while you are living in fear and being distracted by infectious chaos. Do you still believe that all who are in government are looking out for your best interest? If you do, no matter what side of the aisle you are one, then you’re naive at best…but I fear that maybe, if you are one of those who takes everything the government and media tells you without skepticism and cynicism, that you are something worse than naive.

And that is something to fear.

 

 

 

 

Free?

Posted on by backuphill

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“…O’re the land of the free and home of the brave.”

That’s the last line of the national anthem. You know, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The one that apparently some find offensive, but that’s a topic for another day.

Anyway, I think we have seen rather clearly that “home of the brave” is not really the country we live in any longer. That is likely a subjective statement. I mean, there are lots of brave people out there still, but there seems to be far more people who would rather not rise to a challenge and would rather make things easy and comfortable.

With that ease, comes the previous line.

“Land of the free.”

That line refers to the rights and freedoms we have as citizens of the United States. Freedom from government control and abuse. That is something to be celebrated and protected.

BUT, the land of the free apparently has taken on a different meaning to an astoundingly large group of people (yes, Dems, I am looking at you…).

Now, it seems, land of the free means giving stuff away to those who don’t deserve it. Moreover, giving it away to people who aren’t even citizens of the country. We have already seen in California that the governor & legislature wants to give away $75 million in stimulus money to illegal immigrants in the state, not to mention health services and education and other benefits they already have been giving away. Lawsuits over this giveaway are in the process, but in the meantime those who don’t deserve taxpayer money are getting it for free.

Washington now wants to follow the same path, only Seattle wants $100 million. Not only does the state turn a blind eye to those who are here illegally, but now it wants to reward them too.

It makes no sense.

There are lots of things that I am willing to pay taxes for, even with the fact that there is a huge amount of waste and inefficiency in government. But what I am not willing to do is to pay taxes to give to people who aren’t supposed to be here in the first place. I wouldn’t go to another country and expect that I get a handout, regardless of whether I am working or not. I’ll earn my money, thanks. I certainly wouldn’t expect to get money after breaking the law to get there and stay there. How does that make sense?

Government should be small and responsive. When it isn’t, there is a problem. There’s been a problem here for a long time and the prospects for it getting worse are frightening.

 

Red line

Posted on by backuphill

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Remember the “red line”?

You know, the one about Syria. Where a former President said that if the government of that country took certain actions then that would cross a red line and then action against said government would be taken in a direct and forceful manner? I know you can recall it. Remember how the red line kept moving? How conditions were met, but the red line just kept getting farther away and the requirements kept changing?

Let me submit for your consideration another red line instance.

A red line that keeps moving but for different reasons. This time, it can be seen at some national department levels, but mostly at the state & county & even the city level with certain government officials and this whole pandemic thing.

Remember how we were told the pandemic was coming and there was a red line that couldn’t be crossed or we would be in big trouble?

You know, “flatten the curve” and all that jazz? Let’s “stay home, stay safe” so we can keep our hospitals from being overrun with the sick? So there wasn’t a major lack of supplies and all?

Well, it seems the curve has been flattened and we never actually got to the red line, but for some reason the red line keeps getting pushed farther and farther out.

The first message was, “We need to do this to keep people safe and to keep the healthcare system from being overwhelmed.” Red line 1.

Okay. This is unknown, and temporary, so sure why not? We can do this so we can get more info.

Then the message was, “OK, this seems to be working, so let’s do it for just a little bit longer so testing can catch up.” Red line 2.

Seems reasonable, but this might actually not be needed. I am a reasonable adult and can make smart choices and be cautious without being told what I can’t and can’t do.

Now the message is, “We’re going to extend the ‘stay home, stay safe’ order because it worked and there isn’t a vaccine or a cure yet and we think everyone should continue to be isolated while we pick the winners and losers in the economy. Schools, businesses, and public areas may or may not open based on a plan that will take weeks, if not months, maybe years, to implement. Please heed the warnings of forecasts that are about as good as weather reports and trust us that we’re doing this because we know best.”

Red line 3.

So, we are being forced to obey the will of the government, by force in some cases, Constitution and rights be damned. Um, is the government working FOR us or AGAINST us here?

I get the red line. The first one was necessary. The second, questionable. But the third? Not so much.

There are few things more irritating than changing expectations or goals that can’t be met because the goal line keeps changing.

As citizens, I think it is time to step up and let the government know, again, who draws the lines and what we are willing and not willing to do, and when we are willing to do it.

 

 

Stepping back

Posted on by backuphill

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So, there was a pissing match and I didn’t want any part of it.

Turns out that the extra effort to prove me wrong wasn’t just about proving me wrong but to vindicate herself to another teammate too. As a result, a pissing match and tension.

I just decided to step back and not play along.

You can do your thing and the other can do their thing…but tell me what I m supposed to do to help clients when the info wasn’t readily available nor was it clear that there was much more involved than simply running a report on the data.

The problem with pissing matches is that everyone gets burned.

Weird play on words, but it’s true.

Have you stepped into something recently only to realize you best step back rather than get into the middle of it?

Listen

Posted on by backuphill

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It really sucks to see stuff happen to people.

But then again, there’s a reason the phrase “I told you so” often comes up in conversations after the fact. So, maybe it doesn’t suck. Dare I say it’s deserved?

It’s weird, isn’t it? How someone may (or may not have) ask for advice and you give it, and they ignore it. Then, almost as predictable as a fat kid near cake, what you predicted would happen happens and the only thing you can do is shake your head and bit your tongue as you think, “I told you so.”

When you ask someone with more life experience and they give you advice I would recommend you listen. Don’t just ask because you think it is the right thing to do or because you are looking for confirmation on the answer you want to hear. And if you don’t hear the answer you are looking for, certainly don’t go charging into the *insert problem/issue/dilemma/etc. here* without some serious other considerations. Ask more people. Sleep on it. Consider other options. Change course and see if something else will happen or something better comes about.

I hate being right.

No, actually, I don’t. I like being right.

Call me a jerk, if you want. But deep down, I know you like it too. And, secretly, we all like to be vindicated when we give advice and someone ignores it.

Are we bad people? No.

Should we celebrate in it? No. But we can secretly break our own arms patting ourselves on the back…go ahead and do it.

Feels nice, right?

At least that is better than sitting in public, pointing, and laughing. Of course, there may be a place for that too. But that’s a topic for another day.

Slaves

Posted on by backuphill

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We’re all slaves.

Slaves to something. Whether it be an addiction or ideology or habit or whatever, there is something that controls us to some degree. It is inevitable.

Guaranteed you’re a slave to money. So am I.

We all need it to one degree or another. Some of us need it less and some of us need it more but, any way you look at it, we all still need it. We don’t live in a hunter-gatherer society any longer so we obviously live beyond just a subsistence level (those were simpler days, weren’t they?).

So, I was thinking about the fact that we are all slaves today.

Through this whole pandemic thing, I have had to keep asking myself about whom I am willing to be a slave to. I need money, that isn’t an option. Because of that, I have really been questioning which is more important, my job or the government? Essentially, I am asking which am I willing to be a slave to.

Would I rather be a slave to big business or to big government?

Some might argue that they are pretty similar, really, but let’s not get into the weeds of the debate here. Would I rather be at the mercy of big business where, for the most part, there is innovation and some freedom to decide where I want to work OR would I rather be at the mercy of an all powerful government where I have to rely on them for most everything and not question them and there is little to no innovation or freedom of choice?

Business or government? Freedom or oppression?

Now, I am a historian and I know the history. I know big business can be a lot like a government in my ways.

There is always going to be abuse, but at least with business there is always the chance for the little guy to break away and try to make it on his own. Start something new if he doesn’t like the big business or has an idea that could possibly innovate an industry.

But with a government, in most cases, I can’t just pick up and move to a different government if I don’t like it (like I can with a job). Know what I mean? In most cases I am going to be subject to the current government and there isn’t a way for me to break away and say, “Hey, I have a better idea, let’s do it this way!” Thus going about establishing a new government I see fit for me and those who agree with me.

That option doesn’t exist under a government like it does with a business.

Anyway, all this to say, have we let the government(s) go too far with this whole lockdown thing? Which response, meaning what level of government, was appropriate – federal, state, county, city? Whom has abused their powers? The powers WE gave them and that WE may possibly need to fight back to get again?

I feel like I am rambling now. I was hoping to keep this as a short, salient point, but I fear the more I explain it the more confusing it gets.

So, who or what are you willing to be a slave to?

Got away

Posted on by backuphill

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I’m late.

Sorry.

The day got away from me. I started working on a project for work and just lost track of time. I supposed that means I won’t Piss and Moan about anything…

Or maybe I will!

Life sucking, or money sucking, family members.

There. How do you feel about that?

There are members of families all over the world that seem to be the parasite, a leech, a blight upon the family. The neediness doesn’t stop and when some people in the family try to stop it, others of the family continue to enable it.

It might be the individual’s fault, or maybe just bad luck (or no luck at all), or maybe they are just the victim of circumstances, doesn’t really matter because they still seem to need something all the time. Want. Need. Whatever. Hand’s always out, looking for something.

“Help.” “Can you lend a hand?” “I was wondering…?” The approach may be different and sometimes it’s even a little veiled to make it look like they aren’t asking for help, but in reality they are. It’s always the same, but different.

Tiring. That’s what it is.