Our newest piece (below) premiered at Comfest in June. Here’s why we play it. I got tired of hearing about how to stop violence and the dire danger of gay and books and color and blame the teachers and how bad or lazy or self-absorbed this or that generation is and and and. I got tired of sactimoniass religionists and criminalistic demagogues telling us what we can do with bed, bath, and body while themselves behaving in egregiously horrific ways that would put the rest of us in jail. I got especially tired that they don’t understand the behavior they model. So I wrote this poem about it and the band put music to it. The music’s a nice medium shuffle. We’ll have a recording up eventually, but in the meantime – come hear it at Hot Times, Friday, September 9, 6:45 pm, Main and Parsons.
On Moral Decay in America: Role Models and Lack of Consequences
Trump lies on his income tax.
Why shouldn’t I?
Big Insurance robs the old and infirm.
Why shouldn’t I?
Big Oil pollutes the earth.
Why shouldn’t I?
Billionaires don’t pay taxes.
Why should I?
Big Pharma rips off Medicaid.
Why shouldn’t I?
Big Tobacco peddles addiction.
Why shouldn’t I?
Developers destroy neighborhoods.
Why shouldn’t I?
Fox News divides for profit.
Why shouldn’t I?
Every fortune in America was built on exploitation. And usually also theft, murder, deception, discrimination, destruction, genocide, pollution, and sometimes rape and plunder. Which are all really exploitations. With impunity. Americans respect the rich. We emulate their fashions and tastes and behaviors. We want their stuff, but even more we want their impunity. We all want to live with impunity.
Roger, tell us some lies… (bass solo)
Jim Jordan ignores subpoenas and sex abuse.
Why shouldn’t I?
Mitch McConnell perseverates and obstructs.
Why shouldn’t I?
Nixon broke entered burgled (accessory) and covered up.
Why shouldn’t I?
Householder bribed and took bribes.
Why shouldn’t I?
Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh lie under oath.
Why shouldn’t I?
Clarence Thomas commits ethics violations.
Why shouldn’t I?
Josh Hawley takes guns to airports.
Why shouldn’t I?
Trump lies cheats rapes bullies molests threatens betrays steals and so on…
Why shouldn’t I?
Republicans are coming for your books. It starts in the schools. Then they move quickly to the libraries. Ideas scare them more than bullets. In fact, they want more bullets to protect them from ideas. They think the 2nd is more important than the 1st. Their religion than your rights. After they empty the libraries, they’ll knock on your door. After they empty your bookshelves, they’ll go through your medicine chest. Republicans are coming for your birth control, even your condoms. Republicans are coming for your ideas. And they’ll do anything, no matter how dirty and lowdown, to kill your books and ideas. These people are leaders of the United States.
Brett, tell us more pretty lies… (guitar solo)
Texas school books distort and defile history.
Why shouldn’t I?
The Republican Party oppresses women.
Why shouldn’t I?
The radical Christian right grooms children.
Why shouldn’t I?
Southern Baptists rape – and cover it up.
Why shouldn’t I?
Priests sexually abuse children.
Why shouldn’t I?
Hoover spied blackmailed assassinated.
Why shouldn’t I?
Bill Cosby has his way.
Why shouldn’t I?
Police murder Black men.
Why shouldn’t I?
Self-righteous hypocrites tell us how to live.
Pillars of the community.
They do what they want and fuck everybody else.
Why shouldn’t I?
