Friday, September 26, 2008

Something is happening, McJones

Dedicated to John McSenile's presidential debate debut tonight ...

Ballad of a Thin Man by Bob Dylan (6-minutes) ... not a visual vid, so you can listen, read lyrics & marvel at Dylan's descriptions at the same time (have to keep it simple for McCrusty):


You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard but you don't understand
Just what you'll say when you get home,
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
You raise up your head and you ask, "Is this where it is?"
And somebody points to you and says, "It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?" & somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God am I here all alone?"
But something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You hand in your ticket and you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel to be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible!" as he hands you a bone --
And something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You have many contacts among the lumberjacks
To get you facts when someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect
you to just give a check to tax-deductible charity organizations


You've been with the professors and they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read, it's well known ...
But something is happening
here and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you and then he kneels
He crosses himself and then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice he asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back, thanks for the
loan"
And you know something is happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Now you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?" And he says, "How?"
& you say, "What does this mean?" & he screams back, "You're a cow;
Give me some milk or else go home!"
And you know something's happening but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Well, you walk into the room like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket and your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law against you comin' around --
You should be made to wear earphones !
Because something is happening and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

18 comments:

Mariamariacuchita said...

Ah, yes, perfect song, perfect lyrics.
This really takes me back. It was fitting back then and still hits the mark.

eProf2 said...

Unfortunately, Mr. Jones is a metaphor for at least half of the US today. The half that believes McSame and what's her face will be good for the country. It's just amazing to me that BushCo 44 is in a dead heat for the presidency with all of the crap swirling around, wars, economy in the toilet, jobs disappearing, et cetera, and they're still in the running. Something is happening, Mr. and Ms. America and you don't know what it is, do you?

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now, we're all just boomers in or waiting for retirement, including Mr. Zimmerman (Bob Dylan).

Anonymous said...

Ugh! My son & his girlfriend showed up right when the debates started, so we had an impromptu debate party.

McCain's demeanor bothered me. He was smug & laughing. He seemed like he was not looking at Obama, and his incessant eye blinking seemed like he was doing morse code?

He'd give this big cheesy grin at inappropriate times, and he only gives part of the story.

Like soldiers reenlisting for the Iraq war. He gave some number 600 something-- but more than that have gone AWOL, committed suicide, are homeless, injured or are stuck doing 3 & more tours of duty way past their contract end.

We don't have a majority of soldiers clamoring to reenlist.

We are not winning the war that started in 2003.

We are losing over $555 billion on the cost of war ... which apparently McCain does not consider a pork barrel spending item, but has sucked our economy dry.

The only thing I learned that was news to me-- was he threw out a number of what we owe China.
$500 billion

I know we borrow from China to pay for the war (how crazy is that??), but I have never heard a number disclosed.

McCain is out of touch.
His attempt to name names of foreign leaders was a sorry exercise as he struggled to pronounce the name of Iran's president. I halfway expected him to say I just want to take him out because I can't pronounce his name.

Obama should not be announcing to the world his future war plans. Not a good idea to give Al Quida a heads up.
And I did not like the I support Nukes part of Obama's offerings

There is no safe clean nuclear power. It's deadly toxic & it's disturbing for a father of 2 young children saying he is in favor.
That pesky/deadly waste is the problem.

Anyway... I've decided to vote for Obama.

... FRAN

D.K. Raed said...

MariaMaria:
I actually couldn't get the song out of my head yesterday, so I posted it. I used to love humming it around my parents. They were clueless!

EProf:
The polls are frustrating. Dems should be way ahead, but the polls say they're not. I'm ignoring the polls & hope Mr/Mrs Jones will, too (why not, they ignore everything else), so they don't become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Really, with the fixed diebold voting machines & other election tricks, it probably doesn't make much difference what the polls say anyway. Dead heat, my ass, is what I'd like to say if I ever get a pollster call (I never have, not once in 40-yrs of voting, have I EVER been politically polled).

D.K. Raed said...

Fran:
There were many points during the debate when I got frustrated over Obama not taking McCain on on some of the lies he was spewing. I understand the "debate" time constraints, but it seemed like everytime McCain wanted to continue spewing, he was allowed.

I wanted Obama to call out McCain on his assertion that he "loves the troops and will always take care of them". Oh yeah? Well then why vote down vet benefits and not even be present when the torture bill was voted on?

And when McC flung out the canard that Obama will increase taxes for those making 42K? That needs to be debunked once & for all. Obama voted to let the Bush tax cuts SUNSET. Yes Bush included some ridiculous $25/mo tax cut for people making 42K (while reducing a fatcat's taxes by 100's of 1000's) . But that whole Bush tax cut NEEDED to be sunsetted (new word?) in order to allow a brand new tax program to take its place, which is where Obama differs greatly from McCain in what he wants to enact.

And that $5K tax credit for health insurance that McC is pushing? Obama tried but IMO did not succeed in connecting the dots from what McC wants and why it will promote employers to stop including health insurance in their employee benefits. Make McC explain exactly how $5K would cover the insurance premiums for half-way decent coverage for an average family of four. Employers achieve group health care premium discounts. An individual is at a real disadvantage in that shark market. And where is the "pre-existing condition" requirement in McC's plan? without that, believe me, most people will find themselves S.O.L. in the health ins market, or have their choices reduced to a few very high-priced sharks.

And oh yeah, McCain's big "Bailout" idea is to repeal capital gains taxes for 2-yrs? Obama should've brought that up. Mr/Mrs Jones might be able to understand that their taxes will have to increase in order to give the wealthy a free ride like you wouldn't believe. He should've quoted how much of the federal revenue is generated by capital gains taxes & where is that money gonna come from if it just *POOF* disappears down the McCain Tax Rat Hole! That's why McC never mentions the middle class. WE are his Tax Cash Cow!

OK, there were many other points where I was silently screaming at the TV, but you get the idea. Like the difference between "pork barrel" and "earmarks" which McCain very well knows, but chose to conflate & Obama didn't correct him.

And all the way through, McCain kept hitting the dangerous & inexperienced button! I'm tired of that fear card, and besides, he lost the ability to play it when he named Palin to perk up his repub zombie-women support.

And oh hell, just give McCain his due that he's been everywhere & met everyone in the world -- that still doesn't make his foreign policy plans palatable.

All in all, I thought Obama did well, McCain did better than I thought he would, and the next debates will further illuminate the chasm between these two (regardless of how many times Obama said McC is right about an item, he needs to then hit hard why the all the other items just spewed by McC are wrong or bad).

Jeez, sorry to go off like that. I think I need to eat some breakfast now.

Fran said...

test

I've been polled, and often it can be 20 minutes plus. The questions are not written in a neutral way, and often I burst out laughing at the twisted way the questions are written.

I was polled about the Oregon Senator race, recently--
a question like this:

Do you support Merkley's idea to get out of Iraq now,
or do you favor Gordon Smiths plan to assess the situation, put National Security and safety first, and make sure terrorists do not repeat 9-11?

I'm serious-- they pose questions in such a way .
Total bullshit.

Be glad you are not polled, or you might want to reach out & throttle someone.

DivaJood said...

McCain walks into a room with his pencil in his hand
He sees himself naked and he says "Who is that man?"
He tries so hard but he doesn't understand
how he's become George Bush when he got home
Because something has happened here and nobody knows what it is.
Do we, Mister Jones?

Fran said...

dk wrote: And oh hell, just give McCain his due that he's been everywhere & met everyone in the world -- that still doesn't make his foreign policy plans palatable.


Even so, he can;t pronounce those names for the life of him- which makes him look bad.

I did think Obama was too polite.

I hate the the moderator does not have the ability to control the time & prattling on--McCain was allowed to make extra remarks.
Either get a game show like buzzer sound thing that indicates time is ove a loud EEEEEEEEEEEEEE
noise, or cut the microphone feed.

Your time is up.... respect the rules.

I too found his "love the troops" this is mine to handle remarks disturbing-- I was asking really? will you be give up several of your homes & cars to those in need?

And frankly, allowing our country to torture and break Geneva conventions put our troops at higher risk. Other countries can then say, we will make our own interpretations of Geneva conventions too.
Next thing you know, beheadings are allowed.

You hit all the important points on the health care front..... lack of group discount, pre existing conditions, and probably deregulation so it will be predatory- and no constraints on the pharmaceutical industry.

I can only imagine, but don't want to know what a nightmare it would be.

Obama did go off on what McCain did wrong, and threw in the Spain jab.

that was good.
We need more of that.

D.K. Raed said...

Diva:
Hah, excellent! You are channeling your inner Zimmerman! But (gag) the thought of little naked McCain is almost too much to bear ...

Fran:
I've never been polled about a candidate, but I did get phone polled in '06 about some school voucher proposal on our state ballot. They took forever with leading questions (like do you believe children are entitled to highest quality education available) to finally get the meat question. I stayed on just so I could answer yes to everything and then a big NO to the final question about the voucher proposal. Fun!

Now about a debate buzzer idea ... excellent! If they ignore it, they get the hook (like old vaudeville acts)! Or a giant boot appears & kicks them in the ass.

I realize I'm sounding like debating should be a blood sport, but I really don't feel that way. I loved Obama's genuine cool calm demeanor as opposed to McC's phoney calm zombie voice. Jeez, that voice makes me think he's internally raging & just barely able to keep himself calm. Careful -- he could blow at any minute! Who wants a guy like that at the helm?

I did like the Spain jab Obama threw, but I wish he had put it in context for Mr/Ms Jones. Ah but that would've probably put him over the time limit & he at least was cognizant of those limits. McC acted like he could just keep running off at the mouth forever!

Utah Savage said...

You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

D.K. Raed said...

UT Savage:
That's why Maggie comes on fleet foot ... (and) ... says that many say they must bust in early May!

Cartledge said...

Full points for the song choice DK

Mauigirl said...

Yes, great song, most appropriate.

McCain blinks when he's lying. So he blinks a lot.

D.K. Raed said...

Hey Cart, good to see ya! You know there's usually a Dylan for every purpose.

MauiGirl, yeah, with a 'tell' like that, he must be a poor poker player. When he wasn't blinking, he was squinting.

***** BTW, ever since DivaJood commented above that McCain might be the 'naked' man in this song, I just know I'm gonna have a nightmare tonight.

enigma4ever said...

okay.....the Song is excellent...I wish diva had not gone to the naked scene.....gag me....

But the song is excellent...perfect......

and yeah...to hear that McCain is a BIG Gambler...gee- he has NO Poker face- so that is a problem...

Scary Scary man....worse than Bush...NO Judgement...NONE...

D.K. Raed said...

Enigma:
did you ever think you'd be able to say "worsethanbush"? McC is a nightmare. The gambling addiction is part of a personality type. Risk taker - thrill seeker - devil may care - the kind of a prez who would treat the whole country like a giant craps table. How fitting, since bush already took a giant crap on the country.

Frank Partisan said...

It was funny that Dylan played no part in the antiwar movement against the war in Vietnam. He turned down all invitations.

D.K. Raed said...

Yeah, but Mr. Eye, most of his songs of that era were his contribution. Masters of War alone could be the national anthem. But you're right, he never even accompanied his close friends like Joan Baez to speak at protests. You might recall whenever Joanie would show up at a protest, there were rumors that Dylan was in the crowd incognito. I doubt he could've really ever gone anywhere incognito.