Battles Ragin’
Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are a-Changin’ came out in 1964. It was the title of the album as well as a kick-ass protest song. It reached #20 on the Billboard chart and went gold. The single did not chart in the USA but went to #9 in the UK. It has been covered by a host of artists. Even I play it occasionally on guitar. It includes a line as pertinent today as it was back then: “… The battle outside ragin’/Will soon shake your windows/And rattle your walls…” Are we experiencing the healthy arguments of democracy or heading toward civil war? I hope that’s just a preposterous fear on my part, but the daily confrontations are so strident.
Yesterday I used excerpts from an op-ed piece by Andy Ngo about hoaxes on college campuses. On Saturday he was covering a demonstration in Portland where Anitfa in black clothing and masks were railing against several right-wing protesters. Ngo was attacked by them, his camera stolen. Apparently they have a lot to hide. I suppose the mainstream media believes it was justified, as Ngo is an occasional guest on Fox News.
Nike has halted distribution of sneakers emblazoned with the Betsy Ross American flag. Former NFL QB Colin Kaepernick says they are a slave-era emblem adopted by racist groups. I’m more perturbed by what the company charges for certain pairs of its shoes.
And at the southern border AOC is haranguing guards and excoriating President Trump for keeping people in the cages that the Obama administration put in place.
And in the battle of pro sports: NY Knicks’ management has been misfiring for a long time and fans are vocal in their displeasure. The latest rants have to do with the Brooklyn Nets beating them to free agent Kevin Durant. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team’s brass isn’t secretly thrilled. The history of players who have suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon is bleak.
And in the battle to promote/sell books, there wasn’t much advancement today. My thanks to Michael, who bought yet another paperback bodice ripper romance, and to the gentleman who purchased How to Think Like a Cat by Stéphane Garnier, and to Marina, who selected two books in Russian; and to the woman who donated three; and to the home attendant of the braniac brothers, who dispatched her with four weighty works of non-fiction.
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