Just got back to DE from Seattle

My second trip there in 7 months. Went with a friend who is a Saints fan--to watch the Seahawks pound them. But I enjoyed the Snoqualmie & Twin Falls, the Public Market (Pure Fish, Lowells), Beecher's cheese curds, a quick trip to Bainbridge after the game (where we had some good food at Ba Sa), and took in a Billy Idol and Joan Jett concert at the Climate Pledge Arena. Also took some killer pix from the top of the Columbia Center (which makes the Space Needle look like an amusement park ride). Stayed at the Paramount Hotel and loved it.

I love the light rail from the airport (stops about 2 blocks from the hotel) and the monorail to the concert. Also took the light rail to the Seahawks game.

Seattle is a great city, good transit, great food. People were nice and helpful. Absolutely no complaints.

Concert was a last-minute decision---I had wanted to see the Heavy Heavy b/c I knew they were in town, but it was a cruise concert that sold out. So I looked up who was in town and found Billy Idol. When I found out Joan Jett was with him, it sealed it and I snagged a ticket. It was a great concert!

What I want to know about Charlie Kirk

Is why did Saudi Arabia give Jared Kushner $2 billion?

Born to Run: Allan Clarke

I had no idea that an alternate version of Born to Run was competing for air time with The Boss's back in 1975. It's a fascinating story....Bruce OK'd Clarke using his song.

YouTube Shorts Question

Even though I said I would never do it, I find myself rolling through a bunch of YouTube shorts. Recently, there are a bunch of clips of Vladimir Putin with dramatic music playing and him making dramatic entrances into various events. Then the comments are all about what a great and amazing leader he is. During the campaign, I was getting a bunch of similar nonsense with Trump walking around while "The sound of silence" dramatically played in the background. I can't help but think it is all Russian propaganda.... Why it's getting pumped into my algorithm or whatever is what I am confused about.

The Onion: Watchdog group downgrades US from democracy

The Heavy Heavy: Happiness

I love this band---heard them last year on a college radio station at 5:00 AM (WXPN) and thought it was an oldies that I had never heard before. Turns out it's new-ish and the band has a cool retro sound. I just saw them Wednesday night in Lewes, DE. They were amazing! Got to talk to a couple of them b/c it was such a small venue (a field near the Cape May-Lewes Ferry). But now I've taken a deep dive into their songs--and having a great time!

ChatGPT knows billionaires game the system.....

Saw a Yahoo article that showed what happened when ChatGPT was asked what would happen if billionaires paid their fair share of taxes. Interestingly, they are not out of line in terms of taxes on their incomes. Most of their money, of course, is from investments that they are able to borrow against w/out paying taxes (as opposed to us regular folk who have to pay interest on debts & repay the debts with already-taxed money). They use the free borrowed money to live their opulent lives, then are able to pass it all on to their heirs (who also get extremely favorable tax treatment).

And this led me to a more scholarly article about it:

]https://equitablegrowth.org/closing-the-billionaire-borrowing-loophole-would-strengthen-the-progressivity-of-the-u-s-tax-code/#:~:text=How%20is%20this%20possible?,and%20thus%20triggering%20income%20taxes.

Long story short---billionaires write our laws and live in opulence while everyone else struggles. We could have Medicare for All, tackle climate change, etc. All of our wish-list items could be easily addressed if there were any semblance of fairness.

Billionaires keep winning: Yacht Industry Booming

Springsteen & Vedder: Highway to Hell

We take Care of our Own (The Boss)

Good song for Flag Day (vs. displaying Russian flags). As this song plays, I was thinking of all the No Kings rallies vs. the National Guard vs. Needy Amin's pathetic parade.