Roky Erickson, R.I.P.

Roky Erickson, lead singer and guitarist for the 1960's psychedelic band 13th Floor Elevators, has passed away at the age of 71. A cause of death has not been released.

While psychedelic music is often associated with London and San Francisco, there was also quite a psychedelic scene in Austin, Texas and a teenaged Roky Erickson was at the forefront of it with his group 13th Floor Elevators. Indeed, their 1966 debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators was the first instance in which the term was used to describe a band's sound. The centerpiece of the album was "You're Gonna Miss Me" which showcased Erickson's intense vocals, guitar and harmonica playing. Although it peaked at #55 on the Billboard charts, the song would influence hundreds of bands in decades to come.

The group's success proved short-lived largely due to Erickson's excessive drug use and battles with schizophrenia. It would take nearly four decades, but Erickson's drug use would be curbed and his mental health stabilized to the point where he could live independently. His redemption was documented in the 2005 film You're Gonna Miss Me. The film was well received enough that Erickson resumed recording and performing all over North America and Europe and became a regular at his hometown SXSW Festival. Few among us get a chance at a second act much less have a second act which tops our first. R.I.P.

Charlamagne Tha God Likens Elizabeth Warren to Rachel Dolezal

In recent weeks, Elizabeth Warren has enjoyed a surge in the polls of Democratic presidential aspirants with her calls for impeaching President Trump and proposals for eliminating student debt and instituting a wealth tax.


During those weeks, Warren has managed to avoid her kryptonite - false claims of Native American ancestry.


That is until today.


While appearing on the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, Warren was taken to the woodshed by co-host Charlamagne Da God who told the Massachusetts Senator, "You're kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal."  Ouch!!! Dolezal, of course, is a white woman who passed herself off as black and became the president of a local chapter of the NAACP.


This is the last thing Elizabeth Warren wants to talk about because she has no good answer other than to throw her family under the bus.


Yes, President Trump is a pathological liar. But Elizabeth Warren is a phony and for a lot of voters that is even worse.

Leon Redbone, R.I.P.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Leon Redbone has passed away. He was 69 although his family indicates Redbone was 127.


Redbone wasn't 127, but his music could have been. He certainly looked and sounded like he was from another time. Much of the music he recorded was written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Somehow Redbone, shrouded behind dark glasses, a darker beard and a Panama Hat, found an audience for his interpretation of songs from the Tin Pin Alley and vaudeville era.


My Dad was among those fans. It was through him that I was exposed to Redbone the year our family on spent on sabbatical in Victoria, British Columbia. He had an eight track cassette of Redbone's 1975 debut album On the Track. It's cover had a picture of Michigan J. Frog about to be run over by a locomotive. That alone was worth the price of admission. Dad would play On the Track on our frequent drives up around the city and into the Interior. His voice was the deepest and most nasally I've heard. Needless to say, if you've Leon Redbone's voice once you'll never forget it.


My favorite track from On the Track was the Hoagy Carmichael-Johnny Mercer penned "Lazy Bones". R.I.P.

Bibi Fails To Form Coalition Government; Israelis Head Back to Polls on September 17th

Scarcely seven weeks after winning his fifth mandate, Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself seeking re-election after he failed to meet a deadline to form a coalition government. New Israeli elections are set for September 17th.


Netanyahu was unable to form a coalition government because Avigdor Lieberman, who at various times has served under Bibi as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense, objects to exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory military service. This put Bibi in a no win situation because he required support from small ultra-Orthodox parties to form his coalition.


What puzzles me is why One Israel under the leadership of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid weren't given an opportunity to form a government? Maybe it's just the Canadian in me. Well, perhaps they will be given such an opportunity in the fall. Of course, Lieberman is clearly not a man without ambition.


That being said, it will be nearly four months before the vote. It would be a mistake to underestimate Bibi. It is quite possible he could win his sixth mandate and second in less than six months.


Israel is many things. Boring it is not.

Mueller Resigns, Says DOJ Regulations Prohibited Him From "Charging the President with a Crime"

This morning Robert Mueller called a surprise press conference to announce his resignation as Special Counsel. Mueller also made a brief statement providing an overview of his investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election.




While Mueller said the investigation did not conclude whether President Trump had committed a crime, Department of Justice regulations prohibited him from "charging the President with a crime" noting it "was not an option we could consider." This does not surprise me. To the extent that I wrote and discussed Mueller's investigation I warned people not to get their hopes up as Mueller is a prudent and cautious man. As such he was not about to disregard DOJ edicts against indicting a sitting President.




Nevertheless, Mueller pointedly said, "If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime." This certainly does not exonerate President Trump.


But there is a silver lining within DOJ policy. Mueller stated, "The opinion says that the constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrong doing." This is where Congress comes in.


At this point, however, there doesn't seem to be any appetite in Congress to initiate formal impeachment hearings outside of renegade Republican Justin Amash. Of course, no Senate led by Mitch McConnell will impeach Trump. But this shouldn't preclude House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from initiating impeachment hearings. Even if Trump isn't impeached, hearings could undermine public confidence in Trump and result in his defeat at the ballot box next year.


Robert Mueller has given Congress the blueprint. It is now up to Congress to use that blueprint to build a case against Trump or let the Mueller Report gather dust on the shelf.

Klobuchar Should Respect The McCain Family's Wishes; Don't Use Him As a Prop

Meghan McCain took Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar to task for telling a story the late John McCain told her about Donald Trump's admiration for dictators during Trump's inauguration ceremony in 2017.


McCain tweeted,"On behalf of the entire McCain family - @amyklobuchar please be respectful to all of us and leave my fathers legacy and memory out of presidential politics."


A spokesperson for Klobuchar claims she has "deep respect" for McCain. However, there was no commitment on Klobuchar's part to refrain from sharing other anecdotes from McCain regarding President Trump.


If Klobuchar has any respect for McCain she will abide by the McCain family's wishes and go quiet.


To start with, we don't know if McCain actually said any of this to Klobuchar because he is not here to verify her claim.


But let us assume for argument's sake that McCain conveyed this view of Trump to Klobuchar during the inauguration. I think this view was not intended for public consumption. If it was then I think McCain would have shared this view in public. It is well worth noting that Klobuchar never shared this story publicly while McCain was alive.


Frequent Trump critic George Conway has defended Klobuchar for relaying the story characterizing it as "respectful". Respectfully, this is a matter for McCain's family and only McCain's family to determine.


Let me put it this way. What if McCain had criticized President Obama instead of Donald Trump in Klobuchar's presence and she had decided to share that story. Would Conway or anyone else have criticized Meghan McCain had she objected?


I think we all know the answer to that question.

Lyon Bombing a Reminder Islamist Terrorism Cannot Be Ignored or Wished Away

I suppose last Friday's bombing in Lyon, France isn't a bigger news story because fortunately there were no fatalities.


But it should be a reminder that Islamist terrorism cannot be ignored or wished away. Naturally, the media is hesitant to identify the suspect as Muslim. The Financial Times refers to the suspect as an "Algerian national".  Given that Algeria's population is 98.2% Muslim the chances the suspect is Christian or Jewish or of any other faith is barely over 1%.


More importantly, the suspect was found to have been in possession of explosives which, according tot he FT, "appeared to have contained a small quantity of triacetone triperoxide or TATP, the same explosive used by Islamist terrorists in November 2015."


What this tells me is the Islamists are well organized, well trained and well financed. Simply put, the people of Lyon got off very lucky. The Islamists will try again be it in Lyon, London, Lisbon or Los Angeles. Next time there's a very good chance that fortune won't be smiling.