10 Thoughts: Episode 1 of 'The GOP Presidential Candidate Dating Game' (Also Known as The GOP Presidential Primary Debate)

I managed to make through the entire telecast of Fox News' 1st GOP presidential debate featuring the presumptive 'A list' candidates.  In full disclosure, I only watched to satisfy my occasional jones for perverse entertainment and theater of the weird.  Here are the first 10 thoughts that came to mind:

• The candidates' latest idea for outlawing abortion involves invoking the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect the unborn.  The 14th Amendment, however, only applies to, "... persons born [emphasis mine] or naturalized in the United States...".  Don't these dudes read?
• The candidates -- most notably John Kasich -- gave Donald Trump a pass for his irresponsible comments on immigration
• Mike Huckabee and Ben Carson are only in the race for future book deals and speaking fees on the rubber chicken circuit
• Aside from Huckabee, most of the candidates with experience as public executives demonstrated the importance of pragmatism
• You just know someone reminded Marco Rubio not to bring a bottle of water on stage
• Rand Paul is his father with the crazy sanded off.  He desperately wants us to accept him as a 'free thinker', but... he's not.  By contrast, Scott Walker wants everyone to accept him as an friendly idiot.
• Ted Cruz' campaign isn't sincere either.  I think he's betting The Dumpster Fire Known as Donald Trump will die out by winter, so that he can resume picking up checks from soulless, faceless corporations.
• Jeb Bush is a mush-mouthed, equivocating wimp in public.  IMO, it's a calculated decision to cover up the fact he's an asshole.  The equivocating is his way of searching for an answer he thinks will shut everybody up, which is the sign of a clever person.  But let's be clear... being clever is not the same as being smart. 
• Chris Christie is an asshole too.  But he makes no attempt to hide his asshole-ness.  He actually upbraided Paul for defending (?!?) civil liberties
• The candidates are unanimous in their calls to 'repeal and replace' the Affordable Care Act.  However, not one of them has uttered a single word on ideas for what a replacement would look like.

And to think I missed watching 'The Avengers' for the 237th time for this.

Beware: The Phony War on Go Go Music

In metropolitan Washington, D.C., a minor front in the region's ongoing cultural wars is being re-opened as a bass-ackwards reaction to regulations aimed at making public dance halls safer.  Public officials in Prince George's County, Maryland have been stepping up enforcement of an ordinance, CB-18, requiring more rigorous safety, egress, and security standards of public venues that host dancing.  Briefly, CB-18 requires 'public dance hall' [emphasis mine] owners to submit plans demonstrating their venues have adequate emergency exits, sufficient security inside and immediately outside the venue (including the use of security professionals registered with the county), and ample visitor parking with a (now) $1,000 annual license fee.  The law was created in response to the sporadic violence and illicit behavior that's associated with late night crowds, dancing, and alcohol consumption. 

As county officials have grown increasingly aggressive over time enforcing CB-18, it's important to note the law neither bans dance halls nor targets any one genre of music.  Nevertheless, many artists representing the indigenous Go Go milieu are crying 'foul' as various venues are shuttered, or their alcoholic beverage sales licenses suspended and venue owners fined.  Emerging music acts depend on these venues -- mostly 'mom & pop' restaurants and bars -- for earning income from concert performances.  But taken together with fly-by-night event planners/concert promoters and cheapskate restaurant owners, many of Go Go's artists and supporters perpetuate a dysfunctional cycle of superstition, mistrust, cynicism, and general unprofessionalism that alienates fans and undermines the artform's profile.   

Enter felon, race-baiting McActivist, and huckster Ronald Moten.  Moten, a D.C. resident and former CEO of the (now) defunct, scandal-ridden non-profit Peaceoholics, has taken to YouTube with a call to arms aimed at area African-Americans warning of an impending ethnic cleansing, first in Prince George's County and ultimately D.C., by unnamed (assumably 'White') gentrifiers wielding allegedly unjust laws like CB-18.  It's an absurd conspiracy theory considering CB-18 was authored by Af-Am elected officials responding to complaints from mostly Af-Am constituents, vetted through an open, democratic process by a county legislative body made up of mostly Af-Ams, and signed into law by an Af-Am county executive.  Nevertheless, Moten portrays Councilwoman Karen Toles as a hypocrite for defending CB-18 in a recent TV interview after being charged with a traffic violation in 2012, which is like an arsonist calling out the Fire Marshall for puffing on a cigarette at home.  He even has the temerity to justify his outrage as a civil rights issue claiming entertainers are entitled to perform concerts.  Yet not once does Moten address the civil rights of fans attending the dances, or residents who live near the venues to be safe.  Neither does he explain CB-18, the reasons specific events were cancelled, or the fact CB-18 does not prohibit public dance halls or censor Go Go music.

Go Go music's artists, entrepreneurs, and fans would be wise to dismiss the distortions and fearmongering by Moten and others as self-serving rhetoric.  CB-18 represents an opportunity to distance Go Go from the aforementioned negative perceptions.  If we're to organize a movement
educating the public about Washington, D.C.'s music and culture, fan safety at concerts and other public venues has to be a priority.  Besides, creating safe, comfortable environments where people can experience Go Go music is good for business.