Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for June 29, 2014

Should’ve saved and invested your money.-The real Fretman Sam was Jay Gordon, a real life songwriter and producer who appeared in Doonesbury strips in 1977.

The best things in life are free. So you have to wonder about all the whiners that complain about the rich.

Advertizing!

Check out Pearls Before Swine today. Same theme. http://www.gocomics.com/comic/explore/1534577/1#.U6-5P29OW00

There’s a good chance he’s a superstar outside the US and could make a lot of money if he knew about it. There are a number of struggling musicians who have no idea what wealth they have waiting for them in other countries.

Interesting point, rpmurray. Some of the best things in life may be free or relatively inexpensive. It’s the impact of the wealth and/or pursuit of such wealth which some find objectionable.

Of course, even under the old system, many musicians lived out of their cars.Most musicians barely made a living.

???

Bruce Springsteen has said he was broke until he made Born in the USA – he had a bunch of hits before that but the record company scooped up all that money. It’s a very common story in the 60s and 70s.

Musicians today can still make money from touring, as in the old days, and they also have a tremendous new source of income – TV commercials and shows. The ones really taking in the shorts are the music companies — boo hoo.

@MIHorn@rpmurrayYeah, I like to “whine” about rich corporations that have First Amendments rights but can’t put be in jail.

I thought fretman Sam was jimmy thudpucker with middle age spread.

Congress has lately been listening to artists about this subject. I don’t know all the details, but I guess they are looking at legislation. That could account for the topic being common to PBS. Here’s one:http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rosanne-cash-to-testify-before-congress-20140624

MOre concerts, less music jimmy.

Zanz can’t dance, right? Oh, yeah, Zanz sued and it became Vanz can’t dance.

@Gokie5I did look it up, thank you. I believe it was some judge in the late 1800s who ruled about Corps. having 1st Amend. rights. He probably had much to gain from that ruling.

Ya know, most Americans don’t know why Teddy Roosevelt’s face is on Mt. Rushmore. It’s not because of his charge up Kettle Hill at San Juan Heights; it’s not because he earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905 for negotiating a truce between Japan and Russia; it’s not because he was environmentalist. The reason is, in the confusing words of the resources, antitrust legislation, which he helped to enact. I didn’t know what “antitrust” meant and I’ll guess that most don’t either. In simpler words, he broke up the big companies, specifically the northern railroads. (His successor, Wm. H. Taft, broke up American Tobacco and Standard Oil.) Seems to me if the GOP wanted to have a chance at winning, they would emulate TR and propose antitrust legislation and concern for the environment. But that likely won’t happen because their wealthy buddies won’t get as wealthy. Corps. are merging and getting bigger.

Jimmy, it may be time to sell the stamp collection.

Yes, the idea of a body corporate being a separate legal person is a general common law approach (although according to Wikipedia it builds on Roman Law principles: I never took Roman Law so have no idea), and as far as I know it holds in all common law countries without needing a statutory basis.

I hadn’t realised you had extended constitutional rights to corporate persons. Although Europe now has many similar principles to your constitutional rights, at least as interpreted by SCOTUS, in its law , they come specifically from a convention on human rights, so don’t apply to companies. It also means that simply establishing the “personhood” of great apes would not give them rights to autonomy in Europe in the way that is being argued in the US.

Earlier in Jim’s career, he also brought in a studio guitarist named Wah Wah Watson, who had begun charging by the note because “people were takin’ advantage.” He bore some resemblance to Duane Allman. (Who also never lived above a blue-collar income in his own lifetime, though the band did better financially after the album “Brothers and Sisters.”

If enough is given away free, money is not needed to live. Food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, internet — of course..It isn’t, yet, but might be..If it were, with the basics covered, all would be free to follow their dreams — or sit in their shelter and do nothing, their choice.

If a group of people wish to gather for a political purpose, the First Amendment protects their right to do so. If they wish to speak in favor or opposition regarding their cause, the First still has that right protected whether the majority likes their message or not..This allows political parties to organize and push for their goals whether we like them or not.Their members have final say and may split if their opinions change or the group gets into areas they don’t favor..Other groups are free to speak in opposition. IF enough join in, they may win, if not, they may not..The First Amendment also guarantees their right to speak, without being able to say, “You have talked long enough, now you must be silent.” or “You aren’t allowed to talk about THAT because we don’t like it and you can’t do it unless you give us an account of your total words.”.These groups may consist of men, women, Communists, muslims, doctors, lawyers, workers, homeless, science fiction fans, civil rights groups, teachers, jndustrialists, stockholders of a given company, musicians and other artists, animal lovers, bacon lovers, …. It isn’t up to US to decide or else THEY will decide for us. That way lies tyranny..Please consider carefully because sometimes people come to power you would not like to have power over your words and other freedoms.

It maybe a little bit late, but they released an album of ‘Jimmy Thudpucker’s Greatest Hits’ , a parody of pop music styles, which included this song. I have it on vinyl. It included ‘I Do Believe’ (Dylan protest parody), ‘Stop in the Middle of Your Life’ (Is this the man who came of age with youthful rage at My Lai), and the disco song ‘You Can’t Fight It’ (ain’t you hip to my double knit white leisure suit, all the lean ladies call me dacron daddy). HA!

@Richard BerlinThanks for the correction.

JeffkinsI’m pretty sure it was never tried — especially centuries-worth of attempts to give free internet. Most such partial attempts were means related. Those without jobs would qualify; those with jobs did not qualify. .The danger of that system is obvious. It encouraged those receiving the benefits to remain jobless or single or with small children. It was like a fish trap: easy to swim in, hard to swim out even though the opening was right there in plain sight..Now imagine all basic needs were produced by automation, unaffected by disincentives. Oh, the food might come from chlorella tanks, the rooms might be ten by ten and underground, the clothes might be undyed hemp fiber of a single style, the medical care might be via telemedicine, at least at first. It should be enough to meet basic needs at least such that those who wanted more might have to work for more, but none need fear dying homeless, hungry, naked. It would not trap them by putting them out if they did a little extra..As mechanization improved, the basic allowances might be improved — or not, depending on what the people decided..The current system is definitely flawed. My wife helps people obtain health care who can’t find it through other means. A lady came to her with looming problems. She has depended on government aid all of her life but her youngest child is about to turn 18 and her disqualification will kick her out of the aid. She said, “I’m fifty years old Miz Green; how’m I gonna have another baby?”.One wonders how many children she had over the years to stay in the fish trap. How much more did it cost to support her and them than it would have to support just her? ?Back when my beloved was teaching she saw several women encourage their daughters to have children before they turned 18 so the benefits would keep coming. We need to tear up the fish trap.

I guess the bottom did fall out of the ringtone market.

Does anyone remember when Jimmy Thudpucker sang in, “We are the world?”