They keep volunteering to be fleeced

I finished the book Theater Kid, a Broadway Memoir by Jeffrey Seller. He’s famous for being the producer of Tony winners Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and Hamilton. He also brought other shows to the stage. Yes, he was a theater kid from an early age. He was born in the suburbs north of Detroit, adopted into a Jewish family, and grew up in a poor part of the suburb Oak Park. His father had been in a motorcycle accident and wasn’t a good provider. His mother worked at a drug store. His goal was to get out of Oak Park. He first got involved in a play at his temple. Then it was community theater, when there were parts for boys, and school theater. Then off to University of Michigan with summers directing kids at an arts camp. He got a job at a booking agency in New York, a company that books touring shows into theaters across the country. He did community theater at night. That’s when he realized he was not very good at directing and much better at producing. With a colleague they formed a production company focusing on musicals. One of their early efforts was Rent. In college he realized he was gay and had a steady boyfriend who was also into theater and also moved to NYC. It didn’t last. Through his experiences with Rent we learn what a producer does. This was at a time when there were few musicals on Broadway and those weren’t all that good. It seems the old formulas for musicals had run out of ideas and the older producers didn’t have any interest in new ideas. So he had a wide open field to find and develop the talents of the next generation of storytellers that brought a different kind of music and told stories of a different kind of people than previous Broadway musicals. Rent was definitely both of those. He, as a producer, recognizes, nurtures, and guides the shaping of a worthwhile story. He was blown away by Jonathan Larson’s one-man show that became Tick, Tick, Boom... (which eventually became a pretty good movie). So when Larson had ideas for his next show Seller was ready to help, as in providing feedback and signing up for workshops so others could provide feedback. The show that appeared on Broadway was at least the fourth version. He raises funding and manages the money. He determines what kind of theater is appropriate and books it. He figures out how many people will want to see the show, which determines the size of the theater. And when the show is ready for Broadway he books that theater too. In New York that means meeting with the big theater companies. He assembles the talent. That includes the director and perhaps actors to play important roles. He gets the designers and teams for the sets, costumes, lighting, and advertising (though Seller learned 90% of ticket sales are people telling friends a show is worth seeing). He hires the musicians. He makes sure everyone is paid. He arranges for the cast album and, when appropriate, the movie rights. I found the story to be fascinating and enjoyable. If you are someone who delights in theater and wants to know how it works this is a worthy story. However, I do have a quibble or two with the book. Seller says a lot about that first boyfriend and their relationship and then talks about years without a lover. But he says very little about the man who became his partner and helped him raise two kids, and we hear very little about them too. He says a great deal about the development of Rent, which is good, but he says a lot less about the other three shows that got him Tony awards. That was somewhat annoying because two of them are by the now-famous Lin-Manuel Miranda (and famous long before this book came out last year). Kos of Daily Kos wrote the nasty guy proclaimed himself to be the “crypto president.” Back in October of 2024, before his election, Bitcoin was at $60K. It rose from there to $120 last October. It is now back at $60K. The crypto industry was delighted the nasty guy took the Oval Office, thinking he would give them everything they want and there would be a crypto golden age. They did get a lot – friendly regulators, government backing, a proposed strategic reserve, direct access to the White House, even legitimacy. It just didn’t make anyone rich – except him. He made out quite well. I’ve heard the nasty guy didn’t make his money from buying and holding the various crypto currencies. He made it through the deals surrounding the buying and selling the currencies or through branding. The coins could fluctuate or lose money and he still raked it in. Kos’ conclusion discussing the crypto bros:

They mistook a salesman for a true believer. He didn’t see a financial revolution. He saw marks for a new grift. If you judge the crypto industry’s bet by political access, it has been a spectacular success. But if you judge it by investment returns, it’s more of a disaster. And if you judge it by who is actually getting rich, there may never have been a better investment than becoming the crypto president.

Kos also wrote about the people who bought the nasty guy’s meme coins. The nasty guy made $2.3 billion off crypto, according to Reuters. That money came from his supporters. One might think that his income and their losses would enrage them. But the people Reuters interviewed think he’s such a wonderful businessman he’ll still change their losses into profits. Then Kos looked at the fine print of nasty guy’s crypto business and the various meme coins. They all say similar things: Buyers should not expect to make a profit. The coin has no real value. The coins are an expression of support for the ideals of the coin and are not intended to be an investment opportunity. You may experience substantial losses. They’re not pretending to have value. And still people bought. And still they voted for him.

No matter how much evidence people are given of Trump’s corruption, incompetence, or failed ventures, millions convince themselves that this time will be different. It never is. The remarkable thing isn’t that Trump keeps finding new ways to profit from his supporters. It’s that they keep volunteering to be fleeced.

To mark Independence Day Alix Breeden of Kos listed 11 times (only 11?) that the nasty guy and his cronies were unpatriotic. We could probably expand the list. I won’t list all 11. He cut care for veterans. He demonized immigrants. He pardoned those who attacked the Capitol. He is erasing history. He tried to get rid of birthright citizenship. He is making the America military partisan. Two weeks ago an Associated Press article posted on Kos reported a federal judge halted the nasty guy’s executive order to create a federal voter list which would be used to limit who could receive a mail ballot. The reason is the president has no role in national elections. Oliver Willis of Kos reported the nasty guy and his minions released its report attacking the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on Sunday.

The report, titled “Saving America’s Story,” claims that the widely celebrated museum has been the subject of “ideological capture” and says the institution is guilty of erasing “our heritage.”

This looks like one of those places where an accusation is actually a confession. Willis noted the report uses language long used by white supremacists. Examples are “heritage” to mean white culture and “degeneracy” for non white culture. Willis summed it up quite well:

Trump wants history rewritten to excuse abuses by white supremacy.

In today’s pundit roundup for Kos Greg Dworkin quoted Dana DuBois of Blue Amp Media:

They call us hysterical. They always have. The word itself tells you everything. Hysterical comes from the Greek hystera — uterus. The ancient diagnosis for women who wouldn’t calm down, who felt too much, who saw things men didn’t want to see. The language they invented to dismiss us was named after the organ they wanted to control. This isn’t a coincidence. This is a blueprint. Women said Roe was going to fall. We were called hysterical. It fell. No one apologized. Women said the voting rights protections were fragile. We were called hysterical. The SAVE Act passed in the House and barely died in the Senate — for now. No one apologized. Women said birth control was next. We were called hysterical. The quiet legislative pressure on contraception access has been building for three years. No one’s apologized for that either. The pattern isn’t incidental. The pattern is the point. The consistent thread running through it all? The United States hates women.

Drew Sheneman posted a cartoon on Kos. One guy wears a MAGA hat, has a shirt that says, “Corporations are people,” and has a sign showing “Mamdani” with a line through it. The other guy has a shirt that says, “In DOGE we trust,” and has a sign that says, “Billionaires know best.” The first guy says, “I know I’m supposed to hate Democratic Socialism, but I don’t know why.” Mike Luckovich posted a cartoon on Kos commenting on the recent Supreme Court decision that allows corporations or at least their PACs to work more closely (I think share more money with) political campaigns. The cartoon shows a house labeled “US Elections.” In front the Supreme Court is posting a sign, “For Sale to Highest Bidder.” And here comes a rich guy with a bag of cash. Anastasia Tsioulcas of NPR reported on the premier of Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln” by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival. The symphony includes a singer and has a text of Lincoln’s own words. The symphony was supposed to be premiered a month ago by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. But when the nasty guy added his name to the side of the building Glass withdrew it, saying the current values of the Center were in direct conflict with the message of the symphony. I’m not a big fan of Glass’ music. But since he has now written 15 symphonies I, as a lover of classical music, thought I should listen to them. So I found his first symphony on YouTube and listened while working. It was boring. One was enough. My dislike for his music does not stop me from praising Glass for standing up for principles.

He thrives in the chaos and constant distractions

I’m in the strange situation of enjoying a book but recognizing it will likely have limited appeal. I finished the book On Minimalism by Kerry O’Brien and William Robin. Minimalism is a musical style that originated in the 1950s by La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It’s major characteristic is frequent repetition of small musical ideas. When one isn’t bored the effect can be hypnotic, so it is also called trance music. The 400 pages of the book (plus listening list, notes, bibliography, and index) covers music associated with minimalism (a term all the composers hated, but we’re stuck with it now) from the earliest pieces in the late 50s to wide acceptance in the 1970s to what is happening today (as of 2021). The movement pulled in ideas from jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and Indian ragas. It influenced Donna Summers and disco. The fathers of the movement are all still alive (I think) and are in their late 80s. Back about the turn of the century when I started my master of music program the first class I had to take was how to do research into music. Of course, a term paper was required, practice for writing papers for music history and theory classes. I wanted to start my paper by saying “I love the music of John Adams. I hate the music of Steve Reich.” The professor said that’s much too provocative. I settled on something like, “I play CDs of John Adams’ music frequently. The music of Steve Reich rarely gets a second hearing.” The paper then explored the differences in their music which might lead me to like one and not the other. I will not go into that here. Composer John Adams is about a decade younger than Reich and Glass. He took many features of minimalism, combining them with more traditional aspects of Western music. If you want to explore this style of music I suggest: Steve Reich: Drumming and Music for 18 Musicians, also Different Trains (it has a backstory). Philip Glass: Music in Twelve Parts. Terry Riley: In C (be sure to read up on how this one is constructed). John Adams: Harmonium, then Harmonielehre, and Hoodoo Zephyr. There are also works by Arvo Pärt to enjoy. If you’re into it both Glass and Adams have written operas. While reading this book I listened to a couple of Reich’s pieces. One of them was Six Marimbas. While listening I though this is rather nice, why did I hate it decades ago? After listening to the second piece I was reluctant to play a third, and went to another composer. Then in this book I read an unfavorable critique of Reich and realized my term paper all those years ago was correct. When I listened to it recently I enjoyed it because I was also doing something else. Just listening to it is boring. Alix Breeden of Daily Kos reported that the nasty guy has been talking about a third term, even as he barely begins his second. Breeden discussed how he might beat the two term limit: Repeal the 22nd Amendment, the source of that two term limit. But a repeal needs 38 states, requiring some blue states, which isn’t going to happen. Run as vice president and after the election the guy elected president steps aside. But the Constitution says if you aren’t qualified to be president, you aren’t qualified to be VP. Simply run again and rely in the Supreme Court that gave him broad immunity. Repeat the 2020 post-election and not leave. Commenters note his age and physical condition and the high possibility he won’t live to the end of this term, or if he does will be too senile to run. iWalkthetalk added another possible way for him to attempt to stay in office. That is to create a national emergency – bird flu, invading another country, a financial collapse, whatever – with the assumption that he mobilizes all of American defense and declares the end of the rule of law for the duration of the everlasting emergency. Oliver Willis of Kos reported:

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is being accused of manipulating Google search results to give the impression that the Trump administration’s immigration raids are more effective than they truly are.

Those manipulations are based on getting old (as in perhaps more than a decade old) news article of a raid to come to the top of a search. Sometimes that includes giving an old article a new “update” date. This is at a time that raids are falling short of the nasty guy’s campaign promises (which is a good thing). Willis also reported on the first actions on Pam Bondi the new Attorney General. She will follow her boss’s suggestion to instruct lawyers of the Civil Rights Division to no longer investigate and prosecute, you know, civil rights violations, but find ways to prosecute companies that still have diversity initiatives. She’ll also deemphasize white-collar crimes. In a pundit roundup for Kos Greg Dworkin included a couple interesting quotes. The first is from the Israeli news service Haaretz, discussing the nasty guy’s desire to turn Gaza into the Middle East Riviera without the Palestinians:

So what does Trump want? Distraction. He thrives in the chaos and constant distractions he creates. Did he not impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and then grant them a 30-day extension since they promised they would do the things they are already doing? Trump is a preeminent agent of chaos. That's a trademark he has always paraded, boastfully and defiantly. As he said he would, he is actively generating and promoting chaos in America, discord within alliances, and is out to undermine the world order. Agents of chaos sow chaos. It's that simple. They instill discordance, confusion, controversy and uncertainty. That's a modus operandi, not a tailored policy or crisis management technique. Agents of chaos and anarchy are by definition out to disrupt the status quo by floating outrageous ideas, based on a simple principle: Everyone viscerally understands the status quo has exhausted its usefulness, more-of-the-same doesn't work anymore.

I had mentioned the nasty guy ordered the opening of a couple dams in California to show he was doing something about the supposed water crisis that impeded fighting the Los Angeles fires. The Mercury News reported the amount of water released was 2.2 billion gallons.

There are two major problems, water experts said: The newly released water will not flow to Los Angeles, and it is being wasted by being released during the wet winter season. “They were holding extra water in those reservoirs because of the risk that it would be a dry summer,” said Heather Cooley, director of research for California water policy organization the Pacific Institute. “This puts agriculture at risk of insufficient water during the summer months.”

Agriculture at risk means food prices at risk. Down in the comments Stuart Hardwick posted a cartoon of several red states saying, “Every state, no matter its size, gets two senators. It’s only fair!” California replies, “That’s fine. It just sounds like D.E.I. and affirmative action for red states, which I though you hated.” The caption says, “The Electoral College is D.E.I. for Red States.” Morgan Stephens of Kos reported the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions, launched a campaign called the “Department of People Who Work for a Living” or DPWL. Yeah, this is a spoof and direct challenge to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

“The government can work for billionaires, or it can work for working people—but not both,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler in a press release. ... “We will hold DOGE and Elon Musk accountable because we are certain that the people who keep our food and medicine safe know more about how to make government efficient than an outsider whose companies benefit from the very agencies he is infiltrating,” she added.

Bill in Portland, Maine, in his Cheers and Jeers column for Kos quoted late night commentary. A sample:

“Anyone who’s ever had a toddler knows this feeling. You leave the room for one second, and when you come back everything from the bookshelves is on the floor, the walls are covered in ketchup, and when you ask who gave the dog a haircut with safety scissors, your kid says it was DEI.” —Stephen Colbert