I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality. If you were sent this email or are a free subscriber and would like to become a paid subscriber, you can sign up here.
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So slight change of plan today; Ty Burr cannot join us this today, so you’re stuck with me. The Zoom Chat is scheduled to begin at noon, but I’ll be kicking things off at the usual time of 12:30. The link I provided doesn’t seem to be working, so try this one here.
Here’s a quick roundup of the news.
It turns out America’s dumbest senator, Tommy Tuberville, doesn’t live in Alabama, the state he represents.
The other day I wrote about the stupidity of attacking Joe Biden for alleged corruption … and as Philip Bump points out, we have a growing body of evidence that there is no there, there.
This Politico piece has a splashy headline about Joe Biden’s potential electoral map for 2024: “Biden world sees the making of a wider path to victory in 2024.” But if you read closely, the only state Trump won that seems to be in play for Biden is North Carolina, which the president lost by 1.3 points in 2020. Politico quotes outside Biden advisors who say Ohio or Florida could go for the president because of the abortion issue, but color me skeptical.
In Ohio, Trump won by 8 points — the same margin of victory in 2016 over Hillary Clinton. Last November, JD Vance won by 6 points in his race for the US Senate. Notwithstanding this week’s results in the Ohio ballot referendum, I’d be stunned if Biden can overcome an 8-point deficit on abortion alone. Florida is a bit different. In 2020, Biden lost there by 3.4 points (though DeSantis won reelection in 2022 by 19). I think it’s a long shot for Biden to win the Sunshine State. But considering the possibility that the president has a significant fundraising advantage over his GOP rival, I could see the Biden team making a serious investment there, if only to force his opponent to precious resources in a rather expensive media market.
Biden’s path to reelection is fairly straightforward. If he wins Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, he gets more four years. Substitute Arizona for Wisconsin and Nevada … and that works too. That’s not even considering Georgia, where Biden won in 2020, and Trump doesn’t seem to be as popular as he is in other red states. There is a scenario, I suppose, where Biden wins Florida or Ohio and loses Wisconsin and Arizona, but I can’t imagine what that would be. Bottom line: Biden may compete in states he lost in 2020, but it’s hard to imagine a situation where he needs them to be reelected.
John Ganz has some thoughts on right-wing racists.
Ron DeSantis says he’s open to committing an act of war against Mexico.
How To With John Wilson is one of the funniest shows on TV.
Donald Trump’s nickname for former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Mark Short, is … “Marc Long.”
Musical Interlude
Robbie Robertson passed away this week at age 80. This one hits hard. I love the Band, and I loved Robertson’s guitar sound even more. It was cranky, greasy, and soulful. Robertson could do more in a one-minute solo than other guitarists can do in a 15-minute solo.
Here are three of my favorite examples.
From the Last Waltz, here is Robertson going head-to-head with Eric Clapton and, arguably, coming out on top. It’s not that Clapton isn’t great, but Robertson’s solo is simply more exciting and creative. Clapton musically goes where you’d expect him to … Robertson goes in a different direction.
Here’s possibly my favorite song from the Last Waltz, “It Makes No Difference.” Rick Danko’s vocal performance is otherworldly, and Garth Hudson’s sax solo is a gorgeous counter-weight to Robertson’s abrasive guitar sound.
I think Bob Dylan’s 1965/66 world tour is a Peak Moment in rock ‘n roll history. A big part of the reason why is his backing band, the Band (sans drummer Levon Helm), which was then called the Hawks. The sound these guys produced was so ahead of its time: bluesy, funky, raucous, and sloppy. It’s all swirly organs, Dylan’s slurred, angry vocal performance, and loud AF guitars. It’s like biting into the best pulled pork sandwich you’ve ever tasted, with the grease running down your hands. This was punk before punk existed. One of my favorite Robertson moments is his guitar solo at the 3:48 mark of “Just Like Tom Thumb Blues.” It lasts all of 40 seconds, but it’s perfection.
His guitar work on “Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat” is pretty great too.
Oh, and Robertson also wrote one of the greatest, most enduring songs in the entire rock ‘n roll canon.
Great commentary, better music 😊