To my billions of fans, This video was removed from YouTube because of an alleged "copyright violation." You don't get to face your accuser with YouTube, so I have no idea what the nature of the violation was. I suspect I "borrowed" a still image and didn't give due credit. But the song is mine, the goofy video footage is mine, and I never made a dime on any of it. So please enjoy and comment. That's the only reason I do what I do.
I want it all, I want it now, and I want to keep it. Is that so much to ask?
In the roaring 90s, people didn't seem to think so. You could be a super-mom, a super-dad, a condo-flipper or a day-trading master of the universe in your spare time. Hard work? Thrift? Saving for the future? That was SO twentieth century. In the New Economy, all you had to do was buy a house and invest in the stock market to retire fabulously wealthy at age 50.
But something funny happened on the way to the Great American Empire – it began to crumble before our eyes, and one day we woke up to the possibility of not a new empire, but a new Great Depression. Since then, we've been scaling back our expectations, as befits a population that's been bitch-slapped by reality in the past year or so.
So, providing you have anything left, can you really take it with you? Well, to paraphrase a prevaricating president, it depends on what the meaning of the word "it" is. If "it" means money, cars, houses, and Treasury bonds maturing in 2038, chances are you can NOT take it with you. Of course, because of the tendency of the dead to remain silent, we can't even be sure of that.
But the Bible tells me so, and who am I to doubt the Word of God? In Luke 18:18-30, Jesus states that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. (Besides being the Son of God, Jesus was a master of metaphor.)
On the other hand, if you had told me in 1985 that the entire sum of the world's computing power would one day fit on a 1-inch square sliver of silicon, I would have given the camel better odds. And camels are nasty animals who would just as soon spit in your eye than share their extra water with you. So camels are out. I'm counting on my laptop and my online "short selling" account to "thread the needle" and give me a full trailer to back up to the Pearly Gates.
But you say, "Scott… Scotto, whatever the hell your name is—surely you jest! You can't really believe that a Celeron processor will get you into heaven, do you?" Of course I don't. It would take at least a quad-core CPU with 4GB of memory and perhaps some RAID-striped hard drives. As soon as the market turns around, I am SO going to buy one.
But in all seriousness—and I'm rarely all serious—the expression "you can't take it with you" is only partly true. All religions have some concept of the afterlife (or rebirth). Unless you're an atheist who believes that the afterlife consists of being eaten by worms, you have a certain faith that the things you do in this life will follow you into the next.
If you have this faith, it follows naturally that the sum total of love, kindness, compassion and joy that you share with people in this world will not be simply wiped out upon your earthly demise. The permanence of spiritual treasure is what makes it infinitely superior to any material reward. In fact, seeking material success and recognition is simply a misguided attempt to find this spiritual treasure and keep it for your own. But you can't have love unless you give it away.
As my friends and family are painfully aware, I have been going through a tumultuous time over the past few months. Demons that I thought I had once conquered returned, including alcohol abuse, marital problems and paralyzing self-doubt. When it all came to a head, I did what any mature, adult man would do—I went home to mom.
There, as the sun went down each night, I would sit outside in the warm southern air, gazing at the heavens and wishing on the evening star. My wishes were mostly selfish, pleading to the ancient gods to rearrange situations as I would have them, and return things to me that I thought were rightfully mine, by virtue of destiny. But if destiny is in the stars, the stars weren't listening.
As I was flying home into San Jose, the evening star again came into view. Above the clouds and pollution, it shined brighter than I had ever seen. With my face pressed up against the window, I watched it with an overwhelming sense of awe and wonder. I could have taken that moment to restate my personal wishes with a new energy. Instead, I found myself wishing that the star would shine love over all of the world.
Just then the plane dipped and turned, and the lights of Silicon Valley came into view, stretched out like a carpet of jewels covering the four corners of the earth. My heart overflowed with joy, and I had a sense of finally returning home—not to San Jose, but to the original home that is the source of all life—the abode of unlimited, unconditional love.
I walked off of the plane with the same feeling of fullness and joy, and to this day I feel transformed. Will it last? That's beside the point. Every one of us, at every instant, has the ability to feel love, kindness, compassion—but only if we are willing to give it away. According to the gospel of John, Paul, George and Ringo, "The love you take is equal to the love you make."
For those of us who want it all, this is the best news we could ever hear.
In 1969, Steppenwolf released “Monster/Suicide/America,” a rock trilogy that told the story of America from its humble beginnings to its descent into corruption, militarism, oppression and apathy.
Musician and songwriter Scott Pettersen brings this classic up to date with a new musical performance and visual imagery that was not widely available in 1969. Nearly 40 years after it’s release, the lyrics to Monster are as relevant today as they were in the tumultuous ’60s.
MONSTER 2008 Once the religious, the hunted and weary Chasing the promise of freedom and hope Came to this country to build a new vision Far from the reaches of Kingdom and Pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America They came by thousands to court the wild And she just patiently smiled and bore a child To be their spirit and guiding light
And once the ties with the crown had been broken Westward in saddle and wagon it went And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America They came by thousands to court the wild And she just patiently smiled and bore a child To be their spirit and guiding light
The blue and grey they stomped it They kicked it just like a dog And when the war over They stuffed it just like a hog
And though the past has its share of injustice Kind was the spirit in many a way But its protectors and friends have been sleeping Now it's a Monster and will not obey
(Suicide) The spirit was freedom and justice And its keepers seemed generous and kind Its leaders were supposed to serve the country But now they won’t pay it no mind 'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy And now their vote is a meaningless joke They babble about law and order But it’s all just an echo of what they've been told Yeah, there’s a monster on the loose It's got our heads into a noose And it just sits there. Watching.
Our cities have turned into jungles And corruption is strangling the land The police force is watching the people And the people just can't understand We don't know how to mind our own business 'Cause the whole world’s got to be just like us Now we are fighting a war over there No matter who’s the winner We can't pay the cost 'Cause there's a monster on the loose It's got our heads into a noose And it just sits there. Watching
(America) America where are you now? Don't you care about your sons and daughters? And don't you know, we need you now We can't fight alone against The Monster
I was on the road with a traveling band, I saw a revolution in a foreign land, The animals thought they could run the farm, They marched through the barnyard singing this song:
Four legs good, two legs bad The animals know that the people are mad Four legs good, two legs bad The animals know that the people are mad On the Animal Farm
The cows and the horses will plow the fields, The sheep and the goats will cook the meals, The ducks and the crows they pick the corn, The chickens and the geese keep the nest eggs warm
And up on the barn with watchful eyes The hogs and the pigs will supervise On the Animal Farm
People are cruel and they just don’t care, But everyone works and everyone shares On the Animal Farm
Everyone is equal here, There is no need for greed or insincerity Will reality appear? Could it be true that animals are people too?
I went to a party in the county jail The animals came and they posted my bail They took me back to the animal farm They sobered me up and they kept me warm I don’t know why they befriended me But soon I was walking on my hands and knees On the Animal Farm
I got my job and I earn my pay When you live in the city it’s the only way I got my house and I got my car And a bumper sticker says I’d rather be down on the Animal Farm
Then one night there arose a sound Coming from the distance of the manor ground The animals crept through the moonlit night What they saw was a terrrible sight. They peeked through the window at the poker game The pigs and the people all looked the same…
Elephant and donkey walking side by side Fightin’ over who’s gonna take you for a ride Dark horse gallops up to join the brawl He’s fightin’ for the people and his name is Ron Paul
He’s the only candidate who speaks his mind and he knows he works for you And that’s why all the animals are trying to kick him outta the zoo
Well you don’t have to drive to the local zoo You can watch all the monkeys on the TV news talking in circles hopin’ no one’s seen The half-ton gorilla in the middle of the screen
Cause when the Ron Paul juggernaut comes to town Well they’re nowhere to be found. Cause it’s mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru all around
So all you fat cat zookeepers tryin’ to rig the stage Don’t taunt the tiger when he’s in his cage One day that tiger’s going to jump the wall Walk into a voting booth and vote for Ron Paul
Don’t listen when the polls say he just can’t win Cause you know the fix is in And if you want to save your country then you gotta put your two cents in
A tribute to Alan Greenspan and his successor "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke.
The Bubble Man
Here’s to the Bubble Man Drink to his health Filling the punch bowl With bubbling wealth They call him the Maestro, 80 years young Just watch the bubbles roll off his tongue
Cause when the Bubble Man speaks Everyone hears Don’t know what he’s saying But the message is clear Let the good times roll over We’ll pay it some day Meanwhile the bubbles Will float you away
Here’s to the bears asleep in their dens Here’s to the bulls, may the good times never end Here’s to the hedgehogs and the weasels and the swine Peddling snake oil in sparkling wine bottles
Who can make money out of thin air? Why, the Bubble Man can, but buyers beware One day your dollar’s worth less than a dime Cause bubbles all pop, it’s just a matter of time
So mortgage the future, mortgage the past You can spend your self wealthy if you don’t do the math Can’t pay the piper, but he’ll loan you what you need Just sign the paper and give up the deed, brother.
Cover your ears when the Bubble Man speaks Somethin’s so fishy the whole country reeks The Emperor’s naked, it’s more than obscene The world takes a bubble bath but no one comes clean
And so as the Bubble Man rides off into the sunset, There’s not a dry eye on Wall Street. But wait! What’s that sound? Why, it’s Son of Bubble Man! He’s dropping money out of helicopters! Hallelujah! Good times are here again! Cash-out refi anyone? No credit, good credit, bad credit We don’t care! The Bubble Man’s back in town!
