Funny Girl!

 The national tour of Funny Girl opened in Omaha on Tuesday night. The 60 year old musical about the life of Fanny Brice is a classic for sure, made famous by Barbra Streisand and not really ever revived until recently probably because of that fact nobody can top Babs. Then came the Broadway revival that was a bit of a disaster because the lead wasn't very good and was replaced after a short period of time. But the national tour became the way to go so us out here in the sticks can see an epic musical.

Sometimes you get a bagel with everything and sometimes you get a bagel with just cream cheese. Streisand is everything, the touring show is the latter. Not to say that's bad, some of us don't want everything on the bagel and that would be me.

From the moment Hannah Shankman as Fanny says "Hello Gorgeous" to the moment the play ends abruptly, she owns the stage. She is a force of nature. Her voice is a powerhouse, her stage presence is dominating, and she is funny, ya know, like the title says. Shankman may be the greatest female singer I've seen on a stage in a long while. She really is phenomenal.

Steven Mark Lukas as Nick Arnstein, Fanny's love and husband, is dashing and creepy at the same time. He's quite the cad, a con artist who has to be in control, but when Fanny becomes more successful than him, the marriage crumbles. Melissa Manchester (yes that Melissa Manchester) plays Fanny's Jewish mother. She is so good at both dominating the stage when she's on it with her fellow Jewish mothers and backing off to Shankman's power when necessary. A real pro. Izaih Harris as Fanny's best friend, Eddie, is phenomenal when he tap dances onstage to the woo hoos of the crowd. He's not onstage much but when he is, it makes the musical better.

The choreography is phenomenal in duplicating the Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920's, vaudeville, dancing, singing, chorus girls, and comedy. Fanny juggles her career, her marriage, and her insecurities. Nick spirals out of control as he loses money in one scam after another and when Fanny bails him out he resorts to embezzlement to deal with HIS insecurities and goes to prison. Fanny waits, she gives in to her need for love, and Nick rejects her. Bummer. Or was it?

Funny Girl isn't the greatest musical of all time for sure. It's something I'd probably never see again but it's a fun time for the 2 1/2 hours. It's a classic and you'll be happy you went. 

Really America?

 Look at what happens when adults lose election. They concede. Had Kamala won there would be fucking crying and screeching like no other, well at least since 2020 and that never ended. And now that they won, instead of quietly celebrating and looking forward to heading backwards, some, not all, are gloating. We have racist Trumpers who think it's "funny" to send texts to black students ordering them to a plantation to pick cotton, and the bros, the single most despicable demo out there, thinks telling women that their bodies are now theirs to do with what they want, which I assume is rape. Sorry bros, you were incels on Nov 5th and you're still incels now, maybe more so. Not to mention with tariffs your X Box is going to skyrocket in price. Elections have consequences as they say.

Anyhoo, with the election of Trump, and the drooling vampires and vultures who know how to manipulate a nitwit, the future is bleak. Project 2025 was the plan all along, as anybody with a brain that isn't fried by Fox News and endless pseudo grievances knew. They now admit it and think it's so funny they "fooled" everybody by insisting Trump knew nothing about it, which he probably didn't since it didn't mention his name. But Project 2025, if implemented would actually end this 298-year-old republic for real. Oh, and I have no doubt this is why it was invented. Let's take a look at the possible future.

On page 133 of this shitshow (hey its 900 goddamned pages) it calls for defunding the cops (hey I thought they opposed this) the FBI and Homeland Security, use the military to shoot protestors, and incarcerate "illegals" in camps and deport them. Also on page 133 is that old end birthright citizenship crap that could conceivably end Barron Trump's birth citizenship. (yeah sure like that would happen) but it sure as hell affects children born here to non-citizens. 

On Page 319 it calls for an end to the Department of Education, funnels taxpayer money to religious schools and calls for teaching religion (I assume Christian nationalism) in public schools. After all, A dumb population is a controllable one.

On Page 363, it calls for drilling in the protected Arctic region (bye bye polar bears) and deregulation of the oil industry. It calls for drilling in national parks and elimination of the FDA, the CDC, the national weather service, OSHA, and the EPA. So, get used to snake oil, more viruses, more deaths from hurricanes, and unsafe work conditions. Nothing looks better than an oil rig right next to a formerly pristine national park. 

Page 449, oooo this is a big one for you ladies, calls for abortion to be illegal in ALL circumstances, bans contraceptives, end the ACA, and cut Medicare to the bone. Man oh man, you seniors that voted for this guy have cut your own throat but at least we don't have some colored broad in office, amiright?

Page 545, ohhh this is a biggie for the gays, calls for ending gay marriages. Did all you "normal gay guys" that voted for this ok? It ends civil rights protections for people that need them. Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, as stupid as that sounds, could become a campaign slogan.

Finally on page 581 thru 691 it calls for the elimination of unions and any contracts to be voided, eliminates overtime pay (so there's no tax on nonexistent work, right?), gives additional tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy and raises the retirement age. Work till you die baby.

Theres more bullshit in there, including ending no fault divorce, end free school lunch programs, ban books about black history and slavery, and pack the courts with friendly judges who will not cross them on any rulings. 

But that's what you filled in the little dot for, America. You broke it and now you pay for it.

Unfortunately, we all have to pay for your clumsiness. Really, America?

The Election!

 I was shocked. Yeah, it was a gut punch when the American public decided a felonious piece of crap like Donald Trump was preferable to a black woman. Well, you spoke. And now you will have to deal with your choice. Project 2025, Agenda 47 whatever the fuck it is coming because the far right controls the 3 branches of government and they can do what they want. Obnoxious assholes like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott and the rest all won easily. This country is incapable of change even if their Rep is a pedophile, a crazy person, a hand job artiste', a Medicare thief or a werewolf.

Trumps dark message of hate, despair and gloom and doom appealed with a majority of the voters. It was yet another white man, male Latino and white women tantrum. That black or Indian broad was just to goddamned joyful for the white men and the women they tell what to do. White privilege is real and whether we admit it or not, we like it. And we wanna keep it. Oh yeah, we tell pollsters we love our minority neighbors and have no problem with the gays, but deep down when the doors are closed and the windows down and we are among our white friends and family we don't particularly like them. They are too loud, too demanding, too ungrateful we freed them, and they dress funny. Why can't they just be like us? Dull and less flamboyant. When the cops pull us over, we want to laugh and joke and try and get out of the ticket because the cops are just like us. White meatheads. And if those obnoxious blacks just sat there and took it like we do, they wouldn't be murdered killed by scaredy cat cops who are just like us, scared of anything unlike us. And the gays, oh don't get me started, if they just read the Bible or stayed in the closet, or better yet converted, none of their problems would be known like the good old days. And why do they all dress up like women and groom kids? Ya know, like youth pastors or Republican legislators. White privilege rocks, vote fascist and deal with it, losers!

The hidden Trump vote. It's there and we must acknowledge it. The polls lie, we all know it, if a Democrat leads by a little or is tied they are toast. People tell pollsters they hate bigotry and hate discrimination, and that Trump is a bad guy, but a certain portion are lying. They love all that. Yet, they for some reason feel obligated to be "woke" when they are anything but. The question I have is if you think that way, yet lie to pollsters, you MUST think what you actually believe is wrong. Think about that. What you believe is wrong in your own mind, so you lie about it. Thats some fucked up psychological shit there. Get some help, on the DL of course cuz men don't need any help or you're a sissy. 

Here in Nebraska. Holy cow! This is one fucked up state. We voted for medical marijuana huge, we voted for paid sick leave bigly, we repealed a law that gave tax money to private schools, YET, we voted to restrict abortion and allow our super majority legislature to eventually ban it Texas style and rejected codifying abortion, the ONLY state to do so when asked. Go Big Red baby. We sent back to the Senate the most worthless woman in the Senate named Deb Fischer, we sent back a trust fund baby name Pete Ricketts to the Senate for two years and we sent back 3 utterly worthless backbenching Congress critters named Bacon Flood and Smith, a really bad law firm. Now here in Omaha and Lincoln, the places where people actually live, we voted for Kamala, we voted for Dan Osborn to oust Fischer, we voted for Preston Love to send Ricketts back to Daddys bank vault, and we voted for Democrats to be Congress Folks, BUT, the rural voter demands dullness and the 1950s and thus, we lose. We voted to codify abortion bigly, we voted against abortion bans, yet rural voters doing what their charlatan pastor tells them vote in such overwhelming numbers unlike us its impossible to overcome. If Omaha/Lincoln votes 55-45 or even 60-40, the 85-15 or even 90-10 against us beats us everytime. It sucks to live here sometimes. But the Blue Dot remains and thus so do I. 

Yes, this blows, just like Trump and a microphone, but there are decent people I pal around with. And really this is all that matters right? Gawd, even I don't buy that and I so want to. 

I dont know what lies ahead, my predictions suck, but I see darkness and pain, I see polio and new viruses undealt with, I see grocery prices soaring after the mass deportation, I see everyday goods rising 30% due to tariffs, I see pain for young women and their rights, I see pain in the Latino community as they lose family members, I see black folks getting no breaks unless they kowtow to the white power structure that deep down hates them anyway(see Byron Donalds) and I see white women being just as terrible as white men. This is a stupid country. Yesterday proves it.

Good luck to Ukraine, Gaza, and western Europe, you are gonna need it.