Day: June 9, 2019

No Country for Old [White] Men

Fandango42 Comments

B7F94077-B4C2-450D-BC5A-2A4255C5B598Election 2020 Joe BidenSorry Bernie. Sorry Joe. Sorry Donald. But the last thing America needs is yet another old white man as president.

But wait, Fandango, aren’t you an old white man?

Guilty as charged. Yes, I am, in fact, old, white, and a man. And that is why I am so sure that what America needs to move it forward is not another white, male septuagenarian as head of state.

But are you arguing against “old,” “white,” or “male”? Or all three? 

It’s not so much any of those individual attributes as much as it is the combination of all three. After all, I really like Elizabeth Warren and she would, should she earned the Democratic nomination, be 70 at the time of the 2020 election. And she is white. But she’s not an old white man.

Donald Trump is an old white man who will be a “youthful” 74 years old at the time of the 2020 election. He lost the popular vote in 2016, and despite being one of the least popular presidents in modern history, he is successfully driving the United States to the edge of a very steep precipice.

Bernie Sanders is an old white man, but he already sounds like everyone’s crazy uncle at Thanksgiving dinner. And Sanders will be 78 at the time of the 2020 election. 78! It’s no surprise that Bernie keeps winning in Vermont, though, and will likely win his state’s primary. Vermont has one of the nation’s oldest and whitest populations. But the general American electorate is not like the population of Vermont.

Joe Biden is an old white man, and he’ll be almost 78 at the time of the 2020 election. He is a middle of the road, “mainstream” Democrat who has a lot of baggage and a questionable track record when it comes to some of the hotbed issues that are important to progressive Democrats in 2020.

So Fandango, if you’re railing against old white men like Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Joe Biden, who do you think should be the Democratic candidate to run against and to defeat Donald Trump?

That’s an excellent question. Thank you for asking. As I mentioned earlier, there’s the very impressive, very intelligent, very persistent champion of people’s rights, Elizabeth Warren. Or there’s Kamala Harris, a triple threat. She not old (54). She’s not white. And she’s not a man.

Or how about Pete Buttigieg? Sure, he’s white and he’s a man. But at 37, he’s young. And he’s smart, articulate, a veteran, and genuine. Everything that Donald Trump is not. Maybe Mayor Pete is the dream candidate to go up against Donald Trump.

But what I do know is that I would revel in any candidate who can take out Donald Trump, as long as he’s just not another old white man.

Written for these daily prompts: The Daily Spur (lost), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (edge), Ragtag Daily Prompt (surprise), Your Daily Word Prompt (dream), and Word of the Day Challenge (revel).

Song Lyric Sunday — Gettin’ Jiggy

Fandango11 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams is gettin’ jiggy with us. His theme is Desire, Lust, Romance, and Passion. Alrighty then. Let’s go with “Lady Marmalade” by LaBelle.

“Lady Marmalade” was written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. The song is famous for its sexually suggestive chorus of “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?” The English translation, for those unfamiliar with that refrain, is “Do you want to go to bed with me tonight?” The song first became a popular hit when it was recorded in 1974 by the American girl group, LaBelle.

This was the only hit credited to LaBelle. Patti LaBelle, the lead singer of the trio, recorded in the Sixties as Patti LaBelle and The Blue Belles

The song was inspired by New Orleans prostitutes in the French Quarter, which was near the city’s red-light district. Labelle’s recording turned the song into an outrageous party anthem which went along with their glamorous look and sexual persona, earning them a huge following in the gay community. The song was highly suggestive and it did ruffle some feathers, partly because it seemed to glamorize prostitution.

In an interview, LaBelle claimed she didn’t know the real meaning of the song until much later. “I swear I had no idea for a while what it meant, until I asked Bob Crewe, who recorded it. I asked him what ‘voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?’ meant. When he told me, I said, ‘Oh gosh, what will my mother think?’”

Here are the lyrics to the song.

Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister
Hey Sister, Go Sister, Soul Sister, Go Sister

He met Marmalade down in old New Orleans
Struttin’ her stuff on the street
She said ‘Hello,
Hey Joe, you wanna give it a go? Mmm, mmm

Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya
Creole Lady Marmalade

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

He sat in her boudoir while she freshened up
The boy drank all her magnolia-wine
On the black satin sheets where oh I swear he started to freak

Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya
Creole Lady Marmalade

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

Hey, hey, hey
Touching her skin feelin’ silky smooth
The color of cafe au lait
Made the savage beast inside
Roar until it cried, more, more, more

Now he’s back home doing 9 to 5
Living his grey flannel life
But when he turns off to sleep
Old memories creep, more, more, more

Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya
Creole Lady Marmalade

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir?
Creole Lady Marmalade

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya Da Da
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here
Mocha-choca-lata Ya Ya
Itchi Gitchi Ya Ya here

FOWC with Fandango — Edge

Fandango37 Comments

FOWCWelcome to June 9, 2019 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “edge.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.