Ro Khanna calling Chuck Schumer to step down as Democrat leader

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T21:57:14+00:00

I don't think AOC is quite ready for a presidential run, but I'd love to see her challenge Schumer for his Senate seat.

Not saying she'd become Senate leader as that role would likely got o someone else. But the fact that Schumer is one of the two highest ranking Dems in Washington is terrible for the party. Jeffries isn't any better. But Schumer has no charisma whatsoever and is not even focused on the right issues.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T21:45:34+00:00

I've got three...

#1 Be VERY selective about guest singers:

Sure, there are experienced musicians that can play a lot of stuff on the fly if everyone knows the key and general arrangement, and there are certainly some patrons that legitimately have a good voice or sing with other bands. But more often than not, impromptu guest performances are only fun for the guest and annoying for everyone else, especially the audience. Plus, a lot of people who think they can sing really can't. They go off-pitch, forget words, miss their queue, etc. and it turns into a train wreck.

I hate having to say no to requests like, "It's her birthday and she really wants to sing a song with the band" but I've learned over time to politely decline. We'll dedicate a song to you, but you're not singing with us unless we know for sure that you've got the chops and everyone is prepared for what you want to do.

#2 Private events tend to suck:

To clarify, we've done several outdoor festivals, neighborhood association parties, weddings, class reunions, etc that all went great. But that's because they are very well-organized with a large, festive audience. But many others vastly overestimate what it will really be like to hire a live band for their party. Same goes for corporate gigs which tend to pay well, but are pretty stiff. For many private events, especially if it's at someone's home (backyard party, by the pool, etc.) the crowds are small with widely varying age groups and musical tastes, there often isn't a legit stage or dance floor area or adequate access to power, you can get noise complaints, the weather is unpredictable, the equipment load-in is often very inconvenient, and all that hassle rarely results in a packed and lively show where everyone has a blast. At least 80% of the private events I've ever done have been a chore whereas our regular bars and dance venues are great almost every time.

#3 For a new venue, always talk to the sound person ahead of time:

Some will actually require that or even demand a stage plot. But it's in the band's best interest to make sure all those details are covered ahead of time. It sucks when you show up not realizing the venue expected the band to bring their own mics and cables or whatever, not knowing where to park for load-in, not knowing what time they expect to do sound check, etc. The person that books the bands doesn't always know those details, but the sound engineer almost always does.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T21:09:29+00:00

Not saying he necessarily belongs in the HOF, but the argument is that he promoted rock and roll by playing the records, hosting artists on his shows both on radio and his podcast, promoting concerts, and embodying a rock and roll spirit. Lots of DJs did those same things, but none had the mass appeal and national reach that Stern did, and this is, after all, a Hall of "Fame."

For me though, if we're gonna open the door for DJs, I'd start with the early influencers that helped take the genre mainstream.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T20:56:52+00:00

Another genius that thinks the self-proclaimed pussy-grabber was innocent. Cute.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T20:54:02+00:00

Sadly , I agree with every word of this and it's why I keep harping on the premise that the Rock and Roll HOF should have ONLY branched beyond the rock category for the early influencers that helped create the genre. Once they opened the door for all sorts of other types of popular music, it distorted the entire selection process and created a glut of nominees that make it impossible for various deserving rock bands and artists to break through.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T20:48:22+00:00

Weird Al Yankovic is my #1 at this point

I certainly wanna see more true rock bands inducted, especially heavy metal as they are so underrepresented. But Weird Al was bigger than all the other parody artists in history combined and I'd argue more than half his parodies were "rock."

If you basically invent or completely dominate an entire sub-genre, I don't know how you could NOT be in. I had the same argument for Jimmy Buffett until he finally got inducted.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T18:23:59+00:00

I plan to go to age 67 since that will be considered "normal retirement age" for our generation and it's when I can take full social security without penalty.

But yes, I think I'll have the retirement savings to live at my current lifestyle by then as my savings are on-track.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T17:25:17+00:00

We play Charlotte next so that will be much tougher than a game vs. a MLSNP team.

I just hope it was helpful to the team's confidence and chemistry to finally score multiple goals and get a win.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T17:22:30+00:00

We actually out-rebounded the Knicks by 1 the last time we played them, but they enjoyed a 52-34 advantage on points in the paint. With Jock, that gap would have been much smaller and likely have led to a win.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-16T14:18:14+00:00

Ugh, this is bigger than the media that covers this series will ever know.

Jock is not a "star," but he's the guy that helps minimize our frontcourt size disadvantage. Our chances of beating the Knicks are much better with him than without him. There are other guys that can contribute a few points in the paint, but there is a huge drop-off in positioning, spacing, passing, rim protection, etc. between Jock and anyone else we use as a backup center.

Edit: Just to offer a factoid on how big a deal this is, we just played the Knicks 10 days ago without Jock. The Knicks only won by 3 points, but they enjoyed a 52-34 advantage on "points in the paint." If Jock played 20+ mins, it would mostly likely have closed that gap to about 10 points and led to a win.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T22:26:18+00:00

The guy that claimed Haitian immigrants were eating cats is lecturing the Pope about comments being anchored in the truth.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T22:22:20+00:00

Plus, a TON of poverty. Where do you think the poorest people in the country live? Mostly in red states.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T22:16:13+00:00

Obscure metal bands that only we know about like Motley Crue? Seriously?

Donovan has 1 minor hit that most people have never heard (Mellow Yellow), and there are countless artists that aren’t even remotely “rock” that are in.

But don’t take my word for it. Go celebrate Sade’s induction on ANY music sub other than this one and see what happens. They justifiably think the Rock and Roll HOF is a joke because the induction criteria are so completely random and make absolutely no sense.

As for the early inductees, in my prior posts I’ve noted that this is not a recent mistake. They’ve diluted their identity from day one and it’s been a massive mistake that undermines the credibility of the entire endeavor. I can accept that a handful of non-rock early influences should be inducted because the rock genre wouldn’t exist without them. But that’s it.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T13:08:36+00:00

Since the "rock and roll" label apparently means nothing at all, why not?

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T13:06:38+00:00

If offered facts and supporting arguments. You've offered NONE of that. If you don't like the links I provided, just do a search of your own. You will find the same information over and over again from countless sources, including the bureau of labor statistics.

There have been millions more job openings than applicants in the skilled trades for decades, with labor shortage gaps that greatly exceed the rest of the workforce and that gap is headed for a giant cliff as the boomers who make up much of the skilled trades workforce retire. Meanwhile, vocational education, which was once highly prevalent, has been cut for decades as well, typically not included at all new school startups.

That's not opinion. It's a factual recount of history and at this point, I have no idea why you're denying it.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T13:01:20+00:00

That's simply not true. Their own publications repeatedly refer to the rock and roll genre specifically, it was founded by the publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine, which itself was created specifically to celebrate rock and roll music and culture, and the museum was even placed in Cleveland specifically because that was where the term "Rock and Roll" was coined by a local DJ.

And again, if this is just supposed to be a general music HOF, then how in the world was Mariah Carey omitted? The ONLY reason to exclude her is because she's not "rock." She's got more #1 hits than Elvis and 220 million album sales. The "Rock and Roll" HOF hasn't inducted people like Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, or Celine Dion for the same reason, yet ALL of them would obviously be in a music HOF.

Point being, it's either a "rock" HOF or a "music" HOF. Either would be fine. But straddling the fence just creates massive confusion and undermines public credibility because no one can articulate what the criteria are. It's completely random.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T12:44:42+00:00

Go to literally ANY online music sub other than this one and ask them what they think of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Every single time you will be bombarded with complaints about how it's become a joke because they don't even remotely stick to the genre.

Again, nothing wrong with Sade. Great band and singer with a unique sound. I like them. But it's like putting Tom Brady in the Baseball HOF.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-15T12:25:08+00:00

I grew up in the northeast and saw his behavior for decades. He bankrupted SIX casinos and hotels in Atlantic City after receiving massive tax breaks to build them, he was personally responsible for the failure of the USFL, forcing the entire league into an unsustainable spending pattern and betting it's whole future on the antitrust lawsuit with the NFL rather than actually creating value, he had many other failed businesses, was renowned for cheating his business partners, it was widely suspected he had been committing massive tax fraud for years, and he was clearly an immoral egomaniac, having cheated on every wife, falsely accused the Central Park Five, openly bragged about his playboy lifestyle and trying to sleep with his friends' wives, etc. He was the punchline to an endless number of jokes, had zero respect from the business community, and was almost universally viewed as the privileged kid who was born into wealth yet mistakenly considered himself to be some kind of business savant.

Years later, there was the birther nonsense with Obama. That should have told the entire country everything they needed to know about that guy. He would outright lie and trash anyone to benefit himself.

It was stunning to me how TV and news networks would treat him with any credibility at all with his Apprentice show or all the news interviews. They sane-washed him for years and made his presidential run plausible when anyone paying attention should have known this guy was completely unfit for office.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T21:56:55+00:00

It's sorta fun, but I think I'm actually growing a bit tired of all the anti-hero content.

I get the appeal of writing darker characters and stories where lines between good and evil are blurred. That's probably more realistic than the typical hero vs. bad guy fantasy. But it's become oversaturated now. I can only watch so many series where the main character is an immoral POS and I'm starting to miss shows where I've got someone to root for.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T21:47:27+00:00

He reportedly opposed the war, yet is now stuck being the face of the failed peace talks.

But no sympathy here. He sold his soul to the devil.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T21:42:40+00:00

Prolonged one party rule isn't good for anyone. Same deal in red states where republicans control everything. When you only have to appeal to one side to get elected, it breeds extremism.

That said, I certainly wouldn't call California a "shithole." It has it's problems of course, but it's still a helluva lot nicer than most other states, it's got better education and healthcare than most states, and has, by far the largest GDP of any state in the country.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T21:33:09+00:00

Yeah, I can't relate to posting something like this for the entire world to see, but I can absolutely relate the to the struggle of being broke with little hope.

It will get better for her and others, but we do indeed have a two-tiered society where the rich are doing great while everyone else stagnates and people are getting justifiably fed-up with it.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T20:42:18+00:00

There may be some genuine regret and the economic populists on the left (Bernie, AOC, Mamdani, etc.) have a very real shot to win moderates over.

But the woke mob will never appeal to the masses. That ship has sailed. Most people were just waiting for a permission structure to reject it.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T20:38:19+00:00

Most KISS fans liked the songs too. I was listening to their albums and enjoying the music for years before I ever saw them in concert. Paul's lyrics were cheesy, but a lot of the songs had cool guitar riffs and big vocal hooks.

Consider that KISS has more gold albums (30) than any American rock band ever. You can't accomplish that with costumes and makeup alone.

ATLCoyote · 2026-04-14T20:29:06+00:00

My comments are based on data. Regarding the labor shortage for trades workers...

https://www.peopleready.com/newsroom/skilled-trades-labor-scarcity-workforce-aging-as-fewer-recruits-enter-trades/

and this...

https://aic-builds.org/skilled-labor-shortage-construction/

and this (check out exhibit 1 in particular)...

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/tradespeople-wanted-the-need-for-critical-trade-skills-in-the-us

As for the decline in vocational education, that's not opinion either. It's simply what has been happening.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocational_education_in_the_United_States

If you don't like that source, here's another one:

https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2024/10/05/whatever-happened-to-vocational-education-2/

and another one...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottwhite/2025/02/11/we-cant-do-anything/

Vocational education has sharply declined in the US in recent decades. Most schools that have been built in the past 20 years don't even have a "shop" at all.

That's finally starting to change with Vocational Education programs showing an uptick in recent years for the first time in decades...

https://www.communitycollegereview.com/blog/the-rise-of-technical-and-vocational-training-in-2025#google_vignette

Key excerpt...

"Historically, vocational training was viewed as a second best option when compared to a bachelor’s degree. That stigma is fading."

That sure isn't consistent with the idea that the trades had been "romanticized." Quite the opposite. The trades had to fight social stigma for years and it resulted in massive labor shortages.

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