Koch this

CBS actually did a pretty good job with its Beatles 50th Anniversary show. Yes, there were the usual assortment of wince-able moments, but there were plenty of moments that were genuinely unwince-able. So that was nice.

It was a lingering shame, though, was that for whatever reason, Paul and Ringo didn't get Dhani Harrison and Sean Ono Lennon up on stage for a couple of songs. I mean, jeez—come on, guys! There's no way such a scene would not have been one deluxe, supercool, heartwarmin', tearjerkin', ultra groove '60s moment. To have John and George's boys up there, now grown men, both capable of playing totally competent guitars on “All You Need Is Love” or whatever. You know the topic was discussed. It had to have been. I wonder why it didn't happen. Maybe I don't want to know why.

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Lots of heated chatter clogging the media lately about the Keystone XL pipeline project, and which way the thumb of approval should go. Up or down? Like most people in this world of Too Much Information, I really enjoy it when I can make my decision based on a nice, simple, emotional kneejerk, one that's not compromised with all sorts of pro/con stuff graying up the process and making things all ambivalent and informed and, you know—intelligent. I finally found my footing on Keystone, and it's a solid No, don't build it. Here's the factoid that pushed me off the fence.

Because a permit denial will steam, and steam royally, the Koch Brothers.

In the crap game of Canadian tar sands and the sludgy billions of barrels of oil it will eventually produce, the Kochs have bet big on the come line. They're banking that Keystone will get built, and if it does, ole Chuck and Dave stand to make billions. Some say the Keystone pipeline will mean as much as 100 billion in profits for these evil bastards, mainly because of the 2 million acres of Alberta that Koch Industries owns, which is more than Chevron, Exxon, and other oil giants combined.

For me, that seals the deal. Screw the Koch Brothers. FTKB. And you know what? I'm betting the president would love to do the exact same thing. Why on Earth would Obama approve any project that will put billions into the pockets of the Kochs, who will then turn around and blowtorch that money all over the country in their ongoing attempts to turn America into a political loony bin of far-right, neo-fascist nutballs? The president won't come out and say so, of course, but I'm thinking that he will find some handy green reason (no shortage of those) to cover his real intentions, which are to—FTKB. Not only does he get the pleasure of infuriating the Kochs with a permit denial, he also gets, as a nice little bonus, to be a champion in the battle against climate change. In the end, Barack will, I predict, find this particular combo platter to be irresistible.