Bass Boats And Queer Marriage (Joe Bageant)

[Tace]

The battle for the American soul is over and Jay Leno won

Joe Bageant -- World News Trust

Jan. 14, 2010 -- Holy smoking Jesus, America is losing its middle class! "We're taxing the middle class out of existence," charge the conservatives. "The middle class is being hollowed out," wail the liberals, pouring forth great mock turtle tears (although one wonders how such a vacuum as middle class life in America could be further hollowed).

For both political camps, high dudgeon over "the vanishing middle class" is supposed to represent some sort of "new populism." Not that the populace disagrees with them, mainly because the populace, if we are referring to the genuine America populace, hasn't the slightest notion of the definition of populism. But the word sounds like it has to do with popularity, the highest virtue in the American mind, and can even lead to the celestial heights called celebrity. So what the hell, they're willing to run with it.

In any case, much overwrought political theater is being dedicated to the subject of the middle class' demise. If demise is the right word for losing its ability to engorge on commodities at obscene levels.

A month or so ago I watched news footage of some fat guy being interviewed inside the three-car garage of his $300,000 cardboard house. The poor fellow was about to lose his bass boat, and maybe his home too. From the looks of it, I'd say the bass boat was a Ranger X520. Now these babies start at $45K, not to mention the $30K for the four wheel drive usually seen pulling. Looked like it was sitting on a 20-plus foot Hurricane boat trailer, another $4K or $5K. My wife, who was watching the show with me, turned and said, "What class is this man supposed to be in?"

"I don't know, they say middle class." "Hmmm. Whatever it is, we've never been members.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette said it all when they sang:

No we're not the jet set

We're the old Chevrolet set

Our steak and martinis

Is draft beer with weenies

more

http://worldnewstrust.com/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=134:commentary-wnt-reports&id=7478:bass-boats-and-queer-marriage-joebageant

[MineralMan]

1. Funny thing about bass boats is

that, around my area, I see a lot of them. Typically, the bass boat and the big 4WD truck are no more than a couple of years old. The house where they live needs some work, and the owner's wife drives the kids around in a 10-year-old minivan that needs tires.

Now, I'm an avid angler, but my boat is worth, maybe $600, and I tow it with a 1991 Volvo station wagon. Works fine. I catch lots of bass, along with other fish, and almost always outfish the guys in the expensive bass boats.

Whenever I see one of these rigs in front of some house that could use some repair with an old minivan for the wife and kids to ride around it, I have to wonder how the bass boat owner justifies his expensive toys and how long it will be before his wife divorces the asshole.

Oh, yeah, the 4WD truck always has a right-wing bumper sticker on it.

[tom_paine]

2. Ol' Joe has this system of ours thoroughly understood

K & R

[Mopar151]

3. I occasionally take crap from folks about my "expensive" hobby

They count my rack of scrounged-up spare tires, and look at the trailer built out of junk, count on their fingers, and start in on "Boy, that must be expensive!" I tell 'em "It could be worse, I could take up fishin' instead!" Then they want to know how much gas I use in a weekend, fishin' loses again....
And I worked with a "tournament fisherman" who used to race a "street stock". I mentioned seeing some outdrives (converts a car engine to power a boat) at a swap meet, and some hulls around - and we worked with a boatbuilder who was becoming a composites engineer. Nooo, that would not do at all - if he was gonna step up from the rowboat, it hadda be a "real bass boat".

[Mopar151]

5. Joe mentions Paul Newman later in the piece

As a guy who understood that he'd gotten lucky. Mr. Newman and I shared our hobby of racing - and part of the reason he liked it was that, inside the pit gate, he was a racer - not a celebrity.
There is a big race in Stafford Springs, CT called the "Spring Sizzler" (originally promoted by Dick Berggren & friends). And there is a racer named Ken Canestrari (who passed on about the time of PLN's passing).

Ken is known for building a lot of his own stuff, and showing up at the races alone. His helper/neighbor at home has a family now, the wife does'nt like long tows.. But everyboody at the races is a friend. So Ken goes out in warmups, and loses a front caliper seal. He pulls it apart, and changes the seals - but he needs some help to "bleed" the brakes. He says to a guy walking by "Hey, you got a minute to help me?" The guy "got a real funny look on his face, just for a second...Then he slung his leg in the window like he did it every day. We bled it right out, and I thanked him - he went on his way." Somebody asked "Do you know who that was? Paul Newman!"

[bertman]

4. I LOVE this guy. He nails it every time. Rec. nt