3.19.19 Bee-otch of the Day: the US government

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY!

Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday; Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Sunday morning on Chuck69.com.

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Name: The US Government
Age: 243
Occupation: the people who control you and me
Last Seen: Washington, DC
Bee-otched For: killing a Dick
 

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These past few weeks have not been good to rock 'n roll.

Last week, legendary drummer Hal Blaine died at age 90. Along with the ultra-talented group of studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, he was behind the kit on thousands of recordings. As a matter of fact, he played on 40 #1 hits. Are you familiar with The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", "The Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel or "Love Will Keep Us Together" by the Captain and Tennille? Well, he was the drummer on all those.

Also passing was David White, one of the members of the 1950s doo-wop group Danny and the Juniors. He was 79 when he died on Sunday. He was an accomplished songwriter who co-wrote the group's big 1958 #1 hit "At The Hop" and "Rock 'n Roll Is Here To Stay". He also wrote a great share of other golden oldies like Len Berry's "1-2-3" and Lesley Gore's female empowerment anthem "You Don't Own Me".

While Blaine and White weren't necessarily household names, at least Dick Dale was somewhat more-familiar. The 1960s surf rock legend died on Saturday at age 81 from heart and kidney failure. During his 1960s heyday, he made over a million dollars per year, though he never had a hit single. In 1994, his career was resurrected thanks to his signature song, "Miserlou" being used as the theme song to the cult motion picture classic "Pulp Fiction". A whole new audience discovered Dale, who fell into obscurity.

Now, when people well past their prime are still performing at their age, some would say that they do it for the love of performing. Well, in Dale's case, it was because of one thing: he needed the money.

In 1965, Dale was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He recovered, though he was broke because of the medical bills. He retired from performing, focusing on business deals that eventually cost him everything. When he recorded "Pipeline" with fellow guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughn in 1987, he was living in an RV. Right around that time, he had another bout with the same cancer. Only this time, he was fitted with a colostomy bag.

In other words, he pooped out of his stomach.

Dale lived a life that would please most doctors. He never smoked, drank or did drugs. He even stopped eating red meat in the 1970s. But yet, it wasn't enough for him to prevent two bouts of cancer. And did he pay the price dearly.

Toward the end of his life, Dale proclaimed that he was paying $3,000 per month for his medical expenses on top of the insurance that he was already paying for. And when he performed, he was in severe pain. He dealt with diabetes, renal failure and a broken vertebrae.

You know, it's sad when you've worked all your life and something comes up and BAM! you're stuck working until you die. That's the sad story of Dick Dale. As a matter of fact, he had concert dates all throughout the year.

This is why I think it's time we have universal healthcare in America. Time to stop judging people on preexisting conditions and assuming that they can't poop out of their asshole anymore because they had too many hits of LSD in the 1960s. If Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, the UK and others have it, why can't we? Oh, I see! It will put the health insurance industry out of business! If you get sick, then that means they get to profit and find sinister ways to do so.

The only way we can get universal healthcare in America to be a reality is if we can get real progressive leaders to run our government. We need more AOCs and less Pelosis, more Bernies and less Hillarys. We need people, not corporations running our damn government!

And if universal healthcare was a reality, Dick Dale *MIGHT* have had a better life.

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