Today you go to college to get a job.

In case this isn’t your beat, Hampshire College is on the verge of collapse. An outgrowth of the sixties, Hampshire was about creating your own major and exploring. The results include Ken Burns, an alumnus who has gone on to create series about baseball, jazz, the Civil War and more.

But today’s parents just want their kids to get a gig. That’s the job of college, but it shouldn’t be. Didn’t Steve Jobs testify as to the power of the liberal arts? He learned calligraphy at Reed, even if he did drop out, supposedly because he didn’t want to spend his parents’ money. But now the price of higher education has outstripped inflation and you can’t get a job at all without a degree and parents want value for their dollars and is that what education should be all about?

No.

Somewhere along the line, the country took a wrong turn. I can say when, but half the country will flip out. That’s right, Ronald Reagan legitimized greed and sowed the seeds of income inequality. That’s what the pursuit of “freedom” will get you. Then again, it’s hard to learn the truth when states rewrite history. America is no longer in pursuit of the truth, but bias. Everybody’s working the refs, everybody’s got an agenda, and the end result is few know what is going on, including the media. The media is a business oftentimes run by those holier-than-thou. Let me get this straight, AOC got elected and then suddenly the whole country, or at least the Democratic Party, skewed left? As for the right, they don’t realize we already live under socialism. Now this same media is saying the country is moving to the center and if you listen you know…they’ve got no contact with the people making the decisions. I know, because my inbox is gonna explode as a result of this paragraph, unless you’re on the front lines you’re clueless, but no one wants to reside there, because the blowback is horrifying. Used to be you were rich and famous and insulated, but that no longer applies, especially in the land of entertainment, the haven of nincompoops, especially in music, because…

Everybody with a brain is out.

Now I’ll admit, when I went to school parents wanted their kids to be doctors and lawyers. But those professions pay a pittance compared to the banks and tech, and the truth is boomer doctors are giving up practice and I know more non-practicing attorneys than those writing contracts and going to court. You see these people woke up, just like the scions of today’s parents will…is this what I really want to do, do I want to waste my life in pursuit of cash?

But we hear that Kylie Jenner is a billionaire. Is that the goal, to get plastic surgery and sell vanities? Try having a conversation with one of these Kardashians…I’ve seen them on TV, they’d benefit from going to college, although I must admit Kourtney did, and when she opens her mouth you can tell.

College, that’s where you learn to be an adult, away from mommy and daddy. But now you’re on the cell with them all day long and then you move back in and no one grows up, everybody’s got a safety net, except those who don’t. And those left behind…are addicted to opiates and voting for Trump because they want someone to pay attention to them when no one does!

And music is pop, whether it be hip-hop or Ariana Grande. We laud these know-nothings because they’re popular, as if they were Tolstoys. But the truth is you can learn more from someone working at the 7-11, at least they’re in touch with reality, whereas everybody else is selling you something. Meanwhile, those selling are oftentimes scammers, did you read about that radio host promoting a Ponzi scheme?

But that’s modern America.

But if you study the liberal arts, you learn how to parse the truth. Life isn’t about ones and zeros and objective tests. Life is all about essays. Bezos requires a six page summary, meanwhile, all those business class wankers are lamenting writing. If you can’t convey your ideas, good luck!

And our nation deplores those majoring in art or theatre or dance, thinking the joke is on them. Well, it might be if they’re looking for a well-paying gig, but chances are these students are better rounded with more insight than the frat rat raping you after studying sports business, or whatever it takes to get a degree.

And, once again, the blame lies with the wealthy and educated, they’re the worst perpetrators. They’re over-involved with their kids’ lives and don’t want them to go off course. Want them to be world-beaters. How about being a good person who can understand what you read and spread the word of truth?

But then we’ve got Fox News not even printing the same headlines as the rest of the media, never mind giving the news a different spin.

No one knows what’s going on anymore. Oh, they’ll tell you they do, but they don’t. It’s all about intimidation, trying to angst you up against your interests. And the best defense against this is a liberal arts education. Because you’ve got to divine your own damn truth. You’ve got to learn to go your own way. The crowd is oftentimes wrong. All the great writers of yore, isn’t it funny that they were singular, not members of the group, meanwhile today herd mentality rules. Cohen doing what Trump said so he could get rich.

Of course you need money, but how much?

And the truth is there’s no entry to life for those left behind. They just fall further and further behind. And of course corporations pay no taxes and the Koch Brothers lobby for disintegration, but there are big issues at hand here, and we refuse to address them anymore. JFK implored us to go to the moon. Now the government is the enemy that must be defunded so the rich can get away with their crimes. That’s right, Trump didn’t pay his fair share and he got to be President!

He constantly paid fealty to the uneducated, his base.

But the educated are punting. They’re self-centered. It’s all about getting your own piece of the rock, screw everybody else, don’t even let the poor know about their options.

Most people should not go to college.

Then again, there are not enough jobs for thinking people. A degree allows you to be a receptionist. And you owe your life to the bank for the privilege.

Used to be artists spoke truth to power, when they were products of the middle class. But that group has been eviscerated, now we’ve just got the haves and the have-nots. And the haves want nothing to do with music because there’s just not enough money in it. That’s for the rubes, the underclass, just like reality TV, where you parade for a minute before you fall behind. Want to know what’s going on in this country…listen to a record? Give me a break!

But whenever I write this I hear from the wannabes saying they’ve got the next hit, when the truth is in the pre-internet era they wouldn’t have been able to record, never mind distribute.

That’s right we keep giving the clueless false hope, while the privileged run the game.

The Youngbloods sang that we should get together and love one another. Boy how times have changed. But the boomers thought they’d find their way. That becoming fully-realized was more important than garnering cash.

Our entire nation is about jumping mindlessly through hoops to get somewhere you ultimately don’t want to be.

And those left out are scrounging for a living, looking for a way for momentary fame. They hear about influencers, Spotify playlists, when the privileged hear about Goldman Sachs.

And the media tells us Kamala Harris will be President and Bernie Sanders shouldn’t run. Meanwhile, no one in California, where Harris held office, is excited about her and Sanders immediately raises $10 million in small donations when he announces.

Which is why you should question everything you read and hear.

But do you have the education to do this?

In high school they’re teaching to the test and in college they’re teaching you how to be a cog in the wheel.

Maybe you should read a book and go to the museum to experience the wisdom of the ages. And armed with this knowledge maybe you can make a difference.

But you just want to make money.

Tune in tomorrow, Tuesday March 5th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: LefsetzLive

Paddleton | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

They never make a movie about the way guys really are.

You can see beefcake, men who love ’em and leave ’em, men who abuse women, but they don’t make a flick about the people I know.

They do in “Paddleton.”

The average guy can’t get laid, is probably afraid of girls, has a good heart and would never step out on you, for fear he’d never find anybody else. These are the good guys women are looking for, but don’t want. You’ve heard there are no good guys left? That’s wrong.

Not that Ray Romano and Mark Duplass are winners in this flick.

Romano is afraid of the cute coworker who asks about his weekend. You’d figure this is a perfect opportunity to connect, but it’s easier to brush her off and angst about it later. As for Duplass…he’s got a go-nowhere job in a print shop, he ain’t gonna take you out for dinner someplace other than McDonald’s.

Yes, these guys are losers. And I’m not saying most men are, but there are so many true characteristics here.

Like the wearing of shorts. I’M GUILTY! I doff them in the winter, unlike a lot of people I know, but I see it as a perk of living in L.A. I see it as a perk of being in the music business, the one that used to exist, not the one we’ve got now, where the musicians dressed in street clothes and didn’t own a suit. Now that’s the techies. But here, the shorts are representative of yearning to be a boy, to not grow up. Or as my childless friend Jake says…without children you’re a kid forever! You can be silly, you’re not married to your job, you’re footloose and fancy free, even if the rewards come with aging.

But Romano and Duplass are still addicted to kung fu movies. They can do all the moves. They’re like best friends from high school. But they met as adults.

It’s hard to find friends as an adult, true friends, people you can count on, not just the husband of your wife’s girlfriend. Everybody’s into the pecking order, they will not let their guard down, certainly not with people they consider beneath them. And every encounter is a business opportunity. Get together with a guy and they’ll sell. You’ve got to pierce like a surgeon to get the real story. Women chat up their girlfriends about their feelings, their emotions… Men talk about cars, possessions and sports. Sound bad? It is. That’s why guys need girls, to expand their horizons.

But Ray and Mark have each other. Ray lied about a few things when he first met Mark, wanted to make a good impression, and it’s only when Mark’s time is nearly done that he coughs up an integral fact.

You see Mark has terminal cancer. I could leave that out, but it’s right up front in this flick.

I’m a fan of the Duplass Brothers. They illustrate what the technological revolution yields. I.e., they used the new and inexpensive production methods to make mumblecore movies that only insiders saw. But “The Puffy Chair” got traction and then the brothers got deals and their flicks…

Are indies.

You remember indie movies, right? That you saw at the art house? You had to get a distributor and you didn’t make much money. Furthermore, today no one’s got any time for the movies. Our dance card is full with exactly what we want. Driving to the movies and waiting for them to start is like buying an internal combustion car, something you once did you no longer will. Furthermore, you’re paying per pic, so if you don’t like something, you either endure it or feel ripped-off. But on Netflix…

The Duplass Brothers made an overall deal with Netflix. They sacrifice upside for guaranteed budgets and distribution. Are you making art to get rich or to make a statement? Too often, it’s the former.

And I’m not gonna recommend “Paddleton.” Because the truth is most people don’t like these movies. They like escape, they like happy endings, but there’s a tribe that yearns to see themselves on screen, a story about real life.

And the question is, when your best friend dies, where does that leave you? The one you made up games with, the one you had inside jokes with. There’s a giant hole that’s nearly impossible to fill.

And they make buddy movies about the infirm and aged. But regular people, eking out a living… Ray and Mark are not stupid, but either their dreams have been canceled or they’ve got no ambition. What does life look like then?

We keep reading about the kings and queens, those who played the game and won. When the truth is there are very few of those and you can’t replicate the formula. But if you’re just living your life…

If this is your kind of thing, tune in this show. I’ll admit it’s a bit slow at times, but then it picks up, not so much because of the action, but because of the piling up of events.

Do you have sex when it’s delivered to you on a silver platter?

Do you take your own life to avoid the pain?

Do you pick yourself up and start over having experienced loss?

These are the questions in “Paddleton.”

It makes you think.

They finally got him.

Wanted, dead or alive? Maybe Bon Jovi, but no longer Michael Jackson.

They’ve already postponed the Chicago theatre run. The tracks will be played, but Michael Jackson is about to become a pariah.

Wrong place, wrong time, to reference the old Dr. John chestnut. It’s kind of like sexual harassment. You could get away with it in the last century, but not today. Furthermore, child molestation is the third rail of our society, there’s no explanation, no excuse, you’re branded persona non grata and that’s it.

And past is prologue, i.e. R. Kelly. Despite Jim DeRogatis’s dogged investigative journalism, conventional wisdom is Mr. Kelly skated for far too long. That the industry gave him a pass, especially his record company, which liked the profit but didn’t want to hear about the behavior. Labels have been hiding behind the independent contractor myth for far too long. If acts are independent, why does the label end up owning the masters? Movie and TV studios too. Disney canned John Lasseter, and now it turns out Emma Thompson won’t work for him at his new company, Skydance. This is one thing that oldsters don’t understand, the goal posts have moved. Behavior that was tolerated then, is not tolerated now.

Like Donald Trump, Michael Jackson’s behavior has been hiding in plain sight. Was his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley ever consummated, was it just a cover-up for his bad behavior? And who is the father of his kids with Debbie Rowe? And the way he shuttled his kids around hotel rooms, and hung Blanket over the balcony… Sure, there was a bit of blowback, but since he was rich and famous he got a pass. The “New York Times” was snookered by the Donald for decades. When it finally dove into his taxes it turned out much of what he said was untrue.

But that did not involve child abuse.

Oh, don’t tell me not to dig deep. That’s the society we now live in, sunshine lights up the world.

As for the boys flip-flopping in their testimony… Did you watch Michael Cohen? Only politicians never get to change their minds, the rest of us are more fluid. As for a star’s power…it makes you do what you otherwise wouldn’t, I wish it weren’t true, but it is. You’re gonna ruin Michael Jackson’s career or get paid millions, go broke while becoming Monica Lewinsky, unable to evade the spotlight, or take the money and run?

Never underestimate power, never underestimate fame. And our nation is run on loyalty, whether it be in Congress or your own little home, we’re positively tribal.

As for truth… That’s a fungible concept these days. And people deny factual evidence, even if there’s proof. They say a photograph or video has been doctored, they say someone is lying.

So for those saying it ain’t so…too bad, it only matters if the public believes it to be so.

As for fighting on a legal technicality that HBO shouldn’t air the documentary, this is like the Republicans talking about Cohen’s credibility, not his content.

We heard the content, this is not a court of law.

So, the tsunami begins.

The Vegas show closes, because the casino can’t handle the controversy, even if people still want to go, they’ve got to deal with the picketing and the hit to their good will.

And the theatrical show never makes it to Broadway, it’s never resuscitated.

And no corporation will do a sponsorship deal.

But the music is still listened to, we learned that with R. Kelly.

It takes a long time for these stories to develop and come out. Where there’s smoke there isn’t always fire, but when the smoke never dissipates, when it builds, you pay attention.

Michael Jackson is dead. He ain’t going back to court.

As for his legacy, Fatty Arbuckle is only remembered for what happened in that San Francisco hotel room, even though he denied it.

You can’t be a child molester, they’re even killed in prison.

And can you imagine Michael Jackson in prison? No way. Which is why he convinced these boys to testify the way they did, they didn’t want to kill their friend, did they? This was not titan against titan, superstar versus superstar, this was the world’s biggest recording artist versus kids.

From time immemorial the wealthy have paid for silence. Hell, look at all the Wall Street world-beaters who kick their lovers to the curb, even the trophy wives, and pay them off.

Being rich and famous does not entitle you to break society’s rules. You think it does, but eventually everybody is caught, if by no one else but themselves. Come on, Michael Jackson couldn’t sleep, died way before his time, you think he wasn’t tortured?

They finally got him. The cash cow is killed.

Believe in yourself, not the heroes they run up the chart.

King of Pop my ass.