He’s never changed his message.

He didn’t go disco in the late seventies.

He didn’t feature a rapper during the break of his comeback single.

He just stayed the same and waited for the public to catch up with him.

Or as Carly Simon sang, he’s coming back ’round again.

This desert appearance is not equivalent to RuPaul insulting Milton Berle at the VMAs, nor Pee-wee Herman opening said show. But in terms of cultural statement…

It eclipses the performance of Lady Gaga and the other headliners at Coachella. Because Bernie is doing more than the performers, he’s resonating with people’s brains, which lead to their emotions and…

Maybe you disagree. My inbox is full of people defending Trump and his tariffs, never mind the rest of his actions. However, the best story I read in the past twenty four hours compares the U.S. to England in the wake of Brexit:

“How Brexit, a Startling Act of Economic Self-Harm, Foreshadowed Trump’s Tariffs – Britain’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016 was sold to voters as a magic bullet that would revitalize the country’s economy. Its impact is still reverberating.”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/world/europe/how-brexit-a-startling-act-of-economic-self-harm-foreshadowed-trumps-tariffs.html?unlocked_article_code=1._U4.OG0V.F0imE8rc18eU&smid=url-share

Read it and weep. Then again, people are still defending Brexit, despite its deleterious effects. All those musicians… The EU has still not loosened travel rules. And it was the less advantaged who voted for Brexit just like the same voted for Trump, and they’re the ones who are being hurt.

In a world of disparate interests, Coachella triumphs by being a smorgasbord of acts/entertainment. You can see it all in one place. Assuming it’s worth seeing.

Of course there are headliners who refuse to play the festival because they can now make more playing stadiums themselves. This reflects America, where the rich get richer and the poor pay attention to delusional scams believing they’ll save them.

But we all want someone to believe in.

It’s hard to follow the Trump news now… Sure, he’s flooding the zone, but there’s whiplash. Today one thing, tomorrow another. It’s overwhelming and disillusioning. You don’t want to detach, but you’re numb.

And then along comes Bernie.

His gathering of 36,000 in Los Angeles was more impressive than last weekend’s protests, if for no other reason than there was a clear message, never mind a clear leader. The oligarchs are ruling, and no one can defend them unless they’re an oligarch themselves. This crosses all political lines, from bro to trans. We feel we have no control. And we certainly can’t trust our leaders.

Furthermore, the Democrats have been denigrating Bernie for eons. Because he doesn’t play nice with others. Isn’t that what a hit musical act does? Innovate and stay on message? With people flocking to them instead of being dunned to pay attention/donate money?

And who are the acts in bed with? They say they love their fans, but truly they love their corporate sponsors and the business people who help them pull the wool over the eyes of the public.

I mean who’s a bigger rock star? Bernie or Chappell Roan?

Bernie sells his message sans artifice. He doesn’t don outfits, he doesn’t need explosions and production and you can’t look at him and laugh, like you can with the wannabe metal acts with tattoos and piercings who are about as dangerous as a doughnut.

Not that Paul Tollett will let any politician take the stage at Coachella.

You want one that captures the zeitgeist, that makes news.

Once again, you cannot reach everybody these days, it’s impossible. But like a rock act Bernie Sanders is on tour. And he’s going into the red states, the enemy camp.

He’s a hero for our era.

Because he’s got credibility, a message.

He gives us hope. That truth can triumph, that the little guy can win.

And he never gives up.

This is my biggest takeaway from the desert festival. It’s big news that’s everywhere. Because Bernie Sanders is a bigger star than anybody who’ll take the stage at Coachella.

His appearance makes me feel good. That the little guy has a chance.

And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

I can’t predict the future, I can’t predict the ultimate effect of Bernie’s campaign, but at least he’s standing up and doing something, unlike the somnambulant doofuses leading the Democrats.

Makes me feel optimistic.

And we haven’t had that spirit here since…

The plan was to go to Frisco, to Amy’s synagogue’s mass seder.

But Peter didn’t want to drive and we don’t have a car so…

We did it ourselves.

Passover is one holiday you can’t miss. It’s somewhat joyous compared to the other two heavy hitters, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Then again, Rosh Hashanah is the New Year, which we used to celebrate by playing the Rosh Hashanah Open at the Equinox Hotel in Vermont. Our house was right down the street. And we purchased it from a Jewish realtor who invited us to the holidays at the Manchester temple.

Not that that was an official golf tournament. But that’s what my mother called it. She had a good sense of humor, and an attitude, and people loved her for it. I’m sure that’s what drew my father to her. You were never going to be sitting at home wondering what to do if my mother was around.

But she’s no longer with us. Nor is my dad, he died back in ’92. At the time 70 seemed somewhat aged, a good life, to die that young today is a tragedy.

So Felice looked up a recipe for charoset… There are very few Jewish delicacies, but charoset is one of them. You use it to make the Hillel sandwich, the highlight of the Passover seder.

So we start reading the Haggadah and…

My mind is flashing on seders past.

At first we used to go to my mother’s parents’ house in Peabody, Mass. They lived in the top floor of a triple-decker. My granddad owned two, he purchased them with the money he made in the tannery.

My older sister loved going to Peabody. Me, not so much. There was an old people smell in the apartment. But at least Uncle Harvey was there. He followed his dad into the tannery, but he hurt his back and ultimately O.D.’ed on pain medication in his forties. Beware of going down the back surgery route, sometimes your pain just gets worse and worse and worse.

But then we started to go to the Sheketoff’s for the seder. At this time they were still living in Bridgeport. There was a kids’ table, where we all got grape juice in paper cups. But eventually we started to sneak wine. Someone always boasted they could feel the effects, I’m not sure that ever happened.

But then the Sheks moved to Fairfield, into a spiffy new house they built. And we all sat around one big table and that was where Alan, instead of saying “bitter herbs,” said “bitter honey.” We joked about that at seders for years thereafter.

The seder was led by Harry Sheketoff. I never believed I’d get to the point where I’d run the seder myself. The leader has two big jobs, to assign the reading and decide which pages to skip.

So tonight’s Haggadah said the Jews left Egypt 4000 years ago. You mean this story has been passed down for all these years?

Not that I take it literally. Not that many Jews do. But we’re still Jews. It’s not like being a lapsed Catholic, you can even call yourself an atheist, but you’re still Jewish.

And it’s tough being Jewish in today’s society. We’re a tiny minority of the world’s population, but for some reason we’re responsible for all the world’s problems. And chances are we’ll go extinct. Primarily because of intermarriage.

So we hit the highlights… The four cups of wine…

And ultimately the Hillel sandwich.

You put the charoset between two pieces of matzoh and…

It’s always the highlight of the seder for me.

We passed on the overdone brisket, but we did have chicken soup.

And then we finished the Haggadah. We never did this as kids. We dreaded this as kids. We wanted to watch the baseball game, we wanted to go home and call our friends, we thought about school the next day… But Harry and a couple of other fathers would finish. They’d pour the cup of wine for Elijah, open the door, and after we were through running around the house they’d point out that the glass was now half-full, that Elijah had partaken. We were convinced that Harry or another dad had gulped the wine, but they’d never cop to this.

And of course there was the search for the afikomen, and the prizes dealt out thereafter. When we were young, we all got prizes. But as we got older, only the winner did, and it was a better prize to boot.

There were no kids in the condo tonight. We thought of Felice’s grand niece Ella. She has a friend in first grade who told her all about Hanukkah and…she came home and told her mom that she could celebrate the holiday, after all her Uncle Bob was Jewish, and that meant she was Jewish too!

Get old enough and it’s the younger generation that makes the seder interesting. You see them learn to read. Grow up. And someday they’ll be here and we won’t.

The sixties seem so antiquated now. But we felt they were cutting edge when we lived through them.

But we’re old now. Waiting to be replaced.

And all these years later, traditions mean something, they make you feel good. Just reciting the prayers, drinking the four glasses of wine, dipping and dropping the wine for the ten plagues… You feel part of a continuum.

And this bonds us to each other.

Let’s not talk about Gaza and Hamas, or even George Soros… Then again the Haggadah spoke of the concentration camps and the six million. But will that story continue to live, with Holocaust denial rampant and history even being disappeared in the United States?

I don’t know.

But I do know that during tonight’s seder I could see myself at four, at six, just learning to read, in high school, at various locations around this globe celebrating the holiday.

And this reflection was bittersweet. In that now I’m closer to the end than the beginning. But there’s a zone you enter during the seder. And the fewer the participants, the more palpable it is. You tingle a bit, you feel a bit special. You don’t feel better than anybody else, but you feel part of a tribe.

And that feels good.

Go to college. Do not listen to the blowback saying a degree is unnecessary, that is complete B.S. Sure, if you’re entering a trade, if you want to become a plumber or an electrician, college is superfluous. But for the rest of the public? Tradespeople make a fortune these days. Maybe because nobody seems to know how to fix anything themselves these days, whereas in the past many people had workshops in their garages. The reason you go to college is not to learn anything in the classroom, if you do, that’s a bonus. It’s about living on your own, meeting different people, growing up and developing, being exposed to different viewpoints from your family and your hometown/usual suspect circle. If you do not have a college degree, chances are you will be relegated to a service job, most of which pay poorly. A college degree is an entrance ticket. The world is divided into winners and losers, I wish it wasn’t this way, I wish income inequality were not rampant, but you must prepare yourself to be a winner, and that’s what going to college does. As for all the people you know who thrived without college…many were born in a different era, with a more fluid society, and there are always people who win the lottery, but the odds are extremely long.

Finish college. Life is about finishing things. If you can’t, you’re going to get into trouble. If you’ve got a job and your boss asks you to do something and you do…VOILA! You’d be surprised how many people can’t complete the task. Show up and perform, just do the basics, and you will have a good chance of rising. Also many worthwhile endeavors are extremely hard, difficult to accomplish, too many get frustrated and stop or drop out. But if you continue, not only do you gain a sense of mastery, you can see the dividend of perseverance. Showing up, jumping through the hoops/completing things and persevering in times of trouble are the keys to a successful life, and you’d be stunned how few possess them.

Who you marry is the most important decision of your life. Don’t screw it up. Once again, you can’t change somebody. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s not right. As for divorce… If there is physical violence or drug abuse get a divorce. Otherwise…you’re better off sticking with your partner. This is the perseverance referenced above. Unless you truly got hitched on a whim, there is a base between you… Divorce is more traumatic than anyone admits, it’s a regular breakup on steroids. And when you recover, and some never do, you’re at ground zero and have to start all over again. Better to work on what you’ve got.

Get married. Forget the statistics that say you’ll be happier and live longer, the truth is if you’re alone…you sink to depths you do not if you have someone you can count on, who will also be there when you get sick. You need people. Friends are great, but it’s not like a spouse.

Run on instinct. Period. Trust your gut. People will try and push you into doing things you don’t want to. If your instincts say no, back off.

Being a member of the group pays dividends, but groupthink can prevent you from living a full life. Don’t be afraid to step out and do your own thing. Will you get negative feedback? Yes. Might people ignore you? Yes.

You only have one life, so do what you want to. This is akin to instinct. No one gets to do what they want 24/7. And sometimes to do what you want is extremely difficult and painful. If you want to be a musician, if you need to be a musician, do so. But don’t expect to get rich and famous, don’t even expect to give up your day job. Ditto on acting. These are facts, the odds are long and the skills are soft and you’re dependent upon the whims of the public and gatekeepers and if you can’t tolerate this, make music your hobby. But it’s not only music, there are people who make a living skiing. But very few do. So you can move to a ski town and do manual labor and never get ahead or make money so you can ski in your free time. Life is about compromise.

Oh, an analogue to the above. If you go your own way, people won’t like it, and they truly won’t like it if you’re successful.

Being popular in high school is ultimately irrelevant. There’s a reset in life mere years later, you don’t want to peak too early.

Life is as short as they say it is. You can neither speed it up or slow it down. But keep your eyes open, be aware of the consequences of your choices, because time may pass you by, you might miss opportunities.

Take the opportunity, pay the freight. For some reason people like to say they’re poor, that they can’t afford things. Some are, most are not this destitute. They’ll judge others for having whatever, as if there is something wrong with spending and enjoying the fruits of your labor. But what I’m really saying here is if you’re on vacation, and the admission fee is…whatever, ALWAYS SAY YES! You may never ever be there again, and in the future you’ll kick yourself for missing the experience for such a small sum. People will be impressed if you deny yourself. Ignore them, otherwise the joke is on you (as well as them!)

Possessions, physical items, used to be important, now it’s the aforementioned experience. We’ve all got the same phone… And if you’re rich you don’t even have to own the jet, you can get a NetJet account. And you don’t need a fancy car in the city, you can just Uber. If you think you’re impressing the Joneses…you’ll learn when you’re older that the Joneses are so self-centered that they don’t really care about you.

Never cheap out with health care. Get the best insurance and see the best doctors. Poor people live shorter lives than rich people because they don’t get as good health care. Go for a physical every year. Ignore the extended terms for colonoscopies and mammograms. Some GP working for the man might agree with these doctrines, but you’ll never find a concierge doctor who does. Also, if you are ill or need an operation GET A SECOND OPINION! Always! Even if it costs you. And if you’ve got a rare disease…there’s an expert on every disease in America, but they may not be close to you. Sometimes it’s worth taking a trip to see them. You’re healthy until you’re not. You’re a kid and you’re carefree, and then suddenly everybody you know has something wrong with them. Even worse, they don’t admit this, so you think you’re the only one.

Information is your friend. And it’s at your fingertips online. If you want to buy a product, go to the Wirecutter or Consumer Reports or… Do not trust the word of friends. There are some experts, but usually your friends love an item because they paid for it and they want you to buy the same one. Sometimes what they purchased is the best, but I’ve found this happens rarely.

Don’t be a tyrant. You read about all these entrepreneurs and CEOs who are out of control… Usually, there’s a day of reckoning. You have to learn how to be nice and get along. But that does not mean you should let yourself be abused. One unfortunate feature of successful men is they step on/put down/abuse those below them. And since this successful man is paying attention to them at all, many are sheepish and cower when the line is crossed. If you can’t push back when a foul is committed, if you’re not willing to say you’re not going to do something, you’re never going to be successful.

Ignore those who say they’re going to block your success. Some actually do their best to do this, but there’s always another way around.

Don’t listen to conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is about keeping you in line.

Your friends do not give the best advice, they just want to see you happy. If you’re truly in a bind/confronting a problem, go to a professional for therapy.

“Each of us has his own special gift, and you know this was meant to be true, and if you don’t underestimate me, I won’t underestimate you.” That’s Bob Dylan, from “Dear Landlord.” But the reason I quote it is… The person who appears dumb ends up having a facility with cars or computers you do not. And don’t lament you’re not pretty enough, or smart enough, we all get assets in equal doses. Just shine up and emphasize those you do have. The deck is not stacked against you. Yes, if you grow up in Manhattan with rich parents you’re a step ahead, but as a human being, we are all truly equal.

Travel. Because it broadens your horizons. In many countries there are advancements beyond America. You have to see that the way you think and live your life is not the only way.

Don’t be too afraid to take a risk… If I hear one more single baby boomer tell me they’re afraid to try online dating… Sure, it might be a bad experience, but you could meet the love of your life! One thing is for sure, if you don’t try, you’ll get nothing.

Your parents are not always right. It’s good to have family, but in many respects the death of a parent is liberating, you can throw off the chains of judgment and live your own life.

People will give you advice, most of it is worthless.

Every hundred years, all new people. That’s what Warren Miller said, so… Find the movers and shakers from your era and grow with them, don’t worry so much about who runs the corporation right now, but who will be running it when you’re in the middle of your career.

Life is not fair. In any way. I’d say there is karma. Not that this a guarantee, but I find most bad actors ultimately get their comeuppance. Kids get cancer and die, people get killed in car accidents. Someone gets the promotion you wanted. It hurts, and you should lick your wounds for a while, but at some point you’ve got to put one foot in front of another again.

Don’t be afraid to express your emotions. This is what people can relate to most, your feelings, your experiences. When you express doubt or loss you become human.

You find out who you can count on when you get cancer or some other major illness, and it’s never who you think it is.

Learn  how to listen. People love to talk and they will tell you ANYTHING!

Be aware that you might be dominating a conversation and make room for others to participate.

You’re not always right, no one ever is. And when you’re wrong, be a big enough person to apologize. But don’t apologize just to get off the hook.

No one has the answers.

No one will be remembered.

Life is a quandary.

GOOD LUCK!

More of the San Francisco sound.

Tune in tomorrow April 12th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz