March 13, 2026
Some follow-ups to past articles.
You recall my distaste for Bruce Springsteen because of his pandering to European audiences about how terrible things are here (his native country remember). He pandered Woke and I wrote that I thought it was about the money. I know that sounded cynical and harsh.
Except:
His new tour poster. And now:
‘Out of Touch Hypocrite’: Bruce Springsteen Fans Call-Out Unattainable Ticket Prices
Headline on Ticket News
He priced them as high as $3,000. And they are not doing well. His fans, to whom he presents himself as a kind of working-class hero “speaking for them” might set a new standard for hypocrisy. I’m sorry, you gin them up with political rant, then suck them in with “No Kings” but then charge them for tickets that, ironically, only a king could afford. I am done writing about Bruce Springsteen. He’s so yesterday now.
The Romans said, “Pecunia non olet”. Look to the money. In my long experience trying to read into human motivation among the famous, this has rarely failed me.
Kim has been relatively quiet. My loss. All the heat and light about passing the bar exam has now moved to court…she’s suing Ray J for defamation in October, alleging he made false statements that could jeopardize her path to a law license.
Ray J fired back in court, pointing out she hasn’t passed the bar exam yet, and that neither Kim nor Kris denied committing racketeering in their court declarations. I mean, maybe a flawed brief seeking damages when you used astrologers and bots to study?
But she’s still in that TV show. It’s been renewed for a second season.
Despite the renewal, the critical reception was brutal…it holds a 6% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus reading “too awful to love, too boring to war over.” I’m guessing Naomi Watts and Glenn Close are drawing the 6%.
Here is the Real Clear Politics composite of polling for 2028 among the Dems:
Harris leads at 26.4%, followed by Newsom at 19.9%, Buttigieg at 10.3%, AOC at 8.5%, Shapiro at 6.1%, and Mark Kelly at 5.8%.
Honestly, any one of them could drive the Democrats into a ditch in 2028 so I am very hopeful they’re pulling a Bruce Springsteen…so yesterday. I don’t want to see the Dems run off the rails any more than they have.
Meanwhile, here’s Rahm Emanuel:
He told Axios he sees two wings in the Democratic Party: “There’s a resistance wing dominated by Gavin Newsom. And there’s a renewal wing that will be as forceful in fighting for America as the other wing is in fighting Trump” and he intends to lead the renewal wing. At a Bloomberg Government roundtable in late February, he made what sounded like an open campaign pitch: “If you think the party is weak and woke, there’s nothing about Rahm Emanuel that says weak and woke. That would also be a change.”
An aside: If AOC gets 8.5% why are the Dems held hostage by the far Left? If they tell them to kiss off, are they going to vote Republican?
Emanuel hasn’t announced, he will and he should. I’m not voting for him, to be clear, but I think he’d be the best foot forward for the Dems. Meanwhile everyone else is punching themselves out early with messages that go nowhere…Harris has cancelled some of her book tour stops, Newsom is blaming Trump for California’s nosebleed gas prices and is getting roasted in the media. Buh bye.
Mark Ruffalo (my favorite as you know) can’t stop:
After Kevin O’Leary criticized Billie Eilish’s anti-ICE Grammys speech, Ruffalo exercised his considerable and deep well of verbal inventory and told him on Threads to “STFU,” writing that O’Leary “will go on any show and talk s*** about any number of things and smugly expect us to listen.” Variety
To further buttress his political bona fides, he will be appearing as Hulk in Spider Man-Brand New Day in July.
“As for the specifics of his role in the plot, Screen Rant reports Marvel is keeping that under wraps, but set photos showed Bruce Banner looking injured and disoriented on a stretcher, which has fueled speculation that he may revert from “Smart Hulk” back to the more primitive “Savage Hulk.”
Sorry, I’m thinking there never was a Smart Hulk but always a more primitive Savage Hulk, if you follow that. And “disoriented” makes Mr. Ruffalo a slam dunk for the role.
Robert DeNiro is busy. No less than four projects in the works. I guess we’ll see how he does with 50% of the people not wanting to go. For those of you craving sublime and ethereal theatre experiences, coming in November:
Focker In-Law. He reprises his role as ex-CIA agent Jack Byrnes in the fourth installment of the Meet the Parents franchise. Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Owen Wilson all return, with new additions including Ariana Grande.
“Focker.” Get it? Sniggles and nervous giggles? Get it?
Like Mr. Ruffalo, Mr. DeNiro continues to buttress his political chops with his acting, here, channeling the CIA. I’d prefer he take a Poli Sci course, but that’s crazy talk, I guess. BTW, I find most of those other actors simply irritating. Especially Owen Wilson. I like Blythe Danner though. And I am moved to remark that any society that creates a “Meet The Parents Franchise” is in deep trouble, culturally speaking.
I wrote about New Zealand and then this week ran across a fluff piece (I believe in the WSJ) extolling NZ and explaining about how many Americans are buying homes there and so forth. Most of it struck me as rich people putting down a “safety” stake, freaked out by events here. But honestly, it could have been written by the NZ Tourist Bureau (maybe it was).
I’m just saying that a safe trade to make is to bet that most/all of those people will eventually come home. The place has its natural charms (and is a perfect camper-trailer vaca experience), but I would be bored out of my skull in 72 hours (and was). Put another way, your longing for Taco Bell will easily overcome your desire to leave home. Just don’t move, I’m saying. Just ask Ellen.
Ellen DeGeneres gets this idea for free: Start a paid seminar called:
“Why Funny Accents and Weird Weather Should Make You Think Twice.”
And a brief update on Woodpecker Wars:
We’d had enough and after trying small weapons…grenade launchers, pistols and AK-47’s, we brought in heavy artillery. Yes, it’s the JLG Lift. What sold me, the manufacturer says,
“Reach new heights with enhanced safety and greater productivity.”
I thought that was clever.
This thing will cost you $1,700/day and it reaches up to 80 feet in the air. Providing a platform for workers clambering aboard, closing off the holes in our home and putting up sticky stuff so they can’t drill into the stucco. So far, so good. No deaths, on either side of the lift. If the ISIS-inspired birds don’t relent (sparrows have now joined them…a proxy war), I’m going to borrow some Trumpian rhetoric…
”You’ll see devastation the likes of which you’ve never seen before.”
Of course, sparing the bathrooms, the bedrooms, the hallways…
Below: Total War
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
