NO PUNCHING DOWN

The 2008 financial crisis — triggered by leverage, opacity, and the assumption that the system would be rescued — ultimately cost taxpayers on the order of a trillion dollars in direct and indirect support. And that was a housing and credit shock. An AI bailout would be bigger by design: concentrated compute infrastructure, massive energy build-outs, national labor displacement, and firms deemed “too central” to fail.

The Ballad of John and Yoko isn’t about romance or rebellion. It’s about momentum under pressure. The world is loud, judgmental, intrusive, and moving whether you’re ready or not. Lennon doesn’t stop to explain himself. He doesn’t slow down to process his feelings. He just keeps moving, narrating the strain as it happens.

It’s Mick and Keith looking at the mess and refusing to disinfect it for polite society. This record doesn’t do “good vibes.” It doesn’t do fake optimism. It tells the truth the way grown men do: with dirt under the nails and zero interest in being liked.

Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight” is the opposite of performance. It’s not romance. It’s not poetry class. It’s a man standing in the doorway with his back against the wind, telling the truth in a voice that’s already been through it.