I flipped on the radio and was forced to endure about 10 seconds of Dick Cheney going on about waterboarding before I could change stations. When will the earth finally open up and swallow him with flames licking at his pale fat ass?
Barack Obama and right-wing French President Nicholas Sarkosy find that if they look hard enough they can find common ground on at least some issues at the G-8 Conference.
Well done, gentlemen.
Woody Guthrie wrote the song "This Land is Your Land" in 1940 as a reaction to the syrupy sentiments of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." We forget now Guthrie's song was not originally just a patriotic camp singalong.
When formerly blacklisted folk icon Pete Seeger sang it on the Washington Mall during the Obama inauguration concert, he sang the whole thing, including what singer Jill Sobule and others have mockingly referred to as the "Commie verses."
An anthem is a song of celebration. For a country as diverse as ours we need more than one National Anthem. "This Land is Your Land" belongs on that list of unofficial anthems, and not just the feel-good verses.
This Land is Your Land
by Woodrow Wilson Guthrie
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me
Chorus
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
That side was made for you and me.
Chorus
In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there whistling
Is this land made for you and me?
Chorus
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
Every July 4th I wander down the street and watch the Ryan Place parade in the sweltering July heat. It's a neighborhood event that has more patriotism in its pinky finger than anything you'll seen on your HD TV from the comfort of your air-conditioned house. To hell with fireworks -- this is my favorite thing about the 4th.
Neighbors and friends from near and not so near gather for the fun. Differences are put aside and we share the sense of celebration.
I love the description "the American Experiment," despite attempts to co-opt the term for narrow partisan purposes. The experiment fails when we stop recognizing that no one person or group has a monopoly on wisdom, virtue, common sense or love of country.
Me and my good friend the Whited Sepulchre at the Ryan Place Parade.
Republican pinup Sarah Palin has decided to hang it up and has announced she'll be resigning as Alaska governor. Time will tell what fueled this latest bit of Wasilla wackiness. Given her competitive nature, perhaps she felt overshadowed by fellow Republican governor Mark Sanford's hi-jinks.
"We've seen a lot of nutty behavior from governors and Republican leaders in the last three months, but this one is at the top of that," said John Weaver, friend and confidant of John McCain. Even now McCain must be kicking himself again for choosing her as running mate in 2008.
Given the suddeness of her decision and the fact she's leaving without serving even a full term, inquiring minds will be wondering if she's trying to outrun some soon-to-be breaking scandal.
God willing, this will be the last time I write about this woman. But I doubt it.
Once again I must thank the Whited Sepulchre for bringing this to my attention (I'll try not to shamelessly rip him off).
University of the Cumberlands, a Southern Baptist affiliated college in Kentucky has caught wind of the fact that Broadway Baptist (where Whited Sepulchre and my heresies are tolerated) has been ex-communicated from the Southern Baptist Convention for insufficient hatred of gay folks. University of the Cumberlands was to host the Broadway youth choir for part of their summer choir tour.
That was last week.
According to Whited Sepulchre (who is unusually well-connected) and legitimate news sources, a Cumberlands spokesperson called, days away from the choir's departure, with the news the choir would no longer be welcome.
As part of their trip, the youth were to perform mission work with Mountain Outreach, a UC program that builds housing for poor in the Appalachians. The Mountain Outreach web site says "In keeping with the tradition of the program, no experience is needed to be a Mountain Outreach volunteer—only a willingness to learn and to help others."
Hmm...guess someone forgot to tell them about the religious eligibility test.
The University does have other eligibility tests they fail to mention. President Jim Taylor's greeting says, "Everyone here ... is interested in helping you achieve not only your educational goals but also your goals for personal and spiritual growth."
Tell that to Jason Johnson, the dean's list sophomore theatre arts major ousted 2006 because he foolishly revealed he was gay on his MySpace page. In this case President Jim said, "At University of the Cumberlands, we hold students to a higher standard than does society in general...University of the Cumberlands isn't for everyone."
Well I guess so.
The University of the Cumberlands takes pride in their educational mission. The question is: do these Pharisees realize the lesson they are teaching?
If you've never seen it, Spin, by film-maker Brian Springer, is a brilliant essay on the art of political spin. Created over a dozen years ago it's still relevant today.
It's part of the Illegal Art Exhibit, which features a number of works considered "illegal" because of various copyright encumbrances (Spin makes use of pirated, raw unedited network satellite feeds). It's yet another example of how copyright law has been twisted to all sorts of purposes not intended by by our nation's founders.
This is the brainchild of StayFree! a non-profit magazine founded by Carrie McLaren in 1992 about the politics of culture.
Check the other stuff on the Illegal Art site - worth your time. Spin and other films can be downloaded from Archive.org.
It's been a rough week for celebrity deaths: first Ed McMahon, then Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.
Now comes the most shocking of them all: William D. Mays, Jr., better known as Billy Mays the infomercial king, has gone to that great toll-free number in the sky, dead at the age of 50.
If you watch any cable or satellite TV you've seen him hawking all manner of amazing products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo and god knows how many other household goods. Best known for his in-your-face braying delivery ("Billy Mays here!") and take-no-prisoners style, Mays has in recent years become America's most successful product hawker. In April 2009 he was featured in Discovery Channels documentary Pitchmen.
Despite the slight air of sleeziness that exudes from "as seen on television" commercials, the products we've bought (they're in stores, too) have (mostly) lived up to the pitch. If Billy promoted it, you knew it would be worth the price ("act now and we'll double the offer!").
Billy, we loved your over-the-top commercials and will miss you!
