Yesterday, I had the most incredible musical experience of my life.
Have you, like me, been recalling the great protest songs of the sixties, and wondered where the new protest songs are?
Yesterday, I found out.
On Wednesday, I was at work when I got a call for a Neil Young session the next day. Needless to say, I was excited about it - Neil Young is one of my musical heroes. When my husband and I got to Capitol, we found 98 other singers, a collection of L.A.'s finest. All I knew was that we were singing on a new Neil Young record, but when the lyrics we were supposed to sing flashed on the giant screen, a roar went up from the choir. I'm not going to give the whole thing away, but the first line of one of the songs was "Let's impeach the President for lyin'!" Turns out the whole thing is a classic beautiful protest record. The session was like being at a 12-hour peace rally. Every time new lyrics would come up on the screen, there were cheers, tears and applause. It was a spiritual experience. I can't believe my good fortune at being a part of this.
It was also recorded on analog in the A room at Capitol Records, which they're talking about selling and turning into condos. No ProTools, no 'flying in', no Auto-Tune. Just real singing, and real songs, from a real artist. And to hire a hundred live singers? Incredible.
I got a chance to talk with Neil for a minute, and I told him that every word of every song expressed what I've been screaming about since 2000. I've never been at a recording session that was more like being at church. Heck, I've never been to a church that was more like a church than that session. We stood up for 12 hours (except for lunch and dinner) and I got a massive headache by the end, but I didn't care. It was worth the price of admission. We finished the session by singing an a capella version of "America the Beautiful" and there was not a dry eye in the house.
If I do nothing else for the rest of my life, I can say I was on that record. Whether it sells or not, it's the truth, and I got to be a part of that. What an honor; what a privilege.
Neil said it should be out in 6 to 8 weeks. I hope all of you get a chance to hear it.
Update: Attention to the disgruntled - I will be removing rude or insulting posts.
85 comments:
Congrats on the session. I'm stoked to hear the song!
Hope for real--more 'Ohio' than 'Let's Roll'
-HMO
c'mon alicia, you got to be kidding. neil would never act so political. did this really happen? there will be so many friends of bush that will be so disappointed in neil.
from the giant suv of hope.
"Four dead in Ohio." See blog of 04 MAY 2005.
big mouth...loose lips sink ships.
Yeah, I agree with this last person. Give the guy and his art some privacy. I'm sure you must be excited about your recording experience, but did you ever consider that you might have a responsibility to the project and not to the public?
Do part time actors return from the set of a film shoot and blog the plot of an upcoming blockbuster?
some food for thought.......
I disagree with the last poster. The only thing she revealed was the existence of the album, the political theme of many of its songs, and the date Neil said it might be released. She didn't give us any lyrics (just one line), any song titles, specify whether the music was acoustic or electric, etc. Had she posted all that in a detailed post, I might see the last poster's point. But as she only gave us a few details, I don't think any harm has been done to Neil or his new album.
With that said, as a Neil Young fanatic, I crave MORE information. ;)
That's great! Looking forward to the song...
I wonder if it has occurred to the idiots in charge that nuking Iran would quite possibly lead to our complete isolation by the world community, pretty much destroying the post-war geopolitical structure completely. Or, to put it in language Tom Friedman might understand: The world would no longer be flat.
The only good things about the Seymour Herst story, is that we get to recycle some of our songs:
Oh God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
...........
Now the rovin' gambler he was very bored
He was tryin' to create a next world war
He found a promoter who nearly fell off the floor
He said I never engaged in this kind of thing before
But yes I think it can be very easily done
We'll just put some bleachers out in the sun
And have it on Highway 61.
Bob Dylan....
Why would Neil be recording at Capital Records? He has a contract with Reprise/Warner. This is a hoax for sure.
Subject: New Neil Record... Hoax????
I think so. I called Capitol Records in Hollywood and said that I was part
of a large choir that recorded there on Thurday with Neil Young and think I
left my bag somewhere around Studio A... Was there someone I can call for
lost and found?
I was passed to another voice and told that no such session took place and
that "Neil Young has no affiliation with Capitol Records. Perhaps you were
trying to call Warner?"
Anyone think that because Neil is on Warner/Reprise that this was a hoax?
Wouldn't he be using a Warner affiliated studio?
BD
http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=8330
Looks like Jonathan Demme has confirmed the story.
Excellent news Alicia!!
Keep on rockin' in the free world. It is still here somewhere, if we can find it again.
Prairie Restoration National Wind Energy Park.
I think Neil would like this plan.
*laughing at the right-wing brown-shirt trolls* Take a look at this article, PUBLISHED yesterday in Harp Magazine, which announced the 100-person chorus, and the "Impeach the President" lyric.
https://www.harpmagazine.com/news/detail.cfm?article=10623
Grassroots publicity for this is the best possible thing for the world -- and for Neil Young! (Btw, he turned Republican for many years, was a Reagan supporter, right-winger himself. I'm glad to see that even HE has woken up to the nightmare that is Bush.)
With 60% of America DISapproving of Bush, it seems that the wing-nuts have turned into the brown-pants 101st Fighting Keyboardists, no longer the brown-shirts, because Republican juggernaut is about to lose power. Thank God!
See also the article in today's Salon, which confirms that Rumsfeld himself personally approved of torture in Guantanamo, endorsed Gen. Miller there. And Miller went from Gtmo to Abu Ghraib in Iraq. This nightmare won't be over until Bush, Cheney, and Rumself are held accountable.
“Greendale” had to be seen LIVE to be fully appreciated, imho. But the messages were there. Many environmental messages. Hope for our kids. Values. Taking a stand. Government intervention. The commercial media machine.
Speaking out against war seems like a good idea. Especially now, when there’s seemingly no end to this one in sight.
Neil’s not going to be led around by the nose, or the sponsors, or the big money. Roughly half of us feel the same way and we seem to be growing in number, and passion. I’m elated that Neil is writing/singing about this now. He’s the right one to deliver the message. The commercial 'stars' will follow. Yeah, he’ll make a buck along the way but I don’t have a problem with that if a few more folks wakeup and realize the paths they’re being led down.
If it was about making money he'd be singin' about bitc%es and ho's.
I can’t wait to hear this.
Congrats Alicia!
Thanks, sg, I feel that way too. He's a hard guy to pigeonhole, which in my mind is one reason he's a great artist. Neil Young has been demonized by both the right and the left at times. I admire him because he's his own guy, and he follows his heart. That's what a real artist does. I don't idolize him (or any artist) - that's unfair. They're all human beings, not deities, but people project their own wishes, hopes and dreams onto them, and then become outraged if their 'idols' let them down.
know him pretty well do ya? i wonder where you get your ideas from. i'll grant you this much - it's very disappointing for me to find that neil is indeed doing this thing. he's done a lot of beautiful work. i'll miss being entertained by him.
btw, what did you wipe me for? i didn't call you names. all i did was express that i won't be supporting neil's work any more because i feel that he is doing a very bad thing with his megaphone. i'll leave you all alone now. i'm sure that really breaks your hearts.
PEACE
ferstbaseman
ferstbaseman -
I would not have 'wiped' you if you had expressed yourself like you did the second half of your last post. But I don't want my blog to become 'Ground Zero' for people who hate liberal politics just because I posted about my own experience on my own blog. I did not go to anyone else's blog and shove my ideas down their throat.
You are completely entitled to your views, and I don't expect anything said here is going to change them. There is a difference between laying out your case for your beliefs and trying to persuade others, and just taunting and baiting people who don't agree with you. Honest debate is useful and productive. Taunting is not.
I know that you're sincere in believing that music like this will incite more deaths for American soldiers. But you can say that without treating me and my readers with disrespect.
Welcome to Hooterville, Rumi! Great clip there...prescient, huh?
funny, i don't recall any disrespect on my part. a little sharpness perhaps, but not disrespect.
do you think that links like "screw bush" are respectful? you want respect from those who differ with you but you don't always feel the need to convey it yourself. you wiped everything i said regardless of what was being said. i think maybe the johnny rotten story got your goat. obviously, it's your prerogative to wipe me from the board.
what are we going to do here in america? we are at each others throats over what to do about america's security. lefties use bush as a whipping boy in an attempt to regain power in washington. righties brand lefties as a bunch of unpatriotic kool aid drinking pagans. i think america is in a lot of trouble if we continue to go at each other instead of people like saddam hussein, abu masab al-zarkowi, osama bin hidden or mahmoud ahmadinejad.
these guys don't want to leave us alone. they aren't interested in letting us do our thing while they do theirs. they want to destroy us. and they are perfectly willing to commit suicide to do it. they are perfectly willing to lob a nuke at isreal or execute a mass-murder plot in europe or the usa. do you have any idea how nasty all of this could really get if we don't act to prevent it?
free speech like this will be a thing of the past if we can't come together on some basic ideas about what is dangerous to our form of existence.
there are pleanty of right-wingers who make me ill. there are pleanty of lefties who i like as people and as politicians. so, don't pigeonhole me based on my view of the war and neils' take on it.
if a football team is going to prevail then they must all work together or they will lose. it doesn't matter if the qb is a christian or an a-hole or both.
i wish you guys could see it.
The 'links to my post' are other people who link to this post on their blogs, not vice versa. I don't pick who chooses to link to me, any more than who visits me.
I don't have a problem with the Johnny Rotten story, but it did seem to be put there in order to be annoying, especially when you use the term 'get your goat'. I can't see any other reason for putting it up.
When you discuss your views like you just did, it makes me want to consider your point of view. Honestly. And try to see where we can agree, instead of where we disagree. You and I are people, not 'red' or 'blue', and I believe we both love America.
Thank you, ferstbaseman.
perhaps there's hope afterall... somehow.
the rotten tv story was intended to depict a week spot in neils' suit of piety. his record sales have been crappy and he's made a couple of protest records to crank things up a bit. okay.. yup so it was a little jab at ya too.
i'll go out on a limb and assume you don't see it that way.
i gotta git. from one musician to another - good luck with the music... but not your politics. cool, sang on a young record huh... too bad i can't go there.
peace, bro!
Thanks for the insight into the album. Somehow just found out about this today. Guess I'm slowing down in my old age :)
Cool blog too. Look forward to checking it out more. Later
ferstbaseman,
you're outnumbered, not only here but out there in the whole country and in the whole world. there's a sea change coming and you'll be in the slim minority. but, thanks for posting your opinions.
there are some things that libs are right about and some things that conservatives are right about. waring with each other over the crown while the wolves are beating down the back door is not one of those things. it doesn't matter who is at the helm. bush or clinton, reagan or kennedy, when a merciless regeme is being pounded into the ground it's always a good thing - a very good thing. it doesn't matter what dealings republican or democrat americans have had with with them in the past. there's never a good reason to tolerate the kind of thing that has been going on in places like iraq or afghanistan. for example, a common theme among conservatives that drives me nuts is the way they judge clinton's stand against slobodan milosevic and his band of bass terds. clinton was right to bomb them back to the stone age. americans are the most free people in the world. we didn't become free by saying "please stop it" to every tyrant that comes along.
i hate war. soldiers die. civilians die. but, ignoring this problem until they become strong enough to actually carry out their stated intentions is not a good alternative. if we do that then millions will die and millions more will be enslaved. and that might be an understatement.
Then again, if we go to war with Iran, we may all be dead in a few years.
war is never good, war is evil, war kills children and lying to send our brothers and sisters into harm's way is criminal.
Bush lied. Kids died, soldiers died.
Bush should be impeached for several reasons. One is lying to start the war and the other is treason for outing a CIA asset.
I say, go Neil... a little late, but the rest of the country is behind you.
The world is not black and white. The world is not made up of conservative and liberals and terrorists and patriots, i hate those little tags.
[Please create a link to this post in your section; can't get it to function for some reason. Thanks.]
Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' at TalkLeft
if the police are called to deal with a criminal with a really big gun do you suppose that they should let him go because someone might get hurt? it would be a mistake to let him get away. society would break down and anarchy would become the norm by your logic.
terrorism is the target, not a conservative christian president with whom you happen to disagree about a lot of other social issues. i wonder, what lie is it that you say was told to get us into iraq? please explain...
"In 1995, after several years of deceit by the Iraqi regime, the head of Iraq's military industries defected. It was then that the regime was forced to admit that it had produced more than 30,000 liters of anthrax and other deadly biological agents. This is a massive stockpile of biological weapons that has never been accounted for, and capable of killing millions. Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at [past nuclear] sites."
Bush speech to the nation – 10/7/2002
The above quote from President Bush refers to material produced by Iraq before the 1991 Gulf War.
Gen. Hussein Kamel, the former director of Iraq's Military Industrialization Corporation, in charge of Iraq's weapons program was interrogated after defecting to Jordan, in separate sessions by the CIA, Britain’s M.I.6 and a trio from the United Nations, led by the inspection team’s head, Rolf Ekeus. In a transcript of an UNSCOM interview with Gen. Kamel, conducted in Amman on 22 August 1995, Kamel states categorically:
"I ordered destruction of all chemical weapons. All weapons - biological, chemical, missile, nuclear were destroyed". Hussein Kamel took crates of documents revealing past weapons programmes, and provided these to UNSCOM. Iraq responded by revealing a major store of documents that showed that Iraq had begun an unsuccessful crash programme to develop a nuclear bomb on 20 August 1995. UNSCOM made a final substantive report in a 25 January 1999 letter to U.N. Security Council. (Enclosure 1, para.12).
Despite his testimony, Kamel's defection alone has been cited repeatedly by President Bush and leading officials in both the UK and US as evidence that Iraq has not disarmed and inspections cannot disarm it.
Hussein Kamel agreed to return to Iraq, where he was assassinated (23 February 1996).
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.”
State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003
“U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein
had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable
of delivering chemical agents.”
State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003
“We have also discovered through intelligence
that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas."
State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people
now in custody reveal that
Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida."
State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003
"Our intelligence sources tell us that he (Saddam) has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production."
State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003
Two weeks before the State of the Union, the IAEA said that the tubes "were not directly suitable" for uranium enrichment. Months earlier, the Department of Energy had reached the same conclusion -- as had intelligence experts at the State Department. At the CIA, Tenet seems to have latched on to the tubes as a kind of smoking gun. He brought one of the tubes to a closed Senate hearing [in September 2002]. But from the beginning, other intelligence experts in the government had their doubts. After canvassing experts at the nation's nuclear labs, the Department of Energy concluded that the tubes were the wrong specification to be used in a centrifuge, the equipment used to enrich uranium. The State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) concluded that the tubes were meant to be used for a multiple-rocket-launching system. (And Saddam was not secretly buying them; the purchase order was posted on the Internet.) In two reports to Powell, INR concluded there was no reliable evidence that Iraq had restarted a nuclear program at all. 'These were not weaselly worded,' said [Greg] Thielmann, [who recently resigned from the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research]. 'They were as definitive as these things go.'"
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003
The CIA had been telling the White House for the year proir that the evidence was a forgery.
All of the above have been blamed by Bush on bad intelligence, but each has since been shown to have been refuted by comprehensive examination of the same intelligence.
"We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in."
Bush Press Conference 7/14/2003
"U.N. weapons inspectors arrived in Baghdad for the first time in four years on Nov. 27, 2002 and resumed inspections two days later. During four months of inspections, arms experts traveled the length of the country hunting for banned weapons of mass destruction." CBS news, March 18, 2003
If you haven't seen video of the inspectors in Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion, you must have a cave less well appointed than that of Osama.(who is STILL out there) Here's a picture of them leaving, difficult if you weren't let in.: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/17/iraq/main544280.shtml
let's not forget that we were still officially at war with iraq when the president ordered saddam's head on a platter, though there was a cease fire agreement between us. saddam hussein defied the cease fire every day there after by his quest for chemical and biological weapons, trafficing of munitions and aid for terrorists (including al qaeda), reward money for families of suicide bombers, continued attempts to breach the no fly zone, and let's not forget the oil for food scandle. all of those things alone were enough justification to go in and remove him from power. he was a walking death machine. he absolutely had to go. personally, i was hoping clinton was going to do it.
i skimmed a few news reports from less than a single page of a google search on chemical weapons found in iraq...
________________________________
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...
Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction program was actively assisted by a wide variety of firms and governments.
---"By far Germany had the largest role"---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
BBC report January 2004...
Suspect shells examined in Iraq - blistering agents including mustard gas
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3386357.stm
SFGate report July 2004...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/07/02/international1018EDT0516.DTL
Chemical munitions found by Polish soldiers were being pursued by terrorists
CNN World report November 2004...
Iraqi forces find chemical materials in lab
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/25/iraq.main/
Fox News report March 2003...
'Huge' Suspected Chemical Weapons Plant Found in Iraq
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81935,00.html
Washington Post August 2005...
Iraqi Chemical Stash Uncovered
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/13/AR2005081300530.html
________________________________
now for a little bit of data on the accusation that "bush lied"... remember that when 9/11 happened there was a chain of terrotist nations stretching from syria to pakistan and beyond. Our pal was just a wheelin' and a dealin' right there in the middle of it all.
the article titles speak for themselves.
Iraqi Truth Project
Weapon of Mass Distruction - The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein
http://www.iraqitruthproject.com/
BBC News September 2003
Bush rejects Saddam 9/11 link
---"US President George Bush has said there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 11 September attacks."---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3118262.stm
Saddam Hussein's Philanthropy of Terror
The Butcher of Baghdad
---“President Saddam Hussein has recently told the head of the Palestinian political office, Faroq al-Kaddoumi, his decision to raise the sum granted to each family of the martyrs of the Palestinian uprising to $25,000 instead of $10,000” -Tariq Aziz
http://www.husseinandterror.com/
The Memory Whole January 2003
Bush Flatly Declares No Connection Between Saddam and al Qaeda
http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/no-saddam-qaeda.htm
FrontPageMagazine.com
The Saddam-9/11 Link Confirmed
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13323
________________________________
president bush is a great war time president with a very unique and difficult problem. liberals have hated him ever since the ball-hair election of 2000 - which was lawfully decided by the court. there hasn't been anything he could do right since for dems or libs. somewhat like clinton and the republicans - another travesty all of it's own.
when does it end?
One thing that you and I agree on - Saddam is a vile murderer. But I am afraid that a policy of pre-emptive war is going to backfire on us so badly that we won't know what hit us. The answer can't be 'who has the biggest bombs and isn't afraid to use them?' We can't take on the whole world, and I'm afraid we're moving toward just that. I hope we can find a way to avoid that, ferstbaseman.
it would be nice alicia, but it must be understood that we are opposing a force that is not interested in anything but the undoing of western culture. do you suppose that hitler was interested in finding ways to get along? how about bonapart or stalin? those kinds of people are completely ruthless. what many people don't seem to get is that they will stop at nothing to put down western culture. there's no other way to stop it than with force.
if you were to see a person being assaulted on the street wouldn't you want to do something about it? of course you would. you might call the cops or, for all i know you're a black belt... anyway, you get the point. you would do SOMETHING. surely.
there are a zillion people all over the world who have to deal with horrible conditions. and all america is supposed to do is shrug it's mighty shoulders and hope everybody else on the planet is able to catch up? i don't think so. that's not how we got started. we had a little help from our good pal france.
people die in war. more people die when we do nothing. even more live in perpetual fear and terror. and, when that terror is aloud to grow and multiply, it will come for us. someday, it will come.
Let the artist speak about and promote the record
all i can say is if neil is pissed off enough to make an album speaking out against the war, then things are really grim. because that man has never been one to jump on any band wagon. i have been following his music for damn near 40 years now, and i love it ALL. can't wait to hear it, and congrats, alicia.
Alicia - Thank you for sharing and for being on the "smart and decent" side of the Iraq war discussion. I will buy this album the first day it is released..!!
Fine work tolerating the pro-Bush oil war advocate Alicia!
Freedom of speech is truly wonderful, it exposes the Bush agenda for what it is.
Congrats on the blogging success, it is well deserved.
Finally, a coming together of patriotic Americans to give voice to our feelings that the war is wrong and the Bush Administration does not represent our country. Let our voices be heard and the peace movement begin. United We Stand!
I just saw Neil on CNN Showbiz Tonight. He was confirming the song "Let's Impeach The President" and the recording session at Capitol Records.
NICE! I linked to your post (I lifted some excerpts as well) on my blog - hope you don't mind.
Good Luck!
Thank you! and thank Neil. It been a long time comin' but we need to take back our promise of beauty from these evil, fascist horrors. If anyone votes republican in this year's national election - they are either a moron or a traitor or a millionaire or all three. If anyone is unable to see the destruction this madman Bush has reaked upon our once-great nation they need to see a psychiatrist. It doesn't matter if your madness is confined to your own destruction - but when it begins to effect so many in such horrific ways - then it matters to all of us. No quarter - this is not about politics anymore. If you call yourself a republican now - you are seriously deranged. If you vote for any republican for congress - you will answer to the future people's court. The guillotene was the answer in old-France for your kind of aristocratic wanna-bee. I am sure we could come up with more high-tech means today. Revolution is not pretty. This is not fun and games anymore.
to the last poster april 19, 2006 2:54 PM,
so, you wanna' start lopping off the heads of your fellow citizens huh? isn't that the same method for crowd control that Abu Musab al Zarkowi uses?
you really should avoid threatening other political participants with bodily harm. somehow that seems so wrong for a citizen of the world who feels that violence is automatically evil and incorrect.
think about what you've said here. you have proposed to dispatch those with whom you disagree using death and violence. yet, that is the very thing that you are claiming republicans are wrong about.
you don't see the "hawks" conquering germany or australia do you? you aren't seeing any invasion of south africa or egypt are you? the only conquering that is being done is the conquering of nutball organizations like saddams' regeme, al qaeda, and the taliban.
the war on terror is a war AGAINST violence. you appear to be proposing more of it. i think you have exposed yourself as a fraud.
ferstbaseman - do a little research about your idol, & maybe you'll open your eyes... they obviously need to be!
i'm thinking it's you who should be doing some research.
Congratulations to Alicia and David for being among the session singers on Neil Young's new disc. That's very cool.
Having said that, we live in interesting times. I've read through many of the posts. When did it become "Un-American" to criticize our government? Oh, I remember, back in the Sixties.
Our nation was founded via political dissent and revolution. We have an inalienable right to freedom of speech and dissent, which conservatives seem to forget. And, to paraphrase Voltaire, I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Read that Neil Young said he was waiting for younger singer-songwriters to step forward with some kind of protest; nothing happened, so he did it himself. I can't wait to hear the disc.
Sometimes our elected officials are just plain wrong. They lie, they obfuscate, they manipulate the truth to serve an agenda that is less than worthy.
We supported the Taliban. We armed them. We supported Sadaam in Iraq. We created the very monster we are now fighting. We created the monster we are now at war with -- and our goal? To Westernize the entire world. To impose our will on the entire world.
When I travel internationally, I hear the opinions of the rest of the world: and it is not good. Our government is feared and not respected at all. We have become the monster we're currently fighting.
We live in interesting times.
Peace.
I personally have done LOTS of research - can you say the same? Start with the Maine (Spanish- American War); Lusitania (WWI), Pearl Harbor (WWII); Gulf Of Tonkin (Vietnam); Operation Nortwood... & that's not even addressing the present! Get A Clue!
Oh, & by the way "ferstbaseman", if you want to talk about France, consider the fact that the Battle of Trenton (which was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War) was mainly fought on behalf of the British by German mercenaries... If you weren't aware of this, it's easily verified, I didn't make it up!
times are always interesting. there's always going to be some sort of dilemma to deal with... always has been... always will be. so what. "the rest of the world" is a very big place divajood. it sounds bit overstated. besides, america should defend itself whether "the rest of the world" likes it or not.
i don't think that political dissent or revolution are what make america great. in my view, freedom and opportunity are the ideals that make america a great country. don't believe me? okay, then ponder the reason why so many people sneak "in" to america while no one other than drug dealers is sneaking "out". they are not breaking in for the protest rights.
you say that conservatives forget about the right of liberals to speak their mind. consider that conservatives have the exact same experience with liberals. we are all refusing to appreciate any goodness in people who are on the other side of the isle. our wholesale lack of faith in each other as americans is the most harmful problem that america could ever face. yet, conservatives and liberals are beating each others' political brains out while terrorist entities salivate over the spectical.
this is why i disagree with neil young's new protest record so much. it's not because he dared protest american policy. it's because he is shooting at his own men in the middle of a desperate battle.
our fellow countrymen are not the enemy. bin laden - al zarkowi - hussein - ahmadinejad, where is the enmity and contempt for those destroyers of freedom and fairness? why don't THEY offend anyone - especially neil young - enough to write a contemptable jingle?
---------------
to mr. anonymous
lucky for us all, there weren't too many people protesting our government by bloviating about their own personal intellectual wonderfulness during hitler's march.
Funny you should mention Hitler considering that your idol's grandfather was the banker for the Nazis until our government caught onto it & froze their assets... again study your history - it's out there!
Funny that the word "protest" has never appeared in any of my posts, only facts & questions... here's a gift for you (although I suspect you're already quite familar with it:
Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinformation artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear No Evil, See No evil, Speak No Evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become Incredulous & Indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues, which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the "How Dare You!" gambit.
3. Create Rumormongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such "arguable rumors". If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a "wild rumor" which can have no possible basis in fact.
4. Use a “Straw Man”. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument, which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good, and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way, which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack Opponents with Name-Calling & Ridicule. This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as "kooks", "right-wing", "liberal", "left-wing", "terrorists", "conspiracy buffs", "radicals", "militia", "racists", "religious fanatics", "sexual deviates", and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit & Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question Motives. Twist or amplify any fact, which could so taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke Situational Authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough "jargon" and "minutiae" to illustrate you are "one who knows", and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues with denial they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate Opponent Charges with Old News. A derivative of the “Straw Man” usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with. Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually them be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish & Rely Upon “Fallback Positions”. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the "high road" and "confess" with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, "just isn't so." Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later. Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for "coming clean" and "owning up" to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas Have No Solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to loose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. “Alice In Wonderland” Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards with an apparent deductive logic in a way that forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand Complete Solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best for items qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit The Facts To Alternate Conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanishing Evidence &Witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change The Subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive and/or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can "argue" with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, & Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how "sensitive they are to criticism". 19. Ignore Proof Presented, Demand Impossible Proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the "Play Dumb" rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon). In order to completely avoid discussing issues may require you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications. 21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or Other Empowered Investigative Body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed an unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict (usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim) is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed.
22. Manufacture a “New Truth”. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), and leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony, which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create Bigger Distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence Critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by proper intimidation with blackmail or other threats.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
It's really a shame that a blog about a song by an entertainer has turned into some bizarre political disinformation debate...
i don't see an entertainment blog on my monitor. i see a political blog.
a good example of what i am talking about would be "the neo's and the damage done" link list at the lower right portion of this page.
this blog is hardly about entertainment. gimmie a break.
My beloved baby brother and one of my dearest friends are very conservative. They are not stupid. They are not ass****s. I don't argue politics with them because I know we aren't going to change each others' minds. They are also not in charge of the government. Neither am I. What's the difference between us? We both try to live our lives according to what we believe is right, what we believe Jesus would have us do. The difference is in whom we trust for our information about the world. That deep-seated, gut-loathing for Bill Clinton? I understand it; I have the same feeling for George Bush.
I believe that the neoconservative Project For A New American Century is fundamentally wrong and dangerous. Trying to dominate the world by military might is only going to get all of us us blown to bits eventually. But that doesn't mean I think the Americans who have bought this premise are all ass****s. If they are like my baby brother, they feel that if we don't take charge militarily, we will be blown to bits. I believe that corporate greed is feeding a lot of this. They believe that personal irresponsibility is bringing America down. Does that mean you see things completely differently than I do? Yes. Does this make you a stupid ass****? No.
There are liberal stupid assholes and conservative stupid ass****s. Regardless of their belief system, stupidity and assholiiness will always find its level.
ferstbaseman is right. This is a political blog. But it is a blog that you have to come and find, not one who forces itself upon you. And I will continue to write about my point of view on it. However, Dick Cheney is who I am furious and disgusted with, not ferstbaseman. So even though I don't agree with how he interprets history, or even about the basic facts, my beef is not with him or the other posters with whom I disagree, unless they are directly in charge of public policy. If you take this as an attack on you personally, you are harboring delusions of grandeur. And supporting my point of view does not mean that I want anyone calling for the guillotine. I wouldn't want a right-winger to say that on my blog, and neither do I want a left-winger to be insulting or call for violence. There are some people who completely agree with me politically who happen to be stupid ass****s. (not my readers here) And there are people who completely disagree with me who are not. So let's do things differently.
you are an interesting liberal alicia. i actually kind of agreed with most of that. kind of scary huh?
i would like to "throw the hatred down". it's tough to do when people spit on you as you speak. but as you've stated, jesus would like us all to do a little bit better job of appreciating each other's humanity. so would i.
corperate greed should be reigned in. i agree with that. it's tough to balance that against a right to liberty and self determination. that is the complicated challenge that goes on in washington every day. step one and two for me would be to get rid of the lobbyist pay-offs and get some term limits going on the hill. those two things would go along way towards restoring the faith of the people.
i have to respond to mr anonymous about the prescott bush accusations. i hope you'll bear with me.
____________
to mr anonymous,
senator prescott bush served as a planned parenthood treasurer. he was also a chairman of the united negro college fund - connecticut. pretty evil stuff huh?
the company he worked for (UBC) had prewar finacial dealings in germany that were seized under the "trading with the enemy act" after war with germany ensued. this is true. further more, the entity (fritz thyssen) that UBC was invloved with had his fortune, citizenship, and freedom seized by hitler for criticizing and opposing the brutality of hitler and the nazi's towards the jews. the UBC assets were returned after the war and were liquidated in 1951. prescott bush got a cool million and a half bucks for his single share in UBC.
what's wrong with any of that?
So it sounds to me like you basically agree with me (although I don't consider myself a liberal or conservative - no issues are black & white & should be dealt with according to the situation). Just for the record, I totally disagree with the amnesty issue for illegal aliens - does that sound like a liberal? I just feel that we ought to take care of things at home before we worry about other parts of the world (look at the Katrina response). I totally agree with your stand on lobbying, etc. - so what do we do? As for PB - sounds like war profiteering to me, but again that's just my opinion & I was under the impression that everyone was entitled to have one... just like a belly button!
Mr. "Ferstbaseman":
I have 2 questions for you:
1) Are you by chance a graduate or attendee of Yale?
2) Do you still subscribe to the "magic bullet" theory regarding the JFK assasination?
I suspect that I already know the answers...
i believe that the reason people come to america is to aquire the truest right to self determination on earth. that's why neil young came. that's why all of our ancestors came. a chance to determine our own future is what everyone comes here seeking.
certainly, we can't solve everything with bombs. there are some things that need to be dealt with forcefully though. the need for a police department and swat teams is a perfect example of this unfortunate fact. ever get picked on in the schoolyard? sometimes, ya just gotta punch the jerk in the nose.
sometimes, we earthlings face an "idi amin" or an "irish republican army". do we merely shake our heads at the tragedy? often times we do, and that is one thing that i dislike about american politics in general. our political parties use third world dilemma against each other like a bent shotgun. i've seen good ideas from all sides get turned into cannon fodder while the rest of the country vasillates over who is right. it makes me sick to watch it happen. meanwhile, millions suffer and die all over the world at the hands of a guy like slobodin milosevic or mullah mohammad omar. i mean really, don't any of you want to just kick the ever-lovin' crap out of people who delight in the suffering and enslavement of other human beings?
people need to be free. when they are not, something is wrong. not all societies are ready for the struggle to become a democracy. but now and then, as mankind evolves, a people become ready to determine their own future rather than live under the rule of a conquerer.
so yes alicia, perhaps your baby brother does see the light. and yes, "assholiness" occurs in every political persuasion, for sure. and no, i don't despise bill clinton. i didn't care for the cigar thing, but i didn't care for the republican solution either. it was very devisive and deconstructive. did you happen to notice bill hanging out with 41 and 43. i don't think they despise the man either.
did i really spell "corperate" like that... g's... i blame the democrats... yeah that's it...
well, there are a lot of anonymous folks here... which is fine... but forgive me if i get any of you confused with each other. hopefully, i'll get some clues from the goal of your pose - or something.
___political persuasion___
i don't consider myself a "liberal" or "conservative" either. there are good ideas that come from everywhere in the spectrum and i am not afraid of good ideas or people who think them. sometimes i might find a persons intentions a bit dubious, but that's only on account of i know best...
___black and white___
i do think there are clearly SOME black and white issues. but, i don't think that toeing the liberal or conservative line is the way to solve those things. i guess sometimes people aren't sure what to do so they go with the party choice. i'm sure i've done it.
___illegal immigration___
moving right along... the whole illegal immigrant thing... that's a pretty sticky issue. our first mistake was not to do something about it a long long long time ago. i think the most recent estimate that i saw was around 12 million illegals. suffice it to say that it might as well be a zillion. it's going to be pretty tough and pretty expensive to track down and deport 12 million people. if i had an "easy" button that would make it happen i wonder if i would really be able to press it. an aweful lot of people would be ruined - some of them bad, but most of them good. i would be tempted, but i don't think i could do it. a more humane idea would be to make the borders "air-tight", and get as many people documented and paying tax as possible ASAP. if we were to do both of those things in tandem - whatever it takes - the problem would be solved premanently.
___fixing stuff at home first___
taking care of things at home is a thing we have been doing since 1776. i have a feeling we'll be doing it until the sun explodes. i don't think we can wait that long to deal with other issues.
___katrina and the wave___
there were several things that went wrong during the katrina disaster. number one on my list is the fact that the city sits 5 feet below sea level as it was struck by a witch of a hurricane. number two on my list is that people - for whatever reason - were not removed from the town before katrina struck. number three on my list was the communication breakdown that occurred between the city, state and federal government officials. mother nature can be a real "B" sometimes.
___kick-backs and lifers___
the only way to stop the pay-offs and the lifers on capitol hill is to require those priorities from our candidates above almost every other cotton pickin' issue out there.
___grampa bush___
prescott bush... been there, done that, we're not going to get anywhere on that one this time around.
___buns ahoy!___
as for opinions, they're kind of like bun-holes. just because you have one doesn't mean everybody wants to see it!(joke).
that must be why we hide out here in the cyber sea with all of the other possessors of ugly bun holes. yeah that's gotta be it...
i have two answers for you, oh other anonymous one...
1) yale? what a dump!
2) i figure prescott bush did it from the grassy knoll with a weapon of mass destruction.
either that or the ussr and or castro were behind it. both hated kennedy with a passion. remember, it was recently revealed that the ussr sanctioned the nearly successful attempt on the life of pope john paul II. the ussr was terrified of his stand against them in poland (which proved to be the beginning of the end for them). if the ussr would kill the pope then it wouldn't be much of a bother for them to kill an american president. i don't KNOW this stuff, i just THINK it.
So what you're implying that the 4 surgeons that examined JFK in Dallas who testified that the wounds displayed to them in the Warren Commission were not consistent with what they saw in Dallas were either soviet/cuban agents? That dog don't bark! Just like WTC, why did the car JFK was riding in immediately destroyed - just like all the WTC evidence being shipped off to China before adequate examiination could possibly be complete. Not to mention the fact that in the history of steel frame construction buildings, there have only been 3 that have collapsed into themselves - & they all happened on 9/11/2001! And one of the 3 (WTC7) wasn't even hit by a plane & was a considerable distance between WTC1/2. I've been to the sight - have you? I'm quite sure you won't respond honestly, & if you do at all it'll just be some joke & that's fine... see you on the other side of Armagedon! If we're supposed to be so concerned about the "Axis OF Evil" why didn't we go get N. Korea 1st - they already have nukes (& are located directly across from one of our allies (Japan) - maybe because there's no oil or Isreal there?
appearently, your a psychic and a structural engineer. and according to you, i'm going to lie anyway. why should we even bother with this?
i gotta confess though, i just don't remember saying anything about surgeons or the warren commission - or barking dogs.
Actually, I do in fact have a strong background in structural engineering & once again, you're avoiding the answers to justify what you brought up (USSR, Cuba - how could they carry out everything you claim - by themselves?). Name another building similarly structured as the WTC buildings that collapsed/imploded - you can't! And in case you didn't get it, the barking dog commment was meant as an analogy... You're right, there's no reason to bother with this further because all you seem to want to do is avoid questions & create more spin! Go get a job at FOX news, they have an opening there now as I understand it!
Woof, Woof!
i am not avoiding jack. you have predicted that i would lie before you were even finished asking your questions, perry mason.
there's not much point in going on about all of this stuff with someone so bitter and cynical.
Good - Then Shut The F@&CK UP!!! You wouldn't have responded anyway - you'd just change the subject...
you're doing A LOT for your cause there grumpy guy...
Folks, I gotta say this one goes to ferstbaseman, for trying not to go to the bad place. He wins my award for 'most improved' here at Hooterville.
awe shucks...
not sure how that all came about really. i kind of thought we were all just having a little fun mining the ferstbaseman's odd perspective and visa versa. maybe it was the humor. shouldn't we all be able to withstand a little tongue-in-cheek chiding without getting so upset?
Alicia, you get an "A" in the tolerence column today.
okay, all of this coziness is disturbing. let's fight!
I didn't realize that this was about winning or losing, sorry! Here's some food for thought:
"People whose lives are barren and insecure seem to show a greater willingness to obey than people who are self-sufficient and self-confident. To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief of the burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility." ~ Eric Hoffer "The True Believer"
Alicia - I don't suppose that you haven't noticed that Mr. Baseman really hasn't ever answered any questions I've asked him, really? Do you also believe that cell phones work at 32,000 feet? Do you realize that steel won't become molten until it reaches about 2000 degrees C - but jet fuel burns at about 1000 C? Just checking!
Just wanted to point something else out to Alicia... at the top of this blog there is a banner that says "Impeach Bush", but within the posts you indicate that you're mad at Cheney... if Bush were impeached, who would be president then? Kinda hypocritical isn't it?
I think y'all don't understand (or you do but it doesn't matter) that what you're doing is essentially pointless. Do you imagine that if you present the right fact in the right light, that ferstbaseman is going to go, "Oh, goodness, you're right - I've seen the light! Good-bye, George Bush - hello Al Gore!"? (or, to you conservatives, the reverse for me?) If by some long shot that were to happen, it would be because he (or I) put together something in our own mind from our own observations that added up differently, not because someone beat us in an argument.
Now, some folks just like to argue, and that's OK. But this really isn't that sort of venue. To pick on two facts - a) that I have an 'Impeach Bush' banner and b) that I state that I'm angry at Cheney, and put those two facts together to call me hypocritical is rather a stretch. To want Bush impeached could be to want Cheney impeached also. And nowhere did I state that I was only angry at Cheney and nobody else. This is just semantical nit-picking and not a reasonable argument.
And about ferstbaseman - no, it isn't about winning or losing, but how you play the game. He started off here very antagonistically, but he stuck around and tries to make his points without too much name-calling. Although I probably agree with the people he argues with more than his point of view, I give him props for making the effort. Especially since I know he likes to argue! And he at least uses a username instead of 'anonymous'.
So what is the purpose of arguing back and forth? I know you don't think you're going to change a liberal into a conservative, or vice versa. Those kind of changes come from within if at all. Like I said, my beef is not with my readers, unless they happen to directly affect public policy. If you all have beefs with each other, take it to e-mail or another forum where that's par for the course.
that being said, I'm not going to ban or remove anyone unless it gets offensive. It's true that I'm 'preaching to the choir' and not trying to convert anyone, but I'm trying to get some of the quieter choir members to sing out and be heard.
"shut the F up"... great dialogue really drives a discussion mr A... know what i mean? accusing me of lying before i even respond is not a real good opener either.
i don't know if i agree with alicia about being too harsh when i first commented on neil young's new record. but, i was pretty ticked off about it (still am) and perhaps i don't see what other people do when i get ticked off.
____
about your questions...
my guess is that jfk's murder was chartered by the government of the ussr with some tactical support from fido castro. there are dozens of theories about what happened. that one makes a lot of sense to me. the evidence sugjests that oswald was a marxist nutball who was completely disillusioned with american society. he may well have been acting alone. i think the ussr was using him in some way. it is pretty much soviet sources that seed the idea of him acting alone.
you can match up all of the bullet holes you want and you still won't KNOW the answer. and no "citizen joe" - not even you mr anonymous - knows the answer. you're getting your froth all lathered up over a bunch of theories.
there are a few reasons that i might bet money on khrushchev and castro.
**
one reason is that the ussr utterly loathed kennedy after they blinked and lost in the cubin missle stand-off. they might well have felt the need to shore up their iron fisted crediblity among their masses. or perhaps, once they lost to kennedy they worried that the writing would be on the wall if they didn't get rid of him before he started a second term. or maybe, it was just an ego thing on the part of nikita khrushchev.
**
another reason i suspect it is because it's a plausable explaination as to why president johnson would have ordered the warren commission documents sealed for 75 years. by doing that, president johnson might well have saved us all from a nuclear war with the soviets.
**
thirdly, oswald was a communist traitor. he was a devoted marxist who defected to russia, spent three years there, then returned to the usa - probably on a mission to kill kennedy. who put him up to it is the million dollar question. besides defecting to the ussr, oswald had a few mysterious meetings with castro's government. cuba was a minion of the ussr, hated kennedy and america and to this day is boycotted in wholesale fashion by the united states government without much of a clear explanation as to why.
we attempt to draw other iron clad dictatorships into the free world by enticing them with the bounty of capitolism. but not castro's - why?
___________________
my theory about the collapse of the the world trade center buildings is that they were destroyed by 90,000 pound jet planes that were driven in to the heart of them at full throttle by suicidal maniacs of fanatical islam.
what's yours?
hi alicia... i am of the "quieter choir" variety, and i think the new cd is lovely, powerful, and perfection. you should be quite proud of yourself. whew. positively breathtaking stuff. it made me feel a true sense of hope-something i have not felt in too long.
1st of all, I won't post under any moniker other than "anonymous" for fear of reprisal from our government, I guess if you can't understand that now I suspect someday soon you will, beyond that, I really don't care that much. Yes, I get MAD - but it's for a reason - there's too many "sheep" & disinformation being propagated to them that it makes me sick! Corporate America runs this country & has for quite some time. Alicia, on April 25th, did you not state that you were "furious and disgusted with Cheney" (your words -not mine) so it's really not a "stretch" as you imply. And if Bush were impeached, how would Al Gore become President? Also, keep in mind that all the "anonymous" blogs are not mine... You mention that your little brother opposes your views - I wonder if he'll feel the same way in about 10 years when he's drafted & sent somewhere to benefit corporate America. Thinking it's cool to kill someone & actually doing it are 2 completely different things... the 2nd you have to live with for the rest of your life. As for Mr. F - why would the US let a known traitor (Oswald) back into the country after defecting - with no problem (especially considering his assigment involving U2 spy planes flying over the USSR while in the military)? I would think he would have been tried & executed as a traitor. I'm sorry, but there had to be some CIA (or other "security agency") involvement somewhere. Added to that the fact that Kennedy had already announced his pans to dismantle the CIA & fired Allen Dulles (who just happened to be on the Warren Commission - surely a coincidence?). Just like Bush's brother being in charge of security for the WTC center at the time of 9/11 (just another coincidence I'm sure). Or the fact that the head of the 9/11 Ommission/Commision was a member of Bush's staff - sounds pretty impartial to me! As far as my opinion on the WTC collapses, do a Google search for Loose Change 2nd edition video (it lasts about an hour & 20 minutes) & then you can draw your own conclusions. I'm also willing to debate you fact for fact on anything I state here, just pose questions for me. I apologize for using the "F" word (although I did censor myself when I typed it), but again - something needs to be done & quickly before it's too late! Anybody actually have any solutions???? I confess that I'm at a loss!
Here's another website to ponder (& notice that there are references to all the information dissiminated within). http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/PHA311A.html
Anon, I'm feeling you, believe me. And I am furious and disgusted with Cheney - and Bush! But I think that Bush is the puppet of Cheney and Rummy and the rest of the PNAC crowd. He is not intellectually on a par with any of them. I also think that if it weren't I thfor Karl Rove and his man-crush on Dubya, we'd have had Jeb in there instead of Dub. Even his parents expected that.
I think you have to get rid of the whole batch. I'm frightened to death that we are instigating nuclear war. But just arguing point-for-point with someone who totally disagrees with you makes nothing any better. Eventually you both get really pissed at each other, and that's all that happens. Of course, like I said, many people enjoy that.
I'm into effecting change - real change, and the only way I can see having a part to play in it is by 'preaching to the choir'. The right has its evangelical base which is happy to vote exactly as they're told. We have nothing of the kind. But we need to find a way to coalesce into a united party, and that takes getting the people who feel that it's no use up off their asses. Then it's at least a more level playing field.
Alicia - I agree whole-heartedly with everything you just said... I also wanted to make one more clarification - I had implied that this was an "entertainment" blog as opposed to being political... I was being sarcastic & I suppose that most missed that. I was really referring to the treatment that such entertainers as Martin Sheen, George Clooney, etc. recieved (were belittled/dismissed as "un-americans", etc.) when they voiced their opinion regarding the Iraqi invasion). Funny how you don't hear too much about that anymore, huh? My fear is that Neil will suffer the same fate & it's not right - we are given the freedom of speech, are we not? Maybe I'm confused (ha! ha!). My intention was not to instigate a confrontation with mr. f - but in my opinion he's sooo far off base that I unfortunately let my emotions get the better of me, again I apologize! The world could easily be such a better place if all the greed, corruption, & deceit could just somhow magically disappear, but I'm sure we all know that's not too likely... I keep praying though! If you haven't already, please take an opportunity to look at the Google video I referenced earlier - & pass it along to as many others as you can! Thanks, & I'll refer to myself as "Levi" in my future posts.
you can point the blame for america's current tribulation at conservatives all day long. it won't change what's going to start happening in america if the suicidal methods of radical persia are ignored.
negotiation will not stop them. they don't care if they survive or not. in fact, their idiology trains them to desire death - as a suicide bomber. we see what they want every day on television.
many of you here may not care to acknowledge the reality of it all in opened discussion. but i urge you to consider privately, what the future has in store for us if terrorists are allowed to continue unchecked. there will be no supreme court nominations to haggle over. there will be no hollywood movies to gripe about. no womens rights. no rock music. no jazz or country. women will become the property of men - but only muslim men. no one else will be allowed to own any "property". internet blogging - yea sure...
being afraid of starting a nuclear war is wise. i am afraid of it too. allowing ourselves to be overrun by terrorists is not. it has nothing to do with being a liberal or a conservative. it is all about living free and being able to pass it on to the people of tomorrow.
It sounds to me like you are putting all muslims in the same pot... what part of the country do you live in? Have you ever had any actual contact with the general muslim population? I live in the northeast & have met & spoke with many of these people, & quite honestly, they are hard working & family oriented. You are actually referring to a small sect of their religion - not Islam as a whole. It's my understanding that many of the young people in Iran don't agree with their current regime's policies. It sounds like you're really talking more about immigration issues (not a holy war/crusade), if the borders were more secure then the "terrorists" wouldn't be here to do anyone any harm. Allow me to pose one more question, if another country were to invade America & foreign troops were patrolling your neighborhood - would you not fight back? I know I surely would! It was once said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself & is it unreasonable to at least ask who the actual enemies that we fear truly are? Is America safer now than it was prior to 9/11? I really don't think so... it's probably the opposite, but in the meantime some of the rights you refer to have already been lost... but the oil companies & defense contractors are lining their pockets with this instilled fear. The fact of the matter is that we live in a "war-based economy" & need to have a enemy at all times to keep that $$$ flowing! If nukes were the real issue, then why aren't we fighting the North Koreans (again) - they already have them & their leader is a nut too! And no - I'm not arguing with you or calling you a liar! Levi
"mr. f" - Your views are so far out there that I'm not going to waste my time debating point by point what you just said... Just keep watching Fox News on your "Boob Tube" & I'm sure you'll stay happy & healthy! Just don't come back crying when ALL your rights are gone, is that a deal? Levi
Oh, please: "if terrorists are allowed to continue unchecked. there will be no supreme court nominations to haggle over. there will be no hollywood movies to gripe about. no womens rights. no rock music. no jazz or country. women will become the property of men - but only muslim men..."???
Riiight.
Sorry, heard this song before!
Just substitute "Islamist" for "Communist" and sing along!
Sounds just as silly now as it did 40+ years ago.
everything's a song for you guys. "come on everybody - if we sing real hard, maybe we can stop international terrorism".
yup - heard that tune somewhere in the past...
If anyone here agrees with the Patriot Act, I would guess that they probably haven't read it, or if they have don't have the mental capacity to comprehend it. And after forcing this criminal document on the American people, and then lying to us to get us to violate international law ( article 51, U.N. Charter ) and kill innocents on both sides for power and oil, It's highly probable,however unfortunate, that any inspirational words from Mr. Young will be lost on them. God bless you all and God bless America.
My name is Frederick George Wilson, and I live in Reno, Nevada.
I support Neil Young and his work, and I support Alicia Morgan McCracken and her work.
To those that say "friends of George Bush are hurt," I say there ain' enough hurt been put on George Bush *or* his friends. That is, not until they're making little ones out of big ones at Leavenworth.
Peace.
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