new poll

After a horrible turn out for the June playlist poll, I hope to regain your support(and attention) with this new poll. I like to call it:


MUSICAL SHOWDOWN!!!!!!


I have assembled 16 of the most popular show tunes of all time. The songs are in the playlist if you want to refresh your memory. Which is the greatest? It is set up in rounds. In the first round there are Four groups of four songs. You can vote for one song per group. The winner of the first two groups will face each other for a place in the final as will the winners of the second pair of groups The first round ends on the 14th of July so, to quote a mayor of Chicago, "Vote Early and Often'' I have put all the songs on the playlist so you can refresh you memory on what they sound like.

Note, Some of the songs contain mild language, nothing that wouldn't be allowed in a PG movie, but be warned.



Group 1

America(From West Side Story)

Tomorrow(from Annie)

Trouble(From The Music Man)

Memory(From Cats)

Group 2

Superstar(From Jesus Christ Superstar)

The Phantom of the Opera(Guess which musical this is from)

If I Were a Rich Man(From the Fiddler on the Roof)

Any Dream will Do(From Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat)

Group 3

I Could Have Danced All Night(From My Fair Lady)

Gee Officer Krumpkie(From West Side Story probable the most little known song in this poll)

Do You Hear the People Sing(From Les Miserables)

One Day More(From Les Miserables)

Group 4

Defying Gravity(From Wicked)

Do Re Mi(From The Sound of Music)

As Long as You're Mine(From Wicked)

You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two(From Oliver!)

Live, Religious Rockers

''Oh, now, we took it back too far, only love can save us now, all these riddles that you burn, all come running' back to you, all these rhythms that you hide only love can save us now, all these riddles that you burn. I alone love you. I alone tempt you. I alone love you. Fear is not the end of this.'' I alone

''We thought this was the promised land but the promise slipped away.'' Purifier

''Send your fire, Purify me. Send your fire lord. Purify me. Open my eyes, so I can see. Send your fire lord. Purify me'' Purifier

''Where were always free to choose. Never free enough to find. I wish something would break. Cuz were running out of time.'' Overcome

''And I am overcome, yeah. I am overcome. Holy water in my lungs. I am overcome.'' Overcome

''Heard a lot of talk about this Jesus a man of love, a man of strength. But what a man was 2000 years ago means nothing at all to me today''Operation Spirit (Note, in recent live performances the lyrics are changed from ''means nothing at all'' to ''means a h*** of a lot more to me today)

''I wanna dance with you I see a world where people live and die with grace. The karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace. I wanna dance with you.'' Dance with You

Deep in the heart of it all where the goddess finally sleeps. After eons of war and lifetimes. She smilin and free, nothin left.'' Dance with you

''The world got smaller but the bombs got bigger Holocaust on a hairpin trigger Aint no game so forget the score What are we fightin' for?'' What are we fightin for

''What will I tell my daughter? What will you tell your son? Where were all the doves? That we were nothing but a shadow, a faceless generation devoid of love? '' What are we Fightin for

''The crucifix ain't no baseball bat Tell me what kind of God is that? Ain't nothing more godless than a war So what are we fightin' for? '' What are we fighting for

''I don't need no one to tell me about heaven I look at my daughter, and I believe.I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth I can see the sunset and I perceive'' Heaven

''You don't need no friends get back your faith again you have the power to believe another dissident take back your evidence it has no power to deceive'' Heaven

For the next Music and Philosophy I will post quotes from Neil Young, but until then I wish you, from the UK, a very peaceful and happy weekend.

Dream on

the King of Pop has beaten it

Yesterday at 2:33 pm in California, Michael Jackson was pronounced dead. He suffered from cardiac arrest. Though he was eccentric as all get out, his music will be remembered for being extremely influential. Hundreds of singers have been influenced by him. I just hope we will remember him for being a pop singer and not a reclusive nutcase.

For the Government of Iran

This is the song that the Government of Iran will be hearing very soon. It is from the musical Les Miserables.


Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free! Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!

Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance some will fall and some will live will you stand up and take your chance? The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France!

Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!

Iran is going to erupt into revoulotion any day now and the Government will fall. The people are in fact singing.

Alright I'm not in the UK, I'm in Pakistan

Just kidding but that is, in a nutshell what Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina said earlier this week. He went missing on Thursday and his staff said that he said that he was going for a hike on the Appalachian trail. His wife went further by saying that he was ''writing something'' and ''wanted to get away from the kids.'' Funnily enough, he mentions his family in all his speeches and it was Father's Day weekend, remember that for later.

It turns out that Mark Sanford was not on the Appalachian trail, but in Argentina. Very easy to get the two mixed up. Then he comes back, calls a press conference, and admits that he is having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. You can't make this stuff up! This is crazy, what the heck is up with these Governors? We have Spitzer the Jerk, Blagovich the profane thief, and now Sanford the insane.

Now I do not say that he is insane because he had an affair, I call him insane because he thought that nobody would notice. Also I think even less of him because, IT WAS FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND!!!!!
Alright, I'm getting carried away here, but this is kind of annoying because he says what all politicians do, ''I'm cheating on my wife. I'm so sorry. I apologize to my wife and my kids. Can we all forget about it now?''

No, Governor we cannot. Your career is over. You should resign, not because it is any of our business what you do in your spare time, but because you need to focus on your family. Also, South Carolina needs a Governor who is not a liar and does not disappear to different countries on a whim.

quote of the day

"They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan."

-Sarah Palin, Oct. 5, 2008

Did you pass third grade geography Sarah? Am I glad she is not the VP. she might confuse the Russia with Brazil!

quote of the day(from England)

''Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today. '' ---James Dean

John Mellencamp, the Philosopher

''Racism lives in the u.s.a. Get hip to what martin luther did have to say. I dont want my kids being brought up this way. Hatred to each other is not okay. Well Im not a preacher just a singer son. I can see more work to be done. Its what you do and not what you say. If you're not part of the future then get out of the way.'' Peaceful World

''People know this world is a wreck. Were sick and tired of being politically correct. I see through it now but I didnt at first. The hipocrites made it worse and worse. Lookin down their noses at what people say. These are just words and words are okay.'' Peaceful World

''There's room enough here for science to live. And there's room enough here for religion to forgive. And try to understand All the people of this land This is our country.'' Our Country

''That poverty could be just another ugly thing. And bigotry would be seen only as obscene. And the ones that run this land help the poor and common man.'' Our Country

''So be careful of those killing in Jesus' name, cause' he don't believe in killing at all.'' Walk Tall

''He said John it's just my job and I hope you understand. Hey calling it your job ol' hoss sure don't make it right'' Rain on the Scarecrow

''Oh yeah life goes on Long after the thrill of livin is gone.'' Jack and Diane

In the next installment in my lyrics and philosophy series I will post quotes from Live.

quote of the day

This is a special quote for all those in Iran at the moment. It's from a Bob Marley song:

''You can fool some people sometimes,But you cant fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light (what you gonna do? ), We gonna stand up for our rights! So you better: Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up!) Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights!) Get up, stand up! Dont give up the fight! (dont give it up, dont give it up!)''

quote of the day

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

-Thomas Edison

Music of the Future

Classical, jazz, rock ‘n roll, disco, heavy metal, glam rock, grunge, hip hop, rap, where will the crazy roller coaster of popular music take us next? What will be the dominant genre ten, twenty-five, fifty years from now? Will it be something we know? Or some thing never heard of? Hopefully popular music will not continue on its current path, or I will have a non-stop headache for the next fifty years until the quote unquote “music” that is hip hop and rap (pardon me if I throw up) is gone forever.

Although I do not care for today’s popular music I am looking forward to seeing music evolve into something new. Who would have thought, back in the days of Mozart and Bach when music, for the most part, was completely instrumental (with a couple operas thrown in), that a couple hundred years in the future popular music would be almost entirely voice based.

To go back to my original question, where will popular music go next in my personal opinion popular music seams to travel in a cycle, loud music to quiet music lyric based to instrument based, so for me I think that future music will, over the next fifty years, become more and more instrument based to offset today’s nonsense. Now I’m not saying we will see the entire top ten of the music charts filled with classical music, but rather near, or fully instrumental music played with today’s instruments like the guitar, drums, and bass. But let’s not forget that along with music, instruments evolve to. So fifty years from now I will be in the music store complaining that this new instrument is too whiny for my taste.

Again these are just my opinions, but what I would like to hear is your opinions. What will popular music sound like? What genre will it be? What type of music will live on? What other music will die off (lets hope rap)?

quote of the day

"In the clear dawn, I face a desk piled with papers;
In the golden sunset, I finally get away.
It's such a shame to spend the day chained to the office"

-Bai Juyi, Chinese poet and Governor of Suzhou, year 825 A.D.!

825! Boy, not much has changed.

Forest Conservation

Itchy! Itchy! This poison ivy is driving me CRAZY!!! Well enough of that, I am not writing this to complain to the world about how allergic I am to poison ivy, I am writing this to talk about old growth (mature) forests, new growth (young) forests, and all the forests in between. Now you may be wondering where I am going with this and it all boils down to conservation. Over the past decade, the need for land to build houses, golf courses, swimming pools, schools, etcetera, has reached a level in that when you turn your back for a second, a sub-division pops up by the time you turn back around. Wow! Where did those town homes come from!!! This, of course, is natural as the human race expands and grows, but what about the land needed to build this classical Victorian style house? Is all land created equal or to “quote” the great George Orwell “all animals [land] are equal, but some animals [land] are more equal than others. Now back to my poison ivy…

In my spare time, I love to go to the local forests and do what I call a mushroom hunt in which I search for and then identify various species of mushrooms and fungi. I have mushroom hunted at many spots, but recently I went to a forest that has been a favorite of mine to tromp through poison ivy while bird watching, tree identifying, and observing any wildlife that crosses my path. While I was there what should I see and hear but a news helicopter taking footage for a local story. Now, I am not just rambling on about some noisy helicopter here for my health but rather because the helicopter was an unpleasant reminder that the forest, wildlife, and yes poison ivy I am walking through is currently on a path to be a sad case of “duh, duh, duh” Death by Bulldozer.

What makes this forest different than other forests in pretty much the entire US of A is that this forest has not been logged or plowed for farming in over 100 years, if ever! Now I will in the next paragraph, discuss some of the advantages of a forest that has not been plowed or logged over forests that have been in the past 80 years.

Forests that have not been plowed differ greatly when compared to forests that have been plowed. When you compare the soils of a mature forest (forests that have not been plowed in over 80 years) to a young forests (everything else), a plowed forest will be relatively light in color and weight, and have clumps of clay and few rocks. Now when you look at soil underneath a mature forest, it is heavy and pitch black (from the amount of time things have had to die and decompose) like soil you would buy from a garden store. This nutrient rich soil allows this forest to house a hugely diverse population of plants from the wild orchids to the gigantic hardwoods that have had time to become the primary trees of the forest. The diversity of the plant life also allows these mature forests to house animals that you wouldn’t see in a young forest.

There are many things I still have yet to mention such as all the many other benefits that a mature forest would have over a young forest and also how all of this ties into conservation, but I know (and you will know if you are still reading this) I have been rambling on, without break, for quite a while now. Therefore I have made the dramatic decision to stop here and leave a cliffhanger. This (hopefully) will force you to come back to read of what will be part two of this saga which will be available by Sunday.

quote of the day

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." --The Dalai Lama

quote of the day

"Three may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead."--Ben Franklin

socialism has never worked, other than all those countries in Europe

The Republican party has come up with their most ridiculous argument yet, if they don't like something they say it is like a policy in Europe. Health Care, European policy. The bailout, European Socialism gosh darn it! Gun Control, European. Aid to the poor, My God, we'll create a European Welfare state.

All these attacks are very thought provoking, because you know Europe is doing so poorly. Yeah, no. These attacks are idiotic and play to a deep-rooted ant-internationalism that we have. The fact that we nominated a woman to run for vice-president who has been out of the country as many times as me, and less then Ben is crazy.

What we call patriotism is, in fact, just an excuse to isolate ourselves and make the rest of the world think we're nuts. Nobody else has a "pledge of allegiance" and there is a reason for that. We are worshipping a flag and swearing our "allegiance" to an inanimate object when we say and make our children say those 31 words. If another country forced their youth to do that we would not like it in fact we might compare it to....what's the word...oh that's right! The Hitler Youth.

I'm sure Europeans also think we're nuts as we love our guns so freaking much. We argue about whether we should be allowed to have assault rifles and armour piercing bullets because a piece of paper written over 200 years ago says we can. Once again, I can't blame them for thinking we're insane.

So, in conclusion to this grab bag of rants, we are alienating ourselves from the rest of the world. Obama is trying to bring us back together with Europe, but George W. Bush has alienated them so much it's going to be a while before they trust our sanity again. But with each attack that uses Europe we are pushing them farther and farther away. We need to stop pushing and start doing something other than supporting Israel and invading oil-rich nations.

Quote of the day

"I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument. I call it the "No Fact Zone." Fox News, I hold a copyright on that term."-Stephen Colbert

Introduction

I'm Ben and I will be the guest blogger for the Liberal Rocker for the next few weeks. After I was called up by rock4ever95 to write for this blog I was ecstatic and honored to add my contributions to a blog that, since it was first started in may, has been so successful in its endeavors. I look forward to hearing your comments and opinions. Please feel free if you have any suggestions, comments, and/or constructive criticism to state them and rock4ever95 or I will do best to address them. Happy blogging. Ben...

quote of the day

"reality has a well-known liberal bias." -Stephen Colbert

Capitol Steps

Just today I was introduced to the comedy group called Capitol Steps. They mix political satire with song parodies in the style of "Werid" Al Yankovich. One of my favorites is called Aint no surpluse. It is sung by an actor portrayting George W. Bush. It is a paradoy of the song "Aint no sunshine". A great line in it is "Since I have become president we have seen huge growth in one area of the economy. (beat) I am talking of course of the national debt."

Some other hilariuos ones are their parody of Stairway to Heaven, Relying on Nine Eleven, about Rudy Gulianai. The parady of Mrs. Robinson, Revervand Robertson, is also great and it has the the line "Jesus does not even watch you show no no. God's ticked at you, Rev. Robertson. Heaven holds a speacial place for those who pray you'll go away." My god, that is hilarious, I got to get one of their cds.

my review of Magician’s Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo

I posted this on my book club's blog, I have had some problems getting through the censors before because I was too harsh. I will wait and see if this gets through, I really hope it does get through because I'm really proud of this post. I will keep you guys informed.

Kate DiCamillo has won two Newbery awards and many others, so one comes to this book expecting, at the very least, a decent book. I will get this out of the way right now, I am not a fan. I don’t hate her or anything, I just haven’t really loved any of her books in the past.

So I came to this book expecting a decent book. I did not get what I expected. I did not enjoy this book. I am sorry all you Kate fans but this is not, in my humble opinion, a good book.

The author tries to recreate the success she had with the “Tale of Desperaux”, in which she brings together various plot points at the end for a satisfying conclusion. In that book she dedicates 100 pages per point to three points.

In this book she dedicates one page per character, which makes the book hard to follow. In fact, I found the whole book very confusing. I felt that this book felt kind of thrown together, as if the author had to write a book, but either didn’t have enough time to write, or didn’t care enough to put a ton of effort in.

I also felt that the characters were undeveloped, and the main character had the most aggravating personalities that I have ever read, I really didn’t like him. The end was just, once again in my opinion, sloppy.

This author has done decent work in the past, and I know that my sister and brother love all of her books that they have read, but this could has used quite a lot more work, in my opinion. Even though I really did not enjoy this book I think it will win the Newbery award. The committee loves Kate and will jump at the chance to reward her once again, but I would not vote for it.

a blog update

Attention world, I have horrible news, I am taking a 2 week vacation to the great nation of England. So I will not be able to continue blogging during that time. But don't start crying and carrying on, my good friend Ben will be Guest-Hosting for while I am gone. He is of the same political stripe as I do and we, mostly, like the same sort of music, He is going to the, nearly, equally great nation of Canada right before I leave for Great Britain, so his posting won't be quite as regular as mine. Got him some slack okay? (just between you and me, post nasty negative comments if he fails to put up at least five posts a day)

So farewell America, don't weep for me, I shall return. Goodnight and Good luck. My god am I getting narcissistic....But, um, I'll be leaving next Wednesday so you might want to start weaning yourself off of it now as we don't want you to have withdrawal or anything.

Comedy Skit

The Last Nomination of Christ
by Rock4ever

In a world much like our own, war rages in the Middle East. Israel has declared war on Iran and countries are fast taking sides. It seems that the only hope for peace is for the United States to send an ambassador to stop the conflict before it engulfs the world. President Obama thought long and hard about his choice and has settled on a man whom he hopes will be able to prevent WWIII.

Curtain rises as President Obama and Vice President Biden stand at a podium while a man with a beard stands back in the shadows.

President Obama: He has a background with the Middle East that will help him greatly with solving the problem of the war between Iran and Israel. I wish to reiterate that there is no immediate threat to the United States. As John F. Kennedy said......
Biden grabs the mike

Vice President Biden: Run for the hills!! They're coming!!! The sewers have been poisoned, we're all gonna die!!! I remember we had the same problem back in Scranton, where I grew up! We....

Obama: That's enough Joe. Now as I was saying, this man is perfect for the job of ambassador to the Middle East. Ladies and Gentlemen, Jesus Christ!

Jesus walks to the podium

Jesus: Thank You Mister President. I am honored to accept this job. I will do my very best to try and bring this horrible conflict to an end with a conclusion that is satisfying to all those concerned. What the Middle East needs is a non-biased moderator who does not have his own agenda. I hope to be that person. Thank you, God Bless You.

curtain falls

Curtain rises on Newt Gingrich, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Rachel Maddow, Michael Steele and Neal Conan discussing the speech on Talk of the Nation

Ann Coulter: This Jesus person is a Muslim-loving extremist who will turn us into a nation of socialists.

Glen Beck: He's already made us socialist, he wants to make us Fascist!

Neal Conan: Wait, socialism is the opposite of fascism.

Michael Savage: Be quiet you dirty little liberal! We came on to talk, and not have idiots say crazy things!

Rachel Maddow: So you don't want to be fact checked?

Michael Savage: Click

Neal Conan: I think he just hung up on us.

Newt Gingrich: See what you did! You're liberal bias just made that man hang up!

Rachel Maddow: Why you...

Neal Conan: Can we get back to the discussion now?

Rachel Maddow: I think Jesus is very qualified for the job.

Ann Coulter: What job? The job of killing Jews? The job of the second holocaust?

Newt Gingrich: I don't think that Jesus will give the Israelis a fair shake I mean look at the speech! He admitted he was pro-Iran!!

Rachel Maddow: He said that he would be an "unbiased mediator"!

Newt Gingrich: That's code for "Pro-Iran" if he was for Israel he would have said "we will stand with our allies" or "We will give Justice where justice is do".

Michael Steele: Yo Yo Yo, what's goin' on, my cats?

Neal Conan: It's "dawgs" Mister Steele.

Ann Coulter: There you go being all "politically correct" again!

Michael Steele: I think this Jesus dude is, like, yo sup yo yo yo!! I wear my hat to the side, and Newt, my mother from another brother, wears his hat backwards and Ann, my homelady, wears hers forward, and Glenn, my phat yo yo sup sup yo yo sup, wears his to the side, but we all wear the same rap it up yo yo sup hat, you get me father?

Rachel Maddow: I have no idea what you just said.

Neal Conan: Well that's it, I'm afraid. Thank You all. Tomorrow Murry Horowitz will be here to discuss the best movies about ambassadors to the Middle East. This is NPR, National Public Radio.

The curtain falls.

The curtain rises on Jesus and Obama in the oval office. Jesus has just come back from his Middle East tour.

Obama: Well? How did it go?

Jesus: I'm sorry Barack, but I can't help you.

Obama: What? Why? Everyone says it would take a miracle to bring peace to the Middle East, so I got a guy who could raise the dead, how could you have failed?

Jesus: You need more than a miracle, you need a time traveler.

Obama: and where in blazes am I supposed to find one of those?!

there is whooshing and a Police Box appears. A man steps out.

The Doctor: I have a sinking feelling that this isn't Live Earth.

Obama(turning to Jesus): You Thinking what I'm thinking?

THE END

quote of the day

"The only difference between Hitler and Bush is that Hitler was elected."--Kurt Vonnegut. Ha ha! I bet he got in trouble for this one!

Adam Lambert comes out

Breaking entertainment news! In a new Rolling Stone interview American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert announces that he is, surprise surprise, gay. My god! I have not been shocked like this since Clay Aiken dropped the bombshell that he was gay. Alright I'm kidding but there are some people who seem to be surprised by this.

What I love about this story are the questions on whether Lambert's career will survive. Now I really hope Lambert is thinking "Thanks, I'll pass that along to Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Melissa Ethridge(who, incidentally, got a platinum album after she came out), and Elton John"

Being gay is not a hindrance is the music world, but rather it seems to be an asset. The song "I kissed a girl" by Kate Perry was number one on the charts for seven weeks. The youth of today don't seem to care about a singer's sexuality, in fact they never did. In the 60s David Bowie was popular and in the 70s there were many gay and bisexual reformers who were hugely popular.

In short, this "scandal" will not derail his career and may even give him a wider fan base, as rock lovers may by his record just to see if he is like Bowie or Mercury, while they would never by a normal AI record. I was also happy to hear that Lambert's first album will be released in the fall.

Talkin' bout my generation

"There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny." Franklin D. Roosevelt, my favourite president. This quote is one of the truest things I have ever heard, and ever though FDR said this is the 1930s he is right about my generation. We certainly do have a "rendezvous with destiny".

We have to solve all the problems our parents' caused and our grandparents' caused. We must secure equal rights for the gays. We must stop climate change. We must sort out all the problems in the Middle East and Asia. We must, in short, save the world.

I firmly believe that we will rise to the challenge and I'll close with the lyrics from one of my all time favourite songs. I think the writer of this song must have been able to see into the future his lyrics are so relevant today, forty years after it was written.

The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

quote of the day

"You have the power to take our country back."Howard Dean. This is one of the quotes we all should think about and try to live by.

Repeal it!!

For 16 years we have had the so called "don't ask don't tell" policy in place. This policy is based on the theory that a soldier's personal views and background can make them unable to preform their job. I find this ridicules in the extreme. A gay soldier can serve and give their life for their country just as easily and willingly as a straight soldier.

America is the most powerful country in the world, yet we still can't seem to get or act together on civil rights. If there was a country that refused to allow blacks to serve in the military we would be up in arms over it. In this world today there is no space for discrimination.

There is not argument that I have heard for "Don't ask Don't tell" that makes any kind of logical sense. One of my favourite reasons for not repealing "don't ask" is that the army is very conservative and the soldiers wouldn't be able to put up with gays. God forbid that a "conservative" institution be forced to have some diversity! Come on people! A trained soldier knows to put his personal biases behind him on the battlefield.

The worst that would happen is that homophobes wouldn't join the army, and that would not be a bad thing in my opinion. A person who is so closed-minded would not do well in the army where you have to deal with many kinds of people.

Repealing "Don't ask don't tell" would allow patriotic Americans to serve their country. We have been disabling ourself for 16 years and we need to stop. So I ask all those in government reading this, Repeal "Don't ask Don't Tell" strike a blow against discrimination.

quote of the day

"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." George Orwell in the book 1984

the Supreme court

Oh goody! Just as American Idol ends and midway through year that Doctor Who is off the air we have a new entertainment series starting. We get the Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Yay!! I was a little disappointed with the last series as it was obvious that the guest star, Sam Alito, didn't know what he was talking about.

But now we'll be able to see all out old friends again. Pat Leahy will be starring again, and Jeff Sessions will be coming on as a costar. I'm a little disappointed that two of my favorite characters, Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy, will only have cameos, well maybe the new guest star will be more engaging then Alito.

I'm looking forward to the big fights, the discrimination charges against Alito really made that episode and it looks like we'll get it again accept bigger. It will also be fun to see the Republicans criticize her and then pull back so that they don't offended Hispanics.

My prediction for the final episode: It will turn out that Jeff Sessions is Sotomayor's secret lover and her husband, Arlen Spector, will shoot him. As Seessions dies he will reveal to Russ Feingold that Feingold is his son, and there is a twin brother. It will turn out that Dick Durbin is Feingold's twin. Then they will both kill Spector in revenge, and Feingold will turn evil and start murdering Congressmen. President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Speaker Pelosi will fight him and Speaker Pelosi will die during the battle. Biden will kill him and the series will end with the sun rising over the capitol building with all being peaceful.

quote of the day

"That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!" Adlai Stevenson after a woman yelled at him "Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!"

quote of the day

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." Winston Churchil

Classic Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Peal

Alright, so I took a little poetic license with the term "Classic", but I really wanted to talk about this film. It is hugely popular and it is the 33rd highest grossing film of all time. Now I had high hopes for this movie, as it was hugely popular and I like both Jonny Depp and Keira Knightley.

I was not disappointed with the acting, but I thought the plot was random and all-over the place. Without Jonny Depp the movie would have bombed. I did like how the movie never took itself too seriously, and it interjected jokes into the (numerous) fight scenes. I realize that all the girls love Orlando Bloom, but he got on my nerves in the beginning, but by the end he was bearable.

So, all in all I thought it was a decent movie that everyone should see just for Jonny Depp insane portrayal of a pirate.

quote of the day

"where I come from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it history." Joel Gray as the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked.

Rush Limbaugh: Fool-in-Chief

"What you say about his company is what you say about society" That line is from the classic Rush song Tom Sawyer, and in some ways in relates to Rush Limbaugh. The fact that such a ignorant, offensive, idiot is the host of the most listened to radio program in the United States shows more about us as a nation then it does about him as a commentator. In a normal society Rush would never have gotten on the radio, and even if he did no one would listen to him. But 14.75 million people can't be wrong, right?

Wrong. Rush Limbaugh is a conceited fool who does not know anything and thus has to make crazy statements to get people to listen to him. When he says that Michael J. Fox, one of my all-time favourite actors, is faking his disease it, is certainly offensive to me and I can only imagine how Fox's family must feel. I think Michael J. Fox should sue him for libel, maybe that would teach him that he cannot just say offensive things and not expect any repercussions..

Limbaugh has also sang "Obama the magic Negro" told a black caller to "take the bone out of your nose" and said many other offensive things. Rush Limbaugh is the defacto head of the Republican party and until the party leadership stops doing whatever Limbaugh says we will have only one successful party in the United States.

quote of the day

"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free."--Clarence Darrow

Cover songs, the good and the bad

The cover song is a mixed bag, it can compliment a great album or it can make your ears bleed. So now it's your turn, in my play-list are a collection of covers, vote on the best and the worst. In July I'll post the winners. So hurry up and vote!!

Note you can only vote on the songs in the playlist.

What would Jesus do?

I have a question for those reading this who are against Gay Marriage, What would Jesus do? Jesus, who preached love and compassion, Jesus who said in the sermon of the mount " Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven", Jesus who said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

Would he prosecute God's children? Would he "cast the first stone"? No he would not, and neither should you. Jesus taught basically two things, love God and love one another. In fact, love is the basis for almost every religion, so I must ask, why are we segregating love? Why are we violating Jesus?

I share George Bernard Shaw's sentiments when he asked "Must then a Christ perish in torment in every age to save those that have no imagination?". I feel the need to ask how many more. How many more Christs must die? How many more Martin Luther King's must be shot? How many more Harvey Milks must be gunned down? How many more young gays must be murdered? how many deaths will it take till we know that too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

Quote of the day

"No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. — A plague o' both your houses!" Mercutio in my favourite Shakespearian play, Romeo and Juliet

another victory

Across this great nation Gay Rights activists are raising a bottle to the Governor of New Hampshire, who just signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. He put aside his personal bias against same-sex marriage to do what was right. Bravo!!!

I was reading the CNN political blog about this and some of the people who commented were bringing up the new anti-marriage talking point, that the voters didn't decide to legalize it. Well this raises some questions in my mind.

In the 50s and 60s, if you had taken a vote on whether or not to desegregate the schools in the south, I guarantee you that it would have lost. So should we not have integrate? No, the courts ruled on the law, and the president sent federal troops, federal troops for God's sake, to force the integration of the schools. Can you imagine the fury that would happen if Obama forced states to allow marriage?

What I find hilarious are the conservtives criticizing Sonia Sotomayor for putting her feelings before the law, when every single stinking member of congress who voted for the Defense of Marriage act was doing just that.

Even Obama is not touching this issue because he knows how passionate the right is on this issue, and you know what? I don't care! I really don't give a flying fig as to what the political repercussions would be. I know what is right and it sure as heck isn't discrimination.

The New Hampshire state motto is what, I think, should be the motto for what will, god willing, be the final civil rights movement. So, ladies and gentlemen, Live Free or Die. God bless you Gov. Lynch and God bless all those who made this possible. This is your victory. First we take New Hampshire then we take Maine then we take New York then we take California then we take the whole freakin' country!!! Then at last all will be free in the self-proclaimed "Land of the Free"

Quote of the day

"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there's the United States of America."---Barack Obama

Songs for the Gay Rights movement

Pop Quiz! What distinguishes successful causes like the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam movement from failed causes?

The answer...Music! They all had songs that defined their movement. So, if the Gay Rights activists want to succeed then they need some theme songs. I have some suggestions for them.

Heroes by David Bowie. It's catchy chorus is perfect for it to be sung along to be crowds protesting.

We are the Champions by Queen. Ditto for the chorus and it's triumphant feel will inspire crowds.

We will rock you by Queen. Once again it's chorus is catchy and it's tempo is perfect for a march. The drum line will have angry protesters pumping their fists in the air in no time.

That is all I can think of right now, but I want your suggestions. Just comment on this post with the song, the artist, and the reason why you feel that way. Who knows? Maybe they'll actually use it.

Endorsement of Gay Marriage, by Dick Cheney!!

Alright people, brace yourselves. I am about to say something I though I would never say in a million years. Thank You Vice President Cheney. Thank You for finally supporting your daughter. Thank You for taking a stand for what you believe in.

If there is anyone out there that does not still believe that the tide is turning, I offer you this. Dick "Emperor Palpitine" Cheney, Dick "Let's nuke anything that moves" Cheney, Dick "Arch Conservative" Cheney has endorsed Gay Marriage. MY GOD!

Also, a John McCain campaign official has endorsed gay marriage, as has McCain's daughter, a Bush lawyer, and James Dobson. Okay I made up the last one. One is left to wonder where are all the Democrats. All the G.O.P. guys are endorsing it where's Obama or Clinton or Biden or Pelosi or Reid? Where are they?

Quote of the Day

"We don't have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it."-Douglas Adams

The rebirth of rock

In the past several years there has been a slew of bands and artists who are a lot like classic bands from the 60s and 70s. Here are a few examples:


Buddy Holly: Bruce Springsteen, they don't sound particularly alike, but they are both singer-songwriters in the same vain.

The Clash: Green Day they have many songs that are similar like Train in Vain and Good Riddance, White Riot and Know the Enemy, Should I Stay or should I go and American Idiot, ect

The Kinks: Van Halen

Bob Dylan: John Mellencamp they both have folk sensibilities and similar lyrics

Joan Baez : the Indigo Girls, really they are almost exactly alike)

The Eagles: The Counting Crows both of them are county rock, but with folk influences and the occasional rocker and a ton of "story songs"

Bob Dylan: James McMurtry almost everything by him is like Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan: Bruce Springsteen, almost everything he sings has dylan-like
lyrics

Janis Joplin: Melissa Ethridge they have the same voice and are strong female rockers

The list just goes on and on. It makes one wonder what Bands will be like thirty years from now. How will they emulate popular bands if all the popular bands are emulating others. On the other hand, Bob Dylan emulates Woody Guthrie and bands still manage to emulate him, so maybe there is hope.

quote of the day

“You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?” Wesley(played by Cary Elwes) in one of my all time favourite films, The Princess Bride.

California upholds Prop 8

NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here was I thinking that California was more liberal and open than Iowa, here was I thinking that to be on a state supreme court you had to actually read the constitution, here was thinking that justice could beat injustice. Well I guess I was wrong.
Last week on May 28, the California State Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8 was fine and legal. I feel the need to point out a few pieces of American History, so bare with me.

First, the 14th amendment states "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Like the "Liberty" to get married for example?

Second, the Declaration of Independence famously states " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." So all men are "created equal" but, to paraphrase the great George Orwell, some are more equal than others? I think that everyone agrees that is absolutely ridicules.

Third and finally, in LOVING v. VIRGINIA the Supreme Court struck down laws against Bi-Racial marriage, going so far as to say "We are dealing here with legislation which involves one of the basic civil rights of man. Marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race. The power to sterilize, if exercised, may have subtle, farreaching and devastating effects. In evil or reckless hands it can cause races or types which are inimical to the dominant group to wither and disappear. There is no redemption for the individual whom the law touches. Any experiment which the State conducts is to his irreparable injury. He is forever deprived of a basic liberty." reading this one is left to wonder how nobody else has ever noticed that the Supreme court has ruled that marriage is a "basic civil right".

In my personal opinion it doesn't matter what you think of Gay Marriage, the constitution protects it. I know it may be hard to accept it, but I'm afraid we must, because if we have the power to take away gay rights, then they have the power to take away our rights, and we cannot afford set such a dangerous precedent.