July 2008 Archives
Remember "Eve of Destruction" (if you are old enough)? The lyrics were:"The Eastern world, it is exploding, Violence flaring, bullets loading, You're old enough to kill, but not for voting, You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're toting?" That was back in 1965. The Vietnam war was going on, as well as riots in the cities. The country was divided. It was controversial but the record went to the top of the charts. It was the first song to spell out specifics about the Vietnam War for the general public.
He recorded the song again, and with Mick Fleetwood, Roger McGuinn and Todd Smallwood. The new version was released on July 21, on the 43rd anniversary of the original release. (For you youngsters, that's Barry McGuire the original artist, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, and Todd I know performed with Jackson Browne, Robbie Krieger of the Doors and organized a Cuban/American singer-songwriter project in Havana for World Peace.) I knew Todd when I was a teen, during a time of horrific social unrest domestically and the tragic war in Vietnam going on abroad. The song meant alot to most of us, though conservatives who felt the song unpatriotic released a follow-up called "Dawn of Correction." (The modern version might be called "The Surge is Working.)
Barry McGuire is now 72. He says, "the stupidity of armed conflict doesn't end. Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm and now Iraq. How many people are still being murdered, slaughtered, blown to bits? If anything, we're on the Dawn of Destruction." McGuire was converted to Christianity but doesn't care much for organized religion. He follows Christ directly.
Some of the material for this "review" came from Same Old Song for Singer Barry McGuire, in a North Carolina newspaper. The rest came from my memory, and then from the speakers of my Mac.
Todd Smallwood site & MySpace
Jim McGuinn blog
I just bought it on iTunes. If you have an iTunes player you can go to the iTunes store and hear at least 30 seconds for free. If you want to buy it, it's a dollar. If I find an MP3 I'll put it up. If I find a video I'll put it up. I am tracking this closely. There are more great rumors (great things could happen with this song later this summer!) but those have to wait. Here are the lyrics to the original version. They may have been tweaked just a little for the new version. The new version is a new version - beautifully arranged, performed and recorded by some great artists!
Here is one of many videos that has been made to this song - this one with desert imagery rather than jungle - but too many things about our foreign policy just haven't changed!
EVE OF DESTRUCTION (Original lyrics)
The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’
But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
I just returned from Netroots Nation very late last night, and though we "liberal activist bloggers" were sometimes "in" the news, most of us didn't have much chance to follow the news. I won't be able to do so yet either, as I'll be at a camp all week working with children, many of whom fall on the autism spectrum.
When I was in Austin, I worked some in the Exhibitor Hall (for Northwest Progressive Institute), to help cover my registration. There I met the woman from Autism Speaks who set up the special diet for the child of Jenny McCarthy. Her book has been one of the latest to be widely read by parents of autistic children. This woman was there to amp up the attention being paid to the autism/vaccine controversy and to spotlight the positions of the Presidential candidates in the next election. The controversy has not been settled, and both candidates spoke without being fully aware of all of the issues.
At the same time, I heard about this:
Top Radio Host: Autism Is "A Fraud, a Racket"
Host Michael Savage Mocks Those Living with Autism and Smears Minorities with Asthma
Washington, DC - Media Matters for America today condemned nationally syndicated conservative radio host Michael Savage for incendiary comments directed at those who live with autism and their families. During the same broadcast, Savage, the No. 3 talk radio host in America, also attacked those in "the minority community" who suffer from asthma.
"What Michael Savage said was foolish, mean-spirited, and hurtful," said J. Jioni Palmer, spokesman for Media Matters. "It's unfortunate he would use his radio program to make fun of and belittle these kids. Instead of ridicule and cheap shots, the children suffering from autism and asthma and their families need support and compassion."
During the July 16 edition of his show, Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
Savage also stated: "[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], "When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], "I don't know, the dust got me." "See, everyone had asthma from the minority community."
Talk Radio Network, which syndicates The Savage Nation, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.
So here are the action items, if you think this is ridiculous, cruel and destructive:
Find your local Savage Station, log into our calling tool and tell your Savage station manager what you think of Savage's tirade. There you can also hear the direct audio transcript (if you can stand it.)
The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.
Your voice is critical in holding Savage accountable for his comments. I hope you take the time to call and tell those running the station exactly what you think of Michael Savage.
I think that alot of people are like I am and are trying to keep working (if they have jobs) and make ends meet. So we make do with pits and pieces of news from various sources and pick up bits of gaffes and polls and critiques and reports and it's all a bit of a jumble.
Amidst the noise, we may have picked up the tidbit that former Senator Phil Gramm, an economic consultant to McCain, has called us a "nation of whiners." "Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day, said Gramm" "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said. McCain tried to quickly try to distance himself. Never mind that he champions the Bush tax cuts and every pro-business policy that comes around and that in April, McCain himself said, "A lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological." I heard him myself on NPR saying that the housing crisis was just the popping of a bubble, in so many words, as if the government had not failed to regulate the housing loan industry.
So who is Gramm? He Chaired the Senate Banking Committee between 1999 and 2001 and helped push through a banking deregulation bill that broke down firewalls between financial institutions that had been put up after the Great Depression. Who did this benefit? His wife's employer and his own key campaign contributor - none other than Enron. Later, he was paid by a Swiss bank to lobby congress about the US mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain on economics. He is a crook and a lot of what's happening is his fault and he advises someone who will perpetuate the problems.
Damn right I'm whining! I am whining about my general diminishing status in life: aging of the body, difficulty in providing for family, lack of healthcare for much of family and extended family, shrinking currency prohibiting travel, shocking gas pump reaction and rapid evaportion of both nest egg and housing assets. Oh yeah, and living in a country where the US is kind of ignored at the G8 because we don't matter much now.
Here are some more things to whine about, from Center for American Progress.
HOUSING FORECLOSURES INCREASING: As a result of the subprime lending crisis, "housing foreclosures nationwide were up 50% in June compared with the same month in 2007." In California alone, foreclosures have reached an average of 500 per day.
HOMELESSNESS INCREASING: The number of homeless people in America over the age of 50 is "steadily increasing."
HEALTHCARE COSTS RISING: According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, "health-care costs are growing much faster than the economy." Costs are rising so significantly, some Americans are delaying retirement.
GAS PRICES RISING: The national average gas price is $4.09, up 33 percent from this time last year. Gas prices are now expected to hit "$4.25 by the fall and then stay at more than $4 a gallon until the end of 2009."
JOB LOSSES INCREASING: In the first six months of this year, a total of 438,000 jobs have been lost, bringing unemployment to 5.5 percent. The CEO of Bank of America commented, if unemployment continues to rise, "all bets are off."
FOOD COSTS RISING: "U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007" -- the fastest rise in 17 years -- and as a result, food stamps have considerably less buying power.
HEATING AND ELECTRICITY COSTS RISING: Heating oil costs across the North are expected to be "up 60 percent from last year," and utilities across the country are "raising power prices up to 29%."
REAL WAGES DECLINING: "Slower wage growth and faster inflation has led to falling real hourly and weekly earnings for most workers."
LEISURE SPENDING DECLINING: As a result of the rising cost of living, Americans are "tightening their belts and thinking twice about spending extra bucks on entertainment and leisure products."
VALUE OF DOLLAR DECLINING: The dollar "has been declining steadily for six years against other major currencies, undercutting its role as the leading international banking currency."
It's not abstract any more. Just this week, I've met and talked to several people who had lost or were losing jobs. My own son can't quit his temp job until it's completed or he can't use them to get a real job, yet he can't increase his hours at his part-time low-paying job enough in time to make open enrollment period for benefits. He will have to make a hard decision. Our washer conked out and the axle broke on one of the vehicles and there went the economic stimulus checks.
Yesterday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What does it all mean?
Ideas .. (will continue to add)
I found these two pieces, one old and one new, appropriate not only for this long weekend but for these "interesting" times. I've noticed alot of curiosity among twenty-somethings like my son passing the YouTube videos of the classics like "Seven Words." I've noticed that some of my contemporaries have just kind of gone underground, as if they are measuring what to do at this juncture. So much is strange in the present and unpredictable for the future, yet there is a poignant sense of deja vu as well, particularly as politicans cross the country and fill the airwaves and talk about "values" and the economy as we advance toward election time. It's tempting to gravitate toward "hope" and "change" yet easy for anyone with a memory to be on guard for pandering, innuendo, euphemism and the like. Anyway, these felt like wisdom to me this morning.
From the late George Carlin:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings butshorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, moreexperts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up tootired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?
& from Katharine van den Heuvel, Editor of The Nation:
Are you a pro-democracy patriot? I am. Like millions of Americans, I experienced a surge of hope after the most nationally inclusive race for a presidential nomination in US history. It was that hope -- a sense that the time is ripe and right -- that moved me to write a manifesto about how to invigorate our democracy and capture greater power for the people. My essay, "Just Democracy" addresses the crisis of our democracy, the opportunity we have to repair it and the steps we can take to build a more perfect union.
While The Nation has published clarion calls for change before -- most recently in 2001 and 2004, the confluence of events suggests there may never be a better time to renew our electoral process. Just a century ago progressive forces brought about a flurry of constitutional amendments, including women's suffrage and direct election of senators. We have a similar opportunity to pass the reforms that will build a more just democracy. A pro-democracy movement already has the grassroots and netroots in place, as well as the principles and concrete proposals. Of course, it will take political will, savvy strategy and hard-nosed organizing -- organizing that should be integrated into the 2008 campaign and continue after this year's voting is done.
By developing a holistic and galvanizing democracy agenda, the larger public interest and progressive community can unify and amplify particular issues -- health care, the environment, an end to reckless war and economic injustice.
What would a core agenda be? How about Just Democracy -- a program to ensure that every voter can vote, that every vote gets counted, that money talks no louder than the many and that every challenger gets to make his or her case? Many of the reforms I propose are embodied in legislative proposals that have already been introduced in Congress.
A Just Democracy movement will require determined idealism and hard-nosed realism; it will demand a broad coalition committed to making these reforms a high priority. Working together, I believe we can repair the broken system we've been handed and confront the crisis of disenfranchisement that has overtaken our democracy. We want 100 percent registration. We want increased participation. We want full representation with majority rule. We want the right to vote. We want to vote without fear--that our votes will not count, or be counted by hacked machines.
Isn't it long past time to place democracy at the center of our politics? This July 4th, let's begin to make America a more perfect union.
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