Sometimes I wonder what it has meant, raising three children in the reign of George Bush? In their hearts what do they think of The President? And The Presidency? Have they been scarred for life?
When I was a kid people kind of liked the President (even if he was from the "other" party. Did that kind of fizzle out around about 1969, not long after President Nixon took office? Or maybe it was LBJ that killed it. I just don't remember people so actively disliking, say, Ike, or JFK, or even Ronald Reagan. As much as we disagreed with Reagan, at least you thought he believed in what he was doing. We just don't get that vibe from President Bush. ---o0o---
A sculpture depicting Senator Barack Obama as Jesus Christ is on display at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, the only link I found to the story was here, at Fox News. ---o0o---
Click the controls 2x to play the Joe Sabia's video
The final season of The Sopranos begins one week from today. In honor of that, Joe Sabia has put together a videomontage of all six seasons, outlining the story in seven minutes. Nice work Joe!
I don't mind you coming here and wasting all my time 'cause when you're standing oh so near I kinda lose my mind it's not the perfume that you wear it's not the ribbons in your hair I don't mind you coming here and wasting all my time I don't mind you hanging out and talking in your sleep it doesn't matter where you've been as long as it was deep you always knew to wear it well you look so fancy I can tell I don't mind you hanging out and talking in your sleep I guess you're just what I needed I needed someone to feed I guess you're just what I needed I needed someone to bleed ---o0o---
1) An Ex-Aide Loses Faith in the President. Matthew Dowd joined George W. Bush’s in 1999, jumping from the Democratic Party. He believed in George Bush, and was one of the top aides who built the flip-flop strategy that tarred John Kerry throughout his Preidential bid. He was Bush's 2004 chief campaign strategist. In an interview, Dowd called for a withdrawal from Iraq and expressed extreme disappointment with The President. Dowd has even considered writing an editorial "John Kerry was right."
2) D. Kyle Sampson calls A.G. Gonzales a liar, and by extension, The President. Gonzales' credibility is already in the toilet due to changing stories, and damaging document disclosures. Now, he may have taken a fatal hit when Sampson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the attorney general had been long and deeply involved in an action that Gonzales has said he knew little or nothing about.
3) At least five other stories surfaced this week depicting mayhem in The White House. The President is slowly becoming President in name only and his bellicose sabre-rattling has become just irritating background noise. The mood of the country seems to be "let's just get through this next 21 months with as little damage as possible." ---o0o---
I have dumped on Tony Snow quite a few times here, both "editorially" and in a couple of parodies. I disagree with probably 89% of everything that comes out of his mouth. When he was on the radio (I caught his show when I could), he was far more rational than he could ever be in his role as President Bush's Number One Defender, flak catcher, and information vector. Frankly, I still don't know why he took on this role, which must be at least a million dollar pay cut. But to his credit, he had done a good job for a bad President. Even before the White House, Tony Snow was one of the good guys. Our hopes are with him as he battles a recurrence, and spread, into his liver, of the cancer he first fought three years ago.
I have been a big fan of Elizabeth Edwards since I saw a speech she gave in the last campaign when John was running as Vice-President. She is probably my second favorite political spouse (just behind Bill Clinton). I believe her husband will emerge from the pack as the democratic front-runner. I don't know how the recurrence of her cancer, that is now "incurable," will affect his standings. It doesn't seem to hurt in the polls so far, but what people say to the pollsters and what they do in the voting booth are two different things. I don't know. People have been blogging, writing and talking about the ethics of the Edwards' decision to go ahead with the presidential race. But isn't really up to them? Reading between the lines, it sounds like it will be an uphill battle. I am pulling for her. ---o0o---
Unfortunately, this 1994 video is the oldest one I could find. In my booklet, The Stones by 1994 were about twenty years past their prime. This is unquestionably one of their greatest songs. Also unfortunately, they did not sing my favorite part of the song--the woo woo choruses--and left that part to the organ. I remember what a drill-job it was when this tune originally appeared. The first time I heard it I was floored. And I still dig the tune nearly forty years later. Aside from the blitzkreig references, I don't think an American could have written such a literate tune. A first person narrative and commentary from a sly and sophisticated Lucifer! The lyrics outline some of the greatest outrages we (e.g., humanity) have performed against each other over the centuries.
The Stones got off the hook from the fundamentalists and others when a song from the same album, Street Fighting Man, was linked to The Watts Riots and other street actions of the late 60s.
Rolling Stone was right on this one. They placed the tune at No. 32 in their list of the 500 greatest rock songs. I might have put it a little higher.
Sympathy For The Devil
by Jagger-Richard
Please allow me to introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste I've been around for a long, long year Stole many a man's soul and faith
And I was 'round when Jesus Christ Had his moment of doubt and pain Made damn sure that Pilate Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game
I stuck around St. Petersberg When I saw it was a time for a change Killed the Czar and his ministers Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank Held a general's rank When the Blitzkrieg raged And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name, oh yeah What's puzzling you Is the nature of my game,
I watched with glee As your kings and queens Fought for ten decades For the Gods they made
I shouted out "Who killed the Kennedys?" When after all It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste And I laid traps for troubadors Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah But what's confusing you Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints As heads is tails Just call me Lucifer 'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste Use all your well-learned politics Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, um yeah But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game, um baby, get down
Woo, who Oh yeah, get on down Oh yeah Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, what's my name Tell me honey, baby guess my name Tell me baby, what's my name I tell you one time, you're to blame
Ooo, who Ooo, who Ooo, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Oh, yeah
What's my name Tell me, baby, what's my name Tell me, sweetie, what's my name
Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Ooo, who, who Oh, yeah ---o0o---
