Springsteen announces pro-Kerry tour in NYT op-ed

[Rspaight]

I'd say it is, though I don't take a lot of pleasure in it.

The difference between me (and Luke, I think) on the hand and Judith Miller on the other is that I was saying that even if Saddam *did* have WMDs, he was not a threat worthy of unilateral, destabilizing invasion. Judith was waving her hands around shouting that we'd all be nuclear ash if we didn't invade RIGHT NOW.

That's the "WMD bandwagon" I fault Miller (and by extension, the Times) for hopping on board.

Ryan

[lukpac]

I seriously doubted they even had them, but as you say, my thinking was that even if they did, there wasn't any pressing threat worthy of going to war over.

[Bennett Cerf]

Could someone please explain the reasoning for why Laura Ingraham should be allowed to share her political views, but Bruce Springsteen should not?

[Xenu]

Why isn't she fetching!

[Dob]

I seriously doubted they even had them, but as you say, my thinking was that even if they did, there wasn't any pressing threat worthy of going to war over.

We used the WMD threat not just to go to war, but to invade and occupy Iraq.

I suppose the "official" explantion is that we (meaning the US government) honestly believed the WMD intel and thought we were really at risk. If that's just the "spin", what is the real reason? I've read a number of speculations - all of which revolve around oil, and most of which have the Iraq invasion as part of a "grand plan" that involves imposing stability on the entire Middle East once and for all. The thing is, the US seems too blundering for any "grand plan"...or is that a calculated part of it as well?

One explanation that makes a lot of sense to me from a human perspective (and from the principle that "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one") is that Bush has always wanted to "get" Saddam for "trying to kill his dad", and couldn't take it any longer.

[Patrick M]

Could someone please explain the reasoning for why Laura Ingraham should be allowed to share her political views, but Bruce Springsteen should not?

I think it's because (liberal) entertainers are seen as mindless bleeding heart buffoons, while the pundits have the qualifications to spout off opinions ad nauseam. See, e.g.:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/smarter.asp

[Rspaight]

Meanwhile, Charlie Daniels is told to "Shut Up and Sing." I say let him play whatever he wants and let the crowd riot like at a Linda Ronstadt show. Yeah, right.

Daniels Won't Play 9/11 Song in Mich. Town

Sat Aug 7, 3:17 PM ET
By The Associated Press

DEARBORN, Mich. - Charlie Daniels will not perform a song criticized by Arab-Americans when he appears at a weekend festival in this Detroit-area community, the center of southeastern Michigan's 300,000-member Arab-American community.

Daniels wrote and recorded "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag" after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It became a country hit, but critics said it refers to a slur against Arabs.

The song begins: "This ain't no rag, it's a flag and we don't wear it on our heads. It's a symbol of the land where the good guys live. Are you listening to what I said?"

"Ragheads" is a derogatory term for Arabs, Muslims and others who wear turbans or cover their heads.

The Charlie Daniels Band is to perform Saturday night at the city-sponsored Dearborn Homecoming. Expressions of concern from Arab-American groups prompted Dearborn officials to contact Daniels, who said he never intended to perform the song at the three-day community event, city spokeswoman Mary Laundroche said Friday.

Daniels told the Detroit Free Press in an interview Wednesday that the song isn't directed at Arabs and Muslims, but at turbaned terrorists such as Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).

"The only thing it's `anti' is the people who bombed us on 9/11. I have people who say you're putting down people who wear turbans. I'm not," Daniels, 67, told the newspaper. "There are good Arabs and bad Arabs, good Greeks and bad Greeks, good people and bad people in any race."

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a statement that it "recognizes and truly appreciates Mr. Daniels' explanation of the song's intent."


"This Ain't No Rag It's A Flag"

This ain't no rag it's a flag
And we don't wear it on our heads
It's a symbol of the land where the good guys live
Are you listening to what I said
You're a coward and a fool
And you broke all of the rules
And you wounded our American pride

And now we're coming with a gun
And we know you're gonna run
But you can't find no place to hide
We're gonna hunt you down like a mad dog hound
Make you pay for the live you stole
We're all through talking and a messing around
And now it's time to rock and roll

These colors don't run and we're speaking as one
When we say united we stand
When you mess with one, you mess with us all
Every boy, girl, woman and man
You've been acting mighty rash
And talking that trash
Let me give you some advice
You can crawl back in your hole
Like a dirty little mole

But now you're gonna pay the price
You might of shot us in the back
Now you have to face the fact
That the big boys' in the game
And the lighening's been flashing
And the thunder's been crashing
And now it's getting ready to rain

Chorus:
This is the United States of America
The land of the brave and the free
We believe in God and we believe in justice
We believe in liberty
You've been pulling our chain
We should've done something 'bout you a long time ago
But now the flag's flying high and the fur's gonna fly
And soon the whole world's gonna know

This ain't no rag, it's a flag
Old Glory red, white and blue
The stars and the stripes when it comes to a fight
We can do what we have to do
Our people stand proud
The American crowd is faithful, loyal and tough
We're good as the best and better than the rest
And you're gonna find out soon enough
When you look up in the sky
And you see the eagle fly
You better know he's a heading your way
Cause this ain't no rag it's a flag
And it stands for the USA
USA
USA
USA

Repeat Chorus

[lukpac]

But it's *good* when it's patriotic, like when Mr. Daniels or Toby Keith say it! It's just those pinko liberals that should shut up.