Posted on 10/05/2004 11:57:38 AM PDT by rhema
Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., John Fogerty and Bright Eyes roll into the Xcel Energy Center tonight, part of the Vote For Change tour. It's just one of this election cycle's many celebrity-driven efforts, many of which are billed as nonpartisan, conscientious, get-out-the-vote public service campaigns. Truth be told, they are anything but. In fact, they're more about nurturing the cult of celebrity than nurturing good citizenship.
The Vote for Change tour is a "multi-city, multi-artist tour that will include approximately 34 shows in 28 cities in nine states over the course of one week. "This unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of desire for change in this country's direction," said Mike Mills of R.E.M. in a press release for the concert series.
Say one thing for the Vote for Change tour; at least it's honest in that it's nothing more than a public service message for John Kerry. Would that the others were that forthcoming.
Sean Combs (or is it P. Diddy?) got a lot of media play at the Democratic National Convention in Boston for the effort he's spearheading, Citizen Change, whose motto is "Vote or Die."
Of course, what most people don't know is that Combs is heavily funded by Ron Burkle, who owns Golden State Foods, the largest supplier to McDonald's and Kroger, making him the largest grocer in the United States. Burkle has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats over the years; his charitable foundation donates regularly to liberal causes like People for the American Way.
Even Rock the Vote, which claims it's just trying to raise political awareness and get young people to vote, is a blatant front for Democrat causes. Among the current issues it's championing are the alleged health care gap for young adults and censorship (do you have to ask by whom?). It's also taking a page out of the Democrat playbook and giving credibility to baseless rumors about a secret Bush plan to reinstate the draft soon as he's re-elected.
Rock the Vote also has launched a "Campaign Against InDecency," claiming it's "indecent" that 67 percent of 2003 college graduates were forced by economic hardships to move back in with their parents after graduation and that the average debt held by college students borrowing for their education is $18,400.
Pardon me while I cry a river.
Of course, I've never understood why the media give such credence to the political pronouncements of musicians, actors and other celebrities. They're no smarter than you or I. What they say doesn't matter any more than what's said at the coffee shops or hair salons across America. They just have a bigger stage on which to say it.
More important, most of what they say isn't very bright or factual. Here's just a smattering of what passes for wisdom in Hollywood these days:
"If you think that rape should be legal, then don't vote" actress Cameron Diaz on Oprah.
"The real terrorist threats are George W. Bush and his band of brown-shirted thugs" comedienne Sandra Bernhard.
"My skin crawls when I think of the first week after 9/11. I was looking out of the window and there were people marching down the street carrying flags. It reminded me of spontaneous, angry Nazis and I thought, 'Oh, man, we are in a lot of trouble.' " musician Rickie Lee Jones.
"Our country is founded on a sham: our forefathers were slave-owning rich white guys who wanted it their way. So when I see the American flag, I go, 'Oh my God, you're insulting me.' That you can have a gay parade on Christopher Street in New York, with naked men and women on a float cheering, 'We're here, we're queer!' that's what makes my heart swell. Not the flag, but a gay naked man or woman burning the flag. I get choked up with pride." Air America talk show host Janeane Garofalo.
"George Bush is not Hitler. He would be if he [expletive] applied himself." comedienne Margaret Cho.
"There is no terrorist threat in this country. This is a lie. This is the biggest lie we've been told." Michael Moore.
"We have a president for whom English is a second language. He's like, 'We have to get rid of dictators,' but he's pretty much one himself." comedian Robin Williams.
And my personal favorite, for its eloquence and depth of thought:
"Bush is a [expletive] idiot." Jennifer Aniston.
I could go on, but you get the point. If you want a more extensive treatise that pretty much sums up the out-of-touch rantings of America's artist community, look no further than tonight's headliner and his rambling interview in the current issue of Rolling Stone.
"I don't know if someone is going to run to the front of the stage and shout, 'I'm saved' or 'I'm switching,' but I'm going to try," Springsteen said. "I will be calling anyone in a bow tie to come to the front of the stage, and I'll see what I can do."
I'd like to tell The Boss that as a devout bow-tie-wearer I'll be rushing the stage tonight. But common sense prevents me.
I think he and other Hollywood bloviators would do well to follow the advice of talk-show host Laura Ingraham, whose best-selling book was simply titled: "Shut Up and Sing."
I think Kerry is off the wall....seems like anyone
voting for him is mis-informed and very disillusioned.
There's people out there who will say, "Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, etc. etc. say Bush is bad so I've gotta vote for Kerry!"
You forgot the most important Democrat constituency - those who depend on the government's stolen plunder for a living - from government employees to welfare queens to parasitic corporations like Archer Daniels Midlands.
And these are the same people that yell for the government to do something about downloading.
Hmmmmmm......
I am still utterly dissapointed in John Mellencamp. He was one of my very favorite artists growing up in the 80's. He really made us all believe his roots in small town Indiana was the key to his success. Now he is just another left wing nut case artist. I guess I will have to buy more Ted Nugent CD's
Bruce Springsteen has something to say about Middle East Policy, Foreign and Domestic Threat Analysis and International Monetary Policy.....
Gee... he's got the background to help me figure this all out... he's well versed and done research since his graduate work at the Freehold High School and has post graduate study as a err he studied at the.... er... uh... Asbury Park's "Upstage Club" think tank.
He then went on to write his in depth analysis with other think tanks in the area... named "Earth", ""Child" and the infamous "Steel Mill".
I think his breakthrough work in analysis and science was with his work with "Dr. Zoom & The Sonic Boom".... breathtaking...
So Bruce, how should we handle the current threats from North Korea, World wide Islamo-fascist(you know the diff' between a fascist and socialist, right?), Chinese imbalance of trade, Social Security funding, Stem Cell research, Russian alliance for anti-terrorism, SEC regulations of stock manipulation and retirement fund security..... cause you know all about that stuff and want me to vote for Kerry cause he's shown he can............ what?.... that's right, Kerry's main claim to fame is that... He's not George Bush... ok Bruce..now STFU.
Amen, at least VH with Dave...
Dave was just a party animal out to have a good time and really didn't take himself or what he was doing too seriously
here is the list of who is on the MoveOn (moveout)
Tour for Change , all hopefully will soon be thinking about applying for French citizenship :
# Pearl Jam
# Bruce Springsteen
# R.E.M.
# Dave Matthews Band
# Jurassic 5
# Dixie Chicks
# Death Cab for Cutie
# James Taylor
# Ben Harper
# My Morning Jacket
# Jackson Browne
# Bonnie Raitt
# John Fogerty
# Keb' Mo'
# Bright Eyes
# John Mellencamp
# Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds
# John Prine
# Tracy Chapman
very sad about some of the artists in this list , what a great loss!
I fully expect to see surrounding downtown littered with
trash,anti-American literature and used roach clips.
They were lots of fun...saw them several times at
the Garden....I can't believe how I used to blast
the stereo driving around....now all I listen to
is WABC!!!!!
I want to tell you something. I think Tracy Chapman's Fast Car is one of the greatest songs of the century. I know, and I knew back in '88, that she is a leftwing wacko, but that is simply a great song (plus, how many radical Black musicians use the hillbilly electric pedal steel in their stuff?).
If you listen to the words, Fast Car most definitely is not (as a friend of mine put it at the time) a "depressing socialist song." There isn't anything in it about socialism or government or economics at all. It's about tragic circumstances in the life of someone who simply wants to get a job, "buy a big house, and live in the suburbs" but who can never catch a break.
Sometimes I disagree with other conservatives about what conservatism is all about (social Darwinist economics, small government, etc.). Another alleged component of conservatism I reject (and I'm afraid I'm going to sound very different from Ronald Reagan here) is "optimism." Life is tragic, it is full of pain, and bliss comes only in the World of Souls, the Messianic era, or the World to Come. In fact, I always associated optimism with commie/new age theories about the perfection of mankind via the "world soul" or the "iron laws of history" (I know for a fact that one leftwing senator way back in the days before we even recognized the USSR diplomatically felt compelled to defend them from the charge that they were spreading propaganda for "optimism" in the United States).
Anyway, it is the knowledge that outside of G-d's plan perfect happiness is impossible and that pain is the rule that I believe anchors all conservatives and differentiates us from our opponents. The fact that a beautiful song that relates in a totally non-partisan ways the many tragedies that befall us all (some more than others) was written and recorded by a leftwing wackjob does not change the meaning of the song for me.
Besides, empty-headed happiness is for vapid Hollywood liberals anyway.
Okay. Now I suppose y'all are gonna let me have it! [Dons flame-retardent suit]
Kenny G ain't... (insert something here, 'cause Kenny G ain't it...) 8~)
These fine folks will be at the Xcel Energy Center tonight. If you happen to be in the area tonight, why not stop by and harass those attending the concert. Say around 6PM.
They have every right to publicly express their opinions and we have every right to be dumb enough to pay attention.
I'm really sick to see John Prine on that list. He's the only one of the bunch whose music I still listen to. The rest of them are either over-hyped current artists of severely limited talent or people who haven't put out a decent song in at least 15 years. And they may hate me in New Jersey for saying this, but Springsteen hasn't written anything approaching a tune since "Pink Cadillac," and that's just a Chuck Berry rip-off, but at least it was a good one. About all he's done since then is strum minor chords in random order while whining about "Amuuurika." It makes sense that a guy dumb enough to fire the E Street Band would think that John Kerry would make a great manager/decision-maker.
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