Posted on 01/04/2005 12:59:58 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Band's version of one-time Presley tune hits sour note with some
MADISON, Wis. - As if the incoming Legislature didn't have enough problems, a high school band's rendition of a tune that was an Elvis Presley hit decades ago drew a complaint from a newly elected member of the Senate.
The Richland Center High School band played "An American Trilogy" at the Senate's inaugural ceremony at the Capitol Monday - the first day of a session expected to be dominated by battles over budget-cutting, a tax-freeze amendment and a myriad of other issues.
Sen. Spencer Coggs (D), who is black, said he was SHOCKED, as were his family and other guests, to hear the strains of the Southern anthem "Dixie" played in the Senate chamber as part of the trilogy, along with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "All My Trials."
Coggs, a Democrat from Milwaukee, complained in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center.
"Whether the slight was intentional or not, the selection was not appropriate," he wrote, noting that "Dixie" is often associated with slavery.
"While now it should be unnecessary to suggest, in the future a list of songs should be submitted prior to a performance and the list should be reviewed for its appropriateness," he said. "It is unfortunate that this special day was marred by such an unnecessary event."
Schultz had invited the band and choir to play at the ceremony.
He said the complaint caught him by surprise.
"A simple apology is what's needed," Schultz said, "and I will certainly be happy to do that."
He said he wasn't aware of every musical selection the band prepared for the event, and the piece has some historical significance.
"But I want everyone to feel included. If Sen. Coggs felt offended, I would want to extend my hand in apology."
http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com
I was born knowing.
I pulled down the VMI banner for the occasion btw. I have the Bonnie Blue and Mississippi flags on standby....Old Glory as well....and the Ole Miss Colonel Rebel banner.
Dang....all these flags with ties to slavery and so few porticos. I need an antebellum home I can see that now.
I am offended by the Democratic party because it is often associated with slavery, the KKK, hanging Blacks from trees and burning them, terrorizing neighborhoods and pretty much keeping the blacks in the south oppressed for years and years after the civil war. Beats me why so many blacks are Democrats. If this woman is offended by things that remind her of slavery why is she a Democrat?
I don't know where "Martha" came from.
Martha White self-rising flour. A favorite down in DIXIE.
Correction She should be he in my post above.
This just in: UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland has accused the United States of being niggardly.
The representative considers it a slight, for a band to play a medley of tunes associated with American history; with different factions in past conflicts. Well, the reason for such medleys, in the past, has usually been a celebration that we are now back together. For normal Americans, such medleys make people feel good; feel a sense that we have buried old hatchets and can celebrate again what we have in common. Apparently the representative finds such a spirit offensive.
Well, had I invited the band, I would not have responded to the representative the way his fellow legislator did in the article. But, then, I do not live in Wisconsin. On the other hand, I have a friend, who hails from Cincinnati, who has been working up there for some years, and have heard many stories of the Marxist influences in Madison. It is a sad place.
This reminds me of the shocked horror expressed by other agitators, such as the representative here, when Reggie White--who really was a fine, God fearing man--was invited to address the State Legislature, and gave them a good natured lecture on the differences between the races. That, of course, was not acceptable to the "Leftists." Race to them has to be equated with "hate," and this representative sure sounds like he is full of it.
All of this reminds me of the old story of Stephen Douglas in the 1858 Illinois Senate campaign, where he was being heckled by a crowd in Chicago. Finally at midnight, he announced, "It is now Sunday morning. I am going to Church, and you can go to Hell!" Reggie White is now in Heaven, but we have a pretty good idea what the angry Representative has coming to him.
Cheers!
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
William was a gay deceiver <--Damn gays
It's the other way around.
As a square dance caller I have used the music "Is it True What They Say About Dixie?" (Phil Harris did one of the great versions of this song.) and "Get Me Back to Dixie" (much less frequently) as well as "Rockabye Your Baby (with a Dixie Melody)" (Jerry Lewis in the 50s) I do a bunch of other music too.
And Carole should just laugh and start hummung Say It Loud,I'm Black and I'm Proud or Were a Winner to show whats good for the goose is good for the gander
I guess it's possible to be a Christophobe and still call yourself a conservative. OTOH, If this is the best example of the "right to be offended" you can muster, you're not paying much attention.
Neither did I.
I'd certainly never been called a traitor before!
Back when I was in the service, I detected the hatred of the South was palatable with some people. California natives were quite noticeable among those ranks.
You read my thoughts....it was a shock to me when i first went in...i got used to it...but not all northeners were that way....my best friends ended up being a Puerto Rican from Brooklyn, a mexican from San Antonio and a farm boy from North Dakota.
NYC Draft Riots 1863
Marion Indiana
Douglas County, Nebraska
Is your house glass perchance?
Californians and Bostonians were by far the worst.
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