Posted on 05/02/2007 4:58:10 PM PDT by Mobile Vulgus
The Washington Post is tsk tsking the U.S. Army and Walter Reed Army Medical Center today for their uninviting of aging 60s' war protester Joan Baez from appearing in a concert for wounded soldiers with John Cougar Mellencamp last Friday. In a sympathetic article the Post can't seem to understand why the Army wouldn't want an over the hill, anti-establishment activist to appear before our wounded heroes.
But even a look at just some of the quotes in their article -- much less any perusal of all her wild-eyed rants of the last 40 years -- seems to explain pretty clearly why a patriotic American soldier would not find her brand of "entertainment" desirable.
It's hard to believe the Post could be at all confused.
Apparently, Cougar Mellencamp invited the graying, hippie to perform with him several weeks back. And, initially, the Army seemed to agree to the arrangement. But, as the date neared, the Army withdrew their invitation to Baez without any real explanation given.
Baez has issued a letter that appears in the Post today that says in part:
I have always been an advocate for nonviolence, and I have stood as firmly against the Iraq war as I did the Vietnam War 40 years ago. During that war, I could not, in good conscience, have "sung for the troops."Perhaps this is precisely the attitude the Army grew to fear would mar a concert for recovering soldiers? Perhaps they didn't want our wounded heroes to be confronted with her tiresome rhetoric? They have enough troubles in their lives already, after all!
Baez goes on with a disingenuous, "I realize now that I might have contributed to a better welcome home for those soldiers fresh from Vietnam. Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation to sing for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan."
"Maybe", Joan? Since there admittedly wasn't any conscious pre-planned thought that you wanted to make amends for past slights you had before your appearance, it seems likely that this afterthought "maybe" is not really a genuine sentiment.
She ends her short and not very erudite open letter with, "In the end... I was not "approved" by the Army to take part. Strange irony."
Irony? What irony? Baez appears to be another person who doesn't grasp the concept of irony.
In any case, as I mentioned, the Post gave Baez much room to complain and posed the question to the military as if they were somehow wrong to eliminate Baez from the stage.
But let's look at some of the things she told the Post in her interview over the incident and see if she would have been a suitable entertainer for wounded troops.
Reached by telephone yesterday at her home in Menlo Park, Calif., Baez, 66, said she wasn't told why she was given the boot, but speculated, "There might have been one, there might have been 50 [soldiers] that thought I was a traitor."Absurdly, she blames the troops for her removal from the stage, but many -- if not a substantial portion of them -- weren't even alive when she was rampaging across the country advocating for the defeat of US forces in Vietnam. With this sort of distrust and suspicion she seems to hold for the boys it is amazing she even considered the appearance to begin with.
She next decided to poke some fun at the hospital.
"One of my more cynical friends said, 'They let the rats in, why not you?' "Baez said, laughing, referring to a recent exposé of living conditions at Walter Reed.So, she thinks "rats" in the hospital is funny? Nice.
And, as to her real feelings about being uninvited by the Army, Baez said "It's an honor to be turned down by the Army". This seems a fairer representation of her sentiment than the phony "maybe" sentiment she included in her whiny letter previously mentioned. With this sort of animus exhibited by Baez, it is a good thing the Army rejected her offer to perform.
The real question I have for the Army, though, isn't why they uninvited her but why they initially thought she should perform in the first place? Baez should have been flat out refused right at the outset.
But, it is amusing that the Washington Post just doesn't get it.
Achmed the dead terrorist would have been a much better choice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QXQFTEBqNE
Joan, forget all of the other problems, you are just not very good or very entertaining.
I hate these people.
Can I say that?
I question Mellencamp inviting this treasonous bitch. Surely, there are other patriotic entertainers that would be better than this group. Good grief!
Dont forget ol’ Johnny Cougar is a big lib himself. He was on that Kerry concert tour with Springsteen, REM, Fogerty and a few others.
The Post article says Johnny’s Cougar Mellon camp shut himself up with his normal anti-American rhetoric and just played music.
She was told not to come because her music is awful.
If I had a hammer,
There’d be no more folk singers . . .
How much simpler can it get???? They flat out don’t WANT YOU Joan. They gave up limbs in the war. You Joan sang all your anti war songs during Vietnam. We were there Joan...we remember you and your buddy traitor Hanoi Jane. Get the message???? You are not the do all be all to everyone...especially our brave fighting men and womenh. They didn’t want you and they rejected you. That is THEIR right since they fought for your freedom when you were being what you were. Yuk. I didn’t even know you were still around. Why not go see Hanoi Jane and the two of you can have a reunion. The troops rejected you and they were smart to do so. You would have used it as a stage for your rantings. You are YESTERDAY. So, go away.
“If I had a hammer,
There’d be no more folk singers . . .”
I think I just found your tagline.
I question why anyone invited Johnny Cougar!
Yes -- the "Jumping the Shark" tour.
DFU SONG: They Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (the night the FReepers drove the Dixie Chicks down)
DFU SONG PARODIES ^ | 10-06 | Lyrics, Doug from Upland
Posted on 10/27/2006 2:11:08 PM PDT by doug from upland
MIDI - THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN
Dixie Chicks is their name...they are led by the big mouth Maines
One day she shot off her mouth...their future went down in flames
She said things while on foreign soil...what she said made all the patriots boil
She hurt our troops, there is no doubt...that is what this whole mess is all about
The night the FReepers drove 'em down...the Chicks were given a roasting
Yes, the night the FReepers drove 'em down...in their pajamas they're posting
They went NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
They had the right to speak their mind...no argument here they'll find
But we have free speech, too...come here and kiss our behinds
There's business rules they should know...like your goodwill's something you shouldn't blow
Do not insult half of your audience...it is amazing that they really had been that dense
The night the FReepers drove 'em down...the Chicks were given a roasting
Yes, the night the FReepers drove 'em down...in their pajamas they're posting
They went NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Their songs some stations wouldn't play...traitors' bad hair day
We have soldiers out fighting for you...and they are in harms way
And when you slam our president...you hurt them, too, that is evident
So what you chicks wish, you're free to say...but for your CDs we're no longer gonna pay
The night the FReepers drove 'em down...the Chicks were given a roasting
Yes, the night the FReepers drove 'em down...in their pajamas they're posting
They went NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
The night the FReepers drove 'em down...the Chicks were given a roasting
Yes, the night the FReepers drove 'em down...in their pajamas they're posting
They went NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
sorry...
Saw John Cougar on Charlie Rose a while back and said he wouldn’t have even gone into Afganistan after 9-11.
I keep saying that it should be required that the age of the journalist be shown at the bottom of all articles that appear in newspapers. My theory is that the majority of them are under age 35 and therefore haven’t a clue as to the significance, and history, involved with most of what they write about.
like most of the people there would even know or care who she is.......
back in the late 60s Phony Joanie and Donald Sutherland went to Army base towns with a traveling troupe of entertainers and did a show called FTA...that stood for F*CK THE ARMY....they liked to ridicule the service and by extension made GIs who served look like pawns....maybe someone at Walter Reed remembered....I hope so....that kind of disgusting anti Americanism should never be forgotten.....
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