Free Republic

Does anyone here in New Hampshire really believe the Democratic Party’s call for raising taxes and re-establishing all the regulations Donald Trump ended on business will make life better for working people? If so, I invite them to explain to me how. Whether you love Trump or hate him, he has brought our economy, jobs and standard of living back from more then a decade of steep decline. I don’t care who you want to blame for that; it’s a fact that President Trump fixed it and that’s what counts. I really don’t give a darn if the rich are...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)’ campaign on Friday unveiled a list of actors, directors, musicians and tech industry players and who have endorsed the independent Vermont Senator and self-described socialist’s bid for the presidency. Actors Will Ferrell, Jeremy Piven, John C. Reilly, Danny DeVito, and Sarah Silverman are among the 128 “artists and cultural leaders” that have put their names to an open letter calling for Sanders to be the Democrat presidential nominee.

Here’s some fun for the weekend, if you enjoy reading about left-wing hypocrisy. Saturday’s New York Times has two stories. The first is about the performance in the South Village in New York City by Steve Earle and his wife Allison Moorer. The folk/country duo sang at a new high class venue, The City Winery. It seems we’ve come a long, long way since that day in the early 40’s when Woody Guthrie walked out of the Rainbow Room on the eve of his scheduled performance, and sang in front of the NBC Building on the street for free, strumming...

Steve Earle's resume has always read like a how-to manual for the ardent revolutionary. The Virginia-born, Texas-reared singer and songwriter lives in Nashville -- though he's contemplating a move to New York -- but he has long considered Chicago a second home, and the city is home to one of his most dedicated fan bases. Earle established himself with the New Traditionalist country of "Guitar Town" (1986); marked himself as one of the hottest up-and-comers of the early '90s with the Bruce Springsteen populism and heartland rock of "Copperhead Road" (1988); then threw it all away by getting himself addicted...

Artists Speak Out Against the War Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Steve Earle, Moby and more play New York anti-war event R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Steve Earle, Rufus Wainwright, Fischerspooner, Moby, Peaches and Devendra Banhart all performed at Monday night's Bring 'Em Home Now! concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The event, to benefit a number of anti-war groups, could be seen as an anti-war rally at the third anniversary of the United States' invasion of Iraq, bringing together an array of musical styles -- hip-hop, country, rock, pop, indie and electronica -- with one shared view: It's time...

Since May, we've had a lot of fun examining Rev. Al Sharpton's would-be, could-be talk radio career. Because announced plans never seem to pan out, it's mostly involved a lot of head-scratching. With a new deal now reportedly signed, the Sharpton saga takes an especially puzzling turn: he's apparently a talk radio two-timer! That's right, with the Boston Globe's Clea Simon revealing his new agreement, he's got a bit of a mess on his hands:

Earle lends passion to Iraq war protest near Bush's ranch - Steve Earle sings for peace advocates and soldiers' relatives near Crawford COUNTRY MUSIC CRAWFORD, Texas – When Steve Earle got his invitation to perform at the Camp Casey protest outside President Bush's Crawford residence the singer-songwriter asked organizers to think twice about their choice. "I think this is the beginning of a mainstream movement against the war in Iraq, so I wanted them to consider who I am and the kind of lightning rod I can be," said Mr. Earle, who has a history of activism against the death...

Many music-minded viewers of the MLB All-Star Game earlier this month were shocked, astonished and disillusioned at the newest truck commercial Chevrolet unveiled. I know I was when I saw it a week or so later -- there were the standard shots of Chevy trucks sending up billowing clouds of dust as they thrummed down rutted dirt roads, crashing and splashing through rocky streams, and burly, flannel-shirted rednecks tossing bales of hay around -- but what was that music playing in the background? It was infinitely familiar yet, given its surroundings, completely out-of-place and exotic, like running into your spinster...

US anti-war groups flex their muscle Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles Tuesday October 22, 2002 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk Medea Benjamin has been close to both President Bush and his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, over the past few weeks. So close, in fact, that she was arrested. Most memorably, Ms Benjamin was one of two women seen directly behind Mr Rumsfeld at last month's congressional hearings on Iraq holding an anti-war placard and later charged with "disruption of Congress". This Saturday, she will help lead what organisers hope will echo in scale the anti-war protests of the Vietnam era three decades...

Steve Earle unapologetic about "John Walker's Blues" - - - - - - - - - - - -ASSOCIATED PRESSSept. 27, 2002  |  NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Nashville singer-songwriter Steve Earle hasn't ever been one to avoid controversy. In contrast to patriotism-boosting songs by country artists such as Toby Keith, Earle seeks to understand the enemy on "John Walker's Blues," one of the tunes on his new politically themed album, "Jerusalem," released Tuesday. "John Walker's Blues" takes the viewpoint of John Walker Lindh, a 21-year-old Californian captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan who has pleaded guilty to fighting alongside the...

On 1997's El Corazón, Steve Earle wished for the return of Woody Guthrie to a world sorely lacking voices of righteous dissent. Here, Earle stops pining for ghosts and gruffly makes his own claim to the agit-folk crown. The controversial "John Walker's Blues" drew attention to the album and the ire of many who misunderstood it, but it's only one of many topical tunes on a disc that issues a kind of call to arms: over the distorted guitars and garbage-pail drums of "Amerika v. 6.0" and in the spare and creepy satire "Conspiracy Theory," Earle rallies listeners to resist...

Ballad of Johnny Taliban: Steve Earle Picks Another Dumb Fight He was the barely known opener at a six-act country concert in the sticks south of San Diego. I can't remember exactly how he insulted that afternoon crowd of cowboy hats -- maybe it was just his long greasy hair and lack of Nashville sparkle -- but it was interesting enough to lure me behind the outdoor stage to his ugly tour bus. Waylon Jennings was singing while somebody on Steve Earle's payroll told me to get lost. Finally Earle stepped down and I asked for a quick interview. He...

music boxDuck of EarleWhy Steve Earle's 9/11 album is such a flop.By Josh DanielPosted Monday, September 23, 2002, at 3:16 PM PT Every pop singer reacted to Sept. 11 a little differently. Alan Jackson felt confused, maybe a bit weepy, so he wrote "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?" Toby Keith, on the other hand, went with angry and jingoistic in "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue." Bruce Springsteen offered comfort and reassurance. Now comes the singer-songwriter Steve Earle, and if you don't mind, he'd like to jam his thumb in your eye.At least that's the impression you...

I love country music and so I am shcoked to see that somebody, even a guy I'd never heard of, in the genre is a radical leftist. What do FReepers know about him?

Media Research CenterMRC SPOTLIGHT War on Terrorism: The Celebrity View Many celebrities feel obligated to share their political opinions and the war on terrorism has been no exception. From novelist Norman Mailer’s rants about "what if the perpetrators were right" to singer Steve Earle’s soon-to-be released tribute to John Walker Lindh, the celebrity community has been a source of anti-American commentary since the war started. Here’s a selection of some of those comments.A Singer Speaks Up Country rock singer Steve Earle sang his new song about John Walker Lindh for the Today show. One line described the U.S. as the...

<p>Country music, that bastion of soulful, twangy Americana, was responsible for something very out of character this week. Steve Earle, an on-again, off-again alternative country star, hit an off-note by recording a sympathetic ballad about the travails of a certain young ex-Taliban soldier from Northern California.</p>

"...A MAN WITH SOUL SO DEAD..." : In a shocking turn of events, it appears that Steve Earle, whose new song "John Walker's Blues" is being hailed from Baghdad to Mogadishu, has also written a new version of his hit song, "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" : I Have Been Osamafied (Cat Stevens Earle) My arms sport some serious tracks And my brain's been fried by horse and crack Spent some hard time in the man's prison where I felt the pain of my brother Muslim Aie-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei I have been Osamafied Aie-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei I have been Osamafied Now I know nothing about...

'U.S. Taliban' Inspires Controversial Ballad Mon Jul 22,11:00 AM ET By Aly Sujo NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - A new country-rock song that compares American Taliban John Walker Lindh to Jesus Christ is drawing both raves and howls of indignation just days after the 21-year-old pleaded guilty to aiding the former Afghan regime. Recorded in Nashville by the maverick Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Steve Earle, "John Walker's Blues" is a stately ballad punctuated by the sound of Arabic prayers, and makes reference to Lindh's interest in music videos, boy bands, and religious fanaticism. Over a layered backdrop of electric guitars recorded backward, the...

<p>July 21, 2002 -- NASHVILLE - American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh is glorified and called Jesus-like in a country-rock song to be released soon by maverick singer-songwriter Steve Earle.</p> <p>The controversial ballad called "John Walker's Blues" is backed by the chanting of Arabic prayers and praises Allah.</p>

<p>NASHVILLE — American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh is glorified and called Jesus-like in a country-rock song to be released soon by maverick singer-songwriter Steve Earle.</p> <p>The controversial ballad called "John Walker's Blues" is backed by the chanting of Arabic prayers and praises Allah.</p>