Letters to the Editor
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Truth as Weapon
I'm not sure that simply, outspokenly telling the bald truth can be accurately described as an "attack" or "bashing". I'd rather hear the plainspoken statement that the use of pre-emptive nuclear strikes is immoral from a candidate than any number of 'nuanced positions' designed to pander to the nation's deathwish. Mike Gravel for President!
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I'm no expert on this stuff but
Mike Gravel's comments seem to me to come from a candidate who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, so to speak. And many times these candidates speak more frankly and from the heart. Not sure where Mr. Gravel's heart or previous utterances are at, I've never heard of him and I am not watching the debate, sorry. But my personal feelings toward his comments were....wow! I liked them, on face value. He's probably un-electable.
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As electable as Gil Scott Heron
"The President, he's got his war
Folks don't know just what it's for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt, they call it treason
We're chicken-feathers, all without one gut (God damn it!)
Tryin' to make it real — compared to what? (Sock it to me, now)"
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Ripping Off One of Ronald Reagan's Stupider Debate Remarks Is NOT Endearing
But I did appreciate the gentleman's candor and combativeness. It was refreshing.
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It wasn't Gil Scott Heron
good as he was at that time. "Compared To What" is the opening track to "Swiss Movement: Live at Montreux" by Les McCann and Eddie Harris. It was written by Gene McDaniels, an R&B artist best known for novelty songs until this. It's one of the great songs of the '60s, comparable to the best of Dylan and Phil Ochs. Unreal values, crass distortion -- and we are still all chicken feathers without one gut:
To a driving beat:
1. Love the lie and lie the love
Hangin' on, with a push and shove
Possession is the motivation
that is hangin' up the God-damn nation
Looks like we always end up in a rut (everybody now!)
Tryin' to make it real — compared to what?
2. Slaughterhouse is killin' hogs
Twisted children killin' frogs
Poor dumb rednecks rollin' logs
Tired old ladies kissin' dogs
Hate the human, love that stinking mutt (I can't stand it!)
Try to make it real — compared to what?
3. The President, he's got his war
Folks don't know just what it's for
Nobody gives us rhyme or reason
Have one doubt, they call it treason
We're chicken-feathers, all without one gut (God damn it!)
Tryin' to make it real — compared to what? (Sock it to me, now)
4. Church on Sunday, sleep and nod
Tryin' to duck the wrath of God
Preacher's fillin' us with fright
Tryin' to tell us what he thinks is right
He really got to be some kind of nut (I can't use it!)
Tryin' to make it real — compared to what?
5. Where's that bee and where's that honey?
Where's my God and where's my money
Unreal values, crass distortion
Unwed mothers need abortion
Kind of brings to mind ol' young King Tut (He did it now)
Tried to make it real — compared to what?!
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Good!
Good for him! Let his message seep through! Maybe he can usurp St. McCain's status as a "Straight Talker." I'd LOVE to see him on Colbert! WhooWeee!!! Would that be a spectacular WWF match-up!
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Rehashing quotes
While it's crucial to have unlikely contenders in the Democratic primaries to keep the likely shots at least honest to their core values, I had to roll my eyes when I saw that Gravel had either tried to get away with, or be insufferably cute by, quoting a famous Reagan campaign speech: "I won't hold [their] youth and experience against [them]." I'm actually surprised that Mr. Scherer didn't pick up on this.
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Log rolling
One more thing on "Compared to What:"
The line about "poor dumb rednecks rollin' logs" refers to a common recreational practice of the Jim Crow south:
Take a black man who's been causing trouble, by agitating for the right to vote, opening a successful store that competes with a white one, or just standing up for himself; beat him, hopefully, senseless, bind him in a log chain, and roll him into a river. The obligatory joke to conclude the ceremony was "Looks like that nigger stole more chain than he could swim with."
My father told me that when I was nine years old.
That's the faction that's taken over the country. That's what we have to fight.
Any of the people we saw last night are a universe away from today's Republican mainstream. About half of them would actually be up to the job.
But keep it in mind while you're reading "What's the Matter With Kansas." We have met the enemy, and if they're not us, they're living pretty close by. We can't afford to lose, especially by defeating ourselves.
And we can feel lucky we have artists like Gene McDaniels, who is apparently still with us.
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dangerous ground...
Where is YOUR allegiance? If it's to Democrats or the Democratic party, then you have become your enemy.
Gravel is right on the money with these quotes, and I'm not going to concern myself with the all too common "intentional fallacy", trying to figure out his intention. The words are true, especially of Biden and Clinton, who are both horrible opportunists that scare me, and no different than any other institutional politician in the ethical sense.
Allegiance to any candidate(s) at the expense of another in the form of such connotative language is a gross misuse of your public pen.
Somehow we keep thinking that by supporting anyone elect-able or merely superficially different from Bush/Cheney/Fox/Coulter etc., that we will eventually get a quality candidate or a quality government worthy of our ideals. This is BS we have been eating for decades and longer. We as a nation require radical change in our corrupt political system, and until we are willing to suffer through that transition, we will continue to suffer fools and criminals who look like “lesser of two evils” step-saviors.
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Gil Scot Heron--accurately...and AMAZING spoken word--"B-Movie"!
Well, the first thing I want to say is…”Mandate my ass!”
Because it seems as though we’ve been convinced that 26% of the registered voters, not even 26% of the American people, but 26% of the registered voters form a mandate – or a landslide. 21% voted for Skippy and 3, 4% voted for somebody else who might have been running.
But, oh yeah, I remember. In this year that we have now declared the year from Shogun to Reagan, I remember what I said about Reagan…meant it. Acted like an actor…Hollyweird. Acted like a liberal. Acted like General Franco when he acted like governor of California, then he acted like a republican. Then he acted like somebody was going to vote for him for president. And now we act like 26% of the registered voters is actually a mandate. We’re all actors in this I suppose.
What has happened is that in the last 20 years, America has changed from a producer to a consumer. And all consumers know that when the producer names the tune…the consumer has got to dance. That’s the way it is. We used to be a producer – very inflexible at that, and now we are consumers and, finding it difficult to understand. Natural resources and minerals will change your world. The Arabs used to be in the 3rd World. They have bought the 2nd World and put a firm down payment on the 1st one. Controlling your resources will control your world. This country has been surprised by the way the world looks now. They don’t know if they want to be Matt Dillon or Bob Dylan. They don’t know if they want to be diplomats or continue the same policy - of nuclear nightmare diplomacy. John Foster Dulles ain’t nothing but the name of an airport now.
The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia. They want to go back as far as they can – even if it’s only as far as last week. Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards. And yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last possible moment. The day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse - or the man who always came to save America at the last moment – someone always came to save America at the last moment – especially in “B” movies. And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like John Wayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan – and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at – like a “B” movie.
Come with us back to those inglorious days when heroes weren’t zeros. Before fair was square. When the cavalry came straight away and all-American men were like Hemingway to the days of the wondrous “B” movie. The producer underwritten by all the millionaires necessary will be Casper “The Defensive” Weinberger – no more animated choice is available. The director will be Attila the Haig, running around frantically declaring himself in control and in charge. The ultimate realization of the inmates taking over at the asylum. The screenplay will be adapted from the book called “Voodoo Economics” by George “Papa Doc” Bush. Music by the “Village People” the very military "Macho Man."
A theme song for saber-rallying and selling wars door-to-door. Remember, we’re looking for the closest thing we can find to John Wayne. Clichés abound like kangaroos – courtesy of some spaced out Marlin Perkins, a Reagan contemporary. Clichés like, “itchy trigger finger” and “tall in the saddle” and “riding off or on into the sunset.” Clichés like, “Get off of my planet by sundown!” More so than clichés like, “he died with his boots on.” Marine tough the man is. Bogart tough the man is. Cagney tough the man is. Hollywood tough the man is. Cheap steak tough. And Bonzo’s substantial. The ultimate in synthetic selling: A Madison Avenue masterpiece – a miracle – a cotton-candy politician…Presto! Macho!
Put your orders in America. And quick as Kodak your leaders duplicate with the accent being on the dupe - cause all of a sudden we have fallen prey to selective amnesia - remembering what we want to remember and forgetting what we choose to forget. All of a sudden, the man who called for a blood bath on our college campuses is supposed to be Dudley “God-damn” Do-Right?
“You go give them liberals hell Ronnie.” That was the mandate. To the new “Captain Bly” on the new ship of fools. It was doubtlessly based on his chameleon performance of the past - as a liberal democrat – as the head of the Studio Actor’s Guild. When other celluloid saviors were cringing in terror from McCarthy – Ron stood tall. It goes all the way back from Hollywood to hillbilly. From liberal to libelous, from “Bonzo” to Birch idol…born again. Civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights…it’s all wrong. Call in the cavalry to disrupt this perception of freedom gone wild. God damn it…first one wants freedom, then the whole damn world wants freedom.
Nostalgia, that’s what we want…the good ol’ days…when we gave’em hell. When the buck stopped somewhere and you could still buy something with it. To a time when movies were in black and white – and so was everything else. Even if we go back to the campaign trail, before six-gun Ron shot off his face and developed hoof-in-mouth. Before the free press went down before full-court press. And were reluctant to review the menu because they knew the only thing available was – Crow.