Springsteen just earned himself a big fat FBI file and an agent assigned just to scribble down everything he says, does, and everywhere he goes.

Look what they did to John Lennon just for saying, "Give peace a chance."

I'll be buying his new album the minute it hits the stores. He's always been a voice for the best of this country's values.

I remember his previous tour and how repubs(I speak with many people as per job) would say nasty things about his politicizing the music they love. Time seemed to heal those wounds so I can't wait for this tour and the reaction it will get. The NJ Star Ledger has a conservative op-ed writer that actually belittled Springsteen's career in 94, saying he hadn't done anything in 30 years. Wow, and I thought staying relevant in the music world for 30 years would mean you are successful. Maybe the tide has turned?

You and I have a new companion on the FBI File, thats what you really meant. But seriously, Springsteen and a few other entertaimers have the guts to call a spade and the Iraq war a disaster and infer that GWB is a warcriminal, right FBI?

Perhaps he'll be penning an "Off to the War tribunal" anthem for the current occupant sometime in the near future. I doubt the FBI has the computer network to track Springstein. They sure didnt have one to track the Saudi highjackers did they?

If I were you guys I'd be more worried about the guy around the cornor whith the NRA pedigree and six or seven loaded guns in his apartment/house. You know them. The ones with the "right" track minds and the 2nd ammendment tatooed on their forearm...

It is a little strange to think of an international celebrity of Springsteen's status as being underrated, but that is just the feeling that I cannot shake. It isn't so much a question of political or activist music as it is his magnificent ability to transmutate the raw materials of our shared experiences into art. "To him that threw you away, you ain't nothing but gone." It's poetry. It's as though excellence in politics, like excellence in performance, music, art and all areas of living, is a shared responsibility. Springsteen is underrated.

I got mine in 1967, or '68, when I sat at the "wrong" lunch table at State university. Seems I preferred the company of the local Hippie crowd, liked the smell of patchuli oil and Bob Dylan. Turns out there was a student informant among us trying to get us to talk about all kinds of stuff. J. Edgar Hoover was convinced that all Hippies were Communists bent on overthrowing the government.

Years ago, I got a copy of my file through the Freedom of Information Act. One page. Almost everything except my name, blacked out.

I'm sure that all of the 3 million people on the MoveOn mailing list now all have a file of their own too.

Pretty soon about half the people in the country are going to be on one list or another. It's beginning to look a lot like East Germany here. Ridiculous.

What the fuck, right? I'm too old now to care what the hell they do.

Uh, that didn't come out right.

Bruce Springsteen is sort of John the Baptist-like in all of this. Where are the other musicians? A few half-hearted attempts by Neil Young, one comment from the Dixie Chicks and at most a "tsk, tsk" from Michael Stipes in interviews. Where's the Bono of War and Rattle and Hum? The new crop? forget it. Musicians were on the front line of protest during Viet Nam. Now they're a vapid as their fans. The times they have indeed a changed, I guess.

The silence is deafening.

Years ago, I got a copy of my file through the Freedom of Information Act. One page. Almost everything except my name, blacked out.

Was this pre-9/11? Because, if so, you'd be lucky to get that much info now. In December 2004, I submitted a FOIA request to the FBI regarding a family member's 1960s activities.

My request is still pending.

Freedom of Information, my a$$.

Right on, at 87 I only feel sorry for those who have to suffer through the effects of the Bushit stupidity and those who have to undo the damage and of course those who have to pay with their lives and health to "win" this war. Naomi Klein had some nice comments on it when she debated Alan Greenspan.

Although I agree that most musicians have been rather silent, I think Pink's "Dear Mr. President" is a rather damning indictment of Mr. Bush. The fact that it is getting air-play at all is remarkable.

Re: Springsteen's FBI file.

Hell, dude, he got one of those during the Reagan administration. Don't you remember how pissed he was when The Great Prevaricator used his name in a pathetic attempt to scrape up some street cred? I'm sure he's been on the books ever since.

" I remember his previous tour and how repubs(I speak with many people as per job) would say nasty things about his politicizing the music they love."

I attended one of Bruce's "Seeger Sessions" concerts in Northern Virginia where there are a lot of administration people last summer. It was sparsely attended. When he sang the song "Bring Them Home," I think that is the title, the silence was deafening. It is a true dilemma for the repubs who like Bruce.

Times are changing. Contrast this year with last. Verizon Center was sold out on Monday in 3 hours even after an additional concert was added.

As Paul Krugman says it is much easier to be against the administration today than it was, say 4 years ago. Today we have Kieth Olberman, Steve Colbert, Ciny Sheehan, et al.

When I was protesting during the run-up to the Iraq war it was common for the repubs to threaten me and report me to the FBI and CIA. I am sure they did and I think these agencies were receptive to the reporting. These guys also assured me that I was headed to Gitmo to be tortured. Back then, I was convinced I was going to be arrested and was constantly questioning whether i should continue protesting (dissenting). I determined that I wasn't accomplishing anything except annoying the repubs, so I stopped. I was also very concerned for my safety. I thought when the facts came out, the American people would be horrified.

How wrong can a man be? Wisdom doesn't come with age!