As I write this, today is Friday, 1/29. I probably won't post this YET, hoping that I might actually get some reaction to the "Outrageous" post. Sorry if this one may ramble a bit, but hey, there ARE threads to follow!
Yesterday (Thursday) I heard a song by Jefferson Starship - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" that I haven't heard on the radio for some time. I like it - pretty peppy and fairly uplifting lyrics - so it was good to hear it again.
Then today we found out that Paul Kantner, a founder of Jefferson Airplane has died. It just struck me as though there must have been some sort of synchronicity at work there yesterday, even if Mr. Kantner wasn't in the JS lineup at the time of the aforementioned song.
Turns out "NGSUN" was co-written by one Albert Hammond. I certainly remember him, the singer/songwriter of "It Never Rains in California" - a big hit during my college years. Oh, and I often played THAT one on piano. Turns out he also co-wrote "The Air That I Breathe", a hit for The Hollies. Not a favorite song of mine, but I didn't realize he had a hand in it until now. He also had a hand in many other hits - and for many artists.
Also, it turns out that Paul Kantner was a co-author of "Wooden Ships", which was recorded by Jefferson Airplane and by Crosby Stills, and Nash. WOW. I hadn't thought of that song in YEARS. I well remember listening to the CS and N version. Yeah, I have it around here somewhere, but you know how it is... So I checked out a couple of videos and looked up the lyrics. Some not bad, but there's the one verse... So I think I'll just tuck it away again for now.
It is so sad that we're losing so many wonderful musical icons - like Bowie and now Kantner. I love the comment following the above article by dj ranger. Yes, we've seen a real classic era in music and we're losing so many of the talents that propelled it. I think there are some commenters at The Guardian who agree that we're just not seeing artists of the same caliber today. I TOTALLY agree with that. From what I hear of more contemporary music, I've definitely not been impressed.
It speaks well for Kantner that many who met him have posted such great memories of meeting him - as well as accolades for his music. Yes, he will definitely be missed.
Rest in Peace, Paul
This blog discusses issues of social justice (in an inclusive sense), civil liberties, human rights, other social issues, and offers thoughts on society and humanity in general from a progressive, feminist perspective.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Outrageous - Updated
I hate to move the previous post down. I may move it back up after a day or so.
But I have to write this: Trump is doing this "fundraiser" for Wounded Warrior Project tonight at the same time as the GOP debate. And it's supposed to get tv coverage? So basically, Trump throws a tantrum because he does't like the Fox Moderator and he gets REWARDED for it? Any wonder why I'm outraged? I just saw that C-Span has it on their schedule - to their SHAME. I just e-mailed them to express my outrage. However, I first wrote to WWP telling them they should be ashamed for having anything to do with this ludicrous candidate. CNN phones should be open now, and I will call them. I'll be right back to let you all know how that call progressed.
When I called CNN, the receptionist said there was no person available so I left a message with my e-mail in case anyone felt like getting back to me. I didn't find their site very easy to navigate, and just checked my Verizon guide, but didn't see it on CNN schedule (or HLN either) - and I hope it stays that way! I will of course, update if I get any response from them, WWP, or C-Span.
I would advocate that you readers also let WWP and the media know this event is outrageous - skip the coverage! Some Media contact info can be found here. For some reason on the printout I actually use, I blocked out 'option 1' with the CNN# so I guess that's certainly not necessary. WWP can be easily searched out and C-Span has an online contact form. Why the media is pandering to that dangerous bigoted, extremist, is beyond me. Or should be, as they should stop giving him free passes and a stage for every nasty remark he utters. And I wonder if his supporters really understood the disdain he was showing for THEM with that "shooting people" remark. BTW, has anyone heard any candidate or media person who actually condemned that remark?
Here's also something I found at The Guardian and their covering of this debate flap except the first link I have here may not be the one they referred to:
On the heels of news that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s luxurious, world-class retweets are disproportionately bestowed upon white supremacists, the billionaire presidential candidate has been called out as a latter-day fascist by none other than Anne Frank’s stepsister.
In an essay published by Newsweek, Eva Schloss, an 86-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, decried Trump’s anti-immigrant policies as reminiscent of Nazi Germany:
"If Donald Trump become the next president of the US it would be a complete disaster. I think he is acting like another Hitler by inciting racism.”
The piece, written to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, compares the plight of Syrian refugees - and global resistance to aiding them - to the experiences of her family in the years leading up to World War II. “I was 11 years old when my family first immigrated to Belgium,” Schloss writes.
“We were treated as if we had come from the moon. I felt as if I wasn’t wanted and that I was different to everybody. It is even harder for today’s Syrian refugees who have a very different culture ... I was shocked that I wasn’t accepted like an ordinary person. I am very upset that today again so many countries are closing their borders.”
...Well said, Ms. Schloss.
UPDATE:
Saw a blub on I think it was Bloomberg news online that nasty Trump actually dominated coverage at CNN and MSNBC during time of GOP debate. I left online feedback for CNN - but will it help? I'm sick and tired of this wacko being shoved in our faces and enabled to spew his hateful rhetoric by the media. Are there any human readers out there? And anyone even taking the time to phone or leave feedback for these media enablers? We complain, but nothing ever seems TO GET DONE. I do what I feel I can, mostly "armchair/online stuff" but I do make some sort of effort here. Anyone getting the feeling I'm a bit frustrated? Yup. Seeing that ludicrous nutjob continually getting rewarded by the media - and actually having ANY supporters will do that...
But I have to write this: Trump is doing this "fundraiser" for Wounded Warrior Project tonight at the same time as the GOP debate. And it's supposed to get tv coverage? So basically, Trump throws a tantrum because he does't like the Fox Moderator and he gets REWARDED for it? Any wonder why I'm outraged? I just saw that C-Span has it on their schedule - to their SHAME. I just e-mailed them to express my outrage. However, I first wrote to WWP telling them they should be ashamed for having anything to do with this ludicrous candidate. CNN phones should be open now, and I will call them. I'll be right back to let you all know how that call progressed.
When I called CNN, the receptionist said there was no person available so I left a message with my e-mail in case anyone felt like getting back to me. I didn't find their site very easy to navigate, and just checked my Verizon guide, but didn't see it on CNN schedule (or HLN either) - and I hope it stays that way! I will of course, update if I get any response from them, WWP, or C-Span.
I would advocate that you readers also let WWP and the media know this event is outrageous - skip the coverage! Some Media contact info can be found here. For some reason on the printout I actually use, I blocked out 'option 1' with the CNN# so I guess that's certainly not necessary. WWP can be easily searched out and C-Span has an online contact form. Why the media is pandering to that dangerous bigoted, extremist, is beyond me. Or should be, as they should stop giving him free passes and a stage for every nasty remark he utters. And I wonder if his supporters really understood the disdain he was showing for THEM with that "shooting people" remark. BTW, has anyone heard any candidate or media person who actually condemned that remark?
Here's also something I found at The Guardian and their covering of this debate flap except the first link I have here may not be the one they referred to:
On the heels of news that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s luxurious, world-class retweets are disproportionately bestowed upon white supremacists, the billionaire presidential candidate has been called out as a latter-day fascist by none other than Anne Frank’s stepsister.
In an essay published by Newsweek, Eva Schloss, an 86-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, decried Trump’s anti-immigrant policies as reminiscent of Nazi Germany:
"If Donald Trump become the next president of the US it would be a complete disaster. I think he is acting like another Hitler by inciting racism.”
The piece, written to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, compares the plight of Syrian refugees - and global resistance to aiding them - to the experiences of her family in the years leading up to World War II. “I was 11 years old when my family first immigrated to Belgium,” Schloss writes.
“We were treated as if we had come from the moon. I felt as if I wasn’t wanted and that I was different to everybody. It is even harder for today’s Syrian refugees who have a very different culture ... I was shocked that I wasn’t accepted like an ordinary person. I am very upset that today again so many countries are closing their borders.”
...Well said, Ms. Schloss.
UPDATE:
Saw a blub on I think it was Bloomberg news online that nasty Trump actually dominated coverage at CNN and MSNBC during time of GOP debate. I left online feedback for CNN - but will it help? I'm sick and tired of this wacko being shoved in our faces and enabled to spew his hateful rhetoric by the media. Are there any human readers out there? And anyone even taking the time to phone or leave feedback for these media enablers? We complain, but nothing ever seems TO GET DONE. I do what I feel I can, mostly "armchair/online stuff" but I do make some sort of effort here. Anyone getting the feeling I'm a bit frustrated? Yup. Seeing that ludicrous nutjob continually getting rewarded by the media - and actually having ANY supporters will do that...
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Enabling
Have you dear readers heard about this? National Review Punished
Well, I had to respond.. Here's the text of the e-mail I sent the Republican National Committee (yes, I really sent it):
Dear Folks:
Oh, I fully support your punishment of The National Review for critiquing ----- oh., a certain candidate (initials DT). How DARE they suggest what some of us feel, that he’s a STAIN on your party: "Not since George Wallace has there been a presidential candidate who made racial and religious scapegoating so central to his campaign," Cato Institute president David Boaz wrote. How DARE they be against someone who a lot of us feel is a dangerous, bigoted nutjob?
How dare ANYONE be against the kind of policies he promotes that many of us find reprehensible and divisive? Way to go. You’re really doing a fine job of enabling this stain on our politics to continue.
Sincerely,
Please, I hope there's some hope somewhere. The mood is getting pretty ugly.
Well, I had to respond.. Here's the text of the e-mail I sent the Republican National Committee (yes, I really sent it):
Dear Folks:
Oh, I fully support your punishment of The National Review for critiquing ----- oh., a certain candidate (initials DT). How DARE they suggest what some of us feel, that he’s a STAIN on your party: "Not since George Wallace has there been a presidential candidate who made racial and religious scapegoating so central to his campaign," Cato Institute president David Boaz wrote. How DARE they be against someone who a lot of us feel is a dangerous, bigoted nutjob?
How dare ANYONE be against the kind of policies he promotes that many of us find reprehensible and divisive? Way to go. You’re really doing a fine job of enabling this stain on our politics to continue.
Sincerely,
Please, I hope there's some hope somewhere. The mood is getting pretty ugly.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Painful News Indeed
It is very sad that our U. S. Episcopal Church has been sanctioned by the global Anglican Communion over the issue of same-sex marriage (and integrating LGBT Episcopalians fully into the life of the Church).
Only a short time ago I saw this report first on NPR News. From the article: "The church has not been removed from the communion. However, it will be barred from Anglican decision-making for three years and will no longer represent the community in ecumenical or interfaith bodies, the Anglican organization has decided."
For more coverage, there is a report from BBC News.
I agree with our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, who said the decision "will bring real pain".
I'm sad that the Global Anglican Future Conference pushed for this and that they feel this should only be the beginning (see the BBC article). I'm sorry they don't feel it in their hearts to be more progressive.
I'm sad that many Anglicans in the Southern Hemisphere in particular feel that new values are being imposed on them. From the NPR News article: "Welby [The Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, top worldwide Anglican leader], who has traveled widely in Africa and elsewhere, told a Washington audience recently that he has found many Anglican leaders feeling like new moral values are being imposed on them by their old colonial masters. ..." I can see the need for those Anglicans to be treated with sensitivity, but I'm still sad that they don't embrace more inclusiveness.
I'm sad that LGBT folks are still facing an uphill battle to be fully included in their Christian worship.
I'm sad that more of us Anglicans can't seem to be open to reinterpreting "traditional teaching" and espouse a more inclusive idea of marriage in this new millennium.
I'm sad that more of us just can't seem to accept each other.
...Anyone hearing the echoes of a certain old Hollies song, especially a certain line?
Related Post:
New Presiding Bishop-Elect
Only a short time ago I saw this report first on NPR News. From the article: "The church has not been removed from the communion. However, it will be barred from Anglican decision-making for three years and will no longer represent the community in ecumenical or interfaith bodies, the Anglican organization has decided."
For more coverage, there is a report from BBC News.
I agree with our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, who said the decision "will bring real pain".
I'm sad that the Global Anglican Future Conference pushed for this and that they feel this should only be the beginning (see the BBC article). I'm sorry they don't feel it in their hearts to be more progressive.
I'm sad that many Anglicans in the Southern Hemisphere in particular feel that new values are being imposed on them. From the NPR News article: "Welby [The Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, top worldwide Anglican leader], who has traveled widely in Africa and elsewhere, told a Washington audience recently that he has found many Anglican leaders feeling like new moral values are being imposed on them by their old colonial masters. ..." I can see the need for those Anglicans to be treated with sensitivity, but I'm still sad that they don't embrace more inclusiveness.
I'm sad that LGBT folks are still facing an uphill battle to be fully included in their Christian worship.
I'm sad that more of us Anglicans can't seem to be open to reinterpreting "traditional teaching" and espouse a more inclusive idea of marriage in this new millennium.
I'm sad that more of us just can't seem to accept each other.
...Anyone hearing the echoes of a certain old Hollies song, especially a certain line?
Related Post:
New Presiding Bishop-Elect
Monday, January 11, 2016
Rest In Peace, David Bowie
There was no way I couldn't write this memorial. When I saw the headline that David Bowie had just passed away, I was just - shocked. I literally 'screamed' at my monitor, "WHAT?" Of course The Guardian has a GREAT appreciation/ article.
Being a boomer, of course, Bowie was integral to the fabric of music of my high school and college days. Really, I wasn't a HUGE Bowie fan (though I did have friends who were), but certainly someone whose music I often enjoyed and whom I did respect as an artist (and I think I have some Bowie vinyl somewhere...)
I can definitely remember playing his most famous song, Space Oddity, on the piano. It was one that EVERYBODY knew. But probably my favorite Bowie song is Suffragette City. In younger days I always seemed to have a great time when that song was on the playlist. Yes, I guess Bowie was indeed a link to our youth, even though he kept experimenting. And one more great Bowie memory - his appearance with Bing Crosby one Christmas time when they sang "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth." That is one of my most favorite Christmas recordings and I wish every person on the PLANET would take its message to heart!
So heartfelt condolences to his family, love to his fans, and thanks for the great music. David, you will be missed here, but keep the music going on the other side.
And I leave with links to two Bowie videos:
Suffragette City and Space Oddity (just be careful of ads in the vids...)
Rest in Peace, David.
Being a boomer, of course, Bowie was integral to the fabric of music of my high school and college days. Really, I wasn't a HUGE Bowie fan (though I did have friends who were), but certainly someone whose music I often enjoyed and whom I did respect as an artist (and I think I have some Bowie vinyl somewhere...)
I can definitely remember playing his most famous song, Space Oddity, on the piano. It was one that EVERYBODY knew. But probably my favorite Bowie song is Suffragette City. In younger days I always seemed to have a great time when that song was on the playlist. Yes, I guess Bowie was indeed a link to our youth, even though he kept experimenting. And one more great Bowie memory - his appearance with Bing Crosby one Christmas time when they sang "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth." That is one of my most favorite Christmas recordings and I wish every person on the PLANET would take its message to heart!
So heartfelt condolences to his family, love to his fans, and thanks for the great music. David, you will be missed here, but keep the music going on the other side.
And I leave with links to two Bowie videos:
Suffragette City and Space Oddity (just be careful of ads in the vids...)
Rest in Peace, David.
More Hospital Bombings...
Greetings.
There doesn't seem to be much good news recently. A lot of campaign bile. Not much good economic news (there was a report we're adding jobs, but Macy's and DuPont will be cutting, so are things really very rosy?) And there's lots of controversy about migrants/refugees (despite the facts that we, the "West", certainly have had a hand in creating the problems that led them to migrate in the first place AND that some are in conditions, we shouldn't even want our dogs to live in...)
But I just didn't know what to blog about until I saw this report on NPR News site: A MSF Hospital was hit in Yemen. Unbelievably, this is the third time in 4 months an MSF facility in Yemen has been bombed. What is it a PATTERN of behavior shows?
From the article: "All warring parties, including the Saudi-led coalition, are regularly informed of the GPS coordinates of the medical sites where MSF works," Ayora says. "There is no way that anyone with the capacity to carry out an airstrike or launch a rocket would not have known that the Shiara Hospital was a functioning health facility." [Ayora is Raquel Ayora, MSF director of operations.]
And we cannot forget the U. S. bombing of the MSF Hopsital in Kunduz, Afghanistan back in October. The U.S. has called it a mistake, but there's lots of evidence it WAS NOT (see related posts). It was, according to MSF executive director Jason Cone, "a serious viiolation of the law."
Back to Yemen. The Guadian has a great overview of the MSF bombings and the situation in Yemen. From the article, Ayora again : “Once more, it is civilians that bear the brunt of this war,” she said. Sadly, that has been increasingly the case with 20th Century Wars. I didn't notice a date on that UNICEF article, but I'm sure updates would show the trend is continuing.
The Guardian report says that Yemen peace talks have been postponed but are being scheduled. We really should keep this situation in our prayers.
And before we leave off thinking of the Middle East, here's something to note: aid should be coming to some besieged towns in Syria. I'd read of thie dire position those residents were in; truly heartbreaking stuff. We must hope and pray the aid does indeed reach them!
Your Thoughts? Would live to hear...
Related Posts:
There doesn't seem to be much good news recently. A lot of campaign bile. Not much good economic news (there was a report we're adding jobs, but Macy's and DuPont will be cutting, so are things really very rosy?) And there's lots of controversy about migrants/refugees (despite the facts that we, the "West", certainly have had a hand in creating the problems that led them to migrate in the first place AND that some are in conditions, we shouldn't even want our dogs to live in...)
But I just didn't know what to blog about until I saw this report on NPR News site: A MSF Hospital was hit in Yemen. Unbelievably, this is the third time in 4 months an MSF facility in Yemen has been bombed. What is it a PATTERN of behavior shows?
From the article: "All warring parties, including the Saudi-led coalition, are regularly informed of the GPS coordinates of the medical sites where MSF works," Ayora says. "There is no way that anyone with the capacity to carry out an airstrike or launch a rocket would not have known that the Shiara Hospital was a functioning health facility." [Ayora is Raquel Ayora, MSF director of operations.]
And we cannot forget the U. S. bombing of the MSF Hopsital in Kunduz, Afghanistan back in October. The U.S. has called it a mistake, but there's lots of evidence it WAS NOT (see related posts). It was, according to MSF executive director Jason Cone, "a serious viiolation of the law."
Back to Yemen. The Guadian has a great overview of the MSF bombings and the situation in Yemen. From the article, Ayora again : “Once more, it is civilians that bear the brunt of this war,” she said. Sadly, that has been increasingly the case with 20th Century Wars. I didn't notice a date on that UNICEF article, but I'm sure updates would show the trend is continuing.
The Guardian report says that Yemen peace talks have been postponed but are being scheduled. We really should keep this situation in our prayers.
And before we leave off thinking of the Middle East, here's something to note: aid should be coming to some besieged towns in Syria. I'd read of thie dire position those residents were in; truly heartbreaking stuff. We must hope and pray the aid does indeed reach them!
Your Thoughts? Would live to hear...
Related Posts:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)