Thoughtful Preparations: Media Spin Blog

Caught Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at Concord Pavilion on the last night of the 9 day heat wave in California. They held up well for a bunch old time troopers, playing two great sets and an encore of Woodstock. Neil Young is a force of Nature, balanced by the rest of the band. I especially enjoyed David Crosby's acoustic playing on Helplessly Hoping and Guinnevere, and it's not too often you hear a song like Let's Impeach The President at a concert, complete with sing-along lyrics on a video screen. Protest karaoke! The U.S. politicians have done a great job of pissing a lot of people off! Meanwhile CSNY are doing a great carrying on their music and message on this 2006 tour. Keep On Rockin' In The Free World!

For more info check out the CSNY web site. They are scheduled to perform at the former Woodstock Music Festival site later this summer. More Woodstock.

Neil Young's web site Living With War Today has his entire album Living With War online.

Newspaper Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times

CSNY: Deja Vu, Neil Young: Living With War

Imagine you are writing a screenplay, let’s say for an animated feature film, such as Madagascar 2, or the next Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. What are the chances the creative writer would guide their sailing ships to land upon the shores of Israel or Lebanon? Or here’s another far out script idea, how about a Palestinian enters Jerusalem and many Jews worship him as a prophet and savior of humankind? What’s wrong with those pictures?

Crazy ideas, about as insane as the current wars and skirmishes going on in the fantasy Holy Land within the Middle East between vengeful factions, tribes, and sects. But what do I know? There are far better journalists and scholars following the new blockuster release, “ Operation Summer Rains .” Here are some of the top stories:

Ted Koppel Analyzes US Already at War with Iran

James Zogby: Willful Fantasies and Reality in Today’s Mideast Conflict

Robert Fisk in Beruit: Mass Punishment

Taking Newt Seriously – Newt Gingrich Pushes for World War 3

Ralph Nader: U.S. Carries “Inescapable Responsibility” for “Israeli Government’s Escalating War Crimes”

Tom Hayden: Things Come ‘Round in Mideast

Israel Set Up Current War Plan Over One Year Ago – S.F. Chronicle

Stop This Shit – Music Video quoting President Bush at G8

Link TV – Mosaic: World News Video Footage from the Middle East

A sane mind would think that this would be enough for now, but as we see… many of us standing by in shock similar to witnessing a train wreck… the pain and suffering of warfare continues.

“You may leave here for four days in space,
But when you return, it’s same old place.”
– by P.F. Sloan, sung by Barry McGuire, Eve of Destruction

Welcome back to planet Earth NASA space shuttle Discovery STS-121. Mission accomplished!

Meanwhile, here at home, despite the fact that every day is a gift that Earth gracefully gives us, foolish humans cannot help themselves from their selfish goals of destruction.

P.S.  NPR ran a radio story about PF SLoan’s new CD and tour on August 20, 2006.  Link here.

Back in the Reagan era, in order to reduce “Big Government” the President made a call for new volunteerism, and soon after, President George H. W. Bush advised America in his 1991 State of the Union Address:

“We can find meaning and reward by serving some purpose higher than ourselves — a shining purpose, the illumination of a thousand points of light.”

Not to be outdone by dad, playing the faithful optimist in his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush called on all Americans to dedicate at least two years—the equivalent of 4,000 hours—in service to their communities, their country and the world. Yeah right!

If it can be agreed that much of U.S. government and politics has been corporatized, then recent developments point out that corporations have taken on more of the tasks that governments are failing at. Most people are working hard to make ends meet, but those who have succeeded at the capitalist game realize that it’s no fun being rich if the world is rapidly filling up with poverty, disease and weapons. They are successful thinkers and doers, who are on the forefront of new social activism and venture philanthropy.

For example, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is kicking off a national Federal Budget Priorities Campaign calling on Americans to reconsider spending priorities. The goal is to heighten awareness of the billions of dollars the Pentagon spends on nuclear weapons vs. a shortfall of spending on basic unmet needs of children.

Then of course there are the billion points of light emanating from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with the added 31 billion dollars recently committed to the foundation by their friend, legendary investor Warren Buffett.

Other successful investors are giving back and working towards positive change, such as George Soros Open Society Institute and James Simons’ Math For America.

Jeff Skoll made millions as the first President of eBay, and is founder and CEO of Participant Productions using the power of media for social change. A recent feature film release produced by Participant is Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, which is a tremendous statement of scientific concern for the future of planet Earth.

Craigslist.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and helps to organize non-profit leadership through the Craigslist Foundation and their Bootcamp programs.

For additional information, the American Institute of Philanthropy has an online ratings list of many top charitable organizations, their categories and how to contact them.

America was born in a revolutionary spirit, and that spirit lives on today, thanks to the freedoms established by our forefathers. The Declaration of Independence was one of many steps taken by the insurgent Thirteen Colonies against the occupying British forces of government.

Today’s journalists and bloggers see parallels to what appears as a reversal of roles. An excellent article by Marie Coco: King George Dethroned covers how the U. S. Surpreme Court has “given us back the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and that document’s recounting of “usurpations’’ by King George III of England—a historic bill of particulars with stunning relevance today.” This refers to their decision that the “war on terror” detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have a right to bring their grievances before American courts. This basic human right of the imprisoned extends far back into Western history’s 1305 usage of habaes corpus.

And so, many Americans every day are redeclaring their rights in the face of threats to our freedoms of the press, searches and seizure, and the U. S. Constitution. Fine examples questioning the White House’s interpretation of Constitutional law can be read in Katrina Vanden Heuvel’s A July Fourth Declaration and Jane Mayer’s New Yorker article about David Addington, Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff and legal advisor.

These are divisive times within America. We must lead by example from within, at home. That should be a good enough start. There is no need to spread our “Manifest Destiny” in the belief that God The Almighty has chosen the U.S.A. to supervise the globe, except maybe Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. If there are other nations or religions who happen to think the same way, then does that make them wrong and us right? Probably both tribes are wrong. I don’t buy into the unchosen versus chosen people ideology, and I declare my independence to say so. Have a good day!

Listener sponsored radio is one of the few mass media outlets remaining that resembles democracy in America. Corporate advertising driven TV, radio and newspapers are full of fluff and omissions and are products of professional entertainers, posers and profiteers. Let us not forget our basic freedoms of speech and the press, unless we lose them.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a number of outstanding public radio stations that are frequently in need of support, listed below. Please do what you can, and preserve human sanity. Thank you.

KPFA 94.1 FM: Founded in 1949 by Lewis Hill, a pacifist, poet, and journalist, KPFA was the first community supported radio station in the USA. Much of KPFA’s programming is local, original and eclectic, with a well produced mix of news and in depth public affairs, an ongoing drama, literature and performance series, interviews, and reviews. My personal favorite programs are Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, Sunday Salon with Larry Bensky, and Flashpoints with Dennis BernStein.

KQED Public Radio: NPR and local programming, such as Forum with Michael Krasny.

KCSM The Bay Area’s Jazz Station. KCSM Jazz 91 FM houses one of the USA’s largest collections of jazz recordings, and plays a wide variety of commercially uninterupted jazz music. This station is a great treasure with a lot of heart and soul.

KXPR 90.9 FM is part of Sacramento’s Capital Public Radio and plays a steady stream of fine classical music.

Neil Young is prolific indeed, writing and recording LIVING WITH WAR, a ‘metal folk protest’ album in 9 days. Nothing stirs up the creative juices like righteous anger over an unjust war. The Neil Young fan news site, Thrasherswheat.org has all the details, including outside opinions on his new album, including a song, “Impeach The President”. Thrilling, blood boiling stuff from a man who is fully alive, ringing that bell of freedom with musical hammers of justice.

The howling idiot wind of the Republican noise machine is in danger of drowning itself out. With so many lies and explanations for poor intelligence swirling around, how’s a hysterical shrieking banshee to distinguish herself and make a living here? You produce a provocative title such as Ann Coulter’s upchucking, I mean upcoming, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. Holy Cow, are we back on the first grade playground again? I had been musing that some creative events might be planned for 6-6-6 day, but the June 6th release of a template for condemning millions of souls was beyond my sweet little imagination. She really must be nuts.

To cast out the demons from Ms. Coulter’s troubled mind, I recommend religious scholar Garry Willis’s book, What Jesus Meant. On a recent radio interview Willis placed Jesus above politics and systems of justice. He quotes Jesus as saying, “What you do to the least of these, you do to me.” This should be enough warning to the intolerant, holier than thou, would-be Christians.

But listen up people, when a Conservative says it’s true, it’s just true. Believe it, or else you have no faith and are Godless.