Nose-rubbing?

I guess this could be construed as rubbing the Republican party's nose in it, but I think it's a nice piece. It really hits the nail on the head about the differences between Conservatives and Liberals. To be honest, we're not on either end of that spectrum. We swing on a narrow-arced pendulum along the Center. Still signed the pledge, though. Anyway, another one from Michael Moore:

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives ...by Michael Moore

To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,

I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.

Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.

Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:

Dear Conservatives and Republicans,

I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:

1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.

2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.

3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.

4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.

5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.

6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.

7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.

8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.

9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.

10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.

11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.

12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.

I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.

Signed,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
(Click here to sign the pledge)
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. Please feel free to pass this on.

What a relief it is!

It has been interesting watching this election from outside the US. We experienced it the same way Americans experience events in Europe: through the square (or rectangle) box in the living room. It gives you a sort of secluded, distilled version of events, whereas if we were in the US, we would have gotten the barrage of info from the various forms of news media as well as hearing/seeing the "word on the street", the conversations in the grocery check-out lane, the fervor at the polling station.

We are completely thrilled to hear the news as the vote-counting is finishing and felt a great wave of schadenfreude watching Bush's press conference yesterday. Ooh, he was piiiiiiiiiiiissed! And didn't do a good job of hiding it. The Republicans got a "thumping" in the House and the Senate. Then the luscious, silky icing on the cake: the war-mongering weasel Rumsfeld resigning! How sweet it is! We're looking forward to seeing how things progress during the next two years and we'll be watching it happen on our rectangular box in the living room.

---

Here's a nice message from Michael Moore on the subject:

LANDSLIDE! ...a big thanks from Michael Moore

November 8th, 2006

Friends,

You did it! We did it! The impossible has happened: A majority of Americans have soundly and forcefully removed Bush's party from control of the House of Representatives and the Republicans have also, miraculously, been tossed out of running our United States Senate. This was done because the American people wanted to make two things crystal clear: End this war, and stop Mr. Bush from doing any more damage to this country we love. That is what this election was about. Nothing else. Just that. And it's a message that has sent shock waves throughout Washington -- and a note of hope around this troubled world.

Now the real work begins. Unless we stay on top of these Democrats to do the right thing, they will do what they've always done: Screw it up. Big Time. They helped Bush start this war, and now they should make amends.

But let's take a day to rejoice and revel in a rare victory for our side -- the side that doesn't believe in unprovoked invasions of other countries. This is your day, my friends. You have worked hard for it. I can't tell you how proud I am to count all of you as part of the greater American mainstream we now occupy. Thank you for all the time you gave this week to get out the vote. Some of you have been at this since the large demonstrations of February 2003 when we tried to stop the war before it started. Only 10-20% of the country agreed with us at that time. Remember how lonely that was? Some people were even booed! Now, 60% of the country agrees with our position. They are us and we are them. What a nice, strange, hopeful feeling.

A woman, for the first time in our history, will be Speaker of the House. The attempt to ban all abortion in the conservative state of South Dakota was defeated. Laws to raise the minimum wage were passed. Democrats were elected to fill Tom DeLay's and Mark Foley's seats. Detroit's John Conyers, Jr. is going to be the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The Democratic governor of Michigan beat the CEO from Amway. The little township next to where I live in Michigan voted Democratic for the first time since... ever. And on and on and on. The good news will continue throughout today. Let's enjoy it. Savor it. And use it to get Congress to finally listen to the majority.

If you want to do one thing today, send an email or a letter to both of your senators and your member of Congress and tell them, in no uncertain terms, what this election means: End the war -- and don't let George W. Bush get away with any more of his bright ideas.

Congratulations, again! Now let's go find a spine for the Dems to do the job we've sent them there to do.

Yours in victory (for once!),

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com

---

And a few topical video clips:

Truth and Fiction

What's a midterm election?

Borat on TDS Midterm Midtacular

Beat-box Bush

Election

Please, please, please, please don't let the Republicans win/steal this election!

Interactive Election Map

Neko Case sings to "Reserved but adamant Bristol" at the Carling Academy

We had a really nice day yesterday going up to Bristol. The drive was quite scenic, though long and winding. Experienced something new: a roadside traffic census. About an hour outside Bristol, a couple of police officers diverted us into a lay-by where several people in flourescent yellow vests with clipboards were waiting. One of them came up to our window to ask where we where coming from, where we were going and how often we made the journey. Then they sent us on our way.

Anyway, we got a little lost trying to find IKEA, but eventually, we got there around 4:30. We went straight to the restaurant to have some Swedish meatballs with boiled potatoes and lingonberry preserves. Very tasty! There was even a Swedish family sitting near us. Then we headed into the vast, consumer haven that is IKEA for a one-hour breeze-through excursion. We picked up quite a few things that we needed (such as a laundry basket for £2.49) and a couple of things that we didn't (such as a nice garlic press for £3.99), plus some Kalle's caviar, lingonberry preserves, cloudberry preserves, Abbas pickled herring, and authentic Swedish Fish gummy candy. Our friend Ieuan came away with quite a haul, too; his first trip to IKEA.

Then we loaded our Scandinavian goods into the trunk and headed for Bristol Academy, getting more lost than when we tried to find IKEA. Eventually, we triangulated the venue's position and found a parking garage next to it. Neko's gig was in the upstairs portion of the Academy, in a quite small, narrow room with a bar on one side and a 15'x15' stage tucked into one end. We were a bit taken aback by how small it was, but excited to be able to see her in such an "intimate" venue. We grabbed a bit of floor-space at the very front and waited for the gig to start.

The opening act had been cancelled, so the members of Neko's band came out to play a few songs as an opener (without Neko). I didn't get all of their names because people were cheering and I couldn't hear when they were announced, but her usual stalwarts Kelly Hogan (backing vocals) and Jon Rauhaus (pedal-steel and banjo) were up there with a lead guitarist, double-bass player, and a drummer. After their mini-set, there was a bit of an intermission after which they all came out and played for about an hour and a half. A great mix of songs from all of her albums, but most of them from her new one Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. They opened with "A Widow's Toast" sung a-cappella, Neko and Kelly's voices locked in perfect harmony. I didn't write down the set list, but I've dredged my memory and I think I have been able to recall at least most of the songs, though not in the correct order:

-A Widow's Toast
-Set Out Running
-Margaret vs. Pauline
-If You Knew
-Hold On, Hold On
-The Tigers Have Spoken
-Maybe Sparrow
-I Wish I Was the Moon
-Dirty Knife
-Favorite
-Furnace Room Lullabye
-Buckets of Rain (a Bob Dylan cover)
-Deep Red Bells
-South Tacoma Way
-That Teenage Feeling
-Twist the Knife

They sounded fantastic, though performance-wise, they seemed a bit detached. I suppose they were still jet-lagged since they flew over from the US on the 31st and, in Neko's words, they were "coming down with our obligatory British colds." There were signs around the club stating "This evening's artist has requested that guests refrain from smoking during the performance." Thankfully, this made it a much more comfortable atmosphere (for the non-smokers, anyway). She thanked everyone for being kind enough to refrain from smoking.

Neko commented a couple of times about being miffed that she had missed Halloween, instead being on an airplane "smelling poopie-diaper". Nevertheless, her singing was just as goose-bump making as always. K and I agree that the gig at The Zoo in Portland was better as a whole than this one. Our favorite songs from the night...

K: "I Wish I Was The Moon"
R: "Deep Red Bells" and "Furnace Room Lullabye"

I wonder how the Wednesday night show in London was in comparison. Unfortunately, there was a 9:45 curfew at this gig, so though they wanted to play longer, they had to stop. We thought it might have been a residential noise-oridinance thing, but it turns out it is because they turn the Academy into a dance club after 10pm. A bit disappointing to have the show cut short because of that, but I got over it when I had a chance to meet Neko. She announced that she would head back to the merchandise counter to help sell some CDs and invited fans to come over to say "Hello."

At first I decided I wouldn't and we started to leave the club, but at the door, I had a change of heart and darted back up there. It was one of those decisions where you know you'll always regret it if you make the wrong decision. Hell, there's a chance to meet Neko Case! Time to get over the shyness and just do it!

K and Ieuan hung back while I joined the queue to talk to her. Because I didn't have enough cash to buy a CD or a t-shirt my excuse to talk to her was to ask her to sign my ticket stub. Oop... my turn:

R: Hi! Great set! I really love your music!

Neko: Thanks!

[awkward silence]

R: I saw you in Portland in 2003. At The Zoo.

Neko: Ooh! That was a great day. I had just gotten my new guitar! [smiling and hugging herself]

R: Oh, really? I loved that venue. Cool with the giraffe's in the background.

Neko: I felt sorry for the elephants, though. They were going a bit crazy.

R: Were they? Well, I'm sure your music had a calming effect on them!

Neko: Well, I hope so!

[another awkward silence]

Neko: [pointing at the ticket stub I was holding] Did you want me to sign that?

R: Oh, yes please!

[I hand it to her, she signs it, and hands it back, smiling.]

R: Thanks for coming to England!

[I step away and let the next person have a turn.]

On the ticket stub, in black marker: "Love, Neko". Walking away with K and Ieuan, I describe how much of a dork I was and lamented that I should have thought of something more clever to say. Well, better to kick myself for being a dork than to kick myself for not having the nerve to even try to meet her!

Anyway, we left the Academy and tried to navigate out of Bristol, getting a bit lost again. Eventually, we got back on the appropriate A-road and made good time back to Bournemouth. Home by 12:30.

I fell asleep thinking of all kinds of other witty things I could have said.











Click here for Neko's diary of the UK tour.

Amazing Singer

K and I have both taken a day off today to drive up to Bristol to see Neko Case at the Bristol Academy. She has the most amazing voice. Her musical style is usually lumped in with "alt country", but it's a bit darker, a bit more noir-ish than your standard "alt country" acts. Listen to a bit of her music HERE or watch some clips of her live performances HERE. The last concert we saw in the US before moving to Belgium was Neko Case at The Zoo in Portland. We're really looking forward to seeing her perform live again.

One of my friends from UEA is coming with us. We'll be leaving shortly. It's only a 2 hour drive, but we're heading up early so we can go to the IKEA in Bristol. We need a few "bits and bobs" for the apartment, but more importantly, we need to stock up on some Swedish food. Namely, Kalle's caviar, herring, and Gevalia coffee. And we'll probably grab a quick bite to eat at the IKEA cafeteria, perhaps some Swedish meatballs or gravad lax! Then we'll head over to the concert venue to park the car and maybe pop into a pub for a drink before the show.

Neko! Neko! Neko!