Back when Lee Greenwood's song was the anthem of the GOP, it bothered me whenever I heard the line, "I won't forget the men who fought and died for me..." During this time, the GOP (and Fox News) idolized Oliver North, forgetting that the people North provided weapons to where the same terrorists responsible for the attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. Yet there was North, in a uniform he hadn't worn while in the White House, testifying to Congress that he had lied to Congress. And now the GOP embraces Trump and the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol Police, the men and women who actually did "defend her" on Jan. 6. These people are pathetic patriots.
"Freedom" in these songs is never defined.Free to have an arsenal of weapons? To have an abortion? To read anything you want? Also, youd think that we were the only "free" country, which is absurd.
At least Greenwood specifies what he means with the line "Who gave that right to me..."
Freedom are the rights he desires. Threatening MY political enemies is MY freedom of speech. Attacking the justice system is for ME to do. Freedom to impose MY religion is in the First Amendment. Freedom to own an arsenal of weapons of war is for people who look like ME. Laws don't apply to ME. Inter-racial marriage is for ME, but no one else may enjoy the privacy of the bedroom. Women, minorities, gays, etc., do not apply. Biological matter in a tank have more rights than any immigrant MY president doesn't want to marry.
Nobody on earth loves a fight - or claims to - more than Trump. Of course it's only because he knows he doesn't have to give or take a punch, let along do any strategizing. He has more slick and skilled lawyers than anyone on earth, all willing to do all the heavy lifting and take all the risks. Plus countless other minions to steal (& likely copy and send) classified documents, try to steal an election for him, storm the Capitol, etc., all while he can sit in his cozy fortress tweeting cowardly threats. And no one loves publicity more than he does, and few better understand that, for an idolized celebrity, all publicity is good publicity.
By now at least some of you are thinking "OJ!" If that first OJ trial was the "trial of the last century," the 4 Trump trials combined would be the "trial of the current millennium." Or should I say the "FIGHT of the millennium." If Trump and his lawyers really think he's innocent, nothing would make them happier than to start the fight ASAP, get billion$ in free publicity (those of you old enough to remember the OJ trial know what I mean), and end it all with a "knockout" (or 4). And what better way to PROVE that it was a "witch hunt" all along? Wait, there's more: Even if Trump and/or his lawyers do believe he's guilty, they know the priceless advantage he has just by being a celebrity with a cult following far greater than that of OJ.
And yet this "one perfect fight" is the one thing that shameless, spineless coward is hell-bent on AVOIDING. Russia is listening. Are You?
In terms of anything REMOTELY REQUIRING a care for the rule of law, the ⚖️ system, the 🇺🇲📜, the SOCIAL CONTRACT that may or may not be TECHNICALLY written in OUR LAWS AND/OR CONSTITUTION or ANY PLACE, OBJECT OR HUMAN BEING, THEIR IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TRUMP WOULD OR WOULDN'T DO IF IT'S SOMETHING HE WANTS OR DOESN'T WANT TO DO. UNLESS... HE TRULY BELIEVED DOIN OR NOT DOING SAID THING WILL DIRECTLY & VERY IMMEDIATELY & HARSHLY HURT HIM..
THIS INCLUDES BUT ISN'T LIMITED TO,... INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE OR PUBLIC MURDER, OR MASS PRIVATE OR PUBLIC MURDERS AND ALL ELSE SLIGHTLY LESS CRIMINAL, TREASONOUS OR UNCONSTITUTIONAL. I'll say... TRUMP ISN'T UNIQUE HERE BEING A PATHOLOGICAL NARCISSIST WITH SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY DISORDER. HE'S MERELY UNIQUE IN THAT HE'S GOT A COIN FLIP'S SHOT AT BEING DIRECTLY IN COMMAND OF THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY THAT'S EVER EXISTED. HE'S DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE HAS A 50-50 CHANCE AT BEING the LEADER OF THE MOST NEEDED, MOST ESSENTIAL, MOST IMPORTANT COUNTRY IN REGARDS TO THE 🌎 CONTINUING TO EXIST, THE IRREPLACEABLE and INDESPENSIBLE NATION FOR THE 🌎 WIDE CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, RULE OF LAW, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDIVIDUAL CIVIL RIGHTS. THE ONLY COUNTRY WITH BOTH THE WILL AND ABILITY TO STOP ANY AND ALL WHO WOULD WITHOUT A 2ND THOUGHT, IMPLEMENT A MIGHT MEANS RIGHT DOCTRINE GLOBALLY!
"God Bless the USA" is, simply stated, crap. Bathetic, simpleton, pollyanna crap. You know why? Well, you don't need to go deeper than a single line: "Where at least I know I’m free." WTF. "At least." At LEAST? Even for a pandering wanker like Greenwood, freedom isn't "at least"--it's the whole game. It's an act of grace--a treasure that none can be said to deserve and that can never be repaid. It is, such as it is, the legacy of untold sacrifice. Enough sacrifice that those who receive the gift should seek every single day to repay it. Instead, it's received blithely, and would be sold for a mess of pottage--if pottage were endowed with the qualities of amusement.
And, while we're at it, what a relief to know that Lee Greenwood feels he's free. Great news, I'm sure, for women denied the right of free reproductive choice, or former felons purposefully denied the franchise, or . . . well, you get the idea.
"It turns out there’s exactly three things that limit how far Trump will go to take and hold power: The concrete limits of the letter of the law, the political limits of where the Republican Party does and doesn’t control the levers of power, and the few places where scraps of backbone remain among Republican lawmakers and office-holders to withstand Trump’s heavy-handed pressure tactics."
I'm sorry Mr Egger, but I politely disagree. As far as TFG is concerned, there are no hard limits to what he would try: our laws are but a mere bagatelle and the Constitution is to be ripped up and used as toilet paper. While he rants about a two-tiered justice system that is out to get him, he counts on instituting his own version of it: the top tier is reserved for him and his complete immunity for *any* actions as POTUS, and maybe a few of those in his innermost circle, and the other for all of us plain plebeians who are just something he scrapes off the bottom of his shoe.
There are no political limits for the New GOP, the only limit is their collective imagination. The states where the Dems are in control will face a barrage of threats, intimidation and violence from the MAGA cultists in an attempt to turn a blue state red, and in a red state to be sure that those elected are full blown MAGA adherents. Folk standing just outside the legal limits for campaigning wearing Trumpist gear and openly carrying firearms? check. Screaming obscenities and threats at Dem politicians in an attempt to get them to either drop out of the race or come to the dark side? Check. Staging armed protests outside of the homes of Dems? Check. A direct effort to usher in a tyranny of the minority? Check.
Unfortunately, Repubs with a spine are an almost extinct species. Within the last year, the exodus of R's fed up with the political theater, obstructionism, kowtowing before Trump [sic] and are leaving the party has gone from a trickle to a tsunami. So-called "Normie" Repubs or those who espouse what being a conservative meant are no longer welcome in the New GOP's tent, and no effort to hide this has been done.
I remember it well. Then and now I want no part of organized religion, and frown on any attempt to mix God with patriotism. But my thought was, and still is "what's the harm, let them enjoy the song." Or to be more blunt, "throw them a bone." Vocally opposing the song and/or pretending to be "offended," is counterproductive, and ironically empowers the paranoid authoritarians who care more about the words than of the actions. To quote a Dr. Laura phrase" "Not the hill you want to die on." Similarly, I wish they had never added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, or put "In God We Trust" on currency, but to remove them now would be even worse.
In my Fantasy of Fantasies Trump's Last Gift to the USA will be abusing the weaknesses of the Electoral College so egregiously that that way-past-it's-expiration-date institution is finally retired and relegated to the dustbin of history and replaced with some type of process that is A) easy for everyone to understand and B) impossible for a hyper-gerrymandered state legislature to even contemplate ignoring the popular vote and installing a losing candidate the winner because of the feels. I know it's a pipe dream but a guy can dream, right?
I personally prefer "This Land is Your Land." And no it isn't "communist" and no it isn't socialist. It is easy to sing and has great music. I am perfectly happy with the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem the real one not the t***p criminal version and I like the flag, the real one not the one desecrated by t***p's picture. If you spend a lot of time telling everyone what a great patriot you are, you probably aren't.
The flag part of the song would be fine if MAGA hadn't made it 100% theirs. Maybe Greenwood likes it that way.
Back when Lee Greenwood's song was the anthem of the GOP, it bothered me whenever I heard the line, "I won't forget the men who fought and died for me..." During this time, the GOP (and Fox News) idolized Oliver North, forgetting that the people North provided weapons to where the same terrorists responsible for the attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. Yet there was North, in a uniform he hadn't worn while in the White House, testifying to Congress that he had lied to Congress. And now the GOP embraces Trump and the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol Police, the men and women who actually did "defend her" on Jan. 6. These people are pathetic patriots.
"Freedom" in these songs is never defined.Free to have an arsenal of weapons? To have an abortion? To read anything you want? Also, youd think that we were the only "free" country, which is absurd.
At least Greenwood specifies what he means with the line "Who gave that right to me..."
Freedom are the rights he desires. Threatening MY political enemies is MY freedom of speech. Attacking the justice system is for ME to do. Freedom to impose MY religion is in the First Amendment. Freedom to own an arsenal of weapons of war is for people who look like ME. Laws don't apply to ME. Inter-racial marriage is for ME, but no one else may enjoy the privacy of the bedroom. Women, minorities, gays, etc., do not apply. Biological matter in a tank have more rights than any immigrant MY president doesn't want to marry.
The headline alone screams for an answer.
Nobody on earth loves a fight - or claims to - more than Trump. Of course it's only because he knows he doesn't have to give or take a punch, let along do any strategizing. He has more slick and skilled lawyers than anyone on earth, all willing to do all the heavy lifting and take all the risks. Plus countless other minions to steal (& likely copy and send) classified documents, try to steal an election for him, storm the Capitol, etc., all while he can sit in his cozy fortress tweeting cowardly threats. And no one loves publicity more than he does, and few better understand that, for an idolized celebrity, all publicity is good publicity.
By now at least some of you are thinking "OJ!" If that first OJ trial was the "trial of the last century," the 4 Trump trials combined would be the "trial of the current millennium." Or should I say the "FIGHT of the millennium." If Trump and his lawyers really think he's innocent, nothing would make them happier than to start the fight ASAP, get billion$ in free publicity (those of you old enough to remember the OJ trial know what I mean), and end it all with a "knockout" (or 4). And what better way to PROVE that it was a "witch hunt" all along? Wait, there's more: Even if Trump and/or his lawyers do believe he's guilty, they know the priceless advantage he has just by being a celebrity with a cult following far greater than that of OJ.
And yet this "one perfect fight" is the one thing that shameless, spineless coward is hell-bent on AVOIDING. Russia is listening. Are You?
In terms of anything REMOTELY REQUIRING a care for the rule of law, the ⚖️ system, the 🇺🇲📜, the SOCIAL CONTRACT that may or may not be TECHNICALLY written in OUR LAWS AND/OR CONSTITUTION or ANY PLACE, OBJECT OR HUMAN BEING, THEIR IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TRUMP WOULD OR WOULDN'T DO IF IT'S SOMETHING HE WANTS OR DOESN'T WANT TO DO. UNLESS... HE TRULY BELIEVED DOIN OR NOT DOING SAID THING WILL DIRECTLY & VERY IMMEDIATELY & HARSHLY HURT HIM..
THIS INCLUDES BUT ISN'T LIMITED TO,... INDIVIDUAL PRIVATE OR PUBLIC MURDER, OR MASS PRIVATE OR PUBLIC MURDERS AND ALL ELSE SLIGHTLY LESS CRIMINAL, TREASONOUS OR UNCONSTITUTIONAL. I'll say... TRUMP ISN'T UNIQUE HERE BEING A PATHOLOGICAL NARCISSIST WITH SOCIOPATHIC PERSONALITY DISORDER. HE'S MERELY UNIQUE IN THAT HE'S GOT A COIN FLIP'S SHOT AT BEING DIRECTLY IN COMMAND OF THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY THAT'S EVER EXISTED. HE'S DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE HAS A 50-50 CHANCE AT BEING the LEADER OF THE MOST NEEDED, MOST ESSENTIAL, MOST IMPORTANT COUNTRY IN REGARDS TO THE 🌎 CONTINUING TO EXIST, THE IRREPLACEABLE and INDESPENSIBLE NATION FOR THE 🌎 WIDE CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, RULE OF LAW, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDIVIDUAL CIVIL RIGHTS. THE ONLY COUNTRY WITH BOTH THE WILL AND ABILITY TO STOP ANY AND ALL WHO WOULD WITHOUT A 2ND THOUGHT, IMPLEMENT A MIGHT MEANS RIGHT DOCTRINE GLOBALLY!
I'm with Matt Labash. I've always found the song corny, jingoistic, and not well-sung.
If you don't like the song and haven't read Labash's skewering of it, you should. As JVL likes to say, you'll thank me.
BTW thanks to youtube we don't have to imagine what it was like to be at the Lincoln Memorial listening to Ms Anderson on April 9, 1939.
https://youtu.be/XF9Quk0QhSE?si=mwX9nf5Prw--1H10
The Dulles thing? What a flipping waste of time. Just do one thing worthwhile House GOP
"God Bless the USA" is, simply stated, crap. Bathetic, simpleton, pollyanna crap. You know why? Well, you don't need to go deeper than a single line: "Where at least I know I’m free." WTF. "At least." At LEAST? Even for a pandering wanker like Greenwood, freedom isn't "at least"--it's the whole game. It's an act of grace--a treasure that none can be said to deserve and that can never be repaid. It is, such as it is, the legacy of untold sacrifice. Enough sacrifice that those who receive the gift should seek every single day to repay it. Instead, it's received blithely, and would be sold for a mess of pottage--if pottage were endowed with the qualities of amusement.
And, while we're at it, what a relief to know that Lee Greenwood feels he's free. Great news, I'm sure, for women denied the right of free reproductive choice, or former felons purposefully denied the franchise, or . . . well, you get the idea.
"It turns out there’s exactly three things that limit how far Trump will go to take and hold power: The concrete limits of the letter of the law, the political limits of where the Republican Party does and doesn’t control the levers of power, and the few places where scraps of backbone remain among Republican lawmakers and office-holders to withstand Trump’s heavy-handed pressure tactics."
I'm sorry Mr Egger, but I politely disagree. As far as TFG is concerned, there are no hard limits to what he would try: our laws are but a mere bagatelle and the Constitution is to be ripped up and used as toilet paper. While he rants about a two-tiered justice system that is out to get him, he counts on instituting his own version of it: the top tier is reserved for him and his complete immunity for *any* actions as POTUS, and maybe a few of those in his innermost circle, and the other for all of us plain plebeians who are just something he scrapes off the bottom of his shoe.
There are no political limits for the New GOP, the only limit is their collective imagination. The states where the Dems are in control will face a barrage of threats, intimidation and violence from the MAGA cultists in an attempt to turn a blue state red, and in a red state to be sure that those elected are full blown MAGA adherents. Folk standing just outside the legal limits for campaigning wearing Trumpist gear and openly carrying firearms? check. Screaming obscenities and threats at Dem politicians in an attempt to get them to either drop out of the race or come to the dark side? Check. Staging armed protests outside of the homes of Dems? Check. A direct effort to usher in a tyranny of the minority? Check.
Unfortunately, Repubs with a spine are an almost extinct species. Within the last year, the exodus of R's fed up with the political theater, obstructionism, kowtowing before Trump [sic] and are leaving the party has gone from a trickle to a tsunami. So-called "Normie" Repubs or those who espouse what being a conservative meant are no longer welcome in the New GOP's tent, and no effort to hide this has been done.
fnord
Assuming the electors elected were for Biden and the legislature "ordered" them to vote for trump, couldn't they just, well, not vote for trump?
Don't forget Kate Smith and "God Bless America". The Philly Flyers played that, even had Kate perform it, not the national anthem, before home games.
I remember it well. Then and now I want no part of organized religion, and frown on any attempt to mix God with patriotism. But my thought was, and still is "what's the harm, let them enjoy the song." Or to be more blunt, "throw them a bone." Vocally opposing the song and/or pretending to be "offended," is counterproductive, and ironically empowers the paranoid authoritarians who care more about the words than of the actions. To quote a Dr. Laura phrase" "Not the hill you want to die on." Similarly, I wish they had never added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, or put "In God We Trust" on currency, but to remove them now would be even worse.
Amen, brother
In my Fantasy of Fantasies Trump's Last Gift to the USA will be abusing the weaknesses of the Electoral College so egregiously that that way-past-it's-expiration-date institution is finally retired and relegated to the dustbin of history and replaced with some type of process that is A) easy for everyone to understand and B) impossible for a hyper-gerrymandered state legislature to even contemplate ignoring the popular vote and installing a losing candidate the winner because of the feels. I know it's a pipe dream but a guy can dream, right?
BTW, if you just have to have a 1980's patriotic song, Waylon is a much better choice. This is patriotism in a good way.
https://youtu.be/g13CfwdlObE?si=l9m42ot-Ro2d6O74
Jennings, with his Highwaymen friends, represent the best of America. I regularly listen to Cash's Man in Black to remind me who I want to be.
What Wouldn’t Trump Do?
Tease us with April Fool's jokes.
I personally prefer "This Land is Your Land." And no it isn't "communist" and no it isn't socialist. It is easy to sing and has great music. I am perfectly happy with the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem the real one not the t***p criminal version and I like the flag, the real one not the one desecrated by t***p's picture. If you spend a lot of time telling everyone what a great patriot you are, you probably aren't.