Johnny...are you queer?

(From last week's American Progress Report):"If [a gay man] ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died," said televangelist Jimmy Swaggart in a sermon on Canadian TV. Swaggart tried to rectify the situation by explaining his quip about killing homosexuals was a "humorous" cliché he's "jokingly" used thousands of times.

In what sick alternate universe is this funny? Where's the outrage over these comments from all the so-called Christians on the far-right? (And they gotta close down the seminary that produced this hack -- if he even went to one). Why isn't Swaggart being condemned from every church pulpit and cable talk show from sea to shining sea? This is America, dammit! Despite our nation's enormous flaws, our core values are justice and equality! I thought these folks took the Bible literally as the word of god...so shouldn't they be following Jesus' instructions to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (from the parable of the Good Samaritan, among other places) -- and to minister to the poor and oppressed (instead of lining their pockets and promoting their hate-filled political agenda)? During all the time I spent in church and Sunday school, I don't ever recall hearing about god or Jesus speaking in code -- like all the racists, gay-bashers, and cowards do -- condoning the killing of a gay person for looking at them in "the wrong way." JC hung out with prostitutes, beggars, and lepers, not the rich and powerful.

At least if Amerikkka's headed toward a theocracy, god forbid, can't a more moderate version of Christianity be dominant?

On a related topic, there is an interesting New Yorker profile of Gavin Newsom, the current mayor of San Francisco, who ordered the city clerk to conduct gay marriages over the summer (10/4/04 issue). Newsom said he was compelled to act when Bush announced in the 2003 State of the Union address that he was going to ban gay unions -- and Newsom realized that Bush was attacking his own citizens. So a defiant Newsom took action and approved the gay marriages -- to illustrate the injustice of this form of discrimination, and to treat the gay citizens of San Francisco as human beings with civil rights like everyone else. It makes you wish that there were more elected officials who were more concerned with doing the right thing rather than politically expedient thing. Of note, Newsom's hero is Robert F. Kennedy -- and some are calling him and Barak Obama the new stars of the Democratic Party. Here's hoping.

For the record, I fully support gay marriage. Anything less is unconstitutional, immoral, and completely un-American. Here's a bitch-slap back at you and your ilk, Swaggart!

On My Radio

This posting's kind of dorky -- if you are of a certain age, do you remember making mix tapes for your friends back in the pre-digital era? For these dark times, here's my proposed mix tape for your IPod:

Fear – “Let’s Have a War”
The Clash – “Clampdown”
Talking Heads – “Life During Wartime”
Gang of Four – “I Love a Man in a Uniform”
Psychedelic Furs – “President Gas”
The Specials – “Ghost Town”
The English Beat – “All Out to Get You”
Midnight Oil – “Power and the Passion”
Husker Du – “Divide and Conquer”
Elvis Costello – “Watch Your Step”
XTC – “Dear God”
Devo – “Freedom of Choice”
The Dammed – “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today”
The Clash – “The Call Up”/ “Washington Bullets”
Richard Hell – “I Belong to the Blank Generation”
The Fall – “Living Too Late”
Echo & The Bunnymen “Rescue”
Junior Murvin – “Police and Thieves”
Lee “Scratch” Perry/Dave Barker “What a Confusion”
Johnny Rotten/Africa Bambaataa (Time Zone) – “World Destruction”
The The – “Armageddon Days (Are Here Again)”/”The Beat(en) Generation”
Elvis Costello – “Sunday’s Best”
General Public – “Burning Bright”
The Clash/Willie Williams – “Armagideon Time”
Max Romeo – “War Ina Babylon”
Elvis Costello – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?”

Have any songs to contribute to the mix? Post 'em here...

I Spy for the FBI...

I guess it makes sense that the Bush administration, which so fears dissent that it pre-screens its election rally audiences (or makes people sign loyalty oaths, as they did at one Dick Cheney shindig) to weed out anyone who doesn’t share their worldview, to go after Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) and place him on the “no fly” list and then deport him when he has the gall to enter our Christian god-fearing nation. Mr. Islam claims only to support humanitarian causes (and donated the proceeds from a recent box set of his recordings to various 9/11 charities), and decries terrorist attacks on anyone as contrary to the teachings of Islam. But I suspect that his being an outspoken, peace-loving Muslim (with the last name Islam, for pete’s sake) is the real offense. After all, guilt by association (does the phrase “are you a communist” ring any bells?) is a great American tradition. So as we turn the clock back on women/gay/minority rights, as well as civil liberties, affirmative action, pluralism, the separation of church and state, peace and justice, and all sorts of good things that people of good faith have struggled to advance in America, it makes sense to revive the ugly McCarthyism of the 50s. The far-right always needs a bogeyman to fuel its fanaticism and to scare us into submission, and this time ‘round his name, instead of Ivan, is Islam.

So, let me remind the brainiacs running our nation that the name of the guy we’re after isn’t Saddam Hussein (yes, yes, the world is better off without this insane dictator blah blah, but he wasn’t a real threat to our national security…and if we’re going to smash every dictatorship in the world, we’ve got to stop supporting so many of them, and get down to brass tacks, because there is a lot of work to do) or Yusuf Islam…it’s Osama bin Laden (remember the whole wanted “dead or alive” thing, getting the guy who actually ordered the attack on us on September 11th?). But, then again, wouldn’t capturing or killing OBL take a lot of the steam out of the “war on terror” that the Bushies use to rally us around the flag or keep us cowering in our homes?

Anticipation...is making me wait.

During lunchtime yesterday, I sped down to J & R Music on the C train to pick up some new releases (Tuesdays are when new CDs and DVDs are issued). As soon as I have a chance to listen to them, I'll post brief reviews of Elvis Costello's "Delivery Man," The Black Keys' "Rubber Factory," and The Thrills' "Let's Bottle Bohemia." I'm also waiting for the new "Supergrass is 10" greatest hits compilation to arrive in the mail.

By the way, I adjusted my blog settings so you don't have to register to leave comments. Is this a wise thing? I don't know, but please be brave enough to attach your name to your thoughts.

Love to Love You, Baby

From Salon.com: Letterman and Kerry joked about the negotiations that led to Monday's announcement of an agreement on debate scheduling and format. Kerry said the campaigns had argued over seating arrangements for the vice-presidential debate. "I wanted to have John Edwards stand," Kerry said. "Dick Cheney wanted to sit." Letterman asked about a possible compromise involving squatting. Kerry said that wasn't the deal. "Well, now what's gonna happen is, well, we compromised and now George Bush is gonna sit on Dick Cheney's lap."

How great is that? Someone is finally stoking the fire in JFK’s belly! He is implying that, much like their testimony before the 9/11 commission, Dick will have his hand way up W's bottom so he can open and close W's mouth, the dummy. Love the homoerotic subtext, too. Nothing will goad the rabid goons of the right-wing like accusations of homosexuality.

A lot of people won't get no justice tonight...

Best street art I’ve seen lately (on scaffolding, 91st Street and 1st Avenue): a photo of one of the Bush twins (does it really matter which one?) in her limo sticking her tongue out at the camera with the caption “his kid,” paired with a photo of soldiers’ coffins shrouded in American flags marked “your kid.”

Class war, anyone?

You can bet that if this SOB wins again, a draft is going to be instituted to win the all-encompassing “war on terror” in Iraq (instead of simply shutting down Osama bin Laden and his thugs, and then rebuilding Afghanistan and Iraq). And many more kids will be shipped home in pine boxes after November 2nd, when our troops will be ordered in to retake all the so-called “no go” zones in Iraq (Fallujah, Najaf, and other Sunni triangle cities). Plus, the relatives of the people that we’ll accidentally kill in the name of god, democracy, and freedom will, no doubt, want to return the favor tenfold to us and our children.

Reminds me of this lyric from The The’s “Armageddon Days (Are Here Again)” about Christian armies mounting religious wars: “Watch the ships sail out of the harbor/and the bodies come floating back…” (On The The’s “45 RPM: The Singles” this track is followed by “The Beat(en) Generation…reared on a diet of prejudice and misinformation.” It refers to Thatcherite England, but may be even more accurate a description of the sad state of affairs in the US of A. At least Johnny Marr's guitars shimmer beautifully.)

School of Rock (R.I.P. - Johnny Ramone)

When I was a clueless 7th grader way back in the late '70s (and all the boys at my private, Episcopalian school were listening to Aerosmith, Boston, and Kansas!), I braved a dance at Marymount (a private, Catholic girls school on the Upper East Side), and the DJ played "I Wanna be Sedated" about 10 times (along with the B-52's "Rock Lobster"). I didn't make much headway with the girls (one even walked away from dancing with me in the middle of a song because I was a damn poor dancer at the time), but I fell in love with punk and new wave music that night…a love that still beatin' strong in my heart.

I just hope Johnny and Joey can patch things up between them in rock'n'roll heaven. Forever is a long time to stay pissed at each other.

The Kids are Alright

Okay, I've been on vacation and didn't bother to post anything here. So sue me. I escaped the GOP's unwelcome invasion of Gotham with my wife and kids -- and headed for the hills. Literally. (In case anything happened, and forgive me for my bleak worldview, I brought along my kids' birth certificates...)

Anyway, the point of this post is to pass along these pearls of wisdom from the young ones:

While watching the U.S. women's volleyball team compete at the Olympics, my son, having seen repeated shots of Misty May's rather ample bum flowing out of her teeny bikini bottom, stated that her swimsuit should be dubbed a "buttkini."

Later, when taking with my four year-old nephew about how the 2000 election was essentially stolen by Dubya and his GOP goons (in the simplest of terms, mind you), he declared that Bush is like "Swiper from 'Dora the Explorer.'" (For those of you not hip to pre-school tee-vee, Swiper is a weasel who steals things from Dora and her friend Boots the Monkey. Whenever you see Swiper on the screen, you are supposed to say, "Swiper, no swiping!" And he slinks away.) An apt metaphor, indeed.