Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Right Wing outrage of the day. Bruce Springsteen played an anti-war song during concert to celebrate Veteran's Day.

Courtesy of TPM:  

Pretty much everyone has had something to say about Springsteen's performance Tuesday at the "Concert for Valor," an HBO musical event for veterans held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

Performing with Zac Brown and Dave Grohl, Springsteen sang "Fortunate Son," Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic Vietnam War-era anthem that examines issues of class and jingoism in America. John Fogerty, the CCR frontman, said that his own experience as a drafted serviceman served as an inspiration for the song. 

"I was the same age as the soldiers serving in Vietnam and from the same lower-middle class as them," Fogerty once said. 

But to some conservative ears, the song hit the wrong note at Tuesday's concert. 

"The song, not to put too fine a point on it, is an anti-war screed, taking shots at 'the red white and blue,'" wrote Ethan Epstein at The Weekly Standard. 

The performance was made even worse, Epstein contended, because "Fortunate Son" is "an anti-draft song, and this concert was largely organized to honor those who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq." 

The Boss has been in the Fox News crosshairs all day, too. On Fox Business Network, Stuart Varney questioned why Springsteen, "an outspoken leftist," would play politics with the troops. 

"So much for HBO's 'Concert for Valor,'" Clayton Morris said at the outset of this morning's "Fox & Friends." 

On Fox's "Outnumbered," co-host Andrea Tantaros professed to be a fan of both Springsteen and Grohl, but wondered why they didn't just go with a different song. 

"It's amazing to me that nobody — think of all the people that are involved in a concert like this — nobody had the brains to stop and say, 'You guys might want to pick a different song,'" Tantaros said.

Gee, I really like the song.

Apparently this is the portion that pissed off the Right Wing so much:

It ain’t me, it ain’t me 
I ain’t no Senator’s son 
It ain’t me, it ain’t me 
I ain’t no fortunate one 

The song is written about how fundamental unfair it is that politicians start wars in which their children are not forced to fight and die.

Personally I would think that it is a sentiment shared not just by veterans of Vietnam but by the soldiers of today.

This song is not anti-veteran, it's anti-war. I feel very confident in saying that the vast majority of veterans are not pro-war, and therefore embrace the sentiment.

And of course the song is also anti-warmonger.

Perhaps it is that last part which irritates the Fox News crowd so much. You know the same ones who helped spread the Bush Administration propaganda and cheered from the sidelines as we sent thousands of young soldiers to their deaths.

50 comments:

  1. Our Lad4:48 PM

    Fuck 'em, any of 'em, all of 'em. They wouldn't know a true patriot if they fell over one.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous5:48 PM

      Just head on over to c4p, Our Lad, they're to the brim with the only "true" patriots there. They glad hand each other about it all the time. Sheesh.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:03 PM

      The idiots at Fox & C4P wouldn't recognize a patriot if they fell over one. How quickly they change their minds about what patriotism means. From 2003 to 2008, it was considered unpatriotic to speak badly about the President or to even disagree with him publicly. Yet when President Obama was inaugurated, their rules were changed and it became a contest to see who could come up with the worst smears about him. It didn't matter that they were lying through their teeth, all that mattered was that they wanted to make the President look bad. Too bad if we were at war, they had a job to do, criticize Obama over anything & everything.

      Fucking hypocrites!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous6:35 AM

      Cue the Idiot from Alaska whining about it...
      I'm just so shocked, that cons are such #WATB!
      I've never met whinier people!
      They brag how tough they are (Bullies) and then when they get caught bullying...blame someone else or whine....
      https://soundcloud.com/kenny-pick/tutn-10-24-2014-thonghazi
      Palins the biggest whiners Evah! And the Poutrage, crap they have poutrage over EVERYTHING!
      Fox news gins them up but REALLY just enjoy the music!!!

      Delete
  2. Anita Winecooler5:04 PM

    ""It's amazing to me that nobody — think of all the people that are involved in a concert like this — nobody had the brains to stop and say, 'You guys might want to pick a different song,'" Tantaros said.

    What two songs would the bimbo prefer for an anti war crowd? "Call Me" by Blondie and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by the Mormon Tabernacle choir?

    Why do people address Veterans with "Happy Veteran's Day" What's so happy about killing and maiming and bearing witness to the worst acts people can perpetuate in the name of "patriotism"?
    Does FOX realize, by airing this type of nonsense, they're condoning killing "just because we can" flex our muscles?

    I'm not anti veteran, I honor their sacrifices, but this Bullshit fountain is causing the bullshit bucket to run over. Anyone who finds a glimmer of "happiness" in killing is too stupid to draw breath.
    Can we call it "Happy Haliburton Day"?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous4:25 AM

      Eve Of Destruction should have been their encore song.
      The words written in 1965 still ring true today. Nothing has changed.
      "The eastern world, it is explodin', violence flairs, bullets loadin'. You're old enough to kill, but not for votin' you don't believe in war, then what's that gun you're totin'?"

      The last thing the cons want to hear is the truth. They can't handle the truth because they wouldn't know truth if it had a death grip on their asses. This shit got old over two hundred years ago.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:37 AM

      Cons are very unhappy gloomy people... "Debbie Downers"! They don't know how to have fun or enjoy music...Losers

      Delete
  3. Anonymous5:09 PM

    Being anti-war is "taking shots at the red, white, and blue?"

    Since when?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:26 PM

      Anti-war is the enemy of the USA in GOP Land.

      Delete
  4. Yes it's ant-war. And anti- the privileged power mongers who can insulate themselves and their children from the suffering of war. Useless, hopeless wars that they themselves devise and fuel.

    "Some folks inherit star spangled eyes
    Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord
    And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"
    Ooh, they only answer "More! More! More!", y'all"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:19 PM

    THIs THIS THIS!!!!!!!!
    "This song is not anti-veteran, it's anti-war. I feel very confident in saying that the vast majority of veterans are not pro-war, and therefore embrace the sentiment."

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous5:35 PM

      That's true. At our local veteran's gathering, every single one of the older vets said we must not let this happen again. Ever. You could see the memories in their eyes.

      Mildred

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:16 AM

      Comment from the Crooks& Liars blog post on this: "Nothing could be more #pro- veteran than to be #anti-war"
      HELLO!?
      http://t.co/dlfSEuhS85
      Sick of the whine!

      Delete
  6. Anonymous5:25 PM

    Fauxtrage of the day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. LoveAndKnishesFromBrooklyn5:30 PM

    The screaming toddlers always have to throw a tantrum, don't they? "Play politics with the troops"? My head may explode from the irony.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5:31 PM

    The song is timeless and rocks to this day.....

    "Like Springsteen's "Born in the USA," Creedence's "Fortunate Son" has often been misheard as a simple, un-ironic, patriotic anthem. Just as many fans hear Springsteen's spar-spangled chorus and totally miss the bitterness of the words in "Born in the USA," here many tune out after the opening lines, "Some folks are born made to wave the flag/ Ooh, they're red, white and blue." Many then miss the strong anti-establishment message that follows. Both artists also work in a style drenched in Americana, making it easy to assume that the lyrics contain messages that are patriotic or even jingoistic in viewpoint."
    http://www.shmoop.com/fortunate-son/meaning.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous5:31 PM

    I'm not questioning why such an outspoken ultra right-winger like Varney likes to play politics about the troops. The old warhawk and his neo-con profiteers love themselves some war and especially so when it's not anyone in his family marching off to combat.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous5:44 PM

    Too bad they couldn't have invited Edwin Starr (RIP 2003). They took "War" from the oldies airwaves here in Portland at the start of the Gulf War and haven't played it since.

    Geeeeee....wonder why.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous5:57 PM

      "War" by Edwin Starr (Original Video - 1969)
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01-2pNCZiNk

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:22 PM

      Thank you, 5:57 PM, OP here not thinking that not everyone may know it. That was Vietnam and they played it a LOT. 45 years later, not so much.

      Also Barry McGuire "Eve Of Destruction." Images in this video yikes-worthy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntLsElbW9Xo
      It was released in 1970.

      No longer would songs as these ever be allowed releasing to the airwaves and we ALL know it.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:47 PM

      Yup.
      Dixie Chicks got hosed big time.....
      “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas.”
      -- Natalie Maines

      Delete
    4. Anonymous7:57 PM

      How about Pete Seeger's "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy?"
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXnJVkEX8O4

      Delete
    5. Anonymous8:24 PM

      I remember that like yesterday as well, 7:47 PM, and out the Dixie Chicks went. They were extremely talented and that's exactly how you're taken down.

      Latest brawl anyone, "don't you know who we ARE?" VERY unfortunately, we do. All too well.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous7:51 AM

      Oh FFS! They are also in a poutrage about Bruce!
      http://bit.ly/1u69M2b
      "There's one thing everybody knows about the conservarazzi. They need to bitch and complain about something they consider "anti-American" at all times. It doesn't matter if they invent the issue or event they complain about, they just need to do it. Even a huge concert that supports our veterans by boosting awareness of veterans’ support groups, raise funds for veterans charities and salute the troops who do so much for the country wasn't immune to their cries. "
      Oh and "someone" pimping out that crappy a$$ band with palin's cousin or spawn or whatnot
      madison rising on the hastage...bleeech!
      Bitch Please!

      Delete
  11. Anonymous5:55 PM

    If the Right didn't have their outrage to hold on to, what would they have?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:11 PM

      Idiots were too busy draft dodging.
      http://www.veteranstoday.com/story_images2/cheney-coward.jpg

      Delete
  12. Wasn't the National Guard for the sons of the rich? GWBush comes to mind. And are young people still mandated to register their names(Selective Service) at the Post Office when they turn 18?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous8:24 AM

      I believe they still do. My youngest son is 24 and he had to register at age 18. My now 29 y.o. son also.
      Federal loans for colleges can be withheld if you don't register, maybe voting also, not sure about the voting, though.

      Delete
  13. Caroll Thompson6:16 PM

    The song is about the old adage, which is still true "Rich man's war, poor man's fight". During the Vietnam war, men of privilege could avoid the draft by enrolling in college. Dick Cheney got six deferments, Joe Lieberman and countless others also received deferments.

    Poor men, a disproportionate share of them being African American, were drafted and had to take their Senior High School trip to the MeKong Delta and other places in Vietnam.

    George W was a fortunate son. He got into the Reserves. Back in the day, they never sent the Reserves to Vietnam. So, many children of privileged when they ran out of deferments, went into the Reserves. I remember those days; you had to be connected to get in.

    Anyway, fuck those people. 50,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam for no good reason. To this day, no one can tell me why 50,000 American Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen had to die.

    One reason that Track Palin was not in combat is because he was a fortunate son. There is no way any Army Commander would send him into combat, even if he wanted to go.

    John Kerry was a fortunate son, but he signed up and saw combat. He earned two purple hearts. They don't give those things away; you have to earn them and not many do. And look what the war hawks who have never served did to him.

    Fortunate Son has always been one of my favorite songs. And like 5:44, I love Edwin Starr's WAR. Those are true songs and you know those Republicans only like lies.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous6:59 PM

      Caroll, I'm the one posting the YT songs. You are absolutely correct. I was 14 years old and remember it vividly no matter how they try to spin it now.

      When $arah announced that Track was headed off to be the "combat" soldier and be the big "patriot" for his country, I told my husband, "horse hockey! He will NEVER see combat, she's running for VP. she made him do it." Even the driver said, it was an emotional, but not in the way you'd think, conversation on the way to the airport. What a bunch of crap, and I knew it was a bold-faced lie of the truth. That he counsels now.. HA!

      There should have NEVER been another US-involved war after Vietnam.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:08 PM

      All these years later and Sarah P. is stuck with the sos about Track P.. He's not even as bright as Trig. And Track won't progress. Since the brawl and police reports we now know why she hides the scaredy cat from the public.

      http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2014/11/sarah-palin-wishes-country-happy.html

      Delete
  14. Anonymous6:29 PM

    They are pissed about Fortunate Son, he played Born in the USA. his most vehement anti-war song. Really?

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    1. Anonymous7:51 PM

      I wonder if they even know what "Dancing In The Dark" is about. Actually, I think they do and why they're whining. You watch any vet come home. It's a dirty job that someone has to do, yet no one will help them from the scars when they get home. "Let 'em get over it."

      Well, screw YOU, "fortuante sons," and why I want to pinch Dubya's and McCain's faces off when they're on my screen, let alone a do absolutely NOTHING Congress.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous7:13 PM

    Conservatives Outraged Over ‘Fortunate Son’ Show Their Ignorance Of Song’s Meaning
    .
    ....Meanwhile, over at Fox & Friends, the hosts decided to weigh in on the ‘controversy.’...
    .... Doocy chimed in that they should have added “historical context” instead of just playing a song that everyone knows to be anti-war.
    ----------------
    Doocy you moron, you're suppose to be the journalist,how about doing your research instead. Just because you are stupid doesn't mean the rest of us are.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2014/11/12/conservative-outrage-fortunate-son-shows-ignorance-songs-meaning.html

    I swear conservatives would complain that the sun came up, anything to create a controversy.


    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous7:23 PM

    Harry Reid Is In Talks To Create A Special Senate Leadership Post For Elizabeth Warren

    ....Warren would be a fresh face in Democratic Senate leadership who would bring her fiery style to the Democratic message. The desire to elevate Sen. Warren suggests that Democrats are going to be strongly attacking the Republican majority, and are looking for a powerful voice that can sharpen their message.

    The fact that Reid and Warren are discussing this new position is another indicator that the first term senator is considering a run for the White House in 2016. Instead of hiding in the corner, Democrats appear to be coming at Mitch McConnell with everything they’ve got.

    Democrats are going to be able to go on offense now that they are in the Senate minority. Democrats will no longer have to answer for why legislation is not being passed. The gridlock that Mitch McConnell created is the Republican Party’s problem now......

    http://www.politicususa.com/2014/11/12/harry-reid-talks-create-special-senate-leadership-post-elizabeth-warren.html

    ------------
    This should be very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous7:42 PM

    Sweet musical inspirations!
    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cbHgVnuFJ5Q/U7QWaO-eo-I/AAAAAAAAris/PPtjCjvjgG8/s1600/basil+magic+tweet.jpg

    http://rawstory.com/images/other/halliburtongraph.gif

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous8:00 PM

    Oh the good old days.
    http://www.taihainet.com/news/UploadFiles_6334/201307/20130728083122888.jpg

    You won't want to miss this.
    George W. Bush launches his book about his father
    "41: A Portrait of My Father"
    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/11/george-w-bush-discusses-his-book-about-his-father/

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous8:24 PM

    My Last Words to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney by TOMAS YOUNG enlisted in the Army just two days after the 9/11 attacks.
    http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/11/12/my-last-words-to-george-w-bush-and-dick-cheney/

    George ‘No Regrets’ Bush
    http://radio.foxnews.com/2014/11/09/george-w-bush-no-regrets-over-starting-iraq-war/
    He's selling his book, doing damage control and keeping a political dynasty in the game.
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/09/george-w-bush-book-about-his-dad/18720877/

    http://underthemountainbunker.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/1-115.png

    http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/2003/1101031006_400.jpg

    http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/images/legacy_resized_images/2010-12-28-kondoleesa-rice-384-600-384.jpg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:57 AM

      I am old enough to remember the Time mag. front page with HW Bush on it, asking "The Wimp Factor"? He had a reputation as a wimp. One rep. female senator was hionest, when the gop was asking if a female VP might help him win the election. She said "Well, we will STILL need a MAN on the ticket"!! So, sonny boy is out trying to polish THAT turd. Rumor was he bailed when his plane went down, leaving two crewmembers to go down with the plane. In true gop style, he was hailed as a "hero" Oh, google Jennifer Fitzgerald, she was his mistress for over 10 years, but he had the fake image of a "family values" man. Clinton was vilified, but told his aides NOT to bring up G H's affairs.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous9:20 PM

    oh my, I used this song in 8th grade to make a 'video' by playing the 45 on a record player and showing war pictures on an over head transparency machine. I got a C and a tongue lashing...bitches, those nuns were. by the way it was awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:02 AM

      Thanks, belatedly, for doing that.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:12 PM

    ugh. For two days in a row when I've gotten in the car to go to work, the radio is blasting dubbya's dithering dribble... public radio station no less. That voice is like fingernails on a chalk board. I have had to turn the radio off and drive in silence. Why are they broadcasting anything that worthless piece of trash has to say. It boggles the mind.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous2:58 AM

      Trying to erase all the bad memories, so Jeb can run.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous12:53 AM

    o/t -- Joni Ernst update:

    asked by a reporter from Esquire what the President could have done about the Ebola outbreak, Raw Story reports that

    " Esquire asked Ernst, “What should he have done about Ebola? One person has Ebola.”

    “Okay, you’re the press, you’re giving your opinion,” Ernst told him."

    So, that's the GOP playbook in a nutshell. The press doesn't represent questions that the people want or need answered to be informed about the world. Instead, because the answers they might uncover could be detrimental to the right, the press is branded as biased for even asking questions.
    Thus: Fox News, lies, lies and more lies. Making "the media" itself into a target, an issue. Also to provide a smokescreen for ignorant politicians, like Ernst, to ignore legitimate questions because they don't have a clue what an answer might be.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous1:54 AM

    Anonymous 10:12: I had the same reaction to dubba's dribble, and turned off the radio. Many years back when I lived in close proximity to Canada, my radio was always tuned to the CBC FM station 94.1 in Toronto. Bob Kerr's programme "Off the Record" was one of my favourites. Bob would always play an Eric Bogle song for his Remembrance Day show. Through Bogles anti war songs I've never viewed war the same again. This might be the reason he is virtually unknown in the USA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxkhBvO8_kM

    ReplyDelete
  24. London Bridges3:28 AM

    Veterans Day was renamed and re-branded from its original Armistice Day which was originally a celebration of the end of (all) wars by the industrial military complex. The end of the war to end all wars, WWI.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Keep in mind, these are the same buffoons that think that "Born in the USA" (which they also never actually listened to) is a rootin' tootin', God-fearin', flag-wavin', gun-totin', red, white, and blue glitter encrusted, patriotic, 4th of July tune for rill 'Murkins.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:24 AM

      You nailed it, Nefer!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:30 AM

      That senile old fuck Reagan thought that. Bruce promptly disavowed any notion of that.These people just make me ill. So disconnected and yet they'll swear all day that they are right.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:04 PM

      Nefer, extremists on the right have never had the most nuanced critical thinking skills.

      Jennifer K

      Delete

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