WORDS, WORDS, WORDS!

I'm getting tired of these ignorant dolts. From now on, let's make a rule: if you use the word "socialism," make sure you're referring to "various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with an egalitarian method of compensation."

If you mean "government-run," then say that when you complain about the "socialist" health care plan, but be consistent--also rail about your "socialist" fire department, your "socialist" post office and your "socialist" public library. You may hate the library already, since libraries are filled with books espousing all sorts of philosophies and economic theories and even evolution (gasp! they allow that?) and other wide-ranging subjects probably out of bounds of your Sunday school class or right wing study group. And fiction! Yes, fiction slays tyrants. There are books, actual books that lead the reader to imagine what it feels like to be a slave, to escape from a mental hospital, to chase a great white whale with a tyrannical captain at the helm! Go ahead, read a book--and not just the Bible. Read works of free, unchained imaginations if you truly despise tyranny!

Dictators always burn the books, don't they? So if your concern for freedom is genuine, and extends beyond your own self-interest and "talking points," make sure you support your local library.


Words are important. They mean certain, specific things, so try to use them correctly. In other words, don't just sling the word "socialism" around like an insult, the way you used to scream "communism" every time someone tried to organize voters or fluoridate the water. Words have actual meanings we can agree upon. Words have connotations, some very heated, connotations that can blind us to the actual issues being discussed. Choose them wisely.

Another word is "racist." Yes, there is racism alive and well in the USA, and just because we have a black president doesn't mean we've transcended our long history of disenfranchising certain groups based on race--as well as religion, and gender, and sexual orientation, and tax brackets. Nope, Obama didn't end racism, especially not in the dumber regions of America.


Conservatives love twisting words. For them, words are just a trick to befuddle the masses, to obfuscate reality, to throw sand in the eyes of the enemy. For them, words are tools to make their point when truth and reality don't suffice. Reminiscent of the days when they would decry "PC" as a way liberals were fettering their freedom of expression, now they claim any criticism of the government will be called "racism" by the liberals. Boy, they LOVE being underdogs, don't they? They claim they can't express themselves, but they sure don't have that problem when they howl and weep and wave their guns at the Town Hall Meetings. In spite of their claims, they never seem at a loss for words--whether or not they use them correctly remains a matter of opinion.

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A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY

Randy Newman is back with maybe the best album he's done in a couple decades. For a while, it seemed he'd gotten sucked into the animation soundtrack whirlpool and we'd never again see the brilliance of "Sail Away" and "Political Science" and "Rednecks."

In the new album, "Harps and Angels," Randy takes on America. There are songs about the president, and immigrants, and the economy--politics mix with ballads, and stories are told by unreliable narrators. Entire states may not get this album. Irony and satire don't work in certain zip codes and voting precincts, but that's all right. We're hip. We knew he didn't really want to bomb the rest of the world ("Boom goes London, boom Paree") that he really wasn't an antisemitic redneck ("Last night I saw Lester Maddox on the TV show, with some smart ass New York Jew") and that he really didn't want short people to die ("short people got no reason to live..."). Or did he?

Maybe we're too dumb for satire. Maybe we're a little gun shy, sitting on this powderkeg with Randy Newman flicking lit matches at us.

I hope not.

For the New York Times review of the new album, click HERE.

Jonathan Swift, satirical bastard

For extra credit, read "A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children Of Poor People In Ireland Being A Burden To Their Parents Or Country, And For Making Them Beneficial To The Public" by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) For Swift, click HERE.