Samsara’s Grip
News Bytes
Rimone.org by Rimone Newman | 09.06.04
the way back to our puritanikal roots IX
Filed under: Amerika
great shades of janet jackson’s tit as censorship strikes again in freedom-loving amerika: the newest horror is bill madden’s latest CD. the cover features bill madden himself, photographed at 3 years old, w/his penis exposed. like big fucking deal, right? but amerikans are freaking out over this latest reminder that yes, we all have genitals and (gasp!) we had them as children (but don’t tell anyone).
bill madden: ‘here’s this picture of this kid lifting a resistance-band, straining his mightiest, and a moment is captured that is so innocent; and yet, there are people who have a big problem with it. it’s just amazing to me, but i’m not surprised.
‘since 9/11, amerika seems to be embracing a nationalistic, overzealous mind-set that is so unbending, narrow-minded and myopic that it reminds me of the mentality that permeated 1930s germany. it’s just crazy. it’s extremism where there is no middle way.’
Wilmington Star News by Staff Reports | 11.02.04
Why they vote
From staff reports
As we head to the ballot boxes today, we thought we’d give you a look at some of the artists and celebrities who are also exercising this most sacred of civic privileges — the right to vote — and let them offer some insight into why they cherish the democratic process. Some of them we talked to on their last pass through the Port City. Others we sought out because we thought they might offer inspiration.
Hilarie Burton
One Tree Hill star and MTV VJ
“I do vote, ever since I turned 18. Our age bracket, more than any other age bracket, is affected by whoever will be in office the next four years. It’s our college tuition; it’s paying off student loans. Not only directly, but how we deal with the repercussions of what goes on the next four years, planning for kids and taking care parents.”
Melissa Etheridge
Pop artist
“In my concerts I tell people to make sure to register to vote. I don’t tell them how to vote, I just say, ‘Look, it’s just so important that you register and vote and exercise that right that we have.’”
Ed Sloan
Vocalist and frontman for Columbia, S.C.-based heavy-hard rock band Crossfade
“You walk around and talk to people and they’re always mad about the way things are going and whose running the country. You have all these people who aren’t voting and don’t vote. … People should just take pride in their country and do what they gotta do to make it the best they can and vote.”
Rickey Medlocke
Guitarist, mandolinist and vocalist of the staple Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd
“I’ll keep the way I’m going to vote to myself. I don’t like to mix politics and religion in the band. Part of the band’s got one way they believe and part of the band’s got another way they believe. That’s what Democracy’s all about. Now me, I’m about three quarters Native American, so believe me, I’ve got some strong political opinions, but like I said I keep them to myself. I’m just pulling for this country. That’s what I’m pulling for.”
Mickey Hart
Drummer for The Grateful Dead
“It’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do in your life. Because then you can’t blame anybody about the outcome of your fate. If you care about the environment, your children, yourself and the economy — look around you. It’s your world, or it could be.”
Derek Trucks
Singer, guitarist for the Derek Trucks Band
“For me, it’s one of those things where it’s easy to sit around and complain, but if you don’t take the few hours out of your life to cast a vote, it’s hard for people to accept your complaints.”
Ryan Newell
Guitarist, Sister Hazel
“Most of the people who don’t vote are younger people — kids — and I think if they knew the power that they have, they wouldn’t sit back and not vote … A lot of people sit around and debate and have strong opinions and they’re fired up, but as far as I’m concerned you should keep your mouth shut unless you’re voting.”
Jacki-O
Miami-based rapper
“It is so important for Americans to go out to vote. How can you complain about the decisions being made at the White House if you haven’t done your part by voting? … This election is a close run and that one vote can help decide our next President.”
Chris Stamey
Chapel Hill based producer of Ryan Adams, Michael Stipe, Whiskeytown, Matthew Sweet, Caitlin Cary, Tift Merritt, etc.
He recently released a limited edition record available at independent record stores that includes a PSA V.O.T.E. that he recorded with Yo La Tengo. “If you look at civilization, this is a rare tiny moment where we get to decide the direction of our country. This wasn’t true throughout history and is still not true in most of the world and even though the electoral college is maybe a barrier that reinterprets our decision making, we still can make a change in our lives directly, if we express ourselves at the polls.”
Bill Madden
Southern California singer-songwriter
“America is like a corporation in which the citizens are shareholders and the president is like the CEO. And like in any corporation, the president, or CEO, should be acting in the best interest of its citizens, or shareholders. If he does well, we can vote to give him or her another four years. If he doesn’t, the shareholders can vote to fire him. All a citizen has to do is register and vote. That’s all you have to do to get that one share. You can be poor, you can be jobless, 18 years of age — and this is the cool part — your vote is just as important and counts equally as much say a 55-year-old, wealthy, corporate executive. How beautiful is that?”