Should Lunatics Be at Liberty with Guns?

Why does this make me feel like freedom is under seige?


News item: Anti-Obama protesters in New Hampshire and Arizona took to the street with firearms visible. Two brandished assault rifles. No laws were broken because state laws allow people to walk around in public with weapons.

Have New Hampshire and Arizonan lawmakers lost their collective minds!? Boy, do I feel secure knowing that some idiot with the IQ of a fern was able to get a license to carry a gun on the streets of Concord and Phoenix. I’m pretty sure these folks won’t protect America from terrorists and criminals; they’d have to be able to spell those words first.

A person who would show up at a presidential rally with a gun has a personal death wish. What will happen next is as predictable as a sunrise. The irresponsible commentators at Fox News—like former drug addict Rush Limbaugh—and leaders of the NRA (Nazi Rifle Association) will hail these people as heroes of freedom. Copycat protesters will appear at future Obama appearances and one of them—no doubt inflamed by Fox or the NRA—will make a menacing gesture with his weapon. The Secret Service will drop him like a bad date and we’ll have another preventable gun casualty to add to growing list. Of course, the deceased’s estate will sue the government and lose. (No one has ever won a wrongful death suit against the Secret Service). And, of course, Fox News, the NRA, and Internet conspiracy nuts will accuse Obama of having personally ordered the man’s murder. (One of the latter will probably reveal that the dead man had Obama’s “real” Kenyan birth certificate.”)

Is it an assault on the second amendment to say that it’s a bad idea to carry guns on the street? Is it unreasonable to think that those without the capacity for reason ought not to be allowed to have assault rifles? Can’t we at least agree that nobody’s precious freedoms would be jeopardized if we made it a federal law to disallow guns at a presidential rally? Before you say “no,” consider a few names: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy. (Americans have gunned down a whopping 9% of their presidents!)

Several protesters spoke of “exercising their freedoms.” Horse manure!! Their actions were little more than variants of a Ku Klux Klan cross burning. Obama was in town to speak about health-care reform, not the second amendment. What purpose did carrying a gun have other than to signal racist discontent with being governed by a black man? What message was sent other than an assassination threat?

Spare me the freedom malarkey. Like too many Americans, the protesters conflated freedom and liberty. Freedom, in political terms, is a synonym for civil liberty, not for absolute liberty. It stems from the type of liberty—freedom from foreign or arbitrary rule—secured during the American Revolution. Anti-government protesters insisting on their “rights” don’t get it that without the government they have no rights. Government is (or should be) the guarantor of freedom, not its enemy. But freedom is not the kind of “liberty” marked by having no external restraints. Unless government imposes limitations on freedom it cannot guarantee any rights. The anarchist freedom sought by those who think they can do as they wish is the type of liberty whose noun form is “libertine,” a person who is morally profligate and possesses weak internal controls.

Let us make no mistake, those parading around with assault rifles were not advocates of freedom; they were libertines. They are also walking advertisements for those who argue for the second amendment’s repeal. If that ever happens, don’t blame Obama; cast the accusing finger at those whose recklessness made a mockery of freedom.--LV

Do You Really Want to Prevent Socialism?

Who knew that Chairman Karl was in charge?

My goodness, you’d think that Karl Marx had risen from the dead to hear all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the specter of national health care. I’ve seen earnest, obese, white guys­—and that’s generally their profile—showing up at town meetings to tell their white, male Congressmen—and that’s usually their profile as well—that they “don’t want America to become socialist.”

I hate to break the news, but America already is socialist in many respects. Can we take a look at a calendar, folks? The Cold War has been over for more than decade. Nobody is talking about making the United States into the former Soviet Union. (For the record, the USSR was an autocratic oligarchy, not a haven for socialism.) Socialism may be the least understood term of our time. (Even the dictionary defines it improperly.) It could mean the abolition of private property, but that’s simply one variant; it’s a catchall term like “religion” that describes a broad category of belief. Any activity that involves public (as opposed to private) ownership of goods and services is socialist. That ownership can—as in does in the USA and Western democracies in general—come in the form of tax-supported enterprises. The sole difference between the USA and other democracies is the degree of socialism we support. Imagine a world without it. Want to be socialism-free? Let’s start with these:

1. No public education of any sort. Phoenix and I have no kids, so why should we pay for those who do? Let parents send their kids to private schools or home school them. Can’t afford it? Well, you should have thought about that before you decided to have kids, shouldn’t you? Why should we pay for your reckless behavior?

2. Get rid of the military. It’s the ultimate socialist program. I’m a Quaker, hence a pacifist, so paying taxes to support the military is a violation of my freedom. No terrorist has ever bothered me. Besides, under the second amendment we all have the right to bear arms and form “well regulated” militias. We’re shirking our duty when we use taxes to hire mercenaries to do our fighting for us.

3. Can the cops. Use your second amendment right to protect your person, home, and property. Don’t dial 911 and ask tax-supported law enforcement to solve your problems for you. If someone makes off with your BMW, well you should have been more careful.

4. Why do we need intelligence agencies? While we’re on the subject of protection, do we really need an FBI or a CIA? Let’s be brutally frank. If these agencies ran according to the merit system that conservatives wish to impose on teachers, most agents would’ve been out jobs years ago. How come the FBI and police detectives can’t break up a drug ring when everyone in town knows who runs it? As for the CIA and military intelligence, don’t get me started. Forget finding Osama bin Laden; they couldn’t find cholesterol in a can of Spam!

5. Hoses not fire departments. Why do we have to pay for a fire department when our house has never caught on fire and we have insurance in case it does? Buy a garden hose—it’s much cheaper than the local fire department. We think fire engines are red to symbolize the communists who operate them!

6. Pay to go. All town, county, state, and interstate roads and highways are supported by public money. Ditto bridges, tunnels, and many subway, train, and bus lines. Let the private sector maintain the entire lot and let the free market determine what it costs to use them. For thousands of years people seldom left their own villages and, when they did, they knew they’d have to pay tolls to do so. We say, ante up or stay home.

7. Let them starve and suffer. Let’s get rid of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. For decades conservatives have decried these programs as ones that were never meant to be depended upon. Okay, so let’s apply harsh medicine. Although tens of millions do rely on these, cut the cords. If Gramps has to eat cat food, well he should have saved more money, right? And if Grandma breaks her hip and has no private medical insurance, let her family pick up the tab. As for all the indigent, mentally ill, and physically incapable folks who can’t tend to themselves, who are we to tamper with nature? Let the Darwinian imperative winnow out the weak.

8. Price chopper. I could go on in this vein, but instead let me simply list other tax-supported “socialist” activities that could be cut: the post office, FDIC, subsidized student loans, Fannie Mae, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, NASA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, county extension offices, your local parks and recreation department, the Coast Guard, municipal beaches, the Federal Reserve, air traffic controllers, the National Parks System, state parks, INS, all government offices and officials, most mental health and social services….
This is just a short list. But if this is the world you want, as Jean-Luc Picard would say, make it so. We’ll just put up signs along the border (with private money of course) warning: “Welcome to America. You’re on your own.” Better dead than red, eh?

Too Absorbed for My Own Good

This morning Phoenix opened a magazine and there was an insert with a single sheet of a Viva paper towel. The accompanying advertisement promised that though Viva we would “Savor all that Life Has to Offer.” As you can imagine, we were excited beyond words. And that was the problem!

Phoenix carefully placed the genie-like scrap on the kitchen counter. Our minds began to race. What was it that we had not been experiencing in our lives that was within Viva’s power to grant? Sudden fame? Untold wealth? A self-cleaning house? Unspeakable sensual pleasure? The security of knowing that no tartar was building up on our cat’s teeth? I think I’m also speaking for Phoenix when I say that Viva’s promise was a special family moment for us. Just to think that all of human experience would suddenly be ours to savor….

Alas, the weight of unlimited bliss proved overwhelming. The toast popped up, I buttered it, and brought it to the counter. I grabbed the honey jar, which was sticky, and left a ring on the counter. Without a thought I grabbed the Viva talisman, wiped up the honey, and placed the sticky jar atop it. In a single thoughtless instant I broke the spell. When I lifted the jar, the Viva towel proved unable to grant a task as simple as telling me where I left my car keys—the path to savoring all of life was considerably beyond its means.

So now I sit at my computer and blog, my mind troubled by what I have lost. I could be lying on a Tahitian beach with naked and nubile women fanning me with palm fronds. Instead I’m in my study pondering deep questions such as “Who are the morons who write ad copy drivel?”--LV

CEDAR HILL REFUGEES
Pale Imperfect Diamond
Cedar Hill Records

Every now and again something comes in the mail that absolutely astonishes. Put Past Imperfect Diamond in that category. To be frank, I originally slid this one to the bottom of the review pile when I noted it was a “bluegrass” release. Although I’m heartened by new bands such as Crooked Still, Railroad Earth, and Blue Moose, most bluegrass music is fairly predictable and the last great innovation in the genre—jazz fusion—was three decades ago.

Okay, I’m humbled! Make way for the next wave. This brilliant album is the brainchild of Jack Clift, who was inspired by listening to Uzbek music. He talked over the idea with John Carter Cash (son of Johnny and June) and they assembled Jadoo, an American-Uzbek bluegrass ensemble. No, that’s not a typo! They then enlisted some bluegrass heavyweights such as Ralph Stanley, Marty Stuart, John Cowan, Randy Scruggs, and the Peasall Sisters, got everyone together, and let the music happen. For those of you who don’t know Uzbek music—and that would just about everyone—it’s hard to describe: part Balkan, part Southern Asian, and part Central Asian. But it blends with American bluegrass in surprising ways.

“Whitehouse Blues,” an old-time reflection on the assassination of President McKinley, is shot through (sorry!) with wild cross rhythms and keening strings, and I doubt you’ll even recognize “Sailaway Ladies,” which is (sort of) what you’d get if you mixed the germ of a bluegrass tune with Tuvan-like throat singing. Check out “Keys to the Kingdom” with Ralph Stanley wrenching pathos from his dry-as-dust voice while kettle drums, drones, and a brass section lay down funereal tones. There are weird, wonderful departures throughout, like the radical remake instrumental part to “Wildwood Flower.” For sheer jarring departures there’s a version of “Oh, Bury Me Not” that’s what you’d get if you had the Beijing Opera lay down the soundtrack to a Bollywood film on the streets of San Antonio. Topping off the innovation are some fine new songs from Clift and Cash, including the title track. My only complaint about the project is the inclusion of The Peasall Sisters, but that’s a personal grudge—I simply don’t like their Alvin and the Chipmunks vocal style. This album’s namesake diamond may be imperfect, but it’s a valued gem nonetheless.


To hear Clift and Carter discuss this project, click here. Audio clips play in the background.

SICK OF FREELOADERS

In 1906, satirist Ambrose Bierce defined a hypocrite as “One who, professing virtues that he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises.” Amen, Brother Bierce. As a resident of Massachusetts I have a terse message to tax rebels, anti-government wing-nuts, and health reform opponents: “If you hate government programs so much, get rid of them because we in the Bay State are tired of supporting you freeloaders.”

The hue and cry about government programs is loudest and shrillest in those states that benefit the most from taxes. As a Massachusetts resident I get just 82 cents back in federal programs and benefits for every buck I pay. If I lived in Sarah Palin’s la-la land of Alaska I’d get $1.84. Enough with the sanctimonious put-downs of “tax-and-spend liberals;” if you want to see a real bunch of piggies eating at the public trough check out conservative states—the ones led by demagogues who say they don’t want federal bailout money or a national health care plan. When South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford isn’t too busy jetting off to be with his Argentine mistress he pockets surplus federal monies for his state by a ratio of $1.35 for each buck paid in. You’ll also be happy to know that Senator Jeff Sessions manages to take time out from his busy schedule of bashing Supreme Court nominees to rake in $1.65 for the profligate sons and daughters of Alabama.

If we divide the nation into receiver and giver states—depending upon whether they take in more than they pay out in per capita federal taxes—the hypocrisy of anti-government jeremiads becomes strikingly obvious. Of the twenty-two states that went for McCain/Palin, twenty-one of them are receiver states, including seven of the top ten. Only Texans (94¢) have any legitimate complaint about federal largess. In fact, just seventeen states support the wayward habits of the other thirty-three. New York (78¢) and Connecticut (69 cents) pick up a lot of the tab, and New Jersey has the distinction of getting the least bang for their tax buck (61¢).

The United States is a lot like professional sports in that the revenues of the rich—mostly liberal—states support the very people who complain the most about federal programs and taxes. The tax rebels that ought to make hypocrites quake are fed-up liberals. California (78¢) is mired in crisis and Michigan (92¢) is a basket case. What if those two states said they were through subsidizing Mississippi ($2.02) and Louisiana ($1.78)? Conservatives love to evoke Darwinian survival of the fittest (politely packaged as “self-reliance”) when it suits them, so maybe liberals ought to tell Oklahomans ($1.36), North Dakotans ($1.68), and Kentuckians ($1.51) to suck it up and take care of themselves. And can’t Wal-Mart underwrite Arkansas so that it doesn’t dun Massachusetts tax-payers for $1.41?

Sure, there are some “liberal” receiver states as well, but only New Mexico, Virginia, Hawaii, Maine, and Maryland are more than a dime over a 1:1 payout. I’m sure that each of those states would be happy to take bailout money left on the plate by Arizonans, Missourians, and West Virginians. So let’s do it. Let’s tell anti-government states we’re closing their military bases, transfering defense contracts, phasing out government jobs, pulling the plug on highway construction, and are done foisting uppn them welfare, Social Security, Medicare, FDIC, housing subsidies, and other “wasteful” programs they don't want. They can keep their tax money. The liberal states will absorb all of those unwanted federal job burdens, retain their tax-and-spend policies, and even implement federal health care if they want it.

Presumably everyone would be happy. Right? It's time to dump conservative hypocrites off the backs of Massachusetts tax payers.

Want to know your state’s tax benefits? Click here.

LIKE A MIGHTY WIND

LE VENT DU NORD
Mesdames et Messieurs!
Borealis 194

There are very few genres as infectiously joyous as Québeçois music. In fact, it’s so full of joie de vivre that studio recordings can make the tunes sound oddly antiseptic. So what better way to hear one of Québec’s finest, Le Vent du Nord, than live? Mesdames et Messieurs! is a baker’s dozen that’s mostly culled from previous releases, but even if you own the backlist you’ll probably prefer the concert spontaneity and energy to the polished studio work. It also incorporates guest musicians and former band members to make an already heady mix even richer. This 2008 performance was sponsored by Radio-Canada as a tribute to the late Denis Fréchette, one of the mainstays of La Bottine Souriante and an old friend of Le Vent du Nord. La Bottine changed the way the world thought of Québeçois music, mixing it with jazz, a brass rhythm section, and anything else that caught its fancy.

Le Vent du Nord doesn’t stretch boundaries the way Fréchette did, but this isn’t a band your Québeçois grand pére would recognize either. It’s often dance music, to be sure, but done with sophistication that’s miles beyond what is necessary merely to set feet in motion. “L’heure bleu” opens to Nicolas Boulerice’s tinkling piano that gives us a few contemplative minutes before Réjean Brunet’s accordion and Oliver Demers’s fiddle burst in, and everything gets jiggy. By the time the set finishes it has the clopping force of a dancing horse. It’s a technique they repeat on “Les amants du Saint-Laurent,” and one of several pieces whose mood shifts dramatically. Check out “La veillée chez Poirier,” which could be the soundtrack for a caper film if it weren’t for its sexy accordion bridge. Each member of the quartet—which also includes guitarist Simon Beaudry—is a fine singer in his own right, so when they harmonize, magic happens. “Cré mardi” is a tongue-twisting zipper song with a mummers’ feel to it; “Vive l’amour” is lusty and loud, full of yips, exhortations, and yelps; and “Le bon buveur” is a clinic on how to mesh voices. This CD will have you smiling from start to finish and if your foot stops tapping at any moment, reach for the defibrillator.--LV

Alas, most Le Vent du Nord YouTube offerings are terrible in quality. Here's a promo that's probably the best of the lot, though it's a studio recording of "Vive l'amour."

HOW GREEN IS MY MUSIC?

GREEN FIELDS OF AMERICA
The Green Fields of America
Compass 7-4495-2

Since its founding in 1978, The Green Fields of America been akin to the Almanac Singers in that it’s more of a guild than a permanent group. It was and remains the brainchild of Mick Moloney, who uses it to showcase established and rising Irish musical talent. The current iteration spotlights Athena Tergis (fiddles), Billy McComiskey (accordion), and Robbie O’Connell and John Doyle (guitar, vocals), with Moloney on banjo, mandolin, and vocals. Add guest musicians such as Jerry O’Sullivan and Bruce Molsky and let the celebration begin. The material mirrors the immigrant experience in it that it’s a blend of familiar and sentimental songs (“The Rambling Irishman,” “The Bonnie Irish Boy”), newly composed tunes, political songs, and mutt genres. At outstanding example of the latter is “The Glendy Burke,” a Stephen Foster song that’s a cross between John Hartford and an Irish music hall ditty. Still another is “The Catalpa,” a Fenian song whose action takes place in America, Australia, and Ireland and which borrows liberally from all three musical traditions. In like fashion the circling dancers on “The New Irish Barn Dance” would be equally at home in Connecticut or Connemara. And give a careful listen to Robbie O’Connell’s bittersweet Blasket Island farewell “The Islander’s Lament,” as well as the rollicking rendition of “Across the Western Ocean.”

For a clip of Doyle, Moloney, and Tergis click here.