A Change is A Comin!

but from whom?

You have to hand it to the Republicans, they'll just steal anything. First they steal the Democrat's message of change, despite the fact that the fact that it is their own party that is in power. God to love Jon Stewart (ubermensch extraordinaire) for pointing out to Mike Huckabee last night on The Daily Show, that the Democrats have only been in charge of the House and Senate for two years.

But they also now apparently have no qualms about stealing music. When Sarah Palin gave her speech on Wednesday, they played Heart's 1970's classic "Barracuda," which ironically is how the music industry sucks, without asking for permission from the artists. Well, Nancy Wilson of Heart asked the GOP not to use that song anymore. Guess what they played last night after McCain accepted the nomination? Yup, Heart's "Barracuda." Today Nancy Wilson issued a statement saying in essence that Heart does not support the McCain/Palin campaign and she found it inappropriate and wrong for them to use the music without permission which would not have been given. And the song is about how the music industry treats the artists particularly women. Playing the song while Sarah Palin entered, implying that she is a barracuda, is not what the song is about.

I was reading the comments on the EW thread about her statement, and I couldn't believe the number of people who a) said that Heart should have been happy that anyone was playing their music and b) insisted that they would now no longer listen to their music because Nancy Wilson was pissed that the GOP used their music without permission. As if she had no right to be pissed off that they basically stole the music since they weren't paying Heart for it. This isn't the first time the GOP and McCain have done this. John Mellencamp asked McCain to stop using his music without his permission back in February. Seriously, is there no one in the GOP who has heard of such a thing as copyright, royalties etc.?

But the bigger message from the GOP is that they are still slinging the same old mud that they've been slinging for years. Mitt Romney brough up the 'liberal media.' Seriously, with so many right-wing pundits on the air and on radio, they need give it a rest. And from Mitt Romney who was the Governor of Massachussetts no less. And then there's Guiliani, still bringing up 9/11, and chastizing Obama for not bringing it up, forgetting that without 9/11, Guiliani would probably go down as one of the most hated mayors of New York. 9/11 made Guiliani. Bringing up 9/11 is like constantly bringing up McCain's POW experience. Not that it isn't revelant, but is that all you've got?

I went to see Joan Baez in conversation last night. For anyone who doesn't know her, Joan Baez is a beautiful, talented singer and human rights activist, who was once involved with Bob Dylan, until he probably dumped her for someone stupid (no I'm not bitter or anything). This was a woman who was at the forefront of not only the Civil Rights movement, but also the peace movement in the 1960's. And last night she talked about why she was endorsing Obama, which is something she's never done in a 50 year career (she became well-known as she likes to refer to herself at the age of 19). She believes that he is not just a politician but a statesman, and also someone not likely to embarass the nation! Which is not something you can say about either McCain or Sarah Palin!

One of the most interesting things though was a young woman who stood up and talked about how she wrote to Baez in 4th grade as part of a class project and the two people who wrote back to the students in her class were Baez and Helen Keller. Yes, a BLIND and DEAF woman managed to write back to an 9 year old. So to all those famous or well known people out there, if a BLIND and DEAF woman could take the time to write to a small child, so can you. And that goes double for those people out there who forget to reply to emails or return phone calls. If a BLIND and DEAF woman could write back, so can you!