For the anti-Bush crowd, Pink
For the anti-Bush crowd, Pink has a performance of "Dear Mr. President" online. If you'd like to read the lyrics, check them out.
It's very well done song - and eminently listenable.
Sadly, little of her criticism is directed at the President's real failings (not providing leadership, either to his party or the country; the disaster that is our southern border and immigration policy related thereto; his failure to lead a meaningful debate on social security). Instead, she pulls on some heartstrings:
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Unfortunately, homelessness is difficult to measure, and when I look through the various advocacy groups' websites, they've become cagey. The figure for homelessness used to be the estimate of the number of people in a shelter or on the street on a given night, but fortunately, most homeless are transitory, getting back on their feet quickly, or stay with family or friends (this is a good thing, I think). So now we've shifted to "number of people in a given year who experience homelessness", and includes some estimates. So I can't tell if the problem is getting better or worse, and would appreciate some statistics to inform.
how do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
Hmmm. Like none of the mothers of people killed on the U.S.S. Cole, the barracks in Beirut, the Twin Towers, falafel stands in Tel Aviv, or victims in Darfur got to say goodbye? Presumably, she's referring to deaths of U.S. soldiers, who volunteer for their country, reenlist at ever increasing rates (and hey, are even being recruited at ever increasing rates). Sadly, this is the lot of wives and mothers - and often requires greater courage than that of their sons and husbands - I recommend reading Gates of Fire. (And yes, I know that women serve, honorably, in combat zones, and are raped and killed by our enemies there, and I am not trying to denigrate their contribution in any way, shape, or form by using gendered terms).
How can you say No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind They're all sitting in your cells
Hmmm. Talk about conflation. I can only assume that "your cells" refers to enemy combatants held by the U.S. (although an argument could be made for how many of our inner city youth end up passing through - and landing in - our penal system, I haven't seen that one come up a bit in the anti-Bush crowd).
NCLB is knife wound into the gut of this country. Unfortunately, our public education system is a cancerous rot that needs to be dealt with, and NCLB is the first step in that surgery. Problems? Absolutely. Worse than before? I don't think so.
As for the process of dealing with terrorists or partisans who assault our troops, and their explicit lack of international legal standing, or the fact that Gitmo is an embarrassment to the world - mostly, because the facility is more humane than most prisons in the world - well, I think we'll just disagree on that one.
what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
Wow. From objecting to hatepolitics to expressing hatepolitics, all in one stanza. How amazing.
Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
I'll agree with her. Having lived at minimum wage, and having a baby, I can't imagine doing them at the same time (and one of the reasons I am quite thankful for the foresight to not enter one condition while in the other). But the hard work of some does not denigrate the hard work of others.
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
This one, I've got to admit, has me stumped. Has the President not, in the last four and a half years, vigorously prosecuted a war on Islamic terrorists, enlisting allies to do so, some might even say overzealously in his choice of targets, for the express purpose of not having more bombs depriving American civilians of life and property? Have I missed a terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11?
Since I don't think I have, I can only assume that Pink is now arguing against any collateral damage incurred as a result of our prosecution of the war on terror. Conveniently ignoring that much of the collateral damage is caused by our enemies. That there is less killing now than there was prior to our intervention.
Hey, I bet Pink would be opposed to an intercession in Darfur, because we might accidentally kill someone who isn't obviously affiliated with the Janjaweed. And that death, while potentially tragic, is more important than the hundreds of thousands civilians raped and murdered in a system slaughter of a people at the hands of their government.
It's very well done song - and eminently listenable.
Sadly, little of her criticism is directed at the President's real failings (not providing leadership, either to his party or the country; the disaster that is our southern border and immigration policy related thereto; his failure to lead a meaningful debate on social security). Instead, she pulls on some heartstrings:
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Unfortunately, homelessness is difficult to measure, and when I look through the various advocacy groups' websites, they've become cagey. The figure for homelessness used to be the estimate of the number of people in a shelter or on the street on a given night, but fortunately, most homeless are transitory, getting back on their feet quickly, or stay with family or friends (this is a good thing, I think). So now we've shifted to "number of people in a given year who experience homelessness", and includes some estimates. So I can't tell if the problem is getting better or worse, and would appreciate some statistics to inform.
how do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
Hmmm. Like none of the mothers of people killed on the U.S.S. Cole, the barracks in Beirut, the Twin Towers, falafel stands in Tel Aviv, or victims in Darfur got to say goodbye? Presumably, she's referring to deaths of U.S. soldiers, who volunteer for their country, reenlist at ever increasing rates (and hey, are even being recruited at ever increasing rates). Sadly, this is the lot of wives and mothers - and often requires greater courage than that of their sons and husbands - I recommend reading Gates of Fire. (And yes, I know that women serve, honorably, in combat zones, and are raped and killed by our enemies there, and I am not trying to denigrate their contribution in any way, shape, or form by using gendered terms).
How can you say No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind They're all sitting in your cells
Hmmm. Talk about conflation. I can only assume that "your cells" refers to enemy combatants held by the U.S. (although an argument could be made for how many of our inner city youth end up passing through - and landing in - our penal system, I haven't seen that one come up a bit in the anti-Bush crowd).
NCLB is knife wound into the gut of this country. Unfortunately, our public education system is a cancerous rot that needs to be dealt with, and NCLB is the first step in that surgery. Problems? Absolutely. Worse than before? I don't think so.
As for the process of dealing with terrorists or partisans who assault our troops, and their explicit lack of international legal standing, or the fact that Gitmo is an embarrassment to the world - mostly, because the facility is more humane than most prisons in the world - well, I think we'll just disagree on that one.
what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
Wow. From objecting to hatepolitics to expressing hatepolitics, all in one stanza. How amazing.
Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
I'll agree with her. Having lived at minimum wage, and having a baby, I can't imagine doing them at the same time (and one of the reasons I am quite thankful for the foresight to not enter one condition while in the other). But the hard work of some does not denigrate the hard work of others.
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
This one, I've got to admit, has me stumped. Has the President not, in the last four and a half years, vigorously prosecuted a war on Islamic terrorists, enlisting allies to do so, some might even say overzealously in his choice of targets, for the express purpose of not having more bombs depriving American civilians of life and property? Have I missed a terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11?
Since I don't think I have, I can only assume that Pink is now arguing against any collateral damage incurred as a result of our prosecution of the war on terror. Conveniently ignoring that much of the collateral damage is caused by our enemies. That there is less killing now than there was prior to our intervention.
Hey, I bet Pink would be opposed to an intercession in Darfur, because we might accidentally kill someone who isn't obviously affiliated with the Janjaweed. And that death, while potentially tragic, is more important than the hundreds of thousands civilians raped and murdered in a system slaughter of a people at the hands of their government.
