Obama played in a Philly voter registration event. An American Reclamation project.

Springsteen: After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years. What we really need is, we need somebody to lead us in an American Reclamation project.

I've continued to find where ever I go, that America remains a repository of America's hopes and desires and that despite the terrible erosion of the standing in the world accomplished by our recent administration we remain for many, many people this house of dreams and 1000 George Bushes and 1000 Dick Cheney's will never be able to tear that house down.

(H/t Scarce)

On May 4, 1970, four students at Kent State University in Ohio were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen at an on-campus march to protest Nixon's invasion of Cambodia five days earlier. Those of us who remember Kent State first hand (I was in first grade, the daughter and granddaughter of KSU professors) know the "order to fire" did not come from some commander. The contempt for the life of the "dirty f**king hippies" came from Ohio Governor Rhodes, J. Edgar Hoover, and Richard Nixon. In 1970, the Vietnam war was going horribly wrong, the public that was waking up incredibly quickly, and the President and his administration's reaction was not only to stay the course but to dig in their heels and question the patriotism of anyone who did not go along.

We do not need anyone to tell us that there is an "Iraq-Vietnam Link." The "Vietnamization" of this war is happening before our eyes.

Update:  Great minds think alike.  Here's what Howie Klein had planned for Late Night Music Club before this post appeared (we've swapped out the original youtube for Howie's:

The publisher of Thrashers Wheat, the best of the many Neil Young fan sites, put together a post with pictures and videos over at DownWithTyranny. Tonight's song, predictably, is "Ohio" by CSNY, the song Neil wrote when he read about the shootings-- and saw the horrifying and galvanizing photos in Life, a spread that pretty much set the course for a crumbling of any support left for Nixon and his agenda. CSNY released a single immediately and included a live version on an album the following year but it wasn't until 1974, when they put out So Far that a studio version was available on LP. There are few songs that I can remember in my life that had as profound an impact on politics. So... why aren't students protesting the war in Iraq? Is it because they like the war-- or don't care about it (since there is no draft right now)? Or is it because they're afraid Bush will do to them what Nixon did to the four dead in Ohio?

DownWithTyranny!:

David from the Art of Mental Warfare teamed up with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to present "Warning." The project takes on the covert interests behind the war and our media saturated society. 

You have to cry when you think of three words: In. Our. Names.  Anyone still feeling apathetic? 

Download | play Download | play

Glenn Beck: "The reality is that no one, not one person, has ever died as a result of nuclear energy in this country."

Um, that is just so not true. CNN will never be "The Most Trusted Name in News" as long as they keep this idiot dissembler on their network. Not only is nuclear energy not safe, it's far from clean, or cheap & efficient , despite what Beck and Inhofe claim in this segment.

If you're already a dinosaur, or on your way to becoming one like me, you may recall Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) and their 'No Nukes' concerts 28 yrs ago. Well, they are back, and Glenn Beck and global warming denier and big oil puppet Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) aren't happy about it one bit. Glenn Beck went on a childish rant Thursday against the cast of celebrities, or "hippie singers" as Beck calls them, including such greats as Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Pearl Jam, Melissa Etheridge... aww, hell I can't begin to name them all here, who have lined up in opposition to the atomic power industry obtaining government loan guarantees to build new nuclear reactors here in the US. Their website is NukeFree.org , Find out why nuclear energy is NOT the answer and learn what is to combat our global warming worries and our future energy needs, and you can help by signing their petition.

They've also put together a great new music video. It's a remake of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth." Check it out:

Download | play Download | play (h/t Heather)

Later this evening, Graham Nash, David Crosby and a host of other musicians will be headlining "Pray for Peace" concert at the National Cathedral in DC. Yesterday they sat down with Chris Matthews and discussed the changing tide over protest music in this country (remembering how the Dixie Chicks were treated) and how different public sentiment is now than it was during the Vietnam conflict.

Information about the concert tonight, courtesy of co-performer Jackson Browne:

The 6 pm prayer ceremony and 7:30 pm concert began as a collaborative effort between Graham Nash and Bishop Chane after His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Washington National Cathedral in 2003 promoting the concept of universal responsibility. Both vowed to make Pray for Peace a reality when the Nobel Peace Prize recipient made a return visit to Washington, D.C. The Dalai Lama is to receive the Congressional Gold Medal for what Congress calls "his enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, non-violence, human rights and religious understanding" in the Capitol Rotunda on October 17, 2007.

"People of faith need to make their voices heard both within their temples, cathedrals, mosques and holy places, and beyond," says Bishop Chane. "They must take the lead in advocating for an end to violence." Graham Nash states, "To me, it has always been the most 'un-religious' of actions to kill human beings in the name of God. It is time for the religious community to help put a stop to this madness by coming together and denouncing these killings. Many religious leaders are joining us at the cathedral to literally ‘Pray for Peace.' I hope you have the courage to join us."

Scarce sent in this video and rough transcript of Bruce Springsteen's appearance on NBC this morning. He slammed the Bush administraion over the way they have attacked our core US values. He sums it up nicely, wouldn't you say?

Download | play Download | play (25 mgs)

"This is a song called Livin' In the Future. But it's really about what's happening now. Right now. It's kind of about how the things we love about America, cheeseburgers, French fries, the Yankees battlin' Boston... the Bill of Rights [holds up microphone, urging crowd to cheer] ... v-twin motorcycles... Tim Russert's haircut, trans-fats and the Jersey Shore... we love those things the way womenfolk love Matt Lauer.

But over the past six years we've had to add to the American picture: rendition, illegal wiretapping, voter suppression, no habeus corpus, the neglect of our great city New Orleans and its people, an attack on the Constitution. And the loss of our young best men and women in a tragic war.

This is a song about things that shouldn't happen here---happening here."

C&L's own Mike Finnegan (Mike's Blog Round Up) sings this very cool song by the Strokeland Superband. Since I've posted on Powell today---it is a very fitting piece of funky music. Please go over and buy a copy. These guys played with everyone including Tower of Power....

(Lyrics below the fold)

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The Road To Escondido is a new album by the legendary duo.

Click here to listen: "When the War is Over" as a QT and click here as a WMP (these links should stream the song)

You can grab a copy here and watch a video as well.

WHEN THIS WAR IS OVER - from the album "The Road to Escondido" lyrics

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 On May 31st, Pearl Jam taped an episode of the VH1 series "Storytellers" at Avalon (formerly known as Limelight) in New York City. Frontman Eddie Vedder, known for outspoken political views, was critical of the Bush Administration saying that under W's leadership, "the truth seems to be a vanishing commodity." In a solo acoustic remake of folk singer Phil Ochs' "Here's to the State of Mississippi," Vedder takes on Chief Justice John Roberts, Dick Cheney, Jerry Falwell, Alberto Gonzalez and, of course, President Bush.

Video-WMP Video-QT 

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