For anyone who might be interested, I just ran across a mix of a song ("I Bet Someone Let You Down") from Northern Hospitality (our last record) that wasn't used in the final cut of the record. This alternate mix includes Dan Kellar's stellar fiddle-playing. While the playing is great, and his fiddlin' is present on much of the record, it was decided to keep this song really stripped down, just the live tracks from the band.

So, enjoy!  It's posted on the main page.

Willie Nelson: Impeach Bush, 'Throw The Bastards Out'

Published: Tue, 19 Feb 2008, 14:31:10 GMT
Edited by Carly Zander


AUSTIN, Texas - Feb. 19 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- American icon Willie Nelson says he supports efforts to impeach President Bush and "throw the bastards out," adding that the administration will do anything to stay in power, including staging an event to cancel the election. In his second appearance this month, Nelson told The Alex Jones Show today that he supported Dennis Kucinich's attempt to impeach Bush, adding, "If you break the law you have to pay for it one way or another and if these guys haven't broke the law nobody has."

"The deck's been stacked and we need to figure out a way to get a new fresh deck in there in the deal and I don't know how else to do it except throw the bastards out," said Nelson.

But the award winning star of stage and screen was quick to clarify that he didn't see the Democrats as any kind of viable alternative.

"We went through a couple of elections now and we didn't do anything, we thought we did but come to find out that the voting machines are crooked, everything's stacked against us, the politicians that we vote for won't stay and fight and they won't count the votes."

Nelson agreed that an elite cherry picked presidents and leaders to do their bidding against the interests of the people.

"They find them and they groom them and they put them in office and tell them exactly what to do and you give the speeches will small words and big letters and let them go," said Nelson.

The star also re-iterated a warning made during his last appearance on the show, that the Bush administration could potentially stage an event to postpone or cancel the presidential election.

"It could be anything and anything will work because they have everyone scared to death, I just think there are people out there who will do anything to stay in power, anything to keep what they have, they've already proven they'll do anything to keep it," he said.

Nelson clarified his previous comments about Building 7 after the news media attempted to skew his words and claim he said that no planes hit the WTC on 9/11. Nelson made it clear he was talking about WTC 7, which imploded symmetrically within seven seconds on the late afternoon of 9/11 despite the fact that it was only hit by minimal debris from the falling towers and not a commercial airliner.

"I was talking about the third building that nothing hit and yet it fell as if it was hit the same way, all three buildings fell the same way, but the third building wasn't hit by anything," said the country music star.

Nelson's contention that the twin towers were deliberately imploded received media attention after his first appearance on the radio show two weeks ago. Link for the audio interview:
prisonplanet.com/audio/180208nelson.mp3


More Extensive Articles are also available here:

Willie Nelson: I'd Rather Have an Electric Chair Named After Me Than a Toll Road
www.infowars.com/?p=338

Willie Nelson Fears Election Could Be Cancelled
prisonplanet.com/articles/february2008/020408_election_cancelled.htm

Willie Nelson: Twin Towers Were Imploded On 9/11
prisonplanet.com/articles/february2008/020408_towers_imploded.htm

I sent this to the Nat'l Day o' Prayer freaks the other day, after perusing their 'resource manual' (it's as crazy as you may expect). It includes an overtly Christian prayer attributed to Thomas Jefferson, ostensibly given publicly. The document was supposed to show how all the founding fathers were Huckabee-style fundamentalist Christians. Problem is, it's all bullshit. Big surprise.

------------------------------------



I wonder, are you spreading lies intentionally or out of ignorance?

Page 22 of your resource manual, in an effort to back up dubious assertions that our nation was founded on exclusively "Christian" principles, claims Jefferson penned and delivered an overtly Christian "National Prayer".


Knowing Jefferson's tireless public support for the separation of church and state (he coined the phrase), his dismissal of the divinity of Jesus (He edited the Gospels to remove all supernatural events, including the resurrection), and his fight to keep the Constitution secular, I was immediately skeptical of this assertion.


I was right in my hunch: this prayer was NEVER, in any remotely legitimate way, attributed to Thomas Jefferson. (See text below)


I'm not, of course, surprised that right-wing fundamentalists like yourselves are resorting to lies and misinformation to support your otherwise groundless world view, but glaring misrepresentations of great leaders like Jefferson are beyond the pale.


"Thou Shalt Not Lie"? I guess that applies to everyone but you. But maybe you just didn't know. Either way, I expect you'll immediately remove this propagandic aspersion (and any others you've undoubtedly included) from your manual.

-----------------------------------------------

National Prayer for Peace
From Thomas Jefferson Wiki (http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/National_Prayer_for_Peace)
(see also: http://candst.tripod.com/studygd7d.htm)

A number of sources attribute a "National Prayer of Peace" to Thomas Jefferson. The text is as follows:

Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners.

Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.

Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those to whom in Thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.

In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

This prayer was not written or delivered by Thomas Jefferson. It is in fact from the 1928 United States Book of Common Prayer. Explanations of the 1928 revision of the Book of Common Prayer make no mention of an earlier source for the prayer,[1] which is identified simply as "For Our Country"[2]

Interestingly, although we can find no evidence that this prayer has a presidential source, it seems other political figures have found it to be quite useful. Several months after his 1930 Thanksgiving Day Address as Governor of New York, it was pointed out that Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech bore a striking resemblance to the very same prayer discussed above.[3]

Ultimately, it seems highly unlikely that Jefferson would have composed or delivered a public prayer of this sort anyway. He considered religion a private matter, and when asked to recommend a national day of fasting and prayer, replied "I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from inter meddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises..."[4]
Footnotes

1. ? E. Clowes Chorley, D.D., The New American Prayer Book: Its History and Contents, (New York: Macmillan Company, 1929), Chapter VIII. The New Prayer Book: Enrichment. Available online at http://anglicanhistory.org/bcp/chorley1929/08.html.
2. ? Book of Common Prayer, 35, available online at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928/Pray&Thanks.htm.
3. ? "Prayers and Proclamations," TIME, February 23, 1931. Available online at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,930339,00.html.
4. ? Thomas Jefferson to Reverend Samuel Miller, 23 January, 1808. Ford, 9:174-176.

Reposted from musicrowdemocrats.com

Democrats and Country Music
    

I find it interesting that so many people are talking about Democrats in Nashville suddenly having the "courage" to admit that they're Democrats. Why should it take courage to admit membership in America's oldest existing political party? Many people consider the modern Democratic Party's first president to be Davidson County's own Andrew Jackson, 176 years ago.

To hear some people tell it, you'd think we were saying we're in the Nazi Party or the Communist Party. This demonization of Democrats is right-wing propaganda that goes way beyond the sphere of conservative talk radio. Maybe it did take a little courage for us to "come out," but if that's so, then that just proves that we were long overdue. We have to make up our minds that we absolutely will not let our enemies get away with lying about us, and the best way to start is for us to stop believing those lies ourselves.

Just as Republican PR has given birth to the notion that it is now unSouthern to be a Democrat, they have also politicized OUR MUSIC. In a recent article, journalist Beverly Keel wrote that one might listen to country radio these days and get the impression that they were hearing the music of the Republican Party. I found that upsetting because I knew she was telling the truth. I won't open up that can of worms, the politicization of country music, but anyone who saw the crowd at the Belcourt Cinema on February 5 knows that the business end of country music in Nashville is NOT solidly Republican!

Country music is the music of everyday people. Why would we NOT belong to the party that sympathizes with the underdog? Country music is the music about families and mommas and babies. Why would we NOT belong to the party that cares about health care for seniors and children? Why would people in the music of wide open spaces and green green grass NOT be in the party that wants to protect God's green earth from the polluting global-warming big shots that the Bush administration loves and defers to?

We should make it our mission to convince the country music fan base that the Republicans care nothing about them except for their votes. Convince them that George W. Bush may talk "country" from his ranch in Crawford, but he's more himself when he's yukking it up with rich corporate types who don't give a damn about middle class folks. Point out to them what hunters in the West are already finding out, that this administration is so irresponsible with our environment that they're not just ruining the cities, they're destroying the countryside as well. When Republicans drape themselves in the flag, remind the country fans that Democrats like FDR and Harry Truman led us through World War II, that war hero JFK stood up to the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that most of the decorated war heroes in Congress are Democrats and that two of the candidates for this year's Democratic nomination were heroically injured in Vietnam. Show them that the party of their Southern granddaddies or their union member blue-collar daddies is the party that cares about them and the issues that affect their lives.

I hope an army of country legends, those who aren't playing the radio game but whose names are still known far and wide, will get out there, do commercials, do whatever it takes to get these poor and middle-class women and men and kids, the people who love our music, away from the party of the corporate giants. We love our country and we love our country music. I think being Democrats not only does not contradict that, I think it corroborates it. Let's shout it from the rooftops and help make a difference in 2004.


*Already inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Bobby Braddock is one of country music's most successful and prolific songwriters. Among his 35 Top 10 country singles are 13 No. 1 hits, including "Golden Ring," "D.I.V.O.R.C.E..," "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "Time Marches On," "Texas Tornado" and "I Wanna Talk About Me." Braddock's work as a producer includes Blake Shelton's "Austin," "Ol' Red" and "The Baby."

Some things you should know about the National Day of Prayer, which will occur on May 1:


- Organized by Shirley Dobson, yep, wife of you-know-who.

- You're supposed to get these little red dots (notice they're not blue dots) and stick them everywhere, and when you see one you pray for the November election. The color red now represents freedom, integrity, and faith. Didn't you know?

- You're supposed to keep in mind that the next president will likely choose several Supreme Court justices, and the really important issues they'll be dealing with are sanctity of life and the definition of marriage.

Needless to say, in the unlikely event that God exists, Mike Huckabee should see a real uptick in his numbers on May 2.


The video is ominous:
http://www.ndptf.org/election/

I find it sad and disturbing that a governor in the United States of America in the 21st century is issuing official edicts encouraging people to pray to god for rain. We know how weather systems work. We have information we didn't have a couple of hundred years ago, and therefore it no longer makes ANY sense whatsoever to pray to an invisible entity to bring rain. It also it kind of disgusting to assume that god loves and listens to one group enough to give them what they ask for, when millions of people suffer and die having prayed very urgently.

The guy on the radio, head of the Alabama farmers market authority, said he knew god answered his prayers when it started to rain after weeks of drought. Isn't that usually when it starts to rain?!? Good lord!

-----------------------------------------------------


TEXT OF GOVERNOR RILEY'S PROCLAMATION:

WHEREAS, Alabama is suffering from a devastating drought that threatens the livelihood of many of our citizens and reduces the quality of life for all citizens; and

WHEREAS, Alabama's largest industry, agriculture, is dependent on sufficient rainfall; and

WHEREAS, low stream flows and lake levels are negatively impacting water use, recreation, navigation and power generation; and

WHEREAS, throughout our history, Alabamians have turned in prayer to God to humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady during times of difficulty:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bob Riley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby encourage citizens of Alabama to pray daily for rain and proclaim June 30 – July 7, 2007 as Days of Prayer for Rain.

During this time, I encourage all Alabamians to pray individually and within their houses of worship for sufficient rain.


more here:
http://www.governorpress.alabama.gov/pr/pr-2007-06-28-01-prayforrain.asp

This didn't even make the news for the most part -- seems like Bush would be up there saying how they stopped an act of terror, how the "war on terror" is working ,etc.

Except, this terrorist is white. And Christian. And apparently, that makes it NOT terrorism.  If a pipe bomb had been left in front of a federal building in NYC by an Arab, you betcha Bush would have something to say.


Pipe bomb left outside Austin abortion clinic

By LISA SANDBERG
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau


AUSTIN — A travel bag discovered in the parking lot of an abortion clinic contained a potentially lethal pipe bomb, police officials confirmed Thursday.

"It was configured in such a way to cause serious bodily injury or death," Assistant Police Chief David Carter said at a news conference.

The device was found in the parking lot Wednesday afternoon by an employee at the Austin Women's Health Center, a clinic along Interstate 35 south of downtown.

Austin police, working in concert with federal authorities, defused the explosive after shutting down all four southbound lanes of Interstate 35 and evacuating the buildings around the parking lot.

The thwarted attack is the first attempted bombing of an abortion clinic in the U.S. this year, said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, a Washington D.C.-based group representing abortion providers.

Forty-one clinic bombings have been reported in the past 30 years.

..>..>

I'd like someone to explain to me how (the horrible and shockingly still-published) Ann Coulter is not advocating the US's use of terrorism against civilian populations. Although, maybe we've already done it --- after all, what was "Shock and Awe" if not the calulated use of violence against civilains for a political purpose? Just because the bombs are falling from very expensive airplanes doesn't mean it's not terrorism. "If you want a shorter rebuilding process, then we're going to have to wage less humane wars. The enemy — as well as innocent civilians — must be bombed into quivering terror. Otherwise, we displace aggression but don't destroy it." - Ann Coulter terrorism

noun

the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear