Reactions to Fahrenheit 9/11

Reactions to Fahrenheit: "Like many, I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 this weekend. I liked it, and at the same time hated it.

I liked it because it's an amazing piece of propaganda and electioneering. And unless you obsessively follow the news, there was something in the movie that you didn't know before. The audience cheered, the audience booed, the audience occasionally gasped when they learned something new. The musical choices were simply brilliant and had the audience in stiches. If anything can galvanize support among voters on the fence, let's hope Moore can.

I hated it because increasingly it takes stunts like Moore's movie to make us aware of the facts. Fahrenheit 9/11 would be pointless if the majority of people didn't believe that Iraq and al-Qaeda were linked, or if we were knowledgeable about the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan. On average, however, we aren't. A functioning democratic republic requires informed citizens, and increasingly we're not.

Moore tasked himself with creating a concise but entertaining lesson in recent American and Middle Eastern history, and succeeds brilliantly.

Was he "fair"? Hardly -- many of the issues discussed are more complex than he portrays. Did he succeed in educating us? That depends strongly on whether his audience follows up by expanding what they read and listen to in the coming months. I'd like to believe that we can read, talk to each other, and come to our own conclusions. But I'm willing to let satire, humor, and invective take the place of more sober forms of learning. And Moore is simply the master at driving the Democratic message using all three.

By Mark Madsen
Extended Phenotype
June 27, 2004

David Rovics: Republican National Convention Schedule

Fan Email: I'm sending this to my whole list 'cause I know there are lots of folks on it from all over the place who will be converging on New York City around the time of the Republican National Convention. For lots of info on what's happening during the last week of August and the first few days of September, you can go to http://www.indymedia.org/ and look to the right where there are links like "RNC" and "NYC." Or there's http://www.rncnotwelcome.org/ and many other great, informative websites.

As I go to press, the events I'll be singing at are listed below. These are just some of the many great events that will be going on. Of course, many of the best events won't involve stages and performers at all, but will be direct actions of various sorts. In NYC, as always, I can easily be reached by cell phone -- (617) 872-5124. Feel free to call if there's an event I should be singing at or for any other reason.

After the events in NYC, I'll be singing at a Labor Day event in Washington, DC and then flying out west for a tour with Dave Lippman (aka George Shrub, the world's only known singing CIA agent) that will take us from LA to Seattle. I'll also be playing mid-month in Dallas, and then October will involve shows in California, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Utah. Info about all of the above can be found in the "gigs" section of http://www.davidrovics.com/. There are free dates in many of these places, especially throughout the west coast tour with Dave and in Arizona and Colorado, so if anybody has ideas about a show, feel free to let me know!

OK, here's some of what I'll be up to in NYC. Links to relevant websites and contact info for most of these events can be found on my website. Hope to see you on the road and in the streets!

--David

• Wednesday, August 25th, 7 pm, St. Mark's Church, 10th St. and 2nd Ave. Clamor Magazine event with Naomi Klein and others.
• Thursday, August 26th, 9:30 pm, afterparty for DNC to RNC March, St. Mark's Church, 10th St. and 2nd Ave.
• Friday, August 27th, Immigrant Workers Day of Action and Speak Out!, St. Mark's Church, 131 E. 10th St.
• Saturday, August 28th, noon, A Green World Is Possible Festival, Washington Square Park.
• Saturday, August 29th, United For Peace & Justice rally...if it happens. The march will happen, the rally afterwards only if a permit is granted for a reasonable location.
• Saturday, August 29th, 8 pm, The Unity Ball, Down Time -- a club located on 30th street b/t 6th and 7th avenues. The club is three blocks from the Garden right outside the perimeter fence.
• Thursday, September 2nd, noon and 5 pm, veterans' rallies in Union Square.
• Thursday, September 2nd, 3 pm, Tompkins Square Park concert -- TENTATIVE.
  
  David Rovics

Photo: scott hess photo

Who Would Jesus Bomb? (Songs for Mahmud version)
play lo-fi play hi-fi MP3 Lyrics/Story
My musical response to an encounter with some rightwing evangelical types at a supermarket in Houston.

Ronstadt and Moore: How Casino SHOULD Have Responded

How Casino SHOULD Have Responded: "This interesting item has been making the rounds on the Internet. After Linda Ronstadt was ousted from the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas for making offensive political remarks on stage, Michael Moore posted an open letter on his website to Bill Timmins, president of Aladdin Casino and Hotel. A member of Free Republic wrote this response which the hotelier SHOULD have made:

July 21, 2004

Attention: Michael Moore,

In response to your letter dated July 20, 2004: You are correct that I had security remove Linda Ronstadt from Aladdin Casino and Hotel where the fun never ends and everybody wins. How very interesting to learn you are such a fan of Ms. Ronstadt.

You questioned where I live and surprisingly knew Las Vegas is in the United States. You should visit it sometime. There are thousands of wonderful ''All You Can Eat'' buffets.

There are also a lot of casinos who's owners don't **** around. I am aware of the First Amendment and you have the right to talk about your hatred of America but once you are on my property and you are upsetting my guests, you will quickly learn about my rights.

I can't remember if it was Jesus or George W. Bush who said, ''Freedom is a two-way street.'' Ms. Ronstadt learned this long before I had her thrown out of my casino. You question my actions? If you come onto my property and upset my guests, you will receive the same, if not worse, treatment than Ms. Ronstadt received. I am sure your mere presence would upset my guests.

You claim your film, ''...is all about asking the questions that should have been asked before those brave soldiers were sent into harms way.'' I think your film does nothing but aid the enemy and hurt our troops. You have betrayed our troops, our leader, and America. I have no respect for you or your vision of what America should be.

I paid Ms. Ronstadt to entertain my guests, not divide them. The half that did not leave probably thought the verse you mentioned, ''Why don't you come to your senses'' was addressed to you. Maybe she should have dedicated her song, ''You're No Good'' to you. I would have asked her back, had she done that.

Regarding your request for me to apologize to her, have you and her on my stage singing anything about this Country and then playing your piece of **** film is ludicrous! One of my workers is currently throwing away every complaint letter from brainless followers of you, claiming they will never visit my Casino. I could not be more pleased to know my casino and hotel will always be void of the kind of people who support you.

Meanwhile, my hotel has been quickly booked solid for the rest of the year with true Americans who love this country and support our efforts overseas. They will see a framed copy of your letter and my response in the lobby to ensure they begin their experience with a laugh.

Sincerely,
Bill Timmins,
President, Aladdin Casino and Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada

The JibJab Times: Blog Update

The JibJab Times: "On July 9, 2004 my brother and I put a 3.8 megabyte file on a web server somewhere in Irving, Texas and we were instantly transported to...

THE TWILIGHTY ZONE!

It’s been a journey not only of sight and sound, but of mind. It looks and feels like we’re on Earth, but strange things keep happening. It’s as if we’ve been abducted by aliens and they’re doing bizarre psychological experiments to us. They hooked us up via LIVE satellite to Katie Couric. They had a major publisher threaten to shut us down. They put us on a couch next to Jay Leno. They even had an alien who looked exactly like Peter Jennings name us “Persons of the Week”!


Please. Let’s get real. How could we have beaten out 6,396,311,923 other people? It’s impossible. Think of all the rocket scientists over at NASA who launched a giant hunk of metal into orbit around Saturn! Any one of them deserved it more than us. But we are humbled and grateful…"



Peace Out,
Gregg & Evan

thedesertsun.com: What will get those pesky kids to vote?

thedesertsun.comThe youth vote split evenly between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. A recent Pew Research Center Poll showed Kerry leading Bush 56 percent to 41 percent among voters ages 18-29, but young voters are famously volatile; in three months the edge could shift.

Meanwhile, six nonpartisan groups are spending almost $40 million to get out the youth vote; Rock the Vote alone expects to have 25,000 voter-registration volunteers by fall. The New Voters Project plans to register more than 260,000 18- to 24-year-olds in six states, and to contact a half-million of them in the weeks before the election with a reminder to vote.

There are high school, Christian, hip-hop and punk-rock efforts. There’s a Web site for first-time voters -- VoterVirgin.com (Blog) -- and a new flavor of ice cream, Ben and Jerry’s "Primary Berry Graham." Michael Moore’s "Fahrenheit 9/11" is mobilizing people such as singer Mary J. Blige, who says she decided to vote after seeing the movie.

Polls indicate growing interest in politics and voting. A Harvard study found that 62 percent of college students say they plan to vote this year, compared with 50 percent with such intentions four years ago. In a Pew poll, 53 percent of registered voters ages 18-30 said they’d given "quite a bit of thought" to the election, compared with 35 percent in 2000.

Walking up Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs, friends Lauren Fierro, 19, and Britney Hinthorne, 18, both said they would vote but were not sure which candidates or issues to base their votes on.

"I’m going to do my own research before (the election)," said Fierro, of Palm Springs.

"Yeah, I definitely need to know more about it before I vote," said Hinthorne, also of Palm Springs. "I want to make an educated decision."

USA TODAY
Trey Clark of The Desert Sun contributed to this report.

Philadelphia Daily News: Poll: Kerry takes Pa. lead Michael Moore, Howard Stern seem to be having impact

Philadelphia Daily News: "DEMOCRAT John Kerry leads President Bush by six points in Pennsylvania, and may get a bump from Howard Stern and Michael Moore, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall Daily News/CN8 Keystone Poll.

The results are a major turnaround from the March Keystone poll, which found Bush up by six points. The survey completed Sunday shows Kerry up 48 to 42 percent, with Ralph Nader picking up 3 percent and only 7 percent undecided.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Kerry up 47 to 42 percent, with Nader getting 4 percent.

The poll also asked respondents whether they'd seen Michael Moore's anti-Bush film, "Fahrenheit 911," or had listened to radio personality Howard Stern, who's been attacking Bush for months.

Eight percent of those surveyed described themselves as regular Stern listeners, and a little more than one in four of them said Stern's opinions made them more likely to vote for Kerry than for Bush. Doing the math, Howard moves about 2 percent of voters, at least a little.

Eleven percent of the sample said they'd seen Moore's film, and 39 percent of them said it made them more likely to support the Democrat. That amounts to some impact on about 4 percent of the electorate.

"In a close election, these commentators, personalities, whatever you call them, they can have a marginal, but not unimportant effect on voters' choices," Madonna said. "In an election that comes down to 1 or 2 percent, you can look at a lot of things as making a difference. Here we have Nader, we have 'Fahrenheit 911,' and we have Howard."


by DAVE DAVIES
Philadelphia Daily News

Chicago Sun-Times: Want a singer who shares your views? Grab a mike

Want a singer who shares your views%3F Grab a mike: "Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November." -- Bruce Springsteen, writing a guest editorial in Rolling Stone magazine.

Attention, all Bush-loving conservatives!

We need to talk about your taste in music. Do you have anything by any of the following artists: Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, the Dixie Chicks, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Usher, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Five for Fighting, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Jurassic 5, Keb' Mo' and/or Death Cab for Cutie.

If so, I regret to inform you that you cannot listen to them any more -- not if you're going to remain loyal to your president and your party.

They're all a part of that radical Vote for Change concert tour, put together with the help of those rabid anti-Bushites at MoveOn.

Don't kid yourself. "Vote For Change" is just code for "We Hate the President and We Want to Put John Kerry in the White House Even Though He Might Not Have Earned All Those Medals and He's Married to That Ketchup Woman." They're revolutionaries, is what they are."


BY RICHARD ROEPER
SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

dallasobserver.com: More Bushwhacking

In mid-July, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 opened in France and made $3.4 million, showing on only 222 screens across the country. That weekend, in a single theater in Paris, a movie showed up that looked suspiciously like Moore's, only it had been made a year earlier by a woman from Texas who was her own film crew. It didn't make much money, but it left quite an impression, first-time filmmaker Christine Rose recalls from her home in Nova Scotia. "We had a Q&A on opening night, and that went on for over an hour before they pulled me out of the theater," she says. "But after dinner we walked by the theater, and people were still outside talking about the movie. And these were people who didn't even know each other but had met at my movie."

Upon first glimpse, Rose's Liberty Bound might indeed appear to be a quickie, cheapo Fahrenheit 9/11 knock-off. Regular Americans and a few well-regarded talking heads, among them World War II veteran and historian Howard Zinn and activist and author Michael Parenti, damn the Bush administration for going to war with Iraq, for stripping Americans of civil liberties, for using fear to intimidate its own citizenry and for using the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to justify its egregious misdeeds. Like Moore, Rose repeatedly slams Bush for reading to schoolchildren rather than immediately reacting to news of the attacks on the World Trade Center. She uses phrases that repeat those uttered by Moore and his movie--chief among them, "regime change"--and she, like Moore, puts herself in the film, narrating it in a similarly angry, disbelieving tone of voice that sounds like a feminine echo of the Fahrenheit filmmaker."

Amazon.com: Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism is Number 1

Amazon.comBased on Amazon Dot Com customer purchases, OutFoxed is the #1 Early Adopter Product in DVD.

User Review
Until recently, I thought of Fox only as the network that carried "The Simpsons." Except on Election Night, I never watch television news for primary sources of information. As it happens, in the wee hours of Election Night 2000, all of the networks except Fox said the race was too close to call--until George W. Bush's first cousin John Ellis, who works for Fox, called the race for Bush. The rest of the networks obediently followed the leader.

This story, and much more, are highlighted in "Outfoxed." The heroic task of watching Fox both live and taped, 24/7, over a period of months, and discerning the network's primary ways of slanting the news, was undertaken by a heroic crew of filmmakers and volunteers. A large number of contemporary media critics and former Fox employees voice their opinions. Even the unflappable Walter Cronkite says he's never seen the news slanted the way Fox does.

The fact that the network does not rebut the argument during this film is irrelevant. Fox is on all the time, to basic cable subscribers across the country. These filmmakers have some 75 minutes to make their argument, and they do so most convincingly: that Fox does not "report" the news as journalists traditionally have done, that they package GOP talking points in red-white-and-blue bunting, and that what few "opposing viewpoints" they do invite on air are cut off, muffled, or reviled.

It is marvelous that new technology allows people who care to get their hands on films like "Outfoxed" without waiting to find out whether their local network, radio station, or movie theater is brave enough to show something controversial.

A frightening look at a pervasive source of disinformation Reviewer: L Goodman-Malamuth "Leslie Goodman-Malamuth" (Washington, D.C.)

Currently, Amazon has 211 OutFoxed user reviews posted.


Price: $9.95

Watch an exclusive commentary by director Robert Greenwald (click title)

washingtonpost.com: N.Y. Mayor to War Protesters: Shop Till You Drop, Too

N.Y. Mayor to War ProtestersWhy worry about antiwar views, anarcho-syndicalist politics and "Dump Bush Now!" placards when something serious is at stake -- like money?

The billionaire media mogul who happens to be New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided that if antiwar protesters are to descend on his city by the hundreds of thousands for the Republican Convention, he may as well turn them into shoppers. So with just a hint of the sardonic, Hizzoner announced Tuesday a "Peaceful Political Activists" visitor program modeled after the one offered to Republican delegates.

Affix a "Peaceful Activist" button and a protester can claim a free glass of Montepulciano wine with dinner at La Prima Donna, rent a room at the boutique Dylan Hotel ($150 a night) and get dibs on discounted theater tickets. Perhaps "42nd Street" for the Quakers from Kansas and "Naked Boys Singing" for the South Beach set?

Cowboy-booted Republicans and nose-ringed demonstrators: Everyone's welcome. If this sounds like marketing to Royalists and the Jacobins who would like to behead them, that's pretty much the idea.

"New York is the place to get your message out, any message," Bloomberg says. "It's no fun to protest on an empty stomach. So you might want to try a restaurant." Hizzoner offers another example: "Or you might want to go shopping, maybe for another pair of sneakers for the march."


By Michael Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer

Guardian Unlimited: Saudis polish their image in US ads

Saudis polish their image in US ads: "Saudi Arabia has begun an advertising campaign in 19 American cities to counter scepticism of its commitment to fighting terrorism.
The advertisements, which will run until September 6, quote from the September 11 commission's report as a way of challenging the allegations made in the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

One ad quotes the commission's finding that Saudi Arabia did not fund al-Qaida. Another rebuts claims that the Bush administration helped members of Osama bin Laden's family flee the US after the September 11 attacks.

Allegations of collusion between the Bush administration and prominent Saudis feature in Moore's documentary, which the Saudi ambassador to Britain, Prince Turki al-Faisal, has described as "grossly unfair".

In a newspaper interview earlier this month he suggested that Moore should have waited for the commission's report before making his film.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is not being shown in Saudi Arabia, because the kingdom has no cinemas.

It has been banned in Kuwait for being critical of Saudi Arabia, though pirate videos are reportedly selling well."

Brian Whitaker
The Guardian

4 New Ad Campaigns, $5 Million Against Bush

MoveOnPAC is rolling out a series of campaign activities on the ground and over the airwaves during the next several weeks to get Americans to the polls to defeat President Bush in November.

Here’s a summary of MoveOn PAC’s current & future efforts:

Ø “Leave No Voter Behind”: MoveOn PAC launched a $5 million campaign to advance person-to-person voter contact by friends and neighbors. By October, the PAC plans to have 500 paid organizers and 30,000 volunteers going door-to-door in support of John Kerry in 10,000 neighborhoods in battleground states. The goal is to turn out 440,000 new voters for John Kerry.

Ø “Swift Reponse”Ads Calling on Bush to Denounce Ads Attacking Kerry’s Service Record: Starting this week, MoveOn PAC will air ads featuring Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) calling on Bush to denounce the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” ads which feature bizarre testimony from veterans asserting that Kerry’s military honors were undeserved.

Ø Re-launch of Bush & Kerry Military Ad Campaign: MoveOn PAC announced today it will resume airing a television ad that contrasts John Kerry’s heroic Vietnam war record with the President’s military service history. The move aims to refocus attention on two related issues: the President’s continued refusal to keep his promise, made on Meet the Press, to release all documents concerning his stateside military service during the Vietnam War; and the President’s continued refusal to ask his political allies to cease their smear campaign against John Kerry's Vietnam combat record.

Ø “Real People” Ads by Errol Morris: During the Republican convention, MoveOn PAC will air TV ads produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris. The 30-second spots feature people who voted for George W. Bush in 2000, but plan to vote for John Kerry this year. Last month MoveOnPAC sent out a casting call to members asking them to share their stories for the ad campaign. Hundreds responded and last week, 100,000 MoveOn members participated in rating the ads. They represent a shift in political advertising — simple commentary from “real people,” not the usual Washington, D.C., campaign rhetoric. The winning ad features U.S. Marine veteran, Sergeant Lee Buttrill.

Ø MoveOn PAC's “10 Weeks” Celebrity Ad Campaign Kick-Off on Eve of Republican Convention
**Betas of the new ads will only be given out at the event in NYC on the 24th. **
On Aug. 24, MoveOn PAC will unveil a new round of TV ads created by notable American film and entertainment directors in collaboration with popular actors, writers and musicians - Matt Damon (Photo), Kevin Bacon, Scarlett Johanssen, Martin Sheen, Allison Anders (Director of the 1992 film Gas Food Lodging), Benny Boom (who directs top hip-hop video stars like P. Diddy and Mary J. Bilge), Rob Reiner (Director of When Harry Met Sally), Rick Linklater (Director of School of Rock), Doug Limon (Director of The Bourne Identity) and actors Woody Harrelson, and Rebecca Romijn. The unveiling of the ads will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom at 8:00 p.m. in Manhattan. Musical guests include The Roots, Moby and Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction.

Ads include:

• The Mistake, directed by Rob Reiner, featuring the voice of Rob Reiner
• Tommy, written and directed by Richard Linklater
• Who Profits? directed by Wildbrain Animation, featuring the voices of Scarlett Johanssen, Kevin Bacon, & Ed Asner
• The Air We Breathe, written and directed by Bush in 30 seconds winner Charlie Fisher, featuring music by moby
• Stranded Republicans, written by Larry Kopald and John Buffalo Mailer, starring Rebecca Romijn, directed by Marty Callner
• Cheney is Not on Our Side, written and directed by & starring Woody Harrelson
• Register and Vote, written and directed by Benny Boom
• American Opinions, written and directed by John Sayles featuring the voice of Martin Sheen
• The Disappeared, written by Darren Aronofsky, directed by Doug Limon, voice over by Matt Damon
• Love is Love, written by and starring Margaret Cho, directed by Lorene Machado
• The Pie, written by Al Franken, directed by Allison Anders, starring Illeana Douglas & Ione Skye
• Jimmy the Cab Driver: Tax Break?, starring Donal Logue as Jimmy the Cab Driver, directed by Jesse Perez

Youth Is Fleeting for Bush washingtonpost.com

Youth Is Fleeting for Bush: "Surveys suggest that Bush's popularity has plummeted among 18- to 29-year-olds in the past four months, posing a new obstacle to the president's bid to win reelection and an immediate challenge to Republicans seeking to win over impressionable and lightly committed young people during their upcoming convention.

Four years ago, network exit polls found that Bush and Democrat Al Gore split the vote of 18- to 29-year-olds, with Gore claiming 48 percent and Bush getting 46 percent -- the best showing by a Republican presidential candidate in more than a decade.

But that was then. In the latest Post-ABC News poll taken immediately after the Democratic convention, Kerry led Bush 2-1 among registered voters younger than 30. Among older voters, the race was virtually tied."

By Richard Morin, Claudia Deane and Christopher Muste
Washington Post Staff Writers

Amazon.com: Fahrenheit 911 DVD

Amazon.com: "People may have a range of opinions about Michael Moore%2C but there is no denying actual footage that somehow never made it to our television screens. To watch George Bush sit for SEVEN minutes in a classroom - with a deer-in-the-headlights look - after being informed that America was under attack is to know the true essence of the man. To see him address contributors at a fundraiser as - the haves and the have mores - is revolting. Forget Michael Moore---just watch the footage and ask yourself if you can honestly place our nation in George Bush's hands for four more years. "

Reviewer:S. Ball "Independent Thinker" (Seattle, WA USA)
You Can't Make This Stuff Up!,
August 18, 2004


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Backstreets.com: An Interview with Bruce Springsteen

Backstreets.com%3A Springsteen Newsafter the Democratic National Convention ended, Bruce Springsteen spoke with Backstreets by phone about the state of the nation, his motivations behind these concerts, misinterpretation of his songs, and how activism affects the artist/audience bond.

Backstreets: You've supported a lot of causes over the years, but as political and socially conscious as a lot of your work has been, this is the first time you've really weighed in on electoral politics. So I guess the big question is, why now?

Bruce Springsteen: Basically, this is probably the most important election of my lifetime. I think that the government has drifted too far from American values. After 9/11, I was like everybody else -- I supported going into Afghanistan, and I felt tremendous unity in the country that I don't think I've ever felt exactly like that before. It was a moment of great sadness, but also tremendous possibility. And I think that was dashed when we jumped headlong into the Iraq war, which I never understood, and I talked about that on the road. I never understood how or why we really ended up there. We offered up the lives of the best of our young people under circumstances that have been discredited. I had to live through that when I was young myself, and for any of us that lived through the Vietnam War, it was just very devastating.

Along with that, the deficits, the squeezing of services like the after-school services for the kids who need it the most, the big windfall tax cuts, the division of wealth that has threatened our connection to one another over the past 20 years that is increasing.... these are things that as the election time neared -- I couldn't really keep true to the ideas that I'd written about for 30 years without weighing in on this one.

I don't think I've seen anything like it before in my lifetime. I think that the freedoms that we've taken for granted -- I spoke about this on the road a little bit, too -- they are slowly being eroded. In the past I've gotten involved in a lot of grassroots organizations that sort of expressed my views, and where I thought I could be of some small help. I guess I’ve been doing that for about 20 years, and that was a way that I was very happy to work. I always believed that it was good for the artist to remain distant from the seat of power, to retain your independent voice, and that was the way I liked to conduct my work. But the stakes in this one are just too high. I felt like, given what I've written about, the things that I've wanted our band to stand for over the years, it's just too big a battle to lay out of."

By Christopher Phillips
Backstreets Editor

E Online News - Bruce Boycotted for Bush Bashing

EOnline News: "Sometimes you pay the cost to be the Boss.

After Bruce Springsteen announced plans to participate in the anti-Bush concert tour, Vote for Change, a New York candidate for U.S. Senate has countered with a "Boycott the Boss" television spot.

Conservative Party candidate Marilyn O'Grady appears in a 30-second televison commercial, urging her supporters to show their solidarity to Bush by not buying Springsteen's music.

"He thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote," O'Grady says in the spot. "Here's my vote: Boycott the Boss. If you don't buy his politics, don't buy his music."

(The spot makes no mention of O'Grady's views on illegally downloading Springsteen's music for free.)

Springsteen is just one of the high-profile artists who have signed on for the tour, which also includes Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and the Dixie Chicks, among others. So far, O'Grady is only taking issue with the Boss' participation.

Springsteen's "No Surrender" has become an anthem for Democratic Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign.

by Sarah Hall