Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty,
Beauty is not Love.
Love, is not Music.
Music is the best.
-- Frank Zappa

Welcome to WorkingForChange From around the Web
Quotes and quips

TOTAL(ITARIANISM)INFORMATION AWARENESS
'I don't use the f-word myself -- in fact, for years, I've made fun of liberals who hear the approach of jackbooted fascism around every corner. But to quote a real authority on the subject, 'Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power.' -- Benito Mussolini.'
Molly Ivins on WorkingForChange

SMOKE SCREED
Pot is better, just not the 30 times better that Walters cites to scare today's voters. Walters is disingenuously comparing the best pot of today with the worst of yesterday, rather than comparing average marijuana of a generation ago with average marijuana now. He's ginning up the figures he wants by contrasting stuff you might line your cat's litter box with to the alleged 30-percent pot--the likes of which a lucky (or rich) smoker might encounter once every several years.
Daniel Forbes in Slate.com

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENTS
But if the moderates want to make a real vote of conscience, if they want to stand above partisanship and represent the great American political middle, there is another choice they can make: Chafee, Snowe and Specter can pull a Jeffords -- leave the GOP, become Independents, and caucus with the Democrats, which will give the Democrats control of the Senate.
Michael Kieschnick on WorkingForChange

BIN LADEN. YOU REMEMBER BIN LADEN.
Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post dismissed bin Laden as 'a blast from the past.' Well, that was a helluva blast, Howard, and I for one haven't forgotten it. I want that son of a bitch dead or alive, and I want getting him to be this country's top priority in terms of enemies.
Molly Ivins on WorkingForChange

AXIS OF IDIOCY
So let us say that sex is an area where we lefties have a more mainstream view than the Bush administration. The Bush administration has consistently blocked programs of sex education aimed at the prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases if those programs mention any method other than abstinence. On an international level, they are joined in this view by Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and the Vatican.
Jon Carroll in the SF Chronicle

AFGHANISTAN. YOU REMEMBER AFGHANISTAN.
If promises made to Afghanistan go unfulfilled, if the United States does nothing to challenge warlord dictators who come to power in the aftermath of its military victory there, what reason is there to believe the United States will do better -- be more engaged and care more about post-war democracy and reconstruction -- in Iraq?
David Corn on WorkingForChange

FIGHT THE POWER
Rage Against the Machine or Public Enemy couldn't get the 8 Mile treatment if they wanted it (and they probably don't), because their anger tends to be focused at the more powerful, not the less powerful. Fighting the power isn't useful to power; killing fags and hos, on the other hand, works just fine. Pop culture is a tricky balance between validating things people already feel and relate to, and selling, selling, selling.
Geov Parrish On WorkingForChange

THAT'S NUDES TO ME
Women from all ages and walks of life took off their clothes, not because they are exhibitionists but because they felt it was imperative to do so... They wanted to unveil the truth about the horrors of war, to commune in their nudity with the vulnerability of Iraqi innocents, and to shock a seemingly indifferent Bush Administration into paying attention.
Organizers of naked peace rally in The Point Reyes Light

I saw Neurosis in San Fransisco this past weekend. What a fukkin' show. As if their cds weren't terrifying enough, seeing them live completes the experience. The energy coming off these guys was palpable. My old buddy Sam, who I was visiting and dragged to the show, told me he could "smell the music." That raw, melting smell when the amps are overdriven, the air is moving and compressing in unison throughout the whole venue, as if you have your nose in the speaker cab is how he described it. He said he's smelled the same thing at many Phish shows. Jimi Hendrix said that at a certain point, on certain nights, the amps start sweating. That's what this music is like. Pure aggression and energy and sorrow and fear, coupled with shining beauty and renewal and light. There is no other band like Neurosis. These guys play so hard, so intense. The surprising part about this music is that it's so slow. That's what makes it so powerful - there's a lot of room to move around in the music, and lots of time to think. Scott Kelly's voice has matured from "sounding like somebody's dying," as Mike put it so eloquently, into something more deep and primal and whole. It still sounds like the end of the world though. And Steve Von Till's voice is as beautiful and manly live as it is on the cds. This music has to be heard many times to be appreciated, but once you get past the chaos and destruction surrounding you, the melody and tone of the music shines at you like pure truth.

---

in fields of time i've lain
to crawl the inner plane
awakened crystal pain
through and down by a
wall it come in waves
free and invisible
mother crawled away
to see the star

---

once is enough, trial is alone.
grace fall, into us
all through the night, Father I crawled
sun of my soul, be revealed.
Walking amongst the stones from the sky
feeling their rhythm wash over me.
...
rite of this warring god.
destructive, alive, frees you now.
rivers of fear, don't you know?
vigil of faith, stills you now.
You've been shown, over and over, don't you know?
You've been shown, over and over, don't you know?

We even ignited the first atomic bomb on the day commemorating the transfiguration of Christ, thus unconsciously signalling that we intended likewise to transform the world not only after the light, but after the darkness...

The blast of the bomb was several times hotter than the surface of the sun...

become the ocean.
--- Neurosis

"The waking dream of a snug immortality is a necessary, even ingenious, adaptation to an earthbound finitude unrelenting consciousness of which would be immobilizing."

Full article here.

What have I been listening to today?
Orange 9mm - Driver Not Included
Sasha - airdrawndagger eh, except for wavy gravy which is great
Talking Heads - Naked
vinyl mp3 cd disc 5
Sattva - november demo pretty great!
Neurosis - A Sun that Never Sets

Jennifer Van Bergen:"What the Republicans do not yet know is that they are creating a revolution. It is true that they may also create war, and this is very sad and terrible for ALL of us, with repercussions far into the future. Of course, every thinking and ethical person must oppose this avaricious belligerence."

Full article here.

William Rivers Pitt: "Finally, the men and women who make up the spine and soul of the Democratic Party must stand up and make some noise. The streets beckon, nay, demand to be filled. Since Congress has been greased for all manner of Bush proposals, the only area of true resistance left stares back at you from your bathroom mirror. If you are not represented by the leadership, if the issues that concern you are not spoken of by those who purport to be on your side, then so be it. Your last, best option can be found on the far side of a lot of shoe leather."

Full article here.

I think it's interesting that I am a "progressive" dj, and will one day be a "progressive" political figure. The two go hand in hand, I guess.

I love Geov Parrish's writing. It's never overly reactionary, and always controlled and intelligent. It makes me want to write, and become active in the progressive political revolution. He's one of the reasons I started this blog. Read his current article on how we respond to the Republican victory this Tuesday here. Check out his archives here.

Hmmm... what's been in my cd player today?
Disk Jockey Devo - Beatnikbeats very cool! He layers Alan Ginsberg beat poetry over "grooved-out summer house"
Liquide - Living in Exile saw them last night at Big Wig, live set...trancey progressive...nice and spacey, and a live electronic performance is rare
DJ Anton - Beatz different and almost reggae-tinged breaks and techno... I like it!
Max Cascone - .end of july. Yes I listen to my own cds...it helps me get better
Test mix of my as-yet-unnamed next mix cd - this is going to be a good one...

Let's hear it for Nancy Pelosi. She's one of the most, if not the most vocal opponent of Bush's policies and his War(s). She is planning to take over Gephardt's post as Democratic leader, and I think she'll show actual LEADERSHIP which is what the party so sorely lacks.

Beautiful words by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and founder of True Majority progressive action campaign:
The continued belligerence of our leaders saps our souls, saps our spirit, and saps our strength as a nation.
Let us instead rededicate ourselves to helping our nation to match its actions with the spirit and soul of our people -- in goodness and justice and compassion and love.

Full article here.

Gephardt looks like a zombie. Good riddance. Will somebody in the Deomcratic party PLEASE stand up and be ORIGINAL and offer a true OPPOSITION?

The picture of Dubya on CNN.com today shows him gesturing with three fingers up, and his thumb and pinky together. Is this just another Bush mistake, that is he doesn't know how to give the "Victory" sign correctly; or is it something more sinister - a secret Skull&Bones signal to his henchmen? What is the significance of the three fingers signal? The world may never know.

Have you ever been, have you ever been to Electric Ladyland?
The magic carpet waits, for you, so don't you be late
Oh, I want to show you different emotions,
I want to ride you , the sounds and motions
Electric woman waits for you and me, so it's time we take a ride,
You can cast all your hang-ups over the south side
While we fly right over the love filled sea,
Look up ahead, I see the love land, soon you will understand...
Make love, make love, make love, make love.....
I want to show you, the angels will spread their wings, spread their wings
I want to show you, good and evil laying side by side, while electric love penetrates the sky
I want to show you, I want to show you....
Jimi Hendrix