So, I remember when Elvis died, and knew his songs; I was moving into my own room, dammit!! And John Lennon, too. People were playing their songs on the radio 24/7.

Now, James Brown dies, and I have to rely on KALX and Democracy Now.... didn't really realize how many good songs he's got. Only person with more hits is Elvis.

And here it is, his tribute to the man who was saved from assassination by a gay man in SF.... (well, maybe not a tribute.)

FUNKY PRESIDENT

funky, nasty

hey! listen to the man!

Payback! Cold blooded!



people people

we gotta get over before we go under

people people

we gotta get over before we go under



hey country, didn't say what you meant

just changed the brand new funky president

stock market going up, jobs going down

there ain't no funky job to be found

tax keeps going up

i changed from a glass, now i drink from a paper cup

gettin' bad



people people

we gotta get over before we go under

listen to me

lets get together and raise

lets get together and get some land

raise our food like the man

save our money like the mob

put up the fight, own the job



tell em' godfather

turn on your funk motor

get down and praise the lord

get sexy sexy

get funky and dance

love me baby love me nice

don't make it once but can you make it twice? i like it



people people

we got to get over before we go under

people people

well well well before we go under



turn on your funk motor, i know its tough

turn on your funk motor, until you've had enough

hey give yourself a chance to come through

tell yourself i can do what you can do



hey! listen to the man!

Payback! Cold blooded!



people people! hey!

don't you see what's going on?

you got to get together!

get on your good foot! change it!

got to get together and get some land

raise our food just like the man!

i got to say it again

we got to get together and buy some land

raise our food just like the man

save our money, do like the mob

put up your fight, and own the job

we got to get over before we go under



country do you know just what i meant?

we just changed, got a brand new funky president



i need to be the mayor

so i could change a few things round here

i need to be the governor...

Un-Silent Night

Went to this at 7pm last night since it sounded fun. It was fun. Wandering around the Mission District with 500 people carrying boomboxes playing a synchronized ambient kinda christmassy album.

Saw this performance by Steven Colbert last night. Pretty standard Colbert. The great part is the audience member about 10 feet to his right, Resident Bush. I only wish they had trained the camera on Bush instead of on Colbert.

Now, the best sf bay area newspaper will be owned by one of the worst newspaper barons in the country. If his lousy Oakland Tribune is any guide, the SJ Merc will not be worth reading any longer. That leaves the SF Chronicle, ugh.

And St. Paul, say bye bye to the Pioneer Press....

The only good news is at least the unions TRIED to buy out the papers. I suspect that one attractive thing for the seller (owner of the Mpls StarTribune) is that he's selling the Pioneer Press to a sleazy cost-cutting non-journalist.

The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked health insurance for at least part of the year rose to 41 percent in 2005, a dramatic increase from the 28 percent in 2001 without coverage, a study released on Wednesday found.

Full article.

This is getting spooky. Nearly half the country... I guess "working age" doesn't include people on Medicare, the single-payer health plan for over-65-year-olds. Those guys are 100% insured.

It'd be cool to see Illinois take down Bush, wouldn't it?

No, not Neil Bush. Neil Young. New album out soon.

This guy is all over the map. First he endorses Reagan back in the day, then he endorses the Patriot Act, and now he calls for Bush's impeachment. It seems he has a bit of a swing to his thinking...

Just when I thought the French were one of the few people who know how to protest, gigantic protests erupt all over the USA... A half MILLION people in L.A. and all over the country. These protests have been going on for weeks, in cities all over the place. I doubt that the House's immigration law changes will be signed into law, since Bush likes cheap labor. Whatever happens, these giant crowds are good signs for the country and for California; these days, San Francisco is the quiet city arguing about zoning laws while all the political intrigue is in Los Angeles (not to say I want to move). I doubt Bush could get even a thousand people to voluntarily gather on his behalf...

Commentary from the Nation:
The largest mobilization in history of --and in favor of-- immigrants stretched for a mind-boggling 26 blocks through downtown Los Angeles Saturday bringing somewhere between a half-million and million people into the streets.



Politicians, police and even organizers of the pro-immigrant rally were amazed by the massive turn-out-- five to ten times bigger than the still-talked-about 1994 rally against Prop 187-- and surely the biggest political demonstration in L.A. history.