Breitbart editor brings up Ringo Starr song "You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful, and You're Mine" as defense of Roy Moore.

Breitbart senior editor defends Roy Moore by citing Ringo Starr's hit cover of the song "You're Sixteen You're Beautiful (And You're Mine)." (via CNN) https://t.co/dCEx3eu8sM

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 27, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill: 

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Monday clashed with a Breitbart editor who used a Ringo Starr song to defend Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore’s alleged sexual misconduct toward teenaged women. 

“You know, in 1973, Ringo Starr hit No. 1 on the billboard charts with the song ‘You’re Sixteen, You’re Beautiful and You’re Mine,’” Breitbart editor Joel Pollack said during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.” 

“And it was a remake of an earlier song. He was 30-something at the time, singing about a 16-year-old. You want to take away Ringo Starr’s achievement?” 

“You can’t be serious,” Cuomo said in response. “You think that Ringo Starr’s song is supposed to be a nod towards allowing 30-year-old men to prey on teenagers?” Cuomo asked Pollack. 

“You don’t believe that, Joel. You’re a parent. You don’t believe that.”

So that's a thing that actually happened.

Based on that I have to assume they also took this Judy Collins song literally.

Hey remember when Ted Nugent wanted everybody to be civil with each other? Yeah, that's over now.

Courtesy of The Kansas City Star: 

Nugent is a notorious provocateur, one who has attracted some infamous attention for his profane insults and bald-face threats to his political enemies. In June, however, after the shootings of Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise and others at a baseball practice in Virginia, Nugent told a radio station that his wife had convinced him to stop with the “harsh terms” and “I encourage my friends/enemies on the left and in the Democrat and liberal world that we have to be civil to each other.” 

He kept his word for most of the show. Much of his carnival-barker-style rhetoric and sloganeering touted freedom, hunting, barbecue and his support for the military. He also assured the crowd several times that like every other show, he was treating this one as “the most important show of my life.” 

However, before the salacious “Wang Dang” song, he took an odd swipe at country music: “I was going to play a country song but I still have a (penis) so I can’t do that.” And before “Dog Eat Dog,” he praised the president and then told members of the military he was sorry they’d had to serve eight years under his predecessor, a commander-in-chief who was an “absolute piece of s***. … And if that offends you, you’re a piece of s***.” So much for civility.

So June 18th to just about the end of July. What is that, just a little over a month?

Way to stick it out there Captain Poopypants.

Let's face it once an attention seeking POS, always an attention seeking POS.

And these three will never stop spreading hate and divisiveness everywhere they go.

In fact that one on the left is working hard right now to overshadow the other two.

Bruce Springsteen reveals new protest song directed at Donald Trump. Well it looks like I'm buying some new music.

Courtesy of Rolling Stone: 

Bruce Springsteen bashes President Trump as a "con man" on "That's What Makes Us Great," his new protest song with longtime collaborator Joe Grushecky. "Don't tell me a lie/ And sell it as a fact/ I've been down that road before/ And I ain't going back," Springsteen sings on the track, Pitchfork reports.

The song premiered Wednesday morning on SiriusXM and Grushecky's website. At one point in the sharply worded tune, Springsteen proclaims, "Don't you brag to me/ That you never read a book/ I never put my faith/ In a con man and his crooks." 

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Grushecky said he'd already written the song before initiating the collaboration. "I sent it to him and he liked it," he noted. "I said, 'What do you think about singing on it?' He gave it the Bruce treatment." The singer, who formerly fronted Pittsburgh rock band the Iron City Houserockers, added that Trump "lost [him] the moment he started making fun of special needs people," referring to an infamous speech where the Republican appeared to mimic a disabled reporter. "How could a person like that be president of the United States?"

As we know Springsteen was a huge Hillary supporter, and has become known as the musical voice of the middle class, so it should come as no surprise that he is fervent critic of Donald Trump's.

And the song is pretty good too.

Remembering when we had hope.

The other day this song popped into my head and I suddenly remembered how inspired I was at the promise of a better tomorrow in America.

These days I know we often feel such despair that is it hard to remember when we had hope.

Well we certainly did and this song was our theme song.

So you take a moment to hear the words and remember how inspired we were to stand up for our country, stand up for our freedoms, and stand up for ourselves.

"Always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. Yes we can."

I thought we might end our day with this.

I know he didn't write it, and I am a fan of Bonnie Raitt as well, but there is something about his version that I have always found incredibly touching.

As you undoubtedly already know George Michael is the latest celebrity to fall victim to 2016.

He was only 53 which somehow makes it seem even more unfair.

I actually have quite a few George Michael songs on my I-Phone, including some of my favorites like Faith, Jesus to a Child, Father Figure, One More Try, and of course Careless Whisper.

He lived a very controversial life, but damn he made some fine music. 

Now 2016 needs to hurry up and end while we still have some entertainment icons left.

Songwriter gives voice to President Obama's inner dialogue.

Watch @leslieodomjr sing "Seriously," a song by @SaraBareilles imagining what @POTUS might be thinking about the current election and Trump. pic.twitter.com/j746HnkVAZ

— This American Life (@ThisAmerLife) October 28, 2016

Here are the lyrics: 

Seriously 

Lyrics Sara Bareilles, Songwriter 

Leslie Odom, Jr. Vocalist 

Let’s start with hope. 

I threw it in the middle 

Like a skipping stone, 

The ripples won, son of a gun – 

Some would not have thought so. 

But I stand here Commander-In-Chief, 

And I take that seriously. 

But along the way… 

A rogue tide turned tidal wave. 

In reaction to what I tried to do… 

A rebirth of a nation’s hatred. 

Red, White and Blue….Is Black in there too? 

Seriously? 

One man – 

Rewriting the book on bad behavior 

Maybe cheats the neighbors… 

Feels he gets what they pay for – 

WE CAN’T 

Pat him on the back and SEND HIM ON THROUGH 

No man’s ignorance 

Will ever be his virtue 

Is this the best we can be? 

SERIOUSLY? 

Let’s talk of fear, 

And why I don’t bring it in here

It’s a dangerous word 

It spooks the herd 

And we all bleed in the stampede 

Fear makes a false friend indeed 

And I take it seriously. 

So hear me now 

Before the truth gets drowned out

By a demagogue flexing 

A DEMAGOGUE FLEXING 

He’s history repeating – 

... 

Angry? 

Am I Angry? 

You ask Am I Angry? 

 And I’m at a Loss for Words… 

After all we done 

Every battle hard won 

Every hair gone gray 

In the name of this place 

In a history plagued 

With incredible mistakes 

Still I pledge my allegiance to these 

UNITED DIVIDED STATES ------ 

SERIOUSLY. 

Let’s end with ‘why’? 

It’s a question I 

Want to ask of us as a populace 

Why not take the time 

Or the weight of this story 

 Seriously. 

How is that for a powerful musical start to your Sunday? 

I hate to end the day on such a sad note, but when genius like this passes it deserves our attention. Gene Wilder 1933-2016.

Courtesy of Variety: 

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83. 

His nephew said in a statement, “We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones — this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality. The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him “there’s Willy Wonka,” would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. 

He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world. He continued to enjoy art, music, and kissing with his leading lady of the last twenty-five years, Karen. He danced down a church aisle at a wedding as parent of the groom and ring bearer, held countless afternoon movie western marathons and delighted in the the company of beloved ones.”

He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.

He had that impossible to tame mane of hair.

That is what I always used to notice about Gene Wilder in the movies.

 Of course that was only AFTER I noticed that he was a comedic genius. 

The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silver Streak, The Frisco Kid, Stir Crazy, that is not just a list of the films that Gene Wilder made, that is a list of some of the greatest comedies ever made.

As well as a list of some of my all time favorite movies. 

I remember that the hardest I EVER laughed in my life was in 1974 while watching Young Frankenstein with my best friend at the time. That movie was clearly created to make fourteen year old boys laugh until they peed their pants, and I watched some of it while sitting on the floor after falling out of my seat doubled over with laughter.

At that moment I became a Gene Wilder fan forever.

And then of course there was this.

I can't even count the number of times that I sat and watched Gene Wilder's performance as Willie Wonka with my little girl.

"Come with me 

and you'll be 

in a world 

of pure imagination.

Take a look

and you'll see 

into your imagination.

We'll begin 

with a spin 

traveling in

the world of my creation 

What we'll see

will defy

explanation." 

Magic.

But sadly even magic cannot live forever.

But then again since his magic is preserved in these amazing movies, perhaps it can. 

Michelle Obama singing karaoke in a car with James Corden is the palate cleanser we all deserve this morning.

I am really going to miss having this Obama family in the White House.

I like the Clintons just fine, but these folks are just incredibly classy and fun.

The artist known as Prince dead at 57.

Courtesy of CNN: 

The artist known as Prince, who pioneered "the Minneapolis sound" and took on the music industry in his fight for creative freedom, died Thursday at age 57. 

"It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57," said his publicist Yvette Noel-Schure. 

Earlier Thursday, police said they were investigating a death Paisley Park studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

As you can imagine outpourings of grief are all over social media today.

I think probably all of us have a favorite Prince son.

My favorite has always been "Little Red Corvette," though my I-Pod playlist contains many more than that.

One thing that people sometimes forget due to Prince's flamboyance and fame as a showman, is that he was an amazing musician who played a number of instruments.

Here he is performing a rendition of "My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, and others. The magic starts at the 3:37 mark.
There are not a lot of talents like that in the world, and his will surely be missed.

This is why they call him "The Boss."

Courtesy of Bruce Springsteen's website:

As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards. 

This is usually where I would say something like, "Well I guess I better go buy a little Springsteen music for my I-Pod."

That does not work this time because my I-Pod is already bursting with Springsteen music.

I wonder now North Carolina feels about their discriminatory policies now?

Well at least one North Carolina Congressman is fine with Springsteen cancelling, after all they still have Justin Bieber: 

"It's disappointing he's not following through on his commitments," said Rep. Mark Walker, a Republican freshman congressman. 

"We've got other artists coming soon — Def Leppard, Justin Bieber," the congressman told The Hollywood Reporter. 

"I've never been a Bieber fan, but I might have to go. Maybe artists who weren't 'born to run' deserve a little bit more support," he said, referencing one Springsteen's most famous song titles.

Oh yeah, people who are coming expecting to see Bruce Springsteen will be just fine listening to Justin Bieber. 

That may be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard in my life.

And I've covered Sarah Palin for the last ten years.

A must see Mormon missionary parody of Adele's song "Hello."

I thought after all of this talk of politics it might be nice to watch something that is humorous, very creative, and mot terribly political.

I have to say that the lead singer on this has a great voice.

Kind of reminds me of the "Book of Mormon" on Broadway.

Donald Trump and Ben Carson "dancing" on stage. Your awkward moment of the day.

What in the hell did I just watch?

Will we EVER have a President this cool again? Because I somehow doubt it.

What'd he say? #RayCharlesTribute https://t.co/XhphyLrcRI

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 27, 2016

And finally let's close our day with this. Because...well you know why.

Good luck with those spiders from Mars Ziggy Stardust.

P.S. Of course this is how my daughter will always remember David Bowie.

And finally let's leave today with a very special moment from the 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors last night.

The surprise and pure joy on Carole King's face as Aretha Franklin starts singing the song that she made famous is all by itself a reason to watch this clip.

But then you add President Obama tearing, and just know it is something special.

By the way I am huge Carole King fan from way back. And Aretha Franklin....well who doesn't love her?

Good night my friends.

For those who missed it, here is Adele singing "When We Were Young" on last night's SNL.

Yeah that is NOT a voice that needed any help from Sarah Palin, that's for damn sure.

There were literally reports of people weeping during this performance, not me of course cause I am all manly, but you know.....others.

And since everybody keeps mentioning it, here is the video of Adele showing up in disguise to an Adele impersonator contest.

A black minister, in Georgia of all places, has called out Christians for their hypocrisy concerning "teh gays."

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

Pastor E. Dewey Smith of the House of Hope, Greater Travelers Rest church in Decatur gave an impassioned sermon, posted to YouTube on Thursday, in which he slammed church leaders for judging gay people but “you change wives like we change underwear.” 

“‘These folks are an abomination, they are nasty,’ tell you what you do then. Go find every song that’s been written by a gay person for the last 100 years and don’t sing it in church,” he said, as the church congregation cheered him on. “Let’s see how many songs you can minister on that Sunday.” 

He went on to criticize the habit of picking and choosing which parts of the Bible to adhere to, based on what is socially advantageous or convenient, but ignore it when it gets in the way of business. 

“We demonize and dehumanize the same people that we use and we don’t say nothing about the gay choir director because he’s good for business” Smith said. “As long as the choir sound good, I ain’t saying nothing about his sexuality. We have done what the slave master did to us. Dehumanize us, degrade us, demonize us, but then use them for our advantage.”

 I can honestly say that there are VERY few times in which I will shout "Amen."

But in this case "A-fricking-men!!!"

Now see if the Christian church hopes to survive in this country, THESE are the types of sermons we need to start hearing a whole lot more.

This is just for all of my fellow GOT fans.

I am not at all sure that people who aren't as addicted to Game of Thrones as I am will like this nearly as much as I do, but hey it's worth a shot.

I actually thought it was a little stupid at first (I don't like Coldplay.), however it just kept getting better and better and by the end I was really loving it.

Well SOMEBODY'S going to have to find a new theme song.

Courtesy of Mediaite: 

On Saturday pro-union Irish punk band the Dropkick Murphys told Wisconsin Governor and organized labor bête noire Scott Walker to stop playing their songs at his rallies. 

Walker reportedly took the stage at the Iowa Freedom Summit this weekend to “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” the band’s collaboration with the Guthrie family made big by its featured inclusion in The Departed. The Bostonians were not pleased.

You know I am sure there is some local shit kicker band that would LOVE to have Scott Walker play their songs while he busts Wisconsin unions and takes a giant crap on the middle class.

Bishop of Shrewsbury calls the John Lennon song Imagine "heart chilling."

Courtesy of the Catholic Herald: 

The Bishop of Shrewsbury has described the John Lennon song Imagine as “heart-chilling” in a Christmas homily. 

Reflecting on this year’s Christmas adverts which focus on the First World War, Bishop Mark Davies will say in a homily on Christmas Day: “The events of Christmas 1914 give the lie to the lazily repeated assertion that ‘religion is the cause of wars’. John Lennon would give voice to this ill-founded belief in the lyrics of his song Imagine. This becomes a heart-chilling vision in which Lennon imagines a world with no hope of heaven and no fear of hell. And he adds, ‘no religion too’. Only then, he suggests will ‘all the people’ be ‘living life in peace.’” 

The bishop will continue: “Yet the fact is, the wars of the century past, bringing with them atrocities and destruction on a scale never seen before, were largely inspired by secularist and, indeed, openly anti-Christian ideologies. In reality, it is human sin which lies at the root cause of war. Conflicts, writes St James, arise within the human heart wherever ‘bitter jealousy and selfish ambition’ are found (James 3: 14). Tonight we declare that Christ came to ‘save us from our sins’, to enable us to give glory to God and to bring peace amongst men. Christ calls all who would follow Him to have, as we have just heard in St Paul’s words: ‘no ambition except to do good’ (Titus 2:14).”

That last part is complete bullshit. In fact most wars were either inspired by religious differences, ideological differences, or strategic power grabs.

And the word "sin" is a bullshit primitive definition to explain complicated human behaviors that too many people lack the intellect or patience to understand completley.

As for the John Lennon, well I will take his beautiful song about hope and peace over the Catholic church's doctrine of shame, oppression, and misogyny any day of the week.