"American Idiot:" A Critique

I got Green Day's American Idiot for my dad for his birthday, since he had been agitating for it for a while. I listened to it this evening, since it isn't the greatest idea to critique something without actually having heard it. Needless to say, I didn't find much in it that was worthy of causing me to change my opinion.

I think this discussion should start with a mention of Godwin's Law. Godwin's Law states, basically, that as any discussion increases in length, the probability that Hitler or nazis will be mentioned increases, and, more important to my argument, the one who mentions Hitler or nazis automatically loses the discussion. I bring this up because the third song on the album, "Holiday," goes like this:

"Zieg Heil (1st, duh) to the president gasman
. . .
Pulzerive the Eiffel Towers (2nd, invasion of France)
. . .
. . .
Kill all the fags that don't agree (3rd, either the obvious connection, the holocaust, or the "Night of The Long Knives," where Hitler ordered his newly constituted Schutzstaffel to kill all the members of his old guard, the Sturmabteilungen, including the mildly homosexual leader of the group, Roehm. But I think that goes too far, don't you?

So there. Three nazi references in one song. I think they lose the arguement, eh?

Now to other, deeper arguments. My main problem is that this is a would-you-like-some-cheese-with-that-whine CD: It bitches a lot but doesn't offer any solutions. This is the mark of, well, idiots. Anybody can complain, but making an entire CD out of it without any solutions shows a total lack of initiative. Furthermore, they bitch about extremely easy topics, such as, I dunno, Bush. I remember an article I read where the only reason Billie Joe Armstrong could give for why he hated Bush was that he was "evil." Furthermore, he attacks the ad hominem arguments that the Bush administration uses to mobilize the Fox News crowd ("everybody do the propaganda"), yet in another article advocates using such arguments as "our President is killing people and he's an asshole" (AP #192, p. 122) to motivate kids to vote. I mean, hell, Jello Biafra makes a better argument than he does. And while we're beating up on political punk rock, lets mention that both of the aforementioned individuals makes statements that seem to condone lowering taxes, yet advocate socialist policies such as welfare that require huge resources. Without getting into a discussion about abolishing the military, which is ludicrous at this stage in world history, there is no way you can lower taxes and fund social programs. One or the other.

I know this has been all over the place, so let me wrap up by saying that in addition to being a dookie (ha! pun!) as far as the lyrics are concerned, it's just as bad musically. Let's just say you can tell that they went overnight from being a punk band to trying to write a "rock opera." Yet, they win a Grammy. Chalk one up for being commerical rock while convincing everyone you're not.

I'll put comments on so I can destroy any Green Day fans who want a go. :)

The Republican Watch (Num. 4, Vol. 1)

The Republican Assault on Public Broadcasting

A Republican-controlled House subcommittee voted on Thursday to drastically cut funding for National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, both non-profit, unbiased organizations. This may seem a strange topic for me to be so ready to fight over (after all, who actually watches PBS?), but NPR and PBS are the last remaining unbiased traditional-broadcasting-medium news groups in this country. You have your Limbaughs, your Air Americas, your CNNs and Fox News Channels, but no one else who offers truly neutral coverage. Despite Republicans arguments to the contrary, this is obviously an attempt to bring the public stations in under the right-wing news umbrella, since both, NPR in particular, have been very critical of the Bush administration. We have spent $300 billion fighting a crusade in Iraq, but we can't spend $400 million to provide a diplomatic forum for voices in this country to be heard. The failure of most news organizations to carry the "Downing Street Memo", which implicates the Bush administration in a pre-meditated invasion of Iraq, is further evidence of the need for a non-sensationalist news organization that focuses on things other than the Jackson trials.

A petition is available to sign at Moveon.org, which I have already done, and would hope you do too. After all, we elect our representatives, we should be able to force them to listen.

THE END *sigh* -of relief

High school is comming to an end. I really thought at this point I would have mixed emotions. I thought I was going to be a little sad to leave it behind, show some remorse in that it treated me well and never asked for too much. I know that I could have done better by it, but I don't have any regrets. In fact I can't wait for it to end, I will miss nothing. People are afraid of loosing touch with each other...I'm thinking between cell phones the internet (and the fact that most of us will be within miles if not yards of each other) that any and all relationships which are ment to remain intact will. I say goodbye highschool, you kinda sucked...sorry to say it but i don't like you any more, and hello college.

Bushisms

From this morning's "Doonesbury" strip.

09.06.04:
"Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all over the country."

09.17.04:
"Free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat."

10.18.04:
"September the 4th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It's a day I'll never forget."

01.14.05:
"We are in no way, shape, or form should a human being, play God."

The Grand Finale:
08.05.04:
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

Think he's trying to say something?

Getting Them Home By Christmas

This is my plan for getting US troops home by Christmas while not dropping Iraq into chaos.

1. Go Shopping
No matter how well trained or equipped, infantry are still more vulnerable than armored forces. Allowing Iraqi forces access to older Iraqi tanks and allowing them to purchase old T-models from ex-Soviet nations would boost their combat strength immensely. There would be little danger to US troops, which I assume is the main argument against fully arming the Iraqi army, since these would be the same tanks that were destroyed by the dozens in the two Gulf wars and no Iraqis would be too willing to try their luck again. Furthermore, establishing an effective ground-attack air force is equally important to the Iraqi's ability to counter the insurgency on their own. Without these weapons, they are little more than a police force.

2. Federate Iraq
The Bush administration has embraced a "united Iraq" governing strategy from the beginning, which is a further point of evidence of the incompetence of the administration. Holding together arbitrary lines drawn on a map one hundred years ago by imperialists in London, taking no account of ethnicity or religion, is achievable only by a despot such as Hussein was. You can have a united Iraq, or you can have a free Iraq. You cannot have both.

The plan, therefore, is for a federated Iraq. Split the country among ethnic borders, forming three seperate regions, each self-governing. All functions are controlled by the regional government, except for the maintenance of a national currency and a national, fully integrated military. The former fosters a sense of economic unity, and a commercial simplicity; the latter keeps the semi-independent regions from engaging in internecine warfare. Paramilitary organizations, including militias, would have to be banned. By keeping the groups seperate, each could rule themselves and sectarian tensions would be able to be reduced. The Kurds have maintained a semi-autonomous state in the north for 15 years, and they are the most developed region in the country.

The Republican Watch (Num. 3, Vol. 1)

This is a quick one.

The US Secretary of Denfense, Donald Rumsfeld, accused China of unwarranted military buildup this weekend at a summit in Singapore. He said that China faces no threats, and is spending too much money on it's military for having no threats. He neglected to mention that the United States spends six times as much as the Chinese do on the military, yet have no substantial threats either. In fact, the only potential threat to either nation is each other.

I also wish to congratulate some Republicans on their commonsense passage of bill through the House of Representatives that seeks to increase federal funding for stem cell research, despite the ignorant cries of many of their social conservative voters back home and the threat of a veto from President Bush. It is most likely going to pass through the Senate also, but the real challenge will come if Bush vetoes the measure - then 2/3 of both houses are needed to override the veto. However, it is still progress in the right direction and I applaud their actions.

Side note: I just looked at my clock and realized that today is the 61st anniversary of the D-Day invasions. Just keep in mind the bloody slaughter that war brings.