There I was this morning happily singing along to my favorite Cat Stevens song 'morning has broken' when I saw the news. Yussuf Islam, as Cat Stevens is now known, was traveling to the US with his daughter when an alert US agent spotted his name on the passenger list. Turns out he was on a list of terrorist possibles, and so the plane was immediately ordered to land at the nearest airport and Yussuf Islam was summarily interrogated and deported back to the UK.
For the generation familiar with the gentle and thought provoking work of this gifted Englishman, the label of 'terrorist' sits at odds with the facts. (I wont go into that here, but his selfless work for the betterment of the less privileged when he could have chosen the fortune building route his considerable wealth opportuned makes him a figure far worthier of respect than any of his nameless accusers.)
In view of this most recent example of America's lunacy can we now expect news of Texans congregating en masse for the ritual burning of their copy of ‘where do the children play’ for the subversive threat it represents to their way of life?
You can imagine the reflection of the flames in their joy filled eyes as they dispense with the threat posed by ‘moonshadow’ and the ultimate thrill when they realise ‘morning has broken’ has been consigned to an appropriately fiery grave.
One wonders what color flames the burning of 'Peace Train' will produce.
No story illustrates Americas decline into barbarous ignorance than this sorry consequence of electing an idiot to office.
My friend Ben (A black scottie) is American. He says he is embarrassed to be American at this time, and I guess about half of America must feel approximately the same. The other half are the ones who lack the basic intelligence to understand the consequences of voting a warmongering idiot into power.
I do hope that when I next travel I don’t find my name on an American list. And I do hope that whoever makes up these lists of people who are forbidden to enter America one day listens to the words of the great Cat Steven songs. Perhaps with the benefit of even this basic education in humanity the extent of their folly will become self evident.
Back to my afternoon snooze now.... I think I shall listen to 'Oh Very Young’ and send the lovely artist formerly known as Cat positive doggy thoughts.
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I thought he handled it really well.... even gave the Customs officials autographs! Not sure I'd have been quite so nice.
So here we go again. ANOTHER blow for World Peace.... Maybe the UK will become a hot-bed for recruiting suicide bombers?
Still, we can only hope that Cat Stevens fans might now vote Democrat!
Yes Ostur, he has handled it well. He is clearly an estimable character. Thats what my dad said after he met him a few years ago.
The real worry for me though is how they (the faceless wielders of America's huge power to destroy lives) can simply put your name on a list that effectively turns your world around if not destroys it, without any accountability.
What if it turns out that Yusuf Islam is not a terror threat.
What if this 'List' turns out to be the work of right wing neo Christian extremist fundamentalists unrestrained by any code of ethics beyond their own Bush inspired self motivated need to destroy everything that doesnt conform exactly to their prescription for a one party idiocracy.
Thats whats on my mind Ostur. Most of the dogs on the towpath are really concerned about this story. Personally I think thats because they think Cat Stevens is actually a talking Cat, a bit like yourself.
Wouldnt you love to know who the actual people are who compile these 'Lists'. Did your folks ever tell you about another great moment in lists you Countries history has to show the world, that written by proud republican Senator Jo McCarthy.
Heres a snippet you might like to share with the other cats in your neck of Florida's woods. Obviously your President knows this subject well. (Thats your countries president, not that of your fan club to which I refer.)
'Periodically American society has been gripped by fear, and its responses have not done credit to its democratic nature.
The hunt for subversives started during the war itself, and was furthered by congressional committees that often abused their powers of investigation to harass people with whom they differed politically.
Then in February 1950, an undistinguished, first-term Republican senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, burst into national prominence when, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, he held up a piece of paper that he claimed was a list of 205 known communists currently working in the State Department.
McCarthy never produced documentation for a single one of his charges, but for the next four years he exploited an issue that he realized had touched a nerve in the American public.
He and his aides, Roy Cohn and David Schine, made wild accusations, browbeat witnesses, destroyed reputations and threw mud at men like George Marshall, Adlai Stevenson, and others whom McCarthy charged were part of an effete "eastern establishment."
For several years, McCarthy terrorized American public life, and even Dwight Eisenhower, who detested McCarthy, was afraid to stand up to him. Finally, however, the senator from Wisconsin over-reached himself.
In January 1954, in what were to be the first televised hearings in American history, McCarthy obliquely attacked President Eisenhower and directly assaulted Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens. Day after day the public watched McCarthy in action -- bullying, harassing, never producing any hard evidence, and his support among people who thought he was "right" on communism began to evaporate.
Americans regained their senses, and the Red Scare finally began to wane. By the end of the year, the Senate decided that its own honor could no longer put up with McCarthy's abuse of his legislative powers, and it censured him in December by a vote of 65 to 22.'
So Ostur, when do you think America will 'regain its senses' this time around?
This is exactly the same state of affairs as the USA now. If anyone DARES to speak out against: the war, the economy, the Security measures etc.. they are vilified as a "Damned Commie, Pinko, Liberal (the word Liberal is a bad thing here). So I find myself in a country that allegedly promotes free speech, yet having to watch what I say the entire time. Education and intelligence are ridiculed. Thinking is wrong. The systematic 'dumbing-down' of the masses is well on its way. Educate them enough to do their menial jobs, and give them beer, cigarettes and Sunday football to keep their feeling of unease at bay. When they are sick, pump them full of pharmaceuticals (supplied by the petrochemical industry) and make them just well enough to get back on their feet and go back to their jobs.....
You homos are just a bunch of snivelling left-wing liberals. How can you question the motives of an administration that has made us safe from the terrorist threat? How can you insult the good honest soldiers out there in Iraq, dying to protect our freedom? It took a man of guts to save us from the Infidel hoards... now excuse me while I go and beat up a raccoon for daring to cross the yard! Then I am off to a Cat Stevens album burning........
Well Ringo. Thats sure shown me. I forgot how we won the war on drugs.
Who can knock a president prepared to 'go all the way'. I shall be joining Ossama Bin laden in hoping for a Bush re election.
yeeeeehaw! now there ya go, good buddy. I knew you would see mah poin' a view! Well, durnit ifn we ain't gonna have another one o dem hurricaines a comin' our way. It's gotta be Castro and his Commies organisin' the bad weather!
I apologise for my colleagues wayward views. If it's any consolation, I managed to surprise him while he was eating a light supper. i sunk my teeth into the fleshy part just in front of his tail. you should have heard the ruckus. Of course, I am utterly ashamed of myself for resorting to violence, but sometimes a cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do! (It felt really good, too)
Sheesh, yoou turn your back for an instant and some Commie Pinko takes a mouthful out of your backside! Typical.
Just goes to show what I was talking about. Good thingour Dad interrupted the skirmish. I was about to kick some serious BUTT!
HoooHa!
Hey Ringo,
How quickly America forgets its 'hero's of the revolution.'
With your Florida connections you could put right an iniquitous wrong.
Honor the founder of the 'ways that work' relied on so much by the current regime by setting up a benefit concert for seminal republican Jo MCarthy. You could help establish his position in the pantheon of legendary Americans by making make coffee mugs, T Shirts and framed portraits.
Surely Jo M (As we call him round this parts) didn’t work so hard for the party to be forgotten so absolutely. You know you wouldn’t be where you are today without his influence.
Get on the case Ringo. There must be a Bush somewhere around who you can have a word with.
I can tell you now, there wouldn’t be Hurricanes bashing Florida if things were being run by Jo M.
Ringo
For your information - and to help you promote the life and works of great republicans, here are a few facts:
Sen Jo Mcarthy was a devout Roman Catholic.
He was a heavy drinker, who drank himself to death.
He asked himself only two questions. What do I want and how do I get it.
Does this sound familiar?
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthy.htm
Your commentary on the Cat Stevens incident confirms my long-held suspicion that even dogs in foreign countries possess more sophistication and wisdom than the hordes of Americans who are planning to vote for Shrub in the coming election.
We could learn a lot from you and your brethren, Wallace. In fact, I would wager that Buddy Clinton, may he rest in peace, learned enough during his time in the White House to make a better president than Dubya.
I am afraid I put your wager to the dogs on the tow path, and with the exception of Max (He's a Rottweiler who believes in the death penalty, fascism, rule by fear and Bush for President, although not necessarily in that order)there were no takers for your wager.
Buddy Clinton would clearly be a giant step up for American President.
ho hum... how sad.
Still, I am interested in the potential for tonight's prime-time debate. This is where I believe Shrub is at his weakest. When he's NOT surrounded by people whispering into his ear, or armed with his usual cheat sheets and cue cards! We shall see. I am hoping this sorts the men oout from the boyz!
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