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First of all, I need to offer all the kind words and encouragements for my recent run of commentary. Believe me when I say this is something I would rather not do. But, I feel it is something I must do. I have tried my best to distinguish partisan differences which will always exist and always be up for debate from the far more serious threat to our nation and our way of life. The problem, as I see it, is that the more outrageous the words and actions of the current administration get and the more deafening the silence from many of the leaders of the Republican Party (save for a few brave voices), the more difficult it is to do. It is hard to unwind abuses of power, overt racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry from the policies that arise out of those evils. More to the point, when party leaders look past or ignore fascist words and actions for the sake of their agenda - it is hard to not harden your heart to that agenda - which may or may not reflect those despicable characteristics. We are watching and we are speaking out. Customs agents asking passengers on a domestic airline to "show their papers". State leaders voting to effectively make political dissent illegal, Executive branch officials asking the intelligence community to discredit the free press and to produce intelligence reports that support their agenda. An administration that has made up three non-existent terrorist attacks and yet calls America's major media organizations "enemies of the people" and purveyors of "Fake News" which seems to be defined as any news that does not support the agenda of that administration.
So, yeah, I don't see myself stopping writing these relatively brief commentaries any time soon - although I really wish my reasons for doing it would go away and soon.
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I had such a good time last night at the 10th Anniversary celebration for Jon Byrd's album Byrd's Auto Parts. The show - at the Family Wash - featured many of the players on that album. The second set featured guest spots from David Raines, Amelia White, and Kevin Gordon. The night was a reminder of how great a music town we have in Nashville.
All right - well it is Friday and right now it is about 78 degrees on February 24 in Nashville. On Friday, we go back to our "New Music" playlist and we hit shuffle and see what happens. Here is what happened when I did that this morning....
