The latest from our punk rock friends, by: Justin Sane (anti-flag) Options

[Retrogressive]

As I was searching for some Green Day graphics for my American Idiot banner (which I couldn't find) I decided to visit www.anti-flag.com, the group is protest punk (I'm sure you already knew that) Anti-Flag as been able to keep a high fan base, and a semit low reputation in mainstream. I stumbled upon Justin Sane's (one of the members of the band) article about BUSH. I totally agree with him. Although it is long, and f uckers will be replaced by fudgers or something like that, read it it's very interesting. Please post what you think about it:

August 26th, 2004 | Rock Against Bush Essay
Written by Justin Sane

Justin wrote a very detailed intro to Fat Wrecks' "Rock Against Bush Volume 2" CD, which is posted below in it's entirety. We felt it was important to post it so people that haven't picked up the CD could still read what his thoughts were regarding the current administration and some of the many reasons why we so desperately need a change.



WHEN BUSH TOOK OVER as president I used to crack jokes about what insane policy he would attempt to enact next. My jokes were ridiculously far-fetched! For example, "I bet Bush will pass off a super huge tax cut for the rich by saying he's endorsing a tax cut for American families." Ha ha! That one was funny! Then there was, "Because of the California wildfires, I bet Bush says that to save forests we have to cut them down!" That one got a lot of laughs too. But the humdinger was, "Watch Bush say that Iraq has nuclear weapons and use that as an excuse to invade Iraq for its oil!" The absurdity of that one killed people, until, as it turns out, every ludicrous joke I made came true! Feeling horrified that my 'prediction jokes' were somehow singularly responsible for jinxing America and the world I quit making jokes. After convincing myself that I had not jinxed anything, wasn't responsible for every horrible act committed by the Bush Regime, I began thinking, "How is Bush hoodwinking the public into buying obvious bullshit that I was joking about only months ago?" After some contemplation I've come to a few conclusions.

The Bush Regime assigns friendly names to policies that have very unfriendly results for the USA and the world. Their masterful use of Orwellian 'doublespeak' lets them put a benevolent, positive, upbeat spin on policies that are anything but. They don't call cutting down the forest to 'save' it "Excuse To Let Massive International Logging Conglomerates Cut Down Endangered Forests Act". No, no. That would be too reality based (sort of like the show COPS!). Instead, they name it something happy, like Healthy Forests Initiative. That doesn't sound too destructive, right? Hell, put that way I want to be the first guy to say "TIMBER!" Cut down those pesky trees because I love camping! How about the Clear Skies Initiative? What could be wrong with clear skies? Well, nothing, except that clean air and clear skies aren't what this piece of legislation is about. Clear Skies makes higher levels of pollution okay, including mercury and greenhouse gases! Maybe I've spent too much time playing Reality-Land, but allowing more pollution is not going to keep our air clean and breathable.

And the Bush Regime didn't call the invasion of Iraq "Operation Line The Pockets Of Our Buddies At Every Weapons Manufacturer And Every Multi-National Corporation Who Gave Money To The Bush Campaign (Including Dick Cheney's Company Who Pays Cheney To This Very Day)". No, no! First they scare the f**k out of us with endless references to Saddam "Insane" and his non-existent WMDs, and then they call the invasion which violated International and US Constitutional Law "Operation Iraqi Freedom”. Red, White, and Brainwashed Americans hear this misinformation repeated day after day, month after month, and think, "I want safety! If you can give me safety AND set some oppressed people free, I'm for it! If Saddam is gonna nuke our ass, nuke 'em first! Besides, doesn't that oil under their sand belong to us anyway?"

Think my explanations and evaluations are too simple? I thought so too until my outrageous jokes started coming true! This revelation led me to think, "Are the people of the USA actually voting for what they believe in?" So, I did some research and what I found is that a majority of US citizens believe in progressive, liberal principles! Huh? It's true... public opinion polls show that a whopping 86% of Americans believe that there needs to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment; 77% think it is more important to maintain government services such as Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid than to cut taxes; 72% of Americans favor stricter laws related to the control of handguns; 63% of Americans favor affirmative action programs designed to help blacks, women, and other minorities get better jobs and education; 62% don't think Roe v. Wade should be overturned by the Supreme Court; and 62% would prefer a universal health insurance program run by the government and financed by taxpayers

So we've got a population that wants, by almost a two-thirds majority or more, clean air, land, and water; believes in a woman's right to choose; doesn't want tax cuts if they will hurt Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and a Regime that wants to pollute like crazy, tell women what they can and can't do with their bodies, and cut or end programs like Social Security, Federal Student Loans, and Affirmative Action while running up a huge deficit because of tax cuts for rich people! Is anyone else feeling like their head is going to explode?

If this is the case, why are so many right-wing politicians holding public office and defining what American culture is when a majority of US citizens support progressive, liberal, left-wing values? I hate to say it because it's the answer no one wants to hear, but we have to pay less attention to the MARKETING that these right-wing mother, father, brother, and sister f**kers are inundating us with, and more attention to their PRODUCT, which is what their ideas and schemes are actually doing! If a couple hundred more people had done this in the first place this comp wouldn't exist, because it would have been much harder for these f**kers to steal the election in the first place! It's up to YOU to know who actually supports the ideas YOU support instead of believing misleading but effective right-wing advertising campaigns that would make any corporation drool (think how many pairs of sneakers they could sell if their ads were half as effective!). You don't have to become a political junkie or stop doing the things you enjoy... just go ever-so-slightly out of your way once in a while to find out what is going on, ideally from a non-mainstream US media source. There's a different side to the story only a few clicks away, starting at the web sites of two British newspapers that are famous for including facts that US papers somehow fail to report. Check out The Guardian & The Independent at www.guardian.co.uk and www.independent.co.uk. And then you need to talk to people about this stuff and get involved!

Want news programs you can listen to? Democracy NOW! (www.democracynow.org) and Flash Points (www.flashpoints.net) are two of the best news programs in the world—period! Good print sites are
www.commondreams.org, www.znet.org, www.undergroundactionalliance.org, and www.alternet.org.

I want to leave you with the following thoughts... Is there a major difference between the mainstream American left and right wing parties? In my opinion, regarding a few important issues, such as a woman's right to choose, yes; but overall, no. Is removing George Bush the solution to all of our problems? No, BUT IT IS A FIRST STEP, AND WE CAN'T AFFORD TO STUMBLE!!! Four more years of a Bush Regime that does not face the constraint of a re-election contest means that those scum bags will do every evil and f**ked up thing I can think to make a joke about, including stacking the Supreme Court with reactionary, back-sliding, uber-conservatives who don't think you have a right to anything (and abortion rights will be first on their list), re-instating the draft (the legislation has already been introduced!!!), invading North Korea and Iran, even MORE tax cuts for the rich, and the end of all important environmental regulation and social programs. Furthermore, I don't know if you ever travel outside of the USA, but I do, and I'm getting tired of hearing that the man in the White House is a joke and a lunatic.

I don't care if you like me or my band. Don't do it for me, do it for the world, your family, yourself! And for f**k's sake, PLEASE go to www.punkvoter.com and register as a member, because the more registered members Punk Voter can prove it has, the more influence Punk Voter has in Washington DC with politicians who have the ability to introduce and back important progressive legislation.

Finally, if you're not old enough to vote in 2004, it doesn't mean you won't be able to vote forever! Punk Voter is building a coalition for the future so get involved now. WE NEED YOU!

That said, thanks for your time spent reading this intro. Now go drink a beer, a soy milk, or whatever you drink, and rock to this awesome comp!

Peace-Love-Unity, Justin Sane XOXO