The Democratic Party "co-opted" the folk music revival? When and how did they go about that, GfS? I was there. I don't remember that. In fact, I don't think the Democratic Party even thought about the folk music movement (except possibly decades earlier when the IWW was active, especially out here on the West Coast), if they were even aware that there was much of anything going on in that area until Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and others started writing and singing protest songs. But a lot of people were there, singing folk songs and ballads long, long before Bob Dylan came along—and all the other people you mentioned, with the exception of Woody Guthrie (and you completely missed the Almanac Singers, who also predated the period you're talking about).

Then, of course, there was the House Un-American Activities Committee, that REALLY drew attention to the burgeoning interest in folk music when they tried (unsuccessfully) to stomp Pete Seeger into the ground. Contrary to their intention to shut him up, they succeeded in drawing attention to him and to the protest songs that some were writing and singing.

Most of the people I knew kept their music and their politics in separate boxes. I, for one, regarded most protest or political songs to be something like what might be called "poster art." I thought that, aesthetically, it tended to be a bit cheesy. I rarely sang "cause" songs, limiting my small repertoire of such material to peace songs, and then usually only on request. There was only a small percentage of the people I knew who were primarily involved in protest songs.

So your characterization of all of us who don't buy what you're trying to sell as being "brainwashed" into accept everything the "establishment" wants us to accept, just doesn't mesh with reality, especially when you seem to think the establishment consists of the Democratic Party, while the Tea Party is a new and fresh breeze blowing in the land.

You might go back and read Stringsinger's post at 17 Sep 11 - 02:37 p.m. He was there also and he knows what was going on, even better than I do.

I happened to come across a thread that was running a few months back, entitled "practice, practice, practice." There, you actually showed that you can occasionally write a complete sentence that expresses a cohesive thought, and that you may have actually had a grasp of what the subject was, and you did it without sounding like you got your material by stirring the septic tank.

You've told me a number of times (liberally sprinkling your comments with insults and general toilet-mouthed verbiage) that I should stick to music and leave politics alone. Well, considering your grasp of history, political principles, and current events, I would say that it might be a good idea for you to follow your own advice.

Don Firth

P. S:   By the way, referring to your scatalogical reference to LBJ:   He is not the one who started the Viet Nam war, as you claim (any more that FDR started WWII to end the Depression, as the Right Wing tries to claim). One of the things LBJ DID do was to sign the Civil Rights bill into law.

But then, you're not all that hot on some people having civil rights, are you.