Hi Pooka... I actualy don't mind the wall, the fact that this involves speach closely tied to performers during a performance is the point about the politics of folk music.
As to the thousands arested in shoping malls, no, they are thousands of aliens held in INS detention without proper access to their lawyers, ask any Immagration lawyer in your part of the country, they are being sent back to nations which - in many cases they fled with real fears for their lives.
Now as to Sadam invading Kwait... I don't know about you, but I am not a Kawaite, in fact, if I was and you were, as not a member of the ruling elete there, we'd likely be slaves.
Fact is, the new American concevatives are not concervatives at all, but reactionaries who are playing fast and easy with the elimental rights that define us as a people. You claim that these are new times. Well we have seen the end of one of the most bloody centuries in history. If American rights could survive the war against hitler, I expect they can servive any struggle against sadam husain, if you don't think American rights are worth protecting, I am reminded of American concervatives telling me love it or leave it, when I walked for the lives of 46,000 Americans killed in a failed attempt to change the government of Viet Nam.
Cheers
Larry