Will The Trump Regime Use Orwell's 1984 As A Playbook?

The delusional self-imagine Trump and his lackeys are pushing out from the White House is colliding with the cold hard facts, if not the #AltFacts. He may style himself a "ratings machine," but his inaugural concert was "a dud, lacking A-list talent. On Friday, the inauguration ceremony pulled in 30.6 million viewers, 7 million less than Obama’s first swearing in, 12 million less than Reagan, and 3 million less than Jimmy Carter-- but slightly above that of Bill Clinton’s first- term ceremony of 29.7 million viewers. Trump, who recently Twitter-shamed Arnold Schwarzenegger for pulling in lower ratings than he had as a reality host of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, barely bested George W. Bush, a president whose election was won only after an aborted recount and Supreme Court intervention... At times, the president-elect appeared distracted at his own inauguration. Never known for his patience [attention span], he could not seem to sit still. He rocked in his seat minutes before taking the oath, tapped his fingers together and whispered to newly sworn-in Vice President Mike Pence when others were taking up time on the mike."

Art by Tim O'Brien

No matter how you sliced it, the affair lacked the exuberance and adoration we’ve come to expect from a showman like Trump on the campaign trail. He often cites his own power to amass fans and followers (have you heard he has a Twitter account?) as one of his greatest assets. He’s referred to it as his edge above all the other “losers.”

Those losers seemed to be on his mind later that night as he danced with his model-beautiful wife wearing the look of a high school bully who’d just been named Prom King. Two lines from his inauguration speech seemed especially relevant to the moment: “Everyone is listening to you now... You will never be ignored again.”

Ignored? No, but upstaged, yes. The next morning the Women’s March on Washington flooded the areas around the Capitol Dome that had been noticeably less populated when Trump was waving from and walking near his stretch limo on the parade route. The half-empty parade bleachers and unoccupied ground tarps of Friday were swallowed up by a sea of protesters who’d flown in from across the country to voice concerns about the Trump presidency.

They were thousands among the millions who protested across the nation and the world for women’s rights-- and their concern about a president whose remarks about sexually assaulting women were as disturbing as some of his conservative Cabinet picks’ views of reproductive rights.

Madonna, America Ferrera, Ashley Judd, Scarlett Johansson and Gloria Steinem stoked the crowd’s exuberance in way that Trump did not the day before. It was a rousing spectacle. It was exciting. It was everything the show on Friday was not.

And maybe that is why Spicer was sent out on Saturday to belligerently berate the press-- “the opposition party,” in the words of one Trump official. Here was the “unbelievable” scene-- the likes of which we’d “never seen before.”

The true start of the Trump presidential reality show had begun.

In a Facebook post, Dan Rather warned that "These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Will Newt Gingrich want to toss him into prison with Madonna for thought crimes?



Rather's point, though, is not blowing up the White House but that we all must step up "and say simply and without equivocation, 'A lie, is a lie, is a lie!' And if someone won't say it, those of us who know that there is such a thing is the truth must do whatever is in our power to diminish the liar's malignant reach into our society... Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question."

Following the path Trump and his lackeys are headed is the road to tyranny and fascism. Are Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell going to countenance that?

Not that the first few days in the Trumpanzee Era were only about distorting the truth, Chuck Todd and his crew pointed out that it also highlighted America's great political divide, the structure on which Trump will build his government. "[Y]ou could argue," they wrote, "that the United States today is more politically divided than it was during the brass-knuckled 2016 campaign. In his inaugural address on Friday, President Trump took aim at Washington's political establishment ('For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost'), big cities across America ('Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones…; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives'), and globalization ('From this moment on, it's going to be America First'). Then, 24 hours later, millions of women-- as well as some men-- protested against Trump across the country and throughout the world. It was Rural America vs. Urban America. Nationalism vs. Globalism. 'American Carnage' vs. Women's Power. And we have 1,457 days to go in Trump's presidency."

Trevor Thomas-- 2PAC, Madonna, Mr. Holland Opus... And A Real Jobs Plan For West Michigan

Were you inundated with requests for end-of-the-quarter contributions Friday and Saturday? I sure was. I had hundreds of e-mails from candidates and committees and most of them I just deleted unopened... hoping against hope someone would get the hint. One from the DCCC had an eerie Big Brother is Watching You feel and informed me my contribution was "pending." I'm glad that's over! But do you know what today is? The first day of the all important-- even determinative-- third quarter. As important as everyone said the last quarter was... this one really is. This is the one-- July, August, September-- in which candidates raise the money they need to compete in October or they fail in November. And for candidates with primaries coming up-- like Darcy Burner (August 7), Chris Donovan (August 14), Matt Barber (August 28) and Trevor Thomas (August 7), well... obviously it's do or die.

Wednesday is the 4th of July. The next day, this Thursday, we're going to pick one lucky Trevor Thomas contributor from this page to walk away with the Madonna platinum award plaque for Vogue. It's still not too late to jump in!

Meanwhile, though, we want to send out another thank you to a Trevor Thomas supporter. You might be wondering what that 2PAC video is doing at the top of the page. Those who have been following Blue America for a while will probably remember our old friend, Professor Fred Johnson, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan's second CD in 2010. Fred, who just endorsed Trevor Thomas next door in the 3rd CD, is the author of Tupac Shakur-- The Life And Times Of An American Icon. He gave Blue America an autographed copy of the book to give away today. We'll pick one random Trevor Thomas donor from this page-- today only/any amount-- and send the signed book. In making the endorsement, this is what Dr. Johnson, who teaches history at Hope College in Holland, Michigan had to say:

"Trevor Thomas is running for Congress. Establishment insiders told him to wait. Skeptics said it was a waste of time. Trevor had the guts to listen to everyday people who want a congressman who’ll truly have their interests as his top priority. He knows the issues and he’s fighting for the middle class. He’s fighting for the 99%. I know courage, determination, and vision when I see it, and I endorse Trevor Thomas as he works to make sure that working families and people finally have a Congressman who’ll work for them."

And Fred Johnson does know courage, determination, and vision when he sees it. Before writing about Tupac and before becoming a professor, Fred served as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He joins another prominent military vet who endorsed Trevor this week, former Congressman Patrick Murphy, who worked closely with Trevor to successfully repeal the odious Don't Ask, Don't Tell legislation. Trevor has also been endorsed by former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, former Michigan Lieutenant Governor John Cherry, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Congressional Progressive Caucus Vice Chair Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and former Kent County Republican Party chair Bob Eleveld, who has signed on as Trevor's campaign co-chairman.

As we explained last month, Trevor put out a comprehensive policy and jobs plan for West Michigan, the only candidate in the race taking the most important concern on the minds of voters seriously. I want to share a letter I got from an accomplished product of Grand Rapids, writer and film director Patrick Sheane Duncan. You probably know him as the guy who wrote Vietnam War Story, Courage Under Fire, and Souls On Fire but he also wrote and produced Mr. Holland's Opus in 1995, which starred Richard Dreyfuss and was described by Patrick as "a movie about chasing dreams and it's about what one person can do to impact the lives of others."

So why am I emailing you? Well I'm offering a signed script from the movie, but first I want to tell you about something happening in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I grew up in West Michigan as a teenager. In 1965, I enlisted and served a 15-month tour of duty in Vietnam in the US Army with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and attended Grand Valley, a local college, on the G.I. Bill. 

Trevor Thomas-- raised by two parents who worked the lines of General Motors for 34 years-- chose Grand Valley to take up journalism. He later went on to direct the national communications effort to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"-- a defining moment in our country for ending discrimination. Today he is running for Congress in Grand Rapids. And with a little help, he has a chance to turn President Jerry Ford's old Congressional seat blue. Former Governor Jennifer Granholm is standing with him.

But there's one major obstacle: He has been challenged in the Democratic Primary.

Trevor is pro-choice. His Democratic Primary opponent is not. Trevor has visited and supported the folks at Planned Parenthood, while his primary opponent voted to defund the organization. Trevor is taking out loans to cover personal costs. His primary opponent has holdings in the tens of millions.

And, yes, Trevor is gay, and the first to run in Michigan openly and honestly at the federal level.

This is an underdog story, but with your help we can put him over the top. Get involved now or donate $25, $50, or even $150, I'll give away a signed copy of the script to a lucky supporter.

-Pat Duncan

So you can still sign up for the Madonna platinum record here, the signed 2PAC book by Fred Johnson here or the Mr. Holland Opus signed script here.

Nick Ruiz-- Firestarter

You ever just have a feeling about something? Like, when my old boss Seymour Stein signed Madonna-- did he even know it was MADONNA-- who would go on to make him a millionaire many, many many times over... and keep Warner Brothers humming along in the black for over a decade? Probably not-- but he had a powerful feeling, I'm sure. At any rate, that's how John and Digby and I feel about Nick Ruiz, who is running for Congress in central Florida's new 7th congressional district. His election can change how Americans feel about politics, because there is something extraordinarily authentic about him. Of course, politics isn't the music business-- but it is about intuition as much as it's about anything else... more, thank God, than just being about cold hard numbers (or we wouldn't have won this year with Matt Cartwright (PA), David Gill (IL) and Beto O'Rourke (TX), all of whom the "experts" said had "no chance.") And there's something about this guy, Nick-- if we can elect him-- it will change EVERYTHING.

Ruiz will be for American politics, what Madonna was for the American music biz in the eighties and nineties. In many ways, they (and some other notable bands and artists, from Dylan, The Doors, Hendrix, Aretha, Led Zeppelin to The Clash, Pistols, Michael Jackson and Nirvana) reset the whole industry in a different direction.

Political instinct. It's what makes or breaks politicians. And for progressives like us, we're looking for politicians whose political instincts represent US. Not the 1%. Not careerists and opportunists that want just that-- careers and opportunities. Good government is not about that. And when you elect the right people, you get good government and good policy.

Like when you sign good bands, you get good original music. Not watered down bullshit.

And we all know how much watered down bullshit politicians have been giving us lately.

Not Ruiz. He's an old school, New Deal Democrat. Liberal. Progressive. In all the good senses of those words. Look at his platform. How many Democratic candidates spell out where we need to go in these terms? Almost nobody. Ruiz is refreshingly unlike almost any other progressive candidate we have encountered to date.

So it's probably fitting, in some Murphy's Law kind of way-- that of all the people to challenge Ruiz in a primary, it would be some teabagger, wearing a blue t-shirt, masquerading as a Blue Dog Democrat. But yep, that's what it is. Ruiz's challenger is a fake Democrat. An anti-social safety net, 'FairTax' teabagger. His name is Jason Kendall, and he is a self-professed, wanna-be member of the Blue Dog Coalition. The same Blue Dog Coalition that we gutted in 2010.

So, what to do!? Let's make sure, for starters, that Nick has the funding to get his message out so that primary voters in the district know that he's the real Democrat and the other candidate isn't any better than the Republican candidates John Mica and Sandy Adams. If you can, please contribute what you can through Nick's Blue America page.

Me And Madonna

I was a punk rock guy. My KSAN radio show in San Francisco was the first commercial all-punk show on a commercial station anywhere in America. My partner from that show, Chris Knab, and I started one of the first all-punk indie labels in the country too, 415 Records. So it made some sense when Seymour Stein hired me to run his label, Sire Records. Seymour had signed the Ramones, the Dead Boys, Richard Hell, the Talking Heads, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Smiths, The Replacements, Madness, The Cure, Ministry, Throwing Muses, The Saints, The Undertones...It was a label dedicated to the music I loved. But, basically, all the profit came from another artist, Madonna. Back in San Francisco, I had a radio promo for my show that claimed it was the one place on the dial where you would be 100% safe from ever hearing a Madonna song. I wasn't a fan.

So, soon after I got to Sire as General Manager and vice president, Seymour called a meeting of the whole staff to divide up the responsibilities for all the artists. After hours of back and forth he finally said, "Look, ultimately, I'll take Madonna and The Cult and Howie's going to be responsible for everyone else." A few minutes later he changed his mind and said I'd have The Cult too.

A couple months later, he insisted I come with him to a Madonna concert. I refused; I was too busy working on breaking Depeche Mode. He offered me $200 in cash if I came with him to meet her backstage at a Madison Square Garden concert. I had always dreamed that one of "my" bands would play Madison Square Garden. It was the ultimate for me. He never coughed up the $200, but I went with him to the show. Backstage, Madonna was about as interested in me as I was in her, but something happened that shocked me. There was no press, no p.r. agents, just Madonna and a small handful of her people and me and Seymour. And some guy from an AIDS organization. It was still early in the AIDS story. I didn't know for sure what it was except that it was something shameful that was killing gay people. Madonna gave the guy her paycheck from that night's show, a million dollars. It never made it to the newspapers. It was just something she could afford to do and something she wanted to do.

I started listening to her music, something I had never done before. I found songs I liked. I even suggested that one of the cutting-edge German industrial bands I was working with, Bi-God 20, cover "Like A Prayer." I encouraged John Wesley Harding to do the same song. What a great tune! And whenever I appealed to the artists on our roster to help out with a song for a charity record, Madonna was usually first or one of the first. Of course Seymour still was the guy who coordinated all things Madonna and my involvement in her career was, at best, minimal. Generously, when Madonna's records went gold and platinum and multi-platinum, they included me on the list of people who were given award plaques.

I've long since retired from the music business and right now I'm trying to help a young candidate in Michigan, Trevor Thomas, win a congressional seat held by a Tea Party Republican, Justin Amash. The district is winnable for a Democrat and Amash is very vulnerable. Unfortunately, a very conservative Democratic establishment has its own candidate for that seat as well. Before Trevor can take on Amash, he has to beat a wealthy anti-Choice Democrat. "Anti-Choice Democrat?" They still exist? Not many, but Steve Pestka was in the state legislature and not only did he always vote against women's right to Choice, he even joined the Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood! Trevor, meanwhile, a former staffer for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has endorsed his campaign, was working tirelessly-- and successfully-- to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He is a staunch defender of equality under the law for all Americans and, of course, for women's health issues and women's choice.

What does that have to do with Madonna?

Well, a lot actually-- and not just that they're both proud Michiganders with hearts of gold. When Madonna's record "Vogue" sold two million copies the RIAA certified it double platinum and Warner Brothers issued an award disc. Very few were made and, of course, this wasn't something that was ever sold to anyone-- for any amount. I was given one, and after I met Trevor and we talked about what he'd like to accomplish in Congress, I offered to use it to help raise money for his campaign. That resulted in this ActBlue page, https://secure.actblue.com/page/madonna, which went public yesterday. Every person who makes a contribution through that page for Trevor's campaign will be entered in a random drawing to win that double platinum award for "Vogue" as a "thank you" from Blue America. Everyone has the same shot, whether you contribute one dollar or 1,000 dollars-- or even if you just send us a note to PO Box 27201, Los Angeles, CA 90027.

Progressives almost never have the kind of money wealthy conservatives like Steve Pestka can use to try to buy congressional races-- let along the fortunes odious anti-democracy fanatics like the Koch brothers pour into politics. But progressives still manage to win House races, usually by motivating grassroots support. That's what Trevor is trying to do. He needs some money for that-- not a fortune but enough to be competitive. Please consider helping him, especially if you have anyone on your Christmas list who you think might enjoy the Madonna plaque. There's a picture of it on the ActBlue page. And in case you forgot:

Toilet Paper And Soap Are Recession-Proof... Expensive Concert Tickets? Not So Much

No ticket sales

Friday night I was in Glendale trying to find a book on Senegal since I'm going to Dakar for 4 or 5 days on my way to Mali. As long as I was there I figured I'd have dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant on the east side of L.A. They know me well and I can usually slide right in, although sometimes on a busy weekend night, it's not so smooth. Friday was plenty smooth. About a quarter of the tables were empty. I asked the owner how business has been. He said it's following the stock market, "one day up and three days down." He also said that there's no possibility of a profit for 2008 and he's praying he can pay his rent, taxes and employees. And his business is only off by 15%! I asked because another restaurant I love may have to close, their business off by 25%. I was there the other night and I was the only customer. They closed early.

That the entertainment business is notoriously resistant to macro-economic trends is a truism stemming from how well cheap entertainment managed to do during the Great Depression. It hasn't really be true-- or cheap-- since then. And this time around the Biz is being crushed by its own Bush-era greed and excesses. Despite boosterism from free-market admirerers, the entertainment business, especially the sectors involved in overpriced tickets, has been hemorrhaging red ink for a couple years; it's getting worse now.

Nobody in the Biz wants to talk about it-- or admit that ticket sales are in the toilet... or already flushed down it. I'm on the Board of a business 100% dependent on concert ticket prices. We spent virtually our entire last Board meeting discussing how to cut back... on everything, and to prepare for the worst case scenario.

I could be wrong about this but I think most music biz types shudder if they hear they or one of their projects has been mentioned in Bob Lefsetz's newsletters. His latest starts with a definitive attack on one of rock's last remaining heroes: "Neil Young is a jerk." I like Neil-- and his music-- a lot and I wouldn't categorize him in the same terms as Lefsetz. But Leftsetz isn't altogether wrong about one thing-- something that goes way beyond Neil. Concert tickets are way too high-- part of a bloated system as unrelated to delivering good music as HMOs are to delivering quality health.

With even the Wall Street guys unable to pay the ridiculous prices for great seats, the business is learning a big lesson. It is not recession-proof. As for the bands who've toured the same markets, year after year, with no new hit material? How many times do you need to see the Stones? They don't sell out anymore.

Some artists still do, usually one with cult audiences like Madonna. With tickets to her shows selling between $350 and $55 a pop, every single one of her recent concerts sold out including 4 nights at Madison Square Garden, 2 nights in Chicago, 2 nights in Oakland, 2 nights in Boston and a night in East Rutherford, NJ. Lucky for her all those shows were before the gays decided to put all their boundless energy into fighting for equality and against Mormons. And if you're not Madonna... ticket sales are looking dismal, even beyond dreck like Charlie Daniels, Five For Fighting or the must-see nostalgia combination of Great White, Asia, Dokken and Sweet. Last week a panic-stricken Ticketmaster started experimenting with a new concept: easing off on brutally ripping off their customers.

Ticketmaster is famous for fees that concert goers love to hate. Now the ticketing giant is experimenting with dropping those fees in an attempt to gain customers in an increasingly tough economic environment.

Tickets for the Eagles' upcoming concert will be available without any Ticketmaster convenience fees, and if you print your tickets at home, no delivery or handling fees.

The predatory monopolists have worked out a deal with The Eagles to bring down the cost of the tickets so that they band wouldn't suffer the fate of so many older artists and have to cancel their tour.

High prices are turning off concert goers, even though promoters have actually persuaded musicians to stop gouging their fans and have actually started lowering ticket prices slightly after two dismal years. As the reality of the Bush Economic Miracle and what appears to be a full-fledged economic collapse, it may be too late. And even if fans are willing to scrape up the money for overpriced tickets, there is widespread fear in the music biz that they will be spending far less on merchandise and at the concession stands, a major source of income.

The sports teams also having a tough time, having similarly priced themselves into a precarious situation in hard times. In Friday's NY Post Phil Mushnick reported an ugly scene in Memphis where the Knicks played the Grizzlies. Watching on TV he writes that "nearly every shot showed rows and rows of empty seats. The most expensive seats, from courtside and roughly 25 rows up, were almost all vacant. And expensive seats for Grizzlies games are on the NBA's low side, $100-$200 per. And this was just the Grizzlies' third home game of the season. The box score claimed that attendance was 10,129, eight more than the club's previous game in the 19,000-seat FedEx Forum. But if that were the case, most patrons were seated directly behind the TV cameras." An eyewitness claims there were 4,000 people there. And it gets worse.

In Sacramento, where the Kings would regularly sell out the 17,300-seat Arco Arena, the home opener was played to at least 5,000 empty seats - and attendance has fallen since. Indiana, Philly and Charlotte are way down, too.

By late spring, you'll likely hear and read that a couple of NBA and NHL teams are close to suspending operations, unable to make rent and payroll, that corporations that bought arena naming rights and businesses that bought big-ticket advertising are behind in payments. There will be more layoffs than layups, more undertakers and no underwriters.

There will be no new vanity-purchase buyers, no consortiums with which to consort. Even the new reliable among team investors and sponsors-- casino owners and operators-- are bleeding millions.

If you follow hockey, you probably already know what a disaster that's been. Pat Hickey reporting for the Montreal Gazette paints a bleak picture that is bound to get much, much bleaker.

In Atlanta, they have experienced the three smallest crowds of the past four seasons. Attendance has dropped 15.7 per cent to 13,384.

The Islanders are on life support as owner Charles Wang tries to get a new arena to replace the Nassau Mausoleum, which is the oldest and smallest building in the NHL. The latest rumbling is that a frustrated Wang would be willing to sell to the right bidder or, if he gets desperate, to Jim Balsillie.

The Lightning and Devils are down, and Columbus, which sold out every game in the 2001-02 season, had only 10,424 fans attend a Monday night game against Anaheim. That was the smallest crowd for the Blue Jackets in the history of Nationwide Arena.

Cheaper seats have helped Dallas turn things around, but attendance has dropped considerably in Colorado, where the Avalanche once sold out 487 consecutive games. That streak is a memory.

Attendance is down 6 per cent in Los Angeles, where the Staples Centre is filled to 83.4 per cent of capacity. But my spies there tell me that - as is the case in many other arenas - the nightly attendance figures are inflated.

Economic reality isn't going to be denied and vast empires based on unrestrained greed are crumbling before our eyes. Lucky so many of us get by so well with virtual entertainment (and Depression era cheap movie tickets) these days. Looks like NASCAR is about to lay off 1,000 employees.

Damn real estate market!

Has Madonna Got McCain Pegged Right?

Before I got my first job at Warner Bros. I did a punk rock radio show at KUSF. Madonna was the most successful musical artist of the day and, obviously, our station didn't play her music. (The closest we got were cover versions of smash hits by alternative artists like BiGod 20 and John Wesley Harding.) But I went even further than not playing her; I had a station promo made bragging that my show was the one place on the dial where the listener could be safe from ever hearing any of her wretched music. Take that!

So my first job at Warner Bros was as general manager of Sire Records and, although I liked thinking of it as the label of The Ramones, Talking Heads, Pretenders, Depeche Mode, Smiths and Ministry... Madonna paid the bills-- all of them. My boss tried luring me to a show she was doing at Madison Square Garden. I resisted. He said he'd give me a hundred dollar bill if I came; it was the early 80s and that was a lot of money back then-- months of gasoline, not a week's worth.

The show was fun enough. I always love the energy when people are all focused on having a good time and this was a party crowd. Afterwards my boss forced me to go backstage and meet her. I didn't want to. When we got backstage she was giving an AIDS treatment organization a check for the entire box office. It was private and unheralded; no press, no announcements. I cried all night-- and not because my boss never gave me the hundred bucks.

I wasn't surprised when a friend of mine sent me a story about her treatment of John McCain at the kickoff of her new tour this weekend in Wales.

As Madonna kicked off her international "Sticky and Sweet" tour Saturday night, she took a none-too subtle swipe at the presumptive Republican nominee for U.S. president.

Amid a four-act show at Cardiff's packed Millennium Stadium, a video interlude carried images of destruction, global warming, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe's authoritarian President Robert Mugabe-- and U.S. Sen. John McCain. Another sequence, shown later, pictured slain Beatle John Lennon, followed by climate activist Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi and finally McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama.

But the friend who sent it to me was giggling... "They compared McCain to the Nazis... lol."

He was giggling because he finds that far-fetched. That's because he's ignorant of history and politics, having never finished high school. He uses his supposed Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder as an excuse for all of his shortcomings and failings, much the way McCain uses his time as a prisoner of war. When you explain to him that rightist politics inevitably leads to fascism he is incapable of imagining that Nazism is anything other than hatred of Jews. Probably all of the yentas and fressers are.

Neither my politics nor my motivations are identical with Madonna's but when she juxtaposes McCain and Hitler, it isn't unfounded. Will McCain put Jews in gas chambers? No, I doubt that's something he'd get behind-- their era's scapegoats are probably someone else. But Hitler's authoritarianism, his melding of corporate and government functions and his use of war for social cohesion and political gain... now we're talking.




UPDATE: McCAIN CAMP CALLS MADONNA "DISAPPOINTING AND VULGER"-- HE'LL STICK WITH VICIOUS GAY BASHER JOHN RICH

When one of McCain's handlers woke him up and told him what Madonna was up to, he said he was relieved that at least Baby Jesus hadn't denounced him too. The handler brought him some warm milk and tucked him in and went out to the press to say that "It's a disappointing and vulgar attack on John McCain, who has devoted his life to the cause of freedom and the fight against tyranny. But, it's not surprising that Barack Obama and his fellow celebrities stick together." What about singin' homophobe John Rich and reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee? The McCain camp doesn't see them as "celebrities," just as wealthy entreprenuers and "success stories," like McCain's gangster father-in-law whose Mafia business paid for McCain's dozen or so homes.

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