Today I thought I would share some words of wisdom from some of my favorite people.

Alan Lomax, musicologist and cultural historian.

Alan Lomax, exerpt from The Land Where Blues Began, 1993:

Our times today are similarly out of joint, similarly terrorized. Technology has made the species rich and resourceful as never before, but the wealth and the resources rest with a few individuals, corporations, and favored nations. Most earthlings, most nations, are distanced from technological luxury, and that imbalance is presided over by armed forces capable of destroying the planet itself. Rage and anxiety pervade the emotions and the actions of both the haves and the have-nots.

Gore Vidal and John Kennedy, 1960.

Gore Vidal, transcripts from a 2003 interview on Dateline, Australia:

The censorship here is so tight in all of the newspapers and particularly in network television.  So, nobody’s getting the facts.  I mean, I spend part of the year in Italy and really, basically, what I find out I find out from European journalists who actually will go to Iraq, which our people cannot do or will not do, and are certainly not admired for doing so.  We are in a kind of bubble of ignorance about what is really going on.

Joe Strummer of The Clash.

Joe Strummer, lyrics from Know Your Rights, 1982.

You have the right to remain silent
You are warned that anything you say
Can and will be taken down
And used as evidence against you

Ralph Steadman, painter and political satirist. Painting of Ralph Steadman by, Ralph Steadman.

Ralph Steadman, excerpt from Steadman’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1998:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 50 years – 50 million violations and 50 thoughts …

Without the Universal Declaration of Human Rights my next first sentence could contravene some countries’ arbitrary rule of law and cause all others to surreptitiously conspire to suppress its blatant defiance of state.

I have the right to hold an opinion, express it, celebrate it, broadcast it, live by it, and travel with it anywhere I so desire and what’s more convince others, by peaceful means, that they should hold that opinion too.

Hunter S. Thompson. Gonzo journalist.

Hunter S. Thompson, excerpt from Fear and Loathing in Elko published by Rolling Stone Magazine, 1992:

“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile—and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep

I won’t be live-bloggin the debate tonight but I wil be watching. It’s just to difficult to type and watch TV while I’m hiding under my bed.