oPen tHread for dEad hEads...

On November 16th-18th, 2007, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst will host the symposium, Unbroken Chain: The Grateful Dead In Music, Culture, And Memory. Expanding the focus of the current history courses, and with the participation of UMass alumnus (Ph.D., History 1979) and Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally as well as numerous other scholars and luminaries, the symposium will combine academic inquiry, performance, and artistic appreciation in an innovative multi-disciplinary, multi-media program. (for more information see this article and links)

While we were hoping to have some of the more famous (and infamous) of the Deadheads attend (sadly Walter Cronkite is really not well enough to travel, and Peter Jennings has been dead for two years) we can expect a few rare appearances by some of the freaks whose shadows cast some degree of influence over the last forty+ years. Therefore, as part of my own participation in the endeavor, i would like to open this thread to throw out a request for comments about how you, as individuals, have perceived the Grateful Dead, the band's social and cultural influences, psychedelics, the sixties and hippies, etc.??? I will not, and do not, expect only positive comments, as i am well aware, for example of the Chairman-for-Life's own antipathy regarding the band and its music. Negative views of the band's cultural relevancies are encouraged, as, of course, are positive ones. The music is not really the issue at this point, regardless of what Phil Lesh once said that it was only about the music (what does he know, he never once saw a single GD concert). It is more about how the Grateful Dead were experienced and understood by those inside its meme (the Deadheads) and those so far outside that world that they may not even have heard about hippies???

WHY CAN'T THE DALAI LAMA GO HOME FOR THE BEIJING OLYMPICS?

Well perhaps it is due to the following insanity in the form of an utterance by the official Tibetan Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli:

“Such a person who basely splits his motherland and doesn’t even love his motherland has been welcomed by some countries and has even been receiving this or that award,” Tibet’s Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli, told reporters during the congress. “We are furious,” Mr. Zhang said. “If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world.”

Wow, so vitriolic and idiotic at the same time. The arrogant assumption that Tibet is China, predicated on an invasion by Mao, and a cultural revolution that eradicated history for a billion people, seems to fly in the face of any reasonably intelligent human being with access to the internet and an interest in history. But there’s more of course; consider this:

“He should resolutely abandon his Tibetan independence stance and activities,” Tibet’s governor, Qiangba Puncog said. “But in my opinion, some of those activities are actually escalating and setting a lot of obstacles for further progress.”

Has that ring of a made man, you know like Tony Soprano, telling you to just shut up and “forgetaboutit”. “It’s a done deal, Tibet is China, so shut your trap!” And, I suspect most citizens of the US would prefer it that way. Why??

Well consider the behavior of those, in the US, who are suggesting that people who acquire access to health care for their very sick children are inferior beings who lack substance and character. There is not one shred, not one single cell, of compassion within these evil and twisted things. If Michele Malkin’s vicious and hate-filled attacks on one family aren’t sufficient to make the comparison (between China’s leadership and the conservative imperialists in the US), then examine the following assassination attempt on another SCHIP family: National Review’s Mark Hemingway attacks the Wilkersons as irresponsible parents:

Dara admitted to me that she and Brian had been talking about having children since before they were married. She further admitted that after they were married she voluntarily left a job at a country club that had good health insurance, because the situation was “unmanageable.” From there she took a job at a restaurant with no health insurance, and the couple went on to have a baby anyway, presuming that others would pay for it and certainly long before they knew their daughter would have a heart defect that probably cost the gross national product of Burkina Faso to fix. But not knowing about future health problems is the reason we have insurance in the first place.For Dara and Brian Wilkerson, the fact that they don’t have health insurance is less about falling through the cracks than the decisions they’ve made. We know that Dara is at least capable of getting a job with insurance — so why does she not have one now? Even if it is difficult insure her child’s pre-existing condition, what about her and her husband’s health? Perhaps it’s rude to ask that question, but I think it’s rude to accept huge amounts of public assistance and then express gratitude by asking taxpayers to extend a Children’s health program to cover college-age kids who come from households making more than $80,000 a year.

Which brings us to another salient point — Bethany Wilkerson is healthy. She is covered by existing programs and has already received the much of the medical care she needs. The current debate centers on expanding the program, not kicking the Frosts and the Wilkersons to the curb.

So I hope Bethany grows up strong — I’m worried about her. Not because I’m worried that the state won’t take care of her, but I’m afraid that her parents will continue to set a bad example. In which case, she’ll need all the help she can get.

In the much the same way the Chinese rewrite history to suit their immediate needs in an effort to assassinate the character (well they do actively kill thousands of Tibetans too) of the Dalai Lama, the defender of compassion, Hemingway and cohorts of the reichwinger fascists ignore any factual records and historical processes to produce his version of character assassination (shall we try to ignore his blatant racism for now?). The facts themselves are pretty clear cut; from the Wilkersons:

We have seen the statement about my previous employment and here is what we have to say: I left my previous place of employment years before Bethany became part of our lives. I am a hard working woman. I have worked at Snappers Sea Grill for over 6 years. It is a good work environment and I am a loyal employee. My husband and I were blessed with Bethany two years ago and we are even more blessed to still have her with us today.

The Wilkersons said they are fully aware of the possibility that their finances and personal lives may be investigated by opponents of the SCHIP bill.

“We rent a house, we have one car that is a junker. Let them dig away, Bo Wilkerson said. “I have $67 in my checking account. Does that answer your question?”

The messengers from the empire are quite clear in their intent. If you disagree with them, suggesting that they present egregious misstatements of fact and reality, then you are a fatally flawed being who is at best a bad example, and at worst a grave threat to peace and well being. So there we have it; a no holds barred tag-team battle between compassion in one corner, represented by a Buddhist monk trained in compassion and a 2 year old girl, against imperial fascism, represented by the most unlikely of all possible allies the leadership of the Communist Party of China and US conservative leaders hiding behind their hypocritical shield of compassionate conservatism. Picture it in your mind: the Dalai Lama sitting next to the Kalachakra mandala with Bethany in his lap, across the ring from the President of the People’s Republic of China sitting on his pontifical throne with the kneeling Mark Hemingway and Michele Malkin (licking Hemingway’s face) begging for the last crumbs of the collapsing dollar.