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Fortunate Son

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, they're red, white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief",
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no senator's son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me;
I ain't no fortunate one, no,
Yeah!
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no.
It ain't me, it ain't me;
I ain't no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer More! more! more! yoh,

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son.
It ain't me, it ain't me;
I ain't no fortunate one, one.

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate son, no no no
 

The Rise of the New New Left

Peter Beinart The Daily Beast
Bill de Blasio's win in New York's Democratic primary isn't a local story. It's part of a vast shift that could upend three decades of American political thinking. Americans don't necessarily grow more conservative as they age. Sometimes they do. Economic circumstances that have pushed Millennials left are also unlikely to change dramatically anytime soon. de Blasio's mayoral campaign offers a glimpse into what an Occupy-inspired challenge to Clintonism might look like.

Mobilizing for War, Not Jobs

Carl Bloice, BC Editorial Board The Black Commentator
What if the White House had, at any point over the past four or so years, mobilized the full force it now deploys for permission to bomb Syria on behalf of a measure to deal with the tenacious joblessness and growing economic insecurity we see around us every day?

The New Goliath

William Greider The Nation
Go looking for enemies in the world, you are likely to find some. How did this happen? Officials still talk about “national defense” as though Americans only want to protect their homeland—to be left alone in Fortress America. But that hasn’t been US strategy for more than sixty years.

Bake Sale

Signe Wilkinson Cartoonists Group

Tidbits - September 5, 2013

Portside
Reader Comments: NBC Nightly News Report - Grassroots Opposition to Military Action Against Syria; AFL-CIO and ILWU; March on Washington; 40th anniversary of Chile coup; Announcements: No one should die for fashion - Sept 6-New York; Veterans For Peace Speak Out-New York-Sept 9; #femfuture Retreat-Oct. 20 - 22 - Rhinebeck, NY - Scholarships Available; Sept 21st: Draw the Line against Keystone XL; Chilean posters-1970-73 Exhibit-New York-Sept. 23; STOP WARS - Yard sign

Britain's Bump in the Road to War

D.D. Guttenplan The Nation
Last night David Cameron’s government lost a House of Commons vote on a measure designed to approve—-in principle-—military action in Iraq pending a report from UN weapons inspectors. This was the first defeat of a government motion related to military action in modern times. The UK Parliament voted—-what about US Congress?

162 Members of Congress Demand to be Called into Session, Another Assault on Arab World Risks Escalation and Backlash, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe

Robert Naiman, Seumas Milne, Gareth Porter
Momentum builds against rush to war against Syria and further escalation in the Mideast. 162 members of Congress send letter to Obama demanding that Congress be called back into session, for full debate and congressional vote before any new war is launched. Western intervention will only spread the killing, which is gravest threat to the people of Iraq. New evidence that U.S. derailed UN probe.

Roundtable on the Syrian Crisis

Campaign for Peace and Democracy
The symposium contributions were written before a large-scale poison gas attack with many casualties in the rebel-controlled Ghouta suburbs of Damascus on August 21, 2013. Likewise, they were all written before Washington's deployment of military forces to the region and its virtual announcement that military action is forthcoming. We strongly oppose military intervention by the United States and its allies.
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