Music & Politics

It shouldn't surprise you to know that I believe in religious tolerance. You can believe in whomever or whatever makes you happy, as long as you don't try to drag me into it. But then I read something like this, about the Orthodox Jewish Reggae star Matisyahu: "Shakira, for instance, was interested in bringing Matisyahu on tour. His label was pumped, but Matisyahu wasn't, due to an Orthodox Jewish custom that forbids women from singing secular songs in public."

Hey, if your religion doesn't allow you to respect me, it's hard for me to have any respect for you.

Scary thing is this guy chose this path - he grew up as a moderately religious Jewish kid in White Plains and became Orthodox after a teenage trip to Israel. Guess the girls in his suburban high school were just too outspoken?

I received another email from impeashbush.org and for once, I just thought - why? Don't get me wrong, he's still an ass, and I'd relish the idea of his removal from office, but hasn't that ship sailed? Almost everything we feared he could do has been done - the wars, the Supreme Court appointments, the lies. Isn't it time to focus on the future? Channel all of that energy into something positive, like identifying a clear message for the Democratic party to rally around?