Vocab

The most versatile word in the English language?

A Friend of the Devil...

Who is? Apparently Representive Chris Cannon of Utah's 3rd District. Or so implies Congressional candidate John Jacob, the primary challenger currently giving Cannon a run for his money in the Republican primary next week (Jacob garnered more votes than Cannon at the State Republican Convention last month to force the primary). In an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune yesterday Jacob said:

"There's another force that wants to keep us from going to Washington, D.C.... It's the devil is what it is. I don't want you to print that, but it feels like that's what it is."

It seems that ever since Jacob decided to run for Congress, Satan has "bollixed" his business deals, thereby limiting the amount of money he can pump into his race. If Lucifer's really got Jacob in his sights, it naturally leads one to conclude that he's throwing his weight behind Cannon.

Guess the question we'll be asking ourselves this fall is where exactly the Prince of Darkness stands on Democratic candidate Christian Burridge.

Public Enemy #1

Public Enemy #1: Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda

The U.S. pulled off a mammoth tie against Italy today in the first round of the World Cup. It's actually amazing considering that it played nearly the entire second half a man down after Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda hit U.S. midfielder Pablo Mastroeni and defender Eddie Pope with two very questionable red cards (Pope's was a second yellow card which equals a red). The ejections almost seemed to be make up calls for an earlier (but justified) red card given to Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi (he'd left U.S. forward Brian McBride bloody after a hard elbow to the face).

Add this to a game that was lopsided in its overall foul calling as well (13 on Italy v. 22 on the U.S.), and you're left with a U.S. team forced to fight undermanned and uphill against an already intimidating Goliath. In a Cup that had already been criticized by its own organizer for refs throwing out too many yellow cards, it was simply disgraceful. Larrionda took the game away from the players and marred it for the fans. Here's hoping that he never refs another game in the World Cup.

Conservative Rock

Ever found yourself grooving to "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Stones or "Who'll Stop the Rain" by Creedence? Or maybe you just can't help singing along to "Winds of Change" by the Scorpions, "Date Rape" by Sublime, or "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens? How about "Don't Tread on Me" by Metallica, "Stay Together for the Kids" by Blink 182, or "Brick" by Ben Folds? If you answered yes to any of these, then you just might (unwittingly) be a Conservative Rock 'n' Roll fan.

A couple of weeks ago the National Review put together a list of "The 50 Greatest Conservative Rock Songs." It made waves (even garnering personal responses from some of the artists) and was quickly followed up with an encore, 50 More Conservative Rock Songs."

Apparently not content with controlling both houses of Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, and cable news, Conservatives have now decided to stake their claim on Rock 'n' Roll. They've targeted songs from bands across the musical spectrum, including Led Zeppelin, Prince, Rush (six times), U2, the Clash, Aerosmith, Kid Rock, Iron Maiden (three times), the Beach Boys, and Slayer.

While I'm still not clear on how things like family, personal responsibility, religion and patriotism have become exclusively "Conservative" values (nor am I sure that all of the songs he pegs really represent these "Conservative" values), the lists are still an entertaining read regardless of your political stripe (though for very different reasons depending on your political stripe). You can click on the article links below to see the rationale for each song's inclusion if you're interested (or bewildered):

Rockin’ the Right: 50 Greatest Conservative Songs

Encore: 50 More Conservative Songs

1. "Won't Get Fooled Again," by The Who. 2. "Taxman," by The Beatles. 3. "Sympathy for the Devil," by The Rolling Stones. 4. "Sweet Home Alabama," by Lynyrd Skynyrd. 5. "Wouldn't It Be Nice," by The Beach Boys. 6. "Gloria," by U2. 7. "Revolution," by The Beatles. 8. "Bodies," by The Sex Pistols. 9. "Don't Tread on Me," by Metallica. 10. "20th Century Man," by The Kinks. 11. "The Trees," by Rush. 12. "Neighborhood Bully," by Bob Dylan. 13. "My City Was Gone," by The Pretenders. 14. "Right Here, Right Now," by Jesus Jones. 15. "I Fought the Law," by The Crickets. 16. "Get Over It," by The Eagles. 17. "Stay Together for the Kids," by Blink 182. 18. "Cult of Personality," by Living Colour. 19. "Kicks," by Paul Revere and the Raiders. 20. "Rock the Casbah," by The Clash. 21. "Heroes," by David Bowie. 22. "Red Barchetta," by Rush. 23. "Brick," by Ben Folds Five. 24. "Der Kommissar," by After the Fire. 25. "The Battle of Evermore," by Led Zeppelin. 26. "Capitalism," by Oingo Boingo. 27. "Obvious Song," by Joe Jackson. 28. "Janie's Got a Gun," by Aerosmith. 29. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," by Iron Maiden. 30. "You Can't Be Too Strong," by Graham Parker. 31. "Small Town," by John Mellencamp. 32. "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," by The Georgia Satellites. 33. "You Can't Always Get What You Want," by The Rolling Stones. 34. "Godzilla," by Blue Oyster Cult. 35. "Who'll Stop the Rain," by Creedence Clearwater Revival. 36. "Government Cheese," by The Rainmakers. 37. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," by The Band. 38. "I Can't Drive 55," by Sammy Hagar. 39. "Property Line," by The Marshall Tucker Band. 40. "Wake Up Little Susie," by The Everly Brothers. 41. "The Icicle Melts," by The Cranberries. 42. "Everybody's a Victim," by The Proclaimers. 43. "Wonderful," by Everclear. 44. "Two Sisters," by The Kinks. 45. "Taxman, Mr. Thief," by Cheap Trick. 46. "Wind of Change," by The Scorpions. 47. "One," by Creed. 48. "Why Don't You Get a Job," by The Offspring. 49. "Abortion," by Kid Rock. 50. "Stand By Your Man," by Tammy Wynett

51. “Aces High,” by Iron Maiden. 52. “After Forever,” by Black Sabbath. 53. “Alive,” by P.O.D. 54. “Angry Young Man,” by Billy Joel. 55. “Anthem,” by Rush. 56. “Back in the U.S.A.,” by Chuck Berry. 57, “Blood from a Stone,” by The Hooters. 58. “Catch Me Now I’m Falling,” by The Kinks. 59. “Date Rape,” by Sublime. 60. “Dedicated Follower of Fashion,” by The Kinks. 61. “Dirty Laundry,” by Don Henley. 62. “Divine Wind,” by Blue Oyster Cult. 63. “Father and Son,” by Cat Stevens. 64. “Freewill,” by Rush. 65. “Give It Revolution,” by Suicidal Tendencies. 66. “Get Back in Line,” by The Kinks. 67. “Gotta Serve Somebody,” by Bob Dylan. 68 “Handbags & Gladrags,” by Rod Stewart. 69 “Heresy,” by Rush. 70. “Holiday in Cambodia,” by The Dead Kennedys. 71. “I’d Love to Change the World,” by Ten Years After. 72. “In America,” by The Charlie Daniels Band. 73. “Jesus Is Just Alright,” by The Doobie Brothers. 74. “Let’s Roll,” by Neil Young. 75. “Life of a Salesman,” by Yellowcard. 76. “Little Red Corvette,” by Prince. 77. “The Living Years,” by Mike and the Mechanics. 78. “Miss Gradenko,” by The Police. 79. “Mother Russia,” by Iron Maiden. 80. “M.T.A.,” by The Kingston Trio. 81. “My Back Pages,” by Bob Dylan 82. “Old Time Rock & Roll,” by Bob Seger. 83. “Old World,” by The Modern Lovers. 84. “Only a Lad,” by Oingo Boingo. 85. “The Other Side of Summer,” by Elvis Costello. 86. “The Playboy Mansion,” by U2. 87. “Red Army Blues,” by The Waterboys. 88. “Red Skies,” by The Fixx. 89. “Rock a Bye Bye,” by Extreme. 90. “Shattered,” by The Rolling Stones. 91. “Silent Scream,” by Slayer. 92. “Silent Running,” by Mike and the Mechanics. 93. “Simple Man,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. 94. “Something for Nothing,” by Rush. 95. “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now),” by Cracker. 96. “This Night Has Opened My Eyes,” by The Smiths. 97. “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds. 98. “VOA,” by Sammy Hagar. 99. “Yakety Yak,” by The Coasters. 100. “You Never Can Tell,” by Chuck Berry. (and 101. “Faithfully,” by Journey).