Posted on 07/21/2010 10:29:23 AM PDT by mojito
A few years ago, Merle Haggard was diagnosed with lung cancer and nearly became the latest country music legend to be felled by the unforgiving combination of hard living and age. Haggard beat the disease, returned to touring and now, at 73, he’s the subject of a PBS “American Masters” special airing tonight.
The documentary, “Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself,” portrays a man trying to come to terms with a life that took him from a train-hopping delinquent to an ex-con to a country music superstar, thanks to hits like “Mama Tried” and “Okie from Muskogee.” Haggard has always been a deeply personal songwriter, re-working the major events of his life — his father’s early death, his hardscrabble childhood, the years he spent in San Quentin — again and again in his songs. And in the PBS film he’s surprisingly emotional — more tortured poet than rabble-rousing tough guy.
Speakeasy caught up with Haggard on tour in Canada to talk about the film and his new album, “I Am What I Am.”
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
The lefties love Merle now that he’s spouting jibberish. I still like the old tunes.
I believe he transposed his numbers. It was 1957, not 1975
America peaked in somewhere between Gulf War 1 and the Dot Com bubble because of the foundation for phenomenal economic growth put in place by President Reagan.
Daddy Bush refused to read his own lips and raised taxes....BJ Clinton refused to acknowledge the brewing Islamic threat and GW Bush decide to play nice with the lefties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Haggard
He was in prison. He was also pardoned by California Gov. Ronald Reagan.
Ted Kennedy’s Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
A Boston Globe article attributed Barack Obama’s win in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election to a marked reduction over the preceding decades in the percentage of whites in the American electorate, attributing this demographic change to the Act.[3] The article quoted Simon Rosenberg, president and founder of the New Democrat Network, as having said that the Act is “the most important piece of legislation that no one’s ever heard of,” and that it “set America on a very different demographic course than the previous 300 years.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965
I know Merle, have known him most of my life. He has always been an a$$. He would have to have changed quite a bit over the years since I have seen him to not be an a$$.
I still liked his music though. ;)
...poverty will never be eradicated. You will always have some people who have less than others. That motivates some of them to work harder to get ahead, and it motivates others to declare themselves poor.
By 17th or 18th century standards, we have pretty much eradicated poverty. Our "poor" today generally have a better standard of living and quality of life than many of the "wealthy" who put everything on the line to found this country.
Also, I liked Robert Duval’s vigorous defense of the sentiments expressed in “Okie from Muskogee.”
That, along with the massive Illegal Alien Amnesty of 1986, which Kennedy also played a major role in getting passed, drastically changed the demographic makeup of this country, enough that allowed a marxist like Obama to be elected President.
25 years ago, this clown would not likely have been elected to the U.S. Senate from any state, let alone even come close to winning the nomination for President from either major party. Obama might have won the nomination for President from Communist Party USA or the Socialist Workers Party 25 years ago, but that would have been as close as a clown like Obama would have gotten to the Presidency then.
The program was outstanding. I was surprised so many pro-American comments made it on to PBS.
"Also, I liked Robert Duval’s vigorous defense of the sentiments expressed in “Okie from Muskogee.”
Duvall is a national treasure as well. He doesn't speak out often but when he does you don't have to wonder on what side of the political spectrum he comfortably resides.
One of the best programs ever broadcast on PBS. I appreciate you posting the heads-up about this program. I might have missed it otherwise.
Merle Haggard
“I was a little afraid that he might get into Bush-bashing but he didn’t”
He bashed Clinton a hell of a lot worse than he ever bashed Bush. What Merle despises is BS wars that don’t need to be started in the first place and then abandoning the veterans that had to fight those wars.
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