Bruce Springsteen has joined Stevie Wonder in making comments about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. ThinkProgress has the details:
During his concert in Limerick, Ireland last night, Bruce Springsteen dedicated “American Skin (41 Shots),” a song he debuted in 2000 about the February 4, 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo by four plainclothes New York City police officers, as “a letter back home…for justice for Trayvon Martin.” If you haven’t heard the song before, part of what’s chilling about hearing it again in this context is that the lyrics, which describe a black woman talking to her child about how not to get killed by the police, remain as applicable now as they were a decade and a half ago. When Springsteen sings “Lena gets her son ready for school / She says ‘On these streets, Charles / You’ve got to understand the rules / If an officer stops you, / promise me you’ll always be polite / And that you’ll never ever run away / Promise Mama you’ll keep your hands in sight,’” he could be quoting Levar Burton explaining the tactics he uses to try to avoid a deadly outcome during traffic stops by the police....
.....Springsteen isn’t alone in invoking Trayvon Martin’s death on stage. Stevie Wonder has pledged not to play in states with Stand Your Ground laws in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal in Martin’s death, a substantive response to the laws that made that verdict likely, if not inevitable. Beyonce Knowles held a moment of silence for Martin during a July 14 concert. Soul singer Lester Chambers dedicated “People Get Ready” to Martin and was assaulted for it on stage. And three days ago, Young Jeezy, who’s ventured into politics in his music repeatedly, including on pro-Obama track “My President Is Black,” released “It’s A Cold World (Trayvon Martin Tribute),” which is a broader lament about the violent deaths of young black men....
You can view the videos at the ThinkProgress link.
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>>> Democrat Ed Fitzgerald is talking and listening to women in Ohio. Candidate Fitzgerald is planning to challenge Ohio Republican Gov. John "ultrasound" Kasich.WYSO:
.....Fitzgerald spoke to a small group of Dayton residents to talk about cuts to Medicaid and Planned Parenthood and other restrictions on abortion that were signed by Governor Kasich into the state budget. He continued his message that there are still ways to challenge those measures. One way he says is through what’s called an initiated statute that would force Ohio lawmakers to discuss the issue. Fitzgerald says the provisions in the budget are out of step with mainstream Ohio voters.....
Kasich doesn't want to listen to women, but is willing to listen to the far right male morons of the Ohio GOP.