John Lennon A Closet Republican?

Hard to believe that John Lennon, pacifist hippie extraordinare for the bulk of his adult life, actually admired Reagan and, had he been able to, would have voted for him in the 1980 Carter/Reagan elections.  But, according to John Lennon's  assistant Fred Seaman, for the final two years of his life Lennon was apparently a "Closet Republican" and would have done just that. 

"John, basically, made it very clear that if he were an American he would vote for Reagan because he was really sour on (Democrat) Jimmy Carter. He'd met Reagan back, I think, in the 70s at some sporting event... Reagan was the guy who had ordered the National Guard, I believe, to go after the young (peace) demonstrators in Berkeley, so I think that John maybe forgot about that... He did express support for Reagan, which shocked me. I also saw John embark in some really brutal arguments with my uncle, who's an old-time communist... He enjoyed really provoking my uncle... Maybe he was being provocative... but it was pretty obvious to me he had moved away from his earlier radicalism. He was a very different person back in 1979 and 80 than he'd been when he wrote Imagine. By 1979 he looked back on that guy and was embarrassed by that guy's naivete."

Quoted in a Toronto Sun article, Seaman divulges this information in a documentary film called "Beatles Stories".  Of course, after Jimmy Carter's tenure as President, it's not hard to understand why he might have made that choice.

As for his contrition and embarrassment over his past 'radicalism'-  he was an avid 'give peace a chance', anti-war political activist (remember the Bed-In with Yoko?), but he did not seem to advocate violence, unlike many others of his generation. Even the Beatle's song "Revolution"  (written in 1968) makes that pretty clear.

You say you want a revolution

Well you know

We all want to change the world

You tell me that it's evolution

Well you know

We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction

Don't you know you can count me out

Don't you know it's gonna be alright

Alright Alright

You say you got a real solution

Well you know

We'd all love to see the plan

You ask me for a contribution

Well you know

We're doing what we can

But when you want money for people with minds that hate

All I can tell you is brother you have to wait

Don't you know it's gonna be alright

Alright Alright

You say you'll change the constitution

Well you know

We all want to change your head

You tell me it's the institution

Well you know

You better free your mind instead

But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao

You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow

Don't you know know it's gonna be alright

Alright Alright

And who doesn't want a world at peace? 

Perhaps the seeds of change were planted back then, and it took another 10 years or so to come to fruition, but it just proves there's hope for all.  I know there are many who are  critical of the fact that, if he was indeed a conservative of sorts, he did not openly admit he was.  Obviously, I can relate.  Not everyone has the courage in the entertainment industry to be open about their politics, and that's certainly understandable.  At least we now know.

Egyptian Tycoon Receives Boycotts, Lawsuits & Threats Of Severed Tongue For Posting Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Islamic Garb

Disney's Mickey Mouse has taken center stage, yet again, in the Middle East.  But this time, rather than being a tool for teaching terrorism to kids- remember Farfour the Palestinian Mouse-  he and his gal pal Minnie created a firestorm of protest against Egyptian Telecom and media tycoon-cum-politician, Naguib Sawiris.  Sawiris has had lawsuits and boycotts launched against him for posting a cartoon of Mickey with an Islamic beard and a niqab-clad Minnie from his Twitter feed. Apparently, the cartoon had already made the rounds in an email that featured the mouse couple and the quote: "this is the future of Egypt"- which is more than likely where the country is headed, given the overreaction to the post.  It probably doesn't help that after the fall of Mubarak, Sawiris formed a political party- Free Egyptians-  determined to create a secular Egypt and is a Christian Copt, to boot. As an 'infidel', he justifiably (in the minds of the Salafis who are at the bottom of all the protests) deserves all the obligatory death threats etc. that are being leveled at him, in spite of having apologized on Twitter:

 "I apologise for any who don't take this as a joke, I just thought it was a funny picture no disrespect meant! Assef!! ". [sorry]

According to various news sources, Facebook pages materialized calling for a boycott of  Sawiris' cell phone company, with one group accruing over  60,000 followers.  Although I was unable to track it down, the "We are  joking Sawiris" group supposedly had the following posted on its page:

 "If you are really a Muslim, and you love your religion, boycott his projects. We have to cut out the tongue of any person who attacks our religion."

It's quite obvious conservative Muslims lack a sense of humour. Time and again they demonstrate a serious inability to find the grace and humour in life, which is perhaps why they so often resort to violence. If they lightened up a bit, life would be  much more pleasant- and peaceful-  for the rest of the world. But no, they  consistently choose to be offended by even the most innocuous of things. Like a veiled Minnie and bearded Mickey.

Sources: ArabTimes , TelegraphUK,
photo from The Blaze

"No God But Allah" Stamped On U.S. Dollar Bills

The following email is making the rounds.  The photo doesn't appear to be photoshopped, and there are no references to the email on the usual hoax websites, but one never knows.

No God but Allah?  Isn't that kind of redundant, considering the definition of Allah is God.  Some people need to get a life.

Bet you thought you'd never see this in your lifetime A lady in Monte Vista, CO had this dollar bill. This is her story. You don't think we're in a war. What thoughts come to mind! These are starting to show up around our country!

After dinner she took a $1 dollar bill out of her purse and displayed it on the table.. Underneath the words "In God We Trust" someone had stamped the dollar bill in red ink---NO GOD BUT ALLAH. We asked her where she had gotten this dollar bill. She said it was part of her change in Alamosa, CO. We took a picture of her dollar bill. If anyone tries to give you one of these dollar bills as change, please refuse it and ask them to give you a dollar bill that has not  been defaced. You can bet I will refuse this and demand it being taken out of circulation.....

I personally have never seen one, but you can rest assured I too will refuse one as change.