Home Again
Home…finally. There is something to be said for sleeping in your own bed with your own dogs laying on your head. Empty fridges, on the other hand, are not so fun to come home to. Puts things in perspective.
I did a recent interview with CBC Radio that appeared on The House, but there is little point in checking it out. I spoke with them for more than a half hour and it was edited down to sound bites that completely make my comments sound trite. Everything I said in support of what they used with regards to information explaining my position in an in-depth manner was edited out. Personally, I’m getting a little tired of it, and such is the reason why blogging is far better. There is no editorial oversight that is out of your control, your arguments are presented in full.
Looking back over the last few days there are a few things that I wanted to touch upon.
The first is the fact that flooding in South Asia has displaced some 20 million people. That’s 10 million people shy of the population of Canada. Oxfam has information on how you can help.
It seems that Weapon is being used on a website called Caledonia Wake Up Call, with which I have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever. In truth, I am massively offended that any of my work would be used by a website such as that without my permission, and the proper steps will be taken to ensure that it is removed.
Last, The International News recently ran a frightening story about comments made by Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo…
“Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo says the best way he can think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the US is to threaten to retaliate by bombing Islamic holy sites.
The Colorado congressman on Tuesday told about 30 people at a town hall meeting in the state of Iowa that he believes such a terrorist attack could be imminent and that the US needs to hurry up and think of a way to stop it.
“If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina,” Tancredo said at the Family Table restaurant.”
Yes, you read that correctly.
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August 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Wow, what a novel idea. Actually I’m pretty sure bombing holy sites would cause YEARS OF VIOLENCE. The fact that he is sitting at the “family table” makes it even better. Ugh.
August 4th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Re: Tancredo’s Comments– Unfathomable.
August 4th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
OMG, there is some one out there who is worse than pres. Bush. I thought I would never see the day… LOL… Ignorance…
August 4th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
1) Welcome home! I know how it is to come back to your own and bed and surroundings after being away for a while
2) That sucks about the CBC. Compared to the great interview on Canada AM.
3) Re. Tancredo. Is this guy for REAL????
Cheers!
August 4th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I’d be curious to know what audience Tancredo thinks he is pandering to. The “I get my mother ammo for her birthday” crowd?
If his thesis is that religious extremism can be dealt with and should be dealt with by torching the places with religious significance to extremists, then I’d like to hear his thoughts on taking similar action against the Vatican, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, etc.
August 4th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
The idea that anyone would even come up with an idea like Tancredo’s is just beyond me…
Good to hear you get to relax for a bit.
August 4th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Also, that Caledonia website looks rather like a soapbox for bigotry. Their who are we page looks reasonable enough until the three points in green, when it starts sounding rather hateful.
August 4th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
[quote comment="21894"]Also, that Caledonia website looks rather like a soapbox for bigotry. Their who are we page looks reasonable enough until the three points in green, when it starts sounding rather hateful.[/quote]
No kidding.
August 4th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Yes, there is a link to a video called “CaledoniaWakeupCall is not racist”. I watched it to try to see what they had to say to excuse their bigotry, and it took me to a 30 second clip of some guy saying because he hadn’t been charged with a hate crime, that meant that he wasn’t racist. Some really outstanding logic there. I guess if you murder someone and aren’t charged with murder, the means you’re not a murderer now too.
August 4th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
How do these nut jobs even get into politics in the first place? Are people just afraid to tell them how idiotic they are?
August 4th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Yeah, Tom Tancredo is pretty damn scary and he’s in bed with the same people as the majority of other Republican candidates. The other candidates just haven’t been stupid enough to make those type of statements in public or haven’t been caught, yet. Take a look at gop.com to see/read the disgusting info they put out but be forewarned - after going there you’ll need a very long shower with scalding hot water.
Welcome home, Matt. : )
August 4th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
for the record he didn’t say lets go bomb holy sites, he said threaten to as a way to deter a nuclear terrorist attack
that said its a horrible idea, all of the republican candidates so far are morons, i gave them an honest chance and watched their debates so far with an open mind and about 2 of them are slightly better than bush and the rest are much worse
August 4th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Welcome home, Matthew.
I didn’t hear Weapon when I went to that Caledonia site, but I did get flashbacks of that Michael E. Chessman guy and his “Coalition for a Humanistic British Canada” crap. *shudder*
August 4th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I was in a cab going to Courtney, BC last summer with two other friends.
The driver was kind enough to share what his plans would be if he won the jackpot of a lottery advertised in the window of a 7-11 we passed; he said he wanted to “buy a plane and fly it into Mecca”
I was appalled and did my best to stop the conversation quickly and politely. My friend, who was born in Canada but is Egyptian by heritage, was deeply upset by the remarks and didn’t say a word for the remainder of the trip.
If it had been in our own city, or at some other time of the day (it was late), I think we would have gotten out.
As if violence would pacify the threat of violence…
August 4th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
That Tancredo is a scary SOB - bloody-minded doesn’t begin to cover that.
Welcome back, Matt. Hospital Music is outstanding - I hope to see one of your shows next month in Victoria.
August 4th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I also seem to recall him championing English as the official language of the United States because it, apparently, is what being American is all about.
That he was speaking to 30 people when he made the remarks about bombing holy sites says it all, hopefully. You would think that kind of crap won’t gather him any steam on the campaign trail.
Personally, that Giuliani is still able to get away with basing his entire verbal arsenal on his proximity to 9/11 is the most appalling thing on the ‘08 trail, followed very closely by his apparent eagerness to flex his military muscle. That’s a one-two punch of horribly disastrous justification that scares the living snot out of me. At the very least Tancredo should shake down very quickly into an afterthought.
Still, that a candidate can say something that absurd and not be publicly dismantled by the media is concerning.
August 4th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
[quote comment="21894"]Also, that Caledonia website looks rather like a soapbox for bigotry. Their who are we page looks reasonable enough until the three points in green, when it starts sounding rather hateful.[/quote]
I agree. That site is something else. It’s disturbing, really.
As for Tancredo’s comments, yikes. He deifnitely is one scary SOB.
As for South Asia, I cannot believe it. 10 feet of water anywhere, let alone in a mostly poor area of the world is devastating. Until now, I did not know anything about it. I will give what I can.
August 4th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Glad you’ve arrived back to your furry babies safely. I just purchased Hospital Music off iTunes last night and I will just not be satisfied til I have the hard copy as well. One word for this album: Fierce. I love it. Thanks for the music. You make us proud in Vancouver!
August 4th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Wireless in LAX. Home tonight. Looking forward to discussing nuclear attacks at my family table too.
August 4th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
What a freakin’ moron! Really, there’s no better way to articulate that… Damn!
Shitty about the editing- fucking media. Truth be told, people who really care and really want the truth should be aware of that already. That is why I am addicted to this blog- whether or not it’s you or your clones writing it!!!
Have a good rest! I know the feeling about your pets- sooo comforting….
August 4th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
And people get so angry when I call certain politicians nazi’s…
August 4th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Matt, I have been waiting for you to weigh in on the Caledonia situation. I dont think people nationwide understand how close the stand off is to becoming violent. Mis-information on both sides and a media only willing to play off the extremists of both sides has entrenched people in a simple for/against logic with little to no regard for factual history or rational argument. Sounds all to familiar.
August 4th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
By becoming violent I meant in the Oka/Ipperwash sense. The has already been numerous violent outbreaks.
August 4th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I would also like to know Matt’s take on the Caledonia issue. My only opinion about it is that I am glad I’m not there right now, everyone seems to be ‘at fault’ here, and everyone is a victim.
I would also like it if Matt blogged more on the plight of some Christians/Jews in this world, he highlights the injustices towards Muslims quite a lot, but I don’t see much for other faiths. I was expecting some words about the Korean missionaries.
August 4th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
wow just paddle on further down shit creek tom
ne way matt if u c thsi id die to get a email from u jus say hi or ne thing lol that would be cool but it make my life if u could answer why u dnt play big venues for concerts im trying to get tickets to ur show at massey hall in toronto but i cnt so if u played acc thered be more tickets available jus wonderin mabey u cd send me some tickets and ill pay u bak lol jus kidding im not a gold digin fan
thx brosif
August 4th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
[quote comment="21936"]I would also like to know Matt’s take on the Caledonia issue. My only opinion about it is that I am glad I’m not there right now, everyone seems to be ‘at fault’ here, and everyone is a victim.
I would also like it if Matt blogged more on the plight of some Christians/Jews in this world, he highlights the injustices towards Muslims quite a lot, but I don’t see much for other faiths. I was expecting some words about the Korean missionaries.[/quote]
Given the focus of the blog is, generally, the effects of the militaristic US foreign policy, the injustices re: Muslims happen to tie in. I’m quite sure he’s not ignored the situation, or the literally hundreds of other tragic situations going on, but he has to carefully pick and choose what he writes about, or else he’d really need all those body doubles! :) There are a lot of topics and events that many readers would love to see his take on, though, so I understand where you’re coming from a little bit. But rest assured, he’s not actively discriminating against other religious views.
August 4th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
[quote comment="21892"]I’d be curious to know what audience Tancredo thinks he is pandering to. The “I get my mother ammo for her birthday” crowd?
If his thesis is that religious extremism can be dealt with and should be dealt with by torching the places with religious significance to extremists, then I’d like to hear his thoughts on taking similar action against the Vatican, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, etc.[/quote]
Touche.
August 5th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Matt, Dale, after looking at the Caledonia Wake Up Call site and the eyesore that it is, I almost feel spoiled coming here and looking at a sleek and well put together website.
And seriously, bomb Islamic holy sites?
Why not go empty one of those 18.9L jugs of water, fill it with gasoline and go stand in a fire?
August 5th, 2007 at 2:38 am
Funny, he seems not to have even done some basic fact checking.
Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a US ally, and rather important in the whole scheme of US policy in the Middle East. Turkey, another state of which virtually the entire population are Muslim, is a member of NATO. Even if one were to view ‘the Muslim world’ as simply a threat- it’s not all about small-scale terrorist groups.
For God’s sake, Pakistan has nukes. Iran might be developing them.
In all likelihood, it’s probably just an attempt at a talking point. I sincerely hope so.
August 5th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Not many people can peacefully be the victims of violence. What would be an appropriate response to a nuclear attack by a non-state organization? Can anyone say they wouldn’t want to fight back if their families were the victims of terrorism?
Maybe I should ask an Iraqi…
August 5th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Tancredo isnt even close to winning though is he? Dont think thats something that should be worried about. However, it is alarming to think that people are contemplating the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” approach to things; that rarely ends well….
August 5th, 2007 at 7:37 am
When I read what Tancredo said I actually yelled out “Oh my God!” without me meaning to do so. It came to me with such a shock….
August 5th, 2007 at 9:11 am
In regards to CBC radio –The House — and cutting your interview short. Maybe it would be helpful for members of this blog’s community (anyone who feels strongly about this) to write to them and request that the interview be aired in full. By reducing Matthew Good’s answers to sound-bites, they are also wholly over-simplifying the issues facing Afghanistan. They are not only painting Matthew Good in a fashion that disregards the amount of thought put into this pressing issue (and how necessary it is that more and more people engage in this dialogue) but they are promoting the polarization of ideas regarding the Afghanistan war. Whether or not they have knowingly cut down your point of view, it is clear that they used your interview to promote a reductionism that is feeding this violence. This is an irresponsible, unacceptable, and entirely dangerous practice on the part of this radio program.
August 5th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Timely… I’m sitting here at the XM Studios in Toronto “editing” the interview for LiVE@theVerge which will air on Wednesday August 8th (6amET/6pmET) and Sunday August 12th (9amET/9pmET) and I haven’t removed a damn thing. It will play in its entirety. Its one of those captivating conversations where there is no need to trim for content nor time. The special will run almost an hour long with both the full interview, acoustic tracks performed and a few songs from Hospital Music.
Just sayin’
–kelowna
August 5th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
My mother’s always trying to start conversations with me about the Caledonia issues. Being native, she thinks I am supposed to have an opinion and hate on “the white man” for taking “our” land. I just looked at her and said, “show me where that treaty has MY name on it and maybe I’ll have an opinion.
We were driving passed it a few months ago and this native man in a truck in front of us was playing native music through huge speakers in the back of his truck and a “white” (for lack of better words), man wrapped in a Canadian flag walked up to his truck in the middle of traffic and shouted at him to get off his road. At that point I was furious and wanted to get of of the car and choke him with the flag, but thankfully I was in the very back of the van and had three people to jump over. That was the only time I ever had an opinion about the Caledonians and their “war”. Only because the guy was being racist. But that’s about it.
August 5th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Thank you for the Dylan… when my dad decided to teach me the “real curriculum” for Canadian History he played me that song, and I did so in one of my student teaching placements..all I did was play it for them, no introduction, no afterword… and the responses they gave me (whether outraged, or in agreement) blew me out of the water and wounded the broken heart I had obtained at teacher’s college for the public school board.
If “Caledonia Wake Up Call” was actually about what it claims to be about - stopping violence at blockades and demonstrations - then I cannot believe anyone would oppose it. I would like to assume that most people do not supposrt violence of any kind. However, McHale’s website hides behind a facade of “keeping the peace”. It is rather defeating to know that McHale has weaseled his way into the wallets of bigotry supporters and managed to raise $11 000 for his “cause” or “purpose”.
August 5th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
[quote comment="21958"]When exactly did this website become a content requested site? I’m not superman, nor am I a news agency. I have a life. If you want to blog about something, here’s a tip, - start a blog.[/quote]
I’m not sure if you were referring to my comment on this so if you weren’t please disregard this comment. I wasn’t in anyway requesting any content for this site–I read this site endlessly, the content is amazing, and it promotes public dialogue–something that I believe to be incredibly important in challenging inequality and violence.
I was simply stating that I’m also sick of programs like CBC’s “The House” cutting away the most important aspects of an argument and painting people to be something that they are not. I’m going to email CBC’s “the House” about my anger over this.
In my comment, I said that I was going to e-mail them and that if other people who read your blog might want to e-mail The House as well, it might be helpful because it could show them that there are a lot of people who don’t agree with them for cutting your interview short because it misrepresented you and robbed other listeners of the chance to hear what you had to say.
August 5th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Oops. Ok, thanks.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
August 20-21 lets all say NO to the North American Union
http://www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/TreasonAbounds.html
August 8th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
I never intended my comment to come acrossed as some kind of responsibility on your part. Out of respect for your opinion I just wished to know how you felt about it. Frankly I didnt even think my comment would be replied to. I am a fan of your blog and would never want to limit what you felt you could or couldnt write about. That said although I think the Dylan lyrics are relevant historically, they dont do much to provide a solution in the curent context. Also, I do write about the situation in Caledonia. Thank you for your time Matt and I love the new album.