John Fogerty has some opinions on the Republicans claiming that his song "Fortunate Son" was inappropriate for a Veteran's Day concert.

So I am sure you all remember that Bruce Springsteen, and a number of talented musicians, played the song "Fortunate One" during the Concert of Valor at the National Mall in Washington D.C. and that Right Wing literally lost their minds over it.

So in a recent Rolling Stone interview John Fogerty, who wrote the song, was asked about that response:  

"'Fortunate Son' is a song I wrote during the Vietnam War over 45 years ago," Fogerty said in a statement. "As an American and a songwriter, I am proud that the song still has resonance. I do believe that its meaning gets misinterpreted and even usurped by various factions wishing to make their own case. What a great country we have that a song like this can be performed in a setting like Concert for Valor. 

"Years ago, an ultraconservative administration tried to paint anyone who questioned its policies as 'un-American,'" he continues. "That same administration shamefully ignored and mistreated the soldiers returning from Vietnam. As a man who was drafted and served his country during those times, I have ultimate respect for the men and women who protect us today and demand that they receive the respect that they deserve." 

What the conservative mouthpieces either failed, or refused to understand, is that the song is VERY supportive of the soldiers themselves. Who the song was criticizing were the politicians who start these wars and then send American sons (And now daughters) to die in countries that THEIR children will only ever visit in times of peace.

Both John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen are American institutions, and I would put their patriotism up against anyone. Especially some conservative jackass sitting on his fat ass, sipping Fox newsroom coffee, and faking outrage in order to rile up the paint chip eaters.

Fogerty goes on to point out that he recently performed "Fortunate One" at "A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House" just last week. A performance by the way that was broadcast on PBS.

And guess which song he played? That's right.

And the outrage from the Right Wing?

Only this.

Right Wing outrage of the day. Bruce Springsteen played an anti-war song during concert to celebrate Veteran's Day.

Courtesy of TPM:  

Pretty much everyone has had something to say about Springsteen's performance Tuesday at the "Concert for Valor," an HBO musical event for veterans held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

Performing with Zac Brown and Dave Grohl, Springsteen sang "Fortunate Son," Creedence Clearwater Revival's classic Vietnam War-era anthem that examines issues of class and jingoism in America. John Fogerty, the CCR frontman, said that his own experience as a drafted serviceman served as an inspiration for the song. 

"I was the same age as the soldiers serving in Vietnam and from the same lower-middle class as them," Fogerty once said. 

But to some conservative ears, the song hit the wrong note at Tuesday's concert. 

"The song, not to put too fine a point on it, is an anti-war screed, taking shots at 'the red white and blue,'" wrote Ethan Epstein at The Weekly Standard. 

The performance was made even worse, Epstein contended, because "Fortunate Son" is "an anti-draft song, and this concert was largely organized to honor those who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq." 

The Boss has been in the Fox News crosshairs all day, too. On Fox Business Network, Stuart Varney questioned why Springsteen, "an outspoken leftist," would play politics with the troops. 

"So much for HBO's 'Concert for Valor,'" Clayton Morris said at the outset of this morning's "Fox & Friends." 

On Fox's "Outnumbered," co-host Andrea Tantaros professed to be a fan of both Springsteen and Grohl, but wondered why they didn't just go with a different song. 

"It's amazing to me that nobody — think of all the people that are involved in a concert like this — nobody had the brains to stop and say, 'You guys might want to pick a different song,'" Tantaros said.

Gee, I really like the song.

Apparently this is the portion that pissed off the Right Wing so much:

It ain’t me, it ain’t me 
I ain’t no Senator’s son 
It ain’t me, it ain’t me 
I ain’t no fortunate one 

The song is written about how fundamental unfair it is that politicians start wars in which their children are not forced to fight and die.

Personally I would think that it is a sentiment shared not just by veterans of Vietnam but by the soldiers of today.

This song is not anti-veteran, it's anti-war. I feel very confident in saying that the vast majority of veterans are not pro-war, and therefore embrace the sentiment.

And of course the song is also anti-warmonger.

Perhaps it is that last part which irritates the Fox News crowd so much. You know the same ones who helped spread the Bush Administration propaganda and cheered from the sidelines as we sent thousands of young soldiers to their deaths.

Sarah Palin wishes the country a happy Veterans Day while pimping something called "The Sportsman Channel." Now why does that sound vaguely familiar?

Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue Vajazzled one's Facebook page:  

Happy Veterans Day! Enjoy this short video honoring the sacrifices of America's finest. 

We're gearing up to show the country a new season of "Amazing America" on the Sportsman Channel, so be prepared to get your Red, Wild & Blue on! - Sarah Palin

Wait, the Sportsman Channel is still a thing? Hell I almost forgot mocking the channel nobody watched before she gave us the "Sarah Palin Channel" to mock.

Well it will be nice to have it back now that the Sarah Palin Channel is all covered with a thin layer of dust and cobwebs from lack of use.

I also could not help but notice that in the video Palin makes sure to push that combat veteran mythology:

"You know you can see his spine stiffen, and you can see him stand a little taller when he gets that little bit of recognition for what it is that he has CHOSEN to do. He has volunteered to, in some respects, put the rest of his life on hold in order to fulfill a duty to protect America."

Yeah, nice story lady, but that is not the way that Joe McGinniss reported Track's enlistment in his book "The Rogue:" (Pg 113-114)

"Track was in pretty big trouble,” a friend of his tells me. “The school bus thing, theft issues, drugs, multiple stuff. Sarah was governor by then, and Track posed too much risk in terms of PR. So she and Todd sat him down and told him he was going to enlist. They said, ‘You’re gonna do this because you owe us. This is gonna look good for us and you’re gonna do it.'” 

Sarah made it look even better by arranging the enlistment for September 11, the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. On September 11, 2008, Track was deployed to Iraq, allowing Sarah to proclaim forever after that she was the proud mother of a combat vet. Some might see this as classic example of taking the lemon that life gives you and using it to make lemonade. 

I talk to the state trooper who drove Sarah and Track to the enlistment office in Anchorage on September 11, 2007. “There was quite a bit of emotion in the back seat of that car,” he tells me, “but patriotism was not one of the emotions."

Yeah that certainly fits better with what people in Wasilla say about Track, and might help to explain why a little alcohol turns him into a drunken thug willing to take on all comers only to have his ass kicked in public. (You know once he gets that nice shirt of first of course.)

Nice try Sarah, but it would be nice if you could take a day off from shoveling the family mooseshit, on the day that we are supposed to be honoring out fighting men and women.

Have some class.