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flow of information . And I tried to read three newspapers a day — a local daily , plus The New York Times and even USA Today for bullet-point news updates . What were — and are — your sources of information ? AJ : Well , we ’ re not gonna have a fistfight over the phone or anything , right ? I ’ m more of a Washington Post guy than a New York Times guy . And my daily reading list in the morning , over cups of tea — every day , seven days a week — is The Nation , Crooks and Liars , PoliticusUSA . That ’ s a really good one ; it ’ s really short , it has headlines and blurbs , and it can really keep you posted on shit . And I will also go up into the hills just to see what the squares are writing about . But Raw Story is a the Civil Rights Act of 1975 . It was gaining steam , still tough , but those Southern rock bands gave it credence to be like , “ It ’ s cool to be a racist against , only without SAYING we ’ re racist against .” I was just talking to my girlfriend this morning , saying how this is so weird with the anti-Vaxxers and shit like that . I mean , it ’ s for your own benefit ! First of all , if we ’ re all supposedly being microchipped by the government ? Good ! Then let ’ s all go down together . If the government is that fucking evil and wants to wipe out the human race , then let ’ s go . What are you gonna do ? Be the lone survivor in a post-Apocalyptic world ? There ’ s gonna be nobody to make a movie about you , okay ? So get your fucking shots . There ’ s no microchip . So I have an October tour , but because of the right-wing , won ’ t-be-vaccinated , we ’ re gonna have to have a vaccine mandate . Just like you had to have a seat belt mandate , or an insurance mandate for cars , just like you have to have a license to drive . You ’ re going to have to have
24 illinoisentertainer . com september 2021 good one to read in the morning — that always gets me going — and of course the Huffington Post . I ’ m a pinko ! I ’ m a liberal ! What do ya want from me ? That ’ s what I read ! I like checking in on the right a little bit , but generally , thoughts are only reaffirmed by reading left-wing publications . So that ’ s pretty much where I ’ m at .
IE : You sound like something out of a Charlie Daniels song ! A “ Long-haired , hippie-type pinko fag ”! I can ’ t believe they actually got away with that on his “ Uneasy Rider ” single back then . AJ : No , I can ! I CAN believe they did ! Charlie Daniels is the Kraftwerk ; he ’ s the innovator of what we ’ re going through today ! Without Charlie Daniels , there ’ s no Kid Rock . Without Charlie Daniels , there ’ s no fucking Fox News , as far as I ’ m concerned , as it ’ s constructed . I really think someday he ’ ll get his due , but I dunno if that ’ s a good thing . His due as far as how his songs influenced Southern culture , because , Wow ! Charlie Daniels suppressed
a vaccine license to get in anywhere , and you know what ? Me , Mr . Anti-Government ? I ’ m all for it . It ’ s not about politics at this point — it ’ s about , Do you want this species to still be on this planet ? And I know Covid is not gonna kill everyone , and people get immunity . But I ’ m just saying ; it ’ s that kind of attitude that ’ s gonna sink this entire species . Fuck politics ! We ’ ve fucked shit up , and now we have to figure out how to un-fuck this shit . And this is why my main word is ….” SCIENCE !”
IE : Science ! Thomas Dolby was right ! AJ : Yes , just like Thomas Dolby thought . Science got us into a lot of this , and science is the only thing that ’ s gonna get us out of it because human nature is NOT . Unless we substantially raise our education levels from pre-K on to include absorbing how to survive on this planet . And the right-wing is , of course , against that , too . They want to make sure we don ’ t get vaccinated , but they weren ’ t around in the ‘ 60s for polio . But they ’ re
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