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Thursday, December 30, 2004 Compassionate Consevative COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE? Michael Butler There is no need for a question mark. What a lie when George W. Bush called himself a compassionate conservative. His arrogance and lack of feelings of compassion showed themselves again with his lack of reaction to the tragedies in the Indian Ocean. It took him days to break from his vacation to make a public statement of concern. That was lacking in warmth or feelings. Our first official response was a niggardly contribution of 15 million dollars. The reaction of dismay from the UN forced the administration to up the ante to 35 million. Still this right off was surpassed by Australia and Spain. I know America has a terrible reputation of being the Scrooge of foreign aid (unless it is in US armaments) however this is a terrible mark on our reputation. We are spending billions on an invasion of questionable repute. Few of us find this acceptable but we elected him. We, our children and grandchildren will feel the effects of this lack of compassion for the rest of the world. |
ARTICLES
OF NOTE
Remarks for Friends of Conservation Probably Our Major Problem Today All In The Name You Give It We All Have The Same Problems Questions About HAIR Fury, Rage, Sadness, Embarrassed, Ashamed Answers for Simon "But I Can't Make A Difference" "God said it. I believe it. That settles it" ARCHIVES December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005
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Friday, December 17, 2004
Answers to Questions about HAIR
Samantha,
Dear Mr. Butler,
Thank you for responding to my email so quickly. My deadline is February 1st. There are a few questions I want to ask you.
Samantha Maurer
How was the musical HAIR received by the general public?
A) Hair was very popular. It hit a cord with everyone. At one time we had 12 companies going. Reportedly 2/3 of the stage actors working were in Hair. It probably holds the record for the number of recorded hits from any musical and the countries where produced.
Did any political complications develop for you because of the musical? Were you personally against the United State's involvement in Vietnam? Were there any protest songs during this tme that personally effected you? Why do you think HAIR was able to become so public and be translated into so many different languages? What really caught your eye about the play that made you want to produce it?
A) Considerable. At one time we had over 17 lawyers defending rights of free speech. It even went to the US Supreme Court. We won all cases.
It went so far there were two threats on my life.
I was listed twice on Nixon's enemy list (2 different addresses).
I was against the Vietnam War. Even more so that I was a late convert from hawk to dove.
Hair played to people who were deeply concerned with the state of the nation. There were many who felt that we were on the verge of another Civil War. Hair gave them answers to important problems of the day. These concerns were world wide as the Vietnam War was as unpopular as the Iraq invasion.
As a political animal preparing to run for the US Senate I wanted to present Hair to my constituents to show what I felt about the Vietnam War. I ultimately decided to be its Producer rather than a US Senator.
Is there a possiblity for me to get a transcript of the original musical? Finally, does the archive have any photographs of the original cast, news articles, reviews, or magazine articles talking about HAIR and its controversial issues? Any information you could provide me would be extremely appreciated.
A) You might ask James Rado, the author and Galt MacDermot, the composer for their input.
The Hair Archives are the most extensive of any musical show in history. Nina Dayton is the Director.
Good Luck with your report,
Michael
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