We recorded a lot today. Hours and hours. Did the guitars and vocals for the song Revolution in me. Amazing guitar work. Vancouver was drunk, but pulled off some amazing parts. He recorded his guitar parts lying down on his back on the couch for hours. The guy is insane but brilliant. We are almost done with this new new album, and Sleep with you isn't even officially out yet. I wish we had more people helping us with the business end of this so we could be as good at that as we are at the making music side of it.  

The whole country is talking about and debating the Bush admin asking the congress and American people for $87 billion right now to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. From an American  point of view it is sad and weird to most people. We have the highest unemployment rate in forty years. we hear that something like 4 million people have lost their jobs this year in America. And over one fifth of our population doesn’t even have health insurance. So the government asking for 87 billion for some other country rather than for its own people is just really weird and twisted and an insult to all these people who aren't working right now. somehow the priorities have gotten all screwed up... and the people feel trapped by the inconsistencies of it all. 

In America, its seems like it works like this: if you have a job and money and a house and investments and health insurance and all that, then you have the time and the attention to concern yourself with things like politics and government and what the president does or doesn’t do with $87 billion. But if you are one of those people who actually need the government to pay attention to you and to help you, the problem is that you are too busy scrambling around in your life just trying to make ends meet to pay attention to what the government does or to speak up for yourself or your family or all the other people in the country who really need the government to come through for you. 

I think this is why the country is always so focused on creating laws for rich people and not so much on poor people. this is something that I heard a lot about from the Europeans I hung out with this summer—is how sad it is in America for all the poor and middle class people compared to the rich—how bad they have it compared to other places that are more socially equal or attentive. At this point in my own research of it all, I would not venture to comment too much, because I don't think I know enough about the global because I would be reluctant to veer the country any closer to socialism or anything, but seriously, we have to do something...

There are people out there making no more than 30 or 30 or 40 thousand dollars a year and trying to support their family on that. and they are paying taxes. And these taxes are going to fund our space program and to rebuild countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. And many of these families can’t even make ends meet. Can’t even afford the basics like proper health care... it would be very different if the government was asking for 87 billion dollars from only the rich people of the country. that would be a whole different matter. But they're not. They are asking it from everyone. And its just ridiculous when you think about it. just totally fucking ridiculous... 

Last screening: Martin Scorsese presents The Blues. Seven films by seven directors about the Blues. Every night we watch it. learning a lot. Mississippi John hurt and son house and skip James and Charlie Patton stand out for me. make me feel in love and inspired.

Mother fucker I can’t believe how they were treated. I just can’t get past it. 

Who?

The black people man. Its fucking crazy....

It’s a shame man

Its more than a shame. Its fucking unbelievable

It happened man.

Dude this wasn't even a hundred years ago we’re talking. it was recent.

I know man. Its crazy. 

They didn't even really get freed till like the sixties.

Wasn't it 1886 or something like that?

Uh yea from slavery. But they weren't really free. They were still treated like shit. Still scared to walk down the street. It wasn't really until the sixties that they were even close to being free or treated decently here. and now look at them. 

Now they own the whole country.

Well maybe not that, but they have just come so far in such a short time. and white people have been here for like five hundred years and don't really do anything anymore. Black people own sports.

Not all sports.

Damn close. After the Williams sisters took over tennis and Tiger took over golf, two things that were never supposed to happen, that's pretty much all she wrote. They got it all now.

They don't have hockey yet.

That's only because they don't care to. its only a matter of time my brother.

Yea maybe. But I don't think they like the cold or snow or anything. Like you don't see a lot of black snowboarders.

Well good. man they should save something for us to be good at.

They sure took over music.

Yep. They fucking invented American music. Seriously. Its all their invention. Gospel, blues, jazz, rock and roll, rap, hip hop. Jimi Hendrix. God man. They did it all. 

We all just try to do our best to copy it.

We add our own thing. 

Yea we do. we add that touch of ...I don't know. whiteness, I guess...

They start it with the black cool and then we add our own white cool to it. like the Beatles or stones or zeppelin or oasis or whatever. you know...