In 1776 American colonists defied the British Crown so that the legislators of our great nation could host a concert by Barry Manilow on the Capitol grounds on the 4th of July. The gifted composer of the patriotic classics “You Deserve A Break Today (McDonald’s)” and “Like A Good Neighbor (State Farm is There)” will be joined by the country group Alabama, who featured the Confederate battle flag on the cover of their 1982 album Mountain Music.
God Bless America.
Managers of a New Zealand shopping plaza threaten to unleash the ultimate weapon against loitering teenage “Mall Rats” — Barry Manilow. The facility will play tunes by the crooner over its public address system. “The intention is to change the environment in a positive way,” Paul Lonsdale of the Central City Business Association told Associated Press. Mr. Lonsdale’s outfit manages the Stewart Plaza shopping mall in Christchurch.
Human Rights advocates are stunned. New Zealand is a signatory of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and may adopt the Optional Protocol. Recorded pop music was an instrument of torture at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and at clandestine CIA “black site” detention centers.
Partial pop torture playlists are available; while none mention Manilow, Neil Diamond’s “America” was featured on the Torture Top Ten and Top of the Psy-Ops Pops. Surely if one permits use of Neil Diamond, escalation to Manilow is virtually assured.
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