BEN HARPER HAS A BETTER WAY

I love Ben Harper's music and he is an upstanding guy but his politics are a little odd to me. He might not like guns but it is a consitutional right to own guns, and our country was found by people that used arms to fight for their freedom. I don't understand how someone like Ben can say 'No one should have guns' and be so casual about getting rid of a constitutional right of his, when he is so against George Bush. Whether he chooses to exercise that right is irrelevant.

Also, just so he knows, a family of 5 with income of $40,000 pays no federal income taxes.

Good interview

Question for blue1971: Without guns, who would get shot?
Answer: Nobody.

bout time you guys did an article on dr. harper...very nice. how about an album review?!?

"Also, just so he knows, a family of 5 with income of $40,000 pays no federal income taxes."

That is complete bullshit.

yah, and how about this: without cars who would get in car accidents. people get shot by bad people. if they didn't have a gun they would use something else. the world has good and bad. harper seems like a good guy the typical political point for a musician. starting laughing when I saw impeachment. nice article nevertheless.

good point valuesmitty. RedErtai if people can't own guns; it would be pretty easy for someone to come into power in the USA and create another Halocaust. How are people going to fight back. I do believe gun laws should be stricter, nevertheless guns should never be banned unless the people don't mind being ruled by a totalitarian state.

The article is great. Harper's politics are interesting, but I don't agree with most of what he says, but I still love his music. Passion, like Harper's, is attractive even if I don't agree with his beliefs.

SCI123:

Tax Liability Under 2004 Tax Law
Married Couple with Three Children

Adjusted Gross Income in 2004
$40,000

Minus Standard Deduction
-$9,700

Minus Personal Exemption
-$15,500

Taxable Income
$14,800

Gross Taxes Owed
$1,505

Minus 3 Child Credits
-$3,000

Taxes Owed
$0

"Refundable" Credit Received
$1,495

I agree that politics with passion is something I can dig on. I like Ben Harper's music, but his politics are misguided.

90% of all taxes are paid by 5% of the population, the evil "Rich". He says the poor shouldn't pay any taxes, but they already don't.

Socialized health care do Not work. Take a look at Canada. I would not want to be in need of a heart transplant there, or in need of any medical attention for that matter.

And Finally I have a question for the author. You said that your friends said they were going to move to Costa Rica or New Zealand if Bush won reelection. Did they actually move? I betting the answer is no.

In terms of the Health Care issue. As someone who is dealing with an ill, financially strapped mother, i can assure you i would take Canada's system (or the UKs or the majority of Europes) over our system any day. We have one of the least organized, worst health plans in the Western World. It's embarrasing. And I'm not sure exactly of the tax break downs, but i can assure you that there is no way in hell Cheney should have recieved: "As a result, the Cheneys are entitled to a refund of $1,938,930." (CNBC News).


It pains me to no end that we can spend $100,000 a MINUTE in Iraq and we can't even get health care for our elderly... not to mention what's going on in NOLA.. what a disgrace.

i never really liked politics in music especially when the musician doesnt have his facts straight but the cd is rockin so go do urself a favor and buy it

What is wrong with no guns. Alot has changed since 1776. I think sometimes people forget about that. Fuck Bush much love to Ben Harper

Let me explain something to all of you! "our country was found by people that used arms to fight for their freedom". This country was founded upon the agony and fear of the NATIVES that were already here. I dont even want to go nuts here, but people need to start opening their f-ing minds and realize the horror that exists in our world today. Look up the Kayapo, or check out some of the Darfur situations, or maybe delve into the Ecuadoran Amazon and see what British Gas has done to those people. This is a cycle folks, and at the very least we need to appreciate the fact that Harper has a voice about it. Dont knock someones politics when yours are not informed, and squash the idea that the way things are going is right. This world is totally off, just turn on your T.V. and soak in a few minutes of MTV, that should get you there. This guy has been soaking up the political scene for long enough now, so dont impose the thought that his ideas are out of place! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

By the by, good luck and love to your and your mother Kayceeman for the situation you are dealing with. I sincerly hope all gets better for you guys. This health care system is just that, pitiful. Wow, the ignorace of the masses real does cease to amaze me! The nasty things in life are no longer bothering the people that are so steralized by the numb life we now know, and we pass through life with an unrecognized face. HELP SOMEONE TOMORROW AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Life is getting pretty close to insanity. Bullsh*t. Things have really gotten horrible in this world!!!

Wow! I'm very concerned for some of my fellow Jambase readers. Do you know how easy it would be for Ben to sit back and and enjoy his riches without concern for his fellow Americans? Please read Kaycemans comments carefully and for god sake let it soak in.. That means the uncomfortable task of thinking people actually thinking. Politics and music should and have to exist together. The stage is a pulpit and should never be used to just entertain. When will we realize how terribly unbalanced and sick our society has become. There is no way to fix what most of us are not even willing to admit is wrong. Bravo to you Ben for speaking out about guns because they are an ill of our society not a product of it!!! PEACE

I cant believe there are actually people so concerned about their stupid 2nd ammendment rights, when the government is destroying thousands of peoples 6th ammendment rights EVERY DAY in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

None of our rights are stupid, but some of them are ill concieved. Our 2nd amendment rights served a purpose back when, but today, people have no need for uzi's or automatic weaponry for "protection" because it doesn't end up as protection...it ends up being what Johnny on the spot uses to shoot the guy sleeping with his wife, or rob the grocery store when his job is cut and he doesn't have anymore money. I'm fine with people owning guns, in a limited sense, but the free range of weaponry American citizens feel entitled to because of afew lines in the Bill of Rights is just stupid. Explain to me why anyone, besides perhapse military/police members needs the use of automatic weapons. And I swear to god, if anybody says "hunting" I'll reach through the internet and punch you square in the face.

redertai,

without guns; i'ld shoot you in the forhead with a rubber band!

Everybody's got it all figured out... I'm going to contact my senator and let him know to come here for the answers because you guys got it all figured out... By the way Automatic guns are not legal but they do exist because of underground markets... Even if guns were made illegal they would still exist and only the bad people would own them... BEN"S NEW ALBUM IS THE SHIT!!!

"I cant believe there are actually people so concerned about their stupid 2nd ammendment rights, when the government is destroying thousands of peoples 6th ammendment rights EVERY DAY in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay."
No rights in the constitiuion are stupid, and none of the prisoners at Guantanamo have 6th ammendment rights because THEY ARE NOT CITIZENS OF THE USA!!! what the fuck!!!
p.s. any one who trys to close an argument by saying "Fuck Bush" or "Bush is an idiot" is too fucking ignorant to participate in a democracty and should never vote again. I do not particularly like Bush myself. But he makes up one of the three branches of gov't. Checks and balances, if you don't know what that means don't vote.

DannyMo asks, apparently as a rhetorical question, "Do you know how easy it would be for Ben to sit back and enjoy his riches without concern for his fellow Americans?" Well, obviously, not very - given how he's amassed his fortune. Ben Harper is part and parcel of a trend, which implies a consensus. The consensus among people who make their money in the fashion of Ben Harper - who, lest we forget, is a rock star - is that the wellspring of all human trouble flows from the sinister, fascist heart of George Bush. Trite, if nothing else. Everything Harper says in this interview - everything - is extraordinarily trite. The telling moment is his bypass of the great President Clinton in recounting the annals of American badness. The president of don't-ask-don't-tell, of the Omnibus Crime Bill, of the wag-the-dog bombings of Sudan and Iraq, of the invasion of more countries in 6 months than the current Hun in the White House can claim after 6 years, is lionized yet again by a celebrity whose penchant for the claiming originality and bravery turns out to display the exact opposite of both.

"but i can assure you that there is no way in hell Cheney should have recieved: "As a result, the Cheneys are entitled to a refund of $1,938,930." (CNBC News)."

I don't see how you can make this comment. He has investments and money that he made before becoming VP that still makes him $$ and if he overpaid his taxes, then he should get a refund. It isn't somehow dishonest for him to get a refund. His was just advertised since he is the VP.

Also you forgot to include this:
The Cheneys' adjusted gross income in 2005 was $8,819,006,....The Cheneys had donated $6,869,655 to charity in 2005 .....

He donated almost $7 million to charity. That is extremely generous, don't you think?

Kayce - My thoughts and prayers are with your mother. I am sure that is a stressful and painful situation for you to be in. I would disagree with you though, I would take our healthcare system over any other, but to each their own. Are there problems with it? Yes, but I don't think socialized medicine is the answer. For us to have that, everyone's taxes would be jacked way (not just a little) and I don't want to see 60% of my pay going to the gov't that will waste most of it.

And New Orleans is an embarrassment on all levels of gov't and their ineptitude. Too much blame is going on the federal gov't. The Governor of LA and mayor of NOLA completely failed their citizens and are now just ducking and running for cover.

blue1971: How much money do you think ol' Dick and Halliburton have made off this "war"? I believe it was Truman who said it best... " there is no higher treason than war profiteering" Generous??? You are a hopeless fool. But hey , you make a great follower!!
p.s JLucks: trite? why not use glib Mr.Cruise

blue1971 - the warm thought are nice, i do appreciate it. My point in regards to Cheney's tax break goes much deeper that "what is allowed/legal" - while i don't have the framework set, i see no reason why the rich get huge tax breaks and many (myself included) get racked over the coals. I don't make much money, and when i am getting screwed and see this, it pains me. My point is that the top tier rich should not be getting money like that - there should be a scale; the entire system is set up to keep those with money rich and those without poor. Furthermore, when i see the medical situation, the stuff in NOLA, just imagine what Cheney's refund could do for those in need. As a "public servant" (what a joke) those funds could be used in America. Is it his responsibility to donate that money to the USA? No, but perhaps the system should be set up a little bit differently.

And in terms of our horrible health care system, having family members in England, shit, i'd take theirs any day of the week.

And yes, there has been gross mis-management on ever level in regards to NOLA, but it starts at the top and shit runs down hill. Bush and Company have lied and lied and lied about the entire thing... and then, to add insult to injury, they jump at the chance to send troop to the Middle East and it took them a week to get NOLA under control, it just disgusts me. If it weren't all poor black folks in the Gulf this whole thing would have been dealt with differently.

Go Ben,
Just reading the comments from the right wingers on what usually is non-political website just goes to show why Ben should keep it up. His music is very political and always has been.

How many of us on this website would go to a country music site and start complaining about Toby Kieth's politics.
Hopefully, none of us are that pathetic.

I may or may not agree with his opinions, but I'll probably buy this ablum, along with the new Niel Young album and maybe even the new Dixie Chicks album as a package deal only to upset whiney rightwingers.

We already pay per capita more in health care costs than any other developed nation including those with Socialized Medicine. So we are already being had. We pretend it is not happening in the name of a fake free market. My families health insurance costs $12,000 a year without deductibles or copayments. Whether I pay for it in taxes or directly to pocket of some corporate pig makes no difference to me from a finiancial standpoint. Currently it is too expensive out of greed exclusivley. A corrupt facist run healthcare system is not any better than a corrupt government run program. Except that the corrupt nationalized system would cover more people.

Guns and freedom go together like chocolate and peanutbutter right? Like in Iraq, Iran, Mexico, San Salvador, Somalia, Chechyna,etc...? How come so many countries that are armed to the teeth celebrate their freedom in such odd manners. How come all the guns in Nazi Germany prior to Hitler did not stop the Third Riech? Is this the type of freedoms bieng protected by guns.

Gun control and socialized medicine are really just red herrings. Especially in a global context. Not everyone has the protections of the US constitution nor wants them. Nor do guns really help deter violence of any sort. Any cogent analysis of historical gun violence will lead an intellegent person to that conslusion. However, I am against gun control. The government simply can't protect us from ourselves. If you think life is that scary than go for it.

The point Ben seemed to be making that flew over a lot of folks's head is that if we all became less obsessed with violence, greed, and hatred and started learning from history and quit beieving in the rhetoric spewed by the worlds elite, such as the "rich pay 95% of taxes" then we might actually beable to create a more peaceful friendly world.

Oh yeah WOLF et al.: Bush, Cheney, Rummmy, are traitors to the US Constitution and the United States of America. They are vicous jug eared cracker war criminals that have obviously violated many international treaties and laws including the Geneva War Conventions. they should be tried in national and international courts a sent to prison for the rest of their existence. All of their assests should be forfieted and given to the social programs they hate the most. Idiots they are not. I can not say the same for the people that support them. Does that make me smart enough to participate in your "democracty" genuis?

DannyMo - firstly, "why not glib" is obvious - I meant to say "trite." Which, believe it or not, is an entirely different word with an entirely different meaning. Saying Harper is glib would entail an assumption I'm not willing to make on the basis of one trite interview. And, for your benefit - lifting one word from a complete thought and inserting it into a non sequitur is not a solid way of expressing a meaningful idea. It's just glib.

Blower -

1) This is very seldom a non-political website, unfortunately.

2) None of the complaints actually have anything to do substantively with Ben Harper's politics. Certainly not mine. They have to do chiefly with his cerebral output. As an exception to what you perceive as complaints exclusively from "right-wingers", this libertarian might find common cause with Harper on a number of matters, and in any case I would agree that George Bush is, in any serious analysis, a failed president.

3) Not to turn this into a blog, but your assertion that we already pay more in healthcare costs per capita than any industrialized nation, including those with socialized medicine, is patently false. Without being pedantic, you are confusing price and cost. Sort of the way DannyMo confused "trite" with "glib". Sort of the way Harper's fawners confuse vacuity for intelligence.

OMG, This interview just goes to show how blatently ignorant some people can be. Ben Harper believes that if a person makes bad decisions in his or her life, causing less income than others, then through the FORCE of the government, they should steal other people's money and give it to those who made poor choices. It called income redistribution and it's as bad as holding a gun to someones head and saying give me 33% of your money. Remember if you don't pay your taxes you go to jail, BY FORCE of the government. This is the same person speaking about the "regression of society". While he sits back and talks about getting rid of piracy so he can make his extra 400k a year. Judge not less you be judged my friend.

HEY JLUCK!!!! Man you sure do like to use big words, sounds like someone is overcompensating for something!! Just a thought i don't need a three paragraph rebutle that makes you feel so much smarter than everyone else on this page (including all the musicians and journalist)

BLOWER, sorry I didn’t spell check my comments…
What you said was very “vicous” or was it vicious? I also can’t agree that “All of their assests should be forfieted and given to the social programs…” but maybe all of their assets should be forfeited. I don’t know.
Anyways your talking points are appreciated, and I had never heard them before. How did you come up with such original ideas? I love it when people pawn off things they heard their favorite celebrity say as truly deep, profound, and original ideas.

Ben is the man, nice to see him challenging his creatity, keeping it fresh. Can't wait to see him this summer! Nice job on the interview Forrest, call your cousin sometime and lets hit some shows! Peace

hey webster, the word youre looking for is vacuity, as in emptiness or void, not vicious, as in violent.

all ya'll need Enlightenment. the bickering back and forth is disgusting and the aggressive, angry tone more or less invalidates the intended message. most of the comments reek of self-importance and the desire to impose one's beliefs upon everyone else. it is this kind of violent discourse that destroys democracy and allows power mongers (won't mention names because it is so widespread) to thrive. someone already mentioned the need to open your minds, for only when the mind is free and clear from the confusion of ego can a constructive discussion occur. when we are all wise enough to lose our attachment to our own ideas, then we can consider things just As They Are. haha of course if we were all awakened as such, it wouldn't matter if guns were legal or not because no one would see any need for them. wishful thinking. for now, work on yourself and let others do the same. we're all the same so let's just relax and Breathe. Peace.

Great to live in a society where we can say whatever the hell we want. As to the gun issue, if everyone treated each other better (including how the Gov't treats its citizens) would we need them at all? Is the claim that we need the 2nd amendment to protect ourselves from our gov't valid? If we take up arms against our gov't (municipal, state or federal) we would end up dead or imprisoned. If we communicate, organize and advocate change, we actually make progress! It seems immpossible for a society to be totally non-violent, but most of us (I'm assuming)as individuals are. "Love thy neighbor" takes care of all of these problems: gun-violence, poverty, immbalance of wealth, health-care etc. Just a thought. Peace!!

kenwudboy is right..

I thought the lyric was "what good is a CITY, with no better plan" poor new orleans.. at least u got to have jazzfest... peace yall!!!

this album got me into ben harper music!!!

It would be cool to see him and neil young put an album together.. :-)

Ben is a fabulous musician!!! I hope he shows up near Tahoe soon.

I will be done after this becuase it is not blog.

"your assertion that we already pay more in healthcare costs per capita than any industrialized nation, including those with socialized medicine, is patently false without being pedantic, you are confusing price and cost"

Price would be my price to buy insurance or health care. Costs to a nation, would be the price we pay as portion of our GDP based on a per capita average.

We pay more than twice as much in health care as the nearest competitor (Switzerland) and our system sucks. (see OECD Health Data, 2000). Google healthcare costs per capita by nation if you want the truth about our healthcare costs.

JLUCK-So my statement was patently true, sorry. Your comment was on the other hand uniformed and displayed congitive dissonance. Which was the point of my rant in the first place. You believe the misinformation spewed by our government even when it can be easily disproven. Somehow I doubt you will research the facts anyway so I am not sure why I wasted my time.

So mister pedantic does that make your statement glib or trite, does it represent intellegence or vacuity, I'm so confused? Next you are going to tell me that anti-tax, pro-gun, anti-government laizze faire capitalist libertarians like Pat Buchanan, and Paul Roberts are actually leftists, not members of the far right.

Wolf-thanks for tit for tat sarcasm, but you started calling people ignorant and then misspelled the next verb in your sentence, I was just baiting you having some fun.

why dont we all just shoot each other?
What you dont like Ben Harper!! I kill you!
What?? you dont like STS9??? I kill you!!
lighten up people, for crying out loud. peace yall..