Excellent compilation. When George Bush took office, the price of gasoline averaged $1.24 per gallon...by the time he leaves office, it will likely be $4.00 per gallon. Perhaps another photo op is in the offing, with Bush and Cheney in front of that "Mission Accomplished" banner...

Whenever I see the term "Oil Man," I immediately think Daniel Day Lewis.
Cool mix.

Another fine set, George. Especially like the 3-5 run and the terrific closer..

that kathleen edwards disc is sounding good. plenty more good stuff on this one george. thanks!

got the message

Oil is just the right price for Bush and Cheney's bosses; the Saudi family. Mission accomplished. Very nice mix!

I'm wondering if the price of a life has gone up or down during Bush's tenure in office. Nicely done.

Admittedly, I dislike political mixes. Reason: differing politics has the manner of alienating those who share opinions on many issues outside the political arena.But, since this a forum for sharing thoughts...(And, since I realize AoTMers will realize I only mean to offer a different perspective. And, please don't take my comments as my way of dismissing your point. It does have some merit.) I would like to throw out a few points for consideration.A. narrowing the focus of this war to a campaign for oil is incorrect (or, at very least, vastly incomplete). As such, this perspective cheapens the efforts put forth by the soldiers fighting this war. B. When taking a hindsight perspective, let's go a bit further down the road. What was the price we paid when we did nothing, as in the prior administration? If given the choice, I'll pay the $3 more a gallon, thank you.Don't get me wrong, we agree. Bush and Cheney are assholes: unintelligent, smug, inaffective, untruthful...etc. But, I am sensitive (overly sensitive, possibly) to statements that diminish and distract from the real efforts and sacrifice being put forth by U.S. soldiers, but don't take into account the full scope of this conflict.

Love your closing five; that Neil Young song just upsets me. Seems like past generations wrote way better protest songs than are currently being written. "What's Goin' On" vs. "Let's Impeach The President"? Hands down, Mr. Gaye wins every time. Like I said, though, ending with that great Kathleen Edwards tune, a nice little jab with the Dixie Chicks, Ms. Osborne, and the always-perfect Solomon Burke makes this mix really work.I'm enjoying this series a lot, although I do miss being able to download the individual songs. <3 Sara

Music has always been part of the political arena and of course all over the world people have sung in protest. The Iraq War is five years old this week and I've chosen to express myself in this manner at this time in collecting protest songs and posting this series of mixes which by the way still has a long way to go.
Why is it that anytime someone questions the war it is taken as a lack of support of the troops? The argument that being against the war is being against the troops fighting the war is right out of the fox noise playbook and insulting to all patriotic Americans who love their country but hate being led to a war with lies and deceit.

Gnome, I don't think you are like them so when discussing the reasons for going to war or continuing the war please assume that everyone supports the troops. As a veteran who spent four years on active duty in the military you can be assured that I support our troops and I wish this administration would support our troops when they return home instead of cutting funds to veteran programs.

Oh, does anyone here think the US would be fighting for five years in Iraq if there wasn't any oil?

"Why is it that anytime someone questions the war it is taken as a lack of support of the troops?"First off, if I offended or misspoke, please accept my apologies. That was not my intent. But, I don't like the notion that the people of this country, who were in favor of this war (which did include the U.S. majority, in fact) were of that opinion because of a hope for lower gas prices. And, as we cannot turn back the clock, I believe we owe it to the troops, the people of Iraq and to ourselves to follow through until stability is obtained.I believe we have very similar views. For my part, I am only narrowing my focus on an effort to force change in the government by making people feel more accountable for the decisions of it's leaders. But, that does not include changing the irreversible effects of our collective prior poor judgement.I guess, better put, I find it incomprehensible how support for a war can alter over time. And, having said that, imho, as with any great democracy, support for war should be akin to the phrase, majority rules.

Apologies accepted but not needed. I certainly know that offense was not intended or taken. I also did not intend to imply there were people wanting a war with the hope of getting lower gas prices. I do believe it was about the control of oil and for the oil companies that means controlling the price of oil which for them is always to increase.

The "collective poor judgment" and the perception that the majority of people in the US were in favor of the war for any reason let alone lower gas prices doesn't take into consideration the now well documented campaign of misinformation and fear mongering leading up to the war. Then of course there was the utter incompetent mismanagement of the occupation by a bunch of political hacks bent on creating some ideal conservative government on top of a brewing civil war. Perhaps that can help explain why so many people have turned against the war. People don't like being lied to and of course now it is hitting their pocketbooks in a very real way.
As for me... I was never, ever in favor of invading Iraq at anytime or at least until the inspectors were given the time to do their job.

We do have a great democracy and this fall we have a very big decision to make as to the future of our country and to make our government accountable. Change or more of the same. Or worse.

gettin' a bit hot in here (i jest, of course). lovin' the national, decemberists, CYHSY, tom waits & solomon burke tracks (what a closer!)

Very interesting dialogue here. I would respectfully offer to Musicgnome that it is, indeed, possible for support for a war to evolve over time, particularly when the reasons provided for going into that war were found to be untrue. And, since we have captured Saddam Hussein and put him to death and a relatively representative government has been created, one can legitimately ask how much longer an American presence is necessary, especially at a cost of more than $700 million per day...I can think of 1,000 better ways that money can be spent. But, alas, it appears none of the three major candidates for President are thinking about getting out anytime soon...Aren't there any other choices to lead us?

"The "collective poor judgment" and the perception that the majority of people in the US were in favor of the war for any reason let alone lower gas prices doesn't take into consideration the now well documented campaign of misinformation and fear mongering leading up to the war. Then of course there was the utter incompetent mismanagement of the occupation by a bunch of political hacks bent on creating some ideal conservative government on top of a brewing civil war. Perhaps that can help explain why so many people have turned against the war."Very well said. And, agreed. Regardless, I am unwilling to profess anything but support for this war until this conflict ends and the troops are home and thanked. (Please note, I hate being contrary, as I am very thick-headed in this regard. But, I appreciate the dialogue. I appreciate the manner in which you've approached this conversation and thoroughly respect your position.) Peace! And, back to the tunes.

Interesting. I certainly agree with your sentiment (although it's certainly more complex than that) and definitely dig the Solomon, Waits (one of my favorites of his), Clap Your Hands and National tracks.

I tried doing a political mix called Ally Cease-Fire awhile back. Your song list and overall tone beats mine hands down. Thanks for this!

I tend to think we'd be there anyway even if there was no oil, but 'corporate sponsorship' didn't hurt the cause. Questionable US intervention in other parts of the world is a long American tradition, bloodlust for retribution and the chance of an American oil outpost in the Middle East just sweetened the deal, politically. We suck, great mix!

I really liked that Kathleen Edwards song and album. Another great mix, George.

Very nice mix & sentiments. You are #38 on the Political Mixes1:Anti-Bush-Anti-war 03-08 exhibit (I actually had to delete one of your earlier mixes to add this one).
My comments to the dialog below: Supporting the war is quite distinct from supporting the troops. I would say that pulling troops from a conflict that cannot really be "won" supports the troops much more than supporting the continuation of such a war. Another consequence of the war -- the bleeding of the nation's financial resources and consequential selling of the country's economy to others, notably the Saudis & the Chinese, via the massive debt that we are incurring due to the conflict, are much greater threats to the country's national security than Saddam every was. As is the tremendous increase of (battle tested) Islamic jihadists directly attributable to our presence in Iraq. To me it seems that what few positives may have come or may come (and I can't really think of any) from this conflict are vastly outweighed by the negatives.