Okay... new week.

I wanna welcome anyone who's new here at this site. And, welcome to anyone who's reading this in another part of the country or another part of the world.

I'm gonna leave the "where I'm playing" stuff to the "where I'm playing" section over there on the right. But, I can tell those of you who live in and around New York City... later this week, I might be able to let you guys know what's goin' on about the possibility of those Sunday concerts in Riverside Park.

Today, I wanna start out the way I do nearly every day... saying "Thank you". I'm so glad so many of you "Get" the music and the things I write about. I'm gonna keep doing my best, no matter how falteringly, to do what I feel like I'm supposed to be doing here. I'm sooo makin' this Life up as I go along! But, damn! I'm a lucky man!

We're gonna have alot of fun this summer... alot of music... alot of laughs. We always do. but, we're also gonna try to do some good where we can. Okay?

It's just us.

Hey all... listen.

I was struck by something outrageous again today. I was watching MSNBC to monitor exactly how much the television news media is ignoring the reality of the war in Iraq. And suddenly, there was this Twinky...

Tucker Carlson

Okay, okay... we all know he's a right-wing, mendacious dweeb. (Ha! The guy that Jon Stewart deservedly called a "dick" on national television.)

Well, today he said that the success of George W. Bush's incorrectly named "War on Terror" could only be measured by one criteria... "the number of Americans killed" in that so-called war since 9-11. And, then he actually said, with a straight face that "the number is, of course, zero".

Will somebdy tell this shallow idiot that to date over 1,700 American families would disagree with him. And, that there were over 3 times the amount of terrorist attacks worlwide this year than there were before 9-11. And, that if the only measure is the number of American lives, then he cannot count himself amoung the decent people of this world with beating hearts who feel for all human beings.

What a little person!

Listen, regardless of your politics, I'm getting together with a growing circle of good friends and artists to try to put together a concert sometime in the near future, either in the Fall or Winter, to raise money and direct aid for the innocent civilians who's lives are being destroyed in Iraq. (Everyone's welcome. If you supported the invasion of Iraq, for whatever reasons, you oughta be first in line for this thing!) In the last 13 days, nearly 200 men, women and children... children... have been killed there. Do you know how many have been injured and wounded beyond words? How many children have lost both their parents? How many homes and families have been torn apart?

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No...neither do I.

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Our government isn't keeping track. (And, if they are, they certainly don't want you to know about it.)

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So... we're gonna do what we can to make sure the footsteps of this tiny woman don't get blown away in the wing of Michael Jackson trials and fillibusters.

HERE IS A REPOST OF A PIECE I WROTE ABOUT MARLA A LITTLE WHILE AGO.

PLEASE PASS THE LINK FOR THIS PAGE ONTO AS MANY FRIENDS AS YOU CAN TODAY, OKAY?

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I love making music. It's an indescribable feeling to be doing what I really feel I'm meant to be doing... writing songs and sharing them with you guys. I guess we'll be doing that every Saturday afternoon in Central Park. It's gonna be a great summer! Yeah, it's what I'm meant to be doing with my life right now.

Y'know? People who know they are doing what they are meant to do are very lucky people. I feel like that, which is why I always say I'm so lucky. Rarely, but sometimes, when someone does what their heart tells them to do it brings wealth. On very rare occaisions, it brings fame. But, it always brings a sense of purpose and and overall sense of well-being... peace of mind. So, I also hafta say, today I feel I'm meant to spend a little time on something important, someone... someone I feel I'm meant to tell you guys about.

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Marla Ruzicka.

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Who?

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I know, I know... a little while ago, I would've asked the same question.

Marla, a young woman with a blend of tenacity and optimism, has been working tirelessly in Iraq to help the many innocent victims of the U.S. invasion... the WAR we started on false pretenses, the WAR that is still raging, the WAR that we were lied to about, and the WAR which is largely being ignored by both Democratic and Republican politicians and the American public alike.

I know... alot of you... if you haven't stopped reading already, are thinking, "Oh shit! Here he goes again!"

But, read on if you have a pulse and really get what my music is about. Here is a 28 year old woman, who at 5 foot 3, has worked tirelessly to help alleviate the terrible human suffering among the countless civilians that are being killed and injured every day... the civilians who are suffering while, here in America yesterday, an entire hour of "MEET THE PRESS" was devoted to discussions about a new pope.

Marla started CIVIC, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding civilians harmed in conflicts around the world. By surveying the countryside and interviewing victims, CIVIC conducts an accounting of the human costs of war, while assessing the needs of the civilian population. The findings are then used to lobby governments for aid that will help victims rebuild their lives and communities. In Iraq, she said it has become impossible to count the number of innocent people being killed and injured... every day.

A friend of Marla's, BBC reporter Quill Lawrence, described her as, "a force of nature somewhere between lightning and gravity... between Mother Teresa and Buffy the Vampire Killer."

Not too long ago, Marla wrote this from Iraq.

Friends...

--Marla

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Marla was killed in the fighting in April.

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A car bomb collided with her car as it was attacking a U.S. military convoy. She was on her way to visit an injured Iraq family. She and her driver were killed.

Now, I've decided to devote this update to Marla, because I was so struck by a few comments that were posted here on this website a while back... in the "Forum" actually, when I semi-rhetorically asked where all the right-wing conservatives had gone from that message board. Y'know, those folks who were so gun-ho-behind this nightmare of a war. Comments like...

After the election, we went "...back to being productive members of society. For us who consider ourselves 'conservatives', life goes on."

Fine.

The only thing we can say now is at least Marla died doing what she felt she was meant to do, doing what she really, really believed in. If she were still here, she'd probably be most worried now about her driver's family and who will take care of all the other Iraqi families she was working with.

She would point out, this happens to Iraqis every day and no one notices or even cares. There are no newspaper articles or investigations into what happens to them. For most of them, there was only Marla.

If anybody wants learn more about the work she did, or make a contribution to the organization she started... you can go to:

http://www.civicworldwide.org/

I'll get back to the music... I have a lot of joy doing what I do. I do have peace of mind most of the time... and, I'm really looking forward to sharing songs and smiles and laughs with all of you in Central Park this summer.

And, I wanna thank all of you who do show up.

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Thanks, Marla.

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And, guys? If you feel like it... share this page with friends today. Send them the link, okay? Pass it on.

Thanks again.