Legacy

Go to hell, Jerry. As a recovering ex-Catholic who still believes in God but not the church, I didn't waste my tears on Jerry Falwell. If there's any justice, his soul should be impaled on a pitchfork right now. Still, even though his physical carcass is gone, his hateful malignancy is still alive. No, he didn't do it all by himself, but Falwell helped give religious intolerance clout, legitimacy, and a new car smell. It won't go away. Here's the evidence: Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees as homosexual propaganda to the small screen on Monday, taking aim at Tinky Winky and the other Teletubbies. Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told a local magazine published on Monday that she was concerned the popular BBC children's show promoted homosexuality. She said she would ask psychologists to advise if this was the case. In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late US evangelist Jerry Falwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady's purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy." "At first I thought the purse would be a burden for this Teletubby ... Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone." Never mind about that child-molesting priest hiding in plain sight at the parish, boys and girls. It's Tinky Winky you should be worried about. That's right, a midget wearing a fuzzy purple costume in a make-believe world is a threat to children. (The beloved kiddy icon is probably carrying the dreaded Origin of Species in his purse) If you take a Bible and beat yourself over the head with it repeatedly, this ridiculous hallucination will make perfect sense. If it doesn't, get a bigger Bible. Falwell's dead, but his legacy lives on. God help us.

Susan

Susan Werner is an über-talented artist who plays guitar and piano and sings beautifully, skillfully navigates the genres of jazz and folk, and writes real songs about real stuff that adults living in the real world care about, but it doesn’t feel like math homework or the leftover Brussel sprouts your mom makes you eat. Performing in the margins outside the vapid pop music landscape, this singer/songwriter from the Midwest is deep without being pretentious. Werner is funny, smart, passionate, and very, very sexy. She’s good on CD (Last of the Good Straight Girls, Time Between Trains, I Can't Be New, Live at the Tin Angel, New Non-Fiction, Midwestern Saturday Night), and better in concert. Such a deal. After the recent obscene decision from the Supreme Court, this song from Werner’s new CD, The Gospel Truth, seemed chillingly appropriate.