[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
Steve Earle — Jerusalem
Album: Jerusalem
Avg rating:
6.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1357









Released: 2002
Length: 3:51
Plays (last 30 days): 0
I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
Comments (195)add comment
Hearing Steve Earle reminds me that RP should consider some Rodney Crowell, like this recent composition which I can't link to for some reason: "Something Has To Change." Copyright?
 easmann wrote:

"Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool. 
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school."

— Steve Earle, Jerusalem 




Wish it were that easy.  Sunday school was where I heard the uplifting story of the Walls of Jericho, how singing and marching around caused them to fall.  All praise the power of the Lord and so on.  Wasn't until many years later that I turned the page to discover that once the walls fell the victors slaughtered the inhabitants and all their livestock and then salted the earth.  Maybe I wasn't taught to hate in Sunday school, but the full story isn't one of brotherly love.
I heard this one in just the right setting today,  going with a big +3 to 7, with a promise on my part to listen even closer next time this one plays to see if also end up exclaiming "AMEN!!."

Long Live Radio Paradise!!  And AMEN to that. 

 kingart wrote:

Sing it out, brother! 
Make Mr. Trump listen to this about 5,000 times in a row. Maybe he might eventually have a glimmer of enlightenment. 


Don't try to teach a pig to sing.  It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
 Blasserman wrote:

Let me guess, Dylan influence?




Guess again.
BD and his fabulous harmonica.
 BKardon wrote:

I'd like to hear his son here on RP.  Following quite nicely in his father's footsteps.

Sadly, Justin Townes Earle passed away in 2020. Accidental overdose - fentanyl, among other things. So sad and stupid.
c.

Another 'Merican 'Shoot-Em' Holy Grail.. strange language to non-'Mericans for no Sunday school may ever have been bugging them in their lives. But let's all go to Sunday school, now!
 whatsupdude wrote:


Maybe Frank Sinatra was the best, when I'm in the mood they're all great!

Best singer, sure. But songwriter? I don't know how many he wrote himself. Takes nothing away from his interpretative ability though.
c.

God Bless Steve Earle...
 cc_rider wrote:

“Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that,” 

Steve Earle


edit: Ha! I posted the same thing some years ago. Oh well.
c.
 

Maybe Frank Sinatra was the best, when I'm in the mood they're all great!
I love listening to Steve Earl,  from The Devils Right Hand  until right now on RP. An American who has taken a good look around!
Let me guess, Dylan influence?
If there are just 5 songs on RP that bring tears, this is one of them. Mark Knopfler has two, and Patty Griffin two more.  
Perfect song for Martin Luther King Jr. day in the USA today.
Sing it out, brother! 
Make Mr. Trump listen to this about 5,000 times in a row. Maybe he might eventually have a glimmer of enlightenment. 
 cely wrote:
Incredible lyricist and songwriter.  I'd love to meet that guy, even if he turned ot to be an asshole.
 
I read most of his book, I think the a$$holiness has faded over time. Funny how that happens...

It's frankly amazing he's still alive. A number of his runnin' buddies are not.
c.
The irony being the differences in perspective on how to arrive evokes such violently "righteous indignation".
Incredible lyricist and songwriter.  I'd love to meet that guy, even if he turned ot to be an asshole.
bob baffin bay..
 robertomiller wrote:
I was leaning toward Towns Van Zandt, myself
 
“Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that,” 

Steve Earle


edit: Ha! I posted the same thing some years ago. Oh well.
c.
Ummm seems more real each year
As a borned and raised Israeli I'm listening to the words and looking at my young boy and my eyes are filling with tears.... Amen steve Earle
"In this world you will have trouble. 
But take heart! I have overcome the world."
                      —Jesus {#Sunny}
 fredriley wrote:
I'll second that. Cynaera was one of the finest posters on RP, with a dry and sharp wit. A real individual and one-off, and a big loss to this and all the other communities she was a part of. I miss her too...
 
Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of galactic presidential campaigns loves this song...  we be dancing like bowlegged gypsy muleskinners...  hope life is grand right this minute for you and your Nottingham jury, fredriley...  we still miss Cynaera, too...
 Mr_Fix_it wrote:
Am I hearing Bob Dylan influence here? Same style,....

 
I was leaning toward Towns Van Zandt, myself
The ethnic cleansing of the former Palestinian mandate continues.   

The blowback means that more Israelis, Americans and Canadians will die. 
I like the lyrics. Its pretty neutral positive.
I too hope that the time will come that there is peace and freedom in Jerusalem. There is a sort of peace now, but thats only because of effective and often harsh politic, police and military activity.
Without it violence would destroy the jewish parts of Jerusalem. With it there is injustice towards non-jewish people living within or just outside the borders of Israel.
But a solution? Both parties should accept their existense in the holyland.
More Steve Earle, please.

+1


"Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool. 
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school."

— Steve Earle, Jerusalem 
Am I hearing Bob Dylan influence here? Same style,....
 ajlept wrote:
 We "common folk" on all sides only desire peace and coexistence. I think, though, that we will have to rise up against the puppeteers & cut the strings at all costs. Our future depends on it.

The only sensible way to cut the strings is to resist them--simply say, "No." Gandhi had it right.

More Steve Earle, please.

 
 rdo wrote:

It is possible to be a strong supporter of Israel, and to be disgusted to the point of insanity by the settlements.  Theft really, let’s be clear about terminology.  I hate this song.



 
At least you have hate in common with most of the folks in that part of the world. 
 rdo wrote:

It is possible to be a strong supporter of Israel, and to be disgusted to the point of insanity by the settlements.  Theft really, let’s be clear about terminology.  I hate this song.



 

read the words....duh....and you hate everything...F.O.

It is possible to be a strong supporter of Israel, and to be disgusted to the point of insanity by the settlements.  Theft really, let’s be clear about terminology.  I hate this song.


https://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/
I'd like to hear his son here on RP.  Following quite nicely in his father's footsteps.
This song is so ironic today with the "religious pot" being stirred up by the megabankers and inbred monarchs in the west to reduce the world population and profit from the reconstruction. We "common folk" on all sides only desire peace and coexistence. I think, though, that we will have to rise up against the puppeteers & cut the strings at all costs. Our future depends on it.

Democracy: Two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
.....
MsJudi wrote:
I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
 

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
Don't let the big dog into the studio, Bill! ;-)
 romeotuma wrote:

Miss you so much, Ann...

rest in peace... 
 
I'll second that. Cynaera was one of the finest posters on RP, with a dry and sharp wit. A real individual and one-off, and a big loss to this and all the other communities she was a part of. I miss her too...
Heard this driving in NYC on a Good Friday a few years ago. I found it so moving I teared up and had to pull to the side of West Broadway. What a great song.  
Steve Earle says things that most of us are not articulate enough to even think
Genius. As with Bob Dylan it ain't all about the voice, it's the overall content.Great in concert too. 9 
 socalhol wrote:
this gets a "2" from me — voice is too annoying.  man, even the harmonica sounds whiney!  {#Eek}
 

I dunno, sounds a bit like Joe Strummer to me{#Bananajam}

 Cynaera wrote:

Well, I'd argue that whole "farting noises" thing, just a little... But yeah, he's definitely the real deal.  His voice has taken a beating because of the kind of life he's lived, but that only makes his songs more real and believable, which is what I love about his music. He's not a poser - he's been the main character in a lot of the songs he sings, and he doesn't gloss over the bad stuff.  An Amurrican icon, to some. To me, his pallet of music depicts the very best of humanity, and sometimes the very worst, but never without a hope for redemption. Somehow, he inspires me.

 
Well put. He has inspired me to live a life worth living since I was a teen.

 hallogallo wrote:

Steve Earle is the real deal. 

If he were to play only farting noises with his armpits from here on out ... he would still be in the the top-ten from Transcendental Blues
 
If he were? Oh, sorry, that must be the harmonica. Sorry, the combo of rough voice and rough harmonica is like emery paper to my tender lugholes today.

this gets a "2" from me — voice is too annoying.  man, even the harmonica sounds whiney!  {#Eek}
Inspiring song. Wonderful, evocative lyrics. A song that means and speaks to something of significance.  
 cc_rider wrote:
Reposted:

"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." - Steve Earle
 

Yea and he may have been one of the few people that actually sings worse than Steve Earle. Personally, I don't care especially regarding alt country, it ain't about the voice man! I love it all!
 hallogallo wrote:

Steve Earle is the real deal. 

If he were to play only farting noises with his armpits from here on out ... he would still be in the the top-ten from Transcendental Blues

FACT
 
Well, I'd argue that whole "farting noises" thing, just a little... But yeah, he's definitely the real deal.  His voice has taken a beating because of the kind of life he's lived, but that only makes his songs more real and believable, which is what I love about his music. He's not a poser - he's been the main character in a lot of the songs he sings, and he doesn't gloss over the bad stuff.  An Amurrican icon, to some. To me, his pallet of music depicts the very best of humanity, and sometimes the very worst, but never without a hope for redemption. Somehow, he inspires me.


Steve Earle is the real deal. 

If he were to play only farting noises with his armpits from here on out ... he would still be in the the top-ten from Transcendental Blues

FACT


 Cynaera wrote:
I'll love Steve Earle's work until he tops "The Revolution Starts Now" - and then I'll still love his work.
 
Still.

10
 burkie wrote:
6 for the music plus 2 for the lyrics = 8

 
6 for the great lyrics and 2 for the pedestrian music = 8

6 for the music plus 2 for the lyrics = 8

This song has really grown on me. And I have used the line 'I don't remember learning how to hate in Sunday School' in reference to discussions about some of the current events in the United States. It is a wonderful counter argument to some of the supposed logic being dispensed in the US these days.
Some of the best-produced alt.country out there, methinks.
I'll love Steve Earle's work until he tops "The Revolution Starts Now" - and then I'll still love his work.
Reposted:

"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." - Steve Earle
The praise-worthy lyrics have already been quoted here, but I feel compelled to point out how great this line is:

"I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school..."

i like it. anyone that can rock a song like guitar town is awesome in my books. reminds me of being eight years old and looking up to my dad and his "tunes".
{#No}     I gotta MUTE this one....

This sounds like Arlo Guthrie - When a solider comes home. Play that one, Bill!
 bobringer wrote:
If Bruce Springsteen sucked more than he already does... this is what it would sound like.
 

And — clearly — if bobringer sucked more than he already does,...

But that doesn't seem possible.
 bobringer wrote:
If Bruce Springsteen sucked more than he already does... this is what it would sound like.
 
That's odd, I was just thinking the same about Bob Dylan

If Bruce Springsteen sucked more than he already does... this is what it would sound like.
 HazzeSwede wrote:

Truer words has never been spoken,,,{#Lol}
 
You guys need to just watch your American Idol.

 sirdroseph wrote:
He is a male singer in the genre of Alt countryAmericana. With this type of music, not only is a good singing voice not required, it is discouraged!{#Wink}
 
Truer words has never been spoken,,,{#Lol}
so good for the ears, & the mind....
Thought it was Dylan...at first
I may be naive, but I can't help but feel positive whenever I hear this song.
This is a good album.{#Yes}
 mongoose01ca wrote:
Steve Earle makes some amazing music. This is a tremendous song.
 

yes love it -
I like the Producer/singer fake interview down some comments here : )

 ****

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem
 That_SOB wrote:

RPHead wrote: "B. Is it possible that the Palestinians are at majority fault there?"
———
 Yes, perhaps, tell ya what, we'll be on your property at 5 AM, we're building condo's and moving all our
friends and relatives on to what you just thought was your land...
Then again, "fault" could be just a matter of perception....... 

https://doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/alert/article.cfm?id=3481&cat=alert-article

 
oh yea, and before we do that, we'll tear down YOUR house and kill a couple of your kids, while we're at it


RPHead wrote: "B. Is it possible that the Palestinians are at majority fault there?"
———
 Yes, perhaps, tell ya what, we'll be on your property at 5 AM, we're building condo's and moving all our
friends and relatives on to what you just thought was your land...
Then again, "fault" could be just a matter of perception....... 

https://doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/alert/article.cfm?id=3481&cat=alert-article

 sirdroseph wrote:
He is a male singer in the genre of Alt countryAmericana. With this type of music, not only is a good singing voice not required, it is discouraged!{#Wink}
 
Producer: "You've got to do another take on that one Steve."
Steve: "Why, was I flat?"
Producer: "No,no, just the opposite, you sounded too good." Rough it up a bit; mumble some, slur your words, you know the drill."
Steve: "Dam it! I have a great singing voice, ...and I want people to hear it." ....gentle sobbing
Producer: "Stevie baby....we've had this talk before. This ain't the Opera son. People expect you to sound a certain way...like you've been on a bender for a week and have been smoking 3 packs a day since you were 8."
Steve: "Alright man...gimmie a minute." "But one of these days.........."

Just bought tix today to see him here in Seattle in January. It'll be my 5th time in the company of Mr. Earle!

 bobcat1963 wrote:
so good to hear steve earle here on RP!
thank you Bill!
{#Hug}

 

I second that emoticon!
He is a male singer in the genre of Alt country\Americana. With this type of music, not only is a good singing voice not required, it is discouraged!{#Wink}
Think of his voice and others like him as beer or coffee, it takes some time to acquire the taste but when you do it's appreciated all the more.
 gjeeg wrote:
He does Bruce better than Bruce!
I mean this as a compliment.
He's like the Bruce of the south ... always thought Bruce's appeal was especially regional.  If you grew up around that Jersey area, he was like one of your friends telling you a story about people you knew, or were related to.


 yclept wrote:

you must really hate Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan...it's the lyrics, hon'
 
Exactly correct!

I saw Leonard at Coachella on 4/17 (and Paul McCartney! {#Notworthy}) He was beyond extraordinary. If there is any way  you can catch Leonard on his tour, do yourself a favor. You won't regret it. {#Clap}
Steve Earle makes some amazing music. This is a tremendous song.
He does Bruce better than Bruce!
I mean this as a compliment.
Steve is the real deal—about as rootsy as a rocker can get.  Great song.
Just ho hum
 Excelsior wrote:
Can't get past that horrible voice.  {#Puke}
 
you must really hate Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan...it's the lyrics, hon'
 Excelsior wrote:
Can't get past that horrible voice.  {#Puke}
 
That makes two of us.
tragically relevant.  great song from an excellent artist.  thanks for playing!

so good to hear steve earle here on RP!
thank you Bill!
{#Hug}

sounds like dan bern - sounds like elvis costello - sounds good.
{#Cowboy} Good Stuff.

Can't get past that horrible voice.  {#Puke}
 kazuma wrote:

(conquest + occupation + puppet govt) != democracy
 
I recommend the book "The Birth of Plenty" by William J. Bernstein (use RP's link ;-)

In discussing the development of the modern economy, the author makes a convincing argument that Democracy is a side effect of other factors. When other factors are in play (security, rights, etc), democracy tends to take root.  

One can't export, impose or suddenly declare democracy and expect to figure everything else out later. 

Not getting Dylan at all from this, but I am getting a lot of Bruce Springstein.
sharkey wrote:
wHAAt?? If it's the voice, use some Qtips. If it's the lyrics, they stand alone & separate. If it's the music.....WTF. Explain urself

No, he was right.  I thought this guy was a Dylan impersonator.

Earl stands alone from Bob.
figsout wrote:
dylan copycat?
Oops... Just checked your ratings. I understand. U do need Qtips...
figsout wrote:
dylan copycat?
wHAAt?? If it's the voice, use some Qtips. If it's the lyrics, they stand alone & separate. If it's the music.....WTF. Explain urself
The more times I hear this, the better it gets. The mark of strong art. Nuanced and thoughtful. Powerfully simple; simply powerful.
dylan copycat?
There is no real way for people to understand this issue from within our distant comfort. You have to go see. Go see. It's worth the round-trip ticket. Seriously. I'm not rich by western standards and I laid down a grand to go see for myself. I'm not going to argue this point because in this situation you're either preaching to the choir, or casting your pearls before the swine. I will say however that we met a fair number of Israelis who were actively opposed to the apartheid; these good folks for example: (click here) But really, I say again, go see for yourself. Bring a friend, or twenty friends. If the neocons are right it should be obvious. Visit Ashdod and then visit Nablus. Visit Bethlehem. Go to the countryside around Hebron and try to get an objective view of whats going on between the people who live there...all the children of Abraham. Compare the Israeli and Palestinian neighborhoods in Nazareth. Go out toward the Dead Sea, maybe hike at Ein Gedi. It's beautiful...but there's something amiss there...and you'll see if you go. I didn't go into Jericho, but maybe I will if I go again. In any case, real people, real lives. I have friends on both sides. I'm with Steve. The media machine almost bent my head. But I'm holding on to the hope that peace is possible.
Dylan's "Isis" would be a good combo with this---some DJ do a remix of "Isis", okay? (I'm a friggin' idiot at this stuff, but I love it!)
radioparadisehead wrote:
"Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school" Could this be interpreted to mean that Earle is implying that Christians are the ones doing the "hating" in Jerusalem? A. Are Christians really at issue there? B. Is it possible that the Palestinians are at majority fault there?
No no, he's speaking in far more general terms than you're thinking. He's talking about religious instruction in general. One likes to imagine children are taught the 'good' aspects of whatever religion they are instructed in. However your point is well taken in regards Palestinian children, who are inculcated in the cult of hate and death from an early age. Just my interpretation. I don't think he's choosing sides here, just lamenting how what should be a holy place is shattered by man's tribalism. c.
So much anger directed against a song expressing a desire for love and peace....
"Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school" Could this be interpreted to mean that Earle is implying that Christians are the ones doing the "hating" in Jerusalem? A. Are Christians really at issue there? B. Is it possible that the Palestinians are at majority fault there?
This is a great album, tho real political. Steve's great in concert, too.
I'm with you, Steve.
smilestoomuch wrote:
You know, I never gave this song a good listen until today. Usually, Steve Earle's voice grates on me just like Dylan's. But I do think this song is very good.
The song is alright, but his voice grates on me to no end. Dylan's does have a similar quality, but I like it as somehow it fits with his brilliant genius poetry, which I don't find here.
meloman wrote:
Them? I'm sorry, but it don't understand what the plural pronoun in your opening sentence is referring to. I also don't see the purpose of your reference to rationality at the end of your post. But, gee, thanks for the the Wikpedia info...nothing like basing your arguments on some Internet "encyclopedia" where anyone can write whatever he/she wants with no verification at all.
You'd prefer Britannica/F* and Wagnall's version?
A very beautiful song,I like both the music and the lyrics a lot...
bokey wrote:
"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." - Steve Earle
Mugro wrote:
It is we who are the hopeful ones. Hopeful that democracy throughout the world will make the world a more peaceful place.
ohh ohh my turn!!! Democracy has to be more peaceful because you can't exploit dead people by throwing them crumbs . Of course to make an omelette. . . . .
Dang, turn it up!
meloman wrote:
Them? I'm sorry, but it don't understand what the plural pronoun in your opening sentence is referring to. I also don't see the purpose of your reference to rationality at the end of your post. But, gee, thanks for the the Wikpedia info...nothing like basing your arguments on some Internet "encyclopedia" where anyone can write whatever he/she wants with no verification at all.
In December 2005, Wiki tightened its rules. You do have to register before adding content, among other things. It isnt intended to be the only source for anyone seeking info. However, it does have the ability to be more timely than a traditional printed encyclopedia. Online Encyclopedia Tightens Rules. Source: The America's Intelligence Wire Publication Date: 12/05/2005 COPYRIGHT 2005 Financial Times Ltd. (From AP Online) Byline: DAN GOODIN Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that allows anyone to contribute articles, is tightening its rules for submitting entries following the disclosure that it ran a piece falsely implicating a man in the Kennedy assassinations. Wikipedia will now require users to register before they can create articles, Jimmy Wales, founder of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Web site, said Monday. The change comes less than a week after John Seigenthaler Sr., who was Robert Kennedy's administrative assistant in the early 1960s, wrote an op-ed article revealing that Wikipedia had run a biography claiming Seigenthaler had been suspected in the assassinations of the former Attorney General and his brother, President John F. Kennedy. Wikipedia, which on Monday offered more than 850,000 articles in English, has grown into a storehouse of pieces on topics ranging from medieval art to nano technology. The volume of content is possible because the site relies on volunteers, including many experts in their fields, to submit entries and edit previously submitted articles. The Web site hopes that the registration requirement will limit the number of stories being created, Wales said. "What we're hopeful to see is that by slowing that down to 1,500 a day from several thousand, the people who are monitoring this will have more ability to improve the quality," Wales said Monday. "In many cases the types of things we see going on are impulse vandalism." Wikipedia visitors will still be able to edit content already posted without registering. It takes 15 to 20 seconds to create an account on the Web site, and an e-mail address is not required. Seigenthaler, a former newspaper editor at the Tennessean in Nashville, Tenn., and founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, said that following his op-ed piece in USA Today the biography of him was changed to remove the false accusations. But Seigenthaler said the current entry on Monday still got some facts wrong, apparently because volunteers are confusing him with his son, John Seigenthaler Jr., a journalist with NBC News. Also disturbing is a section of his biography that tracks changes made to the article, Seigenthaler, Sr. said. Entries in that history section label him a "Nazi" and say other "really vicious, venomous, salacious homophobic things about me," he said. Wales said those comments would be removed.
Mugro wrote:
It is we who are the hopeful ones. Hopeful that democracy throughout the world will make the world a more peaceful place.
Yep, exported at the point of a gun.
The Bush Administration is peopled with ideologues of that type. In fact, the Pentagon and DoD have evnagelists in their ranks trying to convert military and Pentagon personnel to this way of thinking - on the government's dime, I might add.