Static - Your pacing needs improvement and your facts are flawed. How could you even mention Bush in the same sentence verse with Lewinsky? Even as dumb as you portray Bush to be here, he could never be as dumb as Clinton and even get anywhere close to being associated with that little tart. And Al Gore was made to hate the GOP by George Bush in the Florida election debacle? Woh duh, I think Gore was already leaning a bit away from the GOP for the better part of his political life.

And I'll thank you for the Veteran Day's best wishes but throttle for this statement:

"No offense to Texans, but some people in the Deep South just aren’t all that smart."

Even though I live in Texas, I am not from here originally and claim no state as any true alliance. Since I have lived all over the US and overseas I consider the US to be my home. And I was proud to serve with a lot of southern men and women who are no different in the mental department as anyone else. You should be glad that a lot of these 'southern dummies' are putting their lives on the line daily so your ass could enjoy the freedom that it does. Shame on you for this. Do you think that there are some people in the 'deep north' that are just not all that smart as well?

I dunno, I thought the pacing was okay. I will either vote 3 or 4 in that category; I haven't decided yet.

Shame on you for this. ........................................................................................................................... Guy! Why be so hard on Static's parody? Isn't everyone entitled to freedom of speach in this country. I can assure you that I am no special friend of Static or something like that, I've just noticed things and i think you are a bit contradictory on your self here. Personally I did not take any offense on this one at all and I am a Texan myself. My votes are 3-4-3

His comment about generalizing that there are some stupid people in the south is biased. I would have been ok with 'there are some stupid voters out there' or something along these lines. He singled out one area in a sterotypical fashion. I would have reacted the same has he said north, west or east in that statement. Here lies the hearburn.

I think the whole thing is traitoristic and using a favorite HYMN of mine to boot casts you in a very bad light.

Sheesh, lots of criticism out there today. Poking fun at authority figures is what parody (and humor!) is founded on. Static certainly isn't the first person to bash the Bush White House, nor is he the only amirighter to write a parody about this particular set of current events. He's even tempered this with a "God bless veterans and their families" and thrown in some Hillary and Monica jokes for good measure. Hang in there, Static. And remember Spaff's First Rule of Humor: "It's OK to make fun of anything EXCEPT STUFF *I* LIKE."

Adagio. What's is your problem here? Even if anyone uses anyones favorite hymn or song, whats it to you, whats it to me, whats it to anyone?? Really??

Btw, Couldn't have said it better Spaff.

Doncha jus love whiny 'veterans' afraid of leavin' any type of name? "Mister Southern Veteran" forgot who GAVE Bush Floriduh....Jeb perhaps? And lighten up buddy.....you too Adiago...it's supposed to be a FREE COUNTRY where you can MAKE FUN OF EVERYONE and EVERYTHING....A PARODY >>>WHAT A CONCEPT<<<....or was that the first thing they told you to forget when you became a 'veteran' ; no jokes no fun? Read it for a change....he didn't say EVERYBODY in Texas and Florida are dumb.........like I said LIGHTEN UP...... As far as Clinton went, no saint but we HAD an economy back then, and we weren't on the brink of paying $3 a gallon for gas! OH! The parody.....can't be funny because....well....look at it this way, in about a year we MIGHT be able to laugh about it all

P.S. to Guy: Happy Veterans' Day to you and to all of the other vets out there. Sincerely.

I know my pacing is flawed, Guy, and it’s supposed to be that way for a laugh. And I do not mention Bush and Monica in the same line, just in two lines in a row, so I have you beat on a technicality. And I think you also missed the word “SOME” in my comments. And those “southern dummies” don’t even need to be in Iraq in the first place, but if we put them in Saudi Arabia, then what would happen? Saddam is a worthy scapegoat, but he’d probably have been rebelled on anyway. Also, I never said Gore only started to hate the GOP in 2000. I’m smart enough to know that there can’t be two people who are Republicans (or Dems or anybody else) from the same party who want to be President. Texas Man: Thank you for not getting mad at my comment because you fully understood it. All I was trying to say was that George W. is (in some ways) a disgrace to your great state. Adagio: Sorry for making fun of your favorite hymn, but the title fit the song. What else was I supposed to parody, “Stacy’s Mom”? Spaff: You are entirely correct when you stated that parody is based on poking fun at authority. Skateboarders poke fun at authority (Cops Push Mongo!) just as regular, working-class, non-punks do. I’ll hang in there, and because I know that you’re miles ahead of me, your First Rule will always be in my mind. Steve M.: You’re right in both of your comments. PerzinPen18: Same to you. You guys are some of the reasons that I write, and TJ Spindler (where is he?) is too, because you guys will stick up for what you believe is right, even if others blast it. Thanks for your support. And finally, I’ll give you all the original verse that inspired this improvised parody:
Amazing Bush, how thick the skull
That kills those Iraqis
Saddam’s been dead for many months
All we hope for now is peace.
Thank you for your time.

Uh, oops, that "Thank you" line isn't supposed to be connected.

Happy Veterans Day.

I decided on straight fours.

Whoa! What a thread! And for what purpose, really?? I really don't think Static's parody was judging at all I think it was a fair parody. We must not forget what it says up in the left corner of this webpage. "Amiright, making fun of music, one song at a time" right or Amiwrong?

Btw, just to let you know. "Who knows" is a níck I use in debates like this and¨believe me I have been in many of those:-)

(rated this one earlier.)

Static, I thought this was one of your better efforts and, while I hope they've cleaned the rugs in the oval office to render the line inaccurate, I thought the Lewinsky line was quite clever.
You did take some poetic license... congratulations on being the first to do that with a political parody. (I'm being facetious, of course.)
Any time you rile the opposition with a political parody, you've done something right. If it sucked, completely, BOTH sides (and all the innocent bystanders) would dismiss it as too ineffective or harmless to acknowledge. Congratulations.
Do I agree with the opinion suggested by the content? It doesn't matter because it doesn't affect the ratings you earned in each of the three categories. This is not to mention the fact that I don't know, for sure, that YOU agree with the opinion suggested by the content because it's a parody, not a stump speech and, thus, could be written from a fictional character's POV or you could be poking fun at people who hold that opinion or you could be poking fun at how people who hold that opinion are perceived by people who don't or it might be nothing more than alphabet soup written around a line that popped into your head, or.... Well, you get the idea.
For some reason, I have this strange feeling we might see a lot of parodies to this song in the next few days.

OK, OK ,OK - First - PerzinPen18 - I am not some whiny veteran who does not leave his name. I simply use my first name here and regulars on this site know who I am. Let me introduce myself. Visit the link listed below: And if you are a veteran, then happy veterans day to you.

http://www.amiright.com/parody/authors/guydirito.shtml

And Static. I never said that you used Bush and Monica in the same line. I said it in the same verse line which means you made a clear reference tying the two together. So I still don't understand your comment. And if these 'southern dummies' are too dumb to see it and make comment on it then maybe it is me and I apologise. I have no problem with you using whatever you want and writing what you will about George Bush or anyone else for that matter. I'm sure he's used to it. It was just the comment that I did not like. And I will refrain from any constructive criticism about your parodies in the future. I gave you a fair vote and tried to explain why I voted as I did.

And Spaff, Please do a parody in the Christmas spirit of 'My Favorite Things' and be honest about them so I can break your First Rule Of Humor. :D

And finally, Who Knows. Once again it was not the parody that that gave me the heartburn, it was the comment in the lower author's comment section about the reference to people from the south being slow or dumb that caused the heartburn.

Hope I've made myself clear.

Thanx for your followup comments, Guy. And I appreciate your invitation to parody "My Favorite Things" because it gives me a perfect excuse to shamelessly plug the NEW ROBERT LUND CD "ELVES GONE WILD!" The CD contains "A Few of My Resolutions," one of 13 parodies on there by yours truly. So - Everyone go buy lots of copies so that I can quit my job and spend all day hanging out at amiright, commenting on Static's stuff. www.elvesgonewild.com

Being from Georgia in the deep South, I must say that of course we ALL are not that dumb! Sorry Static but I can't agree with that sweep kind of thinking. I don't consider myself dumb and you really should think before you say something esp. in print 'cuz it may offend someone...I don't take offence cuz I think you're a very young person..just a thought for you ok , but your parody was very well written and I'm impressed with your knowledge of politics

I think more thought and effort is going into the comments on this parody then went into the parody itself. I perceive a lack of respect by the creator of this parody.

First of all, Static, you did not respect the original song. It was written by John Newton, not “Traditional,” (and there is a very compelling story behind the song). Newton was able to maintain perfect pacing while rhyming the first and the third lines and second and fourth lines of each verse. You chose to use that rhyming pattern in only one of your seven verses, but none of them has the same pacing that Newton used. And in two of your verses, you were unable to make anything rhyme.

Secondly, Static, you do not respect your readers. When you write that you intentionally used imperfect pacing for humor, I find that very disrespectful.

As Spaff correctly points out, anybody in power is a legitimate target for a parody (while I mostly poke fun at Democrats, I have written parody which criticized Bush – “Budget Surplus”). Static, you have attempted to use exaggeration and stereotypes for humor, which is perfectly acceptable in a parody, but you should have taken more time on your rhyming and pacing.

Yeah John i agree totally, there should have been put in a lot more pacing in this parody.

John, I always thought it was kinda cute that the third verse doesn't use exact rhymes, but sight rhymes: snares/far come/home, considering the last line of the most well-known verse. I'm not sure Newton wrote the last verse that I know, ("When we've been there ten thousand years...") but I've always liked its departure from the ABAB masculine rhyme scheme, too.

Static, I will add to what John said about pacing. Imperfect pacing isn't funny. It just makes it difficult for the reader to sing the parody with the melody. Pacing aside, I still think this is one of your stronger efforts. I say that because I thought I knew, pretty much, what to expect even before I opened it and, for the most part, I found what I expected, but you also managed to surprise me.

PS to the southern states,
If you folks are running low on stupid people, we have more than our fair share up here in the midwest and I'd be more than happy to send some your way. :D

Melhi, thanks for your support. My intention was partially to rile people, partially to make fun of bush, and 10% to be popular in a school of Bush-haters. Moose: Again, read the sentence over. I said SOME, not all. Jimmy Carter was (I think) a Georgian and he is probably one of the smartest people in the world today. John: Respect is earned, not given. I once gave my respect to someone and it came back to bite me (not Bush, either). My 14-year-old vote goes to Dean, Kerry, or Clark (whoever wins). Bush has the troops over there for no reason. We don't need to fight Iraq, did they finance 9/11? Is it our freaking business? NO! Thank you for your time.

Oh and Spaff- Please release the CD in Newbury Comics stores in Massachusetts! I want it soooooo bad now! (And I'm not being sarcastic, for once! :D)

Melhi – I like the way you corrected my previous comment without criticizing me. Part of the reason that I did not get into the two exceptions that you cited to the original song was that my comment was getting very long as it was. Although the third verse does not rhyme today, I was guessing that the pronunciation was different when the song was written in the eighteenth century and maybe it rhymed then. And, yes, the last verse departed from ABAB, but the verse still maintained the same pacing as the other verses and contains two pairs of rhymes (so it should not be used as an excuse by a parody writer who cannot think of words that rhyme). And, Melhi, thank you for using the term “masculine.” I had to look it up – I think a lot of us use masculine rhyming or commingle masculine and feminine rhyming without knowing it.

John Jenkins fan – Wow! That is the first time that I have ever seen those words together. I didn’t think my mother knew about this web site.

Static – Are you only fourteen years old? I am sure that you don’t want to be patronized, but I might have looked at your parody differently had I known. I commend you for your enthusiasm for politics and parodies and I hope that you maintain an open mind.

Thanks John, and sorry. Actually I'm a little bit younger than that, and I'm just saying what I think, with some hyperbole mixed in. That will always be my political parody philosophy. My song "That's What Al Gore Says" is much better, and not offensive at all either! Thanks again, and sorry.

Hey, you know what? I just reread everything on this whole page (not the ads, that'd take too long!) and I'm mad again. People, I understand what you think of the parody, and of course it is disrespectful. Spaff hit the bulls-eye when he said that making fun of government is the basis of parody. And parody is supposed to be fun. Right? Well, I can’t say I’m mad about any of your comments showing what you think. But I do think that you could be just a LITTLE MORE CIVIL TO A KID ON HIS FREEKIN’ BIRTHDAY! ANYONE CATCH THAT? OR WERE YOU TOO MAD ABOUT MY REDNECK COMMENT? Now that I have that flame out of my system, Happy Holidays. And I’m outta here. For a while. Because whatever I write will be deemed too offensive for you hypocrites, which most of you were being in this comments section. Thank you.

Hey Static. You're doing just fine ok. Never worry, cuz you got it right!

Now that I'm calm, thank you Moose.

Static: As per your request ("Please release the CD in Newbury Comics stores in Massachusetts!"), I am happy to say that every comics store in the northeast now carries the "Elves Gone Wild!" CD. In my fantasies, anyway. In reality, it doesn't have anywhere near that kind of distribution. But here's a better idea - save yourself a trip and buy it online at www.elvesgonewild.com

Okay.