Gloria Steinem Interviewing Barbra!

From Barbra

Protect Your Vote

Since voter fraud and voter suppression is still very much an issue in the upcoming election, I wanted to post a section on some of the best articles written by experts on this complex issue and provide information on who to contact if you experience voting problems. It’s so important that Americans are aware and educated so they can insure that their votes are properly counted.

VIDEO: “Protecting Your Vote” Mark Crispin Miller on Bill Moyers
http://www.pbs.org/

Transcript of Mark Crispin’s interview with Bill Moyers.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers

Thousands Face Mix-Ups In Voter Registrations In New Databases, Many
Are Wrongly Flagged as Ineligible
http://www.washingtonpost.com

Block the Vote - Will the GOP's campaign to deter new voters and
discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?
http://www.rollingstone.com/

USA Today cited "accusations of voter fraud and voter suppression" but
omitted examples of voter suppression
http://mediamatters.org/

States' Attempts to Clean up Voting Lists Result in Unlawful Voter
Purging and Suppression
http://www.civilrights.org/

Treasure Coast officials calling residents on 'no match, no vote' list
http://www.tcpalm.com/

Judge Rules Michigan Voter Purging Program Illegal
http://www.ombwatch.org/

Ohio GOP loses fight to contest new voters, The Supreme Court on
Friday threw out a lawsuit brought by the Ohio Republican Party that
could have made it easier to challenge tens of...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

The Real Issue Isn't Voter Fraud, Its Vote Suppression (Joe
Rothstein's Commentary)
http://uspolitics.einnews.com/

Here are some articles on voting machine glitches and the wise move away from electronic-ballot voting systems that are discernibly switching votes in West Virginia in early voting

Did Washington waste millions on faulty voting machines?
http://www.bnd.com/

Some early W.Va. voters angry over switched votes
Jackson County touch-screens switched votes, 3 residents say
http://wvgazette.com/

While flagging illegal practices, don't overlook machine error
http://www.pennlive.com/

Day before early voting, glitch found with machines
http://www.dailymail.com

Vote Count Error Caught in New Mexico Machines
By Kim Zetter EmailOctober 07, 2008
http://blog.wired.com/

Officials find, fix glitch in New Mexico voting machine
http://www.rep-am.com

Places to Report Any Voting Problems You Experience

Unfortunately most states do *not* yet require that local election
officials record or make public voting problems that occur and could
be used to evaluate and improve election systems

YouTube Asks Voters to Record Poll Problems
http://newteevee.com

Problems Voting in the General Election? Report Your Issue Here
http://popmartian.com

1-866-OUR-VOTE; 1-866-MY-VOTE1

GoVote.org Launches: Next Generation in Voter Support
http://www.marketwatch.com/

Barbara Walters Interviews Barbra Streisand, 1991

There is a great interview with Joan Didion in this issue of The Paris Review. I wonder, is it bad that I refer to Joan Didion as the lady who wrote A Star is Born for Barbra Streisand?

Putting It Together

Barbra Streisand

Barbra: look, I?ve spent a lot of time working on this
Producer 1: look, no one?s gonna buy it -- no one.
Producer 2: no one in middle america, anyway. that?s for sure.
Producer 3: he?s right!
Producer 1: sweetheart, it?s just not commercial!
Barbra: what is commercial?
Producer 2: it?s not what?s selling nowadays.
Producer 1: I mean - personally, I love it, but
Barbra (sung):be nice, girl!
Producer 3: nobody?s into this kind of material.
Barbra (sung): you have to pay a price, girl!
Producer 2: this album needs a hit single we can push.
Barbra (sung):they like to give advice, girl!
Producer 1: the whole idea?s too risky.
Barbra (sung): don?t think about it twice, girl!
Producer 2: the audience won?t understand this kind of thing!
Barbra (sung):it?s time to get to work!
Barbra(spoken): I disagree! why don?t you wait until you hear
it?
Producer 3: this is like your old stuff!
Barbra (sung): art isn?t easy.
Producer 3: you?ve got to appeal to the kids.
Barbra (sung): even when you?re hot.
Producer 2: why would you want to make an album like this
anyway?
Barbra (sung): advancing art is easy.
Producer 1: I think we ought to talk seriously about this.
Barbra (sung): financing it is not!
Producer 2: why take chances?
Barbra (sung): a vision?s just a vision if it?s only in your
head!
Producer 1: nobody respects your artistic integrity more than I
do, but
Barbra (sung): if no one gets to hear it, it?s as good as dead!
Producer 2: you have to think about you career!
Barbra (sung): it has to come to life!
Barbra (sung): bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art
Every moment makes a contribution
Every little detail plays a parts
Having just a vision?s no solution
Everything depends on execution
Putting it together, that?s what counts!
Ounce by ounce, putting in together
Small amounts, adding up to make a work of art
First of all you need a good foundation
Otherwise it?s risky from the start
Takes a little cocktail conversation
But without the proper preparation
Having just a vision?s no solution
Everything depends on execution
The art of making art
Is putting it together, bit by bit
Producer 2: do we really need all these musicians?
Barbra: link by link, making the connections, yes we do!
Drink by drink, taking every comment as it comes
Learning how to play the politician
Like you play piano, bass and drums
Otherwise you?ll find your composition
Isn?t gonna get much exhibition
Art isn?t easy
Every minor detail is a major decision
Have to keep things in scale
Have to hold to your vision
Producer 1: why don?t we talk about this over dinner, darling?
What?s a little cocktail conversation
If it gets the funds for your foundation
Every time I start to feel defensive
I remember vinyl is expensive!
Producer 3: would you agree to do an interview?
Barbra: maybe one!
Dot by dot, building up the image
Shot by shot, keeping at a distance doesn?t pay
Still if you remember your objective
Not give all your privacy away
A little bit of hype can be effective
As long as you can keep it in perspective
Even when you get some recognition
Everything you do you still audition
Art isn?t easy
Overnight you?re a trend
You?re the right combination
Then the trend?s at an end
You?re suddenly last year?s sensation!
All they ever want is repetition
All they really like is what they know
Gotta keep a link with your tradition
Gotta learn to trust your intuition
While you re-establish your position
So that you can be on exhibit...
So that your work can be on exhibition!
Be new, girl!
They tell you till they?re blue, girl!
You?re new, or else you?re through, girl!
And even if it?s true, girl,
You do what you can do!
Bit by bit, putting it together
Piece by piece, working on the vision night and day
All it takes is time and perseverance
With a little luck along the way
Putting in a personal appearance
Gathering supporters and adherents...
Producer 1: well, she?s an original!
Producer 3: was!
Barbra: mapping out the songs but in addition
Harmonizing each negotiation
Balancing the part that?s all musicians
With the part that?s strictly presentation
Balancing the money with the mission
Till you have the perfect orchestration
Even if you do have the suspicion
That it?s taking all your concentration
The art of making art
Is putting it together, bit by bit
Beat by beat, part by part
Sheet by sheet, chart by chart track by track, bit by bit,
Reel by reel, pout by pout
Stack by stack, snit by snit,
Meal by meal, shout by shout
Deal by deal, spat by spat
Shpiel by shpiel, doubt by doubt
And that... is the state of the art!